The Nightly Turbo: Tony G Wins Premier League Heat 2, Phil Hellmuth Has ADHD, and More
Several big-name pros were in the spotlight on Thursday as Heat 2 of the PartyPoker Premier League V took place in Vienna. We've got updates from that, Phil Hellmuth's ADHD condition, and more in this edition of the Nightly Turbo.
In Case You Missed It
Fabrice Soulier returned to the top 10 of the Global Poker Index this week. Mickey Doft takes a look at the biggest movers and shakers on the GPI.
Many of poker's best online players never get a chance to shine in the spotlight. We're here to change that. In this edition of Online Chat, Steve "betrthanphil" Tripp talks about his biggest swings, how he chose his screen name, and more.
Aaron "aejones" Jones has long been one of the most respected high-stakes cash-games players online. In the latest Strategy with Kristy podcast, Jones answers poker theory questions from listeners.
Tony G won Group A's second heat of the PartyPoker Premier League V. Did his animal instinct put him over the top? Find out over in The Muck.
*Lead photo courtesy of the PartyPoker Blog.
Tony G Wins Heat 2 of PartyPoker Premier League V
The first three heats of the PartyPoker Premier League V are in the books. Groups A and B completed their first heat on Wednesday, with Phil Laak and Patrik Antonius finishing on top, and our very own Tony G took down Group A's second heat Thursday evening.
Tony eliminated Sam Trickett in third place to set up a heads-up match against Erik Seidel. It didn't last long, though. Tony put away the Hall of Famer in 10 minutes when his 8♦7♠ bested Seidel's 5♣4♥ after all the chips went in on a 9♦8♠4♠9♥ board. Tony G is now tied with Phil Laak atop the Group A leaderboard with two heats left before the final.
Group B's second heat was just getting under way at press time on Thursday. In Heat 1, Patrik Antonius defeated Scott Seiver for the victory and 16 points when his A♦J♠ bested Seiver's A♠3♣ on the final hand. Dan "Jungleman" Cates finished third, and Tom Dwan took fourth despite being blinded off for the first few rounds.
Here's a look at the PartyPoker Premier League V standings through Thursday evening:
GROUP A (through two heats)
| Place | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phil Laak | 20 |
| 2 | Tony G | 20 |
| 3 | Sam Trickett | 14 |
| 4 | Andy Frankenberger | 13 |
| 5 | Erik Seidel | 13 |
| 6 | Eugene Katchalov | 9 |
| 7 | Mathew Frankland | 8 |
| 8 | Luke Schwartz | 3 |
GROUP B (through one heat)
| Place | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Patrik Antonius | 16 |
| 2 | Scott Seiver | 11 |
| 3 | Dan Cates | 8 |
| 4 | Tom Dwan | 6 |
| 5 | Bertrand Grospellier | 4 |
| 6 | Yevgeniy Timoshenko | 3 |
| 7 | Vanessa Selbst | 2 |
| 8 | Ben Willinofsky | 0 |
All the action from the PartyPoker Premier League V can be found at PartyPoker.com.
Phil Hellmuth Talks ADHD
Phil Hellmuth's infamous outbursts at the poker table have helped transform him into one of the game's biggest superstars. But as entertaining as his blowups are to watch, could they very well be the result of a chemical imbalance?
On Wednesday's QuadJacks Poker Mindset Radio, Hellmuth said he's had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) his whole life and is considering taking Adderall to treat it. The ADHD disorder is quite common among children and often lasts into adulthood.
"A lot of poker players have ADHD," Hellmuth told radio host Jared Tendler. "I've never taken anything for it in my life and I have 11 world championships, and I had a great year last year so why try anything new? Well, Mike Matusow swears that if I take Adderall it would have a huge impact on me."
To listen to the whole interview, check out QuadJacks.com.
Georges St-Pierre Signs with 888
UFC Welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre is the latest MMA fighter to enter the poker world. On Thursday, 888 announced that St-Pierre has signed a one-year deal to represent Team 888 at the 2012 World Series of Poker and other tournament stops around the globe.
