PokerStars.net European Poker Tour Prague Day 1a: Elias Brussianos Leads the First Flight Field

A recap of Day 1a of the PokerStars.net European Poker Tour Prague.

John O’Shea wins EMOP Cruise

John O'Shea has added another title to his already impressive tournament CV after taking down the European Masters of Poker Cruise final.

European Poker Tour Prague begins today

The PokerStars European Poker Tour rolls on and this time it has arrived back in Prague, the capital of the chilly-this-time-of-year Czech Republic where players are battling -5C temperatures and snowfall to arrive at the Hilton for the €5,000 Main Event.

888 Begins Satellites to 2011 Irish Poker Open

Looking forward to 2011, 888 Poker has announced that it is opening up satellites for the 30th anniversary of the Irish Poker Open.

888 Poker has begun running “Steps” satellites that will send players to the oldest tournament in Europe, which will be contested from April 22nd to 25th. These “Steps” satellites are a four-tiered system that will allow players of any bankroll to take their shot at participating in one of the most prestigious events in the poker community. At the end of the “Steps” is a prize package that any player would be thrilled to win.

Step 1 tournaments run daily around-the-clock and will send one player to Step 2 for every $14 in the prize pool. Step 1 events cost $2 and are rebuy/add-on tournaments, building up the prize pool to maximize the number of players who will be eligible to move on.

At Step 2 of the satellite system, players will be in a traditional freezeout. These tournaments run on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays at 8:05 GMT and on Sundays at 2:05. The tournament costs $14 and will move one player on to Step 3 for every $65 that is generated in the prize pool.

The Step 3 tournaments put players one level away from realizing the dream of heading to the Irish Poker Open. The $65 Step 3 tournaments, which run Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 5:05 GMT, will send one player on for every $300 in the prize pool. For those who earn their way through the Step 3 tournament, the 888 Poker Final Satellite (run every Sunday at 8:05) will award at least one Irish Poker Open prize package to the winner. Players can buy into the “Steps” tournaments at any level.

In addition to the €3,500 Irish Poker Open Main Event seat, players who qualify through 888 Poker will receive five nights’ accommodations at the Burlington Hotel, $1,500 to offset travel expenses, and a merchandise kit from 888 Poker that includes a Sony Bloggie camera to document their potential journey to becoming the next Irish Poker Open champion.

The Irish Poker Open has not only sentimental value to players, but also is quite historic in its own right. The Irish Poker Open is the longest running tournament on the European continent and ranks second to only the World Series of Poker as the longest running in poker history. Created by the late gaming legend Terry Rogers in 1980, it has been in recent years operated by Liam Flood and will be contested in 2011 at the Burlington Hotel in Dublin.

Its first ever winner was the legendary Irish poker player Colette Doherty. Others who have captured the title include Joe Beevers (2003), “Mad” Marty Smyth (2007), Neil “Bad Beat” Channing (2008), and Christer Johansson (2009).

The 2010 running of the Irish Poker Open brought out 708 players, which included former champions Smyth and Channing as well as European poker masters like Germany’s Sandra Naujoks and Italy’s Dario Mineri. The United States, which traditionally is represented by some of the biggest names in the game, saw 1995 Main Event Champion Dan Harrington and former CardRunners instructor Brian Townsend in action. In the end, England’s James Mitchell captured the championship, taking home a €600,000 payday.

Visit 888 Poker for more details.

New pro for Team PKR

Isildur1 may have stolen the headlines recently but the enigmatic Swede isn't the only European player to ink a sponsorship deal this week.

RedKings Qualifier Banks GSOP Malta

Katzenberger, who qualified for the event on RedKings Poker, entered the final table as chip leader but was quickly overshadowed by Norwegian Ove Stenberg who busted four players in the first hour of play.

Stenberg would then eliminate Morten Mortensen and Erik Backlund to secure his place three-handed with a massive stack.

With all the momentum on Stenberg’s side three-handed, Katzenberger finally woke up and busted Dennis Holst. It was enough to send Katzenberger and Stenberg into heads-up play almost even in chips.

Just a few hands into heads-up Katzenberger laid a sick cooler on Stenberg when both players flopped two pair. Katzenberger had the better two-pair and won what turned out to be the decisive hand of the tournament.

Several hands later Katzenberger caught Stenberg bluffing and won the event.

GSOP Malta drew a total of 333 runners to create a prize pool of €353,956. Next up for the popular European series is a stop in Bucharest Feb. 2-6, 2011.

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Vanessa Rousso Selling Lamborghini Gallardo on eBay

If you are a well-known poker player who has something valuable to sell, it looks like this is the right time to put your items on the market.  Peter Eastgate put up a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet, as did Eskimo Clark.  Now, Team PokerStars pro Vanessa Rousso is offering up her yellow 2007 Lamborghini Gallardo on eBay.

Rousso purchased the sports car last year as a treat for herself with her poker winnings.  In a video interview with CardPlayer, the GoDaddy Girl said that she had been planning the purchase since she was teenager.  Even though she could afford to pay the sticker price for the vehicle, she was smart and bought it used, benefiting from the depreciation in value in its first year.

