Poker News

Taylor Paur (ambiguosity) Wins 2010 CardPlayer Online Player of the Year

Earlier this week, Taylor “ambiguosity” Paur was named the 2010 CardPlayer Online Player of the Year after edging out defending titleholder Steve “gboro780″ Gross in the final days of December. Paur stockpiled an all-time record of 11,030 points for the year, besting previous winners Gross (2009), Alex “AJKHoosier1″ Kamberis (2008), and Isaac “westmenloAA” Baron (2007) in that department.

Paur, 22, won the Full Tilt Poker $75,000 Guaranteed on December 27th for nearly $25,000 to help put a stranglehold on the crown. In total, he amassed more than $1 million in online poker earnings for the year, making up more than two-thirds of his lifetime winnings. He won 13 tournaments in 2010, six of them for scores of $80,000 or more. His biggest payday came in May when he took down the Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) $150 Rebuy for $192,228.90.

Paur’s biggest feat, though, may have been fending off Gross, whose accomplishments in online tournaments are simply unparalleled. Gross, who has more than $5 million in earnings since 2005, finished as the runner-up to Kamberis in the 2008 CardPlayer Online Player of the Year race before earning the honor in 2009 and finishing runner-up again in 2010. His consistency and dedication to the game have landed him among the elite players in the industry.

Rounding out the top five in the 2010 Online Player of the Year standings were Casey “bigdogpckt5s” Jarzabek, Chris “Gettin Daize” Oliver, and Jon “apestyles” Van Fleet. Jarzabek, who helped open the online training site Tournament Poker Edge this year, totaled $782,355 in winnings to claim a spot in the Top 10 for the second straight year. Oliver, meanwhile, burst onto the scene in 2010 and spent several weeks as the #1 ranked player on PocketFives.com.

There’s a certain set of criteria for tournaments that count toward Card Player’s Online Player of the Year standings. Sites included in the rankings include PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, UB.com, Cake Poker, Absolute Poker, and Bodog and only tournaments with a buy-in of $100 or more qualify. The prize pool of a tournament must be at least $100,000 and prize packages such as trips or live tournament buy-ins do not count.

Here’s a look at the Top 20 in the 2010 Card Player Online Player of the Year Standings:

1. Taylor “ambiguosity” Paur – 11,030 points ($1,099,435 in earnings)
2. Steve “gboro780″ Gross – 10,320 points ($1,023,658 in earnings)
3. Casey “bigdogpckt5s” Jarzabek – 9,932 points ($782,355 in earnings)
4. Chris “Gettin Daize” Oliver – 9,268 points ($854,769 in earnings)
5. Jon “apestyles” Van Fleet – 9,164 ($859,489 in earnings)
6. Zach “HustlerGrune” Gruneberg – 8,984 points ($776,347 in earnings)
7. “kirbynator” – 8,878 points ($1,143,749 in earnings)
8. Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy – 8,874 points ($837,089 in earnings)
9. Raj “BadcardsAA” Vohra – 8,688 points ($1,319,012 in earnings)
10. Aditya “Intervention” Agarwal – 8,432 points ($739,105 in earnings)
11. Mark “dipthrong” Herm – 8,250 points ($811,208 in earnings)
12. Jamie “TheCronic420″ Rosen – 8,126 points ($664,588 in earnings)
13. Jordan “Jymaster11″ Young – 8,088 points ($751,593 in earnings)
14. Nick “Grippolio” Grippo – 8,044 points ($688,878 in earnings)
15. Ross “zestfullyclean” Myers – 7,960 points ($618,388 in earnings)
16. James “croll103″ Carroll – 7,898 points ($712,167 in earnings)
17. Mickey “mement_mori” Petersen – 7,792 points ($737,838 in earnings)
18. Ryan “ryanbluf” Karp – 7,712 points ($648,334 in earnings)
19. “mralan2950 – 7,710 points ($777,994 in earnings)
20. Chris “cdbr3799″ Dombrowski – 7,704 ($817,196 in earnings)

PCA $100,000 Super High Roller Field Includes Daniel Negreanu, Jason Mercier

On Thursday, the first ever $100,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Super High Roller Event will kick off the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. The inaugural running of the tournament has attracted nearly 30 players so far and Saturday’s final table will be filmed for coverage on ESPN2.

In a press release sent out by PokerStars on Thursday, the names of 26 entrants appeared, including a variety of members of Team PokerStars Pro. Among those who will take to the felts in the richest tournament in PokerStars Caribbean Adventure history is Daniel Negreanu, whose Twitter spat about Prahlad Friedman’s rumored signing with UB.com has taken center stage in recent days. Negreanu owns four World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets, the most recent of which came in 2008 in a $2,000 Limit Hold’em tournament.

The hottest player on the tournament circuit right now, Jason Mercier, will also participate in the $100,000 buy-in Super High Roller Event starting tomorrow in the Bahamas. Mercier is firmly entrenched in the #2 spot on the ESPN poker rankings dubbed “The Nuts” and recorded five in the money finishes at this year’s WSOP. Mercier final tabled the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Los Angeles Main Event for $84,000 in November and won the tour’s Mohegan Sun Bounty Shootout for $475,000 earlier in 2010. Mercier is a former European Poker Tour (EPT) champ and WSOP bracelet holder.

The 2010 CardPlayer and Bluff Players of the Year will also head to the Bahamas for the six-figure price tag tournament. Tom Marchese and Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi are both listed among the 26 entrants so far. Marchese is six weeks removed from a win in a $1,000 No Limit Hold’em preliminary event during the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic and claimed CardPlayer’s 2010 Player of the Year honors. Mizzi, who earned the 2010 Bluff Player of the Year title, won two preliminary tournaments during EPT Snowfest in March 2010 for a combined haul of $140,000, just enough to cover tomorrow’s buy-in.

Bryn Kenney, who drove deep in the 2010 WSOP Main Event, will be part of the festivities at the Atlantis Resort and Casino, as will Scott Seiver. Other players who will make up the extremely talented field include Lex Veldhuis, Unabomber Poker front man Phil Laak, former “Big Game” player Bill Perkins, Humberto Brenes, Eugene Katchalov, Dan Shak, Bill Chen, Bryan Colin, Justin “Boosted J” Smith, Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, Andrew “good2cu” Robl, DoylesRoom pro Hoyt Corkins, Victory Poker’s Antonio Esfandiari, Masa Kagawa, Nick Schulman, Matt Glantz, James “Andy McLEOD” Obst, Vivek “Psyduck” Rajkumar, Shawn Buchanan, and Ashton Griffin.

Needless to say, there won’t be any soft spots in the field. The 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure schedule features 48 tournaments that span a 10-day period.

On his way down to Nassau for the tournament series, Negreanu posted on Twitter on Wednesday morning, “That’s random. Three bums sit right behind me on my flight and they look very much like Antonio Esfandiari, Jonathan Duhamel, and Sorel Mizzi.” Before that, Negreanu remarked that he was taking advantage of the in-flight internet offered aboard Delta Airlines: “I love Delta; you are beautiful baby. Wifi on my flight to Atlanta means I can get some VPPs on PokerStars.Headed to PCA, obv, traveling solo.”

On January 15th, the final table of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event will air on ESPN3.com and ESPN2. You can catch the action beginning at 5:00pm ET that day on ESPN3.com on a one-hour delay. Five hours later, ESPN2 will join the telecast in progress. Hole cards will be shown during the broadcast, which will make for a unique experience for viewers unable to make the trip to the Bahamas.

Visit PokerStars for more details on the 2011 Caribbean Adventure.

Daniel Cates (jungleman12) Profits $5.5 Million Online in 2010

Before 2010, Daniel “jungleman12” Cates was a nonentity in the online poker world. He began his career at the $0.50/$1 heads-up tables in 2008, made the move to sit and gos, and then went back to cash games. He busted his bankroll, was forced to get a minimum wage job at McDonald’s, and started the cycle all over again. Sound familiar? In 2010, Cates profited a healthy $5.5 million online.

Fast forward to March of last year. Grinding away in his parents’ basement, the Maryland native had built a bankroll big enough to play alongside the likes of like Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius, “Isildur1,” and Tom “durrrr” Dwan at Full Tilt Poker’s nosebleed games. He was suddenly having daily swings of $500,000, sometimes more. Cates was a fixture in the biggest poker games on the internet and crushing them on a regular basis.

Cates saw his fame explode in July 2010. He joined the CardRunners team as an instructor and his real name was revealed to the poker community. In August, Cates agreed to take on Dwan in the second edition of the Durrrr Challenge, putting up $500,000 against Dwan’s $1.5 million in a 50,000-hand heads-up match. The community quickly awoke from the coma induced by the lull in Dwan’s first challenge with Antonius and saw some added intrigue generated by Cates’ limited media exposure.

Cates got off to a blazing start and is currently on top by $819,213 through 17,108 hands out of the 50,000 required for completion. He took $319,103 from Dwan in a 2,918-hand session late Monday night to increase his lead further and appears to be in the driver’s seat in the competition, having taken more than $1.3 million from Dwan lifetime.

It wasn’t just Dwan who had troubles with the young whiz kid in 2010. Cates was a big winner against Ivey, Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies, Aaron “aejones” Jones, and Ashton “theASHMAN103″ Griffin, along with many others. By the end of the year, Cates was the biggest winner in online poker, amassing around $5.5 million in profits according to HighStakesDB.com. He’s now considered by his peers to be one of the best poker players in the world.

Cates discussed his climb in limits in his blog in late 2010: “When making the jump to $25/$50, I ran into some players of a whole other caliber – players that understood the game at a significantly greater level than myself for the first time since I began. Still, I took them on and lost/swung for a decent time. This kind of downswing/recovery combo dragged on for a couple months, but eventually, I fixed all my flaws and even began conquering some of the same players. LOL, I never imagined my $25/$50 win rate would ever be near what is now.”

Cates finished the year as the overwhelming leader in profits on Full Tilt Poker. Norwegian pro Andreas “skjervoy” Torbergsen finished a distant second with $3.7 million, Dwan was third with $3.6 million, Ivey finished fourth with $3.0 million, and Jared “harrington25″ Bleznick landed in fifth with $2.2 million in profits.

Cates reflected on his rise to prominence in his blog: “I can’t say that I’ve handled all my failures appropriately, but I am fortunate that I utilized these failures well and [have] not experienced the extent of setbacks that some of you have felt. Long ago, I dreamed I would succeed if I acted wisely given my circumstances, but to be honest, I did not really imagine it would be to this degree, and especially not this fast.”

Follow Cates’ heads-up challenge with Dwan at DurrrrChallenge.com.

Phil Ivey Finishes 2010 Atop ESPN The Nuts Rankings for December

We might all be putting our new 2011 calendars on the refrigerator, but let’s not put 2010 in our rearview mirror just yet.  ESPN.com’s “The Nuts” poker player rankings for December 2010 were released on New Year’s Eve and showed that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Before we get to the rankings, let’s quickly explain ESPN’s methodology.  Unlike rankings by some poker sites, there is no mathematical formula used in “The Nuts.”  Rather, it is a simple poll by a panel of ten members of the poker media, including our very own Dan Cypra.  The panel attempts to rank the top ten poker players of the moment based on both tournament and cash game results, live and online.  It is an inexact science, of course, but that is part of what makes it fun.

