Poker News

Team PokerStars Online Announced

After 2,000 online poker players sent in applications to become members of Team PokerStars Online, the group’s 23 inaugural players were announced on Wednesday, just in time for the holidays.

Eighteen countries are represented among the 23 founding members of Team PokerStars Online. Those on the list include Steve Jacobs, known in online poker circles simply as “stevesbets.” The poker player is perhaps best known for winning the 2008 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) $25,000 buy-in Heads-Up event for a staggering $560,000. Also in the mix is Thomas “Boku87” Boekhoff, who was involved in a challenge of his own on the world’s largest online poker site to turn a $5 bankroll into $100,000. Boekhoff is one of the world’s premier grinders, but he’s also had success in the brick-and-mortar poker scene, including a 14th place at the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) Monte Carlo Grand Final in 2008.

Grayson “spacegravy” Physioc is another member of Team PokerStars Online. He’s a former winner of the site’s high-stakes $200 rebuy and recently finished as the runner-up in the PokerStars $10,000 Guaranteed for $11,000. Many will remember Nichoel Peppe from her deep run in the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, where she took 75th place for $69,000. Known in the online world as “NicP,” the favorite of ESPN’s Main Event coverage now takes per place among the team of PokerStars-backed online poker pros.

Anders “Donald” Berg finished 37th in the 2008 EPT Monte Carlo Grand Final and took down an event held as part of the Irish Winter Festival of Poker in 2005. In November, he won the PokerStars $100 rebuy for $26,000 and, one month prior, took down the site’s $50,000 Guaranteed for $15,000. Berg hails from Norway and is a veteran of the poker industry. You can find him roving the virtual felts of PokerStars as an online team member.

To say that Team PokerStars Online constitutes an eclectic group would be an understatement. Here are its inaugural members, listed alphabetically: Andres Alisievicz (lobojiji), Jorge Arias (JorgeArias), Boumaaza Bachir (Chiren80), Anders Berg (Donald), Alvaro Blanco (VARICO), Thomas Boekhoff (Boku87), Diego Brunelli (vgreen22), Andre Coimbra (acoimbra), Mathew Didlick (chipstar1), Ta-Chih Geeng (socutiesf), Andrew Goetsch (Kid Nebraska), Martha Gonzalez (marene), Keiran Harris (K_Man2307), Steve Jacobs (stevesbets), Randy Lew (nanonoko), Karlo Lopez (elmagopr), Alexey Makarov (LuckyGump), Kristian Martin (CharismA3), Grzegorz Mikielewicz (DaWarsaw), Nichoel Peppe (NicP), Grayson Physioc (spacegravy), Sebastien Sabic (Seb86), and Amanda Thomas (ROXY24).

A press release distributed by PokerStars on Wednesday reveals that Team PokerStars Online will receive new members in 2010. In addition, modifications to the software client’s lobby will allow easier location of PokerStars-sponsored pros when they hop online. A range of games and stakes are represented in the Team PokerStars Online roster.

This weekend, just two days after Christmas, PokerStars is hosting a Guinness World Record attempt for the largest online poker tournament in history. The standing mark is 65,000, set by PokerStars in July, and the site has upped the ante this time around. The record-setting $1 buy-in tournament will kick off at 14:45 ET on Sunday and feature $300,000 in the prize pool. The event will take on a turbo format and first place may see as much as $50,000 come their way for their $1 investment.

PokerStars is the world’s largest online poker site, with a seven-day running average of 28,400 real money ring game players, according to PokerScout.com. During its peak hours, which occur in the evening throughout North America, nearly 50,000 cash game players call the site home. PokerStars happily accepts real money wagers from the United States and is based in the Isle of Man.

EPT Headed to Berlin

Replacing the tour’s annual pilgrimage to Dortmund, Germany the EPT announced this week a €5,000+300 Berlin event will be held March 2-7, 2010.

“We are excited to be making our first stop in the beautiful city of Berlin,” said PokerStars EPT CEO John Duthie.

The Marlene-Dietrich-Platz at Potsdamer Platz, a two-story glass palace with enough space for 1,000 players being built especially for the EPT, will play host to the event.

A variety of side events will also be played at the venue starting on the third day of the tournament.

With up to 1,000 players expected, including tennis legend and Team PokerStars SportStar Boris Becker and all of Team PokerStars Germany – including Berlin native and Season 5 EPT Germany winner Sandra Naujoks, the tournament should break records as the largest ever held in Germany.

Plus, a €1 million guaranteed first-place prize should attract poker’s elite.

Next up for the EPT is the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure held in the Bahamas Jan. 4–14.

The tour has planned stops in Deauville from Jan. 20–25 and Copenhagen Feb. 16-21 before heading to Berlin.

The PokerStars European Poker Tour is headed to Berlin and guaranteeing a massive €1 million first-place prize to the winner there.

Replacing the tour’s annual pilgrimage to Dortmund, Germany the EPT announced this week a €5,000+300 Berlin event will be held March 2-7, 2010.

 

“We are excited to be making our first stop in the beautiful city of 

Berlin,” said PokerStars EPT CEO John Duthie.

The prestigious Marlene-Dietrich-Platz at Potsdamer Platz, a two-story glass palace with enough space for 1,000 players being built especially for the EPT, will play host to the event.

A variety of side events will also be played at the venue starting on the third day of the tournament. 

 

With up to 1,000 players expected, including tennis legend and Team PokerStars SportStar Boris Becker and all of Team PokerStars Germany – including Berlin native and Season 5 EPT Germany winner Sandra Naujoks, the tournament should break records as the largest ever held in Germany.

Plus, a €1 million guaranteed first-place prize should attract poker’s elite.

 

Next up for the EPT is the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure held in the Bahamas Jan. 4–14.

The tour has planned stops in Deauville from Jan. 20–25 and Copenhagen Feb. 16-21 before heading to Berlin.

Top Ten Poker Events of the Decade: Part 2

We’ve reviewed half of the top ten poker events of the soon-to-be-completed decade. Now, let’s take a look at the top five events that have shaped the game as we know it during the past ten years.

5. Taking America’s Game to the World

As the middle of the decade approached, poker, and more particularly tournament poker, was still primarily an American pastime. With the introduction of the European Poker Tour (EPT) in 2004, the rest of the world increased its awareness of the game. Like its predecessors in the United States in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) and World Poker Tour (WPT), the EPT brought the game to a new audience and further heightened the “poker boom.”

The EPT, developed by the online poker giant PokerStars, started small in 2004 with only seven events on its schedule. By the time it was in its fourth year, the EPT had grown to 11 tournaments with buy-ins that rivaled its brethren in the U.S. and had proved that a poker tournament schedule outside of the United States could be tremendously successful. It also led to the creation of many of the international tournament schedules that exist today, including the Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT), Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT), and Grosvenor U.K. Poker Tour (GUKPT).

4. Poker Faces its Strongest Challenge, the UIGEA

The steamroller that online poker had become would, in 2006, face its strongest challenge ever. Passed through the halls of Congress in the United States as a rider to a key port security bill, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) threatened to kill the growth of online poker just as it was reaching its pinnacle. Since that time, the poker world has, at the minimum, reached a plateau.

