Poker News

Alexandre Gomes Comes Back From Short Stack To Win WPT Bellagio Cup

Coming from the short stack at the final table, Brazilian online poker pro Alexandre “allingomes” Gomes stunned all in attendance at the Fontana Lounge in the Bellagio by winning the championship of the Bellagio Cup V over many strong competitors.

268 players began the event last week, a drop from the 446 of last year, but the quality of players shone throughout the week. After Mimi Tran was dispatched from the tournament in seventh place on Saturday afternoon, the WPT six-handed television final table was set for play on Sunday afternoon. Leading the way was skillful online player Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka, who had dominated the tournament since Day Three on Thursday. With his slightly over five million in chips, he held a sizeable edge over fellow online pro Justin “Boosted J” Smith and professional Erik Seidel, who could only muster 2.9 and 2.1 million chips each.

The pace of play bore no resemblance to the frenetic pace that had taken place throughout the tournament. It took over five hours and over 100 hands before a player was eliminated, setting a new WPT record. Surprisingly, the first to go was the eight-time WSOP bracelet winner Seidel, who couldn’t nail a flush draw against “Boosted J’s” pair of nines. Only fifteen hands after the departure of Seidel from the table came a battle between the last live professional at the table, Christoffer Sonesson, and Gomes, ending with Gomes’ A-Q outracing Sonesson’s pair of fours.

With the two live professionals out of the tournament, it came down to the four veteran internet players – Gomes, Smith, Jaka and Alec “traheho” Torelli – to battle for the championship. In a vast change of style, the eliminations came quicker with only internet players at the table. Twenty hands after Sonesson’s elimination, Gomes was able to double up through Jaka to seize the chip lead, but immediately gave it back when his K-J failed to beat “The-Toilet‘s” pair of Kings. Gomes took out his frustration on the new Doyle’s Room professional Torelli, whom he eliminated in fourth when “allingomes” pocket tens survived against “tradeshow’s” A-Q.

The pace accelerated even more as three-handed action took place. Gomes and Jaka continued to accumulate chips and Justin Smith tried valiantly to maintain the same pace. After playing a patient waiting game through the early half of the final table, “Boosted J” was able to double up on consecutive hands – both on river drawouts – and attempt a comeback. It wasn’t to be, however, as his A-Q ran into Gomes’ A-K to lose most of his stack and Jaka finished Smith off in third when no Ace saved him against Jaka’s pocket Kings.

Down to heads up play, Gomes held a slight lead over Jaka but the duo would trade that lead back and forth. After an hour and a half of heads up action, though, Gomes began to grind down Jaka with the final hand coming after over ten hours of play total at the final table. When the chips went to the center and the cards were shown, Jaka’s A-7 was outdone by Gomes’ A-J and, once the board ran dry, Alexandre Gomes was crowned the champion of the Bellagio Cup.

Here’s what the gentlemen earned for their week of work at the Bellagio:

1.  Alexandre Gomes $1,187,670
2.  Faraz Jaka      774,780
3.  Justin Smith      464,870
4.  Alec Torelli      271,165
5.  Christoffer Sonesson      203,385
6.  Erik Seidel      164,640

Gomes becomes the latest internet poker veteran to capture the Bellagio Cup championship, following in the footsteps of Shannon Shorr (2006) Kevin “beL0WaB0Ve” Saul (2007) and Mike “SirWatts” Watson (2008).

With the first event of Season Eight in the books, the WPT now heads to Los Angeles and the Legends of Poker at the Bicycle Casino. Last year, John “The Razor” Phan virtually sealed his Player of the Year championship with a victory at this event. Because of its location, the Legends of Poker normally draws one of the toughest fields on the WPT schedule. Play at the Legends begins August 22^nd with the champion determined August 26^th.

Seidel headlines tough Bellagio Cup final

"Every one of these is special," said the Full Tilt Pro, who will enter his third WPT final table sitting fourth in chips.

"But this is one of the toughest final tables I've ever been a part of. There are no dead spots."

Faraz Jaka followed up a third-place finish in the $5k No-Limit Six-Handed event and three other cashes at the 2009 WSOP taking this tournament by storm in the early going.

