The 888poker XL Spring Series Main Event has reached its final table, and only nine players remain in contention to claim the lion’s share of the $500,000 prize pool. Leading the finalists back into battle is “IxiltxZtKQn” with 4,331,409 chips; “IxiltxZtKQn” is one of four Brazilians at the final table.
Day 2 saw 376 players return to the action, each hoping to capture the largest mystery bounty on offer, one weighing in at $50,000. Two players opened mystery bounty envelopes containing $15,000. “HaxiLife” crashed out in 238th and missed out on an in-the-money finish but won a $15,000 bounty. “MARIMBONDO1” also clinched a $15,000 bounty before falling in 12th place.
Twenty-second place finisher “Lokiape” of the United Kingdom collected $1,175 from the main prize pool but reeled in $51,079 from the bounty prize pool! Although they were obviously disappointed not to win this event, taking home more than $52,000 for their $250 investment will go some way to numbing the pain.
$500,000 Gtd XL Spring Series Main Event Final Table Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Bounties
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
IxiltxZtKQn
Brazil
$869
4,331,409
62
2
luttekikker
Malta
$2,658
3,410,413
49
3
betsoares
Brazil
$8,528
2,256,110
32
4
Rochinh2011
Brazil
$3,158
1,709,180
24
5
Hiisoka93
Brazil
$1,158
1,543,594
22
6
xxBanioNxx
Ireland
$1,948
1,512,311
22
7
ckb4714
United Kingdom
$2,289
1,296,043
19
8
buicanalex
Romania
$2,658
1,220,939
17
9
r4ndomr4gs
Sweden
$1,869
930,001
13
None of the nine players at the final table will take home less than $3,450 from the main prize pool, and as much as $36,525 for their efforts. As mentioned, Brazil’s “IxiltxZtKQn” is the player to catch, their 4,331,409 stack is the equivalent of 62 big blinds.
Malta’s “luttekikker” returns in second place with 3,410,413 chips (49 big blinds), with another Brazilian “betsoares” occupying third spot courtesy of their 2,256,110 stack (32 big blinds). “betsoares” is already quids in thanks to helping themselves to more than $8,500 worth of mystery bounty payments!
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The action has the potential to be fast and furious from the moment the first cards are pitched because the chasing pack outside the top three are tightly packed; there is only an 11 big blind difference between ninth and fourth place.
Brazilian dup “Rochinh2011” and “Hiisoka93” sit down with 1,709,180 (24 big blinds) and 1,543,594 (22 big blinds), respectively, while “xxBanioNxx” of Ireland has an arsenal of 1,512,311 chips (22 big blinds).
888poker regular “ckb4714” is armed with 1,296,043 chips (19 big blinds), Romania’s “buicanalex” has a stack of 1,220,939 chips (17 big blinds), while Sweden’s “r4ndomr4gs” occupies last place with 930,001 chips (13 big blinds).
The final table action gets underway from 7:00 p.m. BST and you can follow all of the action in text format right here at PokerNews. It is also possible to watch cards-up coverage on a 30-minute delay by tuning into the 888poker Twitch stream. Whatever way you get your updates, be sure to return to PokerNews on June 7 for a full recap of the final table.
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The inaugural WPT Global Spring Festival Main Event has crowned its worthy champion, and it is “yifors” who wrote their name into the history books by outlasting 204 opponents, and banking $23,476 of the $104,550 prize pool.
It took only 45 minutes of play on Day 2 for the money bubble to burst, with the unlucky 33rd-place finisher being the last player to go home empty-handed. There was a flurry of eliminations from the moment the bubble popped, each busted player taking home at least $721 for their efforts.
By the time “pollozayas” busted in ninth-place to set the final table, nobody would win less than $2,633.
WPT Global Spring Festival Main Event Final Table Results
Rank
Player
Prize
1
yifors
$23,476
2
而奋斗擦嗄
$15,444
3
Banjaxed
$11,198
4
sersuperior
$8,224
5
craimeariver
$6,448
6
谁来neng死我
$4,880
7
陶雲
$3,584
8
TForce15
$2,633
“TForce15” was the final table’s first casualty. First, they lost with suited ace-queen against suited jack-ten to be left with only a handful of big blinds. The short stack of “TForce15” went into the middle holding queen-nine of hearts only for it to lose to the eight-six of hearts of “yifors,” who turned a full house.
“陶雲” bowed out in seventh after a clash with “Banjaxed” did not go to plan. Down to ten big blinds, 陶雲 moved all in with pocket fours only to run into the pair of queen of Banjaxed. The latter improved to an unnecessary full house on the river to rub salt into the busted player’s wounds.
Ian Shaw Secures Inaugural WPT500 Mexico City Main Event Title
Sixth place and $4,880 went to “谁来neng死我” who can count themselves unlucky. “sersuperior” open-shoved from the cutoff for 25 big blinds with what turned out to be jack-nine of hearts, “谁来neng死我” called all-in with a pair of black tens in the hole, only for a jack to land on the river.
