This Week in Poker: April 1 – 7

In the PokerGuru feature ‘This Week in Poker,’ we bring you the weekly roundup of the most significant 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 Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has enveloped the most significant parts of the world, and as on date, there are at least 1.43 million people infected, and 82,143 reported dead due to the virus. India has entered Day 16 of its 21-day lockdown, but the pandemic shows no signs of slowing down. The country, as of today, has 5,360 positive cases with the death toll standing at 164.

As the country fights the challenge of limiting the spread of the deadly virus, the virtual felts are offering more than just a distraction for the poker players. The online operators have been more than obliging, launching bigger and higher-value tourneys to play. The biggest piece of action took place at Spartan Poker, where The Millionaire ₹1.5 Crores GTD played out last Sunday. The tourney gathered 688 entries across two starting flights, and 121 entries made it to Day 2. The final table turned out to be an exhilarating affair, with several seasoned regs like Aditya Agarwal, Siddharth Mundada, and Siddarth Singhvi in contention for the title. Stepping past all of them to join the millionaire league was the still unknown player ‘tittooTauji.’ The player, who preferred to remain anonymous, became the latest Millionaire champion banking a life-changing ₹42.93 Lakhs after defeating Singhvi heads-up.

Singhvi is a player needing no introduction, and this week he seems to have turned up his aggression several notches up. In addition to his impressive runner-up finish in The Millionaire that fetched him his personal-best ₹25.76 Lakhs, Singhvi also took down the Adda52’s AOPS Hitman for ₹4.34 Lakhs. He went on to add another six final table finishes to his tally this past week for a whopping ₹32.37 Lakhs. Singhvi’s winning consistency makes him our “PokerGuru Star of the Week!”

While Mundada (3rd for ₹14.34 Lakhs) and Agarwal (4th for ₹10.30 Lakhs), both hit seven-figure scores this week, Siddhanth Kripalani was another standout performer. This Mumbai-based player seems to be making the most of his time under lockdown, having won both the Destiny ₹45 Lakhs GTD and the PMVS #24 Main Event SuperStack ₹40 Lakhs GTD recently, adding a sizeable ₹22.25 Lakhs to his online winnings.

If hosting the best-in-the-industry tournaments was not enough, Spartan Poker has further incentivized its customer base by overhauling its rewards program. The site launched its new VIP Club loyalty program this week, replacing the previous Royalty Program, and with umpteen rewards for both tournament and cash game players!

Making the headlines this week was news of former Indian cricket team captain and iconic player Mahendra Singh Dhoni joining PokerStars India as the site`s new brand ambassador. Dhoni replaces Bollywood actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui in endorsing the brand’s offerings.

Meanwhile, the gaming sector has stepped up in efforts towards COVID-19 relief activities. The two big casino operators, Delta Corp (Deltin Group) and Pride Casino Group, contributed ₹51 Lakhs each towards Goa’s efforts against the outbreak. Both companies have committed that they will provide essentials like medication, medical devices, food, and ration, etc., to the 7,000 employees of the state’s casino sector.

Contributions have been pouring in from the online poker sites as well. Spartan Poker was the first site to pledge at least ₹3 Lakhs every month for efforts to control the pandemic. PokerBaazi, too, has announced a special tournament series where it will be donating the entire tournament fee of the Main Event, along with an equivalent amount from its side to the Delhi Youth Welfare Association (DYWA). The funds donated will be used for supporting daily wage workers with ration and money.

Adda52 is also giving away the tournament rake equaling ₹2.5 Lakhs from its new tournament Falcon. Not only that, but the entire rake collected in all AOPS Warm-Up tourneys will be contributed towards COVID-19 relief measures.

The impact of the pandemic has forced the live gaming sector to a standstill. In more updates on this front, Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa were asked to shut down. The WPT has once again rescheduled its WPT Taiwan stop to December, while APT has partnered with Natural8.com to launch the APT 2020 Online Series that will run from April 29 to May 10. Meanwhile, the APT Philippines slated for April-end has been canceled altogether.

