SPOT THE DIFFERENCE

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE

By Mick McCloskey

The island of Ireland is a fairly small place, in global terms, with a total population smaller than that of any one of a number of large cities in the UK. I’m not going to get into the politics or rights or wrongs of the situation here but, for better or worse, the island is divided into two parts, the Republic of Ireland (ROI) and Northern Ireland (NI). As I write a column about poker, that’s what we are going to look at in a bit more detail.

ROI has a long history of running poker tournaments with the Irish Open dating back to 1981. Even in those early days, the tournament could attract a decent amount of visiting players from the UK and even from the USA. Fast forward to the early part of this century and the growth in poker meant that player numbers had started to outgrow the traditional tournament venues. Hence the tournaments started to be moved into large hotel function rooms, with travelling players staying in the same hotels. The ambience and atmosphere thus created meant that the tournament experience was combined with a great social experience, pretty much unlike anywhere else outside of the WSOP experience at Binion’s Horseshoe. In both places, you had most of the players staying, playing, eating and drinking in the same venue over a number of days and it was a great way of meeting and getting to know fellow poker players. The word of this experience filtered down to smaller tournaments and the organisers of events that were able to offer good value, well structured tournaments began attracting more and more overseas players. In the last year I would estimate that the number of visitors, mostly from continental Europe, could be numbered in thousands rather than hundreds. All these visitors have helped to maintain a vibrant poker industry in ROI, directly creating jobs for dealers and floor people. All these visitors need to get here so the airline industry benefits as well as other transport providers. These visitors also need hotel rooms as well as food, drink and entertainment while they are here. All this has benefits for the Irish tourism industry as well as the economy in general. And it is not just the benefit of overseas visitors. Many people from other parts of Ireland and NI tend to stay in the same hotels for the duration of the tournament, normally a stay of 3 to 4 nights. The craic at these events is usually top class.

In NI such large tournaments are outlawed. Even people trying to organise something smaller, on a local basis, are liable to be, and have been, raided and shut down by heavily armed police. Enough said.

NEWS

GAMBLING REVIEW

There could be a small glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. That is if enough poker players can tear themselves away from the felt or their computer screens for a few minutes. The Department for Social Development in Northern Ireland has undertaken a review of the existing gaming laws and are seeking submissions from interested parties. This is your chance to make your voices heard in the quest for legal poker in NI. Log onto the DSD website for contact details or write to them at,
Social Policy Unit
Department for Social Development ( NI )
Level 1, James House
2/4 Cromac Avenue
Gasworks Business Park
Belfast
BT7 2JA

JP POKER MASTERS

This is certainly one of the good value, well structured tournaments I referred to in my headline article above. J.P. McCann is one of Ireland’s most respected and innovative tournament directors and, apart from running his own events, is now in demand to work at other high profile events at home and abroad, including events on the European Poker Tour.
The first time I covered this event in 2008, I noted that, when the main event got down to five handed, the average chip stack was a healthy 55 big blinds. JP has, I hear, further refined his tournament structures to provide plenty of play, repeating blinds levels if necessary, throughout his tournaments and not just at the final table.
The three day main event has a buy-in of €750 (75 reg. included) and has a starting stack of 20,000 with 60 minute blinds for ten levels, increasing to 75 minute blind levels after that. The action takes place in the Maldron Hotel, Tallaght, on the outskirts of Dublin, and kicks off with a super satellite on Thursday 6th May. The main event starts on 7th May. The tournament capacity has been capped at 350 and I can tell you there are already seats booked by European visitors. If you want to be part of this great weekend, I would advise you to book early and pay a deposit to hold your seat. For further details contact JP on ++353 8764 48132 or log onto www.jppoker.ie Online satellites for seats in the main event are currently running on Boylepoker.com

