Poker News

2010 Paddy Power Irish Poker Open Schedule Announced

As the curtain falls on the 2009 with the World Poker Tour’s Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic, the 2010 tournament season is preparing to take shape.

While January, with the Aussie Millions, PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, and the L.A. Poker Classic, is drawing immediate attention for poker’s elite players, there are other tournaments in the first half of 2010 that also are making their preparations. On Wednesday, PaddyPowerPoker.com announced the full schedule of events that will make up the 2010 Irish Open.

The 2010 Irish Open will be held in Dublin from April 1st to the 5th, continuing its tradition as the oldest poker tournament in Europe. Contested every year since 1980 and created by the late poker legend Terry Rogers, the Irish Open has grown in importance over the years. In 2005, PaddyPowerPoker.com picked up the sponsorship rights to the tournament. Since that time, it has expanded to not only include the best the European poker world has to offer, but also the elite from the American side of the Atlantic, including former World Series of Poker Main Event champions Dan Harrington and Doyle Brunson.

The Burlington Hotel will once again play host to the PaddyPowerPoker.com Irish Open, as it has since 2007. On April 1st, a satellite tournament, which costs €200 + €20, will be held to usher in the final few players for the championship event that begins the next day. The Irish Open Main Event, which will be a €3,200 + €300 No Limit Hold’em affair, brought a record-setting field of 700 players last time out. Veteran poker player Christer Johannson will be back to defend his title after defeating “High Stakes Poker” hostess Kara Scott in heads-up play.

“The Irish Open festival is shaping up very nicely, with all the preparatory work really paying off,” Eric Booth, the head of poker operations at PaddyPowerPoker.com, stated. There are also other events on the schedule that, Booth said, “will make some players upset there are not enough hours in the weekend to play them all.”

After Day One is completed in the Irish Open, side tournaments like the Pot Limit Omaha Championship, a €1,500 + €150 No Limit Hold’em tournament, a Ladies’ Championship, and a “Scalps” (bounty) tournament will be held. These events should provide plenty of action for players in attendance.

The full schedule of the 2010 Irish Open, presented by PaddyPowerPoker.com, looks like this:

April 1st
Satellite Tournament: €200 + €20, 7:00pm

April 2nd
Championship Event: €3,200 + €300, 3:30pm

April 3rd
Championship Event Day 2, 2:00pm
Pot Limit Omaha: €750 + €75, 6:00pm

April 4th
Championship Event Day 3, 2:00pm
Pot Limit Omaha Championship Day 2, 2:30pm
Ladies’ Championship: €300 + €30, 3:00pm
No Limit Hold’em: €1,500 + €150, 5:00pm

April 5th
Championship Event Day 4, 2:00pm
Ladies’ Championship Day 2, 2:30pm
No Limit Hold’em Day 2, 2:30pm
No Limit Hold’em Scalps Event, €270 + €30 + €30, 3:00pm

In addition to being the sponsor of the tournament, PaddyPowerPoker.com has introduced an online registration method for the Main Event that will allow players to buy in with credit cards, bank transfers, and checks. “We are delighted to launch the online registration facility for the Irish Open so that players eager to secure their seat at Europe’s longest running poker tournament can do so months in advance,” Booth said.

Vanessa Rousso Discusses Big Slick Boot Camp, Televised Poker

It has been quite a year for Vanessa Rousso. From her stunning performance in the National Heads-Up Poker Championship in March, where she finished second to Huck Seed, to television and magazine gigs, to running her own poker training camp called the Big Slick Boot Camp, Rousso has been at the pinnacle of the poker world. Poker News Daily recently had a chance to catch up with the globe-trotting Rousso and learn about many of the current aspects of her life, both on and off the felt.

Poker News Daily: What does the Big Slick Boot Camp give its participants that other poker training camps don't provide?

Rousso: What we try to do with the Big Slick Boot Camp is tie in concepts from game theory and Sun Tzu’s book “The Art of War” to offer a way for students to combat the game of poker. I personally believe that we give our seminars a truly unique take on poker strategy.

PND: Do you learn from the camps?

Rousso: I absolutely learn from the students in the camp. I love seeing the light bulbs go off in my students' minds when they achieve new levels of understanding about poker.

I feel very passionate about teaching also. Teaching helps me remind myself of some of the poker strategy fundamentals from which I stray over time in an attempt to play creatively, you might say!

PND: What type of player would learn the most from instruction in your training camp?

Rousso: The intermediate player would be the best person to take on the Big Slick Boot Camp. These are players who understand the basic concepts like position and blind-stealing, but have yet to explore some more complex ideas, such the concept of “M” as defined by Dan Harrington in his books.

PND: You have also offered private individual training for players both in the Boot Camp and outside of the course. How valuable is the individual instruction that you offer?

Rousso: I am very proud of the fact that each of my students has expressed great satisfaction with their private coaching experience. I know that one-on-one attention is the most efficient way to improve someone else’s game because I am able to tailor a program to fit their individual needs.

PND: Does the private training go into further depth than what you have time for in the Big Slick Boot Camp?

Rousso: Yes, because then I can evaluate and customize a program to fit an individual’s needs. I encourage my students to shadow me while I play online to see how I execute different strategies. With some of my longer-term students, I have gone into very advanced concepts and moves that have helped them become some of the top players in the game today.

PND: How big for you and your poker career was finishing as the runner-up in the National Heads-Up Poker Championship?

Rousso: Monetarily, the $250,000 prize is only my fifth largest to date, but the sense of accomplishment that I gained after beating a lineup of players that included Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Paul Wasicka, and Elky head-to-head has been unequaled.

PND: Do your sponsorships with PokerStars and GoDaddy.com put you as a player at ease for tournaments?

Rousso: Having sponsorship income is a bonus for sure, but it doesn’t mean that I no longer feel pressure to perform well in tournaments. In fact, I probably feel added pressure to meet my sponsors’ expectations!

PND: You’ve been on television quite a bit lately. What did you find exciting about participating in the PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge?

Rousso: It was exciting to be part of a poker “game show.” I liked seeing ordinary people being given the chance at the once-in-a-lifetime experience of playing heads-up with celebrities and top poker pros. Of course, the opportunity to win a huge prize is pretty important, too!

PND: You were rumored to be taking over a hosting gig on High Stakes Poker, which turned out to be false. What did you think of that?

Rousso: I was flattered by that, though!

PND: You have a couple of other poker and non-poker related television shows going on right now, correct?

Rousso: Correct. I am happy with the current hosting gig on my plate with Stars of Poker. I co-host on that program and it airs on the Canal+ network in France. The other program I am going to appear on, Bank of Hollywood, is set to air on December 14th at 10:00pm ET on the E! Network. I am part of a panel of judges that has the power to award money to people so that they can fulfill their dreams. It’s completely non-poker related, but still a special program.

PND: Finally, does having a happy personal life with Chad Brown help your poker game and how much?

Rousso: Part of being a successful poker player is realizing that you can’t perform at your best level on the felt unless you have overall balance in your life. Part of that is having healthy and fulfilling personal relationships. So being a part of a great relationship like the one that Chad and I share certainly helps me perform well at the poker table.

Top Ten Poker Events of the Decade: Part 1

As 2009 prepares to fade into the pages of history, it will also close the doors on a decade that has been like no other for the sport of poker.

When the Third Millennium began a short ten years ago, poker could arguably be said to be on life support. A poker room in a casino was hard to find, there was only one prominent tournament schedule on the poker professional’s calendar, and the game had no place in the media. Poker was reviled as a pursuit of degenerate gamblers; those considered to be the best at the game had very little attention paid to them.

A decade later, the situation has completely reversed itself. Even the smallest casino, wherever it may be in the world, has a poker room. Bookstores have dedicated sections to house their wares of poker books and poker programming airs daily on television. Instead of just one tournament schedule, there are several offerings that require players to choose which one to participate in. Finally, poker pros are respected as adventuresome mavericks whose abilities, education, and intelligence are critical to their success.

With this in mind, Poker News Daily decided to look back at the last decade in an attempt to figure out what were the catalysts for such a return to prominence and what nearly derailed it.

10. Poker Rooms Make a Comeback

At the start of the 21st century, casinos across the United States didn’t consider poker to be a moneymaker for their operations. With that in mind, poker rooms were closed and slot machines began to invade their territory.

By the end of the decade, poker rooms, which had been near extinction only ten years earlier, obtained a greater prominence than they ever had in a casino. The live poker room should continue to be a staple of the casino world in the future.

9. Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker Superuser Scandals

The ugly head of corruption and scandal arose when two of the most popular online poker rooms in the industry, Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker, succumbed to “superuser” cheating rings. These cheating scandals allowed players to see their opponents’ hole cards, making it impossible to lose a hand. These rings - the Ultimate Bet group, which was allegedly led by former World Champion Russ Hamilton, and the Absolute Poker team allegedly led by former employees Scott Tom and A. J. Green - took millions of dollars off of unsuspecting players and gave ammunition to anti-poker zealots in the war against the game.

After outrage from the online poker community, both organizations made financial amends to those affected, but didn’t prosecute anyone for the operation of either scam. Today, the two sites are part of the same network and have seemingly recovered some of their former respect (including the recent certification from eCOGRA, the online gaming watchdog). Still, the scandal could have had a devastating effect on the online game and it has cast doubt as to the legitimacy of online poker, much like the Mississippi riverboat games of centuries ago almost stopped poker from becoming what it is today.

8. Amateurs Dominate WSOP Main Event

Throughout its early history, poker, and in particular the World Series of Poker (WSOP), it was the bastion of professional rounders willing to live life on the edge, to take thousands of dollars out of their own pockets and risk that they were the greatest poker player in the world. With the advent of satellites and online poker, where a player could get into a tournament for a significantly smaller fee, amateur poker players began to take a shot at the upper echelons of the game.

Since 2002, an amateur or previously unknown player has won the $10,000 Main Event at the WSOP and been crowned World Champion. Some, such as Jerry Yang and Jamie Gold, have stayed on the peripheral of the poker world and have arguably not done much since their victories. Others, such as Greg Raymer, Joe Hachem, and Chris Moneymaker, have continued to be at the forefront of the game, advocating in political circles for the regulation of online poker as respected professionals in their own right. Whether they have experience or not, amateurs have become a part of the WSOP.

7. New Blood Infuses the Game

All forms of business need an infusion of new customers to continue to drive their endeavors. Poker is no different. For some time, older players, mostly men, populated the game and the required influx of “new blood” was seemingly missing. Through the development of online poker, new players, both male and female, have made their marks.

