Poker News

Victory Poker May Move to the Cake Poker Network

Victory Poker, which currently makes its home on the Everleaf Network, will soon be leaving for the more populated Cake Poker Network, a source who wished to remain anonymous told Poker News Daily. CalvinAyre.com published a story on potential landing spots on Thursday, adding some fuel to the speculation.

Victory Poker officials may be opting for a network with a larger player base in order to offer a wider variety of tournaments and cash games. The Everleaf Network, which boasts a family of sites that includes Everleaf Poker, Minted Poker, and Poker4Ever, ranks as just the 22nd largest worldwide in terms of real money ring game traffic according to PokerScout.com. Over the past seven days, the Everleaf Network has hosted an average of just 370 cash game players. Its traffic is on par with that found on win2day.

Contrastingly, the Cake Poker Network is the 16th largest worldwide in terms of real money ring game players. Despite being just six spots higher in the PokerScout.com traffic rankings, the Cake Poker Network averages 840 cash game players, more than twice as many as the Everleaf Network. The Cake Poker Network includes rooms like Cake Poker, DoylesRoom, Only Poker, Power Poker, Red Star Poker, and Phil Laak’s Unabomber Poker, which launched earlier this year.

Both the Cake Poker Network and Everleaf Network accept players from the United States. A story that appeared on Thursday on CalvinAyre.com detailed a possible move for Victory Poker: “Victory Poker CEO Dan Fleyshman has publicly promised to make ‘an exciting Victory Poker announcement’ at his birthday party in London September 1st, Dan has been spending an usually large amount of time in Vancouver over the past month, and two major poker networks – Cake and Merge – have offices in Vancouver.”

Victory Poker’s team of sponsored pros includes Antonio Esfandiari, who co-starred with Laak on MOJO’s prop betting show “I Bet You.” The two remain close friends, but whether Laak’s involvement with the Cake Poker Network was a factor in the move of Victory Poker remains to be seen. Other Victory Poker pros include Keith Gipson, Brian “tsarrast” Rast, Andrew “good2cu” Robl, Dan Bilzerian, former Playboy Playmate Sara Underwood, and poker coach David “The Maven” Chicotsky.

Other sponsored pros of Victory Poker include Lee Markholt, Paul Wasicka, Alec “traheho” Torelli, James “Andy McLeod” Obst, and former World Poker Tour Player of the Year Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little. Joe Navarro and mind coach Sam Chauhan also work with the site.

One of Victory Poker’s more distinctive promotions involves one lucky player each week battling against a site pro. On the line is a $500 cash prize and the opportunity to play for the jackpot goes to the winner of Victory Poker’s weekly rake race. The heads-up event takes place at 23:00 server time each Tuesday night.

A small thread on TwoPlusTwo focused on the CalvinAyre.com story, with one poster asserting, “I hope Victory does move, particularly to the Merge Network.” Poker News Daily can independently confirm that Victory Poker will indeed head for the Cake Poker Network instead of the Merge Gaming Network, whose flagship site is Carbon Poker.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest developments in the rumored departure of Victory Poker from the Everleaf Network.

Dan Bilzerian Interview with Poker News Daily

This year’s World Series of Poker (WSOP) brought anyone and everyone from the industry, including Victory Poker pro Dan Bilzerian, whose 180th place finish in last year’s feature tournament turned heads around the globe. We caught up with Bilzerian on the floor of the Amazon Room during Day 1 of his Main Event run.

Poker News Daily: Tell us how your day has been going so far.

Dan Bilzerian: I wasn’t going to play today, but my brother [Adam Bilzerian] talked me into it and I’m doing pretty well. I have around 80,000, so it has been a good start to the day so far. Last year, my brother and I got seated right next to each other, which was pretty sick. It was literally side by side. I haven’t blown up yet today and haven’t done anything stupid so far.

PND: Tell us about your experiences shooting guns in the desert. You recently took our very own Sean Gibson to shoot propane tanks.

Dan Bilzerian: The first time I went, I bought a car from CraigsList and blew that up. The second time, we blew up an RV. The third time, I shot Antonio Esfandiari in the chest with body armor. The funny story about that trip was that I went out there with a buddy of mine who is an ex-Seal and we were shooting a little bit. I have these explosive rounds and we’re shooting at a mountain about two miles out and every time you hit it, it lights up.

So, we figured that our producer, Nima, [could hit it since] it’s seven miles long and two miles out, but he missed the whole thing. He gave new meaning to missing the broad side of the barn.

PND: We understand you’re about to participate in an MMA fight. Tell us when it is and how you’re preparing.

Dan Bilzerian: I am doing a full MMA fight in about three months. I’ll be going every day and training. I’ve been doing it for a couple of years now, so I’m looking forward to having my first fight out here. I have to do something to keep myself entertained.

Vanessa Selbst Top 10 in World Series of Poker Main Event After Day 2B

Five days ago, Vanessa Selbst was introduced as the newest member of Team PokerStars along with former Bodog pro David Williams. The introduction took place at the Real World Suite at the Palms in Las Vegas, just across the street from the Rio, the site of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP). After Day 2B of the Main Event, Selbst sits in eighth on the leaderboard with a stack of 265,000, trailing chip leader David Assouline’s mountain of 387,800.

Selbst took down the PokerStars North American Poker Tour Mohegan Sun Main Event and told the assembled crowd at the Palms that she had partly come out of retirement from poker. However, in order to solidify her Main Event run, she’ll have to navigate through a gauntlet of talent when the combined Day 3 field takes to the felt on Monday. Among those left in the hunt for the nearly $9 million top prize is Kelly Kim, an original November Niner, who doubled up late in the day on Saturday with queens against A-K.

One of the final eliminations of Day 2B went to Tommy Vedes, who called all-in with Q-3 of spades on a flop of A-5-4 with two spades. Matt Reed showed A-Q for top pair and no spade came on the turn or river. Vedes took down the World Poker Tour’s Festa al Lago last year for $1.2 million. He owns over $550,000 in career WSOP earnings.

On a flop of 8-4-6, Tom Schneider pushed all-in with pocket sevens, but received a call from a player with a wired pair of aces, which held for the win. We won’t be hearing any cries of “Stack ‘em, stack ‘em, to the top” this year from the two-time bracelet winner’s wife, but Schneider finished the 2010 WSOP with four in the money finishes.

Three players who have made deep runs in the Main Event in previous years found the exit late in the day on Saturday. Jeff Shulman, who finished fifth in last year’s cycle for $1.9 million, and Josh Arieh, who took third in 2004 for $2.5 million, were both ousted from the Main Event yesterday. Joining them was original November Niner Ylon Schwartz, who bowed out in back-to-back hands after running a straight into a flush on his second-to-last pot.

One of our favorite moments of Day 2B involved Brandon Cantu. The UB.com pro announced via Twitter, “I’m shoving this hand no matter what, wish me luck.” True to his word, Cantu moved all-in and detailed what happened next on the popular social networking site: “Went raise 3000 call 3000 I get jt shove fold fold 31k.” Cantu, a dual WSOP bracelet winner, ended the day with a stack of 40,000.

Also bumped on Day 2B were DoylesRoom Brunson 10 member Dan “djk123” Kelly, David “Bakes” Baker, Doyle Brunson, and Full Tilt pro Phil Ivey, who made the final table of this event last year. Ivey was eliminated in especially gut-wrenching fashion, as he ran pocket queens into pocket kings. Ivey hit a queen on the turn to surge into the lead, but Yuji Masaki re-sucked on the river when a king hit. Ivey’s stack took a beating as a result and he was eliminated shortly thereafter.