And for those who think the sale is a sign that she is “busto,” think again.  In the video, she said that she figured she could resell the Lamborghini in a year for about what she paid for it, so to her, it was like driving the luxury ride for free for a year.

The car is not up for auction, but rather for a fixed price of $126,500 via eBay’s “Buy it Now” option.  Celebrity Cars Las Vegas, which is the exotic auto dealer that is facilitating the sale for Rousso, is also allowing interested buyers to negotiate through the “Make Offer” alternative.  A $500 deposit is required within 48 hours of when the sale closes.  Not sure about whether you can afford it?  You have plenty of time to wrangle up the cash, as the listing does not end until December 17th unless someone buys the car first.

Rousso is the third owner of the 2007 Lamborghini Gallardo, which has been driven just 12,875 miles.  Under the hood is a five-liter, V10 engine and the transmission is selectable – either automatic or a special six-speed manual “E-Gear.”  The interior is black leather with yellow stitching.  It is equipped with everything one would expect in a six-figure luxury automobile like a navigation system, rear view camera, heated seats, and a dual zone climate control.

This model originally retailed for $180,050 and Rousso’s asking price seems to be in line with the market.  Seeing as how there were only 5,000 Lamborghini Gallardos produced in 2007, it is not easy to find comparable listings, but similar models are for sale around the world for about the same price.

In her live tournament career, Rousso has won over two-and-a-half million dollars.  The highlights include a win in the 2009 European Poker Tour Grand Final High Roller Championship ($749,467), a runner-up finish to Huck Seed two months earlier in the 2009 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship ($250,000), a victory in a $5,000 No Limit Hold’em event at the 2006 World Poker Tour (WPT) Borgata Poker Open ($285,450), and a seventh place finish in the 2006 WPT Championship ($263,625).

She has also had great success online, including a $700,000 payday when she placed second in the 2007 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker Main Event.

Eastgate auctioned off his one-of-a-kind WSOP Main Event bracelet for $147,500, having set the minimum bid at $16,000.  The proceeds were used to benefit UNICEF.  Shortly before Eastgate’s auction ended, a bracelet won by Clark found its way to the world’s largest online auction site.  Clark won the bracelet in a $1,500 Razz event at the 1999 WSOP.

Buy Rousso’s Lamborghini.

Club4Aces.com has a €8,000 VIP chase in December with some added level bonuses + some own Network promotions

The very popular Club4Aces campaigns are back in December (1.-31.12.2010), you have the opportunity to compete in campaigns worth of €8,000! It’s the same competition as in last month, but C4A added two more levels to give out even more prizes!

Their own Network promotions can be found here. I.e. there’s 3 x €60,00 Nonstop Rake promotions!

10 x €800 VIP Chase

Your goal is to reach certain point levels to get some bonus Christmas cash.

When you reach a level, you’ll share a €800 pool with the other players who have reached the same level. When you reach the next level, you’ll share other €800 pool with the players at the same level and so on. It’s really simple: the more levels you reach, the more money you’ll get. If you reach the highest level (17,000VIP) you’ll get your share from all 10 levels! If you’re the only one reaching certain level, you’ll get the whole level pool for yourself.

Levels and VIP Points:

LEVEL  -  VIP Limit  -  Prize pool

10           17,000        €800
9             13,000        €800
8             10,000        €800
7             7,500          €800
6             5,000          €800
5             4,000          €800
4             3,000          €800
3             2,000          €800
2             1,000          €800
1             500             €800

Last month’s prizes were shared like this (nota that three players took half the pot, so there’s REALLY easy money for you to grab!):

The race is open for all HighStakesNews.com, Pokerista.net and Pokerihai.com customers! You can Follow the competition on our Competitions page.

To take part of the competition, follow the instructions below. And while you’re doing it, grab the €5,000 First Deposit Bonus.

Create your account, take part of the promotions!

Follow these instructions to create your new account to Club4Aces

1. Clear your cookies from the browser

2. Use the following link to visit the Club4Aces website: CLICK HERE

3. Fill out the needed forms and use the following Signup Code: pokerista5000

4. Download and install the poker client

5. You’re ready to play. To make sure you’re part of the program, send us an e-mail including your Player ID (highstakesnews@gmail.com) and we’ll double-check that you’re all ready to begin to play.

The Rules of the competition:

• “December 10 x €800 VIP Chase” will be held from 1st December (00:00:00CET) to 31st (23:59:59CET) December 2010
• Only the VIP Points from Entraction Network will be accepted in the VIP Chase
• You cannot participate the Chase by playing at the Play Money tables
• All HighStakesNews.com/Pokerista.net/Pokerihai.com customers are automatically part of the Chase
• The prizes will be paid as how the players will position themselves in the Leaderboard
• The results will be tracked and announced by Club4Aces.com
• The prizes will be paid according to the Leaderboard
• While taking part the December Chase, you can still participate in the other bonus promotions as well
• You cannot team play. That is absolutely forbidden. If some account shares multiple IPs, this account will be banned from the competition
• If players won’t reach certain level, C4A will keep the prize money
• C4A holds all the rights to close player accounts if there are violations against the rules. All the possible prizes will be confiscated from the violators
• C4A holds the rights to quit the Chase and/or change the rules at any point if they have to

You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com

Club4Aces.com has a €8,000 VIP chase in December with some added level bonuses + some own Network promotions

George “Jorj95? Lind Video Interview

George Lind, better known as Jorj95 online, is one of the sickest long-term grinders in online poker history. His exploits have earned him the top honor of the PokerStars VIP system in SuperNova Elite status every single year it has been available. We caught up with Jorj95 at the NAPT Los Angeles stop at the Bicycle Casino.

