It was history in the making this weekend as the National Poker League kicked off its tour in London. Several European pros came to the Loose Cannon Club to throw down in the first event, and Tony G is leading the way into today's final table, which is sure to make the televised event interesting.
Tony G goes into the final table today with 24,725 in chips. He will be joined by Sekh "Steven" Razab, Jason Ho, Dave Colclough and Eion Kennedy.
Razab is the closest to the Tony G, only a couple thousand behind him with 22,000 chips.
One of the casualties who fell to help build the G-man's stack was Shannon Elizabeth. She'd recently been in Australia to play some poker tournaments and made her way back to the Northern Hemisphere for the NPL tournament.
She found herself battling it out on camera with Tony G fairly early in the competition. Unfortunately her pocket kings would run into trouble when Tony G took her on with jack-ten suited.
Elizabeth went all in on the flop, and Tony G called her with an open-ended straight-flush draw. Tony improved and sent Elizabeth to head to the rail once again. Online poker.
Known as "The Mouth from Down Under," Tony G will be sure to make for an entertaining final table. His bravado was probably bolstered by his recent three cashes at the World Series of Poker.
However, his reputation and recent success won't guarantee him a win. Download poker wallpapers.
He'll have his work cut out for him with Dave Colclough also at the table. The Welshman is a consistent casher in events and has seen success in the Grosvenor U.K. Poker Tour this year as well as two cashes at the WSOP.
The final table starts today at 6 p.m. local time with Roy Houghton providing live commentary.
With Event 1 wrapping up, Event 2 begins today as well. It has a £540 buy-in like the first event and is sure to draw another crowd of Europe's greatest poker players & women poker players.
There will also be £1,325 buy-in events starting Tuesday and Wednesday. The £2,600 main event will begin Friday.
The final tables for all the events will be filmed for television broadcast.
4kingpoker.com, the friendliest poker forum online, launches a new series of weekly private poker tournaments at PKR Poker, the stunning 3D poker site: The 4kingpoker.com PKR Weekly League.
Starting on Tuesday 7th August at 8.30pm GMT, the weekly league at PKR.com is a series of 10 games each with $25 added to the prize pool for only a $1 buy-in. As well as the prize money on offer in each game, the top 5 players in each game will also qualify to play in the Grand Final on the 16th of October for a bigger prize pool.
PKR is the fastest growing poker room online now with over 800,000 registered players and daily peak player traffic of over 7,000. It's sucess is down to it's stunning 3D poker software which has proved to be exceedingly popular with online poker players. Offering a wide choice of 3D environments, 3D avatars which can be fully customized using the PKR FaceGen software and a host of chip tricks and emotions PKR is the most advanced poker room online.
4kingpoker is proud to announce this series of tournaments at PKR offering a great opportunity for new players to try out PKR for themselves. Our $1 buy-in tournaments with money added tournaments have proved very popular with our poker forum members and this is the first site specific league we have run for our community.
Schedule for the 4kingpoker.com PKR weekly league:
Tuesday 7th August at 8.30 GMT $25 added $1 buy-in (top 5 qualify for final)
Tuesday 14th August at 8.30 GMT $25 added $1 buy-in (top 5 qualify for final)
Tuesday 21st August at 8.30 GMT $25 added $1 buy-in (top 5 qualify for final)
Tuesday 28th August at 8.30 GMT $25 added $1 buy-in (top 5 qualify for final)
Tuesday 4th September at 8.30 GMT $25 added $1 buy-in (top 5 qualify for final)
Tuesday 11th September at 8.30 GMT $25 added $1 buy-in (top 5 qualify for final)
Tuesday 18th September at 8.30 GMT $25 added $1 buy-in (top 5 qualify for final)
Tuesday 25th September at 8.30 GMT $25 added $1 buy-in (top 5 qualify for final)
Tuesday 2nd October at 8.30 GMT $25 added $1 buy-in (top 5 qualify for final)
Tuesday 9th October at 8.30 GMT $25 added $1 buy-in (top 5 qualify for final)
Grand Final - Tuesday 16th Ocotober at 8.30 GMT Big Prize TBC (max 50 players & women poker players qualified for final)
4kingpoker.com has a full review of PKR with a choice of 3 PKR bonus offers including it's biggest 100% up to $600 bonus and smaller bonuses suited to the small stakes player. The review also features several video previews demonstrating some of the site unique features like chip tricks, avatar creation and showing the variety of 3D poker tables which can be played at.
The 4kingpoker $1 buy-in with $100 added series II which featured 12 games at 4 of our top sites (Titan Poker, PKR, Bodog & Poer.com) is nearing completion. The last game will be played in August and the top 3 players on the overall leaderboard will also receive additional prize money. More tournaments are planned and the 3rd series in the buy-in tour promises to be even bigger and better. Play online poker.
4kingpoker webmaster Scrawnybob has also developed an accompanying poker blog at 4kingpokerblog.com which features highlights and updates from the main site in easily digestable bites with daily poker videos and thoughts on the online poker world.
The poker forum at 4kingpoker has now grown to over 3,00 members and the community has also become a expansive resource for online poker information including daily poker news focusing on new online tournaments, offers and developments at our recommended poker sites. with reviews of over 30 poker room's additional sections have been added to rank the top 10 sites for specific features like software, bonus, player numbers, ease of winning, size, mac compatibility and also new sites launching. Download poker wallpapers.
With a growing forum of informed and friendly members - 4kingpoker.com is the perfect home for both beginnner and experienced poker players to get tips, discuss poker & play tournaments.
Aaaaaaaah yeah, it's better than happy hour at a strip joint, it's casino winners time!
* Brian H. of NJ ain't no joke with the Joker Poker. He killed the video poker machine by making $16,656! * Blackjack was hot as usual for our players, as Henry S., Milenko M., Michael J., and Vernon C. They made $12,469, $6,899, $5,983, $5,349 respectively! Women poker players. * Being in the realm of riches is so great. Vernon S. of MD made $12,354 on the Realm of Riches online slot machine. * Gary C. was havin' a fruit frenzy! He made $8,822 off of the Fruit Frenzy slot machine! Online poker. * Who's Mister Money today? Donald C. He made $8,648! * Ah…Goldbeard is at it again. Gary C. made $6,015. Two jackpots in one day! Download poker wallpapers.
When PokerStars.com players come out to play, they come out in droves. The poker site set a new tournament record when 20,000 people showed up to play the Sunday Hundred Grand this week.
With a guaranteed prize pool, the Hundred Grand is just one of four major tournaments PokerSTars.com hosts on Sundays. It's also joined by the Sunday Warm-up, the Sunday Million and the High-Stakes Showdown, all of which offer players & women poker pros a shot at first-place prizes of thousands of dollars.
With its $10+$1 buy-in, the Hundred Grand is a shot at big money for small stakes. Lynna1, a player from the United States, was this week's winner, taking home $20,000. Play online poker.
The final table results were as follows: Place- Name- Country- Cash 1st- Lynna1- United States- $20,000 2nd- henrybourbon- Australi- $10,000 3rd- steeldawgs- United States- $6,500 4th- laststand77- United States- $5,000 5th- Heien- Norway- $3,000 6th- medloh man- United States- $2,000 7th- NikRoon11- Canada- $1,600 8th- Roy_nmgn- Netherlands- $1,260 9th- LumpyTators- United States- $1,000
Twenty grand was the lowest of the big prizes handed out on Sunday. Players who showed up for the High-Stakes Showdown were treated to a $72,000 top prize. Play $500 match poker bonus.
With a $10,000+$300 buy-in, this heads-up series of matches still fills up quickly. Lrslzk, a player from Finland, will be happy he made it in this week after taking down the top prize. The final table results were: Place- Name- Country- Cash 1st- LrsLzk- Finland- $72,000 2nd- ActionJeff- United States- $40,000 3rd- adsanman12- United States- $24,000 4th- Rekrul- United States- $24,000
The Sunday Warm-Up kicked up the prize levels another notch as its top prize neared $100,000 this week. Thai player azn_baller3 took home the $93,909.24 prize, in a final table that looked like this: Place- Name- Country- Cash 1st- azn_baller3- Thailand- $93,909.24 2nd- Machiavelli- Sweden- $47,579.40 3rd- Sansion- United States- $31,671.54 4th- ENGLISHJUDGE- United Kingdom- $25,471.80 5th- pokerbig77- Netherlands- $20,185.20 6th- mikeyt51- New Zealand- $15,331.14 7th- paul0s- United Kingdom- $11,005.74 8th- Poker Invest- Spain- $6,920.64 9th- potbooster- United States- $4,037.04
Of course, the "big one" on Sundays at PokerStars.com is the Sunday Million. Even after a four-way deal that left an extra $30,000 for the first place finisher, Canadian player Zutzman pocketed $152,537.87 for the win. Play route 66 poker.
