A few months on, and now US pro Will “The Thrill” Failla joins Moorman in the role as they promote the company which offers tournament “Bubble” protection for 10% of the total entrants, at a nominal price.

Commenting on his latest deal with BubbleProtection.com, the 44 year-old Long Island native said:

“I am very pleased to associate myself with BubbleProtection…a sustainable business model while simultaneously being positive EV for their users. I am a true supporter of the technology and I anxiously await the time when I can use BubbleProtection in the United States. Until that time I will proudly endorse the product in my travels both here and abroad.”

When Failla first started playing poker, the games of choice were Seven-card stud and five-card draw. He said he only then moved to playing tournaments and hold’em after Greg Raymer won the WSOP Main Event in 2004.

Failla has subsequently gone on to amass $3,318,805 in winnings since his first cash in 2005, with his first big break coming in 2007 after winning the $5,000 Foxwoods Poker Classic for $207,968. On that occasion he faced top pro Kathy Liebert heads-up, and as he explains:

“I knew that she was one of the best players in the world and I beat her fair and square. There were no suck outs or anything. After that, I told myself that maybe I really had a shot at this. You always have that insecurity, until you really beat someone that you know can play the game.”

Another career highlight for Failla came only last year when he overcome a field of 757 players at the $3,500 WPT Legends of Poker on the way to collecting his biggest score to date of $758,085.

Bubble Protection obviously chose wisely recruiting Will Failla and commenting on their latest signing, company CEO Eugene Castro said:

“Will is one of the most popular people on the pro tour..We’re very proud to have Will join Chris Moorman as our second company spokesman and know that having him aboard will bring respect and credibility to BubbleProtection.”

Nataliya released the news via Nikolay Evdakov’s Russian poker forum called CGM.ru., although no details were given as to the cause of his death. The following message can now be seen on the forum:

“On the night of February 6, Nikolay Evdakov died – a loving father and an exemplary family man, a friend of the community of poker enthusiasts, an outstanding professional player and the owner of CGM.ru. Generous, but ambitious, Nicholas won the hearts of people with kindness and sympathy, being open-hearted, he was ready to respond to the call of any of his friends and acquaintances.”

Nikolay Evdakov was one of Russia’s top poker pros, having earned $1,151,705 from tournaments since his first live cash in 2006. On that occasion he won the $500 Russian Poker Championships for $37,515 before then also taking his talent abroad and competing in various top competitions across the world.

However, 2008 was the year in which Nikolay Evdakov gained worldwide recognition after setting an all-time WSOP record by cashing in at the poker series an incredible ten times, earning $228K along the way. Remarkably, it was the first year in which he had ever cashed in at the WSOP, and in 2009 he followed up his achievement by cashing in at a further six events in a variety of disciplines including No Limit, PLO,  and Seven Card Razz.

Subsequently, in 2010 Nikolay Evdakov continued his successful run in Vegas with a 4th place finish at the $10k Seven Card Stud Championship for $110,628, and then in 2011 by finishing 7th at the $25k NL Heads-Up Championship for $138,852.

Since the news of his death, messages of condolence have been pouring in from all over the poker world. The WSOP also sent a message saying:

“Sad news today about Nikolay Evdakov’s passing. Heartfelt condolences to his family and friends in this sad time.”

In addition, US poker tournament director Matt Savage, who officiated the WSOP between 2002 to 2004 wrote:

“RIP Nikolay Evdakov, got to know him last year @LAPC where he won two events. Seemed like a great guy!”

Here at OnlinePoker.net we would also like to send our condolences to Nikolay Evdakov’s family and friends.

Following the signing, Pedro Maia said: “I am delighted to join Lock Poker, a professional team of the highest level, with the top international and Portuguese players, counting in its ranks with players of international reputation.”

Hailing from the beach resort city of Espinho, Pedro Maia started playing poker tournaments in 2007 and by 2009 had become a familiar face on both the Portuguese cash game and tournament scene.