CELTIC POKER TOUR

This countrywide tour, now under new management, holds its grand final at the Dolmen Hotel, Carlow, from 22nd to 25th April. The buy-in for the main event is €1,000 + 100 and it starts on Friday 23rd April. There will be a €100 + 20 super satellite on Thursday 22nd. Online satellites for main event seats are currently running on Ladbrokespoker.com. For full details log onto www.celticpokertour.com

If you have any news, views or events, you can contact me by email to mickymccloskey@hotmail.com

LUCKY JOHN

LUCKY JOHN

By Mick McCloskey

I was in Co. Kerry recently for the Lakes of Killarney Poker Festival. Shortly after midnight on the day before the main event I was talking to Co. Down bookie, John Keown. He had just arrived at the hotel after driving down from Newry and discovered that his wallet, containing his poker bankroll for the weekend, was missing. He knew he had left home with it as he had stopped at a 24 hour filling station near Naas for fuel and had paid cash from the wallet. He still had the fuel receipt so he called the number on the receipt to enquire if the wallet had been found. Luckily for John, the station cashier told him his wallet had been found lying on the forecourt and had been handed in by another customer. John got straight back into the car and hit the road to Naas, where he recovered the wallet, with the bankroll fully intact. So there are still a few honest people left in this world.
I spoke to a happy John the next day and he told me that he felt that he was on a sort of a freeroll for the rest of the weekend after getting his cash back. His good luck certainly continued as he ended up in second place in the main event, taking down a €10,000 payout. I doubt if John will have many weekends as lucky as this one.

NEWS

Boylepoker.com has announced that the company is to sponsor the 2010 Irish Poker Rankings. The years leading player will walk away with a $10,000 sponsorship package and there will also be prizes for the player who earns the most ranking points each month during the year. The ranking system has been expanded this year to include many more clubs and events around the country. Paul Spillane, Head of Poker at Boylepoker.com said “We recognise Irish Poker Rankings as a fantastic way to connect with and bring together Ireland’s grass roots poker community.”
You can keep track of player rankings at www.irishpokerrankings.com

IRISH OMAHA CHAMPIONSHIP

The inaugural running of this event is due to take place in the Eglinton Casino in Galway, starting on Thursday 4th March with a €100 + 10 super satellite, with €50 re-buys, for seats in the main event. The Pot Limit Omaha Championship event has a buy-in of $1,000 + 100 and is scheduled to run over three days, starting on Friday 5th March. The main event is a triple chance affair, with 60 minute levels and a starting stack of 10,000, with two additional stacks of 10,000 each available during the first three levels, as required. The two side events cater for the Texas Hold’em players and consist of a €250 two day event on Saturday 6th and a €150 freezeout on the Sunday. For full details log onto www.theeglinton.com

PADDY’S DEEPSTACK EXTRAVAGANZA

A new event on the calendar for the Macau Club in Cork is this €400 + 40 three day tournament with a 50,000 starting stack. The festival kicks off on Thursday 18th March with a super satellite for seats to the main event with a buy-in of €40 +5 with one re-buy or one add on at €40 available. Six seats are guaranteed. The three day main event starts on Friday 19th March with a guarantee of €20,000. The first of two side events starts on Saturday 20th March and features a round of Hold’em and a round of Omaha freezeout with a buy-in of €100 + 10. The final NLH tournament has a buy-in of €100 + 10 with one re-buy or add on available at €50 and has a €5,000 guarantee.
The Macau Club is renowned for its hospitality and quality hot food buffet and this event is certainly on my schedule of must play tournaments. For full details log onto www.macausportingclub.com

IRISH OPEN

Ireland’s biggest major poker event this year returns to Dublin’s Burlington Hotel, the scene of Marty Smyth’s victory. Marty was the last Irish winner of this title in 2007. Could this be an omen for another Irish winner?
The festival kicks off on Thursday 1st April with a €200 + 20 super satellite, with re-buys, for seats in the main event. The four day main event has a buy-in of €3,200 + 300 and starts on Friday 2nd April. Saturday sees the start of a two day Pot Limit Omaha tournament with a buy-in of €750 + 75. There is a €300 + 30 two day Ladies Championship event starting on Easter Sunday as well as a two day €1,500 + 150 NLH freezeout. Easter Monday sees the finish of the main event, the Ladies Championship and the €1,500 freezeout. Monday also features a one day “Scalps” game with a buy-in of €270 + 30 reg. plus €30 for the scalps, for a total of €330.
Full details can be found at www.irishpokeropen.com

