Poker News

WSOP adds Dream Team Poker event

"After seeing the terrific response to the recent Dream Team Poker tournaments in Las Vegas, we thought a team-based event would be a fun addition to the end of the WSOP," said Jeffrey Pollack, WSOP commissioner.

"The Dream Team Poker event is one of the many new elements added in 2009 that will help make this summer a memorable one for all WSOP players and fans."

Although it's not a bracelet event, the Dream Team tournament will take place at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino July 12-13. It has a $560 buy-in per player, or $1,680 per team.

The first 300 teams to preregister on DreamTeamPoker.com will receive personalized jerseys for the tournament.

While relatively new to the poker scene, Dream Team Poker has found quick success with its events in Las Vegas. It hosted its inaugural event in November 2008 and followed that up with a successful event in March 2009.

The inaugural event was invitation only and sold out within weeks. Justin Bonomo, Eric Morris and Matthew Parvis made up the three-man team that won the first event while Jason Lilly from Team Flop was the individual winner.

The second event was open to the public and saw 148 teams fill the Caesars Palace poker room for another sold-out event.

Team Aced, led by Jamie Gold, took down the Caesars event. Danny Nelson playing on Team Bikerhaven.net was the individual winner.

Dream Team Poker has a patent-pending team-based tournament structure. Not only are participants playing for an individual prize, they're playing for points for their team to win.

"The WSOP and the Rio have really shown their commitment to the players in continuing to innovate and try new concepts," said Daniel Delshad, Dream Team Gaming CEO.

"Bringing our brand to the Rio during the WSOP and onto the most hallowed ground in the sport is a powerful way to introduce Dream Team Poker to the world."

Dream Team Poker will also have a booth outside of the Amazon Room throughout the World Series of Poker with staff on hand to answer questions about the tournament and to explain the rules and structure.

Visit PokerListings.com

WSOP Ante Up for Africa Celebrities Announced

The third annual Ante Up for Africa fundraiser will kick off on July 2nd from the Rio in Las Vegas as part of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) festivities. This week, Harrah’s officials announced a bevy of celebrities and poker players who are slated to attend.

Ante Up for Africa was founded in 2006 by Celebrity Apprentice runner up Annie Duke, “Crash” actor Don Cheadle, and Norman Epstein. Since then, the organization has raised over $2 million for victims of the crisis in Darfur. On Celebrity Apprentice, which wrapped up on Sunday night with comedian Joan Rivers becoming its champion, Duke played for Refugees International, an organization that works closely with her own charity. Last year’s $5,000 buy-in Ante Up for Africa tournament held during the WSOP was won by John “World” Hennigan, a two-time bracelet winner and former World Poker Tour (WPT) champion.

Due to Nevada gaming laws, direct donations to Ante Up for Africa from its charity tournament are prohibited. Consequently, players who finish in the money typically donate half, or sometimes all, of their earnings to the organization. Joining Hennigan at the final table last year were Michael Degusta, Dan Shak, Phil Hellmuth, Matt Calhoun, Jerry Cantrell, Jordanna Schutz, Ray Romano, and Casey Affleck. In 2007, Shak became the inaugural champion of the Ante Up for Africa charity event, defeating Brandon Moran.

This year, several contestants from NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice will hit the felts in Las Vegas on July 2nd when the Ante Up for Africa tournament begins, as Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker and NBA bad boy Dennis Rodman will participate. Both appeared on the finale of the reality series; Rodman teamed up with Duke, while Walker provided invaluable support to Rivers. Also slated to appear from the world of sports are Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Reggie Miller, who is the former star of the NBA’s Indiana Pacers. Celebrities confirmed to participate are “Rounders” actor Matt Damon, “Seinfeld” star Jason Alexander, talk show host Montel Williams, “Simpsons” voice Hank Azaria, “Everybody Loves Raymond” star Brad Garrett, comedian Marlon Wayans, actress Sarah Silverman, and “Oceans 11” co-star Casey Affleck.

Several high-profile poker players have also signed up for the charity tournament. Subject to availability, the list includes Duke’s brother, Howard Lederer. The Full Tilt Poker pro recently donated $100,000 during Celebrity Apprentice and is a two-time WSOP bracelet winner. Lederer owns over $1.2 million in earnings from WSOP felts and has battled on televised poker programming like GSN’s “High Stakes Poker” and NBC’s “Poker After Dark.” Former MIT Blackjack Team member and current Team Full Tilt pro Andy Bloch will also appear, as will eight-time WSOP bracelet winner Erik Seidel. The latter paid $5,000 for a single cupcake on the very first episode of Celebrity Apprentice Season 2.

Also slated to appear is Phil Hellmuth, Duke’s sidekick on Ultimate Bet. Hellmuth owns a record 11 WSOP bracelets and recently saw his reign as youngest Main Event Champion come to an end when Peter Eastgate took home the title in 2008 at the tender age of 22. Hellmuth, Bloch, Seidel, Lederer, and others will attend an Ante Up for Africa party at the PURE nightclub, which is located at Caesars Palace and is home to the selection festivities for the National Heads-Up Poker Championship.

The charity poker tournament will air on ESPN on Tuesday, August 11th from 8:00pm ET to 10:00pm ET. It is one of four events that will comprise the cable station’s coverage of the 2009 WSOP, joining the $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament commemorating the 40th running of the WSOP, the Champions Invitational, and the $10,000 buy-in Main Event. The Ante Up for Africa tournament is scheduled to run for five hours and is open to the public free of charge. This time, it will be held inside the Amazon Room; previously, it had taken place across the hall in the Brasilia Ballroom.

Don Cheadle Signs with Full Tilt Poker

Ante Up for Africa co-founder Don Cheadle has signed on to be a Friend of Full Tilt Poker. Cheadle is one of the world’s leading actors and has appeared in the hit movie “Crash” as well as the “Oceans Eleven” trilogy.

Cheadle founded Ante Up for Africa along with Celebrity Apprentice candidate Annie Duke and Norman Epstein. The organization will be featured prominently during ESPN’s coverage of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas. The $5,000 buy-in Ante Up for Africa tournament starts on Thursday, July 2nd and is one of three events that compose the television network’s coverage. According to a press release distributed by Full Tilt Poker this week, participants are asked to donate 50% of their winnings to charity. In many cases, the tournament’s winners give their entire payday to the organization, which raises money and awareness for victims of the crisis in Darfur.

