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03/21/2010 06:00 AM

Poker News in Brief: March 15-21, 2010

Poker fans had to be content with watching a new High Stakes Poker and waiting for the next WPT and EPT events to start.

As usual, however, there is always news that doesn’t make the front page of PokerListings.com and we’ve compiled it below as part of our ongoing Poker News in Brief feature.

This week we’re going to take a look at Phil Ivey’s love for cigars, unusual sit and goes at bwin and a new tournament in Portugal.

Phil Ivey Makes Cover of Cigar Aficionado

Team Full Tilt Pro Phil Ivey joined the likes of Jay-Z, Tiger Woods and Alec Baldwin by hitting the cover of Cigar Aficionado this week.

Ivey was featured in a story titled, “America’s Poker King: Phil Ivey has parlayed his poker fame into business success.”

The article chronicles Ivey’s journey from small poker games in Atlantic City to the biggest games in the world and the lifestyle perks that come with being one of the world’s best poker players.

New Sit & Go's at bwin Poker

bwin Poker introduced yet another spin on the popular Sit and Go format this week.

The room launched “Nitro Boost” Sit and Go's which gives every player at the table a single 2,500 chip rebuy.

The rebuy can take place at any time but the tournaments are winner takes all. The room is emphasizing the strategy involved with rebuying at the best time.

The Nitro Sit and Go's are available in the bwin Poker lobby with a choice of $1.10, $5.50, $11 and $22 buy-ins.

You can get more information about Nitro Sit and Go's on the bwin site.

Chilipoker DeepStack Open Expands to Portugal

Chilipoker’s new DeepStack Open will venture into Portugal this fall.

Taking place in Vilamoura the event will take place Sept. 23-26. As with all DeepStack Open events, the Portugal stop will offer a reasonable buy-in of €550 combined with a deep stack structure.

“We are glad to launch one more stage of our international Chilipoker DeepStack Open,” said Chilipoker CEO Alexandre Dreyfus.

“The Casino of Vilamoura is an attractive destination for all Iberian players from Spain and Portugal but also for players from the rest of Europe.”

The next DeepStack Open is scheduled to take place in the Partouche Pasino of Aix-en-Provence in France from April 9-11.

Visit the Chilipoker website to learn more or sign up for a DeepStack Open satellite.

Playtech Receives Healthy Boost in Profits

Poker software company Playtech posted an impressive 71% rise in net profit for 2009 according to a recent financial statement.

Playtech, which designs and licenses software for the sites on the iPoker network, credited a joint venture with William Hill as one of the main factors that led to increased profits.

“This has been a significant year of growth for Playtech,” said Roger Withers, Playtech Non-executive chairman.

You can find more information on the Winner Poker website.

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03/21/2010 01:00 AM

Weekly Freerolls: Start Spring With $31k

The following freerolls are open to all PokerListings.com players. Qualify in the specified qualification period, then take your seat to win a boatload of free cash.

If you're not a PL.com registered player on any of the following sites, click on the site's name in the list to sign up. Getting your free seat in the tournament can be just as simple as that.

Titan Poker

All PokerListings players are welcome to earn their seats in the next quarterly $15k freeroll from Titan Poker. Just 750 points to qualify.

Date: Mar. 28 Value: $15,000 Qualify with: 750 points

Titan Poker

The next monthly $5k freeroll is on the way, just 25 points to qualify.

Date: Apr. 4 Value: $5,000 Qualify with: 25 points

Pacific Poker

Pacific's $1,000 monthly freeroll takes place April 4th. Earn your 100 points to qualify this month.

Date: Apr. 4 Value: $1,000 Qualify with: 100 points Qualify between: Mar. 1- Mar. 31

WSOP Freerolls

Pacific Poker

Earn 15 status points between March 15th and April 29th for your entry to the May 1st WSOP freeroll.

Date: May. 1 Value: $10,000 Qualify with: 15 status points Qualify between: Mar. 15- Apr. 29

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03/20/2010 01:00 AM

NAPT Ups The Ante in Uncasville

The original plan to host a $10,000 buy-in bounty shootout at the Mohegan Sun has been shelved in favor of a $25,600 two-day High Roller Bounty Shootout.

The Apr. 12 tournament will feature a $5k bounty on the head of every player, entry into the next NAPT Bounty Shootout for however collects the most scalps, $50k to all the finalist and a winner-take-the-rest final table format.

"I had the opportunity to play in the first High Roller Bounty Shootout at NAPT Venetian in February and I have to say it's an incredibly exciting format," said Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negranu. "I am really looking forward to the chance to play again at NAPT Mohegan Sun - and reach the final this time! It's going to be a great event."

Mohegan Sun has scheduled a $5,250 Super-Satellite qualifying tournament for the event at 12 p.m. on Sunday, Apr. 11, guaranteeing ten entries with two added by PokerStars.net.

The full North American Poker Tour Mohegan Sun schedule includes 37 poker events over 16 days, including a $5,000 buy-in Main Event Apr. 7-11.

Both the Main Event and Bounty Shootout will be filmed for broadcast on ESPN2.

Multi-step satellite qualifying tournaments to the NAPT Main Event are currently underway in the Mohegan Sun Poker Room until the start of the tournament.

Registration for all events is now available both in the Poker Room and online at Ptseats.com.

For full details about all NAPT events, please visit the tour's website.

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03/19/2010 02:00 AM

Leatherass Joins Team PokerStars Online

Citing "irreconcilable differences" with the sites, Schmidt left his post in January joining training site DragTheBar.com as its lead instructor and has now been added to the PokerStars Team Online roster.

The 26-player team also includes top online poker players like Randy "nanonoko" Lew, Andrew "Kid Nebraska" Goetsch and Thomas "Boku87" Boekhoff.

"I feel like I've joined the Yankees," Schmidt said. "Getting the opportunity to represent the largest poker room in the world is definitely something that makes all of the hard work feel worthwhile. I couldn't be more honored."

Five years into his career, Schmidt's has played more than 8 million hands over more than 10,000 hours and has won more than $3 million in cash games online.

He's never had a losing month in his career and in 2007 achieved PokerStars' SuperNova Elite status in just eight months.

Schmidt said that being named to PokerStars Team Online means he'll be going for SuperNova Elite status again in 2010.

"The chase for SuperNova Elite is officially on," he said.

Schmidt said his joining Team PokerStars Online means he'll be playing exclusively on the site. He'll also keep a blog on PokerStars and will play in tournaments on the site as well.

Prior to his start in poker, Schmidt was a top-ranked golfer, but gave up the links in favor of the felt at age 23 when he suffered a heart attack.

