Online Poker Room Offers Aussie Millions Satellites
Champ Camp Qualifier Begins WSOP Run
A 49-year-old former dealer from Australia, Roberts is hard to miss on Day 1b of the 2010 Main Event with her trademark Australian Bush hat and mosquito veil.
Roberts qualified through PokerListings' exclusive VIP Champion Camp freeroll on 888poker where she outlasted over 700 players to win a seat in the Main Event.
"I've been dreaming of sitting under these lights for so many years," said Roberts. "I was actually planning on 2011 Aussie Millions and hopefully satellite into the Main Event but I was instead able to qualify through PokerListings."
Despite running a king-high flush into an ace-high flush in the first level, Roberts was optimistic about her chances in the tournament.
"I'm calming down a bit," she said. "It takes awhile. This morning I was really, really nervous. Now I'm starting to watch the players and see how they are playing."
Roberts not only won her seat into the tournament but also received her accommodations and flight from PokerListings. She will also get to take part in a number of VIP experiences this summer including shopping sprees and spas.
When Roberts won the package she actually had option of taking the cash for the seat but the fact accommodations and travel were paid for proved too enticing.
"I couldn't miss the opportunity of coming out to the World Series of Poker," she said.
An avid poker fan, Roberts watches the game whenever she can including the WSOP, Aussie Millions or just random YouTube videos.
"I've always been fascinated by it," she said.
Roberts also took a moment to explain her unique choice of headwear.
"It's an Aussie thing to keep out all the flies," she said. "I suppose it's something that identifies who I am and gives me the added bonus that you can't see my face. It's sort of a joke amongst my friends and family."
Roberts and 31-year-old North Dakotan Ben Blair make up the entirety of the PokerListings' Champion Camp this year and will both attempt to parlay their freeroll tournament win into a deep run in this year's WSOP Main Event.
The 2010 WSOP continues through July 17. For comprehensive coverage of the WSOP tune in to PokerListings' Live Updates and News.
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WSOP.com Qualifier Earns TOC Spot
Andrew Barton from Dudley, England won the spot, which was up for grabs in a tournament qualifier on WSOP.com, the WSOP's UK-only online poker site.
Barton will be the only non-pro in the 27-player TOC, set to begin June 27.
The 33-year-old mail driver is the seventh player to qualify for the TOC, taking one of two sponsor-exemption spots in the event.
Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier won the other sponsor-exempt spot with his victory in the WSOP Academy tournament qualifier, while Joe Cada, Barry Shulman, Mike Matusow, Mike Sexton and Annie Duke are all automatic qualifiers for the event.
The other 20 spots are chosen from a group of 50 of poker greatest players by fan vote on WSOP.com, meaning Barton will be amongst legendary competition in one of the most watched events on the WSOP 2010 calendar.
"Regardless of the outcome I'm going to enjoy every moment of my time out there," said Barton. "I feel like a winner already."
"This is such a great opportunity for me, once in a lifetime. June 27th is a new game, so I will treat it like I do any other game I play."
A first-place prize of $500,000 is on the line, and Barton has a shot at international fame as well, with ESPN set to air the tournament in its television coverage for the 2010 WSOP.
A final field should be determined soon, as the deadline for fan voting on the TOC ends at midnight Tuesday.
Barton, who earns an all-expenses paid trip to the Rio in Las Vegas, is no stranger to the online qualifier. He earned a trip to the Aussie Millions in 2008, making in to Day 2 in his first live event.
The 2010 WSOP continues through July 17. For comprehensive coverage live from Las Vegas tune in to PokerListings' Live Updates and News.
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Action Picks Up On Day 3 of 2010 WSOP
Sunday saw the cards go in the air for the first Omaha event of the year and 1,755 players took to the felt for Day 1b of the $1k No-Limit.
The prestigious $50k Players Championship is almost to the money and the final table is looming.
Here's a look at the day:
Event 2 - $50k Players Championship
The playing area was small but the tension was thick, as the $50k Players Championship played down to three tables.
Almost every member of the surviving 21 players is a well-known poker pro.
Michael Mizrachi appears to be heading into Day 4 as the chip leader with 1.4 million chips, but he's got a murderer's row of top-flight competition breathing down his neck.
Russian Alexander Kostritsyn has a large stack and will be looking to replicate some of the magic that won him the 2008 Aussie Millions.
Eli Elezra, Erik Seidel, Kirk Morrison and Andy Bloch are all still in the field, along with Robert Mizrachi.
With 16 spots in the money, the bubble will burst tomorrow. Every player who makes it to 16th place or beyond will earn $98,330, making the bubble a painful one.
Action resumes at 3 p.m. PST Monday.
Event 3 - $1k No-Limit Hold'em
Despite a lower than expected turnout, Day 1b still packed 1,755 players into the Rio's Pavilion Room.
The bustouts happened at a lightning pace for the second straight day.
UB pro Phil Hellmuth busted out within an hour of being seated while other big-name busts included Jeff Shulman, Jason Mercier and Erick Lindgren.
Jon "FatalError" Aguiar was amongst the notables that survived the day and Aguiar comes back for Day 2 tomorrow with 35k in chips.