Known more for his online exploits, he was asked about transitioning into the world of high stakes tournaments. Lind responded, “Well, I was a live player first and I started in 1999 playing live. It wasn’t until 2005 that I started playing on the internet. So, I did play live for a few years… It’s a lot slower obviously, playing live, but it’s a lot more interesting in a way too because there’s a lot more to think about.”

Lind was the very first member of the 2010 class of SuperNova Elite players, as covered in this article – Jorj95 Becomes First PokerStars SuperNova Elite. To earn this level, Lind accumulated one million VIP Player Points (VPPs) on March 30th of this year. Lind estimated that he played approximately 80,000 Sit & Go tournaments during that time span, which averages out to about 50 hours per week playing hyper-turbo Sit & Gos. On October 21st he made it to 2 million VIP points, meaning he’s still “just” a SuperNova Elite but continues to rack in the reward bonuses that go with hitting additional milestones. Upon hitting SuperNova Elite, it’s estimated that the rewards equal out to about $115,000.

With the status level comes automatic buy-ins to major tournaments (or a cashout prize payout), which Jorj95 uses to travel and play in some of the most exotic destinations, as well as participate in some of the biggest online tournaments. He finished in 8th place in the prestigious $10,300 HORSE High Roller event during he 2008 PokerStars WCOOP which grossed him $30,900. In 2010 he finished second in the SCOOP Stud event for a $44,400 payday. At the WSOP he finished in tenth place at the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo Championship for $43,833. He has played in such destinations as the European Poker Tour (EPT), Asian Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) and the North American Poker Tour (NAPT).

It’s estimated that George Lind has over $750,000 in lifetime earnings just by playing online Sit & Gos at PokerStars. He is a member of their Team Online Pro stable.

Brian Martin crowned APAT European champion

150 players gathered at the G Casino in Coventry over the weekend to compete for a share of £11,250 and the title of European Amateur Poker Champion. In the end it was Brian Martin who emerged victorious.

EPT Barcelona Incident Leaves Poker Players Shaken

The most recent stop on the European Poker Tour (EPT) was in Barcelona, Spain, one of the more picturesque locales on the tournament schedule. Apparently, it was not so serene for some of the game’s top players.

According to the gossip among members of the TwoPlusTwo forum, two poker players, World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Carter Phillips and 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure High-Roller winner William Reynolds, were in Barcelona on Wednesday evening for the start of the EPT tournament. While traveling around the city, the duo apparently ran into a criminal element and a robbery occurred, with a machete used in the process. The incident left both players shaken.

On his Facebook page, Phillips updated his status to say, “I’d like to make this announcement that I am 95% sure that I am officially done with poker. More details to come. In the process of writing out a lengthy explanation to release to the poker community shortly.” Reynolds responded to the status update by saying, “For all of you that want to make bets and ridicule this post, now is not the time – none of this has to do with anything card related – people got robbed tonight and almost injured. I am thankful the 18-inch machete that was being swung at me last night didn’t kill me – the end.”

This sent the forums into a buzz as posters tried to ascertain what had happened. Many remembered last year’s robbery during EPT Berlin in which four men attempted to rob the casino of the prize pool built from the tournament’s participants. This event, however, seems to have occurred completely outside of the walls of the Casino de Barcelona and had nothing to do with the tournament itself.

A few days after the original post had exploded into a 15-page thread, Phillips started his own thread to explain what had happened that night. “Some of the details of the actual night are very skewed,” Phillips admitted. “I was not involved in knocking on the metal door. I also was not next to [Kayvan Payman] when he was robbed. I was probably about 50 yards away from the robbery and the knocking on the door.”

“I started going back to the scene as I realized that Kayvan had been robbed,” Phillips continued. “I was essentially just a bystander from a few feet away because, by the time I got back, the McDs owners had realized that William and Kayvan were not trying to hurt them or rob the store.”

As to his “quitting poker” statement on Facebook, Phillips cleared up the matter by explaining, “Everyone should understand there were several drinks involved in the night and the quitting poker thing was obviously right when I got back. I can honestly say that I have never been to any places in the U.S. where any of this stuff could have happened to me the way it did. Not to say there aren’t, because clearly people are bad all over the world. But I do think Europe is less safe and, therefore, when I mentioned quitting poker, I was more talking about the traveling abroad. I am tired of being in situations where my safety is at risk or where it is unfamiliar because of being in a new place.”

