Poker News

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.

ECOGRA Certifies CEREUS Poker Network

The CEREUS Network has taken another step towards regaining the trust of its customer base.  The independent certification group eCommerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance (eCOGRA) recently announced that CEREUS met all of the qualifications for the organization’s seal of approval.

According to an announcement on eCOGRA’s site, CEREUS passed the certification process with “flying colors.”  The eCOGRA staff traveled to CEREUS headquarters to review the software and the company that produced it.  The lengthy review process analyzed the company’s random number generator and its management team.  eCOGRA used its Total Gaming Transaction Review system to assess CEREUS’ gaming transactions in terms of fairness and efficiency.

When all was said and done, eCOGRA was more than impressed with CEREUS’ operation.  Sean Roberts, Compliance Manager for eCOGRA, commented on the group’s findings in its official statement: “The active measures taken, in light of events that impacted players, coupled with an impressive range of additional mitigating controls that have since been implemented, have contributed to the CEREUS online poker network’s software reaching the standards we require for software accreditation.”

The London-based eCOGRA has long been considered to be one of the more prestigious and reputable online gaming certification groups out there.  Sites are certified by the Board of Directors, which consists of Executive Director Andrew Beveridge and Independent Directors Bill Henbrey, Michael Hirst, Bill Galston, and Frank Catania.  The board also includes three non-executive directors.  The four executive directors include an accountant, a former board member of Ladbrokes PLC, a retired inspector from the British Gaming Board, and a founder and president of a consulting group.

Beveridge also serves as the CEO of eCOGRA and has been at his post since 2003.  He possesses more than a decade of knowledge and experience in the world of online business and gaming.  A former executive at International Gaming Networks, Beveridge expressed confidence that CEREUS would uphold the standards expected of sites with eCOGRA certification: “CEREUS management’s complete cooperation and commitment to an in-depth inspection and monitoring process involving the network’s transaction records and its software has been remarkable.  Going forward, we are confident that the network’s adherence to our standards and best business practice requirements will prevent any reoccurrence of the unfortunate incidents of the past.”

Obviously excited to hear the good news, Paul Leggett, CEO of CEREUS’ parent company Tokwiro Enterprises, conveyed his feelings about the certification in the official eCOGRA press release: “Doing everything possible to reassure the poker community that our operation and software are completely safe and secure is a priority for us. This is why we decided to work with eCOGRA and apply for the Certified Software accreditation seal,” Leggett explained.  “Their inspection team was extraordinarily thorough, looking at a wide range of elements in our software. We are proud that our product passed the tough requirements to achieve this important accreditation. We have learned a great deal from eCOGRA and we respect and support their ongoing efforts to make the online poker industry more accountable.”

This announcement is not the first time that an outside organization has commended the company for its efforts to improve the safety and fairness of its online poker rooms following the Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet cheating scandals.  Earlier this year, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) issued its findings on the scandal and stated that no one at Tokwiro was aware of the impropriety or was involved in the cheating.  Despite not finding Tokwiro liable for any of the theft, the KGC instituted a list of requirements for UB to retain its CEREUS-issued license, including KGC testing, independent testing, internal audits, and KGC approval on new employee hiring.

Latest leg of the The International Poker School takes place on Saturday

Sportingbet PLC Reports Strong Third Quarter 2009 Revenues

While many companies around the world continue to dig themselves out of the yearlong recession that has affected global business, some online gaming companies seem to be doing quite well for themselves. In announcing its third quarter numbers for 2009, Sportingbet PLC joins a small list of gaming companies that have been able to turn a profit.

During the announcement last week of the company’s third quarter 2009 earnings, Sportingbet PLC, which owns the popular online poker room Paradise Poker, reported an increase in revenues versus the same time period last year. Sportingbet PLC was able to show a net profit of £48.6 million for the third quarter 2009, up 26% against the £38.6 million that the company pulled in during the third quarter of 2008.

European betting on Sportingbet’s online sports book seems to be the driving factor for its third quarter success. Amounts wagered on sports betting in Europe grew by 38.2% during the third quarter 2009 to £263.8 million versus 2008’s £190.9 million. “I am pleased to report a solid performance,” stated Andrew McIver, the Group Chief Executive for Sportingbet PLC. “Group performance continues to be driven by the European sports betting business, which has seen strong growth in all its key metrics including amounts wagered and active customer numbers.”

Sportingbet PLC, which is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol “SBT,” admitted to cutting some costs during the third quarter, however. In July, Sportingbet divested itself of ownership in Italian operations, Sportingbet Italia S.p.A., which had been a drain on profits. In addition to this cut, Sportingbet stated that its overall profits could have been better, but continued loss of American revenue and the competition with other online poker rooms that accept U.S. play cut into the bottom line.

McIver continues to be optimistic about the future of the company: “Trading (in Sportingbet PLC stock) since the start of the second quarter has remained robust… The Group performance to date gives the Board confidence with regard to the remainder of the financial year.”

The third quarter report comes on the heels of Sportingbet’s announcement of its fiscal year 2009 numbers, which reflected growth in bookmaking operations and a continued drop in players at Paradise Poker.

In October, Party Gaming announced the results of the third quarter and showed a drop of about 4% of revenues. Party Gaming officials attributed the drop to “higher player numbers offset by lower yields,” meaning they weren’t pulling in as much money even though they had more players. Much like Sportingbet PLC, Party Gaming does not accept any American action. Recently, Party Gaming completed the purchase of assets of the World Poker Tour (WPT), trumping a bid submitted by a subsidiary of the iPoker Network.

James Akenhead Wins Full Tilt Poker Million VIII

Rack up another final table for Full Tilt Poker Red Pro James Akenhead.  The British pro, who already final tabled both the World Series of Poker (WSOP) and World Series of Poker (WSOPE) Main Events earlier this year, not only made the crop of top six finishers in the Full Tilt Poker Million VIII event, but won the whole thing.  He netted $500,000 in the process.

The Full Tilt Poker Million was an invitational event featuring 72 players from around the globe fighting for the half-million dollar first place prize.  The shootout-style event’s preliminary and semi-final bouts were filmed earlier this year in London and already aired on Sky Sports in Europe.  While those rounds were taped, the final table players returned to London Friday to play down to a champion.

One of the event’s organizers, Matchroom Sport, posted live updates in its online poker forum to keep non-Europeans posted on the tournament’s action.  When the final table began, it was Luke “FullFlush” Schwartz who held the chip lead with 397,000, while Akenhead was in second place with 338,000.  The players started the final table with the same number of chips they ended with in the semi-finals, save Craig Wakeham, an online qualifier from Full Tilt who was added to the mix at the last minute and given the shortest stack of 100,000 chips.

Joining Akenhead, Schwartz, and Wakeham at the final table were CardRunners instructor Taylor “Green Plastic” Caby, Juha Helppi, Dag Martin Mikkelsen, and another online qualifier who defeated a host of top pros to make the final table, Peter Vasiliou.

