December 2007 Archives

As we prepare to begin a new year, it's worth taking a few moments to look back at the time we've all spent at PokerStars in the last 365 days. This year has been one of accomplishment, charity, and innovation. Consider that PokerStars dealt its ten billionth hand. It hosted its 50 millionth tournament. It kicked off a tournament that hosts 20,000 players every week and guarantees a $100,000 prize pool for merely $11. What's more, players racked up millions of Frequent Player Points. Four people used those points to buy brand new Porsches. PokerStars introduced 12 new payment methods for many countries including the ever-popular e-checks. It was, without a doubt, a year to remember.

Here's a look back at 2007 and all it was at PokerStars.

Happy New Year, everybody.

January

Ryan Daut wins $1.5 million in PokerStars Caribbean Adventure--2007 kicked off with the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. Over the course of a sunny week in the Bahamas, a record-setting field became the final six players who fought it out in a chilly wind on the Dragon Deck of the Atlantis Resort and Casino. Though second-place finisher Isaac Haxton came into the final table with a prohibitive chip lead, the tenacious Ryan Daut would not be bested. Daut won $1.5 million for his first place finish at the 2007 PCA.

2007 PCA Champion, Ryan Daut

Quillan Nagel wins $1 million in Moneymaker Millionaire Freeroll--While the PCA was open to all comers, the Moneymaker Millionaire Freeroll Live Finals were open to only 27 players. First place was a guaranteed $1 million. The eventual Moneymaker Millionaire winner was Canada's Quillan Nagel.

Quillan Nagel and his wife, Lisa

Magnus Petersson wins EPT Copenhagen, ElkY takes second--The first European Poker Tour event of the New Year saw players invade Copenhagen, Denmark. Spectators were treated to a great show, especially when the event got heads up between Team PokerStars Pro ElkY and Magnus Petersson. Here's how the final table of the 2007 EPT Copenhagen event turned out.

February

Dario Minieri gets his Porsche--After being the first PokerStars player to use his Frequent Player Points to buy a car, Dario Minieri went to his local dealership in Italy and picked up his Porsche.

Team PokerStars Pro Dario Minieri

Noah Boeken joins Team PokerStars Pro--2007 saw many new pro players join Team PokerStars Pro. The first of the year was long-time PokerStars player Noah "Exclusive" Boeken.

March

PokerStars celebrates one year of Sunday Million tournaments--One of the coolest things that happened in 2006 was the beginning of the first-ever $1 million guaranteed tournament. In March 2007, PokerStars celebrated one year of Sunday Millions and Sunday Million winners.

Andreas Hoivold wins EPT German Open--2007 marked a lot of firsts for the European Poker Tour. Among those new things was a stop in Dortmund, Germany for the first-ever EPT German Open. The event proved to be extremely popular, especially with eventual winner, Andreas Hoivold.

Peter Jepsen wins Polish Open, Katja Thater makes final table--The EPT also made its first visit to Poland in 2007. For the second time in the year, a Team PokerStars Pro, this time Katja Thater, made the final table. The winner, Peter Jepsen, won more than €325,000 and a kiss from his girlfriend.

EPT Warsaw winner, Peter Jepsen Katja Thater at the Polish Open

VIP Club sends PokerStars players to NBA--The PokerStars VIP Club did some amazing things in 2007. Among the first was sending some longtime players on a dream vacation with the Dallas Mavericks.

April

Gavin Griffin wins EPT Grand Final--The EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo was bigger and more luxurious than ever before. Some of the world's biggest poker stars traveled all the way to Monaco for the event. One of those stars, Gavin Griffin, plowed his way through a head cold to win the biggest poker event in Europe--and he did it all with pink-tinted hair, a stunt aimed at raising money and awareness for breast cancer research. Griffin won more than $2 million at the EPT Grand Final.

Player uses VIP Club Concierge Service in a big way--The PokerStars VIP Club Concierge Service is one of the greatest rewards in all of online poker. It can be used for just about anything the player wants. For instance, in April, one player used his Frequent Player Points to fund an African safari.

May

ElkY wins race to Supernova Elite--In 2007, PokerStars announced it was upping the ante on the VIP Club and adding another level of greatness. Born was Supernova Elite, a level that required a player to earn one million VIP Player Points. It took ElkY four months. He became the first-ever VIP Club Supernova Elite.

Elky

BigJoe2003 finds his Elite status--Just a couple of weeks after ElkY made VIP Club history, BigJoe2003 showed him how close a race it really was by achieving Supernova Elite status, as well.

BigJoe2003

PokerStars players win trip to Cannes--PokerStars did a ton of charity work in 2007, not least of which was the $1 million it put toward easing the suffering in Darfur. PokerStars teamed up with the producer and cast of Hollywood blockbuster Ocean's 13 who established the charity Not On Our Watch (NOOW). Part of that effort was the Darfur charity tournaments. The big prize for one of those tournaments was a trip to the Cannes Film Festival. For more on the trip, visit, the Cannes Film Festival Trip Report.

justine0003 wins PokerStars' Ten Billionth Hand--In May, PokerStars celebrated its ten billionth hand. Over the course of the month, PokerStars paid out a crazy amount of money to winners of milestone hands. The biggest single winner, however, was justine0003, who won the ten billionth hand at a .01/.02 table. Her winnings? A cool hundred grand.

justine0003

PokerStars sends players to Lifeball--Continuing with its charity efforts, PokerStars donated $100,000 to the Lifeball AIDS research fundraiser in Vienna, Austria. Part of the effort involved charity tournaments on PokerStars, in which the winners got a trip to the Lifeball.

June

Steve Paul-Ambrose makes final table of World Series Mixed Hold'em event--As the World Series kicked off at the Rio in Las Vegas, Steve Paul-Ambrose decided to start the Series off in style. He made it to the final table of the Mixed Hold'em event, placing fourth and winning more than $140,000.

OmahaEd nearly gets first bracelet--PokerStars player OmahaEd did his best to live up to his name during the World Series and nearly won a World Series bracelet in Omaha.

Humberto Brenes makes World Series final tables--Team PokerStars Pro Humberto Brenes made his 20th World Series final table in one of his favorite events. He placed eighth and won nearly $80,000. Just a few days later, Brenes made his 21st final table in the Pot-Limit Hold'em event, taking third place and winning nearly $200,000.

Humberto Brenes at the 2007 World Series

Barry Greenstein and Greg Raymer make same final table--Late one night at the World Series, two of the biggest names in poker made the same final table. Barry Greenstein and Greg Raymer made the same seven card stud final table. Raymer took sixth and Greenstein took fourth.

Daniel Negreanu joins Team PokerStars Pro--In what would prove to be the biggest announcement in all of the World Series, PokerStars unveiled Daniel Negreanu as the newest face in the Team PokerStars Pro stable.

Daniel Negreanu mugs from the camera in his first day as a Team PokerStars Pro

PokerStars players hit Hollywood--As their prize for winning one of the PokerStars Ocean's 13 Darfur Charity tournaments, a crew of PokerStars players hit Hollywood for a red carpet premiere and party.

Stars sign poker felt for charity--Usually, it's poker players signing the felts. This time it was some of Hollywood's biggest stars signing the PokerStars baize as a prize for the third PokerStars Ocean's 13 Darfur Charity Tournament.

Greenstein defines multi-tabling--During the World Series, Team PokerStars Pro Barry Greenstein defined the concept of multi-tabling, as chronicled in Seventeen Steps with Barry Greenstein.

Katja Thater wins Razz bracelet--Fresh off a final table performance in the World Series Ladies Event, Team PokerStars Pro Katja Thater charged hard into the Razz event and walked away with her first bracelet.

Negreanu makes World Series Stud final table--With his PokerStars jersey still fresh from the box, Daniel Negreanu decided it was time to make a final table. He took fifth place in a World Series stud event.

Barry Greenstein final tables $50,000 HORSE event--In what many people considered the championship event of the World Series, Team PokerStars Pro Barry Greenstein showed why he is considered to be one of the best poker players on the planet. Greenstein took seventh place in the big event and won more than a quarter-million bucks.

PokerStars launches Asia Pacific Poker Tour--In what would eventually prove to be a monumental move, PokerStars announced the launch of the APPT with stops all over Asia and Australia.

July

Andre Akkari joins Team PokerStars Pro--The Brazil-folk are an incredible crew to watch at the World Series. They were led around the room many a time by the Andre Akkari. It only seemed right that he be the next member of Team PokerStars Pro.

PokerStars throws party for Supernovas--The night before the World Series Main Event got going, PokerStars threw an insanely good party for its Supernova players at the top of the Palms Casino.

PokerStars players make millions in World Series main event--After nearly two weeks of some of the hardest playing of their lives, PokerStars players put together a multi-million dollar take at the 2007 World Series. The three most impressive finishes came from Hevad Khan, Raymond Rahme, and Tuan Lam who won nearly $9 million on their own.

Chris Moneymaker shows his heart off the table--Chris Moneymaker may be known as a tough player at the tables, but his biggest strength is his heart off the table, as shown in Against the Odds with Chris Moneymaker.

Moneymaker playing cards for hospital straws

PokerStars launches Sunday Hundred Grand Tournament--The launch of the Sunday Hundred Grand gave players a chance to enter a tournament for $11 and have a chance at a $100,000 prize pool. This is now the biggest field of online players in a single tournament every week. When 20,000 players sit down at the virtual felt, first prize is $20,000.

August

Parise crowned first APPT champion--After two months of excitement leading up to the first APPT event in Manilia, Brett Parise became the first winner on the APPT circuit.

PokerStars upgrades software to support more languages--In continuing recognition of its efforts to provide a top level gaming experience and customer support to all players regardless of their native language, PokerStars introduced a new software upgrade to support a wide array of langauges. By the end of the year, the PokerStars software and website was available in English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Japanese, Italian, Polish, Hungarian, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish, once again proving poker's true international appeal, and PokerStars commitment to offering the number one poker experience.

September

Sander Lylloff wins EPT Barcelona--With the beginning of a new season on the European Poker Tour, the world's poker pros once again descended on Barcelona, Spain. The winner was Copenhagen, Denmark's Sander Lylloff, who took home €1.1 million.

Team USA wins PokerStars World Cup of Poker IV--Poker players from the USA, at some point in history, have won most every poker championship. One missing was the PokerStars World Cup of Poker. That changed in September when Team USA won its first World Cup Title.

WCOOP sets records, Raymer wins--PokerStars' tournament gurus once again put together an insanely good schedule of events and kicked off the World Championship of Poker with a guaranteed $15 million in prize money. Among the number of fantastic stories to emerge from WCOOP was the Event #6 win by Team PokerStars Pro Greg Fossilman Raymer. By the time WCOOP ended, players competed for nearly $25 million in prize money.

Team PokerStars Pro grows by four--Team PokerStars Pro continued to grow in September when Dario Minieri, and 2007 World Series final table players Ray Rhame, Hevad Khan, and Tuan Lam became PokerStars-sponsored pros.

Joseph Mouawad wins EPT London--In September, Joseph Mouawad became part of an elite club, the members of which have parlayed a PokerStars satellite win into an EPT championship. Mouawad won £611,00 for his win at the EPT event in London.

Ziv Bachar wins APPT: Seoul--Just one month after the APPT kicked off in Manila, it moved on to Seoul for another history-making event. This time, Ziv Bachar took top honors, winning $139,872.

Ziv Bachar

October

WCOOP puts World in World Championship--The World Championship of Poker wrapped up. Players from 107 countries played 23 events for nearly $25 million in prize money. For a complete look at the statistics from the 2007 WCOOP, see the WCOOP statistics page.

Nice guy Julian Thew wins EPT Baden--One of the nicest guys on the tournament circuit was due for a big win and he picked it up in Baden, Austria at the EPT event there. Thew won €670,800 for his first place finish.

PokerStars adds Steps tournaments to its satellite schedule--In an effort to give players another way to win their way to big buy-in events, PokerStars introduced Steps tournaments to the stable of satellites. The first Steps tournaments came out in late October and were immediately popular with players looking to win their way into APPT circuit and the PCA.

PokerStars upgrades software for more languages and resizable lobbies--PokerStars has always been ahead of the pack at introducing new features for online poker software. In October, PokerStars released some big changes to improve every player's experience, incuding more language support platforms and re-sizable lobbies.

LParreira wins 2007 World Blogger Championship of Online Poker--For the third consecutive year, PokerStars thanked the world's bloggers by giving them a huge freeroll. This year, the winner, LParreira, came out of Portgual. Now, he'll be headed to play in the 2008 PCA.

Reuben Peters wins EPT Dublin--It had been a while since an American had taken down an EPT event. Reuben Peters, a journeyman pro and PokerStars qualifier from the U.S., made his way to Dublin and took down the event for €532,620.

Reuben Peters

BCM11 turns FPPs into a car--In a story that would start to sound familiar, another PokerStars player turned his ethereal FPP credits into a luxury automobile.

Dihn Le wins at APPT Macau--The APPT was all about making history this year and that's exactly what it did, taking televised tournament poker to mainland China for the first time ever. Dihn Le walked away with the history-making title and $222,640.

Eric Assadourian wins APPT High-Roller Event--Not yet ready to leave China, the APPT decided to throw a big $15,000 High-Roller event. Eric Assadourian, a 28-year-old from Sydney, won the first-ever event and $368,000.

DDBeast trades up to a Porsche--As the end of the year drew nigh, DDBeast decided it was time to have a new car. He checked and discovered he had the three million Frequent Player Points. Next thing he knew, he was riding in some serious style.

PokerStars announces PokerStars Passport--The last day of November, PokerStars announced the coolest online poker promotion of the year: The PokerStars Passport. Whoever wins this Passport will get travel money and buy-ins to ten huge poker events in the year 2008.

December

Sunday Warm-Up guarantee increases--In yet another sign of its popularity, the Sunday Warm-Up's guarantee was increased for the second time in a year. Now, the guarantee is a cool half million dollars every week.

PokerStars introduces Mac client--At long last, PokerStars satisfied the legions of people who spend their days in front of the Mac. The beta version of the PokerStars Mac software is available at the PokerStars Mac Download page.

Arnaud Mattern wins EPT Prague--It took a Frenchman to best the field in the final EPT event of 2007. Arnaud Mattern won the record-setting EPT event in Prague for €708,600.

Arnaud Mattern

Grant Levy wins APPT Grand Final--The APPT celebrated a successful first season in Sydney where Grant Levy played the homefield advatange to a AUD$1 million win in the APPT Grand Final.

Grant Levy

Hachem celebrates first win in Australia--Joe Hachem is a world champion in poker, but he had never won an event in his home country. That changed when he won the APPT Tournament of Champions. Sure, his winnings all went to charity, but a win is a win, right?

Santa Claus drops a big dime--To celebrate the holiday season, Santa Claus dropped in on the PokerStars tables and threw a party to the tune of around $10,000 of gifts to random PokerStars players.

PokerStars hits 150,000 simultaneous players--Less than two years after setting the world record for number of simultaneous players, PokerStars had its biggest day ever. On December 30th, more than 150,000 players logged on to play on PokerStars at the same time.

VIP Club Players have huge year--PokerStars players continued to take advantage of the best VIP program in online poker. More than 3,400 players earned more than 100,000 VIP Player Points and achieved Supernova status. Nearly 40 players earned a startling one million VIP Player Points and achieved Supernova Elite status.

One of the greatest benefits of being a PokerStars player is having access to some of the greatest poker minds on the planet. From time to time, we have an opportunity to mine the poker knowledge of the Team PokerStars Pros.

What is is like being a member of Team PokerStars Pro?

This is probably the one thing people want to know about the most, so let's start here. There is much more to being a poker pro than playing in big games. Although, as a member of Team PokerStars Pro, I occasionally get sponsored to play in certain events, there is a whole lot more to these games than simply showing up. When I am scheduled to participate in an event out of the country, I have to clear my personal and business calendar to give myself the time to go. It is essential that I have peace of mind and a chance to recover from jet lag so I can play at the top of my game. Now, if several events are scheduled close to each other, I really have to block off a large chunk of my time from my various affairs.

The last 5 weeks are a great example. I was one of 20 or more poker pros who participated in a WPT Boot Camp in the Bahamas. This event quite literally took 7 days. Five days at the event and another two for traveling. I did not even get the chance to go home. I had to go straight from the Bahamas to Ohio. I played in a tournament at the Argosy, an Indiana riverboat, and worked with a student friend of time on his poker game. Altogether I was gone for 13 days. I only get 5 days at home, and then I am off again to Michigan to spend the holidays with family members. Then back to Las Vegas for 5 days before heading back to the Bahamas. I will be playing in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, and doing interviews, commercials, attending parties and lots of picture taking. Just reading this schedule is exhausting. Being the person who has to do the traveling is even more exhausting. Would I trade my schedule for anything in the world? Not a chance. This is what it is all about! Being invited to and participating in these events make it all worthwhile. I know its a tough job but somebody has to do it.

It's not all solo traveling. Two weeks ago, at the WPT Boot Camp, I was able to mix business with pleasure. I had the opportunity to take a guest along with me and I gave my daughter the opportunity to travel as my companion. She was delighted to go, and we had a lot of quality father-daughter time together, when I wasn't teaching or playing in the Boot Camp tournaments. So, its not all rush, rush, rush with no reward.

There are times in these events when I meet amateur players who have read my books, and would like to get to know me better. Some of them are shy or apprehensive about approaching me and the other pros, but it has been my experience that the majority of fans and amateur players are quite respectful and try to avoid taking up too much of our time. I've met a lot of people on these trips with whom I have stayed in contact with, and become friends. Getting to know them has been an unexpected perk of my hectic schedule. Like anything, being a poker pro has its good points and its bad points. In short, it's what one chooses to make of these experiences that determines if this is the lifestyle for them or not.

Sunday was a huge day for PokerStars. At one point in the afternoon, 150,000 people were logged on to the site at the same time. The Sunday Tournaments were rocking and rolling. While that was the biggest news to come out of the day, another story popped up in the waning hours that can't go without mention.

December 30, 2007 was Day of the Dario. While lots of people were making lots of money on Sunday, one of the most impressive performances came from Team PokerStars Pro Dario Minieri who managed to win the $5,200 Freeze-Out, the High Stakes Showdown, and the $215 Rebuy. Oh, he also went deep in the Sunday Million, placing 42nd out of 1,802.

Here are all the results from Sunday's big tournaments.

PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up Final Table Results
Based on finishing order and three-way deal

1. ael1979 (Cyprus) $74,388.42
2. Madsen88 (Denmark) $57,129.97
3. cheddarmon (United States) $68,127.21
4. ED IS BACK (United States) $30,800.00
5. krmont22 (United States) $24,147.20
6. Norm427 (Canada) $17,864.00
7. Mi||a.TiMe (United States) $12,936.00
8. bot432931 (Belarus) $8,131.20
9. aceviper (United States) $4,804.80

PokerStars Sunday $5,200 Freeze-Out Winner
Based on three-way deal

1. Dariominieri (Italy) $60,214.98

PokerStars Sunday Hundred Grand Final Table Results
Based on finishing order and seven-way deal

1. ohpmachine (Canada) $6,748.03
2. kaffis (Norway) $7,361.40
3. AlyahCarrie (Canada) $7,000.24
4. azryder (United States) $6,941.60
5. JoeFilip (Sweden) $10,267.53
6. MarijNRG (Netherlands) $5,281.20
7. marigold1 (United Kingdom) $5,000.00
8. B.Turner1983 (United States) $1,300.00
9. moppelchen74 (Germany) $1,000.00

PokerStars High Stakes Showdown Results

1. Dariominieri (Italy) $50,000.00
2. Genius28 (United States) $30,000.00

PokerStars Sunday Million Final Table Results
Based on finishing order and four-way deal

1. Mighty_L (Denmark) $253,512.75
2. thechemist83 (United States) $233,152.78
3. Tulkaz (Denmark) $172,145.68
4. Dao69 (United States) $102,714.00
5. Pattymelt15 (United States) $80,549.40
6. McShove (United States) $60,727.40
7. NVmania (Germany) $42,707.40
8. loftus222 (United Kingdom) $26,489.40
9. Belabacsi (Hungary) $15,857.60

The Maracana Municipal Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is the largest soccer (or, if you prefer, football) stadium in the entire world. It can seat somewhere in the neighborhood of 155,000 people at once. At midday in America (ET) and prime time in Europe, the number of people playing at PokerStars could've fillled nearly every seat in that stadium.

In February 2006, PokerStars became the first online poker site to host 100,000 simultaneous players. It was a moment deemed worthy of note by the 2007 Guinness Book of World Records. Less than two years later, on the final Sunday of the year, 150,000 players were sitting at PokerStars' virtual table at the same time. That's the same, if you will, as every citizen of the city of Chattanooga, Tennessee sat down for a poker game simulatenously.

The playing frenzy was evident in the big Sunday tournaments at PokerStars. The quarterly $1,050 buy-in Sunday Million drew more than 1,800 players to compete for a $1.8 million prize pool. The Sunday Hundred Grand event capped out at 20,000 players.

These kinds of days make you thankful for online poker. It's just not easy to find more than 20,000 dealer buttons on short notice...especially on a Sunday.

If I haven't mentioned it before (and that's a joke, because I have probably written about it in every one of my countless tournament reports), I simply love the bubble of a poker tournament. No matter whether it lasts two minutes or two hours, the bubble is the time when a player's true personality and style will present itself. As the prospect of making ten grand or nothing hangs in the balance, it's easy to spot the turtles among the warriors. What's more, if you're only railing with no particular horse in the race, it's easy to root for the folks who are in the event on a freeroll or playing for their first-ever cash. There is simply no other point in a poker tournament that is like the money bubble. It is unique in its tension and opportunity. I just love it.

The 2006 PCA bubble reflected in one of the Atlantis mirrors

One of my favorite PCA bubbles came in 2006 during the main event. It was a bubble where one stack was on the verge of melting into the felt. Blinds and antes would eat it up before the next orbit was finished. It was the kind of stack that served as an antonym for the term "fold equity." For the unfortunate player behind the stack, there was not so much pressure as an inevitability.

He didn't have one Grim Reaper standing over his shoulder. He had a dozen members of the media and more than a few other shortstacks peering down and waiting for the moment his 600 chips would disappear. In fact, there were 131 other people who were all hoping the bubble would pass and they could get on with winning the tournament. By and by, this player's final two black chips were in the middle. With the benefit of recorded history, we can actually step inside this player's head for a second. We now know that he got his final two chips in with...a wired pair of kings. We know that he very likely felt like he might have a chance at hanging around for a little longer. We know that he probably wanted to kiss the guy on the button when he came in for a raise. A little protection is never a bad thing.

And then something odd happened. Whether it was a desire to end the bubble silliness or decent holdings, both blinds called. The man behind the kings couldn't have felt any joy in this development. Furthermore, when the flop came Q88, the blinds checked, but the button was not content to check it down. Instead, he bet out. The small blind gave up the quest to bust the shortie, but the big blind was not going away. The turn was a seven.

Now, we all assumed the two remaining players would check it down. Not so. From the big blind, Jordan Berkowitz put out a bet. More than a few people muttered, "What the hell?" Then, everyone shut up when the button pushed all-in. With the action back to Berkowitz, the crowd pushed in. Finally, he called all-in. Unless the button was just an imbecile, it was fairly clear the bubble was about to break. But how? Well, just like this.

With the board reading Q887, two players were all-in and the button had a lot of chips in the middle. We know the original shortstack had kings-up. Berkowitz? He had turned exceptionally lucky. He held pocket sevens and now held sevens full. In hindsight, he wasn't so much lucky as very, very unlucky. The button held pocket queens, known in some circles as the second nuts.

Berkowitz realizing he is second-best

No king or seven appeared on the river, and on a breeze of relief-sighs, the bubble of the 2006 PCA main event evaporated in the air.

Stay tuned for the 2008 bubble...coming about nine days from today.

Previously:

2008 PCA Primer

PCA Memories: Behind the Scenes

PCA Memories: Gentleman John Gale

The Great Button Mystery of 2006

Setting Sail

Curse of the Caribbean Adventure

Curse of the Caribbean Adventure? Sounds like the next generation of the Jack Sparrow tales, doesn't it?

Well, it would if this were Hollywood. It's not, though. This is all real.

The year the PCA arrived at Atlantis, everything followed so close to the plan, it was almost spooky. Almost as if PokerStars and its players were being led to the slaughter. Not only did PokerStars and the World Poker Tour decide to tape the final table outside, they had decided to do it on a place that sounded decidedly spooky: The Dragon Deck.

At 11:22am on the final day of 2005 play, the cards went in the air. For a moment, it seemed as though nothing coould go wrong. The skies were blue, the smiles were big, and the dealer was shuffling up. Even better, just a few hands into play, the entire table stood up and sang Happy Birthday to Miami John Cernudo. It was a joyous time.

It lasted eight minutes.

By 11:30am, the WPT was suffering from a technical problem with one of their cameras. It was an issue that only last five minutes. That, however, was long enough to get people wondering if there wasn't some other odd force in the air. At 11:39 am, only 17 minutes after the first hand began, the curse finally struck. Eventual runner-up Alex Ballandin had just come in from the cutoff for a raise when everything went dark.

Well, not actually dark. It was midday in the Bahamas, after all. However, the power had gone out, effectively killing all the TV lights and cameras. At first, we thought the WPT's big lights had blown a fuse. It soon became clear, the curse was much bigger than first thought.

The power on the entire island was down.

It would only take half an hour to get everything up and running again on an Atlantis generator. Still, the curse had presented itself like a real-life Brady Bunch Hawaiian vacation.

So, now you're sitting there and saying, "So, what? The power went out."

Well, yeah, it didn't seem so significant at the time.

It seemed a lot more significant a year later at 2:32pm, when I asked--and not rehetorically--"Um...who turned out the lights?"

Once again, right in the middle of the final table, the whole of the casino's power grid went south. It took a full half hour to send the curse packing. Indeed, PokerStars had spent a full 20 days over two years at the Atlantis Resort and Casino. The power had remained on for the entire time...except for when the final tables were underway.

In 2007, the power managed to stay on and that turned out to be a very good thing. It was well after dark on an inordinately cold night when Ryan Daut sent Isaac Haxton to the rail in second place. The curse, however, did not take a vacation.

Let me preface this by saying, the Atlantis is usually a very nice, well-kept, and well-maintained hotel. Got it? Okay. That's my way of saying, I've never seen anything like this at Atlantis...before or since.

The final table began at 10:49am. The players got in a full hour of play before taking a break to warm up. During the break, a smell began to settle across the casino floor--a sulphurous, eye-stinging, make you wish you'd died that morning kind of smell. A quick call to a paranormalist plumber revealed that the curse had struck in the casino's bathroom. An entire wall of urinals in the men's room had essentially exploded from the inside. It was, to be quite polite, a mess. Despite the cold wind, we were pretty happy to get back outside for the completion of the final table.

This year, the Curse of the Caribbean Adventure is going to have to work harder to cause problems at the final table. Now that the PCA is a European Poker Tour event, organizers have decided to move the final table indoors to a television set. The move will allow more people to watch the final table live, both in person and on EPT Live.

That said, I'm not entirely sure the Curse is an exclusively outdoor pet. So, if you're joining everybody at this year's PCA, watch your back...and your power cords.

Over the past few years, the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure has become a sort of institution at the Atlantis Resort and Casino. In has come to the point that people might have forgotten how the PCA actually got its start.

Four years ago, the PCA didn't have a home. This was a time when the Bahamian Gaming Board didn't allow live poker on the islands. So, instead of brick and mortar, PokerStars decided on boat and sea. The first-ever PCA hosted more than 600 people on the Voyager of the Seas.

By this time, most people who are fans of poker know how it turned out. Hoyt Corkins and Gus Hansen got heads up at the final table. The result: Gus Hansen was the first ever PCA champion. He would be joined in later years by John Gale, Steve Paul-Ambrose, and Ryan Daut.

As it happens, the 2004 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure took place in a time before live blogging of poker tournaments had really found a foothold on the Internet. At the time, there was no such thing as a PokerStars Blog or live tournament coverage on CardPlayer, Bluff, or PokerNews. Still, there was some news coming off the boat. Former PokerStars Poker Room Manager Lee Jones provided a daily dispatch which can still be found at the 2004 PCA pages at PokerStars.com.

These days, you don't have to wait but a few minutes for your coverage of the PCA. This year, the PokerStars Blog will be covering the event and all its fun in at least three different languages. However, we have to wait another week for that. Those PCA memories are yet to be made.

In 2006, I sat in the back of the PokerStars office and readied myself for what was sure to be a very long seven days of blogging. The office had not yet taken on the look of a mid-battle war room. Instead, there was an odd silence and a few looks of consternation.

Everything about the 2006 PCA had been planned down to the letter. All cards, chips, tables, bags, and shirts had been sent to the island well in advance. Among those shipments was a box packed with 100 dealer buttons and cut cards.

Somewhere along the way, that box went missing.

As the eleventh hour drew near, it became increasingly clear that trying to find the box was no longer an option. One industrious PokerStars employee hit the cell phone and got to work. He tracked down the required dealer buttons in Miami. Even better, he found someone who was willing to hand-carry them on a plane to Nassau and get them to Paradise island in time for the opening of the poker room that night.

Somewhere along the way, though, this button delivery man ran into someone else who was going to Paradise Island. That person's name was Chris Moneymaker.

As I wrote in 2006 in the story Of Buttons and Big Games...

With just minutes until the Main Event Super Satellite began, Moneymaker slid into Atlantis with a package of dealer buttons and an extreme appreciation for the fact that no one asked him before he boarded his flight, "Did anyone unknown to you ask you to carry anything on the plane?"

It's not every day that you have a World Series champion as your deliveryman.

That's that PCA, for ya. Something new every year.

In advance of the 2008 PCA, we're looking back at some of the more fun moments and people of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure's history.

The PCA has been a launching pad of sorts for many a poker career. From 2005 winner John Gale to 2006 winner (and, now, Team PokerStars Pro) Steve Paul-Ambrose, the PCA is the tournament that launched a bunch of poker players into the pro-playing world.

Beyond the champions, however, there have been many other people who have made final tables or gone exceptionally deep and used the money to go on to bigger and better things. Among those people was a Swedish guy named Mikael Westerlund.

The PCA was actually the middle of Westerlund's career-launching rush. In 2005, he won a big online tournament, then won the biggest tournament his hometown had ever hosted. On a whim (and because he was dealing with the cold Swedish winter), Westerlund flew to the Bahamas and entered the PCA main event.

"It's hot and I like hot," he said at the time. Westerlund wanted nothing more than to get to the tropics. The hotel was almost full. He couldn't find a flight. Somehow, he made it happen, made it to the Bahamas, and made it to the cage in time to buy in to the event.

He made it all the way to the final table, finished in third place, and won more than $300,000.

Shortly after finishing up at the PCA, I decided to go on the road and start writing about poker all the time. My first stop was the EPT event in Copenhagen, Denmark. There I found none other than Mikael Westerlund. What's more, he again made it all the way to the final table.

Since then, I've seen Westerlund all over the world. Just recently, Westerlund came very close to making the final table of the EPT Warsaw Open. While he's not the biggest poker star in the world, he's still making the rounds three years after his first big PCA finish.

I wonder if I'll see him this year?

Previously:

2008 PCA Primer

PCA Memories: Behind the Scenes

PCA Memories: Gentleman John Gale

It may be time for the jolly old elf to spend some time in a Barry Greenstein master class.

It's hard to say exactly what happened or what brought it on, but Santa Claus hit the tables at PokerStars last night and went off for somewhere in the neighborhood of a big dime. What's remarkable is that Santa dropped his thousands of dollars to hundreds of different players and, sometimes, at very low stakes. Even more fascinating, he managed throw the party without ever playing a hand.





There is a better than reasonable chance Santa may have had a bit of holiday cheer before sitting down. He was seen to type:

"The biggest gift I get is the happiness of the boys and girls playing at PokerStars (provided they are at least 18 or the age of majority in their location!"

"I'm logging in from the Wifi on my sleigh!"

"I play a little [poker]. The Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy sometimes visit me in the North Pole where we play short-handed Badugi."

"Remember, if you have to play a hand like seven-deuce, make sure it's been down the chimney with care.... at least then your cards will be sooted!"

"The last table was at mistook my reindeer for a bunch of donkeys..."

"There are no miracles on 34th street in poker. Positively, fifth street is as far as my magic reaches."

"[Rudolph] has an awful tell. When he has a good hand, his nose glows."

Regardless of what brought it on, Santa Claus made sure many of the good boys and girls at PokerStars had a merry Christmas.

That's better than losing to a two-outer any day.

If you're playing poker today, heed this advice from an old blogger.

No slow rolling.

No abusive chat.

Try not to draw to gutshot straight draws without the proper implied odds.

Not only is it in the spirit of the season, there's a list out there. In fact, there are a couple lists. There's one you want to be on and one you don't.

So, I'm not saying anything else for the time being. Just keep an eye on your PokerStars tables for a jolly old elf who looks a lot like this.

Without question, the Sunday Million is and for the foreseeable future will be the biggest thing that happens every Sunday. However, there is quite a contest that's been happening for the past couple of weeks that's worth mentioning. The Sunday $5,200 Freeze-Out is a winner-take-all no-limit hold'em event that doesn't allow any deal-making at the final table. The 20 player-max event is essentially a two-table SNG with one $100,000 winner. This week, the well-respected MrSmokey1 took down this week's contest.

Below are the results from all the big Sunday events.

PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up Results (12-23-07)

1. ladyluck00 (Canada) $97,700.00
2. Inf3rnal (Germany) $49,500.00
3. nenita02 (Spain) $32,950.00
4. drood (Canada) $26,500.00
5. LeGod74 (United Kingdom) $21,000.00
6. donk00 (Canada) $15,950.00
7. Werthefugawi (United States) $11,450.00
8. BARBARIAAN (United Kingdom) $7,200.00
9. bruilar (Austria) $4,200.00


PokerStars Sunday Hundred Grand Results (12-23-07)
Based on finishing order and three-way deal

1. Lotsa Leaks (United States) $16,176.28
2. runner1173 (United States) $10,000.00
3. P4ntherF4n (United States) $10,500.00
4. legreat00 (Canada) $4,956.26
5. miraculix06 (Switzerland) $2,973.76
6. Sutednbooted (United States) $1,982.51
7. jyiovan (United States) $1,586.01
8. mm-nh (Italy) $1,288.63
9. 1stbroker (United States) $991.26


PokerStars High-Stakes Showdown Results (12-23-07)

1. MezmerizePLZ (United States) $50,000.00
2. Dariominieri (Italy) $30,000.00


PokerStars Sunday $5,200 Freeze-Out Results (12-23-07)

1. MrSmokey1 (United States) $100,000.00


PokerStars Sunday Million Results (12-23-07)

1. Romanoff11 (Sweden) $192,116.80
2. littlepotato (United States) $100,066.40
3. snider (Canada) $72,010.40
4. andy914 (United States) $56,112.00
5. Bluffman9000 (Canada) $42,885.60
6. TheSlyOldFox (United Kingdom) $30,728.00
7. Farcry (Norway) $22,044.00
8. benmar (Canada) $13,360.00
9. bark1976 (United States) $8,283.20

In advance of the 2008 PCA, we're looking back at some of the more fun moments of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.

