Suspect in EPT Berlin Robbery Surrenders
March 17, 2010
Less than two weeks ago a group of armed robbers crashed the European Poker Tour in Berlin and made off with over $329,000 from the jackpot. The robbery was a surprise and very shocking to everyone involved. Now news has come out that one of the robbers has turned himself in.
Michael Merkel a spokesperson for the Berlin Police stated that the man turned himself in to the Berlin Prosecutor’s office. The man is twenty one years old but no more information has been released. It is expected that more information will be released in the future.
The man did admit his involvement in the crime and named his three accomplices. Arrest warrants have now been issued for the other three involved in the robbery. The other three accomplices had their addresses searched on Tuesday but they were not there. Police have assumed they are on the run.
The three men they are looking for are Ahmad el-Awayti age twenty, Jihad Chetwie age nineteen and Mustafa Ucarkus age twenty. The three men are already known by the German police in connection with other robberies and bodily harm. The three men along with the unidentified man stormed into the tournament on March 6th wielding a revolver and a machete. Their images were caught on the surveillance cameras.
The car the four men used to flee the scene has been recovered though the money has yet to be found. The man who surrendered stated that the money was divided up immediately after the robbery took place. The man stated he would be paying back his share of the money through his lawyer but currently the money is with a third party.
The man also admitted as to how they decided to rob the EPT tournament. He stated that he looked at the area in advance and then found where the money was, how it was secured and how many guards there were and if they were armed. When he saw the guards were not armed he decided that it was worth a shot.
Dwan Earns $230,000 in Nine Minutes against Antonius
March 16, 2010
This past weekend yet another session of the ‘durrrr’ Challenge took place between Tom ‘durrrr’ Dwan and Patrik Antonius. The two played for only nine minutes and during that time Dwan was able to earn just over $230,000 from Antonius.
The two finished sixty one hands during the nine minute session and Dwan earned $230,710 for his efforts. This win lets Dwan keep his lead and he now is getting close to $2 million in winnings. The total challenge between the two has seen 33,303 hands played out of the 50,000 it takes to complete the challenge.
The biggest pot of the short session came when Antonius led the betting with a $1,200 raise. Dwan raised to $3,600 and Antonius called. Dwan then led the betting with $4,800 on a flop of K-Q-J and Antonius called. The turn saw a 7 card and Dwan bet again this time raising it to $12,200. Antonius brought it up to $53,400 and Dwan went all in with $88,398.
Antonius called of course with his $83,717 and Dwan showed A-Q-10-8 which was a Broadway straight. Antonius held Q-9-6-2 and his only hope was a flush draw. The river was a Jack and no help to Antonius who gave Dwan the pot of $184,234.
The Challenge is coming to an end and Antonius needs to get to work if he wants to catch up and have any chance of winning the challenge. The challenge has just over 16,000 hands left to play and Antonius needs to win almost $2 million to catch Dwan. If he doesn’t catch up soon, Antonius will see himself paying Dwan the $500,000 bet he wagered with the challenge.
Harrah’s Announces Return of Tournament of Champions
March 16, 2010
After being on hiatus for three years, Harrah’s Entertainment announced the Tournament of Champions will be returning to the World Series of Poker. The Tournament will be changed into an ‘All-Star’ format and will have a $1 million prize pool up for grabs. ESPN will be filming the event and then air it on August 3rd as a two hour event.
The first place prize is worth $500,000 and just twenty seven players will be competing to win the prize. Twenty of the twenty seven seats at the event will be decided by public vote. The polls are now open at the WSOP website and fans can vote as to who they want to see compete. The voting will close on June 15th at midnight. Those eligible to compete are the living World Series of Poker bracelet winners.
Of the seven remaining seats, five will be awarded to three previous winners of the Tournament of Champions. That includes Annie Duke, Mike Matusow, Mike Sexton, Joe Cada and Barry Shulman. The tournament will begin on June 27th and the final table will resume on July 4th to compete for a winner.
The WSOP will also be awarding two sponsor exemptions for the tournament and details about how the seats can be won will be released at a further date. "Tournaments like the Tournament of Champions help elevate poker to the level it deserves and I am honored to participate," said inaugural winner Annie Duke. "Winning the Tournament of Champions marks one of the most memorable events in my poker career and I'm ecstatic that the WSOP is hosting this prestigious event."
