Posts Tagged ‘2009’
WPT Bellagio Cup: Joseph Miceli leading, Annette Obrestad also continues after receiving some help from the card deck
The second day of the WPT Bellagio Cup is over. At the moment 113 players of the original 310 who started in the tournament will continue to the third day. Other players still have the possibility to register in the tournament until the end of the first level of the third day.
After the first two days the biggest chipstack is held by Joseph Miceli (440k). The next ones in chipcount are Jordan Morgan (431,3k), the first-day chipleader Guillaume Darcourt (378k) and Paola Martin (290,8k).
Of the big names Men Nguyen (240k), Daniel Alaei (220k), Scott Seiver (215k), Annette Obrestad (117,7k) and Joe Hachem (100k) are also in the rop row. View the whole chipcount from here.
Obrestad’s games were nearly over during the second day as her pocket kings encountered the set Jordan Smith had flopped with pocket queens. However, the river brought the king to the table, and Annette’s wishes of winning the WPT race are still alive.
“Annette Obrestad”
The starting chipstack was 40k. At the moment the average stack is 109,7k.
The prize pool is not yet available since the buy-in time for the tournament still lasts until the end of the first level of the third day.
Chipcount Top10:
Source: WPT and TheHendonMob
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Markup of Barney Frank Internet Gambling Bill Expected Soon
At the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas, officials from the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) told Poker News Daily that the major pro-internet gambling bill in Congress may be marked up this week. However, no hearing appears on the schedule of the House Financial Services Committee.
The PPA had originally expected HR 2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, to be marked up the week of July 12th. However, the only meeting that appears on the schedule of the House Financial Services Committee is in Canfield, Ohio on Tuesday morning. There, the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold a hearing entitled, “After the Financial Crisis: Ongoing Challenges Facing Delphi Retirees.”
Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA), who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, also introduced HR 2267 in May 2009. The bill is up to 69 co-sponsors on both sides of the aisle, but has generated just six new endorsers since 2010 began.
The PPA is up to 1.2 million members, many of whom helped raise $27,000 as part of the organization’s July 1st Money Bomb. PPA Executive Director John Pappas told Poker News Daily that the average donation was a little over $20.
The PPA will use its $27,000 in newfound cash to fund a series of ads in publications like Roll Call and Politico supporting the markup efforts. The original fundraising target of the July 1st campaign was $25,000, meaning that the PPA exceeded its expectations. Preset donation amounts ranging between $5 and $500 are still available on the PPA’s website, where funds continue to be accepted.
The July 1st date marked exactly one month from the date of mandatory industry compliance with the regulations of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). After the bill was originally passed in late 2006, its regulations had not yet been fully enforced. Now, credit cards, banks, and other financial institutions must fall into line with the four year old bill. In the background of the mandatory compliance deadline was arguably the most successful WSOP in history, including the second largest Main Event ever at 7,319 entrants.
In a video posted on the official website of the PPA conducted by ESPN’s Andrew Feldman, Pappas described the lay of the land following June 1st: “We hear from players all of the time if there are disruptions in deposits or payouts or anything like that and we’re not hearing any of those issues. It’s an eerie silence and we’re wondering what is going to happen, if another shoe is going to fall.”
Frank had alluded to a vote on HR 2267 during a hearing in the House Ways and Means Committee in May. Pappas told Poker News Daily and Feldman that a vote in committee could happen in the “next couple of weeks.” The House Financial Services Committee last tackled the internet gambling issue in December. During the proceedings, Ranking Member Congressman Spencer Bachus (R-AL) asked why officials from the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve were not in attendance. Consequently, those two entities are expected to take center stage in the yet-to-be-scheduled markup hearing.
The PPA is also seeking to expand its Board of Directors, perhaps by adding New Hampshire State Director Patrick Fleming. The organization has created a nominating committee for the Board that consists of the current Board members and several State Directors. A total of three additional personalities may join the PPA’s Board, which currently includes Pappas, Alfonse D’Amato, Chris Ferguson, Linda Johnson, Howard Lederer, Rich Muny, and Greg Raymer.
Visit the official website of the PPA for full details.
Carlos Mortensen, Marcel Luske to Play World Cup Heads-Up Match
Following the World Poker Tour (WPT) press conference on Saturday, two of poker’s biggest names will take part in a World Cup prop bet that will end with the loser hanging his head in shame for a day.
Spain’s Carlos Mortensen will play a heads-up match against Marcel Luske of the Netherlands in the Bellagio’s Monet Ballroom one day before the World Cup final game between each player’s home country. The loser will wear the jersey of the winning player’s country as they watch the World Cup final together on Sunday morning prior to the start of Bellagio Cup VI. Then, they’ll keep the winner’s jersey on throughout Day 1 of the tournament. Sunday’s World Cup final between the Netherlands and Spain kicks off at 2:30pm ET, with the Bellagio Cup starting later in the day.
The heads-up event is open to the public and can be seen live via Ustream through a dedicated link that will be posted on WorldPokerTour.com. Updates will be on Twitter throughout the contest and video highlights will be available on YouTube.com and on WPT’s website at the conclusion of the match.
Mortensen and Luske were both eliminated from the World Series of Poker Main Event and will shift their focus fully toward the Bellagio Cup following Sunday’s game. Mortensen had three cashes at the WSOP this year, including a sixth place finish in the $10,000 HORSE Championship for $102,237. Luske, meanwhile, played only a handful of events at the Rio and had one cash, a 22nd place finish in the $1,500 Limit Hold’em Shootout.
Luske, who updates his Twitter account frequently, expressed his disappointment following his elimination from the Main Event: “there is always a reason 4things, busted from the main, back in the bellagio, like being home earlier than expected… lol gl 2 the survivors.”
The Bellagio Cup is the fourth stop on Season 9 of the WPT and will run from July 11th to the 15th. The final table will take place Thursday, July 15th, one day earlier than the initially scheduled, inside the Bellagio Fontana Lounge beginning at 4:00pm PT. Last year, Brazil’s Alex Gomes bested a field of 268 players to collect $1.1 million. The final table was one of the best the WPT has ever seen, consisting of pros Erik Seidel, Justin “Boosted J” Smith, Alec Torelli, Faraz Jaka, and Christopher Sonessen. The other two winners of the Bellagio Cup were Kevin “BeL0WaB0Ve” Saul (2008) and Mike “SirWatts” Watson (2009).
Among the topics discussed at Saturday’s WPT press conference will be the addition of a new female on-air talent, added tour attractions, and new additions to the television production.
WSOP Main Event Day 2b: Ivey Stunned
A total of 2,734 players started the day but only a little over 1,400 will see the light of Day 3.
Ricardo Fasanaro, Gabriel Walls, Vanessa Selbst, Bryn Kenney and Alex Kostritsyn were among the chip leaders as the tournament clock was finally paused at the completion of the day.
Ivey and Brunson were definitely not the only people to bust as over 1,000 players were sent to the rail throughout the day.
There numerous celebrities in the field to start the day but Shannon Elizabeth, Trishelle Cannatella and Sam Simon were all among the players to bust.
Perhaps most disappointing elimination of the day was Ivey who last year fought his way through 6,488 runners before finally busting at the 2009 final table in seventh place.
Ivey ran pocket queens into pocket kings and despite hitting a queen on the turn was eliminated when his opponent made trip kings on the river.
The single biggest controversy of the day occurred when Prahlad Friedman was accused of making a call just as the time on a called clock had expired.
The dealer hadn't heard the call and mucked Friedman's hand.
Ted Bort was furious as he would have busted Friedman if he had called. He mentioned to the ESPN cameramen on the scene that he wanted the tapes just so he could have the satisfaction of knowing he busted Friedman.
Friedman, who is no stranger to controversy, maintained that he had said call but the floorman had already counted down to one.
With all the starting days out of the way the WSOP Main Event will now take one day off before all the remaining players reconvene on Monday at 12:00 p.m.
It will be the first time every surviving player in this tournament has been under the same roof so there should be fireworks.
We'll be there every step of the way with live updates, videos, photos and more.
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World Poker Tour Brings Back Kimberly Lansing for Season 9
In an overhaul of sorts for Season 9, the World Poker Tour (WPT) has brought back Kimberly Lansing. Her role, you ask? According to a press statement released on Saturday, Lansing will “provide show opens, breaks, commentary, and perspective, including player interviews that will serve to bring out the human interest side of playing for high stakes.”
Sunday marks the first day of play in the Bellagio Cup VI, the kickoff U.S.-based event of Season 9 of the WPT. With buy-ins for several upcoming tournaments slashed to encourage more participation, Season 9 may mark a rebirth of sorts for the age-old series that first appeared on the Travel Channel back in 2003.
Lansing last appeared on WPT programming in Season 6. On why she will rejoin the tour’s ranks for the forthcoming cycle, WPT President Adam Pliska commented in the same press release, “We believe the WPT anchor represents a significant step forward in poker programming and Kimberly is a natural fit for the position. Her charisma, style, professionalism, and knowledge of the sport have earned her the respect and attention of players throughout the poker community.”
Party Gaming purchased the WPT late last year, leading some to believe that PartyPoker pro Kara Scott may make her way to the small screen. However, Lansing will become a mainstay at live tournaments located at casinos around the United States. Also receiving more exposure during Season 9 will be WPT hosts Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten, who will now attend the starting day of every U.S. event. Despite the Bellagio Cup starting on Sunday, Van Patten sits in 101st after Day 2A of the World Series of Poker Main Event holding a stack of 174,200.
The WPT held a press conference on Saturday morning to announce the changes for Season 9 and also officially introduced Matt Savage as its Executive Tour Director. Savage, a co-founder of the Tournament Directors of America, will work hand in hand with players, casinos, and tournament staff to provide a seamless experience for WPT players. Savage added, “There are so many exciting changes at the World Poker Tour and I’m looking forward to having a big role in the WPT’s continued success. This is an amazing team and I’m proud to be working with them.”
