Poker News

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Showdown with Jon Friedberg Debuts on Poker News Daily

The very first episode of “The Showdown” with Jon Friedberg debuted today on Poker News Daily. The weekly web-based series welcomed former “Survivor: China” castaway Jean-Robert Bellande to discuss a variety of topics ranging from bankroll management to the Spearmint Rhino in Las Vegas.

Friedberg is a former World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner who was an original ranked player on PocketFives.com. His former ventures include a radio show and television show on CardPlayer and he brings a considerable amount of media experience to Poker News Daily. The USA-friendly site UB.com sponsors “The Showdown” and new episodes will be released every Tuesday.

In a recent Guest Column here on Poker News Daily, World Poker Tour (WPT) front man Mike Sexton gave several suggestions to improve attendance on the live tournament circuit, among them lowering buy-ins and shortening each tournament’s length. Friedberg responded, “I absolutely agree with Mike on this. It would be really great if we could lower the buy-ins a little bit and maybe shorten the time period of a tournament. $10,000 is a lot of money.” What do you think? Give us your take on how to increase tournament turnout by posting a Tweet at @JonFriedberg.

Also making news in recent days was WSOP Tournament Director Jack Effel asking for suggestions for the 2011 Series, which kicks off on the last day of May. Friedberg gave his take on the responses that poured in via Twitter: “I saw a lot of great suggestions on Twitter, but I have to say the best suggestion I saw… is changing the structures to where the $1,000 No Limit Hold’em events and the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em events have the exact same structure… I don’t think you should ever have a smaller buy-in event in the World Series have a better starting structure than a bigger buy-in event.”

Then, Friedberg welcomed Bellande to the Las Vegas set. Bellande has opened up his life via Twitter, discussing his bankroll’s wild swings, among other topics. Bellande noted, “I just am not mindful of bankroll management. I just get on the table, am not afraid to put it all on the line, and I go for it. There is an appreciation in the poker community because a lot of us have the desire to do that, but after you’ve gone broke a couple of times and can’t stand being broke, nobody wants to do it.”

Bellande revealed that he has a wealth of backers to help him get back on his feet should his fortunes at the tables turn sour. On whether he prefers playing with the help of backers, Bellande told “The Showdown” viewers, “I’d much prefer to play on my own money. I’ve built up some credit with some people and always pay back… but I’d much rather be playing on my own stakes. Tournaments are different because the buy-ins are so enormous. A tournament player can spend $250,000 or $350,000 a year on buy-ins.”

Bellande serves as an ambassador of Aria Las Vegas and commented to Friedberg that the idea of Re-Tweeting insults came after seeing a popular porn star do the same: “My idea of Re-Tweeting the hater stuff – I actually got it from Jenna Jameson. She Re-Tweeted all of her hater stuff and I thought that was hilarious. People are going to think what they’re going to think anyway.”

If you follow Bellande’s Twitter feed, then you’ll also hear about his exploits at the Spearmint Rhino, a renowned strip club in Sin City. “I’ve spent $1,000 or $1,200 in there, but it’s never more,” Bellande admitted. “It’s usually around a couple hundred or $400. They actually don’t make me buy the bottle because I’m more of a local, regular guy. I have not gone into the Rhino very often recently.” Bellande added that visiting the Rhino serves as a way to help him wind down from a day at the tables.

With many poker players making resolutions, Bellande vowed not to go broke in 2011: “I really don’t want to go broke. My goal is not to go broke in 2011… You’ll see me go from $100,000 to $200,000 in the next month or two and then I’ll try to shoot it up so I have a decent bankroll going into the World Series.” The former Bodog pro added that he wants to hit the $1 million mark by the end of the year.

Check out the inaugural episode of “The Showdown” with Jon Friedberg, brought to you by UB.com. Use bonus code UBPND when signing up!

Ryan D’Angelo Leads WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic After Day 1

One day of play is in the books in the Five Diamond World Poker Classic, a stop on the World Poker Tour (WPT). Ryan “g0lfa” D’Angelo, who took fifth in the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event, leads the pack after Day 1 in Las Vegas with a chip stack of 192,500. The field numbered 391 when all $10,000 buy-ins were accepted on Day 1, with registration remaining open until 5:00pm local time on Saturday for Day 2. Last year, 329 players coughed up $15,000 apiece.

We really can’t believe we’re writing this, but Joseph “subiime” Cheong was bounced from the WPT Five Diamond after 6betting all-in before the flop with A-J and running into D’Angelo’s pocket jacks. If this seems eerily familiar to a hand that occurred at the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event final table, it is. In that tournament, Cheong crippled his stack after 6betting all-in pre-flop with A-7 three-handed and running into eventual winner Jonathan Duhamel’s pocket queens. The wired pair held each time.

North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Mohegan Sun champ Vanessa Selbst, a PokerStars pro, also met her demise on Friday at the Bellagio. Selbst got her money in good, holding pocket nines on a board of 8-6-6-3 for nines-up. Her opponent tabled 10-8 for eights-up and watched with glee as the river came another eight, giving him a full house and the win. On dropping the massive pot, Selbst proclaimed to the world via Twitter, “Oh yeah, now I’m busto instead of being the chip leader.”

Trending in the right direction on the first day of play was former Bodog pro and “Survivor: China” castaway Jean-Robert Bellande, who committed his stack with J-8 on a flop of 8-8-6 for trips. His opponent showed pocket nines, which added an open-ended straight draw when a seven hit on the turn. However, Bellande faded his opponent’s outs on the river and doubled through to 48,000. He finished the day at 65,050, good for 88th overall out of the 287 survivors.

2010 WSOP November Nine Bubble Boy Brandon Steven made his presence felt at the WPT Five Diamond on Friday. Steven sent formidable pro Scott Seiver packing during Level 3 to move to 52,000 in chips. Steven, however, failed to survive to Day 2.

Also finding the rail was Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, who Tweeted the details of his untimely exit: “Bluffed every hand to get to 60k Level 1. Level 2 I made real hands and got sucked out on to get to 40k. Lost rest KK vs AA. Not fun.” Others joining Bonomo on the rail on Day 1 included Chino Rheem, UB.com pro Joe Sebok, and Shawn Cunix.

In case you’re wondering, Sebok was ousted in particularly brutal fashion. His chips found the middle with pocket queens on a flop of 10-5-2. However, his opponent had spiked a set with pocket deuces and Sebok’s WPT woes continued. Sebok has a pair of seventh place finishes on the WPT, which runs its final tables six-handed.

Here are the top 10 chip stacks entering Day 2 at the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic:

1. Ryan “g0lfa” D’Angelo – 192,500
2. Amirouddine Alibay – 185,200
3. Albert Kim – 157,100
4. Antonio Esfandiari – 149,550
5. Niema Mostafavi – 145,800
6. Phil Ivey – 143,225
7. Maciek Gracz – 138,850
8. Matt Keikoan – 133,775
9. Justin Young – 131,200
10. Kirk Morrison – 130,075

Other brand name pros remaining in the top 50 include:

12. John Hennigan – 120,500
16. Chau Giang – 115,000
22. Peter Jetten – 104,175
41. Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka – 84,050
42. Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko – 83,750
45. David Chiu – 82,950

Registration will close at 5:00pm local time at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Among those rumored to be buying into the $10,000 tournament on Day 2 is Kathy Liebert. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest WPT coverage.

Lock Poker Integrates Sharkscope

Lock Poker announced this week the launch of its new Player Dashboard with stats from Sharkscope integrated directly into its client. The site will now allow players to view their own stats, search for opponents’ stats, and shop at the Lock Poker store all while playing poker in real-time.

“One of our mandates as a company is to provide a superior online poker experience,” said Jennifer Larson, CEO of Lock Poker. “We are determined to take this industry by storm and innovate in every possible way we can. The player comes first at Lock and that will always drive our business development.”

Lock’s new Dashboard has never been seen before in online poker. While some rooms like PartyPoker and Ladbrokes recently introduced anonymous heads-up tables to allow a player’s identity and statistics to remain secret, Lock has taken a different approach in making opponents’ stats available right at a person’s fingertips. Other sites, such as PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, have prohibited Sharkscope while their client is in use.

Online poker legend Eric “Rizen” Lynch, who was hired by Lock Poker as its VP of Product Development in 2009, posted the official Lock/Sharkscope press release on his blog, saying, “I’m really excited about this partnership and what we can do with it going forward.”

Lock Poker has prided itself on being innovative in this ever-changing industry ever since opening its doors in 2008. The site made a name for itself in March 2009 by introducing the Bluff Online Poker Challenge, which pitted several of online poker’s top tournament players in a one-month bankroll-building challenge. Lynch, Kevin “BeL0WaB0Ve” Saul, Jeff “yellowsub” Williams, Ari “Bodog Ari” Engel, Jon “apestyles” Van Fleet, Brett “gank” Jungblut, Brandon Cantu, and Maria Ho were among the participants, but the competition was ultimately won by Brian “SNo0oWMAN” Hawkins in a landslide.

Sharkscope, meanwhile, has become a mainstay in online poker since it began tracking and analyzing online tournaments in 2004. The site has nearly half a billion tournaments in its database and estimates that well over 20% of all online poker players use its services. Despite constant resistance from some of the major poker sites, Sharkscope remains one of the most popular software tools in online poker today and even recently started tracking live poker results.

