The Nightly Turbo: Antonius Returns to Full Tilt Poker, Karamalikis Dominates TCOOP
The nosebleed games at Full Tilt Poker got a lot tougher this week. We'll explain why, plus bring you the opening results from the PokerStars Turbo Championship of Online Poker in this edition of the Nightly Turbo.
In Case You Missed It:
Caesars Interactive Entertainment Inc. has released the entire 64-player field for the 2013 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship. Who got snubbed? Take a look at the full list 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.
After a successful launch during the 2012 World Series of Poker, RunGoodGear has released a new line of poker-themed clothing. The line features a fresh new theme: Run Good, Run Deep, Run Pure.
Las Vegas Sands owner Sheldon Adelson is reportedly looking to sell the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem. Get the full story here at PokerNews.
Eric "Sheets" Haber is a popular instructor at PokerXFactor.com. In a new series called "Back To Basics," Haber discusses the importance of having sound fundamentals as the basis for a winning poker strategy.
Was Vanessa Selbst's win at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure enough to boost her into the top 10 of the Global Poker Index? Mickey Doft breaks down this week's biggest movers and shakers in the GPI.
The Return of Patrik
Since the relaunch of Full Tilt Poker in November 2012, we've slowly seen the high-stakes games revert to the glory days of years past. Viktor "Isildur1" Blom, Gus Hansen, Ben Sulsky, Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan, and others have returned to the nosebleed games in recent months. And on Thursday, Patrik Antonius showed his face on the site he once represented.
According to HighStakesDB.com, Antonius lost around $300,000 during his first session at the new Full Tilt Poker. But the Finn bounced back by profiting $485,000 on Thursday, putting him in the black by close to $200,000.
Antonius is one of online poker's biggest cash-game winners of all time, and he holds the record for winning the biggest pot in history. In November 2009, Antonius won a pot worth $1,356,947 against Viktor Blom at $500/1,000 pot-limit Omaha. To this day, that pot stands as the biggest ever played on the Internet.
With Blom already boosting his bankroll by $3 million in 2013, we're expecting to see fireworks between the two superstars again soon.
Read more at HighStakesDB.com.
Karamalikis' Monster Score
The second annual PokerStars Turbo Championship Online Poker (TCOOP) returned on Thursday with the first four of 50 events on the schedule. Nearly 54,000 runners turned out on the first day of tournaments, with more than $2.3 million in prizes handed out.
Among Thursday's champions was Australian poker pro Jonathan "MONSTER_DONG" Karamalikis, who won Event #4 outright for $59,719. With the victory, Karamilikis added a TCOOP title to his 2011 WCOOP win and moved closer to becoming the first player to claim the "Triple COOP" (titles in WCOOP, SCOOP, and TCOOP events).
Here's a look at the full results from Day 1 of the 2013 TCOOP:
Event #1: No-Limit Hold'em Six-Max ($750k Guaranteed)
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $25+2 | 38,176 | $937,220 |
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | jogin2 | $65,383* |
| 2 | sascha_me | $65,712* |
| 3 | newkorea | $48,437 |
| 4 | suzy2009 | $26,804 |
| 5 | machomei | $25,704 |
| 6 | luda777k | $14,744 |
*Denotes six-way deal
Event #2: No-Limit Omaha Hi/Lo ($150k Guaranteed)
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $50+5 | 3,144 | $157,200 |
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yaba | $22,339* |
| 2 | sergioverde | $65,712* |
| 3 | chilenocl | $17,191* |
| 4 | flushamflop | $9,039 |
| 5 | keeisr | $6,838 |
| 6 | sirglen237 | $5,266 |
| 7 | Iros | $3,694 |
| 8 | deeppokit | $2,125 |
| 9 | Nick "gbmantis" Niergarth | $1,336 |
*Denotes three-way deal
Event #3: No-Limit Hold'em Knockout ($750k Guaranteed)
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $200+15 | 4,632 | $941,070 |
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Patokaka2007 | $109,257.40* |
| 2 | max700 | $96,243* |
| 3 | tonn22 | $61,875 |
| 4 | tigbitties56 | $43,125 |
| 5 | free1978 | $31,875 |
| 6 | Zepota | $24,375 |
| 7 | Clemme_1982 | $16,875 |
| 8 | zero All-in | $9,375 |
| 9 | Lawyer_HS | $6,000 |
*Denotes heads-up deal
Event #4: No-Limit Hold'em ($300k Guaranteed)
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $50+5 | 7,852 | $392,600 |
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonathan "MONSTER_DONG" Karamalikis | $59,719 |
| 2 | JSlaats | $44,168 |
| 3 | litovchenko8 | $31,408 |
| 4 | pooyan | $21,593 |
| 5 | OneDay$oon | $16,489 |
| 6 | vladulaNko | $12,563 |
| 7 | iUsed2DrinK | $8,637 |
| 8 | thewave85 | $4,711 |
| 9 | SorinRF | $3,043 |
For a full recap of all four events, check out the PokerStars Blog.
