A new PKR community is set to launch shortly.
PKRPlayersClub.com is set to offer its members private tournaments, exclusive prizes and a PKR Poker League.
Although it’s still under construction, those interested in registering for it can currently leave their email address to ensure that they’re notified when everything is up and running.
Eugene Katchalov won this year’s WPT Doyle Brunson classic in record time to pocket almost $2.5 million.
The American, who was chip leader going into the final table, picked up the winners cheque after just 53 hands to beat a record that Brunson himself had set in 2004 by winning the Legends of Poker WPT event.
In fact, it was a day for records as the 664 players who originally entered the tournament generated a prize pool of $9.6million dollars – an amount never previously seen outside of the WPT World Championship and the main event at the World Series of Poker.
It was Katchalov who benefited most from this huge prize pool though. Once the action got underway, he wasted no time in extending his cheap lead and hardly put a foot wrong all afternoon. He faced Ted Kearly in the heads-up with a chip stack almost six times the size of his opponent, and the writing was on the wall when Kearly lost a third of his chips only a couple of hands later.
Along with the winners cheque, Katchalov will also receive a seat in the WSOP main event next year.
Almost $160m will be up for grabs when the 2008 WSOP kicks off next year at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
The highlight of the gruelling 6 month tournament schedule will undoubtedly be “The Main Event” or to give it its full name, The $10,000 buy-in World Championship of No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em.
It won’t just be No Limit poker on show though. Seven-Card Stud, Limit Hold’Em, Omaha Hi-Low Split Eight or Better and Pot-Limit Omaha will all make an appearance as will a new Mixed Event. The Mixed Event will feature eight variations of poker: Limit and No-Limit Hold’Em; Omaha Hi-Low and Pot-Limit Omaha; Seven Card Stud; Razz; Seven Card Hi-Low Split; and 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball and will also require players to stump up a $10,000 buy in.
Winners of all 55 events will be given a unique WSOP gold bracelet made exclusively by the luxury Swiss watchmaker CORUM.
Outspoken Australian Tony G won the inaugral Moscow Millions tournament and then donated his $205,000 first prize to a local orphanage.
The tournament had initially been in doubt after it lost its sponosor Full Tilt earlier on in the year, but things ran incredibly smoothly:
“The structure was better than the World Series of Poker main event,” said Tony G. “We had two dealers at the final table, so that the next hand was shuffled and ready to go, and we had tons of hands at the final table.”
The Moscow Millions attracted 53 players including Rusian Alex Kravchenko who had won a bracelet at the World Series of Poker this year. He finally finished in third place collecting $77,000 for his troubles.
The three time WSOP bracelet winner David “Chip” Reese passed away last night. He was 56.
Chip, who was widely accepted as the world’s greatest cash player, was accepted into hospital late yesterday evening with pneumonia symptoms. He was sent home later that night but passed away in his sleep.
The highlights of Reese’s career include bracelets in 1982 and 1978 for $5,000 limit stud and $1,000 stud split and the $50,000 WSOP H.O.R.S.E. event in 2006. He was held in such high esteem that Doyle Brunson practically begged him to write the chapter on stud for his best selling book “Super System”. The two went on to become close friends.
“I have lost one of my oldest and dearest friends today,” Brunson said. “He was one of the most unique individuals I have ever known, and poker has lost one of the greats today.”
Fellow author and close friend, Barry Greenstein has also played tribute to his regular partner at the “Big Game” with a very touching audio blog tribute at PokerRoad.com
T.J. Cloutier negotiated his way through a final table containing Bill Edler, Ray Henson and Gavin Smith to win the first place prize of $241,000 at Scotty Nguyen’s Poker Challenge.
The tournament was held in the Cherokee Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma and attracted over 100 players, each willing to pay the $5,000 buy in.
But it was Cloutier who added another title to his already impressive career which also includes 6 WSOP bracelets.
The world’s largest poker tournament grew even bigger this year with the introduction of an 11th event on the Sunday. While not strictly a WSOP event, the huge crowds that turned up to watch the World Series of Poker convinced Harvey’s Poker Room to open a $200 NL Hold’Em Tournament for those who couldn’t afford to play in the main event … or for those who had crashed out earlier than they had hoped.
Nenad Medic missed out on his chance to become the first player in history to win the same WPT event twice when he finished in third place at the World Poker Tour World Poker Finals at Foxwoods Resort and Casino. The event was won by Mike Vela who walked away with $1,704,986, and a $25,500 seat into the Season VI WPT World Championship to be held in April, 2008.
Despite starting strongly, Medic ended up going out after 71 hands when he threw all of his 2,930,000 chips into the middle with A 7. Vela immediately called with A J and found another two Jacks on the flop to earn a nice pay day.
2005 event winner Nick Schulman faced Vela in the head-to-head but his pocket 5’s failed to hold up against Vela’s A Q when the board rolled out A Q J 7 8. He was eliminated in second place, earning $864,652.