Calling all Ladies, Time to Play Poker for Seats in the EPT Main Event!
March 13, 2010
Pokerstars has announced a poker vacation for the ladies! This vacation will be held at the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Grand Final that's being held in Monte Carlo between April 27th and May 2nd 2010.
Ladies partaking in the Monte Carlo Ladies Event package PokerStars promises will be totally relaxed in and nestled in luxury for five nights at the Columbus Monaco Hotel.
Those lucky ladies will also be treated by the PokerStars Ladies Luxury Club to a world-class poker experience. First they'll receive the very best in poker training at Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso's Ladies Bootcamp. Then they'll have the opportunity to put their skills to the test on one of tournament poker's biggest stages, the EPT Grand Final, where they'll receive an automatic entry into the €1,100 Ladies Tournament.
When a generous allowance for travel expenses and a welcome goodie bag is added to the mix, the total value of this unique vacation and poker experience amounts to €3,500. But women – and only women – can win a package for free online at PokerStars.com.
About the PokerStars Ladies Luxury Poker Club
The PokerStars Luxury Ladies Poker Club is a signature series of poker events designed for and open solely to female poker players. The events promote the increased participation by women in large buy-in poker tournaments. The PokerStars Luxury Ladies Poker Club has already staged hugely successful events at the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure and 2009 EPT London poker festivals.
Online Poker Qualifiers for The PokerStars Americas Cup
March 12, 2010
The world's leading online poker room is pitting the countries of the western continents against each other in the PokerStars Americas Cup of Poker. Online qualifiers and Team PokerStars Pros will compete on behalf of their country in the $150k live final at Iguazu Falls.
Online poker qualifiers will run for one month, beginning March 15th and ending April 14th. The live final will be held in South America's beautiful Iguazu Falls this May. Nine individual countries will be represented in the live final:
USA
Mexico
Canada
Argentina
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Peru
Venezuela
The Latin American countries not listed above will be represented in a tenth group, “Rest of LATAM”. The 10 countries will face off in three tiers of matches with freeroll, $0.11, and $1.10 buy-ins.The top 100 finishers of each online poker tournament will be awarded points. The country that accumulates the most points in each match will secure that fixture. Each country that makes it to the final will be represented by that countries top four point earners.
Once all of the online poker matches have been completed, the top six countries will qualify automatically for the live final in Iguazu Falls. Two more final positions will be up for grabs in an online playoff between the remaining 4 countries April 16th through 18th.
Free-to-enter Sit & Gos will be running constantly throughout the Americas Cup of Poker qualifier games, allowing the chance to win tickets to the $0.11 tournaments. The Sit & Gos are available in the lobby under 'Tourney' and 'Regional'.
A total of eight countries will compete in the live Americas Cup final at Iguazu Falls. Each team will consist of the top four players for each qualifying country, plus a Team PokerStars Pro acting as team captain. The final payout structure will be as follows:
1st - $50,000
2nd - $35,000
3rd - $20,000
4th - $15,000
5th - $10,000
6th - $10,000
7th - $5,000
8th - $5,000
See the PokerStars promotions page for more details about the Americas Cup of Poker.
LAPT Vina del Mar Event Canceled by PokerStars
March 11, 2010
The Latin American Poker Tour Vina del Mar stop was scheduled for March 19th to the 23rd but PokerStars recently announced they have cancelled the event. the event was cancelled because of the earthquake that hit Chile on February 27th. The area hit by the earthquake is just one hundred and seventy five miles north of the Vina del Mar Casino.
Chile is still recovering from the massive earthquake which registered a 8.8 richter scale. The earthquake has killed at least 500 people and the entire region has been affected. Citizens are still in need of all essentials like food, shelter and medical assistance.
Highways and hospitals were damaged in the earthquake and over 500,000 homes were destroyed. Just today three more aftershocks hit Chile and a tsunami warning was issued by the navy of Chile right after the aftershocks hit.
