September 11 2012, Rich Ryan

Season XI of the World Poker Tour continued on Monday with the start of the Grand Prix de Paris, hosted by the world famous Aviaton Club de France. A total of 96 runners paid the “7,500 entry fee to play on Day 1a. After seven one-hour levels of play, Jacques Enjoubault and his 225,200 chips lead the other 5 players who made it through to Wednesday’s Day 2.

Enjoubault, who only has $8,390 in career earnings according to the Hendon Mob Database, won a massive pot at the end of the evening against Mickael Layani. Layani, Enjoubault, and Tony G all saw a flop of . Tony G led out for 5,000, Layani moved all in for 29,100, and Enjoubault made a quick call. Tony G got out of the way, and the hands were opened.

The turned, giving Enjoubault a straight, and the completed the board. Layani was eliminated, while Enjoubault saw his stack rocket to over 200,000 chips.

Other high-profile casualties on Day 1a included Aubin Cazals, Vanessa Selbst, Will Failla, Samuel Chartier, David Benyamine, Guillaume Darcourt, and Roberto Romanello. Failla, a WPT Championship Club member, ran into Jason Mercier‘s quads on a board. Failla nearly folded to Mercier’s shove on the river, but he called and Mercier tabled two sevens for quads. Failla will have to re-enter on Day 1b if he wants to win another WPT event, while Mercier progressed to Day 2 with 70,000 chips.

Joining Mercier and Enjoubault on Day 2 are Antony Lellouche (178,000), Basil Yaiche (142,475), Kara Scott (67,200), Tristan Wade (64,000), Marvin Rettenmaier(37,900), Marko Neumann (69,000), Andrew Seidman (69,875), Justin Bonomo (69,725), and the winner of this event in Season X; Matt Waxman (37,900).

The PokerNews Live Reporting Team is in Paris covering the event so be sure to follow their excellent live updates from 3 p.m CEST on Tuesday.

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June 21 2012, PokerNews Staff

The world’s leading online poker room has joined forces with one of the greatest tennis players of all time.

On Wednesday, PokerStars announced that tennis superstar Rafael Nadal has joined the likes of Ana Marquez, Juan Manuel Pastor and Poli Rincon on Team PokerStars.

The 26-year-old Spaniard is the former World No. 1 and is currently ranked No. 2 in the ATP rankings behind Novak Djokovic. Nadal is fresh off a victory at the French Open in Paris, his 11th career major title and seventh championship at the French Open in eight years. The victory pushed Nadal over $50 million in career earnings on the court. He’s added millions to his net worth by endorsing companies like Nike, Kia, Armani and Lanvin.

“It’s no secret that I love to compete and try my very best in everything, whether that’s tennis, golf or video games,” Nadal said. “When I discovered the game of poker, I chose to join PokerStars because they understand what it takes to be the best and associate themselves with the qualities of champions. I’m very happy to be working with them.”

The signing of Nadal comes two weeks after the opening of Spain’s new regulated online poker market. PokerStars.es launched on June 5 and is already ranked eighth worldwide in online poker traffic, according to PokerScout.com. The online tracking site reported Monday that PokerStars.es hold a nearly 3-to-1 advantage over its nearest competitor, 888poker.es, two weeks after the launch of the new space.

With a universal celebrity like Nadal at the front of its marketing campaign, PokerStars could scoop a significant share of the early marketplace in Spain and enhance its brand awareness around the globe. According to to Mark Scheinberg, PokerStars Chairman of the Board, “Rafa Nadal represents all that is great about competition – the mix of talent, intellect, dedication and mental strength that you find in champions in every sport. We are proud to have Rafa as an ambassador for the brand and excited at the opportunity to help him enjoy and improve his game.”

PokerStars has a history of dealing with professional athletes. In 2007, the company signed tennis legend Boris Becker to its Team SportStars. Field hockey player Fatima Moreira de Melo and cross-country skier Marcus Hellner also represent PokerStars as part of that team.

You can learn more about the signing, and join other team pros in giving Nadal some tips on his poker game by checking out PokerStars, and you can get in the action yourself with Rafa by signing up for a PokerStars account with a great offer from PokerNews.

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