02 Feb 12

Daily Rewind: Duhamel's Dosh, Skill in Brazil, Gus Back in Macau

Today we hear that police have recovered some of Jonathan Duhamel's stolen cash. It's good news for Brazilian poker players after poker is officially recognised as a game of skill, and Gus Hansen returns to Macau to pick up where he left off...

The Daily Rewind is your one-stop-shop for a sharp review of the day in poker. Join us here for a mix of the latest news and a more irreverent insight into the poker world. Today we discovered the following topics for you:

Police recover half of Duhamel's stolen funds

After a harrowing end to 2011, 2010 WSOP Main Event champion Jonathan Duhamel has been enjoying a terrific start of the new year.

The Canadian pro suffered a home invasion on December 21st where he was attacked and robbed of his WSOP bracelet, a Rolex watch as well as over $100,000. 

It seems that his ordeal only inspired Duhamel at the poker tables; he went on a tear at the PCA in January, winning over $1 million across four tournaments to get his 2012 off to an outstanding start.

His year only improves this week, with the news that police have recovered close to half of his stolen money, after a tip-off from an anonymous phone call.

CTV News reports that police rushed to a mailbox roughly 8 km from his home town after the tip-off and "found nearly half of the amount taken in the same denominations and currency as the stolen money."

All smiles for Duhamel as police find stolen funds

Thrill in Brazil as poker certified a game of skill

Pokerfuse today reveal that the Brazilian Ministry of Sport has recognised poker as a game of skill.

Although no official announcement has been made yet, it's believed that an agreement was reached behind closed doors with the poker advocacy group the Brazilian Conferederação Texas Hold'em (CBTH).

The Ministry of Sport's website now states that "poker is a competitive practice in which the participant requires intelligence, ability and intellectual and behavioral skills to succeed."

Gus returns to Macau

Gus Hansen has been riding the crest of an epic heater so far this year.

The "Great Dane" is believed to have banked close to $4 million over in the nosebleed cash games in Macau before nipping over to the Aussie Millions, picking up a tidy $800,000 in the Super High Roller for his third place finish.

Gus explains in his latest blog entry that he couldn't resist checking out the action again, so has returned to Macau and just finished up his first session where "John Juanda, Sam Trickett, Andrew Robl, Richard Yong and a couple of other guys were playing."

He describes his first session back as "a mixed box of chocolate"; we'll see whether Gus has melted his bankroll by the end of the week...

Gus's back in Macau. Get it?

High stakes corner

While Gus and some of poker's elite high stakes mercenaries are duking it out in Macau, the online action was fairly tame yesterday over at PokerStars.

King for the day was Terje "Terken89" Augdal who enjoyed a $60,827 win at the PLO tables, according to HighStakesDB.

It was an arduous day for "n0d1ceb4by" who was the day's biggest loser, dropping $80,798.

Daily Signoff

Today's signoff features man of the moment Gus Hansen. We look back at a classic setup against Daniel Negreanu way back in High Stakes Poker season 5.