WSOPC REGIONAL RINCON: ESLAMI, WEST SHAKE UP PTPR LEADERBOARD

PHOTO CREDIT: POKERNEWS.com

What a crazy final table it was at the WSOP Circuit West Regional at Rincon!

Lots of big names headlined final table play, but, in the end, it is Ali Eslami who won it all.

The win marks Eslami's second PTPR score of the season and propels him to the top of the PTPR Leaderboard. Earlier this week, Alessio Isaia had regained the top spot - this is the second lead change in less than a week!

Second place finisher Tim West, fresh off his Wynn Classic Main Event win, also skyrocketed up the charts, he now sits tied for 2nd, surpassing Marvin Rettenmaier, who was tops on the leaderboard as of last Sunday.

Steve Brecher, David Peters and Dwyte Pilgrim are other notables who picked up PTPR Points this event.


World Series of Poker Circuit Rincon
WSOPC Rincon Regional Championship
March 27-30, 2011

Harrah's Rincon Casino
Valley Center, California, USA

Buy-in: $10,300
Prizepool: $950,600
Entries: 98

Defending Champion: 1st time event

FINAL RESULTS
ALI ESLAMI 125
TIM WEST 75
D.J. BLANCHARD 45
STEVE BRECHER 35
DAVID PETERS 30
DANA KELLSTROM 25
DWYTE PILGRIM 25
DYLAN WILKERSON 10
MILLER DAO 10
KWINSEE TRAN 10
ALEJANDRO GARCIA 10
JOE PARKER 8

WSOPC REGIONAL RINCON: WEST, PILGRIM LEAD FINAL TABLE

PHOTO CREDIT: POKERNEWS.com

It was unfortunate to see such a small turnout at the WSOP West Regional at Rincon near San Diego however the quality of player that will be playing at tomorrow's final table is certainly impressive.

Chip leader Tim West is looking for his second title in less than a week. West won the Wynn Classic in Vegas late last week. A top two finish will propel West to the top of the 2011 PTPR Player of the Year Leaderboard.

The other "big" name at the final table is 2010 minor circuit dominator Dwyte Pilgrim. Pilgrim has 40 PTPR Points on the board this season, he is looking to add to this total.

Also appearing at this 9-player final table is David Peters, Ali Eslami and Full Tilt Pro Steve Brecher.


World Series of Poker Circuit Rincon
WSOPC Rincon Regional Championship
March 27-30, 2011

Harrah's Rincon Casino
Valley Center, California, USA

Buy-in: $10,300
Prizepool: $950,600
Entries: 98

Defending Champion: 1st time event

FINAL RESULTS
1st place 125
2nd place 75
3rd place 45
4th place 35
5th place 30
6th place 25
7th place 25
8th place 10
9th place 10
KWINSEE TRAN 10
ALEJANDRO GARCIA 10
JOE PARKER 8

WPT VIENNA: GROMOV WPT WINNER, ISAIA PTPR LEADER

PHOTO CREDIT: PARTYPOKER.com/blog

Dmitry Gromov has clinched his first WPT title. The Russian poker pro defeated his fellow countryman, Maxim Kolosov heads up.

Gromov won the final Russian Poker Series event of the 2010 season in December, he also scored PTPR Points at the WSOP, at EPT Vilamoura and a prelim event at EPT Prague in 2010. This is Gromov's first PTPR Score of the 2011 season.

Party Poker qualifier Simon Ravnsbaek had one hell of a tournament, a third place finish. Great work by Ravnsbaek.

Alessio Isaia had a great day, despite not being to finish higher than 8th in the event. He collected 30 PTPR Points - his third PTPR Score of the season - and those points propel him to the top spot on the 2011 PTPR Player of the Year Leaderboard.


World Poker Tour Vienna
WPT Vienna Main Event
March 25-29, 2011

Montesino
Vienna, AUT

Buy-in: $4,925
Prizepool: $2,497,500
Entries: 555

Defending Champion: 1st time event

FINAL RESULTS
DMITRY GROMOV 130
MAXIM KOLOSOV 80
SIMON RAVNSBAEK 50
MARIO ADINOLFI 40
VALENTIN STROIESCU 35
MAXIMILLIAN NOLL 30
ALESSIO ISAIA 30
MARK JENISCH 15
PASCAL LEFRANCOIS 15
SLOBODON BJELOBRK 15
ALEXANDER KUZMIN 15
QUINN SIVAGE 13
JOHANN AUBE 13
FREDERIK JENSEN 13
ROBERT AKERY 13
ANATOLIY OZHENILOK 10
MATTHIAS KURTZ 10
RUBEN VISSER 10

GROMOV CLAIMS WPT VIENNA TITLE

PHOTO CREDIT: POKERNEWS.com
Russian Dmitry Gromov has been crowned WPT Vienna Champion!

Alessio Isaia wasn't able to win but his placing will place him back at the top of the 2011 PTPR Player of the Year Leaderboard. We will have a full report once all official results are released.

WPT VIENNA FINAL TABLE: GROMOV LEADS, ISAIA, KUZMIN MOVE UP

PHOTO CREDIT: PARTYPOKER.com/blog

Tons of movement in Austria as the final 8 players at WPT Vienna are now known.

Firstly, WSOP bracelet holder Pascal Lefrancois had major highs and major lows late in the day, unfortunately, he is the bubble player with a 9th place finish.

Alex Kuzmin couldn't do better than 11th but, the 15 PTPR Points he just picked up have moved him up to 4th overall on the PTPR Points Leaderboard.

Dmitry Gromov (pictured) enters final table play as the chip leader.

Qualifier Simon Ravnsbaek is still alive and sits second in chips - he could become the second qualifier in a month to win a WPT Main Event (Alan Sternberg won WPT Bay 101's Shooting Star two weeks ago).

But most eyes are on Alessio Isaia, who has earned his 3rd PTPR Score of the season with this Top 18 finish, will see how far up the PTPR Leaderboard he can get. Isaia will surpass Galen Hall for 2nd overall on the PTPR Leaderboard as he is assured to collect 15 PTPR Points. But if Isaia can survive one elimination, he will re-take the #1 spot on the 2011 PTPR Player of the Year Leaderboard.

Here is the final table prizepool for WPT Vienna:
1 €447,840
2 €241,180
3 €169,690
4 €115,420
5 €83,550
6 €65,460
7 €49,100
8 €36,180


World Poker Tour Vienna
WPT Vienna Main Event
March 25-29, 2011

Montesino
Vienna, AUT

Buy-in: $4,925
Prizepool: $2,497,500
Entries: 555

POINTS AT STAKE
1st position 130
2nd position 80
3rd position 50
4th position 40
5th position 35
6th position 30
7th position 30
8th position 15
PASCAL LEFRANCOIS 15
SLOBODON BJELOBRK 15
ALEXANDER KUZMIN 15
QUINN SIVAGE 13
JOHANN AUBE 13
FREDERIK JENSEN 13
ROBERT AKERY 13
ANATOLIY OZHENILOK 10
MATTHIAS KURTZ 10
RUBEN VISSER 10

WPT VIENNA: QUALIFIER LEADS GROUP INTO DAY 3

PHOTO CREDIT: PARTYPOKER.com/blog

We're through Day 2 at WPT Vienna and qualifier Simon Ravnsbaek is the chip leader. Ravnsbaek has over 1.19M in chips.

Dmitry Gromov and Mario Adinolfi also have over 1M in chips while 2010 WSOP bracelet winner Pascal Lefrancois sits fourth in chips.

We have 35 players coming back on Monday for Day 3 action.

Here are notable player chip counts heading into Day 2...

• Simon Ravnsbaek 1,194,000 (chip leader)


• Pascal Lefrancois 870,000


• Alexander Kuzmin 825,000


• Quinn Sivage 532,000


• Alessio Isaia 258,000


• Per Linde 244,000

World Poker Tour
Vienna WPT Vienna Main Event
March 25-29, 2011

Montesino
Vienna, AUT

Buy-in: $4,925
Prizepool: $2,497,500
Entries: 555

POINTS AT STAKE 1st position 130
2nd position 80
3rd position 50
4th position 40
5th position 35
6-7th position 30
8-11th position 15
12-15th position 13
16-18th position 10

PTS AT STAKE: RECORD RUNNERS AT WPT VIENNA

PHOTO CREDIT: PARTYPOKER.com/blog


Records are meant to be broken and WPT Vienna did just that. The largest amount of players to attend a WPT European event are in Austria trying to become the latest WPT champion.

