It was quite n interesting week for poker in the gossip columns, with not one but two stories this week that were found to be TMZ worthy. On the one hand you have the serious ongoing criminal cases against the 34 men indicted on illegal gambling charges, including poker players Abe Mosseri, Peter Feldman, and Justin “BoostedJ” Smith, and on the other hand you have the more trivial report of Prahlad Friedman’s wife filing for divorce. In this week’s installment of the PNB Week in Review we’ll take a look at both of these stories as well as tournament director Matt Savage’s narrow escape from misfortune.

Prahlad Friedman’s wife files for divorce

According to TMZ Sports (yeah, it’s a real thing, TMZ Sports) Prahlad Friedman’s wife of seven years, Dee Luong Friedman, has filed for divorce in the state of California. The couple has no children, but judging from the picture that accompanies the TMZ article they do have a hell of a house in Malibu!

Friedman was one of the first online poker superstars, and later became known for his poker raps, his zen-like spiritual lifestyle, and an uncanny ability to shoot free throws really fast [see below]. Unfortunately for Prahlad, his reputation in the poker world was sullied when he accepted a sponsorship deal with the now defunct Ultimate Bet Poker –a site where he was one of the main players cheated, with estimates of Prahlad’s personal losses in the range of hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars.

Matt Savage injured in fluke water slide accident

Generally when I hear that an adult was injured in a water slide accident visions of heavy drinking and poorly-planned Slip n’ Slide installments go through my head, but this isn’t quite what to Matt Savage this week.

According to his Twitter, Savage, one of the great tournament directors in poker history, needed emergency surgery to prevent possible paralysis. Thankfully it appears all went well, with Matt posting the following picture and message after surgery:

http://twitpic.com/d9rkin

The amazing thing is that his near-paralysis and stay in the hospital didn’t stop him from answering questions about tournament rules or posting about upcoming events!

Justin “BoostedJ” Smith will plead guilty

According to the New York Daily News, Justin “BoostedJ” Smith will plead guilty to a lesser charge of taking payment for Internet gambling. The plea still leaves BoostedJ facing up to five years in prison for his role in the illegal gambling and money laundering operation that was busted earlier this year.

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 24th, 2013 at 10:35 am and is filed under Poker News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.