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World's largest poker business to enter regulated online gaming market in the United States

MONTREAL, Sept. 30, 2015 /CNW/ - Amaya Inc. (TSX: AYA; NASDAQ: AYA) ("Amaya" or the "Corporation") today announced that the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (the "DGE") has authorized it to operate the PokerStars and Full Tilt brands in New Jersey. The approval follows an unprecedented review by the DGE of Amaya's acquisition of PokerStars and Full Tilt in August 2014. The approval enables the entry of the world's largest poker business into the United States.

"We are very pleased to add New Jersey to the long list of regulated markets that have found PokerStars and Full Tilt suitable to offer real-money online gaming," said David Baazov, Chairman and CEO of Amaya. "I want to thank the DGE for their thorough and fair review of our business. We look forward to bringing our popular brands, innovative technology, marketing prowess and world-class security and game integrity to the growing New Jersey online gaming market. We anticipate providing additional details of our launch plans in the near future."

Amaya is currently in an agreement with Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City to provide online poker and casino offerings in New Jersey through the PokerStars and Full Tilt brands. Amaya has also previously received approvals from the DGE to provide B2B online and land-based gaming solutions in New Jersey.

New Jersey gaming regulators have a long history of stringent regulatory oversight and enforcement of gaming operations. The DGE's review of PokerStars was extremely thorough and exhaustive, including a detailed review of Amaya's operations and technology, sworn interviews with more than 70 individuals and visits to approximately a half dozen international jurisdictions. This stringent review found PokerStars to be under strong, ethical and trusted ownership and management with Amaya, and worthy of participating in New Jersey's regulated online gaming market.

"Since the acquisition, we have consistently delivered on our stated strategy," said Baazov. "Today's announcement follows the divesture of our B2B businesses for total gross proceeds of approximately US$524.8 million; the launch of casino games on PokerStars, which we estimate has one of the largest active user bases of any online casino; the refinancing of our long term debt and the reduction of our annual interest expense by approximately US$62 million. We are excited about our new product pipeline and enthusiastic that we will experience growth in existing and emerging markets in the future."

PokerStars is the world's largest online poker site and Full Tilt is among the world's top online gaming sites. The two brands combined hold a strong majority share of the global online poker market per industry estimates1, and have more than 95 million registered customers. PokerStars recently started to roll out online casino games in select markets and is already estimated by the Corporation to be one of the largest real-money online casino operators in the world as measured by number of unique players.

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About Amaya
Amaya is a leading provider of technology-based solutions, products and services in the global gaming and interactive entertainment industries. Amaya owns gaming and related consumer businesses and brands including PokerStars, Full Tilt, StarsDraft, the European Poker Tour, PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, the Latin American Poker Tour and the Asia Pacific Poker Tour. These brands collectively form the largest poker business in the world, comprising online poker games and tournaments, live poker competitions, branded poker rooms in popular casinos in major cities around the world, and poker programming created for television and online audiences. Amaya, through certain of these brands, also offers non-poker online gaming products, including casino, sportsbook and daily fantasy sports.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable securities laws, including, without limitation, Amaya's anticipated operation of the PokerStars and Full Tilt brands in New Jersey. Forward-looking statements can, but may not always, be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "predict", "potential", "targeting", "intend", "could", "might", "would", "should", "believe", "objective", "ongoing" and similar references to future periods or the negatives of these words and expressions. These statements, other than statements of historical fact, are based on management's current expectations and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, including market and economic conditions, business prospects or opportunities, future plans and strategies, projections, technological developments, anticipated events and trends and regulatory changes that affect us, our customers and our industries. Although the Corporation and management believe the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable and are based on reasonable assumptions and estimates, there can be no assurance that these assumptions or estimates are accurate or that any of these expectations will prove accurate. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive risks, uncertainties and contingencies that could cause actual events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. These risks and uncertainties include those identified under the heading "Risk Factors and Uncertainties" in Amaya's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2014 and in its Management's Discussion and Analysis for the period ended June 30, 2015, each available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, Edgar at www.sec.gov and Amaya's website at www.amaya.com, and in other filings that Amaya has made and may make with applicable securities authorities in the future. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date hereof, and the Corporation undertakes no obligation to correct or update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.



Meet Coenaldinho7, online poker's new World Champion

On Tuesday night, a Belgian who goes by the PokerStars name Coenaldinho7 won the World Championship of Online Poker Main Event, banking $1.3 million and online poker's most coveted bracelet.

It was clear from the outset that this would be no ordinary final table, and by the time Coenaldinho7 won, it was clear he was no ordinary champion. Before the final table even started, Coenaldinho7 was begging for a deal. He hoped everyone would take half a million dollars out of the prize pool and then play winner-take-all for the rest. For the better part of four hours, he couldn't get a consensus. It wasn't until four players remained that the hold-outs finally agreed to a rather modified ICM deal. And it was not without some chat that got a little contentious at times.

We asked him for a picture of himself, but he demurred. Seriously, the only thing he would offer is this.

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So, who is this guy?

Here's what we know.

Coenaldinho7 has no interest in being a big poker name. That is, he's not going to reveal his real name nor his face today.

"Personal, job related, and security reasons," he told us.