The final five became four with the untimely demise of “craimeariver.” They looked down at pocket sevens, and decided to open-shove for 13 big blinds from under the gun. Everyone folded to “yifors” in the small blind, and they snap-called with pocket aces! The five community cards provided no drams, and “craimeariver” was gone.
“sersuperior” bagged the final four-figure prize after coming unstuck in a hand against “yifors.” “Banjaxed” min-raised to 70,000 on the button, “yifors” moved all-in from the small blind for 1,811,687, “sersuperior” called all-in for 865,061 from the big blind, and “Banjaxed” folded. It was ace-queen of hearts for “yifors” and the dominated ace-jack for “sersuperior.” In the end, the queen-kicker of “yifors” played, and the tournament was down to only three players.
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Heads-up was set when “Banjaxed” lost in a battle of the blinds against “而奋斗擦嗄.” “Banjaxed” held queen-ten of diamonds against ace-eight, and bust in third despite flopped a diamond flush draw.
“yifors” went into the one-on-one battle with a substantial chip lead, and they never looked back. The final hand saw “yifors” check on the turn before quickly calling the check-raise all-in from their opponent. “yifors” had turned a full house with their pocket kings, while their opponent had improved to a queen-high diamond flush at the same time. The river was inconsequential because “yifors” had become a WPT Global champion.
Join WPT Global Today
The launch of WPT Global means that poker players around the world now have the chance to win their way to WPT events, win prizes and enjoy exciting games such as Poker Flips. As one of the world’s largest cash game poker networks, WPT Global is available in over 50 countries and territories worldwide.
WPT Global offers a large deposit match bonus: 100% on deposits up to $1,200 (using any payment method). New players depositing a minimum of $20 automatically receive this match bonus which is unlocked in $5 increments (credited straight to the cashier) for every $20 of rake contribution.
Both tournaments and cash games count towards bonus unlocking; new players have 90 days from the date of first deposit to unlock and claim their full bonus amount.
Golf betting has been consolidated following the Tuesday announcement that the PGA Tour and LIV Golf agreed to a merger.
unify the game of golf, on a global basis”
The Saudi-backed LIV tour launched in 2022 as an alternative to the traditional main circuit for professional golfers and offered eye-watering contracts for exclusivity. All of that chaos and controversy came to be for nothing as the two agreed to join to “unify the game of golf, on a global basis,” per a PGA Tour statement.
Players that signed deals with each tour will be allowed to apply for reinstatement into the other with no punishment. The Saudi Public Investment Fund will also contribute a “capital investment” to the new formation.
The biggest winners from the announcement are golf fans and bettors. The split meant that many of the world’s best and most popular golfers weren’t at certain events because of contractual stipulations. Certain athletes also never crossed paths with others, again, because of the deals in place.
According to information published in 2022, betting on the PGA Tour was seven times higher than the LIV Tour.
Scott Warfield, the PGA Tour’s VP of Gaming, said last year the future for gambling on golf was bright.
“A 2025 goal? I would like to believe we can be one of the top four or five bet-on sports if we do it right.”
Sportsbooks also reported $4-5bn in golf wagers in 2021 alone, roughly 8.5% of the year’s sports betting revenue total. That figures to be on the rise now that the best golfers are back under the same umbrella.
The post Golf Betting Unified Under Brand New LIV, PGA Tour Merger appeared first on VegasSlotsOnline News.
I missed my blog for May 30. Sometimes I have a number of blogs “in the bank,” but not at the moment. My cupboard was bare and I was too incapacitated to refill it. I thought I’d share with you what happened. It has nothing to do with gambling (although there was one AP move during triage), but perhaps you’ll find it interesting anyway. At a minimum, most of you have probably gone through your own version of hospitalization, and/or been close to others who have done so, and this blog might inspire all sorts of comments.
I spent three painful days in a hospital for an obstructed bowel recently. I haven’t been hospitalized since my appendectomy 50 years ago, and things are different.
On the day before I went to the ER, I went to an Urgent Care facility and they prescribed basically a “colonoscopy prep” which means drinking a gallon of liquid with various sorts of powdered laxatives. That’s supposed to Roto-Rooter my problem down the drain. I drank it all. Nothing came out. So, I was back in Urgent Care the next day.
I guess I thought Urgent Care was the same as an Emergency Room. They’re not. The Urgent Care room in which I started the day said I needed a CT scan to diagnose my problem. Yes, they could do that, but if the result came out a certain way, I would need to be hospitalized. This particular Urgent Care facility wasn’t attached to a hospital. And the fact that the colonoscopy prep didn’t work at all meant that my symptoms were serious enough that it was suggested I go to an ER.
I did. I picked Henderson Hospital because it was relatively new and probably didn’t have the long lines some of the other places had. I don’t know how many people were at any other ER room, but this one had 40 or so people in the ER waiting room when I arrived. Surely at least some of them were there to support others and wouldn’t need treatment themselves.
