Poker News

Poker Pro Canada Magazine Announced

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tunica WSOP Circuit Event: Michael Crump Wins Kickoff Tournament

After events in Chicago, Southern Indiana, Lake Tahoe, and Atlantic City, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit traveled south to Tunica, Mississippi for its sixth stop of the 2009-2010 season. Michael Crump won the $340 buy-in No Limit Hold’em kickoff event.

A total of 304 players entered the first tournament of the Circuit schedule at Harrah’s Tunica, the closest casino to Memphis, Tennessee. The attendance was markedly lower than in 2009, when 514 players entered the same $340 buy-in event. Accordingly, that meant attendance was down 41%. Nevertheless, Crump made the most of the truncated field, coming out on top for $20,000. In the tournament’s final hand, Jerold Rogers was all-in with 10-5 on a board of 2-9-A-10 for second pair. However, Crump held A-9 for two pair and a queen hit on the river to earn him the win.

Fifth place finisher Mark “Pegasus” Smith owns four WSOP Circuit gold rings and was gunning for a record-setting fifth piece of hardware in Tunica. Smith earned two gold rings in the final two months of 2009, taking down $345 and $340 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournaments in Southern Indiana and Atlantic City. Tied with Smith for four gold rings is 2009 Poker Hall of Fame nominee Men “The Master” Nguyen. All told, Smith owns $450,000 in career WSOP and Circuit Event earnings.

Here’s how the final table shook out in the Old South:

1. Michael Crump - $20,185
2. Jerold Rogers - $12,277
3. Ryan Enis - $8,738
4. Gerard Thorpe - $6,246
5. Mark “Pegasus” Smith - $4,992
6. J. Austin Hijar - $3,746
7. Joseph Pace - $2,500
8. David Couch - $2,027
9. James Whittinghill - $1,719

A total of 19 poker tournaments will play out at Harrah’s Tunica, culminating in the series’ $5,150 buy-in Main Event on February 8th, one day following Super Bowl XLIV. The remaining schedule, which features all No Limit Hold’em events, is as follows. All times are Central:

Friday, January 22nd at 12:00pm
Event #3: No Limit Hold'em
$550 buy-in

Saturday, January 23rd at 12:00pm
Event #4: No Limit Hold'em
$340 buy-in

Sunday, January 24th at 12:00pm
Event #5: Seniors No Limit Hold'em
$230 buy-in

Monday, January 25th at 12:00pm
Event #6: No Limit Hold'em
$230 buy-in

Tuesday, January 26th at 12:00pm
Event #7: No Limit Hold'em
$230 buy-in

Wednesday, January 27th at 12:00pm
Event #8: No Limit Hold'em
$340 buy-in

Thursday, January 28th at 12:00pm
Event #9: No Limit Hold'em
$340 buy-in

Friday, January 29th at 12:00pm
Event #10: No Limit Hold'em
$440 buy-in

Saturday, January 30th at 12:00pm
Event #11: No Limit Hold'em
$550 buy-in

Sunday, January 31st at 12:00pm
Event #12: Ladies No Limit Hold'em
$230 buy-in

Monday, February 1st at 12:00pm
Event #13: No Limit Hold'em
$340 buy-in

Tuesday, February 2nd at 12:00pm
Event #14: No Limit Hold'em
$340 buy-in

Wednesday, February 3rd at 12:00pm
Event #15: No Limit Hold'em
$340 buy-in

Thursday, February 4th at 12:00pm
Event #16: No Limit Hold'em
$440 buy-in

Friday, February 5th at 12:00pm
Event #17: No Limit Hold'em
$550 buy-in

Saturday, February 6th at 12:00pm
Event #18: No Limit Hold'em
$1,080 buy-in

Monday, February 8th at 12:00pm
Event #19: Championship Event
$5,150 buy-in

In last year’s Tunica Circuit Event Championship, Kai Landry defeated David Dao heads-up to earn $183,000. The tournament generated a field of 154 players and a final table that also featured online poker pros Matt “All In At 420” Stout and Mike “goleafsgoeh” Leah. Top tournament pros Kathy Liebert and Full Tilt Poker’s Gavin Smith finished in the money.