555 players were initially in the field, we're into Day 2 and 97 players remain.

Mario Adinolfi is the current chip leader with 440,000 chips while Dragan Galic and Quinn Sivage (pictured) are some of the players close to the chip lead.

Here is the prizepool for WPT Vienna:
1 €447,840
2 €241,180
3 €169,690
4 €115,420
5 €83,550
6 €65,460
7 €49,100
8 €36,180
9 €25,840
10-12 €17,230
13-15 €15,500
16-18 €13,780
19-27 €12,060
28-36 €10,340
37-45 €8,790
46-54 €7,580


World Poker Tour Vienna
WPT Vienna Main Event
March 25-29, 2011

Montesino
Vienna, AUT

Buy-in: $4,925
Prizepool: $2,497,500
Entries: 555

POINTS AT STAKE
1st position 130
2nd position 80
3rd position 50
4th position 40
5th position 35
6-7th position 30
8-11th position 15
12-15th position 13
16-18th position 10

WSOPC RINCON: EASLEY DOES IT

PHOTO CREDIT: POKERNEWS.com

We wish to apologize for our recent technical difficulties which prevented us from posting these results prior to today.

On the eve of the start of the WSOP West Regional Championship, Seneca Easley won a championship of his own.

Easley defeated Shaun Walker heads up in order to capture his first PTPR Points of the season.

The Regional Championship is expected to draw big name players. Pokernews reports that Phil Hellmuth, Matthew Waxman, Carter King, David Baker and Dwyte Pilgrim are a few names that are expected to be part of Day 1 play in just a few hours.

Main Event final table payouts:
1st Seneca Easley $70,384
2nd Shaun Walker $43,480
3rd Narinder Khasria $31,395
4th Patrick Karschamroon $23,057
5th Paul Hails $17,226
6th Hayden Fortini $13,089
7th Lori Nunes $10,111
8th Michael Simon $7,940
9th Alex Masek $6,335


World Series of Poker Circuit Rincon
WSOPC Rincon Main Event
March 24-26, 2011

Harrah's Rincon Casino & Resort
Valley Center, California, USA

Buy-in: $1,600
Prizepool: $270,720
Entries: 188

FINAL RESULTS
SENECA EASLEY 75
SHAUN WALKER 40
NARINDER KHASRIA 25
PATRICK KARSCHAMROON 15
PAUL HAILS 10
HAYDEN FORTINI 8
LORI NUNES 5
MICHAEL SIMON 5
ALEXANDRU MASEK 5

WYNN CLASSIC: WILD, WILD WEST - TIM WEST WINS WYNN

PHOTO CREDIT: POKERNEWS.com

We wish to apologize for our recent technical difficulties which prevented us from posting these results prior to today.

Big names battled it out at the Wynn Classic on the Vegas strip. It was down to Tim West and Annette Obrestad heads up - and West out dueled Norway's best.

Matt Waxman, Eric Froehlic, Carter King and John Kim were other big names at the final table.


2011 Wynn Classic
Wynn Classic Main Event
March 23-25, 2011

Wynn Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Buy-in: $5,000
Prizepool: $1,028,200
Entries: 212

Defending Champion: Brandon Cantu

FINAL RESULTS
TIM WEST 102
ANNETTE OBRESTAD 62
MATTHEW WAXMAN 37
MAX STEINBERG 27
ERIC FROEHLICH 20
VASILI LAZAROU 12
CARTER KING 10
FRANCISCO BRAGA 7
JOHN KIM 7

EPT SNOWFEST: VLADI'S VICTORY

PHOTO CREDIT: POKERSTARSBLOG.com

We wish to apologize for our recent technical difficulties which prevented us from posting these results prior to today.

Vladimir Geshkenbein won EPT Snowfest on Friday and scored his first 129 PTPR Points of the season - all the while collecting close to 400,000 EUROS.

Kevin Vandersmissen was unable to surpass Geshkenbein heads up, but, his second PTPR score of the season is enough to take WSOP Champ Jonathan Duhamel's place on the PTPR Leaderboard.


European Poker Tour Snowfest
EPT Snowfest Main Event
March 20-25, 2011

Alpine Palace Card Casino
Hinterglemm, Austria

Buy-in: $6,718
Prizepool: $2,321,055
Entries: 482

Defending Champion: Allan Baekke

POINTS AT STAKE
VLADIMIR GESHKENBEIN 129
KEVIN VANDERSMISSEN 79
KOEN DE VISSCHER 49
GIACOMO MAISTO 39
CRISTIAN DRAGOMIR 34
PHILIP MEULYZER 29
DENIS MURPHY 29
MORTEN MORTENSEN 14
MANILO IEMINA 14
CRISTIAN TARDEA 14
PIERRE NEUVILLE 14
KAREN SARKISYAN 12
HANS ERLANDSSON 12
ANDREAS WIESE 12
MARTINS ADENIYA 12
ALEX KRAVCHENKO 9
CHRISTIAN FABRI 9
BASTIAN FISCHER 9

WEST OUTLASTS ANNETTE TO WIN AT WYNN

Tim West (@thetmay) has outlasted Annette Obrestad in a thrilling final table heads up confrontation to win the Wynn Classic in Las Vegas.

We will have official results once they have been made available.

EPT SNOWFEST: TO THE FINAL TABLE WE GO!

PHOTO CREDIT: POKERNEWS.com

Final Table time at EPT Snowfest!

Kevin Vandermissen heads into final table play with an impressive 2:1 chip lead over second place Cristian Dragomir.

Philip Meulyzer, Vladimir Geshkenbein and Giacomo Maisto - who all held end of day chip leads in this tournament - are all still alive, battling for their first EPT crown.

Here is the lineup for final table play;

1. Kevin Vandersmissen - 4,512,000
2. Giacomo Maisto - 986,000
3. Vladimir Geshkenbein - 1,678,000
4. Philip Meulyzer - 1,758,000
5. Denis Murphy, PokerStars qualifier - 997,000
6. Morten Mortenesen - 740,000
7. Cristian Dragomir, PokerStars qualifier - 2,293,000
8. Koen De Visscher - 1,543,000


European Poker Tour Snowfest
EPT Snowfest Main Event
March 20-25, 2011

Alpine Palace Card Casino
Hinterglemm, Austria

Buy-in: $6,718
Prizepool: $2,321,055
Entries: 482

Defending Champion: Allan Baekke

POINTS AT STAKE
1st position 129
2nd position 79
3rd position 49
4th position 39
5th position 34
6th position 29
7th position 29
8th position 14
MANILO IEMINA 14
CRISTIAN TARDEA 14
PIERRE NEUVILLE 14
KAREN SARKISYAN 12
HANS ERLANDSSON 12
ANDREAS WIESE 12
MARTINS ADENIYA 12
ALEX KRAVCHENKO 9
CHRISTIAN FABRI 9
BASTIAN FISCHER 9

EPT SNOWFEST: DOWN TO THREE TABLES, MAISTO LEADS

PHOTO CREDIT: POKERNEWS.com

Down to the final three tables of 8 players at EPT Snowfest in Austria.

Giacomo Maisto (pictured) leads the way, while Iulian Ruxandescu joins him as the only two runners with over 1 million chips.

Alex Kravchenko still has chips but he'll need to start working early on Thursday in order to get back into contention.

Unfortunately, we lost Michael Tureniec earlier on Wednesday.

Here are notable player chip counts heading into Day 4...

• Giacomo Maisto 1,548,000 (chip leader)
• Christian Dragomir 895,000
• Vladimir Geshkenbein 889,000
• Philip Meulyzer 762,000
• Andreas Wiese 574,000
• Alex Kravchenko 379,000
• Pierre Neuville 335,000

PTPR PREMIER EVENT
European Poker Tour Snowfest
EPT Snowfest Main Event
March 20-25, 2011

Alpine Palace Card Casino
Hinterglemm, Austria

Buy-in: $6,718
Prizepool: $2,321,055
Entries: 482

Defending Champion: Allan Baekke

POINTS AT STAKE
1st position 129
2nd position 79
3rd position 49
4th position 39
5th position 34
6th-7th 29
8th-11th 14
12th-15th 12
16th-18th 9

EPT SNOWFEST: TURENIEC, PAGANO, KRAVCHENKO IN THE HUNT

PHOTO CREDIT: POKERNEWS.com

81 players will head onto Day 3 at EPT Snowfest in Austria. And while German Philip Meulyzer (pictured) holds the chip lead, it's the three name players currently in the Top 15 in chips that has everyone excited about what could happen on Wednesday.

PTPR 5th ranked player Michael Tureniec, Pokerstars Pro Luca Pagano and Alexander Kravchenko all have good chip stacks and will be looking ot cause some damage on Day 3.

Here are notable player chip counts heading into Day 3...

• Philip Meulyzer 623,500 (chip leader)
• Luca Pagano 351,400
• Andreas Wiese 331,200
• Michael Tureniec 330,400
• Alex Kravchenko 299,200
• Konstantin Puchkov 295,600

PTPR PREMIER EVENT
European Poker Tour Snowfest
EPT Snowfest Main Event
March 20-25, 2011

Alpine Palace Card Casino
Hinterglemm, Austria

Buy-in: $6,718
Prizepool: $2,321,055
Entries: 482

Defending Champion: Allan Baekke

POINTS AT STAKE
1st position 129
2nd position 79
3rd position 49
4th position 39
5th position 34
6th-7th 29
8th-11th 14
12th-15th 12
16th-18th 9

PTS AT STAKE: TURENIEC MAKES MOVE AT EPT SNOWFEST

PHOTO CREDIT: POKERSTARSBLOG.com

EPT Copenhagen Champion Michael Tureniec is making his move early at EPT Snowfest in Austria. Tureniec, who currently sits 5th on the PTPR Tournament Player of the Year Leaderboard, is currently Top 5 in chips at Snowfest.

Tureniec hopes that Day 2 will be as kind to him as Day 1B was.

482 total runners have created a +2 million dollar prize pool.

Here are notable player chip counts heading into Day 2...

• Vladimir Geshkenbein 253,700 (chip leader)
• Philip Meulyzer 188,100
• Michael Tureniec 186,600
• Mike Sowers 122,900
• James Keys 117,000
• Dominik Nitsche 92,900
• Konstantin Puchkov 75,400
• Martin Jacobson 64,100
• Timothy Finne 62,900
• Max Lykov 48,100
• Kevin MacPhee 48,000
• Alex Kravchenko 43,200

Eliminated players include: Nicolas Chouity, Ville Wahlbeck, Elky Grospellier, Kent Lundmark, John Eames, Sandra Naujoks, Dario Minieri, Nicolas Levi, Lex Veldhuis, James Akenhead, Marcin Horecki, John O'Shea, John Duthie and Arnaud Mattern.


PTPR PREMIER EVENT
European Poker Tour Snowfest
EPT Snowfest Main Event
March 20-25, 2011

Alpine Palace Card Casino
Hinterglemm, Austria

Buy-in: $6,718
Prizepool: $2,321,055
Entries: 482

Defending Champion: Allan Baekke

POINTS AT STAKE
1st position 129
2nd position 79
3rd position 49
4th position 39
5th position 34
6th-7th 29
8th-11th 14
12th-15th 12
16th-18th 9

KANIT PICKS UP IPT NOVA GORICA TITLE

PHOTO CREDIT: POKERSTARSIPT.com

The Italian Poker Tour continues to bring in some big crowds. 395 runners participated in the Pokerstars IPT Nova Gorica tour stop.

Mustapha Kanit picks up his first PTPR Points of the season with the victory, 103 PTPR Points are coming his way, as well as €200.000

Here are the final table payouts:
1. Mustapha Kanit €200.000
2. Marco Mancini €122.000
3. Salvatore Castorina €76.000
4. Daniele Scatragli €57.000
5. Enrico Fabrizi €38.000
6. Maurizio Cappanni €30.500
7. Ciro Calabrese €23.600
8. Massimiliano di Paolantonio €15.600


PTPR TIER 3 EVENT
Pokerstars Italian Poker Tour Nova Gorica
IPT Main Event
March 17-21, 2011

Perla Casino & Hotel
Nova Gorica, Italy

Buy-in: $3,108
Prizepool: $1,118,877
Entries: 395

FINAL RESULTS
MUSTAPHA KANIT 103
MARCO MANCINI 63
SALVATORE CASTORINA 38
DANIELE SCATRAGLI 28
ENRICO FABRIZI 21
MAURIZIO CAPPANNI 13
CIRO CALABRESE 11
MASSIMILIANO di PAOLANTONIO 8

EUREKA! KEITH JOHNSON WINS EUREKA PT INAUGURAL EVENT

PHOTO CREDIT: POKERSTARSBLOG.com

UK Pokerstars Player Keith Johnson has won the Pokerstars Eureka Poker Tour's inaugural event in Prague, in the Czech Republic.

Johnson picks up €58,400 and 35 PTPR Points for the win.


PTPR CHALLENGER EVENT
Pokerstars Eureka Poker Tour Prague
EUREKAPT Main Event
March 17-20, 2011

Card Casino
Prague, Czech Republic

Buy-in: $1,132
Prizepool: $327,390
Entries: 319

FINAL RESULTS
KEITH JOHNSON 35
ANTONIO DIEGUEZ RODRIGUEZ 18
VERONICA KOKOCEVA 10
PETR KRALICEK 8
JAROSLAV URBAN 5

BANSI ON THE BOARD WITH GUKPT LONDON WIN!

PHOTO CREDIT: GROSVENORUKPOKERTOUR.com

Praz Bansi has scored his first PTPR Points of the season, winning the GUKPT London Main Event!

35 PTPR Points are going his way. Over 100,000 pounds are also his to keep!

Bansi outdueled Manig Loeser heads up. Jamie Roberts, son of UK Pro Ben Roberts, finished 5th in the event, collecting 5 PTPR Points.


PTPR CHALLENGER EVENT
Grosvenor United Kingdom Poker Tour London
GUKPT London Main Event
March 18-20, 2011

Grosvenor Victoria Casino
London, UK

Buy-in: $2,123
Prizepool: $520,196
Entries: 245

FINAL RESULTS
PRAZ BANSI 35
MANIG LOESER 18
GARY LINDSAY 10
KARL MAHRENHOLZ 8
JAMIE ROBERTS 5

PTPR RECAP: NORDIC MASTERS, BAY 101 2K PRELIM

PHOTO CREDIT: POKERNEWS.com

Three big names in Swedish poker scored in the Nordic Masters Stockholm Main Event held earlier this month.

The event was won by Pokerstars Pro William Thorson. Martin Jacobson, who finished 2nd in the event, scored for the 2nd time this season - ditto for EPT Copenhagen winner Michael Tureniec, who moves up three spots to 5th overall on the PTPR Leaderboard.

Meanwhile in California, the WPT Shooting Star held a prelim event and Mimi Luu captured the title. Mike Sowers earned his 2nd PTPR Score this season with his fourth place finish.


PTPR CHALLENGER EVENT
Nordic Masters Stockholm
Main Event
March 4-6, 2011

Casino Cosmopol Stockholm
Stockholm, Sweden

Buy-in: $3,976
Prizepool: $332,092
Entries: 81

FINAL RESULTS
WILLIAM THORSON 35
LALA MAHMOD 18
MARTIN JACOBSON 10
BJORN LINDBERG 8
MICHAEL TURENIEC 5

PTPR PRELIM EVENT
WPT Shooting Star
NLH Prelim Event
March 13-14, 2011

Bay 101 Casino
San Jose, California, USA

Buy-in: $2,000
Prizepool: $486,400
Entries: 256

FINAL RESULTS
MIMI LUU 75
PAT LYONS 40
GREG FLOWERS 25
MIKE SOWERS 15
BRIAN HENZIG 10
DANA GILL 8
SACHINE MODI 5
RELLIE SIGUA 5
SALIM BATSHON 5

PTS AT STAKE: BANSI LEADS FT AT GUKPT LONDON

PHOTO CREDIT: POKERNEWS.com

Two-time WSOP bracelet winner Praz Bansi leads the final 9 players remaining at the GUKPT London Main Event.

Bansi won some big pots on the way to determining the 9 members of the final table.

Final Table play begins tomorrow at 2PM local time. You can watch the live webcast on the GUKPT website...
http://www.grosvenorukpokertour.com/en/Tour/Live-webcast/

Here are the chip counts heading into Final Table play:
Praz Bansi 1,281,000
Gary Lindsay 842,000
Chris Kyriacou 412,000
Manig Loeser 340,000
Karl Mahrenholz 317,500
Jim Dunsfield 190,500
Ken Wong 110,000
Jamie Roberts 109,500
Jeff Kimber 79,500

Here are the payouts for the final 9 participants:
1st £101,020
2nd £67,070
3rd £44,100
4th £26,640
5th £19,840
6th £16,170
7th £12,500
8th £10,110
9th £7,350


PTPR CHALLENGER EVENT
Grosvenor United Kingdom Poker Tour London
GUKPT London Main Event
March 18-20, 2011

Grosvenor Victoria Casino
London, UK

Buy-in: $2,123
Prizepool: $520,196
Entries: 245

POINTS AT STAKE
1ST POSITION 35
2ND POSITION 18
3rd POSITION 10
4th POSITION 8
5th POSITION 5

SUPER SATELLITE: STERNBERG COLLECTS MOUTH'S BOUNTY ON WAY WPT BAY 101 WIN

PHOTO CREDIT: WPT.com

Satellite qualifer Alan Sternberg has a lot to be happy about. About turning his satellite win into a 1 million dollar WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star victory? That's a good start for sure. Ok, it's a great start!

But Sternberg was also able to eliminate Mike "the Mouth" Matusow 3-handed and in the process, collect the last remaining $5,000 bounty.

Matusow was in his 7th WPT Final Table and was hoping that this one would bring his first victory but alas, it didn't; Matusow ran out of steam but still posts an impressive third place finish.

WPT commentator Mike Sexton was the first man out, creating a little less of a problem for the WPT prodution team.

Three players mades moves on the PTPR Tournament Player of the Year Leaderboard:

Champion Alan Sternberg's 129 PTPR Points place him 9th on the PTPR Leaderboard.

With his fourth place finish and second consecutive WPT Final Table, Vivek Rajkumar is now 11th with 120 PTPR Points on his two scores.

Finally, Galen Hall collected the minimum available 9 PTPR Points but that's good enough to move him up one spot - to 2nd overall on the PTPR Leaderboard.

Here are the Bay 101 final table payouts:
1st: Alan Sternberg - $1,039,000
2nd: Steven Kelly - $595,300
3rd: Mike Matusow - $369,800
4th: Vivek Rajkumar - $295,800
5th: Casey McCarrel - $221,800
6th: Mike Sexton - $148,000


PTPR PREMIER EVENT
World Poker Tour Shooting Star
Bay 101 Shooting Star
March 14-18, 2011

Bay 101 Casino
San Jose, California, USA

Buy-in: $10,000
Prizepool: $3,697,500
Entries: 415

Defending Champion: McLean Karr

POINTS AT STAKE
ALAN STERNBERG 129
STEVEN KELLY 79
MIKE MATUSOW 49
VIVEK RAJKUMAR 39
CASEY MCCARREL 34
MIKE SEXTON 29
TY REIMAN 29
DANNY NGUYEN 14
ANDREW WEISNER 14
JORIS SPRINGAEL 14
BEN HAMNETT 14
CHRISTOPHER TRAPANI 12
KEVIN MACPHEE 12
BRIAN SCHMIDT 12
KATHY LIEBERT 12
NOAH LATHROP 9
MARK DICKSTEIN 9
GALEN HALL 9

BAY 101 WPT FINAL TABLE: MIKE AND MIKE IN THE EVENING

PHOTO CREDIT: WPT.com

It's Mike and Mike time at Bay 101!

The WPT have a problem on their hands, but, it could end up being a fun problem in the end as one of their own, play-by-play man Mike Sexton, has qualified for final table play at the Shooting Star.

It will be interesting to see what the WPT does with it's coverage while Sexton is still involved in tournament play. Now Sexton does enter final table as one of the short stacks so, it could be a short-lived final table for him.

Another Mike is entering Final Table play with an impressive chip stack. Yes, the Mouth himself, Mike Matusow, will try once again to capture his first WPT title. Matusow enters final table play third in chips.

Vivek Rajkumar will try to make it heads up for the second straight WPT event in a row. However, this time he will try and better his LAPC second place finish.

Here are the official WPT Final Table seat assignments and chip counts...

• Seat 1: Mike Matusow – 2,173,000 (109 BBs)
• Seat 2: Mike Sexton – 363,000 (18 BBs)
• Seat 3: Alan Sternberg – 3,701,000 (185 BBs)
• Seat 4: Vivek Rajkumar – 1,616,000 (81 BBs)
• Seat 5: Steven Kelly – 4,169,000 (209 BBs)
• Seat 6: Casey McCarrel – 430,000 (22 BBs)

Galen Hall's 17th place finish earned him 9 PTPR Points, and moves him into 2nd place on the 2011 PTPR Tournament Player of the Year leaderboard.

Final table play is set to being at 4PM Pacific Time.

Here are the payouts:
1: $1,039,000
2: $595,300
3: $369,800
4: $295,800
5: $221,800
6: $148,000


PTPR PREMIER EVENT
World Poker Tour Shooting Star
Bay 101 Shooting Star
March 14-18, 2011

Bay 101 Casino
San Jose, California, USA

Buy-in: $10,000
Prizepool: $3,697,500
Entries: 415

Defending Champion: McLean Karr

POINTS AT STAKE
1st position 129
2nd position 79
3rd position 49
4th position 39
5th position 34
6th position 29
TY REIMAN 29
DANNY NGUYEN 14
ANDREW WEISNER 14
JORIS SPRINGAEL 14
BEN HAMNETT 14
CHRISTOPHER TRAPANI 12
KEVIN MACPHEE 12
BRIAN SCHMIDT 12
KATHY LIEBERT 12
NOAH LATHROP 9
MARK DICKSTEIN 9
GALEN HALL 9

SPRING IS IN THE AIR - DAHAN WINS MERIT

PHOTO CREDIT: MERITPOKER.com

The Merit Poker Club in Cyprus held another succesful event over the weekend. The Merit Spring Open was host to 115 players who all bought in for $5,500 USD.

Meir Dahan won the event, collecting 101 PTPR Points in the process. Yazbeck Georges, who scored points in 2010, scored for the first time this season.


PTPR TIER 3 EVENT
Merit Spring Open
Main Event
March 12-13, 2011

Merit Poker Club
Cyprus

Buy-in: $5,500
Prizepool: $575,000
Entries: 115

FINAL RESULTS
MEIR DAHAN 101
KEMAL KARA 61
DORE HAJAR 36
JAKO ELYAKIM 26
NICOLAS CHOVITY 19
YAZBECK GEORGES 11
ANGELOS PETTAS 9
BARIS TOPYAYA 6
MOISE FLORIN 6

RED-HOT RAJKUMAR BEATS HELLMUTH, LEADS WPT SHOOTING STAR

PHOTO CREDIT: WPT.com

Ten days ago Vivek Rajkumar was heads for the WPT LAPC title. Less than two weeks later, Rajkumar is at it again, for a second straight WPT event, Vivek is the current chip leader with less than 80 players left at Bay 101's Shooting Star.

Rajkumar event earned some cash by eliminating one of those stars - he eliminated Phil Hellmuth earlier in the day.

Here are the other notable players still alive (unofficial chip counts)...

• Ty Reiman 415k
• Jonathan Little 330k
• Chris Trapani 270k
• JJ Liu 268k
• Kevin MacPhee 265k
• John Juanda 260k
• Galen Hall 230k
• Mike Matusow 220k
• Shawn Buchanan 170k
• Layne Flack 170k
• Mike Sexton 165k

Shooting Stars who have recently been eliminated: Chris Ferguson, Shannon Shorr (not an official Shooting Star), Daniel Negreanu, David Williams, 2010 Shooting Star winner McLean Karr, Hoyt Corkins, Gavin Smith and Dwyte Pilgrim.

