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Las Vegas, Viva Las Vegas! It's about that time again when the great guys at the Rio start up the World Series of Poker machine.

Now in its 44th year it is with out doubt poker's biggest annual feast and the best part? the Main Event of course! With bwin you could be heading there as well!

Make sure you qualify with bwin!

We've got side and Main Event packages all up for grabs on bwin! Take down one of our finals and you'll be jetting off on to Vegas. We include flights, accommodation, and some spending money too, ohh and of course the tournament buy-in!

Take your first step on a poker journey of a lifetime with bwin today!

 

We're back! and this time with a larger player pool, even bigger and better tournaments and some fantastic new technical features this is going to be our best system upgrade to date!

So whats new? Wow that's a big question, so here's a few highlights, first up FastForward Poker, where you Play fast and Think faster. You get to jump straight into a new hand every time you fold.

As well as that we now offer Late registration for tournaments, so if you missed the start of your tournament then it's no longer a problem!

And with our new custom avatars you can personalise your game by choosing and uploading your own avatar.

Make sure you head over here to see all software features.

We of course want to thank each everyone of you for being so patient whilst we perfomed this work but now you can rest assure that with all new features, as well as the new game offerings and of course the bigger tournaments this was worth the wait.

"What is bwin down?" we hear you say? Well not for long! No fear not! You see as many of you may have noticed there have been some changes to the tournament schedule on Sunday the 16th of December.

What's that all about right? Well you see in preparation for a system upgrade we needed remove tournaments that have the potential to be effected.

Now of course we sincerely apologize for any and all the inconvenience this may cause you all but you can rest assure you that the fantastic new features, all the new games and of course the bigger tournaments which are coming your way are all so much worth the wait.

Trust us this is going to be legendary.

Level 27 News: Jordi Martinez - 1,900,000 chips (63 players remain)

We've got less than 70 players left here at the WSOP Main Event. Remember now we started with an amazing 6,598 runners. What's even better is that the fact that bwin Team Pro Jordi Martinez who is playing in his third WSOP Main Event is currently enjoying his first ever WSOP cash in the most prestigious tournament in the world.

So whats going through his head?

I'm so nervous, we are really close to something really big. I try to be focused at the table, but what can I do with my stack? Who can I put pressure on? If I don't concentrate about the table I will start to think about the money…

So you're not thinking about that $8.5 million?

I have to focus on what is in front of me and make the optimum decisions…I'm not just thinking about the money.

Jordi has $128,384 in the bank already. The biggest pay day he has ever received. The next pay jump increases that amount by $30,000 so is he aware of the incremental pay leaps?

I am mindful with that because it is important not just for me, but also to understand when I can attack somebody.

So what would he do if got that $8.5 million in his bank account?

If I did win $8.5 million I'd spend the money travelling the world with my girlfriend and buying a home.

Who has Martinez been in constant touch with back home during his amazing run?

My father, brothers and my girlfriend, but they have to stay awake all not because of the time difference so they are more tired than me!

What is one piece of advice you would give?

Play your own style. Understand that you can be very patient here.

Level 26 News

Jordi Martinez Loses a Big Flip
Jordi Alonso has been reduced to 1,720,000 as we have a short interval in play. Amit Zulkowitz is the player who has most of Alonso's chips after the pair flipped for 2,500,000. Zulkowitz held 9♠ 9♦ and Alonso held A♥ J♥ . The board ran out 6h 6♣ 6♠ 9♣ 8♦ , Zulkowitz moved up to 2,300,000 as did Alonso (Alonso was later grounded down to 1,720,000).

Level 25 News

Jordi Martinez Up To 3,550,000 Chips

Manos Foudoulakis Out!

Our Greek qualifier Manos Foudoulakis is out of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. He started in 21st place, but he left crushed, and is currently being consoled by his girlfriend. The end came for Foudoulakis like this:

A.J. Jejelowo raised to 90k in early position and Foudoulakis made the call as well as Jamie Robbins in the small blind. It was a three way flop of 9♣ 7♠ 4♠ with the action checked to Foudoulakis who bet 125k. Robbins folds, Jejelowo check-raises to 375k and Foudoulakis called. Turn shows a Q♦ and Jejelowo goes all-in for just under 2 million with Foudoulakis calling. It was K♣ Q♣ for the Grecian and T♣ 8♣ for Jejelowo. Foudoulakis looked good to double up until J♦ showed its face on the river giving Jejelowo a helping hand with a straight taking Foudoulakis down to 230k.

Just after this we saw Foudoulakis going all-in holding A♣ J♠ and Eric Legoff called holding A♠ 8♠. However K♠ T♠ 4♠ flop handed Legoff the nuts and Foudoulakis was out two cards later J♣ & 9♠

We have two players in that field of 97 : bwin team pro - and their Spanish Champion - Jordi Martinez and the bwin qualifier from Greece, Manos Foudoulakis.

