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Daniel Negreanu Beats Viktor Blom in Rematch
At one point on Sunday, Viktor “Isildur1†Blom was in the midst of another killing of Daniel “KidPoker†Negreanu in part II of their PokerStars SuperStar Showdown contest. Negreanu was …
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Make a Wish From Space
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In honor of those affected by the Tohoku-Kanto Earthquake in Japan, Russian cosmonaut and Expedition 27 commander Dmitry Kondratyev (center), European Space Agency astronaut Paolo Nespoli and NASA astronaut Cady Coleman are pictured with paper cranes (origami craft), which they folded to be placed in the Kounotori2 H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV-2). The HTV2 is scheduled to undock from the International Space Station at 11:45 a.m. EDT on March 28, and re-enter Earth’s atmosphere on March 29, 2011. Image Credit: NASA More... |
Daniel Negreanu Rebounds in PokerStars SuperStar Showdown
On Sunday, the second installment of the PokerStars SuperStar Showdown between Daniel Negreanu and Viktor “Isildur1†Blom played out across four $50/$100 Heads-Up No Limit Hold’em tables. Last week, it was a bloodbath, as Negreanu went broke in just 1,439 hands out of the 2,500 required for completion, the first time that the challenge had ended prematurely.
This week, Negreanu righted the ship, profiting $26,500 to offset last week’s losses partially. However, Blom jumped out to a monstrous lead once again, claiming all but $30,000 of Negreanu’s $150,000 stake after just 1,300 hands. It seemed like we might be writing the same story this week, but Negreanu surged ahead and avoided another complete meltdown. There were double-ups aplenty for Negreanu in his quest to stave off elimination and avoid his second straight $150,000 loss to Blom. One occurred after “Kid Poker†made a better two pair than Blom and another came when an ace on the river helped Negreanu draw out on pocket nines with A-8. Then, pocket queens withstood Blom’s J-10 and, suddenly, Blom’s lead had been sliced by half. Negreanu’s kings withstood Blom’s 9-7 of hearts when the money went in on a 10-9-4 flop to shrink Blom’s edge to $55,000. In a similar hand, Blom was all-in on a jack-high flop with Q-J, but Negreanu had him trumped with aces. The Canadian was hitting the deck hard and often and pulled within $8,000 just a half-hour after he was down over $100,000. Negreanu ultimately recorded a lead and then coolered his Swedish opponent in a $36,000 pot. Blom got his money in on a flop of 10-9-4 with pocket fours for bottom set only to see Negreanu table pocket tens for top set. The better hand held and Negreanu went up by $15,000. Another $10,000 in profit later, the second SuperStar Showdown featuring “Kid Poker†and “Isildur1†was over. Near the end of the battle, Negreanu commented on his dramatic turnaround in a PokerStars chat box: “I was stuck like $120K at one point I think. I broke lots of stuff in my room btw lol, smashed everything.†Negreanu later told the PokerStars Blog, “Isildur1 is incredible. I hope to do a training lesson with him one day. He’s the best.” Posters on TwoPlusTwo marveled at the “old versus new†match with Negreanu and Blom. One member of the poker forum wrote, “Negreanu’s loss last week pretty much proved exactly the point he has been trying to make – he has been drawing attention to how good the new generation is, not trying to diminish their skills or prove that they’re beatable. And his win yesterday just proves the point even more.†Another player cheered, “Congrats DN. I’m impressed you came back in Week 2 for the victory – I was rooting for you in both matches. This just goes to show that hard work does pay off!†Fans of the SuperStar Showdown won’t have to wait long for another encounter, as Scott “urnotindangr†Palmer will face off against Blom this Sunday, April 3rd, on PokerStars. Visit PokerStars for more information. More... |
The Nightly Turbo: Tom "durrrr" Dwan Coaching Session, World Poker Tour Vienna, and M
Wish you could get coaching from Tom Dwan? You can - for a price. We'll tell you how, give you a World Poker Tour Vienna update, and more in tonight's Nightly Turbo.
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Daniel Negreanu Wins Isildur1 Heads-Up Rematch
Daniel Negreanu spoke to Card Player TV about his recent narrow victory in his roller-coaster second battle against Viktor 'Isildur1' Blom in the PokerStars SuperStar Showdown. Negreanu also discussed the advice he got from some high stakes online regulars, as well as the possibility of a future Pot-Limit Omaha battle against Isildur1.
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Watercolor Canvas
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Tassili n’Ajjer National Park, a part of the Sahara Desert, has a bone-dry climate with scant rainfall, yet does not blend in with Saharan dunes. Instead, the rocky plateau rises above the surrounding sand seas. Rich in geologic and human history, Tassili n’Ajjer is a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site, and covers 27,800 square miles (72,000 square kilometers) in southeastern Algeria. This image from 2000 was made from multiple observations by the Landsat 7 satellite, using a combination of infrared, near-infrared and visible light to better distinguish between the park’s various rock types. Sand appears in shades of yellow and tan. Granite rocks appear brick red. Blue areas are likely salts. As the patchwork of colors suggests, the geology of Tassili n’Ajjer is complex. The plateau is composed of sandstone around a mass of granite. Over the course of Earth's history, alternating wet and dry climates have shaped these rocks in multiple ways. Deep ravines are cut into cliff faces along the plateau’s northern margin. The ravines are remnants of ancient rivers that once flowed off the plateau into nearby lakes. Where those lakes once rippled, winds now sculpt the dunes of giant sand seas. In drier periods, winds eroded the sandstones of the plateau into 'stone forests' and natural arches. Not surprisingly, the park’s name means 'plateau of chasms.' Humans have also modified the park’s rocks. Some 15,000 engravings have so far been identified in Tassili n’Ajjer. From about 10,000 B.C. to the first few centuries A.D., successive populations also left the remains of homes and burial mounds. Image Credit: NASA More... |
eCOGRA Purchased by Management
eCommerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance (eCOGRA) announced on Monday that it has new ownership, as its management purchased the company. The management buyout initiative was led by Chief Executive Andrew Beveridge and was approved by the founding members of the non-profit organization.
eCOGRA seeks to improve the security and integrity of online gaming by setting industry standards, enforcing those standards, and resolving disputes between players and gambling sites. It was established in 2003 by competing gaming firms Microgaming Software Systems Ltd. and Virtual Holdings Ltd., the latter of which eventually became 888 Holdings. eCOGRA has maintained independence from online gaming operators through control by four directors who, while experienced in the industry, have no ties to those operators. It also employs accountants and IT professionals to conduct systems testing and monitoring. This change in ownership is significant because while eCOGRA has always professed independence, many players have always been skeptical since gaming companies founded it. Despite the new ownership, not much will really change as far as the actual operation of eCOGRA. The members of management that bought the organization will remain in place: Michael Hirst will be Chairman of the Board of Directors and Bill Galston, Bill Henbrey, Frank Catania, and Beveridge will be independent directors. “We are very fortunate that these highly experienced and respected figures in the industry will continue to make their considerable knowledge and business expertise available to us,” said Beveridge in a press release. On how the new ownership will change how eCOGRA works, Beveridge commented, “We will continue to offer unbiased player dispute mediation through our Fair Gaming Advocate and our TGTR outcomes-based software monitoring system is proving increasingly popular with non-accredited entities and will, if anything, be expanded.” He added, “Our policy of independently assessing operators for the award of the Safe and Fair seal, and subsequent review and monitoring activity, will remain in place and the provision of professional business services and advisory consulting remains a key element in our commercial offering and will become an increasingly important part of the services offered.†eCOGRA’s Safe and Fair Seal of Approval has become one of the most coveted labels in the online gaming industry. To earn the Seal, operators must display high integrity, share eCOGRA’s vision of fair and responsible gaming, comply with eCOGRA’s General Accepted Practices, and be approved (along with their software providers) by eCOGRA’s Seals Compliance Committee. In 2010, eCOGRA received 846 dispute requests, 67 of which were with non-eCOGRA sites and 125 of which were deemed “invalid.” Of the remaining 654 “valid” dispute mediation requests, 283 were resolved in favor of the player. The dispute types were as follows: 286 “cash-in,†162 “bonus,†123 “locked account,†and 83 “other.†These numbers remained largely consistent with those from 2009. That year, the number of dispute requests was 20 fewer than in 2010 and non-eCOGRA site requests were up slightly, resulting in 628 “valid” dispute requests in 2009. A total of 303 of those were resolved in the player’s favor. More... |
Inside Gaming: PokerListings Hungry for Cake, More Bad News for North End of LV Strip
The Cake Poker Network and PokerListings formed a strategic partnership. We'll tell you about that, lackluster fourth-quarter figures from the Las Vegas Strip and more.
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A.M. SCRAMBLE: Galfond Continues to Slide, WPT Going Live Tuesday, Zynga and Lady Gag
On Sunday Daniel Negreanu was busy winning back some cash, not to mention a little bit of pride, in his SuperStar Showdown rematch with Viktor “Isildur1″ Blom. As such “KidPoker” was too busy to get to Rincon for the first day of the WSOP-Circuit Regional Championship $10,000 event. So he booked an early morning flight [...]
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Lady Gaga and Zynga Raise $4M for Japan
Saw this one over on Bluff’s A.M. Scramble: Lady Gaga teamed up with Zynga to raise $4M for Japan tsunami relief. Gaga donated $1.5M to go along with the $2.5M Zynga players raised in support their Red Cross/Save the Children fundraising initiative. With over 38M monthly players, Zynga Poker is inexplicably the world’s largest online poker room. With over 1M digital downloads, Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” is inexplicably one of the most popular songs of all-time. Said Gaga: “I’m inspired that my little monsters banded together to help those affected by the terrible tragedy.”In related news, Cartman‘s “Poker Face” video is still awesome. Related Posts
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