That understood, he's not as secretive about other parts of his life. Coenaldinho7 comes from Limburg, Belgium. At 36 years old, he's still an active soccer and tennis player. He and his girlfriend (more on her later) have a newborn son. He spends his days as the head of transport for a Belgian meat producer. When he's not doing that, he's swamped at home.

"My biggest hobby at this moment is working day and night, weekends, and holidays in our house to try and get it renovated before the winter," he said. "Somehow I think I will manage now."

While his newfound riches might go a ways toward helping with the house, Coenaldinho7 can't buy extra time on the clock.

"With work and a five-month-old baby, I don't get spare or free time," he said. "I must say these three nights (of WCOOP Main Event) were tough. No sleep, the next day at work as usual, and in the evening babysitting (my girlfriend often works late). When she arrived, I'd be at my computer...making history as it turned out."

We wanted to know more about his history and the history he made. Here's an edited version of what Coenaldinho7 was willing to reveal.

Pokerstars Blog: How does this win compare to your other poker experiences both financially and emotionally?

Coenaldinho7: I started online poker in 2004, and have been attracted to it ever since. You understand the simple rules in five minutes of Texas Hold'm, but I realized I had a lot to learn about odds, tactics, bluffs, steals, positions, you name it. YouTube was a source to see legends in action, and I thought to myself, "When I can afford to register for a decent main event of any kind, I will prove to myself and whomever it concerns that I can do this."

Only recently I have had some more means to do so, but $5,200 is (or was) a lot of money for me, too. I pulled (my WCOOP entry) off for $1,700 in a S&G. So, I entered the 2015 WCOOP Main Event, and I worked my ass off for three nights. I won. It feels bizarre.

I have experience with final tables but for $5,000-$20,000. This is something else, I must admit. Now, I believe it has been all worth it because I learned, learned, and learned. I am not the best player around, but instead of gambling, I steal, bluff and change tactics every hand.

I am thinking of quitting my stressful job, enjoying life even more, and maybe becoming a frequent visitor of online and live poker events. I'm not sure, though. I'm a good friend, an even better dad, working my butt off at my work and in my house. So, one can say I've already accomplished a lot, but I've known for 11 years--really this sounds unbelievably shallow, but it's true--I could pull this off and become even more successful in life.

You wanted a deal from the very beginning. Tell us why you pushed so hard and what you think now that you won.

Coenaldinho7: It's very simple. Nothing to lose at that point. I got my $100,000 and chose this tactic: constantly misguiding the others, or trying to at least, to let them believe I was so desperate to make these crazy request for deals, they didn't know what to think of me. That--and I am so convinced of this--made my 3-bet steals look much stronger. Along the way I realized this did not make me very popular, but I was in fact entertaining the table and the spectators. I kept this strategy until the end, still shifting tactics on the table however. It worked, and I really got a feeling this ship wasn't about to wreck before docking at its destination.

What are your plans for the money?

Coenaldinho7: Nothing spectacular except thinking about career move, finalizing my house without much help of my own two hands now, and spoiling the missus, my son, and my family and friends. No new car, no luxury, trying to help a good cause now and then...other than my own

You said your girlfriend hates poker. What did she say after you won?

Coenaldinho7: She was in shock. I told her about the $100,000 I already had before she turned in, and she couldn't believe that for starters. After I won, she was sleeping. I sent her an email with the tournament results listing my name on top and highlighting $1.3 million, and than I shouted at the stairs that she had to wake up to read a urgent email.

She sent back that this is not realistic anymore and came down with a sad face saying that she was loving our life as it was going and why did I change that forever now? I understood her immediately and told her we're not changing a lot right now.

Today she was enthusiastic and planning stuff. Go figure.

Anything else you want people to know about you

Coenaldinho7: I'm not gonna be the man I'm supposed to be anymore. With my hand on my heart, I am much sweeter, calmer, and more reserved than the chat yesterday. Believe me: All tactics. All tactics.


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is the PokerStars Head of Blogging.



Rebel FishAK hooks 9/29/15 Super Tuesday, reels in $68K after 3-way deal

With the 2015 World Championship of Poker having finally concluded with today's final table of the Main Event won by Coenaldinho7, the Super Tuesday was back in action once again and saw a healthy-sized field of 432 take part.

Almost 11 hours after the tourney began, a three-handed deal punctuated the proceedings after which Romania's Rebel FishAK won the night's final hands to claim the title and a handsome $68,002.98 first prize.


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That field meant a prize pool of $432,000, to be divided by the top 54 finishers, and after about six hours they'd played down to the bubble and had reached hand-for-hand play.

At that moment Keven "Stammdogg" Stammen was 55th of 55 and sitting to the left of Team PokerStars Pro Jason "jcarverpoker" Somerville. But Stammen was able to double through Somerville in a blind-versus-blind hand to hang on, and on another table gnetaren ran pocket sevens into Robert "Little Kraut" Deppe's pocket jacks to burst the bubble.

With that pot Deppe led with 54 players left, with Somerville also sitting with a big stack just inside the top 10.

About an hour-and-a-half later they were down to 18, with Stammen having gone out in 46th ($2,160), Deppe still with an above-average stack, and ragAAAila19 the new chip leader.

Jason Somerville was still in contention as well -- his run providing a great show for more than 20,000 viewers on Twitch -- though he was one of the shortest stacks remaining of the players on the final two tables.

Somerville then lost a tough one with [Qc][Qd] versus an all-in ROSINEI's [Ad][Jd] when the board ran out [9s][Jh][9d][Js][9c], leaving him with just over four big blinds. Mike "munchenHB" Telker would go out next in 18th, then Somerville would lose the last of his chips in a multi-way pot to be knocked out in 17th.


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Team PokerStars Pro Jason "jcarverpoker" Somerville

A short while later summuNNN went out in 16th, like Telker and Somerville earning $3,888 for the finish.

2015 WCOOP Event #56 champ ($530+R NLHE) maggess88 (15th), ROSINEI (14th), and Pimmss (13th) followed, each taking away $4,752, then JayBokes (12th), eijseijs (11th), and Luke "LFmagic" Fields (10th) were successively felted, earning $5,616 apiece.

With Nomarbles1 the new chip leader, the final table was underway.


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Seat 1: 7DonCool7 (Germany) -- 101,266
Seat 2: Rebel FishAK (Romania) -- 158,071
Seat 3: Thomas "WushuTM" Muehloecker (Austria) -- 162,651
Seat 4: Diego "Mr.Bittar" Bittar (Brazil) -- 186,970
Seat 5: Robert "Little Kraut" Deppe (Canada) -- 311,031
Seat 6: ragAAAila19 (Romania) -- 210,644
Seat 7: Nomarbles1 (Canada) -- 595,638
Seat 8: Goldfink (Germany) -- 195,756
Seat 9: Johan "busto_soon" van Til (Netherlands) -- 237,973

Just a few minutes into the final table -- not too far from the tournament's nine-hour mark -- the blinds were 3,600/7,200 when Diego "Mr.Bittar" Bittar opened for 14,675 from the cutoff seat, then it folded to Nomarbles1 in the big blind who reraise-shoved and Bittar called off with the 155,195 he had behind.

Bittar showed [Jc][Jd] while Nomarbles1 had [As][Jh]. The [9h][5c][9s] flop was safe for Bittar, but the [Ah] came on the turn to give Nomarbles1 the better pair. The river was the [7s], and Bittar was out in ninth.

A little while after that the blinds were 4,000/8,000 when 7DonCool7 open-shoved for 71,084 from early position and got a single caller in Johan "busto_soon" van Til from the big blind. 7DonCool7 had [Kc][Qs] while van Til showed [6d][6h]. The community cards were all low, coming [4d][3c][6s][2c][2h] to make a full house for van Til and end 7DonCool7's run in eighth.

They moved on to the next level, and with the blinds at 4,500/9,000 it was chip leader Nomarbles1 raising to 21,420 from early position and Robert "Little Kraut" Deppe calling from the big blind.

The flop came [9d][7d][Ts]. Deppe checked, Nomarbles1 bet 24,294, Little Kraut check-raised all in for 105,550 total, and Nomarbles1 called.

Deppe showed [8d][7h] for a pair of sevens and an open-ended straight draw while Nomarbles1 turned over [Jh][Jc]. The turn was the [5c] and river the [Ad], and Deppe was done in seventh.


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Robert "Little Kraut" Deppe

Just a few minutes later, Goldfink min-raised to 18,000 from the cutoff and Thomas "WushuTM" Muehloecker called from the big blind.

The flop came [Ts][7d][4d], and after Muehloecker checked, Goldfink continued with a bet of 22,207. Muehloecker responded with a raise to 48,755, and Goldfink then reraised to more than 240,000 -- more than Muehloecker had left.

The Austrian called all in with his last 135,821, turning over [Ad][Td] for top pair of tens and a flush draw. Goldfink had that beat with [Js][Jc], and after the [Kc] turn and [Qc] river, Meuhloecker hit the rail in sixth.


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Thomas "WushuTM" Muehloecker

Another 15 minutes would pass, then came a big hand that started with Johan "busto_soon" van Til open-raising all in from under the gun for 93,399 (just over 9 BBs), then ragAAAila19 reraise-shoved from the button for 187,472 (not quite 19 BBs). Leader Nomarbles1 called the reraise, Goldfink folded in the big blind, and the three players showed their cards:

Nomarbles1: [Ac][Qc]
ragAAAila19: [Kh][Kc]
busto_soon: [Ad][7d]

The flop came [As][6c][9h] to put Nomarbles1 in front, then the turn brought the [3s] and river the [Ah], giving Nomarbles1 trips and two knockouts, with van Til taking fifth and ragAAAila19 fourth.

The final three played on toward the tourney's 10-hour mark, then stopped for a deal discussion with Nomarbles1 ahead with 1,259,330, Goldfink next with 665,168, and Reel FishAK third with 235,502. Both "ICM" and "chip chop" figures were presented, but the trio couldn't come to terms and play continued.

They battled onward for more than a half-hour, then decided to pause things again for a second try at a deal discussion. At that point Nomarbles1 still led with 920,844, Rebel FishAK had recently doubled up to move into second position with 667,048, and Goldfink was third with 572,108.

Both sets of figures were presented again, and this time the group agreed to the "ICM" numbers, leaving $8,000 for which to play.

From there the all-ins started to come quickly, with Rebel FishAK first taking the lead by doubling through Nomarbles1 (making a flush to crack the latter's pocket queens), then Nomarbles1 doubling back through Rebel FishAK after [Ks][6s] outdrew [Ad][Jc] when a king came on board.

