The PokerStars Pennsylvania PSPC Online festival with more than $1.5 million in guaranteed prize money has awarded dozens of winners since the festival got underway on Jan. 13 and has seen plenty of massive fields and guarantee-smashing prize pools.

The PSPC Online festival, taking place alongside the combined PokerStars Michigan and PokerStars New Jersey festival with $2.5 million up for grabs, consists of 72 events and will wrap up on Jan. 30.

Gruneberg is looking for another strong year of online poker after finishing thid in the first-ever WSOP PA Player of the Year race.

Read how David “DrKool” Kuder won the WSOP PA POY race

“Thicc Rick” and “superdonkeydave” Running Hot

Nearly halfway through the series, which takes inspiration from the upcoming $25,000 PokerStars Players Championship (PSPC), there have already been some big guarantees passed.

The $40,000 guaranteed Event #5 drew 525 runners for a prize pool of $48,195, while Event #8: $100 NLH [Players Championship Sunday Special] surpassed the $75,000 guarantee with $80,509. The winner of that event was “Thicc Rick,” who took home the top prize of $10,905.

The High Roller Players Special squeaked past the $50,000 guarantee with a $51,700 prize pool as Gruneberg defeated heads-up opponent “DickyJohnson31,” who in turn took home $9,303.

There have been plenty of low-stakes winners as well. “greg717pa” got through a field of 591 runners in Event #14: $10 NLH [Turbo Battle] to turn a $10 investment into $848 with all the bounties they picked up along he way. Later, “Dyska21” took down Event #18: $10 NLH [Turbo, Zoom] for $922.

Other highlights of the PokerStars PA PSPC Online festival so far include “superdonkeydave” winning Event #17: $200 NLHE [Freezeout] for $4,974 and “TJ112298” winning Event #19: $100 NLH [Super Tuesday] for $6,604.

Learn more about online poker in Pennsylvania

Plenty of Action to Come

There’s still plenty of action to come with dozens of events remaining in the PokerStars PA PSPC Online festival.

Some events to look out for are the $40,000 guaranteed Event #46: $250 NLHE [Super Tuesday, Players Championship] on Jan. 24 and the $100,000 guaranteed Event #67: $2,500 NLHE [Super High Roller Main Event] on Jan. 29.

The Merit Poker Western Series celebrates an age of cowboys, gunfights, and highway robbers, so it’s only fitting that the masked man was the last one standing in the $2,200 Warm Up.

The mysterious “John Doe,” who requested anonymity and played the final table covering his face with a hoodie, sunglasses, and a mask, prevailed after a marathon final table and defeated Turkey’s Recep Aydemir heads-up to win $181,200 and the title at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino in North Cyprus

Doe employed his own unique style to match his persona. He made large pre-flop raises. He pulled off audacious bluffs. And he wasn’t afraid to get his chips in the middle. It all worked out as Doe, who first became chip leader early on Day 3, stayed near the top of the leaderboard for nearly two full days before he earned every chip in the tournament.

2023 Merit Poker Western Series $2,200 Warm Up Final Table Results

Final Table action

Day 4 began with 19 players remaining out of a starting field of 523 entries. Nikolay Fal, Arie Kliper, and Maxime Chilaud would all fall short of the final table as Doe began nine-handed play right where he started the day: with the chip lead at 12,180,000.

He earned the first elimination of the final table, flopping a set of fours to beat Evgenii Katymaev’s top pair of tens and eliminate the Russian in ninth place. Michele Guerrini, the short-stack of the final table, was eliminated in eighth after moving all in for 1,510,000 with ace-ten but running into the aces of David Hu.

Doe scored another knockout when he busted Eli Saad in seventh place with deuces against ace-six. Ryan Mandara, one of two British pros at the final table, doubled up six-handed with jacks against Hu’s flush and straight draws, but he then lost a race to his countryman Paul Browne, king-queen coming up short against tens as Mandara finished in fifth.

Browne, the Day 1a chip leader who started the day in 17th place with less than 10 big blinds, took the chip lead five-handed before Helmut Phung caught a running straight to double up. Five-handed play would go on for more than two hours. Aydemir doubled up three times, rising from an extreme short stack to taking the chip lead after making a heroic river call on Hu. His climb was halted by Browne, who rivered a straight to double up after Aydemir flopped a set.

