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September 29: WCOOP Event #15
This $500+30 Pot-Limit Omaha (High Only) event drew 867 entries for another
prize that would exceed the guarantee by almost 50 per cent. The funniest joke
in online poker by the end of this week was “Poker Stars guarantees prize
pool…”
Professional poker player Humberto Brenes was the star of the final table, and
a big chip winner, too. He pulled in several huge pots in narrowing the field
to two, but Trabelsi had even more chips for a 2-1 advantage. Brenes won a
couple of decent pots, but couldn’t retake the lead. After calling a
three-times raise preflop, Brenes check-raised the J87 flop. It was a bad time
for that move, as Trabelsi re-raised him all-in. Brenes was pot-committed, and
forced to call, but his AK66 would need help against a flopped straight with
JT96. A ten on the turn sealed the tournament for Trabelsi, who took home over
$93,000 for the win.
September 30: Will Hill bans US players
Online sportsbook, poker, and casino operator Will Hill followed the recent
moves of other Cryptologic gaming sites by banning all players with US
addresses or credit cards.
Although this is relatively negligible to William Hill, with less than one per
cent of overall gaming revenue a result of US players, it is symptomatic of
international gambling operations fearing legal actions being taken against
them and their executives.
September 30: US Congress passes Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act
In a move that has been discussed more thoroughly elsewhere, the United States
government passed legislation harmful to online gambling operators. See
related articles for details.
September 30: WCOOP Event #16
The largest buy-in and smallest field of the WCOOP series didn’t mean that the
tournament would not be exciting. Another conservative prize pool guarantee
($100,000) by Poker Stars was shattered. 175 entries meant an $875,000 prize
pool.
The almost-16-hour tournament was reduced to an exciting final table of eight,
including Isabelle Mercier and Chad Brown. Mercier finished sixth when her
A247 start couldn’t even manage a low for a split in the High-Low Stud portion
of the game. Chad (stelladora) Brown had almost a 2-1 advantage over Hold_emNL
when the two players went heads-up. They traded pots for a few hands in the
Limit Holdem portion, until Brown won a huge pot with a rivered full house.
Hold_em was down to less than two big bets when the players got all-in on a
flop of A59. Holdem’s QT was ahead of Brown’s Q4, but Brown (stelladora)
caught a four on the river for the $223,125 win.
September 30: WCOOP Event #17
A second event was held on this second-to-last day of the WCOOP. 695 players
anted up $1000+50 for the Limit Holdem final.
The beginning of the final table was mostly uneventful as the short stacks
were eliminated in due course. After laurentia knocked out the fourth place
player, nine of the next thirteen pots also went to laurentia, the final one
knocking out the third-place finisher. Second-place amichaiKK was a 6-1 chip
count underdog heads-up, but relentlessly bargained for a deal to gain a few
extra thousand, and finally laurentia relented. The tournament ended three
hands later when amichaiKK’s J2 “push and pray” hand got no help against
laurentia’s A8. First place paid $145,200.
October 1: WCOOP Main Event
Over 2500 players put up $2500+100 for a shot at online poker history, in the
largest prize pool ever awarded in an online tournament. Seventeen previous
events made light of the guarantees offered buy Poker Stars, and this one
would be no different. Over six million (double the $3 Million guarantee) was
paid out, including a scheduled $1.157 Million to first.
Eleven hours after the start, the final table was set. British professional
poker player Ben Grundy finished eighth. The seventh player was knocked out on
a bad beat, when Annette_15 made a great call of a preflop all-in reraise
bluff, but her 99 was in trouble against 65 on a 743 flop.
The final six players carefully discussed a deal, finally settling on a
chip-count chop leaving $50,000 and the bracelet for the winner. Area23JC was
an overwhelming leader when only three players remained. Alert readers will
note that area23JC is none other than professional poker player JC Tran. Tran
knocked out third place finisher Lefort, leaving him a 3-1 advantage over
hannibalrex. The chip count deal previously made, and the thirteen hours of
play, probably made both players eager to end it, as both severely overbet
their hands, eventually going all-in on the turn. Tran’s K9 made a pair of
kings against hannibalrex’s A4. Tran won $670,194 and the bracelet.
Final table replays of all WCOOP events run continuously, and are very
educational. Look at Events-WCOOP-All in your Poker Stars lobby to access
these (make sure “Show registering/upcoming” is unchecked).
In all, 27,399 entries were made into WCOOP Events, and the total prize pool
was $18,674,300. The 2006 (fifth annual) series saw the first HORSE and Razz
tournaments, as well as the first two-time winner. One week later, the first
two time winner in the same calendar year overshadowed that accomplishment.
Who knows what the 2007 WCOOP will bring us, since the flow of players from
the US may be slowed. But if the 2006 WCOOP is the final bell for Poker Stars,
they certainly will have gone out with a bang.
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