The Nightly Turbo: Everleaf Sanctioned for Irregularities, Spanish Licenses, and More
Looking for your last poker news fix before a weekend of madness? You've come to the right place. In the Friday edition of the Nightly Turbo, we bring you more bad news regarding Everleaf Gaming, Spanish regulators pre-approving gaming licenses for gaming operators, and more.
In Case You Missed It
Is the World Series of Poker headed to the Asia Pacific region? WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart discusses that and much more in the latest edition of The Insiders.
Day 3 of the World Poker Tour Bay 101 Shooting Star Main Event played down to a final table on Thursday. Erik Cajelais was the big chip leader going into the final day, but notables Joe Elpayaa, Joe Serock and Andrew Badecker were still in contention for the $960,900 first-place prize.
The Chicago Poker Classic came to a close last week, but not without some controversy. Paul Gibbons spoke with Chad Holloway about why he feels the CPC owes him $50,000.
Which format better suits your style of play — poker tournaments or cash games? Poker pro Alec Torelli gives his pros and cons of both in his latest blog.
Day 1b of the 2012 PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour Seoul Main Event concluded on Friday. Find out who led the way going into Day 2 in our daily recap.
Did you miss anything from the past week? Don't worry, we've got you covered. Lynn Gilmartin breaks down all the big stories in the PokerNews Weekly.
Everleaf Sanctioned by LGA
According to a brief statement on its website, the Lotteries and Gaming Authority of Malta (LGA) has issued sanctions against Everleaf Gaming after discovering a number of irregularities in the gaming company's operation. The LGA did not signify why sanctions have been placed on Everleaf, but the announcement comes one month after Everleaf Gaming was forced to cease operations in the U.S.
"Everleaf Gaming is being monitored closely to ensure its operation respects Maltese law," the LGA said in the statement.
Everleaf, which has more than 100 skins on its poker network, made a hasty exit from the U.S. on Feb. 9 after receiving a cease and desist order from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The company has since released an official statement confirming that U.S. player funds were seized by U.S. authorities.
Everleaf stated that U.S. customer funds would be refunded in full and players would be contacted about how and when that process would begin. As of Friday, there's been no word of any Everleaf players being refunded.
Read the LGA's statement at lga.org.
Operators Pre-approved for Spanish Online Gaming Licenses
According to a report by eGamingReview, 80 percent of operators that applied for a Spanish online gaming license have been told by regulators that they should expect license approvals in coming weeks.
More than 60 operators submitted applications for Spanish gaming licenses before the Dec. 14, 2011, deadline, according to reports. The official list of applicants wasn't revealed, but PokerStars, bwin.party, 888, Ladbrokes, and even Groupe Bernard Tapie were among the companies to have shown interest in the space.
The Spanish National Gambling Commission is expected to issue its first rounds of licenses by June, allowing operators to offer games to residents of Spain while paying a 25 percent tax on net income. The online poker player pool will initially be segregated, but changes could be made beginning next year to allow players to compete against other EU nations.
eGamingReview has more (paywall warning).
Overlay in Atlantic City
The Borgata $500,000 Guaranteed Deep Stack wrapped up this week in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The Borgata is home to some of the East Coast's biggest and best poker tournaments, but surprisingly the casino was forced to payout around $40,000 after failing to meet the half-million-dollar guarantee as only 308 players came out for the $1,650 event.
Topping the field and claiming the $131,257 first-place prize was Cuong Phung. Coming in second place was Todd Rodenborn, who earned $72,921 after coming up short in the heads-up match. Chris Klodnicki bubbled the final table in 10th place, earning $6,320.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cuong Phung | $131,257 |
| 2 | Todd Rodenborn | $72,921 |
| 3 | Jason Paster | $45,211 |
| 4 | Harry Korotki | $36,461 |
| 5 | Samuel Bernstein | $28,196 |
| 6 | Robert Hwang | $23,821 |
| 7 | Alex Nepomnyaschiy | $19,203 |
| 8 | Jeremy Druckman | $14,341 |
| 9 | Chris Lovett | $9,723 |
The top 36 players were paid out and other notable finishers in the money were Mike Dentale (14th — $4,861), Daniel Buzgon (15th — $4,861), David Inselberg (16th — $4,132), Chris Tryba (20th — $3,646) and Matt Glantz (32nd — $2,917).
Watch the Big Game Live
Next month, many of poker's biggest stars will embark on the Vienna's Montesino Casino for the World Poker Tour Vienna Main Event. Running alongside the tournament will be the PartyPoker Premier League V and PartyPoker Big Game VI, creating a true poker festival in Austria during the month of April.
PokerNews announced Friday that it will be providing a live stream of the PartyPoker Big Game VI for the second straight year, giving viewers exclusive video of all the action from April 11 through 13. The Big Game will run nonstop for 48 hours, and players like Tom Dwan, Patrik Antonius, Phil Laak, Luke "Full Flush" Schwartz, Tony G, Sam Tickett and Erik Seidel are expected to participate.
For more information, check out the story at PokerNews.com.
Photo Op!
While in St. Louis for the Heartland Poker Tour, Phil Hellmuth was kind enough to take a photo with his Number 1 fan.
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