While I was in considerable pain, ERs operate on a triage system, where the patients with the most urgent needs are seen and treated first. For some reason, these ER doctors put constipation complaints much lower on their list than gun shot wounds and ruptured appendices. Go figure.
I moaned and groaned a lot, especially when I was meeting with the triage nurse. Partly because I was in real pain. Partly because I hoped that would place me nearer the top of the list to be treated. This was my AP move and I don’t know if that helped or not. But I don’t think it hurt. I ended up waiting three hours for a CT scan, and another hour for it to be interpreted, but it definitely showed a blockage and I needed to be hospitalized to be treated. After asking a lot of questions, they gave me some intravenous morphine to ease the pain.
I’m not a recreational drug user and I don’t think I’ve ever had an opioid before. I didn’t know at the time, but 2 mg of morphine isn’t very much. It helps the pain for a couple of hours. But it also makes you more constipated — which is sort of a Catch 22 because constipation was the original problem! Still, keeping the patient relatively comfortable seemed to be the game plan. At the time it seemed like the right game plan to me.
About six hours after I first arrived, I was moved to a hospital bed within the ER department. While I had been officially admitted to the hospital, there were no beds at the current time and the only beds were in the ER area. So that’s where I was originally placed.
Perhaps six or so different doctors came in, asked about my condition, prodded my belly, and gave their recommendations. I never knew which doctor was which. Once a doctor told me she thought I should get such and such a treatment, but what she told me didn’t get written on my chart. So as far as the nurses were concerned, the doctor never told me whatever it was. And I hadn’t written down the names and specialties of each doctor, and didn’t always know who had said what, so sometimes things fell through the crack.
Twenty-four hours after I was placed in a bed at ER, I was moved into the regular hospital. I was in a single room with its own TV and bathroom so I didn’t have any roommate issues. Perhaps I won’t be as happy with this when the bill comes. Right now, I don’t know how much my insurance is going to pay and how much will be my responsibility. Presumably the insurance pays for double occupancy hospital rooms and there will be a surcharge for the single room. We’ll see. At the time though, I was happy to have the single room. While I’m blessed to be able to pay whatever is required, I’m still a cheapskate and I won’t like it.
In the area I was in at Henderson Hospital, many of the nurses and other personnel worked 12-hour days. I don’t know how many days a week they do this, if this was always the norm there, or if this was a post-Covid staffing shortage that has affected many businesses. But for the 40 or so hours I was there, this was convenient because I got to know them and they got to know me and my situation. There was even one nurse aide who would come into my room, sit quietly, and read her cell phone. If I needed something and asked her, she would comply, but basically, she was just killing time. This was her way of goofing off, I suppose, and I wasn’t going to bust her.
To fix a blockage problem, the options fall into three categories: things taken orally, going in from the bottom, or, as a last resort, cutting me open and performing some surgery. My bottom side was on fire with pain, and they would have to tie me down or totally sedate me if they were going to try to solve the problem from that end.
Forty-eight hours after I had originally arrived, they gave me another colonoscopy prep. This one stronger than the one I had taken before. I wasn’t optimistic this was going to work because it didn’t work a few days earlier, but eight very painful hours later, my innards were clean. Soon it was time for me to go home.
Going home didn’t mean I could resume life as before. The colonoscopy prep still had an effect, and, shall we say, there were a few messes to clean up. Bonnie was an RN for 40 years, and was a good sport about all of this. That was one of the reasons I popped the question almost 10 years ago. If I ever needed care, she was competent at it. Although I’ve helped her more medically in the last 10 years than she’s helped me, this time I was the one in need and she was front and center on the job. One of her recommendations was that I wear a diaper until my system got back to normal. This helped neither my pride nor my masculinity, but I complied. Getting old is not for sissies!
It takes a few days to get your system back on a regular schedule after something like this. After that much purging of the system, things don’t just automatically readjust.
I take a lot of care with my diet and am positive that this sort of malady is very unlikely when you eat the way I do, but my bowel became obstructed nonetheless. This makes me less confident that I know what I’m doing diet-wise. But depending on what my doctor tells me, I’m going to continue what I’m doing until I learn otherwise.
As I write this, I’m still in that readjustment process. It’s a guess for me exactly what food, medicines, and exercises will work the best and what should be avoided. I have a follow-up visit with my primary physician scheduled, but that’s about 10 days after my release from the hospital. I’m hoping I can make it that far without further medical treatment.
Swiss poker player Anton Heinrich was crowned the champion of the 2023 The Hendon Mob Championship Liechtenstein Main Event. He turned his CHF 300 buy-in into CHF 36,000, over 100 times what he had put up.
Heinrich had a massive chip lead throughout the vast majority of the day, and he used it well in order to be the final victor. He bested Liechtenstein’s very own Karim Frick during heads up play. Frick had big aspirations to keep the trophy in the European microstate but ultimately failed to do so.
The two players played for a while heads up before they decided to both take CHF 30,000, leaving CHF 6,000 to play for, as well as the trophy. Before that, six other players had been eliminated from the Swiss-dominated final table.
