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Victoria Coren Mitchell

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Victoria Elizabeth Coren
Born (1973-08-18) 18 August 1973 (age 51)
NationalityBritish
Occupation(s)Journalist, TV presenter,
poker player, writer
Parent(s)Alan Coren (deceased)
Anne (née Kasriel)
partner = David Mitchell (2010-present)
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 Elizabeth Coren (born 18 August 1973) is a British writer, presenter and champion 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 and education

Coren was born in North London. She is the daughter of the humorist and journalist Alan Coren and the sister of journalist Giles Coren. She is a graduate of St John's College, Oxford, and has said that 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.'[1]

Personal life

Coren lives in London[2] and announced her engagement to actor and comedian David Mitchell on 20 March 2012.[3][4]

Writing

Aged 14, she had a short story published under a pseudonym in Just Seventeen magazine [5] and then 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[6] and Once More, with Feeling[7], 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,[8] 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[9] was published in September 2009, and was well reviewed in The Times[10] and the Observer,[11] 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".[12] Coren reported that the group duly applied for tickets claiming to have known Ormerod.[13]

Poker

Coren was the first woman to win an event on the European Poker Tour and 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.[14] 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 Tahtouh 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.[15]

On 20th November, 2011, Coren finished 2nd in the International Federation of Poker's inaugural The Table World Championship, eventually losing heads-up with 29-year-old Spaniard Raul Mestre. She received $100,000 for 2nd place, $10,000 of which she donated to Age UK.

TV and radio credits

Notes

  1. ^ "Vicky Coren, the Royal wedding and cucumber sandwiches". PokerStarsBlog.com. Retrieved 2012-03-21.
  2. ^ "Poker face Victoria Coren wins £½m | Mail Online". Dailymail.co.uk. 2006-09-25. Retrieved 2012-03-21.
  3. ^ "David MITCHELL & Victoria COREN Engagement Announcement | The Times". Announcements.thetimes.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-03-21.
  4. ^ "BBC News - David Mitchell and Victoria Coren announce engagement". Bbc.co.uk. 2012-03-20. Retrieved 2012-03-21.
  5. ^ Victoria Coren (2012-03-18). "Girls' mags are not sexy, but sweet | Victoria Coren | Comment is free | The Observer". Guardian. Retrieved 2012-03-21.
  6. ^ Coren, Victoria (1989). Love 16. Ebury Press.
  7. ^ Coren, Victoria (2010). Once More, with Feeling. Fourth Estate. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ Coren, Alan (2009). Chocolate and Cuckoo Clocks. Canongate. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ Coren, Victoria (2009). For Richer, For Poorer: A Love Affair with Poker. Canongate.
  10. ^ Times Review
  11. ^ Edward Docx (2009-09-27). "For Richer, for Poorer by Victoria Coren | Book review | Books | The Observer". Guardian. Retrieved 2012-03-21.
  12. ^ The Times, 14 August 2008.
  13. ^ Victoria Coren (2008-12-21). "Victoria Coren: My dad's memorial service was going so well. Then the ghouls turned up | Life and style | The Observer". Guardian. Retrieved 2012-03-21.
  14. ^ "The European Poker Championships, Main Event - No Limit Hold'em: Hendon Mob Poker Database". Pokerdb.thehendonmob.com. 2006-09-24. Retrieved 2012-03-21.
  15. ^ "Team PokerStars Pro - Victoria Coren". pokerstars.com. Retrieved 2008-04-25.

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