If you have any news, views or events, you can contact me by email to mickymccloskey@hotmail.com

POLICE CLOSE ANOTHER POKER CLUB

POLICE CLOSE ANOTHER POKER CLUB

By Mick McCloskey

Northern Ireland Police spoiled the pre Christmas festive atmosphere at The River Club in Derry City by arriving in force during the club’s Christmas tournament on the third Sunday of December. Some of the players actually thought that they were about to be robbed as the first police to arrive were done up in riot gear complete with balaclavas covering their faces. I’m not quite sure what the police were expecting to find in a poker club, apart from a load of people quietly playing Texas Hold’em! The fact is that this club has been operating quite openly for around three years, the police have been quite aware of this and the club owners have actually been in contact with the local police to find out whether they were actually breaking any laws by running regular poker tournaments. In fact, the owners tell me that the police previously sent a file to the N. I. Prosecution Service about the club’s activities and that they were advised not to proceed with any prosecution. So quite what the police hope to achieve by this heavy handed approach is beyond me. The police stopped the game, seized the prize money, laptops, playing cards and the poker chips and questioned and searched all the players and made a note of the amount of money each player had in his/her possession. They also arrested the two club owners and held and questioned them at the local police station for a number of hours before charging both men and bailing them to appear in court at a later date. The owners have been charged with organising and taking part in illegal gaming under the terms of the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Order (N. I.) 1985. The trouble with this legislation is that it is 25 years old and poker at that time was mostly played in private and the massive growth in the game could certainly not have been anticipated by the law makers of the time. An up to date review of the law, as regards poker, would be very welcome by both players and operators.

Following on from another poker club in Belfast being raided and closed recently, there seems to be a concerted effort by the Northern Ireland authorities to clamp down on poker in this part of the world. I find it incredible that as a resident of Northern Ireland, with dual UK and Irish nationality, I can play poker in peace and security anywhere I choose in the rest of the UK and in the Republic of Ireland without fear of police raids in the middle of the game. Yet, in my own little part of the world, I feel like I am being criminalised for playing a game that millions of people all over the world are free to enjoy. It’s not as though all gambling is outlawed here, only the parts where you have a sporting chance of making some money, it seems. You can spend as much money as you like on the national lottery, betting on sports, playing bingo, slot machines or whatever, with very little chance of a meaningful result. They may be able to close down well run clubs, as they choose, but they will never stop people playing poker in Northern Ireland, or anywhere else, as long as the internet exists or as long as consenting adults are prepared to put their money down on the poker table to play the game they love and enjoy.

I will try to keep you updated on where things go from here but, I’m not optimistic about the future of live poker in this forgotten corner of the country.

NEWS

Well structured, deep stacked, reasonably priced poker tournaments in Ireland seem to be the way to go right now. Following the success of J.P. McCann’s Mini WSOP in November, which sold out in advance, Green Joker Poker’s European Deepstack Championship, scheduled for Dublin on 5th February, has also sold out. With a buy-in of €500 + 50 and a 400 seat capacity, the three day main event sold out about 4 weeks in advance of the actual starting date. You can’t hang about in Ireland these days if you want to play the popular events.

