The third and final day of the €10,300 High Roller at PokerStars European Poker Tour Paris finally wrapped up after 13-plus hours of play in an event that required last-minute structure adjustments to finish on time. Portugal’s Diogo Coelho was the one left standing at the end of it all to take home the trophy and €810,500 after defeating Russia’s Aleksandr Shevliakov in a brief heads-up battle.

Despite being a High Roller event, the tournament managed to attract a massive field of 431 runners to generate a prize pool of €4,137,600. The field included many of the high-stakes regulars like Timothy Adams (23rd – €32,900) and Tom-Aksel Bedell (15th – €50,000), as well as plenty of up-and-coming players looking for their first major score.

One of those up-and-comers was Coelho, a 27-year-old who has been playing professionally for five years but had just $75,304 in live tournament earnings before binking more than ten times that.

“I’m feeling well. Very hyped in the moment,” Coelho told PokerNews in a winner’s interview. “It’s amazing. I’ve never won a prize like that before, so for me it’s everything.”

EPT Paris €10,300 High Roller Final Table Results

The final table included a star in 2014 World Series of Poker Main Event champion Martin Jacobson (7th – €126,500) and fellow Scandinavians Christian Pedersen (8th – €103,700) and Toni Kaukua (3rd – €361,300).

Coelho, who is primarily an online grinder, acknowledged the final table had many “good players who usually play more live poker than me” and “probably feel more comfortable than me” on the live felt.

“But I don’t think they have a lot of edge on me because of that,” he said. “I think it was a fun tournament, a fun final table. A good vibe for almost everyone.”

Day 3 Action

It was shaping to be a long day from the beginning when 44 players returned on Day 3 for some deep-stacked poker across 60-minute levels.

It took several hours to reach the final three tables after the eliminations of 2022 GPI Player of the Year Stephen Song (39th – €21,600), recent PCA $50,000 7-Handed champion Conor Beresford (31st – €24,900) and bracelet winner Antoine Vranken (25th – €28,600).

Several players fell to make way for the final two tables, including Jun Obara, who bowed out in 20th place when he called down Coelho with just ace-high before getting the bad news as Coelho had flopped trips.

Other players to fall ahead of the final table include David Miscikowski and Rui Ferreira before the Balenciaga-sporting Fahredin Mustafov bowed out in tenth place as his nines couldn’t survive a flip against Coelho’s suited ace-queen. Ace-queen was also that hand that doomed Vlada Stojanovic in ninth place when his king-jack couldn’t pull ahead in a heads-up pot against Shevliakov.

Next out was Christian Pederson, who suffered a tough beat as his kings were cracked by the ace-deuce of Kaukua in a pivotal hand that propelled Kaukua to his deep run.

Jacobson entered the final table as a short stack but managed to ladder and double up before falling in seventh to Coelho. The Swede who famously won $10 million in the 2014 World Series after running up a short stack had to settle for €126,500 this time around.

Kaukua had the chip lead and was pushing his opponents around for most of the final table until losing a critical flip to give Coelho the lead and to take the role of the short stack.

“It’s a crucial pot,” Coelho recalled. This pot, If I lose, I’m out of the tournament. If I win, I have 70% of the chips in play. So it’s a very important flip.”

The talkative Finn managed to ladder a bit before getting it in with ace-king to dominate the ace-nine of Coelho. Unfortunately, a runner-runner flush sent Kaukua packing and set Coelho up to have a big heads-up chip lead.

Heads-up play lasted for around a half hour as Shevliakov managed to stay afloat with less than 15 big blinds but could never get anything going.

In the final hand, Coelho open-jammed with ace-eight and Shevliakov called off with queen-seven. An ace-high flop all but sealed it and Shevliakov failed to improve to go out as the runner-up.

As soon as the river card hit, Coelho’s rail of Portuguese grinders, including Daniel Custodio and 11th-place finisher Ferreira, both of whom stuck around for a winner’s photo, erupted in celebration as their friend locked up his biggest score.

That wraps up the PokerNews live reporting team’s coverage of €10,300 High Roller on the final day of the inaugural EPT Paris stop. Check out the EPT Paris hub to see coverage of other events here in France’s capital.

Former Main Event champion Noel Furlong might have pocketed $1,000,000 for his victory in 1999, but by the time he passed away in June 2021, he had amassed a whole lot more.

A recent article has laid bare the estate of the former World Champion, with over €56 million ($59.5 million) left behind to his family.

The figure is so vast that were it all to have come from poker, he would sit second in the all-time money list, trailing only Justin Bonomo. But as you’ll find out, Furlong enjoyed much success away from the poker tables.

