Through nightly donations, the players in the All In Free Poker bar poker league raised $2,568.50 for Women In Distress, a charity that's very dear to the owners of All In. (Co-owner Bryan Oulton's mother was a domestic violence victim.)

The players also donated another $1,200 during the All In season finals at the Isle on June 25,
Meanwhile, Colleen Brangan of Pompano Beach won the finals event, taking home a WPT Boot Camp pass and a cruise to Aruba, making for a prize package totalling about $5,000.

A poker night by All In Free Poker, a bar poker league, raised more than $4,200 for the Florida Panthers hockey team's foundation, which raises money to donate to children's charities.

The event, called "Pucks and Poker," drew 30 players at the BankAtlantic Center. Jay Shapp, a regular in the bar league, won the grand prize, of a Panthers' trip, and three other playes, Mike Coberly, Richard Lozito and Amir Baron, each won entries into events at the Isle Casino & Racing in Pompano Beach.

Meanwhile, the league also completed its 25th main event finals. Richard Lozito was the winner, earning a $3,000 package to the league's third annual eight-day poker cruise in August, as well as an entry into the next Pucks & Poker event with the Panthers and All In Free Poker. Katrina Powers came in second and won a $1,600 entry into the Isle’s Battle of the Beaches tournament in April. Bobby Morando finished third and won a $550 entry to the Isle’s Battle of the Beaches. Donna Rom got four a $230 Isle Battle entry. Deb Hinson, Quinten Gravagna, Dan Wright, Ziggy Schafer, Mark Miller & Don Hedleston finished in the 5-10 spots and each earned a $120 Isle Battle entry.

All In Free Poker is also promoting another tournament at the BankAtlantic Center, a March 22 event that benefits a Jewish education charity.

Joe Hedleston of Tamarac won a $5,000 cruise Oct. 6 in the season finals of the All In Free Poker League.

All in Free Poker, a bar league in South Florida, began its finals on Oct. 3 at the Isle Casino & Racing. Once the field of about 150 was narrowed to 10 players, tournament organizers stopped play and held the finals at Packy's Sports Pub in Lighthouse Point on Wednesday night.

Hedleston prevailed, winning a first prize of a room for two on board the All In Free Poker seven-night cruise, which is scheduled for Aug. 14-21.

He also receives a pass into $2,000 worth of poker training. The other players to reach the final table won entry into Isle events.

Continue reading "Tamarac man wins cruise via free poker league" »

Deb Trigoboff of Coral Springs won the recent season finale of All In Free Poker.

Trigoboff earned an entry into the Isle's $900 main event and the $720 "seven-deuce" tournament, and other prizes.

All In Free Poker, a bar poker league, had 180 players in its Jan. 10 finals and played down to 10. Those 10 then finished it off on Jan. 15 at Smokey Bones Fort Lauderdale, giving it a bar poker feel, said All In's Bryan Oulton, who sent the results, along with a picture that makes Trigoboff look spooky (she isn't).

The next finals are March 19-26, with the finals at the Duck Tavern in Boca Raton. All In also had players represent their "home bar," giving other players a rooting interest. The final 10, with home bar and hometown:

1. Deb Trigoboff, Smokey Bones Boca Raton, Coral Springs
2. Wendy Middleman-Miller, Daisy Duke's Saloon, Hollywood
3. Adam Goldstein, Smokey Bones Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale
4. Troy Parra, Sullivan's, Lighthouse Point
5. Justin Huntsman, Sullivan's, Pompano Beach
6. Sean Lavery, No Home Bar, Pompano Beach
7. Mary Maguire, Mugs Bar, Fort Lauderdale
8. Sharon Aziz, Yak-zies, Sunrise
9. Larry Fitzpatrick, Ye Old Falcon Pub, Hollywood
10. Flo Horne, Ye Olde Falcon Pub, Davie

All in Free Poker, a bar poker league in South Florida, has been holding its season-ending events at the Isle in recent months but this time it has a twist.

The field of 160 played down to a final table on Sunday; now the Friday 10 -- a play off of "November Nine" -- will vie at 8 p.m. Friday at Smokey Bones Fort Lauderdale.

All In also got players to affiliate with a home bar -- creating rooting interests. They also put together the groovy graphic at left, with all the names and chip counts.

Who am I rooting for? Well, the last tournament I won, ending a one-year drought, Larry Fitzpatrick was the dealer -- so obviously that means the man in Seat 6 has good qualities and is the most virtuous.

Tom Winingham of Team Duck won the All in Free Poker finals in October at the Isle.

He got over $1,600 in buy-ins to Isle events, including two into a $440 tournament.

