Poker News

Identity of Isildur1 May Be Revealed Saturday

In what will either be the worst kept secret ever in the poker world or the most stunning reveal of all-time, the identity of the online phenomenon Isildur1 will purportedly be unveiled on Saturday evening in the Bahamas.

Several poker news sites have announced that the identity of Isildur1 will be revealed at 7:00pm ET on Saturday night during action at the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA), currently ongoing at the Atlantis Hotel and Casino. OnlinePoker.net indicated that the Tournament Director of the PCA stated that the announcement of Isildur1’s identity would come while trumpeting the arrival of Viktor Blom, the Swedish pro who has long been rumored to be the man behind the curtain.

PokerNews has also reported tomorrow’s reveal: “There’s a lot of speculation regarding the other identity of Blom, many claiming that he is indeed Isildur1 of nosebleed online fame. We can’t say for sure, but PokerStars is set to reveal the true identity of their newest online pro on Saturday at 7:00pm. Are Blom and Isildur1 the same person? We’ll know for sure in just over 48 hours.”

Players, for their part, have not been keeping the secret very quiet during the Super High Roller event at the PCA… or have they? On their Twitter feeds, players have been calling Blom “Isildur1” when they note to their followers who is at their tables. For example, in his Tweet, 2010 Bluff Magazine Player of the Year Sorel Mizzi gave his table’s roll call: “Got Ashman, Negreanu, Timex, Vivek, Isildur1, and Nick Schulman. Fun!”

This hasn’t stopped some players from promoting different theories as to the true identity of Isildur1. Justin Bonomo noted a thread on TwoPlusTwo and Tweeted, “Coincidence that Hellmuth leaves UB just before Stars reveals Isildur1? Get ready to feel your heads explode Blom fanboys!”

Another Tweeter, Chris Choy, took the time to look over the entry list for the PCA Super High Roller event and noted, “Going through PCA $100K High Roller lineup…  Seat 6 – Koen Berendsen is the only name I don’t recognize… Isildur1, is that you buddy?” Berendsen is a player from the Netherlands who has had some success in the European poker community.

Blom did not fare well in the PCA Super High Roller event, busting before the end of Day 1. Germany’s Tobias Reinkemeier leads Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu and Bryn Kenney as Day 2 plays out. Other players still a part of the action include recent WPT champion Antonio Esfandiari, Daniel “jungleman12” Cates, Eugene Katchalov, and Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger.

The Isildur1 drama has played out over more than a year since the arrival of the Swedish high-stakes player in 2009. Taking on such players as Patrik Antonius, Phil Ivey, and Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Isildur1 grew his bankroll in high-stakes play to record levels. As 2010 came to a close, however, the mysterious Swede decided it was time to take an unprecedented step.

Isildur1 unexpectedly signed a sponsorship agreement with PokerStars in December, guaranteeing a steady income, but also potentially prompting an end to the mystery surrounding his identity. It had been previously announced by PokerStars that Isildur1 would make the PCA his first official live event as a part of the Team PokerStars stable, and Saturday’s announcement of his or her identity will certainly draw the attention of the poker community.

Prahlad Friedman Discusses Signing with UB.com

Brand new to Team UB.com is bracelet winner Prahlad Friedman, who joined the site following the departures of Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth. Friedman sat down with Poker News Daily to discuss joining the USA-friendly CEREUS Network site.

Poker News Daily: Tell us why you signed with UB.com following your now-famous Tweet in November saying you’d be “selling out” by joining an online poker site. Did you have a change of heart?

Prahlad Friedman: I had a change of heart. It was all because of friends and family. They all convinced me that I could do greater good by signing and having more exposure and influence. We live in a society where the people who are the most well known have the greatest influence. I felt this could get me out there a little more. There’s also a charity component to my deal.

PND: What can you tell us about the charity portion of your agreement with UB.com?

Prahlad Friedman: There’s a good chunk of money that I’ll be giving to charity every year. I’ll be posting on Facebook and Twitter for any charities people think are awesome and I have a few ideas of my own. There are many options out there.

PND: What sparked your original stance against signing with an online poker site?

Prahlad Friedman: I’m just super liberal. I was raised vegetarian and I meditate. I’ve always liked underground hip-hop. I’ve always been on the outside. Now, I’m trying to mix it up and work from the inside out. I can turn a lot of heads, make people healthier, and help with charity. I don’t view it as selling out.

PND: You were affected by the cheating scandal on UB.com. What does Prahlad Friedman signing with UB.com say about the site moving forward?

Prahlad Friedman: People should know I’m not a donkey. I’m not going to sign if I thought there was anything going on. I obviously feel like the site is different and new now. Anybody who had to do with that scandal is gone.

PND: With Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth now gone from Team UB.com, can you be the main face of an online poker site?

Prahlad Friedman: I’ve always been a leader. I’ve always been outspoken. For quite a few years now, I haven’t been afraid to do interviews and be in front of cameras. I’m comfortable and have always been a point guard.

PND: What were your thoughts when you found out that Duke and Hellmuth were leaving?

Prahlad Friedman: They’re going to make the decision that’s best for them; it didn’t raise any concerns for me. They’ve been there a while and wanted a change of pace or had a change of heart just like I did. People change and the fact that they’re out is hopefully good for them and I know they’ll do well in the future. It also gives me an opportunity to be at the forefront. One of the things that most attracted me to this deal was the creative control I’ll have in commercials, clothing lines, and charitable things.

PND: What details can you share about the interactions you had with UB.com following the cheating scandal? Were you reimbursed?

Prahlad Friedman: It’s one of the greatest experiences I’ve had. I’m sure a lot of people feel differently, but I was pumped to get money back and it was a large sum. They took care of me and it reinforced to me that I was one of the best poker players in the world. Any money I had lost was because I was cheated off of it. Every site has had its problems with weird things happening and you have to improve and move on.

PND: What were your thoughts about Daniel Negreanu calling you out for signing with UB.com?

Prahlad Friedman: At first, people were recommending that I not read TwoPlusTwo and Twitter because if there’s anything negative, it can get to you, but I couldn’t help myself. I read Daniel Negreanu’s comments and I’m not hating on him. We’re friends and fellow vegans, but he feels strongly about UB. I don’t have problems with the things he said. I just feel a lot differently than he does.

PND: Were you surprised at some of Negreanu’s comments?

Prahlad Friedman: I knew from the past that people are going to bring up tough questions and criticize me. People have been criticizing me since I was on the scene. You can’t let those things affect you. People have different ideas. That’s what makes the world interesting.

PND: You broke Steve Nash’s consecutive free throw record on an episode of “Poker2Nite,” which was quite impressive. Tell us about your preparation for that attempt.

Prahlad Friedman: I’ve always been intense about things I do. Playing basketball competitively has been my main goal since I could hold a ball. All I did was shoot 500 or 1,000 shots a day for years and years. I’d sneak my way into gyms as a youth and I was obsessed with basketball.

Usually, when I go out and shoot, I’ll make 40 or 50 in a row, and my best is 118. The world record is 5,200 shots in a row, which would be awesome to break, but could be out of reach. I thought Nash’s record was within reach and broke it on the third try. I’d like to do it again, improve upon it, and make it so people will have a tough time beating it.

PND: We’d wager that many poker players know you best for your World Series of Poker Main Event run-ins with Ted Bort and Jeffrey Lisandro.

Prahlad Friedman: It seems silly that I’m known for those. I can’t blame people because ESPN is one of the biggest outlets and millions of people watch it. In the future, they can hopefully remember me for other things. I don’t like to be remembered for drama, so it is a little funny that these controversies come up. I’m looking to get past them.

PND: Are you focused on winning a second WSOP bracelet?

Prahlad Friedman: I haven’t played enough tournaments recently to have a really good chance. I’d love to win two, though, and with this signing with UB, I think I’ll play more. I’ll put myself in a good position to win another one.

Tobias Reinkemeier Leads PCA Super High Roller Event After Day 1

One day of play is in the books in the $100,000 buy-in Super High Roller Event at the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA). Thirty-eight players put up the six-figure admission fee and, when the smoke had cleared after nine levels, Tobias Reinkemeier held a stack of 896,000 for a slight lead over Team PokerStars Pro front man Daniel Negreanu.

Reinkemeier doubled up late in the day with pocket queens against Bryan Colin’s A-10 to move to 420,000 in chips and eventually bagged up more than twice that total to make a run at the $1.5 million top prize. The $100,000 buy-in event set a new standard for tournaments at the PCA and brought out some of the game’s best, including Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier. “Elky” watched as Negreanu and 2010 Bluff Player of the Year Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi hit top pair on an ace-high board. Grospellier, who was all-in against both, sent his final hand into the muck to depart in 25th place.

Grospellier wasn’t the only star to exit the Super High Roller Event on its opening day. Viktor Blom, the many presumed to be behind the “Isildur1” moniker, was also in the house and called all-in on a board reading 9-A-7-9-3. His opponent, Vivek “Psyduck” Rajkumar, tabled K-9 for trips. Blom mucked and that was all she wrote for the Swede, who lasted eight levels.

For Blom, the start of the day was ominous. Text found on the PokerStars Blog details the opening minutes of his $100,000 buy-in tournament run: “‘Long travels’ is how Blom described it, having just flown from London to New York to Miami to Nassau five hours late and without his baggage. He’s now filling in waiver forms.”

North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Venetian Bounty Shootout champ Ashton Griffin also found the rail on Thursday in the Bahamian poker tournament. Griffin committed his stack pre-flop with Q-10, but ran into Nick Schulman’s A-2. The board ran out A-J-2-K-A and, despite making a straight, Griffin fell to Schulman’s full house on the river.

Jason “JCarver” Somerville’s pocket jacks were no match for Victory Poker pro Antonio Esfandiari’s pocket aces to seal his exit from the $100,000 buy-in tournament. Also without chips was math whiz Bill Chen, whose A-5 found trips on a 5-7-5-6-8 board, but David Benyamine, one of the few Full Tilt Poker pros in the tournament, held Q-9 for a straight.

Departing in particularly brutal fashion was DoylesRoom pro Hoyt Corkins. The “Alabama Cowboy” called all-in with ducks on a board of 2-9-6-5-10 only to see that Bryn Kenney had rivered a set of his own with pocket tens. Among those seated at the same table were Phil Laak and Jason Mercier, the latter of whom told Kenney, “I really didn’t think you had two tens.”

Twenty-three players remain at the end of Day 1 of the three-day tournament, whose final table will be filmed for airing on ESPN2. Here’s how the field stacks up entering Day 2 on Friday:

1. Tobias Reinkemeier – 896,000
2. Daniel Negreanu – 848,000
3. Bryn Kenney – 828,000
4. Nick Schulman – 705,000
5. Daniel “jungleman12” Cates – 622,000
6. Eugene Katchalov – 551,000
7. Vivek “Psyduck” Rajkumar – 483,000
8. Jason Mercier – 459,000
9. Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger – 444,000
10. Caio Pimenta – 409,000
11. Sandor Demjan – 401,000
12. James “Andy McLEOD” Obst – 390,000
13. Antonio Esfandiari – 330,000
14. Andrew “good2cu” Robl – 324,000
15. Humberto Brenes – 318,000
16. Mike “timex” McDonald – 269,000
17. Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi – 249,000
18. Shawn Buchanan – 209,000
19. David Benyamine – 202,000
20. Matt Glantz – 148,000
21. Bryan Colin – 134,000
22. Justin “Boosted J” Smith – 116,000
23. Phil Laak – 99,000

The action will pick back up at Noon ET today and five places will pay out when the tournament wraps up on Saturday. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the 2011 PCA.

