Poker News

Greg DeBora Hot Tub Interview

PokerStars Team Canada pro Greg DeBora stars in the conclusion of the “Hot Tub Interview” series with site editor Dan Cypra. This interview was shot just after Day 1A of the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event from The Palms Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. At this PokerStars cocktail party, they hosted many of their team pros and also had announced new additions in Vanessa Selbst and David Williams.

Greg DeBora is a Canadian from Toronto and continues to live in his homeland. In his teenage years he played billiards and even competed in amateur level tournaments in Ontario. A few years later, with the help of friend and fellow Team PokerStars Pro Pat Pezzin, he made the switch to poker. DeBora is primarily a cash game specialist and plays in big games at PokerStars as well as live venues such as the famous Commerce Casino in Los Angeles, California. He’s stated that he plays live stakes ranging from $50/$100 to $500/$1000 but in recent years started focusing on playing more tournaments.

Some of his career tournament highlights include a 7th place finish at the PCA in 2005 for $91,700 and has also cashed at the World Poker Tour on two occasions. He finished in 10th place in 2005, nearly making the final table, in the $2,500 Limit Hold’em Event. He also took part in the LA Poker Classic Chinese Poker tournament and placed well to the tune of a $30,225 payday.

According to sources, when playing online and not at Mixed Games tables, you’ll find him primarily at $10/$20 Limit Hold’em 6-handed tables and at $10/$20 Limit Hold’em Heads Up matches.

DeBord states that he likes to rollerblade, water-ski, go canoeing, hike and snowboard as activities he enjoys. He travels extensively and follows the tournament circuit, often playing in the side cash games. His online screen name at PokerStars is ‘G DeBora’.

PokerStars Unveils Online Regional Championships

RCOOP will be held in 13 different regions, each with its own 11-tournament series and while its usually English only on PokerStars, RCOOP players will be permitted to chat in their native tongues during the events.

Team PokerStars Pros are expected to compete regionally with local bragging rights and a ton of cash on the line.

Each region has a guaranteed prize pool and its own main event, with more than $7 million in total being awarded across all regions.

The 13 regions include Russia, Nordic countries, Baltic countries, USA, Canada, Germany, Asia-Pacific, UK & Ireland, Mediterranean countries, Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America, Iberian countries, and Benelux countries.

Russia will kick things off beginning Oct. 31 and while most of the regions will run events in November some are set for December and bleed into next year.

More info and the full schedule for each region can be found on the PokerStars RCOOP web page.

Pat Pezzin Hot Tub Interview

PND Editor Dan Cypra continues his “Hot Tub Interview” segment, hosting PokerStars Team Pro, Pat “TorontoToro” Pezzin. This interview was filmed at the PokerStars cocktail reception just after Day 1A had concluded from the World Series of Poker Main Event. Pezzin is a sponsored pro, hailing from Canada, who has played in the $10,000 Main Event five times, having cashed once.

Pezzin is a member of the PocketFives.com forums and has over $460,000 to his name in online tournament earnings. Having played poker for well over a decade, he brings a lot more experience to the tables, be it virtual or in person, than most of the pros he faces. A recent big score was the PokerStars SCOOP Event #9 which won him $65,9000 and a 6th place finish at the SCOOP Event #28 for $46,600. Both of those events were played in May of 2010. He also made waves at the WCOOP and took 7th place in the $10,000 High Roller event for a $43,200 payday. His largest tournament score in a live event was in June of 2009 when he finished second in the $10,000 World Series of Poker Limit Hold’em event for $285,200.

Pat Pezzin, formerly known as “TorontoToro” at PokerStars before becoming a sponsored pro, built his reputation on trips to Las Vegas and Los Angeles. There he would play mixed cash games and in 2004 starting making regular cashes in tournaments. Aside from his WSOP exploits, he has cashed at three World Poker Tour events.

In Canada, Pezzin isn’t just known for being one the country’s top poker players as he’s also one of the top Bocce players as well. He has represented Team Canada in Bocce at events around the world.

David Vamplew Wins EPT London Main Event

Chalk up another victory for the young guns of Poker. On Monday night, 23 year-old David Vamplew took down the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) London Main Event for £900,000. Heads-up, he defeated Full Tilt Poker pro John Juanda, who cashed for the second straight year in the British tournament.

Juanda entered heads-up play against Vamplew up nearly 4:1 in chips. However, the two tangled in a see-saw battle until Juanda check-raised to 1.8 million, or about one-third of his stack, on a 3-7-4 two-diamond flop. Vamplew shoved all-in and Juanda mucked, sending the 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe Main Event winner’s stack plummeting to 3.8 million, or an 8:1 deficit.

Juanda ultimately got it in pre-flop with K-2 suited and was up against Vamplew’s A-3. Vamplew flopped two pair and that was all she wrote for Juanda, who banked £545,000. Juanda had Vamplew on the brink of elimination in one hand after turning Broadway, but Vamplew spiked a flush on the river to double up. The youngster also doubled with 10-9 against Juanda’s A-5 after turning a ten.

Prior to Monday, Vamplew’s largest live cash was a meager $6,000. The Scottish player told PokerStars officials following his big win, “It’s going to take a while to sink in. I had to get lucky to win. I won a few all-ins, but I’m pretty proud of the way I played. I’m pleased with myself for sure.” The tournament attracted a record-setting field of 848 players; 165 won their way in through the world’s largest online poker site.

