Poker News

Pokerstars European Poker Tour Barcelona Final Table: Carter Phillips Wins €850,000

The eight remaining players returned today to see who would be crowned the champion of the 2009 PokerStars.net European Poker Tour Barcelona Main Event. Along with taking home the coveted trophy, the winner would receive a hefty payday to the tune...

Phillips dominates EPT Barcelona

"The feeling is unreal," the North Carolina native said moments after the win. "The whole tournament it felt like any other tournament to me, even when we got heads up. I think once the river hit the deck, all the emotion came in to me at once and I didn't even know how to react.

"It just all hit me at the same time and it's overwhelming, as you can tell from my reaction."

Phillips came in to the final table with the chip lead, although the boisterous Spanish crowd made local Santiago Terrazas the favorite.

Greek player Georgios Kapalas was the first out, shoving short with K Q and failing to improve against a Marc Goodwin ace.

Canadian Matt Lapossie then said goodbye, somehow imploding after coming into the final eight third in chips.

Sixth place was reserved for Finland's Toni Ojala who five-bet shoved in a massive hand after Phillips flatted a raise then four-bet when Ojala bumped it. The young American made the easy call with aces and Ojala's queens were doomed.

Englishman Asa Smith got short doubling up Terrazas, and although he doubled once, he eventually handed the rest of his stack to Phillips when he shoved from the small blind with a dominated ace.

Romania's Mihai Manole held on to his short stack for most of the final table moving up the pay scale.

In the end, his chips went across the line in dominating position over Marc Goodwin before Europe's top player in 2008 sucked out a flush to bust him fourth.

Three handed play was a fairly quick and disappointing affair for the Spanish crowd when Terrazas shoved with a flush draw, Goodwin called with top pair and it held.

Heads-up started right where the final table did, with Phillips holding a comfortable chip lead on Goodwin.

He built it up to 2:1 before a 60-minute dinner break and returned to crush the Englishman into submission soon after.

Quickly becoming a veteran on tour, Phillips has lost pots for the chip lead before bubbling in both San Remo and Monte Carlo during the EPT's fifth season.

He said the win here in Barcelona was a perfect combination of both running and playing better.

"In those past experiences I had made some bad plays and bad calls," he said. "Over aggression was the big factor in those other tournaments as to why I'd lost and I think, in this tournament, I kept to my aggressive style, but it was much more controlled and I didn't do anything stupid to lose huge pots."

Phillips ascended to a spot among the leaders after Day 2, but his rise to fame and glory in Barcelona actually began with a correct call for his tournament life holding just king high on a double-paired board on Day 1.

"That pretty much set me in the zone the whole week; it was huge confidence boost," he said. "After that I was just so confident in my decisions and going with my gut and my reads. That definitely made my tournament."

Overcome by emotion, Phillips said the massive first-place prize and the title will surely change his life.

"I'm sure it will," he said. "It's a huge sum of money, but not only that; having an EPT title and being an EPT champion, that will change it just as much.

"I'm looking forward to seeing what comes."

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Marc Goodwin looking good at final table EPT Barcelona

Marc Goodwin and Asa Smith head the British challenge going into today’s final table at EPT Barcelona. Goodwin, newly sponsored by Littlewoods Poker, is sitting in 2nd place with 3.1m chips, just over 1m behind leader Carter Phillips. Asa Smith, already celebrating his fourth consecutive cash in an EPT event, will be looking for his first big win and with a stack of 1.38m he’s handily placed to do so.

European Poker Tour Barcelona Day 4: Carter Phillips Leads The Final Table

With the field reduced to 23 (five of them former PokerStars EPT champions) before play even began after two players managed to knock themselves out simultaneously on Day 3, Day 4 was always going to be an action-packed affair. When you factor in...

Europe’s best headlines EPT Barcelona final

"I really want to win an EPT; it's really important to me," said veteran UK pro Marc Goodwin.

"I won European player of the year last year and all the rankings, but I didn't win a major competition along the way. I did win the GUKPT Manchester, but it obviously wasn't as big."

To be specific, Goodwin turned the Grosvenor ((UK Poker)) Tour into his personal ATM last year, running deep in countless preliminary tournaments and winning the Manchester main event title, leading to the top spot in the GUKPT Rankings and the prestigious European Rankings.

But despite the fact he has over $1 million in career tournament earnings, a major title has proved elusive for Goodwin thus far, with a third place finish in the 2005 Monte Carlo Millions his best result to date.

