This Week in Poker: September 2 – 8

This Week in Poker
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  • PG News September 8, 2015
  • 8 mins Read

In the PokerGuru feature ‘This Week in Poker’ we bring to you the weekly round up of the biggest online scores by Indian MTT players along with the top stories from both the live and online poker circuit.

Here are this week`s top stories

The Macau Poker Cup (MPC) 23 has eclipsed the horizon of live poker tournaments and now, with the Red Dragon Main Event underway, we can look forward to another action-packed week ahead.

Besides the action, a lot has been happening in poker world with developments in legal aspects, such as the Income Tax directive on the use of e-wallets and virtual card accounts, which is set to have serious implications for players who use them on sites like PokerStars, Betfair and Bet365. Then, there is the update from the PIL filed in reference to the Casinos (Control and Tax) Act in Maharastra, which could well change the landscape for regulated gaming in the state. We also bring you reports of latest acquisitions in the international market, from GVC and FourCubed.

PokerStars is again in the news for its two new brand ambassadors from the Far East and finally, there is the report of the recent WPT tournament won by Mike Shariati.

Despite a large team in Macau, the online felts have been ringing with several scores and of them all; Jasven Saigal is this week’s “PokerGuru Star of the Week” with several cashes amounting to a total of $38,783.

Online Railbird Report

Jasven Saigal was a man on a mission this week. Being in Macau for MPC 23 was not a deterrent for him, as he put up an impressive performance online with three scores this week including a win in the PokerStarsWCOOP 2nd Chance 02: $109 NL Hold’em [6-Max]’ for a whopping $31,642. In addition, he made a 121th place finish in the PokerStars ‘WCOOP-01: $109 NL Hold’em [WCOOP Kickoff, Phase 2], $1.5M GTD’ for $1,027 and won $6,114.53 for 1st place in the PokerStars ‘The Hot $11 [Turbo], $30K GTD’. In all, he bagged a total of $38,783 and takes our ‘PokerGuru Star of the Week‘ title.

Jasven Saigal

Amit ‘bblacklegend’ Jain was another player putting in great performances online from Macau. He too made a five-figure score of $24,228.19 after a three-way deal in the PokerStars ‘The Big $162, $70K GTD’ today.

Vinay B ‘vinstll’ made two cashes for $8,935. He won $3,101.50 for 1st place in the PokerStars ‘$27 NL Hold’em [6-Max, Progressive Super-Knockout], $25K GTD’ and won $5,834.62 for 1st place in the PokerStars ‘The Hot $11 [Turbo], $30K GTD’.

Arsh ‘BigggTymeR’ Grover too cashed twice this week making $5,807, both at PokerStars. He made a 2nd place for $3,512 in ‘The Big $44, $20K GTD’ and won the ‘$8.80+R NL Hold’em, $10K GTD’ for $2,295.51.

Jaideep ‘jdsaaz’ Sajwan made $4,055.22 at PokerStars ‘The Hot $11 [Turbo], $30K GTD’ for a 2nd place finish.

– Sabyasachi ‘infusion_leo’ Chakraborty made $3,127.80 at PokerStars ‘The Big $33, $20K GTD’ for a 2nd place finish.

Muskan ‘musku89’ Sethi made a 7th place for $1,142.45 in the PokerStars ‘The Hot $16.50 [Turbo], $40K GTD’.

Gaurav ‘Ayya10258’ Arya won $1,989.03 from his 1st place finish in the PokerStars ‘$82 NLHE [6-Max, Turbo], $6K GTD’.

Online enthusiasts will have much to fill their plates, with the super-series WCOOP, which has begun on Sept 6 and offers a $45 Million prize pool. As of now, six events are over with another 64 yet to roll by.

Those with smaller wallets will now have an alternative, with the newly released Full Tilt Classic. This debuting series features 60 events with low low buy-ins ranging from $10 to $100 and promise to be the recreational player’s dream.

Macau Poker Cup 23

Deep into its 17-day schedule, MPC 23 has now begun its thrilling Red Dragon Main Event. 11 side events are over now and a strong Indian team is in Macau for the series. These include Team PokerStars Pro Aditya Agarwal, Anju Abrol, Madhav “Maddy” Gupta, Sahil Agarwal, Raaj Chandra Mohan, Kunal Patni, Kuldeep Pawar, Haresh “Kavish” Kukreja, Dhaval Mudgal, Aditya Sushant, Sahil Agarwal, Akash Malik, Apoorva Goel, Shashank Jain and Danish Shaikh, among others.

A number of cashes have already been recorded with the first taken by Kunal Patni in Event 1 – HK $2,000 Deepstack NLH making a 6th place for HK $24,120. Kunal went on to make a 7th place in Event 3 – HK $2,500 KO Bounty for HK $14,690.