Per Ummer was the first casualty of the EPT London Main Event final table. Ummer open-shoved pre-flop with just 5-3 from the small blind and Artur Wasek woke up with A-Q. Wasek flopped a queen and no help came for Ummer on the turn or river. Tom Marchese, who won the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Venetian Main Event in February, took seventh in London after his A-8 of diamonds was cracked by Vamplew’s 10-5 of the same suit.

Fernando Brito 3bet all-in before the flop with A-6 offsuit and Kyle “kwob20” Bowker, the original raiser in the hand, made the call with J-10 of diamonds. Brito hit a pair on a 4-Q-6 flop, but a ten on the turn gave Bowker a higher pair. The river was a king and Brito was ousted in sixth place for £145,000.

Kayvan Payman ran A-4 into Vamplew’s pocket queens to go home in fifth place. Bowker said that he laid down pocket eights in the hand and the board ran out 6-3-4-5-3. Wasek’s witching hour then came after he pushed over the top of a raise from Juanda with pocket fives. Juanda called and tabled A-J offsuit to set up a race. The board was safe for Wasek until a jack hit on the river, giving Juanda the win in the hand after delivering the six-outer. Wasek picked up £240,000 for his deep run.

Juanda cracked Bowker’s pocket jacks with pocket tens after hitting a flush to send the online poker whiz away in third place for £300,000. Here’s how the final table cashed out at the 2010 EPT London Main Event:

1. David Vamplew (United Kingdom): £900,000
2. John Juanda (United States): £545,000
3. Kyle Bowker (United States): £300,000
4. Artur Wasek (Poland): £240,000
5. Kayvan Payman (Canada): £190,000
6. Fernando Brito (Portugal): £145,000
7. Tom Marchese (United States): £100,000
8. Per Ummer (Cyprus): £66,800

Next up for the EPT is a trip to Vienna for a €5,300 Main Event running from October 26th to 31st. Visit PokerStars for more information and to qualify.

Carlos Mortensen to Captain Spanish World Team Poker Squad

Inside sources at World Team Poker tell Poker News Daily that Team Spain, which did not participate in the first tournament back in May, has filed its roster. The captain of the squad will be former World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champ Carlos Mortensen, who has banded together a team that brings great skills in all aspects of poker. Joining Mortensen on the roster will be the highly underrated Raul Paez, Santiago Terrazas, Oscar Blanco, Cayetano Garcia, and Leo Margets.

Mortensen has spent the last decade at the forefront of the poker world. Since his first cash in a tournament back in 1999, Mortensen has traveled the world as a player, with results that any top pro would be proud to own. At the WSOP in 2000, Mortensen cashed in his first event and, one year later, would become (at the time) only the sixth foreign-born player to win the Main Event. He has added a second bracelet by winning a $5,000 Limit Hold’em event in 2003.

Mortensen’s success hasn’t been limited to just his 21 cashes at the WSOP. He has won three tournaments on the World Poker Tour (WPT), including the 2007 WPT Championship. This win was a significant achievement, as it made Mortensen the only man to win both the WSOP Main Event and the WPT Championship. His victory at the Hollywood Poker Open earlier this year pushed Mortensen to the top of the heap in all-time money winnings on the WPT, passing Daniel Negreanu. For his career, Mortensen has almost $10 million in earnings with his wealth of championships.

Raul Paez has battled on poker tables around the world while establishing himself as one of the most underrated players in the game. His first tournament cash was in 2003 and, since that point, he has cashed in tournaments in the United States, Spain, France, Germany, Poland, England, and the Bahamas. While he hasn’t won on the major tours, Paez has been able to garner six WSOP cashes, two cashes on the European Poker Tour (EPT), and a final table finish in 2006 on the WPT.

Santiago Tarrazas has been in the game just as long as Mortensen and Paez, with a great deal of success in his own right. Although he lacks a major title, Tarrazas has earned a cash in the WSOP Main Event in 2007 and, just last year, finished in third place at the EPT Barcelona Championship Event. Tarrazas has over $650,000 in career tournament earnings from his travels across Europe.

Oscar Blanco has been a terror on the Spanish poker circuit since coming to the felt in 2006. He was the best All-Around Player during the 2006 Campeonato de Espana and, later that year, took a title during the L.A. Poker Classic’s preliminary schedule. Most recently, Blanco was the runner-up at the Partouche Poker Tour’s stop in Madrid, earning slightly over $65,000 for that cash in July. Blanco’s career earnings pass the $400,000 mark and signify that he may be the “wild card” of the Spanish team, as opponents may not have any prior history with him.

Cayetano Garcia is the oldest player on the squad, but his years on the tables have provided him with excellent skills. Although his tournament results only date back to 2007, Garcia has made the most of his time with a championship on the Spanish Poker Tour in 2008 and a seventh place finish in 2009 at the WPT Spanish Championship. 2010 has been the best year of Cayetano’s short tournament poker career, with roughly $82,000 in cashes as a part of his $250,000-plus career earnings.

