Poker Pro Canada Classic II Coming to Quebec

Poker News in Brief: Dec. 27, 2010- Jan. 2, 2011

That meant a few of poker's smaller stories may have slipped through the cracks.

Fortunately, we caught them and compiled them in our weekly Poker News in Brief feature below.

This week, Poker After Dark returns, the World Cup captains are named, UB goes back to Montreal and more.

Poker After Dark Returns

The new season of POKER PROductions' Poker After Dark returns to NBC this week.

POKER PROductions inked an agreement with NBC Universal extending the late-night poker show through 2014 in 2010 and the seventh season, filmed at the new Aria Resort and Casino at the City Center complex in Las Vegas, begins airing Jan. 3.

This season will feature more cash games than ever before. Most will be no-limit hold'em, but two weeks will also be devoted to Pot-Limit Omaha with a lineup that should impress fans.

Names like Mike Matusow, Chris Ferguson, Michael Mizrachi, Phil Hellmuth, Antonio Esfandiari, Annette Obrestad, Eli Elezra, Phil Galfond, Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan, Patrik Antonius, and David Oppenheim will all appear this season.

There will only be three weeks following the traditional Freezout format this season, including this week's "Big Heat," a $100,000 buy-in event featuring John Juanda, Erick Lindgren, Huckleberry Seed, Ivey, Dwan, and Galfond.

Leeann Tweeden will once again serve as the show's host with Ali Nejad providing commentary.

Fifty50 Sit & Go's

PokerStars has launched a new online poker Sit & Go format called Fifty50.

Although the tournaments end when half of the entrants have been eliminated, Fifty50's differ from the Double or Nothing format in that half of the prize pool gets split between the winning players equally and the other half is awarded based on chip counts.

Fifty50 events are currently running at the $10 level, but will soon be available at many different stakes.

World Cup of Poker Captains Named

The identities of the team captains for the seventh annual World Cup of Poker have been announced.

Last year, Chinese Taipei took the title. This year it will be Argentina, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, Spain, Slovakia, Italy, France, Ukraine and the United States battling it out for a $100,000 first prize at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.

Slovakia’s team will be led by Team PokerStars Pro’s newest member Dag Palovic. EPT San Remo winner Liv Boeree will lead the UK team while Argentina’s captain is back-to-back LAPT champ Nacho Barbero.

2009 APT champion Neil Arce will lead the team from the Philippines while the Spain squad will be headed up by Team PokerStars Pro Juan Manuel Pastor.

Luca Pagano leads Italy and Arnaud Mattern will captain the team from France.

And Finally, Vanessa Selbst will lead the USA while EPT Kiev runner-up Alexander Dovzhenko captains the Ukrainian side.

The action gets underway in the Bahamas Jan 14.

UB Returns to Poker Pro Canada Classic

For the second straight year, UB will be sending over twenty players to compete in the running of Montreal's biggest poker event, the Poker Pro Canada Classic.

The $1500+150 buy-in No Limit Hold 'em event runs Jan. 27-30, 2011 at the Four Aces Poker Club.

UB is running a series of super satellites and freerolls Jan. 2-16 giving players a chance to win a $2500 prize package that includes a seat plus $850 for travel expenses.

300-plus players and prize pool of $500,000 is expected in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

UB.com Returns as Sponsor of Poker Pro Canada Classic

UB.com has announced that it will once again be the title sponsor of the second annual Poker Pro Canada Classic.  The tournament, which will be held at the Four Aces Poker Club in Montreal, Quebec, is scheduled to run from January 27th to January 30th.

Co-sponsored by the leading poker magazine Poker Pro Canada, the Classic will feature a $1,500 + $150 buy-in and, like most major tournaments, will be a No Limit Hold’em event.  With more than 300 players expected to register, the prize pool could get up to $500,000 or more.

Poker Pro Canada Editor-In-Chief John “Johnny Quads” Wenzel is understandably excited about the upcoming tournament and commented in a press release, “The first Poker Pro Canada Classic back in April was a huge success, so we couldn’t wait to hold the second edition.  Four Aces was a terrific venue and I can’t wait to get back there.”

While the Poker Pro Canada Classic is a freezeout, it is not a freezeout in the traditional sense.  There will be three Day 1s and, while there are no intra-day rebuys allowed, anyone who busts out will be permitted to plunk down another buy-in and try again on a subsequent starting day.  Play will be stopped each day once the field gets down to 25 players.  Seventy-five total players across Days 1A, 1B, and 1C will return on Sunday, January 30th to compete for the championship.  Players will start with 20,000 chips and blinds will increase every hour.

As one might expect in a live tournament sponsored by an online poker room, UB.com will be running super satellites to the event during the month of January.  Here is the super satellite schedule:

· Sunday, January 2nd at 4:05pm ET: $200 + $15, Three packages guaranteed
· Wednesday, January 5th at 9:00pm ET: $200 + $15, Three packages guaranteed
· Sunday, January 9th at 4:05pm ET: $200 + $15, Three packages guaranteed
· Wednesday, January 12th at 9:00pm ET: $200 + $15, Three packages guaranteed
· Thursday, January 13th at 8:30pm ET: $300 + $20, One package guaranteed
· Sunday, January 16th at 8:30pm ET: $300 + $20, One package guaranteed

Players who find the super satellite buy-ins too rich for their blood will have the opportunity to qualify via lower buy-in satellites on UB.com.  More of these qualifiers, which will go as low as $10 + $1, will likely be added as the Poker Pro Canada Classic gets closer.

UB.com will also be holding six special Regional Freerolls open to residents of the Quebec and Ontario provinces of Canada and the states of New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.  The freerolls will take place on January 2nd, 9th, and 16th at 4:05pm ET and on January 5th, 12th, and 19th at 8:05pm ET.  Each freeroll will award a single prize package to the winner.

The 20 total prize packages are valued at $2,500 apiece and include the $1,650 buy-in for the Poker Pro Canada Classic as well $850 for travel expenses.

The inaugural Poker Pro Canada Classic saw 246 players duke it out for a share of the $370,000 prize pool.  Team UB.com members Mark “Poker H0″ Kroon and “Hollywood” Dave Stann were in attendance, but the title went to local Montreal resident Oliver Baksic, who took home $118,000.  Also of note was Canadian Heads-Up champ Benjamin Lablond, who placed third.

The Four Aces Poker Club is located in the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory, just a few minutes south of Downtown Montreal across the Mercier Bridge.  In addition to tournaments, the Club spreads low-stakes cash games every day of the week.  Free food and beverage are provided to all cash game players.

Top Poker News Story of 2010

We’re nearing the end of the 2010 calendar year and, as such, we’d like to take a moment to reflect on the past 365 days. There were plenty of headlines in 2010, but which one stole the show for our esteemed panel of writers? Poker News Daily asked our staff which poker headline of 2010 stood out.

Dan Cypra: Splintering of Online Poker

2010 saw the continued splintering of the online poker market worldwide. France and Italy now have their very own online poker fiefdoms, while legislation in New Jersey to create the very first intrastate internet gambling framework in the United States is gaining steam. In fact, the measure will be one of the first topics that the New Jersey Assembly tackles in the New Year.

Whether the division of the online poker market is detrimental to the player experience remains to be seen. Many of the FR and IT sites tracked by PokerScout.com hold strong in the top 20 worldwide in terms of cash game volume, but players cannot compete as part of the worldwide pool. Expect this trend to continue in 2011 and beyond, especially in the United States, where a state-by-state legalization of internet gambling appears to be in the cards.

Annie Duke: Year of the Woman

I think the biggest news story of 2010 is the breakout of women in poker, and that is not just because I am one of them. Vanessa Selbst winning two majors was a huge step forward for women in poker and, of course, an incredible accomplishment for her. Leading into that, Liv Boeree’s stellar performance in San Remo was a breakout for her and for women in poker. I guess my win has to get a mention here, too. Women have had a hard time getting true traction in this game and 2010 put an exclamation point on the quality of the women who play.

Linda Johnson: Washington Online Poker Law Upheld

I think the biggest poker news story involved the Washington State courts upholding the 2006 state law saying that playing online poker is a Class C felony, a crime on the same level as child molestation. This prompted Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars to pull out of that market. What a travesty it is for people in that state, many of whom will have to relocate. I think it is also very hypocritical of the government; after all, Washington State residents still can buy lottery tickets online.

Lee Jones: Year of the Near Miss

2010 will be remembered as the “Year of the Near Miss”. We will probably never know how close we got to overt legalization of online poker in the United States towards the end of 2010. Harry Reid tried every possible maneuver to get his bill passed that would have legalized and regulated online poker in the USA. Had it not been for Jon Kyl, the bill almost certainly would have passed and been signed by President Obama.

Despite poker pros’ concerns about the 15-month blackout prior to actual regulated play, I believe that legalization would have (and will eventually) produce a second renaissance of poker that will completely overshadow 2003, the year of Chris Moneymaker and the WPT. It will only be in the light of that second renaissance that we realize how unfortunate the “Near Miss” of 2010 was.

