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Poker News Round-up: Week #06Last week there were some sources in the media claiming to have got wind of the new GCBPT itinerary which was to include a return to Leeds as well as the usual stops on the tour such as Bristol and Nottingham. Whatever the original source of that information was, it was well off the mark as in fact the whole tour has now been scrapped. Although attendance figures would suggest that there was room for the GCBPT and GUKPT to exist side by side, Gala Coral have decided to withdraw from live events and shift their focus to their online operation much more. Tour manager Mark O’Donnell had this to say - “while we’ve have had two fantastic years running the ‘Great British Poker Tours’, we’ve now decided to look at a number of new events and promotions for 2009 that will not only excite our players but are of great value and are accessible to poker players of all levels.” The cost of taking the tour round the country meant that it was unlikely to have been a profitable venture, especially as there was money being added to the prize pool on every leg. Having now established an association with British poker, it seems the time was right to take a step back and tighten the purse strings a little although it will be a shame to see the tour go. It has given us some memorable moments, the highlight probably being when former world champion Jamie Gold and several fellow Americans made the journey to Bristol for the grand final of 2007. They were all seen off by the best of British talent though as Joe Beevers emerged victorious from a highly entertaining final table that also included Barny Boatman, Roland de Wolfe, Neil Channing and Bambos Xanthos. As if the demise of the GCBPT was not enough to ensure that attendances will be up at GUKPT events, a new promotion with online satellites is also set spark plenty more interest. Ten runner $170 sit n goes will be held in the run up to each main event with one seat up for grabs for every winner. That player will only be in the running for half of any money they cash for in the live event though and the other 50% is shared amongst everybody else who took part in the satellite. For every one who makes it through from these there are going to be another nine eagerly checking the internet updates to see how their horse is running, as even someone with the minimum 5% share is still in with a chance to win several thousand pounds. From a marketing point of view it looks like a great idea to raise the profile of the GUKPT but will the Grosvenor casinos be able to accommodate the bigger fields they are now bound to be getting? Following the release of the 2009 WSOP schedule, one of the members of the players’ advisory committee that worked with Harrah’s to bring in the changes has been giving his thoughts on the plans for this year’s series. As he has mentioned in the past, Daniel Negreanu repeated that he is all in favour of ditching the rebuy events despite being the type of player who would benefit more than most from their inclusion. "They are good for me, because I'm all too willing to spend, but I know it is an unfair advantage and I'd rather not have it. I've said this before: I am more than willing to put what's best for poker ahead of what's best for me" he said. He was not so charitable when talking about Phil Hellmuth’s chances in the commemorative $40,000 event though. Hellmuth might like to think that he is the best tournament player in the world but Negreanu clearly believes otherwise and didn’t miss the chance to get some pre-WSOP needling in. It’s a pretty safe bet to imagine that the following comments won’t go down too well with the poker brat – “He is extremely good at taking advantage of bad players in huge fields and the mistakes they make, but playing against great players and all these great young players, his old-school thinking when it comes to winning tournaments just won't cut it. I think Phil will be outclassed.” There has been little in the way of live tournaments this week but the action begins to hot up at the weekend with the Party Poker European Open in London, the European Deepstack Championship in Dublin and the UK Amateur Poker Championship in Walsall. If you just don’t fancy leaving the house, or are just unable to due to the snow, Full Tilt’s FTOPS series XI is now underway featuring a variety of tournaments including $200 Omaha hi/lo hosted by Ross Boatman and $200 six handed no limit hold’em hosted by Adam Noone.
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