Here are the payouts:
1: $1,039,000
2: $595,300
3: $369,800
4: $295,800
5: $221,800
6: $148,000
7-8: $73,900
9-10: $48,100
11-12: $37,000
13-18: $29,500
19-24: $25,800
25-30: $22,100
31-36: $18,400
37-45: $15,000


PTPR PREMIER EVENT
World Poker Tour Shooting Star
Bay 101 Shooting Star
March 14-18, 2011

Bay 101 Casino
San Jose, California, USA

Buy-in: $10,000
Prizepool: $3,697,500
Entries: 415

Defending Champion: McLean Karr

POINTS AT STAKE
1st position 129
2nd position 79
3rd position 49
4th position 39
5th position 34
6th position 29
7th position 29
8th position 14
9th position 14
10th position 14
11th position 14
12th position 12
13th position 12
14th position 12
15th position 12
16th position 9
17th position 9
18th position 9

415 KNOW THE WAY TO SAN JOSE

PHOTO CREDIT: BAY101.com

A very strong 415 player field have found their way to San Jose and Bay 101 Casino's World Poker Tour Shooting Star.

This has always been a favorite destination for many runners on the World Poker Tour given it's "bounty" and different structure but, 415 is about 80 more players than what we had last season - kudos to Matt Savage and the Bay 101 crew!

Over 140 players participated on Day 1A yesterday, including 19 star bounties.

Brian Schmidt won the 10k prize for finishing the day as chip leader. Here are the other notable players with solid chip stacks heading into Day 2...

• Kara Scott 137,100
• Layne Flack 131,300
• Danny Smith 128,000
• Mike Matusow 127,200
• Richard Toth 126,200
• Brandon Cantu 117,000
• John Juanda 85,000
• Galen Hall 80,000

Big names who were eliminated during Day 1A play included: Aguiar, Tehan, Sebok, Thaler, Madsen, Dunst, Ramdin, Seiver, Smith, Seidel, Kassela and Dan Harrington.

Day 1B started a few hours ago, Steve Dempsey, Toto Leonidas, Kathy Liebert, Matt Waxman, Kevin MacPhee and defending champion McLean Karr are currently amongst the chip leaders.

Recent eliminations include The Grinder, Ed Sabat, Vanessa Selbst, the Magician, Daniel Cates and Chris Bell.


PTPR PREMIER EVENT
World Poker Tour Shooting Star
Bay 101 Shooting Star
March 14-18, 2011

Bay 101 Casino
San Jose, California, USA

Buy-in: $10,000
Prizepool: $TBA
Entries: 415

Defending Champion: McLean Karr

POINTS AT STAKE
1st position 129
2nd position 79
3rd position 49
4th position 39
5th position 34
6th position 29
7th position 29
8th position 14
9th position 14
10th position 14
11th position 14
12th position 12
13th position 12
14th position 12
15th position 12
16th position 9
17th position 9
18th position 9

RETTENMAIER LEADS POY RACE, WSOP CHAMP DUHAMEL CRACKS TOP 15

PHOTO CREDIT: POKERNEWS.com

We have a new leader! The France Poker Series Paris Finale was held last month. German Marvin Rettenmaier won the event and, with his third PTPR Score of the season, has taken over the PTPR Tournament Player of the Year race, surpassing Italy's Alessio Isaia.

Rettenmaier now has 170 PTPR Points on the season, here is how he accumulated his points:

PCA Event 29 NLH 6-handed: 25 PTPR PTS (Prelim event)
EPT Deauville Event 26 NLH: 40 PTPR PTS (Prelim event)
France Poker Series Finale Paris: 105 PTPR PTS (Tier 3 event)


Meanwhile, the Big Event NLH Bounty Shootout wrapped up yesterday. Pat Walsh won the event, scoring his first points of the season. Victor Ramdin scored for an impressive second event in a row (he won the Big Event Main Event two days earlier).

Current World Champion Jonathan Duhamel scored 10 PTPR Points in the event with his 6th place finish. His second score of the season brings his season total to 110 PTPR Points, good enough for a place on the PTPR Tournament Player of the Year Top 15 list.

Other notables collecting points were Joe Tehan, John Smith and Shane Schleger.

PTPR TIER 3 EVENT
France Poker Series
NLH Finale Paris
February 9-13, 2011

Cercle Haussmann
Paris, France

Buy-in: $2,720
Prizepool: $1,334,827
Entries: 567

POINTS AT STAKE
MARVIN RETTENMAIER 105
BASIL YAICHE 65
JULIEN JOLIVET 40
MICHAEL BOUAZIZ 30
JEROME HOEN 23
ALEXANDRE BONNIN 15
LEONARD TRUCHE 13
STEPHANE BENADIBA 10
HICHAM HILMI 10


PTPR TIER 3 EVENT
The Big Event
Bounty Shooutout
March 11-13, 2011

The Bicycle Casino
Los Angeles, California, USA

Buy-in: $10,300
Prizepool: $810,000
Entries: 81

POINTS AT STAKE
PAT WALSH 100
ALI ESLAMI 60
ALEX KEATING 35
JOE TEHAN 25
JOHN SMITH 18
JONATHAN DUHAMEL 10
MATT WOODWARD 8
SHANE SCHLEGER 5
VICTOR RAMDIN 5

ALI BOMAYE! ALI BOMAYE! BRIAN ALI KNOCKS 'EM OUT, WINS WSOPC AC

PHOTO CREDIT: POKERNEWS.com

Brian Ali knocked out the competion and has won the WSOP Circuit Main Event at Caesars Atlantic City.

Although he didn't come into Final Table as chip leader, Ali was able to accumulate chip after chip and ended the day having collected all of them!

FT chip leader Patrick Houcins couldn't do better than third.

All players were scoing PTPR Points for the first time this season.

1 Brian Ali 139,284
2 John Andress 86,071
3 Patrick Houchins 62,893
4 Ellis Frazier 46,698
5 Roland Israelashvili 35,213


PTPR CHALLENGER EVENT
World Series of Poker Circuit Caesars Atlantic City
WSOPC Main Event
March 11-13, 2011

Caesars Atlantic City
Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

Buy-in: $1,650
Prizepool: $633,082
Entries: 442

POINTS AT STAKE
BRIAN ALI 35
JOHN ANDRESS 18
PATRICK HOUCHINS 10
ELLIS FRAZIER 8
ROLAND ISRAELASHVILI 5

DOUBLE DUTCH: MOOLHUIZEN BEATS COUNTRYMAN TO WIN UNIBET MALTA

PHOTO CREDIT: UNIBETOPEN.com

It was an all-Dutch affair heads up at the Unibet Open Malta. In the end, Mateusz Moolhuizen outlasted fellow Dutch player Tobias Peters.

Moolhuizen picks up €117,000 for the win. He also picks up 35 PTPR Points - all players scoring in the event scored for the first time in 2011.

It was a great turnout in Malta. A little under 300 runners for what is becoming a hot region for poker.


PTPR CHALLENGER EVENT
Unibet Open Malta
Main Event
March 10-13, 2011

The Casino at Portomaso
Malta

Buy-in: $2,291
Prizepool: $579,816
Entries: 293

FINAL RESULTS
MATEUSZ MOOLHUIZEN 35
TOBIAS PETERS 18
SAMPO RYNANEN 10
RODOLFO GADDO 8
MIKKEL CHRISTENSEN 5

FINAL TABLE SET AT WSOPC AC - HOUCHINS LEADS THE WAY

PHOTO CREDIT: POKERNEWS.com

We have final table play in Malta and in Atlantic City, at the WSOP Circuit Caesars Atlantic City Main Event - with a ring on the line!

Maryland native Patrick Houchins is the chip leader but we have a total of four of the final 9 participants with 1+ million in chips.

Here are the chip counts and seat assignments:
Seat 1 Albert Winchester 1,034,000
Seat 2 Ellis Frazier 956,000
Seat 3 Roland Israelashvili 645,000
Seat 4 Brian Ali 1,380,000
Seat 5 Joe Caffrey 759,000
Seat 6 Patrick Houchins 1,621,000
Seat 7 John Andress 808,000
Seat 8 Jerry Van Strydonck 1,177,000
Seat 9 Jeff Zowland 438,000

Here are the payouts:
1 139,284
2 86,071
3 62,893
4 46,698
5 35,213
6 26,951
7 20,930
8 16,486
9 13,168


PTPR CHALLENGER EVENT
World Series of Poker Circuit Caesars Atlantic City
WSOPC Main Event
March 11-13, 2011

Caesars Atlantic City
Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

Buy-in: $1,650
Prizepool: $633,082
Entries: 442

POINTS AT STAKE
1st position 35
2nd position 18
3rd position 10
4th position 8
5th position 5

FINAL TABLE STARTS AT UNIBET OPEN MALTA

PHOTO CREDIT: UNIBETOPEN.com

The nine player Final Table play is about to start at the Unibet Open Malta Main Event.

Adria Maria Balaguer is your chip leader with 933k in chips. All players at the table will be looking for their first PTPR Points of the season.

Here are the Final Table chip counts and seat assignments...

Seat 1 – Sampo Ryynanen – 560,000
Seat 2 – Rodolfo Gaddo – 496,000
Seat 3 – Tobias Peters – 631,000
Seat 4 – Adria Maria Balaguer – 933,000
Seat 5 – Rene Freymann – 309,000
Seat 6 – Matas Dilpsas – 386,000
Seat 7 – Mikkel Christensen – 528,000
Seat 8 – Brian Linnet – 148,000
Seat 9 – Mateusz Moolhuizen – 440,000

Here are the payouts for the Final 9...

1st €117,000
2nd €76,000
3rd €49,000
4th €32,000
5th €23,500
6th €19,500
7th €15,500
8th €11,500
9th €8,000

You can watch a livestream of this event right now!
http://www.unibetopen.com/livestreaming/


PTPR CHALLENGER EVENT
Unibet Open Malta
Main Event
March 10-13, 2011

The Casino at Portomaso
Malta

Buy-in: $2,291
Prizepool: $579,816
Entries: 293

POINTS AT STAKE
1st position 35
2nd position 18
3rd position 10
4th position 8
5th position 5

PTS AT STAKE: BUCHMAN, FINNE, LEAH IN CONTENTION AT WSOPC AC

PHOTO CREDIT: POKERNEWS.com

The World Series of Poker Circuit caravan has made it's way to Caesars Atlantic City for it's next circuit stop.

442 players entered the $1,650 buy-in event. The winner will collect over $130,000 USD.

Level 12 has started, we're down to 187 players in this three-day event.

Bracelet winner Eric Buchman, Timothy Finne and Mike Leah all sit with over 50,000 chips in front of them. The chip leader, Alberto Chocron has 150,000 chips.


PTPR CHALLENGER EVENT
World Series of Poker Circuit Caesars Atlantic City
WSOPC Main Event
March 11-13, 2011

Caesars Atlantic City
Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

Buy-in: $1,650
Prizepool: $633,082
Entries: 442

POINTS AT STAKE
1st position 35
2nd position 18
3rd position 10
4th position 8
5th position 5

BIG GAME HUNTER: RAMDIN COLLECTS 104 PTPR PTS WITH BIG EVENT WIN

PHOTO CREDIT: POKERNEWS.com

It was what many poker fans were hoping to see at The Big Event Main Event at Bicycle Casino near Los Angeles - two seasoned tournament pros, one of which a former World Champion, getting to heads up for all the marbles.

And in the end, Victor Ramdin outlasted Joe Hachem in what was a fun final table.

Ramdin collects 104 PTPR Points for his first score of the season. Hachem gets 64 PTPR Points for his first of the season.


PTPR TIER 3 EVENT
The Big Event
Main Event
March 5-10, 2011

The Bicycle Casino
Los Angeles, California, USA

Buy-in: $5,000
Prizepool: $1,921,327
Entries: 417

POINTS AT STAKE
VICTOR RAMDIN 104
JOE HACHEM 64
JEREMY AUSMUS 39
TAYLOR VON KRIEGENBERGH 29
BRYAN LESKOWITZ 22
GOVERT METAAL 14
JOSE DE NORONHA 12
SANTIAGO NADAL 9
DAVID PARADES 9

THE BIG EVENT: RAMDIN OUTLASTS HACHEM TO WIN FIRST EVENT OF THE SEASON

Victor Ramdin has defeated Joe Hachem heads up in order to win the Big Event Main Event.

We will have a full points report later today.

THE BIG EVENT UPDATE: DOWN TO 5 AT THE BIKE

PHOTO CREDIT: POKERNEWS.com

Can a man get a poker tournament title for his birthday? One time? That is what Aussie and WSOP Main Event Champ Joe Hachem is hoping for.

Hachem is one of five remaining players at the 5K Big Event at Bicycle Casino outside Los Angeles. Govert Metaal (pictured) was the last man eliminated. Metaal earns his second PTPR Score of the season, he now has 33 PTPR Points on the year.

Jeremy Ausmus remains the chip leader, he is just under the five million chip mark.


Here are the updated seating assignments and chip counts...
2 Taylor von Kriegenbergh 2,240,000
4 Jeremy Ausmus 4,790,000
5 Brian Leskowitz 1,080,000
6 Joe Hachem 1,620,000
8 Victor Ramdin 2,780,000

PTPR TIER 3 EVENT
The Big Event
Main Event
March 5-10, 2011

The Bicycle Casino
Los Angeles, California, USA

Buy-in: $5,000
Prizepool: $1,921,327
Entries: 417

POINTS AT STAKE
1st place 104
2nd place 64
3rd place 39
4th place 29
5th place 22
GOVERT METAAL 14
JOSE DE NORONHA 12
SANTIAGO NADAL 9
DAVID PARADES 9

RAMDIN, HACHEM IN GOOD SHAPE AT THE BIG EVENT FINAL TABLE

PHOTO CREDIT: POKERNEWS.com

Final table play is set to begin tomorrow afternoon at the Bicycle Casino's The Big Event.

Victor Ramdin and former WSOP Champ Joe Hachem are in contention with 8 players left. Ramdin, who held the chip lead earlier in the day, sits second in chips while Hachem is fourth.

Hachem's survival is impressive. At this point last night, he had just taken two tough beats and was hanging by a thread. 24 hours later, he's right in line for his first major poker title in a long time.

The chip leader heading into final table play is Jeremy Ausmus (pictured). He holds close to a 2:1 chip lead on second place Ramdin.

Santiago Nadal (6th) has 15 PTPR Points heading into final table play while short stack Govert Metaal (8th) has 19 PTPR Points this season.

Here are the updated seating assignments and chip counts...
1 Govert Metaal 149,000
2 Taylor von Kriegenbergh 1,810,000
3 Santiago Nadal 943,000
4 Jeremy Ausmus 4,008,000
5 Brian Leskowitz 1,087,000
6 Joe Hachem 1,666,000
7 Jose De Noronha 568,000
8 Victor Ramdin 2,279,000

PTPR PREMIER EVENT
The Big Event
Main Event
March 5-10, 2011

The Bicycle Casino
Los Angeles, California, USA

Buy-in: $5,000
Prizepool: $1,921,327
Entries: 417

POINTS AT STAKE
1st place 129
2nd place 79
3rd place 49
4th place 39
5th place 34
6th place 29
7th place 29
8th place 14
9th place 14
JAMES DOWDY 14
WADE TOWNSEND 14
ALEX KAMBERIS 12
DAVID PETERS 12
JOSHUA FIELD 12
ROMIK VARTZAR 12
JAIME KAPLAN 9
DAVID BAKER "ODB" 9
JOE GAULTIERI 9

PTS AT STAKE: PASS THE SUGAR! TWO DOUBLE UPS GET HACHEM BACK IN CONTENTION

PHOTO CREDIT: POKERNEWS.com

It seemed like Joe Hachem was destined for the rail a few spots short of the money. But, two double-ups later and PASS THE SUGAR - the former WSOP Champ currently sits fourth with 31 players remaining at The Big Event at Bicycle Casino near Los Angeles.

A total of 417 registered for the 5K buy-in event that started on Saturday.

Victor Ramdin is the current chip leader. We are playing down to 24 players tonight ... although we've been stuck at 31 for quite some time now.

Here are some of the notable names still in the event (chip counts from the start of Level 19)...