While many inaccurately suggest that the UIGEA makes online poker illegal in the United States, the bill successfully scared many people who would either enter into the game or who had played it. It also had a significant effect on many poker tournaments in the United States; the WSOP Main Event has never returned to its peak numbers of 2006 and other poker tours have either seen a drop in the number of entrants or no growth.

3. Lights, Camera, Action… Poker Comes to Television

Turning on the television at the start of the decade to watch poker was literally impossible. The 2000 and 2001 WSOP Main Events were filmed as documentary-style broadcasts instead of an actual sporting event and appeared on the Discovery Channel. There were no other poker television broadcasts that could be found.

Perhaps sensing the coming wave, ESPN bought the rights to the television broadcasts of the WSOP and, in 2002, presented a more sports-friendly coverage of the tournament series. In 2003, ESPN expanded even further, covering preliminary events and dedicating extensive coverage to the Main Event. After the “Moneymaker Effect” of that year and the ensuing “poker boom,” ESPN has stuck with the WSOP and, in 2009, signed an extension of its broadcast contract with Harrah’s that ensures the WSOP will be on ESPN airwaves well into the next decade.

Add into the mix the wealth of celebrity poker shows, the debut of “High Stakes Poker” on GSN, and network television’s continued dalliance with the game and there is now poker on the “idiot box” at all hours of the day.

2. World Poker Tour Comes into Existence

In 2002, the entrepreneurial minds of Steve Lipscomb and Lyle Berman convinced the Travel Channel to sign on to an innovative idea of a worldwide poker tour, much like what professional golf has. Their creation, the WPT, took viewers to exotic locales that people might never have a chance to experience. In coordination with these picturesque areas, the broadcast of high-stakes poker tournaments captivated audiences. When it hit the airwaves, the WPT forever changed what had once been the exclusive world of high-stakes gambling.

In the eight years since it first was broadcast, the WPT has not only made poker players household names, but also created the first exposure to poker that many people had experienced. The WPT has also created many new millionaires from previously unknown poker players and pointedly exposed the strategy of the game through the innovative “hole card” camera. Without the creation of the camera, it is entirely likely that the WPT would have never seen the light of day.

1. The Birth of Online Poker

In 2000, there were literally only a handful of poker rooms in existence and, with a few exceptions, none of them made an impact on the world of poker. As more poker rooms opened, more people became accepting of a virtual “poker world.” As internet connections became more reliable, the online poker world was the major impetus for many to enter into any involvement with the sport.

As of 2009, there are hundreds of online poker rooms with tentacles that reach every corner of the globe. Poker enthusiasts can now hook into the internet and play with millions of like-minded people at any time, day or night. Add into the online poker room explosion the wealth of poker training sites, forums, and news outlets and it is easy to see that, without the internet and online poker, we may never have seen the renaissance in the first decade of the 21st century.

PokerStars UKIPT Kicks Off

The four-day tournament, running until Dec. 14, drew players from 22 countries, including 104 online qualifiers.

“Given it's the first event of a brand new tour, it is really exciting that so many players have qualified for the event and from so many countries,” said newly named UKIPT host and veteran European Poker Tour commentator Nick Wealthall.

“As the tour becomes established and builds its reputation, we look forward to welcoming more and more new players to big time live poker.”

Team PokerStars Pros John Duthie, J.P. Kelly, and Jude Ainsworth joined a field that included 147 players from Ireland and a total of 52 from the United Kingdom.

The group is vying for a piece of a €471,400 prize pool, including €125k for first.

Galway is the first of eight stops on the newly launched UKIPT. The tour will also visit Manchester, Nottingham, Killarney, Brighton, a city yet to be named in Scotland, Dublin and London, where the PokerStars EPT London main event will act as the Grand Final next October.

More on the tour can be found on the UKIPT website.

The PokerStars UK and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT) kicked off in Galway, Ireland Friday, drawing 259 players for its €2,000 Main Event.

The four-day tournament, running until Dec. 14, drew players from 22 countries, including 104 online qualifiers.

“Given it's the first event of a brand new tour, it is really exciting that so many players have qualified for the event and from so many countries,” said newly named UKIPT host and veteran European Poker Tour commentator Nick Wealthall.

“As the tour becomes established and builds its reputation, we look forward to welcoming more and more new players to big time live poker.”

Team PokerStars Pros John Duthie, J.P. Kelly, and Jude Ainsworth joined a field that included 147 players from Ireland and a total of 52 from the United Kingdom.

The group is vying for a piece of a €471,400 prize pool, including €125k for first.

Galway is the first of eight stops on the newly launched UKIPT. The tour will also visit Manchester, Nottingham, Killarney, Brighton, a city yet to be named in Scotland, Dublin and London, where the PokerStars EPT London main event will act as the Grand Final next October.

Rousso Books Bootcamp Dates

"My biggest passion outside of playing poker is in teaching poker strategy,” Rousso said. “I love watching that light bulb go off in my students' minds when they discover something new."

While attending the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure at Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas, Rousso also plans to launch her 2010 Boot Camp schedule with a "Strategy Symposium Under the Sun" set for Jan. 10.

Following the PCA, the 2009 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship runner-up will head to Biloxi, Mississippi where she will then host a two-day "Poker Tournament Theory Boot Camp & Tournament" Jan. 22 at the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino.

The past 12 months have been huge for the 27-year-old Rousso, as she upped her career earnings to over $4 million, was featured in a two-page spread in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition, and signed on as the newest spokeswoman for GoDaddy.com.

In addition to her deep run at the NBC Heads-Up Championship, Rousso also booked her biggest career win taking down the PokerStars European Poker Tour High Roller Event in Monte Carlo for $940,000 this past April.

Now she claims to have developed a poker boot camp curriculum allowing participants to learn high-level poker strategy and game theory in an interactive learning environment that incorporates learn-by doing simulations and educational sessions.

Rousso says one of her biggest thrills is watching her teaching techniques put into action.

"It is very exciting when their confidence level improves as a result of implementing what they have learned at my bootcamp,” she said. “One of my students raked in $40,000 at the Main Event during the World Series of Poker!"

Jan Skampa Wins EPT Prague; Becomes First Czech EPT Champ

Hometown hero Jan Skampa took down the Main Event of the European Poker Tour (EPT) Prague stop, banking €682,000. Skampa is a 23 year-old economics student at St. Charles University in Prague and became the first Czech champion in EPT history.

A total of 584 players turned out for the EPT Prague Main Event, which came with a €5,250 price tag. The event’s central location attracted a truly diverse international field, as seven countries were represented at the eight-handed final table. Among those at the feature table was Team PokerStars Pro member Luca Pagano, who finished in sixth place for an even €100,000. In October, Pagano final tabled the EPT Warsaw Main Event to the tune of over $100,000, one of his four EPT feature table appearances in 2009. Pagano has 13 in the money showings in EPT events.

