Poker News

CBS to air Ante Up For Africa Monte Carlo

Two one-hour shows featuring action from the star-studded event to benefit Darfur are set to air on the US network Today [Sept. 19] at 1:30 p.m. EST and Saturday, Sept. 26 at 2 p.m. EST, leading into its popular college football coverage.

Modelled on the World Series of Poker's Ante Up For Africa event created by Don Cheadle, Annie Duke and Norman Epstein, the $6,000 buy-in event saw stars from the worlds of television, sports and music take on a host top poker professionals.

Celebrities including Christina Milian, Nelly, Joel Madden, Jason Lewis, James Lee, and Boris Becker were joined by Team PokerStars Pros Daniel Negreanu, Joe Hachem and Vanessa Rousso on the felt.

Former Team PokerStars Pro Isabelle Mercier actually won the tournament defeating English football legend Teddy Sheringham heads-up.

All of the prize money was donated to help fund the work of charities that provide aid and assistance to the humanitarian efforts in Darfur.

"Each year at the World Series of Poker, I make a point to play in Ante Up for Africa," said Rousso.

"It's amazing that PokerStars hosted the event in Monte Carlo to help a worthy cause and bring some fun to the table during one of their biggest events of the year."

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Tiffany Michelle Gives the Inside Scoop on Amazing Race

On September 27th, the 15th installment of the CBS reality franchise “Amazing Race” will kick off at 8:00pm ET. Appearing will be professional poker players Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho, the last women standing in the 2008 and 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Events, respectively. Michelle sat down with Poker News Daily to preview the season.

Poker News Daily: Congratulations on appearing on “Amazing Race.” Tell us how the opportunity came up.

Michelle: Maria Ho and I have been friends for a while and bonded even more recently. There was lots of talk of us doing a reality television show. We agreed that if we did anything, it’d be “Amazing Race.” We thought we’d be an interesting team. With the competition and challenge of the show, it’d be right up our alley. We could take our poker playing background and use it on “Amazing Race.” We had a chance to go through the casting process and were in Las Vegas playing tournaments when we got the call. It was definitely hard to head back to the tables during the WSOP knowing we’d be traveling the world soon.

PND: Had you watched previous seasons of “Amazing Race”?

Michelle: I hadn’t seen a full season, but saw the show on different occasions. It looked challenging and was out of my league. I think it looked fun.

PND: The cast features Harlem Globetrotters and a former Miss America. Talk about the competition that you’ll face on “Amazing Race.”

Michelle: We were surprised to learn that we were the only all-female team this season. We felt pressure to represent women and knew that no all-female team had ever won “Amazing Race.” We thought that our competition consisted of young, big, athletic people. That was going to be our weakness, but we knew that the race tests your mental and physical skills.

PND: Past seasons of “Amazing Race” have included stops in the four corners of the globe. Talk about being able to travel the world.

Michelle: It was a very life-changing experience. I live a wonderful and blessed life. I get to travel and stay in nice hotels. We have a life of luxury and don’t have to sweat it out. It was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done, mentally and emotionally. I came home and had a whole new appreciation for my life. I feel like I’m so full after the experience.

PND: Talk about your relationship with Maria Ho.

Michelle: I wouldn’t have done “Amazing Race” without her. You have to trust and feel comfortable with your partner. I was excited to share this experience with her. We travel together on the poker circuit already. We’re 10 times closer now.

PND: Is there anything you can take away from Annie Duke’s appearance on “Celebrity Apprentice” that could have helped you on “Amazing Race”?

Michelle: “Celebrity Apprentice” is a different format than “Amazing Race.” You’re competing against different people on your own. On the race, you have a team. There’s not that direct competition and you have the opportunity to work together in a group. We wanted to represent poker well after what happened between Annie and Joan Rivers. We wanted to come off the best that we could. We wanted to play a clean game and give poker players a good name. Also for us, we’re controversial and wanted to show people a different side.

PND: You’re hosting a Hollywood premier of “Amazing Race” that will likely include Tammy and Victor, who won last season’s installment of the reality show. Did they provide any advice before you set out?

Michelle: We got to go to a Labor Day barbeque at Victor’s house. A lot of people who were on “Amazing Race” were there and you felt like a big family. These people know exactly what you went through. Within a few minutes of being there, I felt like I had known them forever. It’s wonderful being a part of something special.

PND: What preparations did you make before the show began filming?

Michelle: I ran out and bought running shoes. I got my cardio up because I knew there was a lot of running involved. Also, we learned how to drive a stick shift. Maria was much better than I was at that, so she was responsible. We watched past episodes and talked about them. We prepped for the unknown as much as we could. I got my butt in the gym and got in touch with the outdoors.

PND: You mentioned in a blog entry before you left that poker will always be around, but doing “Amazing Race” was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Was it hard walking away from this year’s WSOP Main Event to film?

Michelle: There wasn’t even a doubt in my mind that I wanted to do the show. What I did last year in the Main Event was amazing. As hopeful as I could be to repeat that, I was happy with that punctuation. The Main Event comes around every year and poker is always there. Not only was this an amazing challenge, but it was also an opportunity to be a part of an Emmy Award winning show. To get to do it with someone else sounded like a fun time.

Joe Hachem, Jeffrey Lisandro Featured on WSOP on ESPN Coverage

Day 3 of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event hit television airwaves on ESPN on Tuesday night, with two hours of coverage dedicated to the festivities. Seated at the feature table were two Aussies, Joe Hachem and Jeffrey Lisandro.

Lisandro became the fifth player in WSOP history to take home three bracelets in a year and has logged 29 cashes since 2004. Hachem took down the 2005 Main Event and ignited a poker boom of his own in Australia. Joining the duo from Down Under was George Hardie, the former owner of the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles. On the first hand, Lisandro raised to 3,600 with pocket eights and, after peeking down at pocket queens, Hachem made it 9,600. Lisandro called to see a flop of 10-4-2. Lisandro checked, Hachem bet 16,000, and Lisandro quickly released his hand, igniting chants of “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!”

ESPN announcer Norman Chad commented that, while Phil Ivey remains his perennial pick to win the WSOP Main Event, Lisandro’s heroics in 2009 make him a close second: “Let’s assume that aliens come down and lure Phil Ivey away to a cash game mother ship, then I must turn to Jeffrey Lisandro.” Ville Wahlbeck was the only player remaining in the field that could catch Lisandro for WSOP Player of the Year honors. However, he’d need a seventh place finish or better in order to do so. Wahlbeck was seated at Table Two during the 8:00pm ET episode alongside Kenny Tran.

Also found in the field were Ivey and Phil Hellmuth. “The Poker Brat” found that one of his tablemates, Lauchlin McKinnon, did not want to shake his hand. Instead, his opponent told Hellmuth, “I don’t respect anything you do. I think you’re a complete prick.” Hellmuth joked, “I think this is going to be a good day.” Elsewhere in the Amazon Room, Bodog pro Jean-Robert Bellande pushed with A-10 of diamonds for 20 big blinds and rivered a flush to double up. Chad labeled him a “survivor,” a reference to his appearance on the China installment of the CBS reality franchise.

Kent Senter, who is undergoing stem cell treatment for an incurable form of cancer, was all-in with pocket tens against Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier’s pocket jacks. The board ran out K-5-3-3-5, giving Grospellier the win and sending Senter home. He was met with a herd of television cameras upon his departure. Grospellier is a PokerStars pro; his site began sponsoring chip count leaderboard graphics on Tuesday night on ESPN.

The “Straight from the Pros” segment featured Daniel Negreanu battling against Sammy Farha in a hand during the 2005 WSOP Main Event. Negreanu folded a straight after a third spade hit the river to give Farha a flush. Negreanu, the captain of the Team Americas squad that will compete in the Caesars Cup, told ESPN cameras, “He’s either bluffing here or I’m dead.”

Negreanu’s comrade on Team PokerStars Pro, Hachem, was featured in the Jack Link’s Beef Jerky Wild Card Hand, in which the cards of one player are not shown so the audience can play along at home. Hachem raised to 4,100 pre-flop with the Wild Card hand and Claus Nielsen called with pocket threes. The flop came 8-2-5 and Nielsen checked. Hachem fired out a bet of 6,200 and Nielsen made the call. The turn was a deuce and Nielsen put in a check-raise to 32,000, causing Hachem to relinquish K-Q.

Also in the field was former November Nine member Dennis Phillips, who relived tossing out the first pitch at a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game. However, he wound up throwing the ball directly at the ground. Wahlbeck then hit the skids after running pocket queens into pocket kings, leading to an announcement from WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack that Lisandro had claimed Player of the Year honors. Ivey then moved to Grospellier’s table, leaving Chad to remark, “Poker’s superpowers clash.”

The second episode of Tuesday night kicked off at 9:00pm ET and continued coverage of Day 3 of the 2009 WSOP Main Event. David “Devilfish” Ulliott joined the cast at Table Two, while Hellmuth found himself flanking Josh Arieh. Former Main Event winners Peter Eastgate (2008), Greg Raymer (2004), Dan Harrington (1995), Hachem (2005), and Hellmuth (1989) all remained alive to begin the episode, but Raymer quickly found himself on the sidelines after running pocket tens into pocket aces.

Lunkin doubled up after rivering a straight, causing Chad to lament, “I know Lunkin has played good, but I can’t tell you how ridiculously good he’s run. He should be halfway back to Moscow on an Aeroflot flight in coach.” Meanwhile, Nielsen bet out on an ace-high board after raising pre-flop with just 8-4. However, Hachem laid down pocket queens and Lisandro released pocket kings, giving the pot to Nielsen.

The Full Tilt Poker sponsored segment “Deal Me In” featured Howard Lederer taking on Hellmuth in a hand from the 2004 WSOP Tournament of Champions, which was ultimately won by Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Annie Duke.

Hevad Khan cheerily smiled at ESPN cameras, leading to the following comment from announcer Lon McEachern: “That’s the first real sign of life from him we’ve seen in two years.” Khan finished sixth in the 2007 WSOP Main Event. His lively antics resulted in the “Hevad Khan rule” against excessive player celebrations. Elsewhere in the dwindling field, J.C. Tran and Joe Sebok doubled up, while L.A. Lakers Guard Jordan Farmar was eliminated. Also hitting the exits was “Seinfeld” actor Jason Alexander, whose opponent made trips on the river.

Finally, “The Nuts” featured Chad and Hellmuth taking turns in a dunk tank. After Chad, a southpaw, finally sent Hellmuth to a watery demise, he commented, “I took more pleasure out of dunking you than anything in my whole life. That was two honeymoons rolled into one.”

New episodes of the 2009 WSOP Main Event on ESPN air on Tuesdays at 8:00pm ET and are repeated throughout the week on ESPN’s family of networks.

Michelle, Ho discuss <i>The Amazing Race</i>

Neither won the WSOP Main Event, nor did they repeat as last woman standing.

Instead, the pair was cast on the 15th season of the award-winning CBS reality show The Amazing Race.

"Poker is something we do, but we don't want our lives to be driven by it," Michelle said. "When we first heard about it, it didn't take us long to say 'Heck yes, we want to do this.' Poker is always going to be around but The Amazing Race doesn't come around quite so often."

