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-exclusive PartyPoker Freerolls in April 2023

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.

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

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

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.

Follow the Action on PokerNews

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.

Merit Poker Carmen Series Schedule

Brazilian grinder Ricardo “RFN1986” Nagamoto is on cloud nine today after becoming the PokerStars Sunday Million 17th Anniversary champion. Triumphing in such a prestigious tournament would be reason enough to celebrate, but the fact Nagamoto is now a millionaire, thanks to the $1,000,000 top prize, gives him even more reasons to bask in the glory of victory.

PokerStars slapped a $7.5 million guarantee on the prize pool, and it was easily reached, with the 39,500 entrants creating a $7,900,000 prize pool. The top 5,927 finishers received a slice of the seven-figure pie, a min-cash in this $215 buy-in event weighing in at $373, increasing to at least $70,374 for an appearance at the final table.

A whole host of top-tier players found themselves deep into the special edition Sunday Million but fell short of reaching the nine-handed final table. Chris “ImDaNuts” Oliver, Jans “Graftekkel” Arends, Renan “Internett93o” Bruschi, Sweden’s “mamamamama70,” Andrey “ThePateychuk” Pateychuk, and Stevan “random_chu” Chew being among those that saw healthy return on their investment.

Nick Walsh of Team PokerStars fame was eliminated in 16th place, a result good for $26,112. Walsh got his chips into the middle holding ace-king and lost a crucial coinflip against the pocket nines of the eventual champion, Nagamoto.

Once Hungary’s “DefBeat976” crashed out in tenth place, the final table was set, with each of all but two of those finalists guaranteed to take home at least a six-figure prize.

Sunday Million 17th Anniversary Edition Final Table Results

_{Final table action commences around the 1hr 38 min mark}

Austria’s Manuel “young_diam18” Blaschke was the first finalist heading for the exits. Blaschke came unstuck an hour into the final table’s action when the blinds were 1,750,000/3,500,000/450,000a. Vlad “dariepoker” Darie min-raised under the gun before calling the 58,227,684 three-bet shove from Blaschke on the button. Darie turned over pocket queens, Blaschke king-ten, and an ace-high board resulted in the first elimination of the final table.

Eighth place and the last five-figure score went to Brazil’s “Suferring102.” Blinds had increased to 2,000,000/4,000,000/500,000a when Suferring102 open-shoved for 25,372,418 from middle position with ace-five of clubs. Darie, from the next seat along, flat-called with pocket tens, but then relinquished his hand after “songoks” squeezed all-in from the small blind for 68,010,413 with what turned out to be ace-queen. Darie would have flopped a set had he stayed in the hand, but would have ultimately lost to the full house of songoks that won the pot after pairing their queen on the flop and seeing aces land on the turn and river. Game over for Suferring102.

Paulo “paulinhoo00” Brombin became seventh-place finisher after a clash with Nagamoto did not go to plan. Nagamoto min-raised to 8,000,000 with ace-ten before calling the 27,288,448 shove from Brombin, which he made with pocket kings. An ace on the flop proved enough to bust the dangerous Brombin from the 17th Anniversary edition of the PokerStars Sunday Million.

The final six became five when “atredezini” bowed out. A short-stacked atredezini doubled up after finding pocket aces, but those aces came back to haunt them later on. atredezini min-raised to 12,000,000 under the gun with pocket aces, and “PAX176” called in the big blind with pocket threes. The flop fell seven-four-five with two spades, PAX176 check before calling the 49,546,626 shove from atredezini. A six of spades improved PAX176 to a straight, but atredezini held the ace of spades for a flush redraw. However, the river bricked and atredezini was gone.

Darie’s participation in the tournament ended at the hands of Denmark’s “roflcopter88.” A short while before his exit hand, Darie lost a huge pot with ace-queen to the nine-eight suited of songoks when the latter flopped a straight. Darie exited when roflcopter88 min-raised to 12,000,000 with a pair of tens in the hole, and Darie decided to essentially three-bet shove for 63,745,798 with the inferior pocket nines. The Dane called Darie’s shove, and won the hand courtesy of a king-high board. That hand gave roflcopter88 what looked to be a unassailable lead, as they had a stack of more than 575,000,000 chips with their nearest rival sitting behind an 88,000,000 stack.

