Vinny Price wins GUKPT Walsall Summer Series, Kabbaj Bracelet Ceremony Controversy + more

Vinny Price wins GUKPT Walsall Summer Series
The final leg on the GUKPT Summer Series took place in Walsall last weekend and was the most well attended of the three legs (Because it was the first one not to clash with a major UK festival), with 121 players in total. 21 year old Vinny Price from Birmingham took the title in what was his first GUKPT event, when he defeated Toby Lewis heads up for the title, £19,250 and seat in the prestigious Champion of Champions event at the end of the year.

The final also contained legendary grinder Mickey Wernick, American Jeff Buffenbarger and recent GUKPT Champion Tony Phillips who is climbing the GUKPT Player of the Year Rankings after also winning a side event last weekend. Hats off also have to go to BlackBelt Poker Blue Belt Toby Lewis, who came runner up and is in a real run of form, having made the final of the SPUKT Main Event, the DTD Deepstack and having won side events at the DTD Grandslam and Ladbrokes Easter Rendezvous this year.

The tour now takes a short break while the WSOP main event gets underway but continues with an online festival, before departing for the Luton leg in the first week of August.

1st Vinny Price £19,520
2nd Toby Lewis £12,700
3rd Simon Wickenden £8,770
4th Abed Eid £5,440
5th Gordon Gainsford £3,930
6th Tony Phillips £3,020
7th Richard Connolly £2,420
8th Jeff Buffenbarger £1,820
9th Mickey Wernick £1,200

Picture and chip counts courtesy of GUKPT

Texas Dolly confirmed for English Poker Open
If it wasn't enough of a surreal sight that Phil Hellmuth will be wandering around the tables at Dusk Till Dawn in September, it has been confirmed that none other than Doyle Brunson will be doing the same. Texas Dolly has been confirmed for the $5,300 $1 Million Guaranteed English Poker Open at DTD between the 15th and 17th of September. There are only 119 seats left in the cap of 270 and more big names are expected to confirm very soon.

Kabbaj Bracelet Ceremony Controversy
So far the 2009 WSOP could rightly be remembered as the 'Year of the Brits' (or possibly the 'Year of the Multiple Bracelet winners') after scooping three straps this year so far. But the most recent victory from John Kabbaj has been marred for some after a joke gone wrong during the bracelet ceremony.

After a few British players suggested it would go down well, Kabaj's bracelet ceremony had the Sex Pistols Version of 'God Save the Queen' played instead of the traditional National Anthem. He was not expecting this nor did it go down well, and his friend Jon Shoreham, who put in a formal complaint to Jeffrey Pollack, who rightly pointed out that this would never have happened with the American anthem.

Pollock has since apologised to Kabbaj and a new ceremony with the normal National Anthem took place, although Kabbaj wasn't there. The good news for Kabbaj is he is currently 9th in chips with 19 players remaining in the $50,000 HORSE Championship so he has a good shot at getting another ceremony to make up for it.

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