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ANTON WIGG WINS POKERSTARS.COM EPT COPENHAGEN FOR €494,000

admin — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 07:34:13 +0000

Anton Wigg from Sweden has won the PokerStars.com EPT Copenhagen for a first prize of €494,000,
beating a field of 423 players that included the very best of Nordic poker.
22 year old Wigg beat Italian Francesco de Vivo after a four hour heads up battle. This is his first
ever cash on Europe’s premier tour, although he took down the European Masters in Barcelona for
€55,000 last July and made a final table of a PCA side event last month. Despite his tender years, he
has played poker for four years, three as a professional, and won his seat here in a €500 satellite on
PokerStars.
Anton Wigg, who also wins a seat to the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo in April, said: “It just feels so
wonderful right now. I was in real trouble many times but I kept my cool and told myself never to give up
and I am so proud to have come through.”
Team PokerStars Pro players again featured among the top-placed finishers, with both Bertrand “ElkY”
Grospellier and former world champion Peter Eastgate making the money. ElkY won €8,700 for his 40th
place while Eastgate earned €10,750 for his 22nd place finish.
Also in the money was the Danish actor and musical theatre singer Stig Rossen, who hit all the right
notes in his first major live tournament, finishing in 19th place and earning €10,750. Rossen credited his
acting abilities with helping him to pull off a great performance at Casino Copenhagen.
Four Danish players made the final table, but were eliminated in ninth, eighth, seventh and fifth places.
Most notable among the locals was Morten Guldhammer, an unpredictable but entertaining player who
had won his seat to EPT Copenhagen for just $1 on PokerStars.com in a tournament organised with the
Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet. He turned that investment into an a payday of €57,100 – a welcome
supplement to his main salary as a car mechanic.
The field comprised 423 players, generating a total prize pool of €1,909,000. More than 100 players
won their seats to the event on PokerStars. The event was held between 15-21 February at Casino
Copenhagen in the SAS Radisson Hotel.
EPT spokesperson Kirsty Thompson said: “EPT Copenhagen has seen so many personalities during
this week and the atmosphere has just been intense. Everyone from car mechanics to opera singers and
of course the world’s best poker players came together to create the upsets and fairy tales we’ve come
to expect from the Danish leg of the European Poker Tour.”
Final table/payouts:
Name Country PokerStars status Payout € Payout DKK
1 Anton Wigg Sweden PokerStars Qualifier € 494,000 DKK 3,675,000
2 Francesco de Vivo Italy € 305,000 DKK 2,275,000
3 Morten Klein Norway € 188,000 DKK 1,400,000
4 Yorane Kerignard France PokerStars Qualifier € 141,000 DKK 1,050,000
5 Richard Løth Denmark € 96,000 DKK 715,000
6 Roberto Romanello UK € 76,500 DKK 570,000
7 Morten Guldhammer Denmark PokerStars Qualifier € 57,100 DKK 425,000
8 Jesper Petersen Denmark PokerStars Player € 38,000 DKK 282,800
The next stop on the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour is EPT Berlin – the EPT’s first ever visit to
the German capital. The €5,300 EPT Berlin Main Event is running March 2-7, 2010 in conjunction with
SPIELBANK BERLIN at the luxurious Grand Hyatt hotel in Potdamer Platz. For more information, please
visit http://www.ept.com.

JOERI ZANDVLIET WINS POKERSTARS.COM UKIPT MANCHESTER

admin — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 08:28:49 +0000

Manchester, United Kingdom, February 14 2010 – Joeri Zandvliet has won the
inaugural UK event on the new PokerStars UK & Ireland Poker Tour. Zandvliet takes
home the £63,200 first prize and receives an entry into the £5,250 EPT London event
which is the season finale to the UK & Ireland poker tour. In addition to that he will also
place first on the Season 1 UKIPT leader board which awards over £60,000 worth of
added prizes to the top 100 players over all of the events from Season 1 with the top
placed finisher receiving all of their buy-in and hotels for Season 2.
Zandvliet took just seven minutes to finish the heads up battle with Jack Ellwood. All the
chips went in pre flop with Zandvliet, who had a 2:1 chip lead, holding pocket nines and
Jack Ellwood holding Ace Queen. A queen arrived on the flop to give Ellwood the lead
but a nine on the river gave the title and the £63,200 first place prize to the Dutchman.
College student Zandvliet, 21, of Utrecht, Netherlands was understandably delighted to
win his biggest live tournament to date. Zandvliet came to the table third in chips and
faced stiff competition from the rest of the final nine with over eight hours of play at the
final table.
Zandvliet was gracious in victory saying “I feel very happy and lucky. There were five
relatively strong players at the final table. Whatever I did today didn’t really work too well
but I managed to get lucky a couple of times” he also went on to praise the organisation
“The tournament had a great structure and was very well organised.”

