Happenings in Europe

United Kingdom
By: Ross Jarvis

As the World Series of Poker wraps up for another year - sorry, until November - it seems time to reflect on how the UK's best fared over in Vegas. They travelled in hundreds, with great hopes of emulating recent bracelet winners such as Ram Vaswani and Praz Bansi, but unfortunately, barring a UK charge in the main event, there will be no bracelets returning to these shores in 2008.

When the festivities kicked off at the end of May, things looked as though they would be very different. John Kabbaj came through a very solid field and was unfortunate to bubble the final table in the $10,000 pot-limit hold'em world championship opener, sparking a series of close calls for UK players. Roland De Wolfe came close to completing the triple crown of European Poker Tour, World Poker Tour, and WSOP titles when he finished fourth in the $5,000 mixed-hold'em event, and was followed by other near-misses from Peter Gould (third), Spencer Lawrence (second), and Vaswani himself (seventh) to name a few.

The award for standout performance by any Brit this year undoubtedly belongs to Hitsquad member James Akenhead. After some good results in the BlueSquarePoker.com sponsored Grosvenor UK Poker Tour this year, Akenhead confirmed his status as an exciting new star on the UK scene by finishing second in the $1,500 no-limit hold'em event.

Coming through a huge field of 3,929 runners (the fourth largest tournament in poker history), Akenhead would be wearing a WSOP bracelet right now were it not for one of the most unique final hands in recent memory. Shortly after the event, he shared his thoughts with Card Player.

Card Player: You said on your blog that "you knew you would make a final table this year." Where did this
confidence come from?

James Akenhead: I had already decided to devote more time to the WSOP this year, and after my third place at GUKPT Newcastle, I was full of confidence. In the last six months, my game has improved considerably after I moved in with Karl (Mahrenholz), and I was ready to take on the world.

CP: What mindset is needed to work your way through a field as large as this one?

JA: In the first half of day 1, you don't really want to be making many plays, and it's best just to let your cards do the talking. When the blinds rise up and the antes kick in, you might need to change gears a little, but looking at day 1 as a satellite into day 2 and playing tight throughout is never a bad idea.

On the first day, I was able to pick up some good hands, winning some nice pots and building my stack at a fast rate. My day 2 went very fast and I yoyo'd three or four times, and once was almost on the felt. Going into the final table as the chip leader gave me a great sense of accomplishment, though. It might sound silly, but from the first hand to the last, I felt confident of winning the whole thing.

CP: You shared the final table with famous pros like Theo Tran and Chris "Jesus" Ferguson. Was that intimidating at all for you?

JA: I was never intimidated, and instead looked on it as just another challenge. I respect both of them a lot, but I had position on them both, which gave me a large advantage.

CP: How did you feel the heads-up match between you and Grant Hinkle was going before the final hand?

JA: Even though Grant went into the heads-up match as a big chip leader, I was still confident I could beat him. We played for more than two hours, and it was a really good match. I eventually regained the chip lead from him and felt like I had the upper hand and the best chance of winning the bracelet.

With the stacks basically even, Akenhead's dreams of a bracelet were dashed in the cruellest way. After a raise and a reraise, Hinkle moved all in with 10 4 on a clear bluff. Akenhead woke up with A-K and was a big favourite to take it down until Hinkle flopped a full house and then improved to quads on the turn.

JA: When the money went in, all I could think was, 'This is it; this is the hand.' I really thought I was going to win it. I was just imagining an ace-high dry flop and celebrating my victory when the flop of 10-10-4 came down! I was in shock. The fourth 10 on the turn was like a twist of the knife.

CP: How important was winning the bracelet to you, as opposed to the huge sums of money involved?

JA: Winning the bracelet was all I focused on; the money was definitely secondary. It's every poker player's dream to win a bracelet at the World Series of Poker. Since (fellow Hitsquad member) Praz Bansi won in 2006, we have all looked up to him, as he has achieved what we all want to achieve. We all want to follow in his footsteps and get the Hitsquad as many bracelets as possible. So losing heads up in such a brutal way hit not only me, but also the boys hard.

