Get 2,000 extra chips for the International Poker Open 2009.

Boylepoker.com have launched its innovative VIP Club points promotion for the International Poker Open 2009. The promotion gives players the opportunity to increase their starting stack at the live tournament in Dublin in October from 8,000 to 10,000 by simply playing at Boylepoker.com during August and September and accumulating VIP Club points.

Players who earn 250 VIP Club points in August get 1,000 chips added to their starting stack of 8,000, and 250 VIP Club Points earned in September gives them another 1,000 chips bringing the total to 10,000.

Roy Brindley to play ICC. Betting available on Boyle Poker.

Roy Brindley is the last name added to the list of stars playing in the inaugural Irish Champions Cup at The Eglinton Casino’s Galway Race Week Poker Festival.

Boylesports have quoted betting prices for the event with Andy Black, Jude Ainsworth and Marty Smyth joint favourites at 6/1 and Fintan Gavin and Martin Silke currently the outsiders at 17/2

The festival has been a roaring success so far with a packed house for last night’s €115 freeze-out which was won by Aisling Ainsworth.

There has also been some exciting cash game action, particularly in the 5/5 Omaha game which is expected to have a six figure sum on the table before the end of the week.

Online qualifiers underway for EMOP Barcelona.

The European Masters of Poker makes its penultimate stop in Barcelona, Spain from July 29 to August 1, having just completed the Prague leg of the tour which attracted 258 players and generated a prize pool of €258,000.

Qualification for the €1,150 buy-in event, which is expected to be the largest of the tour with up to 500 runners and an estimated prize pool of €500,000, is now underway on
DevilFish Poker where poker players can qualify for as little as €2 or 200 VIP-points.

There are nine daily satellites to the €100 Sunday Main Qualifier (19:40 CET) and five daily satellites to the €100 Wednesday Main Qualifier (19:40 CET).

paddypowerpoker.com invites players on Paddy’s Vegas Vacation.

paddypowerpoker.com today invites players to take part in Paddy’s Vegas Vacation, which is scheduled from June 30th to July 3rd. The tournaments take place each evening at 8.45pm and the poker room is adding at least $100 to the prizepool of each.

“Paddy’s Vegas Vacation is designed for those of us who can’t get to Sin City for the start of the world championship event later this week” said Paddy Power, Communications Manager at paddypowerpoker.com.

“We’re adding cash to the prizepools and there are a variety of tournaments to choose from – we may not be in Vegas but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy some thrilling tournament action during the most exciting time in the poker calendar!”

British bracelet mania on The Poker Show.

As the World Series of Poker main event approaches and John Kabbaj lifts the pot-limit hold’em world championship, The Poker Show talks to some of the UK’s hottest prospects in “The Big One”

This weekend, presenters Jesse May and Matt Broughton will catch up with a host of British hopefuls including recent pot-limit hold’em bracelet winner John Kabbaj, Dave “Devilfish” Ulliott, Ian Frazer, serial staker Neil Channing, and comedian and ‘triple crown’ victor Roland De Wolfe.

Flying the Irish flag is co-presenter Padraig Parkinson, who recently finished 14th in the pot-limit Omaha world championship. He makes his daily call to the show with all the news and gossip from the Rio hotel and casino in Las Vegas. Fellow countryman John O’Shea will also drop in for a chat.

Tuesday sees the return of the weekly Poker Show Live turbo bounty tournament on Boylepoker.com which has $250 added, with guests, presenters and listeners vying for supremacy in this password-only tournament. Last week the winner of the turbo tournament was “Faughballagh” who is none other than Boylepoker pro and World Series of Poker main event finalist Scott Gray.

WSOP Watch: Black Cashes again, O’Connor makes a final table.

With several events running concurrently at the Rio it’s difficult to keep an eye on all the Irish competing at this year’s World Series.

While all Irish eyes were on Padraig Parkinson who came close to a final table in the prestigious $10,000 Championship Pot Limit Omaha tournament, and Andy Black was going deep in the $2,500 mixed event, Patrick O’Connor was quietly beavering away in a $1,500 No Limit Holdem event and popped up on the final table.

With a cash in the Irish Open, and two cashes in similar WSOP events in 2008, O’Connor clearly has what it takes go deep in large fields and was delighted with his 9th place finish and a $80,049 pay day.

Black will be disappointed with his 31st place finish for $5,695 as he spent some time among the chip leaders. He is however still Ireland’s highest earner at this year’s WSOP and with three cashes and one final table already notched up, he’s likely to be full of confidence going in to this year’s main event.

No joy for Parkinson as Lunkin narrowly misses 3rd bracelet.

Padraig Parkinson narrowly missed a final table in the $10,000 WSOP Championship PLO, finishing 14th. This event was one of the main hopes for an Irish bracelet considering the popularity of Omaha in Ireland and Marty Smyth’s win in 2008.

Unfortunately for Parky he never got going on the final day. Nursing a short-stack from three tables out, he finally busted at the hands of Vitaly Lunkin who is fast becoming a man to be feared in Vegas.

Lunkin, already had two bracelets in the bag – one in a $1,500 NLHE event in 2008, and a huge win for almost $1.9 million in this years $40,000 NLHE event – showed he is well adapt at the plying his trade in the four card game.

After a gruelingly long heads up battle with American Matt Graham, the Russian was unlucky to miss out on his 3rd WSOP title.

The Irish in Vegas: In-The-Money list 2009.

So far at this years World Series of Poker Festival, six Irish players have had ten cashes between them. Andy Black with two sizeable five figure cashes is the highest earner and the only Irishman to make a final table. However, we have yet to see anything like the successes of 2008 when Ireland took home a bracelet.

Other players who have cashed are Stephen “AllinStevie” Devlin with an impressive three cashes across three separate disciplines, Nick Heather with two cashes in No Limit Holdem events, and Derek Murray, Jude “j.thadeus” Ainsworth and John O’Shea with one in-the-money finish each.

Padraig Parkinson will join them when he plays out the remainder of the $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha event. With 25 players remaining, Parkinson is in with a very realistic chance of taking over the title from his compatriot, Marty Smyth.

This weeks guests on the poker show.

This week The Poker Show talks to World Series of Poker bracelet winners Michael Keiner and Theo Jorgensen while the women have their say with Annette Obrestad, Jennifer Tilly, and Annie Duke.

Dublin, Ireland: May 22, 2009 – This week, live online poker radio show, The Poker Show, checks in with World Series of Poker bracelet winner Michael Keiner and World Series of Poker Europe bracelet winner, and sometime boxer, Theo Jorgensen. World Series of Poker main event finalist Jon Kalmar is also dropping by.

Presenters Jesse May and Padraig Parkinson will be chatting to Jennifer Tilly and Annette Obrestad from the Women’s World Open and recent Celebrity Apprentice, Annie Duke, pops in discuss Donald Trump and Joan Rivers. Neil Channing will also be on to talk Black Belt grading.