In what was perhaps the most stunning tournament win of the decade, Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad’s victory at the inaugural WSOP Europe Main Event made her the youngest player to win a major championship and demonstrated that the youth movement in poker had arrived. In the last two WSOP Main Events, Phil Hellmuth’s longstanding record as the youngest ever champion has been eclipsed twice. As we look at the next decade, young players will continue to make their names in an arena that previously had been dominated by the “Old Guard” of the game.

6. Twice is Nice – Dan Harrington, Mike Matusow, and Jeff Shulman

With the growth of the WSOP Main Event, the odds of a player repeating as champion, as Johnny Chan did in 1987 and 1988, are nearly infinitesimal. The feat of making two final tables is nearly as difficult, but three men - Dan Harrington, Mike Matusow, and Jeff Shulman - managed to pull off the feat. While none won the tournament, the ability to make two final tables during the decade, against such sizeable fields, is definitely a significant achievement.

Harrington’s feat is arguably the best of the three players. Battling through, at the time, the two largest WSOP Main Event fields ever, the 1995 champion nearly captured his second title in consecutive years (2003 and 2004). Matusow announced his presence on the game with his first final table in 2001 and marked his resurrection as a poker player by returning in 2005. Shulman finished seventh in 2000 and came back in 2009 with a fifth place finish.

Chess Prodigy Checkmates EPT

At eight years old, Canadian Jeff Sarwer won the Under 10 World Youth Chess Championship in Puerto Rico.

By the time he was nine, he was travelling around North America taking on 40 players at a time in a series of simultaneous chess demonstrations, playing the world’s best speed chess hustlers in New York’s Washington Square and earning himself a lifetime membership in the revered Manhattan Chess Club.

He quickly became a darling of the media, was pegged by Grand Masters as a future World Champion and even became the inspiration for a character in the famed poker film Searching For Bobby Fischer.

But it all came to a crashing halt.

His father pulled him out of chess and the alternative lifestyle he had them living, including refusing to enroll Sarwer and his sister in school and having them sleep in the car as they travelled around, came under intense scrutiny.

Canadian authorities soon removed Sarwer and his sister from their father’s care, but they ran away to be reunited with him, spending the better part of the next 20 years in anonymity, traveling around Europe under a cloud of secrecy.

“I had a pretty tough childhood,” Sarwer said. “My father was quite controlling. But he was a really interesting character and there are a lot of good sides to him as well. As an adult I’ve just called it a wash and moved on with my life.”

In 2007 he resurfaced on the chess scene entering a tournament in Poland, where he now lives.

However, the 31-year-old was soon bitten by the poker bug.

“I’ve always loved poker as a game,” he said. “It has gotten so popular over the last couple of years it just finally grabbed me as well. Poker is all over TV, all my friends play. So I just figured let’s get into this, it’s a fun game.”

Sarwer read Harrington on Hold 'em by 1995 WSOP Main Event champion Dan Harrington and headed for Prague to play in the PokerStars European Poker Tour’s annual Czech Republic stop last year.

“I really knew nothing but the basics,” he said. “But I did manage to cash, so that was good for my confidence.”

The €7,000 he earned for a 54th place finish was just the start. By February of this year he had managed to make the final table at the European Masters of Poker event in Tallinn, finishing third for €29,760.

He booked a few small cashes in lower buy-in events across Europe and then this October, things really seemed to click as he absolutely dominated play at EPT Warsaw before busting tenth.

But Sarwer would not have to wait long for a real breakthrough.

Just a few weeks later he made the final table at EPT Vilamoura, finishing third for €156,170.

“I’ve developed and I think I just started to realize exactly what’s going on here,” he explained. “All I needed was a few good conversations with some really good players in order to get my game there.

“My confidence has always been up there. I believe in admitting I’m wrong when I’m wrong, but genuine confidence, I have that from chess and from life.”

When it comes to poker, it appears his chess background has given Sarwer a lot more than confidence. He believes there are several parallels between the two games.

“There are a lot of similarities and a lot of things that are different,” he said. “The things that are similar include having to pay attention, gather information and think a few moves ahead about what types of moves people will do, what your opponent is feeling and what he’s thinking. All that stuff is a little bit like chess.

“Certainly at a Master level, or a decent level of chess, there is a lot of meta game and that transfers over to poker for me.”

And while Sarwer’s poker experience is still quite limited, he has already grasped that the game is infinitely more intricate than it appears on the surface.

“In chess you can see things on the surface, look three or four moves deep, and eventually you are going to lose when someone traps you into something less obvious,” he said. “It’s the same with poker. You can just play ABC and not pay attention to what’s happening at the table and somebody is eventually going to catch you.”

While experience and a willingness to learn from others have played a big role in Sarwer’s recent success, he also attributes it to a newfound aggression.

“I’ve really opened up and become quite an aggressive player,” he said. “A lot of chess players tend to be a bit nittier and more technical. I just don’t happen to play that way right now because it’s not in my character.”

After an up and down day on the EPT Prague felt Thursday, Sarwer eventually busted, ending his string of deep finishes on the EPT.

But despite business commitments in Poland and the fact he claims he’s still just a “poker hobbyist” and not a professional player, it appears his new found love for the game will keep him coming back.

“I’ve made a lot of good friends amongst the online players,” he said. “They have that rare combination of being sharp, analytical and fun. The top poker players all seem to have that and I have a lot in common with that mindset.

“I love hanging around them. I’m nowhere near the top yet and I suppose it’s still too early to tell if I’ll make it there, but we’ll see.”

PokerStars EPT Prague continues with Day 3 Friday. For comprehensive coverage from the Czech Republic, tune into PokerListings’ Live Updates.

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Isildur1 is not Viktor Blom (blom30)

The mystery behind the identity of high-stakes Full Tilt Poker player Isildur1 received a little clarification on Tuesday, as Viktor “blom30” Blom told Bluff Europe that he is not the man of the hour.

Blom bluntly told the European news outlet, “I am not the one you are looking for. Keep searching.” One cryptic sentence later, the online poker industry is back at square one in its hunt to uncover the real Isildur1. A variety of poker players tossed out Blom as possibly being Isildur1, most notably Tony G, who commented in a recent blog entry, “I don’t want to talk too much about Isildur1 but I can reveal to all it is Viktor and he crushed them on the iPoker network for some time. I actually played a few hands with him today and quite many on iPoker where my site TonyG Poker runs. I honestly respect this guy 100%. He has proved that he is the best player in the game right now; this is based on many, many hands on iPoker and Full Tilt Poker.”

Tony G then praised the “self control and money management” skills of Isildur1 and high-stakes opponent Tom “durrrr” Dwan. According to Poker Table Ratings, Isildur1 is down $1.3 million overall, a drop of $800,000 on Tuesday alone. In mid-November, the Swede owned more than $5 million in profits at the tables before a drastic turn of events. Among those he has squared off against are Dwan, Power Poker pro Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies, 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) November Nine member Phil Ivey, Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond, and CardRunners instructors Cole South, Brian Townsend, and Brian Hastings.

Also fueling the fire that Blom was the man behind the Isildur1 moniker was the following chat that occurred on Full Tilt Poker and was posted on the online poker forum PocketFives.com on November 30th:

Ziigmund: u r nice guy
Ziigmund: and pretty viktor
Isildur1: lol Ziigmund: :- )
Isildur1: can u atlest reload finnish superstar
Ziigmund: :- )

Isildur1 gave no correction after Sahamies addressed him as “Viktor,” which sparked a major debate online as to whether Blom’s statements to Bluff Europe were accurate or merely meant to throw the online poker community off the trail. Last month, Frank “Frank1The1Tank” Calo asserted that Isildur1 was Robert “Gulkines” Flink: “Fwiw, I have received intelligence by some very credible sources (who shall be kept completely private) who said pretty confidently who isildur1 is. So I give you the knowledge I have (with like 99% certainy but not quite 100% yet) that it is Robert Flink aka Gulkines.”

However, Flink denied being Isildur1, according to Calo, who posted on PocketFives.com: “Update: I spoke to robert flink last night. He was pretty sketchy about it and without me even asking about isildur immediately said he wasnt him and then said he thought it was stefan mattsson which is a well known swedish mtter.” Mattsson, who plays as “stema2” on PokerStars, allegedly began playing $25/$50 several days after Isildur1 began his climb up the online poker ladder.

Other names that have cropped up as possible Isildur1 front men include Dan Harrington and Todd Brunson. However, both are American and not Swedish. Brunson is a sponsored pro of the Cake Poker Network site DoylesRoom, while Harrington won the 1995 WSOP Main Event. Also tossed out as a possibility is Martonas, Dwan’s nemesis on the high-stakes virtual felts. However, with tax laws in Sweden, Isildur1’s true identity may never be known.

In the meantime, the nosebleed action will likely continue on Full Tilt Poker. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the Isildur1 saga.

Mike Sexton Inducted into Poker Hall of Fame

Doyle Brunson kicked off the Poker Hall of Fame induction ceremony dinner at the Brasilia Room at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino. The festivities honoring Mike Sexton occurred during the dinner break of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event final table at 7:00pm PT.

The guest list read like a “who’s who” of the poker community, including Howard Lederer, Phil Hellmuth, Jack Binion, Ali Nejad, David Singer, and Dewey Tomko. Also in the house was World Poker Tour (WPT) Co-Host Vince Van Patten, who told Poker News Daily, “I couldn’t miss this. Mike is such a great champion and a great friend of mine. What we share together on the WPT is one of the most important parts of my life. So many laughs and Mike is such a great guy. He is the real thing.”

The WPT is currently filming its eighth season. In fact, The Foxwoods World Poker Finals, the November WPT stop, is currently playing out at the Connecticut casino. On Van Patten and Sexton’s chemistry after eight seasons, the Poker Hall of Fame nominee’s co-host told us, “We could go for 25 years. We don’t get bored with it, we love it, and we’re not faking it. We’d probably do it for no money. We love it that much and we enjoy each other’s company. He’s one of a kind, a great family man, and the real thing in poker.”

Those on stage were Brunson, Jack Binion, Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2009 candidate Tom McEvoy, and T.J. Cloutier. The latter told the assembled crowd of about 175, “We both went broke plenty of times… This man would bet on anything… Mike always thought he was the best split pot player of them all. He could always play those eight or better games.” In fact, Sexton’s lone WSOP bracelet came in 1989 in a Seven Card Stud High-Low Split tournament.

McEvoy then took to the podium and admitted, “This man holds a grudge,” referencing a story from the first WSOP Pot Limit tournament ever held. Binion, a Poker Hall of Fame member who helped popularize the WSOP, commented, “Mike was the one who got PartyPoker started, the one who got the software started. He’s the one who really made poker.” Sexton currently serves as the ambassador for PartyPoker, whose parent company, Party Gaming, recently completed the purchase of the WPT for $12.3 million plus a percent of future gaming revenues.

WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack formally presented Sexton’s trophy and his speech was preceded by an emotional speech from Tom Sexton. The new Poker Hall of Fame member’s brother stated, “Mike has the gift of vision, where he can see things that others can’t in the poker world.” Sexton’s brother also referenced the WPT host testifying in a poker court case in South Carolina and serving as the spokesperson for approximately 500 players shut out of Day 1D of the 2009 WSOP Main Event when the contest reached capacity.

One of Tom Sexton’s most memorable quotes came when referencing the “Daddy Hall of Fame,” which he revealed, “If there were a Daddy Hall of Fame, Mike would be in it.” Young Ty Sexton, whose nursery has overrun the Sexton home’s dance floor, is just 15 months; Mike is 62 years-old.

Sexton received a 30 second standing ovation upon being introduced and recognized each of the other eight candidates for the Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2009: Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Erik Seidel, McEvoy, Dan Harrington, Scotty Nguyen, Men “The Master” Nguyen, and Barry Greenstein. Ivey, who was one of seven players remaining in the WSOP Main Event at the time, even stopped by, flanked at the door to the Brasilia Room by Layne Flack, Lacey Jones, and Nejad.

Sexton took the time to recognize a bevy of individuals, including Linda Johnson, Steve Lipscomb, and Brunson. He also recalled a phone call received over Christmas in 2000 from Ruth Parisol, co-founder of Party Gaming, who asked him to fly to India to launch the then-nascent online poker site. After eight months, PartyPoker was born, quickly challenging Paradise Poker for tops in the industry.

JAQK Cellars presented the two-hour affair, which wrapped up at 9:00pm PT. The living Hall of Fame members then took to the stage of the Penn and Teller Theater to resume play in the WSOP Main Event final table, with Sexton issuing the evening session’s “Shuffle Up and Deal” command.

Mike Sexton Welcomes Family and Friends for Poker Hall of Fame Induction

World Poker Tour (WPT) Host Mike Sexton will personally welcome five tables of friends, family, and coworkers in the poker community as part of the Poker Hall of Fame induction ceremonies slated for Saturday. Around 200 attendees are expected.

Poker News Daily was privileged to be welcomed to Sexton’s Spanish Hills home in Las Vegas on Friday night, where a small crowd of relatives was gathered 24 hours prior to the icon’s enshrinement ceremony. Among those in attendance were his wife, Karen, and Jon “pokertrip” Friedberg, a family friend. Two slideshows that will be seen during the dinner were previewed, including a 120-image self-developed tribute that Sexton had created by a local photo store.

The slideshows on tap include a bevy of industry personalities, including the other Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2009 nominees: Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey, Scotty Nguyen, Men “The Master” Nguyen, Erik Seidel, Tom McEvoy, Dan Harrington, and Barry Greenstein. Two galleries, Sexton’s and one crafted by the WPT, will actually be shown, one during the dinner and one as part of the actual induction ceremonies. One slide features Ultimate Bet pro Phil Hellmuth and Sexton jokingly told Poker News Daily, “Phil thinks I put it in because of him” (it’s actually because of the appearance of “Keith”). Following the show, the sitting Poker Hall of Fame members will take to the stage of the Penn and Teller Theater to be recognized.

Among those slides that induction attendees will view is his son, Ty’s, first Christmas, which features the youngster draped in a stocking. Also in the mix are images of Sexton alongside a bevy of Hollywood personalities including Paris Hilton, Ben Affleck, and James Garner. Former WPT in-studio announcer Linda Johnson pointed out that several shots feature Sexton in a La Mode shirt or hat. Johnson told Poker News Daily, “Mike was one of the first poker players to have a sponsor.” La Mode is a popular clothing outfit. Sexton noted that he “took every photo around the house I could find” to compile his masterpiece.

ESPN announcer Lon McEachern was one of the many individuals who called to congratulate Sexton on his Poker Hall of Fame nod. Sexton added that his most memorable call was from a poker friend that he was close to when he first became involved in the game.

The festivities in the Rio’s Brasilia Room kick off on Saturday during the dinner break of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event final table, which will likely occur between 7:00pm and 8:00pm after three levels of play have concluded. His brother, Tom, will introduce him to the assembled crowd of friends, family, poker fans, and media. The room is set up for 275 guests.

According to Sexton, a buffet-style menu is on tap and when asked what plated meals he would prefer to serve, Sexton responded chicken and an Italian dish “to satisfy the non-meat eaters.” From talking to Sexton and seeing the bevy of slides on tap, it’s apparent that Ty, now 15 months old, encompasses a major part of the WPT host’s existence. Sexton told Poker News Daily that the expecting couple was looking for a “one syllable masculine name” and Sexton suggested Ty, short for Tyler. He was on the phone with his niece at the time, who approved on the name and it stuck. If the couple’s first child would have been a girl, they had selected Shelby.

We were then treated to the grand tour of Sexton’s spacious home, which overlooks Red Rocks and will soon be on the market, as the family is moving to Los Angeles in the next few weeks. Highlights included 30-foot ceilings in the downstairs area and a dance floor converted into a nursery. Sexton’s office includes five flat-panel televisions and the upstairs features state-of-the-art exercise equipment and a fully-functional massage table. Sexton also owns two dogs, which were kept at a relative’s house on Friday night.

Sexton was the only one of nine Poker Hall of Fame nominees to receive the requisite 75% of the vote this year.

WPT signs on for Annie Duke Charity Tournament

The WPT is putting up a seat in its exclusive Celebrity Invitational tournament to the winner of the charity event.

Organizers have also released an updated list of celebrities to attend the Duke charity tournament.

It now appears Amazing Race competitors Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho will be buying in, along with fellow reality TV star Trishelle Cannatella, Magician Penn Lillette, world champion snowboarder Jeff Brushie, supercross icon Jimmy Button, actor Joshua Malina and several others.

The usual assortment of poker players will also be lining up to play with Duke, Howard Lederer, Dan Harrington, Joe Sebok, Greg Mueller, Adam "Roothlus" Levy, Andy Bloch and "Hollywood" Dave Stann scheduled to appear.

The public will be able to buy in for $330 and rub shoulders with all the aforementioned celebrities and poker players.

The top 10 finishers will receive prizes from sponsors WSOP Academy, ClubWPT.com, Rockwell Time, Crown Royal, Team UltimateBet, Cartwright Entertainment, Hardcore Elegance, AMA Supercross Anaheim and Commerce Casino.

Taking place at the Commerce Casino in L.A., the Annie Duke Celebrity Poker Night is set to benefit the Decision Education Foundation, which teaches young people to make smart decisions.

The WPT Celebrity Invitational takes place Feb. 20-21, 2010. Also held at Commerce Casino, the Celebrity Invitational is recognized as one of the biggest celebrity tournaments in the world.

The event has drawn the likes of Ben Affleck, Tobey McGuire, Vince Vaughn and Mena Suvari. Former winners include Phil Laak, Van Nguyen and Freddy Deeb.

To sign up for the the Annie Duke Celebrity Poker Night or learn more about it, click here.

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ESPN Inside Deal Welcomes Joe Cada

This week’s installment of the ESPN.com poker franchise “Inside Deal” featured 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event November Nine member Joe Cada. Laura Lane and Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Bernard Lee host the show.

The news segment of ESPN “Inside Deal” began with Lee praising World Poker Tour (WPT) Host Mike Sexton for his election to the Poker Hall of Fame: “I think it’s tremendously well-deserved. Mike has had a phenomenal career. A lot of people think of him from the WPT, but remember, he is a very well-accomplished player.” Sexton is the lone representative of the Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2009. Others who were up for consideration included Tom McEvoy, Dan Harrington, Daniel Negranu, Phil Ivey, Erik Seidel, Barry Greenstein, Scotty Nguyen, and Men “The Master” Nguyen.

Attention then turned to the letter authored by the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) to U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner petitioning for the delay of the regulations of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) by one year to December 1st, 2010. Lee explained what would happen if the current deadline stood: “The impact would be devastating. We’re fearful that the banks will err on the side of caution and ultimately block payments that the online sites would give.”

Making headlines this week was the news that the GSN staple “High Stakes Poker” had dropped host A.J. Benza for Season 6, allegedly replacing him with a female correspondent. Lee explained, “I’m a little surprised. For five years, A.J. and Gabe Kaplan have seemed to have a good rapport, so I’m surprised they’re making this switch.” Poker News Daily broke the news that Vanessa Rousso, the presumed frontrunner for the job, would not be Benza’s replacement. Other possible fill-ins include former WPT hostess Shana Hiatt, Kara Scott, Absolute Poker pro Lacey Jones, and Shannon Elizabeth.

Cada, who could become the youngest Main Event winner ever if he takes down the feature tournament next month, then joined the show. He noted how his life has changed as a result of the increased exposure as a member of the November Nine: “I’ve been playing poker my whole life, so the only thing that’s changed for me is the media.” Cada is primarily a cash game player, only hitting up the tournament scene online on Sundays. He purchased a 2,400 square foot house at age 19 as a gift to himself and is a sponsored pro of PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker room.

Heading into the 2009 WSOP, Cada found himself on a $150,000 downswing. He sought the aid of two longtime cornerstones of the poker industry, Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy and Eric “sheets” Haber. Cada recalled, “I was lucky enough to have them back me and I’m very grateful for that. I knew I could win before I came in.” Josephy, a former Ultimate Bet pro, and Sheets will receive 50% of Cada’s earnings. The top prize in Las Vegas is $8.5 million.

ESPN.com Poker Editor Andrew Feldman joined the show to discuss a series of dream teams. News broke last week that Dream Team Poker would return with tournaments at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles coinciding with Monday Night Football. Feldman’s “Dream Team Young Guns” consisted of Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, and 2008 WSOP Main Event Champion Peter Eastgate. “Dream Team Lady Luck” was comprised of Shannon Elizabeth, Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad, and Jones. Finally, Feldman unveiled “Dream Team Old Guard:” Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, and Mike Matusow. Cada added that his ultimate Dream Team would be Ivey, Patrick Antonius, and Dwan.

