The Weekly Turbo: European Poker Tour Breaks Record, Liv Boeree Signs with PokerStars, and More
Broken Record
Last year, the PokerStars European Poker Tour London broke the record for the biggest live poker tournament ever held in the U.K. This year, a new record was set. Combining the numbers from Day 1a and Day 1b of the 2010 EPT London, the total field came out to 848, smashing last year's record of 730. Not only that, but this event is also one of the biggest EPT tournaments ever held since the Tour began in 2004.
PokerNews is at the Hilton Metropole bringing you all the action from the felt each day as the field shrinks, and we find out who will take home the title and the £900,000 first-place prize.
We have just announced three $15,000 Sunday Million Freerolls and three $2,000 PCA Freerolls with PokerStars. You can win a ticket to a tournament with a life-changing prize pool for free, but only with Club PokerNews!
New Face on the Roster
When Liv Boeree stopped wearing the UB patch midway through the 2010 World Series of Poker this summer, everyone knew something was up. We were all just waiting to see which direction the wind would take her. If she hadn't already made a name for herself in the poker world, her recent win at the PokerStars European Poker Tour San Remo cemented her place in the history books. Well, the mystery of what patch Liv will be wearing has been solved: she has joined Team PokerStars.
"It's more of an honor than I can really describe. It's something I've been aspiring towards ever since I learned about the world of poker, and I am over the moon to be achieving such a huge personal goal," she said in regards to joining the Team. "I hope to grow my game as far as possible by studying and playing as much as I can. I'll also hopefully get to use the wonderful resource of the other Team Pros - some of the greatest poker minds in the game! Hopefully I'll use this to produce further results and make the Team proud!"
Congratulations Liv!
Read more at the PokerStars Blog.
Back in the Slammer
Michael Olaf Schütt, a Naples, Florida man who pled guilty to operating an illegal online poker payment processing company was put back in jail because of concerns by his estranged wife, Jennifer Sherman, that he would flee. The court seized almost $2.5 million from his numerous bank accounts.
Schütt was out on $100,000 bond and was helping federal authorities investigate a multimillion dollar money-laundering operation. According to federal court records, Sherman "indicated she was in fear, was afraid her husband was going to flee, and wished to be removed from the defendant’s bond." Schütt's December sentencing was moved up to November 8.
Read more at MarcoNews.com.
Winning in London
Although the headlines we were expecting fromAnnette Obrestad at the 2010 World Series of Poker this summer didn't happen, that doesn't mean that she doesn't still have it. The Full Tilt Poker Pro dominated the field in the £5,250 buy-in heads-up event at the European Poker Tour London.
The event, which began on Tuesday, maxed out at its capped 64 players. Among those in the field were Jason Mercier, Barry Greenstein, John Juanda, and Sorel Mizzi. The matches were best of three with the final being a best-of-five match. Obrestad played 16 matches on her way to the title and only lost two. She pocketed a cool £120,000 for the win.
Gloria Balding caught up with Obrestad to discuss her win and how her day is going in the EPT London Main Event.
Blocked in Washington
With the recent ruling in the Washington Supreme Court, which said that the state law banning Internet poker was not in violation of the U.S. Constitution, PokerStars has just announced that it would cease providing Washington residents real-money poker.
In a statement issued by PokerStars Thursday, the company said that "the policy would remain in effect until the law changes or subsequent legal challenges succeed."
"We regret this decision, which will no doubt disappoint our customers in Washington State. However, in all of the jurisdictions where we operate, we are committed to making responsible decisions that are based on a full and considered understanding of the most up-to-date legal advice," the statement continued.
Fortunately for Washington residents, the balance of funds in their accounts are not affected, which means they will still be able to cash out if they need to.
Read the entire statement at PokerStars.com.
Midwest Stop
The World Series of Poker Circuit is hosting its second stop on the 2010-2011 schedule at the Horseshoe Southern Indiana in Elizabeth. Everything kicked off October 2 with a $350 no-limit hold'em event. There are 10 events on the docket for the Circuit stop, which runs through October 12. The $1,600 Main Event gets under way October 10 and on the line is the prize money (obviously), the coveted WSOP-Circuit gold ring, and a seat at the $1 million WSOPC National Championship that will take place in May 2011 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
The reigning champion of the Horseshoe Southern Indiana Circuit event is Gabriel Cook, a 33-year-old high school special education teacher who satellited his way into the event and turned that into over $92,000.
“We are very excited to be hosting our eighth Circuit Event here in Southern Indiana and are planning on this Circuit stop being one of the biggest we have had in years,” poker room manager and tournament director, Jimmy Allen said.
Check out the entire list of events and the rest of the WSOP-Circuit schedule at WSOP.com.
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