Since making her mark as the “Last Woman Standing” in the 2009 WSOP Main Event, 888 Poker’s Leo Margets has continued to impress fans and opponents with her success on the tables. She made the final table of this year’s Aussie Millions $2,000 Six-Handed No Limit Hold’em tournament and earned another cash in a similar tournament at the WSOP. Margets has over $476,000 in tournament earnings and continues to be in the hunt for her first major title.

In December, the latest World Team Poker event is expected to run, although a location and date have yet to be determined. Team Spain will face an uphill battle against teams from the United States, Australia, and Canada. In the inaugural World Team Poker event, Team China, led by captains Johnny Chan and David Chiu, took down the title.

Richard “CHUFTY” Ashby Wins WCOOP Event #54, Main Event Begins Sunday

Continuing what has been the best year of his poker career, British poker pro Richard “CHUFTY” Ashby is one of the latest winners during the run of the 2010 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) schedule.

Event #54, the $2,000 Six-Handed Pot Limit Omaha tournament, proved just how popular the discipline of Omaha is becoming. Set with a $800,000 guarantee (400 players), the tournament drew an outstanding 480 combatants, with many top online and live pros stepping up to the virtual felt. At stake was the $960,000 prize pool and, in particular, the first place awards of $185,760 and the coveted WCOOP bracelet.

As the two-day tournament played out, 60 runners took away a minimum payday of $3,840 for their efforts. For some of the top players, however, this wasn’t enough; Jon “PearlJammer” Turner left the event in 48th place ($4,800), 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event winner and Team PokerStars pro Chris “Money800” Moneymaker finished in 34th ($5,760), WSOP bracelet holder Steve “MrSmokey1” Bilirakis departed in 17th ($9,120), and online pro Kevin “BeL0WaB0Ve” Saul exited in 12th ($12,960).

Although he led much of the Day One action, Ashby came to the final table of the six-handed tournament on Friday in the third slot on the leaderboard. Taking hold of the top slot was “Shatkhi,” holding a stack of roughly 1.335 million; PokerStars Supernova “Gorrioncillo” was stacked with almost 711,000. Ashby would quickly go to work on the field during final table play, taking over the chip lead after taking a large pot off “Gorrioncillo” and crippling “< x|||||><“ moments later.

After only 45 minutes of play at the final table, heads-up action was determined. Former chip leader “Shatkhi” began to assert himself on the tables, eliminating three players in a row. He finished off “< x|||||><“ after his defeat at the hands of Ashby before taking out “Gorrioncillo” and “LukeFromB13” to determine heads-up play. When “Shatkhi” and Ashby came to their mano a mano fight, “Shatkhi” held the chip lead by a 2.2 million/1.3 million edge.

On several occasions, “Shatkhi” had Ashby on the ropes, but the 2010 WSOP bracelet winner would not fall in what he considers his specialty. “CHUFTY” won several hands to squeak into the lead, but “Shatkhi” continued to attempt to derail the Ashby Express. After getting very lucky by nailing a nut flush on the flop to draw even, Ashby seemed destined to win the title. He did so in the span of three hands, taking the final pot by hitting a set of aces on the flop, which “Shatkhi” could not defeat. The final table finished as such:

1st – Richard “CHUFTY” Ashby (United Kingdom) $185,760
2nd – Shatkhi (Russia) $137,760
3rd – LukeFromB13 (United States) $103,200
4th – Gorrioncillo (Spain) $71,040
5th – < x|||||>< (United States) $50,880
6th – shinbones (Canada) $32,640

The 2010 poker season has been a memorable one for Richard Ashby. Along with taking down his first WSOP bracelet, Ashby had two cashes in Las Vegas and a third place finish at the Aussie Millions $10,000 HORSE tournament. Roughly two weeks ago, the budding British poker star was also named the “Best All-Around Player” at the inaugural British Poker Awards.

As the WCOOP winds through its 62-event schedule, the battle on the leaderboard for the WCOOP “Player of the Series” has heated up. While Russia’s “Kroko-dill” is still atop the mountain at this point with 310 points, challengers have emerged that have an opportunity to take him down. Jamie “Xaston” Kaplan has moved into the second place slot with 265 points and both “Andy McLeod” and Norway’s “Donald” sit tied for third at 245 points. Turner rounds out the top five on the WCOOP leaderboard with 230 points.

Although the close of the 2010 WCOOP is near, there will still be plenty of action over the weekend. Two tournaments – a $530 Heads Up Pot Limit Omaha and a $2100 HORSE, both two day events – will start on Saturday, while Sunday marks the conclusion of the WCOOP. Two tournaments – a $215 No Limit Hold’em and a $10,300 Eight-Game High Roller – will join the Sunday action, but the focus of much of the online poker world will be on the WCOOP Main Event, a $5,200 buy-in tournament that has a $10 million guaranteed prize pool. As of Saturday morning, 564 players have been registered, including almost two dozen pros from the Team PokerStars stable.

World Team Poker Adds New Countries

In preparation for its forthcoming Championship Event, World Team Poker has added 19 countries to its lineup, including Canada, Pakistan, and Spain. World Team Poker will even receive face time on Fox Sports Net when its tournaments begin debuting in January on Sunday nights for 13 weeks.

