Poker News

Dwyte Pilgrim Leads WPT Southern Poker Championship After Day 1

Two-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit Event ring holder Dwyte Pilgrim leads the field of the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Southern Poker Championship after Day 1. A total of 106 players remain of the 208 who bought in on Sunday afternoon.

The tournament, emanating from the Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Mississippi, drew a field of 283 players in 2009. The 208 who turned out yesterday to cough up the $10,000 buy-in meant that attendance dove by a sizable 27%. Pilgrim leads the survivors with a stack of 175,900 chips, comfortably in front of the second place tally of Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little, who holds 152,100. Pilgrim claimed a pair of WSOP Circuit rings in March 2009 after taking down a $560 buy-in tournament at Caesars Atlantic City before flying cross-country to Harrah’s Rincon and winning the site’s $5,150 buy-in Championship event.

Little is no slouch, either. He was the WPT Player of the Year during Season 6, when the Florida native made final tables at the Mirage and North American Poker Championship and bubbled a third at the Gulf Coast Poker Championship at Biloxi. All told, Little has nearly $3.5 million in career WPT earnings to his name and two titles. Little took down a pot early on Sunday with pocket aces against pocket queens on a 10-9-8-2-2 board. Little's opponent check-called a bet of 7,775 on the river to boost his stack to over 41,000; he finished the day with nearly six times that total.

DoylesRoom Brunson 10 member Amit “amak316” Makhija was a late Day 1 casualty at the WPT Southern Poker Championship. Makhija committed his chips with pocket kings on a board of J-3-2, but his opponent spiked a straight with 4-5. Jeff Madsen, meanwhile, was all-in holding the nut flush draw, but blanked out to hit the rails. Madsen is a Full Tilt Poker Red Pro.

Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka was flushed down the drain on Sunday. The runner-up in the Bellagio Cup V, which began airing as part of the WPT’s Season 8 kickoff on Fox Sports Net last night, Jaka called all-in with K-3 after a flop of K-J-4. However, his opponent flipped up pocket jacks for a set, which held for the win. Jaka made two final tables during Season 8 of the WPT, finishing second in the aforementioned Bellagio Cup and taking third in the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic for a combined $1.3 million.

The top 10 at the end of Day 1 of the WPT Southern Poker Championship features rock solid poker talent:

1. Dwyte Pilgrim - 175,900
2. Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little - 152,100
3. Jonathan Stanton - 142,100
4. Chad Brown - 138,000
5. James Jewett - 135,500
6. Sam Rashid - 125,700
7. Shawn Quillin - 118,300
8. Scott Standridge - 117,600
9. Hoyt Corkins - 115,600
10. Corwin “mig.com” Mackey - 113,200

Other notable names among the 106 players remaining in the field include:

Paul Wasicka - 107,500
Daniel Negreanu - 81,200
Matt “All In at 420” Stout - 73,100
Ty “puffinmypurp” Reiman - 71,400
Justin “Boosted J” Smith - 68,600
J.J. Liu - 67,800
Josh Arieh - 67,200
Tommy Vedes - 66,300
Kathy Liebert - 53,300
Adam “Roothlus” Levy - 46,900
Nick Schulman - 40,000
Allen “AawwNutz” Carter - 38,200
David Singer - 34,000
Jonathan “driverseati” Tamayo - 25,900
Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler - 17,600
Michael Binger - 13,000

When play wrapped up on Sunday, the blinds were 300-600 with a 75-chip ante. The Southern Poker Championship runs through Wednesday, when the newest WPT champion will be crowned. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the Biloxi tournament.

Internet Poker may come to Florida

The upcoming legislative session in Florida will be the first time the group has considered how to draw revenue from Internet poker betting or whether to ban the activity all together.

Amazing Race 16 Cast Does Not Feature Poker Players

The cast for the 16th cycle of the Emmy Award winning CBS reality series “Amazing Race” does not include any poker players. In its last season, the show featured Maria Ho and UB.com pro Tiffany Michelle.

Ho and Michelle represented the last women standing in the 2007 and 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Events, respectively. The duo finished sixth in the around-the-world competition after their journey abruptly ended in the Netherlands, where a series of intense physical challenges proved to be too much for Ho and Michelle. A high striker, a common carnival game, proved fatal on one-half of the leg’s Detour, while windy conditions made a unique game of golf using wooden shoes unbearable on the other half.

A total of 11 teams will set out on the “Amazing Race” course for Season 16. Headlining the group are two “Big Brother” cast members from Season 11, Jordan Lloyd and Jeff Schroeder. The couple is “newly dating” according to CBS and will mark the latest pair to join “Amazing Race” after appearing on another CBS reality franchise. Schroeder is 31 years-old and from Norridge, Illinois, while Lloyd is nine years younger and hails from Charlotte, North Carolina. Lloyd lists her lifetime goals as, “to be a dental hygienist, and to get married and have kids.”

Also appearing on the 16th running of “Amazing Race” is Caitlin Upton, who will travel to the four corners of the Earth with her boyfriend, Brent Home. Upton was Miss Teen South Carolina USA 2007 and famously uttered the following response to a question about people being unable to locate the United States on a map: "I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because some people out there in our nation don't have maps and I believe that our education like such as South Africa and the Iraq, everywhere like such as, and, I believe that they should, our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S. or should help South Africa and should help the Iraq and the Asian countries, so we will be able to build up our future, for our children."

Upton’s phrases “the Iraq,” “U.S. Americans.” and “like such as” have become staples of modern lingo, although the beauty queen is now three years removed from her escapade. In a video posted on CBS.com, Upton commented, “I’m stubborn and I hate losing, probably more than he does, and I have a very short fuse, so if somebody gets in my way, there’s going to be some trouble and I’m going to need somebody there to calm me down.” The couple may soon be engaged; both are models.

Cleveland Indians third base coach Steve Smith, 57 years of age, will run the “Amazing Race” with his daughter, Allie Smith, who is 23 and works in marketing. Smith was a coach on the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team that won it all in 2008 and also worked with the Florida Marlins and Texas Rangers. The elder Smith lists his biggest challenge as “not getting lost because we tend to get lost in our own neighborhood.” “Amazing Race” requires a keen sense of direction, as racers travel to countries where English is not the primary language, so road signs and other markers can often be confusing.

Rumored locations that teams will travel to this season include Bariloche, Argentina; Puerto Varas, Chile; and Singapore. The rumored departure city is Los Angeles. The show premieres on Sunday, February 14th at 8:00pm ET on CBS, the same time slot as it held last season.

Dating couple Meghan and Cheyne took down the 15th installment of “Amazing Race,” whose finish line was ironically in Las Vegas. Besides Ho and Michelle, notable cast members vying for the $1 million top prize last time out included Harlem Globetrotters Flight Time and Big Easy and Miss America 2004 Ericka Dunlap, who ran the race with her husband, Brian.

Inside Gaming: Florida’s Gaming Boats Sunk; PartyGaming Teams with Danish Danske Spil

With poker at the center of our universe here at PokerNews, it's often easy to overlook everything else going on in the gaming industry. Today we're bringing you the sad demise of the Florida gaming cruises and PartyGaming's new Denmark...

Gimbel Crowned Youngest PCA Champ in History

“It feels amazing,” the Jupiter, Florida resident said moments after the win. “This is what I’ve dreamed of. I’ve always wanted to win a big major tournament and luckily I accomplished it on one of my very first ones.”

There was action from the outset in Monday’s final eight with Ryan “g0lfa” D’Angelo giving up the chip lead when he lost a massive race holding jacks against Gimbel’s A♠ K♠.

Ty Reiman then leapfrogged Gimbel, sending 26-year-old Chicago, Illinois online pro Tom Koral to the rail in eighth when his aces held against Koral’s queens.

21-year-old New Yorker Zac Goldberg was the next to go when his pocket tens failed to hold against Aage Ravn’s A♠ Q♠.

But Ravn failed to capitalize on the University of Arizona student’s misfortune, busting sixth when the Norwegian online qualifier re-shipped with A♣ Q♣ facing a Ben Zamani push.

Gimbel went all in behind with jacks, and although Zamani flopped a set of eights to win the hand and triple up, Gimbel’s jacks held to scoop the side-pot and rail Ravn.

Zamani then ran A♦ J♦ into Barry Shulman’s A♠ K♥ and looked to be out fifth before a diamond on the flop, turn and river spared him.

Left as the short stack after the hand, Shulman doubled through Gimbel to stay alive and it was actually start-of-day-chip-leader D’Angelo who exited fifth.

The double WCOOP winner shoved with jacks against a Zamani raise and Reiman re-raise and after Zamani folded, Reiman made the call with A♠ K♥.

A king on the river sent the 24-year-old New Yorker out and suddenly Reiman had built a massive chip lead that looked insurmountable.

Play moved down to three-handed when Zamani put his tournament life on the line with A♥ T♦ against Gimbel’s 8♥ 8♣.

Gimbel flopped a set and although the 23-year-old Floridian online pro turned some outs, the river blanked to end his hopes.