Despite the disappointment of the final hand, Akenhead pocketed $520,219 for his performance and signalled his arrival on the world poker scene.

Closer to home, the poker scene in London continues to thrive with the Kensington Close Hotel now offering a regular schedule of deepstacked, affordable tournaments. The pick of the bunch is a Sunday no-limit hold'em freezeout with a 5,000 starting stack, all for only a £20+£5 buy-in. If that's not enough incentive for you to support quality poker, then maybe the fact that all tournament fees go to charity will warm the hearts of even the most curmudgeonly poker players. More details can be found at www.charitypokertour.co.uk.

Ross Jarvis is a freelance poker journalist and poker player.

Gibraltar
The Future is Bright
By: Tristan Cano

With nothing more than a solitary games room containing a handful of blackjack tables and two roulette wheels, much of Gibraltar's Gala International Casino remains a relic of old Gibraltar. Perched high on the Rock's edge near Gibraltar's famous Rock Hotel, the casino certainly has had its share of high-flying visitors over the years, including millionaire businessmen, A-list celebrities, and even royalty.

However, many would argue that these days are long gone, and Gibraltar's casino has seen better times during its long and eventful past. I had last visited the casino around a year ago, and at the time it seemed to be more focused on bingo nights and the slot arcade than on anything that would appeal to the serious gamblers. It still retained a certain element of post-colonial charm, but the truth is that Gibraltar's casino was struggling to adapt to the needs of modern-day Gibraltar. In particular it appeared to be neglecting a new cash-rich, poker-playing population who asked for nothing more than regular poker games accompanied by an appropriately first-class service.

This new class of punter first started making an appearance on the Rock around 1999 when, led by UK-based bookmakers Ladbrokes and Victor Chandler, the Rock began attracting the attention of a variety of respected international gaming firms. Online gambling was certainly a growth industry at the time, but few could have predicted just how much potential there was in products such as online casino and poker. Gibraltar soon became the European destination of choice for e-gaming firms, and within five years there were 10 such firms with offices in Gibraltar. In addition, household names like PartyGaming and 888 had moved practically their entire operations to the Rock.

These firms brought with them a wealth of gaming industry professionals, many for whom gambling was far more than just a job. Unofficial poker games began springing up in bars and clubs in Gibraltar and across the border in La Linea, where many gaming company employees lived. The Casino did start organising weekly poker tournaments, and over time these began to improve, attracting an increasing number of players. The tournaments were regular, but many players commented that the Casino lacked that "poker room" feel they desired.

I was not competing in the inaugural Team Poker Cup at the casino but decided to drop by and see how things had been developing in recent months. The tournament had attracted teams from many of the locally-based gaming firms, including Mansion, 32Red, and Ladbrokes, which was the eventual winner. I must admit that I was impressed with the improvements I saw. Firstly, I observed an air of professionalism to the event that I had not witnessed on previous occasions. A new, cosier poker room with plasma screens and a sumptuous side buffet proved popular among the players and demonstrated that poker on the Rock had indeed come a long way in just a short period of time.

Best of all is the fact that these positive changes seem to have come at exactly the right time. By the end of 2008, there will be approximately 20 Gibraltar-based gaming firms, employing about 2,500 employees on the Rock - about 10 percent of Gibraltar's population!

The casino's move to its new home on Leisure Island, a state-of-the-art leisure development in the heart of Gibraltar's new Ocean Village marina, is imminent. The site of the old casino will be developed, most probably into luxury housing, and with it will disappear all traces of Gibraltar's antiquated casino culture. In the new casino, poker will be available 10 hours a day, with the option of single-table, cash games, and a host of multi-table tournaments every week. The casino's growing expertise, coupled with its plush new quayside surroundings will not only make it a haven for the local poker playing community, but will hopefully also begin to attract players from the Spanish Costa del Sol and much further afield.

Tristan Cano lives and writes about the gaming industry in Gibraltar.

Ireland
Casino and Online Gaming Regulation Imminent?

"Regulating Gaming in Ireland", a report recently published by the Casino Committee, has made 32 recommendations on the regulation of casinos and remote gaming in Ireland. Overall, the report was positive and took a level-headed approach to proposing a long-overdue overhaul of the regulatory regime in the country.