The only outsiders who attempted to conquer the trophy from the normally ever-neutral country fell short, as Turkey’s “Alladin” would be the first one eliminated in eighth place (CHF 4,430), while David Wintersberger from Germany would fall not much later in sixth (CHF 7,600).
THMC Liechtenstein Final Table Results
Rank
Player
Country
Prize (CHF)
Prize (USD)
1
Anton Heinrich
Switzerland
36,000*
$39,600*
2
Karim Frick
Liechtenstein
30,000*
$33,000*
3
“Kaspar Schmid”
Switzerland
17,800
$19,580
4
Daniel Schwitter
Switzerland
12,800
$14,080
5
Manfred Mueller
Switzerland
10,000
$11,000
6
David Wintersberger
Germany
7,600
$8,360
7
“Kairi”
5,800
$6,380
8
“Alladin”
Turkey
4,430
$4,873
* denotes a heads-up chop.
THMC Liechtenstein Final Table
Day 3 Action
The day started with a total of 14 players returning to Grand Casino Liechtenstein from the entire field of 601. Everyone had high hopes to seize the biggest portion of the CHF 200,000 prize pool, but after about half an hour of play Remini Camel was the first to bow out when his ace-nine could not improve against Manfred Mueller’s pocket queens. Alessandro Morales would soon join him at the rail after a clash with Heinrich, and not much later, the field saw only ten players still remaining when “83-83” and “DG” were both knocked out in the same hand.
The very short-stacked “Braveheart” would then be the next victim before Greek grinder Symeon Alexandridis finally fell in ninth place as the final table bubble, when his inferior ace could not hit against the ace-ten of Wintersberger.
Symeon Alexandridis
“Alladin” could only enjoy the spotlights of the streamed final table for a few minutes. He led the river all-in as a bluff but would falter when Heinrich comfortably called with trips. Heinrich would consequently also claim the next knock-out, busting “Kairi” in seventh place in a preflop flip. It would take nearly 90 minutes before Wintersberger followed in “Kairi”s footsteps when he jammed his ace-six for less than ten big blinds and could not defeat the ace-jack of “Kaspar Schmid”.
Mueller would not much later fall in fifth, being pipped with ace-nine against ace-ten preflop. The four remaining players then discussed a deal for a while, but that ultimately fell through, and play went on. Two hours later, it was Daniel Schwitter who would regret that the most. Schwitter had gathered the chip lead all the way back on Day 1a, but with a lost preflop flip against Heinrich, he could not translate it all the way into a victory. Heinrich then went on to add another stack to his tally, when he busted “Kaspar Schmid” with queens against king-jack, preventing a Swiss heads up as the quiet Frick from Liechtenstein had profited from all the bust-outs and made it to the final two.
Karim Frick
Frick started off hot in the duel, doubling up the very first hand via a preflop all-in and even taking the chip lead from Heinrich for the first time all evening. However, that only lasted for one hand, as Heinrich found aces the next hand and won the preflop all-in against Frick’s pocket fives.
The pair then decided that they had had enough of the variance that comes with heads up poker, and decided to chop the prize pool evenly. With a small amount of cash and the trophy left to play for, the 30 million chips in play would not much later get all in the middle for the final time. Heinrich had pocket sixes versus the ace-jack of Frick in the final preflop clash, and the latter would see no help arrive on the board. Thus, Heinrich secured his by far largest ever live cash of CHF 36,000 and, maybe more importantly, the grandiose THMC trophy.
THMC Main Event Trophy
That concludes the PokerNews coverage of the 2023 The Hendon Mob Championship Liechtenstein. A successful week of poker has been had in the Alps, and the THMC organization is hopeful to see the same happen at their next stops at Thunder Valley (20-23 July) and Malta (24-30 October).
BetMGM, a leading sports betting and iGaming operator, will be headlining the 2023 ARIA Poker Classic for the second consecutive year with the BetMGM Poker Championship, which PokerNews will live report.
The $3,500 buy-in tournament features two starting flights and will take place June 9-13 at ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. The final table will be played on Tuesday, June 13th and will be live-streamed from PokerGO Studio.
“It’s great to bring BetMGM players back to Las Vegas during one of poker’s most exciting times of the year”, said Director of BetMGM Poker Luke Staudenmaier. “For a second straight year, ARIA is delivering a Championship event and we are happy to continue to build on our relationship with MGM Resorts, while connecting BetMGM online players to the best poker rooms in the United States.”
BetMGM Director of Poker Luke Staudenmaier Talks Borgata Almighty Million, Online Plans & More
$2 Million Guarantee Doubled from Last Year
2022 was the first time the BetMGM Poker Championship ran and a $1 million guaranteed prize pool was offered in the inaugural event.
This year, the guaranteed prize pool has doubled, and at least 100 qualifiers will be making their way to ARIA to battle it out on the felt for a piece of the $2 million guarantee after winning their way in from BetMGM Poker markets including New Jersey, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Ontario, Canada.
“Partnering with BetMGM for another summer championship is a tremendous opportunity for us to offer poker players a one-of-a-kind experience”, said MGM Resorts Director of Poker Strategy Sean McCormack. “ARIA has doubled the guarantee from last year to $2 million, giving the competitors the chance to win one of our industry’s top prize pools.”
Win Your Way In
There will be live satellite opportunities the two days prior to the start of the tournament including two $400 satellites with ten seats GTD on June 7th, and a $400 turbo satellite with five seats GTD on June 8th.
BetMGM ambassador Darren Elias took to Twitter recently to choose a lucky winner who would receive a $6,500 package to the upcoming festivities, which includes a $3,500 entry to the BetMGM Championship and an entry to the $800 NLH Mystery Bounty tournament on June 8th, as well as hotel and travel expenses.
I will be choosing the winner here tmrw for a $6,500 package to the @BetMGMPoker Championship including a $3,500 en… https://t.co/srwqgOJe2x
— Darren Elias (@DarrenElias)
Other notable events on the 2023 ARIA Poker Classic series include several Mystery Bounty events, a couple of Senior events, a Ladies event, and multiple mixed games events.
Previous Winner
Joey Weissman wins!
In the inaugural BetMGM Poker Championship, 343 entrants generated a prize pool of $1,097,600. Joey Weissman claimed the trophy and the $224,236 first-place prize after he defeated Paul Hoefer in heads-up play.
Others who made a deep run in that event include Michael Wang (4th – $65,856), BetMGM Poker qualifier Benji Felson (5th – $51,587), Jake Daniels (17th – $14,269), Michael Gathy (22nd – $10,208), and Ankush Mandavia (25th – $8,781).
In that tournament, 68 players qualified for the event by playing online at BetMGM Poker in either Michigan, New Jersey, or Pennsylvania.
2022 BetMGM Poker Championship Final Table Results
PLACE
PLAYER
COUNTRY
PRIZE (IN USD)
1
Joey Weissman
United States
$224,236
2
Paul Hoefer
Germany
$159,152
3
Noel Rodriguez
United States
$104,272
4
Michael Wang
United States
$65,856
5
Benji Felson
United States
$51,587
6
Joe Kuether
United States
$41,709
7
Zachary Donovan
United States
$34,026
8
Todd Ivens
United States
$28,538
9
Albert Nguyen
Canada
$24,147
Check out the ARIA Poker Room review here on PokerNews!
2023 ARIA Poker Classic Full Schedule
A full schedule of the upcoming 2023 ARIA Poker Classic is available in the table below.
ComeOn Group has announced the launch of a brand new live dealer casino suite in Scandinavia under the “brand-within-a-brand” name, Nordic Ruby Lounge. The premier bespoke gaming studio joins the rest of the Ruby Lounge portfolio launched within the brand with Evolution Live Gaming in March 2022.
The live studio offers players in the Nordic region a local touch and native entertainment and will be available across the company’s core markets. One differentiation is the hosting of local games by native live dealers giving the suite a personalized and customized touch.
Bespoke Environment for Nordic Players
Cristiano Blanco, Chief Product Officer at ComeOn Group, said: “We are extremely happy to see Nordic Ruby Lounge take things to the next level with our live casino offer. Our Nordic players can now enjoy a bespoke environment locally tailored around their preferences, with native dealers for that extra cherry on top. It’s been about great teamwork throughout all involved departments, which has landed us in a great quality product with a truly impressive design and functionality. For us, the launch of Nordic Ruby Lounge is a great milestone and with that said we are looking forward to seeing Nordic Ruby Lounge succeed and take things up a notch.”
Nordic Ruby Lounge joins the Group’s Ruby Lounge portfolio, which was launched in early 2022. ComeOn and Evolution have enjoyed a successful partnership since 2013 and Ruby Lounge gave ComeOn a great opportunity to make a strong brand identity statement with the bespoke games. Making it wholly Nordic and enhancing the native offering gives it a chance to re-introduce the brand within a brand with the personalized touches it needs to be the top-tier studio in the region.
The dedicated ComeOn team serves up roulette and blackjack from several tables across the Group’s Nordic brands creating a one-of-a-kind live studio product that sets a high standard for competitors to reach for and marks a milestone in ComeOn’s track for growth.
When the broader Ruby Lounge portfolio was launched by the partners across multiple online markets, rather than restricted to the Nordics as today’s debut is, it was comprised of one Roulette table and eight blackjack tables.
The games operated 24/7 from Evolution studios and were served as well by dedicated ComeOn dealers.
Live Suite Appears in Several Nordic Casinos
ComeOn Group’s extensive brand portfolio includes ComeOn, Snabbare, Hajper and Casinostugan and several more, with the Group operating in multiple markets including Sweden and Denmark.
Commenting in March on the initial launch of Ruby Lounge, Cristiano Blanco, Chief Product Officer at ComeOn Group, said: “The Ruby Lounge extends choice and entertainment, offering an exclusive, premium, vibrant and exciting live gaming experience. Once again, Evolution has proved what great partners they are. The Ruby Lounge has such a strong identity yet works with all our brands.”
