The Nightly Turbo: EPT Loutraki, Bwin.Party Partner Announced by End of Year, and More
The first college football game of the season kicked off Thursday and we've got to say, we're pretty excited about it. We're also excited about the new stop that was added to Season 8 of the PokerStars European Poker Tour. We'll tell you all about it, as well as what bwin.party CEO Jim Ryan said about its U.S. partner, and more in this edition of the Nightly Turbo.
In Case You Missed It
Sam Barnhart won the first gold bracelet of the 2011 World Series of Poker and then finished 17th in the 2011 WSOP Main Event. Before that, he was a relative unknown. Who is Sam Barnhart and how did he get his start in poker? Find out in our PokerNews Profile.
What has the reigning World Series of Poker champion been up to recently? Laura Cornelius hosted the latest PokerNews Podcast and spoke with Jonathan Duhamel to find out.
Kristy Arnett interviewed Tommy Angelo for the latest Strategy with Kristy podcast. The two discuss Angleo's book, Elements of Poker, and improving poker mindset.
Gary Johnson, Republican candidate for the 2012 presidential election, is pushing hard for the poker player vote. Could he be who poker players need in office?
For the past three weeks, Jason Mercier has been sitting in the top spot on the Global Poker Index, but there's a chance things change next week. Who is lurking and making a move for the top spot of the GPI?
It's All Greek to Us
On Thursday, PokerStars.net announced a new stop to the eighth season of the European Poker Tour. From Nov. 15 through 20, the EPT will be stopping at Club Hotel Casino Loutraki in Greece.
“This is great news that the EPT will visit Greece. I’m truly excited to have such a prestigious tournament taking place in my country. Fellow Greek players have an opportunity to compete in a high calibre tournament with large numbers, and players visiting Greece will enjoy the beautiful Greek landmarks and famous hospitality," said Greek pro George "gkap13" Kapalas.
The five star beach resort will host the EPT's debut in Greece with a five-day €4,400 Main Event and a myriad of side events. This EPT stop was planned after two successful PokerStars sponsored Greek Poker Cup events were held earlier this year.
“We are very happy to extend our strategic partnership with PokerStars.net, after two very successful Greek Poker Cup tournaments. The EPT’s debut in Greece is a very exciting development for Loutraki as a top tourist destination, for our casino, and for Greek poker in general," said CHCL general manager Alexandros Doukas.
Find out more about this exciting new stop on the PokerStars Blog.
Bwin.party Partner
According to eGaming Review, bwin.party will announce its U.S. strategic partners by the end of the year.
Bwin.party CEO Jim Ryan spoke with eGaming Review and said, “You will definitely hear from us in the second half." Ryan also hinted that the partner the company was finalizing agreements with on the state and federal levels could be the same.
“The structure of the deals we are likely to do will be joint venture partnerships. We will be exploiting our brands, and our JV partner will be exploiting their brands. A poker network that would have Party, WPT, Poker Room, and then the brands of our partners," said Ryan.
EGaming Review reports that bwin.party has been "strongly linked with providing a poker platform in a regulated U.S. market for four land-based casino groups with properties in Atlantic City, including Boyd Gaming."
But before it would be able to supply a network for a U.S. casino group, eGaming Review says bwin.party would have to complete sustainability reviews on the state and federal levels.
“We will have to go through suitability review, assuming there is a federal bill, based on whatever legal construct they come up with. At a state and a federal level, we will have to go through suitability," Ryan said.
Read more at EGRMagazine.com.
New Additions
Thanks to PokerStars Stefan's post on TwoPlusTwo, we can bring you a look at the new additions that will be rolling out on the PokerStars client in the next few days.
- Easy Seat will make it so a player can launch a session with one click from the lobby. Once the player sets up his preferences, Easy Seat will look for free seats at tables that match the criteria.
- Timed Tournaments are good for players that don't have all day. The tournament ends after a predetermined time and players are paid out based on whole or partial chip counts.
- Fold and Show/Show One Card gives players the ability to show only one card. You know, in case you want to try and tilt your opponent.
- Show Large Opponent Cards makes it easier for you to see who's in the hand with you.
That's the short list, see what else PokerStars has in store at TwoPlusTwo.com.
Lock Poker Explains
PocketFives.com is reporting that Lock Poker issued a statement explaining the Malta Lotteries and Gaming Authorities claim that it did not issue a license to Lock Poker. The controversy surrounds the LGA logo on LockPoker.eu. As we told you earlier this week, the LGA said, "The Lotteries and Gaming Authority (the ‘Authority') would like to inform the public that the website http://lockpoker.eu/ has no connection whatsoever with the Authority and therefore any mention of the Authority or license issued by the Authority on the mentioned website is false and misleading."
Lock Poker told PocketFives.com that because the Merge Gaming Network received "a letter of intent for a Class 4 license from the LGA" that "Merge allowed its licensees, including Lock Poker, to display the LGA logo on their site once they had opted into the agreement and updated their Terms and Conditions on site.”
According to PocketFives.com, Lock Poker is working to resolve the issue shortly. “Merge Gaming Malta Ltd. is now working with their key official in Malta to resolve issues that have arisen in the past two days. Merge Gaming Malta Ltd. can also confirm that Lock has in fact provided all required documentation to Merge Gaming Malta Ltd. in relation to this process."
Read more at PocketFives.com.
Calling the Clock: Phil Collins
Kristy Arnett caught up with 2011 November Niner Phil Collins at EPT Barcelona and put him on the spot for one minute. Find out what his worst nightmare is in this edition of Calling the Clock.
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