PokerStars released a statement on their blog announcing the release. The statement is as follows:
The PokerStars.net Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT) regrets to announce that the 2010 LAPT Viña del Mar, Chile poker festival has been cancelled. The festival was scheduled to be held at the Enjoy Viña del Mar Casino and Resort from March 19-23, 2010.
All players who have qualified or bought-in to the event will be fully refunded their buy-ins and any out-of-pocket expenses*.
This cancellation follows a devastating 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Chile approximately 175 miles south of Viña del Mar on February 27, 2010. The cancellation of the festival has been forced by the effects of the earthquake and in light of the rescue and recovery efforts now taking place throughout Chile.
Everyone at PokerStars.net and the LAPT offers their thoughts and condolences to all of those affected by this tragic natural disaster.
The LAPT sincerely apologizes for this cancellation to the players that had planned to attend the festival.
*Players should contact lapt@pokerstars.com with any queries
Should an Online Poker Site Pay an 8 Year Old $500k
March 11, 2010
The rumor is that an 8 year old kid that lives in Chandigarh India won 22,912,500.38 in Indian Rupees playin' a friendly game of online poker. That's about 500,000.00. The family, according to a story we dug up today, claims Aashish Nanak is a boy genius when it comes to computers and the internet.
According to his mom, the child has been using the internet since he was 3 while his mom cleaned hotels. By age 4 he was .. building web pages. Nanak apparently started playing Internet Poker when he was just six.
Mrs Nanak said, according to sources: 'He has always loved the internet and computers he started his own web pages when he was only four years old, he is a very clever boy”
The article in question does not name the poker site where Nanak won the 500k. It does reveal however that the boy was playing on an uncles account, and that the families attorney's are fighting the poker rooms decision not to pay the child. The lawyers argue that the poker sites terms and conditions do not specifically say that a child can not play under an uncle's account.
Do you think an 8 year old kid could have won 500K playing online poker?
Perhaps his uncle won big and the Indian authorities wouldn't like it to much?
Should the poker room pony up?
What do you suppose happens to the confiscated $500k?
Source: Poker Shark
Looking to Become a Poker Pro? Reality TV Show Looking For Players!
March 11, 2010
Realitywanted.com is on the hunt for poker players the ages of 18 and 27. Players must be actively 'living as a poker player' to be considered for this documentary. Some questions asked in the add include information about upcoming poker events, underground poker rooms and players own personal motivation.
If you're looking to get your name out there, this might be your one shot.
UK Poker Champ Extradition Hearing Held Today, Another Delay
March 10, 2010
Westminster magistrates have postponed a ruling in today's extradition hearing for accused murderer, Marcus Bebb-Jones, winner of the 2007 Grosvenor Grand Prix. District Judge Howard Riddle is scheduled to announce his decision in the case next month, on April 12.
Bebb-Jones has been accused by US prosecutors of the 1997 killing of his American wife, Sabrina Bebb-Jones, near their home in Grand Junction, Colorado, where the couple owned and operated the Hotel Melrose. He is said to have dumped her body in the Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado, where her skull was found in 2004, seven years after her disappearance.
The weekend after Sabrina's disappearance, Marcus Bebb-Jones allegedly used his wife's credit cards to gamble and party in Las Vegas before attempting a botched suicide. The couple's son was three years old at the time.
While the US government has agreed not to seek the death penalty in the pending murder case – in accordance with UK extradition policies – Bebb-Jones' barrister, Ben Cooper, is seeking to further reduce the maximum possible sentence of mandatory life without parole, calling it “inhuman.” He went on to say that life without parole was “grossly disproportionate” and “inconsistent with the standards of justice we hold dear, taking no account of the gravity of the crime or progress made towards rehabilitation,” adding that, “It really does create a mockery of justice.”
Aaron Watson, representing the US government in the extradition hearing, informed the court that there did exist the remote possibility of clemency or reprieve in the case, but that a potential sentence of life without the possibility of parole should not be an impediment to extradition.
The barrister, Ben Cooper, has also requested of US authorities that the accused be allowed to serve out his sentence in the UK, stating that Marcus Bebb-Jones is the sole guardian of his and Sabrina's now 16 year old son.
