Cake Poker Opens Diamond Mine on January 10th

Starting next week, Cake Poker will fire up its latest promotion, which will offer $40,000 in cash to those who participate. The Diamond Mine begins next Monday, January 10th and will be a series of tournaments with increasing prize pools. The key to enter these events will be the ever-popular Cake Poker Gold Cards that have been released to this point in 2011.

Each tournament has a guaranteed prize pool, starting with $300 for the first and running up to $15,000 for the final event on the schedule. There is no cost for players to enter save for using the Gold Cards that they have accumulated through ring game play on Cake Poker.

The 14-event schedule begins with a tournament for players who can come up with five of the two of diamonds Gold Cards from the 2011 series. These players will battle it out for one of 100 seats in the next tournament and a piece of a $300 prize pool. If a player earns one of those seats, they’ll move on to the second tournament, which is offered to those with five of the three of diamonds Gold Cards. Each event as a player moves up the ladder has a card requirement for entry and an increasing prize pool.

If a player is able to play in all 12 of the preliminary events on the Diamond Mine schedule, they’ll earn a seat in the Diamond Mine Flawless Freeroll. This freeroll offers a $10,000 prize pool and will take place one day before the final event.

The final on January 23rd, which players can earn entry to either through winning a seat in Event #12 or by having an ace of diamonds from any of the Gold Card series, will feature a prize pool of $15,000.

Knowing that players will be burning through Gold Cards for the Diamond Mine tournament series, Cake Poker is simultaneously running its Turbo Gold Card promotion. Gold Cards will be distributed at ring game tables at twice the normal rate each day from January 10th to January 23rd from 4:00pm ET to 5:00pm ET and from 8:00pm ET to 11:00pm ET. This promotion gives players a chance to build up their 2011 series Gold Card collections and get in on the $40,000 Diamond Mine tournament schedule.

For those who prefer to “wheel and deal” to get the Gold Cards they need, Cake Poker’s Gold Card Exchange is open as well.

Already running on Cake Poker are satellites to one of the longest running tournament schedules in poker history. Cake Poker is offering its players the opportunity to head to Ireland over Easter weekend to take part in the 2011 Irish Poker Open, the second oldest tournament behind only the World Series of Poker. Cake Poker is offering players a chance at a seat at the 2011 Irish Poker Open Main Event for as little as $1.10, with satellites running daily. These satellites feed into a monthly Final.

Cake Poker has put together packages for players that are worth battling for. Each $7,000 prize package from Cake Poker includes a seat at the Main Event of the Irish Poker Open worth €3,500, a five-night stay at the Irish Poker Open’s host venue (the Burlington Hotel), $1,500 cash for travel expenses, and an official Cake Poker gear pack. The opportunity to play alongside the best poker players in the world during the Irish Poker Open, however, is the biggest prize. The final day to earn entry into the Irish Poker Open through Cake Poker is March 27th.

Featuring such outlets as its own eponymous room, the Doyle Brunson-backed DoylesRoom, and Victory Poker, the USA-friendly Cake Poker Network should be a popular stop for poker players throughout the month of January with its wealth of promotions. Visit Cake Poker to learn more about the Diamond Mine tournament series.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Visit PokerStars for more details on the 2011 Caribbean Adventure.

Phil Ivey Finishes 2010 Atop ESPN The Nuts Rankings for December

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Poker After Dark Big Heat Week Debuts Tonight

For those in need of new poker television content, the NBC franchise “Poker After Dark” returns for its first new episodes of 2011 tonight, featuring the biggest tournament in the history of the program.

Dubbed “Big Heat Week,” “Poker After Dark’s” first tournament of 2011 features a six-man sit and go that brings together competitors who have more than proven their worth in the poker world. Combined, the six players – John Juanda, Erick Lindgren, Phil Galfond, Huck Seed, Tom “durrrr” Dwan, and Phil Ivey – have over $42 million in career tournament earnings, 18 World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets, a WSOP Main Event title, and a slew of other major championships.

The $100,000 buy-in event guarantees that the victor of this week’s “Poker After Dark” will walk away with a $600,000 payday.

Galfond is the newcomer to the “Poker After Dark” stage, as all of the other competitors have faced the NBC show’s cameras previously. Galfond, who terrorizes the online poker world under the name “OMGClayAiken,” has built a reputation as one of the top No Limit Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha players in the game today. His addition to this week’s lineup is indicative of how the show is embracing the “new blood” of the game.

Safe money on who will win this week’s battle should be on Ivey and Juanda, who are veterans of “Poker After Dark” and have racked up two wins each during the run of the show. While Lindgren and Seed have previously appeared on the program, neither has been able to crack the winner’s circle. For his part, Dwan has been a part of previous “Poker After Dark” cash game episodes, but this is only his second foray into the freezeout arena.

“Big Heat Week” will kick off this evening on NBC late night at 2:05am ET, with host Ali Nejad providing voiceover commentary of the action. The sit and go will continue over the next four nights in the same timeslot and a special “Director’s Cut” will air late night on Saturday at 1:00am ET after NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.” This show will feature Leeann Tweeden with a behind-the-scenes look at the week with highlights and insightful player interviews.

Throughout the first half of 2011, “Poker After Dark” will continue to provide new shows mixed in with encore presentations of some of the series’ best episodes. After this week’s new episodes, Dwan will return to the two-week encore presentation of one of the show’s most memorable cash games. The cash game, which featured a $100,000 buy-in, also featured Phil Laak, Gus Hansen, Eli Elezra, and former World Champions Doyle Brunson and Phil Hellmuth.

The week of February 7th, a new cash game will take to the “Poker After Dark” stage with the highest stakes yet. The $150,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em cash game will feature Howard Lederer, Greg Mueller, Elezra, David Peat, Olivier Busquet, and Laak battling it out for supremacy.

April will bring one of the most eagerly anticipated additions to the “Poker After Dark” lineup. During the week of April 4th, a $50,000 buy-in sit and go will take place featuring some of the “young guns” of the game. Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger and UB.com pro Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin will join Melanie Weisner, Annette Obrestad, Brunson, and Dwan, with the winner walking away with $250,000.

During the week of April 11th, Pot Limit Omaha will make its debut on “Poker After Dark” and be featured for two weeks. Joining Ivey, Dwan, and Galfond on the felt for the $100,000 buy-in cash game will be Brandon Adams, Patrik Antonius, Brian Hastings, and Jared Bleznick. The addition of Pot Limit Omaha to “Poker After Dark” should draw a huge audience with the ever-increasing popularity of the game.

Once again, be sure to check your local listings for when “Poker After Dark” runs on your local NBC affiliate.

Sorel Mizzi Wins 2010 Bluff Player of the Year Title

Titan Poker pro Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi is the 2010 Bluff Magazine Player of the Year, officials announced on Friday. Mizzi entered the top spot in the Player of the Year rankings in March and never relinquished his lead.

The 2010 CardPlayer Player of the Year, Tom Marchese, finished in second place in the Bluff standings. Mizzi ended the 2010 calendar year with a whopping 1,777 points, the highest score ever turned in, while Marchese racked up just 1,257 during the stanza. Others in the top 10 included PokerStars pro Vanessa Selbst, recent World Poker Tour (WPT) event winner Dwyte Pilgrim, and UB.com pro and former CardPlayer Player of the Year winner Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin.

Mizzi got the 2010 calendar year started off on the right foot by taking third place in the Aussie Millions Main Event for $659,000. Tyron Krost took down the marquee poker tournament and Mizzi quickly ratcheted his first six-figure score of 2010. Mizzi then won two preliminary events during the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Snowfest stop in March for nearly $150,000 total.

In April, Mizzi’s victory parade stopped off in Atlantic City, where he won the East Coast Championship Event during the Borgata Spring Poker Open for $170,000. That tournament drew 62 players and featured a top nine that included Chris “SLOPPYKLOD” Klodnicki, David “Davidp18” Peters, and former Full Tilt Poker pro Lee Markholt.

At the end of April, Mizzi final tabled the High Roller Event during the EPT’s Monte Carlo Grand Final for $190,000. Two weeks later, he ran deep in another High Roller Event, this time at WPT Paris. Just footsteps from the Eiffel Tower, Mizzi played second fiddle to Absolute Poker pro Freddy Deeb and walked away with $159,000.