Jaka built a huge chip lead on Day 3 that he has yet to surrender and he will come into the final six with 2 million more chips than Justin "Boosted J" Smith, who currently sits second.

Despite the deficit, Smith told PokerListings he's feeling very confident.

"I know all the players really well and I like how they are playing against me," said Smith, who regularly plays in some of the biggest cash games online and live and will be making his first WPT final table appearance. "I really like my chances."

In a strange twist of fate, the same man who chopped the FTOPS III Main Event with Smith on Full Tilt in 2007 will come into the final third in chips.

Fresh off a final table appearance at the World Series of Poker and another near miss, Alec "traheho" Torelli said he and Smith have been joking about going one-two again here since they matched up at the same table on Day 3.

"I'm not looking forward to playing heads-up against any of these guys, but I'd love to get heads-up with him again," Torelli said. "Maybe this time I can beat his ass, but it's not going to be easy."

The relatively unknown Christopher Sonesson will come in fifth in chips and the final six is rounded out by Brazilian Team PokerStars Pro and PokerStars Caribbean Adventure fourth-place finisher Alexandre Gomes.

"This is one of the toughest final tables I've ever been a part of," Gomes said. "I'm just happy to be here."

The first event of the World Poker Tour's 2009-2010 schedule, the Bellagio Cup began July 13th with 268 players dropping down the $15k buy-in over two day ones.

As has become the norm at Bellagio, the tournament is as deep stacked as they come with players starting with 60,000 in chips.

Going into the final six Sunday with a $1,187,670 first-place prize hanging in the balance, the average stack size is a little over 2.6 million, blinds will begin in the middle of Level 20 at just 12,000/24,000 and all agree there should be a ton of play left.

"The structure has been so great, it has played so slow," added Seidel, who won a WPT title at Foxwoods in 2008. "Everyone is a top notch player here. It just feels great to have another shot at winning one of these things."

PokerListings will provide comprehensive coverage of the final table on our Live Updates page beginning at 4 p.m. Sunday.

Visit PokerListings.com

2009 WSOP Main Event to Pay $8.5 Million First Place Prize

Despite turning away more than 500 players on Monday, the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event will shell out $8.5 million to its victor, who will be crowned in November. The total number of entrants nearly topped 6,500.

The top 648 places will pay out, with the 63 best on the leaderboard earning at least six-figures for their efforts. The tournament is the third largest of all-time, trailing only the 6,844 who turned out for last year’s feature event and the 8,773 who posted the $10,000 buy-in three years ago. The final starting day attracted a whopping 2,809 entrants, pushing the total to 6,494. Day 1A of the 2009 WSOP Main Event attracted 1,116 players, while Day 1B, which occurred on the Fourth of July holiday in the United States, generated a cozy field of just 873. A total of 1,696 poker players showed up for Day 1C on Sunday, leading to Monday’s sellout.

The Main Event’s runner-up will see their bank account boosted by $5,182,601. Third place will pocket $3,479,485, while fourth place takes home $2,502,787. The fifth place finisher in the 2009 WSOP Main Event will receive a check for $1,953,395, edging out the sixth place player’s payday of $1,587,133. Seventh place will grab $1,404,002, while eighth place will earn $1,300,228. The final member of the November Nine will receive $1,263,602. The event’s total prize pool swelled to just over $61 million. However, that figure does not include interest on the money paid out to November Nine members, who will reconvene at the Rio that month to play down to a winner after a 100 day respite.

A bevy of brand name poker pros were shut out of Day 1D after the field reached its capacity, according to the Associated Press. Among those left out in the cold were Durrrr Challenge participant Patrik Antonius, who, along with Tom Dwan, has been blanked at the 2009 WSOP. Antonius made the final table and finished seventh in last year’s $10,000 buy-in World Championship of Pot Limit Hold’em, earning $124,000. In 2007, Antonius finished third in the World Championship of Pot Limit Omaha for $311,000. Antonius’ back has been ailing him for much of this year’s tournament series. Now, the Full Tilt Poker pro will likely resume his battle against Dwan in the Million Dollar Challenge, which is nearing its halfway point. Dwan played on Day 1D and finished with a stack of 24,000.