Aruba Poker Classic Canceled by UB
March 10, 2010
The 2010 Aruba Poker Classic created by UB was recently cancelled. The online poker room decided to cancel the event to work on having a stronger presence in the online poker industry. The online poker room is going to continue to work on their brand and try and create a larger poker room. A statement was released by Paul Leggett the CEO of Tokwiro announcing the cancelation.
In the statement, Leggett commented that UB is planning on developing a monthly $500,000 guaranteed tournament and then build that event into a $1 million tournament. The online poker room is also planning on running the UB Online Championship twice a year and making more pro related events. This will move UB in a different league of poker rooms, placing them up at the top with PokerStars and Full Tilt if the events are successful.
Leggett commented in the statement: “it is with great regret that we are announcing that the Aruba event will not run this year, but 2010 is going to be an exciting year for UB and its players. Over the last year, we’ve been redefining the UB brand in every way. We love the Aruba Poker Classic event, but we think we can do a lot more for our players by investing in new events and rewards.”
The online poker room will still be offering their players opportunities to win seats to various large live events including the World Series of Poker. UB will continue to host satellites where players can win packages to attend and participate in these events.
UB will make many changes over the next few months and players and fans of the online poker room can read more about these changes as UB plans on releasing information on their poker blog. UB plans on keeping their players informed on the changes that will make for a better online poker room.
Isildur1 Exacts a Little Revenge on Team Cardrunners
March 10, 2010
Isildur1 was back at the Full Tilt Poker tables last night where the Swede met up with both Cole South, and the man that cleaned his clock personally, Brian Hastings.
Throughout the first few hours of the night, Isildur1 pitted his poker skills against Cole South. The two played almost 2400 hands together, they began their battle at the $100/$200 PLO tables, and then made their to the $300/$600 Pot Limit Omaha. Isildur1 recovered just about 800K from South.
After touring 49 tables with South it was Isildur1 vs none other than Brian Hastings. It was a night for revenge, as Isildur1 took 550k back from Hastings.
According to Poker King, that makes Isildur1 one of the biggest winners to date at Full Tilt for the month of March. In fact, the King guesstimated that Isildur1 is up about $2 million for the month.
Now that's a comeback.
If you've never watched Isildur1 play, it's amazing, however it's a bit tricky, as he likes to multi-table. Maybe Full Tilt will get him some Rush Poker tables set up soon.
In the meantime, you can usually catch Isildur1 in the late hours of the night at about 6 tables on FTP.
PartyPoker announces Women’s World Open IV Schedule
March 9, 2010
PartyPoker and Matchroom Sport are working together to host the fourth annual PartyPoker Women’s World Open. The online poker room recently announced the schedule for the event which will take place in London, England on March 23rd and the 24th. Twenty four of the best women poker players in the world will be participating in the competition.
Confirmed to participate in the tournament is Annette Obrestad, Kara Scott, Shelley Rubenstein, Laurence Grondin, Stefanie Bergener, Christine Klecz, Pippa Flanders, Maria Demetriou, Soraya Homam, Women’s World Open III winner Aisling Collins and the runner up Wooka Kim.
The tournament will have a buy-in of $3,000 and this should create a $72,000 prize pool. The format of the tournament will see that the top two players of each of the three deep stacked eight handed heats will move to the six handed final table.
"The PartyPoker.com Women's World Open has proved extremely popular with players, viewers and broadcasters over the last three seasons," stated Eddie Hearn the matchroom sport director. "As the game continues to grow, we have made a number of changes to our formats that enables the viewers to watch a deeper-stacked game with more skill, where players can really showcase their ability and flair."
A spokesperson for PartyPoker commented: "Last year Aisling proved that Britain's got talent, but the same can be said about Japan in the form of Wooka Kim. Both will be strong contenders for the title this year. We've made the stacks deeper and the competition is just as fierce."
Annie Duke Earns NBC National Heads Up Poker Championship Title
March 8, 2010
The 2010 NBC National Heads Up Poker Championship finished up just yesterday when the top eight players returned to the felt to begin final table play. The players returned at 11am on the 7th and after two rounds of play it was Annie Duke and Erik Seidel who were left to compete for the top spot. In the end it would be Duke who claimed the title.
