Poker News

Caesars Atlantic City Bad Beat Jackpot Hit for $553,958

Dover native Steven Gedney hit a record-shattering Bad Beat Jackpot at Caesars Atlantic City of $553,958 last Friday. The behemoth prize pool dwarfed the former largest jackpot of $361,244 and Gedney raked in $276,979 as a result of the beat.

Joe Domenico, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Caesars Atlantic City, commented in a press release distributed by the East Coast casino, "This is an unforgettable day for everyone at Caesars, especially our loyal players and dedicated poker team. The energy building in our poker room over these past months has been incredible and to see it culminate in this record-setting jackpot couldn't be more rewarding.”

Gedney held quad threes in the memorable hand, normally a stone cold lock to scoop any pot. However, in what was likely a mix of dismay and excitement, Gedney watched as his opponent, Chris Dobrzanski, flipped up four aces, triggering the Bad Beat Jackpot. Although dropping the $400 pot, Gedney hauled in a massive $276,979 prize for suffering the bad beat. Dobrzanski, meanwhile, hauled in the $400 spoils and added another $138,489 for dishing out the misfortune. The table was nine-handed, meaning that the other seven players seated each earned $19,784 for paying witness to history, enough to buy a new car just in time for final 2009 year-end closeouts.

Under the terms of the Caesars Atlantic City Bad Beat Jackpot, four of a kind must go down in smoke to a superior hand. Half of the Bad Beat Jackpot is awarded to the losing player in the hand, 25% is given to the winning player, and the remaining 25% is divided equally among the other players dealt to at the table when the bad beat occurred. In 2008, the Caesars Atlantic City poker room awarded nearly $1.2 million in Bad Beat Jackpot money and is well on its way to surpassing that amount this year.

As of January 11th, the Caesars Palace Bad Beat Jackpot stood at $529,436, meaning that it grew by $25,000 last week alone before being hit on Friday. At Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City, the Bad Beat Jackpot was $352,873 last Monday. At Showboat, the purse for doling out a bad beat was $118,970 one week ago and, at Bally’s, the bounty stood at $137,493. After being hit on Friday, the Caesars Palace Bad Beat Jackpot sat at $152,000 today at Noon ET.

The Caesars Palace Atlantic City poker room sports 20 tables and 50-inch plasma televisions to allow players to keep up-to-date on the latest in the world of sports. The casino spreads favorites like $1/$2, $2/$5, and $5/$10 No Limit Hold’em and $2/$4, $3/$6, and $4/$8 Limit Hold’em. The venue is ramping up to host a World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit Event in March. The action kicks off in Atlantic City on March 3rd and concludes with a Ladies No Limit Hold’em tournament on March 14th. The $5,150 buy-in Caesars Atlantic City Circuit Championship, a three-day affair, will begin dealing cards on March 12th.

Here is the schedule of events for the Caesars Atlantic City Circuit stop in March:

Wednesday, March 3rd at 12:00pm ET
Event #1: No Limit Hold'em
$340 buy-in

Thursday, March 4th at 12:00pm ET
Event #2: No Limit Hold'em
$590 buy-in

Friday, March 5th at 12:00pm ET
Event #3: No Limit Hold'em
$340 buy-in

Saturday, March 6th at 12:00pm ET
Event #4: No Limit Hold'em
$560 buy-in

Sunday, March 7th at 12:00pm ET
Event #5: No Limit Hold'em
$340 buy-in

Monday, March 8th at 12:00pm ET
Event #6: No Limit Hold'em
$560 buy-in

Tuesday, March 9th at 12:00pm ET
Event #7: No Limit Hold'em
$1,080 buy-in

Wednesday, March 10th at 12:00pm ET
Event #8: Deep Stack
$1,600 buy-in

Thursday, March 11th at 12:00pm ET
Event #9: Turbo
$230 buy-in

Friday, March 12th at 12:00pm ET
Event #10: Caesars Atlantic City Championship Event
$5,150 buy-in

Saturday, March 13th at 12:00pm ET
Event 11: Turbo
$230 buy-in

Sunday, March 14th at 12:00pm ET
Event #12: Ladies No Limit Hold'em
$230 buy-in

Nevada Gaming Revenues Increase for the First Time in Two Years

For the first time since December 2007, Nevada casino “win” increased year over year. In November 2009, revenues grew 4.35%, snapping 22 consecutive months of falling win and perhaps signaling the start of a new streak.

All told, statewide revenue was $873.2 million in November 2009, an increase of 4.35% from the $836.8 million recorded in November 2008. For the fiscal year to date, which began in July and now runs through the end of November, revenues in the state of Nevada are $4.3 trillion, down 7.91% from the $4.7 trillion recorded one year prior. The figures, reported by the Nevada Gaming Control Board, are two months behind, meaning that November’s revenue figures are reported in January.

Casino owners in Clark County finally had something to cheer about. After watching revenues drop for 22 straight months, Clark County casinos hauled in $750.8 million in revenue in November, a bump of 6.86% from the $702.6 million recorded in the same period in 2008. On the famed Las Vegas Strip, which features poker-friendly casinos like the Wynn, Bellagio, and Caesars Palace, revenues were $473.8 million in November 2009, up a solid 8.26% from the $437.7 million recorded in November 2008. For the fiscal year to date, revenues on the Strip are $2.3 trillion, down 5.45% year over year.

In Downtown Las Vegas, which includes the home of GSN’s “High Stakes Poker” and NBC’s “Face the Ace,” the Golden Nugget, revenues in November totaled $47.4 million, down just 1.27% year over year. Over the fiscal year to date, Downtown casinos like Binion’s, the former home of the annual World Series of Poker (WSOP), have seen revenues drop 8.41% collectively to $214.4 million. Recently, Binion’s shuttered its 365-room hotel.

In North Las Vegas, casino win rocketed 20.72% year over year in November to $23.4 million. The area of the state was the only one to report a growth over the fiscal year to date, according to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, as its win of $112.4 million since July surpassed its $104.2 million recorded in 2008 by 7.83%. In Laughlin, whose casinos include the Flamingo and Harrah’s, revenues were $39.5 million in November 2009, down 5.58% year over year.

Also making its home in Clark County is the Boulder Strip, whose casino owners had the Star Spangled Banner going off in their heads, as World Poker Tour (WPT) Host Vince Van Patten would say. Boulder Strip revenues weighed in at $65.3 million in November, up 18.98% from the $54.9 million recorded in November 2008. In Mesquite, however, the news was not as gleeful. Revenues of $9.7 million in November represented a 15.53% drop from the same period in 2008. For the fiscal year to date, the Boulder Strip and Mesquite have seen their revenues fall by 3.55% and 16.59%, respectively.

In Washoe County, revenues of $65.3 million in November 2009 represented a 4.24% drop year over year. Its epicenter of gambling is the “Biggest Little City in the World,” Reno, whose revenues of $47.9 million meant a 4.02% slide year over year from the $49.9 million recorded in November 2008. For the fiscal year to date, Reno’s revenues have tumbled 14.77% to $251.6 million. In Sparks, revenues of $10.4 million in November 2009 were off 9.56% from the $11.5 million raked in one year before. The final reported area of Washoe County is North Lake Tahoe, whose revenues of $1.7 million in November were down 16.24% year over year.

South Lake Tahoe casinos took the largest hit of any area broken down by the Board. Its revenues of $15.9 million in November 2009 were down a whopping 26.67% year over year from the $21.7 million recorded in November 2008. For the fiscal year to date, South Lake Tahoe casinos are down 25.91%. In Elko County, whose main gambling center is Wendover, casinos saw their win slide 8.76% to $20.9 million two months ago. Finally, in the Carson Valley Area, which the Board defines as Carson City, Gardnerville, Minden, and all other areas of Douglas County except South Lake Tahoe, revenues were off 10.55% in November to $7.5 million.

The State of Nevada collected $57.0 million in fees from casinos in December 2009 based upon revenues in November. Accordingly, the number represented a sizable 28.31% increase, amounting to $12.6 million of real money.

Here’s a look at the dramatic 22-month slide in revenue year over year in Nevada:

November 2009: +4.35%
October 2009: (11.56%)
September 2009: (8.99%)
August 2009: (9.32%)
July 2009: (12.48%)
June 2009: (13.82%)
May 2009: (8.34%)
April 2009: (14.07%)
March 2009: (11.61%)
February 2009: (18.12%)
January 2009: (14.62%)
December 2008: (18.94%)
November 2008: (14.80%)
October 2008: (22.33%)
September 2008: (5.44%)
August 2008: (8.10%)
July 2008: (12.97%)
June 2008: (1.11%)
May 2008: (15.17%)
April 2008: (5.05%)
March 2008: (1.52%)
February 2008: (3.93%)
January 2008: (4.75%)

Casears Palace to Host the MBA Poker Championship

Harrah's recently announced that it will once again host the annual MBA Poker Championships at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Held from January 15 to 17, this three-event series seeks to bring the country's brightest MBA's to Las Vegas to mix...

Poker Community Reacts to Justin Bonomo Leaving Bodog

On Saturday, the USA-facing online poker room Bodog officially parted ways with sponsored pro Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo by removing him from its website. Now, the poker community, Bonomo’s agent, and Bodog have had a chance to react.

Bonomo’s agent, Matt Palmer, President and CEO of 11Management, told Poker News Daily, “It is true that Justin and Bodog have parted ways. While Justin will miss playing alongside his fellow Bodog teammates and good friends Evelyn Ng and David Williams, he's ready to move on to bigger and better opportunities. We've begun conversations regarding new sponsorship opportunities and we're excited to work with a poker brand that is better able to leverage Justin's poker success and personality.” Palmer is also the agent for Joe Sebok, who recently signed on to be a member of Team UB.com.

Palmer gave us his take on Bonomo’s 2009 calendar year at the felts: ‘Justin's coming off another excellent year at the tables, including a final table appearance at the World Series of Poker's (WSOP) $40,000 buy-in 40th Anniversary event and a win at the WSOP Circuit event at Caesars. I fully expect Justin to continue his winning ways in 2010.” Bonomo’s fifth place finish in the $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event commemorating the Series’ 40th running was worth $413,000. In April, he won the Caesars Palace WSOP Circuit Championship, a $5,150 buy-in contest, for $227,000.

Ed Pownall, Global Public Relations Director for BodogBrand.com, explained why the online poker room parted ways with one of its three remaining sponsored pros: “Bodog and Justin Bonomo have agreed that, with the transition of the Bodog-branded poker rooms to the Bodog Network in 2010, now was a natural time to re-evaluate the relationship and have agreed to part ways.” Jean-Robert Bellande, of “Survivor: China” fame, also left Bodog in recent months after his sponsorship agreement was not renewed at the end of October.

Posters on the popular poker forum TwoPlusTwo.com gave their take on what room might be a good fit for Bonomo. TwoPlusTwo member “molinn9” weighed in, “Time for him to move on to pokerstars. would be good pro for them.” Bonomo was traveling to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in the Bahamas at the time of writing and was unavailable for comment. The $10,300 buy-in Main Event kicks off on Tuesday from the Atlantis Resort and Casino on Paradise Island with the first of two starting days. The tournament will crown a champion on January 11th.

In the meantime, Bodog will center its efforts on growing the newly forged Bodog Network, which has taken a unique approach to rakeback. Pownall discussed the methodology: “The new offering has already caused much debate with its re-working of the rakeback issue and will reward operators bringing depositing players to the table rather than the traditional method of rewarding the winning players. The system unveiled at the EiG in Budapest in September has already seen other networks, including Microgaming and iPoker, publicly follow in a similar vein.” The idea, in turn, is to reward winning players indirectly by feeding them net depositing opponents.

Yesterday, the weekly Bodog $100,000 Guaranteed played out. The site’s hallmark event, which comes with a $162 price tag, drew 509 players, meaning that Bodog kicked in $23,000 after the tournament fell short of its prize pool. In the end, reigning UB.com Aruba Poker Classic Main Event winner Brandon “AreTheseUtz” Hall took down the top prize of $25,000 after defeating Brian “AKbigfish” James heads-up. James pocketed a $15,000 consolation prize and “paulyman” took third for $9,500. The top 63 players finished in the money and the top five earned more than $5,000.

The Bodog Network is expected to take on non-Bodog sites this year.

WSOP Hold’em Legends Game Released for iPhone

World Series of Poker (WSOP) Hold’em Legends is now available for Apple iPhone and iPod Touch.  Although these applications have been available on other mobile platforms, this is the first time that the poker video game has appeared on Apple products.  It’s the perfect game for addicts on the go who need to get in their Hold’em fix.  The game features 25 different events across seven venues, including cash and tournament play.

One of the great things about this program is that there is a multiplayer function.  This allows you to play against other live opponents when you have an internet connection.  There’s also a peer-to-peer option to play friends heads-up via Bluetooth.

The game is centered on a career mode, where you start out with a modest $100 bankroll.  Every venue that you can go to includes an introductory video.  Players can go to these venues, five of which are actual real-life Harrah’s properties, and participate in cash games or tournaments.  When you start the game, you can go into the “Player” section and set your user name and avatar.  There is also a section to see what achievements you have unlocked as well as accumulated game play stats.

The first thing you can do is go to the “local pub” and play in the one-table sit and go or $1-$2 cash game.  As you win and your bankroll grows, you can buy into bigger and better events at more prestigious casinos that include the Rio Las Vegas, the Casino at the Empire in London, and Caesars Palace.

With most of the glory found in the “Legend Career” section of the game, you’ll probably want to play in the $20 local single-table tournament.  Once you’ve raised your bankroll up to about $400, you can comfortably sit in the $1-$2 cash game.  Players who don’t have a lot of experience will easily get through to this point in the game, assuming you don’t run into any bad beats or coolers.  Once you’ve established yourself in the game and built up a modest bankroll, it will be time to venture out to some exotic casinos.

The first step of the game past the pub is Harrah’s New Orleans, which features four events like all other venues in the game.  The tournaments in New Orleans include a $30 sit and go, $30 turbo sit and go, $30 winner-take-all sit and go, and a $50 two-table shootout event.  Past that venue is the Harrah’s Atlantic City, which sports a $150 sit and go, $150 turbo sit and go, $150 winner-take-all sit and go, and WSOP Event #1, a $250 two-table tournament.

You’ll cut your teeth playing cards in those locations and once you’ve ready, you can move up to the big time at Caesars Palace.  These events include $750 versions of the three tournaments you regularly play along with WSOP Event #2, which has a $1,000 buy-in.  The next venue is Sharks Bay, where all events cost $3,000 to participate.  If you’ve done enough, you’ll unlock the “VIP Game,” which costs $5,000.  All events at the next stop, the Casino at the Empire, are $15,000, with Circuit Event #3 being a slightly higher $25,000 two-table tournament.  If you’ve made it through all of those events, you will finally get a chance to play at the Rio and any of its $100,000 tournaments.  The final event is the $250,000 WSOP Main Event, a two-table tournament.

The controls work via the touch screen in a very intuitive fashion.  If you want to shove your chips in, just slide your chips into the middle.  If you want to muck your cards, just flick the cards into the muck and the game knows you’ve folded.  If you do not care to watch the entire hand or action of a round play out, you can just tap on the screen and the game will auto-fast forward.  The AI of the game gets stronger as you go forward, but novice players won’t be challenged much.

In terms of poker satisfaction, the game is leaps and bounds ahead of what Apple offered with its Texas Hold’em game.  The fact that when this game is one sale, like it was during its release for $2.99, this game is a must-buy for all poker fans armed with an iPod Touch or iPhone.  Even at the regular price, it’s still a deal for poker players to have some fun and play some cards.

Justin Bonomo (ZeeJustin) No Longer a Bodog Poker Pro

Two months after Jean-Robert Bellande lost his status as a sponsored pro of the online poker room Bodog, Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo also appears to be out. Bonomo is no longer listed as a member of Team Bodog on the poker room’s website.

David Williams and Evelyn Ng are the lone survivors of Team Bodog, whose numbers have been cut in half since mid-November. Bonomo owns more than $1.2 million in career earnings from World Series of Poker (WSOP) and Circuit Events and brought Bodog a considerable amount of exposure after final tabling the $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament commemorating the 40th running of the WSOP in 2008. Bonomo claimed fifth place for $413,000 in the event, which aired on ESPN. One month prior, he captured his first Circuit gold ring by winning the Caesars Palace Championship tournament for $227,000, defeating Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi heads-up.

Bonomo appeared on the UB.com-sposored poker news show “Poker2Nite” last week, breaking down a hand from a $5,000 Mixed Hold’em event during the 2008 WSOP. In the segment, dubbed “In the Tank,” Bonomo wore no Bodog logo and, as taped rolled from the event two years ago, the Bodog logo on Bonomo’s white shirt was blurred out. In the end, Bonomo finished as the runner-up to Full Tilt Poker pro Erick Lindgren and banked $230,000.

Bonomo is still listed on Bodog’s website in a Heads-Up TLB Records console. In addition, Bonomo’s Twitter page continues to boast a Bodog logo. Now, Williams and Ng will serve as the face of the USA-friendly online poker room, sports book, and casino. According to the traffic ranking outlet PokerScout.com, Bodog is the 15th largest site or network worldwide with a seven-day running average of 840 real money ring game players. During its peak hours, nearly 1,500 cash game enthusiasts call the site home. Bodog is the fifth largest site to accept players from the United States, trailing PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, the CEREUS Network, and the Cake Poker Network.

During November’s running of the Bodog Poker Open, three sponsored online pros took to the field in the Main Event. They included Smith “nevertilt22” Collins, Jonathan UFPokerStar Westra, and Ari Engel, who ultimately took third in the 257-player tournament for $16,000. A total of 2,646 players showed up for the 11 events that comprised the Bodog Poker Open’s Championship and Contender series, creating a total prize pool of $368,000. The online poker site added another $65,000 to the kitty.

Bonomo’s image was removed from Bodog’s website during the day on Saturday. Williams appeared during a high-stakes home game as part of the G4 online poker reality show “2 Months, $2 Million,” which starred Dani Stern, Jay Rosenkrantz, Emil Patel, and Brian Roberts. Williams lost $50,000 during the game, which took place at the Las Vegas home of the “2 Months, $2 Million” cast and also featured Team PokerStars Pro member Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier and David “Viffer” Peat.

In November, Bellande lost his status as a Bodog pro. Last February, Bellande renewed his sponsorship agreement with the online poker room. However, it was not picked up once it expired, as a Bodog Poker Room Manager told Poker News Daily in November, "Jean-Robert Bellande’s deal with Bodog Poker expired at the end of October and the decision was made not to renew the deal. It has been an absolute pleasure having Jean-Robert as one of Bodog.com’s Poker pros and we wish him all the best."

Ads running on Bodog’s poker website promote betting on the Fiesta Bowl, which pits Texas Christian University (TCU) against Boise State. At the time of writing, TCU sits as an eight point favorite. Wagering is also open on the Orange Bowl, GMAC Bowl, and Thursday’s BCS Championship game.

Poker Community Rings in the New Year

Now that Christmas is over and done with, people are setting their sights on the next big celebration, New Year’s Eve.  Party plans range from night club celebrations to cozy gatherings at home with family and friends, but almost everybody intends to do something to celebrate the end of the decade.  Those based in Las Vegas can enjoy an elaborate fireworks show on the Strip, with pyrotechnics being shot off the roofs of seven different casinos, including the MGM Grand, Planet Hollywood, Caesars Palace, the Venetian, the Stratosphere and the newly-opened Aria.

One poker pro who will be at Aria to ring in the New Year is UB.com’s Phil Hellmuth.  He has been invited to one of the biggest New Year’s Eve parties in Las Vegas and the Poker Brat couldn’t resist name-dropping some of the celebrities he would be rubbing elbows with as the clock strikes Midnight via his Twitter account (@phil_hellmuth).  As Twitter reports, Hellmuth will watch the ball drop with the likes of Eva Longoria-Parker, her husband Tony, and countless others at the Beso Restaurant and Eve Nightclub in CityCenter.

Reality star Kim Kardashian will also be on hand and will play host to a pre-New Year’s Eve party Wednesday night at Eve, which is situated above Beso.  Both Eve and Beso are owned by Longoria-Parker, who worked hand-in-hand with famed chef Todd English to launch the Las Vegas version of her popular Los Angeles restaurant of the same name.  The New Year’s Eve bash will serve as the grand opening of Eve, while Kardashian’s party will be a precursor to the official launch of the club.

Jean-Robert Bellande of “Survivor” fame has spent the final days of 2009 gallivanting all over Latin America.  According to his Twitter feed (@BrokeLivingJRB), he has been everywhere from Cabo San Lucas to Puerto Rico to the Dominican Republic this holiday season.  Bellande can’t seem to go too long without getting his poker fix, though, and found time to play online in between lounging on the beach and sightseeing: “Booked a small win over Brian Townsend this morning after being stuck big in 2-7. Feeling very relieved.”

Online poker pro Jeff “ICuRaRook” Sluzinski is going to take a small break from his schedule to celebrate the New Year and a friend’s birthday.  “No poppin’ crazy bottles at clubs or anything for me,” Sluzinski told Poker News Daily.  “We might go to the Strip, but we will probably just chill at [my friend’s] house.”  However, Sluzinksi does plan to log some hours online New Year’s Eve, as he is in contention for the Yearly Tournament Leaderboard honors on PokerStars.  The top three finishers all win entries into stops on the various PokerStars-sponsored tours.  He currently sits in fifth place and has a couple more days to boost his numbers and claim one of the top prizes. Although he admits he will be playing online on New Year’s Eve, Sluzinski intends to call it an early night.  “I’ll stop around 7 or so,” he explained.

In typical fashion, many poker players, like Joe Sebok, are waiting until the last minute to finalize their New Year’s plans.  He Tweeted about his options and has not even decided what city he is going to ring in 2010 in, Los Angeles or Las Vegas.  Unfortunately for the “Poker2Nite” host, he may be sidelined from all festivities thanks to a cold, as he noted on @JoeSebok: “Woke up with scratchy throat, a headache, and sore body. I get it 2009, you ain't going down w/o a fight. You are going out tho, you b***h.”

Poker News Daily would also like to wish all of our readers a Happy New Year.  May your New Year’s Eve celebrations be lively and fun and may 2010 be a year for all of you to remember.

Dream Team Poker Ends 2009 at the Bicycle Casino

It was a big year for Dream Team Poker.  In addition to holding successful events at Caesars Palace and as part of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) festivities, Dream Team ended the year on a high note with a tournament at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles that awarded its winners a couple thousand dollars and tickets to the 2010 Super Bowl.

The recent tournament was held as part of the casino’s Ho Ho Hold’em Series and featured a $67 buy-in for each individual.  If players could not form their own team of three players, the casino helped to group them into teams.  In total, 162 runners took part, generating an individual prize pool of $3,561 and a team prize pool of $5,340.  That amounted to $8,901, including $2,000 and four Super Bowl tickets added by the casino.

WSOP Academy coach Alex Outhred’s team, “Voltron,” was one of 54 that took part in the event.  Of those, six walked away from the tournament with money in their pockets and the winning team, “Met,” took down the top prize of $2,190 and three Super Bowl tickets.  Tony Hinojos was the highest finisher on the “Met” squad, coming in 12th place, while teammate Eric Lucero was hot on his heels in 13th.  The team’s third player, Michael Leidelmeyer, fared less well, busting out in 120th, but thanks to the strong showing by the other two, the team was able to beat out second place finishers “777” for the title.  On the individual front, Iris Gomez of “Team Come and Get It” took top honors along with $1,086 and a Super Bowl ticket of her own.  The top 12 finishers in the individual contest each won at least $105.

This past year may not have been Dream Team’s first year on the scene, but it was certainly the year that the team poker concept really took hold and gained popularity.  After holding its first tournament at the Hard Rock Casino in November of 2008, Dream Team returned to Las Vegas in March for a tournament at Caesars Palace.  A number of top poker pros and celebrities turned out for the event, which featured a $550 per person buy-in.  UB.com’s Phil Hellmuth and Joe Sebok, Full Tilt Poker pros Paul Wasicka and Mike “The Mouth” Matusow, T.J. Cloutier, Jerry Yang, and Team PokerStars Pro Dennis Phillips could be found on the felts.

It was a recognizable face in the winner’s circle as well, as 2006 WSOP Main Event champ Jamie Gold captained “Team Aced” to victory and the top prize of $59,940.  Danny Nelson of “Team BikerHaven.net” took the individual honor, while Gold’s girlfriend and teammate Ashley Nataupsky finished in fourth.

Just a few months later, Dream Team held an exhibition tournament as part of the WSOP festivities.  Although there was no bracelet on the line for the winners, the tournament provided a little fun and entertainment for players who had already busted out of the Main Event.  The pros once again took part and it was PokerHost’s Kenna James who took down the individual title and $16,473.

The team event was won by “Tao of Pokerati,” a trio comprised of Tao of Poker’s Dr. Paul Maguire, Pokerati’s Dan Michalski, and Lana Maier of CardRunners.  The trio had a little extra practice for the team event, as they were all members of the WSOP media, who took part in a Dream Team event of their own just a few days prior.  The media tournament did not offer the lucrative payouts of the other Dream Team events, but it did help raise money for charity.

Once the WSOP wrapped up, Dream Team rolled out a weekly series of events hosted by the Bicycle Casino.  The nine-week series began in October and the Ho Ho Hold’em Dream Team tournament served as the series’ championship event.  Teams that took down the weekly events earned the prize money and a free entry into the December 19th tournament.

There has been no official announcement about the future of Dream Team at the Bike, but considering the rave reviews it got from pros like Gold, Lacey Jones, and James, it seems like it will continue to be a presence on the live tournament circuit in 2010.

Jean-Robert Bellande Out as Bodog Sponsored Pro

Former “Survivor: China” contestant Jean-Robert Bellande is no longer a sponsored pro of Bodog, according to a representative from the online poker room. His current agreement expired at the end of October and was not renewed.

Only three sponsored pros currently appear on Bodog’s website: Evelyn Ng, Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, and David Williams. The runner-up in the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Ladies Night Event in 2003, Ng also took 11th in the Season IV Borgata Poker Open for $64,000. That same season, Ng grabbed 39th in the WPT Championship for $73,000.

Bonomo is one of the industry’s top online poker players, but has also dominated on the brick-and-mortar felts. Bonomo won the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit Event Championship at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in April for $227,000. One month later, he final tabled the $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament commemorating the 40th running of the WSOP for a colossal $413,000.

Rounding out the shrunken crop of Bodog pros is Williams, who boasts the only bracelet of the trio. Williams captured his piece of hardware in 2006 by virtue of taking down a $1,500 buy-in Seven Card Stud tournament for $163,000, defeating a talented final table that also included “Miami” John Cernuto and 10-time bracelet winner Johnny Chan. Text found on Bodog’s website still refers to “four pros,” but only three profiles appear.

“Jean-Robert Bellande’s deal with Bodog Poker expired at the end of October and the decision was made not to renew the deal. It has been an absolute pleasure having Jean-Robert as one of Bodog.com’s Poker pros and we wish him all the best,” the room’s Poker Manager told Poker News Daily. In February, Poker Royalty, which represents Bellande, boasted that the pro had renewed his sponsorship agreement with the USA-facing site. At the time, Bellande commented, “I am thrilled to continue my relationship with Team Bodog. Bodog is a fantastic organization and I am excited to continue with such a select team of world-class poker players.”

During the 2008 WSOP, Bellande finished as the runner-up to Matt “mattg1983” Graham in a $1,500 buy-in Limit Hold’em Shootout for $173,000. The final table of the marathon tournament wrapped up after 7:00am at the Rio in Las Vegas. In 2005, Bellande grabbed third in the Rio’s WSOP Circuit Event Championship for $210,000 in a contest that saw Doug Lee and Full Tilt Poker pro Jennifer Harman battle heads-up.

Bellande was one of 16 contestants to head to China for the 15th cycle of the CBS reality series “Survivor.” Bellande was the eighth player voted out of the popular program and became the second member of its jury, the group of seven castaways who selected flight attendant Todd Herzog as the show’s $1 million winner. Bellande was on the Fei Long tribe both before and after a tribal switch-up; the group then merged to become Hae Da Fung.

In 2006, Bellande made waves by competing in the WPT’s Bad Boys of Poker against the likes of Tony G, Mike “The Mouth” Matusow, Phil Hellmuth, Men “The Master” Nguyen, and Gus Hansen. In the end, Tony G triumphed over the invite-only six-handed table and earned $25,000. All told, Bellande owns over $75,000 from WPT felts.

According to the tracking site PokerScout.com, Bodog is the 14th largest site or network worldwide with a seven-day running average of 930 real money ring game players. It features a 24-hour peak of 1,411 cash game players and, at the time of writing, which is around 8:30pm ET on a Sunday night, 1,359 combatants have taken to its ring game felts. Bodog is the fifth largest site or network that accepts U.S. action, trailing PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, CEREUS, and the Cake Poker Network.

Trishelle Cannatella Signs with Absolute Poker

The Absolute Poker family just became a little larger. The USA-facing site on the CEREUS Poker Network welcomed former 2002 “Real World” star Trishelle Cannatella as a sponsored pro. Poker News Daily sat down with Cannatella to discuss her new role.

Poker News Daily: Congratulations on signing with Absolute Poker. Besides “Real World,” some of our readers will recognize you from stints on “Punk’d,” “Fear Factor,” “Criminal Minds,” “Ninja Cheerleaders,” “The Dukes of Hazard: The Beginning,” “The Surreal Life,” and “Dr. Steveo.” How’d the signing come about?

Cannatella: One of my friends manages poker players. She was getting me gigs like going to charity tournaments and doing appearances. I started playing and she talked to someone at Absolute Poker. They asked me to be their ambassador.

PND: How did you get started in poker?

Cannatella: I started off in home games. They gave me a “Poker for Dummies” set and it’s how I learned. I taught myself how to play like that and began beating the guys at their own game. Then, I decided to play a live tournament at Caesars Palace, around an $80 buy-in event, and I won. I didn’t think I could actually do that and so I started playing a little bit more. I don’t have the bankroll to play very high stakes.

When I first started playing, it was on Paradise Poker. I used to play $1 tournaments online all night long. Now, I go from that to getting to play with people I used to see play on television. I am serious about it and am really looking forward to it.

PND: What can we expect from you on Absolute Poker?

Cannatella: I’m going to be playing on the site as “Trishelle_C” and am going to do blogs, both video and written. I’ll be going to events like charity tournaments and Aruba. I also spent the whole summer in Las Vegas for the WSOP. I really love poker, so it’s exciting to be part of the site.

PND: Who were you railing at the WSOP?

Cannatella: Phil Galfond was there. I became friends with Tom Dwan and Jeff Madsen. While I was there, I played a satellite and was the only girl at the table. The other players all have their iPhones and their sunglasses on and I got no respect at the table. All of a sudden, Chris Ferguson comes over, climbs over the rope, and told me that he was watching me play. Then, I started getting respect at the table.

PND: What’s next for your television career?

Cannatella: I took a little bit of a break after the Hulk Hogan wrestling show. Now, I’m getting back into things. I auditioned with a new show that’s like “Curb Your Enthusiasm” meets “Sex and the City.” I’ve also been in talks with more reality television show producers.

PND: Talk about fellow female Absolute Poker pro Lacey Jones. Have you met her before?

Cannatella: She’s gorgeous and I met her in Las Vegas. We have a lot of mutual friends and I’m excited to work with everyone. I’m also friends with some of the poker girls and I love Tiffany Michelle.

PND: Who in the poker community have you gone to for advice?

Cannatella: I ask Phil Laak a lot for help and he tells me to go to CardRunners and study. He told me that he’d give me a month of free training if I go to CardRunners every day. So far, I haven’t had time.

Isaac Baron takes down Caesars Palace Classic

Online legend Isaac “WestmenloAA” Baron has defeated a tough, 162-strong field and a tougher final table to earn a first-place prize of nearly a quarter of a million dollars in the Caesar’s Palace Classic Main Event.

Isaac Baron wins at Caesars

Isaac "westmenloAA" Baron took down the Caesars Palace Classic main event and its $246,928 first-place prize beating a final table full of poker's best.

Baron took control of the tournament with seven players remaining, knocking out Theo Tran and crippling 2008 PokerStars EPT Grand Final champ Glen Chorny, rivering a straight with a pair of nines against Chorny's tens and Tran's big slick.

Baron never relinquished the chip lead taking a better than 5:1 advantage into heads-up play.

Veteran pros Kathy Liebert (8th) and Jimmy Tran (5th) also made the final table.

Chorny finished third and Baron, who finished fourth at the final table in Monte Carlo when Chorny booked his win, defeated Michael Benvenuti heads-up to take the title.

The $5k buy-in event drew 162 players creating a $762,129 prize pool.

Baron, from West Menlo Park, California, has amassed more than $3 million in tournament winnings, both online and live.

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Poker Gods shine on Vedes at WPT Festa al Lago

The New York native, who fell just short of glory at the WSOP, the WSOPE and PokerStars EPT London, found himself on the wrong end of several coolers and looked sure to bust out at the World Poker Tour Festa al Lago final table time and time again.

But somehow, someway, he kept finding a way to suck out and eventually the title, and the $1.2 million first-place prize, was his.

"I feel great," he said. "It's unbelievable. I didn't think it was going to happen so fast. After the World Series, travelling to Europe and everything else, playing this event and shipping it is just amazing."

The action at the six-handed final table started fast with 23-year-old Canadian Jason Lavallee pushing Vedes off a massive pot to leap into contention.

A suddenly short Vedes then got it in with top two, kings and queens, against a Shawn Cunix set of sixes.

But miraculously, Vedes managed to turn a boat.

"At that point the king comes and it crushed Shawn, which is unfortunate, because he is a good guy," Vedes said. "But from that point, I knew I just had to win it."

A crippled Cunix took sixth a few hands later, running suited rags into Craig Crivello's ace-queen.

Then, a relatively short stacked Jason Burt was the next to go, running into a dominating Freddy Deeb.

However, Deeb's grip on the Festa al Lago title began to slip when Vedes managed to suck out on him as well, hitting a set of queens on the river after getting it in pre-flop against Deeb's pocket kings.

"I got lucky with Deeb," Vedes explained. "I don't know what happened. I'm from Queens and it came queens all night long."

Vedes continued to run well, making the nut-flush on the river against a Crivello straight to snatch a huge pot off him and take a commanding lead on the field four-handed.

Deeb came into the final with a chance to tie Gus Hansen for the most wins in WPT history at three, but those dreams were dashed when he shoved short with a weak ace and, once again, Vedes had his number, making the call with sixes and holding.

Three-handed play was a rather quick affair that ended when Crivello ran two face cards into Jason Lavallee's tens and failed to improve.

Heads up began with Vedes holding a two-million-chip edge over Lavallee, but the young Canadian chipped away to take the advantage and eventually bullied his way into a sizable lead.

However, Vedes uncanny ability to suck out came to the fore once again when he got it in dominated with ace-ten versus ace-jack and managed to flop a ten.

"When I saw his ace-jack and the ace-ten, I felt like I knew was going to win the hand," he said. "I did, after all the things that had been going on. It just came out right."

A few hands later, with Lavallee still holding the slight chip edge, the money went in again.

This time Vedes had fives over Lavallee's fours and the small pair held to give Vedes what appeared to be an insurmountable lead.

Finally, Lavallee ran rags into Vedes' king-queen, the turn brought a second queen, the river a third and the man from Queens became the 2009 Festa al Lago champion.

Following a 19th-place finish in the 2009 WSOP Main Event, busting on the bubble at WSOP Europe and turning the chip lead into a 54th-place fizzle-out at EPT London, Vedes said he felt like Festa al Lago was simply his time.

"The way I busted out of them were pretty hard beats," he said. "But I just had to forget all the bad beats and focus and play."

Vedes said he's scheduled to play the Caesars Palace Classic in Las Vegas Tuesday and plans to head to WSOPC Southern Indiana, WPT Foxwoods and WSOPC Lake Tahoe immediately after, just to see if he can keep the ball rolling.

"I don't know," he said. "Maybe I can ship another one. We'll see what happens."

For a comprehensive recap of all the final-table action, check out PokerListings' Live Updates.

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Harrah’s Earns Seven Awards for Sustainability

The continued greening efforts by Harrah’s have paid off, as the resort company recently earned seven gold medals from Travelife, an organization that promotes sustainability in tourism.  Gold medals were doled out to several of Harrah’s Las Vegas properties, including the Rio, Caesars Palace, and Bill’s Gambling Saloon.

The medals are designed to reward properties that make an effort to minimize negative impact on the environment, take advantage of locally-based companies when selecting vendors, and make a concerted effort to hire locally based individuals to better the social lives of people within the community.

Travelife is an organization set up by the European Union through the Federation of Tour Operations to advise travelers on companies and hotels that make efforts towards greening their company.  Harrah’s was the only gambling-related company to receive accreditation for multiple Las Vegas resorts, taking home eight total medals.  The gold medals went to the Rio, Caesars Palace, Bill’s Gambling Saloon, Flamingo, Paris, Bally’s, and Harrah’s, while Imperial Palace received a silver medal.

Gary Loveman, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Harrah’s, commented on the honor in an official press release from the company: “I’m proud that each of our resorts in Las Vegas achieved this distinction. We’ve invested heavily in sustainability at Harrah’s and made it a core business principle that drives business strategy and operations.”

According to numbers found in Harrah’s press release, the company has launched more than 110 conservation projects across its numerous properties.  These efforts have resulted in the reduction of 77,850 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.  Some of the projects include the installation of water filtration systems in Harrah’s restaurants to cut down on bottled water use and the implementation of a new Las Vegas laundry facility that severely cuts down on the number of gallons of water used each year.

Even the Harrah’s-owned World Series of Poker (WSOP) is taking part in sustainability efforts.  An eco-friendly poker table designed by EGM Green was put on display as part of the 2008 WSOP festivities.  The table was made of 98% sustainable materials and was awarded to that year’s Main Event Champion, Peter Eastgate.  The table was auctioned off for charity this past July at the Friends of Eastgate fundraiser.  Casinos that install the EGM table can earn Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) credits.

Harrah’s has also received several other green honors over the past year, including an Environmental Quality Award, which is the highest level of recognition bestowed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  Harrah’s partnered with the EPA last year to take part in the Climate Leaders project and recently teamed up with the organization again for the Water Wise project.

In September, the casino conglomerate announced it would be joining forces with Dell, SC Johnson, Starbucks, and Wrigley to form “Team Earth.”  Run by Conservationists International, the team is designed to bring together corporations, non-profit organizations, scientists, and educators to discuss environmental issues.

Dream Team Poker Heads to the Bicycle Casino for Monday Night Series

Fresh off the third tournament in its history, which took place at the Rio during the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, Dream Team Poker announced a Monday Night Football promotion at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles.

Appropriately dubbed Monday Night Football at the Bike, the latest version of Dream Team Poker will consist of 11 tournaments at the storied Los Angeles casino. Teams’ performances will be tracked on a leaderboard and the action starts on October 19th. The final week of the series, which issues its “Shuffle Up and Deal” command at 7:00pm local time, is December 28th. Monday Night Football actually airs around 4:30pm PT and, to warm up the crowd, KLAC’s Petros and Money will broadcast live starting at 4:00pm PT from the gaming establishment, which plays host to the annual Legends of Poker, a staple of the World Poker Tour (WPT).

Dream Team Poker CEO Daniel Delshad told Poker News Daily, “We are very excited about bringing Dream Team Poker to the Bicycle Casino. After the WSOP event, we had a lot of opportunities to take Dream Team Poker to new places and we wanted to make sure to manage the growth.” A total of 366 players, or 122 three-man teams, took to the felts at the Rio, with Team Tao of Poker emerging victorious from the pack to pocket $33,000. The event’s overall winner was “Cowboy” Kenna James, who earned $16,000. Dream Team Poker tournaments pay out to the top teams and individuals to avoid collusion.

Each tournament held over the course of the 11-week Monday Night Football series comes with a $67 per person price tag, or $201 per team. The more tournaments a team enters throughout the course of the series, the more chips they’ll start with at the end-of-season event, giving an edge to Dream Team Poker regulars.

The Monday Night Football finale takes place on December 28th at 7:00pm and the winning team each week will take home a seat to the Ho Ho No Limit Hold’em Dream Team Poker Main Event on Saturday, December 12th at 2:00pm local time at The Bike. The tournament will set entrants back $140, or $420 per team. Squads that submit their registration prior to December 1st will receive a customized jersey similar to those found hanging outside PokerPalooza at the Rio in July.

Up for grabs for the leading individual and team on the weekly leaderboard at the end of the season are $500 in spending money and one ticket each to Super Bowl XLIV, which will pan out in February from Miami, Florida. Last year’s Super Bowl, which was held in Tampa, featured the Pittsburgh Steelers defeating the Arizona Cardinals 27-23. All told, Dream Team Poker will award four tickets and $2,000 as part of the Monday Night Football series.

Dream Team Poker’s very first event took place last November at the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas. The invitation-only gala saw Team Bluff Magazine, which included Eric Morris, Matt Parvis, and Bodog Poker pro Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, take to the winner’s circle. In March, Dream Team Poker headed to Caesars Palace, where the Jamie Gold-led Team ACED emerged victorious from the pack for $59,000. Finally, prior to the WSOP Main Event, the annual media tournament featured a Dream Team Poker format, with Team Lacey Jones coming out on top.

So what’s next for the team poker concept? Delshad told Poker News Daily, “We are in the midst of planning our 2010 events, where we expect to expand the game to new locations across the U.S. and especially look to start building our international presence. We do expect to introduce some other exciting products in 2010.”

WSOP introducing November Nine Academy

With that in mind, the WSOP is introducing a special November Nine version of its poker academy set to run Nov. 6-8 during the actual 2009 WSOP Main Event final table.

Taking place at Caesars Palace, the three-day course will include instruction from premier poker players like Mark Seif, Greg Raymer and Phil Hellmuth.

"I'm so excited to get back in the classroom to share my experience and knowledge with the attendees," said Hellmuth, an 11-time bracelet winner and Main Event champion.

Participants will learn from the pros through a combination of focused seminars, live hand demonstrations and a deep-stack tournament.

Hellmuth, Raymer and Seif will also analyze footage from past final table experiences and dissect their own hands.

