Canada’s Favourite Board Games by Province and Territory

Canada's Favourite Board Games by Province and Territory


Board games have been a beloved pastime in Canada for generations, with many households having amassed a collection of games over the years. But which board games are the most popular in each province, and which provinces still enjoy the trusty board game the most? We conducted a survey to find out the answer to both of these questions.

Monopoly still a fan-favourite

Our research showed that Monopoly is still the most-loved board game despite being almost 100 years old. It was the clear winner in several provinces, including Alberta, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec, and Ontario. Monopoly was created in in 1935, and it continues to be a favourite among players of all ages. Its popularity is likely due to its simple rules, competitive nature, and being suitable for all ages.

In Manitoba, Scrabble took the top spot as the favourite board game. Scrabble has been a favourite since 1938, and with the rise of word games on smartphones and tablets, Scrabble has remained a popular choice.

In New Brunswick, The Game of Life is the most popular board game. This classic game has been around since 1960, and it allows players to experience the ups and downs of life as they move through the board. The Game of Life was also the top pick in Yukon.

The Game of Life has been a favourite for families and groups of friends, and its popularity is likely due to its ability to bring people together.

Nova Scotia’s favourite board game is Catan, a strategic game that has gained a cult following since its release in 1995. Catan is a game of resource management and strategy, and its popularity in Nova Scotia may be due to the province’s love of outdoor activities and exploration. Catan is also the favourite board game of residents on Prince Edward Island.

Saskatchewan’s favourite board game was Uno, a fast-paced card game that has been a favourite for families and friends since its creation in 1971.

Which provinces play the most?

It’s no secret that the increase in popularity of smart phones, streaming, and other technological advancements has reduced the popularity of traditional board games. In addition to determining the favourite game by province, we also surveyed residents to find out how often they play board games. Using this information, we were able to outline which parts of Canada still frequently enjoys the humble board game, and which doesn’t.

The province with the most active board game players was Alberta, where a large percentage of respondents reported playing board games on a regular basis. Newfoundland and Labrador was in second, and Ontario in third, with a significant portion of residents reporting that they played board games every couple of months.

Quebec, Saskatchewan, and the Yukon were further down the list in mid-table, admittedly only enjoying a board game a couple of times per year. On the other end of the spectrum, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick were the provinces with the lowest percentage of active board game players. These regions said they only play board games once per year, usually during the Christmas holidays.

Methodology

In March 2023, we surveyed 3,000 Canadian residents and asked their location, their favourite board game, and how often they play. We compiled this report using the data from that survey.

You are free to use any of the information in this report, including the supporting imagery. When doing so, please link back to this article as your source. For media enquiries, please contact [email protected].

Note: There are some Canadian provinces and territories that we did not collect enough data from, and so have been excluded from this report.

Main image photo credit: Unsplash.com



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I lost my son to a gambling addiction. Firms must change, not pay fines that are dwarfed by profits | Liz Ritchie


My wonderful son Jack took his life in 2017 after he had been drawn into a gambling addiction. Soon afterwards, I visited William Hill’s London office with my husband, Charles. We were more naive back then; they’d just admitted shortcomings and we wanted to warn people and thought they would listen. Jack had started gambling online with William Hill, and did so, on and off, until he died.

We requested a meeting with the chief executive, but instead met with the director of sustainability and our calls for further measures were dismissed.Soon after we were escorted out of the building, quickly and rudely.Yesterday’s news that the company has been fined a record £19.2m for multiple failings did not surprise us. The list of failures is extensive, including allowing obviously addicted customers to lose tens of thousands of pounds in minutes, even after they’d tried to self-exclude.

This is not William Hill’s first big fine – and unless there is a major change in the industry, there will be more. The current business model is built on addiction. Research shows that 86% of the industry’s online profits come from a 5% group of addicted or at-risk customers. It is clear the gambling industry cannot generate its ludicrous profits without causing harm.

This horrific business model explains why online gambling products, such as slots and casino games, are designed to be highly addictive. The sounds, lights and false near-misses are carefully engineered to allow maximum amounts of dopamine to flood the brain to prolong the time spent gambling. The younger the brain, the worse the damage. Hundreds of millions of pounds are also spent yearly on wall-to-wall advertising, to ensure these dangerous products become normalised, both for adults and the next generation. Once you are on their marketing list, you will be inundated with messages and inducements to keep you coming back. Recovering gamblers have told me it’s like being stalked.

It’s more profitable for companies to pay the fines – small in comparison to the profits – and to carry on as usual rather than make products less addictive and advertising less prevalent. So perhaps it’s no surprise that our research, Public Health England and the Office for Health Improvements and Disparities have estimated that on average there is at least one gambling-related suicide every day in the UK. Charles and I co-founded Gambling with Lives, a charity that supports other families who are going through this horror, and our caseload is growing. Behind the statistics are real lives irrevocably changed by loss.