It was around this time that Pedro ‘pls3betme’ Maia also turned his attention to playing online, where his multi-tabling skills allowed him to  become a top rake back pro. Pedro Maia was then recruited into become a member of online poker room 24hPoker.com. where he described himself at the time, as follows:

“I’m a Cash Game grinder playing 24 Tables at the same time. I have also multiple MTT winnings Live and Online.”

Pedro Maia has since continued to enjoy success in his online career, as well as live in which he has earned $34,189 from tournaments including victory at the €400 Knockout Figueira Poker Tour Main Event in 2010 for $12,845,

The young Portuguese pro says he is now delighted to be representing Lock Poker as one of their sponsored pros, a sentiment shared by CEO of Lock Poker Jennifer Larson, who commented:

“Pedro is an excellent addition to our incredible team of players. As we reach across the world with our Pros we continue to get a deeper grasp of what becoming the top online poker room worldwide really means. We are determined to be the number one choice worldwide!”

Pedro Maia now becomes part of a team which also includes such top players as
Chris Moorman, Matt Stout, Leo Marget and Melanie “Callisto” Weisner.

Subsequently, both pros were rumoured to have walked away big winners in the game, with Sam Trickett up around US$2.3 million for his efforts, and ‘The Great Dane’ in profit by a massive US$3.86 million.

Now that the Aussie Millions is complete, the two pros have returned to Macau hoping to continue where they left off. Unfortunately, things don’t seem to be progressing quite as well as before, with Sam Trickett tweeting about running bad in Macau, losing the biggest pot of his life and feeling physically sick.

The 25 year-old then wrote: “Going back to play another marathon session! taking a big spade with me to dig my way out the this hole!”

Despite Trickett having a “good session,” it seems it was then countered by a poor session in which he complained about “losing all ins in all forms of poker,” before finishing by tweeting “Going for a nap before i play another 10/20k session.”

Gus Hansen, too, seems to have enjoyed better days, and blogged about expensive swings and doing better in his second session, before then losing a huge HK$12 million (US$1.55m) pot.

Gus Hansen’s third session also seems to have gone the same way, and he describes losing a HK$14.7 million (US$1.9 million) pot in which he was seated one after the straddle holding 9d-7d. With over 1 million in the pot pre-flop, the flop then fell 9h-6d-2d to which the small blind checked, the 40K straddler bet 550K and Hansen went all in for HK$5.3 million (US$$680,000).

As Hansen continues on his blog: “..when the small blind cold calls 3.7Mill and the bettor is counting his outs and figuring out his pot-odds, I have a BAD feeling of what’s in store for me – A set and the Nut-flush draw! And indeed it was, I am down to runner-runner straight or runner-runner full house – not a great spot to be in. Whoever won the 14.7Mill pot is not my business to discuss, but what I will say is that my 4.3% didn’t hit and I was out another 5.3 Million.”

However, its early days for the dynamic duo and we’ll try to bring you updates to their latest endeavours in Macau, as more news is released.

After relocating to Canada post Black-Friday, where he now plays on PokerStars as “MrSweets28,” the US player originally lost $300k before showing a 447k profits, but is currently down $570k on the site so far.

The 27 year-old has suffered horrendous downswings previously, most notably a $1.5 million one which finished April last year. However, this time around Galfond said it feels different, compounded by the fact he has found himself missing his mostly New York non-poker playing buddies.

Consequently, Galfond complains of feeling little relief outside of the virtual poker felts, making his downswing a lot more stressful to handle. This has also resulted in poor sleeping patterns, and as he explains:

“Over the last few months, I’ve actually tilted to the point of clearly playing worse on more than a couple of occasions.  That’s something that never has happened to me in my first full seven years as a poker player.  That should have been my first clear warning sign that something was very wrong.”

Having identified the problem, Galfond feels he’s now already part of the way towards remedying the situation. Turning his attention to the practicalities of bankroll management, Phil Galfond says he will now drop down stakes and try to build his roll up from $90k to a quarter of a million dollars. However, his last tweet would indicate it’s still going to take some time, as he wrote:

“90k to 250k mission not going so hot. Played 2600 hands yesterday at 10/20 through 50/100: -$55k. Stars roll 36.2k…If I get too low to multi-table, I’ll probably give up and get a transfer.”