Those enrolled in the Piece of Taylor promotion at CardRunners will be sad to hear that Caby was the first player eliminated when he moved all-in with pocket sevens from the button and Mikkelsen called out of the blinds with K-4.  A king on the flop and a king on the turn spelled disaster for Caby, who was eliminated in seventh place for a $50,000 payout.  The winner of Piece of Taylor promotion will still earn $500 for taking part.

Vasiliou was the next player to fall, also knocked out at the hands of Mikkelsen, who overtook the chip lead after the qualifier’s sixth place elimination. The other qualifier was out only minutes later after losing a coin flip to Helppi.  At that point, the blinds were so high that virtually every player at the table was in all-in or fold mode.  Schwartz called an all-in shove from Akenhead holding pocket eights to Akenhead’s As-7s and the opinionated and vocal Schwartz started to leave the table even though he had the best hand.  The eights only improved, as the flop fell 10-9-8, but it also brought straight and flush possibilities for Akenhead.  The turn made a flush for Akenhead and when the board failed to pair on the river, the former chip leader was decimated, while Akenhead amassed a sizeable chip lead.

Schwartz returned to the table and quickly doubled up, but couldn’t repeat the feat, losing with A-5 to Mikkelsen’s K-Q and he was out in fourth place.  It looked like Helppi would be next to fall, but he doubled up at the right time He then eliminated Mikkelsen in third place to take the chip lead headed into heads-up play against Akenhead.

Even though Helppi held the chip advantage, the blinds were high enough that the win was far from in the bag.  It was only a matter of hands before Akenhead edged out his opponent for the chip lead and the final hand of play went down when Helppi picked up pocket sixes to Akenhead’s pocket tens.  The tens held and Akenhead took down his first major title of 2009.  In total, the final table took just under four hours to complete, which is pretty brief when compared to Akenhead’s other two final table appearances this year.

Here are the final table results from this year’s Poker Million:

1st Place: James Akenhead – $500,000
2nd Place: Juha Helppi – $250,000
3rd Place: Dag Martin Mikkelsen  – $200,000
4th Place: Luke “FullFlush” Schwartz – $150,000
5th Place: Craig Wakeham – $100,000
6th Place: Peter Vasiliou – $75,000
7th Place: Taylor “Green Plastic” Caby – $50,000

Poker News in Brief: Nov. 30-Dec. 6, 2009

With all that quality front page poker news there were a number of stories that almost fell through the cracks here at PL.com.

Fortunately, we publish our Poker News in Brief feature every Sunday and we’re going to recount some of the lesser-known stories below.

This week we’ll take a look at the original WSOP location shutting down its hotel, an Australian going back-to-back at the APPT High Roller’s event, a UB Poker pro winning a side event at Bellagio and more.

Binions Hotel Shuts Doors

Binions Gambling Hall & Hotel, the original location of the World Series of Poker, will be shutting down the hotel component of the business, according to a statement from owners this week.

Lisa Robinson, a spokesperson for Owners TLC Casino Enterprises, told the Associated Press the decision was made to keep the rest of the property operational.

She went on to say the facility was heavily affected by the economic downturn and the hotel rooms were no longer competitive.

The casino and legendary poker room will remain in business.

The property was originally known as Binion’s Horseshoe and it was there that Benny Binion conceived the WSOP.

The WSOP brand was sold to Harrah’s in 2004 and the next year the tournament was moved to the Rio All-Suites Hotel.

Graham goes back to back at APPT Sydney High Rollers Event

Jarred Graham pulled off an unlikely repeat performance as the APPT Sydney High Roller champion this week.

The young Australian outlasted 26 players including notables Jeff Lisandro, David Steicke and Terrence Chan to take down the $156,000 (AUD) first place prize.

This is the second year the $15,300 (AUD) buy-in event has been held and last year was actually more difficult for Graham, as he had to beat 36 players.

Graham now has life-time tournament earnings of $468,602, which puts him 21^st on the Australian all-time money list.

PartyGaming Wins Poker Operator of the Year

PartyPoker won Poker Operator of the Year honors at the eGaming Review Awards (EGR) in London this week.

An independent judging panel recognized that PartyPoker had made the most headway in the real-money poker sector over the last year. The judges were looking at originality, growth, scale, usability, payment processing and marketing.

Other notable poker winners included PKR for Best Online Marketing Campaign with special mentions to Betfair for Mobile Gaming Operator and ChiliPoker for Rising Star of the Year.

Russian Takes European Masters of Poker Slovenia

A Russian stole the show at the Slovenia leg of the second season of the European Masters of Poker this week.

Vladimir Mefodichev outlasted 252 opponents to take down the €58,190 first place prize in the three-day event.

The €1,000 buy-in event drew players from across the globe and the final table had players from Denmark, Russia, Israel, Sweden, France and Romania.

The European Masters of Poker now heads to Casino Las Canaria, Spain for the next tournament, which takes place Jan. 28-31.

Michael Binger Wins Five Diamond Side-Event

UB sponsored pro Michael Binger added yet another side event title at the 2009 Bellagio Five Diamond series this week.

Binger outlasted 127 players to win the $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em event for $124,160.

Since bursting onto the poker scene with a third place finish in the 2006 WSOP Main Event for $4.1 million, Binger has taken down the 2008 WSOPC Lake Tahoe title for $181,379 and side events at the L.A. Poker Classic and Five Star World Poker Classic.

Adding in numerous cashes from around the globe, Binger has slightly more than $6.2 million in lifetime tournament earnings.

Power Hours on UB, Absolute Poker

Absolute Poker and UB players now have opportunity to earn twice the frequent player points during certain times.

Starting this week both sites will offer Power Hours from Monday-Saturday between the hours of 1-4 a.m. ET and 1-4 p.m. PT where players will earn twice the UB or AP points. The promotion is open to both tournament and cash-game players.

On Sunday, all players can earn double points between the hours of 1-4 a.m. ET with a special 1-5 p.m. ET session just for cash game players.

Players do not need to sign up and the points will simply be added to their account balance.

Full Tilt Signs Jani Vilmunen

It appears that Full Tilt Poker has signed Jani “KObyTAPOUT” Vilmunen as their latest red pro.

At the start of the week, the Finnish PLO-expert was still playing by his KObyTAPOUT alias but by mid-week a red Jani Vilmunen showed up at the tables on Full Tilt.

Vilmunen is most well-known as a fierce high stakes online cash game player, but he’s also had success in tournaments. Vilmunen won the Pot-Limit Omaha event at the WSOPE this fall for $336,396 and he also won the $2,100 PLO Six-Max WCOOP event on PokerStars for $172,140.

Full Tilt has yet to publicly confirm it has signed Vilmunen.

