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Posts Tagged ‘World Poker Tour’
Thursday, October 6th, 2011
The Heartland Poker Tour was originally created as an alternative to the high-priced major tournaments taking place on the World Poker Tour, the World Series of Poker Circuit Series, the now defunct North American Poker Tour, and other big tournament stops around the country that featured $5k and $10k buy-ins.
With buy-ins of around $1,500 for their Main Events, as well as lesser priced preliminary tournaments at each stop, the Heartland poker Tour has managed to continue to grow even during the tough economic times now engrossing the country.
In addition to the reasonably priced buy-ins and central locations away from the gaming Mecca’s of Las Vegas, Connecticut, and Atlantic City, a major factor in the Heartland Poker Tour’s growth has been the TV deal they signed that gives the “average poker player” a chance to live out their poker dreams on a major cable network.
How much has the Heartland Poker Tour grown in its six-year existence? The most recent Heartland Poker Tour Main Event at the Golden Gates Casino in Black Hawk, Colorado managed to surpass the $1 million mark for the first time in the tour’s history –not too bad for a tournament with a $1,650 entry-fee!
Heartland Poker Tour co-founder was quick to Tweet the news, stating: “Our first event in 2005 prize pool was 100,000. Tonite it is 1,000,000. Lots of dedicated folks to thank along the way. HPT family rules!”
The HPT has also been busy in recent years picking up one notable poker player as a spokesman, but maintaining their “everyman” quality by selecting the likes of 2009 WSOP Main Event runner-up Darvin Moon. The HPT is also now under the Federated Sports + Gaming umbrella, as the owners of the Epic Poker League acquired the HPT earlier this summer.
Tags: American Poker, Black Hawk Colorado, Cable Network, Co Founder, Economic Times, Everyman, Federated, Golden Gates Casino, Heartland, Ins, Mecca, Milestone, Poker Player, Prize Pool, Sports Gaming, Tour Co, Tv Deal, World Poker Tour, World Series Of Poker, Wsop Main Event
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Monday, May 30th, 2011
Pretty much every age-related tournament record seems to be set over in Europe, thanks to their minimum gambling age requirements being set at 18 in contrast to the US where players need to be 21 except in a few locales like Florida. So it should come as no surprise that the youngest World Poker Tour Champion was recently crowned at the WPT Spanish Poker Open where Lukas Berglund won the title at the tender age of 18.
Berglund put in a dominating performance at the final table, knocking out every single player on route to the Spanish Poker Open title, and in doing so picked up the €206k set aside for the winner as well as the $25k entry to the WPT Championship awarded to all WPT champions.
Here is a look at how the final table of the Spanish Poker Open, the inaugural event on Season X of the WPT, played out:
1. Lukas Berglund — €206,000
2. Romain Matteoli — €118,000
3. Frederic Bussot Fuentes — €64,000
4. Jorge Duffour — €47,000
5. Guillem Usero — €40,000
6. Alexander Sidorin — €33,500
7. Artur Koren — €27,000
8. Markus Ristola — €20,200
The WPT will now go on 3+ month hiatus as the World Series of Poker kicks-off on Tuesday. The WPT will resume on September 5th as the tour stays on the old continent, heading to Paris, France for the WPT Grand Prix de Paris at the Aviation Club de France.
Tags: Artur, Aviation Club De France, Berglund, Club De France, Dominating Performance, Europe Thanks, Grand Prix De Paris, Guillem, Hiatus, Inaugural Event, Koren, Matteoli, Old Continent, Paris France, Single Player, Tender Age, Tour Champion, World Poker Tour, World Series Of Poker, Wpt Championship
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Monday, May 16th, 2011
Despite the absence of about a dozen familiar names like Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer, Tom Dwan, and Chris Ferguson the $25,000 buy-in 2011 World Poker Tour Championship taking place at the Bellagio saw a total of 220 players register for the tournament. Over the course of Day 1, 188 players registered, followed by a further 32 players taking advantage of the late registration period on Day 2.
The 220 entrants didn’t simply beat last year’s mark, it blew it out of the water by 25 players –which is a huge amount when you are dealing with a $25,000 tournament—bringing the total prize-pool to over $5.3 million. A total of 27 players will make the money in the tournament, with first place worth over $1.6 million –David Williams earned $1.5 million for his win last year—and a min-cash worth $37,167.
Here is a look at the complete payout structure for the tournament from the WPT website:
· 1st: $1,618,344
· 2nd: $1,061,900
· 3rd: $589,355
· 4th: $361,665
· 5th: $278,749
· 6th: $225,654
· 7th: $172,559
· 8th: $119,464
· 9th: $84,952
· 10th – 12: $63,714
· 13th – 15th: $53,095
· 16th – 18th: $42,476
· 19th – 27th: $37,167
As far as the action at the tables goes; at the end of Day 2 there were 118 players remaining in the hunt for the title with cash-game pro Abe Mosseri leading the way with. Here are the Top 10 chip counts heading into Day 3’s action:
1. Abe Mosseri — 685,200
2. Alan Sternberg — 606,400
3. Steven Kelly — 566,500
4. Roger Teska — 534,900
5. Scott Seiver — 461,300
6. Josh Bergman — 415,600
7. Justin Young — 414,100
8. Roberto Mercer — 408,600
9. David Peters — 401,400
10. Darren Elias — 342,900
Tags: Abe Mosseri, Bellagio, Bergman, Cash Game, Chris Ferguson, Game Pro, Howard Lederer, Late Registration, Leading The Way, Payout Structure, Phil Ivey, Prize Pool, Registration Period, Sternberg, Steven Kelly, Teska, Tom Dwan, World Poker Tour, World Poker Tour Championship, WPT
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Monday, May 2nd, 2011
There have actually been two female champions in the long history of the World Poker Tour, but both of those wins are accompanied by asterisks: First in 2008 the wife of Men “The Master” Nguyen, Van Nguyen won the WPT Celebrity Invitational in 2008 –key word INVITATIONAL—and earlier this year Natalia Nikitina took home an ‘open’ WPT event in Paris, but the Regional Series tournament is not considered a full-fledged WPT event and therefore also doesn’t count.
But there is a new hope for that first WPT female champion in the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown, as Abbey Daniles has weaved her way through a very tough field to the final table of six players.
Daniels is heading into the final table right in the thick of things with over 2-million in chips, putting her in third place on the leader-board, but she’ll definitely have her work cut out for as she goes up against chip-leader Taylor Von Kriegenbergh, Curt Kohlberg, Tommy Vedes, and Allen Bari. One player she will no longer have to worry about is WSOP bracelet winner Blair Hinkle, who was eliminated in 7th place just shy of the televised final table.
Here is a look at the chip counts of the final six players at the inaugural WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown:
1. Taylor Von Kriegenbergh — 4,384,000
2. Justin Zaki — 2,197,000
3. Abbey Daniels — 2,192,000
4. Allen Bari — 1,984,000
5. Tommy Vedes — 1,570,000
6. Curt Kohlberg — 655,000
Tags: Abbey, Asterisks, Bari, Blair, Female Champion, Hinkle, History Of The World, Key Word, Kohlberg, Leader Board, New Hope, Nguyen Van, Poker Showdown, Regional Series, Seminole Hard Rock, Van Nguyen, Vedes, World Poker Tour, WPT, Zaki
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Friday, April 29th, 2011
After two days of play the inaugural World Poker Tour Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown is down to 147 players, and sitting on top of the leader-board is long-time poker pro Todd Terry with 296,400 chips. The $10,000 buy-in tournament attracted a solid starting field of 433 players, an impressive number in the wake of Black Friday, not to mention the tournament is competing head-on with the WSOP Circuit Series taking place at Caesar’s Palace, as well as the EPT San Remo tournament.
Terry was one of 10 players that managed to end Day 2 with over 200,000 chips, another high-profile member of that group being Annette Obrestad who finds herself in 8th place on the leader-board with 213,500 chips. Here is a look at the Top 10 chip counts heading into Day 3 of the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown:
1. Todd Terry — 296,400
2. Charles Wiper — 273,100
3. Steven Levy — 247,300
4. Brandon Steven — 237,600
5. Mike Beasley — 231,000
6. Farhan Madhani — 227,300
7. Brian Colin — 224,500
8. Annette Obrestad — 213,500
9. Jason Koon — 207,700
10. James Mackey — 205,100
Lurking farther down the leader-board are other notable names like James Carroll, Randy Dorfman, Noah Schwartz, Mike Sexton, Sam Stein, David Baker, Adam Levy, Blair Hinkle, Allen Bari, Vivek Rajkumar, Joe Serock, Chino Rheem, and Maria Ho.
Tags: Adam Levy, Black Friday, David Baker, EPT, Farhan, Impressive Number, Inaugural World, Koon, Leader Board, Mike Beasley, Mike Sexton, Poker Pro, Poker Showdown, Rajkumar, Rheem, San Remo, Seminole Hard Rock, Serock, Steven Levy, World Poker Tour
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Friday, April 29th, 2011
As Black Friday continues to be examined from virtually every angle, the World Poker Tour’s Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown is the first major US poker tournament to take place after the fallout from April 15th, but unfortunately as a first-time event there is no way to compare this year’s turnout by looking at prior tournament attendance.
That said the 406 players that showed up for Day 1 of the Main Event at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino is one of the best turnouts on Season 9 of the WPT. Attendance may increase slightly as registration will remain open until Day 2 begins.
As with most $10k tournaments, the tournament saw a bevy of poker pros make the trip to Florida, with some of poker’s best having solid Day 1 performances. Among the 290 survivors from Day 1 were Jason Mercier, Harrison Gimbel, Robert Mizrachi, while Dwyte Pilgrim, Faraz Jaka, and Antonio Esfandiari all hit the rail on Day 1.
Here is a look at the Top 10 chip counts heading into Day 2 of the World Poker Tour’s Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown:
1. Randy Dorfman – 160,000
2. Nick Grippo – 149,375
3. James Carroll – 130,925
4. Todd Terry – 124,975
5. Seth Davies – 115,225
6. Joe Serock – 113,150
7. Marsha Wolak – 106,350
8. Elio Cubrera – 105,025
9. Jorge Chavez – 104,525
10. Aarib Schaff – 104,225
Tags: Antonio Esfandiari, Black Friday, Dorfman, Faraz, Gimbel, Grippo, Hard Rock Casino, Jorge Chavez, Poker Pros, Poker Showdown, Poker Tournament, Robert Mizrachi, Seminole Hard Rock, Seminole Hard Rock Casino, Serock, Time Event, Trip To Florida, Wolak, World Poker Tour, WPT
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Wednesday, April 13th, 2011
Yesterday was a short day at the World Poker Tour Hollywood Poker Open considering the players were going from the unofficial final table of nine players down to the official final table of six players, and what a final table it will be!
Amongst the six players who will be competing for the WPT title are Poker Hall of Famer Erik Seidel –who has already pocketed over $4 million in prize-money this year; an up and coming star in William Reynolds; recent World Series of Poker Circuit Series winner Ali Eslami; and last year’s Card Player Magazine Player of the Year Tom Marchese. Rounding out the final table will be short-stack Andy Whetstone and Mike Scarborough who has been on an absolute tear at the Hollywood Poker Open. Scarborough finished in 2nd place in the $300 NLHE Deepstacks tournament just a few days ago, and won the $500 and $300 NLHE tournaments earlier in the series.
Here is a look at the chip counts and seating assignments heading into tomorrow’s final table at the WPT Hollywood Poker Open:
· Seat 1. Andy Whetstone - 80,500
· Seat 2. Erik Seidel - 645,000
· Seat 3. Ali Eslami - 213,000
· Seat 4. Tom Marchese - 175,000
· Seat 5. Mike Scarborough - 654,500
· Seat 6. William Reynolds - 1,169,000
The final table is set to begin at 4PM local time and will appear on FSN as part of their WPT coverage later in the year.
Tags: Ali Eslami, Card Player Magazine, Erik Seidel, Fsn, Hall Of Famer, Marchese, Open Seat, Poker Hall, Prize Money, Scarborough, Seat 6, Seating Assignments, Series Winner, Stack, Whetstone, William Reynolds, World Poker Tour, World Series, World Series Of Poker, WPT
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Saturday, February 12th, 2011
Europe has a new leading man when it comes to major poker tournaments, as it has become readily apparent that France, not the United Kingdom, is the top draw in Poker. This shift in the power structure came off of news that France will be the host of the World Series of Poker Europe after luring the coveted tournament series from London to Cannes.
In the press release issued by the owners of the World Series of Poker brand, Caesar’s Entertainment, they explained the decision to move the WSOPE thusly: “[Caesars Interactive Entertainment] has been looking for a strategic opportunity to enter the French market after seeing for years the interest of French poker players at the WSOP event in Las Vegas increase. By signing an offline and online alliance with the same group, Caesars now has the ability to tap into this terrific market in a meaningful manner.”
France now plays host to a number of high-profile tournaments throughout the year including:
· Two World Poker Tour Events
· Two European Poker Tour Events
· The Partouche Poker Tour Grand Finale
· The World Series of Poker Europe
It was also announced that the 2011 WSOP Europe would be expanded to seven events –there were five in 2010—and will be held at the Casino Barrière de Cannes Croisette and the Hôtel Majestic Barrière, in Cannes, France from October 7th to the 21st,2011.
For more information on the 2011 World Series of Poker Europe you can head over to www.WSOP.com.
Tags: Caesar, Caesars, Cannes Croisette, Cannes France, Casino BarrièRe, Draw Poker, French Market, Grand Finale, Hotspot, Interactive Entertainment, Leading Man, Meaningful Manner, Poker Players, Poker Tournaments, Power Structure, S Entertainment, World Poker Tour, World Series, World Series Of Poker, Wsope
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Wednesday, January 19th, 2011
After yesterday’s announcement we learned that the Palms Casino has teamed up with Federated Sports and gaming (FS+G) to create a new Poker League that will be an invite-only affair for top professional poker players. It was also announced that recently departed UB Poker Pro Annie Duke will be the commissioner of the league.
In what will likely feel like Déjà vu for many of us long-time poker enthusiasts, apparently the newly formed Poker League will attempt to do what the Professional Poker Tour (PPT) was unable to accomplish in its one season in 2005 –Sustain attendance while increasing the initial smallish prize-pools.
Just 200 players will be invited to compete in the four scheduled tournaments of the new tour which has yet to be named, and participants will be determined by a mathematical criterion that will award 2-year, 3-year, 5-year, and life time tour cards.
Using a very similar formula to determine participants, the PPT’s major hurdles included rather paltry $225,000 prize-pools, and paid just six competitors. Because of this, the tour lasted only a single year and the events were later incorporated into the World Poker Tour schedule. Perhaps the new tour will not be an absolute freeroll but a money added tournament series, which would create much larger prize-pools –If the tour uses a $5,000 buy-in format and doubles the prize-pool each event would feature a $2 million prize-pool, more than enough to attract the top players to each event.
Hopefully the involvement of Jeffrey Pollack, Annie Duke, and the Palms Casino –owned by the Maloof family—will help establish the tour as a major player in the poker world.
Tags: Annie Duke, Attendance, Criterion, Enthusiasts, Federated, Freeroll, Hurdles, Jeffrey Pollack, Life Time, Maloof Family, Palms Casino, Participants, Poker Players, Poker Pro, Poker World, Pools, Prize Pool, Professional Poker, Time Tour, World Poker Tour
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Monday, January 10th, 2011
With his runner-up performance in the PokerStars PCA Super-High-Roller tournament Daniel Negreanu has reclaimed the top spot on the all-time poker tournament money list according to thehendonmob.com’s tournament database –considered the most accurate and extensive in poker.
Negreanu lost the #1 spot last year to Phil Ivey, who he now leads by about $250,000, but the $1,000,000 in prize-money he earned from the PCA Super-High-Roller tournament catapulted “Kid Poker” past Ivey and back to the #1 spot; although for how long remains to be seen!
Negreanu now has a mind-boggling total of $14,116,119 in career tournament winnings. A number made all the more impressive by the fact that Negreanu’s biggest payday was a $1.7 million score on the World Poker Tour back in 2004 –in fact his $1 million cash in yesterday’s tournament was only the third 7-figure cash of his career!
Negreanu’s career is a model of consistency; since he started playing tournament poker back in 1997 there have been only two occasions where “Kid Poker” failed to earn more than $279,000 –in 1997 and again in 2000, and has an impressive run of 10 straight years with at least $500,000 in tournament winnings! This is one of the most impressive runs I think you will ever find in poker, and it’s ongoing.
Congratulations to Daniel Negreanu, poker’s all-time money list leader – For the time being!
Tags: 1 Million, Career Tournament Winnings, Consistency, Daniel Negreanu Poker, High Roller, Lost, Phil Ivey, Playing Poker, Poker Tournament, PokerStars, Prize Money, Score, Time Money, Tournament Database, Tournament Poker, Two Occasions, World Poker Tour
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