(Click Here for the Latest Online Poker News Stories)

Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc.

HEADLINE:
World Poker Tour Record Prize of $2.4 Million U.S. Won by Allan Goehring at Commerce Casino in L.A.

Body:
World Poker Tour Record Prize of $2.4 Million U.S. won by Allan Goehring at the Commerce Casino.This is by far the biggest first place prize to date for any regular event on the World Poker Tour. A record field of 692 players,each posting an entry fee of $10,000 U.S. created a prize pool of almost $7 Million U.S. Dollars. Proof positive that poker is on a very big runaway upswing, with prize money growing feverishly faster on the World Poker Tour than it ever did on the P.G.A. golf tour or ANY other tour for that matter. This comes as good news to the World Poker Tour whose viewing audiences have grown in noticeable leaps and bounds,commensurate to the increased prize pools.

Allan Goehring bested a pro field which included Phil Helmuth, T.J. Cloutier, Jennifer Harman, Scotty Nguyen, Erick Lindren, Amir Vahedi, Chip Reese, Cindy Violette, Gavin Smith, Barry Greenstein, Antonio Esfandiari, J.C. Tran, Jim Bechtel, Dan Harrington, Huck Seed, Erik Siedel, Gus Hanson, Phil Ivey, Doyle Brunson, Unibomber Phil Laak, and World #1 ranked player Mike (the grinder) Mizrachi.

Noteable players on hand included Lakers' owner Jerry Buss, movie stars Gabe Kaplan and James Woods, and Nashville recording artist Joe-Joe Bentry.

Joe-Joe Bentry best known for his forever controversial Vatican music video entitled "Trouble From Rome" viewed at www.BentryMusic.com was ringside at the money presentation and subsequent sponsors' beer toast, when "Courtney", the new poker pin-up girl (replacing Shana Hiatt) candidly announced, "This Bud's For You" and handed over her beer to Joe-Joe Bentry, who wasted no time hoisting it up and approving the taste of BUDWEISER alongside anchor man Vince Van Patten.

All in all, a fun tournament for Allan Goehring who chaulks up his second win on the World Poker Tour. The next tour stop is February 27th at Bay 101 in San Jose, then the World Poker Challenge at the Reno Hilton on March 27th, culminating with the WPT CHAMPIONSHIP at the Bellagio in Las Vegas on April 18th, wrapping up the season. The WPT championship is expected to draw over 600 contestants who will each anti up $25,000 U.S. to take a shot at the anticipated $5 Millon U.S. winners' cheque and the tour title.

Poker Players can now find any tournament, anytime, anywhere, by consulting the "Round the Clock" tournament center posted exclusively at www.PokerConnection.net

Poker Connection Crew

(Click Here for the Latest Online Poker News Stories)