The Commerce Casino in California just kicked off a new three-week festival, The Commerce Casino Hold’em Series that features $1,000,000 in guarantees. The series, which began August 30 and will run through September 22, features 19 numbered events including the $300 buy-in, $120K GTD Event #1: NLH 50K Starting Stack that features six starting flights. Other tournaments on the schedule include a $600 buy-in, $200K GTD M?stery Bounty; the $600 buy-in, $250K GTD XL Bounty NLH; and several $250 buy-in, $10K GTD NLH Deepstack events.

Texas Card House had quite a day on Wednesday, seeing as the Lone Star State poker brand won a legal battle against the city of Dallas and had a stellar opening night at its new Austin location. PokerNews reached out to the card room’s CEO, Ryan Crow, who was ecstatic on multiple fronts. The poker club hosted its grand opening at a new location in Austin on Aug. 28, and the large poker club was packed.

The 2024 Amateur Poker Association & Tour (APAT) World Championship Of Amateur Poker (WCOAP) wrapped up at Dusk Till Dawn over the weekend, and what an incredible festival it was. Twenty-two events crowned their worthy champions, each now claiming to be the best amateur player in that format. The biggest winner of the 2024 WCOAP was Nick Bowyer, who forever gets to call himself the 2024 Amateur Poker World Champion after he won the £210 WCOAP Main Event.

The first €25,000 No-Limit Hold’em tournament of the 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona drew many high-roller poker stars to Casino Barcelona. After the last card was dealt and the final chip exchanged, Byron Kaverman emerged victorious, claiming the trophy and a €381,060 prize for his efforts. Just two days prior, Kaverman had finished second in the €12,300 Cuatro Knockout, earning €119,400. This time, he went all the way, defeating Markkos Ladev in heads-up play.

An eighth circuit ring winner was crowned at the 2024 World Series of Poker Circuit Playground. After eight intense hours of play, Event #8: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em concluded with Gaetano Di Maria emerging as the last player standing from the 40 who began Day 2. Di Maria claimed the top prize of $50,000 and secured his first WSOPC ring. “I’m feeling spectacular, like a dream come true… I came in second at Verona in their circuit.

Wynn Las Vegas is widely considered one of the best and most luxurious properties in Sin City, and the same can be said of its poker room. When asked their favorite place to play poker in Las Vegas, many players will answer the Wynn, and that’s due to several factors including not only the amenities and games they offer players but the fact that they listen and care about their clientele.

With stunning architecture, rich cultural history and millions of annual visitors, it’s no surprise that Barcelona is one of the top tourist attractions in the world. It’s also no surprise that the European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona festival is the biggest EPT stop of them all, drawing thousands of players and generating millions tens of millions in prize money. And while EPT Barcelona is mainly about the poker, its prime location at Casino Barcelona puts it within minutes of some of the city’s top attractions.

Event #6: $800 Mystery Bounty has wrapped up at the World Series of Poker Circuit Playground. In the end Bharat Shetty was the final player remaining, last defeating David Burnard in heads-up to take home his first WSOPC ring and the top prize of $20,000. Shetty also claimed twelve bounties en route to victory, adding $8,500 to his winnings. Runner-up Burnard was the lucky player who claimed the largest mystery bounty prize of $50,000.

OlyBet has a long history of running excellent poker festivals in the Baltics, particularly in Estonia, the home of the Kings of Tallinn series. Traditionally, Latvian poker players have had to travel to compete in an OlyBet festival, but that is no longer the case because the OlyBet Showdown Riga Voodoo Bounty festival is heading to the Latvian capital from September 14. The OlyBet Showdown Riga, Voodoo Bounty festival, marks the first time the Showdown poker series has taken place in Latvia, and Chris Larson, Group Poker Director at Olybet, cannot wait to get the show on the road.

Every poker tournament grinder is tingling with anticipation at the prospect of competing in the PokerStars 2024 World Championship Of Online Poker (WCOOP) throughout September. The 23rd installment of PokerStars’ flagship series runs from September 8 through October 2, bringing with it $80 million in guaranteed prize pools. PokerStars needs to get the European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona festival out of the way before it turns its attention to WCOOP, but the online poker giant is already adding value for players with eight freeroll tournaments running from September 1-8, with a total of $20,000 worth of WCOOP tickets waiting to be won.

The Eurasian Poker Tour (EAPT) is making its first-ever stop in Georgia, bringing its prestigious series to the beautiful city of Batumi, a renowned Black Sea resort with a rich history spanning two and a half thousand years. Known as the entertainment capital of Georgia, Batumi is set to host the poker festival from September 7-15, 2024. Festival Features $350k in Guarantees This exciting EAPT Georgia festival offers poker players the chance to compete for a share of a guaranteed prize pool exceeding $350,000.

Whether it’s the warm breeze blowing in off the Mediterranean or just the fact that some of the top players in the world gather in the Catalan capital for one of the biggest poker festivals of the year, but Kayhan Mokri can feel something in the air whenever he comes to Barcelona. Mokri burst onto the poker scene when he made a run to sixth place in the PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona Main Event in 2022.