The rich became richer in a battle of the blinds immediately after Darie’s demise. Lithuania’s songoks, who won their seat for only $22, open-shoved for 42,627,599 with king-five, and roflcopter88 called with queen-seven. A queen on the river ended songok’s dreams of turning a satellite win into a seven-figure prize. They did, however, take home $372,317.

Team PokerStars’ Nick Walsh Shares His 5 Tips for Tournament Package Winners

Heads-up was set when PAX176 ran out of steam. Nagamoto limped in from the small blind with pocket aces, and instantly called when PAX176 moved all-in for 48,403,322 with the dominated ace-jack. The five community cards failed to come to PAX176’s rescue, and Nagamoto went into the one-on-one battle with roflcopter88 trailing 151,820,034 chips to 638,179,966. Nagamoto came out the better from the early confrontations and continued chipping away at the leader until they claimed the chip lead for himself. Nagamoto turned a set of deuces when roflcopter88 had flopped top pair on a ten-high flop to put himself in the driving seat.

The 17th Anniversary edition of the PokerStars Sunday Million concluded during the 4,000,000/8,000,000/1,000,000a level. roflcopter88 min-raised with ace-nine, Nagamoto three-bet to 56,000,000, and called when roflcopter88 committed their 204,819,864 stack. Nagamoto called with pocket queens, and those ladies held, crowned Nagamoto as the champion, an accolade that came with $1,000,000!

Shaun Deeb has five World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets to his name, and he can now add a WSOP Circuit ring to his list of poker accomplishments. Deeb took down the WSOPC Turning Stone $1,700 Main Event for $275,916 and his first Circuit ring after defeating heads-up opponent Giyeon Han, who took home $170,528.

The WSOPC Turning Stone ran March 16-27 and consisted of 16 No-Limit Hold’em and Pot-Limit Omaha events, including the Main Event that drew 1,070 runners for a prize pool of $1,621,050.

A New York native, Deeb no doubt felt comfortable throughout his path to victory. He entered the final table second in chips and at one point called out his opponent’s exact holding, according to WSOP live updates.

“I would hope I was the best player in the field,” Deeb told WSOP. “My ego says I’m the best, but it was actually tougher competition than I was expecting deep. People put me in some tough spots, I was three-betting a ton at this final table, way more than I thought I should have, but I think some of them caged me a little bit.”

WSOPC Turning Stone $1,700 Main Event Final Table Results

Hometown Hero

The victory at Turning Stone was a sentimental one for Deeb, who got his poker start playing in the very same New York casino.

“I’ve been coming to Turning Stone for 20 years,” Deeb told Turning Stone. “My grandmother and all my uncles and great-uncles used to come here all the time. My grandma was one of the most famous poker players in the $4/$8 Limit Hold’em game here. The staff were always amazing to her, this was always her favorite casino to go to.”

Now a year later, Deeb got that ring by getting through a field that included defending champion Joseph Rice (52nd – $4,479), David Kuder (47th – $4,479), Matthew Wantman (8th – $32,964) and Paul Ross (5th – $71,272).

Deeb is on a serious hot streak after winning the opening $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. event at last month’s PokerGo Tour Mixed Games festival for $208,800 and earlier finishing fourth in a PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $25,000 PLO High Roller for $121,500.

The Circuit victory sets Deeb up nicely for the upcoming WSOP festival in Las Vegas. Deeb won his fifth and most recent bracelet in 2021 in the WSOP Event #53: $25,000 PLO, which also brought him $1.3 million.

Perrone Wins Third Circuit Ring

Deeb was not the only big winner at the WSOPC Turning Stone stop. Earlier in the series, Chicago’s Michael Perrone took down Event #8: $400 No-Limit Hold’em Monster Stack to win his third Circuit ring and $77,407.