Seidel worked his way to the final matchup by defeating Huck Seed, David Williams, Chris Moneymaker, Peter Eastgate and Scotty Nguyen. Duke made her way through the field by defeating Andy Bloch, Darvin Moon, Paul Wasicka, Jerry Yang and Dennis Phillips.
When Duke and Seidel began competing the final match it was Duke who took the lead with the first win of the best of three championship final. Seidel won the next game to tie the score so the last game would have to take place to crown a winner.
Duke was getting low in chips but managed to double up in the final game to take a good size chip lead. On the final hand, both players were all in and Duke held pocket nines which made a straight to earn the 2-1 victory.
With the win, Duke became the first woman to win the NBC National Heads Up Championship and she earned $500,000 for the win. Below is a list of the final payouts from the tournament.
Final Results:
1: Annie Duke— $500,000
2: Erik Seidel — $250,000
3: Scotty Nguyen — $125,000
3: Dennis Phillips — $125,000
5: Jerry Yang — $75,000
5: Doyle Brunson — $75,000
5: Jason Mercier — $75,000
5: Peter Eastgate — $75,000
9: Paul Wasicka — $25,000
9: Eli Elezra — $25,000
9: Annette Obrestad — $25,000
9: Barry Greenstein — $25,000
9: Gabe Kaplan — $25,000
9: Phil Laak — $25,000
9: Chris Moneymaker — $25,000
9: Jamie Gold — $25,000
Kevin Macphee €1 MILLION at EPT Berlin, Following Robbery
March 8, 2010
PokerStars qualifier Kevin “ImaLuckSac” MacPhee has won EPT Berlin for a record €1 million first prize. The 29-year-old Idaho poker player beat Finnish player Ilari Tahkokallio to take down Germany’s biggest ever poker tournament and the first EPT in the German capital. As well as the title, MacPhee also wins a seat to the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo in April.
A total of 945 players from 48 countries entered the €5,300 Main Event creating a total prize pool of €4,725,000.
MacPhee has a phenomenal track record of winning seats to EPT events but has never before had a big cash. He’s been following the EPT circuit since the beginning of Season 5 and has competed in 15 events, winning seats to 14 of them. He was one of 243 players who won their seats to EPT Berlin on PokerStars.
MacPhee is a well-known online player who broke the PokerStars record for most Tournament Leader Board points in April 2008, accruing more than $100,000 profit in a month. EPT Berlin was the second time he had found himself heads-up against Tahkokallio. The first was last October in a £1,000 side event at EPT London – which Tahkokallio won.
MacPhee said: “Winning an EPT was a real goal of mine. I have worked very hard for this. It feels awesome. Ilari is an extremely good player and I’ve got a lot of respect for him.”
EPT Berlin, which was held by Casino SPIELBANK Berlin, was interrupted on Saturday – Day 4 of the event – when an armed robbery took place. The gunmen targeted the registration desk outside the tournament area at the Grand Hyatt Hotel but no one was seriously injured and the suspects fled after a security guard intervened. The tournament resumed after a few hours and a police investigation isnowunder way.
At the time of the raid, Tahkokallio was involved in a huge pot with Italian Luca Cainelli. Cainelli was ahead with AQ v Tahkokallio’s A. When the event resumed, tournament director Thomas Kremser said the players could consider the hand dead and take their chips back. However, despite the fact that he was losing the hand, Tahkokallio said the river card should be dealt – a sporting gesture greeted by applause. Tahkokallio, a professional poker player for two years, said: “I like to be fair and play in good spirit. It wasn’t even really a choice for me.” He later busted Cainelli and his second place finish netted him €600,000
Among those who made a deep run in the EPT Berlin Main Event were Russian EPTLive commentator Ilya Gorodetskiy, who came 16th for €25,000 and Team PokerStars Pro Jude Ainsworth who went out in 19th place for €23,500. Other Team PokerStars Pros to make the money were Johannes Strassman, Ben Kang and George Danzer from Germany, Vlad Zguba from Ukraine, Vadim Markushevski from Belarus, Briton Julian Thew, the “Flying Dutchman” Marcel Luske and William Thorson from Sweden.
In EPT Berlin side events, Team PokerStars Pro Noah Boeken came fifth in the €1,000 PLO tournament and Team Poker SportStar Fatima de Melo made the final of the €330 Ladies Event.
Final table/payouts:
1 Kevin MacPhee USA €1,000,000 +EPT Grand Final seat
2 Ilari Tahkokallio Finland €600,000
3 Marc Inizan France €350,000
4 Artur Wasek Poland €280,000
5 Ketul Nathwani UK €210,000
6 Marcel Koller Switzerland €165,000
7 Marko Neumann €120,000
8 Nico Behling Germany €72,000
The next stop on the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour is the €3,750 buy-in EPT Snowfest event in the Austrian Alps ski resort of Saalbach-Hinterglemm, running from March 21-26, 2010.
European Poker Tour Event Robbed at Gun Point
March 6, 2010
Poker players participating in day 4 of the European Poker Tour in Berlin reportedly rushed under tables at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Berlin moments ago as EPT Berlin was 
raided by five masked men at about 2pm CET ( that's 8am Eastern).
There are reports of the men being armed by guns, as well as contradicting reports of them having knives, not guns. Tables were turned upside down as the players crowded underneath. Bomb threats were heard by the poker players. There are reports of minor injuries caused by the rush for safety. Information is scarce. As we hear more we'll share it here.
Things are said to be calming down. "EPT Berlin was raided by masked men w/ weapons. We're all ok now. Finally functioning almost normally now that the adrenaline has worn off." Said Kristy Arnette on Twitter following the incident.
The EPT Makes a statement:
"An armed robbery by six men took place today at EPT Berlin. Nobody was seriously injured. We hope to re-start all events at 4pm local time. A police investigation is under way. If you have video footage or photographs that could help the police, please contact the EPT organizers as soon as possible."
Kirsty Thompson (kirstyt@ept.com)
Thanks to Poker Bloggs for wakin' us up with the news this morning! 
National Heads Up Poker Championships, Day 1
March 6, 2010
In the first day of play we saw David Williams pitted against last years World Series of Poker championship winner Joe Cada up first, pitting their skills against one another in the clubs bracket. Up next; Sammy Farha, a player known for his engaging personality, and lose poker play, pitting his skills against card sharp and magician Antonio Esfandiari in the Diamonds Bracket.
Saturdays Heads up Poker Championship Brackets
In the spades bracket, Daniel Negreanu was seated across the felt from Jason Mercier, and lastly, the hearts bracket where Howard Lederer pits his skills against Phil Helmuth!
Patrik Antonius was the first player tossed out on his ass, as Chris Moneymaker too first round of the Clubs Bracket. Not long after, Jamie gold was shown the door by Dario Minieri.
David Williams made short work of the 2009 World Series Main Event champ Joe Cada in the first round of the Clubs bracket.
Erik Seidel removed 2009 Heads-Up champion Huckleberry Seed in the first round of the Clubs Bracket. This makes history for Seed, he takes home zip zero nothing. It's the first time Seed hasn't cashed in the tournament.
Peter Eastgate advanced as he defeated Bertrand Grospellier.
Second round match-ups for tomorrow:
- Chris Moneymaker vs. Leo Wolpert
- David Williams vs. Erik Seidel
- Erick Lindgren vs. Peter Eastgate
- Stephen Quinn vs. Jamie Gold
Sammy Farha took out Antonio Esfandiari, the magic man, and advanced to become the first player in the Diamonds Bracket to advance. Not long after that, it was Greg Raymer making his way to the rail, and Gus Hansen moving forward.
Andy Bloch was taken out by Annie Duke, and former champ Paul Wasicka won, beating online poker qualifier Andrew Wilson.
Mike "The Mouth" Matusow's run in this year's event didn't last very long. Any additional showing he'll have will be from the rail. 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event champ Jerry Yang sent him packin'.
Next up, we saw Daniel Negreanu, one of the most charismatic poker players of all time take to the rail. Negreanu was the first to fall in the Spades Bracket, losing to arguably Jason Mercier.