“SharkScope is delighted to be working with Lock Poker in a groundbreaking partnership that brings our years of expertise in the display and analysis of poker statistics directly to Lock Poker players,” SharkScope’s CEO said. “Players will be able to track their tournaments results, examine their statistics in great detail, and find new ways of increasing their profits, all directly on the Lock Poker site.”

Lock Poker is part of the Merge Gaming Network, which currently ranks 23rd in the world in cash game traffic according to PokerScout.com. The Australia-based site averaged 830 ring game players over the past seven days with a peak of 1,422. Other sites on the Merge Gaming Network include RPM Poker, Aced, and Carbon Poker, which signed actress and poker player Shannon Elizabeth to be the face of its site in June. The Merge Gaming Network accepts players from all over the world, including the United States.

Carbon Poker Launches Mac Client

Mac poker players can ring in the holiday season a little earlier this year. On Wednesday, Carbon Poker will unveil a fully downloadable Mac client. In addition to Carbon Poker, the Mac software will debut across the USA-friendly Merge Gaming Network.

The Mac client has been being beta tested to this point and will now be available for public consumption tomorrow night. Interested players can download the Mac version from Carbon Poker’s website or from other skins of the Merge Gaming Network. There are only a handful of sites that offer fully functional Mac clients, including Full Tilt and PokerStars. Other sites like PartyPoker and Bodog offer web-based clients that have major limitations. However, they still allow Mac users to play online poker.

Atil Singh, Head of Acquisition at Carbon Poker, told Poker News Daily on the eve of the Mac client’s launch, “Having the ability to offer potential customers a Mac version of our software is quite significant. Numerous studies have shown that Apple’s market share in the U.S. has grown to over 10% in 2010 and will continue to grow rapidly moving forward. Our affiliates can now target an unsaturated market of potential Carbon Poker players. There has never been a better time to be Mac-friendly.”

Singh added that Mac players will be impressed with the features of the new Carbon Poker client that will be rolled out on Wednesday: “Beta testing on the new client has gone very well and some of the new features have been especially popular. Tournament lobbies now open in a separate window, full screen mode has been optimized for smoother play, and improvements have been made to the software’s performance on smaller computers and netbooks.”

To this point, Mac users have had to hunt down a program like Parallels or Boot Camp in order to load Windows-based software on their computers. Now, Mac players can download the Merge Gaming software right onto their machines, most likely leading to an increase in player counts. The rollout of the Mac software is scheduled for 7:00pm ET on Wednesday.

Merge Gaming officials have also been jumping for joy this week after Monday’s update to PokerScout.com, which tracks online poker room traffic. The Merge Gaming Network leapfrogged both Everest Poker and the Cake Poker Network to move to #22 worldwide in terms of cash game traffic. According to PokerScout.com, the Merge Gaming Network boasts a seven-day running average of 820 real money ring game players, ahead of Everest Poker and the Cake Poker Network’s 810.

Besides Carbon Poker, other Merge Gaming Network rooms include Aced, Big Bet Poker, Overbet, PDC Poker, PokerHost, and RPM Poker. The Merge Gaming Network is based in Australia and hosts its game servers on the Kahnawake reservation in Canada.

In December, Carbon Poker is holding a $50,000 Grand Prix, which awards cash prizes to players who rack up VIP Points on its felts. The top 500 spots will pay out and a minimum prize of $10 is up for grabs. A total of $50,000 in cash will be dished out during the December promotion, with a top prize of $3,000.

Carbon Poker and the Merge Gaming Network happily accept players from the United States.

U.S. Government Seizes eWalletXpress Funds

The truth about the “technical issues” with eWalletXpress was given new light earlier this week when the payment processing company was served a warrant from the U.S. Government. According to an article by SportsbookGurus.com, management at a major online gambling site confirmed that the warrant had been served and the seizures had already begun, although specific details have not been released. What we do know is that eWalletXpress will not be available for U.S. players until further notice.

Beginning on November 12th, eWalletXpress was suddenly unavailable to customers and the company blamed the shutdown on “technical issues.” Then, about a week later, merchants received the following e-mail from the company: “We regret to inform you that we are no longer able to continue service at this time due to a federal warrant issued to seize our funds.” On its website, eWalletXpress removed the “USA” option for new users attempting to make an account, leaving Canada as the only country to choose.

While the company has made no official statement, details are leaking in slowly as online bettors continue to ask questions. The information we do have leads us to believe that eWalletXpress will exit the U.S. market for good in order to avoid prosecution, much like Neteller did a few years ago.

SportsbookGurus.com sources have stated that account holders who currently have money on eWalletXpress can currently request to receive their funds through the e-mail address payouts@ewalletxpress.com. eWalletXpress will allegedly transfer funds back into checking accounts when the “technical issues” are resolved and officials have assured players that any money in their account is safe.

The online poker site most affected by the seizure is likely Bodog, which offered eWalletXpress as one of its primary deposit methods. Customers can now use MyPayLinQ and Digital-Pin to fund their Bodog accounts as well as bank transfers or credit cards if available. Other online poker rooms that offered eWalletXpress as a deposit option were Carbon Poker, DoylesRoom, and Cake Poker.

Back in 2007, the U.S. Department of Justice seized up to $55 million in customer funds from Neteller, which caused uproar in the online poker community. At the time, Neteller was the primary method of transferring funds to and from online poker accounts. When the firm’s two Canadian founders were arrested and charged with racketeering and money laundering, customers were blocked from withdrawing their money back to their bank accounts.

Among those who had money on Neteller was poker pro Isaac Haxton, who had more than $800,000 sitting in his account at the time of the seizure. Haxton placed second at the 2007 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in the Bahamas, at which point PokerStars transferred his earnings ($861,789) to his online poker account. Haxton planned to use Neteller to transfer the funds to his bank account, but while the transaction was being processed, Neteller’s founders were arrested and the Department of Justice intervened. Neteller agreed to pay a fine after about a year of negotiations and was able to release player funds.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest on this story.

David Chicotsky (The Maven) Interview with Poker News Daily

At the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, David “The Maven” Chicotsky was among those on the rail of Joseph “subiime” Cheong, whose 6bet all-in before the flop with A-7 against Jonathan Duhamel’s pocket queens sent him out in third place. Poker News Daily caught up with Chicotsky in the lobby of the Penn and Teller Theater to get his take on the action and get the inside scoop on the world of poker coaching.

Poker News Daily: Why are you here rooting on Joseph Cheong?

David Chicotsky: He’s a buddy of mine and he’s the best player here. He has a math degree, a psychology degree, a statistics background, and he’s super levelheaded. I think that’s the biggest thing going for him: he’s really calm, collected, and has a lot of experience playing 10,000+ tournaments online.

All that said, John Dolan is amazing. He’s another online pro. John Racener is an online and live pro. What can you say? At 22 years old, Racener has $1.5 million in live earnings and $1.5 million online. Must be nice.

PND: When you coach your students, can you teach someone to be levelheaded or is that a trait you either do or do not have?

David Chicotsky: I had to learn it along the way and it’s something that I definitely espouse to my students. I’ve hired Sam Chauhan in the last year and, in general, our big philosophy is no partying whatsoever. If you win a hand, you don’t celebrate. If you lose a hand, you don’t cry about it. Over time, you get numb to it.

The best analogy I can think of is you driving around in a car all day long. Every red light you get to, you get unhappy. Every green light you get to, you get excited. By the end of the night, you’d be emotionally drained.

PND: How did you get into the poker training business originally?

David Chicotsky: From the get-go, I was training a whole family of players how to play – a brother, a sister, a cousin, and an uncle. This was five or six years ago and they all became good players. One or two of them went on to do good things and I was just very surprised how well everything translated.

In 2004, I didn’t know anything about poker. I grew up as a kid playing Five Card Draw at camp and forgot all about it. When I got out of grad school, one of my friends, who is a genius, was making $1,000 a day in cash games. I was making $300 or $400 a week grinding sales, so I said, “Hey, you have to teach me how to do this.” He basically mapped it out with an Excel program. I was lucky in the sense that I had he and his brother lay out what to do.

I was able to have guys who were smarter than I am break down the game. Then, I was able to get on my own two feet and met Ari Engel, who at the time was the #1 online player in the world according to PocketFives.com. After I trained with Ari, it was almost immediate. Within one week, I got third in the $100K on Bodog and won two other tournaments. I went from having $1,100 in my account to $17,000 one week later.

PND: You’ve been in the training business for a while. Are you still very active?

David Chicotsky: It’s very active. We just sold 21 seats to a boot camp last month. We’re halfway sold for this month’s online boot camp, which is our first online boot camp ever. Every Wednesday night, my former students are able to watch me play in entirety. They can see my hole cards, they can hear me talking, and they can ask me questions while I’m playing. At this point, we have a huge community.

Kim Fredericksen Leads NAPT Los Angeles After Day 1B

The second of two starting days in the PokerStars North American Poker Tour’s (NAPT) Los Angeles stop is in the books and Kim Fredericksen leads the survivors of Day 1B with a stack of 237,000. The final field size was 701 players, meaning that a top prize of $725,000 will be awarded.

One of the key pots of Day 1B on Saturday belonged to former UB.com pro Michael Binger, who held J-10 on a flop of 7-8-9 for the nuts. His opponents held pocket eights for middle set and 6-5 for the sucker end of the straight and Binger’s hand held to balloon up the leaderboard at the Bicycle Casino event. All told, he amassed the 13th largest Day 1B stack at 141,800.

