Poker Players
Poker Player News
2012 EPT Barcelona Champion Mikalai Pobal is August’s Poker Player of the Month
Quadjacks.com has named 2012 EPT Barcelona champion Mikalai Pobal as their August Poker Player of the Month.
The Belarus-born player managed to beat out Finnish online poker phenom Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies to take the EPT honor last month.
WSOP and Punta Cana Classic Staff Fund Rising for Family of Late Poker Dealer Casey Jones
The poker community is still mourning one of its own following the tragic death of 29-year-old father of three-year-old twin daughters, Casey Jones. While traveling with his family in the Southwest USA succumb to a mysterious disease that rendered him unconscious and ultimately took his life.
William “PokerMonkey” South explained Jones role in the poker community on his blog:
Michael Phelps Denies $100k Las Vegas Poker Win
Responding to reports that he had won $100k while playing poker at the Wynn Hotel and Casino this past weekend, Olympic multi-gold medal winner Michael Phelps shot down the story, first reported by TMZ.com.
He tweeted: "I wish I won a 100k.... Haha not true tho.”
His friends have told media outlets they were about Phelps squandering his millions playing poker, a game the now retired Olympian swimmer admits to have fallen in love with.
Tom Dwan's 'Girlfriend' Phil Galfond, Ben Tollerene August Big High Stakes Poker Winners
And online poker’s biggest winners for the month of August were…. Ben "Ben86” Tollerene and Phil "MrSweets28" Galfond. We’ll explain the “Tom Dwan Girlfriend” comment below. It’s pretty funny really and not meant to be a shot at Galfond as you will soon see.
From HighStakesDB.com:
Josh Hale Wins 2012 WPT Legends of Poker
Josh Hale was declared the winner of the 2012 World Poker Tour Legends of Poker held at the Bicycle Casino outside of Los Angeles. The win yielded $500,000.
Hale, a relative unknown, defeated a field of 622 players over a five day period at the $3500 buy-in event. He also managed to beat out million dollar plus live tournament career winners Max Steinberg and Jeff Madsen, among others.
British Poker Pro Sam Trickett Becomes International Stadiums Poker Tour Ambassador
The International Stadiums Poker Tour has named British poker pro Sam Trickett as its newest ambassador.
The ISPT, conceived by Bernard and Laurent Tapie along with Prosper Masquelier, looks to assemble some 30,000 players at Wembley Stadium next May, all of whom will be competing in the world’s largest poker tournament. The ISPT will kick off on laptops then switch over to a live format once 90 percent of the field is eliminated. There will be a guaranteed prize pool of a guaranteed prize pool of €20,000,000.
Poker Pro Ryan Young Remembered on ESPN
ESPN featured an “in memory of” segment on poker pro Ryan Young late Tuesday evening (August 28, 2012) between the hours of 8 pm EDT and 9. The segment is likely to be repeated. It aired during the Republican Convention coverage.
The 2007 WSOP bracelet winner was killed in a car accident in Torrance, California late last month. Few details were known about the crash at that time.
Gambling911.com was one of the first to report on the tragedy after a few other poker pros tweeted about what had transpired.
Multiple Top 10 FINNishes: Poker Phenom Ilari ‘Ilari FIN’ Sahamies Double Dips
As if finishing in 2nd place at the 2012 EPT Barcelona and winning €629,700 weren’t enough, Finnish poker phenom Ilari "Ilari FIN" Sahamies also managed to clean up online over the past week.
Earlier in the week, Sahamies managed a 4th place finish in the EPT Barcelona Super High Roller event to take away €291,900.
Finnish Poker Pro Jens 'Jeans89' Kyllönen Buys In for Virgin Galactic Space Travel
Finnish poker pro Jens 'Jeans89' Kyllönen is looking to become only the third person from that Scandinavian nation to travel into space.
Kyllönen recently offered up a mere $200,000 for his Virgin Galactic space journey.
“Space has always fascinated me. The first opportunity to try out one of the first space flight, I took the opportunity,” Kyllönen said.
Mikalai Pobal Wins 2012 EPT Barcelona Poker Tournament for €1,007,550
Belarus player Mikalai Pobal won Spain’s biggest ever poker tournament today and a massive first prize of €1,007,550. The 28-year-old from Minsk beat Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies heads-up with Aces after outlasting a record-breaking field of 1,082 players at EPT Barcelona, the debut event of EPT Season 9. As well as his Champion’s title, cash prize and trophy, Pobal also wins a stunning Slyde watch from luxury Swiss brand HD3, the Official Watch Sponsor for EPT9 Main Events.
Laurent Polito Wins 2012 EPT Barcelona €10,000 High Roller Event
Surprise winners are part and parcel of major poker tournaments, but they tend to be rarer in High Roller events.
Jonathan Aguiar on Matt Marafioti Brawl: ‘How is Anyone Surprised I Didn’t Fight Back’
A brawl between poker pros Matt Marafioti and Jonathan Aguiar at the famed Bicycle Casino Friday afternoon could result in a lifetime ban for Aguiar, according to witness David “Doc” Sands.
The player tweeted:
Poker Pros Matt Marafioti and Jonathan Aguiar Fight at WPT Legends: Security Dispatched
A near fist fight broke out this afternoon at the WPT Legends event between two controversial poker pros, Matt Marafioti and Jonathan “ADZ” Aguiar. Both had to be escorted out of the famed Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens, California just as the event was getting underway this August 24.
(Ad: Poker, Sports Betting at BetDSI.com)
2012 EPT Barcelona Final Table has Ilari ‘Ziigmund’ Sahamies Chip Leader
Ilari "Ziigmund" Sahamies leads EPT Barcelona final. Student Samuel Rodriguez, from Barcelona, is second in chips - he won his seat in a €50 re-buy on PokerStars.
A total of 1,082 players entered the €5,000 tourney, creating a total prize pool of €5,247,700; 160 places are being paid. The winner gets €1,007,550 plus an amazing Slyde watch from HD3.
Ilari Sahamies €2,000 All Day Massage at EPT Barcelona Gets Him Close to Final (Video)
Finland’s online poker phenom is making a run for the live event at this year’s EPT Barcelona. Ilari Sahamies was one of a lucky 13 still remaining after Thursday’s play.
Sahamies made the best of it, spending €2,000 (plus tip) on an all-day massage.
The high stakes Finn has €29,400 locked up with a solid shot at the €1,007,550 title, so what’s €2,000?
Lynn Gilmartin caught up with the Finn during the break to discuss the EPT Barcelona event and talk a little more about that expensive massage.
Scroll Down For Video
Poker Pro Jen Harman to Star in New Reality TV Series on TLC ‘Vegas High Rollers’
A new reality TV show on the American cable network The Learning Channel (TLC) will chronicle the lives of five high-powered women in Las Vegas, including professional poker player Jennifer Harman.
The show, called "Vegas High Rollers," is set to debut later this year, TLC announced.
61 Players Return for Day 5 of 2012 EPT Barcelona
Czech PokerStars qualifier Antonin Duda is chip leader for Day 4 of the €5,000 EPT Barcelona Main Event. Economics student Duda, 25, won his seat in a €22 re-buy satellite on PokerStars.com and bagged up 1,470,000 this evening.
Poker Player Nancy Todd Submits 121,503 More Signatures for Arkansas Casino Measure
By ANDREW DeMILLO, Associated Press
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Associated Press) - A professional poker player who wants to put a casino legalization measure on the ballot has submitted more signatures to state election officials. But it's unclear whether she'll be able to put her proposal before voters this fall.
John Juanda Leads After Day 2 of EPT Barcelona 2012
There are 207 survivors coming back for Day 3 of the €5,000 EPT Barcelona Main Event from the 600 players who started Day 2.
John Juanda is the chip leader. Juanda, one of the game's established stars, has numerous six-figure scores across the world - one of them coming on the EPT in London, where he finished runner-up to David Vamplew in September 2010
Punta Cana Poker Classic Revamps Website
Representatives for the Punta Cana Poker Classic (PCPC) announced today the complete overhaul of their website Punta Cana Poker Classic.
9th Ranked Poker Pro Dan Smith Wins 2012 EPT Barcelona €50,000 Super High Roller
American Dan Smith has been declared the winner of the 2012 EPT Barcelona €50,000 Super High Roller event.
Smith takes home over US$1 million for his efforts.
The win means Smith, a Las Vegas resident, has pocketed just shy of $3 million in lifetime tournament earnings offline. He has 6 cashes and this is Smith’s second 1st place victory.
Aku Joentausta Leads After Day 1A of 2012 EPT Barcelona Main Event
A total of 222 players made it through Day 1a of the €5,000 EPT Barcelona Main Event today, from the 403 who started at lunchtime. The chip leader is Finnish PokerStars qualifier Aku Joentausta with 236,200.
Seven members of Team PokerStars Pro are still in: Lex Veldhuis, Juan Manuel Pastor, Pius Heinz, Sebastian Ruthenberg, Henrique Pinho, Marcin Horecki and Matthias De Meulder.
The cap for Day 1b is set at 630.
Viktor ‘Isildur1’ Blom on Fire With Another $317k Online Poker Win
The Swedish poker wunderkind is on fire these days, winning yet another $317k.
That’s the take Viktor “Isildur1” Blom walked away with over the weekend playing against Great Britain’s Alex "Kanu7" Millar.
Blom engaged in an eight hour $100/$200 NLHE heads up marathon match with PokerStars leading NLHE money winner for the past two years.
EPT Barcelona 2012 Super High Roller Final Table Sees Eric Seidel, Ilari Sahamies
One of poker’s biggest earners, Eric Seidel, is looking to tack on another $1 million and change as he has made the EPT Barcelona 2012 Super High Roller Final Table.
Also making the cut is online Finnish phenom Ilari Sahamies
American Dan Smith previously won three €5k NL events in a row during last season's EPT Grand Final and is among those who has made the EPT Barcelona 2012 €50,000 Super High Roller.
JC Alvarado of Mexico leads the pack.
Steve O’Dwyer Leads at EPT Barcelona €50,000 Super High Roller 2012
America pro Steve O’Dwyer is leading the EPT Barcelona €50,000 Super High Roller with 36 players remaining from the 54 who started the day. After eight levels of play, O’Dwyer was in good shape with a massive chip stack of 1,249,000, almost double his next rival, fellow American Erik Seidel. O’Dwyer, who hails from Pennsylvania, had a stonking year during last year’s EPT season, including runner-up finishes in the EPT London Main Event and the EPT Campione €10,000 event.
Friends: ‘All Michael Phelps Thinks About is Gambling’
Friends of Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps claim the record gold medal winner “only thinks about gambling” these days, more specifically about playing poker.
Gambling911.com just the other day featured a report on Phelps desire to become a poker pro.
Howard Lederer Parties it Up in Las Vegas as DOJ Now ‘Flush With Full Tilt Poker Money’
Wendeen H. Eolis of Poker Player Newspaper was the first to reveal that great news was on tap for those owed monies by Full Tilt Poker. She’s proven to be an excellent resource for the poker community.
On Thursday, Ms. Eolis reveals that the “face behind Full Tilt Poker” over the past several years, Howard Lederer, was seen partying it up in Las Vegas after the deal was made official.
Swedish Motorcycle Gang Ties to Alleged Matt Marafioti Online Poker Hacking Scandal
The alleged Matt Marafioti/Samer Rahman online poker account hacking scandal gets more crazy by the day.
Friends Fear Michael Phelps Wants to Become Poker Pro, Will Squander His $45 Mil (Video)
With one of the greatest poker players to ever live, Phil Hellmuth, gushing all over one of the greatest Olympians who has ever lived, Michael Phelps, it’s no wonder the rumor mill is alive with talk that Phelps is preparing to embark on a professional poker career.
14 Online Poker Players Win Way Into Punta Cana Poker Classic
Someone might want to tell the spa at Hard Rock Casino and Hotel in Punta Cana to hire more masseuses. Another 14 online poker players from Americas Cardroom are heading to the 5-star resort in Dominican Republic after securing their $5,000 all-inclusive package on Sunday through the online poker site's 12-package guaranteed tournament.
