The Nightly Turbo: Tiger Woods' Poker Night, Allan Le Wins Manila Millions, and More
Phil Ivey is often referred to as the "Tiger Woods of Poker." Will the two superstars collide on the felts next week? We'll bring you that story, as well as the results of the inaugural Manila Millions, in this edition of the Nightly Turbo.
In Case You Missed It
Jonathan Little was one of countless poker pros affected by the events of Black Friday. Chad Holloway caught up with Little to find out how Black Friday changed his life.
Do you have what it takes to make it in poker? Alec Torelli's latest blog focuses on finding a passion for what you do.
The European Poker Tour Berlin Main Event played down to a final table on Day 4. Davidi Kitai held the chip lead and was in position to win his third leg of poker's Triple Crown.
William Hill's license application in Nevada has been delayed again. Read about that and more in the latest Inside Gaming.
Is data mining good or bad for the online poker industry? Rich Ryan takes a look at the feud between PokerStars and Poker Table Ratings.
Day 2 of the World Poker Tour Seminole Hard Rock Showdown Main Event concluded on Thursday. Clyde Hinton held the chip lead, but poker pros Tommy Vedes and John Dolan were close on his heels.
How was the high-stakes action at the PokerStars tables this week? Read the Online Railbird Report to find out the week's biggest winners and losers.
@AsianSpa was back with his latest blog on Friday. This week he talks about Black Friday, a robbery in Las Vegas, and more.
Did you miss anything from the past week? Don't worry, we've got you covered. Lynn Gilmartin and Laura Cornelius break down all the big stories in the PokerNews Weekly.
Tiger's Poker Night
Golf legend Tiger Woods will be hosting a charity poker tournament at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas on Friday, April 27, 2012. The event will benefit the Tiger Woods Foundation, a program that raises college scholarship money for underprivileged youth.
The $10,000 entry fee includes a seat in the poker tournament plus a guest to attend Tiger's Poker Night, one suite at THEhotel at Mandalay Bay for Friday and Saturday nights and two VIP tickets to attend Tiger Jam, featuring Jon Bon Jovi and Friends on Saturday, April 28.
The event will bring out the best of the best as Phil Hellmuth will emcee the poker tournament and Doyle Brunson will also be on hand to take part in the action. That's 21World Series of Poker titles right there; Tiger has 14 Major Championships of his own.
The winner of the tournament will receive a foursome (of golf) with Tiger Woods. Other prizes include a putting lesson with Woods, Pro-Am spots at PGA TOUR events, golf rounds at exclusive courses across the country, autographed memorabilia items, and a Nike Golf custom club-fitting.
For more information, check out the Tiger Woods Foundation website.
Self-made Millionaire
On Friday, the inaugural HKD$1,000,000 (USD$129,000) buy-in Manila Millions Super High Roller took place at Resorts World Manila’s Genting Club in the Philippines. The prestigious event attracted 30 players, including poker pros Tom Dwan, Phil Ivey, JC Tran, Johnny Chan, Nam Le, John Juanda and Joe Hachem.
Surprisingly, all of the aforementioned pros busted out before the money bubble, where the remaining five players were left battling for a top prize of HKD$13,080,000 (USD$1.685 million). After American pro Keith Gipson busted out in fifth place, Macau regular Richard Yong exited in fourth place. According to Poker Portal Asia, Yong was all in preflop with pocket eights against Allan Le's pocket queens and was unable to improve on a king-high board.
China's Sun Sheng was the next to bow out, leaving Le and Devan Tang competing for the title. A swingy heads-up match ended when a short-stacked Tang shoved on the button for 800,000 with K♦7♠ and Le called with Q♣Q♦. The A♦4♣8♦4♠A♥ brought no help to Teng, who collected just over USD$1million for his runner up finish. Le's USD$1.7 million score is far and away the largest of his career.
Manila Millions Results
| Seat | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Allan Le | HKD $13,080,000 (USD$1.685 million) |
| 2 | Devan Tang | HKD $8,175,000 (USD$1.053 million) |
| 3 | Sun Sheng | HKD $4,905,000 (USD$632,000) |
| 4 | Richard Yong | HKD $3,597,000 (USD$463,430) |
| 5 | Keith Gipson | HKD $2,943,000 (USD$380,000) |
For a closer look at how the Manila Millions played out, visit Poker Portal Asia.
Jia Liu Wins Borgata Spring Poker Open
The 520-player 2012 Borgata Spring Poker Open $2,500 Championship Event concluded Thursday and walking away with the title was Jia Liu, who began the final table as the chip leader. Along with the title, Liu earned himself his largest victory ever worth $312,483. Although many of poker's biggest names may be down in Florida or over in Europe right now, Liu had himself plenty of tough competition at the final table including notables Chad Batista, Matt Woodward and Cliff "JohnnyBax" Josephy.
The last player standing in the way of Liu and the win was Larry Abrams. On the final hand, Liu set Abrams all in for his last 750,000 holding the K♣4♦ with the blinds at 60,000/120,000/10,000. Abrams made the call with the A♠J♣ looking to double up. After the flop gave Liu the lead when the K♦7♠2♣ rolled out, the 6♣ on the turn and 7♦ on the river left Abrams with the losing hand and a second-place finish.
Borgata Spring Poker Open Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jia Liu | Brooklyn, NY | $312,483 |
| 2 | Larry Abrams | Fairlawn, NJ | $175,700 |
| 3 | Russ Dykshteyn | Brooklyn, NY | $112,950 |
| 4 | Robert Pardo | Mt. Vernon, NY | $89,733 |
| 5 | Cameron Cornell | Interlaken, NJ | $70,280 |
| 6 | Chad Batista | Fort Lauderdale, FL | $57,730 |
| 7 | Cliff Josephy | Queens, NY | $45,808 |
| 8 | Matt Woodward | Las Vegas, NV | $35,768 |
| 9 | Michael Borovetz | Pittsburgh, PA | $25,100 |
| 10 | Mike Meskin | Belmont, MA | $16,315 |
Prior to this victory, Liu had $158,913 in career tournament earnings and his largest score was $42,734. This is also his first victory on the felt since November 2009.
For more information, visit the Borgata Spring Poker Open blog.
World Poker Tour Hits Spain
The Main Event of the WPT National Series Marbella kicked off in Costa del Sol, Spain on Friday. The €1,650 tournament at Casino Marbella runs through April 20 and offers players a chance to re-enter if they are eliminated on Day 1a.
Raúl Mestre, Kent Lundmark, Tomeu Gomila, Daniel Hernández, and Juan Maceiras were among the 166 players in the field on Day 1a. Friday's action was winding down with less than 100 players still alive as of press time.
The World Poker Tour has also WPT National events in Mauritius, Denmark and France this year and expects to announce partnerships with a number of additional venues. Winners do not qualify for a WPT title, Player of the Year points or a WPT World Championship buy-in, but the affordable buy-ins allow players to compete for big prizes against some of the top players around Europe.
For more information on the WPT National Series events, visit the World Poker Tour website.
Girls on Film
Gaëlle Garcia Diaz is one of the hosts of the European Poker Tour television production. Lynn Gilmartin gets to know more about Gaëlle in the inaugural edition of Girls on Film.
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