China Installs New Leader for Casino Enclave Macau
Macau's casino gambling economy and government could have a brand new leader, nominally elected but effectively installed by the Chinese government.
Fernando Chui would be the new leader of the Chinese possession Macau, although the election has yet to be held. The casino gambling region and previous Portugese colony has Chui because the only candidate, an orderly election the way in which Beijing likes them.
Gaming industry insiders are wondering whether Chui's advancement to the highest of the colony will lead to changes within the mainland policies at the gambling zone, especially in regard to visa restrictions. A limitation on frequency and length of stay by the Chinese government on visas for its population is a major cause for the slowed economy in Macau.
But others are saying Chui may have no choice but to continue existing regulations.
"Everyone accepts gambling policy within the near future is designed to slow the industry as it grew too fast," says Larry So, a political analyst at Macau Polytechnic Institute.
Chui has promised to diversify Macau's economy, in order that it's not so dominated by and depending on gambling and casino revenue. He has sworn to "make great efforts to advertise the sustainable growth of gaming-related industries."
Chui has already received 286 of 300 votes from the election commission, leaving a poll today as a formality. Chui will assume office December 20th, the 10 year anniversary of the colony reversion to Chinese rule.
To the good chagrin of many remote supporters of the sector Series of Poker Main Event, there is not any live stream of proceedings from the Amazon Room this year. It has left fans reliant on that the majority archaic of media: text.
There's not much anybody can do about that, I'm afraid, but here is a special edition of our "A Round With..." series, which takes a detailed take a look at the action on one table for one orbit. It is a warts and all glimpse on the action that you simply wouldn't see at the live stream anyhow.
If you want, imagine the dead time between hands is stuffed with Matt Broughton showing you vegetables that appear to be poker players, or James Hartigan talking about James Bond, or Joe Stapleton dressed as a cocktail waitress seeking to hoodwink spectators into swapping their children for a spin on a large wheel. Or something like that it is the. closest we'll get to an EPT Live equivalent on the World Series.
This round is the primary to be played on Table 2, which features James Obst, Tom Marchese and Jeff Hakim. That is the primary table because of break today. Here's the whole line-up:
Seat 1: James Obst, Australia - 19,560,000 (97 bb)Seat 2: Qui Nguyen, U.s.a. - 4,790,000 (24 bb)Seat 3: Fernando Pons, Spain - 17,270,000 (86 bb)Seat 4: Philip Postma, Usa - 2,225,000 (11 bb)Seat 5: Tommy Miller, U.s. - 17,185,000 (86 bb)Seat 6: Jeff Hakim, Lebanon - 4,375,000 (22 bb)Seat 7: Tom Marchese, Usa - 15,420,000 (77 bb)Seat 8: Mike Shin, Usa - 19,345,000 (96 bb)Seat 9: Michael Ruane, U.s. - 24,565,000 (122 bb)
Blinds are 100,000-200,000 with a 30,000 ante.
Hand 1 - Button with James Obst
Later on today, I'll inform you a narrative that includes James Obst. It's in regards to the only story I'VE that includes a poker player, but it is a six-out-of-ten anecdote at best, if I'm honest. But stand by. I'll write it later.
Right now, Obst is sitting beneath a red hoodie, with dark-rimmed glasses and a tuft of brown hair sprouting from under the hood. I'm sure he seems like a personality in an early-period Adam Sandler movie or something, but these are the references I'm unable to pinpoint. One more reason why text will lose to EPT Live.
He was at the button for the second one hand of today, and the primary of this "A Round With..." episode.
Everyone folded to James Obst at the button. He raised to 400,000 and the 2 blinds fold. ♫♫ "Everyone loves a blind steal!" ♫♫
James Obst: The Day 6 version
Hand 2 - Button with Qui Nguyen
Michael Ruane, the massive stack on the table, is eating an apple. It is a red apple. ♫♫ "Everyone loves a red apple!" ♫♫
A nervy fold from a player early to behave exposes the 8♦ to the table and raises a nervy chuckle from other competitors. The laughing stops when Mike Shin, in late position, raises to 430,000 and everybody folds. ♫♫ "Everyone loves a blind steal!" ♫♫
Hand 3 - Button with Fernando Pons
The man at the button, Fernando Pons, is the last Spanish player on this event and is hoping to emulate his countryman Carlos Mortensen, who's still the one Spaniard to win the principle Event. Before that may happen, Michael Ruane must dispense along with his apple core and wanders from the table to toss it right into a bin. It makes a satisfactory thud. You see, you actually do not get this sort of detail on a stream.
While he's away--all of 15 seconds--a cameraman swoops towards his chair to get a close-up of the remainder of the table. Ruane drops a shoulder and swerves within the cameraman to come back to his seat.
Jeff Hakim opens the pot. He makes it 450,000 to play and Tommy Miller calls from the massive blind. It means they'll see the primary flop of the day.
It comes 7♥J♠7♥ and, after Miller checks, Hakim bets 400,000 and wins his first pot of the day.
A spectator, in complete defiance of the principles banning anyone but players and tv crew from within five yards of the table, stages something of a pitch invasion when he's taking two steps throughout the rail. He's vaporised like a losing contestant within the Vortex at the The journey Game*
(*A reference possibly too niche even for poker live stream viewers.)
Hand 4 - Button with Philip Postma
Tom Marchese has a chilly. He wanders clear of the table to blow his nose. ♫♫ "Everyone loves a blown nose!" ♫♫ Fernando Pons raises to 450,000 from the cutoff and wins.
Hand 5 - Button with Tommy Miller
Fernando Pons is the action player at this stage and he raises to 450,000 from the hijack. Tommy Miller calls at the button, hoping to take advantage of his table position. But after the flop comes A♦3♣Q♠, Pons bets what looks as if 325,000 and gets a fold from Miller.
Hand 6 - Button with Jeff Hakim
Michael Ruane, his apple now a specific thing of the past, raises to 450,000 from under the gun and from his huge stack. Fernando Pons goes to have a crack at winning three at the spin and calls from a couple of seats around. Pons is a statuesque figure: right hand positioned over his mouth and with index finger crooked across his top lip. Still and silent.
On the feature table, right next door, one in every of William Kassouf's friends has arrived from the united kingdom. "AS MUCH AS 100 million yet?" Kassouf's friend asks. Kassouf chuckles and springs over to the rail for a talk. Still and silent he's not.