When poker pros travel, either from the U.S. to Europe or vice-versa, it is commonly known that many will wire their tournament buy-ins to the location where they are playing. In addition to that bankroll, however, players will normally carry money for miscellaneous expenditures that can sometimes run close to $10,000, which is the amount of money that can be carried without declaring it through customs. For those in any location, a poker player would be a prime mark for a robbery attempt.

Further details of the robbery are unknown, but apparently Phillips, Reynolds, and Payman are in good health, albeit unnerved by the incident. The former reflected, “This was a scary situation but, looking back, part of the night was definitely self-inflicted on ourselves and could have been avoided.”

Kent Lundmark triumphs at EPT Barcelona

Kent Lundmark has served up the best performance by a Swede in Barcelona since Zlatan Ibrahimovic's match winning effort against Real Madid last year, to take the latest European Poker Tour event in the Catalan capital.

Poker News in Brief: Nov. 22-28

Thankfully we found a home for them in our weekly Poker News in Brief feature.

This week the WPT begins in Marrakech, a World Heads-Up champ is crowned, an Italian wins in Malta and more.

WPT Marrakech Kicks Off

The €4,250 + €750 World Poker Tour Marrakech main event began at the Casino De Marrakech Saturday with 137 players entering the first Day 1 flight.

Names like Alexandre Gomes, Surinder Sunar and Antoine Saout all took part.

Germany's Sebastian Homann grabbed the overnight lead with Frenchman Nicolas Levi close.

David Benyamine, Chilipoker pro Liz Lieu and Bertrand "Elky" Grospellier are expected to play the second Day 1 flight.

The ChiliPoker sponsored Main Event runs through Nov. 30.

Marino Books Estrellas Sponsorship

Alvaro "Drácula" Marino won the Estrellas Poker Tour leaderboard championship this week.

The points-based contest had been running throughout the first season of the PokerStars sponsored Spanish tour.

Marino didn’t win an Estrellas tournament, but made the final table of both the Alicante and Madrid events to secure a sponsorship deal for every event in the tour's second season beginning in Madrid next February.

Persaud is World Heads-Up Champ

Nik Persaud won the £2,000 2010 World Heads Up Poker Championship at London's Grosvenor Victoria Casino this week.

Players including John Tabatabai, Vicky Coren, JP Kelly, Richard Gryko and previous champions Jeff Kimber and Bambos Xanthos entered the event with 21 other competitors.

The semifinals had Persaud take on Toby Lewis and eventual runner-up Leon Louis facing Kimber.

Here's how things finished:

1 Nik Persaud £30,000

2 Leon Louis £15,000

3 Toby Lewis £5,500

3 Jeff Kimber £5,500

Lombardo Wins Masters Malta

Italian Simone Lombardo won the €1,500+€150 European Masters of Poker Malta main event at Casino di Venezia this week.

However, runner-up Mathias Fricke took home the biggest share of the prize pool after making a deal heads-up.

Fricke cashed for €81,590 and Lombardo took home €63,000.

The event drew 241 players.

The final stop on EMOP's second season takes place on a cruise ship on the Mexican Riviera Dec. 5-12.

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Bryn Kenney leads Day 2 of PokerStars EPT Barcelona

Just about 400 players of the monster starting field for the PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona €5,000 Main Event returned yesterday after surviving their respective Day 1s but now only 112 remain, firmly in the money and secure in a small profit.

Luis Rufas leads record-breaking EPT Barcelona Day 2

Yesterday the last of 758 players registered to the main event of the European Poker Tour’s seventh stop in Barcelona, with the 495 players who registered on Day 1b surpassing the total field from last year; despite the reduced buy-in the prize pool is even greater than 2009.

PokerStars.com EPT Barcelona Day 1b: Luis Rufas Leads the Field into Day 2

A recap of Day 1b of the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour Barcelona.

World Poker Tour Introduces Three New European Stops

The World Poker Tour (WPT) continues to expand globally, announcing on Monday that it has added three stops in 2011 on the continent of Europe.  With the additions, there are now over 20 locations on the World Poker Tour for Season IX.

The first of the three newcomers is WPT Venice, presented by PartyPoker‘s Italian offering, PartyPoker.it.  Held at the Casino de Venezia, the €3,000 + €300 Main Event will run from February 3rd to February 8th.  The €10,000 buy-in High-Roller Event will overlap with the Main Event, starting on February 7th and ending on February 9th.

Spring will open with WPT Vienna, hitting the Montesino in March.  Like WPT Venice, the PartyPoker sponsored tour stop will feature a Main Event and a High-Roller Event.  The Main Event will be a little pricier than its Venetian sibling, costing €3,200 + €300 and running from March 25th to March 29th.  The High-Roller will be held from March 28th through March 30th.  While the WPT’s website lists the High-Roller buy-in as “To Be Determined,” this week’s press release revealed that it will be a lofty €15,000.

Both events at WPT Venice and WPT Vienna will be televised on Fox Sports Net.