Next in line were Andy Payson, Maria Dellutri, Walter Chance and Al Hinson. Then came Mitch "Magic Man" Davie, Pam McDole, Janice Dippel, Robert Filter and John Lynch, All won a $100 entry to the AIFP Cruise Satellite. The top 50 all qualified for the WWT season finale tournament in early 2010.

The next event is Jan. 10. All-in offers a full report.

Continue reading "Winningham wins All-in season-ender" »

Bar Poker Pros, a popular bar poker league in South Florida, will conduct a charity tournament at 10 a.m. Saturday at Tootsie's Cabaret, at the corner of U.S. 441 and Miami Gardens Drive.

But it isn't strip poker.

The grand prize is a $10,000 entry into the Sports Legends Challenge tournament at Atlantis Sept. 11-14, which is a heck of a tournament (click here for the link). The top prize also includes a five-night stay at Atlantis. All final table players will receive prizes.

Because it's a charity tournament, entries are only by donation. Bar Poker Pros is suggesting it be $65, and is limiting the field to 200, and offering a free breakfast to those who sign up in advance.

The Sports Legends Challenge is Sept. 14-17, as 25 of sports legends join 25 top professional poker players to provide a weekend of exciting action. Featuring poker, golf, blackjack, and slots tournaments. Go to www.SportsLegendsChallenge.com for more info.

And, oh, just so you can concentrate on poker: the tournament will be held in the sports bar.

If you’re planning to go on All In Free Poker’s cruise early next year, you’re going to have to win your way in.

All In Free Poker, which runs a free poker league at about 50 South Florida bars, booked 100 rooms for a Jan. 17 weeklong cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas out of Fort Lauderdale.

“We’re sold out,” All In Free Poker’s Bryan Oulton said.

But the company is conducting tournaments at Isle Casino and Racing in Pompano Beach the next three months. Buy-in is $60, with $40 re-buys. For every $1,288 in the prize pool, the tournament will provide a cruise for two.

The tournaments are this Sunday, Sept. 27 and Oct. 25.

It will be second annual cruise for All In Free Poker, which reserved about 100 rooms with the cruise line. The Independence of the Seas has set aside a private area for the All In cruisers, and has 75 hours of poker room time with live games and tournaments.

A World Poker Tour Boot Camp focusing on playing in non-tournament cash games also is scheduled, and the High Heels Poker Tour for women will also have events.

For more info go to www.AllInFreePoker.com.

Darrell Everson of Coral Springs won the summer finals All in Free Poker Tournament last week at Isle Casino & Racing in Pompano Beach.

Everson took home a prize package worth about $4,000 in the field of 230 players. He gets four buy-ins into Isle events, worth $2,000, and a World Poker Tour Boot Camp poker table.

Bruce Kahn of Sunrise finished second.

Next in line:Nick Schooley, Margate; Bruce Gerstein, Pompano Beach; Elena Dellutri, Davie; Randy Horne, Davie; Sharon Loewy, Coral Springs; Amir Baron, Coral Springs; Madeleine Volk, Pompano Beach; and Robyn Glass, Davie.

The tournament drew fans from All in Free Poker's bars, and the custom of wearing "home bar" shirts continues to grow. Roy's in Margate, The Inn Field Pub in Sunrise, The Duck Tavern in Boca Raton and Ye Olde Falcon Pub in Davie were among those with contingents.

For more information, go to www.AllInFreePoker.com.

Scott Ramshaw of Pembroke Pines won the season-ending Bar Poker Pros tournament at Hillcrest Country Club in Hollywood Sunday night.

The tournament, for players in the Bar Poker Pros league, drew about 300 players, the largest in the league's three-year history.

Ramshaw had almost three times the chips of the nine remaining players, who all agreed to "chop" the $5,000 in prize money. He took home about $2,500.

Next in line were: Jim Holland, Davie; Pete Hanti, Pompano Beach; Ronette Yarbrough, Fort Lauderdale; Momodou Knight Wadda, Miramar; Rod Messina, Miami Lakes; Alexandra Dumanowsky, Miami; Dave Dixon Ft Lauderdale; Karen Kelley, Oakland Park and Bob Sullivan, Hollywood.

For more information go to www.BarPokerPros.com.

Play poker and race go-karts...

All in Free Poker's inaugural "Taste of" event is from 3 p.m. to midnight at Saturday at Xtreme Indoor Karting, 5300 Powerline Road, Fort Lauderdale.

The day includes double points for their Aug. 2 championship (grand prize: $2,000 buy-in at the Capri Isle Casino in Pompano), a $10 food tasting from more than local bars and restaurants at 5 p.m., and a poker “trade show” from 4-8 p.m..

Go to AllInFreePoker.com or XtremeIndoorKarting.com, or call 954-491-6265.

Amy Devoe of Fort Lauderdale outlasted more than 220 players on May 19 to win the season-ending tournament in All in Free Poker at the Isle.

She won $2,000 in buy-ins to the Florida State Poker Championship events at the Isle casino, including the $900 buy-in for the main event. She also got a $2,000 poker table from the WPT Boot Camp.

She is a regular at the Sports Den, according to All in's Bryan Oulton. For the uninitiated, bar poker is free game, played at bars. Then there are four or five big tournaments a year, for big prizes.

She defeated Greg Danver, who regularly plays at Ye Olde Falcon Pub. Danver won two entries to the Isle’s Florida State Poker Championships; each worth $330.

Ben Vassallo finished third and won a $330 tourney entry. Robert Oulton, chip leader after day one, gets a satellite for fourth as did fifth through 10th: Nancy Thomas, Frank "Lazarus" Greentree, Jean Fluery, Deb Vashon, Marc Hansen and Stacey Rosso.

Tom Cuce prevailed in a field of 220 to win the All In Free Poker season-ending tournament March 3 at the Isle Casino and Racing.

Cuce won close to $2,000 in buy-ins to events at The Isle Casino and Racing, as well as a poker table valued at $1,500. Michael Feroce finished second, according to a release from All In Free Poker. They played for around 20 hands before Tommy won with queens full of sixes, when he turned a queen after a flop of A 6 6. Michael pushed on the turn and Tommy insta-called.

With that hand, Tommy had a 19-1 chip advantage and the tournament was over two hands later. Feroce won an entry into the $550 March 25 isle event and an entry into a $120 Isle event.

Dwight Matlack, owner of the Sports Den, finished third, winning an entry into the $350 St. Patrick’s Day tournament. Fourth place and a $200 entry went to Taylor Brooks. David Fuenmayor placed fifth and won an entry into the isle $150 bounty tournament. Sean Lavery placed sixth and gets into a $120 tournament. Next placers winning a $50 satellite, were: Debbie Knight, Sharon Danver, Stacey Rosso and David Torres.

There might be an older poker player somewhere in South Florida, but there aren’t many more dedicated than Teddy Mass.

Mass, of Weston, usually plays seven nights a week in the All In Free Poker league.

He turned 95 Tuesday. His poker pals from the league celebrated with cakes and small gifts twice: Sunday at Ye Olde Falcon Pub in Davie and Monday at Roy’s Sports Bar in Margate.
Mass also squeezes in trips to Gulfstream, the Isle, Mardi Gras and the Seminole Hard Rock to play the slots.

“What else am I going to do?” he asks? “Watch TV?

Continue reading "He's 95 and playing bar poker 7 nights a week" »

On a recent night of bar poker at Billy's on SR 84 in Davie, dealer Leonard Brown decided to take things a little further: He dressed up in a tux and got flowers for the nine players vying for tickets to Busch Gardens, a one-time giveaway.

The top three qualifiers from play on three previous nights played it out.

I did a story last week on bar poker, and also included a link to all the bar poker web sites I know.

You have a favorite place to play? Why?

Cathy Josey of Hollywood won the recent season-ending Bar Poker Pros tournament at Hillcrest Country Club on July 20.

Players qualified for the tournament by earning points playing in bars/pubs from April to Mid-July.

First prize was $5,000. Josey took out Scott Ramshaw and Herbert Lavinsky on the final hand with four queens.

Bar Poker Pros has over 65 events at 50 bar and restaurants in Broward and Dade counties. The next points season will run from Mid-July through October.

Over the last year Bar Poker Pros Players have taken home over $71,000 in cash prizes.

For information go to www.barpokerpros.com.

Mark Mika of Coral Springs won the quarterly All in Free Poker league tournament earlier this month.

The tournament was July 13 and 15 at the Isle in Pompano Beach. Bill Scott of Fort Lauderdale finished second, and Joe Catalano of Coral Springs was third.

All-in Free Poker conducts four "season-ending" tournaments a year, with players from its 25 or so bars, bowling centers and such gathering to play for larger prizes.

Mika won a $4,200 package, including a $1,100 entry into a poker tournament, and a $999 cruise package for two on the All in Free Poker cruise Jan. 12-16 (details on their site). Scott, a dealer in the league normally, and Catalano won cruise packages.

Continue reading "Mark Mika wins All-in Free Poker season-ender" »