Jan 23 2012
Gus Hansen wins big in Macau now heads to Aussie Millions
written by: Steve Comments: Comments Off
Fresh off a huge profit on the ultra-high-stakes cash games in Macau, Gus Hansen is looking to get back into tournament poker by playing the full slate of high-buy-in tournaments at the Aussie Millions Tournament Series in Melbourne, Australia according to his blog at GusHansen.me.
Hansen gave the poker world a sneak-peak at his upcoming Aussie Millions tournament schedule on his blog, saying that everything from the $10k Main Event to the $250k Super-High-Roller were in the Dane’s sights:
“Arrived in Australia a couple of days ago and slowly getting acclimated. Poker hasn’t started yet – at least not the tournaments I am interested in. There is a handfull of tourneys catching my eye, ranging from the Main Event 10K buy-in, to the super duper High-Roller 250K buy-in. There is also 25K and a 100K in between and chances are I will play them all,”
While reports are always suspect, Hansen was apparently one of the big winners in the ultra-high-stakes cash-games that spring-up off-and-on in Macau. According to reports Hansen booked in the neighborhood of $4 million in profit during his sessions in Macau.
Hansen took an inordinate amount of time off from poker following Black Friday and the subsequent demise of his long-time sponsor Full Tilt Poker (Hansen reportedly held a small equity share in the company as well, rumored to be about 1%) and in that time dedicated himself to racquet sports and the creation of his personal blog, which has given fans of the Danish great a unique insight into his life and thoughts on a variety of issues.
After winning two World Poker Tour (WPT) titles in 2007 and 2008, as well as the WPT Player of the Year award, Jonathan Little looked to be on the precipice of becoming one of the game’s all-time greats. Even though Little hasn’t struggled in poker tournaments since those big wins, he also hasn’t been able to replicate his early success.
2012 could very well be another big year for Little, considering he made a number of deep runs in tournaments in 2011 (unfortunately the cards didn’t turn his way) and he has already won his first tournament of 2012, a $1,000 buy-in tournament in Biloxi, Mississippi at the Million Dollar Heater tournament series that earned the poker pro a $30,000 payday according to his Twitter account.
Little, who recently released Part 1 of a two-part Tournament Poker Strategy Book, titled, Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker, is the consummate professional in the poker world. Little will play any event, whether the buy-in is $500 or $25,000, and is consistently among the first players named when asked about top tournament pros.
With over $4.7 million in career tournament earnings according to thehendonmob.com’s database, Little has five consecutive years with at least six-figures in prize-money, as well as back-to-back years in 2007 and 2008 where he pocketed seven-figures.
In addition to his two WPT wins, Little also has two other WPT Final Table finishes (a runner-up finish and a 5th place showing) and overall he has an amazing seven Top 8 finishes on the WPT.
Jan 21 2012
David Gorr and Jason Gray inducted into Australian Poker Hall of Fame
written by: Steve Comments: Comments Off
The inductees for the 2012 Australian Poker Hall of Fame were revealed on Thursday, and it will be two longtime veterans of the Australian poker scene who will join the other legends of Aussie Poker in the APHOF: 2011 Aussie Millions winner David Gorr, and 2007 Victoria Poker Championships winner Jason Gray.
Both men have over $1 million in career tournament earnings; with Gorr winning well above that amount for his Aussie Millions Championship last year, and both have spent the vast majority of their poker careers in Australia.
Like the Poker Hall of Fame, the APHOF has a certain set of criteria that a player must live up to before being inducted:
- Be a current or former residents of Australia or New Zealand
- Have demonstrated outstanding and extended service to the game, bringing credit to Australian Casino Tournament Poker and/or
- Have displayed significant player excellence.
Gorr and Gray were blindsided by the induction, with Gorr admitting to finding about it only five minutes before the honor was bestowed on him! The two join Australian poker legends like Joe Hachem, Jeffrey Lisandro, and Tony G in the APHOF. Here is a look at all of the inductees to the APHOF over the years:
2009 Inaugural Class:
- Joe Hachem
- Antanas “Tony G” Gouga
- Jeffrey Lisandro
- Lee Nelson
- Billy “The Croc” Arygos
- Mel Judah
- Gary Benson
- Maury Pears
2010 Class:
- Marsha Waggoner
2011 Class:
- Leo Boxell
- Danny McDonagh
2012 Class:
- David Gorr
- Jason Gray
It appears the exodus of upper management at PokerStars is not over yet, considering not long after parting ways with European Poker Tour Tournament Director Thomas Kremser in May, and more recently EPT founder and CEO John Duthie, the site will also be parting ways with current CEO Gabriel “Gabi” Campos Woslovsky slated to step-down on February 1, 2012 according to PokerNews.com.
According to an exclusive letter PokerNews.com received from PokerStars:
“PokerStars announced today that Gabi Campos has decided to step down from his position as Chief Executive Officer, effective Feb. 1, 2012, to pursue other opportunities. The company thanks Gabi for his hard work and commitment and wishes him the best in all his future endeavors. A search for Gabi’s replacement is under way.”
Campos came to PokerStars in 2010 after increasing 888.com’s DragonFish revenue by 33%, replacing Isia Scheinberg as the CEO of the company –both Scheinberg and his son Marc remained in critical roles with the company during Campos’ stint as CEO.
PokerStars has also seen a number of their high-profile Team PokerStars Pros leave the site over the past year including 2004 World Series of Poker Champion Greg Raymer and 2005 World Series of Poker Champion Joe Hachem; it should be noted that both splits seem to have been mutually decided and amicable.
Campos’ possible split from PokerStars was first reported by Wendeen Eolis at the website PokerPlayerNewspaper.com on Monday night, with PokerStars confirming the split hours later.
Jan 19 2012
Poker payment processor Ira Rubin pleads guilty to Conspiracy
written by: Steve Comments: Comments Off
Poker payment processor Ira Rubin plead guilty to three separate charges on Tuesday, and became the second person indicted on Black Friday to plead guilty. Rubin plead guilty to Conspiracy charges for his role in processing online poker payments from PokerStars, Full Tilt poker, and Absolute Poker. The 53 year-old was arrested in Guatemala last year after hiding from Canadian authorities in Latin America since 2008, over a Telemarketing Fraud conviction.
Rubin allegedly was the mastermind behind setting up payment processors to handle online poker transactions and disguising them as online merchant sales. He will face sentencing on May 17, 2012. By pleading guilty to the Conspiracy charge and two other charges, Rubin avoids going to trial where he faced a total of nine counts and a potential sentence of up to 55 years in prison –his plea-bargain will see Rubin sentenced to anywhere from 18-24 months in prison; there is no word on whether the Canadians are interested in extraditing him on the previous charges.
After being detained in Guatemala soon after being indicted last April –allegedly attempting to flee to Thailand in the wake of the Black Friday indictments– Rubin has been in custody ever since, as an obvious flight risk. Rubin’s guilty plea comes on the heels of Absolute Poker co-founder Brent Beckley pleading guilty back in December, and could be the death knell for the other indicted individuals if both a site’s founder and the payment processor are working with the authorities.
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