Perrone also has a bracelet after taking down Event #10: Super Turbo Bounty No-Limit Hold’em (Freezeout) at the 2021 WSOP for a career-best $152,173.

Other notable winners at WSOPC Turning Stone included Rochester’s Timothy Russ, who took down Event #2: $400 No-Limit Hold’em for his first ring and a career-best $116,971, as well as Jeffrey Kurtz, who won his second ring by taking down Event #5: $600 NLH Black Chip Bounty for $37,653.

A full list of Circuit ring winners at the WSOPC Turning Stone stop is available in the table below.

WSOPC Turning Stone Ring Winners

Check out Shaun Deeb’s recent in-depth interview with PokerNews

_{Photo courtesy WSOP}

Having previously announced a partnership with the One Drop Foundation, the World Poker Tour (WPT) has unveiled two charity tournaments set to take place at this year’s Wynn Summer Classic.

See the 2023 Wynn Summer Classic schedule here!

Last year, ex-pro-gamer Jinho Hong took down the Wynn Summer Classic Championship, and many will be looking to follow in his footsteps.

Today’s announcement is no surprise, with the WPT having a long history of partnering with non-profit organizations, including the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the Tiger Woods Foundation

However, today’s announcement adds extra excitement to the Wynn festival, with WPT CEO Adam Pliska praising the speed it took to add the events to the festival’s schedule.

“We are proud to once again pair up with Wynn Las Vegas as the host venue for our maiden WPT EveryOne for One Drop event, and the return of Alpha8, during the Wynn Summer Classic,” said Pliska. “It is remarkable how quickly these events came together, but not surprising given One Drop’s worthy charitable cause of ensuring sustainable access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene to communities around the world.”

“We are excited to put on our first-ever One Drop Foundation events in partnership with WPT and the WPT Foundation,” said One Drop Foundation Chief Marketing and Events Officer Alexandre Meunier. “It is a pleasure to be hosted at the beautiful Wynn Las Vegas. We thank them for their hospitality and support in advancing our global mission.”

World Poker Tour, One Drop Foundation Partner for Charity Poker Initiatives

The One Drop Foundation

The One Drop Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 2007 by Guy Laliberté, the co-founder of Cirque du Soleil. The organization is dedicated to providing sustainable access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene education for communities around the world.

One Drop aims to address the global water crisis, which affects over 840 million people worldwide who do not have access to safe drinking water. The organization works with local communities to implement water access solutions, such as digging wells and constructing water systems, as well as providing education and training on water management and sanitation practices.

WPT EveryOne for One Drop

The first charity event announced is the WPT EveryOne for One Drop which comes with a buy-in of $10,500 and a guarantee of $10 million.

There will be three Day 1s, starting on July 9, 2023, and will conclude with a live-streamed final table on July 14.

WPT EveryOne for One Drop Schedule

_{*denotes live-streamed coverage}

WPT Alpha8 for One Drop

The second charity event announced is the return of a WPT classic with the WPT Alpha8 for One Drop. This three-day $111,000 High Roller tournament is the first Alpha8 tournament to take place since December 2015. It starts on July 14, with live-streamed coverage on both Day 2 and for the final table on July 16.

WPT Alpha8 for One Drop Schedule

_{*denotes live-streamed coverage}

Alpha8 History

The World Poker Tour first announced Alpha8 in July 2013, unveiling a global series of super high-roller poker tournaments that were to be broadcast on FOX Sports 1.

The first season saw four events, two of which were won sensationally won by Philipp Gruissem (pictured), who picked up titles in London and St. Kitts for over $2.4 million in combined winnings.

The first two seasons of Alpha8 were chockful of early-2010 high-roller tournament crushers, such as Dan Colman, Jason Mercier and Noah Schwartz, who won the last event of Season II in January 2015.

