Poker News

PokerStars Announces North American Poker Tour

Look out, North America! Long absent poker events sponsored by PokerStars, the continent will host the North American Poker Tour (NAPT) beginning on January 20th at the Venetian, with another stop planned for Mohegan Sun.

Model Joanna Krupa, who was introduced to the PokerStars family during the fourth installment of the “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge,” will serve as the NAPT’s on-screen host. A television deal is in the works and PokerStars officials have employed 411, the same company that produces the World Series of Poker (WSOP) on ESPN, to create each episode. The identity of a television partner should be released in the next two weeks.

PokerStars players from the United States and Canada currently have to hop on an airplane and travel to far away lands for PokerStars-sponsored tournaments. PokerStars-backed series include the European Poker Tour (EPT), Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT), Russian Poker Tour (RPT), Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT), Italian Poker Tour (IPT) Czech-Slovak Poker Tour (CSPT), Australia New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT), and U.K. and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT).

At the Venetian in Las Vegas, the final tournament of the casino’s Deep Stack Extravaganza will be the $5,000 buy-in NAPT Main Event. The fun in Sin City will take place from February 20th to 24th and side events will also play out. From Las Vegas, PokerStars NAPT officials will travel 2,600 miles due east to Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. The tournament series in the popular East Coast casino will see its Main Event held from April 7th to 11th as the kickoff of a brand new poker festival.

Negreanu commented in a press release furnished by the world’s largest online poker site, “I'm really looking forward to the launch of the NAPT. PokerStars.net has done an excellent job sponsoring meaningful tournaments around the world with the EPT, LAPT, APPT, and various other local tours – and it’s exciting to see them coming to my home town of Las Vegas! With the addition of the NAPT, I'll have a chance to play some tournaments on home soil and I'm very excited about that.” 2009 WSOP Main Event champion Joe Cada and Team PokerStars Pro member Vanessa Rousso are among the bevy of site pros who are expected to turn out.

Technically, the first tournament of the NAPT was the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, which is ongoing from the Atlantis Resort and Casino across the harbor from Nassau in the Bahamas. Satellites to the Venetian and Mohegan Sun tournaments will take place on PokerStars, which happily accepts players from the United States. Besides Cada, other WSOP Main Event champions to call the site home include Chris Moneymaker (2003), Greg Raymer (2004), Joe Hachem (2005), Peter Eastgate (2008), and Tom McEvoy (1983).

In North America, the NAPT will compete against several longstanding brands such as the World Poker Tour (WPT) and WSOP Circuit. The WPT is in the midst of filming its eighth season, the first with the backing of Party Gaming, which purchased the rights to the series in October. Poker Hall of Fame member Mike Sexton and actor Vince Van Patten continue to bring the WPT to life each week on Fox Sports Net. The WSOP Circuit has been crisscrossing the United States since 2004, stopping at various Harrah’s properties along the way. Circuit staffers are now camped out in Tunica, Mississippi for the fifth stop of the 2009-2010 season. The series gets underway in the Deep South on January 20th from Harrah’s Tunica.

Krupa has graced the covers of a handful of brand-name magazines, including “FHM,” “Maxim,” “Playboy,” and “Stuff.” She appeared on Season 9 of the ABC reality series “Dancing with the Stars” and also tested her sports skills in the network’s “Superstars.” Krupa defeated 9/11 first responder Mike Kosowski on the fourth episode of the “Million Dollar Challenge;” Kosowski would later go on to defeat Negreanu and earn the $1 million grand prize.

Additional stops for Season 1 of the NAPT will also be announced.

PokerStars ANZPT Season 2 Schedule Announced

The first six events of Season 2 of the PokerStars-sponsored Australia New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT) were announced in recent days, with Adelaide set to host the first event from February 9th to 14th.

The buy-in for the kickoff tournament of the tour’s second season weighs in at AUD $3,000 and the festivities will be held at the Adelaide Casino. The venue’s Poker Manager, David Galpin, commented in a press release distributed by the world’s largest online poker site, “We are looking forward to the return of the ANZPT in Adelaide after the wonderful success of the first year and we are excited to see the event grow and flourish.” The Main Event is capped at 360 players and preliminary tournaments will get underway in the Australian city on February 2nd.