UB, Poker Player Magazine Hold Tournament for Armed Forces

Poker Player Magazine and UB Poker will host a freeroll this January to benefit those serving in the United States armed services.

All members of the armed forces, including veterans, are encouraged to participate, but the event is open to all players who would like to show their appreciation for men and women in uniform.

“This is a great event for everyone,” said Poker Pro Media Vice President Will Jordan, a former Marine. “But it is especially gratifying because we will be getting our servicemen and women involved. They deserve our gratitude, and this is just one small way to show it.”

The grand prize will be a $10,000 seat in the 2010 WSOP Main Event, along with $2,000 in expense money.

To sign up for the freeroll simply go to UB.com by Dec. 27 and use the promotion code PKRPRO.

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.

London Poker Circuit’s deep stack event takes place this weekend

Full Tilt Poker Million Final Table Airs Live Friday

The live finale of the Full Tilt Poker Million is on the horizon, which means the last of its pre-taped episodes are airing on the Sky Sports channel in Europe.  The most recent installments have focused on the last of the Turbo preliminary heats and the two semi-final heats of the prestigious invitational event.  The live finale is set to air on Sky Sports on Friday.

The eighth installment of the event featured 72 different players, including Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad, Gus Hansen, Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko, Nam Le, David Chiu, Allen Cunningham, Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, Jennifer Tilly, and Tom “durrrr” Dwan.

The heats played out in London in recent months.  In the first round, there were 12 six-handed preliminary heats.  Each of the winners advanced to the semi-final round, while the runners-up were put into a consolation Turbo heat.  The first of the two Turbo heats was taken down by online qualifier Peter Vasiliou, while Antonio Esfandiari took down the second Turbo, which aired on Tuesday on Sky Sports.  Esfandiari defeated a lineup that included Hansen, Timoshenko, Christian “charder” Harder, Michael Tureniec, and Bradley “FatsoFat6969” Craig.  Heads-up play got down to Craig and Esfandiari.  On the final hand of play, Craig moved all-in with K-2, Esfandiari called with pocket sevens, and the wired pair held.

The first of two semi-final heats is set to air Wednesday night and will feature Le, Obrestad, Vasiliou, Luke “Full Flush” Schwartz, Juha Helppi, Tony Bloom, and Paul Zimbler.  Bloom had experience on his side, as he made the final table of this event in 2000 and 2001, but would fall short of final table number three.  The top three finishers in each of the semi-final heats advanced to the finale’ that honor went to Vasiliou, Schwartz, and Helppi.

The second semi-final heat airs on Thursday and will feature Esfandiari, Chiu, Dwan, CardRunners instructor Taylor “GreenPlastic” Caby, Dag Martin Mikkelsen, James Akenhead, and Daniel Bowden.  The second semi-final saw Caby, Mikkelsen, and Akenhead advance to meet the other three qualifiers in the final round.

As Poker News Daily previously reported, Caby is offering members of Truly Free Poker Training a chance to win 1% of his earnings, which could range between $50,000 for seventh place and $500,000 for first.  The contest is still open and people are automatically registered once they enroll with the free site, which offers users a chance to earn CardRunners and StoxPoker subscriptions based on the number of Full Tilt Points they earn in a given month.

Though the episodes are playing daily on Sky Sports, the various heats and semi-finals of the event took place over the course of a couple of months.  Caby spoke to Poker News Daily about the long breaks in between action and acknowledged that it took a little time for him to adjust to the unusual format.  “It’s the first time it ever happened to me.  It’s kind of weird to fly back home and then fly back [to London] knowing I can bust on the first hand, but I am excited to go back,” he explained.

Players will begin the final table with the same amount of chips they ended with in the semi-final round.  To add another twist to the event, there is also supposed to be a seventh online qualifier thrown into the mix at the outset of the final table.

In a press release revealing details of the semi-final and final rounds of the tournament, Matchroom Sport’s Eddie Hearn commented on the excitement and prestige surrounding the event’s live finale: “The Poker Million final is always one of the most exciting dates for the poker diary. We staged poker’s first ever live televised final back in 2000 and since then it’s been an event that all the top players want to take down. With the likes of Tom Dwan, Nam Le, Luke Schwartz, Annette Obrestad, Juha Helppi, and James Akenhead in the semi finals, Friday night is set to be an electric night of poker.”

The live final table is set to begin at 7:30pm GMT on Friday, December 4th.

Poker News in Brief: Nov. 23-29, 2009

With only the main event of the U.S. Poker Championships to keep poker fans busy they were left to contemplate the identity of the rumored Swede who has taken millions off Tom "durrrr" Dwan.

There was a ton of other poker news, however, and we're going to break some of it down for you today in our regularly scheduled Poker News in Brief feature.

This week we're going to look at PKR Live III results, another world record broken on PokerStars, an Andy Beal update and a certain young celebrity with a penchant for poker.

Billionaire poker player bids on Trump Casinos

It appears that billionaire banker Andy Beal isn't quite done with the poker world.

The Dallas-based businessman made a bid for three bankrupt Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. Casinos in Atlantic City this week.

Beal was portrayed as a fearless poker player in Michael Craig's The Professor, the banker and the Suicide King: The Richest Poker Game of all Time.

In the book, Craig chronicled Beal's heads-up matches against the likes of Phil Ivey, Jennifer Harman and Doyle Brunson, which were some of the biggest games ever played.

Under Beal's buyout proposal, an affiliate of his Dallas-based bank would convert its $486 million mortgage on the casinos into equity.

Beal's bid is just the latest in a series that included Trump Entertainment bondholders and Donald Trump himself.

The three properties in question are the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort, the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino and the Trump Marina Hotel Casino.

Russian breaks world record on PokerStars

Russian online player innerpsy broke the record for number of hands played in a 24 hour span this week.

The 21-year-old poker pro somehow managed to log 40,088 hands on PokerStars in just one day.

"Before this challenge I never actually played more than 20,000 hands in a day before but the idea came up and I just figured I could do it," he told PokerStars Blog. "It was one of the toughest things I have ever accomplished, but I am proud I managed it."

The challenge was hosted on PokerStars by Russian forum Card Game Masters and nearly 10,000 fans logged on to watch innerpsy burn his way through more hands than some poker players go through in their lifetime.

Qualifier wins PKR Live III

A 21-year-old English man made history by winning the biggest PKR Live payout ever in London this week.

Vincent "vd12345" Diver qualified for the event for just $5 on PKR and went on to outlast 133 players to take the first place prize of PKR Live III for $33,500.

"It's an incredible sum to me and it still hadn't kicked in until I saw it on my PKR account," he said. "It has opened up a lot of doors for me."

This year's PKR Live required a buy-in of $1,000 and took place at the Loose Cannon in London. The event has grown in every year of its existence.