Among the recommendations is the call for a "socially responsible and secure arena for the development of remote gaming based in Ireland."

The report says, "The recent United States prohibition of payment mechanisms for gambling online presents a window of opportunity for Ireland. Should this opportunity be grasped within the appropriate timescale, Ireland, as a gaming friendly centre of excellence, can reasonably expect to attract a reasonable portion of this dynamic industry, therefore yielding significant synergistic benefits as well as employment opportunities."

The report, which was commissioned in response to Ireland's outdated 1956 gaming law, also recommends:

• the government establish an Interim Gaming Regulatory Authority
• that a key principle underlying the provision and regulation of all gaming in Ireland should be social responsibility
• that "gaming" and "betting" be treated as two completely separate types of gambling activity and that there should be no betting of any kind permitted on or in any licensed gaming premises. Likewise, there should be no gaming activity of any kind permitted on or in any betting or bookmakers' premises
• the license-awarding body must have the ability to undertake in-depth background investigations into the applicant's financial, business, and taxation history, as well as any criminal or other relevant records
• that a tax rate or duty higher than the 1 percent of turnover currently applied to off-course bookmakers is appropriate
The report will now be considered by the government, which will decide if and when to implement the recommendations.

Online Qualifiers for Ladbrokes Poker Festival

Online qualifiers are in full swing for the €250,000 guaranteed Ladbrokes Poker Festival taking place in the INEC, Gleneagle, Killarney, Ireland, from Oct. 2 to 5, 2008.

The €550 buy-in main event is expected to attract around 500 players.

Each Monday until Sept. 29 19:30 GMT, there wil be a $137.50 weekly final that will award one package for every $1,250 in the prize pool.

The $1,250 Ladbrokes Poker Festival package is comprised of the €550 main event buy-in and two nights B&B accommodation for two guests in the Gleneagle Hotel on Oct. 3 and 4.

Satellites start at $5, and seats for the weekly final can be won in the $33 daily finals that are held Tuesday through Sunday at 19:30 GMT.

Full details on the latest satellites can be found in the MTT/Offline Events/Ladbrokes Irish Festival lobby of Ladbrokes Poker.
A limited number of $1,250 packages are available for direct buy-ins. Players interested in purchasing this package - including the main event and two nights at the Gleneagle Hotel - can e-mail [email protected] or call +44 (0) 1372 277 722.

International Open Returns

Poker Ireland, in conjunction with sponsor BoylePoker.com, is renewing the International Open, which last year attracted the largest field ever for a poker tournament in Europe, with 1,074 players.

This year 1,200 players are expected to pony up the €135 + €15 registration fee for the event, which takes place on Oct. 17, 18, and 19 at the Regency Airport Hotel in Dublin. Players can choose between day 1A and day 1B and must register for the tournament through their account at BoylePoker.com.

Black is Back

The 2008 PartyPoker.com Premier League came to a dramatic televised finale last month with local legend Andy Black finally making it all the way to claim first place. It has been 20 years since the "Mad Monk" achieved such a feat. He was clearly overwhelmed by his victory when he burst into tears after taking down Brit Roland de Wolfe.

The Dubliner was favourite to win at the final table of the 2005 World Series of Poker main event. He went into the final match as chip leader but busted out much sooner than expected in fifth place, taking home $1.75 million. He had a similar experience in the 2007 Aussie Millions, where he finished third.

De Wolfe had a 3:2 chip lead going into the heads-up match. The final hand saw Black limp in with pocket kings and De Wolfe check with Q-6 offsuit. The flop came 8 6 4, and De Wolfe check raised all in. Black instantly called, and De Wolfe was drawing thin. The turn was the 8, meaning that only a 6 on the river could save him. The 2 fell, and Black's dreams came true.

"I see this as a turning point. Perhaps now I can convert my dominant positions in tournaments into victories," said Black after the event.

Each player bought into the Premier League for $60,000, with PartyPoker.com adding $280,000 to make the pool $1 million, up from $500,000 last year. A spokesman said, "Andy is a deserved winner; he's finally got the monkey off his back. It would have been a black day if he managed to choke again."