The seminars are interactive, which will provide an opportunity for participants to engage the poker pros in questions and dialogue.

"Live hand demonstrations are overwhelmingly popular at our WSOP Academy Events," said Brandon Rosen of the WSOP Academy.

"Our attendees tell us time and time again that they benefit tremendously from the time spent at the poker tables and playing out hands as they would in a real poker tournament. Learning by doing is the approach. This is why the November Nine Academy has more than six hours of live hand demonstration time. "

The WSOP Academy will also host a deep-stack No-Limit Hold'em tournament with the winner receiving a WSOP Academy 2010 Tournament of Champions prize package valued at $4,000.

All participants of the November Nine Academy will also receive exclusive VIP access to the 2009 WSOP Main Event final table.

Additional details for the event and all Academy events are available at www.wsopacademy.com or by calling 1-800-989-WSOP.

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WSOP Extends Contract with IMG Sports and Entertainment

Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment (HIE) announced Thursday that its World Series of Poker (WSOP) brand would be renewing its contract with IMG Sports and Entertainment for five more years through 2014.  The two groups have worked together since 2005 and IMG has helped to bring major non-gambling sponsors like Jack Link’s Beef Jerky and Planters Peanuts to the popular tournament series.

Within a press release distributed by HIE, the company also placed emphasis on its efforts to grow the WSOP brand internationally into something larger than just an annual series of poker tournaments.  “We are looking to emphasize the ‘World’ in World Series of Poker as our vision of the brand extends beyond the annual events in Las Vegas and London,” explained HIE Chief Executive Officer Mitch Garber.  “By tapping the global reach and expertise of IMG, we are confident that together we can take the brand to new levels on the international stage through new international bracelet events and other WSOP licensed poker events.”

IMG has long been a power player in the representation game and has a client roster that includes Hollywood celebrities, Olympic and professional athletes, and several major athletic brands like Major League Baseball, the Ryder Cup, and the PGA.  With offices in over 30 different companies, HIE is hoping IMG’s global presence will serve them well in the next five years.

“The World Series of Poker is an impressive property that we believe is well positioned to expand successfully into international markets given the increased activity in the online and offline poker business in key international markets,” said David Abrutyn, Senior Vice President and Global Managing Director of IMG Consulting.

Harrah’s has been taking steps to position itself for this transition into the international poker markets.  First, it launched HIE earlier this year and hired former PartyPoker CEO Garber to run the operation.  Earlier this month, HIE also announced it would be teaming with 888 Holdings’ business-to-business venture, Dragonfish, to develop online content for the casino conglomerate.  Although the legality of online gambling remains up for debate in the United States, Dragonfish will supposedly create online gambling ventures branded for WSOP and Caesars Palace in European and other global markets.  The WSOP’s longstanding relationship with ESPN was also renewed recently, with a contract guaranteeing coverage of the event on the ESPN family of networks through 2017.

HIE and the WSOP are not without their critics, though.  Despite plans to make a grand entrance and participate in this weekend’s WSOP Europe, 11-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth recently spoke out against the company on the Hardcore Poker Show because of the steps being taken to expand the brand into online poker ventures.  Hellmuth, like many other top pros, has a sponsorship deal from an online poker site and fears HIE’s attempts to create a WSOP-branded room will jeopardize lucrative television logo deals that players use to subsidize their income.

“You know, there’s going to be some mistakes made by Harrah’s and just mark my words - they’re going to risk losing the World Series of Poker, which is estimated at $200 million,” Hellmuth said in his interview.  “It may actually become worth nothing if they force the players and all the great internet sites to say, ‘Look, we’re going to start our own deal because Harrah’s is restricting logos.’ They’re actually taking logo use out of the picture, or trying to press their position as a site owner.”

To date, there has been no official announcement of a WSOP-branded online poker site, but the hiring of Garber and recent steps taken by HIE lead many to believe that is the direction the brand is heading.

Schedule Announced for WSOP Atlantic City Circuit Event

Most poker enthusiasts are currently thinking about their plans for World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) or the World Poker Tour (WPT) event currently running at the Borgata in Atlantic City.  However, those who like to plan ahead are already setting their sights on another upcoming Atlantic City tournament series, the World Series of Poker Circuit Event (WSOPC) at Harrah’s in December.

This week, WSOPC staff released the official schedule of events and the series will offer 17 different tournaments during its run from December 4th through 20th.  The tournaments will range in length from one to three days and feature buy-ins from $230 to $5,150.  That largest buy-in is for the WSOPC Atlantic City’s Three-Day Deep Stack Main Event taking place from the 13th to the 15th.

Those participating in the Main Event will receive 30,000 chips with the blinds beginning at 25/50.  Each level will last 60 minutes with a 15-minute break after every two levels and play extending to 90 minutes per level once the final table is reached.  The Main Event is not the only tournament featuring the deep-stacked structure, though.  There will also be $1,600 and $2,150 tournaments taking place after the start of the Main Event.  They will retain the same hour-long levels and blind structure of the Main Event with 20,000 and 25,000 chip starting stacks, respectively.

Whoever takes down the Main Event will join an impressive list of previous WSOPC winners who have found success in Atlantic City.  The WSOPC swings through Atlantic City twice every year with stops at Harrah’s and Caesars Palace.  Some of the former winners at both locations include John Racener, Eric “sheets” Haber, and Brent “Astrolux85″ Roberts.  Roberts is the defending Harrah’s Atlantic City WSOPC Main Event Champion and recently made online poker news when he took down PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) Event #36, a $530 buy-in No Limit Hold’em with Rebuys event.

The Harrah’s Atlantic City event will be the fourth stop on the WSOPC.  The latest season kicks off next month with a newly introduced series at the Horseshoe in Hammond, Indiana.  That series will run from October 16th to 25th. Then, the WSOPC will host events at Horseshoe Southern Indiana and Harveys Lake Tahoe before settling in for the December events at Harrah’s Atlantic City.

Here is the complete schedule of events for the upcoming WSOPC Harrah’s Atlantic City series (all events start at 11:00am local time unless stated otherwise):

Fri 12/4 – Event #1: $300 + $40 No Limit Hold’em (2 day event)
Sat 12/5 – Event #2: $500 + $60 No Limit Hold’em (2 day event)

Sun 12/6 – Event #3: $300 + $40 No Limit Hold’em (2 day event)
Mon 12/7 – Event #4: $200 + $30 No Limit Hold’em (1 day event)
Tue 12/8 – Event #5: $500 + $60 No Limit Hold’em (2 day event)
Wed 12/9 - Event #6: $200 + $30 No Limit Hold’em (1 day event)
Thu 12/10 – Event #7: $300 + $40 No Limit Hold’em (2 day event)
Fri 12/11 – Event #8: $1,000 + $80 No Limit Hold’em (2 day event)
Sat 12/12 – Event #9: $300 + $40 Ladies No Limit Hold’em (1 day event)
Sun 12/13 – Event #10 Main Event: $4,900 + $250 No Limit Hold’em (3 day event)
Mon 12/14 – Event #11: $200 + $30 No Limit Hold’em (1 day event)
Tue 12/15 – Event #12: $1,500 + $100 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (3 day event)
Wed 12/16 – Event #13: $200 + $30 No Limit Hold’em (1 day event)
Thu 12/17 – Event #14: $300 + $40 No Limit Hold’em (2 day event)
Fri 12/18 – Event #15: $2,000 + $150 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (3 day event)
Sat 12/19 – Event #16: $300 + $40 No Limit Hold’em (2 day event)
Sun 12/20 – Event #17: $1035 + $65 2010 WSOP Satellite (1 day event)

Tiffany Michelle, Maria Ho May Compete on Amazing Race

Poker News Daily can confirm that Ultimate Bet Star Player Tiffany Michelle will compete on the upcoming season of the CBS reality series “Amazing Race,” according to anonymous sources inside the industry. The show debuts on September 27th at 8:00pm ET following “60 Minutes.” Michelle’s partner, according to Bluff Magazine and various television news outfits, is Maria Ho.

The upcoming season is the 15th for the “Amazing Race,” which pits teams of two against each other for a race around the world – literally. Last season, contestants traveled to diverse destinations that included Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Romania, Russia, India, Thailand, and China before crossing the finish line at the King Kamehameha Golf Club in Maui, Hawaii. Michelle and Ho represent the last women standing in the 2008 and 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Events, respectively. Michelle gained notoriety last year by calling the clock during a hand she wasn’t involved in, an act that was criticized by tablemate and November Nine member Craig Marquis.

An e-mail sent to Michelle seeking comment about the rumors resulted in an auto-response that read, “I’ll be off shooting for the next month, till mid August, and may be away from my computer and out of touch during that time.” An image that appeared on RealityFanForum.com showed Ho at Los Angeles International Airport allegedly for the start of “Amazing Race.” In a blog entry dated June 27th, Michelle indicated that she would not defend her title of Last Woman Standing in the Main Event: “It’d have to be something pretty big to deter me from the WSOP Championship Event this year and trust me, IT IS! I can’t disclose much right now, but I’ll be leaving the country to film a project for a month and it conflicts with the Main Event.”

In May, Jean-Robert Bellande, who appeared on CBS’ “Survivor: China” in 2007, posted on the online poker forum TwoPlusTwo that “two hot poker girls” were wanted for an “upcoming reality show.” Bellande, a Bodog pro, noted that the ideal candidate is “a respected pro, young, hot, single, [and] engaging.” The Bad Boy of Poker suggested Kristy Gazes and Team PokerStars Pro member Vanessa Rousso, although the latter is engaged to Chad Brown. Last season on the “Amazing Race,” former NFL cheerleaders Jaime and Cara finished as the runner-ups to siblings and lawyers Tammy and Victor.

A representative from Ultimate Bet told Poker News Daily, “I know Tiffany is away working on a project, but unfortunately that is all we know at this point. We can’t comment on any such rumors.” Michelle signed with the Tokwiro-owned online poker room one year ago, joining a Team UB roster that includes Adam “Roothlus” Levy, Brandon Cantu, Gary “debo34” Debernardi, “Hollywood” Dave Stann, Matt “mattg1983” Graham, Michael Binger, Mark “P0ker H0″ Kroon, Scott Ian, and Shawn “westtexasman” Rice. The site’s two main faces are 11-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth and “Celebrity Apprentice” runner-up Annie Duke.

At the Dream Team Poker event held at Caesars Palace in March, Michelle and Ho joined forces to bring Team Yo Mama to life. The all-female squad also featured Lacey Jones. No female team has ever won “Amazing Race,” which first aired in 2001. That season, contestants traveled 35,000 miles around the world, led by Rob and Brennan. For its 11th season, favorites from the first 10 cycles of “Amazing Race” convened for a special All-Stars edition. Notable teams included Rob and Amber of “Survivor” fame and Season 7 winners Uchenna and Joyce, who were eliminated at the end of the ninth leg.

During each episode, teams compete in “Detours,” which is a choice between two tasks, each with its own pros and cons. In addition, they’ll stumble upon “Road Blocks,” which are challenges that only one team member can perform. Each “Detour” and “Road Block” typically focuses on the local culture, giving the show a unique flair. New Zealander Phil Keoghan serves as its host and the show will return to its Sunday night timeslot on September. “Amazing Race” serves as the lead-in for the new CBS drama “Three Rivers.”

PPA Charity Poker Tournament Raises $35,000 for USO

On Tuesday night as part of National Poker Week, the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) held a charity tournament to raise money for the USO of Metropolitan Washington. In the end, the event generated $35,000, including a generous $25,000 donation by the PPA.

The cards were in the air on Tuesday night at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill at 7:00pm ET for a special charity poker tournament sponsored by the PPA benefiting the USO of Metropolitan Washington. A capacity crowd of 150 players turned out as well as 30 alternates who eventually found their way onto the tournament’s tables. Poker pros in attendance included Jan Fisher, Poker News Daily Guest Columnists Linda Johnson and Annie Duke, Full Tilt Poker pros Howard Lederer and Andy Bloch, and PokerStars pros Greg Raymer and Dennis Phillips. Talk show host and 20 year poker veteran Montel Williams also lent his name to the tournament, which was free to enter and featured $100 rebuys.

Ivan Neville kicked off the festivities by signing the National Anthem, while a representative from the USO issued the traditional “Shuffle up and deal” command to begin play. Two tables called for rebuys in the first four minutes of action, while Lederer was responsible for rebuying four times in the first 20 minutes. Many of the pros in attendance financed rebuys for the 35 veterans from the Walter Reed Army Medical Center who played. Each person was issued a starting stack of 10,000 and blinds began at 50-100, escalating every 15 minutes. The price of poker ultimately went up every 10 minutes towards the end of play.

The grand prizes at stake were two round trip tickets to Las Vegas plus a three night stay at Caesars Palace as well as a $1,900 gift certificate to the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Academy. Other parting gifts included two autographed Daniel Negreanu poker books, a copy of Microsoft Office, VISA gift cards, Nickelback tickets, a copy of HALO 3, a signed Washington Capitals hockey jersey, a JAQK Cellars package, and two six-inch LCD picture frames. Also awarded to two players were one year subscriptions to the training site PokerXFactor.com. One of its instructors, Chris “Fox” Wallace, played in the event and told Poker News Daily, “We thought it would be a nice thing for the bubble person and the first person eliminated to receive PokerXFactor subscriptions. We wanted to show our appreciation for the people who played and, at the same time, help out the PPA and USO.”

Credit cards and cash were accepted for rebuys. In addition to the poker pros in the Ticonderoga Room, a bevy of Congressmen also turned out. They included Shelley Berkley (D-CA), Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), and Xavier Becerra (D-CA). In one pot, Raymer explained the concept of a string bet to tablemates, but folded in the hand when his opponent showed A-J on a rag board. Duke came armed to her table with a stack of $100 bills and told Poker News Daily that she contributed around $1,500 to the cause. Duke and PPA Executive Director John Pappas were seated together, as were PPA Kentucky State Director Rich Muny and Bloch. Phillips and his agent also met as foes at the same table.

Several players had bounties on their heads, including former PokerStars Marketing Director Dan Goldman and tournament emcee Bryan Spadaro, who also serves as the PPA’s Memebrship Director. The Interactive Gaming Council (IGC) funded rebuys for the first 10 players who busted out, while a flurry of exciting hands took place. When five tables remained, Goldman’s pocket kings defeated pocket queens and another player with pocket kings after four diamonds hit the board. Wallace lost a $50 last longer bet with online poker pro Jordan “iMsoLucky0” Morgan after his K-9 suited lost to A-10. The final board included two aces and Wallace was sent to the rails.

All in all, the tournament marked a successful fundraiser for the USO of Metropolitan Washington. For those involved, it represented a unique opportunity to play alongside 35 wounded veterans. After the tournament, Johnson told Poker News Daily that those in uniform hold a “special place in my heart.”

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from National Poker Week.

Kenna James Wins Dream Team Poker WSOP Event

“Cowboy” Kenna James won the third Dream Team Poker event, held at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas down the hall from the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP). Tao of Pokerati emerged victorious in the team competition.

Tao of Pokerati was the lone team to boast two members in the final 27 players. Dr. Pauly McGuire recorded a 13th place finish, while Dan Michalski earned 17th. Michalski showed prowess of the Dream Team Poker concept after folding pocket kings face up to assure moving on when his team had a chance to secure the first place prize. In the end, Tao of Pokerati earned $33,000 for the win. In Dream Team Poker, each squad’s two best finishes are recorded and the lowest score wins. For Tao of Pokerati, a score of 30 (the sum of 13th place and 17th place) was good enough to take home the title.

Here’s how the team competition stacked up. The buy-in for the third Dream Team Poker tournament was $560 per player, or $1,680 per team:

1. Tao of Pokerati - $33,017
2. Team Simpletrak - $18,106
3. Diaboloco’s - $10,651
4. Machine Team - $7,988
5. Team Puerto Rico - $7,455
6. 7 Kings - $6,923
7. 2 Kings - $6,390
8. The Maven VT 4 - $5,858
9. The Maven VT 3 - $5,325
10. Min Cash Masters - $4,793

In an interview after the tournament with Dream Team Poker emcee Alex Outhred, James explained, “I have to hand it to the Dream Team Poker team, they really run a class event. From all the information they provide, to having them out there, to having the music in the background, they really know how to generate the feeling that this event is all about. It was really special.” In the end, it was a gender versus gender clash, with James defeating Judy Tejwani of SOCRR heads-up. James, who played as part of Poker Host, banked $16,000 for the win, while Tejwani earned $7,800 for her runner-up showing.

The top individual finishers at the Rio were as follows:

1. Kenna James (Poker Host) - $16,473
2. Judy Tejwani (SOCRR) - $7,810
3. Stephen Nelson (I Love it When a Plan Comes Together) - $5,680
4. Peter Mavro (Min Cash Masters) - $4,260
5. Ricardo Felix Matos (Machine Team) - $3,621
6. Bojan Miljkovic (Juzni Vetar) - $3,160
7. Terresa Gallagher (Wicked Chops Poker II) - $2,485
8. David Hornsby (The Hangover) - $1,775
9. James Page (The Maven VT 3) - $1,598
10. Adam Wege (NLP FREE) - $1,598

The event brought out some of poker’s brightest stars. David Williams, Evelyn Ng, and Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo competed as part of Team Bodog. Barry Greenstein and Joe Stapleton joined forces on Team PokerRoad.com. Jerry Yang, Christina Lindley, and Eric Aude formed Team Six Hands, Four Nutz, and a Rack on Tilt. Marsha Waggoner, James Worth, and Young Phan made up Team True Poker and Barbara Enright, Paul Darden, and David Levi brought Team Bookmaker Poker to life. “Captain” Tom Franklin and Poker Hall of Fame member T.J. Cloutier competed under the Captain Krunch banner, while Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Linda Johnson, Jan Fisher, and Rick Fuller battled as part of Bike.com.

A total of 122 teams and 366 players entered the Rio event, down sharply from the 148 teams and 444 runners who turned out for Dream Team Poker’s last competition, held at Caesars Palace in March. Among those in attendance was newly-minted Absolute Poker pro Lacey Jones, whose team took down the WSOP media event held last week. Jones commented in a press release, “This is my third time playing a Dream Team Poker event and I have had the most fun playing these events than any other poker tournament. I can’t think of any better way to enjoy the game of poker than to play with your friends and have them cheer you on!”

Visit the official website of Dream Team Poker for more information.

Dream Team Poker WSOP Event Attracts 366 Players

The third Dream Team Poker event, held down the hall from the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP), attracted 366 runners for a total prize pool of $177,000. Roberto Diaz from Team Reckless leads the way entering Day 2, when 27 players will take to the felts.

The field that turned out for the Dream Team Poker’s second open event was actually smaller than its last outing, which took place at Caesars Palace in March. Across Interstate 15, a total of 148 teams and 444 players turned out four months ago. This time around, 122 teams and 366 players entered, a drop of 17%. Nevertheless, play was fast and furious, as 27 players representing 26 teams survived the first day and will return on Monday to determine a champion. Tao of Pokerati is the lone squad to boast two players remaining.

The top overall team will earn $33,017. The runner-ups will take home $18,106, third place will pocket $10,651, fourth place will earn $7,988, fifth place will bank $7,455, sixth place will receive $6,923, the seventh place team will see their bank accounts grow by $6,390, eighth place will pocket $5,858, ninth place will earn $5,325, and tenth place leaves the Rio with $4,793 from the $560 per person buy-in event. The field of 366 players included 59 women and three all-female teams: Kegslist.info (lead by Lacey Jones), Tush Pushers (lead by Pam Brunson), and Wicked Chops Poker II (Lead by London Gallagher).

Here’s how the field stacks up entering Day 2 of the Dream Team Poker tournament:

1. Roberto Diaz (Team Reckless) - 332,000
2. Jordan Hill (Team Winner Winner Chicken Dinner) - 252,000
3. Ricardo Felix Matos (Machine Team) - 235,000
4. Matthew Woodward (Team 2 Kings) - 220,000
5. Peter Marvo (Team Min Cash Masters) - 193,000
6. Adam Wege (Team NLP FREE) - 177,000
7. Peter Lubrano (Team The Maven VT 2) - 165,000
8. Paul McGuire (Team Tao of Pokerati) - 158,000
9. Kenna James (Team Poker Host) - 140,000
10. Bryan Kessler (Team Those Guys) - 133,000
11. Terresa Gallagher (Team Wicked Chops Poker II) - 125,000
12. James Page (Team The Maven VT 3) - 124,000
13. Daniel Michalski (Team Tao of Pokerati) - 113,000
14. Bojan Miljkovic (Team Juzni Vetar) - 100,000
15. Glyn Ottofy (Team Poker) - 95,000
16. Brad Tolliver (Team Donkey Show) - 87,000
17. Andrew Colas (Team Poker Blazers) - 82,000
18. Maximilian Gsottschneider (Team Puerto Rico) - 81,000
19. Michael Shackelford (Team Sinistrals) - 79,000
20. Mary Jo Zogman (Team Team HTP) - 60,000
21. Omar Vachhani (Team Diabolocos) - 46,000
22. John Sayre (Team Home Gamers) - 40,000
23. Michelle Richey (Team Simpletrak) - 37,000
24. Antonio Ferreira (Team BOSS) - 37,000
25. David Hornsby (Team The Hangover) - Unknown
26. Judy Tejwani (Team SOCRR) - Unknown
27. Stephen Nelson (Team I Love it When a Plan Comes Together) – Unknown

Notable poker pros who entered the event, but did not survive to see Day 2, included Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, Evelyn Ng, David Williams, Barry Greenstein, Gavin Smith, Liz Lieu, Jerry Yang, Marsha Waggoner, David “The Maven” Chicotsky, Susie Isaacs, Tom McEvoy, “Captain” Tom Franklin, T.J. Cloutier, Men “The Master” Nguyen, Linda Johnson, Jan Fisher, and Amir Vahedi. Also taking to the felts was former Major League Baseball star Jose Canseco, whose book “Juiced” ignited the crackdown on steroids in the game.