To be fair, Goodwin skipped a fair amount of the PokerStars EPT stops over the past few years, but with a sponsorship from Littlewoods Poker and Game On Poker this season, he says he's here to stay.

"I didn't play in a lot of these, to be honest, because the way they structured them all before it was a luckfest," he said.

"One week the postman won, the next week the milkman. It was very rare that you ever saw anyone that you knew on a final table, except in Monte Carlo where you get a 30,000 chip starting stack. They're using that structure everywhere now and that's what brings me back to play."

Although Goodwin will come in second in chips, trailing 20-year-old American chip leader Carter Phillips, he's still incredibly deep and plans to play a patient style.

"In my opinion, if I'm better than the other players, I'd rather play a lot of small pots than gamble a lot and let them get a shot at me," he said. "I'm happy with my big stack. I've taken my chances when I've had a good hand or I've made a move when I felt it was the right time and I'd rather play that way.

"I'd rather play a bunch of small pots than a few big ones where people can get lucky on you and you're suddenly dead."

Goodwin is also counting on years of experience in front of the TV cameras to pay dividends in Barcelona with a final eight that are each making their first EPT final table appearance.

"It is a big advantage, but conversely, it can go against you because [some players] can get brave on TV and make moves they wouldn't normally - hero calls and raises with air," he said. "That can easily go against you, because someone that you might previously have been able to push around a bit, all of the sudden has no fear on TV.

"I've been in this situation hundreds of times. Whether it's in major TV tournaments or live events, I've just been here lots of times. I haven't won a massive one, but I've been around all the best players in the world all the time, so I know what's going on."

The story coming into EPT Barcelona's penultimate day was the presence of five former EPT champs all looking to become the tour's first two-time main event winner.

However, Jan Boubli, Roland de Wolfe, Bertrand Grospellier, Jens Kyllonen, and Mike McDonald were all laid to waste before the final table was set.

In their place, Phillips, Goodwin, Canadian Matt Lapossie, the UK's Asa Smith, local Spaniard Santiago Terrazas, Greece's Georgios Kapalas, Finn Toni Ojala and Romanian Mihai Manole will all be taking their first shot at PokerStars EPT Glory.

To follow the entire EPT Barcelona final table from start to finish, click through to PokerListings' EPT Barcelona Live Updates page beginning at 2 p.m. CEST Wednesday.

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23 Players Remain in EPT Barcelona

After a shockingly quick Day 2, only 72 players remained to fight towards the final table at the PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona leg. Canadian Matt Lapossie held the chip lead, a position he maintained until Georgios Kapalas won a huge pot with the nut straight against top two pair to finish with 1.7m.

PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona Day 3: Georgios Kapalas Leads and Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier Lurks

All of the players marching into Casino Barcelona for Day 3 of the PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona had already accomplished the task of making it into the money. Out of the 72 remaining when the day began, Canadian Matt Lapossie was well...

Five former champs chase EPT double

2009 WSOP final tablist Georgios Kapalas holds the chip lead heading into the tournament's penultimate day.

However, his seat at the eight-person final table is far from guaranteed with former EPT champs Jan Boubli, Roland de Wolfe, Bertrand Grospellier, Jens Kyllonen, and Mike McDonald all breathing down his neck.

De Wolfe, who joined Team PokerStars Pro Gavin Griffin this summer as the only other player to hold EPT, World Poker Tour and World Series of Poker titles, said it's the chance to make history that motivates him to play tournaments in the first place.

"If I wanted to just focus on money I wouldn't come around and play these high variance tournaments, I would just find really big games and play cash all the time," said the 2006 EPT Irish Masters champ.

"Obviously, accomplishing feats that people haven't achieved in poker is really important to me.

"I was the first to win an EPT and a WPT and then the second to win the Triple Crown. Who knows where the game is going to be in 20 years, people might look back and look at us as trailblazers, the same way that people look back on Doyle Brunson today."

Kyllonen, who took down the EPT Scandinavian Open in Copenhagen, Denmark last season, said he'd rather be in De Wolfe's position, but he still relishes the opportunity to become the EPT's first repeat champion.

"I would rather win one of each, the WSOP, WPT and EPT, but I'll take the two EPT's if I win this one," he laughed.

There are two players who have managed to win both an EPT title and an EPT High Roller event - Jason Mercier and Grospellier.

