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Love is in the Air: Poker Couples & Their Love Stories
This Week in Poker: September 18 – 24
This Week in Poker: May 1 – 7
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Love is in the Air: Poker Couples & Their Love Stories
Valentine’s Day – the day of love, friendship, and camaraderie is here again! We know that it’s tough being a poker player, and it can get impossible if the love of your life doesn’t understand that part of your life.
This seemed as good a time as any to speak to some poker couples to find out more about their love connection. We connected with a few poker pros and their partners to get an insight into what they do while traveling for poker, their favorite poker holidays, and more!
It was encouraging to hear from almost everyone we spoke to that they share a strong emotional connect with their partners and have found boundless support and understanding in them. Most couples have also managed to blend poker in their together-time. It seems traveling for poker is quite the thing. While Goa seems the most convenient option, many Indian poker couples have been globetrotting around poker destinations like Las Vegas, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Sri Lanka, etc. In this Valentine’s Day Special feature, we take a look at some of the prominent poker couples in the country and how poker binds them together.
Aditya Agarwal & Shuchi Chamaria Agarwal
India’s poker power couple, Aditya Agarwal and Shuchi Chamaria Agarwal are the personifications of ‘love at first sight.’ Despite living just 100 meters away from each other in Kolkata, it took the couple almost 30 years before they finally ran into each other. But when you’re destined to be together, love always finds a way.
For a poker pioneer like Aditya, Shuchi was indeed the perfect match with her natural knack for the mind sport. Together, the couple has traveled to several poker destinations, with Macao and the Bahamas topping the list.
“Adi and I used to travel to Macao very often. The casinos there are very grand. We also traveled to the Bahamas for the PSPC, and it was gorgeous,” revealed Shuchi.
“The food and shopping in Macao are just the best. The famous restaurant Din Tai Fung right next to the PokerStars poker room was our all-time favorite,” she added.
Talking about their most memorable trip, she said, “Our most memorable trip would have to be our honeymoon. Adi was scheduled to go for the Aussie Millions, and we traveled around Australia for a month, and then we headed to another series in Macao.”
Muskan Sethi & Yudhishter Singh Jaswal
PokerStars India Team Pro Muskan Sethi and Yudhishter Singh Jaswal are among the country’s most prominent poker couples. Cupid brought them together in 2011, and after years of dating, they eventually tied the knot in 2017. Muskan’s effervescent persona perfectly complements Yudhishter’s shy and introverted demeanor. It`s not surprising that they both love to discuss poker strategy and travel for poker together.
“For us, a favorite destination would be Vegas and to some extent Barcelona as well. We both love this venue a lot, it’s a great poker destination. The guarantees are really huge, and as a couple, we also enjoy the city. There’s so much to do when you bust a tournament. We plan everything whenever we go and the first few days we go and see the whole city…different roads and areas. Even if he’s busy, I set out and explore a lot of places,” Muskan said.
Both of them are exploring Ranthambore right now. “We’re here with family and will be going for a Safari tomorrow.” Talking about her Valentine’s Day plans, she added, “We’re just going to be spending time with each other. We have been playing a lot online lately. We both study together, we play online together. So it’s time to relax. Our plan is to chill this weekend, and we’re heading to Goa on the 19th, where we will be doing a lot of yoga and meditation first before the hardcore regime begins when we will be very strict on each other and will be taking care of each other.”
For Yudhishter, the time when he won the DCPS $1,600 NLHE Bounty at the Venetian in 2018 was special, with Muskan railing him all the time. “For me, it’d be having him as my boyfriend, as my plus-1 in SharkCage,” Muskan said, remembering how they’d met through a common friend and discovered they share a common interest in poker.
“Poker kept both of us together. We were passionate about it and discussed it together. Every day, he pushes me to do my best and encourages me to study more. I feel like I’m the balancing factor in his life when things become too stressful. We’re very opposite to each other. He’s an introvert. I’m outgoing…opposites attract, they fight, and then they make up!
Gokul Krishna & Sunitha Sunder
Businessman and former BPT champion Gokul Krishna has a strong support system in his wife Sunitha Sunder. The two have been married for 10 years now and have a beautiful, five-and-a-half-year-old daughter. Even though Sunitha is a fashion designer, things changed when Krishna introduced her to poker. Both have been traveling for poker to destinations like Las Vegas and have even co-founded the Emerald Poker Tour (EPT) cash game festival together.
“I introduced Sunitha to Poker so that I can play and travel together for poker. She absolutely fell in love with the game, and over the last two years, she is the one who is actually more proactive in poker. It was her idea to start the Emerald Poker Tour,” Krishna explained, adding, “Both of us run our own businesses apart from poker, but we have managed to streamline them pretty well, which gives us more time to plan poker.”
It’s’ going to be family time for them on Valentine’s Day. “Valentine’s Day happens to be Sunitha’s brother’s wedding anniversary. We are a close-knit family unit, and every year we celebrate it with them,” Krishna told us, revealing his plans for the day.
While they like Goa as a poker destination, they find that Sri Lanka and Barcelona are great options due to extremely high hospitality levels. Nothing beats Vegas, though. “Best destination for both of us is hands down Vegas, especially during the WSOP time. The 50 days of non-stop grind is great fun,” Krishna said.
He continued, “We like London and other places in Europe where there are so many things to do there along with an occasional fun game in casinos in the evenings. Last 5 years, all our holidays have been based around poker. In fact, it has become such a habit that we first look at what casinos are there in the destinations we plan to go for a holiday. Our dream destination would be Europe. We would love to take out a couple of months and just travel all across Europe and play poker and party and relax. Our daughter actually loves it when we travel as she can be the boss at home and spend time with her grandparents. So we have all our bases covered!”
A memorable trip for them both? “All our vacations have been very special. Even when we are hosting events and are working round the clock to keep things smooth, we don’t feel the stress. Somehow whatever we do in poker feels like a holiday even if we are pushing our bodies to the extremes. That in itself is a very special memory,” confessed Krishna, speaking like a true-blue poker zealot!
Gagandeep Malik & Ankita Ajay Malik
Gagandeep Malik is one of the up-and-coming names in the poker circuit, and he has found a long-lasting support system in his wife Ankita Ajay Malik. The Hyderabad based player who came to prominence after shipping the 60K High Roller at the 2016 DPT November edition gushed about his better half saying, “Honestly speaking, I am blessed to have such a wonderful partner cause from the very beginning she understood what I do and accepted the game as a sport and she was always supportive towards my poker career and I couldn’t have asked for more cause she herself has started learning the game which makes it easier for me cause now we play and plan our schedule together.”
The duo loves to travel to Goa, enjoying the relaxed ambiance of the coastal state. “Ankita and I haven’t traveled together outside India, but in India, it’s definitely Goa. We especially love the atmosphere and vibe of BPT and Casino Pride 2 cause PokerBaazi LIVE is hassle-free when it comes to registration, cash out, or any other operational aspect related to live poker, and they always listen and are open to feedback. We definitely enjoy the chill vibe of Goa, and of course, the beaches give you the perfect relaxation after a long series grind.”
