The Weekly Turbo: Trishelle Canatella's New Team, Betfair Hacked, and More
Full Tilt Poker completely dominated the headlines this week and you can find all of the major developments by browsing our main page. In this edition of the Weekly Turbo, you'll get a look at Trishelle Cannatella's new sponsorship deal, Betfair revealing a data hack, and more.
Betfair Reveals Data Hack After 18 Months of Silence
Online gambling giantBetfair admitted Friday that it failed to notify customers that their personal details had been stolen by cyber hackers 18 months ago.
The criminals, believed to be from Cambodia, reportedly stole 3.15 million account usernames with encrypted security questions, 2.9 million usernames with one or more addresses and 89,744 account usernames with bank account details, according to theDaily Telegraph.
Betfair said it was able to recover the information without harm to customers and that its security measures made the information unusable for fraud. The Daily Telegraph reports that the theft wasn’t detected until a computer server malfunctioned in May 2010, leading to the discovery that "at least nine servers [had] been compromised in the UK and two in Malta.”
Read more about the Betfair scandal at the Daily Telegraph.
She's a Sure Bet
Sure Bet Poker launched internationally (for obvious reasons) this week — Oct. 1 to be exact. On Monday, Trishelle Cannatella announced that she was part of Team Sure Bet.
So excited to announce I have officially signed with @surebetpoker ! Site launches October 1st so go register to play with me :)
— Trishelle (@TrishelleC)
She joins Mike Wolf and Jason Sallman on Team Sure Bet. In an interview with Ante Up Magazine, Cannatella said, "I am so excited to join team Sure Bet Poker, and I cannot wait to represent Sure Bet at tournaments both live and online."
Read the entire interview at AnteUpMagazine.com.
For the Sports Fans
On Tuesday, DraftDay.com was launched. DraftDay, a daily fantasy sports website, is the brainchild of poker pros Taylor Caby and Andrew Wiggins.
"Taylor and I started tossing around the idea of a fantasy sports website years ago, but the timing was never right," Wiggins said. "After I won my MLB league last season, I took it as a sign that we needed to push the idea toward reality. DraftDay is a unique fantasy sports experience that you won't find anywhere else. There's no season long commitment and there's always a draft available."
DraftDay allows sports fans to test their fantasy sports skills and offers daily games for fantasy football, baseball, basketball, and hockey. Buy-ins range from freerolls to $500.
"There is a social aspect to fantasy sports that you also find in poker. It's competitive, stats driven and an adrenaline rush. It's also a great way to make a hobby into something really profitable," Wiggins said.
"There's nothing better than sweating out a ballgame knowing one or two key plays can earn you money and bragging rights," Caby said.
Read the press release for more.
Team ElkY vs. Team Hellmuth
The rosters have been drawn for the upcomingCaesars Cup at the World Series of Poker Europe in Cannes, France. The Ryder Cup-style poker event pits teams of the best players from both sides of the Atlantic against each other for bragging rights and the coveted Caesars Cup.
The event was last played in 2009 and won by Team Europe, which was captained by former WSOPE Main Event championAnnette Obrestad. That team easily defeated the Team Americas squad captained by Daniel Negreanu.
This year, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier leads Team Europe against Phil Hellmuth's Team Americas crew. Grospellier decided to go with youth as he selected five players with a combined five WSOP bracelets, including recent Triple Crown winner Jake Cody. Gus Hansen, Dario Minieri and Maxim Lykov were also included on the squad.
“I am very confident in my team,” said Grospellier. “We will show the Americas that 2009 was not an upset!”
Hellmuth, on the other hand, will have experience on his side. Including Hellmuth, Team Americas will boast 39 WSOP bracelets won by Doyle Brunson (10), Johnny Chan (10), Daniel Negreanu (four), and Huck Seed (four) round out the team.
"These idiot Northern Europeans think they know everything about the game of poker," Hellmuth joked. "Well, we plan to show them that decades of experience are much more valuable than clicking a mouse while sitting in your pajamas. In all seriousness, we look forward to the challenge and the opportunity to return the Caesars Cup to American soil."
Read the press release at WSOP.com.
Chiligaming to Enter U.S. Market
French online gaming operator Chiligaming is set to enter the U.S. poker market with the launch of a free-to-play social-gaming poker network.
The new legal, nongambling poker network includes a wide range of social gaming features including virtual currency, multiple language options, and availability on multiple devices including PCs, MACs, iPhone, Android, tablets and social networks.
The company will also open offices in San Francisco, Calif., as part of its expansion into new markets. Chiligaming plans to use the free-play platform as a launch pad into real-money play when legislation occurs in the States. It remains one of a small number of international online gaming operators never to have taken a bet in the U.S.
“The gaming market is evolving and Chiligaming is evolving with it by expanding its operation to become an active social gaming player in addition to an established online gaming operator,” said founder Alexandre Dreyfus. “Chiliplay.com will be the first brand to launch on the network and we will be welcoming more partners now that all the devices for access are ready.”
Read the press release for more.
Dennis Phillips Brings High Stakes Poker to the Midwest
Next month, former WSOP November NinerDennis Phillips will take part in the largest cash games ever played in St. Louis. Phillips and St. Louis radio manPaul Harris, hosts of KFNS' Final Table Poker Radio Show, are set to participate in the Harrah's St. Louis Big Game from Oct. 28 through 30.
The nine-handed cash game will feature $25/$50 blinds with a $10 ante and a minimum buy-in of $15,000. A combined estimated minimum of $270,000 will be on the table at any given time, and, depending on who shows, there's the potential for much more.
“As a player, there really is no better place in St. Louis to play poker," said Phillips, who won $4.5 million for his third-place finish at the 2008 Main Event. "I’m excited to be a part of bringing a game of this size to my hometown.”
The public is welcome to watch all the action when the cards go in the air at 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 28.
Interested players can contact the Harrah's WSOP Poker Room at (314) 770-7600.
PokerStars Announces 2012 PCA Schedule
The official tournament schedule for the2012 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure was released on Thursday. The flagship series of the PokerStars live circuit is set to take place in the Bahamas from Jan. 5 through 14, with the Main Event running from Jan. 7 through 13.
As usual, PokerStars has put together a schedule that offers something for every type of player. Forty-one events are scheduled during the 10-day festival, including a$5,000 8-Game Championship, a $2,100 Battleship event, and even a Dealer Button Choice tournament. The $100,000 Super Higher Roller and $25,000 Higher Roller events will be back, too, to the delight of top pros in the game.
“I’ve never missed the PCA and never will,” said Team PokerStars member Daniel Negreanu, who finished second in last year’s $100,000 Super High Roller Event to fellow PokerStars pro Eugene Katchalov. “It’s grown each year and has become a must-play poker festival for every serious poker player. It’s not just about the Main Event, because there is a full schedule of events for both high- and low-rollers. There isn’t a better way to start off your 2012 than heading out to the PCA.”
A full complement of satellite qualifiers to the series are now running at PokerStars.com.
Visit the PCA website for an extensive look at the schedule.
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