The PokerListings Daily 3-Bet is a well-oiled machine that spits out three pieces of poker news every afternoon like clockwork.
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In today’s Daily 3-Bet we’ll take a look at the recently released SCOOP schedule, an Allen Kessler victory and some love for PokerStars in New Jersey.
1) Allen Kessler Wins WSOPC Side Event in Colorado
Famed structure-nit Allen Kessler broke through with his second WSOP Circuit ring at Lodge Casino in Colorado yesterday.
Kessler outlasted 149 players to win the $580 No-Limit Hold’em tournament for $20,859. It was the penultimate event of WSOPC Lodge Casino.
Last week Kessler was announced as yet another pro on the rapidly expanding IveyPoker roster. It was a surprising move, considering the team includes high stakes superstars like Ivey and Patrik Antonius, but Kessler is already carrying his weight with the WSOPC win.
Known as a cashing machine, Kessler already has nine cashes in 2013 although he’s only hauled in a total of $72,537.
It’s been a big month all around for IveyPoker players as Dan Shak won the Premier League for $450,000 on the weekend.
Perhaps the best thing about Kessler taking down the WSOPC side event, however, was the sweet winner shot the WSOP snapped.
At best Kessler looks apprehensive, at worst it looks like someone told him there's no buffet voucher to go along with the ring.
2) Poker Players Overwhelmingly in Favor of PokerStars in NJ
OK, this one isn’t really a huge surprise but according to a recent survey by the Poker Players Alliance, poker players in New Jersey are vastly in favor of PokerStars buying the Atlantic Club.
Earlier this month the American Gaming Association announced its opposition to the purchase, claiming PokerStars represents a threat to brick and mortar casinos in the area.
The Poker Players Alliance surveyed 998 of its members who live in New Jersey and the numbers are startling:
- 96% say PokerStars should be able to buy the Atlantic Club
- 95% don’t agree that PokerStars should be labeled as a bad actor and therefore unable to get an online gaming license in New Jersey
- 96% would like to play online poker on PokerStars
- 63% gave the online site a perfect five on a scale of 1-5.
It’s tough to see the AGA’s argument as the Atlantic Club was floundering and the PokerStars purchase represents an infusion of cash and jobs into Atlantic City.
Meanwhile Sen. Jim Whelan fired back at AGA, saying the organization, which is backed by several casino giants, is motivated by greed and attempting to keep competition out of the area.
3) PokerStars Releases Tentative SCOOP Schedule with 42 Events
The PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker is right around the corner and it’s apparently going to be enormous.
PokerStars released a tentative schedule for SCOOP today and it includes a total of 42 events, the most ever offered in the spring series. It will run from May 12-26.
As usual every event will have low, medium and high buy-in meaning there will actually be a total of 126 events.
Because it’s a tentative schedule there may even be more events added in the future.
There are plenty of variants on the schedule including some of PokerStars' new Omaha games such as Courchevel and 5-Card Omaha.
This year’s SCOOP will also feature Zoom tournaments for the first time ever.
The 2013 SCOOP will of course offer all the regular No-Limit Hold’em, Seven-Card Stud, Razz, Omaha games as well as the standard Hi-Low variants.
PokerStars has yet to release any guarantees but the Main Event will take place on May 26. The 2012 SCOOP was the biggest in history with a total of $65 million awarded.
*Any mention of a bonus or discussion of such terms is not in relation to the province of Ontario.
