PokerStars.It To Launch

PokerStars recently had their application to launch a Italian poker site granted, by the AAMS (Amministrazione Autonoma dei Monopoli di Stato).  The passing of the license means that Italians will be able to compete for real money in the PokerStars.It software, and play in exclusive Italian only poker tournaments ranging from 0.50 Euro’s up and through to 100 Euro’s.

“Players on PokerStars.it will have the opportunity to win their entry into famous international poker events – like the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. These competitions require players to have the right mix of skill, training, concentration and luck” – PokerStars Pro Dario Minieri.

Online poker in Italy has been growing rapidly recently, with the success of several Italian poker professionals. The market is set to be worth an estimated 400 million euro’s. Estimates show within a year 500,000 accounts will be created!

Sign Up At PokerStars.Com Today and use a PokerStars Marketing Code

PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Satellites

PokerStars are running online satellites for the prestigious “PokerStars Caribbean Adventure” event which is set to take place at the Atlantis Resort and Casino, located in the beautiful surroundings of the Bahamas.

The 2009 event takes place between Januray 5th and January 10th, and is set to be bigger then ever!

The event is part of the EPT (European Poker Tour) which means it’s bound to attract 1000’s of entrants. Last years Caribbean Adventure saw over 1,100 entrants do battle for a prizepool worth over $8,000,000.

Last years “PCA” winner, Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier, won over $2,000,000!

PokerStars has hundreds of daily satellites being run, which includes “step” tournaments and many more smaller tournament to give everyone a chance at qualifying. The 2009 PokerStars prize package’s are worth $14,300 and this includes the Main Event buy-in, hotel accommodation and money for expenses.

Visit PokerStars.Com For More Information

Betfair $100,000 Cash Celebration

As the WSOPE recently drew to an end, Betfair have there latest “big tournament” promotion up and running. The “$100,000 Guaranteed Cash Tournament” is taking place on the 9th November at 18:00 GMT. In typical betfair fashion everybody has a chance to qualify for this huge poker tournament.

Betfair players can buy in directly to the tournament for $550 ($520 + $30) although for players on a smaller budget numerous daily qualifiers can be found with a entry cost as low as $2.20.

$100,000 Guaranteed Satellites

$2.20 Daily Level 1 Tournament : These tournaments have 2 minute blind levels and offer unlimited rebuys for the first hour. The tournament runs 3 times a day at; 12:25, 14:25 and 16:25 GMT. For each $55 in the prize pool a seat is given to the “Daily Level 2“

$7.70 Daily Level 1 Tournament : This tournament is run daily at 17:25 GMT. Players have 2000 starting chips and blind levels increase every 10 minutes. For every $55 in the pool, a seat is awarded to the daily level 2 satellite.

$55 Daily Level 2 Satellite Tournament : This tournament offers a  “direct route” to the  $100,000 Guaranteed tournament. This tournament runs daily at 20:15 GMT, players are given 2,500 starting chips and blinds are increased every 15 minutes. For each 11 entrants one player wins a seat at the $100k Tournament.

For more large tournaments look at the “Sunday Poker Tournaments” page or the Sunday Million page.

Sign Up At Betfair Here

Online Poker Traffic Growth

Despite the recent global economic crisis, online poker seems to be booming. In recent weeks more and more players have been putting in more hours, and playing more online poker then ever!

The recent WCOOP saw the largest online poker tournament in the history of online poker take place, poker scout has noted a worldwide increase of 25% in the poker market, and sites such as PokerStars, Titan Poker and Cake Poker have all seen significant (40%+) increases in player traffic.

Bodog Poker has seen a decrease in traffic as of late, and is down around 35% on last year’s traffic. although they still accept US players. It is possible that the domain name fiasco that hit Bodog in August of last year may have played a part. Also many players are choosing to migrate to “bigger” sites such as PokerStars and Titan Poker .

With the current global economic crisis are more players turning to poker as a way of making some easy money?

If your looking to make some quick money through poker, sign up at Cake Poker and use a Cake Poker Bonus Code for some easy poker bonus cash and play against some of the weakest online poker players..

2008 WSOPE Main Event Winner

The WSOPE (World Series Of Poker Europe) came to a close on the 3rd of October. The 362 entrants all paid £10,000 to enter Europe’s largest and most prestigious poker event which saw over 5 days of poker action take place!

Players and fans alike had high expectations of last years inaugural WSOPE win, Annete Obrestad, but she failed to make it into the money after busting out on day 4 of the 5 day event.

The final table saw the following players battle it out for 1st place which awards the coveted WSOPE Main Event bracelet as well as a cheque for over £860,000!

The final table consisted of Chris Elliot, Toni Hiltunen, Robin Keston, Scott Fischman, Daniel Negreanau, Bengt Sonnert, Ivan Demidov, Stanislav Alekhin and John Juanda.

At the final table, the final 2 players left battling it out for 1st and 2nd where Stanislav Alekhin and John Juanda, played for nearly 24 hours making it the longest final table in world series of poker history. John Juanda finally prevailed as the winner and 2008 WSOPE Champion!

The WSOPE payout structure saw 36 players “paid”, with the following prizes

28th-36th - £25,340

19th-27th – £28,960

16th-18th – £36,200

13th-15th – £45,250

10th-12th - £54,300

9th – £81,450 – Chris Elliot

8th – £108,600 – Toni Hiltunen

7th - £135,750 – Robin Keston

6th - £171,950 – Scott Fischman

5th – £217,200 – Daniel Negreanau

4th -  £271,500 – Bengt Sonnert

3rd – £344,850 – Ivan Demidov

2nd - £533,950 – Stanislav Alekhin

1st - £868,800 - John Juanda

The WSOPE is sponsored by Betfair Poker read more about Betfair at our Betfair Poker Review.

Betfair Poker $10 Maximum Rake!

Betfair Poker have taken the extraordinary step of implementing a maximum rake of $10 on ANY sit and go tournament tournament played, regardless of the buy in size!est

From October 1st to December 31st 2008 all sit and go tournaments will see this reduced “fee” which makes becoming a winning poker player even easier! The standard 10% “fee” players have to pay for each sit and go tournament played, means that players have to not only beat the other players but also overcome the fee’s they have to pay.

The only players who’ll notice this change is players who play high stakes sit and go tournaments, as Betfair’s “fee” only creeps over the $10 mark at sit and go tournaments with a buy in of over $150.

Below is Betfair Poker’s Sit And Go rake table, along with the savings you’ll make!

Sign up at Betfair Poker today and you’ll soon see the difference the lowered rake makes to your pockets! Read The Betfair Poker Review.

Betfair Poker Portugese Poker Tour

Betfair have just announced the 3rd year of the now annual, Betfair Portugese Poker Tour! The tournament is set to start on the 6th November and run for three days until the 9th November. Casino Espinho is the venue, for the tournament.

This tournament is certainly one of the most playable events, with huge starting stacks of 15,000 chips and one hour blinds! Which means players will have bring their poker brains with them to be in with a chance of winnings this tournament!

Starting today Betfair are running online satellites, which means online players will be able to qualify for this excellent live event. There are different packages up for grabs with the satellites so make sure you read the tournament information provided, as some satellites offer “seat only” packages whilst others provide players with $2,000 for additional expenses (flight, accomodation etc.)

Below is a list of the “package satellites” Betfair is running. If you’d prefer to buy in to the live tournament directly, more information on the Betfair Portugese Poker Tour can be found on the Betfair Website.

PACKAGE SATELLITES

Level 1 BPPT Espinho Satellite

WHEN: Daily, starting 29th Sep
BUY-IN: $2+$0.20+Rebuys+Add-ons
PRIZES: 1 seat GTD to Level 2

Level 2 BPPT Espinho Satellite

WHEN: 5th, 12th, 19th and 26th Oct, time to be confirmed.
BUY-IN: $20+$2+Rebuys+Add-ons
PRIZES: 5 seat GTD to the Satellite Final.

BPPT Espinho Satellite Final
WHEN: 2 November, time to be confirmed.
BUY-IN: $200+$12
PRIZES: 3 x $2,000 BPPT Espinho Packages ($810 buyin + $1,190 Expenses)

For more information on Betfair, visit the “Betfair Poker Review” we provide, or read about the Betfair Poker Bonus.

PKR Hotshot Operator Of The Year

PKR recently announced they have won the “E-Gaming Hotshot Operator Of The Year” award.

The award is awarded to the gaming operator which has had the biggest impact from 2007 through to 2008. The site fought of tough competition from Everest Poker, Betsson and BetClick to clinch the prestigious award, which caps of a truly amazing year for the newly crowned e-gaming hotshot operator of the year.

The e-gaming awards are by far the most prestigious UK based gaming awards, the winners are selected by a select panel of industry experts.

PKR CEO Malcolm Graham said:

“We are absolutely delighted with the award which not only considers our accomplishments over the last year, but also reflects our potential for the future. The honourable commendation capped off a great evening and we feel privileged to receive special mention and be recognised as such a big player in the online poker sector.”

Players looking to play at PKR, the Hotshot operators of the year, should use a pkr bonus code : RANK50 when signing up to receive a $50 Fixed Bonus!