In August, Mizzi placed second in the EPT Tallinn High Roller Event for $98,000. He concluded 2010 by bubbling a pair of WPT final tables, taking seventh in the Foxwoods World Poker Finals for $88,000 and grabbing ninth in the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic at the Bellagio for $59,000. Remember, televised WPT final tables are played six-handed.

All told, Mizzi racked up nearly $1.9 million in earnings from live tournaments tracked by the Hendon Mob database last year. Along the way, he provided poker coaching to November Niner Matt Jarvis, a fellow Canadian. Jarvis ultimately bowed out in eighth place in the $10,000 buy-in tournament in Las Vegas for over $1 million.

Mizzi, who has been linked to several incidents on online poker sites in the past, has nevertheless remained a central figurehead in the industry. He told Poker News Daily in an interview in November that surrounding himself with talented poker friends has been critical: “I think it’s one of the most important things… That is how I got my start. I found players and tried to pick their brains. You know, it’s like anything in life, that’s the best way of learning, you find mentors. At least, for me, [it’s been] finding people where you want to be and trying to pick their brains as much as possible.”

Here were the top 10 players in the 2010 Bluff Player of the Year standings:

1. Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi – 1,777.77 points
2. Tom “Kingsofcards” Marchese – 1,257.30 points
3. Fernando Brito – 1,060.53 points
4. David Peters – 1,009.26 points
5. Vanessa Selbst – 986.77 points
6. Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin – 943.92 points
7. Dwyte Pilgrim – 896.23 points
8. Chris Bjorin – 889.25 points
9. Jason Mercier – 882.40 points
10. Chris Bell – 879.63 points

Jason Mercier took down the 2009 Bluff Player of the Year title. Other past winners have included John “The Razor” Phan (2008), Bill Edler (2007), Chad Brown (2006), and Phil Ivey (2005).

Annie Duke Leaves UB.com

In breaking news, former “Celebrity Apprentice” runner-up Annie Duke has parted ways with UB.com. A blog revealing that she had left the online poker site appeared around 1:30pm ET on Thursday. Duke had been with UB.com for nine years, including both the pre- and post-Chris Moneymaker era.

Duke told Poker News Daily, “After some thought, I made a decision to leave UB.com because I would like to explore other avenues of business and personal growth. I realized I needed to spend my time on other things.” Duke, the sister of Full Tilt Poker front man Howard Lederer, has over $1.1 million in career World Series of Poker (WSOP) earnings and scooped a bracelet in 2004 in a $2,000 Omaha High-Low Eight or Better tournament that featured Erik Seidel and Todd Brunson at the final table.

Also in 2004, Duke was the last person standing in the inaugural WSOP Tournament of Champions, an invite-only, winner-take-all tournament that featured 10 players. Duke banked $2 million for the win and received nearly instant poker fame. Her company at the Tournament of Champions table included Chip Reese, Main Event champ Greg Raymer, Doyle Brunson, Lederer, and former UB.com colleague Phil Hellmuth, who was the runner-up. This year, Duke bested Seidel in the National Heads-Up Poker Championship, which aired on NBC.

Duke wished the crew at UB.com nothing but the best going forward, telling Poker News Daily, “I wish them all the best and wish nothing but good things for the brand. I think that UB.com started some of my development as a businessperson. That was very much the most enjoyable part of it. I wanted to do more of that. I wanted to do much more of that than I had an opportunity to.” Among Duke’s other endeavors are MyMixedNuts.com – a custom trail mix outfit – and Ante Up for Africa, a charity that brings money and attention to the victims of the crisis in Darfur.

Duke explained to Poker News Daily that she does not plan to sign with another online poker site in the future.

Duke made a name for herself last year by competing in the hit NBC reality series “Celebrity Apprentice.” The Donald Trump-led show, which raises funds for various charities, saw Duke finish as the runner-up to comedian Joan Rivers, who at one point compared the former UB.com pro to a Nazi and called the poker playing community “trash.” Rivers and her daughter, Melissa, were both contestants on the series.

Duke was one of the main faces of UB.com, a site that now features players like former “Poker2Nite” host Joe Sebok and former “Amazing Race” contestants Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho as its primary pros. Duke and Hellmuth had served as the central figures of UB.com since the site’s inception nine years ago, long before anyone knew the name Moneymaker.

According to PokerScout.com, which logs online poker room traffic, the CEREUS Network, which includes UB.com and Absolute Poker, is the seventh largest worldwide, with a seven-day running average of 2,100 real money ring game players. At its peak, around 3,000 cash game players call the Network home. CEREUS is the third largest family of sites to accept action from the United States, trailing only PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker in that department. The Network was created in 2008 after the player bases of UB.com and Absolute Poker were merged.

We’ll have more for you on this story as it develops right here on Poker News Daily.

Lee Jones Resigns from Cake Poker

In breaking news from the world of online poker, Lee Jones has stepped down as Card Room Manager of Cake Poker, effective immediately. Jones posted in a thread on TwoPlusTwo around 3:00pm ET on Tuesday, “This is a brief announcement to let you know that, as of yesterday, I have resigned my position at Cake Poker and will not be making any further posts here. Their management has made some strategic decisions with which I’m not comfortable.”

Despite departing the site, Jones, who is also a Guest Columnist here at Poker News Daily, spoke highly of his former colleagues: “Please direct any questions or concerns to the Cake support staff; they are top-notch people.” Cake Poker is the flagship site of the USA-friendly Cake Poker Network.

Also departing Cake Poker concurrently with Jones is Serge Ravitch, who is known in the online poker world as “adanthar.” Ravitch served as Cake Poker’s Tournament Director and Jones affectionately dubbed him the “Minister of Tournament Arts” in homage to the Harry Potter franchise. Ravitch was one of the figureheads in uncovering the cheating scandal at Absolute Poker.

Ravitch posted in the same TwoPlusTwo thread on Tuesday, “It sincerely pains me to say that, for the same reasons, I am also no longer affiliated with Cake in any way. I wish them the best of luck going forward.” What “strategic decisions” Jones and Ravitch alluded to were not clear at the time of writing. In addition, Cake Poker has not released any statement.

Jones could only tell Poker News Daily on Tuesday afternoon, “I’m just not comfortable with some of the decisions that the Cake management was making.” However, the veteran of the poker world hopes to remain in the industry, explaining to us, “I have a couple of irons in the fire. I certainly have every intention of staying in the poker business, so I’ll have to see what pans out.” Jones formerly brought customer service to new heights while with PokerStars and also worked with the European Poker Tour and CardRunners.

In TwoPlusTwo’s “Cake Poker Feedback Thread,” which is where Jones dropped the bombshell, posters weighed in en masse. The first responder explained, “This isn’t totally unexpected. Best wishes in your future enterprises.” Another poster predicted that Jones and Ravitch would land on their feet: “Lee and ‘adanthar’ are top-notch in my opinion and won’t need luck, but agreed nonetheless.”

According to PokerScout.com, which keeps tabs on online poker room traffic, the Cake Poker Network is the 24th largest worldwide and boasts a seven-day running average of 740 real money ring game players. Its peak traffic passes 1,100 cash game players and the family of sites happily accepts action from the United States.

Besides Cake Poker, other rooms on the Network include the Doyle Brunson-fronted DoylesRoom, Only Poker, Poker4Green, Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies’ Power Poker, Red Star Poker, Phil Laak’s Unabomber Poker, and Victory Poker, the latter of which joined in August.

The holidays have not been kind to the Cake Poker Network, which has not eclipsed the 1,300-cash game player mark since December 21st. In the 30 days prior, it passed 1,300 ring game players 14 times.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for more developments on this breaking story.

Poker Community Celebrates Christmas

Much like the rest of the world, poker players have their plans for Christmas. For some, that involved traveling to celebrate with family and friends. A few of poker’s top professionals had some trouble making their destinations, however.

England, in the grips of one of the snowiest winters in some time, held up poker duo Lex Veldhuis and Evelyn Ng. “Lex & I got caught in the British Airways mess at Heathrow yesterday en route to Las Vegas,” Ng Tweeted on Tuesday about the delays at the airport. “Hopefully we’ll be sorted out for today.”

Both Veldhuis and Ng kept a good attitude about the delays, with the former Tweeting, “Heathrow might be chaotic airport but the people there are nicest anywhere. Waiting in lounge now. Hope to fly in 2 hours.” Ng countered, “Looks like we’re good to go. It’s almost serene at LHR compared to the chaos yesterday. Just chillin in the lounge until our flight.” The poker pros were able to make it back to Las Vegas safely, with Ng Tweeting late on Tuesday, “After one 10 hour flight from London, it took a total of 5 minutes to exit the plane, pick up our luggage, and go through U.S. Customs.”