Recounting how Ankita’s presence and support during the 2019 BPT Main Event helped him survive the money bubble, “We traveled for BPT and IPC in January, and this was our first trip together after marriage to a poker destination. It was one of the most memorable trips cause I was very close to bubbling the main event in BPT and eventually ended up finishing 12th. It was a special moment cause we thoroughly enjoyed the thrill of surviving the bubble period and my wife was there with me throughout the event and it was her first live experience where she observed highs and lows of a poker tournament. Being a beginner herself, she learned a lot of new things about being a poker player.”
Gagandeep revealed how his love story with Ankita began around two years back, “I and Ankita started dating around 2 years back, and in the first meeting itself, I told her about poker. Our family also supported us in pursuing poker as a sport, and we recently got married in November last year. We have been playing together since.”
Sharing the things the couple cherish about each other, Ankita said, “I love his patience and how calm he is during tough situations. He is always there for the family and balances his personal and professional life really well.”
“She is a very grounded person and helps me to not get carried away, and she is always there to support me in my poker career,” said Gagandeep.
While the couple’s immediate plan is to spend Valentine’s Day in Kerala, their eventual dream destination is Las Vegas. “Vegas is certainly one dream destination, and we might travel next year. Other than that, Vietnam is also on the cards, which might happen soon.”
Zarvan Tumboli & Shanaya Contractor
Zarvan Tumboli has his heart firmly captured by Shanaya Contractor. The couple has been together for over five years now and got married only last year. Shanaya, who is a flight attendant with Swiss International Airlines, has been Tumboli’s emotional support system all through his tough poker regime. She travels with him when she can. In fact, when Tumboli was recently playing on the final table of the IPC ₹100K High Roller, Shanaya was sitting not far away from the action. Tumboli eventually fell out in second place. If he was a tad disappointed in missing the trophy, Shanaya brought in the mood for celebration with her excitement over his blistering run.
We nudged him to disclose to us his favorite poker vacation, and he said, “Best poker destination till now is Amsterdam for us! But we always enjoy and love coming to Goa for the domestic series too. Dream destination will always be Vegas which will be going this year, so we will have a new part of the map unlocked this year! Apart from the obvious reasons and what Amsterdam is known for, there are many beautiful scenic places and heritage touristy stuff. Apart from that, we always love to explore new cities and destinations and tick off places one at a time.”
But neither Amsterdam nor Goa was their first international trip together. It was when Tumboli visited Valkenburg to play the WPT Netherlands that Shanaya accompanied him. “That was four years back, and after that, we had extended to cover Amsterdam and Brussels. That undoubtedly will always be the most memorable (vacation together),” he confessed.
Their plans for Valentine’s Day? “She is flying, unfortunately. But surely have planned something for her when she’s back (varna maar padedi).”
When quizzed on how they manage to maintain work-life balance and keep up with each other’s schedule? “My wife is a flight attendant, so I don’t have to do much to balance and keep up!! Jokes apart, I just manage my dates and work around her schedule so that I can give maximum time to her when she is not flying and in Mumbai. If any big tourney or series is there online she herself understands and tells me to not miss and play them. So we have a very good understanding between us in that aspect.”
This is what they also like about each other. “We have a very good understanding of each other’s passion, likes, dislikes, and goals in life. Without a doubt, I’m more ambitious and all out of the two, but we love traveling and share similar views about life and the way we like to live it.”
Their dream poker destination? “It’s coming up. Vegas Vegas Vegassss!,” said Zarvan!
Aditya Wadhwani & Gayeti Singh
Star commentator, gamer, and poker player, Aditya Wadhwani, is a man of many talents. We recently did a feature on him canvassing his foray in the game and his work on the production side of things.
The Delhiite got married to his girlfriend of six years, Gayeti Singh, last November and considers her his rock of support.
Their preferred poker destination? “Goa,” says Wadhwani, “because outside of poker there’s so much couple stuff you can do in Goa. Outside India, anywhere in the European Union (EU), since the continent is so small, you can hop from country to country and experience such a vast range of cultures. Monaco stands out as it’s got a very old charm, and I love wearing a suit at the table.”
For Wadhwani, a special memory together with Gayeti is their honeymoon in Kenya. “It’s great to disconnect from the wired world. Experiencing nature and wildlife in its natural environment is something that cannot be beaten for us personally.”
He recounted how it was difficult at first when Gayeti didn’t understand poker hours and the lifestyle-related to it and admitted, “Now it’s really balanced. Since I don’t play too much, we plan ahead, knowing I’m going to be grinding a series, etc., for that week or so, and she gives me my space. I’ve got a separate room for playing during the late hours so that I don’t disturb her.”
The thing they like about each other? “There’s total acceptance of who we are as individuals and mutual respect for what each of us considers work. The companionship, the emotional support, and the fact that living with your best friend is just great fun!”
Though they haven’t made any special plans for Valentine’s Day, they intend to find a spot and spend some time together. We asked him if he had any dream destination in mind, with poker thrown in, and he replied, “Nothing in particular, but next time I do an international trip, if the schedule permits, I’d like her to come with me for sure. But first, I want her to come see the Goa scene first and meet all the crazy folk on the Indian circuit!”
This Week in Poker: September 18 – 24
In the PokerGuru feature ‘This Week in Poker’ we bring you the weekly roundup of the most significant online scores by Indian MTT players along with the top stories from both the live and online poker circuit.
Here are this week’s top stories
September has seen a phenomenal upsurge in Indian poker and how! If the first fortnight of the month was all about the live action with Team India piling on impressive performances at international stops like WPT Vietnam, German Pokerclub Championship & APT Philippines, all playing along the sidelines of the record-smashing India Poker Championship (IPC) – the action has now moved back to the digital felts.
Spartan Poker kept the poker netizens busy with its Spartan Super Series (SSS) that hit the ground running on September 16 with a week-long schedule of events. The high-stakes series played out a full 44-event schedule that saw many players banking six-figure scores. The best of it came towards the end with well-known regular Shashank ‘Jai Bajrangbali’ Desai taking down the ₹75 Lakhs GTD SSS Main Event. A former IPC champion and an accomplished online pro, Desai outlasted 746 others to win a jaw-dropping ₹12.80 Lakhs for his blistering run and is deservedly our “PokerGuru Star of the Week!!”
Sharing podium space with Desai at the SSS was Prajal Parikh who won the SSS #24 Texas High Roller ₹45 Lakhs GTD for ₹10.57 Lakhs and Anirudh ‘flash’ Reddy who took down the SSS #17 Destiny ₹30 Lakhs GTD for ₹7.09 Lakhs.
Running alongside the SSS was Poker Dangal’s ₹15 Lakhs GTD 100-Max Series – a uniquely structured tournament series catering to a very different clientele – the small and mid-stakes grinders.
Setting the virtual felts ablaze these last four days has been the PokerBaazi Premier League (PPL). Underway since September 21, and PPL has already crowned several worthy champions.
All of this pales in comparison to the World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) – the richest online series in the world today. The WCOOP is a marquee offering of PokerStars (currently running on the international client). The series has raked in a record $104.73 Million in prize money across 219 tournaments, overshooting its advertised guarantee by nearly 40% to become the largest-ever WCOOP in the series’ 18-year-old history. The series is now on the edge of culmination with the Main Event final table scheduled to play out on September 25.
