The Nightly Turbo: Another Arrest in Duhamel Case, World Poker Tour in China, and More
More developments have been released regarding the home invasion of Jonathan Duhamel. We're covering that story, a new destination for the World Poker Tour, and more in this edition of the Nightly Turbo.
In Case You Missed It
PokerNews released two more segments of an exclusive interview with Howard Lederer on Wednesday. Check out Part 5 and Part 6 of The Lederer Files right here at PokerNews.com.
Dan "djk123" Kelly won his record-setting fourth WCOOP bracelet at PokerStars this month. Rich Ryan caught up with Kelly to discuss his success.
Philipp Gruissem cracked the Top 10 of the Global Poker Index this week. Mickey Doft breaks down the biggest movers and shakers of the latest GPI rankings.
Tony G and Phil Hellmuth concluded their triathlon on Thursday. Kristy Arnett was there to see how the running competition played out.
The World Poker Tour Malta Main Event reached a final table Wednesday night. Jackson Genovesi was on top of the counts for the third consecutive day.
Patrick Eskandar led the way after Day 3 of the World Poker Tour Borgata Poker Open on Tuesday. Read about the other notables still in contention in our WPT Borgata recap.
More Developments in Duhamel Robbery
A fifth person has been arrested for his alleged involvement in the December 2011 robbery of poker pro Jonathan Duhamel.
According to CBC News, a 21-year-old man was arrested near his home on Wednesday after a warrant was issued for his arrest. The individual is the alleged getaway driver for the men who invaded the home of the 2010 World Series of champ, robbing him of $115,000 cash and jewelry and leaving him beaten up.
Earlier this week, the lawyer for Bianca Rojas-Latraverse said her client would plead guilty to plotting the attack and robbery of Duhamel. Rojas-Latraverse is the ex-girlfriend of Duhamel and is facing charges of grand larceny, kidnapping, breaking and entering, assault and battery, and conspiracy.
It's unknown at this point whether Rojas-Latraverse's guilty plea had anything to do with the identification of the fifth suspect.
"With our investigative techniques, we found out who that person was," said Mark David of the Longueuil police. "The minute we had enough evidence, we received a warrant and the Gatineau police assisted us in this case."
CBC News has more.
WPT in China
The World Poker Tour has expanded greatly in recent years, adding several stops in Europe and one in Canada. On Thursday, the WPT announced that it is adding another new and exciting destination to its growing slate of events.
From Dec. 14 through 17, 2012, the WPT will host its inaugural National Series tournament in China. WPT National China Poker Tournament: Sanya will take place at the MGM Grand Sanya Resort on the tropical beaches of Sanya, Hainan Island, China.
“WPT National China Tournament Sanya demonstrates the exploding popularity of WPT National and Regional events, which provide players around the world with the opportunity to compete in affordable, world-class poker tournaments,” said WPT CEO Steve Heller. “We are very excited about the potential of this tournament as there are thousands of players in China who aren’t able to play in large tournaments such as this without having to deal with the expense and hassle of traveling out of the country."
The event will be capped at 500 players, but tournament organizers are expecting around 60,000 to compete for the available seats. A buy-in for the event is still to be determined, but we'll make that information available as soon as it is released.
Read more about the new WPT event here at PokerNews.com.
Online Poker Licenses Granted in Nevada
On Thursday, the Nevada Gaming Commission approved two more companies for intrastate online gaming licenses.
Slot machine maker WMS Industries Inc. received licensure as an interactive gaming system manufacturer and as a service provider. The company recently partnered with online gaming operator 888 to launch a real-money online poker offering once the licensing and regulation process is completed in Nevada and other U.S. states. 888 has applied for a gaming license in Nevada and is waiting for its turn to meet with gaming regulators.
American Casino & Entertainment Properties LLC, the parent company of the Stratosphere in Las Vegas, was granted an interactive gaming license as an interactive gaming operator on Thursday. Moving forward, the company will need to link up with a licensed business-to-business service provider to provide an online poker platform.
IGT, Bally Technologies, Shuffle Master and the South Point Casino are among the other companies to receive interactive gaming licenses this year. South Point, with its in-house poker operation, is expected to get off the ground first. The other three companies will serve as business-to-business providers, offering online poker and other interactive games to Nevada casinos looking to compete in the market.
For more, check out the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
DeepStacks Partners With Double Cross Vodka
DeepStacks Poker Tour and Mohegan Sun have signed a presenting sponsor for 2012 DeepStacks Poker Tour Mohegan Sun National Championship.
New York-based Double Cross Vodka is making its foray into the poker industry and will be sponsoring the National Championship VIP Players' Party at Mohegan Sun on Nov. 29. Double Cross will also provide customized commemorative championship bottle of vodka to winners of the preliminary events and to the six members of the Main Event final table.
The DeepStacks Poker Tour Mohegan Sun National Championship will run from Nov. 23 through Dec. 3, featuring 32 events. The series will be highlighted by the $2,500 buy-in with a $500,000 guarantee.
"Bringing Double Cross Vodka on board as our 2012 National Championship presenting sponsor is really exciting and shows that we are committed to partnering with brands that transcend poker,” said DeepStacks founder and CEO Chris Torina. "Double Cross joins a strong list of partners that all share the same focus and that is to make our tour one of the very best in the world.”
For more info about the DeepStacks Poker Tour Mohegan Sun National Championship, visit DeepStacks.com.
Duhamel Focuses on Poker Success
While his burglary case has seen a lot of progress this week, Team PokerStars Pro Jonathan Duhamel has been mostly focusing on live events in Europe and the World Championship of Online Poker. Duhamel talked to PokerStars.tv about how success in the WCOOP would be him a complete player.
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