Mercier finished fourth in WSOP Europe; Barry Shulman wins
Jason Mercier faltered in the final table at the World Series of Poker Europe, but still came home in fourth in the field of 334.
Card Player magazine CEO Barry Shulman, whose son, Jeff, is one of the November Nine, won the tournament, collecting £801,603 for first place. The cash prize is equal to about $1,283,687 in U.S. dollars.
The final table included six former WSOP gold bracelet winners: Daniel Negreanu, Chris Bjorin, Praz Bansi, Matt Hawrilenko, Shulman and Mercier. And two November Nine players, James Akenhead and Antoine Saout.
Mercier, from Fort Lauderdale, has been one of tournament poker’s most successful players over the past year. Mercier, who won the $1,500 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha event earlier this year, also won the EPT championship at San Remo (Italy) as well as the £1 Million Showdown, in London. He entered the day with the chip lead but lost his lead and was eliminated with £267,267 in prize money, about $400,000.
He is sponsored by PokerStars.net, which made news because it is starting a poker show after NFL football on Oct. 11. The release is below (only lightly edited):
The PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge, debuts Oct. 11 directly after NFL on FOX coverage. The series gives online qualifiers a chance at a seven-figure payday.
Players who win specially designated online tournaments at PokerStars.net will submit a 60-second video for the chance to be a contestant on the PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge. Each person selected will receive roundtrip airfare and accommodations to the show’s taping in Los Angeles for themselves and two friends.
The Game
Players will face a four-level gauntlet of heads up matches, win and advance. Lose and go home:
• Round 1: Take on a celebrity defender such as reigning Playboy Playmate of the Year Jayde Nicole, Super Bowl Champion, six-time Pro Bowl selection Jerome “The Bus” Bettis or MMA champion Tito Ortiz.
• Round 2: Face a top Team PokerStars.Net Pro 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event Champion Chris Moneymaker, three-time WSOP bracelet winner Barry Greenstein, rising poker star and newest Go Daddy girl, Vanessa “Lady Maverick” Rousso
• Round 3 and Round 4: Winning the million dollars won’t be easy – back-to-back heads up matches against four-time WSOP bracelet winner Negreanu.
Getting past the first two defenders is a tough task, but the challenger will have help. For each of the first two rounds, Daniel Negreanu will serve as a coach, discussing hands and offering advice, first sitting at the table beside the challenger in the celebrity heads up match, then moving into a specially-designed isolation booth when the challenger takes on the Team PokerStars.net Pro. For every level Negreanu helps the challenger win, PokerStars.net will donate $10,000 to a charity of Negreanu’s choice.
The prizes for each victory
• Round 1: A trip to the Bahamas for the PokerStars.net Caribbean Adventure
• Round 2: $25,000. Take the money and walk or risk it against Negreanu for a chance to win $100,000.
• Round 3: $100,000. The money is yours and you earn a seat at the final show’s Table of Champions, where one player will have a chance to play Daniel heads up for $1,000,000.
• Round 4: A life-changing $1,000,000.
If the celebrity defender beats the challenger, they earn $5,000 for their favorite charity. If the Team PokerStars.net Pro beats the challenger, they will earn $10,000 for their favorite charity.
The five-episode series airs Sundays after NFL on FOX on October 11th and 18th, continuing on November 22nd and December 13th and concluding with the heads up finale against Negreanu for $1,000,000 on December 27th.
Plus, the PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge wouldn’t be complete without something for poker fans at home. Viewers will have a chance to enter a freeroll tournament on PokerStars.net as part of the PokerStars.net $100,000 giveaway. Twice during each show, PokerStars.net will announce a special contest that will give viewers a chance to win easy money.
NICK SORTAL began playing 3-card "gut" and "Indian poker" on high school band trips, moved on to "night baseball" and "pass the trash" during a Dr. Pepper-infused midnight game in the 1980s at the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, and now play in a regular neighborhood Hold 'Em game in Plantation. I have been given the assignment of writing about the gambling life in South Florida casinos for the Sun-Sentinel...which means sitting around watching poker on TV now counts as research.
