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JACK DRAKE TAKES THE CAKE AT ANZPT DARWIN

Brooke Howard-Smith — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 19:51:58 +0000

JACK DRAKE TAKES THE CAKE AT ANZPT DARWIN

DARWIN, AUSTRALIA – The third season of the Australia New Zealand Poker Tour has come to a conclusion in Australia’s Northern Territory. 28 year old Jack Drake of Queensland’s Gold Coast was the last man standing and winner of $36,480. Runner-up was Brett Dannevig of Sydney, he’ll take home $24,960.

PokerStars Qualifier Aaron Benton was the first elimination of the day, falling in 9th place. Danny Chevalier bowed out in 8th place and received a standing ovation as he was crowned the 2011 Australia New Zealand Player of the Year. Leo Boxell finished second on the leaderboard and Jesse McKenzie, third.
The final table included four Darwin locals in Glenn Parry, Jamie Hill, Mark Taylor and Fotios Manolakos. The sole international player was PokerStars Qualifier Jonathan Dangio of New Caledonia. He finished in 5th place.

FINAL PAYOUTS

Jack Drake, Australia – $36,480
Brett Dannevig, Australia – $24,960
Fotios Manolakos, Australia – $16,640
Mark Taylor, Australia – $12,800
Jonathan Dangio, New Caledonia (PokerStars Qualifier) – $10,880
Jamie Hill, Australia – $8,960
Glenn Parry, Australia – $7,040
Danny Chevalier, Australia – $5,760
Aaron Benton, Australia (PokerStars Qualifier) – $4,480

ANZPT DARWIN VITALS

Click here for the complete player list
Click here for a hi-res photo of Jack Drake
Click here for a recap of ANZPT Darwin on the PokerStars Blog
Click here for the Australia New Zealand Player of the Year final standings

The ANZPT will be back for Season 4 in early 2012. The next major event in the Asia Pacific Region will be APPT Macau from November 23-27, 2011. The festival features 14 scheduled events, highlighted by a HKD30,000 main event and HKD100,000 high roller. Main event satellites are running now on PokerStars.

Luke Lichtenstein

BENTON BAGS CHIP LEAD IN ANZPT DARWIN

Brooke Howard-Smith — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 20:45:02 +0000

Aaron Benton – ANZPT Darwin Day 1B Chip Leader

BENTON BAGS CHIP LEAD

Luke Lichtenstein

The stars of Australian poker set upon the Northern Territory for Day 1B of ANZPT Darwin. Leo Boxell and Jesse McKenzie both survived the day with healthy stacks, which will make Day 2 an exciting affair. Other notable players to pay the $2,200 buy-in were online guns Liam O’Rourke and Tim English, and PokerStars Qualifier Aaron Benton. All three of them will also return for Day 2.

The aforementioned Aaron Benton is the overnight chip leader, bagging up 58,075. He’s followed by PokerStars Qualifiers Liam O’Rourke with 45,825 and Ryan Mckay with 42,975.

TOP TEN CHIP COUNTS

Aaron Benton, Australia (PokerStars Qualifier) – 58,075
Liam O’Rourke, Australia (PokerStars Qualifier) – 45,825
Ryan Mckay, Australia (PokerStars Qualifier) – 42,975
Jesse McKenzie, Australia – 39,575
David Seccafien, Australia – 33,975
Amir Heydapour, Australia – 33,625
Julian Lange, Germany (PokerStars Qualifier) – 33,025
Leo Boxell, Australia – 29,525
Ricky Kroesen, Australia (PokerStars Qualifier) – 25,300
Luis Pampliega, Australia (PokerStars Player) – 24,300

ANZPT DARWIN VITALS

Click here for the Day 1B Player List

Click here for the end of Day 1B Chip Counts

Click here for the Day 2 Seat Draw

Click here for a recap of the Day 1B action on the PokerStars Blog

The remaining 47 players will return tomorrow at 12:30 (GMT +9:30) for Day 2. Follow all the action on the PokerStars Blog.