Heads-up began when 2009 World Series of Poker Europe champ Barry Shulman took third place, running Q♣ T♠ into Gimbel’s A♥ 9♦ and failing to improve.

And although Reiman actually held an 11-million-chip lead with 45 million in play to start, it wasn’t long before Gimbel moved in front, catching cards and getting Reiman to pay him off.

Gimbel won every key pot heads-up until he had built a 4:1 chip lead and before long, Reiman shoved with eights and he made the call with tens.

Gimbel flopped a set and despite the fact Reiman turned one of his own, the river blanked to give Gimbel the title.

“I felt my opponents were really good,” said Gimbel, whose previous poker accoplishments include a PokerStars Sunday Million final table appearance and a win in the 2009 Florida State Poker Championships. “A lot of these players were really good, but I had a lot of confidence in myself coming into today and it really showed.

“I used to wrestle in high school and my coach always said 'envision something and it’ll come true.' Not that it’ll come true, but it’ll happen.”

After six long days of poker in the Caribbean, the last man standing from a record field of 1,529 is now hoping to make a few things happen with the massive $2.2 million first-place prize.

“I’m going through all the stuff I can buy right now,” Gimbel said. “A new car, maybe a nice apartment or a house.”

To read a full recap of Gimbel’s historic win and the entire 2010 PCA, click through to PokerListings’ Live Updates.

Visit PokerListings.com

Allen Kessler Wins 2009 Bayou Poker Challenge Championship

Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler emerged as the champion of the Main Event of the Bayou Poker Challenge at Harrah’s New Orleans. A total of 80 players turned out for the $3,120 buy-in tournament and Kessler earned $71,000 after a four-way chop.

In addition to the prize money, Kessler took home a $10,000 seat into the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event in Las Vegas and $1,000 to use for travel expenses. In November of 2008, Kessler made the final table of the WSOP Circuit Championship at Harvey’s Lake Tahoe for $31,00. He claimed his first gold ring one year prior after defeating a field of 522 players in a $500 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event for $73,000. Kessler has shined on the World Poker Tour (WPT), where he’s made two final tables, including a third place showing in the Season 4 WPT Invitational for $20,000. In Season 5, he finished sixth at Foxwoods for $136,000.

Kessler entered the final table in New Orleans at the Bayou Poker Challenge as a 2:1 chip leader over his next closest competitor and never looked back. Taking ninth place in the Crescent City was Phil Hall, a 61 year-old software engineer. Hall hit the rails less than a half-hour into final table play after coming out on the losing end of a race with pocket fives against A-K when a king hit, but earned $8,300.

The next to go was Will “The Monkey” Souther, a pro from nearby Biloxi, Mississippi. In his final hand, Souther pushed all-in with pocket jacks, but ran into pocket kings. The better hand held and Souther was sent packing, $9,400 richer for his wear. Taking seventh place was Ben “The Destroyer” Mintz, who entered the final table as the third largest stack. He ultimately ran Q-J into pocket queens, earning $11,000.

Justin “Lockdowntex” Allen made history by finishing in sixth place at Harrah’s New Orleans. Allen took down last year’s Bayou Poker Challenge Championship to the tune of $158,000 and, when combined with a final table appearance at a WSOP Circuit Event Championship held in May at Harrah’s New Orleans, has made three straight Main Event feature tables at the casino. His sixth place finish this year was worth $13,000.

Fifth place in the 2009 Bayou Poker Challenge Championship went to Michael “Car Wash” Schneider. He was the field’s shortest stack entering the final table, but rebounded to earn $16,000. Four-handed, an undisclosed deal was forged. Officially taking fourth was Jim McBride, who earned $19,000. Third place belonged to Moutray McLaren, a poker pro from South Carolina. The official third place payout was $28,000.

Second place after the deal went to Ed Corrado, a retired player from Florida. He banked $44,000, falling short of only Kessler. The tournament’s ultimate champion told Bayou Poker Challenge officials following his win, “I really like supporting these events. These are great structures. It’s one of the best tournament structures I’ve seen for this buy-in amount.” Kessler then purportedly headed to the high-limit gaming area of Harrah’s New Orleans to celebrate.

Going on concurrently with the Bayou Poker Challenge Championship, and perhaps taking away from some of its luster, was an NFL game between the undefeated New Orleans Saints and the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys upended the Saints to snap the team’s perfect season on Saturday night in one of the biggest upsets of the 2009 NFL schedule. On Sunday, the city played host to the New Orleans Bowl between Southern Mississippi and Middle Tennessee State, with the latter winning the 42-32 shootout. Both games were played inside the Louisiana Superdome.

Harrah’s New Orleans serves as the final stop of the 2009-2010 WSOP Circuit schedule. The festivities begin at the urban casino on May 7th.

2009 WSOP Main Event Final Table Set to Kick Off

It’s 11:08am at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The gates to the spacious Penn and Teller Theater open, admitting a throng of screaming fans. The Rio is bustling, as the nine remaining World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event participants play down to two.

Among the first in the lobby were Steve Begleiter and Jeff Shulman, the latter escorted through the melee by WSOP Media Director Nolan Dalla. Meanwhile, supporters of Michigan poker player Joe Cada have donned neon yellow shirts and hats, which will surely create a memorable scene for fans and media in the audience alike. Cada’s agent told Poker News Daily that 150 friends and family are expected, while Eric Buchman will see 100 troops rally around him this afternoon.

Rock memorabilia lines the hallway of the Rio from its casino to the theater and, among those chatting with fans is ESPN announcer Lon McEachern, who will flank Norman Chad on an elevated platform set up to the right of the stage. Media inside are seated on couches with tables usually reserved for VIP guests of Penn and Teller and other acts inside the auditorium and two massive television screens relay the action from the green felt. ESPN “Inside Deal” hosts Bernard Lee and Laura Lane are also perusing the crowd, the latter taking a bundle of pictures on her iPhone.

The Poker Players Alliance’s (PPA) Bryan Spadaro is armed with patches for the one million member strong lobbying organization, soliciting each player to wear one during the broadcast, which will officially air on Tuesday night on ESPN. Cada, Kevin Schaffel, and Buchman are confirmed to be wearing them, while James Akenhead, a Brit, also walked away from Spadaro with one in his hand. The PPA is holding a function at 2:00pm down the hallway to spread goodwill about Congressman Barney Frank’s (D-MA) internet gambling legislation.

Upon arrival, Cada had online poker star Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy in tow, as ESPN cameras roved the hallway catching any memorable moments, including a group shot of Cada’s supporters. We headed to the front of the general admittance line, which stretches from the Penn and Teller Theater towards the Amazon Room, where Jack Watkins from Bozeman, Montana was the first to be found. He arrived at 6:00am and was quickly approached by Antoine Saout supporters, who offered him guaranteed tickets for the start of play in exchange for wearing shirts and hats touting the French poker player. Watkins and company happily obliged.

In the yellow wristband line, which was for friends and family, was David Prochik, who hails from Orlando, Florida. One of the fans supporting Cada, Prochik told Poker News Daily, “He’s a good online player. He’s good friends with my friend, Brad, and I hope he wins.” Across the hallway, Ylon Schwartz is seated at the Rio’s Starbucks in a scene reminiscent of his experience in 2008 as a member of the November Nine.

Poker pro David Singer will be rooting on Phil Ivey this afternoon. On his show of support, Singer explained, “I’ve been friends with him for a long time and he’s a good guy. I’d like to see him win; he deserves it.” Ivey holds the seventh largest chip stack entering play today and despite being on the short stack, Singer was confident: “If anyone will know what to do in that situation, Ivey will know what to do. He’s the best player at the table and I have a lot of faith in him.” If Ivey failed to emerge victorious on Monday night when play concludes, Singer commented that he’d pull for Jeff Shulman.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the 2009 WSOP Main Event final table.

Dream Team Poker Heads to the Bicycle Casino for Monday Night Series

Fresh off the third tournament in its history, which took place at the Rio during the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, Dream Team Poker announced a Monday Night Football promotion at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles.

Appropriately dubbed Monday Night Football at the Bike, the latest version of Dream Team Poker will consist of 11 tournaments at the storied Los Angeles casino. Teams’ performances will be tracked on a leaderboard and the action starts on October 19th. The final week of the series, which issues its “Shuffle Up and Deal” command at 7:00pm local time, is December 28th. Monday Night Football actually airs around 4:30pm PT and, to warm up the crowd, KLAC’s Petros and Money will broadcast live starting at 4:00pm PT from the gaming establishment, which plays host to the annual Legends of Poker, a staple of the World Poker Tour (WPT).

Dream Team Poker CEO Daniel Delshad told Poker News Daily, “We are very excited about bringing Dream Team Poker to the Bicycle Casino. After the WSOP event, we had a lot of opportunities to take Dream Team Poker to new places and we wanted to make sure to manage the growth.” A total of 366 players, or 122 three-man teams, took to the felts at the Rio, with Team Tao of Poker emerging victorious from the pack to pocket $33,000. The event’s overall winner was “Cowboy” Kenna James, who earned $16,000. Dream Team Poker tournaments pay out to the top teams and individuals to avoid collusion.

