Poker News

Daniel Negreanu Expresses More Love for the Full Tilt Crew

Daniel Negreanu is in a zone. But this is no hot streak at the poker tables. Oh, no. Daniel Negreanu is all sorts of fired up about Full Tilt Poker.

You may remember our article from last week about the mini-controversy surrounding his interview with Poker Player UK. Negreanu covered several topics in the interview including the improvement in his online poker game and the current state of televised poker. His comments on those topics were plenty to get people talking, but he also had a few choice words on the subject of the ongoing Full Tilt Poker scandal.

On the Full Tilt Poker pros: “I’ve spoken to all of them. They are embarrassed and have disdain for their leaders. They trusted Howard (Lederer)…I didn’t. I don’t trust that family. It’s a family of scoundrels.”

Continuing on the subject of Lederer: “I don’t think he’s evil, but he’s arrogant. He talks to people like they are stupid. I don’t think he set out to defraud people, it’s just negligence, arrogance and incompetence.”

After all the talk on the poker message boards about the interview, both from poker fans and from Negreanu himself, one may feel it would be wise for him to just let it fester, stop talking for a while, and just keep playing poker. But in the immortal words of Boon from Animal House, “Forget it, he’s rolling.”

In the latest edition of his blog on FullContactPoker.com, Negreanu absolutely lets loose on the three primary antagonists in the Full Tilt fiasco – Lederer, Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, and Ray Bitar. It is a true “tell me how you really feel” moment. Suffice to say he won’t be getting any Valentine’s Day cards from the trio next week. There is really no sense in paraphrasing the monologue or parsing it in any way, so here is a good, old wall of text:

“I’m disgusted by them and what they’ve done to smear the game with putrid decision making. Ray is a buffoon, Howard is arrogant, condescending, and incompetent, and Chris is a liar and has the warmth of a snow pea. These were never my friends, I never cared for any of them. I never trusted them for a second, and my “read” was always that these were not my kind of people. Why are they different from the rest of the group? These three were on the board, admittedly making all the decisions, and jeopardizing millions of dollars worth of players money that still hasn’t surfaced. You guys suck. I hope to never see any of your faces at the WSOP anymore, and I hope you live with the shame you deserve for the rest of your lives. Your own personal, private hell. You deserve all the wrath you’ve received from the poker world, and much more. You are scum and each of you absolutely deserves a few swift baseball bat swings to the groin area, old school Vegas style.”

Fortunately for Daniel Negreanu, he is as self-aware as anyone out there. “I know that I’d make for an awful politician because I always prefer to choose the brutal and honest truth and I’m not afraid to rock the boat,” he wrote. “My history and track record has proven that to be the case.”

There’s no doubt about that.

WPT Venice Grand Prix Day 2: Marcel Bjerkmann Surges Ahead

The World Poker Tour (WPT) is visiting Venice in this week, its second stop in the beautiful Italian city in less than two months. This time, it’s for the WPT Venice Grand Prix, held at Casino di Venezia Ca Vendramin Calergi, the same venue as December’s WPT Venice. After two days, 27 players remain and just one – Marcel Bjerkmann – has more than 400,000 chips. At 436,300, he is more than 21 big blinds ahead of Mark Neumann, who will begin Day 3 with 384,400. After them, it’s a logjam through the next four spots, with less than 25,000 chips separating places three through six.

Like WPT Venice, which saw just 213 players register, the WPT Venice Grand Prix is small compared to other tour events, with only 155 runners plunking down the €4,500 buy-in plus €450 fee. As such, the total prize pool is €676,575 with €229,800 and a seat in the season-ending WPT World Championship going to the winner. Here is a breakdown of the entire payout structure:

1st – €229,800 + WPT World Championship seat
2nd – €111,700
3rd – €72,275
4th – €52,565
5th – €42,705
6th – €32,195
7th – €25,625
8th – €19,055
9th – €13,795
10th – 12th €9,855
13th – 15th – €8,540
16th-18th – €7,225

Marcel Bjerkmann does not have a lengthy record of live tournament cashes, but he makes up for it with quality. He has made just five journeys into the money starting in the fall of 2010, but every single one of them is a top-25 finish. He started out impressively, placing second in the 1,500 No-Limit Hold’em event at the 2010 European Poker Tour (EPT) London stop, earning £58,334 ($91,287). Just a week later, he won the Belgian Open Poker Championship Main Event, banking €200,030 ($278,380). Bjerkmann’s hot streak continued the following month when he won the Master Classics of Poker 2010 Main Event. That title was worth double his previous victory: €403,380 or $571,984. All told, Marcel Bjerkmann has won just shy of $1 million in his live tournament career.

Day 3 will start up on Wednesday at 1:00pm local time as the remaining 27 players maneuver towards the money and try to position themselves for the final table. The scheduled plan is to narrow the field down to 18 players, though if the eliminations come fast and furious, tournament officials have the option to play all the way down to the final table.

World Poker Tour Venice Grand Prix – End of Day 2 Chip Counts

Marcel Bjerkmann – 436,300
Marko Neumann – 384,400
Jason Wheeler – 348,200
James Akenhead – 336,000
Andrey Gulyy – 326,000
Gianluca Trebbi – 323,500
Andrea Dato – 309,900
Gabriele Lepore – 233,200
Jeremie    Sochet – 232,500
Alessandro Longobardi – 221,200
Giacomo Fundaro – 195,700
Rinat Bogdanov – 167,600
Massimo Mosele – 148,000
Erion Islamay – 140,600
Gianluca Speranza – 134,000
Dario De Paz – 94,900
Zoltan Szabo – 91,300
Andrea Carini – 83,000
Simon Ravnsbaek – 78,100
Guido Chiodo – 75,700
Kara Scott – 60,100
Giacomo Valenti – 50,500
Viachevslav Goryachev – 50,500
Konstantin Streletskiy – 44,400
Lionel Tran – 39,000
Maurizio Saieva – 38,800
Carla Solinas – 38,600

UK Pop Star Robbie Williams Criticized for Play Money Poker Room

British pop music icon Robbie Williams recently launched a beta version of a play-for-fun online poker room bearing his name, giving fans an opportunity to test their skills and win “Robbie”-related prizes in the process. Despite the fact that no real money deposits are required to play, Williams is already taking heat from up on high for RobbieWilliamsPoker.com.

Tessa Munt, Member of Parliament for Wells and a member of the Liberal Democrat political party in the UK, had a bit of verbal finger wagging for the 37-year old singer, telling The Daily Mirror, “I’m outraged by this. It directly targets his fans, including children. The money he makes should go to addiction charities.”

Much of her ire stems from Williams’ own personal struggles with addiction. In the early 1990’s, when Williams was in his teens and early twenties as a member of the pop group Take That, he began drinking alcohol to excess and using cocaine. It eventually became such a problem that he almost overdosed in July 1995 the night before Take That was to perform at the MTV Europe Music Awards. As the years went on, his most significant problem became addiction to prescription drugs, many of which he used to battle depression. In 2007, Williams checked into a rehabilitation clinic in Tucson, Arizona to help get himself off of a variety of drugs including Xanax, Seroxat/Paxil, and Vicodin. He has also fought alcoholism and nicotine addiction. Munt feels that Williams is taking advantage of problem gamblers, a group with whom he should easily sympathize.

While many Williams fans are excited to try out the new site, others have similar opinions to Ms. Munt. Interestingly, however, not all who are against the idea of the poker room oppose it because of the potential gambling aspect. Some members of the fan community on Robbie Williams’ official website are upset that special Robbie Williams prizes (including the chance to meet the man himself) are being offered on a poker site, rather than just to the loyal fans at RobbieWilliams.com.

“…I fell [sic] that this opportunity to join a special online community (er hello? don’t we have one of those already HERE) and the potential for that community to have access to special perks and benefits (which by rights should also be offered here at the same time) threatens to alienate and offend the Friends here on RW.com,” one fan wrote on the RobbieWilliams.com forum. “People are bound to want to join up because of the potential benefits and rewards that Chrissie has outlined above. It is human nature to not want to miss out on something special from our favourite singer.”

“If perks are to be made available, the logical place to have made them available first surely must have been here [RobbieWilliams.com],” she added.

Robbie Williams Poker bills itself as a place for “…having fun with your friends and keeping up with the Robbie Williams community.” No real money is required to play, though it is possible to spend money on the site. Every player gets free play money chips every day, which can then be used to play in games like normal. As players win, solve “missions,” and unlock achievements, they collect experience points (XPs). These XPs are used to advance “levels,” which allow users to unlock more content. Poker winnings, in addition to being used to continue to play poker, can also be used to customize player avatars or buy power-ups that temporarily increase XP and chip earnings. Virtual chips have no cash value and cannot be withdrawn from the site.

The other form of currency at Robbie Williams Poker is “gold.” Gold can be purchased for real money and can be used to enter exclusive tournaments and gain access to restricted items in the avatar shop. Gold purchases are completely optional and are not required to play most of the games at the poker room. The vast majority of tournaments are freerolls, most of which reward winners with chips, avatar items, and even gold, while some do offer real prizes.

Robbie Williams Poker essentially follows a similar model as that of many “Free to Play” online games on the market today, except that it is packaged in a gambling wrapper. Typically, “Free to Play” games use some sort of credit system, allowing customers to play as long as they have credits remaining. Usually, free credits are rewarded every day so that everyone can get a decent amount of game time for free. Players then typically have the option to purchase additional credits to extend their play time or purchase a secondary form of in-game currency (compare this to “gold” in the case of Robbie Williams Poker) that offers additional benefits. The players that are able to advance the farthest and acquire the most valuable/powerful items (ex: weapons, armor) are usually the ones who commit real money to the game, but many games often have in-game economies that players can use to buy and sell items and game currency, allowing even those who don’t pay to have a rich gaming experience, albeit at a slower pace than those who do pay.

Despite Robbie Williams Poker’s status as a non-gambling site, it still adheres to the same rules as many real-money poker rooms, such as no chip dumping, no collusion, and no bots.

Vadzim Kursevich Wins 2012 EPT Deauville

Paul Guichard and Vadzim Kursevich began final table play in the European Poker Tour (EPT) Deauville Main Event very close in chips – Guichard had a 5.955 million to 5.670 million chip lead – and fittingly, it was these same two players who ended up battling it out at the end. After a short but wild heads-up match, it was Vadzim Kursevich who emerged victorious in what was the second largest EPT Deauville in history.

While Guichard and Kursevich started the final table almost neck-and-neck, the story was much different going into heads-up play. Kursevich had a gigantic chip advantage entering the one-on-one match. With a fortress of 23.145 million chips, it looked like Kursevich would make short work of Guichard and his 3.365 million chip mud hut.

While their battle was not long-lived by any means, Kursevich did not come about his title as easily as he might have hoped or expected. Almost right off the bat, Guichard found a bit of luck to double-up. Down to 3.175 million, he moved all-in on the button pre-flop holding just Jc-3c, likely figuring both his cards might be live in addition to having a flush possibility. He was right, as Kursevich called him with Kh-7d; all of the Frenchman’s outs were in play. He nailed one immediately on the flop, as the dealer laid out 3h-9s-5d. The Jd on the turn wrapped it up for him, as his two pair could not be beaten. A meaningless 6s landed on the river and Guichard now had 6.41 million chips versus Kursevich’s 20.1 million. Still a sizeable deficit, but it was a start.

Just ten minutes or so later, Guichard made another big move. Again on the button, he raised pre-flop to 500,000 and Kursevich called. Kursevich checked the 4h-2h-2d flop, Guichard bet 475,000, and Kursevich again called. Same action on the 2s turn, though this time it was for 650,000. It looked like the pattern would repeat itself with the Jh on the river, but Guichard’s 1.5 million chip bet was too rich for Kursevich and the Belarusian laid down his hand. He was still in control of the tournament, but now Kursevich’s chip lead was down to 2-to-1.

Guichard wasn’t done. He wanted to make it all the way back. A few minutes later, Kursevich raised pre-flop to 500,000 and Guichard followed with a re-raise to 1.25 million. Kursevich then four-bet to 2.5 million, but Guichard wasn’t playing around, forcing Kursevich to fold his cards with a shove. With that, Guichard was close to even, trailing just 14.115 million to 12.395 million.

But as quickly as Guichard was feeling great about his chances, it all crumbled to pieces. The action started the same as the last hand we detailed, but rather than tempting fate with another four-bet, Kursevich just called Guichard’s pre-flop three-bet of 1.25 million. The first three community cards came down Js-7h-5d, prompting Guichard to throw out a 625,000 chip bet. Kursevich made the call and the two saw a turn of 9h. Guichard led out once more for 1.325 million, but this time, rather than simply calling, Kursevich shipped his entire stack to the center of the table. Guichard didn’t need to ponder his action at all – he insta-called for around 10 million chips and was all-in for his tournament life. It was an easy call, as he was holding pocket 5’s for bottom set, but he had to a fade a truckload of cards, as Kursevich had 3h-6h, giving him a flush draw and a double belly buster straight draw. Any Heart, 4, or 8 would win it for Kursevich. And it was that 8 that he got on the river, completing his straight and quashing what was amounting to an amazing comeback by Paul Guichard.

For the win, Vadzim Kursevich took home €875,000. This is the first live tournament win of his career, though he has flirted with a major title in the past. Last year, he placed 3rd in the EPT Berlin Main Event, cashing for €300,000. Accounting for currency conversion, Kursevich has now won just shy of $1.75 million on the live tournament circuit.

EPT Deauville – Final Table Standings

1. Vadzim Kursevich – €875,000
2. Paul Guichard – €557,000
3. Vuong Than Trong – €328,000
4. Yorane Kerignard – €260,000
5. Bruno Jais – €200,000
6. Olivier Rogez – €155,000
7. Luca Pagano – €110,000
8. Mick Graydon – €67,200

EPT Deauville Day 5: Paul Guichard Enters Final Table with Chip Lead

Just three tables were filled with players as the European Poker Tour (EPT) Deauville Main Event headed into its fifth day Sunday. While all 24 players seated were guaranteed at least €23,000, much more was just a few hours away, if they could survive that long. Those three tables had been trimmed to one by the end of the day as the final table of EPT Deauville was set. Leading the field of eight by a slim margin is Paul Guichard with 5.955 million chips. Close behind is Vadzim Kursevich with 5.670 million, followed by Olivier Rogez with 4.415 million. Now everyone is guaranteed at least €67,200, but that’s nothing compared to the ultimate goal: the EPT Deauville title and €875,000.

Guichard’s road to the chip lead hinged on two big hands. The first occurred with just 15 players left and Guichard already at the top of the leader board with about 3.83 million chips. He opened the betting pre-flop with a raise only to watch both Denis Cheremisin and Chris Brammer move their short stacks all-in. As he had pocket Kings, Guichard couldn’t call quickly enough. Cheremisin held Jh-Th and Brammer showed As-Ks, so Guichard was in good shape, but he still needed to dodge an Ace and a couple flushes and straights. The flop of Qd-3d-Tc eliminated those flush chances, but the two underdogs were still alive. The 9h on the turn gave Cheremisin a little more hope, but the 4d on the river locked it up for Guichard, eliminating the other two players. That pot sent Guichard up to 5 million chips.

Fast forward to the final table bubble, with nine players left and just one more knockout needed to end the day. Now back in 3rd place with 4.71 million chips, Guichard re-raised pre-flop to 290,000 after Mick Graydon originally raised to 110,000 and Olivier Rogez called. Graydon folded, but Rogez stuck around. Both players checked after the flop of Kd-Tc-8s, but the Jc on the turn prompted Guichard to bet 325,000 chips. Rogez thought a bit and then made the call. Upon seeing the 6h on the river, Guichard bet another 345,000 chips and again, Rogez called. Guichard flipped over Kh-Qd for top pair to take down the 1.27 million chip pot. With that, he was up to almost 6 million and grabbed the chip lead.

If he were to ride his chip lead all the way to victory, it would be far and away Guichard’s biggest score of his live tournament career. The Frenchman has just five cashes to his name (including one small win) for $23,680.

The EPT Deauville final table will commence at noon local time on Monday as the final eight battle it out for glory in the “Parisian Riviera.”

2012 European Poker Tour Deauville – Final Table Chip Counts

Paul Guichard – 5,955,000
Vadzim Kursevich – 5,670,000
Olivier Rogez – 4,415,000
Bruno Jais – 3,450,000
Vuong Than Trong – 2,570,000
Luca Pagano – 2,010,000
Yorane Kerignard – 1,680,000
Mick Graydon – 960,000

Iowa Online Poker Bill Could Come This Month

After several months of analysis and debate, a bill that would legalize and regulate online poker in the state of Iowa could come to the General Assembly as soon as this month, but the battle may just be starting in the Hawkeye State.

An article on IowaPolitics.com written by Lynn Campbell points out the two sides of the argument between members of the General Assembly, which could be just the first salvos in the battle. State senator Jeff Danielson (D-Cedar Falls) says to IowaPolitics.com that he will be introducing a bill later this month that would legalize online poker inside the state. This move comes after the December 23 statement from the U. S. Department of Justice that the Wire Act of 1961, which previously had been used to prevent states from operating online gaming sites, was deemed as only applicable to sports betting.

When the Department of Justice changed its stance, “that took a significant hurdle away from the ability to play poker online,” Danielson stated to IowaPolitics.com. “We believe by the end of this year you will see a handful of states continue to authorize it. Because of the DoJ’s opinion, we believe you’ll see very quickly multi-state compacts.”

Currently, the state of Nevada and the District of Columbia are the only two locations that have passed legislation regarding online poker, but the District of Columbia proposition is coming under fire from the City Council. Other states, such as California, Florida, Connecticut and New Jersey, have or are considering moving on the online poker question.

Although Danielson sees the need for the state of Iowa to step into the online poker arena, other state politicians are not quite as eager. State representative Jeff Kaufmann (R-Wilton) said to IowaPolitics.com that he is ready to fight against the proposal, remarking, “I have a problem any time we’re talking about an expansion of gambling.”

Kaufmann’s opposition, despite evidence that says Iowans are already gambling online, is that it would bring gambling into homes and increase the numbers of people who are gambling. “I see so many people spend so much money they don’t have,” Kaufmann states to Campbell. “I see so many families that are affected negatively by gambling.”

The two politicians also differ on the reasons for opening up online poker inside the borders of Iowa. While a study by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission estimated that an online poker operation could make between $13 and $60 million in a year – and the state would take down $3 to $13 million in taxation revenues – Danielson says that the money isn’t the reason for looking at passing legislation for online poker.

“I don’t give two hoots about the revenue for the state,” Danielson is quoted by Campbell as saying. “We’re in the black (the state budget). We have a surplus…I don’t think that’s the reason to do this.”

Kaufmann, meanwhile, believes that is the exact reason for the drive to regulate online poker in Iowa. “I think it’s about dollars coming into the state coffers,” he said. “I think it’s about dollars going into the pockets of people that own these casinos. A lot of those owners are in Nevada, on the West Coast, and they’re not here in this state.”

The debate over the plan in Iowa to legalize and regulate online poker certainly will continue to be active, especially if and/or when a bill is put in front of the General Assembly for consideration. Poker News Daily will continue to monitor the situation regarding online poker’s potential for regulation – not only on a state by state basis but also on the national level – and provide information when it is available.

EPT Deauville Day Four: Team PokerStars Pro Luca Pagano Leads With 24 Players Remaining

After four days of play at the Casino Barriere, Team PokerStars Pro Luca Pagano surged to the lead of the European Poker Tour stop in Deauville, France, with 24 players remaining.

54 players came to the felt on Saturday, looking to whittle the field down to the final three tables. Leading the pack was Samphane Phomveha with slightly more than 1.4 million in chips, while Day Two chip leader Martins Adeniya was in the Top Ten with a solid 893,000. At the start of the day, Pagano was way down the leaderboard, sitting in 36th place with only 344,000 chips, but he began his surge almost from the start of action.

Within the first level of play on Saturday, Pagano used an aggressive style to begin his assault on the leaderboard. He would take a good sized pot against Kevin Vandersmissen and Andre Corredoira to move up to over 600K in chips, then would assume the chip lead after a massive score against the start of day leader, Phomveha.

After an under the gun raise from Pagano, one player made the call and Phomveha put the squeeze play on, popping the bet to 90K. Pagano made the call and their third decided to drop his hand, allowing Pagano and Phomveha to see the rainbow A-6-7 flop. Pagano put out 125K and, after Phomveha made the call, the duo saw another Ace fall on the turn. Another bet from Pagano, this time for 325K, was called by Phomveha and they would go to the river.

On the ten river, Pagano decided to quit playing around and pushed his remaining stack to the center of the table. Deliberating for a bit, Phomveha decided to make the call and was dismayed to see Pagano turn up pocket sixes for the turned boat. All Phomveha could do was shoot his cards to the muck and a massive portion of his chips to Pagano. He would depart the tournament soon afterwards in 42nd place.

Adeniya did not have a good day either, bleeding chips through much of the early action. He would lose a great deal of his chips to Chris Brammer in a hand where Brammer was penalized for exposing his cards prior to the end of action. On the very next hand, Adeniya would push his remaining chips to the center and Heinz Kamutzki min-raised to isolate. Adeniya was never in contention with his K-7 versus Kamutzki’s pocket Queens and would be eliminated in 43rd place.

As the evening wore on, other players would step up to try to contend with Pagano. Brammer would sit out his one round penalty and still be able to accumulate more chips, ending the day’s action in eighth place with 1.262 million in chips. While he has been able to make it to the final 24, France’s Marc Inizan will have his work cut out for him on Day Five as he only holds 481,000 in chips.

When the cards fly on Sunday at noon (Deauville time), the Top Ten will look like this:

1. Luca Pagano, 3.561 million
2. Olivier Rogez, 2.668 million
3. Vadzim Kursevich, 1.815 million
4. Paul Guichard, 1.7 million
5. Andre Corredoira, 1.316 million
6. Ignat Liviu, 1.303 million
7. Christian Togsverd, 1.271 million
8. Chris Brammer, 1.262 million
9. Artem Litvinov, 1.193 million
10. Yorane Kerignard, 1.124 million

Players will not know what to expect tomorrow as, depending upon the pace of eliminations, it could be a long day. The 24 players will go until the traditional EPT final table of eight is determined. On Monday, the final table will return to determine the champion, who will take home a nice payday of €875,000.

Daniel Negreanu Fans Several Poker Flames In Interview, Claims He Was Misquoted

In a recent interview with a British poker magazine, Canadian poker pro Daniel Negreanu appeared to fan several of the hottest flames in poker. Once the article appeared, however, Negreanu claimed that there were several instances where he was “misquoted” by the author.

The interview with Poker Player UK, written by Alun Bowden and entitled “What’s Wrong With You?” for its January issue, covered a wide range of subjects including the current state of the poker world, improving his online game and the ongoing Full Tilt Poker debacle. True to his nature, Negreanu didn’t pull any punches as, in the first few paragraphs, Bowden states that Negreanu believes that the game of poker is in “big trouble.”

In discussing the current state of the game, Negreanu is quoted as saying, “I think we’re heading in the wrong direction. The WSOP was much more serious and boring this year. It was much more fun with guys in chicken suits being jerks.”

“When poker became popular you had people like Devilfish, Sammy Farha, Doyle Brunson and Phil Ivey,” Negreanu continues. “Today the story is: ‘I dropped out of college and I grinded 20 tables to build my bankroll.’ The story isn’t sexy…they don’t want to hear, ‘Well, he’s raising UTG+1 and polarizing his range with a 31BB effective stack.’”

Daniel allegedly addresses how to fix the current state of the game during the interview, stating, “Televised poker needs to address it. If you want to create the best show you need to create poker personalities. Audiences like Phil Laak and Antonio (Esfandiari)? Then okay you invite them. Daniel Cates? Okay you’re a great player, but nobody gives a s**t. You may be a better player, but who cares?”

Poker Player UK also touches on the subject of Full Tilt Poker, where Negreanu unleashed a few more barbs. Bowden asks the Team PokerStars Pro member his impressions of the ongoing saga and Negreanu doesn’t hold back, stating, “They were running the company like buffoons.” When asked if he had been in touch with any of the former Full Tilt pros, including his good friend Phil Ivey, Negreanu allegedly responds, “I’ve spoken to all of them. They are embarrassed and have disdain for their leaders. They trusted Howard (Lederer)…I didn’t. I don’t trust that family. It’s a family of scoundrels.”

When pressed by Bowdon as to his impressions of Lederer, Negreanu is quoted as saying, “I don’t think he’s evil, but he’s arrogant. He talks to people like they are stupid. I don’t think he set out to defraud people, it’s just negligence, arrogance and incompetence.”

Finally, Negreanu discusses the improvements in his online game, giving credit to his improvement through his usage of poker software and strategy discussions with other players. Perhaps most interesting during this discussion, however, was when Bowden asked Negreanu about his deal with PokerStars.

“If I hadn’t signed with PokerStars I would be a much better player today,” Negreanu reportedly said. “I would be infinitely better. It sounds really bad, and I really enjoy working for PokerStars, but look at the paths me and Ivey took. We were on a similar level and he just played poker non-stop and I started doing a lot more media work. It’s no coincidence that he became the best player in the world and I fell off the map a little. I still think I am one of the best, but I need to work a lot harder on my game.”

Naturally, Negreanu’s alleged statements during the interview were like chum in the water for sharks when it comes to the message boards. Negreanu seemed to have started it himself when he Tweeted on Wednesday, “Just read my article in Poker Player mag and it set a new record for the number of misquotes. Pretty impressive! They twisted everything.”

On the Two Plus Two message boards, the discussion escalated between not only the posters on the site but also Negreanu and Bowden. “Let’s nip this one in the bud,” poster ‘InsidePoker’ (apparently Bowden) wrote yesterday. “There is nothing in that article that is misquoted. It’s all on an audio file if he has any specific points he would like to address.” In the thread, Bowden also apparently releases the audio file after several requests by posters.

Negreanu and Bowden discuss their issues through the 2+2 thread and reach a form of détente, with Negreanu contributing an article to the online arm of PPUK where he clarifies the interview, while the discussion continues to rage on the message board.

Half Of Jonathan Duhamel’s Stolen Money Recovered By Canadian Authorities

While 2010 World Champion Jonathan Duhamel may have had a rough end to 2011, he seems to have recovered nicely through the first few weeks of 2012.

According to reports in the Canadian press, the Longueuil Police Department has recovered roughly half of the money that was stolen from Duhamel during a brazen robbery just before Christmas. For those of you who may have forgotten, Duhamel was the victim of a home invasion on December 21 in which the thieves beat the 2010 World Series of Poker Championship Event winner in order to get him to open his home safe. Once the robbers were able to gain access to that safe, they walked off with approximately $115,000, Duhamel’s WSOP bracelet and a Rolex Submariner that his sponsor site, PokerStars, had gifted him with to commemorate his World Championship victory.

The Longueuil authorities, acting on an anonymous tip, were able to recover the money in a rather strange location. That tip led the Canadian police to a mail box in Longueuil and, after opening the box, found approximately half of the money stolen simply sitting in an envelope. The police were able to identify the money because much of what was stolen was in large denomination Euros, a currency not seen much in North America (as of now, the WSOP bracelet is the only thing that hasn’t been recovered; the Rolex was being worn by one of those alleged to have stolen it when they were arrested).

This latest good news for Duhamel in 2012 comes after the alleged conspirators in the crime – Anthony Bourque, John Clark, Andre-Robert Perron and Duhamel’s ex-girlfriend Bianca Rojas-Latraverse – have all faced preliminary hearings in the case. Arrested within a week of the robbery, the foursome has been charged with various crimes, including assault, kidnapping, breaking and entering and conspiracy. In January, two of the alleged thieves were denied bail during their preliminary hearing on the charges.

During those preliminary hearings, Clark and Rojas-Latraverse presented themselves in less than appealing ways, at least if they were trying to get the judge to set bail for them. Rojas-Latraverse stated that her profession was “professional poker player” and that she had no known home residence for the court. Although her father stepped up during the hearings to state that he would provide a residence for Rojas-Latraverse, he also admitted that he had not been in contact with his daughter for several years.

Clark, for his part, seemed to use the hearing as a tryout for the Chuckle Shack. When asked by the judge directly if he could refrain from alcohol use while awaiting trial (Clark had prior alcohol convictions on his record), he stated that he “wouldn’t like to” but would do it “if he had to.” He had much the same answer when asked if he would abide by court monitored supervision until the trial date.

With this evidence presented, the judge in the case denied bail for Clark and Rojas-Latraverse, remanding them to jail until their February 21 court date. Bourque and Perron are also awaiting their trial dates, with Bourque out on bail and Perron released on his own recognizance.

While these hearings were ongoing, Duhamel went back to his job as a poker player, with outstanding results. During the 2012 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, Duhamel was a terror on the felt, making four final tables in some of the highest buy in events on the schedule. He kicked off what would be a huge January for him by finishing in fourth place in the $100,000 Super High Roller tournament that started the festivities in the Bahamas on January 5.

Three days later, Duhamel would add some more cash to his bankroll. He finished fifth in a $5000 Turbo tournament on January 8, then turned around and won a $5000 NLHE Eight Max event the next day. Jonathan would wrap up his January by finishing in second place in the $25,000 High Roller event on January 12, making his total score for the month of January just north of $1.2 million.

Although 2011 might have ended on a down note, it seems to be obvious that Jonathan Duhamel has adjusted quite nicely in 2012, to be sure!

EPT Deauville Day Two: Martins Adeniya Leads The Pack, Ludovic Lacay & Chris Karagulleyan In Top Ten

Day Two at the European Poker Tour stop in Deauville, France, has come to a close with one of the brighter emerging stars in the poker world, Martins Adeniya, seizing the lead at the end of play on Thursday.

After two Day Ones, the field numbered 889 players, of which 546 came back on Thursday afternoon for the continuation of the event. Leading the pack at the Casino Barriere was Day 1B chip leader Amir Salhani, who had amassed 191,100 chips in his starting day. Following him on the leaderboard was Toufik Ouirini, Day 1A chip leader Kristijonas Andrulis and Philippe Ma, but only Andrulis would be around by the time play ended on Thursday.

Adeniya would seize the lead of the EPT Deauville about two hours into play on Day Two and it came at the expense of Ma. After making a bet in late position, Adeniya saw Ma up the action to 6200, which Adeniya called. After an A-9-4 flop, Ma led out with a 10K bet and Adeniya simply made the call. The same happened on the King turn but, on the five river, Ma moved his remaining chips to the center of the felt. Facing a decision for his tournament life, Adeniya made the call and turned up an A-J for top pair. Ma was bluffing the entire time, showing only 7-4 for bottom pair, and the chip swing rocketed Adeniya into the chip lead with more than 237K in chips.

While this was going on, several of the notable names in the tournament poker world were falling by the wayside. WSOP floor host Kara Scott, Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso, Scotty Nguyen, Praz Bansi, Kevin MacPhee, Arnaud Mattern and EPT Season Seven Player of the Year Fernando Brito all headed out of the Casino Barriere with nothing to show for their efforts, but other top names were able to earn their way to Day Three play.

Looking to complete the mythical poker “Triple Crown,” James “Flushy” Dempsey was able to end the day with 274,600 (good enough for 25th place) after starting with only around 50K to start Thursday’s action. Ludovic Lacay was also active, garnering over 377K in chips to end the day in fourth place, and former World Poker Tour champion Chris Karagulleyan put his name in the hat as a contender by finishing with 360,700 (seventh).

Also of note among the remaining players is the continued success of Team PokerStars Pro Italy’s Luca Pagano, who is looking to continue to extend his record of cashes on the EPT. He is the only PokerStars pro left in the field and, if he is able to outlast fifty people from the 178 remaining players on Friday, Pagano will earn his twentieth lifetime cash on the EPT. Pagano is set well for this pursuit, holding slightly more than 174K in chips.

The day truly belonged to Adeniya, however, as he seemed to dominate pretty much any table he was at. Adeniya was able to push many opponents around as his stack grew, using the late stages of the evening’s play to expand his stack as players looked to survive the Day Two action. By the time that the final cards flew for the night, Adeniya was able to claim the chip lead with his 512,200 in chips:

1. Martins Adeniya, 512,200
2. Brahim Oubella, 452,000
3. Artem Litvinov, 397,100
4. Ludovic Lacay, 377,300
5. Jason Hallee, 375,900
6. Julien Ehrhardt, 363,300
7. Chris Karagulleyan, 360,700
8. Andre Vieira Andrade, 345,000
9. Fehmi Cherif, 338,400
10. Samphane Phomveha, 334,800

The money bubble will burst tomorrow, with the minimum payday of €7500 going to the 128th place finisher. The remaining players are all looking for the big payday, however, as first place will take down €875,000 from the €4.6 million prize pool. The latest champion on the EPT will be determined on Monday night and the final two days of the EPT Deauville will be streamed on the internet via PokerStars.tv.

Norman Chad’s Sense Of Humor Draws Ire Of California Court Judge

According to reports from the Los Angeles Times, ESPN poker commentator Norman Chad – whose sense of humor is well known to the poker community – was chastised by a California Superior Court judge for using that sense of humor over Twitter.

In an article written by the Times’ Kimi Yoshino, Chad was called in for jury duty in January and was selected as a juror in a residential burglary case. As the case was litigated, court officials informed Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Laura Foland Priver, who was the judge for that particular case, that Chad had been Tweeting during the proceedings. Judge Priver took the action of filing contempt of court charges against Chad and dismissed him from the case as a result of his Tweets.

The hearing on those contempt charges brought Chad and his attorney back to the courtroom on Wednesday, where Judge Priver blasted Chad and his attorney. “He made a mockery of our system,” Judge Priver stated during the hearing to Chad’s attorney. “I’m disturbed by this behavior. Once the information is out there, it’s out there forever. The public who sees these Tweets is going to think this behavior is OK.”

For his part, Chad stated when he was dismissed from the burglary hearing that he had not communicated with other jurors hearing the case or Tweeted any information about the trial. This is important because, under California law, communicating during a case is a misdemeanor offense. The court instructions state to all potential jurors that they cannot discuss a case or use an electronic device to e-mail, get on the internet or Tweet.

After receiving the profuse apologies of Chad and his attorney, Judge Priver decided to let him off with a warning, but city attorneys have the option to reinstate charges if they see fit.

While waiting to be selected for a case, Chad allegedly Tweeted while waiting in the jury room, “No tweeting allowed in the courtroom, so I’ll be sending messages-in-a-bottle via the Los Angeles River.” He would later in the day allegedly Tweet, “I was selected for the jury. I asked the judge if we could go straight to jury deliberations but was denied, plus gagged and bound.”

Some of the Tweets Chad allegedly sent might have had something to do with the case, according to Yoshino. “Judge has instructed us not to discuss case, so I can’t go into too many particulars,” Chad allegedly Tweeted. “However, I can tell you this about the case: It involves a retired midwife, a monkey grinder, an (allegedly) stolen microwave and a lawn sprinkler.”

In another few Tweets, Chad allegedly details how he is able to continue to reach out to his internet fans. “To allow me to live-tweet during the trial, I am hiding my iPhone in my left sock (where Bill Belichick keeps his red challenge flag),” one such Tweet attributed to Chad says. In another, Norm says, “Judge has copped a real attitude – every time she speaks, she acts like everyone in the jury box has to stop WHATEVER WE’RE DOING to listen.”

In some of the other alleged Tweets, it simply seems as though Norman is being, for lack of a better term, Norman. “During lunch break, I could’ve sworn I saw defendant getting into a white Bronco with Gloria Allred,” one such alleged Chad Tweet stated. In another, Norman goes for a little bit of levity in Tweeting, “Ran into judge at Panda Express – due to court rules, I couldn’t tell her she was making a mistake ordering the orange chicken.”

Although Chad might be able to dodge the contempt charges, his situation is a good lesson for those of us who might have to perform the civic duty of jury duty…always take the court’s instructions seriously!

Annie Duke Teams Up With NASCAR Foundation To Host Charity Poker Tournament

As they prepare to open their 2012 season on the high banks of the Daytona International Speedway, stock car racing’s biggest names, as well as one of poker’s biggest stars, will come together for a charity poker event later this month.

On February 22 (four days before the 2012 Daytona 500), a charity poker tournament dubbed “High Speed Hold’em on the Halifax” will take place from 7-10PM at the MG on the Halifax, a luxury waterfront community near the Daytona International Speedway. The invitation only event is looking to draw more than 200 players who will put up $500 to take part in the event.

Hosted by the NASCAR Foundation, the tournament is raising money for Speediatrics, the pediatric unit at the Halifax Health Medical Center. NASCAR Foundation chairwoman Betty Jane France is looking forward to drawing together NASCAR’s best drivers, celebrities, poker pros and stock car fans for a thrilling evening of entertainment.

“What a great night this is going to be,” France stated during the announcement of the charity tournament. “(It will be) a lot of fun and all for some worthy causes. The NASCAR Foundation, Speediatrics and poker are things that I love dearly. People who know me can attest to that. This evening is going to be memorable and meaningful. I can’t wait.”

Joining France in hosting the tournament will be legendary driver and NASCAR Foundation board member Rusty Wallace, who admits that he isn’t a great poker player. In an interview with the Daytona Beach News-Journal, Wallace compared playing in the charity tournament to his own career as a Winston Cup championship winning driver, saying, “You’ve got to be a bit nervy and willing to take your chances. You can play it safe the first 450 miles of the race, but the last 50 you’d better have all your stuff right and be able to stick it out there and go for it…sometimes you drive over your head and get to crash and sometimes you don’t. There’s a correlation with poker.”

Also in attendance for the tournament will be poker professional Annie Duke, the commissioner of the Epic Poker League, who will serve as the honorary tournament director for the event. “I am so pleased to play my part in this inaugural tournament to support the NASCAR Foundation’s Speediatrics Program,” Annie added during the announcement of the event. “I’m looking forward to throttling up the action with Betty Jane and Rusty as we raise funds for this great cause.”

For the tournament, each of the 22 tables will have at least one celebrity, driver or poker player seated among the combatants. Notable names that have been confirmed for the tournament are former NASCAR Winston Cup champion Dale Jarrett and former NBA great Brad Daugherty, who is now a stock car analyst with ESPN and a NASCAR team owner. For the winner of the event, a seat at a $1500 Epic Poker League Pro/Am tournament will be the prize.

One player will be able to get into the tournament for free through a special drawing being held by the MG on the Halifax. By going online and registering at eventsatmgonthehalifax.com, one person and a guest will attend the tournament and the winner of the drawing will be able to play in the event. There will also be a charity auction and entertainment for those in attendance.

If the tournament reaches its maximum number of players, it would raise over $100,000 in just the buy ins alone and potentially even more through the auction. The funds would be well used at Speediatrics, which France founded in 1999 as a NASCAR-themed pediatrics unit. It is the only one of its kind in Central Florida that cares for more than 2,000 children each year, including about 300 of those receiving care in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

2012 WSOP Schedule Released

Caesars Entertainment Corporation released the official schedule for the 2012 World Series of Poker (WSOP) today, proudly listing a lineup of 61 bracelet events across 50 days. The festival kicks off Sunday, May 27th with the traditional opening tournament, the $500 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold’em event, with the first open bracelet event, $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em, beginning the following day. Poker action will take place every day through July 16th, at which point the Main Event final table will be determined and the tournament will break until October.

That’s right, October. The WSOP tweeted yesterday that the November Nine was no more, but that was simply a case of them just messing with the minds of the poker community. The November Nine still exists; it is simply moved to October this year to make way for the U.S. Presidential Election in November. The final nine players will play down to two on Sunday, October 28th and the heads-up match will be contested on Tuesday, October 30th.

Prior to the “October Nine,” the Main Event will require just three starting days – July 7-9 – because 92 tables have been added to the tournament area. The new tables, set up in the Brasilia Ballroom, allow enough players to sit at the same time that Day 1D is no longer necessary. Survivors from Days 1A (Saturday) and 1B (Sunday) will combine for Day 2A on Tuesday, July 10th, while the survivors from Monday’s Day 1C will compete on Day 2B on Wednesday, July 11th. Day 3 on Thursday, July 12th, will be the first day to include all remaining players. There will be no off-days during the Main Event.

The changes to the Main Event schedule, resulting in a Main Event which is three days shorter than last year, were made largely to allow players to spend less time in Las Vegas and therefore less time off from work and less money spent on hotel rooms, dining, and the like. The structure of the tournament will remain the same, with two-hour levels and 30,000 starting chips. Five levels will be played each day with 20-minute breaks in between and a 90-minute dinner break after the third level of the day.

Several new bracelet events have been added this year, including:

Event #3: $3,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold’em / Pot-Limit Omaha – this event will have a 512-player cap and will alternate between the two referenced games every 20 minute level.

Event #6: $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em Mixed Max – the tournament will start with 9-handed tables the first day, switch to 6-handed tables the second day, and will change to heads-up once the field is down to 32 players. Those remaining 32 players will then be seeded according to chip stack and be arranged into brackets with the #1 seed facing the #32 seed in the first round and so on and so forth.

Event #28 – $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em / Four Handed – self-explanatory.

Event #49 – $1,500 Ante Only No-Limit Hold’em – everybody posts an ante every hand and there are no blinds.

Event #55 – $1,000,000 Big One for BIG DROP – that’s a one million dollar buy-in, the most expensive poker tournament in history. 11.1 percent of the buy-in will go to the ONE DROP charity. More can be read about this event here.

There are also two “exhibition” events on the schedule. They are still real tournaments with real money to be won, but no bracelet will be awarded. The first, on June 30th, is the $560 Doubles No-Limit Hold’em Event, where two players team-up, alternating levels, to try to win all the chips. The other, held on July 6th, is the $560 Bracelet Bounty No-Limit Hold’em Event in which any player who has previously won a WSOP bracelet will have a bounty placed on his or her head.

The $50,000 Poker Players Championship, Seniors No-Limit Hold’em Championship, and Ladies No-Limit Hold’em Championship are back once again.

2012 World Series of Poker Schedule

May 27 – Event #1: Casino Employees No-Limit Hold’em – $500 – 2-Day Event
May 28 – Event #2: No-Limit Hold’em – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
May 29 – Event #3: Heads Up No-Limit Hold’em / Pot-Limit Omaha (512 player max) – $3,000 – 3-Day Event
May 29 – Event #4: Seven Card Stud Hi-Low 8 or Better – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
May 30 – Event #5: Pot-Limit Hold’em – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
May 31 – Event #6: No-Limit Hold’em Mixed Max – $5,000 – 4-Day Event
May 31 – Event #7: Seven Card Stud – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
June 1 – Event #8: Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
June 2 – Event #9A: No-Limit Hold’em Re-entry – $1,500 – 5-Day Event
June 3 – Event #9B: No-Limit Hold’em – $1,500 – 5-Day Event
June 3 – Event #10: Seven Card Stud – $5,000 – 3-Day Event
June 4 – Event #11: Pot-Limit Omaha – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
June 5 – Event #12: Heads Up No-Limit Hold’em (512 player max) – $10,000 – 4-Day Event
June 5 – Event #13: Limit Hold’em – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
June 6 – Event #14: No-Limit Hold’em Shootout (2,000 player max)  – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
June 6 – Event #15: Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better – $5,000- 3-Day Event
June 7 – Event #16: No-Limit Hold’em / Six Handed – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
June 8 – Event #17: Pot-Limit Hold’em – $10,000 – 3-Day Event
June 8 – Event #18: Seven Card Razz – $2,500 – 3-Day Event
June 9 – Event #19: No-Limit Hold’em – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
June 9 – Event #20: Limit Hold’em – $5,000 – 3-Day Event
June 10 – Event #21: No-Limit Hold’em – $1,000 – 3-Day Event
June 10 – Event #22: 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball (Limit)  – $2,500 – 3-Day Event
June 11 – Event #23: No-Limit Hold’em / Six Handed – $3,000 – 3-Day Event
June 11 – Event #24: Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better – $5,000 – 3-Day Event
June 12 – Event #25: Limit Hold’em Shootout – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
June 12 – Event #26: Pot-Limit Omaha – $3,000 – 3-Day Event
June 13 – Event #27: H.O.R.S.E. – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
June 14 – Event #28: No-Limit Hold’em / Four Handed – $2,500 – 3-Day Event
June 15 – Event #29: Seniors No-Limit Hold’em Championship – $1,000 – 3-Day Event
June 15 – Event #30: 2-7 Draw Lowball (No-Limit) – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
June 16 – Event #31: No-Limit Hold’em – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
June 16 – Event #32: H.O.R.S.E. – $10,000 – 3-Day Event
June 17 – Event #33: No-Limit Hold’em – $1,000 – 3-Day Event
June 18 – Event #34: Pot-Limit Omaha / Six Handed – $5,000 – 3-Day Event
June 18 – Event #35: Mixed Hold’em (Limit/No-Limit) – $2,500 – 3-Day Event
June 19 – Event #36: No-Limit Hold’em Shootout (2,000 player max)  – $3,000 – 3-Day Event
June 19 – Event #37: Eight Game Mix – $2,500 – 3-Day Event
June 20 – Event #38: No-Limit Hold’em – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
June 21 – Event #39: Pot-Limit Omaha – $10,000 – 3-Day Event
June 21 – Event #40: Limit Hold’em / Six-Handed – $2,500 – 3-Day Event
June 22 – Event #41: No-Limit Hold’em – $3,000 – 3-Day Event
June 22 – Event #42: Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi-Low 8 or Better – $2,500 – 3-Day Event
June 23 – Event #43: No-Limit Hold’em – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
June 24 – Event #44: No-Limit Hold’em – $1,000 – 3-Day Event
June 24 – Event #45: The Poker Players Championship  – $50,000 – 5-Day Event
June 25 – Event #46: No-Limit Hold’em – $2,500 – 3-Day Event
June 26 – Event #47: Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
June 26 – Event #48: Limit Hold’em – $3,000 – 3-Day Event
June 27 – Event #49: Ante Only No-Limit Hold’em – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
June 28 – Event #50: No-Limit Hold’em – $5,000 – 3-Day Event
June 29 – Event #51: Ladies No-Limit Hold’em Championship  – $1,000 – 3-Day Event
June 29 – Event #52: 10-Game Mix / Six Handed – $2,500 – 3-Day Event
June 30 – Doubles No-Limit Hold’em (Non-bracelet event) – $560 – 1-Day Event
June 30 – Event #53: No-Limit Hold’em – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
July 1 – Event #54: No-Limit Hold’em – $1,000 – 3-Day Event
July 1 – Event #55: The Big One for One Drop – No-Limit Hold’em – $1,000,000 – 3-Day Event
July 2 – Event #56: No-Limit Hold’em – $1,500 – 3-Day Event
July 3 – Event #57: No-Limit Hold’em / Six Handed – $10,000 – 3-Day Event
July 3 – Event #58: Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better – $3,000 – 3-Day Event
July 4 – Event #59A: No-Limit Hold’em – $1,000 – 4-Day Event
July 5 – Event #59B: No-Limit Hold’em – $1,000 – 4-Day Event
July 5 – Event #60: 2-7 Draw Lowball (No-Limit) – $10,000 – 3-Day Event
July 6 – Bracelet Bounty No-Limit Hold’em (Non-bracelet event) – $560 – 1-Day Event
July 7 – Event #61A: No-Limit Hold’em Main Event  – $10,000 – 10-Day Event
July 8 – Event #61B: No-Limit Hold’em Main Event – $10,000 – 10-Day Event
July 9 – Event #61C: No-Limit Hold’em Main Event – $10,000 – 10-Day Event

WSOP Eliminates November Nine…But Not Really

UPDATE: The WSOP was a complete tease with its tweet saying that the November Nine was not returning this year. While technically true, the Main Event final table is simply being moved up to October 28^th through October 30^th because the U.S. Presidential Election is taking place for the first Tuesday in November. Complete details of the 2012 WSOP schedule can be found here. We have left this article up because, well, we worked hard on it, though we have made a few obvious edits.

Caesars Entertainment Corporation plans to release the schedule for the 43rd Annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) at 1:00pm EST Wednesday, but in advance of the official announcement, a few details have been leaked via the WSOP’s official Twitter account. The sneak preview included one bombshell non-story: the November Nine is no more will not be in November .

As the information was disseminated via Twitter, further detail of the decision was limited. The WSOP simply posted, “A few hints on WSOP schedule coming tomorrow…you won’t find the November Nine returning.”

The November Nine was created in 2008, pushing the final table of the Main Event from July to November (hence the “November Nine” name). One of the main ideas behind the controversial move was to allow the WSOP and ESPN to better market the final table, building up the hype so that more viewers would want to tune into the television broadcast. Additionally, the long break gave the final table competitors the opportunity to ink lucrative sponsorship deals, rather than having to scramble to field offers from online poker rooms just after qualifying for the final table.

Logistically, the schedule change allowed ESPN to air the final table episodes with just a short delay – less than a day – making it so that poker fans would not have to avoid hearing about the results for months before watching the action on television. Still, ESPN made the mistake of actually scrolling the results across its ticker before the episodes aired, spoiling it for many.

Initially most poker players and fans bucked against the change, disliking the break in the tournament’s continuity. People also felt it gave an unfair boost to the chances of the final table’s weaker players, as they would now have months to receive coaching and study their opponents. Ylon Schwartz, one of the original “November Niners” and 4th place finisher in the 2008 Main Event, had scathing words about the change, telling Poker News Daily, “It ruins the integrity of the tournament. The purity of old-time Las Vegas is gone. The antiquity and purity of the tournament have been liquidated into pure greed and capitalism.”

Nevertheless, the November Nine stayed in place through 2011 and, on the whole, the poker community seemed to get used to it, even if it was not completely embraced. The television coverage improved immensely, as well, as the broadcast delay was cut down to just 15 minutes this year, making the final table “almost live.” The entire Main Event was done in a similar way, with just a 30 minute delay. Die-hard poker fans loved the “almost live” coverage, as it allowed them to watch every hand and really get involved in the nitty-gritty of the final table play, but casual fans tended to be turned off by it, as the lack of hole cards made it more difficult for them to understand what was happening.

The success of the near-live broadcast may be one of the primary reasons for was rumored to spell the demise of the November Nine. Our own Earl Burton spoke to this the day the 2011 final table started, writing here on Poker News Daily:

“Rumors have abounded over the past few days that this year’s ‘November Nine’ may be the last, especially with ESPN stepping up and providing the ‘nearly live’ coverage that it did for the final few days of the Championship Event this year. With such a live draw – if ESPN were to continue the ‘nearly live’ format – it wouldn’t make sense to delay the final table and kill the drama.”

Aside from the big November Nine news, the WSOP also previewed a few other schedule details via Twitter:

•    There will be no off-day during the Main Event this year.
•    The number of tables has been increased to 480, allowing for 1,000 more players in the tournament area.
•    The Main Event will be three days shorter “without compromising structure at all.”
•    All days of the Main Event will last for 5 levels, starting at noon and ending at 12:40am. The last day is the lone possible exception.

As noted earlier, the 2012 WSOP schedule will be officially released at 1:00pm. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for all the updates.

EPT Deauville Day 1A: Andrulis, Ma in Dead Heat

From one beach to another. The Bahamas to the “Parisian Riviera.” It has been over two weeks since the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure adjourned, but now it is time for the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) Deauville stop. The Casino Barriere at The Deauville International Centre is the destination this week, as EPT Deauville kicked off Tuesday with the first of two starting days for the €5,000 + €300 Main Event.

It was a very solid turnout for Day 1A, as 339 runners found their seats in the casino’s new tournament area. Leading the remaining 221 players are Lithuania’s Kristijonas Andrulis and France’s Philippe Ma with almost identical chip stacks – 162,600 and 162,200, respectively. Day 1B will need to improve on Tuesday’s attendance numbers to eclipse last year’s record of 891 players, but considering later starting days typically have larger fields than earlier ones, it looks like there is a fighting chance to set a new EPT Deauville record.

As we mentioned in our EPT Deauville preview yesterday, this tournament was on a forced hiatus for a couple years starting in 2007 because of problems with the gambling laws in France. Obviously, everything has been resolved, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some quirks to tournament play in the country. As the good people over at the PokerStars Blog have pointed out, there are no final tables deals of any kind allowed. At all. No exceptions. While some might be slightly annoyed by this, it won’t affect many people, and frankly, most players, even those who like making deals, are probably a bit relieved by this. It can be stressful trying to strike a deal, especially for those who don’t have any experience at it. It is hard enough to figure out if you are getting a fair shake, but if there are others involved who are aggressive or impatient, the process can be quite intimidating. In France, players can just concentrate on the game at hand.

Another rule difference involves raising rules. In French gambling, the minimum raise permitted is one that is twice the previous bet, rather than twice the previous raise. While this shouldn’t be a problem most of the time, it would not be surprising to see a little confusion at least once late in a tournament if someone wants to make a traditional min re-raise.

Day 1B of the EPT Deauville Main Event will start at noon local time (6:00am EST) Wednesday as a new batch of players look to join the 221 Day 1A survivors for Thursday’s Day 2.

EPT Deauville – End of Day 1A Chip Leaders

1.    Kristijonas Andrulis – 162,600
2.    Philippe Ma – 162,200
3.    Elie Payan – 141,800
4.    Julien Claudepierre – 128,200
5.    Marchel Masaladzhiu – 114,600
6.    Yoann Amaudry – 111,600
7.    Denis Patout – 102,500
8.    Pavel Perfilov – 100,300
9.    Pierre Barthelemy – 99,800
10.    Jean Marc Rigaill – 97,400

PokerStars Celebrates 75 Billionth Hand

The hands may have slowed down a bit on PokerStars since Black Friday, but that doesn’t mean the action isn’t still fast and furious at the world’s largest online poker room. And just as the beat goes on, so does the march towards 100 billion hands. In the meantime, there are some other milestone hands to pass on the way to the big one-oh-oh (with a bunch more “oh’s” after that). Next up: 75 billion. To celebrate, as PokerStars is wont to do, the poker room is giving away up to a million dollars over the next several days as part of its “Road to 100 Billion” promotion.

The promotion is quite simple. All players have to do for a chance to win is play at any real money ring game table. The good news in this promo is that everyone has the same chance to win. High stakes players are at no real advantage over micro stakes players. The bad news is that it is all luck, as the way to win is to be dealt into a millionth hand (ex: 74,801,000,000 or 74,950,000,000).

But, if you are one of the lucky ones to be dealt into a milestone hand, you could receive quite the windfall. Anyone dealt into one of the millionth hands will receive a base cash prize of $20 plus $60 multiplied by the number of VIP Player Points (VPPs) earned during the previous 50 hands at that table (note: it’s the VPPs at that table, not across all tables). For example, someone who is dealt into a milestone hand and has earned 28 VPPs in the previous 50 hands at that same table will win $1,700 ($20 base prize + $60 x 28). Whoever wins the milestone hand will have their prize doubled.

And then there is the Mega Milestone hand, the 75 billionth hand, where the stakes are increased dramatically. Those dealt into the big hand will receive a base prize of $10,000 and have added to that $1,000 times the number of VPPs earned at that table during the last 50 hands. Thus, using the same example from above, a player who has earned 28 VPPs during the past 50 hands would win $38,000. And again, the winner of the hand will see their prize doubled. If you are one of the lucky ones to be dealt into the 75 billionth hand, by all means, do not fold pre-flop! In one of the lesser milestone hands, there could actually be some justification for doing so if the VPPs earned leading up to the hand wouldn’t produce a large enough jackpot to make up for the loss of a buy-in, but only the very highest stakes players would have a chance to be at risk of a loss in the Mega Milestone hand.

If the pot is split, every player who won some piece of the main pot will see their prize doubled.

Remember, tournament hands do not count in this promotion. Cash games are what matter. The overall hand number can be seen at the top of each table, so it is always easy to see how close the next milestone is. Best of luck to everyone!

EPT Deauville Kicks Off Tuesday

After a more than two week break following the fun, sun, and hours upon hours in the poker room at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA), the European Poker Tour (EPT) will resume Tuesday in Deauville, France. EPT Deauville will be a €5,000 + €300 event with a 1,000 runner cap, slated to run through February 6th.

This year, the festivities will be held in the new tournament area of the Casino Barriere at The Deauville International Centre. The venue is situated right on the shore of the English Channel and is attached to the famous Hotel Royal Barriere, which celebrates its 99th birthday this year. Deauville itself is a prestigious resort city, part of an area sometimes called the “Parisian rivieria,” as it is the nearest seaside resort to the French capital.

The EPT Deauville Main Event will begin with two starting days on Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by Days 2 and 3 on the remaining weekdays. Saturday’s Day 4 will end when 24 players remain (though plans can always change depending on how quickly or slowly players are eliminated), while Day 5 will conclude when the eight-handed final table is determined. Monday, February 6th is when the final table will be contested and the champion will be crowned.

Last year saw the largest turnout ever for the EPT Deauville Main Event, with 891 entrants creating a €4,276,800 prize pool. Lucien Cohen won the big tournament in his home country, banking €880,000.

Deauville has been a stop on the European Poker Tour since the Tour’s inception in 2004, though it was simply called the French Open in Seasons 1 and 2. Because of legal problems surrounding gambling in France, Deauville had to be removed from the schedule in early 2007, but it returned in January 2009 during Season 5 with its new name, EPT Deauville.

In addition to the €5,300 Main Event, there are close to 20 other side events, including a €10,000 + €300 No-Limit Hold’em tournament, a 32-player maximum, 2-day Heads-up event, and a 2-day Pot-Limit Omaha tournament. One unique tournament at EPT Deauville will be held Friday: a €300 + €30 men’s only event. The women will get their own tourney the following day, and to make things even more interesting, the winner from each will square off in a heads-up match on Sunday. In addition, the €1,000 + €100 2-day No-Limit Hold’em event starting Saturday, February 4th will be part of the France Poker Series.

While it is a bit late to qualify online at PokerStars, there is still a live super satellite into Day 1B of the Main Event on Tuesday at the casino. The tournament will cost €500 + €50, will allow one re-buy, and will start at 4:00pm local time. For those who miss that, there will be a few other super satellites during the week for players interested in trying to win seats into some of the other festival’s events, including the €10,000 No-Limit Hold’em event.

PartyPoker Launching Card Rush Promotion

Starting February 1st and running through the rest of the month, PartyPoker will be holding its Card Rush promotion, giving real money players a chance to win cash and freeroll entries just for playing poker like they normally would.

Card Rush is a very simple promotion. For every 15 Party Points a player earns, PartyPoker will award one Card Rush card. Players can then check their accounts to “scratch off” the cards to reveal their prizes. Every card will award some sort of prize. Players can collect up to 50 cards per day, though if that maximum is not reached, any Party Points earned towards the next card will carry over to the next day.

Each Card Rush card will contain one of the following prizes:

Party Points – 10, 20, 50, 100, 150, 250, 750, 5,000, or 25,000
Cash – $1, $2, $3, $5, $10, $50, $250, or $5,000
Freeroll Entry – $2,000 (prize pool), $3,000, $5,000, $7,500, $10,000, $15,000, or $20,000
Card Rush Race Points – 1, 3, 5, 10, or 20

The Card Rush Race Points listed above can only be earned via Card Rush cards. Every point collected will count towards the Card Rush Race leader board standings, where players can win more cash prizes. The player who finishes the promotion with the most points will bank $9,000.  The top ten finishers will all win four-figure amounts, on down to $100 for 151st through 200th place. Additionally, the players who finish in every 20th place from 220th through 2000th, called “hot spots,” will win $50.

The freeroll schedule is as follows:

$2,000 Card Rush Freeroll – March 2nd at 13:00 ET
$3,000 Card Rush Freeroll – March 4th at 13:00 ET
$5,000 Card Rush Freeroll – March 3rd at 13:00 ET
$7,500 Card Rush Freeroll – March 5th at 14:30 ET
$10,000 Card Rush Freeroll – March 3rd at 14:30 ET
$15,000 Card Rush Freeroll – March 2nd at 14:30 ET
$20,000 Card Rush Freeroll – March 4th at 13:00 ET

Unfortunately, if a player wins multiple entries to the same freeroll, no substitute prize will be awarded in place of the extra seats.

As already noted, the Card Rush promotion will run through the end of February, though it is limited to 1.8 million prize cards, so it could end earlier. Additionally, as a small bonus, PartyPoker will award every player their first card after only 5 Party Points, rather than 15.

PartyPoker just completed its January promotion, the VIP Rake Race, exclusive to Palladium and Palladium Elite players. Thousands of dollars in cash prizes were awarded to the top Party Points earners in each loyalty group every week of the month.

PartyPoker is currently ranked as the second largest online poker room in the world in terms of cash game traffic, according to PokerScout.com. It sits in the middle of the clear top three, way behind PokerStars, which has a seven day average of 26,000 cash game players, and the iPoker Network, with 4,000. PartyPoker is just ahead of iPoker with 4,550 cash game players.

Oliver Speidel Wins 2012 Aussie Millions Main Event; Phil Ivey Wins Super High Roller

After a dominant performance over seven hours of final table play, hometown favorite Oliver Speidel crushed the opposition to take down the championship of the 2012 Aussie Millions Main Event.

When the seven man final table reported for work on Sunday afternoon in the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia, Bjorn Li held a 1.3 million chip lead over Speidel, but the chip counts of all the players were close enough together that any slight miscalculation would drop the leaders to the bottom of the pack. This is what happened in the early going to bring new blood to the top of the leaderboard.

After about an hour of play, Li raised the pot and both Kenneth Wong and Mohamad Kowassarie decided to come along for the ride. After a monochrome K-Q-7 all heart flop, Kowassarie and Wong would both call a 200K bet from Li to see a turn Ace. The fireworks went off with that card, with Kowassarie checking and Li betting 435K, inducing a fold from Wong. Surprising many in the Crown, Kowassarie check raised all in for nearly two million in chips and drew a call from Li.

After the cards were turned up, it was easy to see how each player believed he had the best hand (or at least a redraw to the best). Li’s pocket sevens had caught on the flop for a set, but Kowassarie had struck on the turn with his J-10 for the Broadway straight. After dodging the board pairing on the river, Kowassarie assumed the chip lead and Li sunk to the middle of the pack.

Soon after this battle, Speidel began his assault on the leaderboard that would bring him the championship. He knocked out Yann Dion in seventh place while Kowassarie and Li locked up again, with Li being eliminated in sixth place when his A-Q couldn’t catch Kowassarie’s pocket threes. With play five handed, Speidel held a nearly three million chip lead over Mile Krstanoski and he wouldn’t look back on his way to the title.

Over the final two hours of the tournament, Speidel would eliminate every one of his four remaining opponents. By the time heads up play was reached, Speidel would hold a commanding 3.5/1 lead over his opponent, Wong. In a brisk twenty minutes, Speidel would maintain control of the final table. On the last hand, Speidel and Wong entered into a raising battle which saw Wong’s stack hit the center of the felt. He was in bad shape, however, as Speidel tabled pocket Aces against Wong’s pocket nines. Once no nine came on the board, Oliver Speidel was crowned the champion of the Aussie Millions Main Event.

1. Oliver Speidel, $1,600,000
2. Kenneth Wong, $1,000,000
3. Mile Krstanoski, $610,000
4. Mohamad Kowassarie, $405,000
5. Patrick Healy, $300,000
6. Bjorn Li, $230,000
7. Yann Dion, $170,000

For those that may think Speidel could be a one hit wonder, think again. Along with winning the Main Event at this year’s Aussie Millions, Speidel also finished second in the $1000 Shootout event and sixth in the Bounty tournament. He also won the Manny Pacquiao World Poker Event championship in December of 2011.

While Speidel was dominating on his way to the Aussie Millions championship, sixteen men would put up the massive buy in to take part in the $250,000 Super High Roller championship. With such a small field, only three players would take down some cash from the tournament, but they would be some of the biggest names in the poker world.

The four men who would determine the champion read like a Who’s Who of the game of poker. Daniel Negreanu, Gus Hansen, Patrik Antonius and Phil Ivey battled it out, with Negreanu eventually falling as the unfortunate “bubble boy.” After Hansen was dumped in third, Antonius and Ivey would slug it out over the span of an hour before a champion was determined.

On the final hand, Antonius pushed his stack to the center and was immediately called by Ivey, who tabled A-Q against Antonius’ K-3. Although a three came on the flop, a Queen came on the turn to switch the tables back to Ivey. Once a blank hit on the river, Phil Ivey emerged as the champion of the Super High Rollers.

1. Phil Ivey, $2,000,000
2. Patrik Antonius, $1,200,000
3. Gus Hansen, $800,000

Congratulations to Phil Ivey on his return to his championship form and further congratulations to the latest champion of the Aussie Millions, Oliver Speidel!

Is Chris Ferguson Holding Up Bernard Tapie/Full Tilt Deal?

According to a report from one of the most reliable sources of information regarding the ongoing Full Tilt Poker fiasco, poker professional Chris “Jesus” Ferguson could potentially be holding up the deal between the site and Groupe Bernard Tapie, a deal that may bring the beleaguered online site back online.

Subject: Poker, who has provided many of the details regarding the GBT/FTP deal, reports that Ferguson is allegedly holding up any further movement over the deal because of money that he put towards the site following “Black Friday.” According to S:P, the former World Champion accepted just under $60 million from Full Tilt since 2007, which he put into different bank accounts under the Pocket Kings, Ltd., umbrella. Although he withdrew and spent about $45 million of that money, what Ferguson is looking for is allegedly the remainder, $14.3 million, after a rather ill-advised move.

According to the S:P report, Ferguson allowed that $14.3 million to go back into the Full Tilt accounts to take care of expenditures by the company post-Black Friday. While allowing this money to go back to FTP, Ferguson allegedly felt that this “good will” gesture would put him at the front of the line as a potential owner under the revamped Full Tilt Poker, in whatever form. This, however, would prove to be wishful thinking.

Negotiations with the U. S. Department of Justice by Groupe Bernard Tapie have allegedly resulted in the federal authorities approving the deal for GBT to buy Full Tilt Poker, but with a caveat: that none of the current ownership of Full Tilt Poker be allowed to have even partial ownership of the company post-deal. This is the current hang up, according to S:P, and it could be some time before there is a compromise made.

Ferguson and his attorney, Ian Imrich, have requested an accounting of the Full Tilt books and, as of today, have not received this accounting. S:P reports that Ferguson and Imrich have threatened to file lawsuits to create a “constructive trust” (a trust set up by the court to benefit a party that has been wrongfully deprived of its rights in business dealings) and to file for injunctive relief against Full Tilt Poker. These actions would potentially delay the plans for Groupe Bernard Tapie to take the helm of the Full Tilt ship, delaying payment to potentially thousands of players around the world (U. S. players, under the deal with the government, would be paid by the Department of Justice).

Subject: Poker appropriately ends this discussion by stating, “(We) would like to make it clear that we have no reason to believe that the above threats (by Ferguson and his attorney) have in any way been successful in stalling or impeding the (GBT/FTP) deal.”

As expected, the backlash in the poker community has been fervent and, for the most part, entirely against Ferguson and his attorney. On the Two Plus Two forums, poster ‘Carthac’ stated, “I really want to react with a rational response to this, but what can be said of his actions besides of them being pure greed. This man not only shamed himself with FTP, put 100′s of millions of dollars of player money in jeopardy because of his extremely dishonest, greedy, and immoral actions, but now he wants to stand in the way of possibly recuperating and refunding his customers because of personal monetary issues from his former company? What complete scum of the earth.”

On the Pocket Fives forum, poster ‘maxtinder’ says, “Chris Ferguson should be extremely embarrassed that he plays poker,” while another poster, ‘emptypockets,’ writes in his post, “Just lost all respect for Jesus…no pun intended.”

This is just the latest is what has turned out to be a Shakespearian tragedy for what used to be the second largest online poker site in the industry. As of now, there are hopes that Groupe Bernard Tapie is still involved in the purchase of the assets of Full Tilt Poker, but each day that goes by without closure only incites the ire of the online poker community even more than it already has reached.

2012 Aussie Millions Day Five: Final Table Determined As Bjorn Li Leads Oliver Speidel

After battling through a difficult field of 659 players at the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia, the final table has been determined in the 2012 Aussie Millions Main Event, with Bjorn Li holding a slightly more than 1.3 million chip lead over Oliver Speidel.

Saturday’s play brought back the final twelve men in the event, each guaranteed a minimum payday of $100,000 (Australian) just by walking in the door. Leading the pack was Yann Dion with 2.67 million in chips, but he was closely followed by Li (2.471 million) and Mohamad Kowssarie (2.23 million). While these men were the players in true contention for the title, the eyes of the railbirds were particularly on two men, 2006 Aussie Millions champion Lee Nelson (1.651 million) and a short stacked (699K) Phil Ivey.

Those who came to watch Ivey had a short stay in the Crown on Saturday afternoon. Within thirty minutes of the opening of Day Five play, Ivey was headed to the cash out cage. After a raise from Dion, Ivey popped a three bet in to 140K. After a moment of thought, Dion pushed his remaining stack in, with Ivey making the call for less.

Ivey would prove to be in a difficult spot, his A-Q dominated by Dion’s A-K, but the board would provide some fun. Three deuces came on the flop, leaving potential for a split pot, and the eight on the turn didn’t change that. Once a nine came on the river, however, Dion’s Big Slick was better than Ivey’s Big Chick, knocking Phil Ivey out in twelfth place.

Nelson would fare better, although it didn’t start off well for him. After doubling up Mile Krstanoski, Nelson bided his time as Patrick Healy assumed the chip lead after he doubled up through Dion. Nelson would find his way back into the fight after eliminating Karim Jomeen in eleventh place, putting him in the middle of the pack with ten players left.

The former Aussie Millions champion would reach his high water mark against Li, taking a pot of over one million chips to push his way to 2.1 million. He would lose most of those chips, however, when he was coolered by Speidel. After an opening raise from Speidel and a three bet from Krstanoski, Nelson four bet the pot to 305K. Speidel almost immediately pushed all in, forcing Krstanoski out and eventually drawing a call from Nelson. Speidel’s pocket Kings were way ahead of Nelson’s pocket Queens and, after an uneventful board, Nelson was knocked down to under 300K in chips.

After a couple of double ups, Nelson was among the final nine but could push no further. On his final hand, Nelson and Speidel hooked up again, this time with Speidel holding pocket eights to Nelson’s A-K. The board proved to be interesting – 6-5-4-3-7, a straight – but the eights in Speidel’s hand gave him a bigger hand, knocking Lee Nelson out in ninth place.

Down to the final eight, the players convened for the unofficial final table with Speidel holding a slight lead over Dion and Kowssarie. Kowssarie would take over the lead against Dion, moving up to 4.2 million in chips, while Li (who started the unofficial final table as the short stack) slowly began moving up the board. Over the span of the next four hours, the combatants would jostle for position, playing carefully with a great deal of money on the line.

After this epic tussle, the final table was determined when Li and Daniel Idema locked up in a big hand. After Li made an initial raise to 85K, Speidel made the call and Krstanoski came along for the ride as well. In the small blind, however, Idema moved all in for almost 1.4 million. This didn’t stop Li, as he pushed in his own stack and forced Speidel and Krstanoski out of the pot. In what seemed like a theme during the day, Li’s A-K was in a dominant position over Idema’s A-Q and, once the board came seven high, Daniel Idema was knocked out in eighth place ($125,000).

When the final table convenes on Sunday afternoon (Melbourne time), here’s how the contenders will line up:

1. Bjorn Li, 4.775 million
2. Oliver Speidel, 3.145 million
3. Patrick Healy, 2.995 million
4. Kenneth Wong, 2.33 million
5. Yann Dion, 2.325 million
6. Mile Krstanoski, 2.295 million
7. Mohamad Kowssarie, 1.75 million

With the players packed tightly together, there is no clear favorite for the championship. A slip up by some of the leaders – or an unfortunate beat – can immediately bring back any of the shorter stacked players. It will be an exciting conclusion on Sunday when the champion of the 2012 Aussie Millions is determined.

2012 European Poker Awards Handed Out, Sam Trickett Takes Player Of The Year

In what might be viewed as a slight upset, the United Kingdom’s Sam Trickett was voted Player of the Year at the 2012 European Poker Awards over poker Triple Crown winner and countryman Jake Cody during awards ceremonies held last night.

The 2012 EPAs, held at the famous Aviation Club de Paris in France, honored the best players in the European poker arena for their performance over the 2011 calendar year. In the Player of the Year category, it was widely considered that Trickett and Cody were the top contenders for the award, with World Champion Pius Heinz, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Eugene Katchalov and Andrey Pateychuk also up for the award. After voting by the select eight member panel convened by the EPA, Trickett’s 2011 performance was viewed as superior.

Trickett earned more than $4.5 million during the 2011 tournament season while winning several high profile tournaments. He captured the championship of the $100K High Roller at the 2011 Aussie Millions, finished second in the $250K Super High Roller at the same event and also won the Partouche Poker Tour Main Event in November. These performances pushed him past Cody, who completed poker’s Triple Crown with a bracelet victory at the World Series of Poker last summer.

Although Grospellier was shut out of the Player of the Year award, he was able to capture the Rob Gardner Memorial Poker Personality of the Year award. Heinz also was able to pick up some hardware during the awards ceremonies, earning the Best Tournament Performance of 2011 for his World Series of Poker Championship Event victory over Fabrice Soulier, Benny Spindler, Trickett and Cody. Pateychuk, who captured World Poker Tour and European Poker Tour championships during 2011 (and also drove deep in the WSOP Main Event), was crowned as the Rookie of the Year.

In what was perhaps the most difficult category to handicap, Russia’s Natalya Nikitina was honored as Europe’s Leading Lady for her championship winning performance during the WPT Russia in 2011. Nikitina was able to defeat perennial nominees Liv Boeree and Victoria Coren and first time nominees Nesrine Kourdourli, Barbara Martinez and Cecilia Pescaglini to earn the award.

In one of the most important awards from the EPAs, legendary poker announcer Jesse May was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the panel. This award was the only one that had no nominees; instead, the eight member panel chose to honor someone for their contributions to the game of poker. May was an excellent choice for the Lifetime Achievement Award from his longtime hosting skills of a plethora of poker events, including the seminal poker program Late Night Poker, and his writing endeavors.

Other awards handed out during the festivities at the Aviation Club included Warren Lush being honored as Staff Person of the Year for his work with bwin.Party, Ilari Sahamies for his efforts as Internet Player of the Year and the WSOP Cannes as the European Poker Event of the Year.

All of these players are worthy of joining the historic list of players who have previously captured an EPA. Dating back to 2000, EPA winners include Marcel Luske (a three time winner), Barny Boatman, Gus Hansen, David “The Devilfish” Ulliott, Rob Hollink, Roland de Wolfe, Annette Obrestad and Sandra Naujoks. Congratulations to all of the winners and to the EPAs for their twelfth annual awards show; the poker world looks forward to whom will be honored come next year!

2012 Aussie Millions Day Three: Matt Turk Leads Tim O’Shea After Short Day Of Play

After what turned out to be the shortest day of play yet at the 2012 Aussie Millions Main Event, Matt Turk holds the lead over Day Two leader Tim O’Shea and a host of top professionals, including Phil Ivey, with Day Three in the books.

75 players were alive and kicking when the play began on Thursday in the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia, but a few of those players would not be happy to come back to action. With a field of 659 players, 72 of them would get some hard earned cash for their efforts; this meant that three players in action today would go home empty handed for all their work. Although the field was able to get to the bubble quite quickly, it would be a two hour slog before Frank Paul (holding A-J off suit) was eliminated from the tournament by Kenna James’ 8-5 to take the dubious crown of “bubble boy.”

Once Paul vacated the tournament floor, the eliminations came fairly quickly. The plan was to play five levels on Thursday, but those “in the money” players were able to break the field down in a measly three levels. Along the way, several notable names were dropped from the action as the true contenders began to step forward.

James could not sustain his drive from his elimination of Paul, eventually succumbing to Jason Koon in a particularly brutal fashion. After Koon made a raise from the button, James three bet the action out of the small blind. Once the big blind mucked, Koon pushed in his remaining chips and was called immediately by James. It turned out the quick call meant exactly what an experienced player would expect – pocket Aces – as Koon could only turn up a pocket pair of deuces. The flop was unkind to James, however, delivering a third deuce for Koon and, once he was able to fade a flush draw on the turn, Jason Koon dispatched Kenna James in 57th place ($15,000 Australian).

James was joined on the rail by a host of top players who, while taking down some cash, surely were disappointed not to be going any further. Billy Argyros (51st, $20,000), Michael Tureniec (46th, $20,000) and 2012 Aussie Millions $1,000 Rebuy champion Michael Pedley (34th, $30,000) all headed to the cage earlier than they wanted.

Koon himself would be the last victim of a frantic Thursday of play, and the hand would put Turk atop the leaderboard. After several bets, Turk put in enough chips for Koon to be all in and the duo exposed their hands. Koon’s A-K was trailing Turk’s pocket tens pre flop and, right in the window, he saw another King. Koon’s elation was short-lived, however, as the flop fanned out with a ten as well. Once a blank came on the turn to leave him drawing dead, Jason Koon was out of the tournament in 27th place ($35,000).

While Turk was able to surge to the chip lead with the final hand of the night, several other players who have seemingly been atop the leaderboard all tournament kept pace. Although he will have approximately half of the chips that Koon has, O’Shea was able to work his way through the Day Three carnage with more chips than he started the day with. Ivey, for his part, kept a steady pace as well, seemingly unfazed by his six-month absence from the tournament arena.

Two players made significant advancements through the field to put themselves in contention for the 2012 Aussie Millions championship. Minh Nguyen started Day Three action with only 238,000 in chips but, by the end of the night on Thursday, had amassed nearly one million in chips. 2011 World Series of Poker bracelet winner Daniel Idema’s move up the leaderboard was perhaps more impressive, starting the day with 350K in chips and ending Thursday’s action with over one million.

With Day Three action in the books, there is one former champion left in the field, 2006 winner Lee Nelson, who is a part of the Top Ten heading to play on Friday:

1. Matt Turk, 2.675 million
2. Tim O’Shea, 1.376 million
3. Patrick Healy, 1.353 million
4. Bjorn Li, 1.222 million
5. Yann Dion, 1.156 million
6. Phil Ivey, 1.107 million
7. Daniel Idema, 1.033 million
8. Minh Nguyen, 992,000
9. Borge Dypvik, 882,000
10. Lee Nelson, 878,000

The final 26 players will return to the Crown Casino on Friday afternoon (Melbourne time), with the goal of working down to the final table. After action on Saturday, we will learn who will walk off with the $1.6 million first place prize and the prestigious title of 2012 Aussie Millions Main Event champion.

WPT Releases Season X Television Schedule

The World Poker Tour (WPT) released its Season X television schedule Wednesday, circling February 12th as the jump-off point for the series. The first episode, along with all subsequent episodes, will air at both 8:00pm and 11:00pm local time.

The season, which will once again be broadcast on Fox Sports Net (FSN), will consist of 37 episodes, up 11 from Season IX. Part of the change is an increase in the number of episodes per tournament; the story of each tour stop will now be told across three episodes instead of just two. Strong ratings were likely another catalyst for the added episodes, as ratings increased 30 percent from Season VIII to Season IX.

“The steadfast effort put into revamping the World Poker Tour last season was rewarded with resounding fan and viewer support,” said WPT President Adam Pliska in a press release. “For WPT Season X, we’re debuting more innovations and giving our audience even more reasons to tune in each week.”

One of those innovations is a new segment called WPT Champions Cup in which some of the most memorable moments from WPT final tables will be relived. Another new segment, On the Road, will give viewers a sort of “behind the curtain” look at the lives of the WPT cast.

Speaking of cast, poker icons Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten will again be the voices behind the microphones, just as they have been since the very first televised episode of the World Poker Tour. Kimberly Lansing is back as the WPT Anchor, while Tony “Bond18” Dunst returns as the analyst on Raw Deal.

The first episode of the new season will be a special Season X preview, setting viewers up for the months to come. The Legends of Poker will be the first tournament to air, running three consecutive Sundays from February 19th through March 4th. The season will continue from there with 11 more tournaments, each consisting of three weekly episodes. All tour stops in the United States will be broadcast except for the first Jacksonville and Seminole Hard Rock events. The second stops at both locations will be shown. Two different tournaments at the WPT World Championship will be aired: the $25,000 World Championship itself as well as the $100,000 Super High Roller event.

For those who miss the Sunday broadcasts, each episode will re-air every Wednesday at 11:00pm local time.

The complete World Poker Tour Season X television schedule is as follows:

Feb. 12 – Season X Special
Feb. 19-Mar. 4 – Legends of Poker
Mar. 11-25 – WPT Grand Prix de Paris
Apr. 1-15 – Borgata Poker Open
Apr. 22-May 6 – World Poker Final
May 13-27 – Five Diamond World Poker Classic
June 3-17 – WPT Venice Grand Prix
June 24-July 8 – LA Poker Classic
July 15-29 – Bay 101 Shooting Star
Aug. 5-19 – Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown
Aug. 26-Sep. 9 – WPT Jacksonville
Sep. 16-30 – WPT World Championship Super High Roller
Oct. 7-21 – WPT World Championship

2012 Aussie Millions Day 2: Tim O’Shea Soars Into Lead, Phil Ivey Second

The more things change, the more they stay the same. On Day 2 of the 2012 Aussie Millions, Robert Lam may have been knocked from the top spot, but right there, still stalking the chip leader is the one guy who can make any chip leader very uncomfortable, Phil Ivey. Lam is still in contention with 74 players remaining, having increased his stack to 225,000 chips, but that wasn’t nearly enough to keep up with Tim O’Shea, who ended the day head and shoulders above the field with 921,000 chips. Ivey is second with 778,500, while Aage Ravn is the only other player above the 700,000 chip mark, as he holds 708,500.

After a couple late entrants and an adjustment to the prize structure, the money distribution has been set. All told, there were 659 runners contributing to a AUD $6.59 million prize pool. The top 72 players will get paid, with the eventual winner banking AUD $1.6 million and those that just make the money rewarded with AUD $15,000. Here is a look at the official payouts for the final table, in Australian dollars:

1.    $1,600,000
2.    $1,000,000
3.    $610,000
4.    $405,000
5.    $300,000
6.    $230,000
7.    $170,000
8.    $125,000
9.    $125,000

O’Shea reached the top of the leader board primarily because of one hand from late in the day. Already with a chip stack of almost half a million (which would have still put him in the top ten going into Day 3), he raised under the gun pre-flop and Josh Barrett called him from the big blind. The prime number flop of 3-5-7 produced some raising and re-raising prior to a 4 being dealt on the turn. At that, Barrett checked, O’Shea bet 125,000, and Barrett called. Similarly, upon seeing an Ace on the river, Barrett checked-called again, this time for 150,000 chips. That turn card is what did it for O’Shea, as he held A-6 for a straight. Barrett had flopped two pair with his 5-7 and was none too happy to see that he had been beaten. That pot launched O’Shea to the top of the field, as it grew his stack to 940,000 chips. Barrett fell to 245,000. He has since dipped below 200,000, but he is still alive and could be in much worse shape.

The beginning of Day 3 should be interesting, as only two players need to be eliminated for the money bubble to burst. Coincidentally, two players – James Sin and Patrick Lui – are in utter desperation mode, as their stacks of 10,500 and 7,000, respectively, are miniscule compared to the blinds and antes of 2,000/4,000/500. Three other players are only in the 30,000’s, giving them around 8-9 big blinds with which to play. Nobody else is below 12 big blinds.

Day 3 will start up at 12:30pm local time at the Crown Casino in Melbourne.

2012 Aussie Millions Main Event – End of Day 2 Chip Leaders

1.    Tim O’Shea – 921,000
2.    Phil Ivey – 778,500
3.    Aage Ravn – 708,500
4.    Jason Koon – 667,500
5.    Oliver Speidel – 540,000
6.    Patrick Healy – 521,000
7.    Yann Dion – 495,000
8.    Mohamad Kowssarie – 477,000
9.    Rob Angood – 470,500
10.    Janis Lesiwski – 463,500

2012 Aussie Millions Day 1C: Robert Lam Leads, Phil Ivey in the Hunt

As expected, Day 1C of the 2012 Aussie Millions Main Event was the largest of the three starting flights. With 317 entrants, it almost beat Days 1A (153 players) and Day 1B (187) combined.  Two of the top three overall chip stacks emerged from Day 1C, with Robert Lam leading the way with 198,400. Right behind him is Robin Ylitalo with a stack of 192,600 chips.

The prize structure has yet to be announced, but we can make a fair estimate. With a combined field of 657 players, the total prize pool should be $6.57 million AUD. According to the Aussie Millions Terms and Conditions, approximately the top 10 percent of the field will make the money, so we’re looking at 65 or 66 getting paid, though that could be rounded up or down if tournament organizers want to have the money bubble burst with a set number of full tables remaining. Also according to the T&C’s, first place will receive 20 percent of the prize pool, which would amount to $1.314 million AUD. Here’s what the top ten payouts should look like (again, these are estimates in Australian dollars):

1.    $1.314 million
2.    $919,800
3.    $788,400
4.    $591,300
5.    $459,900
6.    $394,200
7.    $328,500
8.    $262,800
9.    $197,100
10.    $131,400

While Lam and Ylitalo were the top dogs of Day 1C, all eyes were on Phil Ivey, who continues to ramp up his return to tournament poker after a lengthy hiatus for most of 2011. And as it turns it out, perhaps the biggest hand of the day, when taking into account chips and player significance, involved Ivey and famed cricketer Shane Warne. After an all-heart flop of Ah-Qh-Jh, Ivey bet 5,000, only to see George Moussa raise to 10,500 and Warne call. After a minute or so of thought, Ivey re-raised it to 30,000, forcing Moussa to fold. Warne wasn’t going anywhere, though, and decided to move all-in for 84,400. Ivey made the call, putting himself all-in, as he had 300 chips fewer than Warne.

The all-in face-off was inevitable: Ivey held 6h-8h for a flopped flush, while Warne had pocket Aces for top set (no heart). The turn and river were safe for Ivey, as Warne couldn’t make a boat or quads. That hand crippled Warne, who was eliminated on the next hand, and more than doubled-up Ivey, whose stack grew to 185,000, placing him firmly amongst the chip leaders.

The remaining 305 players will now combine into a single field and return to the Crown Casino in Melbourne for Day 2 at 12:30pm local time Wednesday.

2012 Aussie Millions Main Event – End of Day 1C Chip Leaders

1.    Robert Lam – 198,400
2.    Robin Ylitalo – 192,600
3.    David Sonelin – 186,200
4.    Phil Ivey – 184,000
5.    Chad Awerbuch – 161,000
6.    Jason Koon – 156,300
7.    Pat Dillon – 151,500
8.    Michael Pedley – 146,300
9.    David Steicke – 140,000
10.    Daniel Foote – 139,300

Combined Days 1A, 1B, and 1C Chip Leaders

1.    Brett Watson – 257,400
2.    Robert Lam – 198,400
3.    Robin Ylitalo – 192,600
4.    James Dempsey – 189,000
5.    David Sonelin – 186,200
6.    Phil Ivey – 184,000
7.    Ilir Beluli – 182,700
8.    Paul Sing – 177,100
9.    Chad Awerbuch – 161,000
10.    Jason Koon – 156,300

Buyer of Peter Eastgate’s WSOP Bracelet Steps Forward, Wants It Used for More Charity

In late November 2010, Peter Eastgate auctioned off his 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event bracelet, raising over $140,000 for charity. The identity of the buyer was not made public at the time and for the most part, that was the last anyone heard of it. Until now. Our friends over at PokerNews.com had a chance meeting with the auction winner, William Haughey, at the Aussie Millions and were able to sit down with him for an interview.

Haughey, who hails from Scotland, is the founder and Chairman of City Refrigeration, a company with turnover of £400 million.  His great success in business has allowed him to spend significant time and money on charitable endeavors, including the establishment of the City Charitable Trust. According to Haughey’s website, the Trust has donated over £5 million to various charities since its creation, including over £1.3 million in 2010. Most of the charities the Trust supports are local to Glasgow and Scotland, but Haughey helped organizations and people worldwide. For example, Haughey had his company’s engineers actually travel to West Africa to build water wells for a charity, rather than simply cut a check. The wells have helped supply 47,000 people with fresh water.

In his interview with PokerNews, Haughey said that the charity aspect of Peter Eastgate’s WSOP bracelet sale was the reason he bid. “That was the only reason why I bought the bracelet,” Haughey said. “I paid $150,000 for the bracelet, but if the money wasn’t going to charity I wouldn’t have even paid $50,000 for it. Some of the younger players said that the integrity of the bracelet was lost, and there was no respect, but the kids in Africa will be cheering Peter Eastgate today and not worrying about what the poker blogs are saying.”

Now, however, Haughey wants to give the bracelet back. Not to Eastgate, necessarily, but to the poker community in general. In a sense, he would like to resell the bracelet for charity. But rather than simply put it up for bids again, he would like the WSOP to possibly have a special tournament with Eastgate’s bracelet as the prize and proceeds going to charity. He is open to the idea of an online event, as well.

Part of Haughey’s inspiration, he said, was the One Drop $1 million buy-in charity event scheduled for the 2012 WSOP. “I would say I will make a special offer: If the WSOP can come up with a good idea about how we can potentially raise $1,000,000 for charity, I will match it. Whatever they raise, if they have a bracelet event, I will match [the buy-in] up to $1,000,000. Half of the money can go to a WSOP charity, and the other half will go a cancer hospital that’s going to be built in the U.K.,” he told PokerNews.

$142,915.50 from Peter Eastgate’s auction went to UNICEF, while the remaining $4,587.50, or 3%, was taken by MissionFish, eBay’s non-profit beneficiary. When questioned as to why he would sell an award that most poker players would consider priceless, Eastgate said, “Of course, I still have great pride in my title, but I will never use the bracelet.  I thought they (UNICEF) could better benefit from the bracelet.  Hopefully it will do a lot of people good.”

William Haughey has also given to UNICEF directly, donating 100,000 to the organization a year ago to aid children affected by flooding in Pakistan.

The entire PokerNews.com interview with William Haughey can be read here.

2012 Aussie Millions Day 1B: James Dempsey Starts Slow, Finishes Strong

Day 1B of the 2012 Aussie Millions likely did not go exactly as James Dempsey planned, but the end result had to be to his liking. The Brit was on the ropes for much of the day, but in poker, just about anything is possible and at the end of Monday’s play, Dempsey was the chip leader with a stack of 189,000 sitting in front of him. Australia’s Ilir Beluli is nipping at his heels with 182,700, while Kenna James, Nbail Edgtton, and Paul Wilde round out the top five Day 1B finishers, all with more than 140,000 chips.

For most of Monday, Dempsey couldn’t find any traction. Nothing he tried worked and his 30,000 chip starting stack dwindled to 6,000 by the dinner break. In the last couple levels of the night, however, he went on a major run, piling chip upon chip, breaking the 100,000 barrier and eventually finishing as the chip leader.

James Dempsey, known as “Flushy” in the poker community, is highly respected online tournament player, with about a million dollars in online tourney earnings. While he hasn’t been as prolific online recently, Dempsey has ranked as high as 30th on the PocketFives worldwide tournament rankings. On the live tournament circuit, he had his breakthrough moment in 2010 when he captured his first and only World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet, winning the $1,500 Pot-Limit Hold’em event for $197,470. He then followed that up less than two weeks later with a runner-up finish in the $10,000 Omaha Hi/Lo 8 Championship, earning him another $301,789. This past December, Dempsey upped the ante, winning the $10,000 Championship Event of the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic, banking $821,612.

Day 1B saw 187 players register for the Aussie Millions, following the 153 that entered Day 1A. Tuesday’s Day 1C is expected to be larger than either of the first two and will ultimately determine the prize pool. Play will resume at 12:30pm local time at the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia as the final Day 1 flight kicks off. The tournament is slated to run through Saturday.

While Dempsey led the Day 1B field, the overall leader remains Day 1A’s Brett Watson, who is the only player with over 200,000 chips. At 257,400, he reigns far above the rest of the players.

2012 Aussie Millions Main Event – End of Day 1B Chip Leaders

1.    James Dempsey – 189,000
2.    Ilir Beluli – 182,700
3.    Kenna James – 151,400
4.    Nabil Edgtton – 148,300
5.    Paul Wilde – 146,500
6.    Octavian Vogele – 120,000
7.    Emad Maaree – 112,500
8.    Tom Dwan – 107,400
9.    Dennis Huntly – 88,000
10.    Chris O’Donnell – 71,500

Combined Days 1A and 1B Chip Leaders

1.    Brett Watson – 257,400
2.    James Dempsey – 189,000
3.    Ilir Beluli – 182,700
4.    Paul Sing – 177,100
5.    Ben Jenkins – 154,500
6.    Kenna James – 151,400
7.    Nabil Edgtton – 148,300
8.    Paul Wilde – 146,500
9.    Rob Angood – 133,200
10.    Andrew Hinrichsen – 132,900

Joe Hachem Partners with AsianLogic Group

2005 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion Joe Hachem announced this weekend that he has forged a new relationship with the AsianLogic Group. AsianLogic has a hand in many arenas of gambling in the Asia Pacific markets, from online and live sports betting to online casinos to multiplayer P2P games. The company is licensed in the Philippines.

In a press release, the Melbourne resident detailed some of the reasons for the partnership on his end. “After many years working extensively around the world, I made the decision that my next venture would keep me closer to home, would allow me to spend more time with my family and was something that presented me with a wider range of opportunities,” Hachem said.

“I am delighted to announce that I have decided to partner with a consortium comprising the AsianLogic Group and some of their contemporaries,” he continued. “I will be working with the group in several areas, initially as a new ambassador for the Asian Poker Tour to further the growth of poker and to assist them with several strategic opportunities in Australia and the Asia Pacific region.”

Hachem had been with PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker room, for six years, establishing the relationship after he won the WSOP Main Event.  That partnership came to a mutual end in December.  At the time, Hachem said, “It’s been a great run with PokerStars and I’m proud of my association with the people and the company. But it’s time for me to pursue other career opportunities and it will be fun to have some down time to spend with my family. I look forward to the future with much excitement and anticipation and will always have fond memories of my time at PokerStars.”

The Aussie is obviously best known for his $7.5 million win in the 2005 WSOP, but he has also seen his fair share of success since his big moment. The following year, he nearly captured a second bracelet, finishing as the runner-up to Dutch Boyd in the $2,500 Short-Handed No-Limit Hold’em event, earning himself over a quarter million dollars. During that same 2006 WSOP, he also placed 4th in the $2,500 Pot-Limit Hold’em event and had a fairly deep run in the Main Event, placing 238th. In December of 2006, Hachem won the $15,000 World Poker Tour (WPT) Doyle Brunson North American Poker Classic, a score of over $2.2 million.

He has a long string of cashes since then, including an 11th place finish in the 2008 European Poker Tour (EPT) Grand Final ($159,818), a win in the 8-Game Championships at the 2009 EPT London ($67,499), and a runner-up finish in the Main Event at last year’s The Big Event in Los Angeles ($300,000). All told, Joe Hachem has won over $11.3 million on the live tournament circuit in his career.

To conclude his thoughts about his new relationship with AsianLogic, Hachem said, “I considered offers from several other brands, but this partnership was the best fit for me as it gave me an active role and the ability to participate as the businesses evolve. The Asia Pacific poker market is still in its infancy and has in my opinion, huge potential for growth relatively to the European more mature markets. The United States are also going through an important phase and it will take a little time before things come into place and operators emerge. Working with a partner in the same time zone makes life a lot easier and whilst I am still going to be traveling to the major poker tournaments, being able to spend more time at home is fantastic.”

2012 Aussie Millions: Michael Pedley Wins $1K Rebuy, Melanie Weisner Leads $1500 NLHE Bounty Tournament

The eve of the 2012 Aussie Millions Main Event is upon the entities gathered at the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia, but several players have already taken some cash in the land Down Under from the preliminary action.

In the $1000 No Limit Hold’em Rebuy event, ten men came back to the felt early this morning (Eastern Time) looking for their share of $423,000 that was built during Friday’s action. Leading the way was Germany’s Marvin Rettenmaier, but he faced a formidable field that included Canada’s Mike Watson, Jim Collopy, 2010 Aussie Millions Main Event champion Tyron Krost and Dan “djk123” Kelly. As the field was 92 players, the ten men doing battle on Saturday would be the only players to be paid.

Rettenmaier was able to extend his lead in the early going, hitting trip Kings on the river against Michael Benvenuti to knock out Benvenuti in the tenth place slot. Krost would make a move up the leaderboard with his elimination of Andrew Scarfe in ninth. While this was occurring, players such as Jonathan Karamalikis and Michael Pedley started accumulating some chips on their own accords.

Karamalikis and Rettenmaier would eventually clash on the final table felt, sending a shockwave through the tournament that flipped the leaderboard. After a raise from Rettenmaier on the button, Karamalikis three bet the pot from the big blind. Rettenmaier wouldn’t go away, however, pushing out a four bet of almost 23K, which brought an all-in move from Karamalikis and a call from Rettenmaier.

Karamalikis tabled his pocket Jacks against Rettenmaier’s A-9 of diamonds and the race was on. A nine on the flop gave some hope to Rettenmaier, but no other help came with the Queen on the turn and another Jack on the river. After the hand, Karamalikis had seized the lead and Rettenmaier was crippled down to fewer than 23K in chips. He would bust out of the tournament a few hands later in eighth place after his A-Q couldn’t catch Krost’s pocket Queens.

After that big hand against Rettenmaier, Karamalikis put those chips to good use. At the dinner break, he held a more than 2:1 lead over Pedley, while Kelly, Krost, Collopy and Watson were battling to get back in the event. Kelly would be the first to make a move, knocking out Collopy in sixth and then taking down Watson in fifth to assume the lead. He would extend that lead by dumping Krost in fourth place, but that was the extent of Kelly’s run.

Once the play was three handed, Karamalikis and Pedley took their turns knocking chips from Kelly’s stack. After doubling up through Kelly, Pedley doubled again through Karamalikis to take a chip lead he would not relinquish. Once he knocked out Kelly, Pedley held a nearly 4:1 lead over fellow Aussie Karamalikis.

In the span of 25 minutes, Pedley eroded the stack of Karamalikis to the point where Karamalikis had to make a move. He did so with a K-10, moving all in and drawing a call from Pedley. Unfortunately for Karamalikis, Pedley turned up a dominating K-J and, once the board ran dry for him, Karamalikis was eliminated in second and Michael Pedley had captured his second Aussie Millions championship.

1. Michael Pedley, $122,670
2. Jonathan Karamalikis, $88,830
3. Dan Kelly, $57,105
4. Tyron Krost, $40,185
5. Mike Watson, $29,610
6. Jim Collopy, $25,380
7. Tony Sama, $21,150
8. Marvin Rettenmaier, $16,920
9. Andrew Scarfe, $12,690
10. Michael Benvenuti, $8,460

One of the final preliminary events prior to the start of the Main Event is the $1500 No Limit Hold’em Bounty tournament, with a unique twist. 315 players entered the event and, by the end of action on Saturday, only 32 players remained. The “unique twist” is these final 32 players will now play out the tournament in a Shootout format, with four tables set for action Sunday.

Leading one of those tables will be the latest signing to the Lock Poker Pro Elite team, Melanie Weisner. Weisner will have a huge stack when play begins on Sunday, holding 241,100 in chips, but with the format change she now has to survive her table. The other table leaders will be Jamie Pickering, Hans Dorn and Mark Betts.

Sunday’s action will feature the final table of the $1500 tournament as well as the beginning of the Main Event. Later in the week, the two “Challenge” tournaments, with their $100,000 and $250,000 buy ins, are sure to draw attention as the biggest names in the game step to the felt.