When a gambling firm is fined, they say that these were historical failings, that they’ve learned, and they’ve now improved. And then it happens again. And again. Newly bereaved families contact our charity with alarming frequency, with the same stories about the same companies, so we know there’s nothing historical about it.

Charles often helps the legal teams trawl through a person’s gambling data before inquests. Dozens of pages, each with hundreds of transactions, where you can see someone, line by line, bet by bet, being nudged along to their deaths. It really upsets him to see this, and he wants to shout, “Please stop” – even though he knows it’s too late and they can’t hear him. The people who can stop this, the staff at the gambling company, also see this data; but instead of intervening, they continue with free bets and bonuses.

The industry regulator, the Gambling Commission, has the power to take away licences, but so far has not done so with these big high street firms. We can only speculate that the firms’ ability to take the Gambling Commission to judicial review is intimidating. What needs to happen to make the regulator use its muscle?

It is time for the government to step in. After years of delay, in April we finally expect to see the white paper of the Gambling Act review, and with it a potential raft of measures that could limit the harm. Gambling firms could be forced to conduct checks to ensure people don’t bet more than they can afford. There could be restrictions on the unfettered advertising – and there could be action on the most dangerous products, slowing them down and reducing the massive stake sizes.

There was a gambling-related death yesterday, one today and will be one tomorrow. The government has a duty to prevent these deaths. They owe it to the families who will wake up tomorrow and find that their beautiful, adored child has ended their life, avoidably, because of a company’s greed.

  • Liz Ritchie MBE is co-founder of the charity Gambling with Lives, which supports families bereaved by gambling-related suicide



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xQc Accuses Twitch of Double Standard for Allowing Neymar to Gamble on Stream

Neymar jr


Gambling and video game streamer xQc has accused Twitch of a double standard after soccer superstar Neymar was able to gamble during a live stream despite a ban on that type of content.

shocked to see the Brazilian gambling with thousands of dollars

xQc was in the middle of a Minecraft live stream when his chat told him to head over to Neymar’s channel. He was shocked to see the Brazilian gambling with thousands of dollars. Criticizing Twitch, xQc said “I don’t want to be some anti-Twitch bandwagoner, but this is some pretty big pick and choose dogshit.”

He noted that if he or another gambling streamer like Trainwreck tried to broadcast online gambling content that they would instantly get banned.

Some viewers in the chat tried to justify Neymar being able to stream the gambling content, pointing out that he was using a site called Blaze, which was not named in Twitch’s ban announcement. Others said that perhaps because he was streaming from Brazil that the ban might not apply.

xQc quashed these theories, saying that he had streamed gambling content when in Canada and that non-US nations were a part of the ban. He also said that the Twitch ban covers all forms of unregulated gambling, not just on the named platforms.

The post xQc Accuses Twitch of Double Standard for Allowing Neymar to Gamble on Stream appeared first on VegasSlotsOnline News.

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Horseshoe Las Vegas to Host the 54th Edition of the World Series of Poker

Horseshoe Las Vegas to Host the 54th Edition of the World Series of Poker


This year’s World Series of Poker (WSOP) is expected to build on the momentum of last year’s successful tournament when over 197,000 participants from over 100 countries took their best shot at the mouth-watering total prize pool of $347.9 million which broke all previous records.

This year’s WSOP will mark the 54th edition of the most successful poker event on the planet and it will be held at the freshly rebranded Horseshoe Las Vegas Casino and Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino between May 30 and July 18.

As explained by WSOP’s executive director and senior vice president Ty Stewart, the momentum created by the series making its debut on The Strip in 2022 is expected to generate record-breaking WSOP and World Championship events at the Las Vegas Hotel & Casino and the Horseshoe Las Vegas.

The latter officially opened its gates to the public on March 24 after a year of multimillion-dollar remodeling.

“This Is the Year to Go to Vegas”

Stewart also added that this would be the perfect year to “get to Vegas” if the Main Event has been on your bucket list for a while. In 2023, the $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em World Championship will be held between July 3 and July 17.

Besides the freshly added permanent hall of fame poker room built at Horseshoe Las Vegas, the much-anticipated event will also feature the biggest capacity in the history of the series. No less than 608 tables will be spread across the convention space’s 200,000 square feet for nonstop live action.

WSOP 2023 will also host the first-ever $300 price point tournament in the history of the series.

Other exciting events to be looking forward to are the 600 Main Event Seats Guaranteed from GGPoker, where the latter will be providing 500 guaranteed Main Event seats on GGPoker.com via global qualifiers along with an extra 100 seats on the ClubGG.net subscription site.

