BugsysClub - The Best Games in Town
Here you will find 'The Best Games in Town' and a guarantee that we will
'take care of you personally'. Let us take you back in time to the 1920's,
the place where it all began. We 'Personally' invite you to play your
favorite Casino and Poker games with BugsysClub.
The Speak Easy Forum, is where our lively community hangs out, join them
and share your gaming experiences, along with your gangster stories.
Leagues - $6,000 PrizePool
We will track your poker play and enter you into a monthly league free of
charge. You play, we do the rest. For the month of March there is a prize
pool of $6,000 to be won. For more information Click Here and lets see who
will be the Hot Shot this month. See our current tournament leaders Here.
This site is Endorsed by Mark and Tina Napolitano of PokerPages.com
Return to Top
PokerSchool Online
You can download the PokerPages and PSO software absolutely free and play in our freeroll tournaments. Play online with other players to compete for points and sponsorships! We have changed the look to the PokerSchoolOnline home page and you can now easily surf between both of our sites with the new easy to use tabs at the top.
PokerSchool membership is only $14.95 per month or $149.95 annually. With that membership, you get an amazing amount of content and advice from the top players in poker. Our supportive poker community is the best on the internet. Learn from them and compete with them for a chance to play in our current major tournament promotion, the Big One III with prizes in sponsorships worth over $100,000! Read more about PokerSchool Online and the Big One III!
The Pokerschool Online Tutorial Team
Poker In America
Tim Kopp of PokerPages writes about Poker in America
WPC '03 s Underway
Hello again everybody and welcome back to Poker in America. Today is the first full day of spring, and while much of the country is still stuck in winter's icy grasp, the weather here in the southern states couldn't be any nicer. This month we'll be going from cold to hot as we travel from Saskatchewan to Reno to take a look at two events that were guaranteed to put a spring in your step if you were lucky enough to come away a winner.
When people think poker they think Saskatchewan. Ok, maybe that's not entirely accurate, but the folks at Casino Regina in Regina, Saskatchewan are hoping to put poker on the map in Canada by hosting their 2nd Annual Station Poker Classic. Admittedly, I didn't know much about this casino before I started collecting the daily results from the event. I must say that I was immediately impressed with the number of players that were turning out for the event. The Station poker Classic had a little something for everyone with four separate ultra-affordable events with big pay offs.
In event #1 it was Limit 7-Card Stud. It seems 7-Stud tourneys are starting to gain a little more interest from players these days and after playing in some recently, I can see why. 102 players showed up for event 1 and were able to create a prize pool of $35,625 after 181 re-buys. Joe Gallo of Tinsdale, SK would take first and with his efforts also would scoop up a crisp $12,518 (Canadian Dollars).
Limit Omaha Hi-Lo was on order for Event #2. I recently heard a humorous bit of wisdom in regards to the game of Omaha Hi/Lo after a player was running badly in a local game. The player was having trouble and was looking upset when one of the other players at the table, in an effort to console his friend said, "Don't worry, nobody loses in Omaha, some people just win slower than others." An instant classic was born. In event #2 Jose Cerillo of Edmonton, AB was winning faster than any one else and took the first place prize of $15,746(CAD). There were 133 players and 221 Re-buys in this $100 buy-in event.
In Event #3 Limit Texas Hold'em we saw the biggest buy-in for any of the 4 events at $200. With $100 Re-buys and a $100 optional add-on the prize pool swelled to $85,405. Ben Clarke from Saskatoon, SK worked his way through 168 other players to take first and $29,368 (CAD). Regina local Bryan Hoeving would take 2nd and $16,744 (CAD).
The 4th and final event of the Station Poker Classic was none other than No Limit Texas Hold'em. They filled the Poker room with this one with the maximum 180 players. With another 479 re-buys tacked on to the prizepool it would climb to just over a quarter of a million (Canadian) dollars. Winner of Event #1, Joe Gallo, would strike again and come out victorious and collect $26,834 making his total almost 40K in four days. Good job, Joe!
I'd like to thank Rita Ericson and the rest of the Tournament staff at Casino Regina for providing the results and running another great tournament.
Just getting underway at the Reno Hilton in Nevada is The World Poker Challenge 2003. In what had been Reno's answer to the end of winter for the past few years, big numbers were expected. Management's expectations were met by the Reno's large Poker community showing up in full force. We're just now through the first six events; here's out it's panned out thus far...