The final Alpha8 event, until now, came in December 2015 with a stop at the Five Diamond World Poker Classic. The last Alpha8 champion crowned? Fedor Holz, in what was the first seven-figure score of his career and perhaps precipitating his 2016 “Sun Run”

Fedor Holz Wins WPT Alpha8 Las Vegas for $1,589,219; Daniel Negreanu Takes Third

Former WPT Alpha8 Champions

With a new Alpha8 tournament announced, who will add themselves to the list of winners on the World Poker Tour’s most high-stakes tournament series?

Did You Know the World Poker Tour is Online?

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 around the world.

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 the first deposit to unlock and claim their full bonus amount.

European Executive Editor

Will Shillibier is based in the United Kingdom. He started working for PokerNews as a freelance live reporter in 2015 and joined the full-time staff in 2019.

He graduated from the University of Kent in 2017 with a B.A. in German. He also holds an NCTJ Diploma in Sports Journalism.

Dusk Till Dawn poker club in Nottingham, United Kingdom, is set to host the latest edition of the exciting WPT 500 event. May 26-29 are the dates you need to keep free in your diaries if you plan on becoming a WPT500 UK champion and reeling in the largest slice of a prize pool guaranteed to weigh in at £500,000.

The £560 buy-in £500,000 guaranteed WPT500 UK features five Day 1s running from May 26-28, including a turbo-structured Day 1E. Day 2 commences on May 28, with the worthy champion crowned on May 29.

Dusk Till Dawn is hosting five live satellites, each costing £65, with a total of 60x £560 seats guaranteed. They take place before the festival on May 20, 21, 24, and 25, and between Day 1B and 1C on May 26.

Dusk Till Dawn Excited to Host WPT500 UK

Live Poker Director at Dusk Till Dawn, Simon Trumper, is delighted to see the Nottingham venue, regarded as the home of British poker, host the WPT500 UK again after a seven-year hiatus.

We’re very excited to be hosting the WPT500 UK at the club. It is an event we expect to highly resonate with our customers, and we hope the timing of the event over a UK bank holiday gives players an even better opportunity to take part.”

Previous WPT500 Results

Dusk Till Dawn hosted the inaugural WPT500 UK in November 2014, and saw 2,133 players take to the tables. Eleanor Gudger emerged triumphantly from that event, turning her £500 investment into £140,000. Gudger went on to become a sponsored pro of the now-defunct online poker site PKR.

WPT500 UK returned the following year and saw Welshman Richard Harris walk away with the title, the trophy, and £150,000 in prize money after outlasting 1,615 opponents. The last time Dusk Till Dawn played host to the WPT500 UK was in October 2016, when Benjamin Winsor helped himself to the £182,700 top prize, leaving 1,834 opponents in his wake.

The 2023 WPT500 UK is the first such tournament in a live setting since December 2019 thanks, in part, to the COVID-19 pandemic. The last three editions have all taken place online at PartyPoker, making Pedro Cavalieri of Brazil, champion in August 2021, the reigning champion.

There was a WPT500 held online in June 2021 that David Afework won, but he was subsequently disqualified for a breach of the PartyPoker terms and conditions.

Did You Know the World Poker Tour is Online?

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 around the world.

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.

Lin Chen became the latest in a long line of Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT) Main Event champions when he triumphed in the 2023 GUKPT Blackpool Main Event. A popular stop on the GUKPT calendar, Chen outlasted 305 opponents on his way to the victory, which came sooner than anticipated with the intervention of a three-way chop that concluded play.

2023 GUKPT Blackpool Main Event Final Table Results

*reflects a three-handed deal

Among those who made it into the money place but fell short of making a final table appearance included Jamie O’Connor, Richard Ashby, Renee Xie, Tim Slater, the legendary Ali Mallu, Brandon Sheils, and final table bubble boy Ben Jackson. With Jackson out of the way in tenth, the nine-handed final table commenced.

Michael Howard‘s wait for a GUKPT Main Event title continues after Gregory King eliminated him in ninth place. Howard finished second in the 2014 GUKPT Leeds Main Event, the closest he has come to a victory on the long-running tour. He fell in ninth in Blackpool when he ran his pocket jacks into the pocket queens of King.