Men "The Master" Nguyen made his first appearance of the 2010 WSOP a memorable one, making himself the center of attention while rolling through to Day 2.
483 players come back for Day 2, playing for 441 money spots.
Day 2 kicks off at 2:30 p.m PST Monday.
Event 4 - $1,500 Omaha 8-or-Better
The first Omaha 8 event of 2010 drew an all-star laden field of 818 players into the Amazon Room.
Amongst the notable entrants are Phil Ivey, Barry Shulman, Gavin Smith, Ted Forrest, Mike "The Mouth" Matusow and Huck Seed, with many other big names in the field.
The top-heavy field yielded some great matchups, and spectators standing in the right place were treated to prop bet discussion from tablemates Barry Greenstein and Tony G.
The total prize pool for the event is $1,104,300, and play resumes at 5 p.m. PST Monday.
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APPT Macau: Many Fall
The day began with a robust 160 players and moved to just a few spots from the 40-player money bubble by the time play wrapped just past 8 p.m. at the Grand Lisboa Hotel & Casino in Macau.
While Team PokerStars Pros Tony Hachem, Eric Assadourian, Celina Lin and Raymond Wu joined stars like 2007 APPT Macau champion Dinh Le, Aussie Millions $100k High Roller winner David Steicke and World Poker Tour title holder Nam Le among the many who hit the rail, American T.J. Vorapanich vaulted into the overnight chip lead.
Dutchman Marcel Luske was the only Team PokerStars Pro left standing.
APPT Macau drew a total 342 players creating an HKD $12,730,608 prize pool from which 40 places will be paid, including HKD $3,246,200 for first.
Day 3 will go off Saturday at 12:15 p.m. local time. The final table is scheduled for Sunday May 23.
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WPT Barcelona: Records Fall
Added to the 134 from Day 1a, a total of 326 players entered the €3,200+€300 buy-in event helping the total prize pool in Barcelona pass the one million euro mark.
"We are delighted with the field this year which has broken all of our WPT records," said Sylvie Belanger of hosts Casino Barcelona.
"The most encouraging thing is that every year we see a significant increase in the number of Spanish players taking part which is very encouraging for the future of the game in this country."
36 places will be paid with first worth €315,000 and a $25,500 seat in the 2011 WPT Championship.
The Day 1b field included European Player of the Year Dragan Galic, WPT Bucharest winner Guillaume Darcourt and Aussie Millions winner Tyron Krost.
91 players survived and heading into Day 2, just 142 players remain with Day 1a chip leader Roberto Garcia Santiago outpacing the pack.
However, PokerListings blogger Matt "ADZ124" Marafioti is in the top 20 in chips and Canadian Sorel Mizzi, perhaps the hottest player in poker right now with almost $1.5 million in live tournament earnings already this year, is not far behind.
"With great numbers for the €10,000 buy-in WPT Grand Prix de Paris at the Aviation Club and now a great field at Casino Barcelona, the future is bright for the World Poker Tour stops in Europe," said WPT President Adam Pliska.
Previous WPT Spanish Championship winners include Markus Lehmann of Austria, Denmark's Casper Hansen, and American Mark Randal Flowers.
The 2010 WPT Spanish Championship continues through May 23.
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Team Titan Revealed
Led by Canadian star Sorel Mizzi, who will serve as the team's captain for the duration of a 12-month contract, the seven sponsored players include some of Europe's top poker talent.
The team includes Denmark's Jonas Klausen, England's Sam Trickett, Germany's Marvin Rettenmaier, Yann Brosolo from France, Belgium's Joel Benzinou and Florian Desgouttes from France.
At just 24 years old, Mizzi leads the team both in experience and earnings.
His current career live tournament earnings total $2.7 million, of which $1,140,204 was earned in the first four months of 2010, including a final table finish at the 2010 Aussie Millions main event.
As part of their sponsorship contract, which ends in May 2011, Team Titan members will represent Titan Poker at live tournaments all across the globe, including the 2010 World Series of Poker.
Part of the iPoker Network, Titan Poker has grown into the number one online poker room in Europe with nearly 30,000 players online at peak hours.
The site guarantees $16,000,000 in monthly prizes, features special sit 'n' go tournaments with progressive jackpots as high as $100,000, and awards players with entries to major tournaments worldwide.
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Reinkemeier Wins Monte Carlo High Roller
The 22-year-old finished sixth at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure this past January, but the €956,000 win marks his career best score by far.
"It's an overwhelming feeling," he said.
"The field was definitely tough, but what do you expect for a €25,000 event? There were a lot of good players, but I had a really good run and everything went in my favor."
The €25,0000 event attracted 113 of the biggest names in poker.
Reinkemeier beat Olivier Busquet heads-up and a final table that included PokerStars NAPT Venetian winner Tom Marchese and 2010 Aussie Millions finalist Sorel Mizzi.
As a supporter of the All4Kids charity started by Team PokerStars Pro Sandra Naujoks and Austrian pro Markus Golser, Reinkemeier plans to donate two per cent of his winnings to the cause.
The three-day event was filmed for TV.
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