Following his monumental win, Skampa told PokerStars officials, “It feels great to win. It’s my fourth EPT and I won it in my home town – that must be one of the greatest accomplishments you can have in poker. It was tough when we were three-handed, but once Stefan Mattsson was out, I felt confident I could win.” Here were the final results from the 2009 running of EPT Prague:

1. Jan Skampa (Czech Republic) – €682,000
2. Eyal Avitan (Israel) – €454,000
3. Stefan Mattsson (France) – €255,000
4. Anthony Roux (Czech Republic) – €171,000
5. Larry Ryan (Ireland) – €135,000
6. Luca Pagano (Italy) – €100,000
7. Gustav Ekerot (Sweden) – €71,000
8. Sven Eichelbaum (Germany) – €55,500

This was the third running of EPT Prague, which debuted during the fourth season of the EPT with Arnaud Mattern emerging victorious from a field of 555 runners. Last year, Italian poker player Salvatore Bonavena took home the crown after besting a group of 570 poker players. Attendance at the Czech event has increased gradually each year, as this season’s crop of 584 players represented a 2% increase year over year.

In the defining hand of heads-up play, which ran for three hours, Eyal Avitan pushed all-in with J-9 and Skampa woke up with pocket jacks. The dominating hand held and Skampa was crowned the 2009 EPT Prague champion, sending the hometown fans into a frenzy. Avitan sent Stefan Mattsson packing after he flopped a straight with J-10 against Mattsson’s Q-10. The fourth place finisher at EPT Prague, Anthony Roux, hit the rails after coming out on the short end of a race with pocket tens against Avitan’s A-K.

Larry Ryan, a PokerStars qualifier, hit the skids in fifth after running pocket jacks into Mattsson’s pocket aces. Ryan, who also qualified via PokerStars for the upcoming Caribbean Adventure, could not overcome being a 4:1 underdog and earned €135,000. Pagano’s EPT Prague title hopes were dashed when his A-J could not draw out on Mattsson’s pocket queens.

Next up for Season 6 of the PokerStars-sponsored EPT is the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, which takes place from January 4th to 14th at the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort in the Bahamas. The tournament marks the EPT’s only trip to the Western Hemisphere in a joint event with the Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT). In 2009, Canadian Poorya Nazari took home a massive $3 million grand prize from the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, which attracted a record-setting 1,347 players. In side tournament action, Team PokerStars Pro member and former Main Event champion Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier took down the $25,000 High Roller contest.

The PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event comes with a $10,300 price tag. Side festivities include battleship events, ladies only events, and tournaments in Omaha, Eight Game, and Badugi.

Poker Featured in Season Finale of Amazing Race

Sunday night marked the season finale of the 15th cycle of the CBS Emmy Award winning reality series “Amazing Race.” Eliminated contestants Maria Ho and Tiffany Michelle were featured, as was a crazy game of poker.

After departing from Prague in the Czech Republic, the final three “Amazing Race” teams headed to Las Vegas, Nevada, the Mecca for poker players around the world. After completing tasks at the Mandalay Bay and Mirage resorts, teams were told to find “the most famous casino in Monaco,” which any poker player could tell you is the Monte Carlo. The home of the annual end-of-season European Poker Tour Grand Final, the Monte Carlo’s U.S. version played host to the final challenge in this cycle of the top-tier reality franchise.

Team has to stack $1 million in poker chips from a table of 8,400 assorted denominations. Dating couple Meghan and Cheyne arrived at the Monte Carlo after inadvertently heading to the Venetian and began furiously stacking the table’s red chips, representing the largest denomination on the table at $1,000. The duo stacked groups of 25, while at the same time, married couple Brian and Ericka and brothers Sam and Dan took a similar approach. After tackling the red poker chips, the squads then piled up the black chips, worth $500 each.

Meghan and Cheyne were the first to complete the task and received their next clue, instructing them to head to the MGM Grand High Roller suite, where “Mr. Las Vegas” would great them. Not knowing who that moniker referred to, the couple asked players in the poker room which personality they could expect to meet. The answer: Wayne Newton. There, Newton revealed that the finish line for the “Amazing Race” was at his ranch, Casa de Shenandoah.

At the finish line were none other than Michelle and Ho, who took sixth this season after being eliminated in the Netherlands. The duo were close with Sam and Dan throughout much of the race and their heroes ultimately took second, with Meghan and Cheyne crossing the finish line first and winning the $1 million grand prize. Michelle appeared teary-eyed after watching Sam and Dan cross the finish time and both women came clad in purple. Michelle and Ho represent the runners-up in the 2008 and 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Events, respectively.

Michelle was an active person on Twitter this evening as the “Amazing Race” season finale unfolded. Upon seeing that the final task was to stack poker chips, she commented, “Amazig Race season finale: Vegas… Poker chips… Ugg, I hate my life!” Echoing her emotions at the end of the season, Michelle noted via Twitter, “I don’t want to give anything away about Amazing Race for the West Coast… But I’m sobbing, in tears right now at the end of the episode!” Michelle then added that she was off to the “Amazing Race” after party.

No poker players have been spotted on the 16th season of “Amazing Race,” whose filming is currently underway. Rumored contestants include Jordan Lloyd and Jeff Schroeder from “Big Brother” season 11 and 2007 Miss Teen South Carolina Caitlin Upton and her boyfriend. Upton provided one of the most memorable quotes of 2007 when she referred to “the Iraq” and “U.S. Americans” during the Miss Teen USA pageant. No airdate for the 16th season of “Amazing Race” has been announced.

Michelle is a card-carrying member of Team UB.com, whose stable of pros also includes “Celebrity Apprentice” runner-up Annie Duke, Phil Hellmuth, and “Poker2Nite” Host Joe Sebok. The show airs on CBS and held the 8:00pm ET Sunday night time slot.

European Poker Tour Prague: Jan Skampa Wins Trophy, Cash and EPT GF Seat

Hometown Hero Wins EPT Prague

Just a few weeks removed from his first PokerStars European Poker Tour final table in Portugal, Jan Skampa won his first title, taking down EPT Prague in his hometown.

“It feels great,” Skampa said, moments after booking the win and an €682,000 first-place prize.

“It’s just my fourth EPT and I win an EPT in my hometown. It’s one of the greatest accomplishments in poker one can have.”

With 584 entrants, EPT Prague was the largest poker tournament in Czech Republic history, a fact that was not lost on the new hometown hero.

“It was the biggest tournament in Czech Republic ever, so it feels marvelous,” he said. “I had lots of support from the rail, lots of people cheering me on.”

The final eight set up as one of the most notable in EPT history.

Not only was it back-to-back finals for the 23-year-old Skampa, who finished fourth at EPT Vilamoura in Portugal, but it marked Luca Pagano’s record breaking sixth final table.

Plus, WPT and WSOP finalist Stefan Mattson and WSOP and WSOPE finalist Anthony Roux were added to the mix, both looking for a breakthrough win to add to their resumes.

German Sven Eichelbaum was actually the first out of the final eight, running ace-jack suited into Laurence Ryan’s aces.