In the poker world, Ho and Michelle are famous for being the last female player surviving in poker's biggest event in consecutive years. Ho managed the feat in 2007 while Michelle made it even deeper in 2008.

When they got the call for The Amazing Race this summer, it quickly became apparent they would both have to miss the 2009 Main Event.

The decision was easy, according to Ho.

"I didn't give it a second thought," said Ho. "It was a little different for Tiffany, who was actually defending her title as last woman standing, but I hands-down wanted to be on the show. I'm glad we saw the big picture."

It wasn't the first time that Michelle had been approached to do reality TV, but it was by far the best offer.

"After my run at the Main Event there were a lot of opportunities," said Michelle. "Obviously there are a lot of crummy reality shows, but getting to star in a multiple-Emmy winning show is an amazing opportunity."

As soon as Michelle and Ho received word they would appear on the show, they set about preparing for the journey by watching a number of the previous seasons and going over possible scenarios from a strategic point of view.

In other words, they approached the game as poker players.

"I watched the very first season and I was completely intrigued," said Ho. "It's kind of the purest form of reality show. It's not a popularity contest and you don't get voted off. You compete hard or you go home."

In an ironic twist, Ho and Michelle were cast as the only all-female team for Season 15 of The Amazing Race. No all-female team has ever won the show.

"Once again we were living the whole male-dominated dynamic of the poker world, but we were really excited to take this on together," said Michelle.

Perhaps the most challenging aspect of the show was the timing. Since filming began in the middle of the WSOP Main Event, both Ho and Michelle were required to be vague when talking to fellow poker players about their plans.

"You understand why they don't want people to ruin the surprise," said Ho. "We see it all the time in poker when everyone knows the result of the Main Event before it's shown on television."

Despite the distraction, Ho managed to put on an impressive poker performance in one of the last events she played this summer. She finished 11th for $41,040 in the prestigious $10,000 World Championship Limit Hold'em event.

"I was getting a lot of questions," Ho said. "It was hard because I didn't want to lie to anyone when they asked if I was playing the Main Event."

Now that their appearance is public knowledge, both Ho and Michelle say they knew all along there was more on the line then just their individual reputations.

"We really wanted to go out there and represent poker in the best way possible," said Ho. "Sometimes poker is shown in a negative light because of the gambling aspect and we wanted to change that."

Michelle went so far as to say they had something to prove and Ho agreed.

"We're pretty unique in the poker world because it's a male-dominated game and we wanted to prove that we are some kickass girls who are nice, but also really competitive," said Ho.

"We wanted to get away from the whole pretty girls playing poker thing and prove that we are gamers," added Michelle.

Although the pair weren't able to disclose any information on the actual Amazing Race experience, it's obvious the bond between them remains tight.

"Tiff is a badass chick," laughed Ho. "I got to see how that translated into the race first hand. She's a competitive person and I love her."

Michelle went on to say that whatever happened on the show they agreed to be very forgiving of each other.

"Our relationship is probably stronger now," added Ho.

With the show completed both girls suddenly have a plethora of new career options, but the siren call of the good old poker game seems to be strong.

"I miss being able to play poker," said Ho. "I'm not going to say that I'll play every tournament, but I obviously love it. I'm going to make my best efforts to play the Aruba Poker Classic and WPT Festa al Lago."

Michelle, having recently re-signed with sponsor Ultimate Bet, was a bit coy about her future prospects.

"At this point I think we have to go for either a presidential campaign or world domination," she joked.

The 15th season of The Amazing Race begins airing on CBS Sept. 27.

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Ultimate re-signing for Tiffany Michelle

The controversial poker player/actress originally joined UltimateBet in the summer of 2008 after she made her deep run in the WSOP Main Event, busting out in 17th place as the last woman standing.

This will be her second year on a team that includes notable pros Phil Hellmuth, Annie Duke, Matt Graham and Brandon Cantu.

"I'm happy to be signing for another year with UltimateBet and I'm eager to get back to playing in live tournaments and exclusively at their online poker tables," said Michelle.

"The corporate team at UB has been so welcoming and supportive and I'm thrilled to be working with them. I can't wait for the exciting things in store for us."

In addition to her accomplishments in live poker and at UltimateBet's online tables, Michelle has enjoyed some success in front of the camera. In the past she has appeared on the shows ER and Nip/Tuck, and in the movie Semi-Pro.

Recently Michelle, along with fellow poker player Maria Ho, was announced as a contestant on the 15th season of CBS' popular reality program The Amazing Race.

The two will compete against 11 other teams as they race across the globe attempting to win a $1 million first-place prize.

Michelle created minor controversy at the 2008 Main Event when she called the clock on poker player Paul Snead at a pivotal point in the tournament. In addition Michelle got in a public dispute with backers Tony G and Jeffrey Lisandro over a sponsorship deal.

Michelle can be found playing at UltimateBet's online poker tables under the name Tiffany M.

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Poker Pros Michelle and Ho Confirmed for “The Amazing Race”

After two months of speculation, CBS has finally confirmed what the poker world has suspected all along: poker pros Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho will be competing together as a team on the upcoming season of the competition reality show “The Amazing Race.”

Photos, bios and video of the two women went up on the show’s official website on Wednesday, along with those of the other eleven teams competing in the latest installment of the race. Ho and Michelle will be facing off against a wide array of people including a married couple who work as yoga instructors, members of the Harlem Globetrotters, a singer/songwriter team and a contestant who has Asperger’s Syndrome.

Rumors first surfaced of the poker playing pair’s involvement with the show when neither woman participated in this year’s World Series of Poker Main Event. A series of clues, including Michelle alluding to an upcoming project with one of the show’s producers, Jerry Bruckheimer, a forum thread featuring posts from former “Survivor” contestant Jean-Robert Bellande seeking female poker players for a new reality project and fan photos from the shows launch capturing what looked like Ho, all led to speculation that the two ladies would be the latest poker pros to take a stab at reality television.

In the video of the team posted on the show’s website, the two discussed their chosen profession and talked about how they became friends while travelling the poker tournament circuit. Michelle cited their success in a traditionally male-dominated field as one of their strengths as a team. No all-female team has won the show in its 14-season history and the team of Ho and Michelle believe they have a legitimate shot to win. “We’re used to being the women doing the things that no other women are doing”, Michelle explained.

Ho ran down some of the things the ladies did in order to prepare for the event. In addition to taking extensive notes on previous episodes of the show, Ho and Michelle also learned how to drive a stick shift, as there is typically some sort of vehicle-related challenge that involves just such a skill.  She joked that they may not have practiced eating rare and potentially unappetizing food, another staple challenge of the program, but asserted that she and Michelle were mentally prepared to run the race. Michelle and Ho also cited their knowledge of Mandarin Chinese (Ho is fluent) and sign language as potentially helpful skills, but noted that the last season of the race featured a lengthy leg in China, so Ho’s knowledge may not be put to use after all.

Should the two survive in the race long enough to make it to the finale, rumors indicate the two may have home field advantage working in their favor. The Las Vegas Review Journal recently reported that the production crew of the show pulled permits to film in and around Las Vegas in early August. Some of the stops listed on the permits included McCarren International Airport and the famous “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign. While both women hail from Southern California, their poker work requires them to spend several weeks in Vegas each year, so the stop in Vegas would certainly be familiar territory for the duo.

This is not the only exciting news for Michelle. This week it was announced that she will be renewing her sponsorship deal with online poker site Ultimate Bet. Michelle first signed on with the site during her memorable WSOP Main Event run last year. She was the last woman left in the field that year and ultimately finished in 17th place.

“I’m happy to be signing on for another year with UltimateBet and I’m eager to get back to playing in live tournaments and exclusively at their online tables”, Michelle said in regards to her new deal. “The corporate team at UB has been so welcoming and supportive and I’m thrilled to be working with them. I can’t wait for the exciting things in store for us.”

The newest season of “The Amazing Race” begins on Sunday September 27th. The show will air on CBS from 8PM-9PM ET.

Michelle, Ho confirmed for <i>Amazing Race</i>

CBS officially released a list of the cast on Wednesday and both Michelle and Ho were featured prominently on the The Amazing Race website.

"We're excited to go out there and represent for the women," said Michelle in a video available on CBS.com. "No female team has ever won and we're used to doing what no other women are doing."

Also taking part in the season are two members of the Harlem Globetrotters, a former Miss America and her husband, dating aspiring country singers and eight other teams.

In the poker world Michelle and Ho are famous for being the last woman standing in the World Series of Poker Main Event in consecutive years. Ho came in 38th in the 2007 Main Event to score $237,865 while Michelle won $334,534 for coming in 17th in the 2009 Main Event.

This summer Ho narrowly missed out on the final table of the $10,000 WSOP Limit event by coming in 11th for $41,040.

Ho and Michelle are active in the entertainment industry and both have worked as on-camera talent for various poker news outlets.

The announcement isn't all that shocking considering that Michelle and Ho were rumored to be taking part in the show in mid-July and both were notably absent from the 2009 WSOP Main Event.

Michelle even mentioned on her Twitter that she would be gone filming a new project for several months in the summer.

Reality TV is nothing new for poker players as Jean-Robert Bellande appeared on Survivor: China in 2007 and Annie Duke was a cast-member of Celebrity Apprentice earlier this year. Bellande was eliminated early in Survivor but Duke made it all the way to the last two players in Apprentice before losing to Joan Rivers.

Season 15 of the The Amazing Race premieres Sept 27 on CBS.

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UIGEA Clarified: Legality of Internet Gambling Depends on State Law

A three-judge panel disagreed with many of the arguments made by the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) on Tuesday as to why the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) should be deemed unconstitutional. In the process, however, internet gambling may now be a states’ rights issue.

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals passed down the historic ruling on Tuesday morning, which included the following text that should be of interest to online poker players: “It bears repeating that the Act itself does not make any gambling activity illegal. Whether the transaction… constitutes unlawful internet gambling turns on how the law of the state from which the bettor initiates the bet would treat that bet, i.e., if it is illegal under that state’s law, it constitutes ‘unlawful internet gambling.’” In essence, internet gambling apparently may be treated the same as brick-and-mortar gambling, which is governed at the state level. As it currently stands, six states have laws on the books outlawing internet gambling to various degrees.

The judges also indicated that the legality of internet gambling also depends on where the company accepting the wager is located: “The Act prohibits a gambling business from knowingly accepting certain financial instruments from an individual who places a bet over the internet if such gambling is illegal at the location in which the business is located or from which the individual initiates the bet.”

The panel, while seemingly clarifying the 2006 law, rejected iMEGA’s claims that the UIGEA was “void for vagueness” and violated First Amendment rights. On the latter point, the court explained that “acceptance of a financial transfer” is not a First Amendment right.

Despite the UIGEA not being overturned as a result of Tuesday’s actions, iMEGA Chairman Joe Brennan told Poker News Daily, “The judges went to pains to clarify that the law did not make internet gambling itself illegal. The UIGEA made no act illegal other than the payment processors taking money. The UIGEA defers to state laws to make the determination.” As long as the bettor and the internet gambling outfit are both located in jurisdictions where the activity is not outlawed, the UIGEA is not violated.

Brennan told Poker News Daily that he had not determined whether iMEGA would appeal the Third Circuit’s decision. It is also unclear whether the U.S. Government would appeal. Still also at issue is the Wire Act of 1961, which some would argue makes online poker and other forms of internet gambling illegal in the United States at the federal level. Brennan explained, “The Wire Act only affects businesses. Is the Wire Act still a problem? Yes, but it doesn’t make it illegal.” A feature by the CBS news program “60 Minutes,” for example, labeled online poker illegal multiple times, even though organizations like the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) contend that the 1961 law does not apply to internet poker.

The three-judge panel also rejected iMEGA’s claims that the UIGEA violated privacy rights and the Tenth Amendment. The latter asserts, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” The Third Circuit instead claimed that as a third party, iMEGA lacked standing to argue the point.

What effect Tuesday’s decision will have on the internet gambling industry in the United States remains to be seen. Congress returns from session after Labor Day, when the PPA plans to push Barney Frank’s (D-MA) HR 2266, which delays financial services industry compliance with the regulations of the UIGEA by one year to December 1st, 2010. The measure has 35 co-sponsors and was introduced in early May.

iMEGA plans to release additional analysis on its UIGEA challenge later today. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest poker legislation headlines.

ESPN, World Series Of Poker Officially Extend Partnership To 2018

After much conjecture and rumor in the poker world, it was announced on Tuesday that Harrah’s Entertainment, the owners of the World Series of Poker, and cable sports monolith ESPN have officially extended their broadcast partnership of the most prestigious event in poker through 2018. The original deal was set to expire at the end of next year’s WSOP.

As part of the deal, ESPN has agreed to televise 32 hours per year of the World Series. This coverage is normally concentrated on the Championship Event (24 hours of coverage are dedicated to this year’s 40th anniversary tournament) but will also encompass other popular bracelet events in the future. Original programming will air on ESPN and future repeat broadcasts will be shown on the rest of ESPN’s broadcasting family, including ESPN2, ESPNClassic and ESPN International. The WSOP will also be a prominent part of ESPN’s online offerings through ESPN.com and ESPN360.com.

“The WSOP is proud to call ESPN home for another nine years”, an exuberant Jeffrey Pollack, President of Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment and Commissioner of the World Series of Poker, said. “This long-term agreement ensures that our content will continue to reach sports fans around the world through a wide variety of platforms.” Doug White, the senior director of programming and acquisitions at ESPN, echoed Pollack’s comments when he added, “We are very excited to continue our relationship with Harrah’s to deliver the largest, richest, and most prestigious gaming event in the world to fans across a variety of our platforms. Poker continues to be a solid ratings performer for us and allows us to continue offering diverse programming to our viewers.”

The 2009 television ratings for the World Series, which has sponsorship through Jack Link’s Beef Jerky, have been slightly down over the first two weeks of broadcasts that featured the special 40th Anniversary $40K No Limit Hold’em tournament and the Champions’ Invitational. The numbers have shown an 8% drop in television ratings through the first two weeks to an 0.72 rating versus last year‘s 0.78. In addition to ratings seeing an 8% slide, household impressions also fell, albeit a modest 5%. The total number of household impressions through two weeks of the 2009 WSOP was 714,904, compared with last year’s tally of 750,315.

The renewed agreement between the World Series and ESPN continues a longstanding relationship between the two. ESPN returned to broadcasting the World Series in 2003 – notable for the raucous and surprising victory of Chris Moneymaker – and has continued to put the venerable poker tournament on the air since then. Last year, ESPN and Harrah’s devised the “November Nine” concept, which delayed the final table to November to allow for a “plausibly live” broadcast of the Championship Event final table, which was received with a surge in ratings on ESPN when broadcast the same day the World Champion was determined.

ESPN has been the primary broadcast outlet for the World Series since the late 1980s. Other than a two-year period in the early 2000s – when the Discovery Channel produced documentaries on the year’s play (2000 and 2001) – and a year where there was no coverage at all (1996), coverage of the tournament by ESPN can be traced back to 1988. Prior to that time, the World Series was broadcast as a part of the CBS sports programming “CBS Sports Spectacular” or was taped as a specialty broadcast by the WSOP’s previous owner, Binion’s Horseshoe, without a network home.

With the agreement in place for future broadcasts of the World Series of Poker, the sport of poker has found that it will always have a television home with ESPN as the game continues to intrigue players worldwide.

Poker Players on Reality TV: Good or Bad for the Game?

Several poker superstars have joined the cast of reality shows in recent years. Bodog pro Jean-Robert Bellande was a castaway on the CBS reality hallmark “Survivor.” Annie Duke finished as the runner-up to Joan Rivers on NBC’s “Celebrity Apprentice.” Now, Tiffany Michelle will likely join Maria Ho on “Amazing Race.” Poker News Daily sat down with former PokerStars Vice President of Marketing Dan Goldman to discuss whether these appearances are beneficial or hurtful to the game.

Poker News Daily: What are your thoughts on Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho appearing on the 15th installment of CBS’ “Amazing Race”?

Goldman: These are two interesting characters. Tiffany is controversial, but I don’t think that makes her appearance negative. She’s controversial, but not despised, which could make for interesting television. My personal sense is that among people who know what’s going on with Ultimate Bet, I’m not sure there’s not a lot that can be done to rehabilitate the site’s image. One of the advantages of shows like “Amazing Race” is that they’re reaching an audience wider than poker and that’s what Ultimate Bet needs.

PND: Can you compare Tiffany Michelle’s “Amazing Race” appearance to Annie Duke’s performance on NBC’s “Celebrity Apprentice”?

Goldman: Annie is tightly associated with poker. Tiffany and Maria have their own aura that potentially transcends poker. They are two young, attractive women and will be a bit more interesting to a wider audience than Annie. They are, for the most part, unknown outside of poker.

PND: Tiffany Michelle is a member of Team UB. Is there any downside to the online poker site for her to appear on the show?

Goldman: I don’t think there’s a downside for Ultimate Bet. What’s the worst thing that could happen? It’s not like people are going to flee Ultimate Bet because her team didn’t act well. Their worst-case scenario for Ultimate Bet is that nothing happens. The best-case scenario is that a new audience will learn about them.

PND: Do you plan to watch “Amazing Race” when it debuts on September 27th on CBS?

Goldman: I watched the first season of the show and sort of liked it. I’m not a big fan of reality shows in general. If I watched one, it’d be this because it’s the best of an uninteresting brand of television. I’m obviously in the minority here, but the fact that a poker player is on it doesn’t affect me.

PND: When you were with PokerStars, was there any talk of using reality television as a marketing vehicle for your players?

Goldman: We talked about it, but briefly. We always stayed fairly close to poker. We did talk at length about doing a reality show centered on poker or one that had significant components of poker. We talked about doing a “Big Brother”-type show with a handful of poker players and a handful of people who were smart, but weren’t poker players. The goal was see if we could educate a non-poker crowd. We investigated it and there was some interest from networks, but not enough for them to fund development. It would have been a significant expense.

PND: What was the feedback you received from networks?

Goldman: It was poker and this was in 2004. Their feeling was if the show had poker, they wanted to hear about it. At least one of the networks was willing to do it as a partnership, but we decided that there were other ways to invest the millions of dollars that would have had more impact. PokerStars was a much different company back then than it is now.

PND: ESPN.com releases a weekly poker news show, “Inside Deal,” with Bernard Lee and Laura Lane that is sponsored by PokerStars. Have you watched it?

Goldman: It’s not bad. I think there’s a lot more they could do with it. If I were doing it, the show would be in smaller doses and more like “Entertainment Weekly.” It’d be a 15 minute show with short two to four minute segments, but it’s interesting. Bernard Lee is better than I thought he would be.

PND: Do you think there’s a market for a show like “Inside Deal” on television?

Goldman: I don’t think there’s a broad enough audience. If you did it once or twice a week for 15 minutes, it could attract an audience if you figured out where to put it. The show probably should tag along with a World Poker Tour or World Series of Poker episode. Stuff like this does better online and has longer legs. If it can be promoted properly, it has a lot of potential.

Liv Boeree Joins Team UB

Liv Boeree, formerly an ambassador of Absolute Poker, has become a card-carrying member of Team Ultimate Bet (Team UB), officials of the Tokwiro-owned online poker rooms announced this week.

In a press release distributed by Ultimate Bet, Boeree noted that she was looking forward to joining “Celebrity Apprentice” runner-up Annie Duke and 11-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, among others, on the Team UB roster: “It’s an honor to play with the two people who helped launch my poker career. Annie and Phil are two of my favorite players, so to sit on the same team as them is a bit of a surreal experience, but one I’m definitely proud of.” While on the show “UltimatePoker.com Showdown” in 2005, Boeree received poker coaching from Duke. The same press release explains, “It was [also] on UltimatePoker.com Showdown that Liv also earned the respect of 11-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth.”

Boeree has worked for various media outlets throughout her career, including Gutshot TV, the Daily Express, and Challenge TV. Her reporting career has led her to become successful on the felts of live poker tournaments around the world. In January, she finished seventh in an AUD $1,100 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament held during the Aussie Millions for AUD $19,000. In April, she caught fire at the World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship, winning a preliminary tournament, taking third in another, and finishing 37th in the $25,000 buy-in televised Main Event for over $80,000 total. In May of 2008, Boeree won the $2,000 buy-in Ladbrokes Poker European Ladies Championship for $42,000. The event drew 52 runners and culminated with Boeree besting Lenna Martyak heads-up.

In an August 8th blog on Ultimate Bet, Boeree noted that she had just returned from Sonisphere, a music festival near London. Among those who took to the stage was the band Anthrax, which features fellow Team UB member Scott Ian. On Anthrax’s set, Boeree recalled, “These guys are as hard and heavy as ever and it was a real treat to watch them play with their old singer, John Bush.”

Besides Ian and Boeree, other members of Team UB include Adam “Roothlus” Levy, who made a deep run in last year’s WSOP Main Event, ultimately finishing 48th for $135,000. He made the final table of the WPT Festa al Lago in October of 2008, banking $266,000 in a tournament won by Team PokerStars Pro member Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier. Online, Levy has been a stud. He finished as the runner-up in an event held during the quarterly Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) in February for $387,000. One week later, he took third in the marquee PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up for another $53,000. He’s ranked 95th in the world according to PocketFives.com.

Brandon Cantu joined Team UB in June. That month, he won a $1,500 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha High-Low Split tournament for $228,000 during the 2009 WSOP, besting Lee Watkinson heads-up for his first bracelet. Nine events prior, Cantu was the runner-up to Ray Foley in a $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament, where he cashed for $403,000.

Fellow bracelet winner Matt “mattg1983” Graham also calls Team UB home. Graham won his second piece of hardware in 2009 by taking down the $10,000 buy-in World Championship of Pot Limit Omaha for a rousing $679,000. He’s defeated two of the game’s best in his bracelet wins, outlasting Vitaly Lunkin in the Pot Limit Omaha event and beating “Survivor: China” castaway and Bodog pro Jean-Robert Bellande in a $1,500 buy-in Limit Shootout last year.