The third new stop is the first of the WPT’s new National Series.  The famous Aviation Club de France will serve as host of the WPT National Series Paris, which kicks off on February 1st.  There will be a number of preliminary events and satellites building up to the EFOP Diamond Championship, which will run from February 9th to February 15th.  Day 1 will be split into two flights, with Day 2 starting on February 11th.  The total buy-in will be €5,000.  The High-Roller Event, which will span three days from February 14th to February 16th, will cost players €10,000 to enter.

At first blush, the WPT’s National Series looks essentially the same as any other tour stop.  The difference is that National Series events do not offer points towards the WPT Player of the Year standings.  In addition, the winner of the Main Event will not receive an entry into the $25,000 WPT World Championship at the Bellagio in Las Vegas at the end of the season.

World Poker Tour President Adam Pliska was understandably excited about the new tour stops, commenting in a press release, “The World Poker Tour is excited to announce these new dates in Europe. We are looking forward to returning to Venice, debuting our WPT National Series and High-Roller event in Paris, and taking the Tour to Vienna for the very first time. The future is exciting and these international events give players even more chances to compete on poker’s premiere stage.”

Currently, WPT Marrakech, presented by Chili Poker, is underway at the Casino de Marrakech.  The Main Event commences on November 27th with the first of two Day 1s and concludes on November 30th.

Halfway through Season IX, Andy Frankenberger sits atop the WPT Player of the Year leaderboard with 1,900 points, thanks to two huge finishes.  He won the WPT Legends of Poker in August, pocketing $750,000, and followed that up with a fifth place finish at the Festa al Lago, where he earned $161,200.

Trailing him is one of the hottest players of the past year, Dwyte Pilgrim, who won the Borgata Poker Open in September.  Several other players, including Jeff Forrest, Moritz Kranich, Ilan Boujenah, Randal Flowers, Sam El Sayed, and Theo Jorgensen, are tied with Pilgrim at 1,200 points, the number of points a player wins for taking down a World Poker Tour title.

PokerStars.com EPT Barcelona Day 1a: Loic Sa Leads Day 1a Field

A recap of Day 1a of the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour Barcelona.

Loic Sa leads PokerStars EPT Barcelona Day 1a

Yesterday was Day 1a of the PokerStars EPT Barcelona Main Event, the oldest stop on the European Poker Tour that aims to crown its seventh champion by the end of the week. In total 263 players stumped up the €5,000 buy-in and 137 survived for Day 2.

Champ Phillips, Top Euros Fall as EPT Barcelona Begins

The familiar confines of the Casino de Barcelona were traded in for a more expansive hotel ballroom nearby as 263 players registered for the €5,300 tournament.

A total of 137 players survived the day, including Team PokerStars Pros Alex Gomes, Michael Keiner, Matthias de Meulder, Henrique Pinho, Nuno Coelho, Ruben Visser and Andre Akkari.

French pro Loic Sa grabbed the overnight chip lead with EPT Barcelona Season 2 champ Jan Boubli in the top ten.

2009 EPT Barcelona winner Carter Phillips played, but failed to advance to Day 2.

Joining him on the rail throughout the day were some of the biggest names in European poker, including Arnaud Mattern, Ville Wahlbeck, Ludovic Lacay, Jan Skampa, Lex Veldhuis, Antony Lellouche, and Nicolas Levi.

As many as 500 players are expected on the second Day 1 flight Tuesday, including Daniel Negreanu, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, Liv Boeree, Theo Jorgensen and veteran Thor Hansen, who is sponsored by PokerStars at EPT Barcelona to celebrate the publication of his new book Uncensored.

The event will run through Nov. 27 with EPT Live broadcasting the action on the final day.

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

New European WPT events announced

The World Poker Tour has announced details of a series of new televised events to be hosted on our side of the Atlantic.

The Nightly Turbo: World Poker Tour Announces New European Stops, Poker After Dark Season Debut Next Year, and More

The Nightly Turbo is bringing you the day's top poker news stories including a look at the new European tournament stops on the WPT, the upcoming season of Poker After Dark, and more.

EPT Barcelona starts today

PokerStars are back in the swing of things with regards to live tournaments with the oldest event on the European Poker Tour beginning its seventh run today in Barcelona. Liv Boeree and Daniel Negreanu are just two of the PokerStars pros who made it out to compete.

Eric Baldwin Wins NAPT LA Bounty Shootout

On Thursday, UB.com pro Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin took down the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Los Angeles Bounty Shootout for $134,000. It marked Baldwin’s third live score of $100,000 or more of 2010 according to the Hendon Mob and he edged out a talented field of live and online poker pros.

The first elimination of the Bounty Shootout final table went to European Poker Tour (EPT) champ Kevin “ImaLuckSac” MacPhee, who was bumped in ninth place. MacPhee committed his chips with A-K and was well ahead of the K-7 belonging to Clint Coffee. However, Coffee spiked a seven on the flop and no help came on the turn or river for MacPhee, who picked up $20,000 for making the final table and $3,000 in bounties.

November Niner Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi exited in eighth place just moments after doubling up. He was all-in with pocket fives, but ran headlong into the pocket tens belonging to Justin Young. Neither player improved and Mizrachi fell short of the trophy once again. The Full Tilt Poker pro took fifth in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event earlier this month for $2.3 million.

