Poker News

Jeffrey Lisandro Wins Stud High-Low Championship for Third WSOP Bracelet

Poker pro Jeffrey Lisandro became the third dual bracelet winner of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) on Saturday night, winning the $10,000 buy-in World Championship of Seven Card Stud High-Low Split Eight or Better for $431,000.

Lisandro joins Brock “t soprano” Parker and Full Tilt Poker pro Phil Ivey as players who have won two bracelets during the 2009 WSOP. He solidified himself as one of the top Seven Card Stud players in the world after taking down a $1,500 buy-in tournament in the popular genre of poker (Event #16) two weeks ago. During the 2007 WSOP, Lisandro won his first bracelet in a $2,000 buy-in Seven Card Stud event for $118,000. Holding a dual citizenship in Italy and Australia, Lisandro requested that the Italian national anthem be played during his bracelet award ceremony today in the Amazon Room. When he won Event #16, he elected to have the Australian national anthem played.

Online poker player Justin “Boosted J” Smith was the first casualty of the final table. The Kissimmee, Florida native was ousted after he could muster just a pair of aces against Yan Chen’s queen-high diamond flush. Chen had a pair of tens up during the hand, which he bet on both sixth street and seventh street. Smith took home $54,896 for his efforts and the hand propelled Chen to third in chips.

Out in seventh place was “Texas Dolly,” Doyle Brunson. In pursuit of what would have been a record-tying 11th bracelet, Brunson instead had his tournament life on the line after paying the bring-in. He was sent packing at the hands of Farzad Rouhani, who showed 4-4-10-10 up and held another four in the hole for a boat. Brunson’s stack took a sizable hit in a hand against Abe Mosseri, setting up his all-in pre-flop against Rouhani. Brunson remains tied with Johnny Chan with 10 WSOP bracelets, one shy of Phil Hellmuth’s record of 11.

Mosseri was shown the exit in sixth place, cashing for $74,258. Mosseri showed queens and eights against Frank Mariani’s nines full of sevens; neither player held a qualifying low after Mosseri spiked a pair of eights on seventh street. Mosseri logged his first WSOP in the money finish since 2004, when he took 120th in the Main Event for $15,000. Chen was the next to go. Like Brunson, he was forced to commit his stack on the bring-in and Rouhani’s pair of sixes was enough to take the pot. Chen also final tabled Event #8 of the 2009 WSOP, a $2,500 buy-in Deuce to Seven Draw Lowball tournament.

After being crippled in a hand against Lisandro, Mariani’s ante on the next hand was enough to put him all-in. In the end, Rouhani’s two pair, queens and tens, scooped the high, while Lisandro’s 7-5 claimed the low. Mariani managed to make a pair of kings in the hand, but fell by the wayside in fourth place for $124,684. Mike Wattel was then eliminated in third. He was all-in on fourth street against Lisandro, who made two pair on the final card. Wattel held a pair of sevens and no qualifying low, but recorded his second final table appearance of 2009; he grabbed seventh in the World Championship Mixed Event.

Rouhani held roughly a 3:2 chip lead entering heads-up play against the poker veteran. However, Lisandro’s experience in Stud proved vital, as he slowly chipped away at the lead. In the end, Rouhani was all-in after fifth street against Lisandro’s two pair, tens and sixes. However, he could not catch up, propelling Lisandro to his third WSOP bracelet. Rouhani took home a $266,804 consolation prize and recorded his second in the money finish of this year’s tournament series. Here’s a look at the final payouts from the World Championship of Seven Card Stud High-Low Split Eight or Better (Event #37):

1. Jeffrey Lisandro - $431,656
2. Farzad Rouhani - $266,804
3. Mike Wattel - $176,605
4. Francis Mariani - $124,684
5. Yan Chen - $93,513
6. Abe Mosseri - $74,258
7. Doyle Brunson - $62,234
8. Justin Smith - $54,896

WSOP 2009 notable numbers: U.S. and A-ok

As they are wont to do, the WSOP has released some of its notable numbers to this point, outlining some statistical highlights as of the awarding of bracelet #10.

And the numbers so far seem to be establishing the 40th World Series of Poker as, indeed, one of the most impressive yet.

The highlights:

• 17,093 total entrants in the WSOP so far this year, with the vast majority (14,502) coming from the United States.
• Of all states, California leads with 3,306 entrants. Nevada (1,649); Texas (987); Florida (896); and New York (819) round out the Top 5.
• 861 Canadians have represented the Great White North, will all 10 provinces (and one territory) sending players.
• 57 other countries have sent players, with the U.K. leading the pack with 269 entrants, followed by Germany (170), France (113), Russia (111) and the Netherlands (83).
• Other countries represented include the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Korea, India, China, Belarus and Turkey.
• Americans have dominated the bracelet leaderboard, winning 9 of the first 10 events. Russia (Vitaly Lunkin) has the lone non-U.S. bracelet. (Note: now 12 of 14, with Ville Wahlbeck of Finland ading the other non-U.S. bracelet.)
• The $40,000 No-Limit Hold'em Event 2 set a record for largest live tournament outside of a Main Event with a prize pool of $7,718,400.
• The 918 entrants for Event 3 established a record for the largest Omaha live-tournament field ever.

The 40th annual WSOP started on May 26 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas and continues until July 15.

This will be the second year that the final nine players will return to Las Vegas in November to compete for the WSOP Main Event gold bracelet.

Catch the live action and more in the 2009 WSOP section.

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Poker Pro Jason Mercier Wins FTOPS Event 23

The Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) is drawing to a close. Sunday marks the start of the FTOPS and MiniFTOPS Main Events, which boast at least $3 million in total prize money on the line. Leading up to the event, Jason “treysfull21” Mercier won Event #23.

The $109 Pot Limit Omaha with Rebuys tournament drew just over 1,000 runners and, in the end, the professional poker player from Florida emerged as its champion, adding $86,000 to his already healthy bankroll. Mercier stormed onto the live poker scene one year ago, winning the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) San Remo tournament for $1.3 million. In that event, he bested France’s Anthony Lellouche heads-up, with Dario Minieri also making an appearance at the final table. In October, he was up to his winning ways once again, taking down the EPT High Roller event in London for $944,000. The final nine included a “who’s who” of the world’s top players, as 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe Main Event Champion John Juanda, 2008 WSOP HORSE Championship victor Scotty Nguyen, high-stakes player David Benyamine, and Isabelle Mercier all made the money.

Mercier is fresh off wins in a $1,000 buy-in tournament during the Wynn Classic and a $1,500 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha contest held during the L.A. Poker Classic. The two titles were good for $116,000 total. In FTOPS Event #23, Mercier beat Full Tilt member RMFG heads-up, with the runner up receiving a $54,000 consolation prize. Others at the final table included mozgoved82 (third place for $40,607), Bill Gazes (fourth place for $31,754), dayxlm (fifth place for $24,056), Sapster (sixth place for $17,321), Stuart “thedonator” Paterson (seventh place for $11,547), Rightcurver (eighth place for $8,660), and DragonDrake (ninth place for $6,158). A total of 108 players finished in the money.

The FTOPS and MiniFTOPS Main Events kick off today. The former is a $55 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament with at least $500,000 up for grabs, while the latter comes with a $535 buy-in and at least $2.5 million in prize money. The Main Event of FTOPS XI was won by Alan “csimmsux” Geyer, who barreled through a field of 5,287 players en route to a $456,000 first place payday. It was one of the largest sums of money ever taken away from an FTOPS event, as Geyer defeated KA1SERfknS0ZE heads-up; KA1SERfknS0ZE earned $276,000 for his efforts. Others who reached the final table last time around included PartyPimp (third place for $177,643), clubflush5 (fourth place for $138,783), CHOOK2120 (fifth place for $104,418), dump22 (sixth place for $77,983), 23bigd23 (seventh place for $60,800), supermanpunch (eighth place for $46,261), and Luie Sojo (ninth place for $34,365).