In an interesting rule found on the ANZPT’s website, iPods are not allowed at the Adelaide event due to government policy. In addition, the casino has a strict stance against string betting and out of turn bettors will forfeit their contribution to the pot should they ultimately choose to fold. Poker players who win their way in through PokerStars will tour wineries and other nearby attractions during their trip.

After Adelaide, a brand new ANZPT event in Perth will play out, with the Burswood Entertainment Complex serving as the epicenter of the Australian poker market beginning on March 17th. The AUD $2,500 buy-in Main Event will name a champion four days later and the field is capped at 300 runners. On the new event, Jason Barry, General Manager of Table Games at Burswood Entertainment Complex, commented in the same release, “We feel this is just what our players have been waiting for and we expect big numbers will take part in the first PokerStars.net ANZPT Perth tournament.”

A total of five events made up Season 1 of the ANZPT, which kicked off in February in Adelaide. Tournaments followed in Sydney, Melbourne, Queenstown, and Queensland. In the finale of ANZPT Season 1, Scott Kerr earned AUD $168,075 for defeating a field of 249 players back in August. The largest field during Season 1 turned out in Sydney, where nearly 500 players took to the felts. The conclusion of that event saw Paren Arzoomanian scoop the AUD $246,500 first place prize.

A combined 1,309 players took part in Season 1 events and nearly $3 million in prize money was doled out. Here is the schedule for what promises to be a lively Season 2 on the PokerStars-backed ANZPT:

ANZPT Adelaide: Adelaide Casino
February 9th to 14th
Buy-in: AUD $3,000

ANZPT Perth: Burswood Entertainment Complex
March 17th to 21st
Buy-in: AUD $2,500

ANZPT Sydney: Star City Casino
April 21st to 25th
Buy-in: AUD $2,200

ANZPT Queenstown: Sky City Queenstown
July 17th to 25th
Buy-in: NZD $2,500

ANZPT Gold Coast: Conrad Jupiters
August 11th to 15th
Buy-in: AUD $2,500

ANZPT Melbourne: Crown Casino
October 8th to 11th
Buy-in: TBD

More stops will likely be added to Season 2 of the ANZPT, although no further information was available at the time of writing. A tournament leaderboard held during the first season of the tour saw Tony Hachem emerge victorious after cashing in four of the five ANZPT Season 1 events. For his leaderboard win, Hachem took home entry into Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) events as well as the 2010 Aussie Millions. Chris Levick, who finished in second place on the leaderboard, gained entry into every ANZPT Season 2 event.

In addition to the ANZPT and APPT, PokerStars also sponsors the European Poker Tour (EPT), Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT), Italian Poker Tour (IPT), Czech-Slovak Poker Tour (CSPT), Russian Poker Tour (RPT), and U.K. and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT).

Vadim Kursevich wins latest Russian Poker Tour event

Vadim Kursevich has won the latest stop on the PokerStars sponsored Russian Poker Tour. With poker still banned in Russia, the event was held in Kiev, Ukraine and attracted a top quality field including Alex Kravchenko, Ivan Demidov, Alexander Dovzhenko, WCOOP bracelet winner Vadim Markushevsky, and ET Kyiv champion Maxim Lykov.

PokerStars Announces UK and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT)

PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site, has introduced the UK and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT). A total of nine events will play out beginning in Galway on December 11th.

The first UK-based event will be held in Manchester on February 11th at the Grosvenor G Casino. The Galway event, which serves as the kickoff tournament of the inaugural UKIPT series, will be part of the Irish Poker Championships. Players will descend upon the Radisson Hotel for the €2,000 buy-in event and the tournament crowns a champion on December 14th. In 2009, The Irish Poker Championship was brought to you by PartyPoker and saw 24 year-old Rory Rees Brennan bank €160,000 for the win in its Main Event. Seven out of the top ten finishers were Irish.

Team PokerStars Pro member Vicky Coren, a Brit, discussed the newest poker tour in a press release distributed this week: “This is an incredibly exciting addition to the range of PokerStars live events. Here is our own local British and Irish tour, nicely accessible for those who can’t travel abroad very often or who save their foreign travel for larger international events.” Champions of UKIPT events will take home an entry into the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) London Main Event next October. PokerStars officials noted that EPT London will also serve as the UKIPT Championship Event.

Here is the schedule for the first-ever running of the UKIPT:

UKIPT Galway (Ireland): December 11th to 14th
Radisson Hotel
€2,000 buy-in (9% juice)

UKIPT Manchester (United Kingdom): February 11th to 14th
Grosvenor G Casino
£500+50 buy-in

UKIPT Coventry (United Kingdom): April 8th to 11th
Grosvenor G Casino
£500+50 buy-in

UKIPT Nottingham (United Kingdom): May 13th to 16th
Dusk Till Dawn
£500+50 buy-in

UKIPT Killarney (Ireland): June 24th to 27th
Gleneagles
€1,000+100 buy-in

UKIPT Brighton (United Kingdom): July 15th to 18th
Rendezvous
£1,000+100 buy-in

UKIPT Scotland: TBA
Venue is TBA
£1,000+100 buy-in

UKIPT Dublin (Ireland): September 9th to 12th
Burlington Hotel
€1,000+100 buy-in

UKIPT London (United Kingdom): October 1st to 10th
Hilton Metropole
£5,000+250 buy-in

UKIPT tournaments are expected to attract some of the top names in the poker industry, including PokerStars sponsored pros Coren and Teddy Sheringham. The former added that the presence of the UKIPT in Northern Europe will continue to grow the game: “The buy-ins are great: big enough to make chunky prize pools, not so big that they’re a huge drain on resources. It’s about time there was a serious, respected tournament with a £500 buy-in, like the new ones in Manchester, Coventry, and Nottingham.”

Ireland has laid claim to a crop of accomplished poker players, including Andy Black, who finished fifth in the 2005 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event for $1.75 million, a tournament ultimately won by Joe Hachem. Black finished seventh in the 2007 EPT Monte Carlo Grand Final for nearly $320,000 and won an event during the PartyPoker Premier League in London in early 2008 for $250,000. Other top-tier Irish players include Liam Flood, bracelet winner Noel Furlong, Ciarán O’Leary, Marty Smyth, and Padraig Parkinson.

PokerStars also sponsors the EPT, Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT), Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT), Russian Poker Tour (RPT), Czech-Slovak Poker Tour (CSPT), and Italian Poker Tour (IPT). Its marquee land-based event is the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, which takes place each January at the Atlantis Resort and Casino in the Bahamas. In 2010, the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure is a stop on the LAPT and EPT circuits.

PokerStars will host a £10,000 freeroll for the top 100 players on the UKIPT leaderboard at the end of its first season. The top three players will also receive sponsorship opportunities to play in the second UKIPT season. Visit PokerStars for satellite information.

Russians descend on EPT Kyiv

The EPT season was set to start in Moscow, Russia this month before the Russian Ministry of Youth, Sport and Tourism passed an order July 20 removing poker's status as a sport in Russia.

Four designated gambling zones were established on Russia soil July 1, effectively closing more than 500 casinos and slot machine halls in the capital.

Poker had been on a list of official sports in Russia drafted back in 2007 and as a result, cardrooms were allowed to continue operating.

Several casinos then jumped on board running under the guise they were poker-only establishments, forcing the Russian government to act and PokerStars to move its event to Kyiv.

Russian Team PokerStars Pro Alexander Kravchenko was one of the scant 129 players who showed up in Kyiv for Day 1a of the €5,000 PokerStars EPT Kyiv Sports Poker Championship and he said his government's move came as no surprise.

"It was not a surprise for me," he said. "I expected it because when Russia declared poker a sport, a lot of casinos carried on with their activities under cover."

For now, the 2007 WSOP Main Event final tablist says he expects poker will be forced to stay in the designated zones and he'll have to ply his trade away from home.

"I don't think the situation will change," he said. "The Russian government has allocated special places for playing poker in separate cities, similar to Las Vegas."

The designated gambling zones are all at least 1,000 kilometers from Moscow and since casino construction is not even close to completion, the rest of the Russian poker community appears to have its passports ready as well.

A whopping 54 of the 129 Day 1a starters in Kyiv were Russian.

