Poker News

ESPN Inside Deal Airs First Show of 2010

The ESPN poker franchise “Inside Deal” returned on Tuesday with the first episode of 2010. Joining the series, which emanated from a new set, were Poker Players Alliance (PPA) Executive Director John Pappas and 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion Joe Cada.

The show began with a discussion of the CardPlayer and Bluff Player of the Year awards for 2009. CardPlayer named UB.com pro Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin as its winner, while Bluff crowned PokerStars’ Jason Mercier. On which publication was more accurate, “Inside Deal” host Bernard Lee explained, “Understand that this is not apples to apples. These are two completely different Player of the Year formulas. If you had to look at it, I think CardPlayer has it a little more open for most players.”

Lee noted that poker pro Amnon Filippi bumped him from the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) Main Event, while Cada staked co-host Laura Lane into the ladies’ event. Now, Lee and the rest of the poker world have their sights set on the PokerStars-backed North American Poker Tour (NAPT), which resumes on February 20th at the Venetian: “I’ve said from the beginning that being able to qualify online is going to increase registration, prize pools, and interest in any tournaments. So far, over 160 players have qualified for the Venetian event. That’s more than some of the WSOP Circuit Events had all last year.”

Pappas joined “Inside Deal” via phone to catch listeners up on the good word from Capitol Hill. The Executive Director of the one-million member lobbying group explained the biggest challenge of 2010: “There is this continuing cloud of grayness as to what is legal and what is not legal. We have a six-month reprieve to get that Congressional clarification to make sure that it is clear that playing poker over the internet is not an unlawful internet gambling transaction.” The PPA is pushing for a markup of Congressman Barney Frank’s (D-MA) HR 2267 in February.

Cada, donning a festive array of PokerStars logos, told “Inside Deal” viewers that the pressure for him to perform has ramped up dramatically: “There is definitely more pressure now, especially because of the way I won my final table.” Cada hit the deck hard during the final table of the 2009 WSOP Main Event and defeated Maryland logger Darvin Moon heads-up.

One of the rumors flying around the poker world during the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure was that Cada was dating former Playboy Playmate of the Year Jayde Nicole. The rumors ultimately proved false, but Cada is still trying to wrap his head around his celebrity status: “I am still trying to get used to everything. The rumors are not so great. All my friends back home asked me about it and there are so many rumors going on.”

A comprehensive breakdown of a hand between Moon and Cada heads-up aired featuring Lee and ESPN.com Poker Editor Andrew Feldman dishing out strategy. The crew then asked Cada to reveal his mentality headed into heads-up play in poker tournaments: “I start off slow when I start heads-up because I don’t know how they play. A lot is their frequency of calls pre-flop and stack sizes. If the stack sizes are deeper, then you’re able to raise more from the button.” Cada was an online heads-up specialist prior to his win last November to become the youngest WSOP Main Event champion ever.

A new segment called “Snap Calls” featured discussion of Huck Seed’s chances to make it eight cashes in a row in the National Heads-Up Poker Championship, the number of new girlfriends Cada will have this year (Cada said under 1.5), the future of online poker legalization, whether Bernard Lee would claim a title in 2010, and whether Cada would win another bracelet in this year’s WSOP.

L.A. Poker Classic Unique Opening Event Draws Sizeable Field

Poker tournament participation has recently been holding steady or, in some cases, even showing a decline in many American casinos. The opening event of this year’s L.A. Poker Classic has bucked this trend.

The L.A. Poker Classic, held annually at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles, is recognized as one of the preeminent tournament events on the yearly schedule. It opened up play on January 20th with one of the more unusual events on its 51 tournament slate. The $300 buy in No Limit Hold’em event featured a guaranteed $1 million prize pool, which automatically ensures that a deep field will contend for the championship.  Tournament director Matt Savage, who has been lauded for his tweaking of tournaments since he took over as the main man at the Commerce last year, had another surprise in store for the Commerce contestants.

For the opening tournament, Savage scheduled four Day Ones and. Players who were eliminated on any of the first three Day Ones could enter again. With the ability to reenter the tournament, players were highly aggressive over the first three days of competition. Savage’s innovation for the first event on the L.A. Poker Classic schedule led to one of the largest tournament fields outside of a World Series of Poker (WSOP) event in history.

After the carnage of the first four days was completed, a total of 3,791 “unique” players had entered the event, according to a Tweet from Savage. Of those original entries, another 2,083 buy ins were received from players who had been eliminated, but felt they still had a chance at taking down the tournament. When Day Two of the tournament began on Sunday, 5,847 buy ins were recorded, eclipsing the guarantee by over $754,000.

With 3,791 players into the tournament, 540 took away at least $600 for their troubles; however, the majority of the prize pool was divvied up on Day Two. The 72 players who survived the first four days would earn a minimum of $1,980 for their efforts. Leading the way was Tim Telesio of Moreno Valley, California, but he was hotly pursued by several top Los Angeles pros such as Michael Woo, Cuong Nguyen, and Gevork Kasabyan.

The battle for the final table raged well into Monday morning. Nguyen and Kasabyan were victims of the early action on Sunday, but Woo was able to drive to the final table and finished in sixth place. Taking the championship early on Monday was Darrell Cain, who started the day in 25th place. Cain, who calls Sacramento home, was able to defeat Rocky River, Ohio’s Michael Blocksidge in heads-up action to win the “Bronco Buster” trophy (based on the Frederic Remington bronze statue of the same name) and the first place prize of $363,936.

Savage’s innovative tournaments will not be limited to just the opening event of this year’s L.A. Poker Classic. In an attempt to cater to players of all disciplines of poker, Savage has brought such games as Badugi, Chinese Poker, and an Eight-Game Mixed event to center stage at the Commerce during the L.A. Poker Classic. Perhaps Savage’s best innovation, however, is the Ironman Tournament.

The Ironman Tournament, which will be played on February 21st, is a creation from what some would say is the more sadistic side of Savage’s mind. In the $2,000 event, there are no breaks, whether for personal reasons or meals. A player can leave the table at any time, but the player continues to be dealt and blinds are posted appropriately. Play continues until a champion is determined, with the winner taking 50% of the prize pool and a seat into the World Poker Tour (WPT) L.A. Poker Classic Championship Event. No deals are allowed and a security guard stationed outside of the restroom ensures that everyone washes their hands.

The innovative Ironman Tournament was a success when it was unveiled last September. Savage debuted the concept during last year’s Commerce Casino Hold’em Series and 64 players took to the felt for the tournament. After over 19 hours of play, Brett Radin walked away with the $51,160 first prize, defeating a field that included 2009 CardPlayer Player of the Year Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin, Gavin Griffin, Matt “mattg1983” Graham, and defending WPT L.A. Poker Championship winner Cornel Andrew Cimpan.

Savage’s reputation for staging the best poker tournaments in the game today, as well as his innovative game creations, should have the L.A. Poker Classic on the minds of anyone connected to the poker world. The tournament schedule currently in action continues play through the month of February and will end the first week of March with the completion of the WPT Championship Event.

Pawn Shop Reacts to T.J. Cloutier WSOP Bracelets on eBay

With 24 hours left in the bidding, the two championship bracelets that were won by T.J. Cloutier have begun to draw bidding attention on eBay.

As reported yesterday here at Poker News Daily, the store that has ownership of Cloutier’s bracelets, the Plano Pawn Shop, placed the two championship bracelets on sale on eBay after they acquired the items. The bracelets, a 2005 World Series of Poker (WSOP) championship memento and the trophy from the 2007 Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge IV, have been on the popular auction site since January 14th. Up until early Friday and with time running out on the auctions, no bids had been placed. Now, the action has picked up.

