The latest WassOnline Live event took place in Newcastle this month, and was another raging success -- members agree that they are simply getting better with every event.
As soon as they entered the casino, all of the players were greeted by the owners of the WassOnline poker forum, Robert 'MrWass' Wass and David 'Doc' Sharpe. Once signed in, participants received a goodie bag stuffed with WassOnline polo shirts, the latest issue of CardPlayer magazine, a branded WassOnline poker chip (that could be used to buy drinks at the bar -- a very nice touch) and loads of other goodies. Once signed in, it was off to mingle with the other poker forum members, all proudly wearing their forum names on tags, and enjoy a pre-game drink. With a six-month gap between the events, everyone is buzzing with the excitement of seeing new faces and old friends again.
The opening event of the weekend was a £20+5 No-limit Hold'em Bounty Game. This unique game offers everyone the chance to win some money, without having to make it to the final table. Half their buy-in gets placed on every players head, which means that every time you 'knock-out' a player, you win £10. This makes for some very lively action and table banter, as people vie to knock each other out and claim the bounties! After only twenty minutes of play, the first player was knocked out to a chorus of cheering.
Others would quickly follow...
After four hours there were only ten players left to fight it out on the final table. Sue Amess, Debbie Bayliss, Mathew Doherty, Jackie Doherty, Gary Musgrove, Simon Sadler, Graham Lavender, Debbie Wass, Stephen Hoy, and Cille Mydske had outlasted 68 other players for their chance at the main prize pool, and at about midnight, took their seats at the final table. By 2am, it was down to just two players - Debbie Bayliss and Gary Musgrove. Debbie had a commanding chip stack going into the final, and the outcome was not a surprise to anyone! She took first place as well as an impressive seven bounties, winning just over £400!
The Saturday evening saw the main event of the weekend, and with a prize pool of over £1500 and some great trophies up for grabs members settled down for some friendly but serious poker. It took over 40 minutes to eliminate the first player of the evening, as everyone was clinging on to their chips. However, one by one the players were eliminated, and either went to start their own private games, or watch the action of the main event from the sideline.
Almost five hours after losing the first player, we were down to the final table of the Main Event. Debbie Bayliss and Gary Musgrove had both managed to make their second final table of the weekend, and were joined by Marilyn Sheeran, Terry Taylor, Lotte Mydske, Mathew Stewart, Andrew Barton, Andrew Ives, Tomas Morgan and Gary Williamson. Watched by a large crowd, and being cheered on by their supporters, the final 10 locked horns. After some impressive poker, and over 2 hours of play, Andrew Ives and Debbie Bayliss end up heads up. After trading the chip lead back and forth both players are all-in with Ives having Bayliss covered - barely. Ives' pocket jacks held against Bayliss's AJ to win the Main Event, and WassOnline had their Newcastle Live Champion!
The night ended with an awards ceremony for all the winners along with several special awards, including the coveted Spirit of Wass and Player of the Weekend awards. It was no surprise that Debbie Bayliss, with her impressive 1st and 2nd place, took home the player of the weekend award. The Spirit of Wass award went to Christine who didn't even play poker but comes to all the WassOnline events because she has such a fun and enjoyable time socializing with her friends from the forum, and support her husband, one of the more notorious site members known as 'Welshgit'.
All in all, it was a fantastic live poker weekend! Everyone had a great time, and many of the members were already making plans to attend the next live events in Birmingham and Reading. WassOnline Live Events have something to offer everyone, from the online player looking to make their first leap into live tournaments in a friendly environment to the more serious player. Head over to their Online Casino Review website and sign-up for free to attend the next event.