Poker News

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Poker Community Reacts to Justin Bonomo Leaving Bodog

On Saturday, the USA-facing online poker room Bodog officially parted ways with sponsored pro Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo by removing him from its website. Now, the poker community, Bonomo’s agent, and Bodog have had a chance to react.

Bonomo’s agent, Matt Palmer, President and CEO of 11Management, told Poker News Daily, “It is true that Justin and Bodog have parted ways. While Justin will miss playing alongside his fellow Bodog teammates and good friends Evelyn Ng and David Williams, he's ready to move on to bigger and better opportunities. We've begun conversations regarding new sponsorship opportunities and we're excited to work with a poker brand that is better able to leverage Justin's poker success and personality.” Palmer is also the agent for Joe Sebok, who recently signed on to be a member of Team UB.com.

Palmer gave us his take on Bonomo’s 2009 calendar year at the felts: ‘Justin's coming off another excellent year at the tables, including a final table appearance at the World Series of Poker's (WSOP) $40,000 buy-in 40th Anniversary event and a win at the WSOP Circuit event at Caesars. I fully expect Justin to continue his winning ways in 2010.” Bonomo’s fifth place finish in the $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event commemorating the Series’ 40th running was worth $413,000. In April, he won the Caesars Palace WSOP Circuit Championship, a $5,150 buy-in contest, for $227,000.

Ed Pownall, Global Public Relations Director for BodogBrand.com, explained why the online poker room parted ways with one of its three remaining sponsored pros: “Bodog and Justin Bonomo have agreed that, with the transition of the Bodog-branded poker rooms to the Bodog Network in 2010, now was a natural time to re-evaluate the relationship and have agreed to part ways.” Jean-Robert Bellande, of “Survivor: China” fame, also left Bodog in recent months after his sponsorship agreement was not renewed at the end of October.

Posters on the popular poker forum TwoPlusTwo.com gave their take on what room might be a good fit for Bonomo. TwoPlusTwo member “molinn9” weighed in, “Time for him to move on to pokerstars. would be good pro for them.” Bonomo was traveling to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in the Bahamas at the time of writing and was unavailable for comment. The $10,300 buy-in Main Event kicks off on Tuesday from the Atlantis Resort and Casino on Paradise Island with the first of two starting days. The tournament will crown a champion on January 11th.

In the meantime, Bodog will center its efforts on growing the newly forged Bodog Network, which has taken a unique approach to rakeback. Pownall discussed the methodology: “The new offering has already caused much debate with its re-working of the rakeback issue and will reward operators bringing depositing players to the table rather than the traditional method of rewarding the winning players. The system unveiled at the EiG in Budapest in September has already seen other networks, including Microgaming and iPoker, publicly follow in a similar vein.” The idea, in turn, is to reward winning players indirectly by feeding them net depositing opponents.

Yesterday, the weekly Bodog $100,000 Guaranteed played out. The site’s hallmark event, which comes with a $162 price tag, drew 509 players, meaning that Bodog kicked in $23,000 after the tournament fell short of its prize pool. In the end, reigning UB.com Aruba Poker Classic Main Event winner Brandon “AreTheseUtz” Hall took down the top prize of $25,000 after defeating Brian “AKbigfish” James heads-up. James pocketed a $15,000 consolation prize and “paulyman” took third for $9,500. The top 63 players finished in the money and the top five earned more than $5,000.

The Bodog Network is expected to take on non-Bodog sites this year.

Bodog Founder Calvin Ayre Featured in National Post

On Saturday, the National Post ran an article entitled “Calvin Ayre online gaming tycoon,” a profile of the founder of the popular online poker room, casino, and sports book Bodog. Ayre donned a Bodog Fight shirt for the interview’s image.

Diane Francis was tasked with interviewing Ayre in Antigua and the news outlet described the internet mogul as “semi-retired.” The article begins with Francis asking Ayre about the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), approved by better than a 3:1 edge in the House of Representatives before being attached to the SAFE Port Act at the urging of then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN). When asked if Canadian authorities had pursued Ayre in any capacity related to the 2006 law, he told the Post, "No. I haven't lived in Canada for ten years or been in the Canadian tax system. The legal system did not allow me to do this in Canada. Now I like living in the tropics.”

Ayre revealed that he owns the rights to the domain name Bodog.com and licenses the rights to the network to affiliates located around the globe. In the United States, for example, Morris Mohawk Gaming Group, a Canadian outfit, owns the rights to market the brand. After recently releasing “Survivor: China” castaway Jean-Robert Bellande, Bodog’s stable of poker pros currently stands at three: Evelyn Ng, Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, and David Williams.

The Post then inquired about Bodog’s revenue figures. Ayre explained, "My current deals aren't revenue based and are all different structures which I don't talk about. Forbes audited our books and based the number on the same multiple that the British public companies were trading at, or more than $1.5 billion. In 2006, Bodog made US $320 million in revenues and 25% profit." After the UIGEA was passed into law, online poker sites with publicly traded parent companies like PartyPoker and Pacific Poker exited the market, leaving sites like Bodog, PokerStars, and Full Tilt Poker to pick up the slack.

On the current legality of online poker in the United States, Ayre told the Post, “Poker is not illegal to bet online in the U.S. because it's considered a skilled game. It's a gray area, but there are lots of American companies with poker sites.” This year, Bodog forged its own poker network and will purportedly begin accepting non-Bodog domains into its ranks next year. Jonas Odman, Vice President of the Bodog Network, told Poker News Daily that a “unique solution” to rakeback will help differentiate the family of sites from others in the industry.

In September, Ayre served as the keynote speaker at the Budapest Affiliate Conference. He told event organizers at the time, “I’m very flattered to have been asked to be this year’s keynote speaker in Budapest. The iGaming space is the birthplace of the Bodog brand, and it remains one of the must dynamic and fascinating sectors in the entertainment space.” In addition to Morris Mohawk, Bodog’s licensees include Bodog Europe and Bodog Asia. The former recently opened its doors to Canadian online poker players.

According to PokerScout.com, which keeps tabs on online poker room traffic, Bodog is the 15th largest site or network worldwide with a seven-day running average of 860 real money ring game players. During its peak hours, around 1,500 cash game players call the site home. Its traffic is comparable with that found on PKR and every Sunday, the site hosts its $100,000 Guaranteed, a $162 buy-in event that kicks off at 4:00pm ET. The tournament regularly sees a $20,000 to $30,000 overlay, with $29,000 kicked in by the site last week.

Read the entire Calvin Ayre interview with the National Post.

Poker News in Brief: Dec. 7-13, 2009

PokerListings was there for all the breaking news, but there were also a number of items that didn’t warrant a position on the front page.

Fortunately, as part of our ongoing Poker News in Brief feature, we’ve compiled a list of the lesser-known stories below.

This week we’ll look at Mark “Pegasus” Smith winning his fourth WSOPC title, Vanessa Rousso in a prominent men’s magazine, the main event of ECOOP V and more.

Fourth WSOPC Title for Mark “Pegasus” Smith

Mark “Pegasus” Smith made history this week by winning his fourth World Series of Poker Circuit title, tying him with Men “The Master” Nguyen for the most in circuit history.

Smith outlasted 566 players to win first place in the 2009 WSOPC Harrah’s Atlantic City $340 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event. He took down $34,649 for his efforts.

The victory is especially impressive considering the 57-year-old Georgetown, Kentucky, resident only started playing No-Limit Hold’em four years ago.

“Five years ago I had never even heard of No-Limit Hold’em,” he said after winning.

Smith now has five final tables at five different stops on the World Series Circuit over the last year. His last victory on the circuit came just last month during the WSOPC Horseshoe Indiana event.

PokerListings Players Cash at ECOOP V

The European Championship of Online Poker V was held on the iPoker Network last Sunday.

Online player Shevmouse outlasted 1,050 players to take down the first-place prize of $331,065, but there were also several PokerListings players who made the money.

Playing on CD Poker, LUDOVC finished in 103^rd place for $1,891 while XxspeedskaterxX finished 118^th for $1,891. Finally, William Hill player zzz219 made $1,734 for coming in 128^th.

The total ECOOP V series awarded over $5.5 million over 14 tournaments in 14 days.