Step Aside, Atlantic City
After only six years in the industry, Pennsylvania has knocked Atlantic City out of the No. 2 spot in the U.S. gaming market. Pennsylvania's emerging market saw a 4.4 percent increase from 2011, raking in nearly $3.16 billion in 2012, and now trails only Nevada in the U.S.
New Jersey pulled in $3.05 billion in 2012, dropping 8 percent from the year before. The Garden State has seen gambling revenue drop for six straight years. In 2006, New Jersey reached its highest revenue point with $5.2 billion, but the total has dropped more than 40 percent since then.
Pennsylvania regulators reported 2012 revenue of $687 million from table games such as blackjack and poker, an 11 percent increase from 2011. Slots revenue rose to $2.47 billion in 2012, a 2.7 percent increase from the year before.
With a population of more than 12.5 million, Pennsylvania is a promising location for casino investment. "Pennsylvania has a strong economic base, which has provided plenty of demand for well-capitalized casino projects," said Dennis Farrell, managing director of gaming, lodging, and leisure research at Wells Fargo Securities, to Philly.com. "We note that not all contemplated casino projects were successful in Pennsylvania. Nonetheless, we believe the Pennsylvania gaming industry has exceeded expectations of most industry observers."
Philly.com has more.
MiniFTOPS Recap
Full Tilt Poker's MiniFTOPS XXI continued Thursday with two more events on the 35-tournament schedule. Events 27 and 28 easily surpassed their respective guarantees with more than $78,000 handed out between the two events.
Here's a look at the results from the final tables:
Event #27: NL Hold’em ($25,000 Guaranteed)
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $10+1 | 5,231 | $52,310 |
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | General_Mohr | $8,945 |
| 2 | bieatch | $6,225 |
| 3 | Dimitar06 | $4,446 |
| 4 | I Show 4 U | $3,347 |
| 5 | stiposb | $2,508 |
| 6 | FLamZard | $1,726 |
| 7 | ArtemX5 | $1,125 |
| 8 | SydneySheppard | $785 |
| 9 | shakentucan | $549 |
Event #28: Razz ($7,500 Guaranteed)
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $30+3 | 859 | $25, 770 |
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | bamtschi | $4,824.25* |
| 2 | DEERDAJO | $3,349.25* |
| 3 | TFFS | $3,551.85 |
| 4 | PokerGod90 | $1,597.74 |
| 5 | aDrENalin17 | $1,030.80 |
| 6 | Janne33 | $721.56 |
| 7 | xAlyssa | $515.40 |
| 8 | SV---VOLK | $335.01 |
| 9 | tee cee pee | $244.81 |
*Denotes three-way deal
MiniFTOPS XXI culminates on Sunday, Jan. 20, with the $75 Multi-Entry Main Event. In case you missed our announcement this week, we will be giving away 100 Main Event tickets [https://www.pokernews.com/news/2013/01/don-t-miss-you-chance-to-win-one-of-100-entries-to-the-minif-14169.htm] to our valued PokerNews readers. An exclusive freeroll will take place on Saturday, Jan. 19 at 13:00 ET.
Gaining entry to the MiniFTOPS PokerNews Freeroll is very easy. Just follow these steps:
- Log into your Full Tilt Poker account.
- Find the MiniFTOPS PokerNews Freeroll (ID: 247387976) in the Tournament > Private tab.
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- Finish in the top 100 places to win a seat to the MiniFTOPS XXI Main Event, worth $75.
Register now and get in on the action.
WPT Returns to Mauritius
The World Poker Tour is returning to the Indian Ocean region this year for the PMU.fr WPT National Series Mauritius. The 16-event series will run from March 3 through 12, highlighted by a €1,500 re-entry Main Event running March 5 through 10.
Last year's Main Event set the record for biggest field for a poker tournament ever organized in the region with 290 runners. Gary Lentin took it down for €70,000 after defeating a tough final table that included Stephane Albertini and Bruno "Kool Shen" Lopes.
The 2013 slate will also include a €3,300 High Roller event. Notables already confirmed for the event include Lopes, former WPT champ Guillaume Darcourt, and 2012 WPT World Championship runner-up Phillippe Ktorza.
Here's a teaser for the upcoming series:
For the full schedule of events, visit WPTNationalMauritius.com.
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