The unresolved debt of $16.5 million is not something the Group is willing to take on, Tapie says, especially since the overall financial situation at Full Tilt is "worse than expected."

Still, Tapie says they have reached out to all of the pros and some have even signed repayment contracts already. Some have yet to respond.

Tapie also specifically said Full Tilt players will only be refunded if GBT completes the takeover, which will require "the bulk" of that money returned.

If it isn't repaid, Tapie says it is true it could block the deal.

Said Tapie, roughly translated:

"The poker community, and particularly that made up of former Full Tilt players waiting to recover their funds, deserves to know the reality of the behaviour of some major poker figures who say they are ‘sorry for the situation of Full Tilt players and want to do everything they can to help them get their funds back, blaming the old management, but also refrain from saying how much they have borrowed from Full Tilt, and lost, playing on the site.

"However these losses represent some of the funds owed to the players who are waiting to be reimbursed. When you are a poker player, a great player at that, recognised and admired, the basic rule, it seems to me, is to honour your gambling debts.

"Fortunately, among the 19 players we have attempted to contact, some have immediately called back and worked with us on a repayment plan to clear their debts, and we are already finalising contracts to that effect."

Read the rest of Tapie's comments at iGamingFrance.

On Jan. 24, patpatman peaked with a massive $698k profit in a single day.

The account’s biggest victim is none other than Viktor “Isildur1” Blom who has been ice cold since winning the PCA Super High Roller event for $1.3 million. Patpatman has taken over $400k from Blom. 

Meanwhile Galfond had a truly catastrophic start to the year. He was the biggest loser of the month with $660k in damage.

Galfond has seen worse downswings, but not by much. Volume certainly wasn’t the problem as he recorded more hands than anyone in the top 10 winners.

For more information be sure to check our online poker stats section.

Here’s a complete look at the biggest winners and losers over the last month:

Jens "Jeans89" Kyllonen

 

Top 10 Online Poker Winners in January

Patpatman was easily the biggest winner in January but there were several other online poker pros who looked particularly dominant to start the year.

Jens “Jeans89” Kyllonen, who always seems to live in the shadow of the more famous fellow Finn Ilari Sahamies, was red hot in January with just short of $700k in profit.

Kyllonen has been remarkably consistent over the years and picked up $1.3 million last year without anyone batting an eye.

Right behind Kyllonen was Ben “Sauce123” Sulsky who amassed $671,000 in profit this month.

Sulsky has proven in the past he has the ability to run with the big dogs but last year was a bit off an off one for the U.S.-born pro as he only earned $239k.

After a brief hiatus from the game, Sulsky reemerged in the second week of January and promptly ran up well over half a million in 22,164 hands.

Some of the other notable winners this month included Phil “takechip” D’Auteil and former professional Warcraft 3 player Davin “mTw_DaviN” Georgi.

Here’s a look at the complete top 10:

1. Patpatman: +$858,000 2. Jeans89: +$698,000 3. Sauce123: +$671,000 4. ragen70: +$608,000 5. Bernard-bb: +$576,000 6. takechip: +$427,000 7. mTw-DaviN: +$349,000 8. BlatchPeople: +$344,000 9. altiFC: +$335,000 10. oogee: +$311,000

Viktor "Isildur1" Blom

 

Top 10 Online Poker Losers in January

There’s just no way around it: Phil “MrSweets28” Galfond got murdered in the January high stakes games.

Galfond played over 50,000 and lost $663k. In the middle of the month there was a two-day span where Galfond lost over $400k, a great deal of which was to Sander “berndsen12” Berndsen.

The mounting losses contributed to a recent blog post by Galfond called Sometimes I Lose, which provides some very interesting insight into what it’s like to go on half-million downswings.

Galfond was obviously not the only player to lose in January and VietRussian and Viktor “Isildur1” Blom both lost over $300k.

Blom gave VietRussian a good beating earlier in the month but then went on to lose several huge sessions to Berndsen12.

Isildur1 was easily the busiest player of the month as he burned through an insane 58,112 hands. Galfond was the only player who came close with 52,2230 hands.

Long90110, who many railbirds still maintain is Tom Dwan, got blasted for $369k.

Finally Zypherin, one of the biggest losers last year, didn’t exactly start 2012 with a bang as he lost $200k.

Here’s a complete look at the top 10 online losers in January:

1. MrSweets28: -$663,000 2. GVOZDIKA55: -$499,000 3. long90110: -$369,000 4. VietRussian: -$369,000 5. Isildur1: -$350,000 6. diggidave: -$244,000 7. Terken89: -243,000 8. roi kin23: -$233,000 9. Try__An__Hit: -$212,000 10. Zypherin: -$200,000

On Jan. 24, patpatman peaked with a massive $698k profit in a single day.