The final table results were as follows: Place- Name- Country- Cash 1st- Zutzman- Canada- $152,537.87 2nd- Pehtoori- Finland- $134,484.16 3rd- lb6121- United Kingdom- $157,963.52 4th- GARBANZITO- Mexico- $122,811.40 5th- plasticard- Sweden- $59,211.60 6th- Xaston- United States- $43,804.50 7th- asdf2000- United States- $31,720.50 8th- fundmyaudi- United States- $19,938.60 9th- nazeehah66- United States- $11,781.90
Florida Democrat and Congressman Robert Wexler, one of four American politicians that have introduced separate legislative proposals seeking to restructure the effects of the prohibitive Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), has described legislation he recently introduced that would allow US players & women poker players to take part in online poker games as ‘palatable’.
Wexler's Bill, House of Representatives (HR) 2610 or The Skill Game Protection Act, seeks and exception or 'carve out' for online poker as a game of skill that US players should be permitted to enjoy over the Internet. ‘Carve outs’ currently exist for online gambling sectors such as horse racing, fantasy sports and lotteries on the Internet and the Skill Game Protection Act seeks to add poker to that list. Play route 66 poker.
“In essence, it's the newest form of prohibition,” said Wexler.
Wexler explained that he chosen to use a ‘carve out’ rather than another approach because politics is the art of analysing what is achievable. Download poker wallpapers.
“There are some people that have a moral or ethical issue with gambling of any sort,” said Wexler.
“I would suggest they were a bit hypocritical when they voted for [UIGEA], because the Bill that is currently in effect allows gambling on the Internet for lottery and for horses. However, I thought it would be most palatable if we said '...games of skill such as poker are American institutions, poker is an American institution just like baseball.' When put in that context I thought it would be a more palatable political issue for many people.”
It sounds like the plot of one of those flashy casino heist movies -- a team of thieves, armed with high tech equipment concocts a scheme to steal vast sums of money from big shot gamblers.
It really did happen, although law enforcement officials are still unwilling to talk about it. Gaming agents in New Jersey arrested four suspects, including a Las Vegas man known internationally as an expert in how to thwart casino thieves.
In late June, the elegant Borgata in Atlantic City launched the largest poker event in the town's history, a $5,000 per-person buy in tournament with 337 players & women poker players vied for $1.7 million. But someone else was after the money as well; a team of high tech cheats with a scheme worthy of Oceans 11.
Well-placed sources told the I-Team that New Jersey gaming agents staged a quiet raid on the Borgata and arrested four people. By one account, they stormed a hotel room and found it packed with electronic equipment. According to one source, gaming control initially believed the suspects had tapped into a live video feed generated by the hole card cameras that allow TV audiences to see a player's down cards in games of Texas Hold 'em, information that presumably could be relayed to a confederate playing in the poker tournament.
However, a spokesman for Boyd Gaming, which is a partner in Borgata with MGM, told the I-Team "the scheme did target high-end poker players, but off the floor," adding that "the security systems of the Borgata were never compromised, nor was the tournament. Customers were targeted but not the games."
The biggest surprise for gaming agents might have been who was involved. Among those arrested as part of the scheme was Las Vegas gaming consultant Steve Forte, regarded as a world class expert in countering cheaters. Forte's web site says he's been a consultant to MGM, Caesars, Station Casinos, as well as to the U.S. Attorney, FBI, Metro Police and the Clark County district attorney. His books and videos on how to counter gambling cheats are best sellers. Download poker wallpapers.
New Jersey authorities would not acknowledge that arrests were been made. However, Nevada Gaming Control told the I-Team they had been informed by New Jersey about the arrests, that four persons had been taken into custody including Steve Forte, and that a sensitive investigation was ongoing.
Back in Las Vegas, Forte has told friends that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, intimating that he was in the room with the alleged cheaters because he wanted to observe their methods and was not part of the scheme. Forte declined the I-Team's interview request but confirmed in an e-mail that he had been arrested. He says he maintains his innocence and will fight the charges at all costs.
The obvious question is could it happen at the much more lucrative World Series of Poker? Tournament commissioner Jeffrey Pollack says he's heard nothing about the New Jersey scandal but that he is confident that cheaters wouldn't stand a chance there.
WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack said, "I can't reveal our specific security measures, otherwise they wouldn't be very secure. But needless to say, Harrah's has the ultimate commitment to both responsible gaming and security, and we have a state of the art surveillance system in place at all times here."
Casino sources say they believe the FBI is now involved in the investigation, possibly to find out if the same high tech scheme has been used before. Play route 66 poker.
The I-Team contacted several of the poker players involved in the tournament. None of them saw anything unusual, nor did they see any arrests. That fits with other information the I-Team has about how the scheme was intended to steal from the poker players when they were away from the tables. No one is saying how the plot was supposed to work. Even the arrest information is being kept confidential. Stay tuned to our poker blog for more information.
The Channel 8 I-Team will have more information as it becomes available.
It's official. ESPN World Series of Poker color man Norman Chad got married last week, leaving this reporter wondering whether there will be any more references to his multiple failed marriages in the 2007 WSOP broadcasts.
"You better print this quick, I might be divorced again before you finish writing," Chad said.
He started to tell me that he had married a woman fresh out of prison, but stopped short, explaining that the mystery wife is a really "wonderful woman."
"It's true I did get married," Chad said. "But I made up the prison stuff."
Negreanu is charitable
Daniel Negreanu is today's ESPN featured player. His appearance on the main stage has drawn the largest featured-table crowd to date. The standing-room only crowd cheered loudly every time Daniel earned some chips. Play route 66 poker.
One fan, seated in the Milwaukee's Best Light Lounge, yelled out to Daniel between hands, asking him if he could get him a water (water at the poker tables is free). An incredulously Negreanu asked the fan to repeat his question. Again the jovial fan made his request.
"Can we do that?" Negreanu asked the table's floor person.
"I guess," the official said.
The fan eventually received his complimentary water.
Later on, Negreanu asked the fan if he was all set.
"How was the water?" he asked. "Need anything else? Some brandy, maybe a beer?"
Hasan Habib's fan
A short-stacked player entertained Hasan Habib's table and the fans around it all afternoon by screaming the professional's name every time Habib wins a pot. Online poker.
After Habib raked in one large pot, the short-stacked player tried to negotiate with Habib, asking for some chips in exchange for some more verbal publicity. Habib just laughed, but the player went ahead and screamed the name again anyways.
"Now let's talk about stack percentages," the loud player said.
An empty Rio
The Amazon Ballroom is quiet and virtually empty for the first time since the WSOP began. A few cash games were still running Wednesday, but the Main event was down to just 500 players before the dinner break and the usual din was minimal.
It's still six days from the Main Event final table, but the mood is changing from chaos to calm.
Bubble bursts at the Main Event; 337 left in hunt for $8.25 million
The bubble burst at the Main Event of the World Series of Poker last night, and 284 players finished the day with at least $20,320 in winnings. The remaining 337 players & women poker pros are eying the $8.25 million first-place prize as play resumes today at noon PST for Day 4.
Rome's Dario Minieri, who won €125,780 in a European Poker Tour event last October, will start the day with a healthy chip lead, holding $2.4 million. Jeff Weiss of Florida is second with just over $1.5 million.
Kenny Tran, who was fifth in the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event, sits in fifth with nearly $1.2 million.
Five former winners are still in the field, including: Huck Seed (1996, $544,000); Robert Varkonyi (2002, $424,000); Scotty Nguyen (1998, $321,000); Carlos Mortensen (2001, $284,000); and Berry Johnston (1986, $203,000). Play $500 match poker bonus.
Other notable players still in contention include: Gus Hansen ($1.0 million); Isaac Haxton ($791,000); Kirk Morrison ($772,000); Bart Hanson ($738,000); Lee Watkinson ($737,000); Bill Edler ($673,000); Julian Gardner ($471,000); Chad Brown ($454,000); Jason Lester ($439,000); John Spadavecchia ($402,000); Alexander Kravchenko ($371,000); Thor Hansen ($342,000); Daniel Alaei ($299,000); Humberto Brenes ($210,000); Mimi Tran ($144,000); Tobey Maguire ($131,000); Hasan Habib ($127,000); and Billy Baxter ($105,000). Download poker wallpapers.
It was history in the making this weekend as the National Poker League kicked off its tour in London. Several European pros came to the Loose Cannon Club to throw down in the first event, and Tony G is leading the way into today's final table, which is sure to make the televised event interesting.