Keeping the live rail going last week was a small group of Indians at the Asian Poker Tour (APT) Philippines II series in Manila. Akshay Nasa, Dilip Menon, and Jaideep Sajwan headlined the Indian performance at the stop. Nasa had picked up a runner-up finish last week and went on to add two more scores this week to bring back a cumulative ₹15.96 Lakhs from the stop. Menon was the only Indian to win an APT trophy, he took down the NLHE 1 title for ₹8.40 Lakhs. Sajwan did well in both the PHP 55K Main Event and the Championships Events, his latest score coming in the latter where he finished 13th for ₹3.78 Lakhs. The event was eventually taken down by China’s Xixiang Luo.
There were some eye-popping developments internationally. The more prominent of two news stories featured Microgaming Poker Network (MPN) that announced the shutdown of its online poker operations. The other story that got the poker community in a frenzy was the sale of the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino by Caesars Entertainment to New York-based Imperial Companies for a whopping $516.3 Million. The silver lining here was that poker players won’t be immediately impacted by the sale as the WSOP continues to stay under the ownership of Caesars that will continue hosting it at the RIO convention center at least for the next two years.
Speaking of the WSOP, poker pro-Phil Ivey hasn’t taken lightly to the fact that Borgata managed to gain hold of the $124,410 he had won at the WSOP $50K PPC this summer. Ivey has legally questioned Borgata’s authority to claim the winnings and his feud with the casino hotel is about to get murkier!
Moving to what’s coming up next, the WSOP International Circuit will be coming to King’s Casino in Rozvadov (Sept 23-Oct 13) with WSOPE kicking off right afterward. There are two tournament stops coming up in London this week. The Lex Live 2 London (Sept 27-Oct 6) will play out around the same time as the WPT UK (Sept 28- Oct 6).
Online Railbird Report
The action on the virtual felts was rife with the Spartan Super Series (SSS) rolling out another smashing edition last week. The PokerBaazi Premier League (PPL) has been matching that tempo these last five days.
The biggest winner of the week was seasoned pro Shashank ‘Jai Bajrangbali’ Desai. Desai bested a field of 747 entries to take down the SSS Main Event ₹75 Lakhs GTD for ₹12.80 Lakhs and hence is our “PokerGuru Star of the Week!!”
Apart from Desai, there were some other big winners too. Prajal Parikh took down the SSS #24 Texas High Roller ₹45 Lakhs GTD for ₹10.57 Lakhs, and Anirudh ‘flash’ Reddy shipped the SSS #17 Destiny ₹30 Lakhs GTD for ₹7.09 Lakhs.
The notable scores of the week include –
| Player | Prize Amount | Event | Poker Site |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shashank 'Jai Bajrangbali' Desai | ₹12,80,090 | SSS #42 Main Event ₹75 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
| Prajal '77777777' Parikh | ₹10,57,050 | SSS #24: Texas HR ₹45 Lakhs GTD ₹27, 500 (RE) | Spartan Poker |
| Anirudh ‘flash’ Reddy | ₹7,09,0610 | SSS #17 Destiny ₹30 Lakhs GTD ₹5,500 RE | Spartan Poker |
| Nadeem ‘SpadeHunter’ Basha | ₹6,67,890 | BSS SuperStack ₹30 Lakhs GTD (5RE) | PokerBaazi |
| biglooser007 | ₹6,32,400 | SSS #31 The Elite ₹25 Lakhs GTD ₹11,000 (RE) | Spartan Poker |
| Raghav ‘thatssosick’ Bansal | ₹5,99,850 | SSS #43 Sunday Super Stack ₹30 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
| Deep ‘ChristopherCoke’ Patel | ₹5,33,353 | PPL #19: The Bout 8-Max ₹25 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
| Ayan ‘gutshotguru1’ Ray | ₹4,97,240 | Godfather X ₹20 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
| Aditya ‘A_Sushant’ Sushant | ₹4,92,458 | Mega Suits ₹25 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
| Anurag ‘NormanBates’ Srivastava | ₹4,20,000 | The Ballers ₹15 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
| Aditya ‘adit11’ Kulkarni | ₹4,11,187 | The Summit ₹15 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
| Vaibhav ‘Nikka Zaildar’ Sharma | ₹4,10,994 | SSS #11 Mega Stack ₹18 Lakhs GTD ₹3,300 RE | Spartan Poker |
| Aditya ‘I8stacks’ Sushant | ₹3,67,500 | The Joker ₹15 Lakhs GTD | 9stacks |
| Olandir | ₹3,45,218 | PPL#20 8-Max ₹15 Lakhs GTD (RE) | PokerBaazi |
| FLlPflops | ₹3,10,761 | Sunday Special – Progressive KO – ₹15 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
| Priyank ‘Piko1432’ Kothari | ₹3,01,500 | The Endeavour ₹15 Lakhs GTD (RE) | PokerBaazi |
| ashmam | ₹2,80,000 | Hitman ₹10 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
| Ragesh ‘ragesh91’ Mishra | ₹2,79,792 | PPL #5 ₹10 Lakhs GTD (RE) | PokerBaazi |
| chitti3.0 | ₹2,79,180 | SSS #23 Head Hunter ₹12 Lakhs GTD ₹5,500 PLO (RE) | Spartan Poker |
| Yuvraj ‘ThePredator’ Singh | ₹2,65,705 | PPL #3 ₹10 Lakhs GTD (RE) | PokerBaazi |
| yash1993 | ₹2,46,360 | Maverick ₹10 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
| Siddharth ‘si151190’ Mehndiratta | ₹2,41,493 | Big Slick ₹15 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
| Aditya ‘gangajal’ Sushant | ₹2,30,580 | The Vegas ₹10 Lakhs GTD (RE) | The Vegas ₹10 Lakhs GTD (RE) |
| Ajaybs08 | ₹2,24,000 | Goa Fest ₹8 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
| Deepak ‘chimpoo’ Bothra | ₹2,23,494 | SSS #30 TGIF ₹10 Lakhs GTD ₹1,650 (RE) | Spartan Poker |
| Pranav ‘dak0o’ Bang | ₹2,15,266 | Highroller ₹10 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
| Rajat ‘sharabikebabi’ Sharma | ₹2,03,355 | Uppercut Progressive KO (6-Max) MAGIC Edition ₹8 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
| blindgame | ₹1,91,270 | ReCharge ₹12 Lakhs GTD ₹2,200 (RE) | Spartan Poker |
| Sam ‘thereallokimon’ Anand | ₹1,79,481 | PPL#14 BSS MegaStack ₹7 Lakhs GTD (3RE) | PokerBaazi |
| ONmyMAC | ₹1,55,400 | SSS #18 Hi-Fi ₹6 Lakhs GTD ₹1,650 RE | Spartan Poker |
| Akash ‘bruce.lee0247’ Gupta | ₹1,52,761 | Sunday Special (L) – ₹10 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
| Avijit ‘tyler2643’ Jaiswal | ₹1,42,600 | SSS #32 Hi-Fi ₹8 Lakhs GTD ₹2,200 (RE) | Spartan Poker |
| Mukesh ‘Guruuu’ Surana | ₹1,38,827 | PPL #12 BSS PLO ₹5 Lakhs GTD (RE) | PokerBaazi |
| Debashish ‘Alln’ Bal | ₹1,28,750 | PPL#17 7-Max ₹5 Lakhs GTD (FO) | PokerBaazi |