The account’s biggest victim is none other than Viktor “Isildur1” Blom who has been ice cold since winning the PCA Super High Roller event for $1.3 million. Patpatman has taken over $400k from Blom. 

Meanwhile Galfond had a truly catastrophic start to the year. He was the biggest loser of the month with $660k in damage.

Galfond has seen worse downswings, but not by much. Volume certainly wasn’t the problem as he recorded more hands than anyone in the top 10 winners.

For more information be sure to check our online poker stats section.

Here’s a complete look at the biggest winners and losers over the last month:

Jens "Jeans89" Kyllonen

 

Top 10 Online Poker Winners in January

Patpatman was easily the biggest winner in January but there were several other online poker pros who looked particularly dominant to start the year.

Jens “Jeans89” Kyllonen, who always seems to live in the shadow of the more famous fellow Finn Ilari Sahamies, was red hot in January with just short of $700k in profit.

Kyllonen has been remarkably consistent over the years and picked up $1.3 million last year without anyone batting an eye.

Right behind Kyllonen was Ben “Sauce123” Sulsky who amassed $671,000 in profit this month.

Sulsky has proven in the past he has the ability to run with the big dogs but last year was a bit off an off one for the U.S.-born pro as he only earned $239k.

After a brief hiatus from the game, Sulsky reemerged in the second week of January and promptly ran up well over half a million in 22,164 hands.

Some of the other notable winners this month included Phil “takechip” D’Auteil and former professional Warcraft 3 player Davin “mTw_DaviN” Georgi.

Here’s a look at the complete top 10:

1. Patpatman: +$858,000 2. Jeans89: +$698,000 3. Sauce123: +$671,000 4. ragen70: +$608,000 5. Bernard-bb: +$576,000 6. takechip: +$427,000 7. mTw-DaviN: +$349,000 8. BlatchPeople: +$344,000 9. altiFC: +$335,000 10. oogee: +$311,000

Viktor "Isildur1" Blom

 

Top 10 Online Poker Losers in January

There’s just no way around it: Phil “MrSweets28” Galfond got murdered in the January high stakes games.

Galfond played over 50,000 and lost $663k. In the middle of the month there was a two-day span where Galfond lost over $400k, a great deal of which was to Sander “berndsen12” Berndsen.

The mounting losses contributed to a recent blog post by Galfond called Sometimes I Lose, which provides some very interesting insight into what it’s like to go on half-million downswings.

Galfond was obviously not the only player to lose in January and VietRussian and Viktor “Isildur1” Blom both lost over $300k.

Blom gave VietRussian a good beating earlier in the month but then went on to lose several huge sessions to Berndsen12.

Isildur1 was easily the busiest player of the month as he burned through an insane 58,112 hands. Galfond was the only player who came close with 52,2230 hands.

Long90110, who many railbirds still maintain is Tom Dwan, got blasted for $369k.

Finally Zypherin, one of the biggest losers last year, didn’t exactly start 2012 with a bang as he lost $200k.

Here’s a complete look at the top 10 online losers in January:

1. MrSweets28: -$663,000 2. GVOZDIKA55: -$499,000 3. long90110: -$369,000 4. VietRussian: -$369,000 5. Isildur1: -$350,000 6. diggidave: -$244,000 7. Terken89: -243,000 8. roi kin23: -$233,000 9. Try__An__Hit: -$212,000 10. Zypherin: -$200,000

Today in the 3-Bet we find Daniel Negreanu bristling at an interview misinterpretation, Norman Chad pissing off an LA superior court judge and French rap pioneer Kool Shen crushing the EFOP.

1) Negreanu Bristles at "Twisted" Interview

In January, Poker Player UK magazine ran an exclusive interview with Daniel Negreanu.

Didn't say that at all.

 

Titled “What’s Wrong With You,” Negreanu was characterized as suggesting he “conquered” online poker, thought poker was in “big trouble” and that there's “something wrong” with young kids in poker.

Only problem, Negreanu says, is he didn't say any of those things.

Tweeting “Just read my article in Poker Player mag and it set a new record for the number of misquotes. Pretty impressive! They twisted everything,” a back-and-forth with the writer quickly ensued on the 2+2 forums.

The result was a quick reconciliation and a rebuttal from Negreanu posted on pokerplayer.co.uk that clarifies what he really said.

An excerpt:

“I don't think poker is in “big trouble” as was implied in the article, and I certainly don't think there is something inherently wrong with the younger generation of player.

“As I was correctly quoted in the article stating that players like DevilFish, Sammy Farha, Doyle Brunson, and Phil Ivey became fan favourites not only because of their skill set, but because of their interesting, and unique backgrounds and storyline.

“My fear is that the current story line for many of the younger generation lacks sexiness.”

Read the rest here.

2) Chad Scolded for Tweet Frenzy During Burglary Trial

A Los Angeles Superior Court Judge seems to have less patience for the off-color comedy stylings of Norman Chad than ESPN's WSOP viewers.

Can't stop won't stop.

 

Chad was given a good scolding and a contempt of court warning by judge Laura Foland Priver yesterday for tweeting while serving on the jury for a burglary trial.

"He made a mockery of our system," Priver said to Chad's attorney, according to the LA Times

"I'm disturbed by this behavior. Once the information is out there, it's out there forever. The public who sees these tweets is going to think this behavior is OK."

Among the poker-themed tweets Chad desparately needed to get out to his 18,000 followers:

"I love my jury seat: Front row, on the far aisle. Great view, with all the aggressive jurors to my left."

"And, in an extremely unfortunate coincidence for the defendant, he bears a striking resemblance to Phil Hellmuth."

"I'm sitting right behind the court reporter - I get instant replay on all testimony INSTANTANEOUSLY! It's better than seeing the hole cards.

"Memo to WSOP: Jury seats in LA courthouse are far more comfortable than chairs in Rio Amazon Room. I'm going to bring you one to show you."

Not one to miss a set-up, Chad's ESPN co-host Lon McEachern tweeted, duty-free:

If any of you 18,000 @NormanChad followers feel let down by his recent courtroom actions I will gladly take you in.

If things go REAL bad for @NormanChad with the Los Angeles DA we can always do the WSOP shows during visiting hours.

3) Kool Shen Krushes European Finals Championship

We've written about the poker prowess of French rap pioneer Bruno 'Kool Shen" Lopes before, and he proved it yet again in the recent EFOP in Paris.

Lopes took down the €5k European Finals of Poker Diamond Championship last weekend, beating out 108 runners for a €100,000 ($127,514) first-place prize.

It wasn't just a field of amateur patsies either as David Benyamine, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Jonathan Duhamel, Ludovic Lacay, and Basil “Basou” Yaiche all bought in.

Lopes boosted his career earnings to over $300,000 with the win, although he says his main field of concern is still hip-hop.

Rightly so, as you can see in the video below (h/t to Booksa-P.com):

On February 22 (four days before the 2012 Daytona 500), a charity poker tournament dubbed “High Speed Hold’em on the Halifax” will take place from 7-10PM at the MG on the Halifax, a luxury waterfront community near the Daytona International Speedway. The invitation only event is looking to draw more than 200 players who will put up $500 to take part in the event.

Hosted by the NASCAR Foundation, the tournament is raising money for Speediatrics, the pediatric unit at the Halifax Health Medical Center. NASCAR Foundation chairwoman Betty Jane France is looking forward to drawing together NASCAR’s best drivers, celebrities, poker pros and stock car fans for a thrilling evening of entertainment.

“What a great night this is going to be,” France stated during the announcement of the charity tournament. “(It will be) a lot of fun and all for some worthy causes. The NASCAR Foundation, Speediatrics and poker are things that I love dearly. People who know me can attest to that. This evening is going to be memorable and meaningful. I can’t wait.”

Joining France in hosting the tournament will be legendary driver and NASCAR Foundation board member Rusty Wallace, who admits that he isn’t a great poker player. In an interview with the Daytona Beach News-Journal, Wallace compared playing in the charity tournament to his own career as a Winston Cup championship winning driver, saying, “You’ve got to be a bit nervy and willing to take your chances. You can play it safe the first 450 miles of the race, but the last 50 you’d better have all your stuff right and be able to stick it out there and go for it…sometimes you drive over your head and get to crash and sometimes you don’t. There’s a correlation with poker.”

Also in attendance for the tournament will be poker professional Annie Duke, the commissioner of the Epic Poker League, who will serve as the honorary tournament director for the event. “I am so pleased to play my part in this inaugural tournament to support the NASCAR Foundation’s Speediatrics Program,” Annie added during the announcement of the event. “I’m looking forward to throttling up the action with Betty Jane and Rusty as we raise funds for this great cause.”

For the tournament, each of the 22 tables will have at least one celebrity, driver or poker player seated among the combatants. Notable names that have been confirmed for the tournament are former NASCAR Winston Cup champion Dale Jarrett and former NBA great Brad Daugherty, who is now a stock car analyst with ESPN and a NASCAR team owner. For the winner of the event, a seat at a $1500 Epic Poker League Pro/Am tournament will be the prize.