Image courtesy PokerStars Blog

Prahlad Friedman Joins Team UB.com

Following last week’s overhaul at Team UB.com that saw Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth depart on the same day, the USA-friendly CEREUS Network site has picked up its newest pro. On Thursday, site officials announced that Prahlad Friedman had joined Team UB.com.

Friedman seemingly hinted at joining an online poker site back in November. The 32 year old California native Tweeted, “I said I would never sign with a poker site. Should I ever reconsider? What y’all think? I would have to get over the fact that I’m ‘selling out.’ I’m the only player in the world that hasn’t wanted a deal that I know of.” UB.com promoted Friedman as “one of the world’s greatest cash game players, online and off, with millions in winnings earned since 1999.”

Friedman’s first major live cash came eight years ago in the Main Event of the Five Diamond World Poker Classic at the Bellagio, where he booked $101,000 for his runner-up finish to Full Tilt Poker’s Erick Lindgren. One year later, he notched his first (and so far only) World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet in a $1,500 Pot Limit Hold’em tournament and banked $109,000 in the process.

In 2005, Friedman played second fiddle to Chris Ferguson in the WSOP Circuit Championship at Harrah’s Rincon to earn another $363,000. One year later, this author remembers being at the Rio in Las Vegas and following Friedman through the WSOP Main Event. There, he turned in a 20th place finish for nearly a half-million dollars and fell just short of the coveted Main Event bracelet.

He’d make amends in August 2009, when Friedman took down the Legends of Poker, a stop on the World Poker Tour (WPT). His victory in the California poker tournament was worth a colossal $1 million and saw Friedman outlast a final table that included November Niner Kevin Schaffel, Todd Terry, Toto Leonidas, and Sam Stein.

Friedman was a victim of the superuser scandal that rocked UB.com and drew the ire of PokerStars pro Daniel Negreanu for signing with the site that had wronged him. “Kid Poker” responded to a variety of Tweets last weekend, among them one sent to fellow poker player Alex Outhred that read, “Like you, I’ve known him for years, which makes it all the more shocking. I’ve defended Prahlad on many occasions. Can’t here.”

Negreanu added to Outhred, “UB will always have to offer more than face value [for a sponsorship] because given a choice that’s close, no one would choose UB. Or shouldn’t… UB has to offer more money obv. He used to say it wasn’t about the money. I don’t believe that anymore… He used to speak out against all corporations, claiming he stood for something. Then, the money was right and his tune changed… I get it happens. I’m disappointed it did happen. I’ve always liked Prahlad and still do despite his decision. Just shocking.”

Nevertheless, Friedman will join UB.com just in time for the sixth UB.com Online Championship, or UBOC, which gets underway on January 16th. The 29-event series will stretch all the way until January 30th, when a $1,050 buy-in Main Event will kick off. The $1 million guaranteed feature tournament will deal No Limit Hold’em and be played as a Monster Stack.

Running alongside the sixth UBOC schedule is a MiniUBOC series, which features the same 29 tournaments, but with buy-ins that are generally one-tenth as large. The MiniUBOC slate ends with a $55 buy-in Monster Stack Championship Event that comes with a $50,000 guaranteed purse.

Following the departures of Hellmuth and Duke, UB.com’s stock of pros now includes Friedman, Joe Sebok, Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin, Brandon Cantu, Tiffany Michelle, and Maria Ho. The site happily accepts players from the United States and joins Absolute Poker on the CEREUS Network.

Play with Prahlad Friedman today only by visiting UB.com.

Daniel Negreanu and Jason Mercier have an interesting sidebet

The two PokerStars pro players, Daniel Negreanu and Jason Mercier have made an interesting sidebet. If one of them gets deep in a tournament then the other one has to pay up.

Negreanu and Mercier have proven to be excellent live players, if not one of the best ones today. Now they need to pay to each other depending how they will be placed in the tournaments during 2011.

Basically the sidebet goes like this: every money position will cost $2,000 to the other player. Final table place costs $5,000, ending up in top 3 will cost $10,000 and a tournament win is worth $25,000.

Negreanu has a similar bet going on with Daniel Alaei and Mercier has one with Frank Kassela.

Source: Pokerista.net, Bluff Europe

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Daniel Negreanu and Jason Mercier have an interesting sidebet

PCA $100,000 Super High Roller Field Includes Daniel Negreanu, Jason Mercier

On Thursday, the first ever $100,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Super High Roller Event will kick off the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. The inaugural running of the tournament has attracted nearly 30 players so far and Saturday’s final table will be filmed for coverage on ESPN2.

In a press release sent out by PokerStars on Thursday, the names of 26 entrants appeared, including a variety of members of Team PokerStars Pro. Among those who will take to the felts in the richest tournament in PokerStars Caribbean Adventure history is Daniel Negreanu, whose Twitter spat about Prahlad Friedman’s rumored signing with UB.com has taken center stage in recent days. Negreanu owns four World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets, the most recent of which came in 2008 in a $2,000 Limit Hold’em tournament.

The hottest player on the tournament circuit right now, Jason Mercier, will also participate in the $100,000 buy-in Super High Roller Event starting tomorrow in the Bahamas. Mercier is firmly entrenched in the #2 spot on the ESPN poker rankings dubbed “The Nuts” and recorded five in the money finishes at this year’s WSOP. Mercier final tabled the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Los Angeles Main Event for $84,000 in November and won the tour’s Mohegan Sun Bounty Shootout for $475,000 earlier in 2010. Mercier is a former European Poker Tour (EPT) champ and WSOP bracelet holder.

The 2010 CardPlayer and Bluff Players of the Year will also head to the Bahamas for the six-figure price tag tournament. Tom Marchese and Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi are both listed among the 26 entrants so far. Marchese is six weeks removed from a win in a $1,000 No Limit Hold’em preliminary event during the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic and claimed CardPlayer’s 2010 Player of the Year honors. Mizzi, who earned the 2010 Bluff Player of the Year title, won two preliminary tournaments during EPT Snowfest in March 2010 for a combined haul of $140,000, just enough to cover tomorrow’s buy-in.

Bryn Kenney, who drove deep in the 2010 WSOP Main Event, will be part of the festivities at the Atlantis Resort and Casino, as will Scott Seiver. Other players who will make up the extremely talented field include Lex Veldhuis, Unabomber Poker front man Phil Laak, former “Big Game” player Bill Perkins, Humberto Brenes, Eugene Katchalov, Dan Shak, Bill Chen, Bryan Colin, Justin “Boosted J” Smith, Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, Andrew “good2cu” Robl, DoylesRoom pro Hoyt Corkins, Victory Poker’s Antonio Esfandiari, Masa Kagawa, Nick Schulman, Matt Glantz, James “Andy McLEOD” Obst, Vivek “Psyduck” Rajkumar, Shawn Buchanan, and Ashton Griffin.

Needless to say, there won’t be any soft spots in the field. The 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure schedule features 48 tournaments that span a 10-day period.

On his way down to Nassau for the tournament series, Negreanu posted on Twitter on Wednesday morning, “That’s random. Three bums sit right behind me on my flight and they look very much like Antonio Esfandiari, Jonathan Duhamel, and Sorel Mizzi.” Before that, Negreanu remarked that he was taking advantage of the in-flight internet offered aboard Delta Airlines: “I love Delta; you are beautiful baby. Wifi on my flight to Atlanta means I can get some VPPs on PokerStars.Headed to PCA, obv, traveling solo.”

On January 15th, the final table of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event will air on ESPN3.com and ESPN2. You can catch the action beginning at 5:00pm ET that day on ESPN3.com on a one-hour delay. Five hours later, ESPN2 will join the telecast in progress. Hole cards will be shown during the broadcast, which will make for a unique experience for viewers unable to make the trip to the Bahamas.

Visit PokerStars for more details on the 2011 Caribbean Adventure.

Richard “nutsinho” Lyndaker taking a break from high stakes

Richard “nutsinho” Lyndaker is well known in the high stakes cash games on PokerStars, dominating the $25/$50 and higher games. He was one of the first to tackle Daniel Negreanu at $100/$200 and is also one of the more entertaining chatters at the table for those railing the games.

Daniel Negreanu and Jason Mercier in tournament prop bet

Both Daniel Negreanu and Jason Mercier have a lot in common – the PokerStars Pros are well known for dominating the live tournament circuit, though Mercier has arguably taken that crown from Negreanu in more recent years. Nevertheless, Negreanu is confident enough to make a high stakes wager with Mercier for the entire year.

Poker World Bahamas-Bound as PCA Begins

The 11-day poker festival that is the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure gets underway at the Atlantis Hotel & Casino with the first of 48 events - A $100,000 buy-in Super High Roller event that will feature poker's elite.

In fact, 26 players have already registered, including stars like Phil Laak, Daniel Negreanu, Jason Mercier, Bertrand Grospellier, Tom Marchese, Sorel Mizzi, Antonio Esfandiari, Vivek Rajkumar and online poker phenom Ashton Griffin.

With 24-hours left to get in on the action, Pokerstars is expecting it to be the largest and richest Super High Roller poker tournament in history.

Of course, the $10,000 Main Event runs Jan. 8-15 this year and will feature a tape-delayed televised final table with hole cards revealed on ESPN and PokerStars.tv, in addition to a unique behind-the-scenes look at the PCA right here on PokerListings.com.

Last year, 19-year-old Floridian Harrison Gimbel outlasted a record-setting 1,529-player field to ship the $2.2 million first-place prize and organizers are expecting an even larger field this time around.

To follow all the action from a perspective never seen before in live tournament reporting, click through to PokerListings' Live PCA coverage beginning Friday, Jan. 8.

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Phil Ivey Finishes 2010 Atop ESPN The Nuts Rankings for December

We might all be putting our new 2011 calendars on the refrigerator, but let’s not put 2010 in our rearview mirror just yet.  ESPN.com’s “The Nuts” poker player rankings for December 2010 were released on New Year’s Eve and showed that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Before we get to the rankings, let’s quickly explain ESPN’s methodology.  Unlike rankings by some poker sites, there is no mathematical formula used in “The Nuts.”  Rather, it is a simple poll by a panel of ten members of the poker media, including our very own Dan Cypra.  The panel attempts to rank the top ten poker players of the moment based on both tournament and cash game results, live and online.  It is an inexact science, of course, but that is part of what makes it fun.

The voting panel includes ESPN.com’s poker crew of Andrew Feldman, Gary Wise, and Bernard Lee (who is also a Guest Columnist for Poker News Daily), Bluff Magazine Editor-in-Chief Lance Bradley and Senior Writer Jessica Welman, ESPNDeportes.com Poker Editor Nahuel Ponce, PokerRoad’s Court Harrington, PokerNews Editor-in-Chief Matthew Parvis and Tournament Reporter Don Peters, and Cypra.

