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32Red Poker Acquired by Kindred Group

32Red.com, the London-listed parent company of the popular UK online poker site, 32Red Poker, has been acquired by the Kindred Group, it was announced recently.  Under the terms of the £175.6 million takeover deal, the Swedish gaming group, Kindred will pay 32Red shareholders 196 p for each share. They will also receive a second interim dividend of 4 p per share, (paid for by 32 Red and not Kindred).

The latest acquisition is considered almost a done deal, with nearly all shareholders giving their irrevocable undertakings to accept the offer. Kindred, which operates Unibet Casino and a number of other gaming sites, needs to receive 75% acceptances for the deal to be finalized.

Kindred Group Chief Executive Officer Henrik Tjaernstroem said: “We’re optimistic we will be over 75 percent in a short space of time.”

The CEO added that the acquisition of 32Red was consistent with Kindred’s multi-brand strategy and stated desire to grow its business in locally regulated and soon to be regulated markets.

“32Red is a high quality, customer-focused business with a similar culture to Kindred Group’s and we are delighted to welcome 32Red and its team into the Kindred family and look forward to further developing the brand going forward,” he concluded.

32Red Plc has experienced tremendous growth in the past few years, and especially over the last six months, thanks in part to its successful 32Red Casino and 32Red Poker platforms. In the six months to June 30, 2017, sales for 32Red rose by nearly two-thirds to £30.4 million.

Kindred, once known as the Unibet Group, boasts more than 15 million customers from around the world, with Europe and Australia being its main markets.  Kindred is considered to be one of the world’s largest betting and gaming companies, especially after it purchased Stan James’ online business in 2015, as well as iGame.

32Red bosses are set to make quite a killing from the acquisition of the group. The chief executive of 32Red, Ed Ware (formerly of Ladbrokes), has a 23% stake in the company, which is now worth an impressive £38 million.  32Red’s chairman, David Fish, will make £18 million from the sale.

According to Ware, “The management team at Kindred have a similar business philosophy to our own.”

As soon as news broke about the potential takeover, shares for 32Red Plc jumped on the London stock exchange, with share prices climbing 16% to 200 p.

Ed Ware has not commented on whether or not he will continue to work at 32Red after the takeover comes into effect.

WSOP Extends “Exclusive Provider” Partnership with 888poker

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) has extended its contract with 888poker that was signed in 2015.

The extension will see the online brand become the exclusive provider of online qualifier satellites and promotions for the third year running and will cover 2017 and 2018 with an additional two-year option.

The announcement was made by WSOP when it confirmed its schedule for 2017 and WSOP will work with 888poker in order to provide players with entry opportunities to its tournaments.

Ty Steward, World Series of Poker Executive Director, commented on the extension of the contract by saying that they have seen 888poker really up the stakes in the past few years, with a refreshing new online and offline approach which aims to give the power back to the players.  Stewart went on to say that this shared vision and love of the game means that it is a natural partnership for both their brands.  He added that this mutually beneficial approach will continue to enhance their user experience and wished their players the best of luck in the tournament.

The new partnership deal will also see 888poker being the exclusive telecast partner for the series with Kara Scott, an ambassador for 888poker also serving as anchor during the ESPN coverage together with Lon McEachern and Norman Chad.

888poker sent 128 players to the WSOP in 2015 when the two companies started working together.  The event was won by 888poker’s own sponsored pro, Joe McKeehen.

In 2016, 888poker sent more than 250 players to the Main Event, including November Niners Fernando Pons, who finished ninth, and Griffin Benger, who finished seventh, qualifiers for the Main Event with €30 and €160 satellites respectively.  This year, 888poker intends sending even more qualifiers.

Itai Pazner, Senior Vice President & Head of B2C at 888 Holdings, revealed that their extended partnership with the WSOP is a testament to their increasingly dominant position in the industry and their longstanding commitment to making poker more exciting and accessible for players around the world.

The sponsorship will also see the WSOP holding the inaugural $888,888 top prize as well as eight-handed play at each table.  The online brand will also get exposure through ESPN and live streaming on the Main Event and final tables.

PokerStars’s New Live Events in Latin America and Asia Announced

New 2017 PokerStars Championship and PokerStars Festival stops in Chile, Spain South Korea, the Philippines and Uruguay were announced by PokerStars earlier this week.

The countries to be visited by PokerStars include Panama and the Czech Republic next month; South Korea, Macau and Monaco in April; Chile in May; Spain in June and August; the Philippines in July and Uruguay in September 2017.  The company stated that more announcements are soon to be released.