The voting panel includes ESPN.com’s poker crew of Andrew Feldman, Gary Wise, and Bernard Lee (who is also a Guest Columnist for Poker News Daily), Bluff Magazine Editor-in-Chief Lance Bradley and Senior Writer Jessica Welman, ESPNDeportes.com Poker Editor Nahuel Ponce, PokerRoad’s Court Harrington, PokerNews Editor-in-Chief Matthew Parvis and Tournament Reporter Don Peters, and Cypra.

Nine of the top ten players remained the same in December, although some of the order has changed.  Phil Ivey remained in the top spot, a position that should really be renamed “Ivey’s Room.”  He received eight first place votes from the ten-member panel.  Jason Mercier received the other two first place votes, one coming from Cypra, cementing himself in the second position once again.

The two biggest jumps were by Tom Marchese and Vanessa Selbst, both of whom rose three spots.  Marchese climbed from #6 to #3, while Selbst was elevated to the fifth spot from eighth.  Marchese had an incredible 2010, his first year on the live tournament circuit.  In live tournaments alone, he won over $2 million.

Marchese exploded onto the scene with a final table at the Borgata in January and followed that up with a win on the North American Poker Tour (NAPT) in February.  He had three other big-time cashes last year, including final tables in the High Roller Event at the European Poker Tour (EPT) Grand Final, the $10,000 Pot Limit Hold’em Championship at the World Series of Poker (WSOP), and the championship event of the World Poker Tour‘s (WPT) World Poker Finals, all of which contributed to winning CardPlayer’s 2010 Player of the Year award.

Selbst, who won her first and only WSOP bracelet in 2008, had two huge wins in 2010.  The first was in the Main Event of the NAPT Mohegan Sun in April for $750,000, while the second came in September in the Main Event of the Partouche Poker Tour in Cannes, France, where she won over $1.8 million.

The one new member of “The Nuts” was last month’s “Bubble Boy,” Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi.  The 2010 Bluff Magazine Player of Year placed ninth at the WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic en route to a $1.9 million year in live tournaments.  With Mizzi’s rise into the top ten, Alexander Kostritsyn dropped out.

As an example of how fluid things can be in the poker world, half of the top ten at the end of 2010 was different than at the beginning of the year.  Daniel Negreanu took the biggest tumble out of the rankings, as he occupied the second spot in January.  The other four poker players – Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, Daniel Alaei, Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko, and Barry Greenstein – were ranked seven through ten.  Patrik Antonius came close to falling out of the rankings, finishing the year at #10 after starting out at #3.

The entire list of the ESPN’s “The Nuts” is as follows:

1. Phil Ivey
2. Jason Mercier
3. Tom Marchese
4. Tom Dwan
5. Vanessa Selbst
6. John Juanda
7. Michael Mizrachi
8. Eric Baldwin
9. Sorel Mizzi
10. Patrik Antonius

“The Nuts” is published at the end of every month in the poker section of ESPN.com.

Top Online Poker Winners and Losers of 2010

Whether it was the durrrr Challenge II on Full Tilt or the new Isildur1 SuperStar Showdown on PokerStars there always seemed to be intriguing action of one kind or another on the go. 

From the emergence of relative newcomer Dan “jungleman12” Cates to the continued success of established pros like Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Phil Ivey and Patrik Antonius there were numerous plotlines to the high stakes games this year.

We’ll start by celebrating the five biggest online poker success stories of 2010 before taking a hard look at the five biggest disappointments of the year.

Top 5 Biggest Winners of 2010

5. Di “Urindanger” Dang: $2.2 million

Although Di “Urindanger” Dang tends to fly under the radar when compared to some of his more illustrious colleagues he’s remarkably consistent.

Since he started playing the high stakes games on Full Tilt in 2007, Dang has never recorded a losing year. 2010 was no exception.

Dang did suffer through a few losing months in late spring but he came around in August and by December was up to $2.2 million.

Yet another good Christmas for the Dang household.

Just as scary online.

 

4. Phil Ivey: $3 million

Phil Ivey usually plays far less hands than his online opponents but he always manages to rank as one of the top five winners.

This year Ivey wasn’t particularly active until mid-April, when he went on a $2 million heater. After logging notable victories against Ashton “ASHMAN103” Griffin and Patrik Antonius, Ivey vacated the online tables from May to late August.

In August Ivey got right back to business and quickly peaked at $3.8 million in profit.

Although Ivey coasted for the rest of the year and didn’t play any huge sessions, he still finished with a very respectable $3 million.

3. Tom “durrrr” Dwan: $3.6 million

It was yet another strong year for the poker prodigy originally from Edison, New Jersey.

Once again Tom Dwan was king when it came to volume, playing a total of 296,725 hands in 2010.

The year got off to a rocking start for Dwan and by mid-spring he peaked at an astounding $6.6 million. Unfortunately for Dwan he would come back down to earth over the rest of the year.

Dwan’s biggest obstacle was Dan “jungleman12” Cates. Dwan simply couldn’t solve Cates and lost more than $600k so far in the durrrr Challenge II.

At any rate, Dwan fared far better this year compared to 2009 when he ran into a hot Isildur1 and lost millions.

Millions of reasons to smile.

 

2. Andreas “Skjervoy” Torbergsen: $3.7 million

Perhaps the biggest surprise of this list is a Norwegian by the name of Andreas Torbergsen.

Torbergsen, who plays with his hometown of Skjervoy as his handle, signed with CardRunners this summer and went on to become one of the biggest winners in the high stakes online games this year.

Torbergsen was essentially at $0 in August but by the end of December was up $3.7 million. It helped he won $1 million in a 24-hour period in September and recorded several $500k sessions.

It remains to be seen whether Torbergsen will remain a fixture of the high stakes online poker scene.

1. Dan “jungleman12” Cates: $5.5 million

What more can be said about Dan “jungleman12” Cate’s dominance this year?

Three years ago Cates was flipping burgers but in 2010 he was playing the biggest online games in the world and hardly ever losing.

Cates dominated Tom Dwan in the durrrr Challenge II but also found time to take on anyone else who wanted a piece. His graph reads looks like an escalator (going up, of course). He won hundreds of thousands playing PLO (which he’s still learning).

Although some members of the online community cried variance, Cates was a consistent winner for the entire year.

At any rate, Cates now finds himself in an elite group of year-end winners that includes Patrik Antonius ($8.9 million in 2009), Phil Ivey ($7.3 million in 2008) and Niki Jedlicka ($3.1 million in 2007).

To put it simply: 2010 belonged to Cates.

Top 5 Biggest Losers of 2010

5. Brian “sbrugby” Townsend: – $1.5 million

Brian Townsend had a fantastic 2009 winning $2.4 million to become one of the biggest winners of the year.

2010 wasn’t quite as kind to the former CardRunners instructor.

Although Townsend didn’t use the sbrugby account until summer (more on that later), he didn’t waste any time donating stacks of cash online.

Not the year of Gus.

 

From June to October, Townsend lost $1.6 million and never really recovered, opting to sit out the last couple months of 2010.

Check below for even more on Townsend’s disastrous 2010.

4. Gus Hansen: -$1.6 million

You’d think losing $1.6 million would make for a pretty bad year but it could have been a lot worse for Gus Hansen.

The Great Dane actually got off to a hot start in 2010 and was up $2.3 million after the first couple of months.

Like many high stakes pros, Hansen took a break from the tables during the WSOP but was still up nearly $1 million.

It was during late summer that problems started to arise for the Team Full Tilt member. From July to October, Hansen lost $4 million, the biggest downswing of the year.

Hansen would hit rock bottom in mid-October going down to -$3.6 million.

Fortunately for Hansen he was able to put a steady string of wins together to finish the year at only -$1.6 million. Not the worst year for the recent WSOP bracelet winner.

3. cadillac1944: -$1.8 million

cadillac1944 is the only player on our list who has yet to be identified.

The online account first appeared in late August and that’s about when the losing began.

cadillac1944 quickly dropped down to -$677k by September with big losses against Urindanger and DrugsOrMe.

By November cadillac1944 was down -$1.53 million and finally hit -$1.8 million in early December.

The cadillac1944 account became inactive in mid-December and it’s anyone’s guess as to whether we’ll ever see it in use again.

2. Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies: -$2 milliion

Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies, one of the original kings of swing, was up to his old tricks in 2010 with a “win a million, lose a million” mentality.

Sahamies started the year by winning $2 million in spring but then lost $2.6 million over the summer.

The fall looked promising for Ziigmund as he quickly swung his way up to $1.48 million in profit.

Two accounts equals two spots on the 5 biggest losers.

 

Unfortunately for Ziigmund October was a turning point and the Finnish pro went on what he has called the greatest downswing of his career.

Over the next few months Sahamies dropped down to -$2 million with victories few and far between.

2010 was easily Ziigmund’s worst year playing high stakes online poker.

1. Brian Townsend: -$2.5 million

Brian Townsend’s 2010 was so terrible that he made this list twice.

As bad as the game went for Townsend on his “sbrugby” account, it was far, far worse on his red pro “Brian Townsend” account.

Townsend was in bad shape from the very beginning as he quickly lost $300k in early January.

The losses just continued to escalate for Townsend and by May he was down $2.5 million.

It was then Townsend made the decision to leave CardRunners, ditch his red pro account and go back to being sbrugby on Full Tilt.

It didn’t seem to make a difference as Townsend lost another $1.5 million.

If you take both accounts into consideration, Townsend lost a grand total of $4 million this year.

Sorel Mizzi Wins 2010 Bluff Player of the Year Title

Titan Poker pro Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi is the 2010 Bluff Magazine Player of the Year, officials announced on Friday. Mizzi entered the top spot in the Player of the Year rankings in March and never relinquished his lead.

The 2010 CardPlayer Player of the Year, Tom Marchese, finished in second place in the Bluff standings. Mizzi ended the 2010 calendar year with a whopping 1,777 points, the highest score ever turned in, while Marchese racked up just 1,257 during the stanza. Others in the top 10 included PokerStars pro Vanessa Selbst, recent World Poker Tour (WPT) event winner Dwyte Pilgrim, and UB.com pro and former CardPlayer Player of the Year winner Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin.

Mizzi got the 2010 calendar year started off on the right foot by taking third place in the Aussie Millions Main Event for $659,000. Tyron Krost took down the marquee poker tournament and Mizzi quickly ratcheted his first six-figure score of 2010. Mizzi then won two preliminary events during the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Snowfest stop in March for nearly $150,000 total.

In April, Mizzi’s victory parade stopped off in Atlantic City, where he won the East Coast Championship Event during the Borgata Spring Poker Open for $170,000. That tournament drew 62 players and featured a top nine that included Chris “SLOPPYKLOD” Klodnicki, David “Davidp18” Peters, and former Full Tilt Poker pro Lee Markholt.

At the end of April, Mizzi final tabled the High Roller Event during the EPT’s Monte Carlo Grand Final for $190,000. Two weeks later, he ran deep in another High Roller Event, this time at WPT Paris. Just footsteps from the Eiffel Tower, Mizzi played second fiddle to Absolute Poker pro Freddy Deeb and walked away with $159,000.

In August, Mizzi placed second in the EPT Tallinn High Roller Event for $98,000. He concluded 2010 by bubbling a pair of WPT final tables, taking seventh in the Foxwoods World Poker Finals for $88,000 and grabbing ninth in the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic at the Bellagio for $59,000. Remember, televised WPT final tables are played six-handed.

All told, Mizzi racked up nearly $1.9 million in earnings from live tournaments tracked by the Hendon Mob database last year. Along the way, he provided poker coaching to November Niner Matt Jarvis, a fellow Canadian. Jarvis ultimately bowed out in eighth place in the $10,000 buy-in tournament in Las Vegas for over $1 million.

Mizzi, who has been linked to several incidents on online poker sites in the past, has nevertheless remained a central figurehead in the industry. He told Poker News Daily in an interview in November that surrounding himself with talented poker friends has been critical: “I think it’s one of the most important things… That is how I got my start. I found players and tried to pick their brains. You know, it’s like anything in life, that’s the best way of learning, you find mentors. At least, for me, [it’s been] finding people where you want to be and trying to pick their brains as much as possible.”

Here were the top 10 players in the 2010 Bluff Player of the Year standings:

1. Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi – 1,777.77 points
2. Tom “Kingsofcards” Marchese – 1,257.30 points
3. Fernando Brito – 1,060.53 points
4. David Peters – 1,009.26 points
5. Vanessa Selbst – 986.77 points
6. Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin – 943.92 points
7. Dwyte Pilgrim – 896.23 points
8. Chris Bjorin – 889.25 points
9. Jason Mercier – 882.40 points
10. Chris Bell – 879.63 points

Jason Mercier took down the 2009 Bluff Player of the Year title. Other past winners have included John “The Razor” Phan (2008), Bill Edler (2007), Chad Brown (2006), and Phil Ivey (2005).

Biggest Poker Surprises of 2010

Last week, Poker News Daily ran an article recapping the top poker news stories of 2010.  This, we were charged with the task of coming up with the top ten surprises of the past year.  As fate would have it, the biggest shocker of 2010 came on December 30th, making the top surprise a no-brainer.  Read on to find out.

10) Hip-Hop Hellmuth – Normally, I wouldn’t put an attention grab by Phil Hellmuth on a list of the year’s biggest surprises, but this one was phenomenal.  The “Poker Brat” made a cameo appearance in a hip-hop music video by Ludacris donned in UB.net garb and raking in UB.net chips.  Filmed at the Palms in Las Vegas, the video’s plot was supposed to be similar to that of the hit movie “The Hangover.”  The song is called “Sex Room.”  I’ll just leave it at that.

9) No Rest for the Weary – A crazy record not many people knew about before this year was broken not once, but twice.  In June, Phil Laak set the poker endurance record by playing $10/$20 Hold’em at the Bellagio for a staggering 115 consecutive hours, breaking Paul Zimbler’s 72-hour mark from late 2009.  Nobody would ever be silly enough to try to top Laak, would they?  Of course they would.  In November, Christie Teki-Reu and man who goes by the nickname “Chopper” played for 117 hours in the casino at the Grand Hotel in New Zealand as part of an organized effort to set the record in a special charity tournament.  Afterwards, Teki-Reu slept for five hours, was up for two hours, then slept for another ten hours.  Well deserved.

Kessler Max-Cashes – Well, almost.  Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler is a very good poker player, but he is known to play to make the money in tournaments.  He has definitely gone deep in tournaments and made a couple of WPT televised final tables, but for the most part, the poker community jokes about Kessler taking the conservative route and always looking to “min-cash.”

At the 2010 WSOP, poker players and fans lived vicariously through “Chainsaw” as he not only made the money in the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo event, but also continued to move up in the standings, making the final table and then finally reaching heads-up.  He eventually lost, but the $276,485 payday was far from a min-cash.  He finished with eight cashes, tied for most at this year’s WSOP.  Sure, some were min-cashes, but his second place run was one of the most memorable and surprising moments of the 2010 WSOP.

7) Security Fail – In May, it was discovered that the CEREUS Network had a major security hole.  The network did not have SSL encryption implemented, resulting in a vulnerability that made it possible to intercept network traffic and see an opponent’s hole cards.  In July, the same flaw was found on the Cake Poker Network.  It is unbelievable enough that one poker network could fail so miserably at something that should be so basic, but two networks dropping the ball?  Sad.

6) WSOP is Healthy – With the down economy and the struggles of online poker in the United States, it would have been reasonable to expect WSOP attendance figures to decline.  Not so.  2010 saw 72,966 players participate, the most in WSOP history by a wide margin and besting last year’s record by 20%.  The total prize money was the highest of all-time as well, reaching $187,109,850 and beating 2008′s high mark by 3.5%.  The Main Event was the second largest of all-time with 7,319 players, second only to 2006, which was the last WSOP Main Event before the UIGEA was passed.

5) Isildur1 is a Star – Isildur1, the nameless online nosebleed-stakes phenom, signed with PokerStars in December.  His signing with an online poker room isn’t all that surprising, considering that whenever he plays, he attracts scores of railbirds who love watching his million-dollar swings.  The shocker is that all of his high-stakes play has been at Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars’ closest rival.  Stars must have given him a sweet deal.

4) Resurgence of “The Grinder“ – While Michael Mizrachi had a few strong performances on the live tournament circuit in 2008 and 2009, his cachet had appeared to have worn off since he made his mark on the WPT in 2005 and 2006.  He also ran into major financial troubles this year.  But then the 2010 WSOP came along and he exploded back onto the poker map.

“The Grinder” won the $50,000 Player’s Championship for over $1.5 million, placed fifth in the Main Event for more than $2.3 million, and along the way became one of the biggest rooting interests of the summer.  To top it off, his three brothers – Daniel, Robert, and Eric – all cashed in the Main Event.  Robert also placed fifth in the Player’s Championship and made two other final tables.

3) Partying Has its Limits – In February, PartyPoker suddenly placed a cap on the number of play money chips members could have in their accounts.  Overnight, players with millions of chips had their accounts reset to the 250,000-chip maximum.  Party cited the sale of play chips as the main reason for the decision as well as instances of players with overwhelming numbers of chips making enormous bets and disrupting games.  The reaction was one of almost unanimous outrage by play money customers, many of whom had taken great pride in building up their accounts over several years.

2) Peter Eastgate Takes a Break – Nowadays, we have come to expect WSOP champions to serve as faces of the game and continue playing live tournaments around the world.  Not so with the 2008 champ Peter Eastgate.  Eastgate, who just turned 25, announced this year that he was taking an indefinite break from live tournament poker.  So far, it appears that it has been a break from poker in general.  His WSOP win set him up financially, which was enough for him.  To top it off, he auctioned off his WSOP bracelet in November and donated the proceeds to charity.

1) Duke and Hellmuth Leave UB – Annie Duke leaving UB, to me, was easily the most surprising moment in poker this year… until Phil Hellmuth did the same a few hours later.  Two of the biggest names in poker, the faces of UB since it was founded in 2001, left their online home on the same day.  Through all of UB’s controversy over the last few years, Duke and Hellmuth stood by the poker room and took tons of heat within the online poker community.  For better or for worse, they seemed like they were going to be with UB for life.

jungleman12 Caps Incredible 2010

Cates, who was already the overwhelming biggest winner of 2010 with $4.9 million in profit, played a marathon 1,172-hand session of heads-up $300/$600 Mixed HA.

Initially Cates lost $250k but he eventually erased the deficit and went on a world-class heater against Patrik Antonius and luckexpress10.

After last night Cates is up $5.4 million in 2010 and barring a catastrophic meltdown he will be this year’s biggest winner.

As of today Norwegian player Andreas “skjervoy” Torbergsen is a distant second with $3.7 million, Tom “durrrr” Dwan is third with $3.6 million, Phil Ivey is fourth with $3 million and finally harrington25 is up $2.2 million.

Unfortunately for Cates, he’s not even close to what the top players have made in previous years. Antonius won an astounding $8.9 million for top honors in 2009 while Phil Ivey raked in $7.3 million in 2008.

In other high stakes news from last night Gus Hansen had a strong outing, winning $149k. It looks as though the Great Dane will fall short of getting even for 2010 since he’s still down $1.6 million but he made up considerable ground over the last few months of the year.

Other winners from last night included hal0zination (+$68k), KobeYard85 (+$57k) and Urindanger ($38k).

On the losing side was Patrik Antonius, who poured $382k on to the tables last night. Most of Antonius’ loses were to Cates.

Antonius will likely finish 2010 with a respectful $550k in profit but down considerably from last year.

Some of the other players who had forgettable nights were DrugsOrMe (-$150k), luckexpress10 (-$120k) and harrington25 ($94k).

For information about the high stakes action from last night check our online poker stats section.

Phil Hellmuth Leaves UB.com in Major Shakeup

It’s been a busy day for all of us in the online poker community. Just hours after Annie Duke announced her exit from UB.com to pursue non-poker business interests, site icon Phil Hellmuth departed as well. A statement posted on UB.com reveals that the two sides “mutually parted ways.”

Hellmuth was recently seen on ESPN’s coverage of the PokerStars North American Poker Tour’s (NAPT) Los Angeles Bounty Shootout wearing patches for the Aria Casino in Las Vegas and the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Academy. Curiously absent were any logos for his home poker site, UB.com. Hellmuth also appeared on NBC’s “Poker After Dark” devoid of UB.com logos, leading many to believe that he was on the outs with the USA-friendly CEREUS Network room.

Duke left UB.com earlier today in order to extend her foothold in the business world. She commented in a statement posted on UB.com, “I have nothing but positive things to say about UB and my experiences with the brand, management, and the incredible people who work hard daily to deliver a terrific online poker experience.” Duke and Hellmuth had been with UB.com since 2001, the year the online poker site was launched as Ultimate Bet and two years before the modern poker boom.

Duke told Poker News Daily that she does not plan to sign with a competing online poker site; whether Hellmuth feels the same way is not yet known. Duke’s brother, Howard Lederer, is one of the main faces of Full Tilt Poker, which also accepts action from the United States. Hellmuth, who is widely regarded as one of the top tournament players on the planet, could also head to a site like PokerStars or Victory Poker.

Hellmuth owns the record for the number of WSOP bracelets won at 11 and number of WSOP cashes at 79. Along the way, he’s racked up $6.2 million in WSOP earnings alone and is a rumored contestant on the 2011 installment of the ABC reality series “Dancing with the Stars.” He’s one of the top marketable faces in the poker industry and has coined several memorable phrases including “I can dodge bullets, baby” and “Idiot from Northern Europe.”

Hellmuth won the 1989 WSOP Main Event at age 24 and, for the next 20 years, held the record as the youngest champ ever of the $10,000 buy-in poker tournament. Before anyone knew who Chris Moneymaker was, Hellmuth had already amassed seven bracelets; in fact, he racked up three pieces of hardware in 1993 alone.

In 2009, November Niner Jeff Shulman asked Hellmuth to help him with his short-handed game in preparation for the Main Event final table. As a result, Shulman took fifth place for $1.9 million.

Today’s two high-profile departures leave UB.com stocked with a pro roster that includes PokerRoad’s Joe Sebok, bracelet winner Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin, and Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho, the Last Women Standing in the 2008 and 2007 WSOP Main Events, respectively. Also remaining on the Team UB roster are Bryan “badbeatninja” Devonshire, Brandon Cantu, Adam “Roothlus” Levy, and Anthrax’s Scott Ian, among others. The group appears to have become noticeably younger sans Hellmuth and Duke.

Prior to announcing his exit from UB.com, Hellmuth Tweeted the prices of several sports tickets he was monitoring: “New Years Eve L.A. Lakers/Sixers tix, Row 5, center court trading for $460 apiece. Tix for once a year Rose Bowl on 40 yard line, 44 rows up: $350 apiece!”

Earlier this week, Lee Jones announced his resignation from Cake Poker as its Card Room Manager, citing “strategic decisions with which I’m not comfortable” made by Cake management. Cake Poker Tournament Director Serge “andanthar” Ravitch followed suit in what is traditionally a slow week for poker news.