Shortstack Swede Gustav Ekerot was the next to go, throwing rags at Eyal Avitan’s aces before Mattsson suddenly took over the table.

Pagano’s record sixth final table came to an abrupt end when he four-bet shoved ace-jack into Mattsson’s aces.

Then, just moments later, Ryan ran jacks into Mattsson’s queens to bust fifth and hand the aggressive Swede a massive chip lead.

Skampa turned things around, however, when he got Mattsson to call his five-bet shove.

The Prague native had kings against the Swede’s queens and doubled up to take over the chip lead.

Winamax Pro Roux was out next, losing a flip against Avitan, and three-handed play began as a virtual dead heat between Skampa and the Israeli, with Mattsson not too far behind.

Avitan inched his way into the lead and then took care of Mattsson after three hours of three-handed play, flopping a straight and fading a combo-draw after getting it in with jack-ten versus the Swede’s queen-ten.

Avitan then took a 2:1 chip lead into heads up with Skampa, but the young pro chipped away until more than three hours of careful play had passed and he had grabbed the advantage.

In the end, Avitan shoved in with jack-nine offsuit facing a Skampa raise.

Skampa called with pocket jacks and had the Israeli drawing dead by the turn as the pro-Czech crowd went wild, draping Skampa in the nation’s flag and roaring in appreciation.

“Both of us were trying to avoid races it seemed, and as the time went on I felt like my opponent was getting tired a bit,” Skampa said. “Especially during this last level I tried to put the pressure on him a bit more. I just felt I had a solid grasp on his play already.”

An economics student at St Charles University in Prague who has been playing quite succesfully online for the past three years, Skampa said the money would not change his life and he plans to continue playing European Poker Tour events throughout this season and beyond.

European Poker Tour Prague Day 4: Final Table Set

Pagano Makes Record 6th EPT Final

“There is no secret,” he told PokerListings. “It’s a little bit because of my style of game. I am very solid and I don’t take that many risks. And it’s a little bit because this year we have a new structure with more chips and a lot of play, which is giving solid players like me more opportunity to find the right spots.”

When the money bubble burst at EPT Prague on Day 3 and Pagano was still standing, the Italian was guaranteed a record 13th cash on the EPT.

However, the most prolific player in EPT history admitted skill isn’t the only reason he’s been incredibly consistent.

“This is probably a year where I’m getting some good cards as well,” he said. “I would say it’s a mix of luck and adapting to the new structure.

“The fact that I’m getting good results and a player like (Jan) Skampa is making another final table as well, is showing that playing the right way, with some luck and according to the structure, can be very good for professional players.”

After finishing fourth at EPT Vilamoura just weeks ago, Skampa, a budding superstar from right here in the Czech Republic, will enter Sunday’s final with the chip lead.

It’s just his fourth European Poker Tour event, but he believes the experience of Vilamoura will prove invaluable to him here at home.

 “It’s a tremendous help that just two weeks ago I was playing in similar situations,” he said. “In Vilamoura I had a somewhat difficult seat draw for the final table and now it’s somewhat better. But it really was the best possible training for this situation.”

Outside of the venerable Pagano, Skampa’s biggest threat appears to be Purple Lounge Pro Stefan Mattson, who will bring a massive stack and the experience of both a WPT and WSOP final table to Sunday’s fight for a €682,000 first-place prize.

“I feel really confident,” Mattsson said. “I knocked out some of the toughest players in the tournament as well so I’m feeling really good. Jan has a big stack, so he’s still a big threat, but otherwise, I feel very comfortable at this final table.

“I don’t think I will get quite as nervous as the other guys. I don’t even think about the pressure.”

Joining Pagano, Mattson and Skampa in the final is the suddenly red hot Anthony Roux, who now adds an EPT final table to the WSOP and WSOPE finals the Winamax pro has found himself at this year.

And with half the group full of top pros it appears the EPT has made some strides in distancing itself from a reputation that its final tables are often filled with unknown players.

Although, the second half of the group still includes relative unknowns Larry Ryan from Ireland, Germany’s Sven Eichelbaum, Swede Gustav Ekerot and Israeli Eyal Avitan.

Despite his record number of cashes and final tables, a win on the EPT has still eluded Pagano, but with another opportunity right in front of him Sunday, he believes a breakthrough is in the cards.

 “I know that it’s the only thing I’m missing, but it will come,” he said. “I just have to play my game. I think I proved to myself that I can play poker and the trophy will come.”

To follow all the action from the PokerStars EPT Prague final table, beginning at 12 p.m. CET Sunday, click through to PokerListings’ Live Updates.

European Poker Tour Prague Day 3: Eyal Avitan Commands Chip Lead

Becker Getting Better With Each Stroke

And while his teaming with PokerStars was widely criticized for being more of a publicity stunt than a legitimate move into the poker world when he first sat down to play at the European Poker Tour’s Grand Final in Monte Carlo in 2008, it’s obvious now he’s taking the game seriously.

“I have a better feel for the game and understanding at the table,” Becker told PokerListings at EPT Prague. “It naturally comes with the territory. The more you play, the better you get and I think I’m much better than I was last year.”

Becker fizzled out fast in that first appearance on the felt, but did manage a final table finish at a €500 side event in Monte Carlo that year.

However, his first real sniff at poker success came at the $25,000 WPT Championship in April of this year when he made the money finishing 40^th for $40,855.

While he’s enlisted the aid of several Team PokerStars Pros to help him learn the intricacies of the game, there are certain things the former World No. 1 tennis player and six-time Grand Slam champion already brought to the table.

“The mental game is very similar to tennis,” he explained. “You shouldn’t be afraid of big table or the big stage. For me it’s more about learning the details of the game, not so much about overcoming a fear of being on a big table or playing for a lot of money. That’s not something I worry about. It’s more about understanding the game better.”

Learning the game is one thing - having a passion for it another. But if there were ever any doubts Becker has a love for poker, one need only look inside his London home.

This past summer, Becker moved into a $9 million shrine to the game that brought him worldwide recognition.

The seven-bedroom home sits about 100 steps from Centre Court at Wimbledon, where Becker rose to tennis prominence winning the game’s most coveted title at age 17.

Wimbledon’s indoor practice courts are visible from the yard, but tennis isn’t the only game being played there.

Becker has built a room dedicated to poker inside, complete with a classic table, plush chairs and enough chips to get a serious game going.

“It’s really coming along,” he said. “My wife is a great player and we have many games together with friends. It’s nice because we are at home and it’s a bit more of a relaxed atmosphere. We have a lot of fun and some pretty good cash games there too.”

Becker’s home games are played mostly for fun, but with EPT founder John Duthie and fellow German Team PokerStars Pros Sandra Naujoks, Sebastian Ruthenberg and Florian Langmann having already stopped by to play, he’s been able to pick up a few tricks along the way.

Becker and his wife Lilly Kerssenberg are expecting a baby this February, but the New Year has even more for him to be excited about.

For the past two years, illness has kept Becker from playing the EPT’s annual trek to Germany.

But this year, with rumors the tour will be stopping in Berlin in March instead of Dortmund, he’s hoping to have the chance to show his native country a little bit of what he’s learned.

