It only feels like yesterday that I was banging on about how excited I was for THE GOLIATH 2019!
Suffering hugelyfrom the post-Goliath blues, I thought it best to review my‘FIVE tips to help you conquer the Goliath 2019‘ and see just how helpful they were!
So let's get to it!
- Planet Hollywood's draft schedule for its annual summer Goliath series includes 'The 2020' event with a guaranteed prize pool worth at least $202,020, and a $1,700 main event with a $1.
- As mentioned earlier, one of those opponents you might face at the 2019 Goliath is former World Heavyweight Champion boxer David Haye. Along with my fellow pros Joe Beevers and Katie Swift, we've spent the last 10 months or so giving David training sessions as he goes from having never played poker or even knowing the rules of the game to.
David Haye plays with the pros as he bids for Goliath success. June 25, 2019 Latest Poker News. David Haye Learns Harsh Lessons in LA as Goliath Training Intensifies. By Daniel Smyth.
Well, well, well… I told you it was going to be busy!
The GOLIATH broke all records this year with a staggering 9,300 entries, CRUSHING last year's total.
Players who planned on attending the event, heeded all warnings by pre-registering at their local Grosvenor Casino or online through the Grosvenor Poker Lobby in their droves – And it paid dividends.
Many who gambled on travelling down and registering on the day were met with a long wait on the alternate list.
This year, more than ever, players were wise to the madness that is the GOLIATH. This couldn't have been more evident than by the record number of players who competed in days 1C and 1D (traditionally the quieter days), eager to avoid the apocalyptic, end of days prophecies they'd heard about…
That's right – FRIDAY.
We'd all heard about… FRIDAY…
'Friday's a NIGHTMARE!'
'You're playing FRIDAY?!?! Good luck..!'
But maybe that was just scare-mongering by some Grosvenor-esque prophet of doom trying to convince us to panic-register early ‘before all the tickets were gone.'
It wasn't…
1,720 total entries on Day 1G… Wow!
This year's Goliath has proved just how important it's going to be to pre-reg for GOLIATH 2020. It's highly likely that they'll open the pre-registration holding tanks before the year is up, so don't delay!
The Ricoh Arena was a busy place to be during the GOLIATH FESTIVAL! Seven Day 1's meant a lot of bodies navigating their way through the casino floor and into the tournament room.
Fortunately for all of these keen players, there was ample parking available at the Ricoh this year. The previous year, Coventry City's first match of the season coincided with Day 2 of the Goliath, so you can imagine the parking situation!
Another bonus of arriving early was the promise of Flip ‘n' Go games being held at 10am each morning. While these did go ahead, I do feel that they could have made more of them by offering players the chance to ‘flip' into events other than the Goliath Main Event, such as the ‘Super High Roller.'
Well we can't all be right about everything all the time can we?
And I'm glad I wasn't!
I certainly wasn't keen on seeing scenes like this from last year again…
With Grosvenor Casino recently introducing an open door policy, this could only mean one thing:
NO WRISTBANDS!
And boy were we thankful! Grosvenor Poker's pro-arm hair campaign meant that we walked straight through reception each day, down the escalators and into the GOLIATH JUNGLE without any trouble whatsoever.
It was a big improvement on last year and also allowed those who had parked in a car park further round the Ricoh Arena to enter through the back smoking entrance, rather than having to walk all the way around (providing you arrived close to the start time).
So although I was wrong, I'm very glad that was the case!
A Speedy entrance + a warm welcome from the staff +
teen-wolf style arm-hair = A great GOLIATH 2019!
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tinder… Players needed no excuse to start snapping away and tagging themselves in photos this year! With two of boxing's biggest names in town, and a shot at a guaranteed £100,000 for first place in the Main Event, players wanted to make this a GOLIATH to remember!
As if the players didn't need enough encouragement, if they so wished, they could tag their posts with #goliath19 to see their names up in lights on the Twitter feed. Some player's families even sent good luck wishes from home straight to the screen in the tournament room!
Daily Flip Freerolls plus Facebook Giveaways a-plenty meant that there was more value to be had at this year's Goliath than just playing in the events themselves!
Plenty of Goliath, GUKPT and 25/25 tickets were given away throughout the Goliath week. Add in a fantastic DJ set put on by ‘The Tower' for the Joker's Wild event and Grosvenor left players with many great reasons to return next year!
Giveaways aside, the reception this guy received as he entered the room likely had Grosvenor wishing they'd saved a bit of money on David Haye and Audley Harrison and booked this legend of the game instead!
What a treat!