| Sandeep ‘shreister’ Sreedhar | ₹1,28,299 | SSS #25 Hi-Fi ₹6 Lakhs GTD ₹1,650 (RE) | Spartan Poker |
| Devashish ‘debumathur’ Mathur | ₹1,26,900 | SSS #44 Big Daddy ₹6 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
| Shravan ‘FishStars’ Chhabria | ₹1,23,769 | Thursday MonsterStack ₹5 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
| Pranav ‘dak0o’ Bang | ₹1,19,504 | Sixth Sense ₹2,750 NLHE ₹6 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
| munish bhalla | ₹1,06,843 | Night on Stars ₹2,200 NLHE ₹5 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
| Aayush ‘aces55’ Kawar | ₹1,16,802 | PPL #1 ₹5 Lakhs GTD | PokerBaazi |
| Zilean99 | ₹1,06,667 | Monday Hustle ₹6 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
| Akshay ‘sherlock52’ Nasa | ₹95,000 | PPL #4 BPT PKG Tourney (7 Max) | PokerBaazi |
| dybalamask | ₹90,804 | 6-Max Wednesday SuperStack ₹3 Lakhs GTD (5RE) | PokerBaazi |
| Guneet ‘guntz’ Kwatra | ₹90,029 | Tuesday MonsterStack ₹3 Lakhs GTD (5RE) | PokerBaazi |
| som22asopa | ₹85,500 | Sunday Hexagram ₹3 Lakhs | Adda52 |
| deepesh2727 | ₹74,038 | Hexagram ₹2 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
| ChupaRustam2901 | ₹70,758 | Hexagram ₹2.5 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
| Samir ‘samir108’ Hossen | ₹65,000 | StackUp@ 8 PM ₹2.5 Lakhs GTD | 9stacks |
| Amresh ‘Termi’ Kumar | ₹65,000 | StackUp @8 PM ₹2.5 Lakhs GTD | 9stacks |
| Raj ‘Fireman’ Kumar Gahlot | ₹65,000 | StackUp @8 PM Hold’em No Limit ₹2.5 Lakhs GTD | 9stacks |
| Twilight | ₹65,000 | StackUp @8PM ₹2.5 Lakhs GTD | 9stacks |
| Vibhu ‘Vibsi’ Agarwal | ₹65,000 | StackUp @8PM ₹2.5 Lakhs GTD | 9stacks |
| Aman ‘alwaysriver’ Kejriwal | ₹63,000 | PPL #2 ₹3 Lakhs GTD (RE) | PokerBaazi |
| Yuvraj ‘madnutscrazy’ Singh | ₹62,016 | Ultimate PLO ₹2.5 Lakhs GTD | Spartan Poker |
| GPDK | ₹60,000 | Dangal – 100 Max Event #15 ₹3 Lakhs GTD | Poker Dangal |
| Akshay ‘vibaks’ Nasa | ₹59,897 | Hexagram ₹2.5 Lakhs GTD | Adda52 |
| kindoa | ₹54,363 | Progressive KO – 4 Max ₹2 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
| MojoJojo2193 | ₹52,254 | Zoom 3-Max Progressive KO ₹1,650 ₹2 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
| sathyaesan | ₹46,000 | Big Bang ₹1 Lakh GTD NLHE (Max 5 Rebuys) | Khelo365 |
| sudha1 | ₹43,000 | Mega Splash ₹1 Lakhs GTD NLHE (Max 5 Rebuys) | Khelo365 |
| Rsd1207 | ₹42,952 | The Classic ₹1,650 ₹2 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
| spew_monkey | ₹40,000 | 100 Max Event #11 – ₹2 Lakhs GTD | Poker Dangal |
| sheldon11cooper | ₹39,134 | 6 – Max NLHE ₹2 Lakhs GTD | PokerStars India |
| Sam ‘Lokimon’ Anand | ₹31,800 | 100 – Max Event #7 ₹1.5 Lakhs GTD | Poker Dangal |
| Ravi ‘DJBravo’ Yadav | ₹28,150 | Sunday Bonanza (RE) ₹1 Lakh GTD | Poker Dangal |
| Sam ‘Lokimon’ Anand | ₹26,600 | 100 Max Event #3 – ₹100K GTD | Poker Dangal |
| Somenn ‘Prokiller’ Singh | ₹24,000 | ₹1 Lakhs GTD – Monday Texas | Poker Dangal |
Phil Ivey’s Legal Battle With Borgata Continues
The ongoing feud between iconic poker pro Phil Ivey and Borgata Hotel and Casino took a new turn last week with Ivey’s legal counsel claiming that Borgata has unlawfully secured his winnings from his eighth-place finish in the WSOP $50K Poker Players Championship (PPC).
Read the complete story here
Caesars Entertainment Sells The Rio For $516.3 Million
Caesars Entertainment has officially announced that it has sold the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino to New York-based real estate firm Imperial Companies for $516.3 Million. Caesars, however, retains ownership of the iconic World Series of Poker (WSOP) brand that will continue to run at the RIO convention center for at least the next two years.
Read the complete story here
APT Philippines II
The Asian Poker Tour (APT) Philippines II came back to the Resorts World Manila (RWM) for its second outing at the venue this year. In fact, APT has further consolidated its collaboration with RWM by signing a new exclusive agreement to ensure that at least two major APT events a year continue at the venue until the end of 2021.
The 22-event series ran from September 11 to 22. There was a small group of Indians present at the series and the team pooled in a total of six scores including a title! Akshay Nasa did most of the heavy lifting by picking up three scores at the stop. After a blistering start in the High Rollers Single Day 1 where he had finished runner-up for PHP 786,000 (~₹10.81 Lakhs), Nasa placed 10th in the High Rollers 2 for PHP 180,700 (~₹2.46 Lakhs). He closed out his trip on a winning note by finishing sixth in the Monster Stack 2 for PHP 197,500 (~₹2.69 Lakhs).
Read the complete story here
Jaideep Sajwan was another Indian who kept busy at the series and was the only one from the team to score in both the Main Event and the Championships Event. After his 49th place finish in the Main Event, he did even better in the Championships Event – finishing 13th for PHP 277,000 (~₹3.78 Lakhs).
China’s Xixiang Luo took down the Championships Event and won his career-first APT trophy, along with PHP 4,594,800 (~₹62.81 Lakhs) in prize money.
Read the complete story here
Philippines-based Dilip Menon was the only Indian who won a title. He trounced a 150-strong entry field in the No Limit Hold’em 1 to capture his second APT title, along with an impressive payday of PHP 616,000 (~₹8.40 Lakhs).
Read the complete story here
Team India Cashes at the APT Philippines II
| Player | Event | Finish | Prize Money |
|---|---|---|---|
| Akshay Nasa | High Rollers 1 Single Day | 2nd | PHP 786,000 - ₹10.81 Lakhs |
| Dilip Menon | No Limit Hold’em 1 | 1st | PHP 616,000 - ₹8.40 Lakhs |
| Jaideep Sajwan | Championships Event | 13th | PHP 277,000 - ₹3.78 Lakhs |
| Akshay Nasa | Monster Stack 2 | 6th | PHP 197,500 - ₹2.69 Lakhs |
| Akshay Nasa | High Rollers 2 | 10th | PHP 180,700 - ₹2.46 Lakhs |
| Jaideep Sajwan | Main Event | 49th | PHP 104,700 - ₹1.43 Lakhs |
Philippines’ Richard Nakila emerged as the APT Player of the Series. He scored in a total of five events, accumulating 1,165.51 points in the process. For his achievement, Nakila received the APT Player of the Series trophy, the APT Player of the Series Ring, an exclusive watch, and $800.
