The Nightly Turbo: Queen Wins at Borgata, Bodog Launches Anonymous Poker Series, and More
Alexander Queen won big on the East Coast on Wednesday; meanwhile, PokerStars has been busy opening a new poker room at the Casino Gran Madrid and PokerNews has made the iGB Affiliate Awards short list. We're bringing you those stories and more in this edition of the Nightly Turbo.
In Case You Missed It:
For the seventh consecutive year, PokerNews will be providing exclusive, live updates from the Aussie Millions Poker Championship. Find out which events we'll be covering here.
There was a bit of shuffling in the Global Poker Index top 10 this week as EPT Prague saw several of the biggest names in poker posting impressive results. Find out this week's movers and shakers in our latest GPI analysis.
The PokerNews Live Reporting Team spent all of last week in Prague for the European Poker Tour. Find out Chad Holloway's best poker memories from the trip in the latest Life On The Road.
On Thursday, Caesars Interactive Entertainment Inc. was approved for an online poker license in Nevada. Find out what it mean here.
Alexander Queen Wins Borgata $250,00 Guarantee Holiday Deep Stack for $100,049
The tournament schedule is light near the holidays, but that didn’t stop the Borgata from offering the $250,00 Guarantee Holiday Deep Stack last week in Atlantic City. In fact, proximity to the holidays didn’t discourage 382 players from turning out for the $1,000 buy-in event, smashing the guarantee by creating a prize pool of $382,000. After four days of play, well-known East Coast pro Alexander Queen, who won the 2011 Borgata $1,000 Deep Stack Double Play Open for $111,774, emerged victorious to capture the $100,049 first-place prize.
Borgata $250,00 Guarantee Holiday Deep Stack
| Date | Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 16-19, 2012 | $1,000+$90 | 382 | $382,000 |
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alexander Queen | Bethlehem, PA | $100,049 |
| 2 | Shawn Busse | Maasapequa, NY | $55,581 |
| 3 | Tomislav Dobrilovic | West Nyack, NY | $34,460 |
| 4 | Sean Lippel | New York, NY | $27,791 |
| 5 | David Kim | Flushing, NY | $21,491 |
| 6 | Catherine Dever | Ephrata, PA | $18,156 |
| 7 | James Meo | Commack, NY | $14,636 |
| 8 | Richard Rossetti | Ventor, NJ | $10,931 |
| 9 | Michael Woll | Manahawkin, NJ | $7,411 |
Other notable finishes included Allie Prescott (34th - $2,223) and Jamie Kerstetter (13th - $3,705), a member of The Grindettes who was recently featured in arecent PokerNews Online Chat.
PokerStars And Casino Gran Madrid To Open New Poker Room
Rumors have recently circulated that PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site, is interested in opening a land-based casino in Atlantic City. While those plans are up in the air, PokerStars has been busy constructing a new poker room halfway across the world at the Casino Gran Madrid, the largest casino in Spain.
The new state-of-the-art PokerStars-branded poker room, which is slated to open in the first quarter of the new year, will feature more than 20 tables catering to more than 200 players and will emphasize tournaments.
“Casino Gran Madrid is the premier casino destination in Madrid, which we already work with to host some of the largest and most successful poker tournaments in Spain,” said Guy Templer, Group Head of Business Development for PokerStars. “Establishing a permanent PokerStars-branded poker room in the casino will give more players the opportunity to play world-class poker with the high-quality player experience that PokerStars is known for.”
Deputy General Director at Casino Gran Madrid Paula Arriaga added: “The poker room, with an innovative interior design, has been created to take poker to a new level – this extra dimension will catch the interest of all national and international players. Our ambition is to create an amazing atmosphere to play poker, adapting the lighting, the seats and the audiovisual support to the needs of the poker player.”
The Casino Gran Madrid, which opened on October 14, 1981, was the first casino in Madrid and remains on of the biggest entertainment centers in Europe—17 million visitors have passed through its doors since it opened.
For more information on the upcoming PokerStars poker room, visit the Casino Gran Madrid website.
The Bodog Poker Network Presents The Anonymous Poker Series
The Bodog Poker Network (BPN) has announced the creation of the Anonymous Poker Series, a year-long poker series comprised of both live and online events. The series will run the entirety of 2012 and culminate with a $100,000 Grand Final in Manila in January 2014.
The Anonymous Poker Series will offer qualifying events in the European and Asian markets for the Grand Final including online gaming operators, live venues, and specially invited ‘poker heroes’ from 2013. What’s more, all qualifiers will be flown to Manila and enjoy a stay for the Grand Final in January 2014.
“This series will help highlight exactly how and why we feel our network is the best and safest place for both recreational poker players and operators alike,” said Jonas Odman, Managing Director of BPN. “Operators who service sports bettors and casino players do not want their customers leaking money to non-depositing poker pros who are using sophisticated software in order to win. Our anonymous tables take this unfairness out of the equation, creating a much better experience for the leisure player.”
He went on to say: “This model has been specifically designed to appeal to the Asian market where the ‘trust-factor’ is the single most important reason for choosing one operator over another. In the Asian market we believe our product - in the same way Live Dealer casinos are viewed above RNG operators - will be the preferred option in poker.”
Full details of the live events will be announced next year, so be sure to visit the Bodog Poker Network.
PokerStars Brings Warmth To Hurricane Sandy Victims
Not long ago, Hurricane Sandy ravaged the East Coast and left thousands without power. With winter closing in and temperature dropping, PokerStars has generously donated boxes of fleeces and hoodies to be distributed to those in need.
In an article on Pokerati, the Poker Players Alliance’s Rich Muny explained that PPA Grassroots Director Drew Lesofski distributed hundreds of these items at the American Legion Hall in Keansburg, New Jersey, this past weekend with help of local charities.
“Warm clothing is a cherished item for those affected by the storm and the community was so grateful for the donations," Lesofski said. "I am proud that we could help, even in a small way, those who have literally been left with nothing due to Sandy’s devastation.”
For more on PokerStars generosity and Lesofski’s efforts, check out Muny’s piece on Pokerati.
PokerNews Makes The iGB Affiliate Awards Short List
The iGB Affiliate Awards, which are in their sixth year, awards growth, innovation and achievements in the poker and gaming industries. The voting period for the awards recently came to a close, and a record number of affiliates and executives cast votes; as such, the iGB Affiliate Awards has released their shortlist of nominees (those who received the most votes in each of the categories), and we're proud to announce that PokerNews is on that shortlist for Best Affiliate in the poker division.
“Congratulations to everyone who made it onto the shortlist,” said Alex Pratt, Head of iGaming Business. “To get to this stage is an amazing result and means you’ve had to beat most of your competitors to one of the top spots. Win or lose, each company on this list should be proud to have gotten to this stage. The final decision is now in the hands of our judges, so all that is left to say is good luck to our finalists.”
A judging panel, which will consist of independent experts, will now evaluate each short listed nomination before choosing the winners. They will then be revealed at the London Affiliate Conference on Friday, February 8, 2013 at The Brewery, which is expected to draw over 500 people from the iGaming affiliate community.
For more on the short list, please visit www.iGBAffiliateAwards.com.
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