The Nightly Turbo: Virginia Supreme Court Addresses Poker Case, More Changes at ISPT
Miss any of the day's top poker stories? Well, you've come to the right place. In this edition of the Nightly Turbo, we're bringing you a poker-related hearing at the Virginia Supreme Court, more changes at the International Stadiums Poker Tour, and more.
In Case You Missed It:
Daniel Negreanu and Gus Hansen have finalized plans for a Team PokerStars vs. Team Full Tilt Poker heads-up challenge. Read all about it here at PokerNews.com.
How was the high-stakes action at the online tables this week? Read the Online Railbird Report to find out the week's biggest winners and losers.
Gambling has exploded in Macau over the past few years, and revenues are still climbing. Read all about it in the latest Inside Gaming.
Dylan "dintyo" Tollemache is a CardRunners instructor and a six-max no-limit hold'em specialist. In his latest free training video, Tollemache discusses four-betting ranges, balance and value betting while playing four online tables at a time.
Paul Klann won the 2013 World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic ended on Thursday night. Read about his road to victory in our WPT final table recap.
Poker's Skill-Versus-Chance Debate
On Thursday, the Virginia Supreme Court decided not to rule on whether poker was a game of skill or chance, leaving the state far from introducing legalized gambling to its residents.
The ruling involved a poker club owner named Charles P. Daniels who had his establishment shut down in 2010 as part of Virginia’s anti-gambling laws. According to CBS Washington, Daniels filed a lawsuit in circuit court seeking to have the gambling law overturned. Portsmouth Circuit Judge Thomas S. Shadrick ruled that Virginia’s anti-gambling statute does cover Texas hold 'em because “the outcome of any one hand is uncertain,” making it a game of chance. Daniels then filed an appeal with the Supreme Court.
Daniels argued that the state’s anti-gambling law is unconstitutionally vague. After considering testimony from poker pro Greg Raymer and several math experts, the Supreme Court upheld Shadrick’s ruling because “it provides fair notice and an individual of ordinary intelligence can discern its meaning.”
The Supreme Court also ruled that Shadrick wasn’t within authority to consider the issue because a court cannot intervene before someone is charged.
Last August, New York Federal Judge Jack Weinstein ruled that poker is a game of skill and is not illegal under the Illegal Gambling Business Act. Weinstein made the ruling in a case against defendant Lawrence Dicristina, a New York resident who had previously been convicted of running an illegal gambling business for operating a live no-limit hold'em game. The ruling overturned his conviction.
To read more, check out cbs.com.
ISPT Partners with Dusk Till Dawn
The International Stadiums Poker Tour (ISPT) has added another partner ahead of its inaugural event this spring. This week, the ISPT teamed up with the Dusk Till Dawn Poker Club to license, market and guarantee the ISPT tournament set to begin in June at Wembley field in London.
According to PokerNews UK and Ireland's Matthew Pitt, Dusk Till Dawn Tournament Director Simon Trumper will serve as director for the ISPT event. Dusk Till Dawn has also guaranteed that at least €1,000,000 will go to the winner of the ISPT Wembley Main Event.
“This event is a 'win-win' for the UK Poker community,” said Dusk Till Dawn owner Rob Yong. “It will either be a great success with thousands of players or there will be a massive overlay. To put this guarantee into perspective, DTD's monthly deep-stack pays £40,000 to the winner – 120-times the £336 buy-in - whereas the €1 million first prize at ISPT Wembley will be a staggering 3,333-times the €300 buy in."
Last month, the ISPT introduced some changes to its groundbreaking format. Rather than running the entire tournament inside Wembley Stadium, Day 1 of the first-ever ISPT event will be held online between Feb. 3 and May 19. Up to 30,000 players will be able to compete in the €300 buy-in across several online poker rooms. The top 10% of the field at the end of each qualifier will advance to play on Day 2 of the event on the Wembley Stadium lawn. Players who make Day 2 will begin with the number of chips they had at the end of Day 1.
