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Ryan Stevenson Wins WSOP Tunica For $204kRyan Stevenson has won the 2013 World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) Harrah’s Tunica main event, after defeating a field of 666 players on his way to winning a gold ring, and collecting the $204,795 first-place prize. Following his remarkable win at Harrah’s, Tunica Mississippi, the 26-year-old engineer commented:

“I’m dumbfounded right now. This is a dream come true, especially for us grinders who put in a lot of work on and off the felt.”

By the time the $1,675 tournament reached its final table of nine, Ryan Stevenson was lying in 3rd place (1.5m) behind Andrew Rothfolk (4.575m) and Michael Sanders (3.055m). Chip leader Rothfolk (A-Q) then proceeded to eliminate a short-stacked David Kruger (5-5) in 9th for $19,161. Subsequently, Norman McKeldin (A-K) dispatched Jerry Barlow (A-7) to the rail in 8th ($24,136), before then being dealt K-J and eliminating Mark Maletic (A-K) in 7th ($30,789) after the board rolled out 2-K-3-J-J.

Next, it was time of Ryan Stevenson (A-J) to enter the fray by eliminating James Watkins (10-10) in 6th ($39,790), and then Jonathan Cary in 5th ($52,098), whose A-3 short-stacked shove was no match for the A-Q of Stevenson. Continuing his run, Stevenson (A-10) then knocked-out Michael Sanders (Q-J) in 4th ($69,121), but it would be another four-and-a-half hours before his A-K would see off the A-J of Andrew Rothfolk to herald in the heads-up phase of the competition.

In contrast to three-handed play, heads-up was decided after just one hand with McKeldin’s (Ad-Kd) tournament hopes on the line on a 10d-8d-4s flop against the top pair (10-7) of Stevenson. Unfortunately for him, the turn and river produced a Kc and 7h to relegate McKeldin to a runner-up finish worth ($126,723), while Ryan Stevenson was crowned the WSOPC Harrah’s Tunica champion.

The final table payouts were as follows:

1 Ryan Stevenson $204,795
2 Norman McKeldin $126,723
3 Andrew Rothfolk $92,947
4 Michael Sanders $69,121
5 Jonathan Cary $52,098
6 James Watkins $39,790
7 Mark Maletic $30,789
8 Jerry Barlow $24,136
9 David Kruger $19,161












Ryan Stevenson Wins WSOP Tunica For $204k

Frenchman Remi Castaignon has won the 2013 European Poker Tour (EPT) Deauville Main Event, after defeating a field of 782 players on his way to taking down the title,and collecting the €770,000 first place prize.

As the €5,300 buy in tournament reached its final table of eight, Remi Castaignon was way out in front as the chip leader and five hours was all it would then take before he would see off his remaining competitors.

First to exit was Jeffrey Hakim in 8th (€60,000), whose A-K ran into the A-A of Enrico Rudelitz, while the pocket aces of Bou Habib, too, saw off Noel Gaens (10-10) in 7th for €87,800. Next up Joseph El Khoury’s A-7 foundered against Enrico Rudelitz pocket queens, and so he left the arena in 6th for €125,000.

At this stage, eventual winner Remi Castaignon began his steamroll of the final table starting wih his A-A seeing off Franck Kalfon (K-Q) in 5th for €165,000. Castaignon then picked-up J-J to eliminate Rudelitz (A-9) in 4th (€215,000); followed by A-A with Robert Romeo (A-K) becoming his next victim in 3rd (€275,000).

As the heads-up phase of the tournament then got underway, Castaignon held a 14.765 million to 8.620 million chip lead over Lebanon’s Bou Habib. The Frenchman subsequently began to dominate his opponent who an hour into heads-up reacted by four-bet shoving his 39BB stack with K-8 only to be called by Castaignon with pocket threes. The 6-4-5-10-A board sealed Habib’s fate who had to content himself with a runner-up finish worth €475,000, while Remi Castaignon was crowned the victor.

The final table payouts were as follows:

1 Remi Castaignon €770,000
2 Walid Bou Habib €475,000
3 Robert Romeo €275,000
4 Enrico Rudelitz €215,000
5 Franck Kalfon €165,000
6 Joseph El Khoury €125,000
7 Noel Gaens €87,800
8 Jeffrey Hakim €60,000








Remi Castaignon Wins EPT Deauville For

A while back Patrik Antonius took high-stakes cash pro Rui Cao to the cleaners whilst playing a Triple Draw match online. Despite the French-Chinese pro being upset at his losses, he reacted in a surprising way by announcing to the poker world that he considered Antonius to be a monumental “nit” and that he would not be welcome in Macau’s high stakes ‘Big Game.’

Patrik Antonius vehemently denied the label accusing Cao of being a sore loser and before long, following some online discussions, the duo decided to launch their very own $1 million challenge. Their heads-up battle would subsequently be fought over the three different poker disciplines of 2-7 triple draw ($300,000), PLO ($350,000) and NLHE ($350,000), and only concluded when one of the players had won all the others stake money.

Now, the first of their challenges has been played with the Finnish pro losing his initial $15k buy-in on the very first hand of their session. Things never seemed to improve thereafter for Antonius and eventually, after 350 hands of $1500/$3000 2-7 Triple Draw lasting three hours, Rui Cao booked a $330,000 winning start.

So far, there has been no indication as to when their next encounter will take place, but poker fans will be eagerly anticipating the next stage of their fiercely contested $1 Million Challenge at Full Tilt Poker’s high stakes tables.

Rui Cao is showing a profit of $1,774,193 on the site since the end of 2010, but despite being one of the biggest winners at Full Tilt overall, he won’t be underestimating his dangerous opponent anytime soon. After all, Patrik Antonius is 2nd only to Phil Ivey on Full Tilt’s list of biggest poker winners, and is showing a massive $11,315,549 profit since 2008. Antonius’ most profitable year online came in 2008 when he made an astounding $8,973,946 in profits.






Rui Cao Takes $330k From Antonius At Start Of Their $1m Challenge

Julian Thew has won the Genting Poker Series (GPS) Birmingham, after overcoming a field of 590 players over four days on his way to lifting the title, and collecting the £40,120 ($63,101) first place prize. The Sky Poker sponsored pro is one of England’s most talented pros and following his victory at the Genting Club in Birmingham now boasts $2,889,238 in live career earnings. After taking down the £400 re-buy event, Thew commented:

“It is a great way to start the year and Genting have created a fantastic series here. I actually used the re-entry, which was a blessing and then I was always above average with my stack and it was only deep in to day 2 that I went below having 100 big blinds.”

The Genting Poker Series continues to gain in popularity, not least because of its affordable entry fees which attract both professional and recreational players alike. The GPS Birmingham was no exception, either, with entries up by 60% on last year to create a prize pool worth £236,000 ($371,180). Amongst the well-known players who managed to cash in at the tournament was Joe Beevers in 47th, Mark McCluskey in 42nd, Charles Chattha in 23rd and Ryan Spittles in 18th.

By the time the final table of nine had been reached, Julian Thew still had to overcome the likes of The Hendon Mob’s Ross Boatman and Genting Poker sponsored pro Daiva Barauskaite, but eventually Thew would have to overcome another pro in the guise of Barry Neville before claiming the title.

The final table payouts were as follows:

1. Julian Thew – £40,120
2. Barry Neville – £32,620
3. Ross Boatman – £30,620
4. Ceri Rees – £31,120
5. Alex Lindop – £14,750
6. Kourosh Radfar – £11,800
7. Alex Goulder – £9,440
8. Daiva Barauskaite – £7,080
9. Cherie Joy – £5,130

Matt Giannetti Wins WPT Lucky Hearts For $298k Matt Giannetti has won the 2013 World Poker Tour Lucky Hearts Poker Open, after defeating a field of 369 players on his way to claiming the title, and collecting the $298,304 first place prize.

With his latest victory at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, Giannetti now takes his live career earnings to an impressive $4,265,072. He also joins an elite group of 17 other players who have two or more WPT titles to their name, a list which includes the likes of Carlos Mortensen, Gus Hansen, Antonio Esfandiari, Daniel Negreanu, Erick Lindgren and Michael Mizrachi.

As the final table of six got underway at the $3,500 buy-in WPT event, Matt Giannetti (3m) was out in front as the chip leader, followed by Darryll Fish (2.6m), Danny Shiff (1.93m), Hayden Fortini (1.62m), Matt Salsberg (98k) and Lily Kiletto (86k).