The flop comes A♦3♣9♣ and Ruane has a stab at it. Pons calls, taking them to their first turn of the day. It is the 7♣, which both players check. The Q♠ falls at the river and, after Ruane checks again, Pons bets 750,000. That's a winner. Three in a row!
Three in a row for Fernando Pons
Hand 7 - Button with Tom Marchese
Qui Nguyen is being watched from the rail by his brother, who explains that had he not lost two pots late last night, he would have about 15 million chips. Because it is, Nguyen is without doubt one of the short stacks, but has won every pot he has entered today.
Armando, a server, arrives to the table with a buckler-sized tray of waters and popular-brand energy drink. The ratio of water to popular-brand energy drink on these trays has shifted because the tournament has progressed: popular-brand energy drink is now a two-to-one favourite, approximately. The times are long on the WSOP.
Nguyen opens to 450,000 from early position and Tom Marchese calls at the button. It's just the 2 of them to a flop of K♣7♠6♠. A spectator ambles by the table and positions himself directly in front of the monitor from which the live reporting team are becoming the entire information to write down up the hand histories. These are the monitors that experience an indication attached to them that reads: "PLEASE DON'T STAND IN FRONT OF MONITORS".
The moment recalls nothing such a lot as when my grandmother came into the living room through the 1991 FA Cup Final and stood directly in front of the television saying, "WHAT IS GOING ON here, then?" just as Gary Lineker was taking a penalty for Tottenham Hotspur against Nottingham Forest. She was a beautiful woman, my grandmother, but she was not especially popular at that moment, I WILL tell you.
Lineker missed that penalty. But back on the poker, a safety guard tapped the person at the shoulder and handily pointed on the big sign. The live reporters also bellowed at him, just like my father did to his mother back through the 1991 FA Cup final scandal. It meant the person got out of the way, Nguyen bet 575,000 and Marchese called.
The 8♣ fell at the river and Nguyen's bet of 775,000 took it down.
Hand 8 - Button with Mike Shin
All of a sudden there's a huge commotion from the feature table. This was the instant that Christopher Kusha timed an all-in push pretty badly, running A♠2♦ into Jared Bleznick's 9♥9♦. After the board bricked, a supporter of Bleznick ran across the bleachers of the tv stage shouting, "Terrible shove! Terrible shove!" in a moment of quite poor sportsmanship. Although, while we're talking of terrible shoves, neither my father nor I is happy with how we got my grandmother out the best way of the television back in 1991.
Back to the table: action folded to Michael Ruane within the small blind and he called, giving the choice to lift to James Obst. These are the 2 big stacks on the table, but Obst doesn't feel like playing an enormous pot just yet. He checks.
The flop comes 3♣4♠T♠ and Ruane bets 225,000. Obst raises to 725,000.
In the neighbouring bleachers, two poker fans are discussing Kusha's shove, which has left him with lower than one big blind. "I fold ace-deuce like this," one man says, miming how he would fold it. "It's nothing to me. It's dead to me that hand."
This is likely one of the peculiarities of the arena Series. The folks standing at the rail are much better players than folks who have outlasted 6,600 others and are closing in on an $8 million payday. When you really need to understand methods to play poker, you wish to consult one of the most rail-birds. That's where the actual talent lies.
Ruane calls Obst's bet they usually both then check the J♠ turn. After Ruane checks the 5♣ river, Obst bets 1.6 million and wins.
Hand 9 - Button with Michael Ruane
It's the last hand of this orbit. Are you unhappy? I'm sad. Anyway, it is a thriller as Philip Postma, with only 10 big blinds left, open shoves. Action folds to James Obst, who has easily enough chips to make a speculative call.
However, there's nothing speculative about it. Obst takes a protracted while before committing his 1.625 million but nobody else in interested. Obst is definitely annoyed by that because he has found A♠A♦ and certain wanted someone else within the pot too.
Postma's Q♠Q♥ are in bad shape and the board runs 3♣2♠J♣5♣4♦ to send Postma out in 26th, the second one player eliminated today. (Kusha lost his last unaware of William Kassouf's set of fours at the feature table.)
Postma shakes hands with Jeff Hakim and heads away, picking up $269,430. You humble reporter also heads away, picking up a dime and a pizza crust that a spectator appears to have dropped within the excitement. All of it counts.
$1 million Spin & Gos running now! Click here to get a PokerStars account.WSOP photos by PokerPhotoArchive.com.
A coalition of sports betting industry stakeholders is planning a proper lobbying effort on Capitol Hill, potentially in early 2017, so that it will push for the growth of legalized wagering. That was the largest news from the yank Gaming Association at a conference for media members on Thursday.
The AGA is leading the hassle to shape the coalition and has made sports betting its signature initiative in recent months. On Thursday, the AGA cited the NHL’s decision to find a franchise in Las Vegas as a massive step within the evolution of yankee sports betting.
AGA senior VP of public affairs Sara Rayme said the association expects to construct on what it sees as significant momentum for the growth of legal sports wagering, and attain that lead to three to 5 years.
Even with sizable momentum, one of these timetable is ambitious and will face an extensive, diverse set of hurdles, from the legislative to the litigious.
A central hurdle to the growth of sports betting in America is the pro and Amateur Sports Protection Act, a 1992 federal law that stops all but four states from offering some type of sports wagering.
A partial repeal or alteration of PASPA is probably going probably the most direct option to expand sports betting. Gaming attorney Daniel Wallach, a shareholder with Becker & Poliakoff, characterized the federal law Thursday as, “hanging by a thread and looking forward to a knockout blow.”
But amending PASPA could prove difficult. Congress is notoriously slow to behave in general, not to mention at altering existing law. But as a contemporary daily fantasy sports hearing on Capitol Hill illustrated, there’s a large education gap between stakeholders and legislators on the subject of even understanding the velocity and technology of 21st century sports gambling.
OnSSI continues to construct upon its powerful Ocularis Video Management Software (VMS) platform with the discharge of Ocularis 5.2. This latest version of OnSSI’s industry leading VMS platform delivers improvements and tools for existing and new customers alike. New features and capabilities include increased support for today’s trending panoramic and 4K surveillance cameras, powerful migration tools for legacy users, administration enhancements, and strong system security features.
