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Full Details
New at PokerPages
 There
are many great articles on Pokerpages and to help you find them easier we have launched a new easy to use archive section. All the top poker
writers are here and we have some interesting articles that we are sure many of you have never read. Read
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for details or Join now
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 Poker
In America
Tim Kopp of PokerPages writes about Poker in America
1 Million Dollars Anyone?
Hello again everybody and welcome back to Poker in America. Waistlines beware! In a little less that a week Thanksgiving will be upon
us; ushering in the holidays and kicking it off with a big Turkey Dinner. If you're out of town visiting with friends and family, after
you've had your last helping of cranberries, taken a nice long nap, and punched a new hole in your belt, it may be a good time to get out
and check out a new poker room at wherever you may be.
November has been a busy month for those of us following the Tournament Trail with several quality events in all parts of the country.
Looking at the results, I can see that many of you have been jetting across the country from event to event taking advantage of the monster
prize pools and the 1000's of dollars in dead money. This month there's a chance for something that, to my knowledge, has never happened
before on the circuit. In November, there's a good chance that we'll have 2 separate events with 1st place prizes of over a million dollars!
We've already made one new millionaire at The Foxwoods World Poker Finals and early signs indicate that we'll have a 2nd soon at The
Showdown at the Sands, The Million Dollar Deal. This issue we take a look at both of these tournaments as well as what December might
have in store for us.
First we start in Mashantucket, Connecticut and The World
Poker Finals at the Foxwoods Casino Resort. This event just wrapped up and 1 lucky player was made a millionaire and given a free seat
to the World Poker Tour Finals at the Bellagio when all was said and done. Lets take a look at how we got to the million-dollar event.
 When
we last met, we were just over half way through the course of the event. We pick up action in Event
11 No Limit Hold'em, the first of the big buy-in events. Event 11 was the first of the $1,000 Buy-ins and the amateurs and pros alike
showed up in fine numbers; 237 to be exact. With an extra $5,000 being added to the prize pool by Foxwoods, there was a very respectable
$242,000 up for grabs. Leave it to a seasoned pro to spoil it for all the amateurs though as Amir Vahedi, stepped up to claim the $82,280
first place Prize.
The following day featured another $1,000 buy-in event, this time however it would be 7-Card
Stud. Expecting a smaller turn out for this day's action the event drew only 88 players. Keeping in mind that this was still more players
for this event than last year, the prize pool jumped to $93,000. Connecticut's own Stud Specialist Joseph Bove would take the first place
prize and $37,200.
 Up
next in Event 13 was some Limit Hold'em, and following
the trend of $1,000 Buys-ins the Prize pool climbed up to $177,000. No stranger to final table play Miami John Cernuto (From Nevada) put
all his tournament knowledge to the test and passed with 1st place and $65,490.
Moving along to Event 14 they kicked it up a notch raising
the buy-ins to $2,000. Keeping with the pattern, the game again was No Limit Hold'em. If you had enough for the buy-in you were treated
with extra value for your buck as the House was adding $10,000 to the Prize pool. With the 153 players, the prize pool jumped to over $300,000
for the first time, ensuring a pay out of over $100,000 for whoever took first. In a final table that was almost entirely professional players,
it was aspiring Pro Joe Grundfeld from California who took it down for $116,920 and 1st place.
 Next
up was the $2,000 Limit Hold'em. In a big drop off in
players only 52 players made it for sign up. However, that was okay for Player of the Year candidate Charles "Scotty Warbucks" Shoten. Just
fewer people to have to eliminate to collect his first place prize of $45,600. Scotty is wrapping of what he calls one of the best poker
years of his career. Looking at his winnings from this year, I'd have to agree.
Finally it was the last of the big buy in events before the Main Event. The $2,000 buy-in 7-Card Stud Final, Event
16. Much to my surprise more players turned out for the Stud event than the Limit Hold'em match the day before. This year at Foxwoods
a new trend has developed, more players are signing up for 7-Card Stud events than the Omaha and Limit Hold'em matches. Could this be a
sign of things to come in 2004? We'll have to wait and see. Miami John, making the most of his visit, decided to take home another 1st place
prize of $62,400.