• Victor Ramdin 1,400,000
• Joe Hachem 825,000
• David Peters 600,000
• Chris DeMaci 360,000
• David Baker 310,000
• Greg DeBora 150,000

PTPR PREMIER EVENT
The Big Event
Main Event
March 5-10, 2011

The Bicycle Casino
Los Angeles, California, USA

Buy-in: $5,000
Prizepool: $1,921,327
Entries: 417

POINTS AT STAKE
1st place 129
2nd place 79
3rd place 49
4th place 39
5th place 34
6th-7th 29
8th-11th place 14
12th-15th place 12
16th-18th place 9

PTPR PLAYER OF THE MONTH: ITALIAN SENSATION ALESSIO ISAIA IS FEBRUARY'S MAN

PHOTO CREDIT: POKERNEWS.com

The girls they go crazy for a sharp-dressed man, and Alessio Isaia, who was wearing a tuxedo when he captured his first WPT title earlier in February, was the sharpest one of all in February. Isaia followed his WPT Venice win with a second place finish at IPT Malta.

The two scores have sent Isaia to to top of the 2011 PTPR Tournament Player of the Year race with a total of 148 PTPR Points, he sits 8 points ahead of PCA Main Event winner Galen Hall.


18 TOTAL TOURNAMENTS QUALIFIED FOR PTPR POINTS
Grand Slams - 0
Premier - 3
Tier 3 - 4
Prelim - 1
Challenger - 10


FEBRUARY TOP 10

Player of the Month:
Alessio Isaia, 148 PTPR Points, 2 PTPR Scores

ALESSIO ISAIA 148
GREGORY BROOKS 131
MICHAEL TURENIEC 129
JOHN RIORDAN 107
ALEX MANZANO 105
RANDY DORFMAN 101
NATALIA NIKITINA 101
VIVEK RAJKUMAR 81
SZABOLCS MAYER 80
PER LINDE 79


146 different players scored PTPR Points in February. Isaia, Shannon Shorr and Amit Levahot scored twice in February.

ALESSIO ISAIA 2
SHORR SHANNON 2
AMIT LEVAHOT 2

SEIDEL SHINES WITH NBC HEADS UP WIN

Erik Seidel has defeated 2003 WSOP Champion Chris Moneymaker to win the NBC National Heads Up Poker Championship.

Seidel has had a monster start to 2011, has already accumulated over four million in tournament cash. The only issue? Most of his accomplishments have happened in non-PTPR qualifying events. In fact, only two of his scores have counted toward the PTPR Tournament Poker Player of the Year race, he has collected 61 PTPR Points in 2011.

This event did not qualify for PTPR Points due to the fact that it was an invitational event.

NBC NATIONAL HEADS UP: SEIDEL RETURNS TO THE FINALS FOR 2ND STRAIGHT YEAR

PHOTO CREDIT: POKERNEWS.com

Chris Moneymaker (pictured, right) will face Erik Seidel in the Championship at the NBC National Heads Up. This is Seidel's second finals appearance in as many years. Seidel was defeated by Annie Duke last year.

The best of three final shall begin in about 30 minutes.

Here is how each player got to the finals...

CHRIS MONEYMAKER
Round of 64: def. John Racener
Round of 32: def. Daniel Cates
Round of 16: def. Doyle Brunson
Quarter Finals: def. David Oppenheim
Semi Finals: def. Jonathan Duhamel

Note: Moneymake, a former WSOP Main Event Champion, defeated two former WSOP champs on his way to the finals.

ERIK SEIDEL
Round of 64: def. Allen Cunningham
Round of 32: def. Jennifer Harman
Round of 16: def. Phil Gordon
Quarter Finals: def. Vanessa Selbst
Semi Finals: def. Andrew Robl

NBC will begin airing the NBC National Heads Up Poker Championship on Sunday, April 17th.

FINAL FOUR SET AT NBC HEADS UP - WSOP CHAMPS FACE-OFF

PHOTO CREDIT: NBCSPORTS.com

The Final Four is set at the NBC National Heads Up Poker Championship.

Andrew Robl will meet red-hot Erik Seidel in one match, while the other match pits two World Series of Poker Main Event Champions - defending champ Jonathan Duhamel and Chris Moneymaker - in what could be a match made for in heaven for NBC!

SELBST v SEIDEL HIGHLIGHT ELITE 8 MATCHES AT NBC HEADS UP

PHOTO CREDIT: NBCSPORTS.com

We're down to four matches left at the NBC National Heads Up Poker Championship and although no PTPR Points are awarded for this event (since the event is a 64-player invitational event), it's still one of the most anticipated tournaments of the season.

The Elite 8 matches is highlighted by the Erik Seidel v. Vanessa Selbst match, the battle between Old School and New School. Seidel comes into the match with wins over Allen Cunningham, Jennifer Harman and Phil Gordon - all three matches against other "Old School" players. Selbst defeated Eli Elezra, 2008 WSOP Champ Peter Eastgate and Phil "OMGClayaiken" Galfond to reach the Elite 8.

The winner of this match will face the winner of the Andrew Robl v. David Benyamine matchup. Robl scored wins over Kara Scott, NFL Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith and James Bord to get here; Benyamine defeated an impressive trio of the Poker Brat Phil Hellmuth, Tom Durrr Dwan and 2010 PTPR Grand Slam Winner Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi.

On the other side of the brackets, Olivier Busquet (wins over Pilgrim, Boeree, Mercier - three of the hottest poker players around) will face defending WSOP Champion Jonathan Duhamel (wins over Whitmire, Esfandiari, Mahmood) while anoter WSOP Champion, Chris Moneymaker (hot off wins over Lindgren, Jungleman and Texas Dolly) will face David Oppenheim (wins over basebaldy, El Matador and Katchalov).


Should be a fun Elite 8 round.

BROOKS HOLDS OFF RAJKUMAR, MORTENSEN TO WIN WPT LAPC

PHOTO CREDIT: WPT.com

Carlos Mortensen was looking for history, his 4th WPT title, but, he couldn't hold off Gregory Brooks.

Vivek Rajkumar was looking to continue his historically strong play at the LAPC, but he was stopped short of the title, by Gregory Brooks.

If you didn't know who Gregory Brooks was, now you know, he's the latest WPT Millionaire.

The win catapults Brooks into the PTPR Top 10.

2010 PTPR Top 5 player Carlos Mortensen scored for the first time this season, same with Rajkumar.

Shannon Shorr eanred an impressive third PTPR Score this season, although he has yet to surpass the 100 PTPR Points mark for the year.

Amir Levahot, David "Bakes" Baker and Matt Marafioti scored for the second time this year.

Here the the final table payouts from the WPT LAPC:
1st: Gregory Brooks - $1,654,120
2nd: Vivek Rajkumar - $908,730
3rd: Carlos Mortensen - $640,680
4th: Amir Lehavot - $421,680
5th: Steve Gross - $304,000
6th: Darryll Fish - $235,350


PTPR PREMIER EVENT
Los Angeles Poker Classic
World Poker Tour Main Event
February 25-March 2, 2011

Commerce Casino
Los Angeles, California, USA

Buy-in: $10,000
Prizepool: $6,537,600
Entries: 681

POINTS AT STAKE
GREGORY BROOKS 131
VIVEK RAJKUMAR 81
CARLOS MORTENSEN 51
AMIR LEVAHOT 41
STEVE GROSS 36
DARRYLL FISH 31
DAVID BAKER "BAKES" 31
ALLEN CUNNINGHAM 16
JASON DEWITT 16
JESSE YAGINUMA 15
SHANNON SHORR 15
JAMES CARROLL 15
JAMES DOWDEY 14
JASON SENTI 14
MATTHEW BERKEY 14
BRANDON CRAWFORD 11
MATT MARAFIOTI 11
KATHY LIEBERT 11

BROOKS WINS WPT TITLE!

Gregory Brooks has defeated Vivek Rajkumar heads up to win the WPT Los Angeles Poker Classic Main Event!

We will have full event results later today.