Vanessa Rousso Appears in Hustler

Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso has made yet another mainstream media appearance – this time in Hustler Magazine.

Rousso was featured in an article called Poker Queen Shows Her Hand in which she shared some of her poker secrets. She did not appear nude in the magazine.

It’s been a successful year for Rousso, who finished runner-up in the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship, got signed by GoDaddy.com, appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and won the PokerStars EPT Monte Carlo High Roller event for $749,467.

She currently sits fourth on the women's all-time live tournament earnings list with $2.3 million.

Haitao Wu Crowned GUKPT Champion of Champions

Haitao Wu won the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour’s final event of the year at the G Casino in Luton this week.

The Dundee, Scotland, resident overcame a field of 125 players to claim a first-place prize of £25,000 at the GUKPT Champion of Champions tournament.

The 30-year-old won his way into the tournament through a £500 side event on the London stop on the tour.

Wu, who often plays poker with his wife Kerry, was ecstatic after the win.

“Kerry has been very supportive, looking after our beautiful daughters when I have been playing,” he said. “We will have a great Christmas now and will be visiting China early next year, when my parents will meet (our daughters) for the first time.”

The 2010 GUKPT will begin with a £1,000 buy-in event in Bolton on Jan. 22.

New PokerStars Team Pro Tuesdays

PokerStars started a new promo on Tuesday where players will be actively rooting against members of Team PokerStars Pro.

Team Pro Tuesday will include two Outlast the Pros events where PokerStars will add $1,000 to the prize pool.

The $1,000 will be split between the players who manage to outlast every member of Team PokerStars Pro playing in that particular event.

“That makes for some interesting side rooting,” said Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu.

“If you are one of the big stacks, you’re obviously hoping that the pros stay alive as long as possible so that you can get a bigger piece of the pie. If you are a short stack, then you want to see the pros go broke!” 

Visit PokerListings.com

APPT Sydney Title Stays in Australia

PokerStars online qualifier Aaron Benton outlasted 395 players to win a first place prize of $594,000 (AUD) in the Star City-hosted event.

"I used to play more for the entertainment in pub games, but I'm loving my poker and I wanted to take it to the next level," Benton said after his victory.

The 32-year-old recruitment consultant from Wollongong, New South Wales, had to get by well-known players like Mark Vos, Tony “bond18” Dunst and Joe Hachem before making it to the final table, which included Australian veteran Leo Boxell.

Boxell was eventually eliminated third and the final showdown was between Benton and fellow online qualifier Ernst Hermans from the Netherlands.

In the decisive hand of the tournament Herman open-shoved with 9-8 and Benton insta-called with pocket kings. The kings held up and Benton won his first APPT title.

The APPT Sydney Grand final has been won by an Australian in all three years of its existence. Last year Sydney local Martin Rowe outlasted 476 players to win $1 million (AUD).

APPT Sydney also marked the end to the third season of the tour. Winners were crowned in Australia, China, New Zealand and the Philippines although the Korean stop was postponed indefinitely due to construction of the venue.

Details for season four will soon be available on the APPT website and if last year was any indication the first event will likely take place this summer.

Here are the final table payouts for the $6,300 (AUD) buy-in APPT Sydney:

1. Aaron Benton - $594,000 (AUD)
2. Ernst Hermans - $381,000 (AUD)
3. Leo Boxell - $213,840 (AUD)
4. Wayne Carlson - $166,320 (AUD)
5. Tom Grigg - $130,680 (AUD)
6. Andrew Hiscox - $106,920 (AUD)
7. Barry Forrester - $83,160 (AUD)
8. David Formosa - $65,340 (AUD)
9. Thomas Slifka - $47,520 (AUD)

Visit PokerListings.com

Jack McClelland on the State of Poker Tournaments

One of poker’s top tournament directors is the Bellagio’s Jack McClelland, master of ceremonies for some of the game’s top events. Gearing up for the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic, McClelland sat down with Poker News Daily to discuss the state of the poker tournament world.

Poker News Daily: Thanks for joining us. Tell us how you’re getting ready for the upcoming Five Diamond World Poker Classic.

McClelland: The Five Diamond starts the day after Thanksgiving. We’ve been doing it for nine years now, so we have it down. We close down the Fontana Lounge and fill it up with poker tables. I’m expecting around 300 players for the first tournament and somewhere between 300 and 500 for the Main Event.

PND: Talk about how the ongoing recession has affected poker at the Bellagio.

McClelland: It’s just like the rest of the world. The people that were playing $200/$400 are now playing $80/$160. The people playing $10/$20 are now playing $5/$10. No one wants to admit that they had anything bad happen, so they just play lower, which is especially tough on the Bellagio-style tournaments because ours have been geared more towards the high-end player. This is the player who is going to make a bigger buy-in and also go out and spend $100 or $200 on a nice dinner. We’ve had to reduce our buy-ins and things like that to get more foot traffic, but we’ve also had to keep the big stuff to preserve our credibility.

It’s difficult because of the economy and because of the internet law change in 2006. Now, if one of the big sites wants to send us $3 million and 200 players, we send it back and say thanks, but we can’t accept it. The internet has been driving the tournament players towards Europe, China, and the Middle East. We’re at a severe disadvantage.

PND: What noticeable effects have you seen of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA)?

McClelland: It was passed at the end of 2006. We didn’t see an immediate drop-off and, for a year or so, everything was okay. Television still picks up the big tournaments and people still want to win the big ones. What the UIGEA did was take away from the preliminary events. For example, we’re giving away a $6,000 Rolex to the winners of some of our events. You can buy in for $500, win your share of the prize money, and also take home a $6,000 Rolex. That’s very enticing. It’s a combination of the current economy and the uncertainty of the future of the economy. If people have money, they’ll be more careful with it.

PND: Talk about an average day in the life of Jack McClelland.

McClelland: We go to the office and I have a tournament every day. We have meetings with different departments and people come up with new ideas for marketing and we have to sort through everything. We do a lot of stuff internationally with our property, so we make trips and advise them on how to do things. Las Vegas is very competitive and, with the current economy, the Bellagio is at a disadvantage because we cater to the higher buy-ins and the bigger players.

PND: How did you get started directing tournaments?

McClelland: In the early 1980s, I was playing 200 to 300 small buy-in tournaments a year. I was always complaining about how the tournaments are so badly run. My wife said, “If you’re such a genius, you should run them.” It worked out because I love the competition and the challenge of how to run an event. I’ve always been willing to adapt and my rules are more flowing than set in stone.

I have a wonderful staff. I hand-picked and hand-trained all of them. They worship the quicksand I walk on. They’re just a great group and I’m very proud of them. During the Bellagio Cup this year, I caught pneumonia. I maybe did 10 minutes of work on the television show and couldn’t make it. During the event, they just took the ball and ran with it. At most places, if your guy goes down, you’re going to have some rocky spots. In our case, our staff picked up the ball, ran with it, and scored a touchdown.

PND: What do you foresee as the future of poker tournaments?

McClelland: I believe that poker tournaments will be with us as long as we have the television exposure. If we lose television, it’s just going to revert back. The main thing that’s hurting the American poker industry is the internet law. In other countries around the world, you can play online, but not here. As much as our country needs the money, to pass up billions of dollars in revenue is criminal. If they change the law, I don’t know that we’ll get back up to 10,000 entries into a $10,000 buy-in event, but we’ll get our market share back. If they don’t change it, we’re just eroding.

Jean-Robert Bellande Out as Bodog Sponsored Pro

Former “Survivor: China” contestant Jean-Robert Bellande is no longer a sponsored pro of Bodog, according to a representative from the online poker room. His current agreement expired at the end of October and was not renewed.

Only three sponsored pros currently appear on Bodog’s website: Evelyn Ng, Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, and David Williams. The runner-up in the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Ladies Night Event in 2003, Ng also took 11th in the Season IV Borgata Poker Open for $64,000. That same season, Ng grabbed 39th in the WPT Championship for $73,000.

Bonomo is one of the industry’s top online poker players, but has also dominated on the brick-and-mortar felts. Bonomo won the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit Event Championship at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in April for $227,000. One month later, he final tabled the $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament commemorating the 40th running of the WSOP for a colossal $413,000.

