Eastgate signs for Betfair; EPT Copenhagen led by O’Dwyer; Macau breaking poker records

Peter Eastgate Betfair

Peter Eastgate BetfairPeter Eastgate has been confirmed as Betfair Poker’s newest signing. Fellow Dane Stefan Rattay joins the former World Series of Poker champion with Betfair aiming for further growth in Denmark. We last saw Eastgate on the poker news pages when it emerged he had put his WSOP winning bracelet up on eBay and Tony G was after it for his dog. Alas he didn’t succeed in the extortionate dog collar but Eastgate still donated the proceeds to the charity of his choice.

Eastgate’s home country is hosting the latest leg of EPT season 8 with Steve O’Dwyer leading the event going into day two. The freezing climate in Copenhagen has done little to dampen the mood and the 179 players will be vying to take down the first prize of DKK 2,515,000 (€338,223). O’Dwyer’s lead only saw a minor threat from the day 1b flight after he’d come away from day 1a with a count of 190,975. One of his closest challengers was Mads Wissing – day 1b’s leader with just 127,575 chips. He’ll certainly be Wissing he catches O’Dwyer. Sorry for that!

Records have again been broken at the Macau Poker Cup (MPC) with event 3 surpassing its own attendance record. The HKD $1,500 deep-stack event saw an all-time record 276 players and meant a prize pool of HKD $384,993. Australian Panagiotis “Panos” Makridis eventually took the HKD $88,500 first place prize. Poker’s popularity just goes to show the gambling industry’s number one location is more than just casino business.