Furlong’s Poker Career

Furlong’s death at the age of 83 was met by an outpouring of grief from those within the poker community who knew him. 16-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, who won the WSOP Main Event ten years before Furlong, called him one of the most successful businessmen in Ireland who handled himself “with class and always a smile.”

Meanwhile, the WSOP itself said in a statement that he was a “worthy champion” who helped put the ‘World’ in World Series of Poker.

Furlong was introduced to poker by chance while walking his dogs. In a story told by Irish poker legend Padraig Parkinson, Furlong bumped into a fellow poker player while out one night who encouraged him to come and battle against some “top Americans” who were in town to play poker.

Those “top Americans” were Doyle Brunson, Chip Reese, Puggy Pearson and Stu Ungar — not bad company!

“So he brought his dogs home, came back,” said Parkinson. “And a couple of hours later he was playing heads up with Puggy Pearson and he’s winning $6,000. It was the funniest thing. So that was Noel hooked.”

By the time Furlong made it to the 1999 WSOP Main Event final table, he was joined by Parkinson and another Irishman in the shape of George McKeever. That year’s final table is often remembered as one of the toughest in WSOP Main Event history. From a field of 393, the final table featured eventual runner-up Alan Goehring, Poker Hall of Famer Erik Seidel and Huck Seed, who had won the tournament three years earlier.

Furlong had already made a name for himself in the poker world by winning the Irish Poker Open in 1987 and 1989, but this result was the largest of his poker career, coming out on top for the $1,000,000 payday.

Win Your €1M Gtd Irish Open Main Event Package at PokerStars Today

Carpets and Racing

So where did the rest of the Irishman’s fortune come from? Almost two decades before his Main Event win, Furlong founded ‘Furlong Flooring‘ a leading manufacturer of carpets and other flooring products. The company flourished, mainly due to Furlong’s concentrated efforts in the late 1980s.

During this time, Furlong was also heavily involved in the horse racing industry as a racehorse trainer and gambler. His most famous bets came in 1991, when he won £2,500,000 in the space of a couple of months.

His first was a 33/1 (+3300) longshot in Ireland, before following that up with a £300,000 bet on his horse Destriero at odds of 6/1 (+600) to win the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

Read More:

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, and then studied for a NCTJ Diploma in Sports Journalism at Sportsbeat in Manchester.

Niklas “Lena900” Astedt enjoyed a remarkable Sunday at PokerStars, helping himself to almost $130,000 thanks to a brace of impressive victories in high stakes tournaments. Astedt took down the $5,200 Titans Event, won the $1,050 Sunday Supersonic, and was the runner-up in the $1,050 High Roller. What a guy.

The bulk of Astedt’s Sunday haul stemmed from him coming out on top of the star-studded $5,200 Titans Event. Sixty-eight of the world’s best poker tournament players bought in and fought it out tooth and nail for a slice of the $340,000 prize pool. Each of the nine finalists locked in no less than $10,000, with the champion, Astedt, taking home $91,769.

Talal “raidalot” Shakerchi fell in ninth for $10,600 before Marius “DEX888” Gierse ran out of steam and chip, falling in eighth for $12,135. Then came the demise of Ognyan “cocojamb0” Dimov in seventh, a finish good for $16,202.

Sixth place and $21,632 went to Canada’s “Stumpfed.” The Canadian later went on to win the $1,050 Sunday Warm-Up for more than $19,000.

Michael “imluckbox” Addamo and Yuri “theNERDguy” Dzivielevski were the next casualties. The talented duo padded their bankrolls with $28,881 and $38,560, respectively. Heads-up was set when Christian “WATnlos” Rudolph bowed out in third, doing so with $51,482 in tow.

Astedt locked horns with “SerVlaMin” heads-up, and the writing was on the wall for the latter. Astedt rarely loses when he finds himself in a one-on-one battle, and this was not one of those rare times. The Swedish superstar eliminated SerVlaMin in second place, and reeled in $91,769 for his victory, resigning the runner-up to a $68,735 consolation prize.

$5,200 Titans Event Final Table Results

PokerStars Qualifier Razvan Belea Cruises to Victory in 2023 EPT Paris €5,300 Main Event (€1,170,000)

Victory Number Two for Astedt

The $1,050 Sunday Supersonic saw a compact field of 39 entrants create a $39,618 prize pool, which Astedt claimed $15,544 from. Only the top five finishers received a slice of the pot, with the Czech grinder Vojta “vojta555cz Skalak helping himself to the $2,859 fifth-place prize.

Hungarian poker legend Peter “Belabacsi” Traply busted in fourth for $4,366, and “zerodeda” fell in third for $6,667, which left Astedt heads-up against the aforementioned “Stumpfed.” Again, Astedt got the job done at the business end of the tournament and collected $15,544, leaving Stumpfed to bank a $10,180 second-place payout.

