Daily Rewind: PokerStars Social App, Austrian Venue Change, Salsberg Talks
In today's Daily Rewind we outline PokerStars' latest venture, move with the Austrian Poker Festival and listen to Matt Salsberg talk about Whales.
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:
New chapter in PokerStars' history
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The online poker world looks set to experience a seismic shift in the coming weeks as two virtual giants look to break new ground.
While Zynga Poker's transition from social gaming to real money poker as been in progress for some time, it's just been announced that PokerStars are moving in the other direction.
Having hinted at a Facebook app back in November, the latest news is that PokerStars plan to launch a free-to-play product in the coming months.
Fusing their unmistakable style with common Facebook gaming features, the new product will be in limited beta testing until everything is "up to PokerStars’ high-standard" according to Eric Hollreiser.
No definitive release date has been announced; however, once launched, exiting PokerStars players will be able to use their current logins to access the platform.
For a full FAQ, click here.
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| PokerStars social face (Images courtesy of PokerStars) |
New venue for Austrian Poker Festival
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| The festival's new home |
The organisers of the Austrian Poker Festival have just announced that they're moving their tournament extravaganza to Casino Baden.
Located 30 minutes from the festival's official hotel, the Imperial Riding School Renaissance, the casino has been chosen to ensure the best experience possible for players.
The change of venue means those looking to play the €3,500 WPT Vienna or the €1,100 GSOP Live will now need to alter their travel arrangements.
To help facilitate those in attendance, the organisers are providing a free shuttle service from the official hotel to the casino.
The Austrian Poker Festival will run from February 11 to February 25 and an updated schedule will be released in the next few days.
Whales still looking for a home
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| Salsberg's project still in progress |
In a recent article, Matt Salsberg has explained how his TV poker project, Whales, is still looking for a buyer.
Talking to his old university, Concordia.ca, Salsberg explained that The Showtime Network declined the series back in September, just before he took down the WPT Paris event for $478,415.
While the rejection was somewhat of a bad beat, it merely served to inspire Salsberg who said "I'm going to win this thing just to spite them".
Since then another TV network has expressed interest in the show and Matt is still hopeful it will find its way onto our screens in the near future.
Until then, Matt is going to continue enjoying "the sense of comedy" he's found in the poker world.
High stakes corner
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| Patrik one match down |
Rui Cao and Patrik Antonius have just completed the first part of their unofficial $1 million challenge.
In the last 24 hours the high stakes rivals battled back-and-forth at the $1,500/$3,000 2-7 Triple Draw tables.
The game held some significance for Cao as it was the scene of his recent demise against Antonius and the catalyst for their nosebleed challenge.
This time around it was Cao who emerged victorious, relieving Patrick of $330,000 in just 350 hands.
It's expected that the two players will now compete for a similar amount at the No Limit Hold'em and Pot Limit Omaha tables before a "winner" is declared.
Daily Signoff
Matt Salsberg's Whales might be waiting to make its TV debut, but until then the poker community will have to content itself with a preview of Game Theory's third episode.
