Daily Rewind: PokerStars' Macau Room, Partouche's Problems, New US Poker Bill
In today's Daily Rewind we preview PokerStars' latest venture, find out why Patrick Partouche is in trouble and hear about a new US online poker bill.
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:
PokerStars living the dream
 |
| A city of dreams |
PokerStars has just announced it will be adding another branded poker room to its growing roster.
In an article released earlier today, the site announced that it will be opening a 13-table room inside Macau's City of Dreams Casino.
The venture will not only provide PokerStars with another international foothold in the live poker market, but the largest dedicated poker room in Macau.
Once opened, "PokerStars Live at the City of Dreams" will become the home for the Asia Championship of Poker, Asia-Pacific Poker Tour and the Macau Millions.
The official opening date for the room will be announced soon.
More trouble for Partouche
 |
| Partouche facing problems |
Patrick Partouche's gaming company is facing an investigation from French regulator ARJEL because of family favours.
According to an article by Mediapart, a total of 40 accounts at Partouche.fr are linked to players with relatives working at the company.
It appears that Partouche board members, such as Katy Zenou, have flouted ARJEL's rules by transferring money to family members.
In total, Zenou has allegedly transferred more than €63,000 to Yhan Zenou over a two year period.
This latest incident is another black mark for a company which has suffered an alleged cheating scandal and a €5 million prizepool fiasco at previous Partouche events.
Fahrenkopf hints at federal US regulation
 |
| Barton could lead the way |
American Gaming Association Chairman, Frank Fahrenkopf, injected a dose of optimism into the poker community, yesterday, when he claimed federal poker might be back on the political agenda.
During an interview with Jim Ralston, Fahrenkopf hinted that a federal bill advocating the legislation of online poker could reach Capitol Hill within the next few weeks.
While he refrained from going into specific detail, he said that the recent flurry of state regulation by has prompted new momentum for the cause.
While it's only been two months since Senator Harry Reid's attempt failed, it's believed that Congressman Joe Barton will "probably" be the one to take up the challenge.
High stakes corner
 |
| Dwan running hot |
To say the online high stakes scene had been active recently would be an understatement.
Indeed, such has been the activity that this year's overall leaderboard has changed complexion multiple times already.
While it looked as though Viktor "Isildur1" Blom would be an unmovable force after his $5 million run, the Swede is sitting in fourth place with a total haul of $1,328,680.
Blom's drop has allowed Phil Galfond ($1,452,083) and "SallyWoo" ($1,585,616) to claim third and second place behind, Tom "durrrr" Dwan.
Dwan's resurgence in February has seen him reverse an earlier deficit and leap ahead of the pack with a profit of $1,762,020.
While some of the game's best have thrived in 2013, Ben "Sauce1234" Sulsky, "punting-peddler" and Phil Ivey have all faltered.
Sulsky is currently the year's largest loser with a deficit of $2,654,433, markedly ahead of "punting-peddler" (-$1,332,636) and Ivey (-$1,061,631).
Daily Signoff
With PokerStars upping its presence in Asia, we thought we'd finish today with one of the continent's best exports, Johnny Chan, enjoying a $301,000 gift from an overzealous amateur.