http://www.pokerstars.tv/movies/8FS/ukipt-manchester-s1-joeri-zandvlie-winnner.html

UKIPT host Nick Wealthall said “We were blown away by the reception we got in
Manchester. To have so many players for the first UK event, the second of the tour, was
an amazing experience for everyone. Not only that but the tournament and the final table
were played to an incredibly high standard. We have already discovered some names
for the future that will go onto great things in the world of poker. We are all looking
forward to setting more records at the future events on the tour.”
In all there were 518 players, including 279 PokerStars.com players, who entered the
inaugural £500+£50 buy-in UKIPT Manchester event creating a prize pool of £259,000
and Manchester’s largest ever tournament. There was great additional value for
PokerStars.com players at the event as they were able to attend a special poker
education seminar hosted by UKIPT host Nick Wealthall, EPT presenter Michelle Orpe
and new Team PokerStars PRO Julian Thew. The seminar focussed on what the online
qualifiers can expect at a big live tournament and the transition from online to live play.
The attendees clearly benefitted from the expert advice of Julian and Nick as several
went onto cash in the event including day 1 chip leader Mark Warnock.
Among those who competed in the tournament were former Manchester United legend
Teddy Sheringham and current Manchester United player Darren Fletcher. Also in
attendance were Team PokerStars Pros Vicky Coren – who finished 25th for £1,650 –
John Duthie and Julian Thew.
Final table/payouts:
Name Country PokerStars status £
1 Joeri Zandvliet Netherlands PokerStars Player 63,200
2 Jack Ellwood UK 37,500
3 Mike Hill UK PokerStars Qualifier 23,500
4 Tony Millan UK 15,100
5 Dean Lyall UK PokerStars Player 12,100
6 Chris Brammer UK 9,100
7 Dan Owston UK PokerStars Qualifier 6,500
8 Tim Brown UK 4,800
9 Julian Hasse Germany PokerStars Qualifier 3,650
The next stop on the PokerStars.com UK & Ireland Poker Tour is the £550 buy-in
Coventry event from April 8-11 at the G Casino. As with the Manchester event
PokerStars.com is guaranteeing a £100,000 prize pool. The winner as well will receive a
£5,250 entry into EPT London, the season finale to the UK & Ireland Poker Tour. For
more information, please visit http://www.ukipt.com
You can follow all the action live from all of the UKIPT events with updates from the
following sources:
www.pokerstarsblog.com
www.pokerstars.tv

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/PokerStars-UKIPT/193656237301?ref=ts

http://twitter.com/ukipt

TEAM POKERSTARS PRO JULIAN THEW ANNOUNCED

admin — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 13:02:11 +0000

PokerStars is pleased to announce news of the latest addition to Team PokerStars Pro, Julian Thew.
“I’m thrilled to have been offered a spot on Team PokerStars Pro and I look forward to promoting the
brand on my travels throughout the year,” said Thew.

Thew, from Nottingham, England, is among the most talented and well respected players in world poker
having cemented his reputation as a professional with success across Europe and the United States.
His most notable victory was at EPT Baden in season four, where he won €670,800. Since then Thew
has become the leading British player on the EPT tournament leader board, currently in 12th place. In
addition to his win in Baden Thew’s career highlights include wins in big buy-in events in the UK and Las
Vegas, with career tournament earnings totalling almost $2.5 million.

Thew joins four other members of Team PokerStars Pro UK: John Duthie, Vicky Coren, Jude Ainsworth
and JP Kelly.

A familiar face in the card rooms of the UK, Thew’s first event in PokerStars livery will be in Manchester,
at the UKIPT event, the second of the tour which starts tomorrow. It’s a perfect opportunity for him to
add more silverware to an impressive resume.

