The Nightly Turbo: Buyer Interested in Epic Poker, PokerStars Mobile App, and More
Looking for the latest news in the poker world? Well, you've come to the right place. In this edition of the Nightly Turbo, we bring you the news of a potential buyer for the Epic Poker League, a real-money mobile app from PokerStars, and more.
In Case You Missed It
Want to stay healthy at the poker table? In the latest Stay Stacked series, Lynn Gilmartin takes a look at the ways you can avoid getting sick.
Only 64 players survived Day 3 of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event on Tuesday. Phil D'Auteuil was leading the way, but several notables had healthy stacks heading into Day 4.
Lynn Gilmartin was just named the host of the 2012 Aussie Millions television programming. She discussed her new role to PokerNews on Wednesday.
The 2012 Aussie Millions gets under way in Melbourne on Thursday. In preparation of the event, Chad Holloway looks at the past four years of the popular series.
The first World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event at the Bicycle Casino kicked off Tuesday. Get all the details of Day 1 in our daily recap.
Epic Poker in Talks with Potential Buyer?
The Epic Poker League is still toiling through its first season, but sources have told Wicked Chops Insider that the league is already in negotiations with a potential buyer. Wicked Chops Insider reported Wednesday that Pinnacle Entertainment is in discussions to acquire the EPL within the next 60 days. Details of the deal aren't known.
According to Wicked Chops Insider, several members of the Pinnacle staff are ex-employees of Harrah's, the host and sponsor of the World Series of Poker since 2005. Ginny Shanks, the marketing director at Pinnacle, worked alongside Epic Poker co-founder Jeffrey Pollack when he first arrived at the WSOP. An industry source told Wicked Chops Insider that Shanks and Pollack have maintained a close relationship throughout the years, which could explain the origin of the acquisition discussions.
PokerNews reached out to Pinnacle and the Epic Poker League on Wednesday. Pinnacle did not respond, and EPL CommissionerAnnie Duke declined to comment.
Per player request, Epic Poker recently moved its fourth event from late January/early February to later in the spring. Duke said in a statement that the EPL is working to set new dates that do not conflict with tournaments around the globe.
For more, read the story at Wicked Chops Insider.
PokerStars on Your Phone
According to eGamingReview, PokerStars has released a real-money mobile application for players in Italy. Players at PokerStars.it will be able to play cash games, multi-table tournaments, and sit-and-gos directly from their mobile devices.
The PokerStars Mobile app is free to download and can be found on versions of the iPhone and iPad. PokerStars says it is working to expand the number of compatible devices. While most of the features of the mobile app will match the computer version, one major difference is that users cannot make deposits or withdrawals using the mobile app.
The real-money app follows up a play-money app introduced by PokerStars for Italian players in November 2011. PokerStars says it plans to release a similar real-money app in the United Kingdom and France in 2012, with Denmark and Spain to follow.
If you have a subscription, you can read more at eGamingReview.
Bay 101 Announces WPT Shooting Star Bounties
One of the most popular events on the World Poker Tour schedule each year is the Bay 101 Shootout in San Jose, Calif. Bay 101 is hosting its 16th event this spring, and on Wednesday the casino announced the bounties for the $10,000 Main Event that begins on March 5.
Among the players with $5,000 bounties on their heads will be Phil Hellmuth, Antonio Esfandiari, Erick Lindgren, Mike Matusow, Jason Mercier, Tony G, Ben Lamb, Jonathan Duhamel, Eugene Katchalov, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, Daniel Negreanu and Liv Boeree. One bounty will be seated at each starting table of the tournament. In addition, the chip leader at the end of Day 1a and 1b will receive $10,000.
The winner of the 2012 WPT Bay 101 Main Event is guaranteed a minimum of $1 million, including a $25,000 seat to the WPT World Poker Championship at the Bellagio in May. Last year's winner at Bay 101 was Alan Sternberg, who took home $1,039,000. Sternberg is also a bounty for the 2012 Main Event.
For more information, visit bay101live.com.
Online Poker Traffic Report
On Monday, PokerScout.com released its online poker traffic rankings for the second week of 2012. The tracking site reported a 9.8 percent increase from the previous week, with nine of the top 10 sites seeing a rise in traffic.
PokerStars.fr was the only top 10 site to see a drop, mostly because of a strike by high-volume players regarding PokerStars changes in its VIP system. PokerStars.fr dropped 10 percent and saw its reign end as the largest online poker site in France. Meanwhile, Winamax.fr saw an increase of 10 percent to take over the pole position in the country.
As for year-over-year numbers, PokerScout's ACES indicator reports that online poker traffic (with the exception of Italy) decreased by 31 percent in the past year. Full Tilt Poker and the CEREUS Network are responsible for much of that decline, but the Entraction Network (down 52 percent) and the International Poker Network (down 45 percent) have seen significant drops since last year. The biggest climbers since January 2011 are the Merge Network (up 91 percent), 888poker (up 79 percent) and Bodog (up 60 percent).
Read the full report at PokerScout.com.
Best Poker City?
Poker players will travel to the ends of the earth to find the biggest and most lucrative games. The recent high-stakes action in Macau is a great example of just that. But which cities have the best games year-round? Brandon Adams took a stab at that question Wednesday by listing his top 30 poker cities in the world.
Said Adams, "I'm attempting to assess the overall current level of activity in the poker scene, considering both private games and casino games. I'm restricting attention to big bet games with buy-ins over $500, and I'm awarding minor bonus points for the presence of very big games."
Here's a look at his Top 10:
- Las Vegas
- Los Angeles
- Macau
- Miami/Fort Lauderdale
- London
- New York City
- Ledyard, Conn. (Foxwoods)
- Atlantic City
- Chicago/Hammond
- Biloxi, Miss.
You can find Adams' full list at thepokerfarm.com.
P-I-G
Poker isn't the only game taking place in the Bahamas. Poker players (and reporters) have been hitting the basketball courts since they first arrived this month. On Tuesday, Kristy Arnett showed off her shooting skills in a game of P-I-G against poker pro Mike Sowers.
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