Poker News

Bodog Network Launched Featuring Former Ongame Executive

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bodog Launches Bodog.ca, Now Accepts Canadian Players

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Greg Raymer, Jason Alexander Featured on WSOP on ESPN Day 2 Coverage

The first of two Day 2s in the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event took center stage on Tuesday night on ESPN. 2004 champion Greg Raymer and “Seinfeld” actor Jason Alexander headlined the feature table.

ESPN announcer Norman Chad shared his take on the Day 2A lineup: “Today’s feature table is what I love about [the Main Event]. You have one of the top all-time performers in the Main Event, Greg Raymer, hoping to make another deep run and George Costanza is standing in his way.” Shortly after Chad’s comments, Gus Hansen was ousted from the $10,000 buy-in tournament after calling all-in with the nut straight on the turn. However, the board paired on the river, giving his opponent a full house.

Table Two, ESPN’s secondary feature table, included Chris Ferguson and Roland de Wolfe. Ferguson has logged five bracelets and five runner-up finishes at the WSOP over the last 10 years. Also in the field were Todd Brunson and “Everybody Loves Raymond” actor Brad Garrett, who were seated at the same table. Meanwhile, Jack Ury continued to battle in the Main Event. At 96 years-old, he is its oldest competitor and doubled up after flopping a boat with pocket sevens on a 6-6-7 board. However, Ury was later eliminated and received a standing ovation.

Eli Elezra and former boxer Kili Madrid were also seated together. Madrid owned an 8-0 record as a professional fighter and recorded four knockouts. Meanwhile, Alexander told ESPN cameras why he has an edge at the tables: “I always say to the pros when they start to sass me, ‘If I lose to you, there’s no dignity lost. I’m supposed to lose to you. If you lose to me, you will never live this down, so make your decisions very carefully.’”

Poker couple Jennifer Tilly and Phil Laak could be found in the Day 2A field, as could father and son Barry Greenstein and Joe Sebok. The former was knocked out and signed a copy of his book, “Ace on the River,” for his executioner. However, the player who busted Greenstein had also earned a copy of his book back in 2006. Meanwhile, Mike “The Mouth” Matusow moved to Greg “FBT” Mueller’s table, creating a star-studded lineup in the outer reaches of the Amazon Room.

The Full Tilt Poker-sponsored segment “Deal Me In” featured Matusow describing a hand during the 2006 WSOP Tournament of Champions. Matusow made a “value bet bluff” on the river to force Daniel Negreanu to lay down a pair. Shortly thereafter, Lex Veldhuis, who finished seventh in the $40,000 buy-in tournament commemorating the 40th running of the WSOP, called all-in on a draw for 30 big blinds and was shown the exit. An opponent whose constant chatter sent the poker pro over the edge may have been the cause.

The Jack Link’s Beef Jerky Wild Card Hand, in which the hole cards of one player are concealed, featured raised action to a flop of 2-A-5, all clubs. Greg Raymer, holding mystery cards, bet out 2,500, Alexander raised to 6,000 with A-9 (no clubs), and Raymer made the call. On Alexander’s raise, Chad commented, “I like that raise from Jason. He should be able to find out if he has the best hand.” The king of clubs hit the turn and Raymer fired out 13,000. Alexander folded and Raymer turned over Q-7 of clubs for the nut flush.

The same feature table and Table Two headlined the second episode. The show, which hit airwaves at 9:00pm ET, opened with Alexander describing his role in “Pretty Woman” to Raymer: “The scene when I attack her – we did a version where she attacks me.” Chad then joked, “We did a version of the 2006 Main Event where Jamie Gold didn’t win.” The action then flipped to Matusow, about whom Chad commented, “Mike is a professor at Deep Stacks University. I believe they are the Ragin’ Cajuns.” Ragin’ Cajuns has replaced Demon Deacons as Chad’s favorite college mascot in 2009.

At the final table, Raymer raised to 1,600 pre-flop and Alexander made the call with pocket threes. Dennis Baltz bumped the action to 4,500 with pocket kings. Raymer came over the top with a hand other than pocket aces to 20,000 and both Baltz and Alexander folded. On his opponent’s laydown, Raymer noted, “Since you couldn’t call, it had to be a good fold because you’re not throwing away aces or kings.”

The PokerStars-sponsored “Straight from the Pros” vignette featured Raymer reliving a hand during the 2004 WSOP Main Event. In it, Raymer bluffed after picking up a tell on his opponent. In the second episode’s Wild Card Hand, “Fossilman” once again picked up unknown cards and raised to 1,600 pre-flop. Alexander made it 3,500 with pocket nines and Raymer made the call to see a flop of A-Q-6 with two spades. Raymer check-called a 6,000 chip bet from Alexander and the turn was a five. The action went check-check and the deuce of hearts hit the river. Raymer led out for 7,000 and Alexander called. Raymer turned over A-K for top pair and pushed his chip stack to 140,000.

In case you were wondering, Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo won his Panorama Towers prop bet after Mueller scooped a bracelet in 2009. Bonomo gave 7:1 odds that one of 43 poker players who live in the massive off-Strip complex would take home a piece of hardware this year. Among them were Bonomo, Isaac Haxton, David Williams, Evelyn Ng, Barry Greenstein, Joe Sebok, Antonio Esfandiari, Laak, and Veldhuis.

“The Nuts” took to the links on Tuesday night, as Dewey Tomko gave Chad seven strokes on a putting green over nine holes. In the end, it all came down to the last hole. If Chad won the hole, he would win the bet, but missed a crucial putt. Meanwhile, de Wolfe, once down to 3,600 chips, doubled twice through Steve Gee to move to over 30,000. Alexander raked in the last pot of the evening at the feature table to make his first Day 3.

New episodes of the 2009 WSOP on ESPN air on Tuesday nights at 8:00pm ET.

Tom McEvoy Trumps WSOP Champions Invitational Field on ESPN

Tuesday night saw the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Champions Invitational play out on ESPN. A rather subdued final table competed for a vintage 1970 Corvette and the title of “Champion of Champions.”

The taking of the now-storied photo of 20 former WSOP Main Event champions kicked off the ESPN telecast on Tuesday and the final table began with an unconventional 10 players taking to the felts. Up for grabs was a red 1970 Corvette Stingray that formerly appeared in the Imperial Palace car collection. The WSOP Champions Invitational winner would also take home the Binion Cup, an oversized trophy with the inscription, “The Champion of Champions. The 40th Annual World Series of Poker ‘Champions Invitational’ Winner in Honor of Poker’s First Family.” The cup also bore the date that the final table played out, June 1st, 2009.

1989 Main Event Champion Phil Hellmuth came armed to the final table with a stack of 1,125, or just 1% of the chips in play. In fact, he held just three chips, which promptly went into the middle with 10-5 of spades against Carlos Mortensen’s pocket twos. The flop came 4-Q-J with no spades, but an ace on the turn gave Hellmuth a gutshot straight draw. Needing a 10, 5, or 3 to fall on the river to double up, Hellmuth watched as an 8 hit. Hellmuth holds the record for the most number of WSOP bracelets won with 11.

2008 Main Event Champion Peter Eastgate’s exit in ninth place meant that the two youngest winners of the $10,000 buy-in feature tournament had been eliminated. Eastgate’s 8-7 ran into “Action” Dan Harrington’s pocket aces and an open-ended straight draw on the flop failed to materialize. A bevy of poker authors remained in the final eight players, including Tom McEvoy (“Championship Hold’em”), Doyle Brunson (“Super System” Volumes I and II), and Harrington (“Harrington on Hold’em”).

Eastgate’s departure set up the first Jack Link’s Beef Jerky Wild Card Hand. The cards of one player are not revealed, leaving the viewing audience and ESPN announcers Lon McEachern and Norman Chad to guess what they may hold. Harrington raised to 1,800 with A-Q of diamonds and Mortensen made the call after his cards were obscured by the logo for the popular beef jerky brand. The flop came 3-3-8 and the action went check-check. A four fell on the turn and the action again went check-check. The river was a nine. Mortensen bet out 2,500 and Harrington called. Mortensen sheepishly turned over 6-7 of clubs for what Chad called “squadoosh.”

Watching the action in the WSOP Champions Invitational were several notable poker pros. “The Mad Genius of Poker” Mike Caro looked on as Brunson called all-in on a draw. Chad quipped, “He’s priced in, but he’s calling off all of his chips on a draw. I don’t remember that being mentioned in ‘Super System’ 1 or 2.” Brunson’s draw never hit and he was ousted from the televised table. McEvoy celebrated his elimination of Brunson with poker pro Kathy Liebert, who railed him throughout the finale.

The first installment of ESPN’s “40th Annual Memories” vignette was a tribute to Stu Ungar featuring comments by Joe Hachem, Howard Lederer, and Steve Zolotow. Ungar died in 1998 after winning 10 of 32 $5,000 buy-in events he had entered. Then, Berry Johnston, who won the 1986 Main Event, busted in seventh place. The 73 year-old has cashed in every WSOP since 1982, when he took third in the Main Event for $104,000.

“The Nuts” once again featured 40th Annual WSOP Trivia. Lederer, Jennifer Harman, and Bodog pro David Williams participated this week, answering questions from three categories: “2008,” “Poker Feats,” and “Is Poker a Sport?” In the end, Harman advanced to the next round, joining Adam Schoenfeld, who won last week. Huck Seed’s exit in sixth place and Mortensen’s departure in fifth rounded out the first of two one-hour episodes on Tuesday night.

The “40th Annual Memories” in the second installment of the WSOP on ESPN, which aired at 9:00pm ET, focused on Harrington’s back-to-back Main Event final tables in 2003 and 2004 after winning the feature tournament in 1995. Harrington took third in the former for $650,000 and finished fourth in 2004 for $1.5 million. A quiet Harrington remained in contention in the Champions Invitational.

The second Wild Card Hand featured McEvoy raising to 3,000 with unknown cards. 2002 Main Event Champion Robert Varkonyi called from the big blind with A-5 of clubs. The flop came 10-4-A. Varkonyi bet out 5,000 and McEvoy called immediately to see a queen fall on the turn. Varkonyi checked, McEvoy bet 12,000, and Varkonyi folded. Chad commented, “I originally thought Tom had pocket eights. Now, I think he had pocket fours and flopped a set.” Instead, McEvoy held A-6 offsuit.

I can’t recall very many three-handed final tables as silent as the one that took to the felts on Tuesday night. The survivors represented Main Event champions from the last three decades: Varkonyi (2002), Harrington (1995), and McEvoy (1983). McEvoy’s K-Q of diamonds finally sent Harrington to the rails in third and, in the final hand of the WSOP Champions Invitational, McEvoy turned a 10-high straight to take down the title. He told Chad following his monumental win, “I hadn’t won much lately and I think I was losing some respect from my peers… I was just determined that I was going to win it and I did.”

Tune into ESPN next Tuesday night at 8:00pm ET for the $5,000 buy-in Ante Up for Africa charity poker tournament.

MMA and poker’s best team up for troops

The $330 with $100 re-buys tournament is open to the public and a $10,000 seat in the Sports Legends Challenge poker tournament at Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas will be up for grabs.

"It's sure to be an amazing time, while raising awareness and a lot of money for an unbelievable cause," Couture said.

Proceeds from the poker tournament and both live and silent auctions at the event will benefit the Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation, a charitable organization created by Couture to raise money and awareness for troops wounded in action and their families.

Couture is a veteran of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division.

"Having spent time in a uniform it became a personal goal of mine to find a way to give back to the brave men and women of our Armed Forces for the sacrifices they make defending our freedoms," Couture said. "The Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation was born out of that desire."

Several MMA stars are scheduled to attend, including Dan Henderson, Stephan Bonnar, Frank Trigg and Phil Baroni.

Pro poker players Todd Brunson, Lee Watkinson, Chip Jett, David Williams, Adam Schoenfeld and Robert Williamson III have also confirmed.

"We hope you'll come join us for a great night and rub elbows with some of the best fighters and poker players on the planet all in the name of our troops," Couture said.

Tournament participants are also invited to an after party at the Golden Nugget's Gold Diggers nightclub.

Seats can be booked through the Golden Nugget Poker Room at 1-800-777-4658 ext. 8164, locally in Las Vegas at 702-386-8164, or by email at poker@goldennugget.com.

More information can also be found at www.xtremecouturegifoundation.org or www.goldennugget.com.

Face the Ace Struggles in Ratings, Debuts in Last Place

NBC’s new poker show “Face the Ace” debuted on NBC on Saturday night, with contestant Don Topel winning $200,000. This week, he’ll go for $1 million. Despite the high-stakes drama, “Face the Ace” premiered in last place in the ratings.

“Face the Ace” aired from 9:00pm ET to 10:00pm ET on Saturday night. According to television ratings provided by TVByTheNumbers.com, during its first half-hour, the series of heads-up poker matches garnered a 0.4 rating with a 2 share, equating to 1.59 million viewers. Of the four major networks in the United States, NBC took last during that time slot. FOX, which aired an episode of “America’s Most Wanted,” claimed the top spot with a 1.5 rating and 6 share, or 4.43 million viewers.

During its first half-hour, “Face the Ace” also squared off against the ABC movie “Red Eye,” which kicked off at 8:00pm ET and ran for three hours. During the 9:00pm ET to 9:30pm ET time slot, “Red Eye,” claimed a 0.7 rating with a 3 share, good for the second best tally with 3.27 million viewers. Finally, CBS aired a rerun of “Numb3rs” between 9:00pm ET and 10:00pm ET. During the hour-long show’s first 30 minutes, “Numb3rs” also generated a 0.7 rating with a 3 share, equating to 3.26 million viewers and falling just short of the ABC movie.

During its second half-hour, “Face the Ace” was up against the same three shows. “America’s Most Wanted” once again led the way with a 1.6 rating and a 6 share for 4.78 million viewers. “Red Eye” claimed a 0.9 rating and a 4 share, which translated into 3.82 million viewers. “Numb3rs” boasted a 0.7 rating with a 3 share, good for 3.57 million viewers. Once again, “Face the Ace” rounded out the top four, taking a 0.4 rating with a 2 share. The poker television show attracted 1.54 million viewers.

Several NBC affiliates pre-empted “Face the Ace” for local programming, including the Houston and Detroit affiliates, two of the largest markets in the country. Formerly airing in the time slot currently held by “Face the Ace” was “Kings,” likely a much pricier series to produce. Therefore, NBC’s margin may be slightly higher on “Face the Ace.” A poster on TVByTheNumbers.com noted that despite “Face the Ace’s” sluggish ratings, “Kings also had a price tag that was how much bigger?” Full Tilt Poker sponsors “Face the Ace”. All of its “aces” are pros of the online poker site.

TVByTheNumbers.com reports ratings for viewers aged 18 to 49. “Face the Ace,” as a poker-themed show, does not target the full spectrum of this demographic. “Poker After Dark,” NBC’s daily poker show, airs at 2:05am ET. This week’s match-up is entitled “Close But No Cigar” and includes players who have reached the final table of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, but have yet to claim a title in the $10,000 buy-in feature tournament: Mike Matusow, Lee Watkinson, Allen Cunningham, Dewey Tomko, Andy Black, and David Williams.

A thread that appeared on the online poker forum PocketFives.com recommended several improvements for future episodes of “Face the Ace,” including having a contestant’s loved ones on stage rooting them on (in a similar fashion to the NBC game show “Deal or No Deal”), Full Tilt Poker pros railing their colleagues, a player winning an on-stage sit and go to face an ace, and a new host.

“Face the Ace” will air this Saturday, August 8th, at 9:00pm ET. Then, it can be seen once per month until January of 2010. Show officials described the first two primetime episodes as an opportunity to “test the waters” for future programming choices. Here’s when you can catch “Face the Ace”:

August 8th, 2009 – 9:00pm ET
September 12th, 2009 – 2:00pm ET
October 31st, 2009 – 3:30pm ET
November 14th, 2009 – 3:00pm ET
December 12th, 2009 – 3:00pm ET
January 2nd, 2010 – 2:30pm ET

We want to know what you think. What would improve the ratings for NBC’s “Face the Ace”? Leave a comment and voice your choice.

Vitaly Lunkin Shines in First 2009 WSOP on ESPN Broadcast

The kickoff event of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) on ESPN played out on Tuesday night, with Russian Vitaly Lunkin taking home $1.9 million from the record $7.7 million prize pool.

Fans of poker on ESPN noticed several stark changes in the 2009 WSOP broadcast compared to years past. 2008 WSOP Main Event Champion Peter Eastgate now appears in the opening credits of the broadcast, which are otherwise the same as last year. The show began by highlighting the 40th running of the WSOP, featuring comments by several pros, including Doyle Brunson, Howard Lederer, Daniel Negreanu, Mike Sexton, Johnny Chan, Chris Ferguson, Annie Duke, Erick Lindgren, Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer, Jennifer Harman, Joe Hachem, and Scotty Nguyen. Eastgate’s banner, which hung above the Amazon Room floor at the Rio during the WSOP, was then unveiled.

Jack Link’s Beef Jerky, the presenting sponsor of the 2009 WSOP, received a slew of product placement throughout the show. The foodstuff’s logo appears on the center of the ESPN featured table, on video monitors above it, and in a bevy of graphics during the broadcast. Everest Poker’s name continues to appear in the ring of the table. Commemoration of the 40th WSOP consisted of a series of “40th Annual Memories” vignettes, which honored players who have won three bracelets in one year (Jeffrey Lisandro won a trio in 2009) and Greg Raymer’s deep run in the 2005 Main Event after winning the tournament in 2004.

The hole card camera now bears the presenting sponsor’s name and a Jack Link’s Wild Card Hand of the Day allows viewers at home to see one player’s hand, but not their opponent’s. In one, Raymer held 8-7 of hearts and raised to 250,000 under the gun. Isaac Haxton, whose cards were unknown, asked for a count and then made the call. The flop came 7-7-9 and the action went check-check. The turn came a nine, leading ESPN poker commentator Norman Chad to note, “If Isaac has a small pocket pair or an ace, he’s playing the board.” Haxton checked, Raymer led out for 350,000, and Haxton called. The river was another nine. Haxton checked, Raymer bet 750,000 after seeing his full house counterfeited, and Haxton called, showing A-Q for a chopped pot. On the Wild Card Hand of the Day, Chad noted, “That was fun. We’ve found a whole new way for me to sound stupid.”

For an event featuring a $40,000 buy-in, the average age of the final table was lower than many expected. Six of the nine players were in their 20s, while Raymer, who finished third, was the elder statesman at just 44. Noah Schwartz, who finished eighth, was labeled McLovin during the broadcast due to his striking resemblance to a character in the movie “Superbad.” Lex Veldhuis was cheered on by his girlfriend, Evelyn Ng, as well as Team PokerStars Pro member Maridu Mayrinck and Karina Jett. Raymer’s wife and mother turned out to support him, while Bodog pro Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo’s mother and stepfather rooted him on from the rails.

Two one-hour episodes aired on Tuesday night. The second focused on a prop bet by Bonomo that at least one of 43 poker players who live in Panorama Towers in Las Vegas would win a bracelet during the 2009 WSOP. Bonomo gave 7:1 odds on the bet and watched in agony as heads-up action between Lunkin and Panorama Towers’ own Haxton featured several double-ups by the player on the short stack. Besides Haxton and Bonomo, Panorama Towers residents include David Williams, Ng, Barry Greenstein, Joe Sebok, Antonio Esfandiari, Phil Laak, and Veldhuis.

In one of the most memorable heads-up matches in WSOP history, which left viewers on the edge of their seats, Lunkin finally prevailed and banked $1.9 million. Even Chad was rooting his fellow American along. After one double-up by Haxton with K-10 against Lunkin’s aces, Chad yelled, “Take that, you Commies!” Chants of “Russ-i-a” permeated the Amazon Room following Lunkin’s win and WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack presented the commemorative bracelet to the Russian at the end of the first 2009 WSOP on ESPN broadcast. Here were the final payouts:

1. Vitaly Lunkin - $1,891,012
2. Isaac Haxton - $1,168,566
3. Greg Raymer - $774,927
4. Dani Stern - $548,315
5. Justin Bonomo - $413,166
6. Alec Torelli - $329,730
7. Lex Veldhuis - $277,940
8. Noah Schwartz - $246,834
9. Ted Forrest - $230,317

Other vignettes included Brunson, Adam Schoenfeld, and David Plastik battling in 40th Annual WSOP Trivia during the traditional segment “The Nuts.” Nine questions in three categories were asked, including Main Men, Dynamic Duos, and Famous Firsts. In the end, Schoenfeld prevailed and advanced to the next round.

Poker News Daily has learned that future WSOP episodes will feature sponsored vignettes from PokerStars (called “Straight from the Pros”) and Full Tilt Poker (called “Deal Me In”). Pros from each online poker site will explain why they played a hand a certain way, giving the viewer unique insight. The Wild Card Hand of the Day will also continue to appear in each episode.

Stay tuned for the latest from the 2009 WSOP on Poker News Daily.

Kenna James Wins Dream Team Poker WSOP Event

“Cowboy” Kenna James won the third Dream Team Poker event, held at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas down the hall from the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP). Tao of Pokerati emerged victorious in the team competition.

Tao of Pokerati was the lone team to boast two members in the final 27 players. Dr. Pauly McGuire recorded a 13th place finish, while Dan Michalski earned 17th. Michalski showed prowess of the Dream Team Poker concept after folding pocket kings face up to assure moving on when his team had a chance to secure the first place prize. In the end, Tao of Pokerati earned $33,000 for the win. In Dream Team Poker, each squad’s two best finishes are recorded and the lowest score wins. For Tao of Pokerati, a score of 30 (the sum of 13th place and 17th place) was good enough to take home the title.

Here’s how the team competition stacked up. The buy-in for the third Dream Team Poker tournament was $560 per player, or $1,680 per team:

1. Tao of Pokerati - $33,017
2. Team Simpletrak - $18,106
3. Diaboloco’s - $10,651
4. Machine Team - $7,988
5. Team Puerto Rico - $7,455
6. 7 Kings - $6,923
7. 2 Kings - $6,390
8. The Maven VT 4 - $5,858
9. The Maven VT 3 - $5,325
10. Min Cash Masters - $4,793

In an interview after the tournament with Dream Team Poker emcee Alex Outhred, James explained, “I have to hand it to the Dream Team Poker team, they really run a class event. From all the information they provide, to having them out there, to having the music in the background, they really know how to generate the feeling that this event is all about. It was really special.” In the end, it was a gender versus gender clash, with James defeating Judy Tejwani of SOCRR heads-up. James, who played as part of Poker Host, banked $16,000 for the win, while Tejwani earned $7,800 for her runner-up showing.