“Ocularis 5.2 delivers the very best combination of high-performance, extreme versatility and efficiency that buyers wish to best secure their facilities with real ROI and reduced total cost of ownership,” said Ken LaMarca, vice chairman of sales and marketing, OnSSI. “As we continue so as to add new and more powerful feature sets to the Ocularis VMS platform, we bring our loyal customers forward with us by providing migration tools and programs that permit them transition from our legacy platform easily and efficiently, while making the most of the most recent developments OnSSI offers.”
Ocularis 5.2 is currently available as an upgrade to all customers with a sound StayCURRENT software upgrade plan. Additionally it is available complimentary to all customers who purchased Ocularis 5.1 on or after April 6th, 2016.
Ocularis 5.2 is a forward-looking release, supporting the usage of higher resolution and better frame rate cameras. The list of performance enhancements to Ocularis 5.2 is extensive. Ocularis 5.2 includes a new 64-bit Client which improves video performance in demanding environments. This Ocularis Client version makes it possible for a better selection of streams over multiple monitors and higher supports 4K and other high megapixel cameras. It supports dewarping for Bosch and Vivotek 360° cameras, plus includes enhancements for Samsung 5MP Fisheye and ImmerVision 2.0 cameras.
To ensure a smooth and straightforward transition to the newest Ocularis Recorder, OnSSI has accelerated the supply of user-intuitive migration tools with the discharge of Ocularis 5.2. These new migration tools make it easy to import camera lists from Ocularis legacy Recorders and from CSV files to the brand new and more powerful Ocularis 5.2 platform. Additionally, a Camera Replacement Tool now allows users to simply replace individual or large groups of cameras with drag-and-drop simplicity for a direct update of the cameras in all Ocularis Views and Maps with full administrator control.
Ocularis 5.2 includes new Smart Camera Driver support for Northern Video and Interlogix IP cameras, added to the growing list of Smart Camera Drivers for Arecont Vision, Axis, Bosch, Canon, Hanwha Techwin, Hikvision, and Sony. The most recent Ocularis version also now supports the Sony 4K H.264 camera and still-image recording with 20MP resolution.
With network and knowledge security at the forefront of users’ minds, Ocularis 5.2 incorporates 256-bit AES encryption to supply for end-to-end network security. The recorded video database may be protected, using a singular scrambling technique, in addition to throughout the ability to record video data on to any NAS or offsite server. Ocularis 5.2 supports Windows 10, along with Windows 8.1, and the Ocularis 5.2 Base includes SQL Server Express 2014.
Ocularis 5.2 is obtainable in three models: Professional, designed for organizations operating multiple locations with small to mid-sized camera counts; Enterprise, built for quite a lot of mid to huge IT-centric organizations; and Ultimate, created for massive organizations with extended command and control needs and recording server failover.
10 Hold'em Tips: 5 Common Poker Tells to appear For
HomeStrategyTexas Hold'em Poker
A discussion of 5 common "tells" -- both physical and verbal -- that take place on the poker tables.
Making eye contact, acting quickly, trembling hands, table talk -- what do these poker "tells" mean?
Players who're relatively new to no-limit hold'em sometimes overvalue the significance of "tells" in poker.
By tells we're relating to those actions, either physical or verbal, players make on the table that may give away details about the strength in their hands. In any live poker game, especially on the lower limits, it's not uncommon to peer players revealing information via such tells without being aware they're doing so. Players will also deliberately act in certain ways or say certain things to take a look at to deceive their opponents, and thus might give away information to others who're in a position to see through such performances.
However, new players are probably at an advantage not worrying an excessive amount of about deciphering other players' tells, but instead that specialize in other aspects of poker strategy while seeking to minimize their very own tells.
In fact, after we offer the next list of 5" common poker tells to seem for," in preference to in search of them in others, chances are you'll first take a look at yourself and choose even if others may well be witnessing you give off these tells. Then, after you've become more well-off knowing that you just aren't giving anything away, you may begin taking notice of what others are doing.
1. Making eye contact, or looking away
Generally speaking, players who look squarely into your eyes during a hand are conveying strength. Having a large hand often makes players more relaxed, and after they are more relaxed they're prone to make eye contact than not. Players who're weak or bluffing tend to be less comfortable in regards to the situation, and will not be so able to look directly at you.
The flip side of this are players looking clear of you or obviously avoiding eye contact, which frequently will represent relative weakness. Especially in the event that they have just bet as a bluff, players will deliberately avoid engaging their opponent by them.
As with all tells, though, so as from them to be reliable, they must exist as a part of a bigger pattern of behaviors that experience proven to be reliable as indicators of hand strength. The action also needs to be distinct in some way, and never a part of the player's usual routine. Some players — like Mike McDonald, pictured above at the left with the tell-hiding Orpen Kisacikoglu — will always stare right at you, or will always look down at their chips or community cards as hands play out. For those players, you most likely can't use eye contact or the shortage thereof as any type of tell.
2. Taking additional time to act, or acting quickly
Sometimes players who're otherwise superb at hiding tells will give away numerous information just by varying the quantity of time they take to behave in keeping with their hand strength. These "timing tells" are inclined to work somewhat differently given the location and the action the player ultimately makes.
Players who take additional time before checking often really are thinking through a choice between betting or checking, a sign they've" something" — perhaps a medium-strength hand or perhaps a strong hand, or a draw and they're considering semi-bluffing. Meanwhile people who check quickly often really are weak.
Calling bets quickly often also indicates relative weakness, although not complete air. Such players making quick calls after the flop frequently have drawing hands or middle- or bottom-pair type hands with which they do not wish to bloat the pot. At the other hand, taking a while before creating a call is less clear-cut as a tell — sometimes these players may also have medium-strength hands or be on a draw, something you already probably suspect just because they're calling and never raising.
Finally, players who bet quickly are typically regarded as at the weak side, the rapid action intended to appear intimidiating and inspire a fold. Players who take their time before betting are generally stronger, partially because they must take into consideration how much they would like to bet to elicit a decision and extract value.
3. Handling chips and/or cards
"When playing hands, watch their hands" is an easy-to-remember phrase reminding you to have a look at how opponents are handling either their chips or their cards while they play.
Once shortly you will see an inexperienced player's hands actually trembling when cards or handling chips. For many that's a real sign of nervousness — and albeit it's almost impossible to faux "shaky hands." As a rule the brand new player who gets deep right into a big pot and has shaky hands goes to be very strong, although this is not necessarily a foolproof tell. (Some individuals are just nervous the entire time, and the hand shakes are a constant.)
