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03 7th, 2010
As reported yesterday, up to six armed gunmen robbed the Grand Hyatt Hotel’s casino during the European Poker Tour (EPT) stop at Berlin. While nobody was seriously hurt, the incident caused havoc, as the thieves made away with a portion of the EPT High-Roller tournament prize money.
PokerStars, the official sponsor of the EPT, released an update about the incident on Sunday: “Yesterday at approximately 2:15pm (local time), an armed robbery took place at the European Poker Tour (EPT) event in Berlin. Nobody was seriously injured. Four armed men were involved in the robbery, which targeted the tournament registration desk outside the tournament area.”
The poker site added, “No shots were fired and the suspects quickly fled after a security guard intervened. The police investigation so far has shown that the suspects had a handgun and a machete. Contrary to tabloid reports, no Kalashnikov assault rifles or hand grenades were used. The suspects did not enter the tournament area and the money taken was substantially less than what has been reported.”
After the terror on the scene settled, players were asked to continue play only a few hours later, including the 20 remaining players in the EPT Berlin Main Event. One of the competitors was American pro Kevin “ImaLuckSac” MacPhee, who commented about the incident on PocketFives.com. “I honestly thought we should have stopped play,” said MacPhee, who eventually reached the final table as the chip leader of the Main Event. “It was a pretty freaky thing to have happen, especially considering the poor planning of the tournament area… no exits, lots of panic, stampeding, screaming, crying.
“The EPTLive.com people shut down because of it, but we somehow where expected to play on,” MacPhee continued. “I thought was a little unfair to put that upon the players after something like that happens, especially without any player input on how to handle the situation.”
EPTLive was broadcasting the Main Event as the hotel was robbed and caught footage of the panic in the tournament area. Mickey Dinsen Peterson, a professional poker player known as “mement mori” online, was among the dozens of people in the poker room when the break-in occurred. “I sat at one of the outer tables, and all of a sudden 10 people came storming into the poker room with more following all heading for the exit screaming something about robbery and bombs,” explained Peterson on the TwoPlusTwo forum. “At this point there is an absolute panic where everyone is pushing you towards the exit, and even though we can’t see any robbers they could enter the room at any second for all we know.”
The robbery not only terrified those playing the EPT event in Berlin. News broke quickly across the world and players were eager to share their thoughts and prayers via Twitter and other social networks. Here’s a sample of the reaction:
Shaun Deeb: “Wow EPT Berlin got robbed by 6 armed gunman they got close to a mil in euros glad I didn’t go to this one.”
pro : “OMG!! ARMED ROBBERY at EPT Berlin, 6 gunmen take off with $1M in highroller buyins.”
Jon “pokertrip” Friedberg: “Wish I was at EPT during the heist!!! Woulda been a great experience! Glad nobody got hurt.”
Jeff “YellowSub” Williams: “Ept Berlin raided by armed robbers, hope everyone is ok.”
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest updates on the robbery at EPT Berlin.
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02 22nd, 2010
“I think it’s just because I’ve played so much online previously and got so many more hands in and more experience than guys strictly from the live scene,” he told PokerListings on Day 3 of the PokerStars.net North American Poker Tour Venetian main event where he is among the leaders and appears poised for a deep run.
“By the time I made it to the live scene I was already significantly more comfortable than you would expect. It’s kind of odd how it works.”
Lichtenberg picked up the online game five years ago and has been taking it seriously for the past three.
The story is that around the same time he had moved his way up from grinding online micro-stakes to $3/$6 No Limit Hold’em, he became a little bored with cash games and started playing tournaments.
It wasn’t long before he turned 21 and burst onto the live scene with a 13th place finish at the $25k WPT Championship.
Then, in his first shot at the World Series of Poker this past summer, he managed a runner-up finish in the $5K Shootout before making an astounding 18th in the Main Event.
Thanks to that more than $700k bankroll boost, he’s now travelling the tournament circuit and can be found playing online under the handle LuckyChewy at $25/$50 and higher.
According to Lichtenberg, the experience of finishing deep in two of 2009’s biggest live tournaments is proving itself valuable every day.
