As we wrote in our introduction post, the Italian Poker Tour is in its seventh season and still going strong. The online Italian market isn't as buoyant as it used to be but the Italians, maybe more than any other European nation, love live poker for its social aspect.

There is also no doubting that the IPT, like other national tours such as the UKIPT and Estrelles, have benefited from pairing up on occasion with the EPT to create a festival. It's almost got to the point now that we'll start having to call these stops super festivals due to the amount of events - 76 alone this week in Malta - and the amount of players who come through the doors (22,696 played the last stop in Barcelona, for example).

Day 1A of the IPT is a few levels into play and we caught up with Team PokerStars Pro Luca Pagano, the man who helped form and helps run and promote the tour. He talked to the blog about the IPT, his relationship with PokerStars and business and poker aspirations.

"For myself, today going very well so far (60,000 at the time of publishing). I've was lucky in the very beginning and I've been playing pretty aggressively. The table is very good in the sense that they tend to be a bit more passive. Honestly, as it's been a while since I've been back at the tables playing, I'm now feeling more comfortable with my game and it seems as if uck has listened to this. It getting better together with my confidence but we'll see! I'm not going to win the tournament today (unfortunately) but if I can make it through properly we can have some fun through the coming days.

Pagano made the final table of the very first EPT event in Barcelona back in 2004 and a relationship was formed that has lasted to this day.

"I've been with PokerStars for more than a decade now probably. I'm a poker player, consultant and business partner with them. It's a relationship we've been able to build on respect and trust for each other. Obviously I'm still very attached the Scheinberg family - who I'm very grateful to - but also the management that is now in charge, who is giving me the opportunity to organise and promote the IPT as I would like to.

The poker world had gone through a lot of changes in the last few years. Many only see the problems, a few see the opportunities that these challenges open up.

"Where this partnership is going to be in the next ten years, I don't know - well, let's say, I have a few ideas - but I cannot comment at the moment. Some nice surprises are coming though. There are a lot of things we can do in the poker industry. I like what (Alex) Dreyfus is trying to achieve; I'm rooting for him. He's hitting some very good goals in the right ways although he might be wrong about some things. I'm his biggest supporter though and hope he'll achieve what he's trying to do.

For Pagano it seems that his personal development is just as important as developing his business interests.

"On my side, I'm an entrepreneur as well and I've learned from others' successes and failures. It definitely an area I'm spending a lot of time and energies on. So, where an I going to be with PokerStars in the next years? I'll let you know very soon!

Fellow Team Pro Johnny Lodden cashed in EPT Barcelona to draw level on Pagano with 20 cashes. The Italian was, for a long time, well clear and still hold the record on final table appearances with seven but, a winning performance on the IPT - San Remo in 2011 - remains the achievement he's most proud of.

"That victory kind of satisfied my poker appetite in the sense that I was really looking forward to winning a major tournament. After that I relaxed at the tables and I focused on many other things. Again, I'm an entrepreneur and that's where I'm really focusing on at the moment. I had, and still have the opportunity, to go back to the books and am taking some important executive courses.

Now I feel like it's time to go back to the tables properly and get some other good results. Johnny Lodden has reached the twenties in cashes on the EPT, like me, so now we are in competition! I'm still leading with the amount of final tables but I'm still missing a victory. Let's say that's going to be my very next goal!"

Main Event update:

Pagano went back to join the 209 other players that have sat down for Day 1A so far. The atmosphere in the room is quite calm, due to the fact that less than half the room is in use. The players should embrace the calm as it will be anything but in a few days time.

Day ones on the IPT are played out over twelve 45-minute levels, with a 75-minute dinner break after level 9. Play is due to finish around 11:15pm. The players start with 25,000 chips and David Martin has jumped out into an early lead with 68,000. Pagano, Alessio Peciarolo, Maksim Shulga and Ben Wilinofsky all passed 50,000 chips too through the first four levels.

The last of these players failed to make the break though. Former EPT Berlin champion Wilinofsky, managed to go from 52,000 to zero in quick time. He was one of 13 players to but so far.

Some late entries we'll keep an eye on include: Russell Thomas, Kitty Kuo, Kevin Killeen, Darah Davey, Jackie Cachia, Davide Suriano, Andrew Chen and Rasmus Agerskov.

For full details of the festival, click here.

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Updates provided by Marc Convey, with photos coming from René Velli and
Tomáš Stacha.

The PokerStars festival liner has sailed back into Saint Julian's Bay, Malta for a second time this year. The stop proved so popular back in March that there was very little chance of leaving it off the schedule, this time around.

The European Poker Tour Main Event kicks off in few days time leaving all eyes gazing upon the penultimate leg of Season 7 of the Italian Poker Tour and the plethora of side events on offer today, as well as over the next few days.

Casino Barcelona is probably still recovering from the record-breaking numbers that tested their foundations to the limit back in August and the Portomaso Casino - host for the 11-day poker festival - will be hoping for the same rigidity, or we'll all be sliding into the Mediterranean sea

There are seven tournaments proper, and two satellite tournaments taking place today, with the main focus being on the IPT Main Event Day 1A. The tournament has two starting flights and a very good chance of attracting more than the 1,285 entries who participated back in March (still Season 7 on the IPT).

Georgios Zisimopoulos took down that title and the €142,200 that came with it. He deserved every cent of that prize as he had to navigate his way past so many players and sharks during the latter stages of the tournament.

Day 1A's field is expected to include Team Pros Mickey Petersen, Luca Pagano and Matthias De Meulder along with notables such as Kenny Hallaert, Joao Simao, Morten Mortensen, Rupert Elder, Tom Hall and Jason Wheeler. There's a couple of EPT title-holders to be found amongst that lot.

Cards are due to be in the air at 12pm CET. Keep an eye on the blog for all goings-on from the IPT Main Event, and we'll be sure to bring you news from any major happenings in the side events..

For full details of the festival, click here.

Not got a PokerStars account yet? Join the world's biggest site now by clicking here.

Updates provided by Marc Convey, with photos coming from René Velli and
Tomáš Stacha.

It was in mid-July when Cashcid Linc of Germany took away a hard-to-secure Super Tuesday title, winning the weekly $1,050 no-limit hold'em tournament on PokerStars for a handsome payday of nearly $78K.

Now just about three months later Cashcid Linc has done it again, winning this week's installment of the Super Tuesday by topping a field of 487 to earn an even bigger payday of $92,530. Here's the story of how Cashcid Linc binked the Tuesday yet again.

That turnout meant a $487,000 prize pool -- over the $400K guarantee. The top 63 finishers divided the money, and it took about six hours for the field to be cut down to that size and the cash bubble to burst.

At about the seven-and-a-half-hour mark they were down to 18 players, with Jean-Pascal "hopezACE" Savard -- whom we met here at PokerStars Blog last year after his win in a WCOOP event -- sitting in the top spot of the counts as the only player north of 200,000 chips.

Robert "Little Kraut" Deppe (18th), Miguel "inca7bar" Silva (17th), and jonwayne69 (16th) were the next players eliminated, each earning $3,896. Seth "Setherson2" Davies (15th), ABC POKERS (14th), and John "BlackFourz" May (13th) then successively went out, picking up $4,870 apiece. Then DuTTiFruTTi9 (12th), steakaddict. (11th), and senecio4 (10th) saw their tournament runs conclude, with those three each grabbing $5,844.

With kalashn1kovv the new chip leader after having built a stack of nearly 675,000 and three players from Costa Rica among the last nine, the final table was underway.

Seat 1: kalashn1kovv (Slovenia) -- 673,838
Seat 2: filushh (Israel) -- 168,907
Seat 3: Jason "TeamWispy" Helder (Costa Rica) -- 248,852
Seat 4: terryglass (United Kingdom) -- 459,198
Seat 5: GuiGui_88 (Costa Rica) -- 275,250
Seat 6: gardze_wami (Poland) -- 163,697
Seat 7: Jean-Pascal "hopezACE" Savard (Canada) -- 193,940
Seat 8: norfair18 (Costa Rica) -- 131,234
Seat 9: Cashcid Linc (Germany) -- 120,084

On just the third hand of the final table, the blinds were 3,600/7,200 when earlier leader Jean-Pascal "hopezACE" Savard opened for 15,840 from early position, then current leader kalashn1kovv three-bet to 38,450 from the hijack seat.

It folded back to Savard who called, and the pair saw a flop come [Qc][2s][As]. Both players checked, and after the [Kd] fell on the turn Savard checked again. This time kalashn1kovv bet 34,656, and Savard called.

The river brought the [5s]. Savard checked once more, and after kalashn1kovv shoved all in Savard called with the 118,334 left behind. Savard had [Ad][Jd] for top pair of aces, but kalashn1kovv had a set with [Qd][Qh] and Savard was out in ninth.