Each tournament held over the course of the 11-week Monday Night Football series comes with a $67 per person price tag, or $201 per team. The more tournaments a team enters throughout the course of the series, the more chips they’ll start with at the end-of-season event, giving an edge to Dream Team Poker regulars.

The Monday Night Football finale takes place on December 28th at 7:00pm and the winning team each week will take home a seat to the Ho Ho No Limit Hold’em Dream Team Poker Main Event on Saturday, December 12th at 2:00pm local time at The Bike. The tournament will set entrants back $140, or $420 per team. Squads that submit their registration prior to December 1st will receive a customized jersey similar to those found hanging outside PokerPalooza at the Rio in July.

Up for grabs for the leading individual and team on the weekly leaderboard at the end of the season are $500 in spending money and one ticket each to Super Bowl XLIV, which will pan out in February from Miami, Florida. Last year’s Super Bowl, which was held in Tampa, featured the Pittsburgh Steelers defeating the Arizona Cardinals 27-23. All told, Dream Team Poker will award four tickets and $2,000 as part of the Monday Night Football series.

Dream Team Poker’s very first event took place last November at the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas. The invitation-only gala saw Team Bluff Magazine, which included Eric Morris, Matt Parvis, and Bodog Poker pro Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, take to the winner’s circle. In March, Dream Team Poker headed to Caesars Palace, where the Jamie Gold-led Team ACED emerged victorious from the pack for $59,000. Finally, prior to the WSOP Main Event, the annual media tournament featured a Dream Team Poker format, with Team Lacey Jones coming out on top.

So what’s next for the team poker concept? Delshad told Poker News Daily, “We are in the midst of planning our 2010 events, where we expect to expand the game to new locations across the U.S. and especially look to start building our international presence. We do expect to introduce some other exciting products in 2010.”

WSOP on ESPN Ratings up 11% in 2009

On Tuesday night, action from the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) will continue on cable station ESPN. “The Worldwide Leader in Sports” has seen a ratings boom in 2009 down the stretch, with the Main Event final table on tap for November 10th.

According to ESPN officials, through 11 weeks of coverage of the 2009 WSOP, its broadcasts have delivered a 0.91 average household coverage rating, up 11% from last year, when the average rating was 0.82. ESPN coverage of the 2009 WSOP began on July 28th, when the network aired the brand new $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament commemorating the 40th running of the WSOP. ESPN then went on to feature the WSOP Champions Invitational, a 20-person freeroll consisting of former Main Event winners, and the Ante Up for Africa charity gala, which included actors Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.

Last week, coverage of Day 5 of the Main Event was featured during the 9:00pm ET hour, followed by Day 6 at 10:00pm ET. Each episode lasted for one hour and the first garnered a 0.88 rating. The second hour began with a rap by Prahlad Friedman and had a feature table that included 2007 WSOP Player of the Year Tom Schneider. That episode generated a 1.17 rating, the second highest of the season. Last Tuesday marked the first week that the WSOP on ESPN moved to a 9:00pm ET kickoff, as it had previously started one hour earlier at 8:00pm ET. The Main Event final table will air on Tuesday, November 10th at 9:00pm ET and run for two-and-a-half hours.

Key for ESPN’s advertisers, which include online poker rooms PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker as well as Jack Link’s Beef Jerky, are two demographics. Males age 18 to 49 have tuned into the 2009 WSOP on ESPN in droves, rising 12% from the number that watched the 2008 broadcast. Among males age 25 to 54, the number of viewers is up 16% in 2009. PokerStars sponsors the “Straight from the Pros” segment as well as the program’s on-screen chip counts, while Full Tilt Poker sponsors the “Deal Me In” strategy segment during WSOP on ESPN broadcasts. Ultimate Bet has also been spotted airing commercials on the cable station. The site is fresh off the conclusion of its annual Aruba Poker Classic, which saw Brandon Hall and Robert Mizrachi chop heads-up.

Last year marked the first that the final table of the prestigious $10,000 buy-in Main Event was delayed until November in order to coincide with its broadcast on ESPN. As a result, ratings mushroomed by 50% for the final table airing. At the end of the day, Peter Eastgate bested Ivan Demidov in front of a packed house at the Penn and Teller Theater at the Rio and banked $9.1 million.

This year, another schedule change has the poker world talking. Play will resume in the Main Event final table on November 7th at 12:00 Noon PT and continue until two players remain. Then, the pair will play heads-up beginning on November 9th at 10:00pm PT to determine a winner. The gap in between will allow time for media interviews and further study by the heads-up participants of each other’s tendencies.

While WSOP on ESPN coverage has focused on players like Eastgate, Joe Hachem, Dennis Phillips, and Betrand “Elky” Grospellier, the following nine players will take to the felts in November:

1. Darvin Moon (Oakland, Maryland) – 58,930,000
2. Eric Buchman (Valley Stream, New York) – 34,800,000
3. Steven Begleiter (Chappaqua, New York) – 29,885,000
4. Jeff Shulman (Las Vegas, Nevada) – 19,580,000
5. Joe Cada (Shelby Township, Michigan) – 13,215,000
6. Kevin Schaffel (Coral Springs, Florida) – 12,390,000
7. Phil Ivey (Las Vegas, Nevada) – 9,765,000
8. Antoine Saout (Paris, France) – 9,500,000
9. James Akenhead (London, England) – 6,800,000

Check out the WSOP on ESPN every Tuesday at 9:00pm ET.

College Challenge returns to Absolute Poker

The online poker site is resurrecting the Absolute Poker College Challenge (APCC) with $30,000 in prizes available to students currently enrolled in a U.S. University or College.

The main event of the APCC takes Nov. 30 with the top six players qualifying for a live final table in L.A. that will be streamed online.

The winner will receive $10,000 towards their College tuition and the ultimate bragging rights for their university.

"This poker tournament is a fun and easy way for college students to compete for an alternative way to pay for tuition, and we believe that this program is one of the best ways to create real added value for college students," said Absolute Poker Pro Matt Vengrin, who attended the Plattsburg State University.

Last spring Derek Dilberian, a 24-year-old University of Florida law student, beat a field of 4,000 to win free tuition for a semester in Absolute Poker's first College Challenge.

Vengrin said Absolute expects see a larger field in this year's event as the College poker-playing community seems to be rapidly expanding.

Although there is no direct buy-in for the APPC main event, Absolute Poker is offering an assortment of daily and weekly satellites with buy-ins ranging from $.25 to $5.

There will also be daily freerolls, which can potentially qualify a player for the weekly satellites.

Visit Absolute Poker for more information on the promotion.

Visit PokerListings.com

Antoine Saout, James Akenhead Reach WSOP Europe Main Event Final Table

Not one, but two members of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) November Nine made the final table of the WSOP Europe Main Event. Last year, Ivan Demidov accomplished the feat. This year, Antoine Saout and James Akenhead will battle for the top prize.

Akenhead nearly found his first gold WSOP bracelet in 2008, but took second in a $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament and cashed for $520,000. In that event, his opponent, Grant Hinkle, was all-in holding just 10-4 against Akenhead’s A-K. However, Hinkle made four tens in the hand and became one-half of only the second set of brothers ever to win WSOP bracelets and the first to do so in the same year. Akenhead is in his backyard for the WSOP Europe festivities, as he makes his home in London. He sits with the second largest chip stack entering final table play with 1.4 million, trailing only Team PokerStars Pro member Jason Mercier’s hefty total of 3.2 million.

Saout owns the sixth largest chip stack in the WSOP Europe Main Event at 701,000. The Frenchmen is also a member of the November Nine and sponsored pro of Everest Poker. Interestingly enough, he won a $50 satellite to claim his WSOP Main Event seat. Last November, he finished sixth in a Spanish Poker Tour event in Marbella for €5,800 and promptly reached another final table in Castellon in June for €780. Saout and Akenhead are the only two non-Americans at the final table of the WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas. Saout will take to the felts in Seat 8 on Thursday in London.

The November Nine has another tie to the final table, as CardPlayer Founder Barry Shulman owns the fourth largest chip stack in London at 1.1 million. He is the father of November Nine member and CardPlayer Editor Jeff Shulman, who infamously threatened to throw away the WSOP Main Event bracelet should he win it. The younger Shulman owns the third largest chip stack entering the final table at the Penn and Teller Theater at the Rio in November.

Daniel Negreanu finished fifth in last year’s WSOP Europe Main Event and scooped £217,200. Now, he’ll seek his first WSOP Europe bracelet in this year’s feature tournament. Incredibly, Negreanu reached the final table in back-to-back WSOP Europe Main Events in London, but is the tournament’s short stack entering today’s finale. Negreanu, a Poker Hall of Fame nominee and four-time bracelet winner, recorded eight cashes during the 2009 WSOP, including a pair of six-figure scores in the World Championship of Omaha High-Low Eight or Better and Six-Handed Limit Hold’em.

