Casino sites are surrounded the world, and there are no sports to view, not to mention bank on. While there are plenty of online casino poker alternatives to maintain you at work, some of us are jonesing for the intense lights of Vegas or the sweat that includes a high-stakes roll of the dice. As opposed to see every episode of The Workplace for the nine time, right here are some films you can stream free of charge to assist relieve the unavoidable monotony that comes with social distancing.

10. The Cooler
William H. Macy plays an unusual character in Wayne Kramer’s movie. Macy is the ‘cooler’ of the title – a man whose luck is so bad that casinos employ him to stand at the table of punters on hot streaks. Without fail, their luck changes and the casino’s house edge is restored. However, when the cooler’s own fortunes change he suddenly finds himself being the lucky charm of every gambler in Vegas – much to the chagrin of the casinos that employ him. A fun premise that’s backed up by a superb central performance, this is a great insight into casino gambling superstitions and the concept of luck.

9. Seabiscuit
Though not focused on online gambling or casino gambling, Seabiscuit tells the charming story of a jockey’s, a trainer’s and a horse’s rise from rags to riches. Jeff Bridges plays a depressed individual down on his luck but with one possible redeeming feature in his life; Seabiscuit, an apparently useless horse found by a cowboy trainer (Chris Cooper). Tobey Maguire plays the unlikely jockey who goes on to steer Seabiscuit to numerous victories in one of the great underdog stories of the twentieth century. This is about as stirring a true story as you’ll find anywhere.

8. Rounders
Featuring a youthful Matt Damon, Rounders is the tale of an entrepreneur who pays for his university fees by winning at the poker table. The film is full of famous faces, with John Malkovich and Edward Norton also making appearances. The movie’s showdown culminates in a dazzling high stakes game, with Malkovich playing the irrepressible poker baron that Damon must try and defeat. The film is carried along by brilliant performances – Norton, in particular, is spectacular – and authentic depictions of poker strategy and table banter that few other gambling movies render so successfully.

7. The Gambler
Aptly named, The Gambler tells the story of a university professor (played by a compelling James Caan), who has an addiction for casino gambling. As the film continues, we see Caan’s character plunge into self-destruction and his mental state become increasingly precarious. As his borrowing becomes steadily worse and his need for thrills threatens to endanger his life, the film builds to a steady crescendo and brilliant climax. This is one for the gambling purists, who will be able to identify regularly with the character on screen. It also serves as a pretty severe warning against addiction – of any kind.

6. The Cincinnati Kid
Another film with a host of good performances, The Cincinnati Kid, starring Steve McQueen, tells the story of an up-and-coming gambler who pits his wits against the high roller of the day, Lancey Howard. Played with verve by Edward G. Howard, Lancey agrees to take on McQueen, seeing as the Kid had made his name only in backroom games with little serious competition. The Kid is further hampered by a series of distractions – not least a beautiful girl – which threaten to topple his chances. The film culminates with both players raising their stakes and, in an exciting finale, one of them thrillingly coming out on top.

5. 21
Based on a remarkable true story, 21 is a modern classic of the casino gambling movies genre. Set in the era before online gambling had set down its stall, this is the tale of a maths professor (Kevin Spacey) training up a group of talented students to count cards in the major casinos on the Vegas strip. What follows is a thrilling tale of adrenaline-fuelled trickery, betrayal and hedonism that wouldn’t be believable if it hadn’t actually happened. Anyone out there with even a passing interest in casino gambling, blackjack and card counting will enjoy this exciting ride.

4. The Hustler
A classic any way you look at it, The Hustler is a tale set in an era when online gambling was about as close in reality to mankind living on Mars. Paul Newman’s “Fast” Eddie Felson is the upstart with an attitude trying to pit his pool skills against the legend that was Minnesota Fats. A chastening experience soon sees him out of pocket and down on his luck, and only the ruthless mentoring of manager Bert Gordon can take him anywhere near where he once was. This is one of those gambling movies with its heart right in the origins of the pool-halls and backrooms that US gambling was built on.

3. The Sting
The star duo of Paul Newman and Robert Redford – who combined so successfully over the course of their careers – play two con men, one a beginner and the other a professional. Together they target a high-flying criminal boss who loves a good gamble and who is after Redford’s character from the outset for a previous swindle. Gambling movies rarely have as many twists and turns as you’ll find here, as the ‘long con’ gets ever more complicated and the danger levels for both protagonists reaches a crescendo. Finally, a dramatic denouement provides an ample payoff for a truly nail-biting, suspense-filled thriller.

2. Casino Royale
There are two versions of Ian Fleming’s story, but without doubt the most accomplished is director Martin Campbell’s take, starring Daniel Craig. Set at breakneck speed, the story follows James Bond as he takes on another villainous figure, this time in the form of the poker-playing, torture-inflicting Le Chiffre. The most memorable scene in the movie – and one of the most unforgettable scenes in recent film history – centres on an incredible showdown at the felt in Monte Carlo when Bond takes on his adversary in an all-or-nothing game. The pace is furious, Eva Green is sumptuous and the poker – simply jaw-dropping.

1. Casino
Perhaps the most famous of all gambling movies and a sweeping classic that’s on most film buffs’ Top Ten All Time Favourites lists, Casino is the epic tale of mob-controlled casino gambling in Vegas. Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci star, the first as a casino owner with mafia ties and the latter as a psychotic enforcer whose increasingly erratic behaviour starts to threaten both their lives. Throw into the mix the seductive charms of Sharon Stone, some towering support performances and some of the most harrowing and memorable scenes in film history, and you have the perfect combination for a classic great.

David “Doc” Sands is the very first prominent poker player to announce he’s contracted COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus). The high-stakes poker pro shared details on Twitter concerning his existing problem.

Sands ensured his fans that he’s doing great and also will fully recuperate. At 35-year-old, he isn’t in a high-risk demographic for severe problems because of COVID-19. That is especially true offered he is healthy and balanced as well as states he does not have any type of pre-existing problems.

Sands in Good Spirits

Sands absolutely isn’t panicking, in spite of his positive COVID-19 examination outcome. Instead, he continues to be in good spirits as well as shared some details regarding the virus with his Twitter fans. In the 13-post thread, Sands gave some wonderful insight on what it resembles to have coronavirus. He also described the symptoms that led him to seek a test.

According to the CDC, common symptoms of COVID-19 include a cough, fever, and in more severe cases, difficulty breathing. Forbes, however, reports that nearly half of coronavirus patients studied experienced abdominal pain and/or diarrhea as an early symptom.

Sands, in his Twitter thread, said he felt fatigued on Monday and soon developed a severe headache. By Tuesday, he still had a bad headache and a slight cough. On Thursday, the symptoms remained, so he sought a coronavirus test. He said he received the news on Saturday that he tested positive.

The high-stakes poker player is unsure of how he contracted the coronavirus. He said he’s taken numerous precautions, such as washing his hands regularly and avoiding touching his face to prevent catching the virus.

Sands says he will remain in quarantine until he receives “a negative test result back from my doctor.”

Many other high-profile poker players including Phil Hellmuth, Phil Galfond, and Erik Seidel wished Sands well and a speedy recovery.

“I called my Dr. on Tuesday, but he said I didn’t need to get tested since I had been isolated with my family … and hadn’t come in contact with anyone known to have the virus.”

Coronavirus Impact on the Young and Healthy

Sands is only one of over 300,000 people worldwide to have contracted the coronavirus. But he’s yet another example of a young and apparently healthy individual who isn’t experiencing severe conditions from the virus.

Although millennials (and younger) are not immune to catching the coronavirus — or even dying from it — approximately 80% of the known deaths in the world have been age 50 and above. Those with pre-existing health conditions, regardless of age, are also at risk.

