Level: 33
Blinds: 100,000/200,000
Ante: 30,000
2015 PokerStars.com EPT Season 11 Malta
€5,300 Main Event
Day: 6
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2015 PokerStars.com EPT Season 11 Malta
Buy-in
€5,000
Prize Pool
€4,340,750
Entries
895
Level
38
Blinds
300,000 / 600,000
Ante
100,000
Level 32
: 80,000/160,000, 20,000 ante
Players are now on a scheduled 20-minute break.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
12,565,000
-1,015,000
|
-1,015,000 |
|
10,245,000
780,000
|
780,000 |
|
||
|
4,040,000
235,000
|
235,000 |
|
||
Level 32
: 80,000/160,000, 20,000 ante
Hand #86: Dominik Panka raised to 325,000 off the button with 
and Valentin Messina defended his big blind with 
. The flop came down 
offering both players something. Panka continued for 400,000 and Messina check-called. The turn was the 
and Messina checked to see Panka fire again, for 800,000. Messina had seen enough and folded. Does Panka know where he is in every spot right now? Hard to argue otherwise.
Hand #87: Messina picked up 
in the small blind and raised to 425,000. Panka folded his big blind.
Hand #88: Panka completed with 
and Jean Montury checked his option with 
. Heads up to a 
flop where Panka bet his top pair to the tune of 175,000. Montury folded.
Hand #89: Montury liked the 
he picked up in the small blind enough to complete. Messina looked down at 
and raised to 410,000. Montury called to see a 
flop where he checked over to Messina who bet 350,000. Montury folded another flop.
Hand #90: Montury had the button this hand and raised to 335,000 with 
. Messina picked up 
in the small blind and three-bet to 860,000. Panka folded from the small blind before Montury four-bet to 2,190,000. Messina put his hands over his mouth as he thought about his move and made the right move in folding.
Hand #91: Action folded to Panka in the small blind where he completed with 
. Montury checked with and a 
flop was delivered. The action was checked to the turn where they did the same again. The river came as the 
and Montury bet 250,000. Panka took off his shades, had a little think, called, nodded and mucked his hand.
Level 32
: 80,000/160,000, 20,000 ante
Hand #81: Valentin Messina opened to 455,000 from the small blind with 
and won the big blind of Dominik Panka and the antes.
Hand #82: Messina opened to 325,000 from the button with 
and Jean Montury called in the big blind with to see a flop of . Montury check-called a continuation bet of 380,000 and the two Frenchmen saw the appear on the turn.
Both players checked and the 
completed the board on the river. Montury now bet 475,000 and Messina double-checked his cards, folded the hands and stared at the board. Ultimately, Messina folded the best hand and was shown the bluff.
Hand #83: Montury limped for 160,000 from the small blind with 
and Messina checked his option in the big blind with . The 
flop provided a flush draw for both players and Messina's bet of 200,000 shut down all further action.
The stats then showed the highest pre flop (74%) and post flop (90%) aggression for Messina out of all three players.
Hand #84: Messina stole Panka's big blind with a raise from the small blind, though he also had a premium hand in 
.
Hand #85: Messina opened to 325,000 from the button and Panka finally found a hand to play with, looking at 
in the small blind. The PokerStars sponsored player three-bet to 850,000 and Montury woke up with one seat over in the big blind. Montury four-bet to 2.085 million and that quickly got Messina out of the way.
Panka started the hand with around 4.7 million in chips and did get away from it.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
13,580,000
580,000
|
580,000 |
|
|
9,465,000
2,565,000
|
2,565,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
3,805,000
-2,965,000
|
-2,965,000 |
|
|
||
Level 32
: 80,000/160,000, 20,000 ante
Hand #75: Dominik Panka received a walk in the big blind.
Hand #76: Panka limped the small blind with the 
and then folded when Jean Montury raised to 470,000 from the big with the 
.
Hand #77: Panka, who held the , raised to 325,000 from the button and took down the blinds and antes.
Hand #78: Montury raised to 325,000 from the button with the 
only to have Valentin Messina three-bet to 925,000 with the 
in the small blind. Panka folded the big blind and then Montury released his hand.