The top individual finishers at the Rio were as follows:

1. Kenna James (Poker Host) - $16,473
2. Judy Tejwani (SOCRR) - $7,810
3. Stephen Nelson (I Love it When a Plan Comes Together) - $5,680
4. Peter Mavro (Min Cash Masters) - $4,260
5. Ricardo Felix Matos (Machine Team) - $3,621
6. Bojan Miljkovic (Juzni Vetar) - $3,160
7. Terresa Gallagher (Wicked Chops Poker II) - $2,485
8. David Hornsby (The Hangover) - $1,775
9. James Page (The Maven VT 3) - $1,598
10. Adam Wege (NLP FREE) - $1,598

The event brought out some of poker’s brightest stars. David Williams, Evelyn Ng, and Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo competed as part of Team Bodog. Barry Greenstein and Joe Stapleton joined forces on Team PokerRoad.com. Jerry Yang, Christina Lindley, and Eric Aude formed Team Six Hands, Four Nutz, and a Rack on Tilt. Marsha Waggoner, James Worth, and Young Phan made up Team True Poker and Barbara Enright, Paul Darden, and David Levi brought Team Bookmaker Poker to life. “Captain” Tom Franklin and Poker Hall of Fame member T.J. Cloutier competed under the Captain Krunch banner, while Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Linda Johnson, Jan Fisher, and Rick Fuller battled as part of Bike.com.

A total of 122 teams and 366 players entered the Rio event, down sharply from the 148 teams and 444 runners who turned out for Dream Team Poker’s last competition, held at Caesars Palace in March. Among those in attendance was newly-minted Absolute Poker pro Lacey Jones, whose team took down the WSOP media event held last week. Jones commented in a press release, “This is my third time playing a Dream Team Poker event and I have had the most fun playing these events than any other poker tournament. I can’t think of any better way to enjoy the game of poker than to play with your friends and have them cheer you on!”

Visit the official website of Dream Team Poker for more information.

Dream Team Poker WSOP Event Attracts 366 Players

The third Dream Team Poker event, held down the hall from the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP), attracted 366 runners for a total prize pool of $177,000. Roberto Diaz from Team Reckless leads the way entering Day 2, when 27 players will take to the felts.

The field that turned out for the Dream Team Poker’s second open event was actually smaller than its last outing, which took place at Caesars Palace in March. Across Interstate 15, a total of 148 teams and 444 players turned out four months ago. This time around, 122 teams and 366 players entered, a drop of 17%. Nevertheless, play was fast and furious, as 27 players representing 26 teams survived the first day and will return on Monday to determine a champion. Tao of Pokerati is the lone squad to boast two players remaining.

The top overall team will earn $33,017. The runner-ups will take home $18,106, third place will pocket $10,651, fourth place will earn $7,988, fifth place will bank $7,455, sixth place will receive $6,923, the seventh place team will see their bank accounts grow by $6,390, eighth place will pocket $5,858, ninth place will earn $5,325, and tenth place leaves the Rio with $4,793 from the $560 per person buy-in event. The field of 366 players included 59 women and three all-female teams: Kegslist.info (lead by Lacey Jones), Tush Pushers (lead by Pam Brunson), and Wicked Chops Poker II (Lead by London Gallagher).

Here’s how the field stacks up entering Day 2 of the Dream Team Poker tournament:

1. Roberto Diaz (Team Reckless) - 332,000
2. Jordan Hill (Team Winner Winner Chicken Dinner) - 252,000
3. Ricardo Felix Matos (Machine Team) - 235,000
4. Matthew Woodward (Team 2 Kings) - 220,000
5. Peter Marvo (Team Min Cash Masters) - 193,000
6. Adam Wege (Team NLP FREE) - 177,000
7. Peter Lubrano (Team The Maven VT 2) - 165,000
8. Paul McGuire (Team Tao of Pokerati) - 158,000
9. Kenna James (Team Poker Host) - 140,000
10. Bryan Kessler (Team Those Guys) - 133,000
11. Terresa Gallagher (Team Wicked Chops Poker II) - 125,000
12. James Page (Team The Maven VT 3) - 124,000
13. Daniel Michalski (Team Tao of Pokerati) - 113,000
14. Bojan Miljkovic (Team Juzni Vetar) - 100,000
15. Glyn Ottofy (Team Poker) - 95,000
16. Brad Tolliver (Team Donkey Show) - 87,000
17. Andrew Colas (Team Poker Blazers) - 82,000
18. Maximilian Gsottschneider (Team Puerto Rico) - 81,000
19. Michael Shackelford (Team Sinistrals) - 79,000
20. Mary Jo Zogman (Team Team HTP) - 60,000
21. Omar Vachhani (Team Diabolocos) - 46,000
22. John Sayre (Team Home Gamers) - 40,000
23. Michelle Richey (Team Simpletrak) - 37,000
24. Antonio Ferreira (Team BOSS) - 37,000
25. David Hornsby (Team The Hangover) - Unknown
26. Judy Tejwani (Team SOCRR) - Unknown
27. Stephen Nelson (Team I Love it When a Plan Comes Together) – Unknown

Notable poker pros who entered the event, but did not survive to see Day 2, included Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, Evelyn Ng, David Williams, Barry Greenstein, Gavin Smith, Liz Lieu, Jerry Yang, Marsha Waggoner, David “The Maven” Chicotsky, Susie Isaacs, Tom McEvoy, “Captain” Tom Franklin, T.J. Cloutier, Men “The Master” Nguyen, Linda Johnson, Jan Fisher, and Amir Vahedi. Also taking to the felts was former Major League Baseball star Jose Canseco, whose book “Juiced” ignited the crackdown on steroids in the game.

The tournament’s individual winner will earn $16,473 and the top 19 spots pay out. In order to curb collusion, Dream Team Poker events award prize money to the top players and teams. In addition, no team members are seated at the same table until 14 to 16 runners remain. No indication has been given as to when Dream Team Poker will hold its fourth event.

Dream Team Poker CEO Discusses WSOP Tournament

Beginning on July 12th, the third Dream Team Poker tournament will kick off. This time, it originates from the home of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, which will be taking place down the hall at the Rio in Las Vegas.

Poker News Daily sat down with Dream Team Gaming CEO Daniel Delshad for his thoughts just a few days out from the tournament, which boasts a $1,680 buy-in per three-man team.

Poker News Daily: You have Jose Canseco and a fleet of poker pros already registered for the event, which is now less than a week away. How excited are you for your WSOP debut?

Delshad: We’re all very excited and I’m looking forward to July 12th. After the Caesars event in March, it has been a fast turnaround until now.

PND: Has registration been better than, worse than, or about what you expected?

Delshad: We’re excited where we’re at. We already have 300 people pre-registered for the event. Poker players like to sign up late, so we’re in line with what we expected the numbers to be. We’ve had a lot of big names register, so that’s a good sign.

PND: Talk about the logistics for registration on the morning of the Dream Team Poker tournament at the Rio.

Delshad: Everybody will go to the cage to buy into the event. They’ll get a seat assignment and then go to our registration area down the hall to pick up their scorecards and jerseys.

PND: Are there any notable teams or entrants that you can share with us?

Delshad: Daniel Negreanu is in. Jamie Gold, Kenna James, David Williams, Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, Liz Lieu, and Pam Brunson have all signed up. We have a really good list of people and we’re excited to have them out. Alex Outhred is back as our emcee. He’s very well-liked and he’s a great guy.

PND: You’ve done a spectacular job of one-upping yourself for each Dream Team Poker event ever since your debut at the Hard Rock. What’s next on the horizon?

Delshad: We’re continuing to grow. I think we’re getting a lot of demand for us to go international and we’ll take a look at it. There are a bunch of events overseas for us to partner with and we’re going to find the ones that are the best fit for us. We like to work with companies that are the leaders in their industries and we’re in active discussions with international events right now.

PND: Can you comment about the WSOP Main Event shutting out over 500 players on Day 1D? Does Dream Team Poker have any provisions in place to prevent a similar occurrence?

Delshad: We’ll be in the Brasilia Room, which will give us more space than being in the Amazon Room. We can fit a pretty good field in there. The WSOP has been run so smoothly from Day 1. It was just an unfortunate event on Monday. It happens, but they still had the third largest field in history. It shows that, despite the economy, poker is alive and well.

PND: Talk about the feedback you received from spectators and players alike who visited PokerPalooza and your booth outside the Amazon Room?

Delshad: It’s pretty amazing. We had a big registration area near the jersey wall. For so many people, this was their first time seeing our product.

PND: Talk about today’s media tournament taking on a team format. Will its winners be entered into the feature Dream Team Poker event?

Delshad: For us to have media event in the Dream Team Poker format is special. I love that the media has this opportunity because they can play the game themselves. The experience on the inside is completely different than beyond the rail. The media is battling against each other anyway in the real world and we’re expecting about 150 people to play.

The winning team will have a charity donation made in their name. We can’t give away seats into our events because the media can’t accept gifts.

Jose Canseco Enters Dream Team Poker WSOP Tournament

Poker News Daily has learned that former Major League Baseball star Jose Canseco has entered the third Dream Team Poker tournament, which will be held on July 12th and 13th during the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP).

Canseco, whose book “Juiced” helped fuel the steroid hunt in professional baseball, will take to the Dream Team Poker felts along with teammates Shane McDowell and Josh Clark. Canseco’s team, dubbed “On Tilt,” is one of over 100 that have already registered for the event, which will be the first of its kind at the WSOP. Each three-man Dream Team Poker squad will battle for individual and team prizes in the two-day contest, which comes with a price tag of $560 per person.

Attendees of PokerPalooza, formerly the WSOP Gaming Life Expo, will notice a wall of jerseys hanging outside its entrance. The spectacle has been on display all week, runs from floor to ceiling, and has become a popular stop for poker fans. Dream Team Poker officials are expecting over 300 players total at the Rio, including Daniel Negreanu, whose Team Poker VT has already paid its buy-in. 2007 WSOP Main Event Champion Jerry Yang will be in attendance, as will Team Bodog, which includes Evelyn Ng, Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, and David Williams.

Last time out, Dream Team Poker held its first open tournament at Caesars Palace. The event attracted 148 teams and 444 players, selling out the Caesars poker room. In the end, Team ACED, led by 2006 WSOP Main Event Champion Jamie Gold, took down the title. Although Gold has since parted ways with the Merge Gaming Network site, his name is forever entrenched in Dream Team Poker history. Gold and company pocketed $59,000 for recording the top team finish and Danny Nelson from Team BikerHaven.net grabbed $24,000 for claiming the individual title.

Coming in second place at Caesars in the team competition were the Claddaghs, who earned $33,000. Other top finishers included The Clones (third place for $15,000), Party at the Mansion (fourth place for $10,000), and the Hellmuth Busters (fifth place for $6,000). One-third of the 2008 WSOP November Nine turned out at Caesars, as did Phil Hellmuth, Johnny Chan, Todd Brunson, Paul Wasicka, Mike Matusow, Erica Schoenberg, and T.J. Cloutier. Also in attendance was Bonomo, who along with Matt Parvis and Eric Morris took down the inaugural Dream Team Poker event as part of Team Bluff.

Each player will begin with 10,000 starting chips and blind levels last 40 minutes. The price of poker begins at 50-100 and antes kick in at Level 3, when blinds are 150-300. A 10 minute break occurs after every three levels and teammates are not seated at the same table until 14 to 16 players remain. Teams that registered prior to July 1st received a customized jersey and play begins at 2:00pm Pacific Time on both July 12th and 13th. Individual payouts amount to 40% of the prize pool, while team payouts make up the remaining 60%.

Other players slated to enter the third Dream Team Poker tournament include Barry Greenstein and Joe Sebok (Team PokerRoad), Gavin Smith (Team Zurvive), Pamela Brunson (Team Pushers), Liz Liu (Team Chili Poker), and Barbara Enright, Paul Darden, and David Levi, who will make up Team Bookmaker Poker.

July 12th also marks Day 5 of the 2009 WSOP Main Event, which kicked off on Friday with the first of four starting days. A total of 1,116 entrants took to the felts on Day 1A, down from 1,297 last year. Today’s field is expected to be smaller due to the July 4th holiday in the United States. The $10,000 buy-in tournament will play down to its final table on July 15th, when it will be paused for four months. Last year, Danish poker pro Peter Eastgate earned $9.1 million for the victory and became the youngest WSOP Main Event winner ever at age 22.

