10k Warm Up Final
Congratulations to the 10k Warm Up final winner WizardofOz
who is a PokerSchoolOnline member. Kanjana originally from
Thailand but now with British Citizenship played some great
poker throughout and defeated a field of 598 finalists who
had battled for their places since the start of the year.
In a great final she showed that PokerSchool really is the
learning ground for champions. Second place went to stockjacqppp
and third was chubahubba.
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Poker In America
Tim Kopp of PokerPages writes about Poker in America
It's The Final Countdown…
Hello again and welcome to poker in America. It's the final
countdown, and no, I'm not referring to the classic 80's
"heavy metal" tune made famous by the long forgotten
rock band, Europe. I'm talking about the 34rd Annual World
Series Poker, and of course, and it's been a wild ride up
to this point. The eyes of the poker world are on that little
old place in Nevada that Benny Binion made famous. As this
article goes into editing, players are just sitting down
for day 1 of the Main Event. When we last left off, we had
just made it through the first 17 events. So without further
adieu, lets pickup where we left off.
 After
John Arrage won Event
17 the action picked up again the following day, with
Event
18 $2,500 Omaha Hi/Lo. Layne 'Back to Back' Flack was
back at it again, winning his 4th WSOP bracelet and $119,260.
Layne set a record for the fastest final table of this year's
WSOP finishing off his opponents in just under 4 hours.
The win was also Flack's first in a World Series non-Hold'em
event.
 Event
19 Pot Limit Hold'em was next, and we saw another long
time pro win his 4th bracelet. Mickey Appleman, a life long
gambler of all sorts, overcame 213 other opponents to collect
$147,280. 'For me the historical significance and the gold
bracelet is what it's all about', said Appleman after the
match. 'The money comes and goes. But winning a World Series
of Poker event is special'. Also noteworthy was 2nd place.
Brian 'Shaggy' Plona, a PokerSchoolOnline member, making
his first WSOP Final table, took 2nd next to Appleman showing
once again that PokerSchoolOnline pays for itself.
 Moving
along to Event
20, we had one of my favorite events to follow, The
Seniors No Limit Hold'em. A huge field of 378 of the poker
world's best old timers showed up for the event and got
the Senior Citizen Discount buy-in of $1,000. Ron Rose from
Dayton Ohio showed Methuselah like resilience and took the
first place prize of $130,060
 Event
21, 7-Card Stud Hi/Lo was next. A crafty pro from California,
John Juanda, one of poker's nicest guys, won this $2,500
event, beating out a field of 140. This is bracelet number
two for Juanda. His other major wins have included the Hall
of Fame, Legends, California State Poker Championship and
the Jack Binion World Poker Open championship event. John
picked up $130,200 for the win
 No
Limit Hold'em, of the $1,500 buy-in variety, was next on
the list in Event
22. A whopping 531 players showed up for this one and
it was a dandy. Amir Vahedi of Sherman Oaks, California
picked up first place. 36 players would make the money but
Amir took home an even $270,000 for his troubles. Until
the win, Amir's best finish had been a fourth place showing
in the WSOP. Congrats on your first piece of jewelry, Amir!
 The
next event was Event
23 S.H.O.E which drew 135 players and the prize pool
grew to $251,100. PokerSchoolOnline teacher Daniel Negreanu
showed his expertise in all forms of poker and walked away
with his 2nd WSOP title and $100,440 in first place prize
money.
 Moving
along, we had Event
24 Pot Limit Omaha. To get into this event would have
cost you 5 grand, and your competition was going to be of
the world-class caliber. Unless your name was Johnny Chan,
you wouldn't be taking home 1st place, and forget about
the $158,100 and gold bracelet that went along with it.
It was all Johnny in this event. Chan picked up his 9th
title, tying him with poker great Doyle Brunson for all
time lead in WSOP history. Oh, for those of you who think
poker is all luck... um, think again. Just go ahead and
try to outplay Johnny Chan, I dare you.