Team PokerStars Canada pro Pat Pezzin hit the rail in seventh place after 3betting all-in before the flop with A-J. Mohsin “chicagocards1” Charania made the call with pocket sixes and the race was on. Charania hit the jackpot on the flop, which came 6-8-8 for a boat, and Pezzin was drawing dead by the turn. Pezzin picked up $20,000 for making the final table of the NAPT LA Bounty Shootout and earned another $2,000 in bounties.

Coffee was eliminated in sixth place after his pocket sevens could not draw out on Young’s pocket tens and picked up a total of $23,000 for his run in the 81-player poker tournament. Thirty minutes later, NAPT Venetian Main Event winner Tom “Kingsofcards” Marchese was shown the door in fifth place. Marchese got his chips in with Q-7 on a flop of K-7-4 with two hearts for middle pair and was ahead of David Williams’ 9-3 of hearts for a flush draw. Marchese hit two pair on the turn when the queen of diamonds fell, but a heart on the river gave Williams a flush.

Charania was bumped after shoving pre-flop with A-7 of hearts and failing to draw out on the pocket tens of Williams. The reigning World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship winner flopped a set and Charania was quickly drawing dead. He picked up a total of $25,000, which included five $1,000 bounties.

Williams was shown the door in third place from the NAPT LA Bounty Shootout. He was all-in with A-Q and facing the pocket tens belonging to Young. However, the only card higher than a ten onboard was a king and that was all she wrote for the PokerStars pro. Young locked up the most number of bounties in the NAPT event at six and, as a result, received a seat in the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Bounty Shootout.

Baldwin doubled up early in heads-up play. On the final hand of the tournament, Young was all-in with A-Q and ran into Baldwin’s pocket kings. No suckout was in store and the UB.com pro was crowned the NAPT LA Bounty Shootout champion. Young took home $26,000 and a seat in the upcoming Bounty Shootout in the Bahamas, while Baldwin collected $134,000 for the win, $20,000 for making the final table, and $3,000 in bounties. Here’s how the final table cashed out in the winner-take-all event:

1. Eric Baldwin – $134,280 + $20,000 + $3,000 in bounties
2. Justin Young – $20,000 + $6,000 in bounties
3. David Williams – $20,000 + $4,000 in bounties
4. Mohsin Charania – $20,000 + $5,000 in bounties
5. Tom Marchese – $20,000 + $4,000 in bounties
6. Clint Coffee – $20,000 + $3,000 in bounties
7. Pat Pezzin – $20,000 + $2,000 in bounties
8. Michael Mizrachi – $20,000+ $4,000 in bounties
9. Kevin MacPhee – $20,000 + $3,000 in bounties

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Around the World with Lynn Gilmartin: Barcelona

Lynn Gilmartin reminisces over her trip to Barcelona, Spain, one of her favorite European cities, in preparation for the upcoming PokerStars.net EPT Barcelona event.

Internet Gambling’s Deficit Reduction Benefits Emphasized

On Monday, the “lame duck” session of Congress kicked off in Washington, DC. The period may mark one last hoorah for the internet gambling industry in the United States, which will see a Republican-led House of Representatives convene in January. Also this week, the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative has been touting the budgetary effects of legalizing and regulating our industry.

Information distributed by the Initiative on Tuesday explained, “A bi-partisan commission created by President Obama is currently working on a plan to help balance our nation’s budget – projected at $1.42 trillion for fiscal year 2009.  Their recommendations, due to be released by December 1st, 2010, are being crafted in part based on testimony provided by various experts and interest groups.” Licensed internet gambling, according to projections, could bring over $40 billion in much-needed tax revenue over a ten-year period.

The Initiative is asking concerned online poker players and internet gamblers alike to send an e-mail to the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform at commission@fc.eop.gov. The bipartisan commission is tasked with creating ways to address the budget deficit, and internet gambling may be part of the solution.

Former Wyoming Senator Alan Simpson and President Bill Clinton’s Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles serve as the Co-Chairmen of the Commission, whose roster also includes six Democratic lawmakers and six Republican lawmakers. Honeywell International CEO David Cote, former Young and Rubicam Brands CEO Ann Fudge, Service Employees International Union President Andrew Stern, and former Office of Management and Budget Director Alice Rivlin also comprise the eclectic group.

Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative spokesperson Michael Waxman told Poker News Daily on Wednesday, “While the Deficit Commission has many difficult decisions to make, putting to use the revenue generated through online gambling regulation should be a no-brainer.”

The Initiative has crafted a sample e-mail that can be accessed from its website that reads in part, “Given our nation’s economic challenges, it is time to replace a failed attempt at prohibition with a regulated environment that allows online gambling activity, protects consumers, and uses the much-needed new revenue generated to pay off our nation’s debt.” The letter trumpets legislation put forth by Congressmen Barney Frank (D-MA) and Jim McDermott (D-WA). Both will return to the next Congress in the New Year.

