With a huge $million up for grabs as well as being crowned the latest partypoker Millions Champion, it’s all to play for the remaining players as we head into the fifth and final day of the 2018 Sochi Millions $5,300 Main Event!
Vittorio Faricelli Wins Opening Event at WSOP Circuit Foxwoods
The second stop on the 2018/2019 WSOP Circuit schedule is now in full swing, with Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut currently playing host to the popular series. And a first gold ring has already been awarded to its rightful winner as part of the ongoing poker festival.
Vittorio Faricelli, a real estate broker from Brooklyn, New York, won last night his first piece of WSOP Circuit paraphernalia after a near-miss in Atlantic City earlier this year. The player took down the opening $400 No-Limit Hold’em at Foxwoods after two days of poker action.
The tournament drew a field of 113 entries who created a prize pool of $37,290. The top 12 finishers were treated to a share of the prize pool, with min-cashes starting from $779. Each of the nine final tablists was guaranteed a minimum payout of $963. As for the winner, he collected $11,187 to accompany his gold ring.
This was Faricelli’s fifth cash from the WSOP Circuit and seventh from a WSOP-branded event. Earlier this summer, the player finished in the money in the $1,111 Little One for ONE DROP for $1,593 and The Closer $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em for $4,021.
As mentioned above, the latest WSOP Circuit gold ring winner nearly claimed the piece earlier this year. Faricelli reached heads-up against Joshua Clanton in a $365 No-Limit Hold’em event at Harrah’s Atlantic City, but eventually placed second.
Event Highlights
The opening $400 No-Limit Hold’em at Foxwoods turned out to be Faricelli’s lucky one. The tournament was played over two days. The second day of action saw just three players return to battle it out for the first-place prize and the gold ring.
The eventual champion was holding the chip lead with 774,000 at the time cards were thrown in the air for Day 2 action. Lowell Kim held the second largest stack with 641,000, and James Campbell was the short stack with just under 300,000.
The event’s second day was a relatively short one. Campbell busted in third place for $4,922 and left it to Faricelli and Kim to square off for the gold ring. Faricelli was leading at the beginning of heads-up, but Kim managed to double up early into the match. However, the eventual champion rapidly gained pace to extend his advantage significantly until the final hand was dealt.
The two players got it all in with Faricelli tabling [Ac][6c] to Kim’s [10d][9d]. Faricelli’s ace-high kept him comfortable all the way through the river when he scored a straight for extra advantage. Kim was thus eliminated in second place for a payout of $6,914.
Commenting on his triumph last night, Faricelli said that his general positive attitude has helped him a lot in difficult situations on and off the poker felt. The player said that lately he has been running great not just in poker but in life as a whole. Faricelli recently wed his partner Pamela and is having his best life as a newlywed.
New Jersey Takes $40M In Sports Bets In July
July was New Jersey’s first month with legal sports betting, a milestone that came after years fighting against the major sports leagues.
Garden State gambling regulators said that the state’s five sports books took nearly $41 million worth of wagers last month, which generated $3.8 million in winnings for the books. New Jersey took more than $16 million in wagers in about half of June.
Through the state’s first six weeks or so of legal sports wagering, more than $57 million in bets were taken. For comparison, Nevada took more than $280 million worth of bets in June alone.
The New Jersey properties with active sports books as of Aug. 1 were: Bally’s, Borgata, Ocean Resort (formerly Revel), Meadowlands and Monmouth Park. Through July, Monmouth Park generated sports betting revenue of $3.1 million, tops in the state.
Atlantic City has nine casinos, after Ocean Resort opened in late June and Hard Rock Atlantic City, formerly the Trump Taj Mahal, rebooted in late June as well.
Thanks to sports betting and $25.9 million in internet gambling revenue, New Jersey’s Las Vegas-style casino gambling industry generated $302 million in winnings in July, up a whopping 12.8 percent year-over-year from $267.8 million.
July was much-needed for the Garden State. Year-to-date gaming revenue of $1.56 billion is up 0.3 percent compared to the $1.55 billion generated during the first seven months of 2017.
In other words, the state’s gambling industry is in the black now for 2018, in terms of revenue.
Through July, winnings from the brick-and-mortar casino games such as blackjack and slot machines were down 1.9 percent to $1.38 billion. Internet gaming revenue of $165.4 million was up 16.5 percent year-over-year.
New Jersey’s online poker market in July was $1.8 million, down about eight percent compared to $2 million in July 2017. Through the first seven months of this year, the online poker revenue was $12.9 million, down 11 percent compared to $14.5 million.
The state began sharing online poker players with Nevada and Delaware in May, and so far the results have been mixed. June did mark the first positive month for the New Jersey online poker market since February 2017.
$100,000 Guaranteed Empire State Hold’em Championships Main Event Begins Friday At Turning Stone
This weekend, the Empire State Hold’em Championships will wrap up at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York with the $100,000 guaranteed main event. The $500+$50+$20 buy-in tournament officially kicks off Friday, Aug. 17 with the first of two starting flights.
Friday and Saturday’s starting flights will each begin at 11 a.m., with each player receiving a 30,000 starting stack. Players will also enjoy 30- and 40-minute levels on day 1, followed by 50-minute levels on day 2. Speaking of day 2, players will also have the option to buy-in before play begins on that Sunday at 11 a.m.
For those looking to earn their buy-in at a discount, Turning Stone is offering numerous satellite options, including turbo qualifiers for $114+$11+$5 at 1 p.m., 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. from Aug. 14-16. On Friday, Aug. 17, there will be turbo qualifiers at 10 a.m, 1 p.m. 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., and on Saturday, Aug. 18, three more will run at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. Each qualifier will feature 10,000 in starting chips and 10-minute blind levels. One in five will win a $570 main event seat.
For the schedule and structures for the upcoming Empire State Hold’em Championships main event. For more information about the Turning Stone Resort Casino poker room, check out their homepage.
If you’re in need of a summer vacation getaway, Turning Stone Resort Casino could be the perfect destination. The “Stone” has plenty of golf, racquet sports, a spa, high-quality entertainment, one of the finest steakhouses in the world, music, and fun in their many nightclubs.
Golden Dragon Group ‘thinking about’ Macau casino license
After recently rebranding two of his Macau casinos to feature the word ‘dragon’, the billionaire businessman behind hotel operator, Golden Dragon Group, has now reportedly declared that his firm is ‘thinking about’ bidding for a local gaming license of its own.
Long-standing interest:
According to a report from GGRAsia, Chan Meng Kam is one of Macau’s richest businessmen and his revelation came after March saw the 55-year-old explain that he would be eager to ‘participate’ in the process that is set to change the casino landscape in the former Portuguese enclave.
‘Big six’ domination coming to a close:
Currently, only the ‘big six’ operators of SJM Holdings Limited, Las Vegas Sands Corporation, MGM China Holdings Limited, Wynn Macau Limited, Galaxy Entertainment Group Limited and Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited are permitted to run casinos in Macau…
But, this situation is due to change following the expiration of these operators’ exclusivity by 2022 and Golden Dragon Group is thought to be among those that are hoping to gain a license for this tightly controlled market.
The operator already holds casino experience:
GGRAsia reported that Golden Dragon Group already has casino experience due to the complement some 200 gaming tables it operates at four Macau venues courtesy of associated piggy-back arrangements with SJM Holdings Limited and Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited.
This portfolio includes almost 100 units inside its flagship Hotel Golden Dragon as well as 20 elements for its Royal Dragon Hotel property, which opened in September.
The privately-owned firm’s Macau portfolio encompasses the Lan Kwai Fong and Hotel Taipa Square properties, which were recently rebranded to the Macau Million Dragon and Grand Dragon Hotel respectively.
The downtown project being planned:
Finally, Chan also told GGRAsia yesterday that his firm is still hoping to build a new two-star property on a downtown plot adjacent to the Grand Lisboa Hotel property from SJM Holdings Limited.
He detailed that this project is currently in the ‘preparation phase’ but that there was ‘not yet any planning of the gaming side.’
Ryan Riess Wins Big in Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open
The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood is definitely Ryan Riess’ lucky poker venue. The player recently scooped his third poker title at the casino after besting the 91-person field of the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open $10,000 One-Day event. Riess collected $236,838 for his performance and the tournament trophy.
The event took place on Monday at the host venue. As mentioned above, it drew 91 entrants who created a prize pool of $873,600 to absolutely smash the $500,000 guarantee. The event’s structure provided for fast and furious action at the poker tables. It featured 30-minute levels this year, a change from previous editions of the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open festival. The top 12 finishers received a share of the money, with min-cashes kicking off from $21,857.
Poker pro Aaron Mermelstein was the unfortunate bubble boy to bust out in 13th place. He was followed by James Calderaro whose twelfth-place finish secured him with the first payout of the tournament.
Notables who failed to make it into the money included Elio Fox, who topped the field of the SHRPO $50,000 Super High Roller just a couple of days ago, and WPT champ James Romero. Stephen Chidwick, Barry Hutter, and Ben Yu were among the tournament regulars to cash from the One-Day event, but failed to claim the title.
Final Stage of Play
The short levels allowed players to reach the final stages of the tournament quite quickly. It was not that long before Riess and Ray Qartomy were the last two players left in contention. Riess was the chip leader ahead of heads-up. He came on top the chip counts chart late into play to never look back. As for Qartomy, it can be said that he controlled action throughout the greater portion of the final table.
Instead of squaring off for the title, the two remaining finalists decided to strike a deal and split what had left of the prize pool based on their chip counts. Riess was thus crowned the tournament’s champion and collected the lion’s share of the prize pool, good for $236,838, while Qartomy scooped a $206,297 for his runner-up finish.
Riess has previously won two other tournaments at the same casino. Last April, the player took down the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown $10,000 Finale for a first-place prize of $716,088. And in the spring of 2015, he won a $2,200 No-Limit Hold’em tournament that was part of that year’s edition of the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown. His payout from that tournament totaled $63,891.
Despite his numerous successes on the live tournament felt, Riess is still best known for capturing the most coveted poker title on the planet – the WSOP Championship. The player won the Main Event in 2013 to collect a first-place prize of $8,361,570. Including his latest live tournament cash, Riess now has more than $12.2 million in live tournament earnings.
Resorts in Atlantic City joins the market
Resorts will certainly end up being Atlantic City’s 5th gambling establishment to be running a physical sporting activities publication, the residential or commercial property itself has actually validated in a news release. Its wagering center is slated to open doors on Wednesday at 11 am, pending authorization from New Jersey betting regulatory authorities.
Previously this month, Resorts came to be New Jersey’s initial gambling establishment to introduce online and also mobile sporting activities wagering. The roll-out of its electronic offering was the arise from its collaboration with DraftKings. The gambling establishment has actually additionally lately secured a collaboration with Destiny Team, proprietor of the BetStars wagering brand name, to name a few.
Resorts’ physical sporting activities publication will certainly include a 12-foot video clip wall surface in addition to 15 tv displays. There will certainly be 6 wagering home windows as well as 4 self-serve stands situated throughout the center.
Resorts will certainly be Atlantic City’s 5th casino site to introduce a sporting activities publication on online casino facilities. The Borgata was the very first to open up a wagering center as part of its video gaming flooring. Its physical sporting activities publication went reside on June 14. Sea Hotel Online casino introduced its sporting activities publication on June 27, adhered to by the Wild West Gambling enterprise at Bally’s, which took its very first sporting activities bank on July 30. Most lately, Harrah’s went deal with a short-term sporting activities publication.
First Financial Details
Profits produced by the 3 buildings totaled up to almost $3.5 million, with Monmouth blazing a trail with $2.3 million, adhered to by the Borgata with $986,831 and also Sea with $192,671.
New Jersey was the very first state to legislate sporting activities wagering, adhering to the mid-May annulment of the government restriction on sporting activities wagering. The state was really the one to lead the promote the ultimate lift of the restriction for a variety of years as well as ultimately brought the issue to the United States High Court.
SCOTUS revealed in 2014 that it would certainly examine New Jersey’s request and also provided its judgment, preferring the state, on Might 14. The choice of the country’s leading court made it feasible for all 50 states to legislate sporting activities wagering if they think this would certainly be a favorable relocation. The 1992 PASPA restriction restricted banking on expert and also amateur sporting activities organizations at a government degree.
New Jersey handled to craft a sporting activities wagering regulations and also to deal with sporting activities wagering procedures within a month after the restriction’s annulment. The relocation came as one more vital symptom of the hectic year the state’s gaming market has actually had. In addition to the legalization of sporting activities wagering, New Jersey as well as Atlantic City, specifically, has actually seen the opening of 2 brand-new gambling enterprises– Acid rock Resort & Casino Site Atlantic City as well as Sea Hotel Gambling Establishment. Both brand-new buildings, as well as the legalized sporting activities wagering offering, are wished to assist the state’s gaming market to renew after a dreadful year that finished in the closure of 5 Boardwalk gambling enterprises within 2 as well as a fifty percent years.
Filatov Wins partypoker’s LIVE Millions Russia Main Event
Anatoly Filatov won the 2018 partypoker LIVE MILLIONS Russia RUB318,000, defeating a field of 916 total entries to win the RUB60 million first-place prize.
Before this prestigious event—the largest poker festival held in Russia that year—Filatov had already amassed over $2.1 million in live tournament earnings, including two victories in events hosted by his sponsor, partypoker. His impressive track record also included a deep run in the 2017 Caribbean Poker Party, where he finished in the $5,300 Finale for $165,000. In the same year, he secured 11th place in the partypoker MILLIONS Grand Final Barcelona €10,300 High Roller (€50,000) and a seventh-place finish in the partypoker MILLIONS North America C$10,300 Finale (C$60,000).
Filatov entered the final day of the tournament in eighth chip position with 11 players left. He navigated his way to the final eight, where he eliminated Konstantin Uspenskii. Holding K♥Q♣, Filatov outdrew Uspenskii’s A♠K♦, making two pair by the river and sending him home with $63,000. He followed up with another knockout, using pocket kings to hold against Mikhail Galitskiy’s A♥Q♠, eliminating Galitskiy in seventh place for $90,000.
Filatov continued his momentum, busting Alexey Melnikov in fifth place ($180,000) and moving into second in chips, trailing only Gor Kazaryan. He then took the outright lead when he called Viktor Khodorenko’s all-in shove with pocket queens against Khodorenko’s A♦7♣. Filatov made a set on the turn, eliminating Khodorenko in fourth place ($270,000).
Kazaryan briefly regained the chip lead, but Filatov reclaimed control after knocking out Andrey Malyshev in third place ($400,950), setting up the final heads-up battle. Kazaryan entered with 534,000,000 chips, while Filatov started with 378,000,000.
The decisive hand came with blinds at 6,000,000-12,000,000 and a 12,000,000 big blind ante. Kazaryan limped in from the button with Q♠9♥, and Filatov raised to 27,000,000 from the big blind with J♥10♥. Kazaryan called. The flop brought Q♣9♦7♣, and Filatov checked. Kazaryan bet 35,000,000, and Filatov called. The turn came K♠, giving Filatov a straight. He checked again, prompting Kazaryan to bet 55,000,000. Filatov moved all-in, and Kazaryan called with his two pair. The river was the A♠, sealing Filatov’s victory. Kazaryan finished as the runner-up, earning $585,000.
2018 partypoker LIVE MILLIONS Russia Main Event Results:
| Place | Winner | Country | Prize (in RUB) | Prize (~ in USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anatoly Filatov | Russia | 60,000,000 | 886,200 |
| 2 | Gor Kazaryan | Russia | 39,000,000 | 576,030 |
| 3 | Andrey Malyshev | Russia | 26,730,000 | 394,802 |
| 4 | Viktor Khodorenko | Belarus | 18,000,000 | 265,860 |
| 5 | Alexey Melnikov | Russia | 12,000,000 | 177,240 |
| 6 | Gleb Tremzin | Russia | 8,400,000 | 124,068 |
| 7 | Mikhail Galitskiy | Russia | 6,000,000 | 88,620 |
| 8 | Konstantin Uspenskii | Russia | 4,200,000 | 62,034 |
Nevada Sports Book Operator Accepted Online Bets From Gamblers Outside Of State
A top Nevada sports book operator is in hot water once again with regulators, and this time it will have to dismantle its systems used to facilitate wagers.
According to a complaint and settlement posted last week to the Gaming Control Board’s website, CG Technology, formerly known as Cantor Gaming, has admitted to accepting online-based wagers from gamblers across the country, which was in violation of Nevada casino regulations. State officials said the company self-reported the betting activity.
The result is a $250,000 fine, as well as the firm being ordered to cease using its own technology and equipment. CGT can remain in business, but it must now use a third party tech and equipment manufacturer. Within six months, “CGT shall permanently discontinue the use of its sports pool wagering system and all of its components,” the GCB said.
In November 2016, CGT’s mobile wagering system allowed a gambler in Maryland to place a bet. Despite the firm making “software modifications to the geolocation functionality” of its systems, in April 2017 CGT allowed bets from gamblers in Texas, Arizona and California.
“CGT’s conduct […] constitutes a failure to comply with or make provision for compliance with all federal, state and local laws and regulations,” the complaint said.
The U.S. Supreme Court in May of this year ruled to allow all states to legalize and regulate sports betting. Prior to that ruling, single-game sports gambling was illegal outside of Nevada.
Furthermore, the complaint said, CGT engaged in a pattern of accepting wagers on sporting events that were concluded. In May 2016, CGT accepted bets on MMA and boxing matches “during and after the conclusion of the matches.” In October 2016, CGT took nearly three dozen bets on a college football game after it was finished. A year later in October 2017, CGT took nine bets on another NCAA football game that had been completed.
This isn’t the first time the firm has been in trouble with the Silver State. In a complaint from 2016, Nevada said that CGT shortchanged some gamblers between 2011 and 2015. Regulators said that CGT underpaid about $700,000 on more than 20,000 winning parlay bets during the period. The 2016 complaint also said that it overpaid $100,000 on 11,000 parlays. The result was a $1.5 million fine and the CEO at the time stepping down. In 2014, the company paid a record $5.5 million fine over a former executive facilitating illegal bets in 2011 and 2012.
CGT operates sports books at the M Casino Resort, Hard Rock, Tropicana, Cosmopolitan, Venetian, Palms and Silverton, according to regulators.
Maria Konnikova and Her Poker Journey Featured in New York Times
A number of weeks earlier, the New York Times included a short article on “retired” poker specialist Vanessa Selbst’s brand-new life as a hedge fund supervisor. Currently, the New York Times is going the various other instructions with a featured interview on poker player Maria Konnikova. In the interview, Konnikova shared her choice to pursue poker, her experience in the, as well as her future plans.
Maria Konnikova made a decision to write a book centered on poker, less than two years back, a game she knew nothing regarding. She was lucky enough to employ poker Hall of Famer Erik Seidel as a coach, and also soon she was sitting behind players like Jason Koon and Ike Haxton.
For those that have not know just what Konnikova has actually done during the past year, it is something that is quite impressive. After doing publications that examined the assuming procedure of Sherlock Holmes and how you can use it to real life and why we succumb to the shams of confidence men (“con men”), Konnikova was at a loss about her following instructions. Konnikova, who made her doctorate in psychology from Columbia University in 2013, lastly settled on the world of poker and, particularly, the results of good luck and also decision making.
Just like any kind of appropriate scientist, Konnikova really did not waltz in and also simply begin chucking chips. Examining under the tutoring of poker Hall of Famer Erik Seidel, Konnikova obtained a Ph.D. in poker from probably among the very best of all-time before even stepped to a poker table. As soon as she did, nonetheless, she showed the abilities of a poker that had actually gone to the tables for years.
In January, she headed to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, where she continued to stun several in the poker community. She won the PCA National Championship $1650 Event for $84,600. In addition to the major title, she also earned a Platinum Pass valued at $30,000. Since then, Konnikova has actually added an additional 10 cashes money on almost all the significant event circuits, consisting of the Asia Pacific Poker Tour, the European Poker Tour, and the World Series of Poker. As a matter of fact, her run has actually been such a success that Konnikova has put the book plans on hold to ride the poker success streak out.
Check out NYT Profile of Maria Konnikova here, as the poker world could learn quite a bit about bringing new players (male or female) to the game and the approach to learning the game.