ANZPT Melbourne Summary and Series Leaderboards

Brooke Howard-Smith — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 19:43:36 +0000

Lee Nelson – ANZPT Melbourne Champion

ANZPT MELBOURNE – LEE ‘FINAL TABLE’ NELSON HAS ANOTHER GREAT VICTORY AND IS THE 2011 ANZPT MELBOURNE CHAMPION

Tonight at Crown Casino Lee Nelson became the 2011 ANZPT Melbourne Champion. He negotiated his way through the 309 players to take home $156,550 and the winners trophy.

Lee is one of New Zealand’s best known and most respected poker players. A member of the Australian Poker Hall of Fame and a former winner of the Aussie Milliions.

Lee is also well known as an author of some of the most popular and intelligent poker literature. Kill Phil probably the most recognisable title he has written. A gracious winner, he took the victory in his stride and congratulated all his opponents.

Click here to download ANZPT MELBOURNE HI-RES WINNER’S SHOT

The day started with eleven players the early action saw the final table reached within an hour. The unlucky final table bubble honour went to Seonglee Ang. Seonglee was especially unlucky because in the pot with Lee Nelson both players were all-in pre-flop and Seonglee was ahead. He held a pair of kings against Lee’s pair of queens but a queen fell on the flop. Seonglee was eliminated and our final table was set.

Once play resumed it slowed down considerably and it was two hours before Justin Sanchez was eliminated in 9th position. There was a slew of eliminations just prior to the dinner break, seeing only four players return to the table. Lee Nelson was an overwhelming chip leader at this point being the giant slayer taking out Phillip Willcocks moments before dinner.

The play did not slow after dinner and it was only 30 minutes later that we went to heads up. Lee Nelson had 4,675,000 to Nick Georgoulas’ 134,500 chips. It was not long before the final hand was dealt. Nick went all in with his pair of fours and Lee called with the jack, ten of hearts. The dealer peeled off the flop to reveal 8h, Ah, Kh and our champion was virtually decided. Nick’s fate was confimed with the 9h on the turn and the 2s on the river. Lee Nelson was our 2011 ANZPT Melbourne Champion.

Click here to download ANZPT MELBOURNE FINAL PLACINGS & PAYOUTS

The big mover in the ANZ Player of the Year race is Danny Chevalier who moved up from out of the prizes in fourth place, into second. He is a real chance to over take the lead from Leo Boxell. As we go to the final event of the year there are four people who can still win player of the year. Like last year the ANZ Player of the Year is going down to the wire and ANZPT Darwin will decide how the race will be won.

Click here to download the current ANZ PLAYER OF THE YEAR LEADERBOARD

For a full wrap of the event, please visit the PokerStars Blog. Event photography can be viewed on the ANZPT’s official facebook page.

PokerNZ.com will have a full story & interview up this week.

Marcel Schreiner Wins APPT Queenstown Snowfest

Brooke Howard-Smith — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 21:56:30 +0000

Marcel Schreiner Wins APPT Queenstown Snowfest

QUEENSTOWN, New Zealand – After four days of poker, 126 eliminations, a 12 hour final table and 190 hands of heads-up play, we have a new Asia Pacific Poker Tour champion. Marcel Schreiner of Germany showed the perfect mixture of well-timed aggression, patience and the right amount of luck to become the first non-Kiwi to take down a New Zealand based APPT event. He’ll take home NZD$94,300 and the champion’s trophy.

Marcel Schreiner – APPT Queenstown Snowfest Champion

The runner-up is Matty Yates of New Zealand. The Kiwi came into the final table with the second largest stack and held the chip lead for much of the 12 hour final table. The heads-up portion of the tournament was back and forth with the lead changing many times. Yates earned NZD$60,000 for his second place finish.

PokerStars.net ran a series of freeroll tournaments that sent two players to the Queenstown Snowfest. Both John Waterman and Gavin Vickers turned their free main event seats into five and four figure pay days, finishing in 4th and 12th place respectively.

APPT Melbourne champion Leo Boxell will maintain his healthy lead in the Australia New Zealand Player of the Year race. The final qualifying events are ANZPT Melbourne (September 24-26), followed by ANZPT Darwin (October 4-8).

