Tsinis overcame a huge field size totaling 2,192 players en route to his first gold bracelet victory. This marks the third WSOP event won this year by a player of Ukrainian origin. Eugene Katchalov ($1,500 Seven-Card Stud) and Oleksii Kovalchuk ($2,500 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em) were the first two.

What’s remarkable about another Ukrainian winning is that prior to this year, no Ukrainian in history had ever won a gold bracelet. Zero. Now, suddenly – there are three.

To be quite clear – Tsinis now lives in Las Vegas. He resided for many years in New York, where he hung out with many fellow expert gamesmen, including Ylon Schwartz who watched the final table from the rail. But like so many people originally from that region of the world, there seems to be something in the DNA of those from the former Soviet Republics which creates extraordinary talent in all games – most notably chess, backgammon and now poker.

Like the Ukraine, Russia was also in position to crown its own third WSOP champion in 2011. The runner up to Tsinis was Michael Blanovsky, who is originally from Vladivostok, Russia. The heads-up match between the two Eastern Europeans lasted more than three hours and stretched into an unscheduled fourth day of play.

It’s becoming clearly apparent there is a seismic shift going on in the poker world. While the United States enjoys enormous advantages in terms of overall WSOP numbers due to being the host nation, the fact is other nations are disproportionally ahead of all the rest in terms of accomplishments. It’s also now clear that the Ukraine is one of those nations which continues to mature as a poker market.

That’s a scary prospect – unless you happen to be Ukrainian.

Tsinis is a 34-year-old self-described game player, poker player and financial analyst.
Tsinis immigrated to the U.S. with his parents at the age of 16. His family settled down in New York City.

Tsinis graduated from Baruch College, which is part of the City University of New York (CUNY). He earned his degree in finance and economics.

Tsinis’ parents were initially not happy with his pursuit of game playing. His father is an engineer. His mother is a doctor. But they have since come to support his career decision and dedication to gaming.

Prior to playing poker professionally, Tsinis was ranked in the top 40 of the best backgammon players in the world. He competed in both tournaments and for money.
Tsinis is a master chess player and backgammon player. He believes both games provided him with an excellent foundation on which to build his poker skills.

Tsinis almost did not play in this tournament. He was not even registered until three hours after the tournament started. Schwartz talked Tsinis into playing and coming in late. When Tsinis sat down, he had about 30 big blinds remaining. His late arrival certainly did not impair Tsinis in any way.

Tsinis was cheered on to victory by several supporters, mostly from New York. In his entourage was “Falafel,” (a.k.a. Michael Natanzon) who is the top ranked backgammon player in the world.

Tsinis made a bold political decision following his victory. When given the choice as to which national anthem to play for his gold bracelet ceremony, Tsinis stated he preferred not to have the American anthem, opting instead to have the Ukrainian anthem played. Tsinis made things very clear he meant no disrespect toward the U.S., where he now resides. But he was adamant that the U.S. government’s stance against online poker made him want to use his influence to shed light on this issue and to make it clear he was not in favor of representing an authority which has been a detriment to many people within the poker community.

“I am very proud of my country, now that I live here,” said Tsinis. “But with the state of online poker and the way it is right now – I think at these poker events we should all boycott (the U.S. anthem), not to show disrespect in any way — but to show the politicians and point that with regards to poker, they should do something about this issue. Another reason for this decision is because when I first came to the U.S. and people would ask where I am from, more than half of them did not even know where the Ukraine is. So, I want to put Ukraine back on the map. We had two other Ukrainian people win (at the WSOP). So this is a year when we are going to do big things.”

The heads-up match between Tsinis and Blanovsky was a supreme test for both players. Tsinis enjoyed the chip lead most of the way. In fact, he had a 7-to-1 chip advantage when play was suspended and players were forced to return for a fourth day. But Blanovsky fought back and not only took the chip lead, he had a 2-to-1 advantage at one point. Tsinis was all in for his tournament life with pocket sevens versus two overcards. He survived, doubled-up and went on to win the tournament.

