This Week in Poker: May 8 – 14

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 countdown to the ‘World’s Biggest Poker Festival’ has begun and with precisely two more weeks to go till the 50^th World Series of Poker (WSOP) kicks off on May 28, let us take a quick recap of all the significant developments in poker this past week.

The virtual felts were abuzz with intense action and amidst a slew of Sunday special tourneys, online poker site PokerBaazi hosted its marquee weekly offering – BSS SuperStack ₹25 Lakhs GTD (RE). Dominating the 544-strong field to clinch the title and an impressive paycheque worth ₹5.38 Lakhs was our “PokerGuru Star of the Week” Alok ‘TheProfessional’ Birewar.

Also coming from the PokerBaazi bandwagon was yet another excellent value tournament that will be a weekly feature on the site now on – The Weekly Super 5 ₹5 Lakhs GTD – and that too at a modest buy-in of ₹108. This past week saw the tournament run six flights – one each day. Day 2 played out over the weekend with 354 survivors, and it was ‘idealheater11’ who took down the inaugural event for ₹74,650.

Not to be outdone, PokerStars India has also been revamping its flagship Sunday tournament – Sunday Special Progressive KO ₹20 Lakhs GTD – and this week, in an attempt to increase attendance, the brand announced the ‘MAGIC’ promotion as per which prizes were dropped on random tables at regular intervals. The promotion was also a co-branding effort for the upcoming India Summer Championship of Online Poker (INSCOOP). Despite the publicity, Sunday Special managed to register only 355 entries (187 unique and 148 re-entries), resulting once again in a sizeable overlay. Utsav ‘rannyOO6’ Taneja took top honors at the event and pocketed ₹3.68 Lakhs for his win.

In the meantime, up-and-coming online poker site, Calling Station ran a host of online tournaments under the ‘Money Spinner’ banner as part of its first anniversary celebrations.

The action on the live felts was teaming with excitement as seven out of the 12-events of the Triton Poker High Roller Series Montenegro crowned champions. American poker stalwart Bryn Kenney headlines the winners list having already won two titles at the stop. Kenney couldn`t have asked for a better start at the series as he took down Event #2: HK$500,000 NLHE 6-Handed for HK$11.23 Million. But clearly Kenney wasn`t done as he went on to win Event #5: HK$1M NLHE Main Event for a massive HK$21.30 Million payday. Meanwhile, Rui Cao claimed his career-first live title in Event #11: HK$1M Triton Montenegro Short Deck Main Event for HK$26.30 Million.

While domestic online sites have been upping the ante, the international platforms have also been waging war among themselves. partypoker announced its first-ever LIVE American event which will be hosted at the ARIA Resort and Casino titled, partypoker LIVE MILLIONS Vegas ‘Special Edition.’ The event is scheduled to commence from June 28 and will conclude on July 2. partypoker also announced the return of the KO Series boasting of $30 Million in guaranteed prizes which will run from May 12-26, while also releasing the schedule 2019 edition of MILLIONS Online which is slated to be held from December 1-10.

Meanwhile, PokerStars’ parent company, The Stars Group (TSG), entered a historic 25-year partnership with FOX Sports in a deal worth $236 Million.

Coming back to the domestic front, the only Indian BSE-listed gaming company Delta Corp saw a decline of over 7% in its share price resulting in the stock hitting its 52-week low after reports came through suggesting that the company and it’s subsidiary Highstreet Cruises had been booked by the Directorate-General GST Intelligence for alleged GST tax evasion to the tune of ₹6,189 Crores.

While the drama on the political and business aspect of the industry continues, railbirds have much live and online action to look forward to. The largest-ever contingent of Indian players is expected to hit the floors of the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas come May 28 at the 2019 WSOP, however, for those players who won’t be making the trip to Sin City this year, Deltin Poker Tournament (DPT) will be hosting the third edition of its DPT Xpress from June 6-9. For the first time, this series will be held onboard Casino Deltin JAQK in Goa, unlike its previous two editions which were both held at Casino Deltin Denzong in Sikkim.

Additionally, 888poker will be hosting three live tournament series in May starting with 888poker LIVE Local by PokerFest, Bucharest (May 13-19), 888poker LIVE Barcelona, Barcelona (May 22-June 3) and 888poker LIVE Local London, London (May 23-27).

Online Railbird Report

Premier online poker site PokerBaazi kept the action going this weekend with its signature BSS SuperStack ₹25 Lakhs GTD (RE) that registered 554 entries (includes 252 re-entries). Seen capturing the title was well known pro Alok ‘TheProfessional’ Birewar who squared off with Pritam ‘pritamrockon’ Dhokane beating the latter to the finish line. Birewar banked ₹5.38 Lakhs for his win and for this, he is our “PokerGuru Star of the Week.”

