The Nightly Turbo: Barry Tanenbaum Passes Away, New PokerStars Online Pro, and More
Thanksgiving is a time to indulge in the best things in life. But before you rush out to scope out the stores for your shopping spree on Black Friday, we're bringing you all of today's poker news in the Nightly Turbo.
We'll be off on Thursday and Friday, so check back in on Monday for the latest news, views and gossip in the world of poker. Happy Thanksgiving!
In Case You Missed It
Day 1a of the 2011 PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour Macau Main Event completed on Wednesday. Shih-Chieh Su was the chip leader at the end of the day, but Phil Ivey stole the show.
Why is it important for poker players to maintain a healthy diet? PokerNews' Lynn Gilmartin explains in the latest edition of the Stay Stacked series.
With the holiday season upon us, it's time to reflect on what we're thankful for. Rather than give you Five Thoughts this week, we're offering Five Thanks.
Massachusetts is now officially a casino state. Find out more in the latest Inside Gaming.
On Tuesday, Anthony Ruberto won the WPT Jacksonville Main Event to collect the $325,928 first-place prize. Get all the details in our recap.
Poker World Remembers Barry Tanenbaum
On Tuesday, the poker world was saddened to learn that admired poker player and writer Barry Tanenbaum, 66, had passed away. Tanenbaum was hospitalized with health problems earlier this month and lost his battle with kidney disease on Nov. 22.
For those who didn't know Tanenbaum, he was a respected mid-stakes limit hold'em player who was a regular fixture in the $30/$60 and $40/$80 games at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. He was also a long-time contributor for CardPlayer magazine and wrote a book about limit hold'em called Advanced Limit Hold'em Strategy, which is still a go-to resource for players learning the game today.
Jan Fisher, a close friend of Tanenbaum for many years, wrote the following in remembrance of Barry on Wednesday:
"The poker world has lost a true hero, a real champion of the game, who 'had it all' going on. Always a gentleman, even during his rare defeats, he inspired me to be a good person both at and away from the table. He always respected the game and the people around him. A class act, he will be missed more than words can describe."
The PokerNews team offers its sincere condolences to Barry's wife, Betty, and those who knew him well. You can read more about Tanenbaum in Fisher's column at PokerPlayerNewspaper.com.
PokerStars Signs Another Online Wizard
On Wednesday, Team PokerStars Online revealed Bjorn "Bjoerni89" Schneider, 22, as the latest addition to its roster of sponsored pros. With his elevation to the PokerStars team, Schneider joins a team of talented German teammates including Sebastian Ruthenberg, Sandra Naujoks and 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event champion Pius Heinz.
Schneider almost exclusively plays $5,000 head-up sit-and-gos on PokerStars and is on pace to break fellow Team PokerStars Online member Kevin "WizardofAhhs" Thurman's all-time VIP Player Points record. Last year, Thurman earned 3,055,385 VPPs. Schneider has more than 2,700,000 so far in 2011 with more than a month left to break the record.
The heads-up specialist has zoomed up the levels in stakes since beginning his PokerStars career two years ago. He began playing $5 nine-man sit-and-gos and by the start of 2011 was playing $100 heads-up matches. Now, Schneider is one of the most feared high-stakes players on the site, even facing off against Team PokerStars Pro Viktor "Isildur1" Blom in a series of heads-up sit-and-gos.
Read more about Bjorn "Bjoerni89" Schneider at the PokerStars Blog.
Qualify for the 2012 Aussie Millions
With the 2012 Aussie Millions is less than two months away, you still have many ways to qualify for the $10,600 Main Event other than asking Santa Claus to front your entry fee.
Crown Poker, the host of the Aussie Millions, is offering several options for players to satellite into the Main Event on Jan. 22, 2012. You can win your entry fee through a variety of avenues: a direct entry event; a "Fast Track Satellite; a $550 Deepstack qualifier; or a Phase 3 Supershot Satellite. Each qualifier will run daily at Crown from the end of November, which means there will be up to five tournaments a day sending players either into the Phase 2 and Phase 3 tournaments, or directly into the Aussie Millions Main Event.
Players can also qualify online at PartyPoker, 888poker, Titan Poker, Mansion Poker, Winner Poker, or Poker770. Learn more about the satellites to the 2012 Aussie Millions here at PokerNews.com.
SportMoose Has Your Sports Betting Needs
The end of November and early December offer many betting opportunities for fans of the UEFA Champions League, and SportMoose.com is a fantastic source to get advice on which side to place a wager.
On Wednesday, the new online gambling site ran a preview of each game on the Champions League slate. The site's expert writers picked their favorites and provided insight into each matchup, including the anticipated matchup between AC Milan and FC Barcelona, where Milan's Zlatan Ibrahimovic faced off against his former team for the first time.
Also covered at length was the game between Chelsea and Bayern Leverkusen, which played host to a Chelsea squad that had only lost one of its past nine Champions League matches. SportMoose projected that a draw seemed the most likely outcome of this particular match.
In addition to soccer coverage, you can find daily articles and updated odds on up to 20 sports around the world at SportMoose.com.
Exploring Macau
Macau is considered by many to be Asia's version of Las Vegas. The city is currently hosting the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour Macau Main Event, so PokerNews' Lynn Gilmartin gave us a tour around town before the tournament began in the Grand Lisboa Hotel & Casino.
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