WSOPE Moving to Paris; Sam Razavi Third in China

WSOPE Heading to Paris

After successfully transitioning from the UK to France, the WSOPE is once again upping sticks and relocating its operation.

Having enjoyed bumper crowds in the coastal resort of Cannes, France, the organisers have decided to stay within the country’s borders but move closer to the capital.

Enghien-les-Bains, a rich suburb located just outside Paris, will be the site for next year’s European World Series.

The town’s Casino Barrière (France’s oldest gambling establishment) will host the event and offer players from across the world a state-of-the-art complex complete with a 500 seat theatre to compete in.

Taking place between October 11^th and 24^th, 2013, the prestigious event will feature the likes of previous winners Phil Hellmuth, Elio Fox and Annette Obrestad, as well as a host of other famous faces.

Commenting on the new venue, Ty Stewart the WSOP’s Executive Director, said:

“Part of our vision for WSOP Europe is to mix poker and pleasure – and introduce players to some of the most exciting destinations in Europe and Barrière’s facilities in Enghien are amazing. With our ideal dates scheduled to avoid conflicts for travelling players, expanded TV coverage and qualifiers planned, we expect to be back in record-setting mode in 2013.”

Razavi Finishes Third at WPT China

Despite a cloak of social media silence blocking frequent player updates from the felt, this year’s WPT China has proved a big success.

Welcoming a mixture of local players and famous pros, the invite only tournament closed the registration book with a total of 542 names in it.

The impressive turnout meant the money at the top of the prizepool was $192,406; a figure that was certainly a healthy return on each player’s $1,500 investment.

After four days of play the field had finally whittled itself down to a final table that consisted of eight locals and one European: Sam Razavi.

Razavi has been on a roll this year and the 2012 ANZPT Grand Final winner found himself in a strong position in the latter stages of the tournament.

However, after doing his best to fend off the surrounding locals he finally surrendered his stack and exited in 3^rd place.

With Razavi gone and the title guaranteed to stay in China, Zheng Hua Lei took on the task of swiping You Jia Wang’s chips. A back-and-forth battle ended with Lei getting the upper hand and claiming his first WPT title.