Blackpool Specialist Bows Out

Eighth place went to Will McMurray, who finished second in this very tournament in 2010 and fifth in 2019. He came unstuck when he lost a huge coinflip with pocket tens versus the ace-queen of Peter Charalambous. There is no doubt McMurray will be back at the tables for the ninth leg of the current season, as it is in the seaside town of Blackpool.

The last four-figure score went to Min Ji, who has racked up some impressive results over the past six months. Ji three-bet shoved for 18 big blinds with ace-ten over the top of an opening raise from King, and King called with the dominating ace-jack. A jack on the flop proved more than enough to send Ji to the showers.

Worthington-Leese Continues Rich Vein of Form

Sixth place went to Leo Worthington-Leese, who was fresh off the back of a tenth-place finish in the recent £1 million guaranteed GUKPT UK Open event. Last year, Worthington-Leese finished third in the GUKPT Blackpool High Roller, and he followed that result up with another final table in Lancashire. Worthington-Leese made a play for his 17 big blind stack with queen-jack, and Charalambous looked him up with a pair of queens in the hole. The ladies held, and Worthington-Leese bowed out.

Iman Sarkeshik banked the £15,140 fifth-place prize, which happens to be a career-best for the player new to the live tournament scene. Steve Warburton opened the preflop betting before snap-calling Sarkeshik’s 20 big blind shove. Sarkeshik turned over ace-ten, Warburton pocket kings, and the six-high board resulted in Sarkeshik heading to the cashier’s desk.

Warburton’s Luck Runs Out

With almost $2.4 million in live earnings, thanks partly to finishing second to John Juanda in the 2015 European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona Main Event, Warburton had far more winnings than anyone else at the final table. Earlier on Day 2, he was the beneficiary of a traditional Mallu blow-up when Mallu three-bet shoved for 88 big blinds with ten-five offsuit after Warburton had opened with pocket aces. Warburton’s stack had dwindled to eight big blinds before his final hand. He open-shoved with king-three, and Chen called with jack-ten. Warburton held the best hand preflop, but a ten on the flop was enough to send “Warbs” home in fourth.

Warburton’s seat had not even gone cold when the remaining three players paused the tournament clock and discussed a deal. The trio agreed on an ICM-based deal and to end the tournament there and then. That deal meant Charalambous finished third for £53,915, King was the runner-up for £57,855, and Chen became the GUKPT Blackpool champion, an accolade accompanied by £65,310.

Next Up on GUKPT Season 17

There is no GUKPT stop during April, with the tour returning from May 3-15 in Edinburgh. Last year’s GUKPT Edinburgh Main Event saw 390 players buy in for £750, and end with Gary Armstrong and Cameron Williamson striking a deal when heads-up. Armstrong clinched the title and £57,770, with Williamson walking away with £53,000.

_{Images courtesy of the Grosvenor Poker Facebook page}

Friday wasn’t a good night gambling-wise for Texas billionaire Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, but he put that aside to help officially introduce the all-new Horseshoe Las Vegas (formerly Bally’s), the site of the World Series of Poker (WSOP).

Mattress Mack, who owns the Gallery Furniture retail chain, sat next to poker legend Doyle Brunson and Jack Binion, former owner of Binion’s Horseshoe in downtown Las Vegas, the original WSOP home.

Binion, whose father Benny Binion created the WSOP in 1970, spoke to reporters at a cocktail reception from inside his iconic Jack Binion’s Steakhouse brand restaurant, a staple at Horseshoe casinos around the country. The Las Vegas Strip version, which sits just steps from the main WSOP tournament area, opened last summer to rave reviews.

Check out our Horseshoe Las Vegas Poker Room review here!

The Beginning of a New Era

At 5:30 p.m. from the casino’s valet area, executives from Caesars Entertainment officially introduced the company’s rebranded property. Although the hotel had switched everything over to the Horseshoe brand back in December, grand opening ceremonies, especially in Las Vegas, don’t typically take place until a few months later.

For those who attended the 2023 WSOP at what was then Bally’s, you may have noticed some outdated carpeting and a casino floor that needed facelift. Since the final card was dealt in the Main Event back in July, the entire property has undergone a complete transformation inside and out.