Other members of Team UB include “Hollywood” Dave Stann, Michael Binger, Gary “Debo34” Debernardi, Mark “P0ker H0” Kroon, Shawn “westtexasman” Rice, and Tiffany Michelle, who will compete on the upcoming season of the CBS reality series “Amazing Race.”

Face The Ace Finishes Last in Timeslot for Second Straight Week

After premiering to last place ratings last week, the new NBC poker show “Face The Ace” failed to increase viewers in its second run over the weekend, again finishing last in its timeslot on Saturday night.

According to the website TV By The Numbers, the August 8th broadcast of “Face The Ace” drew just 1.46 million viewers for a 0.3/1 (rating/share) with adults aged 18 to 49, the prime demographic for television advertisers and the basis for ratings. This was well short of its premiere on August 1st, when the show drew 1.59 million viewers and a 0.4/2 (rating/share). Airing in the 9:00pm ET hour on Saturday night, the perennially popular FOX program “America’s Most Wanted” again won the time slot, with repeat showings of the Disney film “Finding Nemo” and the CBS mystery program “48 Hours Mystery” surpassing NBC’s “Face the Ace” broadcast.

After the two episode tryout in the primetime arena, “Face The Ace” now will move to what could be a more ratings-friendly timeframe during weekend afternoons. From the start, the plan by NBC was to expose the program and test the waters for future poker programming in the primetime slot. The show will go on hiatus for over a month, returning on September 12th at 2:00pm ET.

After the September broadcast, there will be one broadcast per month of “Face The Ace,” which may not enable a following to build for the program; October 31st, November 14th, December 12th, and January 2nd are the scheduled dates. Even with the schedule set, local stations ultimately determine if they want to broadcast poker programming. This has been done in the past with NBC’s presentations of “Poker After Dark” and even the National Heads Up Championship.

Arguments on how to improve the show on Poker News Daily have ranged widely. Some readers asked why it wasn’t shown at all in the Houston and Detroit markets on August 1st, while others debated about what type of viewer it was targeting (a poker aficionado versus the casual player). What has been consistent is that many agree that host Steve Schrippa (formerly of “The Sopranos”) did little to add to the festivities. Some also thought that sending a losing player away with nothing was a bit harsh for what many view as a game show. This week, the show did not air in the Salt Lake City market.

On the episode shown this weekend, contestant Don Topel was stopped short of his $1 million dream when he chose to play Full Tilt Poker’s Gavin Smith for the final round. After jousting for several hands, the former World Poker Tour (WPT) Player of the Year ground Topel down and defeated the challenger, forcing him to walk away with nothing for his efforts. Marcia Owens, the third contestant ever on “Face The Ace” and its first female player, was eliminated by Gus “The Great Dane” Hansen in the first match she played.

Episodes can be seen online at NBC.com.

Face the Ace Struggles in Ratings, Debuts in Last Place

NBC’s new poker show “Face the Ace” debuted on NBC on Saturday night, with contestant Don Topel winning $200,000. This week, he’ll go for $1 million. Despite the high-stakes drama, “Face the Ace” premiered in last place in the ratings.

“Face the Ace” aired from 9:00pm ET to 10:00pm ET on Saturday night. According to television ratings provided by TVByTheNumbers.com, during its first half-hour, the series of heads-up poker matches garnered a 0.4 rating with a 2 share, equating to 1.59 million viewers. Of the four major networks in the United States, NBC took last during that time slot. FOX, which aired an episode of “America’s Most Wanted,” claimed the top spot with a 1.5 rating and 6 share, or 4.43 million viewers.

During its first half-hour, “Face the Ace” also squared off against the ABC movie “Red Eye,” which kicked off at 8:00pm ET and ran for three hours. During the 9:00pm ET to 9:30pm ET time slot, “Red Eye,” claimed a 0.7 rating with a 3 share, good for the second best tally with 3.27 million viewers. Finally, CBS aired a rerun of “Numb3rs” between 9:00pm ET and 10:00pm ET. During the hour-long show’s first 30 minutes, “Numb3rs” also generated a 0.7 rating with a 3 share, equating to 3.26 million viewers and falling just short of the ABC movie.

During its second half-hour, “Face the Ace” was up against the same three shows. “America’s Most Wanted” once again led the way with a 1.6 rating and a 6 share for 4.78 million viewers. “Red Eye” claimed a 0.9 rating and a 4 share, which translated into 3.82 million viewers. “Numb3rs” boasted a 0.7 rating with a 3 share, good for 3.57 million viewers. Once again, “Face the Ace” rounded out the top four, taking a 0.4 rating with a 2 share. The poker television show attracted 1.54 million viewers.

Several NBC affiliates pre-empted “Face the Ace” for local programming, including the Houston and Detroit affiliates, two of the largest markets in the country. Formerly airing in the time slot currently held by “Face the Ace” was “Kings,” likely a much pricier series to produce. Therefore, NBC’s margin may be slightly higher on “Face the Ace.” A poster on TVByTheNumbers.com noted that despite “Face the Ace’s” sluggish ratings, “Kings also had a price tag that was how much bigger?” Full Tilt Poker sponsors “Face the Ace”. All of its “aces” are pros of the online poker site.

TVByTheNumbers.com reports ratings for viewers aged 18 to 49. “Face the Ace,” as a poker-themed show, does not target the full spectrum of this demographic. “Poker After Dark,” NBC’s daily poker show, airs at 2:05am ET. This week’s match-up is entitled “Close But No Cigar” and includes players who have reached the final table of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, but have yet to claim a title in the $10,000 buy-in feature tournament: Mike Matusow, Lee Watkinson, Allen Cunningham, Dewey Tomko, Andy Black, and David Williams.

A thread that appeared on the online poker forum PocketFives.com recommended several improvements for future episodes of “Face the Ace,” including having a contestant’s loved ones on stage rooting them on (in a similar fashion to the NBC game show “Deal or No Deal”), Full Tilt Poker pros railing their colleagues, a player winning an on-stage sit and go to face an ace, and a new host.

“Face the Ace” will air this Saturday, August 8th, at 9:00pm ET. Then, it can be seen once per month until January of 2010. Show officials described the first two primetime episodes as an opportunity to “test the waters” for future programming choices. Here’s when you can catch “Face the Ace”:

August 8th, 2009 – 9:00pm ET
September 12th, 2009 – 2:00pm ET
October 31st, 2009 – 3:30pm ET
November 14th, 2009 – 3:00pm ET
December 12th, 2009 – 3:00pm ET
January 2nd, 2010 – 2:30pm ET

We want to know what you think. What would improve the ratings for NBC’s “Face the Ace”? Leave a comment and voice your choice.

Annie Duke’s Advice for Tiffany Michelle on Amazing Race

Confirmation by Poker News Daily that Ultimate Bet pro Tiffany Michelle will appear on the 15th installment of the CBS reality series “Amazing Race” has led to a flurry of excitement in the industry. Poker News Daily sat down with Annie Duke, whose appearance on the popular reality franchise “Celebrity Apprentice” helped raise well over $730,000 for charity.

Poker News Daily: We’re sure you’ve had a chance to digest the news that Tiffany Michelle will appear on the upcoming edition of “Amazing Race,” reportedly with Maria Ho. Is her appearance good for poker?

Duke: In general, it’s good for poker players to be on reality shows. One of the problems with poker is that the game is seen as fringe in the sense that people think it is awful morally and socially. That’s part of the reason that you have a block of the country that wants to stop it. The more poker gets onto these mainstream shows, the better. It takes poker out of the fringe and into legitimacy.

Having been on “Celebrity Apprentice,” I get more offers that are straight business now, where I’m asked to comment on things from a business perspective. People see me as a more mainstream person. I know there are at least a couple of poker players lobbying to get on the next season of “Celebrity Apprentice.”

PND: Will Michelle’s acting background prove useful in appearing on a reality show?

Duke: I don’t think so. The best way you can see that is to look at “Celebrity Apprentice.” You have a people who are used to being in the public eye. They’re used to the cameras and know how to handle themselves in the media. They often don’t do well at all. You can’t hide from a camera when it’s on you for15 hours a day.

After 15 hours, there wasn’t an instance of me lying on “Celebrity Apprentice.” People saw that I didn’t lie and there wasn’t a single incident of me calling Brandi [Roderick] stupid. People believed Joan [Rivers], but by the end, there was so much footage and people figured out that she was lying. So, the cameras can work either way. The producers edit the show to create a story, but they can only use the footage they get. Whatever you give them could be used against you.

PND: So how do you think Michelle and Ho will do on “Amazing Race”?

Duke: I haven’t watched tons of “Amazing Race,” but I’ve seen enough to know that regardless of how you do, a lot of people regret going on there. People look like jerks. You’d probably be better served on a show like “Amazing Race” being generous. With “Celebrity Apprentice,” one of the things I did was be up front with people about what they were doing wrong. On “Amazing Race,” it’s better to help your fellow contestants out if they have trouble finding a route marker, for example. You don’t have to go overboard, but if someone clearly needs help, you should help them.

PND: Does being a poker player give a team an advantage on “Amazing Race”?

Duke: On that show, I don’t know that being a poker player is helpful. I guess the only place poker skills might come into play is in puzzle challenges. Poker players think things through more logically. There’s some strategy in things like buying airline tickets as well, so they’ll have an advantage there. For Tiffany Michelle, it helps that she’s a pretty girl.

PND: Are poker players clamoring to be cast for reality shows after your success on “Celebrity Apprentice” and Jean-Robert Bellande’s appearance on “Survivor”?

Duke: I’m sure people saw what “Celebrity Apprentice” did for me. I think that poker players as a group are very popular. They’re very much in the American conscious at the moment, so it’s good casting. One of the things with “Celebrity Apprentice” is that they like people who are strategic. Poker players will always be strategic. That creates good television and good contrast with other people.

PND: What poker players do you think would do well on shows like “Amazing Race,” “Celebrity Apprentice,” and “Survivor”?

Duke: I’d want someone who would put the best face on poker and would also do really well. I’d love to see John Hennigan on “Amazing Race.” He’s a really good person and would be great. On a show like “Celebrity Apprentice,” my brother [Howard Lederer] would be great, although he might not be loud enough to get attention. Chris Ferguson and Rafe Furst would also be great.

With “Survivor,” I’d want someone younger. You know who would be good? Joe Sebok. He’s in great physical condition, very smart, and very physical. He’d be my number one choice. Joe would be great strategically, well-liked, and good in challenges. On “Amazing Race,” Joe would be fast. He also has solid business sense, so he’d do well on “Celebrity Apprentice.” If you had to package the all-around reality show guy, I’d pick Joe Sebok.

Harlem Globetrotters, Miss America May Join Tiffany Michelle on Amazing Race

According to an article that appeared this week in The Examiner, two members of the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team and Miss America 2004 may join poker players Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho on Season 15 of the CBS reality show “Amazing Race.”

Poker News Daily can confirm that Tiffany Michelle is among the cast for the 15th cycle of the reality series, citing anonymous sources inside the industry. Her rumored partner is Maria Ho, who Reality Fan Forum snapped a picture of at Los Angeles International Airport on the day that “Amazing Race” filming allegedly began. In the image, she did not appear to be donning a backpack (as is customary for “Amazing Race” teams); instead, she was pulling a suitcase. Michelle and Ho represent the last women standing in the 2008 and 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Events, respectively.