Manos Foudoulakis starts the day in the final seat of the feature table and he shares it with one of the best players left in the competition: Vanessa Selbst. Selbst and Foudoulakis are like chalk and cheese with Selbst winning two WSOP bracelets, a Partouche title and back to back North American Poker Tour (NAPT) titles whilst accruing over $5 million in live tournament earnings. Foudoulakis is a pharmacist and basketball coach who is currently experiencing his one and only cash of his lifetime.

The Foudoulakis Table

1 | Robert Corcione | 3,750,000
2 | David Balkin | 1,295,000
3 | Lasell King | 1,740,000
4 | Vanessa Selbst | 1,165,000
5 | Alfred Firova | 995,000
6 | Max Ovseyevitz | 755,000
7 | Scott Anderson | 1,485,000
8 | Jesse Sylvia | 2,990,000
9 | Manos Foudoulakis | 3,020,000

Here is the table draw that Martinez starts on.

Jordi Martinez Table
1 | Alben Juen | 2,376,000
2 | Gwennael Grandmougin | 1,055,000
3 | Jordi Martinez | 2,700,000
4 | Fabio Sousa | 805,000
5 | Amit Zulkowitz | 1,520,000
6 | Mazin Khoury | 1,885,000
7 | Dung Nguyen | 1,880,000
8 | Jonathan Schoder | 470,000
9 | Percy Mahatan | 2,400,000

Think you can you go the distance? Then prove it! Go On! It's time you put the pedal to the metal and check out our newest promotion Tour De Poker taking place only on bwin poker right now!

So hop on, play some great poker, switch gears when your opponent least expects and outrun the rest to the finish line faster than Lance Armstrong and you too could be winning your share of our huge prize pool! With the action starting nightly at 21:00 it's time to play for real!

 

So join us for the ride of your life. The Polkadot Leaderboard is for those who dare to take risks, like you right? And to track this, we're going to count every single player that you'll eliminate during our fantastic Tour de Poker tournaments. Most eliminations win!

The Polkadot standings will be updated regularly right here on bwin Pokerblog:

1	-PPL-	50	12
2	sitivlist	48	11
3	x etavla	41	12
4	dilelen	39	9
5	ha-sn	38	10
6	raise_a_rama	36	10
7	buk501	34	13
8	Blotchy1985	33	7
9	MIMIozo	33	7
10	dfcb8504	32	8
11	PBG7890	32	10
12	Kruecke1003	31	8
13	1FcChelsea	31	10
14	certica	30	8
15	PLWashy	30	15
16	cessy12	30	9
17	pb66	30	9
18	osnovnoi	29	7
19	voda88	29	10
20	jormout	28	8
21	jyc_	28	6
22	poteto rey	28	9
23	DonJohnson69	27	11
24	lentiti	27	13
25	gebets2	27	7
26	achiM_P	26	13
27	morskoy	26	10
28	gabipereira	25	7
29	Suspensor51	25	7
30	Drion_x	24	10
31	witekmac	24	14
32	glenn15328	24	9
33	Centi17	24	7
34	matimangga	23	12
35	weidi11	23	6
36	yoshin77	22	9
37	fsgs	22	1
38	Polatko	22	10
39	Zockerzille	22	8
40	logan344	22	5
41	cmelikface	21	6
42	LMermaid8888	21	8
43	norbi571	21	9
44	naddyusha	21	7
45	Roman13L	20	10
46	jani8903	20	7
47	Splater97	20	7
48	karika75	19	8
49	Profko	19	7
50	Strepta	18	6
51	ManoDeDios_x	18	7
52	Kokkatro1986	18	4
53	IvanaF2	18	5
54	sebosalva	18	8
55	schweizer101	17	1
56	DuobleW	17	8
57	flowerpowe86	16	4
58	alidzi1	16	4
59	kubus08	16	8
60	bonaparte5	16	7
61	petzi38	16	10
62	martin24d	15	7
63	_4fun	15	6
64	Don Geilo 77	15	7
65	-Carter	15	7
66	mhtsaras7	15	1
67	lexotallinn	15	4
68	Kouba2	15	6
69	Tofasi	15	6
70	Balachuk	14	1
71	Fuchsloch	14	9
72	PityouP	14	1
73	bartasbydg1	14	4
74	Rosenbraut	14	7
75	Siggi27	14	8
76	fjmpP	14	6
77	jouijo	13	8
78	Ecki1985	13	5
79	-macur-	13	6
80	THODORAKISJT	13	1
81	Szachista007	13	3
82	plavookika	12	6
83	nisjuur	12	2
84	McDabr	12	4
85	florinbfa	12	5
86	maronko	12	4
87	GT699	12	4
88	jaras74	12	4
89	cocilight	11	4
90	x apy123	11	4
91	macbug	11	5
92	886886	11	1
93	Ribeiro88	11	4
94	PokerAlho6	11	4
95	lutzifer245	11	1
96	horking1	11	2
97	bremischTNT	11	7
98	kstojan7	11	1
99	maiconice1	11	2
100	kuximaxi82	11	2

Read the rest of this entry

Sunday means one thing at the track and that’s racing. Steve McQueen once said "Racing is Life. Anything before or after is just waiting” and from the crowd here in Jerez it would seem they’d sure agree with that King of Cool. The bwin team were back in full force today where they took in all the action direct from the trackside. First up it was the Moto3 event where our old poker playing friend Sandro Cortese ending up taking 3rd after quite a battle out there on the track.