BRITISH POKER PLAYER JAKE CODY WINS EPT DEAUVILLE FOR €847,000

admin — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:08:45 +0000

Jake “neverbluff67” Cody from Rochdale in the UK has won EPT Deauville for a first prize of €847,000
after besting a record-breaking field that included two former world champions and 13 EPT champions.
The 21-year-old online pro, who recently cashed in Galway at the new PokerStars UK and Ireland Poker
Tour, was playing his first ever EPT. He beat Romanian Teodor Caraba after a two-hour heads up
battle.
Cody, who also wins a seat to the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo in April, said: “This is so
overwhelming. It’s the sort of stuff I dreamed about with my mates just a few weeks back. I feel like I
should be asleep as I can’t believe this is happening.”
Canadian Mike “Timex” McDonald, who won EPT Dortmund in Season 4, had hopes of becoming the
first ever EPT double champion but was eliminated in third place. Team PokerStars Pro and PCA
champion Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, also in the running for a second EPT victory, was knocked out in
ninth place.
A total of 768 players entered the EPT Deauville main event at Casino Barrière, generating a total prize
pool of €3,686,400. A hundred players won their seats to the event on PokerStars.
Team PokerStars Pro and former world champion Peter Eastgate made his second final table
appearance, coming eighth for €70,000 while fellow pro Luca Pagano again broke his own record by
achieving his 14th EPT cash – and third this season. He was knocked out in 72nd place for €10,900.
Other Team PokerStars Pros to make the money were Dario Minieri, from Italy, and Vadim
Markushevski from Belarus.
Martin Kabrhel from the Czech Republic also made poker history when he beat Frenchman Antony
Lellouche heads-up to win the €20,000 EPT High Roller event for €250,000. Kabrhel has now won side
events at the last three EPTs in Europe – the €2k in Prague, the €2k in Vilamoura and EPT Deauville.
Kabrhel has now earned at least €400,000 at EPTs and Lellouche more than €900,000.
French player Audrey Guyonvarch won the €220 Ladies Event for €5,800. The 89-strong field included –
thanks to French anti-discrimination laws – four men. Dagmara Aleksandrowicz, who won the EPT
London Ladies Event, came tenth.
EPT spokesperson Kirsty Thompson said: “EPT Deauville has been a huge success yet again with a
warm welcome from Casino Barrière. We had a record-breaking turnout with 768 players and there were
some incredible performances – especially from the winner Jake Cody, Team PokerStars Pro Peter
Eastgate who came eighth and Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier – who so nearly made the final.
Congratulations also to Luca Pagano for his record 14th cash.”

The next stop on the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour is the 35,000 DKK buy-in EPT Copenhagen
event running from February 16-21, 2010 at Casino Copenhagen in the Radisson SAS Scandinavia
Hotel. For more information, please visit http://www.ept.com.

STARS TURN OUT IN FORCE FOR amfAR AND POKERSTARS CHARITY POKER TOURNAMENT IN THE BAHAMAS

admin — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 10:42:21 +0000

ATLANTIS RESORT, PARADISE ISLAND, BAHAMAS, January 9, 2010 – A host of stars from the
world of entertainment and sport turned up to support the AIDS research charity amfAR at a special
poker tournament organized in the Bahamas by PokerStars.net, the world’s largest poker room.
Among the celebrities taking part were R&B singer Kelly Rowland, the former Guns N’ Roses lead
guitarist Slash, hip-hop star Nelly, 2008 Playboy Playmate Jayde Nicole, supermodel Joanna Krupa and
US talk show host Montel Williams. With half the tournament prize pool going direct to amfAR and many
players also making extra donations, the event raised well over $150,000 for charity.
Entrants in the $5k buy-in tournament also included tennis legend Boris Becker, former England
footballer Teddy Sheringham, Spanish football legend Poli Rincon, Estonian NBA star Martin Muursepp
as well as this year’s poker world champion Joe Cada and 11 other members of Team PokerStars Pro.
The winner was British oil rigger Spencer Benjafield, 24, one of five entrants who won their trip to the
Bahamas via online tournaments on PokerStars. He triumphed after beating eight players in the final:
Carlos Bernard – Tony Almeida in TV hit “24”, US talk show host Montel Williams, NHL Olympic medalist
Mats Sundin and Dutch hockey pro Fatima Moreira de Melo. As well as Team PokerStars Pros Luis
Medina, Leo Fernandez and Alex Gomes.
Benjafield, who gave a sizeable portion of his $37,500 prize to amfAR, said: “I just can’t believe it. I
never thought I would win. It’s been great meeting and playing with the celebrities and the pros. It will
take some time to sink in.”
Fashion designer Kenneth Cole, chairman of AmfAR, said: “We are very grateful to PokerStars for
teaming up with us. Thirty-three million people are living with AIDS; zero have been cured. But we
believe we will find a cure and every little bit helps. Just a few thousand dollars puts a therapist on the
ground who can treat thousands of people.”’
Team PokerStars Pro Alex Gomes, who came second, said: “Events like this are great opportunity for us
professional players to help people who really need it. Also it’s a very different kind of tournament when
you’re playing against celebrities and amateurs. It was a lot of fun.”
The amfAR event took place during the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA), a series of major poker
tournaments running January 4-14 at the Atlantis Resort and Casino in the Bahamas. More than 50
tournaments are scheduled over ten days offering millions of dollars in prize money. More than 1,529
people from all over the world entered the $10k main event making it the largest poker tournament ever
held outside of Las Vegas.
Founded in 1985, amfAR is dedicated to ending the global AIDS epidemic through innovative research.
With the freedom and flexibility to respond quickly to emerging areas of scientific promise, amfAR plays
a catalytic role in accelerating the pace of HIV/AIDS research and achieving real breakthroughs. amfARfunded
research has increased our understanding of HIV and has helped lay the groundwork for major
advances in the study and treatment of HIV/AIDS. Since 1985, amfAR has invested nearly $290 million
in its mission and has awarded grants to more than 2,000 research teams worldwide.
The event was filmed for television broadcast and also aired in a live web broadcast on PokerStars.tv.

POKERSTARS.NET SPONSORS EXCITING NEW NORTH AMERICAN POKER TOUR

admin — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 10:27:34 +0000

PokerStars.net is delighted to announce the launch of the long awaited PokerStars.net North American
Poker Tour (NAPT).
The NAPT is the first major poker tour in North America created by poker players for poker players with
accessible buy-ins, expectations for massive prize pools and thousands of players from around the
world all competing for millions of dollars. The NAPT will start at the PokerStars.net Caribbean
Adventure (PCA) in the Bahamas on January 5, 2010.
Two further stops are already planned for the NAPT’s inaugural season, with more events to be
announced soon. The NAPT Venetian event in Las Vegas, Nevada, from February 20-24 will be the
Main Event of The Venetian’s Deep Stack Extravaganza I; and the NAPT Mohegan Sun Main Event in
Uncasville, Connecticut, from April 7-11 will be the star feature of a spectacular new poker festival there
this Spring.
Both Main Event buy-ins will be $5,000 and like the PCA will feature an exciting variety of side events
with a broad range of buy-ins to suit all players.
Joanna Krupa, famed from appearing on “Dancing with the Stars” and “PokerStars.net Million Dollar
Challenge” will be its TV host. It will feature the very best players from North America and from around
the world, including team members Joe Cada, Greg Raymer, Vanessa Rousso and Daniel Negreanu
who is among those who have been eagerly awaiting the launch of the NAPT.
“I’m really looking forward to the launch of the NAPT. PokerStars.net has done an excellent job
sponsoring meaningful tournaments around the world with the EPT, LAPT, APPT, and various other
local tours – and it’s exciting to see them coming to my home town of Las Vegas! With the addition of
the NAPT, I’ll have a chance to play some tournaments on home soil, and I’m very excited about that,”
said Negreanu
The Venetian Las Vegas and Mohegan Sun will provide perfect backdrops for each of the Main Events,
fitting destinations for what is expected to be a popular tour. The Venetian is the largest property in the
country to receive AAA’s Five Diamond and Mobil Four-Star Awards and is home to The Grand Canal
Shoppes, Canyon Ranch SpaClub, world-class gaming, exquisite restaurants and a wide variety of
entertainment. Mohegan Sun, owned by the Mohegan Tribe, is one of the largest, most distinctive and
spectacular entertainment, and gaming, shopping and meeting destinations in the United States.
PokerStars.net will provide the easiest possible way to qualify for the tournaments with free packages up
for grabs on PokerStars.net. Daily NAPT Venetian freerolls are scheduled on PokerStars.net and can be
found in the PokerStars.net lobby under Events/Special. Here players can win the $5,000 seat, plus
accommodation, for absolutely nothing.

