The Nightly Turbo: Jungleman's WSOP Challenge, Ivey Leads Player of the Year, and More
The World Series of Poker Phil Ivey was back in full effect on Wednesday. Ivey reached his fifth final table and is wreaking havoc on a number of Player of the Year races. We'll cover that story, plus the latest in the Jungleman WSOP Challenge, in this edition of the Nightly Turbo.
In Case You Missed It
Who won a World Series of Poker bracelet on Tuesday? Find out in the Day 23 WSOP recap.
Phil Ivey made his fifth final table of the 2012 WSOP on Tuesday. We take a look at that story and more in Wednesday's WSOP What to Watch For.
It was another crazy week at the World Series of Poker. Chad Holloway takes a look at the biggest hands of Week 3.
Phil Ivey and John Monnette are separating themselves from the rest of the field in the race for WSOP Player of the Year. Rich Ryan touches on that topic and more in his latest Five Thoughts piece.
The World Poker Tour unveiled two new stops on the Season XI schedule on Wednesday. Take a look at the additions right here at PokerNews.com.
Looking for a fun, behind-the-scenes perspective of life at the WSOP? The Muck has daily stories from inside the Rio, so check it out!
Jungleman WSOP Challenge Update
The cutoff date for Dan "Jungleman" Cates' WSOP Main Event Challenge has passed, and Cates is leaving it up to the poker community to determine the winner.
Last month, Cates offered to give away Main Event seat to a person who performs a good deed and records it on video. More than 30 videos were submitted to Cates before Wednesday's deadline. The winner will also receive free air travel and a free room at the Rio, as well as free poker lesson from Cates himself.
Here's a look at one of the entries:
For more, visit PartyPoker.com.
Ivey is #1
It took 17 weeks to supplant Jonathan Duhamel atop the Global Poker Index Player of the Year race. Leave it to Phil Ivey to handle the dirty work.
Ivey climbed nine spots to No. 1 in this week's GPI Player of the Year standings after an incredible start to the 2012 World Series of Poker. Ivey made four final tables in the span of 10 days, including a runner-up finish in the $10,000 Pot Limit Hold'em Championship for $279,559. Combined with his success at the 2012 Aussie Millions, Ivey boasts a GPI score of 629.12 — more than 30 points better than Duhamel's total of 595.68.
Ivey will likely extend his lead next week after making a fifth final table at the WSOP on Tuesday. Follow the action at the PokerNews Live Reporting page.
Duhamel, Dan Smith, Marvin Rettenmaier and Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier rounded out the top five of the rankings, respectively. Grospellier jumped three spots with the help of a sixth place finish in the $3,000 No Limit Hold'em Six-Handed event at the WSOP. Grospellier now has four final tables in 2012, including a victory at the European Poker Tour Berlin Eight-Max tournament.
Here's a look at the Top 10 of the Global Poker Index Player of the Year standings:
| Place | Player | Total Score | Change in Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phil Ivey | 629.12 | +9 |
| 2 | Jonathan Duhamel | 595.68 | -1 |
| 3 | Dan Smith | 582.58 | -1 |
| 4 | Marvin Rettenmaier | 560.13 | -1 |
| 5 | Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier | 514.31 | +3 |
| 6 | Andrew Badecker | 513.82 | -2 |
| 7 | Jason Koon | 512.89 | -1 |
| 8 | Steve O'Dwyer | 489.14 | -3 |
| 9 | Sam Chartier | 478.70 | -2 |
| 10 | Noah Schwartz | 475.28 | -1 |
The Global Poker Index Player of the Year, presented by PokerNews, honors the player who has the strongest performance in live tournaments during the calendar year, according to the USA Today Global Poker Index point system.
For the full GPI Player of the Year standings, head on over to EpicPoker.com.
Fertitta Intractive Preps For Real Money Gaming
Fertitta Interactive LLC, which owns the UFC and Las Vegas-based Station Casinos, has announced the launch of Ultimate Gaming, a new company which will focus on real money online social gaming once online gambling is legalized in the U.S.
Fertitta Interactive has been developing Ultimate Gaming since it acquired gaming company CyberArts Licensing LLC last October. The first offering from Ultimate Gaming will be Ultimate Poker, a free platform which will be launched Friday on Facebook.
"With our unique ability to leverage the overlapping demographics between online gaming, traditional gaming and the worldwide sports and entertainment brand of the UFC, Ultimate Gaming is ideally positioned to rapidly capture a significant following in the United States and throughout the globe," said Tom Breitling, chairman of Fertitta Interactive.
Fertitta Interactive is one of more than 30 companies that have submitted online poker license applications to the Nevada Gaming Control Board. The state could begin issuing licenses to operators as early as Thursday.
Read more at MarketWire.com.
Against All Odds
Phil Ivey's fourth final table at this year's WSOP wasn't the only thing causing a stir at the Rio on Monday. An improbable — and seemingly impossible — series of events allegedly took place at a roulette wheel on the Rio casino floor.
Poker pro Jeff Romano was returning from his dinner break of WSOP Event #33 when he snapped a picture of the roulette wheel's display and posted it on Twitter:
Romano's picture has since gone viral. And, as the Las Vegas Sun pointed out on Wednesday, the odds of one number hitting seven times in a row are 114,415,582,59-to-1.
According to a report by the Detroit News, though, the events didn't actually occur. A spokesperson for the Rio told the newspaper that nobody was actually playing during those spins and that it was a part of a diagnostic test being run on the wheel.
We'll try to get this sorted out today. In the meantime, read the story at the Detroit News.
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Leader of the Band
David "Bakes" Baker has displayed some serious poker chops at the WSOP during the past three years. But in high school, Baker was a star of a different sort. Sarah Grant caught up with Baker to find out.
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