Two big tournaments wrapped up last week. Our friends at the Heartland Poker Tour kicked off 2011 with a bang, drawing 553 players to the main event, which was held at the Red Rock Resort Casino in Las Vegas. Several big names were in attendance, including First Lady of Poker Linda Johnson, Annie Duke, Scotty Nguyen, Tiffany Michelle, Darvin Moon, and Jen Harman. From this group, only Darvin Moon cashed, placing 37th.

However, it was a behind the scenes poker insider, Rob Perelman, known for his work on Poker after Dark and other shows, who claimed the title and over $150,000 in winnings. Other notables at the final table were the flamboyant JJ Liu and MMA fighter Heath Herring. Check out the HPT site for more details and a complete wrapup.

The celebrity turnout appears to be part of a new marketing strategy for the HPT, as they strive to remain loyal to their brand as the everyman player's tour, while seeking to mix in just enough glamour and celebrity appearances to draw more viewers. It's a strategy which we believe should serve them well.

The big tournament of the week, meanwhile, took place at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, where incoming Stanford grad student Galen Hall survived an epic heads up battle with Chris Oliver to win the main event and $1.8 million. Team PokerStars pro Chris Moneymaker enjoyed a good run, finishing 11th for $130,000. The main event also witnessed the highest finish for a woman in the PCA, as Ana Marquez came in 10th. Other events included the $5000 Bounty Shootout, won by Andrew Chen, the $100,000 Super High Roller event, taken down by British pro Eugene Katchalov, and the $25,000 High Roller event, claimed by Canadian Will Molson. For a complete write up of all the events, go here.