Poker News Daily has heard rumblings that UB.com may add another pro to its roster early next week. Who that could be remains to be seen, but rumors seem to indicate that it’s Prahlad Friedman. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest on this developing story.

Annie Duke Leaves UB.com

In breaking news, former “Celebrity Apprentice” runner-up Annie Duke has parted ways with UB.com. A blog revealing that she had left the online poker site appeared around 1:30pm ET on Thursday. Duke had been with UB.com for nine years, including both the pre- and post-Chris Moneymaker era.

Duke told Poker News Daily, “After some thought, I made a decision to leave UB.com because I would like to explore other avenues of business and personal growth. I realized I needed to spend my time on other things.” Duke, the sister of Full Tilt Poker front man Howard Lederer, has over $1.1 million in career World Series of Poker (WSOP) earnings and scooped a bracelet in 2004 in a $2,000 Omaha High-Low Eight or Better tournament that featured Erik Seidel and Todd Brunson at the final table.

Also in 2004, Duke was the last person standing in the inaugural WSOP Tournament of Champions, an invite-only, winner-take-all tournament that featured 10 players. Duke banked $2 million for the win and received nearly instant poker fame. Her company at the Tournament of Champions table included Chip Reese, Main Event champ Greg Raymer, Doyle Brunson, Lederer, and former UB.com colleague Phil Hellmuth, who was the runner-up. This year, Duke bested Seidel in the National Heads-Up Poker Championship, which aired on NBC.

Duke wished the crew at UB.com nothing but the best going forward, telling Poker News Daily, “I wish them all the best and wish nothing but good things for the brand. I think that UB.com started some of my development as a businessperson. That was very much the most enjoyable part of it. I wanted to do more of that. I wanted to do much more of that than I had an opportunity to.” Among Duke’s other endeavors are MyMixedNuts.com – a custom trail mix outfit – and Ante Up for Africa, a charity that brings money and attention to the victims of the crisis in Darfur.

Duke explained to Poker News Daily that she does not plan to sign with another online poker site in the future.

Duke made a name for herself last year by competing in the hit NBC reality series “Celebrity Apprentice.” The Donald Trump-led show, which raises funds for various charities, saw Duke finish as the runner-up to comedian Joan Rivers, who at one point compared the former UB.com pro to a Nazi and called the poker playing community “trash.” Rivers and her daughter, Melissa, were both contestants on the series.

Duke was one of the main faces of UB.com, a site that now features players like former “Poker2Nite” host Joe Sebok and former “Amazing Race” contestants Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho as its primary pros. Duke and Hellmuth had served as the central figures of UB.com since the site’s inception nine years ago, long before anyone knew the name Moneymaker.

According to PokerScout.com, which logs online poker room traffic, the CEREUS Network, which includes UB.com and Absolute Poker, is the seventh largest worldwide, with a seven-day running average of 2,100 real money ring game players. At its peak, around 3,000 cash game players call the Network home. CEREUS is the third largest family of sites to accept action from the United States, trailing only PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker in that department. The Network was created in 2008 after the player bases of UB.com and Absolute Poker were merged.

We’ll have more for you on this story as it develops right here on Poker News Daily.

Top Ten Stories of 2010: #4, Peter Eastgate Quits Poker, Auctions Main Event Bracelet on eBay

“Isildur1? vs Tony G - Second SuperStar Showdown coming up

Yeah, you read it right. Tony G is challenging “Isildur1″ in the second SuperStar Showdown which will be played in next Sunday on PokerStars.

First Tony G and “Isildur1″ will play No Limit Hold’Em, then the next half will be Pot Limit Omaha.

And just like last time, both will buy-in for $150K. They play $50/$100 at four tables and the total hands to be played is 2,500.

Isaac Haxton took down the first SuperStar Showdown, so let’s see how he plays against the aggressive and unpredictable Tony G.

PokerStarsBlog is updating “Isildur1’s” games from the past days - he was up $117,720 on Monday and $172,062 yesterday.

There’s no records for last night, but it looks like “Isildur1″ has continued to play well. He played some $25/$50 PLO against Scott Palmer.

Source: Pokerista.net

You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com

“Isildur1″ vs Tony G - Second SuperStar Showdown coming up

Jeff Sarwer Interview with Poker News Daily

Poker Icons, a leading global poker agency, added one of the game’s brightest rising stars to its roster of pros earlier this month. Former Canadian chess prodigy Jeff Sarwer became one of the most fascinating figures on the international poker scene this year. The 32 year old is rapidly becoming a feared presence on the live circuit despite picking up the game just a short time ago.

Sarwer was a chess wunderkind who at the age of eight became World Chess Champion for those under 10. However, after being taken away from his abusive father, Sarwer and his sister changed their names and fled to Europe, disappearing from the public eye for nearly two decades.

In 2008, Sarwer resurfaced and began playing on the PokerStars European Poker Tour. Since then, he’s racked up more than $500,000 in live tournament earnings and was deemed “probably the greatest mind to enter the tournament poker world in history” by fellow poker pro Jonathan “FatalError” Aguiar. Poker News Daily recently got a chance to speak with Sarwer about his aspiring poker career:

Poker News Daily: You’ve been traveling the tournament circuit for more than two years now. Overall, how would you grade your experience as a poker pro? Is this something you see yourself doing for a long time?

Jeff Sarwer: For the next few years, I think people will see me a decent amount out there. I am still learning and haven’t played a lot of the big live events like the Aussie Millions. The experience has been great; I have had the chance to meet some great people who have a lot in common with me. As for grading, I think I have done better than I expected since I have been really active for only about a year and have had some strong results. My start has been great, so I want to keep going and see where it takes me.

PND: Your chess talents have been widely documented. Have you considered returning to the game and possibly training to become a world champion?

Jeff Sarwer: I have no intention of making a run for the world title since I missed so many critical years of training. I might come back on an ambassador level, but for now, poker is getting my spare time.

PND: Chess is a game of perfect information, whereas poker is a game of imperfect information. How do your chess skills transfer to the poker table?

Jeff Sarwer: Paying attention to detail, feeling when people are getting nervous, remembering things, and leveling people – these are all things that both games have in common. Chess might be a game of perfect information, but we are only human and not machines, so how useful is the perfect information that is right in front of you? It’s information that you have to analyze, filter, and try to get to the root of what the other guy is up to, which is really hard to do with so many things going on. So “owning” people’s minds is a very important part of chess too.

PND: You’re very talkative and cheerful at the poker table. Is this a tactic used to gain information from opponents?

Jeff Sarwer: My main reason for this is that I would rather be in a good mood if I am going to be at the table with the same people all day, but it doesn’t hurt to have them want you to stay.

PND: Who are some of your poker influences? Are there any players in particular who have helped make the transition easier?

Sarwer: Absolutely. You can thank the young internet generation for spending time with me and inspiring me. In Europe, there were guys like Anton Wigg, Kevin Stani, and a couple of guys my age like Arnaud Mattern. In North America, there were guys like Sorel Mizzi, Jonathan Aguiar, and Shaun Deeb. I thank them all for letting me spend time around them and see how they do things.

PND: What made you decide to choose Poker Icons to represent you?

Jeff Sarwer: They are the biggest poker agency out there and I have met the people behind the company quite a few times before, so we know each other well and have established a good connection. It’s an easy fit for both sides.

PND: What are your plans for 2011?

Jeff Sarwer: Travel around, play in some new events, produce my film, stay healthy, and have some twists and turns that I don’t see yet.

PND: A film? Tell us a little about it.

Jeff Sarwer: I am finishing the final draft of a script with director Gordon Anderson about my childhood with my manic depressive dad. If you want a taste of what stuff we will be talking about, go to BBCWorldService.com.

PokerStars Gears Up For ANZPT 3

The second season wrapped up last week following Jonathan "xMONSTERxDONGx" Karamalikis' victory at the Grand Final in Sydney, Australia, when he got the best of a star-studded final table that included Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu (9th), WSOP, WPT and EPT Triple Crown winner Roland de Wolfe (8th), and 2008 APPT Macau Champ Eddy Sabat (6th).

Now organizers have confirmed the third season of the PokerStars.net ANZPT will kick off in Adelaide, Australia Feb. 2-6.

Season 2 saw eight events across Australia and New Zealand with a combined prize pool of $4,318,979.

But Season 3 promises to be even bigger with return trips to Adelaide, Perth, Sydney (twice), Canberra, Queenstown, Gold Coast, Melbourne and whispers that more locations will be announced as the tour rolls on.

Once again, there will be a Player of the Year competition rewarding the highest points-scoring player over the entire ANZPT with a sponsorship package to four Asia Pacific Poker Tour events, and either the Aussie Millions Main Event or the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event.

Team PokerStars Pro Tony Hachem has won the title two years running.

As always, PokerStars is planning a series of online poker satellites into the events.

More information can be found on the ANZPT website.

No Suspects in PokerListings Murder One Year Later

Over a year has passed since the murder of the PokerListings founder Andreas Oscarsson, with no one charged for the killing and plenty of questions still unanswered.

Poker News Daily reported on the story last year in which Oscarsson – with his young son beside him – was shot six times as he laid sleeping in his bed on August 3rd, 2009. Neither his son nor Oscarsson’s father, who was also in the home, were harmed during the attack, leaving many to believe that Oscarsson’s murder was a contract killing. Since that time, a Swedish outlet has followed the story and recently presented their findings.

A translated version of the story that appeared on TwoPlusTwo details the path that Oscarsson took to reach his pinnacle in the poker industry. After starting PokerListings in 2003 with funds from venture capitalists, the company had shown remarkable progress. In 2004, PokerListings grossed 13 million Kronor and made a net profit of 4.5 million. In 2005, the company showed unbelievable net profits of 55 million Kronor on 92 million gross. 2006 saw Oscarsson report to his shareholders a 120 million Kronor profit on 195 million in gross revenue.

The article states that it seems the backers were happy with the performance, but wanted to audit PokerListings to see where the money was coming from. The backers, a company called Ekstranda and led in discussions with Oscarsson by Stefan Bengtsson, hired an auditing firm that ultimately suggested they should sell their minority stake in PokerListings. The deal was on the table when the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) hit in late 2006.

After contentious negotiations, Oscarsson was able to negotiate Ekstranda’s buyout price down to 36 million Kronor from its opening of 50 million. The 14 million Kronor left on the table became a sore point for someone, allegedly an attorney with Ekstranda, which led to a possible plot to extort the money. In 2007, Oscarsson’s tax attorney was attacked and shot outside his home, with a 19 year old convicted in the incident.

Over the time span after that, Oscarsson kept PokerListings private, instead of staging an IPO, and dealt with issues regarding child custody with his former wife. On the business side, PokerListings continued to do well. 2008 saw the company, after an initial drop due to the effects of the UIGEA, almost rebound to the period prior to the U.S. law. On August 3rd, 2009, Jan Oscarsson found his son murdered, with the intruder gaining entrance through a bathroom window.

Since Oscarsson’s murder, the case has basically gone cold. Although Poker News Daily reported soon after Oscarsson’s murder that a man with ties to Sweden’s version of the Hell’s Angels was of interest in the case, there are currently no suspects, according to the Swedish article. Oscarsson’s former tax attorney lives in an undisclosed location and will not talk about the case. The 19 year old convicted in his shooting was sentenced to almost 2.5 years in jail and should be close to his release date. The attorney for Ekstranda was fired by the company in 2007 and now lives outside of Sweden.