Members of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event November Nine were out in full force over the weekend. On Friday, Soi Nguyen and Matt Jarvis failed to survive Day 1A. Yesterday, Michael Mizrachi and John Dolan were also cast away. The last November Niner standing in NAPT LA was Jason Senti, who finished seventh in the $10,000 buy-in WSOP Main Event last week and was ousted late on Day 1B. None made Day 2 in Los Angeles.

Freedy Deeb was eliminated on Day 1B in a set-over-set situation. Also heading to the exit was PokerStars pro David Williams, whose A-K could not withstand A-Q. The flop came K-Q-5, keeping the former Bodog front man out in front, but another queen on the turn improved his opponent to trips. His opponent apologized for applying the bad beat and a disappointed Williams responded, “I don’t think you’re sorry, but you don’t have to be. You don’t have to apologize. We’re here to win.”

Jamie “thecronic420” Rosen sent Victor Ramdin away after flopping a boat with A-10 on a board of A-A-10. Ramdin held the case ace for trips and was promptly dispatched. Rosen bagged up nearly 90,000 chips after Day 1B, good for the 39th largest tally in the room.

Victory Poker pro Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little, a former World Poker Tour (WPT) Player of the Year, hit the rail at The Bike on Saturday after his A-J was well behind another player’s J-10 on a flop of J-10-3. No ace fell on the turn or river and Little came up empty-handed. He is fresh off a win in a $5,000 No Limit Hold’em preliminary tournament during the Festa al Lago last month for $152,000.

As you might expect from a tournament sponsored by the world’s largest online poker site, there are a wealth of young internet hot shots remaining. Here’s how the top 10 looked at the end of Day 1B:

1. Kim Frederiksen – 237,000
2. Hafiz “hafizzle” Khan – 210,200
3. Blake Kelso – 207,500
4. David “Blue Knight4” Sesso – 200,000
5. Michael Kamran – 180,000
6. Cezary Swiech – 175,100
7. Getty Mattingsley – 173,800
8. Matthew Schulte – 167,200
9. Mike “SowersUNCC” Sowers – 151,400
10. John Smith – 151,200

Other players who remain and own top 50 chip stacks after Day 1B include:

13. Michael Binger – 141,800
16. Eric “sheets” Haber – 137,000
19. Tom “Kingsofcards” Marchese – 134,000
35. Brett Richey – 94,900
43. Kevin “BeL0WaB0Ve” Saul – 84,300
46. Kathy Liebert – 81,300
48. Joe Cada – 78,900

The blinds stood at 500-1,000 when play concluded on Days 1A and 1B. Today’s action kicked off at 1:00pm PT and the field will slowly work toward the money bubble, which will burst when 104 players remain. The minimum payout in the $5,000 buy-in contest is $7,500 and the top six will walk away with six-figures.

Setting the Line on the November Nine

So it's to no one's surprise that oddsmakers have made him the favorite to win poker's most coveted title and its $8,944,138 first-place prize.

Among the online sites setting the lines, Bodog currently list him as at 2.5:1 and he's at 3.7:1 on Betfair.

"I like my chances," said Duhamel. "I'm just going to play my best and from there I guess we'll see what happens, but I like my chances."

However, not since Jamie Gold did it in 2006 has the chip leader heading into the Main Event final table walked away with the bracelet.

As the only other player with a chip stack even close to Duhamel's, American online pro John Dolan is listed at 3.75:1 to win it all on Bodog while Betfair puts him at 5.2:1.

A position he doesn't seem to mind one bit.

"I feel like my stack definitely puts me in a good position compared to others," he said. "I don't know if on paper I'm a favorite, but I feel like it's definitely an advantage to be where I'm at."

For the most part, the odds on the November Nine follow the stack sizes.

Currently third in chips, Joseph Cheong is at 6.5:1 on Bodog, 7:1 on Betfair and in a position he seems to agree with.

"I feel like the chip leader is the favorite to win this thing, so I'm going to say I'm third favorite," he said.

In the middle of the pack just underneath Cheong, John Racener is also at 6.5:1 on Bodog and 8.6:1 on Betfair and while both Matthew Jarvis and Filippo Candio are at 12:1 on Betfair, Jarvis sits at 10:1 and Candio at 11:1 on Bodog.

But that's where things get really interesting.

With $9.6 million in career tournament earnings, including a World Series of Poker bracelet and two WPT titles, Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi is the only proven star in the group - a fact the oddsmakers have not ignored.

Despite sitting seventh in chips just above short stacks Soi Nguyen and Jason Senti, a Mizrachi win will still only pay 6:1 on Bodog and 9:1 on Betfair.

"I guess they have me at about 7:1, so as to my chip count, they're actually making me a heavy favorite," Mizrachi said. "But anybody can win, everybody plays well at this final table. It's going to be a tough final table."

Bluefire Poker instructor Senti has the shortest stack, justifying his 22:1 odds on Betfair and 18:1 on Bodog.

But despite the fact he has a few more chips and Bodog currently list him above Senti at 16:1, Betfair has made experience a factor when setting the odds on Nguyen to win at 23:1, making him the true underdog.

"I'm the only amateur at the final table so I guess I'm the longshot," he said.

Favorite or longshot, it seems even the oddsmakers agree that when it comes to the WSOP Main Event, anyone can win.

Tune in to PokerListings' WSOP Live Updates beginning at 12 p.m. PT Nov. 6 to find out who does.

For more on the betting lines, check out PokerListings guide to Handicapping and Betting the 2010 November Nine.

Here's a look at how things stack up heading into the final:

1 Jonathan Duhamel 65,975,000

2 John Dolan 46,250,000

3 Joseph Cheong 23,525,000

4 John Racener 19,050,000

5 Matthew Jarvis 16,700,000

6 Filippo Candio 16,400,000

7 Michael Mizrachi 14,450,000

8 Soi Nguyen 9,650,000

9 Jason Senti 7,625,000

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Final PokerNews $1k Added Open Series on Bodog Back this Weekend - Open to All!

The final $1k added event from Bodog is coming up on Sunday - you can join the action no matter where you signed up as long as you have a deposit and the password.

The Sunday Scoop: Mizzi Takes Warm-Up

Mizzi, who’s won almost every major online tournament including FTOPS and SCOOP, outlasted 4,786 players to secure a $149k pay day.

It’s the second time Mizzi has won the Warm-Up as he also took down $109k for winning it in the spring of 2007.

Meanwhile PokerStars’ biggest tournament – the Sunday Million – drew 8,214 players to create an impressive prize pool of $1.6 million.

Online poker pro Ari “Bodogari” Engel made an appearance at the final table but eventually bowed out in seventh place for $32k. ramondemon was the overall winner taking down $246k, the biggest score last night.

The PokerStars Sunday 500 attracted 1,027 players to establish a prize pool of $513k.

The final table had several notable players with reigning WSOP Main Event Champion Joe Cada coming in eighth for $10k and consistent grinder PeachyMer placing third for $48k. tRaMp$d0PrAy took the entire tournament down for $88k.

On Full Tilt the EatMyBluff8 outlasted 3,838 players to win the $750k guaranteed for first prize of $135k.

The Full Tilt Sunday Brawl went to timkrank for $109k and the Full Tilt Sunday Mulligan was won by Aleks Gutcu.

It wasn’t a huge score but 2010 November Niner John Racener won the Full Tilt $200 H.O.R.S.E. tournament for $9,000 last night.

Finally ACTIONDJ outlasted 943 players to win UB Poker’s $200k guaranteed for $44,920k.

Visit PokerListings.com

Six Illinois Online Poker Players Sued for Winnings

In a lawsuit that has popped up on both PocketFives.com and TwoPlusTwo in recent days, a Florida resident seeking to recover “illegal poker gambling losses” is suing six online poker players from Illinois. The lawsuit includes nearly 190 pages of tournament results and is numbered 1:10-cv-06543.

Targeted in the case are six top players from the Land of Lincoln: Andy “BKiCe” Seth, Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka, Benjamin “Chong94” LeFew, Mohsin “chicagocards1” Charania, Ravi “govshark2” Raghavan, and Tyler “puffinmypurp” Reiman. The latter was the runner-up to Harrison Gimbel in the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event in January and walked away with $1.75 million.

Scott Crespo filed the lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois one week ago and cited why he’s able to sue under state law: “If within six months, such person [who] is entitled to initiate action to recover his losses does not in fact pursue his remedy, any person may initiate a civil action against the winner.” Crespo alleges that the six defendants used “real estate or property for the purposes of gambling” in the form of the PokerHaus, located in Champaign.

Crespo calls out Seth as the owner of the PokerHaus, where he alleges that the group has “actively recruited other individuals to participate in illegal gambling activity” and “committed acts of collusion and cheating while playing online poker.” The allegations for the latter charge were not spelled out. Crespo’s filing also reminds its readers of the “60 Minutes” piece profiling the cheating scandals on Absolute Poker and UB.com. The CBS News report, which aired in November 2008, ended with officials questioning why Russ Hamilton, the purported mastermind behind the cheating scandal, was still roaming free in Las Vegas.

After an examination of gambling addictions and other social ills, Crespo outlines nearly 700 tournament cashes by Seth, Charania, Jaka, LeFew, Raghavan, and Reiman on sites like PokerStars, Full Tilt, and UB.com. Crespo is seeking triple the amount lost to the group of six plus court costs and “any other relief that the Court deems just.” Crespo’s lawyer is Mark Lavery, who works out of Des Plaines, Illinois, while Crespo hails from Florida.

Taking an interest in the case is the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), whose Litigation Network matches online poker players seeking counsel with pre-screened local attorneys. PPA Kentucky State Director Rich Muny told Poker News Daily on Tuesday, “I have spoken with one of the defendants and we have discussed the issue at the highest levels within the PPA. It’s something we take very seriously.”

The time frame at hand is the end of 2006 to the present. The screen names of all six players at sites like PokerStars, Full Tilt, UB.com, Absolute Poker, and Bodog are given in the lawsuit, and, according to Crespo, “any conduct committed outside the State constitutes an attempt to commit an offense within the State of Illinois.” Each tournament in the money finish is over $50 and occurred more than six months ago, per the Illinois statute.

Poker software allegedly used for collusion is also presented in the lawsuit. These include programs like Poker Crusher, Poker Bot Pro, Pocket Aces, No Rules Poker, Calculatem Pro, Sit and Go Shark, and Holdem Genius. Whether any of the defendants actually used any of these pieces of software was not outlined.

In Kentucky, a similar case is unfolding in which the Commonwealth is seeking to recoup losses by state residents to online poker sites between 2005 and 2009. The legal action was originally filed against Full Tilt Poker, but has since been amended to include PartyPoker as well. In a separate lawsuit, Kentucky attorneys are trying to force the forfeiture of 141 internet gambling domain names, including those belonging to PokerStars and Full Tilt.

Read the Illinois litigation in its entirety by clicking here.

WSOP Main Event Day 7 Airs on ESPN

On Tuesday night, 78 players took to the felts on Day 7 as part of ESPN’s coverage of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. Danish poker pro Theo Jorgensen led the way with a stack of 9.3 million and was the only player above nine million.

The stacked feature table included John Racener, new World Poker Tour (WPT) “Raw Deal” host Tony “Bond18” Dunst, and former Bodog pro Jean-Robert Bellande. The latter was the first casualty of Day 7. Nursing a short stack to start the day, Bellande moved his chips into the middle of the table with Q-10 of diamonds, but could not draw out on pocket jacks.

Out in the field, Eduardo Parras knocked out two opponents after his pocket aces held against Q-J of hearts and pocket kings. Then, two UB.com pros trended in opposite directions, as Adam “Roothlus” Levy knocked out a player when his pocket kings withstood A-K. Elsewhere, Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin’s stack was shaved to 30 big blinds after losing a major pot with pocket tens against Jorgensen’s pocket kings. Jorgensen, who once defeated Gus Hansen in a Dane-on-Dane boxing match, moved to 10.9 million in chips.

Dunst committed his last 15 big blinds with pocket queens against Hasan Habib’s A-K. The king-high flop gave Habib a better pair, but Dunst spiked a queen on the river to survive. The new WPT personality commented, “That’s just ridiculous.” Out in the field, a pot worth 8.6 million was up for grabs as Joseph “subiime” Cheong was all-in with A-K against the pocket jacks of Soi Nguyen. The two members of the 2010 WSOP November Nine watched as the board ran out K-5-8-2-6, giving Cheong a pair of kings.

Pascal LeFrancois eliminated Baldwin with pocket nines against the K-8 of “basebaldy.” LeFrancois flopped a set and Baldwin was out in 59th place. Then, LeFrancois was at it again, this time eliminating Full Tilt Poker pro David Benyamine with A-Q of hearts against Benyamine’s Q-10 of spades. LeFrancois flopped the nuts and Benyamine was drawing dead to the river. In the final hand of the first one-hour episode, Racener took down a pot at the feature table worth 4.3 million to become the WSOP Main Event’s new chip leader at 10.2 million.

The second episode began with LeFrancois doubling up through Jonathan Driscoll to claim the third largest stack in the field. Then, Peter Jetten made a poorly timed move and doubled up a player when his lowly 9-5 could not suck out on A-Q. Jetten was down to a little more than an ante and ultimately met his demise at the hands of November Niner John Dolan.

Bluefire Poker instructor Jason Senti doubled up with A-Q against an opponent’s K-Q to keep his bracelet hopes alive. Similarly, Jonathan Duhamel doubled up in a race with A-K against the pocket sixes of Rob Pisano. Duhamel spiked a six-outer on the river to stay alive.

At the feature table, William Thorson was active early and often, raising to 130,000 with A-5 of spades in a hand against Matt Affleck, who called with K-10. The flop came A-8-6 and Affleck check-called a bet of 160,000. The turn was the eight of spades, giving Thorson a flush draw, and he called a bet of 360,000 from Affleck. The river filled Thorson’s flush and Affleck continued firing with king-high, this time laying out 800,000. Thorson raised to two million and Affleck looked him up. Affleck, who made a deep run in last year’s Main Event, dropped one-third of his stack.

Senti doubled up once more after flopping quad kings. Then, Dunst called all-in pre-flop with A-Q against Thorson, who held A-K. The youngster could not draw out and hit the rail in 50th place. Thorson moved to 13 million in chips as Tuesday’s WSOP coverage came to a close.

You can catch the 2010 WSOP Main Event every Tuesday on ESPN at 9:00pm ET.

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Poker News in Brief: Oct. 4-10, 2010

Add in a ton of high-stakes action online and several live events beginning across Europe and the United States and it was another busy week in the PokerListings news room.

A few stories may have fallen through the cracks as a result, but we've sorted them below in our weekly Poker News in Brief feature.

This week PokerStars signs a Russian pro, a WSOPE bracelet winner joins Team PKR, the FTOPS XVIII schedule is released, an NFL legend is hosting a charity event and even more.

PokerStars Signs Lykov

PokerStars inked 2009 EPT Kyiv champ Maxim Lykov to a Team Pro contract this week.

The Russian pro is in the top ten on Russia's all-time money winners list with just under $1 million in career tournament earnings and has a WSOP final table on his resume.

IPO Set To Draw Big Names

Despite its rather small €180+€20 buy-in, names like Irish Open and GUKPT winner Neil Channing, WSOP main event finalist Andy Black, WSOP main event finalist and UKIPT winner Padraig Parkinson, poker TV legend Jesse May, Irish Open and WSOP bracelet winner Marty Smyth and WPT and WSOP finalist John O'Shea are all set to play in the Boylepoker International Poker Open Oct. 15-17 at the Regency Hotel in Dublin, Ireland.

Day 1B of the event is already listed as a 600-player sell out and the event is expected to create a €200,000 prize pool.

Last year the IPO attracted a record-breaking field of 1,440 players and was won by German Markus Sippe.

FTOPS XVIII Schedule Released

The schedule for the eighteenth Full Tilt Online Poker Series has been released including more than $19 million guaranteed over 34 events.

FTOPS XVIII begins Nov. 10 with a $200+$16 No-Limit Hold'em event with an $800,000 guarantee and culminates with the $3 million Guaranteed $600+$40 Main Event Nov. 21.

For more information, check out the FTOPS Gateway page.

WSOPE bracelet Winner Joins Team PKR Pro

Scott Shelley, the PKR employee that won the £1k event at the 2010 WSOPE last month, is now a member of Team PKR Pro.

The 24-year-old North Londoner is the first member of Team PKR Pro to win a World Series of Poker bracelet.

"The last two weeks have been life changing and joining Team PKR Pro has been the icing on the cake," he said.

Shelley will make his debut at the upcoming PKR London Calling festival and will then join other PKR Team Pro members at PKR Live V in November.

To celebrate the signing, PKR will hold a Scott Shelley themed week beginning Oct. 18 offering players the chance to win a PKR Live, London Calling and $500 Heads-Up tournament buy-ins.

PokerStars Granted Estonian License

After being granted an activity license in Estonia this past August, PokerStars has now become one of the first online poker sites to also receive an operational license.

PokerStars.ee now complies fully with Estonian law.

"There are thousands of good poker players in Estonia and I am very glad that the license enables them to continue competing at the largest poker site with players all over the world," said PokerStars Nordic & Baltic Director of Marketing Michael Holmberg.

Swede wins IPF

The 2010 Ladbrokes Irish Poker Festival saw some 632 players compete for a €75,000 top prize in Killarney, Ireland last week.

But in the end, it was London based Swede Lars Torngren who outlasted them all to take the title.

Ladbrokes' pro and WSOP Main Event finalist Jon Kalmer was the early favorite and chip leader going into the final table but could do no better than fourth.

The tournament ended with a rare three way all-in.

"I have been playing poker for about 8 years and this is my first big tournament win so I am absolutely delighted," said Torngren. "I am already looking forward to next year's Ladbrokes poker festival."

NFL Legend to Host Charity Event

New York Giant legend Carl Banks is hosting a Celebrity Golf and Poker Tournament to raise funds for autism Oct. 12.

Among those expected to attend are Anthony Anderson, Michael Strahan, Maury Povich, Geraldo Rivera, Ed Lover, John Starks, Darryl Strawberry, Harry Carson, Zeke Mowatt, Alan Houston, Herb Williams, Ron Harper and several members of the current New York Giants.

Hackensack University Medical Center’s Institute of Child Development will be the beneficiary of the event, set to be held at the Alpine Country Club in Demarest, New Jersey.

Bodog Inks MLS Ad Deal

Bodog has signed an advertising deal with Major League Soccer's LA Galaxy.

Bodog.net will now be seen advertising on all the LED field boards, corner section banners, stadium scoreboards and in-stadium TVs as a result.

"Both the LA Galaxy and Bodog brands are recognized around the globe, making this partnership not only mutually beneficial, but a perfect synergy between brands across the United States and beyond," said Bodog PR director Ed Pownall.