Grandmothers arrested for playing poker in Cyprus

Forty two women between the ages of 75 and 95 were arrested at private home game in Cyprus this week.

The police raided the house where the games took place in Ayios loannis and proceeded to charge the women for illegal gambling. The police also confiscated €100 in betting money, 546 playing chips and 530 playing cards.

Playing cards for money is illegal in Cyprus and the police regularly conduct raids at clubs, betting ships and various associations.

The women were playing poker and gin rummy.

The raid took place on Sunday at 6 p.m. after a series of complaints from neighbors about noise.

Zac Efron a poker pro?

Renowned director Richard Linklater says teen heartthrob Zac Efron is a poker shark.

Linklater told the UK's Press Association that although Efron looks clean cut, he will take your money if you play poker against him.

Linklator is currently directing the young star in Me and Orsen Welles, which sees Efron play teenager Richard Samuels who ends up working with a young Orsen Welles.

Efron has never played the popular WPT Celebrity Invitational, which takes place every year at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles.

Weekly freerolls: Lots of action on the way

Check the list below for upcoming freeroll events, or head to the main freerolls page for full details on all freerolls coming to your favorite poker room.

The following freerolls are open to all PokerListings.com players. Qualify in the specified qualification period, then take your seat to win a fistful of free cash.

If you're not a PokerListings registered player on any of the following sites, click on the site's name in the list to sign up. Getting your free seat in the tournament can be just as simple as that.

Pacific Poker

Just deposit as a PokerListings.com player and receive entry into Pacific Poker's weekly freeroll.

• Date: Dec. 1, 19:00 GMT
• Value: $500
• Qualify with: Deposit and play

Paradise Poker

Paradise Poker is offering an exclusive freeroll to win cash prizes, including packages to the Paradise Series of Poker (London).

• Date: Dec. 2, 19:30
• Value: €2,500
• Qualify with: Rake €15
• Qualify between: Nov. 1 - Nov. 30

William Hill Poker

With just 100 points you can play in William Hill's next exclusive freeroll worth $2,500.

• Date: Dec. 3, 19:00 GMT
• Value: $2,500
• Qualify with: 100 Points
• Qualify between: Nov. 1 - Nov. 30

Full Tilt

Full Tilt offers weekly freerolls to all PokerListings players. Qualify with 100 points earned the week before the event to grab your seat.

• Date: Dec. 5, 13:00 GMT
• Value: $1,500
• Qualify with: 100 points
• Qualify between: Nov. 28 - Dec. 4

Titan Poker

The weekly $1,000 freeroll from Titan is set for Dec. 5. You only need 1 point to qualify for a seat.

• Date: Dec. 5, 18:00 GMT
• Value: $1,000
• Qualify with: 1 point

PokerStars

PokerStars is offering a $20,000 Caribbean Adventure satellite freeroll on Dec. 6. You need to collect 100 points before the end of November for your seat.

• Date: Dec. 6, 15:00 EST
• Value: $20,000
• Qualify with: 100 points
• Qualify between: Nov. 1 - Nov. 30

Titan Poker

The monthly $5,000 freeroll from Titan is set for Dec. 6. You only need 25 points to qualify for a seat.

• Date: Dec. 6, 19:00 GMT
• Value: $5,000
• Qualify with: 25 points

Pacific Poker

The next Pacific Poker monthly freeroll is set, and ready to give away $1,000. Just 100 points to qualify.

• Date: Dec. 6, 19:00 GMT
• Value: $1,000
• Qualify with: 100 Points
• Qualify between: Nov. 1 - Nov. 30

RedKings Poker

Exclusive to PokerListings.com players, RedKings is putting up $2,100 to any player to deposit and play one hand of real money poker.

• Date: Dec. 12, 19:00 GMT
• Value: $2,100
• Qualify with: Deposit and play

Sportsbook Poker

For first time depositors only. Register through PokerListings, deposit and play one real money hand of poker to get your seat.

• Date: Dec. 13, 19:00 EST
• Value: $2,000
• Qualify with: Deposit and play
• Qualify between: Nov. 1 - Nov. 30

bwin Poker

For first time depositors only. Register through PokerListings, deposit and collect 50 points to get your seat.

• Date: Dec. 13, 19:00 GMT
• Value: $2,000
• Qualify with: 50 points
• Qualify between: May. 31 - Dec. 11

Party Poker

Collect 100 points as a PokerListings player for your seat in Party Poker's exclusive $2,000 cash freeroll.

• Date: Dec. 19, 20:00
• Value: $2,000
• Qualify with: 100 points
• Qualify between: Nov. 1 - Nov. 30

Titan Poker

Start earning points now to qualify for your seat in the massive $15,000 Titan freeroll, open to all PokerListings players

• Date: Dec. 20, 19:00 GMT
• Value: $15,000
• Qualify with: 750 points

Frenchman Fabrice Soulier Signs with Everest Poker

Everest Poker, an independent online poker site, is continuing to build its influence in France by signing Fabrice Soulier. 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event third place finisher and fellow French player Antoine Saout is also a sponsored pro of the site.

A press release distributed by Everest Poker claimed that the move to sign Soulier was made in order to reinforce “its presence in the country in a continued effort to develop poker in France ahead of the opening of the market.” Soulier has a wealth of live poker cashes dating back to before Chris Moneymaker bested Sammy Farha in the 2003 WSOP Main Event. In 2001, he won the Grand Prix de Paris for over $50,000 and, the next year, finished as the runner-up in a $500 buy-in tournament during the Jack Binion World Poker Open in Tunica for $41,000.

In 2006, Soulier made his presence felt on television, taking fifth in the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Bay 101 Shooting Star tournament for $240,000, an event ultimately won by Nam Le. Soulier won a €1,000 buy-in event as part of the Deauville Poker Festival in late 2007 and went on to win the Marrakech Poker Open’s Main Event for $135,000 two years later. During the recently-held 2009 WSOP, he took 49th in the Main Event for nearly $140,000 and recorded six other cashes.

A press release distributed by Everest Poker explained Soulier’s influence within France: “He is a regular at key French poker rendezvous throughout the year and has participated in a number of television shows and projects which have helped improve and develop the perception of the game in France and mold the poker scene into the mature and leading market that it is today.”

According to PokerScout.com, Everest Poker is the sixth largest site or network worldwide with a seven-day running average of 2,350 real money ring game players. During its peak hours, which occur in the evening throughout Europe, over 5,000 competitors can be found battling it out on Everest Poker’s virtual felts. At the time of writing, which is early afternoon in London, a total of 2,912 cash game players are logged in. Everest Poker does not accept players from the United States and its traffic is similar with that found on the CEREUS Network, which includes the newly-branded UB.com and Absolute Poker. It is the official on-felt sponsor of the WSOP.