Poker commentator Phil Gordon won a pre-flop all in against Tom Dwan (Gordon with two sevens and Dwan with A - Q off). Gordon's 7's held and he advanced to the second round.
Phil Ivey continued to show why he's generally considered the best player in the game, besting Gavin Smith in the first round of the Spades Bracket. Ivey will now face the winner of qualifier Richard Edwards and Scotty Nguyen.
Here are the matchups for the second round of the Spades Bracket, which will be played on Saturday:
- Phil Ivey vs. Scotty Nguyen
- Joe Hachem vs. Johnny Chan
- Jason Mercier vs. Pieter de Korver
- Phil Gordon vs. Phil Laak
In the Hearts Bracket:
Phil Hellmuth made it to the second round of the Heads-Up Championship by defeating Howard Lederer. Poker icon Doyle Brunson took down Brock Parker. Chris Ferguson took out internet qualifier Annette Dworski n the Spades Bracket.
Dolye Brunson defeated Brock Parker and Chris Ferguson defeated qualifier Annette Dworski in the Spades Bracket. Ferguson will play the winner of Kara Scott and Dennis Phillips while Brunson will face the winner of JP Kelly and Don Cheadle.
Allen Cunningham defeated Jesper Hougaard, Eli Elezra beat Greg Mueller and Dennis Phillips outlasted Kara Scott. All three head into the second round.
The updated bracket is attached. Game play resumes at 1 pm on Saturday.
High Stakes Poker Playing Conman Charged with Bank Defraudment
March 5, 2010
On March 1, 2010, Achilleas Kallakis and accomplice Alexander Williams, both 41, were each charged in a London court with defrauding Allied Irish Bank (AIB) of £56m between 2003 and 2007, as well as Bank of Scotland for £5m in 2008.
Once ranked the 11th wealthiest Greek in the world – and presently ranked 3rd on the Hendon Mob's All Time Money List for Greece with $345,090 in live poker earnings - Kallakis had become a leading property investor in London real estate. However, the bank loans he and Alexander Williams obtained from AIB to fund their investments are alleged to have been fraudulent. AIB accuses Kallakis of embellishing the details of tenant leases in order to procure greater loans. Additionally, the pair are incriminated with fleecing the Bank of Scotland with a 2008 loan.
Investigations into the allegation made by AIB resulted in raids on three of the properties in question. Each of the two men have been charged with 2 counts of conspiracy to defraud, 2 counts of money laundering, 5 counts of fraud by false representation, 13 counts of forgery, and 1 count of obtaining a money transfer by deception. Both men have posted bail, and will return to court May 4.
But this is not the first time Achilleas Kallakis and Alexander Williams have been charged with fraud. In fact, those aren't even their real names. Kallakis and Williams where previously known by the names Stephanos Kollakis and Martin Lewis, respectively. Kollakis and Lewis pled guilty to charges of defrauding wealthy Americans by selling them fake British titles. Noted victims of the British title scheme include Congressman Charles W. Boustany of Louisiana's 7th District, and his wife, Bridget.
Sit & Go Madness Returns to Full Tilt Poker
March 5, 2010
Online poker's answer to college basketball's March Madness is back at Full Tilt Poker. The second largest online poker room will host Sit & Go Madness this weekend, Friday March 5 through Sunday March 7. Full Tilt Poker is offering over $125,000 worth of prizes, such as entry into the $50k Madness Freeroll. All you have to do is play the single-table Sit & Gos.
Sit & Go Madness begins at 16:00 ET (4:00pm) today, and continues through 16:00 ET Sunday. Participating in Sit & Go Madness can earn a cut of the Leaderboard prize money, Madness Raffle tickets, and a seat in the Madness Freeroll to compete for a share of the $50,000 prize pool.
The Sit & Go Madness online poker tournaments will be highlighted in green. The Sit & Gos are divided into four buy-in groups:
Group A: $1 to $2 Sit & Go
Group B: $5 to $11 Sit & Go
Group C: $20 to $33 Sit & Go
Group D: $50 to $111 Sit & Go
The Sit & Go Madness will last for 24, 2-hour blocks (48 hours total) with a Leaderboard assigned to each buy-in group. At the end of every two-hour block, the seven top Sit & Go players on each of the four Leaderboards will earn a cash prize.
