Homann Goes Wire-To-Wire at WPT Marrakech

Except for a brief moment heads-up when Frenchman Guillaume Cescut took the lead, Homann went wire-to-wire for the win, entering the final table with a chip lead he grabbed on the event's first day.

The win more than doubled Homann's $183,537 in career live tournament earnings.

The World Poker Tour Marrakech presented by Chilipoker drew 222 players to the Casino De Marrakech at the Es Saadi Gardens & Resort in Morocco this week.

The victory also secured Homann a seat in the 2011 World Poker Tour Championship at Bellagio in Las Vegas this May.

Next up for the WPT is the annual Five Diamond World Poker Classic at Bellagio Dec. 3-8.

Here's how the final table finished up in Marrakech:

1 Sebastian Homann €244,508

2 Guillaume Cescut €135,831

3 Sebastien Compte €90,554

4 Felix Oberauer €72,439

5 Guillaume de la Gorce €54,334

6 Dominik Nitsche €36,220

7 Johan Williamsson €28,977

8 Julien Labussiere €25,356

9 Patrick Muleta €19,920

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New Zealanders Break Poker Endurance Record

A little over a year ago, on one of the world’s largest stages, Paul Zimbler played poker for over 72 consecutive hours, getting his name into the Guinness Book of World Records. This June, Phil “The Unabomber” Laak played $10/$20 Hold’em at the Bellagio for an amazing 115 straight hours, streaming his insanity online for the world to see. Hopefully, his name was written in pencil, as there is now a new poker endurance record holder.

Make that two record holders.

At Noon on Saturday, Christie Teki-Reu and a man who goes by the nickname Chopper eclipsed Laak’s mark together at the Grand Hotel in Wanganui, New Zealand. For good measure, they played another two hours, just to make sure that their title was undisputed.

The world record run was put together by NZ Poker Tours, which organized a charity tournament in an effort to get at least two players across the finish line. The previous records, on the other hand, were achieved in cash games. The organization wanted to get 80 players registered for the tournament, but only eight players began the journey last Monday at 5:00pm. It was not expected, however, that more than two players would make it all the way to the end. It was a tournament, after all, which means that players could be eliminated. To keep people in the game, unlimited rebuys were allowed for a $20 donation and each stack contained a special chip to remind players when they were getting low. Blinds did not increase until the record was attained.

In addition to raising money for charity, it appeared that the idea of attempting to break the record in a tournament could keep morale high. The more people who were at the table, all working towards the same goal, the easier it would be for at least a couple of them to make it the full 115-plus hours.

In order to make the record attempt a bit more humane, a few concessions were made. Every player was allowed a five-minute break each hour. These breaks were not mandatory, so the minutes could be banked to create a larger break later. Food and drink were allowed at the table as long as they didn’t interfere with the game. Drinking alcohol in excess was not permitted, nor were stimulants and illegal drugs.

With only eight players in the tournament, they either had to avoid eliminations or continually rebuy to have a shot at the record. The first knockout came four-and-a-half hours into the marathon, while another player quit early the first morning.

According to Rhoda MacKenzie‘s recounting of the event, it was when Thursday rolled around that things got very difficult for the remaining competitors. MacKenzie, one of the Tournament Directors, said that she and her fellow staff required some of the players to take a break to try to regain their composure. The situation had gotten so bad that she had this to say about Wendy Coley‘s elimination after 75 hours: “Wendy stated later that she thought it was raining inside from the table to the roof! That’s what sleep deprivation will do.”

On Friday, one delirious player said, “I dont know what I’m doing here, and what game are we are playing? Poker? I don’t know how to play that!” He was examined by medics and required to withdraw from the tournament for the protection of his health.

Finally, at Noon on Saturday, the two surviving players, Teki-Reu and Chopper, crossed the 115-hour line together and continued to play for two more hours for good measure. On their final hand, they both folded, stood up, and stepped back from the table, officially ending the ordeal. Teki-Reu was named the official winner of the tournament by virtue of having more chips, but that was a secondary achievement to the world record.

To celebrate, Teki-Reu went home, slept from 3:00pm to 8:00pm, and slept again from 10:00pm until 8:00am. Read more.

WPT Marrakech Day 1b concludes; 82 return for Day 2

Before the World Poker Tour Five Diamond Classic at the Bellagio begins in December there is another World Poker Tour event to be shoehorned in; the WPT Marrakech sponsored by Chilipoker played out two opening flights whereupon their 222-strong field was reduced to 82 for Day 2.

Bellagio Five Diamond World Poker Classic kicks off today

As the year wraps up there are still some big poker tournaments to take care of and one of them is undoubtedly the Five Diamond World Poker Classic being hosted at the Bellagio and ending with a $10,000 buy-in World Poker Tour championship.

World Poker Tour Introduces Three New European Stops

The World Poker Tour (WPT) continues to expand globally, announcing on Monday that it has added three stops in 2011 on the continent of Europe.  With the additions, there are now over 20 locations on the World Poker Tour for Season IX.

The first of the three newcomers is WPT Venice, presented by PartyPoker‘s Italian offering, PartyPoker.it.  Held at the Casino de Venezia, the €3,000 + €300 Main Event will run from February 3rd to February 8th.  The €10,000 buy-in High-Roller Event will overlap with the Main Event, starting on February 7th and ending on February 9th.

Spring will open with WPT Vienna, hitting the Montesino in March.  Like WPT Venice, the PartyPoker sponsored tour stop will feature a Main Event and a High-Roller Event.  The Main Event will be a little pricier than its Venetian sibling, costing €3,200 + €300 and running from March 25th to March 29th.  The High-Roller will be held from March 28th through March 30th.  While the WPT’s website lists the High-Roller buy-in as “To Be Determined,” this week’s press release revealed that it will be a lofty €15,000.

Both events at WPT Venice and WPT Vienna will be televised on Fox Sports Net.

The third new stop is the first of the WPT’s new National Series.  The famous Aviation Club de France will serve as host of the WPT National Series Paris, which kicks off on February 1st.  There will be a number of preliminary events and satellites building up to the EFOP Diamond Championship, which will run from February 9th to February 15th.  Day 1 will be split into two flights, with Day 2 starting on February 11th.  The total buy-in will be €5,000.  The High-Roller Event, which will span three days from February 14th to February 16th, will cost players €10,000 to enter.

At first blush, the WPT’s National Series looks essentially the same as any other tour stop.  The difference is that National Series events do not offer points towards the WPT Player of the Year standings.  In addition, the winner of the Main Event will not receive an entry into the $25,000 WPT World Championship at the Bellagio in Las Vegas at the end of the season.

World Poker Tour President Adam Pliska was understandably excited about the new tour stops, commenting in a press release, “The World Poker Tour is excited to announce these new dates in Europe. We are looking forward to returning to Venice, debuting our WPT National Series and High-Roller event in Paris, and taking the Tour to Vienna for the very first time. The future is exciting and these international events give players even more chances to compete on poker’s premiere stage.”

Currently, WPT Marrakech, presented by Chili Poker, is underway at the Casino de Marrakech.  The Main Event commences on November 27th with the first of two Day 1s and concludes on November 30th.

Halfway through Season IX, Andy Frankenberger sits atop the WPT Player of the Year leaderboard with 1,900 points, thanks to two huge finishes.  He won the WPT Legends of Poker in August, pocketing $750,000, and followed that up with a fifth place finish at the Festa al Lago, where he earned $161,200.

Trailing him is one of the hottest players of the past year, Dwyte Pilgrim, who won the Borgata Poker Open in September.  Several other players, including Jeff Forrest, Moritz Kranich, Ilan Boujenah, Randal Flowers, Sam El Sayed, and Theo Jorgensen, are tied with Pilgrim at 1,200 points, the number of points a player wins for taking down a World Poker Tour title.

November 19th – Weekly Update

Welcome to Poker News Daily’s Weekly Update. I’m Sean Gibson and I’ll be bringing you the top headlines in the world of poker for this past week. So – let’s get right to it!

In an impressive feat, Joe Tehan ran the table in the PokerStars North American Poker Tour Los Angeles finale, eliminating all seven of his opponents to pull in seven hundred twenty five thousand dollars. Tehan’s claim to fame to this point was winning the World Poker Tour’s Mandalay Bay Poker Championship four years ago for one million dollars.