A French news outlet in Las Vegas during the conclusion of the 2009 WSOP Main Event told Poker News Daily that Saout winning the $10,000 buy-in tournament would likely result in a poker renaissance in the European nation. Every hand won by the Frenchman led the site to blog with earnest. However, Saout ultimately finished third after his pocket queens could not withstand champion Joe Cada’s pocket deuces when the flop fell 7-2-9. Saout came out on the short end of a race shortly thereafter with pocket eights against Cada’s A-K when a king hit on the river. The two unfortunate hands ended Saout’s run at the Main Event title, but he earned $3.5 million for his efforts.

According to an update provided last Sunday on PokerScout.com, Everest Poker has seen its traffic slide 3% year over year. Contrastingly, traffic on Full Tilt Poker and the Entraction Network has grown by 110% and 65%, respectively.

Body of missing poker player John Regan found in canal

Can you help find a missing London poker player?

Tony G believes in Tom Dwan

The famous motormouth, Tony G, speaks out about the crazy cash games on Full Tilt.

Tony G believes that Tom “durrrr” Dwan will raise up again. He doesn’t believe Dwan goes busto ever, because there’s always some stakers behind him, like Phil Ivey.

Tony mentions about Dwan’s sponsorship deal with Full Tilt as well and tells that Dwan earns at least 2 million dollars from it.

According to Tony G, “Isildur1” is only 19 years old. This statement would back up the rumors that “Isildur1″ is Viktor “Blom90″ Blom (in the picture below).

Tony G ponders if these big games are a good thing and continues to write about a scenario if “Isildur1″ loses 10 million dollars in a day and “the kid” would jump off the bridge.

Read the whole blog entry here.

You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com

Tony G believes in Tom Dwan

Vincent Diver wins PKR Live III

Daniel Negreanu’s Mother Passes Away

On Monday, Team PokerStars Pro member Daniel Negreanu posted a blog entry on Full Contact Poker entitled “Mommy is Gone.” The funeral is scheduled for Thursday at 11:00am at the Jerett Funeral Home in Toronto.

Negreanu revealed that his mother passed away in her sleep around 3:30am early Monday morning in a hospital, where she had been since February. The four-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner explained, “10 months of the most brutal torture. Just no way to live, and there is a sense of relief that she doesn’t have to suffer anymore.” Earlier this year, Negreanu’s mother suffered a stroke and mild heart attack, leading to her hospitalization. She had surgery to clean out a corroded artery and then had open heart surgery shortly thereafter. Negreanu vividly painted the picture of the scene at the hospital in a mid-February entry: “She’s on life support, hooked up to a machine with a tube in her throat. She’s getting blood also, and there are just all kinds of random tubes all over the place. I don’t know what they all do.”

Negreanu recapped that he flew in from London with the intention of seeing his mother, but was too late. His brother, who had been a frequent guest at the hospital, was not present at the time of her passing either, as he had traveled to New Jersey for a football game. Negreanu lamented, “She was literally the most unselfish person I’d ever met. She got so much joy out of simply feeding people. I mean that. She loved nothing more than to cook and care for people. This Christmas will be a different one for sure. She usually cooks up a massive feast that all of my friends look forward to.”

Many of Negreanu’s posts relating to his mother occurred in February. However, two months later, Negreanu noted that the situation was still grim, but he was continuing to focus on his burgeoning poker career: “I can’t control what’s going on with my mother, but I can control how focused I am at the poker table.” Negreanu finished in the money eight times during the 2009 WSOP in Las Vegas and added a runner-up showing in the £10,000 buy-in Main Event of WSOP Europe, a tournament that he finished fifth in last year. All told, Negreanu has over $3.3 million in WSOP and Circuit cashes to his name.

An image in Negreanu’s blog entry shows his mother planting a big kiss on his cheek after he took down the Borgata Poker Open, a stop on the World Poker Tour (WPT), in 2004. On his mother’s support of his poker career, Negreanu revealed, “You know how some people never feel like their parents are proud of them? That was never in question with my mother. She always told me and showed me how proud she was of me without fail. I always felt loved by her and that’s an irreplaceable bond and feeling. She told me she loved me… every day. I mean every… single… day.” The Borgata Poker Open saw Negreanu best one of the most talented final tables in WPT history, featuring David Williams, Josh Arieh, and Phil Ivey.

Negreanu remarked, “She loved to dance and laugh. Some of my best memories as a kid were at dinner parties she’d throw at the house. As always, a monster feast, music, lots of wine and drinks… my dad telling jokes that had everyone laughing, then dancing in the living room.” In May, Negeranu headed to Toronto to visit his mother. He noted that visitors donned gloves and a gown to avoid spreading germs and, although his mother could not speak, she was able to nod and shake her head. Prior to her hospitalization, Negreanu would read her the last names of fellow poker players and have her guess their origins. In the hospital in May, Negreanu tested his parent with “Kravchenko.”

Viewing is scheduled for Wednesday from 2:00pm to 8:00pm at the Jerett Funeral Home in Toronto, with the funeral set to take place on Thursday at 11:00am. We’d like to express our deepest condolences to the Negreanu family.

2010 GUKPT schedule announced

Weekly freerolls: $25k PokerStars freeroll today

Check the list below for upcoming freeroll events, or head to the main Freerolls page for full details on all freerolls coming to your favorite poker room.

The following freerolls are open to all PokerListings.com players. Qualify in the specified qualification period, then take your seat to win a fistful of free cash.

If you're not a PokerListings registered player on any of the following sites, click on the site's name in the list to sign up. Getting your free seat in the tournament can be just as simple as that.

Party Poker

Deposit and play as a PokerListings player for your seat in Party Poker's $15,000 Aussie Millions satellite.

• Date: Nov. 28, 20:00
• Value: $15,000
• Qualify with: Deposit and play

Full Tilt

Full Tilt offers weekly freerolls to all PokerListings players. Qualify with 200 points earned the week before the event to grab your seat.

• Date: Nov. 28, 13:00 GMT
• Value: $3,000
• Qualify with: 200 points
• Qualify between: Nov. 21 - Nov. 27

Paradise Poker

Paradise Poker is offering an exclusive freeroll to win cash prizes, including packages to the Paradise Series of Poker (London).

• Date: Dec. 2, 19:30
• Value: €2,500
• Qualify with: Rake €15
• Qualify between: Nov. 1 - Nov. 30

William Hill Poker

With just 100 points you can play in William Hill's next exclusive freeroll worth $2,500.

• Date: Dec. 3, 19:00 GMT
• Value: $2,500
• Qualify with: 100 Points
• Qualify between: Nov. 1 - Nov. 30

PokerStars

PokerStars is offering a $20,000 Caribbean Adventure satellite freeroll on Dec. 6. You need to collect 100 points before the end of November for your seat.

• Date: Dec. 6, 15:00 EST
• Value: $20,000
• Qualify with: 100 points
• Qualify between: Nov. 1 - Nov. 30

Titan Poker

The monthly $5,000 freeroll from Titan is set for Dec. 6. You only need 25 points to qualify for a seat.