On PokerStars' first trip to Atlantis and Resort and Casino in 2005, the blank canvas of the Bahamian poker scene was evident. One night, an announcement came over the PA system that the first ever live cash game hand of poker was being dealt in the back of the room. It was a $10/$20 limit hold'em game and the first hand resulted in pocket kings getting sucked out on by a flush draw.

Somewhere across the room sat a relative unknown. A man named John Gale, a man who had precious little tournament experience, was building his stack and comfortable in his anonymity.

Within a few days, most people there would know the gentleman from England. Still, there would be a lot to learn. As I wrote at the time...

John Gale was sitting in the lobby smoking one in a series of Marlboro Red cigarettes and filling out the player biography sheet for the World Poker Tour producers. Gale is not a nervous man. In fact, he's an English gentleman from Bushey, a little town outside London. But when he needs a smoke (about every ten to 15 minutes), he really needs a smoke.

"It's terrible, isn't it?" he said to me yesterday after stealing away into the lobby in between final table hands.

Now that he's made it to the televised final table, he has time to relax a little bit.

But sitting in the lobby, he had a problem.

"I can't answer this question," he said, pointing to the player bio questionnaires. His wife was hovering over him, as was the producer for the WPT. Gale was smiling.

"My biggest loss," he mused. "I can tell you about my biggest win, but my my biggest loss? My wife is standing here."

It was typical of Gale's dry sense of humor. Twenty-four hours later, the same smile would creep up as Gale became a PCA champion. During his time at the final table, Gale would solidify his reputation as a gentleman, grabbing each opponent in a genuine hug as he sent them to the rail.



Since then, Gale has become an international poker pro. He has that WPT title, as well as a World Series bracelet. What's more, if he's met you once, there's a good chance when he sees you again, he will greet you by your first name and embrace you like a long-lost friend.

To this day, many people still consider Gale to be among the friendliest players on the circuit.

And it all started at the 2005 PCA.

Previously:

2008 PCA Primer

PCA Memories: Behind the Scenes

In the run-up to the 2008 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, there exists a bit of nostalgia. I've been fortunate enough to attend every one of PCA trips at the Atlantis Resort and Casino. It's been fascinating to watch the event and prize pools grow every year. I always walk away with both professional and personal memories. Over the next couple of weeks, we'll take a look at some stories and pictures from past years as both a trip down memory lane and a psyche-up for this year.

While most people know the PCA they see on TV (the final table held on the Dragon Deck overlooking some really blue water), few people see what happens behind the scenes...where the real poker and stories happen.

For instance, Atlantis is a really classy joint. Because it's a place where the hyper-rich like to play, there isn't a lot of patience for silliness. However, in the fog of war that is a poker tournament, some things can get overlooked. For instance, as play drags deep into the evening and chips are flying everywhere, one fatigued warrior can be left to his own respite...even if it happens on the edge of tournament play. The photo below is presented only because it's the ever time I've seen it happen.

The sleeper, circa 2006

While some people rest, others work. Take, for example, Joe Hachem. In January 2006, Hachem was still the reigning World Series champion. Because the poker media were still trying to get a feel for who Hachem was, he was continually referred to as a "former chiropractor." The description was not lost on the PokerStars staff. In fact, during the middle stages of the 2006 PCA, I found Hachem doing an impromptu adjustment gratis. It's not that often you find a world champion returning to his old day job.



One of my favorite pictures from any PCA came in 2006 when Lee Jones ran into the PokerStars office and yelled, "Brad, get your camera!" In the hall, I found this.



That same year, PokerStars kicked off the first-ever World Championship of Battleship Poker (an event with a hilariously disputed pedigree)

Since then, the Battleship event has become part of the annual schedule at the PCA. This photo is Greg "Fossilman" Raymer playing in the first-ever Battleship event.



More memories to come. Or if you prefer, see the PCA section in the right sidebar for coverage from all the previous events.

Please see any of the links below to read our coverage from Season 1 of the Asia Pacific Poker Tour.

APPT TOC

APPT Sydney

APPT High Roller

APPT Macau

APPT Seoul

APPT Manila

Portions of this primer have been taken from previous PCA how-to posts. Everything here is updated for the 2008 adventure.

For 51 weeks out of the year, the Atlantis Resort and Casino is home to some of the world's elite travelers. Obscenely expensive yachts float in the marina. Celebrities walk without their entourage. Oh, and nobody plays poker.

For the past several years, the environment has changed in the first half of January. Hundreds of people come from all over the world to compete for millions of dollars in prize money while soaking up the kind of sun you just don't find in the northern hemisphere's winter.

In just a few weeks, the 2008 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure will again invade Paradise Island. If you're a veteran, you already know how much fun it can be. If this is your first time, take a few minutes to review some of the finer points. As I've been to every one, I've included among the basic information some details you won't find in the travel brochures.

Getting there

By this point, you should also have already booked your flight. This will likely land you at the airport in Nassau (there are sea planes that fly directly up to Atlantis, and if you've done this, you're already a step ahead).

When you land at the Nassau airport, you'll quickly find your way to baggage claim and customs. When I went through last year, it took me very little time to make it through. Don't forget your passport. It will make your life 100% easier. The airport is small and it's just a few steps from baggage claim to the ground transportation area. Once outside, there should be a long line of cabs and limos waiting for guests of the island.

Here's a tip: Chat up the people on your plane before you land and find out how many of them are headed to Atlantis. Then, find a mini-van or SUV cab and fill it up. There might be a per person surcharge on the cab, but splitting the cab fare is the way to go. In the past I have split the cab with dealers, players, and couples. Usually, I pay around $27 for my ride to Atlantis. However, to be on the safe side, I'd suggest you have at least $50 in your pocket per person in your party when you land (I would expect, as poker players, you'd have much more, but make sure you are carrying some cash, regardless). Also, American dollars spend just fine in the Bahamas, so you don't need to worry about exchanging your cash if you are form the States.

Depending on the traffic, it will take you a half hour or so to get from the airport to Atlantis. You will likely ride through Nassau's bustling downtown (a place where all the cruise ships let off their passengers for a day of shopping and such) and then over a bridge to Paradise Island. Depending on your cab driver and his/her tolerance for traffic, you might also end up on some of Nassau's back streets. This is faster, but not nearly as pretty. Either way, in 30 minutes you should see a giant salmon-colored structure they call Atlantis.

The picture does the place little justice. It is as huge as it is beautiful. Here's a short snippet from something I wrote after my first trip to Atlantis:

As a guy who likes to play around with words, I'd like to come up with a nice way to describe the enormity of the property. I find myself lacking. Instead, I can only relate what one helpful lady told me when I asked where I was going.

"It's about a twenty-minute walk that way," she said, her pointing finger only making it an inch or two along the marbled walkway I'd eventually find myself treading along.

In short, it's big. You will get lost. Do not be ashamed.

Once there, go to the main desk and check in. Your room should be reserved in your name. Find your room, chill out, and check out Atlantis.

Among the first the first things you should do is go to the PokerStars hospitality desk to pick up your premium bags, participant's bracelet, and a schedule of events. Do not forget to do this. The bags are top of the line and contain more cool stuff than can you can imagine. The participant's bracelet will get you into the big parties. The schedule will make sure you know when everything is happening. Don't mess around and forget to do this. You'll find the PokerStars hospitality desk outside the poker room (also known as the Atlantis Grand Ballroom).

The parties, the poker, the paradise

If you arrive on January 4th like most folks, you will have time to yourself until early evening. That's when the fun will start. PokerStars will be throwing you a big party. Prepare to enjoy yourself. If the event is anything like years past, the food and drink will be fantastic. You will also have a chance to meet the PokerStars staff and all the members of Team PokerStars. DO NOT FORGET TO WEAR YOUR PARTICIPANT'S BRACELET. Without the bracelet, you're not getting into the party.

A word or two on the PokerStars staff: These folks have been working for the past year to make this a great event and there will be several members of PokerStars' team on-site to make sure you have a great time. Most of the time, the staff will be wearing staff shirts with the PokerStars logo on them. Feel free to introduce yourself and ask for help when you need it.

After the party, the poker room will open. Over the course of the week, in addition to the main event, you'll be able to play just about anything you want. Cash games, SNGs, and tournament satellites will be running every day until around 4am. Over the course of the week, there will also be side multi-table tournaments. So, even if you get knocked out of the main event early, you'll still be able to play poker all week.

There will be limited hours each day during which you will be able to get money from your PokerStars account.

The Main Event

Starting on January 5, the big event starts. Flight A will begin playing on that day. Flight B will play Day 1 on January 6. When you arrive, be sure to confirm your flight assignment. It is your responsibility to be sure you are in your seat when play begins.

Tournament Director Mike Ward (some of you may know him from other PCAs or from Foxwoods) will be the point man for the main event. Listen to him. He knows what he's talking about and will steer you in the right direction.

From there, it's all up to you. Still, there will be a lot going on around you that you should be ready for.

First, the PCA is a big deal. The European Poker Tour cameras will be there and you never know when you'll end up in their sights. Many members of the major poker media will be there covering the event, as will some of the biggest magazines and newspapers around the world. That's not to mention, members of PokerStars Team Blog will be in your face...all the time.

So, let's talk a little bit about how we work.

From the moment the party starts on the 4th until the final hand is dealt at the final table, we'll be around with a cameras, note pads, and way too many questions. We'll be taking pictures and updating this blog all day, every day.

That's me. Chances are I'll look a lot like that (blissfully tired) when you see me.

A few things to remember: We're going to want to know your name and PokerStars screen name. You don't have to give it to us, but it would be nice. We won't bother you when you're in a hand. More often than not, we'll crouch down beside you and try to catch you for a few seconds after you've folded. We'll also be taking pictures like mad and posting them for the folks back home. And while we're pretty good at counting piles of chips without touching them, we might ask you how many chips you have. If you know, just tell us. It'll make things easier.

Chip counts, obviously, are important. However, everyone should remember that we won't have a chip count on everybody at all times. In the first couple of days, you can expect day-end chip counts as well as updates from time to time on the people who have chipped up early. But, don't expect to see how everybody is doing at all times. It just doesn't work like that.

Finally, even more than tournament reporting, we enjoy telling stories. So, we may pull you aside during breaks and interview you a little bit. And if you have a great story to tell about how you got to the PCA or something that's happened to you while you're there, pull us aside and let us know. The only thing we don't want to hear are bad beat stories (unless, of course, you pay us the Lee Jones' mandated $1 fee, in which case, we'll listen happily).

Other stuff

Since most of you are online poker players, there might be the occasion that you want to play online while in the Bahamas. That means, you'll want to know about high-speed access. The Atlantis system is set up as follows:

Guest rooms access is usually spotty (although we've heard rumor of improvements)

Pool decks are WiFi hotspots

Hotel lobbies are WiFi hotspots

Marina is a WiFi hotspot

WiFi access is $10 for 24 hours

Remember, while it is very close, the Bahamas is not in the U.S. So, if you want to keep in touch with the folks back home and do it cheaply, you might want to consider Skype.com.

If you're not bringing a laptop, consider buying an international phone card before you leave home. It could end up saving you a lot of money and keeping the folks back home happy--especially if your wife is like mine and likes to make sure you haven't lost a limb in an unfortunate late night rock-climbing accident.

Finally, if you've never been to the Bahamas, check out this link for a page dedicated to Bahamas information.

Veteran Tips

While the above information is the most important, there are some other things you might want to know during your time away from the tables. Here are some tips compiled from three previous adventures.

Best place to play online: The Coral Tower lobby lounge is online poker's version of a LAN party, especially during the Sunday Million. Even better, it has a bar and restrooms within a ten-second walk.

Best time to get a sunburn: Er, when the sun is out. Despite the comfortable temperatures and early sunset, a couple hours in the sun without sunscreen will result in a sunburn. Trust me on this one.

Best place to grab a late night drink: The Atlas Bar and Grill and Dragon Bar stay open later than any other bar at Atlantis. The Atlas is a laid back place where you can grab some food and a drink. The Dragon Bar is more of a nightclub. Both are inside the casino.

Best place to watch football games: The area around the bar in the Beach Tower usually attracts football fans. If you're looking to root on playoff teams, this is your best bet.

Best place to find comfort food: Murray's Deli has great hours and a wide selection of food, not to mention a really good selection of sandwiches. Murray's is located in the Marina near the casino entrance to the hotel.

Best place to eat with a large group: The Marina boasts of a Carmine's, perfect for big tables of family style Italian.

Best place to take your significant other for dinner: This one is a tie. If you're a red meat person, hit the Seafire Steakhouse. If you're looking for something different, hit Nobu.

Best way to avoid getting in trouble: Do not under any circumstances swim where you shouldn't. This should be pretty obvious. If you have questions, ask. Also, avoid the guys on the beach selling drinks in coconut shells, especially any person referring to himself as Dr. Feelgood.

Best way for your family to watch you at the final table: EPT Live. In fact, EPT Live will be providing live coverage of featured and final tables for the last two days of the event. It's a great production with expert analysis from all the big names: Daniel Negreanu, Greg Raymer, Vanessa Rousso, Barry Greenstein, and more.


Any other questions, feel free to grab a member of the PokerStars staff. They're good people and will answer any question except how you should play AK to a raise in middle position.

If you read this blog, chances are you already know how to use the PokerStars software. If not, or if you'd like a refresher course on some of the more detailed features, PokerStars has just released some brand new tutorial videos that will help you out.

Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu serves as host on the brand new PokerStars videos. In the videos, Negreanu covers the following topics:

Downloading, installing, and creating a new account on PokerStars

Depositing money

Navigating the lobby for ring games

Navigating the lobby for tournaments

Navigating the tables

The videos are available now on the PokerStars tutorials page.

With the Sunday Warm-Up now boasting a $500,000 Guarantee, it seems like all the big Sunday tournaments are picking up steam. Anyone wanting action found it on Sunday afternoon on PokerStars. Here are this week's Sunday tournament results.

PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up Results
Based on finishing order and two-way deal

1. Ch.Krebs1 (Germany) $79,080.20
2. Jadeite (Denmark) $66,000.00
3. THECHISELER1 (United States) $32,373.70
4. Bigstar666 (Netherlands) $26,673.00
5. django3001 (Germany) $21,443.00
6. Dapper Dan G (United States) $16,213.00
7. Couperou (Belgium) $11,401.40
8. Vuylsteke (United States) $7,217.40
9. E. Uhlen (Norway) $4,184.00

PokerStars Sunday Hundred Grand Results

1. Gary0317Gary (Canada) $20,000.00
2. passiveplays (United States) $10,000.00
3. Roosi44 (Poland) $7,000.00
4. SpaceyFCB (Belgium) $5,000.00
5. cadkid55 (United States) $3,000.00
6. harryfitz (Ireland) $2,000.00
7. somchaai (United Kingdom) $1,600.00
8. B4NOON (Canada) $1,300.00
9. soze007 (France) $1,000.00

PokerStars High Stakes Showdown Results

1. zangbezan24 (Canada) $25,000.00
2. Dariominieri (Italy) $15,000.00

PokerStars Sunday Million Results
Based on finishing order and three-way deal

1. BigRiskky (United States) $165,552.01
2. holdplz (United States) $93,160.00
3. Carden72 (Australia) $95,983.59
4. PokerSkiBum (United States) $54,152.00
5. joacb (Brazil) $40,614.00
6. CrossyDC (United Kingdom) $29,783.60
7. Rover10 (United States) $20,983.90
8. maxit11 (Denmark) $12,184.20
9. v1ckster (United Kingdom) $7,987.42

By Sean Callander


PokerStars Video Blog




The Shane Warne Foundation is now $50,000 better off after the charity’s patron and Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem won the first PokerStars.net APPT Tournament of Champions.

Holding an 8:1 chip lead over fellow Team PokerStars Pro Greg Raymer, Hachem had been blessed with a run of cards after the dinner break, which continued when Raymer decided to take a stand on the fifth hand of heads-up play.

Unfortunately, his Qs Js was up against Hachem’s Ac Ks, and the board of 8h 8c 8s Kd 10h ensured the 2005 world champion would collect his first win on home soil.

The face of poker in Australia, Hachem said he was thrilled to end the year on such a high note and would take delight in delivering a cheque for $50,000 to the Shane Warne Foundation.

“The Shane Warne Foundation distributes funds raised to established charities that provide essential help and services to seriously ill and underprivileged children. It’s a great cause and the foundation helps a lot of people. From a personal standpoint, it fills a gap that I’ve been looking for to give something back,” he said.

It’s been a great 24 hours for Australian poker, with Grant Levy winning the APPT Grand Final and Hachem triumphing over three other world champions and four APPT title winners in the Tournament of Champions.

The PokerStars.net APPT wraps-up our commitments at Star City in Sydney, Australia and puts a cap on the highly successful inaugural season. See you in 2008!

PokerStars Video Blog
Ali interviews Joe Hachem


Scotty Nguyen busts out:



Grant Levy busts out:


Brett Parise busts out:

By Sean Callander

Just like that – we’re down to the heads-up battle for the first PokerStars.net APPT Tournament of Champions title, and what a line-up.

It’s world champion v world champion as 2004 WSOP champion Greg Raymer and 2005 WSOP champion Joe Hachem prepare to do battle. To be fair, Raymer faces an uphill battle – Hachem holds a 8:1 chip lead as they prepare to play heads-up for the first time.

Levy is free to get some well-earned sleep after he raised under the gun to 15,000 and Hachem called out of the big blind.

The flop comes 3c 9d 4c, Hachem checked, Levy bet 21,000, Hachem added an extra 50,000, Levy said all-in and Hachem called.

“Ship it” is the cry as Hachem lands pocket nines for top set, while Levy shows pocket kings. The turn and river are queens (Scotty Nguyen’s head is in his hands after folding a queen).

Hachem’s tasty run of cards continued on the next hand when Scotty pushed all-in for 55,000. Hachem showed pocket aces, and Scotty As 8h. The board isn’t friendly (10s 2s 10h 4c 5s), and Scotty bows out, but not before thanking every single person in the room and sharing in a rendition of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” with Joe and Greg for the TV cameras.



Latest chip count:

• Joe Hachem 830,000
• Greg Raymer 70,000

PokerStars Video Blog
Ali interviews Grant Levy at the break

By Sean Callander

Barely 10 minutes have passed since players returned from the dinner break before Brett Parise became the fifth player eliminated from the PokerStars APPT Tournament of Champions.

Hoping to win $50,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Parise pushed in his entire stack on a board of Ad 8d 2h Qh but received a prompt call from Joe Hachem.

Parise, who won the APPT Manila main event after winning a seat via a freeroll on PokerStars, showed Ah 8s for two-pair, while Hachem trailed with As 9d.

Needing a queen or a nine, the 9h duly arrived on the river for Hachem, sending Parise, the likeable 22-year-old originally from Indiana, on his way.

Knowing what it takes to fulfil all the obligations after winning a major poker tournament (two in Joe’s case), Hachem led the audience in a round of applause for APPT Grand Final winner Grant Levy, who’s barely had any sleep since taking out the $1 million first prize just 17 hours ago.

Latest chip count:

• Joe Hachem 550,000
• Scotty Nguyen 167,000
• Grant Levy 109,000
• Greg Raymer 74,000

By Sean Callander

Barely 10 minutes have passed since players returned from the dinner break before Brett Parise became the fifth player eliminated from the PokerStars APPT Tournament of Champions.

Hoping to win $50,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Parise pushed in his entire stack on a board of Ad 8d 2h Qh but received a prompt call from Joe Hachem.

Parise, who won the APPT Manila main event after winning a seat via a freeroll on PokerStars, showed Ah 8s for two-pair, while Hachem trailed with As 9d.

Needing a queen or a nine, the 9h duly arrived on the river for Hachem, sending Parise, the likeable 22-year-old originally from Indiana, on his way.

Knowing what it takes to fulfil all the obligations after winning a major poker tournament (two in Joe’s case), Hachem led the audience in a round of applause for APPT Grand Final winner Grant Levy, who’s barely had any sleep since taking out the $1 million first prize just 17 hours ago.

Latest chip count:

• Joe Hachem 550,000
• Scotty Nguyen 167,000
• Grant Levy 109,000
• Greg Raymer 74,000

By Sean Callander

The honour of being crowned the first PokerStars.net APPT Tournament of Champions winner will be decided among Team PokerStars Pros Joe Hachem and Greg Raymer, APPT Manila winner Brett Parise, APPT Grand Final champion Grant Levy and PokerStars player Scotty Nguyen.

Two of the APPT’s season one winners, Ziv Bachar (Seoul) and Eric Assadourian (Macau High Roller champion), were eliminated just before the dinner break.

Short-stacked, Bachar pushed all-in from late position and Raymer moved over the top, also for his entire stack. The race pitted Bachar’s pocket sevens against Raymer’s Ad Kh. The Israeli stayed in front on the flop of 5c 6s Jd, but Raymer hit a king on the turn to scoop the pot.

Assadourian, the popular pick of the locals to take out this tournament, then followed soon after when he again butted heads with Hachem.

On a flop of Kc 6h 7c, the money eventually made its way into the middle with Hachem showing Jc 6c and Assadourian 8c 9c. The 10c on the turn gave both players a flush, and a straight flush draw, but Hachem had Assadourian outpointed either way.

Players have just returned from dinner (Scotty Nguyen decided to join the TV crew for a spot of camera work). Blinds will be at 3000/6000.


Latest chip count:

• Grant Levy 109,000
• Greg Raymer 73,500
• Scotty Nguyen 167,000
• Brett Parise 187,000
• Joe Hachem 363,500

PokerStars Video Blog
Interview with Eric Assadourian

PokerStars Video Blog
Introduction to the Tournament of Champions



The price of poker has gone up in the 2007 APPT Tournament of Champions in Sydney, and we've reached the final "1-hour" blind level. The blinds are now at 1000/2000, and all future blind levels will reduce to a half hour duration, and the action is sure to heat up! Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem has maintained the chip lead courtesy of his early double-up, and plenty of raising. Greg Raymer and Grant Levy have both also been very active, and Levy has made a nice charge considering he earlier laid down the best hand, and should have tripled up!

APPT Tournament of Champions Chip Counts:

• Joe Hachem 198.5k
• Grant Levy 173k
• Greg Raymer 167.5k
• Eric Assadourian 131k
• Brett Parise 85.5k
• Scotty Nguyen 78k
• Ziv Bacher 66.5k
• Isabelle Mercier OUT (8th)
• Chris Moneymaker OUT (9th)

By Sean Callander

Who said this was going to be a friendly game? The three local players at the table – Sydney’s Eric Assadourian and Grant Levy and Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem from Melbourne – are representing Australia’s two largest cities.

There’s been a simmering rivalry between the cities – separated by 550 miles – for more than a century, dating back to the times when Melbourne was the hub of Australia’s government before the capital was moved to Canberra. You name it, and Melburnians and Sydneysiders will argue about it – even poker.

Eric and Joe have some history at the poker table, dating back to the 2006 Melbourne Poker Championships when Eric eliminated Joe in third place, before going on to win the event.

Both Assadourian and Levy have taken chips off Hachem since he doubled up through Chris Moneymaker, but there’s plenty of chips in play and the blinds are just 500/1000 at this stage. C’mon Joe, do it for Melbourne!! 500/1000 at this stage. C’mon Joe, do it for Melbourne!!

By Sean Callander

Is there a poker player who looks more comfortable at a TV table than Scotty Nguyen? Away from the constant scrutiny that comes with being a famous face in a public cardroom, the PokerStars player is holding court in the TV studio and is clearly enjoying the experience of an afternoon’s play with some new friends – all for a good cause.

It could be a group of guys just enjoying an everyday game of poker, except for the small matter of the six WSOP bracelets and three world championships amassed by the seven players remaining.

That’s right, we’re down to seven after Isabelle ‘No Mercy’ Mercier was eliminated just before the first break.

On a flop of Ad 3d 9d, Greg Raymer led out for 10,000 and ‘No Mercy’ reraised all-in. Raymer called and showed 4d 7d for a made flush, while Mercier needed help. It didn’t arrive and Mercier, a great supporter of the APPT having journeyed across the world from her base in Montreal, Canada to Korea and Macau, is out in eighth position.

Chris Moneymaker started his journey to the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final in style with a cash in the $1600 Six-handed No Limit Hold’em as part of Star City’s Big Game Poker Championships.

However, his APPT Grand Final journey was cut short on day one, and he’s now become the first player to be eliminated from the APPT Tournament of Champions.

Moneymaker crossed paths with Team PokerStars Pro and fellow WSOP champion Joe Hachem after a flop of 9 Q 3 (all hearts). Hachem bet 5000 and Grant Levy, who’s barely 12 hours into his reign as APPT Grand Final champion, made it 17,000 total.

Moneymaker then pushed all in with Ah Qd and Hachem called with 10h 4h. Levy thought long and hard before throwing away what proved to be the best hand (Jh 5h) face up. Two clubs (4 2) on the turn and river ended Moneymaker’s hopes of a $50,000 payday for the Memphis Humane Society.

By Heath Cram

There is no charity on the felt where competitive professional poker is concerned, but today 9 of the most competitive names in the game will line up in the inaugural Asian Pacific Poker Tour Tournament of Champions.

The 9 player field will comprise of 4 Team PokerStars Pros, 4 World Champions and 4 APPT Champions, including yesterday’s 2007 APPT Grand Final Sydney winner, Australian Grant Levy. The players will be vying for the honour and glory of being the first ever APPT Tournament of Champions Champion, with a prize of $50,000 to the charity of each player’s choice, in a prestigious televised event.

The field and charities nominated are as follows:

Seating:

Seat 1 Ziv Bachar 2007 APPT Seoul Korea Champion -- Family Soldiers (Israel)
Seat 2 Grant Levy 2007 APPT Sydney GF Champion -- CARITAS
Seat 3 Greg Raymer 2004 WSOP Main Event Champion -- Bubel/Aiken Foundation
Seat 4 Scotty Nguyen 1998 WSOP Main Event Champion -- Homeless Children
Seat 5 Eric Assadourian 2007 APPT Macau High Roller Champion -- Salvos
Seat 6 Isabelle Mercier 2004 WPT “Ladies Night” Champion -- ALS Research Foundation
Seat 7 Chris Moneymaker 2003 WSOP Main Event Champion -- Memphis Humane Society
Seat 8 Brett Parise 2007 WPT Manila Champion -- Make-A-Wish Foundation
Seat 9 Joe Hachem 2005 WSOP Main Event Champion -- Shane Warne Foundation

Event Preview:



The all-star field has assembled and the cards are in the air, with plenty of poker to be played. Play will commence $100k starting stacks and the three 60minute opening blind levels. There will be no antes in the tournament.

Structure:

1 500 / 500 Duration: 60 min.
2 500 / 1000 Duration: 60 min.
3 1000 / 2000 Duration: 60 min.
4 1500 / 3000 Duration: 30 min.
5 2000 / 4000 Duration: 30 min.
6 3000 / 6000 Duration: 30 min.
7 4000 / 8000 Duration: 30 min.
8 6000 / 12000 Duration: 30 min.
9 8000 / 16000 Duration: 30 min.
10 10000 / 20000 Duration: 30 min.
11 15000 / 30000 Duration: 30 min.

Stay tuned for all of the action and photos, and visit http://www.apptlive.com/ for a live webcast of the event!

By Sean Callander

The journey started in the steamy Philippines capital of Manila in late-August, swept through the bustling metropolis of Seoul in South Korea, made a stop in the world’s gaming capital Macau before culminating in Australia’s biggest city, overlooking some of the world’s most recognisable landmarks.

The first season of the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour has ended with the crowning of the APPT Grand Final champion at Star City Casino in Sydney.

Grant Levy, a teacher from Sydney’s outer-west has become the first Australian player to a $1 million prize on home soil after he outlasted Jeremiah Vinsant from the USA in a marathon heads-up battle that went 67 hands (and a final table of 226 hands).

The 28-year-old father of two had plenty of support at the final table from friends and fellow local players, while his family (and students) kept a close eye on his progress via this blog.

A former rugby league coach, Levy has stamped himself as the hottest property on the local tournament scene. He was third at the PokerNews Cup in Melbourne, outlasting a field of 428 players to finish third (winning $131,800) and has taken down two significant online tournaments in recent months.

Vinsant, who had already planned to dedicate himself to 12 months of major tournaments in 2008, has built himself a handy start bank in claiming the second prize of $621,540.



Another local player, Lei He, captured third place while the other Australian at the final table, Jai Kemp, finished fifth.

Players from more than 30 countries converged on Sydney for the $6000 buy-in event: many of them making their first trip to Australia.

The field of 561 for the APPT Grand Final was the second largest for a big buy-in event in Australian poker history, and generated a prize pool of $3.336 million.

Despite a field that included four world champions (Team PokerStars Pros Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer and Joe Hachem, plus PokerStars player Scotty Nguyen), fellow Team PokerStars Pros Lee Nelson and Isabelle Mercier and WSOP bracelet winner Jeff Lisandro, it was a relative newcomer who conquered the field – continuing a tradition established in earlier APPT events this year.

The winners of the respective events have underlined the diversity of people who’ve been swept up by the excitement and drama of tournament poker in recent years.

Brett Parise: a young student from the USA who won his way to the Philippines via a freeroll on PokerStars and won $180,000; Ziv Bachar, an aspiring 25-year-old poker pro from the Israel who took out the APPT Seoul title and took home $140,000; and Dinh Le, born in Vietnam, living in the UK and etched in poker history as the winner of the first event on Chinese soil as APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open champion.

The APPT has also brought poker to a new audience. Team PokerStars players like Joe Hachem, Daniel Negreanu, Isabelle Mercier, Vanessa Rousso, Lee Nelson and ‘ElkY’ Grospellier have been great ambassadors for the APPT and poker in general over the past four months

In 2008, the PokerStars.net APPT will return. More stops, more innovations, more players, bigger payouts. On behalf of the team who’ve worked tirelessly to bring you all the news from the PokerStars.net over the past four months, thanks for your support and see you in 2008!

Results: PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final, Star City Casino, Sydney, Australia

• 1 Grant Levy (Australia) $1,000,000
• 2 Jeremiah Vinsant (USA) $621,540
• 3 Lei He (Australia) $322,280
• 4 Sol Bergren (Canada) $230,200
• 5 Jai Kemp (Australia) $158,830
• 6 Barry Kohlhoff (USA) $115,100
• 7 John Matwey (USA) $92,080
• 8 Vijayan Nagarajan (Malaysia) $69,060
• 9 Larry Wright (USA) $46,040

PokerStars Video Blog
Grant Levy winner interview:

2.45am – Grant Levy (Australia) wins $1 million, Jeremiah Vinsant (USA), eliminated in second place for $621,540. We have a winner. The final hand was dealt at 2.45am, the 226th of the final table and the 67th of heads-up play when Levy raised to 300,000 on the button and Vinsant made the call. The flop came 6h 3s Qd. Levy bet 400,000, Vinsant raised all-in and Levy insta-called. The Australian showed Qs 6s for two-pair, while Vinsant was in strife with Qh 10c. The turn was a 6d, giving Levy a full house however another queen would have given a Vinsant a chop. But the river is the Ah, and Grant Levy is confirmed as the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final.

2.40am -- Flop hits both players…PokerStars qualifier Jeremiah Vinsent swung back in his chair as he received the bad news on the river, after calling a 1 million dollar bet fired out by Grant Levy on a board of 9d Kd 7h 2s 9s. Jeremiah announced to Grant that he had the King (top pair), but it wasn’t enough as Grant revealed the bad news holding 9-Jack for trip nines.

2.35am -- Blinds are now 100k/200k with 30k ante.

2.30am -- The crowd has been stirring and becoming a little boisterous after half an hour of “walks” and very brief “raise-fold” exchanges between these two solid players. With the raising alternating, and the chips moving back and forth across the table, there are no immediate signs of this battle speeding up or either of these players (who have maintained their concentration) making a loose play. The reality of the 1million dollars prizemoney has certainly hit these two players and neither is giving an inch. Perhaps a new blind level may change things?

2.00am – Levy regains his chip lead on hand 199 – he makes it 475,000 pre-flop and Vinsant calls. The flop is 5c Kh Ks and both players check. The turn is 3c, Vinsant checks, and Levy bets 700,000. Vinsant re-raises to 1.4 million and Levy instantly announces that he is all in. Vinsant folds and Levy shows Kc Jd to rakes in a huge pot.

1.45am – 1.52am actually, and on hand 192 (the 43rd of heads-up play), Vinsant pushes it up to 480,000 pre-flop and Levy calls. The flop shows 8d 2d 4d, Vinsant checks but Levy says he’s prepared to put his opponent all-in. “I call,” Vinsant says in an instant, and shows 8c 7c but Levy (who is actually the all-in player) has a chance to win the hand with any diamond (8h 7d). The turns is 6s and the river 10h, meaning a split pot after some anxious moments for the American.

1.30am --– It’s hand 181 and Jeremiah Vinsant has put Grant Levy to a decision for his entire stack. In the first hand after the break, Levy limped, Vinsant raised from the big blind to 450,000 and Levy called. The flop read 4c 10d Kc, and Vincant got on the front foot with a bet of 500,000. Levy again called, and the turn came 9h. This time Vinsant checked, Levy bet out 1.5 million and Vinsant came over the top for an extra 1.85 million. Eventually, the Australian folds and Vinsant drags in more than 4.8 million in chips. That leaves the chip count at Vinsant 6.3 million; Grant Levy 4.2 million.