Nine of the top ten players remained the same in December, although some of the order has changed.  Phil Ivey remained in the top spot, a position that should really be renamed “Ivey’s Room.”  He received eight first place votes from the ten-member panel.  Jason Mercier received the other two first place votes, one coming from Cypra, cementing himself in the second position once again.

The two biggest jumps were by Tom Marchese and Vanessa Selbst, both of whom rose three spots.  Marchese climbed from #6 to #3, while Selbst was elevated to the fifth spot from eighth.  Marchese had an incredible 2010, his first year on the live tournament circuit.  In live tournaments alone, he won over $2 million.

Marchese exploded onto the scene with a final table at the Borgata in January and followed that up with a win on the North American Poker Tour (NAPT) in February.  He had three other big-time cashes last year, including final tables in the High Roller Event at the European Poker Tour (EPT) Grand Final, the $10,000 Pot Limit Hold’em Championship at the World Series of Poker (WSOP), and the championship event of the World Poker Tour‘s (WPT) World Poker Finals, all of which contributed to winning CardPlayer’s 2010 Player of the Year award.

Selbst, who won her first and only WSOP bracelet in 2008, had two huge wins in 2010.  The first was in the Main Event of the NAPT Mohegan Sun in April for $750,000, while the second came in September in the Main Event of the Partouche Poker Tour in Cannes, France, where she won over $1.8 million.

The one new member of “The Nuts” was last month’s “Bubble Boy,” Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi.  The 2010 Bluff Magazine Player of Year placed ninth at the WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic en route to a $1.9 million year in live tournaments.  With Mizzi’s rise into the top ten, Alexander Kostritsyn dropped out.

As an example of how fluid things can be in the poker world, half of the top ten at the end of 2010 was different than at the beginning of the year.  Daniel Negreanu took the biggest tumble out of the rankings, as he occupied the second spot in January.  The other four poker players – Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, Daniel Alaei, Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko, and Barry Greenstein – were ranked seven through ten.  Patrik Antonius came close to falling out of the rankings, finishing the year at #10 after starting out at #3.

The entire list of the ESPN’s “The Nuts” is as follows:

1. Phil Ivey
2. Jason Mercier
3. Tom Marchese
4. Tom Dwan
5. Vanessa Selbst
6. John Juanda
7. Michael Mizrachi
8. Eric Baldwin
9. Sorel Mizzi
10. Patrik Antonius

“The Nuts” is published at the end of every month in the poker section of ESPN.com.

2010 Poker Memories by Linda Johnson

Time is passing too quickly. We just said goodbye to 2010, but memories of my favorite (and not so favorite) poker moments from the year are still vivid in my mind. I’d like to share a few of my personal 2010 poker memories with you.

Proudest 2010 Poker Memory

Without a doubt, being nominated for the Poker Hall of Fame is the answer to this category. What a thrill it was to learn that I had been nominated along with such a prestigious group as Erik Seidel, Dan Harrington, Tom McEvoy, Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, Scotty Nguyen, Daniel Negreanu, Jennifer Harman, and Barry Greenstein. Congratulations to the 2010 inductees Erik Seidel and Dan Harrington.

Favorite Poker News Story

I loved the coverage given to the Mizrachi family during the WSOP. It seemed like every poker magazine had Michael Mizrachi on the cover. Even mainstream Las Vegas entertainment magazines featured Michael and his family.

Favorite Poker Vacation

The 12-night Card Player Cruises poker trip to the Mediterranean wins in this category. The poker room was a lot of fun as usual, but the highlight was seeing all of the magnificent European ports. We stopped at Cannes/Monte Carlo, Pisa, Rome, Naples, Corfu, Dubrovnik, and Barcelona and had great weather in each.

Favorite Charity Event

Of all of the charity events I was fortunate to participate in during 2010, the fundraiser for MickeysCamp.org was my favorite. Mickey’s Camp was started by Mickey Maurer and is held in Indianapolis, Indiana every August. There is a three-day camp for men and a three-day camp for women. The participants sleep in the same cabins the kids stay at during summer and participate in a variety of activities including fishing, camping, wine tasting, cooking, self-defense, magic, and swimming.

I had the honor of teaching the poker sessions and running the poker tournaments for both camps. Mickey’s Camp has raised more than $1 million dollars for charity since its inception 10 years ago. Honorable mention in this category goes to fundraising events for Poker Gives and Child Rescue.

Most Disappointing Poker News

I am still angry and annoyed that we haven’t been able to overturn the UIGEA, although I think we are getting close. The news that the Washington State courts upheld the ruling making online poker illegal is just plain gross! After the ruling, Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars shut down service to Washington residents, a move that should have been met with much more fury and protest from the state’s players.

Favorite Whirlwind Trip

My quick trip to Golden, Colorado for a Poker Players Alliance event qualifies in this category. In less than 24 hours, I flew in and out of Denver and participated in a poker tournament to help Senator Michael Bennett’s campaign. Bennett was elected by a very small margin and I believe he was the victor due to the support of Colorado poker players.

Most Prestigious Poker Event

The winner in this category was easily the Women in Poker Hall of Fame banquet held at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas. The Grand Ballroom, decorated by a group of volunteers headed by Lupe Soto and her Board of Directors, took on the look of an elegant bistro/nightclub. Jan Fisher did a great job as the emcee and Jeffrey Pollack and Nolan Dalla delivered passionate speeches. After a delicious dinner, awards were presented, followed by a dance. Congratulations to the 2010 inductees Jennifer Harman, Kathy Liebert, and Billie Brown.

Favorite New Poker Procedure

I love the new rule established at the Commerce Casino that penalizes players who are gone too long from the table. Players who miss several rounds in $20-$40 and higher Hold’em games have $5 taken from their stacks and put into the pot.  Note that this rule was just about to go into effect the last time I played there and so may have been refined since.

Favorite New Poker Social Media Source

I admit it… I am a Twitter addict! I read it as often as I can and follow many of the top poker celebrities’ Tweets. I hate that it takes up so much of my time and makes me feel like a voyeur, but I can’t seem to give it up. Perhaps they will start a Twitters Anonymous in 2011 and I will be a charter member.

Favorite Tournament Series

Few would argue that the World Series of Poker wins in this category. The series expanded into even more square footage at the Rio and saw an increase in total participants. I had three deep runs (16th, 29th, and 31st) out of the five tournaments I entered, yet am not sporting a new bracelet. Congratulations to all of the bracelet winners, but especially to Gavin Smith, who won his first bracelet after many close efforts.

The runner-up award in this category goes to Wild Horse Casino in Pendleton, Oregon. Roland Waters directs a great tournament series with huge player fields. Entrants get rewarded with $75,000 in added money and free dinner buffets every night.

Other favorite poker memories from 2010 include delivering the “Shuffle Up and Deal” opening speech for the WSOP Ladies Event, teaching WPT Boot Camp at many locations around the country, playing in the WPT Celebrity Invitational at the Commerce, and hosting tournaments at the Eureka Open in Mesquite, Nevada, the Rainbow Spectrum of Poker at the Rainbow Hotel in Wendover, Nevada, and the Wild Horse Resort Casino Poker Roundup in Pendleton, Oregon.

I am extremely blessed to be part of this wonderful poker world and am grateful for the opportunities it has provided me. In 2010, I met many wonderful people who share my passion for poker and was thrilled to have so many chances to give back to our community.

Our country is facing tough economic times ahead. I hope 2011 is a prosperous and happy year for Poker News Daily readers.  In closing, I am happy to offer our readers a discount on any 2011 Card Player Cruises trip. Mention Poker News Daily when you book your cabin by January 15th and you will get a $50 per person discount. For more information, go to CardPlayerCruises.com.

Editor’s Note: Linda Johnson is available for poker functions, seminars, corporate events, and charity fundraisers. You can contact her through her website at CardPlayerCruises.com.

Daniel Negreanu Speaks Out on Rumored Prahlad Friedman UB.com Signing

Late last week, poker pros Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth parted ways with UB.com, a USA-friendly site on the CEREUS Network. Word quickly spread that Prahlad Friedman would be signing with UB.com as a replacement in the coming days, sparked in part by his name appearing on Duke’s old biography page.

Over the weekend, PokerStars pro Daniel Negreanu bantered on Twitter about Friedman’s rumored signing. Negreanu congratulated Hellmuth for leaving UB.com last week and then fired off a series of Tweets blasting Friedman’s decision. His first thoughts were, “So disappointed in @prahladfriedman signing with the devil who stole millions from him. He was so ‘anti-sellout’ and then he did the unthinkable… They must have paid him a lot to join the dark side and endorse the exact same people who ruined him. So sad and so mind-boggling… The current owners of AP/UB are spending Prahlad’s money. They must be mocking him at this point. Cheat the dude and watch him endorse us!”

Among those responding to Negreanu was bracelet winner Jon Friedberg, who inquired, “Is that official? I thought just speculation. Smart biz move for @UB if it’s true, despite any opinions about him or them… And again if true, then they obv convinced him that they’re not shady anymore. He’s a very bright guy. Anxious to see if true.” Negreanu retorted, “Sure, totally cheat and destroy a guy and then offer him a deal. That company is no less shady today and they cannot prove otherwise?” “Kid Poker” added, “It’s true and you are all being lied to if you think the infrastructure of the company has been miraculously cleaned up.”

In other responses to inbound Tweets, Negreanu replied, “I also like Prahlad a lot, just disappointed he would do something this stupid after years of saying he’d never sign with a site.” Negreanu countered other nay-sayers by continuing to rip the Blanca Games site: “Imagine a world where crooks weren’t held accountable and continue to rob people with no recourse? The world should know… I’m all about 2nd chances in the right circumstances; this isn’t one. They are no more transparent today than in the past.”

Negreanu’s series of Tweets sparked the ire of two-time bracelet winner Matt Keikoan, who fired, “I can see people like @RealKidPoker, sitting behind his $4 mil a year PokerStars contract, w/ his nose up in the air, judging other people.” Negreanu countered, “I spoke out against UB when I was broke, always will. Prahlad is the one who said he’d never sign with a site and then chose UB… I was dead broke and turned down a deal with them. I don’t hate Prahlad, I’m disappointed he made what I think is a bad move.”

Keikoan asserted on Sunday, “And what, PokerStars is some great moral company, out for the good of all mankind? Gimme a break.”

One of Negreanu’s followers asked the PokerStars front man what would happen if his home online poker site experienced a scandal similar to the one that unfolded on UB.com. Negreanu claimed he’d be exiting stage right: “If anything like that were to happen (it won’t) my morals would have me resign immediately.” PokerStars recently found itself in hot water over a scandal involving Chinese players in its Double or Nothing games.

A possible signing by Friedman would signal a changing of the guard of sorts at UB.com, whose roster of sponsored pros would become remarkably younger. It currently includes players like Maria Ho, Tiffany Michelle, and Joe Sebok.

Poker Players Ring in the New Year

Over the past few days, poker’s most prolific Tweeters have been actively preparing for the New Year. Whether they were traveling or reflecting on the year that passed, it provided a great deal of entertainment.