The property now has new carpeting, new restaurants, renovated hotel rooms, a newer modern poker room, a freshly painted exterior. If you haven’t been there since last summer, you might not even recognize the place. Poker fans are going to be in for quite a pleasant surprise when they arrive at the Horseshoe in May for the start of the World Series of Poker.

Q & A with Legendary Panel

From inside Jack Binion’s Steakhouse, three icons in their own right spoke to a host of reporters, including PokerNews. Jack Effel, the VP of the WSOP, as questions for Binion, McIngvale, and Brunson, who were seated in front of the iconic Jack Binion’s sign.

Effel’s first question was to Binion, and he asked the former casino owner how it felt to be back at the Horseshoe?

“Glad to see Horseshoe back in Las Vegas, the epicenter of gambling,” Binion responded.

Effel then turned his attention to Mattress Mack, who famously won the largest sports bet in history last fall when he put $10 million down on his beloved Houston Astros to win baseball’s World Series. The Astros defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in the Series and won the furniture store owner $75 million.

“We’d have all night poker games with my friends in high school, so that’s how I got involved with poker.”

“$76 million pays for a lot of Tempur-Pedic Mattress,” McIngvale said.

PokerNews caught up with the sports betting legend who also has some interest in poker for a brief interview. Mattress Mack backed a group of Texans during last year’s WSOP.

“I started gambling when I was in high school,” McIngvale explained. “We’d have all night poker games with my friends in high school, so that’s how I got involved with poker.”

Mattress Mack admitted he’s not very skilled at poker and doesn’t play high-stakes, but he does enjoy the game.

Friday wasn’t all good times for McIngvale, however. He showed up to the private party decked out in University of Houston gear. Prior to the start of the NCAA Tournament, he put $4 million down on a Houston winning the men’s college basketball national title. Most of that wager was placed at a Caesars Sportsbook, which he raved about.

The Houston Cougars entered March Madness as the second ranked team in the AP Top 25 poll, which meant they were among the favorites to win it all. Had they done so, the furniture store owner would have taken home $35 million. During the private party, however, it became official that his bet wasn’t going to win when the Cougars were defeated by Miami, 89-75, in the Sweet 16.

McIngvale hedges his wagers with a promotion at his store. If the team he bets on wins, customers who purchased a specific mattress valued at $3,000 or more will have their purchase refunded. He told PokerNews that all the money he won on the Astros went back to the customers.

But this night wasn’t all about Mattress Mack’s big bets. It was to celebrate the return of the Horseshoe brand casino to Las Vegas, and for Caesars Entertainment to promote its newly renovated property.

Binion was one of the first casino owners to offer free drinks to his customers at the old Binion’s Horseshoe downtown on Fremont Street. He discussed with the crowd how important it was for him and his staff to take care of customers and treat them like family. When Effel asked him what he enjoys most about the Horseshoe brand of casinos, he said he most appreciated the same great customer service he gave customers when he was in business.

Monthly Industry Poker Tournament at Horseshoe Las Vegas

The poker room at Horseshoe Las Vegas has been rebranded and will soon have a Hall of Fame wall and a wall of photos for all the past WSOP Main Event champs.

That stylish poker room will host a $160 buy-in poker industry tournament April 6. On top of the prize pool that accumulates, Effel will add on a free entry into the WSOP Casino Employees event to the winner.

Earlier this month, the ARIA in Las Vegas hosted the first monthly industry event prior to the start of the Global Poker Awards. The tournament, presented by Poker Royalty, will take place on the first Tuesday of every month.

In his first public interview since the infamous J4 incident, on Doug Polk’s podcast, Garrett Adelstein reiterated his confidence that he was cheated on Hustler Casino Live by Robbi Jade Lew, and said he will not be refunding her the disputed $135,000 she gave back to him.

Outside of a feature column in the Los Angeles Times and the occasional tweet, Adelstein has remained silent since the Sept. 29 scandal. But he opened up to the Texas poker room owner in a juicy conversation between two of poker’s most accomplished pros, and over 15,000 concurrent viewers were tuned for it.