 It
was now time for the Main Event. 313 anxious players filled
the tournament room to start off the action. Everyone of them eyeballing the prize pool of just over $3.1 million dollars. Of the 313 players
though, only 27 would make it into the money, and only 1 would take home the  1st
place prize of $1,089,000! This was a 3-day event and on the 3rd day, in front of the cameras for the Travel Channel's season 2 WPT, 6 players
squared off. With WSOP champ and poker uuthor Phil Hellmuth 2nd place in chips starting play, the smart money was on him to finish strong.
As it turned out, David beat Goliath as the Amateur chip leader going into day 3, Hoyt Corkins , never looked back and found out what it
feels like to win over a million dollars playing poker. Just how DOES that feel, I wonder? Wouldn't we all like to know? Congrats to Hoyt,
for playing spectacular and showing that poker is a game for everyone. Thanks to Mike Ward and the rest of the Poker Room staff at Foxwoods
for hosting another great tournament.
Just down the road from Foxwoods in Atlantic City we head to The Sands Hotel & Casino for our 2nd Million-dollar event, The Showdown
at the Sands. Players are still showing up in droves, but we're already through the first 5 events. Here's how it has played out to this
point:
 Event
1 Limit 7-Card Stud. 159 players showed up and dished out the $200 for the inaugural event and Delaware native Frank Tatje Leeser took
home 1st and $27,750. Leeser won the $300 stud event at the United States Poker Championship in 2000, and finished 7th a year later in the
big stud event.
 In Event
2 it was the first installment of the popular No Limit Hold'em events. Another $200 buy-in event, this time attracting 322 players (349
re-buys). Greg Kolo from one of my favorite towns, Hoboken, New Jersey took home a nice 1st place prize of just under $60,000.
 On to
Event 3 and elevated buy-ins. This was the $500 7-Card
Stud hi/lo event and 88 players fought over the $50,000 prize pool. Pro Asher Derei, just in from Foxwoods took first and $18,500. Derei
won a gold and diamond bracelet at the World Poker Open earlier this year and has won many other major tournaments in his impressive poker
career.
 Next
up, the first Limit Hold'em match. 141 players started
and 1 player finished. The winner was Michael V. Cimino from Egg Harbor, NY. Michael takes home just under $25K for his efforts.
 We
leave play at Event 5 and some Limit Omaha 8. A nice field
of 106 players ponied up the $500 for their seat. Atlantic City cab driver Chris Reslock took home a nice $18,550 after taking the day off
to play poker. Maybe he should do that more often? As they say, don't quit your day job. We'll pick this tournament up next time and see
who's poker's newest Millionaire.
 Before
I leave you to your Thanksgiving Turkey there's one other tournament that you may want to keep an eye on. Down in the Caribbean they're
playing the St. Maarten Open at the Maho Beach Casino
in St. Maarten. While all of us in the States have been busy on the east coast, the European players are showing up in force to sit in these
games in the US Virgin Isles. They're just through the first 3 events, and I have to put credit where credit is due. Many of you may remember
Juha Helppi from the WPT's season 1 broadcast from Aruba when he won both the Amateur tournament and the heads up match against the winner
of the Pro's tournament, Phil Gordon. Juha made one of the most questionable moves against Kathy Liebert (an amateur???) to win the Amateur
tournament, and I for one, thought he wasn't worthy of the seat. I'll hereby eat my words, as Juha has made it to the final table of the
first 3 events, showing that his WPT seat was no fluke. Go get 'em Juha! Be sure to watch the daily results for this classic match and enjoy
reading Max Shapiro's daily reports, you'll be glad you did
Until next time, good luck!
Tim Kopp
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 Poker
In Europe
Kevin Pratt of PokerPages writes about Poker in Europe
After the excitement of the MasterClassics of Poker in Amsterdam it was off to Finland for the European tour and the Helsinki Freezout
at Casino Ray.
Event 1 was €100 Limit Hold'em and despite a strong Scandinavian presence
it was the man from Jordan Imad Rida who came out on top winning €6,938. I don't know anything about Imad and I never even knew they played
poker in Jordan so I can't give you any further information about him other than to say this is the first tournament he has won.
 Event
2 €150 Pot Limit Omaha saw 88 entries contest a prize pool of €41,550. Ram Vaswani from the Hendon Mob made the first of his 4 final
tables on the way to becoming player of the week but finished a disappointing 7th place in this one. Top Russian player Sergey Pevzner however
added another 1st place and $6,380 to his growing bankroll and this was his 15th final table appearance in 2003.
Another Russian Sergei Altbregin won Event 3 €300 Limit
Stud and €12,436. This was Sergei's first win outside Russia and he may well become another Russian who is prepared to travel the European
circuit next year.