Darryll Fish (7s-5s) then made a straight on a 6-6-4-K-3 board to eliminate Salsberg (J-J) in 6th for $50,968;, while a short-stacked Hayden Fortini (J-5) followed suit in 5th ($64,160) after being dispatched to the rail by Fish holding pocket fours.

Next, Danny Shiff’s (J-10) check-raise all-in on an 9-8-8 flop was called by last woman standing Lily Kiletto with pocket threes, and with no further help from the board Shiff finished in 4th for $88,946.

Eventually, Giannetti (Q-J) eliminated Fish (Q-10) in 3rd ($125,921) to get the heads-up phase of the competition underway holding a 6.83 million to 4.23 million chip advantage over Lily Kiletto. Just six hands later, however, it was all over with Giannetti (8-8) and Kiletto (8s-7s) all-in pre-flop. The board then rolled out 3-2-2-9-J to relegate Lily Kiletto to a runner-up finish worth $191,880, while Matt Giannetti claimed the WPT title.

The final table payouts were as follows:

1st Matt Giannetti $298,304
2nd Lily Kiletto $191,880
3rd Darryll Fish $125,921
4th Danny Shiff $88,946
5th Hayden Fortini $64,160
6th Matt Salsberg $50,968

Ireland's Thomas Finneran Wins UKIPT CorkThomas Finneran has won the UK & Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT) Cork main event, after defeating a field of 347 players over three days to lift the tile, and collect the €55,440 ($74,167) first place prize.

The Irishman now takes his live poker earnings to $405,116 and following his impressive victory at the Rochestown Park Hotel in Cork, commented: “I’ve played a fair bit of heads-up and worked on my game. It’s important to do that as the difference between first and second is big..”

As the €770 buy-in event on Ireland’s south coast reached its final table of eight, Finneran was in second spot behind Pawel Keller from Poland, with both players holding more than half the chips in play.

A half hour into play, Thomas Finneran (A-A) then eliminated Nicholas Newport (9-9) in 8th for €5,910; before then being dealt 7-5 and calling a short-stack shove by Pascal Tongi holding A-5. Unluckily for the German, though, the board rolled out 8-2-7-J-3 to eliminate him in 7th place for €7,885.

Next player to leave the arena was Alexander Rhys-Davies in 6th (€10,510), after running his A-9 into the pocket jacks of Fridjon Thordarson; while last woman standing Deborah Worley-Roberts had to be content with a 5th place worth €14,780, having seen her two pair on the flop overtaken by Pawel Keller’s turned gut-shot straight.

At this stage, Thomas Finneran turned up his aggression levels and grew his stack further before being deat K-10 and calling Thordarson’s short-stack shove (K-2) to send him to the rail in 4th (€24,960). Soon after, UK’s Stephen McGrath (A-K) took care of Pawel Keller (A-7) in 3rd (€24,960), to usher in the heads-up phase of the competition.

However, despite being behind in chips, Finneran soon managed to gain the upper hand and just 30 minutes later it was all over with a short-stacked McGrath all-in with 6-5 and up against the Q-8 of his opponent. The board subsequently produced a 8-4-3-8-Q to relegate Stephen McGrath to a runner-up finish worth €45,600, while Thomas Finneran was crowned the UKIPT Cork Main Event champion.

The final table payouts were as follows:

1 Thomas Finneran €55,440
2 Stephen McGrath €45,600
3 Pawel Keller €24,960
4 Fridjon Thordarson €19,360
5 Deborah Worley-Robert €14,780
6 Alexander Rhys-Davies €10,510
7 Pascal Tongi €7,885
8 Nicholas Newport €5,910

There will soon be new records.

Don't miss out on a chance to win your very own, free, iPad Mini. One hundred lucky recipients will get an iPad Mini from Red Kings Poker for playing poker this month. To be eligible is easy!

All you have to do is collect at least 15 Race Points; you can collect 1 a day, every day of March. Earn Race Points as Cash Game Tables and you'll be entered in the drawing to win one of 100 iPad Mini 16GB WiFi editions.

Micro and low stakes group: Collect at least 50 Player Points per day at micro and low stakes tables at least 15 days in March. The freeroll tournament for micro/low players will be on April 7th and 25 iPads will be given away.