Also on the outside looking in was 2006 Poker Hall of Fame inductee T.J. Cloutier, who owns six WSOP bracelets. Cloutier was the runner-up to Bill Smith in the 1985 WSOP Main Event and won his first bracelet the following year in a $1,000 buy-in Limit Omaha tournament for $72,000. Other bracelets have come in Omaha High-Low, Pot Limit Hold’em, Seven Card Razz, and No Limit Hold’em. Ted Forrest joined him on the rails, unable to register for the sold out Main Event. Forrest has five WSOP bracelets, three of which he won during the 1993 tournament series (Limit Seven Card Stud, Limit Razz, and Limit Omaha High-Low).

WSOP officials employed 308 tables to accommodate players on Day 1D, the most for any tournament so far. The end-of-day report focused on turning away over 500 poker hopefuls: “This issue will most certainly be discussed following this year’s tournament as the WSOP attempts to accommodate as many players as possible, while encouraging and emphasizing the importance of early registration – particularly into widely-popular events such as the Main Event championship which are in serious danger of reaching full capacity.” The Miranda Room, Brazilia Room, Rio poker room, and Buzio’s Seafood Restaurant were all used to accommodate players.

The tournament now begins the first of two Day 2s. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the 2009 WSOP Main Event.

Party Poker Expands Pro Team

After steering clear of sponsored pros for years, Party Poker has now signed three players in a week. Brazilian Felipe Ramos and Frenchman Remy Biechel will join Ian Frazer as members of Team Party Poker.

PartyPoker Enters Sponsored Players Wars, Signs Three Top Pros

After staying out of the battle for sponsoring players for the entirety of their existence, PartyPoker has entered into the fray by signing three players to begin a team of sponsored players. These players come from their online ranks and have shown outstanding skills on the online poker site and in international competition.

For several years, PartyPoker featured only one sponsored pro on its rolls: PartyPoker ambassador and World Poker Tour commentator Mike Sexton. Recently, however, Party decided to extend sponsorships to players based on performance at its online poker room. PartyPoker looks at their VIPs, player loyalty to the site and historic links to PartyPoker in determining the criteria for addition to what they are calling a “grassroots” team. The three additions made this week not only are outstanding players in their own right but also represent the international aspect of poker.

Earlier this week, PartyPoker tabbed English poker professional Ian Frazer to join Sexton on the PartyPoker team. Frazer is a building contractor from London who has compiled a strong list of success on the felt. Nicknamed “The Raiser”, Ian has captured three major European titles at the 2005 888.com Pacific Poker Open, the 2006 PartyPoker European Open and the 2006 Goalpoker.com Champions League of Poker. In total, he has amassed over $1.3 million in tournament earnings and has money finishes in the three major tours (the WSOP, the WPT and the EPT) that are in existence.

Yesterday, PartyPoker announced the addition of two more members to Team PartyPoker. Brazil’s Felipe Ramos – who had a final table appearance at this year’s World Series of Poker – and France’s Remy Biechel have accepted the sponsorship that PartyPoker has offered and will represent the company in tournaments around the world. Both Ramos and Biechel are PartyPoker players whose poker accomplishments merit their newfound sponsorship deals.

Ramos is an aggressive young professional poker player from Sao Paulo, Brazil and is a popular and influential figure on the Latin American poker circuit. A top VIP at PartyPoker.com, he started playing professionally in January 2008 and has earned over $700,000 since that time. Last week he finished in sixth place in the $5,000 PLO (Event 35) at the World Series of Poker. Along with this finish, Ramos has been a Brazilian Series of Poker champion and contributes strategy advice to many poker magazines. He plays at PartyPoker under the names ‘mojave14’ and ‘FelipeMojave’ and, in addition to playing in live events for PartyPoker, will also be writing his own blog for the site and help nurture fellow players with tutorials.

Biechel is a very popular poker player on the French circuit and a Palladium Lounge member at PartyPoker. He currently has over $840,000 in lifetime live tournament winnings and has cashed significantly in two big international side events. He won the €5000 side event at this year’s EPT Monte Carlo, taking home €280,000, and secured second place in a side event at the 2008 WPT Festa Al Lago for $163,000. Along with playing, Biechel is also coaching French World Cup winning ex-footballer Frank Lebeouf, who will represent PartyPoker in next week’s WSOP charity event “Ante Up For Africa.”

