Poker News Roundup: November 28, 2011
by Dougie Goguen | Nov 28 2011
Dispatches from the US and North Africa in today's look at poker news stories from the weekend!MaineCanadians who head down to visit beautiful Maine may have a new reason to stay an extra day: for the first time since the state legalized casinos back in 2005, they'll soon be offering tables games and yes that will include Texas Hold 'Em Poker. The Hollywood Slots of Casino in Bangor is adding 14 tables to their lineup for the spring: six of them will be for blackjack and four will be for Texas Hold 'Em with the other four each taking care of one game variety such as Pai Gow. This is just the first step, though, to giving Mainers more access to the game: a casino under construction in Oxford is going to have a minimum of ten table games, which will likely include a similar ratio going to Texas Hold 'Em play.
Play online poker at Bodog today!This marks a major new opportunity for local players, who have had to either come north to Canada or head down to the Foxwoods resort-casino in Connecticut to get their share of live poker action. Foxwoods has hosted events in the World Poker Tour and World Series of Poker Circuit.
One thing that's rarely discussed when new games are offered in a state that hasn't previous had them is impact on the local economy. At Hollywood Slots alone, the 14 new tables mean that there are 89 new jobs open in the market, adding over $4,000,000 to the local economy through salary and benefits.
North Africa It's the little poker event that could: 274 players entered the latest World Poker Tour stop in Marrakech, Morocco and it was local boy Mohamed Ali Houssam that beat the pack and ended up on top of the four-day event, earning almost €200,000 for his play in the €3,000 event, along with a seat in the $25,000 WPT World Championship to be held in May in Las Vegas. Houssam took on a field that included WSOP Champion Jonathan Duhamel and recent MMA convert Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier.
Play in Bodog's King of the Felt online poker promotion and get your shot at a seat in the 2012 WSOP Main Event!What's remarkable is how the unassuming Houssam managed to stray strong throughout the event, leading the 149 players from Day 1 and holding on to the top ten of the event throughout. While even the best players can get a bit shaky when sitting across from WSOP champions, but Houssam's level head kept him in the game and he and fellow local Toufik Orini ended up in the showdown against one another. Houssam's final payout for the event is €199,825 while second-placer Ourini still gets a very tidy €137,657.