Medium and high stakes group: Collect at least 150 Player Points per day at medium and high stakes tables at least 15 days in March. The freeroll tournament for high/medium players will also be on April 7th and a total of 75 iPads will be given away.

If you qualify in both the low stakes and the high stakes groups, you will be included in the high stakes draw.

To check how you're doing and how many more points you need, simply check the 100 iPad Giveaway leader board anytime. Just type your screen name in the search field and see whether you've qualified for the draw. All players who qualify will be entered to win an iPad.

Already have an iPad? If you win, you can collect an alternative prize of $500 worth of tournament tickets.



Race to Win a Free iPad Mini - Gaming - Onlinecasinoreports-com

Vladimir Bozinovic Wins WPT Baden For $247,588Serbia’s Vladimir Bozinovic has won the World Poker Tour (WPT) Baden in Austria, after defeating a field of 254 players on his way to capturing the prestigious title, and collecting the €185,000 ($247,588) first place prize.

By the time the €3,300 Main Event reached its final table of six at the Casino Baden, the big name at the table was Marvin Rettenmaier who was looking to capture a third career WPT title.

First to exit the arena was a short-stacked Grzegorz Wyraz in 6th ($47,820), whose pocket fives ran into the pocket sixes of Oswin Ziegelbecker. Rettenmaier would then be the next casualty after responding to Kimmo Kurko’s button raise by going all-in from the small blind. Unfortunately for Rettenmaier his K-Q was badly dominated by his opponent’s A-Q and with the J-7-5-10-3 board that followed he had to settle for a 5th place finish worth $59,496.

Vladimir Bozinovic (K-9) on the big blind then decided to go all-in after Finlands Kimmo Kurko raised from the button, only to find the Finn was holding A-J. Nevertheless, the board rolled out a favourable K-10-3-3-10 for Bozinovic to eliminate Kimmo Kurko in 4th for $81,034. Vladimir Bozinovic’s good fortune continued when his A-10 spiked a 10 on the turn to dispatch Oswin Ziegelbecker (A-K) to the rail in 3rd ($111,587), thus setting up the heads-up phase of the competition.

At this stage Vladimir Bozinovic and Holland’s Paul Berende were fairly even in chips, but just a few hands later both players were all in with Bozinovic’s Q-J in bad shape against the A-Q of Berende. However, fortune still favoured the Serb, who rivered a straight on a 10-9-2-5-8 board and Berende subsequently lost his remaining chips holding A-8 to his opponent’s A-9.

Paul Berende subsequently had to be content with a runner-up finish worth $172,695, while Vladimir Bozinovic was crowned the 2013 WPT Baden champion.

The final table payouts were as follows:

1. Vladimir Bozinovic – $271,258
2. Paul Berende – $172,695
3. Oswin Ziegelbecker – $111,587
4. Kimmo Kurko – $81,034
5. Marvin Rettenmaier – $59,496
6. Grzegorz Wyraz – $47,820

The attention of the online poker world turns to the upcoming World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, after WSOP officials announced the schedule for the 44th version of the annual event - which takes place May 29 to July 16.

WSOP 2013 Preview

The World Series of Poker will run for 49 consecutive days, with a total of 62 gold-bracelet events. It will reach its climax with the world's most important poker tournament, the WSOP Main Event, which begins on July 7 and will end with the final table on the final day of the poker festival.

Organizers have introduced a number of new events just to keep it interesting. These include: One Drop High Roller, a $111,111 buy-in no-limit hold'em event, in which three percent of house taking will be contributed to the One Drop charity organization, whose mission is to fight poverty worldwide by supporting access to water.

Record numbers expected

As online poker grows in popularity, so too does the WSOP. Records tend to fall every year, as they did last year when 74,766 participants competed in a total of 61 events for the largest-ever prize pool of over $222 million. The addition of new events this year means records are likely to again be broken.
Notable, WSOP is attempting to discourage males from entering the Ladies Championship by offering females a special $1,000 buy-in as opposed to the official buy-in of $10,000. Men cannot be legally prevented from playing the women's event, although officials are trying to create a friendly environment for female poker players.