“The WPT was my first time going deep and, it’s not that I was nervous, it’s just that it feels so different you are not really used to it,” he said. “At this point, with the Main Event and all the cameras there, nothing really compares, so anything else is just any other day playing poker for me.”
And being comfortable in any high pressure situation allows Lichtenberg to focus on the kind of things he believes sets his game apart from other players.
“I just analyze situations very deeply,” he said. “I pick up factors that most people miss. I’m aware of certain things based on all the hands I’ve played.
Patterns start occurring and you kind of can tell when a certain guy is going to get fed up and start playing back at you, stuff like that.”
An instructor with LeggoPoker and a regular poster on poker forums across the net, Lichtenberger is no stranger to the poker community.
But the exposure from the ESPN’s WSOP Main Event coverage has suddenly made him recognizable elsewhere.
“I got recognized at a festival in Adelaide, just randomly by some guy,” he said. “It happens all the time now, especially in poker rooms.”
But despite sudden celebrity, the experience of running deep in big events and the cash that comes with it, Lichtenberger is still missing one thing.
“I’ve actually never won a live tournament,” he said. “So yeah, I really want to win a live tournament. It would be so cool. And why not the first NAPT? That’s not a bad idea.”
Live coverage of the PokerStars.net NAPT Venetian continues through Feb. 24 on page.
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02 12th, 2010
Along with 2009 champion J.C. Tran, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, Vanessa Rousso, Roland de Wolfe, Yevgeniy Timoshenko, Phil Laak, David Benyamine, Luke “FullFlush” Schwartz and Tony G, the roster now includes Team Party pro Ian Frazer.
Frazer secured his place in the Main Event through a six-handed playoff Thursday that included fellow Team Party members Bodo Sbrzesny, Remy Biechel, Felipe “Mojave” Ramos, Poker Hall of Fame inductee Mike Sexton and special guest player Dragon Galic.
“I came, I fought, I conquered,” said Frazer. “I’ve really got a feeling I can win this and I am so delighted that I have made it into the Main Event.”
Also securing his place in the $100,000 Main Event this week through a playoff with a group of fellow online qualifiers was 44-year-old Giovanni Safina, a civil lawyer from Palermo, Sicily.
Safini qualified for a spot in the playoff in a €100 satellite on PartyPoker.
“This is the very first time I have been to Las Vegas,” said Giovanni. “Poker is purely a hobby for me though I have won €25,000 online before. To reach the Premier League was always my goal and I am incredibly happy.
The Borgata Winter Poker Open was down to the final 27 players when Day 4 of the Main Event convened on Thursday morning. The overflow of poker in the building meant the field was relocated to the cozy confines of the Poker Room for the resumption…
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01 28th, 2010
has announced details of changes to the structure of the Main Event of this year’s Irish Open.
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01 28th, 2010
Doyle Brunson is the final pro to be added to the Premier IV event that takes place in Las Vegas next month.
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01 17th, 2010
The official rules for the 2010 () were handed down this week, with tournament organizers adopting a cell phone rule that permits text messaging and Twittering at the table.
All cell phones must be turned off during play. However, as the WSOP regulations note, “Players not involved in a hand (cards in muck) shall be permitted to text/email at the table, but shall not be permitted to text/email any other player at the table.” Twittering of chip counts and memorable hands were staples of the 2009 WSOP, when the social media outlet exploded in popularity. Even poker legends like 10-time bracelet winner have become engulfed in Twitter, with “Texas Dolly” now able to spit out additional blonde jokes while seated at the table of any 2010 WSOP event.
Any players who wish to talk on their cell phones must be at least one table length away from their seats while gabbing. Meanwhile, the WSOP logo policy in 2010 will remain the same as it was in 2009. No logo will be permitted that promotes drugs, handguns, lotteries, obscene material, pornography, libel, or “advertises any online gaming site that conducts business with U.S. residents.” Nearly every logo shown on ESPN television cameras in 2009 featured the dot-net version of the site’s URL. Meanwhile, , which had sponsored pro at the final table of the 2009 Main Event, served as the on-felt sponsor of the tournament series. Everest Poker does not accept players from the United States.
Posters on TwoPlusTwo were quick to critique the 2010 WSOP rules, which incorporated revisions made by the Tournament Directors Association. One point of contention concerned late registration. The rule reads, “Any player registering for an event after all initial tables allocated for that tournament have been filled will begin play at the start of the subsequent level.” In the WSOP Main Event, for example, that could mean a player sitting out as long as two hours, the length of one blind level.
Fans of UB.com poker bad boy may see the 11-time bracelet winner show up on time in 2010 thanks to a rule that governs “no shows,” players who fail to show up by the start of the third level of play. The rule mandates, “These players will have their chips removed from play and will not be eligible to participate in that event. The buy-ins for ‘no shows’ will be removed from the prize pool and placed on safekeeping in that player’s name at the main WSOP registration cage after the second level of play.”
Some posters on TwoPlusTwo questioned whether the “no show” clause meant that if a player saw they had a tough table draw, they could simply un-register by not showing up. Member “pineapple888” explained the dilemma: “It seems like you can register, wander by your table an hour into the event, and if there are too many pros/tough players for your liking, or there aren’t enough chips on the table, or whatever (no hot chicks at the table or railbirding), just wander away and claim your refund later without penalty.”
The action gets underway in the 2010 WSOP with the annual $500 buy-in Casino Employees No Limit Hold’em event on May 28th. Also to be held on that date is the brand new $50,000 buy-in Player’s Championship, an Eight-Game mix of Limit Hold’em, Omaha High-Low Split Eight or Better, Seven Card Razz, Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud High-Low Split Eight or Better, No Limit Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha, and 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball. It takes the place of the $50,000 HORSE Championship, which drew a meager 95 players in 2009 after having 148 in 2008.
Also new on the docket in 2010 is a $25,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed event that starts on June 30th. Many in the industry have questioned WSOP officials introducing a richer No Limit Hold’em tournament than the Main Event, whose buy-in is only $10,000. Nevertheless, the $25,000 Six-Handed contest is sure to attract some of the top names in the worlds of live and online poker.
Check out the official .
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The latest fantastic Card Gang Freeroll takes place today at 7pm UK time. This time gutshot.com is the host with $1,000 to be won in the main prize pool.
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12 14th, 2009
And apparently it’s been quite a ride.
“It’s been a whirlwind so far,” Cada told PokerListings on a break from play at the WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic in Las Vegas Monday, his first major tournament since booking the $8,546,435 win in November.
“I’m still trying to get used to things. It’s just a lot of media requests and stuff.”
With mainstream media appearances on CNN American Morning and The Late Show with David Letterman in the month since the Main Event table played out, Cada has certainly been busy.
But the Shelby Township, Michigan native doesn’t appear to mind.
“It’s been pretty good,” he said. “I don’t get as much sleep as I used to, but it’s not so bad. I’ve had the chance to meet a lot of famous people, so that’s cool.”
The one thing the college dropout turned Team PokerStars Pro hasn’t had much time to do, is ply his trade.
“I’ve played online here and there, but I really haven’t had that much time to play,” he said.
He also hasn’t had much time to spend his winnings.
“I’ve haven’t really done anything with the money,” he explained. “I gave my family some money, but that’s about it.”
A WSOP Main Event title seems to bring more than fame and riches to those who win it, as a seemingly inevitable debate over the newly crowned champion’s skills ensues.
Cada made a miraculous comeback from a severe short stack seven-handed to win the Main Event, getting lucky in several spots.
And although detractors have criticized his win as pure luck, Cada seems to take it all in stride.
“Everyone is entitled to their opinion,” he said. “I did get lucky at the final table, but I’m not really mad about the way I played the hands. Sometimes that’s just what happens.”
Rather than focus on the negative, Cada is simply taking the time to further his personal goals and that of the game he loves.
“It’s been pretty cool so far,” he said. “I’ve just been doing my best to help poker grow and be the best ambassador that I can.”
The WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic continues through Dec. 19. For comprehensive coverage click through to PokerListings’ .
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The 2010 Aussie Millions is set for January in Melbourne at Crown Casino and the early word around the camp fire is that it will be the biggest tournament in the Southern hemisphere to date as roughly 800 people are expected to turn out for the Main…
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