 Event
25 was the Limit Hold'em Shootout. Some argue that Limit
Hold'em events might actually take more skill than No Limit
Hold'em. Layne Flack might say so after he won his 2nd bracelet
of 2003 and his 5th bracelet overall. The cream rises to
the top and Layne found $120,000 amongst all the dairy.
Layne is having one heck of a year on the tournament circuit.
 In
Event
26 it was Limit Hold'em again. This time the buy-in
was $3,000. Tom Jacobs has been playing in the World Series
for 18 years. Many times he had come close, making several
final tables in that time span, but he never once took first.
This day was different, this day Tom would have all the
chips when all was said and done, picking up his first WSOP
victory. Along with $163,000 for 1st, Tom fulfilled a dream.
"It's good to finally be here alone at the end, sitting
at this table with all the chips. What a feeling."
said Tom after the match. What a feeling indeed!
 Closing
in on the Main Event we find ourselves at Event
27 and Razz. The Pro's game drew only 30 players. Huck
Seed won $71,500 for first place in an all-star field.
 It
was time for the ladies to give it a try in their own event
in Event
28. Weather or not you think women should have their
own events, is your prerogative. Personally, I think it's
a good way to get ladies poker some exposure that it sometimes
otherwise doesn't get. Either way you look at it, the girls
were going to play 1/2 Hold'em-1/2 Stud in this event. Barb
Rugolo of Scottsdale, AZ would take the bracelet beating
out 112 of her peers and collecting $40,700. See you in
the final event, Barb.
 The
action never stops and another day brought even more poker.
Event
29 Omaha Hi/Lo was next on the menu. As expected, attendance
was back up at 259 players for this event. Frankie O'Dell,
from Long Beach California picked up $133,760 in his first
World Series victory.
 Event
30 Pot Limit Hold'em was one event I wish I could have
participated in. Perhaps next year, one of the readers of
Poker in America might lend me the $3,000 to get in to play?
While I hold my breath, waiting for that to happen, I'll
let you know which of the 218 players won. Charles Keith
Lehr inched his way past Chris Ferguson and picked up his
1st WSOP title. Charles won $225,040 for first place.
 The
main event for 7-Card Stud was in Event
31. $5,000 to play in this event, so bring your wallet.
Men 'The Master' Nguyen may have been getting jealous with
all the former champs winning events this year. Men, who
hadn't won a WSOP event since 1996, finally got into the
winners circle again. In what was his 5th title, Men picked
up $178,560 for his 2-day effort.
 Event
32 No Limit Hold'em was the last of the No Limit Hold'em
events until the final. The buy-in was 3 Grand. Poker Brat
Phil Hellmuth, the youngest player to ever win the Main
Event, would be the winner. He would also be picking up
his 9th bracelet tying him with Both Johnny Chan and Doyle
Brunson for the most titles. Afterward a modest Hellmuth
remarked, 'I'm just honored to be mentioned in the same
breath as Johnny Chan and Doyle Brunson.' Will Phil be the
first one to pick up number 10? Only time will tell.
 Onward
to Event
33 and Pot Limit Omaha. One of only two events that
featured re-buys this year. 120 players combined for 104
re-buys to create a prize pool of $536,400. John Juanda,
who days before won his first WSOP, title was back at it
again in event 33. Jon would add another $203,840 to his
2003 winnings.
 Event
34 we had Limit Hold'em with a $5,000 buy in. 2001 Main
Event winner Carlos Mortenson from Madrid, Spain collected
his 2nd bracelet and a hefty $251,680.
 Our
last event in this issue is Event
35 Ace to Five Triple Draw Lowball. In what has been
the year of the Champions. Men 'The Master' Nguyen picked
up his 2nd win in this year's WSOP with only 79 players,
Men had to settle for $43,520 for first place. Life must
be rough for Men the Master
That brings us to the Main Event, the $10,000 No Limit
Hold'em championship. The Crown Jewel of the No Limit Events.
Action is just starting up, and breaking a new record in
attendance, 839 players. Join us next time when we take
a look at how it all ended up.
