Poker is a game that requires 100% mental fortitude at all times. The scary thing about that is that everything could be going swimmingly for hours, for days, and then one slip up – be it a mental lapse or an unlucky deal – could send you spiraling. And even if that one moment doesn’t… Read more »
To say that there is a dominant leader at the final table of the World Poker Tour’s stop at the Five Diamond World Poker Classic would be like saying Michael Jordan was an OK basketball player. Taylor Black came into Day Four of the Five Diamond among the leaders and finished the day with more… Read more »
Six more levels are in the books at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, and it is shaping up to be one of the best events of 2021 for the World Poker Tour. The WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic is in full swing, shattering the money bubble on Friday in driving down to the final… Read more »
The final major tournament of one of the circuits is fully underway at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. After two days of battle set the field, World Poker Tour Champions’ Club Member Ben Hamnett has forged his way into the lead of the WPT Five Diamon World Poker Classic with a sizeable 800,000 chip stack.… Read more »
In a rapidly played final table, Gedimas Uselis was able to come from the middle of the pack to defeat Jacob Ferris and win the World Poker Tour’s latest stop at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, FL. Uselis will etch his name into the WPT Mike Sexton Champions’ Cup and enjoy… Read more »
They are down to the final six players at the 2021 World Poker Tour Seminole Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open Main Event in Hollywood, Florida and it is a close race at the top of the leaderboard. Sitting in the pole position going into Wednesday’s final table is Harout Ghazarian with 17.4 million chips. But… Read more »
Forgotten with all the excitement of the World Series of Poker Main Event and the winding down of the WSOP in general (even by me!) was that the World Poker Tour got back in action this past week. Currently underway is the WPT Seminole Hard Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open Main Event in Hollywood, Florida.… Read more »
The 2021 World Series of Poker has come and gone and, for the most part, it was a highly successful run. Almost 90 tournaments, all run very well, and the threat of COVID-19 was pretty much nonexistent save for the end of the schedule. But there was one thing that, while on its face looked… Read more »
Everyone has been excited by the 2021 World Series of Poker. The schedule has run without incident, even being able to shift on the fly with the announcement of two new Day Ones for the Championship Event due to international restrictions for COVID being eased. But poker players always have to be looking for that… Read more »
The nominees for induction into the Poker Hall of Fame for 2021 were announced last week and as is usual for the nominees, it was an incredibly special list. Any and all of the men nominated would be viable inductees, with obvious qualities that would set them apart. As my friend and colleague Dan Katz… Read more »
Who needs football on Sunday night? We know that it is World Series of Poker time, and as such, the World Poker Tour is taking a break, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t get your fill of WPT action. This past Sunday marked the first television episode of WPT Season XVIII. Broadcast on the… Read more »
Rok Gostisa won the 2021 WPT World Online Championships Main Event on Tuesday, using a huge bluff and getting some blessings from the poker gods heads-up to beat out 1,178 players and cash for $959,493. The Main Event was spread over more than two weeks using a structure we have seen more and more of… Read more »
Starting with its esports venue Former World Poker Tour owner Allied Esports Entertainment is reportedly considering getting out of esports altogether, a move which would include selling the HyperX Esports Arena at the Luxor in Las Vegas. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, this isn’t just a “well, anything is possible” situation, but rather a… Read more »
If you look back at the history of poker, there used to be so few methods of measuring success. In the distant past, the best way to prove who was the best poker player was by who won the most money. It was really simple to see who had the skills (either legitimate card sense… Read more »
The situation in the tournament poker world is one that is currently in a great deal of flux. After postponing their stop at bestbet Jacksonville in August, the World Poker Tour will move one of their flagship stops, the Borgata Poker Open in Atlantic City, to a fully online affair. As a part of the… Read more »
New Jersey players get another online event The World Poker Tour has announced the creation of the inaugural WPT Online Borgata Poker Open, running September 19-21. The $3,500 buy-in event, which can be accessed on BetMGM Poker, Borgata Poker, or partypoker NJ, will feature a $1 million guaranteed prize pool. Only people physically located in… Read more »
Running it back If there was a silver lining to all the cancellations of live poker tournaments and festivals because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was that they led to the birth of many successful online events. One of these was the WPT World Online Championships, hosted by partypoker, which returns again this year. Scheduled… Read more »
No-go for now, hopefully not for good It’s happening again. On Monday, the bestbet Jacksonville casino announced that it has postponed the World Poker Tour (WPT) bestbet Scramble because of yet another strong wave of the COVID-19 virus. The Main Event was originally scheduled for August 27-31, while the entire festival was to begin next… Read more »
Dapo Ajayi had come painfully close to winning multiple big tourneys in his poker career, but always fell short. That all changed on Tuesday when he won the World Poker Tour Choctaw Main Event for his first WPT title, collecting $558,610 for his efforts. “It’s difficult to articulate. It’s been a really interesting week. I… Read more »
Once again, the worlds of poker and the courts have crossed paths. On the police blotter first this week is a high stakes poker professional who allegedly was traveling with some chemical enhancements for his good time. In our second interaction with the legal system, another poker player has sued a New Jersey casino for… Read more »
WPT on the move The World Poker Tour has a new home. On Monday, Allied Esports Entertainment announced that it has completed the sale of the venerable poker institution to Element Partners, LLC. Allied stockholders officially approved the divestiture on July 1. Element’s total purchase price was $105 million for all of Allied’s poker-related businesses… Read more »
It looked like it was going to be a two man race for the title at the World Poker Tour (WPT) Venetian final table on Wednesday, and sure enough, that is what it turned out to be. In the end, Chad Eveslage emerged victorious over Mike Liang heads-up to win his first WPT championship and… Read more »
History in the making? The World Poker Tour (WPT) Venetian Main Event is down to its six-handed final table, with Mike Liang entering Wednesday’s action as the chip leader. Holding 18.225 million chips Liang is in a two-man race with Chad Eveslage, who has 17.725 chips. But perhaps “man” is not the correct word to… Read more »
The World Poker Tour is back in Las Vegas this week as the WPT Venetian moves on to Day 3. There are just 39 players remaining heading into Tuesday’s action, with Ari Oxman leading the way with 3.310 million chips. Tim McDermott is close behind with 3.120 million and six more players cracked the 2… Read more »
It was certainly an audacious statement. Whether you want to call it a bold commentary on their belief in poker or a risky chance that could blow up in their faces, the Wynn Las Vegas Resort threw down the gauntlet with their latest tournament. The Wynn Millions started last week with its $10,000 buy in… Read more »
