This week’s poker news starts us off with a hockey player who has successfully made a transition to poker. Former NHL player Donald Maloney can now call himself a poker pro after notching a big win.
Maloney Wins This Year’s World Poker Tour Borgata Poker Open
After playing hockey for most of his life, Donald Maloney decided that he wanted to pursue another passion of his: poker. That decision has paid off big time as Maloney has won this year’s World Poker Tour Borgata Poker Open. With the final prize pool for the event reaching a total of $3,700,356, the former hockey player raked in $616,186 for the title. The prize pool was originally a $3 million guarantee but with 1,156 entries in the field, the $3 million-mark was easily surpassed.
It was an interesting ending to this event as the final three players still alive opted to move in blind and flop for the title. It was Maloney that locked up the pot in the end. Not a bad result for a former hockey player that has come a long way since his time on the ice. The other two players that were still standing for that final hand, Uke Dauti and Kevin Albers, took home $410,787 and $303,903 for finishing second and third, respectively, at the event.
World Series Of Poker Tour Will Remain In Rio Through 2020 And Beyond
There has been talk of changing the venue for the World Series of Poker but it has been announced the WSOP will remain at the Rio Hotel through the 2020 tournament and beyond. The WSOP VP of Corporate Communications Seth Palansky confirmed as much despite persistent rumors that the series could have a new home as soon as this year.
The rumors of the impending sale of the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino have been ongoing for years but there is currently no deal in place. One blog reported that the Caesars Forum was being considered as a potential replacement venue for the Rio, which it turns out is not the case. Palansky confirmed as much in a tweet that he posted in the midst of the speculation.
The Rio is not exactly a marquee spot on The Strip – as a matter of fact, it’s off The Strip – so there has been frequent conversation to bring it to a more high-profile venue. For the foreseeable future, that won’t be the case.
Richardson Comes Out On Top At 2019 WSOP Circuit Thunder Valley Main Event
Paul Richardson has had a number of close calls at World Series of Poker tournaments but he’s finally broken through. He now has a title thanks to his recent victory at the 2019 WSOP Circuit Thunder Valley Main Event. It turned out that the fourth time was the charm for Richardson as the California resident took home $130,667 for claiming his first WSOPC gold ring.
After placing in the top-eight on three other occasions in the WSOP tournament, Richardson ended up edging out a field of 4,141 for the win this past week. The victory marked his third final-table finish of the year. In addition to the money and the ring, Richardson earned 720 Card Player Player of the Year points for the victory. Despite the jump, he still sits in 417th place in the 2019 Player of the Year Race standings.
Arish Nat took home $80,761 for the runner-up finish. Travis Fujisaka won $58,653 for placing third.