The Nightly Turbo: Hottest Women in Poker, Laurent Tapie Confirms DOJ Deal, & More
With the World Series of Poker Main Event Final Table just days away, many of the November Niners have touched down in Sin City to begin preparations for the biggest spectacle in poker. In the meantime, The Nightly Turbo brings you the latest from the Groupe Bernard Tapie agreement with the Department of Justice, a new list of the hottest women in poker, and more.
In Case You Missed It
Kevin Schaffel was a member of the 2009 November Nine but hasn't been around much lately. We caught up with Schaffel to find out what he's been up to in this edition of Where Are They Now.
The PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour is headed to Macau this month. If you're planning a trip, then find out all you need to know in the PokerNews Jet Set.
Did you miss Tuesday's coverage the World Series of Poker on ESPN? Check out our recap to find out who made the 2011 November Nine!
Late last week, Genting opened New York City's first casino. Read more about that and the recent gaming growth in Asia in the latest edition of Inside Gaming.
Daniel Santoro is the latest World Poker Tour champion after winning the World Poker Tour Finals at Foxwoods Tuesday night. Get all the details of the final table in our daily recap.
The World Poker Tour stop in Amneville kicked off Tuesday with Day 1a of the €3,200 Main Event. Nicolas Babel led the charge as 114 of the 176 players survived the first day of play.
Tapie: FTP Purchase Could Be Finalized Within 15 Days
On Wednesday, Laurent Tapie confirmed to iGamingFrance that the principle agreement between Groupe Bernard Tapie and the Department of Justice had been reached. Tapie, who serves as the Managing Director of the French investment group, says that an agreement for the purchase of Full Tilt Poker could be finalized in the next 15 days.
The deal stipulates that Groupe Bernard Tapie will repay Full Tilt Poker customers outside of the United States, and the Department of Justice will reimburse players in the U.S. Tapie didn't reveal the exact terms of the agreement, but he told iFranceGaming that the payment terms are "defined."
The news comes one day after Subject:Poker released an email from Tiltware CEO Ray Bitar to shareholders about the sale of the company. Final details are currently being worked out between Groupe Bernard Tapie and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Once a deal is in place, Groupe Bernard Tapie will be able to propose a deal to the Full Tilt Poker shareholders.
You can find more about this story at iGamingFrance.com.
Jennifer Harman is the Hottest Woman in Poker
In response to an article in WPT Magazine that listed the “Top 20 Hottest Women In Poker,” Woman Poker Player magazine came up with its own list of the "hottest female poker players" this week. This list, though, isn't ranking women by their physical attributes. Writer Earl Burton orders the women based on their accomplishments at the poker table.
Two-time bracelet winner Jennifer Harman topped the list, and Annie Duke came in at No. 2. Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Selbst was listed third, and Kathy Liebert and Linda Johnson rounded out the top five. Johnson, who was recently voted into the Poker Hall of Fame, doesn’t measure up to the aforementioned women as far tournament earnings go, but we're not about to question the merit of the "First Lady of Poker" on any poker-related top 10 list.
The bottom half of the top 10 was occupied by J.J. Liu, Victoria Coren, Barbara Enright, Lucy Rokach and Cyndy Violette, respectively.
We were a little surprised to see Liv Boeree, Annette Obrestad and Vanessa Rousso missing from the list. Obrestad and Rousso are both among the top five on the all-time money list for women, and Boeree isn't far behind. And where is Shaun Deeb?
Read more at WomanPokerPlayer.com.
Online Poker Traffic Update
The online poker traffic numbers from last week have been released. PokerScout.com reported a worldwide increase of 2.2 percent from the prior week, mostly because of PokerStars and its 70 Billionth Hand promotion.
Traffic at PokerStars climbed nearly 6 percent for the week as the site maintained a stranglehold on the No. 1 slot. PartyPoker held a slim advantage over iPoker at No. 2, while 888poker and OnGame rounded out the Top 5.
The Merge Network continued to see an increase since re-opening its doors to new U.S. customers, but the growth level tailed off a bit after rising 21 percent over the previous two weeks. Last week's traffic increase at Merge was just 1 percent, but the network held its position above the Entraction Network, iPoker.it and Bodog for the No. 10 ranking worldwide.
As for year-over-year numbers, PokerScout's ACES indicator reports that online poker traffic (with the exception of Italy) has decreased by 31 percent in the last year. That number is mostly due to the stoppage at Full Tilt Poker and the CEREUS Network, but OnGame.fr (down 36 percent) and the Cake Poker Network (down 22 percent) have also seen significant dips since last November. 888poker (up 84 percent) and Bodog (up 63 percent) are among the biggest climbers over the past year.
Get the full report at PokerScout.com.
L.A. Poker Open Under Way
The L.A. Poker Open kicked off at Commerce Casino on Wednesday with the first of 20 events on the slate. The series will run through Nov. 21 and conclude with a $2,085 buy-in Championship Event with a $600,000 guaranteed prize pool. The winner is expected to take home at least $150,000.
The L.A. Poker Open is offering a wide variety of games during the series, including seven card stud eight or better, Omaha eight or better, H.O.R.S.E., and a smaller buy-in ($125) no-limit hold'em turbo event, which is offering a $200,000 guaranteed prize pool.
"Many players are expanding the types of poker they are playing and it's our goal at Commerce Casino to offer tournaments for every player in every type of poker play," said Commerce Casino manager Jeff Harris.
The full L.A. Poker Open schedule can be found at CommerceCasino.com.
PokerNews Nominated for Affiliate Award
The nominations are in for the Fifth Annual iGB Affiliate Awards, and we're excited to announce that PokerNews.com is up for the award of Best Poker Affiliate! The honor recognizes the poker affiliate that has excelled most in 2010-2011. When selecting their choice, voters are asked to consider criteria such as volume of traffic, innovation, reputation with players, and brand power.
Wait... did someone say power?
Voting will be open until Monday, Dec. 12, 2011. Cast your vote for PokerNews!
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