 Onto
the Main Event and the €1,500 No Limit Hold'em which saw
62 players compete for the €91,000 prize pool. Finally the man who seems to have more bad beats and bad luck in major events than anyone
I know came good as Barny Boatman picked off some amazing bluffs to take the well deserved €27,342 first prize. Barny regularly gets his
aces cracked at crucial times in many big events and this was a popular victory in a No Limit Tournament.
 Barny's
Hendon Mob compatriot Ram Vaswani got himself heads up with MasterClassics Lido winner Johan Storakers in Event
5, €1,000 Pot Limit Omaha. Johan proved he was not struggling from the after effects of Amsterdam and came through to win €11,025. He
is clearly a man on form and lets hope it can continue to the WSOP in 2004 as he has the ability to take home a bracelet.
The final event was the €200 Soko which is a game played
the same as Canadian Stud and is the national card game in Finland. The top 8 players were all from either Finland or Sweden but it was
Mikko Kupari who prevailed and won $11,878.
Next up in Europe is the Italian Championships from
Hit Casino in Slovenia followed by the Winter Tournament
from the Aviation in France which in case you didn't know is all Hold'em this year
Kevin Pratt
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 Poker
in the U.K.
Andrew Lacey of the PokerPages Team writes about poker in the UK.
Hello again everybody. In this newsletter I'll be reporting on events in Southampton and Blackpool, where Grosvenor Casino's held some
recent tournaments, and taking a look at the action to come later this month and in December.
Results from the Southampton Poker Championships
3 events were played out at the Grosvenor Southampton earlier this month. First up was a £50+£5 No Limit Hold'em tournament. 53 players
entered, putting the prize pool at £7,500 after re-buys and add-ons. A deal was stuck at the final table awarding £3,100 to first and then
£1,000 to the 2nd, 3rd and 4th place finishers. L Edwards won this one, taking down the £3,100 with M Spencer, C Parker and G Oakley getting
a grand apiece.
The second event was a £100+£5 Pot Limit Hold'em tournament with 72 players doing battle for the £11,900 prize pool, after re-buys and
add-ons. H Parmizka saw off the 71 other players, taking down £4,500 for his win. A deal was also done here for 2nd and 3rd place, with
G Shiret and K O'Leary each getting £2,200 respectively.
The main and final event in Southampton was the £400+£5 No Limit Hold'em event. We had 56 entries for this one and a prize pool of £22,400.
Tournament regular Willie Tann took this one down, good for £8,000. Once again a deal was struck for 2nd and 3rd place, with S Maker and
P Austin winning £4,350 each.
Results from Blackpool
 Shortly
after play at Southampton ended, players headed to Blackpool for the Northern
Lights Poker Festival, held at the Grosvenor Casino "The Sandcastle". Tournaments got under way on November 6th with a £100+£10 Pot
Limit Hold'em game. 154 players and 178 re-buys resulted in a juicy £33,200 prize pool to contend for. The final table saw yet another deal
being struck, with £5,000 apiece going to 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th. The title went to J Patel. W Clarke, Q Phonuk and J Hopkins were the other
finishers claiming £5,000.
A £100+£10 No Limit Hold'em tournament was next. We had 154 runners and 206 re-buys, putting £36,000 in this prize pool. No deal was struck
here and it was consistent tournament money finisher Ali Mallu who saw off the rest of the field. Ali took home £14,970. T Pratt came in
second, winning £6,800 and A Shah won £4,590 in third.
Then it was time for the Main Event, which was the £250+£25 Pot Limit Hold'em tournament. 138 players took part, and after a hefty 257
re-buys, the prize pool stood at £64,250. A final table deal was also reached here, which would award £15,820 to the winner and £10,000
to the 2nd, 3rd and 4th place finishers. V Biddle took first in this event and the £15,820, while M Badet, Christine Ward and Dave Gardner
each took home £10,000.
To conclude the Northern Lights Poker Festival we had a £50+£5 Pot Limit Hold'em event, and 110 players took part. After an even heftier
356 re-buys in this event, there was £17,800 to play for. M Kazi was the outright winner here, winning £7,280. Q Phonuk and A Shah were
back in the money again in this event, getting £3,360 and £2,270 for their respective 2nd and 3rd place finishes.
Our congratulations go to all the winners.