John “JimmyLegs” Wray: Harry Reid Online Poker Bill

Certainly the biggest almost-story was the Harry Reid online poker bill. But it looks like regulated online poker in the States will have to wait. Maybe it’ll be the biggest news story of 2011? Fingers crossed!

Chris “Fox” Wallace: Full Tilt Rush Poker Mobile

I think we will eventually realize that Rush Poker Mobile is the biggest poker news story of 2010. It might not be the biggest story right now, but it will probably bring about some significant legal changes. Seeing people playing poker on the bus, in the halls at work, at the bar, or anywhere that people congregate – and seeing all of those people playing online poker for real money on their phones – will change public perception.

What direction the public perception goes and how the legal aspects work out will have a huge effect on the future of our freedom to play our favorite game. I think Michael Mizrachi‘s trip to the WSOP final table was talked about a lot more at the tables, but Rush Poker Mobile will have a bigger splash in the long-run.

Brett Collson: WSOP Ladies Event

When I first saw Shaun Deeb seated wearing lipstick, makeup, and a cowboy hat at the WSOP Ladies Event, I knew the poker world was about to erupt. Deeb and more than a dozen male players crashed what was supposed to be an enjoyable tournament for female poker players. Instead, it turned into a media circus.

Some of the men claimed they were taking a “gender equality” stance by playing in the $1,000 event; others had lost prop bets. Regardless, all of the women were upset by it, as evident by the standing ovation that occurred each time a male player was eliminated. The unfortunate episode also fueled one of the biggest feuds of the year between Annie Duke and Daniel Negreanu, which is another of the most memorable stories of 2010.

Bernard Lee: Michael Mizrachi

For me, it would be Michael Mizrachi. At the beginning of 2010, not many people put Michael Mizrachi in the forefront of poker, but as he arrived at the WSOP, he definitely wanted to make his mark. Mizrachi came out of the gates winning the $50,000 Player’s Championship. In addition to that, he made two other final tables and, of course, who could forget him almost winning the improbable double-double of the $10,000 Main Event as well? Michael Mizrachi had a phenomenal year and has put himself back in the forefront of the world of poker.

Sean Gibson: Michael Mizrachi

For me, the biggest news story of 2010 was the resurrection of Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi’s poker career. Count me in as one of the guys who wrote him off for good, especially when all of the financial trouble started cropping up. He proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he’s one of the world’s best players; his run to the November Nine was every bit as magical as Phil Ivey‘s in 2009. Mizrachi is a player we can respect for his past accomplishments and track as one of the big names in the poker industry.

Earl Burton: Harry Reid Online Poker Bill and Jonathan Duhamel

As far as the biggest stories of the year in poker, I am torn between two. The four-year-long battle to overturn the UIGEA, which heated up even more over the past 12 months, seemed to get the hopes up of many of us in the poker community. I was always pessimistic about the passage of any legislation that would allow Americans to play poker online and, in the end, my pessimism proved to be correct.

The second story is Jonathan Duhamel’s victory in the WSOP Main Event. He became the first ever Canadian World Champion, capturing the attention of his country and the world. He was even nominated for Canadian Athlete of the Year alongside such big names as Sidney Crosby and Joey Votto. When you think of players from Canada who came before Duhamel, such as Daniel Negreanu and Gavin Smith, for him to become the first Canadian champion of the Main Event was a truly significant feat.

Top Poker News Story of 2010

We’re nearing the end of the 2010 calendar year and, as such, we’d like to take a moment to reflect on the past 365 days. There were plenty of headlines in 2010, but which one stole the show for our esteemed panel of writers? Poker News Daily asked our staff which poker headline of 2010 stood out.

Dan Cypra: Splintering of Online Poker

2010 saw the continued splintering of the online poker market worldwide. France and Italy now have their very own online poker fiefdoms, while legislation in New Jersey to create the very first intrastate internet gambling framework in the United States is gaining steam. In fact, the measure will be one of the first topics that the New Jersey Assembly tackles in the New Year.

Whether the division of the online poker market is detrimental to the player experience remains to be seen. Many of the FR and IT sites tracked by PokerScout.com hold strong in the top 20 worldwide in terms of cash game volume, but players cannot compete as part of the worldwide pool. Expect this trend to continue in 2011 and beyond, especially in the United States, where a state-by-state legalization of internet gambling appears to be in the cards.

Annie Duke: Year of the Woman

I think the biggest news story of 2010 is the breakout of women in poker, and that is not just because I am one of them. Vanessa Selbst winning two majors was a huge step forward for women in poker and, of course, an incredible accomplishment for her. Leading into that, Liv Boeree’s stellar performance in San Remo was a breakout for her and for women in poker. I guess my win has to get a mention here, too. Women have had a hard time getting true traction in this game and 2010 put an exclamation point on the quality of the women who play.

Linda Johnson: Washington Online Poker Law Upheld

I think the biggest poker news story involved the Washington State courts upholding the 2006 state law saying that playing online poker is a Class C felony, a crime on the same level as child molestation. This prompted Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars to pull out of that market. What a travesty it is for people in that state, many of whom will have to relocate. I think it is also very hypocritical of the government; after all, Washington State residents still can buy lottery tickets online.

Lee Jones: Year of the Near Miss

2010 will be remembered as the “Year of the Near Miss”. We will probably never know how close we got to overt legalization of online poker in the United States towards the end of 2010. Harry Reid tried every possible maneuver to get his bill passed that would have legalized and regulated online poker in the USA. Had it not been for Jon Kyl, the bill almost certainly would have passed and been signed by President Obama.

Despite poker pros’ concerns about the 15-month blackout prior to actual regulated play, I believe that legalization would have (and will eventually) produce a second renaissance of poker that will completely overshadow 2003, the year of Chris Moneymaker and the WPT. It will only be in the light of that second renaissance that we realize how unfortunate the “Near Miss” of 2010 was.

John “JimmyLegs” Wray: Harry Reid Online Poker Bill

Certainly the biggest almost-story was the Harry Reid online poker bill. But it looks like regulated online poker in the States will have to wait. Maybe it’ll be the biggest news story of 2011? Fingers crossed!

Chris “Fox” Wallace: Full Tilt Rush Poker Mobile

I think we will eventually realize that Rush Poker Mobile is the biggest poker news story of 2010. It might not be the biggest story right now, but it will probably bring about some significant legal changes. Seeing people playing poker on the bus, in the halls at work, at the bar, or anywhere that people congregate – and seeing all of those people playing online poker for real money on their phones – will change public perception.

What direction the public perception goes and how the legal aspects work out will have a huge effect on the future of our freedom to play our favorite game. I think Michael Mizrachi‘s trip to the WSOP final table was talked about a lot more at the tables, but Rush Poker Mobile will have a bigger splash in the long-run.

Brett Collson: WSOP Ladies Event

When I first saw Shaun Deeb seated wearing lipstick, makeup, and a cowboy hat at the WSOP Ladies Event, I knew the poker world was about to erupt. Deeb and more than a dozen male players crashed what was supposed to be an enjoyable tournament for female poker players. Instead, it turned into a media circus.

Some of the men claimed they were taking a “gender equality” stance by playing in the $1,000 event; others had lost prop bets. Regardless, all of the women were upset by it, as evident by the standing ovation that occurred each time a male player was eliminated. The unfortunate episode also fueled one of the biggest feuds of the year between Annie Duke and Daniel Negreanu, which is another of the most memorable stories of 2010.

Bernard Lee: Michael Mizrachi

For me, it would be Michael Mizrachi. At the beginning of 2010, not many people put Michael Mizrachi in the forefront of poker, but as he arrived at the WSOP, he definitely wanted to make his mark. Mizrachi came out of the gates winning the $50,000 Player’s Championship. In addition to that, he made two other final tables and, of course, who could forget him almost winning the improbable double-double of the $10,000 Main Event as well? Michael Mizrachi had a phenomenal year and has put himself back in the forefront of the world of poker.

Sean Gibson: Michael Mizrachi

For me, the biggest news story of 2010 was the resurrection of Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi’s poker career. Count me in as one of the guys who wrote him off for good, especially when all of the financial trouble started cropping up. He proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he’s one of the world’s best players; his run to the November Nine was every bit as magical as Phil Ivey‘s in 2009. Mizrachi is a player we can respect for his past accomplishments and track as one of the big names in the poker industry.

Earl Burton: Harry Reid Online Poker Bill and Jonathan Duhamel

As far as the biggest stories of the year in poker, I am torn between two. The four-year-long battle to overturn the UIGEA, which heated up even more over the past 12 months, seemed to get the hopes up of many of us in the poker community. I was always pessimistic about the passage of any legislation that would allow Americans to play poker online and, in the end, my pessimism proved to be correct.