The 2005 WSOP bracelet, won by Cloutier in a $5,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament that year, was on eBay with a minimum asking price of $2,999. Since yesterday, three bids have been entered on the item. While it is unknown who the buyer might be due to eBay bidder privacy regulations, an original bid of $3,200 was entered at 1:13 Pacific Time on Friday. Soon after that, two bidders eclipsed that price with bids of $3,500 for the most prized trophy in poker. By eBay rules, the earlier $3,500 bid stands to pick up the 2005 WSOP bracelet, roughly valued at $2,350 by Poker News Daily.

The 2007 Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge IV bracelet, which marked Cloutier’s last major championship victory, has garnered less attention, but is still in play. The Plano Pawn Shop offered the white gold and diamond championship bracelet through eBay for $2,499 and bidding on it will end simultaneously with the sale of the WSOP bracelet. At this point, only one bid has been entered that meets the original asking price.

Poker News Daily placed a call to the Plano Pawn Shop and was able to learn several details about the bracelets. An employee who would only state his name as Larry said that whomever places the highest bid on the eBay auctions would walk off with the bracelets. “We haven’t offered them for sale in the Plano area; it has strictly been something that we’ve done through eBay,” Larry said. “We really didn’t have a clue what they would be worth, but we knew what we needed to get out of the items to make a fair profit.”

Larry went on to imply that Cloutier sold the bracelets outright rather than accepting a loan against them. In addition, the original asking price on eBay was the bottom line of what they might be worth: “If you melt the bracelets down and pull the [gem] stones off, what we’re asking for is the scrap price of the items.” Larry would not state what Cloutier received in exchange for the two championship bracelets.

Astute Poker News Daily reader James Guill also contacted the Plano Pawn Shop on Friday and was able to confirm that the bracelets were indeed ones that Cloutier had won. In his post, he related that the attention the bracelets have received surpass other offerings: “They (Plano Pawn Shop) stated that they have received more attention on this item than even Super Bowl rings they have auctioned off in the past.”

The poker community continues to discuss the bracelets and what should be done with them. Some believe that one of the top professionals - the names of Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu have been bandied about - should buy the bracelets and return them to Cloutier. Others believe that this would be for naught and suggest that Cloutier would only sell them again. In the discussion have been Ted Forrest buying one of Hamid Dastmalchi’s WSOP bracelets for $1,500 and Cloutier’s propensity for the craps tables.

The bracelet sales on eBay end Sunday afternoon at approximately 1:30 Pacific Time, but it is unlikely that we will learn who bought them and why. Poker News Daily will continue to track this story to its conclusion tomorrow.

T. J. Cloutier’s Championship Bracelets Up For Sale On eBay

Awards in the poker world can range from plaques to large trophies to even the head of an alligator (the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit’s Bayou Poker Classic trophy is the stuffed head of such an animal). One of the most cherished mementos of victory in poker is, of course, the WSOP bracelet that is awarded to each winner of an event in Las Vegas. For one of the most prized trophies in poker to appear for sale is almost unheard of.

This apparently is occurring at this moment and the former owner of the bracelet is none other than longtime poker veteran T.J. Cloutier. For sale on eBay, the popular online auction site, is a WSOP Bracelet won by Cloutier. The information on the site states that the bracelet is the last one that was won by the Texas road gambler in 2005. Information from the WSOP site shows that Cloutier won the last of his six bracelets in 2005 in the $5000 No Limit Hold’em event, where he defeated a final table that included Todd Brunson, John “World” Hennigan and the late John Bonetti to capture the championship.

On sale by the Plano Pawn Shop (which is approximately ten miles from T.J.’s hometown of Richardson, Texas), the auction on eBay has about two days left in the bidding. Asking for a minimum bid of $2999, the 2005 WSOP bracelet has yet to garner any interest from potential buyers. Perhaps anyone interested in the bracelet is wary of its authenticity (the Plano Pawn Shop has stated that the bracelet will come with a certificate of authenticity to prove it is real), but eBay sales are also notorious for not getting any action until the sale is almost over.

According to other details included in the sale information for the WSOP bracelet, the Plano Pawn Shop also has another championship bracelet from Cloutier. This has been confirmed by Poker News Daily as the bracelet from Cloutier’s last major poker championship, the 2007 Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge IV, and the Plano Pawn Shop’s minimum bid for that bracelet is $2,499. Both of the items are not only for sale on eBay but are also being offered in the Plano Pawn Shop and can be viewed by appointment only.

The actual cash value of a WSOP bracelet is surprisingly easy to determine. From information provided by the Plano Pawn Shop about the Cloutier bracelet, Poker News Daily has determined an approximate value for such an item. With its 96 grams (3.38 ounces) of 14 karat gold (which is 58% gold, with 24K being solid gold) and 0.25 carats in diamonds, the cash value of the 2005 bracelet is roughly $2,350. The inherent value in a WSOP bracelet, of which only about 500 have been awarded, is priceless.

As far as what Cloutier may have received for the WSOP bracelet, an examination of the pawnshop industry would be necessary. When a pawnshop buys a piece of merchandise, it usually will pay anywhere from 30% to 50% of the actual value of an item to ensure that they get a significant return on their investment. With the Plano Pawn Shop putting a price tag of $2,999 on Cloutier’s 2005 WSOP bracelet, it can be logically assumed that the poker pro sold the bracelet for somewhere between $1,000 and $1,500.

The sale of the bracelet has the forums burning with questions about the bracelet and Cloutier’s current financial status. On TwoPlusTwo, players are assuming that Cloutier has gone broke and needs the finances to continue playing poker (at this time, Cloutier has no sponsorship deal) or, some posters imply, to take to the craps tables. Many, however, are lamenting that Cloutier would part with one of his six WSOP bracelets. Poster “Dan_Vincent” writes in his post, “That's sad. You know he didn't get anything close to $2K for this.”

Others, perhaps cruelly, are making jokes about the issue. Citing one of the currently popular reality television shows, poster “Tom Bayes” says, “TJ should have gone on 'Pawn Stars.' Then Corey and Chumlee could have drooled on the bracelet, Rick could call up one of his numerous 'buddies' to give an 'expert' appraisal and then lowball the hell out of TJ, and then the 'Old Man' could tell us how 'real' poker was played 'back in the day.'”

For whatever reason, Cloutier felt as though these two bracelets were items that he could live without. With slightly more than 48 hours left in the two auctions, it remains to be seen how many bids Cloutier’s bracelets will get or if they will even be sold through the eBay auctions at all.

Poker2Nite wonders where Patrik Antonius is

The latest episode of Poker2Nite is out. This time they wonder where has Patrik Antonius vanished.

Antonius is being missed in the big live games and Poker2Nite is speculating where he is. Some other topics are the interview of the famous tournament director Matt Savage, some chat about Shaun Deeb and a few interesting hands from the past.

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Poker2Nite wonders where Patrik Antonius is

Chris Ferguson speaks about his “$0 into $10.000 Challenge”

Card Player TV interviewed Chris “Jesus” Ferguson about his “$0 into $10.000 Challenge” to their “All-Inbox” show.

Ferguson tells that the hardest part of the challenge was to make the first 10 dollars because he had to play freerolls.

He recalls the most memorable hand he has ever played and chats about his long hair and cowboy hat, in other words, his “poker look”.

