John Colville, Director of Poker for the Golden Nugget, reports the signing of a contract with Poker Player Newspaper to sponsor a new annual tournament— the 2012 Poker Player of the Year. The event will be held on July 4th, Independence Day, at the Golden Nugget Casino in Las Vegas, as part of their Grand Poker Series. The total Buy-in and Entry fee is to be $600, with no re-buys. Seating is limited to 700 players, so early sign-ups to guarantee your seat are recommended. The event is scheduled just before the main event of the WSOP begins, so a large number of poker tournament players will be in town.

The final table of Beau Rivage’s Million Dollar Heater tournament came to an exciting end with former November Niner John Dolan walking away with the trophy, the bracelet and $336,105. The final table started at 2 p.m. and did not end until nearly 11 p.m. as most players had deep stacks with the new structures introduced for this event. Dolan came into the final table as the chip leader, and he had to fade a stacked final table that included WPT Champion Randal Flowers, WSOP bracelet winner Ryan Welch and Lock Poker Pro Matt Stout.

 Dolan eliminated four of his opponents in a row on his way to the win. He had a little luck too. Against third-place finisher Kirill Kruglov, Dolan called his shove with K-J only to see the Russian table Q-Q. But Dolan hits a king on the flop, ending Kruglov’s Moscow nights.

With Todd Brunson, Layne Flack, Dennis Phillips, Scotty Nguyen, Tom McEvoy, Men “The Master” Nguyen, Ylon Schwartz and Chad Brown, who account for 23 WSOP bracelets, 298 WSOP cashes, five Circuit rings and almost $24 million in career earnings, the Choctaw main event field was a star-studded cast.
But none of these poker luminaries made it to the final table. Instead, the title went to 44-year-old Abraham Araya, a laid-off airline flight mechanic, who has more than made up for his job loss with his poker winnings. He won Choctaw’s T.J. Cloutier Poker Challenge last October for $83,659. Now he won $270,380. “Right now I can’t believe it. It didn’t sink in yet,” Araya said moments after his victory. “I can’t tell you how amazing this feeling is. It’s four or five years salary for an airline flight mechanic.”
When play was fourhanded, Jack Miller moved all-in with K-J and was called by Daniel Lowery’s A-7. A six-high straight ran out on the board, but Lowery’s seven gave him a higher straight and knocked Miller out in fourth place, which was good for $92,252.

By Barbara Rogers

 He’s kind, friendly with fans, and loves sharing his views on poker. That would be Greg “Fossilman” Raymer ( @fossilman) , of course—the celebrity player of choice, made by Delaware Park’s poker room manager Kevin Castora, who wouldn’t have it any other way. Raymer will host the Delaware Park Classic.

 Delaware Park has made a major mark on the Northeast poker scene. Not content with only attracting East Coast players, Castora is constantly striving for bigger, exciting, and innovative tournaments that are designed to attract players from all across the country.

By Barbara Rogers

 Back by popular demand, thanks to Seneca Gaming and Entertainment, Deep Stacks Poker Tour rolls into Seneca Niagara February 14 through February 19. Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi and Mike “The Mouth” Matusow head up the popular crew. John Wood and his hard working Seneca Niagara staff prepare for the first ever Texas hold’em show down to be televised in Western New York. The events promise plenty of action and fun, including a couples-only, no-limit hold’em tournament. See the entire schedule on page 11 of this issue.
 

Viktor “Isildur1” Blom Wins $1,240,000 at PokerStars Super High Roller Event  Viktor Blom, a 20-year-old Swede who plays online as “Isildur1” and is known for having won and lost sums exceeding $1 million in a single session, won his first major live event when he captured the PCA $100,000 buy-in super high roller tournament.

 Blom bested the 30-strong field to win a massive $1,254,400 first prize as well as a stunning bracelet worth over $20,000 from official bracelet sponsor Shamballa Jewels.

 Blom, who earned his legendary online status in high stakes heads-up cash games, said, “This was more fun than winning the same amount in a cash game. I’m not used to making it this far in a tournament. I didn’t expect it. It feels great—very different to playing online.”

John Dibella, a 43-year-old stock trader from New York who came to the PCA to play some of the smaller events won a $1,000 satellite into the $10,000 main event and parlayed his good fortune into a $1,775,000 payday. Dibella, who hails from Westchester, NY, outlasted a field of 1,072 to take the title, saying, “I make more money at poker than as a day trader but I’m not going to call myself a professional just yet. I’m a recreational player, but maybe I’ll take it a bit more seriously from now on. It’s definitely much safer than my day job!”

 This year’s PCA has featured more than 40 events and attracted thousands of poker players from all over the world, including Viktor “Isildur1” Blom won his first major live title when he took down the $100,000 Super High Roller at the start of the festival for $1,254,400.

The period between mid- December and the New Year is really a short offseason for tournament poker. Even so, there were still a few results to report on, and both involved a “palm” theme. The Epic Poker League’s big event took place at the Palms in Las Vegas, and you can read about it right here in Poker Player Newspaper, while the other Holiday season tournament occurred a continent away, at Florida’s Palm Beach Kennel Club.

 Scott Zakheim, of Davie FL, took home first place money of $84,712 at the main event, a $1,000 + $80 no-limit hold’em tournament that attracted a field of 397 players to the sunny sands of Palm Beach. In garnering his victory, Zakheim defeated Jason Mullen heads-up, to send the second-place finisher home with $52,353. Third place went to Robert Hume, who earned $38,255.

Philadelphia’s Chris Klodnicki, who made his bones winning six figures in a World Series of Poker circuit event at Atlantic City’s Borgata, showed that he doesn’t need home felt advantage to take down the money, as he won the Epic Poker League’s third main event of Season 1 at the Palms in Las Vegas. He earned $801,680 for his win.

For those without New Year’s plans this year, don’t worry. For those who had them, it may be time to make a change.

 That’s because the World Series of Poker and the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles are joining forces for the first time for an official WSOP Circuit stop at the famed venue. There will be 12 official ring events on the schedule and a total of 34 different poker tournaments being contested. The event begins January 1, and runs through January 19. “With the WSOP Circuit Tour breaking records at every stop, it was finally the right time to come to Los Angeles for a signature mid-season event,” said WSOP executive director Ty Stewart. "We’re pleased to enter a multi-year agreement with the Bicycle Casino for what is certain to be one of our largest annual events."