Daily Rewind: PPA Gets Coverage, Online Players Head for Mexico, Card Creations
In today's Daily Rewind we see how the PPA's influence has gone mainstream, see why Mexico is poker's new hotbed of talent and stack cards with Bryan Berg. All that plus a TCOOP round-up and a sexy Daily Signoff.
PPA Goes Mainstream
The army fighting for the regulation of online poker in the US is one that is continuing to grow in both size and significance.
Holding the fort at the heart of the operation is the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) who have made it their mission to be as vocal as possible when it comes to pushing for a change to the political system. While their efforts haven’t always received the rallying support they might have hoped for, that doesn’t mean their work has been completely overlooked.
In a recent article by mainstream publication “PC World”, the organisation’s activities were given a credible mention alongside Arab Spring and other world issues of importance.
Entitled: Stick It to the Man: How the Web Spurs Political Change, the article describes 10 instances where people power and social networking have combined to affect change. The positive review by PC World and the juxtaposition of the PPA’s work alongside larger world events will no doubt help the industry’s fight.
Indeed, with more mainstream reinforcements entering the battlefield the chance for online regulation in the US seems a lot greater.
Poker’s Mexican Wave
Online poker in the US ground to a virtual halt during 2011, which meant not only a drop in player activity but the communities based around the game. Indeed, a poker player’s greatest asset is the knowledge base around him, be that friends, forums or training sites.
After Black Friday that support system ceased for many Americans. However, it now seems a new hotbed of poker is emerging in Mexico. With more American players crossing the border the country is becoming one of poker’s newest destinations.
In a recent interview conducted by PokerStars, Nicholas “Rounders63” Carrillo and Sean “wcsquad3” Pramuk have described how they are now thriving in the land of fajitas and sombreros.
Making the move has already proved successful for the pair as Pramuk took down TCOOP Event #26 for $85,000, while Carillo scooped $30,000 for winning Event #30.
Indeed, with more poker groups joining the fiesta in Mexico it could become one of online poker’s liveliest homes in 2012.
High Stakes Corner
With just a handful of events left to play, the popular TCOOP series on PokerStars crowned another 4 winners yesterday. Events 36-39 were a mixture of PLO, NLHE and LHE with buy-ins ranging from $55-$109.
Taking the honours and adding $39,375 to their bankroll in Event #36 was “flaszeczka” from Poland, just ahead of “jojoha0999” of Denmark.
Next on the winner’s podium after seeing off 1,421 other runners in the $50 PLO event was “AlexKP” of Denmark who netted $28,455. Just behind him on the final table were “DASILVOTE” of Spain, “Fred-wpt” of the Netherlands and “dj_friction” of Germany.
Events #38 and #39 were won by “gabrieldin6”and “code_vision” respectively. While “gabrieldin6”will no doubt have been ecstatic with the $13,265 they received for taking down the event, the greatest share of the prizepool went to “ImlykwagwanG” from the UK whose expert negotiation skills netted him $27,496 despite finishing 3rd.
The Sky’s the Limit
While poker players around the world are competing to see who can survive the longest, there’s one man who’s planning to go in the other direction.
In conjunction with Sky Poker, Guinness World Record holder Bryan “The Cardstacker” Berg is aiming for the stars in a bid to recreate one of Britain’s iconic landmark using playing cards.
The challenge will take place between February 15th and 27th outside London’s Olympic site. Sky Poker players will be able to vote for the landmark they’d most like to see built until February 11th, before Berg begins his construction project.
Once the monument has been completed a live stream of the final knockdown will take place via Facebook on February 27th.
Daily Signoff
While we may have replaced the Daily Hotshot with something a little more nostalgic, we couldn’t resist leaving you today with a recent shot of one of the glamorous Royal Flush girls.
Posted on Twitter by the guys over at Wicked Chops, this new shot of Ivey Teves is certainly a fantastic way to use the popular iPhone app: Instagram. Enjoy.
