Poker News

Luke “FullFlush” Schwartz Added to PartyPoker.com Premier League IV Roster

As the PartyPoker.com Premier League IV draws closer, the field of 12 continues to take shape.  On Tuesday, PartyPoker.com announced that poker's newest bad boy, Luke "FullFlush" Schwartz, has been confirmed as the fifth player for the February contest.  Schwartz joins Premier League III winner J.C. Tran, 11-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, World Poker Tour (WPT) Season 7 world champion Yevgeniy "Jovial Gent" Timoshenko, and "Triple Crown" winner Roland de Wolfe in the exclusive event, which will take place February 11th to 18th in Las Vegas.

Schwartz caught the attention of the poker world in 2009 by racking up seven-figure profits online, all the while beating an impressive list of players.  Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond, Brad Booth, Tom "durrrr" Dwan, and David "Raptor" Benefield were among his victims.  Perhaps more than his poker skill, it was his "in your face" personality that really turned heads.  Known to trash talk to his heart's content, Schwartz cemented himself as one of online poker's most controversial figures when he called Dwan and Di "Urindanger" Dang "gay" in a public interview.

In October 2009, Schwartz took his behavior to another level, stealing a sandwich from a food stand after busting out of the European Poker Tour (EPT) London event.  Having been previously banned from Grosvenor Casino properties for not obeying the dress code only to have the ban lifted in time for EPT London, he was banned once again for his actions.

Schwartz may be young, but he is far from intimidated by the already strong field.  "For sure there are some big names playing but I have to be a huge favorite," he told PartyPoker.com.  "They need to know that I’m coming with my sharky hat on and it's gonna be a whole week of soul owning from Full Flush."

"He is poker's new villain, no question about that," Daniel Negreanu once wrote in his blog.

Seven players are yet to be determined and all but one will be hand picked by PartyPoker.com.  The final competitor will be a PartyPoker.com online qualifier.  A total of 16 qualifiers will square off in Las Vegas, battling it out in a series of sit and go tournaments to determine which skilled player will receive the final (and free) seat in the PartyPoker.com Premier League IV.  In addition, PartyPoker.com will evaluate each of the 16 qualifiers and select one to receive a $100,000 sponsorship deal from the site.  While one would assume that the winner will have a leg up on the competition, PartyPoker.com will also consider personality and marketability in addition to poker skill, so even those who do not win the 12th seat will have a chance at the sponsorship deal.

The PartyPoker.com Premier League has a unique format.  The 12 players will compete in a series of six-handed sit and gos, or "heats," with points awarded based on the order of finish.  Once all the heats are completed, the top four point winners will advance to the six-handed Grand Final.  The next four players will face off in heads-up matches to determine the fifth and sixth members of the final table.

With a $100,000 buy-in and $300,000 added by PartyPoker.com, the prize pool for the Premier League IV will be a whopping $1.5 million.  The action, including the battle for the 12th seat, will be televised in Europe, with Team Party's newest member, Kara Scott, serving as host.

Poker Tournament Scene in 1980 by Linda Johnson

I hope you all are enjoying the new year! 2009 ended incredibly well for me at a party at the Spinetti house in Las Vegas. In addition to some top-notch entertainment, hanging out with great friends, and enjoying some delicious food, there was a poker tournament. I managed to hang in long enough to be part of a final table chop and still make it to the rooftop in time to watch the fireworks launched from many of the Strip hotels at the stroke of Midnight.

A post-Midnight conversation among some of the party attendees who are poker dinosaurs like I am had us reminiscing about the differences in poker tournaments from 1980 to 2010. I’m sure some of today’s young players would scoff at the conditions 30 years ago. First of all, we didn’t have all of the conveniences of modern technology such as a tournament clock. Instead of being able to look on a screen and see how much time was left in the round, time was kept on a small timer worn on the tournament director’s lapel. If you wanted to know when the limit was going to go up, you had to hunt down the tournament director and glance at his kitchen timer.

Another big difference in tournaments over the past 30 years is the specific poker game of choice. Many of the tournaments in 1980 were Seven Card Stud or Draw Poker events. Hold’em became popular in the early 1980s and quickly became the favorite tournament game, but of course I’m talking about Limit Hold’em. Other than at the World Series of Poker (WSOP), one could not find a No Limit Hold’em tournament. Around the mid-1980s, Omaha/8 was introduced to Las Vegas and became a popular form of tournament poker, but when I first started playing, Omaha was only known as a city in Nebraska.

In 1980, there weren’t nearly as many tournaments to choose from as there are today. Card rooms in Las Vegas usually spread one or two tournaments a week and the buy-ins were low - $22, $33, $44, or occasionally $55. There was only one $10,000 buy-in a year and it was the Main Event of the WSOP. There was no World Poker Tour (WPT). There were no such things as what I call “tournament mills” – card rooms that offer four or more tournaments in a day.

Today’s youngsters would laugh to learn how few chips we used to get in tournaments. There was no such thing as “deep-stack” events; if you paid $400 to enter a WSOP event, for example, you would start with $400 in tournament chips.

Tournament conditions have changed quite a bit in the past 30 years. If you couldn’t tolerate smoke, you couldn’t play, since every card room allowed smoking. I can remember how brutal it was to be stuck between two smokers for hours at a time. The atmosphere wasn’t nearly as pleasant 30 years ago as it is today. There was no penalty system for abuse, so you had to have thick skin to play. Some players didn’t respect dealers and they had to get used to bobbing and weaving as cards were thrown at them.

All of this contributed to having very few women play in the old days. Today, of course, almost every card room in the world is non-smoking, abuse has been greatly curtailed, and there are lots of women who enjoy a very non-threatening poker environment.

There was no such thing as the Tournament Director’s Association (TDA) in 1980. Tournament rules were far from standard, so every time you went to a different locale, you had to ask how many raises were permitted, whether they used a forward-moving or a dead button, etc. Players were allowed to expose cards to get a read on their opponents. They could even discuss the contents of their hands. You didn’t have to table your cards when you were all-in with no more action possible. Today’s players take for granted that TDA rules apply in almost every tournament venue in the country.

One of the rules that I was instrumental in changing through the power of the pen as publisher of CardPlayer was in regards to the chip race. In the 1980s, when it was time to color up, players received one card for each odd chip, just like they do today. However, instead of coloring up the odd chips into higher denomination chips and then giving a maximum of one chip per player, the player who ended up with the highest card at the table received all of the new higher value chips.

Getting the high card could affect the outcome of the event since it was such a huge win. For example, if they were coloring up 23 $100 chips, one player would get $2,500, which often was more than the starting chip stack. In today’s events, five players would each get one $500 chip instead of one player getting all five $500 chips.

In 1980, we played poker. There was no tweeting at the table, no iPods, and no cell phones. Sometimes I miss the good old days. Happy 2010!

Aria Poker Room Manager Recaps First Three Weeks

Recently opening on the Las Vegas Strip was CityCenter, an MGM Mirage creation that includes the Aria Resort and Casino. Within the friendly confines of Aria is its poker room, which debuted amid an economic downswing. Nevertheless, it has received high marks and features a high-limit gaming area that may soon be named after Phil Ivey. Poker News Daily sat down with Adam Altwies, Aria’s Poker Room Manager, to recap its first three weeks in operation.

Poker News Daily: Thanks for joining us. Talk about the daily tournaments at Aria and what your setup is for cash games.

Adam Altweis: We didn’t get our daily tournament going until about two weeks later in order to open up. The daily tournament starts at 11:15am and it’s $120. It has a great structure; players get 8,000 in chips and levels are 30 minutes long. It’s typical of what the Bellagio might be offering in terms of structure, but it has a lower buy-in. We have 24 tables in total. Eighteen are on the main floor, five are in a back high-limit area, and one is exclusive to a very high-limit game.

PND: What were your expectations for opening night?

Adam Altweis: We didn’t know. As a new room, we had an idea of what we wanted to spread, but after time, you have to figure out what games your customers want to play. The room was created for the player. The top-level executives really created the room for the players and made my job a lot easier in that respect. If you take a look at the room, it’s situated next to the Skybox Grille. We can offer tableside food service from anywhere, but that’s the biggest one we use. It’s next door, the prices are good, and the food is great. We also have the Roasted Bean, which is a coffee shop. The self-parking lot and main valet lead right into the poker room. It’s all very convenient.

PND: Address the room’s high noise level, which was one of the only complaints we’ve heard.

Adam Altweis: I’ve addressed that issue. Any time you have a main door, you have slot machines because you want to attract customers. It’s also the main line of traffic up to our Elvis show. In the beginning, it was loud. What made my job easy was that it was a simple phone call to fix. Our slots are all server-based, which means that our guys can hop on a server and turn the noise down. They did it for us, which is a testament to MGM Mirage. I’ve worked here for seven years and everyone works with each other. Each manager and each department makes a concerted effort to work with each other.

PND: What high-stakes poker can visitors to Aria expect?

Adam Altweis: We hope to get a lot more. We’ve had a couple of $150/$300 games in here as well as $40/$80. We also have a $20/$40 Mixed Game, which we want to keep going. We’ve seen a trend in this market where No Limit Hold’em is still the staple at $1/$3, $2/$5, $5/$10, and $10/$20, but a lot more players are looking to expand.

PND: How is Aria able to differentiate itself from the competition?

Adam Altweis: The room. It’s comfortable for players. There’s space in between the tables so that players can move around. We have sculptures, which are aesthetically soothing. We have a player paging system that allows us to text message people on the wait list, so when your name comes up, you’ll get a text message. We also have the capability to let customers know when a game is being started. When a dealer sits down, we can send out a notification that the game is live at Aria. We’re going to be utilizing Twitter and Facebook a lot more in the future. I’m a big proponent of letting us know what’s going on. We want people to tell us what’s good or bad.

PND: Have there been talks about partnering with a group like Dream Team Poker to bring a unique event to Aria?

Adam Altweis: That’s what’s great about being new – we’re open to everything. Right now, we’re not aligned with anyone, so we can listen to everyone. We want a televised event, whether it is a tournament or a late night show. I can pretty much guarantee that we’ll get some televised event, hopefully by the end of the year.

PND: Talk about opening a massive casino and poker room like Aria in the midst of a severe economic downturn.

Adam Altweis: We had a poker boom a few years ago. Everyone was opening up a room. Now, it’s slid back a bit, but we opened one anyway. We opened up a room at the best time possible because we got to pick the best of the best in the industry for our staff. It’s a very unique situation. If we were still in the poker boom, we would have had to hire dealers right out of school and it would take a tremendous amount of time to get the room where we wanted it to be.

PND: What’s an average day like for a poker room manager?

Adam Altweis: On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, I’m taking care of administrative things and come in around 9:00am or 10:00am. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are big customer days, so I stay late, talk to customers, and ask them what we can do to better our room. My day is full and I wouldn’t want it any other way. I love dealing with customers, employees, guests, the media, and everyone else. This is my love. It’s been my passion since I was 17.

I Raise You a Cart Full of Groceries by Lee Jones

It was a typical evening of cards at Gil’s house. Gil is the regular host of my local poker game and he does it spectacularly well. The game starts on time and ends on time (for those folks saddled with real j*bs).  He’s got a great sound system and the tunes range from Massive Attack to George Jones; you don’t know what you’re going to hear, but you know it’s going to be good.

It’s $1-$1 No Limit Hold’em with two inviolate rules: (1) no discussing religion and (2) no discussing politics. We all know that such discussions can destroy a perfectly convivial poker game and any time the conversation strays in that direction, people are quick to put a stop to it. The game – the camaraderie – is far too important to threaten when a political debate turns personal.

Anyway, Gil’s game has been running for a few years and it’s not hard to see why. The people are wonderful, generous, and kind to each other. In my short tenure in the game, I’ve become close friends with a number of them; I count myself incredibly fortunate to settle into a chair in Gil’s basement once a week.

I had been up and down throughout the game. I got ahead a couple hundred fairly early, but then gave it back in a poorly played semi-bluff. Then, I managed to win back a couple of pots that got me back up about $100; that’s when the grocery hand broke out.

Tom, on my left, was dealing. A couple of people called the $1 blind. I raised to $4 with pocket eights – I thought it would get me the button and if I hit something, there would be a nice pot to win. Tom folded, as he should have, but I still ended up with three or four opponents. I slid my cards over to Tom so he could sweat along with me. I mean, the flop was coming K-Q-2 and I would be done with the hand anyway.

Tom is one of those dealers who puts the flop out one card at a time. The first card he put on the felt was an eight. So much for the “fold to the first bet” plan.