Jason Mercier, Michael Binger, and Anh Van Nguyen also made the final table. Here’s how the final eight cashed out:

1: Joe Tehan – $725,000
2: Chris DeMaci – $440,000
3: Al Grimes – $250,000
4: Anh Van Nguyen – $195,000
5: Ray Henson – $145,000
6: Michael Binger – $114,000
7: Jason Mercier – $84,857
8: Jake Toole – $60,000

In a rather bizarre interview posted on ESPN.com, Margarita Prentice, the brains behind the law in Washington State that makes playing online poker a Class C felony, insinuated that players out of a job should “go pump gas.”

Prentice told ESPN.com’s Gary Wise,

“I just think some of these arguments are utter nonsense. You mean you’re going to move so you can play poker? Gee, lots of luck in your life… I have nothing against card playing. That’s fine. If you want to do that, but I’m sure not going to worry about someone… you know. Let them go pump gas.”

As you can imagine, the response to Prentice’s comments has been less than cordial. Poker Players Alliance Executive Director John Pappas told PND on Thursday,

“It’s a complete picture of what kind of a lawmaker she is. Not only is she dismissive of an entire industry of individuals who enjoy poker, but the idea that her law is subjecting people to suffering – she’s totally ignorant of that. She refuses to see that she passed a law that’s unpopular.”

It was announced late last week that Chili Gaming will launch a subscription-based service to bring online poker to USA players. The subscription-based model allows players, for a nominal monthly charge, to play online poker legally in the United States since no actual money is transferred on the tables. The new Chili Gaming American option will complement the global offerings of the company.

New Jersey is one step closer to becoming the first state to regulate, license, and tax the internet gambling industry within its borders. A bill introduced by State Senator Raymond Lesniak in New Jersey cleared the state’s Senate Budget Committee and may now see debate. The committee approved Lesniak’s intrastate internet gambling bill by a ten to one margin on Monday, with two lawmakers abstaining.

If the bill were to become law, all games currently permitted in land-based casinos would be available online, including poker. The State would impose a twenty percent tax on gross gaming revenues and each operator would be required to pay a licensing fee. All told, New Jersey’s format could become the model that other states would follow.

If you have ever wanted to own a piece of poker history, now is your chance. This week, two thousand eight World Series of Poker Main Event Champion Peter Eastgate put his gold bracelet up for auction on eBay. But before you wonder if he is busto, it should be noted that the sale is an eBay Giving Works charitable listing and the proceeds from it will benefit UNICEF.

The collectible is quickly approaching fifty thousand dollars and even Tony G has gotten into the act. The PartyPoker pro is purportedly seeking to buy Eastgate’s bracelet for his German Shepard.

While the sale of a WSOP Main Event bracelet may come as a shock, it is not completely out of character for the champ. In July, Eastgate announced that he was taking an indefinite leave from live tournament poker. In a statement, he said in part,

“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. My goal was to become financially independent. I achieved that by winning the WSOP Main Event in 2008.”

Maria Ho, the last woman standing in the two thousand seven World Series of Poker Main Event, has joined UB.com. The twenty seven year old becomes the newest face of the CEREUS Network site, which recently saw the departures of Billy Kopp, Matt Graham, and Michael Binger. Ho’s first live event as a sponsored pro of UB.com was at last weekend’s PokerStars NAPT LA stop. Besides her deep run in the WSOP Main Event three years ago, Ho’s poker resume includes a tenth place finish in the World Poker Tour’s Bellagio Cup in July and five in the money finishes in WSOP events over the last two years.

Finally, According to TVByTheNumbers.com, the number of viewers tuned into the World Series of Poker Main Event final table fell thirty percent this year to one point five million. Last year, two point two million viewers watched the spectacle, which airs annually on ESPN. On Tuesday, ESPN aired the final table in the ten PM time slot, whereas past installments had been shown one hour prior at nine.

The final table broadcast scored a point six rating among adults age eighteen to forty nine, a key demographic for mainstream advertisers. In addition, a total of one point one million households tuned into the one hundred twenty five minute broadcast that saw Jonathan Duhamel become the first WSOP Main Event champion from Canada.

That does it for this week’s edition of the Poker News Daily weekly update. Be sure to check back with us every day for the latest in poker news and be sure to follow us on twitter as well at twitter dot com slash poker news daily. I’m Sean Gibson and have a fantastic poker weekend!

Liv Boeree Video Interview

Liv Boeree one of the hot names in the world of poker right now. She’s worked in the industry as an interviewer and at the same time gained respect as a live tournament player.

In this interview, Boeree talks about her perspective of winning the EPT San Remo event and how that has fueled her desire to win more poker tournaments. For her efforts in San Remo, Beoree won €1,250,000 and became the third woman to win an EPT title. She also discusses her passion for rock music and how she expresses that through her fashion sense and mentions Pantera as one of her favorite bands of all time.

Boeree originally came into poker by being a guest contestant on a reality TV show back in 2005. She was coached by Phil Hellmuth and impressed so much that she took up the game seriously. In 2006 she worked for various internet and television shows covering poker and covered the World Series of Poker Europe. She is originally from Kent, England.

She was sponsored previously by UB.com but recently inked a deal to move over to PokerStars. He other successes in poker, outside of the EPT win, was a seventh place finish at the Welsh Poker Championship and a win at a Caesars Palace (Las Vegas, NV) tournament that gave her a $19,000 prize package to the 2007 WPT Five Diamond Poker Classic at the Bellagio. She also was on the Gala UK Poker Tour Season One as a featured player. In 2008 she won the Ladbrokes European Ladies Championship title for $30,000. She has cashed twice at WSOP events, first in the 2008 Event 38 field, which was a $2,000 Pot Limit Hold’em tournament. In that event she finished in 49th place for $4,074. Her other cash at the World Series of Poker was the same year in Event 41 at the $1,500 Mixed Limit Hold’em tournament where she finished 64th for $2,793.

Maria Ho Signs with UB.com

Maria Ho, the last woman standing in the 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, has joined UB.com. The 27 year-old becomes the newest face of the CEREUS Network site, which recently saw the departures of Billy “Patrolman25” Kopp, Matt “mattg1983” Graham, and Michael Binger.

Ho was elated to be joining Team UB, whose roster of pros includes 11-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth and reigning National Heads-Up Poker Championship victor Annie Duke. She told Poker News Daily, “To be a part of Team UB, which boasts a well-respected roster of pros that have achieved so much and stood the test of time in the game such as Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke, as well as newer pros to the scene that have incredible success and talent such as Eric Baldwin and Adam Levy, is something I am proud of.”

The site has undergone a wealth of changes ever since the Russ Hamilton-led cheating scandal rocked it several years ago. Now, Ultimate Bet has been re-branded as UB.com and currently resides on a new URL. Ho explained, “I am excited about the new vision and direction of UB, especially with the guidance and input of Joe Sebok, who has his finger on the pulse of the poker community at all times.” Sebok has served as the main liaison with players in the aftermath of the scandal while the process of reimbursing patrons and combing through hand histories has occurred.

Ho also told Poker News Daily that she brings unique talents to the table: “I believe that I can bring a fresh and unique dynamic to the team by reaching out to an untapped demographic by writing strategy articles and posting videos in both English and my native language of Mandarin Chinese. I also feel as though my experiences primarily as a live high-stakes cash game player will bring a different perspective to a lesser known part of the poker world that interests people.” Ho originally hails from Taiwan and moved to Los Angeles with her family at age four. She is renown for her Limit poker skills.

Ho gained mainstream exposure through the CBS reality series “Amazing Race” during its 15th cycle. She paired with fellow UB pro and close friend Tiffany Michelle on the series and finished in sixth place. In the team’s final leg, Michelle and Ho were unable to conquer a carnival high striker in the Netherlands and comprised the last all-female team remaining. On her friendship with Michelle, Ho told Poker News Daily, “I get to be on a team with one of my closest friends in poker and life, Tiffany Michelle, which is just another reason among many why I am excited about joining Team UB.”

In addition to the Emmy Award-winning “Amazing Race,” Ho has appeared on television shows like “American Idol” and “Anderson Cooper 360.” Appropriately, she holds a degree from the University of California, San Diego in Communications.

Ho’s first live event as a sponsored pro of UB.com was at this weekend’s PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Los Angeles stop. Ho played on Day 1B on Saturday and, as of late Saturday night, was nursing one of the short stacks in the room at 9,500. Ho’s table draw certainly hasn’t helped her case, as her company on Saturday included Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka, Isaac “westmenloAA” Baron, and Nacho Barbero.