The 600 total seats will have a massive prize pool of $6,000,000, representing more than double of GGPoker’s official qualifiers in 2022. The online satellites will be initiated in March.

The Main Event Mania at Casinos Worldwide will introduce the pioneer Global Qualification Weekend held on May 20-May 21 at live poker rooms located on four different continents. Right before the start of the series in Las Vegas, poker rooms from all parts of the world will reunite to offer Guaranteed Seat satellite tournaments, sending players to the 2023 Main Event.

Every poker room will organize step tournaments with buy-ins capped at $140 and a culminating mega of $1,175 that will award a guaranteed seat along with all travel expenses to Las Vegas.

The Horseshoe Casino Held the First WSOP Tournament in 1970

The first-ever Horseshoe Casino opened its gates in 1951. The first WSOP tournament was organized there almost two decades later, in 1970.

The Caesars Entertainment-owned brand is currently responsible for operating and managing 10 different Horseshoe properties spread all across North America.

Caesars announced its intention to purchase Bally’s Las Vegas and turn it into a Horseshoe Casino a year ago, in February 2022.

The property’s general manager and senior vice president Jason Gregorec called the arrival of Horseshoe on The Strip a “significant moment for Caesars Entertainment,” as well as for the Horseshoe brand and the entirety of the city.

Gregorec also expressed excitement for being able to welcome guests to the freshly redesigned resort and its newest additions including the interior and exterior upgrades and renovations and new entertainment and culinary options, while also reintroducing it to Las Vegas.



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Give Your Bankroll a Boost with the PokerNews-Exclusive PartyPoker Freerolls

Give Your Bankroll a Boost with the PokerNews-Exclusive PartyPoker Freerolls



Do you want to mix with your fellow PokerNews readers over a free-to-play poker tournament where there is $100 added to the prize pool? Of course you do! You can not only play in one $100 freeroll during April but five of them, thanks to the special relationship between PokerNews and PartyPoker.

We are always looking for ways to provide value to the members of our Discord channel, and what better way than to have our friends at PartyPoker host five freerolls, each with $100 prize pools, for you to get your teeth into?

All five PokerNews-exclusive PartyPoker $100 added freerolls are password protected, ensuring only members of our Discord channel can access them. The passwords are revealed in the PartyPoker section of the PokerNews Discord channel in the run-up to each freeroll, so make sure you are part of our crew and that you don’t miss out on up to $500 worth of value during April.

PokerNews Discord

PokerNews-exclusive PartyPoker Freerolls in April 2023

Date Time (BST) Tournament Name
Sun 2 Apr 7:00 p.m. PokerNews Freeroll – $100 Added
Sun 9 Apr 7:00 p.m. PokerNews Freeroll – $100 Added
Sun 16 Apr 7:00 p.m. PokerNews Freeroll – $100 Added
Sun 23Apr 7:00 p.m. PokerNews Freeroll – $100 Added
Sun 30 Apr 7:00 p.m. PokerNews Freeroll – $100 Added

The PokerNews-exclusive $100 PartyPoker freerolls are open to all PartyPoker.com customers that have a real money account. Your account is considered real money at PartyPoker if you have made at least one deposit since opening your account. If you’re already enjoying the cash games and tournaments at PartyPoker, join our free Discord server to stay up-to-date with all the latest poker news, and to discover those all-important freeroll passwords.

Check out the Incredible PokerNews Online Tournament Calendar

Register for your favourite online poker tournaments here!

Sign Up to PartyPoker via PokerNews

Those who don’t have an account can download PartyPoker via PokerNews‘ links, and receive one of two welcome packages depending on the size of your initial deposit; a $10 deposit is all that is required to trigger a PartyPoker welcome package.

A $10 deposit yields $10 worth of tickets over the course of a week:

  • Day 1: 2x $1 SPINS tickets + 1x $5.50 MTT ticket
  • Day 2: 4x $0.25 SPINS tickets
  • Day 4: 1x $3.30 MTT ticket
  • Day 6: 4x $0.25 SPINS tickets

Increase your deposit to at least $20, and the following ticket package is yours:

  • Day 1: 1x $5.30 MTT ticket
  • Day 2: 2x $1 SPINS ticket
  • Day 3: 1x $5.50 MTT ticket
  • Day 4: 1x $5.50 MTT ticket
  • Day 5: 3x $2.20 MTT tickets
  • Day 6: 2x $3 SPINS tickets + 1x$3.30 MTT ticket

Residents of the United Kingdom enjoy a slightly different welcome from PartyPoker. Their deposit of at least £10 comes with a 100% match up to £400 first deposit bonus plus $10 worth of Party Dollars, which can be used in any of the site’s games, every day for six days.