Also debuting during Season 9 will be the Royal Flush Girls, who include 2007 Miss Kentucky USA Michelle Banzer, “FHM Singapore” cover girl Sunisa Kim, and Formula Drift car builder Melyssa Grace. All told, six Royal Flush Girls will film vignettes for WPT programming, including a behind-the-scenes tour at the host venue. The Royal Flush Girls will be on-hand this weekend at the Bellagio on the Las Vegas Strip.
The WPT last held an event on U.S. soil in April, when newly signed PokerStars pro David Williams took down the $25,000 Championship event. Williams defeated UB.com pro Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin heads-up in a final table that also included Shawn Buchanan, David Benyamine, Billy Baxter, and John O’Shea. Attendance for the 2010 WPT Championship was down over 40% from 2009, when 338 players took to the felts in a tournament won by Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko.
The seventh and eighth seasons of the WPT appeared on Fox Sports Net. However, no official announcement has been given as to whether the ninth season will also air on the cable station, although a statement is expected in the near future. Seasons 1 through 5 of the WPT aired on the Travel Channel, followed by a brief hiatus to GSN for Season 6. GSN officials opted not to air Season 7, leading to WPT landing on Fox Sports Net.
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest WPT news.
Tags: 2009, 2010, bellagio, buy-ins, David Benyamine, high stakes, interview, kara scott, pokerstars, tournament, usa, vegas, WSOP
WSOP High Profile: Jason Dewitt
Jason "JMaster130" Dewitt seems to have taken that to heart on Day 2b as he's fought his way into the top 10 chip counts as of the dinner break with over 200k.
"I'm feeling really good," he said. "I've only made one mistake over the last two days so if I can just keep that up I can make a very deep run."
Dewitt, originally from Indiana and now residing in Atlanta, made headlines this year when he won the $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em event for over $800,000 beating skilled online players like David Benefield, Amit Makhija and Jeff Williams.
It was a huge relief for the 26-year-old who had both a second and third place finish in the 2009 WSOP.
After snagging the $800k bracelet victory in the middle of the WSOP, Dewitt went 11 tournaments without cashing and felt he needed to change something.
"I decided to wear my bracelet and then I went deep and cashed in a tournament," he said. "It worked really well. People were just giving me stacks with my bracelet on."
It worked so well that Dewitt decided to continue the tradition during the Main Event and so far it's worked like a charm.
"They always think I'm making a move," he said.
It's all new ground for Dewitt, who has played four Main Events, never cashed, and only made Day 2 once. Despite his lack of success in the event Dewitt still feels very comfortable amongst the 7,319 players who entered.
"The structure in this is just so good," he said. "You can just be more patient if you're getting any good cards."
Dewitt mentioned there was only one nagging concern on his mind as he headed out for the dinner break.
"It's a pretty long grind," he said. "I'm kinda getting bored today."
The 2010 WSOP continues through July 17. For comprehensive coverage of the WSOP tune in to PokerListings' Live Updates and News.
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Jesper Hougaard, Johnny Chan Among WSOP Main Event Day 2A Chip Leaders
The marathon that is the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event rolled along on Friday, with 2,412 players returning from Days 1A and 1C to take part in Day 2A.
1987 and 1988 Main Event champion Johnny Chan sat just a few spots in back of chip leader Corwin Cole to begin the day, with $50,000 Player’s Championship winner Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi and England’s Barny Boatman also in the top ten. Although there was a festive atmosphere in the Amazon Room at the start of play, over half the field would not survive to bag up chips at the end of the night.
The early action consisted of many players who were looking to double up or go home with their meager chip stacks. One of the players able to succeed on that front was 2008 WSOP Main Event final tablist Dennis Phillips, who made Big Slick work against an opponent’s pocket jacks to earn an early chip up. Phillips would continue to drive his stack upwards, reaching 45,000 late Friday night. However, the popular St. Louis poker pro would Tweet his demise before the end of action: “The search for the next November Nine goes on… unfortunately was just eliminated & will not be in the hunt.”
Phillips wasn’t the only one to face his WSOP mortality on Friday. World Poker Tour host and Poker Hall of Fame member Mike Sexton saw pocket kings vanquished when he was looking for a triple up, being outdrawn by pocket nines on a 2-9-8 rainbow flop. Also departing the Rio on Friday were 2009 November Niner James Akenhead, Rincon Circuit champion Bryan “badbeatninja” Devonshire, Ted Lawson, Liz Lieu, and UB.com’s “Hollywood” Dave Stann, who commented on Twitter about his defeat at the hands of Jennifer “Jennicide” Leigh: “That was fun. Guess I’m headed back to LA early… Straights don’t beat flushes here apparently. nh Jennicide.”
Several top pros rode the elevator the opposite way on Day 2A. Chan, who started action stacked with 163,700 in chips, continued to be a force at the tables. “The Orient Express” was able to build on his Day One play, ending Day 2A in tenth place on the leaderboard with 281,600 in chips.
Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Annie Duke was also able to mount an assault. Starting the day with 67,000 in chips, the current National Heads-Up Poker Championship winner rode a roller coaster throughout the day before getting into an epic hand late in the evening. Holding 
on a 
board, the UB.com pro was able to get her opponent to commit the remainder of their chips with an offsuit 4-2.
A nondescript nine hit on the turn, but the crowd was stunned when the 
hit, making Duke’s opponent a boat, which many railbirds inaccurately assumed gave her tablemate the hand. According to WSOP.com reports, Duke calmly pointed out, “I have the straight flush,” earning her the pot in stunning fashion. Duke used that hand to skyrocket to 176,600 in chips.
Making the most noise in the Rio on Friday was Denmark’s Jesper Hougaard. The only person to ever win Las Vegas and European WSOP bracelets in the same year (2008), Hougaard started Friday with the 51,000 chips he built on Day 1C and attacked his tablemates throughout the day. By the time the smoke cleared on Friday night, Hougaard had amassed 316,200 in chips, good for third place behind Boulos Estafanous. According to WSOP statistics, 1,192 players have reported chip counts and will be back for play on Day 3.
Those who come to the felt on Saturday will have a significant challenge ahead of them. Day 2B – the combination of Days 1B and 1D – will be composed of slightly more than 2,700 players. James Danielson is the leader of Day 2B at 201,050 in chips, but he is pursued by WSOP bracelet and gold ring winner Steve “MrSmokey1” Billirakis (187,150). Other top professionals stepping to the felt on Saturday include tenth place Jason DeWitt (149,950), Full Tilt Poker’s David Benyamine (130,800), Team PokerStars pro Vanessa Rousso (111,050), Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond (107,100), and English powerhouse James “Flushy” Dempsey (106,175).
Sunday will be a rest day for the survivors of the WSOP Main Event. The field will come together for the first time on Monday, when Day 3 will consolidate the field at the Rio. Expect the field to number approximately 2,500 by that point, with the latest incarnation of the “November Nine” to be determined one week from today.
Tags: 2008, 2009, Annie Duke, David Benyamine, european, full tilt poker, Hollywood, pokerstars, vegas, WSOP
Darvin Moon Interview with Bernard Lee
Darvin Moon is the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event runner-up and is back in Las Vegas to take part in the world’s biggest poker tournament once again. He joins Bernard Lee on his segment, The Hijack Seat, and answers questions both about last year’s amazing run and what is in store for this year. Moon used a straightforward poker approach to nearly win the Main Event and knocked out most of the competition at the final table, including Phil Ivey.
Bernard Lee is a guest columnist and is the official spokesperson for Foxwoods Casino and can also be seen co-hosting ESPN’s poker show, Inside Deal.
Liv Boeree and UB.com Renegotiating Contract
Rumblings around the Amazon Room, site of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, have Liv Boeree and UB.com parting ways. However, Poker News Daily can independently confirm that the two sides are actively renegotiating Boeree’s contract.
Boeree made waves in April after taking down the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) San Remo Main Event for $1.7 million. She bested the largest European EPT field ever of 1,240 in the process and defeated Sweden’s Jakob Carlsson heads-up. Boeree’s win was the latest in the so-called Year of the Woman, which also included Annie Duke winning the National Heads-Up Poker Championship and Vanessa Selbst taking down the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Mohegan Sun Main Event.
Poker News Daily has learned that Boeree’s contract has expired, but the two sides are pursuing a new deal. A UB.com spokesperson explained on Thursday, “Liv’s contract has expired. We are in contract renegotiation discussions now.” The negotiations are expected to come to a head within a week.
Meanwhile, the 2010 WSOP Main Event is playing out at the Rio in Las Vegas. Boeree played on Day 1B on Tuesday, running into a set of kings during the first level to cripple her stack. Then, she was poised for a much-needed double up with pocket jacks, but an opponent with pocket eights found a set. Boeree has never cashed in a WSOP tournament with a buy-in greater than $2,000. This year, she turned in three in the money finishes for $8,000 total.
Boeree, who is dating fellow poker pro Allie Prescott, still appears on UB.com’s website as a sponsored pro. The U.K. native was born in 1984 and, 21 years later, appeared on “Ultimate Poker Showdown.” There, she received instruction from Annie Duke, Phil Hellmuth, and David “Devilfish” Ulliott and the rest, as they say, is history. Duke and Hellmuth now front Team UB, while Ulliott serves as the namesake behind the Entraction Network site Devilfish Poker.
In May 2008, Boeree took down the Ladbrokes Poker European Ladies Championship for $42,000. Then, she final tabled a preliminary event held during the Aussie Millions in 2009 for another $13,000. The same year, Boeree took 37th in the World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship at the Bellagio for $40,000, nearly doubling her $25,000 buy-in. Her crowning glory remains her win in San Remo, where she became just the third woman ever to win an EPT title, joining Vicky Coren (EPT London in 2006) and Sandra Naujoks (EPT Dortmund in 2009).