Already considered one of the top tournament players in the world, Grospellier said adding another EPT title to his PokerStars Caribbean Adventure win in 2008 would mean a lot to him.

"If I can win that would be really good," he said. "I know there's still a long way to go, so I'm just trying to stay very focused and hopefully I can be the first to win two EPT's. We'll have to wait and see."

Like the aforementioned Mercier, who made sixth in Barcelona last season just a few months removed from his EPT San Remo win, McDonald had a legitimate shot to become the first multiple EPT main event winner when he came fifth at EPT Dortmund last season, the very same event he won in 2008.

The 19-year-old Canadian said the record didn't necessarily come to mind at the time, but he's definitely aware of it now.

"In Dortmund this year, when I had a close shot, I wasn't really thinking about it, but I was just mentioning to my friend last night that it would be pretty sweet to win two EPT's," he said. "And the way things are going, I don't mind my chances."

Boubli, who won this very event in 2005, is feeling just as confident.

"I want it of course," he said. "And I feel very good about my chances."

Organizers plan to play down from 23 to the eight-person final table Tuesday and PokerListings will be providing live coverage all day on our EPT Barcelona Live Updates page starting at 12:30 p.m. CEST.

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Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier Leads EPT Barcelona Day 2

The PokerStars European Poker Tour enjoyed a very speedy day in Barcelona as 240 players from the two Day 1s returned and were narrowed down to just 72 even before the full six blind levels were completed.

PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona Day 2: Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier Picking Up Steam

The remaining 240 players returned today to continue their quest in the Main Event of the 2009 PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona. It didn't take long for play to get hot and heavy as nearly 100 players were eliminated from action within the...

Chasing the EPT Barcelona crown

By the time play wrapped just 72 players remained, the money bubble had burst and Canadian PokerStars qualifier Matt Lapossie held the chip lead on over 700k.

However, 20-year-old Carter Phillips did hold that spot for most of the day and will return for Day 3 Monday amongst the leaders.

Instead of the standard series of coolers and set-ups a typical rise to EPT glory is usually littered with, Phillips' run has included a river call for his tournament life with just king high.

"I just had a really good read on the guy," he told PokerListings. "The way he was acting led me to believe he really had nothing at all. It just felt right."

Sick call aside, Phillips is hoping his experience on the PokerStars European Poker Tour last season will pay dividends here in Spain.

"I've had some big stacks and I lost pots for the chip lead in Monte Carlo and San Remo, both near the money bubble," he explained.

"So I've had experience with big stacks before and just kind of blew them and I'm hoping that past experience will help me with whatever comes my way here."

26-year-old Matt Woodward took the chip lead early on Day 2 before Phillips, Lapossie and a host of others began to make massive waves.

The Waterboro, Maine native, who finished second at the PokerStars EPT 5 Grand Final this past April, still sits within striking distance and is also hoping experience will help him along the way.

"I've been slowly gaining more and more tournament experience over the past couple of years," he told PokerListings. "The first four or five years of my poker career I was just focusing on Limit Hold'em cash games, so I wasn't giving myself all that many opportunities in tournaments and I was a bit out of my element when I played them.

"I feel like my tournament game has really improved over the last couple of years, as has my overall poker game. I've just kind of become more focused and tried to be as professional about my career as I can."

After following up his Monte Carlo performance with a final table appearance at the 2009 WSOP this summer, Woodward seems poised to take his tournament game to the next level.

"All the tournament experience that I've had and all the time I've spent talking with friends about hands has started to pay off," he explained. "I think I have really improved and I credit a lot of my success to my ability to focus, my desire to win and my competitiveness."

It won't be an easy road for Phillips and Woodward, however.

A host of top pros remain in contention, including Marc Goodwin, Mike "Timex" McDonald, Roland de Wolfe, and Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier.

To follow PokerListings' comprehensive coverage of EPT Barcelona, click through to our Live Tournaments page for Day 3 beginning at 12:30 p.m. CEST Monday when they will play down to the final 24.

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PokerStars EPT — Barcelona Day 2

There is fast, aggressive tournament play, and then there is what took place on day 2 of the 2009 PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona main event. A group of 240 players returned for the day and by the end of the first 75-minute level, 50 of them had already been knocked out. This fast pace kept going until the field

Poker Tournament Trail — Lex Veldhuis

Lex Veldhuis has made a big impression on the PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona from day one. With a stack continuously among chip leaders, and at many points, the chip leader, the young man from the Netherlands changes the pace and style of the game whatever table he is sitting on.