To release the total Deposit Bonus amount, you must accumulate four times the Deposit Bonus amount in loyalty points. Each time the player accumulates 10% of the Total Loyalty Points required, they will receive a 10% increment of the Deposit Bonus





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Aussie Banks Want Credit Cards Banned for Online Gambling

Aussie Banks Want Credit Cards Banned for Online Gambling


Australia has no online casinos licensed in the country even though federal law allows states and territories to license and regulate internet slots and table games. However, home and mobile sports betting is licensed for punters there.

According to the country’s primary banking trade organization, there’s a big gap between financial protections online and on land so the Australian Banking Association (ABA) is asking the government to ban the use of credit cards at online sports betting sites.

The request comes decades after credit cards were banned for gambling at the land-based sportsbooks and casinos there. The licensed online gambling industry did not even exist at the time land-based credit card gambling was prohibited but is now worth an estimated A$50 billion a year.

Credit Cards Already Banned for Land-based Gambling

The ABA’s CEO, Anna Bligh asks: “Why should it be possible to do something in the virtual world that is prohibited in the real world? Every pub with poker machines, every TAB and every trackside bookie already implemented this 23 years ago.”

Bligh wonders if gambling, as a product “is this something we should be providing credit for given what’s happening to our customers?

According to a report in the Guardian, banks are not on a moral crusade with the initiative but instead are looking out for their own business interests. That said, the association is quite aware of the damage undisciplined gamblers can do to themselves very quickly with potential long-term negative consequences.

This is just a product that is not suitable for credit,” said Bligh. “You can accrue a very, very large amount of debt in an incredibly short period of time and have nothing to show for it.

Banks have seen the harm that is being done and they are very conscious of their responsibility as lenders to ask [hard questions].

The initiative would tend to lend itself more to ideation than implementation due to the way merchant category codes work. The international merchant category code (MCC) that has been used for online gambling transactions since soon after the US changed its payment processor rules for online gambling with the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA) can also be assigned to transactions involving charities that fundraise by selling lottery tickets.

MCCs are 4-digit numbers listed under the international standard ISO 18245 which currently doesn’t have a code for lottery tickets sold primarily for charity fundraising. In order to create one, advocates would need to apply through ISO/TC 68, Technical Committee 68 on Banking, Securities, and other Financial Services in Geneva, Switzerland. However, changes to ISOs such as adding a new MCC, are usually not entertained for industries generating less than $10m in revenues.

The ABA doesn’t seem interested in paying for changes through the Geneva process, indicating that gambling operators should have to deal with and pay for compliance on their own after a grace period to give them time to adjust.

Licensed Operator Body Supports Ban

Responsible Wagering Australia is an independent body for wagering service providers based in Australia. RWA members include well-known names such as bet365, Betfair, Entain, PointsBet, Sportsbet, and Unibet.

A spokesperson for the group said: “The RWA and its members have been at the forefront of the work to implement a credit card ban – having led the discussions with the banking industry to determine the technical solutions, and delivered them to the government. We cannot speak for other non-member gambling companies.”

While offshore casinos can run credit card gambling transactions through a form of potential money laundering by assigning “the wrong code” to deposit transactions, a few Australian banks have already banned their branded credit cards from being used for gambling transactions, which presumably disallows the purchase of lottery tickets sold for charity fundraising with a credit card. Bank Australia, Bank of Queensland, Citibank, and Suncorp will no longer process MCC 7995.

MPs Sharkie and Wilkie are each preparing legislation to address the issue as well as to introduce suspicious transaction reports to authorities with Rebekha Sharkie’s private member bill focused on banning online credit card gambling and Andrew Wilkie’s bill focused on proceeds of crimes and suspicious transaction report obligations.

Sharkie also wants operators to be required to inform bettors of ongoing losses prior to accepting further bets.

Source: Australian banks urge Albanese government to ban use of credit cards for online gambling, The Guardian, March 26, 2023

The post Aussie Banks Want Credit Cards Banned for Online Gambling appeared first on Casino News Daily.

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BLAST Inks Multi-year Deal with Unikrn

BLAST Inks Multi-year Deal with Unikrn


Esports entertainment giant BLAST has unveiled a new agreement with the esports betting platform unikrn. As a result, BLAST will promote the operator’s brand across its tournaments and fan-centered events.

As announced by the two companies, unikrn will be “deeply embedded” into the BLAST fan experience. The esports betting company’s branding will be thoroughly promoted across BLAST’s fan activations, social giveaways and broadcasts.