Mercier is the chip leader entering the final table in London. The card-carrying member of Team PokerStars Pro hails from Fort Lauderdale, Florida and won a bracelet this year in a $1,500 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha event for $237,000. Mercier defeated online poker pro Steven “PiKappRaider” Burkholder in that event, which attracted 809 players. In May, Mercier won a tournament during the quarterly Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) for $86,000. Mercier sent six of the final 15 eliminated players to the rail on Wednesday to build his massive chip lead.

The final table kicks off today at 2:00pm local time. Here’s a look at the remaining players and their chip stacks:

1. Jason Mercier - 3,198,000
2. James Akenhead - 1,398,000
3. Praz Bansi - 1,160,000
4. Barry Shulman - 1,090,000
5. Markus Ristola - 784,000
6. Antoine Saout - 701,000
7. Matt Hawrilenko - 674,000
8. Chris Bjorin - 518,000
9. Daniel Negreanu - 438,000

The prizes up for grabs for the nine WSOP Europe Main Event final table members are as follows:

1st Place: £801,603
2nd Place: £495,589
3rd Place: £360,887
4th Place: £267,267
5th Place: £200,367
6th Place: £150,267
7th Place: £114,228
8th Place: £87,074
9th Place: £66,533

HHPT hosts Battle of the Sexes

The HHPT will be co-sponsoring the a Battle of the Sexes No-Limit Hold'em tournament on Oct. 10 Tampa Bay Downs, Florida to benefit the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

"We are proud to be able to find a unique competition to include everyone, since breast cancer is not a gender specific disease," said a HHPT spokesperson.

The event will feature a unique format that has women and men play separately until only five men and five women remain. The players will then be consolidated to a final table of 10.

Whoever takes down the event will win bragging rights not only for themselves, but their entire gender.

The event will feature a $100 buy-in with $20 re-buys and an optional $50 add-on at the end of three rounds.

Prior to the Battle of the Sexes event, the HHPT will be holding a $200 No-Limit Hold'em tournament at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on Oct. 2 as part of its Fall Classic Poker Series.

The HHPT will also be hosting two more events in Florida before the year is complete. Check the HHPT website for complete details.

The HHPT was founded by Lauren Failla in 2007 with the goal of empowering women to become champions in the world of poker.

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High Heels Poker Tour Signs Sponsorship Deal With PokerStars

Poker has traditionally been a masculine pursuit, but women have been making inroads into the game since the boom earlier this century. One only has to look at Annie Duke’s performance in the first WSOP Tournament of Champions or Vanessa Rousso’s runner-up finish at this year’s National Heads Up Poker Championship to realize that women are a formidable part of today’s poker world. A tournament schedule to promote female participation in the game, the High Heels Poker Tour, recently signed on PokerStars as a sponsor to further the number of women who participate in poker.

In an announcement late last week, PokerStars will help to support the tournaments that make up the HHPT schedule from this point on. “PokerStars has all of the attributes in a online partner that female players crave…an incredible variety of quick, entertaining games that range from low buy in sit and goes and cash games to serious tournament play, all in an environment where women can learn the game, develop their skills, and truly become champions”, Lauren Failla, founder of the High Heels Poker Tour, stated during the announcement. “With champions like Vanessa Rousso, Katja Thater, and Vicky Coren, our players have a whole new set of role models to emulate and challenge, online and at the tables.” As a part of the new sponsorship with PokerStars, the High Heels Poker Tour will be conducting their Grand Final as a part of the festivities of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas this January.

The first HHPT event, which was held on August 22nd at the Turning Stone Resort Casino, was won by Texas’ Kathy Talerico and leads into what will be a hectic two months of action on the HHPT schedule. After New York, the tour heads south to Florida, where four tournaments are set to take place across the state.

First up for the players on the HHPT is Dania, FL, and a $125 buy in tournament at Dania Jai-Alai. Set to begin at 4PM on September 12th, players will start out with 6000 chips and play down to a champion that evening. After the Dania tournament, players on the HPPT will have the opportunity to relax before heading into a three tournament run in the month of October.

On October 2nd, the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino will play host to the High Heels Poker Tour in Hollywood, FL. The tournament is scheduled to start at 6:30PM and, as of yet, the starting chip stacks haven’t been determined. The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino is demonstrating its support of the HHPT by making their tournament a prominent part of its “Main Event Tournament Week” schedule. The month of October finishes off with a couple of charitable outreaches by the HHPT with a trip to Tampa Bay Downs on October 10th for the “Battle of the Sexes To Battle Breast Cancer” and the organization will be in charge of the poker activities at the Trump International Beach Resort on October 17th for a benefit for the Friends of the Israel Defense Fund Casino Night.

The High Heels Poker Tour will be looking to expand to several different locations in 2010. While dates are not yet locked in for the tournaments, the HHPT is in discussion with such casinos as the Horseshoe in Hammond, Indiana, Harvey’s Lake Tahoe in Nevada, the Canadian Poker Expo in Toronto, Canada and others to hold HHPT events.

The High Heels Poker Tour also holds their very own Academy, with 2010 dates to be announced soon, that assists in teaching the game to more women. Such popular female players as Women In Poker Hall of Fame members Barbara Enright, Susie Issacs and Marsha Waggoner, along with current pros Kristy Gazes, Karina Jett and Joanne “J. J.” Liu, offer the wealth of their experience for other female players to learn from. For more information on the organization, visit the High Heels Poker Tour website to learn more.

Internet Gambling Law Expert Reacts to UIGEA Decision

The story of the week in the internet gambling industry has been the constitutional challenge to the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) brought on by the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA). Internet gambling law expert I. Nelson Rose comments on the ruling, which was passed down by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Third Circuit tossed out iMEGA’s arguments that the UIGEA violated the First and Tenth Amendments of the United States Constitution as well as privacy rights and international treaties. However, the judicial body asserted, “It bears repeating that the Act itself does not make any gambling activity illegal. Whether the transaction… constitutes unlawful internet gambling turns on how the law of the state from which the bettor initiates the bet would treat that bet, i.e., if it is unlawful under that state’s law, it constitutes ‘unlawful internet gambling’ under the Act.” The bet must also be legal in the jurisdiction in which the internet gambling operator is located.

Rose was perplexed by the Third Circuit’s ruling, which seemed to, in part, shed light on the UIGEA’s meaning. He told Poker News Daily, “This decision was written by judges who appear to know absolutely nothing about gaming law.” Rose reiterated that only two states, Hawaii and Utah, ban commercial gambling. The 10-page court ruling cites Oregon as a state in which it may be problematic to conduct internet gambling. However, Rose noted, “It is bizarre to use Oregon as an example. Oregon has more forms of legal gambling than Nevada.”

Deferring to the states, therefore, may not be a straightforward endeavor. Rose explained, “I practiced law in Hawaii for over three years and I can tell you that neither these nor any other existing Hawaiian statutes clearly make all forms of internet gambling illegal.  The Oregon statute cited merely makes it a crime to transfer money for ‘unlawful gambling using the internet,’ which brings us back to the question of whether any other existing law covers internet gambling.” The U.S. Department of Justice, for example, may assert that online poker is illegal under the Wire Act, although organizations like the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) would deny such an interpretation.

If internet gambling’s legality varies on a state-by-state basis, then a long road may be in store for financial services outfits like Visa and MasterCard. Rose forecasted, “The reality is that some forms of internet gambling are expressly legal, such as pari-mutuel bets on horseracing in most states. In every other case, it would take a detailed analysis by a competent gaming lawyer to know whether the state’s anti-gambling laws might apply.” A handful of states allow permit lottery purchases, further complicating the matter. For example, TwinSpires.com, a site that offers online wagering on horse racing, is owned by the same publicly traded parent company as Churchill Downs in Kentucky.

A press release issued by iMEGA shortly after the Third Circuit’s decision noted that some forms of internet gambling were “potentially lawful” in 44 states. The organization added, “There are only a half-dozen states which have laws against internet gambling.” The Poker Voters of America (PVA) is leading the charge for licensed and regulated intrastate online poker in California. The PVA is also pushing for intrastate wagering in Florida. California offers a bevy of card rooms sprinkled within its borders, including the Commerce Casino and Bicycle Casino, which host World Poker Tour events.

iMEGA may appeal the Third Circuit’s decision in an effort to overturn the UIGEA, which was its primary goal. However, no decision has yet been made. The U.S. Department of Justice can also appeal the ruling.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest on the iMEGA UIGEA challenge. A wealth of information on U.S. internet gambling statutes can be found at Rose’s website, GamblingAndTheLaw.com.

PokerStars sponsors High Heels Poker Tour

The world's largest poker site has signed on board as the official sponsor of the all-women High Heels Poker Tour (HHPT).

Founded in 2007, the HHPT was created to empower women who had the desire to become champions in the growing world of poker.

Since then the tour has crowned countless winners and helped stimulate even more expansion in women's poker.

The PokerStars sponsorship should only help its cause.

"PokerStars has all the attributes in an online partner that female players crave: an incredible variety of quick, entertaining games that range from low buy-in sit and goes and cash games to serious tournament play, all in an environment where women can learn the game, develop their skills and truly become champions," said Lauren Failla, founder of the HHPT.

"With champions like Vanessa Rousso, Katja Thater and Vicky Coren, our players will have a whole new set of role models to emulate and challenge, online and at the tables."

The PokerStars sponsorship will include support for the HHPT's growing roster of tournaments, which begin this month with a stop at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, NY. After New York the tour heads to Florida for events in Dania, Hollywood and Tampa.

This year the HHPT will be offering a grand finale $1,000 buy-in ladies event at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in January 2010.

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Card Player Cruises Releases 2009-2010 Schedule

Starting in November, Card Player Cruises will return to the high seas aboard the 138,000 ton Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines’ Explorer of the Seas. Destinations over the next year for the cruising company include Alaska, the Mediterranean, and Mexico.

The nine-night Canada and New England Fall Foliage cruise will depart from Cape Liberty Cruise Port in New Jersey in November and steam up the eastern seaboard of the United States. Ports of call include Portland, Bar Harbor, Saint John, Halifax, and Boston and the cruise starts at $550 per person. Card Player Cruises partner and Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Linda Johnson commented in a press release distributed by the travel company, “This trip will feature some of the most spectacular scenery on the Eastern Seaboard. There’s no better time to visit this region than in the fall, when the foliage stands out in every imaginable color.”

Besides the fall foliage outside of the ship, the other main attraction on the November cruise will be its poker room. $100 to $200 buy-in poker tournaments will abound, with private seminars and free poker lessons also taking place. In addition, the press release notes, “Passengers can play as much or as little as they want during the week.” The Explorer of the Seas also features a rock-climbing wall, ice skating rink, miniature golf course, basketball court, disco, spa, fitness center, pools, Jacuzzis, and shops. In addition, what would a cruise be without a parade of food?

Here is the upcoming schedule for Card Player Cruises:

Canada and New England Fall Foliage nine-night cruise – October 15, 2009
Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas
Departs from Cape Liberty Cruise Port, Bayonne, New Jersey

Mexican Riviera seven-night cruise – November 15, 2009
Royal Caribbean’s Mariner
Departs from Los Angeles, California

Western Caribbean seven-night cruise – March 7, 2010
Royal Caribbean’s Voyager
Departs from Galveston, Texas

Mediterranean Venice 12-night cruise – May 15, 2010
Royal Caribbean’s Brilliance
Departs from Barcelona, Spain

Alaska seven-night cruise – August 27, 2010
Royal Caribbean’s Rhapsody
Departs from Seattle, Washington

Eastern Caribbean seven-night cruise – September 25, 2010
Royal Caribbean’s Oasis
Departs from Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Mexican Riviera seven-night cruise – December 5, 2010
Royal Caribbean’s Mariner
Departs from Los Angeles, California

The poker room closes while the ship is parked in port and opens while the vessel is out in the open water. Card Player Cruises customers make up between 25% and 40% of the total number of passengers onboard, so traditional cruising activities still occur day and night. In order to play poker, Card Player Cruises guests must be at least 18 years-old, while some special events, such as the PartyPoker Million, feature a different age requirement.

Besides tournaments, each ship’s poker room hosts a wide variety of cash games, ranging from limits of $1/$2 to $30/$60. Customers with children are more than welcome to participate as well. Card Player Cruises explains, “There are extensive programs for children that provide entertainment for the kids from morning until night. Some of the activities are scavenger hunts, arts and crafts, talent shows, pizza parties, disco parties, trips to the spa/gym, video games, etc. Children are able to sail at reduced rates on most cruise lines.”

Prices for the above schedule vary between $448 per person and $1,719 per person. The cost covers food, cabin, nightly entertainment, and use of the ship’s amenities. According to Johnson, the majority of players who board a Card Player Cruise are recreational and several are celebrating milestones like birthdays and anniversaries. Players can call 888-999-4880 for additional information and to book passage.

California Intrastate Online Poker Update

Recently in California, the Morongo Band of Mission Indians presented a bill calling for the legalization of online poker in the state, according to the Capitol Weekly news publication. Poker News Daily sat down with Poker Voters of America (PVA) Executive Director Melanie Brenner to get the organization’s reaction.

Capitol Weekly explained the Indian tribe’s proposal, which could mark the first step towards intrastate online poker. The draft bill would “create a centralized, online poker website they would offer to online customers within California’s borders. The consortium would have an exclusive right to offer online poker, but all California Indian tribes and card clubs would be eligible to be members.” California finds itself stuck in an ongoing budget crisis, adding momentum to the Morongo proposal for increased revenues.

In response to the submission, State Senator Darrell Steinberg claimed that the bill should not be discussed in the waning days of the 2009 Congressional session. Now, the PVA has embarked on a mission to formulate a ballpark revenue figure that the State of California would realize should it choose to allow online poker. The news outlet quoted a study done of over 800 voters in August that showed that 61% of voters opposed legalizing online poker in California. This amid brick-and-mortar card rooms sprinkled throughout the state, including the Bicycle Casino and Commerce Casino in Southern California. The former is fresh off hosting the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Legends of Poker.

Brenner, who is also spearheading an effort to legalize and regulate the game in Florida and elsewhere throughout the United States, explained her position.

Poker News Daily: We’ve seen headlines like “Online poker suffers setback in California” in response to State Senator Steinberg’s remarks. Can you give us your reaction?

Brenner: This has been one of the best things that has happened to the PVA in the last couple of weeks. I want to open a bottle of champagne. What I think you’re seeing is a part of the political process. There are so many different parts to the process. One of the biggest challenges in California has been the opposition of the tribes not wanting online poker. One of the tribes now wants to run an online poker site. That’s a huge breakthrough.

PND: Have you been in discussion with the Morongo Tribe and others in California?

Brenner: Our plan was to have educational outreach to the tribe. When the Morongo Tribe announced this, we knew that the tribes had been starting to understand what we were saying. However, they jumped the gun a bit and hadn’t worked out all of the details.

PND: What was the feedback you received from lawmakers in Sacramento?

Brenner: The feedback was that there are way too many blanks to put this through. They have a three-week session that started last week. The Senate President said that they have too much on their plates and there isn’t enough here for them to tackle it now.

PND: What financial figures did the Morongo Tribe intend to use?

Brenner: They are using numbers from the Commerce Casino earlier in the year. We are familiar with the study and saw it, but aren’t quite comfortable with the credibility of the numbers.

PND: Will we see legalized intrastate online poker in California in 2009?

Brenner: From a political insider’s perspective, you can never say never. These are crazy times, but it’s very doubtful.

PND: Give us an update on your Florida endeavors.

Brenner: Things are going well, but nothing is happening right now. We’re on track and our timeline is to introduce legislation during the 2010 session.

PokerNews Announces Partnership with Ante Up Magazine

PokerNews announced today that it has formed a partnership with Florida based magazine, Ante Up. The partnership will aim to increase Ante Up’s online presence.

November Nine Profile - Kevin Schaffel

Divorced father of two graduate-age children Kevin Schaffel is the oldest player at the 2009 Main Event final table. Experience and wisdom could see the Florida resident make it all the way as he sits in a not-disrespectable 6th place with 12,390,000 in chips.

November Nine Profile - Kevin Schaffel

Divorced father of two graduate-age children Kevin Schaffel is the oldest player at the 2009 Main Event final table. Experience and wisdom could see the Florida resident make it all the way as he sits in a not-disrespectable 6th place with 12,390,000 in chips.

November Nine Profile - Kevin Schaffel

Divorced father of two graduate-age children Kevin Schaffel is the oldest player at the 2009 Main Event final table. Experience and wisdom could see the Florida resident make it all the way as he sits in a not-disrespectable 6th place with 12,390,000 in chips.

Jim Tabilio Leaves Poker Voters of America

With the organization growing leaps and bounds, Jim Tabilio has left his post after founding the Poker Voters of America, an advocacy group that promotes protection of online poker players in California and around the United States.

Tabilio founded Poker Voters of America two years ago. He was well-suited for the role, having served as a poker player and political consultant. Now, Melanie Brenner has assumed the role of Executive Director and told Poker News Daily why Tabilio stepped down: “Jim has a family and is at a point in his life where he has other things he wants to do. This has been extremely time consuming, especially when the decision was made that we could do this in other states. It was a unique opportunity since states are looking for revenue.” Tabilio will remain on in an advisory role.

California is one of many states actively searching for new forms of revenue in the wake of budget shortfalls caused by a severe economic downturn. Brenner explained what could occur: “There are going to be big budget shortfalls that may make a lot of the challenges against legalized online poker evaporate. When you’re able to say to a legislator that it’s about revenue, they know the state needs it. You’re spending millions of dollars protecting live poker players, but there are a lot of other players not being protected online.” Brenner noted that she expects movement towards legalized and regulated intrastate poker in California in the near future.

According to eGaming Review and H2 Gambling Capital, legalizing intrastate online poker in California could generate $250 million per year for 10 years and $625 million per year after that. Brenner added that Poker Voters of America is also hard at work in Florida pushing for intrastate online poker. As such, she is constantly traveling back and forth to promote the organization’s agenda. Brenner explained, “The biggest pushback we get is that legalizing online poker is just the tip of the iceberg. With that kind of mentality, nothing gets done.”