To view the other Tournaments that are being played in
the shadow of the WSOP like the Mini
Series of Poker at the Bicycle Casino and the Oasis
Open, be sure to visit our Tournament section by clicking
here.
Looking ahead to June we have many fine events to keep
you busy like the Sport
of Kings at Hollywood Park Casino, Reno Hilton's annual
Pot
of Gold Tournament, and the Southern
Classic at the Grand Casino in Biloxi. To view all of
June's Events, click
here
Until next time, see ya on the River,
Tim Kopp
W.S.O.P
official photo gallery
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 The
Big One III
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Watch this space for more information about the Big One III!
To see results of Big One III Spring Final,
click
here, and to read the Big One III
wrap up report, click
here.
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 Poisonous
Poker: A Poker Cop Mystery
By Robert Arabella
Part 5- Execution
There have been three poisoning deaths at the Las Vegas
Majestic's Poker Room. The Chief of Poker Room Security,
Talbot, The Poker Cop, continues the investigation.
Red Penny lowers the gun, slightly, "Is there any
way I'm going to get out of this without killing you?"
When I answer 'No' she turns and walks back into
her room. I follow. (Red Penny, for those of you who need
to know this, is wearing an oversized man's dress shirt
with very few buttons buttoned. Her red hair is every-which-way
wild and her face, lacking its perfect paint, is baby powder
white.)
'Well?' Red Penny asks, the gun still in her
hand.
'I talked to the M.E. The Sinners all died because
their hearts and lungs couldn't deal with what was put in
their drinks.' .....Read
more
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Poker In Europe
Kevin Pratt of PokerPages writes about Poker in Europe
With all eyes centred on Vegas, the unlikely venue of Tallinn
in Estonia provided the only European action since our last
newsletter, and a big thank you to Andres Burget for providing
the results and photos of the 3rd
Estonian Championships.
 With
players from around 12 different countries, the Estonian
Championships had a kind of international flavour to it.
Event 1 was €32 5-Card Stud, which was won by Ivo Jurno
from Estonia. Ivo can now proudly be called the national
Estonian 5-Card Stud Champion.
 Event
2 €100 Pot Limit Hold'em was won by another Estonian
Aleksandr Arutjunov who picked up €2,229.
 Event
3 saw the other nationalities show the Estonians the way
as it was €45 Pot Limit Omaha. Irish players Roy Brindley
and David O'Neil had to settle for the minor honours as
Finland's Juha Helppi showed that Pot Limit Omaha really
is a game that the Scandinavians excel at. Juha won €1,575
for his efforts.
 Event
4 was the Main Event, a surprisingly high €320 No Limit
Hold'em, but with earlier satellites, the management were
very pleased to see 38 players enter.
Previous days winner Juha Helppi nearly pulled off the double
but had to settle for second place behind the experienced
German Lothar Landauer who won €3,654.
 The
final event was €45 Seven Card Stud and this went to
Roman Perevostsiko of Estonia who won €959.
Poker Manager Andres Burget was very pleased with the championships,
and the turn out of players from 12 different nations. With
some top side action in the cash games, maybe more players
will note this venue in their diaries for next year.
The next festival in Europe is a particular favorite of
mine The Torneo
di Poker in Nova Gorica, Slovenia. If you haven't been
to Slovenia before then you should read a report from Ray
Morris Hill that we featured on PokerPages a few days
ago. The cash action is great value, and more and more players
are waking up to the fact that Slovenia is a beautiful country
that offers a great place to have a holiday and play a little
poker.
Until then good luck,
Kevin Pratt
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Player Articles
 2003
WSOP Main Event Day #1 Report
By Dr. Mark Burtman
I have had my ups and downs this year at the WSOP. On the
positive side I have made my first final table at the WSOP,
finishing 5th in the $2000 Pot Limit Hold-em event. Since
then it has been all down hill. I missed the money by two
in the next tournament, which was the $2500 Stud-8 Event.