PokerStars Video Blog
Larry Wright busts in 9th place



PokerStars Video Blog
Grant Levy leads head-up



Sol Bergren (Canada) busts at 4th place:



1.15am -- Blinds are now 80k/160k with 20k ante and the players have taken a 15 minute break. Australian Grant Levy has been very active since losing a 1.5million pot to Vinsant and is controlling the heads-up action.

Chip Counts:

• Grant Levy – AUS – 6.2 million
• Jeremiah Vinsant – USA – 4.3 million (PokerStars Qualifier)

1.00am -- Jeremiah not dead yet…

On a flop of Kh Jh Js, Jeremiah led out with a bet of 150k and Grant calls instantly.

The turn is a 5 of hearts and Jeremiah doesn't slow down, this time betting 400k.

Grant then announces raise and is met with applause, raising to a total of 1 million dollars.

With little hesitation Jeremiah announces “re-raise all-in”, and Grant goes away.

A much needed pot for the American who recovered some of the chips lost early in this head-up battle.

12.45am -- Chip Counts:

• Grant Levy – AUS – 5.7 million
  
• Jeremiah Vinsant – USA – 4.8 million (PokerStars Qualifier)

No big hands as yet, but Grant Levy has marginally had the edge early in the heads-up battle, as has been the case since the resumption after dinner hours ago. Australian Levy is looking good and the call coming from the crowd and some of his cocky support base is “pretty to watch” and “money for jam!”.

12.30am -- Lei He, Australia, eliminated in third place for $332,280

How much a game can swing in just 15 minutes. In Lei He’s final hand in the APPT Grand Final, their was action aplenty. Local player Grant Levy opened with a raise to 375k, but didn’t last long in the hand when PokerStars qualifier Jeremiah Vinsant raised a million more. It was then over to short stack Lei He, who pushed his last 1.2 million chips in the middle and the original raiser Levy was squeezed out of the all-in pot.





The cards were rolled over:

Lei He: 9c 9h

Jeremiah Vinsant: Js Jd

The board filled out: 5c Qh 8h 3s 8c, sending Lei He from Sydney home with over $300k.

We now have a most intriguing heads-up battle, with the chip counts nearly dead even after Lei He’s elimination. The button will be on Jeremiah Vinsant for the first hand of heads-up action.

12.15am – Very little to report from the final table. The action has been raise – fold – fold in the early stages of this level. The rich are getting richer, with Grant Levy continuing his domination with up over 6 million in chips, while Lei He is pushing the last of his 1.2 million in the middle, but getting no action.

12.05am -- Blinds are now 60k/120k with 15k ante.

The chips are circulating with more folds than bets, but Grant Levy appears to have the ascendancy in this three-handed game, with Jeremiah Vinsant fighting back strongly this level to jump ahead of local player Lei He, who has been very quiet for the past half an hour.

Chip Counts:

• Grant Levy – AUS – 4.6 million
• Jeremiah Vinsant – USA – 3.2 million (PokerStars Qualifier)
• Lei He – AUS – 2.76 million

11.45pm -- Chip Counts:

• Grant Levy – AUS – 3.97 million
• Lei He – AUS – 3.72 million
• Jeremiah Vinsant – USA – 2.85 million (PokerStars Qualifier)
• Sol Bergren OUT

11.30pm – Sol Bergren, Canada, eliminated in fourth place for $230,200. The short stacks had sized each other up on hand 135 in a battle for tournament survival when Jeremiah Vinsant shov ed all-in from the small blind. Bergren called, turning over Ac 4c, while Vinsant (who has Bergren covered) showed Ad 8d. The board didn’t improve either hand (6s 5d 10s 2h Qd). Bergren, who has just arrived in Australia for six months, might be bale to upgrade from youth hostels to some five-star establishments after pocketing more than $230,000.





11.15pm – Whatever Grant Levy ate for dinner, it had the desired effect. In the past two hours, Levy has charged to the chip lead and is monstering the small stacks into submission. Jeremiah ‘Believer82’ Vinsant is now the short stack and has been reduced to all-in bets to pick up even the blinds and antes each round to stay within touch. Play has progressed beyond hand 130 (surpassing the 97 and 105 hands that it took to decide the APPT final tables in Seoul and Macau respectively). But we’re a long weay shiort of the 232 hands it took Brett Parise to conquer the final table in Manila. Players are about to take a 10-minute break, with blinds to resume at 50,000/100,000 and an ante of 10,000.

Final 4 Chip Counts:

• Grant Levy – AUS – 4.1 million
• Lei He – AUS – 3.1 million
• Jeremiah Vinsant – USA – 1.6 million (PokerStars Qualifier)
• Sol Bergren – CAD – 1.1 million (PokerStars Qualifier)

PokerStars Video Blog
Dinner Break Update


11.00pm -- Sol Bergren committed his last million chips and has doubled through at the APPT final table. Bergren shoved from the button and Lei He asked for a count and thought hard before calling.

The cards were rolled over:

Sol Bergren: Qh Jd

Lei He: Ah 9s

The Flop Arrived: Qc Ks 2c, giving Sol Bergren top pair and a genuine lifeline.

Turn: 10c gave Lei an extra opportunity, with a Jack or Ace to make a straight.

"This is torture! torture", said Bergren laughing as the dealer delayed the river.

The River blanked with a 2 of hearts and resulted in a much needed double up for Bergren at the expense of former chip leader Lei He.

Just a hand later, action man Lei He was again asking the dealer for a count, this time he wanted to know how many chips Vinsant had left after his all-in push. Lei He mucked on this occasion but made it clear to his opponents that he is not going to be afraid to put his chips on the line.

10.45pm -- Blinds are now 50k/100k with 10k ante.

In the final hand before the blinds went up American Jeremiah Vinsant took another hit from Grant Levy when trying to take a stand against the Australian barrage this level.





Levy completed the bet from the small blind and Jeremiah checked his option.

The flop came: 2s 3c 8h

Grant led out with 145k and Jeremiah made the most of his position and called.

The turn was a 2 of clubs and Grant fired another bullet with a bet of 230k.

Jeremiah took his time before making it 550k to go.

After going into the tank, Grant announced all-in and pushed Jeremiah off his hand, shaking his head. Grant was nice enough to show again, flipping over the 8d. The Australians have been relentless this level and both have over 4 million chips, with the two PokerStars qualifiers now with approximately 1 million chips each.

10.30pm -- If a PokerStars qualifier doesn’t take down the $1million first prize in tonight’s APPT Grand Final, then it will be an Australian player, and in the past half an hour it has been a convincing display from the two local Sydney-siders Grant Levy and chip leader, Lei He. Both are raising frequently pre and post-flop, as the two PokerStars qualifiers Jeremiah Vinsant and Sol Bergren continue to muck and watch their stacks dwindle.

10.15pm -- Final 4 Players’ Chip Counts:

• Lei He – AUS – 4.2 million
• Grant Levy – AUS – 2.6 million
• Jeremiah Vinsant – USA – 2.1 million (PokerStars Qualifier)
• Sol Bergren – CAD – 1.4 million (PokerStars Qualifier)

10.00pm – Play has just ticked over 100 hands and with no dominant stack, the four players have – temporarily at least – gone back into their shells. To be honest, Lei He hasn’t really come out of his shell all day. The chip leader coming into the final table, the 19-year-old from Sydney’s northern suburbs has a great demeanour for poker. The only player wearing sunglasses and a cap at the final table, he’s well read on the game and has given kothing asway to his opponents. He’s also just three spots away from becoming the first local player to win $1 million in an Australian poker tournament. Five million-dollar prizes have been available in recent years, and have been taken home by John Juanda, Erick Lindgren, Team PokerStars Pro Lee Nelson, Gus Hansen and Jimmy Fricke. Lei He (or Grant Levy) could join that impressive list of names.





9.45pm – Players have returned from the dinner break with blinds up to 40,000/80,000 with a 5000, taking the value of a single round to 140,000. Despite two Australians remaining at the final table, the popular support is certainly with Grant Levy. The crowd has just erupted after the Sydneysider dodged some serious bullets to double through Sol Bergren. The Canadian raised on the button to 250,000 and Levy announced all in from the big blind for an additional 870,000 chips. Bergren called, showing Kc Qc against Levy’s Ah 6h. The flop hit Levy (8d Ac 10c) but gave Bergren a royal flush and straight draw. The Kh on the turn gave Bergren more outs but Levy pumped his fists in the air when the 7s fell on the river. Levy is now up to 2.3 million chips.





Chip Counts:

• Lei He – AUS – 3.6 million
• Sol Bergren – CAD – 3.4 million (PokerStars Qualifier)
• Jeremiah Vinsant – USA – 2.05 million (PokerStars Qualifier)
• Grant Levy – AUS – 1.4 million
• Jai Kemp OUT
• Barry Kohlhoff OUT
• John Matwey OUT
• Vijayan Nagarajan OUT
• Larry Wright OUT

SEATING:

• Seat 1. Lei He
• Seat 2. Grant Levy
• Seat 4. Jeremiah Vinsant
• Seat 8. Sol Bergren

BLINDS

• 22 12000 / 24000 4000 Duration: 60 min.
• 23 15000 / 30000 5000 Duration: 60 min.
• 24 20000 / 40000 5000 Duration: 60 min.
• 25 30000 / 60000 5000 Duration: 60 min.
• 26 40000 / 80000 5000 Duration: 60 min.
• 27 50000 / 100000 10000 Duration: 60 min.
• 28 60000 / 120000 15000 Duration: 60 min.
• 29 80000 / 160000 20000 Duration: 60 min.
• 30 100000 / 200000 30000 Duration: 60 min.

PRIZES:

• 1 - 1,000,000 AUD
• 2 - 621,540 AUD
• 3 - 322,280 AUD
• 4 - 230,200 AUD
• 5 - 158,830 AUD Jai Kemp
• 6 - 115,100 AUD -Barry Kohlhoff
• 7 - 92,080 AUD John Matwey
• 8 - 69,060 AUD -Vijayan Nagarajan
• 9 - 46,040 AUD-Larry Wright

PokerStars Video Blog
Monday forecast tournament of champions



APPT Sydney Grand Final Final Table intro:



8.15pm -- Lei He regains the chip lead

In a fierce battle of the blinds, Lei He has come up trumps to take over a 1 million dollar pot away from chip leader Sol Bergren and take the chip lead.

Sol completed the small blind. Lei He then Raised to 150k in the big blind, and it was back to Bergren. Bergren announced "Raise" which was initially mistaken as an all-in raise. Sol corrected the floor staff and made it another 400k to go.

Lei He then announced re-raise and "all-in" right on the dinner break. With 2.5 million the additional amount bet by Lei He.

It was then into the tank for chip leader Sol Bergren, who had Lei He covered in chips, but couldn’t call and went away minutes later.

It’s Dinner Time at the Star City Casino in Sydney.

Chip Counts:

• Lei He – AUS – 3.6 million
  
• Sol Bergren – CAD – 3.4 million (PokerStars Qualifier)
  
• Jeremiah Vinsant – USA – 2.05 million (PokerStars Qualifier)
  
• Grant Levy – AUS – 1.4 million
  
• Jai Kemp OUT
  
• Barry Kohlhoff OUT
  
• John Matwey OUT
  
• Vijayan Nagarajan OUT
  
• Larry Wright OUT

Play will recommence in approximately an hour and 15 minutes time.

8.00pm -- It’s all about Sol!

PokerStars qualifier Sol Bergren has taken a big chip lead and is enjoying the short-handed play. In a hand just minutes ago, Sol made it 175k to go. Lei He then pumped it up to 475k total.

The action was back to our chip leader who announced “All-In” after deliberating. Bergren has Lei He covered in chips and Lei folds gifting Sol a million dollar pot and the Canadian continues to accumulate at the top of the chip leaderboard. Sol Bergren is sitting pretty with over 4 million in chips, while little is going the way of Lei He in the past 15mins who has been very busy raising many pots.

Meantime, World Champion Scotty Nguyen has been gracious enough to take time out to walk around the floor with microphone in hand to congratulate all of the players, organisers and dealers, with the local crowd in hysterics. Team PokerStars Pro Isabelle Mercier has also graced the tournament floor and the atmosphere with their presence has picked up noticeably.

7.45pm -- Steal gone wrong?

On the very first hand of the evening former chip leader Lei He and Grant Levy mixed it up with Lei He the victor with an all-in push. Come hand 74 and the roles have reversed. The action folded to Lei He on the button who raised it to 170,000. Grant Levy in the small blind then quickly re-raised the minimum to 350,000 with Lei He calling the extra.

The flop came: Qc 10h 5d with both players checking to the turn, where the action heated up…

The turn paired the board, with a 5 of spade.

Levy checks and Lei He bets out 300,000 into the pot. Levy then announced he was all in for 785,000 total. Lei He went into the tank and eventually folds his hand and the crowd goes up when Levy takes down the 1.5 million pot.

7.30pm – After a slow and cautious level 24, things have certainly alive in level 25 with the finish line firmly in sight. The Canadian Sol Bergren has just scooped a massive pot of 2 million. On the button, Jeremiah Vinsant raised to 175,000 and Bergren called from the small blind. Both players checked the flop of 3c 4d Jd, then Bergren bet 250,000 when the 9d hit on the turn. Vinsant called, and watched the 7h land on the river. This time, Bergren popped it up an extra 500,000 and again, Vinsant called. Bergren showed pocket threes for a flopped set, taking down a huge pot.

7.15pm -- Jai Kemp, Australia, eliminated in fifth place for $158,830.
Two players have been eliminated on consecutive hands (20 minutes apart due to filming commitments). The father-of-four pushed all-in from the cut-off for 370,000. Grant Levy called, making the pot worth about 800,000. Kemp was ahead with Ah 7s while Levy showed As 2h. The flop (Kc 2c 6h) gave Levy bottom pair, but the turn (Ad) gave Kemp more outs. The river (4s) missed him – Levy is now up to more than 1 million in chips. However, Kemp was more than happy to have turned an $11 on PokerStars into more than $150,000. “I might have a drink to celebrate, then sleep for four days,” he said. Four players remain: two Australians, one American and one Canadian.



7.00pm – Barry Kohlhoff, USA, eliminated in sixth place for $115,100



The tournament has lost PokerStars qualifier Barry Kohlhoff from the USA.

Kohlhoff eliminated Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem yesterday and put up a good showing to finish 6th after tripling up earlier.

Sol Bergren made it 180k to go from the button, and Barry came over the top from the small blind. Sol asked for a count, with Barry all-in for 570k

Sol then calls and shows down pocket 9's.

Sol: 9s 9h

Barry: A-8 of hearts

The flop came: 6d 9d Ts, no hearts, giving Sol a set, with Barry now looking for a 7 for a straight.

The turn was a blank 4 of clubs and the river a 3 of hearts and Kohlhoff’s tournament is over. Barry Kohlhoff had promised his daughter he would take her shopping this week in Sydney, before going deep. Barry now grins as he has over $100k to go to town with!

6.45pm – Chip Counts:

Players have taken a 10 minute break…

• Jeremiah Vinsant – USA – 3.47 million (PokerStars Qualifier)
  
• Lei He – AUS - 3.37 million
  
• Sol Bergren – CAD - 1.825 million (PokerStars Qualifier)
  
• Grant Levy – AUS – 855,000
  
• Barry Kohlhoff – USA – 640,000 (PokerStars Qualifier)
  
• Jai Kemp – AUS – 385,000 (PokerStars Qualifier)
  
• John Matwey OUT
  
• Vijayan Nagarajan OUT
  
• Larry Wright OUT

6.30pm -- Action slows

The play has slowed considerably this round since the elimination of John Matwey in a 3-way all-in confrontation. Levy has pushed his stack around enough to put him among the chip leaders, and as the player previously offering the most action, he has since steadied. Very little post-flop play this level, with no player keen to commit their chips at this final table. With all of these young players deep in concentration, it appears that it will take an action flop or two big hands to spark up the play any time soon. PokerStars qualifier Jeremiah Vinsant appears to be making the best moves at the moment, and has moved to a clear chip lead.



6.15pm -- Blinds are now 30k/60k with 5k ante.
The price of poker is about to get very expensive with each round costing 120,000. The all-in play is becoming more prevalent, but there are few takers in return. On hand 52, Sol Bergren reraised Vinsant’s pre-flop raise of 105,000 to 330,000. Vinsant called, the flop showed 2s Qh 4c, and then added an extra 500,000. Bergren thought for a moment then declared all-in but both players showed A Q for a rare moment of levity at a final table that’s been lacked much in the way of friendly banter, aside from the affable Barry Kohlhoff.

6.00pm – After a slight hiccup on hand 46 (when Barry Kohlhoff discovered he had three hole cards instead of two), Lei He picks up where he left off with a series of aggressive moves to take down three of ther last five hands. Jeremiah Vinsant, the young online standout from Tennesee has caught up to local hope Lei He and now holds an almost identical stack. Seventh-place finisher John Matwey has just popped by our desk for a quick chat and said he favoured Vinsant to go all the way to victory, but that Levy would be a danger if he chipped up. Let’s see if the New Yorker is on the money!

Chip Counts:

• Lei He – AUS - 3.3 million
• Jeremiah Vinsant 3.3– USA – 3.3 million (PokerStars Qualifier)
• Sol Bergren – CAD - 1.7 million (PokerStars Qualifier)
• Jai Kemp – AUS – 700,000 (PokerStars Qualifier)
• Barry Kohlhoff – USA – 650,000 (PokerStars Qualifier)
• Grant Levy – AUS – 900,000
• John Matwey OUT
• Vijayan Nagarajan OUT
• Larry Wright OUT

Poker Stars Video Blog
Day two Wrap-up


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PS blogs APPT Sydney Archive


6.00pm -- Chip Counts:

By Sean Callander

The sunny skies of the past few days have given way to grey skies outside, but the spotlights are beaming inside the Star Theatre at Star City Casino in Sydney, Australia, where the PokerStars.net APPT has taken over the stage of this massive room.

It’s the business end of the first PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final, which started four days ago with 561 players but just nine players remain in the race for the $1 million first prize.

No Australian player has even won a $1 million prize on home soil before, but a trio of hometown heroes – Grant Levy, Jai Kemp and Lei He – will be hoping to become the first to do so. Lei He is best placed, holding the chip lead on 2,623,000.

Next chip position, just 22,000 behind Lei He, is Sol Bergren from Saskatchewan in Canada on 2,601,000. The final table also includes four Americans – John Vinsant, Larry Wright, John Matwey and Barry Kohlhoff, who promises to be a real livewire at the final table. Vijayan ‘VJ’ Nagarajan from Malaysia makes up the final nine players.

Star City Casino in Sydney is the final venue on the first APPT, which has been a resounding success. More than 1300 players have participated in the four tour events – Manila, Seoul and Macau – putting poker on the map in these countries and introducing millions of Asians to the thrill of tournament poker. Today’s final table and the crowning of the APPT Grand Final champion promises to be yet another highlight for the tour. We look forward to brining you all the action over the next few hours.

• Seat 1: Lei ‘oshapimasian’ He (Australia) 2,623,000
  Seat 2: Grant Levy (Australia) 1,052,000
  Seat 3: Larry ‘ldw1971’ Wright, (USA) 376,000
  Seat 4: Jeremiah ‘Believer82’ Vinsant (USA) 1,649,000
  Seat 5: Vijayan ‘the_rotter77’ Nagarajan (Malaysia) 641,000
  Seat 6: John ‘wymat’ Matwey (USA) 498,000
  Seat 7: Jai ‘Sydney St@r’ Kemp (Australia) 461,000
  Seat 8: Sol ‘shahmat’ Bergren (Canada), 2,601,000
  Seat 9: Barry ‘coolbear’ Kohlhoff (USA) 647,000

Payouts:

• 1 $1,000,000
• 2 $621,540
• 3 $322,280
• 4 $230,200
• 5 $158,830
• 6 $115,100
• 7 $92,080
• 8 $69,060
• 9 $46,040

Seat 1: Lei He, Sydney, Australia (oshapimasian on PokerStars, 2,623,000 in chips): Born in China but now living in Sydney’s northern suburbs, this 19-year-old is so serious about his poker that he considers it a full-time occupation. He’s been a keen poker aficionado for the past three years and won his seat to the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final via a live satellite at Star City Casino. Mainly a cash-game player, he enjoys playing poker with his friends. He enters the final table as chip leader

Seat 2: Grant Levy, Sydney, Australia (1,052,000 in chips): A teacher from Sydney’s outer-west (Penrith), this 28-year-old father of two became a teacher after graduating with a Bachelor of Heath Science and a Diploma of Education (some of his students have been keenly following his progress through the tournament on the PokerStars Blog). He’s also coached rugby league at state schoolboys level. He burst onto the poker scene earlier this year when he finished third at the PokerNews Cup in Melbourne, outlasting a field of 428 players to finish third (winning $131,800).

Seat 3: Larry Wright, Montgomery, Alabama, USA (ldw1971 on PokerStars, 376,000 in chips): This roof contractor qualified for his once-in-a-lifetime APPT Grand Final trip via a $22 direct qualifying satellite on PokerStars. He initially had little interest in poker until a friend (who happened to be a professional poker player) moved in with 36-year-old and shared the secrets of the gamed with him. Work does not allow him much time to play, but he keeps a toe in the water playing small and medium buy-in tournaments online.

Seat 4: Jeremiah ‘John’ Vinsant, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, USA (Believer82 on PokerStars, 1,649,000 in chips): He may not have made much of a splash on the live scene (he placed 482nd in the 2005 WSOP main event), but he’s an emerging star online with more than $600,000 in winnings to his name. The 25-year-old has been playing professionally for two years (and five years in total) and is ranked in the world’s top 35 online players by PocketFives. His online CV includes victory in the 25k Guaranteed event on PokerStars.

Seat 5: Vijayan Nagarajan, Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia (the_rotter77 on PokerStars, 641,000 in chips): One of the more polished players at the final table, this 44-year-old will be representing Asia at the final table of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final. The sales manager for a software company from the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpar has cashed in some of the world’s biggest tournaments. He was 22nd in the 2007 PokerStars EPT European Poker Championships in London and cashed in five events (including three final tables) at the 2006 Festa Al Lago V at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. He also final-tabled in the $1000 No Limit Hold’em event at the 2006 WSOP, finishing ninth.

Seat 6: John Matwey, New York, New York, USA (wymat on PokerStars, 498,000 in chips): A former risk manager in the finance industry, this 45-year-old qualified for the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final just last week. He flew in directly from the Doyle Brunson Five-Diamond Classic where he’d picked up a 10th in the $2000 No Limit Hold’em event. His tournament record also includes a sixth in the $500 No Limit Hold’em tournament at the 2007 Borgata Poker Open, and he cashed (268th) in the 2007 WSOP main event.

Seat 7: Jai Kemp, Sydney, Australia (Sydney St@r on PokerStars, 461,000 in chips): What a dream debut for this business owner from Sydney’s south, who set up his own importing company seven years ago. The father of four (who first started watching poker on TV two years ago) is playing in his first poker tournament and will be one of the three Australian players hoping to become the first to win a $1 million tournament poker prize on home soil. Kemp is assured plenty of support from his family, especially his 11-year-old son who is a massive poker fan and can’t get enough of the pics being sent from the Star City poker room via dad’s mobile phone.

Seat 8: Sol Bergren, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada (shahmat on PokerStars, 2,601,000 in chips): This 27-year-old, who runs a web-based business (he formerly taught computer science), has cashed in two World Series of Poker main events – 252nd in 2005 and 562nd in 2006. He also placed 25th in the $6000 No Limit Hold’em event at the Caribbean Poker Classic in St Kitts last month. A poker player for the past four years, he’s planning to spend the next six months travelling around Australia, and has earmarked surf lessons in Byron Bay as his first stop. He qualified via Steps tournaments on PokerStars.

Seat X: Barry Kohlhoff, Wisconsin, USA (coolbear on PokerStars, 647,000 in chips): The man who claimed the scalp of Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem midway through day 2 of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final is having a great time on his first visit to Sydney. The married father of one has worked in the flooring business for 16 years and has run his own business for the past five years. He’s been a serious poker player for about four years, and plays about 20-30 hours online. A huge NFL fan, he earned a seat to Sydney via an $11 rebuy event on PokerStars and said a top-three finish would make a big difference to life at his home in the northern US state of Wisconsin.


PokerStars video Blog:
Ali interviews PokerStars Pro Lee Nelson and Scotty Nguyen


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PS blogs APPT Sydney Archive

By Heath Cram

Mitchell Price is the latest eliminated from the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final Sydney.

Price shoved his dying stack in the middle with Ace-King suited but it was just unfortunate for him that PokerStars qualifier Barry Kohlhoff woke up with pocket aces in the big blind. Obviously Kohlhoff insta-called and the aces held up on a board of 10h 8d 2s 3h 7c.

116 players took the floor for Day 2 of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final in Sydney, with 9 survivors after over 12 hours of play. A lot of anticipation filled the room as Team PokerStars Pro Lee Nelson, along with World Champions Scotty Nguyen and Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem took their seat, but it was the online qualifiers and lesser known players that dominated proceedings.

Almost half the field on tomorrow’s table found their way to the final via online qualification at PokerStars.

No Australian has ever won half a million dollars playing in a poker tournament on home soil, but two will get their chance tomorrow as the tournament pays out $1million to the winner, and over $620k to the runner-up. Australians will fill one third of the final table, with Lei He, Grant Levy and PokerStars qualifier Jai Kemp all local players vying for the top spot.

The final chip counts and seating assignments have been finalised and are as follows:

Seat 1 Lei He 2,623,000
Seat 2 Grant Levy 1,052,000
Seat 3 Larry Wright 376,000
Seat 4 Jeremiah Vinsant 1,649,000 (PokerStars Qualifier)
Seat 5 Vijayan Nagarajan 641,000
Seat 6 John Matwey 498,000
Seat 7 Jai Kemp 461,000 (PokerStars Qualifier)
Seat 8 Sol Bergren 2,601,000 (PokerStars Qualifier)
Seat 9 Barry Kohlhoff 647,000 (PokerStars Qualifier)

Tomorrow's final table will commence at 2pm (local time) in the Star Theatre, at Sydney's Star City Casino.

By Heath Cram

Tournament directors are re-balancing the tables as we are down to 10 players. The difference between 10th and 9th for these players is a touch over 11.5k, a good night’s sleep and an appearance in the Sydney Star City Casino’s theatre tomorrow for the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final, FINAL Table.

Official 11th place finisher is Mark Walsh from Ireland.

Chip leader, PokerStars qualifier Sol Bergren completed from the small blind with the blinds at 15k/30k. Irish player Walsh sensed weakness and pushed the last of his chips from the big blind, but Walsh didn’t have enough chips to get the chip leader Bergren off his hand, as he quickly called and flipped over a weak 7-4 offsuit. Walsh then showed his Ace-8.

Despite the build up from tournament announcers, the section was over on the flop as the cards fell 3 5 6, giving Sol Bergren the stone cold nuts.

A typically emotionless Bergren gave a wry smile, as the turn and river blanked and he raked in the pot.

By Heath Cram

Gary Diamond is eliminated in 12th place after pushing his last 90k into the pot with Queen-Ten of diamonds. Diamond raised all-in, and PokerStars qualifier Jai Kemp called from the small blind. No sooner had Kemp called and he was mucking his cards, after fellow PokerStars qualifier Sol Bergren re-raised to isolate diamond. An isolation with Pocket Kings.

The flop came: 8h Jd 3h giving diamond a gutshot straight draw, but the 5 and 8 on the turn and river ended his night.

PokerStars qualifier Sol Bergren is the tournament chip leader with over 2.5million chips.

By Heath Cram

After half an hour of very little action, Rabii Maatouk has put his money in ahead only to be dealt a cruel blow on the river.

Maatouk got his last 200+k in with Ace-King suited and was relieved to get a call from table big stack, PokerStars qualifier Jeremiah Vinsent who turned over King-Jack offsuit.

Maatouk looked good until the river with the board filling out Qs 3h 5h 9c and a horrendous Jack of hearts on the river. Maatouk pocketed $23,020 AUD for his effort.

The big survivor this level has been Gary Diamond. Diamond has nursed a stack of under 100k for half an hour, including a double-up and is now guaranteed a minimum of $34,530 AUD that is paid out for places 12th to 10th.

Updated Chip Counts:

• Sol Bergren 2.2 million (PokerStars Qualifier)
• Lei He 2.1 million
• Jeremiah Vinsent 1.3 million
• Grant Levy 900k
• Larry Wright 700k
• Jai Kemp 680k
• Vijayan Nagarajan 470k
• John Matwey 420k
• Barry Kohlhoff 370k
• Mark Walsh 230k
• Mitchell Price 190k
• Gary Diamond 140k

PokerStars Video Blog - Midday Report


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By Heath Cram

The final 2 tables has lost its first player with the elimination of Karib Karib. Karib’s ran into PokerStars qualifier Sol Bergen when re-raising his stack. Sol Bergen with AQ suited against Karib’s hapless 5-6 off suit.

The board filled out 3h 10s 3c Jd 7h

The table assignment and approximate chip counts for the final 2 tables are as follows…

Table 1:

• Seat 1 Karib Karib (OUT)
• Seat 2 Gary Diamond 340k
• Seat 3 Mark Walsh 310k
• Seat 4 Mark Eriksen 760k
• Seat 5 Grant Levy 715k
• Seat 6 Lei He 2.1mil
• Seat 7 Jai Kemp 670k (PokerStars Qualifier)
• Seat 8 Sol Bergen 2.3mil (PokerStars Qualifier)

Table 2:

• Seat 1 Jeremiah Vinsent 690k
• Seat 2 Rabii Maatouk 320k
• Seat 3 Barry Kohlhoff 355k (PokerStars Qualifier)
• Seat 4 Mitchell Price 180k
• Seat 5 John Matwey 165k
• Seat 6 Larry Wright 680k
• Seat 7 Colin Ford 455k (PokerStars Qualifier)
• Seat 8 Vijayan Nagarajan 645k

“These guys are going to build a roof over the top of me!” exclaimed PokerStars qualifier Jai Kemp as he was seated between the two tournament big stacks.

By Sean Callander


We’re only four spots away from the settling the line-up for tomorrow’s PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final at Star City.

With the blinds now at 12,000/24,000 (4000 ante), three players have bowed out since the redraw – Karib Karib in 16th, followed by Colin Ford (15th) and Mark Ericksen (14th).

Ford’s pockets kings looked well placed against the pocket 10s of Jeremiah Vinsant but the flop of Ad Ac 10c gave the Nashville youngster a full house and ended the New South Welshman’s tournament.

Mark Ericksen, the reigning Australian Two-Card Manila champion form the Gold Coast, has also left the tournament area after he was eliminated in 14th. With the board showing 9h 2h 4h, Ericksen moved all in holding pocket sevens but Bergren showed kings. Another king on the turn gave the Canadian a set, extending his chip lead, while Ericksen took home $23,020

By Heath Cram

PokerStars qualifier Jai Kemp has continued accumulating by knocking out Patrick Fletcher in 17th place and subsequently enforcing a break as Tournament Director Danny McDonagh reassigns seats as we move to the final 2 tables.

Fletcher pushed his last 190k into the middle with Ace-Queen but had run into Kemp with Pocket Kings.

The board filled out: 8c 9c 3s 10h 3c and Kemp took down the big pot and progressed to the final 2-tables.

Seat assignments and chip counts to follow…

By Sean Callander

The last remaining Team PokerStars Pro Lee Nelson and last remaining PokerStars player Scotty Nguyen have been eliminated from the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final.

We’d barely processed Guillaume Patry’s elimination in 21st place, and he was followed in quick succession by the two most accomplished players left in the field.

Nelson’s stack had been decimated earlier in the level when he called Mark Ericksen’s all-in bet (holding As 8h) with Ah Qh after a flop of Qc 7d 8c. Well ahead, Nelson’s body writhed in frustration when the Queenslander hit the 8d on the river for trips.

He bowed out soon after to Lei He when he pushed with pocket eights but the Ac on the flop gave Lei He top pair and stayed ahead in the race. Nelson finished 18th.

Scotty Nguyen has again been the consummate professional but the ever-present smile was nowhere to be seen when Larry Wright called his all-in bet of 300,000 on a flop of 9d 6d 5c.

Wright showed the nuts – 8h 7d – while Scotty flipped over As 6h. The 5s on the turn and 4h on the river confirmed Scotty’s exit from the tournament in 19th place.

Julius Colman’s amazingly consistent tournament record now includes 20th in the APPT Grand Final (to go with fourth in the 2007 Aussie Millions and 30th in the inaugural WSOP Europe main event) after he’d pushed in his last 300,000 in chips with As Qh against Sol Bergren’s pocket fours. The board reads 9d 7d 3h 7c Kd, Colman is out and Bergren assumes the chip lead with 1.9 million.

With Patrick Fletcher’s elimination in 17th, the final 16 players are being redrawn into two tables of eight. The average stack is 620,500 and when play resumes we’ll have 22 minutes of level 21 (10,000/20000 with a 3000 ante) to go.

By Heath Cram

Players have taken a 10 minute break, with level 20 claiming the tournament life of PokerStars player Guillame Patry. Guillame had A6 against his opponent Vijayan Nagarajan’s Ace-Queen, with Vijayan collecting the 200k pot. Leo Boxell has also been eliminated.

With plenty of action right on break time, PokerStars qualifier Jai Kemp doubled through Gary Diamond with pocket jacks against pocket 8’s on a 9-high board and now has over 600k in chips.

Conversely Team PokerStars Pro Lee Nelson lost a huge pot on a horrible beat after the break had officially commenced.



On a board of: Q 8 2, the action was hot after the flop with Mark Ericksen putting Nelson to the tank with an all-in raise.

Nelson went into the tank and had a chat with his opponent before calling for a large part of his stack and was very relieved as the players showed Ace-Queen (Nelson) and Ace-8 (Ericksen).

Relief turned to horror as an 8 peeled off on the river and Nelson plummeted to just 110k in chips and Nelson looks sick.