Edgar Stuchly, PokerStars’ Director of Live Events, commented on the release by saying that they are thrilled to take their PokerStars Championship and PokerStars Festival across the globe, bringing their vision for live poker to a whole new level and ensuring a year filled with far more winning moments than ever before.

PokerStars will be replacing the Latin American Poker Tour Chile which attracted a large number of 565 entries last year with PokerStars Festival Chile, an eight-day event that is scheduled to be held at the Vina del Mar Hotel & Casino.

Later in June, PokerStars will hold the PokerStars Festival Marbella at Casino Marbella.  Last year the event was the UK and Ireland Poker Tour Marbella that together with Estrellas had 844 entries.

A PokerStars Festival in Asia is a first for the company and will be held in Incheon, South Korea between 14^th and 24^th July 2017.

PokerStars Festival Manila will kick off on 28^th July and continue until 7^th August at the location of the former PokerStars LIVE at City of Dreams Manila.  The PokersStars LIVE Manila venue was opened by PokerStars in 2014 with the company running its first event at the venue in 2007.

Last year the Asia Pacific Poker Tour in Manila attracted 577 entries and it is presumed that PokerStars LIVE Manilla will carry on offering its 14 cash game tables and vast range of limits in order to accommodate travelling players for this new festival.

PokerStars Festival Uruguay is the final stop in Latin America and will be held at the Conrad Hotel & Casino in Punta del Este.

UK and Ireland’s Live Poker Tournaments in February

Live poker tournament action is due to take place all over the United Kingdom and Ireland during this month and players will, therefore, have an opportunity to choose exactly where they would like to head.

The opening leg of the 2017 Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT) is scheduled to kick off the month at the Poker Room that was formerly known as The Vic.  The first event of the tour’s 10^th season will consist of a number of tournaments with the £200,000 guaranteed Main Event being the highlight of the tour.  Later this month the GUKPT will head to Bury New Road in Manchester for the second leg of the 2017 tour.

Three Dusk till Dawn (DTD) 200 tournaments are due to take place between the two GUKPT events.  Despite the fact that DTD200 tournaments are new to the UK poker scene, the fact that their £100,000 guarantee has a buy in of a mere £220 has resulted in the tournaments being well received.

Leg 2 of the 2017 Genting Poker Series will take place in Newcastle and promises to be a huge hit with local players as well as those travelling north.

The Grosvenor Maybury Casino in Edinburgh, Scotland, will host the Amateur Poker Association & Tour (APAT) for the Scottish Amateur Poker Championship.

A number of events are scheduled to be held in Ireland this month, which include the Munster Open in Dungarvan, The Big One in Bundoran, The One Day Special at the Green Isle Hotel in Dublin as well as the Grand Prix Cork at the Regency Hotel in Dublin.  The 2017 D4 Events Dublin Poker Festival is also due to take place at the Regency Hotel in Dublin from Friday, 10^th February to Saturday, 18^th February 2017 and those who intend playing poker on Tuesday, 14^th February 2017 are reminded that this is Valentine’s Day.

2017 GUKPT Season Kicks Off in London on 29th January

The Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT) is scheduled to kick off in London on Sunday, 29^th January 2017 and run through to Sunday, 5^th February 2017 for its 11^th consecutive season at the ‘Poker Room” that is located above the Grosvenor Victoria Casino in London.

As the first of nine stops that are scheduled on the 2017 GUKPT, London promises be a help to the organizers in their endeavor to reach a challenging total of £1.8 million in guarantees during this year.

The second starting flight during GUKPT’s last stop in London for a £1.100 Main Event, broke the tour’s records for the total number of entrants on one day and saw 243 players sitting down at the tables, taking the total attendance to 394 and smashing the £200,000 guarantee by £194,000.

The tournament had a peculiar ending with Adrian Mateos, busting in ninth place and the remaining eight players at the final table chopping the remainder of the prize pool between themselves, winning between £24,049 and £66,528, with the latter amount collected by Martin Hogarty, who was announced the champion.

Due to the large number of poker players who are currently in London for the inaugural PokerStars Festival, the GUKPT management team are hoping that this season will see a similar sized field to that of Season 10.

It is not too late to qualify for the £200,000 guaranteed GUKPT London Main Event online at Grosvenor Poker.  This can be done by downloading the poker software via PokerNews that will entitle players to claim a first deposit bonus of 200% up to £700 as well as a bonus bag worth £50 for a minimum deposit of £25 consisting of Tournament Tickets, Points and Casino Bonuses.

The 2017 GUKPT London Schedule

First partypoker LIVE Million National to Take Place in Russia

Following on from the launch of the new partypoker LIVE tour, partypoker is thrilled to announce that its first partypoker Million National event will take place at the Sochi Casino and Resort in Sochi, Russia.

The newly opened, glitzy Sochi Casino and Resort, in association with Poker Club Management is due to host the biggest live poker tournament in CIS history featuring a reasonable $1,100 buy-in and offering a massive guaranteed prize pool of $1,000,000, with an amount of $200,000 guaranteed for the ultimate champion, while combining both online and live elements.

Sochi Casino and Resort is a huge entertainment complex and is an exclusive location for Russia in the style of the top casinos of Las Vegas.  The five-star complex, situate in the former host city of the Winter Olympics can accommodate 2,000 guests and features 70 gaming tables, 569 slot machines, two restaurants, convention space, a cabaret theatre, shops, nine bars and other amenities, representing the newest phase in Russia’s zonal casino experiment.

The first two of the five opening days take place online at partypoker on 12^th and 19^th March 2017 while the last three opening days are scheduled to take place at Sochi Casino and Resort on 24^th, 25^th and 26^th March 2017.

Those players that manage to survive both the online and live opening days will go on to compete on Day 2 and 3 on 27^th and 28^th March 2017 until such time as the first partypoker Million National champion is crowned.

Commenting in a recent press release, Tom Waters, Group Head of partypoker revealed that hosting the first partypoker Millions National event in Russia is a truly exciting opportunity for partypoker and their players.  He added that they will be the first global poker operator to offer live poker at the brand new Sochi Casino and Resort, crowning their inaugural partypoker Million National champion.

Artur Voskanyan, shared Founder of the Poker Club Management and Sochi Casino and Resort Poker Club Manager, announced that it is with great pleasure that they welcome partypoker to their five-star location.  He also said that the city has been magnificently rebuilt and is surrounded by amazing nature including world-class ski slopes and is only 30 minutes from the Black Sea’s stylish new hotels, clubs and bars.  Voskanyan went on to say that with a $1,000,000 guarantee on this poker event, it is only the beginning of their partnership with partypoker.

888poker Increases January 15 Baby Whale Guarantee to $500K

888poker celebrated the fifth anniversary of its Mega Deep tournament in November 2016 by increasing its guarantee to an amount of $500,000 and the online poker giant is now doing the same for the Baby Whale tournament taking place on Sunday, 15^th January 2017.

The Baby Whale $320 buy in tournament runs every other Sunday and complements the larger $600 Whale also running on alternate Sundays.  The Baby Whale boasts a $100,000 guaranteed prize pool on a normal Sunday but in order to celebrate the New Year, 888poker will be offering a whopping $500,000 guarantee on this Sunday’s tournament.

The buy in for this monster-sized Baby Whale tournament will be the same amount of $320 as any other time it features in the 888poker lobby.  However, late registration will be extended from 180 minutes to 250 minutes while the freezeout format will be altered in order to give each player a chance to re-enter once.

It is quite possible that the $500,000 Baby Whale will overlay, despite these changes, as the tournament, in its standard form, is inclined to attract between 300 and 400 entrants.

There are a number of satellites running around the clock that feed into this special edition of the Baby Whale.  One of these, that guarantees 50 seats, kicks off a few hours prior to the Baby Whale shuffling up and dealing.

Jan “hownorez” Nakladal won a $100,000 Baby Whale in April of last year that saw him walk away with an amount of $26,334 for his victory.  Nakladal revealed that he is a fan of the Baby Whale due to its deep structure and the number of recreational players who compete.

The former champion also said that should he play this $500,000 edition of the Baby Whale, he will use a similar strategy as when he approached the standard $100,000 version.

Nakladal went on to say that he is pretty certain that he will play the special edition because it will attract a lot of recreational players.  He added that his strategy will be the same strategy he applies for deep-stacked tournaments with good structures – just to be tight before antes come into play, to wait for his spots and then start to open up more while using his tight image to steal pots.

Dusk Till Dawn Launches New £100K Guaranteed Tournaments

Dusk Till Dawn is pleased to announce the launch DTD200 – a new weekly tournament guaranteeing a minimum prize pool of £100,000 for a buy-in of only £220.

The first of these DTD200 tournaments is scheduled to take place between Thursday, 12^th January and Sunday, 15^th January 2017 and will be played on nine-handed tables.  Subsequent tournaments’ formats are due to rotate and will involve six-handed tables, a bounty event as well as play on eight-handed tables before it reverts to the standardized full ring.

Dates        Format

The Knockout that takes place between Thursday, 26^th January and Sunday, 29^th January 2017 will cost an amount of £220 to enter and is made up of £150 as well as a £50 bounty and £20 tournament fees.

Every Thursday and Friday, at 9.00 pm GMT, Partypoker will host an online Day 1 at a cost of $275 to enter.  Players in the online Day 1 will sit down with the same 30,000 starting stack as their live counterparts and play 18 levels which each last 12 minutes.  Although the live Day 1s also play 18 levels, the Day 1 on Saturday sports 30 minute levels and the Turbo Day 1 each Sunday have 15 minute levels.

Both the online and live Day 1s blinds start at 75/150 with a running ante of 25 and are 5,000/10,000/1,000a at the end of the 18^th level, although the blinds are rolled back to 3,000/6,000/600a at the start of Day 2.

Every DTD200 tournament comes with a £100,000 guaranteed prize pool with part of the guarantee made up of 20 x £550 seats to the £6 million guaranteed MILLIONS tournament.  Anyone navigating their way through to Day 2 will receive a min-cash of £400 – £300 for the knockout edition of the DTD200.

Players can qualify for each DTD200 tournament online at Partypoker with DTD200 Mini Feeders running three times per day at a cost of $2.20 and awarded a minimum of 5 seats worth $11 each, to the DTD200 Feeder, which will also run three times a day.

Five x $55 seats are guaranteed with the $11 buy-in feeders which are used to buy into the twice nightly DTD200 Satellite which guarantee five DTD200 seats to be won, or the special DTD200 Satellite running twice on Thursday and Friday guaranteeing 10 seats to the DTD200 tournament.

PokerStars Championships to Kick Off in Bahamas

With the PokerStars European Poker Tour having come to an end, the first event of PokerStars’ new global live Championship tour, PokerStars Championship Bahamas, will kick off on Friday, 6^th January 2017 at Atlantis Paradise Island Resort in the Bahamas.

PokerStars Championship Bahamas was previously known as the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, and was one of poker’s major events.  Winners such as Gus Hansen, Galen Hall and Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier were amongst many winners crowned at the event.  The defending champ this year will be online and live legend Mike “SirWatts” Watson.

Last year was the first time that the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure switched from a $10,300 buy-in to $50,000 in the Main Event, which saw it line up with other events on the European Poker Tour and this will carry over to the first PokerStars Championship event.

Included in the schedule for the first PokerStars Championship event are a number of fan favorite high roller events.  The $100,000 Super High Roller and the $25,000 High Roller, which is one of the biggest $25Ks of the year make a return.  Last year the $25,000 High Roller drew 225 entries and saw Nick Maimone win for just under $1 million.

PokerStars will once again provide live coverage for several of the big events.

A number of the key events on the schedule are as follows –

There are also a number of other events with entry fees suiting all levels of poker players.

Cash games, starting as low as $1/$2 blinds for no-limit and pot-limit games will also be spread each day in a dedicated section of the huge event room at Atlantis.  There will also probably be big action at higher limits.

Players will also find virtual reality stations, breakfast Q & A sessions with PokerStars Team Pros, a three-on-three basketball tournament and watching parties for the NFL playoff games.  A number of other activities will also be available, such as many beaches to lounge on and local culture to experience.

Big One for One Drop Open to Recs Only

The One Drop, an initiative that was started by founder of Cirque Du Soleill, Guy Laliberte, focuses on supporting access to clean water all over the world.

The Big One for One Drop was introduced to the poker world during the 2011 World Series of Poker, and became the largest buy-in at $1 million and the most notable initiative in the history of poker.

Magic Antonio topped a field of 48 players to win the top prize of $18,348,673, the biggest award in poker tournament history.

Two years later Daniel Colman topped a field of 40 players and took home the top prize of $15,306,668 in the 2014 WSOP Big One for One Drop.

In July of this year, it was announced that the Big One for One Drop was returning as part of a five-day high-stakes cash game and tournament festival to be held for affluent recreational poker players.

The Monte-Carlo One Drop Extravaganza was held between 13^th and 17^th October 2016 at the Casino de Monte-Carlo in Monaco which was headlined by The Big One for One Drop Invitational, an invitation-only, €1,000,000 buy in, three-day tournament for business, celebrity and philanthropic recreational players.

Laliberte commented on the reasons why entry to the latest event was invitation-only by saying that when they reflected back on the first $2 million One Drop events and talked to potential players for this event, they realized they had to do something different.  He added that the first One Drop was about a 50-50 ratio of pros to recreational players while the second one had even more professionals, with some of the business people and recreational players staking pros because they thought it would give them a better chance.  Laliberte also said that they wanted to change that dynamic, and after talking with a number of the more recreational players, they found they were less interested in playing in a more pro heavy and difficult field.

Laliberte went on to say that their priority is to raise as much money as they can for One Drop which is the number one goal.  He added that they also want to create a fun and comfortable poker environment for recreational players where they are not under the threat of being bled out by the pros.