The FTOPS XII high-stakes schedule has seen a bevy of overlays. However, the series’ MiniFTOPS counterparts have experienced overflowing crowds ranging between 729 and 14,059 entrants. In fact, seven of the first 15 events attracted more than 3,000 players, with three of those reaching a field size of over 6,000. On a potential tendency by players to sign up for a MiniFTOPS event in lieu of a traditional FTOPS tournament, Full Tilt Poker pro Howard Lederer told Poker News Daily, “We had never run a MiniFTOPS alongside a regular FTOPS before. We simply underestimated how many players would opt for the MiniFTOPS events over the regular FTOPS. The overall participation is up, so I don’t think the overall economy is having much of an effect on FTOPS XII.”

Also playing out on Sunday is the second day of play in the MiniFTOPS and FTOPS Two-Day Events and a No Limit Hold’em Knockout tournament (Event #24). The latter’s MiniFTOPS version carries a $13 buy-in and $100,000 guarantee, while the FTOPS edition comes with a $129 price tag and $1 million in the kitty.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from FTOPS XII.

Poker News in Brief: May 4-10, 2009

As an ongoing feature every Sunday, PokerListings compiles a list of interesting stories from around the poker world that didn't quite make the front page.

This week we're looking at some more Tom Dwan and Fullflush1 insults, a surprisingly resilient poker market and the ongoing battle to legalize online poker.

Tom "durrrr" Dwan and __FullFlush1__ trade blows on Poker Show

It was quite a week for Poker Show on Boylesport.com. The show, hosted by Jesse May, was fortunate enough to get both Tom Dwan and arch-nemesis Luke" __FullFlush1__" Schwartz in the same week.

Dwan was the first one to appear on the show and when asked what he thought about __FullFlush1__ he responded by saying, "Who?"

Other than that Dwan was fairly casual about Schwartz in the interview saying he really hadn't played him that much.

The next day Schwartz was the opposite. Schwartz implied durrrr only wins against him when he hits two outers and gets incredibly lucky. Dwan wasn't the only target either as Schwartz also talked trash about Andrew Feldman, Greeks, Italians and even Phil Ivey.

Dwan and Schwartz appear destined for a 50,000 hand battle royale.

You can listen to the shows by going here

New Orleans a bright spot for the WSOPC

Although it's been a slow year for the WSOPC the New Orleans event is off to a spectacular start. The first event of the series drew 572 entries which is the biggest turn out in more than two years for the New Orleans circuit stop.

The eventual winner, Casey Lang Chiasson, won nearly $50,000 for taking part in the $300 buy-in event. The main event of WSOPC New Orleans starts on May 21.

Debate continues to rage over online gambling legislation

It's been anything but dull since Rep. Barney Frank introduced his pro-online gambling bill earlier this week that would essentially repeal the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.

Now the author of UIGEA, Rep. Spencer Bachus, is speaking out against Frank's bill, suggesting it will lead to children becoming addicted to online gambling.

"Illegal off-shore Internet gambling sites are a criminal enterprise and allowing them to operate unfettered in the United States would present a clear danger to our youth, who are subject to becoming addicted to gambling at an early age," wrote Bachus on his website.

Earlier in the week, Jeffrey Sandman mentioned that despite the online gambling prohibition there were still millions Americans gambling online. A large part of Barney Frank's Internet Gambling Regulation Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act (H.R. 2267) is dedicated to limiting underage online gambling.

Florida approves gaming bill

Floridians looking to play some No-Limit Hold'em have finally had their prayers answered.

Earlier this week the legislature for the state of Florida approved the expansion of poker in the state and that includes a removal of the maximum buy-in for No-Limit Hold'em.

The bill was the source of serious debate between the Floriday State Senate and House but they were finally able to reach consensus this week.

The 15-year agreement is subject to approval by the Seminole tribal nation and is estimated to generate at least $150 million in annual payments from the Seminoles to the state.

The legislation also allows all cardrooms located at horse tracks and jai alai frontons to offer expanded No-Limit Hold'em without the buy-in limitations.

Click here to learn more.

Complications for legal poker in Texas

Amazingly Texans are still not legally allowed to play Texas No-Limit Hold'em in their home state and the group looking to legalize it was dealt a major blow this week.

Apparently Texas Gov. Rick Perry changed his position once again and assuming Perry plans to veto it, Rep. Jose Menendez said he has no intentions of bringing a dead bill to the floor.

The two biggest threats to legal poker in Texas, Texans Against Gambling and the Christian Life Association, put out memos regarding the bill this week and the House Committee seems to have taken notice.

It's worth checking out here. as they've been doing extensive coverage on the fight for legal poker in Texas. If you're interested you can also get more information here.

Players sue L.A. casinos over bad beat jackpots

L.A.-area casinos took a bad beat of their own this week as two players filed a lawsuit against them.

Dennis Chae and Jeff Kim are suing the Bicycle Club, Commerce, Hustler, Hollywood Park and Hawaiian Garden Casinos because floor managers would not let them compete in bad beat jackpots unless they played at tables that collected the $1 per pot fees, even though ads said no purchase was required.

It's not exactly a new issue. In 2005, Attorney General Bill Lockyer cautioned casinos that the promotions violated State Law unless players were allowed to win jackpots without paying the fee.

To learn more check out the L.A. Times story here

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Florida Legislature Passes Gaming Bill, Uncapped No-limit Poker Approved

The Florida Legislature approved the further expansion of poker in the state today, including the removal of a maximum buy-in for no-limit poker...

Poker News in Brief: April 20-26, 2009

Every week we compile a collection of stories that didn't quite make the cut for the front page but were worth mentioning nonetheless.

In these week's edition it turns out that a certain Bodog has its bite back, French poker players are actually really, really good (at least one of them) and the WPT Championship wasn't the only major tournament won by a TV pro.

Bodog.com returns along with Bodog Open

The Morris Mohawk Gaming Group announced this week that it reached a resolution of all litigation relating to 1st Technology, LCC and will be getting the Bodog.com domain back.

The settlement ends the series of 1st Technology's lawsuits alleging the online poker site used patents in the 1st Technology portfolio. It also means Bodog.com will be returned to the Morris Mohawk Gaming Group which now runs the Bodog sites.

Despite not being a part of the original lawsuits, the MMGG said it stepped in to settle the matter because the lawsuit cast a shadow on the Bodog brand it had been running.

"We are absolutely thrilled to be able to return the Bodog experience to its rightful home - the reaction of staff and key suppliers has been thunderous," said Alwyn Morris, MMGG chief executive.

The return of Bodog.com is just in time for the 26-event Bodog Poker Open III. The series begins today and ends with the championship event on May 3.

The Bodog Poker Open III will feature three concurrent series during the week offering a Mini-Bounty Tournament Series, Mid-Stakes Tournament Series and the Championship Tournament Series.

In all there is more than $280,000 in guaranteed prize money, plus the varying levels of buy-ins offer a little something for everyone.

For more information, check out Bodog Poker.

Hollywood Dave Stann wins prelim event at WSOPC Caesars Las Vegas

Although the big news over the weekend was Yevgeniy Timoshenko winning the WPT championship another well-known pro took down a tournament with more than 370 runners.

"Hollywood Dave" Stann won Event 18 of this year's WSOPC Caesars Las Vegas after he outlasted a final table that included Eskimo Clark and Steven "Stevie G" McKoy.

It was the third major tournament that Stann has won and his first WSOPC ring. The 35-year-old former blackjack player officially collected $26,398 for his first place finish.

The WSOPC Caesars Las Vegas Championship Event kicks off on tomorrow at 12 p.m.

Florida man predicts online poker to be legalized in the U.S.

Once again an expert in internet law is suggesting the U.S. government may move to legalize online gambling in an effort to raise revenue.

In a story with 24 Hours online Lawrence Walters suggested that intrastate online poker games may be the future for online gambling in the U.S.

Law professor Ed Morse of Creighton University in Nebraska was quick to point out that legalizing online gambling would not only help a cash-strapped government but it would help create jobs and economic expansion during a recession.

To read the complete story click here.

PR Web declines online gambling releases

Popular press release website PR Web announced this week it will no longer be accepting submissions from online gambling companies.

PR Web is based in Washington and decided to ban online gambling related pressreleases due to the murky legislation surrounding online gambling in the U.S.

Prior to the ban PR Web was one of the most prominent methods of advertising for sites like Full Tilt Poker and Everest Poker.

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Florida Debates Possibility of High Stakes Poker

Another year, another attempt to change Florida's ever-evolving poker laws. With just weeks remaining in the state's legislative session, the Florida Senate has been pushing hard to expand gaming laws in an effort to generate additional revenue. With a $3 billion budget deficit in the...

Vanessa Rousso chips in to fight poverty

Rousso founded the No Limit No Profit Initiative in 2008 with a mission to help decrease the impact of poverty around the world.

"I started the NLNPI because, hey, let's face it, it's not like I can go to bed every night like a doctor and know that I've saved lives at work today," Rousso said.

"Being a poker player can sometimes feel like a selfish way to make a living. So, I wanted to do something to balance that out, to do some good in the world."

The mission of NLNPI is to support innovative, ground-breaking, results-driven research and programs conducted by nonprofits that work to decrease the impact of poverty worldwide. It is also focused on sustainable programs to combat poverty in some of the world's most vulnerable populations.

Her goal is to target the poker community to help raise money for her charity. One of the ways she's getting the word out about her charity is to start the giving herself by playing for NLNPI in tournaments.

She's currently in Florida to host her new poker training camp, and while there last month she played in a charity tournament at the Jacksonville Orange Park Kennel Club that benefited her charity as well as several others.

"In choosing what our mission ought to be, I put a lot of thought into what sort of mission would make sense for the poker community to support," Rousso said.

"It came down to the fact that poker consists mainly of people with disposable income or people in the best economic situations. Why not help out the other part of the world? So poverty just sort of made sense in that way."

For more information about the charity, visit NoLimitNoProfit.org.

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Little seeks POY repeat at WPT Foxwoods

In fact, WPT Season 6 Player of the Year Jonathan Little will enter this week's Foxwoods Poker Classic within striking distance of a repeat performance here in Season 7.

Little sits tied for third on the World Poker Tour's Player of the Year leaderboard, his 1,000 POY points just behind John Phan (1,400) and Kathy Liebert (1,300) with only two events left on the schedule.

Players earn points for finishing in the top seven at WPT events, with seventh taking 200 points and first a cool 1,000.

"I'm well aware of [the standings] and getting a fourth-place or higher [finish] will put me in the lead," Little told PokerListings.com. "Hopefully I can make it happen. Winning Player of the Year back to back would be huge."

Little's 1,000 points, ironically, came with his win at Foxwoods' World Poker Finals this past November, a victory that earned the Pensacola, Fla. native a cash reward of $1,120,310.

It was another strong showing for Little, who with two WPT titles and nearly $4 million in career earnings, has cemented his reputation as one of the hottest young talents on the Tour.

"I'm very, very excited about this one," Little said in an interview with PokerListings following the win. "I wasn't really excited about the Mirage one [his first WPT victory], for some reason."

"I mean, I was excited, but this one confirms that I can actually do it again and it's not just a huge luckfest."

Full Tilt's Erik Seidel is actually the Foxwoods Poker Classic returning champ, but it's Little who returns to Connecticut this week with a chance to make history. And he likes his spot.

"Foxwoods is a great place to play poker," Little said. "They have a giant poker room and they always take care of their players."

And the opposition?

"In general, I think the players are worse than the players in Vegas," he said, before suggesting the same is true for every other casino in the world.

"I do think the players [at Foxwoods] are a little more stubborn than normal."

The main event at Foxwoods begins Friday, with the first and only Day 1 getting under way at noon Eastern Time.

Action will continue over the weekend and into next week, with the final table playing out on Wednesday, April 8.

For his part, Little remains realistic about his shot at double POY honors.

"I'm probably one in 50 to take the top four in Foxwoods and one in 100 to take the top five at Bellagio, so I'm probably around 3% to repeat," he said.

Tune in to the PokerListings Live Tournament section all week for a glimpse of FieryJustice in action.

 

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Florida Considers Legalizing No-Limit Poker as Part of Gaming Expansion

If a new proposal in the Florida Senate prevails, true no-limit poker will soon be available at Seminole Tribe resorts and parimutuel outlets across the state. Last week, the Senate unveiled...