Day 2 Approximate Chip Counts:

• Lei He 3 million
  
• Sol Bergen 1.4 million
  
• Grant Levy 900k
  
• Jeremiah Vincent 870k (PokerStars Qualifier)
  
• Colin Ford 695k (PokerStars Qualifier)
  
• Jai Kemp 600k (PokerStars Qualifier)
  
• Karib Karib 575k
  
• Larry Wright 520k
  
• Vijayan Nagarajan 480k
  
• Mark Eriksen 450k
  
• Julius Coleman 350k
  
• Mitchell Price 330k
  
• Mark Walsh 320k
  
• Scotty Nguyen 280k
  
• Patrick Fletcher 280k
  
• Rabii Maatouk 270k
  
• Gary Diamond 220k
  
• Barry Kohlhoff 190k (PokerStars Qualifier)
  
• John Matwey 180k
  
• Lee Nelson 110k (Team PokerStars Pro)
  

20 Players are left.

Catch up with PS blogs on APPT.com
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By Heath Cram

It’s bad beat o’clock! Australian player Grant Levy came from well behind to hit his two-outer and scoop a million dollar pot at the expense of chip leader Lei He.

All of the money went in pre-flop, with Levy 500k in chips and Lei He more than 3 times that amount. They rolled their cards over…

Lei He: Pocket Kings

Levy: Pocket Jacks

The first 4 cards (7d 8d 7h 5h) were enough for Grant Levy to get up from his chair, but disappointment turned to elation ,with screams and “high fives” in the room, as a jack hit on the river to provide a lifeline to the Australian player.

“How many hands are they going to deal this bloke!”, said Levy referring to Lei He running hot.

“Man, I thought I was in front”, exclaimed Levy as he raked in over 1 million chips and put himself back in the race.

Catch up with PS blogs on APPT.com
PS blogs APPT Sydney Archive

By Heath Cram

Well known Australian player Sam Kouiss has just witnessed his sister and last lady standing Suzy Kouiss’ final hand in the APPT Grand Final.

Kouiss pushed her remaining chips in the middle with pocket 5’s, but stood little chance of avoiding the call from monster chip leader Lei He with almost 2 million chips and the big blind in front of him, as He turned called and slowly showed Ace-9 offsuit.

Despite being marginally ahead in the hand pre-flop, Kouiss had her fate sealed early with a 9 in the window and no help on the turn on the river. The crowd applauded as the last surviving lady exited the floor.

With 22 players left, the average stack is 480k. One player well clear of this average is PokerStars qualifier Colin Ford, who is playing his first ever live tournament!

Catch up with PS blogs on APPT.com
PS blogs APPT Sydney Archive

By Heath Cram

The clock has just ticked over into Level 19 with the blinds at 8,000/16,000 (2k ante) and we are left with three 8-handed tables. PokerStars online qualifiers Colin Ford and Jeremiah Vensent are not shirking the task with 600k and 750k respectively.

Team PokerStars Pro Lee Nelson has taken a stack of 320k into the final 3 tables, and Scotty Nguyen is not far behind him with 300k.

Other PokerStars players remaining include Guillame Patry (150k) and PokerStars qualifier Barry Kohlkoff (350k).

Rabii Maatouk gave onlookers an idea of the pressure involved in final-3 table big tournament poker, spilling nearly all of his 500k stack on the felt and floor in front of him, with only a spring water as his side!

Lei He has increased on his monster chip lead, eliminating Davoud Khajeh and now has almost 1.8 million in chips.

Catch up with PS blogs on APPT.com
PS blogs APPT Sydney Archive

Heath Cram

The exodus of players has continued after the dinner break, as former big stacks Carter Gill and PokerStars player Terrence Chan were eliminated.

On a flop of Ah Tc 9d, Chan led out with a bet of 45k into Australian player Julius Coleman. Both players had similar chip stacks, as Coleman re-raised a further 100k, enough to decide Terrence Chan’s tournament life.

Chan went into the tank and assessed his chip position before calling the raise. Both players rolled over their hands, with Coleman dominating Chan, who was left to rely on backdoor outs.

Chan: Ad 8c

Coleman: As Qc

The turn was a 4 of diamonds and no help to Chan and the river was a King of spades to end the one-time tournament hopeful’s evening.

Julius Coleman has edged closer to his dream of a second final table on home soil. Coleman finished 4th in the 2007 Aussie Millions and until now is still the highest ever prizemoney winner in a single tournament in Australia, winning $400,000. Australians will be looking to eclipse that feat here with a victory (or second placing) in the APPT Grand Final and prize of $1 million for first and over $600,000 for second.

Elsewhere another former big stack has bitten the dust. Carter Gill committed his short stack in the dark, under the gun, and received a call from the last remaining female player, local Suzy Khouiss. Carter revealed his 6-high and was eliminated, with Kouiss’ supporters making a stir as she went to over 100k in chips. Suzy with presently one of the biggest support bases on the rail!

24 players are left in the event.

Catch up with PS blogs on APPT.com
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By Heath Cram

29 runners remain, as one-time tournament chip leader, Dane Henrik Gwinner lost the biggest pot of the tournament thus far, as he watched 1.2 million chips pushed in the direction of Lei He, the new monster chip leader.

Gwinner’s aggression has brought about his demise, as he committed most of his stack to a nut flush draw.

All of the money went in on a flop of 5s Kh 7h

Lei He: Ac Kd

Henrik Gwinner Ah 2h

The turn (6c) and river (7c) didn’t provide Gwinner with the heart or backdoor cards needed and he was left with under 30k in chips. Just a hand later, Gwinner committed his last 27k with Ace-4 and has been eliminated.

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By Heath Cram

There could be no better book launch for Team PokerStars Pro Lee “Final Table” Nelson, then to live up to his nickname with another final table appearance at the 2007 PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final in Sydney. To do so, Nelson only has to outlast less than 30 players, as the tournament field diminishes.

The cards are in the air after the dinner break, and another player has already been eliminated (short stack Tiffany Williamson), as play resumed with the blinds at 6,000/12,000 (1,000 ante) and Lee Nelson has over $300k and 25 big blinds.

Earlier this week, Nelson was pleasantly surprised when Day 1a resulted in only 30 players remaining.

“It’s much easier to make the last 9 from a field of 90, then a field of 150”, said Nelson, implying that surviving day 1 was a mere formality. And it was.

The Team PokerStars Pro was already focused on another final table before playing his day 1 flight and came into Day 2 with a playable stack of just under 100k. This quickly turned into 200k, then 300, as Nelson began to accumulate chips in typical Lee Nelson fashion.

The 2005 World Poker Open & ’06 Aussie Millions winner certainly looks set to maintain his fitting tag of Lee “Final Table” Nelson in the coming hours.

PokerStars Video Blog:
Ali intros day two of the tournament


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By Sean Callander

You’d have thought by now that the pace of eliminations may have slowed up but the skip up to 5000/10,000 with a 1000 ante has simply put more pressure on the short stacks.

Just 31 players remain from the 116 who took their seats at the start of play on day 2 in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final.

The elimination of Jason Lien (33rd), James Kilorjian (34th) and Michael Guttman (35th), the field has been redrawn into four tables of eight.

Eng Phengsavanh became the first player to bow out after the redraw, earning $14,963 for 32nd place.

In the final minutes before players took their dinner break, the two big stacks heading into day 2 – Henrik Gwinner and Davoud Khajeh butted heads.

On a flop of 7h 8c 9h, Khajeh bet 40,000, Gwinner pushed it up to 150,000, which was enough to put Khajeh all-in. He made the call with Jc 7c, but Gwinner had a stack of outs with Ad 10c. However, Khajeh’s pair of sevens held firm to inflict a rare dent in the wall of chips in front of Gwinner.

Players still chasing a spot at the final table include Team PokerStars Pro Lee Nelson, PokerStars players Scotty Nguyen (up to 500,000 in chips), Guillaume Patry and Terrence Chan, 2003 Aussie Millions runner-up Leo Boxell and APPT Seoul runner-up Sid Kim.

Catch up with PS blogs on APPT.com
PS blogs APPT Sydney Archive

By Sean Callander

We’re used to seeing great players doing amazing things with weak starting hands, but they’re even more dangerous when reading an opponent’s strength.

Scotty Nguyen just found himself in an ideal situation against Michael Pedley – in the cut-off, the PokerStars player popped it up to 22,000 and Pedley called from the button.

The flop came 9s 7c 3c and the play went check-check. The turn was Kh, Scotty checked and Pedley pushed in 30,000. In a classic “weak is strong” play, Nguyen looked as if he was about much when he reached for chips to popped it up an extra 70,000. Pedley said “all-in” for 180,000, Scotty called and showed pocket aces. Pedley hung his head as he showed A K. “The Prince” earned plenty of encouragement from the railbirds as he scooped the pot. Pedley was eliminated in 40th.

In contrast, day 1C chip leader Michael Guttman has been crippled by Lei He. The flop comes Js 3c 2d, Guttman pushed with sevens but Lei he showed aces. An extra ace on the turn confirmed Guttman’s ‘sticky’ predicament.

And Karib Karib has just KOed Colin Evans in dramatic fashion, when he flopped quad eights and sending Evans out in 38th spot. Other players to have bowed out of the PokerStars APPT Grand Final in the past 30 minutes have been Rikki Papesch (36th), Henrik Lundstrom (37th), and Darren Rispin (39th).

Approximate chip count (dinner break, day 2)

• Henrik Gwinner 625,000
  
• Gary Diamond 570,000
  
• Alexander Estrellado 500,000
  
• Scotty Nguyen 470,000
  
• Mitchell Price 420,000
  
• Carter Gill 410,000
  
• Grant Levy 410,000
  
• Sol Bergren 400,000
  
• Trong Son Dao 390,000
  
• Terrence Chan 360,000
  

PokerStars Video Blog - Surf's Up for Joe Hachem


Catch up with PS blogs on APPT.com
PS blogs APPT Sydney Archive

By Sean Callander

Two of the four female players who made the money have been eliminated in the ensuing chaos after the bubble burst at the end of level 16.

PokerStars qualifier Vera Milinkovic came into day 2 with just 11,200 in chips but carefully picked her way through the early afternoon. As the bubble loomed, she continually peered down to find playable hands (including A K) but did not want to endanger her tournament future.

But with an $8000 payout assured, she pushed in pre-flop with As 9h against ‘Sticky’ Micky Guttman’s A Q. The flop hit Milinkovic (Js 9d 4h), but a Q on the river sent her out in 50th position.

Trudie Sultana has also bowed out despite having live cards in a three-way race against Kenny Ng’s Q 2 and Colin Ford’s pocket eights. The eights held up and both Sultana (47th) and Ng (48th) were headed for the rail, via the payout desk.

Tiffany Williamson and Suzy Khouiss remain in the running for a final table start but Christopher Pisani (41st), Michael Zowie (42nd), Nicholas Gazal (43rd), Robert Korun (44th), David Foldy (45th) and Matthieu Logel (46th) have all departed (with prizes of $11,500), as has Aleks Lackovic (49th).

We’re into the final level before the dinner break with blinds at 5000/10,000 and antes of 1000.

By Sean Callander

Hardly surprising, but the sound of “all-in” is again reverberating around the Star City poker room after the bubble burst on day 2 of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final.

Already, five more players have been eliminated in the first 20 minutes. There was drama for Grant Levy, one of the big movers from day one. He wad delighted to his pocket nines make a full house on a flop of 9d Jh Jc.

However, his short-stacked opponent’s Ad Qh improved dramatically on the turn (Ac) and river (Jd). Luckily, Levy only lost a small pot in such an extraordinary hand.

Suzy Khouiss, who spent much of last night nursing a very small stack, recently bounded up to more than 150,000 when she made a set of fives on the flop against Danny Huynh’s pocket aces.

Aleks Lackovic, the popular Western Australian, has also made a move at the expense of Team PokerStars Pro Lee Nelson. Lackovic, who was runner-up to Eric Assadourian in the 2006 Melbourne Poker Championships, raised pre-flop before Nelson re-raised.

Lackovic pushed over the top all-in (using some of Nelson’s own Kill Phil tactics against him). Eventually, the 2006 Aussie Millions winner let go of his hand to take his stack back under 200,000. The Perth-based Lackovic is now up to about 350,000.

Danny Huynh (52nd), Leonard Melia (53rd), Luigi A’Preda (54th), George Marks (55th) and Joseph Loruzzo (56th) have all been eliminated but take home $8000 apiece in prizemoney.

Approximate chip count (day 2)

• Henrik Gwinner 715,000
• Gary Diamond 570,000
• Alexander Estrellado 435,000
• Sol Bergren 400,000
• Trong Son Dao 390,000

By Heath Cram


As the players on the floor congratulated each other and the rail clapped and cheered, many PokerStars players were left with smiles on their faces, after surviving the hand-for-hand period of play. All players are now guaranteed $8,000 in prizemoney which is most significant for our online qualifiers who received an expenses paid trip to Sydney as reward for their efforts at PokerStars.net!

Team PokerStars Pro Lee Nelson faired best of the remaining PokerStars players.

Surviving PokerStars Players’ Chip Counts:

• Lee Nelson 255k (Team PokerStars Pro)
• Jeremiah Vinsent 250k (PokerStars Qualifier)
• Colin Ford 240k (PokerStars Qualifier)
• Guillame Patry 185k (PokerStars Player)
• Barry Kohlhoff 160k (PokerStars Qualifier)
• Rikki Papesch 150k (PokerStars Qualifier)
• Terrence Chan 97k (PokerStars Player)
• Robert Korun 59k (PokerStars Qualifier)
• Luigi Apreda 43k (PokerStars Qualifier)

Henrik Gwinner has maintained his strong chip lead, just reaching 700k and Scotty Nguyen went to the break consolidating his stack of 240k.

The big survivor on the bubble was French PokerStars qualifier Matthieu Logel. Logel started the day with over 150k in chips, but was forced to protect less than 30k in chips throughout the hand-for-hand stages. He is one of 56 players to survive and collect a minimum of $8,000 prizemoney.

Catch up with PS blogs on APPT.com
PS blogs APPT Sydney Archive


PokerStars Video Blog:
Ali Interviews qualifier Colin Ford.

By Sean Callander


The bubble has broken in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final. Outside, it’s a typically sunny and warm Sydney summer afternoon while inside Star City Casino, the poker area has been at boiling point as players sweated down the minutes and places until they were assured a minimum payout of $8000.

It took less than four hours for the field to be slashed from 116 to 56, but hard-for-hand dragged on for almost 30 minutes until Karib karib busted out Sydney’s own Steve Wise on the final hand before the second break of the day.

Another 47 players have to culled from the field until the field for tomorrow’s final table is locked in.

The period prior to the bubble is often fascinating to watch as the pros go after what they perceive as easy chips while the amateurs and qualifiers desperate to finish in the money fold even the strongest hands.

One such player who made the most of the opportunity to replenish his stack was PokerStars player Terrence Chan. As hand-to-hand play commenced, Chan went on a frenzy raising pot after pot after pot to kangaroo hop back over 100,000. Patrick Fletcher was another of the few players brave enough to regularly enter pots.

One player who didn’t need to worry chipping up during the bubble period was Kenny Ng, a young Sydney player who’s made a real mark on the local scene over recent months.

A regular on the burgeoning tournament scene throughout Sydney, Kenny Ng finished a career best second in the PokerNews Cup two months ago against a field of 428 runners. He captured just over $200,000.

By the way, we’ve been asked several times in the past few days how is it possible for players around Sydney to play in cash-entry sit ‘n’ goes and tournaments. The answer lies in an unusual New South Wales’ State Government ruling made in March 2006 which permits licensed hotels and clubs to conduct such events (and allows cash prizes). NSW is the only state in Australia where such games are permitted.

Catch up with PS blogs on APPT.com
PS blogs APPT Sydney Archive

By Heath Cram

Play is hand-for-hand at Star City casino in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final in Sydney, with 57 runners remaining and the action is fold, fold, fold!

One player who didn’t make it to the hand-for-hand stages of the tournament was Australian PokerStars qualifier Paren Arzoomanian who unfortunately was recently eliminated.

Catch up with PS blogs on APPT.com
PS blogs APPT Sydney Archive

APPT Video Blog
Day One flight three summary

By Heath Cram


Team PokerStars Pro and local poker superstar Joe Hachem has been eliminated with a lower full-house in heads-up action against PokerStars qualifier Barry Kohlhoff.

In a 5-way limped pot, the flop came: Qs 8d Qh

It was checked around to Kohlhoff who bet 15k into the 20k pot. It was folded back around to Hachem who eventually called.

The turn was a 4 of hearts.

Again Hachem checked and Kohlhoff fired again, with a 30k bet.

Hachem called on the river, with neither player having a lot of chips behind.

The river double-paired the board, with an 8 of clubs.

Joe checked once more and Kohlhoff bet fast, this time for his remaining 42k. Joe went into the tank again before calling for his tournament life and showing down 8-9 Hearts for 2 pair and the flush draw on the turn. All to no avail as Kohlhoff rolled over Q-9 diamonds and Hachem could do no more than say “well played”.

Hachem was left with a lone 500 chip and lost it a hand later with 8-6 hearts against PokerStars player Guillame Patry with Ace-Jack and two aces on the flop.

The Australian pro received a rousing reception from local supporters as he graciously left the tournament floor.

By Heath Cram

PokerStars qualifier Quentin Lae has been eliminated in three-way all-in action, with UK-based American Tiffany Williamson scooping the pot.

In the hand prior Williamson showed her indisputable class by openly and correctly laying down Ace-King of spades, with her opponent confirming her read by showing pocket rockets, a laydown which left her with 105k in chips.

Lae made the most of this information (of Williamson's ability to laydown a hand), by pushing his last 36.5k into the middle from the button on Williamson's big blind) but he got way more than he bargained for.

The player in the small blind re-pushed all-in, having both Lae (button) and Williamson (big blind) covered in chips, and Tiffany had herself a dilemma.

"Oh my goodness," said Williamson as she looked at her cards for the first time, and stood up from the table.

Williamson had her hand firmly planted on her forehead for minutes, before announcing her call, for her tournament life. The three players then rolled over their cards:

Quentin Lae: Q 6

Small Blind: K K

Williamson: A Q

The flop came: Ac 6s Jh, pairing both Lae and Williamson, with the Kings in trouble. The turn (7s) and river (5d) were no help to the other players and Tiffany Williamson had more than doubled up with her A Q.

"I'm really sorry, I thought your push was just to push me out, but you had a hand. I'm sorry," Williamson to the player in the small blind who took a crippling blow with his cowboys. Williamson's apologies fell on deaf ears as she went to 250k in chips.

Approximate Day 2 Chip Counts:

• Henrik Gwinner 580k
• Gary Diamond 490k
• Karib Karib 390k
• Scotty Nguyen 380k
• Carter Gill 305k
• Rabii Maatouk 300k
• Lee Nelson 190k (Team PokerStars Pro)
• Luigi Apreda 170k (PokerStars Qualifier)
• Terrence Chan 150k (PokerStars Player)
• Joe Hachem 70k (Team PokerStars Pro)

By Heath Cram

Scotty Nguyen has gone all the way to the river to lose a 250k pot to Kenny Ng.


The board filled out 2s 5h Kc 4d Jh with all of the big action on the river.


Scotty led out and Kenny Ng raised all-in for 96k and Scotty pondered before calling. Eventually Scotty called, with Ng apologizing as he flipped up Ace-3 diamonds for the wheel. Scotty Nguyen now has about 280k in chips, with Ng moving to about 300k. More action is expected from this pair in the coming hours of play!


Elsewhere, Van Marcus has been eliminated. Marcus raised to 40k from the cutoff leaving only 1k (two 500 chips) behind. From the button Craig Gray moved all-in over the top and had Marcus covered. Chip leader Henrik Gwinner laid his hand down and Marcus then faked mucking his cards, before tossing his last 1k in the middle and tabling Ace-7 suited. Gray had pocket queens and they held as the board filled out Qs 8d 5d 6c Ac.

By Heath Cram

PokerStars player Guillaume Patry put Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem to the ultimate test. Hachem raised to 8k from the cutoff, with Patry coming over the top to 55k total in his big blind, for almost all of Joe’s chips.

Joe went into the tank for 5 minutes before reluctantly folding. Hachem’s laydown has left him with 60k. Things are looking better for fellow Team PokerStars Pro Lee Nelson who has been active early on Day 2 in accumulating chips. Nelson has a stack of 175k.

Elsewhere, PokerStars qualifier Francisicus Dekkers has been eliminated by Carter Gill. Dekkers made a good read and correct call for his tournament life pre-flop, calling Gill's all-in raise with A-8 of clubs, with Gill rolling over K-J of clubs. Two jacks appeared in the windo to give Gill trips and the race was over for Dekkers.

By Sean Callander

“Music to my ears baby, all-in, all-in, I just love it baby.” One guess who just made that comment as he KOed two players in one hand. Scotty Nguyen is on the move in the early part of day 2 in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final.

The 1998 world champ’s read proved impeccable after David St Eloi and John Butler had pushed all-in with pocket fives and pocket 10s respectively. Scotty rolled over pocket kings, and both all-in players failed to improve.

The board came As 7h 7c 4h Jd and Scotty's kings held firm to take down the massive pot worth just over 400,000 in chips, consolidating his spot among the chip leaders.

Just seconds later at an adjacent table, Henrik Gwinner’s A K eliminated Australian-based American Tony “Bond18” Dunst, whose pocket queens were busted when a king landed on the flop.

Day 1 chip leaders rarely go on and have a major say in tournaments of this size, but Gwinner hasn’t put a foot wrong so far today and continues to soar ahead of the field with close to half a million in his stack.

The first break is about 20 minutes away, with blinds currently at 1500/3000 with a 500 ante. We’ve been losing players at the rate of one every three minutes so far today – 32 players have been eliminated in the first 100 minutes!

By Heath Cram

APPT Sydney Preliminary Event 1 Winner Henry Sun has been eliminated by one of the tournament big stacks Carter Gill. After winning a substantial pot with a full house, Gill is stalking the chip leaders and is coloring up to have about 280k in chips.

Fourth in chips at the start of Day 2 was inform Canadian PokerStars player Terrence Chan who is certainly running very well and will prove a force to be reckoned with. Chan has just under 300k in chips and with 93 players remaining will definitely benefit from the progression to 90 players and gradual move to 8-handed poker once we have 80 runners left.

Chan could be considered one of the better short-handed players in the field, winning his only event in Australia, the $1600 “six-handed” preliminary event to the APPT Grand Final. Chan was then very impressive on day 1 in the Main Event. The highlight in Chan’s career would have to be his effort to finish a runner-up at this year’s 2007 WSOP 6-handed event, earning himself a cool US $287,345.

With the approaching decrease to 8-handed, Chan is expected to go very deep, and If he finds himself 6-handed on the final table… look out!

By Sean Callander

An extraordinary first hour has just ticked past with 20 players already eliminated from the 116 who started day 2 in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final.

Ziv Bachar, who won the APPT Seoul main event three months ago, had started the day with 41,000 and elected to make his move early with the blinds at level 13 (1200/2400 with a 400 ante).

He pushed in pre-flop with As Qc, and found himself up against the reigning Australian Two-Card Manila champion Mark Ericksen but top-pair wasn’t enough to save Israeli’s tournament life. It was one of five all-ins in the first 30 minutes on table 16.

Others sent to the rail in the early going have been Jim Sachinidis, day 1A front-runner Franciscus Dekkers and Bruno Portaro.

Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem is picking his spots carefully, and has Davoud Kahjeh (second chip position) seated to his immediate right.

Just over Joe’s right shoulder is fellow Team PokerStars Pro Lee Nelson, but the Kiwi’s table has now been split and he’s joined a couple of old mates – Gary Benson and Leo Boxell – at a new table.

By Heath Cram


Danish Chip Leader Henrik Gwinner is showing no signs of letting up on this PokerStars.net APPT Sydney Grand Final Field. In the first 20 minutes of play, Gwinner has already built on his monster chip lead, to go to 450k in chips.

In a battle of the blinds with Nicholas Gazal, Gwinner limped from the small blind and saw a flop.

The flop came: 8c 5c 7h
Gwinner led out for 5k and Gazal came over the top to 15k. Gwinner with his monster stack wasn’t to be pushed around, raising to 45k. Gazal slowed down and just called.

The turn came: 6h, for a double suited 8-high 4 card straight-possible board.

Gwinner announced all-in, with his opponent baffled as he folded Ace-8 face up (Top Pair, Top Kicker).

Gwinner is at a chip-strong table, with Tony Dunst, Carter Gill, Van Marcus and PokerStars qualifier Francisicus Dekkers all present. One gets the feeling early, that it won’t be a smooth ride for his opposition.

Gwinner only played one preliminary event (Omaha) prior to the APPT Sydney Main Event, and bubbled with the nuts on the turn.

“My opponent had 10 outs, we were on the bubble and I pushed with the absolute nuts. I can’t believe he could chase a drawing hand at that stage”, said Gwinner who was unluckily eliminated.

No such misfortune thus far for Gwinner who was dominant on day 1 with some courageous calls and advanced plays, and has began where he left off today.

Gwinner has cashed in tournaments all over Europe, with his performance highlighted by his $144,500 US first prize in the No Limit Masterclassics of Poker in Holland. Only months ago in October, Gwinner also went very deep in the WPT Spanish Championship. All of this will be a distant memory if he continues in this dominant fashion today on the road towards a $1 million (AU) first prize.

By Sean Callander

Poker tournaments are unique beasts. Players will do anything to survive the opening day of play – “hey mom, I made it through” – then return on the second day and bust out in the opening minutes.

That’s been the case early on day 2 of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final, where the field of 116 starters has already been reduced by four.

The players with short stacks have obviously had a good think about what to do with their chips in the early going, and shoved like mad in the first 30 minutes.

Over the past three days, 561 players have participated in the three flights of day one. Their goal? The $1 million winner’s prize and a slice of the $3.366 million pool.

Everyone’s chasing Henrik Gwinner, who finished day 1B on 390,000. Others in action today are Team PokerStars Pros Joe Hachem and Lee Nelson, PokerStars players Terrence Chan and Guillaume Patry, Scotty Nguyen, and APPT Seoul champion Ziv Bachar and runner-up Sid Kim.

By the end of day 2, we’ll be down to the last nine players who’ll return on Sunday for the final table. Should be an enthralling day.

EPT Prague winner Arnaud Mattern

There are some players who are gifted with natural talent. Their success comes from skill and hard work, traits not always brought to the attention of the poker world eager to find the reincarnation of the next big thing. Others will never have that, however hard they try. Frenchman Arnaud Mattern though is in the former bracket and tonight became the first winner of the EPT Prague.

Hailing from Paris but now living in London, the 28 year-old overcame chip deficits, strong competition and a final that lasted over seven and a half hours to overcome Italian Gino Alacqua, taking the first prize of €708,600 and a seat in the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo next spring.

How did it all take shape? He arrived at the final table this afternoon second in chips.

Seat 1 – Juha Lauttamus – Finland – 567k
Seat 2 – Kristian Kjondal – Norway – 740k
Seat 3 – Gino Alacqua – Italy – 660k
Seat 4 – Markus Golser – Austria – 352k
Seat 5 – Mikael Norinder – Sweden -- 1,036,000
Seat 6 – Nedzib Suman – Sweden – 216k
Seat 7 – Dagomir Palovic – Slovakia -- 759k
Seat 8 – Johannes Strassmann – PokerStars player – Germany – 245k
Seat 9 – Arnaud Mattern – France – 980k

The line-up immediately threw up favorites, statistically and among the crowds. Markus Golser has been a popular player on the tour for some time and despite valiant cashes had yet to make it to a final table. Was this to be his opporunity to bag a title?

Talented young Norwegian Kristian Kjondal had the experience of EPT final table, having finished fourth in Monte Carlo last April. He was looking to better that and most people expected him too, particularly as he was armed with a good stack.


Kristian Kjondal

But the first obstacle for everyone seemed to be Swedish pro Mikael Norinder, an accomplished player who came fifth in the Master Classics in Amsterdam last month. He began with over a million chips, the only player with seven figures, and posed a threat that few expected him to give up easily.

But he did.

First PokerStars player Johannes Strassmann was eliminated in ninth spot for €39,200. One of the two short stacks, Johannes made his move with pocket deuces only for Norinder to call with pocket nines. It marked the high water mark for Norinder who looked unstoppable sweeping up Strassmann’s chips. But in the space of half an hour he went into terminal free fall, from over a million to an eighth place finish sparked by a hand against Kristian Kjondal.


Mikael Norinder

The Swede had raised with Norinder calling and Arnaud re-raising, forcing Kristian to lay down his hand. Then Mikael did something that had everyone asking questions, accidentally putting too many chips in the pot when intending just to call and, as he made no verbal declaration, it was declared a raise by tournament director Thomas Kremser.

It was a moment that would pay dividends for eventual winner Mattern. He went all-in for another 600k. Still ready to cause more surprise Norinder called, making it a colossal pot worth 1.9 million. Arnaud showed his pocket kings with A-Q for Norinder. He would need an ace to dig himself out of the mess but it didn’t come. Arnaud was the new chip leader by a huge margin, whilst Norinder collapsed to 180k. His tournament wouldn’t last another five minutes. Kristian Kjondal did the honorable thing, putting Mikael out of his misery.

The tournament went on, Dagomir Palovic going next. The former child star on Slovakian TV moved all-in with Kjondal calling by the narrowest of margins – A-T for the Slovakian, A-J for Kjondal. The difference was almost the same as the previous hand that had cost him dearly, A-Q against A-K. The result was the same this time and Dagomir was out, taking €93,600 with him.

The pace seemed to have picked up now, with thoughts of a quick final on people’s minds. Nedzib Suman took his €119,000 for sixth when his A-T was called by Juha Lauttmaas holding pocket sevens. It would be nearly an hour before his exit was followed by Markus Golser who finished in fifth place. It was not to be for the experienced Austrian but his options were growing short. He pushed when the flop brought him a flush draw, Juha called though with a pair of jacks. No clubs came for Markus, out with €151,800.


Markus Golser

With four left the chip stacks looked like this:

Juha Lauttamus – Finland – 1,806,000
Kristian Kjondal – Norway – 1,070,000
Gino Alacqua – Italy – 1,073,000
Arnaud Mattern – France – 1,566,000

Golser’s vanquisher would be next in line for dethroning though, another chip leader experiencing a sudden descent into chaos. A simple battle of the blinds resulted in three million chips going to Arnaud after Juha moved all-in. Arnaud found himself to be in the joyous position of calling with aces and the two bullets held. As with Norinder earlier he would be quickly finished off; Gino Alacqua doing the calling this time when Juha pushed, Q-4 against Q-2. The Finn Juha out in fourth place for €182,200

That left three. Arnaud held the lead and was beginning to look unshakeable. But was it as straight forward as that? We’d already seen two chip leaders eliminated before their time. Could it happen a third time?

That thought came to mind when Gino took a huge pot against the Frenchman, a bet from Arnaud called by Gino for his tournament life. It proved a good decision. K-J for the Italian, pocket eights for his opponent. The race was ended fast when the king hit the flop. Was history repeating itself?

Kristian Kjondal -- Norway -- 1,651,000
Gino Alacqua -- Italy -- 2,349,000
Arnaud Mattern -- France -- 1,434,000



One of these three would have to go next - Norwegian Kjondal would shoulder that responsibility. With a flop dealt 3-4-5 Gino made it 200k. Kristian moved all-in and Gino called. As had now become familiar the crowds got to their feet, standing on chairs, hanging off railings and flouting health and safety laws to get a better look at the cards as the hit the table. K-6 for Kristian with a straight draw, K-5 for Gino with a made pair of fives. An eight hit the turn, no good for Kristian, but it gave Gino more options for a potential flush. A deuce, six or seven of the non-club kind would work. It didn’t come. To cheers of “Go on the devil!” (Alacqua’s nickname being ‘El Diablo’) Kjondal shook hands with the others and made his way off stage with €235,399 for third place.



With a case of cash and the EPT trophy now standing on the table the heads-up battle began. Gino Alacqua on one side, the young Frenchman Arnaud Mattern opposite. The duel would take over 90 minutes but would hinge on just two hands.

Just two? Well, the reality was that Arnaud chipped away without needing a particularly big hand and never gave up. In contrast to Gino’s flamboyant style Arnaud was the picture of discipline and perseverance. No extra movements, no wasted energy. Heavily outnumbered going into the heads-up, with 1.5m to Gino’s 4m, the Frenchman simply refused to lose sight of winning and maintained the concentration needed to avoid any mistake.



The first of those key hands saw the chip lead take a violent swing away from Gino. Arnaud had moved all-in. Gino, who speaks little English only ever talked to his friends on the rail a few feet away and even then rarely. All his thoughts stayed inside his head, his composure and concentration seemed to depend on this.

Sometimes there are little moments that go overlooked, forgotten in the shadown of the crowd pleasing acts of winning. The pitcher nodding at the catcher calling for a fastball in the ninth inning, or the two or three bounces of the basketball before the star player takes a game wining foul shot.

Call me old fashioned but Gino’s donation to this spirit was a simple nod to the dealer, declaring his wish to call Arnaud’s all-in. No words, no chips being pushed forward, just a few short nods.

All hell broke loose. The same recklessness on the rail with people rushing forwards to see what they could – partly responsible for adding to the drama. They wanted to see the Frenchman paid off for nearly 90 minutes of rock face work and they wouldn’t be disappointed.

Gino stood to attention, head slightly bowed, his hands clasped in front of him, patiently waiting for a big voice to shout at him. It came in the form of Arnaud’s pocket jacks. Gino could only manage A-9 and would need one of the three left in the deck. The flop came 4-K-Q. No sign of the ace. A deuce on the turn, a four on the river. Arnaud’s mission was almost complete. The French fans on the rail, and there were many, went delirious.

Fifteen minutes later it was done. The last hand of EPT Prague was heralded by the whoosh of spectators. Anyone not in the know would have thought the crowds were waiting for a man to emerge from a deep whole carrying the secrets of the universe. Instead they were seeing the last all-in called. A-K for Arnaud, Q-T of diamonds for Gino. The Frenchman was ahead with the hand and ahead with chips. All he needed to do now was dodge a lot of diamonds, queens and tens.

Two of the dreaded diamonds found their way to the flop. 2-6-J, a ray of hope for Gino. King (hearts) on the turn. A deuce (clubs) on the river. It was all over. The cheers drowned out everything else as Arnaud Mattern completed one of the great EPT comebacks and win the inaugural EPT Prague and €706,800 - and of course, a seat in the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo next spring.


Arm aloft, Arnaud Mattern wins the EPT Prague

It marks the end of the first EPT Prague which started with 555 players this week, arriving from 36 different countries. The starting field went beyond anyone’s expectations, making the event a success all round.

