The month of June means festival and terrace season to many Montrealers, but for the poker world it means the biggest series of the year, the 50th annual World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. Many Quebecers have made their way south to take part in what is widely considered to be poker’s championship playoffs. And they are having quite an impact! With more than 30 events already in the books, here’s an update on some notable finishes and deep runs made by friends of Playground so far. Erik Cajelais had a great run last week in Event #12, the $1,000 NLHE Super Turbo Bounty, which took him to a six-figure score. He outlasted 2,451 runners but came just short of capturing a bracelet and finished second, earning him $139,731 in the process. Kristen Bicknell, partypoker team pro and regular visitor to Playground, made the quarterfinals in Event #15, the […]
Poker
The Primary BBJ was hit!
The BBJ amount had grown to an amazing $683,730. After 5% of that number was used as staff gratuity, $649,544 was divided among all Hold’em players in the room, but the biggest shares were going to the lucky players shooting 6-way at the Bad Beat table: Francois Audet, Gabriel Demers, Mario Laurin, Denis Roy, Do Lien Hong and Martin Charbonneau. Mario was under the gun and raised to 20$. Denis and Do, the next 2 players in line, made the call, but Martin went all-in from the button for 122$, having found a premium hand on his lap. Both blinds folded, but the initial raiser and his first caller also committed all their chips, creating a small side pot for themselves. The flop came Denis Roy, who was the first player to make a call pre-flop but the last of 3 to push his chips, opened . His 2 opponents […]
Change your alias, earn some cash
On June 17, 2019, the partypoker dotcom client will undergo a major software update. From that day on, when you log in to your partypoker account, you will be asked to select a new alias (player name). Do it within the first 24 hours after the update and you could win your share of the $500,000 Alias Race promotion! partypoker is working on a number of initiatives in order to provide players with a safe playing environment, and this update is one of the leading efforts. Changes will prevent third-party tracking tools from working, and new aliases will make all collected data worthless, allowing all players to have a fresh start. From 4:00AM on June 17, Eastern Time, players will be presented with a pop-up window prompting them to select a new alias. The $500K promotion will last 24 hours, and is split into 3 strands: ‘Login Click Cards’ will […]
The World Series of Poker International Circuit returns
Last year, the World Series of Poker and Playground partnered for the first time and surpassed all expectations as the WSOP-C Playground broke venue and circuit records. From August 18 to September 2, 2019, the iconic brand returns to Playground for the second year running, bringing along the coveted circuit rings! The WSOP-C Playground 2018 broke our record for most entries in a single tournament when the Colossus rounded 3,503 entries, an astounding number obtained through 9 starting flights. Later in the festival, Day 1D of the Main Event attracted 1,016 entries, a Playground record for most entries in a single flight. And by the time late registration closed on Day 2 there was a total of 2,401 entries, setting a new record for largest WSOP-Circuit Main Event ever. Needless to say, it was a busy time! The 2019 WSOP-C Playground promises to put on another great show. For now, […]
MILLIONS North America: a resounding success
Another great event has come and gone at Playground. The partypoker LIVE MILLIONS North America left in its wake a trail of memories that many will cherish for the rest of their lives. The festival, although nicely highlighted by the presence of many international pros, was taken over by local players, who took down 7 of the 11 titles, including the Main Event, to reinforce Quebec’s reputation of breeding strong poker players. A total of $8,517,161 was paid out through 11 events. All tournaments met the guarantee and offered some amazing prizes. A resounding success! The $10,000 + $300 Main Event was strongly contested. The final 8 counted three locals, but after Ruben Perceval’s elimination in 8th place, only two were left for Day 5: Danick Landriault and François Billard. Alongside them were Rabichow, Fontan, Petteri, and Kolonias, all very strong players. François Billard was the last man standing, and […]
“King” Arthur crowned Champion of Event #12 PLO Bounty
The event #12 final table was a cinch for Arthur W. He was hitting everything and could not seem to go wrong. He eliminated most of the players on the final table, which is a good thing in a bounty tournament for sure. The heads-up action lasted only a few hands. Both Andy d’Alessandro and Arthur were definitely not afraid to gamble. Andy did manage to pick up a few hands, but it was not enough. Peeking at an acceptable hand, Andy made his move and Arthur did not hesitate long before calling. Andy: Arthur: Board: Andy got his straight, but unfortunately for him Arthur hit a flush and that put an end to it all. The hand, the heads-up, the tournament, and, the MILLIONS North America Event were over. Congratulations to all the winners! Event #12 Champion: Arthur W, $4,254 Last Hand of Play: Second Place: Andy D’Alessandro, $3,230
The MILLIONS North America Champion: François “Roux” Billard!
The $10,300 partypoker LIVE MILLIONS North America is in the books! Another great event goes down in history at Playground. After five long days of poker, François Billard emerged the victor and cashes $961,400 ($749,030 were secured from the ICM deal, plus $212,370 for the win). The final table was reached on Day 4, and the action went on until only six were left. These six players came back at 12:00PM today for the final battle, all vying for the massive $1,000,000 first prize. Francois Billard, Joni Petteri Jouhkimainen, Kevin Rabichow, Castrillon Fontan, Alexandros Kolonias, and Danick Landriault were rounding the Stream table, pumped up for the action. Danick Landriault was the first to leave, and play continued 5-way for over 6 hours before Day 5 saw another elimination. During that time, many showdowns favoured the shorter stack, and many players took turns on the driver’s seat. Castrillon Fontan was […]
Marc Saddik wins Event #11!
The cards were in the air at 11:00am with players starting with a 30,000 chip stack playing on six-handed tables through 30 minute blind levels. There were single re-entries available until the close of late registration and with 114 total entries (including 11 re-entries), the $50,000 guaranteed prize pool was surpassed, creating an up top first place payout of $13,260. The action was aggressive and the lead changed many times throughout the day. First it was local regular Yannick Labattaglia who was in the lead, and then later on local Mehdi Badreddine, but neither of them made it into the money. Once the money bubble burst, the bustouts happened rapidly and soon the final table was formed. When the tournament was down to only five players, an ICM deal was reached as all players were quite evenly stacked save for one, local Mark Fitzpatrick, who was the only player close […]
Lily Kornik wins the Playground 1000
After an epic battle that lasted for hours, Lily Kornik is the champion of Event #7, the Playground 1000. The Playground 1000 brought out an impressive field of 260 entries. The huge field built a prize pool that went far beyond the $100,000 guarantee and created a top prize of $55,430 for the eventual champion. Ali Keshavarz was the Day 1 chip leader. A total of 82 players bagged chips for Day 2. The chip leader from this flight, Lily Kornik – better known to Playground regulars as “Big Salami” – kept up her strong Day 1 play and jumped out to an early chip lead. Although some other players had their turn as chip leader during Day 2, Kornik was never far off the lead. After the players reached the money, Kornik jumped back up to the top of the leaderboard and stayed there until the chips went in […]
Marc Saddik wins Event #10
After more than 11 hours of play, Marc Saddik is the Event #10 champion. In total, 214 players fired a bullet and got into the action. As is customary with bounty tournaments, the action was intense, swift, and without reprieve. Bounty chips were exchanging hands at an impressive rate. Ranking among the most affordable of this event’s tournaments, many of the local players showed up to have some fun tonight. The final table was a swift and tidy affair. No more than 15 or 20 minutes went by without one person leaving the table. The chips changed owners very often and the balance of power shifted accordingly. The heads up match lasted only a few hands between Ayo Smith and Marc Saddik. After eliminating Mohammed Alamelhuda a few hands prior, Marc’s stack was huge. He had most of the chips on his side of the table and obviously did not […]
Brian Yoon takes down the $10,000 + $300 High Roller
Event #6, the $10,000 + $300 High Roller, started on Thursday, offering the players a 1,000,000 starting stack and unlimited re-entries until the start of level 13 on Day 2. There was a great turnout on Day 1, with a total of 52 entries (including 14 re-entries). Some of the best names in the business mixed it up with many experienced amateur grinders who were all battling it out on the felt, and as the chips moved around, the lead changed throughout the day. At the end of play, 28 players bagged and tagged to return for Day 2 action. The top stack in play belonged to James Romero, who bagged 4,320,000. Day 2 saw the field grow to a total of 102 entries, surpassing the $1,000,000 guarantee. Pierre-Paul Paulin dominated the field and was the chip leader coming into Day 3. The top 10 players were in the money […]
The MILLIONS North America final table
Day 4 of the MILLIONS North America has come to an end, as the final six are ready to now battle it out tomorrow on the final table. Only 16 players returned today for Day 4. When play began on Day 3, 66 players were still in contention, only three eliminations from the money bubble. After roughly an hour of play, the money bubble burst and the top 63 finalists secured at least $20,000 each. When the flight concluded, the 16 remaining players had locked up at least $40,000 each, but you can be sure that everyone’s focus today was on the $1,000,000 champion’s prize. Day 4 featured 90-minute blind levels and 8-handed play. It took quite some time to form the “unofficial” final table of 9 players, and then even longer to make it down to the final six. Jason James was the first to exit the tournament room, finishing […]