Breaking News

Study reveals health of Travellers 02/09/10
Nurses pulls out of HSE talks 02/09/10
Cavan man named as one of NYC's ‘worst landlords' 02/09/10
Stricter rules for learner drivers 02/09/10
Funeral today of murdered schoolgirl 02/09/10
Criminal Traynor arrested near Amsterdam 02/09/10

Former Ireland International Cascarino Scores at Bolton

Ex Republic of Ireland footballer Tony Cascarino has won the seventh leg of the Bluesqpoker.com Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT). - 09/09/08

He won the leg at the Grosvenor Casino in Bolton on Sunday 7th September, scooping a first prize of £52,850.

He landed the win after four hard fought days of high stakes poker action, defeating local poker legend Ali Mallu in an exciting conclusion to the blue riband event.

Cascarino trailed Mallu going into the final head to head stage of the game, but just when they thought it was all over, the ex-striker equalized to take the match into extra time.

Minutes later he found the back of the net again in another big hand of Texas Hold'em poker and after a further few minutes of play he sealed the victory.

In the post match interview Cascarino compared the elation he felt from winning the tournament with that of scoring a hat-trick. He went on to say

“I had a great sports career, but even this I think has overtaken some of things I have done in football. I just enjoyed it. This has made a big difference for me in the poker world.”

Cascarino, 46, first took up poker six years ago and has been a regular on the UK poker circuit for the past two years.

He has won invitational events before in the Caribbean, but this is his first major tournament victory on home soil. His next target will be the European Poker Tour event that takes place in Barcelona later this week.

The GUKPT is the biggest live poker tour in the UK, consisting of nine major poker tournaments that cost £1,000 to enter, plus a Grand Final where the stakes are raised to £3,000 per player. It takes place at selected Grosvenor and G casinos throughout the UK and is currently in it's second full year.

The tour has been televised on Channel 4 and in 2007 one of the events was won by actor Michael Greco. The next event on the tour, which is sponsored by online bookmaker and poker site Blue Square, takes place between 16th-19th of October in Kent at the G Casino in the coastal town of Thanet.