Ladbrokes Poker Million
Ladbrokes' Devilfish and Chips
July 9, 2004
Millionaire environmentalist, Zac Goldsmith and online qualifier,
Fred ‘Teddykins’ Richardson are two of the surprise
finalists at this year’s Ladbrokespoker.com Poker Million
II.
With an estimated GBP sterling 300 million fortune, the heir to
the Goldsmith fortune is keen to continue the family tradition established
by his late father Sir James, whose notorious poker school included
fellow ‘big spenders’ John Aspinall and Lord Lucan.
‘Teddykins’ Richardson has so far managed to beat 315
players after paying $12 to play online at ladbrokespoker.com. He
now only needs to beat five more to win $300,000.
If 'Teddykins' wins the tournament he’ll emulate the famous
Chris Moneymaker - the winner of the $2.5 million World Series of
Poker Championships last year, after an initial online qualifying
payment of just $40,
The final, live on Sky Sports 2 tonight at 8pm, will see both players
putting their poker skills to the ultimate test by playing Texas
Hold’em against some of the world’s best poker professionals.
The final table will see former Olympic swimmer and Irish ace Donnacha
O’Dea, Canadian investment banker, Nicholas Barbu, Dave ‘The
Devilfish’ Ulliott and student, Jon Backman join ‘Teddykins’
and Zac as they compete for the $300,000 first prize.
Dave ‘Devilfish’ Ulliott is one of the most revered
poker players in the game. Locking horns with ‘the Devilfish’
the main challenge. According to fellow professional, Roy “The
Boy” Brindley: “the Devilfish harbours an ego that outweighs
the prize on offer. His ferocious and insatiable appetite for victory
feeds on a carefully formulated cocktail of card sense and speech
play that can unnerve even the most accomplished players”.
Last year ‘the Devilfish’ won $600,000 in a three day
tournament in Tunica, USA. However, in these rapidly changing times
for Poker, more money is won in online games than in the traditional
‘smoke filled’ card rooms.
According to independent online Poker analysts, Poker Pulse, a total
of $95 million was wagered on one day this week alone in online
hands. Online Poker grew over 600% in 2003 and has already more
than doubled again this year.
It’s the gambling sensation of the moment and everyone wants
to be a part of it. Ladbrokespoker.com claims to be Europe’s
biggest Poker site, dealing over 330,000 hands of Poker a day. At
the busiest times over 5,000 people from 65 different countries
will be playing against each other on upwards of 600 virtual tables.
This year’s Poker Million Masters II field saw 36 entrants
pay a whopping £10,000 each to take their seat at the green
felt, a further 30 qualify online via ladbrokespoker.com and 6 exclusive
seats for celebrities. This year’s celebrities included World
Cup winning rugby player Mike Tindall, soccer star Teddy Sheringham,
PDC Darts champion Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor, former footballer
Tony Cascarino and snooker stars Mark Williams and Stephen Hendry.
Ladbrokes eGaming Managing Director John O’Reilly commented:
“Forget the tension of Big Brother on a Friday night,
this year’s final looks set to be an exhilarating live spectacle.
How many sporting finals would you expect to see a millionaire pitting
his wits against five of Europe’s hottest hands? I for one
can’t wait to see how Zac gets on against the ‘Devilfish’,
possibly one of the greatest poker players ever.”
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