The bad news was that the next two cards were a nine and a jack. I might already be in trouble and with $300 to $400 stacks in front of many of us, this had the makings of the biggest pot of the night.

Chris, who had defended his blind, fired $26 into the pot. Odd bet – maybe 20% bigger than the pot. Parker, in middle position, called pretty quickly. Wow – things were getting interesting. I had no intention of letting a cheap straight card peel off the turn and I thought that either of them would have checked a flopped straight to me hoping that I’d continuation-bet it. On the other hand, I was not giving any cheap straight-making cards: “Buck and a quarter,” I said.

Chris immediately folded, which fascinated me. I meant to ask him later what he’d made that play with, but now Parker went into the tank. That’s when I noticed that he had only about $140 left in front of him. If he called here, the rest of the money was going in on the turn. It was clear he had a difficult decision; I was 100% sure that I was in front.

“I call,” he sighed. To avoid giving away anything, I looked directly at Parker as Tom put out the turn card. He looked at the card and shrugged. “I’m all-in.” Almost afraid to see what the card was, I glanced at the board. A queen. If Parker had made the call with an open-end straight draw, I now had ten outs. But his all-in was $40 and there was nearly $300 in the pot; behind or not, folding was not in my list of options. “Sure Parker, I call.” I turned up my eights and he winced. He had Q-J and had turned two pair.

The river did not bring Parker’s four-outer or a pot-splitting ten and I scooped an almost $400 pot. The game ended not too long after that and I left with a healthy profit.

I had to stop by the grocery store to get some staples – the weather was warning of a potent snowstorm moving in. As I walked into the nearly deserted store, I saw, near the registers, the barrel for the local food bank. Like so many food banks in our country, their donations are down and requests for assistance are up. People who used to contribute to the food bank are now going to it for groceries.

The donation barrel was empty.

I thought about that and Parker’s $100 call of my raise. My shopping plans changed. The front “kid carrier” part of the cart was all I needed for my items; I decided to fill the rest of the cart with non-perishables: Beans, rice, mac and cheese, powdered milk, healthy cereal, oatmeal, grits, peanut butter, and canned vegetables. This was fun.

I got to the cashier and asked him to ring up the front half of the cart separately for my tax receipt. As the total climbed on the register display and the front half of the cart was emptied, I started to chuckle; when he hit the “Total” key, I laughed out loud – it was $101.64. I had a put a soul-read on a grocery cart full of food.

The cashier and I rolled the cart over to the donation barrel. The last two bags we put in perched above its rim. Parker will be tickled when he reads this – he’ll be proud of where his money went.

I will certainly have the opportunity to make some bad semi-bluffs in Gil’s game in the future and there will be times when those six-outers come in against me. But last night, I turned a flopped set into a cart full of groceries for the Manna Food Bank. That’s +EV right there.

Lee Jones is the Card Room manager of Cake Poker and has been in the online poker business for over six years. He is also the author of “Winning Low Limit Hold’em,” which is still in publication over 15 years since its initial release.

L.A. Kings Host Poker Tournament

Taking place at Nokia Plaza the L.A. Kings Alumni 2010 Tournament will feature former Kings Marty McSorley, Ian Turnbull, Daryl Evans, Glen Murray, Brad Norton, Pete Demers and all-time leading scorer Luc Robitaille.

The tournament kicks off at 4 p.m. and anyone can buy in for $200 and rub shoulders with some of the NHL’s greatest players.

When you buy in you also receive two premier level tickets to Kings vs. St. Louis Blues on Jan. 9, a $25 Food Voucher for ESPN Zone and $50 free play from San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino, which is sponsoring the tournament.

Meanwhile, the top prizes in the tournament include two tickets to a Kings game, dinner for two in the San Manuel Club, VIP passes for the game, post-game meet and greet with the team and a team autographed jersey.

It’s not the first time a poker tournament has been held featuring NHL players.

This summer the World Series of Poker hosted the NHL Charity Shootout which included a number of current NHL superstars including Alexander Ovechkin, Roberto Loungo, Mike Richards and Scotty Hartnell.

Visit PokerListings.com

South Carolina Attorney General Appeals Poker Skill Game Ruling

The fight for five poker players in South Carolina is far from over. According to the Associated Press, the state’s Attorney General will appeal the October ruling that Texas Hold’em, the world’s premier poker genre, is a skill game.

It’s a familiar debate as the poker industry enters 2010. Is Texas Hold’em a game of skill or is it ultimately determined by chance? South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster filed an appeal with the state’s Supreme Court, the Associated Press explained on Thursday: “McMaster's appeal says he doesn't think whether there is skill or just chance involved has anything to do with lawmakers' attempt to ban gambling. The attorney general skipped the Court of Appeals and filed with the state Supreme Court, saying the question deals with the constitution's wording on gambling.”

Five poker players were charged in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina back in 2006. According to the favorable ruling by Judge Markley Dennis in October, the buy-ins for a weekly home game in the South Carolina town varied between $5 and $20. The small blind was $0.25 and the big blind was $0.50, with pots ranging between $5 and $10. Fifty cents was taken from several pots in order to provide food and drink for players, but the “house” did not profit from the game.

The game got ugly on April 12th, 2006, when police officers raided it and began arresting participants on the grounds that they were playing in a “house used as a place of gambling.” The defendants, under the guidance of the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), argued that poker is a game of skill, not chance, and therefore did not constitute illegal gambling. The trial court heard the case in February, which featured World Poker Tour (WPT) host Mike Sexton recap hands played on the roving tournament series to demonstrate poker’s skill component.

Dr. Robert Hannum was also brought in to testify last February. The October ruling explains, “Dr. Hannum also testified that a statistical analysis of professional poker players demonstrated that past performance was a reliable indicator of future success, establishing that the skill of the player was the predominant factor in determining wins and losses.” The lower court ruled that poker was a game of skill. However, because South Carolina’s laws were vague on whether that mattered, the five defendants were found guilty.

An appeal was filed, setting up October’s ruling. Judge Dennis candidly explained, “This Court agrees with Appellants that the South Carolina Supreme Court, if faced with the question, would adopt the dominant factor test for the purpose of defining gambling.” He added, “It should also be noted that the South Carolina Attorney General has consistently applied the dominant factor test when providing opinions about whether certain activities are legal.”

Judge Dennis harped on the overwhelmingly broad nature of South Carolina’s gambling statute, which could be construed to mean that nearly any game played with cards or dice is illegal. Judge Dennis specifically called out Bunco, Go Fish, and Solitaire as possible infractions of state law, saying, “Simply put, [the law], as written, has the potential to make criminals of virtually every man, woman, and child in the state of South Carolina.” Twenty of the original defendants pled guilty to gambling charges, while five fought against the state.

According to the Charleston Post and Courier newspaper, the filing by the Attorney General was 57 pages long and McMaster is a Republican candidate for Governor. The Courier revealed, “No timetable has been set on when the case will be heard, and more rounds of legal filings are expected. The legislature is expected to take up a bill legalizing social card games next year.”

Mike Sexton Tall Tales by Linda Johnson

I’ve had lots of highlights in my poker career, but attending the dinner and ceremony during which Mike Sexton was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame is certainly among the highest. By now, I’m sure you know that Sexton was the only one who got inducted this year. If I were a betting woman, I’d bet that he got the nod from 100% of the voting media and living Hall of Fame members.

I was thrilled for Mike and honored when he called to let me know that he was the 2009 Poker Hall of Fame inductee. The night before the induction, I went to a private party at Mike’s house. Tales from Mike’s earlier days were being tossed about and this one was my favorite. When Mike was fairly new to Las Vegas, his longtime relationship with Chip Reese and Danny Robinson led to him hang out with many of the high-limit players at that time.

He met Puggy Pearson through Chip and Danny. Puggy was a “hustler” and eventually Mike and he made arrangements to play backgammon at a local bar for some fairly high stakes. By the time they actually played, Mike was, as he said, “between bankrolls.” He was a bit concerned that there might be some trouble if he lost because he couldn’t pay Puggy that night, so he asked his brother Tom to go with him in case things got out of hand. Puggy won the first few matches and had Mike stuck about $1,000. Puggy then said, “Son, I think we should settle up every time the figure gets to be $1,000, so pay me now and then we can continue to play.” Uh-oh… bad beat for Mike!

He looked at Puggy and said, “Well, I hate to say this, but I didn’t bring any money with me tonight. You know I’m good for it though.” Puggy then glared at Mike for about two minutes before breaking out into laughter. “What’s so funny?” asked Mike. Puggy replied, “Well son, I didn’t know what to do if I lost. I didn’t bring any money either.”

We swapped Sexton stories. I recalled the most exciting bet I’d ever been involved in: In 1998, Sexton, Bonnie Damiano, Jan Fisher, and I made a $5,000 bet with Erik Seidel that we could pick the winner of the WSOP Main Event if we got to choose 60 players. Erik would get the field versus our 60 players. Additionally, he was allowed to select 10 players that would be considered neutral, so if any of those people won, the bet would be a push.

This was a huge bet for us at the time, so Bonnie, Mike, Jan, and I met every day during the WSOP to modify our list. We would add players based on who was playing well and delete names of those who were having personal problems, money problems, doing drugs, etc. The final list that we turned in to Erik on the morning before the Main Event started looked nothing like the list we had originally concocted. To our dismay, there was a large number of entrants that year, 350 to be exact, which meant that after ruling out ten neutral players, we had 60 players against Erik’s 280.

Our dismay turned to joy as the field narrowed. We were already counting our winnings because there was one spoiler for us, Kevin McBride, who no one had even heard of before the final event. T.J. Cloutier was at the final table, but was a neutral player, so if he won, the bet would be a push. We had Scotty Nguyen, Lee Salem, and Dewey Weum on our list. I give Mike extreme credit for such great handicapping since back in those days, no one would have picked those three guys. When we heard Scotty’s words, “Call this baby and it’s all over,” it was music to our ears!

The Rio hosted a first-class affair for Mike’s induction. The decorations and the food in the Brasilia Room were impressive. Mike’s wife, Karen, and his 16-month old, Ty, were there as well as a veritable "who’s who" of poker.

In Mike’s acceptance speech, he credited the eight other nominees and then thanked some people who had helped him along in his career. Mike acknowledged that I was the one who gave him his start when I hired him to write a column for CardPlayer. That gave him exposure to the world, which ended up in him getting a call from Ruth Parisol to come help to India to help get an online site off the ground. That company turned out to be Party Gaming, which eventually sold for about $9 billion when it went public.

What Mike didn’t mention on his special night was that in the beginning, PartyPoker wasn’t all roses. Mike had encouraged PartyPoker to hire me as one of its spokespeople to add credibility to the site. Party definitely needed that credibility since there were problems with the software in the early stages. Mike and I went on public forums to soothe the naysayers and encouraged everyone to trust the site and give it time to fix the glitches. The players hung in there and the software became the best at that time.

Next, Mike came up with the idea for the PartyPoker Million. He had a vision that called for players to qualify online in $22 buy-in tournaments and then those players would win a cabin on a cruise ship and a shot at a $1 million prize pool. The only problem was that he needed someone to guarantee the $1 million. Card Player Cruises stepped up to the plate and made the guarantee. My word that the money would be paid was good enough to get lots of players to qualify. Unfortunately, not enough players qualified, so Card Player Cruises had to make up the $400,000 deficit. The Party Poker Million cruise launched with Kathy Liebert winning the first event.

Mike told some great stories at his induction and as usual, the audience was mesmerized.  I’ve known Mike for 20 years and cherish our friendship. Way to go, Mike!

Annie Duke Launches MyMixedNuts.com

Poker players looking for a last-minute present this Christmas season can check out MyMixedNuts.com, a custom, mail order trail mix company brought to life by Poker News Daily Guest Columnist and “Celebrity Apprentice” runner-up Annie Duke.

MyMixedNuts.com allows customers – poker players and non-poker players alike – to choose from a wide variety of fresh ingredients to create the ultimate bag of trail mix. Ingredients available in the “Seeds and Nuts” section of the site’s store include almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, peanuts, soy nuts, sunflower seeds, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, and pecans. In the “Dry Goods” department, poker players craving foodstuffs like apples, apricots, bananas, blueberries, cherries, coconut, cranberries, dates, figs, ginger, goji berries, mango, orange peel, papaya, pineapple, and raisins will go home happy.

When Poker News Daily visited the site, we went straight to the “Goodies” section, where we could add “healthy” items like chocolate covered fruit, chocolate chips, malt balls, jelly beans, licorice, pretzels, M&Ms, Reese’s Pieces, and sesame seeds. Each trail mix ingredient varies in price and is measured by the ounce, ranging primarily between about $0.50 and $1.50. An easy-to-use front-end interface allows trail mix aficionados to create their ultimate concoction from the comfort of their couches.

A variety of pre-made mixes can be purchased for those who do not wish to create their own. “Annie’s Mix,” which includes raw cashews, raisins, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and banana chips, runs $12.99 for a 14-ounce bag, with $1 of every purchase going to Ante Up for Africa, a charity she founded along with actor Don Cheadle and Norman Epstein. Gummy fans can purchase a pre-made mix called “Gummy Delicious,” which contains sunny bears, dark chocolate chips, sour cherries, roasted and salted almonds, raw macadamia nuts, and golden raisins. This tasty treat will set you back $14.99. Sunny bears, by the way, are vegetarian and organic versions of the traditional junk food item.

Duke told Poker News Daily that when she used to purchase trail mix from the grocery store, she’d pick through it, tossing out components that did not sit well with her and leading to the idea to launch MyMixedNuts.com. Duke teamed up with “Apprentice” producer Ryan Simpkins and boyfriend Joe Reitman, with Simpkins’ mother handling the day-to-day operations of the site. Text found on MyMixedNuts.com explains, “You would understand that his mom must be supremely qualified to handle nutcases, so Annie and Joe were sold on the idea. Susan would handle each order with care and love.”

Free shipping is available for orders that surpass $40 and the site accepts PayPal, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express. It became a reality in recent days and will seek to make its mark on the made-to-order food world. Poker players looking for a memorable Christmas gift, New Years’ treat, or Valentine’s Day present can even get their loved ones a Mix of the Month Club subscription or a copy of the latest Land of Fruit and Nuts newsletter.

Duke is a sponsored pro of UB.com, joining top-tier names like 11-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, “Poker2Nite” host Joe Sebok, and 2009 CardPlayer Player of the Year winner Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin, who joined the site on Tuesday. UB.com happily accepts players from the United States and makes its home on the CEREUS Network along with its sister site, Absolute Poker.

Duke finished as the runner-up on “Celebrity Apprentice” to comedian Joan Rivers, who compared the poker pro to Hitler on several occasions. Nevertheless, Duke helped raise well over $700,000 for Refugees International and will now put her business acumen to good use with MyMixedNuts.com.

Happy Holidays from all of us at Poker News Daily.

Aria Casino Las Vegas Opens New Poker Room

The much-anticipated City Center project is finally open in Las Vegas and the poker world has been turning out in droves to check out the 24-table poker room in the new Aria Casino.  Aria is one of the six major buildings within the City Center complex and the only one to house a casino.  The multi-billion dollar complex also includes Vdara, a 57-story hotel and condominium complex, Mandarin Oriental, a smaller hotel and condo complex, and Crystals, a 50,000 square foot shopping and entertainment center.

City Center officially opened its doors to the public on December 16th and, within minutes of setting up shop, players were lining up for the poker games inside.  The main poker area consists of 18 tables that spread games like $1/$3 and $2/$5 No Limit Hold’em and $3/$6 Limit Hold’em.  The early nights in the poker room also saw $4/$8 Omaha High-Low and other mixed games being played.

The remaining six tables are divided between a high-limit gaming area in the back of the poker room and a one-table VIP lounge that is housed in its own room.  The high-limit area is located in a raised area with curtains used to drown out the sound of the casino machines and passers-by.  In the early goings, the high-limit area has been used for $5/$10 No Limit Hold’em and other bigger limit games.

Fans of Bobby’s Room at the Bellagio will be happy to hear there is an equivalent in the Aria poker room and it has already been put to use.  Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte, David Benyamine, Tom “durrrr” Dwan, and Patrik Antonius were all spotted playing in the secluded VIP lounge on Thursday evening, the day after the casino opened.  While the room is semi-private, ogling railbirds can get a peek at their favorite high-stakes players through the glass front door.  According to one of the employees at Aria, Phil Ivey is currently in talks to loan his name to the room in the same fashion that Bobby Baldwin did at the Bellagio, so news of big games being played in “Phil’s Room” could be on the horizon.

A number of poker pros have taken time to check out the new poker room, including Jimmy “gobboboy” Fricke and UB.com sponsored pro Bryan “badbeatninja” Devonshire.  Both had generally positive remarks about the new room and they took the time to relay their sentiments to Poker News Daily.

“I was impressed,” Devonshire admitted.  “I felt like I was in a cozy, futuristic lodge.”  Devonshire is referring to the somewhat space-age design of the Aria Casino.  The casino was built with the intention of being as green as possible and, unlike other properties on the Strip, Aria utilizes available natural light during daytime hours to cut down on energy consumption.

Fricke also had positive things to say, noting, “The poker room is pretty good.”  He did have one small complaint: “The one big problem I have is that the cell service is terrible.”  Others voiced similar frustrations with reception in the room, but the problem appears to be specific to certain carriers.

Another frustration voiced by players is the noise level at the tables in the main area of the poker room.  While the poker area is set off from the rest of the casino with a low fence-like wall and large columns decorated with gold playing cards, the foot traffic and noise from the slot machines made it slightly difficult to hear the action.  The poker room staff is aware of the situation and is already taking steps to mitigate the volume.

When Poker News Daily paid a visit to the new room, the emphasis on service was apparent.  There was a short wait for $1/ $3 No Limit Hold’em, but everyone was being seated in a relatively short amount of time and the use of chip runners helped to speed up the process even further.  Beverage service is currently available and food service is said to be coming in the near future.

Harrah’s Releases 2010 WSOP Schedule

The 41^st edition of the prestigious series will run May 27-July 17, 2010, at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

The number of events remains unchanged from last year with buy-ins ranging from $1,000 all the way up to $50,000 for the Player’s Championship.

“Whatever your game and whatever your bankroll, the 2010 WSOP schedule offers something for everyone,” said WSOP tournament director Jack Effel. “We are planning for the largest WSOP ever and look forward to welcoming all players to the Rio in Las Vegas this summer.”

The 2010 WSOP will culminate with the $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em World Championship, which begins July 5 and will reach a final table on July 17.

For the third consecutive year, the final nine players will take a four month long break before reconvening as the November Nine on Nov. 6-9 to play out the final table.

The series will begin with the $50k Player’s Championship on Friday, May 28^th, although players will also have the option of a two-day $1,000 Hold’em tournament that also begins that weekend. There will be a $1,000 two-day Hold’em event in every one of the series’ first five weekends and one more on July 1-2.

The $50K Player’s Championship will effectively replace the $50K H.O.R.S.E. event by adding 2-7 Triple Draw, No-Limit Hold’em and Pot-Limit Hold’em to the mix of games.

The winner will still receive the Chip Reese memorial trophy.

Meanwhile H.O.R.S.E. lovers will benefit from the addition of $10,000 Championship H.O.R.S.E. event in lieu of the former $50k event.

Also new for the year is a $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em Six-Max event, which should draw elite rounders from around the globe.

The rest of the schedule remains largely unchanged with notable tournaments like the Ladies event, Seniors event and Ante Up for Africa all returning.

For the first time ever, the entire convention center at the Rio will be used exclusively for the World Series of Poker with tournaments tables in the 58,000 square foot Pavilion and 38,000 square foot Amazon Room.

The food tent will also see changes as it now becomes an indoor food court in the Miranda Room.

In 2009, the WSOP drew 60,875 players from 115 different counties with $175 million up for grabs.

Pre-registration for the 2010 WSOP is now available on-site at the Main Cage in the Rio and online at WSOP.com.

Click here to see the complete 2010 WSOP schedule.

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An Inconvenient Truth of the Poker Industry

With the upcoming Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen next week, the topic of the environment has never been hotter.

The common assumption is poker players know how to protect a stack of chips and think of little else, let alone the environment.

In most cases, that may be not far from the truth, but should it be?

With the growing threat of global warming and climate change, poker players are not exempt from having to care about the environmental consequences of their actions.

And if you’ve ever been around a major poker tournament, you know the poker community has room to move when it comes to reducing its environmental impact.

The Big Picture

With hundreds of major tournaments around the world, the poker industry is a prominent offender when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions.

Perhaps no more than any other travel or sports industry, but between flights, rental cars and straight-up energy consumption in casinos around the world, it’s safe to say there’s a surprising volume of negative environmental issues involved with simply playing cards.

Poker tournaments generate a large amount of waste. Disposable plates, food wrappers, cigarette butts, soda and water bottles are just the beginning.

Combine this with a lack of proper recycling programs in Las Vegas and most casinos around the world, and the landfills get a little larger with every one.

Of course, bringing a few thousand people to one location for any big event will likely create a similar amount of waste.

But that’s no excuse for poker players, according to Kristen Ostling, Communications Specialist in Climate Change for the world-renowned David Suzuki Foundation.

“This is the way of the future and not just for individuals,” said Ostling. “Businesses, organizations and individuals should all be looking at ways to reduce their carbon output. It’s also good for the bottom line in terms of dollars in most cases.”

Airline flights are among the fastest growing sources of global warming gases and air travel is a necessary evil on the world’s poker tours.

EPT Prague drew 555 players in 2007, but fewer than 20 actually resided in the Czech Republic. 

Even if every player were to fly from relatively close Barcelona, Spain to the event, almost 150 tons of carbon dioxide would be created.

Long-haul flights are one of the worst violators in terms of carbon emissions and a trip to Melbourne, Australia from North America for the Aussie Millions could conceivably use up an entire year of sustainable per-person emissions in just one flight.

“From a green perspective it’s good to do things online, but obviously sometimes you can’t beat face-to-face interaction,” Ostling said.  “The first thing a business has to do is make an assessment of what kind of environmental impact they are having.”

One suggestion Ostling has for the jet setting poker player is to buy carbon offsets to lessen the impact.

A carbon offset is essentially a certificate that represents a reduction of carbon emissions. Concerned individuals can buy a wide-variety of carbon offsets ranging from solar-power generators in India to reforestation or tree-planting in Ecuador.

Organizations like the World Wildlife Fund and the David Suzuki Foundation offer comprehensive guides on buying carbon offsets and buying enough could make it possible for even a well-travelled poker pro to achieve carbon neutrality.

The View from the Poker Industry

It’s impossible to consider the environmental impact of the poker industry and not start with Las Vegas.

Vegas is the Mecca of the poker world and a flashy, 24-hour city in the desert is obviously a hard sell when it comes to environmental sustainability.

A number of studies have ranked Nevada near the bottom of environmentally conscious states, and water consumption always seems to be a hot topic.

In 2008, environmental blog Treehugger ran a story claiming the Las Vegas strip could run dry by 2021 citing a recent study by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography estimating there is a 50% chance the city will run out of water if no significant cutbacks are made.

Combine water consumption with the sheer amount of electricity it takes to run the Strip and you’re looking at a city that’s universally frowned upon by environmentalists.

Despite the bad reputation, there have been some efforts in Las Vegas to go greener.

In 2009, Harrah’s announced it was joining Dell, Starbucks and Wrigley as founding members of the Team Earth initiative aiming to unite businesses, non-profits, scientists, educators and individuals to address pressing environmental issues.

In 2008, Harrah’s also began offering carbon offsets to its customers to help reduce the environmental impact of taking a Las Vegas vacation.

Plus, the massive 16,797,000-square-foot CityCenter development, set to finally open its doors this winter, appears to be going green.

Despite the considerable environmental impact of such a large casino, hotel, retail and residential project, the development was recently given a gold rating by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council.

CityCenter will use reclaimed water, an onsite power plant and other green technologies that are estimated to save the equivalent of 7,700 homes worth of energy, making it one of the largest sustainable developments in history.

There are also a few businesses trying to carve out a niche in the poker world with eco-friendly poker products.

Eric Hansel runs EGM Green, which he jokingly refers to as the only “green” company in poker. His company produces a variety of environmentally-conscious gambling products including poker tables, craps tables and lounge furniture.

Each table is made with 96-97% naturally sustainable materials and 100% post-industry recycled synthetic fiber. Harrah’s allowed EGM Green display one of its tables at the 2008 WSOP to mixed reactions.

“I think the macro view is that poker players don’t care about the environment, but there are some that do,” he said.  “It’s steadily been getting better over the last two years. We keep letting players know they don’t have to give up luxury to buy a green poker table.”

Earlier this year, the company won an International Gaming Award for being the most eco-friendly in the industry.