Hand #79: Messina raised to 325,000 from the button with the 
and took down the blinds and antes.
Hand #80: Montury limped the small blind with the and Messina exercised his option to raise from the big. Montury quickly folded.
Level 32
: 80,000/160,000, 20,000 ante
Hand #72: Valentin Messina opened to 425,000 from the small blind with and Dominik Panka called from one seat over, holding the 
. On the flop, Messina made it 450,000 to call and did receive just that.
The on the turn improved the hand of the Frenchman and he fired 800,000, while Panka was now holding an up-and-down straight draw. The PCA10 champion made the call and two then saw the on the river. Messina checked and the Pole checked behind with the French rail cheered again.
Hand #73: Messina opened the action with a raise on the button and he claimed the blinds and antes.
Hand #74: Jean Montury raised to 355,000 from the small blind with 
and Messina found the 
in the big blind, three-betting to 850,000. Montury called and the two Frenchmen saw the flop of .
Messina slid forward eight T-100,000 chips and got check-called to see the appear on the turn. Now Messina slowed down and checked behind. The river paired the board and Montury made a large bet of 3.055 million to win the pot without showdown.
Level 32
: 80,000/160,000, 20,000 ante
It turns out the people behind the scenes at EPT Malta found a button to press which shows the average amount of money earned per player during the EPT Malta Festival. No prizes to guess which country tops the list, as the PokerStars Blog reports.
Level 32
: 80,000/160,000, 20,000 ante
Hand #70: Dominik Panka raised from the button with and took down the blinds and antes.
Hand #71: Action folded to Stefan Schillhabel in the small blind and he moved all in for 2.46 million with . Valentin Messina in the big blind had the 
and had to think about it for a few moments before making the call.
The flop gave some chop outs with running cards, but the on the turn left the German drawing to two outs only. It wasn't meant to be, as the dealer burned and turned the river to send Schillhabel to the rail in 4th place.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
13,000,000
2,460,000
|
2,460,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 32
: 80,000/160,000, 20,000 ante
Poker, by its very nature, is a very selfish game as it’s all about what’s best for you. A lot of the time, players turn up to a European Poker Tour stop solely focused on what they need to achieve to make money. They’re blinkered to an extent and pay attention to what goes on around them, but not much beyond that. If they were to look around more they might notice more than 100 staff, in various roles, working around the clock to make sure that poker players (the customer) can carry on being that way and worry about little else.
Garry Gates used to work in poker media but transitioned into a PokerStars role and now finds himself specifically as the VIP Player Host at live events. High Roller events have become extremely popular tournaments for fans to follow in recent years, either on the live stream or on the various blogs available to read. They don’t just happen magically though. A huge amount of preparation goes into making them a success and the players who take part are the tour’s VIPs, and we all know VIPs require special treatment! That’s where Garry comes in, and by all accounts, he does an excellent job. PokerNews wanted to shine a light on him and find out more about his role and his life in this crazy world we live in.
PokerNews: Briefly explain how you got into the industry and your time at PokerNews.
Gates: Growing up, my extended family took annual trips to Las Vegas and my dad played in a weekly game at the local Elks Club. Gaming (specifically poker) fascinated me, so by the time I turned 21 I'd read every notable poker book and was four-tabling $200 SNGs with ElkY on PokerStars. As my pipe dreams matured, I decided to take the plunge and moved out to Vegas immediately after graduating from college. I was substitute teaching and also enrolled at UNLV’s graduate school as a back-up plan, in case poker didn’t pan out. Fortunately, I met the right people at the right time and landed a blogging gig at PokerNews during the ’07 WSOP; the first year PokerNews had exclusive rights to WSOP live reporting. I was promoted that summer and ultimately became PN’s live reporting manager from August 2007 - January 2010.
The North American Poker Tour (NAPT) was formed and a was a huge success in it's brief existence. Discuss the tour and what role you filled. .
Working on the NAPT, however short-lived, was exciting. Big fields, big names and big parties (I still remember T-Pain performing “I’m on a Boat” at Tao!). I served as the NAPT’s media coordinator (essentially Mad Harper west), liaising with attending media on the ground, writing press releases, managing the tour’s social media pages and producing overnight chip count/table draw data.