Finally, Cada revealed that on Day 8 of the 2009 WSOP Main Event, his stack had dropped to 20% of the average before he clawed back. He knocked out between 10 and 15 players en route to the final table and, upon heading to Connecticut to film ESPN “Inside Deal,” dropped some dough at the Foxwoods blackjack tables.

“Inside Deal” is released every Tuesday on ESPN.com.

Industry Reacts to Poker Hall of Fame Nomination of Mike Sexton

This week, the industry learned that World Poker Tour (WPT) Host Mike Sexton would become the 38th member of the Poker Hall of Fame and the lone representative in the Class of 2009. Poker News Daily sought the reaction of some of poker’s greats.

Sexton bested eight other nominees for the Poker Hall of Fame this year, a group that included Barry Greenstein, Daniel Negreanu, Men “The Master” Nguyen, Scotty Nguyen, Phil Ivey, Erik Seidel, Tom McEvoy, and Dan Harrington. GreasieWheels LLC President Lisa Wheeler, who has worked with Sexton on several charity endeavors, told Poker News Daily, “I’ve worked with Mike Sexton for many years and can honestly say that he lives up to his nickname, ‘The Ambassador of Poker.’ After learning he’d been elected into the Poker Hall of Fame, I was surprised at first. I just assumed he had already been inducted. He’s a staple in the industry and has done so much for its image and evolution. Mike was a shoe-in from the start.”

Sexton serves as the Host, Consultant, and Ambassador for the popular online poker room PartyPoker. In his role, he’s influential on the direction of the site, which has served as his main cheerleader for election to the Hall of Fame. Also central in the industry is Cake Poker Card Room Manager Lee Jones, who explained to Poker News Daily, “Mike Sexton is one of the great gentlemen of poker and he always has a friendly word for everybody. He’s been a powerful influence to help bring poker out of the Dark Ages and into the future. I’m delighted that Mike was chosen for the Poker Hall of Fame; they couldn’t have picked a more deserving person.”

Sexton earned 75% of the vote of a 30-member panel, each of whom was allowed to select up to three players for enshrinement. This author was privileged to be on the voting panel and selected Sexton, McEvoy, and Harrington. On the world’s largest online poker forums, the reaction has been largely positive to Sexton’s nomination. TwoPlusTwo member “venice10” explained, “Well deserved. Mike Sexton has done a great deal to try to lift the game up and is a class act.” TwoPlusTwo member “RadcliffePoker” added, “He has probably done more for poker [than] the whole of 2plus2 put together. He was a driving force behind getting Party Poker off the ground. He has done brilliantly with the WPT in getting a hell of a lot more fish into the game.”

ESPN “Inside Deal” Host Bernard Lee told Poker News Daily, “It’s very well-deserved. Mike has had a tremendous impact on the world of poker. Most people know him from the WPT, but even before then, he was a tremendously accomplished player with a WSOP bracelet. No one deserves it more than Mike.” “Inside Deal” is released every Tuesday on ESPN.com.

Poker pro Kathy Liebert, who rooted on McEvoy throughout the final table of the WSOP Champions Invitational, wrote on Twitter that she expected more than one candidate to be enshrined in 2009: “Seems to me there should be more than one poker player put into [the] hall of fame each year… With so many qualified candidates 75% of vote is too high. Especially with media being 50% of vote.” 2009 marks the first year since 2004 that only one person will become a new member of the Poker Hall of Fame. Dewey Tomko and hole card camera inventor Henry Orenstein were elected last year.

Full Tilt Poker pro Andy Bloch countered why Sexton was worthy of the only nod in 2009: “Arguably, any of the nine players nominated fit the qualifications and most will probably make it to the Hall of Fame in due time. Why was Mike elected before all the rest? Quite simply, he fit the qualifications for the Hall of Fame as both a player and a non-player much more so than any of the rest. I hope more of the others take a cue from Mike Sexton’s induction and do even more to promote the game of poker.” Tournament Director Matt Savage added, “Mike is and always has been the greatest ambassador for the game of poker and the Tournament of Champions was and idea clearly ahead of its time. I am very happy to see someone that has worked so hard to promote our great game receive this prestigious award!”

Finally, what would be an industry reaction article without a comment from the man of the hour? Sexton told Poker News Daily, “I’m truly honored to be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame. It’s really special because for the first time, there is now a process of being selected that includes the fans, the media, and the living members of the Poker Hall of Fame. The most satisfying part to me is to be accepted and welcomed into this exclusive club by the current members of the Hall of Fame.”

Congratulations to all of us to Sexton for his Poker Hall of Fame election.

Mike Sexton Elected to Poker Hall of Fame

The 38th person elected into the Poker Hall of Fame is none other than PartyPoker Ambassador and Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Mike Sexton. He will be enshrined as part of ceremonies to be held on November 7th.

2009 marks the 30th anniversary of the Poker Hall of Fame. This year, nine finalists were up for nomination to the Hall, with a panel of 15 living Hall of Fame members and 15 media representatives (including this author) determining the fate of the 2009 class. Sexton was the only one that I felt was a shoe-in for election, as 75% of the 30-member vote was required in order to capture one of poker’s most prestigious accolades. A press release distributed by World Series of Poker (WSOP) officials properly labeled Sexton “a true gentleman who has constantly enhanced the game of poker both with his play at the tables and his promotion of the game off of it.”

Ballots were due on October 2nd, with each person able to vote for up to three candidates for the 2009 class. This author selected Sexton, Tom McEvoy, and Dan Harrington, the three elder statesmen on the 2009 ballot. Other nominees included November Nine member Phil Ivey, “The Robin Hood of Poker” Barry Greenstein, “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge” lead man Daniel Negreanu, Men “The Master” Nguyen, WSOP Main Event and HORSE Championship winner Scotty Nguyen, and eight-time bracelet holder Erik Seidel.

The list of Poker Hall of Fame members reads like a roll call of poker legends: Doyle Brunson (inducted in 1988), Johnny Chan (2002), Phil Hellmuth (2007), Stu Ungar (2001), Chip Reese (1991), and Barbara Enright (2007), just to name a few. Now, Sexton’s name will be added to this illustrious list. In a press release distributed by PartyPoker, Sexton commented, “I am deeply honored to be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame and it is particularly special because for the first time it was a process that involved the fans, the media, and the living members of the Hall of Fame. To me, the most meaningful aspect of this process was the acceptance by the living Hall of Famers, who welcomed me into their exclusive club.”

One of Sexton’s most impressive feats was taking down the 2006 WSOP Tournament of Champions, which saw the new Poker Hall of Fame member best a final table that included Daniel Negreanu, Mike Matusow, Andy Black, and Chris Ferguson. Sexton earned $1 million for the victory and, according to WSOP officials, donated half of his prize money to charity. His lone WSOP bracelet came in 1989, when the World Poker Tour (WPT) host outlasted a field of 174 players to win a $1,500 buy-in Limit Seven Card Stud High-Low event. He has reached the final table in 20 of the 47 WSOP events he’s entered, a 43% success rate.

Sexton is the voice that many in the industry “grew up to” following the poker boom in 2003 and was instrumental in bringing the WPT to life. Sexton sat, and continues to sit, alongside Vince Van Patten on WPT broadcasts, popularizing the notion that Texas Hold’em takes “a minute to learn and a lifetime to master.” He represents one of the few constants in an industry constantly in flux and had the backing of a bevy of influential industry veterans in his push for the Poker Hall of Fame, including Howard Lederer, Annie Duke, Steve Lipscomb, Linda Johnson, Jan Fisher, Padraig Parkinson, Matt Savage, Roland de Wolfe, and an army of public relations staffers at PartyPoker.

To me, one of the most defining acts for Sexton was when he took on a lead role to campaign on behalf of players shut out of the 2009 WSOP Main Event after Day 1D had reached capacity. Sexton joined forces with “Captain” Tom Franklin to present WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack options to accommodate players. Sexton, curiously, had little to gain from taking an active role in the situation, as he had already played on Day 1A and survived with an average chip stack. The situation manifested Sexton’s stature within the industry and is one of the many reasons we will look forward to welcoming him into the Poker Hall of Fame in November.

Sexton honored by Hall of Fame induction

"It's a nice honor," Sexton told PokerListings from London, just moments after he was notified about his induction.

"It really feels great. I'm truly flattered. Being inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame is about more than winning a tournament or having a good year. Essentially it is about having your career evaluated, being appreciated for what you've accomplished and what you've done for poker."

For the first time in the Hall's 20-year history, the nomination process was open to the public, who helped define nine finalists for this year's class, including Barry Greenstein, Dan Harrington, Phil Ivey, Tom McEvoy, Erik Seidel, Men "The Master" Nguyen, Daniel Negreanu and Sexton.

The decision on inductees was then left up to the 17 living Hall of Fame members and a 15-member media panel.

Sexton was the only finalist that received the 75% of the panel's votes necessary for induction.

"The fact that, for the first time, this was a process that involved the fans, the media and the living members of the Hall of Fame is what makes this very special to me," Sexton said. "That they consider me worthy of induction into this exclusive club is the most precious thing."

Sexton, 62, has more than $3.7 million in career tournament earnings over an almost 30-year career in the game, but is perhaps best known as an analyst for the World Poker Tour's television coverage and as a spokesperson for PartyPoker.

While he claims he started out as just another poker player, after winning the 1996 Four Queens Poker Classic $5,085 No-Limit Hold'em Championship Finals, Sexton began writing a regular magazine column and embraced a role as a catalyst for poker's growth, setting up major tournaments and working as an ambassador for the game.

"I've always tried to promote poker in the best possible way," he said. "A lot of it has just been about being in the right place at the right time."

While he will officially be inducted in a special ceremony during the final of the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event Nov. 7, Sexton said becoming the 38th member of the Poker Hall of Fame is no indication his poker career is coming to a close.

"As long as I'm alive and healthy and I can walk back and forth from the tournament area, I'll still be playing, it doesn't matter how old I get," he said.

"I still enjoy playing and now I feel like when I play poker, I'll be carrying the torch for all the Hall of Famers."

The Poker Hall of Fame was established in 1979 and acquired by Harrah's Entertainment along with the World Series of Poker in 2004.