Here are the top 10 chip stacks after Day 2B according to figures found on WSOP.com:

1. David Assouline – 387,800
2. Ricardo Fasanaro – 380,000
3. Matt Reed – 337,800
4. Jim “Mr_BigQueso” Collopy – 305,100
5. Jon “apestyles” Van Fleet – 295,600
6. Charles Sylvestre – 292,300
7. Sasha Rosewood – 279,500
8. Vanessa Selbst – 265,000
9. Marc Sander – 265,000
10. Gabriel Walls – 241,000

Other players remaining after Day 2B include legendary gambler Archie Karas, Victory Poker pro Dan Bilzerian, Jason Mercier, UFC announcer Bruce Buffer, Eric Buchman, Humberto Brenes, “The Simpsons” voice Hank Azaria, and Lock Poker pro Matt “All In At 420” Stout.

Sunday is an off day for the 2010 WSOP Main Event. On Monday, the survivors from both Day 2s will reconvene at the Rio for a combined Day 3. The tournament’s field will be whittled down to the final nine next Saturday, July 17th.

Dan Bilzerian House Tour

Dan Bilzerian lives at the Panorama Towers and is a high stakes live cash game pro who has taken on some of the biggest games for huge scores. Living in the luxurious Panorama Towers in Las Vegas is reserved for only the elite, and Bilzerian gave us an exclusive tour of his home. See how one of the true poker ballers lives in this video.

Bilzerian is a sponsored pro at Victory Poker and gained some household notoriety with a deep run during the 2009 World Series of Poker‘s Main Event.

June 15th – Daily Deal

WSOP Event 25 recap, David Sesso talks about the ladies event and the Dan Bilzerian twitter controversy on today’s Daily Deal.

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

This year’s Omaha Hi-Lo Championship was definitely a test of champions. Suave high-stakes pro Sammy Farha, best known as “the man who finished second to Chris Moneymaker in 2003,” faced Englishman James “Flushy” Dempsey, who just won a bracelet nine days ago. The duo tangled in an epic heads-up match that lasted four hours. Eventually, the bracelet returned to the man who had already won it in two thousand and six, Sammy Farha. He is recognized as one of the top Omaha Hi-Lo players and has won three Omaha bracelets during his career. When WSOP reporters asked Farha about being one of the best Omaha Hi-Lo Split players in the world, his reply was typical of the witty pro: “I think so. I think I can play the game.”

As we discussed on yesterday’s episode, several male players joined the ladies’ event, which began last Friday from the Rio in Las Vegas. This week, Shaun Deeb issued a statement, and Bustout Poker endorser David Sesso spoke to Poker News Daily about why he entered. Here are some highlights of his interview:

“My friends and I had a prop bet. Part of it was that the first one out had to play in the Ladies Event and I lost. The other part was that if you had to play in the Ladies Event, you couldn’t talk about the prop bet at all during it… When a guy goes to the tables on a given night, it’s very common for it to turn out to be a fun (or not so fun) night out with “the guys”… Females don’t get to have this “girls night out” feeling when they play poker; the Ladies Event, I feel, gives them a chance to have this. Realizing this fact is what makes me feel sorry for playing.”

And continuing with the theme of apologies, a Tweet by Victory Poker pro Dan Bilzerian sparked a controversy that has both Twitter and the poker forums on edge. Bilzerian quoted an admittedly VERY un-PC Clint Eastwood joke from the movie Gran Turino on his Twitter account that caught the eye AND ire of poker journalist Joy Miller. Things escalated quickly and soon there was talk of an ESPN ban on the entire Victory Poker team. Bilzerian seems to consider the issue closed:

“I’ve offered a public apology and given her an apology. There’s nothing else I can do.” He also increased the privacy level of his Twitter feed. Miller, on the other hand, also seems to have moved on, partly thanks to her supportive poker friends. She told PND:

“I had tears in my eyes earlier, talked to Phil Ivey, and he said, ‘Let Dan Bilzerian come tell me the joke.’” Miller does not work for ESPN in any capacity which made talk of the potential ban extremely curious.

Thanks for joining me on The Daily Deal. Be sure to check out our other videos which include CardRunners strategy clips and interviews with the biggest names in poker. I’m Sean Gibson and I’ll be back tomorrow with more poker news.

Joy Miller, Dan Bilzerian Speak Out on Twitter Spat

On Monday, Victory Poker pro Dan Bilzerian made headlines for Tweeting the following quote from the movie “Gran Torino,” featuring Clint Eastwood: “A Mexican, a Jew and a colored fellow walk into a bar… The bartender looks up and says… Get the **** out of here.” The quote shocked Bluff poker reporter Joy Miller, who, along with Bilzerian, sat down with Poker News Daily to rehash the events following the now infamous Tweet.

You might be wondering why Bilzerian would post such a controversial Tweet in the first place, even if it only entails a quote from “Gran Torino.” Bilzerian told Poker News Daily, “I was watching ‘Gran Torino’ with some buddies, thought it was funny, Tweeted it, and Miller Tweeted something back to me. I didn’t know who she was at the time, so I just ignored it, and then she screamed at [Victory Poker CEO] Dan Fleyshman about how Victory Poker pros wouldn’t receive exposure on ESPN.”

For her part, Miller explained that she never threatened to stop Victory Poker pros from receiving face time on the cable goliath: “I don’t work for ESPN and clearly said that on the voice mail. He made up that he’d be banned from ESPN because I don’t work for them. I said I’m calling you as myself and never represented a company.” ESPN officials told Poker News Daily on Monday that Miller is not employed by the network.

Miller took the quote personally. “My dad fought for years to get into an all-white school in 1972 and had to deal with a colored drinking fountain and a white drinking fountain,” she explained to us. “I told Dan Bilzerian that I thought it was nasty and just wanted an apology. It’s not funny.” Bilzerian stated that he offered to make a public apology for his Tweet to his 243 followers: “I told Joy that I’d be happy to issue a public apology. Then she left me that voice mail where she was screaming and cussing. I’ve offered a public apology and given her an apology. There’s nothing else I can do.”

The TwoPlusTwo thread on the Bilzerian Tweet entitled “Dan Bilzerian Banned from ESPN” spans 45 pages and has received over 50,000 views. Miller believes that the stunt, which ended with Bilzerian making a YouTube video of her voice mail, may have simply been designed to give Victory Poker publicity: “It was shitty of him to get Victory Poker attention and use me as his stomping ground. I’m not wrong. You shouldn’t have used the word colored and you shouldn’t have posted the joke and not taken credit for it as being from a movie.”

Eastwood’s character says the controversial line in the movie, which was nominated for several awards and received a nod from the American Film Institute as one of the top 10 films of 2008. On why the evening of trading voice mails ended with Bilzerian posting a YouTube video, the Victory Poker pro explained, “I was worried she would publicly say something on ESPN or actually ban Victory Poker players from ESPN. She has a voice and she’s on camera, so I wanted to be heard. I tried to do everything I could, she was unreasonable, and so I decided to do the video clip.”

Bilzerian has since altered the privacy settings of his Twitter account. Now when viewing his feed, users are met with, “This person has protected their Tweets. You need to send a request before you can start following this person.” Miller has nearly 1,300 followers on the popular social networking site.

The question remains as to where the notion of Victory Poker pros being banned on ESPN came from. Bilzerian relayed, “She said, word for word, ‘No Victory Poker pro is going to be on ESPN his year. I don’t care how far they get.’ I really wouldn’t have cared, but when this negatively impacted Victory, that’s pretty outrageous.” Victory Poker pro Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little already has two top 50 runs in the 2010 WSOP, while Antonio Esfandiari took 12th in a $5,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament.

