Main Headlines
First Wave of Full Tilt Repayments Hits US Bank Accounts
The first round of Full Tilt Poker remissions payments have started hitting US bank accounts, players have confirmed to pokerfuse.
- The money is a reimbursement to US players for money lost when Full Tilt Poker went offline over two and a half years ago.
- The “PokerStars” flag in the bank transaction is a convenient reminder of the money’s origins.
PokerStars Team Online Announces Three New Teammates
PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site, announced three new members of Team Online professionals.
- 500 qualified PokerStars Supernovas applied to be a part of the sponsored team.
- Katerina “Katerina289” Malasidou, Matthias “Mati312” Brandner and Luka “LukaSteel” Kovac were chosen to represent PokerStars.
Doug Polk Rules Online Hold’em Cash Games
Doug “WCGRider” Polk leads the way for 2014’s NLH online poker
- His 2014 total earnings dating from January 1 sit steadily in the green with a profit of $678,841.
- He has played a total of 38 sessions and 6,876 hands grinding the Full Tilt nosebleed No Limit Hold’em high stakes cash game tables.
Finland Seeks to Tackle Unlicensed Operators
Proposals for amendments to the Lotteries Act at the end of the year may reduce choice for Finnish poker players.
- The Finnish Cabinet Committee on Economic Policy has set out plans to tackle the problem of operators violating the Lotteries Act.
- The government will also examine whether advertising by gray market sites can be controlled via the licensing system for TV and radio stations.
- Playtech’s iPoker skins, Mansion Poker and Titan Poker closed their doors to Finnish players last November.
Belgian Authorities Seize €600k from Betclic Everest
The iPoker skin has no license from the Belgian Gambling Commission and faces substantial fines if found guilty of operating illegally.
- The Public Prosecution Office (PPO) in Belgium has seized €600k from the Betclic Everest Group. The PPO claims that the funds are the result of carrying on an unlawful gambling business.
- The French gaming company has licenses to operate in France, Italy, Malta and Gibraltar but not in Belgium.
- All of the licenses which the Belgian gaming laws allow have already been issued, so there is currently no way Betclic can be licensed.
- The Betclic domain has been on the Belgian “blacklist” since May 2012.
Picks from F5 Poker:
World Series of Poker Re-hangs The “Help Wanted” Sign
More jobs for dealers this summer…but hurry! It’s a great big poker world out there and the World Series of Poker wants the best and the brightest when it comes to their dealer pool this summer at the Rio in Las Vegas. Now they are accepting dealer applications from Austria, Italy and Thailand…as well as still accepting from the better part of the planet.
Brian Rast and PokerNews’ Sarah Grant – Nothing Serious, Just Hanging Out
PokerNews brings you a chat with Rast. Just chillin. PokerNews is trying something new and they fire up a live streaming Google Hangout with high-stakes mustachioed poker pro Brian Rast. The pair talk about the World Series of Poker, massive cash games of Macau and how Rast lit part of his bankroll on fire learning PLO.
Poker Night In America Promotes Yuks Over Bucks
New “coming soon” trailer features pushes personality. With all the talk of poker lacking personality lately and the importance of ambassadorship, Poker Night In America releases their new trailer with an emphasis on well-known names having a good time.
Poker Heist Gone Wrong Becomes A Family Affair
Three generations of related dummies indicted in connection with poker robbery. A story like this doesn’t come along too often (thank goodness). Three generations of women all in the same family are all in big trouble in connection with the armed robbery of a poker game last September at the Colonial Country Club in Tennessee.
Liv Boeree Goes Chasing Waterfalls…In A Bikini
Liv Boeree auditions to replace Left Eye Team PokerStars Pro Liv Boeree has never been accused of not being a good time and here, on what looks like her trip to Australia, she looks to recreate the video for Peter Andre’s “Mysterious Girl” by shaking that thing in a string without a Stars patch to be found.
Poker Podcasts and Training Vids:
Podcast: Druff & Friends – 02/27/2014 – Bitcoin Vanishing into Infiniti Poker Fraud Alert
This was a late 11pm show due to server issues. MtGox goes down, is apparently broke. Players report receiving Full Tilt refunds from Garden City Group, but Druff’s petition is still collecting dust. Druff calls Garden City Group and confronts them about the situation. An idiot Vietnamese couple tries to badly counterfeit casino chips in Maryland, and is caught after dumping them into a river. The 10-month-old saga of Infiniti Poker is revisited, including an old Chico Loco prank call to the owner, when Infiniti appears to have stolen all the money and closed up shop. Nevada and Delaware make a landmark agreement to share online poker player pools. South Point’s “Real Gaming” becomes Nevada’s third legal online poker site, but are they coming along too late in the game? AP cheater Brent Beckley attempts to start new “legitimate” company. Editorial: Most pro poker players are hurt by Obamacare.
Podcast: Rabbit Hunt: 182 Rabbit Hunt
Rabbit Hunt has returned from a short hiatus to bring big news out of Nevada and Delaware regarding their new interstate gaming compact. Then, the two discuss possible legislation from both the federal level and in California, the final chapter in the DiCristina appeals process, and confirmation that people are finally being reunited with their FTP balances.
Podcast: The Poker Edge: 2/28/14 ESPN: The Poker Edge
Andrew Feldman talks with Blair Hinkle about the $1.2 million he’s finally seeing from his Full Tilt winnings and delves into the 27,500 players seeing returns.
Exclusive Articles on pokerfuse PRO:
PokerStars Drums Up Anniversary Sunday Million with Freerolls, Satellites
PokerStars’ anniversary Sunday Million, scheduled for this Sunday, March 2, is destined to be one of the largest in recent history—and PokerStars is running a series of promotions to get players in seats.
Checking Around
In our industry-focused picks from the discussion forums this week: A satisfying conclusion to a Skrill account hack, a prominent heads up account closure on PokerStars, dealers choice games online, and more. Players Broadly Support PokerStars’ New Buy-in Obligations System
Traffic Watch
Pokerfuse PRO’s exclusive review of the online poker market across international, US and regulated European markets. Any sites that can manage it—and not many fall into that category—will want to copy Winamax’s billion hand promotion: This week has seen the site jump from ninth place into the top five in the global rankings. The cash game traffic boost they have received for a €100k promotion has proved that it is not just PokerStars that can distort a market.
Gioco Digitale Runs Satellites for Playboy VIP Party
Lifestyle prizes provide effective advertisement—none more so than the chance to play a Sit and Go surrounded by Playmates. Italian regulated site Gioco Digitale is jumping on the back of the World Poker Tour WPT Venice VIP Playboy party and running satellites that give players a chance to end up sat next to a Playboy Playmate.