The second story is Jonathan Duhamel’s victory in the WSOP Main Event. He became the first ever Canadian World Champion, capturing the attention of his country and the world. He was even nominated for Canadian Athlete of the Year alongside such big names as Sidney Crosby and Joey Votto. When you think of players from Canada who came before Duhamel, such as Daniel Negreanu and Gavin Smith, for him to become the first Canadian champion of the Main Event was a truly significant feat.

Top Poker News Story of 2010

We’re nearing the end of the 2010 calendar year and, as such, we’d like to take a moment to reflect on the past 365 days. There were plenty of headlines in 2010, but which one stole the show for our esteemed panel of writers? Poker News Daily asked our staff which poker headline of 2010 stood out.

Dan Cypra: Splintering of Online Poker

2010 saw the continued splintering of the online poker market worldwide. France and Italy now have their very own online poker fiefdoms, while legislation in New Jersey to create the very first intrastate internet gambling framework in the United States is gaining steam. In fact, the measure will be one of the first topics that the New Jersey Assembly tackles in the New Year.

Whether the division of the online poker market is detrimental to the player experience remains to be seen. Many of the FR and IT sites tracked by PokerScout.com hold strong in the top 20 worldwide in terms of cash game volume, but players cannot compete as part of the worldwide pool. Expect this trend to continue in 2011 and beyond, especially in the United States, where a state-by-state legalization of internet gambling appears to be in the cards.

Annie Duke: Year of the Woman

I think the biggest news story of 2010 is the breakout of women in poker, and that is not just because I am one of them. Vanessa Selbst winning two majors was a huge step forward for women in poker and, of course, an incredible accomplishment for her. Leading into that, Liv Boeree’s stellar performance in San Remo was a breakout for her and for women in poker. I guess my win has to get a mention here, too. Women have had a hard time getting true traction in this game and 2010 put an exclamation point on the quality of the women who play.

Linda Johnson: Washington Online Poker Law Upheld

I think the biggest poker news story involved the Washington State courts upholding the 2006 state law saying that playing online poker is a Class C felony, a crime on the same level as child molestation. This prompted Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars to pull out of that market. What a travesty it is for people in that state, many of whom will have to relocate. I think it is also very hypocritical of the government; after all, Washington State residents still can buy lottery tickets online.

Lee Jones: Year of the Near Miss

2010 will be remembered as the “Year of the Near Miss”. We will probably never know how close we got to overt legalization of online poker in the United States towards the end of 2010. Harry Reid tried every possible maneuver to get his bill passed that would have legalized and regulated online poker in the USA. Had it not been for Jon Kyl, the bill almost certainly would have passed and been signed by President Obama.

Despite poker pros’ concerns about the 15-month blackout prior to actual regulated play, I believe that legalization would have (and will eventually) produce a second renaissance of poker that will completely overshadow 2003, the year of Chris Moneymaker and the WPT. It will only be in the light of that second renaissance that we realize how unfortunate the “Near Miss” of 2010 was.

John “JimmyLegs” Wray: Harry Reid Online Poker Bill

Certainly the biggest almost-story was the Harry Reid online poker bill. But it looks like regulated online poker in the States will have to wait. Maybe it’ll be the biggest news story of 2011? Fingers crossed!

Chris “Fox” Wallace: Full Tilt Rush Poker Mobile

I think we will eventually realize that Rush Poker Mobile is the biggest poker news story of 2010. It might not be the biggest story right now, but it will probably bring about some significant legal changes. Seeing people playing poker on the bus, in the halls at work, at the bar, or anywhere that people congregate – and seeing all of those people playing online poker for real money on their phones – will change public perception.

What direction the public perception goes and how the legal aspects work out will have a huge effect on the future of our freedom to play our favorite game. I think Michael Mizrachi‘s trip to the WSOP final table was talked about a lot more at the tables, but Rush Poker Mobile will have a bigger splash in the long-run.

Brett Collson: WSOP Ladies Event

When I first saw Shaun Deeb seated wearing lipstick, makeup, and a cowboy hat at the WSOP Ladies Event, I knew the poker world was about to erupt. Deeb and more than a dozen male players crashed what was supposed to be an enjoyable tournament for female poker players. Instead, it turned into a media circus.

Some of the men claimed they were taking a “gender equality” stance by playing in the $1,000 event; others had lost prop bets. Regardless, all of the women were upset by it, as evident by the standing ovation that occurred each time a male player was eliminated. The unfortunate episode also fueled one of the biggest feuds of the year between Annie Duke and Daniel Negreanu, which is another of the most memorable stories of 2010.

Bernard Lee: Michael Mizrachi

For me, it would be Michael Mizrachi. At the beginning of 2010, not many people put Michael Mizrachi in the forefront of poker, but as he arrived at the WSOP, he definitely wanted to make his mark. Mizrachi came out of the gates winning the $50,000 Player’s Championship. In addition to that, he made two other final tables and, of course, who could forget him almost winning the improbable double-double of the $10,000 Main Event as well? Michael Mizrachi had a phenomenal year and has put himself back in the forefront of the world of poker.

Sean Gibson: Michael Mizrachi

For me, the biggest news story of 2010 was the resurrection of Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi’s poker career. Count me in as one of the guys who wrote him off for good, especially when all of the financial trouble started cropping up. He proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he’s one of the world’s best players; his run to the November Nine was every bit as magical as Phil Ivey‘s in 2009. Mizrachi is a player we can respect for his past accomplishments and track as one of the big names in the poker industry.

Earl Burton: Harry Reid Online Poker Bill and Jonathan Duhamel

As far as the biggest stories of the year in poker, I am torn between two. The four-year-long battle to overturn the UIGEA, which heated up even more over the past 12 months, seemed to get the hopes up of many of us in the poker community. I was always pessimistic about the passage of any legislation that would allow Americans to play poker online and, in the end, my pessimism proved to be correct.

The second story is Jonathan Duhamel’s victory in the WSOP Main Event. He became the first ever Canadian World Champion, capturing the attention of his country and the world. He was even nominated for Canadian Athlete of the Year alongside such big names as Sidney Crosby and Joey Votto. When you think of players from Canada who came before Duhamel, such as Daniel Negreanu and Gavin Smith, for him to become the first Canadian champion of the Main Event was a truly significant feat.

UB.com and Absolute Poker Introduce Security Token

Players at the USA-friendly CEREUS Network sites UB.com and Absolute Poker will now be able to make it a lot more difficult for their accounts to be compromised by using security tokens. The security measure was introduced this week and can be purchased in the UB Points Store.

UB.com’s Joe Sebok was elated to bring the added layer of security to life for players on his home online poker site. Sebok commented in a press release distributed by CEREUS officials this week, “We are committed to doing everything possible to safeguard our network and players and we want to provide every option to boost their personal security, particularly those who keep sick amounts of cash in their accounts day-to-day. The security token will provide the most up-to-date security solution to ensure that every player’s personal information and bankroll are always protected.”

If you’ve never heard of a security token, it’s a small device that generates a numeric code. When you log into your UB.com or Absolute Poker account, you’ll need your user name and password along with the code generated by the security token. If you don’t have all three pieces of information, then you won’t be able to sign in. The code randomly generates and will be different from login to login. Just press the button located on the device, which is synched with UB.com’s servers, to see what the code is.

Therefore, if your user name and password are compromised, a would-be hacker won’t be able to log into UB.com or Absolute Poker without the code generated by the security token. CEREUS officials have dubbed it a “two-factor authentication process: the password plus the unique security code generated by the ‘one-button’ device.”

The security token is available for 6,500 points in the UB Points Store and a separate link is given for players from Canada to purchase one. Text found on UB.com explains the importance of coughing up the necessary points for a security token: “Because the code is only displayed on your security token and nowhere else, your account will remain safe in the event that your username and password fall into the wrong hands.”

Once you receive your security token in the mail, you’ll need to log into UB.com to activate it. Just click on the “Cashier,” “Account Information,” and then “Security” and you’ll be on your way. If you incorrectly enter your security token code three times, then you’ll be locked out of your account. To be reinstated, contact UB security via e-mail at security@ub.com.

Players on the CEREUS Network can also elect to use a SecureID pin number, a five-digit code that must be entered at login in order to access the virtual felts. The SecureID Pin was introduced to UB.com in the middle of 2009 and can be used in tandem with the security token. To access the SecureID Pin, visit the “Security” menu within the UB.com software.

Other online poker sites also offer security tokens to protect their players. Full Tilt Poker offers branded and un-branded security keys for 5,000 points in the store that generate a unique six-digit code every 30 seconds. The site also boasts a mobile version of its security key that can be utilized on a cell phone. The price of PokerStars’ RSA security token varies based on a player’s status in the VIP program.

UB.com and Absolute Poker happily accept players from the United States. The former’s team of sponsored pros includes Sebok, Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Annie Duke, and 11-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth.

Carbon Poker Launches Mac Client

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Online Poker Spotlight: Ben “Sauce123″ Sulsky

The Sunday Scoop: shaniac, j.thaddeus Just Miss in the Million

Once again, the PokerStars Sunday Million was the most hotly contested event on the schedule, with 8,653 entries helping create a $1,730,600 prize pool.

