Poker News

Poker Pro Canada Magazine Announced

It is only five years old, but Poker Pro Magazine has already established itself in the poker world with a circulation in excess of 150,000 copies per month.  The publication is already available in the U.S. and Canada, but the company is now offering a something special for its Canadian readership.

Poker Pro Media recently announced it will be a launching a regional version of its popular magazine entitled Poker Pro Canada.  The Canadian edition will feature in-depth profiles of Canadian players, updates and news from the growing Canadian poker scene and, of course, strategy and tips from the pros.

Canadian Poker Pro Executive Editor magazine John “JohnnyQuads” Wenzel elaborated on the motivation behind launching the new magazine in an official press release:   “Some say this is a time of contraction for print media, but we’re bullish on the Canadian market.  The game is exploding in Canada and we intend to provide enthusiasts with a slick, upscale magazine that will be fun to read and will also improve their bottom line at the tables.”  Wenzel also serves as Editor-In-Chief of Poker Pro Magazine.

Wenzel makes a valid point, as there have been a number of popular events in Canada in the past few months, including the British Columbia Poker Championship (BCPC) and, more recently, the Fallsview Poker Classic in Niagara Falls, Ontario.  Several big names turned out for the respective events, including Full Tilt Poker’s Gavin Smith, UB.com pro Tiffany Michelle, Maria Ho, Scott “BigRiskky” Clements, Mike “SirWatts” Watson, and Brad Booth.  Smith had an exceptionally good showing at Fallsview, where he won a $2,500 buy-in event and placed fourth in a $5,000 buy-in tournament won by Simon “pokerbrat13” Charette.

“The Canadian poker scene is fascinating, but it doesn’t get a lot of publicity. We’re going to change that,” explained Wenzel.  The long list of top Canadian players includes Smith, Booth, Watson, Team PokerStars Pro member Daniel Negreanu, Full Tilt’s Greg “FBT” Mueller, Michael “Timex” McDonald, Nenad Medic, former European Poker Tour (EPT) Monte Carlo winner Glen Chorny, Steve Paul Ambrose, Evelyn Ng, Betfair pro Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi, and Shawn Buchanan.  The country is also home to the popular Canadian Poker Tour (CPT) and the newly launched PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) also has plans to expand its tournament schedule into Canada.

This is not the first time that Poker Pro has branched out with a new publication.  The media company also produces Poker Pro Europe and Online Poker Pro, the latter of which is a publication dedicated entirely to the internet poker scene.  Poker Pro Canada will be sold at bookstores and convenience stores alike, gracing the shelves of stores 7-Eleven, Wal-Mart, Costco, Indigo/Chapters, and Shoppers Drug Mart.  It will also be available in casino poker rooms across the country.  The new magazine is set to launch in March and an accompanying website should debut in the coming weeks.

Poker Pro Magazine is not the only publication betting on Canada.  Back in September, Canadian Poker Player Magazine announced that it was planning to expand its media operation by launching a 24-hour online television station dedicated to the Canadian poker scene.  Modeled after the popular Poker Channel in the U.K., the site is supposed to feature poker-themed movies and television plus television coverage of past Canadian tournaments like the Canadian Open Poker Championships.

To date, the site has not gone fully live, but the project itself is another indication that many poker companies are setting their sights on the Canadian Poker scene.  Another indication is the recent announcement by PartyPoker that Kara Scott was joining its slate of sponsored pros.  Scott is supposed to promote the room in her home country of Canada by taking part in a number of CPT events.

Calvin Ayre Aims to Raise $1 Million for Haiti

Over the past week, a number of poker pros and rooms have reached out to the victims of the devastating earthquake in Haiti.  Poker rooms like PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker promised to match donations from patrons, pros pledged a percentage of their winnings to the cause, and there was an outpouring of generosity and concern towards the millions affected by the natural disaster.

Bodog founder Calvin Ayre is upping the stakes when it comes to raising money for those in Haiti by promising to match the earnings of the online gaming industry up to $1 million and donate it to the charitable group Oxfam International, a collection of 14 service and charitable organizations dedicated to fighting poverty and injustice around the world.

Ayre originally made the pledge to match donations on his personal website shortly after the quake hit.  He made an initial donation of £10,000 to the U.K. branch of Oxfam, but also encouraged others in the gaming community to reach out and help.  He offered to match any Oxfam donations by online gaming groups and later agreed to open up his charitable efforts to other organizations.  He explained why he wanted to center his efforts on Oxfam in the comments section of his blog post: “We would consider matching confirmed funds to qualified organizations other than Oxfam. We chose Oxfam because it is a well known reputable organization and I like focusing as much money as I can through one organization as this maximizes impact on the ground.”

Ayre is making the contribution via the foundation bearing his name.  The charitable organization has previously undertaken projects like giving underprivileged teens opportunities to attend college in Canada and the Philippines. The publication iGaming Business is helping to spread the word about Ayre’s pledge.  Bodog Poker pros Evelyn Ng and David Williams also got the word out via their respective Twitter accounts.  There is a special page on Oxfam’s website set up to track donations that will be matched by Ayre.  Interested parties can also make donations in person at the upcoming London Affiliate Conference (LAC), which is sponsored by iGaming Review.

The total amount of money donated to Oxfam on behalf of the online gaming industry will be announced at the LAC awards dinner in London on January 28th.  Over 500 members of the online gaming community are expected to be in attendance.  In addition to announcing the total amount of money raised for Oxfam, the dinner will also serve as a chance to honor the winners in categories like Best Affiliate, Best iGaming Software, and Best Affiliate Manager.  The dinner will take place at The Grange St Paul’s Hotel.

The people at Oxfam have been most impressed with Ayre’s generosity and the outpouring from the gaming community in the wake of the disaster.  “We are truly impressed by the iGaming communities’ effort and drive for the survivors of the Haiti earthquake,” said Chris Ashworth, Oxfam’s Corporate Partnership Manager.  “Access to safe water is one of the most immediate problems to resolve now and with this phenomenal support, we will be able to save lives immediately, by providing clean water and sanitation, as well as shelter for the people who have lost their homes and family…We cannot thank the gaming community enough for this act of generosity at a time of such enormous need.”

Those interested in making a donation to Oxfam that will be matched by Ayre’s foundation can do so by visiting the following web page: https://www.oxfam.org.uk/donate/haiti-earthquake/calvin-ayre.

Calvin Ayre Aims to Raise $1 Million for Haiti

Over the past week, a number of poker pros and rooms have reached out to the victims of the devastating earthquake in Haiti.  Poker rooms like PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker promised to match donations from patrons, pros pledged a percentage of their winnings to the cause, and there was an outpouring of generosity and concern towards the millions affected by the natural disaster.

