Top Ten Poker News Stories of 2012: Part 1

Barry Carter picks out some of the biggest and most controversial news stories he has reported on in the last 12 months.

10. The return of Phil Ivey

Ivey is the man, again

Once a hero of poker in everyone's eyes, Phil Ivey was a polarising figure in 2012, with many people believing his actions directly hurt the proposed Full Tilt Poker takeover with Groupe Bernard Tapie.

So there was a lot of attention on Ivey when he ended his self imposed exile from poker in 2012.

In true Ivey style it did not take long for him to return to winning ways. He came 12th in the Aussie Millions main event then followed it up with a $2 million win in a super high roller event.

He went on to make his mark on the WSOP, amazingly making five final tables back-to back in a 12 day period, and nearly winning WSOP player of the year as a result.

He may never be as popular as he once was, but there was never any doubt that he was still the best in the world at the tables.

9. E-Dog's Fall from Grace

Lindgren went from hero to zero

Not only did Erick Lindgren have a reputation as one of the best players in the world, he was also considered one of the 'good guys' of the game.

That would all come crumbling down in 2012 as details of his degenerate lifestyle begun to surface.

Lindgren was exposed as having bad debt in its millions owed, with stories emerging of him avoiding paying people and losing seven-figure sums sports betting.

Without his shares in Full Tilt Poker paying dividends any more, it seems reality had finally caught up with him.

Even Howard Lederer managed to get a dig in, revealing that he was accidentally paid $2 million by the site when the company was in dire straights and never gave it back.

8. Mad Marvin wins back-to-back WPT titles

Back-to-back Marvin

2012 was the year the Germans made their mark on the game by winning pretty much everything on the poker circuit. Although Pius Heinz will remain the poster boy for German poker, 2012 was the year of "Mad" Marvin Rettenmaier.

Marvin 'xcrash154' Rettenmaier was a regular fixture on the World Poker Tour and just days after signing a sponsorship deal with PartyPoker he went and won their biggest, toughest and final event of the year, the Championship event at the Bellagio for $1,196,858.

He started season 12 as he ended season 11, by winning WPT Cyrprus for $287,784.

Few people ever win back-to-back events, especially in fields as large and competitive as the World Poker Tour. Marvin even followed this success up this month by winning €365,300 after taking down an EPT Super High Roller event.

7. Greg Merson arrives on the world stage

Long live the king

Every year somebody has to win the WSOP Main Event. That fact alone does not make them an instant entry into a 'top stories of the year' list.

What makes Greg Merson an inclusion is the fact that it really seems like a new force in world poker has arrived.

He didn't just win the main event, he played incredibly well and earned plaudits from the very best, including Phil Ivey, who has chosen to sponsor him.

Not only did he win the main event, he also won over $1 million in the $10,000 six max championship, an event many consider to be the toughest No Limit event outside of the main event.

The fact he won the toughest two No Limit events of the year not only landed him the WSOP Player of the Year title, it also puts him in the 'world's best' discussion overnight.

6. The Partouche controversy

Patrick Partouche was defiant

There are few ways to lose the respect of the poker community quicker than to renege on a guarantee, but that is what the Partouche Poker Tour did in September.

They tried to claim they had only advertised a $4 million guarantee, when multiple marketing materials clearly stated $5 million.

Eventually a defiant Patrick Partouche bowed down to public pressure and reinstated the $5 million guarantee, but not before announcing he would be ending the Partouche Poker Tour as a direct result.

2012 also saw the International Stadiums Poker Tour, which is being organised by the Partouche team, renege multiple times on their proposed $30 million event next year, and as a result the poker community has lost confidence the event will even go ahead.

Join us later on this week for part 2 in our countdown.

By Barry Carter

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