It's 'Party' Time

There are certain events in life that you frame and hang on the wall. The recent PartyPoker.com Million II, a World Poker Tour event held on a Caribbean cruise, was one of those events. Championship poker on a luxurious cruise ship - for poker players, it just doesn't get much better than that.

Everyone had a great week and the tournament was fantastic. The real beauty of the PartyPoker.com Million, however, is that it provides an opportunity for the "little guy" to grab the brass ring and go for the gusto. Players can qualify online and win a dream vacation and a seat in a World Poker Tour event (with more than $1 million in the prize pool) for about the cost of going to the movies - and 134 did so for the PartyPoker.com Million II.

Four of the six final-table players in the PPM II were online qualifiers! (The final table of all WPT events consists of six players.) These four "little guys," which included a lady, put on quite a performance all week. I call them "little guys" because they represent thousands of recreational players who envision the fame and fortune that comes with winning a WPT event, and qualifying online may be the only way many of them could ever play in one.

In the end, two professionals battled it out for the title. Congratulations certainly go out to the champion, Howard Lederer, and to runner-up Chip Jett. They were outstanding. Howard took home $263,850 and the title, his second on the World Poker Tour, while Chip won $175,900 plus the coveted $25,300 entry into the WPT championship event at Bellagio.

Let's meet the online qualifiers who made it to the final table of the PartyPoker.com Million II:

• Joe "Cowboy" Simpkins (third place - $105,540) - Cowboy, dressed to the nines, wowed the crowd with his personality and his aggressive play. He started the final table in last chip position, but that didn't seem to bother him, as he continually fired his chips into the pot. Although he's played poker for many years, this was his first "live" tournament experience. You will love watching this guy when the PartyPoker.com Million II airs as part of the World Poker Tour series (June 11 on the Travel Channel; check you local TV listings for the time). Ride 'em, Cowboy!

• Maureen Feduniak (fourth place - $79,155) - Maureen was trying to make it two in a row for the ladies, as Kathy Liebert won the inaugural PartyPoker.com Million last year.) She led the field after day No. 1 and carried the torch beautifully for the women. Maureen, who is originally from England, is a grandmother whose hobbies include ballroom dancing and playing poker. She and her husband, Bob (who also qualified online and made the money in this tournament), are two of the finest, classiest (with a capital "C") people you could ever meet. Well done, Maureen!

• Tim Lark (fifth place - $52,770) - We'll call Tim "Mr. Lucky," as he played a Lucky Dollar tournament on PartyPoker.com to win his way into the finals. Yes, that's right. He won a cruise for two and a seat in the finals for $1! (It was actually $4, as he played four of them.) Tim, a happy-go-lucky, popular guy, said, "This was the greatest week of my life." Way to go, Tim!

• Dan Coupal (sixth place - $43,975) - Dan had the distinction of being the youngest player in the tournament. (Peter Fisher, at 80, was the oldest.) He is a 21-year-old law student from Saskatoon, Canada. Dan performed admirably all week, and in fact had the chip lead at the end of play on day No. 2 (with 18 players left). Look for this confident Canadian to be in the winner's circle in the future, as he can play. Nice going, Dan!

It was an exciting final and a truly great week. My hat's off not only to these four players, but to everyone who qualified online and played in the finals on the ship.

A special thanks goes to PartyPoker.com for adding more than $106,000 to the prize pool, and to the World Poker Tour personnel for their efforts in televising this event. Honorable mention goes to Card Player Cruises and the tournament staff of Dave Lamb, Matt Savage, and Jan Fisher for doing such a great job. The tournament ran like a Swiss watch. (Note: Qualifying for the PPM III is already under way. Go to www.partypoker.com for details.)

It's "Party" time! Take care.