I never got close again to making the money. It doesn't
take long to go through the $18,000 prize that I received
for the 5th place finish. I was down to my last $10,000
and I hadn't won a seat yet in the big one. I had gotten
very close, finishing on the bubble twice in supersatellites,
after losing to sets after I was leading on the flop. I
also had a great chance to win another second-chance tournament
when I was chip leader 4 handed. The second chip leader
moved in on me with A-10, while I woke up with A-K in the
big blind. I made two pair, but he made runner-runner straight,
and I exited a few hands later winning $1700 instead of
the first place $11,000. Read
More.....
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Poker in the U.K.
Andrew Lacey of the PokerPages Team writes about poker in the UK.
Update on British and Irish players playing
in Las Vegas
In my last newsletter I covered the performance of the
British and Irish players in events 1 to 20, at the World
Series of Poker (WSOP). So let's take a look on how they
have fared in events from #21 on.
Immanuel Sebag, from London scored well in Event
24, the $5,000 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha event, a game
very familiar to Sebag. After 83 other players were eliminated,
he went heads-up with WSOP legend Johnny Chan, who was looking
to win his 9th title at the WSOP. Sebag was unfortunate
to find Chan at the top of his game. When Chan is in form,
it is extremely difficult to beat him, and Sebag unfortunately
discovered this. Chan went on to win his 9th WSOP bracelet
and $158,100, which now means he is the all-time leading
money winner in World Series history, with $3,473,994 in
lifetime earnings from WSOP events. Sebag picked up $90,900
for his second place finish.
 In
Event
25, the $1,500 buy-in Limit Hold'em game, Ram Vaswani
of the Hendon Mob just missed out on making the final table.
Ram busted out in 11th place, and had to settle for a mere
$2,500. Far short of the $120,000 first place prize that
he had his eyes on, and of course the coveted bracelet and
title. Better luck next time Ram.
 Dave
"Devilfish" Ulliott experienced a similar fate
in Event
26, the $3,000 buy-in Limit Hold'em event. Dave exited
in 12th place from a field of 154, winning just $6,290.
First place paid $163,000.
In Event
29 the $1,500 Omaha Hi/Lo game, there were 259 entrants.
Richard Ashby from London made his first ever final table
appearance at the WSOP. With 5 players left, Richard went
all-in on a flush draw that failed to get there, so he had
to settle for 5th place and $12,640.
218 players took part in the $3,000 buy-in Pot Limit Hold'em,
Event
30. 5 players from Britain made the money, with 2 of
them making the final table. Bruce Atkinson, the colourful
Elvis impersonator from Brighton, went out in 22nd place,
picking up $3,640. Neil Channing from London exited in 17th
place with $4,860. Andy Gomm went out in 15th place, good
for $6,080. Dave "Devilfish" Ulliott and Mark
Freedman made it to the final table. Dave struggled to get
going and suffered a bad beat when his made pair of aces
got cracked by 2 running diamonds, giving his opponent Keith
Lehr, the eventual winner of the title, a flush. Dave had
to settle for 8th place and $12,160. Mark Freedman settled
for 4th place and $36,620.
Event
32, the $3,000 buy-in No Limit Hold'em tournament, saw
398 players enter, resulting in a prize pool of $1,110,420.
Ivan Donaghy from Northern Ireland must have been gutted,
as he busted out in 11th place, just missing the final table
and the opportunity to climb up the money ladder. Ivan took
home $13,320 for his efforts. Julian Gardner came 17th,
good for $8,880 and Keith Hawkins came 19th, good for $6,660.
The $2,500 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha Event
33 attracted 120 entrants, and with 104 re-buys the
prize pool stood at 536,400. F Badie Monsour came 4th at
a very tough final table, and picked up $32,180. Dave Colclough
came in 13th place ($7,500), Surinder Sunar came 14th ($7500)
and Donnacha O'Dea from Ireland came 16th (also $7,500).