• Date: Dec. 6, 19:00 GMT
• Value: $5,000
• Qualify with: 25 points

Pacific Poker

The next Pacific Poker monthly freeroll is set, and ready to give away $1,000. Just 100 points to qualify.

• Date: Dec. 6, 19:00 GMT
• Value: $1,000
• Qualify with: 100 Points
• Qualify between: Nov. 1 - Nov. 30

Sportsbook Poker

For first time depositors only. Register through PokerListings, deposit and play one real money hand of poker to get your seat.

• Date: Dec. 13, 19:00 EST
• Value: $2,000
• Qualify with: Deposit and play
• Qualify between: Nov. 1 - Nov. 31

Titan Poker

Start earning points now to qualify for your seat in the massive $15,000 Titan freeroll, open to all PokerListings players

• Date: Dec. 20, 19:00 GMT
• Value: $15,000
• Qualify with: 750 points

Tom Dwan thrashes Sammy George in London

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.

durrrr takes $750k from George to wrap challenge

After losing just $22,500 to Marcello "luckexpress" Marigliano in the first match, and beating Ilari "Ziigmund" Sahamies by a slim $68,000 in the second, Dwan took a whopping $750,000 off George in the final match of three at London's Les Ambassadeurs club.

The game was No-Limit Hold'em with a $250,000 buy-in and Dwan dominated from the outset, forcing George to rebuy when his aces held against the Londoner's big slick.

He then pushed George off two pair with a massive $400,000 all-in bet into a more than $130k pot holding nothing but seven-deuce.

The board read A♥ J♥ 6♥ 3♣ with George holding A♦ 6♣ to Dwan's 7♠ 2♥.

After George checked, Dwan led out. George called and when the 3♦ fell on the river, Dwan simply pushed all in.

The two had a $10,000 seven-deuce prop-bet going, meaning anyone who won a pot and showed seven-deuce would get paid.

As a result, when George couldn't make the call after five minutes in the tank, durrrr showed the bluff.

To be fair, Dwan admitted he would have folded as well.

"I am bluffing with any hand I get to the river with that isn't a pair or better, but it's so rare that I get to the river without a pair, so his fold is pretty reasonable and I would make the same fold just about every time," he explained after the match.

"Once Sammy checked the turn I had to bet in my mind as I thought I was going to win a lot of the time. On the river I might have given up, but on the board-pairing river I think it was an easy shove, as it's so believable that I have a full-house there and Sammy has a tough call with any hand.

"He rarely has a full house and it's likely he just has aces or something like that, so I really like my shove on the river and fortunately Sammy didn't make the hero call. It would have been an absurd call and luckily for me he didn't make it. I was pretty worried for a while that he was going to make it but thankfully it worked out."

George said he almost made the call, but couldn't pull the trigger.

"He either had the nuts or nothing and I was so close to calling," he said. "But you can't in that situation. If I'd called and he has the nut-flush I'm an idiot, if I call and he has air, I'm a hero."

George called the hand a turning point in the match and Dwan's domination continued after as George was forced to rebuy again, finally tapping the mat when he went broke just before the allotted 500 hands were through.

Gracious in victory, Dwan said the cards simply fell his way all night.

"I don't think I played too well today, I just think I happened to get a bunch of hands, like I don't think Sammy played badly, he just happened to be on the wrong side of some tough spots," he said. "It's easy to look like a genius when you have the best hand every time, and easy to not look like one when you get beat every hand."

Matchroom Sports' Eddie Hearn labeled the challenge a success and said there are plans to do it all over again on the other side of the pond in 2010.

"The last three days has been a rollercoaster of swings and emotions at the Full Tilt Poker Durrrr Million Dollar Challenge," said Hearn. "All-in-all, the event was a huge success and we are already in talks to take the challenge to the States early next year."

CNBC Closing Bell Tackles Internet Gambling

The Global Gaming Expo is currently unfolding from Las Vegas and, as part of its coverage of the event, CNBC’s “Closing Bell” aired a four-minute segment entitled, “Odds Favor Online Gambling?”

Two industry experts joined CNBC “Closing Bell” host Melissa Francis on Thursday, Andrew Parmentire of Height Analytics and David Katz, an Oppenheimer gaming analyst. The former began the discussion, which did not take in a debate form, but rather featured both parties agreeing that legalized internet gambling in the United States is inevitable. Parmentire explained, “Barney Frank has put a bill out there and the stars are lining up in a lot of ways. Harrah’s has shown that they have an online strategy, Congress and states are in desperate need for money, and $50 billion can offset a lot of social programs that Democrats are pushing these days.” The proposed health care initiative, for example, could come with a price tag approaching $1 trillion.

Katz told CNBC viewers, “Gambling in the U.S. has become a far more acceptable consumer product than it was five or ten years ago. That said, we really are much more focused on the publicly traded companies and that would be the brick-and-mortars like Harrah’s as well as the game providers and the technology companies that support those industries.” Katz added that Harrah’s has become a major proponent of licensing online gaming. The Las Vegas-based private company recently launched Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment (HIE), based on Montreal, to oversee its online brand, with former Party Gaming CEO Mitch Garber as its lead figure.

Harrah’s inked an agreement with 888, the parent company of Pacific Poker, to fill its online gaming needs. 888 is a publicly traded company in London, where it can be found under the same three-number acronym. Katz explained that with casinos slowly reaching their limits in the live space, the switch to the Web is inevitable: “If you go to the Bellagio, they have a couple of hundred seats to sit in, so there’s a physical constraint. If you look at the number of states out there that are considering legalizing gaming, they’re going down every year. There’s a finite opportunity for the brick-and-mortar guys to expand in the United States and at some point, they have to start thinking globally.”

The CNBC spot occurred about two weeks prior to December 1st, the date by which the financial services industry in the United States must fall into line with the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). The Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the industry’s main lobbying voice, issued a letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to postpone the date by one year while effective legislation can be crafted. However, the two government officials have not yet responded.

The UIGEA was passed during the waning moments of the 2006 Congressional session at the direction of former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (D-TN). It was approved by a 3:1 margin in the House of Representatives and by unanimous consent in the Senate after being attached to the SAFE Port Act. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that the UIGEA did not in and of itself make any sort of internet gambling activity illegal. Instead, the legality of an online activity depends on a player’s jurisdiction. Parmentire candidly explained, “There is a lot of anger as to how this happened in 2006.” The PPA has expanded its membership from 50,000 in 2006 to over 1.2 million today.

Concurrently with the Global Gaming Expo, 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion Joe Cada, who represents the online poker room PokerStars, has spread goodwill by appearing on mainstream outlets like the “Late Show with David Letterman,” ESPN’s “SportsCenter,” and USA Today. Cada, an online poker pro, became the youngest winner of the $10,000 buy-in tournament ever at age 21, breaking Peter Eastgate’s record of 22 years-old set in 2008.