Another player having some drama as he returned home for Christmas was UB.com’s Scott Ian. The poker player and guitar shredder also was involved with the Heathrow debacle, Tweeting, “Made it to Heathrow even though the Dublin airport staff did everything wrong including checking our bags onto our canceled London-L.A. flight.” Ian had a much longer trip than Veldhuis and Ng did: “23 1/2 hours since we left Belfast. At O’Hare now. Flight to L.A. delayed 2 hours. Looking for Goose Island.”

Heading north for the holidays, Full Tilt Poker’s Greg “FBT” Mueller was in the middle of another emergency: “Just landed in Vancouver, but we were told paramedics are rushing onto our plane and we must stay seated… Will soon find out what’s wrong.” It turns out that it was a medical emergency, as Mueller Tweeted, “4 meds rushed on way to the back! I was in row 2 obv so I couldn’t see anything 3 mins later we were allowed to leave, no details! Home!”

Christian “charder30” Harder sounded as if he needed a trip home to recharge his batteries. “Pretty sucky ending to a pretty average year of poker for me,” Harder Tweeted on Tuesday after busting from the Atlantic City WSOP Circuit Regional Championship. “Home for the Holidays and then PCA.” After a couple of days relaxing at home, a much more reflective Harder detailed his Christmas plans to his followers on Thursday: “Chillin’ at my Dad’s in Virginia for a few days then back to Annapolis for Christmas. No idea what I’m doing for New Years Eve. Annapolis? NYC? AC? Baltimore?”

A couple of players were traveling for the Christmas holiday, but not heading home. Recent UB.com addition Maria Ho chirped about her destination: “Docked on my favorite island today… Kauai! This is one of many reasons why,” and included a Twitpic of the island. “Hollywood” Dave Stann, for his part, was looking to work during the holidays when he Tweeted, “Atlantic City-bound… I’m thinking Stud at the Taj. Come get you some old school action, bitches!”

Two of poker’s philanthropists, Linda Johnson and Jan Fisher, kept up their charitable sides by helping those less fortunate. “Anyone have coats or warm clothes to giveaway,” Fisher Tweeted during the run-up to Christmas. “We’re going to the LV mission 6am Xmas day to hand out…. join us or donate?” Johnson also was extending her charitable hand when she Tweeted on Wednesday, “Thanks to everyone who helped make the party a success tonight. 21 happy kids and their parents. Loved seeing the smiles.”

As always, the world of poker players delivers, even around Christmastime, with thoughts of wisdom and hilarity. PokerRoad’s Court Harrington Tweeted, “Life is about memories and moments, not about gifts. I’ve been lucky enough to have a lot of great moments already.” Family surrounded Gavin Smith, as he Tweeted, “My wife, son, sister, mother and niece are here! Life is great!”

“Can’t wait for Christmas! I’m as bad as my kids,” Jennifer Harman Tweeted late Wednesday night, apparently up late preparing for the holidays. Annie Duke’s schedule was pretty packed, as she Tweeted early Thursday morning from her home, “Finished a huge portion of the Xmas wrapping just now. About two hours more tomorrow plus the cooking starts for dinner for 18 on Friday!”

Tiffany Michelle sent out early wishes when she Tweeted, “In case I go MIA over the next two days from eggnog, Christmas carols, & present coma… Merry Christmas everyone,” and included a Twitpic of her dog. Finally, DoylesRoom captain Doyle Brunson capped off the year with a news flash: “Warning: Christmas Cancelled… @MandaLeatherman told Santa she had been a good girl in 2010. He died laughing.”

Chris Bell Wins Atlantic City WSOP Circuit Regional Championship

Chris Bell already owns a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet. Now, you can add a win in the WSOP Circuit Regional Championship in Atlantic City to his list of accolades. Bell took down the title on Wednesday night after outlasting a field of 136 players to scoop a grand prize of $358,000.

It took four levels of play before anyone was eliminated from the final table. Right after the dinner break on the Boardwalk, Seth Fischer 3bet all-in before the flop with A-8 of clubs and ran into the pocket jacks belonging to Jason Burt. No ace came when a king-high board fell and Fischer departed the WSOP Circuit Regional Championship in ninth place, banking $32,000.

Nick Mitchell, known in online circles as “agriffrod,” fell in eighth place. On a 10-6-2-3-J board, Mitchell committed his chips with A-J for top pair, top kicker. Micah Raskin called and tabled the “Doyle Brunson,” 10-2, for two pair and that was all she wrote for Mitchell, the 38th ranked player on PocketFives.com. Mitchell picked up $40,000.

Burt ran A-8 of clubs into Bell’s pocket queens in his final hand to exit in seventh place for $51,000. Following him out the door from the $10,000 buy-in tournament’s final table was recent World Poker Tour (WPT) champ Andy Frankenberger, who shoved all-in with A-2 on a flop of 5-4-A. However, Chris “SLOPPYKLOD” Klodnicki had him dominated with A-K and promptly spiked a king on the turn for top two pair. Frankenberger banked $66,000.

Todd Terry was the next to go. About 30 minutes after Frankenberger met his demise, Terry followed suit by open-shoving before the flop with Q-3 of hearts and receiving a call from Klodnicki, who held A-8. Klodnicki hit two pair on the flop and never looked back; in fact, Terry was drawing dead by the river. His fifth place finish in the Regional Championship, which was filmed for television, was good for $87,000.

Raskin held K-10 offsuit in his final hand and was in a race against Klodnicki’s pocket sixes. The board filled out A-9-8-4-9, missing Raskin entirely and sending him to the rail. Fourth place meant a payday of $117,000.

After gaining momentum by doubling up through Bell, Ketan Pandya went busto in third place. Pandya picked up pocket tens in his final hand, but ran into Bell’s wired pair of queens. Bell had improved to a full house by the river and Pandya pulled down a $159,000 payday.

Klodnicki’s remaining chips hit the middle of the table with 6-4 on a flop of 5-3-6 for top pair and a two-way straight draw. Bell tabled pocket threes for bottom set, which held when the turn and river came a nine and a queen, respectively. The stacks were counted down after the river card to ensure that Klodnicki had in fact been eliminated and the former gold ring winner earned $221,000 for second place.

Here were the final results from the WSOP Circuit Regional Championship in Atlantic City:

1. Chris Bell – $358,295
2. Chris “SLOPPYKLOD” Klodnicki – $221,452
3. Ketan Pandya – $159,851
4. Micah Raskin – $117,457
5. Todd Terry – $87,808
6. Andy Frankenberger – $66,758
7. Jason Burt – $51,607
8. Nick “agriffrod” Mitchell – $40,538
9. Seth Fischer – $32,362

Every member of the final table qualified for the WSOP Circuit National Championship, a $1 million freeroll that will be held in Las Vegas in May. All told, 30 players have qualified for the freebie thus far, including Poker News Daily’s very own Bernard Lee, who made the final table in the Chicago Regional Championship. The Regional and National Championships are brand new additions to the WSOP Circuit for the 2010-2011 season.

Party Gaming Founder Anurag Dikshit Receives One Year of Probation

In breaking news, Party Gaming co-founder Anurag Dikshit, who admitted to violating the Wire Act of 1961 two years ago, was sentenced to one year of probation by a New York court, according to Forbes. He has also coughed up $300 million and “agreed to cooperate in an ongoing investigation with Federal prosecutors.”

Dikshit, an Indian citizen living in Gibraltar, helped create Party Gaming, the parent company of the popular online poker room PartyPoker. U.S. District Court Judge Jed Rakoff determined Dikshit’s fate on Thursday and the possibility of two years behind bars hung in the balance. In the end, Rakoff told the court, “I am persuaded that no jail time is appropriate here.”

The Forbes article assessed the possibility that Dikshit could have received jail time for his transgressions: “It certainly would have been strange for Dikshit to wind up in jail even as other online poker entrepreneurs were not being prosecuted. Some of the most prominent are not even offshore, like the men widely believed to be behind Full Tilt Poker, the second biggest company servicing U.S. play, poker champions Chris Ferguson and Howard Lederer.”

