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The martonas comeback began with a $200k win on Sunday night. But when the Swedish gambler tried for a repeat the next night, he lost over $500k to Tom “kingsofcards” Marchese and Aaron “aejones” Jones.

If martonas is one thing, he’s persistent. Last night he returned to the highest stakes games online, and for the second night in a row, he managed to get beat out of half a million dollars.

Almost every nose-bleed stakes player in the game could smell the blood in the water, causing an absolute frenzy of action.

In fact, the top 25 pots of the night alone amounted to over $6.1 million wagered.

Patrik Antonius, who’s appearances on Full Tilt’s tables has been sparse in contrast to last year, has returned with a vengeance, proving once again he is one of the most prolific online players ever to take a seat at the virtual felt.

Last night Antonius was involved in four pots worth over $300k, including the largest pot of the night worth a massive $496,023. Antonius won the top pot by snapping off Marchese’s bluff, making a $101k call on the river holding nothing but king-high.

Despite losing the half-million dollar pot, Marchese managed to minimize his losses down to just over $100k.

Playing on the same tables as Antonius and Marchese, POKERBLUFFS picked his spots well, playing fewer hands than his opponents, but taking down the majority of those he chose to play.

At the end of the night, POKERBLUFFS finished with an impressive profit of $488k.

On top of all the No-Limit Hold’em action, Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies and Phil Ivey took turns pulling down massive pots while playing heads up $500/$1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha.

Even after winning all five of their largest heads-up pots, Sahamies was unable to leave the table with any more than $150k of Ivey’s money. However, by winning some large pots in other games, Sahamies brought his final result on the night to just over $230k.

The night was a complete bust for Ashton “theASHMAN103″ Griffin who cut his month’s profit of nearly $1 million in half, losing close to $480k playing NLHE.

Regardless of who won or lost over the last few days, one thing is almost certain: As long as martonas continues to return to the tables, the action will be through the roof.

Here are the three largest pots of the night, head to MarketPulse to see the rest:

Both players knew they both had the draw.

$146k on a draw.

A nice turn for Antonius.

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The hits continue: martonas drops another $500k

While the “brick and mortar” casino world continues to suffer double-figure drops in win rates and declines in attendance, September proved to be a lucrative month for PokerStars with the completion of its eighth annual World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP). In addition to another highly successful run of the preeminent online poker series for PokerStars, the WCOOP also helped to provide another world record for the number one site worldwide.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, which verified the results, September 6th saw PokerStars defeat its own world record for most players hosted by an online poker room. On that day, during which the WCOOP was in full swing, PokerStars recorded 307,016 players taking part in tournament, cash game, and free poker games on the site. Players were arranged around 42,814 tables and, once verified by Guinness record-keepers, smashed the previous mark by over 100,000.

PokerStars, which has held the record since its inception in 2008, and its major competitor, Full Tilt Poker, went at each other only two months ago to set the previous mark for most players online at once. Back in July, both Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars ran tournaments in an attempt to set the record for the largest online poker tournament ever held. PokerStars brought in a total of 65,000 players for its version of the record-breaking attempt, while Full Tilt attracted only 50,000. PokerStars was close to 200,000 total players once the tournament and other action was counted.

The most recent world record for PokerStars was more than likely due to the massive outpouring of players during the WCOOP and its various satellite events. On September 5th, WCOOP Event #6, the $109 No Limit Texas Hold’em tournament, drew an astounding 15,675 players. This didn’t take into count the number of players who were participating in Event #7, the $215 Pot Limit Five Card Draw, satellite tournaments, or play money games on the site.

On September 6th, a Sunday and the traditional “big day” for online tournament players around the world, the WCOOP featured three huge events that drew traffic. In addition to Event #9, a $215 No Limit Hold’em tournament that attracted 11,131 runners and was won by Slovakia’s “ternoplayer,” Event #10, the $10,300 High Roller tournament (299 players and won by Sweden’s “Sumpas”) and the first day of Event #11, the two day $530 No Limit Hold’em event (drawing 6219 players and won by the United States’ “hustla16”) were also in action. Once the numbers were counted up, it cracked the previous record set by PokerStars back in July.

While their physical counterparts battle through the recession, it is apparent that the online poker world is quite healthy. Congratulations to PokerStars for its most recent record, which should stand for quite some time.

Continued here:
PokerStars Enters Guinness Book of World Records for Most Online Poker Players

Poker News Daily can confirm that Pitbull Poker, a small site on the Flash Poker Network, closed down on Wednesday, according to a high-placed source. Contrary to rumors, no arrests were made in Costa Rica. The future of player funds held on the site is up in the air.

