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Victoria Coren Mitchell

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Victoria Coren
Born (1972-08-18) 18 August 1972 (age 52)
NationalityBritish
Other namesVicky Coren
Occupation(s)Journalist, TV presenter,
poker player, writer
Parent(s)Alan Coren (deceased)
Anne (née Kasriel)
Victoria Coren Mitchell
Nickname(s)Vicky, Teacup
ResidenceLondon, United Kingdom
World Series of Poker
Bracelet(s)None
Money finish(es)1
Highest ITM
Main Event finish		None
European Poker Tour
Title(s)1
Final table(s)1
Money finish(es)3

Victoria "Vicky" Coren (born 18 August 1972)[1] is a British writer, presenter and poker player. Coren writes weekly columns for The Observer and The Guardian newspapers and hosts the BBC Four television quiz show Only Connect.

Early life

Born in North London, the daughter of the humorist and journalist Alan Coren and sister of journalist Giles Coren, she is a graduate of St John's College, Oxford.

Writing

Aged 14, she won a competition in the Daily Telegraph to write a column about teenage life for their "Weekend" section, which she continued writing for several years.

Her books include Love 16 and Once More, with Feeling, about her attempt (with co-author Charlie Skelton) to make the best hardcore porn movie ever. This came off the back of their jobs reviewing porn films for the Erotic Review—a job which led them to believe that most of what they were watching was terrible and that they could make better films themselves.

Coren adapted the newspaper columns of John Diamond into a play called A Lump In My Throat which was performed at the Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh, the Grace Theatre and New End Theatre in London, before Coren adapted it again for a TV play on BBC2 starring Neil Pearson.

Victoria and Giles Coren wrote an introduction to Chocolate and Cuckoo Clocks, an anthology of the best comic writing by their father Alan Coren, published by Canongate in October 2008.

Her poker memoir For Richer, For Poorer: A Love Affair with Poker was published in September 2009, and was well reviewed in The Times[2] and the Observer,[3] as well as other places.

Ormerod hoax

In December 2008, Coren revealed that in 2007 she had instigated a hoax in order to trap a group who turned up to memorial services for people they had never actually met. She created the fictitious and recently deceased Sir William Ormerod, and placed an advertisement in the main British newspapers for his memorial service "followed by a drinks reception".[4] Coren reported that the group duly applied for tickets claiming to have known Ormerod.[5]

Poker

Coren was the first woman to win an event on the European Poker Tour, as well as being the first player to win both a televised professional tournament (EPT London 2006) and a televised celebrity tournament (Celebrity Poker Club 2005). She frequently plays at the Victoria Casino in London's Edgware Road, where she plays Texas hold 'em. As a commentator/presenter, Coren has presented Late Night Poker and The Poker Nations Cup for Channel 4, World Poker Tour for ITV2 and commentated on The Monte Carlo EPT, Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (Channel 4), Ultimate Poker Challenge (Channel 5) and William Hill Poker Grand Prix 2 (Sky Sports). During her poker career, Coren has become a close friend of The Hendon Mob, and mixes weekly home games with frequent visits to two regular casinos. Coren appeared in five episodes of Late Night Poker, although she never made it to a series grand final. However in Late Night Poker's spin-off Celebrity Poker Club, she defeated Willie Thorne to win the series two grand final before joining Jesse May as the commentator in series three. In the 2003 Hold-Em 100 tournament in London she was a guest dealer for the final table.

On 24 September 2006, Coren won the main event of the European Poker Tour (EPT) London earning a prize of £500,000. After a four-day event she found herself heads up with Australian professional Emad Tahtouh.[6] After only two hands of heads-up play the table saw a flop of 5-3-4. Tahtouh bet out and Coren called. After a 10 on the turn, Tahtouh moved all-in and Coren called instantly. Tahtouh showed 8-6, and Coren had 6-7. Having flopped the straight and avoiding a seven on the river to give Emad a higher straight, she defeated her opponent. As of 2008, her total live tournament winnings exceeds $1,200,000. Coren is a member of Team PokerStars Pro.[7]

Personal Life

Coren lives in London. [8]

Coren supposedly said she regularly stays up until 6 am, 'Smoking, and drinking and gambling. But I like cooking and gardening too, which makes me sound like a very strange mix of an old lady and teenage boy.' When asked about this she stated: 'It is still true. I'll grow up one day, but not quite yet.'[9]

Coren is reportedly said to be dating Peep Show actor and comedian [David Mitchell (actor)|David Mitchell]].[10]

TV and radio credits

Notes

  1. ^ The Times, Wednesday, Aug 23, 1972
  2. ^ Times Review
  3. ^ Observer review
  4. ^ The Times, 14 August 2008.
  5. ^ Victoria Coren, "My dad's memorial service was going so well. Then the ghouls turned up", The Observer, 21 December 2008.
  6. ^ "£ 3,500 Main Event - No Limit Hold'em". TheHendonMob.com. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  7. ^ "Team PokerStars Pro - Victoria Coren". pokerstars.com. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
  8. ^ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-406923/Poker-face-Victoria-Coren-wins--163-frac12-m.html
  9. ^ http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/2011/vicky-coren-the-royal-wedding-and-cucumb-080618.html
  10. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mandrake/8362654/David-Mitchells-double-act-with-Victoria-Coren.html

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