Poker in Twitter: Biloxi, Aussie Millions and the MA Senate Race

Now that the poker community has returned from the Bahamas and are no longer racking up expensive roaming charges on their cell phones, they have been posting on the social networking website Twitter with a newfound dedication.  In the past couple of days, players have been dropping Tweets about the Massachusetts Senate race, Biloxi and Australia prelims, their latest big scores and, of course, current events ranging from politics to television.  With so many Tweets and so little time, we know you might be feeling a little twitterpated, so Poker News Daily has taken the time to cull the best Tweets from the past few days for your reading pleasure:

The PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) may be over and done with, but the poker community never rests.  Players have already arrived at both the Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Mississippi and the Crown Casino in Melbourne Australia for the Southern Poker Championship and Aussie Millions, respectively.  Some of the players who headed South for the winter and some action at the tables are Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier, Brent “Astrolux85” Roberts, Full Tilt’s Gavin Smith and Allen “The Chainsaw” Kessler.

According to Mercier’s Twitter feed (@JasonMercier), his hot streak has continued into 2010, as he already made not one, but two final tables so far in Biloxi.  Mercier filled in his followers on his progress on the 19th, writing, “Beau Rivage event 24 final table 5th place finish.” He followed up his impressive showing in the $500 Pot Limit Omaha with rebuys event with another final table run in the $1,000 No Limit Hold’em event.  When Mercier last posted late Wednesday afternoon, he was poised to book his first win of 2010: “Goin to heads up. I have 1.3 vs guys 900k 68k for first!!!”

Another player who notched their first victory of the year is Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad. The Norwegian online poker sensation headed down under following the PCA and was rewarded with a win in the Aussie Millions Pot Limit Omaha event.  Obrestad posted her tournament progress throughout the event on her Twitter feed (@Annette_15) and let everyone know the event was over with a simple, “yayyyyy i won!!!!” Jon "pokertrip" Friedberg had an idea about one way Obrestad could spend her tournament winnings: “are u playing in the 100k...assuming they r running if this yr? Glgl.” Friedberg is referring to the High Rollers event at the Aussie Millions, which boasts an entry fee of AUD $100,000.

While many players had poker on the brain, a number of pros had their attention fixed on the Massachusetts Senate race.  The election determined which Senator would fill the seat previously occupied by the late Ted Kennedy and many poker players expressed frustration and disappointment over the contest’s results.  The always outspoken Alex Outhred (@alexpokerguy) was quick to post his thoughts on Republican Senator Scott Brown’s victory: “Congrats to Dems for putting in a complete scrub. Well done. Idiots. Congrats to Repub's for beating a complete scrub. Well done. Idiots.”

Annie Duke (@RealAnnieDuke), on the other hand, took the win with a grain of salt and could not resist injecting some humor into her Twitter post reacting to the news: “Upon learning that Mass elected a republican senator I glanced out my window and saw 4 scary looking characters riding in on 4 horses.”

A number of members of the poker community seemed more concerned with another battle taking place, namely for control of “The Tonight Show.” Poker Twitterers seem to be loyal members of Team Conan and several of them have Tweeted about how much they enjoy the redheaded funnyman’s treatment of what is a very awkward, uncomfortable and sensitive situation.  World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Live Updates Hostess Amanda Leatherman made it very clear whose side she is on in a post on her @mandaLeatherman Twitter account Wednesday evening: “Conan is f***king amazing. #teamconan.”

Finally, we will leave you on a positive note with a Tweet that just might be the most random thing we’ve seen the past few days.  Online poker player Shannon Shorr previously tweeted that he was skipping out on the PCA in order to support his alma mater, the University of Alabama, and its football team.  Shorr was one of the thousands of people in attendance at the BCS National Championship game at the Rose Bowl during which the Alabama Crimson Tide bested the University of Texas Longhorns to win the title.  While that may give you some inkling as to how loyal a fan Shorr may be, his most recent Tweet on his @shannonshorr feed revealed his dedication as a fan is on a whole different level: “Impulse bought an Alabama Snuggie from CVS Pharmacy.”

If you are as addicted to Twitter as we are, be sure to follow us @PokerNewsDaily so you can stay up to date on all the breaking news in the poker world and be a part of some PND Twitter exclusives in the coming weeks.

WSOPC Heads Back to Tunica

The fifth stop of the WSOPC 2009-2010 season at Harrah's Tunica in Tunica, Mississippi begins Jan. 20 with the first of 19 ring events.

Included in the series are a $200+30 Ladies No Limit Hold'em event, a $200+30 Seniors No Limit Hold'em event and the annual $5,000+150 Harrah's Tunica Main Event Championship.

In last year’s main event, Kai Landry outlasted a field that included pros Gavin Smith, Kathy Liebert and PokerListings’ blogger Matt Stout, who finished third.

Landry won $183,974 and the $10,000 buy-in to the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event.

With four more ring events added, Harrah’s is predicting this year’s Tunica circuit stop will be its biggest and most exciting to date.