Besides her deep run in the WSOP Main Event three years ago, Ho’s poker resume includes a tenth place finish in the World Poker Tour (WPT) Bellagio Cup in July and five in the money finishes in WSOP events over the last two years.

UB.com, along with its fellow CEREUS Network site Absolute Poker, happily accept players from the United States.

Poker News in Brief: Nov. 8-14

Almost everything else in the poker world seemed less important than a 23-year-old from Boucherville, Quebec collecting $8.9 million and becoming the first Canadian to win poker's World Championship.

But there were a few stories we couldn't just let slip through the cracks. Instead, we've compiled them below in our Weekly Poker News in Brief feature.

This week, UB signs Maria Ho, the NAPT kicks off in L.A., London Calling crowns a winner and a whole lot more.

NAPT L.A.

A total of 701 players from more than 20 different countries entered the PokerStars North American Poker Tour's Los Angeles main event over two starting days this weekend, including some of the game's biggest names.

The healthy turnout created a $3.2 million prize pool with $725,000 reserved for first.

Dane Kim Frederiksen finished Day 1b with the overall chip lead heading into Day 3 at the Bicycle Casino Sunday.

NAPT L.A. runs through Nov. 17.

UB Signs Ho

The last woman stading at the 2007 WSOP Main Event has inked a sponsorship deal with UB.

Maria Ho famously finished 38th of 6,358 players in 2007, but her success did not end there. She now has nine WSOP cashes and three WPT cashes, including a 10th place finish at the Bellagio Cup this past July.

Off the felt Ho recently appeared as a contestant on the Emmy Award The Amazing Race with fellow Team UB Pro Tiffany Michelle.

"I am honored to be joining the ranks of top UB pros such as Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke," she said. "With the new direction and vision I know UB has for their future, this is an extremely exciting time to become a part of such an amazing team."

FPS Lyon

The Lyon leg of the PokerStars France Poker Series drew 320 players to the capital of French gastronomy Saturday.

Names like Arnaud Mattern, Thomas Bichon, EPT London winner David Vamplew and 2009 EPT San Remo champ Constant Rijkenberg helped create a €342,144 prize pool with €88,444 and a ticket to the FPS finals in Paris set aside for the winner.

Anthony Chaneto grabbed the overnight chip lead with just 71 players surviving to Day 2.

Wing Wins London Calling

Simon "tigerwing" Wing defeated Gem Husnu to take down the £300 London Calling main event this week.

The 32-year-old from Middlesex outlasted PKR's own WSOP bracelet winner Scott Shelley and well known UK poker pros Neil Channing, James Akenhead, Barney Boatman and Joe Beevers to book the win.

"The London Calling poker festival has been a great success and we are over the moon with Simon's win," said Marketing Manager Erika Schwartz Poole. "It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy."

The London Calling poker festival ran for 28 days at the Fox Poker Club in association with PKR and included 57 tournaments.

PKR Live V

PKR Live V kicked off Friday at London's Tower Bridge.

150 qualifiers and their guests from from 21 different countries are participating in the festival at the Fox Poker Club in the heart of London's Soho.

New Team PKR Pro and WSOPE bracelet winner Scott Shelley will make his PKR Live debut this weekend vying for part of a $75,000 estimated prize pool and sought after Main Event trophy.

Mediterranean Poker Cup

The five-star Hotel Merit Girne, Crystal Cove, Cyprus will host the Mediterranean Poker Cup week-long poker festival Nov. 22-28.

The festival features a $2,500 main event with a $400,000 guaranteed prize pool beginning Nov. 26.

"This is amazing place – the best resort I've ever seen for a poker tournament," said Artur Voskanjan of organizer Poker Club Management.

"It has 24-hour food in the tournament area, gym, spa, and is right by the beach. We'll have Russian models, fantastic entertainment, a rich spread of poker games and, above all, are not expecting many pros so it's a great opportunity to play for a guaranteed prize pool in the main event against a beatable field."

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Sam El Sayed Wins WPT Amneville

While the attention of the poker world was focused on the 2010 World Series of Poker November Nine, the World Poker Tour (WPT) made its first stop ever in Amneville, France for a €3,200 event. With an outpouring of support from some of the best players in Europe, Sam El Sayed emerged as the champion of the tournament after a 12-hour final table.

WPT Amneville, sponsored by PartyPoker.fr, drew an outstanding 542 players to build a prize pool eclipsing €1.73 million. Among those who passed on the pomp and circumstance of the party in Las Vegas to battle for the latest WPT championship included former WPT Player of the Year Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, defending WPT London Poker Classic champion Jake Cody, and French poker superstars Arnaud Mattern, Nicholas Levi, Bruno Fitoussi, and Isabelle Mercier. Although none of these top pros walked away with any of the prize money, there was plenty of action on the tables to satisfy the European poker community.

El Sayed led the battle as the eight-handed final table started on Saturday afternoon. With over 4.8 million in chips, El Sayed held a sizeable advantage over his closest competitor, Ilan Boujenah, while the remainder of the final table looked to rise up the leaderboard. The players wasted little time in getting the chips flying on the felt, with the first elimination occurring slightly over an hour in when Georges Chehade held the sucker end of a straight against the nut straight of Wilfried Bresson.

El Sayed continued to apply pressure to the final table, winning many hands pre-flop against his wary tablemates. He would give up that lead, however, against the last woman standing in Amneville, Nesrine Kourdourli; the hand catapulted Nourdourli to the top of the chip counts and left El Sayed in second.

With the action down to seven players, it seemed as if everyone held the chip lead at some point. El Sayed stayed in the game by dumping Julien Robert in seventh place. Nourdourli, however, gave up the lead to a charging Boujenah after his top pair held up against Nourdourli’s wheel draw in a nearly nine million chip pot. Then, Franck Pepe surged to the point, spurred on when his nut flush trumped El Sayed’s king-high flush for over six million in chips.

With four players remaining, El Sayed sat on the short stack with Pepe, Boujenah, and Nourdourli arranged in front of him. El Sayed began a meticulous grind to outlast both Nourdourli and Pepe and, once heads-up action began, held a 2-1 lead over Boujenah. As the players moved into the 12th hour of action, El Sayed was able to chop away at the chip stack of Boujenah before taking him out.

On that final hand, El Sayed made a raise to 800,000 from the big blind, which was called by Boujenah. After a 6-4-10 rainbow flop, Boujenah check-called another 800,000 bet from El Sayed. The turn, a jack of clubs, completed the rainbow and opened the floodgates. Boujenah checked, El Sayed put in two million in chips, and Boujenah came all-in over the top. El Sayed wasted little time in calling, tabling pocket kings against Boujenah’s K-10. Once the river blanked with another jack, El Sayed was crowned the champion of WPT Amneville:

1. Sam El Sayed, €426,425
2. Franck Pepe, €229,613
3. Ilan Boujenah, €161,550
4. Nesrin Kourdourli, €109,886
5. William Bresson, €79,545
6. Jean-Paul Pasqualini, €62,323
7. Julien Robert, €46,743
8. Georges Chehade, €34,442

Along with the €426,425 for his first place finish, El Sayed also took home a WPT bracelet and, perhaps more importantly, a seat at the WPT Championship at the Bellagio in April. Pepe, in addition to his €229,613 payout, earned a seat at the 2011 WPT Rendezvous a Paris at the Aviation Club.

After the cash was awarded, WPT President Adam Pliska stated, “We’d like to congratulate Sam Al Sayed on his win and all the players that made the final table. We look forward to welcoming Sam to the Bellagio for the WPT World Championship. The tremendous efforts made by the Seven Casino and the truly impressive attendance record at the inaugural WPT Amneville, presented by PartyPoker.fr, cement it as a must-attend stop for players for the future.”

The WPT still has three non-U.S. stops on its Season 9 schedule, with one more occurring before the end of the year. The WPT will return to Marrakech, Morocco, from November 27th to 30th for its second ever tournament in North Africa. Reigning champion Christophe Savary is expected to defend his title against such notable professionals as Liz Lieu, Andy Black, and Liv Boeree. The non-U.S. swing of the WPT will finish with stops in Venice in early February and Vienna in late March.

Amateurs Attack at WPT Amneville

France’s Nesrin “Ness” Kourdourli finished as the chip leader with 957,000 chips. Close behind her was Tyler Cornel with 769,000 and rounding out third place was Ilan Boujenah with 743,000.

