Tiverton Casino Hotel opened its doors

Tiverton Casino Hotel received this weekend its first clients with a special event.

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Poland’s Piotr Nurzynski Wins Record-Breaking EPT Barcelona Main Event

This year’s EPT Barcelona Main Event was one to remember. The tournament turned out to be the largest one Main Event ever played within the EPT series and was packed with action and poker thrill.

It was Poland’s Piotr Nurzynski who outmaneuvered the event’s 1,931-strong field. The player, who is a doctor by trade but has been roaming the world over the past two years, was the last man standing after a seven-hour finale that was played Sunday at Casino Barcelona. He collected €1,037,109 for his efforts and a Platinum Pass for the PokerStars Players No-Limit Hold’em Championship next year.

Six players returned to play the Main Event finale yesterday. There were seasoned poker players among them, including former EPT champ Ognyan Dimov, and there were newbies who were making their EPT debut. The Bulgarian won his first title three years ago in Deauville and was looking to join Victoria Coren Mitchell in the elite club of two-time EPT champions. It was not meant for Dimov this time as the player finished in third place last night, but not without putting up quite some fight over the course of action.

First things first, the final day of play kicked off with the absolute rookie – China’s Haoxiang Wang leading the final table. The player, who had one tournament cash prior to last night, lost some of his stack during the first hands of action to slide a bit, but then regained momentum. The first level of the day thus saw little change in the chip counts leaderboard and no eliminations.

Action sped up a bit during the next stage of play as the two short stacks at the time – Matthias Tikerpe from Estonia and Rodrigo Carmo from Portugal were eliminated in a somewhat quick succession. The first bagged €287,050 from the tournament, while the second collected €354,200.

Four-Way Deal

Play then slowed a bit again as none of the four players were willing to give up on the title and the hefty first-place prize that went along with it. Chips swung back and forth for a while, until Dimov offered a four-way deal. The other three players left agreed and a four-handed ICM chop was done.

Wang was the chip leader at the time, with Nurzynski coming in second place on the leaderboard. Under the deal, the young Chinese was to collect €1,023,701 and €857,109 would go to Nurzynsky. Dimov would collect €721,631 and Pedro Marques from Portugal would grab €698,369 from the tournament’s prize pool. The amount of €180,000 and the Platinum Pass was left aside for the champion.

The deal boosted action at the table and took off some of the pressure that had piled on the four finalists’ shoulders. Nurzynsky himself admitted that he felt calmer after the deal was struck.

Marques was eliminated shortly after and Dimov followed him a few hands later. This left it to Nurzynsky and Wang to determine the champion. And two-handed action proved to be a great show to watch. Nurzynsky was all serious and composed with his aviator sunglasses, while Wang was all smiles and bubbly throughout that final stage of the tournament.

The duel began with Wang holding nearly four times more chips than his final opponent. However, Nurzynsky managed to double not long after the start of heads-up. The Pole began building his stack into the chip lead and it did not take long before he emerged as the chip leader. The two players then held almost even stacks with Nurzynsky holding a slight advantage for a while.

Wang then retook the chip lead once again to lose it on the very next hand to retake it back again a couple of hands later. Chips went back and forth until the biggest pot of the day occurred and it went Nurzynsky’s way. The Polish player thus soared all the way up to 47 million, while Wang dropped to 10 million.

The much-anticipated final hand was dealt soon after. It saw Nurzynsky limp from the button with [Ac][9c] and Wang check with [Ks][2d]. The [6d][Kc][Ad] ran out on the flop. Wang bet 500,000 and Nurzynsky called. The [7c] landed on the turn to see Wang check. Nurzynsky kicked off the betting round with 2 million and Wang called immediately. The river came [4d] and Wang checked once again. Nurzynsky shoved after several seconds of thought, putting both himself and Wang in danger. Wang called after giving his move quite some thought.

The decision proved the wrong one for the young Chinese as he hit the rail in second place. However, he left the tournament as a millionaire. The two heads-up opponents parted with a hug and it was time for Nurzynsky to celebrate, wrapping up an extremely successful EPT Barcelona Main Event.

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WCOOP 2018 begins today

Back in August, top online poker room PokerStars announced the new schedule for the upcoming World Championship of Online Poker. Since the announcement, players have been getting ready to take part in more than 60 events with $70 million in guaranteed prize money offered up in the WCOOP tournaments. The WCOOP begins today and will […]

West Virginia Lottery Director Resigns as State Launches Sports Betting

The Director of the West Virginia Lottery resigned from his post on the same day the state’s first legal sportsbook celebrated its soft opening and two days before a grand opening ceremony was held at the facility, a press release from the office of Gov. Jim Justice reads.

Alan Larrick was appointed as head of the state gambling regulator in January 2017. He is from Beckley and prior to his appointment at the West Virginia Lottery he worked as an attorney at his hometown for nearly four decades.

The press release, issued on Friday, stated that Mr. Larrick informed Gov. Justice about his decision after the Thursday soft opening of a sportsbook at Hollywood Casino in Charles Town, the state’s first legal sports betting facility following the legalization of wagering on sports in West Virginia and the annulment of a long-standing federal ban on sports betting.

Mr. Larrick’s resignation became effective yesterday, September 1. Gov. Justice appointed Doug Buffington as an acting Director of the Lottery. Mr. Buffington is currently serving as Deputy Secretary for the West Virginia Secretary of Revenue.

The state’s Lottery oversees and regulates all types of gambling services that are legal on the territory of West Virginia, including sports betting. That particular activity was legalized in the state on March 3 in anticipation of the US Supreme Court’s ruling from May 14 that struck down a federal ban on betting on professional and collegiate sports.

West Virginia became the fourth state to launch sports betting after the SCOTUS ruling and the fifth overall, as the activity was legal in Nevada prior to that.

Resignation ahead of Sportsbook’s Grand Opening

Local media reports that Mr. Larrick’s resignation came as a bit of a surprise. The former Lottery Director has not commented on him leaving his post at the gambling regulator yet.

Mr. Larrick attended Thursday’s soft opening of the Sportsbook at Hollywood Casino in Charles Town. From that day on, customers have been able to place bets on all types of sporting events. A grand opening ceremony took place at 11 am local time on Saturday.

Former Washington Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann placed the ceremonial bet. He wagered on his former team to beat the Arizona Cardinals in the first game of the new NFL season next week.

Hollywood Casino owners told local media that it was their goal to open the sports betting facility ahead of the start of the new football season and that they were glad they managed to meet that goal.

Erich Zimny, Vice President for Racing at the gambling venue, revealed that their wagering facility has turned out extremely popular among customers and that total wagers reached a six-figure amount during the first days of operation. A mobile betting app is expected to be rolled out in the coming weeks.

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Disabled Ameristar Vicksburg Customers Sue Casino over ADA Violations

Two regular customers of Ameristar Casino Hotel in Vicksburg, Mississippi are suing the property, arguing that it violates the Americans with Disabilities Act, local news outlet the Clarion Ledger reports.

In a federal lawsuit filed August 17, Hope Elly and John Smith said that they enjoy gambling and staying at Ameristar Casino Hotel, but also pointed out that the property has architectural and other related barriers preventing them from fully enjoying their time there because they feel limited from using all services offered because of their disabilities.

According to the court filings, Ms. Elly suffers from cerebrovascular accidents (or more commonly – strokes) that have affected her motor and sensory functions. As a result, she needs mobility aids in order to be able to get around. As for Mr. Smith, he has lost both his legs after being diagnosed with diabetes more than four decades go. He relies on a wheelchair to get around.

The lawsuit claims that Ameristar’s parking is not accessible for people with disabilities and is thus not compliant with the ADA. In addition, court filings read that the hotel and casino property offers a hostess counter for able-bodied individuals to receive services, but there is no such opportunity for the portion of its patrons that have disabilities.

Gaming and hospitality company Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. and its Vicksburg subsidiary PNK Vicksburg LLC are defendants in the lawsuit.

Disabled Customers Want Removal of Barriers

The attorney for Ms. Elly and Mr. Smith, Bradley McAdory, has explained in court filings that his clients seek removal of all existing barriers at the Vicksburg property that prevent disabled people from fully taking advantage of all services available. In addition, the lawsuit asks the hotel and casino to introduce practices and polices that will keep the premises free of any barriers in future.

The lawsuit further asks the federal court to require the casino’s owners to comply with the ADA’s standards. Attorney fees and other court remedies are also sought by the two disabled Ameristar customers.

According to court papers, Ms. Elly will keep on visiting the hotel and casino venue but not only to stay and gamble there but also to make sure that the necessary actions are taken by owners.

The Ameristar lawsuit is the latest of a series of lawsuits filed across Mississippi and other states, arguing that casinos are failing to comply with ADA standards. Ms. Elly is a plaintiff in a number of those, the Clarion Ledger reports.

Earlier this week, Ameristar Vicksburg became Mississippi’s latest casino property to launch a sportsbook following the May annulment of the federal ban on sports betting and the recent legalization of sports betting in the state.

The End Zone Sports Book at Ameristar Vicksburg offers customers full-service betting experience and features a number of large-screen TVs, four service windows for placing wagers and a number of other options.

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BetConstruct determined to impress at SAGSE Latin America

Online and land-based gaming technology solutions firm BetConstruct has announced that it intends to ‘impress all attendees’ at the upcoming SAGSE Latin America exhibition in Argentina with its range of ‘powerful solutions’ as well as the ‘freedom of choice’ it offers. Developer intent on showcasing its ‘diversity’: According to an official Thursday press release from the […]

Pedro Marques Leads 13 Players into Penultimate Day of EPT Barcelona Main Event

Friday was a long day of quality poker at Casino Barcelona where this year’s edition of the EPT Barcelona festival is currently running. Eyes are set on the Main Event, which is entering its concluding stages. The tournament attracted a record-breaking field of more than 1,900 entries, but there are only 13 of them left.

Day 4 of the tournament was supposed to end when there were just 16 players left at the tables of the host casino. However, Level 6 of the night kicked off with 17 hopefuls in contention and organizers had to decide whether to stop play when the original target of 16 survivors was reached or to allow players to complete the level.

A decision was made and action ran until the end of the level. As a result there will be 13 players to return today at noon local time and to continue their battle for the title and the €1.6-plus-million prize pool.

It will be Portugal’s Pedro Marques who will lead the 13 finalists into the penultimate day of action. The player had accumulated a stack of 9.15 million by the time play ended for the night. There was a little bit of action on the very last hand of Day 4 when Brazil’s Fabiano Kovalski eliminated his fellow countryman Upeshka De Silva in 14th place to scoop a massive stack. That final hand rocketed the player just one spot below the top.

Former EPT Barcelona Champ Eyeing Second Title

John Juanda, one of poker’s most accomplished players, is still in contention for the title and the first-place cash. The player won the EPT Barcelona Main Event in 2015 for over €1 million. Now he is looking to double his achievement. Juanda will have a difficult start to Day 5, though, as he will enter the day as the short stack.

Another former EPT Main Event champion is vying for a brand new title from the popular series. Bulgaria’s Ognyan Dimov won the EPT Deauville in 2015 and is now still in contention for a title from another EPT stop. Just like Juanda, Dimov is at the bottom half of the chip counts chart, but we all love poker for being a game of fantastic twists and turns and there will certainly be many twists and turns during the two remaining days of play within this year’s EPT Barcelona.

As mentioned above, play is set to resume at noon local time at Casino Barcelona. The 13 remaining players will play down to the final six. And the final six will return at the host venue tomorrow to play down to a champion.

Each of the remaining 13 survivors is guaranteed a minimum cash of €88,250. And each of the six finalists will leave with no less than €287,050. However, it is more than clear that all remaining survivors have set the first-place prize of €1,611,500 as their ultimate goal.

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