Irish Poker Open

The Paddy Power Irish Poker Open is the longest running No Limit Texas hold 'em poker tournament in Europe and second longest in the world after the World Series of Poker.

First organized in 1981 by Terry Rogers, a well known Irish bookmaker, the tournament is Europe's largest and a fixture on the international poker calendar. It is traditionally held over Easter weekend each year.

Since Terry Rogers death in 1999 the tournament, originally held in Dublin’s Eccentric Club, has been hosted by tournament director and poker player Liam Flood and the Merrion Casino.

Paddypowerpoker.com began sponsorship of the event in 2005 and has overseen the huge growth in the tournament in the last three years. By 2006 the event, with 339 players, had outgrown the Merrion Casino and was held in Jury's Ballsbridge Hotel in Dublin. In 2007 the venue was changed to the Burlington Hotel, Dublin to accommodate an even bigger field, while in 2008 the Irish Open venue was Citywest Hotel, Dublin.

The 2007 Irish Open Main Event was won by Belfast man, Marty Smyth who captured the title and the €650,000 first prize following a two hour heads up battle against World Poker Tour and European Poker Tour winner Roland De Wolfe.

The 2008 Main Event was won by English poker pro Neil Channing, who won €801,400 after defeating local favourite Donal Norton of Tipperary heads up. Channing added £50,000 to his winnings by putting a £500 bet on himself at 100/1 with Paddy Power at the mid-point of the four day tournament.

Origins

Terry Rogers once declared “I have been the greatest single factor in the worldwide spread of competitive poker.” [http://www.cardplayer.com/author/article/europe/210/6414 Cardplayer Europe: How the Irish Changed the Face of Poker] ]

One of his most enduring legacies was founding the Irish Open. In the late 1970's Terry started to hold poker tournaments for charity under the auspices of the Eccentric Club. According to Liam Flood, a fellow bookmaker and friend of Terry's the games would get "anywhere between 100 and 300 players playing five-card draw for £100 to £200 per game. That was a lot of people for that kind of money at the time. Every year Terry would go to America on business. In May 1979 he had a few days off and went to Las Vegas. He saw this high stakes poker game going on and met Benny Binion and the rest is history.”

Always one to spot an opportunity Rogers cemented his relationship with Binion and his band of high-rolling players by taking bets from them on the outcome of the games, offering the type of long odds the Americans had never seen before.

“Guys like Benny Binion, Doyle Brunson and Chip Reese really held Terry in high esteem,” states World Series of Poker bracelet winner and former Irish Olympic swimmer Donnacha O'Dea. “He’d give them great odds, better than any American bookie would give, but he still made sure he had a 20% edge.”

After the 1979 World Series Terry returned to Ireland enthusing about what he’d seen. Stud and draw were the poker variants of choice in Ireland but the new variation he’d seen in Vegas, no-limit hold’em, beat them all for excitement and skill.

In the following years he returned to Vegas for the World Series with Liam Flood but his bookmaking activities brought the attention of the Las Vegas Police Department and on one occasion Terry and Liam ended up being arrested and imprisoned. The irony of being jailed for gambling in Vegas was not lost on them according to Flood.

Development

The Irish Open was organized under the auspices of the charity fundraising organization started by Terry called the Eccentric Club. It attracted mainly local players but Rogers already had is eye on expanding the event.

Notable English players who came over for the game included Derek Webb, Nick Cook, Derek Baxter.

Donnacha O'Dea remembers the stunts Rogers pulled to generate interest in the Irish Open. “He’d publicise betting on the tournament in the Racing Post along with an event such as the Super Bowl so he could get around the law on advertising such events. He’d install an outsider such as ‘Suitcase’ Johnny as favourite. Poker players would then see these odds and think to themselves, ‘Well I’m much better than this guy who’s favourite’ and immediately want to take part in the tournament.”

The Irish Open fell into abayance in the early 1990s as Terry concentrated on nursing his mother through ill-health. It was resurrected again in the mid 1990's.

Relationship with the World Series of Poker

Terry’s annual trips to Las Vegas and the success of the first Irish Open led to the US players he had befriended at the World Series of Poker repaying their debt of gratitude for his generous bookmaking services by making a rare excursion from their home soil to play in Ireland in 1982 and 1983.

Donnacha and Liam remember the American invasions with glee. “One year Terry got them a yellow Rolls Royce for when they arrived at the airport. Another year he arrived with a white horse which Amarillo Slim, who was a real horseman, rode out of the airport.

“Those years he had Tom McEvoy, Jack Keller, Stu Ungar, Doyle Brunson, Chip Reese, and Perry Green from Alaska. It was funny to see them try to pay for goods in Killiney village with chips from Terry’s poker tournament, something they were used to doing in Vegas.”

Irish Open 2007

The Irish Poker Open 2007 Main Event had a guaranteed prize pool of €2 million – twice the €1 million guarantee of 2006 but with a then-European record 708 players the prizepool swelled to more than €2.3 million.

The final table of six was made up of four Irishmen, an Englishman and a Canadian. The winner, Marty Smyth took home the €650,000 first prize after a two hour heads up battle against World Poker Tour and European Poker Tour winner Roland De Wolfe. Successful online player Sorel 'Imper1um' Mizzi from Toronto finished third ahead of Irishmen Danny McHugh (4th), Brian O'Keeffe (5th) and Nicky Power (6th).

Irish Open 2008

The Irish Poker Open 2008 was held at Citywest Hotel, Dublin and a field of 667 took part in the main event. Notable players included poker legend Doyle Brunson, Todd Brunson, Sorel Mizzi, Roland De Wolfe, Padraig Parkinson, World Series of Poker bracelet-winner Ciaran O'Leary, Dario Minieri and dozens of other poker professionals. Paddypowerpoker.com added €200,000 to the prize pool, which took it past the €3 million mark.

English poker pro Neil Channing won €801,400 and the Irish Open title after defeating local favourite Donal Norton of Tipperary heads up. Norton took home €420,000 for his 2nd place finish. Thomas Dunwoodie finished in 3rd place ahead of Tim Blake (4th), Kai Danilo Paulsen (5th) and Edwin Tournier (6th).

Past winners

*2008 Neil Channing
*2007 Marty Smyth
*2006 Vincent Melinn
*2005 John Falconer
*2004 Ivan Donaghy
*2003 Joe Beevers
*2002 Nick Bernie
*2001 Jenny Hegarty
*2000 Alan Betson
*1999 Liam Barker
*1998 Mickey Finn
*1996 Liam Flood
*1994 Mickey Finn
*1993 Christie Smith
*1991 Colette Doherty
*1989 Noel Furlong
*1988 Jimmy Langan
*1987 Noel Furlong
*1986 Bryan McCarthy
*1985 Irene Tier
*1984 Tony Byrne
*1983 Jimmy Langan
*1982 Frank Conway
*1981 Sean Kelly
*1980 Colette Doherty

Notes

External links

* [http://www.irishpokeropen.com/ Official site]
* [http://www.paddypowerpoker.com/ Paddy Power Poker - Irish Open sponsor]