Although 224 players started Day 2 yesterday, by the time the final level had played out only 48 remained.

Former November Niner Antoine Saout nearly made it to Day 3 but busted in the later stages of the day when he shoved pocket queens into pocket aces.

All the remaining players have made it into the money and will have a shot at taking down the first place prize of €426,425 and entry into the WPT World Championship at Bellagio.

The action will resume at Seven Casino d’Amneville later today with Day 3 scheduled to play down to a final table.

The winner of WPT Amneville will be decided on Saturday.

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Marchese Falls, Forrest through the Trees at WPT Foxwoods

Going into the final table with a big chip lead, $1.8 million in live tournament earnings on the year and the chance to either take control or move within striking distance of every Player of the Year award in the industry, Marchese was the favorite amongst six players each making their first WPT final table appearance in the massive Mashantucket, Connecticut casino complex.

He even held the lead three-handed until New York Amateur Dave Inselberg doubled through him with a dominated ace-nine versus ace-king all in pre-flop. Inselberg miraculously flopped two pair.

Forrest was actually the short stack before he too doubled through Marchese with ace-nine versus ace-six, making a full house.

Then despite doubling up once himself, Marchese busted third when his ace-king couldn't hold against Forrest's king-six thanks to a six in the window.

An online player in his first ever WPT event, Forrest went on to beat Inselberg heads-up earning $548,752 and a seat in the WPT World Championship this coming Spring.

The $9,700+$300 WPT Foxwoods main event drew 242 players this year, creating a $2,276,978 prize pool.

Next up for the WPT on this side of the Atlantic is the Five Diamond World Poker Classic at Bellagio in Las Vegas Dec. 3-8.

Here's how the WPT Foxwoods final finished up:

1 Jeff Forrest $548,752

2 Dave Inselberg $325,608

3 Thomas Marchese $211,759

4 Nikolai Yakovenko $170,773

5 Keven Stammen $128,650

6 Mohsin Charania $104,741

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PokerStars Signs Theo Jorgensen

One of the top players from this year’s World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event has parlayed his success into a sponsorship from the online poker room PokerStars.

Theo Jorgensen, the veteran Danish poker pro who was one of the chip leaders at the WSOP Main Event with four tables remaining, has become the latest poker player signed by the largest room in the industry. Jorgensen, who pursued the life of a professional poker player after graduating college in Copenhagen with a business degree, becomes the latest Team PokerStars Pro alongside such European notables as Italy’s Luca Pagano, England’s Liv Boeree and Vicky Coren, and the Netherlands’ Marcel Luske.

Jorgensen’s success over his 17-year career was the major reason for his addition to the Team PokerStars Pro roster, according to PokerStars Nordic Director Michael Holmberg. “Theo Jorgensen is in every way a fantastic ambassador for poker,” Holmberg stated. “Both his impressive merits at the tables and his positive aura fall perfectly in line with PokerStars’ values. We look forward to having such an experienced player as part of Team PokerStars Pro. Theo Jorgensen is a role model for many young and older players.”

Jorgensen was understandably excited about his poker future as a new member of the PokerStars stable. “I’m delighted to be joining the world’s largest poker site,” Jorgensen added during the announcement. “PokerStars has always hosted the best poker events in the world and sponsors only the most talented players, so I am very excited to be a part of this.”

Jorgensen’s outstanding career in the world of poker began in the 1990s, when he grinded the cash tables for a living. He didn’t enter into the tournament world until the mid-2000s, however, earning his first tournament cash in a $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha event during the 2004 World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship schedule at the Bellagio. It was only the first in what has become a stellar run on the worldwide tournament poker circuit.

Just months after his breakthrough, Jorgensen earned his first ever tournament victory at the European Seven Card Stud Championship for a healthy $125,248 payday. Over the past six years, Jorgensen has earned cashes in several tournaments across the European continent and has scored high finishes in every one of the major tournament schedules in the game today.

2006 marked Jorgensen’s breakthrough on the European Poker Tour (EPT), when he finished in fourth place at the Tour’s stop in Deauville, France. The next year, Jorgensen once again finished fourth in an EPT event, this time during the Scandinavian Open in Copenhagen. Earlier this year, Jorgensen emerged as the champion of the WPT stop at the Aviation Club’s Rendezvous a Paris, taking home an $848,736 payday.

For all of his success on the EPT and the WPT, Jorgensen seems to have saved his best work for the WSOP stage. At the 2008 WSOP Europe £5,000 Pot Limit Omaha event, Jorgensen picked up his first ever gold bracelet and £218,626 in prize money. This year in Las Vegas, Jorgensen made a tremendous run in the Main Event and held the chip lead late before succumbing in 30th place. For his career, Jorgensen has garnered over $2.8 million in earnings.

His extensive poker background make him an excellent pickup for PokerStars. Because he is well versed in all disciplines of poker, Jorgensen will be able to step into any event and be a favorite to win. Jorgensen’s first online event as a member of Team PokerStars will be during the Nordic Championships of Online Poker, to be held on November 4th. ?

October 22 – PND Weekly Update

Hello and welcome to the Weekly Recap on Poker News Daily. This week, we congratulate Dan Harrington and Erik Seidel on entering the Poker Hall of Fame, witness an implausible twenty-three way chop in a live tournament, and more. I’m your host, Sean Gibson.

The Poker Hall of Fame Class of two thousand ten was announced this week. Nineteen ninety-five World Series of Poker Main Event champ Dan Harrington and eight-time bracelet winner Erik Seidel will be enshrined during a ceremony on November eighth at the Rio in Las Vegas. Harrington’s back-to-back runs in the two thousand three and two thousand four Main Events and valuable contributions to poker literature earned him one of the Hall of Fame spots. Seidel is a favorite of the poker industry and may be best remembered for his runner-up finish to Johnny Chan in the nineteen eighty-eight WSOP Main Event.

It’s not every day you see a twenty-three-way chop in a live poker tournament. The unlikely deal happened in a four hundred dollar No Limit Hold’em Deep Stack event held during the Foxwoods World Poker Finals this week. John Agelakis ultimately came away with the win, earning a commemorative leather jacket, a championship trophy, and twelve thousand dollars in cash. That was just nineteen percent more than the 23rd place finisher received and only eleven dollars more than second place. The winner of the tournament WOULD have taken home over $68,000, meaning that the deal resulted in the top prize being shaved by over eighty percent.

On Monday night, a brand new week of the PokerStars-sponsored “Big Game” kicked off on FOX. The newest cycle featured Elizabeth Houston as the “Loose Cannon.” Houston ended Monday’s kickoff episode up eighteen thousand dollars in large part due to taking down a major pot with pocket aces. There was a total of one point two million dollars on the table to start with, the most in “Big Game” history. Daniel Negreanu ended Monday’s “Big Game” episode up over a hundred thousand dollars and the big loser of the night was David “Viffer” Peat, who lost seventy-seven thousand. If you missed any of the “Big Game,” go to TheBigGame.PokerStars.net.

Dutch Boyd is being sued by TwoPlusTwo Interactive for “cyber squatting,” which means owning a website that intends to profit off a trademark belonging to someone else. In a post on TwoPlusTwo last week, site owner Mason Malmuth gave an update:

“TwoPlusTwo sued Boyd for cyber squatting, trademark infringement, and other claims after Boyd registered the domain name TwoPlusTwoPoker.com. The complaint was only served on Boyd after his numerous refusals to negotiate with TwoPlusTwo in good faith.”

The conflict started last year and it is still unclear whether Boyd profited from the disputed domain name. The lawsuit now moves into the discovery phase.

This November, the World Poker Tour will once again head to the historic and picturesque city of Marrakech, Morocco for its second ever poker tournament in the North African country. Co-sponsored by Chili Poker and the WPT, the event will begin on November 20th with a five hundred Euro Deep Stack tourney. Chili Poker pro Liz Lieu will attend this event along with Irish pro Andy Black and EPT champions Sandra Naujoks and Liv Boeree. The Main Event of the 2010 WPT Marrakech will be a five thousand Euro No Limit Hold’em tournament that will begin on November twenty-seventh. Since this is an official WPT stop, the victor will earn the bracelet awarded to all WPT champions along with a $25,000 seat to the 2011 Championship event at the Bellagio in April.