Poker News in Brief: Aug. 31-Sept. 6, 2009

Not only did the 2009 WCOOP, the biggest online tournament series in the world, kick off on Thursday, but the always popular Barcelona stop on the PokerStars EPT began on Friday.

There's always a list of stories that don't make the front page, however, and as part of our ongoing Poker News in Brief feature we've compiled a list of those stories below.

This week we'll take a look at a sweet ride that can be won via a popular poker site, a reason for lumberjacks and hockey players to rejoice and some good news for a poker software company.

Play at ((UltimateBet)), Win a Mercedes

UltimateBet continues to celebrate their 10th anniversary by giving its players a chance to win a brand new Mercedes ML-350 at this year's Aruba Poker Classic.

The Mercedes Giveaway is an exclusive one-table 10-player tournament for UltimateBet players with the winner driving away in a fine piece of German engineering.

There are two ways to participate. Players who haven't already qualified for the 2009 Aruba Poker Classic can pay the $200+$15 buy-in for the Mercedes Satellite on Sept. 27 at 9:30 p.m. ET.

The top five finishers in this No-Limit Hold'em event will win $2,000 towards travel, plus their seat at the Mercedes Giveaway in Aruba on Oct. 8.

Meanwhile players who have already qualified for the Aruba Poker Classic will have the opportunity to play a dedicated $500+$30 satellite at 5:30 ET on Sept. 27. This online qualifier will award the top four players with entry into the Mercedes Giveaway in Aruba. Each seat is valued at $6,200.

Of course that only accounts for eight seats. One UltimateBet player feels so confident about the Mercedes Giveaway that he has already purchased his seat with 1.5 million UltimatePoints.

((Bodog)) coming to Canada, eh!

For years Canadian citizens had to be content with the fact that Bodog was essentially the only online poker room they weren't allowed to play.

That all changed this week.

Bodog officially launched the Canadian version of its site, www.bodog.ca, and it appears that everything is virtually identical to the dot-com.

Canadians can deposit using credit cards and UseMyBank.

Bodog remains one of the only rooms where you can deposit as little as $20.

Good first half for Playtech

According to a story by Reuters, online casino and poker software firm Playtech posted a 33 percent rise in first-half earnings.

Perhaps the biggest boost comes from a joint venture with online poker room William Hill that is starting to gain momentum.

In the past, Playtech has helped develop poker software for rooms like Betfair Poker, Titan Poker, CD Poker and the rest of the iPoker network.

Shares in Playtech have gained 15 percent since reaching an 18-month low in July.

WCOOP breaks records

It's safe to say the 2009 WCOOP has had a fantastic start on PokerStars.

Event 6 $109 No-Limit Hold'em on Saturday garnered the attention of 15,674 players and, in doing so, became the most attended WCOOP of all-time.

The gigantic field of runners created a prize pool of just over $1.5 million and eventual first-place winner vakAAttack took down $183,334.

In other WCOOP news, well-known online player Daniel "djk123" Kelly took down his first WCOOP bracelet in Event 2 $215 Razz on Thursday.

Kelly already had an FTOPS title he claimed in 2008. so this just helps cement his reputation as an elite MTT player.

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PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona Day 1B: Matt Woodward Surges

Day 1B of the PokerStars European Poker Tour in Barcelona saw an upping of the pace as 270 more players came in search of the title. The field was impressively rich with talent, as numerous bracelet holders, high-stakes cash game players and former...

Veldhuis goes vertical at EPT Barcelona

Using the hyper-aggressive style he showed on the recent ESPN WSOP Main Event Day 1a broadcast, he rushed out to a massive chip lead and will look to better his seventh-place finish at the WSOP's $40k anniversary event as the Spanish leg of the EPT moves on.

"I was like 20 minutes late today and when I finally sat down I won big pot after big pot," Veldhuis told PokerListings. "I had a few set ups in my favor, but I did have one that didn't go my way. I ran ace-king into aces, but my sick running hotness evened things out."

Watching Veldhuis play is rarely boring. Known as RaSZi online, he can often be found mixing it up in as many as half a dozen hands an orbit and three betting ultra-light in a fearless attempt to amass a massive stack as quickly as he can.

However, he claims there is a method to his madness.

"It's so table dependant," he explained. "Sometimes I'll do that, but it will have to be at a really tight table where there is a lot of scared money. This table today I've been playing kind of tight. The people at the table are kind of familiar with my style of play, so I cannot play so erratically.

"I have to hope I catch some hands, play a little tighter than they expect, show up with a hand more often and trick them into calling - which was happening a lot more often today."

This bait-and-switch style of poker is something Veldhuis says he's hoping he can learn to do a little more as his career in the game continues.

"I have a lot of self control problems," he explained. "Usually I think I'm going to play really tight because these people know me and then I just go crazy the whole day.

"It's something I should learn and implement in my game more, because when people are familiar with my crazy style, I can tighten up. I guess I'm still learning to do that."

His performance in the WSOP has been discussed ad nauseam on the online poker forums, with Veldhuis being vilified for raising with any two and showing a number of massive bluffs.

But, again, despite the fact it appeared like uncontrollable aggression, Veldhuis says it was all a part of a plan.

"I really think the reason I could keep bluffing was because I kept showing the bluffs," he said. "They were thinking I wouldn't do it again and they kept folding.

"I really think I coerced them into folding by showing the bluffs. I think if I wouldn't have shown any bluffs I would have gotten called more in the end.  People get curious."

And as far as those who disagreed with his cocky style are concerned, Veldhuis is less than concerned.

"It doesn't really matter if people agree or disagree with my style," he said. "When people say nice stuff it's good to hear, when they say bad stuff that's their opinion. But it is kind of strange when they call me a douche bag or a scum bag."

Like him or not, when Veldhuis builds a big stack early in a tournament like he has here at EPT Barcelona, he's a dangerous player.

"When I have a 100,000 chip stack I feel like I can have a 30,000 chip buffer and still have a better than average stack if I lose it," he said.

"So I have like 30,000 to play around with. When it's done I'll play a little tighter, but until then I try and put a lot of pressure on people and I seek out the people that also have big stacks, because they won't really want to get it in with me in a marginal spot.

"The bigger the stack, the bigger the pressure, because you can basically knock anyone out."

Veldhuis' run at EPT Barcelona glory will continue Sunday at 12:30 p.m. CEST and PokerListings will have comprehensive coverage on our Live Tournaments page.

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Olympic gold medalist trades sticks for stacks

After a storied career that included two more Olympic medals and a World Cup championship over 191 career International matches, it was time to hang up her stick.

Like a lot of former athletes, Moreira de Melo was left craving the competition and one year later, she's found it in the game of poker.

"I do think there are a lot of similarities between sports and poker," the newest Team PokerStars SportsStar told PokerListings on Day 1b of PokerStars EPT Barcelona. "It's about competing and I'm still very competitive."

Moreira de Melo has actually been playing poker for the past four years at home games with friends.

So when PokerStars called to invite her to join the newly created Team PokerStars SportsStars with the likes of tennis-legend Boris Becker, Swedish hockey star Mats Sundin, French rugby player Sebastien Chabal and Finnish powerboat racer Sami Selio, it appeared to be a perfect fit.

"I was already playing quite a bit in home games with friends and last year PokerStars called and asked if I was interested in poker and I was like, 'Hell yeah, I really love poker.'" she explained. "I told them I love the game, but I want to get proper training and get really good.

"Right now poker has the same spot in my life that hockey had in the past. I'm going to do things on the side like acting and presenting, but this is my main focus and if I want to do something good, I have to do it right."

Doing it right for Moreira de Melo meant getting some extensive training from long-time friend and Dutch Team PokerStars Pro Lex Veldhuis, who final tabled the $40k anniversary event at the 2009 WSOP.

The former face of Rabobank in the Netherlands, Moreira de Melo also spends a lot of time discussing strategy with her boyfriend, Raemon Sluiter, a former pro tennis player who shares her love for the game.

But the competitive edge she brings to the felt is all her own.

"If you are playing in a field hockey game competing at the Olympics your adrenaline is at a constant high," she said. "In poker you have moments where your adrenaline rush comes up, then fades away a little bit and comes back up again. At least that's how it works for me. It's more of a roller coaster.

"In hockey I was really comfortable, I was really used to the game and this is newer to me. But there are certain similarities, like knowing your opponent and wanting to beat him. The competitiveness is really nice for me because that's what I missed in my life when I left hockey and that's what I'm getting now."

Although she went broke in the early levels on Day 1b running jacks into kings, Moreira de Melo is hoping her competitive spirit and love for the game will translate into success in poker and that success will help grow the game in the Netherlands, where she is already a national hero.

"It's a bit of a shock to people at first because I am a woman and I used to be the face of a bank, but I just really love the game and that's my reason for playing poker," she said.

"I hope that I can inspire people to look at it the same way and just to try it out and have a nice time with it."

To follow PokerListings' comrehensive coverage of EPT Barcelona, hit up our Live Tournaments page.

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PokerStars EPT — Barcelona Day 1B

Day 1B at the 2009 PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona main event saw a group of 271 players take their seats. This was a larger number than the 208 that were in action on day 1A, but the final field size of 479 players is down substantially from last year, when 619 players played in Barcelona. This represents

Poker Tournament Trail — Brandon Schaefer

It’s day 2A of the PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona and the chip leaders of the day are starting to come to the fore. Although, anything can change as, at time of writing, we are only just over the half-way mark. One of the players enjoying the upper planes of the chip leader board is Brandon Schaefer. This young gun

PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona Day 1A: Diego Arias Rodriguez Holds the Lead

After what we understand was weeks of beautiful, baking sunshine in the historic and picturesque city of Barcelona, Day 1a of the PokerStars.com EPT Barcelona was an absolute washout, as far as the weather went. Rain bucketed down on the city and...

Margets targets EPT Barcelona

"I have to say that when I was in Vegas I thought it would be a nice prize and my life would be almost the same," Leo Margets told PokerListings during a break on Day 1a at the Casino Barcelona.

"It's not been like this at all. It has been good, but quite unexpected."

Bombarded with press requests, tournaments, cash game invites and more since her 27th-place finish this summer, Margets now finds herself living life in the spotlight.

"I was not so aware of it when I was in Vegas because I was so focused and not really influenced by what was happening in Spain," she said.

"When I came back here I realized it was huge. Not only the poker community, but most of the general media had an interest in what happened and that put poker closer to the general population.

"It's good for me, but also good for poker in Spain."

While Barcelona has always been one of the most popular stops on the PokerStars European Poker Tour, the interest in high-stakes tournaments amongst Spaniards has been traditionally low.

In fact, of the 207 players who jumped in the fray on Day 1a in Barcelona Friday, only 15 were Spanish.

Margets, who became the highest-grossing woman in WSOP Main Event history with her $352,832 cash this summer, attributes the low Spanish turnout to the €8,000 buy-in.

"It's expensive for a lot of Spanish players," she said. "Unless you qualify, it's not the kind of tournament a lot of Spanish players can play out of their bankroll."

But despite the lack of Spanish interest in the EPT, it appears the game is growing by leaps and bounds in the Western European country.

Casino Barcelona tournament coordinator Sylvie Belanger said its weekly €50 and €100 tournaments used to draw around 50 players. Now they consistently sell out, breaking a record for entrants just this past weekend at 190 players.

"Every year we see more and more Spanish players," Belanger said. "And it's still growing."

Casino Barcelona will continue to play host to large scale high-stakes tournaments to try and draw the International poker community to the banks of the Mediterranean Sea,  including the upcoming €1,500 Full Tilt Poker Series this October - the very same tournament series where Margets managed a sixth-place finish on the Malaga leg last month.

However, in Spain's current economic climate, Belanger said the casino has no plans to raise the buy-ins for its weekly tournaments, choosing instead to continue to grow the game organically using what amounts to introductory tournament pricing.

Margets agrees with the philosophy.

"It's important to give players tournaments that they can afford so that they can build confidence," she said. "No one is going to try an EPT for their first event."

Margets expects the interest in her historic Main Event run to continue to have a positive effect on poker in Spain, but here in Barcelona for her first-ever EPT, she is a little more focused on what the experience has done for her personally.

"Believing more in your reads is something that's very important and I needed to improve on that," she said. "The Vegas experience, not just the Main Event, but the whole month I spent there really helped.

"I think the Main Event was the culmination of a lot of training. As I always say, I went to Vegas to get a Masters in poker and it paid off."

To follow Margets' progress and PokerListings' comprehensive coverage of EPT Barcelona, check out our Live Tournaments page.