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Mike Sexton Voted Into Poker Hall Of Fame

Poker industry veteran Mike Sexton will be the only inductee into the Poker Hall of Fame this year. Harrah’s Entertainment and the World Series of Poker will make the announcement later today.

Sexton was the only member of the nine-person group to recieve at least percent of the votes cast by the 15 living members of the Hall of Fame and a 15-person media advisory panel.

Sexton beat out three former World Series of Poker champions, Tom McEvoy (1983), Dan Harrington (1985) and Scotty Nguyen (1998). Also on the ballot were Barry Greenstein, Phil Ivey, Men Nguyen, Daniel Negreanu, and Erik Seidel.

Sexton will be inducted on November 7 at the Rio when the World Series of Poker’s main event final table play concludes.

Sexton, who has been over 20 years in the poker industry, won a World Series of Poker champions bracelet in Seven-Card Stud Split in 1989. He has won more than $2.7 million in prize money and become a regular participant in tournaments.

Source: Review-Journal

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Mike Sexton Voted Into Poker Hall Of Fame

ESPN’s Andrew Feldman Reviews Poker Hall of Fame Candidates

On Friday, ballots were due for the 2009 Poker Hall of Fame class. A total of nine players were considered for enshrinement and among those voting alongside this author was ESPN.com Poker Editor Andrew Feldman, who shared his thoughts on each nominee.

Barry Greenstein owns three World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets and has established himself as one of the game’s top all-around players. He’s also been actively involved off the felts, raising money for charity with regularity. On Greenstein, Feldman noted, “Barry’s pros are being one of the top cash game payers in the world and having a tournament resume to back it up. On top of that, he does a lot for charity and has been a great ambassador for the poker world.” Whether Greenstein’s accolades are enough to land him in the Poker Hall of Fame in the November 7th ceremonies remains to be seen.

“Action” Dan Harrington quite literally wrote the book on poker. Without Harrington, one wonders whether any of us would be where we are today. Feldman commented, “Without Dan Harrington, the newest crop of poker players would be sitting in the dark. There have been books written by a multitude of authors, but no one could do what Harrington did by creating a poker bible and putting theories into easy-to-understand terms.” Harrington took down the WSOP Main Event in 1995.

Two of the game’s younger players, November Nine member Phil Ivey and Team PokerStars Pro member Daniel Negreanu, have sparked a considerable amount of controversy as to whether they have “stood the test of time,” one factor required for Hall of Fame enshrinement. Feldman remarked, “I believe age is a factor, but it shouldn’t be the deciding factor. Ivey and Negreanu have unbelievable poker resumes and they’re both some of the best players in the game right now, but they need to play out a full career.” Ivey’s first WSOP cash came in 2000, while Negreanu’s was in 1998.

Scotty Nguyen is one of the most recognizable names in the world of poker and took down the $50,000 buy-in HORSE event during the 2008 WSOP. However, he was allegedly inebriated during its final table, telling off competitors and Rio officials on national television. Feldman noted, “Scotty has perhaps the best accomplishment ever by winning the Main Event and $50,000 HORSE Championship. At times he can be disrespectful, but with a player like Scotty who has a great resume, does one misstep offset his entire career?”

Another controversial nominee is Men “The Master” Nguyen. He boasts 65 in the money finishes in WSOP events, good for the second most all-time, and owns six bracelets. Feldman explained what may keep Nguyen out of the Poker Hall of Fame in 2009: “Being second in career cashes all-time means he’s stood the test of time. He’s also certainly played for high-stakes. Whether the industry respects him will determine his fate this time around.”

Full Tilt Poker pro Erik Seidel is also a candidate for the Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2009. Seidel owns eight WSOP bracelets, good for fifth all-time, and owns more than $4 million in earnings from World Series felts alone. Feldman painted a picture of Seidel’s image: “He, single-handedly by being in ‘Rounders,’ has changed the industry. The problem is that you go from bracelets to ‘Rounders’ and a lot of people don’t give him the respect he deserves.” “Rounders,” which starred Edward Norton and Matt Damon, was released in 1998 and turned many on to the world of high-stakes No Limit Texas Hold’em.

Tom McEvoy is fresh off taking down the WSOP Champions Invitational, a tournament that aired on ESPN. Twenty former Main Event winners competed and, at the end of the day, McEvoy reclaimed the poker spotlight. Feldman explained, “McEvoy has changed the game in great ways and has been involved for the last 30 years. He’s authored some great books and has a great resume. For him, along with Dan Harrington and Erik Seidel, they need to get the full respect of the poker community.” McEvoy has received the backing of PokerStars for his Poker Hall of Fame run.

The final candidate for the 2009 Poker Hall of Fame class is World Poker Tour (WPT) Host Mike Sexton. A former bracelet winner and PartyPoker pro, Sexton is one of the game’s top ambassadors and a Guest Columnist on Poker News Daily. Feldman remarked, “Mike Sexton has done everything above and beyond throughout his career. While many would believe he is the ultimate face of poker, they also have to understand that he’s done more on the felt as well. While Sexton is a shoe-in, stranger things have happened.” Sexton led the charge for a group of 500 players shut out of the WSOP Main Event on Day 1D despite having played on Day 1A.

The Poker Hall of Fame induction ceremonies will take place on November 7th during the WSOP Main Event final table. You can catch Feldman on ESPN.com’s “Inside Deal,” which is released every Tuesday.

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.

Commerce hosting Annie Duke celebrity tournament

The Annie Duke Celebrity Poker Tournament will take place during the Commerce Casino's L.A. Poker Open with celebrities Scott Ian, Shannon Elizabeth, Brande Roderick and Joe Reitman all taking to the felt.

Joining the stars will be poker players Dan Harrington, Howard Lederer, Rafe Furst, Adam Levy, Andy Bloch, Dave "Hollywood" Stann and WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack.

The event is sponsored by the WSOP Academy and presented by Rockwell Time. Globe-trotting Matt Savage will be handling the tournament directing duties.

Anyone willing to put down the $330 buy-in can take a seat at the tables. Re-buys and a one-time add-on are both available for $100.

Organizers are promising a "home style" poker game with fans being given the chance to mix it up with their favorite celebrity/poker players.

More than $30,000 in prizes and giveaways will be awarded throughout the event. The red carpet begins at 7 p.m. with the cards getting in the air at 8 p.m.

DEF was established in 2001 by educators, decision scientists and business people who had an interest in providing decision education to today's youth.

The organization already has several connections to poker world.

In 2008, Eric Brooks shocked the poker world by winning the $10,000 World Championship Stud event at the WSOP and donating 100% of the $415,856 he earned to the organization. Duke also sits on the board of directors.

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The WSOP Main Event on ESPN: ElkY, Shulman, and the Bilzerian Brothers Take Center Stage

Four former world champions still remained in the 400-strong field that returned to play Day 4 of the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event. Dan Harrington, Bobby Baldwin, Peter Eastgate and Joe Hachem remained in the hunt for a second shot at...

WSOP on ESPN Field Makes the Money

Day 4 unfolded in front of ESPN cameras at the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. November Nine member Phil Ivey presided over the feature table, while a pair of former Main Event champions headlined Table Two.

In the show’s opening montage, Ivey explained his take on the money bubble, which had yet to burst at the 2009 WSOP Main Event: “The money is nice. The money is great. Winning is definitely more important at this stage in the game.” The chip leader entering Day 4 was Team PokerStars Pro member Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier. Others in the field included 2005 Main Event winner Joe Hachem, 2008 champion Peter Eastgate, and Surindar Sunar, who all appeared at Table Two. The ESPN feature table included Ivey, who noted that he had bought UFC tickets for that night.

In the first hand shown, Ivey raised to 11,000 with A-10 of hearts and Bernhard Perner made the call with Q-9. The clop came 10-J-A and Perner bet 16,500 with his up-and-down straight draw. Ivey made the call and the turn fell a three. Perner fired out 27,500 chips and Ivey once again called behind. The river was a nine and Perner finally slowed down and checked. Ivey bet 50,000, prompting a fold from Perner, securing the 166,500 chip pot for the “Tiger Woods of Poker.”

Elsewhere in the field, Jeff Norman ousted 2009 dual bracelet winner Greg “FBT” Mueller with pocket aces against Mueller’s pocket sixes. “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here” winner Lou Diamond Phillips doubled up J.C. Tran with pocket tens against Tran’s wired pair of aces. Denise Malloy, a grandmother of three, made quads in a hand against John Monnette.

At Table Two, the two Main Event champions squared off. Eastgate raised to 10,500 with A-10 of clubs and Hachem called from the big blind with 8-6, including the six of diamonds. The flop came 5-7-10, all diamonds, and the action went check-check. The turn was another five. Hachem bet out 18,000 and Eastgate called to see a river nine, giving Hachem a straight. Hachem bet 25,000 and Eastgate folded, prompting the following line from the Aussie: “Think you can raise my blind with A-10? You need to muck A-10.”

Former World Poker Tour (WPT) Bellagio Cup winner Kevin “BeL0WaB0Ve” Saul tangled with Brian Shapiro. In the hand, Shapiro rivered a straight and then pointed to Saul and exclaimed, “You deserve that because of your hairdo.” Jack Effel issued Shapiro a warning for excessive celebration and, upon Saul complaining that Shapiro targeted him with brash comments, a one hand penalty was issued. Saul sported a mohawk. Meanwhile, Ivey’s run of cards continued, as the Full Tilt Poker pro made quads with 8-7 on a 7-J-7-8-7 board.

The Full Tilt-sponsored “Deal Me In” featured Chris Ferguson at the 2004 WSOP Main Event in a segment about protecting your hand. Meanwhile, Ivey was dealt pocket kings in a hand against Keven “Stamdogg” Stammen. ESPN announcer Norman Chad commented, “Phil Ivey with pocket kings? I think that’s illegal in 45 states.” Ivey scooped a 214,500 chip pot in the process, while Dan Harrington was shown donning a neck brace. Chad quipped, “Did he have a bad flop?” and then proceeded to laugh.

As play approached the money, hands like pocket kings, pocket tens, and A-K hit the muck pre-flop as players desperately tried to avoid earning the title of Bubble Boy. The title finally went to Kia Hamadani, who was all-in for the ante against Reed Hensel. The flop came Q-6-Q and, while Hensel held just 9-2, Hamadani could only muster 3-4. The turn came a nine, securing the win for Hensel and bursting the money bubble.