Although there have been allegations of Oscarsson’s murder being a contract killing, there is no evidence to support those allegations, police say. With no suspects currently being pursued, it appears possible that the Swedish public, as well as the poker community, will never know who killed Andreas Oscarsson.

Atlantic City WSOP Circuit Regional Championship Final Table Set

It’s about to be a very merry Christmas for one of the nine players remaining in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit Northeast Regional Championship, which is playing out in Atlantic City. A top prize of $358,000 is on the line and every player remaining is assured at least $32,000, or about three times the $10,000 buy-in.

Matt Waxman, who won the WSOP Circuit Championship in Atlantic City a few days ago for his first gold ring, was the Final Table Bubble Boy in the Regional Championship. Waxman check-raised all-in on a flop of J-3-4 and WSOP bracelet winner Chris Bell looked him up with pocket queens. Waxman tabled pocket nines and neither of his two outs hit on the turn or river. The recent gold ring winner picked up $26,000 for his three-day run.

Eleventh place went to fundraiser extraordinaire Beth Shak, who called all-in pre-flop with A-9 of diamonds and was up against the pocket jacks of former World Poker Tour (WPT) Legends of Poker final table member Todd Terry. Shak picked up wheel and flush draws on the turn, but the river was a blank and she was relegated to the rails. Shak, who was the runner-up in a $3,000 No Limit Hold’em event during the 2007 WSOP, banked $26,000 in Atlantic City.

PokerStars pro Victor Ramdin, who has also made charity a top priority in life, took 12th in the WSOP Circuit Regional Championship. Ramdin was all-in before the flop in a race with A-10 against Andy Frankenberger’s pocket eights. Frankenberger, who won this year’s WPT Legends of Poker for $750,000, watched as the five community cards missed Ramdin to all but solidify his final table appearance.

Brett Richey, who has become a household name to many poker players thanks to his North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Venetian Bounty Shootout final table appearance and deep runs in the 2008 and 2010 WSOP Main Events, departed in 13th place for $21,000. Richey committed his final chips on a board reading K-7-J-2-5 with three diamonds, but mucked when Jason Burt tabled Q-6 of diamonds for a flush.

Online poker pro Frank Calo and former WPT champ Eugene Katchalov round out the 15 in the money finishers in Atlantic City. Calo got his money in ahead, holding A-K against Chris “SLOPPYKLOD” Klodnicki’s A-5 of clubs, but watched in agony as a five hit on the flop. A running 2-Q solidified his fate and Calo headed to the cage to collect his $21,000 prize for 14th place.

Katchalov 3bet all-in before the flop with 10-8 of diamonds and ran into Michael Raskin’s A-J. Katchalov spiked a 10 on the flop to take a commanding lead in the hand, but an ace on the river gave Raskin the win in dramatic fashion. The top 15 players received a payday after the field numbered 136. By comparison, the first Circuit Regional Championship, which emanated from Chicago at the end of October, drew a field of 226 and offered a top prize of $525,000.

Here’s how the final table stacks up in the WSOP Circuit Regional Championship in Atlantic City. The action kicks off this afternoon and will be filmed for television:

1. Chris “SLOPPYKLOD” Klodnicki – 759,000
2. Chris Bell – 706,000
3. Micah Raskin – 594,000
4. Jason Burt – 579,000
5. Ketan Pandya – 377,000
6. Nick “agriffrod” Mitchell – 332,000
7. Todd Terry – 307,000
8. Andy Frankenberger – 230,000
9. Seth Fischer – 219,000

The blinds sit at 3,000-6,000 with an ante of 1,000. Here are the payouts up for grabs:

1st Place: $358,295
2nd Place: $221,452
3rd Place: $159,851
4th Place: $117,457
5th Place: $87,808
6th Place: $66,758
7th Place: $51,607
8th Place: $40,538
9th Place: $32,362

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for full results on Thursday.

Klodnicki Leads Solid Final at WSOPC AC

A bevvy of big names finished just outside the final nine, including Victor Ramdin (12th), Beth Shak (11th), and newly crowned WSOPC Atlantic City Main Event champion Matt Waxman (10th).

However, a solid line-up still awaits two-time WSOP final tablist Klodnicki in the final.

Sitting right behind him on the leaderboard is the venerable Chris Bell, who won his first WSOP bracelet this past summer and will be looking to add to his more than $2.5 million in career earnings with a win Wednesday.

New York amateur Micah Raskin and California pro Jason Burt are also close, looking to book their first big scores.

New Jersey poker hobbyist Ketan Pandya and 2010 WSOP final tablist Nicholas Mitchell are next down the leaderboard, while two-time WSOP and WPT finalist Todd Terry is right behind them.

But next up is perhaps the hottest player in the group.

After winning WPT Legends this past August, Andy Frankenbegrer went on to final table the WPT Festa al Lago main event in October and is coming off a 16th place finish at the WPT Five Diamond in Las Vegas earlier this month.

The current leader in the WPT's Player of the Year race, Frankenberger has over $1.1 million in career earnings, all in 2010.

Finally, 2008 WSOP finalist Seth Fischer comes in with the short stack.

The second of four WSOPC Regional Championships drew 136 players to Atlantic City this week, creating a $1,279,624 prize pool with $358,295 reserved for first.

The final nine have all already booked seats into the $1 million-dollar freeroll WSOP Circuit National Championship at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas May 27-29.

The final table will go off Wednesday afternoon in Atlantic City and will be televised on VERSUS Network in 2011.

Here's how the nine finalists stack up coming in:

1 Chris Klodnicki 759,000

2 Chris Bell 706,000

3 Micah Raskin 594,000

4 Jason Burt 579,000

5 Ketan Pandya 377,000

6 Nick Mitchell 332,000

7 Todd Terry 307,000

8 Andy Frankenberger 230,000

9 Seth Fischer 219,000

Internet Gambling Opponent Jon Kyl Mum on Reelection Plans

According to Politco, Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) is keeping his 2012 reelection plans close to the vest, creating uncertainty in the future hierarchy of his party’s leadership.  Kyl is the Senate Minority Whip, the second ranking position in the Republican Party.

Poker players know Kyl as Capitol Hill’s current public enemy number one to online gambling.  He was one of the key players, along with then-Congressman Jim Leach (R-IA) and then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN), behind the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in 2006.  The bill, which aimed to stop the flow of funds to offshore internet gambling sites, was attached to the must-pass SAFE Port Act in the middle of the night just before Congress adjourned for the year.

Since 2006, Kyl has continued to fight against online poker.  Earlier this year, he blocked the appointment of six of President Barack Obama‘s nominees to the United States Treasury because he was upset that the UIGEA implementation deadline had been pushed back six months.  This month, he was the most powerful opponent of Senator Harry Reid’s (D-NV) failed attempts to legalize and regulate online poker.

Rumblings about Kyl’s possible reelection bid began in November, shortly after midterm elections.  When asked, Kyl told Roll Call, “One of the lectures I give is, what’s wrong with the political system today. It’s that every election starts the day after the last one. That is what’s screwing up our system, because there’s no time out to do legislation in a bipartisan way or without the press of elections. And, so I said, I’m not going to be a part of that game. I’m not going to start that right now.”

Randy Pullen, Chairman of the Arizona Republican Party, does not think Kyl will seek reelection.  “Things may change, but I don’t believe he is running based on past conversations that I’ve had with him,” he said.

Wes Gullett, who has eyes on the Phoenix mayoral post in 2011, couldn’t say either way whether Kyl will run, but he has no doubt he would win.  “I wouldn’t put much stock in what you do or don’t see right now,” said Gullett.  “Kyl is in the driver’s seat. If he does run, which I think he will, it’s an easy race for him.”

One byproduct of Kyl’s silence is the uncertainty of the future of the three Senators who rank immediately below him in the Republican Party: John Cornyn (R-TX), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), and John Thune (R-SD).  All three are in position to move up should Kyl retire from the Senate.  Publicly, none of them have expressed concern with the uncertainty.

“I’m not even thinking about that,” Alexander said to Politico. “I can’t remember that we’ve ever had a better whip than Jon Kyl. Our leadership team functions easily, we work perfectly well together, and one of the reasons we do is that none of us are gunning for each other’s position. I think we happen to be in the right positions right now.”

Kyl, a Nebraska native who grew up in Iowa, got his start in politics 20 years after earning a law degree from the University of Arizona.  An attorney by trade, Kyl first ran for the United States House of Representatives in 1986, handily defeating Democrat Philip Davis, 64.5% to 35.5%.  He won three reelection bids in similarly easy fashion, serving a total of eight years in the House.

In 1994, Kyl made a run at a Senate seat, once again earning an easy victory.  The Republican received 54% of the vote, compared to Democrat Samuel Coppersmith’s 40% and Libertarian candidate Scott Grainger’s 6%.  In 2000, he ran without opposition from a major party, and in 2006, defeated former Arizona Democratic Party Chairman Jim Pederson in one of the most expensive campaigns in the state’s history.

According to the National Journal’s 2009 Vote Ratings, Kyl was the 18th most conservative member of the Senate last year.  He rated as the number one most conservative Senator in 2008.

Order of Abeyance Issued in Kentucky Internet Gambling Case

Last Friday, Judge Thomas Wingate issued an Order of Abeyance in the Kentucky internet gambling case, effectively freezing the status quo for 30 days. Motions filed by the State and the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) “shall be held in abeyance until such time as this Court rules on the legal standing question of whether associational representation is proper in an in rem proceeding.”

For those who aren’t legal experts, iMEGA Chairman Joe Brennan laid the groundwork for where the case currently stands: “Everything is in time out until everyone has an opportunity to be heard on the matter of associational standing. It seems by the court’s brief that they’ve accepted that iMEGA has met the requirements for associational standing as laid out by the State Supreme Court. The court must determine whether it’s warranted to have an association intercede in this matter when the court is still looking at it as an in rem jurisdiction.”

Now, iMEGA will submit a brief arguing why it’s appropriate for an association to intervene on behalf of the 141 internet gambling domain names seized by the Commonwealth of Kentucky two years ago. The southern state is seeking the forfeiture of the URLs, which belong to sites like PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker. If successful, these domains may be unavailable not just in Kentucky, but also around the world. Kentucky’s lawyers are allegedly working on a contingency-fee basis, according to Brennan.

On his reaction to hearing that the court had issued an Order of Abeyance in the case, Brennan told Poker News Daily on Monday, “When the court comes back and doesn’t rule against you, it’s always a victory for us. This draws things out more, which provides more exposure to a critically flawed argument by the State.” The State argued in part that domain names constitute “gambling devices” under Kentucky law, a two-word term traditionally reserved for tangible objects like slot machines that you’d find in an underground casino.

Also newsworthy in Judge Wingate’s court filing last week was his acknowledgment that Yatahay Limited is the owner of TruePoker.com. Wingate asserted, “Though another company may operate the TruePoker.com website, iMEGA has proven that Yatahay Limited owns TruePoker.com… Even so, it is unclear whether associational standing applies in an in rem proceeding.” The State had ardently questioned the legitimacy of affidavits filed to prove that Yatahay Limited was a member of iMEGA.

In the end, Judge Wingate explained, “iMEGA may be entitled to associational standing. However, iMEGA has not yet established that associational standing is proper in an in rem proceeding… Accordingly, iMEGA’s Motion to Intervene is, at the very least, premature.”