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03/19/2010 01:30 AM

Cantu Wins at the Wynn

The $5,000+160 event drew a field of 262 players creating a total prize pool of $1,173,700 and a final table that included World Poker Tour final tablists Jarred Jaffe, Odie Dardon and perhaps the hottest player in poker right now, Thomas Marchese.

Since winning the inaugural PokerStars.net North American Poker Tour Las Vegas event last month, Marchese went on to cash deep at the WPT's Bay 101 Shooting Star, the very same event Cantu won in 2008.

However, Marchese would make no better than fourth in Las Vegas this week and it was 2010 WPT Southern Poker Championship fourth place finisher Jaffee left to take on Cantu on heads-up.

Jaffe was forced to take $246,477 for second as Cantu booked his first major win since grabbing his second World Series of Poker bracelet in the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha 8 event this past summer.

Cantu also made another final table at the 2009 WSOP and after this week's win, the Team UB pro has amassed more than $3.6 million in online and live tournament earnings.

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03/19/2010 01:00 AM

WPT Bucharest Adds Events

In addition to the 400-seat €3000+300 WPT Main Event, set to run Mar. 27-Apr. 2 at the Novotel Bucharest City Center Hotel, organizers will run a group of super satellites starting at €150€+€15 and both a €500 and €1,000 two-day side event.

"We want WPT Bucharest to become a major event on the international poker scene, and a 'must do' for any poker player," said Sorin Constantinescu, Regent Casino CEO.

"The combination of the excellent location, special facilities and great tournament action will keep players coming back."

Also planned is a player welcome party kicking off the action Mar. 26 at 8pm at Space Club near the Novotel Hotel.

The super-satellites and new side events begin Mar. 20.

"WPT Bucharest is a unique and exciting addition to the World Poker Tour," said WPT President Adam Pliska.

"Regent Casino and Gamebookers.com are strong partners with the right positioning to make WPT's first stop in Romania a success. We look forward to growing this event in years to come and reaching more players in Eastern Europe."

Already confirmed to play in the main event is Team PokerStars Pro and WPT Season 7 Player of the Year Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier.

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03/18/2010 01:00 AM

Borgata Spring Poker Open Set

Beginning Saturday Apr. 10 through Friday Apr. 30, the 110-table Borgata poker room will play host to a 60-event 21-day schedule, including the $3,500 Borgata Spring Poker Open Championship event kicking off Apr. 25.

The championship event will feature two starting days, 30,000 in tournament chips and a guaranteed $1 million prize pool.

In addition to a series of No-Limit Hold'em tournaments, the schedule will also feature, Six-Max No-Limit, H.O.S.E., Pot Limit Omaha, Omaha 8 and Stud events.

Plus, a series of super satellite, survivor, seniors-only and ladies-only tournaments are planned.

Borgata will offer online reservations for main events, beginning Mar. 22 through Apr. 7.

On-site registration for all Borgata Spring Poker Open events begins Apr. 9.

To view the full schedule or for more information, click here.

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03/18/2010 12:30 AM

Mercier's High Stakes Poker Experience

"I would definitely do it again if the opportunity arose," he told PokerListings. "I feel like I play the cash games as well as any good high-stakes player.

"Obviously $400/$800 is not my normal game, but I don't feel like I was playing like scared money. I was able to shove $210,000 in on a semi-bluff."

After two episodes of the popular GSN show where he did not get involved in very many hands, Mercier's exit from the High Stakes stage came during an episode that aired this past Sunday in a hand with arguably poker's greatest player, Phil Ivey.

Gus Hansen raised to $4,200 under the gun and Eli Elezra and Ivey both made the call before Mercier tried a three-bet squeeze to $22,100 with A♥ 4♥ from the small blind.

"Normally I would probably just call in this situation," Mercier said. "We're over 250 big blinds deep and it's fine to call here. I don't really like folding, especially with how deep we are and the players in the hand. I felt like it was a really good spot to squeeze. I can put in like 10 % of my stack and there's like $16k out there that I can pick up if it works.

"I was really expecting to get re-raised or everyone to fold. My image was really tight and I figured that they would put me on a big pair, maybe ace-king, and they really wouldn't want to mess with me at this point."

Hansen and Elezra gave up, but not Ivey, who made the call before the dealer revealed a 7♥ 3♦ 2♠ flop.

"He called without even thinking about it," Mercier said. "From watching the last couple of episodes I know that he was really active, but I wasn't really aware of how active at the time. I know he did have over $800k and when he called, I really felt like he had a middle pair, like fives through tens."

Mercier continuation bet $28,700, Ivey raised it up $50k more and almost instantly, Mercier pushed in for another $110K.

"I was not necessarily expecting him to fold to one bullet, but I didn't expect him to raise ever," he said. "There's almost no hand he should be raising with on that flop. I expected him to call and depending on what came on the turn, I may double barrel.

"The thing is, I hadn't really been involved in any big pots, so I felt like he was going to give me credit for an overpair at this point. I was 100 % sure he didn't have a set and I really felt like he was just trying to see where he was at with a pair.

"As soon as he raised, I knew I was going all in."

Ivey made a reluctant looking call with pocket nines, the turn and river were no help to Mercier and with his $200k buy-in gone, he left the game.

"I knew that if I shoved it was going to look like I had aces, kings or queens and if he can't beat that, how can he call? That was my rational," Mercier said. "Plus I had an over card, the gutshot and the back-door flush draw."

But despite losing more than $200,000 in a single hand to the legendary Ivey, Mercier said there's not much he would do differently.

"I feel like I played my best," he said. "Hopefully I didn't say anything in the interview afterwards that was too bad. I might have said Phil Ivey played his hand badly.

"I mean, I don't think he's going to be saying, 'I owned that kid.' I don't think that's the optimal way to play nines against me, but what can I say? he's Phil Ivey.

"He's one of the best in the world, if not the best in the world. But if I had to play the hand again, I don't think I could do anything else."

In a game featuring the greatest players in the world, a 23-year-old Mercier may seem overmatched on paper.

But the World Series of Poker and European Poker Tour title holder, with more than $4 million in career live tournament earnings in just the past two years and millions of hands in online cash-game experience, doesn't seem to think so.

"I thought it was a good opportunity," he said. "I read the line-up and I felt like I could have an advantage. I feel like I would have an advantage in almost any line-up. Plus, it's also good exposure.

"When I got there, unfortunately it was a pretty tough line-up. But some of them have their leaks. I still think I would have an edge in that line-up any day of the week."

Unfortunately for Mercier, not that day of the week.

"I went in there not just trying to survive and make like $20k," he said. "I was going to take advantage of whatever circumstances I could, whatever hands I was dealt, spots I was given and just try to make some cash."

If he has one regret from his four hours in the game, it's from his first hand at the table, where he raised with deuces and folded to a Tom "durrrr" Dwan three bet.

"I probably should have shoved it down durrrr's throat," he said. "I would have been considered a legend probably. But I really didn't want to go broke on the first hand.

"I think you have to play tighter when durrrr's at the table. You definitely have to change the way you play, but I felt like I was doing a good job of that. I feel like durrrr's a little tougher to play against than Ivey because he's so crazy. You can't really put him on anything."

But regardless of how things turned out, Mercier said the experience was definitely worth it.

"I was kind of nervous at first," he said. "But it was definitely fun."

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03/17/2010 04:00 AM

TOC Voters Flock to WSOP Site

"In just 24 hours the poker community has spoken loud and clearly and they should be applauded for their passion," said Harrah's VP Ty Stewart.

"We really love the idea of turning the fans into Executive Producers and they are taking the challenge head-on and making sure their voices are heard."

Shelved since 2006, the WSOP announced Monday it will be bringing the Tournament of Champions back this summer, putting up $1 million in a freeroll for the top 20 WSOP bracelet holders as voted by fans of the game.

All 521 living WSOP bracelet holders are eligible to receive votes for entry through a selection process on WSOP.com that began Monday and will remain open through June 15.

A total of 40,722 votes were cast in the first 24 hours since the announcement, an average of 1,697 an hour or more than 28 every minute.

The WSOP says early results indicate it will be a very close and hotly-contested race. 

The top 50 vote-getters are listed on the site and updated instantaneously as votes are cast.

In addition to the top 20 vote getters, five entries into the tournament will be automatic, including previous Tournament of Champions winners Annie Duke, Mike Matusow and Mike Sexton, reigning WSOP Main Event champion Joe Cada and WSOP Europe main event winner Barry Shulman.

Finally, two sponsor exemptions will be awarded by the WSOP, with details still forthcoming on how those seats can be won.

The event will go off Sunday June 27 at the Rio, playing down to a final table of nine that will reconvene on Sunday, July 4 to play for a share of $1 million.

It will be filmed for broadcast on ESPN.

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03/17/2010 02:30 AM

Harman Hosts 4th Annual SPCA Event

The fourth annual Charity Poker Tournament benefiting the Nevada SPCA will go off Tuesday April 13 at The Venetian with a $10,000 World Series of Poker Main Event seat and a Curtis & Co. watch up for grabs.

The festivities will begin with a 4 p.m. red carpet followed by a $300+30 No-Limit Hold'em tournament where the top ten finishers will share sponsored prizes valued at $30,000.

Hollywood celebrities and dozens of world-famous poker players are expected to attend.

All proceeds will benefit the Nevada SPCA. In the past, the event has raised six figure sums for the society.

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03/17/2010 01:30 AM

Cake Launches No-Strings WSOP Satellites

The site kicked off a series of no-strings-attached World Series of Poker satellites today.

While many online poker sites require their satellite winners to wear logo-covered gear, stay at certain hotels and use their winnings for certain events, Cake Poker's winners have no strings attached.

In fact, Cake is offering players the chance to win $2,500 and $12,500 packages for the 2010 WSOP in Las Vegas that are completely flexible.

"We are excited about this year's World Series and are delighted to offer satellites to our players," said Cake Poker cardroom manager Lee Jones. "Our players get to concentrate and focus on their game, instead of worrying about wearing the proper shirt to keep their free hotel room.

"We will show our appreciation and reward players who choose to wear our gear, but we're certainly not going to police it. We think our players will appreciate that we want to send them to the WSOP for the love of the game, not our corporate objectives."

Cake Poker's 2010 World Series of Poker offerings include a five-step Sit & Go series starting at $1 and a $350+$24 multi-table tournament Sundays at 4 p.m. ET with satellites starting at $3.

For more on Cake Poker and its WSOP satellite program, click the banner below.

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03/16/2010 03:00 AM

WSOP Brings Back Tournament of Champions

Shelved since 2006, the WSOP is bringing back the Tournament of Champions, putting up $1 million in a freeroll for the top 20 WSOP bracelet holders as voted by fans of the game.

"The Tournament of Champions brand has heritage in delivering the big moments," said Harrah's VP Ty Stewart.  "We're thrilled to reinvent it around a model that should elevate the game by engaging millions of poker fans."

All 521 living WSOP bracelet holders will be eligible to receive votes for entry through a selection process on WSOP.com March 15 through June 15.

In addition to the top 20 vote getters, five entries into the tournament will be automatic, including previous Tournament of Champions winners Annie Duke, Mike Matusow and Mike Sexton, reigning WSOP Main Event champion Joe Cada and WSOP Europe main event winner Barry Shulman.

Finally, two sponsor exemptions will be awarded by the WSOP, with details still forthcoming on how those seats can be won.

"Tournaments like the Tournament of Champions help elevate poker to the level it deserves and I am honored to participate," said inaugural winner Annie Duke.

"Winning the Tournament of Champions marks one of the most memorable events in my poker career and I'm ecstatic that the WSOP is hosting this prestigious event."

The event will go off Sunday June 27 at the Rio, playing down to a final table of nine that will reconvene on Sunday, July 4 to play for a share of $1 million.

It will be filmed for broadcast on ESPN.

The Tournament of Champions began in 2004 after Harrah's took ownership of the World Series of Poker brand.  In the inaugural event, ten top names were invited to participate in a winner-take-all freeroll.

In 2005, Matusow won an event with an expanded field of 114 entrants.

The last event last took place in 2006 at the Rio featuring 27 of the biggest names in the game.

This year, first place will pay $500,000, the runner-up gets $250,000, third place earns $100,000 and the fourth through ninth place finishers will earn $25,000 each.

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03/15/2010 03:00 AM

The Sunday Scoop: Moorman Wins The Brawl

The British pro, ranked #1 worldwide on PocketFives.com's list of online poker tournament players in 2009, added another six-figure score to his bankroll winning $109,620.00.

While he has yet to have a real breakthrough live, Moorman continues to dominate online, now sitting fifth in the on the respected PocketFives 2010 worldwide rankings.

It appeared to be a good day all around for pros on Full Tilt as Benjamin "TheStein" Zumani, who final tabled the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure main event earlier this year, made fourth in the Sunday Mulligan for $21,466.25.

Meanwhile, Full Tilt Pro David Pham made seventh in the $750k Guaranteed, cashing for $18,262.00.

However, the day's biggest score on Full Tilt was reserved for -zoopreme-, who took the $750k Guaranteed title and $140,577.70 from an event that drew 3,970.

Once again, the biggest tournament of the day was held over on PokerStars.

The Sunday Million drew 9,687 players creating a guarantee-breaking $1,937,400 prize pool.

A player calling himself Highway51 took home the most gold, cashing $271,241.22 for the victory.