Bodog founder Calvin Ayre is upping the stakes when it comes to raising money for those in Haiti by promising to match the earnings of the online gaming industry up to $1 million and donate it to the charitable group Oxfam International, a collection of 14 service and charitable organizations dedicated to fighting poverty and injustice around the world.

Ayre originally made the pledge to match donations on his personal website shortly after the quake hit.  He made an initial donation of £10,000 to the U.K. branch of Oxfam, but also encouraged others in the gaming community to reach out and help.  He offered to match any Oxfam donations by online gaming groups and later agreed to open up his charitable efforts to other organizations.  He explained why he wanted to center his efforts on Oxfam in the comments section of his blog post: “We would consider matching confirmed funds to qualified organizations other than Oxfam. We chose Oxfam because it is a well known reputable organization and I like focusing as much money as I can through one organization as this maximizes impact on the ground.”

Ayre is making the contribution via the foundation bearing his name.  The charitable organization has previously undertaken projects like giving underprivileged teens opportunities to attend college in Canada and the Philippines. The publication iGaming Business is helping to spread the word about Ayre’s pledge.  Bodog Poker pros Evelyn Ng and David Williams also got the word out via their respective Twitter accounts.  There is a special page on Oxfam’s website set up to track donations that will be matched by Ayre.  Interested parties can also make donations in person at the upcoming London Affiliate Conference (LAC), which is sponsored by iGaming Review.

The total amount of money donated to Oxfam on behalf of the online gaming industry will be announced at the LAC awards dinner in London on January 28th.  Over 500 members of the online gaming community are expected to be in attendance.  In addition to announcing the total amount of money raised for Oxfam, the dinner will also serve as a chance to honor the winners in categories like Best Affiliate, Best iGaming Software, and Best Affiliate Manager.  The dinner will take place at The Grange St Paul’s Hotel.

The people at Oxfam have been most impressed with Ayre’s generosity and the outpouring from the gaming community in the wake of the disaster.  “We are truly impressed by the iGaming communities’ effort and drive for the survivors of the Haiti earthquake,” said Chris Ashworth, Oxfam’s Corporate Partnership Manager.  “Access to safe water is one of the most immediate problems to resolve now and with this phenomenal support, we will be able to save lives immediately, by providing clean water and sanitation, as well as shelter for the people who have lost their homes and family…We cannot thank the gaming community enough for this act of generosity at a time of such enormous need.”

Those interested in making a donation to Oxfam that will be matched by Ayre’s foundation can do so by visiting the following web page: https://www.oxfam.org.uk/donate/haiti-earthquake/calvin-ayre.

Evelyn Ng Interview with Poker News Daily

Poker News Daily: Describe how you got started in poker.

Ng: I took a job as a dealer in an underground poker club in Toronto. That's how I learned to play. I didn't really start playing until a year later. I wanted to do some research and read some books to get experience before I started investing my money.

PND: How do you continue to improve your game despite being in it for so long?

Ng: I take some time off in between tournaments, so I have that time in between to contemplate how I've been playing and the mistakes that I can fix. By the time the next tournament comes around, I'm amped up and ready to play.

PND: What area of your game have you been focusing on improving?

Ng: Some of the mistakes that I've made in the past include calling off too many times, so I'm trying to make a laydown every once in a while. I play so much Limit Hold'em that I think I'm used to paying people off all of the time.

PND: How did you become involved with Bodog and what makes the site so appealing to you?

Ng: I was really lucky. I had a sponsorship with another company. When my contract was coming up for renewal, I wasn't sure that it was the right fit. I decided to leave PokerStars and Bodog came up with an offer. I was thrilled about it. David Williams, who is my best friend, is with Bodog and I couldn't be happier. The company is very hip and they have a very youthful mentality. They do so much besides poker. They have a sports book and a music company.

PND: What advice do you have for new poker players just getting started?

Ng: Read as much as you can. Information is always good. It can't hurt to pick up a book. Also, stay within your means.

PND: What's it like being a top female player in a male-dominated sport?

Ng: I think it's definitely an advantage to be a female in the poker world. Sometimes, guys don't give us credit and it's good for a woman to be able to take advantage of that.

PND: Whose game do you respect the most and why?

Ng: Daniel Negreanu has been a huge influence on my poker game. He's been my friend and mentor. Throughout my poker career, he has really helped me. In the beginning, he wouldn't necessarily teach me strategy, but he taught me the lessons that I needed in order to become a professional poker player and have that professional attitude.

PND: Can you tell us about Daniel Negreanu's demeanor away from the poker table? Does he have the same animated personality?

Ng: Daniel is always entertaining. He makes jokes and does impressions. He's a great guy.

Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo Responds To Bodog Dismissal

While the news of his dismissal as a sponsored professional continue to make noise around the poker community, poker professional Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo has issued his response to his departure as a sponsored player on the online poker room Bodog.

Back on January 3rd, Poker News Daily reported that Bodog issued a press release which stated that Bonomo was no longer a member of Team Bodog, the group of professionals who represent the online room at live events and at tournaments and cash games on the site. Bonomo’s departure followed on the heels of the November axing of fellow former Bodog pro Jean-Robert Bellande. No reason for either of the dismissals was given by Bodog, leaving many wondering how if there was any acrimonious feeling between the site and “ZeeJustin.”

In his latest blog posting just prior to playing in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) at Paradise Island in the Bahamas, Bonomo put to rest any rumors of problems between himself and Bodog. “First and foremost, I would like to stress the fact that I did not ever at any point quit the Bodog Pro Team. I had imagined myself a member of Team Bodog for the duration of my poker career”, “ZeeJustin” contends in the blog post. “I want to thank Bodog and its staff for giving me an opportunity to play for them. I have greatly enjoyed playing alongside my good friends, Evelyn (Ng) and David (Williams, both of whom still represent the U. S. facing site), and will miss being a part of that team.”

Bonomo continues on to state in his blog that there are already sponsorship opportunities coming his way since severing ties with Bodog. “I have already been involved in conversations regarding new sponsorship opportunities”, Justin writes in his blog. “Moving forward, I will be focusing my attention on aligning with a sponsor who will better utilize my play and media presence. I am looking forward to evaluating a potential new home, although any decision regarding new sponsorship will not be rushed.”

“ZeeJustin” finishes off his blog post by stating he is dedicated to having an excellent 2010, starting with the PCA, and has some off-the-felt activities with “Poker2Nite” and Bluff Magazine coming for fans in the short-term. “Thanks to everyone who has reached out to me in the last week and also those who were interested in my sponsorship situation. I appreciate all of your support.”

One reason that Bodog could have used for Bonomo’s dismissal, performance, is completely discredited by a look at his career since he started playing as a Bodog pro. Since he became a Bodog sponsored pro in 2007, “ZeeJustin” has garnered $1.975 million in tournament earnings. When you compare that to the earnings of his teammates at Bodog during the same span – David Williams has earned $919,000, Jean-Robert Bellande has earned $280,000 and Evelyn Ng has earned $56,000, according to The Hendon Mob database – it is obvious that Bonomo was one of the most visible players on the roster, driving deep in tournaments and earning face time at final tables. Bonomo reached the ESPN televised table in the $40,000 40th Anniversary No Limit Hold’em event at the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP).

Bodog Drops Bonomo

The 24-year-old joined David Williams and Evelyn Ng as a member of the Bodog Pro Team in 2007, but confirmed reports that he was leaving the team Wednesday.

“Bodog and I have officially parted ways after a two-year sponsorship relationship,” said Bonomo. “I want to thank Bodog and its staff for giving me an opportunity to play for them.”

Although he didn’t go into detail regarding his departure, Bonomo stressed that he did not quit the team. Despite the change, Bonomo is already in talks with other poker rooms regarding sponsorship.

“Moving forward, I will be focusing my attention on aligning with a sponsor who will better utilize my play and media presence,” he said.

Just two months ago, Bodog also dropped poker pro Jean-Robert Bellande, which means Ng and Williams are the room’s only remaining pros.

Bonomo learned poker online and won countless tournaments using the screen name ZeeJustin. In 2005, he broke onto the live poker scene by making the final table of PokerStars.com EPT Deauville. At the time he was the youngest player to make a televised final table. Since then he has accumulated $2.3 million in live tournament winnings.

Controversy arose in 2006 when it was learned Bonomo had been multi-accounting, a practice banned on almost all online poker sites. He eventually made a public apology and was subsequently signed by Bodog Poker in 2008.

The young pro recently launched a redesigned website and will be featured on the cover of Bluff Magazine’s January issue.

Poker Community Reacts to Justin Bonomo Leaving Bodog

On Saturday, the USA-facing online poker room Bodog officially parted ways with sponsored pro Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo by removing him from its website. Now, the poker community, Bonomo’s agent, and Bodog have had a chance to react.

Bonomo’s agent, Matt Palmer, President and CEO of 11Management, told Poker News Daily, “It is true that Justin and Bodog have parted ways. While Justin will miss playing alongside his fellow Bodog teammates and good friends Evelyn Ng and David Williams, he's ready to move on to bigger and better opportunities. We've begun conversations regarding new sponsorship opportunities and we're excited to work with a poker brand that is better able to leverage Justin's poker success and personality.” Palmer is also the agent for Joe Sebok, who recently signed on to be a member of Team UB.com.

Palmer gave us his take on Bonomo’s 2009 calendar year at the felts: ‘Justin's coming off another excellent year at the tables, including a final table appearance at the World Series of Poker's (WSOP) $40,000 buy-in 40th Anniversary event and a win at the WSOP Circuit event at Caesars. I fully expect Justin to continue his winning ways in 2010.” Bonomo’s fifth place finish in the $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event commemorating the Series’ 40th running was worth $413,000. In April, he won the Caesars Palace WSOP Circuit Championship, a $5,150 buy-in contest, for $227,000.

Ed Pownall, Global Public Relations Director for BodogBrand.com, explained why the online poker room parted ways with one of its three remaining sponsored pros: “Bodog and Justin Bonomo have agreed that, with the transition of the Bodog-branded poker rooms to the Bodog Network in 2010, now was a natural time to re-evaluate the relationship and have agreed to part ways.” Jean-Robert Bellande, of “Survivor: China” fame, also left Bodog in recent months after his sponsorship agreement was not renewed at the end of October.

Posters on the popular poker forum TwoPlusTwo.com gave their take on what room might be a good fit for Bonomo. TwoPlusTwo member “molinn9” weighed in, “Time for him to move on to pokerstars. would be good pro for them.” Bonomo was traveling to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in the Bahamas at the time of writing and was unavailable for comment. The $10,300 buy-in Main Event kicks off on Tuesday from the Atlantis Resort and Casino on Paradise Island with the first of two starting days. The tournament will crown a champion on January 11th.

In the meantime, Bodog will center its efforts on growing the newly forged Bodog Network, which has taken a unique approach to rakeback. Pownall discussed the methodology: “The new offering has already caused much debate with its re-working of the rakeback issue and will reward operators bringing depositing players to the table rather than the traditional method of rewarding the winning players. The system unveiled at the EiG in Budapest in September has already seen other networks, including Microgaming and iPoker, publicly follow in a similar vein.” The idea, in turn, is to reward winning players indirectly by feeding them net depositing opponents.

Yesterday, the weekly Bodog $100,000 Guaranteed played out. The site’s hallmark event, which comes with a $162 price tag, drew 509 players, meaning that Bodog kicked in $23,000 after the tournament fell short of its prize pool. In the end, reigning UB.com Aruba Poker Classic Main Event winner Brandon “AreTheseUtz” Hall took down the top prize of $25,000 after defeating Brian “AKbigfish” James heads-up. James pocketed a $15,000 consolation prize and “paulyman” took third for $9,500. The top 63 players finished in the money and the top five earned more than $5,000.

The Bodog Network is expected to take on non-Bodog sites this year.

Justin Bonomo lost his sponsor

Looks like Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo has lost his sponsor deal with Bodog. A couple of months earlier Jean-Robert Bellande, known from the “Survivors” reality tv-show, lost his deal with Bodog as well.

Team Bodog has lost half of their sponsored players since November and now there’s only two left: Evelyn Ng and David Williams.

Bonomo’s weak performances are doubtfully the reason for his sponsorship cease as Bonomo has won over $1,2 million from tournaments and he was in the WSOP 2009 $40k NLHE event’s final table.

Bonomo is unfortunately best known when he played some tournaments from multiple accounts. PartyPoker and PokerStars closed Bonomo’s accounts in 2006 and froze up hundreds of thousands of dollars to compensate some losses to other players.

Source: Pokernewsdaily

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Justin Bonomo lost his sponsor

Justin Bonomo (ZeeJustin) No Longer a Bodog Poker Pro

Two months after Jean-Robert Bellande lost his status as a sponsored pro of the online poker room Bodog, Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo also appears to be out. Bonomo is no longer listed as a member of Team Bodog on the poker room’s website.

