The Nightly Turbo: European Poker Awards, Van Der Sloot Sentenced to Prison, and More
What a busy day in the world of poker! We have news about Freddy Deeb's victory at a World Series of Poker Circuit event, and a "poker pro" was sentenced to 28 years in prison for murder. Read about those stories and more in the Friday edition of the Nightly Turbo.
In Case You Missed It
We get it, sometimes you would rather watch than read. That's why we bring you PokerNews Weekly every week.In this Friday the 13th edition, Kristy Arnett and Sarah Grant bring you the latest news from the tournament circuit, and even break into a dance to congratulate Lynn Gilmartin.
A final table was reached at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event on Thursday. Faraz Jaka retained the chip lead, moving him one step closer to the $2 million top prize.
The $25,000 High Roller got under way at the PCA on Thursday. Many top pros chipped up nicely on Day 1, but an unfamiliar face finished atop the chip counts.
This week, MGM Resorts International CEO James Murren told CNBC that online poker will be available in the U.S. at some point this year. Matthew Kredell discussed Murren's comments on Friday.
Peter Costa won the 2003 Aussie Millions Main Event, but hasn't been around much lately. We caught up with Costa to find out what he's been up to for the latest edition of Where Are They Now.
How was the high-stakes action at the PokerStars tables this week? Read the Online Railbird Report to find out the week's biggest winners and losers.
Freddy Deeb took down the first World Series of Poker Circuit event at The Bike on Thursday. Get all the details in our final table recap.
The 2012 Aussie Millions Championship continued on Friday with Day 1b of the $1,100 Opening Event. Aussie superstar Brendon Rubie was among the chip leaders when play concluded.
The weekend is almost here and that means football. Check out our picks for the NFL's Divisional Weekend in the latest Pigskin Diaries.
The Award Goes to...
Jake Cody, Eugene Katchalov, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier and Pius Heinz are among the many poker pros nominated for 2011 European Poker Awards. The 11th year of the prestigious event is set to take place on Jan. 25, 2012 at the Aviation Club de France in Paris.
The awards feature nine categories, including Rookie of the Year, Internet Player of the Year, Leading Lady of the Year, Best Tournament Performance of the Year, and the newly added Best Event of the Year.
The most coveted honor of Player of the Year will be given to one of the following six players: Jake Cody, Bertrand Grospellier, Pius Heinz, Eugene Katchalov, Andrey Pateychuk and Sam Trickett.
In addition, a Lifetime Achievement Award will be handed out during the festivities. Some of the previous winners of the honor include Dave "Devilfish" Ulliott, John Duthie, Thomas Kremser, Marcel Luske, Bruno Fitoussi, and last year's winner Nic Szeremeta, best known as the creator of the popular Late Night Poker television series.
To find out all the nominees for each category, visit the European Poker Awards website.
Joran van der Sloot Gets Prison Sentence
Self-described professional poker player Joran van der Sloot has been sentenced to 28 years in prison for the murder of Stephany Flores, whom he met at a Lima, Peru, casino in 2010.
It has been alleged that Van der Sloot was in Peru for the Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT) when the murder of Flores took place. Despite never cashing in a poker tournament tracked by the major poker databases, Van der Sloot is known to have traveled to many live tournaments around the world.
Van der Sloot, 24, was also the prime suspect in the disappearance of Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway in 2005. The Dutchman was never formally charged with Holloway's death in Aruba, but he was arrested and held for questioning in the matter twice.
USA Today has more.
What's in a Name?
On Friday, betting site Victor Chandler announced it will be rebranded to BetVictor in the United Kingdom. The bookmaker, which has operations running across Europe, said the decision to change the brand name is "to ensure consistency and instant recognition across all international markets."
"As a company we are always innovating and moving forward, as well as extending our brand across new territories," said BetVictor Chairman Victor Chandler, whose grandfather founded the company in 1946.
"The UK will continue to be the fulcrum of our international business and it makes perfect sense that the same brand name is used here as in foreign territories.
"I personally guarantee that we will continue to provide our superb range of betting opportunities across a comprehensive range of sporting events."
Poker players can find the new home of BetVictor at betvictor.com. Read the full press release at Marketwatch.com.
Get Your Sports News and Betting Lines at SportMoose
While the world continues to wait on a potential fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, another championship bout has been announced for this year. SportMoose.com reported Friday that the World Boxing Association has ordered a rematch between British light welterweight Amir Khan and American Lamont Peterson.
Petersen defeated Khan for the WBA and IBF titles in December, but Khan complained that there may have been some influence on one of the judge's scorecards. The WBA investigated the fight and determined that there was in fact some wrongdoing taking place. Therefore, the two boxers will duke it out once again in 2012.
SportMoose will have more details when they become available. You can also find the all the latest boxing odds, as well as betting lines for 20 other sports, at SportMoose.com.
Welcome to Oz!
The PokerNews Live Reporting Team is providing updates from all over the globe this week. While Kristy Arnett has been working hard reading Twitter updates at the PCA, Nicki Pickering toured Melbourne for the Aussie Millions.
Here's Pickering with a preview of what to expect from Down Under this month.
Follow PokerNews on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news.
