Irish News

The Rathfarnham Casino Club in Rockbrook, Rathfarnham, Dublin

Cork's Macau Casino Club

With the exception of Andy Black's World Series of Poker and Atlantic City results, 2005 has been a lean year for Irish players. However, two unknown Dubliners have hit the headlines, with final-table appearances in the World Speed Poker Open in London.



Michael McFadden and Ollie Boyce both won their way into this televised event via an online qualifier for just €10, and each returned with a handsome profit on his investment.



Despite a top-class field, the underdogs, both of whom had limited live-game experience, showed real class and entered the six-seat final table in fine shape.



Disappointingly, McFadden was eliminated in fourth place, but Boyce went on to claim the title and a £50,000 winner's cheque.



Belfast Faithful on a Bazza Winner?

The Winners Club at the Yorkgate, Belfast, has secured an exclusive deal with Barry Hearn's Matchroom Sports to run satellites for the organisation's big-money, televised events.



"Derek Rosenberg, one of our managers, did the deal," explained Peter Meegan, general manager. "We took six tickets at £6,000 apiece for Matchroom's UK Open, and have found the satellites to be very popular with our players."



Winners Club weekly schedule:

For more information, call: +44 (0) 28 9074 6952.



Cork in the Web

Cork's Macau Casino Club has a new website: http://www.macausportingclub.com/.



Meanwhile, the dates of its Irish Christmas Poker Festival have been announced.

Poker at the Pub
The Rathfarnham Casino Club, situated above Doherty's Pub in Rockbrook, Rathfarnham, Dublin, has introduced a free-entry tournament on Wednesday nights. There is a €5 registration charge and rebuys are €15 apiece.



The remainder of its weekly schedule is as follows:

Monday: no-limit hold'em; registration starts at 8 p.m., tournament starts at 9 p.m.; entry fee, €20 with unlimited €10 rebuys



Thursday: no-limit hold'em, registration starts at 8 p.m., tournament starts at 9 p.m.; entry fee, €50 with two rebuys



Friday: no-limit hold' em, registration starts at 8 p.m., tournament starts at 9p.m.; entry fee, €30 with three rebuys



Also, there will be a €10,000-guaranteed Christmas Run tournament on Dec. 10. The entry fee is €200 with two rebuys at €100, and the winner is assured €5,000.



For further details: +353 (1) 4951703, +353 (86) 8205294, e-mail [email protected], or visit http://www.rathfarnhamcasino.com/



Antes Up
Irish poker fans now have the chance to stay abreast of their favourite players' progress in major events at a dedicated website called www.antesup.com.



The site was launched in July by Mike Lacey and Tom Murphy. The timing was perfect, kick-starting with live coverage of the World Series of Poker.



Subsequently, they have started following the European Poker Tour and will also be covering all the major events in Ireland.



As well as live tournament coverage, there will be interviews with Irish players and information about local tournaments, and readers can follow the twists and turns of Tom's and Mike's own poker progress through their respective blogs.



"It is about time that the capital of European poker had its own website," said the pair. "Andy Black's brilliant performance at the World Series gave us a great start, with the website broadcast in the local poker clubs during the main event.



"There is an abundance of talent, both young and old, around the country, and we are positive we will be reporting on many big-money Irish winners in the coming months."



Irish Don Does His Bit For Charity
Don Fagan, a World Poker Tour final-table finisher and stalwart of Irish poker, took an unusual route in his preparation for the UltimateBet.com Poker Classic in Aruba.



On the eve of his departure for the $5,000 buy-in event, Don could be found hard at it in a €10 rebuy hold'em charity competition at Spawell Leisure Complex.



Now, being a decent bloke, or maybe sensing value, Don took more than his share of rebuys, sponsored players, and even offered up rebuys and top-ups to total strangers.



Of course, his generosity was largely alcohol induced, and his recollection may be a little hazy. However, Card Player has taken great pleasure in revealing his record for the night:

Andrew "Tigger" McGrath won the event.