Poker had seen a huge boom in Russia after Kravchenko and fellow Russian Ivan Demidov made the final table of the World Series Poker Main Event in 2007 and 2008 respectively.

Demidov also made the final table of the WSOP Europe Main Event along with fellow Russian Stanislav Alekhin, while Alexander Kostritsin won the 2008 Aussie Millions.

Catching the wave from the boom, PokerStars launched the Russian Poker Tour in 2008 with stops in St. Petersburg and Moscow.

2008 WSOP bracelet winner Vitaly Lunkin won the RPT Main Event in Moscow this past May besting a field of 207.

He went on to win the 2009 WSOP $40k 40th anniversary event and final table both the $10k Pot-Limit Omaha World Championship and the $50k H.O.R.S.E. this summer.

Now it appears the Russian poker boom has been stalled, on home soil at least.

"I have been traveling a lot for last two years, playing everywhere in poker tournaments," Kravchenko said. "Now I just think I will travel even more."

A total of 93 players survived Day 1a in Kyiv and a field of approximately 170 is expected for Day 1b Wednesday.

Visit PokerListings.com

EPT Moscow cancelled?

The Russian Ministry of Youth, Sport and Tourism passed an order July 20 removing poker's status as a sport.

"We have made a change in the Russian list of sports, approved by the order of the Russian State physical training and sport committee on January 1, 2004," Russian Youth, Sport and Toursim Minister Vitaly Mutko said in a release. "We have stricken poker off the list."

According to the Ministry, this means anyone involved in any game of poker outside of specifically designated gambling zones could face prosecution.

Four designated gambling zones were established in Russia July 1, but all are at least 1,000 kilometers from Moscow, effectively closing more than 500 casinos and slot machine halls in the Russian capital.

Poker appeared to be exempt from the initial gambling ban because it was on a list of official sports in Russia drafted back in 2007 and several casinos continued to operate as card rooms after July 1.

However, Mutko now claims that was a mistake and has taken poker off the list.

"The decision to include poker on the official list of sports should be taken by special Ministry commission, but not by the chief of Russian State Physical Training and Sport Committee," Mutko said. "What's more, the decision should be registered by the Justice Ministry, which wasn't done."

The PokerStars European Poker Tour had planned to kick off its sixth season with a stop in Moscow August 17-23, but Monday's decision may leave the event in peril.

Officials at PokerStars and the European Poker Tour have yet to respond to queries regarding the status of the event.

The four designated gambling zones include Kaliningrad, the Primorsky region, the Altai region in Siberia and the cities of Krasnodar and Rostov, although construction at these sites is reportedly in the early stages and could be months or years from completion.

Poker has seen a huge boom in Russia since Russians Alexander Kravchenko and Ivan Demidov made the final table of the World Series Poker Main Event in 2007 and 2008 respectively.

PokerStars launched the Russian Poker Tour in 2008 with stops in St. Petersburg and Moscow.

2008 WSOP bracelet winner Vitaly Lunkin won the RPT Main Event in Moscow this past May, going on the win the 2009 WSOP $40k 40th anniversary event this summer.

Visit PokerListings.com

EPT Founder John Duthie Discusses Season 6 Schedule

The sixth season of the PokerStars-sponsored European Poker Tour (EPT) kicks off on August 18th with a brand new stop in Moscow, Russia. The tournament series will also make its first sojourn to Portugal. Poker News Daily sat down with EPT Founder and Team PokerStars Pro member John Duthie to get his take.

Poker News Daily: Talk about the planning that went into the EPT Season 6 schedule.

Duthie: This is now the sixth season of the tour and the majority of our events are held in well-established venues with people we are used to dealing with, which makes the planning stage much easier. Scheduling itself becomes more of an issue as more and more events need to be accounted for.

PND: Talk about the additions of stops in Portugal and Russia. What makes them appealing for poker players?

Duthie: Both new venues have their own unique appeal to players and to us as emerging markets. Russia has enormous potential, where many people have been brought up playing games like chess. It is a natural transition to poker, evident by the phenomenal success of Russian players on the worldwide stage. There are already some exciting new events in Russia, namely the PokerStars-sponsored Russian Poker Tour, and we hope to add to this with the new EPT event in Moscow in August.

Portugal has always been one of my favorite destinations in Europe and I am delighted that we are finally going to be holding an event there. This will be a wonderful opportunity for players to take in the sights of Vilamoura and maybe get a few rounds of golf in. Poker in Portugal is growing day by day. Hopefully, the EPT will act as a catalyst and we will see poker booming there in the years to come.

PND: What has made the EPT such a phenomenal success, breaking records for prize pools and fields across Europe?

Duthie: The support of the players is the simple answer to this. The EPT offers so much more than simply a major poker tournament circuit. We offer venues in some of the most beautiful and inspiring cities in the world, which is where we differ from the U.S. tours. Combine this with the fact that you can play in European casinos at the age of 18 and this represents the perfect opportunity for younger players to see the world for nothing if they qualify on PokerStars.

PND: Tell us how the EPT began.

Duthie: I simply put the existing individual tournaments in Europe into an organized tour and then negotiated the filming of them for broadcast. The partnership with PokerStars has always been crucial, as they provided the critical mass of players the tour needed from the outset to make it such a success. It grew exponentially from there.

PND: Are there any visa requirements or other legal obstacles for players wanting to compete in the Moscow stop?

Duthie: Yes. Visas are required for traveling to Moscow. These can easily be obtained from your local Russian consulate or by using one of the many “Visa Express” services available for a small fee. It’s a good stamp to have in your passport too!

PND: Talk about your runner-up performance to Leo Wolpert in the No Limit Hold’em Heads-Up Championship at the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP).

Duthie: It was a great moment in my poker career and, while I was disappointed not to win, I felt I played my best poker and was unlucky not to take it down. Leo was a formidable opponent and played some great poker.

PND: How did you get started in poker?

Duthie: I saw some guys playing Seven Card Stud at the Victoria Casino about 15 years ago. I started chatting with them and the rest is history.

PND: The first seven events of EPT Season 6 have been released. Are there any details you can share about the final six stops?

Duthie: They will almost definitely be the same as last season, with one special surprise event, but until the dates and venues are secured, I would prefer not to shed too much light.

PokerStars Announces Czech-Slovak Poker Tour

Recently, the inaugural PokerStars Czech-Slovak Poker Tour (CSPT) kicked off with a CZK 13,000 buy-in event at the Card Casino Prague. A total of 122 players turned out, generating a prize pool of more than CZK 1.4 million.

Leading the pack in the historic European city was Lukas Horak, who held the chip lead heading into the final table and ultimately emerged as the event’s champion. Horak became the first CSPT event winner ever and pocketed CZK 340,000 for his efforts. Heads-up, he defeated Martin Pecha in an event that also saw Czech actor Martin Trnavsky take to the field. The tournament was held between June 25th and 28th and featured a cap of 198 runners. Now, the roving series will head to Casino Kartá? Ostrava in September for leg two of the PokerStars-backed CSPT. Here’s a look at the schedule for CSPT Season 1:

CSPT Ostrava: September 24th to 27th
Host: Casino Kartá? Ostrava
Buy-in: CZK 12,222 + 778
Cap: 153 players

CSPT Brno: October 29th to November 1st
Host: Poker Herna Vegas
Buy-in: CZK 12,222 + 778
Cap: 153 players

CSPT Bratislava: December 10th to 13th
Host: Ceasars Poker Club - Golden Vegas Bratislava
Buy-in: CZK 12,222 + 778
Cap: 225 players

On January 9th, 2010, a live leaderboard final will conclude the first season of the CSPT. The tournament pits the top 32 players on the leaderboard after all four events against each other with a whopping CZK 500,000 up for grabs. Side events and super satellites will make their home in each CSPT tournament, which run from Thursday to Sunday. Here’s the typical schedule of events (all times CET):

Thursday at 18:00: Super Satellite
CZK 500 rebuy, 10 entries guaranteed

Friday at 15:00: Main Event Day 1
CZK 12,222 + 778 buy-in, CZK 1,222,222 guaranteed

Saturday at 15:00: Main Event Day 2

Sunday at 16:00: Double Chance Side Event
CZK 4,700 + 300 buy-in

Sunday at 16:00: Freezeout Side Event
CZK 2,800 + 200 buy-in

Sunday at 18:00: Main Event Final Table

The CSPT is PokerStars’ latest venture into live poker tournaments outside of the United States. The world’s largest online poker site also manages the European Poker Tour (EPT), Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT), Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT), Russian Poker Tour (RPT), Italian Poker Tour (IPT), and Australia New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT). Its marquee event, the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, is the only Western Hemisphere stop on the EPT circuit and was formerly a World Poker Tour (WPT) staple.

