Howard Lederer Wins PartyPoker.com Million II by Linda Johnson

The World Poker Tour wrapped up another episode of its television tapings recently with the PartyPoker.com Million II tournament. Hosted by Card Player Cruises, this event took place at sea during a seven-day Caribbean cruise aboard Holland America's MS Zaandam.

Here are some facts and figures concerning the PartyPoker.com Million II tournament. Qualifying began last year online at PartyPoker.com and resulted in 134 players gaining entry via $25 one-table tournaments, supersatellites, freerolls, and "Lucky Dollar" tournaments. Of the 134 players who qualified online, 131 showed up to play. Add to that the 46 players who paid the $5,000-$5,300 buy-in to enter the event, and the result was a prize pool of more than $1 million! The players were very pleased to learn that PartyPoker.com had decided to add $106,000 to the prize pool by giving the winner a $25,300 seat in the WPT championship at Bellagio, $1,000 to each player placing 19th to 90th, and $500 to each player finishing 91st to 108th. That's right, 108 out of the 177 entrants made the money!

PartyPoker.com host Mike Sexton and many of the company's top managers were on hand throughout the week to gain input from their players and to make sure they had a good time. Some of the players were playing in a public cardroom for the first time, but seemed to enjoy it very much. In fact, some had to be reminded about the correct way to pick up their cards so that their neighbors couldn't see them, which is not a problem when you are playing online. Several players commented that they had so much fun, they would now be entering tournaments at various cardrooms around the country.

Card Player Cruises booked a total of 546 players for this cruise and brought 19 poker tables, 49 dealers, three shift bosses, two cashiers, and six board/brush people. Dave Lamb, Matt Savage, and Jan Fisher headed the tournament staff. Sexton commented, "PartyPoker.com and Card Player Cruises provided a great poker experience for our players. In fact, four of the six finalists were online qualifiers. We are pleased that the event ran so smoothly and thank Card Player Cruises for supplying such a great dealing and tournament staff."

Final-table play took place in the ship's main showroom and was attended by both poker players and nonplayers. Passengers were amazed by the Hollywood-type set that had been transported aboard, and many seemed mesmerized by the betting action. Overheard by one audience member was the following: "This sure is exciting; I just wish I knew what they were doing." Two large-screen televisions assisted audience members in viewing the action, and many times throughout the taping, they were on their feet and rocking in the aisles. This will make a great TV show.

With six finalists at the final table, there were six interesting "stories." In fact, Hollywood couldn't have cast this final table any better. There were two professional poker players with many titles to their credit: Howard Lederer was going for his second victory on the World Poker Tour, and Chip Jett was the chip leader going to the final table.

Joe "Cowboy" Simpkins was the highest finishing online player - third place. This popular player was dressed to the nines throughout the week and received a standing ovation when he was eliminated, as did the other finalists. Maureen Feduniak carried the torch for the ladies. (Remember, Kathy Liebert won the inaugural PPM.) After round one, Maureen was the chip leader with 84 players left. Her hobbies are ballroom dancing and poker. Also, Maureen's husband, Bob, qualified for the tournament and made the money. Fifth-place finisher Tim Lark, the manager of a flooring company in Dayton, Ohio, qualified for the finals for only $1. He won a "Lucky Dollar" tournament on PartyPoker.com that qualified him to play in a PartyPoker.com Million II satellite. After winning the satellite, he then won a cruise for two and tournament entry by winning a semifinal. Tim said, "This was the best week of my life." The youngest player in the tournament, Dan Coupal, finished sixth. He is a 21-year-old law student from Saskatoon, Canada, and was the chip leader after round two.

Following are the official results of the PartyPoker.com Million II:

Limit hold'em

Entrants: 177 • Prize pool: $1,013,845

1. Howard Lederer, Las Vegas, NV $263,850

2. Chip Jett, Scottsdale, AZ 175,900 plus a $25,300 WPT entry

3. Joe "Cowboy" Simpkins, San Diego, CA 105,900

4. Maureen Feduniak, Las Vegas, NV 79,155

5. Tim Lark, Dayton, Ohio 52,770

6. Dan Coupal, Saskatoon, Canada 43,975

7. Erick Lindgren, Las Vegas, NV 35,180

8. James Jolly, Wheatridge, CO 26,385

9. Frank Sciacca, Revere, MA 17,590

World Poker Tour CEO/Producer Steve Lipscomb and his staff did a tremendous job of adapting the studio set to the ship's stage. "It produced lots of challenges, but we are very grateful to Holland America for helping out with many of the small details, and, in particular, for giving us their main showroom for two nights in order to make this all happen. By doing so, they showed a major commitment to poker players," said Lipscomb. This particular WPT event will air on June 11; however, the premiere WPT event will appear on the Travel Channel on March 30 before moving to its regular Wednesday airings starting April 2. Check your local TV listings for times, and tune in for some great poker action.

Qualifying for the PartyPoker.com Million III has begun. Don't miss the boat!