The EPT came to the traditional world of the Victoria Casino in the heart of London, and swept away the usual stuffiness of poker at this staid English poker venue. It felt like a friendly tournament, a tournament where even the stars had a human face. Joe Hachem and Vanessa Rousso watched the final table, the WSOP champion supporting his friend, runner-up Emad Tahtou, while Vanessa sweated every move that boyfriend, Chad Brown made. Vicky’s win here feels like some old English fairy tale with a happy ending – with our ‘English Rose’ princess taking the top prize. Of course I know it’s poker, and so there’s nothing fairy tale about it all, not really; but humour me a little with this happy whimsy please…
I’m blogging on ‘home turf’ in London today, so I know how what Vicky’s win will mean in London poker circles. Vicky is known by almost everyone who plays poker in the UK, and I suspect she’d call the Vic her poker home. Many UK poker players will smile when they hear the news that she won.
My thoughts of the final table?
— Three players out before I’d even memorised their names.
— A table dominated by the ‘beautiful people’ with celeb’s supporting from the sidelines.
— Emad Tahtou great big stack play, he’ll be a dissapointed runner-up.
— The amazing hand where Jan Sjavik called with pocket threes, the joy when the call was so right, the pain when the hand would still lose.
But most of all I’ll be thinking excitedly – the Vic’s Vicky won! Vicky Coren somehow seemed to calmly smile her way to success at this EPT final table, and I’m smiling that she did.
You can talk to me about ‘First woman EPT winner,’ or, ‘Cheques for £500,000’ but the thing that I’ll be thinking is that this EPT win is a Good Thing for EPT poker, it’s a popular win for poker players in the UK, for players in my home town, for players in the Vic… As Vicky remarked, with her ever-charming smile, “They’ve got me on the list for a game already!”
Vicky Coren the winner of the London EPT