$1,050 Sunday Supersonic Final Table Results

Massive Value in our PokerNews Home Games on PokerStars

Selected Other PokerStars Results

*includes bounty payments

Dane Comes Out on Top in the PartyPoker Grand

Denmark’s Oskar Massesson won the $1,050 Grand tournament online at PartyPoker this weekend, leaving a host of stellar names in his wake. Seventh-five players turned out for this event, creating a $76,400 prize pool as a result.

The likes of Juan Carlos Vecino, Jonathan Proudfoot, Ioannis Angelou-Konstas, and Patrick Lauber navigated their way to the final table, but fell short of claiming top honors. Simon Mattsson, another Swedish online great, busted in third for $8,511, which was the final four-figure score.

Heads-up saw Massesson and Finland’s Tomi Brouk battle for supremacy. However, the heads-up duo decided to end the tournament with a deal, with both talking home more than $15,000 for their efforts.

$1,050 The Grand Final Table Results

*reflects a heads-up deal

What PKO Tournaments Can You Play at PartyPoker For Less Than $5?

Selected Other PartyPoker Results

*includes bounty payments

888poker Mystery Bounty Festival Continues Producing Big Wins

The Mystery Bounty Festival at 888poker continues producing some impressive results as players embrace this exciting tournament format. 888poker is still the only online poker site that runs daily Mystery Bounty events, and this ongoing festival is the first of its kind.

The 14th numbered event of the inaugural Mystery Bounty Festival was a $55 buy-in affair that drew in 1,074 entrants. That bumper crowd ensured the $50,000 guarantee was surpassed by $3,700.

They may have finished in tenth place and narrowly missed out on a final table appearance, but Finland’s “Jackpot1337” actually won the second-most prize money. Jackpot1337 hit the jackpot by capturing the $5,000 top mystery bounty prize, which when combined with their $344 score and another $521 worth of scalps, meant they collected $5,866 from this event; only the champion won more money!

That champion was none other than “JovemNerd94” of Brazil, who saw their $55 investment swell to $6,126 in total. The Brazilian defeated “geirto” heds-up, leaving the second-place finisher to receive a $4,036 payday.

MB Festival #14 – $50,000 Mystery Bounty 8-Max Final Table Results

888poker Ambassador Vivian Saliba Falls Short of Mystery Bounty Festival Title

Other 888poker Mystery Bounty Festival Results

Check out the results from the 15 numbered events that have concluded since the start of the Mystery Bounty Festival; there are some most impressive scores.

You have the chance to win a slice of the largest prize pool of the series so far today, February 27. Three more flights for the $109 buy-in $150,000 guaranteed 8-Max event remain, taking place at 3:30 p.m. GMT, 5:00 p.m. GMT, and 6:00 p.m. GMT, with Day 2 starting at 8:00 p.m. GMT. PokerNews will have a full recap of the $150,000 event’s final table for you on February 28.

Corazon de Leon. Lionheart. The King of Bling-Bling. Y2J.

In the world of wrestling few names are as big as Chris Jericho, who is also the lead vocalist for the heavy metal band Fozzy. Jericho has been wrestling for more than three decades having performed for ECW, WCW, and WWE, where he became a six-time world champion. He’s also been on Dancing with the Stars and more recently The Masked Singer. Nowadays, Jericho is one of the biggest names on All Elite Wrestling (AEW).

In addition to wrestling, Jericho is also a New York Times best-selling author and host of the popular Talk is Jericho podcast. Last year, bracelet winner and PokerNews Executive Editor US Chad Holloway read one of Jericho’s best-selling books, The Best in the World, and tweeted about the parallels he saw between the sports entertainment world and the poker industry.

Coincidentally, that tweet caught the attention of Jericho, who invited the longtime poker writer to discuss it further on an episode of Talk is Jericho, which recently dropped.

What to Expect

In the episode, titled “You Gotta Known When to Hold’em – The World Series of Poker,” Jericho and Holloway engage in a nearly one-hour conversation about poker. Unlike in the PokerNews Podcast, where Holloway and co-hosts Jesse Fullen and Connor Richards often dive deep into the game, the Talk is Jericho show is geared more towards introducing and explaining poker to a mainstream audience.

Along the way, Jericho asks pointed questions to familiarize both himself and his audience with poker, from how games actually work to different variants. They also talk about the similarities between the poker and wrestling worlds such as lifestyle, being on the road, and the need to reinvent oneself every now and then.