Brendan Murray is the European bureau chief for Card Player. Rebecca McAdam writes exclusively for Card Player on the European poker scene.

Holland
Rob Hollink Wins First Dutch Bracelet
By: Anthon-Pieter Wink

Dutch poker players now have one less milestone to reach: Rob Hollink has become the first Dutchman to win a World Series of Poker bracelet. And since we do something right, when we finally do it, he took the title in the $10,000 world championship limit hold'em event.

This will put an end to the race for the first Dutch WSOP win, and many will agree that Hollink is a worthy winner. The modest man from Groningen - the poker capital of the Netherlands - has been on the tournament trail for a long time and is widely considered to be one of the top players in the country. The only Dutchman on Team Full Tilt had been underperforming at the WSOP until this year, making only two final tables, both in 2003. But Hollink was back with a vengeance this year and became one of a select group of players to win both European Poker Tour and WSOP titles.

In a pro-heavy field, due to the high buy-in, Hollink bested 217 players after having been down to only a few big bets twice. Right after the bubble burst, J.C. Tran doubled-up Hollink a few times, which propelled Hollink to the final table, where he met the same J.C. Tran, fellow Full Tilt team member Andy Bloch, and then-chip leader Jerrod Ankenman (who he ended heads-up with).

The Dutchman took it down after amassing a huge chip lead through aggressive play. Hollink got the right cards at the right time, and at times hit the river after having been aggressive on earlier streets. Ankenman generally took a more passive approach, more often checking or calling than betting or raising. In the end, it was Hollink who held the bracelet and received the respectable sum of $496,931.

Reacting to his victory, Hollink stated he should not have been the first Dutchman to take a WSOP title: he considered Marcel Luske's efforts in the Series more impressive than his, referring to Luske's numerous second, third, and fourth places, and the time he was heads-up against Joe Awada with a 10-1 chip lead in the 2004 seven-card stud world championship but lost the match after a series of unfortunate hands. As a consolation, Luske has never left the WSOP empty handed, and this year wasn't different.

WSOP Recap

All in all, it has been a rather successful WSOP for the Netherlands. In addition to Hollink's bracelet, more final tables than ever have been reached: Marcel Luske (twice), Lennart Holtkamp, Dominik Kulicki, and Michiel Brummelhuis made the counter stop at six final tables this year. Luske particularly had another good Series - despite just missing out on the bracelets yet again - coming in third in the $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. event and fourth in the $5,000 world championship seven-card stud eight-or-better event.

This year's results bring Luske's total WSOP winnings well over $1.1 million, which is good for a place in list of the top 100 all-time money winners at the Series. This is a very impressive feat for a man who has never won a title or reached the final table of a main event (10th in 2004 is his best result up to now), and most Dutch players are convinced Luske will eventually capture one of the prized bracelets.

As this issue of Card Player goes to print, the main event is underway. With about 50 players from the Netherlands out of the almost 7,000 contestants, our chances of winning are once again slim. Taking into account the skill level of the average player at the WSOP as compared to that of the average Dutch player, I would say the chances of the title being won by a Dutchman are about 1 in 5, although I'll probably look back at this and regret my lack of faith in the Dutchies.

Luckily, I don't run a bookmaker's shop.

Holland Casino Told to Shut It

In local news, one of the first sensible things uttered by a representative of Holland Casino has been answered with a reprimand by the Dutch Minister of Justice, Ernst Hirsch Ballin. CEO Dick Flink and CFO Willem Kooijman mentioned in the recent annual report the need for Holland Casino to adjust to the changing times.

They rightly say that the Dutch system of state monopoly on gambling revenue is unsustainable in the face of EU law and that Holland Casino must find ways to compete with foreign newcomers, and such action can't wait for European Commissioner Charlie McCreevy to manually open the Dutch borders for them,

Flink and Kooijman's plans involve an extension of the function of the casinos, introducing other forms of entertainment such as cabaret, shows, and shops within the casino walls. A valid plan, but completely unthinkable for the Dutch minister, who has told them to keep quiet about having to compete with anyone as, according to him, there are many years of undisturbed monopoly ahead of us.

