The
Golden Sands Poker Festival, sponsored by The Rivercard, took place in Torquay on Aug. 17-19 and players were able to enjoy the classical elegance of the newly named Mint Casino. Eleven Poker in the Pub players won their way through to the festival from the various regional finals that took place across the UK in the months running up to this celebration of poker. They arrived filled with nervous anticipation for the first major poker festival any of them had played in.
Friday night saw the £100 freezeout kick-start the tournament, with 140 players looking to get their festival off to a dream start. The field contained a nice mixture of seasoned professionals, experienced amateurs, and our very own Poker in the Pub players. With a prize pool of £14,000, it was going to be a good warm-up for the main event. The £5,000 in starting chips and 30-minute levels commencing at £25-£50 meant that the players had the opportunity to play a few hands without fear of busting out.
As the night progressed, the casualties gradually mounted and some front-runners began to emerge. Alan Parr was as loud as ever at the tables, and he soon built up a healthy chip stack. The Stoke on Trent professional had amassed £118,000 in chips by the time we were down to three tables, and it looked like it could be his night. However, his luck was about to change, as a series of bad beats and lost "coin tosses" destroyed his stack. His decline started when seasoned professional Bambos Xanthos called Parsy's shove to put himself all in. Bambos showed A-4 and Parsy was sitting pretty as he flipped over a pair of sevens. However, an ace on the flop was all Bambos needed to keep his tournament hopes alive.
After seven and a half hours of play, we reached the final table, and it contained a good mix of players, including our pub player Tom Jolley from the Crabmill Inn, Bromsgrove. In the end, it was the two well-known professionals who were heads up for the title. Xanthos was a regular on
Late Night Poker and is ranked 28th on the England all-time money list. His opponent Paul Parker is one of the nice guys of poker, but he is not someone you want to run into at an Omaha cash table. It was the Greek-Cypriot Bambos who walked off with the trophy after making a deal for the majority of the cash.
Poker in the Pub players could be pleased with the opening day's work, with Tom eventually finishing in eighth place and Craig Harby from the Victoria Tavern, Kendel also cashing in 14th place.
Final results were as follows:
Day two saw the start of the £500 main event, which heralded the arrival of some more big guns, including Andy Fields, fresh from his victory in the $2,500 no-limit hold'em event at The Venetian Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, which was part of the
CEO Poker Tour.
A total of 118 players took their seats, generating a juicy prize pool of £59,000. Six and a half hours into the tournament, some front-runners were beginning to emerge. Local player Kyriacou Kyriacos found himself holding the 4
4
against Ricky Hale, who had the A
K
. Kyriacos then saw a dream flop come down, A
A
4
. The money went into the pot quicker than a bull into an uninsured china shop, and Hale was left needing a miracle that never arrived. Kyriacos was now sitting pretty with around £60,000 in chips.
Play eventually came to a close at 1:30 a.m., giving players the opportunity to get some well-earned rest. However, many of the participants stayed on to partake of the lucrative cash games that were available into the early hours.
On day two, Bruce "Elvis Senior" Atkinson was in full voice as he took down an £80,000 pot with a straight flush. This put him in a strong position, and he was able to build on this positive start.
The pub poker players continued to perform well, and by the time we got down to the money, three players were still in contention. Poker in the Pub superstar Wayne Pretorius has made three regional final tables in a row in the pub league, and he carried this form into the
Golden Sands, finishing in a very respectable 15th place. Craig Harby built on his success in the £100 freezeout, finishing 13th and showing that he can hold his own outside the confines of his local boozer. Lee "The Enigma" Ball was still going strong, and as we reached the final table, he was well in contention with £94,200 in chips.
The remaining 10 players left the table to go and tuck into the mountain of free grub that would put most school dinner ladies to shame; hot, tasty food, served to 160 people in a 20-minute period - good job!
The next day, an hour and a half into the final table, the blinds were at £5,000-£10,000 and a tense, nervous atmosphere had descended over the players as they battled it out for the £20,000 first prize. Then, Elvis won a pot and began singing and dancing at the table. He is actually quite good. Long live "The King!"
With five runners left, The Enigma was forced to make his move. He had struggled to pick up any kind of a hand during the final table, and he eventually bowed out of the tournament in fifth place after his 10
9
failed to improve against Arne Nykvist's K
J
. It was a great performance from Lee, who took home £3,540.
A few minutes later, and we were down to the final three, as Luke Vinniecombe departed in fourth place. The game went on for another 45 minutes before the players decided to make a deal. With the money decided, it was just the trophy and ranking points that were up for grabs. I was of the opinion that the tournament would now be over quicker than Speedy Gonzalez on a sugar rush, but it took another 15 minutes for the final positions to be decided. Bruce "Elvis Senior" Atkinson took the plaudits, and he was quick to milk the adoration of the hard core of spectators who were able to witness The King singing and dancing on top of the final table. Albert Sapiano continued his impressive run, finishing as the runner up-and bringing his festival earnings to £95,000 for the last 12 months.
Final results were as follows:
The first
Golden Sands Poker Festival was a great success, and the Poker in the Pub players showed that they are able to compete with some very good players. The pub poker players walked off with almost 8 percent of the prize pool, which was a fantastic achievement. I know that I am already looking forward to the next festival that we run.
For more information on the league, please visit the website at www.pokerinthepub.com.
