The Nightly Turbo: Howard Lederer's Request, Sam Trickett's New Ferrari, and More
Poker tournaments are popping up everywhere this week. Shortly after the conclusion of the World Poker Tour stop in Los Angeles, major events kicked off in Melbourne and Oklahoma. In addition, a Super High Roller is set to kick off in Macau on Friday. We've got more on that event, plus the latest request by Howard Lederer's attorneys, in this edition of the Nightly Turbo.
In Case You Missed It
Josh Hale overcame a tough final table to win the World Poker Tour Legends of Poker Main Event on Wednesday. Read about his road to the title in our WPT recap.
The APPT Melbourne Main Event kicked off on Thursday. After the first of two Day 1 flights, poker pro Brendon Rubie led the way.
Many of poker's best online players never get a chance to shine in the spotlight. We're here to change that. In the latest edition of Online Chat, Sander “Berndsen12” Berndsen discusses his start in poker, dealing with big losses, and more.
Will Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier soon catch Jason Mercier for the top spot in the Global Poker Index? Mickey Doft takes a look inside the latest GPI rankings.
Wonder what it would be like to play blackjack against a friend and not a dealer? Check out the brand new game at vsJack.com.
Lederer's Last Stand?
The ongoing saga involving Full Tilt Poker's executives continued this week as Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson and Rafe Furst requested a status conference with the federal court to discuss last week's federal ruling that poker is a game of skill.
Lederer's attorneys argue that, in light of the case of United States v. DiCristina, many of the charges against him do not have legal basis. His attorneys have requested a conference status to discuss the potential impact of the case in which Judge Jack B. Weinstein ruled that poker does not constitute illegal gambling and, thus, does not fall under the Illegal Gambling Business Act.
"How the government approaches a potential amended complaint, and how the defendants approach moving for its dismissal, are both matters which can be more efficiently handled if the parties have an opportunity to make the Court aware of their plans and views in light of DiCristina," an attorney for Lederer wrote to Judge Leonard B. Sand.
The government responded Thursday by saying that it disagrees with the verdict of the DiCristina case and that it doesn't believe a status conference between Lederer and the court is necessary at this time.
The letter sent by Lederer's lawyers to Judge Sand came two weeks before the government can decide to amend the civil complaints against Lederer, Ferguson and Furst. The deadline is Sept. 10, 2012.
For more, read the story here at PokerNews.com.
Macau High Stakes Challenge
Some of poker's biggest stars have flocked to Macau for Friday's Macau High Stakes Challenge, a HK$2,000,000 ($250,000) Super High Roller with an optional $250,000 rebuy. The event is expected to be one of the richest of the year, with the winner potentially receiving more than $5 million.
The tournament kicks off Friday, Aug. 31 at the StarWorld Hotel and Casino's Poker King Club. According to poker pro Sam Trickett, 80 players had registered as of Thursday evening. Trickett will be joined by poker pros like Phil Ivey, Nam Le, John Juanda, Erik Seidel, Johnny Chan, Gus Hansen, Brian Rast, Phillip Gruissem, Andrew Robl and Joe Hachem, as well as dozens of businessmen eager to post the $250,000 buy-in.
“This is the biggest first place by far in poker other than the WSOP Main Event and the WSOP recent US$1 million One Drop,” AsianLogic CEO Tom Hall told CalvinAyre.com on Wednesday. “Nobody quite knows where we will end up, but a first [prize] of around US$5 million should be expected."
Live updates for the event can be found at PokerAce.com beginning at 15:00 (GMT+8). We'll also have the results here in the Nightly Turbo on Friday.
The Life of a High Roller
It's been an expensive week for Sam Trickett. Not only has he posted the $250,000 buy-in for the Super High Roller in Macau, but he also purchased a new Ferrari 458 Spider with a price tag of around $257,000.
Just made the worst Finnacial decision of my life.But I can't stop smiling :) :)
— Sam Trickett (@Samtrickett1)
If there's a poker pro that deserves to treat himself, though, it's Trickett. The likable Brit has cashed for more than $14.8 million on the tournament circuit in the past two years alone. He's also reportedly won millions playing high-stakes cash games in Macau.
Said Trickett on Wednesday, "Literally can't believe the run I have had the last three years! I realize I have been super fortunate and I am so lucky to be where I am."
Online Poker Traffic Report
PokerScout.com released its weekly traffic rankings on Monday. The online poker tracking site reported a drop of 0.6 percent, not at all surprising after the end of PokerStars' 85 Billionth Hand promotion.
Traffic at PokerStars dropped 13 percent this week after climbing 17 percent last week. The site still has a stranglehold on the market, averaging nearly 22,000 real-money ring-game players over the past seven days. The iPoker Network held strong at No. 2 with an average of 2,850 players, and PartyPoker again landed at No. 3 with an average of 2,000.
iPoker will likely extend its lead over PartyPoker soon when it adds Everest Poker to its list of skins. According to PokerScout, EverestPoker.com averages nearly 600 real money ring-game players, a number that could boost iPoker's average by more than 20 percent.
Here's a look at the top 10 online poker rooms as of Thursday:
| Rank | Site | 7-Day Average (Real-money ring players) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | PokerStars | 21,800 |
| 2 | iPoker | 2,850 |
| 3 | PartyPoker | 2,200 |
| 4 | 888Poker | 2,000 |
| 5 | PokerStars.it | 1,780 |
| 6 | Ongame Network | 1,540 |
| 7 | Winamax.fr | 1,400 |
| 8 | Revolution Gaming | 1,260 |
| 9 | PokerStars.es | 1,220 |
| 10 | PokerStars.fr | 1,220 |
As for year-over-year numbers, online poker has dipped 15 percent since August 2011. Among the sites seeing considerable losses are PartyPoker (down 43%), Everest Poker (down 34%), PKR (down 33%), iPoker Network (down 30%), PokerStars.fr (down 29%), and PokerStars.it (down 26%). Meanwhile, Revolution Gaming (up 62%) continues to surge after the network was rebranded from the Cake Poker Network.
Check out the full report at PokerScout.com.
APPT Returns to Melbourne
The PokerNews Live Reporting crew had descended on Melbourne's Crown Casino for another stop on the Asia Pacific Poker Tour. Lynn Gilmartin caught up with chip leader Brendon Rubie, who found himself seated next to his good friend Jackie Glazier on Day 1a.
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