Besides Hellmuth, Duke, and Boeree, UB.com’s roster of sponsored pros also includes former “Poker2Nite” host Joe Sebok, “Amazing Race” contestant Tiffany Michelle, two-time bracelet winner Brandon Cantu, and Anthrax’s Scott Ian. In early June, Cantu re-signed with UB.com for one year. UB.com pros were spotted at the site’s get-together at the Mandarin Oriental bar at CityCenter in Las Vegas on Monday. The night ended with a shotgun wedding as part of a site-sponsored prop bet contest.
Recent player signings include David Williams and Vanessa Selbst inking agreements with PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site. In addition, PokerStars is sponsoring the stable of pros belonging to Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy and Eric “sheets” Haber during the Main Event, which includes well-known players like Nick “fu_15” Maimone, and Jamie “TheNew” Robbins. Back in May, Amanda Musumeci joined the ranks of Bodog, which parted ways with Williams, Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, and Jean-Robert Bellande.
Tags: 2008, 2009, 2010, Annie Duke, bellagio, bodog, european, Justin Bonomo, ladies, Online Poker, Phil Hellmuth, poker player, poker show, pokerstars, Tiffany Michelle, tournament, vegas, woman, WSOP
Peter Eastgate to Retire from Poker?
In news that has stunned the poker community, 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event champion Peter Eastgate has stated that he plans to retire from international high-stakes poker, at least for the time being.
In a blog on his sponsor site, PokerStars, Eastgate indicated that he lacked the desire to continue to pursue the lifestyle of a professional poker player. “When I started playing poker for a living, it was never my goal to spend the rest of my life as a professional poker player,” the 24 year old Eastgate states. “My goal was to become financially independent. I achieved that by winning the WSOP Main Event in 2008.”
Eastgate goes on to say that, while he has enjoyed the ride of being recognized as a former Main Event Champion, his heart may not be in the game anymore. “The period following (winning the WSOP Main Event) has taken me on a worldwide tour, where I have seen some amazing places and met many new people; it has been a great experience,” Eastgate writes in the statement on the PokerStars blog. “In the 20 months following my WSOP win, I feel that I have lost my motivation for playing high level poker along the way and I have decided that now is the time to find out what I want to do with the rest of my life.”
Where Eastgate becomes a bit cryptic as to his future is at the end of the statement: “What this (next chapter) will be, I do not yet know. I have decided to take a break from live tournament poker, and try to focus on Peter Eastgate, the person. I want to thank PokerStars, my friends and family for their support over the last 20 months and for their support in my decision to take a break from poker.”
Since his victory at the 2008 WSOP Main Event, where he won $9.15 million, Eastgate has been traveling the world and seemingly playing well. In 2009, he won a $5,000 No Limit Hold’em preliminary event at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure for $343,000 and then went on a sizzling run in defense of his WSOP championship. In last year’s tournament, he finally succumbed in 78th place, arguably one of the best championship defenses of the past ten years.
In the past ten months, Eastgate has been around the world displaying his poker skills in such locales as London (where he finished second in the European Poker Tour (EPT) Main Event), Tallinn, Estonia; Sydney, Australia; Deauville, France; his home court of Copenhagen, Denmark; and Las Vegas. According to the Hendon Mob database, he has won $1.54 million since his WSOP championship and currently sits sixth in lifetime earnings with $10.9 million.
Obviously, however, Eastgate has felt the call of other things outside of the poker world. In June, Poker News Daily reported that Eastgate would not attend any preliminary events at the WSOP, focusing his concentration on Denmark’s run in the 2010 World Cup and traveling to South Africa for the matches. He commented at the time, “I don’t have the motivation to play all the small events at the WSOP. That would be a waste of money. To me it’s not that important to win bracelet number two.” He also questioned the logic of some of the “young guns” in the game, most notably Tom “durrrr” Dwan, playing in the preliminary tournaments because of prop bets on winning bracelets.
Eastgate isn’t the first young poker pro to make the decision to step away from the felt for a while. Late last year, noted online pro Shaun Deeb announced that he would step away from the game, only to reappear at this year’s WSOP. Former EPT champion Michael “Timex” McDonald and online cash game wizard Jonas “Nebuchad” Danielsson announced a “retirement” of sorts from the game this year.
Comments on Eastgate’s decision has sent social media outlets and poker forums into a frenzy. On Twitter, none other than eight-time WSOP bracelet winner Erik Seidel noted, “Wow, 2008 WSOP champ Peter Eastgate quits poker… Interesting story, wish him all the best.” Noted French poker journalist Benjo DiMeo thought that Eastgate’s move was for the best when he Tweeted, “Now here is a smart kid.”
On the forums, Eastgate’s decision has been met with mostly good will. On PocketFives.com, poster “TpocketT” remarked, “Eastgate seemed like a very smart, thinking player. Gl to him, I think he’s basically done what most people set out to do when they become poker players – get rich and retire.” Another poster, “matze_widi,” agreed, stating, “I like that move, reevaluate your life… there are so many more fun things to do other then playing poker… and he obviously has no money issues.” But perhaps the final word on Eastgate’s decision – and potentially a look to the near future – was written by “wackyJaxon”: “I would guess that he will be back, its just a temporary decision, gives him time and then can play when its ‘fun’ for him. Would take a small prop bet he enters a live tourney by end of next WSOP.” ?
Tags: 2008, 2009, 2010, Australia, european, poker player, pokerstars, skill, Sydney, tournament, vegas, WSOP
WSOP Main Event Attendance Up 34% After Three Starting Days
Three starting days are in the books in the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. Today at Noon PT, Day 1D will kick off after being the first to sell out its pre-registration. Overall, attendance through the first three starting days of the Main Event is up a colossal 34% year over year.
In 2009, there were 3,685 entries after Day 1C officially closed its doors to new players. A total of 1,116 entered on Day 1A, while just 873 took to the floor on Day 1B, which fell on the Fourth of July. Day 1C saw 1,696 entrants in 2009. This year, the first of three starting days in the Main Event occurred on Monday, July 5th, safely removed from the holiday festivities one day prior. Day 1A this year featured a starting grid of 1,125 players, while Day 1B attracted 1,489. Yesterday, Day 1C saw a field of 2,314 show up for a three-day total of 4,928.
Among those who took to the felts on Day 1B was Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad, a Full Tilt Poker pro, who was seated at Table 2. Meanwhile, Poker News Daily witnessed Tiltboy Rafe Furst make his exit after an opponent flopped a set of threes. Jeff “yellowsub” Williams, who finished third in a $5,000 No Limit Hold’em event, told us to bet on the Netherlands in the Fifa World Cup; sure enough, “Sub” was right, as the European country outlasted Uruguay 3-2. Unfortunately, we did not make it to the Rio sports book in time.
At the table next to Full Tilt pro Jeremiah Smith’s was an all-in and a call with A-K versus aces, one of several pots that featured Big Slick running into the superior hand. This time around, however, the player with A-K made a straight a busted his opponent. A bevy of players donned blue 888 logos, including Leo Margets, the Last Woman Standing in the 2009 Main Event.
Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, Matt “mcmatto” Affleck, Drag the Bar instructor Dusty Schmidt, and Marco “CrazyMarco” Johnson were among those who carried the banner for the internet poker community on Tuesday during Day 1B. On Day 1C, online poker pros in the room included DoylesRoom’s Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka, free agent Lauren Kling, Kling’s beau Mike “SowersUNCC” Sowers, and Jordan “Octavian_C” Rich.
Furst and Joe Sebok were among those who donned an all-white jump suit in support of Bad Beat on Cancer, whose green 1% patches can be seen on a bevy of players in the Amazon Room.
Day 1D of the Main Event has a capacity of 3,800 and, as of 5:00pm PT on Wednesday, nearly half of those seats were sold. In 2009, a total of 6,494 players entered the Main Event, meaning that we’re already guaranteed to have a field larger than last year’s, a welcome sign given the depressed economy. The 2009 attendance would have been even larger had 500 players not been shut out after Day 1D reached capacity. Whether today will have any similar drama remains to be seen.
Wednesday began with PokerStars pro Joe Cada issuing the command to start play. Then, it was UB.com pro Phil Hellmuth’s turn to shine. Several hundred spectators endured 110-degree heat in the Rio parking lot to watch Hellmuth enter as an MMA fighter, including Mike Matusow. When asked by Hellmuth why he was in attendance, Matusow responded that he wanted to watch the “idiocy.” Meanwhile, 2010 bracelet winner Gavin Smith caught a pink UB.com hat tossed to the crowd by several dancers.
Finally, we’d be amiss if we didn’t discuss the trials and tribulations of Illinois native Stuart Nitzkin, the first player eliminated from the Main Event back on Day 1A. He lost a pot with pocket aces when the final board came K-K-10-10-10. Then, he donated his remaining chips with pocket kings after a player with K-10 made a straight. So it goes in poker’s richest tournament.
The survivors from Day 1A and Day 1C will convene for Day 2A on Friday. Those who made it through Day 1B and Day 1D will assemble for Day 2B on Saturday. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest news, notes, and nuggets from the 2010 WSOP.
Tags: 2009, 2010, bad beat, european, full tilt poker, Justin Bonomo, Online Poker, Phil Hellmuth, poker player, pokerstars, tournament, woman, WSOP
WSOP Main Event Largest Since 2006
Only 2006 - arguably the peak of the poker boom - produced a larger turnout.
While the official registration number won't be released for another few hours, we know 4,928 players registered on the first three days and day 1D will exceed day 1C. That means the number will be well over 7,200.
"I had a bet that the number would hit 7,500," Doyle Brunson told PokerListings. When asked what he would attribute the spike in registrants to, Brunson summed it up in two words: "Internet poker."
Certainly the rise in online poker has contributed to increased turnout, but that alone can't explain the year-over-year spike.
