Unusual Tournament Headlines Making the Poker News
March 16, 2018 1:02 pmThe last few weeks have been interesting ones as far as the poker tournament circuit is concerned, with an old-time legend David ‘The Dragon’ Pham going on a tear, a couple of Greek players achieving some incredibly impressive results, an 89 year-old pensioner taking down at event in Atlantic City, and a woman announcing her intention to take part in the World Series of Poker Main Event disguised as an old man.
Pham Wins Again
David Pham, 51, is a Vietnamese-American poker pro from California, who is also related to Men Nguyen, 63, a 7-time WSOP bracelet winner with around $10.5 million in winnings. This month, Pham then drew within a hair’s breadth of his cousin’s tally after claiming two tournament titles in short succession.
At the beginning of March, David Pham entered the Wynn Spring Classic $1,500 Championship in Las Vegas, eventually overcoming a huge field of 984 players to collect a top prize of $240,254. The consummate pro then jumped straight into the $1,675 WSOP Circuit Los Angeles Main Event, this time topping a 705 player field to boost his bankroll by a further $216,790. Pham not only captured his first WSOPC circuit ring after the victory, but also received a ticket through to the 2018 Global Casino Championship. Always with his eye on the prize, Pham is already turning his attention towards gaining further glory at the season-ending tournament, and as he commented following his win:
“I’ve had a great last 10 days. I’m feeling great and I played very comfortable. Even now, up in my mind, I know I’m going to be right there. I’m feeling great for so long. I don’t rush my mind to win and I know that there are a lot of good, young players. Now, there are so many tough, young players and I feel like I’m up there with them.”
Greek Players Breaking Record
While David Pham has been stamping his authority on the poker scene in America, a couple of Greek players have been making waves of their own in Europe.
One of those players was Ioannis Angelou-Konstas from Greece, who this week won the WPTDeepStacks Brussels €1,200 Main Event for €75,000 ($93,095), having taken down another WPTDeepStacks Main Event in the Netherlands last October for €56,806 ($67,226). In so doing, Angelou-Konstas became the first player to achieve the feat since the tour first launched in 2012, and also became his country’s 11th biggest money winner with $859,351 in earnings.
Meanwhile, fellow Greek player Georgios Zisimopoulos accomplished one of the sickest runs imaginable in a poker series after claiming victory in three separate events for a total payout of $92,491. The pro had traveled to the northern occupied part of Cyprus to take part in the Merit Poker Top Guns in Kyrenia, with Zisimopoulos first overcoming a field of 80 (+185 rebuys) at the $275 NLHE Re-buy & Add-on event for $18,280, followed by a field of 101 (+44 re-buys) at the $1,100 NLHE Mix-Max event for $28,200, before capping off an incredible fortnight by besting 185 players (+122 rebuys) at the $800 NLHE Warm Up for $46,011.
Not bad result all round for the player currently ranked number 4 on Greece’s ‘All Time Money List’ with $2,020,412 in winnings, especially as he said he was particularly looking forward to visiting the island in order to enjoy its perfect climate and beautiful beaches.
89-Year Old Wins WSOPC Ring
Back to the US once more, an 89-year-old player from New York showed that you are never too old to compete against people half or even a quarter your age on the grueling tournament circuit. Attilio Bitondo entered the $365 NLHE Double Stack at the Harrah’s Atlantic City Casino, and after two days of action defeated his final 32 year-old opponent, ironically called Max Young to walk away with $16,069 in winnings.
The Godfather of Poker, Doyle Brunson, now aged 84 announced his retirement from the tournament circuit a few years back because of their challenging schedules and the extended amount of hours that have to be played. Five years his senior, Bitondo’s victory was a real inspiration for the more elderly players out there, and proves that you are never too old to win your first WSOP Circuit ring.
Man-Lady at WSOP Main Event
Finally, a poker player and writer has said that she intends to enter the 2018 WSOP Main Event disguised as a man in order to promote her book entitled ‘Black Widow Poker’. In the book she apparently explores gender bias in the game, and what better way to test her theories out than at the biggest tournament stage in the game. Responding to a suggestion that her disguise may be in contravention of WSOP rules and risks her being ousted from the competition, a spokesperson for her book replied:
“In Sia’s case, she will be playing as herself, but the table will only know her (visually) as a man. There are also many new considerations now that people ‘in transition’ have become common. In any case, she will go forward with playing.”