November 07 2011, Josh Bell

This week in the PartyPoker Weekly, we’ll tell you all about the new “World Domination” promotion, how to win World Poker Tour seats, how Tony G made fun of Phil Hellmuth – yet again, and more!

Achieve World Domination

PartyPoker is giving players the chance to rule the planet this November and December with the exciting World Domination promotion. It’s going to be one of the most enjoyable promotions of the year, and one that Tony G assures us makes him set for “total world annihilation!”

During the World Domination promotion, PartyPoker is going to award thousands of dollars’ worth of cash prizes, tournament and freeroll seats, and give players the chance to win the top prize of $100,000.

How to Dominate the World

In order to achieve world domination, all players have to do is earn Party Points between Nov. 7 and Dec. 31.

Every time a player earns 10 Party Points they will be randomly awarded one of 72 different cities from around the world. Most cities will also come with an award of a valuable instant prize, but the big prizes are awarded if players can manage to conquer entire countries and continents.

The biggest prize is $100,000, which will be awarded to any player who manages to accumulate all 72 unique cities. You can get started now and conquer your first city for only 5 Party Points. What are you waiting for?

Win World Poker Tour Seats

The World Poker Tour just finished up in Amnéville and dozens of players made it to the exotic French location by winning a seat on PartyPoker. Want to win a seat to a World Poker Tour stop?

The next stop on the WPT is the Czech Republic with WPT Bohemia set to kick off on Nov. 18. A tournament package worth $3,000 is now being awarded in the PartyPoker client, complete with a Main Event buy-in, spending money, and accommodation at Europe’s largest poker room all taken care.

Taking place at the Corinthia Casino just a few weeks after the Bohemia event wraps up, WPT Prague is the newest addition to the World Poker Tour. The Main Event kicks off on Dec. 1 and the $5,000 buy-in event is sure to create a massive prize pool. A mix of qualifiers and satellites are now running and PartyPoker will award dozens of $7,500 tournament packages.

The World Poker Tour Five Diamond Classic continues to be one of the biggest events on the tournament calendar as hundreds of players descend upon the famous Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas every December. Several $14,000 tournament packages are now up for grabs at PartyPoker as the $10,300 Main Event is again set to be one of the most prestigious tournaments of the year.

Tony G Makes Fun of Hellmuth’s Twitter Shenanigans

Earlier in the week Tony G discussed how the BBC had given him the title of “world-class poker player” in an article written about his plight against the Alderney Gambling Control Commission. Instead of taking the compliment, in typical Tony G style, he saw this is a chance to needle Phil Hellmuth.

“If I was my good buddy Phil Hellmuth, last week would have been a career highlight for me and something I would have been shouting from the rooftops. I was interviewed by the BBC and they told the world what everybody already knows – I am a world-class poker player,” Tony G said on his blog

Tony G went on to give some humorous suggestions as to what Phil Hellmuth’s Twitter feed may have looked like had the BBC said the same thing about him.

@phil_hellmuth: “It’s official – the BBC put out a press release saying what everyone knows – I am world class.”

@phil_hellmuth “Having dinner with Hilary Swank, Slash and a group of Texan billionaires and managed to find five minutes in my schedule for BBC – they just wanted an autograph.”

Tony G is now holding a competition in the comments section of his blog to see who can come up with the best Hellmuth Twitter impression. A cash prize is up for grabs for Tony G’s favorite!

Don’t Forget Your Free $50 Bankroll

Remember that because of the special relationship between PokerNews and PartyPoker, you can receive a free $50 poker bankroll.

In order to claim your free bankroll all you have to do is sign up for a PartyPoker account through PokerNews and you will get an immediate free credit of $25. To complete the process and receive the rest of your bankroll you will simply need to earn 200 PartyPoints.

Make sure you head over to our Free $50 No Deposit Page and use the bonus code “PN50Free” as outlined in the walkthrough guide and get on your way to receiving a free $50 bankroll

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

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September 27 2011, Chad Holloway

In July, the 2011 World Series of Poker November Nine was set with one of the most unlikeliest of characters emerging as the chip leader: 35-year old Martin Staszko of the Czech Republic. A professional player by trade, Staszko became the first Czech player to ever make the final table, no doubt looking to accomplish the same feat as Jonathan Duhamel, and use the chip lead to claim victory.

Even though Staszko was an unknown player before his deep run in the Main Event, he actually had a successful 2011 WSOP up to that point. Before making the November Nine, Staszko had notched four cashes over the summer, all in low buy-in events. In fact, his best cash was a 39th-place finish in the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi/Lo event for $10,156. Needless to say, no matter where he finishes at the final table, it’ll be for the biggest cash of his career.

Staszko will begin the final table as the chip leader with 40,175,000, seated directly to the left of current WSOP Player of the Year leader, Ben Lamb. PokerNews recently sat down with Staszko to find out what he has been up to during the past couple of months, and what he has been doing to prepare for the biggest final table of his life. Because Staszko speaks little English, the following excerpt was translated by members of CZ.PokerNews.com.

What was the one hand that was most responsible for your deep run?

There were a lot of hands that helped me; it’s hard to choose just one. One important hand happened in the late stages. With ten tables left, I won a really big pot with on a ten-high board against Phil Collins and his . Thanks to that hand, I had a lot of chips and could play much better.

Also, there was a hand from Day 1 when I was three-bet by an opponent, and I called. I caught a pair with a draw, but because it didn’t hit, I had to play it as a set and bet all-in on the river. Fortunately my opponent folded his , but it took him ten minutes to decide.

It also helped that I won a lot of all-ins, when my better hands held.

After the final table was set, what did you do the rest of the night? Did you go out and celebrate?

I was really tired. During the whole last day, I ate only six bananas, so when the final table was set, I went to grab a meal with two beers, that’s all. I got plenty of calls, texts, and emails, so it took me awhile to answer, so I online-slept a bit.

How long did it take for the fact that you made the November Nine to sink in? Has it yet?

I don’t know if I realize it yet. It was my first WSOP. One or two weeks before it started, I was watching Days 5 and 6 from a previous Main Event and I thought it was impressive to be as far as they were, but in the end I was able to get even further. It is certainly a huge success for me and for Czech poker.

What have you been up to since the WSOP has been on hiatus?

I was on vacation in Sweden, then played the European Poker Tour in Barcelona. I also did a lot of interviews, and played some online poker.

What was the reaction of your family and friends?

Reactions were great, everybody congratulated me. I thank everyone for their support.

Who will you be bringing to Las Vegas in November to support you?

My parents, brother, and poker and chess friends will come to support me.

Do you feel any extra pressure to perform as the chip leader?

I’m not thinking about that right now. Because I’m the chip leader, there are bigger expectations then if I were a short stack, so the pressure might be bigger. On the opposite side, I have chips, so the risk of busting in the beginning is smaller and that’s my advantage, because players with shorter stacks will have to think properly if they want to risk it all.

What’s more important: money or the Main Event bracelet?

Bracelet of course. To be at the final table of Main Event is something huge, it may never happen again. I will try to play the best I can, and will give myself the best chance to win.

As part of making the November Nine, you’ve already taken home the ninth-place prize of $782,115. Have you made any big purchases with that money?

I haven’t bought anything big – yet.

Other than yourself, who do you feel has the best chance of taking down the title?

That’s a hard question because everyone has a decent chance to win. Second in chips is Eoghan O’Dea, so he’s probably got the best chance.

Who would you want to be heads-up with for the bracelet in November? Who would you least like to face?

Well, I would like to make it to heads-up at first, and then I would like to win, so I don’t care who my opponent is. All of them are great players, so I cannot wish to be in heads-up with somebody specific, because they’d probably beat me. I am not afraid of anyone. My opponents are solid players, but there is always a way to play against each of them and win.

What are you doing to prepare? Are you getting lessons or advice from anyone notable?

My friend is collecting information about other players. I haven’t started preparation yet. I believe I will start in October, but no famous player is helping me with an advice.

Does that include looking at your opponent’s weaknesses? Are you scavenging all the information you can get about your opponents?

It would be great to find some weak spots, but I think how they play in the final table of the Main Event at the WSOP will be completely different from any other tournaments, so it is hard to predict the way they will play. I also don’t know how my opponents will change their play, so I will have to adjust in November at the Final Table.

Did you have the chance to become close with any other November Niners?

No, I didn’t. In Barcelona I met few of them, but we just said “Hi” to each other. There was no time to make relationships. I believe we will meet each other in tournaments in the near future and hope our relationships will be good.

What other events are you going to play between now and November?

I’m not sure. Maybe since I haven’t started preparation yet, I will skip all international tournaments and stay to play some local tournaments.

Do you have your entrance music picked out yet, assuming the WSOP does it again this year?

No, I don’t. I like Queen, but maybe it would be good to choose something Czech. But I haven’t thought much about it yet.

Check out our interview with Staszko that was conducted the day after making the November Nine.

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Follow Chad Holloway on Twitter – @ChadAHolloway