With the addition of Ramos and Biechel, Team PartyPoker now stands at four players and more will be added in the future, according to PartyPoker executives. A PartyPoker spokesman stated, “We’re delighted to welcome Felipe and Remy to the team. Like Ian Frazer, they both have history as loyal customers and have increased their play since the re-launch of the new software and VIP programs.”

Eric Baldwin (basebaldy) Emerges as Champ of WSOP $1,500 No Limit Holdem

It took a grueling three-day battle through 2,095 players and 11 hours on Thursday but, as the clock passed Midnight, online poker player Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin emerged as the champion of the latest $1,500 No Limit Hold’em tournament at the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP).

As the final day of play began, 21 players were in the hunt for their first WSOP bracelet and some were looking to add another one to their collection. Such pros as 2009 bracelet winner Roland de Wolfe and Team PokerStars Pro member Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier took to the felts. Corwin “mig.com” Mackey (a 2007 WSOP bracelet winner), Praz Bansi (2006 bracelet holder), and poker veteran Young Phan (a WSOP Circuit Event ring owner) were all gathered for battle at one table, all but ensuring that at least one wouldn’t survive to the finals.

The early action wasn’t kind to some of the pros on the felt. Bansi was eliminated in 19th place and Mackey followed him out the door in 18th. A cooler knocked out ElkY in 13th place when his pocket Kings ran into pocket Aces. After nearly four hours of play, only Phan and de Wolfe made the final 10 players, but were the short stacks. Jonas Klausen had the chip lead with slightly over 2.3 million chips, 600,000 more than Baldwin, his closest pursuer, and more than six times what Phan and de Wolfe held.

Phan did not record an official final table finish, as he was eliminated in 10th place. After the dinner break, de Wolfe, who had nursed his short stack in an attempt to claim his second bracelet of this year’s WSOP, left the festivities in fifth at the hands of Klausen. An hour and a half after de Wolfe’s departure, the final duo was determined with the two players who came to the final table with the most chips, Klausen and Baldwin, began to battle for the bracelet.

Both players were nearly dead even in chips as the heads-up battle started. Over the first 45 minutes of heads-up play, Klausen was able to crawl into the lead, only to see Baldwin cripple him 10 minutes later when Klausen flopped top two pair on a flop, moved in, and was called. Baldwin’s set of fours decimated the stack of the Danish player and, on the next hand, Baldwin sealed the deal when his pocket 10s outraced the of Klausen. For his efforts, Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin, who was also the member of a Division III NCAA baseball championship team in 2005, walked off with his first WSOP gold bracelet and the $521,932 first place prize.

There will be a bit of a delay in Event #35, the $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha tournament, before final table action begins today. Eleven players were remaining in the field when the 3:00am curfew hit and there are plenty of dangerous players remaining. Team Betfair member Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi, Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy, and Isaac “westmenloAA” Baron are all on one of the two tables remaining. Other notable tournament names like Peter Jetten (who finished second last year in the $10,000 World Championship of this event) and Brazil’s Felipe Ramos are also in contention.

Two tournaments will be active with Day Two today. In Event #36, the $2,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament, 609 players return from the original 1,695 that entered. Corwin Cole will be the chip leader at 185,700 in chips, but there are threats everywhere. Top pros such as original “November Nine” member David “Chino” Rheem, John Myung, Shaun Deeb, Shannon Shorr, and Kenna James are just some of the remaining players in hot pursuit.

Day Two of the $10,000 World Championship of Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo, Event #37 on the WSOP schedule, will also be in action this afternoon. A total of 110 of the original 164 players are still alive, with only 16 taking away something for their efforts. As to be expected in a big money buy-in tournament, there isn’t a table remaining that doesn’t have at least three or four top pros on it, but they will all be chasing former World Poker Tour (WPT) Champion Tuan Le and his 234,000 in chips. WPT Co-Founder Lyle Berman and poker pro Jeffrey Lisandro are in second and third place at this point, respectively, and it is entirely possible that a final table will not be determined by the 3:00am curfew.

Only one event is scheduled for its Day One on Friday. The $2,000 Limit Hold’em, Event #38 on the WSOP schedule, is set for play at Noon in the Amazon Room at the Rio.