FINAL TABLE PAYOUTS

1st. Marcel Schreiner, Germany – $94,300
2nd. Matty Yates, New Zealand – $60,000
3rd. John Waterman, New Zealand (PokerStars Freeroll Qualifier) – $35,150
4th. Carl Knox, New Zealand – $29,145
5th. Daniel Laidlaw, Australia (PokerStars Qualifier) – $24,000
6th. Tom Grigg, Australia – $19,715
7th. Xiao Dong Xia, China – $16,290
8th. Hugh Cohen, Australia (PokerStars Qualifier) – $12,860
9th. Jonathan Karamalikis, Australia (PokerStars Qualifier) – $10,280

APPT QUEENSTOWN SNOWFEST MAIN EVENT VITALS

CLICK HERE for the prize pool and payouts

CLICK HERE for a hi-res photo of champion, Marcel Schreiner

CLICK HERE for the Australia New Zealand Player of the Year leaderboard after seven events

CLICK HERE for exclusive videos from the APPT Queenstown Snowfest Main Event

CLICK HERE for a full event recap on the PokerStars Blog

The next APPT Season 5 event takes place in Macau, China, from November 17-27. APPT Macau will feature a schedule of 14 events highlighted by the HKD$30,000 Main Event. For more information on APPT Macau, please click here.

Please send all media inquiries/requests to press@pokerstars.net

Regards,

Luke Lichtenstein

thanks to Pokerstars.net

THE APPT QUEENSTOWN SNOWFEST FINAL TABLE IS SET

Brooke Howard-Smith — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 13:26:04 +0000

THE APPT QUEENSTOWN SNOWFEST FINAL TABLE IS SET

QUEENSTOWN, New Zealand – 21 players returned for Day 3 of the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour Queenstown Snowfest and after three and a half hours of play, we’re down to our final 9. The action was fast and furious from the get go, and we approached the money bubble in just oer 90 minutes. The unfortunate bubble boy was Russian PokerStars Qualifier Artur Prokhorov after he moved his short stack in with A-5 and lost to the J-7 of PokerStars Qualifier Hugh Cohen.

Some interesting stories have developed deep in this event, perhaps most notably that Hugh Cohen is the brother of last year’s ANZPT Queenstown champion Julian Cohen. If Hugh can pull off the win tomorrow, this will set a unique record in PokerStars main events.

PokerStars Qualifier, Hugh Cohen

This will be Tom Grigg‘s third APPT final table appearance with his most notable finish coming in the 2010 APPT Auckland where he finished in second. Interestingly, Tom is the room mate of Hugh and Julian Cohen.

2010 APPT Grand Final champion Jonathan Karamalikis will be looking to become the first duel APPT champion. He has his work cut out for him as he enters the final table 5th in chips.

Two PokerStars Freeroll Qualifiers cashed in Queenstown, with Gavin Vickers finishing in 12th place and John Waterman entering the final table in 7th chip position.

CASHES TO DATE

10th. Jackson Zheng, New Zealand (PokerStars Qualifier) – $7,720
11th. Charles Caris, Australia – $7,720
12th. Gavin Vickers, New Zealand (PokerStars Freeroll Qualifier) – $7,720
13th. Ryan Mckay, Australia (PokerStars Qualifier) – $6,000
14th. Ben Paurini, New Zealand – $6,000
15th. Cole Swannack, New Zealand – $6,000

FINAL TABLE CHIP COUNTS

Marcel Schreiner, Germany – 591,500
Matty Yates, New Zealand – 523,000
Tom Grigg, Australia – 296,000
Daniel Laidlaw, Australia (PokerStars Qualifier) – 193,000
Carl Knox, New Zealand – 180,500
Jonathan Karamalikis, Australia (PokerStars Qualifier) – 174,000
John Waterman, New Zealand (PokerStars Freeroll Qualifier) – 153,500
Hugh Cohen, Australia (PokerStars Qualifier) – 146,500
Xiao Dong Xia, New Zealand – 107,500

APPT QUEENSTOWN SNOWFEST MAIN EVENT VITALS

CLICK HERE for the final table seat draw

CLICK HERE for exclusive videos from the APPT Queenstown Snowfest Main Event

CLICK HERE for a recap of all the Day 3 action on the PokerStars Blog

The final table kicks off on Sunday at 12:30 PM (GMT+12). Play will continue until we crown a new Asia Pacific Poker Tour champion.