Cheadle is no stranger to the poker spotlight. Besides his work with Ante Up for Africa, he has also appeared on NBC’s National Heads-Up Poker Championship, a tournament most recently won by Huck Seed, who boasts the best record in the series’ history. In 2007, Cheadle defeated Full Tilt Poker pro Phil Ivey in the opening round of the National Heads-Up Championship before falling to Scott Fischman in the second round. Fischman, in turn, lost to poker pro Kristy Gazes in the round of 16. In 2008, Cheadle squared off against Gus Hansen in the first round, but was bested by the three-time World Poker Tour (WPT) champion.

In 2009, Cheadle defeated David “The Dragon” Pham in the first round at Caesars Palace, but fell to 2006 WSOP Main Event runner up Paul Wasicka when 32 players remained. The acclaimed actor has appeared on Poker After Dark, which also airs on NBC. He commented in a press release, “I’ve done alright in the televised tourneys I’ve participated in and I’ve won several tournaments around town. I have yet to play in the WSOP events, but I hope my schedule will permit me to do so in the future.” Other films that the newest Friend of Full Tilt has appeared in include “Hotel Rwanda,” “Traffic,” “Reign Over Me,” and “Traitor.” He will also appear in next year’s follow up to “Iron Man,” which stars Robert Downey, Jr.

Other Friends of Full Tilt include Bruce Buffer, who currently works with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Buffer appeared at the final table of the WPT Invitational during Season III, finishing sixth and earning $5,000. Poker author Michael Craig is a Friend of Full Tilt, as is All-In and Bluff Magazine columnist Jay Greenspan. Others include Niklas Heinecker, Gabriela Hill, Matt Hughes, Gary Jones, Stephan Kalhamer, Brian Koppelman, Maxi Muller, Ali Nejad, Jeremiah Smith, Mike Swick, Johnathan Wendel, and Yueqi Zhu.

Full Tilt Poker is kicking off its relationship with Cheadle by hosting a $5 + $5 private charity tournament online to benefit Ante Up for Africa. The date for the event has not yet been announced, but is expected to take place prior to the $5,000 buy-in contest in Las Vegas at the Rio. A bevy of Team Full Tilt pros will also be in attendance during the 10 week-long WSOP festivities, including Chris Ferguson, reigning WSOP Europe Main Event Champion John Juanda, Jennifer Harman, Phil Gordon, Erik Seidel, Andy Bloch, and Durrrr Challenge participant Patrik Antonius.

Full Tilt Poker is the second largest site worldwide with a seven day running average of 11,400 real money ring game players. Its 24 hour peak is over 16,000 and the site happily accepts customers from the United States. It is one of only a handful of online poker rooms that appears on the list of 200 sites distributed for censorship by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety to 11 of the world’s largest internet service providers (ISPs). Other USA-friendly sites on the list, which was generated randomly and made public last week, include Bodog and Players Only.

Justin Bonomo (ZeeJustin) Discusses WSOP Circuit Event Victory

Recently, Bodog Poker pro Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo took down the Championship Event of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit stop at Caesars Palace, banking $227,000 for his efforts. He spoke with Poker News Daily about his six-figure payday.

Poker News Daily: Tell us how it felt to take home your first WSOP Circuit Event gold ring.

Bonomo: It felt great. There were a couple of points during the heads-up match where I felt like I was so short-stacked that I wouldn't win. I came close to closing it out a couple of times, but had it slip away from me, so it was a huge relief when it was finally over and I had won. I was almost more afraid of losing than I was looking forward to winning.

PND: Among those in the top five at the Caesars Palace WSOP Circuit Event Championship were Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, Men “The Master” Nguyen, and Matt “mattg1983” Graham. Talk about who gave you the most trouble.

Bonomo: Men Nguyen gave me a bit of trouble, not because he played particularly well, but because he sucked out on me four separate times in this tournament. Other than that, no one really gave me much trouble until it got to heads-up play, when Michael Mizrachi gave me a ton of trouble. It was a really tough match.

PND: Can you critique The Grinder’s play for us?

Bonomo: He had a lot of success early on in his career and I think he made the mistake of being over-confident. He started playing really weird and playing every hand, but lately I think he’s been humbled a bit and played well as a result. He didn't do anything crazy in this tournament, but was good and aggressive in the right spots. You have to be tight enough that people can give you credit for a hand if you want to bluff and I think he did that just right. It's a common thing where tournament players have a ton of success and play worse because of it, but Mike is over that period and is playing great again.

PND: It must be really challenging to humble yourself in a skill competition like poker after getting off to a hot start.

Bonomo: It is. I had an insane streak where I made the final 11 players in six out of seven consecutive tournaments, two of them being World Poker Tour Main Events. The next tournament stop for me was Tunica, where people didn't have a fold button, but I kept playing fancy anyway. That was a good humbling month for me and I tightened my game back up a lot after that trip.

PND: You finished as the runner up in a Mixed Hold’em tournament during last year’s WSOP. Is a bracelet your goal for 2009?

Bonomo: I've wanted a bracelet since I was 19 years old, so it's still a huge goal of mine. It's not that I think it's super prestigious or anything. It's almost the opposite: Everyone and their mother has a bracelet these days, so it sucks being one of the few good players without one.

PND: You’ve made four major final tables at Caesars Palace in the past two years. Is there something about the casino that makes you feel so comfortable there?

Bonomo: No. It's just random variance, I think. I don't have any huge scores at the Commerce Casino, for example. It's not because I play badly there and well at Caesars. It’s just the random luck of the draw.

PND: What makes Bodog a site you’re proud to endorse?

Bonomo: I love the fact that Bodog only has a few select pros. Instead of having 50 no-names running around with a patch, it's more of a close-knit family. We all represent the Bodog lifestyle, so we fit in really well.

