July 29 2011, Barry Carter

Download PokerStars and earn 250 VPPs from August 1 to 21 to play in three exclusive freerolls with WCOOP Main Event tickets and cash prizes up for grabs.

The World Series of Poker may have ended, but PokerStars is gearing up for the online equivalent. The World Championships of Online Poker (WCOOP) is the biggest online festival of the year, and the $5,200 Main Event is going to guarantee $1 million to the winner.

PokerNews has always liked to get in on the action where WCOOP is concerned, and once again, we will be holding an exclusive WCOOP freeroll series from which we will be sending three lucky players to play in the WCOOP Main Event. Anyone who makes the final table of our three freerolls, but misses out on the tickets, will win cash prizes distributed as per PokerStars’ standard payout structure.

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PokerNews WCOOP Freeroll #1, Aug 27, 1330 EDT (1830 BST).
1st. WCOOP Main Event ticket, $1,500 cash for 2nd to 9th

PokerNews WCOOP Freeroll #2, Aug 29, 1330 EDT (1830 BST).
1st. WCOOP Main Event ticket, $2,500 cash for 2nd to 9th

PokerNews WCOOP Freeroll #3, Aug 31, 1330 EDT (1830 BST).
1st. WCOOP Main Event ticket, $2,900 cash for 2nd to 9th

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To play in this freeroll, you need to download PokerStars through PokerNews using marketing code “POKERNEWS.COM.” Existing PokerNews referred PokerStars players are welcome to participate.

To play in freeroll No. 1, you need to earn 25 VPPs. To play in freeroll No. 2, you need to earn 75 VPPs, and to play in freeroll No. 3 you need to earn 150 VPPs, to use as buy-in. The qualifying period for this is August 1 to 21, and you are welcome to play in all three if you earn 250 VPPs.

First Depositors Free Token

If you are new to PokerStars and sign up through PokerNews, and make your first deposit in the qualifying period, you will automatically receive a ticket to play in freeroll No. 1 – meaning you don’t have to earn a single VPP or you can play in all three for less.

So download PokerStars today and get ready to play in the biggest online poker tournament of the year, for free, courtesy of PokerNews. Don’t forget that you also receive a 100% up to $600 bonus on your first deposit, when you use marketing code “POKERNEWS.COM” and bonus code “STARS600.”

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If you experience any problems with this or any of our promotions, please contact our Ticketed Promo Support System.

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July 28 2011, Mickey Doft

Earlier this month, Federated Sports & Gaming (FS+G) introduced the poker world to the Global Poker Index (GPI), a revolutionary ranking system that sought to answer the question: “Who are the best live tournament poker players in the world today?” Each week the GPI releases a list of the top 300 tournament poker players in the world, so we here at PokerNews are going to see who and what stands out each time the rankings are released.

Here’s a look at this week’s GPI top ten. For a look at the entire list of 300, visit the official GPI website.

The Top 10 as of July 26, 2011

and Vanessa Selbst (who now sits in 11th place).

WSOP Main Event Cashers

Last week, only four new players made the GPI. This week, there are 20 new names on the list. The reason? Their cashing in the 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event, combined with previous results, did the trick. Of the 20 who are making their debuts on the GPI, 16 cashed in the Main Event and are listed below.

PlayerTotal GPI ScoreGPI RankMain Event Finish

Stefan Huber	1,188.81	197	51st
Bolivar Palacios	1,182.50	202	88th
Lars Bonding	1,168	213	22nd
Tyler Bonkowski	1,164.91	218	60th
Sergei Altbregin	1,160.64	222	342nd
Steve Brecher	1,160.13	223	31st
Ruben Visser	1,133.38	240	44th
David Bach	1,133.27	241	45th
James Calderaro	1,128.14	246	260th
Darren Woods	1,112.04	252	442nd
Stephen O’Dwyer	1,094.35	261	626th
Sebastian Ruthenberg	1,086.01	269	55th
Guillaume Darcourt	1,072.57	275	35th
Steven van Zadelhoff	1,059.48	287	658th
Thomas Koral	1,046.90	298	47th
Vladimir Geshkenbein	1,036.79	300	106th

In addition, four others that were already in the GPI made massive jumps and vaulted more than 100 spots. Not coincidentally, they each made a deep run in the Main Event, as well. Joseph Cheong (gained 107 spots), Erick Lindgren (gained 132 spots), Frank Calo (gained 147 spots), and Max Heinzelmann (gained 123 spots) were the biggest movers of the week.

PlayerTotal GPI ScoreGPI RankMain Event Finish

Joseph Cheong	1,442.73	93	114th
Erick Lindgren	1,373.01	114	43rd
Frank Calo	1,314.71	139	90th
Max Heinzelmann	1,249.24	169	151st

Bellagio Cup VII

As for the other four new additions to the GPI this week, final-table finishes at Bellagio Cup VII played a key role for them. We already mentioned Stephen O’Dwyer for his WSOP Main Event cash. He also topped a field of 156 to win the $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em tournament for $259,452. Joe Elpayaa finished ninth in that event to make the GPI as well. The other three newcomers are Ted Forrest, Daniel Colman, and Brandon Cantu. They each final-tabled the $10,000 Main Event and took fifth, seventh, and ninth places respectively. Here is how they shape up on the GPI.

PlayerTotal GPI ScoreGPI Rank

Joe Elpayaa	1,063.92	283
Daniel Colman	1,058.61	288
Brandon Cantu	1,057.84	290
Ted Forrest	1,054.16	292

Also making splashes at Bellagio Cup VII, as well as in the GPI, were Hafiz Khan (gained 93 spots), William Thorson (gained 30 spots), and Bryn Kenney (gained 37 spots). Each final-tabled the $10,000 Main Event, as well, finishing runner-up, third, and sixth, respectively.

PlayerTotal GPI ScoreGPI Rank

Bryn Kenney	1,663.62	43
William Thorson	1,588.89	55
Hafiz Khan	1,326.52	133

Ups and Downs

Ben Lamb (gained 41 spots)

Thanks to what will be at worst a ninth-place finish in the WSOP Main Event, Lamb has replaced one six-figure WSOP finish with another and is now up to #50 on the GPI. Remember, the GPI only takes into account a player’s top three finishes during six six-month periods. Lamb’s amazing WSOP won’t be fully reflected until the middle of December, when his first 2011 WSOP cash will fall into the second six-month period, allowing for more of his summer’s successes to be weighted.

Antony Lellouche (dropped 44 spots)

Despite a solid summer that included five WSOP cashes, Lellouche had the biggest individual drop this week. Why? Call it bad luck. His biggest score in the last three years came in January 2010 at EPT Deauville. He took second place in a “20,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller Event, but that score now factors in less because it now falls under the previous six-month period and is not weighted as heavily, dropping Lellouche to #259 on the GPI.

Hoyt Corkins (dropped 42 spots)

The “Alabama Cowboy” tumbled on the GPI this week for pretty much the same reason Lellouche did. Corkins’ largest score of the last three years came in late January of 2010. He won the WPT Southern Poker Championship for $713,986, but that score now falls under a previous six-month term and as a result, Corkins is now #88 on the GPI.

As a reminder, for a look at the entire list of 300, visit the official GPI website. Also, be sure to check out Michael Craig’s write-up on the GPI rankings. While you’re at it, follow the GPI on Twitter and its Facebook page.

To stay on top of the GPI and other happenings in the poker world, follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.

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