So that was myreview of my ‘FIVE tips for how to get the most out of your GOLIATH 2019' and I, for one, cannot wait to do it all over again next year!
Oh, and did I mention the poker was pretty good too?!
Table Of Contents
The 50th Annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) captured most of the headlines this summer, but they were far from the only game in town. One of the more popular tournament series every summer is the Phamous Poker Series GOLIATH at Planet Hollywood.
The series is basically a lower-stakes alternative to WSOP bracelet events. This year, the series ran from May 28-July 11 and hosted 67 official events plus a lot more dailies and nightlies side tournaments. All told, the series catered to nearly 33,000 entrants and awarded almost $8 million in payouts.
'This event was anything but stressful. Players and staff had a wonderful time and this will become a GOLIATH tradition.'
One of the more unique tournaments on the schedule was Event #46: 4100 All In or Fold NLH/Omaha Hi, a first for the poker world. Just 37 entrants braved the new variant, and while it wasn't a huge turnout, it was still a success as everyone had fun. That included Jason Simcisko, who emerged victorious.
Goliath Poker 2019 Blog Game
'I was thinking something that would be fun, twisted, and that required as little skill as possible,' tournament director Chris Gawlik said of the unique tournament. 'There are enough events going on around town that cause stress levels to go up. This event was anything but stressful. Players and staff had a wonderful time and this will become a GOLIATH tradition.'
Other notables to win events during the series were Xuan Liu (Event #66: $600 NLH Monster Stack for $20,000), Ruth Hall (Event #28: $300 Ladies for $7,687), and Mickey Doft (Event #36: $200 Razz for $6,837).
Jennifer Shahade Wins PokerNews Family of Podcasts Event
Another tournament low on entries – 33 to be exact for a $3,960 prize pool – but high on the fun was the PokerNews Family of Podcast $150 NLH. Among those to fire the tournament were PokerNews hosts Sarah Herring and [Removed:139], Evan Jarvis, and WSOP bracelet winner Rulah Divine, just to name a few.
In the end, PokerStars Mind Sports Ambassador Jennifer Shahade defeated Yori Epskamp in heads-up play to win a $1,782 top prize. Epskamp took home $1,188 for finishing runner-up, while Platt and Reyna Binkley finished in third and fourth for $594 and $396 respectively.
Farrell Claims Another Major Summer Title
The 2019 Phamous Poker Series GOLIATH culminated with a $1,700 buy-in Main Event, which surpassed its $1 million guarantee by attracting 744 entries. That generated a $1,136,088 prize pool paid out to the top 81 finishers.
Among those to cash the tournament were Martin Kozlov (12th - $17,223), William Givens (13th - $14,012), Vincent Li (27th - $6,909), Steve Karp (31st - $5,196), Matt Lapossie (42nd - $4,084), Viet Vo (65th - $3,074), Dylan Linde (70th - $3,074), Aaron Mermelstein (74th - $2,825), and Tim Vance (78th - $2,825).
The tournament ended with a deal that saw the top three players lock up more than $152K each. Ultimately, the UK's Ben Farrell was crowned champion and secured a $162,400 payout. The win came just two weeks after Farrell won the Zynga Poker WPT500 for $155,000.
Players who planned on attending the event, heeded all warnings by pre-registering at their local Grosvenor Casino or online through the Grosvenor Poker Lobby in their droves – And it paid dividends.
Many who gambled on travelling down and registering on the day were met with a long wait on the alternate list.
This year, more than ever, players were wise to the madness that is the GOLIATH. This couldn't have been more evident than by the record number of players who competed in days 1C and 1D (traditionally the quieter days), eager to avoid the apocalyptic, end of days prophecies they'd heard about…
That's right – FRIDAY.
We'd all heard about… FRIDAY…
'Friday's a NIGHTMARE!'
'You're playing FRIDAY?!?! Good luck..!'
But maybe that was just scare-mongering by some Grosvenor-esque prophet of doom trying to convince us to panic-register early ‘before all the tickets were gone.'
It wasn't…
1,720 total entries on Day 1G… Wow!
This year's Goliath has proved just how important it's going to be to pre-reg for GOLIATH 2020. It's highly likely that they'll open the pre-registration holding tanks before the year is up, so don't delay!
The Ricoh Arena was a busy place to be during the GOLIATH FESTIVAL! Seven Day 1's meant a lot of bodies navigating their way through the casino floor and into the tournament room.
Fortunately for all of these keen players, there was ample parking available at the Ricoh this year. The previous year, Coventry City's first match of the season coincided with Day 2 of the Goliath, so you can imagine the parking situation!
Another bonus of arriving early was the promise of Flip ‘n' Go games being held at 10am each morning. While these did go ahead, I do feel that they could have made more of them by offering players the chance to ‘flip' into events other than the Goliath Main Event, such as the ‘Super High Roller.'
Well we can't all be right about everything all the time can we?
And I'm glad I wasn't!
I certainly wasn't keen on seeing scenes like this from last year again…
With Grosvenor Casino recently introducing an open door policy, this could only mean one thing:
NO WRISTBANDS!
And boy were we thankful! Grosvenor Poker's pro-arm hair campaign meant that we walked straight through reception each day, down the escalators and into the GOLIATH JUNGLE without any trouble whatsoever.
It was a big improvement on last year and also allowed those who had parked in a car park further round the Ricoh Arena to enter through the back smoking entrance, rather than having to walk all the way around (providing you arrived close to the start time).
So although I was wrong, I'm very glad that was the case!
A Speedy entrance + a warm welcome from the staff +
teen-wolf style arm-hair = A great GOLIATH 2019!
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tinder… Players needed no excuse to start snapping away and tagging themselves in photos this year! With two of boxing's biggest names in town, and a shot at a guaranteed £100,000 for first place in the Main Event, players wanted to make this a GOLIATH to remember!
As if the players didn't need enough encouragement, if they so wished, they could tag their posts with #goliath19 to see their names up in lights on the Twitter feed. Some player's families even sent good luck wishes from home straight to the screen in the tournament room!
Daily Flip Freerolls plus Facebook Giveaways a-plenty meant that there was more value to be had at this year's Goliath than just playing in the events themselves!
Plenty of Goliath, GUKPT and 25/25 tickets were given away throughout the Goliath week. Add in a fantastic DJ set put on by ‘The Tower' for the Joker's Wild event and Grosvenor left players with many great reasons to return next year!
Giveaways aside, the reception this guy received as he entered the room likely had Grosvenor wishing they'd saved a bit of money on David Haye and Audley Harrison and booked this legend of the game instead!
What a treat!
So that was myreview of my ‘FIVE tips for how to get the most out of your GOLIATH 2019' and I, for one, cannot wait to do it all over again next year!
Oh, and did I mention the poker was pretty good too?!
Table Of Contents
The 50th Annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) captured most of the headlines this summer, but they were far from the only game in town. One of the more popular tournament series every summer is the Phamous Poker Series GOLIATH at Planet Hollywood.
The series is basically a lower-stakes alternative to WSOP bracelet events. This year, the series ran from May 28-July 11 and hosted 67 official events plus a lot more dailies and nightlies side tournaments. All told, the series catered to nearly 33,000 entrants and awarded almost $8 million in payouts.
'This event was anything but stressful. Players and staff had a wonderful time and this will become a GOLIATH tradition.'
One of the more unique tournaments on the schedule was Event #46: 4100 All In or Fold NLH/Omaha Hi, a first for the poker world. Just 37 entrants braved the new variant, and while it wasn't a huge turnout, it was still a success as everyone had fun. That included Jason Simcisko, who emerged victorious.
Goliath Poker 2019 Blog Game
'I was thinking something that would be fun, twisted, and that required as little skill as possible,' tournament director Chris Gawlik said of the unique tournament. 'There are enough events going on around town that cause stress levels to go up. This event was anything but stressful. Players and staff had a wonderful time and this will become a GOLIATH tradition.'
Other notables to win events during the series were Xuan Liu (Event #66: $600 NLH Monster Stack for $20,000), Ruth Hall (Event #28: $300 Ladies for $7,687), and Mickey Doft (Event #36: $200 Razz for $6,837).
Jennifer Shahade Wins PokerNews Family of Podcasts Event
Another tournament low on entries – 33 to be exact for a $3,960 prize pool – but high on the fun was the PokerNews Family of Podcast $150 NLH. Among those to fire the tournament were PokerNews hosts Sarah Herring and [Removed:139], Evan Jarvis, and WSOP bracelet winner Rulah Divine, just to name a few.
In the end, PokerStars Mind Sports Ambassador Jennifer Shahade defeated Yori Epskamp in heads-up play to win a $1,782 top prize. Epskamp took home $1,188 for finishing runner-up, while Platt and Reyna Binkley finished in third and fourth for $594 and $396 respectively.
Farrell Claims Another Major Summer Title
The 2019 Phamous Poker Series GOLIATH culminated with a $1,700 buy-in Main Event, which surpassed its $1 million guarantee by attracting 744 entries. That generated a $1,136,088 prize pool paid out to the top 81 finishers.
