Rounders Report

The World Poker Tour (WPT) kicked into action once again on Wednesday with the first five rounds of play in the 2009 Festa al Lago Championship Event, a $15,000 buy-in tournament at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.

The Festa al Lago, the fourth stop on the Season 8 schedule for the WPT, was in danger of being one of the lowest attended events since the inception of the tour. During much of Festa al Lago schedule at the Bellagio, tournaments were significantly smaller than in past years due to the continuing strains of the economy on the bankrolls of some of the biggest players in the game. For example, Full Tilt Poker’s head man Howard Lederer was able to capture the $5,000 Festa al Lago HORSE Championship, but the field only contained 19 players and paid the top three. Thus, there was a great deal of concern when the cards hit the air at Noon local time on Wednesday. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 8% [?]

Poker pro Prahlad Friedman took down the 2009 World Poker Tour (WPT) Legends of Poker, banking just over $1 million for his efforts. He defeated 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) November Nine member Kevin Schaffel heads-up.

It took 127 hands of final table play in the Legends of Poker for Friedman to emerge victorious. After entering with the third largest chip stack behind Schaffel and Todd Terry, Friedman battled back, winning two out of the first three pots. Five hands into final table play, Mike Krescanko hit the exits in sixth place, earning $89,000 for his few minutes’ worth of work. Krescanko shoved pre-flop with A-Q, but ran into Friedman’s wired pair of kings. The flop came king-high, keeping Friedman in the lead, and Krescanko was drawing dead on the turn when a queen fell. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 15% [?]

In breaking news from the World Poker Tour (WPT), its parent company has sold the roving tournament series for $9.075 million plus a percentage of future revenues to Gamynia Limited. Recently, the WPT recorded its second straight month of profitability. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 2% [?]

On Saturday, the World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship will kick off from the Bellagio in Las Vegas. The $25,000 buy-in tournament is the last stop of Season VII and will crown a champion seven days later. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 24% [?]

By all measures, the World Poker Tour (WPT) Bay 101 Shooting Star tournament was a rousing success. Attendance ballooned to 391 players in 2009, up 25 from 2008. Heads-up play came down to a recognizable WPT veteran, Steve Brecher, against one of the world’s top female pros, Kathy Liebert. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 21% [?]