Poker News

ElkY Goes Home Again

In fact, with 61 % of the field coming from within the country, including one of the best tournament players on the planet, one might even say French poker is on the rise.

“Deauville is a very good tournament to play, so I'm happy to be here,” said Team PokerStars Pro Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier. “It's always very special to be back here in France. I rarely get the chance to play poker here, so it's important and means a lot to me.”

While tournament entry numbers are on a downswing in North America, the 768 entries in Deauville are better than 100 more than 2008, pushing the prize pool up to €3,686,400.

When the event is all said and done, a total of 104 spots will get paid, including €847,000 for first – the only number Grospellier seems focussed on.

“My motivation is very strong to do good here in Deauville,” he said. “I really want to win and play well here in France.”

Although it paled in comparison to the $3,686,476 in live tournament earnings he garnered in 2008, last year was still a banner one for Grospellier.

He followed up his 2008 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure main event win with a victory in the PCA’s $25k High Roller event.

Plus, adding a third-place finish at the $25k World Poker Tour Championship in Las Vegas to his 2008 WPT Festa Al Lago win helped him take home Season 7 WPT Player of the Year honors.

Now, returning to Deauville after a third-place finish in the €20,000 High Roller event in 2008, Grospellier has his sights set on some new goals.

“There are always reasons to get pumped,” Grospellier said. “I spoke with (fellow Team PokerStars France Pro) Arnaud Mattern about who will be the next one to win a second EPT or the first one to win a bracelet. I really want to win one.

“I also want to get my first place back in the EPT ranking since (Luca) Pagano has got it now. Even if he has deserved it, I really want to win it back. So that's a lot of challenges for this year.”

While he has both an EPT and WPT title, a World Series of Poker Bracelet still eludes Grospellier, however, pushing that to number one on his list of goals for 2010.

“Clearly the WSOP is the main thing missing now,” he said. “Of course, you can't control everything, but I'm certainly going to do my best to win one.”

For now though, Grospellier has a massive field on home soil to contend with, heading into Day 2 in Deauville among the 400-odd survivors from two day on heats.

"I want to have really good results here," he added.

- With files from Fred Guillemot

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Luske Releasing Album with Bellagio Concert

Luske, who has more than $3.7 million in career live tournament winnings and is widely hailed as one of the best dressed players in the game, is set to release his debut album with a live concert at Bellagio’s Fontana Lounge in Las Vegas Dec. 20.

The 13-track album entitled More than just a game features covers from artists Luske admires, including Canadian crooner Michael Buble, plus two original songs written by Luske.

Named European Player of the Year in 2001, Luske’s biggest score in poker came with a tenth place finish at the 2004 World Series of Poker Main Event.

The Flying Dutchman, as he’s become known, has also made seven WSOP final tables and has two wins in World Poker Tour Championship prelims at Bellagio, where he is expected to play in the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic this week.

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2009 World Poker Finals Series Begins

The World Poker Tour has moved to the world-famous Foxwoods Casino, Connecticut, with a fantastic selection of 20 poker tournaments including the big daddy – a $15,000 World Poker Tour championship event.

Yevgeniy Timoshenko wins WCOOP Main Event

This year’s WCOOP has drawn to a close with Yevgeniy ‘Jovial Gent’ Timoshenko taking the showpiece main event. The Ukrainian born pro outlasted a mammoth field of 2,144 runners to take home the first prize of $1,715,200. The million-dollar payday was only his second highest cash this year though. The 21-year-old, who now lives in Washington State, won the season 7 World Poker Tour Championship in April for a massive score of $2,149,960.

WPT Legends of Poker Day 3

Day 3 of the $10,000 no-limit hold’em World Poker Tour championship event at the 2009 Legends of Poker saw 74 players return to the new event center at the Bicycle Casino. Over the course of four levels the field whittled down to the top 27 players and the money bubble burst. One of those remaining players was Bryan Devonshire.

Adjusting Expectations at U.S. Poker Tournaments

The $10,000 no-limit hold’em World Poker Tour championship event at the 2009 Legends of Poker drew 279 players. This was a sharp decline from the field that entered last year, when 373 players made the trip to the Bicycle Casino. The field shrank by 25.2 percent and this current edition was the second lowest turnout

Adjusting Expectations at U.S. Poker Tournaments

The $10,000 no-limit hold’em World Poker Tour championship event at the 2009 Legends of Poker drew 279 players. This was a sharp decline from the field that entered last year, when 373 players made the trip to the Bicycle Casino. The field shrank by 25.2 percent and this current edition was the second lowest turnout

Yevgeniy Timoshenko Wins WPT Championship

The $25,000 buy-in World Poker Tour Championship was indeed another exciting tournament that was heavily stacked with notable professionals, but …

From The 2009 World Poker Tour Championship

WSOP — Day 1 of the $40K Anniversary Tournament

The 40th-annual World Series of Poker kicked off the first open event of the year in big fashion with the largest no-limit hold’em tournament ever hosted in the United States featuring a $40,000 buy in. After the somewhat disappointing turnout for the $25,000 World Poker Tour Championship in April many skeptics were predicting a disaster for the WSOP. Instead, 201 players showed up for the high-stakes affair, generating a total prize pool of $7,718,400, just a few hundred thousand shy of the Bellagio’s $8,196,500 tournament. The winner of the 40th Anniversary tournament will walk away with a $1,891,012 payday.

Mike Sexton Reviews the WPT Championship

We just completed Season VII of the World Poker Tour (WPT) with the $25,000 buy-in Championship event at Bellagio. Due to the economic slowdown, the number of entries was down substantially from a year ago (545 to 347).  However, most of the big names in the poker world were there and the event was incredible.  What most players really liked was that they were given $100,000 in starting chips and only played five levels (90 minutes each) per day.  You didn’t have to play those 12 to 14 hour days like you do at many big-time poker tournaments.

Kudos to Tournament Director Jack McClelland and the staff at Bellagio for the structure and hours they set up for play.  I have yet to hear one player complain about this setup - starting at noon, playing five levels, and then stopping for the day at 8:30 pm (with no dinner break necessary).  If there was a complaint, it was that we started the blinds too low ($50-$100).  It’s not often you hear players wanting to kick up the blinds!

My co-commentator Vince Van Patten and I were not allowed to enter any WPT events during the first six seasons, but the WPT now encourages us to play some if we want to.  So, I decided to play and unfortunately ended up contributing $25,000 to the WPT Championship prize pool.  I lasted two and half days and went out around 100th place (which paid zip, as only the top 50 made the money).  I must say that I really did enjoy playing even though I got knocked out.  To compete against top players (old and the new) is challenging and fun.  And like nearly all who get eliminated from any tournament, I’ll join them and say, “I just didn’t catch enough cards or have any luck.”

OK, OK.  I know you’re dying to know how I went out.  After two folds, Nick Binger (who was probably the chip leader at our table with about $550,000) was playing well and aggressive and made it $12,000 to go.  I had an A-K offsuit and about $150,000 in front of me.  I contemplated calling (because I hate A-K) and moving all-in, but I decided to re-raise it to $36,000 so I could still get away from this hand if someone behind me came over the top.  Everyone folded and Nick took a long time before deciding to call.  The flop came A-10-6, all diamonds.  He checked.  Now what would you do with nearly $85,000 in the pot?  I moved all-in.  He had the Q-J of diamonds, flopped a flush, and quickly called.  Bye-bye Mike.  Back to the booth.   I don’t really fault my play here, but in hindsight, I wish I had moved all-in pre-flop with the A-K.

There’s always a lot of pain dished out during any tournament, but Jennifer Harman’s tale of woe, considering when it came, would be tough for anyone to take.  She played for five days, got down to 11 players, picked up two Aces, re-raised with them, and then got all of her money (over $800,000) in pre-flop.  He held the 10-2 of hearts (and no, she wasn’t up against Doyle Brunson).  A deuce on the flop and a ten on the turn shattered Jennifer’s dream of taking this title.