In a time in which China is opening its borders, Hirsch Ballin denies the European right to competition and desperately clings to the idea that if we don't talk about something, it might go away.

Anthon-Pieter Wink is a professional poker player and freelance writer, from the www.pokerinfo.nl forum.

With the European Poker Tour season having ended and every Nordic player of importance having left for Las Vegas, Scandinavian countries have been emphasising World Series of Poker cashes lately. As a result, there have been few notable events for the past month, but that doesn't mean that nothing has happened at all - on the contrary!

Scandinavia
Changes in Sponsorships
By: Joel Hinz

Team PokerStars and Team Full Tilt both signed valuable contracts with famous Scandinavian poker players recently. First, the latter chose to make a deal with Finnish star Patrik Antonius, an EPT event winner with multiple final tables at the WSOP and the World Poker Tour to his name. Patrik plays the highest stakes available and usually comes out winning.

A few weeks later, PokerStars announced that Swedish pro William Thorson, also with several major final tables plus a 13th place finish in the 2006 WSOP main event, would be joining the team after separating from Betsson. Both players are currently representing their teams in Las Vegas.

The third big change, and arguably the most important one to happen up north for the last month, is the creation of the Vegas Group. This group will act as an agent for leading and up-and-coming poker players in Scandinavia (Sweden, primarily), and while this concept isn't new, it's neither common in the poker world nor previously existing in Sweden at all. The most famous players to sign up so far have been Michaela Johansson, Ramzi Jelassi, Jonas Molander, and Bo Sehlstedt. Will this mark a new beginning in relationships between players and companies? There has been an ongoing debate in Sweden for the past two years about why so few Swedes receive lucrative offers from sponsors. Some (Ola Brandborn and Mikael Norinder most notably) have attributed this to the fact that players from other countries are actively selling themselves in-between tournaments, whereas Swedes go to their hotel rooms in order to play online poker upon busting in major tournaments. If this theory is true, a competent agency may certainly be what the players need to shape up.

Scandinavians at the World Series

Few Scandinavians play in multiple WSOP events, mostly due to the competitions being held in a different country. High taxes on winnings in the USA definitely don't help, either. However, there are some who play as much as many American professionals. At the time of writing, the main event has just begun, and the numbers presented here are likely to be correct once the Series is over.

Antonius got off to a good start when he reached the final table of this year's first WSOP event, the $10,000 world championship pot-limit hold'em, in which he placed seventh. Christer Björin is once again proving that age begets experience and not necessarily tardiness. He is following up last year's three final tables with another two this year, plus two extra cashes to boot. This brings his total number of WSOP cashes up to 42, making him the player with the 13th-most cashes in the most prestigious of tournaments. Humberto Brenes of Costa Rica is the only non-American player with more cashes, and the only other Scandinavian to even appear on the top 100 list is Norwegian Thor Hansen with 40 cashes, one of them from this year.

There has been, however, only one Scandinavian bracelet winner this summer. Jesper Hougaard of Denmark crushed the competition in event No. 36, $1,500 no-limit hold'em, to win $610,304. The best Norwegian result has been Sverre Sundbo's seventh place in event No. 48. Additionally, three more Swedes have reached four final tables, Denmark comes close with another three, and Voitto Rintala is the only other Finnish player to grace a final table this year.

Yes to Norway, No to Sweden
By: Joel Hinz

On a final note, June has brought a cancellation and a glimmer of hope to the Scandinavian poker scene. First, state-owned Svenska Spel (Swedish Games) wished to extend their online poker services to collaborations with other countries. They were not intending to allow non-Swedes to play, but rather to form a network with other state-run operators. Anders Borg, Minister of Finance, quickly shot the suggestion down, though.

Another player, however, wants the government to start up a similar operation in Norway. Tove Paule, chairperson of the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports, has requested that state-owned Norsk Tipping (Norwegian Betting) be allowed host online poker. If this suggestion goes through, it may soon be the only legal venue for online poker in Norway, as the country is currently preparing to enforce legislation similar to that in the USA.

Joel Hinz is a freelance poker journalist.