Team Canada promises to be among the fiercest in the 30-team field. Shawn Buchanan, Kyle Wilson, Eric Cloutier, Owen “ocrowe” Crowe, Daniel Idema, and Terrence “Unassigned” Chan will comprise the group, which features two-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) Greg “FBT” Mueller as its captain. Buchanan finished as the runner-up to new DoylesRoom Brunson 10 member Dan “djk123” Kelly in the $25,000 No Limit Hold’em Six-Max event at the 2010 WSOP, banking $813,000.

Hasan Habib and Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka will co-captain Team Pakistan. A press release distributed by World Team Poker delicately explains, “Pakistan, which is known more for its cricket than poker players, has formed a formidable team of excellent poker talent.” Jaka is the reigning World Poker Tour (WPT) Player of the Year after recording two final tables and four top 20 finishes last season. Also on Team Pakistan are Ayaz Mahmood, Ozzy Sheikh, Owais Ahmed, Mohsin “chicagocards1” Charania, and former Ultimate Bet Online Championship (UBOC) Main Event winner Hafiz Khan.

Carlos Mortensen, the WPT’s all-time money leader, will captain Team Spain. Mortensen was the only announced player for the Spanish World Team Poker contingent, but the former WSOP Main Event champ has four WPT final tables to his credit along with three titles. Mortensen has $5.7 million in career WPT earnings along with $2.4 million from the WSOP felts, where he’s a two-time bracelet winner.

Team Caribbean Islands is also taking form, with three players having signed up to be part of the fun. Jean-Robert Bellande, a former Bodog pro and “Survivor: China” castaway, will compete for the island nation team alongside Jean “Prince” Gaspard and Amnon Filippi. Among their competition will be Team Germany, which consists of Dan Heimiller, John Galbraith, Kathy Liebert, Jennifer “Jennicide” Leigh, and Cyndy Violette. Liebert is being inducted into the Women in Poker Hall of Fame this evening, while Violette is already a member.

Victory Poker pro Antonio Esfandiari will captain Team Iran. Backing him up is an eclectic group of players that includes Reza Golestani, Mojgan Stringham, Shawn “Sheiky” Sheikhan, and Soheil Shamseddin.

Team USA has largely already been determined, with Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth, Mike Matusow, Allen Cunningham, Annie Duke, Jennifer Harman, Chris Ferguson, Howard Lederer, and Erik Seidel taking the floor for the North American nation. Three online poker sites – DoylesRoom, UB.com, and Full Tilt Poker – will be represented.

The 30-team Championship Event will likely occur next month from Las Vegas, although the dates, times, and a location have not yet been announced. The inaugural World Team Poker tournament took place at the Golden Nugget in Downtown Las Vegas earlier this year and was won by Team China, whose impressive roster of pros includes former WPT Championship winner David Chiu, 10-time bracelet winner Johnny Chan, Winfred Yu, former “Amazing Race” contestant Maria Ho, Chau Giang, Rich Zhu, and Derek Cheung.

Here are the new team captains along with the countries they represent as announced by World Team Poker on Friday:

Greg Mueller: Canada
Hasan Habib and Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka: Pakistan
Jean-Robert Bellande: Caribbean Islands
Peter Costa: Cyprus
Max Stern: Costa Rica
Chris Bjorin: Sweden
Martin Pollak: Austria
Dan Heimiller: Germany
Bruno Fitoussi: France
Vivek “Psyduck” Rajkumar: India
Toto Leonidas: Philippines
Antonio Esfandiari: Iran
Kevin Song: Korea
Marco Traniello: Italy
Lenny Martin: Russia
Carlos Mortensen: Spain
Roberto Rominelli: Wales
Padraig Parkinson and Donnacha O’Dea: Ireland
Vladimir Shchemelev: Ukraine

Visit WorldTeamPoker.com for more details.

Jonathan Duhamel Prop Bet

Jonathan Duhamel is the chip leader among the November Nine this year heading into the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event final table. Duhamel hails from Montreal, Quebec in Canada and was on hand at the Foxwoods Resort and Casino for their recent tournament promotion. While there he met up with Poker News Daily correspondent Bernard Lee. The two talked and Lee found out that Duhamel likes to conduct a prop bet with his friends that travel with him over just about any debate that might come up during the trip. The way they settle the debate is through a game of Rock, Scissors, Paper. The winner gets their way with the argument and Bernard Lee was on hand to capture the latest in these high-stakes bets.

At stake in this prop bet, against Duhamel’s good friend Vincent, is who gets to sleep in the nice bed while the lose must take the bed that is next to the window. The two played a best of three edition of Rock, Scissors, Paper and Duhamel explains why him and his friends always prop bet anything they possibly can.

For those of you born in a cave, the game of Rock, Scissors, Paper is one often played by children or drunks trying to determine who is stuck with the bar tab. The game is simple, you “bounce” your hand while counting to three and when you say three out loud, you form your hand into a rock, scissors or paper. Rock defeats scissors. Scissors defeats paper. Paper defeats rock. Often times the game is referred to as rochambeaux.

Duhamel is currently sponsored by the world’s largest poker site, PokerStars. Previous to his amazing WSOP Main Event run, he bubbled the final table of the No Limit Hold’em EPT Championship in Prague for $55,000. He also cashed at the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event and qualified for the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event through an online qualifier at PokerStars.

Bernard Lee is the official spokesperson for Foxwoods Casino and can also be seen on the ESPN.com web show “The Inside Deal”.

