Daily Rewind: EPT News, Community Loses Valued Member, US Online Poker Latest

In today's Daily Rewind we check out the latest from EPT Barcelona, mourn the loss of tournament director Casey Jones and get the latest on Nevada's push for online poker.

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:

EPT deal and ElkY in a Kimono

Sensei Grospellier

The EPT’s popular Barcelona leg kicked off yesterday with a plethora of pros out to bask in the Mediterranean sun and make some money.

After Dan Smith took down the Super High Roller event for €962,000, Finland's Aku Joentausta topped Day 1A of the Main Event with a haul of 236,200.

One player who is no stranger to EPT success – or Asian attire – is Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier.

The PokerStars pro took to the felt earlier today wearing a kimono from Kyoto.

Whether or not the outfit is part of a bet or just a new look for the Frenchman is unclear.

However, we're sure whatever he’s wearing he’ll be a handful for anyone at the table.

Aside from Grospellier’s unique fashion sense at this year’s event, the organisers have decided to implement a new rule regarding deals.

In the past any final table deals have been conducted away from the gaze of the audience. However, during this event anyone wishing to discuss a deal must do so while seated at the table according to Rule 42.

Reactions to the decision have been mixed so far, but it’s certain that the move will make for entertaining viewing when the tournament airs on TV.  

Tournament director dies

Sad news in the poker world usually means a player lamenting over the loss of their bankroll. However, sometimes the community is informed of some genuinely upsetting news.

This was certainly the case in the last 24 hours as tournament director and poker dealer Casey Jones unfortunately passed away.

Having fallen into a coma in early August, Jones’s condition failed to improve and he finally lost his recovery battle yesterday.

Aged just 29, Jones managed the daily deep stack tournaments at the WSOP this year and was held in high regard by those he presided over.

Messages of sympathy have been flooding in at 2+2 and there’s no doubt that the industry has lost a valued member.
 

RIP Casey

More companies enter US online scene

As the push for legal online poker in the US continues to gather pace, a total of 32 companies have now made applications to offer some sort of service in Nevada once things swing into action.

The latest company to apply for an online poker business licence is Canadian based NRT Tech.

Known primarily for manufacturing ATM kiosks, NRT Tech has applied to offer payment processing equipment and software to the industry.

Of the companies that have applied to Nevada’s online licensing committee, 11 are poker operators while the remaining 41 businesses comprise of manufactures and service providers.

With more services entering the online arena it seems it won’t be long before Nevada goes live; a move that will hopefully help open up the industry once again.

High stakes corner

Viktor "Isildur1" Blom has been dominating the tables this weekend. Having concentrated most of his recent efforts at the PLO tables, Blom decided to go back to where he enjoys the most success: the NLHE tables.

An eight hour battle with Alexander "Kanu7" Millar on Saturday saw the Swede make over $238,000, an amount he then parlayed into a $316,900 at the Limit Omaha Hi/Lo tables.

Blom’s upswing continued across the weekend, with his most recent stint seeing him bank more than $350,000.

Daily Signoff

Whether he's wearing a fancy outfit or not, there's no doubting that "ElkY" is a forced to be reckoned with at the table.