Organizations that wish to file amicus briefs in the case now have 30 days to do so. Judge Wingate asked that the briefs focus on whether associational standing is appropriate in the case. Last Monday, a hearing in Frankfort, Kentucky was held, but no ruling was made on iMEGA’s Motion to Intervene on behalf of the 141 internet gambling domain names at risk.

The domains were originally seized in September 2008, allegedly without due process and Judge Wingate upheld the State’s actions. iMEGA then sought the intervention of the Kentucky Court of Appeals, which ruled by a 2:1 margin in January 2009 that the State did not have jurisdiction to seize the domain names in question. Commonwealth attorneys appealed to the Kentucky Supreme Court, which promptly sent the case back to the trial court to determine standing.

The Commonwealth has also filed a separate case to recoup funds lost by state residents against Party Gaming, Pocket Kings, and Microgaming. The former two are the parent companies of PartyPoker and Full Tilt Poker, respectively. Party Gaming vacated the U.S. market in 2006 following the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), while Microgaming followed suit in 2008. Full Tilt Poker continues to accept U.S. action and is the second largest online poker site in the world in terms of cash game volume.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest.

Brad Daugherty WSOP Main Event Bracelet for Sale on eBay

For those looking for a Christmas gift for the poker player in your life, another World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet is in its final hours of bidding at the online auction site eBay.

Brad Daugherty has put his 1991 WSOP Main Event bracelet up for sale on eBay, following in the footsteps of several other former winners. Daugherty’s bracelet is somewhat different, however, in that his first name is prominently engraved on its face with each of the four suits in the corners. On the back of the bracelet, the words “1991 World Champion of Poker, Binion’s Horseshoe” are engraved.

According to the eBay specs on the item, Daugherty’s bracelet is 96 grams of 14K gold and does not have any of the jewels that you see on bracelets today. With this in mind, the scrap value of Daugherty’s 1991 WSOP Main Event bracelet is $2,484.50 at current exchange rates. It also appears that Daugherty is the man behind the sale, commenting on both the eBay auction and his own website, “This bracelet supplied by Neiman Marcus to the World Series, symbolizes my win of the 1991 World Championship, and the first ever first prize of $1,000,000.”

The WSOP bracelet is the only one Daugherty has won in his career as a poker player. It is also historic in the fact that it was awarded to the first ever winner of $1 million for capturing the WSOP Main Event championship. Daugherty is also famous for writing poker books, most notably “Championship Satellite Strategy and No Limit Texas Hold’em for New Players” with fellow Main Event champ Tom McEvoy.

What may be a bit surprising considering the scrap value of the WSOP bracelet is the price the auction is currently pulling. As of this afternoon – with less than 13 hours left in the bidding – Daugherty’s 1991 WSOP Main Event bracelet has 11 bids, with the top one coming in at $15,001. However, there is a reserve on the item that has not yet been met, meaning that if the reserve is not been reached, the seller has the right to pull the item from the auction block.

Over the course of 2010, there have been several WSOP bracelets that have found their way to eBay. At the start of the year, a bracelet won by poker legend T.J. Cloutier was sold through eBay after he pawned it to a Plano, Texas pawnshop. In the 10-day auction, 13 bids were placed before the bracelet sold for $4,006. The online poker site Cake Poker was its buyer and promptly returned it to the five-time WSOP bracelet winner.

The action for WSOP bracelets picked up towards the end of the year when 2008 WSOP Main Event winner Peter Eastgate put his bracelet up for auction to benefit UNICEF after he announced his retirement from poker. In a frenzied auction, 116 bidders – including poker pro Tony G, who was looking to make the poker trophy into a dog collar – drove the price of the bracelet to $147,500. At this time, no one has stepped forward to publicly claim ownership.

Around the same time as Eastgate’s auction, Paul “Eskimo” Clark’s 1999 Razz bracelet was put up for auction. In the case of this bidding war, the seller was not Clark himself, but rather a mysterious owner in Ireland. Even though the seller wasn’t its original winner and the memorabilia wasn’t the jewel-encrusted version of WSOP bracelets that we see today, it still sold for $4,050.

The 1999 WSOP bracelet won by Hassan Kamoei in the $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha with Rebuys event went through its 10-day bid process and received no action from its starting price of $3,800. Last week, the sale of Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso’s 2007 Lamborghini Gallardo on eBay ended after no one offered the asking price of $126,500.

The poker community has been discussing the recent Daugherty sale through several outlets. Over Twitter, UB.com sponsored pro Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin opined, “Will be hilarious how much less than Eastgate’s the bracelet goes for with a monstrous ‘BRAD’ on the front. Twisted part of me wants it.” He followed up later with a proposition for his followers, “Office pool guess on final sale price: $34,750. Anyone want in on a group bracelet timeshare?” Baldwin already holds one bracelet himself.

Buy Daugherty’s bracelet.

Poker Players Alliance: Harry Reid Bill Dead

On Thursday morning, Poker Players Alliance (PPA) Executive Director John Pappas told Poker News Daily that the bill introduced by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) legalizing and regulating online poker is all but dead. A move to add the bill’s language to the tax relief act currently being debated in Congress failed to come to fruition.

Pappas told Poker News Daily that a highly charged debate over the tax measure was largely to blame: “When the tax package fell through and things became much more political for it – not related to our bill – it became clear that another controversial addition to the tax bill could sink it.” Reid’s bill would have opened the online poker market in the United States to current operators like Caesars Entertainment, which owns the rights to the annual World Series of Poker.

U.S. President Barack Obama struck a deal with Republicans on the contents of the tax relief act, which perhaps closed the door to other bills being added.

Now what? With the Republican Party taking control of the House of Representatives in 2011, pro-internet gambling allies like Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) may take a back seat. Frank, whose HR 2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, garnered 70 co-sponsors and sailed through the House Financial Services Committee in July, will likely lose his post as Chairman. In his stead could be staunch internet gambling opponent Spencer Bachus (R-AL), whom the PPA graded an “F” in its Congressional Ratings Guide.

Looking ahead to 2011, Pappas told Poker News Daily, “The online poker bill that was floating around needs some improvement, so the PPA wants to go back to Senator Reid and talk about how we can improve on his current draft. There’s going to be a renewed focus in the Senate and we’ll be taking some of the legislation in a different direction so that’s it not focused on the Financial Services Committee, where we have a known opponent.”

Two years ago, Bachus, the current Ranking Member of the committee, erroneously quoted a study from McGill University linking internet gambling to suicide. The Alabama lawmaker asserted in a June 2008 hearing, “McGill University found that one-third – one-third – of college students who gambled on the internet ultimately attempted suicide. That is why the rate of suicide on our college campuses has doubled in the last ten years.” In fact, no such study had ever taken place.

On Wednesday night, ESPN.com published an article declaring Reid’s bill dead. Pappas told the Connecticut-based news outlet, “Sadly, some politicians remain with their heads firmly in the sand. The leadership of the Poker Players Alliance got the debate this far and we are determined to see this through.” The Hill reported that the ongoing lame duck session on Capitol Hill is scheduled to end on Friday, although reports during the week have surfaced that lawmakers may remain in Washington, DC until close to Christmas.

Last weekend, adding language legalizing and regulating online poker to a must-pass omnibus spending bill appeared to be a possibility according to Bloomberg, but Pappas explained that adding another earmark would “make things more complicated.” The Senate approved the tax relief bill on Wednesday, with the House potentially set to follow suit this afternoon.

Pappas was scheduled to tape a segment about the online poker bill with Bloomberg that will air on Friday at 11:45am ET. Pappas will speak on behalf of the 1.2 million member strong lobbying group that has become the main voice for poker players in the United States. Four years ago, the PPA stood at just 50,000 members.

Reid’s bill won’t officially be dead until the clock strikes Midnight on the 111th Congress. Pappas concluded with a silver lining: “We always knew we had a chance to pass legislation during the lame duck session, but it fell short. But, I think there’s significant momentum going forward. We’ve done a good job of convincing lawmakers that the status quo isn’t acceptable.”

Keep it tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest developments from Capitol Hill.

Poker Pro Dale Philip (Daleroxxu) Begins Tour of Cards

It is the dream of every poker player: travel the world, visit exotic locations, and play live and online. It is a dream that one of poker’s most notable bloggers and players, Dale “Daleroxxu” Philip, will begin in just a few short weeks.

Philip, a member of Team PokerStars Online, put his name on the map by winning the 2006 World Blogger Championship of Online Poker. Since that time, he has become a master of sit and gos and has been able to make a living off that very difficult discipline of poker. His desire to move away from the computer, however, has led him into an endeavor called the Tour of Cards, which will be sponsored in part by PokerStars.

The Tour of Cards will see Philip travel the world in 2011, visiting 52 different countries, one each week of the year. While he travels, he will try his hand at live poker and also maintain a grueling online playing schedule. Philip will also be blogging about the trip on a dedicated Tour of Cards website, allowing the poker world to monitor his status.

Poker News Daily caught up with Philip as he was making the final preparations for his trip, which begins just before the New Year.

Poker News Daily: For those who aren’t familiar with you, tell us about yourself.

Dale Philip: I grew up in a council estate – what Americans would call the “housing projects” – in a small town in Scotland. It wasn’t particularly nice and my parents were poor and sometimes unemployed, so we only ever went on one overseas vacation when I was a kid.

I moved to Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city, to work, but quit my job to play poker full-time in 2008 and just stayed there. I didn’t know a lot of people in the city and had an infinite amount of free time to grind poker, so that’s what I did when I could pry myself from the XBox 360!

I’ve always been a sit and go player and crushed them on every site I’ve played them on for a consistent profit. But because this was such a profitable, almost guaranteed, income for me, I never played MTTs or ring games seriously; I just stuck to printing money playing sit and gs. But sit and gos are drying up a lot now that everyone knows how to play them, so I’m starting to play some Pot Limit Omaha online and live MTTs. This has actually made poker fun and interesting for me again when it was starting to become somewhat of a dull grind.

PND: Was that the idea behind the Tour of Cards or was there something else that drove you to do it?

Dale Philip: One day, I was thinking to myself how lucky I am to have a career that allows me the flexibility to do whatever I want, whenever I want to do it. Then, I realized how little I take advantage of that freedom. I spend most of my time sitting at a computer in the same boring room in the same old city playing online poker. I thought to myself that I could just as easily be sitting on a laptop in some exotic location doing my job, so what the hell am I still doing here?

I started to research different countries that I might like to relocate to, at least for a year, and the more I learned about other places, the more I wanted to visit all of them. Then, this epic idea came into my head: I’ll visit 52 countries in 52 weeks, play a ton of online and live poker, do a lot of cool stuff, blog the whole adventure, and call it the Tour of Cards.

PND: What sponsorships have you set up to be able to partake in this adventure?

Dale Philip: I recently signed with PokerStars. My sponsorship with PokerStars was announced after I had announced my Tour of Cards project; however, PokerStars had approached me before I had even thought up this project. When I told them about my plans, they loved the idea and gave me a very attractive offer based on that. It’s truly awesome to have the support of the world’s largest and best online poker site; they really understand what I want to achieve.

PND: What are your goals for the Tour of Cards?

Dale Philip: I have so many goals for Tour of Cards. I want to promote poker and the poker lifestyle to people across the world. I want to see and experience a bunch of awesome stuff, meet interesting people, make new friends (and girlfriends), and learn about different cultures. But, of course, my main goal for the project is just to have a bunch of fun because if it’s not fun, it’s not worth doing.

PND: What are the logistics of planning a trip such as the Tour of Cards?