Not long after that, Goldfink opened with a little-over-2x raise to 35,200 from the small blind, Rebel FishAK reraised to 79,999 from the big blind, Goldfink shoved all in for 543,860 total, and Rebel FishAK called in a snap.

Goldfink had drawn an ace and showed [As][8d], but Rebel FishAK had drawn a couple of them, turning over [Ah][Ad]. The board came [4s][7c][Qc][5c][Jd], and Goldfink was out in third.

That hand put Rebel FishAK in front to start heads-up play with 1,353,344 versus Nomarbles1's 806,656. Then five hands later Rebel FishAK had chipped up a bit to almost 1.52 million when the final hand took place.

The blinds were 8,000/16,000, and after Rebel FishAK raised to 33,760 from the button, Nomarbles1 shoved all in for 638,266 and Rebel FishAK called.

Nomarbles1: [4h][4d]
Rebel FishAK: [7d][7h]

Nomarbles1 had the worse of the pocket pairs to start, but the flop came [2c][9s][4s] to give the all-in player a set and renewed hopes. But then came the turn -- the [7c]! -- giving Rebel FishAK a better set and nearly dashing those hopes as quickly as they'd come.

The river then brought the [6s] and it was all over -- Rebel FishAK had won!

Congratulations to Rebel FishAK for taking down this week's Super Tuesday, and good job as well to Nomarbles1 and Goldfink for making it to the three-way chop and earning nice paydays as well.

9/29/15 Super Tuesday ($1,050 No-Limit Hold'em) results
Entrants: 432
Prize pool: $432,000.00
Places paid: 54

1. Rebel FishAK (Romania) $68,002.98*
2. Nomarbles1 (Canada) $63,527.78*
3. Goldfink (Germany) $58,290.04*
4. ragAAAila19 (Romania) $34,560.00
5. Johan "busto_soon" van Til (Netherlands) $24,192.00
6. Thomas "WushuTM" Muehloecker (Austria) $18,360.00
7. Robert "Little Kraut" Deppe (Canada) $14,040.00
8. 7DonCool7 (Germany) $9,720.00
9. Diego "Mr.Bittar" Bittar (Brazil) $7,171.20
* = denotes a three-way deal leaving $8,000.00 for the winner

Martin Harris is Freelance Contributor to the PokerStars Blog.



WCOOP 2015: Coenaldinho7 carries the day, wins Main Event, $1.3 million ($5,200 NLHE)

What a wild three weeks it has been! Seventy tournaments, with more than $66 million won between them, making it the richest-ever World Championship of Online Poker in its 14-year history on PokerStars.

As is customary, the festival culminated with the Main Event, the $5,200 buy-in no-limit hold'em tournament that poker players around the world point to each year as the most coveted title to win online. For the first time the tournament took place over three days, and as it happened it produced three $1 million winners thanks to a four-handed final table deal from which Coenaldinho7 of Belgium emerged as the champion.

Coenaldinho7 entered the final table ninth out of nine in chips, and indeed was begging for some kind of chop even before the final table began. Such a deal was ultimately made, and the Belgian went on from there to win the title, a cool $1.3 million, and the WCOOP Main Event bracelet.


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Day 1: From 1,995 to 246

There were just under 900 players seated when the first hands were dealt on Sunday, although by the third hour of play twice that many had bought in. By the time late registration closed at the six-hour mark, a total of 1,995 players had registered for the event, which meant a prize pool of $10,000,000 would be divided between the top 243 finishers with a cool $1,760,500 scheduled to go to the winner barring a final table deal.

By then the field had already been carved down under 1,400 players, with the Swiss player amountain sitting on a mountain of chips (relatively speaking) to enjoy being an early leader. Team PokerStars Pro Jan Heitmann was also among the top 10 at that point, though would unfortunately slide to be knocked out shy of the cash later on Day 1.

A couple of hours later the field had shrunk below 1,000, with Henrick "hhecklen" Hecklen of Denmark then sitting in first position, then two more hours after that the field had been whittled under 500 with Poland's AlwaysiNduCe -- who would be around a lot longer in this one -- then leading the way.

They continued to push toward the bursting of the money bubble, with earlier leader amountain among those hitting the rail in 315th. At last the scheduled stoppage of play arrived with 246 players making it to the end of the night -- three eliminations shy of the cash.

EspenasApart of Norway was the overnight chip leader with a big stack of more than 1.4 million chips, with several recognizable names on the first page of the counts including Jason "TeamWispy" Helder, Adam "Adamyid" Owen, Isaac "westmenloAA" Baron, Shyam "G's Zee" Srinivasan, and Alex "MrKloutt" Casals. Also still in the hunt were Team PokerStars Pro Adi Agarwal and Naoya "nkeyno" Kihara of Team PokerStars Pro Online.

Day 2: From 246 to 9

Day 2 began with a couple of quick knockouts, then a lengthy 45-minute bubble before two-time WCOOP winner Jonathan "Iftarii" Jaffe unfortunately fell in 244th to burst the bubble.

The bustouts came quickly thereafter, and just three hours into the day they were down to 100 players with Team PokerStars Pro Online member Naoya "nkeyno" Kihara (197th, $13,000), Isaac "westmenloAA" Baron (151st, $14,500), Adam "Adamyid" Owen (140th, $15,000), Jason "TeamWispy" Helder (121st, $16,000), and Henrik "hhecklen" Hecken (116th, $17,000) among the fallen, and FOO-92 sitting in the top spot. FOO-92 made the WCOOP Main Event final table in 2012, finishing sixth the year Marat "maratik" Sharafutdinov of "i wont million" fame won after qualifying with FPPs.