Online Poker Players Turn Attention to WSOP - Industry Coverage - Onlinecasinoreports-com

Paul Klann Wins WPT L.A. Poker Classic For $1mCanada’s Paul Klann has won the World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic, after defeating a field of 517 players over six days to capture the title, and collect the $1,004,090 first place prize.

By the time the $10k buy-in tournament reached its final table of six at the Commerce Casino in Southern California, Paul Volpe was out in front as the chip leader (83bb), followed by Paul Klann (67 bb) then Danny Fuhs (65 bb). Also in contention was David Fong (45 bb), Jesse Yaginuma (24 bb) and Toby Lewis (22 bb).

On the 13th hand of play UK pro Lewis was dealt A-10 and shoved all-in over the top of a Danny Fuhs min-raise and a Paul Klann call. After almost three minutes of deliberation, Fuhs (A-9) eventually made the call and a few moments later Toby Lewis was out in 6th ($193,560) when the board rolled out 9-6-6-6-5.

Danny Fuhs (Q-Q) followed up by eliminating David Fong (A-K) in 5th for $236,250. Unfortunately for Fuhs, though, he then lost a huge pot against Paul Volpe and was reduced to a short-stack when he decided to go all-in holding Q-9. Volpe made the call with K-J and after the board fell 7-6-4-A-7, Danny Fuhs had to settle for a 4th place finish worth $316,650.

Continuing his forward momentum, Paul Volpe (A-10) eliminated Jesse Yaginuma (Q-J) in 3rd for $429,810, to take a 2 to 1 chip advantage over Paul Klann into the heads-up phase of the competition. Eventually, however, Volpe was reduced to a short-stack before pushing his remaining chips in pre-flop holding 10-9 to his opponent’s Q-5. The board subsequently produced a J-8-4-2-A to relegate Paul Volpe to a runner-up finish worth $651,170, while Paul Klann was crowned the 2013 World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic champion.

The final table payouts were as follows:

1 Paul Klann $1,004,090
2 Paul Volpe $651,170
3 Jesse Yaginuma $429,810
4 Danny Fuhs $316,650
5 David Fong $236,250
6 Toby Lewis $193,560

When the International Stadiums Poker Tour (ISPT) originally announced its lofty goal of creating a gigantic poker tournament at Wembley Stadium in London, the size of the guaranteed prize pool had initially been set at €30 million, then €20 million until the word guarantee was dropped altogether from the ISPT website.

Instead, it was replaced with the phrase “€20m expected prize pool,” and as a ISPT Chief Executive Prosper Masquelier, explained last year: “Basically, we have now estimated the prize pool, but we never said anywhere that there would be a guarantee.”

Just a few months away from the event and it has now been announced that The International Stadiums Poker Tour (ISPT) has entered into a deal to allow poker operator Dusk Till Dawn (DTD) to license and operate the huge tournament. In addition, the word guarantee is back on the table after Dusk Till Dawn has made an assurance that the eventual winner will receive a minimum of €1 million regardless of what the final prize pool looks like.

With a maximum of 20% of the prize pool going to the champion, at least 16,000 players will need to enter the €300 buy-in event online and a further 250 players will need to buy in directly at €3000 to create a €5 million prize pool and prevent the organizers from being out of pocket. Either way, Dusk Til Dawn has said the event is now a ‘win win’ situation for the UK poker community who will either take part in a hugely successful tournament, or benefit from a massive overlay. Talking about how they have now become an integral part of the ISPT taking place at Wembley Conference Centre on June 1, Dusk Til Dawn owner Rob Yong, explained:

“Organising the Caribbean Poker Party in St Kitts has whet our appetite for more adventures outside of our four walls. ISPT’s revised format is a lot like a supersized version of our own Grand Prix which is my favourite tournament concept.”



ISPT Now Guarantees

Well that's nice.

Spain’s Sergio Aido has won the UK and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT) London, after defeating a field of 1,099 players over six days to capture the title, and collect the £144,555 ($215,632) first place prize.

The young pro only cashed in at his first live tournament in July 2012, but by Otober had taken down the €1,500 WPT National in Barcelona for €88,500 ($115,240). With his latest victory in London Aido now takes his live career earnings to $369,621.

The £770 buy-in London Main Event took place at ‘The Victoria Grosvenor’ Casino and managed to attract a large enough field to create a prize pool worth £745,542. By the time the final table of eight had been set on Sunday, Sergio Aido was lying 5th in chips, but as he commented on at the time “all players have chips to play with.”

Before long Aido propelled himself to chip leader having first won an uncontested half million chip pot against Philippe Souki, before doubling his stack up holding pocket tens to Chris Dowling’s A-K.

Patrick Simcoe (K-9) subsequently took Dowling’s (Q-7) remaining chips to eliminate him in 8th (£12,691), before being dealt K-K and sending Cesar Garcia (J-J) to the rail in 7th (£15,050).

Next, Sergio Aido (5-3) took the reigns once more by eliminating a short-stacked Guy Goosens (2-2) in 6th (£22,490). Aido was then dealt pocket sevens, which was good enough to knock out Wim Neys (A-9) in 5th for £33,680.

Thomas Ward (7-7) then joined the fray by sending Philippe Souki (10-9) out of the competition in 4th (£44,870), and a while later Sergio Aido (K-10) eliminated Patrick Simcoe (A-3) in 3rd (£63,560) to force the heads-up phase of the tournament.

At this stage Aido had a 10 million to 6.2 million chip advantage over England’s Thomas Ward. However, after Ward took the lead Aido doubled-up holding A-J to Ward’s K-Q, and the very next hand both players were all-in again pre-flop with Aido once more with A-J, but this time up against the pocket tens of his opponent. Unfortunately for Ward, an ace hit on the flop and after another fell on the river he had to settle for a runner-up finish worth £116,845, while Sergio Aido was crowned the 2013 UKIPT London champion.

The final table payouts were as follows:

1. Sergio Aido – £144,555
2. Thomas Ward – £116,845
3. Patrick Simcoe – £63,560
4. Philippe Souki – £44,870
5. Wim Neys – £33,680
6. Guy Goosens – £22,490
7. Cesar Garcia – £15,050
8. Chris Dowling – £12,691




Sergio Aido Wins UKIPT London For £144k

John Eames has won the EPT London “The Invitational” side event, after defeating a field of 172 players over two days on his way to capturing the title, and collecting the £98,430 ($148,120) first place prize.

With his latest win in London, the UK pro has completed a hat rick of €2k side event victories starting in 2010 at the €2k EPT Vienna side event which he won for €123,500, followed in 2011 by the €2k EPT Prague side event for €101,750. Now with his impressive win in London John Eames has increased his live career earnings to $1,673,929, to go with the $1,936,274 he has amassed online under the screen name ‘Johne147′.

The £2k invitational event at the Grosvenor Victoria Casino fielded a whole slew of notable names in the competition. Amongst the big names booking cashes was Justin Bonomo in 19th (£4,340), Ana Marquez in 15th (£5,000) and Jonathan Duhamel in 11th (£6,340),

Eventually, after Souheil Mansour was eliminated in 3rd (£32,530), Eames managed to overcome top Canadian pro Michael “SirWatts” Watson heads-up to clinch the title. Watson now boasts $6,040,693 in live winnings but amazingly at the time turned down a deal to redistribute the prize pool during the heads-up phase. As a result Watson had to be satisfied with a runner-up finish worth £55,890 ($84,105).

Following his runner-up finish, Michael Watson tweeted: “In retrospect, probably should have made a deal. Trying to beat @johneamespoker in a 2k EPT side event is impossible.”

Meanwhile, commenting on his latest victory, John Eames tweeted: “Was so swingy but won! @SirWatts played great and put up with the rail. £98k ftw! Thanks for the support everyone!




John Eames Wins EPT Invitational For £98k

Dutch pro Ruben Visser has won the EPT London Main Event, after defeating a field of 647 players over six days to capture the title, and collect the £595,000 ($895,370) first place prize.

The 24-year old has now amassed $1,977,887 in winnings since his first live cash in 2008, and after taking down his biggest score to date in the English capital, commented: “This feels completely awesome. I’m extremely happy. I have been playing well in live tournaments in the last few years but now I just ran about £600,000 above expectation.”

By the time the £5k Main Event reached its final table of eight at the Grosvenor Victoria Casino, Ruben Visser faced a tough line-up of pros including the likes of Chris Moorman, Steve O’Dwyer and Theo Jorgensen.