Event #1 Limit Hold 'Em – 226 players, $65,766 Prize pool, 1st place - Max Pescatori ($24,333)
Event #2 No Limit Hold'Em – 238 players, $69, 258 Prize pool, 1st place Norm Ketchum ($25,625)
Event #3 7-Card Stud Hi/Lo – 111 players, $32,301 Prize Pool, 1st Place Hany Sjekary ($12,920). PokerSchoolOnline Member, Mike Muckleroy took 6th place and $1,290
Event #4 Omaha Hi/Lo 148 players, $43,068 Prize Pool, 1st place Max Pescatori ($17,227). Max's 2nd victory of the week.
Event #5 Pot Limit Hold 'Em 117 players, $34,047, Prize pool. 1st place David G. Reed ($13,619)
Event #6 7-Card Stud 63 players, $18,333 Prize Pool. 1st place "Miami" John Cernuto ($7,333)
There's still some time to head on out to the Reno Helton, but if you can't make it, stay tuned to www.pokerpages.com as this event unfolds in the over the next couple weeks. Next month we'll be looking at how this great annual event wrapped up.
Looking ahead to the rest of the month of March we still have some great events to look forward to. We have schedules up for all these events and there's still time to book a flight or make the drive to your favorite cardroom. Click on the following links to see if there's an event you'd like to enter:
Rat Pack - March 22 to 23, Ocean's Eleven Casino Oceanside, CA
World Series $10,000 event Satellites - March 22 to April 5, Spirit Mountain Casino Grand Ronde, OR
First Annual Turning Stone Poker Classic - March 23 to 29, Turning Stone Casino & Resort Verona, NY
WSOP 'Warm Up' IV - March 29 to April 7, Garden City Casino San Jose, CA
Back Nine - March 31 to April 2, Hollywood Park Casino Inglewood (Los Angeles), CA
To end on a personal note this month...As our country heads yet again into war I'd like to personally wish all of you out there who may have friends or family, on either side, in harm's way, a safe and speedy trip back home.
Be safe and good luck,
Tim Kopp
Return to Top
The Big One III
You must be a member of PokerSchool Online in order to participate! PokerSchool membership is only $14.95 per month or $149.95 annually. Click here to join now!
The Big One III began January 1st 2003 with over $100,000 of Sponsorship Awards Available for Major Tournament buy-ins Worldwide.
If you enjoyed our World Poker Open Warm Up on PokerPages, why not participate in 3 times the excitement by entering The Big One III? You wanted to win a $10,000 seat at the Open so why not take a chance at winning your share of over 100,000 Sponsorship Points?, with a top prize in each of the 3 finals of 15,000 Sponsorship Points, that can be traded in, to enter any tournament of your choice worldwide. If you thought the World Poker Open Warm Up was tremendous value then take a closer look at The Big One III as the points are higher and there are 3 finals a year.
We are excited to announce our next 'Big One' promotion, aptly called The Big One III. There will be over $100,000 of Sponsorship Awards for major tournament buy-ins worldwide available. The difference this year, is instead of one final event, we will hold 3 Big One III Finals.
*** The Spring Final on April 26th ***
*** The Summer Final on August 23rd ***
*** The Winter Final on December 20th. ***
Watch this space for more information about the Big One III!
To see results of Big One II, click here, and to read the Big One II wrap up report, click here.
Poker In Europe
Kevin Pratt of PokerPages writes about Poker in Europe
This week the action in Europe focuses on the Concord Card Casino in Austria for the Vienna Spring Festival, where the popular European World Series of Poker Trial is being held during the two weeks. This event is your chance to play the same format as the World Championship but it only costs €2,000 to enter rather than the $10,000 at the WSOP.
Many of Europe's best players will no doubt be going to Austria this week in preparation for Vegas in May, including recent British
Open winner Jac Arama, and 2001 champion Simon 'Aces' Trumper. Poker Million runner up Joe Beevers, along with his Hendon Mob colleagues
are sure to put in an appearance, as this has proved a good venue for them in the past.
There is a wide range of other tournaments in Vienna starting with a €75 Limit Hold'em and progressing to a €1,000 No Limit Hold'em. If you've never played at the Concord then give it a try this year, as it is a dedicated card room with limits to suit all bankrolls at all hours. The dealers in the Concord are amongst the best in Europe and the management are first class, with tournaments starting on time and running smoothly throughout.
Full results
will be published on the website as and when the tournaments finish so keep up to date with this exciting event to see if Martin Aigner can retain the trophy he won last year.
Kevin Pratt
Return to Top
FREEROLL
Win a $10,000 Seat
To An Event Of Your Choice Worldwide.
PokerPages does it again with another exciting Warm Up opportunity -
your chance to go and play in any event worldwide with a $10,000 buy in.
The Warm Up Started January 6th- Don't delay download
the software today!
Win a $10,000 Seat of Your
Choice
Even non-poker players have to agree, this is the experience of a lifetime!
It costs you nothing to participate in the 10k Warm Up and you could earn
the chance to play against world class poker players as well as take home
part of a huge prize pool. Just choose anywhere in the world with a $10,000
buy in, within 12 months of the final event, and you will be sponsored
by Pokerpages.
Warm Up Information
So now it's your turn to get in on that action...for free! PokerPages
is holding the first ever, 10k Warm Up where you choose the seat on their
exclusive
software. You will be able to play Round 1 10k Warm Up tournaments on the PokerPages
Software. Download it here.
If you finish as one of the 15 top players of a Round 1 event tournament,
then you will qualify to play in a Round 2. Be one of the top 20 to place
in a Round 2 event, and you will qualify for the Final Event on May 10th,
3pm CST. The 1st place prize is a $10,000 seat of your choice worldwide. See our schedules
here.
Round 2 and Final Event Qualifications
Round Two Qualifiers List
To get on this list, you must play in one of our 10k Round 1 Warm Up Tournaments
and be one of the top fifteen winners. These winners will be qualified
to play in the coming weekend's Round 2 events. Each Round 2 event will
have approximately 300 players. Be one of the top 20 to place in a Round
2 event, and you will qualify for the Final Event on May 10th, 3pm CST.
Go to the Round
2 qualifier list to see who has qualified so far or click
here to view the schedule.
The Final Event Qualifiers List
To get on this list, you must place at least 20th in a Round 2 event.
Final Event qualifiers are then qualified to play in the Final Event.
The first place prize is a $10,000 seat of your choice worldwide! Go to the Final
Event qualifier list to see who has qualified so far or click
here to view the schedule.
More Information
Find out who won the $10K seat in the 2002 WPO Warm-Up, here
Return to Top
Heartbreak
By Jason "The Gamblin' Fish" Fischer
I was in a cramped little bar section of a Mexican restaurant in the Valley. I had just spent the day assisting in a TV shoot for a syndicated special that counted down the hottest "jams" of the summer. My workload amounted to carrying sand bags and standing around while two former child stars read scripted introductions to videos off of cue cards. It had been fun getting out of the office and hanging around all day in the sun, and now some of my fellow workmates and I were enjoying our own little wrap party.
The margaritas and cervesas were flowing and we had just begun to dig into the treacherously deep-fried sampler platter when I noticed a familiar sight on the silent TV screen above the bar... Read more
Return to Top
No Limit Fridays:
Ace King - To Play or Not to Play, That is The Question
By Frankie Cardulla
It is Friday night, February 14th and that means it's time to head over to the Orleans once again for the 7:00 p.m. no-limit hold'em tournament.
The buy-in is $60, for which you receive 400 in tournament chips. There is one optional re-buy for $40, anytime within the first hour. This re-buy gets you an additional 800 worth of chips. On this date, there were 95 entries with 90 re-buys. 10 places were paid with $2,290 for 1st, $1,330 for 2nd, and $810 for 3rd. There were a total of 110,000 chips in play.
For most of the first hour of play, I didn't get involved in any big confrontations. My chip count was at 470 when the following hand took place right before the end of the first hour. With blinds at 20-40, an early position player makes a raise to $150, and a passive player calls $150 in middle position. I am on the button with A-K offsuit. This is my last chance to try and double up before the break. I figure we all have probably similar hands, so I decide to go all in, hoping to get it heads up with the original raiser. I am not called by either player and win the pot uncontested. I end the first hour of play with a chip count of 830. I exercise my re-buy option and increase my stack to 1,630. The average chip count at the end of the first hour is 1,220... Read more
Return to Top
Poker in the U.K.
Andrew Lacey of the PokerPages Team writes about poker in the UK.
The past two weeks of March have seen the completion of two key events in the UK's poker calendar: The Grand Final of the Poker Million 2003 and the completion of the British Open at the Vic. So without further ado, here's what happened.
Poker Million 2003
The sixth heat for the last seat in the Poker Million 2003 final was aired on Sky Sports on March 7th. The six competitors were Ross Boatman of the Hendon Mob, Jimmy White the professional snooker player, Jac Arama - a legend in his own mind!, Paul Samuel, Tristan McDonald and WSOP 2002 runner-up Julian Gardener. After a roller coaster battle, with chip leads changing faster than the job of Sunderland F.C. manager, it was Jimmy White who overcame a huge stack disadvantage against Jac Arama to take first place. His final seat place would allow him do battle with his former snooker nemesis Steve Davis who had already qualified. So on to the Grand Final, which was aired live on Friday 14th. I had the privilege of being able to watch it live at the Grosvenor in Luton during a recent visit to London, so my thanks to the Grosvenor for the kind hospitality afforded to me that night.
To recap, the six finalists were:
- Seat 1 - Guy Bowles
- Seat 2 - Bruce Atkinson
- Seat 3 - Steve Davis
- Seat 4 - Jimmy White
- Seat 5 - Joe Beevers
- Seat 6 - Tony Bloom
The final was a very entertaining and enjoyable affair. Each player started out with 100,000 in tournament chips with the blinds starting at 1000/2000. Most players played cautiously at the beginning. But Jimmy took a few gambles with underdog hands and was rewarded on those occasions. He did serious damage to a few others, mainly Guy Bowles, when Jimmy called Guy's pocket Kings' 30,000 raise with A8. Needless to say an Ace flopped and Guy had to back off when Jimmy eventually shoved his entire stack in.
They say that to win a tournament you need to get lucky at some point, and tonight it was Jimmy's turn - all night! He was flopping trips, turning straights against sets, cracking Kings with weak Aces, flopping 2 pair against pocket Aces. He could do no wrong! First to fall was Guy Bowles (crippled early when his KK lost to Jimmy's A8). Guy was already short-stacked and feeling the pressure. That's always a nice time to find pocket Aces! So he did what was expected and shoved all-in. Jimmy fell in love with his King-10 of diamonds and called. The flop brought a King and a 10 giving Jimmy 2 pair and the lead. No Ace or running pair arrived for the hapless Guy and he was out.
Next to falter was Steve Davis. Steve was in the lead with Jack-10 on a flop of 10-7-6 against Tony Bloom's 10-9. Steve went all-in and Tony hesitantly called. But the turn card was an 8 and Tony had now made a straight. A harmless 3 on the river sent Steve packing.
Third man out was Tony Bloom. When his Ace-8 went up all-in against Joe's King-9 Tony was the favourite. Two big Kings flopped for Joe and Tony said his goodbyes.
It was Bruce's turn next with Jimmy again proving to be the executioner. Bruce had limped in with 9-7 and Jimmy checked from the big blind with 5c-6c. The flop came down 10-9-7 with two clubs. Bruce had hit 2 pair and Jimmy had draws to both the flush (any club) and a straight (any 8). Bruce promptly went all-in with Jimmy calling - he was in gambling mood! The turn was the Queen of spades (so far so good for Bruce's two pair) but the river card brought the Ace of clubs. Jimmy had hit his flush and Bruce left dejected. So we were down to two.
The end came quickly. A few hands later Jimmy found an Ace-10 while Joe found 2 Jacks. The chips were in faster than a Jac Arama rebuy and we waited for the flop: Ace-King-3 (all diamonds). Jimmy had hit his Ace but it might not be all over yet. Joe had the Jack of diamonds while Jimmy's only diamond was the 10. Any diamond (or another Jack) would give Joe the pot and a huge stack of chips. The turn card was a black 7. The dealer seemed to take an eternity (to me anyway) to reveal the final river card. This added to the drama and tenseness of the situation. It was a black 5 and Jimmy's pair of Aces took the crown of Poker Million 2003 and a cool $150,000. Joe scooped $70,000 for second. Congratulations to Jimmy, who has provided us with countless hours of entertainment at the snooker tables over the years. Commiserations to Joe who, no doubt, will be back as he is one of the most consistent players we know. It was great entertainment and we look forward to a repeat in 2004.
British Open at the Victoria
The eagerly anticipated British Open took place from March 10th to 16th, with 6 attractive tournaments being played out. Event 1 was the £200 Pot Limit Hold'em that allowed unlimited rebuys for the first 90 minutes and one add-on. 180 entrants and 232 rebuys generated a prize-pool of £82,400. Gareth Jones took first place honours and £31,312.
On March 11th we saw the £250 Pot Limit Omaha event get under way. Again unlimited rebuys were allowed for 90 minutes and one add-on. The prize-pool grew to £74,744 and seasoned pro Chris Bjorin took the title and £28,690 for his efforts.
Next up was the £500 entry Pot Limit 7-Card Stud event. 101 runners made for a prize-pool of £50,500. Top spot and £18,430 was claimed by another seasoned visitor to the green felt: Mick Cook.
Event 4 was a £500 buy-in No Limit Hold'em tournament. 159 players registered for a prize-pool of £116,500. Yet again it was two more tournament regulars, Carlo Citrone and Lucy Rokach, who finished in the top 2. Carlo claimed first place and £42,088 with Lucy getting £23,257 for her 2nd place finish.