Mixed Martial Arts legend Randy Couture will host the third annual “Operation All In” charity poker tournament and auction fundraiser at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas on October thirtieth. The tournament and auction will benefit the Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation, which honors the veterans of America’s armed forces. Confirmed attendants include MMA fighters Couture, Tyson Griffin, and John Alessio along with poker pros like Howard Lederer, Lacey Jones, and Matt Savage. The buy-in for the tournament is $225 with hundred dollar rebuys. The event will also feature auctions offering MMA memorabilia and dinner and a one-hour personal MMA lesson with Couture.

These were the top poker news this week. Don’t miss us next Friday for another executive recap of the week in poker. May the flop be with you.

Randal Flowers Wins WPT Festa al Lago

Randal Flowers, who can be found in online circles under the handle “RandALLin,” came out on top of the field in the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Festa al Lago on Wednesday night. Following extended play on Tuesday, the six-handed final table took fewer than 100 hands to complete and Flowers walked away with $831,000.

Flowers entered the televised finale with the chip lead and it took 25 hands for an elimination to occur. Skip Wilson, whose dual double ups at the expense of Full Tilt Poker pro Annette Obrestad on the tournament’s play down day derailed her chances at her first WPT final table, shoved all-in with Q-10 on a 10-high flop. Michael “benvo123” Benvenuti made the call with pocket queens and Wilson picked up a flush draw on the turn to leave him drawing to 11 outs on the river. However, the final card was an offsuit deuce, which sent Wilson to the rail with $112,000 to show for his efforts.

WPT Legends of Poker winner Andy Frankenberger, seeking his second title of the season, 3bet all-in before the flop with pocket fives. Flowers, who was the initial raiser in the hand, called with pocket 10s and was a 4:1 favorite to eliminate Frankenberger. Neither player improved when the board ran out A-J-8-4-K and Frankenberger fell in fifth place. His six-day run in the Festa al Lago was worth $161,000.

As a result of Frankenberger’s elimination, WPT host Vince Van Patten’s hair won’t be lopped off… for now. Van Patten and WPT Executive Tour Director Matt Savage have a bet over whether there will be a dual WPT winner this season. If there is no dual winner, Savage owes Van Patten $100. If a player captures two titles during Season 9 of the WPT, Van Patten must shave his locks.

Jason “jakoon1985” Koon busted in fourth place from the Festa al Lago Main Event. Koon called all-in on a board of K-8-8-9-7 and tabled 6-5 for a nine-high straight. However, it turned out to be the sucker end, as Flowers showed J-10. Flowers’ stack ballooned to over 7.8 million as a result, or more than the other two players combined.

On the 82nd hand of final table play, Noah Schwartz 3bet all-in pre-flop with K-Q and Flowers looked him up with A-Q. The board gave Schwartz a gutshot straight draw to a 10 on the turn, but he whiffed on the river to exit in third place for $344,000. The hand gave Flowers a 5:2 chip lead heads-up over Benvenuti, 9.7 million to 3.7 million.

Benvenuti ultimately moved all-in with Q-7 of spades on a flop of 9-6-5 with two of the suit for a flush draw and a gutshot straight draw. Flowers called with 9-3 for top pair and the turn was the four of clubs. With chants of “Rand-all! Rand-all! Rand-all!” permeating the Fontana Lounge at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Flowers and Benvenuti watched as the final card was a red ace, giving Flowers his second WPT title. In June 2009, he took down the WPT Spanish Championship in Barcelona to the tune of $414,000 and became the youngest WPT champ ever at age 20. Now, he’s the youngest player ever to win two WPT titles.

Here were the final results from the WPT Festa al Lago:

1. Randal Flowers – $831,500
2. Michael Benvenuti – $564,200
3. Noah Schwartz – $344,968
4. Jason Koon – $225,680
5. Andy Frankenberger – $161,200
6. Skip Wilson – $112,840

If you’re a rabid WPT fan, don’t worry. Next Friday, the Foxwoods World Poker Finals will kick off from the forests of Connecticut. The $10,000 buy-in event will crown a champion on November 2nd, one week before a winner of the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event is determined in Las Vegas. The World Poker Finals offers one starting day.

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Randal Flowers becomes youngest double WPT winner

Randal Flowers has won the World Poker Tour Festa al Lago event at The Bellagio and in doing so has pocketed $830,500 and his second WPT title. At the age of 22, he is the youngest double WPT title-holder in history.

Flowers Blooms at WPT Festa

The North Carolina native went wire-to-wire in the final six to win the 2010 WPT Festa al Lago title and $831,500 first prize.

Flowers became the youngest WPT winner in history when he booked a win at the 2009 WPT Spanish Championship and is now the tour's youngest two-time winner.

Moments after the win, he told PokerListings the second time around feels even sweeter than the first.

"It's much sweeter," he said. "It's double the prize and it's a lot more attention. Hopefully winning number two will help me get some recognition. Nobody even knew I won in Barcelona."

In a topsy-turvy play down to the final table at Bellagio Tuesday, Flowers found himself all in against Michael Benvenuti with king-ten versus pocket kings.

He managed to suck out a straight to survive and pushed into the chip lead heading into the final six.

Flowers said when the cards hit the felt, he could never imagine he'd be raising the Festa trophy a day later.

"It was pretty standard," he said. "There's eight left in a WPT here on Day 5 and I just spew off and run ten-king into kings. I got out of my seat and was ready to go drink the night away. Then I hit the gutshot on the river. I got very lucky to do so.

"I guess that's the name of the game and I was pretty fortunate to win that one."

Although crippled after the hand, Benvenuti held on to make the final six and eventually finished runner-up for $564,200.

Flowers said his plan now was to head back home, celebrate and hope the poker world acknowledges his latest win.

"I just want some poker site to recognize it and sponsor an American guy who's had some success," he said.

335 players entered the event creating a $3,249,500 prize pool.

To see how the final table played out, check out PokerListings' WPT Live Updates.

Here's how the final table finished up:

1 Randal Flowers $831,500

2 Michael Benvenuti $564,200

3 Noah Schwartz $344,968

4 Jason Koon $225,680

5 Andy Frankenberger $161,200

6 Skip Wilson $112,840

Visit PokerListings.com

WPT Festa al Lago final table set

13 players returned to the WPT Festa al Lago at Bellagio yesterday and by the close of a marathon day's play a final table of six was still in contention for the first prize of $831,500.

Frankenberger Fights For Two at WPT Festa Final

The New York stock trader turned poker player took down the WPT Legends of Poker main event in Los Angeles this August and now has a chance to sure up his WPT Player of the Year lead and add another $831,500 first-place prize to his ever-growing bankroll.

However, Frankenberger said he's not sure if the experience he gained at Legends will help or hurt.

"I would say yes except last time I was the new guy and my inexperience didn't hurt me, so I really don't think so," he said. "Poker is a funny thing. Sometimes more experience can hurt you. When you've had a bad beat sometimes you're afraid to do something again you shouldn't be afraid of.

"That's why Im not so sure. I definitely have more understanding of what's to come and the emotional roller coaster that it is, but its never easy."

The final six at Festa certainly won't be easy.

Frankenberger comes in fourth in chips with Randal Flowers, who became the youngest WPT title holder in history when he took down the WPT Spanish Championship in 2009, leading the way.

WPT and WSOP final tablist Noah Schwartz, online pro Jason "NovaSky" Koon, Skip Wilson, a veteran of four WSOP final tables, and 2009 Caesars Palace Classic runner-up Michael Benvenuti round out the final six.

Rather than the cards or the competition, Frankenberger said his desire to taste from the cup of victory again could prove the biggest stumbling block.

"I think the worst thing that I have going for me right now is that I know how great it feels to win and I want it badly," he said. "It's not good to want it too bad. If you want it too bad, you might start playing differently. I try to keep that in mind now, but I still want it bad."

335 players entered the event creating a $3,249,500 prize pool with $831,500 set aside for first.

The final will begin at 4 p.m. PT Wednesday.

For coverage from the floor at Bellagio, tune in to PokerListings' WPT Live Updates.

Here's how they'll stack up coming in:

1 Randall Flowers 3,215,000

2 Noah Schwartz 3,135,000

3 Jason Koon 2,555,000

4 Andy Frankenberger 1,935,000

5 Michael Benvenuti 1,390,000

6 Skip Wilson 1,200,000

Visit PokerListings.com

Annette Obrestad Leads WPT Festa al Lago on Play Down Day

With 13 players remaining in the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Festa al Lago, a familiar face sits perched atop the leaderboard. Full Tilt Poker pro Annette Obrestad, the winner of the 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe Main Event, is the lone player over two million chips in the Bellagio tournament.