The tournament’s individual winner will earn $16,473 and the top 19 spots pay out. In order to curb collusion, Dream Team Poker events award prize money to the top players and teams. In addition, no team members are seated at the same table until 14 to 16 runners remain. No indication has been given as to when Dream Team Poker will hold its fourth event.

Harrah’s releases 2009-2010 WSOP Circuit schedule

The mid-stakes tournament series includes stops at Harrah's properties from coast to coast, including Las Vegas, Atlantic City and multiple stops at smaller venues in America's heartland.

In addition, Harrah's has introduced a new stop at Harrah's St. Louis to be held in April, 2010.

All told, eleven casinos will play host to WSOPC events, with buy-ins ranging from $200 to $5,000.

"World Series of Poker Circuit events are a great way to gain live tournament experience, get a feel for what the World Series of Poker is all about and have a lot of fun," said WSOP commissioner Jeffrey Pollack.

The Circuit features No Limit Hold'em, Pot Limit Omaha, Ladies' and Turbo events to complement its $5,000 NLHE main events.

Each tournament winner is awarded a gold World Series of Poker Circuit ring.

In the 2008-2009 season, main event champions included Steve Billirakis (Horseshoe Hammond), Michael Binger (Lake Tahoe) and Justin Bonomo (Las Vegas).

The full schedule is as follows:

October 16 - October 25, 2009	Horseshoe Hammond (Chicago area)
October 23 - November 2, 2009	Horseshoe Southern Indiana (Louisville area)
November 5 - November 15, 2009	Harveys Lake Tahoe
December 4 - December 20, 2009	Harrah's Atlantic City
January 20 - February 11, 2010	Harrah's Tunica
February 18 - March 2, 2010	Horseshoe Council Bluffs
March 3 - March 14, 2010	Caesars Atlantic City
March 18 - March 31, 2010	Harrah's Rincon (San Diego area)
April 1 - April 14, 2010	Harrah's St. Louis
April 14 - April 30, 2010	Caesars Palace
May 7 - May 19, 2010	Harrah's New Orleans

Visit PokerListings.com

2009-2010 WSOP Circuit Event Schedule Announced

Eleven stops will take place as part of the 2009-2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit, announced by Harrah’s officials on Friday. The festivities will head to Harrah’s St. Louis for the first time.

Not every poker player can make the trek to Las Vegas for the world’s richest tournament series. Consequently, a WSOP Circuit Event brings the excitement of big buy-in events to Harrah’s-owned casinos around the United States. David Norton, Chief Marketing Officer of Harrah’s Entertainment, commented in a press release, “WSOP Circuit Events are a great way to welcome new guests to Harrah’s properties around the country. Whether you are a new player or a casino regular, you will find a great playing experience.”

While WSOP events in Las Vegas dish out gold bracelets to winners, Circuit Events award a prestigious gold ring to each champion. Preliminary tournaments are held along with a $5,000 buy-in Main Event, half of what the championship contest in Las Vegas costs to enter each year. While the schedule for each stop has not yet been formally released, look for the WSOP Circuit to traverse the United States as follows over the next year:

October 16th through October 25th, 2009
Horseshoe Hammond (Chicago)
Reigning Champion: Steve “MrSmokey1” Billirakis

October 23rd through November 2nd, 2009
Horseshoe Southern Indiana (Louisville)
Reigning Champion: Samuel Oberlin

November 5th through November 15th, 2009
Harvey’s Lake Tahoe
Reigning Champion: Michael Binger

December 4th through December 20th, 2009
Harrah’s Atlantic City
Reigning Champion: Brent Roberts

January 20th through February 11th, 2010
Harrah’s Tunica (Memphis)
Reigning Champion: Kai Landry

February 18th through March 2nd, 2010
Horseshoe Council Bluffs
Reigning Champion: Jesse Hale

March 3rd through March 14th, 2010
Caesars Atlantic City
Reigning Champion: Samuel Chartier

March 18th through March 31st, 2010
Harrah’s Rincon (San Diego)
Reigning Champion: Dwyte Pilgrim

April 1st through April 14th, 2010
Harrah’s St. Louis
Reigning Champion: New Event

April 14th through April 30th, 2010
Caesars Palace Las Vegas
Reigning Champion: Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo

May 7th through May 19th, 2010
Harrah’s New Orleans
Reigning Champion: Jean “Prince” Gaspard

The 2008-2009 schedule featured 10 stops in largely the same order as they appear on the new slate of events. The brand new St. Louis tournament series fills a gap in time that previously existed between Harrah’s Rincon and Caesars Palace. In addition, the Circuit stops in Hammond and Southern Indiana will overlap. The venues are separated by more than 250 miles of Interstate 65, which traverses Indiana from Louisville to Chicago.

The addition of a stop in St. Louis for the WSOP Circuit mirrors a similar move by the World Poker Tour (WPT), which dropped its North American Poker Championship and Foxwoods Poker Classic for Season 8 in favor of an event at Hollywood Casino outside of Cincinnati in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. The venue will be the first riverboat property to host a WPT event and provides a convenient destination for poker players from around the Midwest. The Hollywood Poker Open will take place from March 20th to 24th.

Buy-ins for preliminary tournaments held during Circuit Events typically begin around $250, allowing the area’s poker pros and amateurs alike ample options to try their hand at the Great American Pastime. WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack commented in a press release, “World Series of Poker Circuit Events are a great way to gain live tournament experience, get a feel for what the World Series of Poker is all about, and have a lot of fun. Every stop on the WSOP Circuit has a local flair and provides a best in class poker-playing experience.”

The 2009 WSOP Main Event enters Day 4 on Saturday. A total of 810 players remain, with Team PokerStars Pro member Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier dominating the field. The two-time WPT event winner holds 1.4 million chips, well ahead of Ludovic Lacay’s second place stack of 896,000.

Jose Canseco Enters Dream Team Poker WSOP Tournament

Poker News Daily has learned that former Major League Baseball star Jose Canseco has entered the third Dream Team Poker tournament, which will be held on July 12th and 13th during the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP).

Canseco, whose book “Juiced” helped fuel the steroid hunt in professional baseball, will take to the Dream Team Poker felts along with teammates Shane McDowell and Josh Clark. Canseco’s team, dubbed “On Tilt,” is one of over 100 that have already registered for the event, which will be the first of its kind at the WSOP. Each three-man Dream Team Poker squad will battle for individual and team prizes in the two-day contest, which comes with a price tag of $560 per person.

Attendees of PokerPalooza, formerly the WSOP Gaming Life Expo, will notice a wall of jerseys hanging outside its entrance. The spectacle has been on display all week, runs from floor to ceiling, and has become a popular stop for poker fans. Dream Team Poker officials are expecting over 300 players total at the Rio, including Daniel Negreanu, whose Team Poker VT has already paid its buy-in. 2007 WSOP Main Event Champion Jerry Yang will be in attendance, as will Team Bodog, which includes Evelyn Ng, Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, and David Williams.

Last time out, Dream Team Poker held its first open tournament at Caesars Palace. The event attracted 148 teams and 444 players, selling out the Caesars poker room. In the end, Team ACED, led by 2006 WSOP Main Event Champion Jamie Gold, took down the title. Although Gold has since parted ways with the Merge Gaming Network site, his name is forever entrenched in Dream Team Poker history. Gold and company pocketed $59,000 for recording the top team finish and Danny Nelson from Team BikerHaven.net grabbed $24,000 for claiming the individual title.

Coming in second place at Caesars in the team competition were the Claddaghs, who earned $33,000. Other top finishers included The Clones (third place for $15,000), Party at the Mansion (fourth place for $10,000), and the Hellmuth Busters (fifth place for $6,000). One-third of the 2008 WSOP November Nine turned out at Caesars, as did Phil Hellmuth, Johnny Chan, Todd Brunson, Paul Wasicka, Mike Matusow, Erica Schoenberg, and T.J. Cloutier. Also in attendance was Bonomo, who along with Matt Parvis and Eric Morris took down the inaugural Dream Team Poker event as part of Team Bluff.

Each player will begin with 10,000 starting chips and blind levels last 40 minutes. The price of poker begins at 50-100 and antes kick in at Level 3, when blinds are 150-300. A 10 minute break occurs after every three levels and teammates are not seated at the same table until 14 to 16 players remain. Teams that registered prior to July 1st received a customized jersey and play begins at 2:00pm Pacific Time on both July 12th and 13th. Individual payouts amount to 40% of the prize pool, while team payouts make up the remaining 60%.

Other players slated to enter the third Dream Team Poker tournament include Barry Greenstein and Joe Sebok (Team PokerRoad), Gavin Smith (Team Zurvive), Pamela Brunson (Team Pushers), Liz Liu (Team Chili Poker), and Barbara Enright, Paul Darden, and David Levi, who will make up Team Bookmaker Poker.

July 12th also marks Day 5 of the 2009 WSOP Main Event, which kicked off on Friday with the first of four starting days. A total of 1,116 entrants took to the felts on Day 1A, down from 1,297 last year. Today’s field is expected to be smaller due to the July 4th holiday in the United States. The $10,000 buy-in tournament will play down to its final table on July 15th, when it will be paused for four months. Last year, Danish poker pro Peter Eastgate earned $9.1 million for the victory and became the youngest WSOP Main Event winner ever at age 22.

The Dream Team Poker event will be held inside the Amazon Room, home of the 2009 WSOP. Registration is now open at the Rio cage and can be paid via casino chips, cash, or cashier’s check. We’ll have full tournament results for you right here on Poker News Daily.

WSOP Academy offers Main Event primer

Now, the World Series of Poker Academy is offering these first-timers a Main Event Primer with some of the most respected players in the world sharing pearls of wisdom to help them make the most of the experience.

From June 29 to July 1 at Caesars Palace, past WSOP Main Event champions Phil Hellmuth and Greg Raymer, WSOP bracelet winners Annie Duke and Mark Seif, WPT title winner Phil Gordon, and Alex Outhred will be among the instructors at the tournament primer.

