https://betting.betfair.com/poker/wsope/2012/09/ en Copyright 2026 Fri, 28 Sep 2012 13:11:00 +0100 http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification The first four of seven bracelets have been won this week at the 2012 World Series of Poker Europe being contested at the Casino Barrière de Cannes Croisette in Cannes, France. Winners thus far include the first ever Tunisian WSOP bracelet winner, Imed Ben Mahmoud, another 2012 bracelet for Antonio Esfandiari, and the first two French WSOPE winners in Roger Hairabedian and Giovanni Rosadoni. Overall turnouts are somewhat down from last year's WSOP Europe in Cannes, with the number of entrants having decreased in all events thus far. However, the excitement surrounding the awarding of new bracelets remains high. Here's are recaps of how those first four events played out: Event No. 1: €2,700 No-Limit Hold'em (6-max.) 
The first event saw Imed Ben Mahmoud, currently a resident of Antibes, France (near Cannes), become the first ever native of Tunisia to win a WSOP bracelet of any kind. Mahmoud's full-time occupation is a kitchen worker, and is a recreational player who has only been playing poker for three years. A total of 227 entered the event (down from 360 last year), with the top 24 finishers making the money. Cashers included Phil Hellmuth (24th, €4,887), Paul Guichard (23rd, €4,887), Brandon Cantu (20th, €4,887), Jennifer Tilly (17th, €6,548), David "ODB" Baker (14th, €6,548), and Ruben Velasco (€12,040). After two days of play just eight players remained, at which point Mahmoud was one of the short stacks in sixth while Yannick Bonnet of France held the chip lead. However, by the time those two made it to heads-up play the pair were nearly even in chips, and it wasn't long after that Mahmoud grabbed the advantage, then won following a preflop all-in in which his Js-Jc held up versus Bonnet's Kc-Kd. Event No. 1 (€2,700 NLHE 6-max.) final table payouts: 1. Imed Ben Mahmoud -- €147,099 2. Yannick Bonnet -- €90,884 3. Matan Krakow -- €63,371 4. Senh Ung -- €44,913 5. Roberto Romanello -- €31,925 6. Sylvain Ribes -- €22,876 Event No. 2: €1,100 No-Limit Hold'em A total of 626 entered the second event (771 played last year), with the "Magician" and "Big One for One Drop" winner Antonio Esfandiari emerging to win his second bracelet of 2012 and third overall. The win catapulted Esfandiari to the top of the WSOP Player of the Year leaderboard, although the battle for that honor will continue through the end of the WSOPE as most of those still in the race are in Cannes vying for bracelets. The POY race will continue into October, as well, as WSOP Main Event final tablist Greg Merson can still pass everyone with a high enough finish there. Among the 63 making the money in Event No. 2 were Marvin Rettenmaier (47th, €2,133), Tristan Wade (43rd, €2,344), Event No. 3 winner Roger Hairabedian (39th, €2,344), Dominik Nitsche (34th, €2,608), Erik Cajelais (27th, €3,846), John Monnette (23rd, €4,489), and Casey Kastle (15th, €7,680). Esfandiari began the nine-handed final table with the chip lead, and he had the lead as well to begin heads-up play against the Frenchman Remi Bollengier. Esfandiari immediately began to widen the gap, then a hand arose in which the pair bet all three post-flop streets as the board came 10c-8s-As-Qd-5d, finally getting all of Bollengier's chips in on the river. Bollengier held Qs-7s for queens, but Esfandiari had Qc-8d for two pair to give him the win. Event No. 2 (€1,100 NLHE) final table payouts: 1. Antonio Esfandiari -- €126,207 2. Remi Bollengier -- €78,059 3. Salvatore Bonavena -- €57,079 4. Antonin Teisseire -- €42,356 5. Valentin Detoc -- €31,869 6. McLean Karr -- €24,309 7. Ashly Butler -- €18,798 8. Jamel Haddad -- €14,736 9. Florian Ciuro -- €11,707 Event No. 3: €5,300 Pot-Limit Omaha After coming one spot shy of winning the first two events at the 2012 WSOPE, a Frenchman finally broke through and took the first ever WSOPE bracelet for France in Event No. 3 with Roger Hairabedian's victory in the €5,300 PLO event. "Big Roger" topped a field of 97 for the win (again, down from the 180 who participated in this one last year). Just 12 players cashed in this one, with Vanessa Selbst (12th), Douglas Corning (11th), and Bruno Fitoussi (10th) missing the final table but making the money, all earning €9,929 for their finishes. The final table included some familiar faces, including Jason Mercier (who finished 9th), Joe Hachem (who took sixth), and Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi (ousted in third). Ultimately it was Hairabedian and Ville Mattila of Finland who made it to heads-up play, with Hairabedian enjoying a better than 2-to-1 chip lead to begin their duel. They would end up battling for nearly three hours, although Hairabedian continued to maintain the lead throughout before finally finishing off Mattila to win. Event No. 3 (€5,300 PLO) final table payouts: 1. Roger Hairabedian -- €142,590 2. Ville Mattila -- €88,130 3. Michael Mizrachi -- €62,749 4. Jussi Ryynanen -- €45,581 5. Jussi Nevanlinna -- €33,765 6. Joe Hachem -- €25,490 7. Michel Abecassis -- €19,606 8. Michael Schwartz -- €15,357 9. Jason Mercier -- €12,245 Event No. 4: €3,250 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout The fourth WSOPE event of 2012 saw another Frenchman, Giovanni Rosadoni, win the bracelet while playing in his first-ever WSOP event. A total of 141 entered this one (down significantly from last year's 258). Day 1 saw them play at 20 tables, with the winners of those tables all coming back for Day 2 to play the rest of the event starting from two tables in a multi-table tournament format. A number of big names made it to the second day (and the cash) in this one, including several bracelet winners. Among those falling shy of the final table and winning €5,428 were Matt Stout (18th), Faraz Jaka (17th), Daniel Negreanu (16th), Dominik Nitsche (15th), Chance Kornuth (14th), Phil Hellmuth (13th), and Philippe Boucher (11th). Rosadoni still had a lot to contend with at the final ten-handed table, though, including two multiple WSOP bracelet holders in Oleksii Kovalchuk (who finished 4th) and John Monnette (who finished 3rd). Ultimately Rosadani and Dan O'Brien made it to heads-up late on Day 2, and when the casino had to close at 5 a.m. they returned on Thursday to finish their match with Rosadoni ultimately prevailing. Event No. 4 (€3,250 NLHE Shootout) final table payouts: 1. Giovanni Rosadoni -- €107,614 2. Dan O'Brien -- €66,503 3. John Monnette -- €48,177 4. Oleksii Kovalchuk -- €35,560 5. Adrien Allain -- €26,724 6. Paul Guichard -- €20,434 7. Roman Romanovskyi -- €15,890 8. Trond Aanensen -- €12,564 9. John Duthie -- €10,095 10. Valentin Messina -- €8,239 Three events remain to be decided in Cannes -- the €10,450 NLHE "Split Format" (or "Mix-Max") event (No. 5), the €1,650 PLO 6-max. event (No. 6), and the €10,450 NLHE Main Event (No. 7). Event No. 5 has reached the heads-up portion of play with 16 players left from a starting field of 96, including massive chip leader Brandon Cantu, Faraz Jaka, Roger Hairabedian, Jon Aguiar, Marvin Rettenmaier, Jennifer Tilly, Phil Hellmuth, Mike Watson, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, and Jason Mercier. Meanwhile, the first day of play in Event No. 6 has concluded with just 26 players left from the 206 who entered. Jacob Dahl currently leads there with David Benyamine, Andrew Lichtenberger, Ana Marquez, and Dan Smith among those in the top ten. Join Betfair Poker Now. https://betting.betfair.com/poker/news/esfandiari-among-bracelet-winners-through-four-events-at-2012-wsope-280912-77.html https://betting.betfair.com/poker/news/esfandiari-among-bracelet-winners-through-four-events-at-2012-wsope-280912-77.html News WSOP Europe Fri, 28 Sep 2012 13:11:00 +0100 This week the poker world's attention has mostly centered in Europe where major events on the professional circuit are playing out, including two World Poker Tour events and the start of the World Series of Poker Europe. Meanwhile in the U.S., Howard Lederer's decision to speak out in a lengthy interview regarding the various failures of Full Tilt Poker has captured considerable notice as well. World Poker Tour Crowns Two The past week has seen the WPT travel to France and Malta, crowning new champions at each stop. Earlier in the week it was TV producer Matt Salsberg taking down the WPT Grand Prix de Paris and a €400,000 first prize. And last night Yorane Kerignard grabbed the trophy at WPT Malta, earning €120,000 for his finish. Despite recording several modest cashes over the last decade mostly