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Chris Ferguson speaks about his “$0 into $10.000 Challenge”

Daniel Negreanu’s year - VIDEO

Daniel Negreanu tells about the happenings of 2009 and takes a “shot” to year 2010.

Negreanu speaks about WSOP 2010 while lying on his couch playing PokerStars‘ Sunday Million. He also tells about his mother’s death, his plans for next year and a few opinions of Phil “Poker Brat” Hellmuth’s cash game skills.

Source: RawVegas.tv

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Daniel Negreanu’s year - VIDEO

WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic Kicks off Monday

The 2009 installment of the World Poker Tour (WPT) Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic will kick off on Monday from the Bellagio in Las Vegas. The tournament’s namesake told UB.com’s “Poker2Nite” that a field of 400 players is expected.

Only one Day 1 in the $15,000 buy-in WPT event will occur, with the six-handed final table taking place on the 19th. In 2008, original World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event November Nine member David “Chino” Rheem took down the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic, besting Justin Young heads-up and earning $1.5 million. Young took $936,000 for his runner-up performance. Others who reached the feature table, which played out on cable station Fox Sports Net, included Evan McNiff (third place for $540,000), Steve Sung (fourth place for $396,000), Amnon Filippi (fifth place for $288,000), and DoylesRoom poker pro Hoyt Corkins (sixth place for $216,000).

The Five Diamond has been a staple of the WPT circuit and served as the series’ very first event back in May of 2002. That year, Full Tilt Poker pro Gus Hansen outlasted John Juanda heads-up in a talented final table that also featured Freddy Deeb, John “World” Hennigan, Chris Bigler, and Scotty Nguyen. A quaint field of 146 players turned out for the inaugural WPT tournament, creating a prize pool of $1.4 million.

In Season II of the WPT, Paul Phillips took down the Five Diamond in Las Vegas, besting Poker Hall of Fame member Dewey Tomko heads-up and banking $1.1 million. Hansen once again made the final table of the tournament and finished third this time around, while Mel Judah took sixth place and earned $101,000. The next season, a battle of PokerStars sponsored pros took place, as Daniel Negreanu trumped Costa Rican sensation Humberto Brenes heads-up in the event’s finale. The number of entrants jumped to 376 from 314.

In Season IV of the WPT, Rehne Pedersen earned over $2 million for his Five Diamond win and beat Patrik Antonius heads-up. Brunson made the final table of the event and finished third, while J.J. Liu took fourth place for $362,000. Also making waves were Darrell “Gigabet” Dicken and Phil “The Unabomber” Laak, who finished in fifth and sixth place, respectively.

In the December Bellagio tournament during Season V, Joe Hachem, winner of the 2005 WSOP Main Event, took down the title and its corresponding $2.2 million grand prize. Hachem and Negreanu made PokerStars proud by reaching the final table and the Aussie’s win solidified his name as one of the tops in the industry. In 2007, Eugene Katchalov banked $2.5 million for his WPT victory, outlasting a colossal field of 626 players. Also reaching the final table were Devilfish Poker namesake David Ulliott and former PokerStars Caribbean Adventure champion Ryan “Daut44” Daut.

After its annual Las Vegas stop, the WPT crew will break for the holidays and resume action in late January for the Southern Poker Championship. December’s Bellagio stop will mark the tournament series’ last trip to Sin City before the annual WPT Championship in April. Here’s a look at the remaining events in Season VIII:

Southern Poker Championship: January 24th to 27th
Beau Rivage (Biloxi, Mississippi)

WPT Celebrity Invitational: February 20th to 21st
Commerce Casino (Commerce, California)

L.A. Poker Classic: February 26th to March 4th
Commerce Casino (Commerce, California)

Bay 101 Shooting Star: March 8th to 12th
Bay 101 (San Jose, California)

Hollywood Poker Open: March 20th to 24th
Hollywood Casino (Lawrenceburg, Indiana)

WPT Championship: April 17th to 24th
Bellagio (Las Vegas, Nevada)

A Brawl in APPT Sydney

Poker can sometimes be a frustrating game and once in a while players get into arguments with each other, but rarely things gets as bad as in Sydney, when a row between Mark Ericksen and his unidentified foe turned to a fist fight!

Apparently the two knew each other beforehand as the unidentified man (Mr. X from now on) approached Mark Ericksen’s table and and told Ericksen to “Stay the f*** out of my business.” Well it didn’t take long for these two to get into the business as after some heated words, Mr. X connected with his fist in Ericksen’s face.

Mr. X walked away from the table and things calmed for a second until Ericksen stood up and told Mr. X he was a “f***ing rat.” At this point a full scale war started between the two. After throwing and landing several punches, the two hit the ground where Mr. X continued his assault on Ericksen. With each punch he threw, Mr. X yelled “Rat! Rat! Rat!”

Pokernews.com video crew missed the incident, but Andrew Scott witnessed the whole affair, as he was seated in the same table with Ericksen:

Source: pokernews.com

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A Brawl in APPT Sydney

Isildur1 has won $4.262.458 in November

There’s a small break in Full Tilt Poker high stakes games, so it’s time to check out some results for this month.

Everyone is talking about the top position player, he is the Swedish Isildur1. He has won 4.262.458 dollars in this month already.

Isildur1’s fearless play has attracted more and more railbirds to Full Tilt. He doesn’t fear to challenge the top pros one by one, or everyone at the same time. We’ve seen millions moving around the tables almost every day, and of course there’s that biggest online pot.

Dwan loses big time

Almost every top pro has been losing to Isildur1, but the biggest loser so far is Tom “durrrr” Dwan.

Tom Dwan, the newest Team Full Tilt member, has been helpless against Isildur1, and he has already lost 4.739.540 dollars this month alone.

November’s top lists:

Winners:

Isildur1    $4.262.458
Phil Ivey    $1.329.818
Patrik Antonius    $1.119.526
DjAdi    $806.555
DIN_FRU    $765.541
Ziigmund    $736.750
Brian Townsend    $534.923

Losers:

durrrr    -$4.739.540
Gus Hansen    -$2.577.181
Cole South    -$1.151.454
UgotaBanana    -$648.396
Richard Ashby    -$646.055
Brian Hastings    -$481.870
David Benyamine    -$412.315

Source: Highstakesdb

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Isildur1 has won $4.262.458 in November

Isildur1 claims another million dollar victim

The matchup between Ziigmund and Isildur1 started brewing after the second day of the Isildur1 versus Tom "durrrr" Dwan battle, with Isildur1 asking for help getting into contact with durrrr and telling Ziigmund an Omaha match between the two would have to wait.

Although the two players crossed paths on various high-stakes table across Full Tilt, they had never sat for a lengthy heads-up session until last night.

As you would imagine, the $500/$1,000 No-Limit Hold'em match was a landslide of massive pots.

In fact, the top 25 pots alone add up to almost $10 million wagered.

After 2,217 hands, the Scandinavian battle came to a head with Isildur1 proving his mettle once more, beating Sahamies out of $1 million.

This latest million dollar win puts Isildur1 back to almost $4 million in profits on the year, as Sahamies name is added to the growing list of world class players to be absolutely destroyed by the still unknown Swede.

At this point, Isildur1 has proven to be far more of a formidable opponent than anyone gave him credit for when he first showed up on the scene this past September.

One of the only regular high-stakes players left who hasn't suffered a million dollar loss to Isildur1 is poker god Phil Ivey, who actually beat the Swede out of $800k two days ago.