ElkY Incredible WCOOP Run

Any poker player who’s kept up to date with the WCOOP will know PokerStars Pro Bertrand Grospellier a.k.a “ElkY” has had an incredible run this year, cashing 7 times in total totaling over $400,000!

ElkY Background

PokerStars Players “ElkY” has always enjoyed games. Originally he was a professional video game in South Korea, before progressing to poker. Like many other successful poker players, ElkY’s anlytical thinking, and the ability to read a hand have been attributed to his video gaming. ElkY shot to internet poker stardom when he was the first player to reach both, SuperNova and SuperNova Elite status on PokerStars.

ElkY’s WCOOP 2008 Cashes

$25,000 NL Holdem Heads Up – 2nd – $320,000!

$1,000 NL Holdem – 14th – $14,561.40

$530 1 Rebuy/1 Addon NLHE – 15th – $10,950

$320 PL Omaha w/rebuys – 12th – $8,070.30

$530 NL Holdem Triple Shootout – 5th – $20,047.50

$530 NL Holdem Rebuys (6 Max) – 15th – $10,714.26

$5,200 NL Holdem Main Event – 21st – $22,942.50

More To Be Added Soon.

WCOOP Main Event Rankings

The WCOOP main event kicked off yesterday, with the entry cost at $5,200 and 2,185 entrants, once again PokerStars had far exceeded the guaranteed $10,000,000 up for grabs and the final prizepool stood at just under $11 million. PokerStars broke there former record for the largest online poker event once more, by 3 million dollars!

Currently Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier has stole the spotlight for the WCOOP with 6 cashes in WCOOP events so far. But how will he do in the Main Event? He is guaranteed his seventh cash but will he come back from 43rd to take the coveted WCOOP title?

After Day One of the 2 Day WCOOP Main Event the chip counts are as follows:

august35 3,865,986.00
Cobra234 2,378,526.00
Fluffdog87 2,242,203.00
Forza Parma 2,204,820.00
AJKHoosier1 2,184,184.00
liberace 2,073,469.00
klslcz 1,822,775.00
PieOhMy 1,382,118.00
Markush13 1,381,400.00
ViP_MoDee 1,375,402.00
capinhabr 1,262,891.00
Sumpas 1,160,506.00
Cowb0y$4Life 1,137,334.00
Herr_Jude 1,119,064.00
BillieD 1,068,206.00
cpfactor 1,036,775.00
ShoesRDurrty 1,036,402.00
abreid 1,027,391.00
ShiP ThA $$$ 977,595.00
xmrstyle 963,432.00
lucky_aces08 952,074.00
austinlewis 910,230.00
charder30 901,740.00
BlueDevils09 900,113.00
baloo1962 880,068.00
brendol 867,244.00
m3tph 794,381.00
Daut44 793,280.00
ckingusc 789,130.00
ahh_snap 779,928.00
McMang 762,914.00
Michnak 708,462.00
KingKobeMVP 687,178.00
sprocket94 677,958.00
psuNYY51 641,990.00
cbsplash 637,172.00
LoneHixx 608,020.00
sshyshadow 607,067.00
x-13 564,946.00
Miss Pretty 515,810.00
mcstuntz 511,464.00
astarisborn 493,044.00
ElkY 482,177.00
sandler1860 475,000.00
styroben33 462,970.00
THEROBBOB20 445,937.00
JBlaze20 431,079.00
pokerhahntas 425,516.00
kudos1017 424,611.00
neverwin 417,001.00
DooshDotCom 413,258.00
ADZ124 404,146.00
C13Greentumb 399,128.00
PokerNoob999 371,757.00
cabriovr6 347,988.00
kovi99 344,430.00
diemaus36o 342,715.00
BalkanGhost 296,656.00
BOLLPOKER 235,953.00
PowerRanger 219,986.00

With only 60 players left, things are certainly getting tense. 2 Millionaires are going be created at the final table, and just for making it there players will receive a very nice 6 figure payout! All of the 60 remaining players will receive at least $17,480 and with that comes an excellent poker story to tell!

Update 23:37 GMT : 21 players left, Elky is in 21st posiiton former leader August35 was knocked out in 23rd and received just under $23,000. Liberace is in 1st position with 6,800,000 chips!

Update 23:45 GMT : ElkY busted out in 21st place.

Update : WCOOP Main Event comes to a close, the winner is Ckingusc for a nice $1,775,312.50! Second place was liberace for $1,311,000 and the third place finisher was AJKHoosier1 who was rewarded with $941,735,000.

Players can watch the final 60 play live at PokerStars. Looking for somewhere else to play? Check out our top ranked poker sites.

« Previous Page — Next Page »