There will also be an Overall Leaderboard for the best two-hour block performance over the course of Sit & Go Madness for each leaderboard group. The two players with the top Overall Leaderboard score in each group will compete in a $5k Sit & Go Freeroll next weekend, Saturday, March 13 at 15:05 ET. The first, second and third place winners will receive a cash prize from the $5k pool.
The Madness Raffle offers everyone the chance to win gear from the Full Tilt Store. Everytime you cash in a qualifying, green Sit & Go (ie. place at least 3rd of 9 players, or 2nd of 6), you earn a raffle ticket to enter a drawing with over 1000 prizes to be won. One FTP Deluxe Home Game Package will be given away, which includes a deluxe poker table, a deluxe 500 piece chip set, and two leather poker deck cases – one black and one red. Other drawing prizes awarded will be T$, satellite tokens, and Full Tilt Poker t-shirts and hats.
To register for the Sit & Go Madness games, choose Sit & Go and 1-Table in the browse area, then select your favorite form, limit and stakes. Find the Sit & Gos highlighted in green, highlight the one you want to register for, and click 'Register Now'.
Trishelle Cannatella Insulted by Joe Sebok
March 3, 2010
Poker television show Poker2Nite just began filming yesterday and the show has already succumbed to drama. The show featured Trishelle Cannatella, a former reality star now a poker pro. Cannatella is sponsored by Absolute Poker and she has been on a hot streak lately, winning tournaments and making final tables.
Cannatella appeared on the show and was being interviewed by Joe Sebok. 
Apparently she didn’t wear what he thought was ‘appropriate’ and he called her on it. in the video footage Cannatella is seen wearing a yellow blouse and snug fitting pants but Sebok must have wanted to see more skin.
As soon as the interview began Sebok commented that she dressed a little to ‘appropriately’ for her interview. This upset Cannatella so she threw her microphone down, shoved a chair and then stormed off. In the process Sebok commented that Cannatella dressed more provocatively at a recent Las Vegas tournament.
Sebok was also heard saying “This is why we can’t have women on the show.” This statement was made as Cannatella was walking off the stage. Cannatella is known for her part on the MTV show The Real World Las Vegas where things got a little wild. After she walked off you can hear Scott Huff who is seated by Sebok say maybe she would be more comfortable in a hot tub, which is a deliberate jab at Cannatella.
Later that evening Cannatella tweeted that Sebok was a ‘jerk face’ and then she returned to the stage to finish the interview. This story comes straight from Wicked Chops Poker and some of their readers think the incident may have been staged. We’ve included the video, so take a look yourself and see what you think.
Senior Citizen Center Poker Game Raided and Shut Down
March 2, 2010
A group of senior citizens have been meeting every Friday for several years at the Twin Falls Senior Center in Idaho to play a little poker. The group of retirees enjoys getting together and playing cards as it is something they can do with ease. However, now the game will no longer take place as local police raided the game and shut it down.
The seniors would meet every Friday to play Texas Hold’em and each one would put in $20 to play and the winners would share the pot. Most of them had just started playing cards when they retired and the weekly get together game them a chance to socialize and add fun to their week.
Sadly the seniors have had to change their game since playing for money is illegal in the state. One player of the game, Norman Pohl commented that he doesn’t have many things to do and the game was something to look forward to every week. Shirley Basham, a woman who enjoyed the game, commented that she liked to socialize during the game and that it was something that she was able to physically do without pain.
When the games took place the seniors would donate between $400 and $500 each month to support the Twin Falls Senior Center so they didn’t think they were doing anything wrong. They thought it was legal since they were donating money to the center.
But in Idaho the law sees it differently. The law in the state defines illegal gambling as ‘risking any money, credit, deposit or other thing of value for gain contingent in whole or in part upon lot, chance, the operation of a gambling device or the happening or outcome of an event, including a sporting event, the operation of casino gambling including, but not limited to, blackjack, craps, roulette, poker, baccarat and keno.’
Because of the police raid, the players now have had to change the rules of the game and play without money. So now the excitement has been taken away and the joy they got from the thrill of competition has weakened.