People News: Tice admits early defeat in challenge vs Perkins; Russell Crowe stars in upcoming movie “Poker Face”; Hellmuth pays tribute to Noel Furlong; Twitch server banned in Slovakia

In this column, we deliver you the latest and most interesting news and gossip from our favourite poker people.

Landon Tice admits early defeat in HU challenge against Bill Perkins

In an announcement earlier this week, poker fans eagerly tuning in to the Tice vs. Perkins heads up challenge were shocked by Tice’s unexpected decision to surrender in the challenge this early on. The heads up match against underdog Bill Perkins has so far, only played through a total of 12 sessions across 4,907 hands out of the agreed 20,000-hand duration. While Tice held the lead throughout the match, Perkins’ handicap of 9bb/100 put a huge damper on Tice’s current win rate of 3.25bb/100.

Thanks for the competition. It was great spot to force an old dog to learn new tricks. The team @PokerHybrid took a complete fish & turned me into a strong player in 3 months so I have to thank them & @larasebastian for giving me time to study. @LandonTice will crush the future https://t.co/pf3q6uw26f

— Bill Perkins (Guy) (@bp22) July 3, 2021

The decision to buy out will cost Tice upwards of $300k with Perkins’ recorded handicap amounting to $176,652 plus a side bet of $200,000. While the 22-year old’s decision may be the best course of action in the long run, Tice admits he made a series of mistakes involving the challenge.

“I dropped the ball on this one, I let myself down,” said Tice. “In all honesty I’m not an elite heads-up No Limit player, and I knew that when I made the bet.”

Had a tough convo with myself inspired by @dankness3 regarding the Perkins Challenge.

I made a lot of mistakes, I didn’t take accountability, and I could have done more.

It hurts, a lot, but the past is the past and I’ll learn from it. ♥️ pic.twitter.com/EiOZQohD4k

— Landon (@LandonTice) July 4, 2021

Russell Crowe stars in upcoming movie “Poker Face”

Considering the game’s growing popularity across the global scene, it’s not surprising to see poker appear in a different context apart from the usual high stakes games relayed in the media. A latest movie production entitled “Poker Face” is now in the works to feature Hollywood star Russell Crowe as its lead, taking the role of Jake, a tech billionaire who appears to have had a troubled childhood.

The plot reportedly circles around a high stakes game of poker arranged by Jake in his Miami estate under an elaborate scheme to bring justice to his so-called old friends. His plans however, are disrupted when a dangerous home invader enters the picture and things take a different turn. The release date for the said Gary Fleder-directed thriller is yet to be known.

Phil Hellmuth pays tribute to 1999 WSOP Champion Noel Furlong

Another World Series of Poker Main Event Champion is missed as Noel Furlong recently passed away at the age of 83 in his home country, Ireland. Aside from his impressive bracelet win, Furlong is also known in the poker community as a two-time Irish Poker Open champ – 1987 & 1989 and a widely successful businessman.

In a touching tribute, 15-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth shared with PokerNews his own bout of personal stories and encounters with Furlong. He began by recalling a fearless move the Irish champion played against him in the 1989 WSOP Main Event final table and another one a decade after which eliminated American pro Huck Seed.

“Everyone wants to win the coveted WSOP Main Event. Only one person a year wins it, one, but even fewer have done it as an amateur player!”, stated Hellmuth.

Hellmuth carried on to describe Furlong as “the humble, well-mannered businessman, who always seemed to handle himself well, with class, and always with a smile” while ending his note with well-wishes for the respected man.

Twitch server gets banned in Slovakia due to a single poker streamer

The Úrad Pre Reguláciu Hazardných Hier’s (Slovakian Regulatory Office for Gambling) quick move to entirely ban Twitch in Slovakia two weeks ago was met with numerous complaints from the local population. The decision for the unexpected ban was brought about by a single poker streamer named “dDandis” who was streaming his online poker games for his 35,000 followers. Unknown to many, Slovakian laws prohibit the promotion of gambling and considers this activity to be illegal.

However, following the misunderstanding, the Twitch server was soon online again while further revealing that “dDandis” wasn’t even based in the country.

BREAKING: Twitch was just blocked for the whole country of Slovakia because one streamer illegaly played Poker (not kidding). Can you please settle this and block that one user who did this? @TwitchSupport @O2_CZ @O2GuruCZ

— CzechCloud (@TrueCzechCloud) June 24, 2021