Sandro Cortese was a regular in the bwin poker tent

The Moto2 race was up next where our own bwinners Featzl81 and Akahotaru got a treat of their lives when they got to take a walk right out on the starting grid amongst all the chaos of engines revving and tires screeching.

bwinners Featzl81 and Akahotaru best of friends on the track!

Then it was time for a quick lunch before heading to the main event the MotoGP race where the bwinners got exclusive access to the ‘Premium Paddock’ experience meaning we got to view the track from one of the best angles out there.

The Crowd Goes Wild!

If you’ve never been to a MotoGP event and think you know what loud is, YOU’RE WRONG! This was loud, dam loud, louder than war in fact; it was like being on a set for a new Michael Bay film, big, loud, intense, and exciting! It would seem on the MotoGP circuit there's never a dull moment; but there's also never a quiet moment. And this blogger sure likes it like that!

Featzl81s new ride

If you didn't make it to Jerez don't worry as there’s two more stops on the MotoGP circuit for some lucky bwinners, and we hope you to see you at one of them real soon! And from all of us in Jerez thanks for tunning in and we'll see you all again real soon!

Saturday in the racing world is known for qualifying. And our guys certainly are qualified it would seem after some great poker action where ultimately Featzl81 would be crowned the winner of this track. It didn’t come easy though it would appear after what he described the heads up as a real “rollercoaster ride” with Akahotaru.

Featzl81 seems happy about winning the bwin branded chip case

Not only did Featzl81 walk away with a n exclusive bwin branded chip case, but come tomorrow he’ll get to walk on the starting grid, now that’s a prize money just can’t buy!

Safety first with bwin!

As for the rest of bwinners well it’s been a packed Saturday that’s for sure. A quick breakfast and it was off to the track! First up a tour of the tracks service road in a BMW MSeries Staff car, the bwinners got to take in all the sights and sounds of the track as qualification was going on in the background

Close to the Action!

After which it was time for visit to the garage crew where they got to meet the crews face to face and see what life is like in the pit lane.

Then finally the moment we’d all been waiting for a lap of the circuit again in one of the supped up BMW touring cars. This blogger certainly is shaken and stirred!

Come on hop in!

Buckle Up!

Shaken and Stirred!

The fun doesn’t stop here in Jerez though as there’s plenty of time to take a shot yourself, as two more stops remain on the circuit!

Friday April 27th saw the European kickoff of not only the MotoGP motorcycle racing series, but also the first live trackside poker tournament sponsored by bwin as part of its MotoGP Series 2012 competition.

bwin at the heart of the action!

The MotoGP Series competition hosted by bwin gives poker players and motor racing fans a chance to take part in the trip of a lifetime. Players are not only flown in and wined, dined, and treated like VIPs at MotoGP racetracks around the world, but they get to play poker at a tournament trackside that gives the winner a prize money can’t buy!

The bwin grid girls know how to have fun on and off the track!

The latest stop of the MotoGP competition was in Jerez, Spain, where 6 poker players were flown in, put up in luxurious accommodation, and treated like poker royalty during their visit. Most players won their spots through low entry tournaments on bwin, so not only were they in for the weekends of their lives, but it cost them next to nothing to take part in the competition.

Time for a quick pit stop!

The players then battled it out in a winner-take-all poker tournament trackside. Up for grabs was a bwin branded chip case and the chance to walk on the starting grid come race day, a prize that money just couldn’t buy!

The calm before the storm!

Play For Real!

The field of 6 players was quite international with guests from Greece, France, Austria and Spain present. However when the smoke cleared at the poker table, it was Featzl81 who emerged as the winner, prevailing finally in a heads-up battle with Akahotaru. After what he described as a real rollercoaster of poker play! And not only did Featzl81 win a fantastic bwin branded chip case, but he would also be treated to walk on the starting grid come race day!

Featzl81 seems happy about winning the bwin branded chip case

There’s still plenty of time to take a shot yourself, as two more stops remain on the circuit. bwin has qualifiers running constantly so there’s no better time than now to hop on the MotoGP extravaganza today and see if you have what it takes to play your way to victory!

You’re probably used to shouting out your passion for Real Madrid. In front of the TV, at Santiago Bernabéu or at the pub. Now we challenge you to put that passion in writing. And then play your heart out for a signed Real Madrid shirt.

All you need to do is head on over to our Facebook Promo Page and tell us why you, amongst all Real Madrid fans, should earn the right to participate into a free poker tournament where the winner gets the shirt.

Ten will be picked to play. One will leave dressed in success. So once again head on over to our Facebook page, make sure you like us and tell us why you deserve to be picked! Good Luck!