PADDY’S DEEPSTACK EXTRAGANZA

The next venue to follow this trend is the Macau Club in Cork which is putting on a Deepstack Festival, starting the day after St. Patrick’s Day. The festival kicks off on Thursday 18th March with a €40 + 5 super satellite, with €20 re-buys and a treble add on for €20, for seats in the main event. The three day main event, with a buy-in of €400 + 40 and a 50,000 starting stack, kicks off on Friday 19th March. Super satellites run each afternoon and two support events are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday evenings. To book your seat online, check out www.macausportingclub.com

IRISH OMAHA CHAMPIONSHIP

The venue for the first running of this event is The Eglinton Casino in Galway from 4th to 7th March. The main €1,000 + 100 buy-in PLO event is a triple chance format with three lots of chips of 10,000 available for a total starting stack of 30,000. A full schedule of satellites and support events is scheduled for the weekend. For further details log onto www.theeglinton.com

IRISH POKER AWARDS 2009

Irish Poker Rankings.com organised this event at Dublin’s Voodoo Club at the end of December. The awards were as follows:-

Best tournament – Boylespoker International Poker Open.
Best Club – Eglinton Casino, Galway
Best online poker site – Boylespoker.com
Most improved player – Cat O’Neill
Biggest contributor to Irish Poker – Fintan Gavin, Galway
Best TD – Dave Curtis, Eglinton Casino, Galway
Best Player – Jude Ainsworth, Galway
Top ranked player, 2009 – Francis “Wally” McCormack

Congratulations to all winners and nominees. Full details can be found at www.irishpokerrankings.com

If you have any news, views or events, you can contact me by email to mickymccloskey@hotmail.com

THE STATE OF CORK - PART 3

THE STATE OF CORK - PART 3

By Mick McCloskey

Just returned from the Christmas Festival at the Macau Club. As usual, Cork is always an interesting place to visit. This time there were flood alerts in operation over the weekend and there had been serious flooding in the city in the previous weeks. As I understand it, parts of the city are built on an island on a tidal estuary. To add to the problems, there is apparently, a dam in the hills above the city which overflows into the city’s River Lee. During the recent heavy rain storms the pressure on the dam became too much for safety and the level had to be reduced by releasing excess water into the already swollen river. Thankfully, all passed off OK while I was there but there was damage in the previous weeks.

Another interesting aspect of my visit was seeing a very nicely dressed lady in the hotel bar one night. With long blonde hair, a mini skirt and fish net stockings, she really looked the part. That was until she spoke. The deep male voice gave the game away. This person was happily chatting up both male and female customers in the bar but seemed to be having more luck with the female revellers. Now maybe I have led a sheltered life but, this is the first time I have ever encountered a real live transvestite in Ireland, outside of drag acts and fancy dress parties. Maybe this is one of the reasons why people flying from Cork to Dublin still have to pass through Passport Control at Dublin Airport!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Another year has passed and we are now into a new poker year. Is it just me or do the years seem to fly by? As usual, Ireland has plenty to offer in terms of poker tournaments, large and small. There are already a good number of major events planned and more in the pipeline, no doubt.

LAKES OF KILLARNEY FESTIVAL

The first of the larger events is scheduled to take place in the picture postcard surroundings of Killarney in County Kerry. To be honest, I think the scenery and tourist facilities are probably wasted on the poker players. Then again, Kerry in the dark days of January is probably not looking its best. The festival, organised by Cue Club Events, in association with Irish Eyes Poker.com, is being held in the four star Dromhall Hotel. Organiser, Connie O’Sullivan, has struck a deal with the hotel to cater for the special needs of players attending a poker tournament. The deal includes:-

1) Breakfast served up until 1pm
2) 24 hour bar service available!
3) 24 hour hot food service
4) All hotel rooms reserved for poker players only over the weekend.
5) Wireless internet access throughout the hotel.
6) Agreed rate of €45 pps

To book a room call ++353 1850 603050

The action kicks off on Thursday 14th January with a €50 super satellite with one re-buy or add on. The €500 + 50 three day main event, with a €50,000 guarantee, starts on Friday 15th, featuring a 15,000 starting stack and 60 minute levels. Blinds start at 25 – 25 and running antes don’t come into play until the third level of day two. No pressure there then. A two day €200 + 20 side event starts on Saturday with a €150 + 20 side event on the Sunday. A 16 player €500 heads up tournament is also pencilled in for the Sunday. Qualifying satellites are running exclusively at www.irisheyespoker.com
Full tournament information can be found at www.cueclubevents.com