Also, Holloway shares a story about his favorite childhood wrestler, Disco Inferno, who inspired his online screen name “Disco Chad.” As fate would have it, Disco Inferno (real name Glenn Gilbertti) is not only a friend of Jericho but also introduced him to his wife. Oh, and did we mention that Disco Inferno is a poker aficionado based in Las Vegas who has been spotted at the World Series of Poker (WSOP)?

WCW Wrestler Disco Inferno Talks Poker, Daily Deepstack, and More!

Jericho at the WSOP?

While Jericho isn’t a poker player, there’s a chance fans might see him at the 2023 WSOP, which runs May 30-July 28 at Horseshoe Las Vegas, as days before it’s set to begin, Jericho is likely to be in Las Vegas.

That’s because, in a recent interview with Mark Hoke of the wrestling-focused The Mark Hoke Show, AEW President Tony Khan confirmed that AEW’s “Double or Nothing” PPV would be returning to Sin City during Memorial Day weekend. It’s a strong bet that Jericho will be wrestling, so what are the chances he’ll make his way across The Strip to check out the WSOP, or at least its setup in the days leading up to the first tournament?

Well, PokerNews has extended an invitation and let’s just say “The Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla” expressed some interest. As such, we’ll definitely try to make it happen when the time comes!

Until then, we encourage you to listen to the latest episode of Talk is Jericho, and if you do, we’ll echo what Jericho himself might say… “You just made the list!”

Click here to hear Chad Holloway on Talk is Jericho!

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit online series on the WSOP.com poker site in New Jersey and Nevada is underway, and there have already been five winners, all first timers.

A WSOP Circuit ring is one of the most coveted pieces of jewelry in poker, and they aren’t only won at a land-based casino anymore. Online poker has changed the game significantly and dozens of rings are handed out to those who take down Circuit tournaments on WSOP.com.

In this specific series, which began Feb. 17 and will end Feb. 28, there will be a total of 12 players securing one of those shiny pieces of jewelry. Let’s take a look at how the series has gone up to this date.

New Jersey Online Poker Revenue for 2022

Rudy Cadenas Gets it Started with a Circuit Win

Event #1 of the NV/NJ online Circuit series was $300 No-Limit Hold’em Knockout Freezeout, which meant players could only buy-in once. Rudy Cadenas of Las Vegas made the most of his one permitted bullet by taking it down for $10,635.

Cadenas beat out Jeffrey Dobrin, a 2020 WSOP bracelet winner and three-time Circuit ring winner, heads-up to take it down. Dobrin, who also resides in Las Vegas, received $8,025. Katie Lindsay also notably reached the final table, taking fifth place for $3,295.

WSOP NJ/NV Online Circuit Event #1 Final Table Results

Close Call for Garry Gates

Garry Gates, a former poker media member, took fourth place for $3 million in the 2019 WSOP Main Event. He also won a Circuit ring in Aruba that same year. In Event #2 of the current WSOP.com online series — $500 No-Limit Hold’em 8-Max ($100,000 guaranteed) — he almost won another ring.

Gates took second place for $20,697. The only player the Henderson, Nevada resident lost out to was Shaun Goodman, who was playing from New Jersey. Goodman, a first-time ring winner, received $29,002. Giuseppe Pantaleo, who finished fourth in Event #1, reached consecutive final tables, this one a $7,710 score for fifth place.

WSOP NJ/NV Online Circuit Event #2 Final Table Results

What Are The Best New Jersey Online Poker Sites?

Michael Hauptman Wins First Ring

Michael Hauptman won his first Circuit ring on Feb. 19 in Event #3: $100 No-Limit Hold’em Monster Stack ($100,000 guaranteed). He took home the top prize in the field of $15,480. In second place was Michael Reisman, and he received $11,290.

The one-day event brought out a large field with the champion earning nearly 155 times the buy-in. Hauptman is listed from Los Angeles, California.

WSOP NJ/NV Online Circuit Event #3 Final Table Results

Jason Somerville Runs Deep

Gennady Krolik was the champion in Event #4: $215 No-Limit Hold’em 8-Max ($50,000 guaranteed), and he beat a brutally tough final table that included poker stars Jason Somerville, Daniel Buzgon, and Adam Hendrix.

Krolik won $20,177 for first place, beating out Jariah Waring ($14,602) heads-up for the ring. Somerville, who doesn’t play poker as much these days as he used to, finished fourth for $7,699. Ben Abrahams, aka “chaipoker,” a long-time grinder in Las Vegas card rooms and on WSOP.com, finished in third for $10,627, just two spots away from his first Circuit ring.

WSOP NJ/NV Online Circuit Event #4 Final Table Results

Joseph Cheong Deep in Another Tournament

Joseph Cheong added another deep run in a poker tournament — Event #5: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller 6-Max ($125,000 guaranteed). The three-time Circuit ring and one-time WSOP bracelet winner finished in second place for $32,426.