You transitioned from the NAPT into you role now. I'm assuming it's closely linked to what John Caldwell and his department at the time (Pro & Celebrity) was doing. A lot of us have mentors who support us when we're trying to develop out careers; explain how important John has been to you.
During my transition from Media Coordinator to Player Liaison I worked with John Caldwell on various PokerStars-sponsored TV shows and events. John and I also worked closely together during our shared time at PokerNews, and if I were to single out one person who’s filled that mentor role in my poker development, it would no doubt be him. Quite honestly, John is a big reason why PokerNews became the industry giant it is. His contributions both there and at PokerStars helped shape industry standards and he’s been an indispensable resource for me throughout my career. I could say a lot more on this topic, but I know John will eventually read this and I don’t want the man’s head to explode of ego boost.
Explain what you have to do on a day-to-day basis at events and how you prepare for them when away from events.
At events, I serve as our VIP players’ primary point of contract on the ground. You can usually find me floating around the Super High Roller/High Roller area or buried in my phone. I’m tasked with making sure our players have a seamless and enjoyable experience while at our events. My day-to-day includes a lot of the same things you would expect from a traditional Vegas casino host. I help with travel and accommodation, wire transfers, general event inquiries, special requests, etc.
Occasionally I also plan events outside the poker room, giving players a chance to experience an EPT stop beyond the walls of the casino. Forging new relationships and strengthening existing ones is also a key element of the job. I manage much of the communication with players on behalf of the company, so building trust is important and that comes with repetitive interaction; a lot of which takes place at events.
The job changes a bit when I’m not on the road. PokerStars is a big company with almost 2,000 employees worldwide in many different departments. My role has synergy with a multitude of other areas including marketing, business development, security, registrations, TV, pro and celebrity marketing, communications, PR and treasury, to name a few. On any given day I’ll find myself working with a number of different departments on various projects or player-related affairs. I also must remain accessible to our customers 24/7 throughout the year. As you know, poker players keep zany hours and so I usually find myself doing the same.
What are the things you enjoy most about your role and the biggest challenges it throws up?
I get to travel the world and work with incredibly talented people every day, all thanks to a card game that I happen to love. What’s not to enjoy about that? I got my start in this business as a player myself, so the fact that I have a front row seat to watch the world’s best do what they do is a pretty awesome perk. I also get to interact with people who, maybe in another life, I might have never crossed paths with… Brilliant businessmen like Bill Perkins, Paul Newey and Dan Shak, athletes like Barry Sanders, Paul Pierce and Michael Phelps, or even a guy like Daniel Negreanu, who I admired from afar while I was learning the game and now play on a soccer team with in Vegas.
And by the way, I realize going back through that list of names, it sounds more like a shameless mini name-drop sesh than an answer to your question, but I genuinely love the fact that my life has come full circle through poker. Ten, even fifteen years ago, I was watching Daniel play poker on TV, and now I’m fielding passes from him on the soccer pitch every Wednesday. Life’s crazy that way, I guess.
As for challenges, I would say one of the biggest is constantly having to elevate my level of thinking to match that of a high-stakes poker player. Not in terms of playing of course, but being good at my job requires being able to think like a poker player thinks with regard to anticipating needs, wants, questions, comments, feedback, etc. You’ve always got to be on your toes and occasionally think outside the box. It’s a challenge, but one that I welcome.
Lastly, if you're comfortable talking about it, the future and your aspirations? Hoping to be involved with PokerStars as they try and get back into the US?
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited about the prospect of being able to work on home soil again. I would love to be a part of that team, if and when the time comes. In the meantime, PokerStars has been a great company to work for over the past few years and I’m trying to make the most of this opportunity. With regard to my future aspirations, I could definitely see myself transitioning into a business development role somewhere down the line. These are no doubt exciting times to be a part of the PokerStars team and I’m looking forward to finding out what the future holds.
Level 32
: 80,000/160,000, 20,000 ante
One hour remains in the current level and as per chat, there was a problem with the card reader for Dominik Panka. This has been resolved by Panka moving over one chair.