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

EPT Vilamoura:  The PokerStars-Sponsored European Poker Tour was in full swing with its seventh season of action, and just weeks after the kickoff in Estonia, players were in Portugal at a beautiful resort in Vilamoura for the second event. The €5,300 buy-in Main Event drew some of the biggest names in poker to the tables, and after two starting days, the final totals came in with 384 players and a €1,862,400 prize pool, both of which set new records for the Vilamoura stop. The tournament will play out through the week with the final table set for September 2, when a new EPT winner will be crowned.

WPT London:  The World Poker Tour launched its ninth season in July at the Bellagio, and after the recent Legends of Poker in Los Angeles, the WPT traveled all the way to London for one of the new events on its schedule. The London Poker Classic started on August 30 and will run through September 5 at the Palm Beach Casino. The Main Event offers players a £5,300 opportunity to grab a WPT title on English soil, and with PartyPoker at the helm, the tournament looks to host a solid field out of two starting days.

UBOC5:  The fifth running of the UltimateBet Online Championship series came to a close on August 29 with the last tournaments of both the UBOC and the Mini UBOC. The UBOC Main Event had 1,032 players for its $1,050 NLHE tournament, and the prize pool jumped over the $1 million guarantee to $1,032,000. The winner of an unreported amount of money for victory in the event was CHAZ_MAN_C. And in the Mini-UBOC Main Event, with its $55 buy-in and $50K guarantee, there were 1,684 players, which boosted the prize pool to $84,200. JLC123 won that event, which paid $17,858.82 in prize money.

Who’s Playing

Sorel Mizzi:  The young poker pro seemed to get past the cheating accusations of years past, as Sorel Mizzi has become a respected pro on the live circuit as well as in online poker circles. But another situation has come to light recently on the 2+2 forums, as someone exposed a conversation between Mizzi and Steve Weinstein in which Mizzi offers to use a program that would allow him to access Weinstein’s computer and play through his IP address, which would be frowned upon by online websites as a form of ghosting. However, Mizzi responded that the IM conversation posted was incomplete and consisted of messages compiled from a year’s worth of discussion, and he denies any wrongdoing or intent to do so.

Los Angeles Casinos:  After the Poker Players Alliance launched an effort to protest and give voice to the poker community’s outrage at the Commerce Casino’s recent testimony against online gaming legislation in the U.S. Congress, a Commerce board member - Tom Malkasian, the same person who testified in the House Financial Services Committee - responded to the petition. Malkasian reiterated his feeling that H.R. 2267 poses a “grave threat” to everyday poker players, not to mention that land-based casinos will lose revenues and employees will lose jobs. Ultimately, a letter was released by a spokesperson for not only Commerce but the Bicycle Casino, Hawaiian Gardens, and Hollywood Park Casino to state that they stand together in opposition to Rep. Barney Frank’s bill because it authorizes all types of online gaming, and the proper route to take would be to work toward poker-only legislation on the state level instead of the federal level. However, it should be noted that the official statement listed the wrong bill number in citing Frank’s legislation.

Where They’re Playing

WPT Amateur League:  The newly-formed World Poker Tour Amateur Poker League has officially announced that it has partnered with the Tropicana in Las Vegas to bring players the opportunity to compete in an amateur NLHE tournament. The Championship event will take place at the Tropicana in April of 2011 and offer more than $160K in cash and prizes. But prior to that, there will be events around the world that will qualify players for the championship, and participants will have the chance to win seats into larger tournaments, poker cruises, and educational boot camps. Though details are sketchy at this point, the partnership between the WPTAPL and Tropicana looks to offer players an alternative to high buy-in tournaments and pro-laden events.