Dikshit founded Party Gaming alongside Ruth Parasol and Russell DeLeon, neither of whom has paid any settlement fee to the United States Government nor appeared in court. Rakoff was befuddled as to why Dikshit was the only person who had stepped forward and so asked government attorneys yesterday, “Nobody else has been indicted. It has been two years since this defendant began cooperating, what’s going on?”

Dikshit’s admission marked one of the first times that online poker has ever been associated with the 1961 law, which has traditionally applied to sports betting. As such, Forbes noted that his decision elicited a harsh reaction from many in the online poker community, including DoylesRoom namesake Doyle Brunson. “Texas Dolly” commented two years ago, “It looks like he would feel a sense of obligation to online poker, the industry that made him a rich man. Instead, he folded up like an accordion and pled guilty to breaking some kind of mystery law and is paying a 300 million dollar fine and possible two-year jail term.”

In October 2009, Dikshit sold his remaining shares in Party Gaming for around ?200 million, which amounted to a 28% stake. Party Gaming vacated the U.S. market in 2006 after the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, or UIGEA. The publicly traded company has since inked a non-prosecution agreement with the United States Government and forked over a $105 million fine. Party Gaming has also become a target of a lawsuit filed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, which is seeking to recoup funds lost by state residents on PartyPoker.

Despite coming under fire in Kentucky and having one of its patriarchs admit to violating the Wire Act, Party Gaming appears to be poised to re-enter the U.S. market should online poker or internet gambling become legalized and regulated.

In a trading update issued on Friday in London, Party Gaming officials asserted, “There continues to be much movement in the U.S. towards regulating online gaming both at the Federal and state levels. Should the requisite legislation be enacted, the Group is well advanced in discussions with licensed companies in the U.S. that could create substantial value for the Group’s shareholders.” Party Gaming is also involved in an ongoing merger with bwin that will likely be completed in March.

Read the entire Forbes article outlining Dikshit’s probation sentence.

High Stakes Poker Season 7 Taping at Bellagio This Week

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

November Niner John Racener charged with third DUI

Jonathan Racener is most famous in the poker world for his third place finish last month in the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event, where he took home over $3,200,000. He followed this up just last week with a final table at the longest-named tournament ever, the World Poker Tour Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic.

Antonio “The Magician” Esfandiari wins Five Diamond Classic and $870,124

Doyle Brunson Five Diamond Poker Classic (buy-in $10,300) has ended. Even though Vanessa Rousso was in a huge chiplead at one point Antonio Esfandiari managed to grind it down.

Vanessa Rousso was leading big time when the play was three handed. Eventually Vanessa lost her stack and ended up being third (her last 1,9 million chips went in preflof with Qh-2h against Esfandiari’s Ac-Qs).

Then it was the heads up. Andrew Robl (9,5 million - 47BB) vs. Esfandiari (8,155 million - 40BB).

Esfandiari dominated the heads up and the final hand came quickly. Esfandiari raises to 800K, Robl goes all-in for about 6 million (200K/400K blinds and 25K ante) which Esfandiari calls.

Esfandiari: Kc-Jd

Robl: Qd-Tc

Flop was interesting enough: Ad-Kd-6d

Robl now needs a diamond or one of the three jacks in the deck. Turn was 6c and the river was 5s, and so Robl couldn’t suckout and Esfandiari won.

The first prize was $870,124, and now, according to HendonMob, Esfandiari has won a bit over 3,6 million dollars from live tournaments.

Andrew Robl got $549,003 and the third place finisher Vanessa Rousso won $358,964.

John Racener, who finished in seccond place in this year’s WSOP Main Event, was fourth and it looks like Racener’s 2010 godly run continues.

There was 438 players in the tournament.

Prize pool:

1.    Antonio Esfandiari   $870,124
2.    Andrew Robl   $549,003
3.    Vanessa Rousso   $358,964

4.    John Racener     $232,271
5.    Kirk Morrison     $168,924
6.    Ted Lawson     $126,693

Source: Pokerista.net, WPT, TheHendonMob

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Antonio “The Magician” Esfandiari wins Five Diamond Classic and $870,124

Dan Harrington Hall of Fame Speech

Dan Harrington‘s speech inducting him into the Poker Hall of Fame is seen here in its entirety. Harrington was elected to this year’s group of entrants which also included Erik Seidel. He is best known for both winning the 1995 World Series of Poker Main Event as well as the many poker strategy books he has authored.

Harrington has a resume that made it nearly impossible for the voting committee to bypass this year. He has performed at a high level against top competition, proved by his two World Series of Poker bracelets and one win at the World Poker Tour. According to various sources he has profited $6.6 million in just live tournament earnings, which does not take into account money won while playing cash games.

On the other side of the felt, Harrington has made a solid and lasting contribution to the industry of poker in the form of his many strategy books. The “Harrington on Hold’em” series is one that most tournament players first got their start with and the series is pointed to as being one of the top two poker strategy books ever made, with the other being Doyle Brunson‘s “Super/System”. Harrington has authored three books on tournament poker and two books on cash game poker, all of which have sold extremely well in stores and online.

Harrington was humbled by his induction and spoke about him being voted in, “The public nominated ten people and I was fortunate to be one of the inductees. The others that were not inducted, I know them, they are all very skilled people… they will be joining us in the next few years.” He summed up his speech by saying, “Thirty years ago at a backgammon tournament, I played next to a young man. We became friends after that engagement and I’ve known him for years. I played against him at the Mayfair Club and at competitions throughout the world. He is going to be inducted with me tonight, Erik Seidel, and that makes it an especially sweet occasion for me.”

Vanessa Rousso leads WPT Five Diamond

When you think of the World Poker Tour Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic $10,000 Main Event you think of two things – stacked final tables and ‘wow, that tournament has a really long name’. The 2010 edition didn’t disappoint with PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso enjoying a late run of cards to finish with almost a third of the chips in play.

Late Pot Gives Joe Hachem $21,700 Profit on PokerStars Big Game

It was a quiet opening session of the week on the PokerStars sponsored “Big Game,” which airs on FOX late night in most markets. 2005 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champ Joe Hachem booked a $21,700 profit on the night, the best of anyone at the table, and the “Loose Cannon” truly looked like an online qualifier.

Bill Given didn’t give us much to cheer about on Monday. The PokerStars qualifier received $100,000 to play in the $200/$400 game, which is Pot Limit before the flop and No Limit thereafter. This week, $1.1 million was spread across the table and Given, who wants to start his own business, gave up dead money left and right in the opening one-hour episode.

At one point, DoylesRoom namesake Doyle Brunson scooped three straight pots, two after receiving walks and one by showing down a pair of aces to Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond’s pair of eights. Brunson also bluffed Given with his signature 10-2 hand when Given had K-J of diamonds by 3betting to $4,300 pre-flop. Given, the initial raiser in the hand, sent his Broadway cards into the muck.

2010 L.A. Poker Classic High Roller Event winner Scott Seiver then opened up his game. After being the only player at the table not to have seen a flop midway through the night, Seiver proceeded to take down three straight hands. On the third, Seiver fired out a bet of $5,000 on a board of 4-J-5-6 with 8-5 for a pair and Daniel Negreanu laid down A-9 of diamonds.

The “Loose Cannon” continued to put dead money in before the flop. He laid down pocket sevens after getting 3bet by Seiver, which caused “Big Game” host Joe Stapleton to comment, “It’s tough to have Scott Seiver on your left.” Then, Given made quad aces against a hyper-aggressive Seiver, but checked all the way and only raked in a pot of $10,000. On a board of K-A-8-A-3, Given bet $3,000 with pocket aces and Seiver made the call with K-9 for two pair. Stapleton added, “I’m pretty sure quad aces pays more in video poker.”

In the largest pot of Monday’s kickoff “Big Game” episode, Brunson raised to $1,400 pre-flop with A-8 of diamonds, Hachem called with pocket jacks, and Galfond bumped the action to $5,700 with pocket kings. Brunson got out of the way and Hachem called to see a flop of A-6-2.

Neither player wanted to see the ace fall, but Galfond put in a continuation bet of $4,800. Hachem pushed it to $16,500, seemingly representing an ace, and Galfond came along to a nine on the turn. Galfond checked, Hachem bet $26,700, and Galfond tanked for a minute before electing to fold. Hachem scooped the nearly $50,000 pot, the largest of the night, and booked a profit of $21,700 over the first set of hands.

Brunson was up $9,300 when the final cards of Monday’s episode had been dealt and Seiver was $1,900 in the black. Negreanu was down $6,100, Given was down $6,300, and, mostly due to the final hand against Hachem, Galfond was down $20,500.