Cheong’s run was impressive but quite as impressive as Brian Gates, the last player standing in the tournament. Gates received $45,279 for winning his first ever World Series of Poker piece of jewelry.

WSOP NJ/NV Online Circuit Event #5 Final Table Results

The sixth-largest PokerStars European Poker Tour Main Event in history has crowned a winner at the Hyatt Regency Paris Etoile. Out of a field of 1,606 entries in the 2023 EPT Paris €5,300 Main Event, PokerStars online qualifier Razvan Belea claimed the biggest portion of the €7,708,800 prize pool after defeating Sweden’s Peter Jorgne in heads-up play.

Coming into the final day as the chip leader, the Romanian with $1.25 million in MTT cashes on PokerStars, Belea remained ahead of his final four opponents all the way to continue a remarkable run throughout the last couple of days. He held the top spot after Day 4 and 5, never surrendering the top spot on the leaderboard during an action-filled grand finale.

It was the first EPT Main Event title for a poker player from Romania, as Belea finished one spot higher than Dany Parlafes at 2015 EPT Deauville when the popular tour visited France for the last time. His trademark victory came with a payday of €1,170,000 while Jorgne had to settle for a consolation prize of €780,100, picking up by far his biggest cash on the live poker circuit.

The final day also featured the red-hot running Fabrice Bigot, Brian Delaney and Henri Kasper. Since July 2021, Bigot notched three victories in the French capital before coming up just short of the final table in the 2022 EPT Prague Main Event, finishing in 11th place for €74,950.

Final Table Results 2023 EPT Paris €5,300 Main Event

Belea started his poker journey grinding freerolls to build a bankroll and already participated in several EPT Main Events before earning his entry to this one via a $530 buy-in satellite on PokerStars.

“That this is unreal, that it couldn’t happen like this. I mean, yeah, it’s all I ever dreamed of since I started to play poker. I was watching all the time EPTs, have played a couple, and now I am here, it is an unbelievable feeling, I don’t know what to say … I am a bit emotional, but anyways, I follow my dream from the beginning and I studied a lot of hours behind the computers. Everything is possible!” Belea told commentator Joe Stapleton in the interview after all was done and dusted.

The Romanian wreaked havoc on the tables during the last two tournament days, sending several opponents to the payout desk and that directly correlates with one of the meanings of his last name translated into English: Trouble. He didn’t really have any of that en route to victory. Belea also had plenty of support from his fellow Romanians back home.

“They gave to me all the support and all the messages,” Belea told PokerNews after the win. “The entire country followed me to the end. And they said, ‘You’re going to win and you’re going to win it’. And I did believe it.”

Action of the Final Day

Only five players returned to their seats on the main feature table and there was a huge discrepancy between the top four on the leaderboard and Henri Kasper, as the Estonian had a mere 11 big blinds and change at his disposal. He got through with some preflop jams while chip leader Belea scooped a significant pot when flopping a full house as Bigot and Delaney clicked it back despite having missed entirely.

Kasper then eventually ran out of chips when his ace-six suited stood no chance against the ace-king of Jorgne. The Swede became the second-biggest stack by some margin only to double Delaney with tens versus kings in a preflop contest. Until the first break, Belea had increased his stack to more than half of the chips in play while Bigot was the shortest stack on a still comfortable 27 big blinds.

The Frenchman continued to get involved in the action and clashed eventually with Delaney when he flopped bottom pair and turned a flush draw. Delaney looked him up with top pair, top kicker, but another club on the river cut down his stack and shifted the momentum once again.

It was the first ever EPT Main Event cash for Delaney, which became a six-figure payday. Belea, in the meanwhile, had a near three-to-one lead over Bigot in second place while Jorgne was not far behind. The two bottom stacks got their chips in the middle soon after and Jorgne had the best of it.

Bigot was denied a victory on home soil when he ran out of chips in a duel of PokerStars online qualifiers but the third-place finish once more confirmed the hot run of the Frenchman in the past two and a half years. He qualified via PokerStars and collected €535,850 for his efforts.

That elimination set up a heads-up duel between Belea and Jorgne with a very comfortable lead for Belea. A rather timid affair unfolded in which Belea retained a two-to-one lead all the way without any major drama.

When the biggest pot of heads-up play suddenly emerged, Jorgne flopped top pair and turned a straight draw. The very same card completed a gutshot straight draw of Belea and Jorgne called his raise before jamming the blank river. There was no snap-call by Belea but the Romanian eventually did come along to emerge as the latest EPT Main Event champion.

