When you think of places to go over the festive period, the sunny shores of Southend isn't the first location that springs to mind, but it was top of many peoples' Christmas lists as players made their way to the newly refurbished Mint Casino in Southend for a spot of post-turkey poker.
Top of everyone's hitlist was the £500 Main Event, but before they could get their teeth in to that, there was the smaller matter of a £150 freezeout to settle. After battling off 131 other players and a tough final table that included poker veteran Stuart Nash and local boy Dave 'Karisma' Welch, it was James Finigan who came out smelling of roses, his triumph adding a sumptuous £4,750 to the January sales kitty.
1st James Finigan -- £6,000 (£4,750 with deal)
2nd Hoi Lui -- £3,550 (£2,500 with deal)
3rd Dave Welch 'Karizma' -- £2,200 (£2,500 with deal)
4th Stuart Nash -- £1,800 (£2,500 with deal)
5th Mark Phillips -- £1,400 (£2,500 with deal)
6th Steve Thornton -- £1,200
7th Nigel Allen -- £,1000
8th Dave Pearlman -- £800
9th Geoff Bracher -- £600
10th Phil Gold -- £400
11th to 16th -- £200
Onto the £200 freezeout, and an impressive 132 players turned up for the event, just one short of the previous night's attendance. Again, much fun was had, but there could only be one victor, and that lucky chap was Graham Crampin, with that mischievous cockney rogue Ian Woodley cashing in second. Well done them!
1st Graham Crampin -- £8,000 (£4,590 with deal)
2nd Ian Woodley -- £4,750 (£4,400 with deal)
3rd Chris Cousins -- £3,100 (£4,400 with deal)
4th Oneib Saeed -- £2,200 (£4,400 with deal)
5th Stephen Holden -- £1,800
6th Andrew Grove -- £1,600
7th Nick Stinson -- £1,300
8th Paul Marshall -- £1,050
9th Stephen Newstead -- £800
10th Efty Neocleous -- £500
11th to 16th -- £260
Drum roll please... Yes, it's time for the Maaaaaaaaaaain Event, a two-day £500 No Limit affair with a whopping £15,000 up for grabs. 101 poker Trojans this time, and Mr Woodley was at it again, his second runner- up spot of the week earning him a tasty £7,500 payday as a result of five way split. However, the title and top-dog spot went to Darren Paradise, who certainly would have been in paradise when he collected his winnings at the end of the night. Congratulations to all five men.
1st Darren Paradise -- £15,000 (£7,840 with deal)
2nd Ian Woodley -- £9,600 (£7,840 with deal)
3rd Stephen Basri -- £6,100 (£7,840 with deal)
4th Lam Trinh -- £5,050 (£7,840 with deal)
5th Steve O'Keeffe -- £4,050 (£7,840 with deal)
6th John Burberry -- £3,050
7th Darren Roberts -- £2,500
8th Nick Stinson -- £2,000
9th Nick Zambas -- £1,500
10th Terry Simpson -- £1,000
11th Mike Hynes -- £750 (money taken from first)
12th Colin Harrison -- £500 (money taken from second)
Many thanks on behalf of cardroom manager Adam Lawlor for everyone who turned up. The event was well received and deemed a massive success, so let's hope 2008 sees Southend's Mint Casino return with even more poker festivity.