Dave Brenes, at last account, is the spokesperson for Pitbull Poker with the title of Network Manager.  He had previously been in contact with Poker News Daily regarding the allegations and, when asked to do an interview about the matter, declined by saying a statement from ownership was coming. The source told Poker News Daily on Wednesday that the closure of the site caught them off-guard and a public statement would be forthcoming. Pitbull Poker tables should not be active online.

On September 29th, a user by the name of “dbreal” posted a message on the TwoPlusTwo forums claiming he was Brenes.  Poker News Daily can independently confirm that “dbreal” is in fact Brenes.  The post in question states that Kevin Baronowski (owner of Pitbull Poker) took away Brenes’s TwoPlusTwo account, thus he had to register a new one.  He stated that fellow workers at Pitbull Poker called him at 3:00am stating that Kevin and Jordan (a business partner) were trying to take out computers and leave the premises without saying a word to anyone in the office.  The on-site staff then called police, who took the two in for questioning.

Less than two hours after that post, the rumor gained a ton of steam when players reported that Pitbull Poker’s website was up and running; however, players logged into the client only to be met with the site being down.  Players attempting to log in received the following error:

Application Error
An unexpected error has occurred! Our support team has been already informed. See details below.

Message: com.draagon.util.ResourceException: com.draagon.meta.MetaException: Unable to load objects of class [draagon::user::User]

PokerScout.com, a popular website that tracks the number of players online, reported a zero for Pitbull poker early this morning.  The games and poker site were down for over eight hours following the post from “dbreal” on the forums.

Twelve hours after his original post, “dbreal” surfaced again in the same thread on the TwoPlusTwo forums.  He wrote that Baronowski was taken in for interrogation, as many people on-scene claimed he was trying to leave without notice.  He stated once again that he was not personally there when they were caught, but confirmed that his computer was one of the first they took away before co-workers arrived at the scene.

There are now allegations from Pitbull regulars (mainly former prop players monitoring the cheating situation) that they have been monitoring activity the last few months on the site and have exposed at least three superuser accounts.

Poker News Daily will continue to monitor the situation closely as it unfolds.

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Pitbull Poker Shutdown Rumors Confirmed

Action continued today Down Under as the Pokernews Cup continued to build momentum going into the championship event. The most recent action featured the continuation of the…

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PokerNews Cup: Online Faction Wins Live-vs-Online Battle and Day 1 of the Tony G Celebrity Bounty Event

After Teddy Sheringham continued his rush to knock out Steve Zolotow in 31st place, a wave of eliminations have swept the Empire. Tommy Pavlicek got it in with A4 vs a dominated AJ to hit the rail with £21,142.

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Just 18 Players Left at WSOPE

In fact, tournament organizers are expecting a record number of pros to make the trip to sunny Aruba.

“This is one of my all-time favorite poker tournaments,” said Annie Duke, UltimateBet’s Cardroom Consultant and member of Team UB.

“While the UB community is famous for gathering together at all sorts of other poker tournaments like the WSOP, Aruba is all about celebrating the successes of UltimateBet’s online poker players. I can’t wait to meet the people I play against online, party with old friends on the beach and make some new ones.”

The entire Team UB roster is scheduled to appear including Phil Hellmuth, Annie Duke, Joe Sebok, Adam Levy, Billy Kopp, Bryan Devonshire, Brandon Cantu, Hollywood Dave Stann, Live Boeree, Matt Graham, Mark “P0ker H0″ Kroon, Scott Ian, Michael Binger, Gary “debo34″ Debernardi and Shawn Rice.

Also confirmed to play are Amazing Race stars Tiffany Michelle (who is also a UB pro) and Maria Ho.

Michelle mentioned she was looking forward to the event when interviewed by PokerListings regarding her Amazing Race experience.

“We’ve been doing a lot of press to support the show so it will be exciting to go to Aruba,” said Michelle. “I’m excited to sit back down at a poker table and see if I still got it.”

Lacey Jones and Matt Vengrin, who represent Absolute Poker on UB’s CEREUS network, will also make an appearance at the tournament.

The Aruba Poker Classic began in 2002 and has since seen a number of high profile winners including Juha Helppi, Erick Lindgren, Freddy Deeb and Travis Rice.

Last year, online pro Matt Brady outlasted 550 players to win $1 million out of a prize pool of over $2.6 million.

Taking place at the Radisson Aruba Resort, Casino & Spa, the 2009 Aruba Poker Classic will run Oct. 3-10 with the $5,500 main event starting Oct. 5. For the complete schedule go to the Aruba Poker Classic website.

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Hellmuth, Michelle headline Aruba Poker Classic

The poker and the Las Vegas communities lost one of their own last week, when entrepreneur and former World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Bob Stupak succumbed to a lengthy battle with leukemia.  He was 67 years-old.

To cite just one or two things Stupak will be best remembered for would be doing a disservice to a man whose long list of accomplishments ranges from building the iconic Stratosphere to winning a WSOP bracelet to placing a $1 million bet on the Super Bowl.

In addition to his reputation as an exceptional and well-rounded gambler, Stupak was also considered by many to be a master of publicity.  Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman summed up his legacy in a statement he gave to the Las Vegas Review Journal: “Bob was an impresario, a ringmaster in the mold of the promoters who made Las Vegas the great town that it is,” he said.  “His ingenuity got him into trouble sometimes, but that happens to folks who try to grab the brass ring.”

It is true that Stupak did not always have the easiest road to success.  After a failed attempt at running a restaurant, he opened Bob Stupak’s World Famous Historic Gambling Museum on the Las Vegas Strip.  Despite its less-than-stellar location on the northern portion of Las Vegas Boulevard, the museum drew patrons with slot machines, which promised huge payouts for a small investment.  Unfortunately, the building burned down just two months after opening.  In its place, Stupak built Las Vegas World, a casino with a space motif.  Years later, Stupak would pioneer the efforts to build the 1,149-foot tall Stratosphere.  While the project was seen to completion, it went bankrupt within its first year of operation and was sold off to Carl Ichan.

Stupak did not let these setbacks keep him down for long, though, and managed to keep himself in the spotlight via a series of outlandish sports bets and other gambling ventures.  The Las Vegas Sun reported that Stupak placed a $1 million bet on the 1989 Super Bowl, which garnered quite a bit of media attention, although the paper also suggested that he quietly made some side bets to compensate for the financial blow he would take should he lose.  Thankfully, he won.

In exchange for a $100,000 donation to the United Negro College Fund, Stupak was able to suit up for the Harlem Globetrotters in 1996.  Stupak’s official website features a video of the event highlighting his charitable contribution, but John L. Smith’s biography of Stupak, “No Limit: The Rise and Fall of Bob Stupak and the Las Vegas Stratosphere,” suggests he could not help but set up some side bets on his basketball prowess for as much as $250,000.

Stupak’s charitable side extended beyond his Globetrotters adventure and he was known throughout Vegas for his philanthropic efforts, which included financing a local park and community center and helping to fight homelessness in the city.  He was a civic-minded individual as well, running for Las Vegas Mayor and Nevada Lt. Governor, among other posts, but he failed to win any of his campaigns.

The poker world knows Stupak as a man with a knack for 2-7 Triple Draw.  He won his bracelet in the now defunct $5,000 2-7 Triple Draw with rebuys event, a tournament that many of the pros cited as one of the more prestigious bracelets to win.  In addition to nabbing the bracelet in 1989, Stupak made three other appearances at 2-7 final tables in the 1980s and 1990s.  He also final tabled the World Poker Tour’s first trip to Commerce Casino for the L.A. Poker Classic and made an appearance on the popular “High Stakes Poker” television program.

Stupak is survived by his three children, daughters Summer and Nicole and son, Nevada, as well as two sisters and two ex-wives.  Stupak’s body was cremated and there were no plans for a funeral.

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Las Vegas Mogul Bob Stupak Dies at 67

Day 5 of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event played out on ESPN on Tuesday night. Jeff Shulman, Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, and Andy Black were seated at the feature table as the field narrowed from 400 players.

Holding down the fort at Table Two were several brand name pros, including Vitaly Lunkin, Prahlad Friedman, and Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger, who will be featured once again on tonight’s installment of the G4 online poker reality show “2 Months, $2 Million.” Lichtenberger raised to 20,000 pre-flop with 10-5 and was met with an all-in from Lunkin, who held A-8. Lunkin told his foe, “It seems to me you are bluffing.” On Lichtenberger’s youth, ESPN announcer Norman Chad quipped, “It seems to me he doesn’t shave yet.”

Back at the feature table, Grospellier had pocket aces cracked by Scott Buller’s pocket kings when a king hit the turn. Needing an ace or jack to hit on the river, Grospellier watched as a benign deuce fell. Meanwhile, Pasha Esfandiary, brother of Antonio Esfandiari, was ousted with aces against pocket fives when a five hit the flop. Antonio changed his last name to end in the letter “i” because he thought it looked better, while Pasha has left his last name unchanged.

Adam Bilzerian, a Vanderbilt University graduate, revealed to ESPN cameras that he renounced his citizenship to the United States after college. He penned, “America: Love it or Leave it, So I Left” and now boasts a passport from St. Kitts and Nevis. He apparently regretted his decision, noting, “You don’t appreciate what you have until it’s gone.” Adam was seated directly next to his brother, Dan Bilzerian.

ESPN cameras continuously checked in on Kara Scott, whom Chad ogled for much of the night. Scott doubled up Jamin Stokes with A-K against Stokes’ pocket kings, leaving Chad to note, “Kara Scott Chad should be more careful with our money.” Back at Table Two, Carter Swidler called the all-in raise of Lunkin with pocket nines. Lunkin held A-Q and the two were off to the races. The flop came A-Q-J, giving Lunkin two pair, and a running 2-3 doubled him up. “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here” winner Lou Diamond Phillips promptly dropped a pot against Scott Baumstein after Baumstein hit a straight on the river.

Lunkin was crippled when his pocket aces fell to 2-5, while 2008 WSOP Main Event Champion Peter Eastgate doubled up with pocket kings against Gabe Walls’ Ad-4d. Eastgate’s chips hit the middle on a 7-3-7 board with two diamonds and the reigning champion dodged a multitude of outs to scoop the pot. Black called off his stack with pocket fours against Shulman’s pocket eights on a 10-8-5-2-5 board, leaving Chad to lament, “I didn’t see that blowup coming.” Black appeared very weary during the hand.

In the second episode, which aired at 9:00pm ET, Tom Schneider, the 2007 Player of the Year, began as the chip leader with a stack of 2.2 million. Table Two featured Esfandiari and Phillips, while the feature table remained the same. Scott doubled up at an outer table and, interestingly enough, is just the second woman to cash in back-to-back Main Events. Meanwhile, fellow female player Nichoel Peppe scooped a 2.6 million chip pot, the largest to air during the 2009 WSOP Main Event on ESPN.

At the feature table, Shulman raked in a 323,000 chip pot after raising to 30,000 pre-flop with pocket fours. Grospellier made the call with Jh-10h and the flop came 4-8-K with two hearts. Shulman bet out 60,000 with his set and Grospellier came along to see the deuce of spades hit the turn. Shulman fired out a bet of 120,000 and Grospellier folded. Meanwhile, PokerRoad CEO Joe Sebok doubled up with A-K against Q-7 after spiking a king on the river to stay alive. He had begun to put his backpack on after a seven hit the turn.

Scott doubled up again, but ultimately fell with A-2 against 5-3. The board ran out Q-6-5-5-9, leaving Chad to lament, “I am crestfallen.” Also hitting the exits was Dan Harrington, who departed after his flush draw failed to hit. Heading in the other direction was Phil Ivey, who called an all-in with A-7 against 10-6 on a 6-7-Q board for most of his chips. The turn was a nine and the river was a five, sending Mats Anderson to the rails.

Tuesday’s theatrics ended with Grospellier earning a 1.3 million chip pot with pocket aces against Tyler Patterson’s pocket tens. The board ran out Q-6-3-K-6 and, despite slipping for most of Day 5, Grospellier was back to nearly even. Three women remain along with two former Main Event champions, Eastgate and 2005 winner Joe Hachem.

Starting next week, new episodes will air from 9:00pm to 11:00pm ET on ESPN.

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Jeff Shulman Takes Center Stage on WSOP Main Event on ESPN Coverage

Antonius and Tom “kingsofcards” Marchese were playing almost 250BB deep three-handed at the $500/$1,000 stakes when the hand took place. Marchese raised on the button to $2,400 when the Team Full Tilt member 3-bet to $8,200. POKERBLUFFS quickly got out of the way and Marchese called.

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Patrik Antonius Wins $500,000 With King High

To the joy of many of Full Tilt Poker’s high-stakes regulars, the enigmatic Martonas rejoined the $500/$1,000 and $300/$600 games at Full Tilt yesterday. He began with a $300/$600 session against Cole “CTS” South for about 1,000 hands; winning approximately $230,000.

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Martonas Rejoins High Stakes Games at Full Tilt