APT Philippines II Winners
| Player | Event | Prize Money |
|---|---|---|
| Yohn Paredes | Main Event | PHP 4,369,400 |
| Xixiang Luo | Championships Event | PHP 4,594,800 |
| Jinho Hong | Monster Stack #1 | PHP 753,400 |
| Chi Chung Ho | Head Hunter 4,000 Bounty | PHP 385,500 |
| Kota Nakano | Pot Limit Omaha Hi-lo Split | PHP 163,700 |
| Masato Yokosawa | High Rollers Single Day 1 | PHP 1,178,900 |
| Linh Nguyen Dieu Phuong | NLH Single Day Event 1 | PHP 432,000 |
| Dilip Menon | No Limit Hold'em 1 | PHP 616,000 |
| Yin Momo | High Rollers 2 | PHP 2,081,400 |
| Seongsu Kong | Short Deck | PHP 263,100 |
| Kota Nakano | Pot Limit Omaha | PHP 352,800 |
| Martin Stausholm | High Rollers Single Day 2 | PHP 1,259,400 |
| Kenichi Takarabe | NLH Single Day Event 2 | PHP 402,800 |
| Seiji Morimoto | Super Deep Stack Turbo | PHP 385,500 |
| Renato Villanueva | Welovesport Deep Stack Hyper Turbo | PHP 146,300 |
| Lee Wang Yong | No Limit Hold'em 2 | PHP 461,200 |
| Ferlyn Cabaling | Megasportsworld Deep Stack Turbo | PHP 233,000 |
| Steve Yea | High Rollers #3 | PHP 948,900 |
| Joshua Chargualaf | Monster Stack 2 | PHP 1,022,000 |
| Elmer Kalaquian | Deep Stack Turbo | PHP 117,200 |
| Lei Yu | High Rollers Single Day 3 | PHP 1,093,400 |
| Yik Yin Chiu | Deep Stack Hyper Turbo | PHP 135,300 |
The next APT stop will take place in Taiwan at Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association in Taipei City from October 9 to 20.
Richard Bai Wins WSOPC Potawatomi Main Event
Hosted at Potawatomi from September 12 to 23, the World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) was headlined by the $1,700 Main Event that garnered 447 entries. In the end, Chicago’s Richard Bai lifted the trophy and walked away with $138,317.
Read the complete story here
Tadashi Takei Wins WPT Korea Main Event
The third stop of the World Poker Tour (WPT) Season XVIII played out in Korea from September 17 to 23. Taking center stage at the stop was the KRW 250 Million GTD Main Event where besting a field of 350 players, Japan’s Tadashi Takei took down the title and ₩108,170,000 ($90,582) in prize money.
Read the complete story here
Alejandro Roman Wins WPTDS Marrakech Main Event
Outlasting a record-breaking field of 545 entries, Spain’s Alejandro Roman won the World Poker Tour (WPT) DeepStacks Marrakech Main Event. Roman defeated WPTDS Portugal Main Event champion Silma Macalou heads-up to capture the winner’s cheque of MAD 1.1 Million ($113,333).
Read the complete story here
Donald Maloney Wins WPT Borgata Poker Open $3,500 Championship
Dominating a field of 1,156 entries, Arizona’s Donald Maloney came out on top in the World Poker Tour (WPT) Borgata Poker Open $3,500 Main Event. A former hockey player, Maloney won $487,874 in prize money along with a $15,000 seat into the season-ending WPT Tournament of Champions (TOC).
Read the complete story here
Paul Richardson Wins WSOPC Thunder Valley Main Event
The World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) made its annual halt at the Thunder Valley poker room recently. The two headline winners at the series were Bryant Miller who won the High Roller for $44,413 and Paul Richardson who championed the Main Event for $130,667.
Read the complete story here
And with this, we conclude this week’s roundup of the latest news updates and developments from the world of poker. We will return again next week with our weekly report, stay tuned.
This Week in Poker: May 1 – 7
In the PokerGuru feature ‘This Week in Poker’ we bring you the weekly round-up of the biggest online scores by Indian MTT players along with the top stories from both the live and online poker circuit.
Here are this week’s top stories
The first week of May was chock-a-block with poker action both live and online. Let’s take a look back at all the exciting things that transpired this past week.
The luxurious Casino Deltin Royale played host to the second edition of the Deltin Poker Tournament (DPT) Colossus Super High Roller (SHR) series that took place from May 2-5. The three-event long series kicked off with the ₹50K Warm-Up, which was taken down by Meherzad Munsaf for ₹10.80 Lakhs, while Atul Kumar netted ₹2.20 Lakhs for taking down the ₹25K Bounty. However, the most sought-after event of the series – the ₹200K Main Event – crowned a champion in India’s original ‘PokerGuru’ – Aditya Agarwal. The PokerStars Team pro added another illustrious score of ₹31 Lakhs to his bankroll, and is, therefore, our “PokerGuru Star of the Week.”
The Asian felts saw one of the most prestigious stops from the Asian Poker Tour (APT) brand play out this week. The APT Philippines had 23 events on its schedule, and the closing week saw a host of side events playing out. Yasheel Doddanavar remained the top performing Indian at the series, stealing the show at the PHP 107,500 High Rollers where he conceded the title to China’s Hao He and finished runner-up for PHP 1,225,000 (~₹16.34 Lakhs). Including scores by Dilip Menon and Srinivas Polishetty, the Indian challengers picked up a total of six scores at the stop. The series culminated with the PHP 10 Million GTD Championships Event crowning a winner in Korea’s Siyoung Lee. Japanese pro Iori Yogo got beaten to the title by Lee, but with two titles and a runner-up finish, the APT Player of the Series title was his for the taking.
The European Poker Tour (EPT) Monte Carlo, sponsored by PokerStars, also wrapped up its proceedings on May 4. Though many of the high-value tournaments were won by established names of the poker fraternity including Matthias Eibinger, Krzysztof Magott, Rainer Kempe and Benjamin Pollak, it was German pro Manig Loeser who captured the coveted €5,300 Main Event title, after agreeing to a three-way chop with Wei Huang (2nd for €552,056) and Viktor Katzenberger (3rd for €529,707). Loeser took home €603,777 in first-place prize money.
Even though EPT Monte Carlo has concluded, the high rollers need not fret as the Triton Poker High Roller Series Montenegro is now well underway since May 6. Event #1: NLHE Turbo saw Steve O’Dwyer decimate the 34-strong entry field to claim his first-ever Triton title for HK$ 3,708,784. Nevertheless, with the series slated to run till May 17, there is a lot more action left to unfold, especially with the 50th World Series of Poker (WSOP) slated to commence from May 28.
