While online poker may be stagnating, the live tournament scene continues to improve, especially in emerging markets. Witness the field of 536 that took part in the recent Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT) Brazil – a substantial improvement over the LAPT’s previous record of 394. Of the 536 entrants, 325 were native Brazilians, but it was Chile’s Alex Manzano who took the title and the R $615,840 (US $370,586). However, five local lads did their country proud by making the final table, with runner-up Joao Neto taking second place and the R $352,760 consolation prize.
Variety is reporting that the new Professional Poker League (featuring Annie Duke as commissioner) may find a broadcast home on the CBS network. While CBS declined comment, Variety cites sources that claim ‘early discussions’ are taking place. Putting the new league on its schedule would give CBS a counter to NBC’s Poker After Dark, Fox Sports Net’s airing of the World Poker Tour and ESPN’s long-standing relationship with the World Series of Poker. The Federated Sports and Gaming league’s inaugural event gets underway Aug. 12-19 at the Palms in Las Vegas, with the Main Event beginning on the 16th.
An 85-year old Pennsylvania poker player recently won a coveted $10k seat at the 2011 WSOP after beating 230 entrants at a local tournament. Problem is, Richard Lornier doesn’t want to go to Vegas, so he’s trying to work out a deal with the local casino that would allow him to offer the seat to someone who does fancy butting heads with the thousands of other hopefuls. Frankly, we think Lornier’s nuts, as the tournament he won to earn the WSOP nod was only the second tournament he’d ever played in. Sad to learn so late in life that you’re a freaking natural at something, but fate’s a fickle thing.
Finally, do you know a poker-playing Apple fanboy with too much money on his hands? An extremely rare set of playing cards is currently up for auction on eBay, branded with images related to Apple’s System 7 (as it was called when it was first released in 1991). The mint-condition deck features the old rainbow-colored Apple logo and various features of the OS, including trash cans and system error bombs in lieu of the traditional hearts and spades. The current bid is £539 and the auction closes Feb. 27 at 7pm GMT.