When the smoke cleared, the final table (six players) was pretty incredible.  It consisted of two WPT champions (Scotty Nguyen and Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier) and three others under the age of 24, including the two chip leaders, who were both 21: Yevgeniy Timoshenko and Christian Harder. In addition, Shannon Shorr had over $3 million in career earnings.

What can you say about Scotty Nguyen when it comes to performing, but “wow”?   The guy has five World Series of Poker bracelets (including the Main Event in 1998 and the $50,000 HORSE tournament last year), a WPT title, and eight WPT final table appearances. “Elky” is the hottest guy on the circuit right now.   He already has both WPT and EPT titles on his resume and if he would finish fourth or better in this tournament, he would attain the coveted “WPT Player of the Year” award.  He did just that with his third place finish!  Nice going, Elky!

Folks, now let me introduce you to the next superstar of the poker world: Yevgeniy Timoshenko.  He’s 21 years, two months old (and looks like he’s 13).  He’s originally from the Ukraine, but grew up in Washington.  Let me tell you, the kid is amazing and fearless on the green felt.  Prior to this event, he had already earned nearly $1 million in non-U.S. tournaments.  He won the Asian Poker Tour championship event in Macau, won an event at the Irish Open, and made a final table at last year’s WSOP Europe.  He came to this final table as the big chip leader and rolled over the competition, going wire to wire for the victory.  Think about it, the guy just turned 21 and already has over $3 million in career earnings!

Besides his poker skills, here are some things that really impress me about the kid:  He’s well-mannered, well-spoken, and has a lot of class.  As soon as he made this final table, he went out and bought himself a suit and got a haircut.  I hope others follow his example: You look good, you feel good, you play good.  Congratulations, Yevgeniy!

Final Results of the WPT Championship:

1st place - Yevgeniy Timoshenko  ($2,149,960)
2nd place - Ran Azor  ($1,446,265)
3rd place - Betrand “Elky” Grospellier  ($776,245)
4th place - Christian Harder  ($571,965)
5th place - Shannon Shorr  ($408,550)
6th place - Scotty Ngyuen  ($285,985)

WPT Championship — Day 6

The sixth day of play at the 2009 World Poker Tour Championship began with 10 players at noon on Friday. It took three hours to lose the first player of the day, when Bruno Fitoussi exited in 10th place ($98,050). Eugene Katchalov fell next in ninth place ($130,735) more than a half-hour later....

WPT Championship — Day 4

Day 4 at the 2009 World Poker Tour Championship at Bellagio saw 62 players return. Action began with just a dozen players needing to fall before the money bubble burst. It took two levels of action for that feat to take place, and the players who fell very close to the money included Jimmy...

WPT Championship — Day 3

The third day at the World Poker Tour Championship at Bellagio saw 162 players return to continue the march down to the final table and a first-place prize worth $2,143,655. The huge starting stacks have kept the action slow for most of the way, but today the speedy nature of no-limit play...

WPT Championship — Day 1B

The second day-one flight of the 2009 World Poker Tour Championship attracted 211 players, to bring the total player count up to 337. The first-place prize will be $2,143,655, and the top 50 players will make the money. The field size is down 208 players from the field of 545 from last year, when...

WPT Championship Begins on Saturday

The first day of action at the $25,000 buy-in World Poker Tour Championship begins on Saturday, Apr. 18 at noon, and Card Player will be providing full live coverage from the event, including live updates, chip counts, photos, and videos from Card Player TV. This annual event, hosted at Bellagio,...

Bellagio Five-Star World Poker Classic Satellites Still Running

The price of admission for the World Poker Tour Championship is $25,000 with a $500 entry fee, making it one of the most expensive tickets of the year on the tournament trail. Bellagio's poker room will be running a half-dozen super-satellite events this week to allow players to win their way...

Five-Star World Poker Classic Begins Tuesday

The Five-Star World Poker Classic begins on Tuesday, Mar. 31 at Bellagio in Las Vegas with a $500 SpadeClub.com no-limit hold'em event. The tournament series will feature 16 preliminary events, and the $25,000 buy-in World Poker Tour Championship. The series will end when the final table of...