Circus Casino Poker Classic Considered a Success in Birmingham, England

BIRMINGHAM, England -- Taking place at the Circus Casino at Star City, Birmingham, between 30th October and 2nd November, the main event saw 217 players - who qualified online, in a land-based casino
Lobby of the Circus Casino in Star City  or bought in directly - battling it out in a marathon _poker tournament_ which lasted 27 hours. The total prize pool ended up being £108,500.

After day one, just 50 players were left in the tournament, with David Yang leading the chip count with 125,825, followed by Nicky Evans with 115,600 and Tom McCready with 100,500. The day also saw the exit of CircusPoker.co.uk-sponsored player, Daiva Barauskaite who, after a strong start, went out in an 'all in', losing to a pair of queens with a 6 kicker.

Moving into the second day it was all change with the final table led by Hieu Tran with 470,800 chips. Eventually however, online qualifier Adrian Lambe triumphed, taking home top prize of £27,500. After taking out third place Jon "Skallie" Kalmar (finishing with £16,500) with a pair of 6's over Jon's pair of 5's, he had over 90% of the chips in front of him, and did a deal with second place Nicky Evans, who took away £17, 844.

The tournament format is believed to be the first of its kind in the UK. Players who did not qualify from a land-based tournament at a participating casino automatically received a 'second chance' to make it to the finals in an online qualifier, while direct buy-ins were also available. CircusCasino.com is looking to make the tournament an annual event.

The Top Ten Finishers

1st place - Adrian Lambe - £27,500 (double deal)
2nd place - Nicky Evans, £17,844 (double deal)
3rd place - Jon "Skallie" Kalmar £16,500 (deal)
4th place - Hieu Tran £8,137
5th place - Ken Clark, £5,968
6th place - David Yang, £4,882
7th place - Sally Smerdon, £4,340
8th place - Stuart Rutter, £4,340
9th place - Cheryl Wood, £3,255
10th place - James Eggar, £2,712

Winners Profiles

1st place

Adrian Lambe - £27,500 (double deal)

Adrian has been playing poker for three years and this was his first major tournament, and only the second he has entered. He qualified online at www.CircusPoker.co.uk and says that being a bridge player really helped him to get a read on people and to evaluate situations.

2nd Place

Nicky Evans £17, 844 (double deal)

Nicky bought in to the tournament directly in Brighton and plays a lot of poker. He mainly plays online and this was his biggest win so far. He is only 21 years old and judging by some of his play is 'one to watch' in the future.

3rd Place

Jon "Skallie" Kalmar £16,500 (deal)

Jon played a strong game, and kept many of his opponents guessing as to what he was about to do while also keeping them amused with stories from his poker experiences around the world. He was eliminated from the game after his pair of 5s ran into a pair of 6s and the flop didn't help him. "