"We're fortunate that people save up to play in this event," said WSOP Communications Director Seth Palansky. "This is the Olympics of poker and people want to play in the most recognizable poker event in the world."
Allen "The Chainsaw" Kessler said he has seen an increase in all of the tournaments he plays in. "People have more money in general, all of the higher buy-ins I've been playing like the $5k and $10ks have seen increased numbers."
"It helps that the WSOP didn't screw up registration this year and turn people away," Kessler added.
While there is still higher than usual unemployment in the United States, the U.S. financial situation has improved compared to last year and that probably contributed to the turnout. "I think the economy is coming back,"said Jeff Shulman. "[Registration] had been going up every year until the last couple, so I think this is a good sign."
"The fact that they didn't hold the tournament over the 4th of July weekend probably helped," said 2009 bracelet winner Blair Hinkle. "The last two years there was at least one day on the 4th and they lose a ton of American players who don't want to play on those days."
"I just hope they realize what they did right and do it again next year," said Hinkle.
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PartyGaming PLC Earnings Remain Steady For 2010, Show Growth Over 2009
In an announcement today following the close of trade on the London Stock Exchange, PartyGaming PLC reports that, while the second quarter of 2010 remained steady despite falling slightly short of forecast expectations, earnings for the company are outpacing their results from 2009.
The second quarter for PartyGaming – which encompasses the late spring and early summer months of April, May and June – has been impacted by several factors in the online gaming economy, including the seasonal drop in the numbers of players participating in the company’s bingo, casino, poker and sports betting offerings. The 2010 World Cup, currently playing out in South Africa, has also led to a drop in the numbers of players as the world watches events unfold. Even with these two adverse conditions, PartyGaming has been able to nearly meet their previously announced financial objectives.
Over the second quarter, PartyGaming has dropped approximately 2% from its expected figures, now being reported in Euros rather than American Dollars. Even with this slight drop, the figures from 2010 are ahead of where the company was in 2009. Total revenues in the second quarter of 2010 are up 28% over the same time period of last year, primarily due to the acquisitions of Cashcade and the World Poker Tour and continued strong growth in PartyCasino.
Bingo, sports betting and PartyCasino are holding steady with their projected forecasts, with net revenue growth in PartyCasino to be up approximately 6% in the second quarter despite the usual seasonal downturn. Bingo and sports betting are looked to be steady in quarter-to-quarter comparisons by the company.
Some of PartyGaming’s movements into previously untapped markets have resulted in both good and bad news for the organization. In late June, PartyGaming was licensed in France to operate both an online poker room and a sports betting operation, but similar licensing attempts in Italy have been stalled. PartyGaming expects that the Italian regulatory agency should clear PartyGaming for operations in Italy come the fourth quarter 2010.
During the announcement, PartyGaming Chief Executive Officer Jim Ryan was understandably happy with the second quarter numbers and the overall state of the company. “We are pleased with the relatively robust performance of our business compared to many other consumer facing businesses in what remains a challenging economic environment,” Ryan stated. “Overall, the Group has performed in-line with expectations even though the adverse impact of the World Cup on our non-sports betting verticals was slightly greater than expected.”
Regarding the new regulatory state in France, Ryan noted, “We have made great progress in securing partners for our poker network in France with PMU, AB Groupe and Aviation Club de France already in place. We expect to add another significant partner to our French network in the near future. The early signs from this important new market are encouraging.”
One of the biggest moves last year by PartyGaming was the acquisition of the World Poker Tour, which Ryan believes is only the beginning of new possibilities in the United States for the company. “The World Poker Tour is performing in-line with our expectations and we believe that this asset, combined with the strength of the PartyPoker brand and the resolution of our U. S. legacy issues, ensures that we are well-positioned should online gaming become regulated in the United States,” Ryan opined. “In this respect, discussions are progressing well with a number of potential U. S.-based gaming partners.”
The latest report has drawn investors to the London Stock Market and moved PartyGaming’s stock price up since last week. On Friday, PartyGaming PLC was being traded at 206.3p and has since risen markedly. At the close of trade on Tuesday, PartyGaming PLC’s share price is quoted at 231.2p.
2010 WSOP Main Event Gets Underway
It seems like every year when the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event begins, we and all the other poker news outlets start out our first article about it with something melodramatic, something poetic about the drama and fanfare of the legendary poker tournament. And that introductory paragraph usually ends with something like, “That’s right, the WSOP Main Event is here.”
This year, we’re going to skip all that and just let you know that on Monday, the first of four Day 1′s of the 2010 WSOP Main Event kicked off, beginning an almost two week grind until the new members of the November Nine are determined. Before the action started, the plan was to play four 120-minute levels with a 20-minute break after the first and third and a 90-minute dinner break after level two. There were some complaints, though, that this would make dinner early for even senior citizens, and tournament officials decided to make a change to the schedule. Shortly before play began, it was decided that four and a half levels would be run and the dinner break would come after level three, which makes for both a better dinner time and allows for more players to be eliminated, reducing the risk of overcrowding on Day 2.
The final tally of runners on Day 1A was 1,125, almost exactly the same as last year, when 1,116 people took to the felts in the first flight of the first day of the WSOP. When the dust cleared Monday night, 819 players remained and now have the luxury (and larger hotel bill) of waiting until Friday’s Day 2A to join players from Day 1C. Players from Day 1B and Day 1D will combine in Day 2B on Saturday. This is a change from last year, when Days 1A and 1B players merged and Days 1C and 1D joined up for their Day 2 flights. The adjustment was made because traditionally, the final two Day 1′s get many more players than the first two, creating wildly uneven Day 2′s. That problem should be mitigated further by the WSOP’s new rule that only allowed players to choose a starting day up to a certain point, after which they were automatically assigned a day in order to even things out as much as possible. This rule was applied primarily to avoid the debacle that occurred last year, when Day 1D sold out, causing a couple hundred players to be turned away when they tried to register the morning of the tournament.
Although that controversy looks to be resolved, this is the World Series of Poker, so there needs to be something that rubs players the wrong way. The one thing that came up Monday was that the tables started ten-handed, which makes for some overcrowding around each oval. The odd part was that the Pavilion, which was the “overflow” room, only had 18 tables running, making players wonder why WSOP officials couldn’t have just taken one player away from each table and started more tables in the Pavilion, as there was tons of room. As the day went on, though, tables were reduced to nine-handed, so the grumblings died down.
The 766 players standing have all reported their chip counts, and it seems the chip leader is Corwin Cole with 228,200 chips, almost 200,000 more than his 30,000 chip starting stack. Dwyen Ringbauer follows at a distance with 191,125, while 2010 WSOP Players Champion, Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, continues his strong Series, sitting in third place with 142,650 chips. Rounding out the top five are Felix Bleiker (136,300) and Heinz Kamutzki (135,750). Also near the top of the leader board are 2009 WSOP Europe champ Barry Shulman (113,325) and 2003 WSOP Main Event winner Chris Moneymaker (107,425). It came to our attention that the reported chip leader, James Mitchell, has an inaccurate chip count.
Other notable poker names still alive include Vitaly Lunkin, Maria Ho, Dwyte Pilgrim, Lacey Jones, Scott Seiver, Praz Bansi, David Grey, Vince Van Patten, Peter Feldman, Mel Judah, Dewey Tomko, Thor Hansen, Matt Matros, Mike Gracz, Juha Helppi, and Dutch Boyd, Tiffany Michelle, and Erik Seidel.
2004 WSOP Main Event champ and outspoken poker advocate, Greg Raymer, was eliminated just over an hour after he gave the “Shuffle up and deal” announcement. Also hitting the rail were Chino Rheem, Victor Ramdin, Jimmy “gobboboy” Fricke, T.J. Cloutier, Billy Baxter, Isaac Haxton, Beth Shak, Mike Caro, Andy Black, and Nick Schulman, to name a few.
A few non-poker celebrities tested their skills as well. Actor/comedian Ray Romano was back for another WSOP, as was fellow actor/comedian David Alan Grier. NBA star Shawn Marion gave it a go, as did music mogul Rene Angelil, who is known to be a pretty good player in his own right. Of those men, only David Alan Grier made it to the second day.
Day 1B will kick off Tuesday at noon as another huge batch of players set off on their dream of poker riches.
History Repeats on Main Event Day 1a
There were 1,125 players, several pros, a handful of celebrities and too many donkeys to count in the field.
In other words, it was almost identical to Day 1a of the 2009 WSOP Main Event, which drew 1,116 players.
This year Greg Raymer, Michael Mizrachi, Tiffany Michelle, Maria Ho, Greg Mueller, Erik Seidel along with celebrities Ray Romano, David Allen Grier, Shawn Marion and Sara Underwood led the charge on the first day of the 2010 WSOP.
Raymer actually performed the official shuffle up and deal but that didn't keep him from being eliminated in the first two levels.
The Fossilman would eventually be joined by Nick Schulman, Chino Rheem, Mike Caro, Victor Ramdin, Jimmy Fricke and Ray Romano.
Meanwhile Michael Mizrachi, who has been on one of the biggest heaters of his career at the 2010 WSOP, rocketed up to near the top of the chip counts with 142,650.
Barry Schulman, Chris Moneymaker, Corwin Cole, Vitaly Lunkin, Lacey Jones, Dwyte Pilgrim, Scott Seiver, Praz Bansi and Chad Batista all had strong days and will enter Day 1a on Friday with above average stacks.
They're all chasing relatively unknown player Dwyen Ringbauer who finished with 191,125 chips.
After four and a half levels of play only 819 players remained and they will carry the torch into Day 2a on Friday.
Day 1b will begin tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. Last year the event drew the smallest field of all the Day 1s with only 873 players.
Join us for live updates, photos, blogs and videos straight from the floor of the Rio.
Non-Main Event Tournaments
As the Main Event kicked off, it might have been easy to overlook a couple of events that were just finishing up.
Tonight Events 54 and 56 played down to winners.
Event 54 $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em
Event 54 was a $1,000 tournament that started with a massive field of 3,844 players. They battled it out for a first prize of $570,960. When it came down to it, Marcel Vonk from the Netherlands got heads up David Peters of the United States.
Despite Peters holding the lead for much of the heads up battle, Vonk battled back and overcame the deficit to lock up the win, his first bracelet, and a bundle of cash.
Event 56 $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em
The next tournament to crown a champion was event 56, a $2,500 No Limit Hold-em that drew 1,941 players.
The large field combined with the medium sized buyin resulted in a massive first prize of $825,976 that went to Tomer Berda.
After slowly grinding down his opponent in a heads up match that lasted almost three hours, he defeated Vladimir Kochelaevskiy.
For more information on how Day 38 of the WSOP played out, including videos, blogs and news stories, click through to PokerListings' dedicated WSOP 2010 section.
WSOP Live!
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Joe Cada Penalty Kick Prop Bet
Joe Cada won the World Series of Poker Main Event in 2009, winning over $8 million and catapulting him to superstar status in the poker world. But what happens when he’s challenged by our own Sean Gibson in a penalty kick prop bet?
In this video, Cada joins us from a park next to the Rio in Las Vegas while the 2010 World Series of Poker is taking place during a break in his schedule. Inspired by the World Cup, Cada and Gibson face off in a penalty kick prop bet with Cada’s own agent acting as goalie. We find out Cada’s soccer roots as he tells us his story in this rare inside look at the Main Event champ.
Dan “djk123” Kelly wins $25,000 6-max event for $1.3m
Phil Gordon Wins WSOP Ante Up for Africa Event
In a relatively subdued atmosphere compared to previous cycles, the Ante Up for Africa event at the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) drew 83 players. The $5,000 charity poker tournament benefiting victims of the crisis in Darfur raised nearly $300,000.
Ante Up for Africa founders Don Cheadle and Annie Duke were the first two down the red carpet, stopping at each of the dozens of media outlets in attendance to relay why they founded the charity along with Norman Epstein. Actor Ben Affleck, one of the tournament’s leading celebrities, did not walk the red carpet due to a migraine and instead went directly to the tournament room. Among those media outlets reporting on Affleck and others in attendance were Fox 5 Las Vegas, Celebrity Update, and 888.
“Everybody Loves Raymond” actor Brad Garrett followed Duke and Cheadle down the red carpet around 1:00pm at the Rio in Las Vegas. At one point, the extremely tall actor stood behind the much shorter Jennifer Harman, holding her shoulders while delivering an Oscar acceptance speech as if the Full Tilt pro were a small trophy.
Other celebrities who took time to speak with the media included boxing legend Evander Holyfield, Carbon Poker pro Shannon Elizabeth, Pittsburgh Steelers great Jerome Bettis, comedian David Alan Grier, and talk show host Montel Williams. Pros lending their thoughts included Andy Bloch, Greg Raymer, and Rafe Furst.
With Affleck sidelined from the red carpet, fellow actor Matt Damon took up the reigns. In an exclusive video interview, Damon told Poker News Daily how he became involved with the movie “Rounders,” which turned many in the industry on to the game: “Harvey Weinstein had the script at Miramax and said, ‘I have this really great script.’ I was doing ‘Saving Private Ryan’ at the time and he sent it over to England. I read it and thought, ‘This is fantastic.’ It’s this crazy little subculture that nobody ever talks about.” Damon did not rule out the possibility of a follow-up to “Rounders,” which has been rumored to be in the works.
In the end, it was Full Tilt Poker pro Phil Gordon coming out on top in the Ante Up for Africa tournament, defeating Elizabeth heads-up. The “American Pie” actress and runner-up candidly told WSOP officials following the gala, “I wish the rest of my WSOP had gone the way this tournament went.” 2009 WSOP Main Event November Niner Phil Ivey hustled through the red carpet and did not take many interviews. Notably absent was UB.com’s Phil Hellmuth, who finished 15th in the $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha World Championship that took place concurrently.
Chris Ferguson, Howard Lederer, and Erik Seidel did not walk the red carpet, although all three participated in the event. Seidel finished in fifth place after his 8-5 could not draw out on Gordon’s Q-10. Gordon flopped top pair on a 10-high board and never looked back. Ferguson bubbled the final table, also exiting at the hands of Gordon. This time, “Jesus” held pocket twos, which failed to outrace Gordon’s K-Q of diamonds.
Gordon donated his $130,000 first place payday to Ante Up for Africa in a highly generous gesture. Gordon got the best of Elizabeth with Q-3 against K-10 after flopping a queen to seal the win. The tournament marked Elizabeth’s first in the money finish in a WSOP event in three years. Here were the final results from the 2010 running of the Ante Up for Africa event:
1. Phil Gordon – $130,641
2. Shannon Elizabeth – $80,737
3. Alex Filatov – $56,516
4. Carter “BdyBldngpkrplyr” Phillips – $41,166
5. Erik Seidel – $30,287
6. Jerome Bettis – $22,624
7. Barry Hartheimer – $18,146
8. Kyle Carlston – $15,125
9. Claire Renaut – $12,998
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest headlines from the 2010 WSOP.
Image courtesy WSOP.com
Brendan Taylor Wins WSOP $1,500 Limit Hold’em Shootout
The $1,500 Limit Hold’em Shootout (Event #53) was the lone final table on the World Series of Poker (WSOP) schedule on Friday, making for a somewhat quiet day before the Main Event kicks into gear.
A handful of Limit specialists advanced to the eight-player final table, including Full Tilt Poker Red Pro Mike Schneider, Terrence Chan, Brendan Taylor, and a player known for his outstanding No Limit Hold’em resume, former World Poker Tour Player (WPT) of the Year and current Victory Poker pro Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little. Each player had won their previous two tables and began the final day with 450,000 chips.
The talk at the beginning of the day surrounded Chan, considered one of the most feared Limit Hold’em players in the world and noted for winning two PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) events on the same day in 2009. He also made a WSOP Limit Hold’em final table earlier this summer, taking third for $83,125. Chan, however, ran into several tough spots early and ultimately went out in eighth place when his pocket sevens walked right into the pocket aces of Little.
After Sijbrand Maal exited in seventh place, a short-stacked Schneider was forced to commit his remaining stack with pocket threes and Ben Yu called with 9h-7c in the big blind. The board ran out Qh-Qs-9s-Jc-5c, giving Yu a higher pair and sending Schneider home in sixth.
Just minutes later, it was Brian Tate who was sent to the rail. Taylor did the dirty work, eliminating Tate with a flopped pair of jacks to take the chip lead. From there, Taylor dominated the rest of the tournament. He knocked out Joe McGowan and Little to find himself heads-up against good friend and housemate, Yu. Taylor’s chip advantage was too much to overcome, as Yu eventually got his last chips in with Ac-9h against Taylor’s Ad-7h, but Taylor spiked a seven on the flop to seal the title and the $184,950 payday. It was his first career bracelet and one that he’d been eyeing for years.
“When I came out here in 2005, I told myself, ‘I am going to win a gold bracelet this year,’” said Taylor after his victory. “My goal was to win a Limit event. Of course, I didn’t do it that year. I didn’t do it the next, and the next, and the next. Two years ago, we got down to four-handed and I had an average chip stack and I think I was the best player at the table. And, sure enough, I was the next player out within 10 hands. So, this is a great feeling.”
1. Brendan Taylor – $184,950
2. Ben Yu – $114,484
3. Jonathan Little – $73,218
4. Joseph McGowan – $48,546
5. Brian Tate – $33,276
6. Michael Schneider – $23,563
7. Sijbrand Maal – $17,125
8. Terrence Chan – $12,961
Full Tilt Poker Holding Rush Week Starting July 12th
From Monday, July 12th to Sunday, July 18th, Full Tilt Poker is holding Rush Week. Capitalizing on the popularity of its fast-paced Rush Poker, Full Tilt is dishing out up to $250 in cash per player along with entries into an exclusive $50,000 Rush Week Freeroll.
In honor of Rush Week, which totes “Seven Days of Speed” as its tagline, several guaranteed tournaments on Full Tilt Poker will offer a Rush Poker structure. This means that as soon as a player’s action in a hand has ended, he or she is whisked off to another table with a new set of opponents to begin a brand new hand. The lack of downtime means constant decision-making and the potential to see 300 hands per hour. Rush Poker ring games first appeared on Full Tilt back in January. In April, Rush Poker tournaments were rolled out.
There are several ways to collect cash as part of Rush Week. Players who earn at least 10 Full Tilt Points (FTPs) per day from Rush Poker games on any four days during the promotion will bank $5. If they can perform the same feat on all seven days of Rush Week, they’ll earn $10. Players who amass 100 FTPs per day on any four days during Rush Week will collect $25, while those who can generate 100 FTPs per day on all seven days will earn $50.
Finally, Full Tilt Poker members who accrue 1,000 FTPs per day on any four days during the week will receive $125. Those who can rack up 1,000 FTPs per day on all seven days will take home the grand prize of $250. Players can only take home one cash prize, meaning that the awards for racking up FTPs during Rush Week are not cumulative.
Rush Week officially starts at 00:00 ET on July 12th and ends at 23:59 ET on July 18th. Only FTPs earned in Rush Poker cash games and tournaments are eligible for reaping rewards and bonuses earned as part of Full Tilt’s Rush Week. Happy Hours, while lucrative, don’t count for this promotion.
Similar to other Full Tilt Poker promotions, players must opt into Rush Week in order to qualify. To do so, log into the Full Tilt client and click on the “Cashier” button. Then, click on “My Promotions” and select “Rush Week.” If you’re curious as to where you stand, head back to the “Rush Week” landing page.
Qualifying for the $50,000 Rush Week Freeroll is pretty simple. All you have to do is reach the final table of a Rush Poker tournament during the promotional period. Text found on Full Tilt Poker’s website highlights an important caveat to qualifying: “In Rush Poker Tournaments that do not play down to a final table, all players who win the top prize will be automatically entered into the $50,000 Rush Week Freeroll.”
The $50,000 freeroll is scheduled for Sunday, July 25th at 15:15 ET. Full Tilt has bumped up the number of Rush Poker tournaments on the docket during the week in order to allow plenty players to qualify for the freeroll. Players are automatically entered to the $50,000 freebie, eliminating the hassle of having to register manually.
Full Tilt happily accepts players from the United States and is the world’s second largest online poker site, trailing only PokerStars. Its fleet of sponsored pros includes 2009 World Series of Poker November Niner Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer, and Chris Ferguson. Rush Poker is patent pending in the United States, the European Union, Australia, and Canada. Visit Full Tilt Poker today.
Tags: 2009, aced, Australia, Canada, european, freeroll, full tilt poker, Online Poker, Phil Ivey, pokerstars, tournament, WSOP
2010 WSOP Breaks Attendance Records
Attendance through 55 bracelet events is 63,706, breaking the previous record set at the 2009 WSOP, when 60,875 players registered for 57 events.
With two more events still to be counted, it appears that the 2010 attendance mark will break the record by a wide margin.
Even with the passing of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in the U.S. in 2006 and economic downturn around the world, interest in poker's biggest event is still booming.
"We're thrilled that poker enthusiasts from every corner of the globe have reinforced the World Series of Poker's standing as one of the most popular competitive events anywhere," said World Series of Poker Vice President Ty Stewart.
"This year's overall turnout continues to show the players' passion for playing on poker's biggest stage despite the continued sluggish economy."
A number of changes were made to the schedule for the 2010 WSOP including the inclusion of six $1k events and a change in format for the $50k Players Championship, which went back to playing exclusively No-Limit Hold'em at the final table for the ESPN cameras.
Poker's high-stakes community embraced the change, as attendance grew from 95 to 116 players for 2010.
That event seemed to set the tone for the pros, as nearly all of the $10k Championship events saw an increase in registration over 2009.
The pros also flocked to the new $25k Six-Handed No-Limit event, which drew 191 players despite the high buy-in.
"It actually got a better turnout than I expected," said Barry Greenstein.
"I thought it would only get about 100 players, because it's not televised. If it was televised it would be about 250."
While the pros have certainly turned out en masse at the 2010 WSOP, Jason Mercier suggests that an influx of international players is the biggest reason for the record-breaking registration numbers.
"I just think more people wanted to play this year," Mercier said.
"Interest in poker is growing in other countries. Not so much the in the U.S., but we may have had more European players this year."
The drama will now revolve around the registration numbers of the Main Event, which is set to begin July 5. The tournament drew 6,494 players in 2009.
That number was diminished by confusion over registration rules, as several players were turned away on Day 1d as the Rio Pavilion had reached the max number of possible entrants.
The 2010 WSOP continues through July 17. For comprehensive coverage of the WSOP tune in to PokerListings' Live Updates and News.
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Ryan Welch Defeats Jon Eaton to Win WSOP Bracelet
In what could best be described as “the calm before the storm,” only one bracelet was awarded on Thursday night in action at the World Series of Poker (WSOP).
In the $3,000 Triple Chance No Limit Hold’em tournament, Event #51 on the WSOP schedule, 12 men returned on Thursday afternoon for their shot at a coveted gold and diamond WSOP bracelet. Jon Eaton held a roughly 600,000 chip lead over Frank Rusnak, with underrated pro Will “The Thrill” Failla lurking in third place. The players wasted little time once the cards hit the air, getting down to the final table in roughly 4½ hours.
Rusnak was one of the victims of the early carnage, doubling up Bradley Craig and losing a key hand to Failla to drop his chip stack into the danger zone. Rusnak, who has almost $600,000 in tournament earnings since his debut in 2007, was never able to get any traction from the start and got his final chips in with K-Q. He was called by Koen de Bakker, who had him dominated with his A-Q. The flop offered an appealing A-5-J rainbow arrangement, but delivered no 10 for Rusnak, dropping him from the tournament in 11th place.
Once the final table was established, one of the rarer occurrences during a WSOP final table occurred. Guillaume Darcourt, after an all-in bet from Tad Jurgens and an all-in over the top from Noel Scruggs, agonized over a decision that would either make his tournament or crush his dreams of a WSOP bracelet. After the careful deliberation, Darcourt made the call with pocket sevens, only to see Jurgens table pocket queens and Scruggs show his A-Q. The seven that popped on the flop sent a thunderous roar through the audience and delivered a rare bird at a WSOP final table, the double knockout. Jurgens started the hand with fewer chips and finished in ninth and Scruggs took the eighth place slot.
Over the next four hours, the remainder of the final table would be eliminated, bringing the action to a heads-up battle between Eaton and Ryan Welch, who diligently ground his way through the final table. On the final hand, with Eaton holding slightly fewer chips than Welch, the duo got their chips to the center of a 9-7-6-10-K board. Eaton bet out roughly 525,000 on the river to start, only to face an all-in reraise from Welch. Eaton struggled with the decision, reasoning out the hands that Welch could possibly hold before making the call. Welch immediately showed Q-J for the rivered nut straight and, once the chips were counted, became the latest WSOP champion.
1. Ryan Welch (Henderson, NV) – $559,371
2. Jon Eaton (Las Vegas, NV) – $344,830
3. Guillaume Darcourt (Paris, France) – $223,459
4. Will Faille (Smithtown, NY) – $163,532
5. Bradley Craig (Cleveland, OH) – $121,451
6. Sergey Lebedev (Troitsk, Russia) – $91,407
7. Tommy Vedes (Fort Mojave, AZ) – $69,647
8. Noel Scruggs (Del Mar, CA) – $53,694
9. Tad Jurgens (Tempe, AZ) – $41,842
Four other events were in play on Thursday, with two tournaments that will award bracelets on Friday. In Event #52, the $25,000 Six-Handed No Limit Hold’em tournament, 18 players will come back on Friday afternoon from the original 191 starters. Bryn Kenney is the overnight chip leader stacked with 2.425 million, but there is danger lurking around every corner. Daniel Negreanu, who has had a quiet 2010 WSOP, is in sixth place, with 2010 double bracelet winner Frank Kassela ahead of him in fifth. Add in Sam Trickett, Isaac Haxton, Shawn Buchanan, Eugene Katchalov, Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, Carlos Mortensen, and Vadim Trincher, and the final table of this event should hold for exciting poker.
In the $1,500 Limit Hold’em Shootout, Victory Poker pro Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little and Terrence “Unassigned” Chan lead a final table of eight. As with a Shootout tournament, all eight worked their way to the final table by defeating a full table of opponents over the first two days of play. Everyone will start with 450,000 in chips when the cards fly this afternoon.
The first Day 1 of the latest $1,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament drew a sizeable field of 2,340 players, potentially making this $1,000 event one of the largest of this year’s WSOP, depending on the second Day 1 gathering. The final table of this tournament will take place on Independence Day.
The $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha World Championship drew a starting field of 346, which was whittled down by over half to 171 by the end of Day 1. Australia’s Antonio Paino is the chip leader with 240,000, with several top pros mixed throughout the field. 2009 November Niner James Akenhead is in third, with Fabrice Soulier (sixth) and Ted Lawson (seventh) both in the top 10. Final table play in Event #55 will take place on Saturday.
Only one event will begin play on Friday, the $2,500 No Limit Hold’em event. It is also set to finish play on Sunday, prior to the start of the $10,000 World Championship event on Monday. Although there are tournaments in action over the next few days, it more than likely will be a preparation weekend for many of the top players as the WSOP moves into its final two weeks and its World Championship event.
Tags: 2009, 2010, Australia, Daniel Negreanu, Justin Bonomo, Online Poker, poker player, Russia, tournament, vegas, WSOP
Shawn Busse, Chance Kornuth, and Michael Linn Win WSOP Bracelets
The Rio’s Amazon Room was overflowing with energy on Wednesday evening as three final tables played out at the World Series of Poker (WSOP). Dozens of railbirds flocked to see champions crowned in Events #47, #49, and #50 and three first-time winners collected bracelets.
Wisconsin native Adam White entered the final day of Event #47 ($1,000 No Limit Hold’em) with the chip lead, but had an afternoon he’d like to forget after losing nearly every pot he played to finish ninth. White was crippled in a hand against Canadian pro Owen Crowe to leave him clinging to a short stack and then met his demise against Crowe minutes later. Crowe put in a pre-flop raise and White moved all-in over the top. A pot-committed Crowe made the call with 9c-5c and managed to come from behind against White’s Kd-Jc when the 9h fell on the river. White earned $36,287.