Dale Philip: Although this whole thing is a logistical nightmare and it’s been taking up a lot of my time lately, I’m getting a lot of enjoyment out of planning and making this project happen. I’ve been trying my best to plan the order of countries I visit in a way such that the next country I go to is very close to and has a direct flight from the country I’m leaving in order to make journeys short and inexpensive. However, there are certain poker festivals I want to attend such as the Aussie Millions, PokerStars Macau Cup, and PokerStars EPT Snowfest, so making sure I get to them has made the planning much more complicated.

I’m happy to say that all of my flights for the first three months have been planned, booked, and paid for. The next thing that I have to do is organize accommodations in each location. That’s perhaps tougher than organizing flights because I have to research each location to figure out where the best place to stay is. I really don’t want to be spending a week in a hotel that sucks or is in a terrible location. It’s also usually cheaper to book hotel rooms at the last minute using an online bidding site such as Priceline. That is the opposite of flights, which are cheaper the earlier you book them.

PND: The first three months of your schedule have you in the Asian Rim. Tell us about what you’re expecting there?

Dale Philip: I’m especially looking forward to visiting the Asian countries on my tour, not just because I find Asian chicks extremely hot, but also because their culture is so much different than ours in the Western world. It’s a part of the world, being so far away, that I’ve never visited, so I can’t wait to get there, check it out, and eat their delicious food. Playing live poker in Asia should make for a fun and interesting experience, as poker is really starting to boom there now, especially in Macau. I’m expecting the games to be very lively and fun.

PND: What difficulties could you encounter during the Tour of Cards?

Dale Philip: A guaranteed way to get yourself held up at any country’s immigration border is to tell them that you are a professional poker player, so I’m generally creative with the truth when they ask, “What do you do back home?” It just makes life a lot easier. In general, it’s easy to travel to other countries for U.K. nationals. The only country on my list so far that U.K. nationals can’t enter visa-free or with visa-on-arrival is Vietnam; it has to be arranged in advance of traveling there.

Not all countries will have legal brick-and-mortar casinos or poker rooms, so I’m never going to be able to play a live poker game in all 52 countries. Thankfully, with a laptop and a PokerStars account, I’m always within instant reach of a game wherever I am. I just have to hope that the internet connection of most countries will be fast and stable enough, and I don’t think that’s too much to ask for in 2011, is it?

There is also the fact that, in certain countries, governments have total control over their citizens’ internet access and block all online poker sites. Most of these countries, where online gambling is illegal, are blocking poker sites because the morons in power don’t know the difference between poker – a game of skill – and gambling. But, if PokerStars has no problem with me playing from a specific country and I am able to access the site, directly or otherwise, then I will play. It is likely that I will use a reliable VPN service to bypass restrictions where necessary so I can play poker when I can’t access the site directly.

PND: What hardships outside of poker might you run into during your yearlong journey?

Dale Philip: Language could certainly be a huge obstacle in some countries, as English is the only language that I speak, and I speak it with a Scottish accent. The closest I come to knowing another language is a tiny bit of Russian due to having a couple of Russian girlfriends in the past, but that’s not going to get me far in somewhere like Japan. I guess I will just have to get really good at acting out charades or get a translator app for my phone and just try to remind myself that although foreign languages make life difficult as a traveler, it’s also part of what makes the culture in these places so different.

In addition to having their own languages, countries also, annoyingly, have their own currencies. Changing physical cash at airports and banks would get quite time-consuming and expensive, as they always advertise “Commission Free” and then use their own rigged exchange rate that’s a mile away from the wholesale rate. But, I’ve already got my hands on a prepaid global currency MasterCard with a U.K. bank where I can load it up with Sterling and use it to purchase goods or withdraw from ATMs in any country without getting screwed over on the exchange rate. I’ve tried it out in the USA and Ireland so far and it’s been awesome. Another advantage is that if it gets stolen, it’s replaceable, not gone for good like a pile of money would be.

I reckon the chance that I can go on 52 plane journeys and have them not lose my baggage or cancel/delay my flights to the point of seriously disrupting my plans is quite low. I’ll just have to deal with that nonsense when it happens. I will also look at alternatives to flying between countries accessible by other means. For example, I had booked an ultra cheap one-hour flight from Malaysia to Singapore, but then someone told me that there is a five-hour train journey on a very comfortable modern train with a lot of jungle scenery, lots of little towns, kids waving at the train, etc., which is a really good way to see the country.

PND: How much of an estimated expenditure are you looking at? Will what you win along your journey help finance the trip?

Dale Philip: I’ll certainly want to make more money from poker in 2011 than I spend on this project, but I’m well equipped with comfortable poker and life bankrolls, so if I go on some outrageous downswing or can’t get enough hours of online play in due to poor internet connections, it won’t be a huge disaster.

I originally figured the flights and accommodation would cost around $100,000. I realize I could do it cheaper, but I just don’t stay in bad hotels. Then, there are the expenses of eating out or ordering room service for every single meal and going on tours or doing cool stuff that isn’t cheap.

I’m revising the costs downward a bit after having been offered to stay with some poker players I know from other countries. I’ll be staying with Joel Carr, who is a PokerStars Supernova, in his Thailand villa for a week in February. “Peru,” who people may know from the TwoPlusTwo forums, has offered to let me use his house in Peru as a base to travel to countries in South America.

I’ll also be doing about five weeks of my journey with U.K. poker pro Simon “Amatay” Jones, so we’ll split hotel room costs. In addition to saving money, it’s also great to be able to spend time with other interesting poker pros either in their homes or traveling around with them, which should make my experience and my blogs more interesting too.

The Tour of Cards should prove to be an interesting journey! Visit PokerStars to play with Philip and others.

2011 London Affiliate Conference Schedule Set

Earlier this month, iGaming Business (iGB) announced the official schedule of events for the 2011 London Affiliate Conference.  Like the installment, which drew over 2,200 people, the 2011 conference will be held at Old Billingsgate, located on the north bank of the Thames.

Formerly called CAP Euro, the London Affiliate Conference will run from January 27th to January 30th and feature a number of seminars to help online gaming affiliates improve their businesses.  One of the most anticipated conferences will be on Saturday morning, when the leadership of OLBG.co.uk, one of the United Kingdom’s largest and most successful sportsbook affiliates, will host “Case Study: OLBG Reveal Their Top Tips for Sportsbook Affiliates.”

“We’ve been around the block a few times and want to share our findings with other affiliates and the industry in general, said Sinead Lambert, OLBG’s Online Marketing Manager.  “The industry has changed a lot over the years and entering the marketplace now is very difficult.  We wanted to help out new and existing affiliates by giving them some tips on what has worked for us over the years and what hasn’t.”

Lambert will be joined by OLBG’s Operations Manager Richard Moffat as the two help fellow affiliates learn strategies for attracting the right kind of traffic to their sites, strengthen relationships with online bookmakers, and share what has worked for OLBG in the past.

Kiera Goymour, Event Manager for iGB, commented in a press release, “We are always looking for ways to make the conference program more relevant for today’s audience and giving affiliates an opportunity to voice their concerns and experiences made sense.”  She added, “The majority of our delegates are skilled online marketers and we want to give them the tools to push their sites a step further.”

Friday’s morning conferences will include a discussion of new regulatory challenges and an introduction to advertising on Facebook.  Four conferences will be held in the afternoon with such topics as payment solutions in Latin America, online communities, valuing domain names, and a roundtable discussion on general affiliate issues.

The schedule on Saturday will be similar, except that there will be one additional conference in the afternoon.  In addition to the OLBG conference, most of the discussion will focus on search engine optimization.

A yet to be announced keynote presentation will be given at 11:45 Friday morning.  There will also be an exhibition hall open most of the day on Friday and Saturday and delegates will be able to attend parties on both nights.

Thursday is primarily a registration and welcome day, but there will be one significant highlight, the black tie iGB Affiliate Awards.  PokerStars was one of the big winners last year, taking home the Best Poker Affiliate Program, Best iGaming Poker Software, and Best Overall Affiliate Manager awards.  Microgaming has won the Best iGaming Casino Software award the last two years and claimed the Best iGaming Software for Affiliates title in 2008.

The London Affiliate Conference is free for any affiliate to attend.  Those who wish to attend, but are not in the affiliate business, can do so for £499 plus 17.5% in taxes for a total of £586.33.  The iGB Affiliate Awards ceremony is not included in the price of admission and runs £250 plus tax (£293.75 total) per person for non-affiliates.

Non-affiliates can also reserve a table for up to ten people for £2,000 plus tax (£2,350 total).  Affiliates receive a discount on awards ceremony tickets, but may only book three seats.  A ticket for affiliates runs £99 plus tax for a total of £116.33.

Kentucky Lawyers Respond to iMEGA Standing Claims in Internet Gambling Case

On Friday, attorneys for the Commonwealth of Kentucky responded to the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA). The organization had filed a motion to intervene on behalf of 141 internet gambling domain names that could be forfeited if legal action taken by the State is successful.

Court documents filed by iMEGA read in part, “iMEGA seeks to intervene in order to move that this Court address all of the jurisdictional and constitutional issues in this case. These issues are numerous and substantial, as appellate courts of this state have recognized. As ground for this motion, iMEGA asserts that this action is without basis in Kentucky law and that this Court is without subject matter jurisdiction to proceed.” The trade organization added that it sought to avert a court hearing scheduled for Monday.

iMEGA’s legal counsel attached a proposed order to the filing and asserted that it held standing in the case because one of its members, TruePoker.com owners Yatahay Limited, was targeted. To prove that Yatahay Limited is an iMEGA member, the organization submitted three affidavits, one from iMEGA Chairman Joe Brennan, one from Network Solutions’ Natalie Sterling, and one from Matthew Bartlett of Yatahay.

Also to claim standing, iMEGA explained, “In this action, iMEGA will raise statutory and constitutional issues that apply in any case involving the effort to seize any domain name under… the Kentucky Penal Code. The individual participation of iMEGA members is not required. In fact, iMEGA’s representation of its members serves goals of judicial economy.”

Kentucky’s attorneys reminded the Court that issues of the validity of Yatahay’s affidavits were brought up in preceding hearings. Moreover, the legal counsel maintained, “iMEGA’s current motion is yet another attempt to skip important procedural steps… The issue may not be decided until the Commonwealth has had a reasonable opportunity to conduct reasonable discovery on the issue.”

As to iMEGA’s rights to defend the URLs in jeopardy, Kentucky’s lawyers noted, “There is no indication of how many members support iMEGA’s positions on the litigation or how the decision to support iMEGA’s position was made.” The Commonwealth continually questioned Yatahay’s interest in the case and cast doubt on Bartlett’s association with the company.

In November, Commonwealth attorneys proposed splitting up the 141 domain names in question, with the first batch consisting of playersonly.com, sportsbook.com, sportsinteraction.com, mysportsbook.com, and linesmaker.com. Two months prior, the Kentucky Supreme Court returned the case to the trial court level due to questions of standing.

The domain names were originally seized two years ago in a way that iMEGA claimed violated due process. The case now returns to Judge Thomas Wingate, who upheld the State’s seizure back in 2008. iMEGA sought the intervention of the Kentucky Court of Appeals, which ruled in January 2009 that the Commonwealth did not have jurisdiction to act. The case then made its way to the Kentucky Supreme Court. If the State were successful, the 141 internet gambling domain names, including those belonging to major online poker sites PokerStars and Full Tilt, could be inaccessible worldwide.