Below you can see the three largest pots of the heads up session. To see more hands replayed head to MarketPulse.

Mike Sexton enters the Poker Hall of Fame - Watch the video

Doyle Brunson has something funny to say in a video that rawVEGAS.tv filmed on Mike Sexton’s Poker Hall of Fame induction.

There’s also speeches by WSOP Commissoner Jeffrey Pollack, Mike’s brother Tom Sexton and of course the maestro himself, Mike Sexton.

Source: rawVEGAS.tv

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Mike Sexton enters the Poker Hall of Fame - Watch the video

ESPN Inside Deal Recaps 2009 WSOP Main Event Final Table

From the stage of the Penn and Teller Theater at the Rio in Las Vegas were the ESPN.com “Inside Deal” crew. The trio – Laura Lane, Bernard Lee, and Andrew Feldman – recapped the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event final table.

Lane, Lee, and Feldman recapped the journeys of each of the nine final table members, who waited more than 100 days to battle for the $8.5 million first place prize. The entire weekend will be recapped on ESPN this evening at 9:00pm ET. On James Akenhead, who took ninth in the feature tournament, Lee explained, “When his kings ran into aces, he got deflated, but I feel like he had a shot.” Akenhead was a former train conductor and hails from England.

Finishing in eighth place was Kevin Schaffel, who largely played tight during the event’s conclusion. Lee observed, “He played really well. Up to the first break, he was really quiet and he was getting 3bet a lot of the time.” Next to go was Phil Ivey, who had the endorsement of nearly the entire poker industry. Lee noted, “You saw how much he cares and how well he can play the short stack. He was stealing a blind every single level.” Ivey headed out the Rio’s back door after being eliminated and was the only November Nine member not to speak with the media.

Backing Steven Begleiter were coaches Ylon Schwartz and Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little. The presence of the former was largely unknown in the weeks leading up to the resumption of the Main Event. After his elimination in fifth place, Jeff Shulman told “Inside Deal” and other assembled media, “I was playing in my basement the last two months with people who are all tough and every single day was harder than this. Of course, I didn’t win there either.”

Joe Cada had 39 big blinds entering three-handed play and doubled up at the expense of Antoine Saout with pocket twos against pocket queens when the flop came 7-2-9. The pot left Saout reeling and he was out with pocket eights against Cada’s A-K several hands later in a stunning turn of events. Lee explained, “When we were down to three-handed, we were all wondering who Saout was going to play and that was probably his mindset. The next thing you know, he’s going home instead of preparing for the next day.”

The “Inside Deal” crew had been hovering around the Rio since early last week, procuring content for the worldwide leader in sports and even taking in a meatball eating contest just moments after the field in the Main Event was shrunk from nine to two. On the crew’s favorite moments, Lee fondly remembered, “The big moment was Kevin Schaffel. He went in with aces against Eric Buchman, who flopped a king. Schaffel still had hope and then the quad kings come on the turn.”

Finally, Feldman recalled the crowd getting into the action: “James Akenhead tripling up was the first time we saw the crowd into it. My second moment was away from the table watching Mike Sexton getting inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame.” By the time Sexton was enshrined, which occurred during the dinner break on Saturday, seven players remained. The 2009 installment went down as the longest in WSOP Main Event history at over 17 hours.

ESPN “Inside Deal” also plans to release exclusive interviews with Cada and runner-up Darvin Moon.

Antonius and Negreanu golfing - Watch the video

RawVegagas.tv went to see how Daniel Negreanu and Patrik Antonius handles golf.

Daniel updated his Twitter during the play as well:

RealKidPoker: We shot 29 on the front 9. They shot 28! Close match so far.

RealKidPoker: We shot 59. They are on 18 now. If they birdie it they shoot 58.

RealKidPoker: They made birdie on 18 for a 58. We lost day 1 by one stroke. Same time tomm

So it seems that they will continue today. We’d like to know the amount of prop bets they made.

Source: RawVegas, Twitter

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Antonius and Negreanu golfing - Watch the video

ESPN presents: Four days with Phil Ivey

ESPN filmed a new episode of E:60, which features Phil Ivey. ESPN decided to offer their viewers a nice 11 minute trailer of the episode.

Viewers can follow the life of Ivey for four days. ESPN followed Ivey to Germany and back. Ivey also tells how he found poker and discusses about other topics related to his life as well.

Source: ESPN

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ESPN presents: Four days with Phil Ivey

Chad Brown, Liv Boeree Join ESPN Inside Deal

The final installment of ESPN’s poker show “Inside Deal” before the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event final table was released on Tuesday, featuring Chad Brown and Liv Boeree.

The “Inside Deal” crew moved to a new set to open the show and its attention immediately turned to Phil Ivey mucking the winning flush during last week’s WSOP on ESPN broadcast, which saw the field trimmed to 18 players. “Inside Deal” host Bernard Lee gave his take on the errant move: “It was shocking. That’s really all you can say. I’m sure it’s happened before, but not in the final 27 of the WSOP Main Event.” Ivey remains in the running for the $8.5 million first place prize despite the hiccup.

On Kara Scott being the new host of the GSN poker franchise “High Stakes Poker,” Lee quipped, “At least we know that Norman Chad will be watching;” Chad referred to Scott as “Kara Scott-Chad” throughout the 2009 WSOP Main Event broadcast. Poker News Daily can independently confirm that Scott is the new host of “High Stakes Poker” pending finalization of her contract and obtaining a working visa. No official announcement has been given by GSN.

A recent study released by the Joint Committee on Taxation, a U.S. Government agency, revealed that over $40 billion could be realized from taxing the internet gambling industry over a 10-year period. Lee explained the significance of the report: “That has to raise a lot of eyebrows in the government, knowing that amount of money could go into their coffers. This has to slowly move the pendulum toward us.” In the meantime, the financial services industry in the United States must come into full compliance with the regulations of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) by December 1st.

Boeree them joined the show and revealed that she studied physics and astrophysics in school before being cast for a poker reality show featuring Ultimate Bet pros Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth. Boeree has been competing on the tournament circuit for only one year and commented, “I definitely don’t think I could go back to hosting now. I find it very difficult being at a European Poker Tour (EPT) event and asking people what their strategies were.” Her favorite band is Metallica, whom she has met and seen in concert. Boeree, a Brit, also claimed that her worst pet peeve of Americans is “easting like idiots.”

Brown discussed being one-half of a “power couple” in poker along with wife Vanessa Rousso: “We both have our own careers. As a couple, [we] can be supportive of each other.” Brown was the 2006 Bluff Magazine Player of the Year on the strength of five Top 40 finishes in World Poker Tour (WPT) events and a fifth place showing in EPT London. On the accolade, which only takes into account $5,000 buy-in tournaments with more than 100 players, Brown told Lee and fellow “Inside Deal” host Laura Lane, “These are the best players in the world you’re competing against.” John Juanda and Barry Greenstein were on his heels throughout much of the competition.

Brown noted that he was cast to be part of a movie directed by James Woods, but the project was put on hold due to the lingering global recession. On his acting career, the Team PokerStars Pro member explained, “If you’re a movie star, you can do whatever you want. If you’re a working actor, you need to stay in Hollywood and pound the pavement.” While Brown has put his acting skills to use on the green felts, Boeree commented that exploiting her femininity is advantageous: “There are definitely times when you can use it to your advantage. If you can flirt with the guys, they’ll want you to stick around.”

“Inside Deal” now heads to Las Vegas for the finale of the 2009 WSOP Main Event. The show is released each Tuesday on ESPN.com.

ESPN Inside Deal Welcomes WSOP November Niner Kevin Schaffel

This week, the ESPN poker franchise “Inside Deal” welcomed 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) November Nine member Kevin Schaffel. New Poker Hall of Fame nominee member Mike Sexton also called into the show.

The 13th installment of “Inside Deal” began with a discussion of Daniel Negreanu’s breakdown of World Poker Tour (WPT) tournament cashes. Negreanu’s analysis revealed that very few players are actually winners on the WPT circuit, emphasizing the importance of satellite and cash game aptitude. “Inside Deal” host Bernard Lee explained, “You don’t cash very often and what [Negreanu] is saying is that when you do, you’ve got to make it count.” Lee noted that Gus Hansen has nine WPT cashes, eight for final tables. Phil Ivey has notched eight WPT final tables out of 11 cashes.

Ivey, a WSOP November Nine member, is camped out in Cabo San Lucas, allegedly in “exile” preparing for his run at the $8.5 million first place prize. Lee explained, “What he’s going to be able to do is prepare himself mentally and physically for the biggest challenge of his life.” Ivey has a variety of prop bets on the line, making for a potentially enormous payday next month.

Sexton joined “Inside Deal” via phone and gave his take on being the lone member of the Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2009: “It’s pretty flattering and certainly an honor to be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame with the legends and icons of the game.” Sexton’s enshrinement ceremony will take place during the dinner break of the WSOP Main Event final table on November 7th in an $800 per plate affair. The WPT host has already begun preparing his speech and revealed, “I’m getting my thoughts together now on what I’m going to say. Certainly, I’m going to acknowledge the other nominees and thank people who have been very important to me in my poker career and life as well.”

Schaffel, an avid golfer, then came on and told Lee and fellow “Inside Deal” host Laura Lane, “The guys at my golf club tell me I smile a lot more.” Schaffel sits in sixth place on the leaderboard entering the Main Event final table and recently completed the purchase of a home. He made deep runs in the 2004 and 2008 WSOP Main Events, cashing for nearly $100,000 combined, and told viewers, “I definitely can attribute some of my success to things I’ve learned in the past.” He’s bringing 90 fans to Las Vegas, where his 12 first cousins will convene for only the second time ever.

Part of Schaffel’s good luck may have been due to an image of 2008 WSOP Main Event champion Peter Eastgate that the future November Nine member stashed in his wallet. A gift from a family member, the image was doctored with PhotoShop to feature Schaffel’s head pasted on Eastgate’s body. Schaffel remarked, “There were a couple of times when I thought about the photo while playing.” Schaffel played alongside Eastgate on Day 7 and showed the youngest WSOP Main Event ever the image to break the ice.

ESPN.com Poker Editor Andrew Feldman joined the set for a game of Poker-dy, the “Inside Deal” version of the classic television game show “Jeopardy.” For the clue “This is the funniest player in the poker industry,” Lee answered ESPN commentator Norman Chad, Schaffel said Antonio Esfandiari, and Lane suggested Negreanu. For “This starting hand has by far gotten me into the most trouble,” Lane answered K-Q, Lee answered A-Q, and Schaffel tossed out pocket queens.

Finally, Schaffel was asked if so many of his hands being recorded during the WPT Legends of Poker meant that opponents would be able to diagnose his game. Schaffel finished second in the event for $471,000 and explained, “Not really. The difference is that I might make a play as the chip leader that I might not make otherwise.” Schaffel was among the pacesetters throughout much of the event, which took place shortly after the WSOP Main Event final table was determined.

“Inside Deal” is released every Tuesday on ESPN.com.

Awkward 60 Seconds With Tom Dwan

Pokernews.com did a really funny interview with Tom Dwan. Check out the “Calling the Clock” with Gloria Balding.

Does “Durrrr” like boys or girls? What about Superman or Batman? What would he do with a million? Check the video to find out.

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Awkward 60 Seconds With Tom Dwan

ESPN Inside Deal Welcomes Joe Cada

This week’s installment of the ESPN.com poker franchise “Inside Deal” featured 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event November Nine member Joe Cada. Laura Lane and Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Bernard Lee host the show.

The news segment of ESPN “Inside Deal” began with Lee praising World Poker Tour (WPT) Host Mike Sexton for his election to the Poker Hall of Fame: “I think it’s tremendously well-deserved. Mike has had a phenomenal career. A lot of people think of him from the WPT, but remember, he is a very well-accomplished player.” Sexton is the lone representative of the Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2009. Others who were up for consideration included Tom McEvoy, Dan Harrington, Daniel Negranu, Phil Ivey, Erik Seidel, Barry Greenstein, Scotty Nguyen, and Men “The Master” Nguyen.

Attention then turned to the letter authored by the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) to U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner petitioning for the delay of the regulations of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) by one year to December 1st, 2010. Lee explained what would happen if the current deadline stood: “The impact would be devastating. We’re fearful that the banks will err on the side of caution and ultimately block payments that the online sites would give.”

Making headlines this week was the news that the GSN staple “High Stakes Poker” had dropped host A.J. Benza for Season 6, allegedly replacing him with a female correspondent. Lee explained, “I’m a little surprised. For five years, A.J. and Gabe Kaplan have seemed to have a good rapport, so I’m surprised they’re making this switch.” Poker News Daily broke the news that Vanessa Rousso, the presumed frontrunner for the job, would not be Benza’s replacement. Other possible fill-ins include former WPT hostess Shana Hiatt, Kara Scott, Absolute Poker pro Lacey Jones, and Shannon Elizabeth.

Cada, who could become the youngest Main Event winner ever if he takes down the feature tournament next month, then joined the show. He noted how his life has changed as a result of the increased exposure as a member of the November Nine: “I’ve been playing poker my whole life, so the only thing that’s changed for me is the media.” Cada is primarily a cash game player, only hitting up the tournament scene online on Sundays. He purchased a 2,400 square foot house at age 19 as a gift to himself and is a sponsored pro of PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker room.

Heading into the 2009 WSOP, Cada found himself on a $150,000 downswing. He sought the aid of two longtime cornerstones of the poker industry, Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy and Eric “sheets” Haber. Cada recalled, “I was lucky enough to have them back me and I’m very grateful for that. I knew I could win before I came in.” Josephy, a former Ultimate Bet pro, and Sheets will receive 50% of Cada’s earnings. The top prize in Las Vegas is $8.5 million.

ESPN.com Poker Editor Andrew Feldman joined the show to discuss a series of dream teams. News broke last week that Dream Team Poker would return with tournaments at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles coinciding with Monday Night Football. Feldman’s “Dream Team Young Guns” consisted of Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, and 2008 WSOP Main Event Champion Peter Eastgate. “Dream Team Lady Luck” was comprised of Shannon Elizabeth, Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad, and Jones. Finally, Feldman unveiled “Dream Team Old Guard:” Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, and Mike Matusow. Cada added that his ultimate Dream Team would be Ivey, Patrick Antonius, and Dwan.

Finally, Cada revealed that on Day 8 of the 2009 WSOP Main Event, his stack had dropped to 20% of the average before he clawed back. He knocked out between 10 and 15 players en route to the final table and, upon heading to Connecticut to film ESPN “Inside Deal,” dropped some dough at the Foxwoods blackjack tables.

“Inside Deal” is released every Tuesday on ESPN.com.