All told, the controversy has rocked the Twitterverse over the last 24 hours. Miller, however, seems to have returned to life as normal. Her latest Tweets indicate that Praz Bansi let her wear his newly won WSOP bracelet and that Phil Ivey has been nothing but supportive. On the soft-spoken Full Tilt Poker pro, Miller told Poker News Daily, “I had tears in my eyes earlier, talked to Phil Ivey, and he said, ‘Let Dan Bilzerian come tell me the joke.’”

Victory Poker Pro Dan Bilzerian in Spat Over Controversial Tweet

In 2009, Victory Poker pro Dan Bilzerian and his brother Adam were featured prominently in ESPN’s coverage of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. Dan Bilzerian finished 180th for $36,000 in the prestigious poker tournament, while Adam Bilzerian took 47th for $138,000. However, a controversial Tweet by the former “Flying Bilzerian Brother” has him in the headlines for all of the wrong reasons.

In a recent Twitter post, Bilzerian quoted acclaimed actor Clint Eastwood in the movie “Gran Torino,” saying, “A Mexican, a Jew and a colored fellow walk into a bar… The bartender looks up and says… Get the **** out of here.” In the process, Bilzerian enraged poker reporter Joy Miller. Bilzerian detailed what happened next in a thread that appeared on TwoPlusTwo: “She told the CEO from Victory Poker that neither myself nor any of the 20 sponsored pros would get any ESPN coverage until I gave a formal apology. I explained to her that it was a quote from a movie. She flipped out and started swearing and screaming at me about using the word ‘colored.’ She sent me a bunch of angry texts [and] yelled at the CEO.”

In a voice mail that Miller left Bilzerian – which appeared on YouTube – Miller explained, “I don’t give a **** if the quote was from a movie. I asked you to apologize because you said ‘colored’ and I just don’t get what you don’t get about that. I don’t even want an apology anymore. Good luck to you.”

In the same YouTube video, Bilzerian appears on a rooftop in Las Vegas summarizing the situation: “I told her she was super offended because the joke had the word ‘colored’ in it. I told her that the NAACP stands for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, so… maybe she should ask them for a public apology because they seem to think it’s socially acceptable and they’re pretty much the biggest black rights activist group in the country. I don’t know. Call me crazy.”

Despite Miller’s claims, a source close to ESPN told Poker News Daily that she is not affiliated with the network or ESPN 360 in any way: “She is not an employee of ESPN and, as such, does not speak for us in any capacity.” On her Twitter feed, Miller, who goes by @joykendra, lists her occupation as “WSOP/Bluff Media/ESPN360 Producer (and professional poker Socializer).”

Miller has posted video interviews from the 2010 WSOP with pros like Jeff Madsen, Andy Bloch, and UB.com’s Joe Sebok on Bluff Magazine’s website.

A 14-page thread erupted within hours on TwoPlusTwo, with posters evenly divided on the issue. Some were critical of Bilzerian’s possible lack of judgment with the Tweet, while others called out Miller for overreacting. In the former camp was “snoopy1239,” who posted, “I think it’s really naive to post it. You’re representing a poker company, it’s the World Series, your Twitters are going up on PokerNews, and people are obviously going to misinterpret and be offended, despite your intentions.”

In her most recent Twitter post, submitted around 1:00am ET early Monday morning, Miller once again called out Bilzerian: “No, ESPN did not request an apology. Joy Miller did, but you’re too much of a toolbag to get it. Good luck.” Bilzerian quickly responded, “Quit pulling the race card and realize it was a movie quote. Toolbag… Really, are we in high school?”

Miller threatened to disrupt Victory Poker’s coverage at the 2010 WSOP, although it remains to be seen if she has the power to do so. The USA-friendly site’s stable of pros includes Bilzerian, Antonio Esfandiari, Sara Underwood, Lee Markholt, Andrew “good2cu” Robl, and former World Poker Tour (WPT) Player of the Year Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little.

Justin Bonomo issues WSOP “Panorama Prop Bet”

With the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) less than two weeks away, poker players around the world are making all kinds of last minute preparations – accommodations, travel plans, playing schedules – before descending upon Las Vegas.

Over on the Two Plus Two forums, a few online players are drawing up final plans of their own, but they don’t involve houses, hotels, or airplanes. For today’s generation of young, forum-posting poker pros, it’s all about prop bets. With each passing year, prop bets are generating more and more buzz more for the WSOP and with good reason, as there are hundreds of thousands of dollars in side action.

The most intriguing bet to emerge from the 20-page thread thus far is being levied by former Bodog Poker pro Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo. As of this writing, he has clearly stated that the bet isn’t finalized, but he intends to have action booked by the eve of May 28th. Essentially, Bonomo is laying 10-1 odds that at least one person living or staying at the Panorama Towers condominium building will win a WSOP bracelet this summer. Billed as “The Panorama Prop Bet,” the wager is exclusive to the Rio and Las Vegas, which means WSOP Europe events do not count.

The parameters of the bet state that owners, renters, and even people crashing for a week are all eligible for Bonomo’s side bet. Before the bet is set in stone, however, he’ll complete a list; in order for a player’s win to count, their name must be on the last draft. So far, his preliminary list includes the names below:

Jennifer Tilly, Phil Laak, Antonio Esfandiari, Barry Greenstein, UB.com pro Joe Sebok, David Williams, Shirley Williams, Isaac Haxton, Scott Seiver, Aaron Been, Steve O’Dwyer, Alex Melnikow, Ben Lamb, Tyler Netter, Eric Froehlich, Brock Parker, Nick Binger, Micheal Binger, Nenad Medic, Matt Gianetti, Lauren Kling, Mike Sowers, Maria Mayrinck, David Baker, David “Viffer” Peat, Alexandra Vuong, Liz Lieu, Stephen Chidwick, Jon Van Fleet, David “The Maven” Chicotsky, John Aguiar, Allie Prescott, Shaun Deeb, Jeff Sarwer, EPT San Remo winner Liv Boeree, Noah Boeken, Lex Veldhuis, Evelyn Ng, Jimmy Fricke, Matt LaGarde, Ray Coburn, Noah Glimmer, Jay Farber, Dan Bilzerian, Victory Poker front man Dan Fleyshman, Keith Gipson, Brian Rast, Joe Piccoli, Joseph Cheong, and Ryan Fee.

Other players that Bonomo believes might be staying at the luxury condos include Greg “FBT” Mueller, Shawn Buchanan, Micheal Dimichelle, Bobby Baldwin, Shannon Elizabeth, Mimi Tran, Andre Akkari, Hunter Frey, Titan Poker pro Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi, Johannes Straussman, and J.C. Alvarado.

Bonomo is currently accepting bets based on the rough outline and will be updating the complete list right before Midnight on May 28th. All takers will then have 24 hours to back out once he publishes the final list. Be sure to stay tuned to Poker News Daily, as we’ll be covering all future developments of the “Panorama Prop Bet.”

Alec Torelli (traheho) Interview with Poker News Daily

Poker News Daily: Let’s start with the question everyone’s been asking you lately: Why make the jump from DoylesRoom to Victory Poker?

Alec Torelli: There are a lot of reasons.  Look at [what we put on at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino].  There is a lot of buzz and a lot of energy and I really believe in my friend Dan [Fleyshman].  What he did with Who’s Your Daddy Energy Drink was amazing and if he can do half of that with Victory...