Upcoming Events
The Winter Poker Championships at the Gala Casino in
Dundee, Scotland have just gotten underway, and will run until Sunday, November 23rd. Buy-ins range from £100 up to £500 so there should
be plenty of action in Dundee.
The Grosvenor Casino in Walsall will host the Midland Masters
running from November 24th to 30th. Buy-ins to the various events range from £100+£10, £250+£25, £500+£25 up to £1,000+£25 for the main
event - the 2 day No Limit Hold'em tournament. There will be a total of 7 events to be contested in Walsall.
Looking ahead to December, there will be 3 tournaments to look forward to. Napoleon's Casino in Owlerton, Sheffield will stage their December
Festival , from the 3rd to the 5th. 3 events with buy-ins of £50, £100 and £200 will be contested.
Running simultaneously with events in Sheffield will be the Christmas
Cracker Festival at the Rendezvous Casino in Brighton. This festival starts on December 3rd also and runs until the 7th. There are some
very affordable buy-ins of £20, £30, £50 and £100 on the menu in Brighton, with a total of 5 tournaments to be played out. So if you are
new to tournaments, and want to get some affordable, live action play experience, Brighton would be a good choice for you.
The Grosvenor Casino in Luton will hold their Christmas
Cracker tournament, from December 8th to 14th. So there are plenty of good games to be found in the UK, before we ring in 2004.
Before I go I'd like to say congratulations to Barny Boatman and Ram Vaswani for their excellent performances in Helsinki. See the Poker
in Europe section by my colleague (and no poker slouch himself!) Kevin Pratt, for further details. No doubt the Hendon Mob will be splashing
their Helsinki winnings around at BugsysClub www.bugsysclub.com , where they can be frequently be found playing online.
Until next time, take care...
Andrew Lacey
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 Poker
Down Under
Reported by David Parlor
The Australian Dealers Championship at Casino Canberra has just concluded for another year and again was a great success. Although numbers
were a little lower than last year, this year's tournament included two events, with entries totalling 73.
The first event, Limit Holdem was won by Brett Jones (Crown Casino) who described himself in the pre-tournament form as "Picked late from
the vine after a dry season. Strong fruity bouquet with strong berry and plum notes. Rich and sweet on the tongue, with a crisp, clean finish.
Drinkable now, but better if laid down for 2-3 years. This wine will mature with age. Price range: $16 - $20 a bottle." It appears that
this Poker player is ready for consumption now, and look out in a couple of year's time when The Grange's of Poker may be challenged.
Jonathon Macey (Star City) took out the No Limit Holdem event, defeating Brian Crocker (Star City) and Anna Coukias (Treasury). I believe
this may by the highest finish from a Treasury dealer where it looks like the girls are showing the guys just how it's done.
Crown Casino continues to hold small tournaments leading up to The Aussie Millions in January. The next event is The Crown December Special
Weekend that will run from Thursday 4th December to Sun 7th December. All tournaments will be Holdem with buy-ins ranging from $50 to $100.
This will be one of the last chances for players to win a seat in The Australasian Championship Main Event and mix it with the heavyweights
of Poker.
One well respected personality in the Poker community that will not be taking his seat in next years main event is Keith "Bendigo" Sloan
who has signed with Crown Casino to be the "voice" of The 2004 Aussie Millions. Keith's informative and entertaining style is sure to be
enjoyed by both players and spectators as entrants fight it out to see who will be the next Australasian Poker Champion.
Congratulations Keith and well done Crown for securing a true professional to present Australia's biggest tournament.
David Parlor
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 Guess
Who
Guess Who for November
Guess Who? is a new competition introduced on PokerPages for BugsysClub.com where you can win $50 in a Real Money account at BugsysClub.
All you have to do to win the Real Money account is to look at the photo to the left and guess which well known poker player it is. Post
your answer on the BugsysClub forum. You must be registered at BugsysClub to post on the forum, and you can do that here.
The winner will be randomly drawn from all the correct entries that are posted on the BugsysClub forum. The contest is judged by BugsysClub.com
and then awarded by Bugsy himself.
There is only one guess per username and any posts that are edited will be disqualified.
We will be having one Guess Who? per month and the next one will be on the 29th November where we will also show you November's result.
Three steps to winning a $50 Real Money account.
Step 1. Guess who the player is.
Step 2. Register an Account
at BugsysClub.
Step 3. Post your answer
on the BugsysClub forum under the thread Guess Who?
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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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