BEEVERS IS GBPT CHAMP

16 November 2007

Exciting finale to inaugural UK poker festival


The Hendon Mob's Joe Beevers is the winner of the first Great British Poker Tour, which concluded its inaugural season this week at the Bristol Harbourside Gala Casino.

Besting over 100 players, Beevers prevailed against names like fellow Mob player Barny Boatman, Roland De Wolfe, Antonio Esfandiari, Phil Laak, Jennifer Tilly, Robert Williamson III, Ram Vaswani, Surindar Sunar and Jamie Gold.

The final table contestants were Beevers, Rob Akery, Barney Boatman, Neil Channing, Roland De Wolfe, Manuel Palanca, Matt Tylar and Charalambos Xanthos.

The heads up was fought between survivors Beevers and Akery, with the deciding hand dealt on Hand 161, with Joe Beevers winning the GBP 87 500 first prize and a generous Bellagio Five Diamond Package.

"The GBPT is a fantastic series of events, and having played in four of the regional tournaments, I'm delighted to have won the big one," Beevers said. "I've been playing poker since way before it became popular, and the GBPT is a chance to go back to the good old days. It's the kind of tournament we enjoyed 15 years ago - with normal people playing in a normal casino with great organisation and great staff. Everything was first class.

"The final table was like playing against friends, because I knew five of them, and now I'm looking forward to going to the Bellagio in Las Vegas and then coming back to defend my title next year," Beevers said.

Second placed Rob Akery did well from the game as well, taking home a cheque for GBP 53 250 and an Aussie Millions Package. Third placed Barney Boatman picked up GBP 36 500 and an EPT Package

The 2007 GBPT included five regional festivals in Edinburgh, Teesside, Nottingham, Bournemouth and Leeds, with finalists qualifying for the Grand Final main event in Bristol.

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