PokerStars is doling out $1,000 prize packages for CSPT events that cover the Main Event buy-in, hotel accommodations, and extra cash for expenses. Every Monday, an $88 freezeout is held to award players prize packages to CSPT events. Freerolls on Wednesday and Friday qualify players into $3.30 rebuys and $9.90 freezeouts that guarantee at least two seats into the $88 event. In addition, a $2.20 rebuy on Tuesday offers up at least one seat into the final qualifier.

PokerStars is fresh off announcing the details of its 2009 World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP). A total of 45 events will be held, totaling $40 million in guaranteed prize money. The action gets underway on September 3rd with a $215 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Six-Max tournament and $215 buy-in Razz event. Together, the two kickoff events will offer up nearly $1.5 million in guaranteed prize money. The festivities conclude on September 20th with the $5,250 buy-in WCOOP Main Event, which features a $10 million guaranteed prize pool. Also on that day, a $10,300 buy-in HORSE High Roller event will commence, with at least $1 million on the line. The WCOOP enters its eighth year after debuting in 2002.

Peter Traply (Belabacsi) Wins WSOP $5,000 No Limit Holdem Shootout

A total of 280 players took to the field in the $5,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Shootout (Event #41) at the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP). In the end, Hungarian poker player Peter Traply, who goes by the name Belabacsi online, took home the bracelet and $348,000.

Traply became the first Hungarian ever to take home a bracelet from the annual tournament series in Las Vegas. He is just a few weeks removed from taking eighth in the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) Monte Carlo Grand Final, banking €170,000. Following his landmark win, Traply told WSOP officials what his bracelet may mean to the game of poker in his homeland: “In Hungary, the poker is growing very fast. There is a poker boom right now. And, I think it will be bigger after I won my bracelet.”

Nasr El Nasr was all-in pre-flop at the five-handed final table holding pocket threes, but ran into Traply’s pocket eights. The board ran out 10-10-5-J-7, sending El Nasr to the rails $82,000 richer for his efforts in his first WSOP cash. He wound up on the short stack after his pocket aces were cracked by the 9-10 suited of Andrew Lichtenberger, who flopped top pair and a flush draw. The turn brought Lichtenberger two pair, besting the German’s pocket rockets and marking a watershed moment at the final table.

Ousted in fourth place from the $5,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Shootout was Danny Wong. Lichtenberger checked the action on a board of 10-2-2-7 to Wong, who promptly pushed. Lichtenberger called, turning over pocket aces. Wong showed A-10 for two pair and was drawing to two outs. The river came a deuce, sealing Wong’s exit and $105,000 payday. Wong’s last three WSOP in the money finishes have all been from final tables, including a fourth place showing in a $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament last year for $217,000.

Departing in third place was Maxim Lykov. The Russian, who affectionately goes by the nickname “Decay” in the poker world, picked an inopportune time to push all-in with A-10. Lichtenberger’s run of cards continued, as he called and turned over pocket jacks. No card above nine came on the board and Lykov was sent packing, his bank account boosted by $145,000. It was Lykov’s first in the money finish of his WSOP career. Russian poker has received a boom due to Ivan Demidov’s runner-up finish during the 2008 WSOP Main Event to Peter Eastgate and the launch of the Russian Poker Tour, sponsored by PokerStars.

It didn’t take long for fireworks heads-up between Lichtenberger and Traply. The latter called for his tournament life pre-flop holding pocket sixes against Lichtenberger’s A-Q of diamonds. The race was on, with an ace hitting the flop to propel Lichtenberger into the lead and potentially end the 41st tournament of the 2009 WSOP. However, the turn came a six, giving Traply a set. The river was a harmless deuce and Traply doubled up. However, his chip lead was short-lived, as a series of double ups by Lichtenberger catapulted him back into contention.

In the end, both players woke up with monster hands heads-up. Lichtenberger was all-in pre-flop with A-J and found himself dominated by Traply’s A-K. Both hit top pair on an ace-high flop, but running queens on the turn and river preserved Hungary’s first WSOP bracelet of all-time. Lichtenberger and Traply each recorded their first WSOP final table showings.

Here were the results from Event #41 of the 2009 WSOP, the $5,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Shootout:

1. Peter Traply - $348,755
2. Andrew Lichtenberger - $215,402
3. Maxim Lykov - $145,062
4. Danny Wong - $105,609
5. Nasr El Nasr - $82,697

The event was ripe with poker talent, as David “The Dragon” Pham, 2009 dual bracelet winner Phil Ivey, Peter “Nordberg” Feldman, and Hendon Mob member Barney Boatman all finished in the top ten.

Lunkin wins Russian Poker Tour Moscow

The backgammon player and Renju champion snatched the $445,709 first-place prize from a final table that included Team PokerStars Pros and WSOP Main Event final tablists Alexander Kravchenko and Ivan Demidov.

Lunkin, a Full Tilt Pro, was one of the short stacks coming into the final nine but managed to turn things around rather quickly, going into heads-up with Vyacheslav Goryachev holding a massive chip lead.

In the end, his pair of tens held against Goryachev's ace-six to book the win in front of a raucous crowd at Moscow's Renaissance Hotel.

A total of 206 players put up the $7,000 buy-in for the event. The top 27 were paid.

The former manager of a dietary supplement company, Lunkin has been a fixture in the burgeoning Russian poker scene over the past five years and won a WSOP bracelet in a $1,500 NLHE event in 2008.

Born and raised in Moscow, he now works as a professional poker trainer and coach for Poker Moscow.

With the win, Lunkin moves over the $1 million mark in career tournament earnings.

Visit PokerListings.com

Vitaly Lunkin Wins the Russian Poker Tour Moscow Main Event

The PokerStars Russian Poker Tour Moscow main event, which took place over the weekend, was won by Russian poker player Vitaly Lunkin. Lunkin first emerged on the poker scene …

Vitaly Lunkin Wins the Russian Poker Tour Moscow

The PokerStars Russian Poker Tour Moscow main event, which took place over the weekend, was won by Russian poker player Vitaly Lunkin. Lunkin first emerged on the poker scene …

Russian Poker Tour Begins Thursday

The second stop of the PokerStars Russian Poker Tour will take place in Moscow at the Hotel Renaissance through May 16. The $7,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em main event begins on …

Eastgate and Demidov sign with PokerStars

Danish 2008 WSOP Main Event champ Peter Eastgate and Russian runner-up Ivan Demidov, who also made the final table of the WSOP Europe Main Event in 2008, have joined Team PokerStars Pro.

"It feels great to finally be part of the team," Demidov, 27, told PokerListings Thursday. "It's going to allow me to travel more and play more events.

"I really enjoy playing offline in live events and it's great to become a team member with all these other great players."

Eastgate, who at 22 years old became the youngest WSOP Main Event champion in history in 2008, followed up the $9,152,416 win by banking $343,000 at the 2009 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure when he took down a $5k side event there.

However, the Danish pro is being careful with his newfound wealth.

"I won't be splashing out on expensive things or living a crazy life," he said. "I'm thinking carefully about how to invest the money so that I make the right decision."

Both players were weaned on the game online, and now Eastgate can be found on PokerStars using the screen name "PeteEastgate" and Demidov as "Ivan Demidov."

On the live felt, both have committed to playing EPT San Remo and the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo before making their return to Vegas for the 2009 WSOP.

"I would like to repeat the success I had last year, but obviously I don't think I will be able to," said Demidov, who will also be playing in the PokerStars.com Russian Poker Tour event set for Moscow this May.

"I have serious plans to train and play a lot before the WSOP and hopefully I will be ready. I would like to make more final tables and I will be taking it very seriously."

 

Visit PokerListings.com