Sorel Mizzi tells that he was being blackmailed

I bet everyone knows about the whole deal with Sorel Mizzi and the accusations he has been facing lately. Mizzi has been caught before, is he cheating again?

There’s an IM chat between Mizzi and Steve “thorladen” Weinstein posted on the 2+2 ,which clearly shows how Mizzi was/is planning to do some ghosting by using Windows Remote Desktop program. Here’s an excerpt from the original post:

Sorel- Toronto says:
you can control someones PC while on your own
thor says:
yeh
Sorel- Toronto says:
and you can control multiple peoples PC’s
thor says:
didint know that
Sorel- Toronto says:
and you can watch multiple screens
thor says:
didnt kow thaqt either
Sorel- Toronto says:
it revolutionizes teaching/ghosting in poker
Sorel- Toronto says:
it can also be used for multiaccounting
thor says:
yeh i was using beam my screan for teaching
Sorel- Toronto says:
im surprised no ones ever brought this up on the forums
Sorel- Toronto says:
like someone could play 6 + accounts at once
Sorel- Toronto says:
in the same tournament
thor says:
yeh i can see th m;/a advantages
Sorel- Toronto says:
and it would be untraceable
thor says:
i wanted to set one up in canada at boykee moms house
thor says:
the vpn
Sorel- Toronto says:
man
Sorel- Toronto says:
its so quick and easy its sick
thor says:
yeh i know insane to not have it
Sorel- Toronto says:
like i could watch ur screen right now if u logged in and added your computer
thor says:
while im certainly interested in whatever u thinking
thor says:
if u want me in

Mizzi is now answering the accusation and tells that he has been blackmailed and he refused to pay the blackmailer, so the blackmailer posted the chat on 2+2. Mizzi also adds that the chat has been compiled from different chat sessions during 2008-2009.

Mizzi also criticizes the whole 2+2 community and says that Shaun Deeb is just a gossipmonger.

You can read Mizzi’s answere here.

Source: 2+2, aintluck.com and PokerNewsDaily

You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com

Sorel Mizzi tells that he was being blackmailed

EPT Tallinn Breaks Attendance Records and is Featured in Twitter

The first stop of Season Seven for the European Poker Tour (EPT) in Tallinn, Estonia has broken records for a tournament and drew what is truly an international field.

The tournament, which started yesterday with the first of two Day Ones, is the largest tournament in the history of Estonia. With a €4,000 buy-in, a field of 420 players has come to the felt for a chance at a €400,000 first place prize. 182 runners came to the line on Wednesday, with the remaining 238 stepping up to take part in Day 1B, which is currently in action.

While other events have the “world” in their organizational monikers, the EPT truly shows the diversity in the poker community with the nations that are represented. No nation represents more than 13% of the field, with Russia and Finland both sending 53 representatives. Italian players make up 10% of the field (42 players) and the United Kingdom, Germany, and Sweden all have 6% of the field (25 players). The United States only has 4% of the field (nine players).

Day 1A action featured several top pros from the PokerStars stable as well as some of the best in the game from the European continent. Italy’s Luca Pagano, Russia’s Ivan Demidov, Finland’s Ville Wahlbeck, and Canada’s Matt “cho0ppy” Kay (who qualified through satellites on PokerStars) all lasted through the day and will come back for Day Two on Friday. One player who won’t, however, is Norwegian poker phenomenon Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad.

Keeping her fans in touch through her Twitter account, Obrestad was able to get off to a decent start in the Tallinn tournament. At one point, Obrestad had built her stack to double the starting total (players started with 30,000 in chips), but the wheels came off her game after the dinner break. “45k. Minraise Kh3h. Nit calls with 25k stack,” she related to her fans in a Tweet. “We get it in on K32dd flop. He has KQ. Hits Q on turn.”

The agony continued for the former World Series of Poker Europe Main Event champion as the night wore on. “35k. Very slow,” Obrestad lamented. “Not getting many hands or trying too hard. Just kinda blinding off a little.” Fortunes would not change for her as the night came to a close with her final Tweet from the tournament floor: “Just busted. Flopped a flush and got it in vs AK with fd. He got there for 90k pot. Blah.”

Day 1B also features a very strong field, with Team PokerStars players Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Katja Thater, and Dario Minieri battling against the likes of 2010 WSOP bracelet winner Richard Ashby. At the dinner break, Minieri is out of the tournament and “ElkY” finds himself on life support. Two players – the now “unretired” Shaun Deeb and noted French poker journalist Benjo DiMeo – have been Tweeting their activities throughout Day 1B, albeit with different chip trajectories.

“Playing EPT Tallin,” Deeb Tweeted to his followers. “Table might be one of the tougher ones seat sucks too time for fun. 37k at 1st break.” As the players went to dinner break, Deeb Tweeted his misfortune: “7500 at dinner break last 2 levels really sucked. Won 1 pot in 2 hours, card dead.” Although he faces a tough situation, Deeb kept his spirits up:  “Enough to still have chips. Have the button too and 12bb.”

DiMeo, for his part, was grinding along through the early part of the EPT Tallinn. “I’m attending my 38th EPT this week, but this is only the first one as a player. Wish me luck,” DiMeo fired off to his followers at the start of Day 1B. After treading under the starting stack for much of the first three hours, DiMeo was able to report to his followers, “Above starting stack for first time today yay.” By the time the dinner break came, DiMeo was keeping in the fray, but was less than enthusiastic about his play: “Heading to dinner with 40 bb (24,000). Stole the blinds once and that’s all I done last level. Ugh.”