"Harrah's Tunica has always been one of the biggest and brightest stops on the circuit," said tournament director, Jimmy Sommerfeld. "Last year, we had all of the tables going throughout the day."

Harrah's Tunica is currently offering special WSOP room rates to players participating in the event.

The main event begins Feb. 8 and runs through Feb. 10.

Visit PokerListings.com

Poker News in Brief: Jan. 11-17, 2010

But there was plenty of poker news that didn’t make the front page of PokerListings.com, and as part of our ongoing Poker News in Brief feature, we’ve compiled a list below.

This week we’ll take a look at Gavin Smith crushing Canadian tournaments, the HPT going to Vegas, a dominant online player quitting poker and more:

Two Final Tables for Smith at Fallsview

Canadian Gavin Smith was dominant at the 2010 Fallsview Poker Classic in Niagara Falls this week.

Fresh off a plane from the Bahamas, Smith outlasted 275 players to win $188,743 in the $2,500 event and then three days later finished fourth in the $5,000 main event.

Smith has historically done very well at tournaments in Canada. In 2008, he finished second at the Fallsview-hosted WPT North American Poker Championship for $542,129. He also made the final table of the 2008 Canadian Open Poker Championship in Calgary the same year.

Heartland Poker Tour Heads to Vegas

The Heartland Poker Tour kicked off its sixth season at Red Rock Resort and Casino in Las Vegas this week.

It was just the second time the lower buy-in poker tour has made a stop in Las Vegas, as it usually sticks to venues in Midwest. In the past, the tour has hosted tournaments in Indiana, Colorado, Minnesota, New York, Michigan and Iowa.

The $1,100 buy-in event drew poker pros Dennis Phillips, Layne Flack, John Vorhaus and Tiffany Michelle.

The final table of the tournament is scheduled to play out later today.

Jonas "Nebuchad" Danielsson Quits Poker

Online grinder Jonas “Nebuchad” Danielsson, perhaps most well-known for making a verbal slip at the 2008 Scandinavian Poker Awards, has apparently decided to leave poker for the time being.

Danielsson made the announcement on his blog where he wrote that his passion for poker was gone and he was looking forward to experiencing new things. He did not mention how long his self-imposed retirement would last.

The young Swedish pro started playing poker full time in 2005 and in roughly five years of playing made over $3 million in profit.

Danielsson won Online Player of the Year at the Scandinavian Poker Awards in 2008, but was better remembered for accidentally referring to King Nebuchadnezzar as the first king to “deal with the Jewish problem” when explaining the origin of his screen name to host Daniel Negreanu.

English is not Danielson’s first language and he explained afterwards he was deeply sorry about the miscommunication.

Tennis Star John Isner Plays Poker

Apparently Boris Becker isn’t the only tennis celebrity that enjoys playing a little poker.

The New Zealand Herald reported this week that American John Isner can often be found at the poker table when he’s not playing tennis.

The 6’9 giant was making headlines all week in Auckland at the Heineken Open and even pulled off an upset against top seeded Spanish player Tommy Robredo.

Isner joins the aforementioned Becker as well as former tennis world #1 Yvegeny Kafelnikov as tennis players who are also poker enthusiasts.

Borgata Announces 2010 Winter Poker Open

The Borgata in Atlantic City released a schedule for its fifth annual Borgata Winter Poker Open this week.

The tournament series will take place Jan. 20-Feb. 5 with 16 events in a wide range of poker variants including No-Limit Hold’em, Pot-Limit Omaha, Seven-Card Stud and more.

The $3,500 buy-in main event is scheduled for Jan. 31-Feb. 5 and it will offer a guaranteed prize pool of $2 million.

The Borgata Winter Open used to be a part of the World Poker Tour and in the past crowned champions like Michael Mizrachi, Gavin Griffin and John Hennigan.

Visit the Borgata website for the complete schedule.

Visit PokerListings.com

Poker News in Brief: Jan. 11-17, 2010

But there was plenty of poker news that didn’t make the front page of PokerListings.com, and as part of our ongoing Poker News in Brief feature, we’ve compiled a list below.

This week we’ll take a look at Gavin Smith crushing Canadian tournaments, the HPT going to Vegas, a dominant online player quitting poker and more:

Two Final Tables for Smith at Fallsview

Canadian Gavin Smith was dominant at the 2010 Fallsview Poker Classic in Niagara Falls this week.

Fresh off a plane from the Bahamas, Smith outlasted 275 players to win $188,743 in the $2,500 event and then three days later finished fourth in the $5,000 main event.

Smith has historically done very well at tournaments in Canada. In 2008, he finished second at the Fallsview-hosted WPT North American Poker Championship for $542,129. He also made the final table of the 2008 Canadian Open Poker Championship in Calgary the same year.

