The very well organised and well ran Alea Casino in Nottingham hosted our East Midlands Regional Final for the second time. All of the players and the Redtooth staff were looked after as a number of valets swarmed the tournament areas serving the players at the tables which created a great atmosphere. 194 players would see the top 8 receive National Final invites and a cash prize.

Play got underway a little after 2pm as we saw a larger than average number of knockouts during the first hour. Players continued to get knocked out on a regular basis after the break until we eventually reached the final table of 10 at about 7pm.

Marilyn Colclough from the Half Moon in Hucknall would lead the pack as the final table got underway with 295,000 in chips. Marilyn was closely followed by Ady Lippiatt from the Sun Inn in Eastwood and Richard Reeve from the Cornmill in Beeston with 195,000 and 190,000 in chips respectively. Marilyn certainly had the majority of the support throughout the final table as constant chants of ‘Team Moon’ were heard throughout the casino on several occasions. Greg Moir was the first to be eliminated from the final table as the bubble ascended onto us. It would be another 20-30 minutes before the bubble burst as the table short stack, Martin Fox from the Cherry Tree in Melton Mowbray was to hit the rail in 9th place bringing a big sigh of relief to the remaining eight players. From that moment on, Marilyn never looked back as she made it to the heads-up match with Ady Lippiatt. The final hand saw Marilyn get her chips into the middle in great shape as her KQ suited was too strong for Ady’s K4 suited as the board ran out J9Q 8 Q. The river was met with a huge cheer and more chants of ‘Team Moon’ as Marilyn collected our Redtooth crystal glass trophy and £500.

National Final Qualifiers & Cash Prize Winners
1st Marilyn Colclough – Half Moon, Hucknall
2nd Ady Lippiatt – Sun Inn, Eastwood
3rd Richard Reeve – Cornmill, Beeston
4th Peter Kipling – Paddock, Derby
5th Adrian Copping – Goose, Gamston
6th Hannah Morris – Bridge Inn, Ilkeston
7th Wayne Ingle – Tree Tops, Gedling
8th Jessica Lacey – Eaton Farm, Long Eaton