The 2008 tour will begin at the end of February at the Gala's Edinburgh Maybury Casino. The first event kicks off Feb. 27, with events each day thereafter until March 2, including a three-day freezeout main event.
The first stop on the tour is expected to have a total estimated £150,000 prize pool. The main event will be a £500+£50 event with £5,000 cash added by Gala Casinos.
The winners of each regional main event will also move forward to the Grand Final, which will take place at the Gala Casino Harbourside in Bristol Dec. 1-7.
Other regional festivals will take place in Gala casinos in Nottingham, Liverpool and Teesside. The full schedule is as follows:
- Feb. 27-March 2: Gala Maybury Casino, Edinburgh
- April 16-20: Gala Casino Maid Marian Way, Nottingham
- June 18-22: Gala Harbourside Casino, Bristol
- Sept. 17-21: Gala Casino, Liverpool
- Oct. 22-26: Gala Casino Stockton-on-Tees
- Dec. 1-7: Grand Final, Gala Harbourside Casino, Bristol
According to a press release from the GCBPT, the tour returns in 2008 after a successful inaugural year that saw a total of 2,257 runners from the events and £870,000 in prize money.
The reigning champion, Joe Beevers, will be back to defend his title this year.
"I really enjoyed playing the Gala Casinos British Poker Tour events all over the U.K. last year and will be playing the tour in 2008 trying to defend my title," Beevers said.
"I will be in Edinburgh when the tour kicks off again in February, with fellow (Hendon) Mobster, Barny Boatman, who'll be trying to go better than his third-place finish in the Grand Final at Bristol."
Mark O'Donnell, GCBPT manager, said what sets the tour apart is that it attracts the best poker talent from across Britain and Europe alongside amateur players and relative newcomers to the game.
"The tour promises to have something for everyone - nail-biting clashes, absolute professionalism and the unique Gala Casinos atmosphere of the live events," O'Donnell said. "A prize at the final table is genuinely within everyone's grasp. The Gala Casinos British Poker Tour really is the people's poker tour."
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Selbst captures Commerce WPTL event
The $1,000 buy-in ensured that there would be a strong contingent of women battling for the crown. Evidently a recent California court decision had limited impact on the composition of the field.
On Jan. 18, the California judiciary determined that "women only" events were discriminatory against males and that any cardroom running an event could not keep men out if they wanted to play.
At the Commerce, one man stepped up to take on the ladies on the felt, but he was eliminated from the action in the early going.
Eighty-two players came to the tables for action midafternoon on Saturday, some very strong contenders among them. WSOP bracelet winner Cyndy Violette, Anna Wroblewski and 2007 WPT Ladies' Night winner Pamela Brunson sat down at the felt, but busted out relatively early in the evening.
The final table, convened early Sunday morning, featured several strong local players as well as some top professionals. Katrina Lim and Christina Hung, two California poker players who have a number of solid finishes in ladies tournaments between them, struggled valiantly but ended up in seventh and fourth place respectively.
When the tournament came down to the final three, it was Selbst (who also final-tabled the 2007 WSOP Ladies Championship), European poker pro Erica Schoenberg and Crystal Osgood at the baize.
Osgood, who is also the president of the Ladies Poker Association (one of the cosponsors of the WPT Ladies tournament), was first to depart the table, taking with her the third-place prize of $10,920.
As the hands of the clock approached 7 a.m. Sunday, Selbst was finally able to vanquish Schoenberg and capture the bounty: $26,500 in cash, a pink WPT chip set, LAPC and LPA trophies and a $1,500 seat at the WPTL Championship at the Bellagio in April.
Once the marathon wrapped up, the final-table results looked like this:
| Place | Name | Hometown | Prize |
| 1st | Vanessa Selbst | Montclair, N.J. | $26,500 |
| 2nd | Erica Schoenberg | Las Vegas, Nev. | $14,690 |
| 3rd | Crystal Osgood | Spring Valley, Calif. | $10,920 |
| 4th | Christina Hung | San Francisco, Calif. | $7,800 |
| 5th | Jana Delacerra | Northridge, Calif. | $5,850 |
| 6th | Danise Aaron | Los Angeles, Calif. | $4,290 |
| 7th | Katrina Lim | Orange, Calif. | $3,380 |
| 8th | Carol Neal | Provincetown, Mass. | $2,600 |
| 9th | Julie Le | Huntington Beach, Calif. | $1,950 |
In honor of the charitable organization the WPT Ladies promotes, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation, players sported pink bracelets given out by the WPT to promote and encourage donations to the WPTL official charity partner.
With the end of the second WPT Ladies event, female players will now be looking to the Bay 101 Casino in San Jose for the third stop on the tour at the Shooting Star in March.
The fourth tournament on the schedule takes place at Foxwoods in March.
The current season of the WPTL wraps up in April with the WPT Ladies Championship Event, a $1,500 buy-in on the schedule of the Five Star World Poker Classic at the Bellagio. The final table for that event will be taped on April 25 for broadcast on the WPT's new television partner, GSN.
Related Article: WPT Ladies Heads for Commerce Casino
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Titan sending four to South African Poker Open
All four players won their way into the South African Poker Open through a series of Super Satellites at Titan Poker. They were each awarded an $8,000 prize package, which includes the buy-in for the tournament plus money for travel and accommodation.
The tournament will be taking place at the MonteCasino in Gauteng Feb. 5-11. According to Titan Poker, the South Africa event is rapidly growing in international reputation as a premier poker destination.
Along with their tournament entry, the Titan players will also be treated to cocktail parties and galas and have a chance to explore some of South Africa while they're there.
"I've been playing online for around four to five years, but this will be the first big buy-in tournament that I have ever participated in, so I am very excited," said Mike Byrd, a 29-year-old Canadian who will be going to the tournament courtesy of Titan Poker.
"I really enjoy playing at Titan Poker because you get fantastic support, the interface is quicker and the competition tends to be more sophisticated."
Titan Poker regularly rewards its players with seats in tournaments all around the world. The poker site has sent players to the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, the Aussie Millions and various European Poker Tour events.
The site will also be sending players to the Irish Open and the World Poker Showdown in the Dominican Republic later this year.
PokerListings.com players at Titan Poker have the added benefit of a monthly $5,000 cash freeroll.
The freeroll is open to all new and existing players who signed up at Titan Poker through a PokerListings.com link. All it takes to play in the monthly freeroll is making a deposit and earning one player point between the first and last day of the preceding month. It takes place the first Sunday of every month at 6 p.m. (GMT).
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Betfair demands return of computer-glitch payouts
The Telegraph published a story following the “Ocean’s 14″-style payout error last month in which a glitch in Betfair’s system led to a few hours of some players getting more money in their accounts than they ought to. Betfair appears to be putting the onus ��...full article
The Telegraph published a story following the “Ocean’s 14″-style payout error last month in which a glitch in Betfair’s system led to a few hours of some players getting more money in their accounts than they ought to. Betfair appears to be putting the onus on the affected players and is considering filing suit to reclaim possible owed funds.
Addiction tax for U.K. gambling industry?
According to a story published in the Sunday Mail gamblers lose £3.5 billion in the U.K., over £350 million of that in Scotland alone. That works out to a loss of £75 per person in Scotland. The sum does not include amounts lost in casinos, bingo halls and the National Lottery.
Research from the Betting Research Unit at Nottingham Business School claims that U.K. citizens are spending double the amount on betting compared to 2001 when a previous betting tax was removed.
One of the lead researchers for the unit, Professor Leighton Vaughn Williams, had some additional theories on what has led to the explosion of gambling in the U.K. and particularly in Scotland.
"The advent of the National Lottery had a lot to do with de-stigmatising gambling," he said in the Mail article. "Cable TV, with more sport screened so people can bet while a match or race is on, also led to an increase in betting."
Williams went on to say that problems with gambling must be addressed directly.
"You do have some people who have problems with gambling," he said. "But you don't solve the problem by shutting your eyes to it, you solve it by regulating the industry."
Government officials are taking note. Many want to add a tax for gambling operators that would see a percentage go toward help for gambling addicts.
"A mandatory levy on all gambling firms operating in Scotland must be established," said SNP MSP Kenneth Gibson.
The Gambling Act 2005 includes an article stipulating that firms will voluntarily pay into a fund which is used to help gamblers hooked on betting. Not all operators are complying, however. Companies gave only half of the expected £4 million in 2007.
Gibson has called for Westminster to give the Scottish Parliament the power to make the levy compulsory.
"It is simply not acceptable for gambling firms to make a fortune in profits from the Scottish people while largely ignoring their social responsibility to help educate people of the dangers of gambling and contribute to the treatment of gambling addicts."
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- U.K. Limits Online Gambling Advertisers
- U.K. Gambling Commission Has $14 Million Tab
- U.K. May Ditch Online Gambling Ads
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Bodog Poker launches WSOP qualifiers
The promotion started Tuesday with the first of the Main Event Semifinal tournaments, which are scheduled to take place on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays each week. Bodog Poker is guaranteeing at least three $12,000 Main Event prize packages a week through the Semifinal tournaments.
The prize package includes the $10,000 buy-in to the Main Event, $2,000 for travel expenses, loads of Team Bodog gear and the chance to experience Las Vegas in Bodog style.
There are also seats up for grabs through Bodog Poker's weekly Player's Choice tournaments.
The poker site is expecting to add even more Main Event Semifinal tournaments to the schedule during the coming months, building up to a total of more than 120 Bodog players who will get a shot at millions of dollars in the WSOP Main Event.