“Sustainability will change the way casinos run,” Hansel said. “There’s no way the casinos of 10 years ago can operate 10 years from now.”

The View from the Players

Contrary to popular opinion, it’s not all $1,000-bottles-of-Cristal ballers and high-stakes prima donnas blowing through money in the poker world.

Several noted poker pros are personally involved in environmental work.

Full Tilt pro David Singer, a WSOP bracelet winner, had a brief career as a lawyer at a non-profit environmental organization before getting into poker.

“I sometimes joke that I was going to save the world, but now I take people’s money,” said Singer.

Considering the self-serving nature of the game, it’s easy to see why some players are naturally apathetic to causes like the environment. But Singer said the poker world isn’t that different from the general public.

“I think poker players run the gamut of being concerned about global warming to not really caring about it,” he said. “Yesterday I was in Bobby’s Room and I overheard Prahlad Friedman telling Daniel Negreanu that golf courses are generally bad for the environment. At least they were talking about it in a positive way and voicing their concerns.”

But the week before, Singer said there was also a guy in Bobby’s Room who didn’t understand why Al Gore had received the Nobel Peace Prize for his environmental work.

However, Singer believes poker players can help the environmental cause.

“Poker players bring a unique perspective because they are good at strategizing and environmental organizations can always use volunteers to help plan campaigns,” he said. “There are also some poker players who are lucky and have a decent amount of money and donating to these organizations is always helpful.”

Singer agreed carbon offsets can be a viable option for the jet set and that volunteering for environmental groups is almost always a good idea.

Fellow Full Tilt pro Amanda Baker is heavily involved with wildlife and environmental conservation while Team PokerStars pro Humberto Brenes works with the PRETOMA Shark Conversation program, an organization dedicated to protecting sharks in their natural habitat.

Singer reiterated the common ecological notion that everything starts with the individual – even in poker.

“What I would say to people is to just start something,” he said. “Even if you think it’s just a drop in the bucket. Personally I think the only way we’re going to get around global warming is if everyone’s attitude changes.

“If we keep going the way we’re going we’re headed for a disaster.”

This is a brief introduction to world of environmentalism, sustainability and the poker industry. For more information please check out the links presented below:

Links:

World Wildlife Foundation

http://www.worldwildlife.org/

David Suzuki Foundation

http://www.davidsuzuki.or

EGM Green

http://www.egmgreen.com/index.html

Treehugger

http://www.treehugger.com/

Guide to carbon offsets

http://www.davidsuzuki.org/Climate_Change/What_You_Can_Do/carbon_offsets.asp

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Top Poker Pros Discuss What They Are Thankful For

Most Americans spent Thanksgiving Day huddled around the dinner table, noshing on roasted turkey, stuffing, potatoes, gravy, and a variety of desserts. Poker News Daily was able to talk to several pros to hear what they are thankful for.

Many poker players took the day off from the tables to spend time with their families. Beth Shak was quite reflective when she said, “I’m thankful for my health and the heath of my family. I’m thankful for the love from my family and friends. I’m thankful for love and laughter in my life.”

Even those who may not have originally called the United States home were able to get in on the tradition with their families and bring some of their own flair to the holiday. Marco Traniello, who sat in on Thanksgiving with wife Jennifer Harman and their children, noted, “We are very thankful for our wonderful family and friends that we have. This year, though, we substituted the turkey with an authentic Pilgrim’s dish… lasagna!”

There was even more fun in the Joe Sebok household, as one of the wittiest poker players in the game today commented on his Thanksgiving by saying, “I am so thankful for all of my peeps that I am close with, all the opportunities that I have been given this year, and yes, even the crazy world of poker that I have found myself in somehow.” After a moment of pause, Sebok added, “Oh, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, too!”

Some of the pros in the poker community talked about their activities on Turkey Day. Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little headed to the ski slopes instead of watching football and commented, “I was planning on working out, but I can hardly move from skiing. I think I will have enough time to crawl to the tournament at Bellagio,” where the Five Diamond World Poker Classic will begin. Pamela Brunson thought about all the food she ate when she said, “I gobble gobbled but good! Time to start a new exercise regime! I’m starting by two-steppin’ on Friday!”

In the end, all of the players – and many Americans themselves – thought of those who couldn’t be with those they love. Eric Mizrachi, gathering with the Mizrachi clan, said, “I’m thankful for what all the people did to have such a nice country that we are living in today. I’m proud to be an American and at least I know I’m free!” The effervescent Absolute Poker pro Lacey Jones enthusiastically responded to Poker News Daily, “I’m thankful for our troops! And I want to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!”

Poker News Daily wants to thank all those who responded and join with them by wishing everyone the happiest of Thanksgivings.

Poker Community Celebrates Thanksgiving

If you hail from the United States, this weekend is a time for family, food, shopping, and some nice downtime from the stresses of life.  If you’re a poker player, it is also time to squeeze in a tournament, be it in Costa Rica, Las Vegas, Atlantic City, or Los Angeles and put in some extra time at the tables in between bites of turkey.

Players like Jean-Robert Bellande, Jon “pokertrip” Friedberg, David “Bakes” Baker, and Team PokerStars Pro Maria “Maridu” Mayrinck decided to escape the cold weather and squeeze in a tropical vacation shortly before the holiday, flying out to Costa Rica to take part in the Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT) event.  Meanwhile, other players like Eric “AvrilSharapova” Ladny, Men “The Master” Nguyen, and World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Brian Lemke spent their time at the final table of the United States Poker Championships at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Even poker players who stayed at home still found themselves unable to stay away from the felt for too long and several players turned up for the $2,500 buy-in Main Event of the final Venetian Deep Stack series of the year.  Some of the players who took part in the event included Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler, UB.com Pros Bryan “badbeatninja” Devonshire and Brandon Cantu, Full Tilt Red Pro Jeff Madsen, Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin, Nenad Medic, Jamie “TheCronic420” Rosen, and Christina Lindley.

Lindley filled Poker News Daily in on her last minute change of plans when it came to her holiday vacation.  After a successful run online the past two weeks, including a runner-up finish in Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) Event #24 worth more than $106,000, Lindley decided to delay her trip home to Nashville, Tennessee in order to take part in the Venetian event.  She flew out the morning the event started, played until she busted, and then headed home for the typical Thanksgiving fare.  “I told my mom I’d get there in time to make a pumpkin pie,” Lindley explained.  “And maybe some karaoke with my little brother, who is home from college, if we’re lucky.”

Another player who is opting to stay away from the felt is Nick “fu_15” Maimone.  When Poker News Daily asked what his Thanksgiving plans were, he responded, “Not playing poker? AKA trying to be normal.”  Others are following Maimone’s lead and opting for traditional holiday plans including trips home.  A quick glance at Twitter indicated that poker pros and “The Amazing Race” teammates Maria Ho and Tiffany Michelle would both be spending the holidays with friends and family.

Just because a fair share of players are heading home for the holidays doesn’t mean the poker rooms will be empty this weekend.  The Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens, California will once again be holding their annual Turkey Shootout/Ho Ho Hold’em Series, with the first of 13 events kicking off Thanksgiving Day.  The “Turkey Shoot” tournament will feature a $100 buy-in.  If you are wondering just how many people would opt to play a poker tournament Thanksgiving Day, last year’s installment drew 230 players and offered up a first place prize of $8,600 to tournament winner Susie Baranowski.

Even players who take Thursday off for a little family and feasting may skip Black Friday shopping for some card playing.  The first event of the Bellagio Five Diamond World Poker Classic, the $500 buy-in SpadeClub.com tournament, is scheduled for Friday and players like Mike “GoLeafsGoEh” Leah plan on taking part.  Granted, Leah is Canadian, so his Thanksgiving happened a few weeks ago and he isn’t skipping any festivities to take part.  The Bellagio also has two other tournaments scheduled throughout Thanksgiving weekend, with events continuing daily until the World Poker Tour Main Event begins on December 14th and wraps up shortly before Christmas.

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us here at Poker News Daily.

Taking the Underground by Lee Jones

The poker media industry is an interesting beast. It spends a lot of time covering tournaments because, well, tournaments are fairly straightforward to cover and people like to know who’s winning what. You have a starting day and an ending day and the tournament promoters have an interest in providing information to the media. You can show chip counts, the big winners and losers for each day, and more.

However, there’s a lot more to poker than tournaments and one of the reasons that I’m writing for Poker News Daily is that they understand that. While these other aspects of the poker world are not as easy to cover, they’re still interesting and important.

Recently, I was traveling and heard about an underground poker game. I suggested to my editor that it would make an interesting piece – including ideas about strategy changes one makes for such games. Let me pause here to say that I define an “underground” poker game as one that (1) runs fairly regularly, (2) is a for-profit enterprise, and (3) is illegal or quasi-legal in its jurisdiction.

Underground poker games are, of course, a long-standing tradition throughout the United States – simply the commercial version of home games that have made up the backbone of poker playing today. Most of the poker luminaries of the last generation – Doyle Brunson, Amarillo Slim, T.J. Cloutier, and Bobby Baldwin – built their bankrolls playing underground games. In fact, well-known blogger, geek, writer, and actor Wil Wheaton got his start in the poker world by writing a delightful piece about an underground game in Hollywood.

The venue of my underground game experience was not in Hollywood, but I won’t be more specific than that. One simply doesn’t give out the GPS coordinates of underground poker games. The host told me a general area of the city to go to and then asked me to call him; he gave me directions from there. I found myself at a nondescript, unmarked warehouse in a nondescript light industrial area. The description fit the instructions I had gotten on the phone and there were eight to ten cars parked where he told me to park. I immediately noticed one thing: the cars were all parked facing outward, as if people here had succumbed to the British passion for backing into parking places… or thought they might be leaving quickly.

I got to the unmarked door and pushed the doorbell. A few seconds later, an electric latch buzzed open and a young man in jeans and a sport shirt welcomed me in. “Lee? Hi – I’m Rich [names changed here]. Come on in.”

The warehouse had been minimally decorated, but as a functional poker room, it had everything you needed. There was a bar (everything is complimentary), a couple of big screen televisions showing sports, and Mexican food. There were a couple of couches in the middle of the room, but even with all the accoutrements, including the two casino-size poker tables, there was still plenty of room for a three-on-three soccer game.

The owner/host, Jerry, came over and greeted me warmly. He may have been running an illegal poker game, but Jerry was a consummate businessman and host. He worked tirelessly to ensure that his customers were taken care of.

There was a tournament that evening with a very reasonable fee and extraordinarily generous blind structure. Everybody was able to play a lot of poker and nobody busted out for at least an hour. Once eight or nine people were out, they started the cash game, which was really the centerpiece of the operation. On his busiest nights, Jerry had two tables going, but with the tournament, just one cash table went the night I was there.

The cash game is where Jerry made his money and this is where we’ll switch to discussing strategy changes for such games. First, the rake in Jerry’s games (and virtually all underground clubs) is high. Jerry’s price is 5% of the pot with a cap at $20. Basically, you’re paying Jerry’s insurance premiums. I note that while this would be considered usurious in any U.S. casino poker room or California card club, it’s actually less than people routinely pay elsewhere in the world to play poker.

Two important lessons come from this high rake:

Rule #1: Play Fewer Pots.  When the pot is being raked that heavily, splashing around and picking up small pots on the flop costs you a lot of money. You’re never getting quite the price you think you are and you’re basically just “churning” your money like a stock day-trader paying commissions on dozens of trades every day. It means you have to be that much more profitable just to break even. For instance, with Jerry’s structure, the rake isn’t capped until the pot reaches $400, which is an all-in coup between two players with $200 buy-ins (a typical amount).  Your goal should be to play fewer pots, but try to make those pots larger. In a perfect world, you want the pot to be over $400, reducing the actual percentage of rake that you’re paying.

Rule #2: Watch Out for Winning Regulars. As I played in the cash game ($1-3 No Limit Hold’em), it became clear that most of the players were regulars. I also quickly figured out who the tougher players were. Now, these guys are not only beating the game, but they’re also beating the crippling rake. So, they have a pretty good idea of what they’re doing, not only in general, but also in the specific context of Jerry’s game. They know who the fish are and the mistakes the fish are making. In fact, somebody who may be a fish with respect to the sharks in that game might have an edge on you simply because he knows these people and plays with them all of the time. Many of the players in these games battle against each other in home or underground games three to four times per week or more. That kind of intimate knowledge can make the difference between being a shark and being the target; it’s unlikely that you’ll be a favorite the first time you sit in Jerry’s game.

With that said, underground games certainly have their appeal. I will admit that it would have been fun if Jerry had a John Malkovich-inspired Russian accent, but poker is pretty much the same around the world. Once we settled down to play, both in the tournament and the cash game that followed, it could have been the Bellagio or my home game. There were cards and chips, blinds, raises, and bad beats. Some of the players were good and many were bad. There was certainly plenty of EV for a solid No Limit Hold’em player.

I’ll leave with just one very important disclaimer: when you play in an underground game, you have stepped out of the realm in which most of us live our lives. There is a reason why there’s a heavy door with an electronic lock and video cameras watching every outside corner of the building. The place could be busted by the police at any time or, much worse, held up. You are also almost certainly breaking the law. Think about all that before deciding to try out the underground poker scene.

Lee Jones is the Card Room Manager of Cake Poker and has worked in the poker industry for six years. He has been associated with professional poker for almost 20 years. He is also the author of “Winning Low Limit Hold’em,” which has been in print for over 14 years.

I Bet You Makes Onion AV Club’s Best of the Decade List

One could argue we are in the midst of a televised poker renaissance, with the prevalence of poker-related shows like “2 Months, $2 Million,” “Face the Ace,” “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge,” the recently announced “Shuffle Up and Deal,” and the new Fox Sports poker news show “Poker 2Nite,” which is set to premiere this evening.  While these new shows are drawing attention to the poker world, a recently published list by the Onion’s AV Club is paying homage to a contemporary classic, “I Bet You.”

The AV Club, a publication and website from the makers of the satirical newspaper “The Onion,” has been publishing a series of lists to honor the best pop culture offerings of the decade and gave a shout out to both “I Bet You” and televised poker in general in its “Best Reality Series/Competitions” list.  “I Bet You” just made the cut, coming in at #5 behind shows like “Survivor” and “Top Chef.”

“I Bet You” was clearly the show on the list with the least mainstream popularity, but the AV Club gave props to the program, hosted by friends and professional poker players Phil “The Unabomber” Laak and Antonio “The Magician” Esfandiari.  The site referred to the program as “one of the damndest, most delightful reality series of all time.”

The show, which ran on the MOJO HD cable network from 2007 to 2008, featured the two men traveling around the country placing wagers on everything from dune buggy racing to modeling to ballet dancing to which of the two had the more potent sperm count.  Over the course of two seasons and 24 episodes, the memorable duo won over poker and non-poker fans alike over with their pro betting shenanigans, but the show ended production when MOJO HD stopped making original programming in December of 2008.  The AV Club article reported that supposedly a third season of the show has already been filmed and the site implored a cable network to pick up the program so the world could see more of the short-lived series.

The AV Club list also coupled televised poker in general with “I Bet You” as some of the best reality programming of the last decade.  As it explained, the beauty of televised poker was that it “made household names out of dozens of previously obscure weirdoes, degenerates, and social misfits.”  The site argued that the poker boom resulted in an oversaturation of poker programming, but the mention in the article was, on the whole, rather positive.

More than 500 readers commented on the article, disagreeing with components of the list, and, while the bulk of complaints were centered on omissions of shows like “Man vs. Food,” “Mythbusters,” “Iron Chef,” and “Deadliest Catch,” a few people disagreed with the inclusion of televised poker, claiming it was annoying and boring to watch.

A post on the official MySpace page of “I Bet You” written in May of 2008 confirmed that plans for Season 3 were in the works, but the site has not been updated in some time, so the future of the quirky, but popular, prop betting show remains up in the air.

2009 WSOP Main Event Finale on ESPN Attracts 2.1 Million Viewers

The finale of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, which saw Michigan native Joe Cada triumph over the nine-handed feature table, drew 2.1 million viewers for a 1.8 coverage rating.

Last year’s final table, which featured PokerStars’ Peter Eastgate defeating Russian sensation Ivan Demidov, generated a 1.9 rating, meaning that the figure dipped slightly in 2009. Many had expected ratings to increase dramatically given the presence of Phil Ivey, a seven-time WSOP bracelet winner who had already captured two pieces of hardware in 2009. However, the opposite ultimately proved to be true. The 1.8 rating represented 1.8 million households tuned into the extravaganza, which aired on Tuesday night and ended with Cada becoming the youngest WSOP Main Event champion in history.

Last year, ratings for the finale jumped by 50% compared to 2007. The 2008 WSOP Main Event marked the first installment of the November Nine, the label given to the nine survivors in the $10,000 buy-in feature tournament. Its conclusion was pushed back from July to November in order to coincide with its television airing on ESPN and to force discussion of who would win rather than how a player emerged victorious.

The 2009 November Nine assembled at the Rio in Las Vegas on Saturday, November 7th for a 17 and a half hour marathon to play down to two. Then, Cada and Darvin Moon battled heads-up on Monday, November 9th beginning at 10:00pm PT and the event aired on ESPN 24 hours later in a near-real time broadcast. Norman Chad and Lon McEachern once again provided play-by-play, with the former ardently rooting on Ivey, his perennial pick to win the Main Event; Ivey went out in seventh place.

The news was not all grim from ESPN. A statement released by the cable station today read in part, “ESPN’s 15-week schedule of World Series of Poker coverage in 2009 included 31 telecasts averaging a 1.0 rating, even with last year. However, averages for households (1,024,901) and viewership (1,228,008) increased nine and seven percent, respectively, from 2008 and the important Male 25-54 demographic saw a 13 percent jump from 2008.” Jack Link’s Beef Jerky served as the presenting sponsor of the 2009 WSOP on ESPN, with a Wild Card hand brought to you by the foodstuff airing during each episode.

ESPN’s coverage of the final table ran for two and a half hours, 30 minutes more than a typical showing. Poker fans recording the episode on their Tivos or DVRs did not catch heads-up play, as their devices cut out after the two-hour mark. As expected, this ignited a stir in the industry and among readers of Poker News Daily. Poker enthusiast Art Manville commented, “This was a travesty and I really don’t know how ESPN could screw up so bad. After months of watching and waiting for the final table, we get screwed out of the ending as our DVR cut off. The least they can do is show the entire replay ASAP.” ESPN’s George McNeilly told Poker News Daily that encore presentations will continue to air on the family of networks.

According to ESPN’s website, the festivities were scheduled to air from 9:00pm ET to 11:30pm ET on November 10th. An ESPN representative told Poker News Daily on Wednesday how the network was responding to viewer complaints: “We went late to serve the sports fans tuned into the much-anticipated event that has been on their calendars for a long time. We regret that those Tivo’ing it were unable to see the ending, but we’ll be replaying it in the weeks to come.”

ESPN has held the broadcast rights to the WSOP since 2002 and, in August, inked a deal to retain the tournament series through April of 2018.

Darvin Moon Takes Lead Heads-Up at 2009 WSOP Main Event

It took all of 12 hands of heads-up play of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event for Darvin Moon to retake the chip lead from young gun Joe Cada, at least temporarily. A total of $8.5 million is up for grabs for the first place finisher.

In the first 11 hands, Moon earned five, while his rival, Cada, emerged victorious in six. In the deciding hand thus far, Cada made it 2.5 million pre-flop and Moon called. The first three community cards came 6-5-J and Moon checked. Cada put in a continuation bet of 3.5 million before Moon made it 8.5 million. Cada called, with an enormous pot brewing, and the turn came queen. The action slowed down considerably, as both players checked to see a deuce hit the river. Moon lead out for 7.25 million and Cada called. Moon tabled Q-8 for top pair and scooped the pot. At the time, he had ballooned his stack to 101 million, ahead of Cada’s arsenal of 93 million. Cada later clawed back to reclaim the chip lead himself.

While standing in line to purchase food at the Rio’s Sports Grill this afternoon, Moon told Poker News Daily that he could not possibly panic being on the short stack. He revealed, “I’m not having a tree fall on me. I’m not getting shot at. What would I possibly panic about?” He then rolled up his left sleeve to reveal a major scar from an accident involving a falling free.

Motley Crue front man Vince Neil, fresh off holding a charity tournament last night, gave the shuffle up and deal command on Monday night. WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack told the assembled fans, “Ladies and Gentlemen! This is the night when we award the most coveted prize in poker.”

2 Months, $2 Million Season Finale: Team Up $676,000

The cast of the G4 online poker reality series “2 Months, $2 Million” officially pulled in $676,700 for the 10-week premiere season, over $1.3 million short of its stated goal. No word has come down from G4 as to whether the crew will be back for Season 2.

The season finale began with just three days remaining and the four former math whizzes up $615,900. Emil Patel took on “jiacstrap” on PokerStars, immediately winning pots off his foe to go up $18,750. A storm was brewing online and, outside, torrential rains and lightning in Las Vegas caused the power to go out. Once the power and internet and come back on, Patel’s computer froze. He lamented, “This blackout is going to cost me $50,000.”

At the Palms pool, the quartet plotted an end-of-summer bash. Dani Stern candidly explained the basic necessities for a successful evening: “We need food, we need liquor, and we need girls.” Brian Roberts and Patel implored their live-in chef, a former musician, to take to the stage as the evening’s entertainment. Roberts explained, “He’s an ex-recording artist. He doesn’t talk about it much. I guess he’s a humble guy.” A montage of images from “Chef” in his music days then appeared on-screen and he agreed to perform.

Stern faced off against “CADX2” online, while Roberts took on “LarsLuzak.” Stern piled up win after win, while Roberts suffered loss after loss. Pots shown included the “2 Months, $2 Million” cast member losing with 10-Q against 4-3 for $34,000, 2-5 versus 4-5 for $6,000, K-2 versus A-8 for $4,000, and A-9 versus pocket fours for $5,600. All told, Roberts had burned $93,000. Stern, meanwhile, finished with a $100,000 stack, up $71,000 on the session. Upon writing his sum on the team’s tally board, he told “2 Months, $2 Million” cameras, “It felt good just to put a huge number on the board.”

As a reward for his $71,000 session, Stern purchased a $2,000 pair of Nike shoes featuring anaconda skin and 14 karat gold inlays. He had a chance to show off his new kicks at the group’s party, which featured a “2 Months, $2 Million” themed song from Chef and Patel showing off the house to the single women in attendance. After hearing that Patel gave a tour of the house’s attic, Roberts quipped, “I didn’t even know there was an attic. That’s thorough.”

When the totals for the week were tabulated, Stern was up $101,000, Roberts was down $75,000, Patel was up $34,800, and Jay Rosenkrantz was even. All told, the “2 Months, $2 Million” cast was up $60,800 in its final days and $676,700 overall. Despite falling well short of the stated goal, Rosenkrantz optimistically noted, “It’s still a respectable total.” For the summer, Rosenkrantz was the group’s big winner, up $406,500. Roberts earned $7,500 over the nine-week period, Stern made $100,800, and Patel was up $161,900. Much of Rosenkrantz’s earnings came at the hands of David “Viffer” Peat and Patel recorded only two losing weeks.

The group then reviewed highlights and lowlights from the summer. For Roberts, the latter included hangovers and getting “bludgeoned” when he played big. For Stern, lowlights included busting his accounts on both Cake Poker and Ultimate Bet. For Patel, highlights included the double date and after-party, while Rosenkrantz enjoyed the Lockdown session versus Peat.

The future of the 10-episode “2 Months, $2 Million” series is up in the air. The quartet will purportedly return to Las Vegas for the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP). E-mails and phone calls placed to G4 executives inquiring about Season 2 of “2 Months, $2 Million” were not returned as of press time.

FullFlush comes clean on ‘Sandwichgate’

If you really want to know what kind of sandwich it was that led to Luke "__FullFlush1__" Schwartz being barred from Grosvenor Casinos in the UK for the second time, he'll be glad to tell you it was actually smoked salmon.

But the high-stakes London loudmouth, whose reputation for some rather visceral chat and a confrontational attitude may actually exceed that of his considerable poker skill, doesn't really understand why you want to know.

"There's like 44 pages on the topic of this sandwich on the forums," he said. "There must be a billion spastic idiots sitting there so tilted by me for no reason at all. They're there writing about me all day, it's hilarious."

As of press time, the Two Plus Two forum's "Sandwichgate" thread had more than 230 posts and 33,000 views.

All of this over a smoked salmon sandwich?

"It's all these guys with $1 in their Full Tilt accounts banging away on the rail of the high-stakes games asking for a $5 transfer," Schwartz said. "I have better things to do than worry about what these retards want to think about me, but I do think it's funny the way they get so worked up hating on me."