The Dream Team Poker event will be held inside the Amazon Room, home of the 2009 WSOP. Registration is now open at the Rio cage and can be paid via casino chips, cash, or cashier’s check. We’ll have full tournament results for you right here on Poker News Daily.

Poker Stars adds Marcel Luske and Jason Mercier to Team PokerStars Pro

The largest online poker site around keeps adding to its all-star stable of pros, and they seem to be shopping both ends of the poker world this time, as they add beloved veteran Marcel Luske and hot discovery Jason Mercier.

“The Flying Dutchman” is easily recognized at the tables for his sharp suits and upside-down sunglasses, but looks are not everything when it comes to this Dutch poker professional, who was recognized as the top poker player in Europe at the European Poker Awards in 2001 and 2003, and honoured with the European Poker Awards ‘Life Time Achievement Award’ in 2008 at the Aviation Club in Paris.

Like many old-school pros, Luske started out playing poker informally in Amsterdam while hanging on to several day jobs, until he eventually opened his own poker club and decided to enter the European tournament scene. He made his first big splash in 2001, winning 3 tournaments in a two-week span. The $85,000 he collected over those two weeks were a good motivation to quit the day job and focus on poker.

His 2001 run was so successful it earned him his first “Player of the Year” title at the European Poker Awards. Two years later, Luske made an even bigger splash internationally in the 2003 WSOP, where he finished 14th at the Main Event and caught the public’s imagination with his classy outfits, outgoing personality and penchant for singing at the poker tables.

Luske’s career has seen him score big in many international events, most notably winning at the Five-Star World Poker Classic for $212,000 in April 2005; taking down the Hall of Fame Poker Classic in Paris for $143,000 in July 2005 and winning at the Five-Star World Poker Classic in April 2006 for $316,000.

A human dynamo, Luske finds time for plenty more besides his successful poker playing: he has famously mentored WSOP bracelet holder David Williams (who was runner-up for the Main Event in 2004,) as well as noted pros Noah Boeken and Kirill Gerasimov. Luske also founded the Federation Internationale de Poker Association (FIDPA), which aims to even the field by implementing standard rules all over the tournament trail; he is a valued member of the World Poker Federation Advisory Board; he support several charity projects and he is even considering a singing career, a long time ambition of his.

Next to Luske’s extended career, Mercier may seem a mere shooting star, but make no mistake: this 22-year-old is here to stay as one of the top players of his generation. In his short time in the poker spotlight, Mercier has already accrued over $3.2 million in live cashes since his first major tournament, the 2008 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.

Mercier was already a top VIP at PokerStars, having earned the status of SuperNova Elite for his level of play, and he is naturally enthusiastic about becoming a sponsored pro: “Becoming a member of Team PokerStars Pro means a lot to me. I’m so excited to be playing for the site I first started playing on. I feel like this solidifies my standing as one of the top poker players’ around.”

In spite of his relatively short career span, Mercier already has a number of major scores to his name, such as winning the Season Four PokerStars EPT San Remo (a $1,372,893 prize;) finishing sixth at the PokerStars EPT Season Five event in Barcelona, earning $324,946; and shortly afterwards taking down the PokerStars EPT London £1 Million Showdown High Roller tournament for £516,000 ($944,847). In this last one he faced a terrifying final table, squaring himself against notables such as John Juanda, Scotty Nguyen, David Benyamine and namesake Team PokerStars Pro Isabelle Mercier.

For the cherry on top, Mercier has already cashed four times at this year’s WSOP and he won his first bracelet on June 1st after besting 808 players in the $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha event for $237,415.

Greg Mueller Wins Second Bracelet of 2009 WSOP

With only scant days remaining until the start of the $10,000 Main Event at the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP), the race for the remaining bracelets is heating up in the Amazon Room at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

The final table of the $1,500 Limit Hold’em Shootout, Event #50 on the WSOP schedule, played out deep into the evening on Sunday. A total of 571 players started the event on Friday, with the final eight survivors having won their way to the final table by winning two sit and gos over the previous two days. As with the shootout format, the players all started with the same number of chips (450,000 at the final table) and there were plenty of strong players in the mix.

Bodog’s David Williams, who famously finished second to Greg Raymer in the 2004 Main Event and has since captured his own WSOP bracelet, was joined by two other bracelet winners from this year’s play. Marc Naalden, who won only the second bracelet in WSOP for his home country of the Netherlands, and Full Tilt Poker’s Greg “FBT” Mueller, the former Canadian hockey player who picked up his first bracelet this year, led a contingent of players from around the world. Millie Shue, who was the runner-up in the Ladies’ event in 2004, the Netherlands’ Joep Van Den Bijgaart, Argentina’s Jose Barbero, Italy’s Flaminio Malaguti, and the United States’ Matt Sterling rounded out what was truly an international table.

The three bracelet winners got off to fast starts and, within two hours, had separated themselves from the pack. Mueller pulled into the chip lead when he drew the first blood at the table with the elimination of Barbero in eighth place. Prior to the table taking the dinner break, the two Scandinavians battled it out, as Naalden took out Van Den Bijgaart in seventh place.

After the dinner hiatus, Williams tried to mount an attack on Mueller’s chip lead. He vanquished Malaguti in sixth when he turned a five to match his A-5 against the Italian’s Big Slick, but couldn’t seem to find any traction after that point. He slowly slid down the leaderboard and was eventually eliminated by Shue in fourth place. Even with the knockout, Shue, who played conservatively through the final table, was eventually ousted in third place.

Heads-up play began between Mueller (who had dismissed Sterling from the tournament in fifth place) and Naalden, with the Canadian holding a 4:1 lead over the Scandinavian. With the two men reaching heads-up, it also guaranteed the fourth double bracelet winner of this year’s WSOP, setting a new record for most multiple bracelet winners.

Naalden attacked Mueller from the start of heads-up action and, through skillful play, was able to pull to even within 30 minutes of play. Over the next hour and a half, Mueller and Naalden, who both won their bracelets in Limit events this year, would swap the lead approximately a half dozen times before Mueller was able to go on a run. That run enabled Mueller, once his five kicker played over Naalden’s deuce after both paired a King on the final hand, to capture his second WSOP bracelet and the $194,854 top prize.

Most of the attention of the crowd at the Rio was focused on play in the Players’ Championship, the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. tournament. A total of 53 players came back to attempt to work down to the cashout level (the final 16 players), but were unable to do that as 19 remained by the time play ended for the day.

Vitaly Lunkin, who captured the title in the $40,000 Anniversary Event, leads the field with 1.5 million in chips. He is joined by internet legend Erik “Erik123” Sagstrom, 2007 H.O.R.S.E. champion Freddy Deeb, and David Bach as players who have all eclipsed the million chip mark. Lurking just under that level is Ville Wahlbeck, who captured his first bracelet earlier this month in the World Championship Mixed event. They are joined by such professionals as eight-time WSOP champion Erik Seidel, former World Champion and current National Heads-Up Champion Huck Seed, 2009 Pot Limit Hold’em World Champion John Kabbaj, and Gus “The Great Dane” Hansen, who has no WSOP jewelry in his career. The 19 remaining players returning for Day 4 will play through to a final table tonight and a champion determined tomorrow.

A championship will be determined tonight in Event #51, another $1,500 No Limit Hold’em tournament. Thirty-five players remain from the 2,781 who started the tournament, with newcomer Durand Thibaud holding the chip lead. He is joined by Owen Crowe as the only players over the million chip mark, with Josh Schlein on the verge of cracking that mark.

Two tournaments enter into Day 2 action today, the $3,000 Triple Chance No Limit Hold’em tournament (Event #52) and the $1,500 Seven Card Stud High-Low tournament (Event #53). Jeffrey Lisandro, who has already captured three WSOP bracelets this year, is looking for an unprecedented fourth in the Triple Chance event, although there are still 149 players left. Currently Lisandro holds a healthy stack of 113,800 and is in pursuit of Antonio “The Magician” Esfandiari, who has 127, 900. In the Seven Card tournament, Marcel Luske, Daniel Negreanu and Annie Duke are a few of the top names that have survived to play Day 2, with Allie Prescott holding the lead over the 143 runners remaining.

Two events will kick off action with their Day 1s that begin at Noon today. Event #54, another $1,500 No Limit Hold’em tournament, should draw a sizeable crowd and Event #55, the $2,500 Deuce to Seven Triple Draw Lowball tournament, should be stocked with top professionals. Poker News Daily will be on top of this and all of the rest of the action at the Rio as the poker world prepares for the start of the Main Event later this week.

Brandon Cantu Defeats Lee Watkinson for WSOP PLO High-Low Title

Two of poker’s stars clashed in a heads-up match for the ages in the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better event Saturday evening. Brandon Cantu and Lee Watkinson were the first bracelet winners of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) to play heads-up for a title and the large crowd that gathered at the ESPN stage in the Amazon Room wasn’t left disappointed.

In the end, it was Cantu who finished on top to earn his second WSOP gold bracelet and $228,867. Cantu fought back from a 5:1 chip deficit to take control of the match and eventually put Watkinson away. On the final hand, Watkinson raised and Cantu called to see a flop of Q-6-4 with two clubs. Watkinson moved all-in and Cantu called:

Watkinson:
Cantu:

Watkinson was unable to fill his low and straight draws and Cantu’s set of fours held up to seal the victory. The win came just a week after Cantu took second place in a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event despite having an enormous chip lead throughout most of the final table. He earned $403,951, but the result came with plenty of discontent.

“This is really special, especially because I should have won a week ago,” he said of winning his second bracelet. “That loss was really hard for me to take. This one really was special… I put so much time into playing these tournaments. The money comes and goes, but the bracelet will always be there. It’s nice winning titles. It’s great.”

Cantu took nearly twice as many chips (1,025,000) into the final day of the Pot Limit Omaha High-Low event as his closest competitor (Mathieu Jacqmin). At one point during Day 2 he had 25% of the chips in play, reaching the one million chip mark before anyone else had hit 300,000. Despite having limited experience in the game, Cantu went on a rush that hadn’t yet been seen at this year’s WSOP. “I don’t know if this game suits my style,” Cantu explained. “But everything worked. You can’t be quite as aggressive in this game. You have to slow down a little bit. In the end, everything worked.”

Cantu’s first gold bracelet win took place in what was his first time ever to cash in a major live event.  He won a $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold’em WSOP event in 2006 for $757,839. The tournament drew 2,776 players, which at the time at the time was the largest non-Main Event tournament in WSOP history.

Watkinson was also playing for his second career WSOP bracelet Saturday. His first came in the 2006 in the $10,000 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha championship. Watkinson also made it to the final table of the 2007 WSOP Main Event, taking eighth place for $585,699.

Here a look at the final results from the $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Low event:

1. Brandon Cantu - $228,867
2. Lee Watkinson - $141,873
3. Mathieu Jacqmin - $92,946
4. Ted Weinstock - $74,727
5. Tommy Vedes - $47,617
6. Steve Jelinek - $36,893
7. Aaron Sias - $30,028
8. Ronnie Hofman - $25,618
9. William McMahan - $22,862

One player will be awarded a bracelet Sunday as the $1,500 Limit Hold’em Shootout comes to a close. Bracelet winners Greg “FBT” Mueller, Tom Schneider, David Williams, and Marc Naalden headline one of the most talented final tables formed at the 2009 WSOP. Online stars Matt “mattster24″ Sterling and Joep “Pappe_Ruk” van den Bijgaart will also be vying for the bracelet and $ 194,854 prize when play resumes at 2:00pm Vegas time.