“For a new event, the Prague EPT has been an outstanding success.” Said PokerStars Head of Communications, EMEA, Conrad Brunner. “Europe's top players have put on a real show, and great credit must go to Arnaud Mattern for winning against a top class field. His victory in Prague catapults him to the top of the French EPT leader board.”



As for the EPT another new event awaits as the tour makes its first stop beyond the geographical borders of Europe. Staring on 5 January 2008, the Bahamas will be home to the EPT with the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, one of the most popular tournaments, not to mention destinations, anywhere in the world.

And don’t forget, you can read news, features and interviews with the winner of the EPT and more on the EPT live blog. For more details click here.

That’s all from Prague. See you in the Caribbean.

Arnaud Mattern from Paris, France, wins the EPT Prague and €708,600.

10.52pm -- Gino Alacqua, Italy, eliminated in second place for €407,300.
A big noise, more standing, an all-in called. A-K for Arnaud, Q-Td for Gino. Arnaud is ahead and can win if he avoids lots of diamonds, queens and tens. 2-6-J flop with two diamonds. A lifeline for Gino. A king of hearts on the turn, and a deuce of clubs on the river. Arnaud Mattern is the winner of the EPT Prague.

10.35pm -- Arnaud moves all-in. Gino, not an English speaker, looks at the dealer and nods - one of those small gestures that can ultimately lead to great things. He's called. A whoosh waves over the table as the audience get to their feet. Pocket jacks for Arnaud, A-9 off for Gino who will need an ace. "One time" says someone in the crowd. I'm not sure what this means.

The flop comes 4-K-Q. Gino stands patiently, his hands infront of him like a dignitary just walked into the room. Or perhaps more accurately, like he was about to be punished, hea bent forward slightly. A deuce on the turn, a four on the river. Arnaud had doubled up. The French fans went nuts.

10.30pm -- Arnaud slowly accumulating chips, but it's a slow process. A logn way to go, but the French fans on the rail are growing more vocal.

10.15pm -- Pots are either won pre-flop or go to a showdown on the river, both players checking all the way.

10.10pm -- Gino sits back down at the table, glancing for a moment at teh suitcase of money positioned on teh table. Level 24 is to start with blinds at 30k/60k with a 6k ante.

9.50pm -- A 310k pot develops with a flop of 8-3-T. Gino checked and Arnaud bet 200k. Gino thought about it, making a 'bop' noise with his mouth, before folding. Players are taking a break.

Arnaud Mattern, with El Diablo in the distance

9.45pm -- Gino raises, Arnaud calls and they see a flop of K-9-K. When Arnaud checks Gino makes it 205k which is good for the pot.

9.35pm -- On a flop of 4-2-2 both players check. They do the same on the turn which brings a ten, but when the river brings an ace Gino bets 90k. Arnaud thinks, and calls, and see's Gino show T-4 for two pairs and the pot.

9.25pm -- The case of cash is on the table and alongside that the winner's trophy. Gino now plays each hand with his fingers against his temples, like an actor would hold himself if they were pretending to have a headache.

9.10pm -- Kristian Kjondal, Norway, eliminated in third place for €235,399.
With a flop already on the board of 3-4-5 Gino bets 200k. Kristian moves all in and Gino calls. Once more everyone on the rail is standing on something or someone to get a better view. K-6 for Kristian, K-5 for Gino who is slightly ahead and has Kristian slightly covered. The 8c on the turn gives Gino more outs on a club draw with Kristian needing a 2, 7 or 6 of the non-club kind. It didn't come. Kristian Kjondal to the rail - his best EPT performance so far. "Go the devil" yells a big man from the comfy seats.

8.55pm -- Kristian calls the big blind and Gino checks. The flop is A-Q-8 and Kristian bets out 75k. Gino calls and they both chck the turn and river, Gino taking the pot with king high.

8.50pm -- The crowd are divided - Italians make up the majority of the comfy seats, the French have a small corner alongside them and the Norwegians occupy the cheap seats on the floor.

8.40pm -- Chip counts as play resumes:
Kristian Kjondal -- Norway -- 1,651,000
Gino Alacqua -- Italy -- 2,349
Arnaud Mattern -- France -- 1,434

8.25pm -- Players take a ten minute break.

8.05pm – A Kristian raise, a re-raise from Gino and another pot goes the way of the Italian.

8.00pm -- Gino raises to 120k and Arnaud re-raises, putting him all-in. Gino makes the call, his whole stack of over 1.2 million is in the middle. He shows K-J to the pocket eights of the Frenchman. The king falls nicely on the flop, first card out the deck. He doubles up to around 2.2 million

7.55pm -- Juha Lauttmass, Finland, eliminated in fourth place for €182,200
Juha moves all-in finding Gino prepared to call. It’s Q-4 against Q-2 – Gino is ahead, more so when the four hits the flop.

7.45pm – A battle of the blinds kicks off. Arnaud in the small blind makes it 120k and Juha in the big asks ‘how much?’ Arnaud has 1.4 million behind. Juha goes all in. Arnaud calls fast showing aces. For Juha just pocket nines which are unaided on the flop, turn and river. A pot worth over 3 million goes to Arnaud and leaves Juha close to peril.

7.35pm – Blinds are now 20k/40k with 4k ante.

7.30pm -- Chip counts
Juha Lauttamus – Finland – 1,806,000
Kristian Kjondal – Norway – 1,070,000
Gino Alacqua – Italy – 1,073,000
Arnaud Mattern – France – 1,566,000

7.15pm -- Kristian Kjondal may have something of the wolf, but Gino Alacqua has something far more sinister to him. With four players left Gino sits on one side opposite the dealer, Arnaud, Juha and Kristian sit on the other side, together, led by the dealer. The way they’re positioned it looks like it’s Gino against the others, or perhaps Gino, in neat suit and tie, is here for an interview, as the leader of a youth group or something.

But that analogy would suggest weakness. And a hand involving Gino involves theatre and style, passion and strength. He may be the new master.

After a Juha bet and a Kristian raise, Gino has the decision. He leans back and his face begins to grow red. His nickname is El Diablo – ‘the devil’, and it suddenly becomes clear why.

His white shirt covers a big belly which he proudly shoves forward. Then with maximum drama he flings his blood red tie over his left shoulder. Was that a gasp form he crowd? Hands clasped, had he long yellow finger nails it would be like watching Satan himself play cards. He looks over at Kristian, or is it into the soul of Kristian? Unless Kristian has no fear he should fold.

Gino 'El Diablo' Alacqua

Suddenly he sits back upright, shakes the shoulders of his jacket and loosens his collar slightly, dabbing away some sweat from his forehead. He either wants everyone to know that he’s warm, or doesn’t care that everyone will see that he’s warm. But by the way he acts all this is under his control, every move pre-ordained, Gino can take whatever time he needs.

Someone Italian says something and Gino looks over. The thought “don’t annoy him” entered my mind but close up he seems friendly. Or is that his first trick?

He mucks. Kristian wins the hand. Gino stands up, friendly now. “Va benne?” someone asks. He makes faces of pain and irritation. Players take a break.

7.00pm -- Juha takes another pot uncontested, edging further and further into the lead.

6.45pm -- Markus Golser, Austria, eliminated in fifth place for €151,800.
Markus Golser's tournament is over. The short stack with five left, he called a pre-flop bet by Juha and moved all-in when the flop came Jc-6s-5c. Juha called showing Q-J to Markus' K-T of clubs. A flush draw and overcard for Markus, top pair for Juha. the turn card nine gave Markus more outs but neither arrived on the river. Juha reaps more chips, Markus out.

6.30pm -- A period of sustained calm. Pots changing hand but no more eliminations.

There may not be the cameras adding that touch of glamour to proceedings here but that does allow the final of the EPT Prague to take on a kind of old fashioned feel. Without the restrictions imposed by wires, cables, cameras and people with headphones, the rail is just a few feet from the table, making it a compact and probably cosy place to play.



The stage here in Prague is unique in that a steep bank of chairs overlooks the table, making for a pseudo- stadium backdrop. Even with the seats it’s standing room only up there and there’s an electric atmosphere each time a player moves all-in, with everyone standing and literally looking down on a player’s tournament destiny.
Talking of the players, each has brought their own particular style to the game.

Gino Alacqua, whose name would probably pass as a perfume, wears a slick suit and tie with black hair and beard neatly trimmed. Markus Golser is a step down from that in a more smart-casual mode, a blazer over a shirt, whilst the other three adopt the now traditional ‘poker-youth’ look. Juha in the hoodie, Arnand in a sports top.


Kristian Kjondal

Then there’s Kristian, wandering over to talk to the pack of Norwegians on the rail as a short break starts. He’s somewhere in between the two worlds; woollen hat, white-rimmed shades, black open neck shirt with the collar turned up vampire style. He wears a glistening silver cross around his neck, has thick shoulders and a toothy smile. Either the first or last signs of a blonde beard complete the rough look - a few moons away from a complete transformation from wolf back to human.

Five players left.

Tournament update:

Juha Lauttamus – Finland – 1,460,000
Kristian Kjondal – Norway -- 1,200,000
Gino Alacqua – Italy – 763,000
Markus Golser – Austria – 420,000
Arnaud Mattern – France – 1,734,000

6.00pm -- Markus moves all-in but finds no callers. Play stops for a short break.

Nedzib Suman

5.52pm – Nedzib Suman, Sweden, eliminated in sixth place for €119,000
Another rush with a second player out in as many minutes. All in with A-T he was called by Juha with pocket sevens, which stood firm. Juha is on a tear as Nedzib leaves the tournament.

5.50pm – Dagomir Palovic, Slovakia, eliminated in seventh place for €93,600.
The last Slovakian is out. Dagomir was all-in with A-T against Kristian Kjondal’s A-J. Dagomir needed one of the three tens but it failed to materialize and with handshakes form players and from the rail, he was out.

5.33pm -- Juha moves in again. This time Dagomir calls. In unison the crowd rises as about to start singing the first hymn. From somewhere I heard "oh shhhh...." which may have been Dagomir who turned over A-Q to Juha's A-K. A king and jack on the flop put Juha ahead, another king on the turn left Dagomir needing a ten. It didn't come and Juha doubled up.

5.32pm -- Juha moves all-in but finds no takers.

5.25pm -- Nedzib is trying to kick start a few hands but gets no takers.

5.15pm -- Following a raise from Nedzib Gino re-raises, making it 210k to play. Nedzib calls the raise to see the flop 7-K-K. It doesn't take long for Gino to announce all-in, leaning his head on his hands in a position you might adopt to shade the sun from your eyes. Is it the lights or Nedzib that he doesn't want to see? Nedzib folds anyway.

Chip counts after the break:
Juha Lauttamus -- Finland -- 222k
Kristian Kjondal -- Norway -- 697k
Gino Alacqua -- Italy -- 634k
Markus Golser -- Austria -- 390k
Nedzib Suman -- Sweden -- 648k
Dagomir Palovic -- Slovakia -- 676k
Arnaud Mattern -- France -- 2,238k

5.00pm -- Play resumes with blinds now at 10k/20k with a 2k ante.

4.45pm -- Players are on a 15 minute break.

4.30pm – Markus Golser bet 50k which Dagomir Palovic re-raised to 150k. Folded back round to Markus, he takes no chances and folds.

4.15pm – Standard pot sharing, with each player taking their time after the incendiary start.

3.50pm – Mikael Norinder, Sweden, eliminated in eighth place for €63,200.
In an incredible turnaround Mikael Norinder moves all-in over a Kjondal raise. He called quickly, turning over A-K. For Mikael J-9. An ace on the turn and the tale of a rapid fire fall from grace is complete. Mikael Norinder out ahead of schedule.

3.45pm -- Kristian Kjondal raised and found Mikael Norinder calling. Frenchman Arnaud Mattern then re-raises which leads to Kristian folding and Mikael to doing something most on the rail are still trying to understand. Mikael mistakingly put too many chips into the pot, intending to call but without making his intentions clear. Tournament director Thomas Kremser ruled that this constituted a minimum raise. Arnaud then went all in for another 600k. Still in the spirit of surprise, Mikael called, making it a pot worth 1.9 million. Kings for Arnaud, A-Q for Mikael. The kings stood leaving Arnaud the new chip leader and incredibly Mikael down to 180k.

3.35pm – Johannes Strassmann, PokerStars player from Germany, eliminated in ninth place for €39,200.
Within minutes of the start PokerStars player Johannes Strassmann moved all-in, called by Mikael Norinder with pocket nines, to his pocket deuces. There’s no help for Strassmann, the first player out today.

3.30pm -- Cards are in the air.

Seat 1: Juha Lauttmaas, 22, from Vaasa, Finland - 567,000
Juha only took up poker two years ago and turned pro after six months. He kicked off with online $5 Sit and Goes, within four months was on $100 SNGs, three months later on $500 SNGS and now has turned his attention to the cash games, where he players in $5k and $10k heads-up and short-handed games. He played at EPT Barcelona but went out in 59 th place – "I was pretty much the bubble" he said.



Seat 2: Kristian Kjondal, 21, Oslo, Norway 740,000
In the world of high stakes online poker, Kristian "Kris85" Kjondal is already a huge name and has turned over at least $250k in 2007 alone. In March he came 4 th in the EPT Monte Carlo Grand Final for € 471,180 and at EPT Dublin this season, he came 23rdt for € 10,210. He was nominated Online Player of the Year in the Pokerstars' Scandinavian Poker Awards in January but beaten by his good friend and fellow Norwegian Johnny Lodden. He also came 21 st in the WSOP $10k Pot Limit Omaha event for $25k in July.



Seat 3: Gino El Diablo" Alacqua, 46, Milan, Italy - 660,000
Gino is a relative new-comer to poker after taking the game up 18 months ago. Nevertheless, the Sicilian is already pretty successful and currently ranked 26 th in the Hendon Mob's All Time Italy money list. He won the Campione d'Italia €1k Main Event this summer, was a runner-up in the 2006 Italian Championship, and also achieved a further win and two final tables in side events. His total live tourney winnings now total nearly $130k – not to mention here in Prague. Gino, an antiques dealer, is currently single but hoping to find love in the Czech capital. In Italy he's well-known for his Mephistophelean look, hence his nickname "El Diablo". He mainly plays live (both tournaments and cash) – and also a small amount on online on PokerStars as 'jim29'.



Seat 4: Markus Golser, 34, Salzberg, Austria - 352,000
Markus Golser is one of the best-known players on the European circuit – and also one of the most experienced after 14 years as a pro. When they opened a card room in his home city of Salzberg, Markus was one of the first through the door and has never looked back. In those days, he focused on 3/6 Limit Stud, only taking up Texas Hold'em at the start of the European Poker Tour. He said: "I came 27 th in Season 2 EPT Grand Final, 11th in Season 3 Baden and 14th in Season 3 Grand Final – so my results are getting better and better. But this is my first final table."



Seat 5: Mikael Norinder, 43, Stockholm, Sweden - 1,036,000
Mikael "Micke" Norinder took up playing poker three years ago after one of his four children died and he decided he wanted to spend more time with his family. He still own two clothing & furnishing stores in his home city of Stockholm, Sweden, but now plays poker full-time. This is Mikael's fourth EPT but the first time he has cashed. Last month he came fifth in Amsterdam Master Classics. Most of his winnings come from online tournaments and he considers himself a tourney specialist.



Seat 6: Nedzib Suman, 53, Trelleborg, Sweden - 216,000
Nedzib doesn't speak a word of English, but since arriving at the Prague EPT, he has been happily chatting away to his fellow players in Swedish and somehow assuming they will understand him. Married with three grown-up children, Nedzib has been playing 5-card draw his whole life – taking up Omaha and Texas Hold'em five years ago. In 2006, he won the Malmo Omaha Open and Swedish Omaha Open. This year, he won Omaha in Malmo Open and came sixth in Swedish Open Omaha. He's one of Sweden highest-ranking players.



Seat 7: Dag "Lucky D" Palovic, 32, Bratislava, Slovakia - 759,000
Dag is used to the limelight after a career as child actor on Slovakia TV. Later, he presented his own TV music chart show. He studied law in Vienna, French in Belgium and also an MBA in Prague. He stopped studying after he taking up a directorship at a Bratislava advertising agency. He first played poker when he was 22 – just one evening of five-card draw which he won. Nine years later, he played again in a coffee shop home game – and was hooked from then on. EPT Prague is his biggest win to date. Dag's fiancée, Zuzana, is busy modelling this week in Spain so can't be here to cheer him on – but the couple plan to marry soon and start a family.



Seat 8: Johannes Strassmann, 22, from Bonn, Germany - 245,000
Johannes, a former Starcraft Player, became a professional player in October 2006 – leaving behind his army training to become a reserve officer in order to concentrate on poker. He started with a bankroll of just $500 and has never made a deposit since – learning the game with an online poker school. At first, he focused on 3/6 Limit Hold'em but then switched to Texas Hold'em. He now prefers online cash games, short-handed or heads-up $2k NLHE. He bought in direct to EPT Prague with PokerStars. His best tournament result so far was EPT3 Monte Carlo with 23 rd place for $ 44,253.



Seat 9: Arnaud Mattern , 28, from Paris, France - 980,000
Hailing from Paris but now living in London, Arnaud is the current holder of the French Backgammon Championship title. He won the Gutshot Poker Masters in 2006 for a $51,000 prize. Before turning to poker in 2004, Arnaud's main game was backgammon: in his own words, he "crushed the tournament circuit and cash-games all around the world". The switch to poker has been very successful, both live and online. The Frenchman likes the poker circuit: "it's a good opportunity to do what I love: meeting people, partying, learning new languages and of course playing cards." This is Arnaud's first EPT cash, and he starts the final table second in chips – with already the largest payday of his career.

The tables and chairs are in position, the lighting set, the crowds are gathering and taking seats along the bank of comfortable chairs along one side of Congress Hall – the first time we’ve been able to take advantage of that at an EPT. Everything is in place for a great final.

As we reported earlier this week getting a poker tournament to run smoothly isn’t an easy job. A lot of that comes down to the hosts. The entire EPT Prague has been a great experience for all involved, a sentiment shared by Lee Jones...

"This event couldn't have happened without the support of the Casino Atrium at the Prague Hilton. They have provided cashier services, allowing players to exchange (and buy back) their Euros and dollars at very competitive rates. There's one cashier, Martina, who I'm not sure has left the building this entire week. The Casino Atrium has also set up and run the cash games, which have been wildly successful since they opened the first one at about 7:00 PM this past Sunday. In short, the casino here has been a key contributor to the event's success and we're extremely grateful for their support."

It sets us up nicely for the final day. Just nine players remain from the initial 555who arrived in the Czech capital for day 1 on Monday, a final that was cast yesterday when Swede Christer Johansson was eliminated in tenth place. These nine players steered past some quality opposition to get here and now have a shot at a €708,600 winner’s cheque - a huge difference between that and €39,200 which the ninth place finisher will receive.

So how does the final table line up at the EPT Prague?

Seat 1 – Juha Lauttamus – Finland – 567k
Seat 2 – Kristian Kjondal – Norway – 740k
Seat 3 – Gino Alacqua – Italy – 660k
Seat 4 – Markus Golser – Austria – 352k
Seat 5 – Mikael Norinder – Sweden -- 1,036,000
Seat 6 – Nedzib Suman – Sweden – 216k
Seat 7 – Dagomir Palovic – Slovakia -- 759k
Seat 8 – Johannes Strassmann – PokerStars player – Germany – 245k
Seat 9 – Arnaud Mattern – France – 980k

Mikael Norinder has the chip lead, the only player with over a million, closely followed by Frenchman Arnaud Mattern. PokerStars player Johannes Strassman is one of the short stacks on 245k whilst nearest-to-local finalist Dagmoir Palovic aims to take the winners haul back with him across the border to Slovakia. Markus Golser has come close, but Kristian Kjondal is the only player of the bunch who has played in an EPT final before.



We’re about to find out what difference that will make.

By Sean Callander

The field for day 2 in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final has been finalised after the conclusion of the third flight of day one here at Star City.

A total of 561 players have taken their seats in the Star City poker room over the past three days, and 116 will return at 12.30pm later today (Saturday) in pursuit of the $1 million first prize and total cash payouts worth $3.366 million.

Players to progress from day 1C included Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem (continuing his solid form from the Macau), PokerStars player Guillaume Patry (another player who’s been consistent in his APPT appearances) and Sydneysider Gary Benson, who held the chip lead at numerous points of the day.

One of the big stories of Day 1C was the late charge of Guy Mosel, playing just his second tournament after winning his main event seat at the recent launch of Big Game Poker at Star City.

On a flop of Kh Qs 10c, he peered down to find Ah Jd for the nuts. Even better for him, John Kim pushed all-in after making trip kings on the turn. The river blanked, and Mosel scooped a pot worth almost 100,000.

Hong Kong-based Henrik Gwinner, who was the chip leader from day 1B, will be the man to chase on 390,000. He’s more than 100,000 in chip clear of the next player – Davoud Khajeh – on 297,600.

Scotty Nguyen, the four-time WSOP bracelet winner who is a PokerStars player for the APPT Grand Final, is also in a great position with 250,000 in chips.



Other players back in action later today will include PokerStars player Terrence Chan, day 1A charger Grant Levy, top online player Tony “Bond18” Dunst and APPT Seoul champion Ziv Bachar.

From day 1B, players who’ll return include Team PokerStars Pro Lee Nelson, Julius Colman, Leo Boxell, APPT Seoul runner-up Sid Kim and Van Marcus. Could an Australian finally scoop a $1 million prize on home soil – we’ll know more after playing down to the final table of nine tomorrow.

By Sean Callander

We’ve just ticked into the final level on Day 1C of the PokerStar.net APPT Grand Final here at Star City and the chip leader is … anyone’s guess. On Day 1B, Henrik Gwinner finished with a massive stack of 390,000, but it’s highly unlikely any of today’s field will get anywhere near that figure.

Since the dinner break, there have been as many as 10 players who’ve led the field, albeit briefly. Carter Gill has just edged back in the lead from Michael Guttman, after getting into a big-time tussle with Gary Benson.

On a flop of Jh 7h 8h, Benson checked, Gill bet 5500. Benson then check-raised to 13,500 before Gill declared himself all-in. Benson is clearly displeased with Gill’s bet, and eventually folds, but not without some careful consideration.

The drama-filled day of Emad Tahtouh has also come to an end after his A K ran into the pocket aces of Bruno Portaro. The PokerStars player had outs but failed to hit, falling less than a level short of a Day 2 berth.

By Sean Callander

We’re down to just 54 players on Day 1C with less than two hours to go as the race for a place on Day 2 of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final heats up.

Our chip leader remains US youngster and PokerStars qualifier Carter Gill. The 20-year-old, who’s based in the idyllic northern Idaho area of Couer d’Alene (with a pair of poker-playing buddies), has been on the trip of a lifetime through Asia before journeying to Sydney for the APPT finale.

He’s also won a seat to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, so won’t be back in the US winter for some time. He said he was mainly a Pot Limit Omaha player online but loved the idea that he could use tournament poker to travel the world.

He’s sitting pretty on about 160,000 in chips, so this part of his journey looks set to continue for at least one more day.

Another player who has covered some miles in the recent weeks is Melbourne’s Jim Sachinidis. The founder of the popular Australian clothing label Satch, he finished an impressive 12th in a field of 64 of the world’s best players in the PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open High Roller event, just four spots out of the money.

Just before the last break, Sachinidis came over the top of three players on a board of Ac 5c 7h with a raise for all his chips.

He received one call (Ad Qh) and was stoked to show Ac Ks. The turn came 4s and river 3h, sending Sachinidis’s stack towards 100,000.

Billy 'The Croc' Argyros has lost a race for his tournament life, in all-in pre-flop action.

Argyros holding pocket 10s was called down by Bruno Portaro who lost nearly 20k in the previous hand. This time he was holding A K.

Two other players claimed to have held an ace after their hands were rolled over, but it was all to no avail, with a king in the window.

The board filled out 5h Kh 8s Jc 4h and the popular Australian player was eliminated.

By Sean Callander

Liz Lieu was the first female player two grace two final tables at a PokerStars.net APPT event last month in Macau. This weekend, Trudie Sultana, Tiffany Williamson, Helen Davis and Vera Milinkovic are well placed to join Mz.Liz in the ranks.

Lily Bui was hoping to be with them in tomorrow’s Day 2 action in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final but was just eliminated when she pushed pre-flop with Ah Kh against her opponent's pocket sevens. However, the board passed her by and Lily was eliminated just outside the top 70 for the day.

Suzy Khouiss is still in the hunt though. The sister of well-known Sydney players Sam and Kevin Khouiss, she has nursed a short stack for much of the day and elected to make her move early in level 10 with pocket jacks.

Despite being in bad shape up against pocket queens, Suzy Khouiss was delighted to see a flop of 9h 5s 6s 7h 8c, meaning the straight on the board played.

PokerStars player Emad Tahtouh is certainly not resting on his laurels and has increased his stack since the recommencement of play after dinner.

In a hand moments ago, Emad re-raised (to 15k total), a 6k pre-flop raise and was called. The flop came: 7c 4s 10h

The original raiser put a continuation bet of 10k on the flop and Emad pushed all he had, which was only 15k more. His opponent went into the tank and couldn't call the extra 15k into a 70k pot. Emad now has roughly 70k and plenty of breathing room for the last few sessions of play.

By Sean Callander

Mention the name of Michael Guttman to many local players and you'll be met with a blank look, as the Melbourne veteran is better known by his nickname 'Sticky Micky'.

Guttman is an unlikely adversary: the smile rarely leaves his face and he is good company at the table. But underestimate this man at your peril, as several unsuspecting PokerStars qualifiers have found out on Day 1C of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final.

He's rarely ventured outside Australia to play, but Guttman made an indelible mark on the 2006 WSOP with a pair of eye-catching results.

Only planning a short stay in Las Vegas, he finished runner-up to Lee Watkinson in the $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha event. Guttmann entered the heads-up duel trailing Watkinson by a ratio of about 1:3, but clawed his way back to briefly snatch the chip lead. He walked away with $360,659.

Just days later in the $2500 Short-Handed No Limit Hold'em event, Guttman started the final table as chip leader and finished third to add another $139,564 to his takings. He flew out of Las Vegas 36 hours later.

Considered a veteran of the game, he is showing no signs of slowing down. Currently holding third chip position behind fellow Australians Joe Hachem and Gary Benson, 'Sticky Micky' will be one to watch as the minutes tick by in level 9 (500/1000 with a 100 ante).

The cards are in the air with four levels remaining this evening, starting with round 9 at 500/1000.

Earlier this evening the APPT's Alison Lightman took a look at today's field and action:

Perth player Aleks Lackovic was ecstatic when slamming down pocket rockets in a three-way preflop all-in. Lackovic, from Western Australia, found himself against a short stack with pocket fives, and with a very healthy side-pot up for grabs, against an opponent with Ad Kd.

The flop came: 3h 2c 2h. Turn: 3c. River: 2d The player holding A K with approximately 50k on the line shouted "yes" when the board filled up on the river, but was still running third! He quickly realised it and laughed with embarrassment before exiting. Lackovic is back among the chip leaders with almost 120k in his stack.

Elsewhere, PokerStars player Emad Tahtouh and Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem are still steadily flying the flag in today's Day 1 third flight. Players are now on dinner break and will return in 50 minutes, when we will return from the Garden Buffet with the latest chip updates!

One could be forgiven for thinking there was a lot of action at the tables as we commence Level 8 with the blinds at 400/800. With cards face up on many of the tables and chips active, it certainly appears to be busy at the moment, but in fact the floor staff are simply chipping up the greens ($25 chips) with players racing off!

Level 7 claimed the tournament lives of the Lerner twins - PokerStars qualifiers Derek and Aaron, with Derek succeeding in the last-longer bet between the pair.

Day 1C selected chip counts:

• Gary Benson 135k
• Joe Hachem 96k (Team PokerStars Pro)
• Mick Guttman 75k
• Danny Huynh 56k
• Emad Tahtouh 50k (PokerStars Player)

Billy "The Croc" Argyros is on the respirator with only 4.5k in chips.

Team PokerStars Pro Chris Moneymaker timed his visit to the tournament floor (as a spectator) perfectly, as he watched fellow Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem rake in a huge pot, after flopping the nuts and eliminating well known local poker identity Chris Levick.

Hachem decided to get fancy pre-flop with 6-9 offsuit, re-raising Levick's pre-flop under the gun raise.

Levick called and the flop came down: 7d 5d 8s. Hachem cleverly disguised his hand with a post-flop bet of 6k, which resulted in an all-in push from Levick. Hachem insta-called and turned up 6d 9s for the nut straight, with Levick disgusted as he turned over his pocket 10s.

There was no help for Levick (who runs the PokerDome group of poker rooms in Sydney) on the turn (7s) or river (Qd) and he was eliminated.

"Joe, you're a superstar," Moneymaker said. "Can't you see I'm blessed, look what's behind me!", replied Joe referring to wife Jeannie on the rail.

Joe Hachem now has 80k with 95 runners remaining and level 8 nearing.

100 players remain on 10 full tables and the action has slowed down this level.

PokerStars qualifier Derek Lerner (twin brother of Aaron) has fought back from 6000 in chips to have a playable stack of 20,000. Gary Benson is still the day's chip leader and currently has about 110,000.

As the players in Day 1C grind towards the end of level 6 and approach another 10-minute break, yesterday's monster chip leader Henrik Gwinner, along with Team PokerStars Pro Lee Nelson and former World Champion Scotty Nguyen reflect on their day 1 performance:



Approximate chip counts Day 1C (Level 6):

• Gary Benson 135k
• Quentin Lae 70k
• Colin Ford 57k
• Suzy Kouiss 52k
• Danny Huynh 50k
• Joe Hachem 45k (Team PokerStars Pro)
• Mick Guttman 40k
• Emad Tahtouh 38k (PokerStars Player)
• Gary Lent 29k
• Billy "The Croc" Argyros 24k

Another player remaining in the field of 102 players is Today Tonight's Andrew Bourke with roughly 22k in chips.

By Sean Callander

Sportspeople sometimes have to perform at the highest level when they aren't at peak fitness – a niggling injury or a flu bug can really test elite performers on the big stage.

One such player experiencing such adversity today is PokerStars player Emad Tahtouh. With a pocket full of cold and flu tablets, the young Melburnian is battling through the Day 1C field in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final.

Desperate for a breakthrough victory on the international stage, Tahtouh has collected his thoughts since his final table in the APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open $15k buy-in High Roller event.

Tahtouh took a 2.5:1 chip lead into the final table but struggled against a field that included John Juanda and Liz Lieu (plus PokerStars player and eventual winner Eric Assadourian). He eventually bowed out in fifth position.

Tahtouh was runner-up in the 2006 EPT London main event, which earned him £285,900 (or just over $A720,000). He recently finished second in the Bad Boys of Poker Invitational at the PokerNews Cup in his hometown of Melbourne.

He's currently sitting just over the chip average on 36,000 – no word on his temperature though!

Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem has taken down another pot to continue his move up the leaderboard. Joe now has 45k in chips, nicely above the current average stack of just over 30k.

In the hijack seat, PokerStars qualifier Rikki Papesch raised the 500 big blind to 1800 straight. The action was folded to Hachem in the small blind, who re-raised to 5200. Papesch called.

The flop came Qd 10d Ah. First to act, Joe led out with a bet of 12k and Papesch asked Joe for a quick chip count before eventually folding.

"Come on man! You got my hopes up!", said Joe with a grin on his face.

Joe wasn't joking about wanting a call, as he showed the table his pocket pair of 10s, for bottom set on the flop. No doubt a showdown he will use to his advantage.

No Australian player has ever won $1 million in an Australian poker tournament, but many are making their charge today!

Australians are currently filling the top of the leaderboard with Aleks Lackovic (80k) and Gary Benson (66k) both doubling up recently. Colin Ford is next in chips with 65k.

Emad Tahtouh has improved this level to 39k in chips, despite his frustration at a recent missed opportunity in a huge three-way pot, where he would have hit the nut straight on the river.

Instead, Aleks Lackovic raked in the pot and has taken the chip lead after eliminating the third opponent with a set of eights.

The current blind level is at 250/500 with 118 players left on Day 1C.

Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem "was" reeling on a short stack with little over 8000 for a large part of blind level 4, but has doubled up late to go to the break with over 20,000 in chips.

In a five-way limped pot to Hachem's big blind, the flop came: 8h 8c 7h.

The action was checked around to one of the early chip leaders Danny Huynh who bet 2k. Joe then shoved his last 8k into the pot, only to be quickly called by an opponent who had also checked the flop in early position. Huynh then went away and left it to Hachem to fight it out.

Hachem's opponent turned over J 8 for trip jacks, then Joe slowly revealed Q 8 for trips with a better kicker.

The turn (10s) and river (Qd) offered little assistance to his opponent and Hachem has improved to 23k in chips. Play will resume at Level 5 with the blinds at 200/400.

Approximate chip counts:

• Quentin Lae 75k
• Danny Huynh 60k
• Mick Guttman 34k
• Gary Benson 34k
• Joe Hachem 23k (Team PokerStars Pro)
• Emad Tahtouh 21k (PokerStars Player)
• Billy "The Croc" Argyros 11.5k

131 runners remain with the average stack at 26k.

By Sean Callander

There's been plenty of head-turning in the tournament area today – locals are still coming to terms with the sight of the 2005 WSOP champion and Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem sitting in the Star City poker room.

However, most of the double-takes have been reserved for Aaron and Derek Lerner, identical twins from Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

It's rare enough to have brothers playing in a major tournament let alone twins, and the Lerners have already chalked up some impressive poker achievements.

They both cashed in the same two events at the 2007 WSOP – Aaron was 28th in the $2000 No Limit Hold'em event and Derek 42nd, and in the $1500 No Limit Hold'em event, it was Eric who finished 118th and Aaron 124th. So who's the better player? "I am," they both said with a wry grin.

Another famous face in the room was Glenn Stewart, a player with National Rugby League side Manly. However, he's now on the wrong side of the rope after he pushed all-in with Ad Kh against Colin Ford's 10c 10s. Both players improved their hands on the board (Ah 10h 3c 5s Ks), but Ford got the nod to move above 50,000 in chips.

He's not far behind the leading bunch, which includes Quentin Lae (75,000), Rabii Maatouk (63,000), Danny Huynh (60,000) and Rick Furay (45,000).