Florida to Increase No-Limit Poker Buy-Ins

The US state of Florida currently has one of the most ridiculous rules regarding poker that we’ve ever heard – a $100 maximum buy-in on No-Limit games. Great for $0.25/$0.50, acceptable for $0.5/$1 and annoying for $1/$2. However, this is enforced at ANY limit, even $5/$10.

Poker babes good for the game

There are more than a few women in the game, though, who are challenging that idea.

Vanessa Rousso turned up the heat recently at the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship and in the pages of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.

Tiffany Michelle gained notoriety at the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event as the last woman standing. Now she, Erica Schoenberg and Evelyn Ng are scheduled to do a photo shoot for Knockout Magazine.

They're successful, they're hot, and now people outside the usual poker circle will get to see that poker is no longer just a backroom card game played by old men.

Schoenberg said she thinks it makes a huge difference that a magazine like Knockout would choose to use real female poker players for an issue rather than just hiring models and giving the photo shoot a poker theme.

"If guys want to just see hot girls, they can pick up a Maxim or even a Victoria's Secret catalog, but this way they get to see and hear about real women in the game," Schoenberg said.

"Not all that many young attractive women who play poker are willing to do something like this," Michelle said.

But just getting more young female poker players out in the media could help draw more players to the game, including more women.

"Dealers have told me that more young women would be playing poker today if I'd made the final table at the WSOP," Michelle said.

Just that little extra televised exposure would have seen many more women take a shot at playing. But even the coverage Michelle did get as the last woman standing had an effect.

"I've had a lot of people tell me their wives or girlfriends got more interested in playing poker after seeing me in the WSOP," Michelle said.

Schoenberg agreed that exposure to real female poker players is good for the game and good for women in the game, even if it's through a men's magazine.

"You know you can go look at poker sites online and poker ads that feature beautiful women, and you know they don't actually play," Schoenberg said. "With the magazine, they'll be getting real women who play poker. We really are someone you could be sitting at a table with."

These women have the game, too, as well as the looks at the table.

Michelle has more than $350,000 in tournament winnings in the last couple of years. Her biggest cash is the 2008 Main Event 17th-place finish, but she also has a World Poker Tour cash from 2008 to her credit.

Schoenberg has more than $700,000 in tournament winnings on her poker resume. That includes five WSOP event cashes since 2006 along with five WPT cashes.

Add Evelyn Ng's $340,000 in tournament winnings, and Knockout's summer issue will feature women with nearly $1.5 million in winnings between them.

Rousso has more than $1.3 million in live tournament winnings on her own as well. Some of that comes from her recent second-place finish in the NHUPC. She defeated poker heavyweights such as Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Paul Wasicka and Daniel Negreanu to make it to the final round against Huck Seed.

Her largest cash comes from playing online poker. She took second place in the 2007 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker main event to earn more than $700,000 and boost her earnings up over $2 million.

Her success has led to a GoDaddy.com sponsorship deal as well as to the launch of her own poker tutorial camp in Florida, where she'll be pairing her skills with teachings from The Art of War to give poker lessons.

"The Art of Poker - An Intro to Game Theory and Poker," is put on by Big Slick Boot Camp and has several dates scheduled between now and April 26 in several Florida locations.

"My biggest passion outside of playing poker is in teaching poker strategy," Rousso said. "I love watching that lightbulb go off in my students' minds when they discover something new."

Despite all that experience, it can be hard for a female pro poker player to be taken seriously at the tables.

Rousso said she sometimes feels like she's singled out because she's a woman. She still takes a lot of grief in online poker forums as a woman in poker.

"But in the end, being a woman is definitely to my advantage at the poker table," Rousso said. "I can take advantage of the underestimation and stereotypes that will be attributed to me simply due to my gender."

Michelle agreed there are certain advantages to being an underestimated player at the tables because you're a woman, but in the end, what you want most is to be respected as a player.

"I realize that anything you can do to gain an advantage is good," she said, "but I think at the end of the day we all just want to be seen as good players."

Schoenberg said that getting more women into the game will help bring more respect to all women players in the game.

"Because there aren't as many women in the game as men, the really good players that are out there just don't get noticed," Schoenberg said. "Bringing more women in and making them a bigger part of the game will help with that and continue to bring more respectability to poker in general."

 

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