Sat, 01/29/2011 – 00:09 – PokerPages Staff

#5 – Tyron Krost, Aussie Millions Main Event
Last year, no fewer than 746 players from around the world took part in the Aussie Millions Main Event.  Until January 24th 2010, Tyron’s biggest win had been $35,283 back in 2008.  Then along came the Aussie Millions, and he returned home with $1,845,921.
 
#4 – Harrison Gimbel, PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event
At just 19 years of age, Harrison became the youngest person ever to win the PCA Main Event.  He went home town a life-changing $2,200,200 richer.  His poker prowess shone through in the Bahamas but he’s still too young to play in the U.S!

#3 – Nicolas Chouity, EPT Monte Carlo Grand Finale
“Nicky” has been playing poker since he was 18 years old, but his spectacular first place finish at the EPT Monte Carlo Grand Finale put his earlier wins into the shade.  He faced one hell of a challenge – Europe’s best players as well as top pros from all over the world converge on the EPT.  But he met it admirably, and left $2,263,166 better off.

#2 – Tyson Marks, PokerStars WCOOP Main Event
Tyson blew open the record books when he took down the biggest prize ever awarded in the history of online poker tournaments.  But when you consider that he was playing a field of 2,443 players, each of whom had paid $5,200 to play; you can see how the staggering prize pool of $12,215,000 was made.  Tyson made off with $2,278,097 of it.

#1 – Jonathan Duhamel, WSOP 2010 Main Event
The 23-year-old from Boucherville, Quebec, earned his first WSOP bracelet in 2010 – and a stunning $8,944,138 in prize money to go with it.  He became the first Canadian ever to win the event, and ploughed his way unerringly through 7,310 rival players to get to the final table.

Sat, 01/29/2011 – 00:38 – PokerPages Staff

For the serious poker devotee, family vacations pose a dilemma.  Yes, it’s great to have time with loved ones a in a stress-free chill-out zone unpumelled by the demands and irritations of ordinary working life.  But which cardroom aficionado hasn’t secretly felt that a vacation is also an unwelcome interruption to the ongoing play of poker?

If you can admit to sentiments like this, then it might be worth finding a vacation which allows you to spend time with the people you love without demanding a period of strict abstinence from the game you love.  A Players Cruise vacation might just represent the perfect solution.

First things first, for those in your family with recessive poker genes: you all get to take a fabulous cruise vacation to the Caribbean aboard a luxury cruise liner.  Sixty per cent of the Carnival Conquest’s cabins have ocean views, and sixty per cent of those have balconies, too.  There is a broad range of excellent eateries, from the Manhattan-chic Point Steakhouse to the exquisite elegance of the Renoir and Monet Dining Rooms, right through to the casual delights of the Cezanne Restaurant on the Lido Deck.  There’s a stunning 12 foot by 22 foot LED screen on deck to watch movies, concerts, news and sports, as well as a 9-hole golf course, a jogging track and plenty of other sporting facilities.  Kids will love the spiral Twister Waterslide, and there are clubs for children of different age groups to keep them entertained and occupied.

But best of all, there’s a superb poker room on board.  If you like the idea of sipping languidly on an exotic cocktail as you contemplate your chip stack and consider your next action, this is the vacation for you.  As well as enjoying the free food and live entertainment, the spa, the night clubs on board, not to mention the delightful stops in Caribbean ports of call, you’ll also be able to indulge in a full service poker room with professional dealers and courteous, efficient hosts.

When you walk in, you’ll find ten full-size poker tables, sumptuously padded chairs and cash games of varying limits played throughout the day and night (except when the ship is in port).  There are also daily tournaments and an exceptionally tempting prize – one player per sailing wins a future cruise for two.  For poker rookies, there are excellent instructional seminars and when the action gets going, you can have food and drinks brought to your table.  And because there are virtually limitless onboard activities and entertainments for your loved ones to get stuck into, you never have to feel guilty about spending time at the table.

The next 7-day cruise is scheduled for 14th February, and will set sail from Galveston, Texas, making ports of call at Montego Bay in Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel in Mexico.  For 2010, an interior cabin costs $529 per person, an ocean view cabin $564 and an ocean view with balcony $829. 

For poker fans, as vacations go, this one’s a peach.