By Sean Callander

Team PokerStars Pro Isabelle ëNo Mercyí Mercier has been a great supporter of the PokerStars.net APPT after journeying to Seoul and Macau.

Unfortunately, her PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final experience was all too brief as she bowed out late on level three to Brooks Bingman.

Already short-stacked, Mercier made the move from the button with pocket eights, but found herself well behind Bingman's 10s.

The board came 6h 3d 9d Qd 5h, sending Mercier to the rail less than three hours after the commencement of Day 1C.

In contrast, Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem has clawed back some of the ground he lost early in two intriguing hands with Vinh Truong.

From the small blind, Hachem raised to 1200, Truong called and they saw a dangerous flop of Ah Ac 10c. Hachem bet 1600, Truong called and the turn came Jh. It went check-check, and the river was the Kh. Hachem bet 5200 and Truong mucked.

Just minutes later, Truong pushed all-in and Hachem called. Amazingly, both players showed pocket threes and chopped it up.

Play is about to tick into level four, with blinds up to 150/300 with a 25 ante.

By Sean Callander

The final figure for the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final has been confirmed at 561. The total prize pool is $3.366 million, and the top 56 players are assured a minimum payout of $8000

Let's pause for a second to acknowledge the incredible effort of the entire APPT team to achieve this historic figure. Less than four months ago, preparations had reached fever pitch ahead of the historic first APPT event in Manila.

Since then, the tour has visited Seoul in South Korea and hosted the first No Limit Hold'em tournament ever held in the People's Republic of China at the APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open.

Now, the APPT has chalked up another first – the biggest tournament ever held in Australia's biggest city and just the third $1 million first prize ever offered in this poker-mad country.

Given this event (and tour) did not exist six months ago, it's been an amazing effort by APPT president Jeffrey Haas, PokerStars Asia-Pacific director of marketing Sarne Lightman and the entire APPT team culminating in today's announcement of 561 entrants for the tournament. APPT tournament director Danny McDonagh, and the Star City, management, staff and dealers have done a wonderful job to ensure the event has been a success.

Aside from the $1 million first prize, the top three players are all assured a payout of at least a quarter of a million dollars ($621,540 for runner-up; $322,280 for third).

Level 2 has concluded and the players have taken a short (10 minute) break, with Gary Benson the early chip leader with 36k.

Benson is wielding his stack at a six-handed table with three absent players (sitting out the first two rounds), and a spare tenth seat. Unfortunately Team PokerStars Pro Isabelle "No Mercy" Mercier is low on chips after the first two levels and goes to the break with a little over 7000.

Selected chip counts at the first break:

• Gary Benson 36k
• Gary Lent 30k
• Emad Tahtouh 24k (PokerStars Player)
• Mick Guttman 23k
• Billy "The Croc" Argyros 19k
• Joe Hachem 14k (Team PokerStars Pro)
• Dan Schreiber 7.5k
• Isabelle Mercier 7k (Team PokerStars Pro)

By Sean Callander

The lines between poker, celebrity and the media have always been blurred – many players have roles in the media and journalists love to mix it up with at the poker table.

Today's 1C field at the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final includes a couple of media types desperate to prove their poker stripes against some of the world's best.

Andrew Bourke, a reporter with Aussie current affairs program Today Tonight (in the mould of Inside Edition or Hard Copy), and Guy Mosel, a sub-editor from FHM magazine are sweating it out through the early stages of today's play.

Mosel won his seat in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final at the launch of Star City's Big Game Poker, which is the casino's new banner for poker tournaments.

"I was really pleased to win as I usually don't even win against my mates and I've been looking forward to competing for the $3 million potential prize pool. As I didn't expect to win the seat, my real motivation that night was to win a $15 bet I had made on the way to Star City with the FMH boys before the tournament," Mosel said.

At the other end of the scale is PokerStars.net qualifier freeroll winner Ben McSkimming from Melbourne. With his wife and friends watching from the rail, Benís beacon is the $1 million first prize, which would go nicely towards the house that Ben (who is currently working in a pizza shop) would love to purchase. Everyone's chasing a dream of their own.

A very tentative beginning to Day 1C, the final flight of the APPT Grand Final's first day. John Holsonback is the first player to be eliminated with a full-house, running into a better boat on the river.

Elsewhere, Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem is a renowned short stack player, but will be keen to avoid getting much shorter than his current stack of just over 14k.

Highly credentialed Australian pro Gary Benson has doubled up with pocket jacks. All of Benson's money went in on a flop of 2d 7d 5s. His opponent called and showed pocket 10s to Benson's delight. The turn (4c) and river (Qc) were no help to his opponent and Benson has doubled-up and now has 32k.

Benson recently beat a field of well-known Australian players in the $10k Bad Boys of Poke Invitational at the PokerNews Cup.

192 players remain, with most players hovering around the starting stack amount of 20k at the midway point of Level 2 (blinds 100/200).

In one of his first pots played today, Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem found himself in an eventful battle of the blinds against Safi Nafiz.

On a flop of Qs Ks 9h, Nafiz was first to act and led out for 300.

Joe popped it up to 700. Nafiz didn't hesitate to raise to 1000, with Hachem annoyed when the dealer said it was 1100 to go (minimum raise of 400). "If he says a thousand, it's a thousand," Joe said. Nafiz placed the extra (required) 100 into the middle and Joe called the further 400.

The turn was a 7. Nafiz checked and Joe led out for 1600. Nafiz called. The board paired Queens on the river and Nafiz again checked.

Joe immediately checked and turned over K 7 for two-pair, quickly realising he had lost practically the minimum when Nafiz showed "ladies" for quad queens, clearly missing a bet on the river.

By Sean Callander

2005 WSOP main event winner and Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem has just wished players all the best and instructed dealers to ìshuffle up and dealî on Day 1C in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final at Star City in Sydney.

Thereís barely room to swing a cat today with a capacity field expected to take the main event field well over 550. Already 72 players have qualified for day 2, and they'll be joined by approximately 40 more today.

Day 1B wrapped up just after midnight with 42 players surviving of the 194 that started the day. The top five chip counts were Henrik Gwinner (390,400), Scotty Nguyen (250,400), Gary Diamond (239,000), Julius Colman (196,600) and Larry Wright (180,600). That leaves Gwinner the overall chip leader ahead of Davoud Khajeh (297,600), Jason Lien (278,200), Terrence Chan (253,200) and Scotty Nguyen.

Players in action today include Hachem, fellow Team PokerStars Pros Isabelle Mercier, PokerStars players Daniel Schreiber, Emad Tahtouh and Guillaume Patry plus highly rated locals Gary Benson and Billy 'The Croc' Argyros.

It took just over five hours but our final table is in place, thanks to the departure of EPT stalwart Christer Johansson who fell at the last hurdle and missed the final table by one place. It was a hand against fellow Swede Mikael Norinder that did it, Norinder raising before Christer pushed all-in. Norinder showed A-Q when he called to Christer’s pocket queens. But when the ace hit the flop it marked the end of Christer’s EPT.

Christer Johansson

So the final table tomorrow looks like this:

Seat 1 – Juha Lauttamus – Finland – 567k
Seat 2 – Kristian Kjondal – Norway – 740k
Seat 3 – Gino Alacqua – Italy – 660k
Seat 4 – Markus Golser – Austria – 352k
Seat 5 – Mikael Norinder – Sweden -- 1,036,000
Seat 6 – Nedzib Suman – Sweden – 216k
Seat 7 – Dagomir Palovic – Slovakia -- 759k
Seat 8 – Johannes Strassmann – PokerStars player – Germany – 245k
Seat 9 – Arnaud Mattern – France – 980k

We’d seen on day two what effect a bad hand could have on the chip lead so no one felt too comfortable going into the day. But to be fair Markus Golser might not have expected so many ups and downs to his passage to the final. First he lost some, then took the chip lead with a massive pot before seemingly spreading his chips evenly between his tablemates.

Marc Karam also suffering for just one bad hand, his chips ultimately fuelling Golser’s cross country ramble. The Canadian's consistent play had served him well over the three days but suffered this afternoon in one half hour period, leaving him with too big a mountain to climb.


PokerStars qualifier Anthony Phillips

PokerStars qualifiers also put in some commendable performances. Anthony Philips was the first to exit in 25th place; Canadian Tommy Pavlicek went out in 22nd and Jose Navarro, who at one stage yesterday seemed unstoppable, would go out in 17th place. English qualifier Mike McDonald went out in 14th place whilst German Sebastian Zink would narrowly miss out on the final table, exiting in 11th.

so, going into tomorrow Mikael Norinder holds the chip lead, one of two Swedes in the last nine. Slovakian player Dagomir Palovic is the closest to a local finalist, whilst Markus Golser, making his first final table after various cashes on the tour, will be looking to land his first EPT crown.


Dagomir Palovic

It leaves Congress Hall at the Prague Hilton a little quieter after a day of hectic crowds pushing closer and closer to the tables; a theatre of tense and relieved faces playing out the penultimate day before them. The same crowds and more will no doubt be back tomorrow for the final of the EPT Prague which starts at the later time of 3pm.



For anyone wanting to recap on today’s action:

Nothing taken for granted on day three

Adrenaline rush for some, nothing short of the nuts for others

Into the first break

The state of play

Closing in on the final table

German qualifier’s classy performance


Don’t forget to check out the EPT video blog for news, features and interviews from day 3.

All photos (c) Neil Stoddart

Sebastian Zink may have fallen short of the final table but he didn’t fall short of impressing a lot of people this week. The modest 23-year-old from Bochum, Germany (a short distance to the EPT Dortmund) stopped by to chat after his elimination. Cognac in hand (“It makes me feel good”) revealed a few more details from his background that he was too modest to admit to in the conversations we’d had before.

Sebastian Zink

Sebastian is another of the Magic: The Gathering brigade who have made the conversion to poker and converted well. “It seems like a good training ground!” he said, adding the success he had playing has served him well at the poker table.

Aside from his €27,800 for 11th place here in Prague Sebastian’s owns an impressive record on PokerStars, notably for his second place in the WCOOP this year. It wasn’t just the result, which netted him $51,050; it was the classy way in which he waited for his heads-up opponent to restore internet connection, passing on an easy win, before playing to a finish. “It was the right thing to do.” His mother would be proud.

Add to that a 5th place in a Super Tuesday event and a 3rd place in a Sunday warm-up and it’s not surprise Sebastian took Prague by storm. “See you in Dortmund.”

In what has been a rapid fire last few hours we’re down now to 10 players, with just one more to be eliminated before our final table of nine tomorrow.

Markus Golser

It’s been an adventure for some. Markus Golser made a perfect play earlier to boost his stack with a pot worth 960,000 only to lose the chip lead by dispersing his chips seemingly to everyone at his table, making these moments on the final table bubble all the more tense.


Christer Johansson

Swedish pro Christer Johansson also stands on the brink. He could potentially become only the second person to win both a WPT and EPT should he make the final tomorrow. Marc Karam could not recover from his earlier clash with Golser; he went out after a performance highly regarded by most. Not a flash player, Karam tends to build up slowly even after a set back and many thought he was likely to go all the way.


PokerStars qualifier Mike McDonald

Sadly we’ve lost two more PokerStars qualifiers but they go down as great performances from both Mike McDonald, who exited in 14th place and Sebastian Zink in 11th. Sebastian had encouragement from his twin brother Daniel along the way today. It leaves just Johannes Strassmann as the last of the PokerStars players as we await just one more elimination.


PokerStars qualifier Johannes Strassmann

The latest casualties:

16th – Adrian Koy -- Germany
15th – Cyril Bensoussan -- France
14th –Mike McDonald – PokerStars qualifier -- Canada
12th – Nikolas Liakos -- Sweden
11th – Sebastian Zink – PokerStars qualifier – Germany

All photos (c) Neil Stoddart

Out for €12,650:
21st -- Luigi Rizzi -- Italy
20th -- Marc Karam -- Canada
19th -- Iliodoros Kamatakis -- Greece
18th -- Paul Gormley -- Ireland
17th -- Jose Navarro -- PokerStars qualifier -- Spain

So into level 20 the chip stacks of the last 16 look like this:

Dagomir Palovic – Slovakia – 1,000,000
Markus Golser – Austria – 760,000
Kristian Kjondal – Norway – 670,000
Juha Lauttamus – Finland – 430,000
Thierry Labat – France – 400,000
Nedzib Suman – Sweden – 390,000
Mikael Norinder – Sweden – 320,000
Arnaud Mattern – France –255,000
Nikolas Liakos – Sweden – 226,000
Adrian Koy – Germany – 190,000
Mike McDonald – PokerStars qualifier -- Canada – 160,000
Johannes Strassmann –PokerStars player – Germany – 155,000
Gino Alacqua – Italy – 155,000
Christer Johansson – Sweden -- 150,000
Sebastian Zink – PokerStars qualifier – Germany – 115,000
Cyril Bensoussan – France – 110,000

And a reminder of the payouts:

1st -- €708,400
2nd -- €407,300
3rd -- €235,300
4th -- €182,200
5th -- €151,800
6th -- €119,000
7th -- €93,600
8th -- €63,200
9th -- €39,200
10th -- €39,200
11th to 12th -- €27,800
13th to 14th -- €20,200
15th to 16th -- €15,200
17th to 21st -- €12,650

The biggest hand of the tournament in more ways than one. Big pot, big cards. Both Tommy Pavlicek and Juha Lauttamus had their chips in the middle with good cause to think they had hope. Mikael Norinder called them both with a board already showing 9c 8c 7c 9h.

Juha Lauttamus

Michael showed Qs 9s for trips, not a bad hand ordinarily but one that was about to be swamped. Tommy Pavlicek showed better, he had 9d 7d for a full house. But centre stage and the pot went to Juha who showed 6c 5c for the straight flush. Less than a handful are seen in any tournament, they're the Yeti of poker, but never has it been so better timed, at least as far as Juha was concerned. A massive stack of chips, measuring over 800k, are now in the possession of the Finn.


Marc Karam

Into the first break of the day, Marc Karam headed straight to his wife watching from the rail, sitting himself down beside her as if merely a spectator. Marc made a call against Markus Golser that cost him dearly and left his once mighty stack in ruins. He has an incredible record in EPT events. Played three, cashed in three, and two final table appearances (both grand finals). Can he rescue the situation and make it a third? By the look on his face it doesn't look like he can. He's listening to consoling and encouraging words from the one person best place to say them.

The red chips (worth 500) are being taken away making it now a two tone tournament. Blue chips worth 1k, brown chips worth 5k.


PokerStars qualifier Jose Navarro

Whilst PokerStars qualifier Jose Navarro is interviewed for the EPT live blog Sebastian Zink was hanging out with his brother Daniel on the rail. Both are in good spirits, with Sebastian already planning a swoop on the EPTs in Dortmund and then the new stop at San Remo next year. And Daniel? Was it frustrating watching his brother from the rail?

“Frustrating? Ha, not at all. Maybe next time it will be the other way around!”

Tournament update:

Out for €10,100:
32nd – Nick goodhall -- UK
31st – Luis Sevilla -- Spain
30th – Adrian Schaap -- Netherlands
29th – Mikael Nordin -- Sweden
28th – Frantisek Striz – Czech Republic
27th – Mikkel Madsen -- Denmark
26th – Oskar Silow -- Sweden
25th -- Tony Phillips – PokerStars qualifier -- UK

Out for €12,650:
24th – Steven Vollers -- Netherlands
23rd – Thomas Brolin -- Sweden
22nd – Tommy Pavlicek -- PokerStars player -- Canada

All photos (c) Neil Stoddart

By Sean Callander

Day 1B is done and dusted here at the Star City Casino with 42 of the 184 players who took their seats at 10.30am set to return for Saturday's Day 2 action in the hunt for the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final title.

Players in action today included Team PokerStars Pro Lee Nelson, Scotty Nguyen and Jeff Lisandro, along side scores of Australasia's best players and PokerStars qualifiers.

It was a much more sedate session than day 1A when players fell thick and fast in the early levels. However, the eliminations have been frequent this evening with less than half the field who went to dinner still alive in the tournament at the end of play.

At day's end, Henrik Gwinner topped the chip count on more than 375,000 – well ahead of Davoud Khajeh who led the field on day 1A (with 297,600). In the final 15 minutes, Gwinner made a gutsy call with 7h 5c against PokerStars qualifier Paren Arzoomanian (6h 5d) on a board of As 7s 5s 4d Jd to haul in a pot worth more than 200,000.

Scotty Nguyen had a quiet afternoon, but has taken control since the dinner break and with just under 300,000, the 1998 world champion is poised to have a big say on Saturday. He took a massive pot (nines against eights) in the last five minutes of play to rocket past all but one player in the chip count.

Others to finish the day strongly were the remarkably consistent Julius Colman Gary Diamond (220,000) and well known Sydney pro Steve Wise on 141,000.

Sid Kim, who was third in the PokerStars.net APPT Seoul main event, was a late mover after doubling through local youngster Kenny Ng and lucking out with a rivered straight against kings earlier in the night.

Other well known names who'll return on day 2 include Team PokerStars Pro Lee Nelson, veteran Melbourne player Leo Boxell, PokerStars Supernova Van Marcus and Tiffany Williamson.

We're back for day 1C from 10.30am tomorrow when Team PokerStars Pros Joe Hachem and Isabelle Mercier, PokerStars players Daniel Schreiber, Emad Tahtouh and Guillaume Patry plus dozens of PokerStars qualifiers will be in action.

Progressive Tournament Chip Count:

Henrik Gwinner 390,400

Davoud Khajeh 297,600

Jason Lien 278,200

Terrence Chan 253,200

Scotty Nguyen 250,400

Lei He 241,100

Gary Diamond 239,000

Michael Zowie 228,100

Julius Colman 196,600

Joseph Loruzzo 194,200

Larry Wright 180,600

Grant Levy 173,000

Karib Karib 155,400

Matthieu Logel 150,200

John Donahue 145,200

Sol Bergren 142,600

Leo Boxell 142,100

Luigi A'Preda 130,800

Jai Kemp 109,000

Tony Dunst 108,200

Vijayan Nagarajan 108,000

Sid Kim 107,300

Paren Arzoomanian 105,300

John Matwey 97,300

Lee Nelson 93,500

Robert Korun 93,400

David St Eloi 93,300

Franciscus Dekkers 92,800

Daniel Elkington 90,500

Only one level remains on Day 1B with the blinds at 1000/2000 (300 ante).

51 players are left with the average stack at 73k. Team PokerStars' Lee Nelson goes into the final round with 90k in chips. Scotty Nguyen had a bumpy level and took a beat, but still has 120k in chips.

PokerStars online qualifiers Paren Arzoomanian and Francisicus Dekkers have held very solid in the later rounds (on Nelson and Nguyen's tables), with 135k and 100k respectively.

Alison Lightman spoke with both Paren and Francisicus earlier today, as they fought out the chip lead.



Henrik Gwinner looks very confident and is the current chip leader with 280k.

By Sean Callander

The 10.30am start for each of the day one flights here at the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final is unusually early for players used to early afternoon starts in tournaments of this size.

But spare a thought for one of Australia's top female players Sarah Bilney, who was up at 4am (as usual) to feed her four-month-old daughter.

Dad (and poker player) Michael Tomeny played yesterday so has been minding the little lady while Sarah has been struggling with a short stack.

Finally, the stack gave out when Jim Kilarjian bet the flop of 2c 4h Qc, and Bilney made the call. Both players checked the turn of 7d, then Bilney shoved in her last chips on the river (5s). Kilarjian insta-called with kings, which were too good for Bilney's Ks Qh.

The other female player still in today's field, Tiffany Williamson, looks well placed to survive through to day 2. She just doubled up when her pocket queens held up against A K when the board came low (10h 8h 5h 7d 6c).

Play has started on four tables. PokerStars qualifier and one half of the Zink brothers, Sebastian Zink finds himself on perhaps the toughest table, with Marc Karam, Adrian Foy and Markus Golser opposite. PokerStars qualifiers Jose Navarro and Anthony Phillips have former Swedish international footballer and EPT regular Thomas Brolin on their table.

Thomas Brolin

Nick Goodhall was first out but it was Sebastian Zink who made waves with one of the first major hands of the day.

Marc Karam led the hand placing a brown chip worth 5k into the pot. Sebastian called using a pile of red chips worth 500. Adrian Schaap, wearing a New York cap, also calls. A flop of 9-8-Q prompts Schaap to bet 24k in two towers of blue which he seemed to take an age compiling. Karam mucked but Zink moved all-in, a fact quietly announced by the dealer as Zink covered his face with his hand.

Schaap removed his glasses, drummed the table with his hand and called showing top pair. Zink though had him outdone, holding 9-8 for bottom two pair. The board dealt blanks. Sebastian first stood up, then clapped a few times, before shaking Schaap’s hand (Zink had Schaap covered).


PokerStars qualifier Sebastian Zink

Each hand is a lottery win in itself now and Sebastian allowed himself a quick smile after the adrenaline surge in his chest subsided.

Tournament update:

Not so fortunate was PokerStars qualifier Anthony Phillips. His day ended when he moved all-in and was called by Greek player Iliodoros Kamatakis. Queens against nines in favour of Kamatakis who called loudly for a queen (and got it) then just in case called for a full house (and got quads instead), proving that for some people if you ask you shall receive. Phillips out in 25th place for €10,100.


PokerStars qualifier Tony Phillips

Jose Navarro has also taken a knock, losing out on a pot to Kristian Kjondal who made a set of queens against a pair of tens and a straight draw.

Thomas Brolin has just become the latest victim of Iliodoros Kamatakis and his cries towards the gods of poker. A-K for Brolin against pocket jacks. Kamatakis called for a jack (and got it) and then with Brolin drawing dead, called for another. Brolin out for his first EPT cash finish.

All photos (c) Neil Stoddart

PokerStars.net APPT Manila winner Brett Parise and American 83-year-old Sam Silk have found the later levels too hard on their stack, and have been eliminated.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Henrik Gwinner is only getting stronger, with almost 300k after eliminating another player, this time catching his gutshot straight on the turn with Q J offsuit against his opponent's set of 6's on the flop.

Elsewhere, Gary Diamond went to over 200k in chips as he woke up with aces against an all-in player with pocket 7s. His aces held.

Team PokerStars Pro Lee Nelson and Scotty Nguyen are consolidating their position with 80k and 130k respectively.

With the blinds at 800/1600 and only one level to follow, the field is beginning to fall away with 54 runners remaining.

Yesterday we watched as 160 players were sent from Congress Hall empty handed but for a story from the EPT Prague. We also saw the first 24 of 56 cashees were paid out. Interestingly of those 24, 20 experienced an EPT cash for the first time with only Magnus Petersen, Cristiano Blanco, Nicolai Vivet and Michael Durrer having cashed before (three cashes in season 3 for Durrer).

To some people elimination might mean a trip into the centre of Prague, a walk through the old town square perhaps, along the cobbled streets, or a tour of one of the many churches, monuments or an amble down the river. There’s plenty here. One feature of the Prague skyline it the TV Tower. Like something designed by a man in the middle of a horrible dream, it features a large spike reaching for the sky with babies crawling up and down the sides. The kind of image that can keep you up at night.


TV tower complete with babies (faint black spots) on the horizon

Nightmares may not be far from what some experienced last night. More than one player left the tournament arena yesterday mumbling something, proclaiming something, or screaming something. The wrong card falls and the image will stay with you, burned into your memory forever. Perhaps a day in bed would be better than going outside?

But no one can feel too comfortable, even today. Steven Devlin felt the full force of ‘what the hell happened!?’ yesterday when he went from first to last in the space of half a day. Team PokerStars pro Katja Thater found everything over in an augenblick, whilst Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier started well, middled well and ended badly, out before the money.

But for our type of people, the poker hardcore drunk on the whole EPT experience, there is no option of relaxation. It will be a day spent on the rail, neck craning for a glimpse of a shown down hand and trying to recreate that parallel universe where there hopes of tournament glory didn’t end so tragically.

As far as PokerStars qualifiers are concerned seven are still in the tournament. Chief among them is Jose Navarro, the shaggy looking Spaniard gradually built a colossus stack yesterday, stacked as neatly as his hair, but with a destructive force that registered on the richter scale.


PokerStar qualifier Jose Navarro

No one is safe, which is what makes it all so interesting. Christer Johansson is still in running to become only the second combined WPT/EPT winner, whilst Monte Carlo runner-up Marc Karam could still win his first elusive EPT. No room for complacency though. It could be a short day it could be a long one. We’ll soon find out as the pre-tournament music fires out over the pa.

Here’s a reminder of how things stand:

Dagomir Palovic – Slovakia – 357,000
Adrian Koy – Germany – 345,000
Mikael Norinder – Sweden – 343,500
Jose Luis Navarro – PokerStars qualifier -- Spain – 316,000
Luis Sevilla – Spain – 307,500
Adrian Schaap – Holland – 236,500
Kristian Kjondal – Norway – 234,000
Thierry Labat – France – 226,000
Arnaud Mattern – France – 220,500
Sebastian Zink – PokerStars qualifier -- Germany – 210,000
Tommy Pavlicek – PokerStars player -- Canada – 203,000
Mike McDonald – PokerStars qualifier – Canada – 187,000
Marc Karam – Canada – 171,000
Christer Johansson – Sweden -- 157,500
Steven Vollers – Holland – 155,500
Juha Lauttamus – Finland – 154,500
Markus Golser – Austria – 148,000
Luigi Rizzi – Italy – 146,500
Nikolas Liakos – Sweden – 140,000
Anthony Phillips – PokerStars qualifier – UK – 137,500
Nedzib Suman – Sweden – 137,500
Gino Alacqua – Italy – 135,000
Iliodoros Kamatakis – Greece – 130,500
Paul Gormley – Ireland – 130,000
Johannes Strassmann – PokerStars player – Germany – 109,500
Frantisek Striz -- Czech Republic – 94,500
Nicky Goodall – PokerStars player – UK -- 91500
Thomas Brolin – Sweden – 90,000
Mikkel Madsen – Denmark – 82,000
Cyril Bensoussan – France – 59,500
Oskar Silow – Sweden – 53,500
Mikael Nordin – Sweden – 40,000

Don’t forget to check out the EPT video blog throughout the day for news, features and interviews from around the EPT Prague. Click here for more details.

Jose Navarro picture (c) Neil Stoddart

Two big stacks locked horns and James 'Welcome Back' Potter has been eliminated from the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final, after just winning two big pots.

On a flop of A K Q, Potter check-raised the flop, and was smooth called by his only opponent, Henrik Gwinner.

The turn paired the Q, on a board now double suited. Potter checked to Gwinner who put a bet of 25,000 out, which was a touch more than half of Potter's stack leaving him the option to fold or push. Potter went into the tank and table talk was rife between the two, with Potter electing to push.

Gwinner then went into the tank and expressed his concern that Potter had quad queens, and was obviously also concerned about a full-house. Gwinner eventually called, flipping over J 10, which was too good for Potter's top two pair of aces and kings.

Potter still had eight outs on the river with a K, Q or A to fill-up, but the river was a blank and Potter is out. Gwinner has now gone to a monster chip lead with 250k in front of him.

PokerStars Video Blog
Go surfing with Team PokerStars Pros




Well before Patrick Swayze made his fabled escape to Australia in the movie “Point Break”, Oz has been the destination of choice for surfers world over. Is it any surprise then, that our Tae-Kwon Do practicing, Bungee–jumpingTeam PS Pros decided to hit the waves this afternoon with a wee bit of help from the experts at Let’s Go Surfing?

Team PokerStars Pros, Joe Hachem, Isabelle “No Mercy’ Mercier, and Chris Moneymaker, hit Bondi Beach running, and didn’t give an inch during their grueling 3hr lesson.

Egged on by a small wager as to who would stay on their feet the longest, Moneymaker argued that as the smallest and perhaps the one with the ahem – best weight to height ratio, he was a shoe–in to win the bet. That is until “No Mercy” decided to join in at the last minute, leaving Chris in the dust as to his dubious height advantage.

When asked during the break how surfing compared to bungee jumping, both Mercier and Hachem were in agreement that the adrenalin rush of the bungee was certainly more immediate than the chilly thrills of learning to surf.



Everyone hit the surf a second time after a break where the team learned to stand just as their boards crested the Bondi breakers . This time around, to see who could make good on the wager and ride the waves longest.

The first one out the gate was actually a PokerStars manager who shall remain nameless, he held his lead until Moneymaker, and then Sarne Lightman director of marketing for PokerStars Asia-Pacific matched the nameless exec’s lead.

No Mercy, frustrated and cold, possibly still suffering from the headache that had almost kept her out of the water, didn’t get up to much until her board was replaced, and her stance improved.

Only Hachem, a fighter to the last, found himself without a wave to call his own at days end. When asked for the status of his fight with the sea, Hachem replied. “It’s zero for one”.

Nevertheless all the Team PokerStars Pros were in agreement – surfing was an excellent experience, something both Hachem and Moneymaker plan to do again when they hit Bermuda for the “PokerStars Caribbean Adventure” later this month - Hachem’s even going to bring the family.

Who won the bet? Moneymaker, using that advantage of his to good effect he came home with the win, asked if it had been an easy wager he replied “I’ve never worked harder for a win in my life. My arms are aching, my legs are aching, that was the toughest bet I have ever won.”

Maybe so, but the tan and the tale will certainly impress the folk in Moneymaker’s home state, land-locked Tennessee.

Scotty Nguyen has risen to the occasion in pursuit of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final title, as the Thursday evening crowd rolls in, by doubling up after the dinner break.

There are no doubts at all in who has the most support this evening, with the large majority of railbirds getting as close to Scotty's table as they can. Immediately after the the break of tables at the 80-player mark, Scotty woke up at his new destination with pocket aces and won the maximum, as his opponent doubled him up holding cowboys. An ace on the river sealed an already "done deal" for Nguyen giving him a set and just under 90k in chips. The rail went up as one!

The former world champion is now among the healthier stacks remaining. We are now down to 72 players with an average stack of just under 50k.

"All in" has been the catchcry from the tournament floor as players resumed for level 9 with the blinds at 500/1000 (100 ante). The field is gradually diminishing, with 81 runners left and many players finding their hand forced at this big blind level.

Lee Nelson and James Potter have found themselves in the blinds at an eight-handed table, as we await for one more elimination and subsequent table break.

In a hand folded to their blinds, Nelson (SB) and Potter (BB) engaged in a battle of wits, with neither keen to relinquish their status at the table.

The flop came: 2s 10c 4s, Nelson checked and Potter bet 3k. Nelson called. The turn was a Kd and both players checked.

The board paired on the river with a 10h. This time Nelson out with a bet of 3000. Potter didn't hesitate to bump it up practically the minimum, to 7000.

Lee Nelson folded instantly, as Potter showed 7 2 offsuit for a bottom pair of deuces, to Nelson's dismay.

The 2005 Victorian poker champion has doubled up in the past few minutes with pockets queens against pocket jacks. Looking immaculate in a borrowed pair of sunglasses, the Melbourne player is on the charge.

By Sean Callander

During the last break, a man emerged from the crowd and asked kindly if we could send a message to his family in the USA via the PokerStars blog. And so we made acquaintances with Sam Silk – originally from Philadelphia, now resident in New Jersey.

He can safely lay claim to being the oldest player in the field at 83. The PokerStars qualifier is having the time of his life on his first trip to Australia.

A lifelong poker player, he started playing holdíem about 15 years ago and is still a regular at the tables in Atlantic City, which is only a short drive from his home. He still works in his real estate business (which conveniently has an office in Atlantic City).

"I used to play with friends but not as often as some of them have recently passed away," he said. "So I started playing online poker at PokerStars".

Silk, who looks very fit and healthy for his age, said the secret to his youthful appearance was "keeping my mind and body active, and poker is great for keeping your mind active".

So Sam, consider your request granted, and all the best for the remainder of Day 1B.

Franciscus Dekkers showed he is far from a one-trick pony and doesn't need pocket aces or a set on the flop to accumulate chips! Dekkers dropped as low as 50k last level, but regathered and ran a stone cold bluff to take down a big pot and put himself in a commanding position with 100k, as the likely chip leader at the dinner break.

On a board of 4 3 5 5 Q, Dekkers suspected his opponent, who had called aggressively all the way to the river, was on a busted flush draw and led out with a 15k bet on the river with ace-high. His opponent mucked and Dekkers' A9 landed him an 80k pot.

The players have taken a 50 minute dinner break and will return for 4 more rounds of play, with the blinds in Level 9 at 500/1000. At the conclusion of Level 8, there are 90 players left in the Day 1B field, with an average stack of 41k.

Approximate chip counts:

• Francisicus Dekkers 100k (PokerStars Online Qualifier)
• Gary Diamond 97k
• Danny Joukhadar 90k
• Paren Arzoomanian 90k (PokerStars Online Qualifier)
• Van Marcus 88k
• Lee Nelson 80k (Team PokerStars Pro)
• Brett Parise 80k (APPT Manila Champion)
• Kenny Ng 75k
• Julius Coleman 53k
• Jozeph Berec 50k (APPT Seoul Placegetter)
• Scotty Nguyen 35k
• James Potter 31k

Meanwhile, the oldest contestant in today's field Sam Silk has gone to the dinner break with four yellow (5k) chips firmly in his sights. Silk nursed his 20k for the dying moments of Level 8.

We've just advanced to Level 8 with the blinds at 400/800 (100 ante) and PokerStars player Masa Kagawa has been eliminated. Kagawa lost his final 20k on a busted club flush draw.

Elsewhere, Lee Nelson continues to assert his authority on the field and has gone to 70k in chips on the back of another good pot, this time with A Q in a dominating position against his opponent with K Q.

Enjoy the sights, sounds and scenes of Day 1, Flight 2...

100 players are left at Level 7, with the blinds at 300/600 (75 ante).

The average stack is 37k and Team PokerStars' Lee Nelson has shot
above this mark, surviving a pre-flop all-in confrontation with pocket
queens, against A Q. Nelson now has 52k and with room to play
is sure to be a big threat throughout the back half of today's
proceedings.

Many other players proudly wearing their PokerStars.net apparel are
holding their position above the average stack at the halfway point
of this level. Online freeroll qualifier Francisicus Dekkers has
slipped a little, but is still in a good position with about 60k in
chips.

Approximate chip count (Day 1B):

• Paren Arzoomanian 90k
• Francisicus Dekkers
  60k
• Lee Nelson 52k
• Scotty Nguyen 39k
• Brett
  Parise 35k
• Masa Kagawa 24k

By Sean Callander

Less than a fortnight ago, he took on and beat a world poker champion
and the greatest Test cricket bowler of all-time but today, he met his
match in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final.

Billy Sukkar won the charity tournament played in Melbourne on
November 30, which was hosted by his cousin Team PokerStars Pro Joe
Hachem and the recently retired Australian cricketer Shane Warne.

He was steadily amassing chips in today's 1B action and was thrilled
to look down and see pocket aces in the big blind midway through level
six.

Sukkar made it 900 to go from the big blind, and two opponents called.
The flop was Qd 8d 6d – the small blind and Sukkar checked, a bet came
for 3000, the small blind folded and Sukkar called.

The As on the turn gave Sukkar top set, but he faced an all-in bet
from his opponent. With about 12,000 remaining, Sukkar called and
found himself behind when his opponent showed a flush (7d 3d). Sukkar
needed either the board to pair or a diamond but the 2s ended his
brief APPT Sydney foray.

But for PokerStars qualifier Franciscus "Branco" Dekkers, the dream is
well and truly alive. The Dutchman, who freerolled his way to Sydney,
is one of the chip leader at the end of level six. He's nursing 90,000 in
chips, with blinds at 300/600 (75 ante) when play resumes in a few
minutes. A reminder that we'll be playing 12 levels today.

Meanwhile, local Sydney player and PokerStars qualifier Paren "pokerpuzzle" Arzoomanian is the new chip leader, going to the latest 10-minute break with more than 96,000 in chips.

Paren claimed that "mental preparation" is the biggest factor towards his early success in live tournaments. "I don't play a lot of live poker and often play 6 tables online. I find you have to concentrate more live", said Arzoomanian.

Paren has spent the day steadily accumulating his stack.

"I cracked aces with a small set early, and got a lot of chips with aces against A K", Arzoomanian said.

Paren is heading in the right direction towards his goal of ending Day 1 with about 150k in chips, focused on avoiding "slipping up".

"I'm just going to try and avoid any dirty spots for the rest of the day," he said.

We are nearing the end of level 6 and the leader is still
PokerStars.net freeroll winner Franciscus Dekkers, with a stack of
about 90k, with the chip average at 33k.

Current Day 1b Chip Counts:

• Francisicus Dekkers 90k (PokerStars.net Online
  Qualifier)
• Gary Diamond 90k
• Paren Arzoomanian
  84k
• Van Marcus 65k
• Brett Parise 60k (APPT Manila
  Champion)
• Adriano Cendron 60k
• Leo Boxell
  49k
• Julian Powell 46k
• Jozeph Berec 40k
• Lee
  Nelson 33k (Team PokerStars Pro)
• Scotty Nguyen
  32k
• James Potter 31k
• Sarah Bilney 19k
• Masa
  Kagawa 17k

Australian professional Jeff Lisandro has been eliminated after a
crippling hand holding only K3 offsuit. Lisandro flopped top pair on
a king rag board, and further improved his hand to have an open-ended
straight on the turn. All to no avail on the river and Lisandro was
crippled against a player holding A K.

Only a matter of hands later, the WSOP bracelet winner Lisandro
tossed in his final 1500 in chips with Ace-Deuce, running into the
blinds and a player with pocket 6s. The 6s held and Lisandro is
out.
We are now at the halfway mark (Level 6) with the blinds at 250/500
(50 ante) with 130 runners remaining.

Team PokerStars' Lee Nelson taught his table a little lesson in how to
play from your big blind into a limped pot.

With the blinds still at 200/400, Lee Nelson found himself facing 6
limpers, for potential 7-way action. Lee quickly killed that action
and showed what he thinks about "family pots", by announcing all-in,
for about 25k more.

Fold - Fold - Fold - Fold - Fold - Fold ... was the action that followed.

"Right or Left, Right or Left?", questioned Nelson as he taunted the
table with cards still in hand. The players chose "left" and Lee
flipped over a King of Hearts.

The small pot has taken the popular Team PokerStars Pro to
approximately 30k in chips, above the average.

By Sean Callander

We've almost lost Scotty Nguyen – literally! During the last break on Day 1B of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final, the ever-popular Nguyen strolled outside to what he thought was the smoking area.

However, he turned right when he should have turned left and found himself on the wrong side of the emergency exit – "what's happening here baby!"

Fortunately, there was no shortage of players willing to save Scotty from his temporary exile. See what happens when you always treat people with kindness and respect!

It must also be said that the smokers' deck (like many other countries now, smoking is banned in virtually every indoor public space) has a view to behold, overlooking Darling Harbour and the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Scotty may be the most famous poker identity in the room today, but we also spotted another well-known personality playing – well, at least he's well-known to all Australian sporting tragics.

Dan Ginnane is the Aussie equivalent of ESPN's Tony Reali, and fills the role of the "stato" or stats guru on the local edition of ESPN's Pardon the Interruption.

He might be used to mixing it with PTI duo Sam Kekovich (a larger-than-life former Australian Rules footballer) and presenter Russell Barwick, but today he's had to face a silent foe – PokerStars player Masa Kagawa. One of the most popular figures on the APPT in its debut year, the Japanese player has kept Ginnane on his toes but the numbers remain in favour of the "stats man".

By Sean Callander

Talk about the generation gap – there's an intriguing mix at table 20 on Day 1B of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final where two of the 'elder' statesmen in today's field are mixing it up with ane emerging young superstar.

Team PokerStars Pro Lee 'Final Table' Nelson and Julius Colman (who was fourth in the 2007 Aussie Millions and 30th in the WSOP Europe main events) are sitting opposite Austria's Niki Jedlicka.

Known as "KaiBuxxe" online, Jedlicka only started playing poker three years ago but has quickly made his mark. He was seventh in the 2007 EPT Barcelona €7.7K No-Limit Hold 'em main event and won the Austrian Masters €2K No-Limit Hold 'em title.

Nelson, who has just released his new book Kill Everyone locally, has been fascinated to watch Jedlicka raise pot after pot after pot – he estimated that the Austrian had been involved in at least 80 per cent of the hands on table 20. But it's taking its toll, with Jedlicka down to 12,000 after bouncing up as high as 40,000.

We've also recently lost Tony Hachem from the tournament. Battling the likes of fellow Melburnians James Potter and Julian Powell after his table had been split, Hachem bowed out in unfortunate circumstances when he pushed in with 6c 5s on a board of 6s 4s 8d 2h 3s. Hachem had filled his straight on the river, but Michael Haddad had made his flush on the 3s and sent the affable Aussie on his way. Tony's older brother, Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem, will be in action tomorrow on Day 1C.

It's been another fairly uneventful level with 142 of the 194 players who started Day 1B just about to take a break. When we return, blinds will be 200/400 with a 25 ante with the average stack at 26k.

PokerStars' Japanese High Stakes player Masa Kagawa is nursing a short stack, with 9k in chips, as online qualifier Francisisicus Dekkers maintains his position as the early chip leader with 63k.

Day 1b Approximate Chip Counts:

• Francisisicus Dekkers 63k (PokerStars.net Online Qualifier)
• Kenny Ng 50k
• Leo Boxell 36k
• Van Marcus 32k
• Julius Coleman 31k
• Brett Parise 28k (APPT Manila Champion)
• Scotty Nguyen 23k
• Lee Nelson 20k (Team PokerStars Pro)
• Jozeph Berec 15k (APPT Seoul Runner-Up)
• Jeff Lissandro 12k
• Masa Kagawa 9k
• Dennis Waterman 4.5k

By Sean Callander

Some days are diamonds, some days are not, as the ever popular Sydneysider Sam Khouiss just found out when he became one of the first players to be eliminated on Day 1B of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final.

Always quick with a one-liner, Sammy has an impressive record given his limited starts outside Australia. He was 2001 Australasian champion, won the 2006 Aussie Millions $1000 No Limit Hold’em and has cashed in the past two WSOP main events.

A father of seven was keen for a good showing in the first major international tournament in his hometown, but rode the roller coaster before crashing out.

He found himself all-in early against Melbourne’s Matt Downing but the battle of A K versus A K ended in a predictable split pot.

Khouiss then took a big hit – on a board of 3h 6s 2c Jd 4d, Franciscus “Branco” Dekkers pushed in all of his chips and Khouiss made the call. Dekkers showed pocket fives for a rivered straight as Khouiss shouted ”rivered again!”

Shortly after, Khouiss was again in a hand with Dekkers, with the same outcome. The board read Qc 7h 8d when Khouiss shoved in his remaining chips but two calls were hardly what he wanted to hear. The turn came Ac and the river 5s – Dekkers showed pocket nines, just pipping Khouiss’s Jd 7d. He was not a happy man.

Kenny Ng remains the chip leader in the latter stages of level two on Day 1B here at Star City Casino.

While some of the best poker players in the world live out their dreams playing in the Asia Pacific Poker Tour Grand Final in Sydney, you now have your chance to win your way into another big event Down Under.

PokerStars is now running satellites to the 2008 Aussie Millions. The $11,000 prize package gives you a buy-in to the event and $1,850 in travel money. For as little as 800 Frequent Player Points, you have a chance to play in another prestigious event in Australia.

You can find the Aussie Millions satellites under Events/Special in the PokerStars lobby. For a full schedule of qualifiers, visit the PokerStars Aussie Millions satellites page.

For more about the Aussie Millions, see the Crown Poker Aussie Millions site.

It’s one the world’s most memorable creations (if used responsibly). When the Czech city of Budweis, was given Royal approval in 1265 to make the beer known as Budweiser the world changed forever. It sparked a surge in beer brands still available today with other brewers giving chase, notably in the Czech city of Pilsen, making beer known as Pilsner.

Whilst PokerStars qualifier Britt Petersen brought a bottle of it to the table from the start today, now might be a more suitable time for the 32 survivors of day 2 to get themselves a drink. It’s been a long eight hour stretch in the saddle.

We started with 192 players, each knowing that they needed to hang on for just a few more hours to make the money. It all happened quicker than we thought, with a full 160 players eliminated today, some quietly, some in dramatic fashion and against all expectations.

Whilst Hans Eskilsson’s 700 chips were never likely to see him further than the first few minutes the shock of the day came with the elimination of Irish PokerStars qualifier Steven Devlin, who must have thought a cash finish, at least, was in the bag. But Devlin didn’t count on running into PokerStars qualifier Jose Navarro enjoying some of the form of his life, who took Devlin’s chips as part of his own mammoth stack.

There were others who found themselves on the rail a little prematurely, including Team PokerStars pro Katja Thater. Her day ended before it really began after a bad hand left her crushed and on the felt. Meanwhile her countrymen and twin PokerStars qualifiers Sebastian and Daniel Zink had mixed fortune. Daniel was unlucky to go out earlier this afternoon when he was all-in, A-J against A-T. Meanwhile his brother Sebastian went from strength to strength, his key hand being against Steven Devlin (before his collapse), all-in but catching a card on the flop to see him safely into the money.

There was also the story of Dutch PokerStars qualifier Britt Petersen, the last woman in the tournament who would go on to finish in 40th place for €8,850. Britt, the Dutch Women’s Champion, played a strong game, bringing beer and unusual politeness to the table for a cash finish in her first EPT. It marked a good day for PokerStars qualifiers in general with seven cash finishes already with more to follow on day three.



So yes, back to those beers. Reprieve is short. Tomorrow the 32 will play down to a final table of eight where the prize of over €700k awaits the EPT Champion. It all starts again at noon.


And for those wanting to catch up on the day’s action:

Day 2, and things are about to get interesting

First level causalities

Records to break

Double up for PokerStars poker twins

Britt looking for birthday cheer

PokerStars qualifiers making a run on the money

From the bubble to the close of play

Don’t forget, you can also check out the EPT video blog for news, features and interviews from Prague. Click here for more details.

All photos (c) Neil Stoddart

With only 62 players left it took only twenty minutes for the bubble to burst. PokerStars player Tommy Pavlicek survived his all-in and whoops and hollers filled the air at the news that the bubble had burst, seemingly in record time with the 58th and 57th places finishers eliminated within a few seconds. Nichlas Saarislta was eliminated whilst the tournament director was switching on the microphone to announce hand-for-hand play. No need.

That signalled a free for all among players feeling that a cash finish was a good time to their game to the opposition and a flurry of eliminations followed...

Out for €6,380 were:
56th -- Michael Durrer – PokerStars qualifier -- Germany
55th -- Simon Christensson – PokerStars qualifier -- Sweden
54th -- Gerd Mueller -- Germany
53rd -- Antoanell Judet -- Romania
52nd -- Erik Pettersson – PokerStars qualifier -- Sweden
51st -- Oyvind Roysem -- Norway
50th -- Magnus Petterson -- Sweden
49th -- Yann Monnier -- France

The elimination of Magnus Petersson means they’ll be no double EPT winner – at least not this week.

Picking up €7,600 were:
48th -- Nicolai Vivet – PokerStars qualifier -- Denmark
47th -- Robert Norberg -- Sweden
46th -- William Fitzpatrick -- Ireland
45th -- Maik Daehling – Germany
44th -- Juhani Junnilainen – PokerStars qualifier – Finland
43rd -- Tobias Reinkemi – Germany
42nd -- Carlos Keinhuis – Holland
41st -- Mikael Furst – Sweden

And so far, out for €8,850 are:
40th -- Britt Petersen – PokerStars qualifier – Holland
39th -- Jorma Nuutinen – PokerStars qualifier – Finland
38th -- Cristiano Blanco – Italy
37th -- Mika Hallstrom – Finland
36th -- Kai Are Hauge – Norway
35th -- Ville Nyman – Finland
34th -- Yannic Mulder – Holland
33rd -- Dennis Van Zoelen -- Holland

Play closes with 32 players destined to return tomorrow for day 3.

Sebastian Zink, his twin brother Daniel on the rail (it’s emerged they’re known as pocket- zinks), just got a boost to his hopes of cashing. An all-in bet pre-flop found Steven Devlin thinking over a call. He wanted a count and Sebastian set his chips out in a manner that asked ‘do you want my wallet too?’ Devlin called.

Sebastian Zink

A-5 for Sebastian, behind Devlin’s A-9. A brother on the rail is worth a card on the flop. The five hits, doubling-up the German who claps his hand then touches fists with his brother before breathing again.


PokerStars qualifier Jose Navarro

PokerStars qualifier Jose Navarro at the same table is also on his way to a cash finish. He’s the talk of the room for eliminating overnight chip leader and fellow PokerStars qualifier Steven Devlin when a flush draw vs set situation developed into a flush draw vs quads. The Spaniard held the latter and a big chunk of chips went to Navarro.


Florian Langman

Now, his stack looks like a large lumpy island, casting shadow over everyone else’s, particularly that of German Florian Langman. The third place finisher at EPT London moved all-in and Jose, after some internal persuading, was happy to call. Pocket threes for him, K-J for Florian. Nothing on the flop and turn, a three on the river sending Langman out.

All photos (c) Neil Stoddart

85 players are left, 29 away from the money, with blinds at 800/1600 with a 200 ante.

Britt Petersen arrives at her new table with 30,600. “Hello” she says, showing a smile. She’s been drinking bottles of beer since this morning but it seems like a genuine ‘hello’ and that she’s normally friendly. Either way she gets no reply. These guys haven’t been drinking so maybe they were grumpy before the day started anyway.

PokerStars qualifier Britt Petersen

Regardless Britt, a PokerStars qualifier from Hoorn in Holland is no stranger to the poker table, as we’d soon find out. But right now; in a top patterned with spades, hearts, clubs and diamonds, designer sunglasses, a watch which is a little less gaudy than most poker players are used to, and a few friends close by, she is the last woman player left in the EPT Prague, and a money finish is closing in.

She sits between recent GUKPT grand final winner Michael Ellis and the last remaining Czech player in the tournament Frantisek Striz. Coincidentally the table also features the last Slovakian in the tournament, Dag Palovic.

Britt is accidentally unconventional at the table and it confuses the others who aren’t quite sure how to react. For instance after she peek at her cards, she quietly announces her intentions. “Raise 7,000” or “Fold”. Things like that.

At least she did so following a raise from the Czech Striz. He’d made it 3,200 and Britt doubled it from the button using a short pile of red chips.



The attention is back on the Czech player Striz. He counts out the call as Britt watches. He takes a moment, looking at her. She looks back. Both wear shades so what they can actually see is unclear. But theatre plays a big part in this game and after Frantisek rubs his beard a few more times he folds. The big blind lets out a whoosh as Britt stacks her chips.

Now sipping water, I spoke to Britt at the break.

“It’s my first EPT, I mostly play online with my best result being in the Sunday million where I finished 29th once. But I’m also the Dutch women’s champion.”

So yes, not that much of a stranger to the poker table...

Still a student in Amsterdam Britt turned 23 last Sunday, the day before her EPT hopes began. We’ll have to wait until the end of the week to determine what kind of birthday she’s had.

“It’s all very exciting. On the first day I had my share of bad beats and started today on less than average. But the beer is to intimidate people a little. I’ve found that men will lay down their hands a bit more – like that last guy. But I’m so excited I don’t know how to look when I play a hand!”

That’s true. It seems her only problem so far is that she’s lost her player number, which later turns up in her back pocket.

All photos (c) Neil Stoddart

Yesterday I wasn’t quite sure, today I know for a fact. There are twins at the EPT Prague and what’s more they both qualified on PokerStars and both made it through to day 2.

Sebastian and Daniel Zink are at least easy to pick out from the crowd, even though they look close to identical. Only two players here have long ginger hair – the Zink boys, I spoke to Sebastian first...

“We’re not identical twins! As some people think”.

Fair enough, but I was having trouble. The only difference is a short tuft of ginger beard under Sebastian’s lower lip. They have same long locks, the same headphones, and weirdly the same amount of chips - not to mention owning the rights to a great poker story should they play this one out to the finish heads-up.

PokerStars qualifier Sebastian Zink

But first they have day two to contend with. I wanted to see if there was any brotherly spookiness going on; the same hands perhaps or raising and folding at the exact same time. Well, not that I could see, but I couldn’t help keeping track.

Then Sebastian moved all-in. He’d been thinking for some time about the bet from Casper Hansen in cap, sunglasses and a New England Patriots shirt. Then, rather neatly and with pin-point German precision, he slid his stack forward.

On went the shades, so too his headphones, his head resting on both hands, waiting for Hansen to act. Now's my chance, I thought. I had a quick look over at Daniel. Was he all-in? No. Some theory... Hansen folded. Off come the shades and headphones - Sebastian had chance to relax again.

I went over to watch Daniel for a while, now with a few less chips than his brother. But wait, maybe there was something to this theory after all, for just five minutes later it was Daniel moving all-in. Could it be that they were born five minutes apart I wondered?


PokerStars qualifier Daniel Zink

Fate shone differently on Daniel though. Holding A-J he moved in behind a bet from Dutchman Ben Wolbers who then insta-called with a shaky A-T. Daniel was ahead and looking to double up, but the stray ten hit the flop. Left with 600 he threw it in next hand. Christer Johansson called, seeing him off.

Tournament over, all he could do was seek solace from his brother. He looked a little hurt and deflated but happy to talk to me. The brothers started playing three an a half years ago, Daniel starting slightly earlier. Just 23 years old, Daniel studies Mathematics, although the way he laughed as he said it implied whatever maths he was learning didn’t come from a text book.

“I’m very disappointed. I got it in with the best hand – I knew I had the best hand and he instantly called! It’s ridiculous! But I started as the short stack, went up a bit when I had queens against aces, so I had some luck.”


Sebastian Zink with brother Daniel in the background

Sebastian now left flying the Zink flag.

Tournament update:

Stephen Devlin -- PokerStars qualifier – UK – 195,500
Adrian Koy – Germany – 178,700
Mikael Norinder – Sweden – 171,300
Kristian Kjondal – Norway – 116,700
Markus Golser – Austria – 103,900
Praz Bansi – UK – 100,000
Britt Petersen – Denmark -- PS Qualifier – 86,100
Magnus Petersson – Sweden -- 84,400
Jose Navarro – PokerStars qualifier -- Spain – 83,000
Ken Lennaard – Sweden – 74,000
Tobias Reinkemeier – PokerStars player – Germany – 74,000
Johannes Strassmann – PokerStars player – Germany – 73,100
Juha Lauttamus – Finland – 73,000
Alberto Spigolon – Italy – 67,100
Luigi Rizzi – Italy – 66,300
Simon Christensson – PokerStars qualifier – Sweden – 65,000
Martin Wendt – Denmark – 64,000
Antony Phillips – PokerStars qualifier – UK – 62,400
Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier – Team PokerStars Pro – France – 62,000
Michael Durrer – PokerStars qualifier -- Germany – 60,300
Tommy Pavlicek – PokerStars player -- Canada – 57,800
Ben Wolbers – Holland – 57,800
Dag Martin Mikkelsen – Norway – 56,600
Johan Palokangas – PokerStars qualifier -- Finland – 56,100
Dag Palovic – Slovakia – 55,600
Juhani Junnilainen – PokerStars qualifier -- Finland – 55,000
Frantisek Striz -- Czech Republic – 54,000
Leo Kam – Canada – 52,200
Tomas Brolin – Sweden – 49,200
Cristiano Blanco – Italy – 49,000
Joseph Michael -- PokerStars player -- USA – 47,400
Gerd Mueller – Germany – 47,000
Nicholas Goodall – PokerStars player -- UK – 47,000
Oyvind Roysem -- Norway – 46,500
Christer Johansson – Sweden -- 45,000
Marco Witt – PokerStars player – Germany – 44,800
Marc Karam – Canada – 44,000
Erik Pettersson – PokerStars qualifier – Sweden – 42,200
Mike McDonald -- PokerStars qualifier – Canada – 39,000
Jorma Nuutinen -- PokerStars qualifier – Finland – 39,000
Florian Langmann – Germany – 37,600
Loris Brunelli – PokerStars qualifier Italy PS Qualifier 37200
Michael Ellis – UK – 35,000
Reijo Manninen -- PokerStars qualifier – Finland -- 32200
Kenneth Hicks Jr – PokerStars qualifier – USA – 30,700
Nicolai Vivet – PokerStars qualifier -- Denmark – 26,500
Sebastian Zink – PokerStars qualifier – Germany – 25,300
Nichlas Saarisilta – PokerStars double shootout qualifier – Sweden – 25,200
Mika Paasonen -- PokerStars player – Finland – 25,100
Priyhan De Mel – UK – 21,900
Casper Hansen – Denmark – 21,000
Bjorn-Andre Kildanen – Norway – 20,000
Andrew Feldman – UK – 19,000
Piotr Paruszewski – PokerStars qualifier – UK – 18,800
Christopher Moorman – UK – 17,300
Krzysztof Czerwinski – PokerStars qualifier – Poland – 17,000
Jesper Petersen -- PokerStars qualifier – Denmark – 16,400
Maciej Mazur – PokerStars qualifier – Poland – 15,000
Pavel Blatny – PokerStars qualifier -- Czech Republic – 12,500
Martin Hruby -- Czech Republic – 10,800
Danny Stiegler – PokerStars qualifier – Germany – 9,900
Antony Lellouche – France – 9,800
Jean Philippe Rohr – France – 7,800

Like all sports poker has its records to be set and smashed without remorse. Who has the highest cash ranking without a tournament win, most final tables, the most money, the most cashes, the nation with the most winners(*)? It’s all in there somewhere on the EPT database for anyone willing to fish it out.

When it comes to the EPT Prague there are a few records out there for the taking. To start with the winner here will become the first ever EPT Prague Open winner, as well as €708,400 richer. But we all know it’s not about the money...

One player could potentially join Roland de Wolfe as part of an exclusive band of players to have won both an EPT and WPT title. Juha Helppi would have been a second had he not been eliminated yesterday but Christer Johansson, who started today with 42,600, still has that honour within his grasp.

Christer Johansson

Equally impressive and long awaited would be a double EPT winner. Seven players started in Prague with that potential. Pascal Perrault (Vienna 1), Rob Hollink (Monte Carlo season 1), Magnus Petersson (Copenhagen 3), Andreas Hoivold (Dortmund 3), Joseph Mouawad (London 4) and Julian Thew (Baden 4).

Alas, only Magnus Petersson remains from that group.

As far as final table finishers are concerned there are still plenty of those hoping to set their own personal record straight. Canadian Marc Karam, who came so close in Monte Carlo in season three when he finished runner-up to Gavin Griffin, started today with 36,700; Kristian Kjondal, ElkY, Michel Abecassis, Cristiano Blano, Casper Hansen, Richard Toth and Reijo Manninen are all final table finishers with redemption in mind.

A win today would provide a good story, a nice cheque to the winner and of course a seat in this year’s EPT Grand Final in beautiful Monte Carlo. But there are easier ways to win a seat to the Cote d’Azur.

As you spend half your morning scraping the ice off your car with your fingernails before giving in and risking damage to your Neteller card, the mind wanders to the end of the EPT season and spring time in Monte Carlo, the city in the sea and land of all things expensive, chic and excessive - the ‘fin de saison’ blow out.


EPT Grand Final runner-up Marc Karam

Still the heavy weight champion of the European tournaments (and beyond) the EPT Grand Final starts next April at its Monte Carlo Bay Hotel home. Two players here today have seen it from the business end – inaugural champion Rob Hollink knows what it’s like to win there, Canadian Marc Karam knows what it’s like to come so close (twice), taking home $1.8 million in the process, and Kristian Kjondal made last years’ final table.

Want in?

EPT Grand Final satellites are running on PokerStars now. Or if you fancy a little bit more of a challenge how about winning one of the forthcoming EPT events in the Caribbean, Dortmund, Copenhagen, San Remo or Warsaw? The winner of each will win an auomatic to the season finale, and a shot at what is expected to be a first prize of over €2 million.

See you there.

(*) Highest cash ranking without a tournament win, Marc Karam; most money, Gavin Griffin €1,825,010; most cashes, Julian Thew and Luca Pagano both on seven; most winning nation, United Kingdom with six.

Day 1, Flight 1 of the inaugural APPT Grand Final in Sydney has concluded, with a quiet and tentative final 15 minutes of play.

30 players remained on a day claiming several of the event's feature players including 2003 and 2004 World Champions Chris Moneymaker and Greg Raymer. Flight 1 also saw the exit of this year's WSOP finalist, Team PokerStars' Raymond Rahme, who held the chip lead for a large part of the day before having his pocket rockets cracked on the "heaviest" table in the venue - Table 13, where 4 of the chip leaders did battle for numerous blind levels.

More action is anticipated tomorrow, with plenty of online qualifiers competing on Day 1, Flight 2. In the presence of the lesser known players, will be highly credentialed pros including Team PokerStars' Lee Nelson and the very entertaining and popular former World Champion Scotty Nguyen.

At the current rate of elimination, Day 2 (Saturday) is shaping up to consist of about 100 runners.

Day 1, Flight 1 Final Chip Count:

1. Davoud Khajeh 297,600
2. Jason Lien 278,200
3. TerrenceChan 253,200
4. Lei He 241,100
5. Michael Zowie 228,100
6. Joseph Loruzzo 194,200
7. Grant Levy 173,000
8. Karib Karib 155,400
9. John Donahue 145,200
10. Luigi Apreda 130,800
11. Tony Dunst 108,200
12. Vijayan Nagarajan 108,000
13. John Matwey 97,300
14. David St Eloi 93,300
15. Trudi Sultana 85,700
16. David Foldy 85,100
17. Chris Pisani 83,400
18. Mark Ericksen 81,900
19. Michael Frydman 79,700
20. Mitchell Price 77,100
21. Uzziah Thomas 75,000
22. Patrick Fletcher 55,900
23. John Colwell 53,200
24. Angelo Scicchitano 42,300
25. Mark Wong 41,800
26. Ziv Bachar 41,600
27. Henry Sun 41,500
28. Trong Son Dao 28,100
29. Vincent Green Gibson 17,600
30. Vera Milinkovic 11,200

Some may say it's a case of justice, or at best, variance, but neither is any help to former chip leader and Online Qualifier Luigi Apreda who has just taken a hit to his big stack.

Apreda was unable to crack aces this time round, with Michael Zowie cashing in on his aggression at the table. On rag 6-high board, Apreda pushed with 96 offsuit, holding top pair. Zowie doubled up to over 200k in chips, leaving Apreda reeling with under 100k.

"Make sure you include the word 'luckbox'", was the word from disgruntled railbirds and supporters, as former chip leader Luigi Apreda struck again, this time cracking pocket aces held by a local player in one of his first hands played in Level 12 - the final blind level of the evening.

Luigi had more than enough chips to cover his opponent and is comfortably holding his position at the top of the leaderboard on day 1.

Current Chip Leaders (day 1, flight 1)

• Terrence Chan 270,000
• Luigi A’Preda 220,000
• Grant Levy 200,000
• Tony Dunst 160,000

We are approaching the end of Level 11 of Flight 1 with the blinds at 800/1600/200ante. 37 runners remain on 4 tables, with an average stack of 92k.

Chip leader Terrence Chan was recently happy to lose a minimal amount in a 3-way pot with a player already all-in. Terrence openly claimed to be holding Pocket 10's.

On a board of KK79, Chan led out for 20k only to be min-raised by his opponent, with a third player already committed (all-in) pre-flop. Chan happily and correctly folded, with his opponent flipping over KQ, to knock out the all-in player holding pocket queens.

As a sidenote, and in relief in getting away from the hand, Chan jokingly remarked: "I've won every tournament I've ever played in Australia"! Chan, referring to his short-handed victory at his only appearance in the APPT Sydney Preliminary events.

Chan remains the chip leader with over 260k in chips, while Seoul Champion Ziv Bachar is carefully nursing a stack of about 65k.

I’d tried to get the word in its original German but my translation attempts failed, but it was something like “finished” and it came from the mouth of Katja Thater, out of the EPT Prague inside the first 15 minutes of the day. It was a combination of quick hands that ended her chances. Pockets tens against A-J, a race she lost, and then an all-or-nothing hail Mary play with 8-2, running up against tens.

Team PokerStars pro Katja Thater

Anthony Lellouche, who made the final table at EPT London is also out, so too Hans Eskilsson,he of 700 fame. His seat was filled by Steven Devlin, still out front as chip leader.


Hans Eskilsson

The redraw has welded together some interesting tables. Team PokerStars pro Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier looks across at Rob Hollink and Martin Wendt with PokerStars qualifier Sondre Mikalsen next to him.

Elsewhere the table that Steven Devlin now plays on features Florain Langman and Ken Lennaard as well as perpetual PokerStars qualifier Jose Navarro from Spain. The only thing interrupting the noise of riffling chips at this stage is the call “seat open” by the dealers, averaging about one every minute. 171 players remain.

By Sean Callander

Luigi A’Preda is the new chip leader on the first flight of Day 1 in the PokerStars.net APPT. Most of the way into level 10 (600/1200 with a 200 ante), A’Preda has 250,000. But close behind are Grant Levy and Terrence Chan, who just tangled in a big pot with APPT Seoul champion Ziv Bachar.

Chan raised pre flop to 3500 only to be re-raised to 8000. Chan then bumped it up an extra 15,000, and Bachar called.

The flop was Ac Kh 10h, Chan bet 22,000 and the Israeli instantly called. On the turn (9d), Chan pushed all-in – Bachar thought about it for more than a minute but folded.

The surname “Chan” is one of the most famous in poker, and the 27-year-old is showing every sign that he has a healthy slice of the talent that took the “Oriental Express” Johnny Chan to two WSOP main event victories.

Born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, Chan is well known in the online community as the former customer support manager at PokerStars. Now concentrating on a career as a player, Chan marked his arrival as a force in finishing runner-up to Hoyt Corkins in the $2500 No Limit Hold’em six-handed event at the 2007 WSOP (winning $US287,345).

He’s been a consistent performer in recent visits to the WSOP, cashing twice in the past three years. The title of APPT Sydney champion would certainly sit nicely against the surname “Chan”.

Approximate chip count (day 1, flight 1)

• Luigi A’Preda 250,000
• Grant Levy 220,000
• Terrence Chan 205,000
• Tony Dunst 170,000
• Jason Clissold 150,000

By Sean Callander

Each event on the PokerStars.net APPT has had its own quirks, and Star City has already been recognised for the use of a unique device to help deal the cards.

Instead of dealing the cards by hand, the dealers use what can best be described as cutdown version of a blackjack shoe – actually developed by two enterprising Star City staff members.

It looks awkward, but it sure gets the job done. The dealer merely slides the card to the player and virtually eliminates the possibility of a card being exposed.

Another unique feature of poker here at Star City is the placement of the burn card (on the turn and river) directly under the face-up card. As we well know, poker players will soon air any grievance they may have, so the silence indicates that the ‘dealer shoe’ is a resounding success.

Another feature of the event so far has been the speed with which players have been leaving the tournament area.

Our chip leader Grant Levy has just sent another one to the rail, tabling pocket kings against the pocket nines of Melbourne’s Manny Stavropoulos. Levy improved to a set, sending Manny on his way.

Since the dinner break, another 11 players have been eliminated, with just 50 players remaining. They’ve just received a visit from Team PokerStars pro Joe Hachem and 1998 world champion Scotty Nguyen, who did a circuit of the room in his inimitable style.

Approximate chip count (day 1, flight 1)

• Grant Levy 230,000
• Tony Dunst 170,000
• Terrance Chan 166,000
• Jason Clissold 150,000
• Karib Karib 130,000

Day two is here on a grey day in Prague, the day when decisions have to be made and a new reality sets in. Heroics on day one to make it to this stage are all well and good, but if that heroism brought you here with a handful of chips left, well, today you may no be here long enough to enjoy similar admiration.

That aside, if you’re here you have a chance. Day two is the day when a tournament really begins to take shape. Some will start to make their way to the front, usually after one of those hands that railbirds and players home in on as it takes place. That will happen to a few players, some may even keep their chips as a run in towards the money continues.

One man expecting just that is PokerStars qualifier Steven “All-in” Devlin from Omagh in Northern Ireland. Cast in the internet demon mould, Devlin is chip leader going into today after finishing last night with 122,200. Day 1a chip leader Adrian Koy from Germany is in second place whilst another PokerStars qualifier Maciej Mazur from Poland is the only other player to have more than 100k. He has 104,300.

