– Page №15

After years of watching from the sidelines, Alberta online poker is about to join Ontario as the second Canadian province to officially regulate online poker. It’s a move that could fundamentally change how players in the province (and beyond) log on, sit down, and play their favorite game.

On May 7, Alberta’s Legislative Assembly passed Bill 48 — the iGaming Alberta Act — which lays the foundation for a legal and licensed online gambling market. The bill now awaits Royal Assent, a formality before it becomes law. And while the full rollout won’t happen until 2026, the implications are already sending ripples through Canada’s poker scene.

Let’s break down what this means, what’s coming next, and why Alberta might just spark the next chapter in Alberta online poker.

The 2025 World Series of Poker is set to bring out the best and brightest names in poker in hopes of securing one of the bracelets up for grabs, but at every series the poker world gets introduced to new up-and-coming players that you may never have heard of.

Here, we’re going to profile some players that might not be household names (yet) but could make a splash at WSOP 2025 – after the 100th event wrap up, it’s anyone’s game.

Following the changes to the WPT Global Poker Rewards Program earlier this month, on May 19th, 2025, the room gave players a little treat: an additional rakeback program for Omaha lovers.

From the looks of it, it’s been a busy week over at PokerStars HQ, with updates that span the live felt in Vegas, the digital drama of SCOOP, and a revived poker TV favorite. From returning tours to unexpected hero runs, here’s what’s making noise across the PokerStars ecosystem right now.

One third of the Triton Montenegro Series is behind us. Here’s a recap of the latest tournament winners.

Here’s a look at the multiple SCOOP 2025 champions and key results from the first week.

The biggest poker series of the year is just around the corner, and every poker pro planning to travel to Las Vegas is gearing up for what could be the biggest summer for them of their careers. The World Series of Poker is considered the crown jewel of the poker world, and anyone who wins one of the coveted bracelets will forever be etched in history and remember as someone who achieved the pinnacle of success in the game.

Every amateur, recreational and semi-pro player will think about playing the massive $10,000 Main Event at some point, and many dreaming of winning the whole tournament and capturing the largest bracelet – in terms of size of the actual bracelet, and the first-place prize money. Like kids playing baseball growing up and dreaming of hitting a home run to win the world series, or Canadians playing street hockey and scoring the goal to win the Stanley Cup, the WSOP 2025 Main Event is the ultimate challenge.

However, Las Vegas is not the easiest town for a tourist to stay for extended periods of time and not spend thousands of dollars which is not always within the budget of a non-poker player. So, if you are contemplating making the trek to the poker promised land, but aren’t sure – here are 5 reasons you should go this year (and 5 reasons why you may want to wait one more year).

The 2025 World Series of Poker is almost upon us, and for those heading to Sin City to go battle in any of the 100 bracelet events at Paris or Horseshoe or any of the other side action, make sure you have a concrete plan with contingencies to ensure your experience in Las Vegas is as good as you can make it. Especially for first timers going to the series for the first time, you will want to do as much research as you can before you go so you are as prepared as you can be.

Saying that, here are 10 tips for any poker player – first timer or not – travelling to Las Vegas to help you get the most of your summer adult camp!

In 2025, the World Series of Poker is heading somewhere it’s never been before. From October 9 to 21, 2025, the WSOP Super Circuit will land in North Cyprus for its first-ever stop on the island, hosted where else but the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel and Spa. The venue, already a common name to many poker regulars, will now join the WSOP’s global footprint by awarding 18 official WSOP Circuit Gold Rings over the course of the 13-day festival.

With an already established reputation for lavish poker production and large field sizes, the Merit team has been building up to this moment — most recently hosting the Mediterranean Poker Party, which beat its own $5M guarantee. Now, the WSOP brand has decided to take a piece of this poker island.

She came. She played. She won. For the first time ever, WPT Global ambassador Xuan Liu came to a Triton stop to play just one event — the $25K WPT Global Slam. After three days of competition, she unexpectedly took it down and earned a $860,000.

For the second time since the introduction of its Poker Rewards Program, WPT Global made changes in May 2025 without any public announcement.
PokerListings accidentally noticed an update on the WPT Global official website and rushed to share it with you as soon as possible.

Spin & Go Max has always wanted to add an unpredictable twist to PokerStars’ hyper-fast, jackpot-style tournaments. Combining randomly drawn prize pools with surprise player counts and a capped number of hands, it was designed to bring some suspense—and perhaps a bit of chaos—to short-format poker. But as many fans have pointed out over the years, not all of those twists have aged gracefully.

Now, after gathering player feedback and digging into the data, PokerStars has overhauled the format. The updated Spin & Go Max officially launched on May 13, and the revamp touches almost every part of the game — from prize structures to the way blinds rise and even how long you’re forced to wait for a game to start.

Here’s a breakdown of what’s changed and why.

Ontario’s largest online poker series is back for the third year in a row — and (as expected) it’s bigger than ever. The GGPoker Ontario Festival returned on May 4 for its third edition, bringing with it over C$6 million in guaranteed prize money and nearly 700 scheduled tournaments. The festival runs through June 10 and has already become a fixture in the local poker calendar.

For those who haven’t been following along all that regularly, GGPoker Ontario’s series has grown substantially since its first run, with this edition marking its biggest yet. Officially, the site advertises C$6 million in total guarantees — but a closer look at the full schedule reveals the actual number crosses the C$7 million mark. For Ontario’s regulated online poker market, no other operator currently comes close in terms of scope, prize pools, or sheer volume of events.

There’s never been a quiet day in the jungle — and now, things just got even wilder at GTO Wizard. Dan Cates, known across the poker world as “Jungleman,” has officially joined the GTO Wizard Pro Team, marking one of the most high-profile player partnerships the solver training platform has announced to date.

The announcement dropped on May 8 via GTO Wizard’s official social media accounts. It was later quote-tweeted by Cates himself, who expressed pride at becoming part of the team.

This is not a drill.@junglemandan is officially part of the GTO Wizard Pro Team!
From crushing Full Tilt nosebleeds, winning the WSOP $50K PPC back-to-back and banking $3.5M at Triton Jeju, Jungleman has conquered every era. 🔥 #gtowizard pic.twitter.com/gmDKs5rHLF
— GTOWizard (@GTOWizard) May 8, 2025

Credits: thehendonmob.com

Between May 13th and 27th, Montenegro is hosting the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series. Top-notch pros, satellite qualifiers, businessmen, and recreational players from all over the world will play fifteen tournaments, including the one and only $200K NLH Triton Invitational.

In this unique live MTT, a bunch of invitees play in a team with professional poker players chosen by them — including international superstars. At the Montenegro 2025 S4 event, some pairs of invitee + pro are more interesting than others.

And in this article, PokerListings shares our own pick of duos who we consider worth following closely — not only in this tourney but throughout the entire series as well.

Just after ClubWPT Gold launched its desktop app and added a multi-tabling feature, players received another piece of good news: from May 18th to July 6th, 2025, ClubWPT Gold is running a special Gold Rush Freeroll with prizes of up to $11,000,000 in bonus money.

With the announcement of this promotion, ClubWPT Gold also revealed plans for the inaugural Gold Rush Festival online tournament series. However, on May 12th, the operator shared only two details about the series: the guarantee amount of 14,000,000 in Sweep Coins and the event dates — from May 25th to June 30th, 2025.

The 2025 edition of the EPT Monte Carlo Main Event had everything a poker fan could ask for — record-breaking numbers, deep talent, high-stakes bluffs, and a controversy that still has the poker world debating. In the end, it was Aleksandr Shevliakov who emerged victorious, taking home the trophy and the €1,000,000 first prize after navigating one of the tensest final tables in recent European Poker Tour history.

The 37-year-old Russian IT professional, who now lives in Slovenia, played with mechanical calm and ruthless precision, eliminating four of his five opponents on the final day. But the manner of his win — particularly one controversial hand that led to the first knockout — sparked fierce discussions about ethics and gamesmanship in live poker.

Spring is back, and so is one of 888poker’s longest-running online series. The XL Spring Series returns this May, offering players ten days of daily tournaments, mystery bounties, and progressive knockouts — with a few high rollers thrown in for good measure.

From May 18 to May 27, 888poker will host over 50 events and $1.5 million in total guarantees, with a clear focus on affordability and format variety. Buy-ins range from as low as $5.50 to $1,050, with many centerpiece events sitting in the $11 to $55 range. As usual, satellites and step qualifiers are already running, with some starting at just a cent.

It feels like New Year’s because Vladimir Korzinin — aka Santa, aka Gambledore — is back in the game and heading to Triton Montenegro.

Photo Credits: Malta Poker Festival

In a thrilling and emotional finish, Italy’s Aurelio Vallone captured the title at the 2025 Malta Poker Festival Spring Grand Event, taking home an impressive €94,600 after a heads-up deal with Germany’s Carsten Mawick. The tournament, held at the Portomaso Casino in St. Julians, saw Vallone rise from the short stack to the champion’s circle in a storybook ending.

Ivonne Montealegre, organiser of the Malta Poker Festival, once again managed to crush the guaranteed prize pool. Even better, with two more opening flights to go, it was already reached. The guaranteed prize pool was set at €300,000 and it turned out eventually to be €555,940, as there were 1202 entries made.

The final table action moved quickly, but Vallone kept his cool through it all. Known game pro, the 29-year-old Italian secured his first-ever live tournament win in style, sealing the victory after outplaying Mawick during heads-up play. The two sealed the deal before battling for the final €10,000, the champion’s trophy, and a package for the festival’s October edition worth €2,200.