About The Venetian Las Vegas (NAPT Venetian February 20-24, 2010):
The Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino, the largest property in the country to receive AAA’s Five Diamond
Award and Mobil Four-Star, is one of the world’s most luxurious resort and convention destinations. Recreating
Venice’s legendary landmarks, the resort offers unmatched service and quality for leisure and
corporate guests. Located in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip, The Venetian features The Grand Canal
Shoppes, an indoor streetscape complete with gondolas and singing gondoliers, the Canyon Ranch
SpaClub, world-class gaming, exquisite restaurants, and a wide variety of entertainment such as
Phantom-The Las Vegas Spectacular, Blue Man Group, David Spade and Wayne Brady on its premises,
as well as extensive convention and corporate services. For additional information, visit
www.venetian.com and follow on twitter @venetianvegas.

About Mohegan Sun (NAPT Mohegan Sun, April 7-11, 2010):
Mohegan Sun, owned by the Mohegan Tribe, is one of the largest, most distinctive and spectacular
entertainment, gaming, shopping and meeting destinations in the United States. Situated on 240 acres
along the Thames River in scenic southeastern Connecticut, Mohegan Sun is within easy access of New
York, Boston, Hartford and Providence and located 15 minutes from the museums, antique shops and
waterfront of Mystic Country. More information is available by calling 1.888.226.7711 or visiting
mohegansun.com.

Happy New Year From PokerStars

admin — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 10:47:55 +0000

Time to reload for the New Year
It’s a pretty good way to see in the New Year – a 25 per cent “New Year Reload” for PokerStars (http://www.pokerstars.com)
players; a little extra firepower at the start of 2010. It’s not just a reload bonus but a re-useable one, allowing two further
deposits within 60 days of the first made between January 1st and 10th. That means it’s all available from today, up to $150 or
€100, the first time incidentally that an offer like this has been made in Euros on PokerStars. To take advantage of the offer
players should use the promotional code “2010” – fairly easy to remember. For more details check out Pokerstars.com.
Tournament world records shattered
Whenever PokerStars (http://www.pokerstars.com ) targets a new world record it’s never long in coming. Last week PokerStars
planned its biggest tournament ever, aimed at beating the previous record of 65,000 players in a single tournament. Well they
did just that last Sunday (http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/2009/the-world-record-ceiling-has-been-raised-062635.html ),
smashing the record and setting a new high of 149,196 players in a single tournament, more than double the previous best. To
put that in perspective that’s Wembley stadium filled with another 60,000 waiting outside; or a tournament 23 times bigger than
the World Series main event won this year by Team PokerStars Pro Joe Cada (http://www.pokerstars.com/team-pokerstars/joecada/).
Of those 149,196 players, each of whom paid $1 to buy in, 30,000 recorded cash finishes taking a share of the prize
pool to which PokerStars added $150,804. There were winners from Jordan to Jamaica, Lichtenstein to Christmas Island, but it
was German player oskar69 who took first place, winning $50,000. During this record breaking tournament, PokerStars also
smashed another world record – they recorded 463,008 players online simultaneously on Sunday, 27th of Dec during the world
record breaking tournament.
Happy PCA everyone
Kids count the days until Christmas; poker players do the same for the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure
(http://www.caribbeanpokeradventure.com/). Well the stockings may be gone but this week marks PCA Eve. This weekend
players bound for Paradise Island in the Bahamas, to take part in the 50-event poker festival, will be checking their passports,
flights and reservations ahead of a winter trip into the sunshine. The PCA (http://www.caribbeanpokeradventure.com/) is finally
upon us, underway on Tuesday 5th January when the $10,000 buy-in main event begins. That marks the start of ten days
packed full of poker, including a $25,000 buy in high roller event and the World Cup of Poker (http://www.pokerstars.com/wcp/).
It should be the best PCA ever, with more events and more prize money as well as the same sun and sand. Not a reindeer or
Christmas tree in sight. For details, news and results as the festival begins check out the PCA website
(http://www.caribbeanpokeradventure.com/).

Party time at the PCA
As if 50 events wasn’t enough PokerStars (http://www.pokerstars.com) is also providing some outdoor entertainment at the
PCA (http://www.caribbeanpokeradventure.com/), throwing a huge party on the 9th January, midway through the festival, set to
match that of the World Series in Las Vegas last summer. R&B star Kelly Rowlands (http://kellyrowland.com/) will be performing
at the party making it a night to remember (http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/2009/pca-preps-for-parties-kelly-rowland-
062673.html ), with entry reserved exclusively for PokerStars players – more than 900 so far – and their guests. To be held at
the magnificent Paradise Harbour it all starts at 9pm and shuttle buses will run all night from the Atlantis Resorts Coral and
Royal Towers ensuring nobody misses out. Entry is guaranteed with a wristband available at the PokerStars welcome desk in
the conference centre. Be sure to pick yours up. It’s a night nobody will want to miss.
PokerStars Online Pros unleashed
Team PokerStars Pro (http://www.pokerstars.com/team-pokerstars/) has long dominated the live game and now PokerStars has
unleashed a new branch to its player stable, with Team Online (http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/2009/pokerstars-announcesteam-
pokerstars-onl-062598.html ). After a two month search for online poker talent, one that involved applications from 2,000
players, PokerStars has selected 23 players, 20 men and three women, to form Team PokerStars Online. Picked from countries
all over the world 18 countries are represented by players specialising in all games and stakes. Among the more recognisable
ones are EPT regular Anders “Donald” Berg and Steve “stevesbets” Jacobs, notable for beating Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier
(http://www.pokerstars.com/team-pokerstars/bertrand-grospellier/) to the WCOOP $25,000 heads-up bracelet in 2008. When
you log into PokerStars they’ll never be far away and that’s just a start. They’ll be more players added throughout 2010.
Newest stop on the EPT confirmed
After the launch of the European Poker Tour’s (http://www.ept.com) season six calendar only one question remained
unanswered – just where would the German event take place? Would the EPT return to Dortmund or head to pastures new?
Now PokerStars have answered that by announcing that the tour will head to Berlin for the first time
(http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/2009/ept-announces-new-stop-in-berlin-062601.html), the German capital, in March 2010. It will
be the biggest event ever held in Germany, with up to 1,000 expected in the historic city where a brand new facility will host the
tournament on the prestigious Marlene-Dietrich-Platz at Potsdamer Platz – a two story glass palace. Yes, you read that right. As
well as Germany’s contingent of Team PokerStars Pros (http://www.pokerstars.com/team-pokerstars/), complete with German
tennis legend and PokerStars SportStar Boris Becker (http://www.pokerstars.com/team-pokerstars/boris-becker/), players from
all over the world will descend on Germany. What’s more PokerStars guarantee that the EPT Berlin winner will win at least €1
million. For more information on Berlin and all other stops on this year’s EPT, go to www.ept.com .

SEASON 2 DATES ANNOUNCED FOR THE POKERSTARS.NET AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND POKER TOUR (ANZPT)

admin — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:18:40 +0000

Last year’s inaugural tour is back even bigger and better
The PokerStars.net Australia New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT) is pleased to announce
the first six events of its second season. Stops have already been confirmed in every
mainland state of Australia and more venues are expected to be added to the tour
shortly. The first event of Season 2 is in Adelaide, South Australia, from February 9 to
14, 2010 at the beautiful SKYCITY Adelaide Casino.
Perth will follow as a new venue on the tour from March 17 to 21. “We are thrilled to be
part of the ANZPT,” said Jason Barry, General Manager of Table Games at Burswood
Entertainment Complex “We feel this is just what our players have been waiting for and
we expect big numbers will take part in the first PokerStars.net ANZPT Perth
tournament.”
PokerStars.net launched the ANZPT, Australia and New Zealand’s first poker tour, in
February 2009. Overnight the tournaments became the most successful in each region,
welcomed enthusiastically by both local players and visiting poker pros keen to take on
the Aussies and Kiwis while seeing the region.
The Season 1 tour saw 1,309 players take part and $2,982,196 prize money being
awarded throughout.
Dates for Season 2 of the ANZPT are as follows:
City Venue Dates Buy-in
Adelaide Adelaide Casino 9-14 Feb, 2010 Buy-in $3,000 AUD
Perth Burswood Entertainment Complex 17-21 Mar, 2010 Buy-in $2,500 AUD
Sydney Star City Casino 21-25 Apr, 2010 Buy-in $2,200 AUD
Queenstown Sky City Queenstown 17-25 Jul, 2010 Buy-in $2,500 NZD
Gold Coast Conrad Jupiters 11-15 Aug, 2010 Buy-in $2,500 AUD
Melbourne Crown Casino 8-11 Oct, 2010 Buy-in TBC
Adelaide Casino Poker Manager David Galpin said: “We are looking forward to the
return of the ANZPT in Adelaide after the wonderful success of the first year and we are
excited to see the event grow and flourish in Adelaide.”
The ANZPT tour runs a tournament leader board awarding players points for every event
entered as well as for the position they finish in each tournament. Team PokerStars Pro
Australia player Tony Hachem was the overall champion of the inaugural tour. He
managed to cash in four out of the five ANZPT events, a fabulous performance which
proved his consistency as a player. For his achievement, Hachem wins entry into all of
the PokerStars.net APPT events across Asia Pacific as well as the 2010 Aussie Millions.
Chris Levick, the winner of ANZPT Melbourne, came second in the points race and wins
entry into every ANZPT event in Season 2. Joel Dodd took third place and wins $10,500
in tournament entries.
ANZPT Commissioner Danny McDonagh said “The ANZPT provides Australian and New
Zealand poker players with a professionally-executed tour in their own backyard. The
ANZPT Player of the Year is now clearly the most coveted poker award in this region. It
provides the opportunity for poker players to prove their skills consistently over time,
enjoy great experiences playing across Australia and New Zealand, and gain the big
prize – a valuable sponsorship with PokerStars.net.”
PokerStars.net will run twice nightly freerolls from Monday to Saturday each week in the
lead up to the ANZPT Season 2 kick off in February, with the top players qualifying for a
weekly Sunday Stage 2 final. The top ten from each Sunday final will then go on to play
for a package to ANZPT Adelaide which includes the $3,000 AUD Main Event buy-in,
seven nights’ accommodation at the InterContinental hotel, a selection of tourist outings
such as a Barossa Valley Wine Tour and $500 for travel expenses.
For more information visit www.anzpt.com – and test your skills at becoming Australia’s
next Poker Star!

PADRAIG PARKINSON WINS POKERSTARS.COM UKIPT GALWAY

admin — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:07:48 +0000

Irish poker legend Padraig Parkinson has won the Irish Poker Championships and is the
first PokerStars UKIPT Galway champion. Parkinson takes home the €125,000 first prize
and receives an entry into the £5,250 PokerStars.com EPT London event which is the
season finale to the UK & Ireland Poker Tour. In addition to that he will also initially top
the Season 1 UKIPT leader board which awards over £60,000 worth of added prizes to
the top 100 players over all of the events from Season 1 with the top placed finisher
receiving all of their buy-in and hotel accommodation for Season 2.
Parkinson originally from Galway and who now resides in Paris, France is best known
for his third place finish in the 1999 WSOP Main Event and his victory in series five of
the Late Night Poker Show in 2002.
Parkinson, came to the final table third in chips and faced stiff competition from
PokerStars qualifier Ben Lefew, who also final tabled the PokerStars.com WCOOP Main
Event in 2009, former PokerStars Supernova Elite Michael Graydon and Englishman
Paul Marrow who was runner-up.
Parkinson finally won the heads up when he called Paul Marrow’s all in with K-Q of
hearts and it held up against Marrow’s 5-2 off suit. However, the real damage had been
done a few hands earlier when Padraig had won a massive all-in pot against Marrow
holding A-Q against Marrow’s pair of sixes. A queen on the flop was enough to give
Parkinson the pot and an overwhelming advantage.
Parkinson paid tribute to his heads up opponent and friend Paul Marrow in his post
event interview before adding “I don’t think there’s been anyone who has won this title
before who has felt as good as I do now, coming back to Galway and being a Galway
lad, it means everything.”
To view Parkinson’s full winning interview please click here:

http://www.pokerstars.tv/movies/898/ukipt-galway-padraig-parkinson-ukipt-galwaywinner.

html
PokerStars qualifiers Ben Lefew and Michael Graydon both played excellently, ultimately
finishing third and fourth respectively for prizes of €52,000 and €36,000.
In all there were 259 players, including 116 PokerStars.com players, who entered the
inaugural €2,000 buy-in UKIPT Galway event creating a prize pool of €471,380. Among
those who competed were former England football international Teddy Sheringham, Irish
rugby legend Reggie Corrigan and former WBA Super Bantamweight champion Bernard
Dunne. Also in attendance were Team PokerStars PROs John Duthie – who finished 35thfor €2,800 – JP Kelly and Jude Ainsworth a former winner of the Irish Poker Championships.

Nick Wealthall, UKIPT Host says, ‘We couldn’t have asked for a stronger final table line
up to start the tour or a better winner. Padraig has always been a top tournament player
and he’s proved it again here; the fact that he’s a native of Galway makes it all the more
special. Everyone watching the event knew Padraig was going to win – after all he
started celebrating 3 days early. The whole event had an amazing atmosphere and none
of us can wait for the next event in Manchester.’