Taking a break from the live felts, the domestic online poker front was sizzling with action, and it was the PokerGuru Team Ambassadors who took center stage. Parikshit ‘Zapdos123’ Dhall shipped PokerStars India’s Sunday Special – Progressive KO ₹20 Lakhs GTD, which yet again offered a juicy overlay of a little over ₹3 Lakhs. Dhall bested online regular Utsav ‘rannyOO6’ Taneja heads-up to take home ₹4.11 Lakhs, while Taneja collected ₹1.80 Lakhs for his efforts.
Meanwhile, 9stacks’ signature Sunday tournament – Sunday Stacks ₹15 Lakhs GTD – saw two fellow Team Ambassadors, Arjanveer Singh ‘ballistik’ Chadha and Ashish ‘HakoonahMatata’ Ahuja, lock horns for the top prize. Chadha ultimately won out, bagging ₹2.92 Lakhs in prize money, while Ahuja received ₹1.91 Lakhs for his second-place finish.
However, the biggest winner this past Sunday was ‘Hai_toh_hai’ who triumphed over 603 entries (351 unique and 252 re-entries) in the Baazi Super Sunday (BSS) SuperStack ₹25 Lakhs GTD on PokerBaazi and picked up a handsome payday of ₹5.69 Lakhs.
Up-and-coming online poker site, Calling Station, celebrated its first anniversary on May 3. In honor of the occasion, the brand is hosting numerous promotions and offers for its user base including a ₹3 Lakhs freeroll on May 8 at 8 pm, a VIP race with over ₹90 Lakhs worth prizes in just 20 days and a mini tournament series from May 9-12 with ₹20 Lakhs in guaranteed prizes.
Moreover, PokerBaazi after announcing the launch of its revamped website with a smoother interface and completely re-designed Baazi Rewards UI last week, the site has also released the deposit codes of its latest offerings – Mysterious May and a new weekly tournament – Super 5, ₹5 Lakhs GTD which will feature a ₹99 buy-in.
In international news, just as former PokerStars Team pro Kevin Martin became the latest member of partypoker’s ‘Team Online’, the global online poker giant also announced four new brand ambassadors in Arlie Shaban, James Mackenzie, Nick Walsh and Eva Reberc. PokerStars has also enlisted eight new Twitch streamers in Mason Pye, Georgina James, Tom Hayward, Alberto Perez, Guillermo Inclan, Steve Enriquez, Benjamin Bruneteaux and Julien Brecard.
Back to the domestic scene, Goa Congress’ candidate for the Panaji by-election Atanasio Monserrate promised his supporters that if elected to office he will remove all offshore casinos from River Mandovi and relocate them to five-star establishments like hotels and resorts. Meanwhile, 70 premises belonging to Lottery King’s Santiago Martin were searched by the Income Tax (IT) department, and Martin was detained for questioning at the Kolkata airport and investigated with regards to unaccounted money and possible tax defaults.
Online Railbird Report
PokerBaazi’s Baazi Super Sunday (BSS) SuperStack ₹25 Lakhs GTD made its weekly stop at the premier online poker site this Sunday. The event attracted 603 entries (351 unique and 252 re-entries) generating ₹30.15 Lakhs in the prize pool. ‘Hai_toh_hai’ was the eventual winner, taking the event down for a hefty ₹5.69 Lakhs.
Other notable scores of the week include –
Parikshit ‘Zapdos123’ Dhall won ₹4.11 Lakhs for 1st place in the PokerStars India ‘Sunday Special – Progressive KO ₹20 Lakhs GTD’
Arjanveer ‘ballistik’ Chadha won ₹2.92 Lakhs for 1st place in the 9stacks ‘Sunday Stacks ₹15 Lakhs GTD’
Ashish Ahuja won ₹1.55 Lakhs for 1st place in the 9stacks ‘Wanderers ₹6 Lakhs GTD’
Prashanth ‘mcp1212’ Chandrasekhar won ₹1.34 Lakhs for 1st place in the PokerBaazi ‘BSS Megastack ₹5 Lakh GTD’
‘chiragpatel’ won ₹86,000 for 1st place in the Khelo 365 ‘Twister ₹2 Lakhs GTD’
‘naryaresh’ won ₹55,000 for 1st place in the Khelo 365 ‘Big Bang ₹1 Lakh GTD’
‘kalanamak’ won ₹47,497 for 1st place in the PokerStars India ‘Sunday Stars ₹2 Lakhs GTD’
‘vanillasky’ won ₹41,280 for 1st place in the Khelo 365 ‘Big Splash ₹75K GTD’
Mithun ‘ThePokeRajaIN’ Mahesh won ₹32,485 for 1st place in the PokerStars India ‘The Classic NLHE ₹1.5 Lakhs GTD’
‘BluffMaster18’ won ₹31,249 for 1st place in the PokerStars India ‘Sunday Warm-Up ₹1.5 Lakhs GTD’
‘JuwariBhai’ won ₹26,507 for 1st place in the PokerStars India ‘Sunday Storm ₹2 Lakhs GTD’
‘papakancha00’ won ₹26,350 for 1st place in the PokerStars India ‘Sunday Supersonic ₹1 Lakh GTD’
‘Psychopath0007’ won ₹17,469 for 1st place in the PokerBaazi ‘Sunday ₹1 Lakh GTD’
‘chiragpatel’ won ₹17,200 for 1st place in the Khelo 365 ‘Deep Stack ₹40K GTD’
Calling Station Celebrates 1st Anniversary With Money Spinner
Online poker site Calling Station completed a full year of operations on May 3 and is celebrating its first birthday in style with a mega month of promotions including a ₹3 Lakhs freeroll on May 8 at 8 pm, a VIP race with over ₹90 Lakhs worth prizes in just 20 days, and a mini tournament series from May 9-12 with ₹20 Lakhs in guaranteed prizes.
Read the complete story here
PokerBaazi’s Revamped Site & Exciting New Offerings
India’s most trusted online poker site, PokerBaazi launched its revamped website last week with a smoother interface and a completely re-designed Baazi Rewards UI. Timed perfectly with the launch, the website unveiled its latest offerings – Mysterious May with new deposit codes every day on its mobile app and a new weekly tournament – Super 5, ₹5 Lakhs GTD at just a ₹99 buy-in (5000x GTD).
Read the complete story here
Congress Candidate Atanasio Monserrate Promises to Relocate Offshore Casinos in 100 Days
Last week, Goa’s current Congress candidate for the Panaji by-election, Atanasio Monserrate made a promise that if elected, he will remove all offshore casinos from Goa within 100 days and relocate them to land-based five-star hotels and resorts.
Read the complete story here
2019 Deltin Poker Tournament (DPT) Colossus Super High Roller (SHR) Series
The second edition of the Deltin Poker Tournament (DPT) Colossus Super High Roller (SHR) series ran successfully from May 2-5 onboard the Casino Deltin Royale in Goa. Many familiar faces and prominent names from the domestic poker community were seen gunning in the three-event long series.