Visit PokerListings.com

October 8 – PND Weekly Update

PND presents our weekly news update of all the top poker headlines for the week of October 4th through the 8th.

Hello, I’m Sean Gibson and welcome to the Poker News Daily Weekly Update!

On Monday night, 23 year-old Brit David Vamplew took down the European Poker Tour’s London Main Event for 900,000 Pounds, which works out to nearly one and a half million dollars. And for extra bragging rights, he defeated Full Tilt Poker pro John Juanda, who cashed for the second straight year. Juanda was chip leader during most of the final table, but Vamplew managed to cripple him through several hands. The decisive hand had Juanda all in pre-flop with King-Deuce suited and knocked out by Vamplew’s Ace-Three. Prior to Monday, Vamplew’s largest live cash was a meager … SIX thousand dollars. Well done, David!

The eighteenth edition of the Full Tilt Online Poker Series, or FTOPS, will kick off on November 10th. Once again, Full Tilt Poker will host 34 FTOPS tournaments, culminating in a six hundred and forty-dollar buy-in Main Event on November twenty-first that will shell out at least three million dollars. All told, Full Tilt is guaranteeing over nineteen million dollars in this installment of FTOPS. During FTOPS seventeen, which ran throughout the month of August, over 4,500 players turned out for the kickoff event, creating a prize pool approaching one million bucks. Brent Roberts was the champion of the first tournament and pulled down one hundred and sixty four thousand dollars.

Today, UB.com poker pro Joe Sebok rappelled down fifty-one stories at the Masquerade Tower at the Rio Las Vegas to raise money for Special Olympics Nevada. The Over the Edge fundraiser allows participants to rappel fifty-one stories in exchange for raising a minimum of one thousand dollars for charity. Another poker celebrity who showed interest in the cause is adult star and UB celebrity Samantha Ryan. This year, the Over the Edge event has raised nearly forty thousand dollars.

Bodog announced that it has signed an advertising deal with the LA Galaxy of Major League Soccer, led by world recognized superstars David Beckham and Landon Donovan. The agreement gives Bodog.net additional exposure through ad placements on the LA Galaxy’s stadium. Ed Pownall, Global PR Director at BodogBrand.com, declared:

“Both the LA Galaxy and Bodog brands are recognized around the globe, making this partnership not only mutually beneficial, but a perfect synergy across the United States and beyond.”

The Galaxy are in their 15th season in the MLS and coming off a runner-up finish in the two thousand and nine MLS Cup, losing on penalty kicks to Real Salt Lake.

WELL – Want a Caribbean poker holiday? Ya, who wouldn’t! Each Sunday this month, Doyle’s Room will be awarding valuable prize packages for the Punta Cana Poker Classic, which will be held at the Hard Rock Cafe and Casino in the Dominican Republic. The Classic will take place Wednesday, November tenth through Sunday, November fourteenth in the popular resort city on the eastern tip of the Caribbean nation. Doyle Brunson WILL be there, as will many of the site’s top pros.

After a pretty poor run at the EPT London, Tom Dwan is back in style. According to HighStakesDB.com, Dwan hit the tables against Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies on Sunday night at Full Tilt Poker. They were playing at the nosebleed stakes of five hundred – one thousand Pot Limit Omaha. Sahamies dropped a grand total of over one point two MILLION dollars in roughly one thousand hands against Dwan. Counting his action against “Ziigmund” and other play, “durrrr” finished off the night with over one and a half million dollars in profit.

Well, these were the top poker headlines this week. Don’t miss us next Friday for another executive recap of the week in Poker. I’m Sean Gibson and all of us at Poker News Daily wish you a great poker week!

Maxim Lykov Joins Team PokerStars Pro

Russian poker player Maxim Lykov is the newest member of Team PokerStars Pro. Officials from the world’s largest online poker site announced Lykov’s membership on Friday, noting that it took just two deposits of $40 for the Russian to become a global poker superstar.

Lykov got his start in poker five years ago as an engineering student in Moscow. Text found on the PokerStars Blog recreates his journey from there: “It was only a year later that his two $40 deposits had become a big bankroll, one that is now – even by a conservative estimation – huge. He is listed as one of the highest-earning Russian live tourney players of all-time.”

Lykov has manhandled the live poker scene in Russia and around the world. In 2009, he recorded his first major brick-and-mortar poker score after winning the Red Sea Poker Cup in Egypt for nearly $70,000. One month later and halfway around the world, Lykov finished third in a $5,000 No Limit Hold’em Shootout during the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas for $145,000. Peter “Belabasci” Traply ultimately took down that bracelet in a final table that also featured Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger, David “The Dragon” Pham, Full Tilt Poker pro Phil Ivey, and Peter “Nordberg” Feldman.

In August 2009, Lykov continued his breakout year by winning the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Main Event in Kiev for $468,000. Lykov defeated a field of nearly 300 players en route to his first EPT title. According to the Hendon Mob database, Lykov has recorded one six-figure score since then, taking down a $1,000 No Limit Hold’em preliminary event during January’s PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in the Bahamas for $100,000.

Lykov’s most recent major in the money finish came in September, when he won a short-handed event during the Partouche Poker Tour’s stop in Cannes for $51,000, defeating online poker pro David “Davidp18” Peters heads-up. You can catch Lykov on PokerStars playing under the handle “Maxim Lykov.”

Team PokerStars Pro consists of a number of former WSOP Main Event champions, including Tom McEvoy (1983), Chris Moneymaker (2003), Greg Raymer (2004), Joe Hachem (2005), and Joe Cada (2009). PokerStars formerly boasted 2008 champ Peter Eastgate on its Pro team, but the youngster ultimately sought a temporary reprieve from the game and he no longer appears on its roster.

Lykov’s signing comes on the heels of PokerStars inking a deal with Liv Boeree, who parted ways with the CEREUS Network site UB.com just before this year’s WSOP Main Event. Also signing on in recent months were 2010 World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship winner David Williams and PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Mohegan Sun Main Event champ Vanessa Selbst. Williams was formerly a sponsored pro of Bodog, while Selbst attended law school at Yale.

Other PokerStars pros include Daniel Negreanu, Jason Mercier, Johnny Lodden, Lee Nelson, and Dario Minieri. The world’s largest online poker site features Pro team members from around the world, including Austria, Costa Rica, Mexico, and the Ukraine. Lykov joins the Russian contingent, which also includes 2008 WSOP Main Event runner-up Ivan Demidov, bracelet winner Alexander Kravchenko, and Vadim Markushevski.

Visit PokerStars for more details. The site accepts players from Russia, the United States, and around the world.

Bodog Latest of Many Sites to Snap Up Sports Sponsorship

Bodog signed a deal this week to become an advertising partner of the Major League Soccer team the LA Galaxy, the latest of many partnerships between online gaming sites and sports teams.

Bodog Signs Ad Deal With LA Galaxy

Online gambling site Bodog announced this week that it has signed an advertising deal with the LA Galaxy of Major League Soccer (MLS). The agreement gives Bodog.net additional exposure through ad placements on all LED field boards at the Home Depot Center, LA Galaxy’s stadium, plus corner section banners, branding displayed on in-stadium TVs, and ad spots on the stadium’s scoreboard.

“Both the LA Galaxy and Bodog brands are recognized around the globe, making this partnership not only mutually beneficial, but a perfect synergy across the United States and beyond,” said Ed Pownall, Global PR Director at BodogBrand.com. “The fantasy sports industry has grown exponentially in recent years and is showing no signs of stopping, and soccer, with its many dimensions, offers itself perfectly to fantasy sports games.”

The Galaxy, led by world recognized superstars David Beckham and Landon Donovan, are in their 15th season in the MLS and coming off a runner-up finish in the 2009 MLS Cup, losing on penalty kicks to Real Salt Lake. The organization has won two league titles, in 2002 and 2005, and is among the league’s most decorated clubs. The Galaxy’s stadium holds 27,000 fans and averages more than 20,000 per night, which ranks second in the MLS.

Bodog already dipped into the soccer sponsorship world last year as the gaming partner of English Premier League and reigning Europa League runner-up Fulham. The two sides signed a three-year sponsorship deal in August that includes Bodog’s branding presence at Fulham’s Craven Cottage stadium incorporating perimeter advertising at home matches as well as game-day programs and a sponsorship presence on Fulham’s club website. Bodog joined sites like Bwin, William Hill, and Bettorlogic as online gambling sites that sponsor soccer teams.

Bodog also recently signed a one-year deal to advertise with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers to advertise its free-to-play Bodog.net brand for the upcoming season. The deal includes rink board advertising, concourse signage, radio spots, and LED and LCD signage and was the first of its kind for the online gaming company.

“The Edmonton Oilers are ingrained in the fabric of the sport I have followed all my life,” said Patrik Selin, CEO of Bodog Europe. “As a Swede, hockey is near and dear to my heart and we are sure that our first season with the Oilers will be a great one for us and the team. We are in this deal as fans of the game not just as commercial sponsors.”

Bodog.net is a play for fun website that allows poker players a chance to safely and securely learn the ins and outs of how to play the game. Sports fans also have a chance to participate in Bodog.net’s free fantasy contests for a chance to win weekly cash prizes with a prize pool totaling $75,000. ?

Filippo Candio Chips Up, Gets Penalized on ESPN WSOP Coverage

Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi entered Day 6 of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event second in chips and took his seat at the feature table alongside poker pro Peter Jetten. A total of 122 players remained including Mizrachi’s brother, Robert.