The New Year’s celebrations got off to a start as early as Wednesday, with model and poker player Christina Lindley Tweeting, “Beginning an absurdly fun Vegas week w some troublemakers right… now.” As New Year’s Eve came, Lindley sent out a Twitpic of a shiny silver mini and Tweeted, “Picking up the NYE dress from the tailor.” Also journeying to Las Vegas was PokerStars “Big Game” hostess Amanda Leatherman, who fired off, “Goodbye North Carolina! It’s time to go to Vegas and forget about all the things I did here.”

Other poker players had not quite decided what to do to celebrate the New Year. DoylesRoom Brunson 10 member Amit Makhija admitted to his followers, “Last minute before New Year’s and I’ve been slacking on making plans. Anyone less lazy than me have New Year’s plans that Tara & I can crash?” For their part, both Antonio Esfandiari (“Gearing up for my annual NY Eve party. It’s going to b a madhouse.”) and Alec Torelli (“Off to Atlanta for New Year’s.”) seemed a little better prepared to usher in 2011.

Daniel Negreanu, Jennifer Harman, and Marco Traniello were celebrating New Year’s with each other. After Traniello Tweeted at the others, “r u guys ready to party ?,” Negreanu responded, “the house is full and we all got spray tans, so yeah, we are ready.” Fresh off of his departure from UB.com, Phil Hellmuth’s plans for New Year’s Eve included, “sit(ting) in Jerry Buss’ box for Lakers game, then we hit Drai’s!”

The last few days of 2010 also led to some experimentation by “High Stakes Poker” hostess and PartyPoker pro Kara Scott. She Tweeted, “Bleurgh. Spent much of tonight trying to perfect a rum/coconut drink for tomorrow and am now completely sick of it. Margaritas for everyone!” Tiffany Michelle will be celebrating New Year’s Eve in Hawaii, but took time to chirp, “Counting my blessings today. Some people are stuck in snow storms, rain, & freezing weather while I’m surfing in the warm waters of Hawaii.”

The New Year brings those pesky resolutions along with it and poker players were no different in putting their thoughts for 2011 on Twitter. “This year I wish @philnolimits places 2nd to me in WSOP Main Event,” Rafe Furst jabbed at his buddy Phil Gordon. Allen Bari took the New Year as a chance to change his table demeanor, Tweeting on Friday, “This time tomorrow I will be a really nice and respectful guy at the poker table, I will smile and not berate at the table.” This prompted World Poker Tour Tour Director Matt Savage to fire back, “@allenbari it is January 1st not April 1st. You know that right?”

Adam “Roothlus” Levy vowed through Twitter, “My 2011 resolution is to get more Main Event coverage by doing far worse.” Meanwhile, Lex “RaSZi” Veldhuis was not feeling well as the New Year approached, Tweeting, “Is this really the day to get sick? Woke up sneezing and I feel cold and weak. Hope it’s gonna be better during the day.”

Some poker players were also glad to see the previous year fade to the past. “Oh, 2010, you crafty little bitch,” UB.com’s Joe Sebok Tweeted. “You’re good, I’ll give you that. Quite good. Only 14 more hours of you though and then poof, gone.” Full Tilt’s Justin “Boosted J” Smith also took time to look at the year gone by: “I want everyone to think about all the great things that happened to them in 2010… even if it was a rough year… small laughs to big things.”

Perhaps the venerable Kevin “Kevmath” Mathers summed up everyone’s thoughts for the New Year: “This year had its share of good and bad times. Hoping 2011 will have more of those good times for myself and everyone else!”

With 2011 off to a roaring start, Poker News Daily would like to take the time to wish all of our readers a happy and prosperous New Year.

Phil Hellmuth, Annie Duke UB.com Departures Captivate Twitterverse

The Twitterverse has been quite active since yesterday’s announcement that the two most prominent faces of the site, Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke, would be leaving UB.com. Congratulations, speculation, and prognostication have been at the forefront of many of the Tweets.

It all began late Thursday afternoon when Duke Tweeted, “Starting a new chapter in my life. Decided to leave UB, but the future’s exciting for me and the place I’ve called home for more than a decade.” The amicable departure left some of her former Team UB.com pros thanking Duke for her assistance during their time with her on the squad.

One of the first to hit Twitter with his kudos was now former Team UB.com stable mate “Hollywood” Dave Stann, who Tweeted, “Thanks @AnnieDuke for all you’ve done for my growth as a poker player… @UB won’t be the same without you!” B.J. Nemeth continued up the adoration by Tweeting, “Not sure if congratulations is the right word or not, but good luck and best wishes for whatever you do next.” Victory Poker CEO Dan Fleyshman was one of the first to weigh in on Duke’s future when he Tweeted, “I’m sure @howardhlederer would be happy to have @annieduke join his friends at Tilt now that his sister left UB!”

A couple of hours after Duke’s announcement, it was confirmed that Hellmuth was also departing. Hellmuth’s agent, Brian Balsbaugh from Poker Royalty, Tweeted late Thursday afternoon, “My client @Phil_Hellmuth and UB part ways – exciting time for us.” Hellmuth confirmed Balsbaugh’s Tweet, chirping, “On a flight to L.A. baby! Dinner tonight w Corey and Lisa Pavin, my parents, and my kids at Boa on Sunset (yummy!)… Big news in one hour!”

After his plane landed and the family was settled in, Hellmuth came out to confirm what everyone had speculated throughout the past couple of months. “Making a big move… leaving UB,” the 11-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Tweeted on Thursday evening. “Truly lots of great memories, but it’s time to move on… Mutual decision… Looking forward to a bright future!”

After Hellmuth’s announcement, another wave of congratulations poured in from friends and colleagues. Scott Ian, who earned a spot on the Team UB.com roster as a result of poker coaching from Duke and Hellmuth, Tweeted, “@AnnieDuke & @phil_hellmuth: my mentors, my coaches, my friends, & are responsible for my growth/success in the poker world. Thank you both.”

Daniel Negreanu passed out his congratulations to Hellmuth, Tweeting, “Congrats to @phil_hellmuth for leaving UB. A good dude and he deserves better. He may be a bit wild at the table, but he is a stand up guy.”

Now the dean of Team UB.com, Joe Sebok sent out his congratulations on Twitter and on his blog at PokerRoad. “Wishing both @annieduke and @phil_hellmuth the best of luck with everything in the future. Pleasure working with both.”

On his blog at PokerRoad, Sebok wrote, “2010 sees us parting ways with two icons of the poker world, Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke. These two legends in our industry have, quite literally, helped to build UB into what it is today. Phil and Annie have been the face of the company for years now and we thank them for their unbelievable contributions and bid them the utmost in success moving forward.” He cryptically stated towards the end of the blog, “We’ll be announcing our newest Team UB member next week and I am crazily pumped about it.”

Speculation about the new addition to the Team UB roster seems to have been solved by poker pro Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler. Early Friday morning, Kessler Tweeted, “Apparently Prahlad Friedman is the new UB pro. He is on Annie Duke’s former page.” The link provided by Kessler with the Tweet now leads to the Team UB main page, but Friedman was speculating about a change approximately a month ago when he Tweeted, “I said I would never sign with a poker site. Should I ever reconsider? What y’all think? I would have to get over the fact that I’m ‘selling out.’ I’m the only poker player in the world that hasn’t wanted a deal that I know of.”

The recent departures of Hellmuth and Duke have spiced up what is normally a dull period in the poker community. Perhaps Nemeth said it best when he Tweeted, “Let’s all take a moment to laugh at every list of ‘Top 10 Poker Stories of 2010’ written before today!”

Isildur1 to Battle Tony G in Second PokerStars SuperStar Showdown

At 4:00pm ET on Sunday, January 2nd, new PokerStars pro Isildur1 will face off against his rumored former backer Tony G in the second running of the SuperStar Showdown. The stakes will be at least $50/$100 No Limit Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha and text found on the PokerStars Blog succinctly sums up what we can expect: “Well, this should be good.” Both Tony G and Isildur1 are expected to buy in for $150,000.

Tony G is a sponsored pro of PartyPoker and, earlier this year, tried to bring the mystery Swedish player to the Big Game IV. Isildur1 agreed, but then ultimately pulled out of the appearance, leaving Tony G to lament in a PartyPoker blog entry, “To say I am disappointed is an understatement. I have spent so much time talking to him and reassuring him recently, but he’s just not going to come.” Tony G had offered to lend Isildur1 his Kermit the Frog outfit to preserve the Swede’s anonymity.

Posters on TwoPlusTwo were largely looking forward to the master versus apprentice showdown on Sunday. One member of the online poker community exclaimed, “OMG this is going to be freaking awesome. Isildur1 will pump up the variance and Tony will never fold, especially at these stakes. Can’t wait!” Another poster remarked, “I seriously doubt [Tony G] can keep up with the pace at two tables, let alone four. He doesn’t care about money at $25/$50 anyways. I will be very surprised if Isildur1 doesn’t win this.”

Other posters, however, were not content with the $50/$100 stakes set forth in the SuperStar Challenge, which sees players battling for 2,500 hands. One TwoPlusTwo member explained, “It’s kind of awesome that Tony G is facing off against Isildur1, but why can’t they play real high stakes?”

Weighing in on the upcoming SuperStar Showdown was PokerStars front man Daniel Negreanu, who noted that he won’t be facing off against Isildur1 anytime soon: “I’m very excited to see this match; should be entertaining either way. I don’t plan on challenging Isildur1 because I’m just not good enough, especially four-tabling, but I do want to practice these matches at small stakes, 2,500 hands at maybe $5-$10, and see if I can get used to it. If that goes well, I may try this challenge next year, we’ll see. I’d be comfortable doing a challenge like this in Eight Game if there were people interested, $400-$800.” Negreanu is a four-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner.

Last week, Isildur1 squared off against Isaac Haxton in the inaugural SuperStar Showdown. In the end, Haxton booked $41,000 in profit over 2,500 hands and was declared the winner. The rail featured a hodgepodge of poker talent, including Kevin “ImaLucSac” MacPhee and Chad “lilholdem954? Batista, and resulted in a 90-page thread on TwoPlusTwo.

According to PokerStars, the loss to Haxton resulted in Isildur1’s PokerStars bankroll plummeting to just $10,000. However, he has since parlayed that sum into over $300,000. Many believe the identity of Isildur1 to be Viktor Blom; however, Blom has not issued confirmation that he is the man behind the curtain. Blom took 16th in the 2010 WSOP Europe Main Event for £33,000.

The SuperStar Showdown may travel to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in January for a live installment, according to the PokerStars Blog. Interested challengers can fire off an e-mail to showdown@pokerstars.com to toss their hats into the ring for a shot at Isildur1 and eternal poker glory.

Top Poker News Story of 2010

We’re nearing the end of the 2010 calendar year and, as such, we’d like to take a moment to reflect on the past 365 days. There were plenty of headlines in 2010, but which one stole the show for our esteemed panel of writers? Poker News Daily asked our staff which poker headline of 2010 stood out.

Dan Cypra: Splintering of Online Poker

2010 saw the continued splintering of the online poker market worldwide. France and Italy now have their very own online poker fiefdoms, while legislation in New Jersey to create the very first intrastate internet gambling framework in the United States is gaining steam. In fact, the measure will be one of the first topics that the New Jersey Assembly tackles in the New Year.

Whether the division of the online poker market is detrimental to the player experience remains to be seen. Many of the FR and IT sites tracked by PokerScout.com hold strong in the top 20 worldwide in terms of cash game volume, but players cannot compete as part of the worldwide pool. Expect this trend to continue in 2011 and beyond, especially in the United States, where a state-by-state legalization of internet gambling appears to be in the cards.

Annie Duke: Year of the Woman

I think the biggest news story of 2010 is the breakout of women in poker, and that is not just because I am one of them. Vanessa Selbst winning two majors was a huge step forward for women in poker and, of course, an incredible accomplishment for her. Leading into that, Liv Boeree’s stellar performance in San Remo was a breakout for her and for women in poker. I guess my win has to get a mention here, too. Women have had a hard time getting true traction in this game and 2010 put an exclamation point on the quality of the women who play.

Linda Johnson: Washington Online Poker Law Upheld

I think the biggest poker news story involved the Washington State courts upholding the 2006 state law saying that playing online poker is a Class C felony, a crime on the same level as child molestation. This prompted Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars to pull out of that market. What a travesty it is for people in that state, many of whom will have to relocate. I think it is also very hypocritical of the government; after all, Washington State residents still can buy lottery tickets online.

Lee Jones: Year of the Near Miss

2010 will be remembered as the “Year of the Near Miss”. We will probably never know how close we got to overt legalization of online poker in the United States towards the end of 2010. Harry Reid tried every possible maneuver to get his bill passed that would have legalized and regulated online poker in the USA. Had it not been for Jon Kyl, the bill almost certainly would have passed and been signed by President Obama.

Despite poker pros’ concerns about the 15-month blackout prior to actual regulated play, I believe that legalization would have (and will eventually) produce a second renaissance of poker that will completely overshadow 2003, the year of Chris Moneymaker and the WPT. It will only be in the light of that second renaissance that we realize how unfortunate the “Near Miss” of 2010 was.

John “JimmyLegs” Wray: Harry Reid Online Poker Bill

Certainly the biggest almost-story was the Harry Reid online poker bill. But it looks like regulated online poker in the States will have to wait. Maybe it’ll be the biggest news story of 2011? Fingers crossed!

Chris “Fox” Wallace: Full Tilt Rush Poker Mobile

I think we will eventually realize that Rush Poker Mobile is the biggest poker news story of 2010. It might not be the biggest story right now, but it will probably bring about some significant legal changes. Seeing people playing poker on the bus, in the halls at work, at the bar, or anywhere that people congregate – and seeing all of those people playing online poker for real money on their phones – will change public perception.

What direction the public perception goes and how the legal aspects work out will have a huge effect on the future of our freedom to play our favorite game. I think Michael Mizrachi‘s trip to the WSOP final table was talked about a lot more at the tables, but Rush Poker Mobile will have a bigger splash in the long-run.

Brett Collson: WSOP Ladies Event

When I first saw Shaun Deeb seated wearing lipstick, makeup, and a cowboy hat at the WSOP Ladies Event, I knew the poker world was about to erupt. Deeb and more than a dozen male players crashed what was supposed to be an enjoyable tournament for female poker players. Instead, it turned into a media circus.

Some of the men claimed they were taking a “gender equality” stance by playing in the $1,000 event; others had lost prop bets. Regardless, all of the women were upset by it, as evident by the standing ovation that occurred each time a male player was eliminated. The unfortunate episode also fueled one of the biggest feuds of the year between Annie Duke and Daniel Negreanu, which is another of the most memorable stories of 2010.

Bernard Lee: Michael Mizrachi

For me, it would be Michael Mizrachi. At the beginning of 2010, not many people put Michael Mizrachi in the forefront of poker, but as he arrived at the WSOP, he definitely wanted to make his mark. Mizrachi came out of the gates winning the $50,000 Player’s Championship. In addition to that, he made two other final tables and, of course, who could forget him almost winning the improbable double-double of the $10,000 Main Event as well? Michael Mizrachi had a phenomenal year and has put himself back in the forefront of the world of poker.

Sean Gibson: Michael Mizrachi

For me, the biggest news story of 2010 was the resurrection of Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi’s poker career. Count me in as one of the guys who wrote him off for good, especially when all of the financial trouble started cropping up. He proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he’s one of the world’s best players; his run to the November Nine was every bit as magical as Phil Ivey‘s in 2009. Mizrachi is a player we can respect for his past accomplishments and track as one of the big names in the poker industry.

Earl Burton: Harry Reid Online Poker Bill and Jonathan Duhamel

As far as the biggest stories of the year in poker, I am torn between two. The four-year-long battle to overturn the UIGEA, which heated up even more over the past 12 months, seemed to get the hopes up of many of us in the poker community. I was always pessimistic about the passage of any legislation that would allow Americans to play poker online and, in the end, my pessimism proved to be correct.

The second story is Jonathan Duhamel’s victory in the WSOP Main Event. He became the first ever Canadian World Champion, capturing the attention of his country and the world. He was even nominated for Canadian Athlete of the Year alongside such big names as Sidney Crosby and Joey Votto. When you think of players from Canada who came before Duhamel, such as Daniel Negreanu and Gavin Smith, for him to become the first Canadian champion of the Main Event was a truly significant feat.

Top Poker News Story of 2010

We’re nearing the end of the 2010 calendar year and, as such, we’d like to take a moment to reflect on the past 365 days. There were plenty of headlines in 2010, but which one stole the show for our esteemed panel of writers? Poker News Daily asked our staff which poker headline of 2010 stood out.

Dan Cypra: Splintering of Online Poker

2010 saw the continued splintering of the online poker market worldwide. France and Italy now have their very own online poker fiefdoms, while legislation in New Jersey to create the very first intrastate internet gambling framework in the United States is gaining steam. In fact, the measure will be one of the first topics that the New Jersey Assembly tackles in the New Year.

Whether the division of the online poker market is detrimental to the player experience remains to be seen. Many of the FR and IT sites tracked by PokerScout.com hold strong in the top 20 worldwide in terms of cash game volume, but players cannot compete as part of the worldwide pool. Expect this trend to continue in 2011 and beyond, especially in the United States, where a state-by-state legalization of internet gambling appears to be in the cards.

Annie Duke: Year of the Woman

I think the biggest news story of 2010 is the breakout of women in poker, and that is not just because I am one of them. Vanessa Selbst winning two majors was a huge step forward for women in poker and, of course, an incredible accomplishment for her. Leading into that, Liv Boeree’s stellar performance in San Remo was a breakout for her and for women in poker. I guess my win has to get a mention here, too. Women have had a hard time getting true traction in this game and 2010 put an exclamation point on the quality of the women who play.

Linda Johnson: Washington Online Poker Law Upheld

I think the biggest poker news story involved the Washington State courts upholding the 2006 state law saying that playing online poker is a Class C felony, a crime on the same level as child molestation. This prompted Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars to pull out of that market. What a travesty it is for people in that state, many of whom will have to relocate. I think it is also very hypocritical of the government; after all, Washington State residents still can buy lottery tickets online.

Lee Jones: Year of the Near Miss

2010 will be remembered as the “Year of the Near Miss”. We will probably never know how close we got to overt legalization of online poker in the United States towards the end of 2010. Harry Reid tried every possible maneuver to get his bill passed that would have legalized and regulated online poker in the USA. Had it not been for Jon Kyl, the bill almost certainly would have passed and been signed by President Obama.

Despite poker pros’ concerns about the 15-month blackout prior to actual regulated play, I believe that legalization would have (and will eventually) produce a second renaissance of poker that will completely overshadow 2003, the year of Chris Moneymaker and the WPT. It will only be in the light of that second renaissance that we realize how unfortunate the “Near Miss” of 2010 was.

John “JimmyLegs” Wray: Harry Reid Online Poker Bill

Certainly the biggest almost-story was the Harry Reid online poker bill. But it looks like regulated online poker in the States will have to wait. Maybe it’ll be the biggest news story of 2011? Fingers crossed!

Chris “Fox” Wallace: Full Tilt Rush Poker Mobile

I think we will eventually realize that Rush Poker Mobile is the biggest poker news story of 2010. It might not be the biggest story right now, but it will probably bring about some significant legal changes. Seeing people playing poker on the bus, in the halls at work, at the bar, or anywhere that people congregate – and seeing all of those people playing online poker for real money on their phones – will change public perception.

What direction the public perception goes and how the legal aspects work out will have a huge effect on the future of our freedom to play our favorite game. I think Michael Mizrachi‘s trip to the WSOP final table was talked about a lot more at the tables, but Rush Poker Mobile will have a bigger splash in the long-run.

Brett Collson: WSOP Ladies Event

When I first saw Shaun Deeb seated wearing lipstick, makeup, and a cowboy hat at the WSOP Ladies Event, I knew the poker world was about to erupt. Deeb and more than a dozen male players crashed what was supposed to be an enjoyable tournament for female poker players. Instead, it turned into a media circus.

Some of the men claimed they were taking a “gender equality” stance by playing in the $1,000 event; others had lost prop bets. Regardless, all of the women were upset by it, as evident by the standing ovation that occurred each time a male player was eliminated. The unfortunate episode also fueled one of the biggest feuds of the year between Annie Duke and Daniel Negreanu, which is another of the most memorable stories of 2010.

Bernard Lee: Michael Mizrachi

For me, it would be Michael Mizrachi. At the beginning of 2010, not many people put Michael Mizrachi in the forefront of poker, but as he arrived at the WSOP, he definitely wanted to make his mark. Mizrachi came out of the gates winning the $50,000 Player’s Championship. In addition to that, he made two other final tables and, of course, who could forget him almost winning the improbable double-double of the $10,000 Main Event as well? Michael Mizrachi had a phenomenal year and has put himself back in the forefront of the world of poker.

Sean Gibson: Michael Mizrachi

For me, the biggest news story of 2010 was the resurrection of Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi’s poker career. Count me in as one of the guys who wrote him off for good, especially when all of the financial trouble started cropping up. He proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he’s one of the world’s best players; his run to the November Nine was every bit as magical as Phil Ivey‘s in 2009. Mizrachi is a player we can respect for his past accomplishments and track as one of the big names in the poker industry.

Earl Burton: Harry Reid Online Poker Bill and Jonathan Duhamel

As far as the biggest stories of the year in poker, I am torn between two. The four-year-long battle to overturn the UIGEA, which heated up even more over the past 12 months, seemed to get the hopes up of many of us in the poker community. I was always pessimistic about the passage of any legislation that would allow Americans to play poker online and, in the end, my pessimism proved to be correct.

The second story is Jonathan Duhamel’s victory in the WSOP Main Event. He became the first ever Canadian World Champion, capturing the attention of his country and the world. He was even nominated for Canadian Athlete of the Year alongside such big names as Sidney Crosby and Joey Votto. When you think of players from Canada who came before Duhamel, such as Daniel Negreanu and Gavin Smith, for him to become the first Canadian champion of the Main Event was a truly significant feat.