As the players return from the dinner break on Day 1B, Percia Bukara holds the edge with 130,000 chips, followed by notable names such as 2009 WSOP bracelet winner Marc Naalden (85,000) and the aforementioned Ashby (60,000). The players will have quite a distance to go, however, to reach Day 1A chip leader Ali Tekintamgac’s stack of 203,200. Also up the leader board from Day 1A are Pagano (124,900) and French Team PokerStars pro and 2007 EPT Prague champion Arnaud Mattern (103,600). The final table for the tournament will play out Monday, August 16th at the Swissôtel Tallinn.

Canadian Poker Tour Exceeds Revenue Expectations, Prepares For Canadian Open Poker Championships

One of the major players in the Canadian poker scene, Heads Up Entertainment – which owns the Canadian Poker Tour and will host the upcoming Canadian Open Poker Championships in August – is the subject of good news on the financial front in a time when such reports are rare for various poker tournament schedules and companies.

Heads Up Entertainment (listed under the stock ticker “HDUP” on the OTC Pink Sheets)  last week reported that their revenues for tournament entries and corporate sponsorships have exceeded their expectations. Their July tournaments, including the recently completed Stampede Poker Classic, saw a 30% increase in total player registrations. According to Kelly Kellner, the president and Chief Executive Officer of Heads Up Entertainment, the growing success of the CPT should only extend up to the upcoming COPC.

“Right now, we’re ahead of schedule with player registrations for the COPC compared to past years,” Kellner stated in an exclusive interview with Poker News Daily. “Everything is looking very good for the COPC, but there’s always some concerns that you have directing such a big event. I constantly am thinking, ’what if no one shows up,’ and then the next minute thinking, ’what if everyone shows up’. There’s no point of happiness until the tournament goes off,” Kellner said with a laugh.

The news from player registrations has been exceptionally good. Heads Up Entertainment expects a complete sell out for the COPC, which will put total revenues from just the COPC and the Stampede Poker Classic at around $250,000 (Canadian dollars). Overall revenues from events that have been held by the CPT have passed $400,000 to this point in 2010.

Several corporate sponsors have stepped up to support the COPC in August. Kellner stressed the importance of those sponsors in not only being critical to the bottom line, but also important in working with the local community. “We have lined up three major sponsors for the COPC,” Kellner told Poker News Daily. “Big Rock Brewery is a local Calgary company and one of their best products, Gopher Lager, is also a part of the COPC. Joining those companies is another quality sponsor in Dank Energy Drink.” Kellner also stated that he is “continuously” looking for other sponsors that want to be a part of such a prestigious tournament.

With the fields for the COPC tournaments quickly filling up, Kellner stressed the importance of early registration to ensure players can get into the events they want. “Pre-registering for tournaments can be done on the tournament’s website and players don’t have to prepay for any event other than the Heads Up Championship,” Kellner says. “It is definitely looking like this year’s COPC will surpass everyone’s expectations.”

Kellner also noted that Heads Up Entertainment is looking to improve its standing as a publicly traded company. “We are going through the processes to become a fully reporting member (reporting in-depth financials quarterly is a must for any publicly traded company) and, as such, to be able to move from the pink sheets to a higher level of investment,” Kellner reported. “Heads Up Entertainment is a solid organization and a good opportunity for investors.”

The COPC is Canada’s version of a national championship, with their penultimate event, the $5000 Heads Up Championship, serving as their Main Event. From August 19th to the 29th, eleven events will take place (including the $5K) over three casinos located in Calgary. The Deerfoot Inn and Casino, the Grey Eagle Casino and the Cash Casino will all be running events during the COPC. Satellites will run at all three casinos, with different events during the COPC schedule to be held at each casino. Buy ins range from $170 for satellite tournaments to the $5000 Heads Up Championship.

The COPC has been popular with everyone in the poker world, from grinders looking for an inexpensive event to top pros looking for a major championship. Over the past few years, such players as former COPC Heads Up Champion Huck Seed, former World Champions Phil Hellmuth and Joseph Hachem, Canadian poker professionals Brad Booth, Gavin Smith and Greg Mueller, and other poker pros such as Antonio Esfandiari, Phil Laak and Jennifer Tilly have played in COPC events. Because of the strength of the fields throughout the ten day schedule – and the entertainment organized by Heads Up Entertainment during off nights – it is extremely likely that this year’s COPC will be one of the largest poker festivals in Canadian poker history.

Severe teething troubles for British Columbia’s new online casino

Matthew Jarvis November Nine Video Interview

Matthew Jarvis is a member of the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event November Nine. On his way to poker fame he was able to make several critical knockouts including Benjamin Statz in 16th place and Full Tilt Poker pro Scott Clements in 18th place when his A-K held up against A-Q. The biggest knockout he delivered came at the final table when play was at 10 players and had his pocket Queens hold up against Brandon Steven’s A-K which set the field down to the November Nine.

Jarvis is a native of Surrey, British Columbia in Canada and is known to be a regular at the Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza series. He will enter the 2010 November Nine fifth in chips at 16.7 million. His previous biggest tournament finish was in November of 2009 when he bubbled the final table of the British Columba Poker Championship which earned him just over $20,000. He learned to play poker by reading books and talking with friends about hands. When he’s away from the tables he is also a graduate business student.