Jamie Gold to Host Cannes Charity Poker Tournament

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bonomo takes WSOPC Vegas

Having made the final table of the WSOPC Las Vegas championship event the past two years, finishing fifth and fourth respectively, Bonomo got over the hump this time around, defeating a stellar final nine to book the $227,692 win and a seat in the 2009 WSOP Main Event.

This final table at Caesars Palace included no less than 2009 WSOPC Harrah's Rincon champ Dwyte Pilgrim, 2008 WSOP bracelet winner Matt Graham, pro circuit cash machine Matt Brady and the man with more WSOPC gold rings than anyone else in the game, Men "The Master" Nguyen.

However, it was former WPT L.A. Poker Classic and WPT Borgata Poker Classic champ Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi that gave Bonomo the most trouble, forcing him to endure a four hour heads-up battle for the title.

"It felt like I was playing him for ages," The Bodog Poker pro said after the win. "Mizrachi played great. It was a brutal match."

The back and forth battle lasted more than 100 hands with the lead changing hands several times before a flush over flush debacle ended it all.

"Playing heads-up was really exhausting," Bonomo said. "Every hand I played put me in a tough decision. That made it even more difficult. So, to win this event makes it all the more meaningful to me to have earned it this way."

Mizrachi took home $143,512 for second.

The WSOP Circuit's fifth season concludes at Harrah's New Orleans May 7 to 21. The 2009 World Series of Poker begins May 27.

Visit PokerListings.com

WSOP-C Caesars Palace, Day 3: Justin Bonomo Seizes Win

Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo came from behind to defeat a stacked field at this year’s World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event at Caesars Palace Las Vegas, taking down his first major...

Justin Bonomo Wins WSOP Circuit Event at Caesars Palace

The World Series of Poker Circuit event at Caesars Palace has always been one of the more recognizable stops on the tour, simply due to its location in Las Vegas. The $5,000 championship event attracted a field of 187 players and generated a total prize pool of $896,950. In the past, players such...

ZeeJustin Battles To WSOPC Caesars Championship

After battling through a heads up match that lasted longer than the elimination of the previous eight players, Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo finally defeated Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi to become the latest champion of the World Series of Poker Circuit at Caesars Palace late last night.

Originally scheduled to finish today, the 187 player field that put up $5000 each started play on Monday and quickly set about eliminating players from the field. When action started on Wednesday, only sixteen players were remaining and it was decided that the remaining players would play on through, rather than wait until today to determine a champion. Consistent with the action of the previous days, the final table was decided in rapid fashion.

In roughly an hour and a half, positions sixteen through eleven were determined, with notables such as 2006 Irish Open runner up Ian Woodley (15th) and 2007 WSOP bracelet holder Robert Cheung (11th) taking home some profit from their stay at Caesars. As the players stepped to the felt for final table action, such notables as Bonomo, Mizrachi, 2009 WSOPC-Rincon champion Dwyte Pilgrim and poker legend Men “The Master” Nguyen were in contention. They were all following the up and coming Russian player Evgeny Serebryakov, who entered the final table with the chip lead.

Some expected play would slow down once the final table was determined, but they were surprised to see the action ratchet up even more. After Bert Fujisaki was dismissed in tenth place ($20,181), players took turns doubling each other up. Nguyen went from the bottom of the leader board to the middle of the pack and Bonomo and Mizrachi surged towards the top of the heap.

Serebryakov was the victim of much of this action as he was taken out of the tournament in ninth place after about two hours of play by Bonomo. On the very next hand, Nashaat Antonious fell at the hands of WSOPC ring bearer Jack Schanbacher. Even with the elimination, Schanbacher was unable to rally much further and finished in seventh at the hands of “ZeeJustin”. In roughly two and a half hours, the table was down to six-handed play.

Unbelievably at this point, play at the table moved up another gear as heads up action was determined within the next half hour of battle on the felt. Bonomo dismissed Pilgrim in sixth place, then Mizrachi blitzed through WSOP bracelet holder Matt Graham (fifth) and Jeremiah DeGreef (fourth). “The Master’s” run at the final table was finally ended by Bonomo and heads up action was determined.

As heads up play began, Bonomo held a slight 500K chip lead over Mizrachi and the two decided to divvy up most of the final table money. What was held back was the gold and diamond championship ring, some cash and the all-important seat at this year’s WSOP Championship Event.

The two battle-hardened professionals then proceeded to put on a show for the crowd gathered at the Caesars Palace poker room. Over the next four hours, the duo swapped the chip lead back and forth with each man almost down to the felt on several occasions. After three hours of play, Bonomo faced an all in from Mizrachi and made the call, only to find his cooled by “The Grinder’s” which doubled him up. “ZeeJustin” struck back moments later when his Ace out-kicked Mizrachi’s and the battle continued on.

Another hour later, Bonomo was finally able to put Mizrachi away. On a board, “The Grinder” pushed the remainder of his chips to the center and “ZeeJustin” made the call. Bonomo’s and top pair was ahead of Mizrachi’s bottom pair and, once the board ran with two more diamonds, Justin Bonomo hit an unnecessarily higher flush to capture the WSOPC championship at Caesars Palace.

In all, heads up action lasted a half hour longer than eliminations ten through three took. The final ten rounded out as such:

1. Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo                  $227,692
2. Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi         $143,512
3. Men “The Master” Nguyen                    $91,937
4. Jeremiah DeGreef                                     $71,756
5. Matthew Graham                                       $56,059
6. Dwyte Pilgrim                                             $44,848
7. Jack Schanbacher                                     $35,870
8. Nashaat  Antonious                                  $ 29,151
9. Evgeny Serebryakov                                $24,666
10. Bert Fujisaki                                              $20,181

There is one final stop left on the 2008-09 World Series of Poker Circuit. Players will have their final chance to win their way into the 2009 WSOP with the $5000 championship event of the Bayou Poker Classic at Harrah’s in New Orleans from May 8-20. It will all lead up to the start of the World Series at the end of May.

Jamie Gold Gets Back to His Roots at the Irish Poker Open

Poker News Daily: You took sixth in a €1,500 buy-in preliminary tournament held during the Irish Poker Open. Talk about the poker scene in Ireland and connecting with your roots.