Top Poker News Story of 2010

We’re nearing the end of the 2010 calendar year and, as such, we’d like to take a moment to reflect on the past 365 days. There were plenty of headlines in 2010, but which one stole the show for our esteemed panel of writers? Poker News Daily asked our staff which poker headline of 2010 stood out.

Dan Cypra: Splintering of Online Poker

2010 saw the continued splintering of the online poker market worldwide. France and Italy now have their very own online poker fiefdoms, while legislation in New Jersey to create the very first intrastate internet gambling framework in the United States is gaining steam. In fact, the measure will be one of the first topics that the New Jersey Assembly tackles in the New Year.

Whether the division of the online poker market is detrimental to the player experience remains to be seen. Many of the FR and IT sites tracked by PokerScout.com hold strong in the top 20 worldwide in terms of cash game volume, but players cannot compete as part of the worldwide pool. Expect this trend to continue in 2011 and beyond, especially in the United States, where a state-by-state legalization of internet gambling appears to be in the cards.

Annie Duke: Year of the Woman

I think the biggest news story of 2010 is the breakout of women in poker, and that is not just because I am one of them. Vanessa Selbst winning two majors was a huge step forward for women in poker and, of course, an incredible accomplishment for her. Leading into that, Liv Boeree’s stellar performance in San Remo was a breakout for her and for women in poker. I guess my win has to get a mention here, too. Women have had a hard time getting true traction in this game and 2010 put an exclamation point on the quality of the women who play.

Linda Johnson: Washington Online Poker Law Upheld

I think the biggest poker news story involved the Washington State courts upholding the 2006 state law saying that playing online poker is a Class C felony, a crime on the same level as child molestation. This prompted Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars to pull out of that market. What a travesty it is for people in that state, many of whom will have to relocate. I think it is also very hypocritical of the government; after all, Washington State residents still can buy lottery tickets online.

Lee Jones: Year of the Near Miss

2010 will be remembered as the “Year of the Near Miss”. We will probably never know how close we got to overt legalization of online poker in the United States towards the end of 2010. Harry Reid tried every possible maneuver to get his bill passed that would have legalized and regulated online poker in the USA. Had it not been for Jon Kyl, the bill almost certainly would have passed and been signed by President Obama.

Despite poker pros’ concerns about the 15-month blackout prior to actual regulated play, I believe that legalization would have (and will eventually) produce a second renaissance of poker that will completely overshadow 2003, the year of Chris Moneymaker and the WPT. It will only be in the light of that second renaissance that we realize how unfortunate the “Near Miss” of 2010 was.

John “JimmyLegs” Wray: Harry Reid Online Poker Bill

Certainly the biggest almost-story was the Harry Reid online poker bill. But it looks like regulated online poker in the States will have to wait. Maybe it’ll be the biggest news story of 2011? Fingers crossed!

Chris “Fox” Wallace: Full Tilt Rush Poker Mobile

I think we will eventually realize that Rush Poker Mobile is the biggest poker news story of 2010. It might not be the biggest story right now, but it will probably bring about some significant legal changes. Seeing people playing poker on the bus, in the halls at work, at the bar, or anywhere that people congregate – and seeing all of those people playing online poker for real money on their phones – will change public perception.

What direction the public perception goes and how the legal aspects work out will have a huge effect on the future of our freedom to play our favorite game. I think Michael Mizrachi‘s trip to the WSOP final table was talked about a lot more at the tables, but Rush Poker Mobile will have a bigger splash in the long-run.

Brett Collson: WSOP Ladies Event

When I first saw Shaun Deeb seated wearing lipstick, makeup, and a cowboy hat at the WSOP Ladies Event, I knew the poker world was about to erupt. Deeb and more than a dozen male players crashed what was supposed to be an enjoyable tournament for female poker players. Instead, it turned into a media circus.

Some of the men claimed they were taking a “gender equality” stance by playing in the $1,000 event; others had lost prop bets. Regardless, all of the women were upset by it, as evident by the standing ovation that occurred each time a male player was eliminated. The unfortunate episode also fueled one of the biggest feuds of the year between Annie Duke and Daniel Negreanu, which is another of the most memorable stories of 2010.

Bernard Lee: Michael Mizrachi

For me, it would be Michael Mizrachi. At the beginning of 2010, not many people put Michael Mizrachi in the forefront of poker, but as he arrived at the WSOP, he definitely wanted to make his mark. Mizrachi came out of the gates winning the $50,000 Player’s Championship. In addition to that, he made two other final tables and, of course, who could forget him almost winning the improbable double-double of the $10,000 Main Event as well? Michael Mizrachi had a phenomenal year and has put himself back in the forefront of the world of poker.

Sean Gibson: Michael Mizrachi

For me, the biggest news story of 2010 was the resurrection of Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi’s poker career. Count me in as one of the guys who wrote him off for good, especially when all of the financial trouble started cropping up. He proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he’s one of the world’s best players; his run to the November Nine was every bit as magical as Phil Ivey‘s in 2009. Mizrachi is a player we can respect for his past accomplishments and track as one of the big names in the poker industry.

Earl Burton: Harry Reid Online Poker Bill and Jonathan Duhamel

As far as the biggest stories of the year in poker, I am torn between two. The four-year-long battle to overturn the UIGEA, which heated up even more over the past 12 months, seemed to get the hopes up of many of us in the poker community. I was always pessimistic about the passage of any legislation that would allow Americans to play poker online and, in the end, my pessimism proved to be correct.

The second story is Jonathan Duhamel’s victory in the WSOP Main Event. He became the first ever Canadian World Champion, capturing the attention of his country and the world. He was even nominated for Canadian Athlete of the Year alongside such big names as Sidney Crosby and Joey Votto. When you think of players from Canada who came before Duhamel, such as Daniel Negreanu and Gavin Smith, for him to become the first Canadian champion of the Main Event was a truly significant feat.

PokerStars Gears Up For ANZPT 3

The second season wrapped up last week following Jonathan "xMONSTERxDONGx" Karamalikis' victory at the Grand Final in Sydney, Australia, when he got the best of a star-studded final table that included Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu (9th), WSOP, WPT and EPT Triple Crown winner Roland de Wolfe (8th), and 2008 APPT Macau Champ Eddy Sabat (6th).

Now organizers have confirmed the third season of the PokerStars.net ANZPT will kick off in Adelaide, Australia Feb. 2-6.

Season 2 saw eight events across Australia and New Zealand with a combined prize pool of $4,318,979.

But Season 3 promises to be even bigger with return trips to Adelaide, Perth, Sydney (twice), Canberra, Queenstown, Gold Coast, Melbourne and whispers that more locations will be announced as the tour rolls on.

Once again, there will be a Player of the Year competition rewarding the highest points-scoring player over the entire ANZPT with a sponsorship package to four Asia Pacific Poker Tour events, and either the Aussie Millions Main Event or the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event.

Team PokerStars Pro Tony Hachem has won the title two years running.

As always, PokerStars is planning a series of online poker satellites into the events.

More information can be found on the ANZPT website.

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

NAPT Los Angeles Bounty Shootout Airs on ESPN

On Sunday night, coverage of the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Los Angeles Bounty Shootout aired on ESPN2. The $5,000 buy-in tournament’s first flight, which aired over the course of an hour, featured 11 bracelet winners along with “Seinfeld” star Jason Alexander. ESPN poker announcers Lon McEachern and Norman Chad brought the event to life.

Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad scooped a 25,000-chip early pot at the expense of Ronnie Bardah after turning the nuts with 7-5 for a straight. Players received 25,000 in chips to start and each person carried a $1,000 bounty; the player who logged the most bounties after all was said and done would win a buy-in to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Bounty Shootout in January. In addition, players’ faces and home countries were displayed on the screen by ESPN when they were involved in a hand. Any player who bested their opening round table claimed $20,000 in cash. The feature table is winner-take-all for nearly $135,000.

The first elimination of the flight went to Titan Poker pro Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi, who was defeated at the hands of Justin Bonomo. Then, November Niner Jason Senti’s pocket queens could not hold against Vanessa Selbst’s A-K for his tournament life. Elsewhere in the field, Scott Montgomery sent Greg Mueller packing with pocket kings against pocket eights and Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi eliminated Selbst after scoring the nut flush.

Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier hit the rails at the hands of Bonomo, while Andrew “good2cu” Robl scored a double elimination. Robl turned two pair, called Obrestad’s shove with second pair on the river, and promptly sent Tom Marchese and the bracelet winner packing. Then, Greg DeBora was all-in with 8-5 against Bardah, but could not draw out on pocket threes.

Bonomo recorded his fourth bounty after eliminating online poker pro Andy Seth with queens against A-Q. Then, David Baker suffered the bad beat of the night after Victory Poker pro Antonio Esfandiari sucked out on his pocket aces with A-Q. Esfandiari flopped one queen and rivered another to send the Texan packing. Then, Montgomery failed to win a coin flop with K-10 against Justin Young’s pocket eights and was sent home. Obrestad railed him during the hand and, after seeing her beau’s fate, she muttered, “We suck.” Montgomery responded, “Yes, indeed. We do suck.”

When the smoke cleared, Marchese, Mizrachi, Clint Coffee, Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin, and Young advanced to the final table. The credits rolled for the first hour of coverage and this author hit the freezer for a big bowl of ice cream.

The second episode included the final four tables of the NAPT LA Bounty Shootout. At the feature table, Jean-Robert Bellande was the first to depart after running second pair into Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little’s top set. Out in the field, PokerStars front man Daniel Negreanu sported a beard, while UB.com pro Phil Hellmuth’s attire was curiously void of any patches for his home poker site. Instead, he promoted Aria and the WSOP Academy, leading many to believe that he may be on the outs with UB.com.

Brett Richey eliminated Barry Greenstein, but did not bring a copy of “Ace on the River” to sign. At the feature table, Hellmuth doubled up Shaun Deeb and then lamented, “I just didn’t want to fold. Phil, Phil, Phil.” Negreanu was ousted after his 9-7 of spades could not draw out on Phil Laak’s A-J, leaving Chad to comment, “He’s got time to shave the beard now.”

Speaking of Laak, the Unabomber Poker pro sent Alex Keating packing. Elsewhere, Mohsin “chicagocards1” Charania relegated Victor Ramdin to the rail after spiking a pair of jacks on the river. Also finding help on the river was Matt “mcmatto” Affleck, who hit Broadway on the final card to sent Adam Junglen home before committing his chips with K-J on a flop of K-6-3. However, PokerStars pro David Williams woke up with pocket aces, which held when the board filled out 2-Q.

Williams sent “Nacho” Barbero home to win his table, while 2003 WSOP Main Event champ Chris Moneymaker was ousted after running pocket fours into Nick Binger’s pocket eights. Pat Pezzin triumphed over his table after busting Richey, and Charania also advanced to the finals.

Joining Williams, Charania, and Pezzin at the NAPT LA Bounty Shootout final table will be Kevin MacPhee, who took down EPT Berlin earlier this year, a tournament that included a high-stakes robbery. Nine players advanced to the finals in the 81-man field.

This Sunday at 9:00pm ET, catch the conclusion of the NAPT LA Bounty Shootout on ESPN2. At 10:00pm ET, action from the NAPT LA Main Event will air.

SuperStars Showdown: Haxton Bests Isildur1

It took a little more than four hours for Haxton and Isildur1 to burn through 2,500 hands with a very high-profile rail that included Kevin “ImaLucSac” MacPhee, Chad “lilholdem954” Batista and Daniel Negreanu taking in the action.

Haxton and Isildur1 started the session by buying in for $10,000 at four $50/$100 tables. The rules of the challenge stated that whoever was ahead by 2,500 hands or won $150,000 would be crowned the champion.

Isildur1 drew first blood in the event by winning an early $17,000 pot when he rivered a flush with K♣ T♣.

The lead didn’t last and after about one hour of play Haxton laid a sick beat on Isildur1 with Q-J beating QQ.

The suckout seemed to ignite Haxton’s game and by the 820th hand he had built a lead of $16,500.

It didn’t last, however, as Isildur1 rivered a flush with 7♦ 6♦ and raked in a $34k pot. After winning a series of smaller hands Isildur1 was suddenly the one in charge but that wouldn't last either.

Around the 1,000-hand mark Isildur1 was leading by $31,099 and Haxton started to make a serious comeback.

First Haxton scooped a large pot by making it to showdown against Isildur1 with ace-high but a better kicker.

Shortly after the ace-high hand, Haxton hit a flush against Isildur1 and then had the fortune of getting Isildur1 to shove a flopped pair of threes into his aces up.

With 471 hands to go Isildur1 started to take a few more risks and paid the price in the last 100 hands when Haxton won a session-defining $44k pot.

In the hand both players flopped a pair of nines but Haxton eventually secured the pot by having a superior kicker.

When the 2,500th hand was finally played, Haxton found himself up $41,701 and therefore the winner of the first SuperStar Showdown.

Although another opponent has yet be picked, PokerStars representatives did say there will be another SuperStar Showdown very shortly, perhaps at the PCA in the Bahamas.

In other high stakes news Patrik Antonius was the biggest winner on Full Tilt taking down $223k while fellow Team Full Tilt Pro Phil Ivey won $83k. Gus Hansen was also in the mix with a $29k victory.

On the losing side were Dan “jungleman12” Cates who posted a rare $267k loss, IHateJuice who dropped $84k onto the tables and psychobenny who donated $$55k.

For more information on the SuperStar Showdown check our online poker stats section.

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Miramax Confirms Plans for Rounders 2

The movie that helped spark the poker boom is returning to fire a second barrel. Miramax Films announced this week that it will be teaming up with the Weinstein Company to produce “Rounders 2,” a sequel to the cult favorite that was released more than a decade ago.

According to IMDB, “Rounders 2” is currently in development and scheduled to hit theaters in 2012. The cast and crew have not been announced, but Matt Damon (who played Mike McDermott in the first film) and Ed Norton (Lester “Worm” Murphy) have supposedly signed on for the project, as has original director John Dahl. It’s unknown whether John Malkovich (Teddy KGB) or John Turturro (Joey Knish) will return for the sequel, leaving fans to speculate where the story will take the lead characters this time around.

Miramax broke the exciting news in press release on Thursday: “Miramax and the Weinstein Company today announced an agreement to create sequels to some of Miramax’s best-known properties and to partner on potential new television shows and special edition home entertainment products. The first films to be produced under the agreement will be sequels to ‘Bad Santa,’ ‘Rounders,’ and ‘Shakespeare in Love.’” The list of potential projects listed later in the press release included “Bridget Jones’ Diary,” “Cop Land,” “From Dusk Till Dawn,” “Swingers.” “Clerks,” “Shall We Dance,” and “The Amityville Horror.”

The Weinstein Company was formed in 2005 when Harvey and Bob Weinstein, the original founders of Miramax, left the company. Since leaving the Miramax studio, the Weinstein Group has produced critically acclaimed films like “Inglorious Basterds,” “Nine,” and “The Reader.” Before the Weinsteins departed, Miramax developed award-winning films such as “Pulp Fiction” and “Chicago.” Miramax opened in 1969 and was acquired by the Walt Disney Company in 1993. Disney then sold the studio to Filmyard Holdings LLC earlier this year.

“We are very close to these films and the new management of Miramax also feels that we are in the best position to create sequels that are at once worthy and compelling in their own right,” Harvey and Bob Weinstein commented in a joint statement Thursday.

The news of the “Rounders 2” production status is very promising for poker fans, who have seen some dismal poker movies released over the past decade. “Lucky You,” starring Eric Bana, Drew Barrymore, and several poker pros including Sam Farha, Daniel Negreanu, and Barry Greenstein, was a major flop at the box office in 2006 and wasn’t received well by the poker community. “The Grand” hit theaters in 2007 and was given similar disapproval. The film, an improvisational comedy set at a poker tournament, starred poker enthusiasts Cheryl Hines, Ray Romano, and Jason Alexander, but was bashed by critics.

There was also a scene in the most recent James Bond film (“Casino Royale”) that left poker players cringing. Daniel Craig (who played Bond in the film) slow-rolled three players with a straight flush for a $115 million pot – not exactly the way to win over viewers who regularly play the game.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily as updates on this story unfold.

December 17th – Weekly News Update

Welcome back to another edition of our Weekly News Update. I’m your host, Sean Gibson, and we’ll be talking about the biggest headlines for the week. Let’s get to the news!

On Thursday morning, Poker Players Alliance Executive Director John Pappas told Poker News Daily that the bill introduced by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid legalizing and regulating online poker is dead. A move to add the bill’s language to the tax relief act debated in Congress this week failed to come to fruition.

Pappas told Poker News Daily that a highly charged debate over the tax bill was largely to blame:

“When the tax package fell through and things became much more political for it – not related to our bill – it became clear that another controversial addition to the tax bill could sink it.”

Reid’s bill would have opened the online poker market in the United States to current operators like Caesars Entertainment, which owns the rights to the annual World Series of Poker. Pappas added that hope is not lost:

“The online poker bill that was floating around needs some improvement, so the PPA wants to go back to Senator Reid [in 2011] and talk about how we can improve on his current draft. There’s going to be a renewed focus in the Senate and we’ll be taking some of the legislation in a different direction so that’s it not focused on the Financial Services Committee, where we have a known opponent.”

Party Gaming co-founder Anurag Dikshit, who admitted to violating the Wire Act of Nineteen Sixty-One two years ago, was sentenced to one year of probation by a New York court on Thursday, according to Forbes. He has also coughed up three hundred million dollars and agreed to cooperate in an ongoing Federal investigation.

U.S. District Court Judge Jed Rakoff determined Dikshit’s fate on Thursday and the possibility of two years behind bars hung in the balance. In the end, Rakoff told the court, “I am persuaded that no jail time is appropriate here.”

Dikshit’s admission marked one of the first times that online poker has ever been associated with the Wire Act, which has traditionally applied to sports betting. In October Two Thousand Nine, Dikshit sold his remaining shares in Party Gaming for around two hundred million British Pounds, which amounted to a twenty eight percent stake.

Party Gaming vacated the U.S. market in 2006 after the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. The publicly traded company has since inked a non-prosecution agreement with the United States Government and forked over a one hundred five million dollar fine.

Last week, PokerStars announced that the mysterious high-stakes phenom Isildur1 had signed on to become the latest member of Team PokerStars Pro. At the same time, a new promotion, the SuperStar Showdown, was launched, allowing all comers to take on Isildur1 in a nosebleed stakes heads-up match. On Tuesday, Isildur1?s first opponent was revealed.
This Sunday at Six PM Eastern Time, Isaac Haxton will put one hundred fifty thousand dollars on the line as he takes on Isildur1 at four tables of Fifty / One Hundred No Limit Hold’em. Haxton is well known throughout the poker community and, in addition to his cash game success, has put together an impressive record on the live tournament circuit.

The matches will last either twenty five hundred hands or until one of the players goes bust, whichever happens first, and the winner is the player who ends up with the most money. Anyone who is willing to pony up fifteen hundred big blinds can issue a challenge to Isildur1 by e-mailing PokerStars.

Full Tilt Poker pro Jonathan “xMONSTERxDONGx” Karamalikis bested a field of two hundred eighty nine players to win the Asia Pacific Poker Tour Grand Final in Sydney, Australia last weekend. The twenty two year old online superstar from Adelaide earned four hundred fifty nine thousand Australian Dollars, his biggest score ever.

The star-studded final table included Team PokerStars Pro member Daniel Negreanu, live poker Triple Crown winner Roland de Wolfe, and former APPT champion Eddy Sabat. Negreanu, who took a short stack to the final table, was the first to exit after running top pair into de Wolfe’s set of threes. His ninth place finish earned him thirty-six thousand Australian Dollars. By the way, De Wolfe finished in eighth place.

Staying with the live tournament circuit, PokerStars announced details on Thursday for Season Four of the Latin American Poker Tour. The fourth LAPT season will begin in February and has five events on the schedule so far, including stops in Brazil, Peru, Argentina, Chile, and Colombia.

The new LAPT Player of the Year awards will recognize excellent performances throughout the season. The awards, much like the PokerStars European Poker Tour awards, will be handed out at the end of the season based on results in not only Main Events, but also most of the side events. The EPT gives trophies yearly to the top overall player as well as the top Omaha player, Mixed Games player, heads-up player, and qualifier. There is also an award given to the country that performs the best during the season.

The first stop of Season Four will be in Sao Paulo. Here’s a look at the schedule so far:

February 16-20: Sao Paulo, Brazil (R$5,000 buy-in)
March 17-20: Vina Del Mar, Chile ($1,100 buy-in)
April 12-17: Lima, Peru ($2,500 buy-in)
June 1-5: Rosario, Argentina ($2,500 buy-in)
August 3-7: Bogota, Colombia ($1,100 buy-in)

Thanks for tuning in to the Poker News Daily Weekly Update and be sure to check back with us every day for the latest in poker news.

Jonathan Duhamel and Scotty Nguyen have their debut on High Stakes Poker

There has been lots of talk about the lineup for High Stakes Poker Season 7 and now the players are slowly revealed as the filming is underway.

The filming will end today and after going through some players who use twitter, it is clear who have been playing:

Barry Greenstein: “Getting ready to film High Stakes Poker at Bellagio. They gave me old chips from the cage due to a recent robbery!”

Antonio Esfandiari: “Today is High Stakes Poker. Oatmeal. Protein shake. Feeeeling good. One (moore) time!”

Jonathan Duhamel (WSOP 2010 Main Event winner): “@TheGrinder44 Some shooting for PStars and then high stakes poker!”

Andrew Robl: “On set for high stakes poker. Going to be quite a season!”

Jason Mercier: “Off to Vegas today … Goin to try my luck again at season 7 of high stakes poker”

And also Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond, Doyle “Texas dolly” Brunson, David “Viffer” Peat, Phil “The Unabomber” Laak and Scotty “Scotty baby” Nguyen are going to play.

Full Tilt Poker haven’t changed their politics, they won’t allow their Team players to play on HSP. Also Daniel Negreanu told that he is busy doing other things, so he is not able to play.

Let’s hope that the new players will bring some life to HSP as the Season 6 was a bit of a letdown.

Source: Pokerista.net, PokerKingBlog

You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com

Jonathan Duhamel and Scotty Nguyen have their debut on High Stakes Poker

No Daniel Negreanu for High Stakes Poker Season 7

We were worried enough about the High Stakes Poker line-up for season seven with the news that Full Tilt Pros may not appear on the next taping.

High Stakes Poker Season 7 Taping at Bellagio This Week

This week, the seventh season of the GSN cash game franchise “High Stakes Poker” will begin taping at the Bellagio on the Las Vegas Strip. Last year, the action emanated from the Golden Nugget in Downtown Las Vegas and a source close to GSN told Poker News Daily that the change in venue was due to a “production decision.”

No members of the media are allowed inside the “High Stakes Poker” suite for Season 7. Instead, what happens in the small makeshift poker room will remain a closely guarded secret until the seventh cycle of the show airs beginning in February on GSN. “High Stakes Poker” will return to its Sunday night time slot and feature with the same faces as last year: PartyPoker pro Kara Scott conducting interviews from tableside and former “Welcome Back, Kotter” star Gabe Kaplan flying solo in the booth.

The constantly-changing list of pros scheduled to turn out over the next three days includes Barry Greenstein, Doyle Brunson, recent World Poker Tour (WPT) Five Diamond World Poker Classic winner Antonio Esfandiari, David “Viffer” Peat, Phil Laak, Jason Mercier, Phil Galfond, and former World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champ Scotty Nguyen, who will be making his “High Stakes Poker” debut. The same source also relayed that several amateurs will join the fray.

One player who won’t be gracing the “High Stakes Poker” felts this year is Daniel Negreanu, one of only a handful of players who have competed in every season to this point. Negreanu explained via Twitter why he wouldn’t be able to make it to Las Vegas in time: “Sad news: At airport headed home, which means the trip is over. Have a commercial shoot when I land, which means no HSP for me this year.” Negreanu had been in Sydney for the PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour Grand Final, where he made the final table and finished ninth.

Lex Veldhuis will also be a no-show for “High Stakes Poker” at the Bellagio. Veldhuis Tweeted earlier today, “Crazy busy week. Leaving for Vegas on Monday. Have to get all my shit done. Had to cancel for High Stakes Poker.”

Also potentially absent from the “High Stakes Poker” felts this season will be Full Tilt pros, although our source could not confirm or deny their attendance. Greenstein, a PokerStars pro, explained the dilemma on TwoPlusTwo: “Full Tilt has two major concerns. First is they don’t like their players playing when PokerStars is the sponsor of the show… Secondly, they were unhappy that PokerStars bought the HSP archives. In the early seasons of HSP, the players didn’t wear logos, so FTP is concerned that viewers will be able to go to PokerStars.tv and see the FTP players without logos and be confused by their affiliation.”

In previous years, the press was invited for interviews prior to the action. In fact, when the filming of Season 7 was scheduled to take place last month, Poker News Daily was invited to watch the action unfold. However, due to the change in location to the Bellagio this month, a source close to GSN told Poker News Daily, “We have all of these new players, a new venue, and new elements. It’s a small space. It’s super tight and we just want to focus on the game play.”

“High Stakes Poker” will once again boast a $200,000 buy-in for Season 7 and, unlike NBC’s “Poker After Dark,” no change to Pot Limit Omaha is expected. Instead, the GSN series will continue spreading high-stakes No Limit Hold’em. One-hour episodes will once again grace the small screen next year, as has been the case in years’ past.

Sunday Million final table dominated by massive chip leader

A tournament is never decided before the final table, but when one player arrives around the table of nine with almost half of the 80m chips in play then you know he’s got a decent shot even if he doesn’t have the handreading skills of Daniel Negreanu.

Jonathan Karamalikis Win PokerStars APPT Grand Final in Sydney

Full Tilt Poker pro Jonathan “xMONSTERxDONGx” Karamalikis bested a field of 289 players to win the PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Grand Final in Sydney, Australia over the weekend. The 22 year old online superstar from Adelaide, Australia earned AUD $459,510, his biggest score ever, and outlasted one of the toughest final tables ever played on the APPT.

The star-studded final table included Team PokerStars Pro member Daniel Negreanu, live poker Triple Crown winner Roland de Wolfe, and former APPT champion Eddy Sabat. Negreanu, who took a short stack to the final table, was the first to exit after running top pair into de Wolfe’s set of threes. His ninth place finished earned him AUD $36,415.

However, de Wolfe’s newfound chips didn’t take him far, as the London pro lost a few pots and then moved his short stack all-in pre-flop with A-9 only to be called by the A-Q of Karamalikis. The best hand held up, sending de Wolfe out in eighth place with $50,285. After Manuel Hansimikali was eliminated in seventh place, Karamalikis busted yet another pro at the table, sending Sabat out in sixth. Karamalikis four-bet all-in pre-flop with pocket nines and was called by Sabat, who revealed A-K. The Q-Q-6-3-Q board was no help to Sabat, who collected $79,765.

Hours later, Karamalikis found himself heads-up with fellow Aussie Benjamin McLean for the APPT Grand Final crown. McLean had a slight lead when heads-up play began, but Karamalikis quickly took control and never looked back. In the most pivotal pot of the match, Karamalikis made the nut flush with his Ks-Ts and got three streets of value from McLean, who had A-K for top pair. McLean then moved his remaining chips in pre-flop with A-6 suited against the pocket fives of Karamalikis and was unable to improve, sending the pot and the title to the 22 year old.

“This is obviously the biggest (tournament) I’ve ever won, by far,” Karamalikis said after the victory. “It’s quite a prestigious title, so I’m really glad to have it under my belt.”

With the victory, Karamalikis became the fourth consecutive Aussie to win the APPT Grand Final. He also moved into the top 10 of Australia’s all-time money list with over $1 million in live tournament earnings. Joe Hachem ($10,962,046), Antanas “Tony G” Guoga ($4,385,948), and Mel Judah ($3,238,391) are the top three Aussie money winners.

Here’s a look at the final table results from Sydney (all prizes listed in AUD):

1. Jonathan Karamalikis – $459,510
2. Ben McLean – $294,780
3. Tom Rafferty – $164,730
4. Peco Stojanovski – $121,380
5. Antoine Amourette – $97,970
6. Eddy Sabat – $79,765
7. Manuel Hansimikali – $65,025
8. Roland de Wolfe – $50,285
9.  Daniel Negreanu – $36,415

The 2010 APPT Grand Final saw a significant drop in attendance from 2009, when Aaron Benton best a field of 389 players to win the title. Despite the 100-player slide, the event was deemed a success by tournament staff. “It’s been an amazing series and an exciting time for me and the poker staff at Star City,” said Debra Rillo, Star City Hotel and Casino Poker Manager. “We’ve had some of the biggest names in poker grace our felts this fortnight. Many thanks to all our local, interstate, and international guests and players. I am proud to say that I was a part of this event. Roll on 2011!”

Daniel Negreanu Prevails in PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge Finals

The finals of the PokerStars sponsored “Million Dollar Challenge” aired on Sunday afternoon on Fox and featured 21 year old mother of one Jessica Cupini taking on show front man Daniel Negreanu. At stake was a $1 million grand prize.

A four-man sit and go to play Negreanu heads-up was held featuring four previous “Million Dollar Challenge” contestants. Cupini, the first challenger to appear on Season 2 of “Million Dollar Challenge,” squared off against lovable Texan Johnny Whitt; Ray Reid, the son of a preacher; and Carmenlita Cothron, the season’s only $100,000 winner.

Cothron was the first player eliminated. The sign language interpreter crippled her stack after doubling Cupini up with 8-5 of hearts against 6-3 of diamonds on a board of 9-6-8-3 with two hearts. Cothron had a bundle of outs on the river, but a queen of diamonds hit to send her stack plummeting to one small blind. Reid eliminated her on the next hand shown with A-8 against 8-5.

Whitt hit the deck in third place after Cupini flopped a set of jacks on a board of 5-8-J. Whitt moved all-in by the river after pairing his ace, but Cupini had him beat with a set. Whitt, who promised to build a deluxe chicken coop if he won the $1 million grand prize, settled for a trip to the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. He sought comfort in the arms of his wife and son, who were in the audience.

On the final hand of the Challenge of Champions, Cupini once again flopped a set of jacks. This time, the board came A-J-3-A and Reid checked with A-8 for trips. Cupini shoved with pocket jacks for a boat and Reid called all-in for his tournament life after a few seconds of deliberation. Cupini earned $100,000 and received a chance to play Negreanu for seven-figures.

Negreanu played for Make-A-Wish foundation and would receive $100,000 for the global charity if he outlasted the challenger. Each player was stacked with 40,000 in chips and the price of poker kicked off at a hefty 500/1,000.

Two notable hands from the final match were shown. In the first, Negreanu bet 4,000 on a flop of 10-2-J with two diamonds holding A-7 of the suit for the nut flush draw. Cupini raised to 11,000 with 10-7 for middle pair and Negreanu moved all-in over the top. Cupini tanked before releasing her hand and Negreanu quickly gained a 2:1 lead in chips.

Then, Negreanu called pre-flop with 10-2 and Cupini knocked the table with K-4 of hearts. The flop came K-Q-J, giving Negreanu a straight draw and Cupini top pair. The challenger led out for 4,000 and “Kid Poker” obliged. The turn was an ace, filling Negreanu’s straight, and Cupini open-shoved all-in. Negreanu swiftly called and the final card was a three, giving the PokerStars pro the win in the Season 2 finale of “Million Dollar Challenge.”

All was not lost for Cupini, who walked away with $100,000 in cash plus a trip to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. Cupini told Negreanu, her coach throughout much of the show, “I got to play the best poker player in the world twice” and the credits rolled. Negreanu also defeated Cupini in a $100,000 match in the season opener on September 19th.

PokerStars has not officially announced whether “Million Dollar Challenge” will return for a third season sometime in 2011. However, the show’s promotions page still appears on the PokerStars website. PokerStars is the world’s largest online poker site and happily accepts players from the United States.

Karamalikis Wins, Negreanu Ninth at APPT Grand Final

"This is obviously the biggest (tournament) I've ever won, by far," Karamalikis said. "It's quite a prestigious title, so I'm really glad to have it under my belt."

The 22-year-old from Adelaide, Australia collected the AUD$459,510 first-place prize outlasting major stars like Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu (9th), WSOP, WPT and EPT Triple Crown winner Roland de Wolfe (8th), and 2008 APPT Macau Champ Eddy Sabat (6th)

Karamalikis became the fourth consecutive Aussie to win the APPT Grand Final and is now in the top ten on Australia's all-time money winners list.

The APPT Sydney Grand Final drew 289 players creating a AUD$1,734,000 prize pool.

Here's how the final table finished up.

1 Jonathan Karamalikis AUD$459,510

2 Benjamin McLean AUD$294,780

3 Tom Rafferty AUD$164,730

4 Peco Stojanovski AUD$121,380

5 Antoine Amourette AUD$97,970

6 Eddy Sabat AUD$79,765

7 Manuel Hansimikali AUD$65,025

8 Roland de Wolfe AUD$50,285

9 Daniel Negreanu AUD$36,415

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