But big name pros would not be shut out on PokerStars either, as Bryn "BrynKenney" Kenney won the Sunday 500 for $71,453.75, Tyler "puffinmypurp" Reiman made second in the $109 Rebuy for $62,569.32 and Joe "bigegypt" Elpayaa won the $215 Rebuy, defeating a final table that included James "mig.com" Mackey and Chad "lilholdem954" Batista.

Finally, a well known pro took down UB's biggest Sunday event as well.

Adam "AKAT11" Katz, a World Poker Tour final tablist, earned $47,607.56 by winning UB's $200k Guaranteed event, shining on a final table that also included Cliff "Johnnybax" Josephy.

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03/15/2010 02:00 AM

Poker News in Brief: March 8-14, 2010

Phil Hellmuth made his fourth WPT final table at the 2010 Bay 101 Shooting Star with a chance to win his first WPT title.

You can read more about the stunning conclusion of Bay 101 in our news section.

It wasn't all Hellmuth during the week, however, and as usual, PokerListings compiled some of the lesser-known poker stories in our ongoing Poker News in Brief feature.

This week we'll take a look at UB sponsoring a major Canadian tournament, PokerStars hosting the world's largest poker game and the upcoming Wynn Poker Classic main event.

UB Poker to Sponsor Poker Pro Canada Classic

UB Poker said no to the Caribbean and yes to Canada this week.

The online poker site cancelled its signature tournament in Aruba, but announced it is becoming one of the key sponsors of the Four Aces Poker Pro Canada Classic in Montreal.

Taking place April 15-18, the $1,650 buy-in tournament will now feature UB Poker pros Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke.

UB will be sending over 50 players from its site to the tournament in satellites that start at just $11.

To learn more or qualify for the tournament check out the UB site here.

Wynn Classic Main Event Kicks Off Tomorrow

The Wynn Classic poker series, which began Feb. 25, is scheduled to culminate with the $5,000 main event this Monday at noon PT.

The series has already seen a couple of notable pros take down side events including Justin Young winning the $500 H.O.R.S.E. event and Chris Bjorn taking down the $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em event.

Scott Clements and Bryan Devonshire also finished runner-up in two events.

Now in its fourth year of existence the Wynn Classic has crowned Chris Moore, Zachary Hyman and Keith Ferrara as champions in previous years.

This year's Main Event will run three days with the final table playing out on Wednesday.

$1 million in Prizes as Gladiator Continues

The Gladiator promotion on PartyPoker is off to a hot start and organizers are estimating players could potentially earn over $1 million by taking part.

"The Gladiator is off to a mightily powerful start and we forecast over $1 million in prizes based on the first week's activity," said a PartyPoker spokesman.

"It still isn't too late to get involved though - there is still plenty of time to win some great cash rewards. If a customer earns 2,000 points a day for the remaining 20 days of the promotion they will pick up a cool $5,000."

The Gladiator runs from March 3 to April 1 on PartyPoker and any player that earns a minimum of 10 PartyPoints each day will gain entry into $10,000 freeroll.

To learn more about the Gladiator promo visit the PartyPoker website.

PokerStars Hosts World's Biggest Poker Game

PokerStars held one of the more unusual events related to poker this week.

The online poker room hosted what site representatives are calling, "The world's largest poker game."

The title doesn't refer to number of players or the prizepool - it refers to the size of the chips and cards being played with.

The event featured English rugby stars James Haskell, Ben Foden and Delon Armitage pushing massive shoulder-high chips around a field.

PokerStars is the official gaming and casino partner of the English Rugby team and the entire event was filmed as a promo for the site.

You can check out the clip here.

International Poker Network Upgrades Software

The International Poker Network, which includes poker room's bwin, BetClic and Paradise Poker, released an improved poker client this week.

The software update allows players to pick their own seats and the ability to use the same wallet for poker and casino.

"Being able to choose your own seat at the table may seem like a small thing to some," said Wendy Lawrence of GTECH G2, the software provider for IPN, "But we design everything from the player's perspective, so when players told us this is a feature they'd like to see, we built it in.

IPN recently celebrated its three millionth member and its two billionth hand. The network also awarded a €601,370 bad beat jackpot last fall.

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03/14/2010 04:00 AM

PokerWorks Family Tourney is on

We want you! Be there! This is our very first one at Full Tilt Poker. It starts at 22:30ET on March 14th – a Sunday (that’s tomorrow kids) – play the inaugural PokerWorks Family HORSE tourney. It costs $5 + .50, the password is ‘donkeys’ and you can find it by going to ‘tournament’ > [...]

03/13/2010 03:06 PM

Weekly Freerolls: $7k in Two Days

The following freerolls are open to all PokerListings.com players. Qualify in the specified qualification period, then take your seat to win a boatload of free cash.

If you're not a PL.com registered player on any of the following sites, click on the site's name in the list to sign up. Getting your free seat in the tournament can be just as simple as that.

Party Poker

Be sure to have collected 100 points in February for your seat in the next $2,000 Party Poker freeroll.

Date: Mar. 13 Value: $2,000 Qualify with: 100 points Qualify between: Feb. 1 - Feb. 28

Betfair Poker

Open to all new PokerListings.com players who signed up in February, or any existing players who earned 10 points before March 1st.

Date: Mar. 14 Value: $3,000 Qualify with: 10 points

Sportsbook Poker

The next $2,000 Monthly freeroll is almost here, buy in with just 200 points.

Date: Mar. 14 Value: $2,000 Qualify with: 200 points

Pacific Poker

Weekly freeroll for new depositing players only.

Date: Mar. 16 Value: $500 Qualify with: Deposit and play

bwin Poker

Monthly freerolls for all PokerListings players on the site. Just 50 pts to qualify.

Date: Mar. 19 Value: $2,000 Qualify with: 25 points Qualify between: Dec. 1- Mar. 19

Titan Poker

All PokerListings players are welcome to earn their seats in the next quarterly $15k freeroll from Titan Poker. Just 750 points to qualify.

Date: Mar. 28 Value: $15,000 Qualify with: 750 points

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03/13/2010 03:00 AM

Karr Comes Back for Bay 101 Win

Karr, a U.S. Air Force Academy Applied Math and Statistics grad turned poker player who found his way into the event through a $1,200 satellite said it was at least the second biggest moment of his life.

"It's a close call, I think when I finally graduated from the Air Force Academy and the Thunderbirds came rolling over and we threw our hats in the air and said, "You can't take this diploma back now, I made it," that was pretty close and a bigger sigh of relief," he said.

"Here I was still going to be a big winner even if I came second. It was still going to be my biggest cash ever, but obviously this is really cool. I can't even express to you how happy I am. I don't even think I'll realize for another few days."

Although he was once the shortest stack left in the event, Karr, 28, said he never gave up hope.

"I definitely thought it was possible," he said. "But it was definitely a long shot. I've played a lot of tournaments and there have been times where I've gotten down really short and came back, so I knew it was possible.

"I knew it was going to be an uphill battle against this field though. There were a lot of great players."

In fact, when the final six began Friday afternoon, one of the biggest names in the game donned the marquee at Bay 101.

However, the lights on Phil Hellmuth's tournament were turned off fairly quickly.

The 11-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner lost the first few pots he played and before long, found himself all in with queens against chip leader Andy Seth's A♣ J♣.

The king-high flop kept Hellmuth safe, but he had a sweat when a ten on the turn gave Seth two more outs to a straight.

The crowd sat on the edge of their seats expecting a Hellmuth double up, but were suddenly shocked into silence when an ace fell on the river sending him out.

Hellmuth stared blankly at the board before standing up, walking to the rail and falling to his knees in anguish.

He cupped his head in his hands and kneeled on the floor in the fetal position rocking back and forth for several minutes before finally getting up, letting the WPT TV crew interview him and signing Seth's new, "I busted Phil Hellmuth," t-shirt.

After a few minutes, he walked off the WPT stage, unlucky for the fourth time, with a smile and a wave to the crowd chanting his name.

After Hellmuth's emotional exit in sixth, Seth appeared to be cruising before Karr bluffed him off an 800k pot and the chip lead with a big river bet on an ace-high board forcing a fold.

It was the moment Karr really thought winning was possible.

"It gave me that confidence that I can knock heads with the best of them here," he said. "It was like, 'Let's play some cards.'"

WSOP bracelet winner Matt Keikoan was the next player out, running ace-seven into Andy Seth's pocket nines.

He was soon followed to the rail by Hasan Habib, who committed his chips with a flush draw against Karr's flopped trips and was sent home fourth from his third WPT final table when Karr turned a full house.

A short stacked Dan O'Brien then stepped out of the way third, running jack-deuce into Karr's sevens and Karr took a better than 2:1 lead into heads up with Seth.

Seth soon doubled with jack-nine versus ace-four when he flopped two pair and before long he pulled even.

As the clock struck 2 a.m. PT it began to look as though the sun might rise before a champion would be crowned in San Jose.

However, Seth pushed with fours soon after. Karr called with eights and after a board of blanks, the $878,500 first-place prize was his.

"I got a little bit of luck and picked some good spots and, wow, here I am," he said.

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03/12/2010 06:00 PM

Hellmuth Headlines Bay 101 Final

One of poker's biggest names will dawn the marquee in San Jose as Phil Hellmuth Jr. will come in second in chips in an attempt to win his first WPT title.

The 11-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner will be making his third WPT final table and a comeback of sorts, having admitted 2009 was his worst year in poker.

"I've been working really hard on my game," Hellmuth told PokerListings. "It feels really good. I'm really happy and I'm pleased with the way I'm playing."

Daniel Negreanu recently criticized Hellmuth, claiming the Poker Brat wasn't taking the necessary steps to improve his game in an ever changing poker landscape.

However, Hellmuth now says he's been working with players like Brandon Cantu, Ted Forrest and David "The Maven" Chicotsky to adjust.

A plan that appears to have worked out here at Bay 101.

"We've been talking about some of the Internet kids and their techniques and how they're playing," he said. "They seem to be very mathematical. Everything is about the math.

"And I've been learning because I have to figure out how they're playing and devise a strategy to beat them."

Armed with a better understanding of what the players around him are up to, Hellmuth will head into the final table confident and ready to get to work.

"I think I have a great chance if my reads stay strong," he said. "But I've still got a lot of work left."

Now, he says even his biggest critic has changed his tune.

"Daniel's in my corner now," he said. "He likes the fact that I'm trying some new school stuff."

However, it's still going to take all Hellmuth has to get past a final six with a combination of experience, youthful exuberance and poker skill.

Andy Seth, the runner-up in one of the many $1,500 events at the WSOP this past summer with a list of online poker accomplishments a mile long will come in with the chip lead and a reputation as the player whose been giving Hellmuth the most headaches thus far.

Plus, after an 11th place finish here last year and a ninth in Biloxi earlier this season, Dan O'Brien will finally get a crack at a big score here and has the chips to make some real noise.

Despite having played with the poise of a veteran pro, turning his short stack into a big one on the event's penultimate day, McLean Karr has just a few preliminary cashes around the circuit on his resume.

However, a recent run all the way to 62nd in the inaugural PokerStars NAPT Las Vegas and a boatload of online experience have set the U.S. Air Force Academy Applied Math and Statistics grad turned poker player on the edge of something rather large here in the Bay Area.

In the meantime, Hasan Habib will come in to his third WPT final table fifth in chips. He has yet to book a win, but does have five final tables at the WSOP and a bracelet there, proving he knows how to get it done.

Matt Keikoan has also won at the WSOP and took down the WSOP Circuit event in Lake Tahoe last year. After a seventh and a ninth on the WPT over the past few years, he will enter his first final table as the short stack.

Known for the loudest fans on tour, San Jose will be treated to a final filled with big names and dramatic story lines destined to go down as one of the most exciting in World Poker Tour history.

Action will begin at 4 p.m. PT. For comprehensive coverage, tune in to PokerListings' Live Updates and News.

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03/12/2010 05:30 AM

EPT Berlin Robbery Revelations

"I think it's completely irresponsible to start playing again," he told PokerListings approximately 90 minutes after the robbery. "This is the most important moment in my poker career. We're playing for €1 million here, and you think, after a raid like this, you just sit back at the table and play?

"After an incident like this, everybody should get some time to sleep over this and to calm down. Tell me, how many people are expected to get back to work the same day they were held at gunpoint? Is there any other job in the world where you would do that?"

Officials from the PokerStars European Poker Tour now claim the robbery involved four armed men targeting the registration desk outside the tournament area at the Grand Hyatt Hotel at Marlene-Dietrich-Platz. No shots were fired and nobody was seriously injured.

Despite German tabloid reports to the contrary, the EPT says approximately €240,000 was stolen and the men were armed with a handgun and a machete, not Kalashnikov assault rifles or hand grenades.

The suspects quickly fled after a security guard intervened and remain at-large as the police investigation continues.

The tournament resumed after a few hours and was eventually won by MacPhee, a 29-year-old poker pro from Idaho.

A few days after the incident, MacPhee said he understood why organizers decided to play on and praised their efforts to piece together the action in the event after the robbery.

"Obviously it worked out for me, but at the time I was upset about continuing," he said. "I still think they should have consulted with the players more. Although most of them wanted to play, I think some were affected by the incident psychologically."

In response to MacPhee's comments, I.A. Tanj Mayer from the Spielbank Casino, where the event was held, said since no one was seriously hurt within the tournament hall, tournament organizers came to the decision to continue with the main event and this decision was met with approval by the players.

Meanwhile, in recent statements to the German press, Head of the German Police Federation Rainer Wendt has claimed the suspects were "petty criminals" acting "chaotically and amateurishly."

He also says they left "mountains of clues" behind and police will catch them "very quickly."

However, Wendt was also slightly critical of members of the private security firm hired by the EPT for showing up unarmed and undermaned.

The EPT claims it maintains strict security standards and collaborates closely with the local tournament organizers to insure the safety of its players.

And Mayer says the outcome in this particlar incident was not as serious as it could have been, thanks to the prompt response of tournament security, which was suitable for a tournament of this size.

"All EPT-events, which have now been taking place in various European countries for six years, adhere to strict safety standards," he said. "These standards are also respected during the EPT itself. In our capacity as the event organizers, we have done everything in our power to ensure the smooth running of the EPT.

"We had professionally trained and experienced security personnel in an adequate quantity who were watching the access to the tournament area."

Mayer said he was satisfied with the work of the security team on the premises.

"Our security team reacted in a calm and measured manner, in complete accordance with their qualified professional training," he said.

A statement from the tour says because of the events at EPT Berlin, it will enhance security measures at all future events.

The next event for the tour is the EPT Snowfest at the Alpine Palace in Austria from March 21-26.

In the meantime, police are asking anyone who has information, video footage or photographs that might aid the investigation to contact them at:

The police president of Berlin
Police Press Office
Platz der Luftbrücke 6
12101 Berlin
Email: pressedienst@polizei.berlin.de

- With files from Dirk Oetzmann

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03/11/2010 01:00 AM

Hometown Hero Takes Hold at Bay 101

Faraz "The-Toilet" Jaka picked up the game in the dorms at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign while earning a degree in economics and business management.

He soon started playing live here at Bay 101 when he was at home and online while at school, quickly taking to the game, booking massive scores and winning packages to play in high-stakes events all over the world.

However, a year and a half of following the PokerStars European Poker Tour and his first half a dozen shots at WPT glory did not bear even a single cash.

Then suddenly, one year ago right here at home, things turned around in a big way.

He booked his first WPT cash at the 2009 Bay 101 Shooting Star before moving on to make third at the hotly contested 2009 World Series of Poker $5k Six-Max event.

Then, when Jaka finished second at the Bellagio Cup this past summer and third at December's Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic, he took the lead in the World Poker Tour's Player of the Year race and hasn't given it up yet.

Add in a final table appearance at the inaugural PokerStars North American Poker Tour's $25k High Roller Bounty Shootout and the San Jose native has cashed for almost $2 million in live tournaments over the past 12 months.

"It's kind of ironic, considering I played so many of these tournaments and then all of the sudden I start doing really well, but it's really just variance," he said. "Obviously I'm constantly improving a little bit, but I don't think there's been anything drastic."

Despite the rough start, having played thousands of tournaments earning over $1 million online before he ever stepped foot on the high-stakes live tournament stage, a 24-year-old Jaka says his confidence never wavered.

"I always thought I was good enough to be at the top of these things and win a few," he said. "It's always been just a matter of time."

Now in the midst of the kind of successful run that would turn even the most seasoned pro green with envy, he's still missing one thing: A major tournament victory.

"I'm definitely ready for a win," he said. "It's frustrating getting second and third so I'm definitely hungry."

Yet he seems to understand opportunities like this won't last forever.

"I'm obviously running amazing this year and it's not going to keep going, I understand that," he said.

In the end, Jaka's just hoping to keep playing his best and let the chips fall where they may, especially here at home.

"This is my hometown," he said. "So this tournament is a little more personal for me. I grew up playing here. It brings back so many memories and I still recognize so many of the dealers here from like four or five years ago.

"It would be really nice to do well here."

Action at the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star continues through March 12. For comprehensive coverage, tune in to PokerListings' Live Updates and News.

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03/10/2010 09:00 AM

UB Cancels Aruba Poker Classic

A statement from Tokwiro CEO Paul Leggett says the online poker rooms also has plans to develop a monthly $500k Guaranteed Tournament with an eye on building it into a million-dollar event, create more pro-related competitions and run its UB Online Championship twice a year.

"It is with great regret that we are announcing that the Aruba event will not run this year, but 2010 is going to be an exciting year for UB and its players," said Leggett. "Over the last year, we've been redefining the UB brand in every way. We love the Aruba Poker Classic event, but we think we can do a lot more for our players by investing in new events and rewards."

UB will continue to offer players access to events like the World Series of Poker and major World Poker Tour events through ongoing online satellites.

Players will also see benefits in the form of major WSOP incentives and additional loyalty benefits for top players.

"I, for one, am excited about what this shift in focus means for UB and what this will add to the experience for our players," said Joe Sebok.

The 2009 Aruba Poker Classic drew 475 players to the Caribbean island creating a $2,303,750 prize pool. Brandon Hall took the title after a heads up chop with then chip leader Robert Mizrachi, giving Mizrachi the lion's share of the cash.

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03/10/2010 12:30 AM

Titan Poker Upgrades Software

Titan Poker launched the new 9.6 version of its online poker software this week featuring a host of new features and functionalities.

Included are an updated Flash version compatible for Mac users, Razz games and five additional languages, including Czech, Greek, Hungarian, Portuguese and Romanian. 

The site also unveiled a radically revamped website, sleek new brand logo and the Titan Poker Academy, a comprehensive poker strategy guide providing valuable insights for both beginner and veteran players on odds calculations, money management, positioning, bluffing and more.

With nearly 30,000 online players at peak hours, Titan Poker has grown into the number one online poker room in Europe.

The site guarantees $16,000,000 in monthly prizes, features special sit 'n' go tournaments with progressive jackpots as high as $100,000, and awards players with entries to major worldwide poker tournaments.

Click the banner below for more information on the changes at Titan Poker.

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03/10/2010 12:00 AM

Bounty Hunting at Bay 101

Created by Bay 101 owner Marko Trapani 14 years ago, tournament director Matt Savage says the concept was based on the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, which draws some of the best golfers in the world, a host of celebrities and thousands of spectators to the Northern California coast every year.

Trapani's original plan was to try and draw the world's best rounders to a fan and player friendly $1k buy-in event in the Bay Area.

When it first started, the bounties were a bunch of Trapani's friends, but it slowly grew and when the World Poker Tour came along seven years later, Savage says they bumped up the buy-in and had a perfect fit.  