WPT Global is always pushing the boundaries of innovation on its industry-leading platform, and the latest updates are sure to excite fans. Building on the success of the Summer Festival, WPT Global has unveiled its largest-ever series—The Fall Festival—boasting $8.5 million in guarantees. In addition to the festival, WPT Global has introduced Mystery Bounty Tournaments, which will play a significant role in the upcoming poker extravaganza. They’ve also made a host of exciting changes to their poker cash games.

The Paris Olympics may be in the books, but when it comes to Olympic news there was a big announcement in the poker world. The most decorated Olympian in history, Michael Phelps, who won 28 medals in swimming, including 23 gold medals, has expanded his partnership with Global Poker. Phelps first worked with Global Poker as part of their 2023 Celebrity Challenge campaign, and now players and fans can expect to see him in a range of new and exciting marketing initiatives.

The poker world received sad news this past weekend when it was revealed that longtime poker media veteran Marty Derbyshire, 52, passed away unexpectedly from Melioidosis, also known as Whitmore’s disease, an uncommon bacterial infection. Originally from Vancouver, British Columbia, Derbyshire relocated to Thailand several years ago where he married his wife, Karnjanawan Jiamrum. She was the one to share the news on social media: “Martin Derbyshire has passed away at the age of 52 years with Melioidosis (Melioidosis).

Steve O’Dwyer had waited two years to get his hands on another PokerStars European Poker Tour spade trophy, so he didn’t seem to mind taking until the early hours of the morning to seal his victory in the €12,300 PokerStars Cuatro Knockout. With the clock approaching 5 a.m. inside the Casino Barcelona, O’Dwyer defeated Byron Kaverman in a short heads-up match to claim the bounty and €163,720 top prize, plus four bounties for an additional €48,000.

A familiar face arrived at Casino Barcelona, eager to challenge some of the world’s top poker players at the PokerStars European Poker Tour stop in Barcelona. Soccer legend Gerard Piqué took his seat in a €20,000 buy-in tournament, joining a star-studded field that included Poker Hall of Famer Erik Seidel, triple crown winner Mike Watson, and 2024 WSOP Main Event third-place finisher Niklas Astedt. Piqué is no stranger to the felt, having played at the World Series of Poker and other EPTs.

Boris Angelov has had an extraordinary summer in the world of poker. It all began in May when he secured a runner-up finish at the European Poker Tour Monte Carlo Main Event (€620,500). Building on that success, the Bulgarian poker star achieved a remarkable fifth-place finish in the record-breaking World Series of Poker Main Event ($2,500,000). Now, Angelov has added another major achievement to his resume: his first career tournament victory at EPT Barcelona.

The Casino Barcelona hosted the 2024 edition of the Campeonato Espana de Poker (CEP) Barcelona festival before PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona kicked off, and it’s fair to say it was a roaring success. The €500 buy-in CEP Barcelona Main Event was the second-largest in the tour’s history, with 1,737 players entering. Only the 2023 edition, with its 1,960 entrants, is larger. Thanks to the massive prize pool, all but one of the nine finalists walked away with a five-figure haul.

Last year, Michael Persky became the first-ever World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) Graton champion by taking down the Main Event for $175,595. One year later, Persky came close to winning back-to-back titles with a deep run in this year’s $1,700 Main Event as he finished fourth for $54,475 to be denied a third Circuit ring by fellow Californian Sasha Sabbaghian. Sabbaghian came out on top to win a career-best $168,015 and his first Circuit ring, but it isn’t the first major victory in the region for the Granite Bay grinder.

The RunGood Poker Series (RGPS) continues its “RunGood Resorts” season with a stop at the Horseshoe Casino in Tunica, Mississippi September 3-8. The six-day series features several ring events that will culminate in a $600 buy-in, $200K GTD RunGood Main Event. That tournament will be live reported by PokerNews and offer a trio of starting flights beginning with Day 1a at 6 p.m. on Friday, September 6. Day 1b will then take place at 11 a.

Season 13 of the High Stakes Poker continued on Monday night with the season’s fifth episode on PokerGO. It was a continuation of last week’s game in which Jennifer Tilly and Andrew Robl squared off in what turned out to be the largest pot of the current season. Episode 5 continued with the $400/$800 no-limit hold’em cash game at PokerGO Studio. Here’s how things stacked up at the start of the episode.

“I’ve been waiting for that ring for a long time,” shared an ecstatic Yvan Gravel with PokerNews. After eleven hours of play, a winner has emerged in Event #2: $400 Monster Stack here at the World Series of Poker Circuit Montreal at Playground. Gravel bested Michael Malouin to take home $40,000 and his first WSOPC circuit ring. Winners Interview “I feel great… I’m very happy right now.” The joy was noticeable as Gravel showed his excitement after winning his first WSOPC ring.

888poker has released the fifth and final episode of its exciting World Series of Poker (WSOP) docuseries on its YouTube channel. The video series followed Team 888poker’s progress in the 2024 WSOP Main Event. Episode 4 ended with only three team members still searching for the $10 million top prize. Jack “JaackMaate” Dean, Vivian Saliba, and Aaron Barone headed into Day 3 of the $10,000 Main Event hoping to reach the money bubble, survive it, and remain in contention to become poker’s world champion.

