Robl pays $1.5 million bail for Macau gambler
In today's Daily Rewind we find out why Andrew Robl put up $1.5 million in bail money and PokerStars have gone back on their FPP satellite decision.
Robl backs Phua
Paul Phua, the high stakes businessman who was arrested for running an illegal World Cup betting ring in Las Vegas, recently found a friend in Andrew Robl.
Despite the US pro's recent low profile it seems he's been active enough behind-the-scenes to ante-up $1.5 million to aid Phua's release from prison.
After being arrested by FBI agents in Vegas, Phua's bail was set at $2 million and Robl was one of the first pros players to lend his support.
According to the official declaration, Robl has been friends with Phua and his son for four years and the $1.5 million will was made available in the form of Aria poker chips.
In accordance with the law, he states that the poker chips form part of his winnings from a recent session at the Aria and are "completely independent" from the two suspects.
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PokerStars does a u-turn
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| Back to normality |
PokerStars' recent decision to change its stance towards FPPs and their usage has taken a sharp u-turn.
Following on from the news that PokerStars would be removing a player's ability to unregister from tournaments they'd qualifying for using FPPs, a spokesperson for the site has stated that the policy will now be reversed.
In a statement addressing the issue, the representative said:
"The reason for the original policy change was to ensure that satellites are achieving their intended purpose." However, "we are now reversing this change. By Monday, 21 July, winners of FPP satellites will be able to unregister from the target once again."
Aside from a technical glitch that meant mobile players weren't able to see the initial change, a wave of negative feedback from players seems to have caused this change of heart.
Following the announcement, PokerStars said that it will look at potential policy changes with regards to FPPs at a later date.
Party with Negreanu
If you're at a loose end this Friday and Saturday then Daniel Negreanu is inviting you to his birthday parties.
In a bid to celebrate his 40th in style, Negreanu will be hosting a pre-party party inside The Cosmopolitan's "day club" on Friday and a main party in the Vegas hotel's nightclub on Saturday.
Claiming he wants to "do it right" and that "all are welcome", Negreanu has even gone to the trouble of having a poster made to advertise the event.
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Question of the Day
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A big day for 'Sanlker' on Sunday meant his $120,545 haul moved him to the top of the latest high stakes leaderboard. Enjoying a profitable 709 hands of virtual poker, the German pro eventually logged off ahead of 'mrw8419' and Chun Lei 'samrostan' Zhou.
At the other end of the spectrum, 'Osama_no_Brunch' slumped to a $93,753 loss after just 87 hands. The high stakes spin-up gone wrong was enough to put the unknown grinder ahead of 'Trueteller' and 'AckmaJin' on the daily loss leaderboard.
Daily Signoff
With Andrew Robl willing to put up $1.5 million to help out Paul Phua we can only assume that his recent run of form has been similar to the luck he had in this classic hand.
Friday's Daily Rewind: Win a free WCOOP seat and coaching from a famous pro
 Daniel Smyth has been working in the poker industry for six years as both a player and writer. He currently has a costly penchant for PLO and provides daily content for PokerStrategy.com. You can learn more about Daniel by clicking here.
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