Speaking of, as the tournament continued to whittle down we became increasingly intrigued with the progress of Dominik "DomMarty" Martan who qualified for the event with just 12 FPPs. Martan was in the top 20 to start Day 2, and still had a big stack until later in the evening before finally falling in 53rd for a $25,000 cash. Read more of Martan's wild ride here.


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Dominik "DomMarty" Martan

The field continued to shrink, with Shyam "G's Zee" Srinivasan (94th, $19,000) among those cashing. Kevin "ImaLuckSac" MacPhee had won a key hand versus Martan just before his knockout, and with FOO-92 still leading MacPhee would fall soon thereafter in 47th, also good for $25,000.

Others falling over the latter stages of Day 2 included Stephen "stevie444" Chidwick (45th, $28,000), Alex "MrKloutt" Casals (44th, $28,000), Aaron "aejones" Jones (37th, $28,000), 2014 SCOOP Main Event (High) champion Ivan "vandir4rek" Soshnikov (35th, $32,000), Tommy "TMoney0209" Miller (30th, $32,000), and Christian "eisenhower1" Jeppsson (29th, $32,000).

After having challenged for the lead not too long before, David "dpeters17" Peters next slid to fall in 28th ($32,000), and with three tables left Sure_Shot-TP had moved up into the top spot with Team PokerStars Pro Adi Agarwal in third position and FOO-92 having fallen back below the average.

Nopaleva, who final tabled the $51K Super High Roller (Event #47) to finish fourth, was part of the next group of knockouts, going out in 23rd ($37,000). Then Agarwal would jump into the chip lead a little later after his [Qd][Qs] held versus MountainRo$e's [Ah][Kc] to knock the latter out in 22nd ($37,000). Then when Pascal "Pass_72" Lefrancois went out in 19th (also worth $37,000), they were down to the final two tables with Alexander "joiso" Kostritsyn the new chip leader.

Having slipped to short-stacked status, FOO-92 then fell in 18th, followed by Tatiana "Mysters_Y" Barausova (17th) and tnxcomeagain (16th), each of whom earned $43,000 for their finishes. Sure_Shot-TP (15th) and adamde2ori (14th) followed them to the rail, then shortly after Adi Agarwal was all in with [Ad][Qs] versus chip leader Kostritsyn's [Ah][Kc]. The board ran out nine-high, and Agarwal finished in 13th, like the previous two knocked out players earning $53,000.


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Team PokerStars Pro Adi Agarwal

Clutch Hero met a similar fate to Agarwal, running [Ah][Js] into Kostritsyn's [As][Ac] to go out in 12th. Just a moment later lyonsden6 took [5h][5d] up against Ravic85's [As][5s] and watched an ace come among the community cards to go out in 11th.

They went to hand-for-hand, and it wasn't long before WICKED617 was all in with [Ks][Qc] against AlwaysiNduCe's [Ac][Kh]. The board didn't help WICKED617, whose like Clutch Hero and lyonsden6 earned a $63,000 payday.

The final nine reassembled around a single table, and after playing a single small-pot hand play was paused for the night with Kostritsyn still in front. Here's how the stacks looked:

1. Alexander "joiso" Kostritsyn (Russia) -- 19,815,627
2. AlwaysiNduCe (Poland) -- 18,662,305
3. K.T.A.-1985 (Czech Republic) -- 17,782,920
4. Ravic85 (Russia) -- 11,153,871
5. Nolet20 (Canada) -- 10,786,197
6. beertjes79 (Belgium) -- 8,237,109
7. bindernutnut (Canada) -- 5,118,148
8. Rory "Mr.Kingball" Brown (Ireland) -- 4,489,837
9. Coenaldinho7 (Belgium) -- 3,703,986

Day 3: From 9 to a Champion


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Each of the final nine was guaranteed at least $100,000 (ninth-place money), but all were eyeing the $1,760,500 up top.
The final day began with Ravic85 appropriately reprising maratik's famous "i wont million" line in chat. Meanwhile as noted the short stack Coenaldinho7's was already proposing a nine-way deal before the first hand of the day was dealt, though the suggestions went unheeded. Then it only took a little over five minutes for the first final table elimination to occur.

bindernutnut bounced in ninth

With the blinds at 125K/250K, bindernutnut opened for 500,000 from early position, then watched K.T.A.-1985 three-bet to 1.2 million from the hijack seat. It folded back around to bindernutnut who shoved all in for 4,968,148 total, and K.T.A.-1985 called.

bindernutnut showed [Ah][Ks] and needed help from the board to best K.T.A.-1985's [9d][9h]. But the community cards didn't cooperate, coming [7h][Jd][5c][5d][9c], and bindernutnut's run was halted in ninth as K.T.A.-1985 became the new leader.

Kostritsyn cut down in eighth

"We have passed the point of buying luxury cars and are moving onto house purchases" cracked Team PokerStars Pro Barry Greenstein in the chat box as play continued. "Who are you calling 'we'?" asked Kostritsyn in response.

