October 16 2011, Lee Davy

When organizers decided to move the home of the World Series of Poker Europe from London to Cannes, there was a mixed response. Whether or not the move would be a success would depend on numbers. At the end of Day 1b on Sunday, the World Series of Poker Main Event numbers were tallied. What did they say? The numbers were saying – no screaming – Cannes is the home of the WSOPE!

On Sunday, 283 players turned up, making a combined total of 593 players who entered the Hotel Majestic Barriere to play in the 2011 WSOPE Main Event, dwarfing the record field of 362 who played in the inaugural event back in 2007 and then one year later in 2008.

Finnish pro Lari Sihvo ended the day at the top of the counts with 144,725. He is followed by Tommy Vedes (142,775), Alex Kostritsyn (126,200), Antonio Palma (125,000) and Constant Rijkenberg (121,500).

The day began with tables brimming with absolute quality. To give you an example, seated at Table 12 were Benny Spindler, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Graeme Putt, Jonathan Duhamel and James Akenhead and there were plenty more just like this. After finding a set against Erik Cajelais to nearly double his stack, Filippo Candio became the early chip leader.

On Saturday, Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi won his second WSOP bracelet in Event #5. Mizrachi’s Main Event did not go as well, and he was eliminated early in the day, leaving his brother to continue flying the Mizrachi flag. Robert Mizrachi, who also owns a WSOP bracelet, took over the chip lead from Candio while plying his trade on a tough table where Dominik Nitsche, Sorel Mizzi, Bryan Devonshire and Sandra Najouks were seated. While Mizrachi and Candio were battling it out at the top, Viktor Blom, Marvin Rettenmaier, Steve Billirakis, Dan Kelly, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier and Sam Trickett were eliminated.

At the dinner break Bruno Benveniste held the chip lead. Benveniste, who cashed in Event #1, finishing in 10th place, eliminated James Mitchell on his way to the top. Filippo Candio, Tommy Vedes, McLean Karr and Robert Mizrachi were all snapping at his heels. At the other end of the spectrum more notables dropped to the rail, including November Niner Matt Giannetti, former WSOPE Main Event runner-up John Tabatabai, Andrew Feldman, Sorel Mizzi, Jonathan Duhamel and Daniel Negreanu.

Day 2 begins at 1200 CET (0300 PDT) on Monday with both remaining fields from Day 1a and Day 1b combining for a field of 333. The PokerNews Live Reporting Blog will bring you the play-by-play from all the action on the felt.

Follow PokerNews on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news.

October 06 2011, Brett Collson

Earlier this week, the Alderney Gaming Control Commission attempted to wash its hands of the mess at Full Tilt Poker by directing all FTP-related complaints to the police. The organization’s stance changed on Thursday; we’ll explain why. Also in this edition of the Nightly Turbo, the Epic Poker Tour is making its television debut, a Sunday Million runner-up blows his roll in less than a week, and more.

In Case You Missed It

Philip Hilm made the final table of World Series of Poker Main Event in 2007, but he’s been virtually absent from the poker scene since then. We caught up with Hilm to find out what the former poker pro has been up to for the first edition of Where Are They Now.[/I]

The Global Poker Index released its rankings as of Oct. 3. Despite Erik Seidel’s incredible run since the beginning of the year, he lost his No. 1 spot to Jason Mercier. Find out why in our breakdown.

Amanda Musumeci fell just shy of claiming the “Last Woman Standing” title at this year’s WSOP Main Event. In this week’s edition of Strategy with Kristy, Musumeci talks about her deep run and discusses some of her most difficult decisions during the tournament.

The final table of the European Poker Tour London Main Event was set Wednesday night with the U.K.’s Martins Adeniya out in front. Find out who else was in contention for the EPT crown in our Day 5 recap.

Team PokerStars Pros Joe Hachem, Jonathan Duhamel and Eugene Katchalov were among the big names eliminated on Day 2 of the EPT London High Roller event. Read about who made the final table.

*Photo courtesy of Epic Poker

Softening Its Stance

On Thursday, the Alderney Gaming Control Commission (AGCC) released a statement regarding Full Tilt Poker and complaints it has been receiving from players. The statement reads: “At the request of the police, AGCC will continue to log incoming player complaints: these records will be made available to the police.”

The statement came three days after the AGCC’s initial announcement stating that it would no longer mitigate disputes between Full Tilt Poker and customers. In an effort to distance itself from the embattled online poker room, the AGCC originally directed players to report complaints to local authorities.

Read the statement at the AGCC’s website.

Epic Poker League TV Debut

The network premiere of the Epic Poker League hits Velocity and CBS this weekend and the league released a sneak peek on Thursday.

Here’s a look:

The EPL premieres on Velocity on Friday, Oct. 7 at 10 p.m. EDT, and the first CBS telecast will air on Saturday, Oct. 8 at 1 p.m. EDT. The action will be called by Pat O’Brien and Ali Nejad, with the final table featuring the likes of Erik Seidel and Chino Rheem (whom you saw in the teaser).

Find out more details at EpicPoker.com

APPT returns to Macau

The PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) has announced the full schedule for the Macau event of Season 5. The APPT Macau Poker Festival will run from Nov. 17 through 27 and features a HKD $30,000 Main Event with a HKD $6 million guaranteed prize pool.

The series, which will be hosted by Casino Grand Lisboa, will also include a HKD $100,000 buy-in two-day High Roller event, which is expected to attract several of the top players from Asia and the rest of the world.

“PokerStars Macau has always been a premier event for the APPT,” said newly appointed APPT President Danny McDonagh. “There’s been an explosion of regional players supporting our major tournaments this year with both the Macau Poker Cup and Macau Millions absolutely crushing all previous records set for poker tournaments in Asia.”

Last year, PokerStars qualifier Victorino Torres bested a field of 342 players to win the APPT Macau Main Event for HKD $3,246,200. Players can follow in the footsteps of Torres by qualifying for the APPT Macau Main event for free at PokerStars.

For more information, visit the APPT Macau website.

The Highest of Highs and Lowest of Lows

The high-stakes sit-n-gos at PokerStars were crowded with railbirds Wednesday night, and it wasn’t because Daniel Negreanu or another well-known PokerStars Team Pro was on the virtual felt.

Russian player “I7AXA” took second place in the Sunday Million this past weekend for $148,343 and decided to take a shot at the $5,000 heads-up sit-n-gos against some of the top players in the world. Needless to say, it didn’t go well.

He lost a lot. Moved down in stakes. Lost more. And continued the trend until he was playing $30 tournaments. At the end of a lengthy session, here’s what his graph at Sharkscope looked like:

More than $140,000 of his bankroll had vanished by the end of the night. Check out some of the reactions from the community over at TwoPlusTwo.

Poker Down Under

Day 2 of the ANZPT Darwin Main Event began with 47 players competing for a $128,000 prize pool. Among the notables still alive were former ANZPT Perth champ Grant Levy and former APPT winners Aaron Benton and Marcel Schreiner, as well as online superstar Brendon Rubie. However, only Benton survived the day as the field was trimmed to 18.

Jack Drake heads into Day 3 with the overall chip lead. He’s followed by fellow Aussies Michael Guzzardi and Ryan McKay, both of whom sit within close reach of the leader.

The key storyline going into the day, though, is the clash between Leo Boxell and Danny Chevalier for the ANZPT Player of the Year award. The two top-ranked players in the standings are among the final 18 and the race for the POY could come down to the wire.

Follow the PokerStars Blog for live reports of the ANZPT Main Event in Darwin.

Who Would You Rather?

Eugene Katchalov found himself at an incredible table at the EPT London High Roller Event on Wednesday; the six-handed table featured Erik Seidel, Vanessa Rousso, Joseph Cheong, McLean Karr and Theo Jorgensen. PokerNews hostess Sarah Grant caught Katchalov on a break and asked the Team PokerStars Pro a series of questions about his talented tablemates.

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