Full Tilt Million Dollar Cash Game Features $1.1 Million Pot

Full Tilt Poker’s Million Dollar Cash Game featured a $1.1 million pot during its fourth season, which will air on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom in January. The season includes commentary from poker pro Robert Williamson III.

Some of the game’s top cash game aficionados hit the felts for the Full Tilt Poker spectacular, which recently completed filming in London. Now, the city will play host to the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe festivities, which officially kick off today with a £1,075 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event. Headlining the Full Tilt Poker Million Dollar Cash Game roster was none other than Tom “durrrr” Dwan, who was joined at the table by several sponsored pros of the online poker site, including Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, Gus Hansen, Mike Matusow, Allen Cunningham, and Patrik Antonius.

The general public recently nominated Dwan for the 2009 Poker Hall of Fame class, although a committee stripped him of his eligibility on the grounds that he did not stand the test of time. Dwan is currently battling against Antonius in the Durrrr Challenge online, with Antonius nursing a $34,000 lead after 23,197 hands. The two tangled early on in the Million Dollar Cash Game in London, getting it in pre-flop for a $500,000 pot. Antonius held pocket kings against Dwan’s pocket aces, but a king on the flop gave the veteran a set and the win in the hand. Online, it’s been a seesaw battle between Dwan and Antonius, with “durrrr” posting 3:1 odds that he could beat any player in $200/$400 Pot Limit Omaha or No Limit Hold’em over 50,000 hands.

Dwan reclaimed his losses in a hand against Cyril Mouly. Then, the largest pot in televised poker history occurred. In it, Dwan raised pre-flop and Ivey re-raised from the small blind. The flop fell Q-3-5 with two clubs and Ivey led out for $40,000. Dwan made the call to see the four of hearts hit the turn. Ivey once again bet, Dwan pushed the action to $240,000, and “The Tiger Woods of Poker” shoved over the top. Coverage provided by Full Tilt Poker noted that Dwan snap-called the all-in, turning over 6-7 for the nuts. Ivey, meanwhile, showed A-2 for a smaller straight. Ivey was drawing dead on the river, shipping the massive $1.1 million pot to Dwan.

Dwan was involved in the largest single pot in “High Stakes Poker” history as well. In it, the youngster cracked Barry Greenstein’s pocket aces holding K-Q of spades. The flop came Q-4-2 with two spades, giving Dwan a flush draw to compliment top pair. On the flop, Dwan led out for $28,700, Greenstein raised to $100,000, and Dwan re-raised to $244,600. Greenstein quickly shoved and the two agreed to run the board once. The turn was another queen, improving Dwan to trips, and Greenstein could not spike an ace on the river. The pot was worth a colossal $919,000.

The Million Dollar Cash Game is an invitation-only event that requires a minimum buy-in of $100,000. On the fifth season of “High Stakes Poker,” which aired earlier this year on cable station GSN in the United States, the price tag was $200,000. The GSN cash game franchise is set to return in February for Season 6, although the host venue and player lineup are not yet known. Season 5 featured a cast that included Dwan, Antonius, Daniel Negreanu, Greenstein, and Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies. The show is hosted by former “Welcome Back, Kotter” star Gabe Kaplan and A.J. Benza.

Full Tilt is in the midst of holding its Mini Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS), which concludes with a $55 buy-in Main Event on Sunday. The tournament features a $500,000 guarantee and is hosted by noted pro Eli Elezra.