The truth is, Schwartz did take the sandwich from the food stands outside the tournament area at the PokerStars European Poker Tour's London event, but he believes he was more than entitled to.

"I'd just been three-outed to bust from the EPT on Day 2," he explained. "I was steaming. There was a long queue to pay for food and I was fucked if I was going to wait in it.

"All the fucking swings in poker, the beats, the coolers, they build up after a while. So I was frustrated, yeah, but it's still not a crime. It's a fucking sandwich. I'd just paid like £30,000 to play in the High Roller and the EPT. That's like £1000 in rake. Who fucking cares about a £5 sandwich? It should be free."

Schwartz previously told PokerListings he had been banned from Grosvenor's flagship property, The Vic, after refusing to take his hat off inside the casino. After promoter and TV producer Eddie Hearn vouched for him, the ban was lifted, allowing Schwartz to play at the London Metropole for EPT London, which was run by staff from The Vic.

But even though the ban has been reinstated and a warning given to Schwartz by the EPT, he doesn't seem to be sweating it.

"I don't care anyway," he said. "I'll probably be allowed back in before long. Or else I'll give them loads of bad press until they have to let me back me in."

According to PartyPoker, the sandwich incident actually led to a delay in the start of Schwartz' heat in last week's PartyPoker World Open V.

Apparently the Palm Beach Casino in Mayfair refused him entry until tournament organizers agreed to escort him around the premises and accept responsible for his behaviour.

Schwartz won his heat and is on to Thursday's final where a $250,000 first-place prize hangs in the balance. PartyPoker is still claiming he may be refused entry to play, but Schwartz isn't buying it.

"It's bullshit," Schwartz said. "I'm in the final. Of course they're going to let me play. They don't have much of a choice and I'm going to smash it up. I'm going to win it."

Visit PokerListings.com

Jay Rosenkrantz Recaps 2 Months, $2 Million

We’re eight episodes through the G4 online poker reality series “2 Months, $2 Million” and the cast is $507,000 in the black. Among those who made waves in last week’s episode was Jay Rosenkrantz, who sat down with Poker News Daily to discuss his heads-up match against David “Viffer” Peat and the show in general. “2 Months, $2 Million” airs at 8:00pm ET on Wednesdays on G4.

Poker News Daily: Has it been surreal to watch “2 Months, $2 Million” unfold on G4 every week?

Rosenkrantz: It’s very, very, very surreal.  Emil Patel and I live together in New York City and host a weekly party with all of our friends and family.  Dani Stern is here for most of those also.  Watching a hyper-stylized version of our summer with friends from childhood and college is pretty damn fun, but definitely weird.

For instance, seeing Emil get sneak attacked and destroyed by water balloons is hilarious both in the fact that it’s just really funny, but also that we somehow convinced a television network to put our dumb asses on television.  Each “week” is actually around 80 hours of footage broken down into 21 minutes, so while the Jay, Emil, Dani, and Brian Roberts developed on television are very much accurate depictions of all of us, sometimes we get sold a little short (or are given too much credit).  All in all, though, it has been an awesome experience and we all badly want to go back for Season 2 next summer.  $2 million or bust!

PND: Has there been a traffic boost on your poker training site, DeucesCracked, as a result?

Rosenkrantz: Yes, our traffic and signups have gone up and I’m really happy with the results.  We’re not talking like we doubled our membership, but considering a lot of people watching the show have never been exposed to poker or poker training videos before, I like the influx of new, genuinely curious users.  [CardRunners founder] Taylor Caby got a deal with Full Tilt, so obviously I had to go out and one-up him with a television show.

PND: Talk about the roller coaster of a ride against David “Viffer” Peat.

Rosenkrantz: Some behind-the-scenes information about that match.  First, it was one of our producer’s (Brandon) duties throughout the summer to try to arrange high-stakes matches for us.  We wanted to play pretty much anyone (other than the top, top players) at heads-up No Limit.  As our results started to not look great around Week 5 or 6, the four of us realized that we needed to push Brandon to seek out more matches for us.  He put word out to most of the card rooms and poker agencies, but a lot of people just didn’t understand what the show was about, didn’t want to play us, or the money we wanted to play for was too big.

A few people accepted though, among them David Benyamine, Viffer, and Sami Kelopuro (LarsLuzak).  Viffer’s doing a television show called “The Bet” and wanted the guaranteed exposure, so the match was set up to occur near the end of Lockdown (Lockdown, by the way, was an idea I had before the summer even started that the network wasn’t really into, but we were able to convince them of its merits when push came to shove).

We started playing and Viffer was playing really erratically and running me over.  I was coming off 36 hours straight in the war room and had not only just lost back everything I made during Lockdown, but also lost a great episode for the TV show because now I was down a lot.  I was expecting him to be a loose-passive live pro, but he wasn’t really anything like that, which caught me by surprise.  The producers had their heads in their hands, they didn’t know what to do, and they’re not from poker, so they were just lamenting why I didn’t stop when I was up on him.  Not only that, Brandon was feeling awful that he set me up to get crushed by this live shark and our chances of coming anywhere close to the goal were basically shot.

Then, Viffer took a break to get food and came back playing crazier than ever.  I bad beat him in a huge pot to get close to even and this sent him on huge tilt.  Total bajunky - this is when he started mashing pot.  He had been doing it earlier, but not nearly as often, and now he was re-raising tons of hands and mashing pot constantly.

People speculate about how he would have such an obvious tell, but honestly it’s not obvious when you’re sitting there stuck $100,000 trying to claw back to even not only so you can win your money back, but also so you can save an episode of a TV show.  We’re playing $40,000 No Limit, I had a big piece of myself, and the cameramen and producers were visibly shaken by what was going on.  I had a lot of things on my mind unrelated to clearly processing what was going on in the match, not to mention that I had spent 38 hours in the war room!

PND: Did Peat’s betting tell prove to be true 100% of the time? How tough was it not exposing it every time so he wouldn’t adjust?

Rosenkrantz: Not 100%, but close to it.  As you can see in the episode, the atmosphere in the room transformed from tense and excited to giddy and incredulous.  It was really important to make sure that I didn’t take away or hero call down every single pot he was bluffing in and I’d have to guess that is definitely why he didn’t notice until it was too late.  In that last $316,000 pot they showed, it was actually a good bluff by him where I happened to have a huge hand, but considering how often I was defending to his 3bets, it was a good bluff and I have to fold all of my non-two pair hands by the river.  There were lots of cooler pots I also won that they didn’t show like 3-3 versus A-K on an A-3-X flop and A-K versus A-J on an ace-high flop.  So, while it was an amazing, rock solid read, it was definitely made to be a little bit more cinematic than it actually was.

Funny aside - when I got back to up $100,000 on him, the producers started begging me to quit.  They were so shook up that they could barely hold the cameras straight.  The money was just so huge and incomprehensible, I had just completed this legendary comeback, and they couldn’t bear to deal with the thought of me losing more again.

Of course, we’re all poker players and there was a drought of nosebleed action this summer, so all of a sudden I had this insanely profitable spot and there was absolutely no way in hell any of us were stopping.  There’s all of this great rough footage of Paul and Terry (the Executive Producers) begging me to pick up and go relax with the guaranteed win outside the war room and the four of us just berating the hell out of them for being huge donkeys.  I think Brian threatened to cut off someone’s pinky finger.  Anyhow, it worked out, the producers knew not to try to argue with us about poker ever again, and Brandon got out of the doghouse and was celebrated as a hero for the production.

The next day, the network executive in charge of the show showed up to the house to see how Lockdown had gone, saw the big black number in my column on the tally board, and G4’s collective brain exploded.  Two years in development, seven episodes’ worth of footage and storylines, and they still didn’t fully understand the kinds of swings and drama that were possible in poker until that moment.

PND: Did you foresee fewer high-stakes games happening this summer? Had that been the trend?

Rosenkrantz: It was the trend, but every summer for the past three years, the games had picked up.  We didn’t foresee the complete death of nosebleed No Limit and, because of that, we were really ill-prepared.  I wasn’t as good at Pot Limit Omaha as I should have been and a few of us should have learned mixed games over the year.  Second season or not, we won’t be caught off guard like that again next summer.

PND: What’s your favorite non-online poker activity you guys have done so far and why?

Rosenkrantz: Definitely trampoline dodgeball.  Unfortunately, I think it’s cut from the show, but if you can get a group of people together in Las Vegas and want to blow off steam, there is nothing more fun than trampoline dodgeball.  I can’t even properly describe it because it’s so crazy.

PND: Would you use a different strategy from the beginning if you had to do the show all over again?

Rosenkrantz: If we get a second season, we will have 10 months to prepare and now that “2 Months, $2 Million” has a passionate following in the poker community, I think more well-known pros will want to play us.  More game selection, more opponents, and more chances to win or lose big - I think those are the best parts of the show.  We learned so much this summer about how to approach the goal and about how to make a compelling television show about it.  I just know in my heart that if we go back, it will be week to week, consistently, the best poker television there has ever been.  I’ll guarantee that.

PND: Heading into Week 9, how are you feeling about making up $1.5 million to reach the goal?

Rosenkrantz: Not good.  We obviously are not going to make it, but the question is whether or not we will crack $1 million.

Full_Flush Allegedly Banned from Grosvenor Casinos for Sandwich Theft

The recent antics of British online poker pro Luke “Full_Flush” Schwartz have only helped to cement his reputation as a bad boy and a poker brat, as he has supposedly been banned not once, but twice from Grosvenor Casino properties.  First, he received a ban from the Victoria Casino for improper headgear and now he has allegedly been banned from all Grosvenor Casinos for stealing a cheese sandwich.

According to the forums and several European poker outlets including the Betfair blog, the first incident at the Victoria Casino, known to locals as “The Vic,” came when Schwartz refused to remove his hat in the casino’s poker room.  Popular and influential local gambler Eddie Hearn stepped in on Schwartz’s behalf and convinced the casino to lift the ban on the young British pro in time for him to participate in the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) London stop.  While the tournament changed venues this year, moving from the Victoria to the Hilton London Metropole, the tournament staff was comprised of poker room employees from The Vic who were initially not keen on seeing Schwartz participate.

The high stakes pro’s troubles did not end there, though.  While he played in the EPT London Main Event, it took mere minutes after he busted out midway through Day Two before Schwartz found himself in hot water with the casino staff once again.  A blog post by one of Poker Listings’ tournament reporters, Martin Derbyshire, reported that Schwartz allegedly lifted a pickle and cheese sandwich from the food stand just outside the tournament area and walked away without paying for it.  Apparently, Schwartz insisted that he was a VIP player and did not deserve to be charged for the snack and refused to pay even after being stopped by security.

The act of thievery, combined with his unwillingness to pay for his food, led to Schwartz’s second ban from Grosvenor properties and this time it appears as though no reprieve is in sight.  Derbyshire also wrote that the word around the tournament area was that Schwartz received a warning from EPT staff about his behavior.

While Schwartz confirmed the details of the hat incident, he has yet to speak out on how much truth there is behind “Sandwichgate 2009.”  True or not, the stories only further cement Schwartz’s reputation as one of “bad boys” of online poker.  Schwartz first garnered attention earlier this year when he had choice words about some of the other high-stakes online cash game players, notably Tom “durrrr” Dwan.  Schwartz bashed Dwan in print and television interviews, commenting on both his style of play and social life.

Though Schwartz may have to deal with a ban from Grosvenor Casinos, he is not done playing live in London just yet.  He is set to take part in both the PKR Grand Slam Heads-Up festivities and the PartyPoker World Open V.  Dwan is also on tap to participate in the two events.  The draw for the PKR event’s first round is already complete and should Schwartz and Dwan both advance to the semi-finals, they would compete against each other in a highly-anticipated live match.  The World Open V does not pit the two players against each other in preliminary heats, but there is still the possibility that they will meet at the final table of the shootout-style event.

Hopefully, Schwartz won’t get himself banned from either of the events before they start, as the potential face-to-face encounter between Full_Flush and Dwan have had the online poker world buzzing for months.

World Champ Eastgate headlines EPT London final

In fact, the reigning world champion told PokerListings he was actually more nervous playing for a spot in the final eight at PokerStars EPT London Tuesday than this past November when he sat down with the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event title at stake.

"It sounds strange, but I actually kind of felt more nervous at this table than at the Main Event," said Eastgate, who eventually booked his seat in the London final and will come into Wednesday's playdown to a champion sitting second in chips.

"I've lost quite a bit since I won the World Series and I think that's the reason why. I think the losses have had an effect on my demeanor and my confidence."

