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

ANZPT Gold Coast:  It was an exciting tournament that captured the attention of poker players in Australia over the past week. The PokerStars-sponsored Australia New Zealand Poker Tour’s Gold Coast stop all began on August 11 and 12 with a total starting field of 287 players, and the $2,500 buy-ins totaled to make for a $717,500 prize pool. There were payments reserved for the top 32 players, but when the final table played down on August 15th, it came to a heads-up battle between Ricky Kroesen and Nauv Kashyap, with the latter ultimately winning the tournament to take the title, trophy, and $192,965 in prize money.

FTOPS:  Full Tilt Poker wrapped up its 17th running of the Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) in the wee hours of Monday morning. After 34 tournaments and more than $20 million in prize money awarded, one tournament brought an end to the twelve days of action, as the Main Event offered a $600 + $40 no-limit hold’em tournament with a $3 million guarantee. There were 4,805 players at the tables, and although that number eclipsed that of the previous FTOPS Main Event, it wasn’t enough to cover the prize pool, so a $117K overlay was available to the players. In the end, TyboVegas won the Main Event and more than $420K in prize money.

Who’s Playing

Alexa Fisher:  Much has been written about Alexa Fisher in the past months, as it’s not hard to capture the attention of the public when the subject is a 7-year old poker phenom. It was also difficult to miss her presence at the 2010 WSOP in Las Vegas, as she and family members consistently roamed the hall, looking for autographs from and pictures of famous poker pros. Alexa is proficient in several card games, including deuce-to-seven lowball and badugi, after watching poker on television for years and using cards with her father to learn numbers. That led to strategy, and she now plays in charity poker tournaments and has been profiled on a number of television programs. Now, at the age of seven, she is one of the most talked-about figures on the poker scene.

Where They’re Playing

Kentucky:  The case of the Commonwealth of Kentucky looking to shut down gaming-related websites may have been out of the news for many months, but it is certainly not over. The State Supreme Court was in the process of deciding how to rule on the case that came before them, but in the meantime, the Commonwealth filed another lawsuit, this time against Pocket Kings, the operators of Full Tilt Poker, seeking money taken from Kentucky residents over the past few years. But the latest amendment to that case was only made known recently, as PartyGaming was named as another defendant in the matter. Kentucky seeks triple the amount of money lost by Kentucky residents between August 2005 and October 2006, before PartyGaming departed the U.S. market. The cases involving the state of Kentucky continue to become more perplexing and potentially industry altering should the Commonwealth find success in any of its endeavors against the online gaming industry.