Gold: I went because PaddyPower invited me. I’m Irish and was actually born Jamie Usher, so it’s in my blood. It’s why I don’t tan very well. They invited me to come trace my roots. When I got there, they said that I could say anything I wanted to during the tournament. I could actually say my hole cards out loud. The people are so into it and the speech play is amazing. There has to be a limit to it, like if you scream at people, but I believe in the psychology of gamesmanship. I got some people to make unbelievably bad calls and lay down hands. It absolutely gave me an advantage, but Ireland has become one of my favorite places to play. However, I will always love the World Series of Poker because it afforded me the opportunity to do what I do today. It’s the most important tournament series because it has the best players in the world.

PND: Tell us about PaddyPower’s hospitality.

Gold: The day I got there, Liam Flood, who is a very successful longtime European player from Ireland, greeted me. Right away, they made me feel at home. The people at PaddyPower are so much fun and happy to be alive. Some sites are so overworked, but these people were having a blast. They do a really great job.

PND: Talk about the play of those in the tournament.

Gold: They are very loose and love to gamble. They are not really concerned with whether they’re ahead or not. There were a lot of people who bought in that, chances are, wouldn’t win the tournament because they wouldn’t make enough proper choices when it counted. However, they didn’t care.

The only place I can remember with more gamble was the Master Classics of Poker in Amsterdam. In that event, I didn’t think there was any chance that I wouldn’t make the final table. The people there are also so generous, kind, and friendly; Marcel Luske is the best host. Ireland reminded me a lot of Amsterdam. They’ve had poker there forever, but they don’t take it as competitively and seriously.

PND: Talk about your team’s win in the Dream Team Poker event at Caesars Palace in March.

Gold: It was a blast to play, but it was a very tough field. You had people like Mike Matusow and Phil Hellmuth on the same team. People were smart about picking the best players. I was doing it more just to have fun, so I picked a friend and my ex-girlfriend. It was so cool to be rooting for someone else and it made me play much better. I played carefully at certain points and also caught a couple of lucky breaks. When I was about blinded out, I waited and got aces on the big blind. That was pretty fortunate. There were moments when I would have normally pushed, but didn’t. Team poker makes you play really carefully. It’s also a great thing that, if you bust out first, you can still win.

PND: Can you see the concept of team poker catching on in the United States and around the world?

Gold: In this economy, it would make a lot of sense. In general, I can’t believe no one has thought of it. I think it should be a WSOP event. To me, poker in and of itself can get a little mundane. That’s why I’m starting to get into Omaha and other games. Omaha is such a bluffer’s game and as a bluffer, it’s a blast. In three or four years, I think it will overtake Hold’em.

PND: You are in the process of organizing a charity poker tournament featuring Edward Norton in Cannes prior to the annual Film Festival. What can you tell us about it?

Gold: We’re putting together the ultimate celebrity poker charity event at the Cannes Film Festival. I’m hosting it along with Edward Norton. The list of people is unbelievable and I’m going to host and emcee it.

PND: Explain why charity is so important to you.

Gold: I try to do as many as 30 events per year. When I started my Foundation, I figured out that I have to pick the organizations that are closest to my heart. Playing poker is such a selfish endeavor and charity makes you feel like you’re giving something back. If I can help affect change in a positive way, I feel like my life is worth something.

WSOP-C Caesars Palace, Day 2: Mizrachi Tops Leaderboard

The World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event at Caesars Palace Las Vegas drew some of the biggest names in poker, and 88 of the top pros were still in the field for Day 2. Among those returning...

WSOP-C Caesars Palace, Day 1: DeGreef Opens Early Lead

For some of the top names in poker, the World Series of Poker Circuit Event at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas was a last warm-up...

Mike Sexton on the National Heads-Up Poker Championship

The NBC National Heads-Up Championship at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas is quite an event.  It has a $20,000 buy-in ($500,000 first place prize) and 64 players, including many of the top names in the world.  The night prior to the start of the tournament, there is a big cocktail party where the drawing takes place.  This is always a fun time, as there is an air of excitement and anxiety about who will be playing who.

I happened to be standing next to two NBC executives at the party.  Prior to the drawing, they asked me who I'd like to play.  Well, there were some celebrities in the tournament that you wouldn't mind drawing, but I really wanted to play Phil Hellmuth and told them so.  Incredibly (as you may know from watching the event unfold on NBC), I drew Hellmuth for my first round match.  One thing was for sure:  I knew our match would generate media attention.  I also thought we'd be at the feature table.  I turned out to be right about both.

I really have no fear of playing Phil.  I know how good he is.  I truly believe that Hellmuth is the #1 seed in any big-time Hold'em tournament (except this one, as he drew me in Round 1).  More importantly, I know how he plays.  Hellmuth likes “small ball,” meaning he doesn't like to play big pots.  I also prefer small ball, so his style suits me, but I was confident that I could switch gears if necessary and come over the top with big raises if I had to just in case “small ball” wasn’t working.  I have confidence playing against Hellmuth.  I really feel like I have a good read on him.  In the past, I have had good results against him when he’s been at my table.  Finally, I knew all of the pressure would be on him and not on me, as most would expect him to win.

We started with $20,000 in chips and, after a couple levels of play, we were pretty much even when “the pot” came up.   As the dealer was dealing “the pot” ($300/$600 blinds), the producer of the show (Mori Eskandani) came over to our table and frustratingly said, "Phil, you've done it to me again.  Your hat doesn't have the dot-net on it.  Why do you do this to me?  I’m sorry, but you’ve got to change it.”  He continued, “Go ahead and finish this hand and then we'll do something about it."

While Mori and Phil were talking, I peeked down and saw two lovely ladies (Queens).  So, as Phil sat back down, I said, "Don't raise it here because you're mad about your hat."  In the blink of an eye as he looked at his hand, Phil said, "I raise it $1,500 more!"  I quickly reached down for a stack of chips and set them in the pot (which happened to be $5,500).  Hellmuth then said, "I know you think I'm mad right now and that I don't have a hand.  You just don't have any idea."