Poker's world title appears to bring more than fame and fortune. It often invites criticism and Eastgate has had more than his share of people questioning his game over the past year.

But ultimately he plays to win, not to silence his critics.

"I don't feel like I need to prove anything," he said. "But should I win this, that would certainly solidify my victory at the World Series and quiet all the doubters.

"It's not something I think about, though. I don't take that much prestige in what others think of my poker talents. I love the game, I'm very passionate about the game, and I'm not necessarily giving that much thought to other people's respect."

Born and raised in Odense, Denmark, Eastgate moved to London after winning the Main Event and said he has particularly enjoyed playing at home this week.

"That's one of the things I don't like about playing poker tournaments all around the world," the Team PokerStars Pro said. "Staying in hotel rooms, you can't get decent food or sleep all the time.

"At home you can get a decent, healthy meal and sleep in your own bed."

When he awakes tomorrow after a night in his own bed and heads into the final with a legitimate shot at EPT London's £850,000 first-place prize, Eastgate plans on feeling awake, refreshed and as confident as he can be.

"I am feeling confident, but the players I'll be up against tomorrow, they are all very fierce and competent players," he said. "It's going to be very tough. The average player nowadays is so much better than even a year ago."

23-year-old Las Vegas pro Aaron Gustavson will come into the final with a massive chip lead holding twice as many chips as Eastgate and the almost-equally stacked Martin Gudvangen from Bergen, Norway.

The middle of the pack includes 19-year-old German Nikolai Senninger, Nottingham's Dominic Cullen and PokerStars Team Asia pro Raymond Wu.

Portugal's Rui Milhomens and Morocco's Karim Bennani are the shortest stacks.

For all the action from Wednesday's final at PokerStars EPT London, including chip counts, photos and live updates, click through to PokerListings' Live Tournaments page beginning at 12 p.m. BST.

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2 Months, $2 Million: Deuces Cracked Fundraiser Takes Center Stage

In Wednesday’s episode of the G4 online poker reality show “2 Months, $2 Million,” a fundraiser held by the training site Deuces Cracked took center stage and featured attendees battling in the age-old game Connect Four.

The show opened at a restaurant, where cast member Emil Patel, a vegetarian, ordered a vast assortment of food for breakfast, including pancakes, macaroni and cheese, sliced apples, pizza, berries, and a fruit smoothie. Patel was like a kid in a candy store selecting items off the menu, while Jay Rosenkrantz described the upcoming fundraiser sponsored by his website, Deuces Cracked. The gala, featuring the kids’ game Connect Four, would benefit the Lili Claire Foundation, which helps those suffering from “Williams Syndrome and similar disabilities,” according to its website.

Patel was appropriately tasked with devising a menu, while Brian Roberts was faced with the challenge of producing a rap to be performed on site. He told “2 Months, $2 Million” cameras, “I don’t know about rappers from Vegas and that’s a bad sign.” Dani Stern, meanwhile, was asked to attract a harem of women to the event. Stern ultimately sought the aid of Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger, who participated in the “House Wars” episode several weeks ago.

The quartet was up $141,000 entering Week 7, still miles away from its stated goal of $2 million. As an added incentive, the “2 Months, $2 Million” personality with the best financial showing during Week 7 would take home a $5,000 watch courtesy of the other three players. Roberts sought revenge against luckexpress10, who banked $104,000 at his expense on the September 17th episode. Roberts flopped a set in Omaha to go up $7,500 against luckexpress10. His foe then made a well-timed laydown on a 9-A-6-A board when Roberts held A-J for trips. Still, Roberts was up $25,000 for the session.

Stern and Lichtenberger headed to the Hard Rock pool to recruit women for the Connect Four fundraiser. Stern quipped, “Chewy has made millions of dollars playing online poker, but his real skill is with the ladies.” However, the duo came up empty-handed at the pool and instead headed to Sapphire, a gentlemen’s club, to meet with their Las Vegas concierge. Finally, Stern and Lichtenberger convinced “Alicia,” a self-proclaimed Connect Four fan, to attend the fundraiser.

The charity gala took place at Planet Hollywood on the Las Vegas Strip. Patel claimed he was 7-0 in Connect Four matches during it and then made “Connect Five” against Rosenkrantz.  Stern and Alicia then played and their match was followed by a live performance of the rap. Roberts’ production was stellar, as Stern noted, “I’ll be honest, I was shocked at how good the rap was.” At the end of the night, over $20,000 was raised for the Lili Claire Foundation from the $400 buy-in event.

When the totals for the week were calculated, Rosenkrantz was down $44,000, Patel had lost $19,000, Roberts was up $46,500, and Stern had earned $11,000. Roberts ultimately claimed the watch, although the team was still down $5,500 on the week. After seven weeks of “2 Months, $2 Million,” the cast is just $135,600 in the black. The G4 franchise actually lasts 10 weeks, meaning the team must average nearly $625,000 in profit in each of the next three episodes in order to achieve their goal.

For the ceremonial Penalty Stunt, Rosenkrantz had to roller stake from Fremont Street to the world-famous “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada” sign donning a tight pair of shorts and tied-up checkered shirt while being tailed by the rest of the gang in an SUV.

Next week, Rosenkrantz plays the highest stakes games of the season in an effort to achieve the $2 million goal. The show airs on Wednesday nights at 8:00pm ET on G4.

Amazing Race: Tiffany Michelle, Maria Ho Escape Elimination in Premiere

Poker pros Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho were spared elimination on the premiere of the CBS reality show Amazing Race, which is entering its 15th season. Michelle and Ho arrived at the first pit stop in last place.

The 15th installment of the CBS franchise began in the L.A. River, the site of movies like “Grease.” Twelve teams arrived by bus, including Michelle and Ho, who told other teams that they worked for a non-profit instead of admitting they were wealthy poker players and the last women standing in the 2007 and 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Events.

In a new twist, the first challenge took place immediately, with the last team to complete it eliminated at the starting mat. In it, teams had to sort through 1,000 license plates for one of 11 from Shinagawa, Tokyo, their first destination. Despite confusing license plates, some with misleading Japanese symbols on them, Michelle and Ho finished the task first and headed to the airport to fly to Tokyo. On completing the task first, Michelle quipped, “We have our Asian lucky charm right here,” referring to Ho. In the end, married yoga teachers Eric and Lisa were eliminated in Los Angeles.

All teams flew to Japan, where they were told to head to the Tokyo Tower Television Studio. There, a live audience awaited a game of “Sushi Roulette,” which capitalized on the popularity of Japanese game shows. The Roadblock, which is a task that only one team member can perform, asked contestants to stand in front of a giant roulette wheel and eat the food that landed in front of them. The two players who received scorching hot wasabi bombs had to consume it in less than two minutes in order to receive their next clue. Play continued until each team had eaten a wasabi bomb.

On-screen graphics like an alligator breathing fire added flair to this task, which saw the wasabi land on Ho’s space on the third spin. However, she was unable to eat it within the two-minute time frame and had to play again. As luck would have it, the wasabi once again landed on her space on the fourth spin. Ho told Amazing Race cameras, “My hands were shaking. I was tearing up. It was just like one of those moments where people say it’s mind over matter.” Ho finished her wasabi with two seconds left on the clock.

After completing “Sushi Roulette,” the teams received a colored flag, which corresponded to the visors of 20 audience members. They had to lead their group to the Konno Hachimangu Shrine across town on foot navigating Tokyo’s congested streets. Dating couple Meghan and Cheyne arrived at the Shrine, the Pit Stop for the leg of the race, first and received trips to Aspen and Vail.

Michelle and Ho stopped at a hotel to get a map to the Shrine, sharing its location with brothers Sam and Dan. Michelle explained, “They’re both young, hot, 20-something guys who have become our friends.” Meanwhile, two members of Michelle and Ho’s group became separated in Tokyo’s maze of crowded streets. After hunting around, the poker players were unable to locate their lost crowd members and checked in at the first Amazing Race Pit Stop in last place. Michelle and Ho were assessed a two-hour time penalty for not completing the task, but were spared being sent home in a non-elimination leg. As punishment, they would be forced to complete a Speed Bump, which is a task that only Michelle and Ho would perform, in the upcoming leg.

The teams were then dispatched to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, where they were taken by bus to Cai Be. Despite departing three hours behind other teams at 3:22am from the Pit Stop, Michelle and Ho were quickly able to catch up, as the first flight to Vietnam did not leave until 10:30am. Meanwhile, Lance Layne, an engaged lawyer from Massachusetts, lashed out at Michelle and Ho for not being eliminated on the previous leg: “I can’t believe they gave those two chicks a Speed Bump. Bastards should have been sent home.”

A person at the airport recognized Michelle and asked, “Did you get into the Top 15?” This generated doubt in Michelle and Ho’s stated profession as non-profit workers, eventually leading to other teams figuring out that they were actually poker players. Teams arrived at the Cai Be docks just before nightfall only to see that it did not open until 7:00am. In the morning, they proceeded to mud pits across the Mekong Delta and were tasked with scooping enough mud to fertilize a fruit tree by filling up its base to a designated red line.

Before completing the fruit tree task, Michelle and Ho served the Cai Be dock master soup for their Speed Bump. The poker-playing duo completed the extra challenge with ease before heading to the mud pits. Michelle and Ho were in last place leaving the pits due to the time lost while completing the Speed Bump, but gained ground in the leg’s Road Block, which consisted of herding 150 ducks across a bridge and back again in a fenced enclosure.

Michelle claimed that she had ducks growing up and “flew” through the task, leading to the team being in sixth place after finishing the Roadblock. The Pit Stop on the Vietnam leg was a boat, the Bassac III, and Michelle and Ho arrived in seventh place, surviving a chaotic two-hour episode. Father and son Gary and Matt came in first place and won kayaks.

Amazing Race airs every Sunday on CBS at 8:00pm ET. Next week will see Michelle, Ho, and the rest of the CBS reality show’s cast travel to Cambodia.

Linda Johnson Goes to Camp

I recently returned from a 10-day trip to Indiana. The first part of the trip was spent at the Hollywood Casino (formerly Argosy Casino) in Lawrenceburg, Indiana.  The new $336 million facility is more than twice the size of its former vessel. The two decks, each wider than an aircraft carrier and nearly as long as a football field, make it the largest riverboat in the country. It gives one the feel of being in a luxurious casino with all of the bells and whistles.

Hollywood Casino has more than 270,000 square feet of space, including 150,000 square feet for gaming with 88 tables, 3,200 slots, and electronic table games. The Hollywood décor and theme is flawlessly executed throughout. The casino brings classic Hollywood to life with a 60-foot serpentine video wall, nine large billboards, and more than 300 flat screen displays featuring first-run movie trailers, video shorts, entertainment programming, and sporting events. Among the casino’s major attractions is an exclusive VIP Producer’s Lounge and an expanded high-limit gaming area.

I’d been to Argosy a few times in the past three years and had always enjoyed the gaming and hospitality there, so decided that the opening of its brand new 41-table poker room (the largest in the Midwest) and the Indiana State Poker Championship would be two great reasons to return. My first mistake was booking a flight into Indianapolis instead of Cincinnati. This error resulted in a two-hour drive to the casino instead of 10 minutes. On the bright side, however, I got to spend the two hours getting to know the Hollywood Casino cardroom manager Thom “TK” Krauss and Tournament Director Kevin Dawn. TK is very much a hands-on manager and knows all of his regular patrons by name. He told me that he loves his job, which was obvious since I saw him there at all hours of the day and night. The poker staff and players were very hospitable and made me feel very welcome.

The poker room is very comfortable, with lots of space between tables, great chairs, and good lighting. Players’ hours are tracked so they can earn comps. By the way, the buffet at Hollywood Casino is as good as the best buffets in Las Vegas. The poker room is so impressive that it recently was selected to host a stop on the World Poker Tour.

Jan Fisher and I gave a poker seminar at the Hollywood on the Roof, a performance area with a panoramic screen resembling the Hollywood Bowl, where bands can entertain guests and video content can be projected in grand scale. Hollywood on the Roof features a high-energy circular bar that looks out onto the casino atrium. The seminar was well-attended and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting the locals.

