A statement from Tokwiro CEO Paul Leggett says the online poker rooms also has plans to develop a monthly $500k Guaranteed Tournament with an eye on building it into a million-dollar event, create more pro-related competitions and run its UB Online Championship twice a year.

"It is with great regret that we are announcing that the Aruba event will not run this year, but 2010 is going to be an exciting year for UB and its players," said Leggett. "Over the last year, we've been redefining the UB brand in every way. We love the Aruba Poker Classic event, but we think we can do a lot more for our players by investing in new events and rewards."

UB will continue to offer players access to events like the World Series of Poker and major World Poker Tour events through ongoing online satellites.

Players will also see benefits in the form of major WSOP incentives and additional loyalty benefits for top players.

"I, for one, am excited about what this shift in focus means for UB and what this will add to the experience for our players," said Joe Sebok.

The 2009 Aruba Poker Classic drew 475 players to the Caribbean island creating a $2,303,750 prize pool. Brandon Hall took the title after a heads up chop with then chip leader Robert Mizrachi, giving Mizrachi the lion's share of the cash.

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Tens of thousands of people are feared dead and up to three million affected by a massive 7.0-magnitude earthquake which struck the Caribbean island Tuesday.

Now, PokerStars is offering its players the chance to donate to humanitarian efforts there.

Players can donate by making a transfer to the "Haiti Fund" account through the Transfer Funds tool on PokerStars or by entering one of the dummy "Haiti Earthquake Relief" tournaments on the site.

Tournament amounts range from $1 to $1,000 and all donations will be matched by PokerStars and donated to the Red Cross.

As of press time, thousands have already donated.

Meanwhile, Full Tilt pro Mike McDonald says Full Tilt Poker is stepping up to do the same.

The site will immediately begin running “Aid For Haiti” tournaments through Sunday, featuring a range of buy-ins.

Plus, it is offering a number of “Aid For Haiti no-play” tournaments Sunday and setting up an “Aid For Haiti” user account to receive direct money transfers.

Like PokerStars, Full Tilt has pledged to match all donations and send the money to various charities working in Haiti.

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Hall, whose biggest previous cash was $16,818 for a 30th-place finish at PokerStars EPT Dortmund this year, came into a rather tough seven-handed final table as the second-shortest stack.

Mizrachi, a 2007 WSOP bracelet winner with almost $3 million in career tournament earnings, held a sizable lead.

Short stack Matt Ross busted first, taking $41,470 in seventh-place money. He ran sevens into Jose Santos' big slick and an ace on both the flop and the river did him in.

Brock "t_soprano" Parker, who won two bracelets at the 2009 WSOP, was the next to go, cashing $66,810 for sixth when he failed to connect with big slick against Eric "basebaldy" Baldwin's queens.

Parker was soon followed by Santos, who took the $92,150 reserved for fifth when he called all-in on a K 5 3 4 K board only to muck after Chase Steely showed him a seven-high straight.

Baldwin, who won one of the many $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em events at the 2009 WSOP this summer, busted in fourth cashing for $126,710 when Mizrachi called his push with a dominated ace, but managed to suck out.

Mizrachi then sucked out again moments later when he called Steely's shove holding K J versus queens and found one of only two queens left in the deck to hit a gutshot straight on the river.

As Steely went off to collect the $218,860 for third, heads-up play began with Mizrachi on 4.2 million to Hall's 2.8 million.

The two players agreed to a chop where each took $414,680 in second-place money, $30,000 was reserved for the winner and the rest split based on the stack sizes, giving Mizrachi the majorty of the cash.

Within a few minutes, Hall turned the chip deficit around taking the lead when his king-high outkicked Mizrachi's.

Soon after, Hall called Mizrachi's top-pair shove with an open ended straight draw, turned a better pair, rivered the straight and the title was his.

The Ultimate Bet Aruba Poker Classic drew 475 players to the Caribbean island creating a $2,303,750 prize pool with 45 places paid.

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