Monte Carlo. If you’ve never been there, you should make it a point to visit. Sandwiched on a rocky cliff in the French Riviera, the tiny Principality of Monaco is home to wealth, racing, and poker. Not a bad combination if you’re a standard male in today’s world. In 2000, Monaco was home to just over 30,000 people, swelling to several times that when the Grand Prix rolls into town. The entire Principality is built into the edge of a cliff and requires a solid set of shoes to walk around. One of the premier sights in Monaco is the Monte Carlo casino. Made famous by the James Bond movie series, Monte Carlo plays host to the European Poker Tour’s Grand Final every year. In 2005, the inaugural Monte Carlo Grand Final kicked off from Monaco. On March 19th, Rob Hollink walked away with 635,000 Euros, or around $845,000, and the first ever WPT Monte Carlo Grand Final championship.
The Monte Carlo event attracted 211 players, each putting up 10,000 Euros to enter. Hollink, a native of The Netherlands, beat out Brandon Schaefer heads up. The latter, an American, cashed for 350,000 Euros, or $465,853. Schaefer had a solid run through the first season of the EPT, capturing first in the Deauville event one month earlier. In that tournament, he squared off against longtime friend Carl Olson heads up. In fact, the Deauville events saw Americans dominate, finishing in the top four spots. Only one other American cashed in the entire event otherwise.
Alexander Stevic placed third in the Monte Carlo event for 178,000 Euros, or $236,919. Stevic was the champion of the Barcelona event in season one. He was one of five Swedes to cash in the Barcelona event, which was played in September, 2004. Martin De Knijff, also from Sweden, finished 22nd in Monte Carlo. De Kniff has cashed in numerous World Series of Poker and World Poker Tour events.
Three Canadians cashed in Monaco, led by Isabelle Mercier, herself a poker icon. Mercier finished 10th, taking home 23,900 Euros, or $31,811. Mercier cashed in at least one event during the first three seasons of the EPT and remains one of the most visible and popular female poker players in the world. Harry Fitzpatrck and Ryan Walters took home cash for Canada as well.
One name you might recognize on the EPT Monte Carlo leader board is Gus Hansen. Representing Denmark, Hansen finished 16th out of the 211 player field, winning 15,800 Euros or $21,030. Martin Wendt placed 14th and was the only other Danish name to cash. Hansen cashed in the 2004 WSOP Main Event.
The EPT Monte Carlo event was the finale of season one of the WPT. Seven events comprised the first edition of the now popular poker series. They included tilts in Barcelona, London, Dublin, Copenhagen, France, Vienna, and Monaco. Buy-ins ranged from 1,000 Euros all the way up to the 10,000 Euro Main Event. A total of 1,468 entries were accrued throughout the seven events. Business would pick up considerably in season two!