From there, he just kept talking, saying things like, "I'm not going to call here.  I'm probably going to move all-in.  Do you want me to move all-in?"  I didn't say anything for a while and he continued to babble.  Again, he said, “Do you want me to move all-in?”   I finally said, "Phil, do what you've got to do."  About a minute later, he announced that he was all-in.  I quickly called and he said, "Have you got Queens?"  I said “Yes” and he angrily turned over an Ace-Jack offsuit.  Before the flop was dealt, he was trying to blame Mori for interrupting our game and causing him to lose focus.  The flop came J-9-8, a deuce on the turn, and then the dreaded Ace on the river - giving him Aces up and the win.

Hellmuth knew how fortunate he was to win and afterward during an interview with NBC said, “I was lucky to win this match.  Mike Sexton deserved to win."  (How often have you heard Hellmuth say anything like that?)

I felt good about how I had played and was just unfortunate that I lost that huge pot on the river.  It was a fun time and I look forward to playing in the NBC National Heads-Up Championship again in the future.  Hopefully, I'll get another shot at Hellmuth!

Kudos to runner-up Vanessa Rousso and winner Huck Seed.  Both put on very impressive performances!  To get to the finals, Vanessa beat Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Paul Wasicka, Daniel Negreanu, and Bertrand "Elky" Grospillier in succession, a group that has incredibly won over $38 million in tournament prize money!  With his win, Huck became the most successful player in the five year history of the NBC Heads-Up tournament.  He has an 18-4 record and is the only player who has made the money every year.

Bluff’s Matt Parvis Reacts to Online Poker Challenge Results

The finale of the Bluff Online Poker Challenge saw Brian “SNo0oWMAN” Hawkins dominate the competition. He turned a $200 bankroll into $25,0000 in just one month, $20,000 more than the next closest finisher on the leader board. Poker News Daily sat down with Bluff Magazine Editor in Chief Matt Parvis to get his reaction.

The concept of the Online Poker Challenge was simple: A total of 25 of the world’s top internet players each received a $200 bankroll on Lock Poker, which makes its home on the U.S.-friendly Cake Poker Network. Only tournaments and sit and gos were allowed, potentially determining the world’s top player in this genre. At the end of the day, Hawkins turned his seed money into over $25,000. The second place finisher on the leader board at the end of the one month-long competition was Garrett “GBecks” Beckman, who won the $150 rebuy on Full Tilt Poker last October for $57,000. Beckman finished with $4,800 in the till, capping an amazing performance by Hawkins. His reward is a cover story in Bluff Magazine.

Only nine players on the leader board finished with a bankroll of over $100. The 20th ranked player at the end of the month, Shaun “shaundeeb” Deeb, had just $6.75 to his name. On Hawkins’ showing, Parvis told Poker News Daily, “I was surprised that only one player dominated. I thought there would be three to four horses in a very similar spot with their bankrolls, but for Hawkins to be the only one to crush the field goes to show just how impressive his win was. I had fully expected more than half of the field to be eliminated within a week and that seemed to be the trend.”

Players took to the virtual felts of Lock Poker with varying strategies. Some headed to the $3 and $5 multi-table tournaments, while others looked for a big score right away in the Cake Poker Network’s weekend majors. Hawkins, by contrast, built his bankroll by taking down inferior opponents in heads-up sit and gos. Each contestant blogged about their experience on Bluff’s website. In his final video testimonial, the victorious Hawkins explained, “I’m really excited to be able to be featured in a magazine like Bluff. I’m pretty happy with how the competition went and I can’t wait for the magazine to come out.” Hawkins and Beckman also received entries into an upcoming Dream Team Poker event. The most recent one was held at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in March, although no date for Dream Team Poker’s next event has been set.

Avid readers of Bluff and fans in the online poker community kept close tabs on the action as it unfolded on Lock Poker. They watched in amazement as fourth place finisher David “The Maven” Chicotsky played 389 tournaments in a single day. They watched as Hawkins recorded the most profitable day during the contest, amassing $5,200 in winnings, as well as the worst day on record, dropping $3,700. Parvis explained what feedback Bluff has received: “The players seemed to really enjoy the Challenge, as did our supporters. We actually had a group of forum members run the Challenge among themselves. They followed all of the same rules because they liked the idea so much. We also got a lot of great feedback on the video blogs and live scoreboard we had running, so I think it’s safe to say that it was a big success.”

The final ten in the standings were as follows:
1. Brian “SNo0oWMAN” Hawkins - $25,066.74
2. Garrett “GBecks” Beckman - $4,811.96
3. Brett “Gank” Jungblut - $2,419.13
4. David “The Maven” Chicotsky - $491.76
5. Eric “Rizen” Lynch - $421.65
6. Maria “MariaHo” Ho - $286.21
7. Tom “SBRounder” West - $273.96
8. Brett “YourCreepy” Hanks - $270.33
9. Jeff “yellowsub” Williams - $114.15
10. Phil “USCphildo” Collins - $86.10

On the prospects of running a second installment of the Bluff Online Poker Challenge, Parvis forecasted, “There have been talks about bringing the Challenge back with some variations. Nothing is set in stone right now, but it’s a good possibility.” Parvis explained that the Challenge may ultimately occur over a shorter time period, such as one week or ten days. In addition, it may also expand to include cash games. However, he cautioned, “There is always the concern of protecting the integrity of the Challenge, so we'd have to have a strong system in place to prevent any shenanigans.”

WSOP-Circuit Caesars Palace Stop Set for Kickoff

The World Series of Poker Circuit series' annual stop at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas is ready to get underway, with a 46-event schedule including 22 'ring events' running April 11-30, 2009. This is the fourth straight...

NBC National Heads-up Poker Championship Airs Sunday

Sixty-four of the biggest names in poker in a March Madness-style heads-up format, all for half a million dollars. This Sunday, the first episode of the 2009 National Heads-up Championship will premiere on NBC at 12 p.m. ET. The popular tournament took place in March at Caesars Palace, with Huck...