"It's great for TV and the fans because it's a really unique tournament," he said. "With the $5k bounties, $10k for the chip leader at the end of the first day and six-handed play with 36 left, it's unlike any other tournament in poker."

Unique tournament structures also make for unique tournament strategies.

"Some people chase the bounties," Savage said. "The local players sometimes are just out here to get the bounties. They think, 'Hey, I won my way in through a $200 satellite, now I have the chance to pick up five thousand,' so they might make a loose call.

"That's why one or two of the shooting stars make the final table every year, because people are going after them and if they pick up chips, they're tough to get."

Team UB Pro Brandon Cantu loves the format and actually won the event in 2009, collecting a record six bounties on his way to the title.

"This is one of my favorite tournaments," he said. "And I actually do hunt the bounties. It's nice to try and get the buy-in back, so I'm really a fan of going after the bounties."

Cantu went wire-to-wire in 2008, taking the chip lead on his Day 1 and the $10k prize it came with.

He says that's the kind of thing that really makes the event fun to play and keeps the fans on the rail entertained throughout.

"I was actually going for it," he said. "When I was 8,000 behind late in the day, I really went for it. I wanted it."

What Cantu didn't enjoy was being a bounty for the first time last year.

"People played really differently against me," he said. "It seemed like they were up to no good all the time and it just changed my whole mindset.

"I didn't know where I was in a hand as much as I usually do. I didn't like it."

Phil Laak has a bounty on his head and says it changes just about everything.

"I love it, but it really sucks as a bounty when your chip stack starts diminishing," he said. "You are forced to get real hands, because people are going to call you down, often correctly.

"But it is nice when you have some chips, because people are going to take some incorrect lines to try and chase you."

Like it or not, with a rail full of fans watching the biggest names in the game here in San Jose this week, Trapani's plan has worked.

Action at the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star continues through March 12. For comprehensive coverage, tune in to PokerListings' Live Updates and News.

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03/09/2010 09:30 AM

Women’s World Open Dates Confirmed

The PartyPoker.com Women's World Open IV will take place in London, England March 23 and 24 featuring 24 of the best female poker players on the planet. 

Amongst those already confirmed to take part are Team PartyPoker's Kara Scott, Betfair pro Annette Obrestad, Women's World Open III winner Aisling Collins and runner-up Wooka Kim.

Also scheduled to play are Laurence Grondin, Shelley Rubenstein, Stefanie Bergener, Maria Demetriou, Christine Klecz, Pippa Flanders and season two winner Soraya Homam.

The $3,000 buy-in will create a $72,000 prize pool for the tournament. The event's format dictates that the top two players from each of the three deep-stacked eight handed heats carry their chips through to a six-handed final table. 

"Last year Aisling proved that Britain's got talent, but the same can be said about Japan in the form of Wooka Kim," said a PartyPoker spokesperson. "Both will be strong contenders for the title this year. We've made the stacks deeper and the competition is just as fierce."

Matchroom Sport director Eddie Hearn said he's looking forward to the action.

"The PartyPoker.com Women's World Open has proved extremely popular with players, viewers and broadcasters over the last three seasons," he said. "As the game continues to grow, we have made a number of changes to our formats that enables the viewers to watch a deeper-stacked game with more skill, where players can really showcase their ability and flair." 

Commentary for the TV broadcast will be provided by Jesse May, with presenting duties shared between Kara Scott and Tatjana Pasilic. Coverage of the event will first be broadcast on Five in the UK later this year and then distributed internationally.

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03/09/2010 02:00 AM

Women Rule the Day at Bay 101

After all, Bay 101 has seen deeper runs by women than any other venue on the World Poker Tour.

At the 2007 edition of the popular bounty event, Joanne Liu made runner-up to Ted Forrest in an attempt to become the WPT's first female champion.

Then last year, veteran pro Kathy Liebert matched the feat, finishing second to 2009 champion Steve Brecher.

Liebert's runner-up finish helped push her up and over $5.6 million in career tournament earnings, making her far and away the number one earning female poker player of all time.

Being the number one female player in the game is not exactly the reason Liebert plays, but it's certainly an honor she cherishes.

"Being a top poker player is more important to me than being a top female poker player," she said. "But being the top woman in poker is something I'm proud of. There are a lot of women trying to catch up to me."

One of the women chasing Liebert is two-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner and respected high-stakes cash game pro Jennifer Harman.

Though Harman, who currently sits fifth on the all-time female money list and made the final table at Bay 101 in 2008 finishing third, really sees herself as just one of the boys.

"I look at myself as a poker player," she explained. "I don't believe in the whole gender thing because this is a co-ed sport.

"You shouldn't get kudos for being a woman or a man, you should get kudos for being a great poker player and that's all."

International Women's Day is about celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past.

But even as women like Liu, Liebert and Harman continue to achieve in poker, it appears many men on the felt refuse to treat them as equals.

"I think some men treat women with no respect at the table and some men treat women with too much respect," said Harman. "For me, since I'm like old furniture in this business, they just treat me the same as anybody else. They don't play any differently against me because I'm a woman, but I know with some women they do."

Regardless, Harman, who booked her first major cash in a poker tournament 16 years ago, says the game is changing all the time and more women are flocking to it every day.

"When I first started, I would walk into a poker room and there would be me," she said. "Now you walk into a poker room and there are one or two women at every table.

"I think it's grown and it will continue to grow. A lot of women are still intimidated, but I know they enjoy the game and they want to do it, they just need to take that next step, because poker can be a lot of fun."

Liebert says she feels a lot of love and support from female fans of the game, many of whom she sees following her lead.

"I always have women coming up to me and telling me they are rooting for me," she said. "And they feel like if I'm a woman and I can do it they can do it to."

Action at the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star continues through March 12. For comprehensive coverage, tune in to PokerListings' Live Updates and News.

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03/08/2010 08:30 AM

Duke Dominates in NBC Heads-Up Win

"I'm so excited to win such a prestigious event and join the likes of Huck Seed, Chris Ferguson and Phil Hellmuth as Heads-Up Champion," said Duke, who became the first-ever woman to win the NBC Heads-Up title.

"I came into this tournament really focused and it feels great to finally break through in this event."

The road to victory at Caesars Palace was not an easy one for the UB sponsored pro. She beat 2008 runner-up Andy Bloch in the first round before getting past 2009 WSOP Main Event runner-up Darvin Moon in the round of 32.

Next up was 2007 champion Paul Wasicka who looked to have the best of Duke when she was all in with ace-ten against his pocket aces at one point. Miraculously, Duke went runner-runner to make a straight, take the lead and eventually move on.

"I would have loved all of my matches to be easy," said Duke. "I'm sure (Producer) Mori (Eskandani) is happy though, because it's going to give the show some serious drama.