Short stacks Coenaldinho7 and Rory "Mr.Kingball" Brown both enjoyed double-ups before the first hour was done, bringing both back to the pack as AlwaysiNduCe took over the chip lead.

More than an hour went by, during which time Alexander "joiso" Kostritsyn slipped to less than 6.5 million to become one of the shorter stacks. Kostritsyn was looking to earn a second WCOOP bracelet after having bested a field of 1,612 in a $1,050 NLHE event in 2010 for a $269,284.60 payday.

Then with the blinds up to 175K/350K, Kostritsyn min-raised to 700,000 from middle position, AlwaysiNduCe called from a seat over, and beertjes79 came along as well from the big blind.

The flop came [Td][8d][5c], and after beertjes79 checked, Kostritsyn bet 1,077,500 and AlwaysiNduCe called. Both then checked the [4c] turn, then the river brought the [Jd] and an all-in push from joiso for 4,640,972. AlwaysiNduCe made the call.

AlwaysiNduCe had [Tc][Ts], having flopped top set. Meanwhile Kostritsyn had but [9s][6s] -- a busted gutshot -- and the Russian was sent railward in eighth.


2015-WCOOP-69-Main-kostritsyn.jpg

Alexander "joiso" Kostritsyn

K.T.A.-1985 KO'd in seventh

Play continued, then with the blinds at 200K/400K it was beertjes79 jamming for almost 4.35 million from early position and K.T.A.-1985 calling all in for 3,690,090 after positing the big blind.

beertjes79 had [As][Jc] and two live cards versus K.T.A.-1985's [7c][7s], and while the [4c][3c][3h] hit neither the [Ac] paired beertjes79's ace. The river was the [Kc], and K.T.A.-1985 fell in seventh.

Brown downed in sixth

Just four hands later, Rory "Mr.Kingball" Brown was the one open-raising all in, this time from the button for 4,329,674 (not quite nine big blinds). Chip leader AlwaysiNduCe called the shove from the big blind, turning over [Ad][Tc] while Brown needed help with [Js][8s].

The flop rolled out [2h][5s][As], pairing AlwaysiNduCe but giving Brown flush hopes. But the turn was the [Th] and river the [8c], leaving AlwaysiNduCe with two pair, Brown with one, and a sixth-place finish for Mr.Kingball.

2015-WCOOP-69-Main-brown.jpg

Rory "Mr.Kingball" Brown

Like anyone going so deep in such an event, It was a case of congratudolences for Brown, who afterwards tweeted the news of his finish to his followers:


Great fun to go so deep. Overall great result for the world. $273k might not have covered the bar bill had I won this thing😂. #WCOOP #poker

— Rory Brown (@TheFranchise_) September 29, 2015


Deal? No... no deal

Soon the final five stopped proceedings in order to talk about a deal to reapportion most of the $4,723,000 of the prize pool left to be distributed.

As mentioned, the scheduled payouts had $1,760,500 going to the winner. From there it was $1,210,000 (2nd), $790,000 (3rd), $562,500 (4th), and $400,000 (5th).

At the time AlwaysiNduCe was the big chip leader with more than 48.6 million with Coenaldinho7 having climbed up into second position as the nearest challenger with not quite 20.9 million.

Both "ICM"-based figures and "chip chop" numbers were produced, leaving $200,000 to the side for the winner in each case. Here's a table showing how those numbers looked:

Position/PlayerChipsICMChip chop
1. AlwaysiNduCe48,659,784$1,275,189.01$1,630,763.26
2. Coenaldinho720,874,672$997,236.02$927,987.94
3. Ravic8515,924,484$907,764.12$802,781.69
4. beertjes799,914,478$765,756.94$650,769.20
5. Nolet204,376,582$577,053.91$510,697.91

All but AlwaysiNduCe liked the look of the "ICM" figures, with Coenaldinho7 even saying he wouldn't ask for extra to make a seven-figure score. "I could say hey no I want 1 million," typed Coenaldinho7, "but i settle, I agree."

Meanwhile AlwaysiNduCe insisted on the "chip chop" numbers which if agreed to would actually give AlwaysiNduCe a chance to earn more than the 1st-place prize if AlwaysiNduCe went on to win. The others all said no to that, and after several minutes of discussion no deal was made.

Ravic85 run out in fifth

A big hand followed soon after that saw Coenaldinho7 double through AlwaysiNduCe to grab away the chip lead, although AlwaysiNduCe was able to wrestle it back shortly afterwards.

Nolet20 then doubled through beertjes79 to climb out of the chip cellar, then some time later beertjes79 was able to double-up through Coenaldinho7 with queens versus jacks to survive as well.

A little later Nolet20 min-raised to 1.2 million and got a couple of callers in Coenaldinho7 (small blind) and Ravic85 (big blind).

The flop came [6d][2c][Td]. Coenaldinho7 checked, Ravic85 bet 1,692,500, Nolet20 called, and Coenaldinho7 called as well. The turn was the [9c]. Coenaldinho7 again checked, and this time Ravic85 shoved all in for 6,544,684. Nolet20 responded by reraise-pushing, forcing a fold from Coenaldinho7.

Ravic85 turned over [Ks][Th] for top pair of tens, but Nolet20 had [Ad][As] for a better pair. The river [Ah] improved Nolet20 further to a set, and Ravic85 was out in fifth.

We have a deal!

A big hand followed between Nolet20 and AlwaysiNduCe -- one in which Nolet20 shoved the river, forcing a fold by AlwaysiNduCe -- and suddenly Nolet20 was the chip leader with four remaining. The Canadian was building on a big finish just a couple of months ago -- a victory in the MicroMillions 11 Main Event in which Nolet20 topped a 55,524-entry field to turn $22 into $89,854.

At that point everyone checked their "Discuss a deal" boxes once more, and the tournament was paused once again. This time Nolet20 was the leader, Coenaldinho7 next, AlwaysiNduCe third and beertjes79 fourth. This time only "ICM" were provided, again leaving $200K aside for which to play:

Position/PlayerChipsICM
1. Nolet2034,920,904$1,160,775.10
2. Coenaldinho731,565,948$1,127,632.33
3. AlwaysiNduCe20,367,912$984,463.92
4. beertjes7912,895,236$850,128.65

After the "ICM" numbers were provided, AlwaysiNduCe asked the others for a "full 1 000 000" and Nolet20 quickly answered "no." At that AlwaysiNduCe suggested they play a few more hands in order to try to chip up and get in a position to get the $1 milly, but beertjes79 stepped up to say "i m ok with 800," being willing to give up just over $50K if needed to make the deal happen. Coenaldinho7 also agreed to take $1.1 million even to help.

From Coenaldinho7 and beertjes79, then, AlwaysiNduCe got enough to get to $1 million even and Nolet20 took the rest, making the final figures...

Nolet20: $1,223,000.00
Coenaldinho7: $1,100,000.00
AlwaysiNduCe: $1,000,000.00
beertjes79: $800,000.00
Left To Play for place 1: $200,000.00

That's right... three millionaires! And if beertjes79 could pull off a comeback, there'd be a fourth, too, with the $200K still in play!

The quartet took a quick five-minute break before resuming play, and Coenaldinho7 typed a quick note before leaving the computer:

Coenaldinho7: I m gonna wake my girlfriend, she hates poker...
Coenaldinho7: thats bout to change

beertjes79 bumped in fourth

Soon after play resumed, AlwaysiNduCe and Nolet20 were all-in preflop but both had ace-jack suited and split the pot. Two hands later Coenaldinho7 raised 3x to 2.4 million from the button, beertjes79 jammed for 15,295,236 from the blinds, and Coenaldinho7 called.

beertjes79 had [As][Jh] but was behind Coenaldinho7's [Ac][Qs], and after a [Ks][Ts][5d][9d][4h] runout beertjes79 was done in fourth.

No further than third for Nolet20

Coenaldinho7 -- who'd begun the final table ninth out of nine -- was now the chip leader with three left. Coenaldinho7 built up further, then AlwaysiNduCe grabbed the lead again after getting all in on the turn on a king-high board with an overpair of aces versus Coenaldinho7 top pair of kings and surviving.

Then came a hand that saw Nolet20 min-raise to 1.6 million from the button, AlwaysiNduCe three-bet to 4 million from the small blind, and Nolet20 call. The flop came [2s][Th][8c] and AlwaysiNduCe fired a bet of 4 million which Nolet20 called. The turn then brought the [2h] and a check from AlwaysiNduCe, and after Nolet20 bet 4,888,888, AlwaysiNduCe stuck around.

The river was the [6s]. AlwaysiNduCe checked once more, and Nolet20 pushed all in with the 19,200,016 left. AlwaysiNduCe called, turning over [Kd][Kc] for kings and deuces. That beat Nolet20's [Kh][Ts] for a lesser two pair, and they were down to two.

Coenaldinho7 outlasts AlwaysiNduCe heads-up, collects bracelet

Heads-up began with AlwaysiNduCe enjoying a better than 2-to-1 chip advantage with 69,848,728 to Coenaldinho7's 29,901,272. But within minutes Coenaldinho7 picked up a couple of big pots to even the match.

Before long Coenaldinho7 had pushed up over 76 million and had a 3-to-1 lead over AlwaysiNduCe who'd slipped under 24 million. Then came a hand in which AlwaysiNduCe min-raised from the button to 2 million, Coenaldinho7 called, and the pair saw a flop come [5d][2d][Tc].

Coenaldinho7 checked, and AlwaysiNduCe continued with a bet of 2 million. Coenaldinho7 then check-raised to 6 million, AlwaysiNduCe called, and the turn brought the [Ks]. At that Coenaldinho7 led for 15 million, AlwaysiNduCe raised all in to 15,468,728, and Coenaldinho7 called for the extra chips.

Coenaldinho7: [Th][7c]
AlwaysiNduCe: [Kh][5c]

AlwaysiNduCe had flopped one pair and turned a second, and had a big advantage over Coenaldinho7's pair of tens. But then came the river... the [Td]! Trip tens, giving Coenaldinho7 the pot, the extra $200,000, and the WCOOP Main Event bracelet!


2015-WCOOP-69-Main-lasthand.jpg

Drama right to the final card

Congratulations to Coenaldinho7, this year's WCOOP Main Event champion whose $1.3 million prize equals that won by Fedor "CrownUpGuy" Holz in this event a year ago. And big kudos as well to AlwaysiNduCe, Nolet20, and beertjes79 for making it to the four-way deal and securing huge paydays for themselves.

WCOOP-69: $5,200 NL Hold'em Main Event
Entries: 1,995

Prize pool: $10,000,000

Places paid: 243

1. Coenaldinho7 (Belgium) $1,300,000.00*
2. AlwaysiNduCe (Poland) $1,000,000.00*
3. Nolet20 (Canada) $1,223,000.00*
4. beertjes79 (Belgium) $800,000.00*
5. Ravic85 (Russia) $400,000.00
6. Rory "Mr.Kingball" Brown (Ireland) $273,000.00
7. K.T.A.-1985 (Czech Republic) $200,000.00
8. Alexander "joiso" Kostritsyn (Russia) $150,000.00
9. bindernutnut (Canada) $100,000.00

* = denotes a four-way deal leaving $200,000 for the winner

Thanks for following our coverage of all 70 events of this year's World Championship of Online Poker. Remember, you can check the WCOOP page for complete results.

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Martin Harris is Freelance Contributor to the PokerStars Blog.



WCOOP 2015: William Arruda on one "hellzito" of a win

The before and after reactions of WCOOP winners is typically quite stark. Take William "hellzito" Arruda for example.
How about the before?

"I live with my wife and she barely knows the rules, so she tries to avoid staying close when I'm playing. I'm also not always in the best mood while I'm playing, so I feel a little awkward when someone is watching.

And the after?

"My first reaction was to scream!"

And so celebrating in his usual Friday night bar with friends (and presumably back on friendly terms with his wife) a first WCOOP win gradually sunk in for the Brazilian. It was a big one, and he talked to the PokerStars Blog about this career landmark.

First the key moments in the event as he remembered it:

"Usually the Super Tuesday has like 800 entries, while this one had 1722, so this was one of the must-play events," he said. "When I got to the final table I knew that I couldn't do much, because there were two very good and aggressive players with big stacks in my direct left. So I didn't get in despair when I was short stack, I just waited while the other players were going all-in, all-in, because I knew that I would have a chance to make top three."


b_nd_w_chips_29sept15.jpg

Having started his career as a live player Arruda still considers tournament selection to be a vital part of his game. But does that apply to the online game, particularly ahead of a series like WCOOP?

"I think preparation happens naturally during the whole year, when we are trying to improve to play our best overall. When you think too much of one specific event, or change your style for that series or event, you usually end up playing worse overall. But I studied hard most of time and did a lot of coaching to my students. I think this was what has helped me the most."

But while Arruda has a sensible streak - amounting to a greater regard for ICM than a mere title, he admitted that WCOOP, and the prestige attached, made this one slightly different.

"After you have some experience, you start to think much more about the money and not the tittle," said Arruda. "In a regular tournament after, say, a deal, I don't care who's gonna win the tournament, but in this event I felt different. And I never had a feeling like that. This time I really wanted the tittle, not just the money.

That meant a first prize of $259,202 after a two way deal, well-earned after a two and a half hour heads up contest. Read the full report of Arruda's triumph here.

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Stephen Bartley is a staff writer for the PokerStars Blog.



UKIPT in 3D as festival celebrates annual home game on Isle of Man

If you happen to be walking around Douglas, Isle of Man this week, be ready to see the city in a whole new way.

This week, the UK & Ireland Poker Tour is back on the Isle of Man for the third consecutive year, and the celebration will be bigger than ever. This year, PokerStars celebrates ten years of being on the island, and part of that celebration is an insanely cool (and free-to-see) 3D projection and light show.

PokerStars Interim CEO Michael Hazel said, "PokerStars have had a great 10 years on the Island. We are extremely proud to be part of the local community and are delighted they can share in our celebrations. Here's to continuing to work together into the future."

PokerStars and all of its employees have long been grateful to the people of the Isle of Man, and this year's UKIPT festival is just one way to say thank you for ten years of hospitality. There will be 3D projection and lighting spectacular shows in the Villa Marina gardens with the theme of celebrating the Isle of Man as a nation. The shows, which will run for around five minutes and will be repeated each night of the upcoming UK & Ireland Poker Tour Isle of Man, will be open to the public and free. Here are the showtimes:

Wednesday, September 30th @ 8pm
Thursday, October 1st @ 8pm and 9pm
Friday, October 2nd @ 8pm and 9pm
Saturday, October 3rd @ 8.30pm (this performance will end with a three-minute firework display)

3d_ukipt.jpg

Of course, there will also be poker. This year's festival has 13 tournaments, including the £440 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event beginning October 1. Just as it did last year, the festival will overlap with the PokerStars Isle of Man International Chess Tournament (we'll have more on that later this week).

PokerStars Mind Sport Ambassador, Jen Shahade said, "It's great to see the Isle of Man International Chess Tournament returning for another year. I think having the two festivals running simultaneously is fantastic as it really demonstrates the similarities of the skills and strategies that make both games so competitive and interesting; I am really looking forward to playing in both on PokerStars' Isle of Man 10-year anniversary."

In addition to everything else, PokerStars is also hosting its annual invitational charity tournament on the Saturday evening. All donations will be matched by the company's Corporate Giving Programme, Helping Hands, with the entire amount being donated to local charity, Craig's Heartstrong Foundation.

If you can't be in Douglas this week, the PokerStars Blog will have full coverage of the tournament in our dedicated UKIPT coverage section.



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is the PokerStars Head of Blogging.