Hours later, Crowe found himself heads-up against another online star, Shawn “jordankickz” Busse, who began play down 2:1 in chips. But, it didn’t take long for the 21-year-old to gain control and eventually dispose of the veteran Crowe, who was playing his third WSOP final table. Busse doubled with pocket sevens against Crowe’s Ad-4s to take the lead and then on the final hand of the tournament, a short-stacked Crowe moved all-in dark with 5h-3h and Busse called with Ah-4s. The board double-paired and Busse’s ace kicker landed him a $485,791 prize and his first gold bracelet:
1. Shawn Busse – $485,791
2. Owen Crowe – $300,494
3. Pekka Ikonen – $212,660
4. Chuan Shi – $153,935
5. Wenlong Jin – $112,720
6. Ilya Andreev – $83,498
7. Jason Mann – $62,553
8. Allan Bække – $47,379
9. Adam White – $36,287
The state of Colorado was represented well in the $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha Event #49 on Wednesday, as Denver’s Chance “ChancesCards” Kornuth and Colorado Springs’ Kevin “Phwap” Boudreau battled for the title and $508,090 payday. The final table began with several big names, including Robert Mizrachi, Eric Liu, and Julian Gardner, but the two online pros were the last ones standing after Boudreau sent Danny Smith home in third place. The heads-up match didn’t last long; Kornuth won a big pot with a higher straight and then sealed the match when he got his chips in with Qc-9d-8h-6h on a Jd-8c-2h flop against Boudreau’s overpair. Kornuth took the lead when the 8s came on the turn and his trips help up to give him first win at the WSOP:
1. Chance Kornuth – $508,090
2. Kevin Boudreau – $313,792
3. Danny Smith – $226,923
4. Edward Martin – $165,825
5. Scott Mandel – $122,455
6. Julian Gardner – $91,387
7. Eric Liu – $68,902
8. Robert Mizrachi – $52,471
9. Jose Nacho Barbero – $40,364
San Diego student Michael Linn collected his first bracelet and more than $600,000 by winning Event $50, $1,500 No Limit Hold ‘em. Linn outlasted a massive field of 2,543 and defeated Taylor Larking heads-up to claim victory, his first in a major live event. He received support from his uncle and poker legend Barry Greenstein, who checked in on his nephew throughout the day while playing the $25,000 Six-Handed Event. Linn’s biggest cash prior to Wednesday came in the 2009 WSOP Main Event, where he took 191st place for $36,626:
1. Michael Linn – $609,493
2. Taylor Larkin – $378,905
3. Mihai Manole – $268,189
4. Benjamin Smith – $193,418
5. Chadwick Grimes – $141,235
6. Alexander Kuzmin – $104,364
7. Justin Zaki – $78,067
8. Erle Mankin – $59,082
9. Tyler Cornell – $45,247
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for continuous updates from the 2010 WSOP.
$25k 6-Max Event Debuts at WSOP
Following the trend set by the $50k Players Championship, which began in 2006, the WSOP has introduced another event with a higher buy-in than the $10k Main Event.
Excluding the 2009 WSOP 40th Anniversary Commemorative Tournament, which was a one-time $40k event, the $25k Six-Handed No-Limit Championship is now the highest buy-in No-limit Hold'em event in WSOP history.
According to Barry Greenstein, who sits on the Poker Players Committee, the high-end event is here to stay.
PL.com caught up with Greenstein, who was amongst the chip leaders when the event went on Day 2's first 20-minute break.
"It got a good turnout, and you could say this is the toughest field arguably," Greenstein said.
"Those good online players who've made a lot of money and play a lot of six-max, this is their world championship."
191 players registered for the event, with first prize a massive $1,315,518.
Not surprisingly, the field is as tough as it gets, with Greenstein, Phil Ivey, Erik Seidel, Frank Kassela, Daniel Negreanu and Carlos Mortensen all still in contention for 18 money spots on Day 2.
"We've often talked about having a bigger No-limit tournament," Greenstein said. "Some people think the $10k Main Event is antiquated, that it's not enough for a championship."
"The WPT Championship has a bigger buy-in. Even the EPT Championship, because of the Euro, has a bigger buy-in."
Greenstein went on to explain the motivation for the Players Committee to create the $25k Six-Handed Championship.
"We didn't want to have something replace the Main Event, like be a bigger buy-in No-Limit," Greenstein said. "We've intentionally not done that."
"This was a nice compromise, where we had a different event, a six-max event, and then it made sense to increase the buy-in."
The 2010 WSOP continues through July 17. For comprehensive coverage of the $25k 6-Max No-Limit event tune in to PokerListings' Live Updates and News.
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Tags: 2009, 2010, Barry Greenstein, Daniel Negreanu, no-limit, Phil Ivey, poker player, tournament, WSOP
Dan Bilzerian House Tour
Dan Bilzerian lives at the Panorama Towers and is a high stakes live cash game pro who has taken on some of the biggest games for huge scores. Living in the luxurious Panorama Towers in Las Vegas is reserved for only the elite, and Bilzerian gave us an exclusive tour of his home. See how one of the true poker ballers lives in this video.
Bilzerian is a sponsored pro at Victory Poker and gained some household notoriety with a deep run during the 2009 World Series of Poker‘s Main Event.
Golf in America Features Poker Pros Mike Sexton, Doyle Brunson
On Tuesday night, the Golf Channel program “Golf in America” profiled the life and times of Walters Golf CEO Bill Walters. The seven-minute segment on the prolific businessman and nosebleed-stakes gambler featured vignettes with several poker icons.
The Golf Channel piece opened with World Poker Tour host and Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Mike Sexton giving Walters’ relevant background: “Bill was a big-time gambler. I mean he was the biggest gambler in the country, betting on sports, betting on golf, betting on pool, and doing anything.” Sexton was the lone inductee into the 2009 Poker Hall of Fame.
Three-time bracelet winner and old time gambler Dewey Tomko chimed in, “He might win $100,000 or $200,000 that day at golf and then lose it at blackjack.” Tomko was voted into the Poker Hall of Fame two years ago alongside hole card camera inventor and bracelet winner Henry Orenstein. Also sharing his memories of Walters was DoylesRoom namesake Doyle Brunson: “He’s legendary for being the best sports bettor in the world.”
Seven-time bracelet winner Billy Baxter noted that no one has ever “beaten sports in the history of the world like [Walters] has.” Meanwhile, Walters shared why he’s grown fond of gambling on anything under the sun: “Risk taking of any kind is what makes you feel alive.” His grandmother raised him in Munfordville, Kentucky, where his uncle owned a pool hall. Walters began playing pool at the ripe old age of four and moved to Las Vegas in 1982.
One man who knows a considerable amount about gambling is the legendary Jack Binion, who told Golf Channel cameras, “Gambling is just manufactured emotion, manufactured thrill.” Sexton then added that Brunson, Baxter, and the late Chip Reese were known to gamble for plenty of money on the links, with Brunson revealing that the group “formed a friendship and a bond that lasted for 20 years.”
A three-man scramble was held featuring Tomko, Sexton, and Brunson taking on three other players who hit off the back tees. Binion served as the event’s emcee and remarked, “People love to gamble when they golf because, if you bet on a ball game or even poker, there’s some fate to it. In golf, I feel like it’s you – you either win the money or lose the money.” Walters added that $1 million could be won or lost in a single afternoon of golf, adding to the drama of the sport.
Walters helped start the Desert Pines Golf Club in Las Vegas in 1996, but allegations arose that political ties helped him acquire other properties. Nevertheless, Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman told “Golf in America” viewers that Walters’ success was simply due to his business acumen. The company now owns and operates three golf courses in Las Vegas: Desert Pines, Bali Hai, and Royal Links.
Sexton summed up why Walters received a seven-minute feature on the Golf Channel’s “Golf in America” last night: “He’s absolutely the most phenomenal, successful businessman [there is]. He made the transition from the gambling world and hustling to the business side of things. He’s the smartest hillbilly that there ever was.”
“Golf in America” airs every Tuesday at 9:00pm ET on the Golf Channel.
Phil Hellmuth, Annie Duke Vying for WSOP Tournament of Champions Title
While the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Tournament of Champions (TOC) takes a break until July 3rd, the leaders of Team UB.com, Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke, find themselves right in the thick of things.
With 17 of the original 27 players remaining, Hellmuth and Duke are back-to-back in the middle of the pack. With 44,100 chips, Hellmuth is in eighth place, while Duke is right behind him in ninth with 42,600. If they hold those same positions throughout the rest of the tournament, they will both earn $25,000. Undoubtedly, though, they each have their eyes trained on the $500,000 grand prize.
Duke has not had any success at this year’s WSOP, as she is still without a cash, so a win in the TOC would be a great boost for the 2009 “Celebrity Apprentice” runner-up. It will also be quite an accomplishment to beat such a stacked, albeit small, field after recently winning the similarly challenging National Heads-Up Poker Championship. Duke was one of five automatic qualifiers for the TOC, earning her spot by winning the inaugural Tournament of Champions back in 2004. Coincidentally, she defeated Hellmuth heads-up in that event to win the $2 million purse.
While Hellmuth prides himself on holding the most WSOP bracelets of anyone in the history of poker, he would still love to win the TOC, even though it would not technically count as his 12th bracelet. Hellmuth has had a disappointing run at the WSOP so far, with just three cashes for $70,622. He does have two top-15 finishes, including a final table, but for Hellmuth, also the all-time leader in number of cashes at the WSOP, it has been frustrating. Last night, he Tweeted, “Feeling so TORTURED right now!! Busted on level 15, in 59th place… 45 get paid. Four times I played till level 14 or later, and didn’t cash.”
Hellmuth earned his seat in the Tournament of Champions through the online fan vote. He was the fourth-leading vote getter of the 20 players who qualified via balloting, garnering 12,673 votes. Ahead of him were Phil Ivey (16,267), Daniel Negreanu (16,239), and Doyle Brunson (13,796).
The TOC has a dash of past UB flavor, as well, as ex-UB pro Antonio Esfandiari (now with Victory Poker) is 16th place and Scotty Nguyen, who was once sponsored by UB, is in fourth place.
The TOC is slated to pick back up on July 3rd and play down to a final table, which will be contested the following day. If any player is still alive in events happening on July 3rd, however, the TOC will not resume at all until July 4th, when it will start bright and early at 9:00am local time.
Tags: 2009, 2010, Annie Duke, Daniel Negreanu, Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth, Phil Ivey, tournament, WSOP
$25,000 NLHE Six-Max Event Kicks Off at World Series of Poker
The final day of June marks the start of one of the most anticipated events of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP). Beginning at Noon PT on Wednesday is the $25,000 No Limit Hold’em Six-Max event, which boasts the second largest buy-in of this year’s World Series.
