Poker News

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

Play began at 12 p.m. in the Rio with five levels of play scheduled for the day.

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:

Amir Lehavot	610,500
Peter DeBaene	465,000
Troy Weber	453,000
Dan Bilzerian	439,000
Franklin Grigsby	424,000
Gabe Walls	417,000
Mikael Thuritz	395,000
Jason Brice	376,000
John Hammer	359,400
Phil Ivey	346,200

Visit PokerListings.com