During National Poker Week, over 30 State Directors of the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) and a handful of the game’s elite descended on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC to call for the legalization and regulation of online poker in the United States. Poker News Daily was also on the scene in the nation’s capital. Several obstacles we ran into were Congressmen and their staffers not understanding how to play online poker, what safeguards are in effect to combat underage and problem gambling, and how deposits and cashouts work. Brenner told Poker News Daily, “The major challenge hasn’t been on the legislative side, it’s been educating the stakeholders on how online poker works. It’s been fascinating talking with legislators about online poker.”

In addition to California and Florida, the Poker Voters of America is directing its attention towards New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Louisiana. In each case, local casinos would likely be able to open their own online poker rooms, although Brenner noted that several are apprehensive for fear that it will cannibalize their live business. The Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens, California is set to play host to the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Legends of Poker Main Event on August 22nd. The $10,000 buy-in tournament will crown a champion four days later. In February, the WPT returns to the state for the Commerce Casino’s L.A. Poker Classic. A Celebrity Invitational follows the $10,000 buy-in event.

Membership to the Poker Voters of America is free and requires a person’s first name, last name, e-mail address, and mailing address. Becoming a part of the PPA is also free, although a premium membership is available for $20 per year.

Barney Frank’s Internet Gambling Bill Breaks 50 Co-Sponsors

This week saw Congressman Barney Frank’s (D-MA) HR 2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, officially break 50 co-sponsors. The bill establishes a complete licensing and regulatory framework for internet gambling outfits to solicit U.S. customers.

The addition of two Congressmen officially pushed the support to over 50 co-sponsors. On July 27th, just a few days removed from the conclusion of National Poker Week, Congressman Mike Thompson (D-CA) lent his name to the bill to become co-sponsor #50. One day later, Congressman Dan Maffei (D-NY) joined on. Flanking Thompson and Maffei are Congressmen from both sides of the aisle. Each has come out to support legalizing the internet gambling industry in the United States and reaping tax revenue in return. Here is a full list of HR 2267’s co-sponsors, as given by the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative (SSIGI), along with the political party each belongs to (Democrat or Republican):

Alaska
Don Young (R)

Arizona
Raul Grijalva (D)

California
Michael Thompson (D)
George Miller (D)
Michael Honda (D)
Linda Sanchez (D)
Bob Filner (D)

Colorado
Jared Polis (D)
Ed Perlmutter (D)

Connecticut
Joe Courtney (D)

Florida
Robert Wexler  (D)
Alcee Hastings (D)

Hawaii
Neil Abercrombie (D)

Idaho
Walt Minnick (D)

Illinois
Luis Gutierrez (D)
Bill Foster (D)

Indiana
Andre Carson (D)

Massachusetts
James McGovern (D)
Barney Frank (D)
Michael Capuano (D)
William Delahunt (D)

Michigan
John Conyers (D)

Nevada
Shelley Berkley (D)

New Hampshire
Paul Hodes (D)

New Jersey
Robert Andrews (D)
Frank LoBiondo (R)
John Adler (D)
Steven Rothman (D)

New York
Tim Bishop (D)
Steve Israel (D)
Peter King (R)
Carolyn McCarthy (D)
Gary Ackerman (D)
Joseph Crowley (D)
Jerrold Nadler (D)
Edolphus Towns (D)
Mike McMahon (D)
Charles Rangel (D)
Paul Tonko (D)

North Carolina
Melvin Watt (D)

Ohio
Steve Driehaus (D)
Tim Ryan (D)

Oregon
Earl Blumenauer (D)

Tennessee
Steve Cohen (D)

Texas
Ron Paul (R)
Ciro Rodriguez (D)

Virginia
Bobby Scott (D)
Tom Perriello (D)
James Moran (D)

Washington
Jim McDermott (D)

HR 2046, introduced during the last Congressional session and labeled the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act, garnered 48 co-sponsors. Frank unveiled it to the world in April of 2007, but it was not acted upon. The new version forbids gambling on any event that would violate the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. However, Poker Players Alliance (PPA) Executive Director John Pappas noted during National Poker Week that sports leagues are seeking clearer language in the bill. He explained, “Changes need to be made to explicitly outlaw sports betting.”

HR 2266 was introduced on May 6th, the same day as HR 2267, and calls for industry compliance with the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) to be delayed by one year to December 1st, 2010. The measure is dubbed the Reasonable Prudence in Regulation Act and is up to 32 co-sponsors. On its sister bill reaching the milestone 50th co-sponsor, SSIGI spokesperson Jeff Sandman commented in a press release, “Reaching this milestone illustrates that momentum is growing for a shift in U.S. policy and a rewrite of U.S. internet gambling laws. We also expect an increased spotlight on internet gambling as a way to augment federal revenues and help cover the cost of necessary policy initiatives.”

During a Fly-In orchestrated by the PPA as part of National Poker Week, over 100 meetings were held with Congressmen and their staffs from around the United States. Attendees included 33 PPA State Directors and a handful of poker’s elite, including Poker News Daily Guest Columnists Annie Duke and Linda Johnson, PokerStars pros Dennis Phillips and Greg Raymer, Full Tilt Poker pros Andy Bloch and Howard Lederer, and online poker sensations Chris “Fox” Wallace and Jordan “iMsoLucky0” Morgan.

Over 375,000 concerned players signed an online poker petition, which was presented to U.S. President Barack Obama last week. In addition, nearly 200,000 letters and e-mails were sent to Representatives and Senators during National Poker Week. The PPA’s Randy Law admitted that just 80,000 were sent during the entire 2008 calendar year. The organization currently has over 1.2 million members after boasting only 50,000 in mid-2006.

Harlem Globetrotters, Miss America May Join Tiffany Michelle on Amazing Race

According to an article that appeared this week in The Examiner, two members of the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team and Miss America 2004 may join poker players Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho on Season 15 of the CBS reality show “Amazing Race.”

Poker News Daily can confirm that Tiffany Michelle is among the cast for the 15th cycle of the reality series, citing anonymous sources inside the industry. Her rumored partner is Maria Ho, who Reality Fan Forum snapped a picture of at Los Angeles International Airport on the day that “Amazing Race” filming allegedly began. In the image, she did not appear to be donning a backpack (as is customary for “Amazing Race” teams); instead, she was pulling a suitcase. Michelle and Ho represent the last women standing in the 2008 and 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Events, respectively.

The Examiner speculates that Harlem Globetrotters members Nate “Big Easy” Lofton and Herbert “Flight Time” Lang are members of the “Amazing Race” cast. Lang attended Centenary College in Louisiana and wears #4 for the showcase basketball team. His biography found on the Harlem Globetrotters website appropriately reads, “He is a self-proclaimed reality TV junkie… What Flight Time likes about reality TV is that, even though he knows parts are staged and scripted for dramatic effect, ‘After a certain amount of time, you really get to see what people are like.’” Lang was roped into reality television after catching an episode of CBS staple “Survivor.”

Lofton attended Southeast Louisiana and grew up in New Orleans. His biography notes, “His gregarious personality and thunderous dunks entertain Globetrotter fans young and old.” A total of 26 players make up the current roster of the Harlem Globetrotters, which showcase unusual basketball skills at venues around the world. Several members of the team, including Lang, appeared on the ABC reality series “The Bachelorette” in May. The Globetrotters challenged the seven remaining bachelors to a pick-up game of basketball, with bachelorette Jillian Harris looking on intently. “The Bachelorette” wrapped up on Monday night with Harris riding off into the sunset with Ed Swiderski.

Joining Lang, Lofton, Michelle, and Ho will likely be Miss America 2004, Ericka Dunlap. The Examiner notes that “Amazing Race” has featured pageant winners before, as Dustin-Leigh Konzelman and Kandice Pelletier competed as part of Season 10 and All-Stars. Dunlap hails from Florida; the reigning Miss America is Katie Stern, a native of Indiana. No indication was given as to who will partner with Dunlap for “Amazing Race.”

An entry appearing on Wikipedia adds that two newscasters from the television network C-SPAN will also take part in “Amazing Race” when the 15th season kicks off in September. The show pits teams of two against each other in a race around the world. Along the way, they’ll complete various challenges as part of “Detours” (a choice between two tasks, each with its own pros and cons) and “Road Blocks” (a task that only one team member can perform). Each leg typically consists of one Detour and one Road Block; many of the legs end with the last team arriving at the “Pit Stop” being eliminated.

“Amazing Race” will once again air on Sunday nights, debuting on September 27th for two hours. The popular reality program follows CBS News program “60 Minutes” and will serve as the lead-in for the new drama “Three Rivers.” “Amazing Race” is an Emmy-winning reality show whose reigning champions are lawyers and siblings Tammy and Victor. In seasons past, the top prize has been $1 million and to date, no “celebrity” installment of “Amazing Race” has taken place.

Other poker players who have appeared on major reality shows include Annie Duke, who finished as the runner-up to comedian Joan Rivers on the second season of “Celebrity Apprentice.” In addition, Bodog pro Jean-Robert Bellande competed on “Survivor: China,” the 15th cycle of the cornerstone CBS show. Bellande was the eighth player voted out of “Survivor: China” and served as a member of the jury.

