News, Reviews And Interviews From Around The Poker World

Young Pros Get New Sponsors

Full Tilt pulled off something of a coup announcing it had signed 21-year-old poker phenomenon Annette Obrestad in May.

Obrestad, the 2007 World Series of Poker Europe champion, famously deposited $9 into her poker account and turned it into millions.

Just a couple of days earlier, Euro-facing online poker room Titan Poker announced it has signed Sorel Mizzi.

The 24-year-old Canadian pro has more than $2.5 million in live tournament cashes and is one of the most recognisable names in the game.

Mizzi, who recently featured on the cover of Card Player Europe, has been on a roll of late with back-to-back wins in EPT Snowfest side events as well as victory in the East Coast Championship in Borgata, Atlantic City where he took down $170,313.

As a result he is currently second in the Card Player Player of the Year standings.

World Poker Tour Hits London and France

The World Poker Tour has announced its long-awaited first UK stop to be held in the Palm Beach Casino, at the Mayfair Hotel, London, from August 29 to September 5, 2010.

The £5,000 + £300 main event will be filmed for television, featuring two starting days and a cap of 400 players. The event is sponsored by PartyPoker.

Adam Pliska, WPT president said, “London is a great poker destination and has always been a major target in our ongoing expansion.”

In France, Casino Municipal D’Amneville has partnered with the World Poker Tour to host a €3,200 + 300 main event from November 2 to 6, 2010.

It will be the second stop for the Tour in France this year as the first took place at the Aviation Club de France from May 8 to 13.

Christophe Schanne, general manager of the casino said, “The Casino d’Amneville is located at the perfect crossroad for European players, with close proximity to Luxembourg, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. We are delighted to welcome the World Poker Tour to Amneville for this unique French tournament.”

Poker Recognised as Mind Sport

After exactly one year in existence the International Poker Federation received a huge fillip in late April when poker was officially accepted as a “mind sport” by the International Mind Sports Association.

Poker will now appear at the World Mind Sports Games in London in 2012 alongside chess and bridge.

Writer and poker player Anthony Holden, who is president of IFP, said the development was “a major milestone in our campaign to have poker accepted throughout the world as a game of strategic skill.

“Over time, this should help to free poker from much governmental interference and other such unnecessary restrictions all over the globe.”

IFP’s Advisory Board member Doyle Brunson, said, “The IFP deserves our thanks and congratulations. I believe that history will show this was a key moment for poker. All over the world the game has been faced with governmental controls and other obstacles. Yet it is obvious it calls for qualities and skills that go far beyond a capacity just to take a chance.”

Dane Wins New Zealand Poker Championship

Danish poker player Soren Eriksen beat last year’s winner David Borg heads up at the New Zealand Poker Championships at the Christchurch Casino, New Zealand in April.

The New Zealand-based player earned $100,000 for first place for topping a field of 101 players.

Borg took over the chip lead close to the end, but the hand that paved the way for Eriksen’s payday was K Q versus Borg’s A 7.

The board fell in Eriksen’s favour, but it was still a proud day for Borg as he had made it to the top rungs of the ladder once again.

UK Poker Player Faces U.S. Murder Extradition

Marcus Bebb-Jones, a former Grosvenor UK Poker Tour main event finalist, lost his long-running battle in April to avoid extradition to the U.S. to face a charge of murdering his wife.

Bebb-Jones is alleged to have killed his wife in Las Vegas in 1997 before going on a spending spree with her credit cards, then attempting to kill himself.

The Kidderminster, UK resident was, at the time, a hotelier in Colorado. Only parts of his wife’s remains have ever been found, but Aaron Watkins for the U.S. government said, “The case against him is very strong. This offence is so serious he faces life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.”

Bebb-Jones’ lawyers argued against the extradition saying he could face the death penalty in the U.S. despite state prosecutors in Colorado saying they would not seek it.
The case now goes to the British Home Secretary who will have the final say in the matter.

UK Poker Tour Winners

Twenty-nine year old Kuljinder Sidhu from Birmingham beat 191 players to win the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour Manchester at G Casino, Bury in April.

Sidhu beat Chris Brammer after two hands of heads-up play to take down the top prize of £54,850.

The final table results were:

At the PokerStars UK & Ireland Poker Tour in Nottingham in May Londoner Andrew Couldridge took home the £80,000 top prize and entry into the UKIPT’s season finale tournament, the £5,250 buy-in European Poker Tour London event.

The main event was the second largest major tournament to be held in the UK with a total of 650 players creating a prize pool of £325,000.

The final results and payouts were:

The next stop on the Tour is the 1,000 + €100 buy-in event at the Gleneagles Hotel in Killarney, Ireland with a €250,000 guaranteed main event running from June 24-27.

Theo Jorgensen and David Williams Latest WPT Champions

The return of the World Poker Tour Grand Prix de Paris at the Aviation Club de France in May saw 247 runners, creating a prize-pool of over €2.3 million from which 27 were paid.

Dane Theo Jorgensen pocketed the hefty €633,902 top prize and the final table payouts were:

Elsewhere at Bellagio in Las Vegas, David Williams clinched the WPT Championship event from Eric Baldwin with Boylepoker Irish pro John O’Shea taking sixth place.

The full result was: