WSOP Goes International

With three bracelets yet to be awarded, the 2010 WSOP has attracted players from 29% more countries than the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

It's a stark contrast to when the event started in 1971 and was exclusively attended by U.S. players.

"As the World Series of Poker's overall participation levels continue to establish new records, its vast geographic reach is repeatedly evidenced by the number of countries represented here in Las Vegas," said WSOP Vice President Ty Stewart.

"To outpace exceptional international events such as the Winter Olympics, firmly establishes the WSOP as a global brand with significant long-term growth potential."

In addition international players seem to be having a high rate of success than ever before.

This year players from the U.K., Canada, Hungary, France, New Zealand, Norway and Russia all secured gold WSOP bracelets.

Praz Bansi was one of the five U.K. bracelet winners and he seemed to think that poker and the WSOP will continue to expand in foreign countries.

"I think it's growing every year," said Bansi. "They are playing the game in countries where it wasn't played a few years back. The players are getting better in different countries as well."

In total 16 of the 54 bracelets that have been awarded thus far, have gone to international players. There is a chance this could be the biggest year for international players in WSOP history.

"I think the play outside America is getting much better," said Bansi. "They're getting better in America as well but overseas they are improving by a large margin."

After 41 years Antartica is the only continent that has never been represented at the WSOP.

The 2010 WSOP continues through July 17. For comprehensive coverage of the WSOP tune in to PokerListings' Live Updates and News.

DoylesRoom Brunson 10 Candidate Dan Kelly Wins WSOP $25,000 Six-Max NLHE

In the $25,000 Six-Handed No Limit Hold’em event at the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP), six players came back on Saturday to determine a champion. Eliminated on Friday evening were favorites Carlos Mortensen (17th), Daniel Negreanu (11th), and Isaac Haxton (9th), but the final table still provided exciting action. Leading the tournament when six-handed play began was DoylesRoom Brunson 10 candidate Dan “djk123” Kelly, who held a nearly 2-1 lead over 2010 WSOP double bracelet winner Frank Kassela.

In what was the quickest final table at this year’s WSOP at 4.5 hours, Kelly was able to hold off the charge of some highly skilled pros. Eugene Katchalov was the first to depart and, while he wasn’t able to take the bracelet, Katchalov’s finish marked his fourth final table at this year’s WSOP. Eugene has banked over $500,000 for his performances over the last six weeks.

Another top player, Mikael Thuritz, was dismissed in fifth. After making the final table of the $50,000 Player’s Championship, Thuritz’s performance at this final table marked his third cash of his WSOP, with no cash lower than 13th place.

Kassela was dispatched from the final table in third place, ending what would have been a historic run at a third WSOP bracelet this year. With his finish, Kassela surged into the lead of the WSOP Player of the Year race. He currently sits with 285 points, 60 more than John Juanda and 75 more than Vladimir Shchemelev. Since only the Main Event remains, Juanda would have to finish at least third to tie Kassela; Shchemelev would have to finish second.

Canada’s Shawn Buchanan was the runner-up to Kelly, but he has to be happy with his performance at this year’s WSOP. His second place finish was his eighth cash of the year, tying him with Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler for the lead.

With the victory in Event #52, Kelly also has the chance at a very special reward. His sponsor, DoylesRoom, is currently running a battle featuring Kelly, David “Doc Sands” Sands, Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka, and Michael “Martine23” Martin for the next position with the powerful Brunson 10. Whoever garners the most points in all events at the WSOP will take the seat alongside such notable young players as Amit “amak316” Makhija, Zachary “CrazyZachary” Clark, and Chris “moorman1” Moorman:

1. Dan “djk123” Kelly (Potomac, MD) – $1,315,518
2. Shawn Buchanan (Abootsford, British Columbia) – $812,941
3. Frank Kassela (Rossville, TN) – $556,053
4. Jason Somerville (Stony Brook, NY) – $386,125
5. Mikael Thuritz (Las Vegas, NV) – $272,084
6. Eugene Katchalov (New York, NY) – $194,559

The highly popular Ante Up for Africa charity event also played out during action on Saturday. The non-bracelet event, created by Poker News Daily guest columnist Annie Duke, acclaimed actor Don Cheadle, and Norman Epstein four years ago to raise awareness about the issues in Darfur, drew in 83 players, including several top pros and many celebrities. Players such as former Main Event champion Joe Hachem, Erik Seidel, Player’s Championship winner Michael Mizrachi, and Duke joined celebrities such as talk show host Montel Williams, boxing legend Evander Holyfield, Australian footballer Shane Warne, NFL great Jerome Bettis, and “Rounders” actor Matt Damon to raise money for the cause.

Seidel and Bettis both made the final table and went out in fifth and sixth place, respectively. The final duo that battled for the championship were Carbon Poker’s Shannon Elizabeth and top pro Phil Gordon, both veterans of the Bravo poker series “Celebrity Poker Showdown.” Gordon was able to defeat Elizabeth during heads-up play and then immediately turned around and donated his winnings back to Ante Up for Africa. All totaled, the charitable tournament raised over $275,000 to support the cause that Duke and Cheadle have brought to the poker world’s attention.

1. Phil Gordon (Henderson, NV) – $129,086
2. Shannon Elizabeth (Los Angeles, CA) – $79,776
3. Aleksey Filatov (Norwood, MA) – $55,843
4. Carter Phillips (Las Vegas, NV) – $40,676
5. Erik Seidel (Las Vegas, NV) – $29,926
6. Jerome Bettis (Roswell, GA) – $22,355
7. Barry Hartheimer (New York, NY) – $17,930
8. Kyle Carlston (Henderson, NV) – $14,945
9. Claire Renaut (London, United Kingdom) – $12,843

Although the Main Event begins tomorrow, there are still four tournaments in progress. In the final $1,000 No Limit Hold’em event, David Peters leads the field into Day 3. With 47 players remaining, the final nine will be the target late this evening and the final table will play out on Monday.

The final $10,000 World Championship event (#55), Pot Limit Omaha, will determine a champion today with a staunch final table. Ludovic Lacay leads an international field that includes second place pursuer Daniel Alaei and 2007 WSOP Main Event fourth place finisher Alexander Kravchenko.

Event #56, $2,500 No Limit Hold’em, will also play deep into the night to determine a final table. Corwin “mig.com” Mackey holds a 2-1 lead over Sweden’s Christian Jeppsson when play continues this afternoon. Other notable players on the leader board include Jon “PearlJammer” Turner, Dan Shak, and Court Harrington.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the 2010 WSOP.

Full Tilt Poker Holding Rush Week Starting July 12th

From Monday, July 12th to Sunday, July 18th, Full Tilt Poker is holding Rush Week. Capitalizing on the popularity of its fast-paced Rush Poker, Full Tilt is dishing out up to $250 in cash per player along with entries into an exclusive $50,000 Rush Week Freeroll.

In honor of Rush Week, which totes “Seven Days of Speed” as its tagline, several guaranteed tournaments on Full Tilt Poker will offer a Rush Poker structure. This means that as soon as a player’s action in a hand has ended, he or she is whisked off to another table with a new set of opponents to begin a brand new hand. The lack of downtime means constant decision-making and the potential to see 300 hands per hour. Rush Poker ring games first appeared on Full Tilt back in January. In April, Rush Poker tournaments were rolled out.

There are several ways to collect cash as part of Rush Week. Players who earn at least 10 Full Tilt Points (FTPs) per day from Rush Poker games on any four days during the promotion will bank $5. If they can perform the same feat on all seven days of Rush Week, they’ll earn $10. Players who amass 100 FTPs per day on any four days during Rush Week will collect $25, while those who can generate 100 FTPs per day on all seven days will earn $50.

Finally, Full Tilt Poker members who accrue 1,000 FTPs per day on any four days during the week will receive $125. Those who can rack up 1,000 FTPs per day on all seven days will take home the grand prize of $250. Players can only take home one cash prize, meaning that the awards for racking up FTPs during Rush Week are not cumulative.

Rush Week officially starts at 00:00 ET on July 12th and ends at 23:59 ET on July 18th. Only FTPs earned in Rush Poker cash games and tournaments are eligible for reaping rewards and bonuses earned as part of Full Tilt’s Rush Week. Happy Hours, while lucrative, don’t count for this promotion.

Similar to other Full Tilt Poker promotions, players must opt into Rush Week in order to qualify. To do so, log into the Full Tilt client and click on the “Cashier” button. Then, click on “My Promotions” and select “Rush Week.” If you’re curious as to where you stand, head back to the “Rush Week” landing page.

Qualifying for the $50,000 Rush Week Freeroll is pretty simple. All you have to do is reach the final table of a Rush Poker tournament during the promotional period. Text found on Full Tilt Poker’s website highlights an important caveat to qualifying: “In Rush Poker Tournaments that do not play down to a final table, all players who win the top prize will be automatically entered into the $50,000 Rush Week Freeroll.”

The $50,000 freeroll is scheduled for Sunday, July 25th at 15:15 ET. Full Tilt has bumped up the number of Rush Poker tournaments on the docket during the week in order to allow plenty players to qualify for the freeroll. Players are automatically entered to the $50,000 freebie, eliminating the hassle of having to register manually.

Full Tilt happily accepts players from the United States and is the world’s second largest online poker site, trailing only PokerStars. Its fleet of sponsored pros includes 2009 World Series of Poker November Niner Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer, and Chris Ferguson. Rush Poker is patent pending in the United States, the European Union, Australia, and Canada. Visit Full Tilt Poker today.

Home Stretch - Day 35 WSOP Recap

We saw a slew of poker's greats surround the halls of the Rio Pavilion, with both the $25k Six-Handed No-Limit Championship and $10k PLO Championships in play.

The $1.5k Limit Shootout also played down to the final table and the final eight are set to play for the bracelet tomorrow.

Here's a look around Day 35 at the WSOP:

Event 51 - $3k Triple Chance

The heads-up finale came down to two online wizards battling it out for a bracelet in a big-time live poker event.

Ryan Welch defeated fellow online pro Jon Eaton to take down the bracelet and first-place cash of $559,371.

The win gives Welch the first WSOP bracelet of his career to add to his numerous big online scores.

Other notable money finishers included Will "The Thrill" Failla (fourth), Tommy Vedes (seventh) and James Akenhead (17th).

Event 52 - $25k No-Limit Hold'em Six-Max

As expected, the WSOP's newest high buy-in event is playing out as a showcase for poker's best and wealthiest.

Daniel Negreanu, Carlos Mortensen, Heather Sue Mercer, Eugene Katchalov, Justin Bonomo and Bryn Kenney are among the 18 players still in contention heading into Day 3.

John Juanda was the unfortunate bubble boy, busting in 19th place. Juanda's elimination may have lasting implications for the WSOP Player of the Year race as Frank Kassela survived in this event and will get at least five POY points tomorrow.

Play resumes at 3 p.m. Friday. It's a four-day event and the final table is scheduled for Saturday. First place will pay out an epic $1.3 million.

Event 53 - $1.5k Limit Shootout

The final eight is set for this Limit Shootout event, which comes back at 2:30 p.m. Friday to determine a champion.

Canada's Terrence Chan is in the mix as is Jonathan "FieryJustice" Little as the players vie for the first-place prize of $184,950.

Notable cash finishers busted out on Day 2 included Theo Tran and Marcel Luske.

Event 54 - $1k No-Limit Hold'em

A huge turnout filled the Pavilion Room, as 2,340 players came out for Day 1A.

There were a few familiar faces amongst the mass chaos, as Allen "Chainsaw" Kessler, Liv Boeree, Shannon Shorr and Kara Scott all made it through to Day 2.

Day 1b of this event commences at noon Friday.

Event 55 - $10k Pot-Limit Omaha Championship

The final $10k event before the Main Event, the $10k PLO World Championship began Thursday with 346 players.

The roster of players in the field reads like a poker who's who, with David Benyamine, Greg Raymer, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson and Men "The Master" Nguyen all still in the game.

None other than Tom "durrrr" Dwan is also among the chip leaders along with former November Niner James Akenhead and Annette Obrestad.

Day 2 resumes at 3 p.m. Friday.

To view how the day played out in more detail as well as see blogs, news and videos from the Series, click through to PokerListings WSOP 2010 coverage.

WSOP Live!

Check out PokerListings' WSOP Live! The most star studded and entertaining daily WSOP recap in the industry:

Gavin Smith Wins First World Series of Poker Bracelet

In the $2,500 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Mixed Event – featuring levels that alternate between Limit Hold’em and No Limit Hold’em – nine players came back on Saturday afternoon to determine a champion. Jarred Solomon held a slim lead over Full Tilt Poker’s Gavin Smith when play began, with WSOP Circuit terror Dwyte Pilgrim sitting on the short stack. Starting with Limit Hold’em, the players wasted little time in getting down to business.

Within the first three hours, three players were dispatched from the event. Pilgrim could never get any traction to make a drive at a WSOP bracelet, departing the final table in eighth place. 2007 British Columbia Poker Championship victor Daniel Idema, who came to the felt as the second shortest stack, was also a victim of the early action before leaving the event in seventh place.

Solomon was felted prior to the dinner break by Danny Hannawa and finished in sixth place. After dinner, Hannawa held a 240,000-chip lead over Timothy Finne, Jamie Rosen, Smith, and Michael Michnik. With the game changed to No Limit, several players became more aggressive, attempting to be the last man standing.

Hannawa dumped Rosen in fifth place, at which time Smith took over play. The Canadian aggressively took chips from Michnik and, in a key hand, assumed the chip lead from Hannawa when Smith, holding A-Q, flopped a queen and Hannawa couldn’t beat him. He continued to pound the pot with bets as the game switched to Limit, when he was able to vanquish Michnik in fourth.

After Hannawa was able to defeat Michnik at the end of the Limit level, heads-up play began in No Limit with Smith holding a 400,000-chip edge over Hannawa. After decimating Hannawa with a pair of eights on a 4-2-8-K-10 board, Smith saw fortune fall his way on the final hand. Hannawa committed the remainder of his chips holding a 10-8. After Smith called with his suited A-Q and the board ran A-K-2-J-J, he dropped the “best player to never win a bracelet” tag from his name by winning Event #44:

1. Gavin Smith (Las Vegas, NV) – $268,238
2. Danny Hannawa (Farmington Hills, MI) – $166,050
3. Timothy Finne (Fanwood, NJ) – $110,324
4. Michael Michnik (Hollywood, FL) – $81,871
5. Jamie Rosen (Las Vegas, NV) – $61,441
6. Jarred Solomon (Johannesburg, South Africa) – $46,562
7. Daniel Idema (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) – $35,601
8. Dwyte Pilgrim (Brooklyn, NY) – $27,438
9. Mike Santoro (Egg Harbor, NJ) – $21,304

In Event #45, another $1,500 No Limit Hold’em tournament, 35 players will return on Sunday afternoon to determine a champion. Sam Trickett, who was the runner-up to Jason DeWitt in the $5,000 No Limit event, holds the chip lead with several notable names in the mix behind him. 2010 WSOP bracelet winner Dutch Boyd sits in fifth, with Paul “X-22” Magriel, Alex Outhred, and Tim “tmay420” West just off the top 10.

Twenty-one players will return for Day 3 in the $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo event, which will probably run deep into Monday morning to determine a champion. Sergey Altbregin leads the tournament when the cards fly this afternoon, but a host of top pros are still in the mix. In second place is David “DevilFish” Ulliott, with Dan Shak and Chris Bell also in the top five. A blast from the past in the top 10 is Leif Force, who is known for his 11th place finish in the 2006 WSOP Main Event. Add in other pros such as Rob Hollink, Dan Heimiller, Allen Kessler, Andy Black, “Miami” John Cernuto, and Erik Seidel and the final day of this tournament will be one to watch.

Two tournaments opened up play on Saturday, with the first Day 1 of the latest $1,000 No Limit Hold’em event pulling in 1,759 entries. 310 players survived the carnage on Saturday to come back for Day Two on Monday. The final size of the field will be determined with the second Day 1 taking place on Sunday.

In Day One of the $2,500 Mixed Event, 453 players stepped up to test themselves against one of the toughest formats in poker. 192 will come back for Day 2 today, with Jared Jaffee holding the overnight chip lead. $50,000 Player’s Championship winner Michael Mizrachi is in fifth place, with other stars of the game such as Luca Pagano, Brandon Cantu, Steve Billirakis, Dario Alito, Alex Kravchenko, Scott Seiver, Andrew Robl, and 2010 double bracelet winner Frank Kassela all in the top 20.

While these tournaments all are featuring a great deal of star power, they will be dwarfed by the only tournament that starts today. The WSOP Tournament of Champions, which features 27 of the biggest names in the poker world, opens up play Sunday at Noon PT.

It looks to be a battle of the online poker rooms, as nine members of the Full Tilt Poker stable (Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, Allen Cunningham, John Juanda, Seidel, Jennifer Harman, Huck Seed, Howard Lederer and Mike Matusow) will hit the felt against six PokerStars pros (Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein, Greg Raymer, Joe Hachem, Joe Cada, and Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier). Team UB sends its most prominent representatives in Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke, while Doyle Brunson represents DoylesRoom. Defending Tournament of Champions titleholder Mike Sexton will carry the PartyPoker banner as he attempts to repeat.

It all makes for one of the busiest Sundays during the run of this year’s World Series of Poker.

Five-Star Canada win 5th WSOP bracelet: Day 30 Recap

Another four absorbing contests also took place, with Devilfish and Hellmuth facing off mano to mano in event 46.

Here's how it played out.

Event 44 - $2.5k Mixed Hold'em

Nine of the original 507 players showed up for Day 3 of what proved a dramatic and hotly-contested final table.

Danny Hannawa started the day as the chip leader with Gavin Smith directly behind him on the leaderboard.

Smith was able to quickly snatch the chip lead and the heads-up saw him face off against Hannawa for the bracelet.

Following a protracted battle, Smith kept his nerve to earn his first, and Canada's fifth, bracelet of the series - as well as collecting $268,238 in prize money.

"Now I'm part of that club I've always wanted to be a part of," said Smith after adding a WSOP bracelet to his trophy cabinet.

To read more about Smith's historic win - see PokerListings' extended news story.

Event 45 - $1.5k No-Limit Hold'em

Day 2 of the $1.5k saw the remaining players reconvene in a bid to play down to the final table.

That was always likely to prove a difficult task, though by the time the allotted 10 levels were in the bag, the players had played through to the money spots of the tournament.

35 players made it through the day and when they return tomorrow, it will be Englishman Sam Trickett - who narrowly missed out on a bracelet earlier in the series - who holds the chip lead, with 2010 bracelet-winner Dutch Boyd also well in contention to win the massive $721,373 first prize and WSOP bracelet.

Event 46 - $5k Pot-Limit Omaha/8

A host of stars were still in the running for day 2 of this split event and a grinding day of poker saw the 130 remaining players finally whittled down to just 21.

Big names such as Mike Matusow, Howard Lederer and Bruno Fitoussi hit the rails during a tough day's play.

During the day, Dave "Devilfish" Ulliott levered his way almost to the summit of the leaderboard, knocking an aggravated Phil Hellmuth out along the way.

It will be Sergey Altbregin however who will be best primed for a run at the bracelet when the surviving players return to play it out for the win at 2.30 p.m. tomorrow.

Event 47 - $1k No-Limit Hold'em

Another NLHE donkament on the WSOP 2010 schedule saw 1,759 players turn up for Day 1a to take their shot at glory.

A rapid-fire day played out, and by the close a number of players with well-founded reputations - including Antonio Esfandiari, Scott Montgomery and Matt Glantz - had made their mark on the tournament, well-placed near the summit of the leaderboard.

The 270 odd who made it through the day will hook up in two days' time with the survivors from tomorrow's Day 1b - which will begin at 12:00 p.m. sharp.

Event 48 - $2.5k Mixed

An encouragingly-large field of 453 arrived to contend the $2.5k Mixed title, and by the close of play, 192 of those still had some chips remaining.

The end-of-day top ten leaderboard was peppered with star quality and when the players return at 2.30 p.m. tomorrow, Jared Jaffe will be just ahead of the likes of Justin "BoostedJ" Smith, EPT super-casher Luca Pagano and player of the year contender Michael Mizrachi - as well as many other hihgly talented mixed game specialists.

More information on day 29 of the WSOP, including news, blogs and videos can be found by accessing PokerListings' dedicated WSOP 2010 section.

Smith Breaks WSOP Duck With 1st Bracelet Win

After many years of trying, Smith has finally laid his WSOP ghosts to rest after triumphing in the $2.5k Mixed Hold'em Event at the 2010 World Series Of Poker.

"I always thought I was going to come back and I always thought I was going to win," said a beaming Smith following his victory for $268,238.

Canadian Smith has accumulated an impressive $5 million in poker winnings during his 16 year poker career, including 4 WPT final tables and an outright WPT victory at the 2005 Mirage Poker Showdown.

However, despite this success, two previous runner-up spots on WSOP final tables may have left Smith wondering if he would ever be able to seal the deal at poker's primetime series.

His early form in the 2010 WSOP looked unlikely to see him break his World Series duck - but then everything fell into place.

"This year, I thought I'm gonna try my best and you know what, I kept coming in and getting my teeth kicked in," said Smith.

"I wasn't seeing the results, then the last three days, everything's just clicked and I felt like I played really well, I ran really well and it felt really special."

When asked if the bracelet would change him in any way, Smith's answer was emphatic.

"The bracelet doesn't really change anything," he said. "I'm going to come back tomorrow the same guy. It's just now I'm part of that club I've always wanted to be a part of."

Part of Smith's enduring popularity is his down-to-earth attitude toward his many successes and he showed humility following his hard-fought victory.

"I'm an old guy from Ontario who used to drive taxis - now I'm sitting here with hundreds of people coming out to watch me play poker while I win $200,000," said Smith.

"There's nothing in my life that can be considered a curse....every single minute of it is a blessing."

Smith's win brought Canada level with the United Kingdom on the 2010 WSOP bracelet leaderboard - both countries holding five bracelets apiece now.

(With files from Jackie Witt)

To read more about how this exciting tournament played out, as well as see other news from the World Series, visit PokerListings WSOP 2010 page to keep up to date.

PokerStars Restricts French Online Poker Play

Effective June 24th, action on PokerStars.com for French players was blocked due to new regulations put in place by the country’s government. A popup that appeared for French users read in part, “All money in PokerStars accounts is 100% safe and is available for withdrawal. You can choose to cash out now if you prefer.”

Alternately, French players who wish to continue placating the virtual felts under the PokerStars banner can continue doing so on PokerStars.fr. The world’s largest online poker site explained what players can expect on the French-focused site: “We will be running free tournaments on PokerStars.fr this weekend to win seats to live French Poker Series events.” PokerStars adds that the move, while unfortunate, is “mandated by law” and the site looks forward to continuing to service French customers using its PokerStars.fr arm.

Posters on the popular online poker forum PocketFives.com reacted to the news in a thread entitled “Goodbye PokerStars! Signed: All French Players.” The PokerStars French version pits players from the European country against each other, similar to the scene in neighboring Italy. Despite French online poker players departing the worldwide market in earnest, PocketFives.com member “squintster” remained optimistic: “It seems like at least once a year for the last 5-6 years, I’ve seen some scenario that is thought to destroy online poker forever. Somehow, we always seem to come out decently strong with ever increasing numbers, so hopefully this results in the same fashion.”

Traffic on PokerStars has appeared to drop off in recent days since the ban on French players. On June 24th, the site attracted a peak of 36,566 real money ring game players according to PokerScout.com, a drop of about 10% from the 40,943 players recorded one week prior. On June 23rd, the number of cash game players topped out at 37,637, down 9% from the 41,585 the previous week. June 23rd and 24th marked the first back-to-back days that featured peak real money ring game player totals below 40,000 since May 1st to 2nd. However, whether the drop off is due to the loss of French action or some other factor remains to be seen.

According to statistics found on PokerStars’ site, its Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) attracted 27,316 entrants from France, the fourth most of any country and about 6% of the field of 462,000. The country with the most number of entrants, not surprisingly, was the United States, which contributed 147,000 players to the cause in the three-tiered tournament series.

In terms of money won, French players banked $1.62 million, good for eighth worldwide behind the United States, Canada, Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Russia. Team PokerStars France includes Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, Thomas Bichon, and Arnaud Mattern. Other popular French players include David Benyamine, Bruno Fitoussi, and Everest Poker sponsored pros Antoine Saout and Fabrice Soulier.

The PokerStars.com moratorium on French real money action went into effect at 9:30pm CET on June 24th. Earlier this month, the French Authority of Regulation of Online Games (ARJEL) granted gaming licenses to outfits like Unibet, Everest Poker, and the parent company of bwin. Online poker licenses were granted to Pari Mutuel Urbain (the former state-run outlet for gaming), Sajoo, SPS France Betting, and Table 14. Meanwhile, Microgaming, 888, and Party Gaming were not granted licenses despite being three of the largest companies in the industry.

Paradise Poker parent company Sportingbet, Betfair, and William Hill have shut their doors to the French poker market. Keep it tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest poker legislation news from France and around the world.

2010 WSOP: The Year of the Brit

English pro Steve Jelinek is the latest British bracelet winner, taking down the $1.5k PLO High-Low Split event for a payday of $245,871.

He joins fellow countrymen Praz Bansi, James Dempsey, Richard Ashby, and Mike Ellis in the esteemed group of WSOP victors.

Jelinek's victory didn't come easy. For a moment it looked as though Hellmuth could be on the verge of a record setting 12th bracelet, especially when he hit a two outer on the river to stay alive at the final table. The cards didn't fall right for Hellmuth after that and he was eventually eliminated in 7th place.  

Jelinek is happy to share the spotlight with his countrymen, but he takes issue with fellow bracelet winner James Dempsey's belief that the British "old guard" appears to be on the way out.

"The new young [U.K.] players, so many of them are doing quite well, I am not surprised at all," Jelinek said. "But I am part of the old school."

Jelinek recognizes the magnitude of his victory, especially in light of his recent struggles. After besting the field of 847, Jelinek confessed that he had been struggling with bankroll management and poor play leading up to the WSOP.

"I've been down on my luck and my bankroll was down a bit, so I decided to come to the WSOP this year to try and get a gold bracelet and continue my poker career," a clearly relieved Jelinek said. Mission accomplished on that goal, as the $245k ought to replenish a depleted bank account.

This is Jelinek's first WSOP victory, with three prior cashes and one final table to his name.

The group of English players may not be done yet, with players such as Neil Channing, Stuart Rutter and James Aikenhead already posting deep tournament runs and appearing to be playing at the top of their games.

Canada is another country to keep an eye on as the neighbors up north already have four bracelet winners in 2010 and could tie the record set by the Brits with another victory.

Montgomery Talks First WSOP Bracelet

Scott Montgomery now has both, and the 28-year-old Canadian pro was in the house Thursday to accept his $1k No-Limit Hold'em bracelet.

After making the 2008 November Nine and cashing out for more than $3 million in a fifth-place finish, Montgomery is once again showing his mastery of the large-field events.

The Full Tilt sponsored pro outlasted the rest in a field of 3,102 players in the $1k No-Limit Hold'em event to win the bracelet, just two years after making the Main Event final table amongst a field of 6,839 players.

For Montgomery, the higher the number of entrants in the field, the better.

"I've always enjoyed playing the big-field events," Montgomery said from the Pavilion Room stage.

"Playing six or seven days in a row doesn't tire me out at all. Some people you can tell, after a couple of days they start to get run down."

"If you're not willing to play seven days in a row of 12-hour poker events, there's no reason to go into the field if the tournament is going to last that long."

Montgomery is the third former November Niner to take down a bracelet at the 2010 WSOP, following the path of Eric Buchman and Phil Ivey, both of whom made the 2009 November Nine.

"Making the November Nine, I've had a lot of opportunities to play poker," Montgomery said.

The bracelet is the fourth for Canada at the 2010 WSOP, tying the Canadians with the Brits for most bracelets from a non-U.S. country.

Montgomery was already upwards of the $3 million mark in WSOP earnings going into 2010, and his latest result will only open more eyes to the talented Canadian.

"Some people say winning the event is like proving yourself, showing people how good you are," Montgomery said. "I don't think about it that way myself."

"I know what my skills are as a player. I know what level I'm at. I'm not the best in the world but I'm good enough to get by. I play what I'm best at and I do well at it."

The 2010 WSOP continues through July 17. For comprehensive coverage live from Las Vegas tune in to PokerListings' Live Updates and News.

June 23rd – Daily Deal

It’s Wednesday here on the Daily Deal! We have some great stories from the world of poker, including the latest action from the two-thousand ten World Series of Poker. Plus, we’ll check out the latest political efforts from the Poker Players Alliance and tell you how you can win your way to watch the November Nine in sunny Las Vegas for free.

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

Another bracelet was awarded yesterday, this time in event number thirty eight, the ten thousand dollar pot limit hold’em championship. Hungarian player Valdemar Kwaysser became the second player from his country to win a bracelet this year and took in a prize of just over six hundred and seventeen thousand dollars. Notable finishes in this event include Vitaly Lunkin in twenty third and Mike “The Mouth” Matusow in twenty sixth place. Many have been saying that this year at the WSOP is the year of the Brit or even the year of the European players, but don’t be fooled, when we look at the stats there’s no question about American domination. As you can see Americans have twenty five bracelets, six times more than players from the UK and in terms of money won, have almost five times as much as the nearest nation which is Canada.

Earlier this week, two-thousand four World Series of Poker Main Event champ Greg Raymer authored an e-mail to members of the Poker Players Alliance. Raymer asked players to visit AmericaSpeakingOut.com and support the legalization and regulation of online poker. The Republican-oriented website, according to Raymer’s e-mail, focuses “on how to continue to make this great nation prosper. I believe we shouldn’t pass up this unique opportunity to share our message of personal freedom and liberty with these members of Congress.”

Raymer’s call to action worked, as the issue had received over 700 votes by mid-Tuesday. Poker players will recall that banks and other financial institutions were forced to comply with the regulations of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, or UIGEA, on June first. A mark-up hearing on legislation favorable to internet gambling is expected next month in the House Financial Services Committee. In the meantime, do your part to help legalize this great game in the United States by visiting ThePPA.org today.

Finally, Poker News Daily wants to send you – YES, YOU – to the final table of the two-thousand ten World Series of Poker Main Event in November. All you have to do is sign up for UB.com through PND between June first and July thirtieth, deposit, and generate one UB Point. When you do, you’ll automatically be entered into a freeroll on August fifteenth on UB.com. The winner will head to Las Vegas in style to watch the Main Event wrap up. The other members of the final table in the August freeroll will earn a spot in the site’s two-hundred thousand dollar Guaranteed, a two hundred fifteen dollar value. So instead of waiting to watch who wins the Main Event on ESPN from your couch, you can watch it live and in person with VIP treatment. There’s an article about the UB.com November Nine promo up on the front page of PND right now. We’ll see you in November!

That does it for today’s episode of the Daily Deal, be sure to come back all day long for the latest in poker news and for exclusive interviews with the biggest names in the industry. This is Sean Gibson, and I’ll see you next time right here on the Daily Deal.

ESPN: No Decision Made Whether to Broadcast NAPT Los Angeles

In 146 days, the fourth stop on the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) will pan out from the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles. The tournament, which kicks off on November 12th, will crown a champ five days later. Still undecided is whether ESPN, which aired NAPT action from the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, Venetian, and Mohegan Sun, will also broadcast the Bicycle Casino event.

An ESPN representative told Poker News Daily, “There is nothing in the works yet, but our programming team expects to meet with PokerStars on possibilities.” At the time of writing, no decision has been passed down as to whether NAPT Los Angeles will air on the cable giant, which carries related programming like the World Series of Poker (WSOP) and WSOP Europe every year.

The five-day Main Event in Los Angeles will carry a $5,000 buy-in, the same price tag as other U.S.-based NAPT stops. Despite potentially not having television coverage, a representative of The Bike commented in a press release distributed by PokerStars, “We are very enthusiastic to secure the West Coast tour stop. We clearly recognize the NAPT as the next major happening in the evolution of poker and we have no doubt this tour will entice and attract players from all over the world.”

Three months prior to the NAPT’s arrival at The Bike, the storied card room will host the annual World Poker Tour (WPT) Legends of Poker. The 2010 running of the WPT Legends of Poker is slated for August 20th to 25th, but in a new twist, the event will come with a $5,200 buy-in, one of the cheapest on the WPT schedule. Meanwhile, NAPT officials are expecting a sellout at The Bike, which drew 279 players for its 2009 Legends of Poker event.

In April and May, ESPN aired action from the NAPT Venetian High Roller Bounty Shootout and Main Event, Mohegan Sun High Roller Bounty Shootout and Main Event, and PokerStars Caribbean Adventure High Roller tournament. A total of 10 hours of NAPT coverage aired, hosted by longtime ESPN poker faces Lon McEachern and Norman Chad.

Harrison Gimbel won a record-setting PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event in the Bahamas, collecting $2.2 million. Back on U.S. soil, the inaugural NAPT Venetian Main Event drew 872 players and Tom “kingsofcards” Marchese emerged victorious and banked $827,000. Then, 21 year-old Ashton Griffin landed in the top spot in the High Roller Event at the Las Vegas Strip casino for $560,000.

The NAPT then traveled to Mohegan Sun in Connecticut in April, where Yale law student Vanessa Selbst defeated over 700 players for the title. In addition, more than 20 countries were represented. Finally, Team PokerStars Pro member Jason Mercier brought home the High Roller title at Mohegan Sun for $475,000. The victory marked Mercier’s second High Roller title at a PokerStars sponsored event in two years.

In addition to the NAPT, PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site, also manages the European Poker Tour (EPT), Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT), Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT), Australia New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT), U.K. and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT), Czech-Slovak Poker Tour (CSPT), Italian Poker Tour (IPT), and poker series in Russia, Spain, and France. Its “Big Game” cash game franchise can be seen nightly during the week on Fox.

According to Pokerati, the future of NAPT stops in Las Vegas appears to be in doubt due to the involvement of PokerStars. Other alternative landing spots for the NAPT include Chicago, Tunica, Biloxi, Atlantic City, and St. Louis. The latter is home to PokerStars pro Dennis Phillips and features Harrah’s, Isle of Capri, and Lumiere Place. Also potentially on tap is an NAPT stop in Canada.

Matt Keikoan Captures Second Bracelet, Miguel Proulx Wins First At WSOP

A busy Thursday at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) saw one of the most underrated players in the game capture his second bracelet and the crowning of a fresh face from north of the border.

In Event #28, the $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha tournament, 12 players from the original starting field of 596 returned for play on Thursday afternoon to determine a champion. The survivors of two days of battle reflected the international nature of the WSOP, with five Americans, two Frenchmen, two Germans, and Bulgaria, the United Kingdom, and Canada also represented among the players. Canada’s Miguel Proulx was at the head of the field with a chip count of 877,000, but he faced a serious challenge from France’s Patrick Hanoteau.

The action at the table started as soon as the cards hit the air, with the final table determined in slightly under two hours. Once Matthew Reid, top professional grinder Joe Serock, and Dilyan Kovachev were eliminated short of the final table, Hanoteau was able to seize a slim 1,000 chip lead over Proulx. Hanoteau would not enjoy his chip lead for long, however.

Once the final table began, Hanoteau became a victim of tough cards and tougher players. After turning the straight against Tommy Le’s set, Hanoteau was a victim of the river when Le filled up his boat, doubling up Le. He then doubled up actor Michael Greco and Karl Gal in a ten-minute span, chopping his chip stack down to 115,000. He would depart the tournament soon afterward in ninth place.

Hanoteau was the only player to depart before the dinner break, with Le assuming the lead of the tournament with eight players remaining. After the players came back, the action ratcheted up as Le fell victim to the same circumstances as Hanoteau, departing in eighth at the hands of Proulx. The Canadian continued to apply the pressure to the final table, eliminating four of the remaining players to reach the heads-up fight against L.J. Klein.

Klein held an approximate one million chip lead over Proulx at the start of heads-up play, but over the span of the 45-minute heads-up match, Proulx was able to assume the lead. On the final hand, Proulx was able to trap Klein into committing his chips while Proulx held the nut flush. After the three days of play, Proulx walked away with his first WSOP bracelet and the third bracelet for Canada.

1. Miguel Proulx (St. Charles, Quebec) $313,311
2. L. J. Klein (Golden, CO) $195,147
3. Michael Greco (London, United Kingdom) $129,691
4. Stephane Tayar (St. Mande, France) $96,243
5. Joerg Engels (Cologne, Germany) $72,227
6. Karl Gal (Munchen, Germany) $54,736
7. Trevor Pope (Gainesville, FL) $41,850
8. Tommy Le (Tustin, CA) $32,254
9. Patrick Hanoteau (Chauconin, France) $25,044

The marquee event on Thursday was the finale of the $10,000 Limit Hold’em World Championship. Thirteen players returned to the felt Thursday afternoon from the 171 players who began the tournament to determine the champion. There were no weak players in sight, with Kyle Ray and Daniel Idema leading a field that included Jameson Painter, Player’s Championship bracelet holder Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, David Chiu, Brock Parker, and Matt Keikoan.

After two hours of play, the remainder of the field made the final table with the elimination of David Baker (eleventh) and Anh Van Nguyen (tenth) as the unfortunate bubble players. Painter held a 300,000 chip advantage over Ray when the final table started, but Idema was able to seize the lead over the duo at the dinner break. When the players came back to the table, Keikoan began his drive to take his second bracelet.

After an hour of play, Keikoan surpassed the chip leaders and continued to apply pressure. He eliminated Painter in fourth place and dispatched Ray in third to reach heads-up competition against Idema. After an hour of heads-up action, Keikoan lost his chip lead, as Idema worked his way to a 3:1 advantage. Keikoan was able to reverse his fortunes over the next hour, however, and the duo continued to swap the chip lead as the final table worked into the early hours of Friday.

After a five-hour heads-up fight, Keikoan was able to seize the advantage and eliminate Idema. After being crippled, Idema tabled an innocuous 4-2 and Keikoan showed a suited A-7; the board brought no miracles for Idema and gave Matt Keikoan his second WSOP bracelet.

1. Matt Keikoan (San Rafael, CA) $425,969
2. Daniel Idema (Vancouver, British Columbia) $263,243
3. Kyle Ray (Fayetteville, GA) $190,701
4. Jameson Painter (Las Vegas, NV) $140,760
5. Brock Parker (Silver Springs, MD) $105,782
6. Zvi Groysman (Thornhill, Ontario) $80,884
7. Simon Morris (Victoria, Austria) $62,897
8. Michael Mizrachi (Miramar, FL) $49,732
9. David Chiu (Las Vegas, NV) $39,959

Four other events were in action inside the Rio on Thursday, with several top pros in the hunt for WSOP bracelets. In Event #30, the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em tournament, Christopher Gonzales heads the 21 players remaining in the battle. Top pros Neil “Bad Beat” Channing and Jean “Prince” Gaspard are lurking in the middle of the pack, both looking for their first WSOP bracelet.

The $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. tournament has 24 players remaining, with Russia’s Konstantin Puchkov leading the remaining field. There are plenty of challengers for Puchkov, with several notable names in hot pursuit. Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy, Robert Mizrachi, Allen Kessler, Al “Sugar Bear” Barbieri, James Van Alstyne, and Chip Jett are all involved in what should be an exciting final table.

Event #32, the $5,000 Six-Handed No Limit Hold’em event, finished Day Two with 116 runners remaining from its 568 starters. Christian “charder30” Harder is the chip leader over Tony Dunst, but none other than Phil Ivey is holding down eighth place when play continues today. Also still on the front page of the leaderboard are Isaac Haxton, Jennifer Harman, Chad Brown, and Men “The Master” Nguyen.

The $2,500 Pot Limit Hold’em/Omaha mixed game drew 482 players for its Day One action. Justin Smith holds an approximate 45,000 chip lead over Tyler Patterson, but what is most impressive is that Ivey is also in this event. He currently sits in 35th place, but will probably have to make a decision early as to whether to pursue the Event #32 bracelet or play for this one. Also in the mix in Event #33 are Andrew Black, Ross Boatman, Rob Hollink, and defending WSOP Player of the Year Jeffrey Lisandro.

Two tournaments will be initiating play on Friday, the $1,000 Seniors (50 and over) No Limit tournament and the $10,000 Heads-Up World Championship. The latter should be a pro-laden field, as it is capped at 256 players and offers an excellent opportunity at a bracelet. Even if the Heads-Up tournament weren’t occurring, there is still plenty of action for the railbirds at the Rio as the World Series of Poker rolls on.

WSOP Seniors’ Event Hosts Biggest, Softest Field Ever

A whopping 3,142 entrants turned out and put up the $1k buy in for a chance to win 487x their investment and a coveted WSOP bracelet.

Whether you believe it or not, there seems to be a perception that the 50 and older crowd makes for a softer tournament field than the typical open event.

"There is a lot of old, dead money in this field," said L.S. Love, an amateur player who traveled from Santa Fe, New Mexico for this event.

Most of the people we spoke to expressed a desire to play without all of the players who have cut their teeth playing online poker.

"There are no young internet kids three and four betting all the time," said Jim Stephens, explaining why he prefers the seniors' event to other WSOP fields.

"You have to play tighter because there isn't as much bluffing going on," said Stephens. "But you also don't see players going all in and then instantly mucking their hand when they're called because they tried to bluff into a made hand."

Darren Miller of Montreal, Canada, said he identifies with both the older and younger generations. "I just turned 50 and I came up playing online, but I also played old school poker, so it's fun to bridge that gap and see both styles."

Miller said he has noticed a few areas where the older field provides him more opportunities. In addition to the toned down aggression he said that the players' tells are easier to pick up on. "If they hit their card then they're waving flags and if they miss, then you see them make a little sad face," said Miller. "It's much easier to pick up on."

Still, not everything is predictable with this field. "I have a guy at my table who limp calls everything," said Stephens. "Not because he's slow-rolling, that's just the only way he knows how to play."

Clearly there are a number of ways to capitalize on this field if you're a savvy enough player. Just don't try to go to the food court or the restroom during dinner break. Take our word for it.

2010 WSOP Attendance Up, Prize Pool Down

Thursday marked the completion of 29 events in the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP), or the halfway point. Fifty-seven bracelets will be awarded overall, culminating in November with the crowning of the Main Event champion. Whether due to the ongoing worldwide recession, a declining poker presence in the United States, or a combination of both, it’s been a mixed bag so far for Harrah’s officials.

Through 29 events of the 2010 WSOP, there have been 30,552 total entries, a rise of 6.6% from last year’s tally of 28,658 at this time. However, this year, we’ve already seen three $1,000 No Limit Hold’em tournaments, triple the number that panned out last year. This year, the total price tag for all tournaments so far is $143,000, up from last year’s tally of $137,500 through 29 events. However, a $50,000 event has already been held in 2010, whereas last year’s priciest tournament through 29 events was $40,000.

Total prize money is down slightly year-over-year. In 2010, the purse through 29 events stands at $53.6 million, down 4.8% from last year’s total of $56.3 to this point. The multitude of $1,000 buy-in events may be to blame for the lower total prize pool, as the three affordable No Limit Hold’em tournaments held so far attracted fields of 4,345, 3,042, and 3,289. Last year’s lone $1,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament, dubbed the “Stimulus Special,” generated a field of 6,012 players, the largest non-Main Event tournament in WSOP history.

The kickoff $1,500 No Limit Hold’em tournament, which began on a Tuesday last year and on a Monday this year, drew a starting grid of 2,791 in 2009 and 2,092 in 2010, a steep drop of 25%. The Ladies’ Event held strong year-over-year, with attendance of 1,054 in 2010 on par with the field of 1,060 that turned out last year. Today marks the beginning of the final non-open WSOP bracelet tournament, the $1,000 Seniors’ Event, which saw a field of 2,707 do battle in 2009.

Here are several events held so far during the 2010 and their attendance compared to 2009:

$500 Casino Employees Event
2009: 866 players
2010: 721 players
Change: -16.7%

$1,500 Omaha High-Low Split
2009: 918 players
2010: 818 players
Change: -10.9%

$10,000 Seven Card Stud World Championship
2009: 142 players
2010: 150 players
Change: +5.6%

$1,500 Pot Limit Hold’em
2009: 633 players
2010: 650 players
Change: +2.7%

$10,000 Seven Card Stud High-Low Split
2009: 164 players
2010: 170 players
Change: +3.7%

$1,500 No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed
2009: 1,459 players
2010: 1,663 players
Change: +14.0%

$2,000 Limit Hold’em
2009: 446 players
2010: 476 players
Change: +9.0%

$5,000 No Limit Hold’em
2009: 655 players
2010: 792 players
Change: +20.9%

$2,500 Limit Hold’em Six-Handed
2009: 367 players
2010: 384 players
Change: +4.6%

$1,500 Seven Card Stud High-Low Split
2009: 467 players
2010: 644 players
Change: +37.9%

Twenty of the 29 bracelets awarded in 2010 have gone to players from the United States, while three each were given to players from Great Britain and Canada. Hungary, New Zealand, and France each captured one bracelet.

Many have dubbed 2009 the “Year of the Woman;” however, the “Year of the Pro” may be a more accurate label for the WSOP. Twenty of the 29 bracelets dished out so far have been to pros, while just six amateurs have collected titles. Five players – Praz Bansi, Men “The Master” Nguyen, Dutch Boyd, Sammy Farha, David Warga, and Matt Keikoan – became repeat gold bracelet winners.

World Team Poker Signs Kathy Liebert, Cyndy Violette, Antonio Esfandiari

The roster for the 24-team World Team Poker World Championship just got a little bit bigger. Top female poker pros Kathy Liebert and Cyndy Violette have been inked to play for Team Germany, whose roster currently includes Dan Heimiller. The World Championship will take place from October 11th to 17th in Las Vegas, although a host venue has not yet been announced.

Violette has been a staple of the poker scene since the 1980s. She final tabled Ladies’ Events at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in 1985 and 1987 before winning her first bracelet in 2004 in a $2,000 Seven Card Stud High-Low Split Eight or Better tournament for $135,000. In 2005, Violette was the runner-up to Erik Seidel in a $2,000 No Limit Hold’em event for $295,000, but she has not made a final table at the WSOP in four years.

Liebert also won a bracelet in 2004, taking down a $1,500 Limit Hold’em Shootout for $110,000 in a final table that included Brock “t soprano” Parker, Kevin Song, and Joe Cassidy. Liebert finished third in the 2008 World Championship of Pot Limit Hold’em for just over $300,000 and owns over $1 million in WSOP and Circuit earnings. Last November, Liebert won a $2,325 No Limit Hold’em event held during the Foxwoods World Poker Finals for $74,000 and took third in the World Poker Tour (WPT) North American Poker Championship two years ago for nearly $300,000.

Now, these two poker divas, whose parents are German, will step up to bat on behalf of Team Germany. Competing against them under the Iranian banner will be Victory Poker pro Antonio Esfandiari, who also joined on with World Team Poker in recent days. Esfandiari already has two cashes during the 2010 WSOP, including a 12th place showing in a $5,000 No Limit Hold’em event for $47,000. Esfandiari finished 24th in last year’s Main Event for $352,000 and won a bracelet in 2004 in a $2,000 Pot Limit Hold’em contest.

Other World Team Poker rumors have two-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Greg “FBT” Mueller captaining Team Canada, whose roster of pros has yet to be announced. World Team Poker’s Robert Turner told Poker News Daily that the hype for the World Championship event in October is quickly building: “People like our concept. It’s something new in poker that’s never been done. Even though there have been attempts to do team events, we have it right. There is no collusion, we combine chips, and the fact that we’re with Fox Sports Net has helped. That’s the home run for us.”

On July 14th, a teaser episode of World Team Poker’s kickoff event at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas will air on Fox Sports Net. Then, beginning in September, the rest of the action from the Downtown casino will be broadcast in one-hour episodes on the sports station on Sunday nights.

Earlier this month, World Team Poker signed Full Tilt pro Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad to Team Norway, whose roster also includes Thor Hansen. Team China took down the tournament series’ inaugural event at the Golden Nugget, besting Team Brazil. The Chinese squad included Johnny Chan, David Chiu, Chau Giang, Maria Ho, Winfred Yu, Rich Zhu, and Derek Cheung.

Twenty-three countries are listed on World Team Poker’s website, meaning that one more may need to come aboard in order to fill out a 24-team World Championship field: Armenia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, England, Germany, Greece, India, Iran, Israel, Italy, Korea, Lebanon, Mexico, Norway, the Philippines, Russia, Switzerland, Turkey, the United States, and Vietnam. Curiously absent is France, whose roster could include players like Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, Everest Poker’s Antoine Saout, and David Benyamine.

Stay tuned for the latest news from World Team Poker.

Beach Volleyball Champions Jennifer Kessy and April Ross Sign with Bodog.net

In last weekend’s running of the Huntington Beach Open beach volleyball extravaganza, Jennifer Kessy and April Ross defeated Misty May-Treanor and Nicole Branagh for the title. May-Treanor is an Olympic gold medalist, while Kessy and Ross are the newest sponsored sports icons of Bodog.net.

The pair was actually signed to Bodog.net before the Huntington Beach Open in California began, adding an extra dose of exposure for the popular play money online poker site. The duo has been wildly successful, winning seven gold Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) medals, five silver medals, and three bronze medals. In Norway, Kessy and Ross took down the FIVB World Championship title, going 8-0 down the stretch en route to victory.

Kessy received the honor of the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) Best of the Beach in 2008 and 2009 and both players are graduates of the University of Southern California, home of the Trojans. Kessy was an All-Pac 10 pick from 1995 to 1998 and Ross was a first team All-American in back-to-back years. Kessy and Ross have had success in the United States and around the world, taking down five AVP tour championships and winning events in France and Thailand, among other locales.

Text found on Bodog’s website details where the team stands in the 2010 season: “The 2010 professional beach volleyball season is still young, but two FIVB gold medals and one bronze – earned at last weekend’s US $190,000 Crown Seoul Open for women in a come-from-behind victory over Brazil’s Maria Antonelli and Talita Antunes, 15-21, 22-20, 15-8 – have catapulted Kessy and Ross into the top spot.”

According to FIVB, Kessy and Ross are #1 in the World Tour rankings and have nearly $100,000 in earnings this season. Their competition near the top of the pack includes Brazil’s Juliana Silva and Larissa Franca and Germany’s Sara Goller and Laura Ludwig. The pair is now camped out in Moscow for an FIVB beach volleyball event.

Beach volleyball has exploded in popularity in recent years, even becoming an Olympic sport in 1996 in Atlanta. It’s been predominantly Brazil and the United States atop the medal stand, as of the 24 medals awarded in beach volleyball at the Olympics, the two nations have claimed 16. Other countries that have captured titles in the sand-based sport include Canada, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Australia, and China. The latter took the silver and bronze in women’s beach volleyball in Beijing.

Bodog.net is the play money arm of Bodog, which happily accepts players from the United States. The online poker site recently underwent a major overhaul in its sponsored pros, parting ways with Jean-Robert Bellande, Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, and World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship winner David Williams only to add Amanda Musumeci, who won her way in through a site promotion.

If you think watching beach volleyball means four women in bikinis romping around in the sand for an hour, you’re not far from the truth. However, Bodog cautions, “Watching professional female athletes play beach volleyball is not at all like watching a pillow fight between four nearly naked girls, so you can wipe that image from your dirty mind. AVP and FIVB tournaments are hot, but in a physically grueling kind of way.” FIVB is the governing body of Olympic beach volleyball.

The Huntington Beach Open final aired on June 6th on ESPN2, the same network that carried coverage of the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) and World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe. Visit Bodog.net for more details.

World Team Poker Championship Event Tentative Dates Announced

The tentative dates for the World Championship event of World Team Poker have been announced. Poker News Daily has learned that the highly anticipated tournament will likely take place in Las Vegas from October 11th to 17th. World Team Poker officials are still negotiating with the Golden Nugget, which hosted the series’ first tournament last month. However, the Golden Nugget in Downtown Las Vegas has not been officially announced as the host venue.

The World Championship will air over the course of 10 episodes in primetime on Fox Sports Net. In July, a special teaser episode of the Golden Nugget tournament will air on the same cable station. Then, in September, the entire World Team Poker Golden Nugget event will play out. The World Championship and the tour’s kickoff event will likely run back-to-back on Fox Sports Net.

A total of 24 to 32 teams will take part in the World Championship, including two brand new squads, Canada and Russia. Team Canada promises to be a formidable one. Pros from the North American nation that could take to the felts under the Canadian banner include Team PokerStars Pro front man Daniel Negreanu, World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Nenad Medic, former European Poker Tour (EPT) Monte Carlo Grand Final winner Glen Chorny, and Greg “FBT” Mueller.

Russia’s roster of pros could encompass the likes of WSOP bracelet winner Alexander Kravchenko, 2008 WSOP and WSOP Europe Main Event final table member Ivan Demidov, and last year’s $40,000 WSOP No Limit Hold’em commemorative event winner Vitaly Lunkin, who gained additional fame when the contest aired on ESPN.

Given the caliber of talent involved with World Team Poker, Poker News Daily asked organizer Robert Turner why the World Championship event was not held concurrently with the WSOP, while many of the game’s elite will be camped out in Las Vegas. Last year, for example, Dream Team Poker held a tournament during the WSOP that attracted 122 teams, or 366 players. Turner explained, “Next year, we may do that. For 2011, we’ll try to do our events when everyone is in town.”

Turner also revealed that two-time Olympic gold medal skier Petter Northug may join Team Norway at the World Team Poker Championship event. Northug won gold medals in the 50 km Classic and Team Sprint during the 2010 Vancouver Games and also captured a silver and a bronze. Team Norway recently added new Full Tilt Poker pro Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad to a lineup that already included Thor Hansen.

Given poker’s acceptance as a “mind sport” by the International Mind Sports Association (IMSA), poker in the Olympics may soon be a reality. Turner and company have already pitched the concept of a World Team Poker event during the 2012 Summer Games in London. In the same European city, the IMSA World Mind Sports Games will feature poker, chess, and bridge.

Team China emerged victorious from World Team Poker’s inaugural event at the Golden Nugget. Its roster included 10-time bracelet winner Johnny Chan, former WPT Championship winner David Chiu, Chau Giang, Mario Ho, Winfred Yu, Rich Zhu, and Derek Cheung. Heads-up, China bested Team Brazil, which included Juliano Maesano, Rodrigo “Zidane” Caprioli, Humberto “Kima” Kim, Raul Oliveira, Christian Kruel, Leandro “Brasa” Pimentel, and Felipe “Mojave” Ramos.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from World Team Poker.

June 4th – Daily Deal

On today’s Daily Deal, a well-known pro takes down a twenty-one hundred player tournament at the World Series of Poker and poker players are allegedly taking performance-enhancing drugs. All this and more on the Friday edition of the Daily Deal!

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

In Event number five of the two thousand ten World Series of Poker, British pro Praz Bansi took down his second bracelet after conquering the field of a fifteen-hundred dollar buy-in No Limit Hold’em event. Bansi collected $515,000 and bested Canada’s Vincent Jacques heads-up.

Despite the large field, the top twenty of Event number five was stacked with poker talent. Bansi finished third in last year’s World Series of Poker Europe Main Event, which aired on ESPN. PocketFives.com ranked player David Sands, who plays online as “Doc Sands” took eighth for $49,000 and WSOP Circuit veteran Dwyte Pilgrim landed in twentieth.

Elsewhere at the Rio on Thursday, Joshua Tieman defeated Neil Channing to take down the five thousand dollar No Limit Hold’em Shootout. The event attracted three-hundred fifty-eight players and online poker pro Brent “bhanks11” Hanks took sixth for seventy-two thousand dollars. Three of the six players at the final table hailed from the United Kingdom.

You’ve all heard about the controversy with Roger Clemens. We’ve all painfully had to watch the drama with Mark McGwire. Well, according to an article that appeared in the Los Angeles Times, researchers from … Nova Southeastern University – which by the way I am guessing you have never EVER heard of – found that poker players frequently ingest performance-enhancing drugs. Twenty-eight percent of the nearly two-hundred poker players that were surveyed – which apparently constitutes a proper sample size of the amount of people player poker worldwide – said they had taken at least one prescription med. Seventy-three percent of those players said that the drug in question was to help them concentrate.

The survey revealed that poker players admitted to taking tranquilizers, painkillers, and even drugs that are traditionally used to treat ADD. Dietary supplements were common, as were caffeine, energy drinks, marijuana, cocaine, and alcohol.

SO It’s great to know that if I show up with my caffeine-rich starbucks at a poker table I’ll be put into the same class of person that shows up hopped up on coke and quay-ludes.

Finally, if you’re looking for a last-minute seat into the WSOP Main Event, UB.com will be holding a twenty-five seat guarantee this Sunday at four o’clock P-M Eastern Time. The qualifier will cost five-hundred and thirty dollars to get into. UB.com and Absolute Poker, continue to accept players from the United States so all are welcome to try to get in to the world’s biggest poker event.

Thanks for joining me on The Daily Deal. Be sure to check in with us every Monday through Friday for a new episode as well as exclusive interviews with your favorite poker pros. This is Sean Gibson, wishing you a great poker weekend!

Event#3 – Aadam Daya wins $1,000 No Limit Hold’em

PokerStars Big Game to Begin Airing June 14th on FOX

The highly anticipated “PokerStars Big Game” began taping last week and is set to air across the United States beginning on Monday, June 14th. The one-hour show will air five nights a week on FOX affiliates and feature five of the biggest high-stakes poker players in the world and one PokerStars qualifier competing against each other in a cash game format. Air times will range between 1:00am and 2:00am.

The “Big Game” will stage a $200/$400 No Limit Hold’em game with a $100 ante, with each player buying in for a minimum of $100,000 and a maximum of a $500,000. No official announcement has been about the lineup of players, but Team PokerStars Pro members Daniel Negreanu, Vanessa Rousso, and Barry Greenstein, as well as Phil Hellmuth, Freddy Deeb, Tony G, Phil Laak, Doyle Brunson, and Todd Brunson have been confirmed as participants.

PokerStars is also staking a “Loose Cannon” qualifier with a $100,000 buy-in each week. The qualifiers will earn their seats by winning specially-designated satellite tournaments on PokerStars. All players from the United States and Canada are eligible to play in the free-to-enter “Big Game” Round 1 qualifiers, which are running four times per day through June 25th. Each player that reaches the final qualifying round will be invited to send in a casting video explaining why they think they should be on the “PokerStars Big Game.” The selected few will take their seats on national television and be allowed to keep whatever amount they win over the $100,000 mark.

PartyPoker’s Tony G, who has taken part in the early tapings of the show, expressed his thoughts about the idea of an online qualifier in his most recent blog: “Kudos to PokerStars for coming up with this amazing concept of a Loose Cannon. The player gets a $100K freeroll, but only gets to keep what he wins. The home viewer has someone to relate to as they watch the Cannon fire up his game. And let’s get back to Phil Hellmuth – he suffered badly again, not to mention being outclassed, and against all odds, he was humiliated yet again.”

Hellmuth made brief mention of the “Big Game” via Twitter on Saturday: “A hand came up in ‘The Big Game’ (on FOX soon) that was so sick I dare not talk about, ever! I guarantee it will be talked about worldwide!!” His Tweet quickly got the attention of the poker community and speculation circled about who was involved in the hand. In a thread on the TwoPlusTwo forums, PokerStars representative “PS SteveD” said the hand in question is “good TV.”

On-air host Amanda Leatherman will provide updates and interviews throughout the “Big Game” when it debuts on FOX on June 14th. Leatherman is the live webcast host for the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT), which has been hugely successful in its first season.

Nicolas Chouity Wins 2010 EPT Monte Carlo Grand Final

PokerStars qualifier Nicolas “niccc” Chouity finished atop the pack in the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) Monte Carlo Grand Final in Monaco. His first place finish was worth a rousing €1.7 million and Chouity became just the second player from Lebanon ever to win an EPT title.

Last year, Chouity took 50th in the EPT Monte Carlo Grand Final for €31,000 and cashed in the EPT Berlin Main Event in March. He blasted through the final table in Monaco, taking out six of his seven opponents, and told PokerStars officials following play, “It’s a dream come true. I feel great. I had confidence coming into the final and I had the chip lead, but you never know with poker and I was going for first, only first.” Chouity came into the final table holding 40% of the chips in play and turned in a remarkable wire-to-wire run.

The EPT Monte Carlo Grand Final serves as the annual end-of-season stop for the roving tournament series, whose adventurous 2009-2010 schedule featured a high-stakes casino robbery in Berlin. Heads-up on the Mediterranean coast, Chouity defeated Josef Klinger with pocket aces against pocket eights. The board ran out K-10-9-4-Q and Chouity’s better pocket pair held to take down the EPT title.

Dominykas Karmazinas was eliminated in third place after his A-7 could outlast Chouity’s A-6. A six hit on the turn and Chouity staved off eight outs on the river to send Karmazinas packing. Chouity held better than a 5:1 advantage in chips entering heads-up play against Klinger. Then, Chouity joined Joseph Mouawad as the only Lebanese champions in EPT history; Mouawad chalked up a win in London during Season 4. According to PokerStars, the country of Lebanon boasts just one casino, which holds poker tournaments two times per week.

The worldwide affair attracted a starting grid of 848 players hailing from 51 countries around the globe. A total of 161 entrants, or nearly 20% of the field, won their way in through PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site, and the feature table included representatives from six countries. Here’s how the eight-handed table cashed out in the 2010 running of the EPT Monte Carlo Grand Final:

1st Place: Nicolas Chouity (Lebanon) – €1,700,000
2nd Place: Josef Klinger (Austria) – €1,000,000
3rd Place: Dominykas Karmazinas (Lithuania) – €700,000
4th Place: Herve Costa (France) – €500,000
5th Place: Andrew Chen (Canada) – €400,000
6th Place: Aleh Plauski (Belarus) – €300,000
7th Place: Roger Hairabedian (France) – €200,000
8th Place: Mesbah Guerfi (France) – €140,000

According to PokerNews, the seventh season of the EPT will kick off in August in Tallinn, Estonia. The sixth season featured a bevy of name brand pros taking down titles, including UB.com’s Liv Boeree, who walked away victorious in San Remo. The total number of Main Event players during Season 6 was 8,912, a bump of 13% from Season 5, and the total prize pool grew to €56.6 million. All of this came despite a massive volcanic eruption prior to San Remo that caused travel tie-ups across the European continent. Here were the winners from EPT Season 6:

EPT Monte Carlo Grand Final: Nicolas Chouity
EPT San Remo: Liv Boeree
EPT Snowfest: Allan Baekke
EPT Berlin High Roller: Andreas Bauer
EPT Berlin: Kevin “ImaLuckSac” MacPhee
EPT Copenhagen: Anton Wigg
EPT Deauville High Roller: Martin Kabrhel
EPT Deauville: Jake Cody
PCA High Roller: Wlliam Reynolds
PCA Main Event: Harrison Gimbel
EPT Prague: Jan Skampa
EPT Vilamoura: Antonio Matias
EPT Warsaw Main Event: Christophe Benzimra
EPT Warsaw High Roller: Dario Minieri
EPT London Main Event: Aaron Gustavson
EPT London High Roller: Matt Glantz
EPT Barcelona: Carter Phillips
EPT Kyiv: Maxim Lykov
EPT Kyiv High Roller: Shaun Deeb

Visit PokerStars for full coverage of the EPT.

2010 PokerStars SCOOP Kicks Off on Sunday

At least $45 million will be up for grabs starting on Sunday, when the Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) invades PokerStars. The three-tiered tournament series features low, medium, and high-dollar buy-in tournaments.

2010 marks the second running of the PokerStars SCOOP, which debuted last year amid much fanfare. In 2009, a total of $38 million was given away and the total number of player buy-ins approached 200,000. The inaugural SCOOP boasted 22 world-class poker events across three buy-in levels and players from the United States walked away with $20.6 million to lead all countries. Germany and Canada sat in second and third, respectively, on the money leaderboard with $3.3 million and $3.2 million.

Amazingly, two players recorded 15 in the money finishes in the 66 tournaments that comprised the 2009 SCOOP, a 23% success rate: Germany’s “pusteblume” and American “teacuppoker.” A total of 18 players cashed in at least 10 events. To close out the 2009 SCOOP, j.thaddeus took down the high-stakes Main Event to the tune of $963,000. At the mid-stakes level, tournament veteran J.C. “PrtyPsux” Alvarado brought home the gold for $502,000, while JannotLapin won the low-stakes SCOOP Main Event for $151,000.

The opening day of the 2010 SCOOP coincides with the final day of action in the 16th Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS), whose $640 buy-in Main Event begins at 18:00 ET on Sunday. In the 2010 SCOOP Main Event on May 16th, the winner will pocket a hearty $1 million. Here’s the full schedule of events for the upcoming SCOOP, exclusively found on PokerStars:

Sunday, May 2nd

13:00 ET: Event #1
Low: $22 NLHE Six-Max, $250,000 Guaranteed
Mid: $215 NLHE Six-Max, $1 Million Guaranteed
High: $2,100 NLHE Six-Max, $1 Million Guaranteed

17:00 ET: Event #2
Low: $22 NLHE Two-Day Event, $500,000 Guaranteed
Mid: $215 NLHE Two-Day Event, $2 Million Guaranteed
High: $2,100 NLHE Two-Day Event, $2 Million Guaranteed

Monday, May 3rd

14:00 ET: Event #3
Low: $5.50 NLHE Six-Max with Rebuys, $250,000 Guaranteed
Mid: $55 NLHE Six-Max with Rebuys, $500,000 Guaranteed
High: $530 NLHE Six-Max with Rebuys, $1 Million Guaranteed

17:00 ET: Event #4
Low: $16.50 FL Badugi, $25,000 Guaranteed
Mid: $162 FL Badugi, $50,000 Guaranteed
High: $1,575 FL Badugi, $75,000 Guaranteed

20:00 ET: Event #5
Low: $11 PLO Turbo Cubed, $50,000 Guaranteed
Mid: $109 PLO Turbo Cubed, $100,000 Guaranteed
High: $1,050 PLO Turbo Cubed, $150,000 Guaranteed

Tuesday, May 4th

14:00 ET: Event #6
Low: $11 PL Five-Card Draw, $25,000 Guaranteed
Mid: $109 PL Five-Card Draw, $50,000 Guaranteed
High: $1,050 PL Five-Card Draw, $75,000 Guaranteed

17:00 ET: Event #7
Low: $16.50 NLHE Heads-Up Match Play, $100,000 Guaranteed
Mid: $162 NLHE Heads-Up Match Play, $250,000 Guaranteed
High: $1,575 NLHE Heads-Up Match Play, $500,000 Guaranteed

20:00 ET: Event #8
Low: $11 NLHE, $100,000 Guaranteed
Mid: $109 NLHE, $200,000 Guaranteed
High: $1,050 NL HE, $500,000 Guaranteed

Wednesday, May 5th

14:00 ET: Event #9
Low: $22 Mixed Hold’em Six-Max, $100,000 Guaranteed
Mid: $215 Mixed Hold’em Six-Max, $200,000 Guaranteed
High: $2,100 Mixed Hold’em Six-Max, $400,000 Guaranteed

17:00 ET: Event #10
Low: $33 Seven-Card Stud High, $25,000 Guaranteed
Mid: $320 Seven-Card Stud High, $50,000 Guaranteed
High: $3,150 Seven-Card Stud High, $100,000 Guaranteed

Thursday, May 6th

14:00 ET: Event #11
Low: $22 PLO Heads-Up Match Play, $25,000 Guaranteed
Mid: $215 PLO Heads-Up Match Play, $100,000 Guaranteed
High: $2,100 PLO Heads-Up Match Play, $200,000 Guaranteed

17:00 ET: Event #12
Low: $27 NLHE Knockout, $100,000 Guaranteed
Mid: $265 NLHE Knockout, $200,000 Guaranteed
High: $2,100 NLHE Knockout, $300,000 Guaranteed

Friday, May 7th

14:00 ET: Event #13
Low: $16.50 NLHE Ante Up, $50,000 Guaranteed
Event #13-M: $162 NLHE Ante Up, $100,000 Guaranteed
Event #13-H: $1,575 NLHE Ante Up, $200,000 Guaranteed

17:00 ET: Event #14
Low: $55 FL Omaha High/Low, $50,000 Guaranteed
Mid: $530 FL Omaha High/Low, $150,000 Guaranteed
High: $5,200 FL Omaha High/Low, $250,000 Guaranteed

20:00 ET: Event #15
Low: $16.50 NLHE 2X Chance Turbo, $250,000 Guaranteed
Mid: $162 NLHE 2X Chance Turbo, $500,000 Guaranteed
High: $1,575 NLHE 2X Chance Turbo, $750,000 Guaranteed

Saturday, May 8th

14:00 ET: Event #16
Low: $22 NLHE Quadruple Shootout 10-max, $150,000 Guaranteed
Mid: $215 NLHE Triple Shootout 10-max, $150,000 Guaranteed
High: $2,100 NLHE Double Shootout 10-max, $200,000 Guaranteed

17:00 ET: Event #17
Low: $16.50 PLO Six-Max with Rebuys, $100,000 Guaranteed
Mid: $162 PLO Six-Max with Rebuys, $250,000 Guaranteed
High: $1,575 PLO Six-Max with Rebuys, $500,000 Guaranteed

20:00 ET: Event #18
Low: $22 FL Hold’em Turbo, $25,000 Guaranteed
Mid: $215 FL Hold’em Turbo, $100,000 Guaranteed
High: $2,100 FL Hold’em Turbo, $150,000 Guaranteed

Sunday, May 9th

13:00 ET: Event #19
Low: $22 NLHE Big Antes, $250,000 Guaranteed
Mid: $215 NLHE Big Antes, $750,000 Guaranteed
High: $2,100 NLHE Big Antes, $750,000 Guaranteed

17:00 ET: Event #20
Low: $22 NLHE Two-Day Event, $500,000 Guaranteed
Mid: $215 NLHE Two-Day Event, $2 Million Guaranteed
High: $2,100 NLHE Two-Day Event, $2 Million Guaranteed

Monday, May 10th

14:00 ET: Event #21
Low: $16.50 PL Hold’em / PL Omaha, $75,000 Guaranteed
Mid: $162 PL Hold’em / PL Omaha, $200,000 Guaranteed
High: $1,575 PL Hold’em / PL Omaha, $300,000 Guaranteed

17:00 ET: Event #22
Low: $33 NLHE Four-Max, $150,000 Guaranteed
Mid: $320 NLHE Four-Max, $300,000 Guaranteed
High: $3,150 NLHE Four-Max, $500,000 Guaranteed

20:00 ET: Event #23
Low: $11 NLHE Turbo with Rebuys, $150,000 Guaranteed
Mid: $109 NLHE Turbo with Rebuys, $300,000 Guaranteed
High: $1,050 NLHE Turbo with Rebuys, $500,000 Guaranteed

Tuesday, May 11th

14:00 ET: Event #24
Low: $11 Triple Draw 2-7, $25,000 Guaranteed
Mid: $109 Triple Draw 2-7, $50,000 Guaranteed
High: $1,050 Triple Draw 2-7, $75,000 Guaranteed

17:00 ET: Event #25
Low: $22 Seven-Card Stud High/Low, $50,000 Guaranteed
Mid: $215 Seven-Card Stud High/Low, $100,000 Guaranteed
High: $2,100 Seven-Card Stud High/Low, $150,000 Guaranteed

20:00 ET: Event #26
Low: $11 NLHE, $100,000 Guaranteed
Mid: $109 NLHE, $200,000 Guaranteed
High: $1,050 NLHE, $500,000 Guaranteed

Wednesday, May 12th

14:00 ET: Event #27
Low: $22 Razz, $50,000 Guaranteed
Mid: $215 Razz, $100,000 Guaranteed
High: $2,100 Razz, $150,000 Guaranteed

17:00 ET: Event #28
Low: $11 NLHE with Rebuys, $200,000 Guaranteed
Mid: $109 NLHE with Rebuys, $400,000 Guaranteed
High: $1,050 NLHE with Rebuys, $600,000 Guaranteed

Thursday, May 13th

14:00 ET: Event #29
Low: $33 Eight-Game, $75,000 Guaranteed
Mid: $320 Eight-Game, $150,000 Guaranteed
High: $3,150 Eight-Game, $250,000 Guaranteed

17:00 ET: Event #30
Low: $11 PLO High/Low, $75,000 Guaranteed
Mid: $109 PLO High/Low, $150,000 Guaranteed
High: $1,050 PLO High/Low, $300,000 Guaranteed

Friday, May 14th

14:00 ET: Event #31
Low: $22 NLHE Cubed, $250,000 Guaranteed
Mid: $215 NLHE Cubed, $500,000 Guaranteed
High: $2,100 NLHE Cubed, $1 Million Guaranteed

17:00 ET: Event #32
Low: $55 FL Hold’em Six-Max, $100,000 Guaranteed
Mid: $530 FL Hold’em Six-Max, $200,000 Guaranteed
High: $5,200 FL Hold’em Six-Max, $300,000 Guaranteed

20:00 ET: Event #33
Low: $22 NL Omaha High/Low Turbo, $50,000 Guaranteed
Mid: $215 NL Omaha High/Low Turbo, $100,000 Guaranteed
High: $2,100 NL Omaha High/Low Turbo, $200,000 Guaranteed

Saturday, May 15th

14:00 ET: Event #34
Low: $55 PLO Six-Max, $100,000 Guaranteed
Mid: $530 PLO Six-Max, $250,000 Guaranteed
High: $5,200 PLO Six-Max, $500,000 Guaranteed

15:30 ET: Event #35
Low: $270 NLHE Heads-Up Match Play Two-Day Event, $250,000 Guaranteed
Mid: $2,600 NLHE Heads-Up Match Play Two-Day Event, $500,000 Guaranteed
High: $25,500 NLHE Heads-Up Match Play Two-Day Event, $750,000 Guaranteed

17:00 ET: Event #36
Low: $22 HORSE, $50,000 Guaranteed
Mid: $215 HORSE, $100,000 Guaranteed
High: $2,100 HORSE, $150,000 Guaranteed

Sunday, May 16th

13:00 ET: Event #37
Low: $22 NLHE, $200,000 Guaranteed
Mid: $215 NLHE, $750,000 Guaranteed
High: $2,100 NLHE, $750,000 Guaranteed

17:00 ET: SCOOP Main Event
Low: $109 NLHE Main Event, $1 Million Guaranteed
Mid: $1,050 NLHE Main Event, $3 Million Guaranteed
High: $10,300 NLHE Main Event, $5 Million Guaranteed

Visit PokerStars for more details and to sign up.

Sorel Mizzi – Poker Player Profile

Born on April 16, 1986 in Toronto, Canada, Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi learned to play poker in his teens by frequenting home games with his friends. After Chris Moneymaker’s victory at the World Series of Poker in 2003, Mizzi started playing online, where he became fast friends with online star Josh ‘JJProdigy’ Fields.

Before long, Sorel was crushing the highest stakes online tournaments with alarming regularity. His biggest victories include an outright win of PokerStars’ Sunday Warm-Up for $80K, and two Full Tilt Online Poker Series wins; Event #7 of FTOPS III for $90K and Event #8 of FTOPS IV for $41K. He remains one of two players to own two FTOPS titles and, all told, his online tournament winnings exceed $1 million.

Mizzi has been equally impressive on the live tournament circuit, where he’s cashed in multiple World Series of Poker, World Poker Tour, and European Poker Tour events. His first big score, however, came at the 2007 Paddy Power Irish Open where he finished third for $280K. A few weeks later, he bagged $155K for 15th at the WPT Fifth Annual Five Star World Poker Classic. In 2008, he made waves at the WSOP Europe by claiming third in the $5K Pot Limit Omaha for $240K. At the 2009 WSOP, Mizzi narrowly missed out on his first bracelet when he took second in the $5K Pot Limit Omaha event for $253K.

Sorel started 2010 off with a bang by finishing third at the Aussie Millions Poker Championship for $659K. He then followed it up with victories in at EPT Snowfest for $95K and the Borgata Spring Poker Open for $170K. All told, he has over $2.5 million in live tournament earnings.

As smoothly as Mizzi’s career has gone on the tables, he has come under fire for his involvement in an account selling incident. In December of 2007, he bought and took over Chris Vaughn’s Full Tilt Poker account from another location. Sorel went on to win the event, but was later disqualified and the compromised account was stripped of the prize money. He has since apologized for his actions, but he remains banned from playing on Full Tilt Poker and the poker community seems split on the issue of his cheating.

Despite the controversy, Sorel Mizzi’s career has not suffered. He is currently sponsored by Titan Poker and he still dominates tournaments both live and online.

Kara Scott – Poker Player Profile

Born in Alberta, Canada, Kara Scott relocated to the United Kingdom in 1999. Never shy in front of a camera, she used her background in Muay Thai martial arts training to secure a job on the show Now is the Time: Night of Combat. Her next media gig saw her hosting the first ever televised backgammon series, High Stakes Backgammon, which aired in Canada and the UK. She also hosted the World Series of Backgammon in 2006.

After four years of immersion in the odds, instinct, and strategy associated with backgammon, poker naturally caught Scott’s eye and has been her obsession ever since. She began by hosting the British show Poker Night Live and writing regular columns for Card Player. In 2007, she hosted the European Poker Tour, but quit after a year to focus on her own poker career.

On the tables, Scott started her foray into live poker finishing sixth in the PartyPoker.net World Women’s Open for $5K. She later went on to win PartyPoker’s Sports Car Challenge for $51K. Her biggest poker accomplishment to date came at the 2009 Irish Open in Dublin, Ireland where she took second place for $413K.

At the World Series of Poker in 2008 and 2009, Scott did what no other woman could do when she cashed in the Main Event both years. She took 104th in ’08 for $42K and 238th in ’09 for $33K. Scott had this to say about her results in an interview she gave to PokerListings: “I know a lot of people don’t think I can play and there are always going to be people who say I can’t. But I have made the final of a female championship, I won a Sports Star Challenge, I went deep in the World Series of Poker Main Event and now I’ve come second in the Irish Open. I think my game is improving.” All told, Scott has $550K in live tournament earnings.

More recently, Kara Scott, who is a member of Team Party as a sponsored pro, announced that she would be returning to TV in 2010 to co-host the sixth season of GSN’s High Stakes Poker.

UB.com Annie Duke Heads-Up Challenge Returns Sunday

UB.com is bringing back its monthly Annie Duke Heads-Up Challenge this Sunday, April 25th at 1:00pm ET. To coincide with the six-week telecast of the 2010 National Heads-Up Poker Championship on NBC in April and May, UB.com is giving away four seats to each of the $1,050 buy-in $128,000 Guaranteed Heads-Up Matches on April 25th and May 30th. Duke took down the National Heads-Up Poker Championship earlier this year.

UB.com players can qualify for one of four $128,000 Heads-Up seats through freerolls and $1 buy-in heads-up tournaments. As a bonus, any player who knocks Duke out of the April or May Heads-Up tournaments after making their way into it through one of these satellites will receive an extra $1,500 in Tournament Dollars on top of the usual bounty prize, a $530 seat to the following Sunday’s $150,000 Guaranteed.

There are other ways to compete in the Annie Duke Heads-Up Challenge if you are unable to qualify via the special satellite tournaments. Players can buy into the $1,000+50 event directly, participate in one of the many daily satellites with a buy-in of $100+9 starting at 4:10pm ET, or try their luck in one of the cheaper qualifiers for as low as $8.80 that kick off at 10:30am ET every day.

“It was an amazing experience to win the live Heads-Up event against some of the best names of the game, including good friends Andy Bloch and Erik Seidel,” Duke said about her National Heads-Up Poker Championship victory. “I’m equally excited to host the monthly Heads-Up event online at UB.com. The higher buy-in and top prize money is guaranteed to attract a quality field of online players.”

The inaugural Annie Duke Heads-Up Challenge was held on March 28th, but ran into technical difficulties that ultimately forced its cancellation. The event started with 109 players, giving several randomly selected entrants byes to the second round. The problems began when UB’s software allowed late entries in numbers that eclipsed the 128-player limit.

Once players win their first round matches, many found themselves matched up against opponents with uneven chip stacks due to the software glitch. Those who won matches in the first round began Round 2 with 6,000 chips, while players who had byes in the first round were given 3,000 chips in the second round. Players immediately contacted UB support and the tournament was terminated.

As a result of the software problems, UB.com refunded everyone’s $1,050 buy-in. The site also held a pair of freerolls for those who had registered for the Heads-Up Challenge. The top five finishers in the first freeroll received entries into the $75,000 Guaranteed on UB, while the top ten in the second freeroll received entries into a Canada Poker Pro SS tournament.

The Annie Duke Heads-Up Challenge can be found in the “Events” Tab in the UB.com tournament lobby. Qualifiers to the celebrated event are listed in the “Satellites” Tab.

Poker News in Brief: April 19-25, 2010

Liv Boeree won the European Poker Tour's San Remo title, David Williams took down the 2010 WPT Championship, the EPT Grand Final kicked off and the high stakes action on Full Tilt was running full force.

PokerListings had a beat on it all, but a few of the week's smaller stories managed to slip through the cracks.

Fortunately we've got them all below in our regular poker News in Brief feature.

This week we look at the World Series of Poker revamping its Academy for the summer, an Albanian winning in Australia, the Hard Rock in Vegas hosting a Supercross charity poker event and a whole lot more.

Matt Graham Joins DeepStacks Live

Two-time WSOP bracelet winner Matt Graham has joined the poker training group DeepStacks Live as an instructor.

A member of Team UB, Graham will lead poker seminars around the country, focusing on events in the Southern and Western United States.
  
"I'm looking forward to joining champions like Mike Matusow and Tom McEvoy, traveling the country helping passionate poker players get better," he said.

Graham's first classes will be at the DeepStacks Live 1-Day Tournament Primer Course at the Pala Hotel Resort and Casino near San Diego April 30.

For more information visit www.DeepStacks.com.

WSOP Beefs Up Academy

The World Series of Poker Academy has announced a new schedule of events at the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino to coincide with the 2010 World Series of Poker.

It all starts with a 2-day Tournament Academy May 28-29 with two-time WSOP bracelet winner Mark Seif designed to get you deep in the preliminary events.

There will also be an Alumni Only Hand Analysis Academy, a one-day Ladies Only Academy, and a Mind and Body Academy featuring poker mindset coach Sam Chauhan.

Plus there will be a Cash Game Academy at Caesars Palace and the signature annual Main Event Primer designed by Greg Raymer, Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth, just before the Main Event begins.

For more information click through to the Academy's website or call 1-800-989-9767.

Four Aces Finds a Winner

The first Poker Pro Canada Classic poker tournament at Four Aces Card Club in Montreal drew 250 players from all over Canada and the U.S. and Europe to compete for a piece of a $369,000 prize pool.

Sponsored by UB and Bodog, it was the largest poker event ever held in Quebec with a buy-in of more than $1,500.

Local player Oliver "O.B." Baksic took home $96,400 for first after defeating 2008 EPT Grand Final third-place finisher Maxime Villemure heads-up.

Daniel Negreanu: Psyched about the new teammates.

 

Team PokerStars, Eh!

PokerStars has added four new additions to its Canadian Team.

Joining Daniel Negreanu and Darus Suharto are Greg DeBora, who has better than $350,000 in career earnings, three-time WSOP final tablist Patrick Pezzin, Marcello Del Grosso, who had deep runs in the WSOP Main Event in 2005 and 2006 and Anh Van Nguyen, a 14-year pro and former dealer.

All four Pros competed at the PokerStars.net North American Poker Tour event at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, Apr. 6-13.

Hard Rock to Host Supercross Charity Event

The Hard Rock Poker Lounge Las Vegas and Feld Motor Sports are hosting the first Monster Energy AMA Supercross Charity Poker Tournament in Las Vegas May 6.

All proceeds from the tournament will go to benefit the Road 2 Recovery Foundation.

The $150 buy-in and $50 rebuy event is expected to draw stars of Monster Energy Supercross, professional poker players, and fans alike.

First pays $2,500 plus a number of sponsored prizes while the top twenty finishers will receive unforgettable products courtesy Hard Rock Poker Lounge, Monster Energy, Feld Motor Sports, Rockwell Time, Skullcandy, Ogio, DVS, Liquid Force, Metal Mulisha, Full Tilt, UB, and more. 

For more information check out the Road 2 Recovery website.

Ex-pat wins in Australia

Albanian born Aussie Angelo Hanataj took down the PokerStars ANZPT Sydney main event this week.

He grabbed $219,432 for his efforts and rocketed into the top 5 in the ANZPT Player of the Year race.

After a win in Perth and another deep finish, last year's POY winner and Team PokerStars Australia Pro Tony Hachem holds a commanding lead in the battle for an AUD$100k sponsorship deal.

Europe's Biggest Tournament

The dates have been released for what was Europe's largest live No-Limit Texas Hold'em tournament last year, the International Poker Open.

The €180+ €20 buy-in freezeout is set for Oct. 15-17, 2010 at the Regency Hotel in Dublin, Ireland.

Organizers are estimating the prize pool will reach up to €250,000 including €20,000 added by sponsors Boylepoker.

"Last year we set the record for the largest live tournament field ever assembled in Europe," said Paul Spillane, the site's head of poker.

"We're confident the 2010 event will prove just as popular and we expect another sell out field."

Negreanu thrilled about NHL playoffs

In Canada nearly everyone plays ice-hockey – if not otherwise, at least in the courtyard with boys from the neighborhood. This is why it’s no surprise that Daniel Negreanu nailed into NHL playoffs gambling.

“Kid Poker” wearing his hockey jersey

In his latest blog update Negreanu says usually he is searching for extremely good odds given for the defendants, but in this year’s Stanley Cup he doesn’t see himself betting for the weaker team – at least not on the first playoff round.

Daniel Negreanu’s gambling tips

New Jersey – Philadelphia

“Speaking of goalkeepers. Martin Brodeur vs…..Brian Boucher? Guess this says already enough. New Jersey is not the same old Devils though; the current team is aggressive and they surely know how to score. Philadelphia can make goals as well, but their problem has been the same for years: time for a new goalie!”

Chicago – Nashville

“As a team Chicago is awesome, but I’m not sure about their goalkeeper. Looks like Niemi will play against Predators. Nashville is a steady but underestimated team. Their defense and goalkeeper play is good and they attack strong. I was about to make a bet for the Predators but decided to skip it this time.”

Phoenix – Detroit

“During the early season Detroit stumbled because of injuries, but after the Olympic break the players have been healthy and the whole team on fire. I’m sure Detroit is the one to continue from this match pair.”

Source: FullContactPoker

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Negreanu thrilled about NHL playoffs

Reflecting on Poker Friendships by Linda Johnson

Charles R. Swindoll once said, “I cannot even imagine where I would be today were it not for that handful of friends who have given me a heart full of joy. Let’s face it, friends make life a lot more fun.”

Lately, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how lucky I am to have so many incredible friends. I realized that poker is the common denominator in almost all of my friendships.

I just spent four wonderful days with 14 friends from Canada who were in town to celebrate the tenth anniversary of MIF. “What is MIF,” you might wonder. MIF stands for “Make it fo (four),” which was a quirky expression muttered by an infamous poker player during a $2-$4 Limit Hold’em game at the Palace Station many years ago. My friends from Canada were fascinated by this man, dressed in overalls, who would fold hand after hand until he picked up aces or kings. When that happened, he would lean forward and casually toss four $1 chips into the pot while saying, “Make it fo!” Thus, the term MIF was born and became the official name of this group.

From its humble beginnings, MIF has become an annual pilgrimage to Las Vegas for an unlikely cast of Canadians who are linked together through business and friendship. Each year, we spend quality time together over dinners in the finest restaurants and go to the best shows. This year, we saw Carrot Top at the Luxor and Viva Elvis at Aria… both fabulous!

The highlight of MIF is a No Limit poker tournament that pits the United States against Canada. The bragging rights are more important than the cash. So far, the Americans have won four out of seven years despite being outnumbered by at least 2-1 each year. I forgot to mention how much fun these guys are. They even wear the goofy MIF uniform, which is a vest made out of playing card material. Over dinner this year, each of us spoke about our favorite MIF moment. Everyone agreed that the friendships we’ve generated are the primary reason to attend and poker is secondary.

The female version of the MIF consists of approximately 25 women from Tulsa, Oklahoma, who call themselves the Hold’em Hotties. They take their poker very seriously and have their own poker league. I originally got involved with them when they asked me to present a private poker seminar. After spending some time with them, I realized how much fun they were. Over the past few years, we have become great friends and have taken road trips to places like Branson, Biloxi, and Oceans 11. I even flew to Tulsa last December to attend their Christmas party.

I’ve also made a lot of friends through various ladies’ poker groups and online poker forums. Specifically, there are two women’s forums that I belong to: LadyPokerSharks.com and PokerChix.com. In addition to talking poker online, we get together a few times a year for some major poker events like the World Series of Poker, California State Ladies Poker Championship, Card Player Cruises trips, Ladies International Poker Series(LIPS), High Heels Poker Tour, Pink Ladies Poker Tour, and the Women in Poker Hall of Fame induction.

When I am home in Las Vegas on a Monday or Wednesday, I enjoy attending the local poker discussion groups. On Monday night, we meet at the Stake Out and on Wednesdays, we meet at Marie Callendar’s. The people in this group are more than just a common interest group. We are friends who love poker and enjoy hanging out together. I’ve met some of my closest friends through this group.

My company, Card Player Cruises, has been another source for developing close friends. The staff and repeat passengers have become very dear to me. Not only do we get to travel the world together, but we also get to have fun working together. The Card Player Cruises poker room is probably the friendliest poker room in the world; for sure, it generates the most laughter. We do a tremendous repeat business due to making everyone feel at home.

One of my most rewarding activities these days is teaching WPT Boot Camp. The team of instructors I get to work with really like and respect each other. The staff that coordinates and administers the Boot Camp is professional, yet really fun to hang out with. We really are one happy family.

Most people will never know how wonderful the majority of poker players are. I consider myself extremely lucky to have made a plethora of longtime friends through my associations with organizations including Card Player, the World Poker Tour, the Tournament Directors Association, and the Poker Players Alliance. I count my blessings every day and realize how lucky I am to be able to share my passion for poker with so many wonderful friends. Poker makes my life a much happier place. I hope you can say the same.

Poker News in Brief: April 12-18, 2010

The Team PokerStars Pro and PokerListings blogger took down the NAPT Mohegan Sun $25k High Roller shootout event for $475,000.

Mercier understandably received a large amount of coverage in the poker media, but there several other lesser known stories that broke this week.

We've compiled a list below in our weekly Poker News in Brief feature.

This week we'll take a look at Annie Duke getting her own iPhone app, a new UKIPT winner and Nat Nast joining forces with the World Series of Poker.

Annie Duke Releases iPhone App

UB Poker pro Annie Duke launched a free iPhone poker app this week.

The Annie Duke Poker Tutor offers a variety of poker training including a new tip every day, a poker odds calculator and No-Limit Hold'em rules.

The app also offers content from Duke's website, Twitter and the UB website.

Annie Duke Poker Tutor users will also benefit from a freeroll on UB hosted by Duke on April 29 with prizes to be announced. The player who knocks out Duke will receive an extra $25.

To download the app visit the iTunes store or to learn more about the freeroll check out our UB Poker room review.

ChiliPoker VIP Wins French Deep Stack Open

French player Julien Subreville outlasted 500 players to win the first installment of the ChiliPoker Deepstack Open in Aix-En-Provence Pasino this week.

Subreville, who is a Chilipoker VIP, officially won €43,000 at the €550 buy-in tournament although there was a chop heads-up with Florent Aubert.

More than 15 different nationalities took part in the tournament with noted players Liz Lieu, Liv Boeree and Michelle Orpe hitting the felt.

The next DSO event is scheduled to take place in Portugal at the Vilamoura Casino from Sept. 23-26, 2010. All DSO events carry a fixed €550 buy-in.

To learn more take a look at our Chilipoker room review.

Belgian Wins UKIPT Coventry

Belgian Gilles Augustus outlasted a field of 367 players to win the PokerStars.net United Kingdom & Ireland Coventry event this week.

Augustus, a 22-year-old computer programmer, won £46,000 for taking down the £550 buy-in tournament.

Foreigners have been dominant in this season of the UKIPT as Dutchman Joeri Zandvliet won the Manchester stop back in February.

The tour now shifts to Nottingham where the Dusk Till Dawn casino will host a £560 tournament from May 12-17.

To qualify for the UKIPT go to our PokerStars room review.

WSOP Partners With Nat Nast

The World Series of Poker found another major corporate sponsor in the form of luxury men's clothing company Nat Nast this week.

The American Sportswear company designed an exclusive collector's series of embroidered shirts featuring WSOP artwork, which will launch in late 2010.

"We are delighted to be collaborating with the World Series of Poker in creating an exclusive collection of shirts that celebrates the game of poker and its ultimate challenge" said Lawrence DeParis, President & CEO of Nat Nast.

The collection will be available at select department and speciality stores as well as luxury resorts, casinos and online in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean.