Sunday Mercury - Poker Beat

Vicky Coren talks UKIPT Nottingham - and about her wedding to David Mitchell

2012-04-12T16:36:13Z

SHE'S a self-confessed poker obsessive who became the first woman to win a European Poker Tour title, scooping a cool £500,000.
But now Vicky Coren has spoken about the new love of her life, fiancé David Mitchell - who she admits knows NOTHING about the game.
''One poker obsessive in a relationship is enough,'' said the 39 year old.
''David may have played in a celebrity event in the past, but he does not really play now.''
TV and radio presenter Vicky and Peep Show star David announced their surprise engagement last month.
The EPT London poker champion said she was overwhelmed at the reaction of fans, particularly her many thousands of Twitter followers.
''I was very touched that people were so nice about it,'' said Vicky, who is also author of the top-selling poker memoir, For Richer, For Poorer.
''We haven't set a date yet, but we are going to get married - we're not going to be one of those couples who wait 10 years.''

Vicky is on another hot date this week - at the UKIPT in Nottingham, where poker players are competing for a guaranteed prizepool of £1 million.
The six-day event is being held at the award-winning Dusk Till Dawn and boasts a series of No Limit competitions, including a £700 + £70 Main Event.
Team Pokerstars pro Vicky said: ''Dusk Till Dawn is the best poker venue in the UK, because it is run by poker players for poker players.
''I love the UKIPT tour because it is a grass roots tour, where people from an area can join players from around the country and even abroad to compete for top prizes.
''It is a wonderful event and Nottingham will be a fantastic tournament.''
• FOR a full list of events taking place at the UKIPT in Nottingham, visit http://bit.ly/zHT9PU

GUKPT Coventry could offer £400,000 Main Event prize pool

2011-10-12T15:35:01Z

THE Grosvenor UK Poker Tour is underway at Coventry's G Casino - and already promises to be one of the best Midland events of the year.

A three day Main Event starts on Friday with a buy-in of £1,000 which is sure to attract a host of top names.

If it's a sell out, then players could be looking at a mouth-watering £400,000 prize pool.

But for those with a few less chips in their pocket, a series of tasty-looking side events are also scheduled for the Fifth Leg of the prestigious national tour.

For a full list of side events, or to find out more, visit http://bit.ly/omA1ig

GUKPT GOLIATH: £100,000 poker prize pool up for grabs at Coventry Ricoh Arena

2011-08-23T14:04:29Z

THERE are big poker tournaments - and then there's The GOLIATH.

The GUKPT event is taking place at Coventry's Ricoh Arena this week and hopes to attract a record field of 1,600 for the £100 (£20) main event.

Running from the 24th to 28th August at the home of Coventry City Football Club, the Goliath has a £100,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool.

Yet to come out on top players will have to make it through three days of hard play against some of the best in Europe.

With every entrant into the tournament, 25% of the registration fee goes to Marie Curie Cancer Care, who are a charity partner to both the Coventry City Football Club and Grosvenor Casinos.

Also, should you run into a horrific bad beat and bust out earlier than you anticipated, in the Goliath tournament you have the chance to re-enter on the next day!

And as well as individual cash prizes being on offer, the event is also staging a simultaneous Team Challenge for those taking part with their buddies.

For more details of how to qualify or register online or to read more about the main and side events, visit Grosvenor UK Poker Tour

San Remo EPT winner Rupert Elder in exclusive Q&A

2011-05-11T16:16:59Z

HE won the San Remo European Poker Tour title last month - and pocketed a cool Â£828,000.

Now former Warwick Uni student Rupert Elder, 24, has the poker world at his feet.

The economics graduate gave an exclusive Q&A interview to this blog after his amazing win which has catapulted him into the big time.

Q. When did you first start playing poker and why did you take it up?

A. In 6th form when I was 16 or 17, I just really enjoyed it and I liked the idea of gambling.

2. How well were you doing in those early days?

A. Terribly, for maybe the first 3 years I played I was definitely a losing player at small stakes.

Q. What did you study at Warwick Uni? Before poker came along, what did you see as your future career?

A. I studied Economics but I use studied in the loosest way possible since I spent a lot of time playing poker and only ended up with a pass degree. I wanted to be a programmer or a trader but after applying to jobs no one wanted me.

Q. When did you turn pro - and what did your family think of your decision?

A. After graduating, they were fine with it but I think my dad always hopes that I will one day get a "real" job.

Q. Going into San Remo, did you feel you had a good chance of winning? Was your form good?

A. I thought I had as every much chance as I did in previous events. I don't especially believe in form as such I just try to do my absolute best for every single event I play and if I make mistakes then to figure out why and to fix it.

Q. What does winnning San Remo mean to you? How did you celebrate the win?

A. It's awesome, especially since it was a larger than normal field. I just went for a few beers and a bbq with lots of friends :)

Q. What are your future poker career plans/ambitions now?

A. More EPTs, bigger online cash games, improve more!

Q. Do you back other poker players and have you had much success in doing it?

A. I've backed loads of people and no I don't have any success unless their name is James Keys!

Q. What is the best thing about being a professional poker player? And the worst?

A. Freedom, travelling, good pay etc. Tthe worst? Having to turn up at 12 every day, travelling, losing lots of money... :D

Q. What is the most extravagent thing you have bought from your poker winnings? Do you plan to make any big purchases from your San Remo winnings?

A. I bought a Â£75 hoodie, that's probably the biggest purchase i'll make for a while.

Q. What is the most you have won or lost in a single day in cash games?

A. This year, +$3.6k, -$2.1k in my HEM. I played on another site where I played in some way bigger games so probably +Â£6k -Â£2k or something.

Bubble Boy at Grosvenor UKPT Walsall

2011-05-04T14:57:37Z

So I'm down to the final 10 in the Â£100 Bounty tournament at the GUKPT at Grosvenor Walsall Casino.

But only the top eight players are getting paid - and I'm card dead.

I'm also stuck in the middle of the two chip leaders, so the chance of stealing blinds are looking slimmer than slim.

But as I'm about seventh in chips, I decide to continue to bide my time and squeeze into the money before unleashing my all-ins.

Big mistake!

Within twenty minutes two players are gone and there are now eight of us left. My plan seems to be working and the pounds-signs are flashing...

I'm now about sixth/seventh in chips with a 25,000 stack - about half the average. Trouble is, blinds are now 1,200 and 2,400 with antes at 200 - and rising fast.

But there is hope.

One player is so short stacked I know he will have to push in before me.

I wait, and wait, and wait, but my chips are just dribbling away.

Eventually, he pushes and turns over pockets fives to his opponents 10/9. Yes!

A coin flip and if this comes down on my side I'm guaranteed Â£200 for seventh, rising to more than Â£1,300 for first place.

But, of course, the fives hold up.

A few hands later another short-stack goes in and gets called by my big-blind neighbour.

But my heart sinks when the shortster turns over bullets and his chipped-up opponent turns over a pair of tens. Of course the aces hold.

Eventually, with just a pitiful 7,000 left I'm forced to push with A6 - the best hand I've seen in about an hour and a half.

I get two callers - one of then AJ, which hits the Jack on the flop, sending me bubbling to the rail.

I pocketed one Â£25 bounty from the event but gained much more in experience in how NOT to play the short stack at the final table.

Of course I should have been pushing with my chips with any two cards much earlier, and not allowed myself to be blinded out so pathetically.

This was an excellent GUKPT tournament and I did play well to get to the final table. But I'm gutted to have flopped so badly when I really felt a big win was possible.

Lesson learned...

* For a full list of results at the GUKPT Walsall leg, visit http://www.grosvenorukpokertour.com/

AK nightmare at PokerStars UKIPT

2011-02-18T09:30:05Z

IT'S 5.15am and the exhaustion is kicking in.

More than eight hours of play of the Â£300 side event at Nottingham UKIPT has come down to this moment.

A field of 164 has been whittled down to 29, and I'm facing the last hand before the tournie ends for the day, to be continued tomorrow.

Sitting on a half decent stack of 36,000 chips - compared to the average of 54,000 - I have no intention of playing this final hand, especially when the early position chip leader puts in a raise on the 600/1,200 blinds to 2,600.

But then I look down and see AK.

The rest of the players fold like a second hand deckchair... and it is down to me in the small blind.

Then the mistakes began.

Firstly, I thought too long about what to do.

Blame the tiredness, blame the lack of food, blame the cosy, warm environment of Dusk Till Dawn, but I struggled to make a decision.

I considered taking the pot down there and then by pushing all-in. I was sure that would see me into the following day with a decent 40,000 plus stack.

But then I thought I could get even more value by just calling and seeing a flop.

My inertia caused the chip leader, a sharp-as-a-knife Russian, to state: ''So you have AK?''

I kept shtum, but his accuracy freaked me out and made me opt for the call option.

The flop came A, J 10.

I should have been happy, but I felt strangely worried - and genuinely thought I could be behind.

I put in a testing 4,000 bet and my steely opponent just smiled....

A few seconds later he pushed all his chips in, leaving me with a big decision for the rest of my stack.

It seemed obvious to me that he had two pair. Afterall, he had raised pre-flop, he knew I had AK yet he bet out on such a good flop for me.

I told him that he had two pair and the James Bond-type villain replied: ''You have to decide if you want to gamble...'''

I knew I should fold. Afterall, I was only 13 places off making the money and then moving towards the Â£17,000 top pirze.

But then I thought about it. He knew I had AK - and he knew I knew he knew I had AK.

So could this be some genius bluff to get me off the pot?

Did he have QQ? AQ, KK? Any of those and I could be heading for the final day with a huge chip pile.

Weighing it all up I made a snap decision: ''I call.''

He turned AJ.

Seconds later, I was out, and facing a long and devastating drive home.

It was a BAD call, no doubt. Even now, I'm not sure why I talked myself into it.

But there were plenty of positives to come from my long night.

Playing the PokerStars UKIPT event was without doubt the best live experience I have had.

It is a superbly put together event, professionally run from the top to the bottom.

The quality of play was exceptional, with a great mix of old skool and new younger players - including many Poles and Russians.

Overall, it was a wonderful if long, long, night - but I'll be having nightmares about that final call for a long, long, time.

Poker's Liv Boeree: The day I cried on TV

2011-02-17T11:01:38Z

SHE'S known as the Iron Maiden because of a ruthless poker playing style which saw her win a Â£1 million event.

But Liv Boeree, 26, has revealed a softer side by admitting she once cried after crushing an opponent - on hit TV quiz, GoldenBalls.

The former astrophysicist became a world superstar in the male-dominated sport after winning a European Poker Tour (EPT) tournament in San Remo last year, scooping the seven figure prize.

Now Liv - who played a top Midlands poker event last weekend - has revealed how one of her first cash wins on Jasper Carrot's GoldenBalls held bittersweet memories.

''I made it through to the final where you have to decide to 'steal' or 'split' the jackpot,'' she recalled.

''Anyone who knows anything about game theory knows that the only option you can really go for is steal, because if you choose split and they choose steal you go away with nothing.

''My opponent chose split, so I won the money (Â£6,500) - but I felt terrible afterwards and actually cried.

''In poker you can do a deal with opponents at a final table, but on that show we were taken off to different areas, so that was not an option.''

It's that determined streak that has seen Liv rise to the top of the poker scene in just a few years, so far earning an astonishing $2,000,000 in winnings.

She recently signed as a Team PokerStars player and won a 4,000-plus player tournament on the site for $150,000 earlier this month.

''Nothing will compare to winning San Remo, as that will always mean so much to me,'' said Liv, a huge heavy metal fan.

''But taking down the Sunday Warm Up event on PokerStars was absolutely thrilling - I was running round the room screaming when I won!''

Yet despite her ever-increasing bankroll, the down-to-earth poker pro has not splashed the cash on fast cars or fast living.

''I haven't really spent much money,'' she said. ''I've bought some new clothes and I'm looking for a property, but I've not even got myself a new car - I'm still driving the same old crappy one.''

Last weekend Liv competed in the PokerStars UK and Ireland Poker Tour at Dusk Till Dawn in Nottingham which drew record breaking crowds.

The Main Event was eventually won by Gareth Walker, who took down a field of more than 1,000 to win a whopping Â£109,000.

The tour now moves on to Manchester...

Liv said: ''This is a wonderful tour which shows how much untapped poker talent there is in the regions.

''It's a grassroots tour that offers players the chance to compete with the best for an affordable buy-in.

''My tip for anyone taking part is to be patient, especially after losing a hand, as you have a lot of chips to play with.''

As for her own future career, Liv has also recently wowed at TV poker commentary as well as modelling - but she's not giving up the cards just yet. ''I can't ever see myself not playing poker professionally as I love it too much,'' she said.

''There's still a lot I'd love to achieve in poker, including becoming the first person to win two EPT titles. And I'd also love to complete the Triple Crown, by winning a World Poker Tour event and a bracelet at the World Series of Poker.''

Achieve her ambitions and Liv would make poker history. That is a tough ask - but you would be foolish to ever bet against the Iron Maiden.

For more information visit www.pokerstars.com/ukipt

Viktor Blom - aka Isildur1 - wins $640,000 in three day streak

2011-02-02T17:35:30Z

HE had been losing nosebleed amounts in the last few weeks.

But now Viktor Blom - aka Isildur1 - has turned things around in spectacular fashion by banking an astonishing $640,000 in just three days on PokerStars.

The heads-up specialist played his SuperStar Showdown match against Daniel Cates on Sunday night and scooped more than $50,000.

And then things really took off for the Team PokerStars member..

Blom went in search of new heads-up opponents.

He first found gordo16 at the $25/$50 PLO tables. Over just 1,667 hands, Blom took gordo16 for nearly $150,000.

Next up, Blom took on Sphinx87 in a five-hour, 4,286-hand no-limit hold'em match that ended with Blom on another $44,000 uptick.

With nearly a quarter million in profit over two days, Blom seemed to have found his stride. Yesterday he put in a 6,840-hand session that won him another $403,785.35.

Victims included:

*Kanu7 (2,313 hands) $164K
*MrSweets28 (2,716 hands) $147K
* theASHMAN103 (1,430 hands) $56K
* And LooneyGerbil (289 hands) $35K.

There were some who thought Viktor might lose his powers once he outed himself as Isildur1.

Not anymore!

To read more, visit the PokerStars blog

Royal Wedding? No thanks, I've an engagement at GUKPT Walsall

2011-01-13T16:40:45Z

IT'S the day that Prince William and Kate Middleton tie the knot in the biggest Royal Wedding since Charles and Di.

But another hotly anticipated spectacular takes place on April 29 that will also include a fair few Kings and Queens - the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour Main Event, at Walsall's Grosvenor Casino!

While the rest of the country will be following the royal pair on TV, the best poker players in the Midlands and beyond will be hoping to see their own royal flushes at the annual event.

A series of tournies will run from April 25 to May 1, with a big turnout expected on the first day in the ÃÂ£100 NLH Freezeout, which carries a ÃÂ£10,000 guaranteed prize pot.

Watch this space for more details about GUKPT Walsall....

But for a full run-down of the 2011 legs, visit UK Poker News.

PokerStars launch $60,000 tournie for poker bloggers

2011-01-08T16:46:57Z

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker! This PokerStars tournament is a No Limit Texas Hold'em event exclusive to Bloggers, you too can take part by registering on WBCOOP

Registration code: 072589

Isildur1 wins $300,000 in two days - and now faces Tony G in Superstars Showdown

2010-12-30T15:13:11Z

INCREDIBLE roller-coaster start to Isildur1's new PokerStars partnership.

The mystery player signed for the site last month, but initially suffered big losses - including a $40,000 defeat to Issac Haxton in a Superstars Showdown.

But all that was forgotten when Isildur1 turned another $10,000 deposit into an astonishing $300,000 in just two days, after blowing away all-comers at the cash tables.

So could 2011 be the year of the still unidentified internet sensation?

Well, we could get a good idea when the Team PokerStars member lines up against the legendary Tony G for the next Superstars Showdown on January 2.

The pair will play over four tables. The game will be half no-limit hold'em and half pot-limit Omaha at $50/$100 stakes. Both players have escrowed $150,000 for the match.

Two BIG reputations on the line, and two huge bankrolls up for grabs - game on!

To watch the live action, visit the PokerStars Blog which will have full coverage of the match.

Jonathan Duhamel scoops $9 million after becoming new WSOP champion

2010-11-09T11:01:21Z

HE came, he saw, he kicked some ass - and walked away with a cool $9 million.

Jonathan Duhamel won the the World Series of Poker Main Event title last night and became the world's most famous Canadian.

The 23 year-old Team PokerStars pro was overwhelmed to take down the biggest ever poker win but spoke of his delight at the end of a tough final table.

"It is surreal. I could never dream of that. It's so huge -- so big -- it's a dream come true for me," Duhamel said after winning the gold bracelet.

"I don't know what to think right now, I don't even know what I feel. It's just -- it's amazing."

"I was aggressive on the final table, so I wanted to mix it up a little bit.

"I didn't fold at all, but I limped a little bit just to try to confuse him and have a good balance in my game."

It didn't hurt that Duhamel started the night with a big chip lead and put away John Racener before the 24-year old tournament specialist could pick up good cards.

"He was patient and kind of threw me off a little bit," said Racener, of Port Richey, Fla., who got his start in poker by turning a $50 stake from his mom into $30,000 within six months.

"I was like, 'Wow, you know, this is going to be harder than I thought," Racener said.

With many of poker's biggest names watching, Duhamel took the last of Racener's chips after 43 hands.

Racener was never better than a 4-1 underdog in chips in a session that lasted just over an hour -- the finale for a tournament that started July 5 with 7,319 players paying $10,000 to enter.

On the last hand, Duhamel pushed Racener all-in and Racener called with a suited king-eight of diamonds. But Duhamel had an unsuited ace-jack, giving him a 60 percent shot to win.

A flop of two fours and a nine helped neither player; and Racener didn't improve with a six on the turn and a five on the river. Duhamel won the hand -- and the tournament -- with an ace high.

"The only thing that I was thinking for the past four months was to be sure that my game is sharp and that I play good on the final table," Duhamel said.

Racener won $5.55 million for second place, never finding real traction in the biggest heads-up card match of his life.

Duhamel had nearly 90 percent of all the chips in play when players took a 10-minute break after 36 hands. He put the pressure on after that, pushing all in on three straight hands and dropping Racener's stack to just above 16 million chips.

When Duhamel pushed again, Racener unsuccessfully tried to make a last stand.

Racener began the session a 6-1 underdog in chips, with just 26 big blinds in his stack.

Chips have no monetary value in the tournament, and Racener had to lose all his chips to be eliminated.

Now, Duhamel can think about a bigger future in poker and buying Canadiens season tickets -- or perhaps dropping a ceremonial first puck before a game.

"To drop the puck would mean so much to me, I mean, 'cause since I'm two years old I've watched the Montreal Canadiens on TV," he said. "I played hockey all my life."

Duhamel, who left the Universite du Quebec a Montreal during his second year studying finance, said he doesn't know how he'll spend most of his winnings, but pledged $100,000 to a foundation for kids in Montreal. Duhamel worked a series of odd jobs before playing poker full-time, mostly in cash games.

The score was Duhamel's third cash in more than a dozen tournaments at the summer series, a 57-event spectacle that attracts big-time rounders, wealthy amateurs and smaller tournament winners.

But Monday's win -- worth $8,944,310 -- dwarfs the $43,000 he won in three earlier events this year.

Duhamel hopes that money and the prestige of being a champion will help take his young career even further.

"I'm going to be playing all those big tournaments and try to make other big scores," he said. "I'll be there next year in the World Series and try to do my best again."

Mad Marty Wilson talks poker, Vegas and Eurovision - after his beans on toast.

2010-11-03T09:36:59Z

TO the poker world he is affectionately known as "Mad Marty'' Wilson.

And five minutes on the phone with the larger-than-life gambling legend is enough to understand why the Wolverhampton star earned his nickname.

"I've got no idea where I am. I'm wandering around Weston-super-Mare. Can you call me back when I've had my beans on toast?" Marty says, in the charming Black Country tones that have helped him become a poker hero on both sides of the Atlantic.

Having won $4 million in tournaments around the world in a career spanning three decades, Marty is due back in Birmingham next month to host a major tournament - the Genting Poker Player Championship - at Star City's Circus Casino.

"I don't play so much anymore. I get paid to stand there and talk, which is much easier," he told the Sunday Mercury.

"I remember in the old days it was a struggle. Just to find a game was hard enough, but now poker is everywhere, online, in pubs, clubs, casinos. It has exploded."

Marty found fame as a fast-talking, big-betting character on the Channel 4 Late Night Poker TV series in the late 1990s. But the Black Country boy made good has been playing for a living since the 80s.

"When I first went to the World Series in Las Vegas back in 1985, there were only 220 runners. Now there are 7,000. That's how much things have changed," he said.

"I've always enjoyed playing the game, and poker has been very good to me, provided me with a great standard of living and let me travel the world."

Growing up in Wolverhampton in the early 70s he was a Pendeford High School pupil set to work at local firm Lucas Aerospace, when he turned to gambling to make a living.

"All the kids had a compulsory interview with Lucas," he said.

"I turned up an hour-and-a-half late because I'd been watching Wimbledon, and when I told them about it they weren't too pleased.

"They put me in a side room with an entrance exam, but they made a mistake because the posters on the walls had all the answers to the questions.

"They thought I was some sort of genius, so instead of a hammer and a file, they gave me some books and sent me to college to study advanced mechanics.

"It's the closest thing to a real job I ever had, I only stayed at college a week."

Doing odd jobs, Marty soon found a flair for betting, and made money on racing, sports and even the Eurovision Song Contest. A keen card player, he was invited to a game of poker that was about to take Britain by storm.

"That was the first ever live Texas Hold'Em tournament in England, at the Rubicon in Wolverhampton in 1986," he said. "In those days you got a free Sunday lunch, free bar, anything to get you through the door."

Marty became an established professional, travelling to Las Vegas, and winning major tournaments at home and abroad.

Now living in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, he is looking forward to coming back to Birmingham to see old faces. But what is his fondest poker memory?

"It was the Carnival of Poker at the Rio Casino in Vegas back in 1998," he said.

"The top 27 players got paid and there were 28 left. I'd spent everything but my last $60 on the buy-in. Three people went all-in before me, and I looked down to see pocket Aces. You sit there for hours waiting for two Aces, and when I got them I threw them straight in the muck, because I had to finish in the money.

"As it turns out, I went on to win the tournament, and took home $171,000."

Marty will be hosting the Genting Poker Player Championship at Circus Casino, Star City on November 20 and 21. Visit GentingPoker.com

Dusk Till Dawn breaks world record after selling out Grand Prix with week to spare

2010-10-22T15:09:51Z

CHAMPAGNE corks were popping at Dusk Till Dawn last night after its Grand Prix sold out - setting a new world record.

Owner Rob Yong had hoped to smash the UK attendance record for a live poker event and put his money where his mouth in by betting ÃÂ£20,000 he could do it.

Now, with a week to go before the start of the ÃÂ£40,000 Grand Prix, he can collect his winnings after every one of the 900 places was sold.

The ÃÂ£50 entry event, which is being televised, starts on October 29 at the award-winning Nottingham venue and finishes on October 31.

Congrats to Dusk Till Dawn and good luck to all those competing in what should be a cracking event.

Dusk Till Dawn boss Rob Yong is banking on a record-breaking Grand Prix

2010-10-21T15:29:46Z

DUSK Till Dawn owner Rob Yong is aiming to break a poker world record next week - and save himself ÃÂ£20,000.

He is looking to attract the largest field for a UK poker tournament with the televised ÃÂ£40,000 Grand Prix.

The figure to beat is 848, set at the recent London EPT.

Rob is aiming for a capped field of 900 for the ÃÂ£50 entry event. But he candidly admits that will be tough to achieve - even though he has backed his record bid with ÃÂ£20,000 in bets.

He laughed: ''I think I have half the prize pool in bets, including ÃÂ£10,000 in one wager.

''We came up with the record breaking attempt before the London EPT, so before that we only had to beat 730 competitors.

''But we are now looking at signing up more than 848 poker players which is going to be very tough.''

Yet with just a week to go, one of the two starting days has already sold out its 450 places.

And with the usual last-minute rush for places expected, the world record could still be broken at the Nottingham club, named Best UK Card Room at the recent British Poker Awards.

Rob said: ''We wanted the buy-in to be accessible to all bankrolls, so for a modest ÃÂ£50, players will get a great structure with 10,000 chips and a 45 minute clock.

''With that in mind, the guaranteed ÃÂ£40,000 prize money means that this tournament is equivalent to a ÃÂ£500 entry tournament with 80 runners - so the value is simply amazing for our players.''

''I am expecting a sizeable overlay as this is our first attempt, so anything above 500 runners would be reasonable.

''However, we do have over 40,000 members, and with such good value on offer, if our members get behind this event and support us, we might get a pleasant surprise."

You can only register for the Grand Prix, which runs from October 29 to 31, by visiting the Dusk Till Dawn website.

Rob explained: ''We couldn't cope with a queue of 800 people at our cash desk.

''Our online poker room has recently migrated to a new improved banking wallet, so I am also hoping this event will help to get our players familiar with it.''

To register for the Grand Prix visit Dusk Till Dawn