In the first article in this series, we covered some of the most iconic moments and personalities of the WSOP. From the early days with Amarillo Slim, Johnny Moss and Doyle Brunson to Antonio Esfandiari’s historic win at the Big One for One Drop, poker has grown by leaps and bounds throughout the history of the WSOP. As part of the lead up to the WSOP-C Playground, which runs from August 18 to September 2, we will continue with our recap of the ten most memorable and influential moments in WSOP history with moments five through two. 5- Johnny Chan, the Master The 1988 WSOP Main Event heads-up match has gone down in poker lore. Well known to poker players at the time, this moment was featured in the 1998 film Rounders, which immortalized it in popular culture. The fateful play that gave Chan the victory inspired some elements of the […]
Poker
Great night for a BBJ
Last night at 11:48PM, our Bad Beat Jackpot Omaha was hit! The Jackpot had grown to a nice $69,999, more than enough to have a significant impact on the evening of all players on the $2/$2 PLO table where it happened. The event took place on table 15, in the cashier section where most PLO games are played. Eight players were going at it straddle style, and this hand was no exception. The $5 straddle was called once before Danielle made it $20 to go. Nathaly was the first to call, and four other players did the same, creating a juicy pot of $120. Flop: Five players checked, but Nathaly couldn’t give the crowd a free card. She threw in a modest $30 bet, and the action was folded around to Danielle who made the call. Turn: Both ladies checked, seemingly projecting weakness, but the observers were still hoping. The […]
Playground Rewards at Your Fingertips
My Account is ready! You can now track your Status Points and Reward Points directly on your personal computer or mobile device, and it couldn’t be easier. Go to www.playground.ca. Click or tap the My PG icon in the upper right corner to log in to your account. Enter your Player’s Card number and password (if you cannot remember your password, you can simply reset it from here). Once you’re logged in, go back to the My PG window to see a preview of your account information. The window displays your Status Level and current Rewards point balances. To view your full display, click on My Account. First box: Your Info This box displays your basic personal information. To change any field, simply contact Player Services by sending an email at info@playground.ca or ask them directly at the Player Services desk the next time you visit. Second box: […]
Playground Rewards – New Gaming Menu
Playground is pleased to announce an important update to the Gaming Menu. The changes, for the most part, consist of huge reduction in prices – over 50% in some cases! It’s been ten days since Playground Rewards was launched. Since then, we have continued to keep our eyes and ears open, with the aim of gathering massive amounts of comments and suggestions from players. Some of you, who prefer not to eat at the tables, were delighted to be able to accumulate points for Playground gear, free play or cash. However, some of you prefer to eat! Regardless of your preferences though, everyone will be happy to see an impressive drop in pricing on the dishes you love! Here are a few examples: For a complete list of new prices, simply ask your waitress to bring you a menu. In the meantime, you can always check it online. Go through […]
6-Max Bounty Champion: Eddie Daldalian
The $150 + $20 + $50 6-Max Bounty tournament attracted 175 players who started with 25,000 chips and played through 20 minute levels while trying to knock each other out and collect a $50 bounty each time they scored a knockout. There was a guaranteed prize pool of $15,000, however, with the extra large field, the prize pool swelled to $25,200. Play was action packed all night long and throughout the room you could hear the dealers on the different tables continuously announcing “all in.” When play was down to just three tables, there was literally an all in every hand along with an elimination. All of the sudden, before you could blink an eye, the seven handed final table was formed. Upon reaching the final table, the players requested the ICM chop numbers. After watching how fast the last 10 eliminations took place, the players figured that it might […]
6-Max Re-entry Champion: Remi Bourque
After the elimination of Brigitte Metivier, the two finalists for the $100 + $10 6-Max Re-entry were in a hurry to finish up. They discussed it before the cards were dealt, and decided to shove all in blind no matter what, since they had both had an excellent day, and the winner bonus of $200 – a marginal addition to their already impressive scores for the day. As it turned out, not one but both players were disappointed with their cards when they flipped them over. Remi had a , and Giovanni a . The board was dealt out with neither of them hitting. The nine-high takes it! Congratulations to these Monday afternoon warriors on an excellent day of poker. $100 + $10 6-Max Re-entry Champion: Remi Bourque: $1,905 ($1,705 ICM chop + $200 winner bonus) Last Hand of Play: Second Place: Giovanni Petrella, $1,970 There was no love lost […]
Playground 100 Champion: Paul “PK” El-Khouri
The Playground 100 was a multi day event that started with one online Day 1 flight and another five live Day 1 flights. Players started with 20,000 chips and played through 20 minute levels on Day 1 until 10% of the field was reached, at which point the players bagged their chips for Day 2 and would come back to play knowing that all were already “in the money.” The tournament featured a $50,000 guaranteed prize pool however with the 1,054 runners who entered the event, the prize pool swelled to over $100,000! Day 2 saw many of the short stacks exit the tournament early from failed shove attempts to double-up. There were many solid players who chipped up nicely but in the end, one by one, many of them were sent to the rail and would not see the final table. Once the final table was reached, play began […]
Deepstack Re-entry Champion: Nassim K
Event #4 of the July Power Weekend, the $100 + $10 Deepstack Re-entry, proved to be a tremendously popular event. The field of 147 entries (including 28 re-entries) built a prize pool that greatly exceeded the $5,000 guarantee and filled the tournament hall with energized tournament players on the hunt for a big payout. The early levels saw a steady flow of players moving in and out of the tournament, many of whom made their way back to the cage to re-enter. In most cases, the players sprinted out of the gate this afternoon and never looked back, keeping up the high-paced action all the way to the late stages. The only time things slowed down was for the money bubble when 20 players remained. The hand-for-hand play lasted for more than an entire blind level, as several short stacks managed to win their all ins, but it was eventually […]
Playground 500 Champion: William Molson
Both Kevin Bergeron and William Molson had an excellent tournament, with Kevin amassing 5,495,000 chips over the course of the day to William’s 7,510,000. As soon as it was down to the final two, both players were happy to agree to a chop whereby Kevin would receive a guaranteed $20,450, and William $22,500. $2,500 was put aside for the winner, and we didn’t have to wait long to find out who it would be! Exactly one hand in, Kevin opened with a bet of 475,000, which was raised by William to 1,400,000. Kevin shoved over the top and was called, and they flipped over their cards. Molson: Bergeron: The board came down , and William bagged the well-deserved win. All told, William Molson comes away with a cool $25,000 for his efforts along with bragging rights for being the Playground 500 champion. Congratulations go out to him, the runner-up Kevin […]
8-Max Re-entry Champion: Kajen Arumugam
The 8-Max Re-entry got the July Power Weekend off to a flying start this afternoon. A total of 66 entries made their way in to this event, enough to surpass the prize pool guarantee of $5,000. Things started off slowly this afternoon, as players managed their chips carefully during the early levels. There was a flurry of action shortly before the first break, as the late registration and re-entry period was nearing its end, which brought forth several re-entries during the break. From there, the pace of play undulated from slow to fast and back again until the late stages of the tournament. Once the field was down to three tables, things shifted into another gear, quickly reducing the field to the final table. And the break-neck pace continued at the final table with five eliminations during the first two orbits of play. The four finalists – Anderson F., Steve […]
Top Moments in the History of the World Series of Poker
The World Series of Poker Main Event is game’s most prestigious tournament. Starting from humble roots in the early 1970s, the WSOP Main Event brought the game to a global audience and has long been considered to be poker’s world championship. The rich history of this event has created some of the most prominent legends of the game. We will be recapping the ten most memorable and influential moments in WSOP history over the next few weeks, starting with moments ten through six in this article. 10 – Amarillo Slim Wins 1972 Main Event, Becomes First “Ambassador” of the Game The year 1972 marked a major step forward in the evolution of the World Series of Poker with the birth of the marketable poker professional. Thomas Austin Preston Jr., better known as “Amarillo Slim,” won the main event and used his newfound notoriety to pitch poker to the […]
Fifteen local players make the money in the WSOP Main Event
On behalf of the Playground team, we would like to congratulate the fifteen quebecers who have made the money in the World Series of Poker Main Event! As usual, players traveled from all around the world to Las Vegas en masse for the Main Event. This year’s field came in at 8,569 runners, the second largest in WSOP history, to put an $80,548,600 prize pool on the line. The strong showing by local players shows the high caliber and elevated status of poker in Quebec, something that Playground is proud to be a part of. Join us in wishing these local players the best of luck and success in their quest to follow in Jonathan Duhamel’s footsteps and bring the most prestigious prize in poker back to Quebec. There are still 354 players left in the running in the Main Event. David Guay leads the three remaining quebecers with a […]