The second episode, which hit television airwaves at 9:00pm ET, began with Ferguson being shown the exit in 561st place. Meanwhile, Ivey picked up pocket aces, prompting Chad to explain, “Giving Phil Ivey aces is like giving the Incredible Hulk power bars.” Ivey raised to 16,000 pre-flop and Ben Wu called with K-Q of spades. The flop came 7-2-Q and Ivey bet 23,000 with his overpair. Wu called and the turn was an eight. Ivey bet 55,000 and Wu called, leading to a river four. Ivey asked for a count and pushed, having Wu covered. Wu tanked before finally calling and hitting the exits in 517th place.

An overly excited Marla Schwartz was shown at an outer table, while Ivey picked up A-K on the Jack Link’s Beef Jerky Wild Card Hand to scoop another sizable pot. Still remaining in the 2009 WSOP Main Event field was Justin Henry, who owns the record as the youngest Academy Award nominee ever at age eight. He earned the nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his work in “Kramer Versus Kramer” with Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep. Henry finished 235th in this year’s tournament.

Phil Hellmuth lost half of his stack after running into an opponent’s trips, leading to another memorable outburst. This time, Hellmuth lamented, “Oh my fucking God, I want to vomit on the floor. There goes my World Series to an absolute maniac. Those are the players that beat me. They can’t even spell poker.” No vomit was seen.

Hellmuth was eliminated later in the episode after pushing over the top of another player’s all-in with 20 big blinds behind him holding pocket aces. A player with 10-7 offsuit on a J-10-5 board called him. The turn came a seven, giving another opponent in the hand holding 8-9 a straight and cracking Hellmuth’s aces. The river came a three and Hellmuth’s run in the 2009 WSOP Main Event came to an end. He noted, “These are some of the worst players in the world over here. It’s just unbelievable.”

Schwartz continued to be boisterous, getting the best of Nick Binger in a hand with A-J against Binger’s A-10. Despite being a 70% favorite to win pre-flop, she yelled, “Let me get lucky!” The board ran out 7-Q-4-6-8 and Schwartz padded her stack. She ultimately finished in 369th place, earning $27,000.

Day 5 of the 2009 WSOP on ESPN will air from 8:00pm ET to 10:00pm ET next Tuesday.

Poker Hall of Fame: Reaction to Changes in 2009 Ballot

Last week, Harrah’s, the World Series of Poker (WSOP), and the Poker Hall of Fame Governing Council announced the final list of players to be considered for induction into the Hall this fall. What was originally a 10-man list was chopped to nine when online sensation Tom “durrrr” Dwan was left off because, in the Governing Council’s opinion, Dwan fell short of the “standing the test of time” criteria for Hall consideration. This has brought out differing opinions among some in the world of poker.

“I’d say that an age limit is reasonable,” longtime poker writer Ashley Adams stated to Poker News Daily. “There have to be some criteria - a minimum number of tournaments or dollars won would be reasonable - when it comes to deciding on nominees. I don’t think there should be a minimum number nominated, though. It should depend on the quality of the field.” David Apostolico, who authored two books such as “Machiavellian Poker Strategy” and “Tournament Poker and The Art of War,” said “it made sense” to leave Dwan off of the final nominees list. “No question ‘durrrr’ is a tremendous player,” Apostolico explained, “but the qualifications speak directly to longevity.”

Pamela Brunson, the daughter of poker legend Doyle Brunson (who has a vote for the new members of the Hall of Fame) and a highly respected player in her own right, echoes the thoughts of Adams and Apostolico: “I don’t think ‘durrrr’ should be inducted the Poker Hall of Fame yet. He’s a great player, but hasn’t been around long enough.” Poker News Daily’s Dan Cypra, who also owns a vote on the new Hall of Fame members, thought the issue would have solved itself in the voting. “Other members of the Committee I had spoken to were not considering Tom Dwan anyway… signaling out Dwan (by leaving him off the ballot) when he likely would not have received votes was a bit surprising.”

The question as to the “electability” of a quartet of players - Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey, Men “The Master” Nguyen, and Scotty Nguyen - has also raised several points of contention. Some feel that Negreanu and Ivey, despite their youth (Negreanu is 35, Ivey is 33), more than deserve their nominations. In addition, others think that baggage may drag down the two Nguyens and prevent their election to the Hall of Fame.

“Phil Ivey is definitely going down as one of the best overall players of all-time and Daniel Negreanu has done so much for poker,” Brunson commented. “Daniel is a great player with tons of personality. He has put his heart and soul into poker and is one of the best ambassadors of the game.” Cypra agreed with Brunson, but doesn’t believe that either will garner enough votes to earn admission to the Hall. “Ivey is poker’s sweetheart right now, fresh off two bracelet wins during the 2009 WSOP and a final table appearance in the Main Event on the horizon.” He continued, “His 2009 performance alone warrants consideration for the Poker Hall of Fame. Negreanu is one of the premier faces of the game. Serving as one of poker’s top ambassadors, winning four bracelets, and captaining the American Caesars Cup team gives him an impressive poker resume. However, I do not believe either has stood the test of time. Negreanu’s first WSOP cash was in 1998, while Ivey’s was in 2000.”

When the spotlight is trained on the Nguyens, more differences of opinion occur. “A general statement about ‘working in the interests of the game’ or ‘bringing honor and respect to the poker community’ is important,” Adams maintained. “By my standards, Scotty would get the nod from me and I’d have to think about Men.” Cypra, though, recalls Scotty Nguyen’s conduct at last year’s $50,000 HORSE tournament and disagrees: “Scotty Nguyen will not be receiving my vote. His antics during last year’s HORSE Championship hurt the game of poker. One could argue that, because of this, Nguyen has not filled the criteria of ‘played consistently well, gaining the respect of peers.’”

Voting by the 15 living Hall of Fame members and a 15 member media panel will conclude on October 2nd. The 30 member panel can choose up to three of the nominees (or write in their own choice) and a nominee has to earn 75% of the votes (in this case, 23) to be elected to the Hall. The results will be announced during the festivities surrounding the play of the WSOP Main Event final table.

When it comes to his choices, Cypra seems to have narrowed his options, stating, “I think Mike Sexton is a no-brainer. He’s the reason many of us are in the industry today and has served as the game’s top ambassador. He’s also a class act, a WSOP bracelet winner, and a TOC victor. I’m also leaning towards Dan Harrington and Tom McEvoy, who have stood the test of time right alongside Sexton.”

Brunson perhaps has an idea when she said, “I think some of the ‘old timers’ should be inducted before we get around to the young guys. They’ve been around a lot longer and put in their dues, even when poker wasn’t a popular and ‘cool’ profession!”

Joe Hachem, Jeffrey Lisandro Featured on WSOP on ESPN Coverage

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thomas Bichon Wins WPT Cyprus

French pro Thomas Bichon outlasted a field of 181 players to win the inaugural World Poker Tour (WPT) Merit Cypus Classic on Sunday. Bichon collected his first WPT title and a prize of $579,165 after six days of grueling play.

The event, held at the luxurious travel destination in the Mediterranean, attracted many of the game’s most familiar names, including Patrik Antonius, Allen Cunningham, John Juanda, Mike Matusow, Eli Elezra, Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, Annette Obrestad, Jeffrey Lisandro, Dan Harrington, Huck Seed, Antonio Esfandiari, Layne Flack, and November Nine member James Akenhead.

Day 1A of the event brought together 91 players and John Tabatabai ended play with the lead, bagging up 178,275 chips. Ludovic Lacay (140,780) and Tommy Vedes (122,125) trailed Tabatabai on the leaderboard. Day 1B drew another 90 entrants, generating a total prize pool of $1,755,700. Phil Gordon led the way as play ended with 157,000 chips. Jan Skampa (156,000) and Andreas Haden (138,000) finished close on his heels.

The 125 survivors from Day 1 joined together on Day 2 and more than half the field perished, including Tabatabai and Gordon. Leading the 55 players that survived the day was Nenad Medic with 277,000. Medic made a strong push at the end of the night to pass Rony Jazzar and Antony Lellouche for the chip lead. Other survivors in good shape were Vedes, Huck Seed, and Flack.

Day 3 played down to the final 21 before play concluded and, this time, it was Flack who soared to the chip lead, holding 915,000. Rep Porter was second going into Day 4 with 812,000, while Seed, Flack, Jazzar, Medic, and Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little were among the top 10.

With the top 18 players making money, it took just two levels to burst the bubble on Day 5. The unfortunate player left out was Anthony Aboukhalil, who moved all-in for his last 20,000 chips with Kc-6c and was called by Antony Lellouche’s As-Qh. The board was no help to Aboukhalil and he was eliminated in 19th place on the money bubble.

Day 5 wasn’t kind to the big names left in the field. Flack was the first to go in 10th place ($20,760); he was followed by Medic (ninth for $27,680) and Little (eighth for ($38,940). With the final table just one spot away, Huck Seed pushed the last of his stack in with Ad-Jd and Thomas Bichon called with Ks-Qd. Seed was left drawing thin after a Queen hit the flop and he was unable to improve, leaving the tournament in seventh place for $56,240.

The final six were in place for Sunday’s final table. Here’s how it looked going into the day:

Seat1: Thomas Bichon - 1.08 million
Seat 2: Steve Fung - 732,000
Seat 3: Uri Keidar - 1.75 million
Seat 4: Rony Jazzar - 1.80 million
Seat 5: Janar Kiivramees - 727,000
Seat 6: Rep Porter - 1.12 million

Jazar was the first casualty of the final table. On a board of Qs-7s-2h-5d, Jazzar pushed all-in with Kc-Qd for top pair and Keidar called with 8s-6s for flush and straight draws. The 10s river gave Keidar his flush and Jazzar was sent to the rail with $73,535.

Play slowed down quite a bit after Jazzar’s elimination, but Kiivramees (fifth place, $90,835) and Porter (fourth, $121,115) were the next to exit. Porter doubled his short stack several times, but eventually Keidar finished him off when Uri’s Ah-9h held up against Porter’s Kh-Jh. Keidar increased his stack to 1.6 million, but was well behind Bichon, the leader with more than five million. Meanwhile, Fung was nursing a 500,000 chip stack.

With the blinds eating away at his stack, Fung was forced to call an all-in bet out of the big blind with 9d-5d and found himself in bad shape against the Jd-5c of Bichon. Fung’s hand failed to get better and he exited with $216,275 for his third place finish.

Heads-up play between Bichon and Keidar lasted just two hands. First, Bichon limped on the button and Keidar pushed, inducing a fold from Bichon. On the second hand, with Bichon holding more than a 3-1 edge, Keidar raised to 350,000 and Bichon moved all-in. Keidar took some time before calling off his remaining 1.4 million with Jh-10d and was in a coin flip situation against Bichon’s pocket sevens.

Bichon took control when the flop brought As-Ks-7c, giving him a set and leaving Keidar needing a queen to stay alive. The 10h turn and 3s river were no help to Keidar and Bichon was crowned the champion of the inaugural WPT Merit Cyprus Classic. Here were the final results:

1st Place: Thomas Bichon - $579,165
2nd Place: Uri Keidar - $380,645
3rd Place: Steven Fung - $216,275
4th Place: Rep Porter - $121,115
5th Place: Janar Kiivramees - $90,835
6th Place: Rony Jazzar - $73,535

Layne Flack Leads WPT Cyprus Heading to Money

After several days of play, 55 players returned to the felt at the World Poker Tour Merit Cyprus Classic event, including Full Tilt Pros Allen Cunningham, Chris Ferguson and Andy Bloch as well as Sorel Mizzi, Bruno Fitoussi and Dan Harrington. All of these players hit the rail on Day 3 as play thundered towards the money bubble.

Dwan bumped from Poker Hall of Fame nominees

"With all due respect to Mr. Dwan, one of the game's most exciting young players, he does not currently meet the criteria for Hall of Fame selection," a statement from the Poker Hall of Fame Governing Council reads.

"We wish him well and expect he will again be considered once he has 'stood the test of time.'"

The criteria for voting consideration is based on the following:

• A player must have played poker against acknowledged top competition
• Played for high stakes
• Played consistently well, gaining the respect of peers
• Stood the test of time
• Or, for non-players, contributed to the overall growth and success of the game of poker, with indelible positive and lasting results

The original list of ten candidates was put together through a five-week public voting process on WSOP.com.

With Dwan out, the final list of candidates for the 2009 class is now down to Barry Greenstein, Dan Harrington, Phil Ivey, Tom McEvoy, Erik Seidel, Mike Sexton, Men "The Master" Nguyen and Daniel Negreanu.

The decision on who makes it in will come down to how the 15 living Hall of Fame members and the 15-member media panel will cast their votes.

Voters will be able to vote for up to three candidates with every player that receives at least 75% yes votes making their way into the Hall of the Fame.

The official 2009 Poker Hall of Fame selections will be announced during a special dinner ceremony on Nov. 7 at the Rio Hotel during the dinner break of the 2009 WSOP Main Event final table.

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2009 Poker Hall of Fame Finalists Announced

The final list of nominees for the 2009 Poker Hall of Fame was announced on Tuesday and the ballot is loaded with the game’s biggest names. It is now up to the 15 living Hall of Fame members and the 15-member Media Panel to cast their votes before the inductees are revealed on Saturday, November 7.

The nine selected candidates are Barry Greenstein, Dan Harrington, Phil Ivey, Tom McEvoy, Men Nguyen, Scotty Nguyen, Daniel Negreanu, Erik Seidel and Mike Sexton. Any of those nine who receive at least 75% of the vote will be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame, which will be part of a special Hall of Fame dinner ceremony at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas during the dinner break of the World Series of Poker Main Event Final Table.

The voters must determine which nominees most deserve an induction this year. Each candidate is voted the following criteria:

–A player must have played poker against acknowledged top competition
–Played for high stakes
–Played consistently well, gaining the respect of peers
–Stood the test of time
–Or, for non-players, contributed to the overall growth and success of the game of poker, with indelible positive and lasting results.

Current Hall of Fame members also have the ability to add a write-in candidate — someone they feel deserves consideration — but were not among the list of finalists this year. This write-in candidate will be added to the 2010 nomination list automatically. The voting members will receive their ballots this week and have until October 2, 2009 to submit their completed forms.

Before starting the 2009 WSOP, the WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack announced that the process for becoming a member into the Poker Hall of Fame would undergo a slight modification. Starting in this year, the Poker Hall of Fame started accepting nominations from the public.

Ten players received the required number of votes to make the nominees list. Tom Dwan, known as “durrrr” online, was the lone preliminary nominee left off the final ballot. The nosebleed cash game specialist only recently burst onto the poker scene but quickly gained worldwide fame after proposing a challenge to anyone in the world (except Phil Galfond) that believed they could beat him in a four-table heads-up format on Full Tilt Poker.

“With all due respect to Mr. Dwan, one of the games most exciting young players, he does not currently meet the criteria for Hall of Fame selection”, said a member of the Poker Hall of Fame Governing Council. “We wish him well and expect he will again be considered once he has ‘stood the test of time’.”

The inductees will be invited to a special dinner held and hosted in their honor where they will give their induction speech and be awarded their commemorative trophy. Each of nine of the finalists will be invited to the dinner, and room will be reserved for additional family, friends, the current Hall of Famers and the media voting panel.

Tom “durrrr” Dwan Wasn’t Accepted To The Poker Hall Of Fame

Nine heavy duty nominees left and everyone wants to be part of The Poker Hall of Fame. But where is Tom “durrrr” Dwan?

The Poker Hall of Fame (HOF) has announced their year 2009 list of the candidates.

• Barry Greenstein
• Dan Harrington
• Phil Ivey
• Tom McEvoy
• Men “The Master” Nguyen
• Scotty Nguyen
• Daniel Negreanu
• Erik Seidel
• Mike Sexton

Originally Tom Dwan was supposed to be on the list but has now been removed.

“With all due respect to Mr. Dwan, one of the games most exciting young players, he does not currently meet the criteria for Hall of Fame selection. We wish him well and expect he will again be considered once he has ’stood the test of time’”, the HOF Governing Council states in their press release.

Tom “The Flamingo” Dwan

To gain more interest from the public, this year’s candidates were chosen through a public referendum. All in all 41 Poker pros got voted from where the field was narrowed to ten most voted names.

The official Induction Ceremony will take place on Saturday, November 7, during the dinner break of the Main Event final table at the Rio in Las Vegas.

The remaining nine candidates will have their fate decided by the 15 living HOF members, and the 15-person media panel. Panel members will receive their any day and have until Friday, October 2, to submit their votes. Players need 75 percent of the votes to get in. Anything less than 75 percent means your still eligible for future HOF classes.

There are currently 37 members in The Poker Hall of Fame.

Source: Pokerpages

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Tom “durrrr” Dwan Wasn’t Accepted To The Poker Hall Of Fame

WPT Legends of Poker Begins Today

Kicking off today from the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles, California is the annual World Poker Tour (WPT) Legends of Poker. The $10,000 buy-in tournament will crown a champion on Wednesday.

Last time out, John “The Razor” Phan trumped online poker pro Amit “amak316” Makhija in the finale of the WPT Legends of Poker. A total of 373 players took to the felts and Phan walked away with a first place payday of $1.1 million. Zachary Clark earned $281,000 for his third place showing in a lively final table that also featured Paul Smith, Trong Nguyen, and Kyle Wilson. In 2007, “Action” Dan Harrington, a former World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion, bested David “The Dragon” Pham heads-up to pocket $1.6 million. That year, 485 players took to the felts.

In 2006, Joe Pelton banked $1.6 million for his win in the Legends of Poker. He defeated Frankie O’Dell heads-up in a talented final table that also featured Hoyt Corkins, Kevin O’Donnell, Randy Holland, and WSOP Main Event winner Scotty Nguyen. A total of 466 runners took to the Bike’s felts three years ago and created a $4.5 million prize pool. In 2005, Alex Kahaner outlasted “Cowboy” Kenna James to earn $1.1 million. It marked the last year that the buy-in was only $5,000 and 839 players threw their hats into the ring. O’Donnell finished sixth in 2005 and Todd Phillips, who directed “Old School” and “The Hangover,” landed in fourth place, earning $250,000.

In 2004, Doyle Brunson showed that he is truly a legend of the game by taking down the marquee WPT tournament, outplaying Lee Watkinson heads-up. Brunson banked $1.2 million for his efforts and solidified his name as among the game’s best only one year after the Moneymaker Boom began. At the time, Watkinson was fresh off a runner-up finish in the Mirage Poker Showdown and earned $578,000 for his second place effort in Los Angeles.

During Season II of the WPT, Mel Judah defeated Paul Phillips in the Legends of Poker. Judah is a two-time WSOP bracelet winner and Phillips won the Bellagio Five Diamond World Poker Classic that season for $1.1 million. Also appearing at the final table were Poker Hall of Fame member T.J. Cloutier, Chip Jett, three-time bracelet winner Farzad Bonyadi, and Phil “The Unabomber” Laak. During the inaugural season of the WPT, Chris Karagulleyan, who outlasted a field of 134 players to pocket $258,000, won the Legends of Poker. Joining him at the final table were Hon Le, Stan Goldstein, Mark Seif, Can Kim Hua, and Kathy Liebert.

The action kicks off from the Bike’s brand new Events Center at 3:00pm PT on Saturday. Players will receive 30,000 in starting chips and blinds will kick off at 50/100. The price of poker increases every 90 minutes, with the six-handed final table panning out on Wednesday.

In the WPT’s last tournament, Team PokerStars Pro member Alexandre Gomes defeated a table full of internet superstars to earn $1.2 million in the Bellagio Cup V. Heads-up, Gomes trumped Faraz Jaka, who affectionately goes by the moniker “The-Toilet” online. Also appearing at the final table was Justin “Boosted J” Smith, who suffered an Achilles injury after celebrating a win in a hand. Newly-minted DoylesRoom pro Alec “traheho” Torelli, Christoffer Sonesson, and Full Tilt Poker pro Erik Seidel all joined them at the final table. The tournament is held annually near the conclusion of the WSOP Main Event, which is held down Flamingo Road at the Rio.

Recent news surrounding the WPT hasn’t been about the Legends of Poker. Instead, attention has been focused squarely on its sale, where news of a second buyer other than Gamynia Limited has emerged. Speculation on the alternate WPT bid has run rampant throughout the online poker community and additional information should be released in the near future.

Keep up to date on the 2009 WPT Legends of Poker right here on Poker News Daily.

The Bicycle Casino Wheels Out New Event Center

WSOP bracelet winners John Phan, Men "the Master" Nguyen, Jennifer Harman, and Mark Seif have all called Southern California’s Bicycle Casino their home away from home at some point in their careers. Doyle Brunson and Dan Harrington won their...

ESPN Inside Deal Welcomes Dennis Phillips

This week’s edition of the ESPN poker show “Inside Deal,” which airs on ESPN.com, featured 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) November Nine member Dennis Phillips and a revealing phone conversation with WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack.

The show opened in its usual witty style, with “Inside Deal” Host Laura Lane trying to find Phillips to commence taping. ESPN employees and co-host Bernard Lee were all dressed like the former truck salesman, donning red St. Louis Cardinals hats and white collared shirts complete with logos. “Inside Deal,” which is sponsored by PokerStars.net, began its 40 minute show by discussing new legislation introduced by Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) to regulate online games of skill like poker in the United States. Poker News Daily was sourced on the story, with Lee commenting, “This is a revised bill that Senator Menendez introduced in 2008. The previous bill focused on just skill games. This specifically focuses on online poker.” The bill is numbered S 1597.

Discussion on “Inside Deal” then turned to the recent sale of the World Poker Tour (WPT) to Gamynia Limited. Lee gave his take on what the sale of the hallmark tournament series means for players: “For the Tour, time will tell. For the 2009-2010 season, there won’t be too many changes.” Lee then noted that legalized and regulated online poker in the United States would mean a dramatic increase in qualifiers for WPT events. “Inside Deal” broke down the results of its sponsor’s weekly online poker major, the Sunday Million, and discussed the death of PokerListings founder Andreas Oscarsson.

Pollack called in for “Inside Deal’s” first telephone interview. He gave a preview of the 2009 WSOP Europe festivities, which kick off on September 19th from London. Pollack explained a potential solution for the sellout of Day 1D of the 2009 WSOP, which left more than 500 players shut out of the game’s most prestigious tournament: “We’re going to continue to have pre-registration open months in advance. I think we’re going to allow players to select their start date for the Main Event until a certain point. After that, we’re going to select their start date so the days are properly balanced.” Among those left out in the cold on Day 1D were Durrrr Challenge participant Patrik Antonius, Poker Hall of Fame member T.J. Cloutier, and five-time WSOP bracelet winner Ted Forrest.

Phillips joined the show to talk about his interactions with members of the 2009 WSOP November Nine and his experience at National Poker Week in Washington, DC. On the latter effort, which was organized by the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), Phillips recalled, “I honestly believe there will be a compromise between the two [internet gambling bills in the House and Senate]. They will come together with something. My hope is that in the next 12 to 18 months, this farce of a law they have will be amended.”

Phillips divulged the secrets to his deep runs in the 2008 and 2009 Main Events, where he finished 3rd and 45th, respectively, and relived throwing out the first pitch at a Cardinals baseball game. On November Nine member and CardPlayer Editor Jeff Shulman, who has threatened to throw out the bracelet should he win the Main Event, Phillips commented, “Even if he felt it, to come out and publicly state it is horrible. It’s repulsive to me that he’d consider throwing it away.”

ESPN Poker Editor Andrew Feldman then joined the “Inside Deal” set in Bristol, Connecticut to review Sexy Poker for the Nintendo Wii, which resembles a game of strip poker. Discussion of the game was a segue for forecasting technological breakthroughs in the game, with Lee suggesting that tournament officials mic up every player at a final table and use interactive cameras to divulge tells. Feldman also discussed World Team Poker, whose first match-up pits Phil Hellmuth’s Team USA against Men “The Master” Nguyen’s Team Vietnam. Phillips recalled Danes rooting for Peter Eastgate and Russians cheering for Ivan Demidov during the 2008 WSOP Main Event final table as examples of how team poker may have a bright future.

An unaired exit interview with Dan Harrington following his elimination from the WSOP Champions Invitational aired and Lee broke down Eastgate’s one-outer against Scott Montgomery during last year’s Main Event finale. New episodes of “Inside Deal” are released every Tuesday on ESPN.com.

Testimony in Colorado Poker Case Comes Under Fire

District Court Judge James Hartmann recently ruled that the testimony of University of Denver Statistics Professor Robert Hannum proving that poker is a game of skill should not have been allowed in a case involving Kevin Raley in Colorado.

Despite the ruling, charges will not be re-filed against Raley, according to Poker Players Alliance (PPA) Colorado State Director Gary Reed, who told Poker News Daily, “We went to trial, won, and the State appealed. All they appealed was allowing the testimony of Hannum. Now, we’ve gone to the Appellate Court saying that we want to appeal Judge Hartmann’s ruling. Having been acquitted at trial, Raley can’t be retried and charges won’t be re-filed.” The timeline for an appeal has not been announced.

In January, a jury found Raley not guilty of illegal gambling for operating a poker league in a bar. According to a PPA statement released earlier this year, illegal gambling in Colorado is defined as follows: “Risking any money, credit, deposit, or other thing of value for gain contingent in whole or in part upon lot, chance, the operation of a gambling device, or the happening or outcome of an event, including a sporting event, over which the person taking a risk has no control, but does not include bona fide contests of skill.”

The PPA dispatched Hannum to testify on Raley’s behalf that poker is a game of skill and therefore not subject to Colorado gambling statutes. Hannum presented the results of a December study by Cigital and PokerStars that examined 103 million cash game hands on the world’s largest online poker site. In the end, three-quarters did not go to showdown. Instead, the process of betting and bluffing won pots prior to the cards being turned over. In the remaining 24.3% of hands, the player with the best five card hand won just 50.3% of the time. In the other 49.7% of pots, the player with the best five card hand folded prior to showdown.

An article that appeared in the Greeley Tribune explained the fallout from the appeal of Hannum’s testimony: “Anyone else charged with gambling for hosting or playing in a poker tournament will not be able to use Raley’s argument.” The news outlet summarized Judge Hartmann’s ruling: “The fact that the participants were playing for money — and the fact poker was partly a game of chance — meant the participants were gambling.”

Reed, however, told Poker News Daily that additional pressures contributed to Judge Hartmann’s ruling: “Politically and economically, the big casinos here in Colorado do not want to see open poker. They’ve been putting pressure on the government to shut down poker games outside of their locations. You have politicians’ pressure brought to bear and I think that’s why the judge ruled the way he did.”

In January, the PPA boasted 13,000 members in Colorado, including Raley. Before the case can be reviewed, Reed explained that the Colorado Supreme Court must first give the Appellate Court permission to do so. On a timeline, he explained, “Courts run on their own clocks and it depends on their case load.”

Reed explained the benefits of legalized poker in Colorado: “The more people we introduce into the game, the more people will sit down at a licensed poker room. While they’re doing that, they’ll feel more comfortable. Most poker room managers agree.” He explained that the conflict stems from the casino ownership, which is leery of any un-raked form of poker that could potentially lure customers away. Reed cautioned, “You don’t grow your base by denying the game to people, who will then be less comfortable when they come to casinos.”

The PPA filed an amicus brief on behalf of Raley when it learned that the State would dispute Hannum’s testimony. The brief quotes a bevy of poker literature, including books by Doyle Brunson (“Super System”), Gus Hansen (“Every Hand Revealed”), Dan Harrington (“Harrington on Hold’em”), David Sklansky (“The Theory of Poker” and “Tournament Poker for Advanced Players”), and Blair Rodman and Lee Nelson (“Kill Phil”).

We’ll keep you posted on the latest from the Colorado poker case on Poker News Daily.

Poker News in Brief: Aug. 3-9, 2009

As part of our ongoing News in Brief feature we've compiled a list of stories that didn't quite make the front page this week but are worth mentioning to hardcore poker fans.

This week sees an infamous golfer/poker player give up his case against the USGA, a new way to transfer money between sites and Doyle Brunson and Daniel Negreanu making their picks for the Poker Hall of Fame.

Brunson, Negreanu pick Sexton for Poker Hall of Fame

The nominees for this year's poker hall of fame include Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan, Barry Greenstein, Dan Harrington, Tom McEvoy, Men Nguyen, Scotty Nguyen, Eric Seidel, Daniel Negreanu and Mike Sexton.

Both Doyle Brunson and Negreanu have come out overwhelmingly in favor of Sexton as their number one pick.

It's hard to argue with their logic as Sexton has been around at the highest levels of poker for many years and has, perhaps more importantly, been one of the best ambassadors for poker in history.

You can check out Brunson's post here while Negreanu's is here.

SendMyChips opens site-to-site transfers

It's an idea that's been around for a long time but SendMyChips.com appears to have finally solved the challenge of getting money from one poker site to a competing one.

The site currently works with Full Tilt Poker, Absolute Poker, Cake Poker and Ultimate Bet, although it does charge a fee to get money from one site to the other.

The service is already endorsed by several well-known pros, most notably Dave Colclough, Marc Goodwin and Paul Jackson.

Apparently the company also works with results tracker SharkScope.com to provide a credibility check to prevent fraud. The more history a player has the more they can transfer using SendMyChips.com.

Dusty "Leatherass" Schmidt withdraws USGA lawsuit

Online poker player and amateur golfer Dusty "Leatherass" Schmidt got into some serious trouble with the United States Golf Association when he offered a $1 million challenge to anyone that would play him in eight 9-hole golf matches and 10 heads-up poker matches back in March.

USGA didn't take kindly to Schmidt offering to play golf for money and promptly revoked his amateur status.

Schmidt responded by filing a lawsuit against the USGA, which he finally decided to drop this week, according to a story with the Associated Press.

Now that Schmidt has dropped the lawsuit he apparently going to work on his game and attempt to play some professional events.

More poker programming?

Poker seems to be making an all-out assault on television lately. We've already seen the premiere of Face the Ace, ESPN's Inside Deal and 2 Months 2 Million will debut next week, but Pokerati is reporting that even more poker TV shows may be in the works.

According to a Craigslist ad that was sent to Pokerati there will be four poker shows filmed at Binions Casino, Las Vegas, and they are currently recruiting hosts, writers and production crew. You can check out the complete ad for yourself here.

FTOPS XIII begins

With the sheer number of FTOPS even it's getting harder and harder to keep track of them all.

Nonetheless FTOPS XIII started on Wednesday with a $200+$16 No-Limit Hold'em event hosted by Russian super poker player Vitaly Lunkin. The eventual winner was DeceptionPT who grabbed $107,518 for first place.

Like most online series held by Full Tilt, FTOPS XIII will offer an extensive schedule with more than 25 events and $18 million in guaranteed prize money. There is even a special Ante Up for Africa event hosted by Don Cheadle.

For a complete look at the schedule go to Full Tilt Poker.

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