Alex Foxen has won the 2019 World Poker Tour Five Diamond World Poker Classic $10,400 buy-in no-limit hold’em main event at Bellagio. The 28-year-old poker pro from Cold Spring Harbor, NY earned $1,694,995 for defeating a record-setting field of 1,035 total entries in this event, which was up from a previous high of 1,001 entries in 2018. Incredibly, Foxen had finished as the runner-up in this same tournament in 2017. He managed to battle his way back to heads-up play just two years later, and this time around emerged victorious with his first WPT main event title.

“It’s surreal – it’s kind of hard to put into words,” Foxen told WPT reporters after coming out on top. “It feels amazing. The last time I got to this spot I was a little bit disappointed in how I played heads-up. It’s just incredible to get the opportunity again and be fortunate enough to pull out the win.”

“Winning the WPT trophy in this event particularly is definitely the biggest thing to me. It’s the most significant tournament win to me so far. It’s awesome,” Foxen continued. “[The] WPT is probably the most prestigious tour besides the WSOP, and it just feels amazing to win this one because it’s just one of the biggest, toughest ones.”

In addition to the title and the money, Foxen was also awarded 2,400 Card Player Player of the Year points for taking down this event. This was his second title and 19th final-table finish of 2019. The huge score, made with just over a week remaining in the year, was enough to see Foxen climb into second place in the 2019 POY race standings, which are sponsored by Global Poker. With 7,134 total points and $5,687,955 in year-to-date earnings, Foxen currently sits just 210 points behind the current leader Stephen Chidwick.

The final day of this event with Foxen sitting in second chip position behind Danny Park with just six players remaining. Foxen was able to win a big hand against Park early on to supplant him atop the leaderboard. He furthered his advantage by scoring the first knockout of the day, with his 9Spade Suit9Club Suit beating out the KClub SuitQSpade Suit of Jonathan Jaffe on a 10Diamond Suit10Club Suit2Spade Suit8Spade SuitJSpade Suit runout. The WPT champion was sent to the rail in sixth place, earning $355,125 for his deep run in this event.

Despite starting the day with the largest stack, World Series of Poker bracelet winner Danny Park was the next to be eliminated. During five-handed action he lost a preflop race with pocket three’s against Toby Joyce’s ace-king to fall to the bottom of the chip counts. Not long after that he got all-in with 10Spade Suit10Club Suit against the AHeart SuitQDiamond Suit of Joyce. Park remainined ahead through the flop and turn, but the QHeart Suit on the river gave Joyce the superior pair and the pot. Park took home $465,780 as the fifth-place finisher.

Four-handed action continued for around ten orbits. Peter Neff had begun the day as the clear short stack, but had managed to stay afloat long enough to secure two pay jumps. Neff’s run came to an end when he shoved all-in from under-the-gun with KDiamond SuitQClub Suit and got looked up by Seth Davies, who had picked up AClub SuitJSpade Suit on the button. The board came down ADiamond Suit9Club Suit7Diamond Suit6Heart Suit8Diamond Suit and Davies hit a pair of aces to eliminate Neff in fourth place ($617,480).

With just three players remaining, Foxen had already begun to pull away from the pack. Following Neff’s elimination, he sat with over 25 million in chips for more than 120 big blinds, while Seth Davies and Toby each had around 35-40 big blinds.

Davies and Joyce managed to find a few double-ups through Foxen, but he still was the clear leader by the time the next knockout took place. Davies got his last chips in with AClub Suit5Club Suit, only to run into the AHeart SuitQHeart Suit of Foxen. Davies was unable to come from behind and was sent to the rail with $827,285. This was the second-largest score of Davies’ career, and it brought his lifetime earnings to $7,693,891.

With that Foxen took more than a 2.5:1 chip lead into heads-up play against Joyce, who was looking to become the first-ever Irish WPT main event champion. He quickly built that advantage to more than 4:1 by the time the final cards were dealt. On the ninth hand of heads-up play, Foxen limped in from the button with AClub SuitJSpade Suit and Joyce checked his option holding JHeart Suit9Club Suit. The flop came down JClub Suit5Spade Suit3Diamond Suit and Joyce checked. Foxen bet 400,000, only to have Joyce check-raise to 1,100,000. Foxen three-bet to 2,000,000 and Joyce made the call. The KClub Suit on the turn prompted Joyce to check. Foxen moved all-in, having Joyce well covered. Joyce made the call, only to find he was in rough shape. The 4Club Suit on the river secured the pot and the title for Foxen. Joyce earned $1,120,040 as the runner-up finisher.