in Las Vegas and California tourneys, Salsberg was better known among poker players for his involvement as a writer and producer of television shows like Weeds and Entourage. We'd also known of Salsberg thanks to reports of his developing a new poker-themed comedy titled Whales along with Weeds creator Jenji Kohan. That changed this week, however, after Salsberg topped a field of 228 at the Aviation Club de France in Paris to win a WPT title. The victory required Salsberg to outlast a tough final table that included Mohsin Charania, Timothy Adams, Philipp Gruissem, and Theo Jorgensen. Jorgensen, who finished runner-up, was looking for a second WPT Grand Prix de Paris title after winning the same event in 2010. 2012 WPT Grand Prix de Paris final table payouts: 1. Matt Salsberg -- €400,000 2. Theo Jorgensen -- €264,600 3. Philipp Gruissem -- €170,065 4. Timothy Adams -- €125,775 5. Mohsin Charania -- €95,615 6. Fabian Quoss -- €75,765 Meanwhile, Yorane Kerignard bested a field of 169 players in Malta this week to earn his title, surviving a competitive final table that saw Alessio Isaia take third and Jackson Genovesi runner-up. Genovesi had the chip lead to start heads-up versus Kerignard, but the latter grabbed the edge, then won on a dramatic final hand. Genovesi was all in on a 4d-2s-10c flop holding 10h-9h versus Kerignard's As-3c. The 3s turn meant Genovesi's nines were still best, but the Ad fell on the river to give the hand and title to Kerignard. For Kerignard the win continues a terrific last 12 months on the felt that has included final tables at EPT San Remo and EPT Deauville. With the WPT Malta first prize, Kerignard's career tourney earnings trip up around the $1 million-mark overall. 2012 WPT Malta final table payouts: 1. Yorane Kerignard -- €120,000 2. Jackson Genovesi -- €82,370 3. Alessio Isaia -- €52,500 4. Hui Chen Kuo -- €39,200 5. Zeljko Krizan -- €29,300 6. Sampo Ryynanen -- €23,300 The "Professor" Speaks Meanwhile, many in the poker world have been drawn to the lengthy, multi-part interview with Howard Lederer being posted in half-hour segments this week on PokerNews. Lederer, of course, was a principal owner and member of the Board of Directors at Full Tilt Poker. The site was targeted with others by the U.S. Department of Justice in April 2011 with an indictment and civil complaint bringing a host of charges including violations of gambling laws, money laundering, and bank and wire fraud. The civil complaint was amended in September 2011 to name Lederer and three others, charging them with further crimes including funneling of more than $440 million into "FTP Insider" accounts. (See "Hard to Explain: The Full Tilt Poker Fiasco" for more.) A second amendment to the complaint appeared last week with additional charges and more details regarding how Lederer and others used those funds. The PokerNews interview was conducted on August 30, 2012 (prior to the second amendment to the civil complaint), and covers a wide range of topics including the founding of Full Tilt Poker, various details of its management structure, the move of FTP headquarters from the U.S. to Ireland in 2006, and subsequent financial troubles caused in part by mismanagement, distributions to shareholders, frequent loans to poker pros, and the so-called "phantom deposits" that led to players being unable to withdraw funds from the site post-Black Friday. The interview shows Lederer (a.k.a. "The Professor") and others at FTP having made numerous poor decisions, and while Lederer accepts some culpability he often appears interested in deflecting or diverting blame throughout. In any case, the interview provides a compelling (if blinkered) look at Full Tilt Poker's rise and fall. WSOP Europe Begins Following the recently completed Partouche Poker Tour and WPT Grand Prix de Paris, poker returns to France this afternoon for the start of the 2012 World Series of Poker Europe. For a second straight year the events of the WSOPE will be contested at the Casino Barrière de Cannes Croisette in Cannes. Last year the WSOPE was expanded to include seven events, and this year's schedule will see a very similar schedule also featuring seven events. Here's the line-up of tournaments that will play out over the next couple of weeks: 9/21 -- No. 1: €2,700 No-Limit Hold'em (6-max.) 