David Williams and Evelyn Ng are the lone survivors of Team Bodog, whose numbers have been cut in half since mid-November. Bonomo owns more than $1.2 million in career earnings from World Series of Poker (WSOP) and Circuit Events and brought Bodog a considerable amount of exposure after final tabling the $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament commemorating the 40th running of the WSOP in 2008. Bonomo claimed fifth place for $413,000 in the event, which aired on ESPN. One month prior, he captured his first Circuit gold ring by winning the Caesars Palace Championship tournament for $227,000, defeating Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi heads-up.

Bonomo appeared on the UB.com-sposored poker news show “Poker2Nite” last week, breaking down a hand from a $5,000 Mixed Hold’em event during the 2008 WSOP. In the segment, dubbed “In the Tank,” Bonomo wore no Bodog logo and, as taped rolled from the event two years ago, the Bodog logo on Bonomo’s white shirt was blurred out. In the end, Bonomo finished as the runner-up to Full Tilt Poker pro Erick Lindgren and banked $230,000.

Bonomo is still listed on Bodog’s website in a Heads-Up TLB Records console. In addition, Bonomo’s Twitter page continues to boast a Bodog logo. Now, Williams and Ng will serve as the face of the USA-friendly online poker room, sports book, and casino. According to the traffic ranking outlet PokerScout.com, Bodog is the 15th largest site or network worldwide with a seven-day running average of 840 real money ring game players. During its peak hours, nearly 1,500 cash game enthusiasts call the site home. Bodog is the fifth largest site to accept players from the United States, trailing PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, the CEREUS Network, and the Cake Poker Network.

During November’s running of the Bodog Poker Open, three sponsored online pros took to the field in the Main Event. They included Smith “nevertilt22” Collins, Jonathan UFPokerStar Westra, and Ari Engel, who ultimately took third in the 257-player tournament for $16,000. A total of 2,646 players showed up for the 11 events that comprised the Bodog Poker Open’s Championship and Contender series, creating a total prize pool of $368,000. The online poker site added another $65,000 to the kitty.

Bonomo’s image was removed from Bodog’s website during the day on Saturday. Williams appeared during a high-stakes home game as part of the G4 online poker reality show “2 Months, $2 Million,” which starred Dani Stern, Jay Rosenkrantz, Emil Patel, and Brian Roberts. Williams lost $50,000 during the game, which took place at the Las Vegas home of the “2 Months, $2 Million” cast and also featured Team PokerStars Pro member Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier and David “Viffer” Peat.

In November, Bellande lost his status as a Bodog pro. Last February, Bellande renewed his sponsorship agreement with the online poker room. However, it was not picked up once it expired, as a Bodog Poker Room Manager told Poker News Daily in November, "Jean-Robert Bellande’s deal with Bodog Poker expired at the end of October and the decision was made not to renew the deal. It has been an absolute pleasure having Jean-Robert as one of Bodog.com’s Poker pros and we wish him all the best."

Ads running on Bodog’s poker website promote betting on the Fiesta Bowl, which pits Texas Christian University (TCU) against Boise State. At the time of writing, TCU sits as an eight point favorite. Wagering is also open on the Orange Bowl, GMAC Bowl, and Thursday’s BCS Championship game.

Bodog Founder Calvin Ayre Featured in National Post

On Saturday, the National Post ran an article entitled “Calvin Ayre online gaming tycoon,” a profile of the founder of the popular online poker room, casino, and sports book Bodog. Ayre donned a Bodog Fight shirt for the interview’s image.

Diane Francis was tasked with interviewing Ayre in Antigua and the news outlet described the internet mogul as “semi-retired.” The article begins with Francis asking Ayre about the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), approved by better than a 3:1 edge in the House of Representatives before being attached to the SAFE Port Act at the urging of then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN). When asked if Canadian authorities had pursued Ayre in any capacity related to the 2006 law, he told the Post, "No. I haven't lived in Canada for ten years or been in the Canadian tax system. The legal system did not allow me to do this in Canada. Now I like living in the tropics.”

Ayre revealed that he owns the rights to the domain name Bodog.com and licenses the rights to the network to affiliates located around the globe. In the United States, for example, Morris Mohawk Gaming Group, a Canadian outfit, owns the rights to market the brand. After recently releasing “Survivor: China” castaway Jean-Robert Bellande, Bodog’s stable of poker pros currently stands at three: Evelyn Ng, Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, and David Williams.

The Post then inquired about Bodog’s revenue figures. Ayre explained, "My current deals aren't revenue based and are all different structures which I don't talk about. Forbes audited our books and based the number on the same multiple that the British public companies were trading at, or more than $1.5 billion. In 2006, Bodog made US $320 million in revenues and 25% profit." After the UIGEA was passed into law, online poker sites with publicly traded parent companies like PartyPoker and Pacific Poker exited the market, leaving sites like Bodog, PokerStars, and Full Tilt Poker to pick up the slack.

On the current legality of online poker in the United States, Ayre told the Post, “Poker is not illegal to bet online in the U.S. because it's considered a skilled game. It's a gray area, but there are lots of American companies with poker sites.” This year, Bodog forged its own poker network and will purportedly begin accepting non-Bodog domains into its ranks next year. Jonas Odman, Vice President of the Bodog Network, told Poker News Daily that a “unique solution” to rakeback will help differentiate the family of sites from others in the industry.

In September, Ayre served as the keynote speaker at the Budapest Affiliate Conference. He told event organizers at the time, “I’m very flattered to have been asked to be this year’s keynote speaker in Budapest. The iGaming space is the birthplace of the Bodog brand, and it remains one of the must dynamic and fascinating sectors in the entertainment space.” In addition to Morris Mohawk, Bodog’s licensees include Bodog Europe and Bodog Asia. The former recently opened its doors to Canadian online poker players.

According to PokerScout.com, which keeps tabs on online poker room traffic, Bodog is the 15th largest site or network worldwide with a seven-day running average of 860 real money ring game players. During its peak hours, around 1,500 cash game players call the site home. Its traffic is comparable with that found on PKR and every Sunday, the site hosts its $100,000 Guaranteed, a $162 buy-in event that kicks off at 4:00pm ET. The tournament regularly sees a $20,000 to $30,000 overlay, with $29,000 kicked in by the site last week.

Read the entire Calvin Ayre interview with the National Post.

VP of Bodog Poker Network Discusses Expansion

Recently, officials from Bodog announced the formation of the Bodog Network, a family of poker sites encompassing the various Bodog brands around the world with expansion to non-Bodog domains expected in 2010. Poker News Daily sat down with Jonas Odman, Vice President of the Network, to review the company’s plans to take on new sites.

Poker News Daily: Thanks for joining us. Can you give us an update on the Bodog Network? When can we expect more sites to be added?

Odman: We’re talking to potential partners now and will hopefully get someone on board. We have a target list, but we’re looking for someone who is technologically savvy to be the first partner. Ideally, we would like to find someone with a big European base of players.

PND: Are American-facing sites more attractive than those that do not accept U.S. players?

Odman: It’s possible that we would not want or require the customer database of our partners. So, if our partners take American players, it’s fine. They can take players from anywhere they want. It’s a big project. We will have to develop things on the business-to-business side. It’s new to us and will be a big project. We want to move up in player liquidity.

PND: Explain the importance of seeking out European-focused online poker sites to join the Bodog Network.

Odman: We want to cover all limits at all hours so you always have a game when you log in. If you’re a high-limit player and log on during European hours, you might have trouble right now. Also, we will be able to offer better tournaments.

PND: What will happen to Bodog.com’s team of sponsored pros, which includes Evelyn Ng, David Williams, and Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo after the departure of Jean-Robert Bellande?

Odman: Team Bodog will represent Bodog.com and continue to do that. Our operators on the network will have their own teams of players.

PND: Are you planning to offer payment services and other ancillary features as well or only focus on online poker?

Odman: Initially, it will just be poker. The sites will have to do payments themselves. Our target partners are bigger and they won’t need to have those types of services provided to them anyway.

PND: What are the benefits of potential partners moving to the Bodog Network?

Odman: There are some unhappy operators on other networks. On Bodog, the operators can keep their customer databases. That will differentiate us from some networks. We also have a unique solution to rakeback where operators that bring in net depositing players will earn more money than they would on other networks.

The players that the network wants are net depositing players, but with the way the rake is split now, the winning players get too large of a proportion of revenue. We don’t think that’s fair. We want to reward operators who bring in net depositing players.

We will take the players’ deposits as a factor before we split the rake between the operators. The typical rakeback player will be worth much less. The winning players will come anyway because we will have good players for them to play against. By focusing on net depositing players, it will benefit the whole ecosystem.

PND: What is the long-term focus of the Bodog Network?

Odman: Our long-term goal is to be in the top three and it depends on which partners we get. We have a good liquidity now, but we want to move up the ladder.

Jean-Robert Bellande no longer Bodog pro

Jean-Robert Bellande Out as Bodog Sponsored Pro

Former “Survivor: China” contestant Jean-Robert Bellande is no longer a sponsored pro of Bodog, according to a representative from the online poker room. His current agreement expired at the end of October and was not renewed.

Only three sponsored pros currently appear on Bodog’s website: Evelyn Ng, Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, and David Williams. The runner-up in the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Ladies Night Event in 2003, Ng also took 11th in the Season IV Borgata Poker Open for $64,000. That same season, Ng grabbed 39th in the WPT Championship for $73,000.

Bonomo is one of the industry’s top online poker players, but has also dominated on the brick-and-mortar felts. Bonomo won the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit Event Championship at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in April for $227,000. One month later, he final tabled the $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament commemorating the 40th running of the WSOP for a colossal $413,000.

Rounding out the shrunken crop of Bodog pros is Williams, who boasts the only bracelet of the trio. Williams captured his piece of hardware in 2006 by virtue of taking down a $1,500 buy-in Seven Card Stud tournament for $163,000, defeating a talented final table that also included “Miami” John Cernuto and 10-time bracelet winner Johnny Chan. Text found on Bodog’s website still refers to “four pros,” but only three profiles appear.

“Jean-Robert Bellande’s deal with Bodog Poker expired at the end of October and the decision was made not to renew the deal. It has been an absolute pleasure having Jean-Robert as one of Bodog.com’s Poker pros and we wish him all the best,” the room’s Poker Manager told Poker News Daily. In February, Poker Royalty, which represents Bellande, boasted that the pro had renewed his sponsorship agreement with the USA-facing site. At the time, Bellande commented, “I am thrilled to continue my relationship with Team Bodog. Bodog is a fantastic organization and I am excited to continue with such a select team of world-class poker players.”

During the 2008 WSOP, Bellande finished as the runner-up to Matt “mattg1983” Graham in a $1,500 buy-in Limit Hold’em Shootout for $173,000. The final table of the marathon tournament wrapped up after 7:00am at the Rio in Las Vegas. In 2005, Bellande grabbed third in the Rio’s WSOP Circuit Event Championship for $210,000 in a contest that saw Doug Lee and Full Tilt Poker pro Jennifer Harman battle heads-up.

Bellande was one of 16 contestants to head to China for the 15th cycle of the CBS reality series “Survivor.” Bellande was the eighth player voted out of the popular program and became the second member of its jury, the group of seven castaways who selected flight attendant Todd Herzog as the show’s $1 million winner. Bellande was on the Fei Long tribe both before and after a tribal switch-up; the group then merged to become Hae Da Fung.

In 2006, Bellande made waves by competing in the WPT’s Bad Boys of Poker against the likes of Tony G, Mike “The Mouth” Matusow, Phil Hellmuth, Men “The Master” Nguyen, and Gus Hansen. In the end, Tony G triumphed over the invite-only six-handed table and earned $25,000. All told, Bellande owns over $75,000 from WPT felts.

According to the tracking site PokerScout.com, Bodog is the 14th largest site or network worldwide with a seven-day running average of 930 real money ring game players. It features a 24-hour peak of 1,411 cash game players and, at the time of writing, which is around 8:30pm ET on a Sunday night, 1,359 combatants have taken to its ring game felts. Bodog is the fifth largest site or network that accepts U.S. action, trailing PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, CEREUS, and the Cake Poker Network.

MrElPaso reigns supreme at Bodog Open IV

MrElPaso outlasted a field of 256 players and a tough final table that included "Bodog Ari" Engel to take down a first place prize of $36,337.

"With the Bodog Poker Open IV, Bodog.com has given online poker players of all stripes the chance to win big while garnering the exposure they deserve," said Bodog poker pro David Williams.

"I'd like to personally congratulate MrElPaso for his impressive victory in the Bodog Poker Open IV. His win cements his status as one of online poker's newest stars, and I'm confident we'll be seeing him at plenty of final tables to come."

It isn't the first time that MrElPaso has had success on Bodog. In 2008, he final tabled the $100,000 guaranteed on the site and made $9,100 for coming in third.

