We Have a Winner!

Victor den Houting is The Festival in Malta Main Event Champion! He defeated Canadian Haven Taylor after an hour long heads-up battle to take the title and the €55,000 first prize.

059B3E74-BD2D-477B-95A7-E37BBD7C1BD5-780x947
Haven Taylor

He went into the heads-up stage of the tournament with 10.675m chips versus Haven Taylor’s 6.3m. Taylor did manage to take the lead at one stage of the final session, however Victor who is usually a cash game player rallied and retook the lead and the final hand played out soon after.

In the final hand Haven moved all-in with K 6 on a flop of Q K 7 and after a brief delay Victor made the call, tabling K 7 for two pairs. This left Haven drawing thin, needing either running sixes to win the hand, or a queen to pair the board for a chop. The 4 on the turn and 9 on the river provided no help for the Canadian, who had been dutifully railed by her husband Tom Taylor throughout the final table.

Haven Taylor cashed for €32,800 for her runner-up finish while our champion Victor victoriously took down the €55,000 first place prize.

7E3C609E-E148-407C-A8EE-1E2DE2BAE6F1
Victor den Houting interviewed by Wiseguy

In his post tournament interview Victor revealed that he hasn’t played live for ten years and his journey here was the first time he has even been on an aeroplane in the same amount of time. Victor, originally from Spain plays cash online professionally and moved to Andorra six years ago, soon after the birth of his first child. He is now a proud father of three and has re-ignited his love of tournaments by securin this win.

Congratulations to The Festival in Malta Main Event Champion Victor den Houting! See you in Bratislava!

B9416402-141D-4E4B-966D-ED110F7F080D
Malta Main Event Champion Victor den Houting

The Final Table Result

#block-1b0dfeb3-1036-43ee-a460-97c28158d963 h2, #block-1b0dfeb3-1036-43ee-a460-97c28158d963 h3, #block-1b0dfeb3-1036-43ee-a460-97c28158d963 h4, #block-1b0dfeb3-1036-43ee-a460-97c28158d963 h5 , #block-1b0dfeb3-1036-43ee-a460-97c28158d963 { color: #000; }

Position Player Country Prize
1 Victor den Houting Spain €55,000
2 Haven Taylor Canada €32,800
3 Oliver Mihajlovski Macedonia €23,300
4 Mathias Jordi Switzerland €17,800
5 Bart Dil Netherlands €13,800
6 Mario Eder Austria €10,600
7 Krystian Nalepka Poland €8,300
8 Dragan Ignjatovski Macedonia €6,300
9 Jordi Ruiz Spain €4,800

Jackpot Winner | Island Resort & Casino $630,084 Slot Jackpot

A Life-Changing Win: Island Resort & Casino Guest Strikes $630,084 Jackpot on New Whitney Houston Slots

The Island Resort & Casino is thrilled to share an unforgettable moment from our gaming floor. On Thursday, September 5, 2024, just before 4:00 p.m. Eastern, Deanna Juday from Wautoma, WI, experienced the thrill of a lifetime, hitting a massive $630,084.36 jackpot on one of our newest progressive slot machines.

Deanna’s incredible win came on the IGT Whitney Houston Slots game, which made its debut at Island Resort & Casino just this past June. With a $3 bet on a penny denomination, the screen lit up, the bells rang, and Whitney’s iconic voice played as the life-changing jackpot number flashed before her eyes.

Before embarking on her trip to the Island, Deanna confidently told her family that she was on her way to win the progressive jackpot—and she did exactly that. Now, she plans to use her winnings to make a difference and pay it forward.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to celebrate Deanna’s big win with her,” said Robin Bourdeau, Player Services Manager at Island Resort & Casino. “Moments like these highlight the excitement and rewards we strive to offer all our guests. We couldn’t be happier to have been part of her unforgettable experience.”

The Island Resort & Casino was the first to bring the Whitney Houston Slots game to our market, joining 38 other properties across the United States that feature this exciting wide-area progressive machine. With every spin, the jackpot grows, creating the potential for moments just like Deanna’s.

“He is my best chance of a winner at the Festival this year”

One more day left of the Cheltenham Festival, and it’s safe to say we’ll all be exhausted by the weekend! Gold Cup Day is here and, as always, it’s going to be tremendously exciting. I have two runners on Friday’s card at Prestbury Park, Gin Coco and Gidleigh Park.

Cheltenham, Friday

Gin Coco runs in the County Hurdle (14:10), but he definitely wants better ground, so we will be monitoring conditions closely. We haven’t seen him since he disappointed at Doncaster in December, but that was three weeks after winning at Ascot and it just proved too soon for him. He’s best fresh, so we’ve deliberately kept him back for a go at the County, albeit he didn’t run his race last year in this as he picked up an injury. He’s in great form with himself at home and, if the ground dries up, he could be putting in a similar performance to when he was runner-up in the Greatwood. Hopefully, he can be competitive.

You’ve all heard plenty about Gidleigh Park, who runs in the Albert Bartlett (14:50). Everything about this race should be right up his street, the course, the trip, and the conditions. The only thing we need to go our way is the run of the race, as he wasn’t really suited by the way his last race panned out, but at the Cheltenham Festival you’re almost guaranteed a good tempo, which is what he’ll like. He’s a big, rangy horse, but he’s not short of pace and he’s got a great blend of speed and stamina, so I hope this race will play to his strengths. We’re really looking forward to seeing him step into Grade One company for the first time.

On his last start, Gidleigh Park and the runner-up put a lot of distance between themselves and the rest of the field towards the finish, but the fact that he was still able to quicken and battle to the end was testament to his ability. Strictly on ratings, he has a bit to find, but I think he has the potential to really excel here and go very close indeed. Without a doubt, he is my best chance of a winner at the Festival this year.

Best of luck,

Harry

BACK TO MEETINGS PAGE

 

 

Comments

comments