Poker Players Evaluate PokerStars Software Updates

PokerStars, the most popular poker room on the internet, has released software and server updates that have enhanced the experience for players.  As one of the most player-friendly poker rooms with arguably the best customer service in the business, PokerStars has earned the reputation of taking user suggestions to heart and fast-tracking them to implementation.  The recent PokerStars software upgrades include:

RSA Security Token
This state-of-the-art security solution is a special token that can be purchased for 6,000 Frequent Player Points (FPPs) in the VIP store.  The token continually has a changing password synched to a secure server that is linked with the PokerStars login.  Without this security token, it’s impossible to login even if you have a user’s account password.

Security PIN Number
Adding a layer of security to the login (does not require a token) is the PIN, which is entered via a “virtual keypad” instead of the keyboard.  The position of the numbers changes each time (randomly) when a user logs in.

Sit and Go Rematch Prompt
At the end of any sit and go, users will be prompted for a rematch.  If the players accept, a new tournament is created immediately without the need to visit the lobby.

Ring Game Table Color Highlighting
Tables in the ring game lobby on PokerStars will now be highlighted in red if you are currently sitting at it and in pink if you are on the waiting list.

New Time Zones
Time zones added for Australia, New Zealand, Russia, China, Japan, and Brazil.

New Languages
All major European and Cyrillic languages have been added, bringing the total to 26.

Performance Upgrades to Decrease Lag
Improved performance of the software to properly handle bandwidth requirements when 200,000 or more players are logged in.

Player reaction to the software upgrades has been almost universally positive.  Here is feedback we received when polling various regular PokerStars players:

Irexes (Low-Stakes Ring Game Player and Weekly Participant in the Sunday Million)
The table color highlighting is tremendous.  It’s an example of how important usability is and how simple it is to improve things. Many times, I’ve gone to add myself to a waitlist on a table only to see I’m already on it.  The new time zones have been very handy and I’ve never had any real problems with lag performance, so haven’t noticed an improvement.

Tenbob (Low-Stakes Ring Game Player)
My security PIN was given to me when my MSN was hacked after some random person figured out my security question. I had to contact all five poker rooms I play at and PokerStars was the only one that took it seriously, instantly introducing the PIN code on my account. This way, a key logger virus cannot gain access to my account on PokerStars.  It gives peace of mind that even if my machine is stolen with the password “remembered,” no one cannot access my account.

ChuckTs (Mid-Stakes Ring Game Player)
I just think PokerStars’ constant upgrades solidify its number one spot in the industry. The new security PIN and RSA token, both of which I’ve been using, are huge for a poker player like myself who now feels a lot safer with their bankroll online. Their other poker-specific features are also fantastic and show how much they listen to the poker players on their site. I was going to move to a smaller site for rakeback reasons, but PokerStars is making a strong case for itself and, to be honest, I’m having a tough time leaving them.

Full Tilt Introduces Poker Million and Late Night Poker Qualifiers

Recently, Full Tilt Poker, the world’s second largest online poker room, introduced qualifiers for two highly popular television shows: Poker Million and Late Night Poker. The site is also in the midst of its 12th Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS), which concludes in one week.

Poker Million was formerly sponsored by Ladbrokes, which is owned by the publicly traded company on the London Stock Exchange of the same name. Poker Million debuted in 2000, when it was won by John Duthie, who finished 487th in the 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event in Las Vegas. Other past Poker Million winners have included Jimmy White, Donnacha O’Dea, Tony Jones, Rajesh Modha, Hendon Mob member Joe Beevers, and Boyle Poker pro Marty Smyth. Full Tilt Poker is running a $535 buy-in direct qualifier for Poker Million on August 2nd. Real money qualifiers will also be held on August 30th, September 6th, September 13th, September 20th, and September 27th.

Each Poker Million prize package is worth $22,000, which consists of the $20,000 Poker Million buy-in plus an additional $2,000 in spending money. All players must be at least 18 years-old to be eligible. Qualifiers for the Poker Million direct satellite will also be held, although a schedule was not available at press time. Last year’s running of the Poker Million was shown on Sky Sports. Besides the winners, other final table members during past seasons have included Barny Boatman, David “Devilfish” Ulliott, Andreas Hoivold, Mel Judah, Liam Flood, and Full Tilt Poker’s Howard Lederer.