Mikalai Pobal has made poker history on Tuesday in Prague by winning his second main event title. Earlier today, he won the 2019 PokerStars EPT Prague €5,300 EPT Main Event, topping a field of 1,154 entries, and cashing for €1,005,600 ($1,121,053).

In winning the €5,300/$5,895 main event at Casino Atrium Prague, the Belarusian equaled Victoria Coren Mitchell’s two titles.

Bumper Field Sets Up Sweet Victory for Pobal

Before thoughts of a history-making finish materialized, EPT Prague’s main event had to play down to a final table. With the first flight getting underway on Dec. 11, the registration desks collected 391 entries. When the betting stopped, Frenchman Pierre Calamusa led the way with 457,000 chips.

By the end of Day 5, familiar faces such as Bryn Kenney and Dario Sammartino had fallen. That left the path clear for Pobal to make a run at his second EPT main event title. Prior to the Dec. 17 finale, the 2012 EPT Barcelona winner had enjoyed mixed fortunes at the table. At the close of Day 2 he was among the largest stacks.

As the field thinned, however, he never mounted a serious challenge for the chip lead until the tournament’s end.

Pobal Says No Deal as He Makes EPT History

When Day 6 got underway, Pobal found himself fourth out of five players. Despite facing an uphill battle, the cards and past experience were on his side.

Turning things around with four left, Pobal went from 12 big blinds to chip leader in a single level. A successful all-in with Ace-King was followed by two more double ups in a matter of minutes. With that, Pobal was on top, and the big stack, Gaby Livshitz was sent to the rail.

Seemingly unstoppable at this point, Pobal continued to dominate as Brazil’s Ricardo Da Rocha fell by the wayside.

Almost as if he knew victory was inevitable, Pobal rejected a last-minute deal. After running the numbers, Norbert Szecsi wanted more than an ICM split. Not wanting to give up any equity, Pobal stood his ground and went on to take the title in dominant fashion. With Szecsi unable to catch a break, the tournament’s pivotal moment came when a busted straight draw prompted an ill-timed bluff.

After betting his way to the river with 8♦4♠, Szecsi went for broke with the board showing T♥7♦5♠2♥9♦. Without hesitation, Pobal called with T♦7♣, and that signaled the start of Szecsi’s downfall.

EPT Prague Main Event Results:

1. Mikalai Pobal – $1,118,277
2. Norbert Szecsi – $665,985
3. Ricardo Da Rocha – $468,673
4. Gaby Livshitz – $352,275
5. Tomas Paiva – $268,260
6. Luke Marsh – $197,300
7. Laurent Michot – $149,693
8. Dietrich Fast – $106,868
9. Gab Yong Kim – $83,148

In the end, Pobal would pick up pocket kings at the same time his opponent looked down at pocket eights.

The WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Cherokee $1,700 Main Event ended Sunday and Erik Gorman wins the top prize of $260,480. The 43-year-old glassblower from Matthews topped a field of a smooth 1,000 entries to win his first gold ring. He also earned himself a custom Circuit ring and a seat into the 2020 Global Casino Championship.

Gorman came into the final day at the bottom of the counts but quickly turned that around early in the day. He went from 750,000 to 3.2 million in chips in no time, with one of the notable hands being a big double with aces versus the pocket nines of eight-time Circuit champion Kyle Cartwright.

Gorman defeated a worthy heads-up opponent in Hannah Guthrie, who took home $160,978 after booking her first ever WSOP cash and just her fourth one overall. She came into Day 3 as the chip leader and dominated a tough final table with many WSOP champions on it. The hand that turned the tides in Gorman’s favor while heads up was when Guthrie made a flush on a paired board and the two players got their chips in the middle on the turn. Gorman held a pair of sevens, but the dealer completed the board with a third four to give him fours full of sevens to double up.

As it turned out, the very next hand after that ended up being the final one of the tournament. Gorman opened the pot and Guthrie jammed her stack in the middle with ace-three suited. Unfortunately for her, Gorman held ace-queen and flopped a pair of queens to take the lead and eventually lock up the pot.

This win more than doubles Gorman’s lifetime career earnings and brings him just over the $500,000 mark overall. “I’m just happy and excited,” said Gorman. When asked what he will do with the money, Gorman laughed and said, “It has to become a reality first.”

Everyone has a reason for getting into poker, and Gorman’s links back to his family. “Just playing with my grandma at the kitchen table,” he said with a big smile. Based on many of the comments from his loud and supportive rail, this was certainly a long time coming for Gorman. The newly crowned champion has results dating back to 2011, but this is his first six-figure score.

Now that Gorman has gotten the elusive monkey off his back after winning this ring, he would like to win something outside of the scope of No-Limit Hold’em. “I really want a H.O.R.S.E ring, or an Omaha ring. I’d really like to get a non-Hold’em bracelet for sure,” explained Gorman.

The WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Cherokee $1,700 Main Event Results:

Adrian Mateos took down the 2019 PokerStars EPT Prague Event #1: €10,300 No-Limit Hold’em to claim the first-place prize of €177,500. Adrian Mateos came out on top of a field of 61 entries in Event #1: €10,300 No-Limit Hold’em.

Final Table Results of 2019 EPT Prague €10,300 No-Limit Hold’em

Bryn Kenney took down the WPT Rock ‘N Roll Poker Open yesterday for a $354,565 payday, the number one in the all-time tournament rankings taking the trophy after a heads-up deal with Brock Wilson.

A French court has ruled against professional poker player Rick Salomon, saying that it cannot enforce an alleged $2.8 million in unpaid winnings the American says he is owed by a wealthy Saudi man.

Salomon claimed that Raad al-Khereiji owed him the enormous sum stemming from a 2014 Texas hold’em game at the Tiara Miramar Beach hotel near Cannes.

1804 Law Sinks Debt Collection Effort

Ronald Sokol, the French lawyer who represented Salomon in the case, said that his client had been trying to recover the debt ever since the game was played five years ago, with no success. During the trial, the court was told that several other players had heard Khereiji promise he would transfer payment for the debt through a lawyer in Los Angeles.

However, that lawyer later contacted Salomon to tell him that the debt wouldn’t be paid, as Khereiji believed the poker game had been a friendly one without any actual stakes.

That excuse might sound unlikely to anyone who has ever sat down at the poker table. But the actual legal issues at hand were related to a French law that dates back to 1804. According to that statute, courts can only enforce gaming debts “involving weapons, foot or horse racing, chariot races, tennis and other games of the sort which involves physical skill and exercise.”

That gave Khereiji’s lawyer a straightforward defense: poker does not fit into that definition, as it is not a physical contest. Sokol countered on Salomon’s behalf by saying that the game in question had lasted 48 hours, making it a contest of endurance.

That apparently wasn’t enough to convince the judge, who ruled in Khereiji’s favor.

Sokol noted that Salomon had achieved a couple of smaller victories in the case. The court rejected a request that Salomon be required to pay Khereiji’s legal fees, and it did allow gambling records from Las Vegas that showed Khereiji had spent $34 million over 29 months in the Ivey Room at the Aria.

Salomon Considering Appeal Options

That information could prove important in establishing Khereiji as a knowledgeable gambler if Salomon chooses to appeal the decision.

Rick Salomon is a well-known high-stakes poker player who is a regular on the super high roller circuit. According to his Hendon Mob page, Salomon has earned over $9.9 million in live tournament winnings, putting him among the 100 winningest players in tournament poker history.

Salomon is also known for twice having been married to actress Pamela Anderson. Their first marriage ended in an annulment in 2008, while the second ended in divorce in 2015, with Anderson receiving a $1 million settlement from Salomon.

Aussie Kahle Burns is having a breakout year. As well as for that, he’s now the 2019 GPI Player of the Year leader with simply over a month remaining. Yet the race is limited and a handful of skilled pros, including Sean Winter and Stephen Chidwick, are right on his heels.

Although he’s played incredibly well in 2019, defending POY Alex Foxen is all but out of contention to repeat. He’s currently in 16th area, well off the pace. Disallowing an incredible heating system in December, we’ll have a brand-new champ.

Kahle Burns Making Home Country Proud

Australia isn’t understood for having numerous famous competition casino poker players. Joe Hachem, the nation’s most well-known poker pro, won the WSOP Main Event in 2005. And there are other strong pros such as James Obst and also former WSOP Gamer of the Year Jeff Lisandro.

But it had been a while since a gamer from Australia has completed big points on a global degree, up until 2019. Kahle Burns has actually been the top tournament gamer on the planet the past month and he currently has as great of a shot as anybody at winning GPI Player of the Year.

Burns’ hot touch started at the WSOP Europe series in October in Rozvadov, Czech Republic. He won 2 arm bands, one in a low-stakes and one in a high-stakes event and also cashed a third time during the collection.

The young Australian professional after that took a trip to Las Vegas for the Casino poker Masters series where he won Event # 9 ($ 25,000 no-limit hold ’em) for $416,500, ended up second in Event # 5 ($ 10,500 huge wager mix) for $109,200, and racked up a 4th area finish in Occasion # 7 ($ 25,000 pot-limit Omaha) for $85,000.

Today at Partypoker Many millions Globe series in the Bahamas, Kahle Burns won another $400,000 for 3rd area in a $50,000 no-limit hold ’em money player.

For the year, Burns has $4,191,366 in money from worldwide. He had $3.5 million in cash money from 2009 to 2018, integrated. The Aussie millionaire has actually been among poker’s outbreak celebrities in 2019.

Race Not Over Yet

The GPI Player of the Year race is as close as it can potentially obtain. Kahle Burns remains in the lead with 3,548.08 points, however Sean Wintertime is simply behind him with 3,523.43. Stephen Chidwick is also close to the top, sitting in 3rd place at 3,428.36.

While those three skilled mills are neck and neck, they aren’t the just one still in the hunt. Each gamer in the leading 10 still have a realistic shot of coming to be 2019 GPI Player of the Year. Ali Imsirovic, probably the best under-30 player on the planet, remains in 10th location with 3,206.78 points. That’s just 221 points off the lead. One event success might move Ali from 10th area to top place.

It must be an interesting month of December. We anticipate the upcoming WPT Five Diamond series at Bellagio in Las Vegas will establish a winner.

Daniel Dvoress finally has a “major-ish” poker title to his name. Daniel outlasted 51 players at the Baha Mar Resort and Casino to win the $250,000 buy-in SHRB Bahamas for a career-best $4,080,000.

Daniel Dvoress Dominates Brutal Final Table

Daniel Dvoress earned his victory on Monday. To win the title in the Super High Roller Bowl Bahamas, he had to defeat a final table that included a Poker Hall of Famer (Erik Seidel), the second winningest tournament player in history (Justin Bonomo), and at least two other players who appear destined to one day enter the Poker Hall of Fame (Jason Koon and Steve O’Dwyer).

Seth Davies, another skilled high roller, held the chip lead by a slim margin over Koon when play began on Monday. But he lost his grip on the lead early in the session when his set of 10’s ran into Seidel’s flopped straight, costing him a massive pot and likely the tournament.

Davies was eventually eliminated in fifth place ($1,020,000), right after O’Dwyer (sixth place for $765). Koon and Bonomo were the first two to go at the final table. Seidel then busted in fourth place for $1,275,000. He now has over $37 million in career cashes, trailing only Bryn Kenney, Bonomo, and Daniel Negreanu.

Kathy Lehne, the first woman to cash in a Super High Roller Bowl, suffered one of the most brutal bad beats of the tournament. In a 5 million-chip pot, she called an all-in with pocket aces against Wei Lin Chan, who held pocket sixes.

The flop and turn looked good for Lehne as it ran out K-K-Q-7. But the soul-crushing river 6 sent her home in third place. On the flip side, she still took home $1,785,000.

That set up a heads-up match between Chan and Daniel Dvoress, who hit a lucky card himself to stay alive earlier in the tournament. Holding pocket 10’s on a 2-3-2 flop, he moved all-in and was called by Chan’s A-2. A 10 on the turn gave the eventual champion the hand in a 6 million-chip pot.

Dvoress led when heads-up play began and never relinquished that lead. Chan took home $2,677,500 for second place.

Super High Roller Bowl VI Official Final Table Results