PokerNews Op-Ed: Garrett’s Right – Modern Day High Stakes Poker Has Become a Bloodsport

Adelstein Cracks on “Nik Airball”

Adelstein, one of the top high-stakes pros in the world, first addressed a feud with Nikhil “Nik Airball” Arcot that began with Airball taking shots at Adelstein’s character on Polk’s podcast last week.

Nik Airball is a regular on Hustler Casino Live and has a love-him-or-hate-him persona that he’s created since Adelstein left the stream following the J4 incident. Adelstein bashed Airball for attacking his character, but referred to his new rival as “brilliant” for playing a role on-camera and leveraging that into generating attention.

“My first interaction with (Nik Airball) was him coming up to me and telling me he’s a huge fan,” Adelstein explained and then said all he did was “talk s**t” to him during the game.

Polk’s guest referred to Arcot as a “liar” but also explained that he didn’t want to spend too much time discussing the topic because “I really don’t want to be rolling in the mud with this piece of s**t.”

Rehashing the Robbi Scandal

On Sept. 29, 2022, the last time Adelstein played poker on Hustler Casino Live, Lew made a controversial call on the turn with jack-high — no pair, no draw. The bet was for over $100,000 from Adelstein, who had just eight-high but was on a draw.

The pot reached $270,000 and Adelstein was shocked upon seeing Lew’s hand, so much so that he immediately accused her of cheating and left the game. She denied cheating and Hustler’s third-party investigation concluded there was “no evidence of wrongdoing.” Early in the two-hour interview, Polk asked his guest if he still feels the same about what went down on that memorable evening.

“In essence, I stand completely by the statement I made. I think it’s extremely likely that I was cheated,” the high-stakes pro responded.

Over the past couple months, Lew has resurfaced on live-stream poker, both on Live at the Bike and on the stream at The Lodge Card Club in Texas, the poker room Polk co-owns.

Adelstein said that Lew “has a lot of balls” to return to live-stream poker after, as he claims, cheating him out of a massive pot. Shortly after the J4 incident, Lew and Adelstein had a heated discussion on the Hustler Casino floor about what had transpired. During that brief conversation, Lew paid him back $135,000, which she has explained was done to calm him down.

“No, I will not be refunding Robbi the money, period. I am extremely confident I was cheated in this hand.”

Over the past six months, numerous poker fans have called for Adelstein to return that money to, as they believe, its rightful owner. He instead donated it to a charity. But still many believe the right decision is for him to give it back to Lew. Polk asked him if he would do so.

“No, I will not be refunding Robbi the money, period. I am extremely confident I was cheated in this hand,” Adelstein defiantly stated.

Adelstein then pleaded with those who are on “Team Robbi” to put themselves in his shoes and and think about how they’d react if they felt they were cheated at the poker table.

Return to Hustler Casino Live or Elsewhere?

During the two-hour interview, which you can view on YouTube, the topic of conversation shifted over to Nik Airball’s claims that Adelstein would block players he didn’t like or want to play with from competing on Hustler Casino Live, which then led to questions about his interest in returning to HCL or another live-stream.

Adelstein acknowledged that he would often converse with HCL’s co-owner Ryan Feldman to discuss lineups of future games. But he denied having the ability to blacklist players from the game.

“That’s a load of horses**t, you don’t force Ryan Feldman to do anything,” Adelstein said of Airball’s accusations that he controlled the Hustler lineups.

“Ryan is a very sharp and very savvy businessman,” he continued and then said that Feldman “would never do anything to harm the show.

Adelstein showered Feldman with praise for his hard work. Although it was revealed last week that he is no longer welcome on Hustler Casino Live, at least for the time being, he referred to Feldman as a “friend” and understands why there isn’t a seat for him anymore.

“I have no interest in supporting their stream at least for now.”

“I want to say, to be very fair, Ryan is the very best at what he does. The reason the Hustler stream is what it is, is because of Ryan.”