Later this month, a range of ISPT satellites will be running on Dusk Till Dawn giving players an opportunity to join the action for a smaller buy-in.
For more information, check out UK.Pokernews.com.
Global Poker Index Player of the Year
There wasn't much change atop the 2013 Global Poker Index Player of the Year rankings this week. For the third consecutive week, Mike "SirWatts" Watson held the top spot ahead of Vladimir Troyanovskiy, Bryn Kenney, Ole Schemion and Tim Reilly.
Moving into the top 10 this week was Christian Harder, who jumped six spots to No. 8 in the rankings. Harder has three final tables to his credit in 2013, but his biggest score of $69,980 came at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $25,000 High Roller, where he took 16th. Harder is also ranked 49th in the overall GPI rankings, which track results from the past three years.
Landing on the top 10 bubble this week was Steven Silverman. Best known as "Zugwat" online, Silverman moved up 28 spots to No. 11 after a fourth place finish at the European Poker Tour Deauville €10,000 High Roller for €47,500. Silverman also made the final table of a $5,000 side event at the PCA, taking fourth for $69,040.
Here's a look at the top 10 of the Global Poker Index Player of the Year race:
| Place | Player | Total Score | Change in Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mike Watson | 342.96 | -- |
| 2 | Vladimir Troyanovskiy | 324.43 | -- |
| 3 | Bryn Kenney | 307.77 | -- |
| 4 | Ole Schemion | 290.11 | -- |
| 5 | Tim Reilly | 288.35 | -- |
| 6 | Dan Shak | 284.75 | -- |
| 7 | Igor Kurganov | 280.73 | -- |
| 8 | Christian Harder | 277.85 | +6 |
| 9 | Michael Mizrachi | 275.10 | -1 |
| 10 | Micah Raskin | 265.60 | -1 |
The Global Poker Index Player of the Year, presented by PokerNews, honors the player who has a strong performance as calculated by the USA Today Global Poker Index point system.
For the full GPI Player of the Year standings, head on over to GlobalPokerIndex.com.
Grosvenor UK Poker Tour London Main Event
The Grosvenor UK Poker Tour London Main Event commenced on Thursday with the £1,070 buy-in kicking off in high gear. Day 1a attracted 173 entries, surpassing the £200,000 guarantee with still another starting day taking place on Friday. Just 73 players pushed through to Saturday’s Day 2 including Day 1 chip leader Marc “dean23price” Wright with 113,425 in chips. Wright actually busted early on Day 1a but rebought and claimed the lead with his second bullet.
Other notables making their way to Day 2 were Marvin Rettenmaier (89,990), Surinder Sunar (88,750), Stuart Fox (87,525), Martin Jacobson (20,300), Chris Bjorin (60,100) and last year's GUKPT London champion Robin Keston (26,000).
Here’s a look at GUKPT London Day 1a Top 10 chip counts:
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marc Wright | 113,425 |
| 2 | George Trigeorgis | 109,450 |
| 3 | Wei Deng Wang | 108,400 |
| 4 | Bruce Atkinson | 108,250 |
| 5 | Victor Ilyukhun | 97,625 |
| 6 | Marvin Rettenmaier | 89,900 |
| 7 | Surinder Sunar | 88,750 |
| 8 | Stuart Fox | 87,525 |
| 9 | Gary Jones | 82,775 |
| 10 | Nathan Lee | 77,175 |
For more, visit UK.PokerNews.com.
Doug Kim is Asian American
Many finalists of the World Series of Poker Main Event have vanished from the poker world. Chad Holloway has caught up with a few of them for his Where Are They Now pieces, but countless others have been erased from our minds.
One player you might recall is Doug Kim, who took seventh at the 2006 WSOP Main Event for $2.3 million. Based on a music video recently posted at TwoPlusTwo, it looks like Kim has switched his focus from poker to music:
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