World Series of Poker Circuit Events

For those of you that are not close to Las Vegas and can’t afford the trip to Nevada and the minimum $1,500 buy-ins for the World Series of Poker tournament schedule, there’s good news for you. In 2005 Harrah’s unveiled a brand new series of events, the WSOP Circuit Events, and the schedule has grown to its largest in 2009. These events appear at many of the Indian or Harrah's casinos around the country including:

• Horseshoe Southern Indiana (completed)
• Horseshoe Hammond Indiana (completed)
• Harvey’s Lake Tahoe (completed)
• Harrah’s Atlantic City (completed)
• Harrah’s Tunica (completed)
• Horseshoe Council Bluffs (completed)
• Caesars Atlantic City (completed)
• Harrah’s Rincon San Diego (completed)
• Caesars Palace Las Vegas (April 11 – April 29)
• Harrah’s New Orleans (May 08 – May 20)

For many on the East Coast the Atlantic City events represent a fantastic opportunity to take down a WSOP event. The circuit event at Harrah’s Rincon in San Diego is one of the more popular circuit events due to San Diego’s large county population of 2+ million citizens, as well as drawing players from both Los Angeles and Orange Counties (another 11+ million people). Since San Diego is a popular tourist destination some of the biggest names will be out during the March 19th-29th event series.

Those unfamiliar with the events will find the buy-ins and structure of the events to be highly attractive towards better play rather than the “push ‘n’ pray” structure that a lot of local casinos invent for tournament players. Event types include the following:

• No Limit Hold’em
• Limit Hold’em
• 6 Handed No Limit Hold’em
• Pot Limit Hold’em
• Omaha Hi/Lo
• Stud Hi/Lo
• Pot Limit Omaha w/ Rebuys
• H.O.R.S.E.
• Ladies No Limit Hold’em
• No Limit Hold’em w/ Rebuys
• No Limit Hold’em Circuit Championship Event

The event buy-ins range from $125 all the way to the $5,150 Circuit Championship Event.  Most of the No Limit Hold’em tournaments have buy-ins for either $200+30 or $300+40 making them affordable to everyday poker players amid this economic climate. On top of this affordable buy-in price list, the tournament structure has drawn rave reviews from poker industry analysts and players alike.

“I couldn’t be happier with the tournament schedule and structures,” commented Southern California live game tournament player Melissa Peterkin. “I’m definitely making it out to Rincon for the circuit series and will probably try to schedule a trip to Vegas for the event at Caesars too.”

Specifically the tournament structure at the Rincon San Diego events look like they are set up to allow better play to win out over mathematically correct shoves to fight steep blinds:

• For events starting at noon, players are given $10,000 in starting chips. Blinds start at 25-50 and increase every 40 minutes.
• Blinds increase to: 25-50, 50-100, 100-200, 100-200 (25 ante), 150-300 (25 ante), 200-400 (50 ante), and so on through the tournament.
• Breaks are given after every 3 blind levels for 10 minutes, and the tournament director has the option of awarding a dinner break and his or her discretion.

The big event of the series is the Circuit Championship Event which usually draws out some of poker’s top and most recognizable professionals. This event is structured differently than the others:

• Buy-in is $5,000 + $150
• Players start with $20,000 in starting chips
• Each level will last 60 minutes
• Blind interval structure remains the same as other tournaments
• First day of play will end when down to 27 players remaining
• Second day of play will end when final table is determined
• Third day of play will end when winner is determined
• The first place finisher will receive a buy-in to the World Series of Poker Main Event and $1,000 in expense money in addition to the first place money.

Often casinos participating in the circuit events hold Mega Satellite tournaments to the Circuit Championship Event a day or two before the event takes place. Satellite times typically start at noon, 3pm, 8pm and 9pm and should be inquired about with the tournament director of the casino.

“Typically we do see some big names come to our Circuit Championship tournament. This year we’ve added some of the lower tiered tournaments to make sure poker players of all budgets can make it out for our event,” commented Harrah's spokesperson Nolan Dalla.

Women’s Poker Spotlight: WSOP Academy Announces Third Ladies-only Event

The World Series of Poker Academy Ladies Event has announced its return to Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on June 5-6, 2009. The ladies event is marking its third year teaching competitive poker from and for a women's perspective...

ZeeJustin Unbanned on PokerStars

Just in time for its very first Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP), the world's most popular online poker room, PokerStars, reinstated the account of Justin "ZeeJustin" Bonomo, a sponsored pro of Bodog. The 23 year-old first ran into trouble in 2006 on PartyPoker, which was, at the time, open to U.S. players. Bonomo logged into multiple accounts at one time, sparking a flood of other sites to follow suit and ban the young player from their virtual felts.

Bonomo's multi-accounting came into light soon after the revelation that Josh "JJProdigy" Field had used several screen names, including “ABlackCar.” The mischief by Field also occurred on PartyPoker, leading the site to tighten up its security. Field was also informed by the Cake Poker Network that he could not compete in the Bluff Online Poker Challenge last month due to a ban for allowing a staked player to use his account.

Bonomo used a total of six accounts to log into PartyPoker; at times, these accounts appeared in the same online poker tournament. Winnings from a $640 buy-in PartyPoker Sunday tournament were revoked and Bonomo shied away from the media frenzy. On February 26th, 2006, Lee Jones, then the PokerStars Poker Room Manager, announced on TwoPlusTwo that Bonomo had been "playing multiple accounts in several tournaments at PokerStars." Money was taken from his account and used to pay back "players who were harmed by his actions in those same tournaments."

In 2008, Bonomo signed on as a member of Team Bodog, joining "Survivor: China" castaway Jean-Robert Bellande, Evelyn Ng, and David Williams. Bonomo burst onto the live poker scene in 2007, taking second in a $3,000 buy-in HORSE tournament held as part of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit festivities at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas for $40,000. During the 2007 WSOP, Bonomo made the final table and finished fourth in a $2,000 buy-in No Limit Hold'em tournament, winning $156,000. The next year, he finished as the runner up in a $5,000 Mixed Hold'em event for $230,000. That tournament marked the first bracelet win for Full Tilt Poker pro Erick Lindgren.

During the 2006 Bellagio Five Diamond World Poker Classic, a stop on the World Poker Tour (WPT), Bonomo bubbled the six-handed televised final table and finished in seventh for $152,000. He took 11th in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event and 35th in the WPT Championship, both in 2007, for a combined $154,000. Together with Parvis and Eric Morris, Bonomo took down the inaugural Dream Team Poker tournament held at the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas as part of “Team Bluff.” Now, he will battle it out in the PokerStars SCOOP, which begins on Friday.

On the naming of Bonomo to Bodog's elite stable of poker pros in May of 2008, Mohawk Gaming Group CEO Alwyn Morris commented in a press release, "Justin is one of the most feared and skilled players in poker today and we're thrilled to officially have him join our team of world-class poker pros. Justin lives and breathes the Bodog lifestyle and is a perfect fit for us. We expect him to make a lot of noise this year for Team Bodog, beginning with the WSOP this summer."

Pilgrim lands 2009 WSOP Main Event seat

The 26-year-old former loans officer booked his ticket to Las Vegas with a win in the WSOP Circuit event at Harrah's Rincon Casino and Resort near San Diego Tuesday, earning him a seat in the 2009 WSOP Main Event and a $125,775 payday.

But the Rincon ring is just the latest success story for the Guyana-born Pilgrim.

He has quickly emerged as the hottest player on the WSOP Circuit this season after cashing five times at WSOPC Atlantic City this past December and booking an $83,955 win at a prelim there in early March.

"Now look out," Pilgrim said. "I'm shooting for the gold bracelet."

Pilgrim, who has only been playing live tournaments for a little more than a year, beat well-known Las Vegas-based pro Esther "E-Tay" Taylor heads-up to book the win in California, stopping her bid to become the first female WSOP Circuit main event winner in history.

Jennifer Harman finished second in the 2005 WSOPC event at the Rio in Las Vegas, and Kathy Liebert took third at Rincon in 2007.

WSOP Media Director Nolan Dalla claims Pilgrim is a burgeoning poker star, blessed with "personality, likability, and great poker talent," and has great expectations for him at the WSOP this summer.

"To know me is to love me," Pilgrim joked.

The WSOP Circuit will hit Caesars Palace in Las Vegas from April 11-29 and Harrah's New Orleans from May 8-20 before the 2009 WSOP starts at the Rio May 27.

 

Visit PokerListings.com

Team ACED Wins Dream Team Poker Caesars Palace Tournament

A total of 148 teams, or 444 players, entered Dream Team Poker's second tournament, which was held at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas over the weekend. It was the first installment open to the public and, when the final cards were dealt, Team ACED took down the event for nearly $60,000.

2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion Jamie Gold headlined Team ACED, which also included Ashley Nataupsky and Houston Waldie. The team's name is a reference to Gold's sponsorship by the Merge Gaming Network site of the same name, an agreement he inked in February. The Network accepts players from the United States and also includes Carbon Poker, IronDuke, Poker Nordica, and Rumble Poker, among others. ACED recently sponsored a charity fundraiser for Children Uniting Nations that was held after the Oscar festivities in Los Angeles and emceed by Gold.

Gold actually took ninth in the event, while Nataupsky finished in fourth. The 2006 Main Event winner commented in a press release distributed by Dream Team Poker on Monday, “It’s the most fun you can have without $12 million on the line. My WSOP bracelet is in a vault, but my Dream Team Poker trophy will be on my mantel for all to see.” Gold bested a field of 8,773 players in poker's most prestigious tournament in 2006 and took home the largest prize ever given out at the WSOP.

In order to preserve the integrity of the game, Dream Team Poker also awards prizes for the top individual tournament finishers. At the Caesars event, Danny Nelson emerged victorious from the pack, taking home nearly $24,000. Heads-up, he went toe to toe with Philip Rousseaux for 45 minutes in front of a throng of onlookers. In the final hand, Rousseaux pushed with J-8 on a board of K-8-4, only to see he was dominated by Nelson's K-9. A six on the turn and a seven on the river sealed the win for Nelson, who played as part of Team BikerHaven.net.

Teams were given jerseys to hit the felts with, creating a unique atmosphere. A team's overall score is determined by the two best finishes of its members and teammates are not seated at the same table until 14 to 16 players remain in order to stunt collusion. The runner up finish by Rousseaux was enough to earn The Claddaghs the second best team score and its corresponding $33,000 prize. Here were the top five teams at Caesars in the second Dream Team Poker tournament, a $550 per person buy-in affair:

1st Place: Team Aced - $59,940
2nd Place: The Claddaghs - $33,300
3rd Place: The Clones - $15,984
4th Place: Party at the Mansion - $10,656
5th Place: Hellmuth Busters - $6,660

The top five individual finishers were:

1st Place: Danny Nelson (Team BikerHaven.net) - $24,063
2nd Place: Philip Rousseaux (Team Claddaghs) - $13,320
3rd Place: Jerry Percival (Team Runner, Runner) - $7,922
4th Place: Ashley Nataupsky (Team ACED) –$ 6,666
5th Place: John Regis (Poker Masters) - $5,328

The very first Dream Team Poker event was held at the Hard Rock Casino in November and was won by Team Bluff, which consisted of Matt Parvis, Eric Morris, and Bodog poker pro Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo. Despite being open to the general public, the second installment of Dream Team Poker brought out some of the top names in poker. Former WSOP Main Event Champions in attendance over the weekend included Gold, Jerry Yang, Tom McEvoy, Ultimate Bet pro Phil Hellmuth, and Johnny Chan. Also making the trek to Caesars were three members of the inaugural November Nine: Dennis Phillips, David “Chino” Rheem, and Kelly Kim. Other poker pros that competed included Todd Brunson, Paul Wasicka, Full Tilt Poker front man Mike Matusow, Erica Schoenberg, T.J. Cloutier, David Williams, and the last woman standing in the 2008 WSOP Main Event, Tiffany Michelle.

No date for the third Dream Team Poker tournament has been announced. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest on this unique spin on the game.

Team Aced Wins Dream Team Poker II

The talk of the poker world last weekend was the Dream Team Poker tournament at Caesars Palace, where a terrific time was had by all. It was the second running of the novel team-based format poker tournament, the first...

WSOP Ladies Only Academy to be hosted by Annie Duke

The World Series Of Poker Academy Ladies Only Event will be returning for its third straight year to Caesars Palace and the women running the show this time will be none other than Celebrity Apprentice star and WSOP bracelet winner, Annie Duke.

Gold’s crew takes Dream Team title

Gold and girlfriend Ashley Nataupksy both made the final table, meaning Team Aced had locked up the team portion of the event long before the individual winner was crowned.

The 2006 WSOP Main Event champ would end up busting in ninth place, leaving Nataupsky to fight on.

"It looks like your girlfriend has outlasted you again, this time in poker," announcer Alex Outhred quipped after Gold's elimination.

With 60% of the prize pool going to the top seven teams and the other 40% being doled out based on individual standing, team strategy became a big factor at the final table.

This was especially true for the two teams battling for second place and the $33,300 that went with it.

With five players remaining, Team Claddagh's Philip Rousseaux had to finish fourth or better to guarantee his team silver over Team Clones.

Despite the fact that the Clones had no player at the final table, they were on the rail cheering vehemently against Rousseax and his teammates.

Gold agreed this was a novel consequence of the team format.

"It makes it really interesting because people have a stake in it even if they're not in the tournament any longer," he said.

Much to the chagrin of the Clones, Rousseaux eliminated John Regis of Team Poker Masters to clinch second place. Rousseaux fought on and made it heads-up before losing to Danny Nelson of Team Bikerhaven.net.

In accordance with a three-way chop between Nelson, Rousseaux and Gerald Percival, each took $13,000, with an additional $6,000 and the trophy eventually going to Nelson.

But even after Nelson's win, the spotlight was shining directly on Jamie Gold and Team Aced.

A fact Nelson, no stranger to the Caesars Palace pits, had no problem with.

"The way I look at it, Caesars is giving me a refund," he said with a smile, holding up the silver tray of cash to the cameras.

The unbelievably pro-heavy turnout here at Caesars gave Dream Team Poker quite a kick-start, and with a former World Champion like Jamie Gold winning it all, it appears to be on the path to success.

"It's the most fun you can have without $12 million on the line," said Gold. "My WSOP bracelet is in a vault, but my Dream Team Poker trophy will be on my mantel for all to see."

For a full rundown of all the action click through to the live update blog.

 

Visit PokerListings.com

PokerListings.com News Wrap-Up: March 22-29

As part of a weekly series we've compiled a list of stories that didn't quite make it into the main news roster but were worth mentioning.

This week saw a certain Norwegian poker player get a deal from the world's largest poker room, while yet another study found poker to be a game of skill.

Johnny Lodden signs with Team PokerStars Pro

Team PokerStars Pro was already home to a number of well-known pros in Daniel Negreanu, Joe Hachem and Greg Raymer but surprisingly it didn't have a lot of Scandinavian content.

That seems to be changing as Norwegian pro Johnny Lodden was signed by the team this week. Lodden is an accomplished live and online player who used to wreak havoc back in the day as "bad_ip."

Lodden will join fellow European players William Thorson (Swedish) and Noah Boeken (Dutch) on the team.

http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/team_pokerstars_pro/2009/team-pokerstars-pro-signs-johnny-lodden-037861.html

Bodog sets the line on Nguyen's $4 million promise

Bodog is now taking bets on Scotty Nguyen's promise to PokerListings.com that he will retire if he makes less than $4 million at the 2009 World Series of Poker.

The outlandish promise, which Nguyen made in an interview with PokerListings TV, started a wave of forum chatter, with a multitude of players claiming they are willing to take the Prince of Poker's action.

As result, Bodog oddsmakers have stepped up and set the line at +2500 that Nguyen will reach the magic $4 million mark.

"Bodog's annual WSOP prop bets are a staple leading up to the main event," Bodog Sportsbook Manager Richard Gardner said.

"So when we came across the PokerListings.com video of Scotty Nguyen saying that if he doesn't win at least $4 million at this year's WSOP he'd quit the game, we knew this would be the kind of action our players would like to get in on."

To place your bets head over to the Bodog Sportsbook and check out all of the 2009 WSOP prop bets.

EU claims U.S. Internet gambling laws violate WTO

The European Union says U.S. laws on Internet gambling are in violation of World Trade Organization rules.

Following an investigation into U.S. measures affecting foreign suppliers of Internet gambling services, the European Commission released a draft report Thursday concluding U.S. laws deny access and discriminate against foreign suppliers of gambling and betting services.

The report says U.S. Internet gambling regulations effectively create a trade barrier which has adverse effects on EU economic interests.

Although the report claims WTO proceedings against the U.S. would be justified, it does not include any recommendation for actions, suggesting only that the issue should be addressed with the current U.S. administration.

New study finds poker is a game of skill

Once again a study has found that poker is a skill game. The latest study was released by Cigital Inc. in conjunction with PokerStars.

The study used data acquired from 103 million hands of hand No-Limit Hold'em and found that in 75% of those cases an outcome was decided without a showdown.

Learn more about the study and the Poker Players Alliance's thoughts about it in the link below:

http://pokerplayersalliance.org

Ultimate Fighting Championship shuts door on Full Tilt Poker

Full Tilt Poker and the Ultimate Fighting Championship seemed like a match made in heaven, with fighters like Forrest Griffin and Mike Swick having donned the FTP badge to play in tournaments.

Instead, according to mmapayout.com, the UFC has placed FTP on the banned list, which means no fighter can don Full Tilt gear. The unconfirmed rumor is that Ultimate Bet or Absolute Poker may be taking over as a key sponsor.

http://mmapayout.com/2009/03/on-tilt-poker-company-full-tilt-on-no-no-list/

Poker in Texas?

Legal poker in Texas seems to be getting closer and closer to reality and the folks over at Pokerati have been following the issue closely. The bill for poker in Texas is titled HB 222 and it is scheduled to be voted on this week.

http://pokerati.com/2009/03/27/re-texas-poker-bill-up-for-committee-vote-today-6/

Duke returns to WSOP Academy Ladies Only Event

It was announced earlier this week that the WSOP Academy Ladies Only Event hosted by Annie Duke will once again be back this summer.

It's somewhat ironic given that Duke is vehemently against playing ladies events, but apparently she feels differently about women-only training workshops.

The Celebrity Apprentice star will host the event at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas June 5-6. Check out the Web site for more details.

http://www.wsopacademy.com/

 

Visit PokerListings.com