The final elimination of Monday’s action belonged to Lauren Kling, who ran pocket tens into pocket queens on her final hand. The talented youngster watched as the board fell K-Q-2-Q-J and that was all she wrote. Play ended shortly thereafter and Kling picked up over $32,000 after bring trumped by quads.

Fifteenth place went to Mark Newhouse, whose A-J could not draw out on the pocket queens of Andy Frankenberger. The latter is fresh off a win in the WPT Legends of Poker in Los Angeles, where he bested a final table that included Kyle Wilson and Jared Jaffee to walk away with three-quarters of a million dollars. As a result of the elimination, Frankenberger is second to Obrestad on the Festa al Lago leaderboard.

Chad Batista, known in online circles as “lilholdem954,” exited in 16th place from the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Batista ran pocket eights into the pocket tens of Obrestad on his final hand and neither player improved when the board came A-7-4-J-3. Batista picked up $25,000 for his run, his third in the money finish on the WPT circuit. Batista finished 10th in the 2009 Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic for $57,000, his largest WPT cash to date.

McLean Karr, who came out on top of the pack in the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star event in March, took 17th on Monday. Karr met a similar fate as Batista, running pocket eights into a larger pocket pair. This time, Bobby Suer had him covered with pocket kings and Karr could not improve. Karr won the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) London High Roller Turbo tournament for over $400,000 two weeks ago.

Online poker veteran Matt “All In At 420” Stout finished in 18th place after moving all-in pre-flop with K-10. Suer called and showed A-J; the board ran dry for Stout, who watched as Suer spiked an ace on the river to add insult to injury. Stout made the final table of the Season 8 Foxwoods World Poker Finals, taking third place for $265,000.

The blinds will be 10,000-20,000 with an ante of 3,000 when play picks back up today at Noon PT. If you’re at the Bellagio and want to stop by, you’ll need to head to the poker room, as WPT officials are busy constructing the televised final table set in the Fontana Lounge, which overlooks the fountains. Here’s how the final 13 look:

1. Annette Obrestad – 2,009,000
2. Andy Frankenberger – 1,820,000
3. Jeff Madsen – 1,500,000
4. Allen Kessler – 1,275,000
5. John Monnette – 1,271,000
6. Noah Schwartz – 1,137,000
7. Bobby Suer – 1,129,000
8. Brandon Steven – 977,000
9. Randal Flowers – 691,000
10. Skip Wilson – 531,000
11. Michael Benvenuti – 530,000
12. John Krpan – 397,000
13. Jason Koon – 396,000

Other players relegated to the rail on Monday included Andreas Hoivold, Jeremy Rafalowicz, Kaied Barkho, and Matt Affleck. Every player left is assured $32,000, while players who make the final table will take home at least $112,000. The winner of the WPT Festa al Lago will earn $831,000, while the runner-up in the $10,000 buy-in poker tournament nabs $564,000. The action concludes tomorrow, so keep it tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest WPT headlines.

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Annette Obrestad leads WPT Festa al Lago Day 4

Lucky for some – Annette Obrestad won’t be superstitious about the 13 remaining players for the WPT Festa al Lago at The Bellagio; she is on top of the chip counts having just tipped over the 2,000,000 mark ahead of Andrew Frankenberger and Allen Kessler.

Obrestad Leads Final 13 at Festa

The Norwegian poker phenom dropped to around the average stack at Bellagio after sitting among the leaders at the start of Day 3, but came back today to take the lead and become the first player past the two million chip mark.

WPT Legends of Poker champ Andy Frankenberger, 2006 WSOP Player of the Year Jeff Madsen and the perpetually short stacked Allen Kessler, who actually tied for the most cashes at the 2010 WSOP, are close.

John Monette, Noah Schwartz, Bobby Suer, WSOP Main Event tenth place finisher Brandon Steven, WPT Spanish Championship winner Randall Flowers, Skip Wilson, Michael Benvenuti, John Krpan, and Jason Koon round out the final 13.

335 players entered the event creating a $3,249,500 prize pool with $831,500 set aside for first.

Day 5 will begin at 12 p.m. PT Monday with plans to play down to the final six.

The 2010 WPT Festa al Lago main event runs through Oct. 20.

For coverage from the floor at Bellagio, tune in to PokerListings' WPT Live Updates.

Here's how they'll stack up coming in:

1 Annette Obrestad 2,009,000

2 Andy Frankenberger 1,820,00

3 Jeff Madsen 1,500,000

4 Allen Kessler 1,275,000

5 John Monnette 1,271,000

6 Noah Schwartz 1,137,000

7 Bobby Suer 1,129,000

8 Brandon Steven 977,000

9 Randal Flowers 691,000

10 Skip Wilson 531,000

11 Michael Benvenuti 530,000

12 John Krpan 397,000

13 Jason Koon 396,000

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Stephen O’Dwyer Leads WPT Festa al Lago After Day 3

Last December, Stephen O’Dwyer, known in the online poker world as “MrTimCaum,” made the final table and finished sixth in the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic. On Monday, he’ll look to turn in another deep run in a WPT event by widening his chip lead at the Festa al Lago in Las Vegas. O’Dwyer holds a stack of 844,500 after three days of play, or 140 big blinds.

Forty-one players are left in the hunt for the $831,000 grand prize at the WPT Festa al Lago. Second place on the leaderboard belongs to former World Series of Poker (WSOP) Player of the Year Jeff Madsen, who amassed a stack of 814,000 on Sunday. Madsen is in pursuit of his first WPT final table, having bubbled the Bay 101 Shooting Star finale three years ago after finishing eighth.

O’Dwyer would have held an even wider lead over the competition if not for an untimely double up of Allen Kessler late in the day. “Chainsaw” was all-in before the flop with A-K of hearts and O’Dwyer showed pocket jacks for a race. Kessler flopped an ace, shot up to 230,000 in chips, and ended the day in 26th place with 259,000.

The conclusion to Sunday’s play saw John Monnette deliver a rare double knockout. Joe Elpayaa and Joe Brandenburg were all-in on a flop of Q-8-4 with two diamonds. Elpayaa turned over A-9 for ace-high, while Brandenburg revealed 6-5 of diamonds for flush and straight draws. Monnette held strong with pocket aces and had both of his opponents covered. The turn was the four of hearts and the river was the three of hearts, sending both Elpayaa and Brandenburg to the rail. Each picked up nearly $13,000 for their three-day run at the Bellagio. Several hands earlier, Elpayaa had hit a runner-runner wheel to double up.

Former WSOP Europe Main Event champion Annette Obrestad, who held the second largest stack entering Sunday’s play, doubled up with jacks against A-K to move to 395,000 in chips. “Annette_15” eased off a bit from there, ending the day with a total of 343,500, which is good for 16th place. Obrestad will be the chip leader at Table 58 on Monday and her company will include the likes of Erik Cajelais, DoylesRoom Brunson 10 member Amit “amak316” Makhija, and Ryan Young.

Full Tilt Poker pro Gavin Smith was ousted in 48th place and picked up over $12,000. He came out on the short end of a race with pocket sevens against the A-J of Jimmy Tran in his final hand and headed for the exit. Not as fortunate was Owen Crowe, the Bubble Boy at the Festa al Lago. Smith sealed his in the money finish by relegating Crowe to the rail in 51st place much to the delight of the other players left in the field.