“I really hope to be willing and able to play,” he said. “I want to show the German fans that there is more to Boris Becker than tennis.”

Becker busted from EPT Prague before the money bubble burst, but the event continues with just 24 players left and Israeli Eyal Avitan holding a massive chip lead. For comprehensive coverage click through to PokerListings' Live Updates.

European Poker Tour Prague Day 2: Yann Brosolo Leads the Way to Day 3

Chess Prodigy Checkmates EPT

At eight years old, Canadian Jeff Sarwer won the Under 10 World Youth Chess Championship in Puerto Rico.

By the time he was nine, he was travelling around North America taking on 40 players at a time in a series of simultaneous chess demonstrations, playing the world’s best speed chess hustlers in New York’s Washington Square and earning himself a lifetime membership in the revered Manhattan Chess Club.

He quickly became a darling of the media, was pegged by Grand Masters as a future World Champion and even became the inspiration for a character in the famed poker film Searching For Bobby Fischer.

But it all came to a crashing halt.

His father pulled him out of chess and the alternative lifestyle he had them living, including refusing to enroll Sarwer and his sister in school and having them sleep in the car as they travelled around, came under intense scrutiny.

Canadian authorities soon removed Sarwer and his sister from their father’s care, but they ran away to be reunited with him, spending the better part of the next 20 years in anonymity, traveling around Europe under a cloud of secrecy.

“I had a pretty tough childhood,” Sarwer said. “My father was quite controlling. But he was a really interesting character and there are a lot of good sides to him as well. As an adult I’ve just called it a wash and moved on with my life.”

In 2007 he resurfaced on the chess scene entering a tournament in Poland, where he now lives.

However, the 31-year-old was soon bitten by the poker bug.

“I’ve always loved poker as a game,” he said. “It has gotten so popular over the last couple of years it just finally grabbed me as well. Poker is all over TV, all my friends play. So I just figured let’s get into this, it’s a fun game.”

Sarwer read Harrington on Hold 'em by 1995 WSOP Main Event champion Dan Harrington and headed for Prague to play in the PokerStars European Poker Tour’s annual Czech Republic stop last year.

“I really knew nothing but the basics,” he said. “But I did manage to cash, so that was good for my confidence.”

The €7,000 he earned for a 54th place finish was just the start. By February of this year he had managed to make the final table at the European Masters of Poker event in Tallinn, finishing third for €29,760.

He booked a few small cashes in lower buy-in events across Europe and then this October, things really seemed to click as he absolutely dominated play at EPT Warsaw before busting tenth.

But Sarwer would not have to wait long for a real breakthrough.

Just a few weeks later he made the final table at EPT Vilamoura, finishing third for €156,170.

“I’ve developed and I think I just started to realize exactly what’s going on here,” he explained. “All I needed was a few good conversations with some really good players in order to get my game there.

“My confidence has always been up there. I believe in admitting I’m wrong when I’m wrong, but genuine confidence, I have that from chess and from life.”

When it comes to poker, it appears his chess background has given Sarwer a lot more than confidence. He believes there are several parallels between the two games.

“There are a lot of similarities and a lot of things that are different,” he said. “The things that are similar include having to pay attention, gather information and think a few moves ahead about what types of moves people will do, what your opponent is feeling and what he’s thinking. All that stuff is a little bit like chess.

“Certainly at a Master level, or a decent level of chess, there is a lot of meta game and that transfers over to poker for me.”

And while Sarwer’s poker experience is still quite limited, he has already grasped that the game is infinitely more intricate than it appears on the surface.

“In chess you can see things on the surface, look three or four moves deep, and eventually you are going to lose when someone traps you into something less obvious,” he said. “It’s the same with poker. You can just play ABC and not pay attention to what’s happening at the table and somebody is eventually going to catch you.”

While experience and a willingness to learn from others have played a big role in Sarwer’s recent success, he also attributes it to a newfound aggression.

“I’ve really opened up and become quite an aggressive player,” he said. “A lot of chess players tend to be a bit nittier and more technical. I just don’t happen to play that way right now because it’s not in my character.”

After an up and down day on the EPT Prague felt Thursday, Sarwer eventually busted, ending his string of deep finishes on the EPT.

But despite business commitments in Poland and the fact he claims he’s still just a “poker hobbyist” and not a professional player, it appears his new found love for the game will keep him coming back.

“I’ve made a lot of good friends amongst the online players,” he said. “They have that rare combination of being sharp, analytical and fun. The top poker players all seem to have that and I have a lot in common with that mindset.

“I love hanging around them. I’m nowhere near the top yet and I suppose it’s still too early to tell if I’ll make it there, but we’ll see.”

PokerStars EPT Prague continues with Day 3 Friday. For comprehensive coverage from the Czech Republic, tune into PokerListings’ Live Updates.

European Poker Tour Prague Day 1b, Jude Ainsworth Leads

European Poker Tour Prague Day 1a: Marc Gork Leads the Way

Mattern Seeks EPT Prague Repeat

After rising to poker stardom with a win in Prague during the European Poker Tour’s fourth season and the kind start Tuesday that could lead to another deep run, who can blame him.

“It’s always good to come back to a tournament where you had a big score,” Mattern told PokerListings after bagging 86,000 in chips at the end of Day 1a. “I have a real crush on all the Eastern European countries, but I truly love Prague.”

Mattern started the day six-betting an opponent off his hand with nothing but a pair of fours and after flashing one card, he said he knew it was going to be a good day.

“The table was on tilt,” he said. “It set the right tone for the day.”

A total of 219 players began Day 1a in Prague, but just 117 made it through.

EPT Dortmund finalist Marc Gork ended with the chip lead, but using the selectively aggressive style he’s built a reputation for, Mattern accumulated chips throughout the day and sits within striking distance just outside the top 20.

However, the veteran French pro understands the road to a repeat in Prague is not going to be an easy one.

“The tables are really tough,” he said. “Most of them have at least one or two really good guys fighting to get the chips from the fish at the table.”

Here in Eastern Europe and all over the EPT, Mattern said it appears the skill level is getting better every day.

“I think everybody is getting smarter,” he explained. “It takes more skill, stamina and mental toughness to achieve your goals because play is improving. You need to play you’re A-game all the time.”

When he returns to the tables for Day 2 Thursday, Mattern will be sitting on an above-average stack, but has no plans to play the bully.

In fact, he has no plans at all.

“It really depends who is at my table,” he said. “I don’t really like to make a lot of plans. Obviously if everybody has 40k at my table I’m going to have some fun and not play only sets and straights, but it really depends who is at my table and what kind of mood I am in.”

For now he just wants to play solid poker and focus on winning in Prague again.

“I know it’s very easy to have a really big party here and that would be a good excuse,” he said.

PokerStars EPT Prague continues with Day 1b Wednesday. For comprehensive coverage, click through to PokerListings’ Live Updates.

Poker Community Reacts to Shaun Deeb Retiring from Tournaments

Last week, heralded online poker grinder Shaun Deeb announced that he was retiring from tournaments. In addition, it appears that his future in the online poker world may be up in the air.

