Pokerstars.com guarantee £1 million prize pool for EPT London. The fifth season of the European Poker Tour gets into action in Barcelona in September, but Pokerstars.com, which sponsors and runs the tour, announced that they will add £250,000 to the London event, which takes place at the Grosvenor Victoria casino in early October. They are also guaranteeing the first prize at a staggering £1,000,000.
Two years ago, when journalist-turned-professional poker player Victoria Coren won this event, the first prize was half a million. This year's event starts just as the WSOPE is coming to a conclusion and is likely to feature many of the high profile players who will compete for the bracelets. There is also a strong schedule of supporting events being laid on by Jeff Leigh, the legendary card room manager of the Victoria casino. These take place from September 24 and include £1,500 no-limit hold'em and £1,000 pot-limit Omaha events during the weekend of the September 27-28.
GUKPT Luton. After a three-month summer vacation, the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour finally got back on the road during the first week of August, when the sixth leg of the 2008 season took place in Luton. British players had clearly been suffering withdrawal symptoms from the UK's largest poker tour as a larger than expected field of 376 players took part.
Among the starters were retired former England soccer player Teddy Sheringham and darts player Wayne "Hawaii 501" Mardle. The pair had mixed fortunes as Sheringham was one of the first players to be knocked out of the tournament. But Mardle checked out in a respectable seventh place for a £14,100 payday. The four day tournament was eventually won by 22-year old Sam Trickett from Nottingham. Sam is one of the UK's rising stars and this success comes just weeks after he cashed for $245,000 at the World Series of Poker, finishing fourth in the $5,000, six-handed, nolimit hold'em event. He has played poker for just four years, but hopes that his bankroll boost from these two great results will keep him in the game for many years to come.
Freedom of Speech Restrictions at Dusk Till Dawn. You may have heard about the Nottingham based poker club called Dusk Till Dawn, owned by local entrepreneur Rob Yong. The club opened almost a year ago after three years of detailed planning and was hailed as the best venue in the UK for poker. It holds 45 state of the art tables, a VIP room and is conveniently situated-for many of its patrons-next door to a lap dancing club in an industrial area on the outskirts of town.
Nottingham is most famously known for Robin Hood, the folklore hero who stole from the rich to give to the poor. However, the Rob who owns this club has been criticised by some for the way he runs it, most notably for a high rake in cash games and expensive teas and coffees. The new poker Sheriff of Nottingham has started to lay down the law about what can and cannot be said publicly about his club. He recently banned one of his customers for complaining about dealing standards and the general level of service in the club. On poker forum blondepoker. com Rob outlined his autocratic rules by saying "If you criticise Dusk Till Dawn and I don't know you or don't like you, you will get barred."
Whatever happened to free speech? I may be at risk of getting banned myself merely for reporting it.