Unikrn’s logo will also feature physically and digitally across the BLAST Premier tournament series, including the upcoming BLAST.tv Paris Major CS:GO competition.

In addition to that, the multi-year agreement will also see unikrn own the BLAST Picks segment, a series where BLAST’s analysts predict the outcomes of esports matches. The betting brand will also be featured in BLAST.tv’s PickEms where the CS:GO community can have its own share of esports predictions.

BLAST promised to share more details of the unikrn integration for the upcoming Major very soon.

Unikrn is an esports betting brand that is currently available to video game aficionados in Brazil and Canada (with the exception of Ontario). The brand offers exciting markets for esports betting, providing the new generation of gamers and esports fans with exciting wagering opportunities.

The operator also allows its users to become a part of the action and bet on their own skills with its UMode and Moneymatch products.

BLAST Is Thrilled to Team up with Unikrn

BLAST’s commercial director, Oliver Clarke, commented on the new agreement. He praised the operator’s tailored esports and gaming offerings and noted that his team is excited to welcome unikrn as its global partner.

Their [unikrn’s] tailored esports and gaming offering means fans of the BLAST.tv Paris Major and BLAST Premier tournament series have a safe, secure and dedicated betting platform built for their passions.

Oliver Clarke, commercial director, BLAST

Clarke added that 2023 will be an exciting year for BLAST because of the many events the organizer has planned.

Unikrn’s chief executive officer, Justin Dellario, also voiced his thoughts on the agreement. He applauded BLAST for becoming an epicenter of esports action and being behind some of the best CS:GO events in history.

unikrn is built for these moments when fans are looking for the deepest and best possible experience as they root on their favorite players and teams. We are thrilled to be BLAST’s partner and to bring our world-class insights and betting opportunities to its millions of fans.

Justin Dellario, chief executive officer, unikrn

BLAST is best known for its flagship BLAST Premier series – a line of exciting live CS:GO events that attract tens of thousands of fans each year.



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William Hill’s Failings Reveal an Underlying Regulatory Weakness

William Hill’s Failings Reveal an Underlying Regulatory Weakness


As the effects of the £19.2 million fine continue reverberating across the gaming industry, Williams offers a new perspective on the situation, concluding with a warning to all operators considering investing in the UK. While 888 has agreed to pay up without much hassle and implemented substantial remedial measures, the data implies that William Hill’s disregard for player safety temporarily bolstered customer spending, setting a dangerous precedent.

888’s Commitment to the Purchase Was a Calculated Risk

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC)’s record-breaking £19.2 million fine was the biggest in the regulator’s history, significantly souring 888’s recent purchase of the offending operator. At one point in the investigation, William Hill even ostensibly risked losing its license to operate in the island nation, potentially making 888’s investment even riskier.

William Hill recognized its failings and worked with the commission to make improvements, but 888’s willingness to proceed with the purchase despite the ongoing investigation raises some questions. Keystone Law regulatory lawyer Richard Williams shared his take on a situation in an interview with gaming news outlet Gambling Insider, breaking down the finer implications.

When 888 acquired the non-US assets of William Hill…, it would have known about the Gambling Commission’s ongoing investigation.

Richard Williams, regulatory lawyer at Keystone Law

Williams argued that 888 was completely aware of the potential fine when closing the £1.95 billion purchase. However, with William Hill’s license potentially on the line, the prospective buyer must have had an unhealthy risk appetite. 888 likely believed that timely reforms and a change in management would be sufficient to appease the UKGC, giving the operator a relatively clean slate when taking over.

The Case Revealed Deep-Seated Issues

According to Williams, 888’s cooperation was the deciding factor behind the UK regulator’s decision to settle for a fine. He noted that the situation had improved significantly since the takeover as the new management finally took the necessary steps to resolve the systemic issues plaguing the UK operator. However, Williams argued that such measures were not without financial consequences.

Implementing rigorous anti-money laundering and social responsibility procedures is likely to slow down customer spending and ultimately reduce revenue for the combined business.

Richard Williams, regulatory lawyer at Keystone Law

Such statements are dangerous in the context of the wider industry, implying that skirting player safety and AML measures can bolster profits. According to Williams, the entire debacle should alarm everyone looking to invest in UK-facing operators. However, it is also indicative of deep-rooted problems and regulatory impotence.

The £19.2 million fine is just a slap on the wrist for 888, which can earn that back in less than four days. Despite its posturing, the UKGC will likely face a fierce legal battle if it does decide to take the license of a high-profile operator like William Hill. If the regulator continues to shirk its duties, systematic violations will likely continue to be the norm.