Sands, however, said he doesn’t have any health conditions and, at age 35, isn’t a high-risk patient. He said he works out four times a week, rarely drinks, and doesn’t smoke.

So although Sands is unlikely to die or become seriously ill based on coronavirus studies, it just goes to show that few are immune from catching the virus. Stay safe out there, folks.

With live poker pausing, what far better method to get your betting fix on than binge-watching some amusing YouTube casino poker content? There are countless online poker networks to choose from, but none more fascinating than the 10 on this checklist.

I recently offered you a checklist of 10 methods to kill time while self-quarantining. Once you’ve taken my advice as well as played some online poker, caught up on your favorite Netflix shows, and all the other recommendations I gave, every poker gamer need to begin binge-watching the unbelievable YouTube poker content out there.

There’s something– or several things– for each type of poker player on YouTube. And our sector has some extremely skilled content producers who create useful as well as fascinating video clips. If you’re looking for a method to be captivated this next month or more, have a look at these experienced content manufacturers. I have included my preferred video clip from each network, so you can obtain a suggestion of the type of material you’ll find from that video clip creator.

(Please note: rankings are completely random and aren’t based on best to worst)

1. Andrew Neeme

Andrew Neeme isn’t the O.G. of poker vlogging, but he’s arguably the G.O.A.T. and one of the earliest poker vloggers. The Las Vegas-based, mid-stakes grinder has been producing high-quality YouTube poker content since 2016. Over the past four years, he’s eclipsed the 140,000-subscriber mark, and for good reason — his vlogs are well produced and the man behind the camera (Neeme) always has a positive, upbeat attitude, and does a phenomenal job analyzing hands he played.

2. Brad Owen

You can’t include Andrew Neeme without his sidekick Brad Owen. The dynamic YouTube poker duo are the two most popular poker vloggers, with over 330,000 combined subscribers. Their meet-up games all around the world attract large crowds and will be missed during the coronavirus shutdown. But you can and should still binge-watch Owen’s channel in the meantime. His goofy, dry sense of humor is hysterical, and his videos can become addictive.

(Bonus drinking game idea: every time Brad refers to pocket jacks as “jiggitties,” take a shot and yell, “please, for the love of God, stop saying that!”)

3. Joey Ingram

“What’s up, Papi?” Joey Ingram’s hard work in publicly investigating Mike Postle last fall is worthy of Poker Hall of Fame consideration. If not for his due diligence, we may never have known just how likely it was that Postle cheated during Stones Live streams. But “Papi” has done far more incredible work than just investigate an alleged cheater. His Poker Life Podcast features some of the best interviews in poker, and he’s outed other wrongdoers in poker. My recommendation is to check out some of his old interviews with Barry Greenstein, a recent one with Mike “Timex” McDonald about his take on coronavirus betting, and my all-time favorite guest on his show, Bill Perkins.

4. Doug Polk

What’s up guys, Doug Polk here. Polk retired from poker over a year ago and recently announced he is done creating YouTube poker content. But since his channel, which has 286,000 subscribers, remains online, you can still binge-watch the heck out of it. Polk has a unique sense of humor and I’ve always respected his willingness to stand up for what he believes in, even though I don’t always agree with what he says. What I like most about his channel is viewers can learn some poker strategy and laugh at the same time.

5. Marle Cordeiro

My only knock on Marle Cordeiro’s YouTube poker channel is that she doesn’t post often enough. In fact, it’s been a couple months since her last uploaded clip, which is a shame. But her limited selection of poker vlogs are highly entertaining, and most of us have plenty of time to watch them these days. Her strong point is her raunchy sense of humor, which is right up my alley. If you’re looking for some laughs and pick up on sarcasm well, this is the channel for you.

6. Ryan Depaulo

Ryan Depaulo doesn’t have the poker community street cred of Neeme and Owen, but he’s arguably the funniest YouTube poker vlogger out there. Depaulo has chosen a unique poker vlogging niche — the degenerate gambler angle — and it suits him perfectly. He’ll make you laugh, he’ll make you consider calling 1-800-BETS-OFF for him, and he’ll make you a little bit jealous of his degen lifestyle. Depaulo has racked up over 46,000 subscribers in just two years of vlogging on YouTube, and he deserves more.

7. Daniel Negreanu

There’s a solid chance the 2020 WSOP will be canceled, so if you’re looking to get in your WSOP fix, check out Daniel Negreanu’s YouTube poker channel. His daily vlogs each year during the series are a national treasure, and truly one of the top highlights at the World Series of Poker. Negreanu posts a vlog every day during the WSOP, and you simply can’t beat the production quality.

8. Live at the Bike

If you’ve never watched Live at the Bike, a cash game show from the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles, you may not be familiar with Garrett Adelstein, and that’s a shame, because he’s one of the most skilled and interesting high-stakes pros in the world. Live at the Bike, which streams weeknights, has a good mix of low to high-stakes games with players who are more entertaining than most high rollers you’ll find in other games.

9. Jonathan Little

Now that you likely have plenty of extra time on your hands, you might as well sharpen your poker skills. And that means studying, studying, and studying some more. Jonathan Little’s YouTube poker channel is one of the best free poker strategy resources out there. Little is a two-time WPT champion with over $7 million in live tournament cashes, and a proven online poker winner. So, who better to learn from? What makes his channel among the best is he explains poker strategy in an easy-to-learn manner and always has a positive attitude.

10. Liv Boeree

Like Doug Polk, Liv Boeree has mostly moved on from the game of poker. But she’s still producing some high-quality content, albeit on mostly non-poker related subjects, such as the coronavirus video above. Boeree only posts once or twice a month, but she has enough content on her channel to keep you entertained for a while during your self-quarantine period. The former PokerStars ambassador tackles all sorts of interesting topics such as the coronavirus and science, and provides a unique perspective and plenty of facts and statistics to back up her arguments.

Instead of canceling or postponing the Irish Poker Open, partypoker announced Monday afternoon that the series will be played online in response to the worldwide outbreak of Covid-19.

The festival was scheduled to run from April 6-12 at the Citywest Hotel in Dublin, but now the week-long series will be played on partypoker’s online platform with a revised schedule. The series will keep the €1,150 buy-in and the €1 million guarantee on the main event, however.

The 2020 edition of the Irish Poker Open marks the 40th anniversary of one of Europe’s most popular poker series. Last year, Weijie Zhenge bested the 1,807-entry field to win €300,000.

2019 was the first year in recent history that the main event offered a buy-in at that price point. In 2010, James Mitchell won €600,000 after besting 708 entries in a €3,500 buy-in main event. Outside of another €3,500 price point in 2015, the buy-in has steadily decreased and the field size increased.

partypoker initially decided to postpone the event and then moved to cancel it. After consideration by organizers, however, they decided to let its online partner handle the event.

“We are delighted to be associated with Europe’s oldest poker festival,” said partypoker managing director Tom Waters in a statement. “The Irish Open is a truly unique event and following the disappointment of its cancellation this year, an online Irish Open festival looks a perfect fit for both event organisers and partypoker.”

partypoker is following in the footsteps of Unibet, which moved its Unibet Poker Open from a live venue in Estonia onto its online platform.

At least for the time being, and also points can definitely transform in the coming weeks, the online poker community doesn’t appear to be as well concerned with the mainstream media’s coronavirus protection.

Card rooms in Las Vegas, the poker capital of the US, continue to be busy. And also while you will not locate many players using a face mask just yet, some are making way of life adjustments to prepare for what many experts think will certainly quickly end up being a significant health and wellness dilemma in America.

Shaun Deeb, for example, isn’t taking any chances with his child’s health.

Aria, among the leading poker rooms in Las Vegas, claimed it will certainly begin cleaning chips with extra unique care. It certainly can not hurt for casinos to take precautions similar to this to lower the odds of clients and also team spreading out the coronavirus.

Coronavirus Won’t Keep Poker Players Away

According to ESPN poker commentator Norman Chad, a routine at Hollywood Park Casino in Los Angeles, attendance at his favored card room “appears about the same” his previous two check outs, most lately on Monday. He told that he hasn’t seen players using face masks at the tables.

Brad Owen, a Las Vegas poker vlogger, says his experiences are similar.

“People don’t seem to be too concerned overall,” he said.

Attendance in poker rooms around the US doesn’t yet seem to be struggling due to the coronavirus scare. Of course, that could all change in the coming weeks should the virus spread further. As of Tuesday evening, there are more than 950 confirmed cases reported in the US.

But it’s still early and that number figures to soon increase. We just don’t yet know if the coronavirus will spread throughout the country as rapidly as some experts project. Should tens of thousands of Americans become infected, poker rooms will likely begin seeing a significant decline in attendance.

Vegas Buffets Closing

Las Vegas isn’t just the poker capital of the United States. It’s also the buffet capital, with many of the tastiest and most expensive buffets in the country all within a few mile radius. With so many people taking food, plates, and silverware off of communal serving platters, the potential for an infected coronavirus patient to spread the disease unknowingly at a buffet can be high.

Because of this, MGM Resorts has taken pre-emptive action, temporarily closing its buffets at seven properties — MGM Grand, Luxor, Excalibur, Aria, Mirage, Bellagio, and Mandalay Bay.

Wynn, on the other hand, is keeping its fancy buffet open, but customers won’t be permitted to scoop their own food, for the time being. Instead, a staff member will do that for you. You’ll still be allowed to stuff your face on your own, though.

Tony Tran emerged victorious from a field of 250 entries to win the 2020 World Poker Tour Rolling Thunder $5,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em main event, earning his second WPT title and the top prize of $279,270. Incredibly, Tran’s heads-up opponent in this tournament was none other than Jake Schwartz, who also finished runner-up to Tran in his previous title run at the 2018 WPT bestbet Bounty Scramble.

“I feel really good that I’m actually a champion again. It just shows that the first one was not a fluke,” Tran told WPT reporters after securing the win. “I don’t think it compares to the first one, but the second one is definitely good because I think there are only a few that actually have [at least two] WPT titles.”

In fact, the 32-year-old real estate investor from Philadelphia became just the 25th player in WPT history to secure two or more victorious on the tour. In addition to the title and the money, Tran was also awarded 816 Card Player Player of the Year points as the champion of this event. This was only his second final-table finish of the year, but it was enough to see him climb into 56th place in the 2020 POY race, which is sponsored by Global Poker.

The final day of this event began with just six players returning to the Thunder Valley Casino Resort near Sacramento, California. Tran came into the day essentially tied for the shortest stack. He managed to rebuild his stack early on by knocking out two-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Shankar Pillai in sixth place. Tran picked up pocket kings and held against Pillai’s pocket sevens to send him to the rail with $45,390.

A few orbits later Tran found a huge double up with QHeart SuitQDiamond Suit beating out the JDiamond SuitJClub Suit of two-tim WPT winner and defending champion of this event Erkut Yilmaz.

Yilmaz lost a preflop race against Jake Schwartz to fall to the shortest stack at the table. He was eliminated shortly after, cashing for $61,685 as the fifth-place finisher.

Kevin Rabichow entered the final day as the chip leader, but lost some all-ins during short-handed play that left him near the bottom of the chip counts. He shoved his last 16 big blinds from the button with KClub Suit4Club Suit and was called by Tran in the big blind with AClub SuitJClub Suit. Tran made a full house by the river to knock Rabichow out in fourth place ($85,800).

Robert Heidorn was the next to fall. He got all-in preflop from the button with 2Heart Suit2Diamond Suit and Tran called holding 10Spade Suit10Diamond Suit. Neither player improved and Tran’s tens took it down. Heidorn earned $122,105 for his third-place showing. It was the third-largest score of his career, with his biggest being the $800,000 he took home as the 10th-place finisher in the 2019 WSOP main event.

With that Tran and Schwartz set up a rematch of their heads-up showdown back in October of 2018. Tran began with just more than a 4:1 chip advantage over Schwartz. The two battled it out for 28 total hands, with Schwartz mounting a comeback midway through that saw him close the gap somewhat. By the time the final cards were dealt, though, Tran had regained the lead and ground Schwartz down to less than 14 big blinds. With blinds of 50,000-100,000 with a 100,000 big blind ante, Tran raised to 250,000 from the button with QClub Suit10Spade Suit. Schwartz shoved all in for 1,350,000 with JHeart Suit10Heart Suit. Tran made the call and was in good shape heading into the flop.

The JDiamond Suit9Diamond Suit8Club Suit gave Tran the nut straight right off the bat. The 5Diamond Suit on the turn left Schwartz drawing to a chop on the river, but the 7Spade Suit locked up both the pot and the title for Tran. Schwartz earned $177,680 as the runner-up finisher this time around.

“Back to the Future” co-stars Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd went back in time Thursday night for a charity poker tournament in New York, and the web went wild over an Instagram picture of the on-screen friends that charmed their means right into fans’ hearts all the way back in 1985.

The actors signed up with forces for the annual Michael J. Fox Structure casino poker evening, a charity drive that has actually raised numerous dollars for Parkinson’s disease research study given that 2007. This year, Lloyd, 81, was the guest of honor at the fundraising event hosted by his on-screen sidekick, now 58, in three movies that appeared between 1985 and also 1990.

‘Going 88mph for the @michaeljfoxorg Poker Night! ♠ ♦’ Lloyd posted on Instagram.

The occasion itself was rather lowkey, taking into consideration the A-list celebs it has actually drawn for many years. No tournament information, details regarding the champion, or quantities increased were offered on the Michael J. Fox Structure site at the time of writing.

Previous years have actually seen a number of acquainted faces from the texas hold’em globe assistance Fox’s charity drive. In 2012, the fifth-annual event took place in New York as well as featured WPT champ Phil Gordon.

Going Back in Time

With a special 35th wedding anniversary screening of Back to the Future taking place this year, talks of a reboot have actually been swarming.

Fox subdued the suggestion of Back to the Future IV during a cast get-together in 2018, yet with prequels and sequels all the rage these days, fans of the franchise aren’t giving up hope.

Even if Marty McFly does not return in the future, he was back for one evening alongside Doc Brown.

Signing up with the famous onscreen duo for an evening of fundraising and bluffing was TV news anchor Katie Couric. She was joined at the really felt by her spouse, John Molner, and Mad Concerning You star Richard Kind.

For Couric, the subtleties of casino poker played second fiddle to the adventure of winning. During her recap of the evening, her greatest success was striking a winning flush.

Ultimately, Michael J. Fox and also his charity were the evening’s actual victors. With more money raised through online poker, the structure has currently added more than $900 million to Parkinson’s illness research study.

Michael J. Fox Fighting Parkinson’s Over Two Centuries

Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1991 at the age of 29. He concealed his ailment from the public till 1998 before surrendering acting. Two years later, he established the Michael J. Fox Foundation.

Today, the charity is based in New york city yet has a visibility all over the world. Via a combination of fundraising events as well as contributions, it’s aided the development of new treatments for Parkinson’s.

Fox returned to acting in 2013 and currently utilizes his system to elevate understanding of the disease. His latest charity casino poker evening was another opportunity to make another favorable effect. It was likewise a possibility for followers of 80s flicks to go back in time as well as see two celebrities rejoin.

The World Series of Poker Circuit is heading back to the Bicycle Hotel & Casino from Feb. 29 through March 31, with thirteen gold ring events included. The centerpiece of the whole affair is the 2020 WSOP Circuit Bicycle Casino $1,700 buy-in no-limit hold’em main event which kicks off with the first of two starting flights beginning on Sunday, March 15 at noon local time.

Players will begin with 30,000 in chips with initial blinds of 100-100 in the event. Blind levels will be 40 minutes long throughout the starting days but will increase to 60 minutes in length on day 2. Players can re-enter the event once per starting day.

Those that survive day 2 will return at noon on Wednesday, March 18 to play down to a champion. The final table will be streamed on Live At The Bike.

The March 2019 running of this WSOP Circuit main event drew a total of 678 entries to create a $1,027,170 final prize pool. Sean Yu emerged victorious, defeating Andrew Moreno heads-up to secure the ring and the top prize of $210,585.

Other past champions of WSOPC main event at the Bike include the likes of Dylan Wilkerson ($216,790), Antonio Esfandiari ($226,785), Jared Jaffee ($211,220), and Freddy Deeb ($171,810), who won the first-ever WSOP Circuit main event held at the Casino.

In addition to the WSOP Circuit events, the series will also play host to two massive $1,000,000 guaranteed events: The Quantum Millions (running Feb. 29 – March 9) and the Quantum Mega Millions XXII (running March 20 – Apr. 2).

Players interested in staying at The Bicycle Hotel and Casino during this series can take advantage of a WSOP Circuit player discounted room rate of $159 per night for a deluxe room with the promo code “WSOP” when selecting their stay. Click the banner image below to reserve your room today!

In late 2015 the Bicycle Hotel and Casino unveiled a $50 million hotel expansion to the property. The 117,907-square-foot addition boasts 99 rooms, including 29 suites, as well as a multitude of amenities including the Bike Brewery, full spa and elevated outdoor pool deck with private cabanas. The poker room is an expansive 100,000 square feet, with 185 tables available.

For more information you can visit the WSOP Circuit or the Bicycle Hotel and Casino websites.

Bradley Hinson wins the World Series of Poker Circuit Rio $1,700 Main Event Tuesday night at the Rio Las Vegas WSOP Circuit, earning $209,216 and his first WSOP ring. Hinson, from North Carolina, has previously cashed in 7 WSOP events for a total of $64,135, and until now has never been able to come close to a final table.

I have always wanted to win one. I just don’t usually play that many tournaments. Fifteen years ago when I started playing, I always considered it a bucket list thing for me to win,” said Hinson after securing the title and the ring. “I am from the middle of nowhere North Carolina, I want to thank my family, my friends and God. My family has always been super supportive. I feel like most people where I am from wouldn’t have that level of support for playing poker, so it means a lot to me. My parents are awake right now on the east coast waiting for me to tell them how I did.

The final day of this event began with 17 players remaining. It took a little over five hours to narrow the area to an official last table of nine, with a number of notables striking the rail along the way including two-time WSOP bracelet victor and also three-time World Texas hold’em Tour main event champion Anthony Zinno (14th– $12,863), three-time ring winner Peter Vitantonio (11th– $15,872) and 2013 WPT Legends of Poker victor Jordan Cristos (10th– $15,872).

Hinson began the day in second chip lead and remained in that spot by the time the final table was set. The field was quickly narrowed down to six, with Joseph Marchal (9th – $19,819), Mark Ioli (8th – $25,039) and WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Baltimore champion Faisal Siddiqui (7th – $32,003) all hitting the rail within the first 75 minutes of final-table action.

Louise Francoeur was the next to be eliminated. She ran AClub SuitQClub Suit into the ASpade SuitKSpade Suit of James Duke to finish in sixth place, earning $41,375 for her deep run.

Adam Hendrix began the final day as the chip leader, but he fell to the bottom of the leaderboard during five-handed play. He ultimately got his last chips in with QClub Suit4Club Suit and found himself in rough shape against the QSpade SuitJHeart Suit of Michael Stein. Hendrix managed to pair his four on the turn to take the lead, but Stein rivered a superior pair of jacks to secure the pot and the knockout. Hendrix took home $54,101 as the fifth-place finisher.

Stein was also responsible for the next knockout. He picked up pocket tens against the ADiamond SuitKDiamond Suit of James Duke and won the race, making a full house by the river to eliminate Duke in fourth place ($71,540).

Despite securing the previous two eliminations, Stein was ultimately the player to hit the rail in third place. He three-bet a button raise from Hinson and called a shove from the small blind with KSpade Suit5Diamond Suit, only to find himself up against the 5Spade Suit5Heart Suit. The board came down 9Spade Suit5Club Suit3Heart Suit3Club Suit2Diamond Suit and Hinson made a full house to send Stein to the rail with $95,654.

With that Hinson took roughly a 2:1 chip lead into heads-up play against three-time WSOPC ring winner Trung Pham. In the final hand, Hinson picked up AClub SuitJSpade Suit on the button and raised. Pham shoved all-in with ASpade Suit8Club Suit. The AHeart SuitQHeart Suit4Spade Suit5Diamond Suit7Heart Suit runout locked up the pot and the title for Hinson. Pham earned $129,305 as the runner-up, the second largest payday of his career. He now has more than $1.1 million in lifetime live earnings.

WSOPC Rio Main Event Final Table Results

Christopher Puetz has denied reigning WSOP world champion Hossein Ensan another title by winning the World Poker Tour (WPT) Germany main event.

After five days of preliminary action at King’s Casino Rozvadov, Puetz emerged victorious after a tough finale on Sunday.

With 501 entries cut down to 10, all eyes were on 2019 WSOP Main Event winner Ensan at the start of the final day. With WSOP and European Poker Tour (EPT) titles to his name, the German was bidding to become a Triple Crown winner.

WSOP Champion Starts Strong, Falls Short
Things started well for Ensan in the €3,300/$3,530 main event. With 10 players remaining and the second-largest stack, he sat back as Rifat Gegic and Renato Nowak became the first two casualties. With just seven players left, things fell apart.

Pre-flop, Ensan raised with Q♠J♦ from early position and Laszlo Papai called on the button with A♥9♥. Everyone else folded and the flop came 9♦K♦4♥. A check from Ensan elicited a bet from his opponent. Ensan called and the 5♥ landed on the turn.

Both players checked the turn before the 9♠ on the river prompted a bet from Ensan. That last ditch effort to steal the pot was met with a call from Papai holding trips.

Now on the backfoot, Ensan tried to regain what he’d lost but, ultimately, fell afoul of chip leader Joep van den Bijgaart. Following a raise from van den Bijgaart with A♣K♣, Ensan moved all-in.

Van den Bijgaart called, leaving Ensan in trouble with A♦9♣. The J♦6♥J♥Q♣2♥ was enough to give Van den Bijgaart the pot and end Ensan’s dream of becoming poker’s 10th Triple Crown winner.

As Ensan exited, Puetz started to make his move. The eliminations of Farukh Tach, Gianluca Speranza and Josef Gulas took the field down to three. At this point, Puetz made trips at the right time to decimate Van den Bijgaart’s stack.

Flying Dutchman Downed as Puetz Wins WPT Germany
That coup was the beginning of the end for Van den Bijgaart. Within a few rounds, the Dutchman was out courtesy of Laszlo Papai.

With two left and the stacks evenly balanced, the WPT Germany title could have gone either way. However, in the end, Puetz got it done in dramatic fashion after just seven hands.

Having lost the majority of his stack on the previous hand, Papai was all-in pre-flop courtesy of the blinds. Without anything extra to pay, Puetz tabled Q♦9♣.

Pocket fours gave Papai a glimmer of hope thanks to a 4♣9♥Q♠ flop. However, the Q♥ on the turn swung things in Puetz’s favor before the 7♥ closed out the show.

WPT Germany Main Event Results