The Nightly Turbo: Chris Ferguson's Bank Accounts, Hawaii Considers Gambling, and More
Could Chris Ferguson prevent the pending deal between Full Tilt Poker and Groupe Bernard Tapie from happening? That's what one report indicated on Wednesday. We'll cover that story and more in this edition of the Nightly Turbo.
In Case You Missed It
What has Tom Dwan been up to lately? We caught up with the man known as "durrrr" at the Aussie Millions to discussFull Tilt Poker, the Department of Justice, and more.
John Kim joined the Strategy with Kristy podcast this week. Kim talked about what it takes to be a poker player and a family man, and the mindset needed to be a long-term winner.
Erik Seidel was still on top of the Global Poker Index rankings this week. But how long will he stay at No. 1? PokerNews' Mickey Doft explains how the 2012 Aussie Millions will affect next week's rankings.
Phil Ivey was still among the chip leaders after Day 3 of the Aussie Millions Main Event. Get all the details from the day in our Aussie Millions recap.
The Poker Players Alliance is asking poker players to send questions to President Barack Obama about legalizing online poker. Matthew Kredell explains how this can help the cause.
Chris Ferguson's Secret Bank Accounts
On Wednesday, Subject:Poker released information regarding secret bank accounts belonging Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, a key figure and shareholder of Full Tilt Poker. The report claims that Ferguson funneled approximately $60 million of his FTP payments into his own bank accounts beginning in at least 2007, and he withdrew or spent around $45 million of the funneled money.
According to the article, Ferguson allowed for about $14.3 million of the funds to be used for the company's post-Black Friday expenses. Subject:Poker reports that Ferguson and his lawyer, Ian Imrich, have threatened to take steps that might obstruct the pending deal with Groupe Bernard Tapie and the Department of Justice if that money is not recovered.
Ferguson was brought into the spotlight last September when the Department of Justice amended its original civil complaint, alleging that Full Tilt Poker and board members Ferguson, Ray Bitar, Howard Lederer and Rafe Furst defrauded players. PokerNews learned this week that the four men, along with Black Friday payment processor Chad Elie, have been given another extension to respond to the amended civil complaint. It is the third extension granted by Preet Bahara since Sept. 20, 2011; the four will have until March 19, 2012, to respond.
Read more at Subject:Poker.
Hawaii Introduces Gambling Bill
As of now, Hawaii is one of only two U.S. states without any form of gambling. However, a new bill co-sponsored by three state lawmakers could allow a newly introduced Hawaii internet lottery to run an online gambling operation that would include poker.
The bill, HB2422, reads: "To protect Hawaii residents who gamble on the internet, and to capture revenues generated from internet gambling in Hawaii, it is in the best interest of the State and its citizens to regulate this existing activity by authorizing and implementing a secure, responsible, and legal system for internet gambling. The State’s interests are best met by doing so through an internet-only lottery and gaming corporation, which shall be a public instrumentality, operating for the sole benefit of the State, and accountable to the legislature and to the public through a system of audits and reports."
The Department of Justice's flip-flop on the Wire Act of 1961 has prompted several states to look into the possibility of online poker. With the Wire Act now only applying to sports betting, the line of states showing interest in an online gambling platform seems to be growing by the week.
For more on the new bill in Hawaii, visit capitol.hawaii.gov.
Trickett Earns Top Honor At European Poker Awards
The 11th Annual European Poker Awards returned to famous Aviation Club de Paris Wednesday evening. The event honored the best players in Europe for their performances during 2011. Among the players up for awards were Sam Trickett, Pius Heinz, Liv Boeree, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, Eugene Katchalov and Jake Cody.
Trickett was given the most coveted honor of the evening. Although he wasn't on hand for the event, Trickett was named the 2011 "Player of the Year" for earning nearly $4.5 million on the tournament circuit in 2011. Other winners announced Wednesday were Grospellier (Poker Personality of 2011), Heinz (Best Tournament Performance), Andrey Pateychuk (Rookie of the Year), Ilari Sahamies (Online Player of the Year), Natalia Nikitina (Europe’s Leading Lady), Warren Lush (Staff Person of the Year), and WSOP Cannes (Event of the Year).
Get all the details, along with interviews and footage from the event at PokerNews.com.
The Scoop on the TCOOP
Four champions were crowned at the PokerStars Turbo Championship of Online Poker Wednesday. Nearly $800,000 was awarded across the four tournaments, increasing the total TCOOP prize pool to $10,497,098 through 31 events.
Here's a look at the results from Wednesday:
Event #28: No Limit Hold'em 2x Chance ($150K Guaranteed)
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $75+7 | 3,002 | $321,450 |
A large turnout for Event #28 resulted in a prize pool of $321,450, more than double the guarantee. A deal at the final table allowed three players to walk away with more than $34,000 each. Canada's "andthe" collected $45,675 for winning the event.
Event #29: No Limit Hold'em 10-Max Shootout ($75K Guaranteed)
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $100+9 | 1,000 | $100,000 |
A familiar face landed in the winner's circle of the $109 10-Max Shootout. Hungary's Peter "twirlpro" Turmezey added another big win to his impressive online poker resume, earning $18,250 after outlasting a field of 1,000 players.
Event #30: Pot Limit Omaha Six-Max 3x Turbo ($100K Guaranteed)
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $11+1 | 4,453 | $309,630 |
Nearly 4,500 players combined for 24,589 rebuys in what turned out to be a massive event. After a five-way chop at the final table, online tournament specialist "Rounder63" took down the tournament for $30,459.
Event #31: Stud Hi/Lo ($25K Guaranteed)
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $20+2 | 3,119 | $62,380 |
Team PokerStars Pro Andre Akkari made an impressive run in Event #31 but fell short of the final table in 17th place. Germany's "barrako" went on to win the tournament and the $9,395 top prize.
For more details on each event, check out the PokerStars Blog.
Happy Australia Day!
In celebration of Australia Day, PokerNews' Nicki Pickering tested some players on their knowledge of Aussie slang words at the 2012 Aussie Millions Main Event.
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