Alpha8 Ready for Season 2, Strassmann Autopsy Results, SLYDE back with EPT

WPT Announces First Season 2 Alpha8 Stops

The World Poker Tour is ready for its second season of its super high roller poker tournament series Alpha8 and announced the first top stops.

The first will be in London October 6 and 7, 2014. It will be a £60K buy-in tournament and not recorded for television. It will be held at the Palm Beach Casino in Mayfair.

The second stop will be December 18-20 at Bellagio in Las Vegas. This $100K buy-in tournament will be filmed for television and coincide with the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic stop at Bellagio, which is one of the few $10K buy-in events on the World Poker Tour.

Season 2 of Alpha8 will air on Mondays, as Season 1 has been, on Fox Sports 1 in the United States.

Johannes Strassmann Died on Hallucinogenic Drugs

The poker community mourned the loss of 29-year-old German poker pro Johannes Strassmann when he was found dead in a Slovenian river in mid-June. The cause of death was unknown, but authorities did not suspect foul play.

Autopsy results have since revealed that Strassmann was found to have hallucinogenic drugs in his body. According to PokerNews research on the case, his friends also revealed that he was with three Slovenians on the night he disappeared. One of them was a good friend, but the other two were virtual strangers, one of whom was a “known drug dealer.” All of them took mushrooms that night, and Strassmann left the pub suddenly, even leaving his cell phone behind. When he didn’t return, his friend reported him missing to the police.

SLYDE to Again Sponsor EPT, Also APPT

Swiss watch company SLYDE has announced another partnership with the European Poker Tour for its upcoming season, starting with the 100^th EPT tournament coming up in Barcelona next month.

The luxury designer has also partnered with PokerStars LIVE Macau for the ongoing Asia Pacific Poker Tour.

All champions of EPT Main Event and High Roller tournaments will receive a complimentary watch, each valued at over €5K. The EPT Grand Final winner in Monte Carlo will receive a special edition valued at more than €9K. Special titanium watches valued at $8,480 will be awarded to the winners of the Macau Poker Cup Red Dragon Main Event and the 2014 Asia Championship of Poker Main Event.