This concludes the PokerNews coverage for this flagship tournament. Be sure to return again for more live updates from your favorite poker tournaments around the world.

check out the rest of the ept paris coverage on the pokernews live reporting hub

During Friday night’s marathon stream, the Lodge Live cracked 100,000 YouTube subscribers while the Texas poker room’s owner, Doug Polk, won nearly $500,000.

The game, which started as $200/$400 no-limit hold’em became $500/$1,000 as the drinks kept flowing, featured a stacked lineup that included Ben Lamb, Bill Perkins, Dan “Jungleman” Cates, Keith Tilston, and Robbi Jade Lew.

Lew, who played in three consecutive live-streams at The Lodge Card Club, busted her first $60,000 bullet before rebuying for $40,000. She didn’t erase the entire deficit, but did make up some ground and finished down $36,200. Perkins, who appeared on this week’s High Stakes Poker episode, started off crushing it to the tune of a $200,000 profit before coming back to the pack. Still, he ended the 12-hour session with an $88,000 win.

Cates and Lamb, however, would probably like to forget about their Friday night in Austin, Texas. They were the two biggest losers in the game, in the red by a combined $566,000.

Check out the three most thrilling pots from the memorable live-stream.

Nate Silver Gets Crushed at The Lodge

Brutal Cooler for Robbi

Lew raised from an early position to $3,200 with before Tilston, in the small blind, called with , as did Perkins in the straddle with . The flop came out , just about the most action-packed flop imaginable.

Action checked around and Tilston hit his straight when the appeared. Not wanting to slow-play, he fired out a bet of $5,000 before Perkins made an interesting raise to $15,000. Lew then moved all in for $64,800 with a set, and Tilston made the call having her covered. Perkins, of course, folded his pair.

The two players remaining in the hand agreed to run it twice for the $155,800 pot, neither run-out pairing the board, which meant Tilston took down the entire pot.

Polk’s Straight Flush Cracks “Jungleman’s” Queens

This hand began with Polk raising to $2,000 initially with and then calling when Cates three-bet him to $7,000 with . The flop came out , safe for “Jungleman” at first glance, although he had to be a little concerned with some backdoor draws.

The Lodge co-owner checked and then called a bet of $5,500 to see the on the turn give him a straight flush draw. He again checked, inducing his opponent to bet, this time for $21,500, leaving $58,500 behind.

Polk took a moment to ponder his move before announcing “all in.” Cates didn’t take long before calling with the best hand at the time, and they agreed to run it twice. On the first river run-out, the completed the straight flush and then the gave Polk just a boring old straight the second time, and he scooped the full $185,800 pot.

Texas Lawmaker Gene Wu Clarifies Poker Bill: Card Room Ban Not Proposed

Polk Can’t Decide What to Do So He Flips a Coin

When in doubt at the poker table, just flip a coin. That’s exactly what Polk opted for when faced a tough river decision against Perkins, whom he’d recently lost $200,000 to in a year-long body fat loss prop bet.

With $79,400 in the pot on a board of , Polk, with , faced a bet of $25,000 from Perkins, who was kind-of-sort-of bluffing with .

That’s a tough decision to make even, so Polk understandably went into the tank. After a few minutes, he decided that he would let the flip of a button determine his play. If it landed on one side, he’d call and the other side he’d fold. The Upswing Poker founder let it be known that his word was binding, so Perkins comfortably turned over his cards to show. We won’t spoil this one for you so you can watch the following video to see how it all played out.

On Saturday, March 4, One Step Closer Foundation is joining forces with PokerGO and ARIA for the All In for CP Charity Event, which will be held inside PokerGO Studio (just one day after the Global Poker Awards will take place in the same space).

The event costs $1,000 to enter – 50% will go to the charity and the other 50% to the prize pool – is extremely limited due in no small part to who will be in attendance. There will also be $500 rebuys and a $500 add-on for those interested.

Hollywood actors Ted Danson, Cheryl Hines, and Kevin Pollak are all slated to participate, as are MMA fighter Roy “Big Country” Nelson and 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champ Joe Cada. Jessa Hinton will also be featured as the red-carpet interviewer. Those interested in participating can register at 1scf.org.

Click here to register for the One Step Closer Charity Event!

Founded in 2007 by Jacob Zalewski and the late Sam Simon, the One Step Closer Foundation has raised approximately $1.5 million via poker charity events. The latest tournament marks its post-pandemic return as the last iteration was back in 2019.

“It was very hard to get it going again things got a lot stricter since COVID,” Zalewski, who battles cerebral palsy himself, told PokerNews. “We had to get reapproved in Nevada and get the green light from NGC. That was a fun experience!”

