WPTR Emperors Palace Poker Classic reaches record prize pool of almost R18m
Poker crowds flocked to the World Poker Tour Emperors Palace Poker Classic 2017 between October 13 and 22.
This is one of the most prestigious and talked-about poker events in Africa. “I am thrilled to announce that 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,” said Bob Yearham, Peermont COO for Gaming.
“The closest we have come in the past is November 2013 and October 2015 when the total buy-in was R14.9-m and the prize pool was R13.4-m.”
Among the 10 WPT title winners, Daniel Habib came out tops to claim the WPTDeepStacks Johannesburg Main Event title in the early hours of the morning on October 23.
In a competitive field of 456 entries, Habib’s perseverance paid off with a massive taking of R1-m. Other notable events include the High Roller, which surpassed all past event pay-outs, with Vijay Nalajala taking home R1-m from a field of 92 entries.
“The success of this series shows that poker players across South Africa and the continent are still excited to play in poker events in great venues where a genuine international poker experience is guaranteed,” said Gary Lentin, Queen-Ten CEO.
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 Bob Yearham went head-to-head in an epic poker clash, all 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 The John Wesley Children’s Home each taking home R10 000.
The second celebrity challenge saw the likes of award-winning sports presenter Carol Tshabalala, soccer legend Mark Fish, SuperSport United’s Dean Furman, Bidvest Wits’ Darren Keet and 947’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 We Care.