The 35 year-old created quite a buzz after falling just short of the AUD$10k buy-in Main Event, eventually finishing in 12th for $102,947.

However, soon after he was back in action at the AUD$250,000 Super High Roller, where a small but tough field of 16 gathered for the event. These players included such pros as Jason Mercier, Tom Dwan, Sorel Mizzi, Sam Trickett, John Juanda, and Erik Seidel. 

After Daniel Negreanu exited in 4th empty-handed, Gus Hansen then collected
$800,000 in 3rd, while Phil Ivey defeated Patrik Antonius ($1.2million)  to earn his biggest score to date of $2,058,948. Commenting later, Ivey said:

“It feels good to be back. I took some time off from poker. This is one of my first tournaments back and it’s nice to get back to winning again.”

Over the past years, Phil Ivey has clocked up regular seven figure sums competing in tournaments, with results as follows; 2008 ($2,025,042), 2009 ($1,801,863), and 2010 ($1,623,231).

Phil Ivey then produced a blank 2011 after his sympathy for Full Tilt customers compelled him to not to compete last year, stating:

“I do not believe it is fair that I compete when others cannot.”

That changed recently after Full Tilt moved closer to completing a deal with the DoJ and potential buyer Bernard Tapei. As a result, Ivey is already enjoying a bumper year just one month in and has now moved back into 2nd place on Poker’s All Time Money List with $16,021,839 in earnings.

Eric Seidel, who enjoyed an incredible 2011, had started to pull away in top spot, but now Ivey has managed to close the gap so that he is just $800,000 or so behind. Maybe 2012 will see Ivey reclaim his number one spot once more.

French number one Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier was awarded the title Poker Personality of 2011. As well as another spectacular year in which he won $2,296,620 from live tournaments, including capturing a WSOP bracelet to complete a triple crown, “ElkY” did plenty more to make European poker more enjoyable. These include publishing his first book ‘The Raiser’s Edge’ as well taking part in a kick boxing match against pal Lex Veldhuis.

As widely predicted, PokerStars Team Pro Pius Heinz walked away with the ‘Best Tournament Performance’ award after flying the European flag by becoming the first German player to take down the WSOP Main Event for a massive $8,715,638 payday.

Russian Andrey Pateychuk, who cashed-in at his first live tournament in 2010, was named the ‘Rookie of the Year’ after amassing $2,085,014 in live winnings throughout 2011. His achievements include victory in the EPT San Remo for $937,530, victory in the WPT Prague for $599,720, as well as a 15th place finish in the WSOP Main Event for $478,174.

Finnish player Ilari Sahamies was given the ‘Online Player of the Year’ award, following a year in which he finished top of the PokerStars cash game leader board with $2,183,832 in winnings.

UK pro Sam Trickett won ‘Player of the Year’ after earning $4,598,038 from live tournament, including winning the Aussie Millions $100k Championship for $1,508,258, finishing 2nd in the Aussie Millions $250k Super High Roller for $1,384,631, and winning the Partouche Poker Tour €8,500 Main Event for $1,364,666. Trickett also crushed the Big Game in Macau for several million dollars.

Other players receiving awards included Russian Natalia Nikitina (Europe’s Leading Lady), Jesse May (Lifetime Achievement Award), Warren Lush (Staff Person of the Year), and WSOP Cannes for the ‘Event of the Year.’

Phil Galfond also won a WSOP bracelet in 2008 at the $5k PLO event for $817,781, so when the 27 year-old has something to say about the current state of online poker post Black-Friday, he rightfully deserves some attention.

With an emphasis on making poker a fun experience for both pros and casual players alike, Galfond raises a whole host of issues he sees need addressing in order to improve the overall state of the online game. One of the many points he raises is the negative affect tracking websites and Heads Up Displays (HUD’s) have on recreational players, to which he suggests following Bodog’s example of anonymous online poker tables or his preferred option of allowing players to often change their screen-names.

