According to a source close to Full Tilt Poker, the site’s pros are able to play in any competitor’s open event. The squad’s ability to enter this weekend’s PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Main Event appeared to be in doubt.
Whether members of Team Full Tilt or the site’s Red Pros will turn out for the $5,000 buy-in NAPT feature tournament remains to be seen. However, contrary to an article that appeared on ESPN.com, pros of Full Tilt are apparently more than welcome to buy into PokerStars-sponsored events. A source close to the world’s second largest online poker site told Poker News Daily, “Any Full Tilt pro, Red or member of Team Full Tilt, can play in any competitor’s open event.”
Currently, Full Tilt sponsored pro Roberto Romanello is second in chips at the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Copenhagen event with 39 players remaining. Players like Phil Ivey and Andy Bloch, both members of Team Full Tilt, competed in last year’s World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe Main Event, which is title sponsored by Betfair. In 2008, Full Tilt Poker pro John Juanda took down the prestigious tournament for £868,000.
Full Tilt Poker pros turned out in droves to the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event in the Bahamas last month. Full Tilt’s Peter “Nordberg” Feldman took 35th in the $10,000 buy-in Main Event, while Eric “E-Fro” Froehlich finished in 41st. Full Tilt sponsored pro and reigning National Heads-Up Poker Championship winner Huck Seed landed in the 49th spot on the leaderboard and Ivey also cracked the top 100.
An article posted by ESPN columnist Gary Wise earlier this week asserted, “Now we’re hearing word that you won’t be seeing Red Pros at the North American Poker Tour stop at the Venetian this weekend.” Wise explained the dangerous precedent that could be set by Full Tilt instructing its pros not to compete in the NAPT: “By pulling their pros from the NAPT, FTP is playing a dangerous game with the one industry entity that can outspend them… Once FTP has poked the bear, does the bear really have a reason to not start poking back?”
Also in question is whether Full Tilt Poker pros will play in the $25,000 NAPT High Roller Bounty Shootout, which will receive three hours of coverage on ESPN2 beginning on April 16th. Meanwhile, Full Tilt Poker pro David Benyamine took down the PartyPoker Premier League IV title last night, defeating Luke “Full_Flush” Schwartz, and Full Tilt pro Roland de Wolfe also competed. Players from PartyPoker, PokerStars, and UB.com all appeared in the Premier League, which airs throughout Europe and is organized by Matchroom Sport.
Complicating the puzzle even further is the running of the World Poker Tour (WPT) Celebrity Invitational on Saturday and Sunday, which will compete head-to-head with the NAPT Main Event in nearby Las Vegas. According to WPT officials, Full Tilt pros Howard Lederer, Bloch, David “The Dragon” Pham, Erik Seidel, Allen Cunningham, and Bill Edler are all confirmed to play in the invite-only event, meaning that they likely won’t be making an appearance at the NAPT feature tournament.
Full Tilt received quite a bit of heat for only using its pros on the poker game show “Face the Ace,” which struggled mightily in the ratings. Meanwhile, the Full Tilt backed “Poker After Dark,” which airs on NBC, features a bevy of pros from other brands. Full Tilt also sponsors the WPT on Fox Sports Net.
Team Full Tilt member Mike Matusow was in Los Angeles shooting commercials for the online poker site and attending a Lakers game, according to his Twitter account. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest NAPT coverage.