Day 3 of the $50,000 HORSE will get underway at 4:00pm with 53 of the original 95 players still in the field. Gus Hansen is the chip leader heading in to Day 3 with 686,000 while Ray Dehkharghani (643,000), Erik “erik123″ Sagstrom (560,000), and Todd Brunson (549,000) are close behind. A winner will be crowned on Tuesday and collect $1,276,802.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for updates on all of today’s events at the WSOP.

Hansen among leaders in $50k H.O.R.S.E.

Hansen sits behind only Ray Dehkharghani on the chip leaderboard.

Notable among Day 2's survivors are Day 1 chipleader Hasan Habib, Patrik Antonius, Doyle Brunson and Phil Ivey as well as 2008 champ Scotty Nguyen and 2007 champ Freddy Deeb.

Deeb found himself embroiled in a bit of controversy late in Saturday's action, accusing Brett Richey of peeking at his hole cards while standing behind the table.

Richey, in turn, accused Deeb of being a luck box and challenged him to a heads-up match, "Any game, any stakes, any time."

Unfortunately, the night ended before Deeb could accept the challenge.

Among those to succumb on Day 2 were 2006 runner-up Andy Bloch, Annie Duke, the indefatigable Allen Kessler and Daniel Negreanu.

Play will resume for Day 3 at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

Here's how the rest of Saturday's action played out in the Amazon Room:

Event 48 - $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Split

Brandon Cantu claimed his second WSOP bracelet in the $1.5k PLO8 event just days after taking second in Event 39, a $1,500 No Limit Hold'em donkament.

Cantu entered the final table with nearly one-third of the chips in play but saw his stack fluctuate wildly before mounting a comeback to defeat Lee Watkinson heads-up for the bracelet and $228,867 in cash.

Check out Cantu's thoughts on the victory here.

Event 50 - $1,000 Limit Hold'em Shootout

Greg Mueller and David Williams headline the final table of the $1,500 No Limit Hold'em shootout event after Day 2 action saw a field of 64 survivors whittled down to an eight-handed final table.

Jose Barbero and Marc Naalden also snagged final table seats, while EPT3 Dortmund champ Andreas Hoivold just barely missed the cut.

Shawn Buchanan and Humberto Brenes also busted out shy of the final table.

Final table action begins at 2 p.m. local time on Sunday.

Event 51 - $1,500 No Limit Hold'em

The penultimate donkament of the 2009 WSOP was an unmitigated success as a field of 2,781 entrants sold out the Amazon Room in a quest for a piece of a $3.8 million prize pool.

Among the 350 players advancing to Day 2 are chipleader Christopher Bonita as well as Amnon Filippi and Jason Potter.

Meanwhile, Paul Wasicka, Jason Mercier and Marc "The Beaver" Convey were among the multitudes who failed to survive the first day's action.

Action will resume at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

Check out PokerListings' WSOP section for more exclusive coverage from the 2009 World Series of Poker.

Netherlands’ Marc Naalden Wins WSOP $2,000 Limit Holdem Event

In winning only the second World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet in the history of his country, the Netherlands’ Marc Naalden dominated final table play, suffered a slight setback during heads-up action, and came back to win Event #38, the $2,000 Limit Hold’em tournament.

The final table was determined early Sunday morning from the original 446 runners. Naalden, who had dominated the field since action was at 25 players, came to the featured table with a sizeable chip lead. His two closest competitors, Danny Qutami and Steven Cowley, didn’t even have as many chips combined as Naalden with his stack of 755,000. When play began at 2:00pm Sunday afternoon, the players went to work quickly, with Cowley eliminating pro Rep Porter in ninth place after an hour of play.

Naalden extended his lead when he crippled Jared O’Dell with pocket aces, jumping up over one million in chips. O’Dell was eliminated soon afterwards in seventh place and was immediately followed by Naalden’s elimination of Qutami, who bled chips at the final table. After Naalden eliminated Alex Keating in fifth place, he held over half of the chips in play.

Once Tam “Tommy” Hang (who finished in third place in last year’s $10,000 World Championship of this discipline) was eliminated in fourth and 2006 WSOP bracelet winner Ian Johns dropped in third, heads-up play came down to Naalden and Cowley. While it seemed that it would be a quick ascension to the bracelet for Naalden, who had Cowley dominated by over 7:1, it would actually prove to be one of the more exciting battles of this year’s WSOP.

Over the first 30 minutes of heads-up play, Cowley put on a surge that actually pushed him into the lead. In that time span, he either won or chopped every pot that was contested and had the Scandinavian scratching his head. After an hour, Naalden gathered himself and pushed back the Cowley assault, retaking the lead that he had held for much of the late action in Event #38. Naalden continued to batter the valiant Cowley until after two hours of heads-up play, he was able to catch a queen against Cowley to win the gold WSOP bracelet and $190,770 first place payday.

Two tournaments enter their final day of action with quite a bit of work to be done. Event #39, a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em tournament that started with 2,715 players on Saturday, could only get down to 26 by the 3:00am WSOP curfew. There is some controversy as to the chip count of the player at the top of the leaderboard, Michele Iacovone, as he has quoted his stack at 1,605,200 and there are no tournament chips of the 100 denomination in play. Nevertheless, he is atop the remainder of the field, with former World Poker Tour (WPT) champion Joe Bartholdi, veteran Raymond Davis, Alex Jacob, Nam Le, and WSOP bracelet holder Brandon Cantu in hot pursuit of the $657,787 first place prize.

Stacked tables of professional players remain in Event #40, the $10,000 World Championship of Pot Limit Omaha, and they were also unable to work their way down to the final table on Day Two. There are still 43 players remaining in the fight from the 295 starters. Noah Schwartz is at the head of the field, which also includes bracelet holders such as Full Tilt Poker’s Howard Lederer, PokerStars’ Barry Greenstein, Bodog’s David Williams, and Josh Arieh. The $40,000 Anniversary Special champion, Vitaly Lunkin, and Padraig Parkinson are a couple of the European players also in the mix. At the end of the rainbow when the tournament ends tonight: a highly prestigious gold WSOP bracelet and a $679,379 bankroll boost.

A total of 280 players stepped up to take part in Event #41, the $5,000 No Limit Hold’em Shootout, and after the carnage of Day One was finished, 30 players remain on five tables. There are some notable names that are alive as Day Two starts, such as Peter “Nordberg” Feldman, Mark Teltscher, Barney Boatman, Jennifer Harman, Amit “amak316” Makhija, Jean “Prince” Gaspard, and David “The Dragon” Pham. Even with this much star power, the attention of fans gathered at the Rio will be on 2009 double bracelet winner Phil Ivey as he aims for a third this year, a feat no one has accomplished since Ivey in 2002.

Day One of the $2,500 Mixed Game tournament, Event #42 on the WSOP schedule, drew a 412 player field eager to attack the eight disciplines of poker that it features. The combination of games could conceivably be a more difficult challenge than HORSE and the quality of some of the remaining players in the tournament shows the skill necessary to battle in this arena. 2009 WSOP double bracelet winner Jeff Lisandro, David Sklansky, John Juanda, Robert Williamson III, Marcel Luske, and Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi are just a few of the top names that are still in contention for this championship.

Two tournaments will start play today in the Amazon Room at the Rio: the $1,000 Seniors No Limit Championship and the $2,500 Razz tournament, Events #43 and 44 respectively. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the 2009 WSOP.

First bracelet of 2009 for Holland WSOP June 21

Naalden isn't very well known in the U.S., but he's earned more than $1 million in tournaments since turning pro in 2005.

Naalden had previously cashed five times at the WSOP, including one final table appearance.

"It's great," said the 40-year-old pro. "This is my fourth WSOP. I have played in a lot of events ... and third place was my best finish."

"It is very hard to win a WSOP event. Finally, after all of those efforts, it feels fantastic."

Naalden went into the final table with a sizeable chip lead and never looked back, eventually outlasting Steven Cowley in heads-up play.

"Yeah, you tend to over-exaggerate your chances because you have a big chip lead," Naalden said.

"But (I) only had 25 percent of the chips in play. So, I have only about a 25 percent chance of winning," he said

"And, plus the fact there are quite a few strong players - so I thought to myself, don't get too excited. But I went on a big heater."

Cowley cashes for $117,902 in second place, while former WSOP bracelet winner Ian Johns placed third.

Negreanu, who won this event last year, finished 26th.

Hellmuth finished in the money in 17th place, giving him 72 career cashes at the WSOP, the most all time.

Event 39 - $1,500 No Limit Hold'em

The latest $1,500 No Limit event began with another huge field, but now the original 2,715 have been whittled down to the last two tables.

Amazingly Nam Le was playing this event and the $10k Pot-Limit Omaha World Championship simultaneously all day long.

Notable names still in it include Raymond Davis, former WPT Championship winner Joe Bartholdi, Brandon Cantu, Alex Jacob and Benjamin Kang.

The bracelet will be awarded tomorrow, with play beginning at 2 p.m.

Event 40 - $10k World Championship Pot Limit Omaha

The $10k PLO championship is among the most prestigious events for the serious pro and this year saw another absolutely stacked field.

Nam Le was the unfortunate bubble boy in this event, having multi-tabled it along with the $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em event.

Erick Lindgren was next out as the first person to get paid.

Noah "fouruhaters" Schwartz is the overwhelming chip lead with Euros Stefan Mattsson, Marcus Golser, Vitaly Lunkin and Robin Keston close behind.

Matt Vengrin, Josh Arieh, Matt Graham, Barry Greenstein, Howard Lederer, David Williams and Nenad Medic are representing North America in the playdown to the final table, beginning at 2 p.m.

Click through for full live updates.

Event 41 - $5k No Limit Hold'em Shootout

Many big names started amongst the field of 280, but few made it to Day 2.

Phil Ivey will be going for bracelet number three of 2009 with Jennifer Harman, Barny Boatman, David "The Dragon" Pham and Neil Channing still in the hunt.

30 players are coming back at 2 p.m.

Event 42 - $2,500 Mixed Event

It's another all-star field for the $2,500 Mixed Event.

The mixed games seem to be a format that the pros love, and this tournament is no exception.

Day 1 kicked off today with Daniel Negreanu, Jennifer Harman, Gavin Smith, Phil Hellmuth, J.C. Tran and a host of other big names in the field.

Play resumes at 2 p.m. Monday, and the event is scheduled to play down to a final table, which will be played Tueday.

Dream Team Poker Announces Tournament During 2009 WSOP

Dream Team Poker will present the third tournament in its history in July. Fresh off a sold out event at Caesars Palace, the team gaming concept will make its way to the Rio from July 12th to 13th during the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP). The buy-in is $560 per person, or $1,680 per three-man team.

The last time out, 148 teams and 444 players mobbed Caesars Palace for a sold out tournament, the first one held by Dream Team Poker that was open to the general public. In the end, Team ACED, which consisted of then-ACED Poker pro Jamie Gold, Ashley Nataupsky, and Houston Waldie, dominated the field and banked nearly $60,000. Other teams that finished in the money included The Claddaghs (second place for $33,300), The Clones (third place for $15,984), Party at the Mansion (fourth place for $10,656), and the Hellmuth Busters (fifth place for $6,660). Players who hit the felts included Bodog Poker pro Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, Ultimate Bet personality Phil Hellmuth, Johnny Chan, David Williams, Paul Wasicka, and T.J. Cloutier. Needless to say, the poker world was out in full force.

