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

UKIPT Edinburgh:  Scotland was the place to be for the PokerStars-sponsored United Kingdom & Ireland Poker Tour last week, and the Edinburgh stop attracted quite the crowd for the event. There were 401 players in total, which made for a £200,500 prize pool that paid out the last 56 players. And when it came down to the final table action, though dominated by UK players, the final duel found none of them left, only Mantas Puidokas of Lithuania and Nick Abou Risk of Canada. Risk ultimately won the tournament and took home £50,000 to go with his trophy, as well as a seat into the UKIPT Grand Final, which is also known as the EPT London that is coming up on September 29.

IPT San Remo:  The PokerStars-sponsored Italian Poker Tour is one of the fastest growing of all the live tournament tours, and San Remo is one of the most popular stops on the IPT’s second season. The most recent event there brought 396 players to the tables, and the predominantly Italian field resulted in two of them going heads-up for the title. The final results showed that Sergio Castelluccio was able to defeat Stefano Demontis to take down the title and a solid €200,000 first place prize. The next stop on the tour brings players to Nova Gorica on September 22.

Who’s Playing

Online players:  ABC’s long-running show Nightline focused its August 24th episode on the phenomenon of online poker, but according to its website preview of the show, the focus was going to be teenagers playing online, as the age limit is lower than in casinos but it is also easier for underage players to compete. The show’s preview did note that the potential for US regulation was to be discussed, as well as players like Joe Cada who had their parents’ support when they began to play online poker in a responsible manner.

Annie Duke:  It all started many years ago. Annie Duke and Daniel Negreanu have never been close friends, though it is unclear exactly what sparked very harsh feelings. The two were involved in a very public argument this year regarding the ladies-only tournament at the WSOP via their blogs, but Negreanu made his argument a personal one against Duke. And a post-WSOP article published by UK’s Poker Player quoted Negreanu calling his rival a very derogatory word. Fans were in an uproar about it, and though he briefly addressed in an a WPT video to say that he never meant for those words to be on the record, Duke finally responded with a blog post in the form of an open letter to PokerStars, the online site that sponsors Negreanu. The war of words continues, though PokerStars has not released any official statement on the matter.

Where They’re Playing

Holland:  It seems that the Dutch are closer to considering a non-monopolized online poker system for its residents. The Dutch Justice Minister, Ernst Hirsch Ballin, recently ordered a commission to examine the issue, and their recommendation was recently released. The commission suggested the government open its system and issue licenses to a small number of online poker companies in order to prevent non-Dutch companies from catering to its players. The ruling is under consideration.

South Africa:  Well, technically, they’re not playing in South Africa. The high court in Johannesburg recently issued a ruling that online gaming is illegal, and gambling authorities followed that up with an official ban on the internet games. Not only are South Africans outlawed from playing online games, but websites offering such fare are forbidden from allowing South African residents from participating and financial institutions from helping in any cash transactions. Penalties include up to 10 million rand in fines, which is equivalent to approximately $1.4 million, and/or 10 years in jail.