Daily Rewind: Hellmuth at WPT Venice, PKR Live, Illinois Against Online Poker

In today's Daily Rewind we get the latest from WPT Venice, go live with PKR and see why Illinois' Pat Quinn isn't keen on 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:

WPT Venice recap

Casino di Venezia

A busier day at Casino di Venezia, yesterday, saw the number of entrants for this year's WPT Venice Grand Prix rise to 173.

A mixture of players made up the 108 runner field on Day 1B, but there was one causing a bigger stir than most.

Characteristically late to the felt, Phil Hellmuth arrived at the casino on a gondola dressed in a traditional Venetian costume.

Despite his flamboyant entrance, Phil's display was less impressive and after just one level he'd surrendered his chips to the man who would finish the day on top: Fernando Cimaglia.

After ousting Hellmuth with a better kicker, Cimaglia went on to scoop 175,000 chips and finish above the likes of Giacomo Fundaro (93,700), Max Pescatori (53,700) and Liv Boeree (24,600).

Today's session started with 91 players, including PokerStrategists Marvin 'xcrash154' Rettenmaier and Dan Junglemandan Cates, all looking to move one step closer to the $180,097 top prize.

Hellmuth's traditional entrance

PKR going live

Avatars going live

Branded as the event which sets the standard for "friendly, affordable live poker", PKR Live gets underway this weekend with its low stakes festival.

Taking place inside Aspers Casino, London, the three day festival features $500 Main Event as well as a selection of side events, Sit & Go tournaments and cash games.

PKR's full gamut of pros will be on display, including Sofia Lovgren and Scott Shelley, as well as a host of online qualifiers.

There's still two days left to enter and registration for the Main Event is only available online via PKR's lobby.

Online poker too new for Illinois

Quinn unsure

The Governor of Illinois, Pat Quinn, has taken a cautionary stance against online poker according to a PokerFuse article.

Despite conceding to his senate committee's proposal for an expansion of gambling provisions, Quinn has since stated that online poker could be excluded from the bill.

The reason for his uncertainty is that "it's a brand new idea" and that such things "shouldn't be thrown into a bill at the last minute".

Corruption is one of the major issues Quinn believes could present a problem if online poker is legalised in the state.

Illinois is larger than Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey (all of which have approved online poker) combined and if they veto online poker it could be a blow for the overall US market.

Today at PokerStrategy.com

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Earn more cashback with Skrill for the next six weeks.

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Win a share of more than $30,000 at Betfair Poker in April.

Don't forget to vote for PokerStrategy.com in the APAT Awards.

High stakes corner

Niki slips

It was a relatively tame day at the virtual felt yesterday as "duubadaaba" managed to top the table with a profit of $99,463.

Occurring over the course of 810 hands, it's one of the few days this year that a five-figure score has been enough to lead the daily money chart.

Also making it into the top three on yesterday's leaderboard with modest wins were "guts=glory" ($52,712) and "Trueteller" ($51,274).

In a day of small gains, it was also one of relatively small losses for the likes of Niki Jedlicka and "superatos".

Indeed, the former saw $80,198 disappear from his bankroll, while the latter lost $53,550.

Daily Signoff

Yesterday we saw Brad Booth bluffing Ivey and today we watch Mike Matusow getting owned in our next classic High Stakes Poker hand.