Other notable scores of the week include –

Utsav ‘rannyOO6’ Taneja won ₹3.68 Lakhs for 1^st place in the PokerStars India ‘MAGIC Sunday Special Progressive KO ₹20 Lakhs GTD’

Tathagata ‘RadioActivity’ Sengupta won ₹2.13 Lakhs for 1^st place in the PokerStars India ‘Highroller ₹7,700 NLHE ₹12 Lakhs GTD’

Siddharth ‘Schemer77’ Karia won ₹2.92 Lakhs for 1^st place in the 9stacks ‘Sunday Stacks ₹15 Lakhs GTD’

Arpit ‘ungal’ Garg won ₹2.28 Lakhs for 1^st place in the Uma Poker ‘Sunday Hangover ₹12 Lakh GTD’

Pranav ‘mithrandir16’ Anand won ₹1.29 Lakhs for 1^st place in the PokerBaazi ‘BSS PLO ₹5 Lakh GTD (RE)’

‘Ekaterina’ won ₹1.24 Lakhs for 1^st place in the PokerBaazi ‘The Monster 6-Max ₹5 Lakh GTD’

‘Rajjni007’ won ₹1 Lakh for 1^st place in the PokerBaazi ‘Grinders #33 Main Event ₹5 Lakhs GTD (RE)’

‘idealheater11’ won ₹74,650 for 1^st place in the PokerBaazi ‘Weekly Super 5 ₹5 Lakhs GTD’

‘Texasdolly3326’ won ₹50,000 for 1^st place in the Khelo 365 ‘Big Bang ₹1 Lakh GTD’

‘Ducait’ won ₹45,000 for 1^st place in the Calling Station ‘Money Spinner ₹1.5 Lakhs GTD PLO’

‘AceMirage81’ won ₹43,622 for 1^st place in the PokerStars India ‘Sunday Stars ₹2 Lakhs GTD’

‘J500PC’ won ₹39,562 for 1^st place in the PokerStars India ‘The Classic NLHE ₹1.5 Lakhs GTD’

‘tks5432’ won ₹33,667 for 1^st place in the PokerStars India ‘Sunday Warm-Up ₹1.5 Lakhs GTD’

‘Maxxts’ won ₹26,250 for 1^st place in the Calling Station ‘Money Spinner ₹75K GTD’

‘GJReddy’ won ₹24,731 for 1^st place in the PokerStars India ‘Sunday Storm ₹2 Lakhs GTD’

‘shanay1997’ won ₹22,000 for 1^st place in the Calling Station ‘Money Spinner ₹1 Lakh GTD’

‘direhash’ won ₹17,500 for 1^st place in the PokerBaazi ‘Sunday ₹1 Lakh GTD (RE)’

‘rishi159’ won ₹17,200 for 1^st place in the Khelo 365 ‘’Deep Stack ₹40K GTD’

‘Irmaboy’ won ₹9,375 for 1^st place in the Calling Station ‘Money Spinner ₹50K GTD’

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Phil Galfond’s Run It Once (RIO) Poker Hosts a 24-Hour Charity Twitch Stream

Phil Galfond’s online poker site Run It Once (RIO) Poker hosted a 24-hour Charity Twitch Stream from 3 PM EST onwards on May 11. With a star-studded group of poker pros participating in the live stream, RIO announced that 100% of the net rake generated on the site during the livestreamwould be donated equally between Sinai Health, an establishment that works for cancer research and StrongMind charities that works to address mental health.

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partypoker LIVE Announces 1st-Ever MILLIONS ‘Special Edition’ at the ARIA in Las Vegas

Online poker site partypoker has announced its first-ever LIVE event to be hosted un the U.S., the partypoker LIVE MILLIONS Vegas ‘Special Edition.’ The special event will be held at the ARIA Resort and Casino from June 28 to July 2 and boasts of $5 Million GTD prize pool. The event will feature a $10,300 buy-in as a standalone version of the tour’s flagship Main Events.

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Delta Corp Share Falls 6.99% on Reports of GST Evasion

India’s only BSE-listed gaming company Delta Corp saw its share price fall by over 7% after reports came through of the company and its subsidiary Highstreet Cruises have been booked by the Directorate-General GST Intelligence for alleged GST tax evasion to the tune of ₹6,189 Crores. While Delta Corp management has asserted that the company is GST compliant and has not evaded any GST, the DG GST is reportedly still investigating the issue.

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3rd Edition of the DPT Xpress to be Hosted at Deltin JAQK in Goa From June 6-9

Dates for the third edition of Deltin Poker Tournament (DPT) Xpress have been announced. The series is for the first time, coming to Goa and will be hosted onboard Casino Deltin JAQK from June 6-9. This will be the brand’s fourth live tournament series offering of the year.

