A quick round-up of the World Series of Poker Circuit at the King’s Casino in Rozvadov shows that players on a roll still have gravity on their side, and Chris “Jesus” Ferguson could be watching you all at the Rio next year.
The largest poker festival to ever hit mainland Europe is currently underway in one of the continent’s smallest villages. Bizarre, but true. The World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) returns after a two-year absence. A new partnership is forged with the King’s Casino in Rozvadov, and the whole thing kicked off over a week ago with a 14-gold ring World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) festival.
Let’s catch up on the action from the first seven gold ring events.
Event #1 was the €299 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE) Oktoberfest. The event carried a €500,000 Guarantee, and 2,085 entrants ensured it was made with €34,802 left to spare. The winner of the event was the Slovakian Andrej Desset who banked $111,084 and a gold ring. In April, Desset, defeated 2,899 entrants to win the €500,000 Guaranteed partypoker Grand Prix Germany held in the same casino. The man is on fire.
The second event was the €550 NLHE Monster Stack. 763 entrants ensured the organisers surpassed the €300,000 guarantee by €62,425, and 888Poker’s country manager, Ben Bensimhon, defeated PokerStars Team Pro, Felipe Ramos in heads-up action to take the €69,550 first prize. A month ago, Bensimhon took down the WSOPC Main Event in Rotterdam for €94,349.
Gerhard Schleicher from Germany won Event #3: €250 NLHE Seniors Event. 114 entrants competed, and the German banked €6,471. Event #4 was another baby, and another German took it down. Mirko Willsch beating 128 entrants in the €300 Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) Hi/Lo event for €8,715. And Jan Jobmann made it three wins on the trot for Germany when he defeated 187 entrants to capture the €25,581 first prize in the €666 NLHE 6-Max event.
Finally, Romania’s Catalin Pop overcame a field of 171 entrants to take down the €15,187 first prize in the €420 NLHE Bounty Hunter event. Pop was the winner of the 888Live King’s Festival Main Event when it was held at King’s in February, as well as winning the 888Live High Roller in Barcelona in May.
The WSOPC has €3m in Guarantees as well as a €1m Guaranteed Main Event Sep 28 to Oct 18.
Here is the schedule.
Chris Ferguson Could Blag a Banner
The WSOPE Media Guide dropped into my virtual letterbox, today. I scanned through, and there was only one item worthy of note, and it concerned the WSOP Player of the Year.
At the end of the Las Vegas bracelet festivities, the chthonic Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, ended as the leading man in the Player of the Year (POY) race with 15 cashes. For his hard work, the WSOP awarded him with a free seat into the €10k WSOPE Main Event.
The WSOPE Media Guide confirms that the WSOP will bestow the winner with their very own banner, unfurled at the 49th Annual WSOP.
That means, that despite Ferguson being at the centre of one of the greatest scandals in poker’s history, and still refusing to break his silence over his role in the affair he could be watching all of you next year from a very high place in the Rio.
Eggs at the ready.