The final table of the $500 buy-in Bodog Open VI main event was no cakewalk with notable players UFpokerStar, nevertilt22 and the aforementioned Engel. The smart money was likely on Engel who has $359,835 in live tournament earnings, but he eventually bowed out in third for $16,182.

The fourth installment of the Bodog Open drew several notable pros including Williams and Evelyn Ng. Bodog threw in an extra $25,000 to pump the overall prize pool up to $145,790.

As part of winning the Bodog Open VI championship, MrElPaso will also receive a guaranteed spread in an International poker magazine.

Here are the complete payouts for the Bodog Open VI main event:

1. MrElPaso - $36,448
2. dvbronco - $24,420
3. ari - $16,182
4. JazzyFace - $11,663
5. bklynzto81 - $8,456
6. naskoxx - $6,561
7. ello - $5,103
8. ShuMoneyTonite - $3,645
9. LIVIN LOUD - $2,478

Bodog Cancels Sunday Tournaments, $100,000 Guaranteed

Players logging into the popular online poker room Bodog on Sunday to play in the weekly $100,000 Guaranteed flagship tournament found the site down due to technical difficulties.

On the PocketFives.com online poker forum, the trouble for many users began shortly before 5:00pm ET when one frustrated person posted, “Anyone else having problems logging into bodog?” The site’s $100,000 Guaranteed begins at 4:00pm ET each Sunday and comes with a $162 buy-in. On October 18th, a total of 469 players entered, creating an overlay of nearly $30,000. Overlays of over $20,000 are common in the event, which has become a haven for the world’s top online poker pros looking to claim their share of the dead money in the prize pool.

Players battling in the $100,000 Guaranteed at the time attempted to diagnose the problem, with PocketFives.com member “dirtydonzo” taking it upon himself to call Bodog’s customer support. The response: “Just called them. No real information. Lady said they are having technical difficulties and they are working to fix the problem. She didn’t have any specific details and didn’t know when the site might be back up.” The post was time stamped at 4:53pm ET, less than one hour into the $100,000 Guaranteed.

Meanwhile, PocketFives.com member “MarkFSU1” relayed his story, which was echoed by several other players: “I got a message saying the 100k was canceled because [there were] not enough players.” Customer support purportedly told some concerned Bodog members that the $100,000 Guaranteed would be rescheduled.

One player who attempted to log in while the melee was unfolding received an error message notifying him of maintenance: “Bodog is down for regularly scheduled maintenance and/or software upgrades. We expect to be back up shortly.” At 7:09pm ET, about two-and-a-half hours after issues were first reported, Bodog representative Rebecca “BodogBecky” Liggero appeared and claimed, “Tonight, Sunday, October 25th, Bodog Poker had to cancel all tournaments because many players were experiencing disconnection problems. Players will be compensated according to Bodog Poker rules, i.e. players will be paid a percentage of the prize pool based on their stack size when the tournament was canceled.”

According to Bodog’s Terms of Service, when a guaranteed prize pool tournament is canceled prior to hitting the money bubble, “the payout will be based on the prize pool composed of buy-ins only,” meaning that the guarantee is not factored in. Half of the purse is distributed evenly among all players remaining in the tournament, while the other half is dished out based on chip counts. Liggero instructed concerned online poker players to contact the individual Bodog licensees.

Liggero told Poker News Daily that the site is looking to right the ship this weekend. She relayed a statement from the Bodog Network claiming, “Bodog has more customers than ever and yesterday this caused some problems with our database. To repair the problems, we were forced to cancel all ongoing tournaments, including our flagship $100,000 tournament. All players have been compensated in accordance with our tournament cancellation policy. On top of that, we will invite all affected players to a $10,000 freeroll on Sunday. They will all receive an email with the details.”

A similar occurrence took place during the $100,000 Guaranteed five weeks ago. On September 20th, about 90% of players in the event were disconnected and blinded off. In a post made two days later, Liggero explained, “At 8:09pm EST on Sunday we had to restart our servers, and after that many players, but not all, were blinded out of the 100K tournament. At the time of the restart, 43 players were left in the 100K tournament, and all were already in the money. Since the tournament was not stopped, the result will stand and everyone will keep their prize money.” The statement added that Bodog officials should have halted the tournament at 8:09pm ET and so an additional 35 players would be compensated accordingly.

Players logging into the site on Monday were met with a small software update and the $100,000 Guaranteed is scheduled for Sunday, November 1st, the same day as the start of the fourth Bodog Poker Open. Bodog accepts players from the United States and features a stable of pros that includes Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, “Survivor: China” castaway Jean-Robert Bellande, Evelyn Ng, and David Williams.

Bodog Network Launched Featuring Former Ongame Executive

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bodog Launches Bodog.ca, Now Accepts Canadian Players

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Brett Favre Signing Delays WSOP Main Event Coverage on ESPN

The signing of quarterback Brett Favre by the Minnesota Vikings delayed the premiere of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event by 20 minutes on Tuesday night, with action from Day 1A and Day 1B taking center stage.

The $10,000 buy-in feature tournament began with Full Tilt Poker pro Jennifer Harman narrating, “Someone has to win it, right? So why not you or me?” Highlights of past Main Event winning moments aired, with a player rounding out the montage by saying, “All you need is a ticket and a dream.” The feature table of the first hour, Day 1A of the 2009 WSOP Main Event, included 2006 final table participant Allen Cunningham, Eli Elezra, and Lex Veldhuis, the boyfriend of Evelyn Ng who was featured in ESPN’s coverage of the $40,000 buy-in event commemorating the 40th running of the WSOP.

ESPN announcer Norman Chad fired up viewers by claiming, “This is it. It’s the greatest event in the galaxy. Anyone can win. We could bound and gag Lon [McEachern], stick him in a potato sack, and roll him into the Amazon Room and he may make the final table. I love the Main Event.” Table Two featured 2009 dual bracelet winner Greg “FBT” Mueller and poker pro Sammy Farha, who finished as the runner-up to Chris Moneymaker in the 2003 WSOP Main Event, igniting the modern poker boom.

The 40th Annual Moments featured Johnny Chan winning the 1987 and 1988 Main Events before landing as the runner-up to Phil Hellmuth in 1989. Chan also turned in a seventh place performance in 1992. Joining Chan in the Day 1A field were Phil Laak, Jennifer Tilly, Orel Hershiser, Dewey Tomko, Steven Paul-Ambrose, and Gus Hansen. “Seinfeld” star Jason Alexander and “Everybody Loves Raymond” actor Brad Garrett were seated together, making for a lively table.