The final table included both Team PokerStars Pro Jude "j.thaddeus" Ainsworth (3rd for $194,646.22) and well known poker pro and blogger Shane "shaniac" Schleger (6th for $51,918).

However, it was wasaberga who held on for the $211,180.98 win, beating eman1126 ($164,583.33) heads up.

The PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up drew 4,651 players to build a $930,200 prize pool. And while INormaJean took the title and $113,785.35 first prize there, Justin "ZeeJustin" Bonomo was making a deep run in the $300K Guaranteed $109 Rebuy.

That run eneded with a third-place finish and $43,670 cash as forcewithme9 went on to book the win and $79,916.10 score.

Adding to an already busy schedule this Sunday were PokerStars' new Regional Championships of Online Poker events in the United States, Canada and several other areas.

However, the events were less popular than the site expected with the two-day USA COOP main event drawing just 1,650 and forcing PokerStars to cough up a $125,500 overlay just to reach its $1 million guarantee.

The results were similar North of the border with Canadian COOP drawing just 350 and PokerStars making up a $14,500 overlay.

Elsewhere, Full Tilt's $750k Guaranteed drew 4,423 players creating an $884,600 prize pool that paid 585 places.

pytcheye1111 took down the title and $156,211.51 first-place prize while Grippolio won the Sunday Brawl and $115,750.60 getting past a field of 2,851.

Finally, MUCKDUCKS held on to win the UB $200k Guaranteed event, outlasting a field of 1,022.

U.S. Government Seizes eWalletXpress Funds

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Daniel Negreanu Trumps Ray Reid on PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge

Sunday marked the second to last episode of the season for the PokerStars sponsored “Million Dollar Challenge,” which flanks NFL coverage on FOX. Ray Reid, a 29 year old son of a pastor from Canada, was the show’s challenger and told host Chris Rose that he wanted to use any money earned to turn his life around and help his father build a church.

Reid faced off against celebrity defender Gary Payton in the first round. In each of the matches, both players began with 20,000 in chips and the blinds started at a hefty 400/800. In the opening round, show front man Daniel Negreanu was seated alongside the contestant and could offer advice, but was unable to see any hole cards. In addition, the challenger had one timeout to confer with “Kid Poker.”

The match against Payton lasted all of one hand. On a board of K-9-7-4, Reid bet 4,000 with J-9 for second pair and Payton shoved all-in with A-10 for ace-high. Reid asked for time and Negreanu told him to call given the size of the pot. Reid obliged and the river was a five, giving the challenger the win in the match and a $5,000 trip to the Bahamas for the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in January.

Next up was pro defender Barry Greenstein, a three-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner. Negreanu moved to an isolation booth where he could communicate with Reid through and earpiece and see his hole cards. To counter, Greenstein could shut off communication between Negreanu and Reid twice using the “Dome of Silence.”

Like the match against Payton, Reid’s tangle with Greenstein was abbreviated. On a flop of 8-9-4, Reid checked with Q-10 for a gutshot straight draw and two overcards and Greenstein bet 4,000 with 9-7 for top pair. Reid min-raised to 8,000 and Greenstein invoked the “Dome of Silence,” forcing the amateur to finish the hand on his own. Greenstein shoved over-the-top all-in and Reid called, putting Greenstein at risk. The turn card was a jack, filling Reid’s straight, and Greenstein was drawing dead to the river.

For beating the PokerStars pro, Reid earned $25,000. He was then faced with a tough decision: take the cash and dash or risk his payday for a $100,000 match against Negreanu and a shot at $1 million. His friends and family reminded him that the show wasn’t called the “$25,000 Poker Challenge” and encouraged him to go for broke. Reid agreed to set up a heads-up showdown with Negreanu.

The key hand between Reid and Negreanu saw Reid flop a flush with 9-7 of spades on a board of A-10-K, all spades. Negreanu, holding A-10 for top and bottom pair, checked and Reid checked behind to another ace on the turn. Negreanu, now holding an unbeatable boat, checked and Reid bet 3,000. Negreanu check-raised to 6,000 and Reid shipped it in. Negreanu called all-in and doubled up, crippling Reid’s stack to just three big blinds.

Reid committed his remaining chips before the flop with 6-3, but ran into Negreanu’s 7-6 and could not improve when the board came 2-5-10-A-Q. However, he still received a $5,000 trip to the Bahamas for his efforts.

On December 12th, the finale of the second season of the PokerStars “Million Dollar Challenge” will air. The Challenge of Champions will see the show’s top winners vie in a sit and go whose victor will play Negreanu heads-up for $1 million. In the meantime, you can catch Season 1 of the poker game show on GSN. Check your local listings for more details.

PokerStars Holding Jonathan Duhamel Caribbean Adventure Promotion

Although there are still several high-profile tournaments left in 2010, PokerStars is already looking towards 2011 and the first big tournament of the year, the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas. The world’s largest online poker site is offering players a chance to earn their way to the Bahamas to take on the current World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion Jonathan Duhamel and earn their way into the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event.

The latest promotion from PokerStars, Jonathan Duhamel’s Caribbean Adventure, started on Thursday and, through a series of tournaments, will send six people to the Atlantis Resort come January. Qualifiers will participate in a special seven-player sit and go, with the winner of the tournament earning a seat at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event. For those looking for a respite from the winter’s chill, the Jonathan Duhamel Caribbean Adventure could be just what the doctor ordered.

Running daily through December 17th are two different multi-table tournaments, one a freeroll and the other a $2.20 satellite. For those looking to use their Silver Star status, freerolls will be offered on Mondays at 10:30pm ET. Each of these daily tournaments has different ways of sending players on a quest for their trip to the Bahamas.

From these daily satellite tournaments, the top nine finishers in the freeroll, the top 45 players in the buy-in tournament, and the top 100 players in the Silver Star freeroll will earn their way into the semifinals of the Jonathan Duhamel Caribbean Adventure. The semifinals will be held on two dates, December 4th and the 18th, with the top nine players from each of the regions (U.S., Canada, and World) moving on to the final phase of the competition.

On December 5th and 19th, the single-table tournament finals will play out for those who have finished in the top nine of the semifinals. PokerStars is putting up $3,300 for these finalists to divvy up, along with the trip to the Caribbean for two. Of course, the first place finisher takes the trip, with second place earning $1,000; the top nine will finish in the money. The six champions of the Jonathan Duhamel Caribbean Adventure will be whisked off to the Bahamas and do battle with the 2010 World Champion in a sit and go for a seat at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event.

After winning the WSOP Main Event earlier this month, Duhamel has become the latest poster boy for the Team PokerStars Pro stable. In addition to this special promotion, Duhamel has also committed to playing in the Canadian Championships of Online Poker, which begin on Sunday and will play out over a week’s time. Duhamel has eagerly embraced his role as poker’s latest goodwill ambassador, continuing to do a multitude of interviews after his historic victory.

Visit PokerStars for full details.

November 19th – Weekly Update

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

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

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

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

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

Prentice told ESPN.com’s Gary Wise,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“When I started playing poker for a living, it was never my goal to spend the rest of my life as a professional poker player. My goal was to become financially independent. I achieved that by winning the WSOP Main Event in 2008.”

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

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

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

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

PokerStars USA, Canadian Championships of Online Poker Begin Sunday

Continuing with its series of regional Championships of Online Poker (COOP) that began at the end of October, PokerStars is readying for the beginning of the United States and Canadian COOPs this Sunday.

Beginning November 21st and stretching through November 28th, players in Canada and the USA will be competing for bragging rights in their respective countries. PokerStars has 11 events scheduled for each series and each slate will test players in several different disciplines of poker.

The USA COOP starts off on Sunday with what should be one of the richer events on the schedule. A $55 Six-Handed No Limit Hold’em with Rebuys tournament will begin at 5:00pm ET and feature a guaranteed prize pool of $150,000. No Limit tournaments are a main fixture of the schedule, with buy-ins ranging from the $55 rebuy to the $530 Main Event, which has a guaranteed $1 million prize pool, but other poker fixtures such as Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo, HORSE, and Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo will also be featured.

The Canadian COOP will follow the same format as the USA COOP, albeit with smaller guaranteed prize pools. On Sunday, a $55 Six-Handed No Limit Hold’em with Rebuys tournament will start at 5:00pm ET, with a guaranteed prize pool of $25,000. The Canadian COOP will also play the same variations as the USA COOP, with the $530 Main Event on November 28th featuring a $200,000 prize pool.

Of special interest to Canadians playing in the event will be the opportunity to hit the virtual felt against the current World Series of Poker Main Event champion Jonathan Duhamel. This will give poker fans in the “Great White North” the opportunity to take on Duhamel and possibly lay claim to having beaten the reigning Main Event winner.

American players will be taking on everyone from the 50 states and Virgin Islands, while all of the provinces of Canada will take part in that country’s national championship.

The Russian COOP was the first series to be held. In total, 3,515 players took part in the 11-event schedule, easily passing the guaranteed prize pool in every event. For the $320 Main Event, “JustMyUnluck” claimed the title and a $21,358.47 first place prize.

Just after the RCOOP kicked off, the Nordic COOP began on November 4th. Over 2,500 players from such countries as Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and Greenland stepped up to battle it out for their regional championships. In the $530 Main Event, players “Blimschen” and “TEIT91” agree to chop the prize pool and the latter emerged as the victor, earning $43,750 and giving “Blimschen” a $38,750 payday.

On the same day that the Nordic Championship started, the Baltics COOP began. 2,368 players came out from such countries as Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia, with the $215 Main Event drawing out 131 players and cracking the $10,000 guaranteed prize pool. Vilnius’ “sekme” defeated Tallinn’s “m0nit” to take home the Baltics Main Event title and the $6,026 first place bounty.

Running concurrently with the USA and Canadian Championships are the Germanic Championships, Asia Pacific Championships, and the Mediterranean Championships. Following the completion of the current round of COOPs, keep an eye out for the following regional series:

United Kingdom and Ireland – December 5th to 12th
Central and Eastern Europe – December 9th to 19th
Latin America – December 5th to 12th
Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg – December 9th to 19th
Spain, Portugal, and Andorra – February 13th to 20th

Full details on the completed, running, and upcoming championships can be found at Poker Stars.

Eric Baldwin Wins NAPT LA Bounty Shootout

On Thursday, UB.com pro Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin took down the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Los Angeles Bounty Shootout for $134,000. It marked Baldwin’s third live score of $100,000 or more of 2010 according to the Hendon Mob and he edged out a talented field of live and online poker pros.

The first elimination of the Bounty Shootout final table went to European Poker Tour (EPT) champ Kevin “ImaLuckSac” MacPhee, who was bumped in ninth place. MacPhee committed his chips with A-K and was well ahead of the K-7 belonging to Clint Coffee. However, Coffee spiked a seven on the flop and no help came on the turn or river for MacPhee, who picked up $20,000 for making the final table and $3,000 in bounties.

November Niner Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi exited in eighth place just moments after doubling up. He was all-in with pocket fives, but ran headlong into the pocket tens belonging to Justin Young. Neither player improved and Mizrachi fell short of the trophy once again. The Full Tilt Poker pro took fifth in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event earlier this month for $2.3 million.

Team PokerStars Canada pro Pat Pezzin hit the rail in seventh place after 3betting all-in before the flop with A-J. Mohsin “chicagocards1” Charania made the call with pocket sixes and the race was on. Charania hit the jackpot on the flop, which came 6-8-8 for a boat, and Pezzin was drawing dead by the turn. Pezzin picked up $20,000 for making the final table of the NAPT LA Bounty Shootout and earned another $2,000 in bounties.

Coffee was eliminated in sixth place after his pocket sevens could not draw out on Young’s pocket tens and picked up a total of $23,000 for his run in the 81-player poker tournament. Thirty minutes later, NAPT Venetian Main Event winner Tom “Kingsofcards” Marchese was shown the door in fifth place. Marchese got his chips in with Q-7 on a flop of K-7-4 with two hearts for middle pair and was ahead of David Williams’ 9-3 of hearts for a flush draw. Marchese hit two pair on the turn when the queen of diamonds fell, but a heart on the river gave Williams a flush.

Charania was bumped after shoving pre-flop with A-7 of hearts and failing to draw out on the pocket tens of Williams. The reigning World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship winner flopped a set and Charania was quickly drawing dead. He picked up a total of $25,000, which included five $1,000 bounties.

Williams was shown the door in third place from the NAPT LA Bounty Shootout. He was all-in with A-Q and facing the pocket tens belonging to Young. However, the only card higher than a ten onboard was a king and that was all she wrote for the PokerStars pro. Young locked up the most number of bounties in the NAPT event at six and, as a result, received a seat in the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Bounty Shootout.

Baldwin doubled up early in heads-up play. On the final hand of the tournament, Young was all-in with A-Q and ran into Baldwin’s pocket kings. No suckout was in store and the UB.com pro was crowned the NAPT LA Bounty Shootout champion. Young took home $26,000 and a seat in the upcoming Bounty Shootout in the Bahamas, while Baldwin collected $134,000 for the win, $20,000 for making the final table, and $3,000 in bounties. Here’s how the final table cashed out in the winner-take-all event:

1. Eric Baldwin – $134,280 + $20,000 + $3,000 in bounties
2. Justin Young – $20,000 + $6,000 in bounties
3. David Williams – $20,000 + $4,000 in bounties
4. Mohsin Charania – $20,000 + $5,000 in bounties
5. Tom Marchese – $20,000 + $4,000 in bounties
6. Clint Coffee – $20,000 + $3,000 in bounties
7. Pat Pezzin – $20,000 + $2,000 in bounties
8. Michael Mizrachi – $20,000+ $4,000 in bounties
9. Kevin MacPhee – $20,000 + $3,000 in bounties

Jonathan Duhamel: The WSOP Champ Settles In

"I haven't played a single hand of poker yet," he told PokerListings from his home just outside of Montreal, Quebec.

"I've been doing a lot of interviews and stuff like that. I wish I could play a little bit, but right now I don't have time for that. Hopefully, I will play a little bit more pretty soon."

Sponsored by online giant PokerStars, Duhamel does plan on getting back to the virtual felt this weekend when the Canadian Championship of Online Poker begins.

He's also looking to make the trip to the Bahamas this January for the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure and may even head back to Las Vegas next month for the WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic.

In the meantime, just exactly what he accomplished in Las Vegas a week and a half ago is still setting in.

"It's so big, it's so amazing and it really just happened," he said. "Of course it took me a couple of days to realize what really happened. And even now I think I do, but I'm still feeling like the happiest guy on earth and still thinking 'wow, what just happened?'"

Duhamel returned home to Boucherville, Quebec a few days after becoming Canada's first WSOP Main Event winner and meeting the bulk of the Canadian media.

He's has had the chance to spend some time with close friends and family, but things are already looking a lot different back home.

"It has been pretty cool to get back home again, but it's a bit of a different feeling with everybody recognizing you on the street and stuff like that," he said. "I knew it would be kind of big, but not this big. It's been so crazy here. It's weird a little bit, but I'm having a lot of fun doing all these interviews and things."

The Canadian media have been all over the story of his $8.9 million World Series of Poker win.

But much of the focus has been on the fact Duhamel dropped out of the University of Montreal finance program to pursue poker as a career and giving a stern warning to Canadian youth that his path is not for everyone.

"I'm a little surprised (that has been the focus), but at the same time I can't control that," he said. "If that's what they want to talk about, I have to talk about that with them. I just give the best advice and answer I can.

"The honest answer is that it's tough to do. Poker is not for everyone. There are some people who just can't do it. So I would not tell people to drop school to go play poker. It is not for everyone."

Duhamel has had the chance to watch himself on the ESPN broadcast and was relatively happy with how he and the event were portrayed.

"They did a great job," he said. "You always want to see more of yourself on TV, but I thought for the two hours they had, the show was great."

What he hasn't had the chance to do, outside of sticking to his commitment to donate $100,000 to The Montreal Canadiens Children's Foundation, is spend any of his winnings.

"Other than that haven't done anything with the money," he said. "Maybe during Christmas time I will do something, like take a family vacation or something."

For now, he's just champing at the bit to get his hands on those chips and cards again.

"I want to get back in the ring a little bit," he said. "I'm really looking forward to playing some poker."

Joe Tehan Wins NAPT LA Main Event

In an impressive feat, Joe Tehan ran the table in the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Los Angeles finale, eliminating all seven of his opponents to pull in $725,000. Tehan’s claim to fame to this point was winning the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Mandalay Bay Poker Championship four years ago for $1 million.

On his daunting run through Wednesday’s final table, Tehan told PokerStars officials, “I ran really, really good today. I won a lot of coin flips. I won all of the hands that were 50-50. It feels great. I’m happy with the way I played.” He added, “This was a great experience. The turnouts at NAPT events have been getting bigger and bigger. I mean, this is a $5,000 tournament with over 700 players. I don’t play much outside of Vegas or LA, so to get a turnout like this in LA was good. I was excited to come down and play and I’m glad I did.”

Jake Toole was the first casualty of the final table. A little over an hour into play, Toole committed his chips with pocket jacks and ran up against Tehan’s A-Q. Tehan flopped an ace and never looked back, sending Toole away in eighth place for $60,000. Ninety minutes later, Tehan dispatched PokerStars sponsored pro Jason Mercier in seventh place in a race with pocket jacks against Mercier’s A-K. The board ran out five cards nine or lower and Mercier, donning his signature tan and brown sweater, was eliminated.

Moments later, former UB.com pro Michael Binger saw his NAPT LA title hopes dashed after running pocket tens into Tehan’s A-J. Once again, Tehan came out on the winning end of a race, this time turning an ace. No two-outer struck on the river and Binger picked up $114,000 for sixth place.

Tehan’s run-good continued. Team PokerStars Canada pro Anh Van Nguyen and Ray Henson were both all-in before the flop. Nguyen held A-Q, Henson held A-J, and Tehan had them both covered with K-5 of hearts. I bet you can figure out how this ends. The flop came 9-9-4, but a king on the turn propelled Tehan into the lead with kings-up. Tehan had shoved pre-flop and Nguyen and Henson called all-in for their tournament lives.

Al Grimes 3bet all-in pre-flop with 8-7 of spades and Tehan called the short stack with J-9. The flop of 10-7-3 gave Tehan a gutshot straight draw and a nine on the turn propelled the eventual winner into the lead once again with a pair. The river blanked for Grimes, whose third place finish in the NAPT LA Main Event was worth $250,000.

Tehan took a nearly 5:2 chip lead into heads-up play against Chris DeMaci, who had entered the final table as the pacesetter. On the final hand, DeMaci re-raised all-in on a flop of K-3-5 and showed K-4 for top pair. However, Tehan had him trumped with K-10, which held for the win. DeMaci picked up $440,000 for his second place finish and Tehan banked $725,000 along with a swank trophy. Here’s how the final table cashed out in Los Angeles at the Crystal Casino:

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

Meanwhile, the final table of the NAPT LA Bounty Shootout will begin at 2:00pm PT today. The field of nine features November Niner Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, David Williams, Pat Pezzin, Tom “Kingsofcards” Marchese, Clint Coffee, Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin, Justin Young, Kevin “ImaLuckSac” MacPhee, and Moshin “chicagocards1” Charania. The winner pockets $130,000 and the player who records the most number of bounties during the event will win a PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Bounty Shootout buy-in.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from NAPT LA.

Image courtesy PokerStars.

UB.com, Global Poker League Join Forces

Recently, it was announced that UB.com will join forces with the Global Poker League (GPL). The GPL and UB.com have established the “three C’s” of poker – camaraderie, competition, and cash. Through special GPL tables on UB.com, the organizations are looking to build on these premises with a range of sit and gos. The cost for these varies from $1 to $11 and feature six-handed, nine-handed, and 18-handed sit and gos.

Players can sign up for one or both of the GPL Singles Masters or GPL Team Masters and earn points for playing on special UB.com GPL tables. These points will be important over the span of the six-month competition.

When a player enters one of the special sit and gos at the GPL tables, they will not only be earning leaderboard points for themselves. but UB will also donate $0.10 of their rake to the end-of-season Masters Prize Pool, so the more players involved, the higher the prize pool will grow.

The six-month season is divided into three periods of 50 days, with prizes to be won at the end of each in both league categories. At the completion of every 50-day period, the top ten points-earners on the singles and teams ladders can receive some killer UB merchandise.

The top 50% of points-earners for each period make it to the playoffs at the end of the six-month season where they will compete for a sizeable prize pool in the Masters tournament. UB will award the top three in the Single Masters and each member of the winning team in the Team Masters a $3,000 ticket to a 2011 World Series of Poker (WSOP) side event. In addition, 70% of the cash built over the previous six months in the  Masters Prize Pool will be allocated to the Players Masters and 30% will go to the Team Masters.

Although the program was set to begin today, there has already been a great deal of interest. There are 43 teams that have been created prior to the November 15th start of the GPL from such nations as Afghanistan, Spain, Germany, Canada, Russia, and the United States. Although only nine teams have been fully completed, it’s expected that all teams will be filled as competition continues.

Almost 9,200 players have signed up for the Singles competition. The GPL breaks down the numbers by gender (men heavily outnumber women), age (over one-third of the players are 21 to 29), and country. These numbers also should only grow as the competition heats up.

Another key feature of the GPL is a special forum for players. This forum allows GPL participants to talk smack against other players or teams, discuss the competition on the leaderboards, or just talk about poker. The forums are available in five different languages: English, German, Russian, Spanish, and Croatian.

Visit UB.com for more details.

NAPT L.A.: Guinther Leads, Stars Threaten

Heading into Day 3 Monday it's Jimmie Guinther who holds the lead with fellow American Travis Pearson closely in tow.

Team PokerStars Canada Pro Anh Van Nguyen, 2010 WSOP Main Event 28th place finisher Bryn Kenney, two-time WSOP final tablist Mike Sowers and 2006 WSOP Main Event third-place finisher Michael Binger are all in the top ten.

Online pro Carter King was the bubble boy as they pushed into the money 10 minutes into the final level of the day Sunday.

Those who cashed but did not advance to Day 3 include Shannon Shorr, James Van Alstyne, Eric Baldwin, Adam Junglen, Kristy Gazes, and Dan Schreiber.

Triple crown winner Gavin Griffin, WSOPE bracelet winner Phil Laak and Team PokerStars Pro and PokerListings blogger Jason Mercier are among those still in contention.

NAPT L.A. drew 701 players to the Bicycle Casino, creating a $3.2 million prize pool with $725,000 reserved for first.

A winner will be crowned Nov. 17.

WSOP Main Event Final Table Viewership Falls 30%

According to TVByTheNumbers.com, the number of viewers tuned into the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event fell 30% this year to 1.563 million. Last year, 2.2 million viewers watched the spectacle, which airs annually on ESPN. On Tuesday, ESPN aired the final table in the 10:00pm ET time slot, whereas past installments had been shown one hour prior at 9:00pm ET.

The broadcast scored a 0.6 rating among adults age 18 to 49, a key demographic for mainstream advertisers. In addition, a total of 1.1 million households tuned into the 125-minute broadcast that saw Jonathan Duhamel become the first WSOP Main Event champion from Canada. Duhamel bested the second largest Main Event field ever assembled and trumped Floridian John Racener heads-up to pull down an $8.9 million grand prize. For his troubles, Racener earned $5.5 million.

Duhamel not only became the first Canadian Main Event winner, but he also was the first player since Jamie Gold to take down the $10,000 buy-in tournament after entering the final table as the chip leader. Gold ran nearly wire-to-wire at the final table, whereas Duhamel sputtered, but the Canuck ultimately doubled up three-handed when his pocket queens held against Joseph Cheong’s A-7. Cheong 6bet all-in before the flop and Duhamel called all-in to win the largest pot in WSOP history, worth nearly 180 million. He took a 6:1 chip lead into heads-up play against Racener.

The final table lasted just over two hours on ESPN. If you set your DVR for exactly two hours, then you missed the final card that fell in the 2010 Main Event and the celebration that followed. The tournament, which was paused in July when nine players remained, took about 17 hours of real time to conclude and spanned three days. One-hundred members of the poker media and thousands of fans from around the world descended on the Nevada desert to watch it unfold.

Despite the number of viewers declining in 2010, ESPN officials remained optimistic that poker would continue to be a cornerstone of the network’s programming. An ESPN representative told Poker News Daily, “We have seen some declines in our viewership this season and are looking into possible causes and solutions. Overall, the WSOP continues to rate well among our programs and Tuesday’s WSOP final table telecast was the third most-watched program of the night on ESPN.”

ESPN officials also noted that the streaming feed found on ESPN3.com was well received: “Our live streaming of the telecast on ESPN3.com, Saturday through Tuesday, delivered some strong numbers with 61,266 unique viewers for a total of 136,600 hours consumed and an average time spent of two hours and 14 minutes per unique viewer.”

ESPN3.com carried live coverage of the final table complete with commentary from a variety of poker pros. However, hole cards were not shown until the broadcast aired on ESPN on Tuesday night. On pushing the start of the final table back to 10:00pm ET, ESPN officials told us, “We do not feel that this affected the ratings and we have in fact remained consistent in viewership the entire year. We remain bullish on poker and look forward to next season.” Prior installments of the 2010 WSOP on ESPN aired at 9:00pm ET and served as a lead-in for “SportsCenter.”

In August, ESPN and WSOP executives inked a new seven-year agreement to keep the poker series on the “Worldwide Leader in Sports” until 2018. The deal called for at least 32 hours of new WSOP programming on ESPN every year with premieres and repeats airing on stations like ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, ESPN.com, ESPN360.com, ESPN Mobile TV, and ESPN International.

This year’s Main Event was second only to the 2006 installment in size and drew 7,319 players to create a total prize pool of nearly $70 million. The top eight players became poker-made millionaires. Check out all of Poker News Daily’s 2010 WSOP Main Event coverage.

APPT Lands on Island Paradise

The Shangri-La Mactan Resort in the Filipino Island paradise saw 75 players enter the 100,000 PHP ($2,165 USD) event.

A total of 37 survived the six levels of play on the day with Aussie PokerStars Qualifier Andrew Hinrichsen grabbbing the overnight lead.

Fellow PokerStars qualifiers Kevin Park from Canada and Jukka Juvonen from Finland round out the top three.

A significantly larger group is expected for the Asia Pacific Poker Tour Cebu's second Day 1 flight Saturday, including Team PokerStars Pros Celina Lin, Raymond Wu, Bryan Huang and 2009 and 2010 ANZPT Player of the Year Tony Hachem.

APPT Cebu runs through Nov. 16.

WSOP 2010 Champion Jonathan Duhamel

Congratulations to Jonathan Duhamel who has won the coveted champions bracelet plus a cheque for a life changing $8.9m!

Jonathan Duhamel is a 23 year old from Quebec who is so proud to be the first WSOP Champion to come from Canada he says it is a ‘dream come true right now’.

Jonathan Duhamel is a PokerStars player and his smiling face (more…)

Bookmark to:

The WSOP on ESPN: O Canada!

RUNURAGGED Breaks Down UB.com Jackpot Win

Recently, one member of UB.com hit the jackpot, literally. “RUNURAGGED” earned $201,000 after quad queens cracked his quad nines to ignite the Bad Beat Jackpot on the CEREUS Network site. Poker News Daily caught up with “RUNURAGGED” to discuss the life-changing hand.

Poker News Daily: Thanks for joining us. Tell us the bad beat story! What happened?

RUNURAGGED: I logged onto UB.com one morning to see that the Bad Beat Jackpot was over $550,000. I also saw that I had $0 on the site. I got my credit card and deposited $44 for a tournament they run everyday, the goal being to final table it and have a bankroll to play cash games. I was quite confident I could do this because it was $4,000 guaranteed and had about 150 runners. I finished in sixth place for $270 or so; there was my bankroll for $50nl short stacking.

I proceeded to take a break and logged back on at about 10:00pm. I opened up nine tables and put $10 on each to have lots of chances to hit and not run out of money before the Bad Beat Jackpot popped. I was playing away, folding most pairs under sevens since they do not qualify for the Jackpot if you lose with them, and picked up pocket nines under the gun in the bottom left-hand table. I shoved $10 and it folded to one of the blinds, who snap called with pocket queens.

The board ran out 9-9-X rainbow, so I flopped quad nines, but basically had no chance for a Bad Beat Jackpot except for the obvious runner-runner quads. I watched as the turn slowly came a queen and was thinking in my head, “Wow, I’ve had this happen before and the river came a brick. I bet that happens again.” The river came a queen.

It took my brain about 10 seconds to process that I had actually won, as the table froze once the Jackpot hit to calculate the prizes and determine that it was a legitimate hand.  Within about five minutes, $201,000 was in my account and I was talking to a VIP host. He told me exactly what to do when I asked how to cash it out. He gave all of the methods to withdraw and asked me some questions about how I was feeling and stuff like that, which was pretty cool. I faxed my information to confirm who I was for security reasons and within two or three days, I was able to play, transfer, and withdraw with freedom except for the maximum limits.

PND: How incredible was that to have happen?

RUNURAGGED: I don’t even have the words to describe the feelings I had when I saw I had won. There was a large amount of swearing and shouting at Midnight. I woke everyone up and they were very excited to see the result. I’m only 22 years old and from a middle class home in Canada. This kind of money is absolutely unreal and I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.

PND: Do you have any plans for the money?

RUNURAGGED: I’ll start making plans once I have it all in my bank account. The first successful bank wire went toward a new Alienware computer, paying off my credit card, getting a new leather office chair, and giving $7,000 to my mom for her credit cards and some extra cash for whatever small things she wants to buy. So, mostly it was just buying essentials and giving financial support to my family.

PND: Have you ever won a share of a Bad Beat Jackpot before?

RUNURAGGED: A stake-share happened to me a few times in the past, not even a table share though. I think I booked $600 one time when it went off when I was playing nine tables. That was pretty nice and I thought it was a lot of money.

PND: What stakes do you normally play? Why do you play on UB.com as opposed to other sites with Bad Beat Jackpots?

RUNURAGGED: I mostly play $0.50/$1 or $0.25/$0.50 if my bankroll is getting too small. I never had a huge bankroll to begin with and I’ve only been playing poker seriously for about two years, so it’s mostly just been playing for side money. I find UB.com to be by far the most actively played Bad Beat Jackpot on the internet. It can easily build itself up to hundreds of thousands of dollars per week. It makes sense to play there if you want to hit a Jackpot or at least get a portion of the prize when it goes off.

PND: Tell us about gunning for Bad Beat Jackpots. How can we win one?

RUNURAGGED: Generally, UB.com was not a site I frequented too often, but when I logged on to check it, which I do maybe once a week, I saw that there was a huge Bad Beat Jackpot approaching $600,000. When it’s over $500,000, it will hit eventually; it pretty much has to. Like a slot machine filled up to the brim, it’s designed to pay out a jackpot eventually once enough cash is collected.

I know it’s generally not the same mechanics, but it’s the same idea: if enough people play millions of poker hands, it has to happen eventually. I have never seen it go off above $880,000, so if you are going to try to hit it, play when it’s busy and very large. Of course, a Bad Beat Jackpot can hit when there are 75 players on at 3:00am on a Tuesday and it’s at $50,000. It’s completely random luck when it hits, but the variable chance that it hits will most certainly increase with more player activity on the site.

PND: How did you get started in poker?

RUNURAGGED: I got started messing around with online poker in late 2007 when I was 19. I asked my mom if I could play on PokerStars, as a fellow player in an online video game recommended the site to me. I put $50 online and lost it rather quickly in cash games. For the first six to 12 months, it was a learning process of figuring out what types of games I preferred: cash games, sit and gos, or tournaments. I was not very good at them all, but the sit and gos and tournaments were the easiest to win.

In the middle of 2009, I got lucky on Full Tilt Poker and binked a fourth place finish in a tournament for $7,600. I still remember that it was in a Mini Series of Poker event with a $55 buy-in. This basically funded a whole bunch of cool gadgets like an iPhone and computers. Plus, it allowed me to have a solid bankroll for low-stakes cash games.

Eventually, I got a bit better and profitable when I started using training videos and sites like DeucesCracked, CardRunners, TwoPlusTwo, and a private strategy forum with friends called UCP. They all helped me greatly since I’ve taken a serious approach to the game. About one year ago, I shifted mostly to cash games and a few tournaments and sit and gos. My greatest calling for a future career in poker is in mid-stakes cash games, which I consider to be true poker.

Jonathan Duhamel Main Event Champion Interview

Jonathan Duhamel won the WSOP Main Event and the $8.9 million prize to go along with the coveted bracelet. Our cameras were on Duhamel as he addressed the media about twenty minutes after winning the top poker tournament of the year against John Racener.

Duhamel became the first chip leader to go on to win the Main Event since the November Nine was instituted two years ago. Originally, Dennis Phillips was the chip leader and went on to finish in third place. Last year the chip leader was Darvin Moon, who went on to finish second. It seemed appropriate that Duhamel would be this year’s chip leader and go on to win to complete the trend.

During the press conference, Duhamel addressed many of the media questions. He talked about the experience of winning the main event and how much the event title would mean to his home country of Canada. He also mentioned that he would be giving $100,000 to a local children’s related charity in his home city of Montreal. When asked if he plans to represent the poker industry, he discussed at length how he will become an ambassador for the game and full embraces the role that typically goes along with being a Main Event champion, contrary to players like Jamie Gold and Jerry Yang.

Duhamel said that he was inspired before play began that evening by the Poker Hall of Fame ceremony, which saw the inductions of legends Dan Harrington and Erik Seidel. When asked if we might one day be seeing a Duhamel run to the Hall of Fame, Duhamel laughed but said that he was inspired and it was something he would be aiming to get one day in the future.

Now that all is said and done, Jonathan Duhamel now ranks as one of the highest money earners in the history of tournament poker.

Poker Industry Reacts to WSOP Main Event Results

On Monday night, Jonathan Duhamel became the first ever World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion from Canada, banking nearly $9 million following a 90-minute heads-up session against John Racener.

Despite taking second place, Racener was gracious in defeat. He posted on Twitter this afternoon, “Congratulations to Johnathan Duhamel. Still very happy with 2nd place. Would have loved to win it tho. I’ll be back to get it next year.” Racener doubled up early on in heads-up play with pocket queens against Duhamel’s K-4, but could not gain any traction from there.

Also weighing in was fellow Canadian poker player Daniel Negreanu, who, like Duhamel, is a sponsored pro of PokerStars. Negreanu Tweeted, “WSOP spoiler alert: just woke up and saw that PokerStars has now produced 6 of the last 8 WSOP champs and Canada its 1st. Congrats kid!” Negreanu and the rest of the online poker community can now watch the Main Event final table with hole cards tonight on ESPN at 10:00pm ET.

Full Tilt Poker pro Gavin Smith, who was decked out in a blue Toronto Maple Leafs hockey jersey on Monday night at the Rio, commented on Wednesday, “Congrats to Duhamel, and enough with the Canadian shots. Racener is my friend and I have never met Jonathon, besides Leaf fans detest Habs” Smith rooted on Racener in the Main Event and wore his blue hockey jersey to stand out in stark contrast to Duhamel’s fans, who were decked out in red Montreal Canadiens gear.

