Poker News

Dario Minieri Dominates PokerStars Caribbean Adventure High Roller Event

Italian poker pro Dario Minieri leads the pack for the second straight day in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) $25,000 buy-in High Roller tournament. Minieri is a member of Team PokerStars Pro.

After two days of play, there are 24 players remaining out of the 84 who entered. Minieri was on top of the leaderboard after Day 1 and turned in another strong outing on Tuesday for Day 2. Minieri holds a stack of 430,700 chips entering Day 3 on Wednesday, edging out Michiel Brummelhuis’ second place tally of 403,800. Minieri and Brummelhuis are the only players to cross the 400,000-chip threshold and own a comfortable lead over former World Poker Tour (WPT) Borgata Poker Open champ Vivek “Psyduck” Rajkumar’s third place total of 301,700. Minieri won the High Roller event at the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) Warsaw stop in October.

One of the final eliminations of the evening at the Atlantis Resort and Casino on Paradise Island in the Bahamas was Mike “The Mouth” Matusow. He was all-in pre-flop with A-Q against Carter “bdybldngpkr” Phillips’ K-8. Phillips struck lightning in a bottle when the flop came K-8-4 and a running 9-J left Matusow scratching his head. William Thorson also exited at the end of the day when his 7-8 ran into pocket sevens. Thorson has made three EPT final tables.

2004 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion Greg Raymer sent fellow PokerStars-backed pro Andre Akkari out on Tuesday. Akkari pushed with A-9 of diamonds pre-flop and received a call from Raymer, who had A-Q of clubs. The flop contained a queen, keeping Raymer out in front for good. Meanwhile, Chad Brown hit the rails when his A-9 couldn’t draw out on former WPT Invitational winner Alex Brenes’ wired pair of eights.

Brummelhuis helped his cause by casting off Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger, who appeared on several episodes of the G4 online poker reality series “2 Months, $2 Million.” Lichtenberger committed his chips pre-flop with K-Q, but Brummelhuis picked up aces. The flop came ace-high and that was all she wrote for the young American.

Here are the chip counts of the 24 players remaining in the 2010 PCA High Roller event:

1. Dario Minieri - 430,700
2. Michiel Brummelhuis - 403,800
3. Vivek “Psyduck” Rajkumar - 301,700
4. Tobias Reinkemeier - 279,900
5. Dmitry Stelmak - 264,000
6. Alex Brenes - 253,600
7. Greg Raymer - 206,600
8. Bijan Zahmat - 198,200
9. Sandra Naujoks - 180,500
10. Shawn Buchanan - 171,100
11. Lisa Hamilton - 153,900
12. Nick Schulman - 143,400
13. Carter “bdybldngpkr” Phillips - 139,400
14. Joe Cada - 135,700
15. Matt Marafioti - 121,000
16. Brett Richey - 106,400
17. Paul Berende - 104,400
18. Christian Kruel - 103,800
19. Bill Edler - 94,700
20. Adolfo Vaeza - 92,600
21. William Reynolds - 89,100
22. James Calderaro - 89,100
23. Isaac “westmenloAA” Baron - 76,200
24. Will Molson - 60,000

The winner of the $25,000 buy-in poker tournament will earn $576,000 and the top 16 players will finish in the money. Cada and Raymer are former winners of the WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas. Phillips won the EPT Barcelona stop during Season 6, while Naujoks, one of only two women ever to win an EPT tournament, took down the Dortmund event during Season 5. Schulman made the final table of the WPT Foxwoods World Poker Finals twice in a three-year span, recording a win and a runner-up showing for $3 million combined. Many consider Baron to be one of the top poker players on the planet. Needless to say, it’s anybody’s game.

The High Roller event will play down to its final table this afternoon from the Bahamas and crown a champion on Thursday. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from paradise. Pack your bags, we’ll leave tonight.

Top 5 of 2009: Yevgeniy Timoshenko’s Year

With an eye on the great poker personalities that have made the scene and the interesting fodder they’ve provided for us over the past 12 months, we’ve come up with our very own Top 5 Poker News Stories of 2009.

The plan is to present them to you every other day from now until New Year’s Eve and we continue today with No. 4: Yevgeniy Timoshenko’s Year.

Yevgeniy Timoshenko started playing poker online when he was just 15 years old.

With wins in the PokerStars Sunday Million, the daily $100 rebuy and the Sunday $200 rebuy online, plus solid live results in prelims at the Irish Poker Open, Paris Open, the Aussie Millions, World Series of Poker Europe, EPT Barcelona and a win in the 2008 APPT Macau main event, he was a poker-made millionaire even before his 21st birthday.

But it’s the feats he accomplished soon after turning 21 that suddenly has the entire world convinced he is one of poker’s brightest new stars.

With the smell of spring in the Las Vegas air, the Ukranian-born and Washington State raised Timoshenko proved he was a force to be reckoned with this past April, winning more than $2.1 million and one of poker’s most prestigious crowns at the Season 7 WPT Championship.

This one win would have been enough to cement his status as one of the game’s young greats, but Timoshenko’s year had just begun.

His summer was spent collecting close to $100k in cashes from the 2009 World Series of Poker, but another massive score was right around the corner.

The PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker main event is by far the most coveted online title in the game and this September, Timoshenko booked the win, adding $1.7 million to his online MTT winnings.

PokerListings caught up with the budding superstar just weeks later as he found himself among the leaders in the final 36 of the WSOPE main event.

At the time, he explained how his game was designed for both the virtual felt and the kind you can touch and feel.

"I think my game is very adaptable to both online and live play," he said. "If you are just good at reading people you are not going to have as much success online and if you're only good at the math and playing ABC, you might do well online, but you're probably not going to do well live."

Winning two of poker’s biggest tournaments in a single year has obviously helped Timoshenko earn a few fans, especially among his peers.

“Yevgeniy is one of, if not the best tournament player around,” said EPT San Remo and WSOP Bracelet winner Jason Mercier. “I really like his game. I got the chance to play against him for the first time live deep in a 1k event at Bellagio a few weeks ago. I was pretty much plowing through the entire field until he showed up at my table. We have similar styles, which makes him tough to play against.

“One of the things that makes him so good is that he is almost always one level above everyone else at the table. In my opinion, there is no one better at No-Limit Hold’em tournaments.”

With more than $2.2 million in live tournament earnings this year, and another $2.2 million won online, including two of the most prestigious titles on either stage, Yevgeniy Timoshenko’s year was an easy choice for No. 4 on PokerListings’ Top Five Poker News Stories of 2009.

 

PokerListings' Top Five Poker News Stories of 2009:

• No. 5: The Emergence of Luke Schwartz
  

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Titan Poker launches Euro City Poker Tour Barcelona Satellites

Titan Poker has announced details of qualifiers for one of the top events on the European poker calendar. The Euro City Poker Tour heads to Barcelona in March with a €500,000 guaranteed prize pool to be won and there are plenty of packages to be won.

2009 World Poker Tour Year in Review

For the World Poker Tour (WPT), 2009 was a year of incredible highs, but the organization was also faced with issues away from the felt that had to be overcome for the company to remain viable in other arenas.

Without a doubt, the biggest news of 2009 for the WPT was the sale of the popular poker tour. In what turned out to be a frenetic bidding war, WPTE, the tour’s parent company, received an offer in August from Gamynia Limited for around $9 million. Officials from the WPT’s parent company accepted the offer from Gamynia, but the battle was just beginning. A second offer from Party Gaming, which upped the ante to $12.3 million, eclipsed Gamynia and made it appear that the former online gaming giant would be the one to take over ownership of the WPT. As a part of this deal, there a $1 million cash advance would allow WPT to opt out of its deal with Gamynia.

As the deal with Party Gaming was moving towards completion, a third bid for the WPT came to light. As stockholders prepared to approve the agreed upon sale to Party Gaming in October, Mandalay Entertainment (not a part of the Mandalay Bay hotel ownership) stunned the poker world by issuing a bid for the WPT to the tune of $36.5 million. After reviewing the respective bids, the stockholders bypassed the Mandalay Entertainment offer and approved the sale of the WPT to Party Gaming. As of the end of 2009, it isn’t known how Party Gaming will utilize its ownership of the WPT.

In news away from the felt, the WPT was looking for an outlet to continue to air its popular tournament schedule. The one-year deal with Fox Sports Net was renegotiated in February and ensured that the WPT would continue to be on television for Season 8. In addition to the deal with Fox Sports Net, the WPT was also able to bring on Full Tilt Poker as a major sponsor of its broadcasts, marking the first time that the tour had aligned itself directly with an online poker room. Previously, sites had been sponsors of individual stops on the WPT, but never the entirety of the tour itself.

At the start of 2009, WPTE was facing a de-listing from the NASDAQ Stock Exchange in New York because its shares were not trading above the required $1 level. WPTE was given an extension due to the travails of the financial world in late 2008 and, by the middle of 2009, it had returned its stock to the required levels to maintain the seat on the NASDAQ. It was officially removed upon the sale to Party Gaming.

On the tables, the WPT continued to provide quality events, albeit with a drop in actual tournament attendance. Numbers for WPT events were down as much as 25%, but this was attributed to the global economic recession for the most part. The smaller numbers ensured that there were quality fields that took part in each stop of the WPT through the end of Season 7 and the beginning of Season 8.

Veterans of the poker world such as Freddy Deeb (WPT Invitational), Steve Brecher (Bay 101 Shooting Star), and Vadim Trincher (Foxwoods Poker Classic), all earned championships as Season 7 began to wind down. In April, the WPT Championship crowned up and coming poker superstar Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko as its latest winner and also bestowed the title of WPT Player of the Year to Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier.

After taking its traditional summer break, the WPT came back for Season Eight, with players such as Alexandre Gomes (Bellagio Cup) and Prahlad Friedman (Legends of Poker) taking down titles. After a stirring run at the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, Tommy Vedes demonstrated why he is considered to be one of the most underrated players in the game when he captured the title at the Festa al Lago in October. In perhaps the best calendar year run on the WPT, Cornel Andrew Cimpan claimed two WPT titles, the L.A. Poker Classic during Season 7 in February and the Foxwoods World Poker Finals during Season 8 in November.

Finally, the WPT put the “World” back into its moniker by hosting several tournaments in Europe. WPT Europe crossed the continent, ranging from such traditional gaming areas as Barcelona and Venice to exotic locales like Cyprus and Marrakech. These tournaments were warmly received, with strong European contingents filling out the fields alongside many of the best in poker from the United States.

With the new ownership of Party Gaming in its pocket, the future for the WPT is definitely bright.

Jan Skampa wins EPT in Prague

I’m sure every poker player sometimes dreams of winning a huge event in front of family and friends. Well, at least Young Chech Jan Skampa don’t have to dream about it anymore, as he achieved his dreams and took down the EPT Prague main event after beating the 583 other combatants for an €682,000 first-place prize.

After making it to his first ever EPT final table at Vilamoura, Portugal, couple weeks ago, Skampa didn’t have to wait long for another appearance in the final, showing the home crowd in the biggest tournament in Czech Republic ever that they have not come in vain to cheer for him. Back-to-back final tables in just third and fourth EPT events ever played by Skampa proves that he is a force to be reckoned with.

Italian Luca Pagano broke a record after making it to the final table, his sixth overall, that is the most final tables in history of EPT. Sixth time was no charm for the PokerStars pro, as Pagano busted out fittingly, yes you know it, in sixth place.

Swede Stefan Matsson, a WPT runner-up in Barcelona 2008, had a huge chip lead in the tournament after he busted Larry Ryan out of the tournament in fifth place with queens against jacks, but the tide turned when he and Skampa got all the chips in the middle, Skampa holding kings and Matsson queens.

Matsson was eventually out in third place and the heads-up started with Eyal Avitan leading having a 2:1 chip lead over Skampa. But the Chech grinded his way back to the lead and after three hours of heads up play Avitan moved in with J-9 only to see him being a huge dog against a pair of jack Skampa had in a hole. After the turn card the faith of the Israeli was sealed and the Chech crowd started to celebrate the win of their new poker hero.

Here is the final results and payouts of the EPT Prague:

1.Jan Skampa € 682,000
2.Eyal Avitan € 454,000
3.Stefan Mattsson € 255,000
4.Anthony Roux € 171,000
5.Larry Ryan € 135,000
6.Luca Pagano € 100,000
7.Gustav Ekerot € 71,000
8.Sven Eichelbaum € 55,500

Source

You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com

Jan Skampa wins EPT in Prague

Lacey Jones, Leo Margets Join KSINO

Both Lacey Jones and Leo Margets will act as ambassadors for the brand as they travel the world on the International poker circuit.

“To say that I am thrilled to have Lacey and Leo as brand ambassadors is an understatement,” said Alex That, President of KSINO.

“They are two very beautiful women who are also very talented poker players. They turn heads at the tables not only for how they look, but for how they play. That’s what KSINO is about, playing great and looking hot while doing it.”

Margets, a Barcelona native, exploded onto the poker scene this summer when she became the last woman standing in the 2009 WSOP Main Event by finishing 27^th for $352,832.

She received considerable media attention and was immediately signed as by 888.com as a member of their pro team.

Meanwhile Jones has been involved in almost every aspect of the poker industry including playing, reporting and presenting. This summer she also joined Absolute Poker as a team pro.

“I really love being part of the KSINO family, it’s about more than just great looking clothes, it’s a fun lifestyle,” said Jones. “It’s my lifestyle.”

KSINO markets itself as a premiere clothing provider for the gaming industry with a variety of clothing for sale on its website including T-shirts, jackets, hats and more.

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Clothing Brand KSINO Signs Lacey Jones and Leo Margets

Clothing apparel company KSINO announced Monday that it has signed exclusive agreements with two of poker’s up-and-coming female players, Lacey Jones and Leo Margets. The brand, which is building a reputation as the top clothing line for those living and loving a fast-paced lifestyle, chose Jones and Margets as two players who speak to that standard of living.

“To say that I am thrilled to have Lacey and Leo as brand ambassadors is an understatement,” said Alex That, President of KSINO. “They are two very beautiful women who are also very talented poker players. They turn heads at the tables not only for how they look, but also for how they play. That’s what KSINO is about, playing great and looking hot while doing it.”

Jones, a fashion model and poker pro, signed on with Absolute Poker in July after hosting interviews at the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) for ESPN 360, WSOP.com, BluffMagazine.com, and PKR.com. She posed for the cover of Bluff Magazine in its November 2008 issue, one of only three Bluff covers featuring women in the history of the magazine. Jones is also a traveling tournament reporter for Fox Sports Net’s new show “Poker2Nite,” hosted by PokerRoad’s Joe Sebok and Scott Huff.

“I really love being part of the KSINO family,” Jones said about her new role with the company. “It’s about more than just great looking clothes; it’s a fun lifestyle. It’s my lifestyle.”

Margets’ fame came during the 2009 WSOP Main Event, where she finished 27th place out of nearly 6,500 players, earning the title of “Last Woman Standing.” Margets collected $352,832 for her deep finish in what was the first WSOP cash of her poker career. In 2008, she won the University Poker Championship in her hometown of Barcelona, and, as a result, 888.com offered her sponsorship for national events.

“I’m excited about being a part of KSINO,” said Margets. “I feel like I identify with the brand and can now sit down at a poker table and compete in style… I love it! KSINO is not only a clothing line. They are creating and redefining the game… It’s a whole new lifestyle!”

The KSINO clothing brand was created by Anthony Tuozzo to provide premium designer apparel to the multi-billion dollar gaming industry. The brand’s styles include graphic t-shirts, hoodies, button-downs, jackets, and accessories. KSINO clothing is now available at D.Fine at the Bellagio, The Men’s Store at the Mirage, and at KSINO.com.

On November 24th, KSINO entered into a merchandise distribution agreement with HeadsUp Entertainment International Inc., operators of the Canadian Poker Tour and Canadian Poker Player Magazine. KSINO apparel will be marketed throughout Canada in Canadian Poker Player Magazine, on all upcoming Canadian Poker Tour television broadcasts, and into the websites, social communities, and player databases from coast to coast.

Clothing Brand KSINO Signs Lacey Jones and Leo Margets

Clothing apparel company KSINO announced Monday that it has signed exclusive agreements with two of poker’s up-and-coming female players, Lacey Jones and Leo Margets. The brand, which is building a reputation as the top clothing line for those living and loving a fast-paced lifestyle, chose Jones and Margets as two players who speak to that standard of living.

“To say that I am thrilled to have Lacey and Leo as brand ambassadors is an understatement,” said Alex That, President of KSINO. “They are two very beautiful women who are also very talented poker players. They turn heads at the tables not only for how they look, but also for how they play. That’s what KSINO is about, playing great and looking hot while doing it.”

Jones, a fashion model and poker pro, signed on with Absolute Poker in July after hosting interviews at the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) for ESPN 360, WSOP.com, BluffMagazine.com, and PKR.com. She posed for the cover of Bluff Magazine in its November 2008 issue, one of only three Bluff covers featuring women in the history of the magazine. Jones is also a traveling tournament reporter for Fox Sports Net’s new show “Poker2Nite,” hosted by PokerRoad’s Joe Sebok and Scott Huff.

“I really love being part of the KSINO family,” Jones said about her new role with the company. “It’s about more than just great looking clothes; it’s a fun lifestyle. It’s my lifestyle.”

Margets’ fame came during the 2009 WSOP Main Event, where she finished 27th place out of nearly 6,500 players, earning the title of “Last Woman Standing.” Margets collected $352,832 for her deep finish in what was the first WSOP cash of her poker career. In 2008, she won the University Poker Championship in her hometown of Barcelona, and, as a result, 888.com offered her sponsorship for national events.

“I’m excited about being a part of KSINO,” said Margets. “I feel like I identify with the brand and can now sit down at a poker table and compete in style… I love it! KSINO is not only a clothing line. They are creating and redefining the game… It’s a whole new lifestyle!”

The KSINO clothing brand was created by Anthony Tuozzo to provide premium designer apparel to the multi-billion dollar gaming industry. The brand’s styles include graphic t-shirts, hoodies, button-downs, jackets, and accessories. KSINO clothing is now available at D.Fine at the Bellagio, The Men’s Store at the Mirage, and at KSINO.com.

On November 24th, KSINO entered into a merchandise distribution agreement with HeadsUp Entertainment International Inc., operators of the Canadian Poker Tour and Canadian Poker Player Magazine. KSINO apparel will be marketed throughout Canada in Canadian Poker Player Magazine, on all upcoming Canadian Poker Tour television broadcasts, and into the websites, social communities, and player databases from coast to coast.

An Inconvenient Truth of the Poker Industry

With the upcoming Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen next week, the topic of the environment has never been hotter.

The common assumption is poker players know how to protect a stack of chips and think of little else, let alone the environment.

In most cases, that may be not far from the truth, but should it be?

With the growing threat of global warming and climate change, poker players are not exempt from having to care about the environmental consequences of their actions.

And if you’ve ever been around a major poker tournament, you know the poker community has room to move when it comes to reducing its environmental impact.

The Big Picture

With hundreds of major tournaments around the world, the poker industry is a prominent offender when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions.

Perhaps no more than any other travel or sports industry, but between flights, rental cars and straight-up energy consumption in casinos around the world, it’s safe to say there’s a surprising volume of negative environmental issues involved with simply playing cards.

Poker tournaments generate a large amount of waste. Disposable plates, food wrappers, cigarette butts, soda and water bottles are just the beginning.

Combine this with a lack of proper recycling programs in Las Vegas and most casinos around the world, and the landfills get a little larger with every one.

Of course, bringing a few thousand people to one location for any big event will likely create a similar amount of waste.

But that’s no excuse for poker players, according to Kristen Ostling, Communications Specialist in Climate Change for the world-renowned David Suzuki Foundation.

“This is the way of the future and not just for individuals,” said Ostling. “Businesses, organizations and individuals should all be looking at ways to reduce their carbon output. It’s also good for the bottom line in terms of dollars in most cases.”

Airline flights are among the fastest growing sources of global warming gases and air travel is a necessary evil on the world’s poker tours.

EPT Prague drew 555 players in 2007, but fewer than 20 actually resided in the Czech Republic. 

Even if every player were to fly from relatively close Barcelona, Spain to the event, almost 150 tons of carbon dioxide would be created.

Long-haul flights are one of the worst violators in terms of carbon emissions and a trip to Melbourne, Australia from North America for the Aussie Millions could conceivably use up an entire year of sustainable per-person emissions in just one flight.

“From a green perspective it’s good to do things online, but obviously sometimes you can’t beat face-to-face interaction,” Ostling said.  “The first thing a business has to do is make an assessment of what kind of environmental impact they are having.”

One suggestion Ostling has for the jet setting poker player is to buy carbon offsets to lessen the impact.

A carbon offset is essentially a certificate that represents a reduction of carbon emissions. Concerned individuals can buy a wide-variety of carbon offsets ranging from solar-power generators in India to reforestation or tree-planting in Ecuador.

Organizations like the World Wildlife Fund and the David Suzuki Foundation offer comprehensive guides on buying carbon offsets and buying enough could make it possible for even a well-travelled poker pro to achieve carbon neutrality.

The View from the Poker Industry

It’s impossible to consider the environmental impact of the poker industry and not start with Las Vegas.

Vegas is the Mecca of the poker world and a flashy, 24-hour city in the desert is obviously a hard sell when it comes to environmental sustainability.

A number of studies have ranked Nevada near the bottom of environmentally conscious states, and water consumption always seems to be a hot topic.

In 2008, environmental blog Treehugger ran a story claiming the Las Vegas strip could run dry by 2021 citing a recent study by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography estimating there is a 50% chance the city will run out of water if no significant cutbacks are made.

Combine water consumption with the sheer amount of electricity it takes to run the Strip and you’re looking at a city that’s universally frowned upon by environmentalists.

Despite the bad reputation, there have been some efforts in Las Vegas to go greener.

In 2009, Harrah’s announced it was joining Dell, Starbucks and Wrigley as founding members of the Team Earth initiative aiming to unite businesses, non-profits, scientists, educators and individuals to address pressing environmental issues.

In 2008, Harrah’s also began offering carbon offsets to its customers to help reduce the environmental impact of taking a Las Vegas vacation.

Plus, the massive 16,797,000-square-foot CityCenter development, set to finally open its doors this winter, appears to be going green.

Despite the considerable environmental impact of such a large casino, hotel, retail and residential project, the development was recently given a gold rating by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council.

CityCenter will use reclaimed water, an onsite power plant and other green technologies that are estimated to save the equivalent of 7,700 homes worth of energy, making it one of the largest sustainable developments in history.

There are also a few businesses trying to carve out a niche in the poker world with eco-friendly poker products.

Eric Hansel runs EGM Green, which he jokingly refers to as the only “green” company in poker. His company produces a variety of environmentally-conscious gambling products including poker tables, craps tables and lounge furniture.

Each table is made with 96-97% naturally sustainable materials and 100% post-industry recycled synthetic fiber. Harrah’s allowed EGM Green display one of its tables at the 2008 WSOP to mixed reactions.

“I think the macro view is that poker players don’t care about the environment, but there are some that do,” he said.  “It’s steadily been getting better over the last two years. We keep letting players know they don’t have to give up luxury to buy a green poker table.”

Earlier this year, the company won an International Gaming Award for being the most eco-friendly in the industry.

“Sustainability will change the way casinos run,” Hansel said. “There’s no way the casinos of 10 years ago can operate 10 years from now.”

The View from the Players

Contrary to popular opinion, it’s not all $1,000-bottles-of-Cristal ballers and high-stakes prima donnas blowing through money in the poker world.

Several noted poker pros are personally involved in environmental work.

Full Tilt pro David Singer, a WSOP bracelet winner, had a brief career as a lawyer at a non-profit environmental organization before getting into poker.

“I sometimes joke that I was going to save the world, but now I take people’s money,” said Singer.

Considering the self-serving nature of the game, it’s easy to see why some players are naturally apathetic to causes like the environment. But Singer said the poker world isn’t that different from the general public.

“I think poker players run the gamut of being concerned about global warming to not really caring about it,” he said. “Yesterday I was in Bobby’s Room and I overheard Prahlad Friedman telling Daniel Negreanu that golf courses are generally bad for the environment. At least they were talking about it in a positive way and voicing their concerns.”

But the week before, Singer said there was also a guy in Bobby’s Room who didn’t understand why Al Gore had received the Nobel Peace Prize for his environmental work.

However, Singer believes poker players can help the environmental cause.

“Poker players bring a unique perspective because they are good at strategizing and environmental organizations can always use volunteers to help plan campaigns,” he said. “There are also some poker players who are lucky and have a decent amount of money and donating to these organizations is always helpful.”

Singer agreed carbon offsets can be a viable option for the jet set and that volunteering for environmental groups is almost always a good idea.

Fellow Full Tilt pro Amanda Baker is heavily involved with wildlife and environmental conservation while Team PokerStars pro Humberto Brenes works with the PRETOMA Shark Conversation program, an organization dedicated to protecting sharks in their natural habitat.

Singer reiterated the common ecological notion that everything starts with the individual – even in poker.

“What I would say to people is to just start something,” he said. “Even if you think it’s just a drop in the bucket. Personally I think the only way we’re going to get around global warming is if everyone’s attitude changes.

“If we keep going the way we’re going we’re headed for a disaster.”

This is a brief introduction to world of environmentalism, sustainability and the poker industry. For more information please check out the links presented below:

Links:

World Wildlife Foundation

http://www.worldwildlife.org/

David Suzuki Foundation

http://www.davidsuzuki.or

EGM Green

http://www.egmgreen.com/index.html

Treehugger

http://www.treehugger.com/

Guide to carbon offsets

http://www.davidsuzuki.org/Climate_Change/What_You_Can_Do/carbon_offsets.asp

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Spain’s Full Tilt Poker Series draws poker stars

The €550,000 guaranteed Full Tilt Poker Series big final will be held in the Casino Gran Madrid in Torrelodones just outside the Spanish capital from Dec. 3-6 and Team Full Tilt Pro Guys Hansen has confirmed he will attend.

The Great Dane, whose three World Poker Tour titles and $7.5 million in career earnings make him a legend in the game, will be also be joined by Hendon Mobster Barny Boatman and Full Tilt Pro Roberto Romanello.

Spanish Full Tilt Pro Raul Paez, who sits second on his country's all time leading money winner list to Carlos Mortensen, has also confirmed he will attend the €3,000+€200 event.

The Full Tilt Poker Series has already held successful events in Madrid, Malaga and Barcelona en route to the final this year, where almost €900,000 has been won.

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Full EPT Season 6 Schedule Announced, Features Snowfest Stop

Come one, come all to the first ever European Poker Tour (EPT) Snowfest stop, scheduled to take place from March 21st to 26th at the Alpine PalaceSaalbach-Hinterglemm ski resort in Austria.

EPT Snowfest was part of the second half of the schedule of the roving tournament series released this week. The six latest additions bring the total number of tournaments to a baker’s dozen. The Austria event takes place at one of the country’s premier ski resorts, so players who bust out can hit the slopes in earnest to burn off tilt. PokerStars is offering prize packages to the event that include its €3,750 buy-in, bus transfer to and from the airport in Salzburg, and a six-day ski package complete with lift tickets and snow attire.

The Snowfest event seems to parallel the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, also a stop on the EPT circuit, in that the poker tournament takes a back seat to the bevy of extracurricular activities available. As was the case in London, several stops on the upcoming EPT schedule will feature a “Festival of Poker,” as founder John Duthie outlined in a press release distributed by PokerStars: “There has been huge enthusiasm for the new EPT schedule and also for the bigger ‘Festivals of Poker’ like the one we held in London and will be holding at the PCA, Sanremo, and Monte Carlo events.”

Nine locales make up the remainder of the sixth season of the EPT. Next up for players and tournament officials alike is the series’ first ever trip to Portugal for EPT Vilamoura. The €5,300 buy-in event kicks off on November 16th and will crown a champion five days later. Here’s a glimpse at the remaining slate of events:

EPT Portugal: November 16th to 21st
Casino Vilamoura
€5,000 + €300 buy-in
Cap: 600

EPT Prague: December 1st to 6th
Golden Prague Poker
€5,000 + €250 buy-in
Cap: 600

PokerStars Caribbean Adventure: January 4th to 14th
Atlantis Resort and Casino
$10,000 + $300 buy-in
Cap: 1,600

EPT Deauville: January 20th to 25th
Casino Barrière de Deauville
€5,000 + €300 buy-in
Cap: 600

EPT Copenhagen: February 16th to 21st
Casino Copenhagen
35,000 + 2,250 DKK buy-in
Cap: 500

EPT Germany: March 2nd to 7th
Details Not Yet Announced

EPT Snowfest: March 21st to 26th
Alpine PalaceSaalbach-Hinterglemm
€3,500 + €250 buy-in
Cap: 500

EPT Sanremo: April 15th to 21st
Casino Sanremo
€5,000 + €300 buy-in
Cap: Not Yet Announced

EPT Monte Carlo Grand Final: April 25th to 30th
Monte Carlo
€10,000 + €600 buy-in
Cap: 1,000

The PokerStars Caribbean Adventure is also a stop on the current season of the PokerStars-sponsored Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT). The event is sure to break nearly every record that the LAPT has to offer and is regularly one of the largest live tournaments held outside of the United States. In 2009, a record-breaking 1,347 players participated in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event and Canadian Poorya Nazari emerged victorious, banking $3 million for his efforts. A total of 746 PokerStars qualifiers were in the field, or 55% of those in action.

Four events have taken place so far during the EPT’s sixth season. Maxim Lykov bested the field in Kiev, a tournament that replaced the Russian Poker Open after casinos in the latter country were shut down. Then, American Carter Phillips outlasted his opponents in Barcelona and Aaron Gustavson triumphed over the field in London. Wrapping up two weeks ago was EPT Warsaw, which Christophe Benzimra took down for 1.5 million PLN.

Stay tuned for the latest updates from the EPT, LAPT, and other tournament series right here on Poker News Daily.

WPT Marrakech draws over 400

The ChiliPoker-sponsored event took place at Casino de Marrakech in Morocco with 416 players paying the €4,500 buy-in, including big names like Liz Lieu, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, Annette Obrestad, Antonio Esfandiari, Antoine Saout, Tony G and WPT Merit Cyprus winner Thomas Bichon.

None of the aforementioned players made the final table, but there were several compelling storylines with Ludovic Lacay, Benny Spindler and Eoghan O'Dea all vying for the title.

They were joined at the final table by Savary, Julien Arneodo, Adrien Marin, Hicham Benhalima, Patrick Meurisse and ChiliPoker qualifier Balazs Botond.

Spindler, best-known for his third-place finish at the 2009 PCA, fought the good fight, but eventually busted out sixth after a confrontation with O'Dea.

The always unpredictable Lacay finished 16th at the 2009 World Series of Poker Main event for $500,000 and was looking for his first major title at WPT Marrakech.

But it was not to be as the Frenchman busted out third after an ill-timed shove was called by Savary.

That left Savory to fight it out for the title heads-up with O'Dea, the son of Donnacha O'Dea, one of the pioneers of Irish poker and the first player inducted into the European Poker Hall of Fame.

O'Dea did his best to do the family name proud, getting it in good heads-up with A 3 on an ace-high flop, only to have Savary turn a straight to take the title.

WPT Marrakech marked yet another effort by the tour to increase their global presence with events in Venice, Cyprus and Barcelona already this year.

Next up for the WPT is the annual Fest al Lago event at Bellagio in Las Vegas beginning Wednesday Oct. 21.

Here are the complete final table payouts:

1. Christophe Savary - €379,014

2. Eoghan O'Dea - €263,662

3. Ludovic Lacay - €164,789

4. Julien Arneodo - €105,465

5. Adrian Marin - €72,507

6. Benny Spindler - €56,028

7. Patrick Meurisse - €42,845

8. Balazs Botnod - €34,606

9. Hicham Benhalima - €28,014

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New European Masters Of Poker schedule announced

The new EMOP season kicks off in the beautiful Slovenia capital Ljubliana on 25th November and will be followed by legs in Warsaw, Poland, from 3rd to 5th February, Lisbon, Portugal, 25th to 28th March, Campione, Italy, 27th to 30th May, Sunny Beach, Bulgaria, 28th July to 1st August, Barcelona, Spain, 23rd to 26th September. The grand final at the Casino di Venezia in Malta will take place from 17th to 20th November 2010.

New European Masters Of Poker schedule announced

The new EMOP season kicks off in the beautiful Slovenia capital Ljubliana on 25th November and will be followed by legs in Warsaw, Poland, from 3rd to 5th February, Lisbon, Portugal, 25th to 28th March, Campione, Italy, 27th to 30th May, Sunny Beach, Bulgaria, 28th July to 1st August, Barcelona, Spain, 23rd to 26th September. The grand final at the Casino di Venezia in Malta will take place from 17th to 20th November 2010.

European Masters of Poker schedule released

The EMOP's first season saw over 1,000 players take part in five events across Europe from February to September 2009 with a total prize pool in excess of €1.6 million.

Organizers anticipate more than 1,400 players will attend main events during this second season, starting with the Ljubljana, Slovenia leg of the tour at the Grand Casino Nov. 25-28, 2009.

"The players really love it," said EMOP product manager Christer Larsson. "EMOP season II is on its way and we are proud to present new great venues."

Following Slovenia, EMOP season II continues in the New Year with stops in Warsaw, Poland, Feb. 3-7, Lisboa, Portugal, Mar. 25-28, Campione, Italy, May 27-30, Sunny Beach, Bulgaria, July 28-Aug. 1, Barcelona, Spain, Sept. 23-26, and the grand final at the Casino di Venezia in Malta Nov. 17-20.

Plus, the top 16 players on the leader board after the grand final in Malta will be invited on a poker cruise from Los Angeles to the Mexican Riviera with a private tournament for cash prizes Dec. 5-12.

Partners in the Entraction poker network, including 24hPoker, will send at least 200 qualifiers to each event.

Online qualification for the first event in Slovenia is already underway.

For more details visit the European Masters of Poker website.

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Lisandro plays Hold’em stud at EPT London

Unfortunately for tournament players the world over, it wasn't a very long one.

"I needed a few weeks to not play any at all and I did that," The Australian born Sicilian told PokerListings during a break on Day 2 at PokerStars EPT London, where he sits among the overnight chip leaders.

"After a few weeks I was ready to get into again."

The three bracelets Lisandro won at the 2009 WSOP, and a fourth he managed to grab at the 2007 WSOP, all came in Stud events.

With a final-table appearance at EPT Barcelona in 2007 and what's shaping up to be a deep run here in London, Lisandro has proved his proficiency in No-Limit Hold'em as well.

But that doesn't necessarily mean he likes the game.

"I find [No-Limit Hold'em] the hardest to get the most consistent results in," he said. "The other games, the structure is such that if you are chip leader, it takes a lot of work to lose those chips, so you can maintain your momentum.

"That's why I get a little bit disgruntled with No-Limit Hold'em, because sometimes I come to a tournament and I play a perfect game. I play every hand well, I build up chips without making a hand, make all the right moves, bet the right flops, make the right raises and then I'll finally pick up a big hand, kings or aces, and they'll knock me off. Or I'll have ace-king against some goofy hand and then I'm done."

According to Lisandro, skill shines in Limit games, but No-Limit Hold'em allows luck to creep into the equation.

"In No-Limit Hold'em it's like you are being tested all the time," he said. "It can be very heartbreaking when you go through three days, you've played a perfect game, you finally pick up the aces, a guy pushes you all in and they don't hold up.

"Even though you've got confidence in your game and you are going to keep going out there and doing what you always do, luck plays a big role in it."

The competition in No-Limit Hold'em is also getting stronger every day and Lisandro has taken note.

"These days a lot of people play No-Limit Hold'em well," he said. "It's the only game they know and as good as I used to play it, they've got the edge on me because it's the only game they play and they play a lot of it."

Despite his star rising to the top of the poker sky at this summer's World Series, Lisandro plays without sponsorship from a major poker site, a fact he wonders about often.

"To tell you the truth, I had so much press from magazines, so many interviews on the Internet and no one has come up to me with a deal," he said.

"I don't know why. I guess that's life. It's just such a waste that I had so much TV time and I could have been endorsing someone's product. I'll probably end up getting my own site and sponsor myself or I guess I'm going to keep trying to win tournaments until I get somebody that wants to sponsor me."

A high-stakes cash game legend long before he took the World Series by storm this summer, Lisandro says he'll likely head to Macau, China this month to play in what he hears are some of the juiciest high-stakes games going these days.

But for now, he's focused on EPT London and how he can top his amazing 2009 WSOP.

"It's really hard to be consistent in poker and I think I've been the model of consistency the last seven years," he said. "Every year I've done a lot better than average and it's really hard to keep bettering yourself.

"I don't know what will happen next year. How could I ever dream of having a better year? What can I say? It was phenomenal, and it just gets harder and harder to get better - Harder and harder to top."

For all the action from PokerStars EPT London, including chip counts, photos and live updates, click through to PokerListings' Live Tournaments page.

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Gooooo Devilfish

It was like the Second World War all over again - only this time, picture David Ulliott leading the country. Tobias Reinkemeier, who made himself rather unpopular after pulling a sly move against Roland de Wolfe in EPT Barcelona, has busted out to the Devilfish in a rather big pot.

Confident man: Mercier among leaders at WSOPE

Every time he sits down at a poker table, the newly minted Team PokerStars Pro believes he's going to win.

"When you feel good, you feel like you're playing well and you feel like you are going to win, then you start making good decisions, you make the right folds, you pick the right spots and everything just kind of clicks," he said. "Confidence, feeling good about yourself, and having a positive attitude really helps a lot."

Mercier burst onto the live poker scene in April of 2008 winning the San Remo leg of the PokerStars European Poker Tour, his first major live tournament. But the 22-year-old Floridian did not stop there.

He went on finish sixth at EPT Barcelona, eighth in the 2008 WSOPE £5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event and first in the £20,000 High Roller Event at EPT London, all within the next six months.

Add in prelim wins at the L.A. Poker Classic and the Wynn Classic before his first WSOP bracelet win in the $1,500 PLO event this summer and Mercier has already accumulated more than $3.3 million in live tournament earnings in less than two years as a pro poker player.

Detractors claim he's simply running well and will come back down to earth before long, but the results keep rolling in and Mercier's confidence continues to build.

"I think confidence is definitely a key to success in poker," he said. "I try to think that I have as good a shot as anyone, if not better, in every tournament I play.

"I try to come in with a positive attitude and hope things go well from the beginning, try to get some momentum going and ride it all the way through."

While Mercier's confidence has been bolstered by all his recent success, he believes it's important to understand that success did not happen overnight.

In 2007, he became just the 16th player in PokerStars history to reach Supernova Elite VIP status by earning 1 million VIP Player Points in one year.

"It's not like I started playing online like two months before I won San Remo or anything," he said. "I had been playing online for almost three years and probably put in over 3 million hands before I won my first live tournament.

"I definitely have played more hands than like 99% of poker professionals. I played more than 2 million hands in one year and that's really hard to do. I doubt there are more than 200 people that have done that ever."

While he's attained a level of success in poker few have achieved, Mercier said he's still constantly working on his game.

"If you stop trying to get better, you're going to get worse," he said.

When Day 3 of the 2009 WSOPE main event presented by Betfair begins Tuesday at 12 p.m. BST inside the Casino at the Empire, Mercier will be in the top ten in chips sitting on a little over 200k.

A host of big names, including November Niner James Akenhead, 10-time WSOP bracelet winner Doyle Brunson, Poker Diva Liz Lieu, Full Tilt Pro Steve Zolotow, Amnon Fillipi, Antonio Esfandiari and recent PokerStars WCOOP main event winner Yivgeniy Timoshenko are all right there with him, chasing chip leader Ian Munns with just 92 players remaining.

To hear more from Mercier himself follow the Jason Mercier Poker Blog right here on PokerListings.com.

For more from Day 2 of the WSOPE main event and beyond, including chip counts, photos and live updates, click through to PokerListings' Live Tournaments page.

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PokerStars Loses Isabelle Mercier, Gains Field Hockey Star Fatima Moreira De Melo

The roster of sponsored pros at the online poker room PokerStars continues to change, as the company both parted ways with players and signed on new faces during the month of September.  Longtime PokerStars representative Isabelle Mercier of Canada ended her relationship with the site a few weeks ago, but another woman has already been added to the roster.  PokerStars recently announced the signing of Fatima Moreira de Melo, an Olympic gold medal winning field hockey player from Denmark, to its Team PokerStars SportsStars.

News first broke of Mercier’s departure during the European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona stop.  The live reporting team and television commentators reported that Mercier, who worked with the online site for five years, was moving on to pursue other projects.  At the time, it was not clear what those projects would entail, but the mystery would be revealed in just a matter of days following the announcement that she was moving on.

