The Nightly Turbo: Payment Processor Hides $51.4M, Mullin Wins UKIPT Galway, and More
The PokerNews Live Reporting Team was scattered all over the world during the weekend covering events from the European Poker Tour, Latin American Poker Tour, and the brand new DeepStacks Poker Tour. One tournament we weren't on hand for was the UKIPT Main Event in Galway, but we have the results in this edition of the Nightly Turbo. We've also got news about an alleged Black Friday payment processor, Iowa's progress in legalizing online gambling, and more. And when you're done, if you want more, check out the Nightly Turbo's little brother, the Inside Shuffle, on PokerWorks.
In Case You Missed It
Daniel Negreanu reached the final table of the 2012 PokerStars.net Latin American Poker Tour Grand Final. Where did he rank in the chip counts? Find out in our recap from Brazil.
How did 2011 November Nine Phil Collins get his start in poker. Find out that and more in the latest edition of Open Seat.
William Vogel won the inaugural DeepStacks Poker Tour Main Event on Sunday evening. Read about his road to the title in our final table recap.
Did you miss Sunday's World Poker Tour coverage on FSN? Read our WPT recap to get caught up.
Steve O'Dwyer led the way after Day 1 of the PokerStars.com EPT Copenhagen Main Event. Former EPT champs Roberto Romanello and David Vamplew also survived the day.
*Photo courtesy of the PokerStars Blog.
Johnson Tabbed as Online Poker Payment Processor
According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Utah businessman Jeremy Johnson hid the $51.4 million he earned processing online poker payments in the U.S. by moving funds through a variety of shell companies.
A court-appointed receiver found that Johnson tried to conceal the funds after the Federal Trade Commission sued Johnson and his companies for scamming consumers out of at least $275 million. Investigators uncovered 65 previously unknown entities that were “involved in moving funds and concealing” assets, according to the report.
“A majority of these entities do not appear to have generated any business income and were used as conduits to reroute funds and to commingle and hide funds,” the report said.
Johnson wasn't named in the indictments on Black Friday, but he has ties to John Campos and Chad Elie, both of whom are set to stand trial next month after a motion to dismiss the charges against them was denied by a federal judge.
Read the full story at the Salt Lake Tribune.
Emmett Mullin Wins UKIPT Galway Main Event
Emmett Mullin took down the UK & Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT) Main Event on Monday, besting a field of 698 players for a top prize of €100,000. Mullen, a poker pro from Ireland, bested fellow Irishman Ronan Gilligan heads up to add a live tournament title to his many online victories playing as "mully_85" on PokerStars.
"It's unbelievable," Mullin told the PokerStars Blog. "I've actually won a tournament as big as this, with such a tough field ... It's been a bit of a drain but there's a buzz at the minute. We'll have a few drinks tonight."
The big story going into the day was Nick Abou Risk, who reached his third UKIPT final table and was going after his third title. However, it wasn't meant to be for the Canadian, as Mullin knocked him out in seventh place with A♥J♣ against K♠J♥.
From there, Mullin knocked out everyone else at the table to secure the win. Here's a look at the final table results from Galway:
UKIPT Galway Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emmett Mullin | €100,000 |
| 2 | Ronan Gilligan | €73,650 |
| 3 | Joe Roberts | €51,900 |
| 4 | Craig Burke | €30,750 |
| 5 | Aleksandras Rusinovas | €24,150 |
| 6 | John Willoughby | €19,400 |
| 7 | Nick Abou Risk | €14,700 |
| 8 | Richard Haile | €10,900 |
| 9 | Joris Ruijs | €7,800 |
For in-depth coverage of the entire UKIPT Main Event, check out the PokerStars Blog.
Iowa Lawmakers Discuss Online Gaming
On Monday, a legislative subcommittee in Iowa discussed Senate Study Bill 3164, an Act that could help pave the way for online gaming within state lines.
A measure to legalize gambling came up during last year's legislative session, but it was delayed in order for the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission to conduct a study to determine the practicality and potential income Internet poker could generate for the state. The objective of the report was to give the legislature information to work with if it ultimately decided to set up an online poker infrastructure in the next session.
The study revealed that $13 million to $60 million dollars a year could be raked by operators in the state. Assuming a tax rate of 22 percent, the projections indicate approximately $3 million to $13 million in potential tax revenue for the state annually, according to the IRGC.
Read more at PokerNews.com.
Negreanu Reading Minds
Daniel Negreanu seems to be everywhere lately. After his well-received video blog got nearly 60,000 views last week, Negreanu finished sixth out of 367 players in the LAPT Grand Final Main Event. Then, on Monday, he made a brief appearance on The Score with Renee and Norm:
Wynn Classic Returns This Week
The 2012 Wynn Classic kicks off Thursday, Feb. 23 with the first of 16 events on the schedule. The first event is a $550 no-limit hold'em event with a $250,000 Guarantee that features three separate starting days plus an opportunity to reenter on Day 2.
The series culminates with the $5,170 Wynn Classic No-Limit Hold'em Championship from March 12 through 15. Last year, Tim West defeated Annette Obrestad heads-up to win the Main Event for $318,738. Matt Waxman, Max Steinberg, Eric Froelich, Carter King and John Kim also made the final table.
For a look at the full Wynn Classic schedule, visit wynnpoker.com.
Greetings from Copenhagen
The PokerNews Live Reporting Team has arrived in Denmark for the European Poker Tour Copenhagen Main Event. Sarah Grant explored some of the city's top destinations.
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