Heartland Poker Tour Heads to Vegas

The Heartland Poker Tour kicked off its sixth season at Red Rock Resort and Casino in Las Vegas this week.

It was just the second time the lower buy-in poker tour has made a stop in Las Vegas, as it usually sticks to venues in Midwest. In the past, the tour has hosted tournaments in Indiana, Colorado, Minnesota, New York, Michigan and Iowa.

The $1,100 buy-in event drew poker pros Dennis Phillips, Layne Flack, John Vorhaus and Tiffany Michelle.

The final table of the tournament is scheduled to play out later today.

Jonas "Nebuchad" Danielsson Quits Poker

Online grinder Jonas “Nebuchad” Danielsson, perhaps most well-known for making a verbal slip at the 2008 Scandinavian Poker Awards, has apparently decided to leave poker for the time being.

Danielsson made the announcement on his blog where he wrote that his passion for poker was gone and he was looking forward to experiencing new things. He did not mention how long his self-imposed retirement would last.

The young Swedish pro started playing poker full time in 2005 and in roughly five years of playing made over $3 million in profit.

Danielsson won Online Player of the Year at the Scandinavian Poker Awards in 2008, but was better remembered for accidentally referring to King Nebuchadnezzar as the first king to “deal with the Jewish problem” when explaining the origin of his screen name to host Daniel Negreanu.

English is not Danielson’s first language and he explained afterwards he was deeply sorry about the miscommunication.

Tennis Star John Isner Plays Poker

Apparently Boris Becker isn’t the only tennis celebrity that enjoys playing a little poker.

The New Zealand Herald reported this week that American John Isner can often be found at the poker table when he’s not playing tennis.

The 6’9 giant was making headlines all week in Auckland at the Heineken Open and even pulled off an upset against top seeded Spanish player Tommy Robredo.

Isner joins the aforementioned Becker as well as former tennis world #1 Yvegeny Kafelnikov as tennis players who are also poker enthusiasts.

Borgata Announces 2010 Winter Poker Open

The Borgata in Atlantic City released a schedule for its fifth annual Borgata Winter Poker Open this week.

The tournament series will take place Jan. 20-Feb. 5 with 16 events in a wide range of poker variants including No-Limit Hold’em, Pot-Limit Omaha, Seven-Card Stud and more.

The $3,500 buy-in main event is scheduled for Jan. 31-Feb. 5 and it will offer a guaranteed prize pool of $2 million.

The Borgata Winter Open used to be a part of the World Poker Tour and in the past crowned champions like Michael Mizrachi, Gavin Griffin and John Hennigan.

Visit the Borgata website for the complete schedule.

Visit PokerListings.com

The Nightly Turbo: Ladbrokes Chief Steps Down, Smith Wins, and More

Tonight we're bringing you news on Ladbrokes' chief stepping down, Gavin Smith winning the Fallsview Classic, and more.

A sick tattoo prop bet at the LA Poker Classic

You may have read our piece about Ivey and Dwan cross-booking each other’s action at the PCA. Well, despite the fact that it could have lead to durrrr paying Ivey over $2,000,000 we think that the last longer bet between Jeff Madsen, Joe Sebok and Gavin Smith is way more hardcore.

A sick tattoo prop bet at the LA Poker Classic

You may have read our piece about Ivey and Dwan cross-booking each other’s action at the PCA. Well, despite the fact that it could lead to durrrr paying Ivey over $2,000,000 we think that the last longer bet between Jeff Madsen, Joe Sebok and Gavin Smith is way more hardcore.

Poker News in Brief: Jan. 4-10, 2010

The 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure drew a record 1,529 players to generate a $14.8 million prize pool – the seventh biggest in poker history.

Plus, there was some poker news that happened outside of the Bahamas and we’re breaking it down for you below in our ongoing Poker News in Brief feature.

This week we’ll look at a new poker film coming to DVD, Pennsylvania legalizing live poker and table games, Belgium moving to nationalize online poker and Bodog making a big brag.

Legal Poker for Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania legalized poker, blackjack and other table games at Casinos this week in an attempt to generate extra revenue for the State.

Previously, casinos in Pennsylvania had been restricted to slot machines only.

It will be six months before games start being dealt in Pennsylvania, but the State stands to make millions in licensing fees.

Several neighboring states are taking notice and Indiana is considering allowing riverboat gambling in Lake Michigan and the Ohio River. Back in November, Ohio voters passed a law that will see four casinos constructed in four cities.

