O’Neill Wins EMOP Dublin; Spain’s Super Casino

O’Neill’s EMOP Dublin Success

124 players took part in the recent European Masters of Poker event in Dublin and when the chips – and Guinness – had finished flowing it was Padraig O’Neill who stood victorious.

After the final players had paid the €1,000 buy-in, the total prizepool stood at €124,000 which meant the eventual champion would walk away with €32,510.

While the overall figures fell short of last year’s numbers, the atmosphere was no less exiting as a host of local talent made sure that even if they weren’t winning they did everything they could to enjoy the craic.

Indeed, O’Neill was certainly enjoying the tournament from the start as he led the field after Day 1 and never relinquished that position. By the end of Day 2 the future champion bagged 758,000 chips, which was enough to put him out in front at the start of the finale.

That dynamic barely changed throughout the final table and, despite a slight slip in the middle of the game, he soon found himself heads-up against Patrik Chahmiran.

A short time later it was all over an O’Neill banked the largest win of his career.

Positive Steps for Spain’s Super Casino

Spain’s live poker scene moved one step closer to gaining an exciting new venue thanks to Madrid’s Mayor, Ignacio Gonzales.

Sheldon Adelson, the CEO of the Las Vegas Sands, is planning to build a $35 billion super casino complex in the Spanish city, but so far the process has been put on hold pending decisions on gambling tax.

Although holding one of Spain’s lowest gambling tax rates (22%-45%), Adelson has been reluctant to finalise his plans until they were lowered. That wish came true a few days ago when Gonzales pledged to cut the rate to 10% once the project is complete.

The move will certainly help move the project forward, something that could open up a new wave of live poker opportunities in the country.

Evans is the Man at United

Thanks to a little help for Tony G, Jonny Evans managed to overcome a field of Manchester United team-mates in a recent charity event sponsored by PartyPoker.

The live shootout featured some of United’s brightest stars, including Danny Welbeck, Darren Fletcher and Rafael da Silva, but once the chips had finished flying it was Evans who was left smiling.

Having already taken down the tournament last year, Evans was pleased with his performance, saying after the match: “I’m over the moon. Especially to be two times champion. Some people will say I am lucky but now I have proven I am the number one champ.”