You can expect a mix of top-tier online pros and live tournament specialists to turn out for this high-octane test of skill. Among those slated to play is newly minted PokerStars pro David Williams, who Tweeted before turning in late Tuesday night, “Big event tomorrow. Event 52, $25,000 buyin 6max NL Holdem. It’s gotten serious.” Also looking ahead to today’s epic event was fellow PokerStars sponsored pro Lex Veldhuis, who posted this dandy: “Really excited about tomorrow’s 25k NL SH tournament. Time to shine.”
All players in the $25,000 No Limit Hold’em Six-Max event will receive 75,000 in chips and complete 10 one-hour levels today. The dinner break will be held at the conclusion of the sixth level and run for 90 minutes. The blinds start off at 150-300 with an ante of 25, meaning that every player will stack up 250 big blinds to begin play.
Among those who might not be in attendance due to deep runs in concurrent events are Tyler “brainwash” Cornell, Ryan “g0lfa” D’Angelo, Jason Mercier, Joe Beevers, 2010 bracelet winner Josh Tieman, CardRunners instructor Eric Liu, Justin “Boosted J” Smith, and Tommy Vedes, who is the chip leader in the $3,000 Triple Chance No Limit Hold’em tournament (Event #51) after Day 1.
Speaking of the Triple Chance No Limit Hold’em event, 965 players entered on Tuesday and 189 survived the day. Another 99 will need to bite the dust before the money bubble bursts and a top prize of $559,000 is up for grabs. Vedes leads the way after Day 1, but a host of brand name poker pros are hot on his heels, including David Singer, Gavin Griffin, Ryan Welch, 2009 WSOP Main Event November Niner James Akenhead, and Mike Sowers, all of whom sit in the top ten in chips.
Other big time pros remaining in Event #51 include Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Peter “Belabacsi” Traply, Neil Channing, DoylesRoom Brunson 10 member Amit amak316 Makhija, Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler, and Victory Poker’s Lee Markholt. Vedes busted three players in back-to-back hands with pocket aces at the end of the night to catapult his stack to 237,100, about 30,000 more than Singer’s total of 204,100.
Tempe, Arizona native Adam White owns the overnight chip lead entering the final table of Event #47, $1,000 No Limit Hold’em. The tournament, which began on Saturday with the first of two starting days, offers a top prize of $485,000. White has a stack of 1.69 million, just ahead of Danish poker pro Allan Baekke’s 1.63 million.
Event #49, $1,500 No Limit Hold’em, will also play down to a winner today at the Rio in Las Vegas. Michael Linn and Mihai Manole own a commanding lead over the other 19 survivors and a first place prize of $609,000 is on the line. Each of the 21 players left in the field is guaranteed to bank at least $17,000. Manole, who calls Romania home, final tabled the European Poker Tour’s Barcelona Main Event last September for over $350,000.
Finally, the $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha event (#50) has 31 players remaining and is scheduled to play down to a winner today. Player’s Championship final tablist Robert Mizrachi is out in front with two days in the books at 758,000 and Colorado poker player Kevin Boudreau is second with a stack of 508,000. Many of Mizrachi’s chips came courtesy of Andy Black, as Mizrachi flopped a set of sevens against Black’s two pair. All of the money went in and Mizrachi’s three of a kind held for the win.
Check back on Thursday for the latest WSOP updates right here on Poker News Daily.
PokerStars Big Game: Joe Cada Drops $35,000 in Week 3 Kickoff Episode
Defending World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion Joe Cada struggled in his debut on the PokerStars.net-powered “Big Game,” whose Week 3 kickoff episode aired on Monday night on Fox. The series is shown nightly starting at 1:00am or 2:00am in most markets.
Russian born Nadya Magnus was this week’s “Loose Cannon” online qualifier and each player at the table bought in for $100,000. The lineup was noticeably quieter than in past weeks and, in one of the first major pots of the episode, Cada bet $9,300 on a flop of 6-J-4 holding 9-8 of diamonds for air. Fellow PokerStars pro Jason Mercier, who flopped a set of sixes, called to bring a nine on the turn. Now with second pair, Cada bet $19,000 and Mercier slyly called behind. On a river three, Cada check-folded, sending the pot of more than $70,000 to Mercier.
The action is Pot Limit before the flop and No Limit thereafter. The “Big Game” features blinds of $200/$400 with a $100 per person ante that is paid entirely by the player on the button. Each “Loose Cannon” plays 150 hands and keeps whatever money they reel in over their $100,000 stake. Chris Rose and PokerRoad’s Joe Stapleton host the cash game series.
With three-way action and the board reading K-10-8-4, Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo bet $4,000 with A-Q and Magnus called with 4-3 for bottom pair. However, Bonomo spiked a miracle ace on the river and promptly fired out another bet, this time $10,000. Magnus came along and the dealer pushed the $35,500 pot to the Panorama Towers resident.
Magnus struck back, however, calling a raise from Daniel Alaei with K-Q. Alaei held A-4 of hearts and the flop came Q-J-3. Alaei bet $2,300 and Magnus wasted no time coming over the top for $6,200. Alaei mucked and Magnus scooped her first pot of the night. Alaei weighed in on Magnus’ facial expressions: “First she was giving me the stare down and then she broke into a smile. I can’t really figure that one out.”
Then, Magnus picked up A-6 and raised to $1,500 pre-flop. Mercier called with A-J and the flop came A-6-8. Mercier check-called a bet of $2,600 from Magnus and the turn was a four. Mercier once again reluctantly check-called a bet, this time of $6,100, and the river was another six, improving Magnus to a boat. Mercier checked, Magnus bet $13,200, and Mercier, despite seemingly smelling a rat, made the call. The pot was worth $47,600 and Mercier exclaimed, “God, I’m so f****** terrible.” Magnus moved out of the red and was up $7,700.
Magnus went from a VPIP of just over 6% during the first 15 hands of the night to 20% through Hand #25. However, she’d be the target of Cada late during play. The 2009 WSOP Main Event champ raised to $1,500 pre-flop with pocket queens and Magnus re-raised to $4,800 with pocket jacks. Cada made the call, the flop came a harmless 8-2-3, and Cada check-called a bet of $8,100.
The turn was a seven and Cada once again checked. Magnus fired out a bet of $15,600 with the worst hand and Cada called to see an eight on the river. The action went check-check and Cada rebounded to end the evening, pulling in the $58,200 pot. It marked Cada’s first pot of the week and the show concluded.
At the end of Monday night’s action, Bonomo was up $47,400 and Cada was down $35,500. The PokerStars “Big Game” airs nightly during the week on Fox. Check your local listings for more details.
Matusow Running Hot - Day 32 WSOP Recap
Day 32 was a showcase for poker's elite, as Day 2 of the Tournament of Champions played out on the WSOP feature table stage.
Mike "The Mouth" Matusow had perhaps his best day of the 2010 WSOP, emerging as the TOC chip leader and also running to a great start in $5k PLO.
Norway's Sigurd Eskeland also picked up his first bracelet in the $2.5k Mixed Event.
Here's a look around Day 32:
WSOP Tournament of Champions 2010
Day 2 was very much like Day 1 in the 2010 Tournament of Champions, with just five players hitting the rail for the second straight day.
The pace of the TOC has been slower than expected through the first eight levels, as 17 of the original 27 players still remain.
The event was supposed to play down to the final nine Monday, with the final table played at 1 p.m. July 4.
The WSOP is now discussing two alternate scenarios, with one having players come back at 7 p.m. July 3, and the other option having players come back at 10 a.m. July 4 for an early-morning start.
Mike "The Mouth" Matusow came out of Day 2 as the chip leader, with Huck Seed, Johnny Chan and Scotty Nguyen right behind.
The WSOP will determine which scenario will play out for the TOC based on entrants' commitments to other bracelet events on July 3, so stay tuned.
Event 47 - $1k No-Limit Hold'em
3,128 players came out for Day 1 of this event, and it was 476 returning for Day 2 with an eye on the $485,791 first prize.
Antonio Esfandiari created a mini-spectacle in the Amazon Room, as the headband-clad Victory Poker spokesman ran back and forth multi-tabling this event and the Tournament of Champions.
Esfandiari didn't survive the day in this event, but made the payout structure, finishing 73rd.
Scott Montgomery went on a big heater on Day 2 and comes back amongst the chip leaders when play resumes at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Event 48 - $2.5k Mixed Event
The day's only bracelet was awarded in this event, as Norwegian Sigurd Eskeland emerged from the field of 453 players to take the championship and $260,497.
Todd Brunson came up just short of a final table bid, finishing 11th for $18,045, while Alex Kravchenko came up right behind at 11th and Dario Minieri finished 14th.
Kirk Morrison and Vitaly Lunkin also posted cash finished, as did Mike "The Grinder" Mizrachi, who added to his Player of the Year total.
Event 49 - $1.5k No-Limit Hold'em
The large turnout pushed the first-place prize in this event to $609,493, as 2,543 players entered the latest $1.5k No-Limit event on Day 1.
David Pham and JP Kelley were amongst the chip leaders as the first day came to end, with 315 players advancing to Day 2, which commences at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Andy Bloch and Liv Boeree are also amongst the notables coming back for Day 2.
Event 50 - $5k Pot-Limit Omaha
The TOC might have been the biggest spectacle of the day, but this event was packed with poker superstars on Day 1.
Jeff Lisandro, Ted Forrest, Carlos Mortensen, Annette Obrestad and Annie Duke were just a few of the names that signed up, with 460 players in the field overall.
2009 November Niner Kevin Schaffel had a huge first day, and comes back as one of the chip leaders with 178,900 when Day 2 kicks off at 3 p.m. Tuesday.
Just under 200 players made it to Day 2 and Dan Shak and Annette Obrestad are also amongst the chip leaders.
For a more in-depth look at how the day played out, along with news, blogs and videos, visit PokerListings' WSOP 2010 section.
WSOP Live!
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