Players looking to secure their spot in the Main Event at Bodog Poker can do so for as little as $1 or 100 points. Qualifiers are running daily, and all qualifiers lead to the three weekly Main Event Semifinal tournaments.
The Semifinals are scheduled for:
- Tuesdays at 7:15 p.m.
- Thursdays at 9:15 p.m.
- Saturdays at 3:15 p.m.
(All times are EST.)
The buy-in for the Semifinal events is $250+$20.
The 2008 World Series of Poker kicks off at the end of May at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, and the Main Event is scheduled for July 3-15.
Visit Bodog Poker for more information and to get in on the poker fun.
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- Bodog Ups Presence in China
- Bodog Players Find Live-Event Success
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WSOPC heads to San Diego
The Rincon stop on the WSOPC tour has traditionally been very popular, as it gives players practice for upcoming tournaments on the California poker scene, including the L.A. Poker Classic and the Bay 101 Shooting Star.
Historically, top professional players have captured the title at this location. Chris "Jesus" Ferguson's first of his three WSOPC championships was won here during the event's inaugural year in 2005 and Darrell Dicken and Peter Feldman (who is the defending champion) have taken the last two events.
Attendance at the preliminaries has been a little down for the run of events in San Diego, possibly due to the number of other tournaments taking place simultaneously. However, the tournaments have averaged around 300 players for the smaller buy-in events, and have brought out top-notch players from the local poker community.
Mario Valenzuela and Rod Dingler have been very active in the preliminary events, with a victory each, and GiGi Dong was the champion of the ladies event.
When the main phase of the action starts on Tuesday afternoon, many professionals will no doubt take a break from the tournament schedule in Los Angeles to make their way down to San Diego for this one. The $5,000 buy-in will bring a very strong field predicted to number around 150 and play is expected to be competitive.
PokerListings will be there for all the action that takes place in our Live Tournaments section and, by the end of the tournament on Thursday, we'll find out who the latest WSOPC champion is.
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Hollywood Poker ups The Grand
According to a press release from the poker site, the decision to step it up a notch stems from the favorable response that Hollywood Poker has received on The Grand Tournament. The tournament continues to gain in popularity and drew 846 entrants in December, creating an $846,000 prize pool.
The Grand takes place on the last weekend of each month beginning on a Friday. This month's tournament will be played out with its normal three-day flight structure between Feb. 22-24, with all starting times at 2 p.m. (EST).
The Grand Tournament is a No-Limit Hold'em freezout "flight" event with a $10,000 starting stack of chips and 30-minute blind structure.
Players have the option of two starting days, and those who survive from both heats automatically earn a ticket to the final with the chip stacks from the flights carried over.
To qualify for The Grand Tournament, players can also advance through several daily qualifier tournaments for as little as $1+20¢ buy-ins.
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Bar Poker League awards fifth WSOP seat
More than 500 Minnesota and Wisconsin players competed in the state finals Jan. 19, and a record 42 teams (eight players per team) turned out for the team event as well on Jan. 18. That resulted in Jackpot Junction Casino Hotel, in Morton, Minn. hosting more than 1,000 players and guests for the Bar Poker League tournaments.
Now that the state has a WSOP Main Event seat winner, Minnesota and Wisconsin will start a new six-month season of poker.
Another WSOP seat is up for grabs in Florida this month as the state wraps up its first season of the Bar Poker League. Florida has more than 30 league locations and continues to grow in Southwest Florida as players work their way to the State Finals taking place Feb. 17.
There, the league will award another $10,000 WSOP Main Event seat.
The World Poker Store also launched the Washington Bar Poker League today, expanding the league into a third U.S. time zone. The company is also in negotiations in Europe and China for stores and league operations to take the league worldwide.
"This is just the beginning of a great year for The World Poker Store as our efforts to develop revenue streams around the world will come to fruition," said Chuck Chastain, World Poker Store CEO.
"We expect to reap the benefits of all our hard work over the past few years and continue to capitalize on the popularity of poker through our website, bar league, retail stores, loyalty card program and upscale entertainment clubs in 2008 and beyond."
The World Poker Store has offices in Minnesota, Florida, Washington, the Netherlands and China, where it works to bring free Texas Hold'em and world-class poker entertainment to the people.
The company also has some top international poker pros on its advisory board to help it best bring poker to the world. Those pros are Marcel Luske, Johnny Chan, Phil Hellmuth, Hoyt Corkins, Patrik Antonius and Liz Lieu, who promote the company at tournaments and advise on how to develop the company's poker programs in foreign countries.
Related Articles:
- World poker Store Opens Operations in China
- WPS Expands Bar Poker League to Wisconsin
- Top Pros to Advise World Poker Store
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