On the TwoPlusTwo forums, Deeb posted, “yah Im burntout I hate them I’m done with them. I cant win live everyone was always right I cant win online I just ran good everyone was always right. I’m gunna take rest of year off hopefully and go do something else yah poker was good for a while but **** I hate what I’ve become.” The text appeared in a thread entitled “retiring from tourneys.” A 30-page discussion quickly developed on the site, with posters weighing in with varying opinions as to the cause of Deeb’s proclamation.

The quintessential grinder, Deeb was a former number one player on the PocketFives.com Online Poker Rankings and took down that site’s Monthly PLB title in March. In tournaments that are tracked for the Rankings, Deeb has not recorded a single in the money finish in the last 10 days, seemingly living up to his retirement. Many on the TwoPlusTwo forums have speculated that Deeb will simply take a temporarily leave of absence from poker, with several posters weighing in with over/under bets as to when he’ll return.

One TwoPlusTwo member, “jon_midas,” stressed the importance of balancing poker with a more traditional life: “When you run good, you play better, and when you run bad you play worse. When you play too much you play worse. Balance poker with a normal income/life IMO.” “dia” added, “do what you need to do, take off some time and don’t worry about poker…… it won’t disappear so you can still play again if you want later.” In August of last year, Deeb won a Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) Heads-Up event for $115,000, the largest online poker cash of his career.

Deeb has also been active on the live felts, taking 26th in a $5,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed event during the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) for $22,000. Last month, he cashed in the PokerStars Baltic Festival High-Roller event and the European Poker Tour (EPT) Warsaw Main Event for over $50,000 combined. In August, Deeb emerged victorious from a small field in the EPT Kiev High Roller tournament for over $80,000.

Posters on TwoPlusTwo began posting pictures of Deeb from a variety of sources. Longtime poster “Jurollo” added his two cents: “Some time off is always good. You haven’t really taken an extended break, my guess is when you come back you won’t grind as hard as you were but you’ll enjoy it more. You’ll be successful in whatever you do anyway Shaun (aside from teaching English) as long as you put the same zeal into it that you did into poker. So getting some other side interests/money makers and spending some time making them profitable isn’t a bad thing.”

Deeb sits at #11 worldwide in the PocketFives.com Rankings on the strength of the sixth best Pro Poll tally. However, his PLB score, which counts for one-third of a player’s ranking, is just the 23rd largest. While many speculated that Deeb’s absence was due to his bankroll being depleted, PocketFives.com member “sqildea25” offered a different theory: “Pretty sure Shaun Deeb is not broke. I believe he’s probably focusing more on the high stakes MTT circuit with the EPT, WPT, etc. like any of us can only hope to after we make enough money online to travel the world and play poker.”

Deeb has one World Poker Tour cash to his name, an $11,000 payday for finishing 124th in the 2007 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.

Poland Limits Gambling, Poker to Brick and Mortar Casinos

Poland’s Senate approved a measure limiting gambling to casinos, stunting access to poker and other games outside of a structured establishment. The bill cleared the Senate by a 48 to 3 margin, with 30 lawmakers not voting.

The Krakow Post noted that the new crackdown on gambling outside of licensed casinos may also spell trouble for internet gambling and online poker: “The legislation also affects Internet gambling, which will no longer be allowed under Polish law. However, the enforcement of this aspect of the bill will inevitably prove much more difficult than even the removal of thousands of slot machines.” Around 50,000 slot machines, which can be found in places like bars and restaurants around the country, will be removed as a result of the new law.

Polish President Lech Kaczynski must still apply his John Hancock to the piece of legislation in order for it to become official. The Post quoted Poland’s Prime Minister as saying that he expects Kaczynski to sign by the end of the month. In addition to ridding the European country of 50,000 slot machines and potentially slowing the growth of internet gambling, the bill passed by Polish lawmakers also sets a legal gambling age of 18.

The Agence France Presse, or AFP news service, shed some light into this month’s vote: “The decision by parliament comes nearly a month and a half after [Prime Minister] Tusk was forced to sack several key ministers and political allies over allegations of influence peddling within his cabinet regarding the gambling legislation.” World Bulletin explained what a portion of the funds raised will be used for: “Tusk has said the restrictions will prevent young people from becoming addicted to gambling. The government will funnel tax revenues raised under the bill into foundations promoting physical education and culture.”

No general election is scheduled in Poland until 2011 and the scandal in question involved casino owners. The new bill also increases the tax rate on casinos, helping raise additional money for Poland’s government. On the TwoPlusTwo forums, a translated article that originally appeared on Bankier.pl revealed that the tax rate on tournament poker would also increase as part of the new measure, although this component was not reported by the AFP or World Bulletin. TwoPlusTwo poster “novahunterpa” commented, “Looks like every country is either trying to ban online poker and gambling or restrict it to state monopolies.”

One month ago, Poland saw the invasion of the PokerStars-sponsored European Poker Tour (EPT), which made its annual stop in Warsaw. The 25,000 PLN buy-in event was held at the Casinos Poland Hyatt Regency and French businessman Christophe Benzimra emerged victorious from the 203 player field. The online poker site claimed that EPT Warsaw was one of the largest poker tournaments ever held in Poland. No indication has been given as to whether the new law will affect the EPT’s Season 7 Warsaw stop.

Among those keeping a watchful eye on the situation in the European country was Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) Chairman Joe Brennan, who told Poker News Daily, “The genie is out of the bottle when it comes to online gambling. Whether it’s restricting it for consumer protection or guaranteeing the franchise for Poland’s brick and mortar casinos, the fact is that the Polish people have already voted with their feet, their wallets, and their computers by seeking out online gambling. Poland is going to have a hard time putting the genie back in the bottle, as would any country.”

Notable poker personalities hailing from Poland include Poker Hall of Fame member Henry Orenstein, a WSOP bracelet winner who also invented the hole card camera. Orenstein was born in Hrubieszów and currently lives in the United States. Michael Gracz was born in Warsaw and, like Orenstein, now calls the USA home.

EPT Vilamoura title stays in Portugal

Antonio Matias, who runs a travel agency, became the first player to win an EPT title on home soil since Team PokerStars Pro Sandra Naujoks did so in Dortmund, Germany last season.

"I like to think of myself as a citizen of the world, but it is very satisfying win an EPT in my home country," Matias said. "I wasn't intimidated by the competition because I play a lot of very good players in cash games. I just decided to play the way I play, and hope that luck didn't turn its back on me."

The €5,300 event drew 322 players, including 69 PokerStars qualifiers.

The €1,561,700 prize pool made EPT Vilamoura the richest poker tournament ever held in Portugal.

Matias beat 67-year- old retired Belgian businessman and PokerStars qualifier Pierre Neuville heads up to book the win. Neuville bubbled the final table at EPT San Remo last season.

Former chess prodigy Jeff Sarwer finished third, just a few short weeks after the Canadian's tenth-place finish at EPT Warsaw.

Matias is not a pro player, but said his sights were firmly set on keeping the title in Portugal.