How a player handles chips too can occasionally give away hand strength. Some with strong hands will grab chips well before the action reaches them, indicating a want to bet, while players with weak hands will leave their stacks untouched. Occasionally you'll encounter players doing the other of this — grabbing chips in postflop situations to be able to give the impression they would like to bet, but only doing so to be able to discourage you from betting because their hands are if truth be told weak.
Before the flop, many players will signal their intention to fold well before the action reaches them by holding their cards instead of leaving them face down at the felt. Sometimes they'll be obvious about it, readying to muck once it's their turn. In the event that they use a card protector, they could neglect to position it on their cards once they intend to fold. This tell may also happen in multi-way pots postflop besides. The key, as always, is to appear for a pattern within the behavior so that you could make it a more reliable indicator of what the player goes to do.
4. Level of attentiveness
In this period of smartphones and tablets, many players bring distractions with them right to the table. Especially before the flop, when individuals are still technically within the hand, you may have a look around to gauge the extent of interest players are exhibiting and whether they are finding scrolling through Twitter or checking Facebook more interesting than the cards they've been dealt. Just like the players holding their cards aloft in a folding position, these players might be less more likely to get involved.
Even after the flop, some players will betray their loss of interest within the proceedings in other ways, seemingly more intent on flagging down a waiter or following the sport on a close-by television screen than paying close attention to the action within the hand.
While recognizing a player's level of attentiveness would possibly not necessarily be a fair indicator of that player's specific hand strength in that individual hand, it could actually often let you know something more generally useful in regards to the player's skill level. If someone isn't being attentive on the table, that player is missing out on all of that information that you, the attentive player, are constantly gathering. Such players operate at a disadvantage, often without even realizing it, and may be worth targeting.
5. Table talk
Talking on the table covers an enormous category of potential tells. Indeed, PokerNews strategy contributor Zachary Elwood has written a whole book relating to Verbal Poker Tells. We'll limit ourselves to a few short points about verbal tells here.
One is the overall observation that a player who's talking during a hand is generally conveying how relaxed she or he is, that's usually interpreted because the player having a robust hand. That is especially notable if the player isn't normally talkative. Again, one of these strategy can be utilized as a "false tell" with a player who's weak chatting away as if to provide the impression of strength.
Secondly and more specifically, players will often make what Elwood describes as "disclaimers" or statements which can be usually in direct opposition to their actual hand strength. An example can be a player exhaling and saying "Well, I ASSUME I NEED TO play this hand" or something similar before calling or betting — more or less the verbal equivalent of a shrug. Often that is an attempt at appearing weak when the player is definitely strong.
Finally, take into account that once players talk somewhat specifically about their hands, they're fairly often prone to be telling the reality than to be outright lying. This is not always the case, and a few players are very skilled at being verbally deceptive. But you'll often find most players are more well-off saying what's true than what's not — so after they start talking about their hands, listen up!
Final Thoughts
These five kinds of tells all come from live poker, although you would like to know that tells can sometimes be worth looking for when playing online poker, too. For some examples, see Nathan Williams' article from earlier this week titled "7 How you can Recuperate Reads When Playing Online Poker."
As we noted on the beginning, some players give off tells unwittingly, but there also are players who will deliberately "act" on the table so that you can deceive opponents with "false tells." That suggests with all the tells discussed above, it's possible you'll encounter players exhibiting the tell so to indicate the other of what it normally might signify. For instance, a player might hold his cards in some way that makes it appear to be he's about to fold, encouraging you to bet, but then stay within the hand and installed a raise.
Also, take heed of that time about in search of patterns first before jumping to conclusions about an apparent tell. Have you ever seen the player making eye contact on multiple occasions, then showing strong hands on every occasion? That will make the attention contact tell more reliable the following time you spot it. But when there is not any pattern against which to match the action, watch out to not overvalue the tell.
Finally, especially for brand spanking new players, it's probably significantly better to concentrate on betting patterns than behavioral ones — those have a tendency to be a lot more dependable indicators of players' relative hand strength.
Also on this series...
Ready to sit down on the table? Put these hold'em tips into practice at 888poker.
Want to stick atop the entire latest within the poker world? If so, remember to get PokerNews updates to your social media outlets. Follow us on Twitter and find us on both Facebook and Google+!
PokerNews.com is the world's leading poker website. Among other things, visitors will discover a daily dose of articles with the most recent poker news, live reporting from tournaments, exclusive videos, podcasts and such a lot more.
PokerStars is the biggest online poker room offering the largest amount of poker games and different game variations including Texas Hold'em, Omaha and other popular poker games. By joining PokerStars you'll be able to easily learn all of the poker rules and poker strategy by playing free poker games. Join PokerStars and luxuriate in high quality online poker.
Reflex Gaming, the leading, UK-based, multi-channel gaming company, has announced the appointment of former Inspired Executive Board member and founding father of Impulse Gaming, Mat Ingram, to the newly created post of chief product officer. Mat, who has 20-years experience within the development of gaming products and the expansion of gaming businesses, reports on to the Reflex Board.
Announcing the appointment, Reflex, Managing Director, Quentin Stott, said: "Mat joins Reflex at an especially exciting phase in our development. From a status start some 12 years ago, now we have grown to command a healthy share of the one site marketplace for Category C gaming machines, been recognised as some of the UK's fastest growing tech companies, moved right into a new £1.5m multi-purpose manufacturing unit and made the successful transition into social gaming.
"Mat spent over a decade at Inspired Gaming Group, most recently as managing director, Interactive and the experience gained with what's one of the crucial world's largest providers of Server-based Gaming machines, will prove invaluable. His role is to consolidate and grow our healthy position within the traditional Reflex gaming markets but also, to drive the deployment of more content around the full range of gaming channels. I'M certain that Mat will prove to be an ideal asset to the Reflex business and i'm absolutely delighted to have him on board at this exciting time for everybody involved with the organisation."
Reflecting at the opportunity, Mat Ingram added: "Throughout my career I'VE BEEN fortunate to be eager about some really exciting projects from the times at Impulse where we grew it to a £22m turnover business in exactly three years, to my decade working at Inspired. My role at Reflex represents the following chapter and that i cannot wait to bring my experience, knowledge and keenness for gaming to the newly created post of chief product officer."
MicroMillions 12: The easiest antidote to high ambition and coffee bankroll
MicroMillions 12 continues, with seven more results since yesterday, and they all meeting those now signature attributes of a MicroMillions win.
* A low buy-in meaning events are open to the utmost collection of players, with prizes large enough to spice up any bankroll.* A hugely competitive field made from pros and amateurs alike.* A recognised online poker title (90 in total), in multiple variants, with structures that encourage skilful play.
Frankly, if you are high on ambition, and coffee on bankroll, there is no better place to play.
As the next players (and the thousands who cashed behind them) discovered, turning a couple of dollars into thousands.
EVENT
BUY-In
PRIZEPOOL
WINNER
COUNTRY
PRIZE MONEY
48
$3.30
$30,966.00
Trem mineiro
Brazil
$3,142.51
49
$5.50
$33,275.00
aunty kimmy1
Australia
$4,735.08
50
$2.20
$54,044.00
mati133
Poland
$6,156.71
51
$4.40
$46,036.00
yarost29
Russia
$6,020.10
52
$3.30
$88,944.00
Adzetas
UK
$10,879.56
53
$2.20
$18,114.00
LeBresil
Brazil
$2,272.05
54
$5.50
$21,985.00
Vve$ley
Brazil
$3,092.33
The big winner from those was Adzetas of Brazil (considered one of three Brazilians to win since yesterday) who earned $10,879 in Event #52, a no-limit hold'em "bubble dash". All that for an initial investment of $3.30.
Play continues today with six more events with buy-ins starting from $5.50 on the top end, to 0.11 cents on the other. Those are amount that just ask you to make this a memorable day.
Good luck to everyone in MicroMillions today. Meet up with details of event and the way to qualify at the MicroMillions homepage.
Stephen Bartley is a staff writer for the PokerStars Blog. Follow him on Twitter: @StephenBartley.
ANZPT7 Melbourne Final table: Three down in quick succession
Well it didn't take too long to look our first final table casualty here. Mile Krstanoski found the rail first in today's proceedings by the hands on Lin Shi. The action began with Shi opening to 65,000 from middle position and when it folded around to Krstanoski at the button, he pushed his last 455,000 into the center. The players within the blinds threw their hands away and Shi called it off to position Krstanoski in peril. Krstanoski: Q♣Q♦ Shi: A♣K♥ It was a flip with Krstanoski seeking to dodge an ace or king to stick alive. The A♥J♦K♣ saw him lose the lead but meant he could still peel a queen for a suite or a 10 to make Broadway. The 8♠ turn and 2♦ river bricked off and Krstanoski headed to the exit in ninth place. He collects $19,120 for his efforts.
9th place - Mile Krstanoski
Following Krstanoski out the door almost an hour later was George Balandinos. After taking a success in a contemporary hand with king queen against pocket aces, Balandinos found himself all in for his final 370,000 after jamming from the hijack. Peter Matusik made the decision from the button and with the opposite players out of the way, the 2 tabled their cards. Balandinos: 8♠8♣ Matusik: 9♠9♥ Balandinos was in trouble and things only got worse because the 9♦5♠2♥ flop saw Matusik spike top set. Needing running straight cards to stick alive Balandinos couldn't catch them because the Q♠ turn and A♥ river landed. For his eight place finish Balandinos pockets $26,650.
8th place - George Balandinos
And our latest evictee was met with elimination shortly after when New Zealander Carl Knox earned himself a seventh place score. After losing a large flip with pocket nines to Nikolce Trajkovski's ace-ten suited just prior, Knox got his last two big blinds into the center. Both Peter Matusik and Lin Shi called from the blinds before the cards went on their backs. Knox: K♥Q♠ Matusik: J♠T♥ Shi: 8♦7♥ The 2 players still with chips quickly checked down on a board of 3♦8♠2♠A♥6♥ and Knox was presented with the bad news. Shi had flopped an eight which was ok to eliminate Knox in seventh place for $34,650.
7th place - Carl Knox
That's the action up to now this afternoon. It has been a fast-paced start and we'll see if it stays that way or if things decelerate as players approach the rostrum. Stick with us!
Ladbrokes Says Return Customers Key to Online Casino Success
Ladbrokes made proactive moves in management designed to maintain the web casino operator healthy, profitable, and dominant in its industry.
Ladbrokes shook up its management staff this week, replacing the top of online gaming and the director of retail operations, among other moves. Company CEO Richard Glynn told the Wall Street Journal that the operation needed refreshing and updating, with a goal of generating online casino patron loyalty.
Increasing promotions, offers, and incentive programs is a focus for Ladbrokes, along side supplying state-of-the-art technology. Beyond creating traffic to its Internet gambling sites by drawing new visitors, Ladbrokes is preparing for intensification of competition by targeting how one can retain customers who've previously used the service.
This means offering essentially the most modern adaptations of sports betting, equivalent to live wagering featuring in-game play and constantly shifting odds. It also involves concentration on separating and raising brand awareness above other online gaming operators, and providing responsive customer service.
"We are moving swiftly to deal with historical operational weaknesses," Glynn told the Journal. "WE'RE changing the DNA of the business."
Glynn asserted the changes were necessary before adaptations by competitors corresponding to the newly formed PartyGaming-Bwin union leave Ladbrokes trailing in a rapidly shifting online casino environment.
MyCasinoShare launches associates program with Income Access
MyCasinoShare, a Netherlands-based marketing provider operated by MPT Gaming BV, which represents the Supergame.be and Blitz.be brands, has announced the launch of a brand new affiliate programme with Income Access, a turnkey digital marketing and technology company specialising within the global iGaming industry. The MyCasinoShare program might be supported by Income Access’ award-winning affiliate management platform.
Located and authorized within the Netherlands, MyCasinoShare connects affiliates with two top online casino brands within the iGaming industry: Blitz.be and Supergame.be, both licensed in Belgium. MyCasinoShare may also be adding Supergamecasino.com, licensed in Curaçao, to this system within the future.
The brands within the MyCasinoShare programme offer players plenty of choices from top gaming providers including EGT Games, Gaming1 and MPT Games.
Blitz.be offers a lot of dice and roulette games, virtual sports in addition to tournament options. Supergame.be also prives players with an infinite array of dice, casino and card games.
To celebrate the launch of the MyCasinoShare affiliate program, the primary 25 affiliates to sign up for will receive a default 50% revenue share commission structure for the primary full month of this system. All affiliates may have access to MyCasinoShare’s lucrative standard commission structure, starting from 20% to 50% net gaming revenue dependent on the choice of players acquired.
The new MyCasinoShare associates program is powered by Income Access’ affiliate management software, which has won the eGR B2B award for ‘Best Affiliate Software’ the past four years running. This system can also be supported by Income Access’ proprietary Ad Serving technology.
“We are very eager about the launch of our program in partnership with Income Access,” said Manou Coutard, affiliate manager at MyCasinoShare. “We need to offer the most efficient opportunities to our affiliates, and dealing with Income Access makes this possible. Our success is defined by our affiliates’ success – it’s a win-win situation.”
MyCasinoShare’s experienced team of affiliate managers will manage the programme in-house. Affiliates may have access to consistent Skype support for any questions or information about the MyCasinoShare program, and to assist them optimize the array of promotional tools available.
“MyCasinoShare’s innovative strategy to internet online affiliate marketing within the online casino vertical is a brilliant complement to Income Access’ expertise within the global iGaming industry,” said Nicky Senyard, founder and CEO of Income Access. “We look ahead to growing a mutually beneficial relationship with the team at MyCasinoShare as they expand their associates program within the European markets.”
WCOOP Challenge Series: roscootje459 reaps $302k in Sunday Million Special Edition (Event #7, $215 NLHE) ^
It was a merry weekend indeed at the PokerStars felt. When all was said and done, the WCOOP Challenge Series awarded over $11.6 million in prize money, each of its ten champions coming away with a $5,200 WCOOP Main Event ticket and a personalised commemorative money clip along with their potentially life-changing first-place score. Event #7 ran as opposed to the Sunday Million and even though it carried the similar $215 buy-in, it boasted an extended structure and a $2 million guaranteed prize pool.
The juiced-up stakes were enough to entice 11,644 entrants, leading to a $2,328,800 prize pool. 1,530 places were paid with first place set to earn $323,941.66. Greater than two dozen Red Spades bought in, including Andre Akkari, Isaac Haxton, Nacho Barbero, Liv Boeree, Eugene Katchalov, Andre Coimbra, and Lex Veldhuis. Four finished within the money: Caio Pessagno (1,063rd), Matthias De Meulder (850th), Angel Guillen (302nd), and Maxim Lykov (231st).
The money bubble burst just shy of the six-hour mark and by Level 31, the sector had narrowed to 179 players. Day 1 concluded with Denmark's laekd15 within the chip lead, with action scheduled to renew after a 14-hour break.
Cards went within the air for Day 2 at 2:30pm ET Monday afternoon. Play continued for an additional 16 levels before reaching the overall table bubble. With ten players remaining and 300,000/600,000 blinds, roscootje459 opened for 1.25 million and mikulita three-bet shoved for 10.4 million. Roscootje459 snap-called, his [Qs][Qc] crushing mikulita's [5d][5c]. Roscootje459's queens held up and mikulita was left with not up to 1,000,000 in chips. Mikulita put them within the middle at the next hand, but couldn't fade Ilkinopoulos's pocket sevens on a [Qc][9c][4h][2d][8s] board. Mikulita was out in tenth place and the overall table set.
Final table chip counts
Seat 1: Ilkinopoulos (13,693,620 in chips)
Seat 2: mr.salgado30 (20,398,027 in chips)
Seat 3: RenRad 01 (15,799,632 in chips)
Seat 4: Calcasus (5,784,141 in chips)
Seat 5: ProWannabe10 (11,315,086 in chips)
Seat 6: jupitor123 (7,413,488 in chips)
Seat 7: roscootje459 (19,510,200 in chips)
Seat 8: KolayRuss (5,107,832 in chips)
Seat 9: aszeta1 (17,417,974 in chips)
Calcasus, jupitor123 fall out of orbit
Only a couple of hands in, Calcasus open-shoved for his last 4.2 million and roscootije459 called at the button with [Ac][Qd]. Calcasus's [Kd][Tc] didn't improve at the [Qh][6c][2h][6d][8h] board and he departed with $14,671.44 for ninth place.
No one was more delighted than short stack KolayRuss, who picked up no less than another $8,600 for surviving another pay jump. All the way down to only 2.8 million with the blinds as much as 400,000/800,000, KolayRuss open-shoved with [Ah][Js] and RenRad 01 called with [7s][7c] within the small blind. The [Tc][5s][3c] flop favored RenRad 01, but KolayRuss pulled out the [Kh] at the turn and the [Qh] at the river to make a Broadway straight. KolayRuss doubled to 7.36 million and only four hands later, made it two in a row when his [Ks][Kh] held up against Ilkinopoulos's [8s][8c]. KolayRuss doubled to 13.9 million while Ilkinopoulos fell to just 3.5 million.
The very next deal saw jupitor123 move in for 3.3 million with [8c][8d], but roscootje459 awoke with [Js][Jh] within the cutoff. Jupitor123 couldn't pull off a miracle and was eliminated in 8th place, good for $23,288.00.
ProWannabe10 rises from the dead
ProWannabe10 was sitting in the midst of the pack when aszeta1 made a UTG min-raise to 1.6 million. Holding [Ts][Th], ProWannabe10 moved in for 13.8 million at the button and aszeta1 snap-called with [Kc][Ks]. Aszeta1 moved as much as 29.5 million in chips, leaving ProWannabe10 on 22,112 in chips-- lower than 1/4 of an ante.
ProWannabe10 was all in at the next hand, his [Ad][4s] dominated by KolayRuss's [Ah][7d]. However, ProWannabe10 hit a stroke of luck when his kicker flopped. ProWannabe10 7x-ed his stack to 155,000, and his 1.5 antes went within the middle again at the next deal. Once again, ProWannabe10 prevailed, his [Qh][8d] turning a couple of eights vs. mr.salgado30's flopped pair of sixes. That hand took him to 1.8 million, enough to respire for a few hands before shoving from UTG+1 with [Kc][Qh]. Mr.Salgado30 called with [Qc][4s], but his dominated hand didn't improve at the [Jd][Ac][3c][As][Th] board. Now as much as 2.9 million, ProWannabe10 found [As][Jd] at the next deal and moved in from UTG. Mr.Salgado30 decided the third time will be the charm and called from the small blind with only [2c][4c]. An ace hit the flop and 4 hands after being right down to nearly nothing, ProWannabe10 was suddenly back in business with 7.55 million.
Aszeta1 takes out two
ProWannabe10, KolayRuss, and Ilkinopoulos enjoyed much more luck when fellow short stack RenRad 01 called off his last 1.9 million, his [As][Kh] up against aszeta1's [Qs][Qh]. The queens prevailed and RenRad 01 went out in seventh place ($46,576.00).
Having successfully waited out another money jump, Ilkinopoulos put his last 1.88 million in from the massive blind, his [Jh][3s] up against aszeta1's [Kd][Td]. Aszeta1 made top pair at the [Kh][5d][4s] flop and Ilkinopoulos didn't catch up, the turn and river falling the [9h] and the [6s] to send him home in sixth place ($69,864.00).
KolayRuss climbs to fifth place
With the blinds as much as 500,000/1,000,000, ProWannabe10 picked up [Ad][Th] UTG and moved in for his last 8.5 big blinds. KolayRuss called all-in for 3.8 million and revealed [Kd][Qs]. Although KolayRuss out flopped ProWannabe10 and made top two pair at the [Kc][Qh][Jh] flop, the [Td] turned, making ProWannabe10 a Broadway straight. KolayRuss needed a king or a queen to outlive but got the [9h] instead. After entering the overall table with not up to ten big blinds, KolayRuss came away with a fifth-place finish, good for an outstanding $93,152.00
No-go dealio
Immediately following KolayRuss's elimination, the general four agreed to pause the action and discuss a possible deal. Here is a take a look at how they stacked up on the time:
ProWannabe10 asked final table host Randy "nanonoko" Lew to run some ICM numbers for his or her perusal. While aszeta1, roscootje459 and mr.salgado30 all agreed to the proposed shares, ProWannabe10 wanted a lift from $168,500 to $175,000. Neither mr.salgado30 nor aszeta1 were amenable to the speculation and with negotiations at an impasse, cards went back within the air.
The rise of roscootje459
As four-handed play commenced, roscootje459 pillaged aszeta1's stack, winning back-to-back pots off aszeta1 with preflop four-bets. Three hands later, roscootje459 flopped top pair on a [Jd][4s][2h] board against aszeta1's ace-high. Roscooje459 bet 2.3 million at the flop, another 6.6 million when the [Kd] turned and check-called aszeta1's 8 million bluff when the river fell the [7c]. Roscootje459's [Jh][8c] held up against [Ad][6d] and he raked within the 39.3 million pot, leaving aszeta1 on 13.2 million.
Moments later, the action folded to ProWannabe10 within the small blind. He moved all-in for 15.2 million with [6h][7h] and roscootje459 called with pocket fives within the big. This time, there could be no miracle for ProWannabe10, who exited in fourth place when the board ran out [Ac][Qd][3s][Ks][Ad]. The $116,440 he earned was over 2.5 times what he'd have earned had he gone out in seventh place when he was crippled to just 1/4 of an ante.
Let's do that again
Down to three, roscootje459, mr.salgado30 and aszeta1 decided to pause the action again and take another run at creating a deal. However, this time, the chip counts looked much different:
Randy "nanonoko" Lew ran a brand new set of ICM numbers and this time, all three agreed to the shares presented. With $40,000 still up for grabs for the winner, cards went back within the air.
Such a heartbreaker
Only moments after action resumed, roscootje459 open-shoved at the button and mr.salgado30 called from the massive blind. Both turned up the similar hand, mr.salgado30 with [As][7s] and roscootje459 with [Ah][7s]. But before it is advisable say chop it up, the flop fell [Jc][7c][6h] and roscootje459 picked up a flush draw when the [Jh] hit the turn. Mr.salgado30 only needed to fade a river heart, but was dealt a crushing blow when the [5h] fell, making roscootje459 the nut flush. Mr.salgado30 was suddenly at the rail in third place, his share of the deal worth $215,777.73.
Heads-up chip counts
Seat 7: roscootje459 (102,381,338 in chips)
Seat 9: aszeta1 (14,058,662 in chips)
With a 7 to at least one chip lead over aszeta1, roscootje459 only needed to watch for the best moment to strike. After ten trades of the blinds, aszeta1 opened for twenty-four. million and roscootje459 three-bet to six million. Aszeta1 shoved and roscootje459 called, his [As][8s] up against [5h][5s]. Once again, roscootje459 found a win the hard way, hitting running straight cards at the turn and river to snap off aszeta1's pair and lock up the win.
Congratulations to roscootje459 on a fantastic victory! He banked $302,291.97 way to the three-way deal while runner-up aszeta1 earned $201,777.96.
PokerStars WCOOP Challenge Event #7 ($215 NLHE Sunday Million Special Edition) results
João Costa leads Portugal Poker Series in Figueira da Foz
Portuguese player João Costa built a huge chip lead during Day 1A of PokerStars Portugal Poker Series Figueira da Foz. After nine 60- minute levels, Costa bagged 204,700 chips, putting himself as an enormous favourite to win this second event of 1 of the latest PokerStars tours.
That stack is much more impressive when you think about that, one in all 54 starters on Day 1A of this €700+€70 tournament, he began with 15,000 chips. When he returns on Sunday for Day 2, blinds may be 500-1,000 (100 ante), which means that he has slightly greater than 204 big blinds. In total he has greater than 25% of the 810,000 chips in play today, and his closest challenger, Eduardo Ferreira, has 83,700 chips!
Chip leader João Costa
Day 1A saw the demise of 2 Portuguese Team PokerStars Pros. Henrique Pinho lost his last chips in spite of everything of the penultimate level of the day, just a bit bit after Nuno Coelho had pocket kings... twice! First he lost half his stack pre-flop against A-K, then he found himself at the wrong side of a K-K vs. A-A cooler.
Team PokerStars Pro Nuno Coelho
Satursay saw another Team PokerStars Pro in play. João Nunes plays, but after a different heads-up challenge against Paulo Futre, probably the greatest Portuguese footballers ever, whose popularity levels in Portugal are, nowadays, higher than ever.
If you must practise your Portuguese, visit our fellow PokerStars PT Blog, where you will find all details of just today 1A at the Live Coverage. Whilst you do that, take a look at the Portugal Poker Series official website to be informed more about this tour.
UKIPT6 Marbella: Kevin Monroe climbs highest on Day 1B
Monroe hit all of the right notes today
Who needs sand, sunshine and sangria if in case you have cards, chips and a chair? Not 409 poker players from around the globe who all took part within the second of 3 starting flights of UKIPT Marbella.
A total of 39 countries were represented today and whilst the UK, Ireland and Spain accounted for 249 in their number there have been players from as far afield as Algeria and Uruguay on the felt today. When the allotted dozen 45-minute levels were played it was the karaoke king Kevin Monroe who claimed the chip lead.
The Irishman enjoyed a incredible day running up his starting stack of 25,000 to a bag busting 321,000 by the point the general whistle blew.
Want to start out your personal UKIPT campaign? Join PokerStars and begin your journey. Click here to get an account.
Just like within the England v Wales game it was an in depth run contest right up until the tip of play. Just pipped into second was Albert Sapiano who finished the day on 319,400. "I got lucky a few times," was his deadpan response to his day on the tables. A raft of different players increased their stack handsomely with David Greene (237,700), James Mitchell (224,600) and June Edwards (213,400) all well placed to make a deep run on the money.
A successful day for Sapiano
Speaking of which, at this point we've usually got the prize pool information, total choice of runners and the overnight seat draw handy. But, for the primary time on a UKIPT we're trialling something that's worked well on other PokerStars tours, a turbo Day 1C. It is a flight that's only open to anyone who busted Day 1A or Day 1B and will not wrap up until around 2.30am CET. As a result we won't bring you the Day 2 seat draw just yet, but regulate the @UKIPT and @PokerStarsBlog twitter accounts for that information, to be able to be available before play starts tomorrow. You will find the chip counts of the 182 survivors from the outlet two flights here.
Moreira de Melo must try again if she desires to make Day 2
One player who'll probably play Day 1C is Team PokerStars SportsStars Fatima Moreira de Melo. She got as high as 49,000 at one point today however the blinds and antes started to eat away at her stack and she or he exited three quarters of how during the day.
Other familiar faces who could be back for Day 1C include: Kuljinder Sidhu, Renee Xie, Chris Dowling, Mateusz Moolhuizen and David Clarkson. That talented quintet all tried and failed at the first attempt today.
Good day for Gomez
Whilst probably the most big names faltered they'll be quite a lot of notables within the Day 2 seat draw tomorrow all trying to get themselves a Spanish Flag. The varied talents of: Diego Gomez (150,200), Lam Trinh (122,300), Kjell Lindqvist (72,500) and Niko Koop (65,000) will return tomorrow.
A tough day for Leo
Also through is De Melo's best bud, Leo Margets. The 2 were seated at adjacent tables initially of the day and that made for a jovial atmosphere of their a part of the room. Margets will return tomorrow with a stack of 43,200 and work to do.
You can make amends for the entire Day 1B action here, Day 2 starts at noon tomorrow and that's the reason when we'll pick up the action again. We'll bring you a temporary overview of what happened in the course of the turbo Day 1C as Day 2 kicks off. But for now, goodnight from Marbella.
PokerStars Blog Reporting Team at UKIPT6 Marbella: Marc Convey and Nick Wright. Photos by Mickey May and Rene Velli. Follow the PokerStars Blog on Twitter: @PokerStarsBlog
Playboy Don’t Stop the Party! Video Slot Featuring Pitbull
This Week in Gambling is worked up to release our video review for the Playboy Don’t Stop the Party! Video Slot Featuring Pitbull. We got exclusive access to the Scientific Games slot machine, and interview company representative Mike Trask.
In a press release, Scientific Games states that Playboy Don’t Stop the Party! is “…a progressive video slot featuring Playboy Playmates and Pitbull at the ALPHA 2 Pro Theater cabinet with a professional Sound Chair, and Tablemaster Fusion – Playboy Bonus Blackjack, the first-ever licensed brand ETS product.”
You can watch our video review of Playboy Don’t Stop the Party! below, and on our YouTube channel. Scientific Games has the exclusive rights to Playboy-themed wagering games to be used on casino premises worldwide.
Watch the Playboy Don’t Stop the Party! Video Slot Featuring Pitbullon our YouTube channel!
Orca Class III video slot machine—NOVOMATIC AMERICAS
Think you’ve got what it takes to tackle the King of the Wild Northern Seas? Test your luck on NOVOMATIC’s new mighty Orca and take a rich harvest with the killer whale.
This 50-line, 5-reel game provides endless entertainment. Watch because the reels spin and the screen fills with bright orange sunsets, jumping orcas, and WILD symbols – captivating players.
WILD substitutes for all symbols except SCATTER. When a SCATTER symbol appears on reels 1-3, 10 free games are won.
Free games are played on the current bet. With each free game won a WILD is added onto reels 2, 3, 4, and 5, respectively. The player’s excitement and anticipation will intensify as they watch the additional WILDs accrue at the spinning reels.
Players can have a whale of a time as they dive into the sea and tackle the mighty Orca.
Available with NOVOMATIC’s Jackpot Edition progressive
With the Jackpot Edition progressive, players collect extra coins with spins of the bottom game, and watch as their earned coins are added to the jackpot tray above. Once enough coins are collected the tray will overflow and tip – triggering the JACKPOT CHANCE feature.
In that feature, players are given as much as five treasure chest picks. Selecting the chest with the JACKPOT WHEEL hidden inside awards a spin for a progressive jackpot – adding much more excitement to this NOVOMATIC game.
Fernando Chui would be the new leader of the Chinese possession Macau, although the election has yet to be held. The casino gambling region and previous Portugese colony has Chui because the only candidate, an orderly election the way in which Beijing likes them.
A coalition of sports betting industry stakeholders is planning a proper lobbying effort on Capitol Hill, potentially in early 2017, so that it will push for the growth of legalized wagering. That was the largest news from the yank Gaming Association at a conference for media members on Thursday.
Ladbrokes shook up its management staff this week, replacing the top of online gaming and the director of retail operations, among other moves. Company CEO Richard Glynn told the Wall Street Journal that the operation needed refreshing and updating, with a goal of generating online casino patron loyalty.
PokerStars Blog Reporting Team at UKIPT6 Marbella: Marc Convey and Nick Wright. Photos by Mickey May and Rene Velli. Follow the PokerStars Blog on Twitter: @PokerStarsBlog 
This Week in Gambling is worked up to release our video review for the