1st: Gregory Brooks - $1,654,120
2nd: Vivek Rajkumar - $908,730
3rd: Carlos Mortensen - $640,680
4th: Amir Lehavot - $421,680
5th: Steve Gross - $304,000
6th: Darryll Fish - $235,350

RESULTS FROM HEARTLAND QUAPAW, APT MACAU, VENETIAN D-STACKS, CAPT BERGENZ

PHOTO CREDIT: HEARTLANDPOKERTOUR.com

We have four PTPR Challenger Event updates ... from the Heartland Poker Tour Oklahoma, APT Macau Red Dragon Main Event, the Venetian Deep Stacks Main Event (which includes the return Joe Bartholdi to the poker ranks) and Austria's CAPT Tour Bregenz Main Event.


PTPR CHALLENGER EVENT
Heartland Poker Tour Oklahoma
HPT Main Event
February 26-27, 2011

Downstream Casino
Quapaw, Oklahoma, USA

Buy-in: $1,100
Prizepool: $314.925
Entries: 330

FINAL RESULTS
MICHAEL JENSEN 35
A.P. PHAHURAT 18
STEVE SANDERS 10
DANIEL SUN 8
DAVID DOUGLAS 5


PTPR CHALLENGER EVENT
APT Macau
APT Main Event
February 25-28, 2011

Grand Lisboa
Macau

Buy-in: $1,413
Prizepool: $653.856
Entries: 509

FINAL RESULTS
MARK BENASA 35
YOUNGSHIN IM 18
HUNG-SHENG LIN 10
KUO HUANG 8
CHARLES-CHUNG LAM 5


PTPR CHALLENGER EVENT
2011 Venetian Deepstack I
Main Event
February 23-25, 2011

Venetian Casino Resort
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Buy-in: $2,500
Prizepool: $621.132
Entries: 271

FINAL RESULTS
ETHAN FOULKES 35
JOE BARTHOLDI 18
DAVID TUTHILL 10
VASSILIOS LAZAROU 8
DAVID QUANG 5


PTPR TIER 3 EVENT
CAPT Bregenz
Main Event
February 26-27, 2011

Casinos Austria
Bregenz, Austria

Buy-in: $2,790
Prizepool: $487.880
Entries: 184

FINAL RESULTS
IZAK MUDAY 35
ERICH KOLLMANN 18
MILAN JOKSIC 10
OLIVIER PONTHIEUX 8
FABRIZIO LEONARDI 5

YOUNG PUP: RIORDAN WINS WSOPC PALM BEACH,

PHOTO CREDIT: POKERNEWS.com

With his WSOP Circuit win last night at the Palm Beach Kennel Club, John Riordan becomes, at age 19, the youngest WSOPC winner in history.

Riordan entered final table play as the chip leader and that did not change throughout Tuesday's play.


PTPR TIER 3 EVENT
World Series of Poker Circuit Palm Beach
WSOPC Main Event
February 27-March 1, 2011

Palm Beach Kennel Club
Palm Beach, Florida, USA

Buy-in: $1,600
Prizepool: $1,025,280
Entries: 742

FINAL RESULTS
JOHN RIORDAN 107
MIKE MORTON 67
THOMAS APREA 42
AUSTIN BUCHANAN 32
RYAN LENAGHAN 25
JON BRODY 17
DAVE MACDONALD 15
JESSE OKONCZAK 12
GERALD TIMMONS 12

19-YEAR OLD RIORDAN WINS WSOPC PALM BEACH

PHOTO CREDIT: POKERNEWS.com

19-year old John Riordan won the World Series of Poker Circuit Palm Beach Main Event last night in Florida. Riordan becomes the youngest WSOPC winner in history.

Stay tuned for a full-event report.

SPARKS FLY AS WPT LAPC FINAL TABLE IS SET

PHOTO CREDIT: WPT.com

Carlos Mortensen was accumulating chips in a sick fashion late during today's play at the World Poker Tour Los Angeles Poker Classic (WPT LAPC) Main Event.

El Matador picked up most of his leading chip stack on an absolutely crazy hand when we were 12-handed. Mortensen called Shannon Shorr's and James Carroll's all-in bets. Mortensen was well behind with Queens to Shorr's Aces and Carroll's Kings .. but the flop carried three spades (Mortensen had the queen of spades) and the turn was another spade, eliminating both Shorr and Carroll. On the same hand, at the other remaining table, Jesse Yaginuma was eliminated and we went from 12 to 9 players within minutes.

An absolute sick beat for Shorr while Mortensen became the lead dog from that moment on.

Vivek Rajkumar, who came into the day with the chip lead, sits second and is right on El Matador's heels.

David "Bakes" Baker, Allen Cunningham and Jason DeWitt were the bubble players.

It's going to be one heck of a WPT Final Table when play resumes on Thursday (the players get tomorrow off while the WPT films it's WPT Invitational Final Table).

Here are the chip stacks and seating assignments for Thursday's Final Table:
1. Vivek Rajkumar - 5,185,000
2. Darryll Fish - 2,275,000
3. Gregory Brooks - 2,300,000
4. Amir Lehavot - 4,115,000
5. Steve Gross - 1,320,000
6. Carlos Mortensen - 5,235,000


PTPR PREMIER EVENT
Los Angeles Poker Classic
World Poker Tour Main Event
February 25-March 2, 2011

Commerce Casino
Los Angeles, California, USA

Buy-in: $10,000
Prizepool: $6,537,600
Entries: 681

POINTS AT STAKE
1st position 131
2nd position 81
3rd position 51
4th position 41
5th position 36
6th position 31
DAVID BAKER "BAKES" 31
ALLEN CUNNINGHAM 16
JASON DEWITT 16
JESSE YAGINUMA 15
SHANNON SHORR 15
JAMES CARROLL 15
JAMES DOWDEY 14
JASON SENTI 14
MATTHEW BERKEY 14
BRANDON CRAWFORD 11
MATT MARAFIOTI 11
KATHY LIEBERT 11

WSOPC PALM BEACH FINAL TABLE PLAY BEGINS

PHOTO CREDIT: POKERNEWS.com

Final table play is about to begig at the WSOP Circuit Palm Beach Final Table.

And as much as the WPT is currently hosting a star-studded unofficial final table (9 players left, 3 to go before official WPT final table), the WSOPC FT is a all-amateur affair, none of the FT participants have scored PTPR Points.

John Riordan leads the way, he'll start final table play in seat 8 ... here are the seating assignments/chip counts for final table play...

1 Jon Brody 1,500,000
2 Dave MacDonald 970,000
3 Ryan Lenaghan 1,420,000
4 Austin Buchanan 1,120,000
5 Gerald Timmons 980,000
6 Mike Morton 2,000,000
7 Jesse Okonczak 1,280,000
8 John Riordan 4,490,000
9 Thomas Aprea 535,000


PTPR TIER 3 EVENT
World Series of Poker Circuit Palm Beach
WSOPC Main Event
February 27-March 1, 2011

Palm Beach Kennel Club
Palm Beach, Florida, USA

Buy-in: $1,600
Prizepool: $1,025,280
Entries: 742

POINTS AT STAKE
1st position 107
2nd position 67
3rd position 42
4th position 32
5th position 25
6th position 17
7th position 15
8th position 12
9th position 12

RAJKUMAR LEADS FINAL 18 AT LAPC MAIN

PHOTO CREDIT: WPT.com

It was a battle for supremecy, or, in this case, the chip lead late between Vivek Rajkumar and James Carroll (who had the chip lead for most of the night) and, in the end, Vivek was able to make James fold, and, with that pot, take control of the WPT LAPC Main Event.

We still have the makings of an amazing final table with the name players left - and we will be playing down to that WPT Final Table today!

Here are the players that carry a million dollar chip stack into Tuesday's play...

• Vivek Rajkumar 3,231,000
• Gregory Brooks 2,326,000
• Jason DeWitt 1,916,000
• Matthew Berkey 1,614,000
• Amir Levahot 1,595,000
• Carlos Mortensen 1,467,000
• James Carroll 1,270,000
• Allen Cunningham 1,079,000

PTPR PREMIER EVENT
Los Angeles Poker Classic
World Poker Tour Main Event
February 25-March 2, 2011

Commerce Casino
Los Angeles, California, USA

Buy-in: $10,000
Prizepool: $6,537,600
Entries: 681

POINTS AT STAKE
1st position 131
2nd position 81
3rd position 51
4th position 41
5th position 36
6-7 position 31
8-11 position 16
12-15 position 14
16-18 position 11