Poker News

Jesper Hougaard, Johnny Chan Among WSOP Main Event Day 2A Chip Leaders

The marathon that is the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event rolled along on Friday, with 2,412 players returning from Days 1A and 1C to take part in Day 2A.

1987 and 1988 Main Event champion Johnny Chan sat just a few spots in back of chip leader Corwin Cole to begin the day, with $50,000 Player’s Championship winner Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi and England’s Barny Boatman also in the top ten. Although there was a festive atmosphere in the Amazon Room at the start of play, over half the field would not survive to bag up chips at the end of the night.

The early action consisted of many players who were looking to double up or go home with their meager chip stacks. One of the players able to succeed on that front was 2008 WSOP Main Event final tablist Dennis Phillips, who made Big Slick work against an opponent’s pocket jacks to earn an early chip up. Phillips would continue to drive his stack upwards, reaching 45,000 late Friday night. However, the popular St. Louis poker pro would Tweet his demise before the end of action: “The search for the next November Nine goes on… unfortunately was just eliminated & will not be in the hunt.”

Phillips wasn’t the only one to face his WSOP mortality on Friday. World Poker Tour host and Poker Hall of Fame member Mike Sexton saw pocket kings vanquished when he was looking for a triple up, being outdrawn by pocket nines on a 2-9-8 rainbow flop. Also departing the Rio on Friday were 2009 November Niner James Akenhead, Rincon Circuit champion Bryan “badbeatninja” Devonshire, Ted Lawson, Liz Lieu, and UB.com’s “Hollywood” Dave Stann, who commented on Twitter about his defeat at the hands of Jennifer “Jennicide” Leigh: “That was fun. Guess I’m headed back to LA early… Straights don’t beat flushes here apparently. nh Jennicide.”

Several top pros rode the elevator the opposite way on Day 2A. Chan, who started action stacked with 163,700 in chips, continued to be a force at the tables. “The Orient Express” was able to build on his Day One play, ending Day 2A in tenth place on the leaderboard with 281,600 in chips.

Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Annie Duke was also able to mount an assault. Starting the day with 67,000 in chips, the current National Heads-Up Poker Championship winner rode a roller coaster throughout the day before getting into an epic hand late in the evening. Holding on a board, the UB.com pro was able to get her opponent to commit the remainder of their chips with an offsuit 4-2.

A nondescript nine hit on the turn, but the crowd was stunned when the hit, making Duke’s opponent a boat, which many railbirds inaccurately assumed gave her tablemate the hand. According to WSOP.com reports, Duke calmly pointed out, “I have the straight flush,” earning her the pot in stunning fashion. Duke used that hand to skyrocket to 176,600 in chips.

Making the most noise in the Rio on Friday was Denmark’s Jesper Hougaard. The only person to ever win Las Vegas and European WSOP bracelets in the same year (2008), Hougaard started Friday with the 51,000 chips he built on Day 1C and attacked his tablemates throughout the day. By the time the smoke cleared on Friday night, Hougaard had amassed 316,200 in chips, good for third place behind Boulos Estafanous. According to WSOP statistics, 1,192 players have reported chip counts and will be back for play on Day 3.

Those who come to the felt on Saturday will have a significant challenge ahead of them. Day 2B – the combination of Days 1B and 1D – will be composed of slightly more than 2,700 players. James Danielson is the leader of Day 2B at 201,050 in chips, but he is pursued by WSOP bracelet and gold ring winner Steve “MrSmokey1” Billirakis (187,150). Other top professionals stepping to the felt on Saturday include tenth place Jason DeWitt (149,950), Full Tilt Poker’s David Benyamine (130,800), Team PokerStars pro Vanessa Rousso (111,050), Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond (107,100), and English powerhouse James “Flushy” Dempsey (106,175).

Sunday will be a rest day for the survivors of the WSOP Main Event. The field will come together for the first time on Monday, when Day 3 will consolidate the field at the Rio. Expect the field to number approximately 2,500 by that point, with the latest incarnation of the “November Nine” to be determined one week from today.

Liv Boeree and UB.com Renegotiating Contract

Rumblings around the Amazon Room, site of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, have Liv Boeree and UB.com parting ways. However, Poker News Daily can independently confirm that the two sides are actively renegotiating Boeree’s contract.

Boeree made waves in April after taking down the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) San Remo Main Event for $1.7 million. She bested the largest European EPT field ever of 1,240 in the process and defeated Sweden’s Jakob Carlsson heads-up. Boeree’s win was the latest in the so-called Year of the Woman, which also included Annie Duke winning the National Heads-Up Poker Championship and Vanessa Selbst taking down the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Mohegan Sun Main Event.

Poker News Daily has learned that Boeree’s contract has expired, but the two sides are pursuing a new deal. A UB.com spokesperson explained on Thursday, “Liv’s contract has expired. We are in contract renegotiation discussions now.” The negotiations are expected to come to a head within a week.

Meanwhile, the 2010 WSOP Main Event is playing out at the Rio in Las Vegas. Boeree played on Day 1B on Tuesday, running into a set of kings during the first level to cripple her stack. Then, she was poised for a much-needed double up with pocket jacks, but an opponent with pocket eights found a set. Boeree has never cashed in a WSOP tournament with a buy-in greater than $2,000. This year, she turned in three in the money finishes for $8,000 total.

Boeree, who is dating fellow poker pro Allie Prescott, still appears on UB.com’s website as a sponsored pro. The U.K. native was born in 1984 and, 21 years later, appeared on “Ultimate Poker Showdown.” There, she received instruction from Annie Duke, Phil Hellmuth, and David “Devilfish” Ulliott and the rest, as they say, is history. Duke and Hellmuth now front Team UB, while Ulliott serves as the namesake behind the Entraction Network site Devilfish Poker.

In May 2008, Boeree took down the Ladbrokes Poker European Ladies Championship for $42,000. Then, she final tabled a preliminary event held during the Aussie Millions in 2009 for another $13,000. The same year, Boeree took 37th in the World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship at the Bellagio for $40,000, nearly doubling her $25,000 buy-in. Her crowning glory remains her win in San Remo, where she became just the third woman ever to win an EPT title, joining Vicky Coren (EPT London in 2006) and Sandra Naujoks (EPT Dortmund in 2009).

Besides Hellmuth, Duke, and Boeree, UB.com’s roster of sponsored pros also includes former “Poker2Nite” host Joe Sebok, “Amazing Race” contestant Tiffany Michelle, two-time bracelet winner Brandon Cantu, and Anthrax’s Scott Ian. In early June, Cantu re-signed with UB.com for one year. UB.com pros were spotted at the site’s get-together at the Mandarin Oriental bar at CityCenter in Las Vegas on Monday. The night ended with a shotgun wedding as part of a site-sponsored prop bet contest.

Recent player signings include David Williams and Vanessa Selbst inking agreements with PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site. In addition, PokerStars is sponsoring the stable of pros belonging to Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy and Eric “sheets” Haber during the Main Event, which includes well-known players like Nick “fu_15” Maimone, and Jamie “TheNew” Robbins. Back in May, Amanda Musumeci joined the ranks of Bodog, which parted ways with Williams, Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, and Jean-Robert Bellande.

Peter Eastgate to Retire from Poker?

In news that has stunned the poker community, 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event champion Peter Eastgate has stated that he plans to retire from international high-stakes poker, at least for the time being.

In a blog on his sponsor site, PokerStars, Eastgate indicated that he lacked the desire to continue to pursue the lifestyle of a professional poker player. “When I started playing poker for a living, it was never my goal to spend the rest of my life as a professional poker player,” the 24 year old Eastgate states. “My goal was to become financially independent. I achieved that by winning the WSOP Main Event in 2008.”

Eastgate goes on to say that, while he has enjoyed the ride of being recognized as a former Main Event Champion, his heart may not be in the game anymore. “The period following (winning the WSOP Main Event) has taken me on a worldwide tour, where I have seen some amazing places and met many new people; it has been a great experience,” Eastgate writes in the statement on the PokerStars blog. “In the 20 months following my WSOP win, I feel that I have lost my motivation for playing high level poker along the way and I have decided that now is the time to find out what I want to do with the rest of my life.”

Where Eastgate becomes a bit cryptic as to his future is at the end of the statement: “What this (next chapter) will be, I do not yet know. I have decided to take a break from live tournament poker, and try to focus on Peter Eastgate, the person. I want to thank PokerStars, my friends and family for their support over the last 20 months and for their support in my decision to take a break from poker.”

Since his victory at the 2008 WSOP Main Event, where he won $9.15 million, Eastgate has been traveling the world and seemingly playing well. In 2009, he won a $5,000 No Limit Hold’em preliminary event at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure for $343,000 and then went on a sizzling run in defense of his WSOP championship. In last year’s tournament, he finally succumbed in 78th place, arguably one of the best championship defenses of the past ten years.

In the past ten months, Eastgate has been around the world displaying his poker skills in such locales as London (where he finished second in the European Poker Tour (EPT) Main Event), Tallinn, Estonia; Sydney, Australia; Deauville, France; his home court of Copenhagen, Denmark; and Las Vegas. According to the Hendon Mob database, he has won $1.54 million since his WSOP championship and currently sits sixth in lifetime earnings with $10.9 million.

Obviously, however, Eastgate has felt the call of other things outside of the poker world. In June, Poker News Daily reported that Eastgate would not attend any preliminary events at the WSOP, focusing his concentration on Denmark’s run in the 2010 World Cup and traveling to South Africa for the matches. He commented at the time, “I don’t have the motivation to play all the small events at the WSOP. That would be a waste of money. To me it’s not that important to win bracelet number two.” He also questioned the logic of some of the “young guns” in the game, most notably Tom “durrrr” Dwan, playing in the preliminary tournaments because of prop bets on winning bracelets.

Eastgate isn’t the first young poker pro to make the decision to step away from the felt for a while. Late last year, noted online pro Shaun Deeb announced that he would step away from the game, only to reappear at this year’s WSOP. Former EPT champion Michael “Timex” McDonald and online cash game wizard Jonas “Nebuchad” Danielsson announced a “retirement” of sorts from the game this year.

Comments on Eastgate’s decision has sent social media outlets and poker forums into a frenzy. On Twitter, none other than eight-time WSOP bracelet winner Erik Seidel noted, “Wow, 2008 WSOP champ Peter Eastgate quits poker… Interesting story, wish him all the best.” Noted French poker journalist Benjo DiMeo thought that Eastgate’s move was for the best when he Tweeted, “Now here is a smart kid.”

On the forums, Eastgate’s decision has been met with mostly good will. On PocketFives.com, poster “TpocketT” remarked, “Eastgate seemed like a very smart, thinking player. Gl to him, I think he’s basically done what most people set out to do when they become poker players – get rich and retire.” Another poster, “matze_widi,” agreed, stating, “I like that move, reevaluate your life… there are so many more fun things to do other then playing poker… and he obviously has no money issues.” But perhaps the final word on Eastgate’s decision – and potentially a look to the near future – was written by “wackyJaxon”:  “I would guess that he will be back, its just a temporary decision, gives him time and then can play when its ‘fun’ for him. Would take a small prop bet he enters a live tourney by end of next WSOP.” ?

WSOP Main Event Attendance Up 34% After Three Starting Days

Three starting days are in the books in the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. Today at Noon PT, Day 1D will kick off after being the first to sell out its pre-registration. Overall, attendance through the first three starting days of the Main Event is up a colossal 34% year over year.

In 2009, there were 3,685 entries after Day 1C officially closed its doors to new players. A total of 1,116 entered on Day 1A, while just 873 took to the floor on Day 1B, which fell on the Fourth of July. Day 1C saw 1,696 entrants in 2009. This year, the first of three starting days in the Main Event occurred on Monday, July 5th, safely removed from the holiday festivities one day prior. Day 1A this year featured a starting grid of 1,125 players, while Day 1B attracted 1,489. Yesterday, Day 1C saw a field of 2,314 show up for a three-day total of 4,928.

Among those who took to the felts on Day 1B was Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad, a Full Tilt Poker pro, who was seated at Table 2. Meanwhile, Poker News Daily witnessed Tiltboy Rafe Furst make his exit after an opponent flopped a set of threes. Jeff “yellowsub” Williams, who finished third in a $5,000 No Limit Hold’em event, told us to bet on the Netherlands in the Fifa World Cup; sure enough, “Sub” was right, as the European country outlasted Uruguay 3-2. Unfortunately, we did not make it to the Rio sports book in time.

At the table next to Full Tilt pro Jeremiah Smith’s was an all-in and a call with A-K versus aces, one of several pots that featured Big Slick running into the superior hand. This time around, however, the player with A-K made a straight a busted his opponent. A bevy of players donned blue 888 logos, including Leo Margets, the Last Woman Standing in the 2009 Main Event.

Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, Matt “mcmatto” Affleck, Drag the Bar instructor Dusty Schmidt, and Marco “CrazyMarco” Johnson were among those who carried the banner for the internet poker community on Tuesday during Day 1B. On Day 1C, online poker pros in the room included DoylesRoom’s Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka, free agent Lauren Kling, Kling’s beau Mike “SowersUNCC” Sowers, and Jordan “Octavian_C” Rich.

Furst and Joe Sebok were among those who donned an all-white jump suit in support of Bad Beat on Cancer, whose green 1% patches can be seen on a bevy of players in the Amazon Room.

Day 1D of the Main Event has a capacity of 3,800 and, as of 5:00pm PT on Wednesday, nearly half of those seats were sold. In 2009, a total of 6,494 players entered the Main Event, meaning that we’re already guaranteed to have a field larger than last year’s, a welcome sign given the depressed economy. The 2009 attendance would have been even larger had 500 players not been shut out after Day 1D reached capacity. Whether today will have any similar drama remains to be seen.

Wednesday began with PokerStars pro Joe Cada issuing the command to start play. Then, it was UB.com pro Phil Hellmuth’s turn to shine. Several hundred spectators endured 110-degree heat in the Rio parking lot to watch Hellmuth enter as an MMA fighter, including Mike Matusow. When asked by Hellmuth why he was in attendance, Matusow responded that he wanted to watch the “idiocy.” Meanwhile, 2010 bracelet winner Gavin Smith caught a pink UB.com hat tossed to the crowd by several dancers.

Finally, we’d be amiss if we didn’t discuss the trials and tribulations of Illinois native Stuart Nitzkin, the first player eliminated from the Main Event back on Day 1A. He lost a pot with pocket aces when the final board came K-K-10-10-10. Then, he donated his remaining chips with pocket kings after a player with K-10 made a straight. So it goes in poker’s richest tournament.

The survivors from Day 1A and Day 1C will convene for Day 2A on Friday. Those who made it through Day 1B and Day 1D will assemble for Day 2B on Saturday. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest news, notes, and nuggets from the 2010 WSOP.

Full Tilt Poker Holding Rush Week Starting July 12th

From Monday, July 12th to Sunday, July 18th, Full Tilt Poker is holding Rush Week. Capitalizing on the popularity of its fast-paced Rush Poker, Full Tilt is dishing out up to $250 in cash per player along with entries into an exclusive $50,000 Rush Week Freeroll.

In honor of Rush Week, which totes “Seven Days of Speed” as its tagline, several guaranteed tournaments on Full Tilt Poker will offer a Rush Poker structure. This means that as soon as a player’s action in a hand has ended, he or she is whisked off to another table with a new set of opponents to begin a brand new hand. The lack of downtime means constant decision-making and the potential to see 300 hands per hour. Rush Poker ring games first appeared on Full Tilt back in January. In April, Rush Poker tournaments were rolled out.

There are several ways to collect cash as part of Rush Week. Players who earn at least 10 Full Tilt Points (FTPs) per day from Rush Poker games on any four days during the promotion will bank $5. If they can perform the same feat on all seven days of Rush Week, they’ll earn $10. Players who amass 100 FTPs per day on any four days during Rush Week will collect $25, while those who can generate 100 FTPs per day on all seven days will earn $50.

Finally, Full Tilt Poker members who accrue 1,000 FTPs per day on any four days during the week will receive $125. Those who can rack up 1,000 FTPs per day on all seven days will take home the grand prize of $250. Players can only take home one cash prize, meaning that the awards for racking up FTPs during Rush Week are not cumulative.

Rush Week officially starts at 00:00 ET on July 12th and ends at 23:59 ET on July 18th. Only FTPs earned in Rush Poker cash games and tournaments are eligible for reaping rewards and bonuses earned as part of Full Tilt’s Rush Week. Happy Hours, while lucrative, don’t count for this promotion.

Similar to other Full Tilt Poker promotions, players must opt into Rush Week in order to qualify. To do so, log into the Full Tilt client and click on the “Cashier” button. Then, click on “My Promotions” and select “Rush Week.” If you’re curious as to where you stand, head back to the “Rush Week” landing page.

Qualifying for the $50,000 Rush Week Freeroll is pretty simple. All you have to do is reach the final table of a Rush Poker tournament during the promotional period. Text found on Full Tilt Poker’s website highlights an important caveat to qualifying: “In Rush Poker Tournaments that do not play down to a final table, all players who win the top prize will be automatically entered into the $50,000 Rush Week Freeroll.”

The $50,000 freeroll is scheduled for Sunday, July 25th at 15:15 ET. Full Tilt has bumped up the number of Rush Poker tournaments on the docket during the week in order to allow plenty players to qualify for the freeroll. Players are automatically entered to the $50,000 freebie, eliminating the hassle of having to register manually.

Full Tilt happily accepts players from the United States and is the world’s second largest online poker site, trailing only PokerStars. Its fleet of sponsored pros includes 2009 World Series of Poker November Niner Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer, and Chris Ferguson. Rush Poker is patent pending in the United States, the European Union, Australia, and Canada. Visit Full Tilt Poker today.

2010 WSOP Breaks Attendance Records

Attendance through 55 bracelet events is 63,706, breaking the previous record set at the 2009 WSOP, when 60,875 players registered for 57 events.

With two more events still to be counted, it appears that the 2010 attendance mark will break the record by a wide margin.

Even with the passing of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in the U.S. in 2006 and economic downturn around the world, interest in poker's biggest event is still booming.

"We're thrilled that poker enthusiasts from every corner of the globe have reinforced the World Series of Poker's standing as one of the most popular competitive events anywhere," said World Series of Poker Vice President Ty Stewart.

"This year's overall turnout continues to show the players' passion for playing on poker's biggest stage despite the continued sluggish economy."

A number of changes were made to the schedule for the 2010 WSOP including the inclusion of six $1k events and a change in format for the $50k Players Championship, which went back to playing exclusively No-Limit Hold'em at the final table for the ESPN cameras.

Poker's high-stakes community embraced the change, as attendance grew from 95 to 116 players for 2010.

That event seemed to set the tone for the pros, as nearly all of the $10k Championship events saw an increase in registration over 2009.

The pros also flocked to the new $25k Six-Handed No-Limit event, which drew 191 players despite the high buy-in.

"It actually got a better turnout than I expected," said Barry Greenstein.

"I thought it would only get about 100 players, because it's not televised. If it was televised it would be about 250."

While the pros have certainly turned out en masse at the 2010 WSOP, Jason Mercier suggests that an influx of international players is the biggest reason for the record-breaking registration numbers.

"I just think more people wanted to play this year," Mercier said.

"Interest in poker is growing in other countries. Not so much the in the U.S., but we may have had more European players this year."

The drama will now revolve around the registration numbers of the Main Event, which is set to begin July 5. The tournament drew 6,494 players in 2009.

That number was diminished by confusion over registration rules, as several players were turned away on Day 1d as the Rio Pavilion had reached the max number of possible entrants.

The 2010 WSOP continues through July 17. For comprehensive coverage of the WSOP tune in to PokerListings' Live Updates and News.

Visit PokerListings.com

EPT Berlin robbers convicted

A court in Berlin has sentenced the four men involved in the outlandish robbery at the European Poker Tour event in March.

The Nightly Turbo: Poker Hall of Fame Nominations Open, Florida Changes Its Poker Laws, and More

July 1 - the nomination process opens for the Poker Hall of Fame, poker laws change in Florida, and justice in the European Poker Tour Berlin robbery. We also try to figure out why Phil Ivey is so sick, and it's all in tonight's Nightly...

PokerStars Licensed by ARJEL to Operate in France

After not being included on the original list of operators, PokerStars has earned a license to be able to operate an online poker site in France.

It was announced on Tuesday that ARJEL (Autorité de Régulation des Jeux En Ligne, or the Authority of Regulation of Online Games), the French organization that is in charge of the country’s new online gaming operations, delivered License Number 0006-PO-2010-06-25 to the owners of PokerStars. This license grants the world’s largest online poker site the ability to begin offering poker to French residents, which started yesterday at PokerStars.fr.

PokerStars did not jump into the licensing frenzy from the start, deciding to wait to see what the process entailed. Once it was comfortable with the procedures, PokerStars submitted its application on May 19th and was able to meet all of the stringent ARJEL license requirements. Although PokerStars is now available for French customers, there are some restrictions on online poker in France.

As of now, PokerStars.fr will enable French players initially to play free money tournaments and sit and gos. PokerStars.fr will begin running cash games once the regulations of the French government for online poker have been published, which is expected to happen at any time.

“PokerStars.fr aims to be one of the leading online poker operators from the day the French market opens,” PokerStars French Country Manager Alexandre Balkany stated during the announcement. “We plan on offering players the best tournaments, promotions, and opportunities to win seats at PokerStars’ world renowned international tournaments.”

PokerStars will also benefit from having some of the biggest names in French poker as a part of its pro squad. Led by Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, PokerStars also has top French players Arnaud Mattern and Thomas Bichon on the roster. French rugby star Sebastian Chabal and tennis pro Gaels Monfils are also ambassadors for the online poker site.

“Players on PokerStars.fr will have fantastic new opportunities, not only to play online, but to win seats to famous international poker events like the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas,” Grospellier said. “These tournaments require players to have the right mix of skill, training, and concentration, and PokerStars.fr will be the perfect place for players to work on that.”

The new PokerStars.fr should only add to the European Poker Tour (EPT) fields, including the popular stop in Deauville, France. The EPT recently announced its 12-stop 2010-2011 schedule, which includes the French tournament as well as events in Spain, Portugal, and Germany, all of which count France as a border country. The EPT begins its seventh season in August with a tournament in Talinn, Estonia.

It has been a tumultuous 2010 for French customers looking for action online, be it sports betting, horse racing, or poker. After operating a state run monopoly on online gaming for almost three years, France made the decision in April to pass a law through the French Parliament to allow regulated online gaming. It created ARJEL to regulate the industry and opened its doors to operators, with the proviso that they adhere to the stringent guidelines of ARJEL.

Prior to the start of the 2010 World Cup, ARJEL released several licenses to the ownership groups behind such top online poker outlets as Everest Poker, bwin, and BetClic. With the most recent release of licenses, PokerStars is one of the first major companies to have been granted one. Other lucky license holders include Gaming Iliad SAS (Chilipoker.fr), Partouche Gaming France SAS (Partouche.fr), and Electraworks SAS (PartyPoker.fr). Sportingbet, Betfair, and William Hill have not applied for licenses and have restricted access to French customers. Microgaming’s application has not yet been approved.

$25,000 NLHE Six-Max Event Kicks Off at World Series of Poker

The final day of June marks the start of one of the most anticipated events of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP). Beginning at Noon PT on Wednesday is the $25,000 No Limit Hold’em Six-Max event, which boasts the second largest buy-in of this year’s World Series.

You can expect a mix of top-tier online pros and live tournament specialists to turn out for this high-octane test of skill. Among those slated to play is newly minted PokerStars pro David Williams, who Tweeted before turning in late Tuesday night, “Big event tomorrow. Event 52, $25,000 buyin 6max NL Holdem. It’s gotten serious.” Also looking ahead to today’s epic event was fellow PokerStars sponsored pro Lex Veldhuis, who posted this dandy: “Really excited about tomorrow’s 25k NL SH tournament. Time to shine.”

All players in the $25,000 No Limit Hold’em Six-Max event will receive 75,000 in chips and complete 10 one-hour levels today. The dinner break will be held at the conclusion of the sixth level and run for 90 minutes. The blinds start off at 150-300 with an ante of 25, meaning that every player will stack up 250 big blinds to begin play.

Among those who might not be in attendance due to deep runs in concurrent events are Tyler “brainwash” Cornell, Ryan “g0lfa” D’Angelo, Jason Mercier, Joe Beevers, 2010 bracelet winner Josh Tieman, CardRunners instructor Eric Liu, Justin “Boosted J” Smith, and Tommy Vedes, who is the chip leader in the $3,000 Triple Chance No Limit Hold’em tournament (Event #51) after Day 1.

Speaking of the Triple Chance No Limit Hold’em event, 965 players entered on Tuesday and 189 survived the day. Another 99 will need to bite the dust before the money bubble bursts and a top prize of $559,000 is up for grabs. Vedes leads the way after Day 1, but a host of brand name poker pros are hot on his heels, including David Singer, Gavin Griffin, Ryan Welch, 2009 WSOP Main Event November Niner James Akenhead, and Mike Sowers, all of whom sit in the top ten in chips.

Other big time pros remaining in Event #51 include Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Peter “Belabacsi” Traply, Neil Channing, DoylesRoom Brunson 10 member Amit amak316 Makhija, Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler, and Victory Poker’s Lee Markholt. Vedes busted three players in back-to-back hands with pocket aces at the end of the night to catapult his stack to 237,100, about 30,000 more than Singer’s total of 204,100.

Tempe, Arizona native Adam White owns the overnight chip lead entering the final table of Event #47, $1,000 No Limit Hold’em. The tournament, which began on Saturday with the first of two starting days, offers a top prize of $485,000. White has a stack of 1.69 million, just ahead of Danish poker pro Allan Baekke’s 1.63 million.

Event #49, $1,500 No Limit Hold’em, will also play down to a winner today at the Rio in Las Vegas. Michael Linn and Mihai Manole own a commanding lead over the other 19 survivors and a first place prize of $609,000 is on the line. Each of the 21 players left in the field is guaranteed to bank at least $17,000. Manole, who calls Romania home, final tabled the European Poker Tour’s Barcelona Main Event last September for over $350,000.

Finally, the $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha event (#50) has 31 players remaining and is scheduled to play down to a winner today. Player’s Championship final tablist Robert Mizrachi is out in front with two days in the books at 758,000 and Colorado poker player Kevin Boudreau is second with a stack of 508,000. Many of Mizrachi’s chips came courtesy of Andy Black, as Mizrachi flopped a set of sevens against Black’s two pair. All of the money went in and Mizrachi’s three of a kind held for the win.

Check back on Thursday for the latest WSOP updates right here on Poker News Daily.

ESPN Inside Deal Features Vanessa Rousso, Dean Hamrick

This week, the ESPN.com poker news franchise “Inside Deal” welcomed recent World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Dean Hamrick and top-tier female pro Vanessa Rousso. New episodes of “Inside Deal” are released every Tuesday exclusively on ESPN.com.

Hamrick finally got over the proverbial hump in 2010, taking down a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event for $604,000 and his first bracelet. He’ll take that money and head back to Michigan, telling “Inside Deal” hosts Laura Lane and Andrew Feldman, “It felt amazing. It was a little weird because it was 6:30 in the morning when I won, so I was as excited to finally get to sleep as I was to win the bracelet. It’s a pretty surreal moment. Everyone is around you and they’re dealing that last river card and you know if it goes right, you’re going to be the champ and get everything you ever wanted.”

Hamrick made deep runs in the 2007 and 2008 Main Events. However, the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em tournament marked just his second WSOP final table. He reflected, “When you’ve been close a couple of times, you realize how hard it is to get back. A final table is very tough, especially in the bigger fields. You don’t want to make a mistake and every decision is crucial.” Hamrick also revealed that the skill level of the field has gotten considerably tougher, a sentiment that many pros in the tournament series have echoed.

Rousso joined “Inside Deal” and discussed whether she considered 2010 to be the Year of the Woman: “I think that whole Year of the Woman thing is just to have something cool to say marketing-wise. Yeah, some women have had some great results this year. I don’t think there’s anything unique about 2010. Women will have great results in years to come. Truth is, we just have a lot of great women players now.” Annie Duke, Vanessa Selbst, and UB.com’s Liv Boeree have been among the females to win major tournaments since 2010 began.

In an interview-heavy episode, “Inside Deal” then welcomed Unabomber Poker front man Phil Laak, who is fresh off a 115-hour marathon poker session that set a Guinness World Record. The previous mark, held by Paul Zimbler, was just 78 hours. Why did Laak feel the need to obliterate Zimbler’s record by two full days? “When I got to 80 hours, I hadn’t made a plan of when I’d stop. I just figured I’d stop soon after that because I’d be so exhausted. What I didn’t expect is that I was supercharged.” Laak profited nearly $7,000 from the $10/$20 cash game table at the Bellagio.

Laak added that he has a renewed outlook on life following his weeklong affair: “Since the challenge, I have become super human. I think better, I play poker better, I have more patience, I’m more empathetic, I work harder at the gym, and things are more effortless. It’s crazy.” Laak’s record may have been broken by a group of European young guns; however, the validity of the attempt appears to be in doubt.

Finally, a viewer e-mailed asking Rousso whether she thought the WSOP Ladies Event should offer up a bracelet despite not being open to the general public. Rousso’s response: “I don’t really get that freaked out about it. I know a lot of pros have a very strong opinion one way or the other. For me, it’s up to the WSOP. If they choose to put it on the schedule, it’s a bracelet event. It’s as simple as that.” Shaun Deeb, David Sesso, and other males entered the tournament this year, but none survived Day 1.

Catch ESPN’s “Inside Deal” weekly on ESPN.com.

Femi Fakinle Wins PokerStars UKIPT Killarney

The €1,100 buy-in Main Event of the PokerStars U.K. and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT) Killarney stop concluded over the weekend. PokerStars qualifier Femi Fakinle came out on top when the final cards were dealt, banking €63,000 and a £5,250 seat into the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) Main Event in London.

A total of 253 players registered last Thursday and played seven one-hour levels on Day 1. Those in attendance included PokerStars pro Julian Thew, UKIPT Coventry winner Gilles Augustus, and UKIPT Nottingham winner Andrew Couldridge. On Friday, the money bubble burst just before Midnight local time when Dave McAndrews hit the skids at the hands of Vinny Gavin.

Fakinle qualified for the Killarney event after winning a €215 qualifier on PokerStars, which serves as the presenting sponsor of the UKIPT and is the world’s largest online poker site. He entered the eight-handed final table with a commanding chip lead and had nearly double the stack of his next closest competitor. UKIPT Manchester final table member Michael Hill was the first elimination from Killarney’s final table and was ousted within 15 minutes.

After five hours, heads-up play was set between two Irish poker enthusiasts: Fakinle and Aonghus Farrell. The latter held the chip lead initially, but in the final hand, Fakinle’s Q-J drew out on Farrell’s K-6. After Farrell flopped a king, Fakinle turned a queen and hit two pair on the river to claim the title and boost Ireland’s GDP by €63,000.

Besides the money, Fakinle was also looking forward to heading to Jolly Old England to compete in EPT London. He told PokerStars officials following the final cards being dealt, “I’m most excited about the fact I’ve won a seat to EPT London; the chance to play against some of the best players in the world is something I’m looking forward to.” The EPT London Main Event takes place from September 29th to October 4th. Last year’s Main Event in the British city marked the largest poker tournament ever held in the U.K. at 730 players.

Three countries were represented at the final table, which shook out as follows:

1. Femi Fakinle (Ireland) – €63,400
2. Aonghus Farrell (Ireland) – €39,200
3. Jens Schmukal (Germany) – €24,000
4. Peter Barrable (Ireland) – €17,700
5. Brian Downey (Ireland) – €14,600
6. David Rowley (United Kingdom) – €12,100
7. Philip Phu (United Kingdom) – €9,600
8. Michael Hill (United Kingdom) – €7,425

UKIPT officials will now take a two-week respite before heading to Brighton’s Rendezvous Casino on July 15th. The tournament also boasts an £1,100 buy-in and crowns a champion after five days of play. Stops in Edinburgh and Dublin will round out the current season of the UKIPT, which ends with the London event.

Killarney’s attendance of 253 marked the smallest turnout during the UKIPT’s first season thus far. The Galway event featured the second smallest turnout, attracting 259 players, and saw acclaimed pro Padraig Parkinson come out on top. The largest event held so far occurred in Nottingham, where 650 players bought in. In the end, Andrew Couldridge collected £80,000 for the win.

In addition to the UKIPT and EPT, PokerStars also sponsors the Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT), Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT), Australia New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT), Italian Poker Tour (IPT), and North American Poker Tour (NAPT).

Vanessa Rousso Signs Endorsement Deal With EQ Labs

Announced earlier this week, Team PokerStars Pro member Vanessa Rousso has signed an endorsement deal with EQ Labs, makers of EQ Energy Drink. Rousso, who is also a spokesperson for Go Daddy, joins a roster of international celebrities that are currently enjoying the benefits of “The Smart Energy Drink.”

For those who don’t know, EQ is a tablet that can be dissolved in any beverage to provide instant energy. It consists of a blend of essential vitamins, Gingko Biloba, and less caffeine than a cup of coffee. The flavors come in Mo Apple, Strawberry Dream, and Lemon Lime.

Rousso, who is currently at the World Series of Poker (WSOP), commented about the deal from Las Vegas: “I’m so happy to be part of the EQ Energy team! I have been working with the CEO for a few weeks and really believe in the product and the company. The energy tablets are awesome. They taste great, are super portable, and of course, give me a real energy boost.”

Rousso mentioned that she’s been using the EQ tablets at this year’s WSOP and loves them: “As a professional poker player, my energy levels and mental acuity are of the utmost importance. If I lose my focus for just one second, it could cost me a tournament and millions of dollars. EQ keeps me alert and focused when my opponents are ready for bed.”

The agreement between Rousso and EQ Labs began on June 15th and will last at least one year. As compensation, she received restricted company shares.

“My deal with EQ is going to be across the board,” added Rousso. “I will do promotional events, commercials, and business development with my existing businesses and business relationships. I’ve always been an entrepreneur and can’t wait to start being involved in EQ marketing and promotion.”

Maurice Owens, Chief Executive Officer of EQ Labs, stated, “We are extremely happy to be able to announce that not only does Vanessa enjoy our product, but she also used the product at the world’s premier annual poker event. This deal with Vanessa allows us to reach a national television audience.”

Rousso is a graduate of Duke University, where she studied game theory, which undoubtedly helped her to become the poker superstar she is today. Her first big cash came in 2006, where she took seventh in the World Poker Tour Championship for $263,625. She won the Borgata Poker Open later that year for $285,450. That final table included Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy and UB.com’s Joe Sebok.

Rousso’s largest score came at the 2009 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Grand Final, where she earned $1,021,713 by winning the High-Roller Event. In all, Rousso has more than $2.6 million in live tournament earnings, plus nearly $1 million in online earnings, placing her among the top five women all-time.

So far at the 2010 WSOP, Rousso has cashed twice. Her most recent in the money finish came in the $10,000 Heads-Up Championship at the WSOP, where she finished eighth for $94,956.

EPT European Poker Tour Tallinn, Estonia with Pokerstars

The European Poker Tour (EPT), brought to you by PokerStars, the world’s richest live poker tour, is back for Season 7.

The first stop on the EPT Season 7 is Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. Not only is this the 1st stop on the European poker Tour Season 7 but, it is the first time EPT has visited Estonia – double celebrations! The tournament will be taking place in the Swissotel this coming August 11th to 16th and there are Prize Packages up for grabs worth a generous €6,000 which will include:- (more…)

PokerStars Restricts French Online Poker Play

Effective June 24th, action on PokerStars.com for French players was blocked due to new regulations put in place by the country’s government. A popup that appeared for French users read in part, “All money in PokerStars accounts is 100% safe and is available for withdrawal. You can choose to cash out now if you prefer.”

Alternately, French players who wish to continue placating the virtual felts under the PokerStars banner can continue doing so on PokerStars.fr. The world’s largest online poker site explained what players can expect on the French-focused site: “We will be running free tournaments on PokerStars.fr this weekend to win seats to live French Poker Series events.” PokerStars adds that the move, while unfortunate, is “mandated by law” and the site looks forward to continuing to service French customers using its PokerStars.fr arm.

Posters on the popular online poker forum PocketFives.com reacted to the news in a thread entitled “Goodbye PokerStars! Signed: All French Players.” The PokerStars French version pits players from the European country against each other, similar to the scene in neighboring Italy. Despite French online poker players departing the worldwide market in earnest, PocketFives.com member “squintster” remained optimistic: “It seems like at least once a year for the last 5-6 years, I’ve seen some scenario that is thought to destroy online poker forever. Somehow, we always seem to come out decently strong with ever increasing numbers, so hopefully this results in the same fashion.”

Traffic on PokerStars has appeared to drop off in recent days since the ban on French players. On June 24th, the site attracted a peak of 36,566 real money ring game players according to PokerScout.com, a drop of about 10% from the 40,943 players recorded one week prior. On June 23rd, the number of cash game players topped out at 37,637, down 9% from the 41,585 the previous week. June 23rd and 24th marked the first back-to-back days that featured peak real money ring game player totals below 40,000 since May 1st to 2nd. However, whether the drop off is due to the loss of French action or some other factor remains to be seen.

According to statistics found on PokerStars’ site, its Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) attracted 27,316 entrants from France, the fourth most of any country and about 6% of the field of 462,000. The country with the most number of entrants, not surprisingly, was the United States, which contributed 147,000 players to the cause in the three-tiered tournament series.

In terms of money won, French players banked $1.62 million, good for eighth worldwide behind the United States, Canada, Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Russia. Team PokerStars France includes Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, Thomas Bichon, and Arnaud Mattern. Other popular French players include David Benyamine, Bruno Fitoussi, and Everest Poker sponsored pros Antoine Saout and Fabrice Soulier.

The PokerStars.com moratorium on French real money action went into effect at 9:30pm CET on June 24th. Earlier this month, the French Authority of Regulation of Online Games (ARJEL) granted gaming licenses to outfits like Unibet, Everest Poker, and the parent company of bwin. Online poker licenses were granted to Pari Mutuel Urbain (the former state-run outlet for gaming), Sajoo, SPS France Betting, and Table 14. Meanwhile, Microgaming, 888, and Party Gaming were not granted licenses despite being three of the largest companies in the industry.

Paradise Poker parent company Sportingbet, Betfair, and William Hill have shut their doors to the French poker market. Keep it tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest poker legislation news from France and around the world.

June 23rd – Daily Deal

It’s Wednesday here on the Daily Deal! We have some great stories from the world of poker, including the latest action from the two-thousand ten World Series of Poker. Plus, we’ll check out the latest political efforts from the Poker Players Alliance and tell you how you can win your way to watch the November Nine in sunny Las Vegas for free.

Hello, I’m Sean Gibson and welcome to the Daily Deal by Poker News Daily.

Another bracelet was awarded yesterday, this time in event number thirty eight, the ten thousand dollar pot limit hold’em championship. Hungarian player Valdemar Kwaysser became the second player from his country to win a bracelet this year and took in a prize of just over six hundred and seventeen thousand dollars. Notable finishes in this event include Vitaly Lunkin in twenty third and Mike “The Mouth” Matusow in twenty sixth place. Many have been saying that this year at the WSOP is the year of the Brit or even the year of the European players, but don’t be fooled, when we look at the stats there’s no question about American domination. As you can see Americans have twenty five bracelets, six times more than players from the UK and in terms of money won, have almost five times as much as the nearest nation which is Canada.

Earlier this week, two-thousand four World Series of Poker Main Event champ Greg Raymer authored an e-mail to members of the Poker Players Alliance. Raymer asked players to visit AmericaSpeakingOut.com and support the legalization and regulation of online poker. The Republican-oriented website, according to Raymer’s e-mail, focuses “on how to continue to make this great nation prosper. I believe we shouldn’t pass up this unique opportunity to share our message of personal freedom and liberty with these members of Congress.”

Raymer’s call to action worked, as the issue had received over 700 votes by mid-Tuesday. Poker players will recall that banks and other financial institutions were forced to comply with the regulations of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, or UIGEA, on June first. A mark-up hearing on legislation favorable to internet gambling is expected next month in the House Financial Services Committee. In the meantime, do your part to help legalize this great game in the United States by visiting ThePPA.org today.

Finally, Poker News Daily wants to send you – YES, YOU – to the final table of the two-thousand ten World Series of Poker Main Event in November. All you have to do is sign up for UB.com through PND between June first and July thirtieth, deposit, and generate one UB Point. When you do, you’ll automatically be entered into a freeroll on August fifteenth on UB.com. The winner will head to Las Vegas in style to watch the Main Event wrap up. The other members of the final table in the August freeroll will earn a spot in the site’s two-hundred thousand dollar Guaranteed, a two hundred fifteen dollar value. So instead of waiting to watch who wins the Main Event on ESPN from your couch, you can watch it live and in person with VIP treatment. There’s an article about the UB.com November Nine promo up on the front page of PND right now. We’ll see you in November!

That does it for today’s episode of the Daily Deal, be sure to come back all day long for the latest in poker news and for exclusive interviews with the biggest names in the industry. This is Sean Gibson, and I’ll see you next time right here on the Daily Deal.

June 21st – Daily Deal

On a Monday edition of the Daily Deal by Poker News Daily, we bring you the latest action from the 2010 World Series of Poker, talk about Perez Hilton’s feud with Shannon Elizabeth, and break down the latest signings by World Team Poker.

Hello, I’m Sean Gibson and welcome to the Daily Deal by Poker News Daily.

We’ll start with a recap of the weekend’s action from the Rio in Las Vegas from the two thousand and ten World Series of Poker. Event #32 was the five thousand dollar no limit holdem event and it all came down to online pro Jeffrey Papola and Men “The Master” Nguyen. Papola already had finished second at another six handed event this year and Nguyen is famous in poker circles from his distinguished career. But this time, Papola took down the event for his first ever bracelet for over $667,000.

Another well known pro in David Chiu finished in second place in Event #33, the Pot Limit Omaha/Hold’em event. Chiu ended up being bested by American Jose Luis-Velador, who won during the holdem round by flopping top pair with seven six offsuit against Chui’s overcards which never drew out. By winning the event, Luis-Velador won $260,000.

Finally, the seniors were out in force, and when I say seniors I actually mean it – as event number 34 took place. An astounding three thousand one hundred and forty two players who were age eligible came out for the event. Former player of the year Tom Schneider finished in forteenth place, as the event was eventually won by Florida native Harold Angle, who won a bacelet and nearly a half million dollars for this $1,000 buy-in tournament.

Gossip guru Perez Hilton posted an e-mail from an anonymous source – and we all know how reliable those can be – regarding a home game that Shannon Elizabeth was allegedly running. The writer of the e-mail states, “Last Friday, a few friends and I were invited to a house poker game in Los Feliz and it turned out to be Shannon Elizabeth’s house… This is kind of cool and we at first think it’s really a treat to be playing poker with her.”

Then, the e-mailer accused that Elizabeth took a $25 rake out of a $70 pot, calling the act “nuts.” The e-mail has drawn a tremendous amount of criticism from posters on Hilton’s website and on TwoPlusTwo, where the concept of a “time collection pot” was discussed. In that case, there is no rake charged, but at certain time intervals, a set fee is taken from a pot. Overall on both threads, Elizabeth has more support from posters than Hilton does. Elizabeth responded on her twitter account saying she’s been in Vegas this whole time for the World Series of Poker, and I tend to believe her – SINCE I SAW HER AT THE RIO ALL WEEK LONG.

World Team Poker, which is fresh off hosting its inaugural event at the Golden Nugget and will host its World Championship in October, has inked top female pros Kathy Liebert and Cyndy Violette to Team Germany. Liebert’s and Violette’s parents are both from the European country and the duo will join Thor Hansen on the German squad.

Meanwhile, World Team Poker signed Victory Poker pro Antonio Esfandiari to Team Iran. He’s the first announced member of that team, which will be one of twenty-four vying for the World Championship title. World Team Poker allows substitutions during play and saw Team China take down its first event held in May.

Finally, the cable giant ESPN is still mulling the possibility of broadcasting the newly announced Los Angeles leg of the PokerStars North American Poker Tour. NAPT L.A. will pan out in November from the Bicycle Casino. An ESPN spokesperson told Poker News Daily, “There is nothing in the works yet, but our programming team expects to meet with PokerStars on possibilities.” Starting next month, the two-thousand and ten World Series of Poker will begin airing on the network.

Thanks for joining me on The Daily Deal. Don’t forget to visit PokerNewsDaily.com and be sure to follow us at Twitter.com/PokerNewsDaily for the latest in poker news. All this week we’ll have new editions of THE DAILY DEAL as well as CardRunners strategy videos and interviews with the biggest names in poker. Thanks for tuning in!

Halfway through the 2010 World Series of Poker by Mike Sexton

As of this writing, the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a little over half over.  As for me, I’ve played in six events and will probably play another six or so.  To date, I have one cash – a 10th place finish in the $10,000 Omaha Eight or Better tournament – for nearly $35,000 and that puts me in the plus column at the WSOP by about $10,000.  Ironically, the two guys who knocked me out in the two $10,000 buy-in events I played in went on to win bracelets!  Congratulations to Frank Kassela, who won the $10,000 Eight or Better Stud tournament, and Sammy Farha, who captured the $10,000 Omaha Eight or Better bracelet.  Obviously, they took good care of my chips.

I live in California now, so I’m commuting back and forth to the WSOP this year.  I’m taking this week off to relax and spend time with my son, Ty (22 months old).  I love being with him and want to spend Father’s Day at home.  I’ll get back to the WSOP on Tuesday, June 22nd.

As for my upcoming schedule, I’m going to play in two Pot Limit Omaha Eight or Better tournaments this week and then next Sunday (June 27th), I’ll play in the WSOP Tournament of Champions. I’ll probably play in the $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha tournament as well as two or three more events in addition to the Main Event.

I’m excited about the WSOP Tournament of Champions (a $1,000,000 freeroll for 27 players) because it’s where I have an opportunity to defend my title!  I won this event in 2006, the last time it was played.  I look forward to finally getting a chance to defend my title.

The WSOP Tournament of Champions is supposedly poker’s All-Star event.  It is a made-for-television event that is guaranteed to have an amazing final table.  The three former WSOP Tournament of Champions winners (Annie Duke, Mike Matusow, and myself) were awarded exemptions as well as the reigning WSOP champion, Joe Cada, and WSOP European, champion Barry Shulman.  Two qualifiers, Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier and Andrew Barton, are in, as are 20 players voted in by the public.

They announced the 20 top vote getters for the WSOP Tournament of Champions this week and there were virtually no changes from the first ballot that was publicized a couple of months ago.  Here is the list of players (in order of finish) that were voted into the 2010 WSOP Tournament of Champions: Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth, Chris Ferguson, Allen Cunningham, Johnny Chan, Scotty Nguyen, Barry Greenstein, John Juanda, Erik Seidel, Jennifer Harman, Huck Seed, Dan Harrington, T.J. Cloutier, Sammy Farha, Howard Lederer, Greg Raymer, Joe Hachem, and Antonio Esfandiari.

I congratulate the 20 players that were voted in, but honestly, I feel that a couple of deserving people were left off the list.  Two guys that I feel should be in that aren’t are Carlos Mortensen and David Chiu.  Mortensen is a multiple WSOP bracelet winner and a two-time World Poker Tour (WPT) champion.  He’s also the only player in the world who has won the Main Event at the WSOP and the Main Event of the World Poker Tour – a feat we may not see duplicated in our lifetime.

Chiu has won four WSOP bracelets and, like Mortensen, has a WPT World Championship title to his credit.  In addition, and perhaps most significant to this event, is that Chiu won the inaugural Tournament of Champions in 1999 (an event that I created).  Another player I believe deserves to play in the WSOP Tournament of Champions is Poker Hall of Famer and seven-time bracelet champion Billy Baxter.

I know some internet pros and young players feel slighted that none of them were voted into this event.  Even “if” they are better players than a number of players voted in – which I don’t disagree with – I don’t feel they deserve to be in poker’s All-Star game just yet.  They need to pay their dues over time and let their credentials speak for them.  In time, they’ll get their chance to play in this prestigious event.

There is a lot of buzz at the WSOP about the side bets a number of the top pros have on winning bracelets, cross-booking each other, etc.  I think these bets create an exciting atmosphere.  I’m also guessing that WSOP officials are happy about them because it gets the top players to literally play every event on the schedule.  And any time you have Phil Ivey and other top players playing in all of your tournaments, you have to love it.

I was pretty much exhausted and drained after playing in only a half-dozen events and am enjoying a little R & R.  I know how tough it is to play in all of the tournaments like a number of players are doing.  Those guys (and a few gals) are playing multiple events every day and are up until 3:00am many nights – and take it from me, it’s a grind.  It’s not easy to cash, let alone win, at the WSOP.

Playing 12-hour days so many days in a row is brutal on your body.   It also gets very cold in there in the wee hours in the morning.  I salute all those who play so many events and wish them luck in their quest to add to their bracelet count.

Let me take a moment to pay tribute to the foreign players and how well they do at the WSOP.  England is having its best WSOP ever and those Russians are really tough.  Although outnumbered significantly, there seems to be a number of them that show up in the money in every event!

I’ve been coming to the WSOP since 1984 and I can assure you that overall, the competition is much tougher today than yesteryear.  There are so many terrific young players as well as good foreign players out there.  Anyone who plays at the WSOP and goes home with a profit should be proud of themselves.  And to those lucky enough to win a bracelet, pat yourself on the back and enjoy it.  Trust me, they’re not easy to get.

Eight Remain in Aussie Millions High Roller Coverage on GSN

GSN’s coverage of the 2010 Aussie Millions continued on Saturday night as part of the network’s poker block. The one-hour episode, which began at 9:00pm ET, featured 15 players remaining in the AUD $100,000 High Roller event, including a star studded feature table.

Paul Khoury and Grub Smith had the call of the action from the Crown Casino in Melbourne. Whereas past episodes of the Aussie Millions on GSN have focused almost exclusively on pros of Full Tilt Poker, the show’s sponsor, producers branched out this time around. Among the beneficiaries of the expanded coverage was Bill Jordanou, who committed his chips pre-flop with A-J and ran into the wired pair of eights of Roberto Romanello. Jordanou spiked an ace on the turn and doubled up.

PartyPoker front man Tony G, who bought everyone in the house a drink earlier in the evening, and Howard Lederer checked a flop of J-9-9 to see a six on the turn. Lederer, holding Q-10, bet 30,000 and Tony G min-raised to 60,000 with pocket sixes for a boat. Lederer wisely got out of the way and Tony G continued to add to his stack. The European has been relatively quiet for much of the broadcast of the High Roller Event, a far cry from his antics on the PokerStars sponsored “Big Game,” which airs nightly during the week on Fox.

Lederer raised to 24,000 with A-10 and Romanello, holding pocket nines, raised the pot to 84,000. Lederer called and the flop came 2-2-J. Romanello moved all-in for an extra 6,000 and Lederer called despite holding air. The turn came a harmless seven, but Lederer hit a 10 on the river to send Romanello out. The Full Tilt Poker pro moved to fourth in chips as a result.

Pre-flop, Tony G made it 23,000 with A-8 of spades and Lederer came along with K-10. The flop came Q-4-10 with two spades and the action went check-check to an offsuit seven on the turn. Lederer bet 35,000 and Tony G tossed in a button to receive 30 seconds of extra time before electing to call. The poker bad boy hit lightning in a bottle on the river when the deuce of spades peeled off, giving him the nut flush. Lederer bet 60,000, Tony G moved all-in over the top for 92,000, and Lederer folded despite the discounted price to call. The pot was worth 244,000.

GSN coverage of the Aussie Millions does not display the value of the pot. In addition, bet, call, and raise amounts are only displayed for a few seconds, making the action difficult to follow. In the final hand of the night, Phil Ivey took center stage. The 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event November Niner raised to 25,000 pre-flop with A-9 and Masa Kagawa re-raised to 85,000 with Big Slick. Ivey moved all-in over the top for 185,000 and Kagawa called for his tournament life.

Ivey hit a nine on the flop to take the lead for good in the hand and send Kagawa out in ninth place, setting up the eight-handed final table that will air next Saturday on GSN at 9:00pm ET. The group will feature Ivey, Tony G, Lederer, and Tony G.

GSN’s Saturday night poker block begins at 6:00pm ET. Starting on August 14th, the Aussie Millions will be replaced with the Full Tilt Poker Doubles Championship:

High Stakes Poker, Season 4 – 6:00pm ET
High Stakes Poker, Season 5 – 7:00pm ET
High Stakes Poker, Season 6 – 8:00pm ET
Aussie Millions – 9:00pm ET
High Stakes Poker, Season 5 (repeat) – 10:00pm ET
Million Dollar Challenge – 11:00pm ET
Aussie Millions (repeat) – 12:00am ET
High Stakes Poker, Season 4 (repeat) – 1:00am ET
High Stakes Poker, Season 6 (repeat) – 2:00am ET

Jeffrey Papola Wins WSOP $5,000 NLHE Six-Max for First Bracelet

Online poker guru Jeffrey “jpapola” Papola came out on top in the $5,000 No Limit Hold’em Six-Max event (#32) at the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP). Papola became the first person ever to finish 1-2 in Six-Max events at the WSOP, having also taken second in Event #26, a $2,500 No Limit Hold’em Short-Handed event. Papola is a sponsored pro of the USA-friendly site RPM Poker.

Papola has run well at the WSOP in the last two years. In 2008, he took 90th in the Main Event for $64,000 and finished 249th in the same tournament last year for $33,000. Papola already owns over $1 million in WSOP earnings in 2010 and, following his bracelet win, hopped on a plane and headed home to New York. Papola is in his third year of law school at Pace University and told WSOP officials following Saturday’s play, “I’m not exactly sure what I want to do with [law school]. I have learned a lot of things. But as far as practicing law, I do not see myself being able to do that, because I really do not like the 9 to 5 thing.”

Papola denied Men “The Master” Nguyen his second WSOP bracelet of 2010 and eighth overall. Nguyen took down this year’s Seven Card Stud World Championship for $394,000 and banked $360,000 on Saturday night. Nguyen leads the 2010 WSOP Player of the Year standings entering Sunday’s play in Las Vegas with three cashes and one bracelet. He’s part of a three-way logjam for first place with 2010 WSOP bracelet winners Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi and James “Flushy” Dempsey.

After sparring for four hours heads-up, Papola came out on top when his pocket jacks outlasted Nguyen’s K-10 of spades. Coverage found on WSOP.com details Nguyen’s final moments: “He shook Papola’s hand before collecting his things and stepping away from the table. Nguyen’s smile disappeared quickly, though, and he had a few unkind words for one of the dealers.” Nguyen is one of the more controversial characters in the industry, but was nominated for the Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2009.

The first casualty of the six-handed final table went to Full Tilt pro Erick Lindgren. He ran pocket queens into Nguyen’s pocket kings on his final hand and the board came 4-5-2-6-8. Lindgren cashed for $82,000 in his ninth WSOP final table. Lindgren’s bracelet came in 2008 in a $5,000 Mixed Hold’em event, when he bested an extremely talented final table that included Justin Bonomo, Victory Poker pro Andrew “good2cu” Robl, Roland de Wolfe, Chino Rheem, Howard Lederer, reigning World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship winner David Williams, PokerStars pro Pat Pezzin, and Isaac Haxton.

Here’s how the final table cashed out in Event #32:

1. Jeffrey Papola – $667,433
2. Men “The Master” Nguyen – $412,746
3. Mark Radoja – $262,902
4. Bruno Launais – $173,123
5. Orlando Delacruz – $117,595
6. Erick Lindgren – $82,303

Also wrapping up on Saturday was Event #33, $2,500 Pot Limit Hold’em/Omaha. Jose-Luis Velador has only made it to the final table of a WSOP tournament twice; both times, he’s emerged as the champion. Velador outlasted former WPT Championship winner David Chiu heads-up. In the pair’s final hand, Chiu called all-in with A-10 on a flop of 6-3-2 for ace-high and Velador showed 7-6 for top pair. A running 9-J secured the second bracelet win and $260,000 payday for Velador, while Chiu was denied his fifth WSOP title.

On his second piece of hardware, Velador told tournament officials, “It means a lot to me. I mean, any bracelet is always going to mean a lot – especially beating so many tough players. This was a very tough final table.” In fact, the finale had three gold bracelet winners: Velador, Rob Hollink, and Chiu. Hollink, who won the 2005 European Poker Tour (EPT) Monte Carlo Grand Final in Monaco, took third on Saturday and banked $116,000.

Hollink’s exit occurred during Omaha play. He was all-in before the flop with Qh-10d-8h-4d against Velador’s Kh-Kd-9d-7h. The flop came Q-8-3 rainbow, giving Hollink some hope with two pair. However, a running 6-3 improved him to kings-up, giving him a commanding chip lead entering heads-up play against Chiu. Here were the final results:

1. Jose-Luis Velador – $260,517
2. David Chiu – $160,902
3. Rob Hollink – $116,359
4. Craig Gray – $85,030
5. Kevin “ImaLuckSac” MacPhee – $62,791
6. Victor Ramdin – $46,861
7. James Mitchell – $35,331
8. Gavin Cochrane – $26,906
9. Matt Sterling – $20,698

The final three rounds of the $10,000 Heads-Up No Limit Hold’em World Championship will play out today from the Rio featuring Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka, Alexander Kostritsyn, Lucovic Lacay, Ayaz Mahmood, Vanessa Rousso, Ernst Schmejkal, Jason Somerville, and Kido Pham. None of the eight survivors has won a bracelet.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest WSOP headlines.

ESPN: No Decision Made Whether to Broadcast NAPT Los Angeles

In 146 days, the fourth stop on the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) will pan out from the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles. The tournament, which kicks off on November 12th, will crown a champ five days later. Still undecided is whether ESPN, which aired NAPT action from the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, Venetian, and Mohegan Sun, will also broadcast the Bicycle Casino event.

An ESPN representative told Poker News Daily, “There is nothing in the works yet, but our programming team expects to meet with PokerStars on possibilities.” At the time of writing, no decision has been passed down as to whether NAPT Los Angeles will air on the cable giant, which carries related programming like the World Series of Poker (WSOP) and WSOP Europe every year.

The five-day Main Event in Los Angeles will carry a $5,000 buy-in, the same price tag as other U.S.-based NAPT stops. Despite potentially not having television coverage, a representative of The Bike commented in a press release distributed by PokerStars, “We are very enthusiastic to secure the West Coast tour stop. We clearly recognize the NAPT as the next major happening in the evolution of poker and we have no doubt this tour will entice and attract players from all over the world.”

Three months prior to the NAPT’s arrival at The Bike, the storied card room will host the annual World Poker Tour (WPT) Legends of Poker. The 2010 running of the WPT Legends of Poker is slated for August 20th to 25th, but in a new twist, the event will come with a $5,200 buy-in, one of the cheapest on the WPT schedule. Meanwhile, NAPT officials are expecting a sellout at The Bike, which drew 279 players for its 2009 Legends of Poker event.

In April and May, ESPN aired action from the NAPT Venetian High Roller Bounty Shootout and Main Event, Mohegan Sun High Roller Bounty Shootout and Main Event, and PokerStars Caribbean Adventure High Roller tournament. A total of 10 hours of NAPT coverage aired, hosted by longtime ESPN poker faces Lon McEachern and Norman Chad.

Harrison Gimbel won a record-setting PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event in the Bahamas, collecting $2.2 million. Back on U.S. soil, the inaugural NAPT Venetian Main Event drew 872 players and Tom “kingsofcards” Marchese emerged victorious and banked $827,000. Then, 21 year-old Ashton Griffin landed in the top spot in the High Roller Event at the Las Vegas Strip casino for $560,000.

The NAPT then traveled to Mohegan Sun in Connecticut in April, where Yale law student Vanessa Selbst defeated over 700 players for the title. In addition, more than 20 countries were represented. Finally, Team PokerStars Pro member Jason Mercier brought home the High Roller title at Mohegan Sun for $475,000. The victory marked Mercier’s second High Roller title at a PokerStars sponsored event in two years.

In addition to the NAPT, PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site, also manages the European Poker Tour (EPT), Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT), Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT), Australia New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT), U.K. and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT), Czech-Slovak Poker Tour (CSPT), Italian Poker Tour (IPT), and poker series in Russia, Spain, and France. Its “Big Game” cash game franchise can be seen nightly during the week on Fox.

According to Pokerati, the future of NAPT stops in Las Vegas appears to be in doubt due to the involvement of PokerStars. Other alternative landing spots for the NAPT include Chicago, Tunica, Biloxi, Atlantic City, and St. Louis. The latter is home to PokerStars pro Dennis Phillips and features Harrah’s, Isle of Capri, and Lumiere Place. Also potentially on tap is an NAPT stop in Canada.

21 Year old now has EPT title and WSOP win!

Carter Phillips is barely 21 but he has already had a big career in poker playing. Phillips has one European Poker Tour title and has now won his first WSOP gold bracelet. There were 1,663 players that entered the 16th event, the $1,500 No Limit Hold'em/ Six handed and it was arguabl the youngest final table in WSOP history.

Poker News Daily’s JD McNamara Leads WSOP $1,000 NLHE Final Table

The entire Poker News Daily family was railing one of our own last night. PND writer JD McNamara, known online as “BubbaKGB,” landed in the top spot in Event #24 of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP), a $1,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament, entering the final table. McNamara made the field of 30 his personal playground on Tuesday, vaulting from middle of the road in chips to the top of the leaderboard. He works for PND along with several other sites in the Play Poker Network.

McNamara made moves early and often during Tuesday’s action in Event #24. First, he ousted Dean Schankin in 26th place after his A-K came out on the winning end of a race against Schankin’s pocket tens. The board ran out 6-4-J-A-8 and Schankin was sent packing. Then, after raised action pre-flop, McNamara and Joseph Grenon checked the action down to the river on a board of Q-6-2-9-Q. Grenon fired out a healthy bet of 73,000 and McNamara made the call with A-K for just ace-high. Grenon mucked and McNamara moved over the 500,000 mark.

McNamara then went on a run of biblical proportions. First, he doubled up with pocket aces against James Jeffrey’s pocket kings, even spiking an ace on the river for good measure. He moved to 856,000 in chips as a result and then quickly eliminated Grenon, also with pocket aces. Grenon held jacks and couldn’t improve when the board came five cards nine or lower. After that hand, McNamara moved to 1.6 million in chips.

Then, it was Yordan Mitrentsov’s turn to feel the wrath. This time, the PND writer picked up pocket kings, which held up against the A-K of Mitrentsov. By the time the board was dealt, McNamara had made a boat. His chip stack vaulted to over two million as play headed to a break. McNamara wound up with a stack of 2.39 million by the time all was said and done, just in front of Kiet Tuan’s second place total of 2.31 million.

McNamara is assured a payout of at least $38,000 and stands to win over $500,000 and a bracelet if he can retain the top spot by the final gong. Here’s how the field stacks up entering Wednesday’s finale of WSOP Event #24:

1. JD “BubbaKGB” McNamara – 2,393,000
2. Kiet Tuan – 2,311,000
3. Blake Kelso – 1,166,000
4. John Tolbert – 925,000
5. David Cai – 844,000
6. Denis Murphy – 789,000
7. Greg Pohler – 660,000
8. Michael Gross – 535,000
9. Jeffrey Tebben – 466,000

Although we’ll be keeping a watchful eye on the $1,000 No Limit Hold’em event starting at 2:30pm PT, two other tournaments will play down to a champion today as well. Steve Cowley leads the way in the $2,500 No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed tournament (Event #26) with 15 players to go. Cowley amassed a stack of 1.28 million on Tuesday, well in front of Martins Adeniya’s second place tally of 823,000. World Poker Tour (WPT) Bellagio Cup V final tablist and Full Tilt Poker pro Justin “Boosted J” Smith reached the final 15, along with bracelet winner Erik Cajelais and online poker whiz Jeffrey “jpapola” Papola.

Finally, 23 players survived Day 2 of the $1,500 Seven Card Stud High-Low Eight or Better tournament (Event #27). Maxwell Troy owns the top spot on the leaderboard at 430,000, but a talented group of pros is in hot pursuit of the $208,000 top prize. On Wednesday, you’ll find recent “Poker After Dark” winner Karina Jett, European Poker Tour (EPT) Berlin Main Event champ Kevin “ImaLuckSac” MacPhee, bracelet winner Blair Rodman, and UB.com pro Brandon Cantu all in the mix.

Joining Jett and trying to win one for the ladies in Event #27 are Las Vegas’ Odette Tremblay and Bonnie Damiano. One woman has won a bracelet so far, as France’s Vanessa Hellebuyck took down the Ladies No Limit Hold’em Championship for $192,000. Will we see a second woman hoist a coveted gold bracelet? Stay tuned to PND to find out.

We’d like to wish McNamara the best of luck in capturing his first World Series of Poker bracelet!

Photo courtesy WSOP.com.

UB.com Offers Two Routes for Players to Get to the WSOP Championship Event

Over the next two weekends, the online poker site UB.com and the free training site UB.net will be giving the opportunity for poker players to earn their way to the Main Event of the World Series of Poker (WSOP), with one participant earning their seat without spending a dime.

Currently running right now up until June 27th, UB.net is running qualifying freerolls that will lead up to a final event on June 27th. The daily qualifying Round One freerolls are played six times per day – 12:30AM (Eastern Time), 4:30AM, 8:30AM, 12:30PM, 4:30PM, and 8:30PM – with each freeroll qualifying 100 players to participate in a Round Two tournament. These events will take place on the next three Sundays (June 13th, 20th, and 27th) at 2:00PM.

From those three freerolls will come the qualifiers who will move on to the Round Three final tournament. 100 players each from the Round Two qualifiers will move on to the June 27th tournament, which will be played at 8PM. The winner of the Round Three event walks away with the $12,000 prize package that includes the $10,000 WSOP Main Event tournament buy-in and $2,000 for travel and accommodations.

For those that have a bit of a bankroll to attempt to earn their WSOP seat, UB.com is continuously offering opportunities for players to get in on the cheap. Coming up this weekend (June 20th) at 4PM, UB.com will be offering 50 $12,000 packages to the WSOP Main Event, with the buy-in for the tournament being $530. These seats will be in addition to the 100 players who have already earned their seats to the WSOP Main Event through UB.com satellites.

Players have a choice of either buying in directly to the WSOP 50-Package Guaranteed Super Satellite or can move up through a vast array of daily satellite tournaments that start as low as $3. Two other daily satellite tournaments, with buy ins of $55 and $60, will offer multiple seats into Sunday’s big tournament. These daily multi-seat satellites – with seat guarantees of 3, 5, 10, and 25 seats – will put players directly in the Sunday battle for less than the $530 buy-in.

For those who are looking for a last chance to get in on the action, a $60+6 buy-in 100-seat guaranteed satellite at 1PM prior to the start of the big tournament on June 20th will be offered, with those players moving on to play the WSOP 50-Package Guaranteed Super Satellite three hours later.

“I can’t wait for the Main Event this year,” said Team UB pro Phil Hellmuth. “I’m really focused on winning my 12th bracelet and, with over 100 players getting ready to join UB at the series this year – plus another 50 coming through the big guarantee on the 20th – I think there’s going to be a lot more UB players winning this year.”

Hellmuth, who narrowly missed winning his 12th bracelet earlier this month, leads a strong contingent of UB.com pros who have been in action at the WSOP this year. Along with Hellmuth are 2009 CardPlayer Player of the Year Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin, defending National Heads-Up Poker Champion and Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Annie Duke, and 2010 European Poker Tour (EPT) San Remo victor Liv Boeree. Other top players from Team UB include WSOP Circuit champion Bryan Devonshire, Tiffany Michelle, and Joe Sebok.

UB.com’s CEREUS Network partner, Absolute Poker, isn’t left out of any of the satellite action. For those who don’t have a UB account, but play on the network through Absolute, they will be eligible to play in any of the satellites. With the 2010 WSOP Main Event on the horizon, there isn’t a better time for players to earn their seats at the tables than now at UB.com

PokerStars Big Game Airs on Fox, Doyle Brunson Goes Broke in First Episode

On Monday night, the PokerStars “Big Game” debuted on Fox affiliates across the United States and online on PokerStars.tv. Tony G finished the inaugural one-hour episode, which saw 32 hands played, up $95,000, while poker legend Doyle Brunson dropped $110,000.

The daily series features commentary from Chris Rose and Joe Stapleton and began with each player buying in for $100,000 except for Daniel Negreanu, who came armed with a stack of $200,000. “Loose Cannon” qualifier Ernest Wiggins was staked $100,000 and told “Big Game” hostess Amanda Leatherman, “I’m not intimidated at all. I’m actually grateful. There are a lot of big names at the table, but for anyone that’s trying to come up in poker, this is what you want – You want the best.” The “Loose Cannon” who wins the most money will receive a North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Passport worth $50,000.

A total of 150 hands are played with each “Loose Cannon” and blinds are $200/$400. The action on the “Big Game” is Pot Limit before the flop and No Limit after the flop and players can rebuy up to $500,000. The $100 per person ante is paid entirely by the player on the button.

Negreanu raised to $1,200 pre-flop with pocket kings and Tony G made the call with A-9 of diamonds. Wiggins made it $3,700 with A-K and Negreanu re-raised to $13,100. Wiggins called and the flop came a benign 5-6-7. Wiggins checked in the dark, Negreanu bet $18,000, and Wiggins got out of the way. Phil Hellmuth and Brunson each wanted action that Negreanu held two kings, eventually leading to Tony G forking over $500 to “Texas Dolly.”

The hand of the night on Monday’s episode featured Hellmuth limping pre-flop with A-5 of spades and Brunson raising to $1,900 with pocket tens. Tony G called with J-10 and Hellmuth, after some prodding from the European, raised to $8,400. Brunson and Tony G called to bring a flop of J-J-2. The action checked around to Brunson, who bet $18,000, and Tony G made the call, announcing he was all-in blind on the turn for nearly $70,000. The turn was a king and Brunson called. The 10-time bracelet winner was drawing dead, shipping the $197,200 pot to the PartyPoker pro.

Then, the fireworks went off between Hellmuth and Tony G. Hellmuth informed his adversary that he was the worst player at the table, to which Tony G responded, “I would love to be the worst player, but I have the most fun. I’m so happy to be so bad.” Tony G was up $100,000 after the hand, while Brunson re-bought for another $100,000.

Wiggins continued to make his presence felt. The online qualifier from PokerStars called a $1,000 raise pre-flop with K-Q from Tony G, who held A-J of diamonds. Wiggins flopped two pair and moved all-in over the top of a bet of $2,000 from his opponent. Tony G asked Wiggins to show one card and if he liked it, he’d pay the amateur off. However, Wiggins refused and Tony G folded.

After 31 hands, the Aggression Factor (AF) for each player was shown, a measure of post-flop tendencies. Tony G owned an AF of 15.0, meaning that he was 15 times more likely to bet or raise post-flop than call. Laak had an AF of 6.0 and the other four players were below 3.0.

You can catch the “Big Game” weeknights on Fox starting at 1:00am or 2:00am in most markets. Check your local listings for more information.

Phil Hellmuth, Annie Duke Lead Team UB in WSOP Omaha Hi/Lo Championship

With almost half of the 57 events at this year’s World Series of Poker (WSOP) either completed or in action, Team UB.com has been battling some early WSOP bad luck. With many in the stable in action this weekend, fortunes may be turning for its members.

The top two players from Team UB, Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke, stepped up to do battle in the $10,000 Omaha Hi/Lo World Championship, Event #25 at this year’s WSOP. 212 players made their way to the tables for Day One on Sunday, with not a weak table anywhere in sight. A champion will be crowned on Monday, with the victor walking off with a WSOP bracelet and a $488,241 payday.

Starting with a 30,000-chip stack, there were, surprisingly, a lot of eliminations for such a deep tournament. Of the 212 original starters, 154 will return for action later this afternoon. Both Hellmuth and Duke will be among those who have a shot to claim a bracelet.

According to the most recent updates from the WSOP, Hellmuth currently sits with 65,000 chips – more than doubling his starting stack – good for 14th place when play resumes. Over his Twitter account, however, “The Poker Brat” has a much more sunny report for his followers. “I have tons of chips in Omaha 8/b tournament and high hopes,” Hellmuth reported. Winning the Omaha championship would be a tremendous feather in Hellmuth’s cap, as all of his record 11 WSOP bracelets have come in No Limit Hold’em events.

Duke will have a tougher time when she returns to the felt on Sunday. She currently sits on 38,000 chips, good for 44th place in the remaining field. Over her Twitter account, the “Celebrity Apprentice” runner-up updated her fans: “Managed to make Day 2 of the Omaha hi lo. 34K in chips.” The defending National Heads-Up Poker Championship winner’s only WSOP bracelet came in an event similar to this, the 2004 $2,000 Omaha Hi/Lo tournament, so Duke has the abilities to make a strong run.

Team UB’s Liv Boeree carried the banner on Saturday, making the money in the $1,000 Ladies’ Championship event. Boeree battled throughout the day and, at one point, had worked her way into the top 10. Boeree, the victor at the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) San Remo event earlier this year, worked her way to a 53rd place finish, garnering a $3,500 payday and her second cash of the 2010 WSOP.

Looking at the leaderboard for Team UB, Boeree and Hellmuth are tied with two cashes apiece as Sunday’s action begins. Hellmuth most notably finished 15th in a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event just over 10 days ago and has a 50th place finish in a $5,000 No Limit event just last week. Hellmuth has totaled slightly less than $40,000 for his two finishes, while Boeree has just over $6,000 for her two cashes.

Challenging Hellmuth on the money side of the equation is 2009 CardPlayer Player of the Year Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin. His 15th place finish in the first $1,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament earned him a payday of $31,362. Other Team UB pros who have earned a cash at this year’s WSOP include Bryan “badbeatninja” Devonshire, Gary “debo34” DeBernardi, and Joe Sebok.

With more than a month to go yet on the WSOP schedule – and 25+ tournaments left, including the WSOP Main Event – Team UB still has time to take some of the prizes up for grabs.

Chuffed Up! Ashby Wins WSOP Bracelet

The 38-year-old Englishman from Vatford outlasted a tough final table that included the likes of Sorel Mizzi, Dan Heimiller and Pat Pezzin to win his first bracelet in Event 21 $1.5k Seven-Card Stud.

"It means a lot to me to have won it," said Ashby. "You just play for so many hours in these tournaments and you put so much energy into them."

Ashby beat Christine Pietsch heads-up to win the tournament. Pietsch would have become the 16th woman to win WSOP bracelet.

Despite ultimately falling short of victory, Pietsch was upbeat after busting and even praised Ashby's game.

"I'm really OK with this," said Pietsch. "I almost wanted him to win."

Ashby, for his part, was extremely impressed with Pietsch's performance. It was her first WSOP event and just the second tournament she had ever played.

"She was fearless," he said.

Known more for playing the high stakes games on Full Tilt Poker, Ashby seems to have developed an affinity for live Seven-Card Stud as of late.

Ashby won the Seven-Card Stud EM European Poker Champion in Baden in late 2009.

Coincidently the first poker tournament Ashby ever played was a £10 buy-in Seven-Card Stud event.

"I like the game and I've had good success in it," he said. "Maybe I should play it a little more."

Ashby joins Praz Bansi and James Dempsey to become the third Englishman to win a bracelet at the 2010 WSOP.

The final table originally looked to be Sorel Mizzi's to lose as he entered the day as the chip leader. The Titan Poker pro lost several pots in the early goings and was finally evicted in seventh place.

Despite being one of the most celebrated online players in the world, Mizzi is still in search of his first major poker title.

Dan Heimiller also appeared like he might finally win his second WSOP bracelet but he busted fourth.

The 2010 WSOP continues through July 17. For comprehensive coverage live from Las Vegas tune in to PokerListings' Live Updates and News.

Visit PokerListings.com

Main Event Champ Peter Eastgate Absent from World Series of Poker

Players from around the world have descended upon Las Vegas for the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP), which kicks off its 22nd and 23rd events today from the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino. Curiously absent is 2008 WSOP Main Event champion Peter Eastgate.

According to the PokerStars Blog, the World Cup in South Africa, Eastgate’s waning desire to win another bracelet, and the sizzling Las Vegas heat are three of the major reasons that he’s been MIA from the ongoing tournament series. He candidly told PokerStars Blog officials, “I don’t have the motivation to play all the small events at the WSOP. That would be a waste of money. To me it’s not that important to win bracelet number two.” Accordingly, expect to see Eastgate cough up the buy-in for only one tournament this year, the $10,000 Main Event.

Eastgate banked $9.1 million after besting Russian sensation Ivan Demidov in the 2008 WSOP Main Event. The tournament drew 6,844 players and Eastgate briefly became the youngest champion ever of the prestigious tournament in history at age 22. One year later, fellow PokerStars pro Joe Cada would trump Eastgate’s record. Previously, UB.com front man Phil Hellmuth was the youngest Main Event champ at age 24.

Eastgate also questioned whether fellow pros like Tom “durrrr” Dwan would enter smaller WSOP preliminary events if it weren’t for the multitude of side bets on the line: “I’m sure if they didn’t have huge bracelet bets going on that many of the other big poker names would feel the same as me. I see no reason to enter into such bets, as I’m primarily a Hold’em player. If you’re to enter bracelet bets, you have to play all the events and I have never had a flair for Mixed games.” According to Tao of Poker, Dwan’s side action could be worth up to $15 million.

The 2008 Main Event champ will be ardently rooting on his home nation of Denmark during the World Cup, which began today in South Africa. Denmark is off until Monday, when it faces the Netherlands in Johannesburg at 7:30am ET. Eastgate labeled the World Cup “an event I look forward to very much, especially to see all the big teams play great football.”

A debate raged on TwoPlusTwo as to whether Eastgate was obligated to play an active role in the 2010 WSOP by virtue of being a past Main Event winner. One poster opined, “If I had millions and a Main Event bracelet and was in my 20’s, I would certainly go to South Africa this summer. The WSOP is every year; World Cup is not. Pretty easy IMO.” Another community member empathized, “Eastgate seems like he is not the guy that feels he had to prove anything, so I can totally understand his decision.”

Eastgate has been extremely busy on the poker circuit until this point. The Dane finished fifth in the 2010 National Heads-Up Poker Championship for $75,000 and took seventh in the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) High Roller Bounty Shootout at the Venetian in February for $85,000. In January, Eastgate landed in eighth place in the European Poker Tour (EPT) Deauville Main Event for nearly $100,000. One year after winning the 2008 WSOP Main Event, he took 78th in the 2009 installment for $69,000.

Despite missing out on the annual poker series in Las Vegas, Eastgate told the PokerStars Blog that he is quite content sitting on the sidelines: “It suits me perfectly to be home in London at the moment and leave all the attention to the defending World Champion Joe Cada. On the other hand, I’ll make sure to be motivated to play a good Main Event when I arrive in Vegas in July!”

Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier won the last seat in the TOC

As we reported earlier, the WSOP Tournament of Champions was looking for one more player amongst Andy Bloch, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Gus Hansen, Don Cheadle, Sorel Mizzi, Michael Mizrachi, Liv Boeree, Gavin Smith and Paul Wasicka.

As a wonderful tournament player the Frenchman Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier left all the others behind in the specific SNG tournament and got himself a ticket to one of the most-spoken tournaments of the year. Grospellier’s toughest opponent was Michael “Grinder” Mizrachi who has also been doing great in this year’s WSOP.

However, Mizrachi just couldn’t prevent ElkY from winning an entry for the TOC. The crucial deal started with Mizrachi leading with Ah-6h. But after the chips went in on the preflop, he got to notice that the French had hit the king on the turn and received even a flush from the river. After his victory the former ex-Starcraft pro thanked the WSOP Academy for giving him this possibility to attend the TOC and already started to look forward to the first WSOP bracelet of his career…  

Grospellier’s poker career has been very successful. More than $6 million dollars of tournaments profits and victories from the EPT and WPT have made him one of the most dangerous tournament opponents of today. Perhaps this summer the French will join Gavin Griffin and Roland de Wolfe in the small cast of Triple Crown winners (EPT, WPT and WSOP victories)?

Source: WSOP and The Hendon Mob

 

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Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier won the last seat in the TOC

Bertrand Grospellier (Elky) Wins WSOP Tournament of Champions Qualifier

Team PokerStars Pro member Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier has only one cash in the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP), a 91st place showing in a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em tournament. However, he lodged an all-important win in the WSOP Academy Tournament of Champions qualifier, which played out on Thursday.

The freeroll, which will air as part of the WSOP Academy’s revamped website, featured nine of the game’s top pros lacking a bracelet. Tom “durrrr” Dwan skipped the Tournament of Champions qualifier, instead electing to compete for his first WSOP bracelet. Dwan was running deep in the 2-7 Draw Lowball Championship and held the seventh largest stack after Day 1. Perhaps the millions of dollars in side bets and opportunity to snag a bracelet were enough motivation for Dwan to no-show the Tournament of Champions sit and go, which instead featured Gavin Smith.

The action kicked off around Noon PT from the Lightspeed VT Studios in Las Vegas. The first player knocked out was Titan Poker pro Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi. The youngster was all-in with pocket sixes against Full Tilt Poker pro Gus Hansen’s A-3. By the river, Hansen had made a flush and the nine-handed WSOP Academy Tournament of Champions qualifier was truncated to eight.

Any Bloch was the next player ousted. The former MIT Blackjack Team member ran A-J into Smith’s pocket kings. “Iron Man 2” actor Don Cheadle, who pledged to donate any Tournament of Champions winnings to charity, followed shortly thereafter. Cheadle also fell to pocket kings, as the acclaimed actor ran pocket jacks into the superior pocket pair and couldn’t improve.

Paul Wasicka then doubled up at the expense of Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi with A-J against A-Q all-in pre-flop. Then, PokerStars pro Grospellier also doubled with A-J, this time against Hansen’s A-4. The all-ins were fast and furious, as despite Dwan electing to miss the sit and go, a Twitter post made by WSOP Academy officials noted that the structure was designed to accommodate events at the Rio: “Fast structure today at the WSOPA TOC – players have WSOP events this afternoon.”

UB.com pro Liv Boeree, who took down the largest European Poker Tour (EPT) tournament outside of the Bahamas in San Remo earlier this year, busted with K-Q against Smith’s pocket nines. Smith then gave a portion of his stack to Wasicka, who doubled with pocket nines against pocket fours.

Hansen departed in fifth place from the WSOP Academy Tournament of Champions qualifier after running K-9 into Mizrachi’s pocket sevens. Mizrachi then served as the executioner of Smith, whose J-9 could not draw out on A-4. The action slowed considerably three-handed, with Mizrachi, Wasicka, and Grospellier all vying for a seat in the $1 million freeroll that will air as part of ESPN’s coverage of the 2010 WSOP.

Mizrachi doubled up through Wasicka after hitting a set with pocket sixes against K-J. “The Grinder” was still on life support three-handed, only holding 9,000 chips with blinds of 600/1,200. However, Mizrachi survived to the finals after sending Wasicka to the rails with A-7 against A-6. The pot appeared to be headed for a chop, but Mizrachi spiked a seven on the river to eliminate the Victory Poker pro.

Entering heads-up play, Mizrachi held a 2:1 edge in chips, 60,800 to Grospellier’s 29,200. Ten minutes in, Grospellier quickly righted the ship and doubled up, but “The Grinder” still held a 2:1 chip lead. By the time heads-up play reached its first break, Mizrachi and Grospellier were deadlocked at 45,000 chips apiece. Grospellier ultimately opened up a 2:1 lead in chips as the blinds grew higher and the Frenchman’s aggression grew stronger.

“The Grinder” didn’t lay down a die, however, getting all of his chips into the middle with pocket fives against A-10. The wired pair held and Mizrachi was right back in the thick of it. However, Grospellier came out on top after his K-10 drew out on Mizrachi’s A-6 and earned a seat to the 2010 WSOP Tournament of Champions.

In case you’re wondering, the Tournament of Champions qualifier ended at 4:00pm PT, while the 2-7 Draw Lowball event began at 3:00pm.

The Tournament of Champions will feature 27 players and begin on June 27th. Then, the final nine will return to the Rio to play down to a winner on July 4th. Annie Duke, Joe Cada, Barry Shulman, Mike Sexton, and Mike Matusow all have automatic bids and 20 other players will join them based on a fan vote. The final seat will feature a U.K. player who qualified via the WSOP’s for-profit online poker site.