The Main Event
The Main Event, the $10,000 buy-in, 5 Day No Limit Hold'em
Tournament, Event
36, has just started, as I write. My thanks to Steve
McDonald and the great team at Binions for getting us the
end of day results, so promptly and professionally. Unfortunately
we have seen many British and Irish casualties on Day 1,
including the person I predicted to win the event outright;
Lucy Rokach
Other significant casualties from Day 1 include Barny Boatman,
Joe Beevers, Simon Trumper, Ram Vaswani, Mike Magee, "Mad"
Marty Wilson, Peter Costa and Frank Callaghan. But we still
have plenty of solid players left who are in with a shout,
so good luck to them all, and be sure to check back with
us daily for end of day reports.
Results from Gala Casino Dundee's May
Poker Festival are in
The first event was the £100 buy-in Pot Limit Hold'em,
which was won by H. Motaghian, who took home $8,500.
Next up was the £500 buy-in No Limit Hold'em Tournament,
with B. Bravery taking the honours here, for a cool £10,000
in cash.
Third game was a £100 buy-in 6 card Omaha tournament.
First prize and £7,500 went to P. Starrs.
The fourth event was a £200 event, and the prize
pool grew to £40,000 after 96 entrants and 104 re-buys.
D. Eastwood took first place and a sweet £15,000.
The Gala wrapped things up with a £100 No Limit Hold'em
tourney, which saw 60 runners and 96 re-buys pump the prize
pool to £15,600. This title went to R. Ashby, who
netted £5,500 for his win.
Our congratulations go to all the winners.
Upcoming Events
There are 3 tournaments to pick from in June
First up in June is the South
of England Poker Festival , at the Grosvenor Casino
in Southampton, which will run from June 1st to 3rd. There
are 3 events to select from.
The Grosvenor Casino in Ramsgate will stage their Summer
Spectacular from June 6 to 8. Please check back at our website
in the next week as we expect to have their schedule of
events, in the coming days.
Napoleon's Casino in Owlerton, Sheffield will hold their
June
Festival from June 11 to June 13, with 3 events to choose
from.
Be sure to check www.pokerpages.com for all the latest
results, reports and schedules from the UK and around the
world.
Until next time, take care…
Andrew Lacey
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Poker Down Under
Reported by David Parlor
The new point's series for a $10,000 Main Event seat in
the 2004
Australasian Poker Championships began last Thursday
with a very good turnout of 70 entries. The new time of
6.30 p.m. has been appreciated by many players and contributed
to the good numbers. Poker players are also invited to enjoy
hot and cold complimentary snacks in the Poker Room from
6pm. The series will last for ten weeks, so it is still
not too late to be a part of it.
A Poker Learn to Play program has been developed to teach
new players how to play Holdem. This will commence from
Thursday May 22 and will be conducted on Thursday, Saturday
and Sunday evening in The Crown Poker Room. If any experienced
players have friends or family they would like to introduce
to Poker, they may book a session prior to arrival by calling
the Poker Room on (03) 9898 5797.
Sunday tournaments recommence at Crown from 25 May at a
cost of $55. The tournament will be run with a new format
of two heats beginning at 12.15pm and 2pm. The final 5 players
from each heat will form the final table. Players that make
an early exit from the first heat will be eligible to re-enter
the 2pm heat (subject to demand).
While small tournaments are continuing at Crown the Australian
Poker Association (NSW) is planning the New South Wales
Poker Championship. This event is scheduled to run from
Wednesday July 30th to Sunday August 3rd and will have events
ranging from $100 to $1,000 buy-in. This is a great opportunity
for the Sydney locals to show that there is demand for Poker
in this city. I am sure that many of the Sydney casino staff
will wish to be a part of this event after their latest
good showing in Christchurch. I know the Melbourne staff
are already booking leave to meet across the felt again.
For full details on the Tournament e-mail Keith Sloan at
bendigo@pokernetwork.com
For any other questions about Poker in Australia please
e-mail me.
-David Parlor
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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.
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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.
| 
The
2003 World Poker Open was won by Dave 'Devilfish' Ulliott from
England who totally dominated the final table and took home $589,990
and a seat in the $25,000 World Poker Tour Final.
The
Jack Binion 5th Annual 
