Record Palace poker pot
10 TITLES: PRIZE POOL OF NEARLY R18M UP FROM NEXT BEST OF R13.4M
Daniel Habib, Vijay Nalajala hold nerve to each win R1m in two of top events.
Poker crowds flocked to The Palace of Dreams between October 13 and 22 to take their seats at the most prestigious and talked-about poker event in Africa, the World Poker Tour Emperors Palace Poker Classic 2017.
“I am thrilled to announce the event smashed all previous poker tournament records in South Africa with 1 600 entries across 10 unique events, boasting a prize pool just shy of R18 million.
“The closest we have come in the past is November 2013 and October 2015, when the total buy-in was R14.9 million and the prize pool was R13.4 million,” said Bob Yearham, Peermont’s chief operating officer for gaming.
Among the 10 World Poker Tour (WPT) title winners, Daniel Habib came out tops to claim the WPTDeepStacks Johannesburg Main Event title in the early hours of October 23. In a competitive field of 456 entries, Habib’s perse- verance paid off with a taking of R1 million. Other notable events include the High Roller, which surpassed all past event payouts, with Vijay Nalajala taking home R1 million.
“I am very proud of the effort put into the event by team Gary Lentin and the rest of the ShuffleUp Poker.com team.
“Thanks to our partners from the WPT based in California and the strength of their brand internationally.
“And to everyone behind the scenes at Emperors Palace, who worked long hours, who did the preparation and set-up for the event – a huge thank you to all of you for going the extra mile and for making the event the success that it has turned out to be,” said Yearham.
As is customary with all WPT events, numerous celebrities joined in on the poker action to give back to organisations in need.
In the first of two celebrity challenges, two heavyweights in the business world, Kaya FM 95.9’s managing director Greg Maloka and Peermont’s Yearham, went head-to-head in an epic poker clash in aid of charity. Up for grabs was R20 000 to the charity of the winners’ choice.
While Maloka won the event, the two decided to split the winnings, which resulted in Maloka’s charity, Zandspruit Primary School, and Yearham’s, John Wesley Children’s Home, each getting R10 000.
The second celebrity challenge saw award-winning sports presenter Carol Tshabalala, soccer legend Mark Fish, SuperSport United’s Dean Furman, Bidvest Wits’ Darren Keet and 9.47’s Alex Caige go all in for charity.
At the end of the evening, and through a series of re-buys, more than R19 000 was donated to two worthy charities, the Orlando Children’s Home and Something Beautiful.