Frank’s legislation, HR 2267, has picked up 70 co-sponsors on both sides of the aisle and was rubber-stamped out of the House Financial Services Committee in July. Now, it awaits its time on the House floor. The Poker Players Alliance (PPA), Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative, and other organizations have been pushing for the bill to be acted on during the “lame duck” session. The measure creates a full licensing and regulatory framework for internet gambling companies to solicit U.S. customers.

McDermott introduced HR 4976, the second incarnation of a tax companion bill to HR 2267, in April. The Washington lawmaker’s legislation allocates funds derived from licensed internet gambling to state governments as well as the Federal Government. It has not yet been passed out of the House Ways and Means Committee.

The Initiative’s sample e-mail notes that Americans continue to wager “$100 billion annually online in an underground marketplace” despite laws like the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which was attached to an unrelated port security bill and passed in 2006. HR 2267 and its tax companion may ultimately be pushed through the current Congress in a similar manner and attached as “pay-for” bills to must-pass legislation.

The Initiative’s endorsers include the UC Group, Baker Tilly, eCOGRA, Secure Trading, the Remote Gambling Association, GamCare, and the European Gaming and Betting Association.

Liv Boeree Video Interview

Liv Boeree one of the hot names in the world of poker right now. She’s worked in the industry as an interviewer and at the same time gained respect as a live tournament player.

In this interview, Boeree talks about her perspective of winning the EPT San Remo event and how that has fueled her desire to win more poker tournaments. For her efforts in San Remo, Beoree won €1,250,000 and became the third woman to win an EPT title. She also discusses her passion for rock music and how she expresses that through her fashion sense and mentions Pantera as one of her favorite bands of all time.

Boeree originally came into poker by being a guest contestant on a reality TV show back in 2005. She was coached by Phil Hellmuth and impressed so much that she took up the game seriously. In 2006 she worked for various internet and television shows covering poker and covered the World Series of Poker Europe. She is originally from Kent, England.

She was sponsored previously by UB.com but recently inked a deal to move over to PokerStars. He other successes in poker, outside of the EPT win, was a seventh place finish at the Welsh Poker Championship and a win at a Caesars Palace (Las Vegas, NV) tournament that gave her a $19,000 prize package to the 2007 WPT Five Diamond Poker Classic at the Bellagio. She also was on the Gala UK Poker Tour Season One as a featured player. In 2008 she won the Ladbrokes European Ladies Championship title for $30,000. She has cashed twice at WSOP events, first in the 2008 Event 38 field, which was a $2,000 Pot Limit Hold’em tournament. In that event she finished in 49th place for $4,074. Her other cash at the World Series of Poker was the same year in Event 41 at the $1,500 Mixed Limit Hold’em tournament where she finished 64th for $2,793.

Christopher Demaci Leads NAPT LA After Day 3

The 700-player field of the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Los Angeles stop has been slashed all the way to 19. On Tuesday, the remaining players will return to the felts at 1:00pm PT to play down to a final table.

Christopher Demaci holds a resounding chip lead in NAPT LA after three days of play. Demaci bagged up 3.7 million in chips on Monday night and is well out in front of Micah Raskin’s second place stack of 2.3 million. Demaci fueled his massive chip lead in part by busting online poker pro Mike “goleafsgoeh” Leah with pocket aces against pocket queens on Day 3. He appropriately told his table, “I run decent,” and stood atop the leaderboard when the action concluded. Demaci final tabled a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em tournament during last year’s World Series of Poker (WSOP) for $99,000.

PokerStars sponsored pro Jason Mercier sent Mike Beasley packing with K-J against pocket tens after all of the money went in before the flop. The first three cards came a harmless A-3-4, but a queen on the turn gave Mercier a gutshot straight draw to a 10 in addition to his two overcards. The river was a jack and Beasley hit the rail. Beasley, a strip club owner who finished second in the NAPT Mohegan Sun Main Event to Vanessa Selbst, tried to sway Mercier into partying at his club: “My place is a nice place. You can find some nice girl you can talk to.”

Mercier has already taken down the European Poker Tour (EPT) San Remo Main Event in 2008 and holds a WSOP bracelet. Now, a victory at NAPT LA is within his reach. Text found on the PokerStars Blog details how Mercier found the top three in chips entering Day 4: “He was willing to flip for millions at just about every opportunity. Pocket fours versus Mark Ader’s ace-king. Sure thing. Pocket fives versus Cary Katz’s ace-queen. No problem.” Mercier is fresh off an 11th place finish at the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Foxwoods World Poker Finals for nearly $50,000.

Team PokerStars Online pro George Lind also made waves on Monday in Los Angeles. Lind 4bet all-in pre-flop with A-9 and was up against Leah’s wired pair of 10s. Lind whiffed on the flop and turn, but an ace on the river secured a double up following the three-outer. He sits in 13th place on the leaderboard after three days of play and can be found perusing the virtual felts under the screen name “Jorj95.”