888 players can also find St-Pierre on the virtual felts, where he 'll be taking part in special promotions where the proceeds from the games are donated to anti-bullying charities.
"I am very excited to become a global brand ambassador for Team 888poker," said St-Pierre. "I have wanted to play poker for a while now as it is a great game of skill. It is not just your cards versus my cards; it is you versus your opponent. However, the most important aspect of my partnership with 888poker is that we are going to generate a great deal of money for my foundation that dedicates its efforts towards anti-bullying causes."
He also tweeted his excitement on Thursday.
Very excited to be joining Team @888poker! Been playing poker for a couple weeks but making it my mission to get great! http://t.co/iWcjaDAb
— Georges St-Pierre (@GeorgesStPierre)
Read more at PokerNews.com.
New Poker Room at the Palms
The poker room at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas will have a completely new look beginning next month. Officials announced Wednesday that the Palms has signed a long-term agreement that will see Cantor Gaming construct and operate a new poker room within its sports book. The room is scheduled to open May 3.
Cantor Gaming, which provides casinos with a complete mobile gaming solution, received a license from the Nevada Gaming Commission and Gaming Control Board in January to operate the race and sports book at Palms. The new poker room will have eight tables and offer live poker and dealers.
"We are honored that Palms has chosen us to manage their poker area," said Lee M. Amaitis, president and CEO of Cantor Gaming. "There is a natural overlap between sports bettors and poker players and by situating poker within the sports book we can offer customers maximum entertainment and convenience."
Read more in Cantor Gaming's press release.
The Latest SCOOP
The finalized version of the 2012 PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) was released on Thursday. PokerStars is guaranteeing $30 million across 120 SCOOP tournament from May 6 through 20, including a $2.5 million prize pool for the $10,300 Main Event.
Among the variants on the schedule are no-limit hold'em tournaments, limit hold'em, pot-limit Omaha, no-limit Omaha, 8-Game mix, and Badugi. Each of the 40 events on the slate has a low, medium and high buy-in.
You can find the complete schedule at PokerNews.com.
PKR Springfest Kicks off Friday
Innovative online poker room PKR will be running its annual Springfest tournament series from April 6 through 22. The series will feature 34 events with a variety of formats and close to $300,000 in expected prize pools.
The series begins Friday, April 6 at 1700 GMT with the $6.60 Mini Springfest Terminator, and culminates with a three-day $55 championship event beginning on April 20. Direct buy-ins start at only $1.10 and range all the way up to $88, with regular satellites running from under $1.
In addition to its regular slate of events, Springfest 2012 will also see the start of a new “Last Longer Than a Pro” tournament. One PKR Team Pro will compete against the field and everyone who outlasts the pro will win an equal share of 50 percent of the prize pool. PKR Team Pro includes Jake Cody, Vladimir Geshkebein and Scott Shelley.
“The sixth year of our Springfest series promises to be the most exciting yet, with big prizes and a range of formats including several new innovative tournaments which we hope will be appealing and challenging to all players,” said PKR poker room manager Neil Wright.
Read more at PKR.com.
Online Poker Traffic Report
On Monday, PokerScout.com released its online poker traffic rankings for the previous week. The tracking site reported a drop of 3.5 percent, marking the eighth straight week of losses at online poker rooms worldwide.
PokerStars continued its dominance over the rest of the market despite seeing a small traffic decline since last week. The world's leading online poker room averaged 25,400 players over seven days. PartyPoker, the iPoker Network, 888poker and PokerStars.it rounded out the top five in the rankings, respectively. PokerStars.it jumped past Winamax.fr for the fifth spot.
As for year-over-year traffic numbers, online poker has seen a worldwide decline of 36 percent since this time last year. Along with the falloff at Full Tilt Poker and the CEREUS Network, the International Poker Network (down 52 percent) and Ongame (down 32 percent) have seen a significant decline.
The biggest movers over the past year were the Merge Gaming Network (up 69 percent), 888poker (up 49 percent) and Winamax.fr (up 20 percent).
Get the full report at PokerScout.com.
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