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PokerStars EPT — Barcelona Day 1A

Day 1A at the 2009 PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona stop produced a small field of 208 players. Many players chose not to play in the first flight of the tournament; so many more are expected to flood Casino Barcelona tomorrow. The final number tomorrow will determine if this event can match the 619

Poker Tournament Trail — Sebastian Ruthenberg

What could be better than winning a PokerStars European Poker Tour event in Barcelona, with the sun splitting the trees, and more than $1.9 million dollars added to your bank account. Perhaps winning the same event one year later? There’s nothing more any poker player or enthusiast dreams of than successfully

EPT Barcelona starts today

Barcelona is the latest stop on the European Poker Tour and the Catalan capital looks set to attract some the top names in the game. A host of former EPT and WSOP bracelet winners will be trying to emulate Sebastian Ruthenberg who won the title last year.

Mercier hunts third EPT in Barcelona

Traditionally marking the beginning of the EPT season, the Spanish leg of the tour actually comes as the second stop here in season six, following August's EPT Kyiv.

Always one of the EPT's most popular tournaments, PokerStars is expecting as many as 700 players to descend upon the beachfront Casino Barcelona for the event.

Last year, Team PokerStars Germany's Sebastian Ruthenberg followed up his 2008 WSOP Stud Hi-Lo bracelet win by taking down the title and €1,361,000 first-place prize.

It was no easy feat, considering the final table featured fellow 2008 WSOP bracelet winner Davidi Kitai and EPT 4 San Remo champ Jason Mercier, who had a shot to become the EPT's first multiple title holder at the final.

"It became a personal goal when I found out going into Day 3 last year that no one had ever won two EPT titles," Mercier told PokerListings.

"I was very frustrated with my sixth-place finish last year, especially with how certain hands played out when we were nine-handed. Luckily I was able to ship the High Rollers in EPT London to become the first to ever win two.

"Obviously, Elky [Bertrand Grospellier] won the High Rollers at the PCA to become the second to do it, but that gives me some added motivation to become the first one to win three."

With Mercier out sixth and Kitai third, Ruthenberg took a 5:1 chip lead into heads-up and made quick work of Ireland's Fintan Gavin to book the win.

With a slew of poker's best players in Spain for the event, a repeat for Ruthenberg should prove difficult.

But, with a three way chop in a preliminary event already under his belt at Casino Barcelona, Mercier feels good about his own chances.

"I feel great coming into Barcelona this year," he said. "I hadn't played live in almost two months, which is the longest break I've had from live poker in 18 months.

"I'm really looking forward to the Main Event and hope I continue to play well and run good."

To follow all the action from Barcelona, check out PokerListings' Live Tournaments page.

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European Poker Tour — Barcelona Main Event Begins Friday

It has arrived. And we are there to give you news and live updates, as they happen. Day 1A at the PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona main event will begin at 12:30 p.m. CEST (4:30 a.m. PDT) in Spain on Friday, Sept. 4. The no-limit hold’em tournament features an €8,000 buy-in, and there will be two

Jelassi books IPT win

"Easy game," the RedKings Team Pro said. "I had queens as my best hand yesterday, which I lost, never any aces or kings. I owned them all the way and had a little bit of luck on the final table when I won the important all-in situations."

A total of 368 players entered IPT San Remo 2 creating a €713,920 prize pool.

After two days of play Jelassi took the chip lead into Sunday's otherwise all-Italian final table.

The biggest hand at the tournament came with Jelassi all in heads-up against Andrea Sapere.

Jelassi flopped a set of fours against Sapere´s ace-seven grabbing 90% of the chips in play.

The title was his just two hands later when Jelassi's king-seven connected against Sapere's queen-ten.

"We know what Ramzi is capable of and this win was definitely in the cards," added RedKings Live Events Manager Jerry Land.

"It is not often a player gets such a golden opportunity as Ramzi had for the final day, but he also dominated the final table with good solid poker in the typical aggressive Ramzi Jelassi style."

Like most of the European poker world, EPT Barcelona is next on the schedule for Jelassi, beginning Sept. 4.

The next IPT event will be held at the Perla Casino in Nova Gorica, Slovenia Oct. 8-12 with a similar €2000+€200 buy-in.

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Card Player Cruises Releases 2009-2010 Schedule

Starting in November, Card Player Cruises will return to the high seas aboard the 138,000 ton Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines’ Explorer of the Seas. Destinations over the next year for the cruising company include Alaska, the Mediterranean, and Mexico.