On September 18th, the European gambling site Betclick announced Mercier would be serving as its new spokeswoman.  The site, which is primarily known for its sports betting, is aiming to expand its online poker brand and turned to the well-known Mercier to help them do so.  “We are very strong on betting, but poker is not the strongest part of our offering,” said a spokesman in Betclick’s official press release. “The signing of Isabelle Mercier means we will be putting in place a strategy to develop and improve our offering, but this will not be put into action for a few months yet. It is part of our overall project to enhance our poker platform.”

Mercier first rose to poker notoriety when she won Ladies Night II of the World Poker Tour (WPT) in 2004.  On her road to victory, WPT commentator Mike Sexton first referred to her as “No Mercy,” a nickname that has stuck with her to this day.  Prior to her WPT victory, Mercier got her start in poker on the other side of the table.  The French-Canadian law school graduate began as a poker dealer before working her way up to poker room manager and eventually giving it a shot at being a pro herself.  She found success as a pro and, in addition to her Ladies Night win, she has also more recently made an appearance at the EPT London High Roller final table and won the Ante Up for Africa charity event held in conjunction with the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo.

Team PokerStars’ newest face did not start out as a poker player either.  The field hockey star made her claim to fame serving as a striker on the Dutch national team in the 2000, 2004, and 2008 Olympic Games.  She helped lead her team to a gold medal in Beijing, adding to her bronze medal in 2000 and silver medal in 2004.  In addition to her athletic ability, De Melo is known in Denmark for her singing and has performed at several athletic events around Europe.

De Melo will be a part of Team PokerStars SportsStars, an elite group of five athletes who have a passion for card playing.  She is the first female to join the team, which already consists of tennis star Boris Becker, hockey player Mats Sundin, rugby player Sebastien Chabal, and powerboat racer Sami Selio.  In addition to representing PokerStars at live tournaments around the world, De Melo will also play on the online site under the screen name “FatimaDeMelo.”

The room’s official Twitter account recently revealed that it is looking for a group of strictly online players to serve as Team PokerStars Online Pros.  PokerStars will be accepting online applications through October 31st.

La Ronde beats Tureniec to take EPO title

The $5300 buy-in event drew a gaggle of top pros including Doyle Brunson, Annette Obrestad, Liv Boeree and EPT Barcelona runner-up Marc Goodwin.

CardRunners' Eric Liu and Full Tilt Pro Michael Turenic, who both made the final table at EPT London last year, earned spots in the final nine.

Liu bowed out eighth, but Tureniec, who just 10 days earlier reached the final table of the Partouche Poker Tour event in Cannes (set to play out Nov. 21 with a top prize of €1 million), continued his hot streak, finishing runner-up.

"I'm very satisfied with my performance, but, as always, when you end up in the heads-up you want to win," Tureniec said. "Now I hope the victory will come in the WSOPE or EPT London instead."

The Swede took £121,815 for second.

La Ronde's previous career best cash was $116,325 for his second place finish on Luton leg of the GUKPT in August.

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Isabelle Mercier Leaves Team PokerStars

The EPT Barcelona live broadcast had more interesting things than Roland de Wolfe’s controversial muck/don’t muck hand – apparently, Canadian Isabelle Mercier is no longer a member of Team PokerStars.

A Poker Hand Matchup from 2009 PokerStars EPT Barcelona

Poker Tournament Trail — Carter Phillips

Carter Phillips won the 2009 PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona main event. He topped a field of 479 players to walk away with €850,000 and his first EPT title. He …

Where is The Gamesmanship? A Controversial Hand at the PokerStars EPT Barcelona

A controversial hand took place this week at the PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona that got me thinking. Where do we draw the line between the actual rules of the game and the gamesmanship or unwritten rules among poker players?

Poker News in Brief: Sept. 7-13, 2009

EPT Barcelona wrapped up with Carter Phillips winning over $1.2 million for taking down first place while the WCOOP continued to bring some impressive numbers to the virtual felt.

There are always stories that don't make the front page of PokerListings.com, however, and as part of an ongoing feature we've compiled a list of them for you to peruse below.

This week we'll be taking a look at the other major online poker series going on this week, the WPT in Cyprus, a unique tournament at the Commerce Casino, four floor managers who proved crime doesn't pay and a well-known Team PokerStars Pro taking down a WCOOP event.

Frenchman wins in Cyprus

The World Poker Tour's first trip to Cyprus wrapped up this weekend with French pro Thomas Bichon taking the title and $579,165 first place prize.

The $10,300 tournament drew 181 players to the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino in Cyprus and some rather big names made the final ten.

However, Huck Seed, Jonathan Little, Nenad Medic and Layne Flack all busted on the tournament's second to last day before the final table was set.

David and Goliath: MiniFTOPS vs. WCOOP

Not to be outdone by PokerStars' WCOOP event, Full Tilt Poker has gone in a decidedly different direction this September.

Instead of offering a complete Full Tilt Online Poker Series, FTP started running MiniFTOPS XIII on Sept. 9 and it will run to Sept. 20.

MiniFTOPS are almost identical to FTOPS events except for the buy-ins.

Every MiniFTOPS event carries a buy-in that is exactly 1/10 the size of a regular FTOPS event.

Buy-ins for the 25 events range from $11 to $250. Some of the events have some respectable prize pools with the main event weighing in at an impressive $500,000 guaranteed.

Check out the complete schedule over at Full Tilt Poker.

Four Planet ((Hollywood poker)) managers arrested

Four Las Vegas casino floor managers were arrested this week in a scam that saw them take $2,201 in fake jackpots.

According to the Las Vegas Sun, Jonathan Sanner, Jason Peterson, Thomas Kordick and Scott Marshall worked in the poker room at Planet Hollywood and are accused of creating fake identities to award jackpots to themselves.

Surveillance staff at Planet Hollywood noticed that none of the fictitious players had ever played in the poker room.

All four managers were arrested by the Gaming Control Board officers and Las Vegas Police.

Commerce Casino holding Iron Man tournament

The Commerce Hold'em Series, which runs Sept. 10-27, is underway in L.A and there are some very unique events on the schedule.

On Sept. 23 the Commerce will be hosting an "Ironman" tournament, which will give players 10,000 chips, one hour levels and blinds moving at a snail's pace.

The catch? Absolutely no breaks.

The entire tournament will play from start to finish with no interruptions. The casino will provide three meals at the tables, but other than that players are on their own.

The tournament will only be paying the final table and 50% of the prizepool will be going to first place.

For more information check the Commerce website here.

George Danzer wins WCOOP event

The pros continue to perform well at the 2009 WCOOP. Just days after Raymond Davis took down his first WCOOP title in Badugi, Team PokerStars Pro George Danzer accomplished a similar feat by winning the WCOOP Short-Handed Pot-Limit Omaha event.

The German outlasted 975 players and a tough final table that included WPT winner Shawn "buck21" Buchanan to take down a first-place prize of $109,545.

It was Danzer's first WCOOP win and also the biggest score of his career.

The 2009 WCOOP runs all the way until Sept. 20 when PokerStars will host the two-day No-Limit Hold'em main event with $10 million guaranteed.