The Examiner speculates that Harlem Globetrotters members Nate “Big Easy” Lofton and Herbert “Flight Time” Lang are members of the “Amazing Race” cast. Lang attended Centenary College in Louisiana and wears #4 for the showcase basketball team. His biography found on the Harlem Globetrotters website appropriately reads, “He is a self-proclaimed reality TV junkie… What Flight Time likes about reality TV is that, even though he knows parts are staged and scripted for dramatic effect, ‘After a certain amount of time, you really get to see what people are like.’” Lang was roped into reality television after catching an episode of CBS staple “Survivor.”

Lofton attended Southeast Louisiana and grew up in New Orleans. His biography notes, “His gregarious personality and thunderous dunks entertain Globetrotter fans young and old.” A total of 26 players make up the current roster of the Harlem Globetrotters, which showcase unusual basketball skills at venues around the world. Several members of the team, including Lang, appeared on the ABC reality series “The Bachelorette” in May. The Globetrotters challenged the seven remaining bachelors to a pick-up game of basketball, with bachelorette Jillian Harris looking on intently. “The Bachelorette” wrapped up on Monday night with Harris riding off into the sunset with Ed Swiderski.

Joining Lang, Lofton, Michelle, and Ho will likely be Miss America 2004, Ericka Dunlap. The Examiner notes that “Amazing Race” has featured pageant winners before, as Dustin-Leigh Konzelman and Kandice Pelletier competed as part of Season 10 and All-Stars. Dunlap hails from Florida; the reigning Miss America is Katie Stern, a native of Indiana. No indication was given as to who will partner with Dunlap for “Amazing Race.”

An entry appearing on Wikipedia adds that two newscasters from the television network C-SPAN will also take part in “Amazing Race” when the 15th season kicks off in September. The show pits teams of two against each other in a race around the world. Along the way, they’ll complete various challenges as part of “Detours” (a choice between two tasks, each with its own pros and cons) and “Road Blocks” (a task that only one team member can perform). Each leg typically consists of one Detour and one Road Block; many of the legs end with the last team arriving at the “Pit Stop” being eliminated.

“Amazing Race” will once again air on Sunday nights, debuting on September 27th for two hours. The popular reality program follows CBS News program “60 Minutes” and will serve as the lead-in for the new drama “Three Rivers.” “Amazing Race” is an Emmy-winning reality show whose reigning champions are lawyers and siblings Tammy and Victor. In seasons past, the top prize has been $1 million and to date, no “celebrity” installment of “Amazing Race” has taken place.

Other poker players who have appeared on major reality shows include Annie Duke, who finished as the runner-up to comedian Joan Rivers on the second season of “Celebrity Apprentice.” In addition, Bodog pro Jean-Robert Bellande competed on “Survivor: China,” the 15th cycle of the cornerstone CBS show. Bellande was the eighth player voted out of “Survivor: China” and served as a member of the jury.

Tiffany Michelle, Maria Ho May Compete on Amazing Race

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Leonardo DiCaprio to Star in Online Poker Movie

Move over, “Titanic,” there’s a new sheriff in town. Hollywood heartthrob Leonardo DiCaprio will star in an untitled film about internet gambling outfits in Costa Rica, according to the Hollywood Reporter and Entertainment Weekly.

The screenplay will be written by Brian Koppelman and David Levien, who both served in the same capacity in the 1998 film “Rounders,” which turned many of today’s poker prodigies onto the game. According to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB), “Rounders” marked the first official writing credits for Koppelman and Levien. The duo has also teamed up with DiCaprio to bring “Beat the Reaper” to the big screen. The film, which will be released next year, has the following plot according to IMDB: “ER doctor Peter Brown’s life is turned upside down when he crosses paths with a mobster who appears to know him from his former life as a hitman.”

No release date has been given for DiCaprio’s online poker movie. An article on MTV.com noted that DiCaprio’s plate is quite full: “DiCaprio has an enormous list of films in pre-production. For the time being, at least, he’ll be working on Christopher Nolan’s ‘Inception.’ Whenever he’s finished with that, he will probably have developed five more projects.” IMDB notes that DiCaprio has 21 films in development.

Whether the film will focus on online poker, casinos, or sports betting remains to be seen and various websites pitch the movie in several different ways. Tokwiro-owned online poker rooms Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker are both based in San Jose, the Central American country’s capital city. A report by CBS News program “60 Minutes” identified the offices of the sites as being located in a “strip mall.” Both Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker comprise the CEREUS Network, which was formed in November.

Action Poker, the flagship site of the network of the same name, has offices in Costa Rica. Joining the site in the tropical nation is Doyle’s Room, which opened the 2009 calendar year by jumping to the USA-friendly Cake Poker Network. Ten-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Doyle Brunson, whose “Texas Dolly” moniker has made him one of the industry’s foremost faces, is the site’s namesake. Also holding a presence in Costa Rica is PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site. According to PokerScout.com, which ranks online poker site traffic, PokerStars has a seven day running average of 22,000 cash game players. It happily accepts customers from the United States.

“Rounders” starred Edward Norton and Matt Damon. The movie was released five years before Chris Moneymaker became a household after the Tennessee accountant defeated Sammy Farha in the 2003 WSOP Main Event. Since then, Koppelman and Levien have kept their love for poker alive, teaming up for ESPN’s short-lived series “Tilt,” which starred Michael Madsen as Don “The Matador” Everest. “Tilt” premiered in 2005, ran for one season, and featured appearances by poker superstars including Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, Erik Seidel, and T.J. Cloutier. Negreanu is fresh off a cameo in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.”

Finally, Koppelman and Levien wrote “Oceans Thirteen,” which came out in 2007. It was the third installment of the franchise, which stars Damon, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Andy Garcia, and Julia Roberts. “Oceans Thirteen” returned to its roots in Las Vegas as the team sought revenge on casino owner Willy Blank (played by Al Pacino). The movie also stars Don Cheadle, who founded Ante Up for Africa along with Norman Epstein and “Celebrity Apprentice” runner-up Annie Duke.

We’ll have more information for you on DiCaprio’s online gambling movie as it becomes available right here on Poker News Daily.

Phil Hellmuth Favored to Win WSOP Champions Invitational

According to betting lines posted on Bodog, Ultimate Bet pro and 11-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth is the favorite to win the WSOP Champions Invitational, fetching 9:1 odds. The tournament will consist solely of former Main Event champions.

Hellmuth took down the 1989 Main Event, earning an automatic entry into the WSOP Champions Invitational. The non-bracelet event kicks off at the beginning of the 2009 festivities on May 31st and crowns a winner the next day. The “champion of champions” will take home the Binion Cup along with a brand new car. Jack Binion will be on-hand for the festivities and present the trophy. A total of 34 players have won the previous 39 Main Events, although seven have since passed away (Johnny Moss, Puggy Pearson, Stu Ungar, Hal Fowler, Jack Strauss, Jack Keller, and Bill Smith).

Hellmuth leads the field at 9:1 odds. Just behind him and coming in at 23:2 (or 11.5:1) are 2005 WSOP Main Event winner and Team PokerStars Pro member Joe Hachem, 2004 WSOP Main Event Champion Greg Raymer, new Expekt Poker pro and reigning HORSE Championship winner Scotty Nguyen, 2009 Heads-Up Poker Championship winner Huck Seed, 1995 WSOP Main Event victor Dan Harrington, and 10-time bracelet winners Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan. Last year’s Main Event winner, Peter Eastgate, is fetching 13:1 odds and holds the record as the youngest champion of the feature tournament ever at age 22. Eastgate took home $9.1 million for his efforts in the second largest Main Event field in history, 6,844 runners.

Four former Main Event champs sit at 15:1 odds. Jerry Yang trumped the field in 2007 for $8.25 million, his lone WSOP cash to date. Members of that final table watched Team PokerStars Pro member Hevad “RaiNKhaN” Khan boisterously play his way through the event, ultimately grabbing sixth place for just under $1 million. Jamie Gold, the winner of the largest Main Event field ever in 2006, is also generating 15:1 odds. Gold is a former ACED Poker pro, but recently parted ways with the Merge Gaming Network site. Tied in odds with Gold and Yang is the man many would credit with sparking the modern poker boom, former Tennessee accountant Chris Moneymaker, who won it all in 2003. Full Tilt Poker pro Chris Ferguson is also fetching 15:1 odds. The man they call “Jesus” took down the first Main Event of the new millennium.

Robert Varkonyi and Tom McEvoy, who won the 2002 and 1983 WSOP Main Events, respectively, are both going off at 19:1 odds. Also seeing 19:1 odds is 1991 World Champion Brad Daugherty, who took home an even $1 million for his efforts and bested Don Holt heads-up. Several brand name pros are coming in at 24:1, including Noel Furlong, Jim Bechtel, Hamid Dastmalchi, Mansour Matloubi, Berry Johnston, and Bobby Baldwin.

At the bottom of the field and coming in at 65:1 is Russ Hamilton, the 1994 Main Event Champion. Last September, Hamilton was found to be “the main person responsible for and benefiting from the multiple cheating incidents” on Ultimate Bet, according to the Kahnawake Gaming Commission. The revelation came after members of the online poker community linked Hamilton’s Las Vegas home to one of the accounts involved in the scandal, Sleeplesss. The events were revealed to the entire world as part of a November feature story on the CBS News program “60 Minutes” and a joint investigation with the Washington Post newspaper.

The WSOP Champions Invitational is one of four tournaments that will comprise ESPN’s television coverage this year. It will air on August 4th from 8:00pm to 10:00pm ET. Also seeing time in the spotlight will be the $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament commemorating the 40th running of the WSOP, the Ante Up for Africa charity poker tournament, and the Main Event. The tournament series itself begins on Wednesday, May 27th with the $500 Casino Employees event. The $40,000 festivities begin the following day.

Celebrity Apprentice to Return Mid-Season, Retain 9:00pm ET Time Slot

NBC’s hit reality show, Celebrity Apprentice, will return mid-season in 2010, according to a recent article that appeared in the Chicago Tribune. The show’s second season, and eighth overall, saw poker pro Annie Duke reach the finals and square off against comedian Joan Rivers.

The finale of Celebrity Apprentice, which played out on Sunday, May 10th, averaged 8.73 million viewers, according to TV Guide. It ran against stiff competition, as the season finale of CBS’ Amazing Race aired from 8:00pm to 9:00pm ET and drew 10.43 million. Lawyers Tammy and Victor earned the “W” on that show’s 14th installment. Also airing during the first of three hours of the Celebrity Apprentice season finale was Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, which generated 8.2 million viewers. During the 9:00pm ET hour, the Donald Trump-led reality series had to contend against both Cold Case and Desperate Housewives. The two shows saw 11.78 and 12.13 million viewers, respectively, tune in.

The final hour of Celebrity Apprentice, which included about a half-hour of live programming from New York City, attracted an audience of 10.24 million. It “trumped” the season finales of The Unit and Brothers and Sisters, outdrawing both shows by at least 500,000. Celebrity Apprentice ran during the season from 9:00pm to 11:00pm ET, being truncated to one hour on just one occasion, which was for the series premiere of Southland, a drama from the creators of E.R. According to the Tribune, Dateline NBC will occupy the 7:00pm to 8:00pm ET time slot in early 2010. It will be followed by The Marriage Ref, which airs from 8:00pm to 9:00pm ET. Celebrity Apprentice will then be beamed into homes around the country for two hours.

In its Fall 2009 schedule, NBC will air Sunday Night Football in the time slot previously occupied by Celebrity Apprentice. Its pre-game show, Football Night in America, will run from 7:00pm to 8:20pm ET, with kickoff of the feature game occurring shortly thereafter. Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth will have the call every Sunday. Collinsworth replaces football legend John Madden, who recently retired. Celebrity Apprentice fans may also have to wait until after the 2010 Winter Olympics, which will emanate from Vancouver and air between February 12th and 28th.

Duke raised over $730,000 for her charity, Refugees International, during NBC’s second season of Celebrity Apprentice. She raised $460,000 in the final episode alone, which challenged Duke and Rivers to hold a silent auction featuring celebrity experiences prior to a performance of the Cirque du Soleil show Wintuk. The task also entailed incorporating the event’s corporate sponsor, Kodak. In the end, the two finalists were judged on five criteria, with Rivers winning Kodak integration, celebrities in attendance, and overall guest experience. Duke won by a 3:1 margin in money raised and also won charity incorporation.

In a recently blog, 10-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Doyle Brunson remarked, “The Celebrity Apprentice is over. What a joke! If Donald Trump was really hiring someone, who do you think he would pick? I think that when Joan Rivers threatened to not come back, Trump assured her she would be the winner.” Time will only tell if the third installment of Celebrity Apprentice will feature a poker player. Duke is one of several to appear on a major reality series. In 2007, Bodog Poker pro Jean-Robert Bellande appeared on CBS’ Survivor: China. Bellande was the eighth person voted out and became the second member of the jury. In Survivor, ousted contestants choose the winner of the $1 million first place prize. Flight attendant Todd Herzog took down Survivor: China, besting Courtney Yates and Amanda Kimmel in a three-way final tribal council.

Duke will re-enter the poker spotlight during the 2009 WSOP, which kicks off next week from the Rio in Las Vegas. A $5,000 buy-in charity poker tournament benefiting Ante Up for Africa will take place on July 2nd in the Amazon Room and be televised by ESPN. Celebrity Apprentice contestants Dennis Rodman and Herschel Walker are both confirmed to appear in the event, which raises money for the victims of the crisis in Darfur. Ante Up for Africa was founded in 2006 by Duke, actor Don Cheadle, and Norman Epstein.

Online Poker Reality Series 2 Months, $2 Million to Air on G4

In August, cable station G4 will debut a brand new reality series following four online poker players trying to earn $2 million collectively in just two months. The show is appropriately called “2 Months, $2 Million” and will consist of 10 half-hour episodes.

Park Slope Productions brought “2 Months, $2 Million” to G4 executives. Laura Civiello, Vice President of Development for G4, told Poker News Daily about the network’s decision to green light the series: “There was something there that represented a lifestyle our audience is fascinated with. Every young guy wishes they could have this lifestyle, so it was very appealing to men ages 18 to 34, which is the majority of our demographic.” Filming is set to commence next week and the show will begin airing in August.

The group of four players who will vie to earn $2 million consists of Jason “pr1nnyraid” Rosenkrantz, Brian “Flawless_Victory” Roberts, Emil “whitelime” Patel, and Dani “Ansky” Stern. The latter final tabled the competitive PokerStars Super Tuesday in March and won the $30,000 Super Turbo Guaranteed in April. The two finishes were worth a combined $22,000. Patel nearly made the final table of a $5,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed contest during the 2007 World Series of Poker, landing in eighth place for $83,000 in an event ultimately won by Bill Edler. Patel and Rosenkrantz are friends and recruited Roberts and Stern to join forces for the upcoming G4 show.

The four contestants will be wagering their own money, which Civiello believes adds an important dimension to the show: “It’s a huge challenge. That’s part of the fun of the show, watching them go on this incredible journey. For our audience, both the stakes and the lifestyle are the whole package. You want to come back to see if they win or lose.” The online poker world watched as the Bluff Poker Challenge played out in March on Lock Poker. The competition asked players to turn $200 into as much money as possible over the course of one month. In the end, Brian “SNo0oWMAN” Hawkins won, generating $25,000. In the G4 competition, each of the four players will need to earn an average of $500,000 over two months in order to reach their collective goal.

G4 held focus groups of its viewers to gauge interest in airing “2 Months, $2 Million.” Civiello explained that the “high risk, high reward” component of online poker was one of the leading drivers of its popularity among men ages 18 to 34. G4 penetrates into 65 million households nationwide, where it airs on varying tiers of cable service. Civiello explained, “We’re definitely aiming at the guys who are plugged in. This is the first generation that has grown up with the internet. It’s changed the way they’ve socialized. Culturally, it gives them a new way of looking at things.” G4 is owned by Comcast, which also manages E!, The Style Network, and FEARnet. Comcast is based on Los Angeles and provides telephone service, cable television, and high-speed internet.

Executives at G4 discussed the legal ramifications of airing a show surrounding online poker prior to giving it the go-ahead to film next week. Despite murky laws like the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) on the books, Civiello told Poker News Daily that the topic was well-researched: “We vetted the concept through our legal department because there is a lot of confusion around this. You have people introducing legislation to completely ban online poker and you have people introducing legislation to allow it. It’s something we looked into.” The G4 venture will mark one of the first times that online poker has ever been featured on television. One of the most recent occurrences was in November, when CBS News program “60 Minutes” investigated the scandals on Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker.

Other new shows in the works from G4 include “Web Soup,” a spin-off of the popular E! series “The Soup.” The show will chronicle viral videos and humorous web happenings each week. It’s hosted by Chris Hardwick and premieres June 7th. G4 is also planning a clip show about “sexy women around the world,” according to Civiello. Viewers can expect to see everything from Lithuanian honey wrestling to a wild Italian beauty pageant.

Be sure to tune into G4 in August for the debut of “2 Months, $2 Million.”

40 Years of the WSOP: The 80s

The first World Series of Poker of the 1980s is most remembered for its Main Event winner, 26-year-old Stu Ungar.

Part poker genius, part enigma, Ungar would amaze and baffle throughout his lifetime and his first of two back-to-back Main Event wins ushered in the second decade of the WSOP.

There were 73 entrants that year, including players from outside of the U.S for the first time.

In the end, Ungar beat a final five that included Johnny Moss and runner-up Doyle Brunson to take down the $365,000 top prize.

"Stu Ungar's first WSOP victory in 1980 marked the beginning of a new era in poker," said Nolan Dalla, author of One of a Kind: The Rise and Fall of Stuey "The Kid" Ungar, The World's Greatest Poker Player.

"It arguably slammed the door shut on the good old days, symbolized best perhaps by Ungar actually defeating the representation of all that the WSOP was before, personified in Doyle Brunson.

"The magnitude both actual and symbolic of this victory cannot be overstated. Ungar not only went on to revolutionize poker and strategy, he quickly became an icon for his eccentricities and unprecedented accomplishments."

1981 saw barely a ripple of an increase in Main Event entrants, as 75 ponied up the $10K buy-in.

This year is best remembered for Ungar's successful defense of his title, which was aired as an hour-long broadcast as one of CBS' sports specials.

"All one must do is look at the champions before and after Ungar," Dalla said. "The previous winners were mostly table-hardened, nerve-tested older men in cowboy hats from the American South.

"But Ungar, being young, from New York, Jewish, and unlike any of his contemporaries in the way he acted at the table, left an indelible impression on the game unlikely ever to be equaled."

The very next year was one for the books.  With over 100 entrants, the 1982 WSOP Main Event had its biggest top prize ever at $500,000 and an all-star final table including Brunson, Dewey Tomko, Jack Straus, Berry Johnston and Brian "Sailor" Roberts.

The legend of "a chip and a chair" was born that year when Straus came back from a single $500 chip to win it all.  Bill Baxter and David Sklansky each won two bracelets and Vera Richmond became the first woman to win a bracelet in an open-field event.

The biggest change for the WSOP came in 1983 with the introduction of the satellites, which is exactly how Main Event winner Tom McEvoy snagged his seat.

McEvoy told PokerListings he had tried to win a seat in one of the four $100 satellites held at the Bingo Palace earlier that year, just as eventual runner-up Rod Peate had.

He was unsuccessful and therefore signed up for a one-table $1,160 satellite at the Horseshoe, but not before some quick thinking.

When McEvoy saw that up-and-coming player Johnny Chan was signed up for the same satellite, he approached Chan.

"I don't want to play it if you're going to play it," he said to Chan. "So if you're going to take the seat, I'll wait until the next one."

Chan sat out and McEvoy beat out David Sklansky, James Doman and six others to win his seat to the big show.

"Winning the Main Event did not have the impact then, of course, that it does now, with so much money at stake," McEvoy said. "Then there was not much TV coverage to speak of. Winning wasn't nearly as dramatic as it is now."

1983 also saw the first bracelet won by an African-American as Carolyn Gardner took the Ladies 7-Card Stud event. Two new games were introduced, Match Play and Omaha, and the heads-up Main Event match between McEvoy and Peate set a record at seven hours.

CBS did not cover the Main Event in 1984, so future Hall-of-Famer Jack Keller's championship win, and the fact he had also won a bracelet in stud, did not get widespread attention.

Then in 1985, Bill Smith won the Main Event, but runner-up T.J. Cloutier is by far the more famous figure today.

Johnny Chan won his first bracelet that year and Johnny Moss, who went on to win his ninth and final bracelet three years later, made his last Main Event final table.

Twice runner-up Berry Johnston finally won the Main Event in 1986 and in 1987, ESPN took over coverage of the WSOP, introducing the viewing public to Johnny "The Orient Express" Chan for the first time.

A year later, a watershed moment in WSOP history occurred when ESPN aired Chan's final table showdown with Erik Seidel at the 1988 Main Event, bringing him back-to-back titles.

The scene was immortalized in the movie Rounders years later, becoming one of the main catalysts to poker's big boom with a whole new generation of players wanting to be Matt Damon and stare down Chan.

But even before Rounders came a win for the ages.

It was 1989 and a 24-year-old Wisconsin student named Phil Hellmuth became the youngest champion in WSOP history, derailing The Orient Express and closing out the 1980s.

Related Articles:

• 40 years of the WSOP: The 90s
• 40 years of the WSOP: The 70s
• 40 years of the WSOP: The beginning

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40 years of the WSOP: The 70s

Packing five different freeze-out tournaments into a ten-day period at Binion's Horseshoe, 1971 was the year the WSOP began in earnest.

The $5,000 buy-in Main Event had just six entrants and Johnny Moss came out on top of the winner-take-all tourney - At least that was how it was reported to the press.

For this event, and every Main Event until 1978, Poker Hall of Fame member Crandell Addington told PokerListings the players agreed among themselves to a secret distribution of the prize pool.

"This was always billed as a winner-take-all World Series," he said. "But in recognition of the fact that we were only playing these tournaments to attract customers, poker players said let's vote on cutting the money up when we get to a certain number of players left.

"So we used to vote on whether we would split the money at three or four. Of course, that was unknown to the general public."

According to Addington, the original purpose of the WSOP was to attract amateur players to Vegas.

"To lure the seals to the slaughter," he said.

Two early events helped accomplish this goal.  First, in 1972, the legendary "Amarillo Slim" Preston won the WSOP.

Slim was a character in the true sense of the word and he parlayed his victory at the 1972 Main Event into numerous media appearances, including the Tonight Show.

Preston's win was considered an upset, but some have even suggested it was setup, alleging Preston was selected to win because he would be the best one to advertise and further popularize poker.

Then, in 1973, television cameras covered the Main Event final table for the filming of an hour-long documentary, hosted by Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder.

Without cameras for the hole cards, the program instead focused on the characters, including Preston, Doyle Brunson, Moss, and ultimate winner Puggy Pearson.

Thirteen players each bought in for $10,000 - the very same buy-in that exists today.

"In thinking back on it, the presence of TV might have encouraged some of the more ill-tempered players to control their anger," Addington said.

"After all, some of that openly displayed aggression might have kept the seals from coming to the great white sharks."

Over the next few years the WSOP grew incrementally.  In 1974 there were six events, including a $10,000 Stud tournament.

This was the first year bracelets were handed out and also, when Bonnie Baez made $1,050 in the $1,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em event, it marked the first time a woman had cashed.

Sixteen players entered the Main Event and Johnny Moss beat Addington heads-up for the title.

By 1975 there were enough entrants for three tables, with 21 plunking down the $10,000 buy-in. Brian "Sailor" Roberts took home the title.

There is probably no one with even a passing knowledge of poker who does not know the winner of the 1976 Main Event - or the hand he won with.

It was Doyle Brunson's first bracelet and his first Main Event win - courtesy of the now-famous 10-2 offsuit. Those cards led him to victory again in 1977 against a record 34 entrants.

By the 1977 WSOP poker was garnering bigger crowds. Twelve separate events were held, including the first ever Ladies tournament.

The very next year brought the first woman to play in the Main Event, when Barbara Freer joined a field of 41.

CBS Sports broadcast a half-hour-long special with Brent Musberger joining Snyder to provide commentary on the action, but that year was really most notable as the time it came to light that a secret sharing of prize money for a televised event might be against a law popularized by the game show scandals of the 1950's.

The WSOP ended the winner-take-all format of the Main Event as a result, paying out the top five finishers. Bobby Baldwin took the $210,000 top prize.

The 1979 WSOP then saw two women win bracelets when Barbara Freer won the Ladies tournament and Starla Brodie won a "mixed doubles" event with Brunson.

CBS again broadcast a special on the Main Event, which by then had swollen to 54 entrants.

The prize pool pushed past the half million dollar mark for the first time and foreshadowing the boom to come, this last Main Event of the 1970's was the first time an amateur won.

Hal Fowler took the title when his 6-7 offsuit bested Bobby Hoff's pocket aces to end a five-hour heads-up battle.

Next article: 40 years of the WSOP: The 80s

Related Articles:

• 40 years of the WSOP: The beginning

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Celebrity Apprentice to Return for Season 3

On Sunday, World Series of Poker bracelet winner Annie Duke will square off against talk show host Joan Rivers in the finale of Season 2 of NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice. According to NBC Universal, the popular reality series has been renewed for Season 3.

The final episode of Season 2, which airs on Sunday night at 8:00pm ET and runs for three hours, will feature Duke and Rivers hosting VIP parties and private auctions prior to a New York City production of the Cirque du Soleil show Wintuk. The current installment of the reality franchise began back on March 1st and occupied a two hour time slot on Sunday nights. Over the course of the 10 weeks since then, the show was truncated to an hour just once, making room for the extended premiere of NBC’s new drama Southland, which was created by the personalities behind E.R.

Celebrity Apprentice Season 3 will mark the ninth overall edition of the show. The first six seasons, one of which was set in Los Angeles, ended with candidates being hired to manage projects for real estate mogul Donald Trump. Bill Rancic won the show’s original installment, which premiered back in 2004. He was hired to develop Trump Tower Chicago, which makes its home on the pristine Chicago River in the city’s bustling downtown. Kelly Perdew was the second apprentice hired by Trump. Perdew directed development of Trump Place in New York City. Kendra Todd became the first female apprentice during Season 3 and assisted with the construction of a mansion in Palm Beach, California. Randal Pinkett won Apprentice’s fourth installment and worked with Trump Entertainment, while Sean Yazbeck assisted in the building of Trump Soho after winning Season 5. The final Apprentice candidate hired was Stefanie Schaeffer.

During each episode, teams are charged with a task that typically centers on a major corporate sponsor. Companies that have had their products touted during the second season of Celebrity Apprentice include Zappos.com, ACN, Loews Hotels, All detergent, Lifelock, Schwan’s, and Right Guard deodorant. Eight men and eight women were cast for the show’s second season, its eighth overall.

Last time out, America’s Got Talent judge Piers Morgan survived an onslaught of personal attacks by fellow contestant Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth to defeat country music star Trace Adkins in the finals of Celebrity Apprentice Season 1. Morgan has appeared on several episodes during the current Celebrity Apprentice and most recently advised Trump who the final two contestants should be. As a result, West Coast Choppers CEO Jesse James and Playboy Playmate of the Year Brande Roderick were fired during last week’s show, setting up the showdown between Duke and Rivers on Sunday. Other celebrities who competed last season included supermodel Carol Alt, boxer Lennox Lewis, Mixed Martial Arts fighter Tito Ortiz, “Sopranos” star Vincent Pastore, and actor Stephen Baldwin. The latter two appeared during the Loews challenge this year.

According to a press release by NBC Universal announcing the return of Celebrity Apprentice for its third season, the current installment is averaging a 3.5 rating and a 9 share among adults 18-49. Overall, it is attracting 8.6 million viewers. Trump commented about his Apprentice franchise, “Its Emmy nominations and great success have translated into a wonderful experience. Working with Mark Burnett has been terrific and I am greatly honored that NBC has renewed us for yet another season, our ninth.” During the half-hour time block prior to the 11:00pm ET local news, NBC claims that Celebrity Apprentice has bested regular competition for six straight weeks among adults 25-54.

The Celebrity Apprentice’s producer, Mark Burnett, is also behind such reality hits as CBS’ Survivor and Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader? Celebrity Apprentice Season 3 will air in Spring of 2010.

PPA Director John Pappas Appears on Bloomberg

This week, Poker Players Alliance (PPA) Executive Director John Pappas appeared on Bloomberg television to break down Congressman Barney Frank’s (D-MA) Internet Gambling Regulation Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act.

The bill, numbered HR 2267, was introduced on Wednesday and calls for a complete licensing and regulatory framework for the internet gambling industry in the United States. Although similar to a bill that Frank introduced during the last Congressional session, HR 2267 focuses on how proper regulation can mitigate the perceived social ills of gambling. Pappas told Bloomberg’s television outlet, “We want to make sure that the Federal Government puts the standards in place so that there is safety for minors, that there are services for problem gamblers, and that adult consumers can enjoy the game without fear of fraud or abuse. A prohibition never stopped a child from getting online. A prohibition never stopped a problem gambler. Regulation is the only way to do it.”

Congressman Spencer Bachus (R-AL) and others have argued that a computer with the ability to gamble online may provide the outlet for children in the United States to begin playing at a young age. Bachus even quoted a non-existent McGill University study during a House Financial Services Committee meeting last July, claiming that one-third of college students who gambled online attempted suicide. Pappas explained that online poker sites currently employ safeguards to combat underage gambling: “Most of the online sites today already are using very high-tech, sophisticated age verification technologies. They have no interest in having children on their websites playing against adults. They want adult consumers playing on their sites. The only way to ensure that all sites have that is to pass a bill like Barney Frank’s.”

Pappas’ appearance on Bloomberg also included a discussion of whether playing online poker is illegal in the United States. Poker players can vividly recall the CBS News program “60 Minutes” stating that the game was against the law on multiple occasions after show producers allegedly contacted the Justice Department. However, Pappas revealed what the legal status of the game in the United States is: “For the U.S. player, it’s not illegal for them to go online and play internet poker. What the law in 2006 attempted to do was to make illegal the transactions. It puts the burden on the financial institutions, not the actual player.” The law in question is the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which was ushered through Congress in the waning moments of the 2006 Congressional session by then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN). The UIGEA’s text gave no indication of what was legal or illegal under it. Instead, it deferred to existing State and Federal laws.

Some would cite the Wire Act of 1961 as grounds that playing online poker is not allowed in the United States. However, the 48 year-old measure traditionally applies to online sports wagering. Pappas told Bloomberg, “The Wire Act states that illegal gambling is being in the business of betting or wagering. An internet poker site isn’t in the business of betting or wagering. They’re simply allowing a venue in which people can compete in games of skill like poker against each other.”

In recent months, the PPA has seen judges in Pennsylvania, Colorado, and South Carolina conclude that poker is a game of skill and therefore should be treated separately from online casinos, Bingo parlors, and sports betting outfits. During the last Congressional session, Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL) introduced HR 2610, the Skill Game Protection Act, which would have exempted poker, bridge, chess, mahjong, and other player versus player games from the UIGEA and Wire Act.

At the time of writing, HR 2267 has 16 co-sponsors, including Wexler, Shelley Berkley (D-NV), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Peter King (R-NY), Jim McDermott (D-WA), Ron Paul (R-TX), and Melvin Watt (D-NC).

PokerRoad Producer Justin Shronk Passes Away at 27

At the beginning of Day 2 of the ongoing World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship, a moment of silence was held for PokerRoad producer and poker player Justin Shronk, who passed away tragically last weekend at age 27.

Late last week, Shronk was admitted to a Las Vegas hospital and diagnosed with pancreatitis, according to his Twitter page. On the night of April 16th, he wrote, “Have to stay overnight for observation so they're sure my pancreas levels are ok. No tv either.” His second to last entry is dated April 17th at 5:46pm and reads, “Home from hospital. They did manage [to] lose my clothes, shoes, and wallet, but at least I feel better (came home in paper scrubs and socks).” Day 2 of the WPT Championship occurred on Monday after the remaining players from the two starting days were combined for the first time.

Gavin Smith had the unfortunate task of informing the 300 players in the field that Shronk had passed away. In addition to PokerRoad, Shronk had also worked with CardPlayer on the company’s “Circuit” show and with PokerNews, establishing himself in the industry. Court Harrington, a Tournament Reporter for PocketFivesLive.com and a voice on PokerRoad, told Poker News Daily, "There is no way to express in words what Shronk meant to the poker community. He was a staple around tournaments and seemed to know everyone. He had built a tremendous number of friendships, which isn't surprising since he was always the first to lend a helping hand to anyone in need.” Shronk was just 27.

While in the hospital, Shronk’s wit took center stage on his Twitter page. He remarked that his room smelled like Starburst and that he passed the time watching the popular CBS comedy “How I Met Your Mother” on DVD. At a visit to his doctor prior to heading to the hospital, he ran into fellow poker player Adam “A_Junglen” Junglen, noting, “Vegas is weird.” When he arrived home on Friday of last week, he was met with a Parking Solutions van occupying his assigned spot, which he made note of in his final Twitter entry.

According to a post by Joe Sebok on PokerRoad.com, Shronk passed away on Sunday of natural causes. Sebok, who heads PokerRoad, wrote, “The poker community lost a fallen brother this past Sunday when Justin Shronk passed away. It seems he passed away from natural causes and was not in any kind of pain. He had different health problems that he wrestled with throughout the last few years, so I would guess it was from one of these that he succumbed.” Sebok ended his homage to the producer by saying, “We will miss you, Shronkles.”

Sebok added that Shronk passed away in his sleep and likely did not experience any pain. The poker community poured support to Shronk and his family. In a thread that developed on the online poker forum PocketFives.com, Paul “grapsfan” Herzog commented, “Shronk was a good guy and good to have around poker.” Nick “nickc001” Chappell spoke on Shronk’s powerful presence in the poker world: “I never got to meet him, but I feel like I did through his involvement on the various radio shows. I still remember vividly the episode where he interviewed to be the intern a few years ago.”

Shronk will leave an indelible mark on the industry heading into the 2009 World Series of Poker next month. Harrington explained, “For many, Shronk was one of the first people they met coming into the poker world and he happily showed them the ropes and helped them get acclimated. His work speaks for itself, as he has been a driving force behind some of the most popular poker content over the last four years.”

Poker News Daily would like to extend our deepest sympathies to Shronk’s family, PokerRoad, and the entire community.

Jason Alexander Hosts Poker Tournament Benefiting Family Crisis Center

Former “Seinfeld” actor Jason Alexander, who is a familiar sight at some of the world’s largest poker events, will lend his high-profile name to a special charity tournament benefiting the 1736 Family Crisis Center in Los Angeles. The festivities take place at Hollywood Park Casino on May 9th at 2:00pm local time.

Alexander took tenth place in the Ante Up for Africa charity poker tournament held during the 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP). Next month, he’ll be joined by Dianna Donofrio, the Nevada State Director for the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), and Leyna Nguyen, an Emmy Award winning news anchor for KCBS and KCAL in Los Angeles. Poker players scheduled to partake in the May 9th event include 2004 WSOP Main Event Champion and Team PokerStars Pro member Greg Raymer, 2006 WSOP Main Event Champion and ACED Poker pro Jamie Gold, and WSOP veteran Chip Jett.

The charity poker tournament’s sponsors include Toyota Financial Services, All In Magazine, and Webexposure.com. A press release announcing the event explains that it presents a unique opportunity “for a fun-filled day of poker, laughter, food and celebration - and victory over domestic violence. Each hand played will be a strong step towards ending domestic violence and helping youth who have been abused and abandoned.”

1736 Family Crisis Center has been benefiting the community for the last 36 years and operates a total of five shelters. In addition, it also runs three outpatient clinics throughout the metro area and five around-the-clock emergency treatment centers. The press release explains, “The Center relies 100% on grants and donations to provide much-needed services to victims of abuse and abandoned youth. In this uncertain economic climate, non-profits have been hit the hardest and sadly, an unstable economy statistically fuels domestic violence. Please help us by joining in to play poker with Jason and his friends as we become part of the solution to end domestic violence.”

The tournament boasts a buy-in of $250 with $100 rebuys. For those who would rather catch a glimpse of the Hollywood and poker worlds colliding rather than actually play, spectator passes are available for $75. First place comes with a $10,000 cash prize, the runner up will receive an “eco-friendly” poker table, third place takes home a WSOP Boot Camp package donated by “Celebrity Apprentice” candidate and Ultimate Bet pro Annie Duke, and fourth place will receive a cruise for two. In total, the top ten finishers will receive prizes.

Interested poker players can purchase tickets through the 1736 Family Crisis Center’s website or by calling 310-543-9900, Extension 210. Alternately, donations and buy-ins can be mailed directly to the facility. Other opportunities available include an All-In Sponsor for $25,000, a Royal Flush sponsor for $10,000, a Straight Flush sponsor for $5,000, and a Table Sponsor for $3,000. Program advertising ranges from $100 for a quarter page ad to $500 for a full page spread.

On April 20th, 2008, “Everybody Loves Raymond” actor Brad Garrett hosted a charity Texas Hold’em tournament benefiting the Crisis Center, which helped over 25,000 domestic violence victims last year. Hollywood Park runs a variety of poker tournaments that coincide with its horse racing offering, including weekday "Poker and Ponies" tournaments with a $30 buy-in and $4,000 in guaranteed prize money. On Saturdays and Sundays, the price of poker increases to $70. The card room spreads Limit and No Limit Texas Hold’em, Omaha High-Low, Seven Card Stud, and even a $20-$40 half Seven Card Stud High-Low half Omaha High-Low game. Hollywood Park also runs a full Bingo operation and casino.

Washington Post Responds To PartyGaming Settlement

After the announcement Tuesday of the settlement between PartyGaming PLC and the United States Attorneys Office, the Washington Post followed up on its 2008 two day investigation into online poker with a response.

Headed by Gilbert M. Gaul - who investigated the scandals of Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet in cooperation with the CBS newsmagazine “60 Minutes” in late 2008 - the Washington Post article delved into some of the ramifications that the settlement could have for the online poker world. Gaul’s article states that the settlement is “…a development that could signal a shift in the murky and unregulated world of online gambling.”

The settlement between PartyGaming and the U. S. attorneys in New York calls for a fine of $105 million to be paid by the company over the next 3 ½ years. Along with the payment of the fine, PartyGaming also admits to violating what the Post article calls “a disconnect between 21st century technology and the 20th century laws used to protect Americans from gambling” through violations of the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which was enacted in late 2006. Under the terms of the “Statement of Facts” agreement with U. S. representatives, PartyGaming officials said the government would not prosecute the parent firm or any of its subsidiaries for offering Internet gambling services to U.S. customers between 1997 and October 2006, when it voluntarily withdrew from the market after the UIGEA enactment.

In the Post article, Gaul states that “The (Department of) Justice’s position is considered controversial with some members of Congress and gaming analysts, arguing it has steered U. S. players to unregulated offshore sites.” Along with this statement, Gaul includes a quotation from Joseph M. Kelley, a professor of business law at the State College at Buffalo. “The U. S. government has now succeeded in driving out the reputable, publicly-traded Internet gaming operators,” he proposed. Kelley, who has also served as an expert witness for gaming and government interests, added: “It has not decreased online gambling, but has reduced the ability to monitor suspicious transactions.”

The stock of many of the publicly traded online gaming companies on the London Stock Market rose after the settlement announcement. Gaul believes it is because “some financial analysts see the settlement as possibly leading to others, thus reducing uncertainty in the industry and opening the door to industry consolidation and expansion outside the U.S. Some analysts said PartyGaming also had now increased its chances of gaining a license from any future regulated U.S online gaming market.”

While the dust hasn’t settled regarding the agreement of PartyGaming and the U. S. government, Gaul’s Washington Post article does point out many of the advantages of such settlements for the online gaming world. For a full look at Mr. Gaul’s outlook on the settlement, view his article at the Washington Post.

Bodog Unveils 2009 WSOP Prop Bets

If you've ever wanted to rail your favorite poker stars without having to be at the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas, head to Bodog. The online poker site and sports book recently opened up betting on the WSOP. The festivities at the Rio begin on May 27th.

Among the wagers available on Bodog is what poker pro will win the most money during the 2009 WSOP. The leader in the clubhouse is 11-time bracelet holder Phil Hellmuth, who is currently going off at 5:2. Other players that are available to bet on include Doyle Brunson (7:2), David Sklansky (12:1), Barry Greenstein (5:1), Mike Caro (12:1), Phil Gordon (10:1), T.J. Cloutier (6:1), and Team PokerStars Pro member Daniel Negreanu, who is fetching 3:1 odds.

The question of “Will Phil Hellmuth win his 12th bracelet at the 2009 WSOP occurring in Las Vegas beginning May 27th?” is paying +300 for Yes and -500 for No. Hellmuth made three final tables last year, taking third in the $1,500 buy-in HORSE event for $93,000. You can also bet on whether Brunson or Johnny Chan will score their 11th bracelets. The +300 figure means that a player must bet $100 to get back a total of $400. The -500 figure means that a player must bet $500 to get back a total of $600.

A special last longer wager is also available on the prestigious $50,000 buy-in HORSE Championship, which was infamously won last year by Scotty Nguyen. He has 5:1 odds in the bet, the favorite among the pros available. Others include Brunson (6:1), Hellmuth (7:1), Chan (7:1), Freddy Deeb (11:2), Phil Ivey (6:1), David Williams (11:2), Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo (11:2), and Negreanu (6:1). Deeb won the event in 2007 and the late Chip Reese took down the inaugural HORSE Championship in 2006. The trophy given to the winner of the event is named in his honor.

Another unique bet asks wagerers to select what pair will rack up the most winnings in the 2009 WSOP. Patrik Antonius and Kathy Liebert are the current favorites, going off at 4:1. Other pairings available include Doyle and Todd Brunson (6:1), the husband and wife team of Marco Traniello and Jennifer Harman (6:1), father and son Barry Greenstein and Joe Sebok (9:2), brother and sister Annie Duke and Howard Lederer (15:2), Bodog pros Evelyn Ng and Justin Bonomo (15:2), Phil Laak and Jennifer Tilly (6:1), mother and son David and Shirley Williams (6:1), engaged couple Chad Brown and Vanessa Rousso (10:1), and Tom “durrrr” Dwan and Tiffany Michelle (9:2).

Players can even bet on what game will be played when the final hand is dealt during the HORSE Championship. Hold'em, Razz, and Seven Card Stud are all paying 5:2, while Omaha High-Low and Seven Card Stud High-Low are both going off at 15:4.

Bettors will also be keeping their eyes on the female contingent in the Main Event, as a special women's-only last longer bet is available on Bodog. Jennifer Harman and Kathy Liebert are the current favorites; both are 5:1 to remain in contention in the Main Event the longest. Others include Duke (7:1), Tilly (10:1), Cyndy Violette (7:1), Isabelle Mercier (7:1), Clonie Gowen (7:1), Ng (7:1), Liz Lieu (7:1), Mimi Tran (7:1), Katja Thater (7:1), Rousso (7:1), and the last woman standing in the 2007 WSOP Main Event, Maria Ho (10:1).

One prop bet on Bodog centers wholly on Bodog pro Jean-Robert Bellande's finish in the Main Event. Bellande was a contestant on CBS' “Survivor: China,” one of the 18 seasons of the show that have aired. “No Money” is paying 1:20; finishing in the money, but no better than 10th place is paying 8:1; making the final table is paying 150:1; and winning the 2009 WSOP Main Event is fetching 1,000:1 odds. Bellande took 442nd in the Main Event last year.

The first wager listed in Bodog's poker section is, “Will Scotty Nguyen reach his stated promise that he will earn $4,000,000 or more in combined winnings at this year’s WSOP?” Yes is paying out +2,400. The bet stems from an interview Nguyen had with PokerListings that he would retire from poker if he does not amass $4 million in winnings at the 2009 WSOP. Whether he will follow through on his promise is anyone's guess.