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Aliaksandr Hirs Takes Down Merit Poker Carmen Series $5,300 High Roller ($204,700)

Aliaksandr Hirs Takes Down Merit Poker Carmen Series $5,300 High Roller ($204,700)


Aliaksandr Hirs

Event #13: $5,300 High Roller of the Merit Poker Carmen Series has drawn to a close after three days of play. Belarusian Aliaksandr Hirs emerged as the last player standing from an initial field of 187 to capture the lion’s share of the $860,200 prize pool after defeating Fahredin Mustafov in a one-sided heads-up affair.

This marks Hirs’ first live tournament victory, with the $204,700 first-place prize adding a significant chunk to his career earnings of $396,757. However, it’s not his largest ever cash, which took place in August 2022 at EPT Barcelona when he finished third in the $2,200 ESPT High Roller for $284,668.

2023 Merit Poker Carmen Series Final Table Results

Place Player Country Prize Money
1 Aliaksandr Hirs Belarus $204,700
2 Fahredin Mustafov Bulgaria $143,800
3 Ryan Mandara United Kingdom $92,700
4 Simeon Spasov Bulgaria $68,900
5 Eduard Barsegian Russia $51,900
6 Anton Ionel Romania $41,750
7 Carlos Aoun Lebanon $34,800
8 Egor Romaniuk Belarus $28,050
9 Lev Kydatov Russia $21,250

Winner’s Reaction

Although Hirs is relatively new to the live poker scene, he has been racking up a steady slate of impressive results online, a fact he reflected on after his victory.

“It’s a similar game [online] but also a different atmosphere”.

That different ambience is something Hirs points to as a reason why he is now playing more live events.

“It’s interesting to play with different players because you can see them. Online, you can only see the icon. Now you can see the players and their emotions. It’s really good”.

Bubble Play

A total of 28 players returned for the final day, meaning none had yet made it into the money, as the top 23 would secure the min-cash.

With several short stacks in the field, bubble play did not last long. Ultimately, Alexandru Papazian, Romania’s all-time money leader, was the individual unfortunate enough to burst the bubble after he got in his last few chips in with a dominated hand against Carlos Aoun and failed to improve. Everyone left was guaranteed $8,100, but with such big money up top, nobody would be happy heading home just yet.

Final Table Action

The tournament average stack rarely strayed above the 35 big blind mark and was often significantly below that point. As a result, the final table was set not too long into the day after Sakis Adrianopoulos jammed his ace-four right into Anton Ionel’s ace-jack.

With that, the remaining nine took their seats to grind out what would be a relatively long final table. Lev Kydatov was the short stack entering the final table, and it came as no surprise that he was first out the door when his big slick failed to hold against the ace-jack held by Simeon Spasov.

Next to head to the exit was the congenial Egor Romaniuk. He flopped top-top to only to see a rampant Hirs turn over ladies for the overpair. Not long after, Aoun hit the showers in seventh place, as he was felled in a blind on blind encounter with Ionel.

It took some time for the next player to go, but eventually, Ionel, whose stack had been dwindling away for some time, lost a flip against Mustafov to send him to the rail in sixth place. Just a few hands later, Eduard Barsegian fell to the wayside, after being unable to overcome Hirs’ tens.

Spasov displayed great skill throughout the day and was near or at the top of the leaderboard for a good portion of the final table. But after taking a few bad beats, he got his remaining chips in with jack-nine against the eight-seven of Hirs, who paired up to scoop the pot.

Start of day chip leader Ryan Mandara coasted for much of the day but succumbed to a seemingly unstoppable Hirs after check-jamming his flush draw on the flop and failing to hit.

That elimination set up a heads-up showdown between Hirs and Mustafov. Hirs entered with a sizable chip advantage, one that he never relinquished. Though Mustafov put up a good fight, it was Hirs’ day. After flopping top pair, Hirs bet-called a shove from Mustafov, who had an open-ended straight draw. The draw failed to come in, and that was all she wrote.

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The PokerNews live reporting team will also have boots on the ground bringing you updates from the Main Event.

Make sure not to miss a hand by checking out our live reporting page when the events kick off.

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Follow all the action from the Merit Poker Carmen Series on PokerNews