At that time Erland Hellstrom, Commercial Manager at Evolution, commented: “We have been working closely with ComeOn Group for many years and we’re delighted that their dedicated live casino environment is now live. The end result is magnificent and early statistics suggest that ComeOn Group players absolutely love the whole look and feel of this premium environment with its world-class live casino games.”
Beyond the Nordics, ComeOn added a bespoke Group branded live dealer game studio powered by Stake Logic Live games to its Dutch-facing brand in late 2022.
Source: ComeOn Group launches new bespoke live casino studio under the name Nordic Ruby Lounge, EU Gaming News, June 1, 2023
The post ComeOn Group Announces Launch of Live Dealer Lounge in Scandinavia appeared first on Casino News Daily.
Following a series of accusations for the Queensland casino laws violations, and the financial issues resulting in extensive lay-offs, the Australian gaming corporation Star Entertainment is facing another problem. As InQueensland reports, the casino giant’s vulnerability has recently been proven by another delay of its Queen’s Wharf project in Brisbane.
April 2024 Launch:
The company reportedly unveiled that its ambitious $3 billion development project, set to open in late 2022, will not be launched before April 2024. As InQueensland reports, the latest delay is the additional extension of the timeline anticipating the opening in December this year. Even the push-back to December would reportedly imply a staged opening as the supply chains established before the Covid-19 pandemic has now been disrupted to request additional planning and time schedule adjustments.
Blaming Contractor:
According to the source, the construction works for the Queen’s Wharf project have been assigned to Multiplex as the leading contractor and the latest postponement of the project completion is reportedly the contractor’s responsibility. Star reportedly said the project leaders gathered around the Queens Wharf consortium, known as Destination Brisbane, decided to push the opening timeline forward after they had reviewed the progress of the construction works.
Star chief executive Robbie Cooke reportedly complained that the project sustains the same type of pressure as other major construction projects. “We are disappointed, but this transformational development for Brisbane has been eight years in the making already and it will be worth the wait,”he reportedly said.
List of Problems:
It seems that it would be better the project is worth waiting for as the company doesn’t seem to have much time to wait to get back on track. Indeed, the shares of Star Entertainment reportedly sense the pressure from the delayed project as the $800 million fundraising project has been slowed down for weeks.
According to the source, Star’s shares fell 2 per cent on June 6, 2023 to add some more weight to the company’s half-year loss of $1.3 billion. But that’s not all, as the operator is still facing fines from the gaming regulator, after it had paid the two $100 million fines to two Australian provinces’ governments for money laundering non-compliance.
Ray of Light:
The Star’s statement that some parts of the Queen’s Wharf project, i.e., several dining, entertainment, and gaming areas have been completed and the keys received by the company sheds some light on the gloomy company’s prospects.
Star reportedly said: “The third and final sky deck bridge section was moved into place on Friday June 2, allowing the sky deck lift and connection to take place in coming weeks. The completed sky deck will connect all four towers of the Queen’s Wharf development and signify a further milestone in the project’s progression.”
Event #3: $1,000 Mystery Millions of the 2023 World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas is now in the history books. After 48 levels of grueling play, battling through the monstrous field of 18,188 players and a final eight-handed feature table in the spotlight, Tyler Brown is the champion taking home a cool $1,000,000 and a coveted WSOP bracelet.
Those lucky enough to make it through one of the four day-one flights were eligible to win the mystery bounties that were put into play on Day 2. For every knockout earned, a player had the opportunity to draw for one of the many bounties on offer ranging in value from $1,000 to $1,000,000. With an overwhelming amount of entries this year generating a massive bounty prize pool, the WSOP was able to offer not one but two $1,000,000 bounties to play for.
Shant Marashlian became a millionaire
Shant Marashlian was the first player to become a millionaire after pulling the first grand prize bounty early on Day 2 of the event.
Patrick Liang shortly followed as he secured a combined total of $1,025,000 across two bounty pulls from the chest. Rather generously, Liang also decided to gift $1,000 to every player at his table when he won the million.
Other notable bounty recipients included Klint Tevaearai and Eric Baldwin who were the winners of the $500,000 and $250,000 bounties respectively.
Many notable players in the field who busted included Matt Glantz (49th), who was the recipient of the $1,000,000 bounty in 2022 and former WSOP Main Event champion Martin Jacobson (532nd) who both made it through to Day 2. Chris Hunichen (14th) also had a deep run busting well into Day 3 of the event as well as Dan Shak (seventh) who reached the final table.
Mystery Bounty Payouts
Bounty Prize
Collected By
Bounty Prize
Collected By
$1,000,000
Shant Marashlian
$1,000,000
Patrick Liang
$500,000
Klint Teveraei
$250,000
Eric Baldwin
$100,000
Noah Hovick
$100,000
Kenneth Mapoy
$100,000
Dan Shak
$50,000
Nikolaos Angelou
$50,000
Cassio Pisapia
$50,000
Kevin Towler
$50,000
Bill Murray
$25,000
Viktor Kulish
$25,000
Christopher Lewis
$25,000
Narayan Patel
$25,000
Narayan Patel
$25,000
Aram Oganyan
$25,000
Daniel Glass
$25,000
Roongsak Griffeth
$25,000
Kirk Acevedo
$25,000
Rajesh Vohra
$25,000
Alejandro Jauregui Reynoso
$25,000
Kultida Berman
$25,000
Kodey Hammer
$25,000
Jaime Madrigal
$25,000
Russell McClean
$25,000
Ryan McKnight
$25,000
John Riordan
$25,000
Ryan McKnight
$25,000
Ron Moisecu
$25,000
Lemarc Harrell
$25,000
Darin Utley
$25,000
Nicholas Agnew
$25,000
Kenneth Mapoy
$25,000
Todd Hoopfer
$25,000
Michael Clough
$25,000
Kevin Schulz
$25,000
Joao Barroso Valli
$25,000
Shahaf Nacson
$25,000
Baptiste Ozenne
$25,000
Joseph Salvaggi
$25,000
Carmen Raiche Marsden
$25,000
Patrick Liang
$25,000
Stephen Song
$25,000
Guan Chen
$25,000
Tyler Brown
Day 3 was played down to one table of ten players who battled it out until only eight remained, and the official final table was decided. The players were moved to the feature table, and the livestream covered the play down to a winner and their bracelet presentation.
Event #3: $1,000 Mystery Millions Final Table Results
Place
Name
Country
Prize (USD)
1
Tyler Brown
USA
$1,000,000
2
Guang Chen
USA
$561,320
3
Ryan McKnight
USA
$429,360
4
Steven Thompson
Costa Rica
$330,150
5
Rhian Fineis
USA
$255,210
6
Tauan De Oliveira Naves
Brazil
$198,320
7
Dan Shak
USA
$154,940
8
Tam Ho
Canada
$121,683
Not long after the final table kicked off, the first elimination came in the form of Tam Ho exiting in eighth for $121,683 as he lost the most crucial flip of his tournament journey. The pocket fours of Steven Thompson held against his ace-ten, providing the first bust out of this final table.
Dan Shak
In seventh place fell Dan Shak, the most celebrated player left in the field. Shak found himself all in holding pocket eights against the pocket jacks of Guang Chen. While Shak managed to flop more outs as he held the eight of hearts on a monotone board, the turn and river did not oblige, and Shak was eliminated for $154,940.
Tauan De Oliveira Naves was the sixth-place finisher at this final table as he got the chips in front holding ace-jack against the ten-nine of Thompson. However, Thompson pulled ahead on the turn and remained that way, sending Naves to the rail for $198,320.
Out in fifth place was Rhian Fineis, who landed on the wrong side of a coin toss as his ace-jack came up against the pocket tens of Tyler Brown. Failing to connect to the board, Brown’s tens held, and Fineis exited in fifth with $255,210 for his efforts.
Exiting in fourth was Thompson, whose queen-six couldn’t get there against the ace-five of Chen, sending him home for $330,150. Upon Thompson’s exit, the Horseshoe got a little quieter as his energetic rail left alongside him, celebrating Thompson’s deep run.
Ryan McKnight departed in third place for $429,360. Chen was the beneficiary of his chips as McKnight got it all in with queen-six dominated by the queen-ten of Chen. This got the heads-up match underway.
Guang Chen finished in second place
The heads-up battle between Brown and Chen only lasted three hands. The majority of chips fell into the hands of Brown after a life-changing hero call with just ace high gave him a dominating chip lead and setting him on the home straight for his first WSOP bracelet. It was not long after that the heads-up match was settled. Brown’s queen-seven pulled ahead of Chen’s ace-jack to win $1,000,000 and the bracelet.
Winner’s Interview
Brown clearly has an extensive background in Pot Limit Omaha, as five of the six live cashes he has to his name included some form of PLO. In regards to his newfound success in No Limit Hold’em, Brown humbly stated, “I’ve played tournaments here and there, I’ve got, ya know, some idea of what I’m doing, but obviously, I’m a lot stronger PLO player. There were a lot better Hold’em players than me in this field, I obviously got insanely lucky with 18,000 people”.
Although, luck can’t be the only factor to attribute to Brown’s success: “A lot of my study came four or five years ago,” Brown commented, “I took almost two years off poker, decided to come back at the end of last year, early this year, and it’s been unbelievable in these last six months”.
With a huge, tournament-defining hero call under his belt, Brown simply commented, “It was good for the live stream”.
Having made two WSOP final tables in succession, the first being the $5,000 No Limit Hold’em/Pot Limit Omaha event, Brown was pleased to remark, “These are the only WSOP events I’ve ever played”.
This certainly won’t be the last we hear from Brown in the 2023 World Series as he continued, “Given where I am now, Player of the Year seems like a decent opportunity, so I could see myself firing a lot”. With his eruption onto the live poker circuit in 2023, this certainly confirms speculation that Tyler Brown is one to watch.
That concludes PokerNews‘ coverage of this event, but the 2023 WSOP is far from over. Be sure to tune into PokerNews each day, as we bring you all of the action from every one of the bracelet-awarding events.
1Peter Thai Wins First Bracelet of the 2023 WSOP: Event #1: $500 Casino Employees ($75,535)
2Alexandre Vuilleumier Captures 2023 WSOP Event #2: $25K High Roller Title
3Cody “1eggadaymike” Bell Wins WSOP Bracelet and $87,665 in the Triple Treys Summer Tip Off
It wasn’t easy for Kenneth O’Donnell, but he managed to grind it out over the course of two days and was crowned a champion for his efforts at the 2023 World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
O’Donnell out maneuvered Jefferson Guerrero in a quick heads-up battle on Day 2 to take down Event #11: $600 No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack. In fact, the heads-up showdown went just three hands before O’Donnell emerged as the winner.
O’Donnell garnered a $351,098 winning prize and, of course, a WSOP bracelet, the first of his poker career. Guerrero collected $216,941 for his runner-up finish.
Event #11: $600 No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack Final Table Results
Rank
Player
Country
Prize
1
Kenneth O’Donnell
United States
$351,098
2
Jefferson Guerrero
Colombia
$216,941
3
Ka Chen Kan
China
$162,371
4
Aaron Georgelos
United States
$122,407
5
Robert Gittelman
United States
$92,953
6
Eric Pfenning
United States
$71,104
7
Manuel DeAlmeida
United States
$54,794
8
Andres Morales
United States
$42,539
9
Fabio Coppola
Italy
$33,274
The newest WSOP bracelet winner’s climb to the top meant he had to navigate a minefield of a who’s who in the poker community.
Phil Hellmuth
The player field boasted poker royalty with 16-time WSOP bracelet winner and Poker Hall of Famer Phil Hellmuth, as well as WSOP bracelet winner and Women in Poker Hall of Fame inductee Kathy Liebert.
Hellmuth’s quest for a 17th WSOP bracelet came to an end in Level 32 when he was eliminated in 47th place for a payout of $7,385.
O’Donnell also had to keep an eye on multiple WSOP bracelet winners, which included past WSOP Main Event champions Hellmuth, Greg Raymer, and Jerry Yang. Other notable bracelet winners to play the event included Pei Li, Allen Cunningham, Bradley Jensen, Jeremy Wien, Farzad Bonyadi, Erik Cajelais, David Jackson and Mike Ruter, among others.
Pei Li was the last standing bracelet winner
Li made a deep run before being eliminated in 11th place for $26,223. Li’s exit ensured there would be a first-time WSOP bracelet winner at the conclusion of the tournament.
O’Donnell rose to the occasion in the face of stout competition. He persevered throughout the two-day event by steadily building his chip stack with well-timed aggression –– and he admits, some luck –– to get to the final table, which he started with the fourth-largest stack. And then he took it home.
A total of 6,085 entrants participated in Event #11, which generated a prize pool of $3,098,760.
Ka Chun Kan finished in third place ($162,371), while Aaron Georgelos took fourth place ($122,407).
Winner’s Reaction
O’Donnell, who calls St. Petersburg, Florida, home, says he’s been playing poker “for decades,” and nothing comes close to what he’s feeling after securing his first WSOP bracelet.
“It’s huge,” O’Donnell told PokerNews after winning the event. “It’s amazing.”
O’Donnell has cashed in tournaments before, according to his Hendon Mob page. His largest payout came when he took home $53,299 from a $1,700 No-Limit Hold’em tournament at the Seminole Hard Rock Tampa Poker Classic in 2021.
Kenneth O’Donnell
But this is the WSOP, and knowing the level of competition he faced in the tournament field brought the reality of the moment home.
“It’s absurdly lucky,” O’Donnell told PokerNews after coming out on top from the heads-up battle. “These giant field events are an exercise of just repeatedly getting lucky, and I did.
“I’m very, very happy to have been the ‘Chosen One’ for the poker gods today. This feels really special. I just feel really blessed.”
As for what’s next, O’Donnell doesn’t plan to go home just yet.
He’s remaining in Las Vegas and eyeing more tournaments. But first, he owes his wife a phone call to let her know he’s a WSOP bracelet winner.
“I’ll play something tomorrow (Wednesday),” O’Donnell said with a chuckle. “I’ll talk to my wife back home in a minute and wake her up.”
This concludes coverage of Event #11 of the 2023 WSOP, but make sure to continue to stay plugged in with PokerNews for live updates of your favorite events throughout the summer.
1Peter Thai Wins First Bracelet of the 2023 WSOP: Event #1: $500 Casino Employees ($75,535)
2Alexandre Vuilleumier Captures 2023 WSOP Event #2: $25K High Roller Title
3Cody “1eggadaymike” Bell Wins WSOP Bracelet and $87,665 in the Triple Treys Summer Tip Off