Kentucky attorneys summarized, “Once an owner is identified as a matter of fact, should the owner wish to appoint a duly authorized representative to appear on its behalf, the Court may consider the issue of representation standing in an in rem action at that time. However, until the factual issue of ownership is determined, issues of standing are premature and not properly before the court.” What will happen next in this roller coaster of a case is anyone’s guess.

Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet Secretary J. Michael Brown is serving as the Plaintiff in the case, which is numbered 08-CI-1409. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest developments.

Karamalikis Wins, Negreanu Ninth at APPT Grand Final

"This is obviously the biggest (tournament) I've ever won, by far," Karamalikis said. "It's quite a prestigious title, so I'm really glad to have it under my belt."

The 22-year-old from Adelaide, Australia collected the AUD$459,510 first-place prize outlasting major stars like Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu (9th), WSOP, WPT and EPT Triple Crown winner Roland de Wolfe (8th), and 2008 APPT Macau Champ Eddy Sabat (6th)

Karamalikis became the fourth consecutive Aussie to win the APPT Grand Final and is now in the top ten on Australia's all-time money winners list.

The APPT Sydney Grand Final drew 289 players creating a AUD$1,734,000 prize pool.

Here's how the final table finished up.

1 Jonathan Karamalikis AUD$459,510

2 Benjamin McLean AUD$294,780

3 Tom Rafferty AUD$164,730

4 Peco Stojanovski AUD$121,380

5 Antoine Amourette AUD$97,970

6 Eddy Sabat AUD$79,765

7 Manuel Hansimikali AUD$65,025

8 Roland de Wolfe AUD$50,285

9 Daniel Negreanu AUD$36,415

Maria Ho to Host UB.com Charity Tournament Benefiting North Wales Library

We’re already into the second week of December and, as such, the online poker room UB.com is set to host its monthly Second Sundays charity tournament.  This month, the beneficiary of the fundraiser is the North Wales Library in Pennsylvania.

The tournament will begin at 2:45pm ET today and requires a $10 buy-in, with no additional fee going to the house.  The entire prize pool will be given to the North Wales Library, along with a 100% match by UB.com.

The top ten finishers in the tournament will receive a free entry into Sunday’s $200,000 Guaranteed, a $215 value.  The winner will also be awarded a Wireless Poker Controller.  Additionally, whoever knocks out tournament host Maria Ho, the newest member of Team UB.com, will win a $66 entry into that day’s $7,000 Guaranteed, which kicks off at 9:30pm ET.

Those who wish to donate, but are unable to participate in the tournament can do so via a player-to-player transfer to the account “CHARITIES.”  The first name “Charity” will be needed to complete the transfer.

The North Wales Library dates back all the way to 1927, when it was founded in the basement of the North Wales Elementary School.  As one might expect, the library outgrew the small space and that, combined with its administrators’ desire for additional facilities for activities, resulted in the purchase of a new building in 2008.  It took two years to renovate the building to suit the library’s needs and it re-opened at the beginning of this year.

Despite housing over 30,000 volumes and containing a space for community functions, there is a continual need for funds to support the facility.  It is more than just a local library today, serving many more people than just the North Wales locals.  In addition to North Wales, people come from Lansdale, Hatfield, Upper Gwynedd, as well as the Montgomery and Towamencin Townships to use the facilities and take advantage of its programs. North Wales is approximately 20 miles north of Philadelphia.

Ho, the last woman standing in the 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event and a competitor on the CBS reality series ” Amazing Race,” was introduced as a member of Team UB.com last month.  She is particularly excited to be involved with this charity event:

“Second Sundays is truly a way for people to play a game that they love, all the while helping a great cause, and I am proud to be a part of such a philanthropic gesture on behalf of UB.com,” she said in a statement released this week. “Growing up, I frequented my local library and had my nose buried in books any chance I got, so helping to raise money for the North Wales Library is something very close to my heart. We should all be in support of improving the quality of learning and educational tools for Americans of all ages.”

As might be apparent from the name, “Second Sundays” tournaments are held on the second Sunday of each month on UB.com.  Players on Absolute Poker, UB.com’s sister site on the CEREUS Network, may also participate in the event.

Last month, Second Sundays was hosted by Team UB.com member Joe Sebok and raised $4,172.50 for the Justin Shronk Memorial Scholarship Fund.  Shronk was a beloved member of the poker media, having worked at PokerNews, Bluff, CardPlayer, and Sebok’s PokerRoad Radio.  Shronk passed away in April 2009.  To honor his life, the Fund was established at the Temple University School of Communications and Theater to provide scholarships to Broadcasting, Telecommunications, and Mass Media students with financial needs.

Other organizations that have been beneficiaries of Second Sundays include the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program, the San Antonio AIDS Foundation, and the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.  To date, UB.com and Absolute Poker have raised over $32,000 for their causes.

Stars Shine at APPT Sydney Final

While Reza Vakili grabbed the overnight chip lead, Aussie online superstar Jonathan 'xMONSTERxDONGx' Karamalikis and WSOP, WPT and EPT Triple Crown winner Roland de Wolfe sit right behind him as the only players over the 700k chip mark.

Also still stacked in the the chase for the AUD$459,510 first-place prize is Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu, 2010 Aussie Millions champ Tyron Krost, 2007 APPT Grand Final winner Grant Levy and 2008 APPT Macau champ Eddy Sabat.

A total of 289 players paid the AUD$6,300 entrance fee to create a prizepool of AUD$1.73 million.

The event's third day will go off at 12:30 p.m. Sydney time Saturday and a champion will be crowned Dec. 12.

888 Begins Satellites to 2011 Irish Poker Open

Looking forward to 2011, 888 Poker has announced that it is opening up satellites for the 30th anniversary of the Irish Poker Open.

888 Poker has begun running “Steps” satellites that will send players to the oldest tournament in Europe, which will be contested from April 22nd to 25th. These “Steps” satellites are a four-tiered system that will allow players of any bankroll to take their shot at participating in one of the most prestigious events in the poker community. At the end of the “Steps” is a prize package that any player would be thrilled to win.

Step 1 tournaments run daily around-the-clock and will send one player to Step 2 for every $14 in the prize pool. Step 1 events cost $2 and are rebuy/add-on tournaments, building up the prize pool to maximize the number of players who will be eligible to move on.

At Step 2 of the satellite system, players will be in a traditional freezeout. These tournaments run on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays at 8:05 GMT and on Sundays at 2:05. The tournament costs $14 and will move one player on to Step 3 for every $65 that is generated in the prize pool.

The Step 3 tournaments put players one level away from realizing the dream of heading to the Irish Poker Open. The $65 Step 3 tournaments, which run Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 5:05 GMT, will send one player on for every $300 in the prize pool. For those who earn their way through the Step 3 tournament, the 888 Poker Final Satellite (run every Sunday at 8:05) will award at least one Irish Poker Open prize package to the winner. Players can buy into the “Steps” tournaments at any level.

In addition to the €3,500 Irish Poker Open Main Event seat, players who qualify through 888 Poker will receive five nights’ accommodations at the Burlington Hotel, $1,500 to offset travel expenses, and a merchandise kit from 888 Poker that includes a Sony Bloggie camera to document their potential journey to becoming the next Irish Poker Open champion.

The Irish Poker Open has not only sentimental value to players, but also is quite historic in its own right. The Irish Poker Open is the longest running tournament on the European continent and ranks second to only the World Series of Poker as the longest running in poker history. Created by the late gaming legend Terry Rogers in 1980, it has been in recent years operated by Liam Flood and will be contested in 2011 at the Burlington Hotel in Dublin.

Its first ever winner was the legendary Irish poker player Colette Doherty. Others who have captured the title include Joe Beevers (2003), “Mad” Marty Smyth (2007), Neil “Bad Beat” Channing (2008), and Christer Johansson (2009).

The 2010 running of the Irish Poker Open brought out 708 players, which included former champions Smyth and Channing as well as European poker masters like Germany’s Sandra Naujoks and Italy’s Dario Mineri. The United States, which traditionally is represented by some of the biggest names in the game, saw 1995 Main Event Champion Dan Harrington and former CardRunners instructor Brian Townsend in action. In the end, England’s James Mitchell captured the championship, taking home a €600,000 payday.

Visit 888 Poker for more details.

Esfandiari Makes Magic at WPT Five Diamond

Esfandiari led from Day 2 down to the final 15 players, but lost that lead to Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso following an ill-timed bluff on the tournament's penultimate day.

He held on to make the final six, came back from the short stack to take the lead three-handed before busting Rousso and boooked his second WPT title win beating good friend and online star Andrew "Good2cu" Robl heads-up.

"I can't tell you how good it feels to be back," he said. "It's just amazing."

While Esfandiari had $3.6 million in career tournament earnings coming into the event, this was his first WPT final table since his L.A. Poker Classic win in 2004.

Although a deep run in the 2009 WSOP Main Event and a final table appearance at the 2008 EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo marked big scores, a major title win had eluded Esfandiari the past few years, until now.

"It doesn't feel good not to make a final table for seven years, but to make it and come back and win after the rollercoaster ride I had to go through tonight, feels pretty damn good," he said.

No longer the hot-shot young gun he was in 2004, Esfandiari said he counted on a little veteran saavy to weather the storm and persevere this time around.

"You have to rely on your experience and I've got a lot of experience playing in these big tournaments," he said.

The final table was a star-studded affair that also included veteran pros Ted Lawson, Kirk Morrison and, coming off a $5.5 million runner-up finish in the 2010 WSOP Main Event just weeks ago, John Racener.

A total of 438 players entered the 2010 WPT Five Diamond main event at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino creating a $4,248,600 prize pool.

Here's how the final table finished up:

1 Antonio Esfandiari $870,124

2 Andrew Robl $549,003

3 Vanessa Rousso $358,964

4 John Racener $232,271

5 Kirk Morrison $168,924

6 Ted Lawson $126,693

Rousso Leads Star-Filled Final at WPT Five Diamond

After helping Antonio "The Magician" Esfandiari make his chip lead dissapear in the early part of the day with a huge call for her tournament life, Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso seemed to have the best of it all day on the way to building a healthy chip lead heading into Wednesday's final.

Rousso, who made $1,342,590 in her best year as a pro in 2009, will be looking to turn around a less than exciting 2010 by booking the $870,124 win and looks like a good bet to do so with 2.6 million more chips than her nearest opponent.

However, that opponent is no less than 2010 WSOP Main Event runner-up John Racener, just weeks off his $5.5 million Main Event payday.

High-Stakes cash pro Andrew Robl just booked his career best live tournament score at October's EPT London High Roller event and has a shot at improving upon that coming into his first WPT final table third in chips.

Meanwhile, veteran pro Kirk Morrision, as famous for a string of disappearing acts as big scores like his $2 million second-place finish in the 2007 WPT Championship, sits fourth.

Esfandiari avoided a total meltdown and will bring around two million chips and more than an outside shot at adding to the WPT and WSOP titles on his resume in the final, while the venerable Ted Lawson, who hasn't booked a six-figure score since 2008, will come in as the short stack.

All six players are guaranteed at least $126,693.

The final table will go off in front of the WPT cameras at Bellagio beginning at 4 p.m. PT Wednesday.

To follow all the action from start to finish, click through to PokerListings' WPT Live Updates.

Here's the chip counts coming in:

1 Vanessa Rousso 5,830,000

2 John Racener 3,235,000

3 Andrew Robl 3,210,000

4 Kirk Morrison 2,650,000

5 Antonio Esfandiari 2,105,000

6 Ted Lawson 635,000