Event 5 was a game that is not commonly spread in the UK or Ireland but still generated a field of 108 players. It was the Pot Limit £200 Omaha Hi/Lo game with unlimited rebuys for 90 minutes plus one add-on. After 149 rebuys the prize-pool stood at £50,400 and top spot was claimed by Ian Dobson, who many readers will remember finished 3rd in the inaugural Poker Million in 2001. Ian took home £19,532 for his first place finish.
The final event was the big one everyone had been waiting for - the £1,000 buy-in No Limit Hold'em Championship. Registration was restricted to 200 players so we had £200,000 in prize money to fight for. The event was played over 2 days and when all was said and done it was the colourful Jac Arama who emerged victorious (and without a single rebuy, as they were not permitted of course!). Jac's wallet was healthier to the tune of £74,200. In the runners-up spot was Derek Baxter who netted £37,100 with Paul Testud of France finishing 3rd and £20,405.
Our congratulations go to all the winners.
Upcoming Events
Napoleons Casino in Sheffield will host their March Festival from the 26th to the 28th and will feature 3 tournaments.
April sees a number of tournaments in the UK and Ireland. The Grosvenor Casino in Luton will hold their Spring Festival on April 7-13.
Back in my own home country the Merrion Club will host the Irish Open in Dublin from April 17-20. Under the directorship of Gentleman Liam Flood it promises to be a great success once again and we expect many of the UK's top players to make the short trip over.
And just today our good friends at the Rendezvous in Brighton gave us an update on their commitment to poker. As a result of their very successful festivals the management has extended the seating capacity from around 70 seats to 120. The next one at the Rendezvous is scheduled for April 14-21. Click here for details. We wish Deborah Rogers and the team at the Rendezvous every success in their enlarged festivals. So pack your bucket and spade and head for the beach at Brighton Marina but don't forget to bring your buy-ins as well!.
Until next time, take care...
andrew@pokerpages.com
Return to Top
Poker Down Under
Reported by David Parlor
The New Zealand Poker Championships are well under way with most of the Tournaments having reached their conclusion. The week began with the Inaugural Peter Pekoe Memorial Draw Tournament, won by Harry Walker from New Zealand. This special event has been included in the Championship to honour the memory of the man considered to be the best poker player ever to come out of New Zealand. Peter won many major tournaments in Australia during the early days of Poker in Adelaide and will be remembered by all who were fortunate enough to play against him.
This event was followed by the Dealers Tournament with many of the staff from Crown Casino seeking revenge after their demoralising defeat in Canberra last year. While many of them made the final table, they proceeded to self-destruct leaving Danny Thai to compete against a number of very talented Sydney players. Being the chip leader for most of the tournament, Danny managed to see his way through to victory, showing the Sydney staff that at least one player from Crown can play.
Leo Boxell again showed his pedigree by winning the Limit Holdem Tournament after being short stacked and out drawing Manny Rodrigues three times to take the title. Constantine Haraach again has proved to be the best New Zealand Tournament player winning both the 7 Card and Pot Limit Holdem. Constantine is not alone when it comes to quality players from New Zealand, John Wylie who finished second to Constantine in the Pot Limit Holdem went on to win the Pot limit Omaha the following day.
As I write this, the final of the teams' event is underway and has been by far the most enjoyable and fun event of the week. While many people said it would never work, Keith "Bendigo" Sloan assured all that it would and was proved correct. While the prize money was not huge there was great camaraderie shown by all the players taking part in this event with early casualties sweating their teammates for a place in the final.
Again Christchurch Casino has proved to be one of the most hospitable casinos in Australasia (if not the world) and will continue to grow with its reputation for providing a fun, well-run tournament week. Special thanks to Arthur Pitcher, Bev Black and all of the staff at Christchurch Casino who have contributed to make this a highlight of the Australasian poker calendar.
For any other questions about Poker in Australia please email me.
-David Parlor
Return to Top
PokerDollars
Play for free on our PokerPages software and win a chance to join PokerSchool Online! Just download the PokerPages software here!
If you have registered and downloaded our software and play in the fun play cardroom of PokerPages you can Win Poker Dollars. The Top 3 players on the ranking system at the end of the month win, 3 months, 2 months and 1 month respectively in PokerSchool Online. You must play in at least 20 freeroll tournaments during this month in order to win. To see our winners so far, click here!
If you are an existing school member you can still play in the Fun Play cardroom and win Poker Dollars towards your existing school membership.
Return to Top
Signing Off
We hope you enjoyed our twice-monthly newsletter. If you would like to contribute to this newsletter or have any suggestions, please email tina@pokerpages.com. So until next time, be lucky!
Sincerely,
The PokerPages Staff.
| 
