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Macau Sporting Club’s long-running annual poker tournament in Cork beats stiff competition to lift Irish Sports Betting Award for Irish Classic Poker Festival
The Macau Sporting Club, Cork, has lifted the Best Poker Tournament award the Irish Sports Betting Awards for its annual Irish Classic Poker Festival beating out stiff competition from the Boylepoker International Poker Open, Ladbrokes Irish Poker Festival, and Fitzwilliam Card Club End of Month game.

The awards, hosted at the Burlington hotel, Dublin on Thursday June 18, honoured achievements in the Irish gambling industry and the Irish Poker Classic, now in its seventh year won the top tournament award for last year’s renewal of this popular event which has consistently attracted some of Europe’s top players over much of the last decade.

Last year Rob Taylor topped a record field of 169 which included Annette Obrestad, Michael Greco, Ian Woodley, Roy Brindley, Marty Smyth, Jeff Duval, Sylvester Geoghegan, and Mick McCloskey, collecting €46,000 and the title of Irish Poker Classic champion. This year over 200 players are expected to attend what has become one of the best poker festivals in Europe.

Ken Corkery, poker room manager at the Macau Sporting Club said, “I was surprised but absolutely delighted when they read our name out. The competition was strong and a couple of the events have big brands behind them but we’ve been plugging away down in Cork for seven years now and I suppose we’ve gotten a few things right along the way.

“I’d like to thank all the staff at the Macau, without whom we couldn’t have achieved the high standard players’ have come to expect, my family for all the support they give me and the club, and all the players who pass through our doors for helping us achieve the unique atmosphere at the club.”

The centerpiece of the 2009 Irish Classic Poker Festival, taking place from Aug. 10 to 16, is the €100,000 guaranteed €1,000 + €100 buy-in no limit hold’em main event taking place over three days from Thursday Aug. 13. The main event has a 15,000 chip starting stack with 75 minute blinds.

John Duthie, the EPT founder, would have been hoping to make it a 3rd bracelet for the British contingent in Vegas this year but has fallen at the last hurdle by losing over 3 matches to law student Leo Walpart in the Heads Up World Championship a.k.a Event #29.
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