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Bonomo Takes First Place at EPT Super High Roller

The PokerStars Monte Carlo Casino EPT Grand Final €100k Super High Roller title went to Justin Bonomo who won €1,640,000 for his efforts. The young American pro beat out EPT 6 Grand Final High Roller winner German Tobia Reinkemeier, who finished second with €1,064,000 in what was the biggest buy-in tourney in the history of live Europe tournaments.

Some of the biggest names in poker were in attendance including Finnish Patrik Antonius, Phil Ivey, and Dan Shak, as well as Team PokerStars pros Jonathan Duhamel, Jason Mercier, Isaac Haxton, Dan Cates, and the infamous Viktor “Isildur1” Blom.

Only 38 players registered with 7 reloads for a whopping prize pool that amassed €4,432,500. Frenchman Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier cashed in third place winning €621,000. The tournament well represented an international player field with Japan’s Masa Kagawa placing fifth with a €354,500 payout. Daniel Negreanu barely finished in the money with a €310,000 sixth place win.

New and Improved EPT Season 9 Schedule Announced

European Poker Tour, otherwise known as the EPT, fans will be please to know that the Season 9 schedule has been released. EPT sponsor PokerStars released this info on Wednesday.

The new schedule will feature a greater variety of games as well as more online qualification opportunities, so get excited.

EPT President Edgar Stuchly says, “EPT Season 9 will bring a new level of innovation to our tour and will enhance the experience for all players.”

EPT Season 9 will have more chances to qualify online than ever before. A larger number of online qualifiers will be available and will accommodate more players across a larger variety of bankroll levels. In addition, qualifying periods for individual events will be extended, as well as the introduction to new and more exciting qualifying formats for potential qualifying players, making for a more fun ride to the top.

One such new format will be introduced in May. The Players’ Choice satellites will allow winning players who qualify online at PokerStars for an EPT package to choose their event instead of winning a specific event.

Season 9 will commence in August of this year in Barcelona, Spain. Below is a full schedule lineup for EPT Season 9.

CITY	FESTIVAL DATE	MAIN EVENT
Barcelona	August 15 through August 25, 2012	August 19 through August 25, 2012
San Remo	October 3 through October 11, 2012	October 5 through October 11, 2012
Prague	December 5 through December 15, 2012	December 9 through December 15, 2012
PCA	January 6 through January 15, 2013	TBA
Deauville	January 30 through February 9, 2013	February 3 through February 9, 2013
London	March 6 through March 16, 2013	March 10 through March 16, 2013
Berlin	April 24 through May 4, 2013	April 28 through May 4, 2013
Monte Carlo	May 6 through May 15, 2013	May 6 through May 12, 2013

Carmen Electra Appears in Poker App

Pokerist Texas Hold’em hand held mobile poker app has a new brand identity in sex symbol and entertainer Carmen Electra.

Long-time poker fan, Electra will be appearing in the multi-platform game as the face of the game. Wearing many hats in her role, Electra greets players at the loading screen, main menu, and appears as the poker teacher within the apps tutorial. She also serves as the dealer at table games.

Pokerist is one of the biggest free-to-play THE multi-platform games in the world with more than 30 million downloads and 5+ million active players per month. Bringing Electra into the game (literally) with no doubt bring even more active players to the game, proving a smart move for Pokerist marketing strategists.

Ivey vs. Ivey

Any normal divorce doesn’t make the headlines, but unfortunately for celebrities in the public eye, fans crave details, and the same is true for celebrity poker players like Phil Ivey, especially when his marriage was always so portrayed by the media as flawless.

Now as Ivey and his wife Luciaetta battle it out in a Nevada high court, arguments are set to be heard on the ongoing saga that is their divorce.

After an order filed Wednesday, Chief Justice Nancy Saitta scheduled the matter for the “next available calendar.”

The order explained, “Based on our preliminary review of the record and the briefs, we have determined that oral argument would be of assistance in resolving the issues presented by the appeal.”

Last September, Luciaetta filed a petition to have the original presiding Clark County Family Court Judge Gonzales removed from the case after she learned her husband made significant monetary donations to his political campaign.

According to that petition, “The public is entitled to know that impartiality is the rule for the judiciary,” challenging the order of Chief District Judge Jennifer Togliatti, who denied the motion to disqualify Gonzales from continuing to preside over the case.

“Further, Luciaetta is entitled to fairness and the appearance of fairness before this court and recusal is the only way that she can be sure to receive both.”

Luciaetta’s lawyer, Bruce Shapiro says, “While the scheduling of oral argument is significant, and we appreciate the opportunity to more fully explain our position to the Supreme Court, it certainly doesn’t mean that we will prevail. What it does mean is that the Supreme Court is taking a serious look at the issue, has additional questions, and we have full confidence in the court to render the appropriate decision.”