Rounding out the shrunken crop of Bodog pros is Williams, who boasts the only bracelet of the trio. Williams captured his piece of hardware in 2006 by virtue of taking down a $1,500 buy-in Seven Card Stud tournament for $163,000, defeating a talented final table that also included “Miami” John Cernuto and 10-time bracelet winner Johnny Chan. Text found on Bodog’s website still refers to “four pros,” but only three profiles appear.

“Jean-Robert Bellande’s deal with Bodog Poker expired at the end of October and the decision was made not to renew the deal. It has been an absolute pleasure having Jean-Robert as one of Bodog.com’s Poker pros and we wish him all the best,” the room’s Poker Manager told Poker News Daily. In February, Poker Royalty, which represents Bellande, boasted that the pro had renewed his sponsorship agreement with the USA-facing site. At the time, Bellande commented, “I am thrilled to continue my relationship with Team Bodog. Bodog is a fantastic organization and I am excited to continue with such a select team of world-class poker players.”

During the 2008 WSOP, Bellande finished as the runner-up to Matt “mattg1983” Graham in a $1,500 buy-in Limit Hold’em Shootout for $173,000. The final table of the marathon tournament wrapped up after 7:00am at the Rio in Las Vegas. In 2005, Bellande grabbed third in the Rio’s WSOP Circuit Event Championship for $210,000 in a contest that saw Doug Lee and Full Tilt Poker pro Jennifer Harman battle heads-up.

Bellande was one of 16 contestants to head to China for the 15th cycle of the CBS reality series “Survivor.” Bellande was the eighth player voted out of the popular program and became the second member of its jury, the group of seven castaways who selected flight attendant Todd Herzog as the show’s $1 million winner. Bellande was on the Fei Long tribe both before and after a tribal switch-up; the group then merged to become Hae Da Fung.

In 2006, Bellande made waves by competing in the WPT’s Bad Boys of Poker against the likes of Tony G, Mike “The Mouth” Matusow, Phil Hellmuth, Men “The Master” Nguyen, and Gus Hansen. In the end, Tony G triumphed over the invite-only six-handed table and earned $25,000. All told, Bellande owns over $75,000 from WPT felts.

According to the tracking site PokerScout.com, Bodog is the 14th largest site or network worldwide with a seven-day running average of 930 real money ring game players. It features a 24-hour peak of 1,411 cash game players and, at the time of writing, which is around 8:30pm ET on a Sunday night, 1,359 combatants have taken to its ring game felts. Bodog is the fifth largest site or network that accepts U.S. action, trailing PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, CEREUS, and the Cake Poker Network.

James McManus Discusses the Poker History Book Cowboys Full

Earlier this decade, when poker wasn’t the behemoth that it is today, a noted writer by the name of James McManus accepted a job from Harper’s Magazine to cover the 2000 World Series of Poker (WSOP).

Far from looking at it as simply a poker entity and observe the proceedings, McManus decided to dovetail his story of the tournament with the ongoing murder investigation of the late Ted Binion and chronicle his efforts to play. After using a satellite to gain entrance into the Main Event, McManus went on to finish fifth in the $10,000 tournament and chronicled the whole story in what has become one of the poker world’s seminal books in “Positively Fifth Street,” which was released in 2003.

Since then, however, McManus has limited his writing about poker to newspapers and magazines. His last non-fiction book, “Physical: An American Checkup” (2006), looked at the American health care system and pointed out its problems even prior to this year’s debate on the issue. Now, one of the most notable scribes in the business has returned with what might be called the definitive book on the history of the game.

“Cowboys Full: The Story of Poker” was released on October 27th and documents, as best as possible, the development, growth, and history of what once was considered to be America’s game and has since expanded around the world. From the beginning of the creation of playing cards in China and Korea to today’s game, McManus nails the goal of putting a history to a pastime.

“Poker has a long-deserved reputation as the cheaters’ game, but the book reminds us that cheating has been a big part of baseball, football, cycling, boxing, horseracing, marriage, taxes, politics, warfare, and most other human activities,” McManus stated before the interview with Poker News Daily began. “It’s naive to single out poker as being overly luck-based or larcenous, especially when making laws banning some games, while encouraging others. For the State to encourage lotteries and bingo while banning poker is greedy and cynical.”

McManus continued by discussing the theory that poker is luck-based and how his book handles that issue. “I think the book makes it fairly clear how much luck is involved in other games, such as baseball and football, games that few people think of as being determined by luck,” McManus said. “Luck determines the winner of baseball’s World Series about as much as it does the winner of the WSOP.”

PND: After the success of “Positively Fifth Street,” why didn’t you write another poker book immediately?

McManus: Because I was sent by a magazine to get an executive physical at the Mayo Clinic, by another magazine to cover the debate about stem-cell research, and by another to write about emergency surgery my daughter had undergone. It seemed only natural that I would combine this material into a book, which turned out to be “Physical: An American Checkup” (2006).

In the meantime, poker still had my interest. My agent, editor, and I were all surprised that there was no single book on the history of what is clearly America’s card game and arguably the national pastime, especially during the boom years this decade. As such, I continued to research the poker story and it became “Cowboys Full.”

PND: What were some of the problems in writing a book on a subject that doesn’t have a well-known and documented history?

McManus: One problem was that I had no training as an historian; it’s one reason I call it the story of poker, not the history.

Another was that people tend not to keep records of their poker action, especially when they work as blacklegs and swindlers. You’re forced to rely on lore, hearsay, and the work of feature writers such as Mark Twain, who were paid to exaggerate for humorous or dramatic effect. The book addresses this problem directly and makes a serious effort to deduce what was actually going on. The reporting becomes more precise and historically reliable as I cover the last third of the 20th century, especially when famous hands began to be televised.

PND: What was more difficult, the research for or the writing of “Cowboys Full”?

McManus: Most definitely the research. I have 35 years of experience as a writer, but very little as a researcher, although Google and the Amazon search function made the job a lot easier than if I had to do it with microfiche. I also couldn’t have done it without David Schwartz’s hospitality and sage advice at the UNLV Center for Gaming Research or without his marvelous history of gambling, “Roll the Bones.”

PND: You look at poker from sides that the average person wouldn’t consider. When you talked to academics and scientists about poker and its effects on human history, did they understand what you were doing?

McManus: In many cases, I was relying on what people had written. People like John von Neumann, Oskar Morgenstern, David Halberstam, and the presidents and generals in charge of World War II and the Cold War were already dead while I was writing.

At the same time, I interviewed plenty of folks including Todd Brunson, Barry Greenstein, Jennifer Harman, Linda Johnson, Andy Beal, Crandell Addington, Chris Ferguson, Aaron Brown, Tony Holden, and Gabe Kaplan, who understood some of these issues a lot better than I did before I started talking to them.

PND: What was the most surprising aspect of poker you learned from your research?

McManus: How important its logic and psychology was, and continues to be, to the military and diplomatic strategies deployed in a world in which several countries, including some extremely unstable regimes, have nuclear weapons. In other words, how important poker-based game theory is to life beyond the green felt.

PND: What can the reader take away from “Cowboys Full” other than a grasp of the history of the game?

McManus: That it isn’t just a history lesson. It has dozens of pretty cool stories about actual games: riverboat hustles, friendly games in the White House and the homes of ordinary citizens, $40 million showdowns between Andy Beal and the corporation of Las Vegas pros captained by Doyle Brunson, Jennifer Harman facing off against Andy while waiting for her second kidney transplant, Stu Ungar making a WSOP final table from the intensive care unit, and Chris Moneymaker’s bluff against Sammy Farha. They’re all there and more.

PND: Now that you have followed up “Fifth Street,” are you finished writing books about poker?

McManus: No, but almost. I’m currently writing the final book of the trilogy. Book one was a memoir about the WSOP, which became “Positively Fifth Street.” Book two is the history of poker, which is “Cowboys Full.” Book three is a novel tentatively titled “The Winter Casino” about a very large tournament played in a city being threatened by an Al-Qaeda cell with a nuclear suitcase device.

Bodog Cancels Sunday Tournaments, $100,000 Guaranteed

Players logging into the popular online poker room Bodog on Sunday to play in the weekly $100,000 Guaranteed flagship tournament found the site down due to technical difficulties.

On the PocketFives.com online poker forum, the trouble for many users began shortly before 5:00pm ET when one frustrated person posted, “Anyone else having problems logging into bodog?” The site’s $100,000 Guaranteed begins at 4:00pm ET each Sunday and comes with a $162 buy-in. On October 18th, a total of 469 players entered, creating an overlay of nearly $30,000. Overlays of over $20,000 are common in the event, which has become a haven for the world’s top online poker pros looking to claim their share of the dead money in the prize pool.

Players battling in the $100,000 Guaranteed at the time attempted to diagnose the problem, with PocketFives.com member “dirtydonzo” taking it upon himself to call Bodog’s customer support. The response: “Just called them. No real information. Lady said they are having technical difficulties and they are working to fix the problem. She didn’t have any specific details and didn’t know when the site might be back up.” The post was time stamped at 4:53pm ET, less than one hour into the $100,000 Guaranteed.

Meanwhile, PocketFives.com member “MarkFSU1” relayed his story, which was echoed by several other players: “I got a message saying the 100k was canceled because [there were] not enough players.” Customer support purportedly told some concerned Bodog members that the $100,000 Guaranteed would be rescheduled.

One player who attempted to log in while the melee was unfolding received an error message notifying him of maintenance: “Bodog is down for regularly scheduled maintenance and/or software upgrades. We expect to be back up shortly.” At 7:09pm ET, about two-and-a-half hours after issues were first reported, Bodog representative Rebecca “BodogBecky” Liggero appeared and claimed, “Tonight, Sunday, October 25th, Bodog Poker had to cancel all tournaments because many players were experiencing disconnection problems. Players will be compensated according to Bodog Poker rules, i.e. players will be paid a percentage of the prize pool based on their stack size when the tournament was canceled.”

According to Bodog’s Terms of Service, when a guaranteed prize pool tournament is canceled prior to hitting the money bubble, “the payout will be based on the prize pool composed of buy-ins only,” meaning that the guarantee is not factored in. Half of the purse is distributed evenly among all players remaining in the tournament, while the other half is dished out based on chip counts. Liggero instructed concerned online poker players to contact the individual Bodog licensees.

Liggero told Poker News Daily that the site is looking to right the ship this weekend. She relayed a statement from the Bodog Network claiming, “Bodog has more customers than ever and yesterday this caused some problems with our database. To repair the problems, we were forced to cancel all ongoing tournaments, including our flagship $100,000 tournament. All players have been compensated in accordance with our tournament cancellation policy. On top of that, we will invite all affected players to a $10,000 freeroll on Sunday. They will all receive an email with the details.”

A similar occurrence took place during the $100,000 Guaranteed five weeks ago. On September 20th, about 90% of players in the event were disconnected and blinded off. In a post made two days later, Liggero explained, “At 8:09pm EST on Sunday we had to restart our servers, and after that many players, but not all, were blinded out of the 100K tournament. At the time of the restart, 43 players were left in the 100K tournament, and all were already in the money. Since the tournament was not stopped, the result will stand and everyone will keep their prize money.” The statement added that Bodog officials should have halted the tournament at 8:09pm ET and so an additional 35 players would be compensated accordingly.

Players logging into the site on Monday were met with a small software update and the $100,000 Guaranteed is scheduled for Sunday, November 1st, the same day as the start of the fourth Bodog Poker Open. Bodog accepts players from the United States and features a stable of pros that includes Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, “Survivor: China” castaway Jean-Robert Bellande, Evelyn Ng, and David Williams.

Local keeps APPT Auckland title in New Zealand

Simon Watt outlasted 263 players to win the biggest chunk of a $789,000 NZD prizepool in just the second APPT event ever held in New Zealand.

The event drew several recognizable players to the Skycity Casino, including Team PokerStars Pros Grant Levy, Emad Tahtouh, Tony Hachem, Celina Lin and Lee "Final Table" Nelson.

Nelson was eliminated in just the second hand of the tournament when he made a full house, but his opponent rivered quads.

The nine-player final table played out on Saturday with Assadour Assadourian the sole PokerStars sponsored player remaining. Unfortunately for Assadourian, he busted in seventh place for $23,670 NZD.

The final table eventually came down to New Zealander Watt and Frenchman Gerome Guitteau battling it out heads-up.

In the most pivotal hand of the tournament, Watt made an ill-timed bluff against Guitteau with ace-high and Guitteau on middle-pair.

Guitteau called him down and with over 90% of the chips in the middle, it looked like the Frenchman was destined to win the event. Instead, Watt spiked an ace on the turn and that was enough to secure the New Zealander the pot.

Two hands later, Watt busted Guitteau earning the APPT title and $209,085 NZD.

This is the second year that PokerStars has invaded New Zealand. Last year fellow Kiwi Daniel Craker beat 306 players to claim the inaugural title.

This year Craker put on an impressive performance in defending his title before finally busting out in 29th place for a cash of $5,523 NZD.

The next APPT event takes place Nov. 11-15 at the Shangri-La in Cebu, Philippines. Satellites are currently running on PokerStars.

Here are the complete final table payouts for the 2009 edition of APPT Auckland:

1 Simon Watt (New Zealand) - NZD $209,085
2 Gerome Guitteau (France) - NZD $142,020
3 Jason Brown (New Zealand) - NZD $82,845
4 Ke Sijia (China) - NZD $55,230
5 Richard Lancaster (New Zealand) - NZD $42,606
6 Jens Walther (Germany) - NZD $31,560
7 Assadour Assadourian (Australia) - NZD $23,670
8 Lance Climo (New Zealand) - NZD $18,936
9 Michael Shinzaki (USA) - NZD $14,202

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Simon Watt Wins APPT Auckland

Hometown hero Simon Watt bested Frenchman Gerome Guitteau in the finale of the Asian Pacific Poker Tour’s (APPT) Auckland Main Event. Watt banked NZ $209,000 for his efforts, or US $156,000 at current exchange rates.

Michael Shinzak hit the rail in ninth place, earning NZ $14,000. He pushed all-in pre-flop over the top of a raise by Guitteau, who promptly called and flipped up A-J. Shinzak showed just K-5 and the board ran out 7-A-10-9-K, giving Guitteau top pair. Lance Climo was sent packing in eighth place after his chips hit the middle pre-flop with A-10. However, he picked an inopportune time to put his tournament life on the line, as Watt tabled A-K. The turn was a king, sealing Watt’s win in the hand, and Climo earned NZ $18,000.

Assadour Assadourian, who finished 31st in APPT Auckland last year, was up to his winning ways once again in 2009 and claimed seventh place for NZ $23,000. The Aussie shoved after a flop of 7-8-J with two hearts holding Q-J for top pair. However, Guitteau held 8-7 for bottom two pair. The turn came a deuce and, needing a two, jack, or queen on the river to draw out, Assadourian saw the four of spades hit the board. Jens Walther was then bumped in sixth place after losing a race with A-Q against Guitteau’s pocket fives.

The next to go was Richard Lancaster, a Kiwi who pushed pre-flop with A-K and was called by Guitteau, who turned over A-Q. The flop came a seemingly benign 3-J-8, but a 10 on the turn gave Guitteau a gutshot straight draw if a king hit. The river – you guessed it – the king of diamonds, giving Guitteau a runner-runner straight for the win.

Chinese poker player Ke Sijia hit the skids in fourth place in APPT Auckland. Sijia called all-in after a board of J-2-10-3 with two diamonds and two hearts holding 9-10 of hearts for second pair and a flush draw. He was up against Guitteau, who held J-7 of diamonds for top pair and a flush draw of his own. The river came the queen of diamonds, filling Guitteau’s flush and lining Sijia’s pockets with NZ $55,000 for his fourth place showing. The pot gave Guitteau the chip lead three-handed.

Jason Brown saw his bankroll grow by NZ $82,000 for finishing third in Auckland. Brown ran pocket fives into Watt’s pocket kings and watched the board come 4-K-A-6-6, giving Watt a boat. The misfire left Brown crippled and he pushed on the next hand with K-4, up against Guitteau’s J-9. The flop came nine-high and Brown could never catch up. Watt and Guitteau were nearly even in chips entering heads-up play.

In the final hand of the APPT Auckland feature tournament, Guitteau’s tournament life was on the line with K-7 of clubs against Watt’s wired pair of fives. The flop came Q-6-J, which was no help to either player, and the board filled out 9-J. Guitteau earned NZ $142,000 for his runner-up showing. Here were the final table results from APPT Auckland:

1. Simon Watt (New Zealand) – NZ $209,085
2. Gerome Guitteau (France) – NZ $142,020
3. Jason Brown (New Zealand) – NZ $82,845
4. Ke Sijia (China) – NZ $55,230
5. Richard Lancaster (New Zealand) – NZ $42,606
6. Jens Walther (Germany) – NZ $31,560
7. Assadour Assadourian (Australia) – NZ $23,670
8. Lance Climo (New Zealand) – NZ $18,936
9. Michael Shinzaki (United States) – NZ $14,202

All but three of the final nine runners in the event were PokerStars qualifiers. The world’s largest online poker site serves as the presenting sponsor of the APPT circuit, which now heads to Cebu in the Philippines on November 11th. The PHP 100,000 buy-in tournament (approximately $2,150) will be held at the Shangri-la Mactan Resort.

Lisandro plays Hold’em stud at EPT London

Unfortunately for tournament players the world over, it wasn't a very long one.

"I needed a few weeks to not play any at all and I did that," The Australian born Sicilian told PokerListings during a break on Day 2 at PokerStars EPT London, where he sits among the overnight chip leaders.

"After a few weeks I was ready to get into again."

The three bracelets Lisandro won at the 2009 WSOP, and a fourth he managed to grab at the 2007 WSOP, all came in Stud events.

With a final-table appearance at EPT Barcelona in 2007 and what's shaping up to be a deep run here in London, Lisandro has proved his proficiency in No-Limit Hold'em as well.

But that doesn't necessarily mean he likes the game.

"I find [No-Limit Hold'em] the hardest to get the most consistent results in," he said. "The other games, the structure is such that if you are chip leader, it takes a lot of work to lose those chips, so you can maintain your momentum.

"That's why I get a little bit disgruntled with No-Limit Hold'em, because sometimes I come to a tournament and I play a perfect game. I play every hand well, I build up chips without making a hand, make all the right moves, bet the right flops, make the right raises and then I'll finally pick up a big hand, kings or aces, and they'll knock me off. Or I'll have ace-king against some goofy hand and then I'm done."

According to Lisandro, skill shines in Limit games, but No-Limit Hold'em allows luck to creep into the equation.

"In No-Limit Hold'em it's like you are being tested all the time," he said. "It can be very heartbreaking when you go through three days, you've played a perfect game, you finally pick up the aces, a guy pushes you all in and they don't hold up.

"Even though you've got confidence in your game and you are going to keep going out there and doing what you always do, luck plays a big role in it."

The competition in No-Limit Hold'em is also getting stronger every day and Lisandro has taken note.

"These days a lot of people play No-Limit Hold'em well," he said. "It's the only game they know and as good as I used to play it, they've got the edge on me because it's the only game they play and they play a lot of it."

Despite his star rising to the top of the poker sky at this summer's World Series, Lisandro plays without sponsorship from a major poker site, a fact he wonders about often.

"To tell you the truth, I had so much press from magazines, so many interviews on the Internet and no one has come up to me with a deal," he said.

"I don't know why. I guess that's life. It's just such a waste that I had so much TV time and I could have been endorsing someone's product. I'll probably end up getting my own site and sponsor myself or I guess I'm going to keep trying to win tournaments until I get somebody that wants to sponsor me."

A high-stakes cash game legend long before he took the World Series by storm this summer, Lisandro says he'll likely head to Macau, China this month to play in what he hears are some of the juiciest high-stakes games going these days.

But for now, he's focused on EPT London and how he can top his amazing 2009 WSOP.

"It's really hard to be consistent in poker and I think I've been the model of consistency the last seven years," he said. "Every year I've done a lot better than average and it's really hard to keep bettering yourself.

"I don't know what will happen next year. How could I ever dream of having a better year? What can I say? It was phenomenal, and it just gets harder and harder to get better - Harder and harder to top."

For all the action from PokerStars EPT London, including chip counts, photos and live updates, click through to PokerListings' Live Tournaments page.

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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.

Bodog Network Launched Featuring Former Ongame Executive

Former Ongame Network CEO Patrik Selin is leading the launch of the Bodog Network, whose player base consists of customers of Bodog Europe, the Morris Mohawk Gaming Group, and Haydock Entertainment.

The newly forged network plans to incorporate non-Bodog domains starting in 2010. A gaming license for the European Union will also be unveiled next year. Selin commented in a press release distributed by Bodog, “I intend to build one of the largest and most reputable poker networks in the world. We are building a model that is founded on security and integrity, and Bodog Network partners will never need to disclose or put their customer databases at risk. The initial discussions I’ve had regarding potential candidate partners have been overwhelmingly positive.”

The news comes on the heels of the launch of Bodog.ca, which serves as the popular online poker room’s Canadian-facing portal. Bodog Europe holds the rights to market the site to the Canadian market. Founder Calvin Ayre commented on the fast-paced growth of Bodog, which has seen its market share slide over the past year: “I am extremely excited about this new licensee of BodogBrand.com - Bodog Network is the first business to business enterprise to license the brand and the fit simply couldn’t be better. Patrik Selin’s very detailed business plan and proposal were very compelling, and after building Ongame into a network powerhouse under his leadership, his abilities and credibility are unquestionable.”

Selin was at the helm when bwin acquired the Ongame Network back in 2006. He has also been successful on the poker felts, turning in a runner-up performance in 2007 in a £2,500 buy-in tournament held during the National Poker League in London for £20,000. He finished in the winner’s circle in the Ritz Club Poker Tournament, which was also held in London, for £22,000 in 2006. Selin finished 500th in the 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, banking $26,000, albeit a far cry from the $12 million pocketed by eventual winner Jamie Gold.

Upon bwin’s acquisition of Ongame in 2006, Selin served as the President and CEO of GNUF and Betway. BodogBrand.com is based in Antigua and is the licensing arm for Bodog across the world. Bodog ranks as the 15th largest site/network globally according to PokerScout.com, boasting a seven-day running average of 810 real money ring game players. During its peak hours, which occur in the evening across North America, nearly double that total can be found battling it out on its virtual cash game tables. Its traffic is comparable with that found on PKR.

Bodog is the fifth largest site to accept players from the United States, trailing only PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, CEREUS (Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker), and the family of rooms that make up the Cake Poker Network. Year over year, Bodog’s traffic is off by 8% according to PokerScout.com, while that found on Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars is up 110% and 56%, respectively.

Bodog plans to unleash a “much-anticipated and unique solution to the rakeback challenge” this week at an event in Copenhagen, according to its release, but did not provide any further details. Its family of pros consists of David Williams, Evelyn Ng, online poker staple Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, and “Survivor: China” castaway Jean-Robert Bellande, who recently re-upped his deal.

Bodog recently announced that players would receive double poker points if more than 2,000 were earned in a calendar month. Bonus points are placed in a customer’s account at the end of each month and can then be exchanged for cash or used as buy-ins to designated tournaments. Points are earned in cash games depending on the rake taken from each pot and in tournaments at a rate of three points per $1 of tournament fees.

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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Bodog Launches Bodog.ca, Now Accepts Canadian Players

Starting on Thursday, online poker players from Canada can officially sign up for Bodog, one of the world’s largest sites, through Bodog.ca. Previously, Bodog did not accept players from the North American country, which has produced some of the game’s top-tier players.

The news coincides with the 15 year anniversary of the Bodog brand. A press release proudly announcing the launch of Bodog.ca noted, “The Bodog brand is celebrating its fifteenth year anniversary this year – an absolutely remarkable pedigree and testament to its enduring values in an industry that quickly kills off mediocrity. The brand has gone through quite an evolution during that long history and Bodog Europe is looking forward to carrying the torch forward for at least another fifteen years of world-class customer service, unbeatable promotions, and, above all – fun.”

The aforementioned Bodog Europe holds the rights to Bodog.ca and is led by Keith McDonnell. The marketing outfit is licensed and regulated in Antigua and now conducts business across two continents. Morris Mohawk owns the rights to market Bodog in the United States. McDonnell commented in the same release, “We’re extremely excited to be able to bring the unique Bodog experience to Canadian players. Canadians are passionate sports fans and are extremely savvy consumers. The Bodog brand is known world-over for its unmatched customer service and here at Bodog Europe, we put the player’s experience and entertainment ahead of all else.”

Bodog Europe’s flagship website is Bodog.co.uk. Poker News Daily became aware of Bodog.ca last week. However, Bodog made no official announcement about its purpose until this morning.

Canada has produced some of poker’s top players. Among them is Team PokerStars Pro member Daniel Negreanu, a four-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner. Negreanu was born in Toronto and took down his first bracelet 11 years ago in a $2,000 buy-in Pot Limit Hold’em tournament. In that event, he cashed for $169,000 and trumped a final table that also included Chris “Jesus” Ferguson and Lee Markholt. Negreanu is the all-time money leader on the World Poker Tour (WPT) and has captured two titles.

Also coming out of Canada is one of Bodog’s featured pros, Evelyn Ng. The Toronto native took second in the WPT Ladies Night event in 2003 and is currently dating Lex Veldhuis. Team Bodog also includes David Williams, Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, and “Survivor: China” castaway Jean-Robert Bellande. Bodog’s weekly $100,000 Guaranteed attracts the site’s skilled players, as a five-figure overlay is commonplace in the $162 buy-in Sunday tournament.

Nenad Medic took down the $10,000 buy-in World Championship of Pot Limit Hold’em during the 2008 WSOP to give Canada another bracelet. Medic is a product of Waterloo and won the Foxwoods World Poker Finals during Season V of the WPT for $1.7 million. Other famous Canadian poker players include 2008 WSOP November Nine member Scott Montgomery, Steven Paul-Ambrose, and online poker stud Mike “SirWatts” Watson. The latter came out on top in the Bellagio Cup IV WPT event for nearly $1.7 million.

Canadian Bodog players will also be able to take advantage of the site’s sports book and casino, which features 80 games to choose from. Bodog is doubling Poker Points for players who earn at least 2,000 in a calendar month. When the stanza is over, Bodog will deposit the hard-earned bonus points into a player’s account. These can be exchanged for cash or used to buy into Poker Point tournaments.

According to traffic ranking site PokerScout.com, Bodog is the 15th largest room/network worldwide with a seven-day running average of 750 real money ring game players. During its peak hours, nearly double that total can be found battling it out on cash game tables. At the time of writing, which is midday across North America, a total of 554 players are seated at its real money ring games.

Ireland’s Dermot Blain Wins APPT Macau

After battling through four days of action at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino, Ireland’s Dermot Blain emerged as the champion of the Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Macau event on Saturday night.

The first stop of the third season of the APPT, Macau was truly a celebration of poker throughout the hotel and the casino. Many of the professionals who make up Team PokerStars, including former World Champions Joe Hachem and Chris Moneymaker along with Raymond Rahme and Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, were a part of the 429 player field who put up the $5,160 buy-in to build a prize pool of over $2 million. Also making an appearance at the APPT Macau was the last man to win the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event in back-to-back years, Johnny “The Orient Express” Chan. All of the former Main Event champions were unable to cash in the tournament, but top pro David Chiu lasted until the next to last day of action, finishing in 16th place for slightly over $16,000.

Three days of play led to the final table and, once the United States’ Dane Lomas was eliminated in 10th place on Friday evening, the final table was set. It was an international cast that made up the nine player table, with China’s Daoxing Chen the chip leader at roughly 1.7 million in chips. Other countries such as the United States, Canada, Sweden, Kazakhstan, and South Korea were represented at the final table. In addition to the multinational makeup of the final table, there were several combatants who came to the felt having played for less than two years, a comment on the explosion of the game in Asia.

The two Swedes at the final table, Stefan Hjorthall and Pontus Kers, provided the first fireworks of the evening. After Hjorthall moved all-in for his tournament life, Kers moved all-in over the top from his position on the button. When neither blind decided to take Kers up on his bet, the two PokerStars qualifiers turned up their hands: Hjorthall’s pocket nines held the lead against Kers’ A-Q. That lead was short-lived, however, as an ace hit the flop and, once no nine came to the rescue on the turn or river, Hjorthall took the ninth place position.

Blain began to make his move in the tournament when he eliminated Arizona’s Brandon Demes in eighth place for a $41,619 payday. Blain then continued the onslaught when his Big Slick outdrew Dbinder Singh’s pocket queens, eliminating the Canadian in seventh place. Blain took the lead at the final table for good when he captured a big pot off of Darkhan Botabayev after approximately four hours of play.

After Kers was eliminated in fifth place, the tournament came to a grinding halt. It reached a point that tournament director Danny McDonagh threatened to clock players without a request from the table to speed up play. Mindful of the warning, the four players then commenced to finish the tournament within the next hour and a half.

Chen took care of Botabayev before departing himself in third place at the hands of Blain. With the Chen elimination, it was simply a matter of time before Blain, with nearly an 8:1 lead over South Korea’s Michael Kim, captured the championship. After four hands of heads-up action, Kim moved all-in with a 10-9 and was dismayed to see Blain call and table K-10. A ten came on the flop, but no nine was to be found and Blain was crowned the champion of the APPT Macau. The final table payouts were as such:

1. Dermot Blain (Ireland) - $541,072
2. Michael Kim (South Korea) - $384,982
3. Daoxing Chen (China) - $239,315
4. Darkhan Botabayev (Kazakhstan) - $166,489
5. Pontus Kers (Sweden) - $114,459
6. Jichen Su (China) - $74,917
7. Dbinder Singh (Canada) - $52,030
8. Brandon Demes (United States) - $41,619
9. Stefan Shortfall (Sweden) - $31,221

What was to be the next stop on the APPT schedule, the APPT Seoul, has been postponed due to casino renovations at the Seven Luck Casino. The next stop will now be APPT Auckland for the Skycity Festival of Poker from October 14th through the 18th.

APPT Macau smashes records

After qualifying through a live satellite at the Grand Lisboa's PokerStars Macau Poker Room, Ireland's Dermot Blain booked the win in the main event, besting a final table that included 2009 WSOP Main Event Day 1b chip leader Brandon Demes.

Blain, 25, who recently left his job as a sales manager to play poker full time, took home approximately $538,700 for the win Sunday, marking the largest prize ever paid out in a poker tournament on Asian soil.

A total of 429 players from 46 countries created a more than $2 million prize pool for the main event, beating the previous record of $1.6 million set at last year's APPT Macau main event.

The APPT Macau High Roller event also finished Sunday with Switzerland's Vladimir Geshkenbein taking the $266,735 first-place prize.

Geshkenbein actually beat the legendary Johnny Chan heads-up, who managed to best his seventh-place finish in the very same event last year, coming second for $154,426.

The entire PokerStars.net APPT Macau Summer Festival of Poker actually featured 38 events with nearly 3,000 players and a total prize pool of $3,596,341.

"It's a wonderful experience to see the always-hospitable people of Macau and watch the sport of poker continue to grow," Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem said.

"It's truly amazing how passionate the local players at PokerStars Macau are about poker and it's abundantly obvious by not only the number of participants from Macau, Hong Kong and China, but also the great results they are having in all the events.

"I'm looking forward to coming back to the Grand Lisboa next year."

The next stop on the APPT will be in Auckland, New Zealand from October 14-18.

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APPT: Macau running, Seoul on hold

The first week of preliminary events in Macau, China has seen almost 1,000 entrants at the Grand Lisboa including 150 for a HKD$1,500 Deep Stack event and 122 for a HKD$10,000 buy-in tournament.

The Grand Lisboa hotel and casino also became home to Asia's first Limit Hold'em tournament hosted by limit specialist and PokerStars.net sponsored player Terrence Chan last week.

The third edition of the HKD$40,000 main event begins Tuesday and with almost 300 players already registered, APPT Macau seems poised to maintain its status as the largest and richest poker event on Asian soil.

In Season 2, 22-year old American PokerStars qualifier Eddie Sabat took the title and HKD$3,540,04 first place prize at the Main Event.

All is not good news for the fledgling APPT however.

APPT Seoul, originally planned for September 17-20, has been postponed.

According to PokerStars, construction delays at 7-Luck Casino in Seoul, South Korea forced the move.

Details on a new date will be announced as they are available.

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WPT May Face $1 Million Penalty for Canceling Gamynia Limited Sale

As part of an agreement forged between World Poker Tour Enterprises (WPTE) and Gamynia Limited earlier this month, WPTE officials may be subject to a $1 million penalty should the company call off the sale.

On August 3rd, a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) obtained by Poker News Daily notes, “If Buyer terminates this Agreement… within five (5) Business Days after the date of such termination, Seller shall pay the amount of One Million Dollars (US$1,000,000)… by wire transfer of immediately available funds to one or more accounts specified by Buyer in writing.” As revealed in an SEC filing on Tuesday by WPTE, the company had received an “alternative acquisition proposal.” No details of the second WPTE bid were given, although information should be released in the near future.

If Gamynia Limited were to back out of the deal, it would be subject to the $1 million termination fee. Gamynia Limited agreed to purchase several of WPTE’s assets for $9.075 million plus 4% of Gross Gaming Revenue, 5% of Sponsorship Revenue, and 5% of other Miscellaneous Revenue. Gamynia Limited must pay the subsequent revenue monthly, no later than 15 days after the start of each calendar month. Gross Gaming Revenue is defined as money derived from the use of WPTE trademarks in live or online games. Gamynia Limited has solicited the involvement of Hardway Investments, which works with Playtech and Titan Poker, among other internet gambling clients.

As per the terms of the SEC filing, the WPTE agreed to hand over trademarks, brand names, and logos for its popular poker tournaments, including the company’s massive television library. Graphics, artwork, and designs will also be absorbed by Gamynia, which has an address listed on SEC forms in Cyprus. Gamynia will also purchase domain names and intellectual property currently owned by the WPTE.

WPTE will retain its cash and accounts receivable balances as of the closing date. In addition, the WPTE will keep “all rights of Seller with respect to the China Venture, whether arising before or after the Closing Date.” WPTE officials shuttered WPT China in May after the business unit had lost nearly $1 million during the first quarter of 2009. The $9.075 million sale price must be paid via bank wire within 72 hours of the expected date of closing.

On Tuesday, WPTE filed a terse statement to the SEC that read, in part, “The Company’s Board of Directors has received an alternative acquisition proposal and is following the process required by the Purchase Agreement. Until the process required by the Purchase Agreement is completed, the Company will delay the filing of a preliminary proxy statement with the SEC.” No information about the second buyer or what prospective terms would entail was given.

In its original filing outlining the sale, WPTE officials included the following provision applying to two of its executives: “Mr. Rohin Malhotra and Mr. Adam Pliska will each receive 18 months of severance if a sale of the Company’s assets to two specific potential buyers closes in 2009. Gamynia Limited is one of the two specific potential buyers.” The text is part of an amendment to the SEC filing and indicates that WPTE officials likely knew about the second bid when the original sale was announced.

After jumping nearly 20% on Wednesday with the news of a second buyer, shares of WPTE, which are traded on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange under the same four-letter acronym, were trading at $1.01 to close the day, down $0.08, or 7.35%. Prior to Wednesday, the stock had spent the last 10 days trading below $1.

WPTE officials could not comment on rumors of a second buyer due to SEC regulations. Thomas Flahie, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of WPTE, told Poker News Daily that he plans to file a proxy form to shareholders that will likely include the details of the second offer. Then, the shareholders will vote “Yay” or “Nay” on the Gamynia sale. We’ll keep you posted on the latest developments right here on Poker News Daily.

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.”

Johnny Chan Says “Poker King” Could Be Next “Rounders”

As preparations continue at the Galaxy StarWorld Hotel and Casino in Macau for the Asian Poker Tour Festival Macau (which starts next Tuesday), players are beginning to flood the Chinese territory. One of those players is former World Champion Johnny Chan, who is on hand not only for the poker that will be played between August 12th and August 23rd but also for the filming of the Chinese poker film tentatively titled “Poker King.”

Chan, who also had a significant role in the seminal American poker film “Rounders”, envisions that “Poker King” could have a similar impact on China when released. “It (‘Poker King’) has the potential to be much, much bigger than ‘Rounders’ ever was,” Chan declared after arriving in Macau. “Say there are over one billion Chinese speaking people in the world”, the 1987-1988 winner of the WSOP Championship Event asked. “Now compare that to the United States and their 300 million people…you can see that this could be huge. ‘Rounders’ gave poker a new lease of life in the West - this could kick start a new poker boom in Asia.”

Chan is looking to be a part of the film – which is tentatively slated to use the Asian Poker Tour’s “Poker Pack” of J. C. Tran, Nam Le, Quinn Do, Steve Sung, David “Chino” Rheem and Kwan Soo Lee during filming – much like he was as a part of the filming of “Rounders.” Looking back at his involvement in the 1998 poker film, Chan remembered his time on the set fondly. “I had a fantastic time filming ‘Rounders’ back in the 90s”, Chan recalled. “A big part of my involvement was behind the scenes, where I helped teach Matt Damon, Edward Norton and John Malkovich how to play poker. I also played myself in the film and, to this day, it gives me recognition in the mainstream outside of poker circles.”

“The film had a huge impact on poker and gave it a new lease of life”, Johnny continued. “In fact, I was recently talking to Chris Moneymaker – who is credited by many as being a catalyst for the poker boom in the West – and he said without the influence of ‘Rounders,’ he wouldn’t have even have tried to qualify for the WSOP Main Event that he won! People got turned on by it and I can see this happening with ‘Poker King’ in the Chinese language world.”

The film, which will be directed by famous Chinese language director Chan Hing-Kai and Janet Chun and, produced by Amy Chin and Chan Hing-Kai, will use the festivities around the Galaxy StarWorld as a backdrop for their film. The film will tell the story of two poker champions – who are also bitter enemies – as they vie for the world championship of poker. Starring Chinese actors Louis Koo, Sean Lau Ching-Wan, Stephy Tang, Cherrie In and Josie Ho, the film is slated for release in China later this year.

With the excitement regarding the filming of “Poker King,” some may be distracted from the actual poker itself being played. The Asian Poker Tour Festival Macau is scheduled to have twenty official side tournaments, a plethora of high stakes cash games and the 32,000 Hong Kong Dollar (slightly over $4000 U. S. Dollars) Championship Event. Last year’s gathering – a six day event – drew such poker notables as Chan, fellow former World Champion Doyle Brunson, top female poker player Liz Lieu and others to a locale that has passed Las Vegas as the gaming capital of the world. The eventual champion was up and coming professional Yevgeniy Timoshenko, who burst upon the scene in Macau and went on to win the WPT Championship in April of this year.

World Team Poker set for take off

"This is the first time the poker world has seen anything like this," World Team Poker Director of Communications Gideon Cross told PokerListings. "It's really exciting."

Although the structure of the league is still in the works, Cross said it will include 32 teams of five players representing countries from all over the globe in heads-up challenge matches.

Team captains are being chosen by World Team Poker and the captains are expected to pick their teammates.

Eleven-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth will captain Team USA, which will take on Men "The Master" Nguyen's Team Vietnam in World Team Poker's first event, planned for Las Vegas this November.

Although no dates have been confirmed, Cross said the second event on the schedule will see Team USA take on back-to-back WSOP Main Event Champ Johnny Chan and Team China in Macau.

World Team Poker plans to broadcast its events live on the Internet with interactive features allowing viewers to chat with team captains and wager on the outcome.

The actual matches are expected to feature several different poker variants and allow the players involved to set the stakes and raise them during play.

"This is going to be like the World Championships or the Olympics of poker," Cross said.

More information can be found at the World Team Poker website.

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World Poker Tour Reports Second Successive Profitable Quarter

It was announced last Wednesday that World Poker Tour Enterprises (WPTE), which owns the popular World Poker Tour (WPT) and the up-and-coming subscription online poker site ClubWPT.com, enjoyed its second consecutive profitable quarter with the close of Q2 2009.

While the revenues for the second quarter of 2009 were behind those during the same period in 2008 - from $5.1 million to $4.6 million - WPTE was able to make a profit due to the lower production costs of Season VII of the WPT broadcasts compared to the costs had been previously. In addition, international distribution of WPT broadcasts and the continued growth of ClubWPT.com has been able to push the organization into the black. Overall, income from continuing operations was $370,000 in the second quarter of 2009, compared to a $3.3 million loss in the second quarter of 2008

WPT Enterprises has been able to work itself into profitability from recognizing parts of the company that were under-performing. In the first quarter of 2009, WPT Enterprises cut away WPT China, which had been a drain on its bottom line. For example, the discontinuation of WPT China in the first quarter of 2009 helped WPTE only take a $95,000 loss on the venture in the second quarter versus the $581,000 WPT China lost during the second quarter of 2008.

Operating its own online poker room, wptonline.com, also was one of the appendages cut from the company. WPT Enterprises paid a $1 million charge for the discontinuation of wptonline.com and has seen profits soar with the subscription-based ClubWPT.com. The increase was driven by the Fox Sports Network broadcasts of ClubWPT, which offered online players a chance to win their way into a televised tournament with a $10,000 prize. In fact, the television offerings of WPTE had gross profit margins of 53% in the first two quarters of 2009, compared to just 39% during the same period in 2008.

“We have completed our second successful quarter, demonstrating the significant progress we have made in our turnaround efforts to position the company for future profitability,” Steve Lipscomb, President and CEO of WPTE, stated during the Second Quarter report. “Fox Sports Net completed the initial airing of 26 all-new episodes of Season Seven of the World Poker Tour television series across the U.S. in July as a part of FSN’s Sunday sports block. We also filmed our first Season Eight tour stop in high definition and FSN will air Season Eight of the World Poker Tour television series beginning in late 2009 or early 2010.”

The expectations for the third quarter of 2009 are for continued profitability, albeit on the lower end of the spectrum. WPT Enterprises revenues are expected to be in the range of $3.2 to $3.4 million and, with the lower production and administrative costs, expect to turn a small profit from continuing operations. If Season VII episodes are delivered to foreign markets ahead of schedule, then revenues and profits from the fourth quarter will be shifted into the third quarter of 2009 and could increase profitability further.

The recent success has shown elsewhere on the WPTE scoreboard. The company was able to avoid having its stock offerings de-listed by bringing the price above $1 in June. Currently the WPTE’s stock is trading on the NASDAQ at $1.36, nearly double what it was only three months ago.

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.”

Orient Express heads to APT Macau

The 10-time WSOP bracelet winner will be playing in the $4,300 Main Event of the 12-day poker festival in Macau and take part in the filming of "Poker King" an upcoming Chinese film about poker in Asia. Chan was born in China.

One of the most well-known players in poker Chan has recorded over $8 million in tournament winnings and was even immortalized in classic poker flick Rounders where he played himself in a cameo.

The APT, not to be confused with PokerStars.com competing APPT, was created in 2006 and is considered the original Asian poker tour with events held in Singapore, Macau and the Philippines.

Last year U.S. player Yevgeniy Timoshenko outlasted 256 entries to win APT Macau for $500,000.

The APT is also home to the "Poker Pack", a special team of Asian players who are ambassadors for the tour. The group includes players like J.C. Tran, Nam Le, Quinn Do, David "Chino" Rheem, Steve Sung and Kwang Soo Lee.

The 2009 APT Macau will be held at the Galaxy StarWorld Hotel and Casino in Macau from Aug. 12-23 with the Main Event starting on Aug. 20. Players can qualify for the event on bwin, PartyPoker, Titan Poker and PKR.com.

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PokerStars.com APPT returns with Macau festival

The APPT Macau Summer Festival of Poker will run from Aug. 25-30 with millions of dollars up for grabs.

The festival will feature a total of 20 events including the $5,200 Main Event and a PokerStars-style $11,500 High Roller Event all taking place in the official PokerStars Macau Poker Room at the Grand Lisboa - the largest poker room in continental Asia.

"I'm pleased to see the sport of tournament poker continue to grow in Asia," said Team PokerStars Pro and Poker World Champion Joe Hachem.

"I played in the first APPT Macau in 2007 when PokerStars planted the seeds of No-Limit Texas Hold'em poker culture in Macau and it's been incredible watching that legacy take root and bloom.

"There are now hundreds of local players, cash games running 24/7 and tournaments available every week at the PokerStars Macau Poker Room. I wouldn't be surprised if the next World Champion comes from Macau or elsewhere in China."

During its second season, APPT Macau generated the biggest prize pool ever recorded for a poker event in China with more than $1.5 million awarded. Noted American pro Edward Sabat outlasted a field of 538 players to take down a first place prize of $453,851 while Nam Le won the High Roller Event for $473,915.

This year the APPT expects to break their own records in Macau by drawing more players and creating a prize pool over $2 million.

"This season's APPT is set to be even bigger than Season 2 in terms of both number of participants and prize pools," said APPT President Jeffrey Haas. "This has been made possible by continued enthusiasm for the tour right across the region with amazing levels of participation."

The third season of the APPT is also scheduled to make stops in Seoul, Auckland and Cebu in the Philippines before culminating in Sydney for the Grand Final in December.

Last year some of most elite poker players in the world played APPT events including Team PokerStars Pros Joe Hachem, Lee Nelson, Isabelle Mercier, Lee Nelson, Barry Greenstein, Hevad Khan, Chad Brown, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier as well as John Juanda, Johnny Chan, Scotty Nguyen, Grant Levy, Men "The Master" Nguyen, Eric Assadourian and Liz Lieu.

For the complete Macau Summer Poker Festival schedule visit the official APPT website here.

Below is the APPT Season 3 schedule:

EVENT	VENUE	CITY	DATES	BUY-IN	CAP
APPT Macau	Grand Lisboa Casino	Macau	August 25-30	40,000 HKD (5,160 USD)	700
APPT Seoul	7-Luck Casino	Seoul	September 17-20	3,000 USD	250
APPT Auckland	Skycity Casino	Auckland	October 12-15	3,250 NZD (2,050 USD)	350
APPT Philippines	Shangri-la Mactan Resort	Cebu	October 14-19	100,000 PHP (2,150 USD)	300
APPT Sydney	Star City Casino	Sydney	December 1-6	6,300 AUD (4,920 USD)	750

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PokerStars Asian Pacific Poker Tour Season 3 (APPT)

Following the success of the APPT Season 2 PokerStars are proud to present APPT Season 3 – which promises to be as exciting as the previous, very successful, two seasons.

The Asian Pacific Poker Tour Season 3 commences in the Far East - Macau, China on August 24th ‘til 30th in the Grand Lisboa Casino. Macau is now recognised as the new gambling capital of the World so there’s no better place for the APPT Season 3 to kick off.

The prize packages for all of the exciting venues shown below include

• Buy in to the Main Event.
• Hotel Accommodation
• Cash for Expenses

These Events are being held in some of the most fantastic venues on the Planet and this is an opportunity not to be missed by our poker players. Do you realise that you can get to these absolutely fantastic venues for the experience of a lifetime for just $1.10 or just 275 FPPs? How excellent is that! The satellites for the APPT Macau are running now, all day every day, and can easily be found by going through the PokerStars Lobby/Events/APPT. As the Season progresses further satellites will come on line.

EVENT	VENUE	CITY / COUNTRY	DATES	BUY-IN DIRECT
APPT Macau	Grand Lisboa Casino	Macau,China	August 24 - 30	Main Event USD $5,160
APPT Seoul	7 Luck Casino	Seoul S. Korea	September 17-20	TBC
APPT Auckland	Skycity Casino	Auckland New Zealand	October 14-18	TBC
APPT Manila	Shangri la Casino	Manila Philippines	November 12-15	USD $2,150
APPT Sydney	Star City Casino	Sydney Australia	December 1-6	USD $4,920

Another excellent Live Event Series from PokerStars. Read our unbiased PokerStars Review and you’ll realise why they’re the most popular online poker site.

Join PokerStars and double up on your first deposit up to $50 – use PokerStars Poker Bonus Code STARS50 and the PokerStars Marketing Code DIRPOKER for maximum bonuses.