Uk-Poker.co.uk

The World Poker Tour (WPT) attracts the very biggest names in professional poker and is regarded throughout the world as one of the most prestigious tours in existence. Accordingly, it seems only right that WPT tournaments are set in exotic locations. The WPT schedule for this year includes destinations such as Los Angeles, San Jose, Bucharest, Las Vegas, Paris, Barcelona and Venice. The WPT event in San Jose, the Bay 101 tournament, concluded earlier this month and was won by Mclean Karr, who beat Phil Hellmuth and company to take home a massive $878,500. This week, attention has shifted to the WPT Hollywood Poker Open, which, contrary to its name, takes place in the Hollywood Casino Indiana – just outside of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Day one of the WPT Hollywood Open saw Eric Froehlich and Faraz ‘The Toilet’ Jaka dominate the relatively tiny field of 143 players, ending up with 149,400 and 144,225 chips respectively. Mike Mustafa finished in third place with 114,050 chips – over 20,000 more than Gevork Kasabyan in fourth. Day two, however, was all about change. Dwyte Pilgrim managed to jump into the lead with more than 310,000 chips to his name, which is quite a remarkable feat considering that he finished day one in 63rd position on a little over 29,000 chips. Eric Froehlich and Faraz Jaka were missing in the top ten at the end of day two; although, Gevork Kasabyan (182,100) and Mike Mustafa (179,300) were hanging on in 7th and 8th respectively.

The WPT Hollywood Poker Open features a relatively small top prize of $393,000, which puts it on a par with some of the more lucrative UK poker tournaments. In fact, many high profile UK poker tournaments boast smaller top prizes, so the WPT Hollywood Poker Open is by no means an insignificant event; nevertheless, by the WPT’s lofty standards, it remains small fish in a pool of riches.