Genting is a major name in the UK casino industry and it seems that the Genting Poker Series (GPS) is developing a great reputation too. The first season of the series went down very well with poker players and it seems as though the follow-up season is set to be a smash hit too.
The continuing success and popularity of poker can be shown in the turnout for this event. Last year, the tournament saw a highly respectable number of 365 poker players participate and the prize pool was a healthy £140,000. The figures for this year’s event totally smashed that level and any reasonable expectations for the 2013 event.
Big poker events draw the crowds
A total of 590 poker players made their way to Start City in Birmingham which resulted in a prize pool total of £236,000 to play for. Given that the guarantee was listed as £100,000 it is clear to see that people still want to play poker in big numbers these days.
One man who definitely got the benefit of the increased prize pool was Julian Thew, a sponsored professional from the Sky Poker stable who would run out to be the champion. Thew not only claimed the position of GPS Star City Champion, he also managed to claim just over £40,000. He could have actually earned more money for himself but Thew had struck a deal with a number of other players to ensure that the top four payouts were more balanced.
This can sometimes work for you, it can sometimes work against and perhaps the fact that the financial pressure was off inspired Thew to reach greater heights! The purists may not agree with this sort of tactic but it is something that many top level poker players approve of.
Given a title that includes United Kingdom and Ireland, you would be forgiven for assuming that the UKIPT was predominantly focused on these areas. It seems that things are in for a shake-up in 2013 though as the UKIPT is heading abroad for a little sun to go alongside the poker fun. UK and Irish poker fans don’t need to worry, there will still be plenty of great poker events lined up for home but if you are an ex-pat or fancy a holiday with a poker twist, the adventures for 2013 could have something of great interest to you.
Sam Trickett is to join Michael Mizrachi as an ambassador for next May´s ISPT at Wembley as organisers attempt to add credibility to the event.
It’s been all go at the Resorts World Manila’s Genting Club over the past few days with the Manila Millions and Asian Poker Tour (APT) Philippines main event running – although you might have missed the very notable milestone of Philip Padron becoming the first player to defend a title on the tour.
The schedule for the World Series of Poker Europe 2012 tournaments has been released, and it looks like this year’s WSOPE will be a repeat of 2011’s, only with a bigger turnout, which in turns means larger prize pools. Like last year’s event, the WSOPE 2012 will be held in Cannes, France, which saw a record-breaking turnout during its debut year last year.
While the WSOP lineup for this year offers some new bracelets, players in Cannes will be competing for more of the same, partially because French law only allows casinos to offer Hold’em and Omaha within the country. The lineup will keep the seven bracelets that it offered last year, and while there are an extra 48 side tournaments in the upcoming WSOPE, not much else has changed, apart from some miniscule changes to the buy-in costs. The vast majority of this year’s events are three days long, with two (the 10k Championship No-Limit Hold’em and the 1k No-Limit Hold’em) stretching to five days, with two separate starting days given to each of these events, the most popular WSOPE events by far.
Whoever said that poker is a force for evil as it encourages people to gamble might well have to eat their words as the World Poker Tour (WPT) has got together with numerous poker pros and celebrities to launch the WPT Foundation with the aim of using the tour’s influence as an “engine for important change in the world”.
“With poker as a platform for an ongoing programme and the support of celebrities, our poker player family and fantastic global charities, we’re confident the world will be shown how WPT and the poker community can be an engine for important change in the world, and we’re pleased to fuel that engine with an initial $100,000 donation.”
Poker tours are appearing all across the globe right now as the world’s greatest game continues to expand and develop at a pace no one could realistically have predicted, with one of the most recent additions, the PokerStars Eureka Poker Tour, returning for a second year.
When Vadzim Kursevich made it to the final table in Deauville during the most recent stop of the European Poker Tour, he had already made poker history. He was the only Belorussian player to make the final table at more than one EPT event, and he did it in back-to-back seasons. Kursevich sat at a table of Frenchmen and Italy’s Luca Pagano, who has long been a regular at the EPT tables (and has been in the top three on the EPT All-time Leaderboard pretty much from the very beginning of the tournament series), so while his presence didn’t go unnoticed, no one really expected him to win. Even though he entered the final table second in chips and there was no clear “strongest player” at the table before the game started, when poker commentators were making their guesses about the outcome of EPT Deauville, Kursevich’s name rarely came up.
The first ever World Poker Tour event in Dublin, Ireland, has gone to Brit David “Dubai” Shallow, who fought his way past the 337 other entrants to nab the title and $289,031 first place prize. In addition to the cash and recognition, Shallow also leaves Dublin with a seat at the WPT World Championships worth $25,000. This is by far the biggest win of Shallow’s career, and it makes up the vast majority of his $325k career tournament earnings.