Please send all media inquiries/requests to press@pokerstars.net

Regards,

Luke Lichtenstein

THE SNOWFEST FINAL TABLE LOOMS

Brooke Howard-Smith — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 08:34:04 +0000

THE SNOWFEST FINAL TABLE LOOMS

QUEENSTOWN, New Zealand – Day 2 of the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour Queenstown Snowfest saw 71 players return to the felt. After another six levels of play, we’re left with 21.

The chip leader heading into the penultimate day of the NZD$3,000 Main Event is Marcel Schreinerof Germany. He bagged up 453,800 courtesy of an ace-high river call he made against Tom Grigg on the final hand of the day. The hero call netted him an extra 100,000 chips.

Germany’s Marcel Schreiner – APPT Queenstown Snowfest Day 2 Chip Leader

Grigg himself is still healthy as he finished the day with 220,500. He’ll be joined on Day 3 by PokerStars Qualifiers Jonathan Karamalikis, Hugh Cohen and Daniel Laidlaw.

Notable players who their tournament demise include the always volatile Koray Turker, overnight chip leader Alicia Sale and PokerStars Qualifier Jesse McKenzie. McKenzie’s elimination means Leo Boxell will maintain a healthy lead in the Australia New Zealand Player of the Year race with only two events left. PokerStars Player Octavian Voegele is the only player in the top 10 still alive and he can enter the top 3 with a deep run.

TOP TEN DAY 2 CHIP COUNTS

Marcel Schreiner, Germany – 453,800
Tom Grigg, Australia – 220,500
Jonathan Karamalikis, Australia (PokerStars Qualifier) – 192,800
Ben Paurini, New Zealand – 180,100
Carl Knox, New Zealand – 148,100
Hugh Cohen, Australia (PokerStars Qualifier) – 143,900
Daniel Laidlaw, Australia (PokerStars Qualifier) – 138,100
Jackson Zheng, New Zealand (PokerStars Qualifier) – 121,200
Cole Swannack, New Zealand – 120,100
Matty Yates, New Zealand – 100,200

APPT QUEENSTOWN SNOWFEST MAIN EVENT VITALS

CLICK HERE for the Day 3 seat draw

CLICK HERE for exclusive videos from the APPT Queenstown Snowfest Main Event

CLICK HERE for a recap of all the Day 2 action on the PokerStars Blog

Play will recommence on Saturday at 16 (GMT+12), a later start than normal to allow the final 21 to enjoy some of the amazing outdoor activities Queenstown is known for.

Please send all media inquiries/requests to press@pokerstars.net

Regards,

Luke Lichtenstein

APPT QUEENSTOWN SNOWFEST CREATES RECORD PRIZE POOL

Brooke Howard-Smith — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 11:09:27 +0000

APPT QUEENSTOWN SNOWFEST CREATES RECORD PRIZE POOL

QUEENSTOWN, New Zealand – Day 1C of the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour Queenstown Snowfest Main Event saw another 44 players pay the NZD$3,000 entry fee, bringing the total field to 127 players from 19 countries, creating a prize pool of $342,900; a record for Queenstown poker. The eventual champion will take home $94,300.

The Day 1C chip leader is Kiwi player Alicia Sale. She finished the day with 91,750 which will give her the overall chip lead heading into Day 2. Sale was also victorious is event #2 – $550 Turbo NLHE and will be looking to continue her momentum deeper into the Main Event.

Alicia Sale accepts her “trophy” for victory in a Queenstown Snowfest side event.

Other notable 1C players heading into Day 2 with healthy stacks are ANZPT Adelaide champOctavian Voegele and Adelaide final tablist Charles Caris.

Last year’s Queenstown champion Julian Cohen was an early casualty after his flush was run down by the full house of NZ’s Jamie Lunt. Cohen was joined on the rail by Andrew Scott and APPT Melbourne champ Leo Boxell. His elimination opens up the door for Jesse McKenzie to perhaps narrow Boxell’s lead in the Australia New Zealand Player of the Year race. McKenzie will have to make deep runs in at least two of the final three qualifying events if he wants to a chance at becoming the Player of the Year.

TOP TEN DAY 1C CHIP COUNTS

Alicia Sale, New Zealand – 91,750
Ben Paurini, New Zealand – 77,225
Octavian Voegele, Austria (PokerStars Player) – 59,975
Charles Caris, Australia – 57,700
Jeremy Macdonald, New Zealand – 51,900
Jamie Lunt, New Zealand – 44,550
Daryl Hussey, New Zealand – 37,200
Roland Keiso, Estonia (PokerStars Qualifier) – 32,175
Carl Knox, New Zealand – 32,000
Xia Dong Xia, New Zealand – 29,375

APPT QUEENSTOWN SNOWFEST MAIN EVENT VITALS

CLICK HERE for the Day 1C player list

CLICK HERE for the complete player list

CLICK HERE for the prize pool and payout information

CLICK HERE for the Day 1C survivors and chip counts

CLICK HERE for the Day 2 seat draw

CLICK HERE for exclusive videos from the APPT Queenstown Snowfest Main Event

CLICK HERE for a recap of all the Day 1C action on the PokerStars Blog

Play is scheduled to recommence at 12:30 PM (GMT+12) where the final 71 will return for Day 2 action.

Please send all media inquiries/requests to press@pokerstars.net

Regards,

Luke Lichtenstein

APPT QUEENSTOWN SNOWFEST MAIN EVENT – DAY 1B RESULTS

Brooke Howard-Smith — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 04:08:34 +0000

APPT QUEENSTOWN SNOWFEST MAIN EVENT – DAY 1B RESULTS

QUEENSTOWN, New Zealand – Day 1B of the PokerStars.net APPT Queenstown Snowfest Main Event saw another 43 players take to the felt, comprising of online qualifiers, a world champ and a bevvy or past APPT and ANZPT champions.

After six levels of play, we lost only 15 players to leave us with another 28 advancing to Day 2. Among the 1B casualties were 2005 World Champion and Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem, duel APPT and ANZPT champion Grant Levy, and WSOP bracelet winner, Simon Watt of New Zealand.

Photography by Joe Giron

Marcel Schreiner of Germany is the overnight chip leader. Other notable stacks include that of PokerStars Team Online member Dale ‘daleroxxu’ Philip, APPT Sydney champion Jonathan Karamalikis and the last Australian standing in the WSOP Main Event, Andrew Hinrichsen.

TOP TEN DAY 1B CHIP COUNTS

Marcel Schreiner, Germany – 72,600
Matty Yates, New Zealand – 62,100
Daniel Laidlaw, Australia (PokerStars Qualifier) – 60,075
Andrew Hinrichsen, Australia (PokerStars Qualifier) – 54,550
Jonathan Karamalikis, Australia (PokerStars Qualifier) – 51,850
Ryan Mckay, Australia (PokerStars Qualifier) – 50,250
Tom Grigg, Australia – 48,900
Dale Philip, Scotland (PokerStars Team Online) – 48,000
Michael Pedley, Australia (PokerStars Qualifier) – 41,400
Jeff Bucher, New Zealand – 36,275

APPT QUEENSTOWN SNOWFEST MAIN EVENT VITALS

CLICK HERE for the Day 1B player list

CLICK HERE for the Day 1B survivors and chip counts

CLICK HERE for exclusive videos from the APPT Queenstown Snowfest Main Event

CLICK HERE for a recap of all the Day 1B action on the PokerStars Blog

Day 1C will commence at 12:30 PM (GMT+12) on Thursday and will feature last year’s Queenstown champion, PokerStars Player Julian Cohen. He will be joined by two-time Australia New Zealand Player of the Year Tony Hachem and ANZPT Melbourne champion Leo Boxell.