"Like the WSOP Main Event itself, our Main Event Primer only comes around once a year and is unrivaled in its level of instruction as well as the interaction participants have with the biggest names in poker," said Brandon Rosen of Post Oak Productions

"It truly is a unique opportunity to learn optimal strategy from the pros who have won it all."

What does the $2,499 tuition fee buy you? Three days of seminars with Q&As, video analysis of WSOP tournament footage and private multi-table tournaments.

The focus will be No-Limit Hold 'em strategy, advanced tournament stage strategy, pre-flop and post-flop strategy, table dynamics, intimidation and control of your opponents and heads-up strategy.

Ex-FBI counter-terrorism specialist and author Joe Navarro will also present an advanced poker tells seminar on decoding poker tells and on reading the nonverbal communications that people exhibit when they are lying.

Space is limited, and the event is expected sell out.

Additional details for the Main Event Primer and all other Academy events are available at www.wsopacademy.com.

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High Stakes Omaha Games in Las Vegas

Since the inception of the World Series of Poker 40 years ago, one of the biggest attractions wasn’t the tournament series itself but the side games that occurred after people had busted out of their tournaments. All too often the real sharks of Las Vegas would be waiting in the juicy side games where the home game heroes would end up after their tournament was finished. All too often the result was that the sharks cleaned the tourists out and fattened their bankrolls for the rest of the year.

Times are a little different in Las Vegas 40 years later as poker is offered at just about every major casino in town. The idea of sharks waiting at every cash game is something of the past since so many casual tourists in town have some experience playing poker and don’t mind sitting down at the games when they are out gambling. This means that the fields for the small stakes tables, be it Limit Hold’em, No Limit Texas Hold’em or Pot Limit Omaha are so big that good poker players should do well if they can avoid the coolers and bad beats no matter where they play.

More often than not, the biggest game in a poker room is Pot Limit Omaha. Because of the drawing nature of the game, pots are always bigger in PLO games than they are for No Limit Hold’em. When a huge whale comes in to town (someone with ridiculous amounts of money to burn) and wants big poker action, they’re playing Pot Limit Omaha. As famed rounder Sammy Farha was quoted as saying, “If No Limit Texas Hold’em is the Cadillac of poker, then Pot Limit Omaha is the Porsche.”

The days of juicy side cash games at the World Series of Poker aren’t too removed as the venue has changed to the swankier and bigger poker room at the Rio in Las Vegas. With the WSOP in town, the high rollers are constantly on the lookout for a big game to prove their skills in addition to taking home big profits. According to more than one source, one of the biggest games for Pot Limit Omaha is currently running daily at the Rio in the form of a 25-25-50 game. That means that there’s two small blinds of $25 and one big blind of $50 in a 9-handed format. To say this is an action packed game would be the littlest complement one could bestow on the game.

Regular players in that game include popular pro David “Devilfish” Ulliot and other internet PLO superstars such as DJ Sensei, Eric Liu, Harrington25 (not Dan Harrington) and colson10 have been spotted at the main game at the Rio. Many in that main game, as evidenced by recent posts in their blogs, have said that the game isn’t juicy at all and is similar to their regular games online. The idea for them was finding juicy games against lesser competition while in Las Vegas. Omaha does seem to be taking off in Las Vegas this summer as the game is more widespread than it has been in recent memory.

According to reports, the aforementioned Rio has been running 25-25-50 PLO every day and if requested, they have started up a 50-100-200 game during peak gambling hours in Sin City. Also at the Rio was a half 100-200 PLO and half 100-200-400 No Limit Hold’em game with antes which was running regularly through the WSOP week. Finally, the Rio has been known to run a 75-150 Pot Limit Omaha 8 or Better game and players are encouraged to call in to the Rio poker room to request a seat at any of the big games.

Other hotels in Vegas are also running Pot Limit Omaha, including some of the smallest stakes seen for poker in Vegas casinos for players looking to learn the game live. At the Excalibur Hotel, they are offering up a regular $0.50-$1 Pot Limit Omaha game at their electronic PokerPro table which seems perfectly suited for the game to keep it moving quickly, as most dealt Omaha games run quite slow. Regular PLO games are known to be going at both Caesars Palace and Bellagio.

If you’re in Las Vegas this summer during the WSOP event season and are looking to get in on the action, there’s plenty of mega-high limit games at the Rio, in addition to games at Caesars. For those of you with oil company ownership money, you can always get in on the mixed game action at Bobby’s Room at Bellagio which requires a minimum $20,000 buy-in. If you win in that game, you just might be able to buy that Porsche Sammy Farha was talking about.

WSOP Academy features Annie Duke, Phil Hellmuth to teach in Main Event Primer

The acclaimed WSOP Academy is once again offering its once-a-year Main Event primer for players who want to improve their chances at poker’s most famous tournament. The instructors include two Main Event champions – Phil Hellmuth and Greg Raymer, – bracelet holders Annie Duke and Mark Seif, pro Phil Gordon, tell expert Joe Navarro and other noted instructors. Annette Obrestad has also been mentioned as a possible instructor for the Main Event Primer, an excellent option considering she won the first WSOP Europe Main Event in 2007.

Brandon Rosen from Post Oak Productions (the company that manages the WSOP Academy) describes the event in these words:  “Like the WSOP Main Event itself, our Main Event Primer only comes around once a year and is unrivaled in its level of instruction as well as the interaction participants have with the biggest names in poker. It truly is a unique opportunity to learn optimal strategy from the pros who have won it all.”

The 3-day course will take place on June 29 - July 1 at Caesars Palace Las Vegas, and a roster of the industry’s top players and instructors will arm participants with an arsenal of strategies and mechanisms for navigating the huge Main Event fields and holding their own against the game’s best.
The Primer will focus mainly on four styles of instruction: advanced poker seminars (with Q&A sessions,) expert analysis of WSOP video footage, live hand demonstrations by top pros and private multi-table tournaments. Participants will also have the chance to win a seat into the $10,000 WSOP Main Event.

Attending the Primer will set you back $2500 (or $5000 for the deluxe package which includes an exclusive VIP dinner with the teachers,) but it could be worth it based on past results – some of last year’s graduates cashed big at the last year’s Main Event after learning from the Academy pros. These are some of the players who recouped their investment and then some after attending the WSOP Academy Main Event Primer: Aaron Keay made it to 49th Place and cashed for $135,100, while Allen Kennedy was just one below in 50th Place and also ashed for $135,100, and Gary Hamilton made it to the relatively low 560th Place and still took home $23,160.

The WSOP Academy Main Event Primer has an extensive and detailed curriculum, which covers all of the aspects a player needs to face the massive Main Event fields. These are just a few of the topics that will be studied at the Primer:

• Table image and the exploitation thereof
• Intimidation and control of your opponents
• Isolation of weak players
• Advanced pot odds + implied odds
• Pre and post-flop mathematics
• Four post-flop scenarios
• Limpers vs. non-limpers
• Situational raising
• “Suit”-itis
• The Gap Principle
• Making the money bubble
• Making the final table
• Mentally preparing
• Planning your day and play
• Taking care of yourself
• Conceal don’t reveal
• 13 advanced tells to look for

Space is limited and the Primer is expected to sell out, so if you are interested visit the WSOP Academy website to reserve your spot.

Caesars Mega Stack Series Begins Today

The Caesars Mega Stack series began today at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The tournament series will host …

Dream Team Poker Announces Tournament During 2009 WSOP

Dream Team Poker will present the third tournament in its history in July. Fresh off a sold out event at Caesars Palace, the team gaming concept will make its way to the Rio from July 12th to 13th during the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP). The buy-in is $560 per person, or $1,680 per three-man team.

The last time out, 148 teams and 444 players mobbed Caesars Palace for a sold out tournament, the first one held by Dream Team Poker that was open to the general public. In the end, Team ACED, which consisted of then-ACED Poker pro Jamie Gold, Ashley Nataupsky, and Houston Waldie, dominated the field and banked nearly $60,000. Other teams that finished in the money included The Claddaghs (second place for $33,300), The Clones (third place for $15,984), Party at the Mansion (fourth place for $10,656), and the Hellmuth Busters (fifth place for $6,660). Players who hit the felts included Bodog Poker pro Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, Ultimate Bet personality Phil Hellmuth, Johnny Chan, David Williams, Paul Wasicka, and T.J. Cloutier. Needless to say, the poker world was out in full force.

Dream Team Poker CEO Daniel Delshad will now bring his company’s popular concept to the world’s biggest stage: The 2009 WSOP. The tournament will take place concurrently with the end of the $10,000 buy-in Main Event, which will air as part of ESPN’s coverage of the festivities. Delshad told Poker News Daily, “After the success of our Caesars Palace event, we were able to get some time with WSOP officials and discuss an opportunity to bring Dream Team Poker to the Rio. To be able to get a turnaround that quickly is a testament to our success and the WSOP bringing new ideas to their game.” The WSOP Main Event will play down to its final table on July 15th and then be paused until November for the second straight year. On July 12th and 13th, the featured tournament will be playing out Day 5 and Day 6.

The first 300 teams that register will receive customized jerseys to don when they hit the Dream Team Poker felts. Although the number of tables that the tournament will have available has not yet been determined, a crowd surpassing the 444 players who showed up to Caesars is not out of the question. Delshad was elated at the event’s timing: “It gives us a lot more time to promote it. For us, the real excitement is to be in the Amazon Room at the same time as the Main Event. It’s a step higher than just being at the WSOP.” Registration for Dream Team Poker’s WSOP tournament will open on July 3rd. The organization will also have a booth in the halls of the Rio throughout the seven week WSOP festivities.

Among those who have expressed interest in creating a team is Jason Lilly, the individual winner in Dream Team Poker’s inaugural tournament, which was held at the Hard Rock in November. In addition, Joe Sebok has asked for Dream Team Poker officials to reserve him a spot. The tournament’s rules will remain much the same. Delshad told Poker News Daily, “People will still be wearing jerseys, but we’ll be on a bigger floor. We are still going to have time outs for players to talk to teammates who have been eliminated. We look at this as a good opportunity for people to continue to learn about the strategy of team gaming.” Taking down the invite-only Hard Rock event was Team Bluff, which consisted of Bonomo, Eric Morris, and Matt Parvis.

Delshad revealed to Poker News Daily that Dream Team Poker has plans to take the brand outside of the United States, as it has revolutionized the notion that poker is an individual sport. Team scores are determined by adding up the position that each player finished in. Only the two best scores are counted and the team with the lowest tally wins. Teammates are not seated at the same table until 14 to 16 players remain and any team that is represented in the final 27 runners receives a time out. Players also compete for individual prize money in addition to banking on their team’s success.

Poker News Daily would like to thank Delshad for giving our readers a unique insight into the Dream Team Poker concept.