Daily 3-Bet: Euro Reps, NFL Refs, More Baller Than You

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Today in the 3-Bet we find PokerStars appointing some big names to its European Player Council, NFL referees losing their minds over a poker tournament and rich kids showing poker players how baller is done.

1) PokerStars Names Katchalov, Liu to European Player Council

PokerStars announced via its blog today that it has formed a new European Players Council (EPC) to “discuss all of our live events, tours and endeavours throughout Europe, as well as structures, payouts, rules, and more.”

Primarily focused on the EPT, the EPC will meet for the first time next week just before the kickoff of EPT Season 9 in Barcelona.

Named as reps for the new council are a variety of poker icons in their respective countries, including two from North America:

Arnaud Mattern – France Luca Pagano - Italy Alex Kravchenko - CIS Eugene Katchalov - North America / Eastern Europe Ana Marquez - Spain Dominik Nitsche - Germany Xuan Liu - North America Martins Adeniya - UK Martin Jacobson - Nordics / Scandinavia

After meeting in Barcelona the council will work with PokerStars over the season to make improvements and wrap up in Monte Carlo at the Season 9 Grand Final. Read more here.

2) NFL Refs Make Most Hypocritical Accusation Ever

A completely ludicrous report from the NBC Sports Pro Football Talk blog this morning has suggested that National Football League referees, who are currently locked out, are trying to submarine replacement ref Shannon Eastin because she has played at the World Series of Poker.

Eastin, who would become the first-ever women to referee an NFL game this preseason, has been officially "outed" for playing in the Ladies event at the 2006 WSOP and a $1,500 tournament at the 2007 WSOP.

Given recent legal action by the state of New Jersey to “prevent” gambling on NFL games, the refs are looking to peg Eastin as a gambler and a threat to the integrity of the games. Or at the very least to have violated NFL policy for NFL referees, who aren't allowed to gamble.

Writer Mike Florio takes it to the next level with the following punchline:

“We’re not saying that Shannon Eastin will be the next Tim Donaghy. 

"We’re saying that, if the standards for screening replacement officials are sufficiently lax to let a former contestant in the World Series of Poker get through the filter, perhaps one of the other 119 replacement officials will be the next Tim Donaghy.”

Coming from a sport that exists almost entirely for the purpose of betting on games, the insinuation is laughable at best.

For the record, Eastin is a 17-year referee veteran. She also has two cashes at the WSOP for just over $26,000 total.

3) Rich Kids of Instagram Shame Poker Ballers

Besides being a ridiculously good idea for a Tumblr account, current Internet sensation Rich Kids of Instagram has a very important lesson for young poker players who like to brag about their money:

You’re not as baller as you think you are.

Sure, $25k buy-ins and helicopter rides and $2/minute massages seem fancy, but to paraphrase Chris Rock:

There’s a big difference between being “rich” and being “wealthy.”

Richness can go away. And often does. Wealth lasts forever. And ever. Even if you didn't earn it.

So while Phil Hellmuth may pop for the occasional bottle of Dom Perignon and let everyone on Twitter know about it, rich kids are shamppoing with Dom off the side of their parents' yachts over lunch while the jet waits for them to finish.

Next time you catch a pseudo-baller flashing a wad of hundreds around the table and acting like a bigshot, just send them the link.

That should get them to stop bragging for a least a couple of orbits.

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