Merit Poker Carmen Series Schedule

Date TIME (EET) BUY-IN EVENT GUARANTEE
Weds, Mar 22 11:00 AM $220+$20+$9 NL Qualifier to Warm Up Day 1A win your seat at 100K chips $6,600 (3 Seats)
Weds, Mar 22 12:00 PM $2.000+$200 NL Warm Up Day 1A $700,000 ( INCL 9 TCK )
Weds, Mar 22 5:30 PM $500+$50 NL Turbo Bounty $200 K.O. $20,000
Weds, Mar 22 9:30 PM $300+$30 NL Satellite to Warm Up Day 1B $22,000 (10 Seats)
Thur, Mar 23 11:00 AM $220+$20+$9 NL Qualifier to Warm Up Day 1B win your seat at 100K chips $6,600 (3 Seats)
Thur, Mar 23 12:00 PM $2.000+$200 NL Warm Up Day 1B $700,000 ( INCL 9 TCK )
Thur, Mar 23 5:30 PM $220+$20+$9 NL Qualifier to WUp Day 1C win your seat at 100K chips $8,800 (4 Seats)
Thur, Mar 23 9:00 PM $600+$60 NL Hyper Turbo Deep Stack $20,000
Thur, Mar 23 9:30 PM $2.000+$200 NL Warm Up Day 1C $700,000 ( INCL 9 TCK )
Fri, Mar 24 10:00 AM $2.000+$200 NL Warm Up Day 1D Turbo $700,000 ( INCL 9 TCK )
Fri, Mar 24 12:30 PM $2.000+$200 NL Warm Up Day 2 $700,000 ( INCL 9 TCK )
Fri, Mar 24 10:00 PM $500+$50 NL Satellite To ME Day 1A $99,000 (30 Seats)
Sat, Mar 25 12:00 PM Closed NL Warm Up Day 3 $700,000 ( INCL 9 TCK )
Sat, Mar 25 1:00 PM $1.000+$100 NL Mystery Bounty ($600 Mystery Bounty ) Day 1A $10,000
Sat, Mar 25 7:00 PM $1.000+$100 NL Seniors Event (50+) y.o. $30,000
Sat, Mar 25 9:00 PM $700+$70 NL Satellite To High Roller Day 1 $26500 (5 Seats)
Sun, Mar 26 12:00 PM $1.000+$100 NL Mystery Bounty ($600 Mystery Bounty ) Day 1B $100
Sun, Mar 26 1:00 PM Closed NL Warm Up Final Day $700,000 ( INCL 9 TCK )
Sun, Mar 26 5:00 PM $530+$55+$20 NL Qualifier to HR Day 1 win your seat at 100K chips $15,900 (3 Seats)
Sun, Mar 26 8:00 PM $5.000+$300 NL High Roller Event 8-Handed Day 1 $250,000 ( INCL 5 TCK )
Sun, Mar 26 9:00 PM $500+$50 NL Satellite to ME Day 1A $49,500 (15 Seats)
Mon, Mar 27 12:00 PM Closed NL Mystery Bounty ($600 Mystery Bounty ) Final Day $100
Mon, Mar 27 12:30 PM $1.500+$150 NL Bounty $750 K.O. $75
Mon, Mar 27 4:00 PM $530+$55+$20 NL Qualifier to HR Day 2 win your seat at 100K chips $15,900 (3 Seats)
Mon, Mar 27 8:00 PM $5.000+$300 NL High Roller Event 8-Handed Day 2 $250,000 ( INCL 5 TCK )
Mon, Mar 27 9:00 PM $500+$50 NL Satellite to ME Day 1A $49,500 (15 Seats)
Tue, Mar 28 11:00 AM $330+$30+$13 NL Qualifier to Main Event Day 1A win your seat at 100K chips $9,900 (3 Seats)
Tue, Mar 28 12:00 PM $3.000+$300 NL Main Event Day 1A $1,500,000 ( INCL 9 TCK )
Tue, Mar 28 2:00 PM Closed NL High Roller Event 8-Handed Final Day $250,000 ( INCL 5 TCK )
Tue, Mar 28 5:30 PM $500+$50 NL Hyper Turbo Deep Stack $20,000
Tue, Mar 28 10:00 PM $500+$50 NL Satellite To ME Day 1B $49,500 (15 Seats)
Weds, Mar 29 11:00 AM $330+$30+$13 NL Qualifier to Main Event Day 1B win your seat at 100K chips $9,900 (3 Seats)
Weds, Mar 29 12:00 PM $3.000+$300 NL Main Event Day 1B $1,500,000 ( INCL 9 TCK )
Weds, Mar 29 7:00 PM $330+$30+$13 NL Qualifier to Main Event Day 1C win your seat at 100K chips $16,500 (5 Seats)
Weds, Mar 29 10:00 PM $1.000+$100 NL Mix-Max 9-Handed Day 1 $100,000
Thur, Mar 30 11:00 AM $330+$30+$13 NL Qualifier to Main Event Day 1C win your seat at 100K chips $9,900 (3 Seats)
Thur, Mar 30 12:00 PM $3.000+$300 NL Main Event Day 1C $1,500,000 ( INCL 9 TCK )
Thur, Mar 30 3:00 PM $1.000+$100 PL Omaha Bounty 8-Max $500 K.O. $40,000
Thur, Mar 30 6:00 PM $600+$60 NL Win The Button $300 K.O. $20,000
Thur, Mar 30 7:00 PM $3.000+$300 NL Main Event Day 1D Turbo $1,500,000 ( INCL 9 TCK )
Thur, Mar 30 10:00 PM $1.000+$100 NL Mix-Max 7-Handed Day 2 $100,000
Fri, Mar 31 12:00 PM $3.000+$300 NL Main Event Day 2 $1,500,000 ( INCL 9 TCK )
Fri, Mar 31 9:00 PM $1.000+$100 💣 Double Board PLO Bomb Pot 8-Handed $50,000
Fri, Mar 31 10:00 PM Closed NL Mix-Max 6-Handed Final day $100,000
Sat, Apr 1 12:00 PM Closed NL Main Event Day 3 $1,500,000 ( INCL 9 TCK )
Sat, Apr 1 12:30 PM $2.000+$200 NL Mystery Bounty ($1.000 Mystery Bounty ) Day 1A $150,000 ( INCL, 5 TCK )
Sat, Apr 1 4:00 PM $600+$60 NL Bounty $300 K.O. $25,000
Sat, Apr 1 7:00 PM $2.000+$200 NL Mystery Bounty ($1.000 Mystery Bounty ) Day 1B $150,000 ( INCL, 5 TCK )
Sat, Apr 1 9:30 PM $600+$60 NL Turbo Deep Stack $25,000
Sun, Apr 2 11:00 AM $2.000+$200 NL Mystery Bounty ($1.000 Mystery Bounty ) Day 1C Turbo $150,000 ( INCL, 5 TCK )
Sun, Apr 2 1:00 PM Closed NL Main Event Final Day $1,500,000 ( INCL 9 TCK )
Sun, Apr 2 1:00 PM $600+$60 NL Deep Stack Bounty 6-Max $300 K.O. $20,000
Sun, Apr 2 5:00 PM $3.000+$300 NL Merit Classic  
Sun, Apr 2 7:00 PM Closed NL Mystery Bounty ($1.000 Mystery Bounty ) Final Day $150,000 ( INCL, 5 TCK )
Sun, Apr 2 7:30 PM $500+$50 NL Turbo Deep Stack Bounty 6-Max $200 K.O. $15,000
Name Surname
Cottrell van Wingerden