He added: “While a lot of organization’s ultimate goal is to find a cure for the affliction, we strive to help ease the lives of those with Cerebral Palsy and various disabilities now. Of course, we hope that one day we’ll be instrumental in finding a cure, but there’s so much to do in the meantime. One step closer!”

Tournament Information

• WHEN: Saturday, March 4, 2023 at 5:00 pm
• WHERE: PokerGO Studio at Aria Resort & Casino- 3730 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89158
• MEDIA: Red Carpet: 3:00 pm; Check-in: 3:30 pm, Tournament: 4 pm
• NOTE: There will be $500 rebuys and a $500 add-on for those interested

“Jacob is quite an inspiration,” Hines told PokerNews during a previous event. The Curb Your Enthusiasm actress continued: “I have a nephew who has Cerebral Palsy, he’s been in a wheelchair since he was born, and I know what a challenge that is, not only for the individual but for all the loved ones that support them. For Jacob to create an organization to help other people with CP is just amazing.”

For more information, follow @1scf on Twitter.

Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Cheryl Hines Takes to the Felt for Charity

_{Images courtesy of 1SCF.}

Executive Editor U.S.

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

Right now, online poker players in Michigan are battling for gold rings. That’s because the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit Online is well underway. The series actually kicked off back on February 17 and is slated to run through the end of the month (Tuesday, Feb. 28).

One of the biggest stories to come out of the series at around the midway point was that of Dakota Britton of Carney, Michigan. He not only won back-to-back events, but it marked his third WSOP gold ring of the year on WSOP MI.

Back on January 13, he won the Online Circuit Event #8: $15,000 GTD NLH Turbo Deepstack for $6,281. On February 18, he then won the latest Online Circuit Event #2: $20,000 GTD NLH PKO 8-Max for $6,783, and the very next day took down Event #3: $35,000 GTD NLH 8-Max for $9,812.

What Are The Best Michigan Online Poker Sites?

Peter “petey_boy” Hotaling Nabs First Gold Ring

On Thursday, February 23, the $215 buy-in Event #7: $20,000 GTD NLH Double Stack had 110 players rebuy 35 times, which surpassed the guarantee by creating a $29,000 prize pool. After more than six hours of play, it was Peter “petey_boy” Hotaling coming out on top to claim the $7,145.60 top prize and his first gold ring.

“I almost didn’t even play last night because I was scared we might lose power due to a bad ice storm we had,” Hotaling admitted to PokerNews. “As a guy that played online for a living pre-Black Friday – I found a way back to the game once it got legalized in Michigan – this win means a lot.”

Hotaling has been playing poker since 2005 and with his dream always being able to win some WSOP hardware. Now, thanks to WSOP.com being available in Michigan, his dream came true.

“Very happy to finally win a ring and hope to win a bracelet next,” he said. In addition to the prize money and a ring, Hotaling is now eligible for the Tournament of Champions this summer, which he fully intends to play.

“The biggest hand for me was at the final table with five left. Blinds were moving quick and everyone had pretty even stacks,” Hotaling explained. “My opponent was playing pretty wild and opened the cutoff/ I decided to flat on the button. The flop was , he bet 71k into 210k, and I put in a small raise to 162k since stacks were so shallow. He called and the turn was the . He checked and I checked behind because he had been playing pretty crazy and I had around a pot-sized bet left. I thought he may try and bluff it off on the river if I checked. The river was the and he did shove. I snapped and he had off. This hand gave me a big chip lead and I never looked back.”

WSOP MI Online Circuit Event #7 Final Table Results

Timothy “BMFS33” Bishop Claims 5th WSOP Gold Ring

The day before on Wednesday, the $215 buy-in Event #6: $15,000 GTD PLO Deepstack 6-Max had 74 players rebuy 32 times, which created a $21,200 prize pool. That was paid out to the top dozen finishers, and among those to cash but fall short of the final table was Daniel “DrDadPoker” Schill (10th – $530), Stephen “Joker49024” Vanwyhe (11th – $530), and Jared “KChimaev” Martin (12th – $530).

In the end, it was Timothy “BMFS33” Bishop defeating Michael “LazyGambler” Marsh in heads-up play to not only claim the $5,936 top prize, but also what was his fifth WSOP gold ring with three others also coming from WSOP MI last year.

WSOP MI Online Circuit Event #6 Final Table Results

A Look at All the 2022 WSOP Online Michigan Bracelet Winners

WSOP MI Online Circuit Results Thus Far

Four more rings are on tap over the next four days, each starting at 7 p.m. ET. On Saturday, there’s the $320 buy-in Event #9: $20,000 GTD NLH PKO 6-Max while on Sunday there will be the $525 buy-in Event #10: $50,000 GTD Main Event.

