The Nightly Turbo: Mike Sexton Enters $1M Big One, Wynn Seeks Nevada License, and More
The World Series of Poker $1 million buy-in event is inching closer to its 48-player cap. What did Mike Sexton have to say about playing in the prestigious event? Find out that and more in this edition of the Nightly Turbo.
In Case You Missed It
Two more bracelet winners were crowned at the World Series of Poker on Monday. Find out who won in our Day 16 WSOP recap.
Eric Baldwin began Tuesday's final day of Event #21 chasing after his second WSOP Bracelet. Read about the day's biggest story lines in the WSOP What To Watch For.
When did Maria Ho discover her passion for poker? Find out that and more in the latest edition of Seat Open.
What are some of the mistakes players make in limit hold'em? LHE specialist Terrence Chan took a minute to discuss some strategy with Lynn Gilmartin during the $5,000 Limit Hold'em event on Monday.
Looking for a fun, behind-the-scenes perspective of life at the WSOP? The Muck is providing several daily stories from inside the Rio, so check it out!
Sexton Enters The Ring
Famed World Poker Tour host and Team PartyPoker pro Mike Sexton is the latest player to register for the $1 million Big One for One Drop at this year's World Series of Poker.
Sexton, 64, has more than $4.2 million in live tournament cashes in his career and says he sees plenty of value of playing in the prestigious event set to kick off July 1. He calls it the "bucket list of all bucket lists" for a poker player.
"Trust me, all the buzz at the WSOP is about this event," Sexton wrote in his blog Tuesday. "Everyone is talking about it, from small players playing satellites to all the big-name players. As for me, I’m thrilled to be at the starting gate and entering this tournament — it’s very exciting to get to play in the most anticipated poker event in poker history."
Last week, the World Series of Poker announced the addition of 12 entrants for the One Drop event, bringing the total to 42. Sexton, Phil Hellmuth, Jean-Robert Bellande and Ben Lamb were not on that updated list, but all have announced their intentions to play. The event will be capped at 48 players, meaning we'll likely see some of the game's top players shut out after the event sells out.
For more on Sexton's One Drop announcement, read his blog at PartyPoker.com.
Wynn, Playtech Apply for Nevada Licenses
Casino giant Wynn Resorts and gaming software company Playtech are the latest companies to apply for an online gaming license in Nevada, bringing the number of applicants to 30 ahead of the state's potential online gambling market.
Applications from both companies have been filed with the Nevada Gaming Control Board. Last year, Wynn formed a strategic alliance with PokerStars to help assist in the passing of federal online gambling legislation. However, that partnership fell through when PokerStars was forced to exit the U.S. on Black Friday.
Now, the company is reportedly in discussions with Zynga about a potential online gambling partnership. Rivaling casino giants Caesars (888) and MGM (bwin.party) have already formed collaborations with online gambling operators.
In addition to applying for a Nevada license, Playtech announced it has made significant progress in launching a social gaming platform. Playtech, which owns and operates the iPoker Network, has successfully completed the purchase of €95 million worth of assets and businesses from the company's founder and largest shareholder, Teddy Sagi. The deal will allows Playtech to license real money gaming software, social gaming and real-money mobile software from Skywind Holdings, a company linked to Sagi.
"Social gaming offers exciting growth opportunities for real money gaming organizations to apply their technological and marketing expertise," Playtech CEO Mor Weizer said in a statement. "The Skywind software license delivers a cost effective entry into social gaming, expanding Playtech's real money offering, especially its market leading mobile capabilities."
Reuters has more.
California Pulls the Plug
According to the Sacramento Bee, a hearing on a bill that would legalize online poker in California was pulled by Sen. Roderick Wright on Tuesday.
Senate Bill 1463 was scheduled for a vote in the Senate Governmental Organization Committee, but the Bee reports that Wright announced to a crowded room at the start of the hearing that he decided to pull the bill from the agenda. According to sources, most of those in attendance left the room upon hearing the announcement.
Several amendments were made to the bill last week in anticipation of Tuesday's hearing. New revisions call for the bill to allow only poker at first, and operators must apply for a five-year license instead of the original 10 years.
If passed into law, the bill is expected to generate hundreds of millions of dollars annually for California, but state residents and Indian Tribes have been split on the issue since it was first put on the table.
Read more at the Sacremento Bee.
Deboer Wins WPT Regional in Florida
Even with the World Series of Poker going strong in Las Vegas, the World Poker Tour was able to draw a nice field of 146 players for the $2,000 buy-in WPT Regional - Seminole Hard Rock Tampa Bay Open over the weekend.
The event paid out the top 15 spots, with the minimum cash going for $5,600, and the nine final table members collected at least $8,000. In the end, it was David Deboer who won the tournament outright for a top prize of $128,000. It was the biggest career cash for Deboer, who bested Peter Walsworth heads-up for the WPT Regional title.
Here's a look at the results:
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Deboer | $128,000 |
| 2 | Peter Walsworth | $74,000 |
| 3 | Amelio Amato | $48,000 |
| 4 | Robert Lebeau | $33,000 |
| 5 | Dan Hicks | $25,400 |
| 6 | Debra Dorcy | $19,800 |
| 7 | Natasha Barbour | $15,600 |
| 8 | Scott Cooper | $11,600 |
| 9 | Fletcher McKinney | $8,000 |
The next event on the WPT Regional and National schedule is the WPT National Series Madrid from June 28 through July 2 at the Casino Gran Madrid. For more info, visit WorldPokerTour.com.
Deuce-to-Seven with the Chainsaw
The always-opinionated Allen Kessler was playing the WSOP $2,500 deuce-to-seven tournament on Monday. PokerNews' Lynn Gilmartin caught up with the "Chainsaw" to rate certain things on a deuce-to-seven scale.
Follow PokerNews on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news.
