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

WSOP Circuit:  The first stop on the 2010-2011 season tour for the World Series of Poker Circuit was Council Bluffs, Iowa. Players gathered from around the United States at the Horseshoe Casino for several weeks’ worth of tournaments, and several gold WSOP rings were awarded in the process. But the Main Event was a big one, a $1,600 buy-in NLHE tournament that would not only award a ring and substantial prize money, but the winner was set to win an entry into the $1 million National Championship in May of 2011, an event scheduled to be filmed and aired on television. The final table on Day 3 found Dwyte Pilgrim out in third place, just missing another ring but still having a stellar year, and Blair Hinkle was able to defeat Shiva Dudani to take the title, ring, seats to the Championship and the 2011 WSOP Main Event, and $88,553 in cash.

EPT Vilamoura:  The Portugal event on the PokerStars European Poker Tour schedule was still in full swing on September 1, though from a starting field of 384 players, the final table of eight was set and ready to go for September 2. The prize pool of €1,862,400 set a record for the Vilamoura stop, and the final table would play out for a sizable portion of that money. With well-knowns at the table like Sam Trickett and Rob Hollink, as well as football star Teddy Sheringham, the action was bound to be interesting.

WPT London:  The adventure that is becoming the World Poker Tour landed in London this week for the London Poker Classic, courtesy of PartyPoker, and the WPT event that started on August 30 garnered a field of 171 players. Though it was smaller than organizers hoped, the prize pool was still £820,800 for the top 18 players. Those numbers were released on Day 2 of the action, and at that point, several big names like Phil Ivey and Erik Seidel were still in the running for the title.

Who’s Playing

Phil Laak:  A recent ATV accident left Phil Laak with a broken rib, dislocated elbow, shattered wrist, other arm injuries, and damage to his eye that required surgery and stitches. But after handing out $22,000 for medical bills because he had no health insurance, he is thankful that he wasn’t hurt worse and that he is on his way to a full recovery. And in the meantime, his mind was on poker, as he played in the PokerStars Big Game studio between surgeries and immediately got back to online poker. He recently discussed it all with ESPN and gave some perspective before heading off to live tournaments in Europe.

Where They’re Playing

ABC Television:  The Nightline piece about online gaming was advertised to air more than a week ago, but it finally made it to the airwaves on Tuesday night, August 31. The report entitled “Teens Gamble in Virtual Vegas” was a look at Joe Cada and his 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event win but more so about his preparation for that tournament in the online poker realm. The interviewer then talks to a 19-year old Midwest teenager who got his online poker start by way of his mother having confidence in his game, and he now pays all of his bills and makes a reasonable living by playing the game. He acknowledged the swings of online poker, but he also emphasized that it is a game of skill, which prevails over luck in the long run.

Latin America:  According to a recently released report from Research and Markets, one of the fastest growing markets for online gaming is Latin America. Currently, about $10 billion is being spent annually in the online gaming industry with Costa Rica, Brazil, and Argentina leading the way, but the study shows that the number could easily rise to $150 billion. In addition, the live gambling industry currently reaps the benefit of $200 billion annually, and that number could grow by five percent over the next ten years.