The nine-night Canada and New England Fall Foliage cruise will depart from Cape Liberty Cruise Port in New Jersey in November and steam up the eastern seaboard of the United States. Ports of call include Portland, Bar Harbor, Saint John, Halifax, and Boston and the cruise starts at $550 per person. Card Player Cruises partner and Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Linda Johnson commented in a press release distributed by the travel company, “This trip will feature some of the most spectacular scenery on the Eastern Seaboard. There’s no better time to visit this region than in the fall, when the foliage stands out in every imaginable color.”

Besides the fall foliage outside of the ship, the other main attraction on the November cruise will be its poker room. $100 to $200 buy-in poker tournaments will abound, with private seminars and free poker lessons also taking place. In addition, the press release notes, “Passengers can play as much or as little as they want during the week.” The Explorer of the Seas also features a rock-climbing wall, ice skating rink, miniature golf course, basketball court, disco, spa, fitness center, pools, Jacuzzis, and shops. In addition, what would a cruise be without a parade of food?

Here is the upcoming schedule for Card Player Cruises:

Canada and New England Fall Foliage nine-night cruise – October 15, 2009
Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas
Departs from Cape Liberty Cruise Port, Bayonne, New Jersey

Mexican Riviera seven-night cruise – November 15, 2009
Royal Caribbean’s Mariner
Departs from Los Angeles, California

Western Caribbean seven-night cruise – March 7, 2010
Royal Caribbean’s Voyager
Departs from Galveston, Texas

Mediterranean Venice 12-night cruise – May 15, 2010
Royal Caribbean’s Brilliance
Departs from Barcelona, Spain

Alaska seven-night cruise – August 27, 2010
Royal Caribbean’s Rhapsody
Departs from Seattle, Washington

Eastern Caribbean seven-night cruise – September 25, 2010
Royal Caribbean’s Oasis
Departs from Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Mexican Riviera seven-night cruise – December 5, 2010
Royal Caribbean’s Mariner
Departs from Los Angeles, California

The poker room closes while the ship is parked in port and opens while the vessel is out in the open water. Card Player Cruises customers make up between 25% and 40% of the total number of passengers onboard, so traditional cruising activities still occur day and night. In order to play poker, Card Player Cruises guests must be at least 18 years-old, while some special events, such as the PartyPoker Million, feature a different age requirement.

Besides tournaments, each ship’s poker room hosts a wide variety of cash games, ranging from limits of $1/$2 to $30/$60. Customers with children are more than welcome to participate as well. Card Player Cruises explains, “There are extensive programs for children that provide entertainment for the kids from morning until night. Some of the activities are scavenger hunts, arts and crafts, talent shows, pizza parties, disco parties, trips to the spa/gym, video games, etc. Children are able to sail at reduced rates on most cruise lines.”

Prices for the above schedule vary between $448 per person and $1,719 per person. The cost covers food, cabin, nightly entertainment, and use of the ship’s amenities. According to Johnson, the majority of players who board a Card Player Cruise are recreational and several are celebrating milestones like birthdays and anniversaries. Players can call 888-999-4880 for additional information and to book passage.

PokerNews Jet Set: Barcelona

Barcelona is one of the most exciting destinations you’ll find on the international tournament circuit and from September 4 through 9, 2009, the European Poker Tour is returning there for the sixth year in a row to host the EPT Barcelona Open.

PokerStars inks Cada to Main Event deal

According to Cada's agents, Top Set Player Management, the 21-year-old from Michigan's Shelby Township will represent the site at the final table Nov. 7.

"I'm proud to have been chosen to represent PokerStars; their reputation and prestige are second to none," Cada said. "I look forward to bringing even more accolades to their already decorated team."

Cada, who wore Ultimate Bet patches the day the final table was set, currently sits fifth in chips with 13.2 million.

Should he go on to win the 2009 Main Event, he would surpass 2008 champion and Team PokerStars Pro Peter Eastgate as the youngest player ever to win the WSOP Main Event.

Cada played at the WPT Legends of Poker last week and told PokerListings he plans to play at least EPT Barcelona and the WSOPE in advance of the Main Event final.

"I'm just going to continue to play and go to a bunch of tournaments trying to stay sharp," he said.

November Niners Eric Buchman (2nd in chips) and Kevin Schaffel (6th in chips) will also represent PokerStars at the final table.

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