The Jamie Gold Charity Poker Tournament held during London’s Poker in the Park on Thursday was a sellout. A total of 50 celebrities and poker players from around the world descended upon the Shadow Lounge at the Casino at the Empire for the festivities.
Gold, who won the 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event to the tune of a record $12 million, teamed up with fellow World Champion Peter Eastgate to host the London gala. Eastgate, a Danish member of Team PokerStars Pro, holds the title of youngest winner of the prestigious $10,000 buy-in Main Event at age 22, breaking Hellmuth’s longstanding record by two years. Former soccer star Teddy Sheringham, who was a member of the Manchester United in the late 1990s, was in attendance. Joining him was Michael Greco, who took second in the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) Dublin event during Season 2 for €39,000. Greco also cashed for $248,000 during the 2009 WSOP.
A fleet of poker pros from the United Kingdom lent their name to the Jamie Gold Charity Poker Tournament. They included Betfair pro John Tabatabai, who finished second to Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad in the 2007 WSOP Europe Main Event. For his reward, Tabatabai pocketed a colossal £570,000 for his efforts; Obrestad, also a member of Team Betfair, walked away with £1 million and became the youngest bracelet winner ever. Nick Persaud also made the trek to the Casino at the Empire. He’s fresh off a deep run in the 2009 WSOP Main Event, where he earned $23,000 for a 549th place showing.
Also appearing at the spectacle was J.J. Hazan, the runner-up in the 2006 Master Classics of Poker for €355,000. In that event, Ali Jalali came out on top and earned €700,000 for his efforts. Hazan won a £500 buy-in tournament held as part of the Grosvenor U.K. Poker Tour Grand Final in London two years ago for £23,000. Sam Trickett, who finished fourth in a $5,000 buy-in tournament held as part of the 2008 WSOP for $245,000, flanked Hazan in London this week. Trickett won the £1,000 buy-in Main Event of the Grosvenor U.K. Poker Tour’s Luton leg for £109,000.
2005 888 Pacific Poker Open winner Ian Frazer lent his name to Gold’s efforts in London. Frazer finished fifth in the PartyPoker World Open III in 2007 for $30,000 and took 25th in the European Poker Tour (EPT) London Main Event last year for £13,000. While in Las Vegas for the 2009 WSOP, Frazer won a $1,000 buy-in tournament at the Bellagio for $23,000, defeating a final table that also included Greco. Frazer serves as a poker commentator and ambassador for the game.
Prizes at the Jamie Gold Charity Tournament included a £5,200 EPT seat donated by PokerStars and a £3,000 seat to the Unibet Open. The event featured a £500 buy-in and also gave away a Gresham Blake tailor made suit, a custom Marlow Casino chipset, a high-end Gevril wristwatch, Tag Heuer sunglasses, and a week-long poker training session with David “The Maven” Chicotsky. When the smoke cleared in the 50 player contest, Mikael Gabrielsson, a Swedish pro, emerged as the winner. Four camera crews captured the event on tape.
Today, Greco, Tabatabai, Frazer, and Gold will give lectures as part of the Poker in the Park festivities. Frazer’s talk is entitled “Starting Out in Online Poker” and will undoubtedly attract a crowd. Gold speaks tonight at 20:45 local time. Friday marks the final day of Poker in the Park, which emanates from London’s Leicester Square.