"I play poker just for a hobby, but when I got the chip lead yesterday, at that point, the only thing I had on my mind was winning."

PokerStars appeared pleased with turnout and results on its first trip to Portugal.

"It's always exciting when the European Poker Tour visits a new destination and we have wanted to hold an EPT in Portugal for some time, so we are delighted that so many players took part including 63 players from Portugal," said EPT spokesperson Kirsty Thompson. "It's been a superb week of poker."

Next up for the PokerStars EPT is its annual stop in Prague in the Czech Republic from Dec. 1-6. Satellites are running now on PokerStars.

Antonio Matias Wins EPT Vilamoura

Travel agency owner Antonio Matias took down the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) Vilamoura Main Event in the roving tournament series’ first ever trip to Portugal. Matias took home a €404,793 top prize.

The EPT Vilamoura stop had a buy-in of €5,300 and marked the richest tournament ever held in Portugal, according to PokerStars officials. Matias, a Portuguese businessman, was playing in his backyard and became the first native to take down an EPT tournament since Sandra Naujoks tasted victory in Dortmund last season. On his accomplishment, Matias told tournament staff following his win, “I like to think of myself as a citizen of the world, but it is very satisfying to win an EPT in my home country. I wasn’t intimidated by the competition because I play a lot of very good players in cash games. I just decided to play the way I play and hope that luck didn’t turn its back on me. When I got the chip lead yesterday, the only thing I had on my mind was winning.”

In the final hand of EPT Vilamoura, Pierre Neuville raised pre-flop holding J-10. Matias called with 8-7 and watched the action flop come J-8-7. Matias checked bottom two pair, Neuville bet with top pair, Matias put in a raise, and Neuville shoved. Matias called, having his opponent covered. Another seven on the turn gave Matias a full house, which held to scoop the EPT title. Neuville earned €257,681 for his runner-up showing.

Jeff Sarwer, a Canadian, called all-in for his tournament life with 9-5 on a flop of 9-7-3. Holding top pair, Sarwer watched as Matias flipped up pocket tens for an overpair. However, the turn came a five and, in a massive change of fate, gave Sarwer two pair, nines and fives, against Matias’ pair of tens. In heartbreaking fashion, the river came a three, shattering Sarwer’s EPT hopes and giving Matias a better two pair. The roller coaster of a hand ended with Sarwer seeking solace from Shaun Deeb, Jim “Mr_BigQueso” Collopy, and Jonathan “FatalError” Aguiar, who were on the rail to support him.

Jan Skampa was eliminated in fourth place from the Portuguese tournament. He ran K-9 into Sarwer’s pocket queens in a pre-flop raising war to cripple his stack, departing a few hands later and earning €117,000. Skampa was one of four players to claim a six-figure payday.

Here were the final results from EPT Vilamoura. A total of 322 players turned out, creating a €1.5 million prize pool:

1. Antonio Matias (Portugal) -  €404,793
2. Pierre Neuville (Belgium) – €257,681
3. Jeff Sarwer (Canada) – €156,170
4. Jan Skampa (Czech Republic) – €117,128
5. João Silva (Portugal) – €78,085
6. Michel Abecassis (France) – €62,468
7. Ryan Franklin (United States) – €46,851
8. Andrei Vlasenko (Russia) – €31,234

Next up for the EPT is a trip to Prague from December 1st to 6th. The €5,250 buy-in tournament saw Salvatore Bonavena claim a massive €774,000 payday last time out. The marathon Season 5 EPT Prague final table lasted 264 hands and spanned 12 hours. A bevy of Team PokerStars Pro personalities are expected, as last year, Noah Boeken, Dario Minieri, Marcin Horecki, Luca Pagano, William Thorson, Alex Kravchenko, and Katja Thater all threw their hats into the ring.

EPT Prague will be held at the Hilton Prague Hotel and will include a variety of side tournaments. In addition, cash games will kick off at Noon each day. The Main Event features two starting days (December 1st and 2nd) and registration opened today on PokerStars for interested players.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest live tournament news.

European Poker Tour Vilamoura, Day 5: António Matias Keeps the Title in Portugal

European Poker Tour Vilamoura, Day 4: Wild Day Sets Up Tomorrow’s Final Table

Antonio Matias Leads Final 12 at EPT Vilamoura

One of the new stops on Season Six of the European Poker Tour (EPT) was a November jaunt to Vilamoura, Portugal.  The tournament, which got underway on November 17th, drew 322 runners, making it the third largest EPT event of the season so far.

A number of familiar faces made the trip to Portugal, including Team PokerStars players Chad Brown, Jason Mercier, and Katja Thater, as well as Shaun Deeb, Jason Lavallee, Andy Black, Ludovic Lacay, and Ross Boatman.  The event featured a €5,000 + €300 buy-in and promises a first place prize of €404,793, or roughly $600,000.  The Vilamoura stop is one of several new destinations on the EPT circuit and it has already outperformed one of the other additions to the tour, the August event in Kiev.

The final table is set to play out on Sunday and, at time of writing, there are still four eliminations to go on Saturday before play ends for the day.  Friday’s Day 3 proved to be a short one, as the field began with 69 players and stopped a little early once it was trimmed to 24.  Typically, play slows as the field nears the money bubble, with tables going hand-for-hand to avoid stalling.  At the Vilamoura event, play did not even make it to hand-for hand before Sergey Lebedev was knocked out in 49th place to burst the bubble.

Those who survived to Day 4 on Saturday included chip leader Anthony Lellouche, Team PokerStars Pros Jude Ainsworth of Ireland and Ruben Visser of the Netherlands, Jim “MrBigQueso” Collopy, Ryan “HITTHEPANDA” Franklin, and seven Portugese players, including Joao Barbosa.

Lellouche began the day in a familiar role, serving as the tournament’s chip leader with over 1.1 million chips.  He ended Day 2 second in chips and also logged some time as the chip leader earlier this season at the Warsaw stop.  It looked as though Lellouche would be in great position to make his fourth career EPT final table, but an aggressive play early in the day found him on the rail in 20th place.  After action on every street, Lellouche moved all-in on the river with the board reading J-8-2-Q-2 and Antonio Matias called, showing A-2 for rivered trips.  Lellouche held just 7-9 for a busted gutshot straight draw and was eliminated.

Matias amassed a huge chip lead as a result of the hand and only built on it as Day 4 progressed.  With just 12 players left, Matias holds 2.3 million chips, nearly a million more than his next closest competitor, Jeff Sarwer of Canada, who has almost 1.4 million chips.  There is a wide discrepancy between these two players and the rest of the field, as Claudio Coelho is third in chips with just 750,000.

Joining Lellouche on the rail today were Collopy, Barbosa, Visser, and Ainsworth.  The back-to-back eliminations of Visser and Ainsworth in 13th and 12th places, respectively, means there will be no PokerStars pros appearing at the Vilamoura final table, although PokerStars online qualifiers Santiago Terrazas and Pierre Neuville are still in contention for the title.

Play in Vilamoura will continue until the final eight-handed table is set.  Players will then have the night off before returning at 12:00pm local time to play down to the newest EPT champion.

Full Tilt Poker Million Dollar Challenge: Tom Dwan Takes Sammy George for $750,000

The finale of the Full Tilt Poker Million Dollar Challenge in London featured sponsored pro Tom “durrrr” Dwan taking Sammy “Any Two” George for a colossal $750,000. Dwan entered the contest up over $40,000 after facing Marcello “luckexpress” Marigliano and Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies.

The battle between Dwan and George featured a 7-2 bonus, similar to a promotion you’d find at some of the world’s largest online poker sites. If either Dwan or George scooped a pot with the worst starting hand in poker, they’d claim a $10,000 reward. Dwan, as expected, went all-out to claim it, including pushing for $400,000 on a board of J-A-6-3-3 with three hearts with just 7-2. George tanked for over five minutes before finally releasing A-6 for two pair. Dwan flipped over his bluff, raking the pot and the $10,000 bonus.

George commented after his nearly $1 million thumping, “The turning point was the bluff with the 7-2 when I had the two-pair, but I cannot call there for three times the pot. The game was in his favor, he was hitting cards and rivering cards, but I respect Tom a lot and always will. He’s one of the best in the world and I think he’s up there with Phil Ivey and Patrik Antonius. I think when people see the show, they will have a different opinion of me from what they had before.” George was originally slated to appear on the sixth season of GSN’s “High Stakes Poker,” joining Dwan, Ivey, and Antonius, but was a no-show when taping commenced in Las Vegas.

Dwan and George bought in for $500,000 each and blinds began at $500/$1,000. Marigliano bested Dwan to the tune of $22,500, while Sahamies dropped $68,000 to his young opponent over 500 hands of Pot Limit Omaha. The action unfolded at the Les Ambassadeurs Club in Mayfair and featured pros such as Roland de Wolfe and European Poker Tour founder John Duthie turning out to catch a glimpse of the action.

In another key hand during Dwan’s match against George, the challenger was down 10:1 in chips, $900,000 to $90,000. George shoved all-in with 9-4 for bottom pair after the flop came 7-6-4, but ran into Dwan’s A-7. The hand boosted Dwan’s stack to nearly $1 million and ensured that George would be funding the youngster’s online bankroll for some time to come.

Early on, George ran A-K into Dwan’s pocket aces. George put in a raise pre-flop, Dwan bumped the action to $30,000, George re-raised to $113,000, Dwan shoved, and George made the call. The flop came 5-6-7, no help to George, but an eight on the turn left the possibility of a chopped pot if a four or a nine came off on the river. However, the final card was a 10 and George lost his initial $250,000 buy-in. Coverage on Matchroom Sport candidly noted, “[George] grabs the $250k behind him and off we go.” Neither player was allowed to leave the table until one was broke or 500 hands were completed.

In another pot, George held pocket kings and led out for $26,000 on a flop of 3-2-9 with two clubs. Dwan made the call with J-5 of clubs and the five of hearts fell on the turn. The action went check-check to the nine of clubs on the river, filling Dwan’s flush and also pairing the board. George bet $50,000 and Dwan moved all-in over the top. George debated for several minutes before folding. That hand gave Dwan a $357,000 lead; he’d more than double that by the time the 500 hands were up.

All told, Dwan won nearly $800,000 over the course of the Full Tilt Poker Million Dollar Challenge, which will hit television airwaves next year.

European Poker Tour Vilamoura, Day 3: Down to 24

PokerStars European Poker Tour Day 2

WPT and PartyPoker begin fight for poker supremacy

"That's our stated aim," PartyGaming's chief marketing officer Chris Welch told PokerListings. "And until that time we will leverage both the World Poker Tour and PartyPoker as best we can to take that challenge to our competitors."

Before the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was signed into U.S. law in October 2006 and PartyPoker effectively pulled out of the U.S. market, it was the number one site in poker.

Since that time, PokerStars has emerged as the industry leader with more than 28 million players worldwide.

A major catalyst for PokerStars' growth has been the emergence of the European Poker Tour. While the WPT has always been credited with helping spur on poker's boom, it has since been surpassed by the PokerStars EPT, which boasted a total prize pool in excess of $55 million over 11 events last season, making it the largest poker tour in the world.

However, Welch says PartyGaming subsidiary Peerless Media Ltd's $12.3 million purchase of the WPT, approved by shareholders earlier this month, now has the organization primed to compete in Europe and across the globe.

"We think there is certainly room for two big tours in Europe," said Welch. "And the World Poker Tour, we believe, is a global brand while the European Poker Tour exists only in Europe."

Particularly in Italy and France, the WPT plans on embarking upon an aggressive growth strategy to begin competing with the EPT.

"We're looking forward to more global expansion, more International expansion," added newly appointed WPT president Adam Pliska.

Welch said part of that expansion will include offering more online satellites into WPT events worldwide.

"It's a great opportunity to offer our European players more tournaments and land based events and of course we are going to run satellites on PartyPoker," Welch said. "But we are also going to encourage other online sites to do the same."

While sites other than PokerStars once ran satellites for EPT events, many stopped after PokerStars forced its competitors to use the site's branding.

Welch says the WPT and PartyPoker will be taking a different approach.

"PokerStars have gone down the route of it being the PokerStars EPT and you've got to have that on your site to run satellites or freerolls," he explained. "That's not our strategy. Our strategy initially will be that it's the World Poker Tour and you can come and qualify from any online site or direct buy in.

"What they are trying to do is leverage their brand. They have the biggest tour in Europe and they are trying to get other people to mention their brand name. We have an opportunity here to grow the World Poker Tour by offering other online sites a chance to get in there without necessarily mentioning PartyPoker and that's what we are going to do."

But the battle for online poker supremacy will not just be fought on European soil.

In April of this year, PartyGaming entered into a $105 million settlement with the U.S. Attorney's Office to avoid prosecution for providing Internet gambling services to U.S. customers prior to the enactment of the UIGEA.

Under the terms of the agreement, PartyGaming agreed to stay out of the U.S. Internet gambling market under current legislation and is hoping, should the legislation change, it would be in a prime position to move back in.

Welch said the purchase of the WPT is yet another way PartyGaming is paving its road back into the United States.

"Should the United States open up, it's going to put us in a preeminent position, way ahead of the competition," he said. "We've taken the long view while some of the other players have taken the short view, and should the United States open up, we are going back to being number one again."

However, until U.S. Lawmakers get on board, Welch said the front lines of this fight will remain on the other side of the Atlantic.

"This provides us with a massive platform to bring PartyPoker back into the hands of millions of Americans," he said. "But in Europe, we can do that from day one."

The public face of both brands, 2009 Poker Hall of Fame inductee Mike Sexton, believes with PartyPoker and the WPT coming together, the sky is the limit.

"I think it can be a huge entity and a worldwide brand," he said. "Hopefully when online gaming becomes legalized in the United States, PartyPoker can come in and retain its status as the number one poker site in the world."

European Poker Tour Vilamoura, Day 2: Jeff Sarwer Leads the Way to Day 3