The Nightly Turbo: Play Heads-Up With Lacey Jones, Online Poker Traffic, and More
The seemingly endless rumors and speculation surrounding Full Tilt Poker calmed on Wednesday. But we don't expect that to last long. In the meantime, we bring you the latest online poker traffic numbers, an opportunity to play poker with the gorgeous Lacey Jones (in real life!), and more.
In Case You Missed It
Season 2 of the 2011 PokerStars Estrellas Poker Tour ended over the weekend with the conclusion of the Ibiza stop. If you're wondering who took down the event and pocketed �92,100, then check out the Ibiza recap.
Did you miss ESPN's coverage of the 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event? Maybe you want to live it all again. Either way, our WSOP on ESPN recap will help you out.
The online poker petition that was started last week has already met its goal of 5,000 signatures, but that doesn't mean that's all that are needed. The Poker Players Alliance is urging players to tell everyone and get more players to sign.
We're sure your brain was wrapped around the Full Tilt Poker drama for the last week, but you should know that there are other things going on in the gaming industry. Inside Gaming has the scoop on Caesars hotel in China and new laws for Denmark.
Now that the 2011 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker is officially over, we decided to take a look at some of the interesting statistics that emerged from the series. Check out our break down of the 2011 WCOOP.
Online Poker Traffic Numbers
The online poker traffic numbers from last week have been released. PokerScout reports that traffic stayed mostly steady, with a decline of just 0.1 percent. However, eight of the top 10 sites and networks saw decreases in traffic.
PartyPoker was the biggest climber of the week as the 2.5 percent traffic increase moved the site up one spot to No. 2 in the rankings.PokerStars held firm at No. 1, while iPoker dropped to No. 3 after spending five weeks in the two-hole. PokerScout reported that PartyPoker's rise could have been a result of the Accelerator promotion that ends on Sept. 30.
As for year-over-year numbers, PokerScout's ACES indicator reports that online poker traffic (with the exception of Italy) has decreased by 34 percent in the last year. PokerStars has seen a 24 percent drop over the past year due in part to Black Friday, while 888poker (up 109 percent) and Bodog (up 54 percent) have seen significant increases since September 2010.
Check out the complete online poker traffic report at PokerScout.com.
Meet and Play With Lacey Jones
Gaming company IGT is offering the chance to go one-on-one with the stunning Lacey Jones at its first online poker tournament during the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) in Las Vegas next month.
On Oct. 4 through 5, Jones will be on hand in the IGT booth as the company unveils its new poker platform. Tournaments will run every hour on the hour from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Sands Expo & Convention Center.
Jones began her career as a model before turning to poker and becoming sponsored pro at Absolute Poker and Full Tilt Poker. She has also served as the official hostess and bracelet presenter of the WSOP and has appeared on the cover of dozens of poker publications.
We know. Blah, blah. Here's what you really want to see:
Find out more about the G2E convention at IGT.com.
EPT London Kicks Off This Week
Season 8 of the PokerStars European Poker Tour resumes this week with the London Festival of Poker from Sept. 29 to Oct. 6 at the Hilton London Metropole. PokerNews will be on site providing live coverage of the ��5,250 Main Event until the next EPT champion is crowned.
Several members of Team PokerStars are already confirmed to be playing the Main Event, includingDaniel Negreanu, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, Viktor Blom, Jason Mercier and Liv Boeree, as well as Team PokerStars SportStars Boris Becker and Fatima Moreira de Melo.
Last year, David Vamplew outlasted a field of 848 players to collect his first major title and a payday of ��900,000. Vamplew defeated poker pro John Juanda heads-up for the win; the loaded final table also included Kyle Bowker, Tom Marchese and Per Ummer.
Other past champions of the EPT London Main Event include Aaron Gustavson, Michael Martin, Joseph Mouawad and Team PokerStars member Vicky Coren.
This year's London stop is also offering a ��20,500 High Roller event, a ��2,150 8-Game European Championship, a ��5,250 Heads-Up event and the ��550 Women��s Event.
For more information, visit EuropeanPokerTour.com.
Phil Hellmuth Has Bieber Fever
And, apparently, lousy eyesight. The Poker Brat never shies away from an opportunity to rub arms with A-list celebrities, but this is just getting ridiculous. Tony G first had a run-in with the "Justin Bieber of poker" at the WPT Vienna stop in March, and Hellmuth found time to discuss private jets and girls with the youngster this week.
The person posing as Justin Bieber is actually Austrian poker player Thomas Brauner, who took 20th place at WPT Vienna. Only 10,000 or so more min-cashes before Brauner approaches the estimated net worth of his American doppelganger.
Visit Tony G's blog for more shenanigans.
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