Here’s how the top 10 players on the leaderboard look after three days of play in the WPT Festa al Lago. When the action wrapped up on Sunday, the blinds were 3,000-6,000 with an ante of 500:

1. Steve “MrTimCaum” O’Dwyer – 844,500
2. Jeff Madsen – 814,000
3. Randal “RandALLin” Flowers – 795,500
4. Andreas Hoivold – 632,500
5. Jason “jakoon1985” Koon – 586,000
6. Lyle Berman – 458,500
7. Ryan Goindoo – 450,000
8. Michael “benvo123” Benvenuti – 444,500
9. Jared Jaffee – 426,500
10. Brandon Steven – 425,000

The rest of the field stacks up as follows, with an average chip count of 326,000:

11. McLean Karr – 388,500
12. Matt “All In At 420” Stout – 382,500
13. Brandon Novena – 375,000
14. Andy Frankenberger – 360,500
15. Daniel Alaei – 355,000
16. Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad – 343,500
17. Trevor Pope – 331,500
18. Erik Cajelais – 320,500
19. John Monnette – 313,500
20. Barry Greenstein – 291,500
21. Bobby Suer – 286,000
22. Nancy Todd Tyner – 277,500
23. John Krpan – 275,000
24. Ronald Lee – 267,000
25. Matt “mcmatto” Affleck – 262,500
26. Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler – 259,000
27. Tom “Kingsofcards” Marchese – 215,000
28. James St. Hilaire – 214,000
29. Mark Newhouse – 213,500
30. Jeremy Rafalowicz – 209,500
31. Amit “amak316” Makhija – 204,000
32. Mitchell Kessler – 198,000
33. Noah Schwartz – 181,000
34. Chad “lilholdem954” Batista – 180,000
35. Kaied Barkho – 166,000
36. Skip Wilson – 141,500
37. Lauren “locoenlacabeza” Kling – 141,000
38. Jimmy Tran – 123,500
39. Ryan Young – 95,500
40. David “Davidp18” Peters – 93,500
41. Tony Bracy – 68,000

Day 4 will kick off at Noon PT. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest WPT headlines.

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Jeff Madsen leads WPT Festa al Lago after Day 3

The World Poker Tour Festa al Lago at The Bellagio has finished Day 3 with 41 of the original 355 remaining and all players guaranteed a profit on their $10,000 investment but looking towards the first place prize of $831,500.

O’Dwyer, Madsen Lead as WPT Festa Hits Money

Play began with 99 players but was down to 41 by the time five 90-minute levels were through.

2009 WPT Five Diamond finalist Steve O'Dwyer grabbed the lead in the late stages, stacking big pots from both overnight leaders Annette Obrestad and Matt Affleck to become the first player past the one million chip mark.

He dipped a bit before the end of play and will start Day 4 Monday with 844k and 2006 WSOP Player of the Year Jeff Madsen just 30k behind.

2009 WPT Spanish Championship winner Randall Flowers and 2007 EPT Dortmund winner Andreas Hoivold are also among the leaders.

PokerListings Blogger Matt Stout sits above average with a group that includes Jason Koon, Tom Marchese, Jared Jaffee and Daniel Alaei, Annette Obrestad, McLean Karr, and Matt Affleck.

335 players entered the event, creating a $3,249,500 prize pool with $831,500 set aside for first.

Day 4 will begin at 12 p.m. PT Monday with tentative plans to play five more levels or consult the players if they get close to the final six.

The 2010 WPT Festa al Lago main event runs through Oct. 20.

For coverage from the floor at Bellagio, tune in to PokerListings' WPT Live Updates.

Visit PokerListings.com

Matt Affleck Leads WPT Festa al Lago After Day 2

After turning in deep runs in the 2009 and 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Events, Matt “mcmatto” Affleck is making poker headlines once again. This time, he’s pacing the field of the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Festa al Lago after two days of play. Affleck holds a stack of 585,300, just edging out the 536,800 belonging to fellow young gun Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad, a Full Tilt Poker pro.

One of the final eliminations of Saturday’s play at the Bellagio in Las Vegas belonged to Titan Poker pro Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi. As is typical in poker tournaments, Mizzi’s run came to an end in a race after running A-K into pocket jacks. The flop of Q-10-9 gave Mizzi a gutshot straight draw to a jack, but a king on the turn gave his opponent Broadway.

Also departing late in the day was Jennifer Tilly. She called all-in before the flop with A-Q and was up against the K-8 of spades belonging to Erik Cajelais. In a similar fate as Mizzi, Tilly’s opponent turned Broadway and Cajelais moved to 93 big blinds. He ended the day in 47th place on the Festa al Lago leaderboard at 125,300.

There were double-ups aplenty on Saturday at the Bellagio. Among those who vaulted up the leaderboard were David Singer, DoylesRoom pro Hoyt Corkins, and Michael Benvenuti. Corkins got his money in ahead with pocket aces against James St. Hilaire’s A-Q and hit a full house on the river. Despite the late double-up, he’s one of the low men on the totem pole entering Day 3, as his stack of 58,100 is the 80th largest out of 99 players remaining.

Obrestad was a force to be reckoned with on Saturday. She eliminated Marco Traniello with queens-up against jacks-up and scooped a 230,000-chip pot against Danny Schiff. In the latter hand, Schiff led out for 35,000 with the board reading Q-9-9-7-6 and Obrestad called, tabling A-Q. Schiff showed ace-high after his flush draw failed to come in and Obrestad extended her chip lead.

New WPT “Raw Deal” host Tony “Bond18” Dunst was eliminated after running pocket fours into pocket queens. His opponent, Ryan Young, flopped a set, but Dunst turned a set of his own to leave him drawing to one out on the river. Nevertheless, quads weren’t in the cards and Dunst was sent to the rails. Joining Dunst on the outside looking in yesterday were poker pros like Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little, Justin Young, Steve Sung, and Howard Lederer, who registered at the last minute.

Check out the stacked top 10 of the WPT Festa al Lago after two days of play:

1. Matt “mcmatto” Affleck – 585,300
2. Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad – 536,800
3. Owen “ocrowe” Crowe – 360,000
4. Trevor Pope – 286,700
5. Michael Benvenuti – 284,500
6. David Williams – 278,300
7. John Monnette – 271,400
8. Jeff Madsen – 269,200
9. Men “The Master” Nguyen – 263,500
10. Andreas Hoivold – 254,200

Other players remaining in the top 50 include:

17. Daniel Alaei -217,700
18. Barry Greenstein – 217,600
24. Vanessa Selbst – 203,500
25. Steve Zolotow – 201,900
28. Tom Marchese – 184,200
35. Steve “MrTimCaum” O’Dwyer – 157,100
38. Vivek “Psyduck” Rajkumar – 145,800
43. Nancy Todd Tyner – 134,000
47. Erik Cajelais – 125,300

After 335 players coughed up $10,000 each to enter, the top prize at the Festa al Lago is $831,000. The top 50 players will walk away with cash and every member of the six-handed televised final table will bank at least $112,000. Last year, 275 players took to the felts at a buy-in of $15,000, meaning that attendance jumped by 22% in 2010. However, the prize pool also dove by 16% to $3.3 million by virtue of the smaller price tag.

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Obrestad Among WPT Festa Leaders

The inaugural WSOP Europe main event champ and online poker legend was in a dead heat for the lead with 2010 WSOP main event 15th place finisher Matt Affleck when Day 2 wrapped in Las Vegas Saturday.

The two stand well above the 99 players remaining headed into Sunday's Day 3.

2006 WSOP Player of the Year Jeff Madsen, seven-time WSOP bracelet winner Men Nguyen, 2010 WSOP $50k runner up and four time final tablist Vladimir Shchemelev, 2007 EPT Dortmund champ Andreas Hoivold, Trevor Pope, Owen Crowe, Michael Benvenuti and John Monnette are all in the top ten in chips.

Registration at Bellagio stayed open until the end of the day's third level, but once closed, it was announced that 335 players entered the event, creating a $3,249,500 prize pool.

The top 50 will get paid with $831,500 reserved for first.

Day 3 will begin at 12 p.m. PT Sunday with plans to play five more levels.

The 2010 WPT Festa al Lago main event runs through Oct. 20.

For coverage from the floor at Bellagio, tune in to PokerListings' WPT Live Updates.

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World Poker Tour Heads to Marrakech in November

This November, the World Poker Tour (WPT) will once again head to the historic and picturesque city of Marrakech, Morocco, for its second ever poker tournament in the North African region.

For this year’s version, co-sponsors Chili Poker and the WPT have teamed up to make the stop at the Casino de Marrakech a full-blown festival for poker players. The event will begin on November 20th with a €500 Deep Stack event. According to Chili Poker, professionals who will be on hand for the Deep Stack tournament include Chili Poker sponsored pro Liz Lieu, Irish poker professional Andy Black, and European Poker Tour (EPT) champions Sandra Naujoks and Liv Boeree.

The Main Event of the 2010 WPT Marrakech will be the €5,000 buy in No Limit Hold’em tournament that will begin on November 27th, with the champion crowned three days later. As an official WPT event, the victor will not only walk away with the Marrakech championship and first place bounty, but they will also earn the bracelet awarded to all WPT champions and a $25,000 seat to the 2011 Championship event at the Bellagio in April.