Wai Hang Wong is on cloud nine today after becoming the latest player to take down an Irish Poker Tour Main Event. Wong had no previous results on his Hendon Mob profile but now boasts of the Irish Poker Tour Lunasa Lunacy Main Event title and €20,430 in winnings. Wong’s score was even more impressive when you consider he won his seat via an online satellite at Paddy Power Poker and also received a package to the upcoming Irish Poker Tour Killarney Main Event.

Romanian Tudor Purice secured the biggest win of his career with victory in the WPT Prime Cyprus Championship, defeating Aleks Apryan heads-up to win $183,270 after topping a field of 1,202 players. Purice came into the final table second in chips behind Yurii Senchylo, and bided his time before timing his assault on the chip lead perfectly to dominate the latter stages and secure victory, along with a seat to the WPT Championship this December.

“I knew at that moment I was winning,” an elated Maxime Jutras shared with PokerNews referencing a text exchange he had with his brother going into the final table of the 2024 World Series of Poker Circuit $300 Colossus. And, after nearly 11 hours of play, Jutras did just that as he reigned supreme at Playground, last defeating Amireza-Jaberi in heads-up play to take home the top prize of 85,000 CAD and his first piece of WSOP hardware.

The Lodge Card Club in Round Rock, Texas featured some wild pots during its Saturday livestream, but none more memorable than a hand in which one player correctly folded a set of aces on a relatively dry board. Doug Polk’s card room has been in the news quite a few times lately. The ownership team that also includes poker vloggers Andrew Neeme and Brad Owen recently opened a second location in San Antonio, which will soon become the largest poker room in Texas.

As it celebrates 20 years of the European Poker Tour (EPT) in Barcelona, PokerStars announced several rule and procedure changes to maintain game integrity, including new rules banning solvers and preflop charts for players and spectators alike. Kenny Hallaert, a longtime tournament official who recently signed on as a PokerStars ambassador, announced the changes on social media on Monday as EPT Barcelona kicked off with the €1,100 Estrellas Poker Tour Main Event.

The machines of Manchester once powered the British Industrial Revolution, its factories and smoke stacks serving as the image of a history-changing era. Stephen Barnes worked like a tremendous machine today, moving with quick efficiency to dominate the final table of the £1,100 888poker Live Manchester Main Event. Barnes seized an overwhelming chip lead with a massive pot when there were still five players left and never relinquished it, emerging as the champion over the 279-player field to take home the trophy and £58,000 first prize.

The latest series of The Big Game on Tour has reached its conclusion, with Loose Cannon Lily Newhouse battling it out over the course of 150 hands against tough opposition to see if she could play with some of the world’s best. If you haven’t seen how she got on in the last episode — click here for the summary of the last episode or head to the PokerStars YouTube channel to find out.

Action has concluded in the $550 PSPC Event #1 at the Pennsylvania State Poker Championship. Luke Rothschild has emerged from the pack victorious with a career-high $47,474 score. The seven Day 1 starting flights saw a total of 890 entrants, 113 players made it to Day 2 and secured a minimum cash of $725. The prize pool generated a whopping $412,960 and when it was all said and done, five players decided on an ICM chop.

Over the years, countless players have experienced all that the European Poker Tour has to offer. Sam Grafton is no exception. So, as the EPT Barcelona festival gets underway today — marking the tour’s 20th anniversary — we spoke with the PokerStars Ambassador about his EPT memories and the impact it has had on his life. One Word: Amazing It’s easy to understate Grafton’s poker career. With over $15 million in career earnings and now a member of PokerStars Team Pro, he’s played on countless tours in countless venues and has seen the industry continue to change and evolve.

George Yazbek was eliminated in 15th place in the World Poker Tour (WPT) Prime Cyprus Championship — but that’s only half the story after one of the craziest coolers reported deep in a poker tournament. The WPT live reporting team captured the four-way all in that could have been a five-way all in had one player not folded a monster preflop hand. Four premium pocket pairs — plus one that was sent into the muck — went to tangle for a crucial pot in the $1,100 buy-in tournament at Chamada Prestige Hotel & Casino in Cyprus.

Just nine players remain in the WPT Prime Cyprus Championship, all eyeing up the $172,870 that awaits the winner. Leading the way is the same player that started Day 2 as the chip leader Senchylo Zuev who holds a slight lead from Tudor Purice in second and Emile Abi-Daher in third. The tournament resumes on the live stream at 13:00 local time and plays down to a winner. A reminder that the winner will also receive a $10,400 WPT Championship package for this December.

Seth Davies used a key blocker to pull off a massive bluff in a crucial pot, a hand that helped propel the high-stakes star to a Super High Roller Bowl Cyprus win and $3,206,000. The $300,000 buy-in PokerGO Tour event attracted 24 entrants, creating a prize pool of $7,056,000. Some of the top players in the world such as Davies, Phil Ivey, and Jeremy Ausmus showed up to compete at the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel & Spa in Cyprus.