Weekly Poker Wrap – DPT, Big One Drop, Goa Casino, Amaya and Trump

Last week saw many new developments in the poker world. Here is a quick weekly wrap of the major poker happenings around the globe.

China’s Elton Tsang Wins the 2016 Big for One Drop 

World’s largest buy-in tournament, the 2016 Big One for One Drop Invitational No Limit Holdem event featured €1 million buy-in last week and saw a total of 28 entries, which created a prize pool of of €24,888,892. After three days of poker action, it was China’s Elton Tsang who became the eventual champion of the One Drop Extravaganza €1,000,000-buy-in Big One For One Drop the last Sunday, after defeating his rival Anatoly Gurtovoy heads-up.

Elton Tsang outplayed a field 28 players to take down the title and his third biggest cash prize in poker history, which amounted to €11,111,111 ($12,188,889). The new poker millionaire was crowned Sunday night at the Monte Carlo, world’s most luxurious casino. Poker weekly wrap

Deltin Poker Tournament Postponed to November

Deltin Royale has finally decided to postpone the upcoming DPT (Deltin Poker Tournament), which was scheduled to take place from 19th-24th October. According to Deltin Royale officials, the venue, Deltin Royale Casino, is currently undergoing its periodic overall and will not be operational during the month of October. It is, therefore, that the casino has decided to postpone it until 10th -14th November. The tournament will return next month at the same venue and will consist of the same structure and GTDs. Meanwhile, the company has asked players to contact on the dedicated helpline numbers – +919011013514 or +9188806663594 or mail at playpoker@deltin.com to resolve all queries.

6th Casino Possible on Mandovi River

Known for casinos, Goa attracts thousands of tourists. It has been boosting tourism industry with casinos gaming. Now giving further boost to casino culture, the Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar has hinted that one more offshore casino may be added to the fleet of existing five casinos operating in the Mandovi river. The preparation for the new casino have   started, as Golden Globe Hotels Private Limited (GGHPL) has paid all required arrears ( over Rs. 46 crore)to the Goa government for the renewal of their offshore casino license in Goa.

Earlier an old offshore casino owned by MDLR group, GGHPL has paid all recurring fees with 12% interest, from 2011-2016 and also an additional amount of 20 lac as security deposit. Now that the old offshore casino has paid all annual recurring fees, with interest and penalty to the state treasury, it will soon be joining other casinos in the Mandovi river in Panaji.

Who will Own Amaya?

William Hill, the Britain’s biggest bookmaker, is rumored to be in talks with the Canadian online gambling firm Amaya to go for a merger of equals worth £5bn. The new company would be based in London, with Amaya’s CEO, Rafi Ashkenazi at the helm. According to industry insiders, the new company would get 60% of its revenue from online betting and 40% from land-based business across different betting areas. Reports suggest that the merged company will overtake William Hill to become the Britain’s biggest bookmaker by number of shops.

Meanwhile, there is another rumor that Scheinberg family, the original owner of PokerStars is planning to re-acquire the ownership of Amaya Group. These rumours came after GVC Holdings were planning to make a bid for Amaya. However, it is still unclear as to who will ultimately own Amaya?

Trump’s Taj Mahal Shuts Down After 26 Years

Once called as the eighth wonder of the world, Trump’s Taj Mahal finally shut its doors on October 10, following 26 years of money troubles and unresolved negotiations with its employees union. The Atlantic City-based casino was set up back in 1990 after the game of poker became legal in New Jersey. Though it enjoyed good business for sometime, the opening of the Borgata Casino in 2003 started its downfall. After closing for renovations in February 2015, the casino opened back in May and just two month’s later witnessed a strike from the workers. The strikes from workers continued from time to time and the casino management couldn’t resolve the issues between them and employees union. As a result, Carl Icahn could not afford to run it and so 3,000 people lost their jobs on October 10.