The Star Poker
Star Poker Gold Coast is home to the only professionally dealt cash games on the Gold Coast. Cash games are back from midday Friday 11 December and then from 10am, 7 days a. With a dedicated Star Poker area on the main gaming floor, poker at The Star offers you cash and tournament games to suit every level of poker player. We offer a range of games to suit your style, a dedicated buy in desk, and table service for food and drinks. With a range of dining and nightlife options nearby, there is no better place to play poker than The Star. Weekly poker tournaments. Star Poker Gold Coast is home to the only professionally dealt cash games on the Gold Coast. Cash games are back from midday Friday 11 December and then from 10am, 7 days a week from Saturday 12 December.
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In a typical year this would be the beginning of snowmobile/poker rally season; the time of year when avid snowmobilers help community halls and recreation centres in small towns and villages across the province to raise money for the upcoming year’s operating expenses and improvements. However, with COVID continuing to run rampant, the typical fundraisers are not happening this year and organizers are trying to think ‘outside the box’ and devise safe ways to raise the funds they need. For a village of roughly 150 people, any major financial undertaking requires many volunteer hours of fundraising.
The hall is an important part of any small community and Prud’homme is no different. Funerals, weddings, and Ukrainian dance are all held on the hall, which is also home to the community’s library, but with no events last year the volunteers had to put their collective thinking hats on. The Village of Prud’homme regularly runs a poker rally and holds other fundraisers throughout the year to raise money to operate and maintain the Prud’homme Community Centre. One day COVID will end, but until then bills still need to be paid. The volunteers at Prud’homme have held drive-through suppers where individuals pre-pay for their meal and then just come and pick-up the cooked and packaged meal on the designated day. They also hosted a lobster fundraiser where people pre-ordered the number of lobster they wanted, and the group then brought in frozen lobster from the Maritimes for supporters to come and pick-up.
Saturday January 23, 2021 the Prud’homme virtualsnowmobile rally will take place (Registration deadline is 9 pm on rally day). There is no need to own or have access to a sled. To purchase a $20 hand, first send payment via e-transfer to: prudhommehall3@gmail.com(memo: Hand). Second, pick three sets of five numbers from 1 – 500 and email your name and the three sets of numbers to: ksopotyk@gmail.com . To purchase 50/50 tickets for $20 each send payments via e-transfer to: prudhommehall3@gmail.com(memo: 50-50) Anyone wishing to purchase a drive through supper of perogies and smokies for $15 per meal must pre-order by Friday January 22 and send payment via e-transfer to: prudhommehall3@gmail.com(memo: supper) The supper will be available for pick-up at the Prud’homme Community Centre between 4 and 6 pm on January 23, 2021. For additional information on this event contact Candice at 306-491-2371.
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Table Of Contents
From January 22-31, the Lone Star Poker Series held its second-ever stop, which was hosted by Champions Social in Houston, Texas. The 16-event series (check out our live blog here) proved to be a popular festival as the tournaments catered to a combined 2,288 entrants and awarded $932,535 in prize money. Not only that, every day featured a live stream allowing fans to watch both cash game and final table action.
The stop started with a bang as Event #1: $400 Super Stack Kickoff drew an impressive 546 runners, which created a $177,450 prize pool, well ahead of the $100,000 guaranteed. Stephen Hart won that tournament for $32,000 and the silver belt buckle trophy.
Other notable winners included Bridgette Adkins winning Event #3: $300 NLH Ladies Only for $3,155 and a Tiffany bracelet, five-time World Series of Poker Circuit ring winner Ray Henson taking down Event #5: $400 8-Game for $4,160, John Samuelson topping a 91-entry field to win Event #11: $600 PLO Championship II for $13,028, and Logan Hewett proving himself a bounty hunter by emerging victorious in Event #13: $600 Lone Star Surprise Bounty for $15,566.
While all of those events awarded money clips as the trophy, the $600 Main Event offered up a custom silver belt buckle to the winner.
Mark-Ellis Cortez Wins Main Event
This past weekend, the Lone Star Poker Series Champions Social $600 Main Event more than doubled its $200K GTD by drawing 877 entrants over four starting flights. That resulted in a $447,270 prize pool that was paid out to the top 107 finishers.
Among those to cash but fall short of the final table were Event #9: $400 PLO Double Black Chip Bounty champ Keith Norris (10th - $5,950), James Juvancic (16th - $4,850), Tom Hudson (27th - $2,500), Tiffany Keathley (35th - $2,100), Event #14: $400 Big-O 8-Max winner Schuyler Thornton (41st - $1,850), David Shaw (57th - $1,500), Tom Laplante (69th - $1,375), John Mingus III (80th - $1,275), La Sengphet (94th - $1,200), and Rudolph Bourg (107th - $1,200).
The final table had several accomplished players including Lone Star Poker Tour co-founder Hayden Fortini and poker pro Chan Pelton, who according to The Hendon Mob have career earnings of $625,282 and $646,601 respectively.
With a slow and steady structure, it proved to be a lengthy affair with Pelton bowing out in eighth place for $8,600 and Fortini taking his leave in fourth place for $25,400. After Kristopher Burchfield exited in third place for $35,800, the title came down to local player Mark-Ellis Cortez and Brandon Bergin of Fayetteville, Georgia.
The former ultimately prevailed to win the title and $81,720 first-place prize. It was far and away Cortez’s largest poker score; in fact, the only other cash he has on The Hendon Mob is from 2019 and for a modest $1,500.
LSPS Champions Social Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark-Ellis Cortez | $81,720 |
| 2 | Brandon Bergin | $49,550 |
| 3 | Kristopher Burchfield | $35,800 |
| 4 | Hayden Fortini | $25,400 |
| 5 | Richard Semander | $18,200 |
| 6 | Amir Soleymani | $13,850 |
| 7 | Ryan Vanderpoorten | $10,500 |
| 8 | Chan Pelton | $8,600 |
| 9 | Jeremy Tinsley | $7,200 |
Justin Brassieur Wins Two Events
One of the stop’s breakout players was Louisiana’s Justin Brassieur, who captured two titles. The first came when he topped a small 25-entry field to win Event #12: $250 NLH Nightly Turbo for $1,870 after a three-way deal that saw Lone Star Poker Tour founder Kim Stone finish as runner-up for $1,723 and Catherine Young take third for $1,407.
A few days later, he secured a much larger payday in Event #16: $400 NLH Monster Stack, which drew 134 entries. This time Brassieur won $10,000 after a three-way deal with Texas players Amjad Khan and Kedron Guinn, who each took $6,714 for finishing second and third respectively.
The Star Poker
To top it all off, Brassieur notched a 40th-place finish in the Main Event for $2,100.
Lone Star Poker Series Champions Social Winners
| Tournament | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event #1: $400 Super Stack Kickoff | 546 | $177,450 | Stephen Hart | $32,000 |
| Event #2: $400 NLH Sunday Special | 68 | $22,100 | Carlos Requena | $6,030 |
| Event #3: $300 NLH Ladies Only | 36 | $8,640 | Bridgette Adkins | $3,155 |
| Event #4: $400 NLH 6-Max | 60 | $19,500 | Adam Elfazzani | $5,055 |
| Event #5: $400 8-Game | 32 | $10,400 | Ray Henson | $4,160 |
| Event #6: $250 NLH Turbo | 33 | $6,600 | Doug Ngo | $1,694 |
| Event #7: $400 NLH Mega Stack | 97 | $31,525 | Darren Hicks | $7,409 |
| Event #8: $400 Triple Draw 3-Game Mix | 26 | $8,450 | Casey Robbins | $4,225 |
| Event #9: $400 PLO Double Black Chip Bounty | 36 | $11,700 | Keith Norris | $1,800 |
| Event #10: $400 NLH Double Black Chip Bounty | 62 | $20,150 | Linh Dinh | $2,306 |
| Event #11: $600 PLO Championship II | 91 | $46,410 | John Samuelson | $13,028 |
| Event #12: $250 NLH Nightly Turbo | 25 | $5,000 | Justin Brassieur | $1,870 |
| Event #13: $600 Lone Star Surprise Bounty | 109 | $55,590 | Logan Hewett | $15,566 |
| Event #14: $400 Big-O 8-Max | 56 | $18,200 | Schuyler Thornton | $5,460 |
| Event #15: $600 Main Event | 877 | $447,270 | Mark-Ellis Cortez | $81,720 |
| Event #16: $400 NLH Monster Stack | 134 | $43,550 | Justin Brassieur | $10,000 |
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Tournament ResultsLone Star Poker Series