"One thing's for sure, I can never complain about bad beats again after hitting that runner-runner king-queen against Paul Wasicka."

In the end, Duke beat eight-time WSOP bracelet winner Erik Seidel in the best-of-three final to bank the $500,000 first-place prize.

"Annie was my number one pick to win," said Seidel. "She played very tough. She had no fear. She really played the way you're supposed to play in this sort of structure."

A mother of four, Duke took some time off from her career as a professional poker player to film The Celebrity Apprentice last season.

Now she says a little time away from the game did her a world of good.

"I know what my main priority is and that's my family, so I'm never going to play as much poker as everyone else, but it's really nice to come back with a bang," she said. "I took the time off, I readjusted and now I've had some good results."

Vanessa Rousso made runner-up at the Heads-Up Championship in 2009, the deepest finish by a woman in the event before this year.

Duke said it's great to see so many female poker players rising to the top.

"I think it's great that a woman came in second last year and a woman finished first this year to really represent woman players," she said. "There are some great female poker players out there."

NBC's coverage of the 64-person event will air Sunday's at 12 p.m. ET beginning April 18 through May 23.

- With files from Matthew Showell

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03/07/2010 11:00 PM

The Sunday Scoop: West Books Second Chance Win

West, who has close to $900k in live tournament earnings over the past four years, banked $51,853.44 for the win.

But he wasn't the only well know pro to post some big numbers Sunday.

Jordan "Octavian_C" Rich won the $215 H.O.R.S.E. on PokerStars beating a field of 143 players while Tyler "puffinmypurp" Reiman, runner-up at the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, final tabled the $109 Rebuy taking sixth.

Once again, the PokerStars Sunday Million was the biggest draw on an action-heavy Sunday with 10,123 players helping create a $2,024,600 prize pool, smashing the $1.5 million guarantee.

MAE9690 got the lion's share of a four-way chop at the top and went on to secure the victory and the extra $30k the players had reserved for the winner.

In all, MAE9690 added $260k to his online bankroll, earning just shy of the $283,449.40 he would have won had no deal been made.

In the meantime, Full Tilt Poker's $750k Guaranteed drew a considerably less 4,180 players with shiftzerg taking down the $147,629.24 first-place prize.

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03/07/2010 10:00 PM

MacPhee Wins Robbery-Delayed EPT Berlin

The 29-year-old from Idaho beat Finnish player Ilari Tahkokallio heads-up to take down the largest poker tournament in German history and its massive €1 million first prize.

A star in the online game that broke the PokerStars record for most Tournament Leader Board points in April 2008, accruing more than $100,000 in profits that month, MacPhee has previously played in 15 European Poker Tour events, satelliting in through PokerStars for 14 of them.

He was one of 243 players who won their seats online to EPT Berlin, but until now a big score had eluded him.

"Winning an EPT was a real goal of mine," he said." I have worked very hard for this. It feels awesome."

A total of 945 players from 48 countries entered the €5,300 Main Event creating a total prize pool of €4,725,000.

EPT Berlin was interrupted on the event's penultimate day when armed robbers stormed the registration desk outside the tournament area at the Grand Hyatt Hotel.

No one was seriously injured and the suspects fled after a security guard intervened. The tournament resumed after a few hours and a police investigation is continuing.

Next up for the EPT is EPT Snowfest set for March 21-26 in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria.

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03/07/2010 09:00 PM

Poker News in Brief: March 1-7, 2010

Between the LAPC and WPT Invitational winners, Isildur1 getting busy online and the start of the NBC National Heads-Up Championship there was nary a dull moment for poker fans.

As usual, we’re going to list some of the poker stories you might have missed as part of our ongoing Poker News in Brief feature.

This week we’re going to take a look at online gambling in Iowa, a WSOP all-star game, Roland de Wolfe winning a London tournament and more.

Legal Online Gambling in Iowa?

Iowa is the latest U.S. state apparently looking at legalizing online gambling.

Rep. Doug Struyk of Council Bluffs told the Quad City Times that 50,000 people in Iowa already participate in online gambling and the government could provide better protection for them if the industry was legalized and regulated.

Struyk’s proposal would regulate the practice through the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission.

If the proposal goes through Iowa would become the first state in the country to allow online gambling.

Tiger Woods Turns Down Paddy Poker Deal

Many of Tiger Woods major sponsors have dropped him since his sex scandal broke but at least one online poker room seems to have no problem with the golfer.

Ireland-based Paddy Power Poker reportedly offered the disgraced sports star a five-year deal worth $75 million to represent the site.

Although Woods has already turned the offer down, Paddy Power Poker has claimed it is planning on coming back with an even better offer in the future.

It’s not the first time a poker organization has offered a deal to a fallen sports star. Last summer the Asian Poker Tour invited Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps to its Macau event.

A picture of Phelps holding a bong surfaced on the internet in early 2009, which led to several sponsors dropping the multiple gold-medalist.

Check Paddy Power Poker for more.

Roland de Wolfe Wins London Open

Full Tilt pro Roland de Wolfe outlasted 110 players to win the 2010 Mansion Poker Les A London Open last week.

De Wolfe overcame a final table of mostly unknown players to win the £77,000 first place prize. The Hendon Mob’s Ross Boatman came in eighth place for £6,600.

The inaugural £2,000+£200 buy-in Mansion Poker Les A London Open ran February 23-24.

WSOP to Introduce All-Star Tournament?

It appears Harrah’s is interested in hosting some form of an all-star tournament at the 2010 WSOP.

Harrah’s released a cryptic message via the WSOP Twitter account this week that read:

“Which 20 WSOP Bracelet-Holders would you like to see compete in an All-Star game? Stay tuned…”

Last summer the WSOP held the 40th Anniversary Champions Invitational, which was open to every player that had won the Main Event. The tournament was won by 1983 World Champion Tom McEvoy.

In previous years, Harrah’s held a Tournament of Champions that featured a large number of notable pros. Annie Duke, Mike Matusow, and Mike Sexton were all winners of that event.

More Gold for Cake Poker Players in March

Cake Poker is giving its players two exclusive promotions during the month of March.

The first is the Cake Poker Turbo Gold Cards March Madness event that features Gold Cards dropping four times more often.

Gold Cards randomly appear in your account when you are playing ring games on Cake Poker. The cards are redeemable for cash or tournament entries depending on what card you receive.

Cake Poker will also be offering more satellites to the 2010 Irish Open, starting March 14.

"Dublin is a wonderful town and when you bring a major tournament there with the accompanying insane side action, it's hard to beat,” said Cake Poker room manager Lee Jones.

To learn more visit the Cake Poker website.

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03/06/2010 11:00 PM