The 2009 version of the tournament was highly successful for the WPT, drawing a global field of 416 players from 32 different countries. The 2009 WPT Marrakech tournament, which Chili Poker and the WPT also collaborated on, was the first major poker tournament held in North Africa. The tournament featured such standout players as the aforementioned Lieu, former Main Event champion Huck Seed, and inaugural World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe Main Event champ Annette Obrestad. Christophe Savary defeated a final table that included such top players as Ludovic Lacay and Eoghan O’Dea to win the €379,014 first prize.

WPT Executive Tour Director Matt Savage will be on hand for the second year running to oversee the activities on the felt. “WPT Marrakech takes place in an amazing setting and, if last year is anything to go by, you can expect a loose, aggressive field,” said Savage during the announcement of this year’s event. “Casino de Marrakech is world renowned for its hospitality and WPT players can look forward to an experience unlike any other.”

Alexandre Dreyfus, Chief Executive Officer of Chili Poker, glowed about the locale of Marrakech along with the poker at hand. “Marrakech is a magic and relaxing place, so we are delighted to be bringing the WPT back to this mystical town in November,” Dreyfus commented. “We were so encouraged by turnout last year as well as the flawless organization and competitive hotel rates that, in 2010, we have built the Chili Poker Marrakech Festival around the prestigious WPT event.” Satellite tournaments for WPT Marrakech are currently running on Chili Poker and its French subsidiary, ChiliPoker.fr.

The WPT has been putting the “world” back in its name over the past couple of years after becoming almost exclusively U.S.-based. Earlier this year, the WPT held officially sanctioned events in Paris at the Aviation Club, the WPT Spanish Championship in Barcelona, and its most recent event in London, which was won by Jake Cody. Prior to the start of festivities in Marrakech, the WPT will make a stop in Amneville, France and finish its non-U.S. schedule come 2011 with a tournament in Vienna, Austria from March 24th through 28th.

WPT Festa al Lago Kicks Off at Bellagio

Day 1 of the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Festa al Lago took place on Friday, with 294 players coming to the felts at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Registration remains open until around 5:00pm PT today and, this year, the tournament saw its buy-in shaved from $15,000 to $10,000.

The day began with Tony “Bond18” Dunst being introduced as the WPT “Raw Deal” host. Dunst will become a regular part of WPT programming during Season 9, which will air on Fox Sports Net, and analyze hands in an edgy manner. Dunst defeated poker pros like Joe Sebok and Clonie Gowen for the “Raw Deal” position.

Last year, Tommy Vedes trumped a field of 275 players in the Festa al Lago, meaning that the lower price tag has already resulted in attendance growing by 7%. Vedes departed during the last level of play on Friday, continuing the tradition of no player repeating in a WPT event. Also exiting near the tail end of the day was Unabomber Poker pro Phil Laak, who moved all-in on a board of 5-4-2-9-6 holding A-K of clubs for ace-high. Arnaud Mattern ultimately tanked for several minutes before calling and tabling pocket tens.

Former November Niner and WPT champ Chino Rheem hit the rail after running K-J offsuit into a wired pair of aces. Rheem was all-in before the flop and watched as his opponent promptly hit a set. Rheem took down the 2008 Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic for $1.5 million.

Propelling up the leaderboard at the WPT Festa al Lago was Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka. The Illinois native called all-in on a board of 8-4-2-Q-7 and showed pocket tens. His opponent muttered “Good call” and flipped up pocket threes, resulting in a critical double up for Jaka. He owns the 91st largest stack in the room entering Day 2 at 56,475 and his competition at Table 55 today will include Randall Flowers, former WPT champ Todd Terry, Frank “Frank1The1Tank” Calo, and WPT Legends of Poker winner Andy Frankenberger.

WPT host Mike Sexton, a member of the Poker Hall of Fame and Guest Columnist for Poker News Daily, was eliminated after pocket queens cracked his pocket aces. Jae Sik spiked a two-outer on the river and Sexton hit the rail. Fellow PartyPoker pro Kara Scott, who was playing in her very first WPT tournament, also failed to survive to see Day 2.

Payman Arjang leads the field with a stack of 217,875 and a bevy of well-known poker pros appear in the top 10. Others near the top of the leaderboard include online poker pro David “Davidp18” Peters, prankster Jeff Madsen, DoylesRoom Brunson 10 member Amit “amak316” Makhija, and Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi:

1. Payman Arjang – 217,875
2. Peter Braglia – 160,100
3. David “Davidp18” Peters – 141,425
4. Jeff Madsen – 139,375
5. Alexander Shogren – 125,625
6. Amit “amak316” Makhija – 125,500
7. Josef Monro – 124,775
8. Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi – 119,400
9. Brandon Novena – 118,975
10. Ryan Young – 115,900

Also making Day 2 was UB.com pro Joe Sebok, who Tweeted on his way home last night, “Bit of an up and downer, started with 40k, up to 90k, down to 60k, up to 108k, but settled at 92k to end the day. Satisfied.” He added, “There are few things as interesting as walking through casinos sober on Friday & Saturday nights.” Sebok can be found at #30 on the leaderboard with a stack of 91,900.

Brand name pros who walked away on Friday with top 50 chip stacks include:

12. Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad – 113,950
19. Men “The Master” Nguyen – 102,625
24. John “World” Hennigan – 98,975
27. David Williams – 94,750
28. John Juanda – 92,525
30. Joe Sebok – 91,900
32. Jimmy “gobboboy” Fricke – 88,600
33. Jeff Shulman – 87,100
37. Barry Greenstein – 84,150
43. Brandon Cantu – 81,000
44. Jennifer Tilly – 79,100
47. Vanessa Selbst – 78,700

The action picks back up today at Noon PT and the final payouts will be posted once registration closes after Level 8.

Dwyte Pilgrim: Quieting the Critics

When he took the World Series of Poker Circuit by storm in 2009, recording 12 cashes, seven final tables and a win in the championship event at Rincon, pundits said the fields were weak and the buy-ins small.

The 2009 WSOPC Player of the Year started 2010 with another WSOPC championship event final table appearance at Robinsonville and more than a few decent side-event scores heading into the 2010 WSOP.

But Dwyte Pilgrim's doubters were still there.

An eighth place finish at the $2,500 Mixed Hold'em event at the World Series didn't quiet the critics and even his win in the largest tournament in World Poker Tour history at Borgata in Atlantic City last month couldn't shut them up.

The Brooklyn, New York native's detractors claimed the $3,300 buy-in was low and any time 1,042 players enter a poker tournament, it's bound to be filled with a ton of dead money.

But no matter what they say, it seems Pilgrim's doubters are just adding fuel to his ever-growing fire.

“Somebody is always trying to tear you down and take away from your accomplishments,” he said. “But if you look at what I've done in my first 18 months (as a pro), there's not that many people that can match it.”

The $700k-plus win at Borgata pushed his career earnings up and over the $1.5 million mark, the overwhelming majority of which was collected in the past year and a half.

But as he pushed his way through Day 1 at the WPT Festa al Lago main event in Las Vegas Friday, Pilgrim, who says he picked up the game online, saw an opportunity to make some quick cash playing a game and ran with it, also says he's trying to give those doubters something to think about.

“I always feel like I've got something to prove,” he said. “That's why I'm here at Bellagio. That's why I'm playing these WPTs, to prove to all the doubters about my game.

“I'm just going to keep working hard on my game, keep playing these WPTs and I may even start playing a few EPTs just to show them my game over there. To prove to everyone I can hang with the big boys.”

Pilgrim is the first to admit the WSOPC doesn't draw the same caliber of players the World Poker Tour does.

But that's not going to stop him from trying to dominate there and every other tournament he plays as well.

“The circuit is kind of like the minor leagues and I've already proved myself there,” he said. “But I'm going to keep playing the circuit and these WPTs, just to keep showing everybody what I got.”

The night before the final table at Borgata, Pilgrim told WPT executive tour director Matt Savage he was going to "shock the world" the next day and that people would be asking themselves questions about the game of poker when they see him play.

Brash, confident and bursting with poker talent he certainly accomplished his goal.

“I said it and I did it and I'm going to keep on doing it,” he said.

The only question Pilgrim's doubters can ask now is: What's next?

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