The central attraction of the series was without a doubt the ₹200K Main Event which drew in 42 entries after late registrations closed at the end of level 13 on Day 2. With a ₹1 Crore guarantee, the event saw some of the biggest names in attendance including Sahil Chuttani, Abhishek Jalan, celebrity poker player Minissha Lamba, 2019 DPT February Edition Main Event winner Ankit Kapoor, Kunal Patni, Vivek Rughani, Sriharsha Doddapaneni, and PokerGuru Staking’s Vikram Kumar among others. Outlasting them all and whisking the title away from seasoned pro Jasven Saigal was India poker pioneer and the first Indian PokerStars Team pro – Aditya Agarwal. He banked a colossal payday of ₹31 Lakhs for his win and for this, he is our “PokerGuru Star of the Week.”
Read the complete story here
The second-biggest winner at the series was well-known tournament regular Meherzad Munsaf. He decimated a 66-strong entry field in the series-opener, ₹50K Warm-Up, to claim his career-first live title, along with ₹10.80 Lakhs in prize money.
Read the complete story here
The third event on the DPT Colossus roster was the ₹25K Bounty which had pulled in 41 entries and crowned a champion in up-and-coming poker player Atul Kumar who pocketed ₹2.20 Lakhs in prize money.
Read the complete story here
2019 Asian Poker Tour (APT) Philippines
One of the most popular annual stops for the Asian Poker Tour (APT), the APT Philippines ran its course at Resorts World Manila from April 24 to May 5, with 23 events in the lineup. The schedule included two marquee APT tournaments – the Main Event and the Championships Event.
Indian participation at the series was energetic- we saw three Indian challengers post scores, led by Yasheel Doddanavar who opened the country’s scorecard with a 15th place finish (PHP 306,600 ~₹4.11 Lakhs) at the Main Event. Srinivas Polishetty picked two scores – his best performance coming in the PHP 22,000 NLHE 2 where he finished ninth (PHP 62,700 ~₹83,680). Dilip Menon was the third Indian scorer at the series, and final tabled the PHP 5,500 Deep Stack Turbo (7th for PHP 17,500 ~₹23,355). In all the Indian battalion clinched six scores at the series, and the best of them came at the last when Doddanavar finished runner-up in the PHP 107,500 High Rollers for PHP 1,225,000 (~₹16.34 Lakhs). With cumulative earnings at the stop crossing ₹20 Lakhs, Doddanavar was also the top performing Indian at the series.
Read the complete story here
Indian Cashes At 2019 APT Philippines
| Event Name | Player Name | Finish | Prize Money |
|---|---|---|---|
| PHP 10M GTD Main Event | Yasheel Doddanavar | 15th | PHP 306,600 (~₹4.11 Lakhs) |
| PHP 17,600 Head Hunter | Srinivas Polishetty | 21st | PHP 18,200 (~₹24,290) |
| PHP 16,500 Super Deep Stack Turbo | Yasheel Doddanavar | 17th | PHP 23,500 (~₹31,363) |
| PHP 22,000 NLHE 2 | Srinivas Polishetty | 9th | PHP 62,700 (~₹83,680) |
| PHP 107,500 High Rollers | Yasheel Doddanavar | 2nd | PHP 1,225,000 (~₹16.34 Lakhs) |
| PHP5,500 Deep Stack Turbo | Dilip Menon | 7th | PHP 17,500 (~₹23,355) |
PokerStars Ropes in 4 Brand Ambassadors & 8 Twitch Streamers
Online gaming giant PokerStars this past week announced four new brand ambassadors in Arlie Shaban, James Mackenzie, Nick Walsh, and Eva Reberc. The global giant also roped in eight new Twitch streamers in UK-based Mason Pye and Georgina James, New Zealand’s Tom Hayward, Spain’s Alberto Perez, Guillermo Inclan and Steve Enriquez and France’s Benjamin Bruneteaux, and Julien Brecard.
Read the complete story here
Kevin Martin Joins partypoker’s Team Online
Former PokerStars Team pro Kevin Martin has joined online poker site partypoker’s Team Online. The Canadian pro follows the footsteps of fellow countrymen Matt Staples, Patrick Tardif, Travis Darroch, and Ryan Schoonbaert in doing so.
Read the complete story here
Lottery King Santiago Martin Comes Under IT Scanner
Last week, the Income Tax (IT) department conducted searches on 70 premises of Lottery King Santiago Martin. Martin was detained for questioning at the Kolkata airport and is being investigated for unaccounted money and possible tax defaults.
Read the complete story here
WSOP Announces Many More Exciting Giveaways, Promotions & Updates With the 50th Anniversary Series Just Weeks Away
The World Series of Poker (WSOP) has come out with details on the Main Event seat (s) giveaway, $500 Hot Seat Promotion for live action games and other sops like the WSOP Tournament Accounts. Also, the brand has created a $1 Million display of cash under the framed Horseshoe, replicated for the 50th WSOP anniversary celebrations, to pay obeisance to the famed display made by WSOP patriarch Benny Binion in the late 1960s.
Read the complete story here
WSOP Releases U.S. Circuit Schedule For 2019-20
The World Series of Poker (WSOP) has on April 30, announced the 2019-20 schedule for its 16th WSOP Circuit U.S. season. Apart from reflecting several updates to the event structures and guarantees, the schedule also includes a slew of new stops, including Ameristar St. Charles, Horseshoe Baltimore, Harrah’s Las Vegas, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa, and Horseshoe Bossier City.
Read the complete story here
Texas Police Raids 2 Poker Rooms to Investigate Organized Criminal Activity & Money Laundering Allegations
Raiding two poker clubs in Houston, Texas police arrested nine people charged with organized criminal activities and a multi-million-dollar money-laundering plot.
Read the complete story here
2019 PokerStars and Monte-Carlo Casino European Poker Tour (EPT)
PokerStars sponsored European Poker Tour (EPT) Monte Carlo culminated on May 4. Hosted at the Monte-Carlo Casino, the final week of the series crowned champions in several well-known names of the global poker circuit including Matthias Eibinger (€50,000 Single-Day High Roller for €844,080), Krzysztof Magott (€5,200 PLO Single-Day High Roller for €113,370), Rainer Kempe (€25,000 NLHE for €400,850), and Benjamin Pollak (€25,000 High Roller for €705,840).
The most anticipated the event of the series – the €5,300 Main Event attracted a massive field of 922 entries across two starting flights and generated a humongous prize pool of €4,471,700. Topping the field, following four days of nail-biting poker action was German high-stakes pro Manig Loeser. Loeser netted €603,777 in top prize, after striking a three-way deal with China’s Wei Huang (2nd for €552,056) and Hungary’s Viktor Katzenberger (3rd for €529,707).