In this interview Jarvis talks about the events that led up to him making the November Nine. He discussed Canada’s great showing in the Main Event and also talked about some the skiing he does in British Columbia. Also discussed during the interview are his key knockouts, including the one against Steven that made him the most popular man in all of Las Vegas. He also talks about upcoming events that he plans to participate in.

Jarvis is 25-years-old and is a full-time poker player who makes his living online. He feels like his chances are as good as anyone’s for the WSOP Main Event bracelet but admitted to ESPN’s Gary Wise that he didn’t like to see Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi chip up on the last day of play.

2010 November Nine: Matthew Jarvis

The 25-year-old from Surrey, British Columbia, Canada will enter the 2010 WSOP Main Event final table in November as one of the middle-stacks with 16 million chips.

"I'm so excited to be a part of it," said Jarvis. "It's pretty amazing."

Jarvis did not take the easiest road in securing his final-table seat and after building up a huge stack of 30 million he saw more than 50% disappear over the arduous 6-hour final-table bubble.

"The bubble is almost like something you could never even imagine," said Jarvis, a former business student. "It's like a super satellite but the winner gets into the November Nine and lives every poker player's dream."

Despite his frustrations about his last few hours of play, Jarvis has already outlasted 7,319 players and will enter the final table with more than 30 big blinds and a shot at the $8.9 million first-place prize.

Born in Richmond, B.C., Jarvis has a competitive nature in his genes as his father, Norm Jarvis, was a professional golfer.

Jarvis picked up poker after playing small games at a sales company where he used to work. Eventually he ended up in a casino and from that he moved on to playing poker tournaments online as well as sit-and-gos.

"I've always been really good at math and I'm also a really competitive guy," he said. "I think between those two things... well, that's poker."

Jarvis integrated himself into a strong poker community in Vancouver and after learning from his mistakes his game started to improve.

Professional poker was initially a tough sell to his family and friends but with Jarvis on the verge of winning the most prestigious tournament in the world, they're starting to come around.

"They're pretty excited about it now," he said. "I've gotten messages from 40 or 50 people I honestly don't even really know."

Jarvis and Jonathan Duhamel are the only two Canadians at the 2010 WSOP final table. Both have a chance at becoming the first player from the country to win poker's biggest prize.

"The next four months I'm going to let the world get to know me and know who I am," said Jarvis. "I'm just going to try and represent Vancouver and Canada as best I can.

The 2010 WSOP Main Event final table begins Nov. 6, with a winner crowned on Nov. 8 and ESPN airing the final table on Nov. 9.

Jonathan Duhamel 2010 WSOP Video Interview

Jonathan Duhamel dominated the field on the final day of the 2010 WSOP Main Event and once he eliminated Matt Affleck, took the chip lead and never looked back. When play was down to just 14 players he joined us to talk about his style of play and what critical moments so far got him the chip lead.

Duhamel is originally from Quebec, Canada and finished in 15th place in an event earlier this year at the World Series of Poker. He qualified into the Main Event through PokerStars.

At 22 years of age he is the youngest member of the 2010 November Nine and hails from Boucherville, Quebec, Canada. He is a former finance student who learned to play poker while hanging out with friends. He’s been able to take that knowledge and post multiple top-20 finishes at major poker tournaments. Among those deep runs include a great finish at an earlier event at the WSOP this year. He leaves the Rio with a stunning 65.95 million in chips to be the chip leader. He took out popular player Matt Affleck when play was down to just 15 players when his J-J was all in against Affleck’s A-A on a board of 7-9-T-Q. The river brought Duhamel an 8 for the straight where he won a 40+ million pot and took the chip lead and never looked back.

Michal Wywrot – Poker Player Profile

Canadians have been a force in poker ever since the game exploded in North America in 2003. Players like Daniel Negreanu, Nenad Medic, and 2010 bracelet winner Gavin Smith have carried the banner for Canada, which is fresh off hosting the Winter Olympics. Calling Brampton, Ontario home is Mike Wywrot, who plays under the screen name “wywrotx” on PokerStars, “wywrot” on Full Tilt, and “xwywrotx” on UB.com. He reached the final 78 of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event.

Wywrot recorded two in the money finishes at the 2010 WSOP, even donning a Poker Players Alliance (PPA) patch despite being from Canada. He finished 321st in a $1,000 No Limit Hold’em event for $1,900. Then, it was on to the big money, as Wywrot walked away with $14,000 from a $3,000 Triple Chance No Limit Hold’em tournament.

His hallmark score in the online poker world is a final table appearance in the $215 buy-in PokerStars Sunday Million for $95,000 after a four-way chop in March 2009. Heading into play at the Rio in Las Vegas, however, Wywrot would need to muster all of his poker know-how in order to navigate the competition at the ESPN feature table. He posted on the popular poker forum PocketFives.com prior to taking to the felts, “I’m at the main feature table with Phil Galfond with a million chips. GL everyone that’s left!”

Wywrot became interested in poker at the age of 15 after watching World Poker Tour (WPT) broadcasts featuring Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten. He began playing in small home games in school, paying for lunches through the skill game. He’s proficient in heads-up poker online, so it should come as no surprise that he’s final tabled some of the richest tournaments offered, including the PokerStars Wednesday Quarter Million, PokerStars $100 rebuy, and PartyPoker $75,000 Guaranteed.

Wywrot is a dual Triple Crown winner on PocketFives.com, which involves taking down three $10,000 prize pool tournaments across three online poker sites in the same seven-day period. He attended University of Toronto in Mississauga and studied finance.

Theo Jorgensen Leads Michael Mizrachi, John Racener In WSOP Main Event; Chan Eliminated

The final days of the 2010 World Series of Poker Championship Event are drawing nigh, with only 78 players left to decide the next World Champion.

Play on Thursday started with 205 runners, led by Canada’s Evan Lamprea, but the true story of the action at the WSOP Main Event sat further down the Top Ten. After not appearing for many of the preliminary events, two time WSOP Main Event winner Johnny Chan came to the felt with a vengeance. Through the first five days (and over 7000 eliminations), Chan battled his way to sit in ninth place with 2.559 million in chips to start play on Day 6. Unfortunately for the last back-to-back winner of the WSOP Main Event, the variances of the game of poker arose to take him down, destroying his meticulously built stack in the span of one hour.

Early during action on Day 6, Chan entered into a preflop battle against Robert Pisano, which eventually led to Pisano getting the remainder of his chips in against the 1987-88 World Champion. Chan confidently tabled his pocket Kings, only to see Pisano have the better of the situation with pocket Aces. After the board ran ten high, two other players at the table informed “The Orient Express” that they had folded his two outs. The carnage left Johnny sitting with only 800,000 chips remaining and Robert on a 4.4 million chip mountain.

Chan patiently waited over the next hour for an opportunity to get back in the tournament and seemingly found it against Jonathan Driscoll. In the cutoff, Johnny moved the remainder of his chips to the center only to have Driscoll immediately call from the button. After the blinds got out of the way, another cooler hit Johnny; his pocket Jacks were once again behind the pocket Aces that, this time, Driscoll held. The board once again ran low (seven high) and eliminated Chan in 156th place.

For those who were looking for the “last woman standing” this year, Breeze Zuckerman provided that excitement. Entering the day in 131st place with 738,000 in chips, Zuckerman was the only woman with a shot at the WSOP “November Nine” after the departure of Dorothy Von Sachsen on Day 5. Over the first three hours of play, Breeze was able to work her way up to slightly over 1.1 million in chips and found herself on one of the ESPN television stages. After the move to the big stage, however, Zuckerman bled chips and eventually was eliminated from the tournament in 121st place at the hands of defending CardPlayer Magazine Player of the Year Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, several players used Day 6 to mount their assaults on the top of the leader board. 2010 $50K Players’ Championship winner Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi started the day in 30th place with 1.793 million in chips and used the run of play on Thursday to surge to the top of the mountain. Mizrachi seemed to be on the right side of the action throughout Day 6 and, late in the evening, vaulted into the chip lead after pushing Randy Dorfman and Christopher Bolt out of a pot with a four bet. His stay as the “leader of the pack” was short lived, however, as another charger on the day, Denmark’s Theo Jorgensen, took a pot from “The Grinder” with a river bet ten minutes later to assume the chip lead.

When the cards fly at noon (Pacific Time) on Friday, the remaining 78 players will look up at a strong leader board that includes this Top Ten:

1. Theo Jorgensen 9.3 million in chips
2. Michael Mizrachi 7.535 million
3. John Racener 7.2 million
4. Jonathan Driscoll 6.57 million
5. William Thorson 6.525 million
6. Matthew Jarvis 6.125 million
7. Edward Ochana 5.95 million
8. Alexander Kostritsyn 5.715 million
9. Cuong Nguyen 5.65 million
10. Joseph Cheong 5.555 million

Surprisingly, the Top Ten players have quite the resume in the poker world. Jorgensen is the reigning champion of the World Poker Tour’s resurrected Rendezvous a Paris, which he won back in May, and has $2.3 million in career earnings. Along with his victory in the $50K Players’ Championship, Mizrachi has two WPT titles and $8.8 million in earnings. Racener holds a WSOP Circuit championship ring and has earned $1.18 million in his short career. Thorson is the defending PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Pot Limit Omaha champion and Kostritsyn won the championship of the Aussie Millions in 2009, with each having over $2.3 million in career earnings. All totaled, the Top Ten have earned almost $18 million in their poker careers.

Sitting down the remaining 78 players are several dangerous players. The aforementioned Baldwin is currently at 2.135 million in chips, with European sensation Johnny Lodden on his heels with 2.105 million. Adam “Roothlus” Levy sits in 49th place with his 1.685 million chip stack, with Katy, TX’s David Baker and Full Tilt Poker superstar David Benyamine in pursuit. Day 4 chip leader Tony “Bond18” Dunst, Day 5 leader Lamprea, Hasan Habib and Scott Clements are all within striking distance of the Top Ten.

Friday’s plan of action at the WSOP is to play down to the final 27 players before calling it quits for the night. On Saturday, the battle for the “November Nine” begins as those three tables whittle themselves down to one. By the end of action on Saturday, the poker community will know the names and faces behind who will become the next champion of the World Series of Poker Championship Event.

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.