Even King’s Casino in Rozvadov has extended its closure till September 1. Surprisingly, two live poker series went on unhindered at the Chinese Texas Poker Hold ‘em Association (CTP) Club in Taiwan this week with the poker room operators citing necessary precautions were taken. The CTP Club hosted the Global Poker League (GPL) from March 28 to April 6, followed by the Master Poker Series.

Online Railbird Report

Yet another week dominated by online poker saw Spartan Poker’s The Millionaire Legends ₹1.5 Crores GTD grabbing the headlines. With 688 entries, the flagship tourney generated a colossal ₹1.71 Crores prize pool. Only 121 players made it to Day 2, where stepping past a star-studded table was ‘tittooTauji.’ The mystery player defeated seasoned reg Siddarth ‘PeterPunter’ Singhvi to become the latest Millionaire champion and took home a jaw-dropping ₹42.93 Lakhs!

Even though Singhvi lost the heads-up battle, the runner-up finish got him a seven-figure score worth ₹25.76 Lakhs – his most massive online cash to-date! Far from done, the Pune-based pro went on to win Adda52’s AOPS Hitman for another ₹4.34 Lakhs earlier today, raking in ₹30.10 Lakhs over these two wins alone. While he pulled in many other scores, he final-tabled an impressive six more tournaments this week – The Race (9th for ₹24,539), AOPS Siesta (5th for ₹13,122), AOPS Millions (8th for ₹94,500), AOPS Siesta (8th for ₹5,108), Big Stack (6th for ₹29,340), and AOPS Holdem (4th for ₹59,925). Over these scores alone, he fattened his wallet by an impressive ₹32.37 Lakhs, and for this, he is our “PokerGuru Star of the Week!!”

Two more regs Siddharth ‘Sidddhu’ Mundada (3rd for ₹14.34 Lakhs) and India’s poker superstar Aditya ‘Yennefer’ Agarwal (4th for ₹10.30 Lakhs) performed brilliantly in The Millionaire to earn sizeable payouts.

Another standout performer was Siddhanth Kripalani, who won two titles this week. Kripalani took down the Destiny ₹45 Lakhs GTD for ₹13.52 lakhs and the PMVS #24 Main Event SuperStack ₹40 Lakhs GTD for ₹8.73 Lakhs, earning a cumulative ₹22.25 Lakhs.

The notable scores of the week include –

Spartan Poker Announces All-New VIP Club Loyalty Program

Leading online poker site has overhauled its rewards program with the launch of an all-new VIP Club. W.e.f April 5, the new rewards program has replaced the previous Royalty program on the site. There are numerous sops for tournament and cash game players and extra attractions like cash rewards, international travel packages, tournament tickets, etc.

Read the complete story here

WSOP.com to Host $4+ Million GTD Spring Online Championships Series

Despite the Coronavirus outbreak raging across the U.S. currently, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) is still holding out on announcing the cancelation of its annual summer run in Las Vegas. The brand has, in the meantime, announced its biggest online series for U.S. players – the Spring Online Championship Series. The online series features over $4 Million in guaranteed prize money across 100 events and will be hosted from April 5 to May 3.

Read the complete story here

PokerStars India Onboards Former Indian Cricket Captain MS Dhoni As Brand Ambassador

In one of the most high-profile celebrity tie-ups to take place in the poker industry so far, online poker site PokerStars India has roped in former Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni as its new brand ambassador. Dhoni replaces Bollywood actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui as the face of the India-facing poker site.

Read the complete story here

Coronavirus Pandemic Affects Global Poker Industry

The novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has dealt a severe blow to the world’s economy and affected the live poker and casino industry in a significant way. While most of the major live poker brands had already started calling off their scheduled stops right from early February, there were several more cancelations this week.