Atlantic City Gaming Revenue Falls 5.8% in September

According to figures released by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, Atlantic City casinos posted revenues, or “win,” of $335.4 million in September, representing a drop of 5.8% year over year.

A total of $231.8 million was generated from slot machines last month and another $103.5 million came from gamblers staked out at table games, representing declines of 5.2% and 6.9%, respectively, compared to September of 2008. The Atlantic City Hilton posted total casino win of $15.66 million in September, a drop of 16.3% from the $18.72 million posted last year. Bally’s, meanwhile, suffered a similar fate, as revenues of $39.69 million in September meant that win had fallen 13.3% year over year.

The Borgata, home of the annual World Poker Tour (WPT) Borgata Poker Open, posted total casino win of $63.14 million in September, the month in which it hosted the annual high-stakes tournament. That sum meant that Borgata revenues had actually grown year over year by 6.0% from the $59.57 million generated in September of 2008. At Caesars Atlantic City, which will host a World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit Event in March, overall revenues were $39.52 million, a slide of 6.3% from the $42.16 million posted last year.

At Harrah’s Marina, win in September totaled $43.68 million, representing an increase of 3.1% from the $42.38 million raked in last year. Also coming out in the black was Resorts, one of Atlantic City’s smaller properties, which posted revenues of $16.37 million in September, a gain of 3.9% compared to the same period in 2008. The final property listed by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission that posted a rise year over year was Tropicana, which saw a modest growth of 1.0% to $26.68 million.

Besides the Atlantic City Hilton and Bally’s, four other casinos posted double-digit slides in revenue in September. At Showboat, gamblers dried up, as the gaming establishment posted a win of $26.02 million, a 13.6% dip from the $30.13 million posted in 2008. The three Trump properties each saw sizable hits as well, as Trump Marina’s revenues dove 14.2% in September to $13.13 million. At Trump Plaza, casino win in September was $15.54 million, down 16.5% from the $18.60 million posted in September of 2008. Finally, Trump Taj Mahal posted revenues of $35.98 million, a drop of 12.4% from the $41.09 million generated last year.

Year-to-date through the end of September, each of Atlantic City’s 11 gaming properties has posted losses compared to the same period in 2008, manifesting the impact of the severe global recession. Trump Plaza’s 23.8% slide year over year through the end of September represents the greatest loss, while the Borgata’s revenues are off just 4.8% to $540 million in 2009, the largest total of any casino in the New Jersey city. Also posting single-digit losses was Trump Taj Mahal, whose revenues have slid by just 5.0% in 2009 to $345 million.

Casinos paid $23.94 million in taxes to the State of New Jersey in September, representing 8% of gross revenue. The money is deposited into the Casino Revenue Fund, which the Commission explains, “pays for programs that benefit qualifying senior citizens and people with disabilities.” Overall, the 11 Atlantic City casinos combined for $3.05 billion in revenue over the first nine months of 2009, down 14.2% from the $3.55 billion posted in 2008. Table game revenue is off 14.1% year over year, while slot machine win is down 14.2% in a fairly even split.

The news of continued drop in casino gaming revenues on the East Coast coincides with the 20th straight month of decline in win posted in Nevada, where revenues in August dove 9.32% in 2009 compared to the same period in 2008. The last month that Nevada casinos posted a rise in win year over year was December of 2007.

PokerListings Founder killed by a Contract Killer?

Andreas Oscarsson’s father has been seeking the justice after the incident and he is sure his son was killed by a contract killer. The father appeared on a Swedish television program where he encouraged people to contribute tips to the police and help solve the murder.

Oscarsson in the WSOP Main Event this summer.

What raises the possibility of a contract killing is the rumour that 20-year-old man called Andreas Oscarsson was killed in Trollhättan last year. It seems like someone who wanted Oscarsson dead, failed miserably first time and murderers accidently eliminated wrong Oscarsson before finding the real one in August.

The killers entered and exited the bedroom of Oscarsson through an open window. While it was originally not released where Oscarsson was shot or how many times he was hit, it appears that he was struck six times by a gun with a silencer.

The theory that a silencer was used is based on a fact that the father nor any other person heard any gunfire even though the murder site is located in a densely populated area. Oscarsson’s two year-old son was with his father in Sweden when the murder took place, but the child is now back in the United States with his mother.

It is not known why Oscarsson was murdered and any suspects has not yet been found. People who knew him described him as a very well-liked, popular, generous, cheerful, and very multifaceted person. Still, someone wanted him dead, badly.

A member on the 2+2 online poker forum, who lives nearby the murder location, explained that “Police have been talking on the radio about it saying that it’s quite probably [something] from his past that has caught up to him in this unfortunate way.”

Sources: pokernewsdaily, pokerlistings

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PokerListings Founder killed by a Contract Killer?

Prahlad Friedman Raps Again

Prahlad Friedman is back. Some of you might remember Friedman from 2006 WSOP Main Event when he made a rap called Poker Is Fun. His new song is called In the Main Event.

After 2006 many considered Friedman to be one of the best cash players around. Then the “Spirit Rock” (his online nick) vanished and it is believed that Russ Hamilton “took” all his money. After that Friedman kept low profile until he made a great comeback on this year’s WSOP Main Event only to win an WPT event just a month later.

You can judge by yourself. Did Friedman make a good choice with poker or should he venture into the music business?

Source: Wicked Chops

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Prahlad Friedman Raps Again

Phil Ivey Gets Unusually Talkative In An Interview

Swedish site Poker.se got to witness some rare treats from the usually not-so-talkative Phil Ivey. They had a chat with Ivey at WSOPE London some time ago.

Ivey tells about his poker career and how he got into playing. He tells that he learned to play different games from his grandfather.

His story is quite usual. Phil’s parents didn’t like at all when he told them that he is going to start to play poker in a professional level. He also emphases how hard poker is as a career choice.

Source: YouTube

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Phil Ivey Gets Unusually Talkative In An Interview

Sick action: Ziigmund, durrrr, martonas, Ivey

After winning close to $200k a night earlier, it appears martonas booked over a half a million in losses on the session despite winning the second largest pot of the night.

Outside of the one $284k pot it was literally a martonas bloodbath, as he lost a string of pots in the $200k range to Tom "kingsofcards" Marchese, Aaron "aejones" Jones and Tom "durrrr" Dwan.

Despite his strong presence in the top pots of the night, Marchese ended his session down around $60k, but mostly thanks to martonas, Jones walked away from the tables with over $350k in profits.

The surprise of the night would have to be Phil Ivey joining martonas in the red. A quick addition of the nights biggest pots show poker's most feared player down nearly $300k.

But the real story was a common one on Full Tilt's high-stakes tables: Tom Dwan playing Ilari "Ziigmund" Sahamies heads up on his own $500/$1,000 PLO tables.

Although concrete numbers have yet to surface, it looks as though Dwan managed to come out ahead in the battle.

Out of the 23 pots from the session to make the top 100 list (worth a combined $3.7 million) Dwan came out nearly $150k in the black.

Below are the three largest pots of the night. For a look at pages full of Ferrari-sized pots, head over to MarketPulse and get a real feel for last night's action.

Sahamies = hard to bluff.

A cold deck for the king.

Marchese gets his own hand.

APPT: Macau running, Seoul on hold

The Grand Lisboa hotel and casino also became home to Asia's first Limit Hold'em tournament hosted by limit specialist and PokerStars.net sponsored player Terrence Chan last week.

The third edition of the HKD$40,000 main event begins Tuesday and with almost 300 players already registered, APPT Macau seems poised to maintain its status as the largest and richest poker event on Asian soil.

In Season 2, 22-year old American PokerStars qualifier Eddie Sabat took the title and HKD$3,540,04 first place prize at the Main Event.

All is not good news for the fledgling APPT however.

APPT Seoul, originally planned for September 17-20, has been postponed.

According to PokerStars, construction delays at 7-Luck Casino in Seoul, South Korea forced the move.

Details on a new date will be announced as they are available.

Huge High Stakes Action at Full Tilt Poker!

Action started with marathon PLO session week ago. Nine $200/$400 PLO tables were running simultaneously and at one point Tom “durrrr” Dwan was playing in all of them! In the end Dwan emerged as the biggest winner of the day with $846k winnings. Biggest loser was Jani “KoByTAPOUT” Vilmunen, who managed to lose $407k in only 886 hands!

Jedlicka and Dwan, the men who tend to swing a lot!

Then couple days later it was time for Niki “Kaibuxxe” Jedlicka to shine. Between 22nd and 24th day, Jedlicka managed to book winnings of $1.540k after crushing a long list of heavy opponents, including Dwan (lost $688k), Patrik Antonius (-$566k), David Benyamine (-$301k) and many others.

But last weekend was rough for Jedlicka as he came as quickly down as he went up. First, he had a very tough heads-up battle with Patrik Antonius. This time it was the Finn who striked back after losing a ton to Jedlicka previously. Antonius booked over $509k in winnings and Jedlicka lost $629k.

Last few days have not been great for Jedlicka either as he is only up little under $200k this month. Jedlicka is famous about his huge swings, especially when he played as Kaibuxxe, so for sure he will bounce again.

Last few days have been dominated by Full Tilt pro Richard Ashby. Ashby, who previously played high stakes as CHUFTY, has booked 100 sessions in last few days and won $807k.

On the other hand, Tom Dwan has been having nightmare sessions lately as he has dropped $1,260k in just 2,744 hands! Dwan is now over million dollars down for the month after being over $900k up a week ago!

Source: HSDB

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Huge High Stakes Action at Full Tilt Poker!

durrrr rules mega session on Full Tilt

The session started with a table that featured Gus Hansen, Dwan, Di "Urindanger" Dang, Ilari "Ziigmund" Sahamies, Brian Townsend, Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond, Rafi "howisitfeellike" Amit and Jani "KObyTAPOUT" Vilmunen, but players like David Benyamine, Richard Ashby, Sami "LarsLuzak" Kelopuro, Chau Giang and John Juanda all made appearances as well.

At one point the action was so heavy there were nine tables of $200/$400 going with about 1,000 fans on the rail.

The session was particularly notable because close friends Dwan, Galfond and Dang showed no reluctance to go after each other. At one point Dwan was even playing Dang three-handed.

With that much high-stakes PLO going on, it was only a matter of time before someone raked a monster pot and that honor went to Hansen, who managed to drag a pot worth nearly half a million dollars at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Hansen had the fortune of hitting the nut-flush on an 8 7 4 5 K board after Dwan shoved all-in on the turn with two-pair and a flush draw. Juanda also made the call with a set and a gut-shot straight draw.

In the end, Hansen raked $459,846, one of the top 10 biggest online hands of the year so far.

Somewhat surprisingly, Hansen is rumored to have finished the game as only a small winner, while Dwan was said to be up nearly $800,000, thanks in large part to a couple of $300,000 pots.

First Dwan flopped a set of kings and then proceeded to backdoor a king-high flush for the win. A little later he cracked Galfond's set of kings with a rivered king-high flush.

Dwan, Amit and Ashby were said to be the big winners while KObyTAPOUT, Benyamine and Kostritsyn sustained the biggest losses.

It's anybody's guess how long these epic high-stakes games will continue, but in the meantime you can check out how the action went down for yourself in the PokerListings hand replayer below:

Replay this hand at www.pokerlistings.com

Gus Hansen goes wild.

Can you say durrrr!

More from durrrr.

Faraz Jaka Leads WPT Bellagio Cup V After Day 3

Three days are in the books at the World Poker Tour (WPT) Bellagio Cup V. Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka holds a commanding lead over the rest of the field. His stack of 3.2 million, or 20% of the chips in play, is nearly three times larger than the second place tally.

The poker gods smiled down upon Jaka for most of Thursday’s play at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. In fact, Jaka made quads to send two players home on back-to-back hands. In the first, Jaka was dealt pocket kings and the flop came K-10-4. Jaka check-called a bet from his opponent with top set to see the turn fall a six. Both players checked and the river brought the case king, giving Jaka four of a kind. Jaka’s opponent shoved all-in and was happily called. Due to the elimination, the tables were redrawn at 36 players. Jaka stayed at his table, but moved one seat over.

On the first hand at his new digs, Jaka was dealt bullets. Poker pro David Levi pushed all-in pre-flop with pocket queens and Jaka called. The flop came A-3-2, once again giving Jaka top set, and the turn was an ace, improving him to quads. The hands ballooned Jaka’s chip stack to 2.8 million. He would end the day strong, piling on 3.2 million chips, which puts him in an ideal position to make a run at the final table. The money bubble will officially burst on Friday when 27 players remain; a total of 31 will start the day.

Anthony “holdplz” Spinella holds the second largest stack in the room at 1.2 million. Spinella sent fellow online poker player Jeremiah Vinsant to the rails after coming out on the winning end of a race with K-Q against pocket jacks. The flop came Q-8-3, sending Spinella out in front in the hand. Needing to hit one of the two remaining jacks in the deck to stay alive, Vinsant watched as the turn came a four and the river came an ace. Spinella also improved his chip stack at the expense of Josh Schlein. On a board of A-K-3-K, Spinella check-called a bet of 68,000 from Schlein. The river came a queen and the action went check-check. Spinella turned over K-Q for a boat, while Schlein mucked.

Here are the top 10 chip stacks entering Day 4 of the WPT Bellagio Cup V on Friday:

1. Faraz Jaka - 3,214,000
2. Anthony Spinella - 1,249,000
3. Ray Taylor - 775,000
4. Christopher Sonesson - 717,000
5. Pavel Reshetov - 710,000
6. Alec Torelli - 703,000
7. Alex Kravchenko - 681,000
8. Justin Smith - 602,000
9. Joshua Schlein - 558,000
10. Samer George - 540,000

The reigning Bellagio Cup champion, Mike “SirWatts” Watson, was sent home during play on Thursday. Watson pushed all-in pre-flop over the top of a raise by Javed Abrahams with pocket sixes. Abrahams called and flipped over A-Q for a race situation. The flop came 10-10-7, keeping Watson out in front, but an ace on the turn improved Abrahams to aces-up. The river was a five, eliminating last year’s winner. Watson defeated David Benyamine in the Bellagio Cup IV to earn $1.6 million. This year, the event will award just less than $1.2 million to its champion.

Other notable poker pros who remain in the hunt include:

11. Erik Seidel - 535,000
13. Jonathan Little - 483,000
15. Mimi Tran - 457,000
17. Freddy Deeb - 413,000
20. Adam Geyer - 313,000
26. Kevin Saul - 196,000
27. Hoyt Corkins - 188,000
29. Vivek Rajkumar - 137,000

The televised six-handed final table will pan out on Sunday at the Bellagio and air on Fox Sports Net as part of Season 8 of the WPT. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest WPT results.

Warren Zackey Leads as 2009 WSOP Main Event Day Six Begins

Playing as if they had a plane to catch, the 407 players who came back for Day Five of the Main Event of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) wasted little time in whittling the field to fewer than 200 players.

The plan on Sunday was for the players, already guaranteed a payday of at least $27,469, to play for five two-hour levels or down to 175, whichever came first. After the carnage on Saturday - where the field went from 789 players to 407 - it was thought the field would be more deliberate as the money moved up. That was not the case, as the battle cry of “all in and a call” was heard immediately on the first hand and echoed throughout the Amazon Room frequently as the afternoon wore on.

The actual statistics from Sunday were mind-boggling with the stakes being played for. Over three levels of poker, the field was chopped from the 407 who walked through the doors Sunday afternoon to 185 players. This breaks down to a player being eliminated every 90 seconds, an unheard of casualty rate for a prestigious tournament.

Even with the significant number of departures, the notable players who remain in the tournament are perhaps the strongest in several years. Making a run reminiscent of Greg Raymer’s performance in the 2005 WSOP Main Event, defending champion Peter Eastgate is still in contention. Despite being down to the felt in the early going of this year’s WSOP Main Event, Eastgate has been able to pull himself up and will enter Day Six with 927,000 in chips.

Fellow former World Champion Joe Hachem is also demonstrating his skills in large field poker, as he is the only other former Main Event champion still in the running. He will start off Day Six with 540,000 in chips. Those former World Champions who didn’t make it through Sunday’s carnage were Bobby Baldwin (352nd) and Dan Harrington (252nd).

Along with Eastgate, another member of the “November Nine” is making a run at returning to this year’s final table. Dennis Phillips, who finished third last year, is over one million in chips as today’s play starts. Phillips is scheduled to be in St. Louis this evening for a charity event at Lumiere Place (his home casino) in conjunction with the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, which occurs tomorrow night. With $8.5 million on the line, Phillips may not be able to make his event this evening!

Others in the field include Day Three chip leader Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Joe Sebok, Antonio “The Magician” Esfandiari, and Fabrice Soulier. Phil Ivey, who has consistently been around the top of the leaderboard, has 1.38 million in chips.

2007 WSOP Player of the Year Tom Schneider, who has had a miserable run at the 2009 WSOP (one cash), has altered his fortunes and charged to the top of the leaderboard. Stacked with 3.17 million in chips (good for sixth place), Schneider is poised for a potential run at being among the next “November Nine.” Noah “Exclusive” Boeken, the young professional from the Netherlands, is keeping pace with Schneider and is just outside the Top 10 with 2.34 million (12th place).

Leading the pack is South Africa’s Warren Zackey, who has pulled 4.87 million in chips in front of him over the first five days. A plumbing supply salesman from Johannesburg who earned his way to his first WSOP with a second place finish in the All Africa Championship, Zackey admits he hasn’t done anything special to reach this moment in his poker career. “I got some really good hands,” Warren understated. “I tripled up on the first day and I doubled up again and again (over the next two days). I think I started with 730,000 today and then went up from there.”

With his wife in the Rio with him and his children keeping track through the internet back in Johannesburg, Zackey is not letting his run at the WSOP Main Event go to his head. When asked if he would drop his sales job if he won the title, Warren commented, “No. I have a family. I’d go back to it.” He also has a solid strategy for today’s action, saying, “I am going to take it easy unless I get some decent cards.”

Day Six will kick off at Noon Pacific Time and it could be a significantly longer affair. The plan is to work down to the final 63 players and, with the larger stacks, play could last deep into the night. Poker News Daily will be on site and have a complete recap of the action as the next “November Nine” is determined later this week.

Players Reach the Money on Day 4 of the WSOP Main Event

Day 4 of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event came to an early close Saturday evening, as it took just three levels to eliminate 382 players and break the money bubble. The top 648 players received a minimum of $21,365 and, after some fast play, the tournament staff halted the event with 407 runners left in the field.

The money bubble broke after nearly two hours of hand-for-hand play and Kia Hamadami, a 26-year old financial analyst from Los Angeles, was the odd man out. Hamadami was all-in for his last 500 chips with on the final hand and couldn’t improve against an opponent’s . Hamadami wasn’t left completely empty-handed, however, as he received an entry into next year’s WSOP Main Event paid for by sponsor Jack Link’s Beef Jerky.

“I started the day with 280,000 in chips. I had some really tough hands,” Hamadami said after his elimination. “We went like six hands during hand-for-hand and I thought I could make it through, but it didn’t happen. That’s how it goes.

Ultimate Bet pro Phil Hellmuth was among the players eliminated after the bubble broke. Hellmuth’s pocket aces were cracked when a player made a straight on the river, forcing him out of the tournament in 436th place. It was his second consecutive cash in the Main Event after taking 45th last year. Others eliminated on Day 4 included Greg “FBT” Mueller, Hevad Khan, Jesper Hougaard, Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, Paul Wasicka, Alexander Kostritsyn, and Chris “Jesus” Ferguson.

Matt “mcmatto” Affleck emerged as the chip leader at the end of the night, bagging up more than 1.8 million after being seated at a table with Mike Sexton and entertainer Lou Diamond Phillips for much of the day. Affleck, a professional poker player from Seattle, bested Phillips in several pots, but the comedian managed to advance to Day 5 with 607,000 chips, well above the tournament average. Sexton was sent home during the last level when his Ace-King was outdrawn by another player’s Ace-Queen. Sexton finished in 420th place, giving him his seventh career cash in the WSOP Main Event.

Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier was the chip leader going into Day 4 and built his stack up as high as 1.8 million before losing a good portion of it before the end of the day; he’ll return for Day 5 with 1.25 million. Meanwhile, Phil Ivey continues to wreak havoc on this year’s WSOP, as the seven-time bracelet winner will take his seat with 1.28 million on Sunday. Ivey was at the ESPN featured table for all of Day 4.

Others advancing to Day 5 were Joe Hachem, Dennis Phillips, Theo Tran, Joe Sebok, Kenny Tran, David Benyamine, Kara Scott, Vitaly Lunkin, J.C.  Tran, Antonio Esfandiari, and defending champion Peter Eastgate, who ended Day 4 with 397,000 in chips.

Here’s a look at the top 25 stacks going into Day 5, which gets underway at Noon Pacific Time on Sunday:

1. Matt Affleck - 1,819,000
2. Ludovic Lacay - 1,608,000
3. Tom Lutz - 1,600,000
4. James Akenhead - 1,572,000
5. Charlie Elias - 1,540,000
6. Miika Puumalainen - 1,492,000
7. Jordan Morgan - 1,489,000
8. Bernhard Perner - 1,426,000
9. Blair Hinkle - 1,399,000
10. Benjamin Jensen - 1,394,000
11. Billy Kopp - 1,385,000
12. Eracles Panayiotou - 1,299,000
13. Chuck Clark - 1,295,000
14. Abraham Mourshaki - 1,294,000
15. Phil Ivey - 1,276,000
16. Bertrand Grospelier - 1,253,000
17. Kevin Schaffel - 1,206,000
18. Keith Lehr - 1,190,000
19. Ben Lamb - 1,183,000
20. Patterson Tyler - 1,168,000
21. Rifat Palevic - 1,152,000
22. Joe Ward - 1,129,000
23. Nick Maimone - 1,104,000
24. Kasper Cordes - 1,095,000
25. Manuel Labandeira - 1,087,000