Breeze Zuckerman exited in 121st place for $57,000 as this year’s Last Woman Standing. In her final hand, Zuckerman ran K-10 into UB.com pro Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin’s pocket aces. Then, Tony “Bond18” Dunst, fresh off being hired as the host of the “Raw Deal” segment on World Poker Tour (WPT) broadcasts, had his aces cracked by A-Q. In an interview with ESPN, Dunst admitted that he’d consider wearing a tuxedo if he made the Main Event final table.

Pocket aces were everywhere on Day 6. Filippo Candio doubled up with them against pocket queens and began screaming hysterically in one corner of the Amazon Room. Harrah’s officials issued Candio a one-round penalty for his outburst and he was all but mute for the rest of the broadcast. Before being assessed his punishment, Candio told WSOP floor staff, “I didn’t know this rule.”

Also surviving to see Day 6 was Jean-Robert Bellande. The former Bodog pro and “Survivor: China” contestant unsuccessfully tried to knock out a player with J-5 of spades. He was up against Big Slick, but his opponent, Jose Nadal, promptly flopped trips to take down the pot.

Robert Mizrachi’s miraculous run through the 2010 WSOP Main Event came to an end when he was all-in with A-10 for eight big blinds and up against A-K. ESPN poker commentator Norman Chad noted, “They have set a sibling standard for all future large families to shoot for.” Robert took 116th place for the same $57,000.

Ben Straate was eliminated as part of a three-way all-in that saw Theo Tran nearly triple up to over one million in chips. Rob Pisano, who was also in the hand, then exchanged words with Tran at Table 2. In the final hand of the first one-hour episode, Michael Mizrachi, now the Last Mizrachi Standing, picked up J-10 of spades and sent a player with A-7 of diamonds to the rail to become the new chip leader at 5.6 million.

The second episode, which began at 10:00pm ET, also featured action from Day 6. Candio made his way to Table 2, while former tennis pro and assistant to Patrik Antonius Nick Rainey was ousted in 106th place. Tran was then sent packing after running two pair into a straight and, at the feature table, Jetten dumped more than half of his stack. Jetten called the all-in of Brock Bourne with A-K on a board of Q-J-K-8-K only to see Bourne table pocket jacks for a full house.

Theo Jorgensen, who once defeated Full Tilt Poker pro Gus Hansen in a boxing match, won a pot of 5.6 million to become the new chip leader with over eight million. Then, Baldwin doubled up with K-J of clubs against A-4 of diamonds to keep his run towards the 2010 WSOP November Nine alive. Also chipping up was Alexander Kostritsyn, who held one of the top stacks in the Amazon Room at the Rio in Las Vegas.

Jorgensen headed to the feature table, putting all three of the largest stacks together. Then, Gary Kostiuk, who was recently diagnosed with MS, was eliminated in 85th place for $79,000 after running pocket tens into the cowboys of eventual 10th place finisher Brandon Steven. Moving in the other direction was Jerry Payne, who doubled up courtesy of Michal Wywrot after cracking pocket queens with K-J. Payne turned a king and no lady came on the river.

In the last major action of Day 6, Candio 5bet all-in before the flop with A-K and received a call from Manuel Davidian, who held pocket tens. With a pot worth 5.4 million up for grabs, the dealer spread out 2-K-6-8-3 and Candio pressed on. In lieu of celebrating loudly, Candio chose to sing to himself softly.

Next Tuesday, the action from Day 7 will air starting at 9:30pm ET on ESPN.

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The Nightly Turbo: Jose “Nacho” Barbero Wins EPT High Roller, Bodog Inks Deal With LA Galaxy and More

Happy Tuesday! Tonight's edition of the Nightly Turbo looks at Jose "Nacho" Barbero's EPT high roller victory, the latest edition of the ESPN Inside Deal, a bunch of Bodog news, and PokerNews hostess Gloria Balding on the verge of insanity. In...

Whitey03 Wins Bodog Poker Open V

Forty-five players pocketed their share of $200,000 as Bodog hosted the $470 + $30 Main Event of the Bodog Poker Open V (BPO) on Sunday. With just 360 registered players, there was a $30,000 overlay, as a $200,000 prize pool was guaranteed by Bodog. Taking the top spot at the $50,000 first prize was Evansville, Indiana’s “Whitey03,” who will also receive an engraved Corum Romulus Chronograph watch, which retails for $5,900.

Sunday’s triumph was by far Whitey03′s biggest cash at Bodog, with his previous best coming on July 6th, 2008 , when he placed fifth for $5,700 in the $100,000 Guaranteed tournament. His last tournament cash on Bodog before this weekend was way back on July 11th, when he won the $4,000 Guaranteed Double Stack, taking home $1,236.

Fellow Hoosier Joe “hebs” Hebda placed second and received $32,000 for his runner-up finish, while “how8life” came in third and won $20,200. Rounding out the final table were “Bravehart,” “EstyzBalln,” “fishy23,” “t2g,” “kingb51,” and “aimtj.”

Despite coming in under the number of players needed to meet the guarantee, the turnout for this weekend’s Bodog Poker Open was greater than last year’s BPO, which saw the smallest field in the event’s five year history at just 257 players. The Main Event of the first BPO was the largest, with 596 players taking part, creating a $305,120 prize pool (Bodog added $25,000).

“Whitey03″ will now also be of inducted into the Bodog Poker Open Hall of Fame, joining past winners “phatcat” (BPO I), “zubs1aa” (BPO II), “biffsworld” (BPO III), and “MrElPaso” (BPO IV).

In addition to the Main Event, which was part of what Bodog called the Championship Series, Bodog held a lower buy-in Contender Series finale, which cost just $46 + $4 to enter. With 376 players, the Contender Main Event met its $15,000 guarantee. Player “palcemvglaz” was the winner, nabbing $4,324. “I M A King” was almost king, finishing second ($2,767.36), while “bornwinner86” didn’t quite live up to his name, as he placed third ($1,746.89).

All Contender Series Main Event winners are also immortalized in the Bodog Poker Open Hall of Fame. This was only the second year that Bodog held Contender Series tournaments. The first two years of the BPO, there was only one buy-in level, the Championship Series. Bodog actually split BPO III into three different levels: Championship, Mid, and Mini. The Championship Main Event was $470 + $30, the Mid-Main Event ran $150 + $13, and the Mini-Main Event cost $46 + $4.

Bodog’s traffic has declined significantly in recent years, as the once popular poker room now ranks just 25th in in terms cash game players, according to PokerScout.com. Its 670-player seven-day average puts it just 10 behind 3-D poker room PKR and more than 200 players ahead of Full Tilt Poker‘s French-only offering. The decline seems to be the result of a lack of deposit options, as the only choices are credit card – which is not reliable method for United States residents – eWalletXpress, Click2Pay, and MyPaylinQ.

Complete final standings for both the Championship Series and Contender Series Main Events are below.

Bodog Poker Open V Championship Series Main Event Final Table Results

1. Whitey03 – $50,000
2. hebs – $32,000
3. how8life – $20,200
4. Bravehart – $16,000
5. EstyzBalln – $11,200
6. fishy23 – $9,000
7. t2g – $7,000
8. kingb51 – $4,400
9. aimtj – $3,400

Bodog Poker Open V Contender Series Main Event Final Table Results

1. palcemvglaz – $4,324.00
2. I M A King – $2,767.36
3. bornwinner86 – $1,746.89
4. Nope 1124 – $1,383.68
5. johnpavlon – $968.57
6. Evil_E – $778.32
7. armstrizal21 – $605.36
8. B Pars – $380.51
9. Dimeboy – $294.03

High Stakes Tables Added to Carbon Poker

The price of poker has gone up on the Merge Gaming Network site Carbon Poker. In recent weeks, $100/$200, $200/$400, and $300/$600 No Limit Texas Hold’em tables were added to the USA-friendly online poker room, with a new crop of players rising to meet the occasion.

One Carbon Poker player that seems to be excelling at the new tables is “goingibiza,” who has battled “JimmyTheGimme” for supremacy of the high-stakes scene. The latter claimed a $116,000 pot with a queen-high straight, while the former struck back by scooping an $81,000 pot with a full house. The $81,000 haul occurred on September 29th, the same day as an $84,000 win by “goingibiza” after making aces-up. Also in recent high-stakes action, “goingibiza” took down a $66,000 pot with a wheel.

The three biggest pots for “goingibiza” resulted in $232,000 coming his way. While the amounts won certainly aren’t as big as the pots generated by players like Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius, and Tom “durrrr” Dwan at Full Tilt, Carbon Poker officials are likely pleased that they’re seeing a rebirth of the high-stakes market.

According to PokerScout.com, which keeps tabs on online poker room traffic, the Merge Gaming Network is the 25th largest worldwide in terms of real money ring game players, with a seven-day average of 670. Its 24-hour peak is well over 1,100, ensuring plenty of activity around the clock. The Merge Gaming Network includes sites like Big Bet Poker, Iron Duke, Poker Host, Poker Nordica, and RPM Poker and happily takes real money bets from American players. Its traffic is on par with that found on sites like PKR and Bodog.

At the time of writing, which is in the mid-afternoon ET on Friday, the richest No Limit Hold’em tables with players seated at them on the Merge Gaming Network were $5/$10. Eight players were spread around four tables at that level, while comparatively nearly 200 were planted at $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Holdem tables. The Merge Gaming Network also had Omaha, Omaha High-Low, Five Card Draw, and Badugi games running at the time of writing.