CLONMEL COURSING FESTIVAL

This event was originally planned as a €1,000 buy-in tournament with a €100,000 guarantee and was a joint promotion by Big Slick Events and Celtic Poker Tour (CPT). As CPT has recently been taken over by new owners, it has been decided to run the €1,000 event at a later date. The festival will go ahead however from Saturday 30th January to Tuesday 2nd February at the Park Hotel in Clonmel. The festival kicks off with a €50 + 10 super satellite with re-buys. The main event now has a buy-in of €220 + 30 and a €25,000 guarantee and starts on Sunday 31st January. Two side events, each with a buy-in of €100 + 20, will run on the Monday and Tuesday.
Full tournament details can be found at www.bigslickevents.net

DEEP STACKS

Early February sees the return of the Green Joker Poker European Deepstack Championships being held at a new venue with a smaller €500 + 50 buy-in but with the same 50,000 starting stack. The venue for the third running of this event is the Ballsbridge Inn, Dublin. The organisers have arranged for a limited number of rooms at the hotel to be available at a special rate of €49 per night. The number to call for this rate is ++353 1 668 4468.

The weekend starts on Thursday 4th February with a €50 + 10 super satellite (with re-buys) guaranteeing 15 seats to the main event. The main event kicks off at 2pm on Friday 5th February. The structure has been tweaked a little this year so that the blinds start at 50 – 100. The levels are 60 minutes for the first two days with 90 minute levels on the final day. The first support event on Saturday has a €270 + 30 buy-in and a 20,000 starting stack played over two days. The final event on Sunday has a €180 + 20 buy-in. In addition to the main tournaments, there is a second chance event at 8pm every night, priced at €180 + 20.
The whole show is being overseen by excellent tournament director J.P. McCann so everything should run pretty smoothly. A 50,000 starting stack for €500. Sure where else would you get it?
Online qualifiers are now running and full details of these and other event details can be found on the Green Joker Poker website.

If you have any news, views or events, you can contact me by email to mickymccloskey@hotmail.com

IT'S OFFICIAL

IT'S OFFICIAL

By Mick McCloskey

As revealed in this column in October, It has now been confirmed that Poker Stars, the world’s largest online poker site, will be throwing their considerable weight behind The Irish Poker Championship (IPC) and will be adding a seat to next year’s London EPT to the first prize.
The five day festival will take place at Galway’s Radisson Hotel from December 10th to 14th and boasts a four day main event with a €2,000 buy-in as well as three side events with buy-ins of €550, €350 and €250. The weekend will kick off with a player’s party at 6pm on Thursday the 10th, followed by a super satellite.
Kirsty Thompson from Pokerstars.com said “The Irish Poker Championship has become one of biggest events on the Irish Poker Calendar and we are delighted to be sponsoring it. Poker players appreciate good hospitality and a good party atmosphere and there is no better city than Galway to provide it.”
Entrants will be compiled from Pokerstars.com online qualifiers and paid entries as well as a host of Poker Stars Pros and celebrities. Already pencilled in for the event are Andy Black, Surinder Sunar, Marcel Luske, Padraig Parkinson, Donnacha O’Dea, Julian Gardner, Neil Channing, Jude Ainsworth, and Marty Smyth.
Online qualification is now available exclusively on Pokerstars.com. Poker Stars players can also buy seats in advance online through their own player account. Further details can be found on the official IPC website, www.irishpokerchampionship.com

While on the subject of Poker Stars involvement in Irish poker, I have been watching some of the TV shows on RTE from the series “Poker Stars Late Night Stars of Poker” which shows a series of one table shootouts with the winner of each one going through to a grand final. The players are made up from two celebrity sports stars, two Irish poker pros and two online qualifiers in each episode. I decided I might have a go at qualifying so duly logged onto Pokerstars.com. I was unable to play as qualification is only open to players with an address in the Republic of Ireland. As I live in Northern Ireland I was not eligible. I actually wonder about the legality of this exclusion as, under the terms of an International Treaty recognised by the United Nations, I hold dual Irish and British nationality and am entitled to a passport from either country. I’m not sure if it is legal to discriminate between Irish citizens who live on different sides of the border on the island of Ireland. Perhaps someone from Poker Stars legal department could have a look at this issue, for future reference.

