Russian Poker Tour players trapped inside casino during Ukraine riots
In today's Daily Rewind we find out why hundreds of players are trapped in a Ukrainian casino and win Olympic gold with a PokerStars pro.
Trouble in Kiev
Players taking part in the Russian Poker Tour found themselves under threat recently after the pro-European riots in the Ukraine spiralled out of control.
After sitting down inside Kiev's Khreschatyk Club for the opening event of the RPT's fifth season, players were told they would need to stay inside because of the ongoing troubles.
With violent protests breaking out across the Ukrainian capital, the organisers were forced to lock players in the building and discuss whether or not to postpone the event.
Last night the RPT's website warned players to stay away from the event and continued to offer shelter and free meals for those who were trapped inside.
Talking to Pokernews, the festival's tournament director, Oleg Udovenko, said that "everyone is tired" but some are "still trying to play poker".
He also added that electricity to the building had been cut and smoke had been pouring in through the ventilation shafts.
PokerStars pro wins gold
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Swedish skiing sensation and PokerStars pro Marcus Hellner (pictured left) recently took gold at the Sochi Winter Olympics after successfully anchoring his team to victory in the cross-country event.
Battling over a ten-kilometre course, Hellner initially saw one of his teammates hit the deck before his team fought back to give him the (chip) lead going into the final leg.
After sailing to a 27 second advantage, Hellner eventually claimed his third Olympic title before departing the slopes in order to find the nearest poker game.
MPN's new tour
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| London calling |
The MPN Network has just announced the start of a self-named live tour which will take place in a number of European stops, including Tallinn, Malta and London.
Named the MPN Poker Tour, or MPNPT for short, each festival will feature a slew of side events as well as a €550 Main Event which is described as "deep stacked and slow structured".
The action is set to kick off on May 29 in London and, in addition to the Main Event, players will be able to take part in a Mosh Pit Live tournament (a turbo rebuy) as well as an Open Face Chinese event.
Qualifiers are currently taking place on Poker Heaven and players can win a trip to Aspers Casino, London, from as little as €0.01.
Question of the Day
'yurasov1990' managed another day at the top of the high stakes leaderboard yesterday after banking $90,990. Despite falling just short of the six-figure mark, the online grinder still managed to finish his session ahead of both 'Schoitl' and 'KidPoker705' (not Daniel Negreanu).
Down at the other end of the high stakes spectrum on Tuesday night was 'donthnrmepls'. After only 82 hands the high stakes pro dropped $100,173 to end the day as the biggest loser ahead of Kyle Ray and 'steamraise'.
Daily Signoff
It seems as though Liv Boeree is obsessed with making Vines at the moment, so we thought we'd end today with this unusual offering.