Also gracious despite not winning the Main Event title was Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, the tournament’s fifth place finisher. Mizrachi posted, “Waking up!! Congrats to John Duhamel!!! Well done!! Great game Racener!! It’s all over… Now it’s time to grind!! Next Stop @ Bike in LA.” The PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Los Angeles stop at The Bike, whose $5,000 Main Event begins on Friday, will be the landing spot for many in the poker community now that the WSOP has wrapped up.

Racener donated 1% of his winnings to Prevent Cancer, which Tweeted, “Congratulations and thanks to 2nd place winner of #WSOP, John Racener, for pledging 1% of poker winnings last night #2preventcancer!” Ninth place finisher Soi Nguyen also pledged 1% of his earnings to the organization.

Before the Main Event’s conclusion kicked off on Monday night, Erik Seidel and Dan Harrington were inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame. DoylesRoom namesake Doyle Brunson gave the introductory remarks for the former and commented via Twitter that he wasn’t a fan of public speaking. Now, “Texas Dolly” and a host of poker pros are in transit to the Dominican Republic for the Punta Cana Poker Classic. Brunson chirped, “Off to Punta Cana. We got two great pros into the Poker HOF last night. Next year Barry Greenstein goes in. Anybody want to bet no?”

Pulling for Joseph Cheong throughout the Main Event final table was Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Linda Johnson. Cheong wore a patch for Poker Gives and nearly claimed the title, ultimately busting out in third place. Johnson Tweeted on Saturday as play passed the dinner break, “Go Joseph Cheong… He caught a river card he needed, though he did start with best hand.”

On the popular poker forum PocketFives.com, a November Nine sweat thread attracted over 500 responses. Duhamel received a fair share of flak on the site, but one poster defended the first Canadian Main Event winner: “I’m surprised how much hate Duhamel is getting. Mostly from him beating Affleck, but hey sh!t happens in poker. So far from what I’ve seen/read, I think Duhamel played a great FT. Overall it was a great FT! It’s a shame Cheong or Mizrachi didn’t make it HU, but I think Racener played a great short stack when it was 7 handed to make it HU.” Racener is a longtime PocketFives.com member.

Check out our 2010 WSOP Main Event final table coverage.

Jonathan Duhamel Wins 2010 WSOP Main Event

It’s all over. Jonathan Duhamel is the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion. Duhamel became the first Canadian Main Event winner and has a throng of fans decked out in red hockey jerseys here at the Penn and Teller Theater at the Rio going bonkers. Duhamel banked $8.9 million, which he’ll need to convert to his home currency. ESPN is currently in the stands taking b-roll of Duhamel supporters. Racener earned $5.5 million, a healthy consolation prize.

In the 2010 WSOP Main Event’s final hand, John Racener was all-in with K-8 of diamonds and up against the A-J of Duhamel. Racener being all-in brought the crowd to its feet and both players leaned on the table to see a flop of 4-4-9. Tournament Director Jack Effel reminded the audience of Racener’s outs to a double up. An ace on the turn would end the Main Event and any other card would leave Racener drawing to six outs on the river.

The turn was a six and the river was a five, bringing the 2010 WSOP Main Event to a close just 90 minutes after it began. Racener sought comfort from his family and Duhamel was lifted off his feet and began crowd surfing on stage. The scene was reminiscent of an Ozzy Osbourne concert. Duhamel looked to the sky, let out an exuberant scream, and posed for pictures with his $8.9 million bounty. Then, a Canadian flag was brought onto the Penn and Teller Theater stage, which Duhamal proudly waved.

The crowd chanted “Show some skin” to Duhamel in the moments after his win and began singing the words to “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye.” A short break occurred right after Duhamel’s win and Racener was brought to the ESPN filming area to the right of the presidium. In the background, Duhamel continued celebrating with his fans. Racener was outfitted with a microphone.

This was the youngest Main Event final pairing in WSOP history. Accordingly, it became quite active following the first and only break of the night, with Racener’s stack slowly slipping to 10 big blinds and Duhamel putting the pressure on.

Duhamel received his gold bracelet from Effel and confetti shot out of cannons from the Orchestra level, raining down on the audience below. Duhamel raised the bracelet high above his head and a throng of media took pictures on stage. Duhamel told his fans, “Thank you to everybody for being here… Thank you to everybody. It’s so crazy right now and I don’t know what to think. Enjoy the party and it’s going to be great tonight.”

Congratulations to Duhamel and the nation of Canada on a historic night. We’ll have more reaction for you right here on Poker News Daily.

Jonathan Duhamel Heads Up Preview Interview

Jonathan Duhamel enters heads up play at the WSOP Main Event final table against John Racener with a six to one chip lead. Duhamel entered the November Nine as the prohibitive favorite with a commanding chip lead, but during the course of the night would be overtaken by both Joseph Cheong and Michael Mizrachi. However, Duhamel stay aggressive while playing big pots with big hands and was able to get a huge chip lead with play down to just two players. The winner of the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event will take in over $8.9 million while the second place finisher will take in $5.55 million.

“The atmosphere here has been great,” commented Duhamel at a press conference the day before heads up play was to begin. He added, “The support has been crazy. I have a lot of support from all those guys and they’ve all been behind me… I want to make them proud.”

A reporter asked about Duhamel’s image with the hoodie over his face and how that has helped him at the final table. Duhamel responded, “Originally I bought the hoodie and made a big score and just kept it. I was good with it, so it worked out. It helps me keep my focus and stuff like that. I don’t give off any tells I don’t think when I’m wearing it.”

When asked about the tradition that all ice hockey players share in not touching the Stanley Cup until they win it, Duhamel admitted he has refused to touch the WSOP Main Event bracelet. He talked about the fact that he is indeed a bit superstitious when it comes to those things.

Jonathan Duhamel is a sponsored pro at PokerStars and has been a heads up cash game player through his time as a professional poker player. He hails from just outside Montreal, Quebec in Canada and is 23 years old.

Poker News in Brief: Nov. 1-7

But as the November Nine played down to heads-up in Las Vegas this weekend, there were a few other stories happening in the poker world.

Since we didn't have the time or space to put many of them on the front page, we've compiled them below in our weekly Poker News in Brief feature.

This week the PCA sets a date for its Ladies Event, the USPC kicks off, a German wins in Macau and more.

PKR Reaches 4 Million

Four-year-old poker site PKR reached the 4 million customer milestone this week.

"This is a great accomplishment for us and a real achievement considering we don't take players from America," Marketing Director Simon Prodger said. "2010 has been a great year for PKR and we look forward to many more milestones in the future."

PokerStars Women's Caribbean Adventure

PokerStars is hosting another $1,100 Women's event at the 2011 PokerStars Carinbbean Adventure Jan. 14-15.

Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso won the event in January 2010 for $25,000, besting a field of 91 players that created an $88,270 prize pool.

Online satellite buy-ins start from as little as $2 or 500 Frequent Player Points on PokerStars.

German Wins Macau Poker Cup

Germany's Julian Hasse took down the Macau Poker Cup Championship at Casino Grand Lisboa this weekend.

Hasse bested a record field of 254 players to book the win and HKD $1,064,000 first prize.

"I still can't believe it, I'm speechless!" Hasse said.

Here's how the final table finished up:

1 Julian Hasse HKD $1,064,000

2 Kelly Flynn HKD $729,000

3 Wee Yee Tan HKD $440,000

4 Chi Chen HKD $347,000

5 Takashi Ogura HKD $278,000

6 Nathanael Seet HKD $231,000

7 Kristian Lunardi HKD $185,000

8 Renyong "Richard" Hu HKD $139,000

9 William Pastout HKD $116,000

Jack Links Inks WSOP Sponsor Deal

Jack Link’s Beef Jerky and the WSOP have signed a new multi-year sponsorship agreement that will keep the jerky king as presenting sponsor of the event.

The tournament will continue to be known as the World Series of Poker Presented by Jack Link’s Beef Jerky.

The deal begins at the 42nd Annual World Series of Poker Presented by Jack Link’s slated to get underway at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas May 30, 2011.

“This remains a great fit between two category-leading brands,” said WSOP Vice President Ty Stewart. “We couldn’t ask for a better organization to be our lead sponsor. We love being with a market dominator that shares our sense of fun and irreverence.”

U.S. Poker Championship Kicks Off

The 2010 United States Poker Championship began at the Trump Taj Mahal Casino and Resort in Atlantic City Nov. 1.

The tournament series runs through Nov. 22 and the USPC main event will be filmed for television.

Betfair Goes Canadian

Beginning Monday Betfair Poker will be localized for all Canadians.

Customers visiting the site from Canada will see global promotions but also have exclusive visibility to Canadian specific poker promotions.

To celebrate the launch of the Canadian poker website, Betfair Poker has planned a week of promotions, featuring freerolls, guaranteed tournaments, U.S Sports merchandise giveaways, and sports events packages.

The O Canada Series will consist of 16 freerolls and small buy-in tournaments.