The PokerStars “Big Game” airs nightly on FOX. Check your local listings for more details.

Nolan Dalla Hall of Fame Speech

Nolan Dalla introduces Poker Hall of Fame entrant Dan Harrington, as captured by our cameras from the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event in November. This speech was given during the Hall of Fame ceremonies which took place just prior to the Final Table of the Main Event playing out. Each of the two elected members of the Poker Hall of Fame 2010 class were introduced by a speech, as Erik Seidel was introduced by a representative of the player voting committee, which was Doyle Brunson. For Dan Harrington’s introduction speech, a representative member of the media voting committee delivered the speech, as given here by Nolan Dalla.

Dalla is a poker media icon who regularly works and writes updates for the World Series of Poker’s WSOP.com website. He co-authored one of the most applauded books in poker history in “One of a Kind: The Rise and Fall of Stuey ‘the Kid’ Ungar, the World’s Greatest Poker Player” which was published by Atria Books back in 2005 and has been optioned for a movie by Warner Brother Studios.

In his speech, he talked about not just how much Dan Harrington is appreciated for his skills at the poker table, but for his contributions off the felt as well. Dalla said, “By giving something back, I mean making the game better by being involved in it. Poker is a better game and there is undoubtedly many more great players because of Dan’s extraordinary contributions to strategy in the form of books called ‘Harrington on Hold’em’ as many of you probably have them. So with all due respect to Doyle, who is also up here, these works have been universally acclaimed as the best contribution to poker in the last 20 years.”

Dan Harrington, now a member of the Poker Hall of Fame, has two World Series of Poker Bracelets to his credit, including the 1995 $10,000 World Series of Poker Main Event title. He also won a World Poker Tour title and has in excess of $6,600,000 in lifetime live tournament earnings.

Return tomorrow for Dan Harrington’s speech.

Antonio Esfandiari Leads WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic with 15 Left

For the third straight day, Victory Poker pro Antonio Esfandiari leads the way in the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Five Diamond World Poker Classic. There are 15 players remaining and, as was the case after Days 2 and 3, Esfandiari owns a stranglehold on the rest of the field.

Esfandiari owns 2.6 million in chips and is the only player above two million. Hot on is heels is World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event runner-up John Racener, who owns a stack of 1.9 million. Racener, who entered heads-up play in this year’s Main Event as a 6:1 underdog in chips against Jonathan Duhamel, is in search of his first WPT final table. He bubbled the six-handed finale of the Season 5 Borgata Poker Classic, bowing out in eighth place for $166,000.

Legends of Poker champ Andy Frankenberger was the final casualty of the day on Monday at the Bellagio, the site of the Five Diamond. Frankenberger pushed all-in on a flop of Q-7-4 with two clubs and showed K-10 of the suit for a flush draw. He received a call from Kirk Morrison, who tabled 7-4 for two pair and dodged the draw on the river when the nine of spades hit. Morrison, the runner-up in the Season 5 WPT Championship, holds the fifth largest chip stack at 1.5 million.

Doyle Brunson, the face of DoylesRoom and the Five Diamond, was bumped in 18th place after an impressive run. Brunson ran A-J into the A-K belonging to Kia Mohajeri on his final hand and the board came 9-6-6-5-4. Coverage found on the official website of the WPT detailed Brunson’s exit: “The Fontana Lounge gives Brunson a hearty round of applause as he exits the tournament area.” Brunson has recorded three WPT final tables.

Eugene Katchalov, who won the 2007 running of this tournament, was eliminated on Monday in 19th place. Katchalov committed his stack with A-K and found himself in a race against Racener’s pocket queens. The board ran out five cards jack or lower and Katchalov headed to the rails with $33,000 in tow. Three years ago, Katchalov’s Five Diamond win was good for $2.4 million. Due to a lower buy-in and smaller prize pool, this year’s champ will take home just one-third of that total.

Also ousted yesterday was Absolute Poker pro Freddy Deeb. DoylesRoom Brunson 10 member Amit “amak316” Makhija made a boat with pocket jacks to send Deeb home in 24th place for $25,000. Makhija owns the 12th largest stack after four days of play in the WPT tournament at 756,000. He’s in search of his second WPT final table after finishing as the runner-up in the Season 7 Legends of Poker for $563,000.

Here are the 15 players remaining in the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic:

1. Antonio Esfandiari – 2,680,000
2. John Racener – 1,900,000
3. Andrew “good2cu” Robl – 1,750,000
4. Kia Mohajeri – 1,694,000
5. Kirk Morrison – 1,545,000
6. Luis Velador – 1,423,000
7. Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi – 1,380,000
8. Ray Dehkharghani – 1,148,000
9. Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger – 915,000
10. Vanessa Rousso – 888,000
11. Chris DeMaci – 801,000
12. Amit “amak316” Makhija – 756,000
13. Ted Lawson – 400,000
14. Danny Fuhs – 247,000
15. Charles Caris – 125,000

The tournament’s play down day will occur this afternoon and a winner will be crowned on Wednesday. If you’re at the Bellagio and want to rail the action on Tuesday, the tournament will be held in the poker room while the television set is being constructed in the Fontana Lounge. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest.

Just 15 left at WPT Five Diamond – Esfandiari still leads

54 players started day four of the $10,000 Doyle Brunson Five Diamond Classic at the Bellagio, including the great man himself. Just 15 were left at the close but sadly Doyle ended up just short, busting out in 18th place.

Esfandiari Dominating WPT Five Diamond

The Magician, as he's known to legions of poker fans across the globe, took the lead on Day 2 and has not looked back, moving up from a little over one million in chips to more than 2.5 million as they played down from 54 to the final two tables at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino Monday.

Esfandiari's closest opponent is 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event runner-up John Racener, who appears to be on the hottest streak of his young career after starting the day with under 200k and ending with close to two million, just weeks after winning $5,545,955 at the Main Event final table.

The rest of the final 15 is chocked full of notable names including Andrew Robl, Kirk Morrison, Luis Velador, Sorel Mizzi, Andrew Lichtenberger, Vanessa Rousso, Amit Makhija, Ted Lawson and Chris DeMaci, who burst onto the live poker scene with a final table appearance at the PokerStars NAPT Los Angeles main event last month.

Doyle Brunson, for whom the tournament is named, finished 18th.

Also among those who cashed, but failed to advance to Day 5 were Season IX WPT Player of the Year points leader Andrew Frankenberger, the godfather of Norwegian poker Thor Hansen, WPT Season VI POY Jonathan Little and two-time WPT and WSOP title winner Freddy Deeb.

They will play down to a final table of six inside the storied Bellagio poker room Tuesday as the Fontana Lounge is prepared to host Wednesday's televised final table.

A total of 438 players entered the 2010 WPT Five Diamond main event at the creating a $4,248,600 prize pool with $870,124 set aside for first.

Play will resume on Day 5 Tuesday at 12 p.m. PT. To follow all the action, tune in to PokerListings' WPT Live Updates.

Here's how the final 15 stand:

1 Antonio Esfandiari 2,680,000

2 John Racener 1,900,000

3 Andrew Robl 1750,000

4 Kia Mohajeri 1,694,000

5 Kirk Morrison 1,545,000

6 Luis Velador 1,423,000

7 Sorel Mizzi 1,380,000

8 Ray Dehkharghani 1,148,000

9 Andrew Lichtenberger 915,000

10 Vanessa Rousso 888,000

11 Chris DeMaci 801,000

12 Amit Makhija 756,000

13 Ted Lawson 400,000

14 Danny Fuhs 247,000

15 Charles Caris 125,000

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Antonio Esfandiari Leads WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic After Day 3

It’s magic! Antonio Esfandiari, known as “The Magician,” leads the way after Day 3 of the Five Diamond World Poker Classic, a stop on the World Poker Tour (WPT). Esfandiari was also the chip leader after Day 2 and now stands as the only player above one million in chips. A top prize of $870,000 is on the line in the WPT event, which is being housed at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.

Fifty-four players remain out of a starting grid of 439 and the entire field is in the money. Ali Eslami was the Bubble Boy on Sunday after being ousted from the Five Diamond in 101st place. Eslami committed his chips in a race with A-K against the pocket tens belonging to Scott Vener. There was very little drama when the board ran out Q-7-4-7-J and Eslami departed the Bellagio empty-handed save three days’ worth of memories. The minimum payout in the $10,000 buy-in poker tournament was just over $12,000.

DoylesRoom Brunson 10 member Amit “amak316” Makhija sent former WPT Championship winner David Chiu to the rail late in the day. Chiu was all-in before the flop with K-Q of hearts and ran into Makhija’s A-K. The flop came king-high, giving both players a pair, but Makhija remained out in front with an ace kicker. No help came on the turn or river for Chiu, who was ousted in 63rd place for $13,000.

Phil Ivey and Jason Mercier, the top two players on ESPN’s poker rankings dubbed “The Nuts,” were eliminated nearly back-to-back on Sunday from the Bellagio. Mercier was sent packing as part of a double elimination with K-8 against pocket fours and Doug Lee’s pocket nines. Lee flopped a set and never looked back, sending two players to the rail to vault up the leaderboard. He ended the day with a stack of 702,000, which is good for second place overall. However, Lee is still 300,000 behind Esfandiari.

Eliminated shortly after the money bubble popped was former World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe Main Event champ John Juanda. The Full Tilt Poker pro was all-in pre-flop with A-K of spades and up against Will Failla’s pocket kings and Freddy Deeb’s pocket queens. Failla’s superior pocket pair held for the win and Juanda banked $12,000 for his 92nd place finish.

Here are the top 10 chip stacks entering Day 3 of the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic:

1. Antonio Esfandiari – 1,082,500
2. Doug Lee – 702,500
3. Vanessa Rousso – 694,000
4. Freddy Deeb – 654,000
5. Nick Phillips – 559,000
6. Jerry Young – 550,000
7. Ray Dehkharghani – 522,000
8. Charles Caris – 512,000
9. Bryn Kenney – 458,000
10. Kianoosh Mohajeri – 452,000

Other top-flight poker pros who remain in the hunt for the WPT title include:

12. Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little – 449,000
13. Doyle Brunson – 446,000
14. Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi – 436,500
15. Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger – 434,000
20. Eugene Katchalov – 365,000
22. Will Failla – 345,000
26. Marco Traniello – 315,000
31. Amit “amak316” Makhija – 287,000
37. Andrew “good2cu” Robl – 237,000
38. Andy Frankenberger – 233,000
39. David “Bakes” Baker – 225,500
45. Tim “tmay420” West – 113,500
53. Allen Kessler – 90,500
54. Jeff Shulman – 56,500

There are 15 minutes remaining in Level 15, where the blinds are 2,500-5,000 with an ante of 500. For those who have busted out of the WPT contest, the Bellagio will be holding a $5,000 buy-in tournament today at 2:00pm local time in the Fontana Lounge. Registration will remain open until 6:30pm. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest WPT coverage.

Esfandiari Widens Lead at WPT Five Diamond

The WSOP bracelet winner and WPT title holder became the first player past the one million chip mark and ended the day with a more than 300,000 chip lead over his closest opponent - Canadian WSOPC ring winner Doug Lee.

Also holding onto spots in the top ten are names like Vanessa Rousso, Freddy Deeb and Bryn Kenney.

The legendary Doyle Brunson, for whom the tournament was named, currently sits 13th.

The 100-person money bubble popped midway through the day Sunday with stars like Phil Ivey, Isaac Baron, David Chui, Johnny Chan, and Jason Mercier cashing, but failing to advance to Day 4.

A total of 438 players entered the 2010 WPT Five Diamond main event at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, creating a $4,248,600 prize pool with $870,124 set aside for first.

The event will play down to a winner Wednesday, Dec. 8, which also happens to be Esfandiari's 32nd birthday.

Play will resume on Day 4 Monday at 12 p.m. PT.

To follow all the action, tune in to PokerListings' WPT Live Updates.

Below are the current top ten chip counts:

1 Antonio Esfansiari 1,082,500

2 Doug Lee 702,500

3 Vanessa Rousso 694,000

4 Freddy Deeb 654,000

5 Nicholas Phillips 559,000

6 Jerry Young 550,000

7 Ray Dehkharghani 522,000

8 Charles Caris 512,000

9 Bryn Kenney 458,000

10 Kianoosh Mohajeri 452,000

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Antonio Esfandiari Leads WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic After Day 2

With two days of play in the books at the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Five Diamond World Poker Classic, Antonio Esfandiari leads the way with a stack of 485,600. He’s the only player left standing to cross the 400,000-chip plateau.

The final field numbered 438, meaning that attendance grew by 33% year-over-year. However, this year’s installment sported a $10,000 buy-in – down from $15,000 – resulting in a smaller prize pool. In 2009, $4.7 million prize pool was up for grabs and Daniel Alaei captured a top prize of $1.4 million. This year’s champion will pocket a considerably smaller $870,000, although 100 players will finish in the money instead of last year’s 27.

Former WPT champ Allen “AawwNutz” Carter hit the rail on Saturday courtesy of Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger. Carter ran pocket tens into pocket aces on his final hand, which boosted Lichtenberger’s chip stack to 185,000. Lichtenberger ended the day by bagging up 170,600 in chips, good for the 32nd spot on the leaderboard. His company at Table 56 on Sunday will include Doyle Brunson, Jon “PearlJammer” Turner, Bryn Kenney, Peter Jetten, and Marco Traniello. Good luck.

Also departing on Saturday was RPM Poker pro Brent “Astrolux85” Roberts. Rather than write out the details of Roberts’ final hand, I’ll let his Twitter feed do the talking: “Out 55<88. Shoved 20 bb in the hj and Phil Hellmuth folded AQ in the cutoff. Basebaldy called from the sb and Phil berated me after I lost.” Hellmuth recorded a pair of top seven finishes during Season 9 of the WPT.

Online poker icon Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy, once the top-ranked player in the PocketFives.com Rankings, hit the skids on Saturday at the hands of Phil Ivey. Josephy 3bet all-in pre-flop in an apparent squeeze play and received calls from Ivey and Albert Kim. Ivey led out on a flop of K-6-3, Kim folded, and Ivey tabled A-K for top pair, top kicker. Josephy showed A-J for ace-high and no help came on the turn or river. Ivey, who held a top 10 stack after Day 1, continued his strong showing yesterday and now owns the eighth spot in the standings with 308,100.

The top 10 on the leaderboard at the Five Diamond World Poker Classic is littered with multiple bracelet winners and former WPT champs:

1. Antonio Esfandiari – 485,600
2. Daniel Fuhs – 397,500
3. Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka – 364,400
4. Doug Lee – 355,000
5. Vanessa Rousso – 334,100
6. Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi – 332,400
7. Keith Gipson – 325,100
8. Phil Ivey – 308,100
9. Doyle Brunson – 295,400
10. Nick “agriffrod” Mitchell – 290,100

Other top pros remaining that hold chip stacks in the top 50 include:

18. Jon “apestyles” Van Fleet – 246,200
22. Hafiz Khan – 213,700
28. McLean Karr – 181,200
32. Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger – 170,600
33. John Juanda – 167,900
34. Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin – 167,000
38. David “Bakes” Baker – 159,600
41. Dan Shak – 156,800
46. David Singer – 139,400
50. Jon “PearlJammer” Turner – 132,200

Complicating matters today will be the Las Vegas Marathon, which kicks off at Noon PT and will close Las Vegas Boulevard. Players heading to the Bellagio, which is located on the Strip, should leave plenty of time to arrive in time for the “Shuffle up and deal” command. Day 3 of the WPT Five Diamond also begins at Noon.

Esfandiari Leads, Ivey, Brunson Threaten at WPT Five Diamond

A total of 391 players entered the $10k event throughout the first day, but another 47 jumped in on the action on Day 2 by the time registration closed and the event's ninth level began.

A grand total of 438 players created a $4,248,600 prize pool that will pay 100 spots with $870,124 set aside for first.

As the day wore on the field was whittled down to just 137 with big names like Phil Ivey, Doyle Brunson, Sorel Mizzi, Vanessa Rousso and Faraz Jaka among the leaders.

But it was Antonio Esfandiari who grabbed the overnight lead heading into Day 3 at Bellagio Sunday.

The 2010 WPT Five Diamond will play down to a winner Dec. 8.

PokerListings will continue its unprecedented look at the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic from Phil Ivey's perspective on our WPT Live Updates page beginning at 12 p.m. PT Sunday.

