blonde poker

 
Following the success of its first ever Virgin Poker Festival in Birmingham last year, Virgin Poker held its second poker event at Aspers Casino, Newcastle at the weekend. Even bigger and better than its predecessor, over 400 poker enthusiasts attended the gaming extravaganza with the opportunity to compete in the two-day live poker tournament, complete with additional activities for family and friends.

Having won a £105 buy-in at www.virginpoker.com, the main event saw 230 poker players take part in the Texas Hold’em No Limit Freezeout, which produced some serious contenders for the top prize. The eventual winner was Darren Laverick, from Gateshead in Newcastle whose exceptional performance beat off stiff competition from Stewart ‘The Sneak’ Palethorpe to secure the £7,500 jackpot.

Darren was a late entrant to the Virgin Poker Festival having won his seat at Aspers Casino in the Virgin Festival pre-tournament last week. Winning with a straight to the King, Darren perhaps deserves ‘The Sneak’ nickname more than his opponent, with his hand of Queen Three beating Stewart Palethorpe’s pocket fours thanks to a kind flop of Ten, King, Jack followed by a Nine on the turn.

To add a Virgin twist to the tournament, players in the main event were given the chance to knock-out key opponents whose heads carried bounties of fantastic Virgin giveaways. Prizes included a hot air balloon ride, a day of rally driving and cases of Virgin Wine – resulting in some serious bounty hunting!

For those not lucky enough to win a seat in the main tournament, there was a variety of side events to give everyone an opportunity to get involved - regardless of their poker playing abilities. Practice tables offered ‘live play classes’ for less experienced players, whilst Wii bowling - back by popular demand - took place over the weekend in search of a player worthy of the Wii bowling crown. Also on site to offer expert tips and advice was poker legend and Virgin Poker Festival MC Tony ‘Tikay’ Kendall.

Joe Legge, poker manager for Virgin Poker, said: “The atmosphere at this weekend’s Newcastle Poker Festival was fantastic, with everyone from poker novices to seasoned professionals really getting involved, whether playing on the main tables or trying their hand at Wii bowling. The festival seems to be going from strength to strength and we’re already looking forward to confirming the venue and date for the next Virgin Poker Festival in 2008... watch this space!”

The next Virgin Poker Festival is scheduled to take place this summer with qualification on the Virgin Poker website due to get underway in the next few months. Visit www.virginpoker.com for more information on this as it appears.


1st  Darren Laverick -- £7,500
2nd  Stewart ‘The Sneak’ Palethorpe -- £5,000
3rd  Shelley ‘Garbo’ Rubenstein -- £3,750
4th  Jon ‘The LuckBox’ Spinx -- £2,250
5th  Chris ‘EMS Chalky’ Baylis -- £1,750
6th  Lee ‘IFOLD-LPPL’ Harrison -- £1,250
7th  James ‘Eck_69’ Eccles -- £850
8th  Lucy ‘Golden Ovaries’ Rokach -- £700
9th  Jim ‘TrkyTree’ Goodison -- £600
10th  Tony ‘ems_ram’ Barlow -- £500