Author Jennifer Newell's poker week in review for August 12-18.

Our consolidation of the week's news is quick and to the point — seven stories, to be exact — for the week ending Aug. 18. Let's go.

No. 1 — Full Tilt Claims Administrator Sets Dates

Now that the Garden City Group seems to have grasped the importance and scope of the interest related to the Full Tilt Poker payouts, the claims administrator hired by the United States Department of Justice has decided to speed up the process. The company announced this week that there are now dates for the claims process so that Full Tilt players based in the U.S. will be able to apply for their lost funds.

Those who already signed up on the FullTiltPokerClaims.com website for e-mail updates will be emailed instructions on how to complete the claim form. Others must simply visit the website after Sep. 16, which is the date that players can begin submitting Petitions for Remission. The window of processing will be open for 60 days — until November 15, 2013 — and forms must be received by Garden City Group no later than that date. The company will then verify those claims per Full Tilt Poker's records and later announce a timeframe for payments.

No. 2 — Intertops Distances from Other Revolution Skins

Intertops is a skin on the Revolution Network, but it has taken steps to separate itself from other Revolution skins like Lock Poker. Pokerfuse reported that Intertops is removing its site and players from all multi-table tournaments with guarantees of more than $1,000, which then prompted Lock Poker to reduce its Sunday guarantees in said tournaments by 20 percent. An Intertops representative noted that the site wants to keep its reputation and provide the best service to its customers. "One this is for sure — we have finished paying for the mistakes of others," the representative said, adding that the site will not abandon its players.

Intertops also took steps to segregate cash and sit-and-gos from the rest of the Revolution Network. Cash games at the $2-$4 limit and higher, as well as $20 sit-and-gos and up, will be separate as part of the growing segregation policy. This comes on the heels of a recent decision to audit all winnings from said games in order to prevent chip-dumping from players on other skins.

No. 3 — New Online Poker Subscription Site Enters U.S. Market

A handful of subscription-based online poker sites have found success in the U.S. market, and a new company has joined the fray. LiveAce launched its site last week with a unique approach to the game, and it is now available to players in 31 states where subscription sites are legal, in addition to the District of Columbia. The site's sponsored pro is Andy Frankenberger, who will play weekly on the site under the name "Franky_Style."

Players will be able to compete in no-limit hold'em, limit hold'em, and pot-limit Omaha ring games with play chips. Limits range from 1-2 to 25-50, with fixed buy-ins. Players can win "live chips," which can then be used in real-money auctions that are held daily. Players can bid on cash and prizes, and the former is then processed through Dwolla or sent to the customer via check. A basic membership is free, and players are welcome to upgrade to a premium membership for $19.99 per month, which offers more chips, better site features, and a variety of auction options.

No. 4 — Lock Poker Payouts Worsen

Each month, Poker Affiliate Solutions releases a grading report of U.S.-facing online poker companies based on their payment-processing abilities for customers. Bovada and Winning Poker Network continued to maintain "A" grades for facilitating payments in a timely manner, and Intertops kept its "A-" grade for consistently making payments in two to three weeks. Merge Gaming improved in August from a "C" to a "B" grade, which has bettered its process for paying players within a two to three week period.

Meanwhile, Lock Poker's grade was reduced from "D-" to "F" in the past month due to increased concerns from players who have yet to see evidence of payment efforts in many months. The author cited a Lock withdrawal data log that showed more than $200K of player withdrawal requests more than 60 days old, which pertains to U.S. players as well as others in the rest of the world. Average payment time for Western Union requests is four or five months, but checks are taking seven or more months to process.

No. 5 — Online Poker Cash Game Traffic Increases

PocketFives compiled some numbers from the recent PokerScout report to determine that cash game traffic was up 2.7 percent last week on the largest global online poker networks, which was the largest increase since June 16. Numbers compared to the same time of the previous year showed that PokerStars was up 5 percent this year. The weekly comparison has PokerStars up 3 percent and iPoker Network up 2 percent.

Microgaming was the most improved on a weekly basis, as cash-game traffic was up 10 percent in the past week, partially due to several promotions regarding its new fast-fold online poker options. PokerStars' increase also points to a recent promotion, the VIP Club Month that offers happy hour play specials.

No. 6 — Apple Changes Gambling App Policy

The Apple App Store recently released new guidelines for many aspects of its business, but one of them specifically pertains to gambling apps, whether sportsbetting, casino games, or poker. According to US Poker, the first guideline specifies that real-money gaming apps must be free and show the proper licensing for locations in which customers can purchase the app. The second new rule states that the apps cannot allow in-app purchases of credits or virtual currency that can be used for real-money gambling.

In addition, the new Apple App Store policy pertains to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, which prohibits apps from collecting any personal information from customers under the age of 13 without parental consent.

No. 7 — Paddy Power Heads to New Jersey

As many companies make their moves to the United States to participate in the emerging American online poker and gaming market, Paddy Power wanted to be included. The UK-based online gaming and betting company recently applied for a gambling license in the state of New Jersey, though it is unclear what type of partnership is in the process of being formed.

Paddy Power has deployed a team of representatives to New Jersey to research the opportunities. The company's communications director noted that they're in place and "putting ourselves in position."