Dream Team Poker CEO Daniel Delshad will now bring his company’s popular concept to the world’s biggest stage: The 2009 WSOP. The tournament will take place concurrently with the end of the $10,000 buy-in Main Event, which will air as part of ESPN’s coverage of the festivities. Delshad told Poker News Daily, “After the success of our Caesars Palace event, we were able to get some time with WSOP officials and discuss an opportunity to bring Dream Team Poker to the Rio. To be able to get a turnaround that quickly is a testament to our success and the WSOP bringing new ideas to their game.” The WSOP Main Event will play down to its final table on July 15th and then be paused until November for the second straight year. On July 12th and 13th, the featured tournament will be playing out Day 5 and Day 6.

The first 300 teams that register will receive customized jerseys to don when they hit the Dream Team Poker felts. Although the number of tables that the tournament will have available has not yet been determined, a crowd surpassing the 444 players who showed up to Caesars is not out of the question. Delshad was elated at the event’s timing: “It gives us a lot more time to promote it. For us, the real excitement is to be in the Amazon Room at the same time as the Main Event. It’s a step higher than just being at the WSOP.” Registration for Dream Team Poker’s WSOP tournament will open on July 3rd. The organization will also have a booth in the halls of the Rio throughout the seven week WSOP festivities.

Among those who have expressed interest in creating a team is Jason Lilly, the individual winner in Dream Team Poker’s inaugural tournament, which was held at the Hard Rock in November. In addition, Joe Sebok has asked for Dream Team Poker officials to reserve him a spot. The tournament’s rules will remain much the same. Delshad told Poker News Daily, “People will still be wearing jerseys, but we’ll be on a bigger floor. We are still going to have time outs for players to talk to teammates who have been eliminated. We look at this as a good opportunity for people to continue to learn about the strategy of team gaming.” Taking down the invite-only Hard Rock event was Team Bluff, which consisted of Bonomo, Eric Morris, and Matt Parvis.

Delshad revealed to Poker News Daily that Dream Team Poker has plans to take the brand outside of the United States, as it has revolutionized the notion that poker is an individual sport. Team scores are determined by adding up the position that each player finished in. Only the two best scores are counted and the team with the lowest tally wins. Teammates are not seated at the same table until 14 to 16 players remain and any team that is represented in the final 27 runners receives a time out. Players also compete for individual prize money in addition to banking on their team’s success.

Poker News Daily would like to thank Delshad for giving our readers a unique insight into the Dream Team Poker concept.

PokerStars Lifts Ban on Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo

Once banned from PokerStars, Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, is apparently back at the popular online poker room. A few years back, Bonomo was first exposed at PartyPoker for registering as many as six online poker accounts and registering all six names in the same tournament. Shortly after, PokerStars revealed that he had done the same on their site. Consequently, both big-name online poker sites restricted him from playing at their online poker rooms.

But Bonomo’s dishonesty was not all that it was cracked up to be. He’s actually a great poker player, both online and off, and has since worked hard to smooth over his bad reputation and show the poker community that he’s not such a bad guy. In the past three years, Bonomo has steered clear of any misconduct and focused on overcoming the stigma that was attached to his name and re-establishing his career in professional poker.

After his exclusion at PartyPoker and PokerStars, Bonomo turned his attention to live tournaments, many of which he has gone on to win or cash big. In 2007 he placed 4th at the WSOP $2,000 No-Limit event and 2nd in the $3,000 HORSE WSOP Circuit. He went on to place 2nd in the 2008 WSOP $5,000 Mixed Hold ‘em event and has been around the block, placing at other big events such as the WPT Doyle Brunson North American Poker Classic in 2007. Bodog Poker saw the potential in Bonomo as a poker player and eventually signed him as a Team Bodog Pro.

What makes it clear that Bonomo is that he started his poker career at the mere age of 16 after emerging from the strategy game, “Magic: The Gathering,” like many other professional poker players (e.g. David Williams). He placed 4th in the 2005 French Open at only 19 years of age and had made hundreds of thousands of dollars by the time he reached 21. By 23, he was poker millionaire. The irresponsible kid that once tried to cheat the online poker system has grown into a diligent and respectable professional, so much so that PokerStars saw fit to lift the ban on his online poker presence.

Jennifer Harman Charity Poker Tournament Returns for Third Year

Jennifer Harman and her many friends are back to raise money for a good cause.

The third annual Jennifer Harman Charity Poker Tournament will be held at The Venetian Poker Room on Friday, April 17, in Las Vegas. The event, which benefits the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA), raised more than $130,000 for the organization last year alone.

Poker celebrities that have already reserved seats for the charity tournament include Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein, Chris Ferguson, Hoyt Corkins, Jerry Yang, Andy Bloch, David Williams, Eli Elezra, David Oppenheim, Lee Watkinson, Jeff Madsen, Karina Jett, Todd Brunson, Brad Booth, Joe Sebok, and many others. Defending champion Seth Dupre, a recreational player from Las Vegas, will also participate. The event is open to the public.

A red carpet walk featuring players accompanied by animals from the NSPCA shelter is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m., while emcee Matt Savage will kick off the $300 No Limit Hold'em tournament at 5 p.m. The tournament will include unlimited $100 rebuys for the first three levels and then a $100 add-on worth twice the starting stack.

The grand prize of a seat in the $10,000 World Series of Poker Main Event, along with a Curtis & Co. watch, will be awarded to the winner. Each player will receive a generous gift bag courtesy of the Nevada SPCA and its sponsors. The silent auction, hosted by Nevada SPCA and Triumph Sports, will feature autographed sports and poker memorabilia items. The auction will run from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m.

The following sponsored prizes will be awarded to those that reach the final table:

1st Place -- $10,000 World Series of Poker Main Event seat, Legacy Alliance custom designed crystal trophy, Curtis & Co. sports watch, Life’s A Bluff autographed Limited Edition Lithograph.

2nd Place -- WSOP Academy certificate, Legacy Alliance custom designed crystal trophy, Curtis & Co. sports watch, Life’s A Bluff autographed Limited Edition Lithograph.

3rd Place -- WSOP Academy certificate, Legacy Alliance custom designed crystal trophy, Curtis & Co. sports watch, Life’s A Bluff autographed Limited Edition Lithograph.

4th Place -- Two nights luxury accommodations at the Venetian, dinner for two at a Delmonico Steakhouse (pending approval), certificate to Venetian’s Canyon Ranch Spa Club (pending approval), Life’s A Bluff autographed Limited Edition Lithograph.

5th Place -- Autographed complete home poker chip set, tickets for two to David Spade Live at the Venetian (pending approval), Quad Queens all-in-one cushion backpack, Life’s A Bluff autographed Limited Edition Lithograph.

6th Place -- Tickets for two to Phantom at the Venetian (pending approval), autographed complete home poker chip set, Quad Queens all-in-one cushion backpack, Life’s A Bluff autographed Limited Edition Lithograph.

7th Place -- Tickets for two to Wayne Brady at the Venetian (pending approval), autographed complete home poker chip set, Quad Queens all-in-one Cushion Backpack, Life’s A Bluff autographed Limited Edition Lithograph.

8th Place -- Tickets for two to Madame Tussauds (pending approval), autographed complete home poker chip set, Quad Queens all-in-one cushion backpack, Life’s A Bluff autographed Limited Edition Lithograph.

9th Place -- Tickets for two to Jersey Boys (pending approval), autographed complete home poker chip set, Quad Queens all-in-one cushion backpack, Life’s A Bluff autographed Limited Edition Lithograph.

10th Place -- Tickets for two to Blue Man Group, SuperSystem leather-bound autographed by Doyle Brunson, Doyle Brunson autographed cowboy hat, Quad Queens all-in-one cushion Backpack, Life’s A Bluff autographed Limited Edition Lithograph.

There will also be a “Last Woman Standing” prize and “Jennifer Harman Bounty” prize sponsored by 2-Step Images. More information, including tournament structure, prizes, and contacts, can be found at http://www.jenniferharmancpt.com.

Bodog Poker Open III Dates Announced

On April 26th, the third Bodog Poker Open will kick off on one of the world’s largest online poker sites. In a similar model to tournaments held on Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars, the newest Bodog Poker Open will feature three buy-in levels.

The Main Event takes place on May 3rd. Leading up to it, the popular event will feature tournaments held as part of the Championship Tournament Series, Mid-Stakes Tournament Series, and Mini-Bounty Tournament Series. Each features a different schedule of events. Overall, players will battle it out in full- and short-handed tables in games such as Limit Hold’em, No Limit Hold’em, and Omaha. In contrast to other sites, Bodog does not guarantee prize pools in its high-stakes Championship Poker Open. Instead, the site adds money to each prize pool.

Here is a look at the schedule of events that players can look forward to on the popular online poker room, sports book, and casino when the festivities kick off on April 26th:

Championship Series:

Sunday, April 26th at 4:00pm ET
Event #1: No Limit Hold’em Rebuy
$55 with rebuys, $5,000 Added

Sunday, April 26th at 8:30pm ET
Event #2: No Limit Hold’em Four-Handed Freeze-Out
$215 buy-in, $5,000 Added

Monday, April 27th at 8:00pm ET
Event #3: No Limit Hold’em Freeze-Out
$270 buy-in, $5,000 Added

Tuesday, April 28th at 8:00pm ET
Event #4: No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed Freeze-Out
$325 buy-in, $5,000 Added

Wednesday, April 29th at 8:00pm ET
Event #5: No Limit Hold’em Rebuy
$110 with rebuys, $5,000 Added

Thursday, April 30th at 8:00pm ET
Event #6: Pot Limit Hold’em Freeze-Out
$163 buy-in, $5,000 Added

Friday, May 1st at 8:00pm ET
Event #7: Limit Hold’em Freeze-Out
$130 buy-in, $5,000 Added

Saturday, May 2nd at 7:15pm ET
Event #8: Turbo Hundo Freeze-Out
$109 buy-in, $5,000 Added

Sunday, May 3rd at 2:00pm ET
Event #9: No Limit Hold’em Cubed
$55 buy-in (One Rebuy plus One Add-On), $5,000 Added

Sunday, May 3rd at 4:00pm ET
Main Event
$500 buy-in, $30,000 Added

Mid-Stakes Series:

Sunday, April 26th at 2:00pm ET
No Limit Hold’em Freeze-Out
$109 buy-in, $20,000 Guaranteed

Monday, April 27th at 8:30pm ET
No Limit Hold’em Rebuy
$22 with rebuys, $15,000 Guaranteed

Tuesday, April 28th at 8:30pm ET
No Limit Hold’em Turbo Freeze-Out
$60 buy-in, $15,000 Guaranteed

Wednesday, April 29th at 8:30pm ET
No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed Freeze-Out
$60 buy-in, $15,000 Guaranteed

Thursday, April 30th at 8:30pm ET
Limit Hold'em Four-Handed Freeze-Out
$75 buy-in, $15,000 Guaranteed

Friday, May 1st at 8:30pm ET
Pot Limit Hold’em Rebuy
$33 with rebuys, $15,000 Guaranteed

Saturday, May 2nd at 8:30pm ET
No Limit Hold’em Cubed
$33 buy-in (One Rebuy plus One Add-On), $15,000 Guaranteed

Sunday, May 3rd at 8:30pm ET
Main Event
$163 buy-in, $30,000 Guaranteed

Mini-Bounty Series Schedule:

Sunday, April 26th at 4:30pm ET
No Limit Hold’em Bounty Freeze-Out
$11 buy-in, $10,000 Guaranteed

Monday, April 27th at 9:00pm ET
No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed Turbo Bounty Freeze-Out
$33 buy-in, $10,000 Guaranteed

Tuesday, April 28th at 9:00pm ET
Pot Limit Hold’em Bounty Freeze-Out
$22 buy-in, $5,000 Guaranteed

Wednesday, April 29th at 9:00pm ET
Limit Hold’em Turbo Bounty Freeze-Out
$16.50 buy-in, $5,000 Guaranteed

Thursday, April 30th at 9:00pm ET
No Limit Hold'em Bounty Freeze-Out
$27.50 buy-in, $10,000 Guaranteed

Friday, May 1st at 9:00pm ET
No Limit Hold’em Four-Handed Bounty Freeze-Out
$36 buy-in, $5,000 Guaranteed

Saturday, May 2nd at 5:45pm ET
No Limit Hold’em Turbo Bounty Freeze-Out
$24 buy-in, $5,000 Guaranteed

Sunday, May 3rd at 4:30pm ET
Main Event
$50 buy-in, $15,000 Guaranteed

Bodog Poker pros Evelyn Ng, Jean-Robert Bellande, David Williams, and Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo will each have a bounty on their heads throughout the Mini-Bounty Series. In addition, winners from the 12 Days of Poker promotion, Monthly TLB champions, the Top 10 on the Yearly TLB, Mini-SOP victors, Bodog Poker Open II champions, and Flight Club players will also don bounties, making the tournament series lucrative. Knocking any of them out pays for a player’s entry into the Mini-Bounty Series Main Event.

Double Elimination Leaves Five-Handed WPT Final Table at Foxwoods

Wednesday marks the conclusion of the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Foxwoods Poker Classic. Traditionally, WPT final tables are played six-handed. However, a rare double elimination on the final hand on Tuesday leaves just five players.

Attendance at this year’s Foxwoods Poker Classic was down 25%, but there was no shortage of action at the Connecticut casino. On the final hand of the night, the number of players went from seven to five when Joe Raposa and Bill Botchis were both eliminated by Vadim Trincher, who holds a commanding chip lead over the field as a result.

Blinds were 12,000-24,000 when the double elimination occurred. Trincher raised to five times the big blind under the gun. Botchis shoved for 193,000 and Raposa pushed over the top for 248,000. Trincher called holding pocket aces and had both covered. Botchis and Raposa each turned over pocket pairs of their own, nines and jacks, respectively. The board came 8-7-5-2-7 and Trincher’s aces held. Suddenly, just five players remained.

This is only the second time in WPT history that a final table has started with five players. The other was during the Season VI WPT Celebrity Invitational, which was won by Van Nguyen. The cards will hit the air at 4:00pm ET today, with the winner taking home over $700,000. Here is a look at the chip counts as they stand entering the final table:

1. Vadim Trincher - 2,813,000
2. Amnon Filippi - 1,852,000
3. Matthew Casterella - 1,808,000
4. Lenny Cortellino - 1,175,000
5. Alex Perelberg - 200,000

Trincher took 132nd in the 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, turning his $10,000 buy-in into $58,000. Filippi is perhaps the most experienced player remaining at the WPT Foxwoods Poker Classic final table. He finished fourth in the 2007 HORSE Championship at the WSOP for $586,000 and owns nearly $700,000 in lifetime earnings from WSOP tournaments. This is his fourth WPT final table. He grabbed fourth in the Season IV Borgata Poker Classic for $184,000, sixth in the Season VI Mirage Poker Showdown for $100,000, and fifth in the Season VII Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic, which took place in December, for $288,000.

Places six through ten at Foxwoods were as follows:

6th Place: Joe Raposa - $85,292
7th Place: William Botchis - $68,235
8th Place: Lee Markholt - $54,830
9th Place: Allen Kessler - $46,315
10th Place: Tony Gargano - $40,209

Markholt’s tournament run ended after he was crippled holding pocket jacks against pocket kings on an eight-high board against Trincher; he was ousted from the event shortly thereafter. Markholt finished fourth in the WSOP Circuit Event Championship in Tunica in 2006, cashing for $183,000. Kessler was the runner up to Todd Brunson in a $2,500 buy-in Omaha High-Low Eight or Better WSOP tournament in 2005, pocketing $132,000. He made the final table of the Foxwoods Poker Classic two years ago and took third in the WPT Invitational during Season IV.

Other notable in the money finishes included:

12th Place: Barry Greenstein - $40,209
15th Place: David Williams - $34,117
24th Place: Charlie Marchese - $23,150
30th Place: Evan McNiff - $20,713

First place will pay out $731,079, second place pockets $409,405, third place will take home $214,449, fourth place will earn $138,905, and fifth place scores $106,007. The champion at Foxwoods will also take home a $25,000 buy-in to the WPT Championship, which kicks off in ten days from the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Preliminary tournaments for the prestigious end of season event are already running, keeping many of the West Coast pros in Sin City instead of traveling to Foxwoods.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily to see who wins!

Chainsaw massacre at Foxwoods

Upon learning of the bet midway through Day 4, Kessler had his answer.

"Who took me at 75:1 to win this thing?" he said. "That's not a good bet even now, with 14 players left. I wouldn't take those odds."

After four days of play in Connecticut, the Chainsaw finds himself with 394,000 heading into the tournament's penultimate day, good for seventh-place overall.

Ahead of him are WPT veterans Amnon Filippi and Lee Markholt, with 1.248 million and 1.18 million respectively. Chipleader Lenny Cortellino has 1.52 million.

But Kessler, who final-tabled this event in 2007, has something none of his rivals can claim: coaching from Mike "The Mouth" Matusow.

Hanging tough with 320k at the conclusion of the day's second level, Kessler received a text message from The Mouth providing unsolicited strategic advice.

The text read as follows:

"I get active start using lot pots any one who rsypir blind I shove it pretend u got aces"

The advice must have worked, as Kessler was able to use it to scrape together another 74k, outlast two more opponents and land himself a seat at Tuesday's ten-handed final table.

Ironically, one of those late eliminations was Team PokerStars Pro pro Barry Greenstein, who had dealt Kessler a savage burn on Day 3.

After Kessler asked the floormen about the provisions being made for TV final table seating assignments, Greenstein broke in.

"The only players who need to know where they'll be sitting are the six at the final table," the WPT quoted Greenstein as saying. "Your seat will be in the third row."

The Bear earned $40,209 for his twelfth-place finish. By surviving into Day 5, Kessler has a shot at anywhere from $46,315 to the $731,079 first prize.

If he busts out tenth, however, he'll earn the same $40k as Greenstein.

Play down from 17 to 10 took barely four hours on Day 4, with Greenstein and David Williams the most notable eliminations.

Williams was eliminated in fifteenth after being crippled by Kessler, whose pocket jacks stood up to the Bodog pro's A-10 in what the Chainsaw claimed was a rarity.

"My pairs never hold up against single overcards," he said.

Greenstein, meanwhile, succumbed after his A-Q failed to win a race against Cortellino's pocket jacks.

Check out all of Monday's highlights in the Live Updates.

Action will resume tomorrow at noon Eastern and continue until only six players remain. The PokerListings Live Tournaments team has all of the details.

Markholt running like God at Foxwoods

Sunday was definitely Markholt's day at Foxwoods. The man who calls himself Seattle Set entered the day with 35,100 in chips, good for dead last among the tournament's 59 survivors.

"I'd struggled with chips for two and a half days," said Markholt. "I told myself that if I ever got over 100,000 I'd feel like I was doing something."

Markholt would eclipse that goal with ease over Day 3's five levels of action, amassing more than 1.1 million by day's end through a solid strategy of running like God.

"I had 50,000 and David Williams doubled me up, tens against aces, and that brought me to 100k," Markholt said. "I think that was my turning point."

After doubling through Williams, Markholt went on a tear, busting Jerry Wong, Dan Heimiller and Charlie Marchese to send his stack up over the seven-figure mark and then finishing off David DiFilippo in 21st for good measure.

As the day came to a close, Markholt tried to bully short-stack Phong Nguyen in a blind-versus-blind encounter, only to find his K-7 behind Nguyen's A-J after the flop came J-10-6.

No worries, though: the turn was a seven and so was the river, giving Markholt trips and sending Nguyen packing.

"I feel really confident going into tomorrow," Markholt said.

All told, 17 players survived to the end of Level 15, including Barry Greenstein, Amnon Filippi and Allen Kessler.

Earlier in the day, Filippi flirted with the chip lead, eliminating erstwhile chipleader Ryan Fisler on the bubble in what was then the biggest pot of the tournament.

The hand saw Fisler three-bet all-in with aces on a nine-high flop and see Filippi snap him off with a flopped set of eights. It sent the young Canadian to the rail in 32nd place and launched Filippi to the top of the charts, where he'd lurk for the remainder of the day.

The New Yorker finished up with 824k, good for second on the leaderboard.

An hour of hand-for-hand play after Fisler's elimination,  Mohsin Charania earned the Bubble Boy title when he ran kings into Tony Gargano's aces in another of those biggest pots of the tournament.

This one was worth 800k and crippled Charania, who was eliminated shortly thereafter when his Q-10 failed to suck out against Andy Stone's A-8.

Among those to visit the cashier after Charania's elimination were Joe "Bobo" Cappello, Joanne Dorin and the aforementioned Heimiller, who ran A-4 into Markholt's A-K and couldn't recover.

Day 4 action will begin at noon Eastern and continue until only ten players remain. Catch all of the action in the PokerListings Live Tournaments section.

WPT Foxwoods Poker Classic Attendance Drops 25%

The World Poker Tour (WPT) Foxwoods Poker Classic kicked off on Friday from the Connecticut casino. Whether it was due to the economy, the ongoing Spring Championship of Online Poker tournament series, or preliminary events at the WPT Championship, attendance dropped by 25% this time around.

Last year, 346 players took to the felts in April, with Full Tilt Poker pro Erik Seidel emerging victorious from the pack. Seidel owns eight World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets, but last year marked his first WPT victory. The 2008 Foxwoods Poker Classic final table also featured Ted Forrest, who grabbed sixth place for $103,000. Seidel earned $992,000 for his victory. This year, just 259 players entered, a drop of 25%. A post on the WPT's website speculated, “While some of the West Coast pros stayed in Las Vegas for the Bellagio prelims, it's clear that the economy is playing a factor here in the Northeast, where only 259 players showed up for the WPT Foxwoods Poker Classic.”

Due to the sub-par turnout, the Foxwoods Poker Classic, which will air as part of the seventh season of the WPT on Fox Sports Net, will award less than three-quarters of a million dollars to its winner. The paydays will be as follows:

1st Place: $731,079
2nd Place: $409,405
3rd Place: $214,449
4th Place: $138,905
5th Place: $106,007
6th Place: $85,292

Day One in the massive Connecticut casino saw five levels of 90 minutes each played. As a result, just 165 players survived the day. The field was paced by Ken Adams, who spent the afternoon building up a stack of 140,775, over three times the average of 46,500.

The tournament will crown a champion on Wednesday. In addition to the $731,000 in cold hard cash, its victor will also pocket a $25,000 entry into the WPT Championship, which begins on April 18th from the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Here's a look at the top 10 stacks entering Day 2:

1. Ken Adams - 140,775
2. Daniel Pelletier - 123,775
3. Anthony Gregg - 113,675
4. Nick Saxon - 109,825
5. Anthony Gargano - 108,900
6. Frankie Flowers - 108,875
7. John LaRochelle - 108,775
8. William Botchis - 108,625
9. Andy Stone - 107,100
10. Michael Farris – 104,525

Notable chip stacks remaining in the talented field include Cory “UGOTPZD” Carroll (104,500), Jonathan Jaffe (102,000), Mohsin “chicagocards1” Charania (100,225), Team PokerStars Pro member Barry Greenstein (83,125), WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star Champion Steve Brecher (80,000), Bodog pro David Williams (78,075), online poker pro Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little (78,075), and Mike “The Mouth” Matusow (50,400). In addition, three former winners of WPT events held at Foxwoods are still in the hunt: Nenad Medic (40,000), Nick Schulman (24,000), and Hoyt Corkins (18,850).

One of the final players eliminated on Day 1 was Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, who took down the WPT Festa al Lago last October for $1.4 million. He defeated Nam Le heads-up in that even, with Medic and Ultimate Bet Star Player Adam “Roothlus” Levy also making the final table. Grospellier was all-in holding Q-J on a J-4-2-2-6 board for two pair, but was bested by his opponent's pocket queens for a better two pair. Ironically, Le was bounced from Foxwoods 10 minutes earlier after being crippled when his opponent tabled a full house on an A-K-5-J-K board, showing K-J.

After play had concluded at Foxwoods, Charania told WPT Live Updates Hostess Amanda Leatherman about a hand where he flopped quads: “I had deuces and the flop came 8-2-2. I checked, Kathy Liebert bet, [an opponent] called, and I called. The turn was a jack. I checked, the other guy bet pot, I re-raised, Kathy folded, and he called. The river came a queen and I couldn't put him on a full house. I value bet and he said, 'I call.' He flipped over 8-8.” Charania told Leatherman that he was “confused” by the hand, where, despite the action flop, all of the chips failed to make it into the middle of the table.

Play resumed at Noon ET today. We'll have full updates from Foxwoods right here on Poker News Daily.

ZeeJustin Unbanned on PokerStars

Just in time for its very first Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP), the world's most popular online poker room, PokerStars, reinstated the account of Justin "ZeeJustin" Bonomo, a sponsored pro of Bodog. The 23 year-old first ran into trouble in 2006 on PartyPoker, which was, at the time, open to U.S. players. Bonomo logged into multiple accounts at one time, sparking a flood of other sites to follow suit and ban the young player from their virtual felts.

Bonomo's multi-accounting came into light soon after the revelation that Josh "JJProdigy" Field had used several screen names, including “ABlackCar.” The mischief by Field also occurred on PartyPoker, leading the site to tighten up its security. Field was also informed by the Cake Poker Network that he could not compete in the Bluff Online Poker Challenge last month due to a ban for allowing a staked player to use his account.

Bonomo used a total of six accounts to log into PartyPoker; at times, these accounts appeared in the same online poker tournament. Winnings from a $640 buy-in PartyPoker Sunday tournament were revoked and Bonomo shied away from the media frenzy. On February 26th, 2006, Lee Jones, then the PokerStars Poker Room Manager, announced on TwoPlusTwo that Bonomo had been "playing multiple accounts in several tournaments at PokerStars." Money was taken from his account and used to pay back "players who were harmed by his actions in those same tournaments."

In 2008, Bonomo signed on as a member of Team Bodog, joining "Survivor: China" castaway Jean-Robert Bellande, Evelyn Ng, and David Williams. Bonomo burst onto the live poker scene in 2007, taking second in a $3,000 buy-in HORSE tournament held as part of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit festivities at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas for $40,000. During the 2007 WSOP, Bonomo made the final table and finished fourth in a $2,000 buy-in No Limit Hold'em tournament, winning $156,000. The next year, he finished as the runner up in a $5,000 Mixed Hold'em event for $230,000. That tournament marked the first bracelet win for Full Tilt Poker pro Erick Lindgren.

During the 2006 Bellagio Five Diamond World Poker Classic, a stop on the World Poker Tour (WPT), Bonomo bubbled the six-handed televised final table and finished in seventh for $152,000. He took 11th in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event and 35th in the WPT Championship, both in 2007, for a combined $154,000. Together with Parvis and Eric Morris, Bonomo took down the inaugural Dream Team Poker tournament held at the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas as part of “Team Bluff.” Now, he will battle it out in the PokerStars SCOOP, which begins on Friday.

On the naming of Bonomo to Bodog's elite stable of poker pros in May of 2008, Mohawk Gaming Group CEO Alwyn Morris commented in a press release, "Justin is one of the most feared and skilled players in poker today and we're thrilled to officially have him join our team of world-class poker pros. Justin lives and breathes the Bodog lifestyle and is a perfect fit for us. We expect him to make a lot of noise this year for Team Bodog, beginning with the WSOP this summer."

Team ACED Wins Dream Team Poker Caesars Palace Tournament

A total of 148 teams, or 444 players, entered Dream Team Poker's second tournament, which was held at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas over the weekend. It was the first installment open to the public and, when the final cards were dealt, Team ACED took down the event for nearly $60,000.

2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion Jamie Gold headlined Team ACED, which also included Ashley Nataupsky and Houston Waldie. The team's name is a reference to Gold's sponsorship by the Merge Gaming Network site of the same name, an agreement he inked in February. The Network accepts players from the United States and also includes Carbon Poker, IronDuke, Poker Nordica, and Rumble Poker, among others. ACED recently sponsored a charity fundraiser for Children Uniting Nations that was held after the Oscar festivities in Los Angeles and emceed by Gold.

Gold actually took ninth in the event, while Nataupsky finished in fourth. The 2006 Main Event winner commented in a press release distributed by Dream Team Poker on Monday, “It’s the most fun you can have without $12 million on the line. My WSOP bracelet is in a vault, but my Dream Team Poker trophy will be on my mantel for all to see.” Gold bested a field of 8,773 players in poker's most prestigious tournament in 2006 and took home the largest prize ever given out at the WSOP.

In order to preserve the integrity of the game, Dream Team Poker also awards prizes for the top individual tournament finishers. At the Caesars event, Danny Nelson emerged victorious from the pack, taking home nearly $24,000. Heads-up, he went toe to toe with Philip Rousseaux for 45 minutes in front of a throng of onlookers. In the final hand, Rousseaux pushed with J-8 on a board of K-8-4, only to see he was dominated by Nelson's K-9. A six on the turn and a seven on the river sealed the win for Nelson, who played as part of Team BikerHaven.net.

Teams were given jerseys to hit the felts with, creating a unique atmosphere. A team's overall score is determined by the two best finishes of its members and teammates are not seated at the same table until 14 to 16 players remain in order to stunt collusion. The runner up finish by Rousseaux was enough to earn The Claddaghs the second best team score and its corresponding $33,000 prize. Here were the top five teams at Caesars in the second Dream Team Poker tournament, a $550 per person buy-in affair:

1st Place: Team Aced - $59,940
2nd Place: The Claddaghs - $33,300
3rd Place: The Clones - $15,984
4th Place: Party at the Mansion - $10,656
5th Place: Hellmuth Busters - $6,660

The top five individual finishers were:

1st Place: Danny Nelson (Team BikerHaven.net) - $24,063
2nd Place: Philip Rousseaux (Team Claddaghs) - $13,320
3rd Place: Jerry Percival (Team Runner, Runner) - $7,922
4th Place: Ashley Nataupsky (Team ACED) –$ 6,666
5th Place: John Regis (Poker Masters) - $5,328

The very first Dream Team Poker event was held at the Hard Rock Casino in November and was won by Team Bluff, which consisted of Matt Parvis, Eric Morris, and Bodog poker pro Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo. Despite being open to the general public, the second installment of Dream Team Poker brought out some of the top names in poker. Former WSOP Main Event Champions in attendance over the weekend included Gold, Jerry Yang, Tom McEvoy, Ultimate Bet pro Phil Hellmuth, and Johnny Chan. Also making the trek to Caesars were three members of the inaugural November Nine: Dennis Phillips, David “Chino” Rheem, and Kelly Kim. Other poker pros that competed included Todd Brunson, Paul Wasicka, Full Tilt Poker front man Mike Matusow, Erica Schoenberg, T.J. Cloutier, David Williams, and the last woman standing in the 2008 WSOP Main Event, Tiffany Michelle.

No date for the third Dream Team Poker tournament has been announced. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest on this unique spin on the game.

Bodog Unveils 2009 WSOP Prop Bets

If you've ever wanted to rail your favorite poker stars without having to be at the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas, head to Bodog. The online poker site and sports book recently opened up betting on the WSOP. The festivities at the Rio begin on May 27th.

Among the wagers available on Bodog is what poker pro will win the most money during the 2009 WSOP. The leader in the clubhouse is 11-time bracelet holder Phil Hellmuth, who is currently going off at 5:2. Other players that are available to bet on include Doyle Brunson (7:2), David Sklansky (12:1), Barry Greenstein (5:1), Mike Caro (12:1), Phil Gordon (10:1), T.J. Cloutier (6:1), and Team PokerStars Pro member Daniel Negreanu, who is fetching 3:1 odds.

The question of “Will Phil Hellmuth win his 12th bracelet at the 2009 WSOP occurring in Las Vegas beginning May 27th?” is paying +300 for Yes and -500 for No. Hellmuth made three final tables last year, taking third in the $1,500 buy-in HORSE event for $93,000. You can also bet on whether Brunson or Johnny Chan will score their 11th bracelets. The +300 figure means that a player must bet $100 to get back a total of $400. The -500 figure means that a player must bet $500 to get back a total of $600.

A special last longer wager is also available on the prestigious $50,000 buy-in HORSE Championship, which was infamously won last year by Scotty Nguyen. He has 5:1 odds in the bet, the favorite among the pros available. Others include Brunson (6:1), Hellmuth (7:1), Chan (7:1), Freddy Deeb (11:2), Phil Ivey (6:1), David Williams (11:2), Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo (11:2), and Negreanu (6:1). Deeb won the event in 2007 and the late Chip Reese took down the inaugural HORSE Championship in 2006. The trophy given to the winner of the event is named in his honor.

Another unique bet asks wagerers to select what pair will rack up the most winnings in the 2009 WSOP. Patrik Antonius and Kathy Liebert are the current favorites, going off at 4:1. Other pairings available include Doyle and Todd Brunson (6:1), the husband and wife team of Marco Traniello and Jennifer Harman (6:1), father and son Barry Greenstein and Joe Sebok (9:2), brother and sister Annie Duke and Howard Lederer (15:2), Bodog pros Evelyn Ng and Justin Bonomo (15:2), Phil Laak and Jennifer Tilly (6:1), mother and son David and Shirley Williams (6:1), engaged couple Chad Brown and Vanessa Rousso (10:1), and Tom “durrrr” Dwan and Tiffany Michelle (9:2).

Players can even bet on what game will be played when the final hand is dealt during the HORSE Championship. Hold'em, Razz, and Seven Card Stud are all paying 5:2, while Omaha High-Low and Seven Card Stud High-Low are both going off at 15:4.

Bettors will also be keeping their eyes on the female contingent in the Main Event, as a special women's-only last longer bet is available on Bodog. Jennifer Harman and Kathy Liebert are the current favorites; both are 5:1 to remain in contention in the Main Event the longest. Others include Duke (7:1), Tilly (10:1), Cyndy Violette (7:1), Isabelle Mercier (7:1), Clonie Gowen (7:1), Ng (7:1), Liz Lieu (7:1), Mimi Tran (7:1), Katja Thater (7:1), Rousso (7:1), and the last woman standing in the 2007 WSOP Main Event, Maria Ho (10:1).

One prop bet on Bodog centers wholly on Bodog pro Jean-Robert Bellande's finish in the Main Event. Bellande was a contestant on CBS' “Survivor: China,” one of the 18 seasons of the show that have aired. “No Money” is paying 1:20; finishing in the money, but no better than 10th place is paying 8:1; making the final table is paying 150:1; and winning the 2009 WSOP Main Event is fetching 1,000:1 odds. Bellande took 442nd in the Main Event last year.

The first wager listed in Bodog's poker section is, “Will Scotty Nguyen reach his stated promise that he will earn $4,000,000 or more in combined winnings at this year’s WSOP?” Yes is paying out +2,400. The bet stems from an interview Nguyen had with PokerListings that he would retire from poker if he does not amass $4 million in winnings at the 2009 WSOP. Whether he will follow through on his promise is anyone's guess.