We’re also all really professional and my best friends are all part of the company.  They’re endorsed pros like Andrew [Robl], Brian [Rast], Keith [Gipson], Antonio [Esfandiari], and Paul [Wasicka].  Everyone was on board, the ship was leaving shore, and all of my boys were there, so I couldn’t pass it up.

PND: Was Victory Poker’s emphasis on the lifestyle of poker part of the draw for you?

Alec Torelli: Definitely. I loved what was going on with DoylesRoom and things were going well.  I had a good deal and got along with everyone, but what my vision was for DoylesRoom was really similar to what we’re doing with Victory.  I think a lot of people like to play poker and are good at poker.  I think our lifestyle is something that a lot of people want to emulate.  I think at Victory, the lifestyle is something we’re going to pride ourselves on and something that people are drawn to.

PND: What kind of lifestyle-related projects do you have on the horizon?

Alec Torelli: We’ve done a lot of fun stuff lately.  In the coming months, there is so much speculation that I don’t want to say something, get hyped up, and not end up doing it.  You know, with poker players, plans are always changing.  We blew up an RV, Antonio Esfandiari got shot in the chest, and Dan Bilzerian and I were in Hawaii recently off-roading, surfing, and paying some guy to run around naked at a luau.  We’re doing everything at Victory.  It’s so much fun to have your best friends as your co-workers.  It’s just so easy to do everything. It’s like we’re turning our lifestyle into a business, which is just so easy to do because I would be doing this stuff anyways.

PND: You spent some time on the tournament circuit in late 2009, but we haven’t seen you at many big events recently.  You have a background in cash games. Is that what you’ve been spending most of your time playing lately?

Alec Torelli: Tournaments are great for exposure and media.  I don’t need to be super-famous in the poker world, though, so recognition is not that big of a priority.  For me, cash games allow a lifestyle that is very conducive to what I want.  I can play when I want.  I can leave when I want.  I can do whatever I want when I want, the life most people want to have. Tournaments are great too, so I do both.  We were in Europe, played four or five tournaments, and then took four or five weeks off.  I would never play a tournament in a place I didn’t want to go.

PND: What’s the coolest place you’ve been in the past year?

Alec Torelii: I like Hawaii, my most recent trip.  It’s amazing.  New Zealand and Italy are close, though.  We went a lot of cool places this year.  We had our boys in Europe for two months and it was madness.  It was so much fun.  It wasn’t really where we went, but just whom we were with.  We could have been anywhere.

Victory Poker Signs Jonathan Little (FieryJustice) and James Obst (Andy McLEOD)

Online poker site Victory Poker continues to take strides in becoming the next major poker room, as it recently signed well-known pros Jonathan "FieryJustice" Little and James "Andy McLEOD" Obst. The two players will represent Victory Poker at live events and play on the site.

Little joins Team Victory as arguably the most successful tournament player on the roster. He was named the World Poker Tour (WPT) Season VI Player of the Year after winning the Mirage Poker Showdown for $1,066,295 and placing second in the North American Poker Championships for $680,862. Little then won the World Poker Finals during Season VII of the WPT, collecting $1,120,310. In his four-year career, Little has more than $4 million in live tournament earnings.

The 25 year-old Las Vegas native told Poker News Daily his reasons behind joining the new team: "Victory Poker is different from the other sites because it actually listens to what the online poker players suggest to them. The site isn't run by poker playing celebs who don't actually play much poker. We are working hard to make the site the best in the industry and I am confident it will be there in the near future."

Obst, who makes his home in Adelaide, Australia, is an online tournament legend. He was crushing No Limit Hold'em and Pot Limit Omaha tournaments before having his accounts shut down by online poker rooms after discovering that he was too young to play. Now 19, Obst is officially back and has won more than $1.5 million playing online tournaments. His biggest victory came in the 2009 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP), where he won the $3,150 Mixed Hold'em event for $184,000. Obst defeated CardPlayer Online Player of the Year Steve "gboro780" Gross to claim the title.

Said Obst, "The decision was a no-brainer. The pros involved are all tremendous players. And just as importantly, they strike me as fun guys who I'll enjoy working with. But the most important reason for joining Team Victory is the comprehensive business model. When I heard about the people behind the scenes, I was impressed with their credentials and connections. All in all, I'm excited to discover the future of Victory Poker."

Since the site launched on February 1st, Victory Poker has signed 19 personalities. The first group of big names to join the team included Antonio Esfandiari, Brian "tsarrast" Rast, Andrew "good2cu" Robl, Keith Gipson, Dan Bilzerian, Paul Wasicka, Lee Markholt, and 2007 Playboy Playmate of the Year Sara Underwood.

In February, Danny Wong, Sander Lylloff, Alec "traheho" Torelli, and David "The Maven" Chicotsky officially joined Team Victory. Little, Obst, Steven "harrydebeng" Weusten, and Adam "The_Houdini" Hourani were added as pros last week. The 19 members of Team Victory have a combined 53 titles, 445 cashes, and $28,722,911 in earnings on the tournament circuit.

"The Victory Poker pros are basically the best cash game pros in the business, along with some of the best tournament players in the game," said Little, who has been playing mostly six-handed cash games on Victory Poker. "Simply put, it is the best team of poker players ever assembled. If there were some sort of game between the Victory pros and any other team of pros, I am confident that Team Victory would come out victorious."

Victory Poker makes its home on the Everleaf Poker Network and gladly accepts players from the United States.

Victory Poker Officials Recap First Two Weeks

On February 6th, the crew from Victory Poker celebrated the launch of the new Everleaf/UPN network site at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas. Now, one week after the festivities and two weeks after its debut, Victory Poker appears to be chugging along.

The diverse team of pros at Victory Poker includes Andrew “good2cu” Robl, who finished third in a $5,000 Limit/No Limit Hold’em event during the 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) for $144,000, outlasting everyone except for poker superstars Erick Lindgren and Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo in the 332-player field. Robl told Poker News Daily how Victory Poker has been faring in its first few days in operation: “The launch went really well and there was a lot of buzz and hype in the poker community. Overall, people’s reactions have been positive and the website has been getting a lot of traffic.”

Officials from the USA-facing room told Poker News Daily that Victory Poker’s website has been seeing 1,500 visitors per day. According to the traffic ranking site PokerScout.com, the Everleaf/UPN family of sites has seen its traffic grow steadily since the end of January. On February 1st, a peak of 623 real money ring game players took to the network’s felts. Now, that number sits at 698 and is growing steadily. Robl added that the traffic figures were “better than we expected.”

Winning a date with Sara Underwood is one of the promotional opportunities on the horizon for Victory Poker users. Underwood, the 2007 Playboy Playmate of the Year, is a sponsored pro of Victory Poker and finished fourth in a charity poker tournament held during the site’s kickoff party in Sin City. Other promotions that allow customers to interact with Victory Poker pros in a live setting will follow.

Some in the industry questioned why Victory Poker would join the relatively small Everleaf/UPN network rather than a larger USA-facing entity like the Cake Poker Network. Robl explained, “A lot of sites have become so big and so corporate that there’s no real feeling of a community. Our pros will be playing on the site and even playing small stakes. You can come on Victory Poker and play $0.50/$1 with Antonio Esfandiari. That’s pretty cool.”

Other Victory Poker pros include former DoylesRoom Brunson 10 member Alec “traheho” Torelli, former Full Tilt Poker pros Paul Wasicka and Lee Markholt, Chinese Poker guru Danny Wong, “Flying Bilzerian Brother” Dan Bilzerian, and online poker pro Brian “tsarrast” Rast. Despite the strong group, Robl commented that the site will expand its roster of pros: “We definitely want to get more pros involved – maybe some foreign players – but we’re going to be very selective. We only want elite players. We don’t want to be like PokerStars or Full Tilt and have 200 pros.”

Despite being in business for less than half a month, Victory Poker has already had a considerable amount of exposure in the live arena. Wasicka recently took down the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit Championship in Tunica, earning $139,000. He defeated Larry Gurner heads-up in a final table that also included Lock Poker’s Matt “All In At 420” Stout, Carter “BdyBldngpkrplyr” Phillips, and Dwyte Pilgrim. Wasicka earned his first gold ring as a result, but gained fame in the poker world for finishing as the runner-up to Jamie Gold in the 2006 WSOP Main Event for $6.1 million. Wasicka donned a Victory Poker patch in Tunica, giving the nascent room some much-needed face time.

Robl is passionate about Victory Poker succeeding. He explained that the team at Victory Poker is dedicated to seeing the site flourish: “We all want Victory Poker to do really well. We really believe in our vision for the company and we’re all going to work very hard to bring Victory Poker into the top five or 10 poker sites.”

Other Everleaf/UPN network sites include flagship room Everleaf Poker, Minted Poker, and Poker4Ever.

Victory Poker Open For Business

February 1st marked the launch of a new online poker site, as Victory Poker opened its virtual doors for business. The site, which is represented by a team of highly-regarded professional players, makes its home on the merged Everleaf/UPN network. The new network has yet to take on an official name.

According to PokerScout.com, which keeps tabs on online poker room traffic, the newly created network will boast traffic similar to that of Betfair. With several big names attached to Victory Poker, including Antonio Esfandiari, the site is expecting a substantial increase in traffic to the network, which will accept U.S. players. Victory Poker will offer cash game and tournament formats in a variety of games, including Texas Hold'em, Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo, and Seven Card Stud.

Victory Poker's website was unveiled early Monday morning. As expected, players in the community were curious about the new site and unloaded questions and concerns about matters such as security, support, rakeback, and glitches. A spokesperson from Victory Poker responded with some updates and answers in a thread on TwoPlusTwo:

1. Your personal email information is safe. We did accept emails to share information about Victory Poker as we move forward.
2. This is a soft launch and it's meant to have a few days to make sure everything is running smoothly and all areas of concern are addressed.
3. Our official launch is Super Bowl Weekend around the Trash Talk Championship of the World Poker Charity Tournament at the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas.
4. There is a "support" email issue that is being resolved as we speak.
5. Any questions regarding the affiliate program or rakeback can be sent to lupe@victorypoker.net.

One of the immediate topics of discussion on the forums was the site's logo, which features an olive in a martini glass taking the shape of the initials "VP" for Victory Poker. The logo drew harsh criticism from members on the TwoPlusTwo forums, but Team Victory Poker pro Andrew "good2cu" Robl came to the artists' defense. "I can see why some people don't like Victory Poker's logo as it's not for everyone," said Robl, a well-respected high-stakes cash game player. "But it was designed by Michael Godard, the No. 1 selling artist in the world; in general I think his work and logos are highly respected."

Joining Robl as representatives for Victory Poker are Esfandiari, Brian "tsarrast" Rast, Keith Gipson, Paul Wasicka, Dan Bilzerian, Danny Wong, Lee Markholt, Sander Lylloff, and David "The Maven" Chicotsky.

Chicotsky, the 2008 Bluff Magazine Online Player of the Year, talked about the launch of the new site with Poker News Daily: "The team of players and people working behind the scenes on Victory are second to none. I'm just so happy to be associated with such a great team and see great things for the future of the company."

"I plan on playing on Victory a ton," Chicotsky continued. "Just like with tournaments, I plan on working my way to the top in cash games. I've been offered cash game help from the likes of Andrew Robl, Keith Gipson, and Brian Rast… so, needless to say, I'm very excited to be learning new cash game tricks and using them on Victory Poker."

Alec "traheho" Torelli will also be a sponsored pro at Victory Poker after parting ways with DoylesRoom last month. The 22 year-old, who has more than $1 million in tournament earnings, discussed his decision to join Victory in his latest blog: "As a (Victory Poker) pro, we are given not only a great sponsorship deal but an input in marketing, advertising, budget control, signing new players along with personally knowing and trusting everyone involved. Although in its infancy, the site has big plans. With an unparalleled marketing campaign and plans to take Victory on an international level, the site looks promising."

For those interested in creating an account at Victory Poker, the site offers 24-hour live support to answer any questions about the launch. The site also has a sponsored support forum at TwoPlusTwo.com.

PlayerGPS Donating Revenue to Haiti Earthquake Victims

In the new month, individuals and corporations around the world continue to raise money for the victims of the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck the island nation of Haiti on January 12th. The popular poker buddy list software PlayerGPS is also getting into the act.

Text found on the program’s website explains, “PlayerGPS names February ‘Haiti Relief Month.’ We will be donating 100% of our gross revenue to the Clinton Bush Fund to support the earthquake recovery efforts in Haiti.” The site, which recently came under new ownership after merging with PlayerStalker, has seen its backend overhauled to interact more smoothly with each online poker room.

PlayerGPS sends alerts via e-mail, instant messenger, and text message when players sign into an online poker room and sit down to play. The poker software program is typically used as a fish-finder, as players can instantly locate weak competition and play with them instantly. PlayerGPS allows you to open tables directly from its web-based software, making battling it out in the virtual felts a breeze. Other players use the tool as a security device to track unauthorized logins.

Three levels exist for PlayerGPS membership. The first, affectionately dubbed Grinder, supports stakes of $0.50/$1 to $1/$2 and weighs in at $14.99 per month. The site is quick to point out that this amounts to $0.49 per day. Thirty text messages per month are allowed at the Grinder level, which supports Omaha, Stud, Hold’em, and Mixed games. The next level up is Shark, which allows you to search games up to $3/$6 and receive up to 50 text messages per month. The granddaddy of memberships is Balla, which allows you to search all games at all stakes and receive up to 100 text messages per month. The Shark and Balla memberships run $24.99 per month and $49.99 per month, respectively.

PlayerGPS’ supported instant messaging services include AOL Instant Messenger, MSN, and Skype. Several pros of the new Everleaf/UPN Network site Victory Poker endorse the product, including Antonio “The Magician” Esfandiari, Andrew “good2cu” Robl,
Brian "tsarrast" Rast, Dan Bilzerian, Alec “traheho” Torelli, and Keith Gipson. Bilzerian’s testimonial on the PlayerGPS website is especially humorous: “Damn PlayerGPS alerts, I have to kick all the girls out of bed just to go punish the monkeys!”

Also endorsing PlayerGPS is 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe Main Event winner and Betfair pro Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad, who made her “Poker After Dark” debut last month. Obrestad recently tore up the competition at the 2010 Aussie Millions, winning an AUD $1,000 Pot Limit Omaha tournament for AUD $40,000 before finishing seventh in the series’ Main Event for AUD $175,000. Obrestad’s testimonial simply reads, "PlayerGPS is a really helpful tool! Love it!"

In an interview with the popular software review site PokerSoftware.com, a representative from PlayerGPS described the importance of creating a way to donate to the victims of the Haitian earthquake: “Every single dollar that goes into PlayerGPS is going to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund. A lot of the other affiliate sites have done it and it’ll give people a good reason to try out our product.”

Meanwhile, the world’s largest online poker site, PokerStars, noted that it sent $1.5 million to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies after matching player funds. Rival site Full Tilt Poker matched $329,000 in player donations for a total contribution of $659,000. The Calvin Ayre Foundation, which has pledged up to $1 million to benefit the victims of the trembler, noted that it has raised £155,000 to date. Coupled with fundraising efforts on sites like DoylesRoom, UB.com, Absolute Poker, and RedKings, the poker community has turned out in force.

Visit PlayerGPS for more information on the world of online poker buddy lists.

PlayerGPS Donating Revenue to Haiti Earthquake Victims

In the new month, individuals and corporations around the world continue to donate money for the victims of the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck the island nation of Haiti on January 12th. The popular poker buddy list software PlayerGPS is also getting into the act.

Text found on the program’s website explains, “PlayerGPS names February ‘Haiti Relief Month.’ We will be donating 100% of our gross revenue to the Clinton Bush Fund to support the earthquake recovery efforts in Haiti.” The site, which recently came under new ownership after merging with PlayerStalker, has seen its backend overhauled to interact smoothly with each online poker room.

PlayerGPS sends alerts via e-mail, instant messenger, and text message when players sign into an online poker room and sit down to play. The poker software program is typically used as a fish-finder, as players can instantly locate weak competition to play with. Other players use the tool as a security device to track unauthorized logins.

Three levels exist for PlayerGPS membership. The first, affectionately dubbed Grinder, supports stakes of $0.50/$1 to $1/$2 and weighs in at $14.99 per month. The site is quick to point out that this amounts to $0.49 per day. Thirty text messages per month are allowed at the Grinder level, which supports Omaha, Stud, Hold’em, and Mixed games. The next level up is Shark, which allows you to search games up to $3/$6 and receive up to 50 text messages per month. The granddaddy of memberships is Balla, which allows you to search all games at all stakes and receive up to 100 text messages per month. The Shark and Balla memberships run $24.99 per month and $49.99 per month, respectively.

PlayerGPS’ supported instant messaging services include AOL Instant Messenger, MSN, and Skype. Several pros of the new Everleaf/UPN Network site Victory Poker endorse the product, including Antonio “The Magician” Esfandiari, Andrew “good2cu” Robl, Brian "tsarrast" Rast, Dan Bilzerian, Alec “traheho” Torelli, and Keith Gipson. Bilzerian’s testimonial on the PlayerGPS website is especially humorous: “Damn PlayerGPS alerts, I have to kick all the girls out of bed just to go punish the monkeys!”

Also endorsing PlayerGPS is 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe Main Event winner and Betfair pro Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad, who made her “Poker After Dark” debut last month. Obrestad recently tore up the competition at the 2010 Aussie Millions, winning an AUD $1,000 Pot Limit Omaha tournament for AUD $40,000 before finishing seventh in the series’ Main Event for AUD $175,000. Obrestad’s testimonial simply reads, "PlayerGPS is a really helpful tool! Love it!"

In an interview with the popular software review site PokerSoftware.com, a representative from PlayerGPS described the importance of creating a way to donate to the victims of the Haiti earthquake: “Every single dollar that goes into PlayerGPS is going to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund. A lot of the other affiliate sites have done it and it’ll give people a good reason to try out our product.”

Meanwhile, the world’s largest online poker site, PokerStars, noted that it sent $1.5 million to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies after matching player funds. Rival site Full Tilt Poker matched $329,000 in player donations for a total contribution of $659,000. The Calvin Ayre Foundation, which has pledged up to $1 million to benefit the victims of the trembler, noted that it has raised £155,000 to date. Coupled with fundraising efforts on sites like DoylesRoom, UB.com, Absolute Poker, and RedKings, the poker community has turned out in force.

Visit PlayerGPS for more information on the world of online poker buddy lists.

Victory Poker Launches February 1st

One day prior to Super Bowl XLIV between the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints, officials from Victory Poker will celebrate the site’s launch at a party at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas. The online poker room will open for business on February 1st.

Victory Poker will make its home on the merged Everleaf/UPN network, which has yet to take on an official name. According to PokerScout.com, the newly created network will boast traffic similar to that of Betfair, which has a seven-day running average of 610 real money ring game players. A press release announcing the Trash Talk Championship of the World Straddle Tournament at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas on February 6th revealed that the Victory Poker launch party would occur at 10:00pm following the festivities.

UFC’s Randy Couture will be sporting a Victory Poker logo when he takes to the ring in UFC 109 against Mark Coleman. The bout emanates from the Mandalay Bay Events Center near the Hard Rock and will also feature Nate Marquardt facing off against Chael Sonnen and Matt Serra fighting Frank Trigg. The first brawl takes place at 4:45pm, while televised matches start at 7:00pm. Couture will don a dot-net logo for the new online poker room.

Antonio Esfandiari headlines the Victory Poker stable of pros. A World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, Esfandiari has become widely known for his insatiable appetite for prop bets. He even co-starred with his close friend Phil Laak on the MOJO show “I Bet You,” which ran for two seasons on the cable station. Esfandiari has three WPT final tables to his credit and one title, which came in the Season 2 L.A. Poker Classic. At the tender age of 31, Esfandiari is one of the veterans of the game.

Jumping over from DoylesRoom to be a part of Victory Poker is Alec “traheho” Torelli. The Cake Poker Network site and Torelli severed ties two weeks ago. Torelli has made two WPT final tables, finishing fourth in both the Bellagio Cup V and Solvakia events. The former will air its finale at 11:00pm ET on Fox Sports Net this Sunday in a one-hour episode. Poker Hall of Fame member Mike Sexton and actor Vince Van Patten will once again provide commentary for Season 8 of the WPT.

Coming over from Full Tilt Poker are Paul Wasicka and Lee Markholt. The latter was removed in recent days as a Full Tilt Red Pro and finished fourth in the WSOP Circuit Championship in Tunica four years ago for $183,000. In addition, Markholt won the WPT Season 6 World Poker Challenge in Reno for $493,000 and owns $1.3 million in career earnings from the roving tournament series. Wasicka was the runner-up to Jamie Gold in the 2006 WSOP Main Event, earning a colossal $6.1 million.

Also appearing in the Victory Poker pro lineup is Chinese Poker sensation Danny Wong. Owning the moniker “Chinese Poker Wizard,” Wong learned to play the game’s variation at age five. Despite his success in Chinese Poker, he’s also excelled in No Limit Texas Hold’em, making three WPT final tables. Joining Wong will be online poker pro Brian “tsarrast” Rast.

Those who watched the 2009 WSOP Main Event on ESPN will recall the deep run of the “Flying” Bilzerian brothers. Dan Bilzerian, who finished 180th, will become part of the Victory Poker cast. In his final hand of the $10,000 buy-in feature tournament, Bilzerian committed his stack with A-6, but could not best Jonathan “driverseati” Tamayo’s pocket tens. His brother, Adam Bilzerian, renounced his U.S. citizenship and is now a passport holder of St. Kitts and Nevis.

Other Victory Poker pros include Andrew "good2cu" Robl, Keith Gipson, David “The Maven” Chicotsky, Sander Lylloff., and 2007 Playboy Playmate of the Year Sara Underwood. The site is scheduled to launch on February 1st and will accept players from the United States.

The Trash Talk Championship is a $1,000 buy-in charity poker tournament benefiting the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program and Cedars-Sinai.

WSOP on ESPN: Antonio Esfandiari Featured on Day 7 Coverage

With 64 players left, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event played out Day 7 on ESPN on Tuesday night. The feature table included Antonio Esfandiari, Ryan Fair, Steven Begleiter, and James Akenhead.

In the first hand shown at the feature table, Esfandiari raised to 135,000 pre-flop with A-3 and Akenhead pushed for 1.5 million with pocket nines. Hung Pham folded pocket tens and Mark Ader shoved with A-K. Akenhead was all-in for his tournament life against Ader after Esfandiari got out of the way and the flop came nine-high, giving Akenhead a set. Elsewhere in the Amazon Room, Prahlad Friedman pushed all-in with K-Q pre-flop and was called by Bradley Craig, who held A-K. The board ran out 7-9-2-8-9 and Friedman was sent packing in 64th place.

The lone woman remaining in the field, Leo Margets, doubled up Grayson Ramage with pocket fours versus pocket eights when Ramage spiked a third eight on the flop. Meanwhile, Billy “Patrolman35” Kopp scooped a 6.3 million chip pot at the expense of John Martin, who shoved on a board of A-6-9-K with two diamonds holding 8-7 of the suit for flush and straight draws. Kopp had pocket sixes for a set and watched as the river came the jack of spades. Kopp added Martin to his list of knockouts, which also included WSOP Main Event champions Peter Eastgate and Joe Hachem.

Joe Sebok hit the rails in 56th place when his A-9 ran into Nick Maimone’s A-Q. Then, Akenhead doubled up again, this time with pocket kings against Adam York’s A-J. Also doubling up was 2008 WSOP November Nine member Dennis Phillips, who check-raised Steve Sanders all-in on a 2-A-6 (all clubs) board holding pocket queens, including the queen of clubs. Sanders held pocket aces for top set and watched as the river came another club, giving Phillips a flush.

The longtime ESPN segment “The Nuts” reviewed the origin of the term “donkey” and then Tom Schneider hit the skids in 52nd after running A-7 into pocket nines. Jonathan Tamayo scooped a 6.7 million chip pot holding pocket kings against Craig’s A-K and, at the feature table, Fair became agitated in a hand against Pham. In it, Fair raised to 150,000 pre-flop with pocket tens and Pham re-raised to 550,000 with kings. Fair shoved and Pham, after some deliberation, made the call. Fair exclaimed, “Such a slowroll,” but sucked out when a ten hit the flop. Fair did a chest bump with a person in the audience after the hand was over and explained, “I don’t feel that bad.”

Adam Bilzerian, one-half of the Norman Chad-dubbed “Flying Bilzerian Brothers,” found the exit in 47th place after running tens into kings; his brother, Dan Bilzerian, took 180th. Phillips’ run through the 2009 WSOP Main Event ended after he was all-in pre-flop with A-K of diamonds against Francois Balmigere’s A-K of spades. The board included three spades, sending the crowd favorite out in horrific fashion after back-to-back runs in the $10,000 buy-in poker tournament. Meanwhile, Kopp, the chip leader, padded his stack after busting a player with pocket jacks against pocket tens.

Darvin Moon, sporting his signature New Orleans Saints hat, was moved to the feature table and, while arranging his chips, was involved in a hand against Eugene Katchalov. In it, Katchalov shoved with A-10 pre-flop and Moon isolated with pocket kings by raising to five million. Esfandiari peeked down at pocket jacks and, after much deliberation, tossed them into the muck. The board ran out 8-6-10-2-K and Moon sent Katchalov packing in 39th place. His run of cards continued against Balmigere, who flopped a set with pocket tens, but Moon hit the nuts, an ace-high straight. Balmigere surrendered by the river, but Moon’s stack still grew to over 15 million.

Joe “LatestLines2” Ward sent Martin Lapostelle (pocket queens) and Gabriel Vezina (pocket jacks) packing in the same hand holding pocket kings. A king hit the flop, making Ward a 98% favorite to win the hand, and the turn and river blanked out. Although Ward scooped a 6.1 million chip pot, he’d ship much of it to Phil Ivey. In the end, Ward was all-in against Jamie Robbins holding A-K against Robbins’ A-Q. Both players hit an ace on the flop, but a queen on the river secured Ward’s exit in 28th place, ending play on Day 7.

WSOP on ESPN coverage continues next week with Day 8 of the 2009 WSOP Main Event. The action gets underway at 9:00pm ET.

WSOP Main Event Days 5 and 6 Air on ESPN

With 96% of the field gone, players took to the felts for Days 5 and 6 of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event on ESPN. Three women, two former Main Event champions, and one gold bracelet remained.

The first hand shown at the feature table, which once again contained Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier and Jeff Shulman, saw Randy Propson and Grospellier see a flop of 10-2-6. The action went check-check to bring a king on the turn and Grospellier check-called a bet of 42,000 from Propson. The river was a deuce and Grospellier once again check-called a bet, this time 75,000. Grospellier showed A-8 for ace-high, good enough to scoop the 330,000 chip pot. Elsewhere in the room, Phil Ivey bet 40,000 on a board of 8-7-7-8-J and Charles Clark called. Ivey showed J-6 for a rivered two pair to claim the pot.

At Table Two, Andreas Flakstad shoved all-in holding pocket eights on a 7-J-2-3-5 board with three hearts. Antonio Esfandiari tanked before finally folding pocket queens. Table Two also included “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here” winner Lou Diamond Phillips. Back at the feature table, Brent Catalano doubled up at the expense of Joe Hachem, who joined the cast. Catalano held pocket queens in the hand, which saw Hachem miss a flush draw.

In the PokerStars-sponsored “Straight from the Pros” segment, Hachem relived a hand from the 2007 Main Event in which he stressed the importance of position. Then, back at the Rio, Estelle Denis, one of three women remaining in the field, pushed all-in over the top of a raise by J.C. Tran. However, the dealer pulled her cards into the muck. A floor supervisor, Steve Frezer, was called. After Denis told him her cards, Frezer looked at the top two cards in the deck, which did not match, and her hand was declared dead. Denis noted that she had aces.

Joe Sebok could be found alongside his cousin, Mike Linn, and both were decked out in PokerRoad gear. In the Jack Link’s Beef Jerky Wild Card Hand, Francois Balmigere raised pre-flop with unknown cards and Hachem called from the big blind with 5-7 of diamonds. The flop came 10-5-2. Hachem checked, Balmigere bet 43,000, and Hachem called to see the turn fall an ace. Hachem once again checked, Balmigere fired out a bet of 86,000, about half the size of the pot, and Hachem folded. Balmigere held just 6-7 for a bluff.

At Table Two, Esfandiari signed a woman’s chest and promptly autographed a man’s stomach, attracting the attention of ESPN cameras. Then, his pocket aces sent Adam Sanders and his pocket tens packing after the board ran out 4-K-K-8-3. In “The Nuts,” which asked poker pros which of their peers would make ideal reality television show contestants, Phil Hellmuth claimed his agent inquired if he wanted to be on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.” In one of the final hands shown during the first episode, which aired at 9:00pm ET, Phillips was all-in with kings against two players holding pocket aces. The board came 8-9-9-5-9 and one of the last celebrities left in the field hit the rails in 186th place.

The second episode profiled Day 6 at the 2009 WSOP Main Event and kicked off with a rap by bracelet winner Prahlad Friedman. ESPN announcer Norman Chad quipped, “In terms of rapping, I’d have to put him ahead of Jeff Madsen, but behind Jay Z.” Out in the field, ESPN viewers saw two eventual November Nine members clash, as James Akenhead check-raised Steve Begleiter, who promptly re-raised to 505,000. Akenhead made the call on the 9-8-Q board with two clubs to see the three of spades hit the turn. Akenhead check-called an 850,000 chip bet to bring the river, the seven of spades. Both players checked and Begleiter scooped the massive 2.8 million chip pot with 9-7 for two pair.

Seated at the same table during the 10:00pm ET episode were Hachem, Tran, Dennis Phillips, and Peter Eastgate, a group dubbed by ESPN announcer Lon McEachern “the table of death.” Elsewhere, Dan Bilzerian, one-half of the Norman Chad-labeled “Flying Bilzerian Brothers,” was ousted by Jonathan Tamayo with his A-6 could not out-draw pocket tens. After the Full Tilt Poker sponsored segment “Deal Me In” recapped a hand with Jennifer Harman during the 2005 Main Event, Nichoel Peppe took down a pot at Table Two. Peppe and Leo Margets headlined the side table and represented the lone women remaining in the 2009 WSOP Main Event after Denis was sent packing.

Darvin Moon put in a raise to 650,000 and Ben Lamb called on a board of A-3-2-J. The river came a nine. Lamb checked, Moon bet 500,000, and Lamb folded, boosting Moon’s chip stack to 4.1 million, among the top tallies in the Amazon Room. Adam Bilzerian doubled up after calling all-in with 5-4 on a board of 6-5-2. His opponent showed J-9 for a bluff and Bilzerian’s hand held up. Bilzerian would give some of his newfound chips to John Martin after Martin was all-in with pocket nines on a 5-8-7-2 board with two spades. Bilzerian held 5-6 of the suit for flush and straight draws, but the river was the jack of hearts.

Tom Schneider, the 2007 WSOP Player of the Year, took down a 2.6 million chip pot at the feature table to close out Tuesday’s WSOP on ESPN festivities. New episodes air at 9:00pm ET on Tuesdays on ESPN and replay throughout the week.

Jeff Shulman Takes Center Stage on WSOP Main Event on ESPN Coverage

Day 5 of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event played out on ESPN on Tuesday night. Jeff Shulman, Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, and Andy Black were seated at the feature table as the field narrowed from 400 players.

Holding down the fort at Table Two were several brand name pros, including Vitaly Lunkin, Prahlad Friedman, and Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger, who will be featured once again on tonight’s installment of the G4 online poker reality show “2 Months, $2 Million.” Lichtenberger raised to 20,000 pre-flop with 10-5 and was met with an all-in from Lunkin, who held A-8. Lunkin told his foe, “It seems to me you are bluffing.” On Lichtenberger’s youth, ESPN announcer Norman Chad quipped, “It seems to me he doesn’t shave yet.”

Back at the feature table, Grospellier had pocket aces cracked by Scott Buller’s pocket kings when a king hit the turn. Needing an ace or jack to hit on the river, Grospellier watched as a benign deuce fell. Meanwhile, Pasha Esfandiary, brother of Antonio Esfandiari, was ousted with aces against pocket fives when a five hit the flop. Antonio changed his last name to end in the letter “i” because he thought it looked better, while Pasha has left his last name unchanged.

Adam Bilzerian, a Vanderbilt University graduate, revealed to ESPN cameras that he renounced his citizenship to the United States after college. He penned, “America: Love it or Leave it, So I Left” and now boasts a passport from St. Kitts and Nevis. He apparently regretted his decision, noting, “You don’t appreciate what you have until it’s gone.” Adam was seated directly next to his brother, Dan Bilzerian.

ESPN cameras continuously checked in on Kara Scott, whom Chad ogled for much of the night. Scott doubled up Jamin Stokes with A-K against Stokes’ pocket kings, leaving Chad to note, “Kara Scott Chad should be more careful with our money.” Back at Table Two, Carter Swidler called the all-in raise of Lunkin with pocket nines. Lunkin held A-Q and the two were off to the races. The flop came A-Q-J, giving Lunkin two pair, and a running 2-3 doubled him up. “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here” winner Lou Diamond Phillips promptly dropped a pot against Scott Baumstein after Baumstein hit a straight on the river.

Lunkin was crippled when his pocket aces fell to 2-5, while 2008 WSOP Main Event Champion Peter Eastgate doubled up with pocket kings against Gabe Walls’ Ad-4d. Eastgate’s chips hit the middle on a 7-3-7 board with two diamonds and the reigning champion dodged a multitude of outs to scoop the pot. Black called off his stack with pocket fours against Shulman’s pocket eights on a 10-8-5-2-5 board, leaving Chad to lament, “I didn’t see that blowup coming.” Black appeared very weary during the hand.

In the second episode, which aired at 9:00pm ET, Tom Schneider, the 2007 Player of the Year, began as the chip leader with a stack of 2.2 million. Table Two featured Esfandiari and Phillips, while the feature table remained the same. Scott doubled up at an outer table and, interestingly enough, is just the second woman to cash in back-to-back Main Events. Meanwhile, fellow female player Nichoel Peppe scooped a 2.6 million chip pot, the largest to air during the 2009 WSOP Main Event on ESPN.

At the feature table, Shulman raked in a 323,000 chip pot after raising to 30,000 pre-flop with pocket fours. Grospellier made the call with Jh-10h and the flop came 4-8-K with two hearts. Shulman bet out 60,000 with his set and Grospellier came along to see the deuce of spades hit the turn. Shulman fired out a bet of 120,000 and Grospellier folded. Meanwhile, PokerRoad CEO Joe Sebok doubled up with A-K against Q-7 after spiking a king on the river to stay alive. He had begun to put his backpack on after a seven hit the turn.

Scott doubled up again, but ultimately fell with A-2 against 5-3. The board ran out Q-6-5-5-9, leaving Chad to lament, “I am crestfallen.” Also hitting the exits was Dan Harrington, who departed after his flush draw failed to hit. Heading in the other direction was Phil Ivey, who called an all-in with A-7 against 10-6 on a 6-7-Q board for most of his chips. The turn was a nine and the river was a five, sending Mats Anderson to the rails.

Tuesday’s theatrics ended with Grospellier earning a 1.3 million chip pot with pocket aces against Tyler Patterson’s pocket tens. The board ran out Q-6-3-K-6 and, despite slipping for most of Day 5, Grospellier was back to nearly even. Three women remain along with two former Main Event champions, Eastgate and 2005 winner Joe Hachem.

Starting next week, new episodes will air from 9:00pm to 11:00pm ET on ESPN.

Main Event Day 3 begins for Ivey, Tran, Benyamine

There is a slim chance that the money bubble, which starts at 648 players remaining, will burst today but in all likelihood players will return tomorrow to make it into the coveted money spots.

Numerous pro poker players are still in the hunt with Kenny Tran, Bertrand Grospellier, Kevin Saul, Paul Wasicka, Dan Harrington, J.C. Alverado, Marc Karam, Joe Hachem, Noah Boeken, Nick Binger and Eugene Katchalov all looking to become the first pro to win the Main Event since Carlos Mortensen did in 2001.

Full Tilt Pro Phil Ivey might have the best chance to perform that feat as of Day 3 because he led his fellow pros with 346,000 chips.

Joining the pros will be a group of celebrity players including actors Jason Alexander, Lou Diamond Phillips, Patrick Bruel in addition to athletes like the NBA's Jordan Farmar and international cricket star Shane Warne.

The chip lead to start the day belongs to the relatively unknown Amir Lehavot who somehow amassed 610,000 on Day 2b thanks to a last minute monster pot.

There are several intriguing table matchups with Joe Hachem and Jeffrey Lisandro forced to face each other at the TV feature table while Finnish poker superstar Ville Wahlbeck will have to contend with Kenny Tran at the secondary feature table.

PokerListings.com will be live updating the event throughout the day with all the biggest hands, bustouts and breaking news. Check out the updates here.

Here are the top 10 chip leaders to start the day: