The WSOPE has just released its schedule for the 2103 incarnation of its festival and in a bid to spice things up the organisers have made some interesting additions to the roster.

Set to take place between October 12 and 25 inside the Casino Barrière d’Enghien-les-Bains in Paris, the bracelet driven event will feature a €10,000 (+€450) Main Event as well as a selection of auxiliary tournaments.

Indeed, added into the mix this year will be a €1,000 (+€100) re-entry No Limit Hold’em tournament, as well as a €25,000 (+€600) High Roller. However, arguably, the most exciting new tournament on the schedule is the PLO Mixed Max event.

Carrying a €3,000 (+€250) buy-in, the tournament will start with full ring format on Day 1 before switching to a 6-max event on Day 2. For those that make it through to the final day the dynamics will then switch again as the winner will be determined through a series of heads-up battles.

Last year Phil Hellmuth took down the Main Event for €1,022,376 and his 13^th bracelet and it is a certainty he will return this time around to defend his title and extend his lead in the WSOP bracelet race.

Hussain Clinches Genting Sheffield Title

Genting’s latest jaunt to Sheffield for the third leg of their poker series came to a conclusion over the weekend and standing alone when the final chips had fallen was Mudassar Hussain.

The Scottish pro made the trip down from north of the border to form part of the 546 runners who took part in the £440 Main Event inside Sheffield’s Genting Club Casino.

With a prizepool of £218,400, a host of the UK’s toughest grinders, including Barny Boatman, James Dempsey and Dusk Till Dawn’s Simon Trumper, were all doing their best to scoop chips throughout the four day festival.

However, as the field thinned and the blinds increased, it was Hussain who proved the most capable player. Indeed, having qualified for the tournament via a £55 satellite, Hussain enjoyed an early dose of luck in the finale when his A-8 caught a straight on the river to take a large pot against Trumper’s A-9.

With momentum on his side, Hussain adopted a solid strategy throughout the final table and eventually clinched his first live win after his A-K held on against Yucel Eminoglu’s Q-8 in the final hand.

Following the victory, Hussain commented: “I am glad it’s over, but I feel great. I had to play it a little bit sensibly, but I got the job done. I’m very happy with the result. It has been very well run and my thanks to everyone at Genting.”

Genting Poker Series Sheffield Final Result:

1st – £42,960 – Mudasser ‘Macca’ Hussain

2nd – £28,500 – Yucel Eminoglu

3rd – £28,500 – Athir Ali

4th – £16,380 – Wai Yu

5th – £12,010 – Adam Chadwick

6th – £9,390 – Simon Trumper

7th – £7,210 – Ian Szerlowski

8th – £5,230 – Liam Batey

9th – £3,710 – Chris Howden

Lindgren, Jonathan Roy, Daniel Negreanu and a few more players are chasing history in this event, you can read more about them in article published earlier on Day 4 here at the WPT World Championship.

Wednesday has the makings of a short day with only two player eliminations away from the WPT Final Table. This means that we are more than likely looking at a rare off day on Thursday before the Final Table is played out on Friday.

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Season 11 of the World Poker Tour was nearing the end with the excitement of the grand finale of the WPT World Championship at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. The 146-entry field had a prize pool of $3,540,500 with which to pay the top 15 finishers.

May 20 was Day 3 of the $25,500 buy-in Main Event, and it started with 67 players, though only 24 of them remained when play ended that night. The chip leader was Amir Babakhani with 1,220,000 chips.

Day 4 brought the money bubble into play after Andy Frankenberger exited in 17^th place. Hyon Kim was then eliminated by Dan Shak in 16^th place on the bubble, and the rest of the players were guaranteed at least $49,210. Play continued in an effort to find the final table of six.

Updates provided by WPT Live Updates team.

Luke Graham Wins WSOP Circuit New Orleans

What started with 762 entries wrapped up on May 20 with one winner at the World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event at Harrah’s in New Orleans. The $1,675 buy-in NLHE tournament had a prize pool of $1,143,000 and awarded more than $228K to Luke Graham for his victory. The final results were:

1^st place: Luke Graham ($228,600)

2^nd place: Joseph Hebert ($140,932)

3^rd place: Kasra Khodayarkhani ($103,899)

4^th place: Daniel Weinman ($77,438)

5^th place: Rogen Chhabra ($58,487)

6^th place: Dan Schmiech ($44,748)

7^th place: Tripp Kirk ($34,667)

8^th place: Ben Mintz ($27,192)

9^th place: Pavan Bhatia ($21,591)

China Series of Poker Wraps

The inaugural event of the China Series of Poker brought 379 players to the island of Hainan in Sanya, China. Team PokerStars Pro Celina Lin bubbled the final table, but fellow Team Pro Raymond Wu made it and finished seventh. The final results were:

1^st place: HaiGuang Jin

2^nd place: MingYi Hsu

3^rd place: DaWei Shi

4^th place: Wei Zhang

5^th place: Jun Hu

6^th place: Wen Hao

7^th place: Raymond Wu

8^th place: Jia Wang

9^th place: Hong Zhu

SALSBERG’S SWEAT

Day 3 marked the end of Matt Salsberg’s (GPI#30) amazing run this season on the WPT.  He ends his season at #1 on the WPT Player of the Year race but wasn’t able to wrap-up the title due to his early exit from the tournament. This leaves the door wide open for Amir Babakhani (GPI#1492) and Jonathan Roy (GPI#181) to steal the title away from Salsberg.  In either case, both players would need to win the WPT World Championship in order to also win Player of the Year honours.

MONTREAL CALLING

Speaking of Babakhani and Roy, both players could become the sixth player in WPT history to win a second WPT title in the same season.  Possibly following in the foot steps of Le, Lederer, Lindgren, Negreanu and Hansen, each player won a WPT event in Montreal this season.

BROTHERS IN ARMS

Things could get a little tricky for the Hyman clan as family members may be forced to chose sides in the very near future as brothers Matt (GPI#2730) and Zach (GPI#2647) are two of the 22 remaining players here at the WPT Championship. Matt just grabbed the chip lead with his elimination of poker superstar Jason Mercier and Zach is hanging in there near the bottom of the chip stacks but still holding quite a few chips. UPDATE: Zach has just been eliminated from the tournament, he is our 22nd place finisher.

GOING FOR #3

Former WPT Players of the Year Daniel Negreanu (GPI#14) and Erick Lindgren (GPI#465) are chasing a third win on the World Poker Tour.  If either of them gets the job done, he would join Carlos Mortensen and Gus Hansen as the only players to ever win three WPT titles.

A win for Negreanu would also allow him to surpass Mortensen atop the All-Time WSOP Money List.

TRIPLE CROWN AFFAIR

Triple Crown winner Jake Cody (GPI#143) is still in the field but he won’t be joined by a new Triple Crown winner at the end of this event.  Coming into the day with a shot at the Triple Crown, former EPT and WSOP winner Jason Mercier (GPI#1) was recently eliminated by Matt Hyman, falling short of his first WPT title. Mercier won’t be able to pad his lead atop the GPI rankings – he took over the #1 spot from Marvin Rettenmaier last week.

SEASON X WPT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL TABLE RESULTS (USD)

PAST WPT WORLD CHAMPIONS

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The Federation Internationale de Poker Association has just launched a new website that will give players and officials easier access to its platform via a mobile app.

Founded by Marcel Luske and Michelle Lau, FIDPA aims to create a standardised set of rules for poker tournaments across the world.

Indeed, at present the rules between major events can vary which often causes confusion amongst regular players. However, FIDPA has worked to construct a set of 81 rules which should help to codify and unite tournament organisers from different casinos and event.

FIDPA’s policies hold extra credence because they address all 54 points outlined by the Poker Tournament Directors Association, something which means their rules are in tune with various policies held by different poker organisations.

Following the launch of their new website it’s hoped that players will have the ability to access the rules no matter where they are.

Indeed, commenting on the new software, Luske said: “Showing support for one set of international poker rules will only take one minute, but it means a more credible and secure future for poker players of knowing exactly what to expect every time they sit down at a poker table anywhere in the world.”

The Life of Shane Schleger

Being a poker pro might seem like a dream job, but sometimes the industry isn’t always as friendly many believe. Indeed, sometimes it’s not just variance that can cause a player to question whether they are in the right profession.

Someone who knows this fact all too well is Shane Schleger. Having been around the game since the poker boom, Shane has experienced a number of personal and professional ups and downs.

From making the final table of a WPT event, to almost quitting the game after a downswing, Shane certainly knows how the game can affect you.

In a recent short film produced by PokerStars, Shane gives us an insight into his life in poker. From discovering the game in his home city of New York to the effects of Black Friday at his new home in Mexico, the piece tells a story many players will be familiar with.

For anyone who wants to climb the ranks of the GPI and tussle with the game’s top players, the video is certainly worth a watch as it provides a candid insight into the often tricky road that faces many pros.

To watch the video, click here.

Babakahani and Jonathan Roy, who like Babakhani won a WPT title at the Playground Poker Club this season – back in November – are the only two players standing between Matt Salsberg and the WPT Player of the Year title. Either Babakhani or Roy would have to win the WPT World Championship in order to win POY. Interestingly enough, all three contenders have ties to the city of Montreal.

Head on over to Facebook and signup to play the GPI Fantasy Poker Manager … lineups for the WPT World Championship locks Sunday at Noon Las Vegas time (PT)!  FPM is the official Fantasy game of the World Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker!