Among those to cash the tournament were Martin Kozlov (12th - $17,223), William Givens (13th - $14,012), Vincent Li (27th - $6,909), Steve Karp (31st - $5,196), Matt Lapossie (42nd - $4,084), Viet Vo (65th - $3,074), Dylan Linde (70th - $3,074), Aaron Mermelstein (74th - $2,825), and Tim Vance (78th - $2,825).
The tournament ended with a deal that saw the top three players lock up more than $152K each. Ultimately, the UK's Ben Farrell was crowned champion and secured a $162,400 payout. The win came just two weeks after Farrell won the Zynga Poker WPT500 for $155,000.
Phamous Poker Series Main Event Final Table Results
Place | Player | Country | Prize |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Ben Farrell | United Kingdom | $162,400* |
2 | Ignacio Molina | Andorra | $154,700* |
3 | Remi Castaignon | France | $152,881* |
4 | David Fhima | France | $76,869 |
5 | Viliyan Petleshkov | Bulgaria | $58,057 |
6 | Elliott Peterman | United Kingdom | $44,419 |
7 | Mike Liang | United States | $34,412 |
8 | Hlib Kovtunov | Ukraine | $26,992 |
9 | Mufit Brahim | Australia | $21,432 |
Here's a look at all those who won titles at Planet Hollywood this summer:
2019 Phamous Poker Series GOLIATH Results
Event | Tournament | Buy-In | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Prize |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Casino Employee | $150 | 77 | $9,394 | James Lemke | $2,907 |
2 | Turbo Dealers Choice | $150 | 29 | $3,480 | Brandon Pastor | $1,220 |
3 | The C Note | $100 | 1,723 | $129,225 | Charles Brister | $12,152 |
4 | Weekly Seniors | $300 | 81 | $20,817 | Robert Mccormack | $8,002 |
5 | 50K In a Day | $260 | 638 | $141,636 | Everton Taylor | $21,266 |
6 | Short Deck | $200 | 80 | $13,200 | Mohammad Golestani/Cole Skye | $3,250* |
7 | 50K In a Day | $260 | 710 | $157,620 | David Feinstein/Howard Cornbleth/Jerod Smith/Jay Rogers | $19,303* |
8 | Tag Team | $200 | 234 | $19,539 | Faith Klimczak/Matthew Morin & John Connolly/Paul Moosavi | $4,632* |
9 | Quarter Milly | $250 | 3,167 | $655,569 | Klajdi Lika | $60,884 |
10 | Quarter Milly | $250 | 2,494 | $516,258 | Paul Schuman | $37,179 |
11 | Weekly Seniors | $300 | 154 | $39,578 | Antony Ringe | $10,614 |
12 | 50K In a Day | $260 | 302 | $67,044 | Justin Brezinski/Ronny Wheat/John Thai/Armando Del Pozo/Chengdong Xing/Kostas Kalathakis/Brian Jenson | $6,660* |
13 | NL 2-7 Single Draw Lowball | $200 | 63 | $10,395 | Steven Wardell | $3,639 |
14 | 50K In a Day | $260 | 297 | $65,934 | William Wong | $14,884 |
15 | Eight Game Mix | $200 | 99 | $16,335 | Simon Pindisle | $4,406 |
16 | 50K In a Day | $260 | 360 | $79,920 | Kathleen Vranek | $12,172 |
17 | Tag Team | $200 | 152 | $12,692 | Callum Hawker/Daniel Lowe | $4,266 |
18 | Low Roller | $140 | 609 | $63,945 | Malik Lewis | $9,975 |
19 | Bigger Than Yesterday Low Roller | $160 | 745 | $93,125 | David Karnafel | $13,473 |
20 | 200K GTD | $300 | 1,161 | $296,055 | Sang Leung | $43,815 |
21 | Seniors | $600 | 505 | $263,610 | Mark Bramley | $43,503 |
22 | Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw | $200 | 78 | $12,870 | Hrair Danielyan | $3,413 |
23 | 50K In a Day | $260 | 285 | $63,270 | William Latta/Frank Kelly/Oscar Montalvo | $9,000* |
24 | PLO | $500 | 153 | $67,626 | James Lenaghan | $18,849 |
25 | 50K In a Day | $260 | 291 | $64,602 | Sayid Elharrak | $8,296 |
26 | Tag Team | $200 | 102 | $8,517 | Melissa Flavin/Ray Flavin | $3,750 |
27 | Ultimate Goliath Stack | $600 | 664 | $346,608 | Michael Lech/Rambo Halpern | $36,441* |
28 | Ladies | $300 | 221 | $56,797 | Ruth Hall | $7,687 |
29 | 200K GTD | $300 | 1,186 | $302,430 | Shaun Zammit | $35,675 |
30 | PLO | $1,100 | 135 | $135,270 | Shaome Yang | $37,801 |
31 | Mixed Omaha/8 7-Stud/8 | $200 | 174 | $28,710 | Andrew Shanahan | $4,350 |
32 | Weekly Seniors | $300 | 137 | $35,209 | Antony Ringe | $9,789 |
33 | Ultimate Goliath Stack | $400 | 448 | $155,456 | Adriann Beukers | $31,539 |
34 | Bounty Only | N/A | - | No Prize Pool | - | - |
35 | 50K In a Day | $260 | 355 | $78,810 | William Hall/Jesse Boettcher/Oscar Montalvo/Sean Delaney | $10,800* |
36 | Razz | $200 | 148 | $24,420 | Mickey Doft | $6,837 |
37 | 50K In a Day | $260 | 278 | $61,716 | Chris Dasilva/Tom Wojciechowski | $12,863* |
38 | Tag Team Switch | $200 | 212 | $17,702 | Bernadett Burgess/Shelly Griffith & Todd Skinner/Barbara Skinner | $2,600* |
39 | Big Bill Returns | $100 | 266 | $20,482 | Andrew Hixson/Peter Kelly | $3,960 |
40 | PLO/8 | $600 | 174 | $90,828 | Stephanie Chung | $24,439 |
41 | DST with Bounties | $130 | 171 | $17,442 | Douglas Counze | $1,260 |
42 | Survivor | $1,100 | 42 | $42,000 | Jesse Jones/Chris Strom/Chris Fulton/Nan Li/Michael Lydon | $10,000 |
43 | TST | $130 | 165 | $16,830 | Christiane Chame | $3,266 |
44 | All In or Fold | $100 | 58 | $4,350 | Parker Drew/Philippe Sigrist | $1,322* |
45 | NLH Big Bounty | $1,100 w/ $500 bounty | 52 | $52,000 | Tobias Schwecht | $9,750 |
46 | All In or Fold NLH/Omaha Hi | $100 | 37 | $2,775 | Jason Simcisko | $565 |
47 | Weekly Seniors NLH | $300 | 121 | $31,097 | Alan Wentz | $8,647 |
48 | $50K In a Day | $260 | 560 | $124,320 | Eric Householder | $15,490 |
50 | Pot-Limit Omaha 8 of Better | $1,100 | 71 | $71,142 | Jan Kotrla | $14,876 |
51 | NLH Bounty ($100 bounties) | $300 | 138 | $35,466 | Mikael Johansson | $3,545 |
52 | $50K in a Day | $260 | 440 | $97,680 | Romildo Gomez | $11,740 |
53 | Tag Team Switch | $200 | 214 | $17,869 | David Oppenheim & Andrew Smith | $2,475 |
54 | NLH Survivor | $200 | 290 | $49,880 | 29 winners | $1,700 each |
55 | NLH Turbo Survivor | $100 | 176 | $13,552 | 8 winners | $1,650 each |
57 | $50K In a Day | $260 | 334 | $74,148 | Philip McCall & Michael Wexler | $9,500 |
58 | Bounty Fireworks | $240 | 134 | $27,068 | Stuart Jordan | $3,759 |
59 | Weekly Seniors | $300 | 94 | $24,158 | Paul Rigg | $7,504 |
60 | $NLH Survivor | $1,100 | 92 | $92,184 | 11 winners | $9,625 each |
61 | Seniors NLH | $300 | 129 | $33,153 | Luis Campelo | $8,408 |
62 | NLH $200K GTD | $300 | 737 | $200,000 | Laura Moreno Sarmiento | $31,098 |
63 | PLO Bounty | $300 | 142 | $36,494 | Paresh Doshi | $6,247 |
64 | PLO Bounty | $600 | 79 | $41,238 | Greg Koutelidakis | $9,513 |
65 | NLH $75K GTD | $300 | 36 | $10,800 | Patrick Brian | $16,639 |
66 | NLH Monster Stack $100K GTD | $600 | 156 | $100,000 | Xuan Liu | $20,000 |
67 | PLO 6-Handed $50K GTD | $600 | 117 | $61,074 | Sean Dunwoodie | $16,839 |
Images courtesy of Planet Hollywood.
Goliath Poker 2019 Blog Free
Tags
Tournament ResultsPoker TournamentsPoker eventsLas Vegas PokerBen FarrellPokerNews PodcastRelated Players
Ben Farrell