First to leave the arena was UK’s Chris Moorman in 8th (£57,000), whose pocket sevens foundered against the A-K of Jorgensen. He was followed by the UK’s last hope Tamer Kamel, who went all-in preflop with A-10, but was eliminated in 7th (£79,950) after being called by Olof Haglund (K-Q).

Next, Germany’s Christopher Frank’s A-K failed to improve against the pocket nines of Ruben Visser, and so he bowed out in 6th for £112,000, while USA’s Steve O’Dwyer ran his A-2 into the pocker aces of Theo Jorgensen to exit in 5th for £146,000.

Jorgensen’s celebrations were short lived, however, as Visser knocked him out of the tournament next in 4th (£183,000), and after Visser (A-8) did likewise to Sweden’s Olof Haglund (K-J) in 3rd (£427,564), the heads-up phase of the competition then got underway.

At this stage, Visser held a 4 to 1 chip advantage over Lithuanian Mantas Visockis, but it wouldn’t be for another 2 hours before the defining hand was played. Unfortunately for a short-stacked Mantas Visockis his pocket tens came off second best against the A-Q of his opponent and so Visockis had to be satisfied with a runner-up finish worth £377,436, while Ruben Visser was crowned the 2013 EPT London Main Event champion.

The final table payouts were as follows:

1. Ruben Visser £595,000
2. Mantas Visockis £377,436
3. Olof Haglund £427,564
4. Theo Jorgensen £183,000
5. Steve O’Dwyer £146,000
6. Christopher Frank £112,000
7. Tamer Kamel £79,950
8. Chris Moorman £57,000



Ruben Visser Wins EPT London For £595k

Reece Lewis has won the WPT National London Main Event, after defeating a field of 218 players on his way to capturing the title, and collecting the £80,000 ($120,910) first place prize.

As the £1,650 buy-in tournament reached its final table at the Aspers Casino Westfield, Reece Lewis was lying in 3rd place (692k), behind Elior Sion (1.73m) and Rasmus Larsen (1.27m).

Reece Lewis (K-K) then proceeded to eliminate last woman standing Emma Tolley (9-9) in 8th (£10,000), before a short-stacked Carlo Citrone’s Q-3 shove into the pocket fives of Robin Fisher saw him exit in 7th for £12,500.

The tournament then witnessed a dramatic hand in which Elior Sion (10-10) was all-in in a three-way pot and had both his opponent’s covered in the guise of Wang Weikang (3-3) and Rasmus Larsen (A-K). Unfortunately for them, the board subsequently rolled out 2-4-8-9-9 to eliminate Wang Weikang in 6th place for £15,000, and Rasmus Larsen in 5th (£19,000).

Next, Kevin Williams three-bet shoved his K-10 into the K-J of Robin Fisher to depart in 4th for £25,000, but Fisher was later reduced to a short-stack and soon found himself all-in holding Qs-9s to Reece Lewis’ Ks-7s. When the board fell 2-6-A-2-7, Robin Fisher was eliminated in 3rd for £34,000, while also heralding in the heads-up phase of the competition.

As the the battle commenced, Lewis held a substantial 4,325,000 to 1,085,000 chip advantage over Elior Sion, and 30 minutes is all it would then take before the defining hand was played. By that stage, Sion had been reduced to a short-stack and after being dealt A-10 shoved his remaining chips into the centre of the table. Unfortunately for him, his opponent was holding pocket aces, and a few cards later Elior Sion had to settle for a runner-up finish worth £54,150, while Reece Lewis was crowned the 2013 WPT National London champion.

The final table payout were as follows:

1 Reece Lewis £80,000
2 Elior Sion £54,150
3 Robin Fisher £34,000
4 Kevin Williams £25,000
5 Rasmus Larsen £19,000
6 Wang Weikang £15,000
7 Carlo Citrone £12,500
8 Emma Tolley £10,000


Reece Lewis Wins 2013 WPT National London

The second most profitable player in high-stakes online poker history is back to his soul-crushing ways on the Full Tilt Poker software.

Patrik Antonius, back playing under the screen name “FinddaGrind”, won more than $1.1 million on the virtual felt since last Friday — the most in the web poker world. Antonius was up about $13.5 million on Full Tilt pre-2012. Combined with his other winnings this year, Antonius is up about $15 million on Full Tilt lifetime. The data is according to HighstakesDB.