Phung finally moved all in for 4,900,000 with king-queen but Doe woke up with queens on the button and sent the German out in fifth place. The four remaining players took a short break, and when play resumed action became fast and furious. Hu was eliminated in fourth on the first hand back, missing both straight and flush draws as Doe won with a pair of sixes.

Browne then called all in for 16,500,000 with king-nine but couldn’t improve against Doe’s tens as Doe took a 9-1 chip lead over Aydemir into heads-up play. The action lasted just three more hands. Aydemir got his last 4,000,000 in with ace-seven against the ace-five of Doe, but Doe spiked a five on the flop to win the hand and the title.

Doe was so committed to protecting his identity that he wouldn’t take a winner’s photo after securing the trophy, instead letting Aydemir take a picture with it. His identity will remain a secret, but Doe still left an unforgettable mark on the tournament. Like one of the robbers of the old wild, wild, west, he made off with all the money.

That concludes covered of the $2,200 Wrap Up from Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino in North Cyprus. Be sure to join the PokerNews team for more action from $3,300 Main Event at the Merit Poker Western Series.

From January 6-14, Golden Nugget Las Vegas played host to the Grand Poker Series Winter Classic. The festival kicked off with events linked to the Free Poker Network (FPN), which were live reported by PokerNews. From there, an 18-event series catered to a combined 4,133 entrants and awarded $581,713 in prize money.

It was a good series for Lee Kathol of Crofton, Nebraska, who first won Event #2: $125 Cheap & Deep NLH for $1,323 and a couple of days later took down Event #9: $125 Nightly NLH for $2,900. By doing so, he became the only two-time champ of the series.

Others to capture titles were Susan England (Event #5: $125 Green Chip Bounty NLH), Terry Keller (Event #7: $200 NLH), Kevin Wang (Event #14L $200 NLH), Arturo Segura (Event #18: $250 HORSE), and Richard Munro (Event #19: $250 NLH).

Here’s a look at some other notable winners from the series.

Check out the Golden Nugget Hub on PokerNews here!

MOOSE Main Event Ends in Five-Way Deal

Moose International is a charitable organization all across the United States that makes a difference in the lives of children, seniors, and communities. Each year, the nationwide organization, with membership lodges all over the country, sees its “Moose” members travel to Las Vegas to compete in an annual poker event, always held at Golden Nugget.

This year, 900 runners competed for a $118,000 prize pool, which was paid out to the top 128 finishers. Among those to make deep runs but fall short of the final table was Marianne Shawley (11th – $1,800), Rick Quimby (15th – $1,800), Mary McCune (21st – $920), Corey Gutilla (28th – $920), and Karen Read (42nd – $465).

The final table, which was live-streamed and commentated upon by Mark Hoke, was an action-packed affair. After Pam Hargraves bowed out in sixth place for $3,445, the final five players worked an even chop that saw them all walk away with $9,738 apiece, which was essentially second-place money.

Because he was the chip leader at the time, Jim D’Angelo of St. Charles, Missouri was deemed the official champion, meaning he got the championship bracelet and custom chipset.

MOOSE Final Table Results

_{*Denotes five-way deal.}

North Dakota’s David Ouellette Wins $100K GTD

Another big tournament was Event #17: $200 NLH $100K GTD, which saw 847 runners compete. That surpassed the guarantee by creating a $127,050 prize pool that was paid out to the top 71 finishers.

Among those to cash were Orlando Barrera (2nd – $10,656), Mario Gorgiev (6th – $7,024), WSOP bracelet winner James Van Alstyne (10th – $1,855), Chad Kubica (17th – $1,240), Richard Boomsma (24th – $675), Shane Butts (27th – $600), Anthony Fox (35th – $600), and Giovanni Ciraso (45th – $500).

In the end, it was David Ouellette of Dickinson, North Dakota taking down the title and $12,885 in prize money.

Event #17 Final Table Results

Gary Gelman Conquers Record-Breaking 2022 PokerNews Cup at Golden Nugget ($202,725)

2023 Grand Poker Series Winter Classic Winners

Executive Editor U.S.

Executive Editor US, PokerNews Podcast co-host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.