Brands like the WSOP continue to move the action to the online felts, even as the Indian poker industry has taken a commendable stand to come together in the fight against COVID-19.

Indian Poker Industry Steps Up in Fight Against COVID -19

Two of India’s major gaming firms, Delta Corp (Deltin Group) and Pride Casino Group, have contributed ₹51 Lakhs each towards Goa’s efforts against the outbreak. Delta Corp’s President-Operation Anil Malani and Pride Group’s Managing Director Shrinivas Nayak met Chief Minister of Goa Pramod Sawant recently and handed him the cheques. The companies have also committed to helping in providing essentials like medication, medical devices, food, and ration employees to 7,000 people employed in the state’s casino sector, police, and stranded people.

Online poker sites also continued to pitch in for COVID-19 relief activities. Spartan Poker had pledged to donate at least ₹3 Lakhs every month towards the cause.

Another industry leader, PokerBaazi, has announced a special tournament series and will be giving away the entire tournament fee raised from the Main Event and an equivalent amount from the company’s side to the Delhi Youth Welfare Association (DYWA) for supporting daily wage workers.

Stepping forward, Adda52 has launched a special tournament named the Falcon and will be donating its total rake amounting to ₹2.5 Lakhs, along with the entire rake collected in all AOPS Warm-Up events for COVID-19 relief measures.

Several poker pros have contributed generously towards various COVID-19 relief efforts. India’s poker veteran Aditya Agarwal and his wife, Shuchi Chamaria, have donated ₹50,000 to Aneka Goel’s COVID-19 campaign in Mumbai. Bollywood actor and player Siddhanth Kapoor has set up a COVID-19 relief fundraiser to help people affected by the outbreak.

Read the complete story here

Casino Industry, Live Stops Affected

The week saw a slew of new announcements from poker brands declaring the cancelation or postponement of their live poker stops.

The World Poker Tour (WPT) has, for the second time, postponed its WPT Taiwan series, which has now been moved to December 11-21.

The Asian Poker Tour (APT) has partnered with Natural8.com for its APT 2020 Online Series that will run from April 29 to May 10. The APT has also officially canceled the APT Philippines series that was due to begin on April 27.

Surprisingly, the Master Poker Series is on track and currently underway at the Chinese Texas Poker Hold’em Association (CTP Club) in Taiwan. The CTP Club that is located in Taipei, also hosted the Global Poker League (GPL) that ran from March 28 to April 6.

Europe’s biggest casino, King’s Casino in Rozvadov, has extended its closure till at least September 1.

Also closing down this week were Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa properties.

Read the complete story here

Caesar Entertainment Levied Record Fine by UKGC

Caesars Entertainment Corp reportedly raked in record revenues in the first two months of the year before the Coronavirus outbreak put a brake on businesses worldwide. In another significant hit during these trying times, the company’s U.K. arm has been stamped with a record fine of £13 Million ($15.75 Million) by the U.K. Gambling Commission (UKGC) over regulatory issues.

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partypoker Goes Live in Italy

Global poker giant partypoker has returned to Italy after a four-year hiatus. The company has obtained a gaming license to operate in the country and went live on April 1.

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Germany Sports Betting Licensing Hits Legal Hurdle

The Administrative Court of Darmstadt in Germany has suspended the licensing process for legal sports betting. The country had enforced the State Treaty of Gambling and was on its way to formalize the licensing process. However, Austrian betting operator Vierklee filed a complaint in the Administrative Court, alleging discrepancies in the process of licensing.

Read the complete story here

Macau Gaming Revenue Suffers Dramatic Fall in March

The Coronavirus pandemic has dealt a severe blow to Macau’s casino industry. According to reports, the region’s casinos registered a 79.7% or $657.5 Million decline in its gross gaming revenue for March, as compared to the same period last year.

Read the complete story here

And with this, we conclude this week’s roundup of the latest news updates and developments from the world of poker. We will return next week with our weekly report, till then stay indoors and stay safe!