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Today in the 3-Bet we find the Partouche Poker Tour backing off its €5 million guarantee, Tom Dwan laying a two-minute egg and online grinders in Costa Rica waking up to a 7.6 magnitude earthquake.
1) Partouche Reneges on €5m Guarantee, Ups First to €1 Million
An ongoing saga developed this morning at the Partouche Poker Tour main event in Cannes after organizers backed off its much-publicized €5m guarantee.
With under 600 players buying in at €8,500, the event failed to meet its guarantee and just €4.3 million hit the prize pool via player money.
Expecting an overlay, players were outraged to find Partouche denying it was ever a “guarantee” and claiming it was never officially communicated that way.
Archived screenshots from the Partouche site say otherwise, though, and confirm it was advertised as a “garantis.”
Even worse, it appears Partouche is actively deleting references to the guarantee and Maxime Masquelier, Head of the PPT, told iGamingFrance “At no time did we say that €5m was secured when it is guaranteed in writing.”
As of press time there were rumors Partouche might still pay up but the listed payout scale still reflects only about €4.3m.
A supposed French regulation allowing only a maximum of €250,000 added has also now entered the discussion. Needless to say, players aren’t happy about it:
If @partouchepoker fixes the prize pool I will forgive. Otherwise I will never play there again and I will keep spreading the word.
— Justin Bonomo (@JustinBonomo) September 5, 2012Good thing I posted screenshots instead of links. @partouchepoker is actively deleting instances of the word guarantee. Very incriminating.
— Justin Bonomo (@JustinBonomo) September 5, 2012One of the head Partouche people told me “this was not a guarentee but a marketing trick”
— Peter Jetten (@PeterJetten) September 5, 2012On a somewhat positive note, the payout for the winner has been upped to an even €1 million. Follow the action live here.
2) Durrrr Late Regs for Partouche Main, Busts on First Hand
Speaking of the above main event, besides offering a re-buy option for the €8,500 buy-in the organizers – maybe in an effort to meet that €5 million guarantee - also allowed for a late registration option.
Players so inclined could register up until the beginning of Day 2 and still start with a decent-sized stack compared to the blinds.
One player who took advantage of it was Tom “durrrr” Dwan, although "advantage" might be too strong a word for it.
Dwan lasted just one hand before hitting the bricks this morning as his pocket kings ran right into Mohsin Charania’s AA.
Too late for a rebuy too, unfortunately:
Just showed up day 2 of @partouchepoker main, 1st hand I had kk v aa and I'm out. Fun trip lol
— Tom Dwan (@TomDwan) September 5, 2012Anyone flying to Macau today from Nice can likely expect to catch durrrr at the terminal.
3) Online Grinders in Costa Rica Wake Up to Massive Earthquake
Ever since US online poker players were exiled by Black Friday, Costa Rica has been a popular relocation destination for Amercian expats.
Several poker grindhouses were set up across the country, in particular around the capital of San Jose and near Jaco Beach.
With the launch of the 2012 WCOOP even more players have made their way to Central America for a hit of online poker.
They woke up to a different kind of hit this morning as Costa Rica was rocked by a 7.6 magnitude earthquake with the epicenter about 90 miles northwest of San Jose.
No injuries or major damage was reported, and the initial tsunami warning was called off, but it still sent a shock through a few unsuspecting grinders:
Woke up to/survived a massive earthquake. Shit was flying all over the rm, lots of structural damage. Rly thought I may die for a min. #fb
— Matt Stout (@MattStoutPoker) September 5, 2012My pal @adamgeyer and I felt the 7.6 mag earthquake that struck off coast of Costa Rica this morn but not enough to stop our #WCOOP grind!
— Shannon Shorr (@ShannonShorr) September 5, 2012By my front door in CR I saw the elevator shaft shaking.. thought it was falling, then guy ran outside, "Good idea," thought I. #earthquake
— Adam Geyer (@AdamGeyer) September 5, 2012Visit www.pokerlistings.com