by Joseph Ewens, Aug 2, 2012 | 2:16 pm

Today the world reels from the shocking news that I will be getting my $20 back from Full Tilt. For too long I have lived under the tyranny of not having $20 and it comes as a great relief to me and my family to know that this money will soon be returned. All hail PokerStars, unimpeachable bastions of justice and buying your way out of trouble.

Bwin’s Woes

Not everyone is super-stoked about PokerStars riding in on their white horse. Specifically Bwin’s stock holders, who expect the company’s already shaky online poker numbers to become even more shook-up by the return of Full Tilt. Many shareholders had also been uncharitably hoping that Stars’ legal troubles would also see European legislators bringing down the hammer, but a clean bill of health from the U.S. has seen that possibility swept firmly off the table. [Proactive Investors]

A Whole New World

Look out guys, the universe is about to be turned on its head by “a whole new way to play poker.” Ladbrokes have unveiled Blaze Poker, which is pretty much the same as PokerStars’ Zoom Poker, which is in turn almost identical to Full Tilt’s Rush Poker. Look for the groundbreaking ‘Going Really Fast Poker’ announcement to hit next week. [Poker News]

Asian Victory

With the WSOP on pause, the high-profile tournament lens has switched its focus to Asia-Pacific. Two big events to slalomed to the finish line this week, the first of which was the (deep breath) Australia New Zealand Poker Tour Queenstown Snowfest. Aussie David Allan took home the NZD$110,600 ($89,697) first place prize. [PokerNews]

If you had travelled north from that point you might have bumped into the Carlos Chang, who would have looked quite pleased with himself, having just won the Asian Pacific Poker Tour in Macau. The title was worth HKD1,913,100 ($246,692), or just about enough to buy your way into Tom Dwan’s Macau cash game. [Card Player]

Zynga Makes it Official

It’s seemed likely for a long time, but it wasn’t until last week that Zynga CEO Mark Pincus came out and confirmed his company are preparing to launch a suite of online gambling games. Following the runaway success of their play money Texas Holdem Game on Facebook – and a brief dalliance with live poker – Zynga have plans to, “release [their online gambling games] in markets that are regulated and open, subject to our getting licensing.” [Games.com]

Bond Heading Stateside

Very much an “…and finally” story, but also an excellent catch from Brian Pempus at CardPlayer. A cute TV ad featuring former James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan has been airing in Italy for the VegasClub casino. The group that owns the site are looking to get involved with Nevada’s new online poker market and one wonders if the Irish smoothy might not make an appearance in Las Vegas in the near future. [Card Player]

I’m off to celebrate my returned $20 by purchasing $400 worth of tickets to Olympic handball matches. Join me next week for more news-based celebration and a countdown of my top 100 handball goalkeepers.