They played on another half-hour, then it was a short-stacked gardze_wami open-pushing from early position for 37,244 (not quite four big blinds) and getting two callers in norfair18 and kalashn1kovv. The flop came [Jh][4h][Ad], and after checking norfair18 folded to a kalashn1kovv bet.

kalashn1kovv had [4d][4c], having flopped a set once again, while gardze_wami had but [Qh][8c]. The [5c] turn then left gardze_wami drawing dead to finish eighth.

Five minutes later Jason "TeamWispy" Helder open-pushed all in from middle position for 127,180 (a little under 13 BBs) with [9c][9d] and got called by Cashcid Linc in the big blind with [Ad][Td]. A board of [Kd][As][Jc][4h][6s] meant a better pair for Cashcid Linc, and Helder was done in seventh.

About 15 minutes passed, then with the blinds at 6,000/12,000 it was kalashn1kovv opening for 26,400 from the cutoff, then filushh reraised all in from the button for 77,104. The blinds folded, then kalashn1kovv called, showing [Ac][Td] versus filushh's [Kc][Qd].

The community cards came [2h][Kh][Ad][Qs][Jh], giving kalashn1kovv top pair on the flop, filushh two pair on the turn, then kalashn1kovv a straight on the river to knock filushh out in sixth.

The final five reached the break that came at the tournament's 10-hour mark, with kalashn1kovv still leading and Cashcid Linc sitting in second position.

Nearly 15 minutes after play resumed, norfair18 open-raised all in for 71,444 from UTG, and after terryglass reraise-shoved from the small blind GuiGui_88 folded the BB. terryglass turned over [7d][7c] while norfair18 was hoping to improve with [Qh][9s]. But the board came [Tc][6c][5h][3s][6d], and norfair18 was knocked out in fifth.

Just six hands later, terryglass min-raised to 28,000 from UTG, Cashcid Linc three-bet to 82,224 from the small blind, and kalashn1kovv called the reraise from the big blind. terryglass then shoved all in for 236,853 total, and after Cashcid Linc stepped aside kalashn1kovv called.

kalashn1kovv had [Ac][Jd] while terryglass turned over [Kc][Kd]. The [5d][9s][As] flop hit kalashn1kovv's hand, making top pair of aces, and after the [6c] turn and [Qd] river, terryglass had been eliminated in fourth.

The final trio battled onward as the blinds eventually increased to 9,000/18,000. Then came a hand that saw GuiGui_88 open for 36,000 from the button, then Cashcid Linc three-bet to 102,102 from the small blind. kalashn1kovv folded, GuiGui_88 called, and the flop came [7h][Jc][Td]. Cashcid Linc checked, GuiGui_88 bet 98,900, and Cashcid Linc called.

The turn then brought the [9h] and a bet of 198,233 from Cashcid Linc, and when GuiGui_88 raised all in for 500,909, Cashcid Linc called. GuiGui_88 had [Jh][8h], having made a straight with that turn card, while Cashcid Linc turned over [9s][9d] to show fourth street having made a set of nines.

Then came the river... the [7s]! That made a full house for Cashcid Linc, stopping GuiGui_88 in third.

Heads-up play began with Cashcid Linc having moved in front with 1,436,415 to kalashn1kovv's 998,585.

The pair dueled for a few hands, reaching the 11-hour mark of the tournament with Cashcid Linc edging up over 2 million while kalashn1kovv fell back to less than 430,000. A few minutes after that Cashcid Linc won a decent pot to put kalashn1kovv down to just over 200,000 to set up the tournament's final hand.

The blinds were up to 10,000/20,000, and after Cashcid Linc open-pushed from the button kalashn1kovv called all in, showing [Kc][8c]. Cashcid Linc had that hand dominated, holding [Ad][Kh], and when the board brought five low cards -- [6d][4d][3d][2h][2c] -- Cashcid Linc had won the Super Tuesday yet again.

Last week it was Narcis "Narcisus90" Nedelcu nabbing a second Super Tuesday title this year. And now Cashcid Linc also joins the two-time winner club for taking down a second Super Tuesday in just over three months!

10/20/15 Super Tuesday ($1,050 No-Limit Hold'em) results
Entrants: 487
Prize pool: $487,000.00
Places paid: 63

1. Cashcid Linc (Germany) $92,530.00
2. kalashn1kovv (Slovenia) $68,180.00
3. GuiGui_88 (Costa Rica) $49,917.50
4. terryglass (United Kingdom) $37,986.00
5. norfair18 (Costa Rica) $26,785.00
6. filushh (Israel) $20,697.50
7. Jason "TeamWispy" Helder (Costa Rica) $15,827.50
8. gardze_wami (Poland) $10,957.50
9. Jean-Pascal "hopezACE" Savard (Canada) $8,084.20

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