Please send all media inquiries/requests to press@pokerstars.com

Regards,

Luke Lichtenstein

Snowfest 2011 announced for Queenstown

Brooke Howard-Smith — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 00:48:41 +0000

MEDIA RELEASE
13 June 2011

Players pack the snowboards and poker faces for New Zealand Poker Tour Queenstown – SKYCITY Snowfest!

SKYCITY Entertainment Group is pleased to announce the 2011 PokerStars.net New Zealand Poker Tour (NZPT) Queenstown – SKYCITY Snowfest poker tournament will be coming to the wintry slopes of Queenstown from 22 – 28 August 2011.

Poker players will be lining up to play in this unique poker tournament in the adventure capital of New Zealand. The tournament will be joining two world poker tours run by PokerStars.net, bringing a truly international field into Queenstown. Big names including Joe Hachem who is Australia’s only World Poker Champion will be hitting the felt during the tournament and hitting the slopes in the off days.

Danny McDonagh, PokerStars.net NZPT Tournament Director is excited to be coming back to Queenstown in 2011. He says:

“Without a doubt Queenstown is the Number 1 tourist destination in New Zealand and players coming to play the PokerStars.net NZPT Queenstown – SKYCITY Snowfest are not only assured of some great poker action in the boutique SKYCITY Queenstown Casino, but also experiencing the holiday of a lifetime. It will be my third tournament at this fabulous alpine resort and I can’t wait to return there.”

Michelle Ballie, SKYCITY Queenstown Executive Manager looks forward to the action the tournament brings to Queenstown each year. She says:

“We are thrilled to be hosting this world-class international poker tournament again in beautiful Queenstown and expect this year to be our biggest tournament yet. With close to 200 players expected in town for a week along with friends and family, not only will there be fantastic poker action, but it will be a great boost to Queenstown tourism and the local economy.”

The PokerStars.net NZPT Queenstown – SKYCITY Snowfest will take place from Monday 22 August and run until Sunday 28 August providing a week long poker extravaganza. The NZPT Queenstown – SKYCITY Snowfest will offer players an expected total prize pool of $540,000 NZD* in the $3,000 NZD buy-in Main Event. Participation in this event will be capped at 200 players and is always a popular tournament with players in New Zealand as well as those overseas. Players are advised to start registering now to avoid disappointment.

To register for the tournament or for more information visit www.skycity.co.nz/poker <http://www.skycity.co.nz/poker>

ANZPT CANBERRA END OF DAY 2 – NGUYEN LEADS FIELD HEADING INTO FINAL DAY

Brooke Howard-Smith — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 21:31:54 +0000

Khiem Nguyen – ANZPT Canberra Day 2 Chip Leader

ANZPT CANBERRA END OF DAY 2 – NGUYEN LEADS FIELD HEADING INTO FINAL DAY

76 players returned for Day 2 of ANZPT Canberra. After 9 levels of play, we’re left with our final 15 who are now in the money and will return tomorrow to crown the next ANZPT champion.

Among today’s starters were a bevvy of former ANZPT champions, Team PokerStars Pro Tony Hachem, Octavian Voegele, Rennie Carnevale, Scott Kerr and Michael Kanaan. Unfortunately none of them would survive the day and each will have to wait a little while longer before they can campaign to become the first two-time ANZPT champ.

Our bubble boy was George Moussa after his ace-king was outflopped by the 8-6 of Tristan Bain.

The chip leader heading into the final day of play is Khiem Nguyen. A resident of Germany, Nguyen recently based himself in Brisbane, Australia and has been travelling the Australasian poker circuit. His most notable result was a 3rd place in the Macau Millions, good for HKD$200,000. He’ll head into the final day with 325,600. Hot on his heels are Leigh Warne with 311,600 and the aforementionedTristan Bain with 263,300.

Other notables still in contention for the title are James Broom (203,700) and Aussie Millions champDavid Gorr (112,500). Interestingly, Gorr is the only player in the current top 10 of the POY leaderboard. With this cash he’ll move into the top 5 and can move as high as second place after five events.

Click here to download ANZPT CANBERRA DAY 3 SEAT DRAW & CHIP COUNTS

Play recommences at 12:15 AEST. Head to the PokerStars Blog for all the up to the minute action until a new ANZPT champion is crowned.