 9/22 -- No. 2: €1,100 No-Limit Hold'em 
9/24 -- No. 3: €5,300 Pot-Limit Omaha 
9/25 -- No. 4: €3,250 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout 
 9/26 -- No. 5: €10,450 No-Limit Hold'em Split Format 
9/27 -- No. 6: €1,650 Pot-Limit Omaha (6-max.) 9/30 -- No. 7: €10,450 No-Limit Hold'em (ME) This marks the sixth year of the WSOPE. From 2007-2010 the series was held in England, then moved to Cannes last year. Here's a look at all of the past winners at the WSOPE: 2007
 No. 1: £2,500 H.O.R.S.E. -- Thomas Bihl 
No. 2: £5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha -- Dario Alioto 
No. 3: £10,000 No-Limit Hold'em (ME) -- Annette Obrestad 2008
 No. 1: £1,500 No-Limit Hold'em -- Jesper Hougaard
 No. 2: £2,500 H.O.R.S.E. -- Sherkhan Farnood
 No. 3: £5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha -- Theo Jorgensen 
No. 4: £10,000 No-Limit Hold'em (ME) -- John Juanda
 2009
 No. 1: £1,000 No-Limit Hold'em -- J.P. Kelly 
No. 2: £2,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em/Omaha -- Erik Cajelais 
No. 3: £5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha -- Jani Vilmunen 
No. 4: £10,000 No-Limit Hold'em (ME) -- Barry Shulman
 2010
 No. 1: £2,650 No-Limit Hold'em (6-max.) -- Phil Laak
 No. 2: £5,250 Pot-Limit Omaha -- Jeff Lisandro 
No. 3: £1,075 No-Limit Hold'em -- Scott Shelley 
No. 4: £10,350 No-Limit Hold'em Heads-Up -- Gus Hansen
 No. 5: £10,350 No-Limit Hold'em (ME) -- James Bord
 2011 
No. 1: €2,680 NLHE (6-max.) -- Guillaume Humbert 
No. 2: €1,090 No-Limit Hold'em -- Andrew Hinrichsen 
No. 3: €5,300 Pot-Limit Omaha -- Steve Billirakis 
No. 4: €3,200 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout -- Tristan Wade 
No. 5: €10,400 NLHE Split Format -- Michael Mizrachi 
No. 6: €1,620 PLO (6-max.) -- Philippe Boucher No. 7: €10,400 No-Limit Hold'em (ME) -- Elio Fox Join Betfair Poker Now. https://betting.betfair.com/poker/news/the-week-in-poker-wpt-winners-lederer-lets-loose-wsope-kicks-off-in-cannes-210912-77.html https://betting.betfair.com/poker/news/the-week-in-poker-wpt-winners-lederer-lets-loose-wsope-kicks-off-in-cannes-210912-77.html News WSOP Europe Fri, 21 Sep 2012 14:50:00 +0100