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The World Poker Tour’s World Championship was well underway at the Bellagio in Las Vegas after having started with a total of 146 entries and a $3,540,500 prize pool. With only 15 players being paid, though, Day 2 was going to be a tough process of thinning the field. Only 67 players made it through, and Michael Linster was the chip leader with 744K.

Day 3 was May 20 and decreased the field even further. As the latter levels played out, names like Justin Young, Dan O’Brien, and reigning champion Marvin Rettenmaier were eliminated. The leader in the Player of the Year race, Matt Salsberg, was also sent to the rail, as was the day’s starting chip leader Michael Linster. Play will continue through the end of five levels.

Updates provided by WPT Live Updates team.

WSOP Circuit New Orleans Finds Final Table

The World Series of Poker Circuit event at Harrah’s in New Orleans was gearing up for the end of its final $1,675 Main Event of the season. It started with two starting flights and a total of 762 entries, which created a prize pool of $1,143,000. The money bubble burst on Day 2 to start payouts for the top 81 players, and that night ended with only 11 still holding chips. Daniel Weinman sat atop the leaderboard with 2.56 million chips.

Day 3 found Robert Cheung out in 11^th place, and Corrie Wunstel followed in tenth to leave the official final table to continue.

Seat 1: Joseph Hebert (2,025,000)

Seat 2: Luke Graham (1,280,000)

Seat 3: Tripp Kirk (1,035,000)

Seat 4: Ben Mintz (1,290,000)

Seat 5: Pavan Bhatia(1,995,000)

Seat 6: Daniel Weinman (2,355,000)

Seat 7: Kasra Khodayarkhani (2,080,000)

Seat 8: Rogen Chhabra (1,770,000)

Seat 9: Dan Schmiech (1,290,000)

Play continued to find the tournament’s eventual champion.

A court hearing late on Friday brought an end to PokerStars’ chances of purchasing the Atlantic Club Casino after a judge ruled against their right to buy the property.

Lawyers for the Rational Group (PokerStars’ parent company) attended the hearing to try and stop the ACC from cancelling the takeover deal which had already cost them $11 million.

Having agreeing to purchase the ACC earlier this year, Rational reportedly spent $11 million to keep the casino afloat whilst they waited for New Jersey to approve their interim casino licence.

However, because the interim casino licence hadn’t been granted before April 26, the ACC exercised their right to terminate the contract stating that they couldn’t afford to wait any longer.

Rational disputed this claim and took their case to court where they were able to successfully impose a court injunction which prevented the ACC selling their assets someone else.

However, following a second round of legal proceedings, PokerStars were unable to convince the judge to rule in their favour. Indeed, after hearing testimonies from both sides the judge decided that the ACC could legally walk away from the sale.

The news will certainly come as a blow to PokerStars who will now need to find another way to set up a live venue in New Jersey.  However, according to PokerStars’ Eric Hollreiser, they are going to review the ruling and they “remain committed to New Jersey and to contributing to its economy.”

Duke Talks Cheating

Annie Duke has publicly defended herself following the revelations unearthed by Russ Hamilton‘s recently leaked audio recording.

Having represented the UltimateBet during the cheating, Duke admitted that she regrets having worked alongside those implicated in the scandal.

Writing in a Facebook post, Duke said: “Knowing what I know today, I would have never encouraged anyone to play on the UltimateBet.com site under that management. I’m horrified at the lengths to which these people went to try to cover up their actions, and I am very sorry that I ever agreed to work with them.”

She goes on to explain that she never exploited any flaws in the site’s software and has the backing of former UB colleagues John Vorhaus and Joanne Priam.

The information revealed in Hamilton’s taped conversation has prompted many community members to revist the issue. Indeed, with Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke both making public statements, there could be yet more developments in the coming weeks.

To read Annie’s full post, click here.

Eureka Tour Heads to Croatia

The Eureka Poker Tour is heading to Croatia this week for the latest incarnation of its popular poker festival.

Setting up camp inside Dubrovnik’s Golden Sun Casino, the €1,100 Main Event will welcome players from across Europe between May 26 and 29.

Indeed, with the WSOP on the horizon the event will provide the perfect warm up for those grinders looking to make their mark on poker’s greatest festival.

Last year Alija Filipovic overcame 177 players to best a final table that included the likes of Dragan Galic to bag his first live title and €42,700.

The bellagio is hosting one of the most prestigious tournament in the city, and it is no surprise to see so many big names still standing.

Mike Linster is in the lead, followed by Daniel Shak, Antonio Esfandiari, Steven Silverman. Jake Cody or Rocco Palumbo are also not far behind.

Here is the chip count, seat draw, and GPI rank of all players: