The Week in Poker: EPT Barcelona, WSOP-C Biloxi, and Judge Rules Poker a Skill Game

With the completion of the summer portion of the 2012 WSOP, the other major poker tours have begun their new seasons, with news from those events dominating the headlines as we move through August. Also of note this week was a landmark ruling by a Brooklyn federal judge in which Texas hold'em was distinguished from other forms of gambling as "not predominantly a game of chance."

Dan Smith Earns Second Super High Roller Title at EPT Barcelona

Dan Smith of Washougal, Washington pushed himself into the top spot of most 2012 Player of the Year races earlier this week by winning the €50,000 Super High Roller event at the European Poker Tour's Barcelona stop. A final table deal with eventual runner-up J.C. Alvarado of Mexico at the start of heads-up play made Smith's final payday €962,925 (worth about $1.18 million).

A total of 55 players entered the €50K Super High Roller, with nine of those rebuying to create a total prize pool of just over €3.07 million. Other notables making the final eight and cashing included Mike "SirWatts" Watson, Ilari "Ziigmund" Sahamies, Mike "Timex" McDonald, and Erik Seidel.

The win by Smith marked his second "super high roller" title of the year, following his victory in the Aussie Millions $100,000 Challenge back in January. There Smith outlasted a field of 38 plus a final table that included Joe Hachem, Tony G, and Gus Hansen to win the title and $1,012,000 first prize (AUD).

2012 EPT Barcelona Super High Roller final table payouts:
1st: Dan Smith (United States) -- €962,925
2nd: J.C. Alvarado (Mexico) -- €788,674
3rd: Mike Watson (Canada) -- €399,500
4th: Ilari Sahamies (Finland) -- €291,900
5th: Mike McDonald (Canada) -- €215,100
6th: Erik Seidel (United States) -- €153,600
7th: Talai Shakerchi (Great Britain) -- €138,300
8th: Jim McCrink (United States) -- €122,960

EPT Barcelona Main Event, High Roller Continue

In other news from the first stop of EPT Season 9, the €10,000 buy-in High Roller event got underway at the Gran Casino in Barcelona on Wednesday, with 111 players joining in. They've still a way to go in that one, with yesterday's second day of play having been cut short thanks to players wishing to attend the Barcelona-Real Madrid football match. That meant there were still 76 to start play for today's Day 3, with Taylor Paur leading to start the day.

And the €5,000 Main Event winds down to its conclusion this weekend as well, with the final table playing out on Saturday.

Entering today's fourth day of play, 24 players of the original field of 1,082 remained, with Samuel Rodriguez of Spain leading all with a big lead over second-place Jonathan Karamalikis. Other notables still in the hunt with 24 left included Ilari "Ziigmund" Sahamies, John Juanda, Roberto Romanello, and Fatima Moreira de Melo.

Cartwright Wins WSOP-C Biloxi Main Event, Earns Fifth Ring

Elsewhere on the professional poker circuit, Kyle Cartwright of Bartlett, Tennessee made history by winning his record-tying fifth WSOP Circuit ring and second WSOP-C Main Event title in Biloxi, Mississippi. Cartwright earned a cool $107,992 for his victory in the $1,650 buy-in event.

An even 300 entered the tournament at the IP Hotel and Casino in Biloxi, the first stop of 20 on the 2012-13 WSOP Circuit schedule. Cartwright earned his fifth WSOP-C ring in just 16 months, tying Mark "Pegasus" Smith as the only other player to accomplish the feat.

The final table featured further intrigue with the battle for "Casino Champion" -- i.e. the player earning the most points during events at a particular WSOP-C stop -- was up for grabs, with eventual fourth-place finisher Cory Wood taking that honor when Dennis Pasentine went out in sixth. Like Cartwright, Wood earns a seat in the season-ending, $1 million-added WSOP National Championship for his efforts.

2010 November Niner John Dolan also performed well in Biloxi, taking third in the Main Event while also winning a ring by taking down an earlier $365 buy-in event.

2012-13 WSOP-C Biloxi Main Event final table payouts:
1st: Kyle Cartwright -- $107,992

2nd: Brad Johnson -- $66,744

3rd: John Dolan -- $48,429

4th: Cory Wood -- $35,730

5th: Jesus Cabrera -- $26,798

6th: Dennis Pasentine -- $20,421

7th: Tony Hatley -- $15,804

8th: Peter Shashy -- $12,420

9th: Patrick Eskandar -- $9,909

A Legal Victory for Poker as Federal Judge Deems Texas Hold'em Game of Skill

The week's other big headline came not from the poker room but a courtroom, with many believing poker won a significant victory in the "luck-vs.-skill" debate.

In Brooklyn, New York, U.S. federal judge Jack Weinstein tossed out a conviction in a case involving a man accused of illegal gambling by hosting a poker club in a Staten Island warehouse. In his ruling, Weinstein noted that he'd been convinced by the defense that hold'em "is not predominantly a game of chance" and thus was not to be considered illegal gambling as defined by the Illegal Gambling Business Act (IGBA).

Weinstein's ruling was greeted as a major event in the poker world, namely because it marked the first time a federal judge had explicitly ruled poker to be a "game of skill." The Poker Players Alliance played a role in the case, having provided help to the defense including expert testimony from an economist whose findings were influential in the ruling.

The ruling will need to survive an appeal, and it should be noted only concerns the IGBA -- that is to say, other laws (both federal and state) continue to define poker as illegal gambling in the U.S. However, many observers believe the ruling will have consequences moving forward by removing a weapon from the arsenal of poker's opponents and perhaps adding one for those fighting to legalize the game.

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