There’s an early frontrunner for Best Bluff of 2023, and although the play Ethan “RampagePoker” Yau made during Friday night’s Hustler Casino Live session likely won’t hold up throughout the year, it was still epic.

The game was $100/$200 no-limit hold’em with a $200 big blind ante. Bill Klein opened from an early position to $1,400 with and was called by Yau’s in a middle position, along with the of “Prince Charles” in the cut-off before “J.R.” went for a three-bet on the button with .

Klein folded but the other two that called the initial raise came along for the ride to see a flop of . With top pair and top kicker, after both opponents checked, J.R. made a continuation bet of $11,000.

Top 5 Hustler Casino Live Hands of 2022

Rampage, who picked up a gut-shot straight draw and had two over cards to the board, went for an ambitious check-raise to $35,000. That eliminated one player, but J.R. wasn’t going anywhere with top pair. The turn was the , pairing the board, and the bluffer again ripped out a bet, this time for $33,000, which again received a call.

When the appeared on the river, double-pairing the board, the poker vlogger had two options — check and surrender the pot, or empty the clip. He chose the latter, ripping out a wager of $120,000 into a pot of $165,000 with nothing but king-high. After some thought, his opponent folded the best hand.

Hustler Casino Live Poker Scandal Investigation Finds ‘No Evidence of Wrongdoing’

After an eventful 2022 celebrating 20 years of 888poker, the site is gearing up for another incredible year of poker — both on the online felt and at live poker events around the world.

While the XL Winter Series and Wizard’s Spell promotion are underway online, 888poker held its first stop of the year at the Casino Gran Via in Madrid, the first of five 888poker LIVE festivals scheduled for 2023.

“There’s no better place to kickstart 2023 than here in Madrid”

“We had such a great time celebrating our 20th anniversary in 2022, being named EGR Poker Operator of the Year, and of course the Anniversary Edition in Madrid was the perfect way to round off the year,” said 888poker Head of Business Development, Doron Ziony.

“There’s no better place to kickstart 2023 than here in Madrid — Madrid is one of the most amazing cities in the world, and I’m so glad to be starting 2023 off here by continuing our strong partnership with CNP.”

“Our live events wouldn’t be possible without the hard work of the entire team behind them, and the success of our live events belongs to them.

“I want to thank all the teams that have been involved — not just in this event, but all our past events — and I hope that this success will continue into 2023 and beyond!”

888poker have been keen to listen to player feedback, and launched a Discord to encourage greater levels of communication between players and 888poker. The live product has also been improved as a result of player feedback, with the popular Mystery Bounty format making several appearances on the 2023 schedule.

Join the 888poker Official Discord!

“We all love surprises!” said Ziony. “888poker took the Mystery Bounty format to the next level by modifying most of our major online events to include this great format. Players love it online, and players love the live version as well, as we saw here in Madrid.”

2023 888poker LIVE Festival Dates

So what can players expect from the rest of the 888poker LIVE schedule in 2023?

“We hope players will find a schedule that’s familiar to them from online — not just Mystery Bounty tournaments, but tournaments like the Big Shot, the Rumble or the Triple Threat. Not only do you get to play your favourite tournaments, but you can do it in some of the best poker destinations in Europe.

888poker is the Perfect Site for Beginner Poker Players

“Every time we go to an event — be it Barcelona, London, Bucharest or here in Madrid — we’re learning and we’re improving; working hard to ensure every single player has a positive experience while they’re here.

“We want our players to have fun and enjoy themselves, and we’re doing everything we can to try and make that happen at every 888poker LIVE stop.”

$88 Free Plus a $400 Welcome Bonus

Now is the perfect time to join 888poker if you have not already done so. Download 888poker via PokerNews, create your free account, and 888poker will give you a free $88 worth of cash game and tournament tickets – this is a free £20 for residents of the United Kingdom – just for reaching this stage.

Your first deposit is matched 100% up to $400 in the form or a releasable bonus. You have 90 days to release as much bonus as you can. Contact 888poker support for more details.

Executive Editor E.U.

Will Shillibier is based in the United Kingdom. He graduated from the University of Kent in 2017 with a B.A. in German, and then studied for a NCTJ Diploma in Sports Journalism at Sportsbeat in Manchester. He previously worked as a freelance live reporter, and video presenter for the World Poker Tour.