On Monday, the $215 buy-in Event #11: $15,000 GTD NLH PKO will take place while Tuesday’s $500 buy-in Event #12: $30,000 GTD NLH Big $500 will round out the series.

Here’s a look at those who’ve captured gold rings thus far in the series:

Executive Editor U.S.

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

After 13 levels of play, Day 3 of the €3,000 Mystery Bounty at PokerStars European Poker Tour Paris concluded with Humberto Lopes Galindo crowned champion. Galindo despatched Fouad Baali in heads-up play to capture the title, trophy, and the €243,656 designated for the winner. As well as being awarded the lion’s share from the regular prize pool, Galindo claimed an additional €15,000 in mystery bounty prizes for a final score of €258,656.

The tournament was heavily attended, recording 787 entries. Those players generated a total prize purse of €2,115,456, split into two prize pools. The regular prize pool contained €1,328,456, while the rest was tucked away inside the mystery bounty envelopes.

The biggest mystery bounty prizes were €75,000 and €35,000, of which there were two each. Danut Chisu was the first player to pull the big one, which he did on Day 2. Aleksandar Tomovic and Conor Bergin each pulled the €35,000 prize. The final big bounty went to Joachim Haraldstad, who claimed the delightful payday late on Day 3.

Final Table Results

Day 3 Recap

Twenty-two players returned for Day 3, and the action was fast and furious from the get-go, with nine players eliminated in the first three levels of the day. PokerStars Ambassador Lex Veldhuis was just one player to hit the rail in the early stages. Sunho Yoo and Pascal Heinrichs had Broadway, while Veldhuis had a pair of aces. Yoo and Heinrichs split his bounty chip and shared the €1,000 prize Vedhuis’ bounty yielded.

His two eliminators would soon follow him out the door along with the start-of-day chip leader Martin Stausholm and Georgi Sandev. More players then headed to the wrong side of the rail to bring about the final table.

Ireland’s Christopher Dowling looked like he would make his third final table of EPT Paris after achieving the feat in the €1,100 FPS Main Event and a Pot-Limit Omaha side event. However, his pocket sevens were bested by the king-queen of Natan Chauskin to leave him short. He was all-in the next hand but was flushed away by Gerard Rubiralta.

The final table then kicked off with a double bust-out. Galindo’s pocket queens held out against the pair of nines held by Fabian Niederreiter and the ace-king of Jan Bednar, who finished in ninth and eighth place, respectively.

Rubiralta, the runaway chip leader for much of the day, then doubled up the likes of Jonathan Proudfoot and Galindo to reduce his advantage when the players returned from the second break of the day.

Shortly after, Chauskin was eliminated in 7th place after losing a massive flip to Haraldstad, which netted the latter the chip lead. Chauskin’s pocket tens were ahead against the Norwegian’s ace-king until a king appeared on the river.

Thirty minutes later, Galindo and Proudfoot were all in from the blinds, with the latter at risk of elimination. Proudfoot’s dominated ace could not improve against Galindo’s ace-jack. He collected €49,300 for his sixth-place finish, and a further €17,000 in bounties for his biggest-ever live tournament cash.

Or Suliman then became the big stack after he felted Haraldstad. The former had pocket kings and was up against ace-queen. The pocket pair remained best on the runout. However, Suliman’s time at the top of the chip counts was soon over as Rubiralta flopped two pair against his ace-king.

With Martin Kabrhel sitting on the sidelines holding eight bounty chips, Haraldstad returned to the room to redeem the six bounty tokens he was holding. The first four envelopes were all of the €1,000 variety, but the fifth envelope was the big prize of €75,000. Haraldstad and his friend burst into excitement while Kabrhel wondered if he made the right choice by waiting to draw.

The chip lead would then hop back and forth between Galindo and Rubiralta before the elimination of Suliman. Rubiralta once reached the peak of the chip counts after his king-queen out-flopped the Israeli’s ace-seven. However, the Spaniard then found himself next out of the door after losing a 17.1 million chip pot to Galindo. Baali then finished him off.

The Frenchman was inactive for large parts of the day and managed to ladder up without doing too much. He found premium hands at the right time. On the second hand of heads-up play, he doubled into the lead with king-jack.

However, Galindo soon regained the chip lead after grinding Baali down, and on the final hand of the night, Baali jammed with deuces and was called by king-ten. Galindo paired up on the flop and held to see out the victory.

check out the rest of the ept paris coverage on the pokernews live reporting hub

Editor & Live Reporter

Calum has been a part of the PokerNews team since September 2021 after working in the UK energy sector. He played his first hand of poker in 2017 and immediately fell in love with the game. Calum’s proudest poker achievement is winning the only tournament he has ever played in Las Vegas, the prestigious $60 Flamingo evening event.