Daily Rewind: Bitar's Federal Agreement, PokerStars US App, WPT Latest
In today's Daily Rewind we hear about Ray Bitar's legal plea, go mobile in the US with PokerStars and recap the latest WPT action in Barcelona.
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:
Bitar's plea for heart and compassion
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| Bitar's proposal |
Ray Bitar has come to an agreement with federal prosecutors and will plead guilty to two of the nine charges he's facing, according recent news reports.
The former Full Tilt CEO has entered a plea that will see him avoid a jail term but relinquish almost $40 million in assets.
Put together by his lawyers, the plea has been accepted by the US authorities and they are now not expected to push for him to put in prison.
While it's now likely Bitar won't end up behind bars, Judge Loretta A. Preska could still decide to sentence him when the trial goes to court.
On top of Bitar's plea, his lawyers also disclosed that he has a major heart condition that requires urgent treatment.
Indeed, if left untreated, it's possible that he could die within the next 6-12 months.
PokerStars' mobile app hits the US
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| US mobile |
PokerStars' mobile app has recently gone live in the US.
The online platform has long been available across Europe; however, with play money games only available in the US, the software has taken longer to come into being.
The news first came to light courtesy of forum posters on 2+2, before the email sent to American players was posted.
Available on iOS and Android devices, the app will bring "players in America all the excitement of the PokerStars.net site", according to the email.
Tournaments, ring games and Zoom Poker are all included; something which will make the transition from play money to real money a simple process when US regulation finally happens.
WPT Barcelona poised
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| Gran Casino Barcelona |
The World Poker Tour's Barcelona Main Event was left just 7 places short of a finale last night.
After welcoming 249 players to the city's Gran Casino four days ago, the tournament clock was paused with 13 players still in contention for the $258,448 top prize.
Following the exit of reigning champion Lukas Berglund, local grinder Sergio Fernandez was able to finish the day with the largest chip stack.
Having led the tournament after Day 1B, the satellite qualifier lost his way on Day 2 before rallying during yesterday's session.
Finishing with 1,268,000 chips, Fernandez started today's final table race with almost 500,000 chips more than Chanracy Khun.
Day 4 kicked off earlier and will conclude when just six players remain.
Today at PokerStrategy.com
Whether it's having a laugh or offering you another lucrative promotion, we've had a number of great releases in the last 24 hours:
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PokerStrategy.com has just partnered with Gala Poker. Click here for the latest offers.
Don't miss our first "Cartoon of the Day" from +EV comics.
Are sports sponsorships good for poker? 
BarryCarter looks at the issue.
Gold+ members can now learn more about value vs. showdown value with our newest coach, SplitSuit.
High stakes corner
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| Galfond's double win |
In a relatively slow day at the virtual felt, it was Phil Galfond who topped the table with a profit of $184,906.
Dividing his time between two sites, Galfond first scooped $105,718 over the course of 110 hands, before grinding out another $79,188 as "MrSweets28".
The combined wins put him top of the daily leaderboard ahead of "St1ckman" ($135,489) and "toweliestar" ($109,732).
In a day absent of $250,000+ swings, "1Il|1Il|1il|" and "0Human0" finished the day as the biggest losers, dropping $176,752 and $153,487 respectively.
Daily Signoff
Antonio Esfandiari isn't usually one to challenge other players to a battle of pride, but in this clip against Phil Hellmuth he was certainly more than happy to throw down the gauntlet.