Read the complete story here
2019 PokerStars and Monte-Carlo Casino EPT Winners
| Event | Winner | Prize Money (EURO) |
|---|---|---|
| €50,000 NLHE Single-Day High Roller | Matthias Eibinger | €844,080 |
| €1,100 PLO | Rory Brennan | €31,200 |
| €2,150 NLHE Freezeout | Dario Sammartino | €23,100 |
| €5,200 PLO Single-Day High Roller | Krzysztof Magott | €113,370 |
| €2,200 NLHE | Juan Vecino | €127,040 |
| €550 NLHE Hyper Turbo Win The Button | Yoshikuni Takaoka | €16,060 |
| €10,200 NLHE Hyper Turbo Knockout | Kristen Bicknell | €46,950 |
| €25,000 High Roller | Benjamin Pollak | €705,840 |
| €550 H.O.R.S.E | Sacha Favere | €5,610 |
| €1,100 NLHE | Camel Meriem | €77,040 |
| €330 NLHE Deep Stack | Armen Khachatryan | €19,103 |
| €1,100 NLHE Hyper Turbo Win The Button | Francois Evard | €25,740 |
| €2,200 NLHE Deep Stack | Georgios Kitsios | €72,170 |
| €25,000 NLHE | Rainer Kempe | €400,850 |
| €2,150 NLHE Hyper Turbo Knockout | Romain Lewis | €20,180 |
| €220 NLHE | Brian Ganon | €6,800 |
| €10,200 NLHE | Nick Petrangelo | €128,620 |
| €3,200 NLHE | Nicolas Chouity | €84,200 |
| €1,100 NLHE Super Hyper Turbo | Matthias Lipp | €10,770 |
Steve O’Dwyer Takes Down Career-First Triton Title After Heads-up Chop with Isaac Haxton
The Triton Poker High Roller Series Montenegro kicked off in grand style on May 6 with the series-opener, Event #1: NLHE Turbo, which attracted 34 entries, including 11 re-entries, at the Maestral Resort & Casino in Budva. American pro Steve O’Dwyer outlasted his friend and fellow countryman Isaac Haxton heads-up to win his first Triton title. Both players agreed to a heads-up deal, leading to O’Dwyer locking in HK$ 3,708,784 for his win, while Haxton walked away with HK$ 2,901,216 for his runner-up finish.
Read the complete story here
Blake Whittington Ships WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Tunica Main Event
The $1,700 Main Event at the World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) Horseshoe Tunica registered 466 entries through two starting flights. Blake Whittington topped the field to clinch his first-ever WSOP Circuit Main Event title and the $151,789 cash prize that came with it.
Read the complete story here
Maurice Hawkins Claims Historic 13th WSOPC Gold Ring at Horseshoe Tunica
Event #8: $400 NLH Monster Stack at WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Tunica became a historic one after Maurice Hawkins claimed his record-breaking 13th WSOPC gold ring at the event for a winner’s paycheck worth $31,372.
Read the complete story here
Erik Lemarquand Captures Maiden WPTDeepStacks Title in Pittsburgh Main Event
Canadian player Erik Lemarquand overcame a field of 316 runners in the WPTDeepStacks Pittsburgh Main Event to capture his career-first WPTDeepStacks title for an impressive payday of $66,593.
Read the complete story here
And with this, we conclude this week’s roundup of the latest news updates and developments from the world of poker. We will return again next week with our weekly report, stay tuned.
Emerald Poker Tour is Coming Back to Casino Bellagio in Sri Lanka For its 3rd Edition From March 21-24
The Emerald Poker Tour (EPT) is fast becoming the go-to destination for Indian poker players craving exciting cash game action. EPT has created a niche for itself by organizing two successful cash game festivals in Sri Lanka catering specifically to mid to high stakes cash game poker players and now the popular cash game festival is returning for its third edition.
Casino Bellagio will once again play host to the third edition of the EPT that will take place from March 21-24 in Sri Lanka. The brand has brought in further re-enforcements to its core management team with industry leader and co-founder of one of India’s leading online poker site PokerBaazi, Navkiran Singh joining the venture as a partner alongside Gokul Krishna, Sunitha ‘Suni’ Sunder and Vikram ‘Lungi’ Kumar.
About the EPT Cash Game Festival
Founded by the husband-wife pair of Gokul Krishna and Sunitha ‘Suni’ Sunder, EPT derives its name from the host country, i.e. Sri Lanka, which is often known as Emerald island. PokerGuru Staking’s Vikram ‘Lungi’ Kumar joined the pair as a partner, and since then the trio has successfully pulled off two editions of the cash game festival.
PokerGuru caught up with the EPT team and Gokul Krishna, who is in charge of planning and execution, discussed the goals that EPT aims to fulfill, stating “EPT’s vision has always been and always will be to provide the best possible player experience. It’s been a short journey so far, we have learned a lot from this experience and will constantly work towards improving EPT.”
Suni handles the marketing and hospitality activities and expressing her excitement regarding the progress that EPT has made in such a short span of time, she said, “I am really happy with the way EPT has progressed so far. Apart from insane action on the poker tables I really like the fact that all the players stay at one location which helps us interact more off the felt. I’ve made a lot of new friends and had a great time in the earlier events. Looking forward to the third edition.”
Latest Addition to the EPT Core Team – Navkiran Singh
Possibly one of the most recognizable names in the domestic poker circuit today, Navkiran Singh, the co-founder and CEO of PokerBaazi has now become a part of this fast-growing cash game venture as a partner.
Fresh from the successful launch of India’s biggest online poker tournament – ‘The Game Changer ₹2 Crores GTD’, Singh talked about the potential that the EPT has to offer to poker players, saying “EPT is a brand with great vision backed by a brilliant team of poker enthusiasts. Even though I have organized similar events in the past, the fact that the EPT is handled in such an organized and professional manner motivated me to come on board, and together we hope to create a great platform for Indian players to come and experience live poker.”
Singh is an industry veteran and his addition to the core team will undoubtedly add value to the EPT. Vikram Kumar was delighted with Singh joining EPT and shared his sentiments, “Can’t be more excited in welcoming Navi [Navkiran Singh], the relationship keeps building .. his industry expertise will go a long way in achieving EPT’s vision of giving the recreational poker player the good time and allowing EPT to be number one brand for poker in the Asian market.”(sic)
While commenting on his chemistry with Vikram Kumar, Gokul Krishna also reiterated how beneficial Singh’s addition to the team will be, “Vikram (Kumar) and myself have been working together for a while now. We complement each other very well. Navi (Navkiran) joining the team is a big boost to us. With Navi’s vast experience, EPT will take massive strides in the live poker domain.”
Past Editions of EPT
Low cost of travel and lodging has made Sri Lank a very attractive poker destination among poker players and hence it’s no surprise that the past two editions of the EPT saw such healthy participation from Indian players.
With buy-ins ranging from රු,50,000 (₹19,316) to රු,5,00,000 (₹1,93,160), the festival has always attracted a wide spectrum of players and several big names like Shashank Jain, Abhishek Jalan, 2018 WPT India Main Event winner Nikunj Jhunjhunwala, Pavan Garapati, Niharika Bindra, Sameer Chaturvedi, Sahaj Singh Bali, PokerGuru Staking’s Kartik Ved, Pradeep ‘LionRoar’ Sharma, Naresh Veeravalli, Sangamesh Patil, Nipun Kumar and Rishabh Jain have all been part of past EPT festivals.
Future Plans – High Stakes MTT’s
The EPT core team has also indicated that they are now looking towards the bigger picture and are looking to transition from cash game festivals to offer high-stakes tournaments in the future. Navkiran Singh‘s addition to the team fits the storyline perfectly as PokerBaazi, which in one of India’s most popular online poker site’s, will likely host satellites offering packages to any prospective EPT tournament in the future.
Revealing the future plans for EPT, Krishna said, “Yes High Stake MTTs is definitely in the pipeline. We are planning to host it around the WSOP time with sattys (satellites) on Pokerbaazi.com. We are looking at various international locations at the moment. Will choose something which is easy for players to travel to.”