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Paytm’s Gamepind Fantasy Sports Launched

The registered user base of Paytm’s skill-gaming portal Gamepind has reached a staggering 30 Million. The company has also launched its Gamepind Fantasy Sports for cricket enthusiasts.

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Nazara Technologies Invests ₹75 Lakhs in Bakbuck

Mobile gaming company Nazara Technologies Ltd has invested in the women-focused platform offering social contests like Antakshari and Tol Mol ke Bol – Bakbuck. According to Registrar of Companies (ROC) records, Nazara invested ₹75 Lakhs in Bakbuck for 2,143 compulsorily convertible preference shares.

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The Stars Group & FOX Sports Join Hands to Offer Sports Betting in the U.S.

In the first-of-its-kind partnership, the parent company of PokerStars – The Stars Group (TSG) has entered into a long-term, $236 Million commercial agreement with FOX Sports to offer online sports betting in the U.S. TSG and Fox will soon launch – FOX Bet – an online platform where players will be able to place real money wagers on the outcome of sporting events.

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PokerStars Announces UFC’s Bruce Buffer, Daniel Cormier & Johnny Walker as Latest Team Ambassadors

The latest development in the recently established partnership between PokerStars and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was the announcement made by the online poker brand that three of UFC’s most familiar names, i.e., official Octagon announcer Bruce Buffer, UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier and Light Heavyweight fighter Johnny Walker, have been signed on as Team PokerStars Ambassadors.

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Triton Poker Montenegro

Kicking off on May 5 at the Maestral Resort & Casino in Budva, the Triton Poker High Roller Series Montenegro has seen some of the biggest names in the business gunning for the trophies at the elite high-roller series. Headlining the action so far has been the American superstar Bryn Kenney who won not one but two events, one of which was the HK$1M NLHE Main Event.

Kenney’s first win of the series came in Event #2: HK$500,000 NLHE 6-Handed which he took down for HK$11.23 Million after defeating a 79-strong entry field. It was also his career-first Triton title.

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He followed it up with a phenomenal run in Event #5: HK$1M NLHE Main Event, which the first of the two Main Events at the series. The event attracted a total of 75 entries, and Kenney outlasted them all to bank HK$21.30 Million.

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The second Main Event of the series was Event #11: HK$1M Triton Montenegro Short Deck Main Event which was a three-day long event and ran from May 10 to 13. Frenchman Rui Cao obliterated the competition to bag his maiden live title, along with HK$26.30 Million in first-place prize money.

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Triton Poker High Roller Series Montenegro List of Winners

Faraz Jaka Wins WPTDeepStacks Black Hawk Main Event

Topping a field of 251 entries, Faraz Jaka won the WPT DeepStacks Black Hawk $1,500 Main Event for $77,290.

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Nathan Tetart Wins WPTDeepStacks European Championship Deauville Main Event

The final frontier of the 2018-19 WPTDeepStacks, i.e., WPTDS European Championship €1,500 Main Event attracted 405 runners at Casino Barriere. Nathan Tetart defeated Greg Ceran Maillard to win the title and a payday of €102,655.

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Andreas Christoforou Wins 2019 Merit Poker Classic Main Event

The Merit Poker Classic $5,300 Main Event attracted 649 entries via two starting flights. Local pro Andreas Christoforou defeated Liran Twito heads-up to win the title for $565,157.

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Mathias Siljander Wins Coolbet Open Tallinn Main Event

Last week, Finland’s Mathias Siljander outlasted a large field of 521 entrants to conquer the Coolbet Open Olympic Park Casino €550 Main Event for €60,100. Norway’s Anders Auset was relegated to the rail in runner-up spot worth €40,200.

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Alex Viard Takes Down European Poker Series of Rozvadov €550 Main Event

The €550 Main Event of the European Poker Series of Rozvadov culminated this past week and taking top honors at the event was France’s Alex Viard who received the first place purse worth €54,456 following a four-way deal.

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Blair Hinkle Wins RunGood Poker Series Tulsa Hard Rock Main Event

The final stop of RunGood Poker Series (RGPS) Showbound concluded at the Hard Rock Tulsa last week. The star attraction at the stop – the $675 Main Event boasting of a $100,000 GTD attracted 319 entries and outlasting them all was Blair Hinkle who defeated Matthew Blackwell heads-up to pocket the top prize of $44,012.

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Maeteusz Warowiec Wins MPN Poker Tour Prague Main Event

The MPN Poker Tour Prague’s showstopper event – the €675 buy-in Main Event registered a field of 402 hopefuls and topping them all was Poland’s Mateusz Warowiec who defeated Marko Keskel heads-up to win the event for 900,000 Kč (~€36,000).

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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.