Further dates and locations of the continuing arguments have not yet been announced.

PokerStars May Be the Answer for Full Tilt

Straight out of the Wall Street Journal, PokerStars is now reportedly in negotiations to buy Full Tilt Poker, a solution to both company’s problems with the US Department of Justice.

According to the potential deal, Stars would acquire their rival’s assets, according to someone on the inside. This deal will be part of a bigger civil case settlement brought on by the DOJ by these two online poker entities after the DOJ shut down the two biggest online poker sites serving US players in the US a little over a year ago.

It’s not yet known exactly how much Stars would have to pay for the Full Tilt assets. As tarnished as the brand is since allegations of operating a Ponzi scheme, the Full Tilt brand is one of the most recognized online poker names in the industry, due in part to extensive TV advertisement campaigns that accompanied some of the biggest televised live tournaments in history, not to mention brand over-representation on the bodies.

Another plus of the Full Tilt corporation is its huge database of players, however disgruntled they may be after not receiving the funds held in their accounts after the government shutdown. Though if PokerStars does refund these accounts, perhaps former Full Tilt Poker players will return to their brand loyalty, since they are used to playing on the Full Tilt software that is one of the best in the business.

The deal would include a plan for poker players from all over the world to retrieve those lost funds—around $300 million worth of money is still owed to Full Tilt account holders, about half of that belonging to US players.

PokerStars reps have been investigating the Dublin offices of Full Tilt over the last few days according to sources.

The company stated last Tuesday, “Full Tilt Poker is more optimistic than ever that its number one goal will be obtained: Full Tilt players will be repaid. Full Tilt Poker has been in settlement discussions with the U.S. Department of Justice. As such settlement discussions are always confidential, we are unable to comment on any rumors related to the details of those discussions.”

Nor does the US DOJ have any comment at this time, though according to the personal source providing this information, the deal will not likely affect any criminal charges that are pending against PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker execs indicted in last year’s Black Friday takedown.

While at one time, these two brands aggrandized advertising budget was targeted to the US market and towards underlying competition between the two online poker sites, despite government warnings based in the UIGEA, they may just be reconciling their differences for the common good of online poker players of all poker sites, including Full Tilt.

After months and months of negotiations and news releases from Groupe Bernard Tapie, the $80 million deal unfortunately fell through in the end due to indiscrepancies regarding players pay backs, so it is final that GBT buyout is no longer on the table despite the fact that GBT had recentlyreported that a deal was close to finalization.

TwoPlusTwo Forum Passwords Hacked

Yesterday, the popular TwoPlusTwo online poker forum announced that the site had been hacked and that user passwords had been jeopardized. The forum was shut down in an effort to prevent the hacker from obtaining any passwords and using them in ill will.

The following statement was sent to users and displayed on the forum entry page:

On April 26th at approximately 11:20 AM pacific time, the Two Plus Two Forums were closed as a result of a hacker who has displayed the ability to access e-mail addresses and encrypted passwords. He also indicated the ability to decrypt passwords.

While it is unclear the extent of data to which he gained access, e-mail addresses and passwords on the Two Plus Two forums should be considered compromised. If you have used your 2+2 password on any other site, you are advised to change it.

For your security we are closing the forums until the breach is patched.
We hope to be back up as soon as possible.

TwoPlusTwo is the most sought after online poker forum when it comes to poker-related news, advice, tips, scandal, and gossip, so it comes as no surprise that this has jolted the poker community into an upset.

A Poker Legend on His Death Bed

The end of an era is upon us. Poker legend Amarillo Slim is on his death bed, as reported by fellow poker pro and long-time friend, Doyle Brunson via Twitter. Brunson tweeted, “Just found out Amarillo Slim is at death’s door.”

The 83-year-old old hand is in hospice care and is only expected to live for a couple days at the most. Slim, whose real name is Austin Preston, Jr., has been playing poker long before online cash games and televised tournaments, and he’s got his fair share of stories to tell. His contribution to the game in his lifetime has been insurmountable, and a true legend of poker will be lost. In 1972 in fact, Slim won the World Series of Poker Main Event and was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1992, making him a well deserved Hall of Famer for 20 years now. In addition, he has four WSOP bracelets; he won his last one in 1990 before the poker boom hit the world.

It’s no doubt he’s taken pride in the strides that the game has taken over the past couple decades, but he’s one of the few who knows poker when it was just poker, and he loved it all the same.

Annette Obrestad Signs with Agent

One of the most influential poker representation agents, Poker Royalty, has signed one of the most successful female names in poker, Annette Obrestad. Typically, poker professionals take up residency with an online poker brand without the help of a third-party management company, but Obrestad has decided to take a different route.

In this freshly penned deal, Poker Royalty will take over worldwide management of Obrestad’s career, though dollar amounts have not been mentioned. Poker Royalty will market the inaugural World Series of Poker Europe champion to potential online poker sponsorship deals. In the past, she has been sponsored by Full Tilt and Betfair, but is currently un-sponsored. The agency will also represent Obrestad in licensing deals as well as market her for speaking opportunities.

Obrestad announced the official deal in London and stated, “I am thrilled to announce I am officially signed to Poker Royalty. I have known about the company for a few years and know their positive reputation in the business is well deserved. I am relying on them to help me advance my poker career to the next level.”

An excited Jim Erwood, director of Poker Royalty European operations, says, “Annette is without question one of the biggest names in poker and certainly one of the top few females in the world playing the game today. Poker Royalty is extremely proud and delighted to announce Annette’s signing and is looking forward to helping her cement her reputation in the game.”

Now 23, Obrestad began playing poker at 15 and has had quite a career over the past eight years. She started out online playing freerolls and built up a bankroll. She played an entire tournament without ever looking at her hole cards. The highly aggressive player finally broke out on the live tournament circuit when she turned 18.

She had a few small cashes in the EPT and the Irish Poker Open prelims and then made her way to London where she became the youngest player to win a WSOP bracelet, winning a £1 million first place. And the rest is history. Obrestad has more than $3.7 million in career winnings, putting her in the fourth all-time money winner spot for female poker players behind Kathy Liebert, Vanessa Selbst, and Annie Duke, of course.

In light of the last year in online poker, Poker Royalty is looking more and more in the European poker community for clients. They currently represent former world champion Carlos Mortenson, Eugene Katchalov, and Gus Hansen, among others, but Obrestad is the first high-profile female European player to sign with the company which has been successful since their emergence into the poker community in 2003.

News of a Full Tilt Re-Launch

Over the past 372 days, Full Tilt Poker has not had its best year. Since Black Friday, Full Tilt has had its licensed revoked, was accused by the DOJ of being a Ponzi scheme, has faced multiple class action suites, suffered irreversible brand damage, and is still yet to pay its players. After a long negotiation phase with several potential companies that could save the poker site and return the brand to the Net, Full Tilt has for the most part stayed out of the radar and finally when negotiations with Groupe Bernard Tapie seem to be going somewhere, but nothing final ever surfaces.

Now finally comes word of an official newfound guidance by Laurent Tapie and Prosper Jeremy Masquelier, directors of the New Full Tilt Limited, revealed via filings in Ireland and Malta. Furthermore, a subsidiary of FT, Orinic Limited, has petitioned with the Alderney Gaming Control Commission (AGCC) for a Category 2 License to offer gambling online. An open public hearing will take place on May 3rd to determine licensure. The company is hiring with end of April start dates.

Full Tilt declines comment at this time, the DOJ said Friday that they would have no input on the sale of the company or the upcoming re-launch. With not much to report, unfortunately the question still remains, “Will former Full Tilt Poker players ever receive the funds that have been ‘frozen’ since April 15, 2011.

SCOOP to Kick Off in May

PokerStars’ 4th annual SCOOP (Spring Championship of Online Poker) is coming up next month and will run from May 6th through May 20th when the NLH Main Event will take place. PokerStars has already guaranteed $30 million in prize cash across 40 events. There will be three levels of each event, Low, Medium, and High, making for 120 tournaments in two weeks and with the varying buy-in levels, there’s something for every player.

The Main Event will feature buy-ins of Low: $109, Medium: $1,050, and High: $10,300 with guarantees set at $1 million, $1.5 million, and $2.5 million, respectively.

Last year’s SCOOP Player of the Series leaderboard winner Team PokerStars Online player Anders “Donald” Berg cashed a whopping 23 times and final-tabled four events and won a HORSE tourney. He says of this year’s series, “SCOOP is always one of the highlights of the online poker calendar and I’ll be aiming to defend my Player of the Series title by playing as many events as possible. The tournament structures are excellent, the range of games unrivaled – it’s going to be an epic tournament series for me and many other players in May.”

This year’s EPT Copenhagen winner and fellow Team Online Poker player Mickey “memento mori” Peterson said in his post-final table interview in February, ““I’d really like to win a PokerStars SCOOP title. I have been close a lot of times but always stumbled right before the finish line. Hopefully I can win one this year.”

This year, SCOOP will feature “Steps” tickets. Twenty-seven SCOOP events will be accessible with Steps 1-6 tickets, making it even easier for players to get in on the action via satellites. Also, normal multi-table and single-table satellites are currently running at PokerStars.

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