GUKPT Grand Final festivities kick off

durrrr downs Ziigmund in second challenge match

The two traded pots for the better part of 12 hours before Dwan took the lead late and held on to defeat Sahamies by a slim $68,000.

The game was Pot-Limit Omaha and the match began at the Les Ambassadeurs club in London with both players buying in for $250,000.

The pace was notably faster than the first match, where Italian Marcello "luckexpress" Marigliano edged out Dwan by a mere $22,500.

Making lightning fast decisions as if they were playing online, Dwan and Sahamies were averaging 50 hands per hour right from the outset.

Sahamies took an early lead forcing Dwan to reload an additional $250,000 in just the second hour of play, but Dwan fought back.

Down close to $350,000 before pushing all in with middle pair and a flush draw against Sahamies aces, Dwan turned trips to get back in the match.

The two could be found playing Chinese Poker for $5,000 a point through every break, while in the meantime, durrrr drew even on the challenge felt, forcing ziigmund to add another $250,000 to his stack.

Dwan took the lead flopping trips and turning a full house against Sahamies kings, but Sahamies struck back soon after, hitting a miracle river card when Dwan had flopped trips again.

Dwan tied things up flopping a set of fives and then took a slight lead getting paid off after rivering two pair against Sahamies aces.

The lead changed hands yet again, but in just the final few hands of the night, both players flopped trip kings and durrrr turned a full house to drag a sizable pot and end the match up $68,000.

The third and final match in the Full Tilt durrrr Million Dollar Challenge presented by Matchroom Sport is already underway in London with Dwan playing No-Limit Hold'em against Sammy George.

CardRunners Offers a Chance to Win a Piece of Taylor Caby

Those looking for a good sweat or just looking for a little extra cash before the holidays may want to investigate a new promotion from the online poker training site CardRunners. The site recently launched a promotion in tandem with TrulyFreePokerTraining.com in which one lucky person has a chance to win as much as $5,000 courtesy of CardRunners co-founder and instructor Taylor “Green Plastic” Caby.

The promotion, called Piece of Taylor, offers the chance to win a 1% stake in Caby when he participates in the final table of the televised invitational tournament, the Full Tilt Poker Million. Caby is one of the six players in the 72-person field to advance through the preliminary and semi-final heats of the shootout style event to secure a spot at the final table. He will be joined in the finals by recent ninth place finisher in this year’s World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event James Akenhead, online poker pro Luke “FullFlush1″ Schwartz, Dag Martin Mikkelsen, Juha Helppi, and online qualifier Peter Vasiliou. A seventh player, an online qualifier from Full Tilt Poker, will also be added to the lineup. The final table is scheduled to play out in London on December 3rd, with action airing live on the Sky Sports network in Europe.

Caby and the others will be battling for the top prize of $500,000, but each will walk away with a minimum payout of $50,000. That means that those who take part in the Piece of Taylor promotion will win anywhere from $500 to $5,000 depending on where Caby ends up finishing. In order to participate in the promotion, players must register with TrulyFreePokerTraining.com, a site that allows players to take advantage of both CardRunners and StoxPoker just by earning points on Full Tilt Poker. To be eligible for the Piece of Taylor promotion, users must sign up before December 3rd. A random drawing will be held on December 7th to determine a winner.

There is no cost to enroll with TrulyFreePokerTraining.com, which credits users with subscriptions to the two training sites based on how many Full Tilt Points a player earns. For example, if a user earns 3,000 points on Full Tilt, they get one free month of StoxPoker training, while 5,500 points merit one free month of Cardrunners. Players do not have to cash in their Full Tilt Points in order to redeem their free memberships, they simply have to sign up through the site and log time at the tables.

Caby spoke with Poker News Daily about how the idea for the promotion came about: “To be honest, we saw Full Tilt had a promotion where they were giving away 1% of [Phil] Ivey at the WSOP Main Event final table, so we thought we’d offer a version of that at CardRunners. Kind of just to be funny, but also to give members and people that signed up for TrulyFreePokerTraining something to sweat while I’m at the final table.” Caby also emphasized that, even if someone doesn’t win the promotion, there is still a lot to be gained just by signing up for the benefits of the site: “A lot of people are getting their CardRunners subscriptions fully paid for just by playing at Full Tilt.”

This is the first major live final table for Caby, who is better known as a cash game player than a tournament pro. He and the other players will start the match with the same number of chips they ended with in the semi-finals, putting Caby in the middle of the pack. He offered some insight on how he plans to approach the event when he returns to London in a couple of weeks: “The structure is pretty shallow. I think the chip leader has something like 40 or 50 big blinds, so there’s not really a whole lot of room for crazy maneuvering. To be honest, I’m just going to try to go in and play the best strategy I can for having a shorter stack and I’m not too concerned about any certain player.”

While Caby expressed enthusiasm about his own chances at winning a half-million dollars, he was equally excited about the chance to win money for someone taking part in Piece of Taylor: “I’m not really going to change how I play, but I’ll feel a lot better if I can send someone a lot of money.”

Million Dollar Challenge: Durrrr Earns $68,000 Against Ziigmund

Day Two of the Full Tilt Poker Million Dollar Challenge played out in London, with Tom “durrrr” Dwan taking on Power Poker front man Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies. In the end, Dwan owned a $68,000 edge.

The 12-hour battle began with Dwan showing up to the match drowsy, fresh off a high-stakes online duel with Swedish poker player Isildur1. A press release distributed by Million Dollar Challenge organizers Matchroom Sport explained, “Overnight, he resumed his online battle with Isildur1 on Full Tilt and, after showing up without any sleep, the strain began to show towards the end of the encounter, as he admitted to feeling delusional… At one stage, it looked like he would not be able to finish, but he dug deep to not only keep the pace, but also come out on top.”

In Day One of the challenge, Dwan dropped $22,500 to Marcello “luckexpress” Marigliano over 500 hands, mostly No Limit Hold’em. Against Sahamies, the action was entirely Pot Limit Omaha, a game that Dwan has been able to master as part of the online version of the Durrrr Challenge against Patrik Antonius. In a pot that occurred late in the day in London, with the board reading 3h-Kd-Kh-8h-5d, Sahamies bet out $60,000, Dwan raised to $194,000, and Sahamies made the call. With a massive pot up for grabs, Dwan showed Kc-Jc-8c-7h for a boat, kings full of eights, while Sahamies flipped up Ac-Ks-7c-3d for a smaller full house.