One player will be able to get into the tournament for free through a special drawing being held by the MG on the Halifax. By going online and registering at eventsatmgonthehalifax.com, one person and a guest will attend the tournament and the winner of the drawing will be able to play in the event. There will also be a charity auction and entertainment for those in attendance.

If the tournament reaches its maximum number of players, it would raise over $100,000 in just the buy ins alone and potentially even more through the auction. The funds would be well used at Speediatrics, which France founded in 1999 as a NASCAR-themed pediatrics unit. It is the only one of its kind in Central Florida that cares for more than 2,000 children each year, including about 300 of those receiving care in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

That’s right, October. The WSOP tweeted yesterday that the November Nine was no more, but that was simply a case of them just messing with the minds of the poker community. The November Nine still exists; it is simply moved to October this year to make way for the U.S. Presidential Election in November. The final nine players will play down to two on Sunday, October 28th and the heads-up match will be contested on Tuesday, October 30th.

Prior to the “October Nine,” the Main Event will require just three starting days – July 7-9 – because 92 tables have been added to the tournament area. The new tables, set up in the Brasilia Ballroom, allow enough players to sit at the same time that Day 1D is no longer necessary. Survivors from Days 1A (Saturday) and 1B (Sunday) will combine for Day 2A on Tuesday, July 10th, while the survivors from Monday’s Day 1C will compete on Day 2B on Wednesday, July 11th. Day 3 on Thursday, July 12th, will be the first day to include all remaining players. There will be no off-days during the Main Event.

The changes to the Main Event schedule, resulting in a Main Event which is three days shorter than last year, were made largely to allow players to spend less time in Las Vegas and therefore less time off from work and less money spent on hotel rooms, dining, and the like. The structure of the tournament will remain the same, with two-hour levels and 30,000 starting chips. Five levels will be played each day with 20-minute breaks in between and a 90-minute dinner break after the third level of the day.

Several new bracelet events have been added this year, including:

Event #3: $3,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold’em / Pot-Limit Omaha – this event will have a 512-player cap and will alternate between the two referenced games every 20 minute level.

Event #6: $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em Mixed Max – the tournament will start with 9-handed tables the first day, switch to 6-handed tables the second day, and will change to heads-up once the field is down to 32 players. Those remaining 32 players will then be seeded according to chip stack and be arranged into brackets with the #1 seed facing the #32 seed in the first round and so on and so forth.

Event #28 – $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em / Four Handed – self-explanatory.

Event #49 – $1,500 Ante Only No-Limit Hold’em – everybody posts an ante every hand and there are no blinds.

Event #55 – $1,000,000 Big One for BIG DROP – that’s a one million dollar buy-in, the most expensive poker tournament in history. 11.1 percent of the buy-in will go to the ONE DROP charity. More can be read about this event here.

There are also two “exhibition” events on the schedule. They are still real tournaments with real money to be won, but no bracelet will be awarded. The first, on June 30th, is the $560 Doubles No-Limit Hold’em Event, where two players team-up, alternating levels, to try to win all the chips. The other, held on July 6th, is the $560 Bracelet Bounty No-Limit Hold’em Event in which any player who has previously won a WSOP bracelet will have a bounty placed on his or her head.

The $50,000 Poker Players Championship, Seniors No-Limit Hold’em Championship, and Ladies No-Limit Hold’em Championship are back once again.

2012 World Series of Poker Schedule

May 27 – Event #1: Casino Employees No-Limit Hold’em – $500 – 2-Day Event
May 28 – Event #2: No-Limit Hold’em – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
May 29 – Event #3: Heads Up No-Limit Hold’em / Pot-Limit Omaha (512 player max) – $3,000 – 3-Day Event
May 29 – Event #4: Seven Card Stud Hi-Low 8 or Better – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
May 30 – Event #5: Pot-Limit Hold’em – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
May 31 – Event #6: No-Limit Hold’em Mixed Max – $5,000 – 4-Day Event
May 31 – Event #7: Seven Card Stud – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
June 1 – Event #8: Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
June 2 – Event #9A: No-Limit Hold’em Re-entry – $1,500 – 5-Day Event
June 3 – Event #9B: No-Limit Hold’em – $1,500 – 5-Day Event
June 3 – Event #10: Seven Card Stud – $5,000 – 3-Day Event
June 4 – Event #11: Pot-Limit Omaha – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
June 5 – Event #12: Heads Up No-Limit Hold’em (512 player max) – $10,000 – 4-Day Event
June 5 – Event #13: Limit Hold’em – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
June 6 – Event #14: No-Limit Hold’em Shootout (2,000 player max)  – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
June 6 – Event #15: Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better – $5,000- 3-Day Event
June 7 – Event #16: No-Limit Hold’em / Six Handed – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
June 8 – Event #17: Pot-Limit Hold’em – $10,000 – 3-Day Event
June 8 – Event #18: Seven Card Razz – $2,500 – 3-Day Event
June 9 – Event #19: No-Limit Hold’em – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
June 9 – Event #20: Limit Hold’em – $5,000 – 3-Day Event
June 10 – Event #21: No-Limit Hold’em – $1,000 – 3-Day Event
June 10 – Event #22: 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball (Limit)  – $2,500 – 3-Day Event
June 11 – Event #23: No-Limit Hold’em / Six Handed – $3,000 – 3-Day Event
June 11 – Event #24: Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better – $5,000 – 3-Day Event
June 12 – Event #25: Limit Hold’em Shootout – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
June 12 – Event #26: Pot-Limit Omaha – $3,000 – 3-Day Event
June 13 – Event #27: H.O.R.S.E. – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
June 14 – Event #28: No-Limit Hold’em / Four Handed – $2,500 – 3-Day Event
June 15 – Event #29: Seniors No-Limit Hold’em Championship – $1,000 – 3-Day Event
June 15 – Event #30: 2-7 Draw Lowball (No-Limit) – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
June 16 – Event #31: No-Limit Hold’em – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
June 16 – Event #32: H.O.R.S.E. – $10,000 – 3-Day Event
June 17 – Event #33: No-Limit Hold’em – $1,000 – 3-Day Event
June 18 – Event #34: Pot-Limit Omaha / Six Handed – $5,000 – 3-Day Event
June 18 – Event #35: Mixed Hold’em (Limit/No-Limit) – $2,500 – 3-Day Event
June 19 – Event #36: No-Limit Hold’em Shootout (2,000 player max)  – $3,000 – 3-Day Event
June 19 – Event #37: Eight Game Mix – $2,500 – 3-Day Event
June 20 – Event #38: No-Limit Hold’em – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
June 21 – Event #39: Pot-Limit Omaha – $10,000 – 3-Day Event
June 21 – Event #40: Limit Hold’em / Six-Handed – $2,500 – 3-Day Event
June 22 – Event #41: No-Limit Hold’em – $3,000 – 3-Day Event
June 22 – Event #42: Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi-Low 8 or Better – $2,500 – 3-Day Event
June 23 – Event #43: No-Limit Hold’em – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
June 24 – Event #44: No-Limit Hold’em – $1,000 – 3-Day Event
June 24 – Event #45: The Poker Players Championship  – $50,000 – 5-Day Event
June 25 – Event #46: No-Limit Hold’em – $2,500 – 3-Day Event
June 26 – Event #47: Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
June 26 – Event #48: Limit Hold’em – $3,000 – 3-Day Event
June 27 – Event #49: Ante Only No-Limit Hold’em – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
June 28 – Event #50: No-Limit Hold’em – $5,000 – 3-Day Event
June 29 – Event #51: Ladies No-Limit Hold’em Championship  – $1,000 – 3-Day Event
June 29 – Event #52: 10-Game Mix / Six Handed – $2,500 – 3-Day Event
June 30 – Doubles No-Limit Hold’em (Non-bracelet event) – $560 – 1-Day Event
June 30 – Event #53: No-Limit Hold’em – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
July 1 – Event #54: No-Limit Hold’em – $1,000 – 3-Day Event
July 1 – Event #55: The Big One for One Drop – No-Limit Hold’em – $1,000,000 – 3-Day Event
July 2 – Event #56: No-Limit Hold’em – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
July 3 – Event #57: No-Limit Hold’em / Six Handed – $10,000 – 3-Day Event
July 3 – Event #58: Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better – $3,000 – 3-Day Event
July 4 – Event #59A: No-Limit Hold’em – $1,000 – 4-Day Event
July 5 – Event #59B: No-Limit Hold’em – $1,000 – 4-Day Event
July 5 – Event #60: 2-7 Draw Lowball (No-Limit) – $10,000 – 3-Day Event
July 6 – Bracelet Bounty No-Limit Hold’em (Non-bracelet event) – $560 – 1-Day Event
July 7 – Event #61A: No-Limit Hold’em Main Event  – $10,000 – 10-Day Event
July 8 – Event #61B: No-Limit Hold’em Main Event – $10,000 – 10-Day Event
July 9 – Event #61C: No-Limit Hold’em Main Event – $10,000 – 10-Day Event