After five days at Hollywood Casino, I went to Indianapolis to participate in Mickey’s Camp, a charity event held annually in a campground called Bradford Woods. There is a separate men’s camp and women’s camp and the attendees actually attend summer camp for adults. They sleep in the same bunks, 12 to a cabin, that kids sleep in during their camp. Each camper gets to choose 10 activities from about 35, including flyfishing, police training, backgammon, Alpine tower, pistol and rifle shooting, gourmet cooking, raft building, canoeing, wine tasting, billiards, table tennis, beer tasting, boxing, jewelry making, photography, yoga, painting, hiking, darts, orienteering, and swimming. I teach the poker class and then run a tournament for the men and women. After my classes, I get to be a camper. This year I chose the following activities: massage, magic, bridge, grilling, backgammon, medical myths, self-defense, sports dialogue, badminton, economics, rifle/pistol, and CPR.

From the $1,500 fee to attend the camp, at least two-thirds of it goes to Indiana charities. This can be done because most of the food is donated by local restaurants and the instructors donate their time as well. The founder, Mickey Maurer, is a great ambassador and philanthropist and has raised more than $1 million for charity through his camp.

Although the attendees are extremely successful in the business world (during the first evening of each camp, we sit under a tent, everyone introduces themselves and tells what they do, and I am always blown away by how accomplished they are), most of them are not the caliber of player I usually encounter in my classes. They sure do have fun though! I had to chuckle when I saw two of the players get up in the middle of the tournament and say, “Thanks, I think I’ve had enough.” Then, they just quit and left their chips on the table.

This was my fourth year at Mickey’s Camp. I love attending charity events and this is one of my favorites.

PartyPoker player uses Player Points to pay for his honeymoon

Weddings are very expensive occassions and after all the flowers, food and string quartets there’s often not much change left for the honeymoon. One PartyPoker player has found a novel solution to this financial quandary by using his hard won PartyPoints to pay for his honeymoon.

ESPN Inside Deal Features Joe Sebok

This week, the ESPN.com poker program “Inside Deal” welcomed new Ultimate Bet pro and media consultant Joe Sebok. Regular host Bernard Lee was absent, as he was competing in the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Borgata Poker Open.

The show kicked off with “The Soup” and “Community” star Joel McHale serving as a guest host from what appeared to be the E! studios for his “Soup” television franchise. ESPN.com “Inside Deal” host Laura Lane inquired, “Don’t you have two shows of your own and a movie coming out?” Once the opening credits rolled and McHale plugged his movie “The Informant,” ESPN Poker Editor Andrew Feldman took the reigns with Lane for the half-hour.

“Inside Deal” began with discussion of Tom “durrrr” Dwan scooping a $1.1 million pot during the Full Tilt Million Dollar Cash Game at the expense of World Series of Poker (WSOP) November Nine member Phil Ivey. Dwan also took down a $919,000 pot against Barry Greenstein during filming of the fifth season of GSN’s “High Stakes Poker.” Then, the ESPN show turned to two lawsuits surrounding Full Tilt. One involves the dismissal of former employee Jason Newitt, who alleges he was wrongfully dismissed and denied distributions. The other concerns “Face the Ace,” a Full Tilt-sponsored game show that airs on NBC.

Meanwhile, attention turned to the Borgata, where a man took down the ladies’ event during the casino’s Poker Open. Lee appeared via telephone and told “Inside Deal” hosts, “Federal and State laws mandate that they can’t discriminate against a player.” On the reaction of casino patrons, Lee revealed, “Let’s just say that most players aren’t running over to congratulate him.” Nicole Rowe offered a heads-up chop with Abraham Korotki, who refused. Rowe, the sentimental crowd favorite, was set to undergo breast cancer surgery and ultimately finished second. In response, the Borgata donated $5,000 to breast cancer research.

Sebok then joined “Inside Deal” and revealed the timing for joining Team UB: “I took some time to fly down to Costa Rica. We met with the management team to hash out a number of things. I like to think that me coming onto the team is a symbol that we’re moving on and things are getting better.” The list of screen names associated with the Ultimate Bet cheating scandal was recently released, as was a continued emphasis on Russ Hamilton as its mastermind. 11Management orchestrated Sebok’s signing.

Sebok heads PokerRoad, a multimedia company best known for its assortment of poker-related podcasts. He explained the origins of PokerRoad: “It rose out of various radio shows I had done. I wanted to do something else. Playing poker is a blast, but there’s so much more to get into.” On the source of PokerRoad’s content, Sebok candidly explained, “It comes out of our relationships with each other. We spend so much time together, [so] it inevitably comes from that.” Sebok revealed that Ali Nejad has a yet-to-be-completed prop bet that challenges him to eat $45 worth of food at Taco Bell.

On the November Nine, Sebok claimed the bottom three had the two best players in the field, Phil Ivey and James Akenhead. On Jeff Shulman, who sits in the middle of the pack in chips, Sebok noted, “Let’s hope that if he wins, he doesn’t throw the bracelet away.” In the top three, Sebok reiterated that Darvin Moon remains a “wild card.” Many of the industry’s questions about Moon may be answered next week when he joins the “Inside Deal” crew.

Finally, discussion on the ESPN.com poker franchise turned to whether seven celebrities had more or fewer followers on Twitter than Sebok, who has 830,000. Celebrities included McHale, Bill Simmons, Katy Perry, UFC President Dana White, MC Hammer, Justin Timberlake, and LeVar Burton. Sebok is on a “suggested friends” list when new users sign up for the popular social networking tool.

“Inside Deal” is released every Tuesday on ESPN.com.

Poker Pros Michelle and Ho Confirmed for “The Amazing Race”

After two months of speculation, CBS has finally confirmed what the poker world has suspected all along: poker pros Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho will be competing together as a team on the upcoming season of the competition reality show “The Amazing Race.”

Photos, bios and video of the two women went up on the show’s official website on Wednesday, along with those of the other eleven teams competing in the latest installment of the race. Ho and Michelle will be facing off against a wide array of people including a married couple who work as yoga instructors, members of the Harlem Globetrotters, a singer/songwriter team and a contestant who has Asperger’s Syndrome.

Rumors first surfaced of the poker playing pair’s involvement with the show when neither woman participated in this year’s World Series of Poker Main Event. A series of clues, including Michelle alluding to an upcoming project with one of the show’s producers, Jerry Bruckheimer, a forum thread featuring posts from former “Survivor” contestant Jean-Robert Bellande seeking female poker players for a new reality project and fan photos from the shows launch capturing what looked like Ho, all led to speculation that the two ladies would be the latest poker pros to take a stab at reality television.

In the video of the team posted on the show’s website, the two discussed their chosen profession and talked about how they became friends while travelling the poker tournament circuit. Michelle cited their success in a traditionally male-dominated field as one of their strengths as a team. No all-female team has won the show in its 14-season history and the team of Ho and Michelle believe they have a legitimate shot to win. “We’re used to being the women doing the things that no other women are doing”, Michelle explained.

Ho ran down some of the things the ladies did in order to prepare for the event. In addition to taking extensive notes on previous episodes of the show, Ho and Michelle also learned how to drive a stick shift, as there is typically some sort of vehicle-related challenge that involves just such a skill.  She joked that they may not have practiced eating rare and potentially unappetizing food, another staple challenge of the program, but asserted that she and Michelle were mentally prepared to run the race. Michelle and Ho also cited their knowledge of Mandarin Chinese (Ho is fluent) and sign language as potentially helpful skills, but noted that the last season of the race featured a lengthy leg in China, so Ho’s knowledge may not be put to use after all.

Should the two survive in the race long enough to make it to the finale, rumors indicate the two may have home field advantage working in their favor. The Las Vegas Review Journal recently reported that the production crew of the show pulled permits to film in and around Las Vegas in early August. Some of the stops listed on the permits included McCarren International Airport and the famous “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign. While both women hail from Southern California, their poker work requires them to spend several weeks in Vegas each year, so the stop in Vegas would certainly be familiar territory for the duo.

This is not the only exciting news for Michelle. This week it was announced that she will be renewing her sponsorship deal with online poker site Ultimate Bet. Michelle first signed on with the site during her memorable WSOP Main Event run last year. She was the last woman left in the field that year and ultimately finished in 17th place.

“I’m happy to be signing on for another year with UltimateBet and I’m eager to get back to playing in live tournaments and exclusively at their online tables”, Michelle said in regards to her new deal. “The corporate team at UB has been so welcoming and supportive and I’m thrilled to be working with them. I can’t wait for the exciting things in store for us.”

The newest season of “The Amazing Race” begins on Sunday September 27th. The show will air on CBS from 8PM-9PM ET.

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.

Linda Johnson’s Favorite WPT Memories

I had the best job of anyone on the World Poker Tour. I got to travel all over the world, meet lots of awesome people, get my hair and makeup done, entertain an audience of poker players, and say “Shuffle Up and Deal!” I also got to work with an incredible crew including Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten.

My job as the studio announcer was to call the action (announce bet amounts, hole cards when there was an all-in, winning hands, and new blind amounts) in order to keep the audience interested. I involved the audience by playing trivia with them during breaks, telling jokes, and introducing famous poker players and celebrities between hands.

This led to a few awkward moments, of course. During a taping at the Commerce Casino, I saw Doyle Brunson walk in with someone I didn’t know and they sat down to watch. At the appropriate time, I said, “Ladies and gentlemen, we are honored to have the legendary Doyle Brunson in our midst. Doyle, please give us a wave.” Doyle took off his Stetson, waved to the crowd, and he and his friend left a few minutes later. Shortly after that, the producer contacted me through my earpiece and asked why I hadn’t introduced Robert Duvall (the gentleman with Brunson). “Who is Robert Duvall and where does he play,” I asked.

One of the perks of my job was getting to play in the WPT Celebrity Invitational. I always wrote an article about the celebrities at my table, but first they had to identify themselves. Throughout the years, I had played in tournaments with Tobey Maguire, Ben Affleck, Ricki Lake, Montel Williams, Dom DeLuise, Norm McDonald, Camyrn Manheim, Jason Alexander, Paris Hilton, James Woods, Lou Diamond Phillips, Jennifer Tilly, and lots of actors and actresses that everyone except me seemed to recognize.

Every final table was different in its own way, but I don’t believe the excitement of that first-ever WPT event at Bellagio will ever be topped.  The WPT set and announcers’ booth was introduced to the world, as was super hostess Shana Hiatt. The final table consisted of Gus Hansen (who was unknown at the time), John Juanda, Freddy Deeb, Scotty Nguyen, and John Hennigan, all superstars who later won WPT titles. I still remember how impressed I was to see Doug Dalton in his tuxedo pouring champagne to toast the winner.

During my time with the WPT, I traveled to lots of amazing destinations around the world. I actually enjoyed all of them, but for different reasons. For instance, I loved the beaches of Aruba and taping the show in an upstairs restaurant overlooking the ocean. I enjoyed Nassau because I was allowed to wear tropical clothing and not my typical black!

Tunica’s Gold Strike and Biloxi’s Beau Rivage were memorable for the wonderful Southern hospitality and incredible food. I looked forward to Foxwoods for the beauty of the surrounding forests. The Bicycle Casino and the Commerce Casino were special because there was so much poker action when I wasn’t working. Borgata had the best beds.

The Aviation Club in Paris offered the best sightseeing opportunities and the Reno Hilton had the best sushi and a shopping arcade on premises. Fallsview offered incredible views of Niagara Falls from our hotel rooms. Bay 101 had the most energetic, enthusiastic fans, which made my job easy. I always liked taping at the Mirage and Bellagio because I could stay in my own home at night! And of course, I am a bit biased, but I loved the PartyPoker.com Million because I got to spend a week on a Card Player Cruises vacation.

There were lots of funny moments on the WPT. One of the best happened at Foxwoods the year Hoyt Corkins won.  Phil Hellmuth was at the final table and Hoyt was driving him crazy with his aggression and all-ins. Finally, after Hoyt hit a river card, Phil jumped out of his chair and banged his head on the overhead microphone.  Another time, Joe Hachem was at the final table and when he won his first big pot, his fans started yelling, “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oy, Oy, Oy!” I looked at them and said, “Don’t start that crap here.” They must have thought I was serious because they didn’t do it again.

Although I had a few embarrassing moments along the way, such as dropping my microphone battery pack in the toilet or having a hot flash during filming, there were some very special moments too. I’ll always remember Brunson’s inspirational victory at the Bicycle Club. Tears came to my eyes on multiple occasions when I saw the joy of new millionaires being created.  The most emotional moment for me took place during the taping of the “Father/Son Special.” Barry Greenstein and his son, Joe Sebok, eliminated the other teams and were supposed to play each other to determine the winner. Instead, they agreed to push all-in pre-flop and let the cards decide the victor since neither one wanted to beat the other on television.

The first six seasons of the WPT flew by and were full of incredible moments. Maybe someday I’ll write a book about them.