Given that there isn’t a seat for him in a Hustler game right now, Polk asked him if he’d ever return to the most popular live-stream in poker.

“Probably not, I have no interest in supporting their stream at least for now,” he responded.

With Hustler out of the way, it’s clear that Live at the Bike, the live-stream that Adelstein has competed on for over six years, is the most likely destination for his return to poker. But he wouldn’t commit to a date or make any guarantee that he will appear on LATB. He said that over the past six months he hadn’t even entertained the idea of playing poker.

“The last couple of weeks, that mindset has shifted a little bit. I’m more open to it now,” Adelstein said following the recent Nick Vertucci Show comments about his future on HCL. “That said, I don’t think it’s likely you’ll see me playing poker once a week. If I was going to play, I’d only play on live-streams,”

Houston Curtis, Live at the Bike’s executive producer, confirmed with PokerNews last week that Adelstein is welcome back on his show whenever he’s ready to play. You can watch the full interview with Polk and Adelstein below:

Two days after challenging the world to a $100,000 high-stakes heads-up competition, Doug Polk found his first opponent — Bill Perkins — and he lost.

The $200/$400 no-limit Texas hold’em game took place Sunday on live-stream at The Lodge Card Club in Texas, the poker room co-owned by Polk. For nearly six hours, the good friends battled for some huge pots.

Last month, the competitors wrapped up a year-long prop bet in which Polk wagered $200,000 that he could drop 50% of his body fat within 365 days. He came up just short and had to pay up that bet. For the second time this year against the same poker player, he took a loss, this one for about $30,000.

Doug Polk Narrowly Loses $200K Body Fat Loss Prop Bet to Bill Perkins

How it Began

Both players initially began the heads-up poker match with $100,000, but that was just a starting point. As each player’s stack dwindled down, they added on. By the end of the session, there was $700,000 on the table.

Early on in the match, Polk caught a lucky river card with on a board of , hitting the nut straight. It was a sick river card because his opponent had , meaning the only card Polk could hit on the river to win the hand was the ace because the nine would have given Perkins a full house.

With about $26,000 in the pot, Polk bet $18,000 on the river and received a call, which helped him jump out to an early lead. Not long after, however, the tables were turned.

Perkins opened from the button to $1,000 with , a standard play in heads-up no-limit hold’em. With in the big blind, his opponent also made a standard decision in this format and just called.

The flop came out , a little something enticing for both players. The preflop raiser would bet $700 this time and again receive a call. When the appeared on the turn, things got even more interesting. Perkins continued his aggression and went for a large wager of $5,500. Two pair wasn’t folding, of course.

But the completed the flush and brought four cards to a straight on the board, although neither player had a nine. After Perkins bet his flush, Polk would jam all in and get snap-called to lose a $149,000 pot, which set him back early on.

Poker Hand of the Day

The biggest pot in the history of The Lodge transpired during this entertaining heads-up match, and it was also the Hand of the Day. Action began with the card room owner opening to $1,100 on the button with before his opponent, sitting on , three-bet it to $3,800.

That wasn’t enough to convince Polk to slow down, so he bumped it up to $13,000. This time, pocket queens just called and took a flop of and action checked to the player on the button who down-sized his bet to $8,500.

Perkins came along for the ride to see a turn card of , pairing the board. Polk was done making small bets and ripped off a massive wager of $52,000 with ace-high, more than the size of the pot, and again received a call from the wealthy hedge fund manager. After the came on the river, it again checked over to Polk. With the in his hand, he knew he wasn’t up against the nut flush, so he used that card to bluff and did so with an all in bet, and he had Perkins’ stack of $160,000 behind covered.

“Doug looks really f*****g serious here,” Perkins said as he pondered his move.

Perkins would inevitably make the call with the over pair and scooped a pot of over $400,000. Polk, considered to be one of the best heads-up no-limit hold’em players of all-time, would battle back despite the huge setback. When the stream concluded, he was down just $29,900, not exactly what he was hoping for before the match began, but it could have been worse.