Kunal Patni

Shashank Rathi made a 6th place finish in the Baby Dragon for HK $78,600. Pratik Mehta cashed the same event at 15th place for HK $24,000.

Anju Abrol made HK $75,600 in Event 8 – HK $5,000 Megastack, for a 5th place finish.

In Event 10, Madhav Gupta made an impressive 2nd place finish, with both, Kuldeep Pawar and Kavish Kukreja final tabling the same event, finishing in 7th and 9th place respectively.

Madhav Gupta

Currently, Event 11 – HK $5,000 NLH is underway and out of the many Indians who played, Danish Shaikh was the lone Indian who made it on the final table, eventually taking 8th place.

Danish Shaikh

HK $12,000 Red Dragon Main Event

The HK $12,000 Red Dragon Main Event is now underway with its last entry-flight i.e. Day 1D playing out today. Indians came out in large numbers with a record 24 Indians joining this event.

Day 1A saw Kunal Patni, Haresh “Kavish” Kukreja and Jasven Saigal participate, but none made it through.

Uday Patil, Anju Abrol, Shravan Chabbria, Danish Shaikh, Dhaval Mudgal, Raaj Chandra Mohan and Madhav Gupta all played Day 1B. Of these, only Chandra Mohan survived and bagged the second largest stack of 129,900.

On Day 1C, the only Indian player present was Team PokerStars Pro Aditya Agarwal but he was unable to make it through the day. Karan Punjabi, Australia-based Indian-origin player made it through the day with 112,100 in chips.

Day 1D saw several known names making an appearance at the series. Notables like Aditya Sushant, Amit Jain, Sahil Agarwal, Apoorva Goel, Akash Malik, Shashank Jain, Satchit Kapur, Nikhil Maheshwari and Romit Advani took to the felts in pursuit of the Red Dragon trophy! A complete update on Day 1D will be put up on PokerGuru in a few hours.

Read the latest update here.

Income Tax Dept Directive Mandates Declaration of E-Wallets and Virtual Cards

A new law has been passed by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), India, which is set to have grave implications for players playing on foreign sites using e-wallets and virtual cards. The new directive considers these online payment services the same as bank accounts. Those using these will now have to declare these accounts and income, besides paying an accumulative tax of 60% on the assets declared under the voluntary ‘Black Money Act’ declaration window open till Sep 30.

Read the complete story here.

Update On Maharashtra Casino Act PIL

The PIL filed by Jay Sayta of Glaws.in is now moving ahead, with the Bombay High Court directing the state govt of Maharashtra to file a reply in regard to their intention of legalizing casinos in the state.

The Court has granted the state one month to file a reply in the case.

Read the complete story here.

Business Acquisitions

GVC Wins Bidding War Against 888 Holdings, Acquires bwin.party for $1.71 Billion

The nine-month battle between GVC and 888 Holdings to acquire bwin.party came to an end this week, with GVC winning on the basis of its $1.71 Billion bid. The deal saw GVC drop partner Amaya and raise its original offer by 45% to convince the board of bwin.party. Industry watchers, however, still expect 888 Holdings to make another attempt at capturing the gambling group.

Read the complete story here.

FourCubed LLC Acquires Poker Training Site DeucesCracked

In another merger, FourCubed LLC has taken over DeucesCracked, a poker training site. The alliance is expected to be a trailblazer in forging a new dimension as to how poker training sites are operated.

Read the complete story here.

PokerStars Signs Taiwan`s Chen-An-Lin and China`s Yaxi Zhu as Team Pros

PokerStars once again figures in the news and this time, the company has signed up two new brand ambassadors from the Far East, giving credence to its intention of expanding its foot print in the eastern markets.

Chen-An Lin from Taiwan and Yaxi Zhu from China, two young and popular players are the latest to join the PokerStars Team Pro rooster.

Read the complete story here.

Mike Shariati Wins WPT Legends of Poker Title

It was a heads up battle, similar to the David Goliath one, where two-time WPT title holder, Freddy Deeb was overcome by a relatively, jhonny-come-lately Mike Shariati. Shariati took the title of the WPT Legends of Poker title for $675,942, after 117 hands and a board that favored him at the right moments.

Mike Shariati

Read the complete story here.

That ends our weekly news round-up. But, do keep your browsers pointed this way, same time next week, when we will return with all the top stories.

Related Articles:

1. Macau Poker Cup 23: 272 Entries For Day 1C of Red Dragon Main Event, Danish Shaikh in the Money in Event 11

2. New Directive By Govt Under ‘Black Money Act’ Requires Disclosure of E-Wallets & Virtual Card Accounts Before Sept 30

3. Bombay High Court Questions State Govt on Its Intent To Legalize Casinos

4. PokerStars Signs Two New Pros, Chen-An Lin from Taiwan and Yaxi Zhu from China

5. Mike Shariati Denies Freddy Deeb 3rd WPT Title, Wins WPT Legends Of Poker for $675,942

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