Full Tilt signs Justin "BoostedJ" Smith

A very well-respected poker player, Smith recently made the final table of WPT Bellagio Cup V and ended up finishing third for a score of $464,870.

In a surprising turn of events, Smith injured his knee while celebrating a hand he won and became the first player in WPT history to sustain a serious injury at the televised final table.

Prior to his Bellagio Cup V performance Smith had a successful WSOP, cashing a total of five times for over $100,000 in tournament winnings. His highest finish was eighth in the $10,000 World Championship Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo event.

Smith was born in Hartford, Connecticut, but currently resides in Orlando, Florida. Known primarily as an online player, Smith has been known to dominate the high-stakes mixed games on Full Tilt.

In 2007 Smith chopped first place at the FTOPS III Main Event for $232,000. Smith is also an instructor for Daniel Negreanu's PokerVT training site.

Perhaps the only downside of Smith's deal is that he will give up the BoostedJ moniker and instead receive his own name in red. Several pros including Brian Townsend and Patrik Antonius went on huge downswings after becoming Full Tilt pros and getting their names in red.

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Robert Wexler Speaks at PPA National Poker Week Fly-In Dinner

On Monday night at the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) Fly-In held as part of National Poker Week, a working dinner featured Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL), PPA Chairman Alfonse D’Amato, and PPA Executive Director John Pappas.

A host of poker pros were in attendance at the Capitol Room inside the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. They included 2004 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion Greg Raymer, Full Tilt Poker pros Andy Bloch and Howard Lederer, Tournament Directors Association Co-Founder Linda Johnson, former World Poker Tour (WPT) statistician Jan Fisher, and “Celebrity Apprentice” runner-up Annie Duke.

D’Amato kicked off the festivities by noting, “One person at the forefront… and has stood up specifically for… player versus player, and not versus the house, games – No one has been stronger than Bob Wexler.” The audience of about 50 people erupted into a chorus of applause after Wexler’s name was spoken. The Florida Congressman and former author of the Skill Game Protection Act last session called D’Amato a “class act in the finest sense of the word.” Wexler then outlined the goal of National Poker Week and the PPA Fly-In: “To put a face on the issue is very important.” He continued, “It’s an apple pie issue. Poker is a game that has been played in the White House, the Supreme Court, and… by some of the biggest names in American history.”

Wexler also reminded Fly-In attendees, which included 30 of the PPA’s State Directors, that follow-up contact is critical: “When you go meet with your Congressmen, your job is only half done. When you get back home, follow up with your local office. You can’t imagine how important that is. Spend 15 minutes with the director of the local office.” Wexler called the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which was passed in 2006 and attached to an unrelated port security measure, an “absurd law” and labeled Congressmen Barney Frank an “important ally.” He then hit up the buffet to grab a snack before exiting with a staff member.

D’Amato then returned to the podium to rally the troops: “I’m very hopefully we’ll be able to get one of the staunchest allies we have to be supportive of legislation that will give you the right to play poker on the internet.” He labeled an unspecified meeting this afternoon a “major breakthrough.” The PPA’s Chairman emphasized the importance of letting Congressmen and staffers know how many members the organization boasts. D’Amato added, “This is about civil rights and civil liberties.” A hearty round of applause followed that comment. He also recalled a bad beat story in which he was busted from a seniors’ poker tournament with pocket jacks after an opponent spiked an ace on the river. He concluded with, “Thank you for coming. Don’t get discouraged. We are making progress.”

An overview of briefing packets given out to Fly-In attendees followed. Stats highlighted included that 10 million Americans play online poker, while 70 million compete in poker. Guests were encouraged to arrive 10 to 15 minutes before their scheduled Congressional meetings in order to go through security. Pappas encouraged attendees to convey their personal story and ask support for HR 2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, which was introduced in May. Pappas also gave updates on upcoming Senate legislation to legalize online poker in the United States, over-blocking by credit card companies of internet transactions, and the Southern District of New York seizing over $34 million from more than 27,000 online poker players.

We’ll have more for you from the Fly-In, including complete coverage of Tuesday’s charity tournament, right here on Poker News Daily.

2009 WSOP Main Event November Nine Features Phil Ivey

After 56 events and 13 days of play in the Amazon Room at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, the final table of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event was determined.

A total of 27 players came back to the Amazon Room at Noon on Wednesday with dreams of being at the final table of the most prestigious poker tournament in the world. Everyone remaining would receive $352,832, but the true focus was on making the final table, which once again will be delayed until November. Leading the pack was newcomer Darvin Moon, a logger from Maryland, who held slightly over 20 million chips as play began.

Leo Margets, who came to the start of play on Wednesday as one of the shorter stacks in the room, was the first to depart in 27th place. She was followed by notable players including Antonio Esfandiari (24th place for his largest WSOP cash ever) and Day Six leader Warren Zackey, who dropped from the tournament in 22nd place after his pocket deuces were out-raced by Ian Tavelli’s Qs-Js.

Tavelli’s aggressive play eventually caught up with him after he ran pocket nines into Steven Begleiter’s pocket kings. After the board didn’t bring him either of his two outs, the 21-year old Tavelli was eliminated in 17th place ($500,557). Almost immediately after Tavelli’s departure, one of France’s top professional players, Ludovic Lacay, was defeated by Jeff Shulman in 16th place. After Lacay’s elimination, everyone at the tables was guaranteed $633,022.

As the field continued to dwindle down, both Moon and Begleiter used their chips to climb to astronomical levels at the tables. Moon never seemed to be in jeopardy during play on Wednesday and Begleiter, using the chips he had earned from Tavelli, continued his march up the leaderboard. For all of their work, however, most of the eyes in the Amazon Room followed poker professional Phil Ivey.

The perennial pick by ESPN commentator Norm Chad to win the Main Event, Ivey had come to the 2009 WSOP with his skills at their highest point ever. He captured two bracelets during the six weeks of preliminary tournaments and had been at or around the top of the Main Event leaderboard since it began. Starting the day with over 11 million in chips, Ivey seemed content to sit back and maintain his stack, scouting potential opponents should they reach the November Nine final table.

After over 11 hours of battle, the final table of the Main Event was determined. The unlucky Bubble Boy was pro player Jordan Smith, who fell in tenth place ($896,730) at the hands of Moon. Facing a raise to 650,000 from Eric Buchman and a call from Moon, Smith popped a 2.6 million bet into the pot, which was called by Moon after Buchman folded. The seemingly innocent flop of hit the table, at which time the fireworks went off. Smith checked his option to Moon, who put four million chips out, and Smith moved all-in over the top. Moon called and tabled pocket eights for top set; Smith dejectedly turned up . After the turn and river failed to come an ace, the November Nine was determined.

These are the nine players who will gather at the Rio in November to determine the next WSOP Main Event Champion:

Darvin Moon (Oakland, Maryland) – 58,930,000
Eric Buchman (Valley Stream, New York) – 34,800,000
Steve Begleiter (Chappaqua, New York) – 29,885,000
Jeff Shulman (Las Vegas, Nevada) – 19,580,000
Joe Cada (Shelby Township, Michigan) – 13,215,000
Kevin Schaffel (Coral Springs, Florida) – 12,390,000
Phil Ivey (Las Vegas, Nevada) – 9,765,000
Antione Saout (Paris, France) – 9,500,000
James Ankenhead (London, England) – 6,800,000

With such professional players as Ivey, Shulman (Editor of CardPlayer Magazine), and Ankenhead in the mix, some are concluding that this will be one of the strongest Main Event final tables of the past few years.

Play will pause on the Las Vegas leg of this year’s WSOP, but there are still four events to go. The 2009 WSOP Europe, which will be held in London beginning in September, will offer a chance for the survivors of the Main Event to tune up their games. The November Nine then will emerge from their respite. All are now millionaires, but the eventual winner takes the $8.5 million first place prize.

WSOP 2009 November Nine Set for Main Event Glory

Day 8 of the Main Event played out in a fast, frenetic fashion to a backdrop of rowdy railbirds loudly cheering on their respective heroes.

There was drama, bad beats and intrigue, with every elimination ramping up the tension in the Amazon Room as the watershed moment drew closer and closer.

Finally, with 10 players left, Jordan Smith, winner of a bracelet in the $2k No-Limit Hold'em event at this year's Series, ran his aces into Darvin Moon's flopped set and filled the unwanted November Nine bubble spot.

That left nine players still cradling the dream of Main Event glory and riches and each and every one will become celebrities for the immediate future.

Here are the men who will be blinking under the media spotlight over the next four months:

Darvin Moon - 58,930,000

Darvin Moon will return to the Rio in four months holding a large chip lead and, incredibly, the million-dollar minimum payout he receives will be his first live cash of note.

He is a recreational player who owns a small logging company in Maryland. Having played poker for three years, he won his Main Event ticket through a satellite at his local casino, Wheeling Island in West Virginia.

By his own admission, Moon has been blessed with some fantastic cards in the run-up to the final table.

