 The 2010 edition of WSOP Europe blasted off in stellar fashion today, as the first tournament was a complete sell out.
The £2,500 buy-in Six-Handed No-Limit Hold'em event attracted 244 entries. This is the first time a Six-Handed tournament has been played as part of WSOP Europe. Based on the overwhelming enthusiasm, it most certainly will not be the last.
Indeed, all tables at London's swanky Casino at the Empire were filled to capacity, which required the taking of alternates to fill empty seats as players were gradually eliminated. By the middle of the second level (about 80 minutes into the tournament) all players had been seated and were in action. Remarkably, the tournament began just a few minutes after the scheduled noon start, despite an overflowing casino jammed with poker players. By 12:15, all that could be heard were the echoing sounds of poker chips being rattled and stacked (and Mike Matusow, talking incessantly to an unfortunate table victim).
The tournament began with a short pre-game ceremony. WSOP executive Ty Stewart introduced WSOP Tournament Director Jack Effel, who has overseen operations during all four years of the London series. Effel welcomed the crowed and then said he expects this year's turnout to be the highest ever. Based on the early numbers, Effel's zeal appears quite justified.
The biggest events are yet to come. The upcoming £1,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em tournament which starts this Friday is projected by many to be the biggest WSOP Europe tournament in history. Excitement is so strong that three starting days will be required to accommodate the huge field that is expected.
This is the largest WSOP Europe series ever held in London. In 2007, there were three gold bracelet events. In both 2008 and 2009, four gold bracelet events were played. This year's schedule includes five gold bracelet events.
A complete schedule with additional information about WSOP Europe can be seen HERE.
___________________
by Nolan Dalla
 It's been a long-time coming, but Daniel Negreanu has finally been nominated for the Poker Hall of Fame.
But the Pokerstars pro's recent four-letter outburst against Annie Duke could scupper the chance to see his name immortalised alongside other legends of the game.
The Poker Hall of Fame Governing Council has strict criteria that successful nominees have to adhere to.
They include the proviso: "A player must have played poker against acknowledged top competition; played for high stakes; played consistently well, gaining the respect of peers; stood the test of time; or, for non-players, contributed to the overall growth and success of the game of poker, with indelible positive and lasting results."
Read full article >>>___________________
 The $1,500 main event of the WSOP Circuit tour at Horseshoe Council Bluffs attracted a number of big-name pros such as Vince Burgio, Bernard Lee, Dwyte Pilgrim, "Tahoe" Andrew, and "Woody" Moore. But in the end it was Blair Hinkle, a 24-year-old student turned pro bracelet-holder from Kansas City, Missouri who emerged victorious. The win earned him $88,553, a massive diamond and gold trophy ring, a $10,000 buy-in into next year's WSOP main event, and, last but not least, a seat in the million-dollar Circuit National Championship in Las Vegas next year.
In addition, the 100 points he got for his main event win overtook Rob Georato's 90 point lead in the Casino Champion race for a National Championship seat. Because of the duplication, there will now be 37 seats awarded in the all-casino race instead of 36.
Hinkle said the key to his win was trying to keep one step ahead of everyone else at the final table by knowing how they would react to whatever he did. Another important element was a good read on his final opponent, Shiva Dudani. He detected that when Dudani was making small bets he was bluffing. He sensed that Dudani, not getting anywhere, realized that Hinkle was on to him, and was ready to try a big-bet bluff. So, when Dudani bet 400,000 into a board of 10c-9s-5s-9h, Hinkle called with just ace-high, and after a blank came on the river, he beat Dudani's king-high and moved into strong chip position.
Cheering him on ringside was his mother, who is now two-for-two being there when he won events.
In this tournament, Hinkle had a roller-coaster ride at the final table because he was playing so many pots. But he then tightened up after he thought his opponents had him pegged as a loose player.
Hinkle, who began playing in home games and online four years ago, was a chemical engineering student, later became a business finance major, and then left school when he fell in love with poker. He plays 30 to 50 tournaments a year and now has more than a million in cashes, half of it coming from a $507,000 win in a $2,000 WSOP no-limit win in 2008.
Also, Doug "Rico" Carli, had another cash-out to extend his lead as the player with the most Circuit cashes. He now has 44, close to twice as many as anyone else.
This event drew 255 players and had a prize pool of $361,440. Total for all events was 4,056, a 12 percent increase over the last Circuit series here. Because of the revamped structure giving players so much more time, there were still 16 players left at the end of day two. When they returned for the final day, Dwyte Pilgrim, who started as chip leader yesterday, was still in front with a healthy lead of 822,000 chips, 242,000 more than his closest competitor, Kevin Calenzo, and well over twice the average stack. Final-table action began with blinds of 5,000-10,000 with 2,000 antes.
It wasn't until after 6 p.m. before we got to the final table. Bernard Lee went out 10th when he raised under the gun to 199,000 to go all in with A-K. Dudani came over the top to get heads-up holding pocket kings. The board came 10-10-4-3-J, and the multi-talented Lee went out 10th, paying $6,582. Lee is a poker writer for the Boston Herald and ESPN, a poker radio host, instructor, author and official spokesperson for Foxwoods Casino. This is the third consecutive year he has a made the main event final table here.
Players went on dinner break, returning to blinds of 10,000-20,000 and 3,000 antes, playing 90-minute rounds. At this point, Hinkle had moved slightly past Pilgrim to take the chip lead.
During heads-up, Hinkle had a modest lead with 2,722,000 to 2,349,000 for Dudani. Then, after picking off Dudani's 400,000 bluff, Hinkle was in strong position. On the final hand, Dudani, down to 1.4 million, tried an all-in move after he missed his straight draw. The board showed 9h-7c-6c-4s-Kd and all he had was Jc-8d. Hinkle called with Ks-6s for two pair, and the victory was his. Dudani, 24, is a student originally from Numbai, India now living West Des Moines, IA. He began playing four years ago with fellow students and his biggest cash was $16,859 for winning a mega deep stack event in Vegas.
___________________
by Max Shapiro
|
|
|