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Booming Games Adds New Product Owner and Marketing Manager

Booming Games Adds New Product Owner and Marketing Manager


Booming Games, a rapidly-expanding developer of slots, has unveiled two new additions to its team. The iGaming experts Kaska Pysz and Dorota Gruszka will be joining the company as product owner and marketing manager respectively, the supplier announced.

Booming Games explained that both of its new members boast years of experience in the iGaming sector and will be valuable additions to its team.

Pysz Boasts 15 Years in Gaming

Pysz, for example, is a product and gamification specialist with an impressive track record in gambling. She has more than 15 years of experience in the sector, having worked with both land-based and iGaming companies. Her time at brick-and-mortar casinos helped her learn first-hand about player behavior.

Pysz graduated from the University of Cracow with a Degree in Marketing and Management. She has already leveraged this experience during her time working on gamification tools that enhance customer experience.

The new product owner said that she is very excited to join Booming Games’ amazing team and that she is looking forward to bolstering its pipeline. Pysz added that she is also thrilled to be working with Gruszka whom she considers a friend and a talented marketer.

Gruszka Is Passionate about Marketing

Speaking of Gruszka, Booming Games’ new marketing manager joined the iGaming sector 7 years ago. For the past few years, she has worked in various departments for various operators and providers and has acquired significant experience.

A few years ago, Gruszka discovered her passion for marketing and dedicated her efforts to mastering her marketing skills. She will put these skills into good use, overseeing Booming Games’ marketing department, as well as developing and deploying new campaigns for the studio.

Gruszka praised Booming Games as an innovator that is truly dedicated to diversity. The company’s team has people from more than 40 nationalities, which has proven instrumental in creating varied and engaging slots.

Gruszka said that she is very happy to join the organization and added that she is “super excited” to be teaming up with Pysz once again.

The Leadership Welcomed the New Hires

Moritz Blume, Booming Games’ director of product, welcomed the new hires on board. He said that the company doubled in size over 2022 and is constantly looking for experienced professionals.

I am convinced that Kaska and Dorota will add significant value to our company, and I am delighted to start working with them both.

Moritz Blume, director of product, Booming Games

The company’s chief commercial officer, Frederik Nielsen, also welcomed Pysz and Gruszka to the company. He noted that the company’s hiring spree has helped it bring many talented individuals on board. Nielsen said that he is looking forward to working with all of them.



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