Have fallen behind on The (Award-Winning) Poker Beat … So to get you caught up, here are 4.5 hours of the latest in Poker Beat power — enough for any WSOP-wonk to step into Week 2 fully prepared to understand what they’ll really be getting into.

The Poker Beat
6/3/10
TPB (and skilled technician John V) won’t let interstate technical snafus get in the way of award-winning deliverables. With BJ at the helm and Huff watching from the booth in LA, Jess and Wolfman discuss what may or may not be going on as the WSOP and the post-hardened UIGEA era get underway almost simultaneously … all while Michael Mizrachi takes down the first big bracelet of the Series, the Nevada Gaming Control Board clamps down on dot-net poker relationships, a thieving player tries to palm a stack of chips, and Joran van der Sloot allegedly kills again while hitting the Latin American poker circuit.

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Peruvian authorities believe Joran van der Sloot, the 22-year-old Dutch poker “pro” twice-arrested but never tried for the disappearance of American teenager Natalee Holloway in Aruba (where his late father was a prominent judge) killed again.

Stephany Flores Ramirez — the 21-year-old daughter of a Peruvian auto-racing figure, circus promoter, and fringe political candidate — was reportedly found dead in van der Sloot’s hotel room, wrapped in a blanket covered with blood. Supposedly, he had been playing poker throughout Latin America recently, and had arrived in Lima for the inaugural LAPT-Lima. Video shows the two meeting at the Atlantic City casino, site of the LAPT event, which just got underway.

Be sure to keep up with Shamus, who skipped town and country to cover the inaugural LAPT-Lima, and is the most likely to convey the vibe and buzz surrounding this international news story.

Recent reports said van der Sloot was found dead somewhere near Peru’s border, apparently having committed suicide. However, have yet to find a credible source confirming that … nor any suggesting which border they are talking about. The Free Republic, one site propagating that news early (essentially the 2+2 for conservatives) has removed the thread with that report.

UPDATE: He is not dead, but has been arrested in Santiago, Chile.

Here is a video of him allegedly admitting to the crime of killing Holloway, with a vague description of how he got rid of the body — who disappeared five years to the day that Flores Ramirez was murdered.

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Start off your poker news-week by catching up with what the main topics of convo were last week. We all talk a little LAPT-Lima, the predictable plug-pulling on Bellagio’s Rebuypalooza, Bryan Devonshire’s recent score … and whether or not he matches up with the likes POWER of Dwyte Pilgrim. Bluff magazine’s Jess Welman steps up to fill in (nicely) for BJ … She, Gary, and PokerRoad’s new low-stakes columnist Ben Conoley talk about the sudden re-resurgence of poker on TV, and then I rejoin the crew to discuss the “retirement” of Mike “Timex” McDonald … apparently at age 20 he already can hear the clock ticking on his prospects for a fulfilling career.

Also … in an April 1st treat (ha ha listeners), BJ steps outside his usual fact-stat box to sub for Joe Stapleton and deliver the Tight Laydown. What-the … manager mixing it up in preparation for the World Cup. Tune in next week as Gary pretends to be Huff by wearing a tie on the air and I reveal myself to be Isildur1 and/or The Insider outs himself as @AsianSpa!

The Poker Beat
4/1/10

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The worldwide expansion of PokerStarszistan continues south of the American border… as the LAPT adds another stop — Lima, Peru. June 2-5.

The tour has struggled compared to other PokerStars tours … and has had to face obstacles ranging from policia shakedowns in Mexico to historic earthquakes in Chile … not to mention the political obstacles inherent with organizing big-money gambling operations throughout South America. But, apparently, PokerStars can’t be stopped! Seriously, when are we gonna see the Antarctic Poker Open?

The main event in Lima — which I hear is a beautiful, super-duper affordable country, btw — is a $2,700 NLH. One interesting thing about the set-up for the tournaments surrounding it is their liberal use of single-rebuy events. Solid idea, imho … it gives good players a chance to bounce back from an early bout with bad luck, while encouraging bad players to put a little more into the prize pool … but doesn’t discourage solid 1-and-2-bulleters from just avoiding the unlimited rebuyers altogether.

Meanwhile … haven’t checked the numbers yet, but word on the street from a reliable source is that Event #1 of the Bellagio’s Rebuypalooza drew only 21 players. Yikes.