In this week’s Calling the Clock we bring you news of David Baazov’s decision to step down temporarily from his position at Amaya Gaming, schedule information and wildcard details from the Global Poker League, and much more.

The David Baazov saga continued this week after the chairman/CEO of Amaya Gaming temporarily stepped down from his position so he could ‘focus on preparing an offer to acquire Amaya and to avoid a distraction for the company’.

The ‘distraction’ Baazov refers to is the range of allegations of insider trading fired at him by Quebec’s Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF). Baazov will continue to draw a salary during his holiday. Rational Group CEO Rafi Ashkenazi will take over the CEO responsibilities on a temporary basis. Amaya director Divyesh Gadhia will handle the chairman bits and bobs.

The story carved out an exciting open loop this week after a Montreal rag revealed that Baazov’s older brother Josh was one of 13 people named in a separate AMF action. The reports claimed that Baazov the Elder used information falling out of the mouth of his younger sibling to benefit from inch perfect stock trades in cohorts with Craig Levett. The amount bandied about is $1.5m in illicit profits. It will be interesting to see ho this particular loop closes.