Stan Weiss Wins 2006 Mirage Poker Showdown

Stan Weiss outlasted Harry Demetriou in a marathon heads-up battle to take home first place at the 2006 WPT Mirage Poker Showdown. Weiss collected $1,294,755 and a seat in the WPT Championship for his efforts, with Demetriou pocketing a cool $673,272 for his second place finish.

Devin Porter finished third ($332,937), David Williams fourth ( $221,958), Steve Frederick fifth ($166,469), and Robert Mizrachi sixth ($129,476).

Weiss is from Nashville, Tennessee, and won his seat in the event through a $50 satellite, becoming the latest poker millionaire to parlay an inexpensive satellite entry into many, many dollars.

Venetian to Offer $500,000 Freeroll

The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino is offering a variety of promotions to announce the opening of its new poker room, including plans for a $500,000 freeroll poker tournament, one of the largest ever offered by a casino.

Players who complete 50 hours of play in May, June and July (or a total of 200 hours of play by July 31) will recieve a free entry to the $500,000 freeroll on August 11-13, 2006. In addition to the freeroll the Venetian is also offering a progressive bad beat jackpot in the poker room, special parking for poker players, and double comp points in May.

Sabina Gadecki Named New WPT Hostess

Actress and model Sabina Gadecki has been named the new hostess for Season 5 of the WPT, taking over for Courtney Friel. Friel had replaced Shana Hiatt for Season 4, but failed to make much of an impression on viewers and fans.

Gadecki is a relative unknown at the moment, and is reportedly a native of Poland and active as both a model and actress in New York.

WPT Mirage Poker Showdown Down to Final Table

The final table is set for the 2006 WPT Mirage Poker Showdown, with six players remaining in the chase for the $1,294,755 first prize.

Below are the final six players, along with approximate chip counts:

Stan Weiss – $2,400,000
Robert Mizrachi – $2,000,000
Devin Porter – $965,000
David Williams – $920,000
Harry Demetriou – $820,000
Steve Frederick – $550,000

John Spadavecchia Wins WSOPC Caesars Palace

John Spadavecchia has won the World Series of Poker Circuit event at Caesars Palace.

Spadavecchia beat a field of 209 players, including poker pros Erick Lindgren, John D’Agostino, Ted Forrest, Scotty Nguyen, and Dan Harrington to claim the $648,320 first prize and the championship gold and diamond studded ring that event winners in the series get.

Spadavecchia may not be a well-known poker name, but he’s made six final tables in WSOP and WSOPC events, including a 5th place finish at the WSOPC main event at the Showboat in Atlantic City in December 2005.

Inaugural $50,000 HORSE Event at WSOP Rescheduled

Originally scheduled for July 25th, the $50,000 HORSE event at the WSOP has now been moved to July 12th, 2006 and turned into a three day event, with the final table being played out on July 14th, 2006.

The move reportedly came at the request of ESPN, which hopes the scheduling change will ease the scramble to cover both the HORSE and WSOP Main Event, which had previously been scheduled as back to back events.