To paraphrase Sir Isaac Newton, every action has an opposite reaction. Admittedly poker may not have been on Newton’s mind when he said it but no man feels the full force of that fact today more than Hans Eskilsson. The former Swedish footballer returns today with just 700 chips. Blinds are at 400/800 with a 100 ante. Hands faces near impossible odds - into the valley of death rode the 700.

In between Devlin and Eskillsson though there are a good number of PokerStars qualifiers as well as Team PokerStars pros Katja Thater on 28,400 and Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier with 15,500.

But right now chips are being unbagged, last cigarettes are being smoked and tournament director Thomas Kremser has announced the five minute warning and switched on the welcome music – which I’m told also featured in Rocky IV.

A quick look at some of the chip counts of players returning today....

Stephen Devlin – PokerStars qualifier – UK – 122,200
Adrian Koy – Germany – 115,500
Maciej Mazur – PokerStars qualifier -- Poland – 104,300
Alec Torelli – USA – 78,900
Nikolas Liakos – Sweden – 78,000
Juha Lauttamus – Finland – 73,100
Luigi Rizzi – Italy – 72,800
Magnus Petersson – Sweden – 72,300
Tommy Pavlicek – PokerStars player -- Canada – 71,300
Alberto Spigolon – Italy – 67,700
Mikael Norinder – Sweden – 66,600
Gerd Mueller – Germany – 64,900
Pras Bansi – UK – 62,100
Andrej Nagy – PokerStars qualifier -- Slovakia – 56,600
Florian Langmann – Germany – 55,400
Dag Martin Mikkelsen – Norway – 53,900
Luis Sevilla – Spain – 52,400
Jose Navarro – PokerStars qualifier -- Spain – 50,400
Mike McDonald – PokerStars qualifier -- Canada – 49,700
Michel Abecassis – France – 45,100
Cyril Ben Soussan – France – 44,900
Guillaume Frechette – Canada – 44,900
Thierry Labat – France – 44,500
Kristian Kjondal – Norway – 43,800
Martin Wendt – Denmark – 43,600
Christer Johansson – Sweden -- 42,600
Ofer Golko – Israel – 41,400
Cristiano Blanco – Italy – 39,700
Simon Christensson – Sweden – 39,700
Mikkel Madsen – USA – 39,200
Ben Wolbers -- Holland – 38,400
Michael Durrer – PokerStars qualifier -- Germany – 37,800
Juhani Junnilainen – PokerStars qualifier -- Finland – 37,700
Marc Karam – Canada – 36,700
Paul Gormley – UK – 36,500
Daan Ruiter – Holland – 35,700
Ken Lennaard – Sweden – 34,400
Casper Hansen – Denmark – 31,300
Martin Kraibich -- Czech Republic – 31,300
Rob Hollink – Holland – 30,700
Mika Paasonen -- Finland – 28,400
Nicky Power – Ireland – 28,400
Katja Thater – Team PokerStars Pro -- Germany – 28,400
Christakis Lacovides – UK – 27,900
Markus Golser – Austria – 27,400
Henrik Sorensen – Denmark – 26,300
Nicholas Goodall – UK – 25,900
Robert Norberg – Sweden – 25,000
Bjorn-Andre Kildanen – Norway – 24,700
Sondre Mikalsen – PokerStars qualifier -- Sweden – 23,200
Richard Toth – Hungary – 23,000
Nicolai Vivet – Denmark – 22,600
Zdedek Habala -- Czech Republic – 22,200
Francisco Lopez -- Spain – 21,500
Tobias Persson – Sweden – 21,500
Christopher Moorman – UK – 20,100
Mika Puro – Finland – 19,800
Reijo Manninen – PokerStars qualifier -- Finland – 16,000
Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier – Team PokerStars Pro -- France – 15,500
Kenneth Hicks Jr – PokerStars qualifier -- USA – 15,300
Frantisek Striz -- Czech Republic – 14,400
Michael O’Neill – UK – 14,100
Martin Hruby -- Czech Republic – 13,900
Tomas Brolin – Sweden – 13,400
Sebastian Zink – PokerStars qualifier -- Germany – 12,900
Pavel Blatny – PokerStars qualifier -- Czech Republic – 12,300
Priyhan De Mel – UK – 12,300
Antoanell Judet – Romania – 12,200
Leo Kam – Canada – 11,800
Ionel Anton – PokerStars qualifier -- Romania – 11,300
Michael Ellis – UK – 10,900
Rolf Slotboom – Holland – 10,700
Jeff Wang – PokerStars qualifier -- USA – 10,500
Daniel Zink – PokerStars qualifier -- Germany – 10,200
Cristian Mihu – Romania – 9,300
David Nigioni – PokerStars qualifier -- Monaco – 9,200
Pavol Volak – Slovakia – 9,100
Andrew Feldman – UK – 8, 800
Tomas Kosicka -- Czech Republic – 8,800
Ville Mattila – PokerStars qualifier -- Finland – 6,600
Rolf Waero – Norway – 6,400
Pernilla Olsson – Sweden – 6,300
Marius Debu – Romania – 5,100
Antony Lellouche – France – 4,080
Michael Hales – UK – 3,700
Hans Eskilsson – Sweden – 700

Don't forget you can see more of the EPT PRague on the video blog, bringing you news, features and interviews from day 2. Click here to find out more.

By Sean Callander

It’s dinner-time here at Star City Casino where just 61 of the 179 players who started flight 1 of day in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final are still in the running.

Once play resumes, there will be four more levels before paly ends for the day.

Big stacks wield power, and that’s been the case for Grant Levy and George Dunst during level eight (400/800, ante 100).

Levy just lured another player into a pot on a board of 7s 10s 8c 8h 5d. He showed pocket sevens for a full house and extended his chip lead.

Meanwhile Dunst soared to more than 180,000 when he doubled through Angelo Tringas. Holding the absolute nuts (jacks on a jack-high board), Dunst could barely contain his joy when Tringas pushed all-in on the turn with pocket kings. The jacks held up and Dunst headed off for dinner nestling one of the biggest stacks in the room.

Ziv Bachar was the only notable to drop out of the chip lead race in level 8, falling to below 40k, before bouncing back to win a pot of 25k with pocket jacks in his final hand before the break.

Level 9 will follow the 50 minute dinner break, with blinds at 500/1000.

Chip Leaders (day 1, flight 1)

Grant Levy 210,000
Terrance Chan 176,000
George Dunst 160,000
Karib Karib 120,000

By Sean Callander

Australia and South Africa have always been great sporting rivals – whether cricket, rugby, tiddlywinks – you name it, the Aussie and the Springboks will fight for it on a sporting field.

We’ve just seen the latest manifestation of this rivalry in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final with the combatants Team PokerStars pro Raymond Rahme and Australia’s Grant Levy.

On a flop of Js 7d Qs, Rahme bet 3500 and Levy raised to 10,000. Rahme thought, then re-raised to 40,000. Levy instantly announced all-in and Rahme called for all but 1000.

Rahme showed Ah As but was way behind Levy’s set of queens. A turn of Qh and river 3d didn’t ease the pain for Rahme, who was almost down to the felt while Levy shot up to the chip lead with more than 200,000. Rahme has since been eliminated for his last chip.

Levy was third in the recent PokerNews Cup (winning $A131,800) and is well placed to take a big stack into day two of this event.

Approximate chip count (day 1, flight 1)

• Grant Levy 210,000
• Terrence Chan 176,000
• George Dunst 160,000
• Karin Karin 120,000
• Ziv Bachar 101,000

There are currently 7 tables remaining and the current prizepool for the tournament is $3.3 Million.

Despite the abundance of powerful stacks on table 13, 2007 APPT Seoul champion Ziv Bachar has quietly gone about his work, accumulating a big stack to put himself among the chip leaders.

With the Blinds at 400/800/100, Bachar has won a number of small pots and now has over 100k in chips. Meanwhile, Terrence Chan has taken down another monster pot, and taken out another victim to move to second in chips with almost 180k in chips!

By Sean Callander

Today’s award for the most unlikely line you’ll here from a poker player came from veteran Sydney poker player Alex Rosser: “I’m usually up at 5am every day to go swimming, just like I did this morning.”

5am, that’s the time that hardcore players are starting to think about calling it a night!

“I’m actually a bit worried about the last hour of play tonight, I think I’ll be starting to fall asleep when it comes to 11pm,” he said.

Rosser has certainly added a touch of class to today’s Flight 1 field in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final at Star City.

Dressed impeccably in bow tie and hat, Rosser has not been intimidated by the players seated around, many of who would be less than half his age (he would not reveal his age, but described himself as a “semi-retired gentleman old enough to know better”)!

He’s been a lifelong poker aficionado, but only got serious about the game in the mid-1980s when the poker scene took off in the city of Adelaide, about 1500 kms south-west of Sydney.

“They were great days, I had no clue of what I was doing at the poker table. My wife and I would then go off and enjoy some great holidays in the vineyards of South Australia. I suppose you could call me the original poker tourist,” he said.

Rosser has won a handful of small tournaments in Canberra, and is a regular in big Australasian events where he’s simply known as ‘The Man in the Hat’.

Together with 62-year-old Team PokerStars pro Raymond Rahme, Rosser is showing that age is no barrier at the poker table.

Approximate chip count (day 1, flight 1) - 83 Players Remain

• Raymond Rahme (Team PokerStars) 97.5k
• Grant Levy 90k
• Nathanial Seet 90k
• Tony Dunst 75k
• Patrick Fletcher 72k
• Terrence Chan 70k

Winner of the $1600 NLHE Preliminary event Terrence Chan has won a big pot to go to around 75k in chips.

Chan raised to 1600 in mid position, and was called by the player in the cutoff position. In a remarkable event the action (directed by the dealer) then skipped to the small blind who called. Missed player David Saab (button) was then to act out of turn and obviously felt the equity was there to call.

The flop came: As 2s 10d

The small blind checked, and as did Terrence, with the player behind him leading out with a 3k bet. David Saab to his left then stated "I'll put you all in" for around 8900 more. After the small blind folded, Terrence re-raised all-in.

The original bettor instacalled, and Saab went into the tank before also calling.

Saab flipped over 9J of spades for a flush draw, Terrence showed his bullets for top set, while the original post-flop bettor (and all-in caller) showed down bottom set with pocket 10's. The turn and river helped noone (8 and King) and Terrence scooped.

96 Players have returned from another 10 minute break.

The (Level 7) blinds are now at 300/600, with the average stack at 35,462.

Two players with "average" stacks are PokerStars online qualifiers Jeremy Kemp from Canada with about 35k in chips, and Luigi Apreda, who went to the break with a 33k stack. Both players found their way to Sydney, Australia via a $200 online ("9 Seats Guaranteed") buy-in event!

Players in Flight 1 will play 12 levels this evening.

"Lucky" Table 13 it seems!

PokerStars Pro and WSOP 2007 "placegetter" Raymond Rahme has found little comfort with his 100k+ stack, as four of the tournament's early chip leaders do battle. Angelo Tringas has just arrived at the table with 80k... A table already including Rahme (105k), Tony Dunst (80k) and Grant Levy (70k).

100 players remain at level 6 on day 1 (flight 1), with an average stack of 32k. Tournament director Danny McDonnagh announced that only 7 seats remain for tomorrow's Flight 2, with 56 players to finish in the money at the conclusion of the event, including the guaranteed $1 million first prize!

Team PokerStars has lost another player, with 2003 World Champion Chris Moneymaker eliminated. Moneymaker was crippled earlier (to about 7k in chips) holding pocket Queens, bumping into quad Kings.

In 3-way (pre-flop) all-in action, the severely shortstacked Moneymaker committed his last chips with KQ, but was behind from the outset, as his opponents flipped over Pocket Queens and Pocket Jacks.

The flop came: 8d 2c 6s
The turn and river offered no assistance with a 7c and 5h.

Moneymaker added to the list of big name casualties, as Australian pro Mark Vos also exited. Vos pushed with 2-pair (Tens & Deuces) and was called by Tino Lechich (button) who had flopped a straight with A5, after calling Vos' pre-flop raise (in the cutoff) to 6k.

By Sean Callander

George Dunst has almost as many aliases as Fletch – some know him as Lucky TonyD, others just as Tony just he’s probably best known by the online tag ‘Bond18’.

One of the best known and most popular posters on Twoplustwo, Dunst has charged to within reach of Team PokerStars pro Raymond Rahme (still the chip leader on 99,000).

Dunst, whose stack is now well above 80,000, started playing poker in home games with friends in his senior year of high school (2002-2003).

“I was the school bookie so gambling on cards seemed like a natural transition,” he said.

Like many young players, he rode the roller coaster early in his career. “One of my early poker mentors, who at the time I thought was very good, was in fact terrible at poker and turned me into a huge nit. In fact, because I learned before the days of people loosening up, I became a huge nit with no real concept of pot odds for quite a while,” he said.

He won a seat to the 2006 Aussie Millions, and loved his experience of Australia so much that he returned six months.

He’s since combined study at home in Wisconsin with travels, including a stint in China with his girlfriend, emerging player Celina Lin.

“I spent most of my time indoors playing as many tournaments as possible since I didn’t know anyone but my girlfriend and couldn’t speak the language. After China I went back to the WSOP again in 2007 and with backing played 30 events,” he said

“After the WSOP this year I moved back to Melbourne, where I’m now living and playing online every day. Hopefully at the AAPT Grand Final in Sydney I can establish myself as one of the top tournament players in the country.” He’s well on his way.

• Raymond Rahme (Team PokerStars) 99k
• George Dunst 82k
• Alex Rosser 70k
• Luigi A’Preda 70k
• Tino Lechich 42k

The players have returned from a 10 minute break, at Level 5, with blinds at 200/400(25). Raymond Rahme remains the chip leader, currently sitting with over 100k in chips.

When prompted regarding his quick accumulation of chips and asked "where his stack came from", the popular PokerStars pro said: "from your cashier"!

The most significant pot for Rahme actually came early on when Rahme had 30k in chips, taking down a pot of 25k.

"I looked down at Ace-Ace, facing a raise, and smooth called", said Rahme.
"A player behind me re-raised and he was called, I then re-raised all-in and got one caller", Rahme explained. "The original raiser folded Kings, and the caller flipped over kings!" Rahme's pocket aces held, despite a straight draw on the board.

From that point on, Rahme has held his chip lead over the table and consolidated his position at the top of the leaderboard on day 1.

Seoul Korea APPT Winner Ziv Bachar went to the break with 32k in chips, claiming "nothing special" happened when asked to comment about the day's play thus far. "I'm happy, I don't want anything special!" exclaimed Bachar regarding the lack of big hands or laydowns.

By Sean Callander

Eric Assadourian has been one of the most successful players on the local tournament scene for the past 18 months, but his hopes of adding the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final trophy are over.

The 28-year-old, who won the $15,000 APPT High Roller event in Macau less than a month ago, was down his last 3200 in chips. He pushed in pre-flop but found himself up against two players.

The flop came 8h 6c 2c, the big blind led out for 3000 and received a call. The turn was 7s, in went another 2000 and again came the call. The Ah rolled out on the river, this time generating a bet of 10,000, which was too much for the other player in the hand. Assadourian showed K Q, while his opponent turned over A Q.

However, it hasn’t been a totally forgettable week for Assadourian – last night, he shared the spoils with Saidal Warda to win $29,848 in the $1100 Teams’ Event.

Meanwhile, Daniel McPherson – famous for his roles in TV shows such as Neighbours and The Bill, isn’t showing any nerves despite occupying the ‘table of death’, which currently comprises Mark Vos, Nick Nicolaou, George ‘Bond 18’ Dunst and Terrance Chan.

McPherson just bluffed a couple of the pros out of a big pot, and exclaimed "if I don't know what I'm doing, then I don't know what I'm doing wrong – they seem content to take on each other so I’ll just try to stay under the radar."

Team Pokers Pro Raymond Rahme remains our chip leader on just over 100,000.

Mid-way through Level 4 with the Blinds at 150/300 (25 Ante) and Chris Moneymaker has almost doubled his starting stack, with Macau High Roller champion Eric Assadourian nursing a short stack early.

• Raymond Rahme $52k
• Tino Lechich $48k
• Nick Nicolaou $42k
• Chris Moneymaker $34k
• Eric Assadourian $6k

138 Runners on 14 Tables Remain

By Sean Callander

The antes have started as Level 3 kicks-off after the first break on Day 1 (Flight 1) of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final. Today’s field is 179, which should help take the field well in excess of 500 players – a fantastic result for the first major international poker tournament ever held in Sydney.

We’re at 100/200 with a 25 ante, and already some of the big names have made a move – some up the chip count, some making their exit from the Star City poker room.

Sadly, one of those to be eliminated in the early going was Team PokerStars pro Greg Raymer. With four-way action, the board came Qc Qh 9d. All players checked the flop before a turn of 4s. Lei He made it 600, Raymer raised to 1600 and Lei He called.

The river blanked (5c), Raymer pushed in his remaining 6000 and Lei He made the call with Qd Jh, while Raymer showed Ks 10h for a busted straight draw. Always a popular addition to any major event, Raymer’s departure was an unfortunate one so early in the event.

Earlier, we’d lost the first player when Ang Pang Leng from Singapore (who cashed in the APPT Macau main event) moved all-in with Ks 10h – the same hand Raymer was holding – on a board of Kh 8h 6s 5s Qd. But a call from another player with Ah Kc sent Ang Pang Leng to the rail.

Conversely, two players have made a rapid move to the top of the chip count. Team PokerStars pro Raymond Rahme took down a huge pot when his pocket aces held firm in a remarkable hand.

Two others were in the hand pre-flop, one elected to fold his pocket kings, while a second called with the other two kings! Rahme hit an ace on the flop, and it was all over. The South African is up to 50,000.

Sydneysider Nick Nicolaou, won of many highly rated locals playing in the APPT Grand Final, has also been an early mover and is up to 63,000.

By Sean Callander

More than 170 players have taken their seats on Day 1, Flight 1 in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final at Star City Casino.

It was an unusually early start for players – the breakfast buffet was getting a workover ahead of the 10.30am start.

We’ve just had a traditional welcome from a local Aboriginal troupe, complete with didgeridoos, a long cylindrical wind instrument used by Australia’s indigenous people in ceremonial performances.

The order to shuffle up and deal came from two of Australia’s biggest celebrities – actor Daniel McPherson and David Campbell, the star of popular local musicals like Shout, Sunset Boulevard and Les Misérables. Joe Hachem joined them on stage to celebrate the start of this historic event: the biggest tournament ever held in Sydney.

McPherson and Campbell have taken their seats for the tournament, both keen poker players eager to make their mark against some of the world’s best.

Today’s field includes two of the four world champions here in Sydney, Team PokerStars pros Chris Moneymaker (yet to make his appearance in the floor) and Greg Raymer, along with Raymond Rahme, the 62-year-old South African who was third in 2007 WSOP main event.

We’ve also spotted Lee Nelson, Terrance Chan and local Sydney player Eric Assadourian (who won the APPT High Roller event in Macau) wearing PokerStars colours, 2006 WSOP bracelet winner Mark Vos, top Aussie pros Mel Judah and Martin Comer and APPT Seoul champion Ziv Bichir.

By Sean Callander

Australians are used to travelling vast distances on their overseas travels – it’s a 14-hour flight to Los Angeles and more than 20 hours to reach any location in Western Europe.

Despite the marathon journey to Sydney, it’s amazing to watch the faces of the players arriving in reception here at Star City for the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Grand Final.

Exhausted, yes, but many of the online qualifiers are making their first trip to Australia. They’re casting aside the lack of sleep to soak up the atmosphere of Australia’s largest city.

And what a venue to celebrate the final event of the first PokerStars.net APPT. Star City is located on Darling Harbour (at the western end of Sydney’s CBD, and offers views of one of Australia’s most iconic symbols, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and the stunning city skyline.

After travelling so far, it’s almost inconceivable to think that such a modern and captivating city could exist so far from anywhere else.

For many players, they’ve jumped straight into the poker action in one of the five preliminary events or a cash-game in the Star City Poker Room, the second-biggest casino poker in the country.

Others have also been keen to make a splash shortly after arriving in Sydney, which is the capital city of the state of New South Wales and home to more than four million people. Leading by example is Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem.



Joe is to Australian poker what beetroot is to an Australian hamburger: a symbol of what makes our country unique and an essential element to any great Aussie tournament/barbecue.

Hachem, who’s bled for PokerStars in 2007 – literally, after he cut his knuckles smashing a taekwondo block in Seoul – faced a nemesis more fearsome than a grumpy Mike Matusow when he entered the shark tank at the Sydney Aquarium to go heads-up with Australia’s number one predator: a Great White Shark.

The 2005 WSOP champion showed what he was prepared to do to win a millions dollars after a survey released this week revealed what Australians would do to earn a seven-figure sum: the guaranteed first prize for the APPT Grand Final.

Other respondents suggested they were willing to i) sleep with new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd; ii) go toe-to-toe with a professional boxer; iii) streak at a national sporting event; or iv) swim with the aforementioned monster of the deep.

The estimated 600-plus PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final entrants won’t have to go through any such life-threatening activities.



Instead, they’ll have to pick through a field including Hachem, fellow Team PokerStars pros Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer, Isabelle Mercier, Luca Pagano and Raymond Rahme, plus a field packed with the best players from Asia and Australasia. Piece of cake! APPT Grand Final starts at 10.30am local time tomorrow with the first of the three Day 1 flights. We look forward to bringing you all the action over the next five days, plus a bit of local flavour – Aussie style.

The Czech writer Franz Kafka wrote his share of great works. The Trial about a man arrested for a crime he’s not aware of, The Castle about the bureaucratic abuse of power, and Metamorphosis, about a man waking up transformed into a giant insect. Well, not much to compare with a poker tournament then - no giant bugs, no authoritarian tournament directors laying down the law.

Team PokerStars pros Dario Minieri and Luca Pagano had rough days. Dario fell to the rail at the midway point whilst Luca battled from the start, stumbling only towards the end of the day.

The big names came and the big name went. Among those looking for alternative entertainment tomorrow include Annette Obrestad, Thomas Wahlroos, Jani Sointula, Andreas Hagen, Andreas Hoivold, Jan Skjavik, Ramzi Jelassi, Joseph Mouawad, Paul Jackson and William Thorsen.

We started this afternoon with 314 players, far above the day 1a starting figure. Throughout the day we heard from PokerStars qualifier Tobias Erath, Sondre Mikalsen and David Nigioni who each found the progress a little different whilst behind them the stories of Dario and Luca evolved.

Age Spets would be eliminated this evening too, but not without a humourous and courageous last few hands. And Ionut Dinescu, the PokerStars qualifier from Romania, showed just how much fun poker can be when the hard work was getting here in the first place.

Perhaps ther’s one vague link that the EPT Prague has with one fo the Czech Republic’s literary icons. Kafka never finished his stories, so we’ll never know the true endings. We’ll find out what happens to our own story tomorrow; who will play he part of the heroes and who the villains. Tomorrow is day 2 and 196 player will return to audition for those vacancies. But as it stands tonight it's all still to be written.



We start again at the Prague Hilton tomorrow at noon local time. But if you want a little more EPT coverage, check out the EPT video blog for features, news and interviews by clicking here.


For anyone wanting to catch up on the day’s action....

Wall to wall on day 1b

A look across the card room

Team PokerStars taking it to the opposition

It’s not over till it’s over

In the thick and thin of it

When you’re smiling

All photos (c) Neil Stoddart

The end of day 1b is closing in. Whilst Team PokerStars pro Luca Pagano has gone Romanian PokerStars qualifier Ionut Dinescu, also known as Claudiu, shows signs of enjoying himself in the closing stages of the day. And why not? The man from Bucharest is about to complete the first full day of his first EPT. He can afford to relax a bit.

PokerStars qualifier Ionut Dinescu

Although when I spoke to him earlier today he was just as laid back, down to 7k at the time but nonplussed and pragmatic. And having played poker for just two years must be happy with making the end of the day with a little over what he started with.

“It’s great. I won my seat on PokerStars for $10 in a special Eastern European satellite.”

His confidence sky-high (describing one opponent earlier as a “disaster – limping with 8-5!”), he’s set to bag up for the night. Give or take a few grand, it’ll be with a smile on his face.

Luca Pagano’s day has been the rollercoaster type. More than that, a rollercoaster without safety belts and dodgy welding on the loops. But, he’s still here. The thing is it doesn’t seem to be any easier.

After re-raising a bet for over a quarter of his stack his opponent then put him all-in. There followed a period of sustained thinking on Luca’s part.

“Do you want me to call?” asked Luca.

The man went a shade of pink and shifted the weight of his head onto his other hand. It was no clearer to Luca. Could he pass? He took another look, furrowed his brow and flicked his cards away in disgust.

But like I said, he’s still here.

***

At the last break of the day separating the end of level six to the last two hours of the day, I caught up with some of the PokerStars qualifiers who are playing today, either thanks to a modest satellite fee or some well earned frequent player points.

Sondre Mikalsen from Oslo in Norway is of the FPP kind. The 27-year-old is playing his first EPT which happens also to be his first live event, one he’s intending to enjoy. He sure looks the part with gold rimmed aviator glasses across his face and a stack measuring around the average mark.

Team PokerStars qualifier Sondre Mikalsen

“It’s pretty cool. It’s very nice here and I love travelling.” He said. “I’ve only made a couple of mistakes so far. Otherwise I’m happy!”

David Nigioni of Monaco is also experiencing the thrills of a first live event, hiding his pride at having reached this stage in his poker career after just eight months. How was it going?

“I have the same 10k I started with.” He said. “I was up to 22k and played steady for a while but then, well, someone had a flush!”


PokerStars qualifier David Nigioni

Still, not bad for just eight months...

“Yeah, I’m pretty happy about it! And I’m defending my chips!”


Tournament update:

Latest chip counts into level seven...

Anthony Lellouche – France – 41,000
Peter Roche – Ireland – 11,000
Mark Friedman – United States – 21,000
Reijo Manninen – PokerStars qualifier -- Finland -- 9,600
Michael Ellis – England – 4,000
Luca Pagano – Team PokerStars pro – Italy – 6,500
Florian Langman – Germany -- 28,000
Leo Kam – England – 39,000
Praz Bansi – England – 43,000
Pryan De Mel – England – 15,000
Casper Hansen – Denmark – 12,000
Bertrand ‘ElkY Grospellier – Team PokerStars pro -- France -- 23,000
Juha Helppi – Finland – 7,000
Thomas Brolin – Sweden – 6,500
Jani Sointula – Finland – 10,000
Karl Mahrenholz – England – 4,000
David Nigioni – PokerStars qualifier – Monaco -- 11,000
Tommy Pavlicek – PokerStars player – Canada -- 44,000
Sondre Mikalsen – PokerStars qualifier – Norway -- 18,000

If you want to find out a little more about the EPT Prague, what it looks like from a PokerStars qualifier’s point of view, interviews, features, news and even a glimpse of this here blogger, check out the EPT video blog here.

Meanwhile one of the most popular professionals on the European poker scene is Norwegian Age Spets. He has three EPT cashes to his name, two from Baden and another at the Monte Carlo grand final last season. But it seems without something radical and fast his best result of 13th in Baden this year won’t be beaten.

Age Spets photo courtesy of Poker Listings

Wearing his familiar camouflaged pattern jacket and a shock of untidy blonde hair he's playing on the edge of his seat. There seems to be some kind of private dual going on inside his head between good and bad demons – one of which wants to scream, the other to laugh it all off. By the looks of things the demons have agreed a truce and the noises are more a laughing death rattle.

The thing is Age has been card dead, or at least he can’t hit anything on the flop. But his high spirits are endearing him to the rest of his table and anyone passing by regardless. They want him here.

A hand develops on the flop. A bet from Age, re-raised by a quiet player forcing Age to fold his ace. He’s holding back that noise I was telling you about. “King-jack? King-eight?” he asks, with no reply. He laughs, leans back, and exhales. “Why can’t I hit?!” he says, but the poker gods send no answer. “Was it King.... no, no, forget it!” More laughing now, the good demons telling him reluctantly to let it go.

Then the turnaround hand, surely? The button raised to 600, Age on the small blind moved all-in. It’s another 675 which the button calls. Not wanting to show first Age peers over, eventually showing his pocket sevens - against T-9 of hearts.

A nine on the flop...

Age: Well done... (starts getting up)

Turn: 7

Age: Uh!

River: T

Age: Whooo!

“Welcome back!”

All smiles again. A lifeline for Age about the width of cotton. Could he hold on?

Well, no.... a few hands later he found pocket Tens. A reasonable hand until it runs headlong into pocket Kings. Age was right. He couldn’t hit. He's out in level five.

555 is the total number of entrants, shattering previous expectations. But one player not headed towards ultimate victory is Thor Hansen. The Norwegian was sent to the rail by a young player who turned apologetic as Thor stood, perhaps overly so. Thor, the professional, put the boy at ease, wishing everyone good luck on his way out.

Austrian PokerStars qualifier Tobias Erath looked a little pensive during the break, appearing from out of the cloud of cigarette smoke with an update. “I still have average chips but I’ve played very patiently up to now.” His patience would soon ease as play resumed, out betting immediately, and last seen working his stack up with haste.

PokerStars qualifier Tobias Erath

We weren’t seeing things earlier on Luca Pagano’s table, he really was upping his usual tempo. A change of gameplan perhaps?

“A little bit”, smiled Luca. “I feel good, concentrated...”

I left him to it. But after the break things were a little different. An escapade with pocket eights cost Luca. The plan didn’t change any, and he looks to have picked up where he left off, an almost predictable process of raising and betting, a face of serious intentions, sitting up in his chair, hands clasped over his cards.

His friend and countryman Dario Minieri is a different sight altogether. Dario wears his well worn Roma scarf of maroon red and golden yellow – the colours of the Eternal City– around his neck like any mother would tell you to. His face relaxed, perhaps the riffle of chips sending him to sleep. He has a silver cross around his neck, a gold bracelet around one wrist and thick gold watch around the other. He looks suited to the clean air of the card room.


Team PokerStars pro Dario Minieri

Like Luca he’s had trouble early on, and sits with around 4k but shows no sign of easing off his trademark aggression, maintaining the pressure on opponents, taking the game to them until they get the point.

On the other side of the hall is Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier. He’s better off than his fellow Team PokerStars pros on close to 13,500. Silver sunglasses, silver headphones, silver watch (rather than Dario gold) and blond hair completes a kind of Bladerunner sci-fi look, like he’s constructed from titanium and powered by a substance not yet discovered by man.

He also seems to be pushing the envelope on his table, checking to see how far he can go before someone doubts his honesty. Another pot goes his way.

Powerful stuff from Team PokerStars as we head into level three.

Tournament update:

With the field confirmed tournament organisers have released the payouts for the EPT Prague.56 places will be paid with a handsome sum of €708,400 going to the winner.

1st € 708,400
2nd € 407,300
3rd € 235,300
4th € 182,200
5th € 151,800
6th € 119,000
7th € 93,600
8th € 63,200
9th to 10th -- € 39,200
11th to 12th -- € 27,800
13th to 14th -- € 20,200
15th to 16th -- € 15,200
17th to 24th -- € 12,650
25th to 32nd -- € 10,100
33rd to 40th -- € 8,850
41st to 48th -- € 7,600
49th to 56th -- € 6,380

Dario Minieri photo (c) Neil Stoddart

Team PokerStars pros Luca Pagano and Dario Minieri are here but have seemingly swapped playing styles. Luca the considered and patient pro is getting into every pot, whilst Dario, the young genius mad-man is patiently folding each hand.

Team PokerStars pro Luca Pagano

They sit separately but the draw has thrown together some interesting combinations elsewhere. Team PokerStars pro ElkY, now sporting slick peroxide hair, sits two to the left of former French international footballer Vikash Dharasoo. Opposite them both sits Norwegian Jan Sjavik.


Team PokerStars pro Bertrand 'ElkY' Grospellier


Jani Sointula

On the next table along former Monte Carlo Millions winner Jani Sointula sits two down from old-timer master gambler Thor Hansen. Andreas Krause has countryman and EPT London final table finisher Marcel Baran whilst Irishman Peter Roche has William Thorson and last year’s EPT Dortmund winner Andreas Hoivold.


William Thorsen


Thor Hansen

All photos (c) Neil Stoddart

As far as Christmas tourism in the Czech Republic goes, Prague is the main nerve. A superhighway of anything festive packed into the biggest Christmas market in Prague, running across ‘Staromestske namesti’ in the old part of town.

Everything festive is on offer, food, drink, trinkets and more drink. Kids queue for hot dogs and sweets, whilst their parents happily do the same for the first of the day's glugs of mulled wine. It keeps the cold off the bones and is worth waiting for. I joined in for research reasons, handing over my 45 Crowns for a plastic cup of warm wine. My attempts at a few Czech words missed their target and I walked away no doubt leaving the impression I was a simple English tourist out for breakfast.





But it was still a jolly site with the centre of Prague a mixture of old and new, a multicoloured combination of elaborately decorated exteriors housing fashionable stores inside that sell expensive things. It’s cold walking around, but the wine helps.





Back to the poker and a heavy bias in starting numbers today with over 320 registered to play so far thanks to a late surge in registrations overnight. Gone are the cash tables with the whole of Congress Hall given over to tournament play, all of which is about to start.

Among those here today are EPT Dublin runner-up and youngest poker legend Annette Obrestad, Barny Boatman of the Hendon Mob, perpetual cash finisher Jan Sjavik, EPT London winner Joseph Maouaed, William Thorsen looking for EPT success and Irishman Peter Roche as well as Team PokerStars Pros Luca Pagano, Dario Minieri, Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier and Sebastian Ruthenberg.

We’re moments away from starting. Tournament director Thomas Kremser has his warm up music blasting the p.a. a theme tune that most can’t quite put their finger on, but I think is from the rally scene towards the end of the film Major League.

That done we’re ready to start. The same eight levels as yesterday, ten handed to start, nine handed as soon as possible, and all for €5,000.

Adrian Foy leads at the end of day 1a, bagging 115,500 tonight. Only he and Maciej Mazur have over 100k, Mazur finishing with 104,300. Swede Hans Eskilsson looks to have an afternoon free for shopping tomorrow.

A few of the final chips counts from today:

Adrian Foy – Germany – 115,500
Maciej Mazur – PokerStars qualifier – Poland – 104,300
Luigi Rizzi – Italy – 72,800
Magnus Petersson – Sweden – 72,300
Maik Daehling – Germany – 61,000