Late Night Poker fans can satellite into the televised poker event on June 7th on Full Tilt. The qualifier boasts a buy-in of $322. Additional satellites will take place on June 21st, July 5th, and July 19th; each tournament will issue the traditional “Shuffle up and deal” command at 19:30 GMT. Prize package winners will take home the $10,000 buy-in to Late Night Poker plus an additional $2,000 to use for travel and accommodations.

Ulliott, who defeated Peter Evans heads-up, won Season 1 of Late Night Poker. Season 2 concluded with British poker player Simon Trumper defeating Ross Boatman. To finish off Season 3, Ultimate Bet pro and 11-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth defeated Adam Heller, while Hemish Shah beat Trumper to end Season 4. Irish poker player Padraig Parkinson took down Season 5, outlasting Korosh Nejad. Peter Costa was the champion of Season 6, besting Jin Cai Lin. Late Night Poker aired in the United States on Fox Sports Net, which is also home to the seventh and eighth seasons of the World Poker Tour.

Both Late Night Poker and Poker Million offer participants the opportunity to earn a share of over $1 million in prize money. A total of $18 million is up for grabs as part of FTOPS XII, which kicked off on Wednesday on the world’s second largest online poker site. The series started off in a big way, with a total of 6,275 players turning out for a $216 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Six-Max tournament. “URBEHIND” bested the enormous field, taking home the $191,000 first place prize. A total of 6,275 players also turned out for the inaugural tournament during FTOPS XI; consequently, Wednesday’s kick-off tournament tied for the third largest FTOPS event ever held.

In similar style to the recently-completed PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP), each FTOPS event has a MiniFTOPS counterpart. The first MiniFTOPS XII event attracted a massive field of 14,059 players in a $22 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Six-Max tournament. The winner of that contest was “LHBrazilll,” who earned $42,000 from the $281,000 total prize pool. Both the FTOPS and MiniFTOPS conclude next Sunday (May 17th) with $535 buy-in and $55 buy-in Main Events, respectively.

Visit the Full Tilt Poker lobby for more information on qualifying for Poker Million and Late Night Poker.

Jamie Gold to Host Cannes Charity Poker Tournament

On May 17th during the Cannes Film Festival on the French Riviera, the Wilhelm and Karl Maybach Foundation and Sunflower Children Foundation will team up to offer a charity poker tournament featuring “Rounders” star Edward Norton and 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion Jamie Gold.

The tournament kicks off at 10:30pm local time and will be held at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc (Cap d'Antibes). Norton appeared in 1998’s “Rounders,” a film that caused many established pros in the game today to become aware of No Limit Texas Hold’em. Also starring in the poker classic were Gretchen Mol, John Malkovich, and John Turturro. Norton appeared in subsequent hits such as “Fight Club,” “Keeping the Faith,” “Red Dragon,” “Death to Smoochy,” “The Italian Job,” “The Illusionist,” and held the title role in “The Incredible Hulk,” which was released in 2008. Previous events held by the Maybach Foundation have included appearances by Dennis Hopper, Quincy Jones, Kirk Douglas, and Naomi Campbell.

Serving as the event’s emcee in Cannes will be Gold, who took home $12 million after winning poker’s most prestigious tournament three years ago, defeating Paul Wasicka heads-up. A press release distributed this week revealed that Gold has helped raise over $100 million for charity during the past two years. The winner of the Cannes poker tournament will take home a 2009 WSOP Main Event prize package, including the $10,000 buy-in to the high-stakes tournament, hotel accommodation, airfare, and private coaching from Gold.

On May 18th, which is the day after the fundraiser with Norton and Gold, the Maybach Foundation will hold a private luncheon featuring a bevy of celebrities. In addition to his monumental finish in the 2006 WSOP Main Event, the largest tournament ever held as part of the annual tournament series, Gold took 35th in the 2007 WSOP Europe Main Event for £27,150. That contest was ultimately won by Betfair poker pro Annette "Annette_15" Obrestad, who became the youngest WSOP bracelet winner ever at the age of 18. Heads-up, the youngster defeated fellow Betfair pro John “kunkuwap” Tabatabai and is among the leaders at the ongoing European Poker Tour (EPT) Monte Carlo Grand Final.