DOING AN EOGHAN

O’Dea that is. Eoghan managed to win a major online tournament earlier this year despite falling asleep in front of his computer some way through the tournament. He somehow managed to wake up in time to take the top spot. I did something similar, though not quite as lucrative, recently. I had qualified to play in a super satellite for entry to a live land based tournament a few days before the weekly online final. On the evening of the final I nodded off in front of the TV and only woke up almost an hour into the tournament when around 20% of the field had already been eliminated. Despite this lapse, I am happy to report that I finished first in the tournament and duly won my tournament seat. Now, if I could only convert that into a nice live result.

NEWS

The Irish tournament scene looks pretty busy in the run up to Christmas. I have already mentioned the IPC above and have covered the JPPOKER Mini WSOP, at the beginning of November, in previous columns. Other upcoming major events are as follows:-

The Fitzwilliam Poker Festival, Dublin, runs from 25th November to 1st December and includes a two day €500 + 40 main event. Full details can be found at www.fitzwilliamcardclub.com

MACAU CLUB, CORK

The Irish Christmas Poker Festival takes place in Cork from Thursday 3rd to Sunday 6th December featuring a two day 500 + 50 main event. The festival is shorter and has a smaller buy-in this year to reflect the economic situation but I would still expect that the welcome and the renowned player buffet will still be first class. Full details can be found at www.macausportingclub.com

DEEP STACK OMAHA CHAMPIONSHIP

The first running of this ambitious looking event also takes place from 3rd to 6th December at The Poker Room, Celbridge, Co. Kildare. The three day Pot Limit Omaha main event has a €1,000 buy-in (8% reg. included) and the same structure as the $10K WSOP event with a 30,000 starting stack and a 60 minute clock and starts at 7pm on Friday 4th. The main event winner will receive a white gold “Main Event” bracelet and the top three players will each receive a “Luck Box” sponsorship into the Omaha side event at the 2010 Irish Open. In addition, there will be a Tag Heuer watch for the worst bad beat at the main event. For more information call 00353 86 230 1229 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 00353 86 230 1229 end_of_the_skype_highlighting or 00353 1627 6079 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 00353 1627 6079 end_of_the_skype_highlighting

If you have any news views or events, you can contact me by email to mickymccloskey@hotmail.com

IRISH POKER TOUR

IRISH POKER TOUR

By Mick McCloskey

Following the last few years of dramatic growth in Irish poker tournaments, I can now reveal that things are about to get even bigger on the Irish poker scene. The biggest online site in the world, Poker Stars, has teamed up with Irish Poker Events to take over sponsorship of the Irish Poker Championship as part of a larger planned Irish Poker Tour. The IPC, originally held at the City West Hotel, Dublin has been held in Galway at the beginning of January for the last two years. The venue remains Galway and the buy in remains unchanged at €2,000 but the tournament dates have been brought forward to the 10th to 14th December 2009. The main reason for the date change is to avoid the IPC clashing with the Poker Stars PCA, which is traditionally held in the Bahamas at the beginning of January. Poker Stars will, naturally, want to bring some of their big name sponsored pros and celebs to Galway. I spoke to Irish Poker Events supremo, Fintan Gavin, who confirmed that an official announcement to this effect will be made at the start of the London EPT at the beginning of October, so all the details should be made public by the time you read this. Poker Stars will, of course, run online satellites for the IPC and subsequent Irish Tour events and the IPC winner will receive an additional prize of entry into next year’s London EPT. Two other Tour events are planned right now, a €1,500 event in Killarney from 23rd to 27th June 2010 and another €2,000 event planned for Dublin next September. Poker Stars are involved with a number of national poker tours around Europe, in addition to International tours covering most parts of the world, and bring a wealth of experience and, perhaps more importantly, a large number of online qualifiers to all of their events.

Unofficially, I understand that the Irish events are only a part of a much bigger UK and Irish Poker Tour currently being planned by Poker Stars. Expect further developments on this front. Looks like exciting times lie ahead for tournament poker on these islands.

PASSPORT CONTROL

Something not really poker related except that it happened to me on the way back from a poker tournament. I decided to break my journey to Cork in August by getting a couple of cheap flights from Dublin to Cork and back. All went well on the way down. The flight left on time from a shiny new departures terminal in Dublin Airport and actually landed early in Cork where I made my way unhindered through the arrivals area and onto the city. All was well again on the journey back, an on time departure and an early arrival in Dublin. Again a mixture of walking and standing on a moving walkway through the nice new passenger terminal in Dublin. That is until I arrived at a bottle neck made up of a mass of people waiting to get through passport control. I thought I may have taken a wrong turning somewhere but, no, I could see that all the people from my flight were standing in line with people coming in on flights from all over Europe and from the USA. Now I know some Dubliner’s would regard Cork people as almost an alien species but they do, after all, actually live in the same country so, having them pass through passport control, and through Customs as well, seemed a bit excessive. How effective passport control actually is can be a matter of dispute. When I eventually got to the front of the queue, the officer in the control booth was on the phone and I didn’t actually produce a passport. I offered him my Northern Ireland driving licence and without even asking me where I was travelling from, he waved me on through, while continuing his phone conversation! What is all that about? Does this just happen to people on flights from Cork or do the authorities at Dublin Airport treat everyone arriving on domestic flights as foreign nationals?

NEWS

IPO

Who would have thought that a small buy in ($250) poker tournament that you can only enter by registering through an online poker site would set new records for numbers of entrants in Europe and indeed anywhere outside of Las Vegas, when it was held in Dublin last October? The brain child of Stephen McClean, part of the younger of three generations of a Dublin poker playing family, it really took off when he got together with Boylespoker in 2008 and between them they produced one of the most sociable and fun weekends on the poker calendar. 1,300 people, including many well known poker pros and sports celebrities, invited by the sponsors, enjoyed the weekend at the Regency Hotel in Dublin. As I write, the 2009 tournament is almost a complete sell-out and I predict that it will again set a new record for entries, outside of Las Vegas, when it is held over the weekend of 16th to 18th October.

IWF

The much larger Paddy Power Irish Winter Festival with a €1,500 + 150 buy in, takes place in the City West Hotel from 24th to 26th October. Satellites for tournament packages and seats to the main event are currently running on various online sites and live in poker venues around the country

MINI WSOP

Just a reminder that the Mini WSOP takes place in the Maldron Hotel, Tallaght, Dublin from 6th to 8th November. The €350 main event has a 30,000 starting stack and will mirror the WSOP main event structure, apart from the levels which will start at 45 minutes, rising to 60 minutes. A full schedule of deep stack events will run over the weekend. Full details can be found at www.jppoker.ie

FINALLY

Congratulations to Donegal man, Dermot Blaine, who took down the top prize in the Poker Stars Asian Pacific Poker Tour in Macau at the end of August. Dermot won over 4.2 million Hong Kong dollars, equivalent to around US $540,000. A nice chunk of change in any currency. Well played sir.

If you have any news views or events, you can contact me by email to mickymccloskey@hotmail.com

WSOP 2009

WSOP 2009

By Mick McCloskey

Probably the biggest Irish interest story to come out of this year’s WSOP was not really related to poker at all. It was in fact the wedding of Padraig Parkinson and his long time partner Veronique on Sunday 5th July in Las Vegas. They managed to squeeze the wedding in after Padraig played his first day in the main event and before he had to return for his second day. After a private reception in the new M Casino, the wedding party moved to the bar right outside the poker room in the Bellagio for drinks in the evening. The only man in the place wearing a suit and tie was doing the honours at the bar. I had to look twice at this guy before I realised that it was Rory Liffey. Gone were the trademark flowing red locks to be replaced by a very short crew cut hairstyle. What a makeover!
Congratulations to Padraig and Veronique and best wishes for the future.

Back to the business of poker, there were no really huge cashes nor bracelets for the Irish contingent this year. Andy Black and Sligo’s Paddy O’Connor did make final table appearances in some of the side events and a few of the Irish players made it into the money in the main event and some side events. Congratulations and well done to all of these guys.

NEWS

KILLARNEY
September seems to be holiday time for Irish tournament promoters as I have no news of any major events during the month. October, on the other hand, has more than it’s fair share of major events. First up is the Ladbrokes Irish Poker Festival in Killarney running from 1st to 4th October with a €500 + 50 main event with a €250,000 guarantee. Seats are limited (see my column in the August edition or check out my website for more details.) so don’t turn up expecting to pay in to the main event on the day. Ladbrokes are currently running online satellites for Killarney hotel and tournament packages. If however you have already secured a seat, you can expect a great weekend of poker in the beautiful surrounds of Killarney, in a great venue, the INEC at the Gleneagles Hotel, with well structured tournaments and an excellent facility in the form of the players lounge, courtesy of Ladbrokespoker.com.

I.P.O.

Next up comes the Boylespoker International Poker Open at The Regency Hotel Dublin from 16th to 18th October. Although not a big buy in event at $250, this event set a new European record for entries last year with 1,300 players taking part. A similar number of players are expected this year, including a liberal sprinkling of well known poker pros and sports stars so, if you want to be part of a fun weekend, sign up now. Players last year included Andy Black, Marty Smyth, Padraig Parkinson, Jesse May, Ken Doherty, Ian Frazer and “Mad” Marty Wilson. Seats are already going fast and, as I write, I hear that Day 1b has already been sold out. The only way to enter is to sign up for an account and pay online through Boylespoker.com or by qualifying in an online satellite. By playing a little online and earning player points, you can also top up your starting stack in the main event. Full details can be found on Boyle’s website or on pokerireland.ie

I.W.F.

Later in the month, the Irish Winter Festival takes place in the City West Hotel, Dublin, from 24th to 26th October. The main event has a buy in of €1,500 +150 and last year attracted 423 players with a top prize of €150,000. Co. Clare airport worker Fiachra Meere took the title in 2008. Sponsor, Paddy Power is currently running online satellites for packages and seats to the main event.

MINI WSOP

J.P. McCann has come up with what looks like another cracking new event at the start of November in Tallaght, Dublin. J.P. has been steadily building a reputation for putting on some of the best and most innovative poker tournaments in Ireland over the past couple of years, after serving his time running many smaller pub based events around the Dublin area. His latest idea is based on running a “Mini WSOP” for those operating with a smaller bankroll than it takes for the real thing. For a buy in of €350 you can sit down to play in a three day event with a starting stack of 30,000 chips and a 45 minute clock for the first 10 levels, increasing to 60 minutes after that. There will be a full schedule of deep stacked support events over the weekend, with the smallest starting stack being 15,000 chips. The tournament takes place in the Maldron Hotel, Tallaght fro 6th to 8th November. Numbers are limited to 250 so you might want to book your seat in good time. Full details can be found on J.P.’s website at www.jppoker.ie

FINALLY

Congratulations to Ken Corkery and his team at The Macau Casino, Cork, for winning the Best Poker Tournament Award for their Irish Classic Poker Festival at the Irish Sports Betting Awards, held recently in the Burlington Hotel, Dublin.

If you have any news, views or events, you can contact me by email to mickymccloskey@hotmail.com