PokerWorks

Poker News Nuggets are presented on PokerWorks each week to give readers a glance at some of the big news stories in and around the poker industry. From international poker tournaments to player prop bets, from political happenings to sponsorship deals, game enthusiasts can stay informed with these weekly tidbits of information.

What They’re Playing

LAPT Brazil:  The third season of the PokerStars-sponsored Latin American Poker Tour resumed this week with its fourth stop, this time in Florianopolis, Brazil. August 5 kicked off the action at the Costao do Santinho, and there were 364 players who bought in to the LAPT Main Event for R$5,000. That set up a prize pool of R$1,624,200 to be distributed among the top 48 players, with the ultimate winner taking home R$435,000. The tournament was set to progress through August 8, when the final table would play out and declare a new LAPT champion.

FTOPS:  The 17th running of the Full Tilt Online Poker Series got underway on August 4 with two initial tournaments, the first of which was a $200 + $16 no-limit holdem event that brought on 4,591 players to create a prize pool of $918,200. And taking down that first tournament was well-known online pro Brent “Broberts85” Roberts, who grabbed $164,357.80 and his second FTOPS title. August 5 added another three events, all of which surpassed their guarantees. With the series offering $19 million in guarantees for its 34 events, the trend of significant turnout looks to push past the $20 million mark without fail. FTOPS will wrap on August 15 with the Main Event.

Who’s Playing

Phil Laak:  One of the most colorful characters in the game of poker, Phil Laak, is no stranger to risky prop bets and an adventurous lifestyle. This time, however, the risk resulted in some serious injuries. While riding an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) in Oregon with Antonio Esfandiari and other friends, Laak had an accident that left him with seven broken bones and lacerations on his eye that required stitches on his eyelid. The arm injuries seemed to be the most severe, and as he wrote on his Twitter account, “I’m lucky to be in one piece.” Laak remains under round-the-clock care in an Oregon hospital.

Michael Mizrachi:  When Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi made the November Nine, there was no doubt that he would find sponsorship deals thrown his way. However, the only one he accepted in the last few weeks was one with DeepStacks University. The ever-growing online and live poker training company announced that Mizrachi will be offering training courses, mostly live near his home in Florida, over the coming three months leading to his World Series of Poker Main Event final table. His focus will be on the new Florida laws that allow for uncapped limits, so he’ll teach players how to change their games to accommodate that as well as how to compete against and beat out-of-state players. Mizrachi joins other names affiliated with DeepStacks like Mike Matusow, TJ Cloutier, Tom McEvoy, Liv Boeree, Adam Levy, and Alex Outhred.

Where They’re Playing

Mexico:  It looks like another poker entity will attempt a tournament in Mexico. While the LAPT’s foray into that territory ended with the Mexican authorities shutting it down, PokerStars will try it again, this time with partners PokerTek and Cirsa Mexico. Advertising it as the first national tournament in that country, the Life Poker Championship will host a celebrity charity tournament to benefit the Mayan Sanchez Foundation for special needs children, and the Main Event will take place on PokerTek automated poker tables. Action will kick off on August 18 and run through August 22.

United States:  Harrah’s Entertainment simply cannot wait to enter the United States online gaming market. While its ventures have already begun in the UK with real-money online poker, Harrah’s looks to sneak into the U.S. arena with a play-money website. The WSOP.com site is now bringing in more players, with no money accepted, and advertising has begun to let Americans know that the site is available. But prizes like a seat to the 2011 WSOP Main Event will be up for grabs in the coming months.