"With the cards I'm getting it's easy," said Moon. "If I don't hit cards like the way I have been over the past few days, everyone at this table is a better player than I am".

His amateur roots are a far cry from some of the experienced pros still left in contention but Moon has the stack to take down the title.

"We'll see if I can do this," he said. "I'll be confident if I keep hitting cards like I have been this whole tournament."

For more information, see Darvin Moon's PokerListings bio-blog.

Eric Buchman - 34,800,000

Hailing from New York, Eric Buchman has nearly $1 million in tournament cashes behind him already, including narrowly missing out on a bracelet in 2006 when he finished runner-up in a $1,500 NLHE event.

Buchman's largest cash to date came from finishing second in the 2007 WSOPC Atlantic City main event for over $208k, but he will blow that figure away wherever he finishes come the November showdown.

Buchman is well placed for glory here at the final table, but he recognizes he has been fortunate to get this far.

"I'm happy right now but I got lucky a few times in the last few days," said Buchman. "I'm pretty tired right now - I deserve a vacation!"

He'll return mob-handed come the final, intending to bring a lot of his supporters along for the ride.

"When I come back I'll bring a lot of people with me - around 30. All the players in my local game will want to come."

For more, visit Eric Buchman's PokerListings bio-blog.

Steven Begleiter - 29,885,000

Steven Begleiter has been playing poker all of his life as an enthusiastic amateur and he won his entry into the Main Event through a home-game league.

The other league members will all chop 20% of whatever Begleiter wins, which resulted in some vociferous support from the rail during the run up to the final table.

Begleiter was quick to acknowledge he has dodged some bullets on his path to the Main Event final.

"'I'm dancing between raindrops in the middle of a minefield and somehow I'm still standing," he said. "I've already won. It's insane I made the final table. I'm not quite sure how I did it. My objective is to play well - so far I've played well."

Visit Steven Begleiter's PokerListings bio-blog for more information.

Jeff Shulman - 19,580,000

Jeff Shulman is best known as the editor of CardPlayer Magazine and going into the final, he suggested to Wicked Chops Poker he would throw the bracelet into the garbage should he win.

Apparently he clarified that his disregard for the bracelet was a statement about how he feels the World Series has been managed in recent years.

Shulman's progress through to the final nine has been relatively straightforward and he was bemused by the quality of the field he has faced off against.

"There were a lot of amateurs in this tournament who don't really understand how to play a deep stacked poker," he said. "It was the easiest field I've ever seen in my life. I feel like everyone in the tournament was on Adderall while I was on Xanax."

Shulman hopes his run through to the November Nine will provide good exposure for his various interests.

"It'll be great for my business, great exposure for CardPlayer and Spade Club and maybe people who have jobs will start playing poker."

To see more on Shulman, click through to his PokerListings bio-blog.

Joseph Cada - 13,215,000

The youngest player at November's final table will be Joseph Cada, who has just turned 21.

Known online as "jcada99", he has had several decent results on the internet, his biggest being a $50k win in the Sunday Milligan on Full Tilt in 2008.

Cada had already had two cashes at this year's WSOP coming into the Main Event, though the significance of those two small cashes will be forgotten when he lines up in November to take his shot at scooping the Main Event.

"I feel great, I'm a little tired," he said. "I've played a lot of poker over the past month or so, so I'm going to enjoy the Michigan summer now. I feel very confident, but it's poker, I'm just going to do my best with the cards I'm dealt."

For more information, visit Joseph Cada's PokerListings bio-blog.

Kevin Schaffel - 12,390,000

Kevin Schaffel hails from Florida and the 51-year-old father of two is experiencing his second deep run at the Main Event, having finished 42nd 15 years ago at the 1994 WSOP.

With just $168k in tournament winnings, his final-table position here will cement his biggest payday by far and Schaffel is overjoyed to be part of the November Nine.

"I'm delirious right now," he said. "I'll come back in November and do what I can. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be. It's been a great ride whatever happens. My son is on cloud nine. I can't wait to come back."

Click through to Kevin Schaffel's PokerListings bio-blog for more.

Phil Ivey - 9,765,000

Phil Ivey will return as the star of the show come November, the seven-time bracelet winner the marquee name amongst the finalists.

Ivey has already snagged two bracelets at the 2009 WSOP and though he had a rocky path through to the final nine, he rode the rough patches to book his November spot.

He will return as one of the short stacks, but as you would expect, Ivey has a plan to steal the show when they return to the felt in four months.

"I may watch a few of the hands on TV and actually watch poker on TV," he said. "I'm a little short and I don't want to get in to exactly what I'm going to do, but I have some plans."

For more from Ivey and the significance of his place in the November Nine click here; an extended biography can be found by clicking through to Phil Ivey's PokerListings bio-blog.

Antoine Saout - 9,500,000

Antoine Saout comes from Morlaix, France and is well-known as an MTT specialist, regularly crushing the tournaments online at Everest Poker.

His popularity on the site will have grown given his final-table berth has guaranteed himself and the other Everest qualifiers at the Main Event a slice of a $1 million bonus.

He picked up his Main Event ticket via a satellite on the site and will enter the final as the second shortest stack.

Saout's mother was initially unhappy with his choice to become a pro poker player, but he hopes his big result here will have impressed her.

"My mother was against it but she sees the results and she has to be happy now," he said. "My friends and family back home are really proud and happy for me."

For more infomation, click through to Antoine Saout's PokerListings bio-blog.

James Akenhead - 6,800,000

Londoner James Akenhead is a member of the much-vaunted "Hit Squad," a group of young poker professionals from England.

Akenhead watched a bracelet slip from his grasp at last year's WSOP when he finished runner-up in one of the $1,500 tournaments. This time though, he is keen to make amends for that near-miss, despite being the short stack.

"It's like a dream," he said. " I told a friend in January I just have a feeling that I'll run badly in the other events, but pull something out for the main. And it's happened!"

James was one of the best supported players in the run to the final nine and he was keen to pay tribute to his band of boisterous supporters on the rail.

"The support's been amazing," he said. " I feel sorry for some of the guys out there, they would win a hand and not even get a clap. The great support I got really helped."

For more on this, click through to James Akenhead's PokerListings bio-blog.

PokerListings will have comprehensive coverage of the November Nine on our Live Tournaments page beginning November 7 and news, blogs, videos and more across the site in the months leading up to the final.

Visit PokerListings.com

Amir Lehavot Interview with Poker News Daily

Headed into Day 4 of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, Florida native Amir Lehavot holds the 128th largest stack overall out of 789 players remaining. Levahot, the Day 2B chip leader, sat down with Poker News Daily to share his thoughts.

Poker News Daily: What is your main goal for Day 4 on Saturday, when the money bubble will likely be burst?

Lehavot: I just want to chip ahead as much as possible. Making the money would be nice, but it’s not extremely important. The more chips you have, the better off you are. Because of how my day went on Friday, I’m happy with how many chips I have. Anytime your chip count goes down, it’s not a fun experience. The day went badly for me and it was tough in terms of not winning hands and losing big pots.

PND: Is it daunting that the Main Event’s chip leader, Team PokerStars Pro member Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, has 1.4 million chips?

Lehavot: It’s just a number. It doesn’t matter if someone has one million chips or two million chips when you’re so deep. I’ve learned over time that it doesn’t make that much difference.

PND: Was the attendance at the 2009 WSOP Main Event, 6,494 players, what you expected?

Lehavot: It was pretty much what I expected. It shows that the poker economy is alive and well. I play online a lot, so I know the games are still pretty active. I didn’t come here expecting it to be completely dead.

PND: Living in Florida, do you make it out to the local casinos and card rooms to play?

Lehavot: I mostly play online because I like that, online, I can get a lot more play in. I can get 50 to 60 tournaments per day in online. If I play live, I can only enter one. It gives me a chance to put in a lot more volume. I used to play more often live. Now, I just play in a few big events. I played in the Shooting Star event this year, but that and the Main Event are really the only two big tournaments I enter.

PND: Talk about your new website, PokerWit.com.

Lehavot: I had a different take on how people can talk about poker online. For poker players to be able to talk with other poker players is very valuable. Forum sites right now are based on plain message boards. With all of the new web tools coming out, I wondered why anyone hasn’t tried to customize something for poker.

PND: Do you have a background in web design or online marketing?

Lehavot: My background is in engineering and marketing, but not in web development, so I hired a developer to help me. I worked with him, tested it out, and fully launched the site last month. Traffic has been steadily growing and picked up a lot over the past two days with all of the exposure I have been getting.

PND: Can you talk about the environment at the WSOP Main Event?

Lehavot: The Main Event is a very interesting tournament. It’s different from most other tournaments because you get such a large field. There are 6,500 players putting up $10,000 to enter. There are a lot of professional players and also a lot of amateurs. The play is very dependent on a person’s background and incentives. A lot of people now are focused on making the money. Some are more focused on trying to accumulate chips. It’s very different since players have such a variety of backgrounds.

Poker News Briefs, July 8, 2009

Negotiations in Florida between the office of Governor Charlie Crist and state tribal leaders over a gambling expansion that would see increased...