Here is a look at the current top ten chip leaders:

1 Antonio Esfandiari 485,600

2 Daniel Fuhs 397,500

3 Faraz Jaka 364,400

4 Doug Lee 355,000

5 Vanessa Rousso 334,100

6 Sorel Mizzi 332,400

7 Keith Gibson 325,100

8 Phil Ivey 308,100

9 Doyle Brunson 295,400

10 Nicholas Mitchell 290,100

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Erik Seidel Hall of Fame Speech

Erik Seidel was elected to the Poker Hall of Fame this year and our cameras caught his speech, which was given just prior to the resumption of the World Series of Poker Main Event final table in November. Seidel is an eight time WSOP bracelet winner who also has a World Poker Tour win to account to his poker resume.

Seidel is originally from New York City having been born there and was originally a professional backgammon player for years. Eventually he made his way to Wall Street and the stock market before settling in as a top level pro poker player. He is well known in poker circles for being one of the group of players made famous from the Mayfair Club which churned out poker industry stalwarts such as Howard Lederer and fellow Hall of Fame inductee, Dan Harrington.

Seidel took second place to Johnny Chan at the 1988 World Series of Poker Main Event, which was by all accounts his first major poker tournament he participated in. Seidel made the final table eleven years later in 1999 and eventually finished in fourth place behind eventual winner Noel Furlong.

After being introduced by Texas Dolly himself (Doyle Brunson Poker Hall of Fame Speech), Seidel took the podium at the Penn & Teller theater at the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas and addressed the crowd. He spoke about his career and how long it took him to get to where he is, and that making the Hall of Fame was beyond any of his wildest expectations when he first began in the world of poker. He also talked about many of the players that have supported him along the way and how he transitioned during different eras in the game of poker and still maintained his standing as one of the top players in the world.

Seidel is a sponsored pro at Full Tilt Poker.

Doyle Brunson Poker Hall of Fame Speech

Doyle Brunson‘s introduction speech for Erik Seidel at the Poker Hall of Fame induction ceremony was captured by our cameras just before the start of the November Nine at the World Series of Poker Main Event final table.

Erik Seidel seemed a natural pick for this year’s class for the Poker Hall of Fame. His most impressive career accomplishment are his eight World Series of Poker bracelets, in poker disciplines of Limit Hold’em, Omaha 8 or Better, Deuce to Seven Draw, No Limit Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha, and Deuce to Seven Draw Lowball with Rebuys.

Seidel was honored to have Doyle Brunson introduce him in front of the large crowd at the Penn & Teller theater at the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Brunson’s speech reflected aptly on Seidel’s many achievements in the game and contributions to the industry as a whole.

“I’m honored to introduce Erik because I’ve known him since he first began his career. I’ve watched him evolve into the gentleman that he is today and how he’s done a great job being the great player that he is.”

Brunson continued, “Most people think of Erik as a tournament player. What they really don’t know is that Erik started out as a backgammon player … then went to Wall Street and then decided to be a professional poker player… It was then that Erik played cash games for a long time and I was in most of the games with him and saw what a great player he was. I was kind of sad to see him become what I call a ‘tournament player’ because I feel like one of the prerequisites to getting into the Hall of Fame is to be a great cash game player, and people don’t really know what a great cash game player he is.”

Seidel, on top of his 8 WSOP bracelets also has a win at a World Poker Tour event and is a sponsored pro at Full Tilt Poker.

What Makes a Poker Hall of Famer?

In November, Erik Seidel and Dan Harrington were enshrined in the Poker Hall of Fame. In the weeks leading up to the announcement of their selection, opinion after opinion was given as to why certain players should be honored and certain others should not. What was interesting to me about all of the arguments was that the reasons for and against players varied so wildly. But why is this?

The Poker Hall of Fame is a much different animal than other sports’ Halls of Fames, namely because the criteria for enshrinement are so much more vague and subjective. Let’s look at the Poker Hall of Fame’s criteria:

• A player must have played poker against acknowledged top competition

• Played for high-stakes

• Played consistently well, gaining the respect of peers

• Stood the test of time

•  Or, for non-players, contributed to the overall growth and success of the game of poker, with indelible positive and lasting results.

Now, compare that to the criteria for the Baseball Hall of Fame:

• A baseball player must have been active as a player in the Major Leagues at some time during a period beginning 20 years before and ending five years prior to election.

• Player must have played in each 10 Major League championship seasons.

• Player shall have ceased to be an active player in the Major Leagues at least five calendar years preceding the election, but may be otherwise connected with baseball.

Right away, we can see some obvious differences. Poker Hall of Famers must have stood the “test of time.” What does that mean? Most people already consider Phil Ivey one of the best poker players to have ever lived, yet he only started playing in the late 1990s. Is 10+ years enough if you are that good? Why will another 10 or 20 years make Ivey more qualified? Baseball, on the other hand, clearly defines its longevity requirements.

In poker, while I think we all have some sort of idea of what “top competition” is, it is still a nebulous concept. Baseball has an obvious top level, the Major Leagues.

Beyond that, though, the toughest thing about determining who deserves to be in the Poker Hall of Fame versus other sports is evaluating performance. Baseball, basketball, football, and other sports have scads of statistics with which we can compare players. We can look at a hitter’s on base percentage and home run totals, we can easily compare one pitcher’s strikeout numbers and earned run average to another’s. Sure, there are debates every year about who is deserving and who is not, but there are concrete, black and white figures to study.

In poker, it is not as easy. The only real solid historical data we have is for land-based tournaments. We all know, however, that there is more to poker than brick and mortar tournaments. While tournaments get all of the attention because of the excitement, prestige, and television coverage, most professional players make their living in cash games. There are no records of live cash game results – the only evidence we have of who the winning players are is the testimony of other players. Online, there are sites that track internet results, but their data is incomplete and, considering their controversial standing in the industry, it isn’t even a certainty that they will be around in the long-term.

And speaking of online, there is an entire generation of internet players making names for themselves now. They are able to play many more hands and many more tournaments in a short period of time than players were able to 20 years ago, so should we redefine the already ambiguous “test of time” for them? What if a player decides to eschew live games entirely and puts together an impressive record of online tournament finishes and/or cash game winnings? Would the old guard consider him a potential Hall of Famer?

Consider, as well, that it is generally much more difficult to win a tournament nowadays than it was even as recently as the beginning of this century because the fields are so much bigger. Remember, the legendary Doyle Brunson only had to defeat a combined 54 opponents in his back-to-back WSOP wins.

The difficulty in objectively evaluating Poker Hall of Fame candidates means that voters often need to use subjective criteria to make their determinations, hence the “contributed to the overall growth and success of the game of poker” phrase, although I feel that applies to players and non-players alike.

Look at Mike Sexton, for example. While he has been a big name on the poker scene for decades, he only has one WSOP bracelet, is only 206th on the all-time WSOP money list, and only 90th on the all-time overall money list (69th when adjusting for inflation). Those are nothing to sneeze at, but his tournament results don’t scream Hall of Famer. But it’s Sexton’s role in popularizing the game of poker as both the face of the World Poker Tour and PartyPoker that likely earned him his well-deserved spot in the Hall of Fame last year. There’s a reason he is called the “Ambassador of Poker.”

Even one of this year’s inductees, Dan Harrington, might not necessarily be considered a lock if we just looked at his documented tournament results. Yes, he has a few very significant accomplishments. He has a WSOP Main Event championship, accomplished what may be the most impressive feat in WSOP history when he placed third and fourth against large fields in 2003 and 2004, has one other WSOP bracelet, and won a WPT championship in 2007. All great, but for a guy that’s older than many current poker stars‘ grandparents, his significant tournament results are relatively few.

And in recent years, apart from the 2007 WPT title, he’s been almost non-existent. Harrington is without a doubt a fantastic player and has had a tremendous career, but again, does his record make him a Hall of Fame lock? It’s debatable. But when you factor in that he wrote some of the most influential poker books of all time, helping develop the skills of subsequent generations of players, his place in the poker pantheon is cemented.

And again, remember that we don’t have records of how well these guys have done in cash games, so like the actual game of poker, evaluating a player for the Hall of Fame is a task with incomplete information. But I guess that’s all part of the fun, right?

Poker After Dark Season 7 Premieres January 3rd

Poker PROductions announced this week that its popular poker television program “Poker After Dark” has concluded the taping of its seventh season.  Filmed at the Aria Resort and Casino at CityCenter in Las Vegas, the season premiere will air the week of January 3rd on NBC.