At the feature table, Veldhuis rolled over his competition, showing a bluff against Elezra, who labeled him the best player in the field on Day 1A. Veldhuis then represented a flush on a four club board to take down a pot against a player who held two pair. In the Jack Link’s Beef Jerky Wild Card Hand, Simon Muenz raised to 900 with pocket tens, Velduis called with unknown cards, and Cunningham called with A-J. The flop came 4-3-2 with two hearts. Muenz checked, Velduis led out for 2,300, Cunningham got out of the way, and Muenz called. The turn was the nine of hearts. Veldhuis bet 6,000, leaving Chad to comment, “I still think Lex has air.” Muenz called and the ace of spades fell on the river. Veldhuis pushed and Muenz folded. As it turned out, Veldhuis held K-6 for a bluff.

A brand new segment dubbed “Deal Me In” aired and featured Full Tilt Poker pros reliving key hands in live tournaments. Chris Ferguson was the focus of the inaugural segment, recapping a hand where he turned quad aces against Prahlad Friedman. The punch line, according to Ferguson: “You don’t always want to slow play.” Contrastingly, “The Nuts” featured PokerStars pros Greg Raymer, Vanessa Rousso, Chad Brown, Joe Hachem, Hevad Khan, and Dennis Phillips trying to hit a wiffleball thrown by Hershiser. In the end, Raymer laid down a bunt, only to have Hershiser blow it foul.

ESPN’s second hour of coverage, which kicked off around 9:20pm ET on Tuesday night, included a feature table with Mike Matusow. He chimed, “Life is all about the power of positive thinking.” Flanking him was John Dodge, whose grandfather started the automobile company of the same name. Also in the field was Jack Ury, the oldest player in the Main Event at age 96, and poker legend Amarillo Slim, who hasn’t cashed in the tournament since winning it in 1972.

The Wild Card Hand during the Day 1B episode featured Doyle Brunson raise to 675 with A-J of hearts. James Kier called, holding the elusive Wild Card hand. The flop fell 2-4-K rainbow and the action went check-check. The turn was a three and Kier led out for 1,500. Brunson called to watch a four hit the river. Kier once again bet out, this time for 2,500, and Brunson called with just ace-high. Kier sheepishly revealed J-9 for air and another player at the table quipped, “Were you really just trying to bluff Doyle Brunson?”

Matusow gave autographed copies of his book, “Check-Raising the Devil,” to his tablemates, while another Mike, Mike Caro, was featured in an ESPN vignette talking about his “Mad Genius” moniker. Others in the field included Raymer, Ferguson, Barry Greenstein, Joe Sebok, Chris Moneymaker, Todd Brunson, and Pam Brunson. A “Straight from the Pros” segment, in which PokerStars sponsored players gave their take on hands, aired and featured Moneymaker.

Next week, Moneymaker’s colleague at PokerStars, Daniel Negreanu, will take center stage along with Hellmuth. The action takes place from 8:00pm to 10:00pm ET barring any more Favre news.

Vitaly Lunkin Shines in First 2009 WSOP on ESPN Broadcast

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kenna James Wins Dream Team Poker WSOP Event

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

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

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

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

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

The top individual finishers at the Rio were as follows:

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

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

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

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

Dream Team Poker WSOP Event Attracts 366 Players

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jose Canseco Enters Dream Team Poker WSOP Tournament

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It’s time! WSOP Main Event starts now

Day 1C and D start on the two days to follow. Each day is scheduled for 5 blind levels, with each level lasting 120 min. The first Day 2 (Day 2A), seating the remaining players from Day 1A and B, starts at noon on July 7th.

Day 2B will see the remaining players from Day 1C and D take to the felt for their second 10-hour session. After Day 2B completes, all players still with chips have one day off, during which the media tournament takes the center stage.

If you manage to make it to Day 3, you're looking at a non-stop marathon of poker, playing five levels of poker per day all the way through to Day 8. Day 8 finishes only when the field has played down to the infamous nine-player final table.

The final table will take place at some point between November 7th and 10th, concluding only when a new World Champion is crowned.

Last year's Main Event drew a field of 6,844 players, amassing a prize pool worth $64,333,600.

A lucky 666 players made it into the money including Men "The Master" Nguyen, Vanessa Rousso, Robert Mizrachi, Hasan Habib, Johnny Chan, Evelyn Ng, Gus Hansen, Mark Vos, David Benefield, Adam Levy, Phil Hellmuth, Mike Matusow (30th) and Brandon Cantu (20th).

In the end it was Peter Eastgate who defeated Ivan Demidov heads up for a first-place prize of $9,152,416 and a place in poker history.

Here at PokerListings.com, we take The Main Event mighty seriously. Bookmark our tournament page for live updates, news, blogs and video from the floor of the Rio.

Matchups key in WSOP Heads-Up event

A tongue-in-cheek pronouncement, to be sure, but Tran - who beat Alec Torelli two out of three to win last year's Heads-Up World Championship and $539,040 in cash - has to be considered one of the favorites this time around.

Besides his bracelet win last year, Tran can boast a thirteenth-place finish in the 2009 NBC Heads-Up Championship earlier this year.

"I always like to start off slow and study my opponent," Tran said. "I like to see my opponent's style and play against it."

The World Championship pits 256 of the world's best and richest heads-up players against each other in a single-elimination format with the top 32 finalists getting paid.

With matchups determined by random selection, the pros agree that drawing good opponents is essential.

"Draw really good," said Gavin Griffin, when asked for the keys to success. "I wish I could say there was more to it than that, but the draw is really important."

The Team PokerStars Pro finished sixth in the 2008 event, cashing for $54,144.

"Last year I had a nice set of opponents," he said. "My first opponent was probably above average compared to the rest of the field, but was the easiest player I played all tournament."

"So it's important to get a good draw and run good."

"For sure, who your opponent is, is a massive factor," said Scott Montgomery. The former November Niner took 16th in 2008 for $36,096.

"Some of the best heads-up players in the world are playing in this event."

Tran said luck played a major factor in his victory as well.

"I was catching cards," he said. "I got lucky."

Beyond basic luck, Montgomery pointed to aggression as a vital component of his heads-up game.

"Controlled aggression is key," he said. "Try not to be stealing every pot, but know when to turn up the aggression."

Griffin, meanwhile, prefers to build a stack early and wait for the blinds to increase.

"I've played quite a few heads-up sit-and-go's on PokerStars so I feel like my game is strong," he said.  "I like to play small ball at first.

"I feel like most of the people in this tournament won't be as good when it gets to the jam or fold stage, so I think that's where I'll have an edge.

"Obviously, I'd like to have a chip lead when it gets to that stage, so that's where the small ball comes in."

Action in the Heads-Up World Championship kicked off at 5 p.m.

Phil Hellmuth, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, Tom "durrrr" Dwan and Barry Greenstein were among the most noteworthy players to take part, with Dwan defeating Nam Le to advance to the second round and Barry Greenstein succumbing to Yevgeniy Timoshenko.

Evelyn Ng, Jason Mercier, Gavin Smith and Dario Minieri have also advanced.

Round 2 will begin at 10 p.m. tonight.

Check out the live updates in the WSOP section for full coverage.

2009 WSOP Blog Feature: Evelyn Ng on Six-handed Event #14

Stammdog win, Negreanu loss headline WSOP June 7th

Pros Phil Ivey, Kirill Gerasimov and Roland De Wolfe were among the 18 survivors who started the day with a shot at the bracelet, but none would last to see the final table.

Instead, Stammen faced down the likes of Guillen, Shawn Glines and Gregg Merkow on the way to victory.

Here's how the rest of the day played out at the World Series of Poker on Sunday:

Event 14 - $2,500 Limit Hold'em Six-Handed

Limit Hold'em specialist Brock "TSoprano" Parker defeated fan favorite Daniel Negreanu in heads-up play to claim his first WSOP bracelet.

Check out the full recap here.

Event 15 - $5,000 No Limit Hold'em

Event 15 played down to the 3 a.m. deadline before play was halted with 17 survivors still in contention for the $692,658 first prize.

Isaac Baron headlines a final contingent that includes Thomas "Thunder" Keller, David "Raptor" Benefield, Mike Sowers and David "The Dragon" Pham.

Due to scheduling concerns, Day 3 will begin at noon Vegas time.

Event 16 - $1,500 Seven-Card Stud

PokerListings.com blogger Jason Mercier cashed in 16th place as the entry-level Seven Card Stud tournament played down to the final table.

Jeffrey Lisandro and John Juanda are the big names among the final eight, with Thor Hansen just barely missing the cut with a final table bubble.

They'll play down to a champion starting at 2 p.m. Monday.

Event 17 - $1,000 Ladies No Limit Hold'em

More than one thousand women showed up for the Ladies Event, including pros Erica Schoenberg, Evelyn Ng, Beth Shak, Maria Ho and Tiffany Michelle.

By the end of the night only 146 members of the fairer sex remained. Defending champ Svetlana Gromenkova continued her dominance of female-only events, finishing near the top of the leaderboard.

Maria Ho and J.J. Liu were also among those to survive Day 1.

Event 18 - $10,000 World Championship Omaha 8-or-Better

A total of 179 of the world's best O8 players bought-in to the 5 p.m. World Championship event, including the aforementioned Negreanu, who multi-tabled the $2,500 LHE Six-Max.

By day's end, 133 were left, including Kid Poker, chipleader Scott Clements and defending champ David Benyamine.

Check out more in the PokerListings.com 2009 WSOP section.

A Poker Pro Mortgages His Life For a Trip To Vegas!

It is probably wrong to call Bo Fric a poker pro in a sense that we normally know it. He has never had big success in poker, actually he is almost broke. He calls himself “just a regular guy who likes to play poker”.

Mister Fric himself.

Many, or should I say all, poker players dream of a trip to Las Vegas to play the Main Event of WSOP. Fric, a fan of Eli Elezra (because he wears his hair the same way like Fric), is going to fulfill that dream and many others on this summer in a project he calls “My Poker Bucket List”.

Here is the list what Fric is planning on doing in Las Vegas:

# Take Doyle Brunson out for dinner
# Shoot craps with Phil Ivey
# Play Golden Tee, Wii, and Pool with Daniel Negreanu
# Win a hand in Bobby’s Room
# Have lunch with the Canadian heroes: Daniel, Brad, Gavin and Nenad and FBT
# Train MMA with Team Cardrunners and a UFC star
# Play a $10,000 hand of blackjack
# Have a drinking contest with Gavin Smith
# Go club hopping with Antonio Esfandiari and Phil Laak
# Play the main event
# Go to a gentlemen’s club with Layne Flack
# Drive cart for Patrick Antonius or David Benyamine in high stakes golf match
# Learn to pick up Asian women from Barry Greenstein
# Play a game of pickup basketball with Nenad, Grinder, Huck, J.C. and others
# Go suit shopping with Sammy Farha
# Get business advice from Eli Elezra and Howard Lederer
# Drink coronas with Scotty Nguyen
# Play Mike Matusow in a match play golf game
# Sweat $5,000 sportsbet with Erick Lindgren
# Spend an afternoon at the spa with Tom “Durrr” Dwan
# Play Chinese Poker with Poker Road crew Ali, Gavin, Joe, and Huff.
# Appear on Poker Road Radio
# ATV with the Poker Road Crew
# Cash in a WSOP event
# Ride in a Bugatti with Guy Laliberte
# Play Video Poker with Archie Karas
# Take a helicopter ride with Chris Moneymaker
# Go stockcar racing with Gus Hansen
# Take a balloon ride with Sam Grizzle
# Get Joel some female help
# Play Rock Band with Evelyn Ng
# Play blackjack with Andy Bloch
# Practice Yoga with Allen Cunningham
# Go out for an evening of swing dancing with Chris Ferguson
# Practice Buddhism with Andy Black
# Visit Fremont St. with Gabe Kaplan
# Meet the guy who got breast implants for a prop bet
# Get marriage advice from Norman Chad
# Have a smoke break with Eugene Todd
# Get publishing advice from Dan Harrington
# Host the world’s largest poker pro paintball game

Well, that is a long list to accomplish and he will need a lot of money to do all the stuff. Fric is planning on filming his trip and make a documentary about it afterwards and of course a book. But there are few problems in his plans:

1. I don’t know any of these people on a personal level and really don’t know how to begin.

2. I currently have a slight negative balance in my bank account, $30,000 in credit card debt, and less than $3,000 liquid cash.

3. I don’t know the first damn thing about writing a book or filming a documentary.

Mortgaging a house is a good start for making money. If you want to help Fric in this plan and find more information about him, check out the website of the Poker Bucket List and sign as a member for free.

You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com

A Poker Pro Mortgages His Life For a Trip To Vegas!

Bodog Poker Open III Dates Announced

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

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

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

Championship Series:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mid-Stakes Series:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mini-Bounty Series Schedule:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ZeeJustin Unbanned on PokerStars

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

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

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

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

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

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