The Maybach Foundation was founded in 2006 to help “particularly gifted young people reach their full potential by providing an innovative mentoring program and financial support,” according to the press release. The organization focuses on instilling mentoring skills and has offices in San Francisco and Stuttgart. The Sunflower Children Foundation is based in New York and provides aid to disadvantaged children in Cambodia, Colombia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Brazil, Guinea, India, Kenya, South Africa, Nepal, Niger, Nicaragua, Peru, Romania, Guatemala, and the Philippines.

The Cannes Film Festival takes place from May 13th through May 24th in the southern French city. Last year, “The Class” took home the prestigious Palme d'Or prize, while “Gomorrah” grabbed the Grand Prix award. Other accolades given out during the 10 day festival included Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, and Best Actress. American actor and filmmaker Clint Eastwood took home a “special prize” during last year’s Cannes event. The very first Film Festival was held in 1946 and has taken place every year but twice since.

On May 9th, Gold will bring his charitable spirit to the 1736 Family Crisis Center in Los Angeles. The event is hosted by “Seinfeld” actor Jason Alexander and takes place at Hollywood Casino Park. The 2006 WSOP Main Event winner and former Hollywood talent agent was part of the winning squad in the second Dream Team Poker tournament, which was held at Caesars Palace in March. Besides Gold, other members of Team ACED included Ashley Nataupsky and Houston Waldie. Team ACED pocketed nearly $60,000 for the win. The inaugural Dream Team Poker event was won by Team Bluff, which was headlined by recent WSOP Caesars Palace Circuit Event champion Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo and also included Matt Parvis and Eric Morris.

2009 WSOP Europe Dates Announced

The 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe dates were announced on Monday. The tournament series returns to the Casino at the Empire in London on September 17th and runs through October 1st. A total of four bracelet events will be awarded.

The announcement of the 2009 WSOP Europe schedule comes just one month away from the start of the tournament series in Las Vegas at the Rio on May 26th. In London, the action will return to the Casino at the Empire in historic Leicester Square. The gambling establishment now opens its doors around the clock and has ballooned in popularity thanks in part to serving as the host of the prestigious event. Michael Silberling, COO of London Clubs International, commented in a press release distributed by Harrah’s, "The Casino at the Empire has quickly become the destination for poker in the U.K. We look forward to hosting the best players in the game for the WSOPE this fall and will continue to offer the finest poker action daily for those in Leicester Square.”

Pre-registration is already open in London at any London Clubs International venue. In addition, interested poker players can register in person at the Rio for the four bracelet events. Betfair, WSOP Europe’s presenting sponsor, will also qualify its members in droves. Last year, the site even reached out to U.S. Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, who sparked interest from the poker community after telling his hometown newspaper, the Baltimore Sun, that he wanted to play in the WSOP. The Las Vegas tournaments are sponsored by Everest Poker, which, like Betfair, does not accept players from the United States.

WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack is already looking forward to the action unfolding in September from the British city: “The World Series of Poker Europe has quickly established itself as the most prestigious tournament outside the United States. Winning a gold bracelet is recognized globally as the top prize in the sport and we look forward to awarding four more bracelets in 2009 at the Casino at the Empire in London.” The four pieces of hardware up for grabs in London will be in addition to the 57 at stake in Las Vegas. The final table of the Main Event at the Rio will once again be pushed back until November and is slated to take place sometime between the 7th and 10th of the month.

Here is the schedule of events that will unfold at the Casino at the Empire:

Friday, Sept. 18, 2009
Event #1: £1,060 No Limit Hold’em Day 1A

Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009:
Event #1: £1,060 No Limit Hold’em Day 1B

Monday, Sept. 21, 2009
Event #2: £2,650 – Pot Limit Hold’em/Pot Limit Omaha

Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009
Event #3: £5,250 Pot Limit Omaha

Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009
Event #4: £10,350 Main Event Day 1A

Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009
Event #4: £10,350 Main Event Day 1B

The winner of the third WSOP Europe Main Event will be crowned on October 1st. In 2007, Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad, who was playing in one of her first major live tournaments, won the inaugural Main Event for £1 million. The tournament featured a battle of current Betfair pros heads-up, as Obrestad squared off against John “Kunkuwap” Tabatabai. Last year’s WSOP Europe Main Event final table concluded with John Juanda pocketing £868,800. He barreled through a talented final nine that included Team PokerStars Pro member Daniel Negreanu, Scott Fischman, and the runner up in the Las Vegas Main Event, Ivan Demidov.

Satellites with a $1,570 price tag to the WSOP Europe Main Event will take place at the Rio on July 9th through 11th. The action kicks off at 5:00pm each day. The WSOP Europe events attract players from around the world. In fact, six different nations have claimed the seven bracelets that have been given away over the past two years: Denmark (twice), Afghanistan, Germany, Italy, Norway, and the United States.

The Casino at the Empire does not mandate membership in order to enter. In addition to the four bracelet events, cash games and satellites will also be held, although specific details were not released on Thursday. ESPN will return as the television partner of the 2009 WSOP Europe festivities and will air 10 hours of coverage. ESPN 360 will also provide action to poker enthusiasts in the United States, Europe, Mexico, and Brazil.

UltimateBet steals UFC sponsorship from Full Tilt!

Full Tilt Poker has been sponsoring UFC and UFC fighters for a while now, but that is going to change, because UFC have signed a sponsorship deal with UltimateBet. UltimateBet logos will be highly visible in fighters gear in upcoming event, including a patch in shorts of mixed martial arts legend Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell.

Chuck Liddell will be donning a logo of UB.

Liddell, a former UFC light heavyweight champion and one of the most popular and charismatic fighters in the organization with a record of 21-6, will be squaring off against Brazilian Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, who is a former PRIDE Fighting Championship Grand Prix champion with a record of 17-3.

The match will be the co-main event of the evening and one of the most anticipated match in the history of the sport. A sponsorship deal in a match like this will be huge for UltimateBet.

Also, UB will be sponsoring the contender Thales Leites, a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt from Brazil, who will be challenging his compatriot, the UFC middleweight champion and MMA pound-for-pound king Anderson “The Spider” Silva, in the main event of the show.

In addition to the sponsorship deal with fighters both in main event and in co-main event, UB will be sponsoring other three fighters on the fight card. Krzysztof “The Polish Experiment” Soszynski , Dutch kickboxer Antoni Hardonk and Eliot Marshall will enter the octagon wearing an UltimateBet logo on their shorts.

UFC 97 will take place in Montreal, Canada on April 18, 2009.

Source: mmapayout.com

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UltimateBet steals UFC sponsorship from Full Tilt!

Brazilian Poker Queen Joins Team PokerStars

The most successful Latin American woman is awarded with a prestigious contract with the world’s biggest online poker room, PokerStars.com. Maria Mayrink is going to become a full time poker professional and will form a part of the Team Pokerstars.

Her face is well known on the international poker scene and she was recently on the cover of CardPlayer in Brazil where she was also interviewed and told the story of how she got started playing poker. Maria is very ambitious and popular, her blog gets over 200.000 visitors every month. During the 2008 WSOP she became the second most successful Brazilian player. In the world of online poker she is more known under her poker alias and nickname which is “Maridu”.

In an interview Maria said, “I really feel that joining Team PokerStars will improve my chances of making it in the poker world. Since poker is my true passion it is very important that I take this opportunity to evolve as a poker player. This contract with PokerStars.com gives me a chance to prove to the entire world that I am a good poker player and that I can make it on the tour and I hope that I will get the chance to play the major poker tournaments in Europe”.

Maria is not only a poker player but also a producer at a large TV Network in South America but recently she signed a contract with the leading poker agency Poker Icons who played a big role when it came to getting a good deal when joining Team PokerStars.

Maria is spending all of her spare time playing poker and you would think that this might cause some problems in the household but since her boyfriend is also a poker professional (Jon “Apestyles” Fleet) this is not causing any problems at all.

We are looking forward to seeing Maria Mayrinck in all the big poker tournaments the coming years and we wish her the best of luck.

If you are looking to challange Maria for a game of poker we advice you to use the PokerStars marketing code PAWSUB465 when you create your account for a nice $50 free bonus.