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This Week in Poker — Sept. 11, 2009

Card Player TV brings you an update on the 2009 Poker Hall of Fame inductions, the EPT Barcelona, and Maria Ho and Tiffany Michelle's Amazing Race on 'This Week In Poker.'

American Carter Phillips Wins EPT Barcelona

It was a nearly wire to wire performance for 20-year old Carter Phillips at the final table of the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) recent tournament in Barcelona. Phillips came into the last day of play on Wednesday atop the chip counts and stayed there, briefly relinquishing his chip lead only once the entire day. Phillips capped off a remarkable poker performance with a memorable three hour-long heads-up match against popular British pro Marc Goodwin that pitted an online pro against a longtime brick and mortar grinder for the title of EPT Barcelona Season Six Champion.

For the first time in the EPT’s six-year history the Barcelona event did not open the season and that honor was bestowed on the newly added EPT Kiev spot instead. Perhaps because players were fresh off participating in that EPT event, the Barcelona stop saw a significant drop in participants this year, falling from a field of 619 last year to 478 players this year. The 23% decline can also be attributed to a number of major tournaments running in Europe at the same time. The World Poker Tour’s (WPT) newly added international stops at Slovakia and Cyprus both overlapped the Barcelona event and the Partouche Poker Tour is running as well. This is also the first indication that the EPT could potentially suffer the same kind of drop off in numbers that has been occurring Stateside for over a year.

Smaller field aside, the event was still packed with a wealth of talent from the online poker world like newly signed PokerStars Pro and EPT winner Jason Mercier, Lex “RasZi” Veldhuis, Faraz “The-Toliet” Jaka, Joe Serock and November Nine member Joe Cada. The live pros also turned out in full force with Full Tilt Pro Roland de Wolfe, Katja Thater, Freddy Deeb, Daniel Negreanu and “Miami” John Cernuto taking part as well.

As the field dwindled, there were five former EPT champions who all were making a run at another title. De Wolfe, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier Jens Kyllonen, and Jan Boubli and Michael “Timex” McDonald all made it to the final three tables of the event. It was the youngest of the past winners, McDonald, who came the closest to the final table with an 11th place finish. It looked as though this year’s LA Poker Classic winner Cornell Andrew Cimpan was final table bound as well, but he was eliminated shortly after McDonald in 10th place.

While proven champions were falling left and right, Phillips was proving himself as a dangerous and talented young poker player. The American won three satellites into the event and chopped one of the smaller buy-in side events in Barcelona already and his hot streak carried over into the Main Event. His huge bluff with 6-8 against Goodwin’s A-K on an ace high board was the talk of the tournament room as play wound down and the final table was set.

The final table got off to a slow start as the mid-level stacks laid low waiting for the shortest-stacked players to bust. Gergios Kapalas was the first player eliminated, but the next one to fall actually started the day third in chips. Matt Lapossie developed a reputation for relentless aggression during his time in Spain and it was that aggression that led to his demise in 7th place when he shoved all-in holding J-4 to Toni Ojala’s pocket queens.

Local favorite Santiago Terrazas came into the final table with one of the shortest stacks, but he doubled up and picked up enough pots to end up in the final three. A Spanish EPT Barcelona was not in the cards though and his elimination set up the heads-up showdown between Goodwin and Phillips.

After battling back and forth for hours it would be a bluff that kept Goodwin from his first EPT title. Except this time it was Goodwin trying to pull off the semi-bluff while Phillips held top pair. With the board reading K-5-4-Q moved all-in for his last 4 million chips—nearly a million more than what was in the pot—and Phillips agonized over the decision before calling with K-J. Goodwin showed A-10 for a gutshot straight draw and when an ace or jack failed to materialize on the river, Phillips was the new EPT Barcelona Champion.

Here are the complete results from Wednesday’s final table:

1st: Carter Phillips - €850,000
2nd: Marc Goodwin - €530,000
3rd: Santiago Terrazas - €300,000
4th: Mihai Manole - €250,000
5th: Asa Smith - €200,000
6th: Toni Ojala - €160,000
7th: Matt Lapossie - €120,000
8th: Georgios Kapalas - €80,000

Carter Phillips wins EPT Barcelona

There were high hopes for a British win heading into the final table at EPT Barcelona yesterday, with both Marc Goodwin and Asa Smith handily placed to make a run at the title. In the end, the two Englishman came up just short, finishing behind inspired American Carter Phillips.

Carter Phillips (USA) Wins EPT Barcelona

The Final Table of EPT Barcelona is done and Carter Phillips managed to grind through the tough field to win €850.000.

American Carter Phillips was eventually the winner at the PokerStars sponsored EPT Barcelona. He went heads up with the British Marc Goodwin, who was considered to be the favorite to win the tournament.

In the last hand Goodwin got all in with AT at the turn when the board had K54Q, Phillips paid with KJ. The river gave 5 and Phillips won.

Carter Phillips

EPT Barcelona final table and the prizes:

1. Carter Phillips USA, 850 000€

2. Marc Goodwin UK, 530 000€?

3. Santiago Terrazas ESP, 300 000€?

4. Mihai Manole ROM, 250 000€?

5. Asa Smith UK, 200 000€?

6. Toni Ojala FIN, 160 000€?

7. Matt Lapossie CAN, 120 000€?

8. Georgios Kapalas GRE, 80 000€?.

The next event of EPT Season 6 is the EPT London Poker Festival. With 16 events planned - including the £5,300 main event and £20k high roller, EPT London promises to be the biggest series of poker tournaments  ever held in the UK. The festival kicks off September 30, 2009 at Hilton Metropole Hotel.

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Carter Phillips (USA) Wins EPT Barcelona

Isabelle Mercier Got Booted from PokerStars? Michelle Continues With Ultimate Bet

European Poker Tour Barcelona live reporting team revealed that Isabelle Mercier is no longer PokerStars sponsored player.

An EPT live commentator slipped that Mercier is not part of PokerStars anymore. Since the Poker sites are not giving any information about what happens with the deals we can only speculate why she left or got booted. PokerNews reporter did give some information:

“Incidentally, owing to the folks on the live feed and their tendency towards verbal incontinence, it has just now become public knowledge that Isabelle Mercier is leaving Team Pokerstars. The very best of luck to Ms. Mercier in all her future poker endeavors.”

On a sidenote, Tiffany Michelle renewed her contract with Ultimate Bet. No coincidende there that this was revealed after the announcement that she is taking part of Amazing Race with a fellow poker beauty Maria Ho.

Maria Ho and Tiffany Michelle

“I’m happy to be signing on for another year with UltimateBet and I’m eager to get back to playing in live tournaments and exclusively at their online tables,” said Tiffany Michelle. “The corporate team at UB has been so welcoming and supportive and I’m thrilled to be working with them. I can’t wait for the exciting things in store for us.”

Source: Pokerati

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Isabelle Mercier Got Booted from PokerStars? Michelle Continues With Ultimate Bet