In addition to dominating online, Antonius is widely regarded as one of the best and most profitable live cash game players of all time. Last but certainly not least, the Finnish pro has won nearly $5.6 million in tournaments during his career.

Antonius recently finished third in the 2013 Aussie Millions main event for $633,419.

To put Antonius upswing in perspective, take a look at the 2013 Full Tilt cash game standings.

Winners

Viktor “Isildur1” Blom: $4,063,347
Alexander “PostflopAction” Kostritsyn: $3,474,146
Ben “Bttech86” Tollerene: $1,841,245
Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond: $1,797,335
Patrik “FinddaGrind” Antonius: $1,523,801

Losers

Ben “Sauce1234” Sulsky: -$1,904,302
Phil “Polarizing” Ivey: -$1,851,903
Gus Hansen: -$1,640,949
patpatpanda: -$1,330,885
Scott “mastrblastr” Seiver: -$1,220,393



High-Stakes Online Poker: Antonius Wins $1.1 Million This Week Online

The Ironman Poker Challenge which took place at Delaware Park casino in 2012 has now been officially recognised as the the “Longest Continuous Poker Tournament” by the Guinness World Record.

The Iron Man Poker Challenge was organised by the Delaware Park poker room, and 192 brave souls were attracted to the $600 buy-in competition to create a prize pool worth $100,608. However, with no tournament breaks allowed the event was as much about endurance as it was about the skills the players bought to the table.

Eventually, after a marathon thirty six hours, thirty four minutes and forty one seconds, it was Czech Republic player Peter Konas who topped the field to scoop the $27,160 first place prize, as well as the title of the new Iron Man of Poker. Narrowly missing out on the accolade was Josh Palmer of North Carolina, who managed to make it through to the heads-up phase before finishing the runner-up for $16,902.

As well as the entire 2012 Ironman Poker Challenge being recorded, it was also witnessed by Delaware Gaming Enforcement agents, who subsequently sent away all the documentation for approval by Guinness world record official. Earlier this month, Delaware Park was then given a certificate officially acknowledging its achievement and commenting on the record, Senior VP of Slots & Marketing Andy Gomeringer, said:

“We are exceptionally proud to be the home of an event that has made world history. The Ironman Poker Challenge attracts outstanding and dedicated players, and we are very pleased that Guinness has recognized the stamina and caliber of our players and the Delaware Park staff that supports them.”


Longest Non-Stop Poker Tourny (36.5hrs) Recognised As A World Record

A 21 year-old poker player from Belgium, who only cashed in at his first live tournament this year, has now followed up his 139th place finish at the £700 UKIPT for £1,200, by successfully taking down the €1,000 Eureka Poker Tour Czech Main Event and the €115,000 prize which went with it.

Tight seems to have been right for Bart Lybaert, who played a particularly cautious game in order to take down the impressive score, after which he commented: “It feels really awesome. This is the first time I’ve got so deep in a tournament. Everything went my way. I didn’t have a downswing at all. It went all up.”

Bart Lybaert entered the 8 seated final table at the Kings Casino in Rozvadov in second spot, although the top five places were closely stacked. As the finalists then started to fall by the wayside, Lybaert eliminated Bulent Demirtas in 4th (€36,875) and then Giovanni Mazza in 3rd (€47,500) to go heads-up against Germany’s Fabian Leib. At this stage, Lybaert held a commanding 7.6m to 805k chip advantage over Fabian Leib

Eventually, the defining hand was played after Lybaert (A-10) and Leib (A-3) went all-in on an A-2-9 flop. The turn and river subsequently produced a 7 and 3 to relegate Fabian Leib to a runner-up finish worth €77,250, while Bart Lybaert’s fledgling poker career received a massive boost with his €115,000 victory in the Czech Republic.

The final table payouts were as follows:

1 Bart Lybaert €115,000
2 Fabian Leib €77,250
3 Giovanni Mazza €47,500
4 Bulent Demirtas €36,875
5 Kasparas Klezys €28,125
6 Thomas Erier €20,000
7 Ronald Szczerba €15,000
8 Dirk Recknagel €11,250






Bart Lybaert Claims Victory At 2013 Eureka Poker Tour Czech