Season 7 will tie for the second longest season in the show’s history, spanning 13 weeks.  The fifth season, filmed in 2009, was the longest at 16 weeks, or 96 episodes.  The upcoming season will build on the popularity of cash games, all but phasing out the original six-handed sit and go competitions upon which “Poker After Dark” was built.

That said, the first week of the new season will feature a $100,000 buy-in sit and go dubbed “Big Heat.”  Competing for the winner-take-all prize pool will be popular high-stakes action seekers Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond, John Juanda, Erick Lindgren, Phil Ivey, and Huck Seed.

The other two sit and gos will feature the traditional $20,000 buy-in and a richer $50,000 buy-in.  The $20,000 version will be called “Wish List,” with amateur Mike Dappen taking on Mike Matusow, Phil Hellmuth, Jennifer Harman, Erica Schoenberg, and Chris Ferguson.  Dappen won the opportunity to play for the $300,000 first prize by winning the Howard and Suzie Lederer Charity Poker Tournament, which raised money for the Boys and Girls Clubs.

The $50,000 tournament, named “Idol,” will see Doyle Brunson go up against five young pros: Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin, Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad, Andrew “LuckyChewy” Lichtenberger, Melanie “Callisto 5″ Weisner, and Dwan.

The rest of the competitions will be cash games, each of which will span two weeks.  Two will have a minimum buy-in of $100,000.  The first of these will include Brandon Adams, Matusow, Ferguson, Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, Jean-Robert Bellande, Peter Jetten, and Hellmuth.  Hellmuth will return for the second $100,000 cash game, along with Antonio Esfandiari, Obrestad, Andy Bloch, Seed, and Justin “Boosted J” Smith.

A $150,000 buy-in cash game will see Eli Elezra, David “Viffer” Peat, Phil Laak, Greg “FBT” Mueller, Olivier Busquet, and Lederer all try to take each other’s money, while Ivey, Dwan, Patrik Antonius, Peat, Elezra, and David Oppenheim will sit down for another cash game with at least $200,000 at stake per person.

While all of the above cash games will be No Limit Hold’em, there will be one $100,000 cash game that will feature Pot Limit Omaha as the game of choice.  Sitting down at this table will be Ivey, Galfond, Adams, Antonius, Dwan, Brian Hastings, and Jared “harrington25″ Bleznick.

With 10 of the 13 weeks consisting of cash games, Season 7 will be far and away the most cash game heavy of all of the “Poker After Dark” cycles.  It was not until Season 4 in 2008 that cash games were part of the lineup.  The show was exclusively six-handed sit and gos for its first three seasons, serving as a complement to GSN’s “High Stakes Poker,” another Poker PROductions program that consisted of only cash games.

In Season 4, which was only seven weeks long, the first and seventh weeks were cash games, while the third was a special four-player “Heads-Up Challenge.”  Of the 16 weeks of Season 5, seven were cash games.  Six more weeks were cash games in the 13-week Season 6.

Poker PROductions also revealed this week that it has extended its deal with NBC Universal to produce “Poker After Dark” through 2014.  Aria will continue to serve as the host casino for the show’s filming through at least 2013.

Poker News in Brief: Nov. 15-21

Fortunately, we've compiled them below in our weekly Poker News in Brief feature.

This week Chilipoker comes to the U.S., The Legends of Poker goes back to the Bike, the WPT starts a new series and more.

ChiliPoker goes American

ChiliPoker plans to launch a online subscription poker operation in 2011 that will allow U.S. customers.

The new operation will complement the company's existing gaming businesses. Online subscription poker is legal in a majority of U.S. States.

Chiligaming does not take, and has never taken, U.S. bets and this latest move is expected to position the company well in the event of a regulated U.S. online poker market.

GUKPT Grand Final Begins

The GUKPT Grand Final Festival kicked off inside London’s Victoria Casino this week.

Along with the World Heads Up Championship Nov. 19-22, the full festival runs until Nov. 28, including the £2,500+£125 No-Limit Hold'em main event beginning Nov. 25.

In 2009, the Grand Final was won by Tony Cascarino, beating a field of 183 for £168,800.

Live satellites are currently underway at the Vic.

WPT Signs Bike Extention

Just days inton the PokerStars NAPT event at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles, the World Poker Tour announced it had extended its deal with the casino to keep the WPT Legends of Poker at the venue through 2015.

The five-year agreement ensures the Legends of Poker event will maintain its position on the WPT Tour and the WPT televised series as far out as Season XIV.

Held annually in late August, winners of the Legends of Poker tournament include Hall of Famers Dan Harrington and Doyle Brunson, Prahlad Friedman, Mel Judah and John Phan.

The 2010 Legends of Poker was won by Andy Frankenberger, the current WPT Player of the Year points leader.

UKICOOP Satellites Begin

Satellites are now running for the PokerStars UK & Ireland Championship of Online Poker.

The series is set for Dec. 5-12, with satellites now running for all of the Championship events.

$512,000 in guaranteed cash is up for grabs over the course of the 11-event series.

Winner of Player of the Series honors will recieve a UKIPT Passport to the UKIPT events in Nottingham, Manchester, Cork, Newcastle, Brighton, Edinburgh and Dublin.

New WPT Series

The World Poker Tour announced a new series of events this week.

The events will be branded WPT Regional Series Events in the United States and WPT National Series Events in Europe.

No WPT title, Player of the Year points or WPT World Championship buy-in is up for grabs, but the events are branded with the WPT name.

The first WPT Regional and National events include the $4,750+$250 buy-in WPT Regional Series: Florida at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood Florida from Nov. 19–22, the $1,500+$100 buy-in WPT Regional Series: Indiana at the Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg, Nov. 20-21 and the €5000 buy-in WPT National Series: Paris at Aviation Club de France in Paris, France Feb. 9–15, 2011.

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World Poker Tour Signs Extension with Bicycle Casino

This week, the World Poker Tour (WPT) and the Bicycle Casino announced a five-year extension to their longstanding contract. The deal will see the Legends of Poker tournament attached to the WPT brand through 2015.

“The Bicycle Casino has been an enthusiastic and devoted venue partner and the WPT is proud to continue its association with the incredibly popular Legends of Poker event and the team behind it,” said WPT President Adam Pliska. “The Bicycle Casino is a charter member of the WPT and this extension will allow us to build on a tradition of collaboration and best-in-class poker started in 2002.”

The Legends of Poker takes place at the Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens, California each year and has been won by big names like Doyle Brunson, Dan Harrington, Prahlad Friedman, and John “The Razor” Phan. Most recently, Andy Frankenberger took down the $5,000 buy-in Main Event for $750,000. Frankenberger beat Kyle Wilson heads-up for the title and is the current leader in the WPT Player of the Year standings going into WPT Marrakech. The Legends of Poker, along with most WPT events, will air on the Fox Sports Network in early 2011.

This year’s Legends of Poker drew 426 players, a 66% attendance increase over the previous year’s total of 279. It should be noted, however, that the 2010 version had a $5,000 buy-in, while $10,000 per seat was charged in previous years. As a result, the tournament’s prize pool dropped from $2.63 million to $2.15 million. Friedman, the 2009 champion, earned more than $1 million for his victory.

Despite the drop in buy-in, the biggest names in the game still made the trek to Los Angeles this year. Among those who took part in the 2010 Legends of Poker were Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein, Allen Cunningham, Phil Hellmuth, Jeff Madsen, Joe Sebok, and Kathy Liebert, who was playing in her 100th WPT event.

The WPT and the Bicycle Casino were very pleased with the overall result. “It is very evident that the WPT made significant enhancements across the board this year and has plans to continue to do so in the future,” said Bicycle Casino Director of Marketing Kelly O’Hara. “We believe these changes are resonating with our players and with us. We’ve had nine great seasons together and look forward to at least five more. I believe together we’ll continue to offer players a better experience during every year of this deal.”

The announcement of the contract extension came at a very interesting time for the Bicycle Casino, as it played host to the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Los Angeles Main Event earlier this week. However, due to a television exclusivity clause between The Bike and the WPT, the ESPN-televised final table was moved to Compton, California at the Crystal Casino.

As Poker News Daily reported on Tuesday, PokerStars officials sent out an e-mail that read, “Please be advised that the final table of the NAPT Los Angeles Main Event has been relocated to the Crystal Casino and Hotel. The final table is being filmed for broadcast on ESPN2. The cards will be in the air at 2:00pm PT.”

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest World Poker Tour headlines.