The Nightly Turbo: PokerStars Mobile, Adelson Still Opposes U.S. Legislation, and More
We know you want to get off to your weekend, so we've organized the day's biggest news stories for you right here. We're nice like that. While there weren't any Full Tilt Poker developments on Friday, we do have some big news on the PokerStars front — if you live in Europe, anyway. Read about that and more in this edition of the Nightly Turbo.
In Case You Missed It
Nick Yunis took the lead at the PokerStars and Monte-Carlo® Casino European Poker Tour Grand Final Main Event on Thursday. Get the details from Day 1b in our daily EPT recap.
Day 1c of the 2012 PokerStars.net APPT Cebu Main Event wrapped up on Friday. Sang Yong Lee led the way after bagging 106,400 in chips when play ended.
How was the high-stakes action at the PokerStars tables this week? Read the Online Railbird Report to find out the week's biggest winners and losers.
What did the quartely financial reports say for Sands, Bally, Boyd Gaming and others? Find out in the latest Inside Gaming.
Andrew Seidman was one of countless poker pros affected by the events of Black Friday. In the latest Black Friday Chronicles, Chad Holloway caught up with Seidman to find out how Black Friday changed his life.
@AsianSpa was back with his latest blog on Friday. This week he talks about rumors involving PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, his tournament grind at the MGM Grand Poker Challenge, and more.
Did you miss anything from the past week? Don't worry, we've got you covered. Lynn Gilmartin and Laura Cornelius break down all the big stories in the PokerNews Weekly.
PokerStars.eu, PokerStars.fr Launch Mobile Apps
PokerStars, the world's leading online poker room, is now available on mobile devices for residents across Europe.
After highly successful launches in Italy and the U.K. earlier this year, PokerStars Mobile has expanded into France, Sweden, Finland, Romania, Poland and Slovenia. PokerStars unveiled the client for PokerStars.eu users last week, and on Thursday the app was made available for PokerStars.fr players.
PokerStars Mobile offers real-money games in variants like Texas hold'em, Omaha and Omaha hi-lo, and players can participate in the same tournaments, sit-and-gos and ring games they would on their laptops or desktop computers. Some of the features on the mobile app include multitabling (up to five tables on the iPad), player and tournament search, lobby filters, chat, and hand histories.
Players in Monaco were able to give the mobile app a test run during the PokerStars and Monte-Carlo®Casino EPT Grand Final this week. That’s where PokerNews' Lynn Gilmartin caught up with some of the minds behind the product, and even tried it out herself.
Visit PokerStars.com for more information.
Adelson Unwavering in his Views
Last December, Las Vegas Sands chairman Sheldon Adelson spoke out against legalizing online poker in the U.S, a move that made him an instant villain in the poker industry. Adelson, the world's wealthiest casino owner, said he was "morally opposed" to online gambling because he doesn't believe technology is good enough to prevent minors from playing.
As of today, Adelson's stance hasn't changed. In fact, he's even more convinced that legalizing online poker is "bad policy," according to the Las Vegas Sun.
“You don’t want a casino in every home,” Adelson told the Sun's Jim Ralston this week. Adelson added that legalizing online gambling “will cause a 10 percent to 20 percent decrease on land-based gaming revenues.”
Adelson's influence among republicans in Congress could throw a wrench into plans for a federal online poker bill. Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid have lobbied Adelson to support federal legislation, but Adelson says he's not changing his mind.
Read the full story at the Las Vegas Sun.
"ElkY" Prepares for a SCOOP Marathon
If you plan on participating in the PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) next month, there's a decent chance you'll find Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier parked at one of your tables.
Fresh off a victory at the European Poker Tour Berlin High Roller, Grospellier says he intends to play every SCOOP event from May 6 through 20. That will give him 120 chances to win his second SCOOP title. Last year, Grospellier bested a field of nine players to win the $25,000 Heads-up event. Grospellier also has two WCOOP titles to his credit.
"I felt exceptionally blessed to be able to do so well and pick up the SCOOP title that was missing from my resume," Grospellier wrote in a blog on Thursday. "I'm definitely coming back for more this year. I'm on the road a lot more these days playing in big live events like EPTs, FPS and others. Sometimes it's hard to get into a good online routine. SCOOP tournaments are definitely the perfect opportunity, so I'm going to play all of them at every buy-in in order to get that second title."
Grospellier's full blog can be found at the PokerStars Blog. If you're also planning to grind a full schedule during the SCOOP, two-time champ Terrence Chan offered some advice on how to stay focused during an extended tournament series in the latest Strategy with Kristy podcast.
Maryland Casino Launches Online Gaming Site
In coordination with its $500 million gaming and entertainment property in Hanover, Md., Maryland Live! Casino has launched a play-for-fun online casino developed by Las Vegas-based online gaming provider Aristocrat Technologies. The free site will allow customers to play their favorite slots games, win virtual credits, compete in online poker tournaments, and sign up early for the Live! Rewards players card which will be available when the new casino opens in June.
“We're proud to be a pioneer in the evolution of play-for-fun online gaming,” said Joe Weinberg, Manager of The Cordish Companies, which is constructing the development. “Myliveonlinecasino.com will generate a lot of excitement in advance of our opening.”
The opening of the new $500 million gaming and entertainment destination will be June 6, 2012, pending approval of the Maryland State Lottery Agency. The project broke ground in January 2011 and will offer more than 3,000 slot machines and electronic table games.
Read more in the press release.
Partying in Cebu
If we've learned one thing about PokerStars over the years, it's that they know how to throw a party. Sarah Grant hit the beach Thursday to check out the PokerStars.net APPT Cebu qualifier party.
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