The next stop on the PokerStars.com UK & Ireland Poker Tour is the £550 buy-in
Manchester event from February 11-14 at the G Casino. For the first time in EPT history,
PokerStars.com is guaranteeing a £100,000 prize pool for the first UK event on the tour.
The winner as well will receive a £5,250 entry into EPT London, the season finale to the
UK & Ireland Poker Tour. For more information, please visit http://www.ukipt.com

PokerStars weekly roundup: 7 December 2009

admin — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 22:31:07 +0000

Charity on the beach
This year the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (http://www.caribbeanpokeradventure.com/) will be a two week
long 50-event festival of poker on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. They’ll be sun, sea, sand and high stakes poker
for the thousands of players who descended on the Island every January, but they’ll also be chance to give a little
something back. Having been supporters of AIDS research charities for several years PokerStars
(http://www.pokerstars.com ) has teamed up with amfAR (http://www.amfar.org/) to host a fundraising charity
tournament during the festival. The $5,250 buy-in tournament will donate half of the prize pool to amfAR and will
include players such as NHL Olympic gold medallist Mats Sundin, tennis legend Boris Becker, French rugby star
Sebastian Chabal and members of Team PokerStars Pro (http://www.pokerstars.com/team-pokerstars). For more
information on a charity qualifier on PokerStars later this month see the amfAR charity event page.
(http://www.pokerstars.com/poker/promotions/amfar/)

Home town hero wins in Prague
It was one of the longest final tables in recent EPT memory but provided a thrilling climax to what has now become
one of the best destinations on the European Poker Tour (http://www.ept.com ). Ahead of 586 players it was local
hero Jan Skampa on top in EPT Prague (http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/ept/2009/ept-prague-jan-skampa-skittlesall-
comer-062214.html ), defeating Eyal Avitan from Israel in a three hour heads-up battle. Not only did Skampa
become the latest home country winner but he also becomes the first player to make back to back final tables
since season one, following Skampa’s fourth place in Vilamoura two weeks ago
(http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/ept/2009/ept-vilamoura-local-hero-antonio-matias-061600.html ). Skampa won
€682,000 and a seat at the grand final in Monte Carlo
(http://www.europeanpokertour.com/tournaments/montecarlo/) next April.

Pagano Power
Jan Skampa may have won the title, the lion share of the money and the grand final seat but one player was
setting more records, or should that be extending his own. The Team PokerStars Pro Luca Pagano
(http://www.pokerstars.com/team-pokerstars/luca-pagano) made the final table in Prague – his sixth EPT,
extending his own record, and following his fourth place finish in Warsaw in October. His sixth place in Prague was
his 13th EPT cash (http://www.pokerstars.net/Scripts/tours/database_results.htmls?id_player=41&lang=en&tour=1)
– extending yet another record – and keeps him rooted firmly to the top of the tour’s tournament leader board, with
tour earnings now amounting to more than $1.1 million.

Aussie wins grand final down under
While there was excitement in Prague it was a similar story on the other side of the world where the three day Asia
Pacific Poker Tour (http://www.appt.com ) grand final was playing to a finish at Star City Casino in Sydney,
Australia (http://www.starcity.com.au/dir013/internetpublishing.nsf/content/intro ). The biggest payout of the year
went to the PokerStars qualifier Aaron Benton who won the title and AUD$594,000
(http://www.appt.com/news/index.html ), ahead of a total field of 396. The final featured seven Australian and is the
third year in a row that the event was won by a native. The five stop tour has so far created more than US$6 million
in prize money in this its third season, and now links up with the European (http://www.ept.com ) and Latin
American Poker Tours (http://wwwlapt.com ) and the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure
(http://www.caribbeanpokeradventure.com/) in the New Year.

Another broken record
You might have heard this same opening line before but PokerStars (http://www.pokerstars.com ) has broken
another record – or at least one of its most fanatical players has. One day a Russian player sets a new record for
the number of hands played on PokerStars within 24 hours – a massive amount set at more than 40,000. Then, a
few days later, someone else smashes that record in even less time. A player going by the name “ChicagoJoey”
played 50,470 in only 21 hours and not only that he managed to record a profit as well, something the previous
record holder was unable to do. After his long day at the office “ChicagoJoey” made $800 profit on the 10c/25c
tables, not to mention the even bigger prize he won in a side bet with a friend.