Another area he sees in need of change are the long-waiting lists which develop at tables, often leading players to join dozens of games without taking seats. Here Galfond suggests following the lead of brick and mortar card-rooms which get the action going for those waiting players at another communal table until a place becomes available at the main game.

Phil Galfond also took exception to Heads-Up players who refuse to play 90% of their would-be challengers, and also the related subject of “bum-hunting,” which he sees as having got out of control. As he explains:

“I have no problem whatsoever with people who choose only to play in great games. It’s starting to go much further than that, however. As soon as a “spot” leaves a game, zero to one hands are played. It literally instantly breaks. It’s worse when the player hasn’t even left the table, but has simply busted his stack, or clicked sit out. Everyone sits out with him, and when he reloads, everyone sits back in. How would you feel if you were playing poker for fun, just lost a $10k stack, and the 5 people at your table instantly sit out? Takes a little bit of the fun out of poker, I would think.”

In this instance, Phil Galfond suggests that those players who take this line in order to avoid any potential –EV spots like those are probably playing above their bankrolls.

Commenting on its new recruit, Sky Poker TV Head of Channel Caire Cook, said:

“Stuart is just one of a handful of successful British poker players who will now appear on your screens to bring you top poker tips and advice. He’s one of the most charismatic players on the circuit and I am sure viewers will enjoy Stuart’s regular appearances on the Sky Poker TV channel.”

Hailing from Birmingham, England, the young Oxford mathematics graduate has a natural talent for all aspects of poker and makes a profitable living from cash games, as well as earning extra income from coaching and writing poker strategy articles for various poker outlets, including Pokernews.

In addition to the money he has won plying his trade online, Stuart Rutter has also amassesd $679,591 in live tournament winnings since cashing in at his first  live event in 2005. Counted amongst his achievements is victory in 2010 at the £1,000 GUKPT Coventry for £41,910 ($68,257), and two final tables at the 2011 World Series of Poker, including a 3rd place finish at the $5,000 NL Shootout for $179,617.

The overall experience of Stuart Rutter makes him a valuable addition to the Sky Poker analyst team and commenting further on their new recruit, Caire Cook, added:

“Stuart’s addition to the Sky Poker analyst team gives you some idea of the ambition we have in the industry. We’re all set to relaunch the channel this February including a greater variety of shows to cover all levels of poker ability.”

Sky Poker enables its UK online players to feature heavily on its Sky Poker TV channel by choosing selected action from its many daily online televised tournaments and cash games. Unfortunately, Sky Poker does not currently accept US players.

Thirteen months later and the collaboration between Miramax, which produced the original movie, and The Weinstein Company has yet to get off the ground. At the time, movie producer and co-founder of Mirimax, Harvey Weinstein said:

“I’m entertaining the idea of doing a ‘Rounders’ sequel because there’s a side of the story that we haven’t told. I want to do it because there’s something that we didn’t say.”

Interestingly enough, ‘Rounders’ ended with protagonist Mike McDermott (Matt Damon) heading off to compete in the World Series of Poker, but where the sequel picks-up remains a secret.

Since announcing the sequel, however, Weinstein has expressed concern over the declining state of the DVD market and the need to now make theatrical style movies which translate well to the big screen.Rounders 2, therefore, presents a challenge to Harvey Weinstein, who indicated he was concerned that the original Rounders only grossed $23 million at cinemas when it was released and only proved a hit later on in ancillary markets.

Not backing away from the project, Weinstein instead emphasised the need to get Rounders 2 just right, and added:

“It’s become much more of a theatrical business because the movie has to work in theaters. There’s no second chance..I never make sequels but it’s something I’d like to revisit.”

Despite originally showing a release date of 2012, Rounders 2 is currently scheduled to hit the screens in 2014, according to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB).

In the meantime, both Matt “Mike McDermott” Damon and Ed “Lester Murphy” Norton have expressed interest in starring in the sequel, although it is unclear whether John Malkovich or John Turturro will reappear to revive their previous roles.