Marcus flushed with success

An IT consultant has beaten more than 200 players to win a cool £90,000 in a top poker tournament held in the Black Country.

Marcus Bebb-Jones, of Kidderminster, won the Poker Grand Prix held at the Grosvenor Casino in Walsall last night.

The event had a £300,000 prize pot – the biggest in Europe – and players included ex EastEnders star Michael Greco.

The three day competition is run on an annual basis in conjunction with BlueSQPoker.com. Players had to qualify for the final.

Grosvenor Casino manager Quentin Kozma said the event had culminated in an exciting final.

He said: "It was a really fantastic tournament.

"The guys in the final were obviously taking it very seriously with such a lot at stake but they also had a good laugh together.

"Marcus is a really likeable guy and is a very popular winner. He plays his poker in Walsall.

"There were some of Europe's best professional players taking part so it was great to see Marcus win." Another player chancing his luck was Matt Cartwright, AKA "The Hammer," who teaches at Sneyd High School in Bloxwich.

He scooped £56,000 for finishing second in the Grosvenor Grand Prix held last year.

The competition also boasted other big names involved included World Series of Poker players Dave 'El Blondie' Colclough, Lucy 'Golden Ovaries' Rokach and Stuart Fox.

The Grosvenor Grand Prix is different from most other tournaments with players unable to buy-in to the event directly.