In another hand, Dwan held Qc-9h-7h-5d against Sahamies’ Ad-As-9d-8c. The flop came 9d-Jc-3h and Dwan led out for $20,000. Sahamies called with his pocket rockets and the turn came the 10d, adding a straight draw for the challenger. Dwan once again led out, this time for $46,000, and Sahamies called behind to see the 7c hit the river. Dwan fired a third bullet to the tune of $129,000 and Sahamies made the call with a straight, scooping the enormous pot to put a dent in Dwan’s earnings for the day.

Dwan, the newest member of Team Full Tilt, told Matchroom Sport after play had concluded for the day, “It was a tough game, but a great one at the same time. There were some huge pots and in the end it could’ve gone either way really, but after losing out against Marcello, I’m delighted to have won today and I’m looking forward to taking on Sammy tomorrow.” On his state of mind following an overnight session against Isildur1, Dwan added, “I was a pretty tired after playing 12 hours the night before on Full Tilt, but I think the fact I was playing Ziigmund and that the challenge is an important one helped me through.”

Dwan nearly went broke early on, which would have ended the second day of the challenge, as he shoved all-in with Qs-Td-8s-5h after the flop fell 5s-9h-3s. Sahamies made the call with As-Ah-6d-Js, counterfeiting Dwan’s flush draw, but the 5d came on the turn to double Dwan up and keep the match going. Million Dollar Challenge rules state that the heads-up matches last for 500 hands or until a player has gone bust. Those who turned out to watch the melee unfold on Wednesday included Roland de Wolfe, Tony G, Ian Frazer, John Duthie, and Sammy “Any Two” George.

Dwan and George will conclude the Million Dollar Challenge today. Only a few hands have played out so far, but the action is already fast and furious. With the board reading 7-9-9-10-Q, Dwan had 7-2 for nines-up, while George held 8-5 for what ESPN announcer Norman Chad would dub “nuclear squadoosh,” a busted straight draw. Nevertheless, George led out for $66,000 and Dwan released his hand.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the Full Tilt Poker Million Dollar Challenge.

Marigliano ‘LuckExpress’ edges Durrrr in Million Dollar Challenge opener

Dwan dumps first match in live durrrr challenge

The players bought in for $250,000 each and after 12 hours of play at the Les Ambassadeurs club, Marigliano was up $22,500.

"In the end I won a small amount, but I'm happy though, as I won with bluffs," said Marcello. "He raised a lot pre-flop and you have to play tight, but I made some good moves and I'm happy I proved I can play with Tom."

It was a back and forth affair featuring 11 hours of No-Limit Hold'em followed up by an hour of Pot-Limit Omaha with both players down over $100,000 on more than one occasion.

In the end, durrrr won 55% of the pots, but several key hands and larger pots went the Italian's way.

Marcello first moved ahead in the match bluffing the newly minted Team Full Tilt Pro off of a $100k pot with king-high.

Dwan reloaded and chipped away until he was $100k up, but Marcello struck back hard flopping a full house to get even and taking the lead with a flush over flush hand.

The players switched to PLO in the final hour of play and although durrrr came back, he couldn't get all the way there before 500 hands and 12 hours were through.

"It was a really aggressive match," said Dwan. "It's so crazy that at the end there was just a 25k difference - that's absurd. It's so unlikely that one of us didn't lose 500k.

"I was up 150k at one or two points and down 200k - but it still wasn't as swingy as I thought it would be. We didn't have many big hand versus big hand spots, or even medium hand versus medium hand spots. I expect there to be more action in the matches with ziigmund and Sammy George."

The durrrr versus Ilari "ziigmund" Sahamies match is already underway in London and the Full Tilt durrrr Million Dollar Challenge presented by Matchroom Sport will end with Dwan playing George Thursday.

Patrik Antonius Defeats lsildur1 in Largest Online Poker Pot Ever

The high-stakes world of online poker has received a shot in the arm in the month of November. With online wunderkind Tom “durrrr” Dwan currently taking on fellow high-stakes players in a live Durrrr Challenge in London, the online world also sprung to life this week, with Finnish professional Patrik Antonius capturing the largest pot in online poker history, $879,000.

Earlier this week on the high-stakes tables at Full Tilt Poker, the unknown Swedish newcomer lsildur1 has been taking on several of the top pros in the Full Tilt Poker stable, including Phil Ivey, Dwan, and Antonius. In some cases, lsildur1 has had approximately $4 million dollars in action, sending the railbirds buzzing about a new high-stakes player in the online community. On Monday night playing $500/$1,000 Pot Limit Omaha, Antonius and lsildur1 hooked up in what has become one of the most discussed hands on the internet.

With Antonius sitting behind $439,479 and lsildur1 stacked with $450,494, the hand started with a raise on the button of $3,000 from lsildur1 holding a strong Omaha hand of As-Ks-Qd-Th. Antonius made the call with a respectable Ah-Qc-9s-6h and the duo saw a flop of 5h-7h-Qs. This set the fireworks off, as both had hit top pair-top kicker, but Antonius had the edge with flush and straight draws.

Antonius check-raised to $21,000 and was met with a call from his opponent. The action increased further as the Ad fell on the turn, giving both players two pair, with the edge still tilted towards Antonius, and making for a likelihood that the twosome would split the pot. Known in his short time online for his aggression, lsildur1 pounded the pot with a $192,000 check-raise after Antonius had bet $48,000. Antonius 3bet back at lsildur1 with the remainder of his stack and was called. The resulting river sent a shockwave through the online world.

Although odds favored a split pot, Antonius could win the hand with any heart or an eight. When the 8d fell on the river, Antonius took the massive $878,959 pot by making a miraculous straight. It only furthered a downswing for the Swede who, after earning a great deal of money against arguably some of the toughest opponents in the game in his short online poker career, has recently dropped $2.25 million, according to PokerTableRatings.com.

Some in the online poker world believe that lsildur1 may have been a bit overaggressive with the potential draws available. On the popular TwoPlusTwo forums, there have been discussions of who lsildur1 is and an entire thread has been dedicated to discuss the new online phenomenon. There has also been some discussion of how wise it is to take on such powerful players as Antonius, Dwan, and Ivey. TwoPlusTwo poster “kepatsa” perhaps said it best when he stated, “I don’t think it’s a great strategy to multi-table Ivey, Durrrr, and PA at the same time. That just cannot be a winning proposition. I give Isi credit for balls, maybe not brains.”

At the PocketFives forum, there have been those who echoed the sentiment that it isn’t in lsildur1’s best interest to keep butting heads with some of Full Tilt’s top guns. On the site, “MrH” said, “I still think it’s a horrible decision to play all three,” but after looking at some of the success that lsildur has had against them, added, “I have even more respect for the kid.”

Whether lsildur1 can continue to absorb such losses as the $2.25 million that he has taken this week is difficult to ascertain. Little is known about the Swedish player, who drops $4 million on the table and tackles some of the toughest poker players on the planet today. What is known, however, is that online railbirds will be watching for the next battle to rage across the virtual felt, presumably soon.