Carbon Poker is capitalizing on the popularity of the National Football League (NFL) among its members by offering a Pick the Winner contest throughout the season. Each week, players are asked to pick the winner of one NFL game and if they’re right, they’ll take home a coupon for a special NFL freeroll. Other prizes include cash, VIP points, and a copy of Madden NFL 2011, next year’s installment of one of the most popular video game series of all-time. This week’s Pick the Winner contest focuses on two games, the Steelers/Ravens match-up in Pittsburgh and the Dolphins/Patriots Monday Night Football game in South Florida.

Carbon Poker made waves in recent months by inking a sponsorship agreement with “American Pie” actress Shannon Elizabeth. “Nadia” attended the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Ante Up for Africa event decked out in Carbon Poker gear. A representative for the site commented in a press release at the time of Elizabeth’s signing, “We’ve been on the hunt for a face for our brand who is a recognized star and also a respected member of the poker community. Shannon easily meets both criteria and offers a creative edge that we’re thrilled to have on board. We’re launching several promotions that will involve players playing against Shannon and getting to know her both inside and outside of poker.”

Visit Carbon Poker for more details.

PokerNews $1k Added Open Series on Bodog Back this Weekend - Open to All!

The next $1k added event from Bodog is coming up on Sunday - you can join the action no matter where you signed up as long as you have a deposit and the password.

PokerStars Breaks Record For Most Ever Cash Game Players

PokerStars, the largest online poker site in the industry, cracked an unofficial record last week for the most players in action simultaneously on cash game tables.

According to PokerScout.com, PokerStars drew in an astounding 105,230 players to its cash game tables on September 22nd. This beat the previous unofficial record, also held by PokerStars, of 103,010 players that was set back in February. In both cases, promotions by PokerStars drove the record numbers.

In February, PokerStars was in the midst of its 40 billionth hand promotion, bringing players out in droves in an attempt to earn some of the riches that the site was giving away to celebrate. Just seven months later, PokerStars was dealing its 50 billionth hand, which was cause for another celebration and another rush to the virtual felts. That the 50 billionth hand came in conjunction with the most recent running of the World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) at PokerStars and probably only added to the breaking of the record.

PokerStars has been on a tremendous run over the past couple of weeks due to the WCOOP and its 50 billionth hand promotion. PokerScout.com reports that the site has seen a double-digit percentage increase in traffic, driven by the multiple draws, and has been able to siphon off players from competing sites. PokerScout reports that the main room that lost players to PokerStars was the #2 site in the industry, Full Tilt Poker, which saw a 5% decline in the past week.

The new regulations in France regarding the licensing and regulation of online poker seem to be drawing players to the virtual card rooms. Since the new laws took effect in France in June, the country has now passed Italy in terms of the percentage of players participating in online poker. The French market makes up 8% of the online industry, while the Italian market makes up 7%.

The new dedicated French sites have also had their effect on the overall online poker industry. In the short time since their introduction, the dedicated French site PokerStars.fr has moved into the top 10 online poker sites and sits in sixth place in terms of cash game volume, according to PokerScout. This outranks other non-American operations such as the Microgaming Network and the Entraction Poker Network and also outpaces a network that accepts American players, CEREUS. Other dedicated French sites such as Winamax.fr, EverestPoker.fr, and PartyPoker.fr are also outpacing such established online operations as the Cake Poker Network, Merge Gaming Network, and Bodog.

PokerScout reports that the top four players in the online poker industry have remained the same for the past 13 weeks. PokerStars enjoys over a 2-1 edge in cash game players against Full Tilt Poker, while PartyPoker retains a slight edge over the iPoker Network for third and fourth, respectively. The latter two do not accept action from the United States.

For the year, PokerScout states that industry numbers are still on the rise, even though current financial issues around the world continue to play havoc. Player numbers show an annual growth rate of 7%, with the Merge Gaming Network (up 67%), PokerStars (20%), the Entraction Poker Network (6%), and Full Tilt Poker (1%) being the main drivers of growth.

Matt Affleck Shines on WSOP on ESPN Coverage

On Tuesday night, action from Day 6 of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event aired on ESPN. The two-hour broadcast saw Matt “mcmatto” Affleck, who had the chip lead for an extensive period of time last year, take to the feature table alongside tennis pro turned poker player Nick Rainey. The day began with 24 tables from what was once a field of well over 7,000 players.

At Table 2, UB.com pro Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin doubled up after getting his chips into the middle with pocket queens against an opponent’s A-J. Baldwin hit a set on the turn and grew his stack to about half of the chip average. Then, Joseph “subiime” Cheong flopped aces-up with A-8 to knock out an opponent holding A-K to become the new Main Event chip leader.

Rob Pisano was all-in with pocket aces and a 4:1 favorite over former back-to-back Main Event champ Johnny Chan’s pocket kings. A pot of 4.4 million hung in the balance as the dealer spread out 4-10-5-7-4 in the middle of the table. Pisano claimed the chip lead after the hand and Chan was crippled. Elsewhere in the Amazon Room, John “$JMONEY$” Racener flopped a set with pocket queens in a three-way all-in to win a pot of 4.1 million.

David Benyamine, still alive in the Main Event, but receiving little love from ESPN, doubled up through Evan Lamprea, who began the day as the chip leader. Then, Robert Mizrachi, one of two Mizrachi brothers left in contention, flopped Broadway to double up through Pisano. Back at the feature table, more chips were on the move as Danny Chamberlain bet 550,000 on a board of 9-7-A-10 holding 8-2 of hearts for an open-ended straight draw. Brandon Steven called all-in with a set of sevens and the river was a five, awarding him the double up to 1.4 million.

The final hand of the first one-hour episode saw Chan move all-in with pocket jacks and run into Jonathan Driscoll’s pocket aces. No help came for the 10-time bracelet winner and he was eliminated after losing with two big pocket pairs to aces.

In the second episode of the night, which aired at 10:00pm ET, Theo Tran doubled through Pisano after spiking an ace on the river against Pisano’s wired pair of deuces. Then, “The Grinder” claimed the chip lead. Trending in the opposite direction was Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond, who was all-in with pocket sixes against an opponent’s pocket jacks. Neither player improved and Galfond was ousted in 141st place.

Robert Mizrachi doubled to 884,000 with pocket sevens against A-Q, while former Bodog pro Jean-Robert Bellande sent David Peters packing after picking up aces. At the feature table, Gary Kostiuk doubled up with A-K against pocket queens, but then doubled up Christian “charder30” Harder after the latter called all-in with A-5 on a board of 3-A-6-5 for aces-up. Kostiuk showed A-Q for top pair and no lady came on the river, giving Harder the 1.6 million-chip pot.

Then, Pascal LeFrancois was all-in with pocket aces and up against Jesper Hougaard’s 8-6 on a flop of 6-Q-8. The turn was a queen, giving LeFrancois a higher two pair, and a jack on the river didn’t change the status quo. LeFrancois doubled up as a result to fuel his deep WSOP Main Event run. Kostiuk would later shove his chips into the middle with A-9 and run into A-10. However, he flopped a nine to take the lead in the hand and doubled once more.

Catch new episodes of the WSOP Main Event on ESPN every Tuesday at 9:00pm ET. The action replays throughout the week as well, so check your local listings for more information.

PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge Season 2 Premieres

Season 2 of the PokerStars.net-powered “Million Dollar Challenge” debuted on Sunday flanking the NFL on FOX. Longtime sports commentator Chris Rose served as the host and also tackled play-by-play duties, while Michelle Nunes dished out details on a special online freeroll.

The first challenger of the new season was Jessica Cupini, a single mom attending West Virginia University who is an aspiring law school student. PokerStars front man Daniel Negreanu, a four-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner who serves as the star of the show, came out and explained the rules. Cupini’s first round celebrity challenger was “Dancing with the Stars” host Brooke Burke.

Players began with 20,000 in chips in each of the three rounds of play. In the first round, Negreanu sat by Cupini’s side and was able to give advice, but could not see her hole cards. In addition, Cupini was allotted one time out to talk strategy in private with “Kid Poker.”

Burke came out swinging, winning the first two pots shown until Cupini doubled up with pocket tens against K-7. After a flat call by Burke pre-flop, Cupini used her time out to consult with the bona fide poker pro, who told her to be aggressive with the pocket pair. Cupini moved all-in for 16,000 and Burke called off half of her stack with K-7. The board ran out 6-Q-8-4-4 and Cupini doubled up to take a 4:1 chip lead. She claimed victory in the match on the very next hand shown and won a trip to the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in the Bahamas worth $5,000.

The second “Million Dollar Challenge” match pitted Cupini against a PokerStars pro with $25,000 in cash on the line. The student’s boyfriend and uncle were taken to the “Poker Buddies” room, where they could see all of the hole cards and the action from the felt. Negreanu, meanwhile, was moved to an isolation booth where he too could view Cupini’s hole cards and coach her through an earpiece.

Enter reigning World Poker Tour Championship winner David Williams, a newly minted PokerStars pro who donned a black and white bowtie. Williams could invoke the “Dome of Silence” twice during the match, blocking all communication between Negreanu and Cupini.

After flopping two pair with J-8 on a board of J-8-K, Cupini led out for 2,200 and Williams used his first “Dome of Silence” to force the challenger to play the rest of the hand on her own. Williams, holding Q-J for middle pair, called and the turn was a deuce. Williams check-called a bet of 3,000 and the river was a three. Williams checked, Cupini bet 5,000, and Williams asked her if she could beat two pair. Despite the ruse, Williams folded, shipping a pot of 17,000, about half of the chips in play, to Cupini.

