What’s Happening With The Cake Poker Network And FTOPS XX

Barring any big tournament news, today’s poker headlines have been all about what’s happening online – whether that’s the various poker legislation proposals, Cake Poker Network’s pending sale, or the newly released schedule for FTOPS XX. Stateside pro-poker legislators have yet to make any more significant advances, so we’ll save the politics for another day. Instead, let’s take a look at the fate of the Cake Network and the future of the Full Tilt Online Poker Series XX.

Rumors have been circulating for weeks that not only was Cake Poker Network up on the block, but it had already attracted some serious suitors. Today Bluff Magazine and several other news portals claimed that they could confirm reports that an official bid had been made and accepted. According to these reports, PokerListings is the new owner of the Cake Network.

Any time an entity as large and influential as the Cake Poker Network changes hands, it’s sure to ruffle some feathers in the poker industry, and this deal is no exception. Many other poker portals are crying foul, as Poker Listings has long been one of the leading unbiased sources of reviews and referrals. Now, with their purchase of a collective of poker rooms, many of Cake Poker Network’s competitors worry that Poker Listings will be slanting their reviews in favor of their new virtual properties.

Those concerns aren’t entirely unfounded, either, since the Poker Listings home page is already promoting Cake Poker as both their highest ranking site and the day’s best offer. While neither PokerListings nor Cake Poker Network has yet confirmed the news, Bluff Magazine predicts that an official press release will be issued within the next two weeks.

Another online poker force made news today for a less controversial announcement. Full Tilt Poker is already gearing up for the twentieth session of their record-breaking online poker series. Early details on FTOPS XX suggest that the series will continue its amazing growth spurt. Already, 45 events have been confirmed and nearly a quarter of them promise at least a $1 million prize pool for a total tournament-wide prize pool of more than $38 million (not including what’s added by extra entries).

Full Tilt continues to cater to players at every level by offering a $3 million guaranteed opening event with a budget-friendly $200 buy-in (to say nothing of all the qualifiers that will be running in the next month). On the other end of the stakes spectrum, the FTOPS XX Main Event is guaranteeing a prize pool of at least $7.5 million. If entries continue to increase then this event will likely surpass the $8.6 million paid out for the FTOPS XIX Main Event. Also, FTOPS will be making the obvious move to capitalize on the popularity of their new multi-entry feature by expanding the option to a full 15 events. The new FTOPS XX will run from April 17 – May 1. Celebrity hosts have yet to be announced.

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