Poker News

Jonathan Raab

While the eyes of the poker world have been firmly fixed on the goings on at the Rio All Suites Hotel and Casino, let’s not forget that poker in all our hometowns carries on regardless. Not every player has the budget or the opportunity to make the trip to Vegas this year, and there is a good range of alternatives on offer for players in the UK, especially those who like added prize money and good value tournaments. Gala Casinos Great Britain Poker Tour (GBPT), not to be confused with its big brother the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT), recently held its fourth event in the South Coast town of Bournemouth. The ?500 ($1,000) no-limit Texas hold’em main event attracted 140 runners, to which the sponsors added ?5,000 ($10,000) prize money plus a seat in their ?2,500 ($5,000) grand final. The event attracted several sports stars as well as the usual gathering of circuit regulars. The winner was Peter Singleton, a poker journalist and commentator, who fended off fellow commentator Grub Smith to take down the ?20,000 ($40,000) first prize. At the other end of the country another tournament took place on the same weekend and also featured significant added value. This was the Bolton Poker 6, which featured a total of ?21,000 ($42,000) of added prize money by sponsor Blue Square.

Seventy-two players made the trip to Lancashire town for this ?1,000 ($2,000) short-handed tournament with a difference. It was a combined format event which started off as a shootout competition on day one, but concluded as a regular multi table tournament on Day 2. It was designed to have a slow structure and afford a lot of play without ever becoming a crapshoot. The tournament also enabled every player to benefit from the added value, as all players who lost on day one were treated to free entry into a consolation tournament on Day 2, with ?12,000 ($24,000) added to the prize pool.

Considering that this event took place on Father’s Day, it was somehow fitting that the eventual winner was Lee Atherton, who also goes by the online moniker “Alfiesdad.” He is soon to father child number two, so the ?21,840 ($43,700) prize money will be put to good use. As the inventor of the event, I’m a little disappointed at the comparatively low turnout (last year’s event attracted 96 participants), but with nothing but good feedback from the players I am rather proud that I brought a new style of event to the UK poker scene.

Next year I hope to have it incorporated into the GUKPT calendar so it can reach a bigger audience and become a truly world class event with up to 300 players. A few years ago, when I started attending Grosvenor Casinos’ poker festivals I had many players complain that there was little added value coming back to the players. While many events were being filmed for television broadcast, there was little if any added prize money. These same players would have very little to complain about now, as the UK poker circuit is now dripping in added prize money. The GUKPT has a total of ?200,000 ($400,000) added to its 11 events, the GBPT is adding over ?50,000 ($100,000) to its six events, and events like the Bolton Poker 6 are giving even more value to those players that choose to hunt it out. It may not yet be millions that is being given back to the players, but it is a good start.

Filed under: Poker News