In the final hand of the match, Williams looked down at an ace and pushed all-in for 10,500. Cupini called with pocket threes after Negreanu told her to gamble and Williams flipped over his other hole card, which happened to be a deuce. No help came for the former Bodog pro and Cupini banked $25,000 to go along with her Bahamas vacation.

Rose asked Cupini if she wanted to play Negreanu heads-up for $100,000 or take the $25,000 and run. With the audience and her loved ones encouraging her to go for broke, Cupini squared off against Negreanu for $100,000 and a seat in the Table of Champions later in the season. Perhaps as an omen of things to come, Negreanu admitted that he had Cupini figured out as the two took their seats.

Cupini called pre-flop with A-4 and Negreanu checked his option with Q-6. Both players checked the flop of J-10-9 and the turn was an eight, giving “Kid Poker” a straight. Negreanu checked and Cupini errantly shoved all-in for 12,500 after much deliberation. Negreanu called in a heartbeat and the board paired on the river to give him the win, shipping $10,000 to his charity, the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

The PokerStars.net “Million Dollar Challenge” returns this Sunday before or after the NFL on FOX. Check your local listings for details.

Bodog Open V Announced with Two Exclusive PokerNews Guaranteed Satellites - Open to All!

This month sees the start of the Bodog Open V and we are giving you a very cheap shot at bagging a $200,000 Guaranteed Main Event Seat.

Weekly Freerolls: Greed is Good!

Today Bodog Poker is running an exclusive tournament for PokerListings players with at least two $470+$30 tickets into its Bodog Poker Open V Main Event.

Also worth checking out is the UB Poker monthly $5,000 freeroll for PokerListings players on Sunday. It takes only 100 raked hands in the previous month to qualify so you might be eligible.

The following freerolls are open to all PokerListings.com players. Qualify in the specified qualification period, and then take your seat to potentially win baskets of free cash.

If you're not a PL.com registered player on any of the following sites, click on the site's name in the list to sign up.

Bodog Poker

PokerListings players have access to an exclusive Bodog Poker Tournament that includes at least two $500 Bodog Poker Open V Main Event Seats.

Date: Sept. 18 Buy-in: $10+$1 Value: $1,000 in BPOV seats with extra seats added for every $500 in prizepool. Password: raygun Sign up here

PartyPoker

PokerListings players on PartyPoker get special access to exclusive $2,000 monthly freerolls.

Date: Sept. 18 Value: $2,000 Qualify with: 100 player points Qualify between: Aug. 1-31 Sign up here

Titan Poker

Titan Poker is running weekly $1,000 freerolls for PokerListings players that cost just one Titan Poker Point to buy into.

Date: Sept. 18 Value: $1,000 Qualify with: Use 1 Titan Poker Point. Sign up here

UB Poker

UB Poker is giving away $5,000 in exclusive PokerListings freerolls every month.

Date: Sept. 19 Value: $5,000 Qualify with: 100 raked hands Qualify between: Aug. 1-31 Sign up here

bwin Poker

bwin Poker is running $2,000 monthly freerolls for Pokerlistings players.

Date: Sept. 19 Value: $2,000 Qualify with: New deposit or earn 50 player points Qualify between: May 19-Sept. 7 Sign up here

888poker

888poker is currently running weekly $500 freerolls for PokerListings players who earn 100 frequent player points in the previous month.

Date: Sep. 21 Value: $500 Qualify with: Deposit in the previous month Sign up here

PokerStars

In October PokerStars will run an exclusive $5,000 freeroll for PokerListings players.

Date: Oct. 3 Value: $5,000 Qualify with: 250 Frequent Player Points Qualify between: Sept. 1-30 Sign up here

Visit PokerListings.com

Online Poker Traffic Increases in September

Online poker traffic saw an increase of 5.2% last week according to PokerScout.com’s Weekly Online Poker Traffic Update. The site, which monitors real money cash games, reported a traffic increase for all of the top 10 sites and networks for the second week in a row.

PokerScout’s weekly report also revealed a rise in traffic over this time last year for the first time in a month. According to PokerScout’s ACES indicator, online poker traffic is growing at an annual rate of 1%. One month ago, traffic was declining at an annual rate of 4%.

PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker room, maintained its stranglehold atop the rankings, averaging more than 27,000 cash game players on the site with a peak of 46,091. The site is currently running its flagship tournament series, the World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP), which is surely attracting even more players in September. PokerStars has guaranteed more than $50,000,000 in prize money over 62 WCOOP events, including a $10,000,000 prize pool for the Main Event on Sept. 26.

Full Tilt Poker, PartyPoker, and iPoker rounded out the top four in the rankings, marking the 11th consecutive week without a change in the top four spots. Full Tilt, which came in at No. 2, saw a major boost in traffic during the week, showing a seven-day average of 17,400 with a peak of nearly 28,000 cash players.

“Full Tilt Poker gained an impressive 16% this week with the return of the Fast $50 promotion,” PokerScout said in its Monday report. “Like the overall market, Full Tilt has now returned to positive annual growth, but with the promotion coming to an end the site may be facing a struggle to stay in the black.”

The other top 10 sites and networks that saw increases last week were, in order of traffic, the Ongame Network, PokerStars.it, Microgaming Network, Cereus Network, International Poker Network, and PokerStars.fr. The Cereus Network moved up to sixth place ahead of PokerStars.it, but has since dropped to No. 8 as of Tuesday.

Elsewhere in the rankings, the Merge Gaming Network rose two notches to 19th, overtaking Ongame.fr and PKR. The Entraction Network came in at No. 11, while Pacific Poker landed at No. 15, Cake Poker at No. 19, and Bodog at No. 24.

PokerScout also increased its live tracking of the newly licensed French market with coverage of Winamax.fr last week. The site sits in 12th place worldwide, with a seven-day average of 1,380 real money ring game players and a peak of 3,254. PokerStars.fr leads all French sites and ranks 10th in the world, averaging 1,520 players through last week. Other French sites in the rankings include EverestPoker.fr (13th worldwide), Ongame.fr (20th), PartyPoker.fr (23rd), FullTiltPoker.fr (26th), and iPoker.fr (35th).

Compared to the same time a year ago, the most notable gainers in traffic were the Merge Gaming Network (82% increase), Entraction Network (10%), PokerStars (6%), and Full Tilt Poker (1%). The Cake Poker Network (down 57%), Everest Poker (52%), iPoker Network (38%), and PartyPoker (18%) have taken significant drops from a year ago.?

September 9th – Daily Deal

On today’s edition of the Daily Deal, Prahlad Friedman comes clean on ESPN, PartyPoker interviews Tom Dwan about the Million Dollar Challenge, and the Bodog Poker Open is back! It’s all ahead right now!

Hello, I’m Sean Gibson and welcome to the Daily Deal by Poker News Daily.

The much-hyped hand between Prahlad Friedman and Ted Bort during Day Two-B of the two-thousand ten World Series of Poker Main Event took center stage on this week’s installment of ESPN “Inside Deal.” Friedman joined the show via phone to come clean.

Friedman confirmed that he called before the clock reached zero, but floor officials ruled his hand dead at the count of one. Many in the online community have speculated that Friedman was merely angle-shooting, but he insisted that wasn’t the case. After saying that he held nine-five for two pair, Friedman admitted,

“It was very hard to lay down two pair to a guy like this because he could be really excited about a hand that’s a really good one pair. I believed him, but I didn’t know what he thought was a big hand. I was basically stumped on what to do, which is why I called at the last second.”

As soon as Bort turned over jack-nine for top two pair, Friedman mucked. You can catch the entire interview on ESPN.com as new episodes of Inside Deal are released every Tuesday.

PartyPoker’s cameras caught up with internet phenom Tom Dwan during the World Open in London in recent days. An interview posted on PartyPoker’s website featured the ongoing Durrrr Challenge with Dan “JungleMan12” Cates. When will we see the next action in the second Durrrr Challenge, you ask? Dwan told PartyPoker,

“I can’t play in the next three days, but I’d like to play sometime the week after that before the World Series Europe starts, but I’m not sure how much time I’ll have. The last few days, I was just traveling to Europe and then right before World Series Europe, [Cates will] be traveling here and we’ll both be playing a bunch… It might be a few weeks, but we’ll see.”

Dwan is down nearly seven-hundred thousand dollars against Cates after just seven-thousand hands of the fifty thousand required for completion, so there’s still plenty of time left. Check out our sister site, DurrrrChallenge.com, for updates.

Finally, the Bodog Poker Open Championship Series begins on September twenty-sixth with a one-hundred nine dollar No Limit Hold’em event with fifteen thousand dollars added to the prize pool. In total, the BPO Championship Series preliminary events will offer more than fifty-five thousand dollars in added and guaranteed cash. The Main Event on October third will have a guaranteed prize pool of two-hundred thousand dollars.

For players that don’t have the bankroll to take part in the Championship Series, Bodog will be offering a Contender Series with drastically smaller buy-ins. Oh yeah, there’s still plenty of money to be had in the Contender Series. In fact, the eight Contender Series Events offer more than thirty-five thousand dollars in guaranteed cash.

That does it for today’s daily deal and as always be sure to bookmark our site if you haven’t already and add us to your twitter feed at poker news daily dot com slash poker news daily. I’m Sean Gibson and until next time, crush those fish!