Blanovsky, who is originally from Russia but now lives in Staten Island, N.Y., won $336,253 for second.

Randolph Lanosga, Jr., a 56-year-old realter from Colorado Springs, Colo., finished third for $233,732. Pietermichae DeGoede, from Reims, France, was fourth for $168,334, and Paul Nash, a 38-year-old online poker pro from Kingsbury Tamworth, U.K., was fifth for $123,028.

Perry Lin, a recreational player from Hoboken, N.J., was sixth, David Rounick, a 36-year-old invester from Harberth, Pa., was seventh, Ryan LaPlante, a 21-year-old poker pro from Brainerd, Minn., was eighth, and Christopher Homan, a 24-year-old medical student from Augusta, Ga., was ninth.

The top 216 finishers collected prize money. Former gold bracelet winners who cashed in this tournament included: Robert Cheong (12th), Jordan Smith (54th) and Kenny Tran (55th).

With three years’ Badbeat sponsorship under his belt, Tim Slater finished in 5th place, adding £14,050 to his lifetime winnings. Johnathan Gawith took 6th place taking home £11,210, while Ralph Watson picked up £850 for his 59th place – having only under a year of mentorship and training from the poker staking giant.

“We’re delighted that three of our sponsored players finished in the money, with two in the top ten!” said John Conroy, Badbeat Managing Director. “It really demonstrates that our training and mentoring system works for them, not only online but also in the field.”

“The mentoring training made all the difference. It’s world class. You’re part of a team and the ethos of Badbeat and the large presence there pushed me to want to impress my peers,” said Slater. “It wasn’t my first big live tournament — I’ve played most the UKIPT tour this year — but it’s a prestigious event and I still felt the nerves kick in with two tables to go. The support from the team helps you believe in yourself.”

Every Badbeat player receives cutting-edge software tools and a structured development path with advanced learning aides, coupled with the knowledge, expertise and support from a pool of world class mentors and support staff.

Badbeat.com stakes many professional players, offering them financial backing, mentoring and guidance, so that their game can develop profitably without them risking their own finances. For more information on how to become a sponsored player, please visit: www.badbeat.com

Next stop for Badbeat sponsored players is the World Series of Poker tournament in Las Vegas.

Big names for the Big Game have been signing up and now include TonyG, Isildur1, Luke Full Flush Schwartz, Phil Laak and Jennifer Tilly,
Dusty Leatherass Schmidt, Isaac Haxton, Justin ZeeJustin Bonomo, Robert Williamson III, James Mitchell, Roland de Wolfe, Neil Channing, Bodo Sbrzesny, Andrew Feldman, Simon Schnibl0r Münz, Roberto Romanello, Barny Boatman, Laurence Grondin and Jake Cody.

Eddie Hearn, md of Big Game IV organisers Matchroom Sport, commented in a press release, “The phone is ringing off the hook – so many players want a piece of the action!”

In an innovative addition to the event, each player will walk on to a relevant theme tune.

A range of events have been scheduled to ensure variety and that every kind of player is catered for. Favourite formats such as Deep stack, Double Chance and the Terminator Bounty return to the roster while this year also sees the introduction of new events including Omaha Hi/Lo and re-buy tournaments plus the exclusive ‘Ante Special’ tournament.

The festival culminates in a variable freeroll where players get more chips added to their starting stack for every Oktoberfest tournament they take part in, meaning the more they play, the bigger their starting stack will be.

Cardroom Manager Neil Wright said, “This year’s Oktoberfest is even more accessible than ever with extremely affordable buy-ins. We’ve decided to run the festival alongside our new Primetime tournaments which have proved to be hugely popular, so now players can get the great value of Oktoberfest events and also have a shot at another top tournament – all in the same night.”

Satellites for each Oktoberfest tournament can be found on the day of the event in the PKR lobby.

“An e-mail ad for Betfair’s online poker site showed a photograph of a young woman and stated ‘online experience is measured in games, not years. Join the new breed. Annette Obrestad – ‘Annette–15′ “.

“A complainant objected that the ad was irresponsible, because it might encourage children and young people to gamble.

“Obrestad, a Norwegian who has just turned 21, is part of the Betfair Poker Pro team and is considered one of the best online multi-table poker tournament players in the world.

“…The company said Obrestad featured in the ad not because of her age, but because of her standing as a poker champion who’d had a profound effect on the game.

“…The ASA ordered that the ad should not appear again in its current form and told Betfair to ensure that no one who was – or seemed to be – under 25 years old should appear gambling or playing a significant role in any future ads…” It is part of the $1.9 billion portfolio of Balderton Capital, run by Maloney.

Using the same strategy that was successfully implemented to become a major player in Italy, Weizer said Playtech would be building French-only liquidity by forging alliances with the leading French gambling operators already in business on the internet front or likewise seeking to enter the online gambling marketplace. Weizer did not go into detail about these alliances nor would not confirm exactly how many partners the software developer had acquired, but did say the agreements would “work in a balanced way between all licensees” so as to foster mutual success.

Top poker room, Chili Poker, which is already supplied by Playtech, is reported to already have an agreement with France’s second largest ISP, Free, to serve as an online poker platform. Other potential partners are also rumored to be part of the agreement.

Analysts will agree that “balance” is the key to gaining momentum in France, where up until now, monopolization and EU non-compliant trade policies were pushing outside operators out of France. But with pressure from the EU and the online gambling community at large, France has turned around it’s policies and is coming one step closer to liberalization. And that entails more operators and competition vying for French players.

Playtech certainly will not be without competition in the online poker sector. Party Gaming’s CEO, Jim Ryan, also recently announced the online gaming giant also intends to launch a French poker room when legislation is enacted. Still, considering how active the French online gambling market is, there will be plenty to go round.

Having successfully completed a series of sponsorship negotiations, the announcement is a key step in the process HeadsUp has been building to launch its new web interface with embedded social community for its player membership base.

Set to begin broadcasting in the fourth quarter of 2009, the network will feature coverage of major Canadian poker events from across the country as well as documentary productions featuring a behind the scenes look at the Canadian Poker Tour. This is the first step in Company’s long term objectives to expand to international markets building on the strategic marketing alliance the Company has previously announced with the World Poker Showdown.

The network will supplement the media model that HeadsUp has built in Canada and will work closely with Canadian Poker Magazine as a full and complete source of information for Canadian poker players to draw from.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for the Company to re-monetize investments we have made in television over the past 4 years and deliver an all encompassing media delivery package to our sponsors,” stated Company President Kelly B. Kellner. “Players and fans will have an innovative and effective means to pursue their interest in the sport and we couldn’t be more excited.”

Pirates Paradise is a one line slot game themed on a Pirates Paradise island, filled with riches and pirate symbols. Players seek to match 3 symbols the same in order to win.

Pirates Paradise has been translated in 10 different languages and localised to cater for all its white label and licensees partners.

The previous World Record was set by PokerStars.com on December 28, 2008 when 35,000 players took to the tables. On Sunday July 19, 2009, PokerStars.com held an online tournament that had a total opening field of 65,000 players – shattering the old World Record by a massive 30,000 players.

Players from 155 countries around the world came together to play in the event which had a buy-in of just $1, but boasted a $130,000 guaranteed prize pool. 16,250 players cashed in the tournament, with the top prize of $13,000 going to ‘004 license’ from South Carolina, USA.

“Having played at many other online poker sites, I’m very glad I settled on PokerStars as the only site I play on. PokerStars gives all players, even us part time and low star rated players an equal chance to win. They have numerous and really well run tournaments.” said ‘004 license’ after his win on Sunday.