Stani Scoops First Leg of EPT Season 7 and Prevents Arnaud Mattern from Achieving Double EPT Status.

The PokerStars European Poker Tour Tallinn was the first stop of season 7, this is the first time an EPT event has been held in the Baltic States. Tallin is the capital of Estonia with a population of 410,000.

A field of 420 players ensured it broke the existing record for the biggest poker event ever to be held in Estonia., and Team Pokerstars Pro Luca Pagano set a record of his own with 15 EPT cashes including his finish in this €4,250 buy-in main event for $10,240.

Last but not least was something many poker fans were holding their breath over would Team PokerStars Pro member Arnaud Mattern become the first ever double EPT champion?

Unfortunately the answer soon became apparent when Norwegian Kevin “KevBoyStar” Stani took over the chip lead from the Frenchman at the final table, and never looked back. The 27-year-old PokerStars qualifier received €400,000 for first place, and a seat to the EPT Grand Final next year. Mattern had to settle for third place and €160,000.

Here are the final results and payouts:

• First Kevin Stani (Norway) €400,000
• Second Konstantin Bilyauer (Russia) €250,000
• Third Arnaud Mattern (France) €160,000
• Fourth Dmitry Vitkind (Russia) €120,000
• Fifth Mikko Jaatinen (Finland) €80,000
• Sixth Steven van Zadelhoff (Netherlands) €63,000
• Seventh Nicolo Calia (Italy) €47,000
• Eighth Bassam Elnajjar (Lebanon) €32,000

For your chance of qualifying to a future EPT Event why not download the Free Poker Software at Pokerstars.com.

We are into the 2nd week of August, the WSOP is on hold until the November Nine return on 6th November to Las Vegas to battle it out for the $8,944,138 first prize and the title of WSOP Main Event Champion.

In the online world we have the FTOPS XVII taking place at Full Tilt Poker running through to the FTOPS Main Event on Sunday August 15th. Followed by the WCOOP with $50 million guaranteed at Pokerstars from 5th to 26th September.

The Live Poker Circuit switches its attention to London with the London Poker Festival starting 30th August with the WPT London sponsored by Partypoker.

Following closely on the heals of the biggest annual live poker event at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) 2010 in Las Vegas. Pokerstars have released details of the upcoming World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) 2010 with a guaranteed prize pool of $50 million.

The WCOOP 2010 will be held exclusively at Pokerstars.com and will be the biggest online poker tournament ever.

The action will begin on September 5 and will feature a total of 62 events over 23 days featuring all game varients from Texas Holdem, Pot Limit Omaha, Razz, 8-Game, Stud etc...

All winners will receive a WCOOP gold bracklet in addition to the huge first prize money. Event #1 will be a $215 6-Max No Limit Holdem tournament. Following on from the success of the newly introduced Knockout Sit and Gos, the WCOOP will also feature 4 Knockout events which means if you are unfortuate and don't make the money you can earn cash for each player you knockout.

The WCOOP will culminate with a $10,000 8-Game High Roller event with $1,000,000 guaranteed and a $5,000 NL Holdem Main Event with $10,000,000 guaranteed.

WCOOP 2009 Highlights

Last year the WCOOP was played by 43,973 players from 140 countries, the Main Event was won by Yevgeniy 'Jovial Gent' Timoshenko who took home $1.7 million.

Don't worry if you bankroll doesn't support entering all of the tournaments in the WCOOP you can qualify via satellites now at Pokerstars

For a full satellite schedule and updates on this year’s World Championship of Online Poker go to http://www.wcoop.com

The world’s largest online poker operator PokerStars has reiterated its position on the legality of its operations in the United States, stating that nothing in the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act which was approved by the House Financial Services Committee this week precludes it from operating in a regulated US Poker marketplace.

Pokerstars welcomed the passage of Republican Barney Frank's legislation through Committee, describing it as the most significant US legislative accomplishment in the history of the internet gaming industry.

Among the amendments to the legislation adopted on Wednesday is a clause that prohibits any entity which knowingly participated in illegal internet gambling after the passing of the UIGEA in 2006 from qualifying for a licence. As we all know Full Tilt Poker and Pokerstars have been operating almost exclusively in the US since all of the other big operating including PartyPoker, Titan Poker and all sites on the iPoker Network as well as Bwin Poker and all Ongame Network Operators.

The company said that it supports the clause despite the fact that it appears redundant in light of the wording of the UIGEA, which states in clear terms that it shall not be construed as “altering, limiting or extending any Federal or State law or Tribal-State compact prohibiting, permitting, or regulating gambling within the United States”.

"As reflected in legal opinions provided to PokerStars, its activities in the US are and at all times have been lawful," the company said in a statement. Therefore the amendment will not "adversely affect the availability of a license for a respected operator such as PokerStars," it said.

"PokerStars maintains its strong support for H.R. 2267 and encourages the full House and ultimately the Senate to move quickly to secure passage during the current Congressional term," said Paul Telford, PokerStars’ general counsel. "PokerStars, a pioneer in operating online poker under stringent regulatory frameworks, looks forward to working with incumbent and new operators in promoting a safe and healthy online poker industry in the United States, as it currently does under similar licensing models in Italy and France."

European operators who exited the US market following the UIGEA in 2006, and attribute the decline in their poker businesses to US-facing operators.

For the full story visit LTDPoker.com - PokerStars reiterates legality of operations

It’s the ride of choice for rock gods, sports stars and fashion royalty, and now you can own one too. Play the PokerStars Lamborghini Freeroll and you can win your very own $200,000 supercar. Tournaments are running now and there’s more than $1,000,000 in cash up for grabs along the way. The Lamborghini Gallardo is one of the most famous and iconic cars in the world - win yours now!

There are 24 freeroll qualifiers running daily, plus $1.10 and $11 cash satellites. Qualify for a Weekly Final and you’re one step away from the Grand Final, where the Gallardo goes to the winner. But that’s not all. Each Weekly Final has a $100,000 prize pool, and the Grand Final has an incredible $250,000 in cash to be won.

This is one of the biggest prizes PokerStars has awarded, and the tournaments are perfect for new and existing players alike. If you haven’t played at the world’s largest poker site yet, now is a great time to get started. It’s easy to download PokerStars free poker software and open an account.

How to Play the Lamborghini Freeroll

Freeroll and cash qualifiers are running now. You can find all of the tournaments in the PokerStars lobby by clicking the ‘Tourney’ and ‘All’ tabs, or by typing ‘Lamborghini’ into the Tourney Filter.