The Nightly Turbo: Selbst & Weisner Win, No Player Penalties in Reid-Kyl Bill, and More
Vanessa Selbst and Melanie Weisner were busy on opposite ends of the world, and PokerStars has quietly introduced a new run-it-twice option. Find their stories and more in this edition of the Nightly Turbo.
In Case You Missed It
The October Nine is right around the corner. What has Jacob Balsiger done to prepare? Find out in his interview with Chad Holloway.
GPI Player of the Year leader Dan Smith, who has an amazing 2012, took down the Sunday Million for $219,504.25, which was more than first-place money. Find out how he did it in the Sunday Briefing.
In the latest edition of the Seat Open series, Australian poker pro Jackie Glazier opens up about her life before poker, her love of tennis, and how she discovered her new-found career. Watch the video to find out more.
The World Poker Tour Season X broadcast on FSN came to an end on Sunday with an epic heads-up battle in the $25,000 WPT World Championship. Find out the details in our last WPT on FSN recap of the season.
The World Series of Poker Circuit Hammond Main Event is in its final stages and scheduled to play down to a winner this evening. Follow the live updates right here on PokerNews.
Selbst Defeats Stacked Final Table in Bellagio Festa al Lago $5K
Poker tournaments are being held in Chicago and South Africa, but many poker pros have opted to stay in Las Vegas for the Bellagio’s Festa al Lago, which included a $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em Event over the weekend. That tournament attracted some heavy hitters and resulted in a final table that included Daniel Negreanu, Justin Young, Andrew Lichtenberger, Chris Björin, Dan Shak, Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy and Vanessa Selbst.
Selbst ended up adding another victory to her already impressive résumé. While details are scant, Negreanu shed some light via Twitter. According to him, Selbst got extremely fortunate during five-handed play when Bjorin opened with AxAx, Selbst three-bet holding QxQx, and he four-bet with 9x9x. Bjorin then five-bet, Selbst moved all in, Negreanu folded, and Bjorin made the call. The at-risk Selbst was far behind, but a Qx on the river extended her tournament life.
Selbst went on to take a commanding chip lead of 840,000 into three-handed play against Young and Negreanu, who had 160,000 and 100,000, respectively. Negreanu ended up falling in third place when his A♦7♦ failed to overcome Young’s 10x10x, and then Selbst finished off the latter to win the $90,000 prize.
Thanks everyone for the congrats. To all asking, 90k for first. Feel very fortunate, ran great to beat a rly tough final table.
— Vanessa Selbst (@VanessaSelbst)
Keep track of the 2012 Festa al Lago results on Hendon Mob.
Melanie Weisner Gets Her First Live Tournament Win
On Saturday, Melanie Weisner notched her first major live poker win by taking down the $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em Six-Handed event at the World Poker Tour Emperors Palace Poker Classic in Johannesburg, South Africa. What’s more, she did it by defeating former European Poker Tour champion Lucien Cohen in heads-up play.
Weisner defeated a 133-player field to capture the $41,289 first-place prize, as well as praise from the poker community:
Very happy for @melanieweisner for shipping her first live tourney win. A great day for women in poker!
— Vanessa Selbst (@VanessaSelbst)
WPT Emperors Palace Poker Classic $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em Six-Handed Results
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $1,000 | 133 | $129,010 |
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Melanie Weisner | United States | $41,289 |
| 2nd | Lucien Cohen | France | $23,866 |
| 3rd | Edward Pastoll | South Africa | $15,481 |
| 4th | Eric Brand | South Africa | $10,643 |
| 5th | Bennie Lengenfelder | $8,192 | |
| 6th | Jarred Solomon | $6,385 |
For more on Weisner and the WPT Emperors Palace Poker Classic, check out the WPT Blog.
Player Penalties Removed from Reid-Kyl Online Poker Bill
About a month ago, a summary text of the Reid-Kyl Internet gambling bill, which had been circulating among lobbyists and lawmakers, was leaked. The bill, titled The Internet Gambling Prohibition, Poker Consumer Protection, and Strengthening UIGEA Act of 2012, inspired a number of concerns including player penalties.
In that regard, the bill read: "To deter U.S. players from patronizing illegal sites, the bill makes explicit that any property involved in or traceable to a gambling transaction in violation of the new act (including winnings) is subject to forfeiture." The language did not sit well with the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), who reacted to the bill.
"There was nothing like that in the 2010 bill, so it was surprising to see in the summary," John Pappas, executive director of the PPA said. "We have not seen exactly what is meant by this section that player funds can be targeted. The devil will be in the details, and we're trying to get to the bottom of that."
Additional details on the bill have emerged and the PPA has acquired a copy of a new draft, one that has removed the language regarding player penalties. “It’s very clear and explicit that there are no criminal penalties for players,” Rich Muny, VP of Player Relations for the PPA, told PokerFuse about the new bill, which QuadJacks posted online in full. “They knew we would likely oppose a bill with player penalties and were willing to answer us on that.”
The bill may be considered during the upcoming lame-duck sessions, though experts are mixed as to whether or not that will actually happen.
For more on the Reid-Kyl Internet gambling bill, check out Matthew Kredell’s recap. You can also join the discussion in a thread on TwoPlusTwo and view the bill here.
Run It Twice on PokerStars
According to PokerFuse, PokerStars launched a new “run-it-twice” option on real-money tables last week. It debuted on a single $0.50/$1.00 pot-limit Omaha table, which was labeled “run it twice.” For the feature to work, both players involved in an all-in pot must have the option checked to run it twice.
“Running it twice” is an option made popular on TV shows such as High Stakes Poker and Poker After Dark, and happens in all-in pots when players agree to run the board twice, be it either preflop, on the flop, turn or river. Players often agree to this to reduce variance and short-term luck.
Introducing the run-it-twice option on PokerStars follows in the footsteps of Merge Gaming, which first introduced the concept to online poker in April of 2008. Full Tilt Poker, which ended up raking both pots when players decided to run it twice, also adopted the option in late 2009. PokerStars will not rake both pots.
The new option coincides with PokerStars 7 Client update.
For more on PokerStars’ new run-it-twice option, visit pokerfuse.com.
Weber Takes Down Third Annual Punta Cana Poker Classic
Matthew Weber took down the Third Annual Punta Cana Poker Classic (PCPC) in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, last week for $135,475 after defeating a field of 380.
"We'd like to congratulate this year's winner for a job well done and the great accomplishment of taking home the first prize in such a competitive field," PCPC's Spokesperson Michael Harris. "The third annual PCPC has been a huge success and has proved to be our biggest tournament to date. Word is getting out that this is a ‘must play’ event for any poker player looking to play some poker in the ultimate beach location."
Weber finished Day 1B as the chip leader and used it to finish atop the chip counts on Day 2. He went on to make the final table and made it all the way to heads-up play against Kelly Kellner, whom he defeated in just a half hour. In the last hand, Kellner raised from the button with A♣2♣ only to have Weber reraise from the big blind holding 5♣5♦. Kellner moved all in, Weber called, and the flop fell 3♠6♦5♥. Weber took a commanding lead with a set of fives, and after the turn and river failed to help Kellner, Weber clinched victory.
"We've received great feedback from all of our players on this year's tournament," continued Harris. "The camaraderie and great sportsmanship from all the players throughout has left everyone feeling great about this year's event. ACR is proud to be a sponsor of such a well-organized and fun tournament for which we can send our players."
For more on the Third Annual Punta Cana Poker Classic, check out the press release on casinocitytimes.com.
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PR & Media Manager for PokerNews, Podcast host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.
