PokerStars LIVE at The Hippodrome Casino officially launched last night with a champagne reception and twin freerolls. A media charity bounty tournament started the evening off, featuring Team PokerStars Pros Jake Cody, Victoria Coren and Liv Boeree, as well as celebrities including 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' stars Dexter Fletcher and Jason Fleying. The £3,000 charity prize went to Jamie Klingler,Publishing Manager at ShortList Media who donated the winnings to CAH, a sub-group of CLIMB to help research for Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia.
That was followed up by the players event which was attended by a large slice of the UK's poker elite who battled more fiercely than one might have imagined for a launch party freeroll. This could have had something to do with the first place prize, a £5,000 seat into the EPT London Main Event. That was eventually claimed, perhaps unsurprisingly, by Scotland's all-time money winner David Vamplew. Not only has 'davidv1213' won EPT London for £900,000 before but he also followed that up by winning the inaugural UKIPT Champion of Champions tournament. London has been kind to the Scotsman.
PokerStars LIVE will now become an integral part of the vibrant 24 hour Hippodrome Casino, based in he world fampus Leicester Square in the heart of London's West End.
UKIPT London Day 1A started today live coverage of which can be found by clicking here.