Here are the 19 survivors in NAPT LA headed into Day 4:

1. Christopher Demaci – 3,783,000
2. Micah Raskin – 2,310,000
3. Jason Mercier – 2,150,000
4. Michael Binger – 2,026,000
5. Jake Toole – 1,881,000
6. Joe Tehan – 1,250,000
7. Jimmie Guinther – 1,098,000
8. Anh Van Nguyen – 834,000
9. Tony Nardi – 800,000
10. Jonathan Gagnon-Villeneuve – 711,000
11. Carlos Watanabe – 678,000
12. Joseph Melancon – 660,000
13. George “Jorj95” Lind – 538,000
14. Matt Affleck – 447,000
15. Al Grimes – 429,000
16. Thomas Young – 390,000
17. Carl Beliveau – 348,000
18. Ray Henson – 326,000
19. Alan Myerson – 317,000

Those who finished in the money included:

30. Mike “SowersUNCC” Sowers – $15,000
33. Tyler “puffinmypurp” Reiman – $13,000
43. Chris “SLOPPYKLOD” Klodnicki – $11,000
49. Bryn Kenney – $11,000
50. Eric “sheets” Haber – $11,000
58. Gavin Griffin – $9,500
59. Phil Laak – $9,500
63. Christina Lindley – $9,500
74. Tom “Kingsofcards” Marchese – $8,500
75. Shane “shaniac” Schleger – $8,500
86. Ronnie Bardah – $8,500
87. Shannon Shorr – $8,500
88. James Van Alstyne – $8,500
89. Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin – $7,500
94. Kristy Gazes – $7,500
98. Brian “SNo0oWMAN” Hawkins – $7,500

The blinds will be 12,000-24,000 with an ante of 2,000 when play resumes. Keep it tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest NAPT headlines.

Nick Grippo Leads NAPT LA After Day 1A

The first of two Day 1s played out on Friday in the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) stop in Los Angeles at the Bicycle Casino. A field of 330 players turned out and even more are expected to descend upon the California card room when Day 1B begins this afternoon at 1:00pm PT.

Online poker pro Nick Grippo leads the field after Day 1A with a stack of 235,100. One of the first eliminations of Friday’s play belonged to PokerStars sponsored pro Barry Greenstein, who flopped top pair and rain into middle set. Greenstein received no help on the turn or river and exited a few hands later. The three-time bracelet winner had to take down the name and address of the player who knocked him out, as he did not have a copy of his book “Ace on the River” on-hand to sign.

Just like at the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event final table, Soi Nguyen’s stay in NAPT LA was short-lived. He was out after about four hours when a player holding a set of threes cracked his pocket aces. No saving ace fell from there and Nguyen, the lone amateur at this year’s Main Event final table, headed for the exit.

Freshly un-retired online poker pro Shaun Deeb departed after an opponent hit a full house on the river with pocket threes. The board read A-J-6-3-6 and Deeb exposed a six before heading to the rail. According to coverage found on PokerStars, one of the game’s top internet players decreed “I’m done, see ya” and promptly departed. Following Deeb out the door was PokerStars pro Liv Boeree, who ran pocket jacks into two players with A-K and one with A-X on her final hand.

Jason Mercier hit a flush on the turn and dodged a higher flush draw on the river to scoop a major pot in the final minutes of play on Friday. Mercier bagged up the 10th largest stack at 173,200 when all was said and done. The WSOP bracelet winner and European Poker Tour (EPT) champ took down the NAPT Mohegan Sun Bounty Shootout for nearly $500,000.

Female sensation Annette Obrestad busted after running pocket kings into Isaac Haxton’s A-Q. Haxton spiked a wheel on the river and Obrestad was eliminated. Also ousted on Friday from NAPT LA were 2004 WSOP Main Event champ Greg Raymer, 2010 November Niner Joseph Cheong, Full Tilt Red Pro Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger, Lauren Kling, and PokerStars Canadian pro Pat Pezzin.

Now that we’ve rattled off a list of players who didn’t make it past Day 1A, let’s take a look at the top of the leaderboard after the first nine levels of action on Friday:

1. Nick Grippo – 235,100
2. Tom Middleton – 229,100
3. Scott Fischman – 224,600
4. Clint Coffee – 202,900
5. Romulus Segal – 190,700
6. Cary Katz – 184,000
7. Ryan Welch – 183,100
8. Jake Toole – 181,200
9. Richard Munro – 179,100
10. Jason Mercier – 173,200

Other pros who remain and sit in the top 50 on the leaderboard include:

14. Chris “SLOPPYKLOD” Klodnicki – 130,500
18. Alec “traheho” Torelli – 117,700
23. Corwin “mig.com” Mackey – 102,600
24. John “The Razor” Phan – 101,400
27. Andreas Hoivold – 95,500
30. William Reynolds – 93,100
35. David Baker – 83,400
39. Olivier Busquet – 80,200
40. George Lind – 79,700
41. Justin Bonomo – 79,600
48. Isaac Haxton – 75,200

The blinds stood at 500-1,000 with an ante of 100 when play paused for the night on Day 1A. Today, the action will start from scratch for Day 1B and the survivors will convene for Day 2 on Sunday. PokerStars officials are expecting the total prize pool to pass $3 million and the field size to out-pace the 716 players who showed up the NAPT Mohegan Sun Main Event in April.