The Hendon Mob
Encyclopedia
The Hendon Mob are a group of four professional poker
players from London
, England
:
The name of the group was first publicised by the Evening Standard
newspaper in September 2000.
Joe Beevers is the only member of the group who actually comes from Hendon
(a district of London) but the others played in Hendon. The Hendon Mob describe John Kabbaj
as their unofficial fifth member. Several other European professionals, including Harry Demetriou
(Koumari Boy), Padraig Parkinson
(Padraig), Neil Channing
(Bad Beat) and John Duthie
have posted on the group's forum.
The Mob first became recognised for their appearances on the original televised poker programme Late Night Poker
(1999–2002). The Hendon Mob also regularly attends the annual World Series of Poker
, World Poker Tour
and other major tournaments. They have dozens of in the money results between them.
versus the U.S.
in the inaugural Prima Transatlantic Cup in 2004. The Mob had won each of these international team matches until falling 3-1 to the US team of Phil Ivey
, Andy Bloch
, Chris Ferguson
, and Paul Wolfe. The Mob's deal with Prima expired at the end of 2005.
The Mob were then sponsored by Full Tilt Poker
up to September 2011 when the online poker site was accused of fraud.
since 2000, indexed by location, date, and player. The origin of the information contained in the database was queried in a court action brought by rival website Pokerpages.com. Information sourced from Pokerpages.com has since been removed from the database.
The Mob were used in series one of the British con-art documentary series 'The Real Hustle
'. Presenters Paul Wilson
and Alexis Conran
, posing as poker novices filming a documentary, beat the Mob by smuggling in decks stacked to their advantage.
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
players from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
:
- Joe BeeversJoe BeeversJoseph "Joe" Charles Beevers is an English professional poker player and a member of The Hendon Mob....
- Barny BoatmanBarny BoatmanBarny M. P. Boatman , is an English professional poker player and the oldest member of the poker-playing foursome known as The Hendon Mob...
- Ross BoatmanRoss BoatmanRoss Boatman is an English RADA-trained actor, professional poker player and a member of the poker-playing foursome known as The Hendon Mob.-Acting:...
- Ram VaswaniRam VaswaniRam Vaswani is an English professional snooker player, turned professional poker player and the youngest member of The Hendon Mob...
The name of the group was first publicised by the Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
newspaper in September 2000.
Joe Beevers is the only member of the group who actually comes from Hendon
Hendon
Hendon is a London suburb situated northwest of Charing Cross.-History:Hendon was historically a civil parish in the county of Middlesex. The manor is described in Domesday , but the name, 'Hendun' meaning 'at the highest hill', is earlier...
(a district of London) but the others played in Hendon. The Hendon Mob describe John Kabbaj
John Kabbaj
Jean-Michel Kabbaj is an English professional poker player, referred to by The Hendon Mob as their unofficial fifth member.-Before poker:Kabbaj quit school at the age of 16...
as their unofficial fifth member. Several other European professionals, including Harry Demetriou
Harry Demetriou
Charidimos Demetriou is a British poker player.-World Series of Poker:Demetriou first became known in poker circles for his 3rd place finish at the $2,000 no limit Texas hold 'em tournament at the 2002 World Series of Poker won by Layne Flack...
(Koumari Boy), Padraig Parkinson
Padraig Parkinson
Padraig Parkinson is an Irish professional poker player. He is chiefly recognised as the grand final winner of Late Night Poker series 5 and as the third-place finisher of the 1999 World Series of Poker, where he lost to fellow countryman Noel Furlong.Originally, Padraig refused to play in Late...
(Padraig), Neil Channing
Neil Channing
Neil Andrew Channing is an English professional poker player and author based in Maida Vale, London. He is the 2008 Irish Poker Open champion....
(Bad Beat) and John Duthie
John Duthie
John Duthie is a London-based English television director and creator of the European Poker Tour.-Film and television:...
have posted on the group's forum.
The Mob first became recognised for their appearances on the original televised poker programme Late Night Poker
Late Night Poker
Late Night Poker is the pioneering television show that helped pave the way for the explosion of interest in poker in the 2000's. With it's ground breaking use of "under the table" cameras that enabled the viewer to see each player's cards, the show became a cult hit on Channel 4 UK when it first...
(1999–2002). The Hendon Mob also regularly attends the annual World Series of Poker
World Series of Poker
The World Series of Poker is a world-renowned series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment...
, World Poker Tour
World Poker Tour
The World Poker Tour is a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting the final table of each tournament. It was started in the United States by attorney/television producer Steven Lipscomb, who served as CEO of WPT Enterprises , the firm that...
and other major tournaments. They have dozens of in the money results between them.
Sponsorship
In 2004 and 2005, the Mob was sponsored by Prima Poker to the tune of $2 million worth of worldwide tournament buyin fees. In exchange they played on the online Prima poker-room network. As part of the tour, the Mob challenged four-player teams of various nationalities to heads-up matches, culminating with the UKUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
versus the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the inaugural Prima Transatlantic Cup in 2004. The Mob had won each of these international team matches until falling 3-1 to the US team of Phil Ivey
Phil Ivey
Phillip Dennis "Phil" Ivey Jr. is an American professional poker player who has won eight World Series of Poker bracelets, one World Poker Tour title and appeared at nine World Poker Tour final tables...
, Andy Bloch
Andy Bloch
Andrew Elliot Bloch is a professional poker player. He holds two electrical engineering degrees from MIT and a JD from Harvard Law School.-Poker:...
, Chris Ferguson
Chris Ferguson
Christopher Philip Ferguson is an American professional poker player. He has won five World Series of Poker events, including the 2000 WSOP Main Event, and the 2008 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship. On September 20, 2011, the U.S...
, and Paul Wolfe. The Mob's deal with Prima expired at the end of 2005.
The Mob were then sponsored by Full Tilt Poker
Full Tilt Poker
Full Tilt Poker is an online poker card room that opened in June 2004 with the involvement of poker professionals Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey, Andy Bloch, Mike Matusow, Jennifer Harman and Chris Ferguson...
up to September 2011 when the online poker site was accused of fraud.
Other ventures
The Mob run a successful website that includes a tournament poker player database that attempts to house the results of every major worldwide poker tournamentPoker tournament
A poker tournament is a tournament where players compete by playing poker. It can feature as few as two players playing on a single table , and as many as tens of thousands of players playing on thousands of tables...
since 2000, indexed by location, date, and player. The origin of the information contained in the database was queried in a court action brought by rival website Pokerpages.com. Information sourced from Pokerpages.com has since been removed from the database.
The Mob were used in series one of the British con-art documentary series 'The Real Hustle
The Real Hustle
The Real Hustle is a BBC television series made by Objective Productions and written by Alexis Conran and Paul Wilson. The show demonstrates confidence and magic tricks, distraction scams and proposition bets performed on members of the public by presenters Conran, Wilson and Jessica-Jane Clement...
'. Presenters Paul Wilson
R. Paul Wilson
Ronald Paul Wilson is a close-up magician,and television presenter. He lives and works between London, Los Angeles, and his home in Scotland. He lives in Glasgow with his wife Julie and their two children Conner and Cameron...
and Alexis Conran
Alexis Conran
Alexis Conran is a British actor, writer and stage magician. He was born in Paris, France, and moved to Greece when he was a child.He is co-writer and star of the BBC hit series 'The Real Hustle' on BBC Three...
, posing as poker novices filming a documentary, beat the Mob by smuggling in decks stacked to their advantage.