The Pennsylvania law change could have a potentially negative effect on neighboring Atlantic City if Pennsylvania residents opt to gamble closer to home.

Poker Film “Shark City” to See DVD Release

Indie poker flick Shark City is scheduled to be released on DVD on Feb. 16 though Morningstar Entertainment and Stardust Pictures.

The film stars Vivica A. Fox, Carlo Rota, Jefferson Brown and David J. Phillips and it centers around around the story of two friends who get mixed up with the daughter of a gangster. The two attempt to con a group of gangsters through a poker game and the plan goes awry.

High stakes poker, both live and online, is central to the theme of the film.

Shark City won the John Muir award at the Yosemite Film Festival.

To learn more go to the film’s website.

Belgium Attempts to “Nationalize” Online Poker

Belgium appears to be the latest country that is trying to restrict its citizens to only playing on local online poker rooms.

A recent story in Belgian newspaper Da Standaard claims the government has plans to demand Internet Service Providers block any foreign online poker sites.

This could potentially have huge ramifications for sites like PokerStars, Full Tilt or PartyPoker as they would have to set up regional offices in the country to continue operations.

The changes are scheduled to become law before the end of the year.

Meanwhile, the European Commission is reportedly not pleased with Belgium’s decision claiming it goes against the free trade agreement made by members of the European Union.

Despite the European Commission’s objections, Italy currently restricts its online poker market to rooms that have a presence in the country.

Study Shows Bodog Best Brand

Bodog may not have the most players, but according to a recent independent study it carries the strongest brand recognition.

The report was conducted by gaming consultant Josh Apiafi using Google to understand the brand strength of the top 10 online poker websites including PokerStars, William Hill, 888.com, Bet365, Betfair, bwin, Ladbrokes, Paddy Power, PartyPoker and Bodog.

“We had a hunch since I first rolled out the Bodog brand and business model that we are considered interesting,” said Bodog founder Calvin Ayre. “But that’s only part of the story – we also stand for having fun and that’s what all people want, especially ones that like to gamble."

The survey was conducted by looking at the number of Google alerts generated daily during December. Apiafi recorded every time a document was published that contained a mention of the brands listed above.

In the end, Bodog narrowly edged PokerStars by a score of 510 to 493.

Huge Growth for HeadsUp Entertainment

HeadsUp Entertainment, a poker media company out of Canada, posted its most recent quarterly statement this week and the company showed massive expansion in 2009.

The company sanctioned 362 events under its Canadian Poker Tour (CPT) brand this year, up from the 71 since it acquired the tour in 2008. HeadsUp Entertainment is aiming to host more than 560 events in 2010.

Also in 2009, HeadsUp Entertainment helped produce the CPT Finals in the Dominican Republic and Canadian Open Poker Championships in Calgary for television.  The Canadian Open Poker Championship drew big-name poker players like Gavin Smith, Jennifer Tilly and Huck Seed.

HeadsUp Entertainment also currently runs www.canadianpokertour.tv and Canadian Poker Magazine.

Visit PokerListings.com

The Nightly Turbo: Smith/Sebok/Madsen Prop Bet, Jayde Nicole at PCA, and More

Tonight's Nightly Turbo is bringing you the news on Joe Sebok, Gavin Smith, and Jeff Madsen's prop bet, Jayde Nicole's PCA run, and more.We're also a little video crazy today, but sometimes it's fun to watch and not read.

Kevin Saul, Amnon Filippi Among PCA Day 1A Leaders

Day 1A of the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) played out on Tuesday, with 668 players taking to the felts inside the Atlantis Resort and Casino in the Bahamas. Wayne Bentley, a PokerStars qualifier from Britain, leads the way with 329,500 chips.

Bentley nearly amassed 11 times the starting stack of 30,000 in the $10,000 buy-in poker tournament after eight levels of play. He held pocket aces and eliminated a player with pocket kings within the first few minutes of Day 1A, doubling his stack to 60,000, and he never looked back. Team PokerStars Pro member Daniel Negreanu issued the traditional “Shuffle up and deal” command moments earlier. At the end of Day 1A, 430 players remained in the hunt.

Bentley sits comfortably in front of the second place stack of Amnon Filippi, who held a pile of 220,100 chips at the end of Day 1A. The accomplished poker pro was nearly 50,000 chips ahead of online poker pro Kevin “BeL0WaB0Ve” Saul, the winner of the 2007 installment of the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Bellagio Cup for $1.3 million. Last year, Saul finished eighth in the PCA Main Event for $234,000, outlasting all but seven of the 1,347 players who entered.

Team PokerStars Sports Stars will be out in full force on Wednesday for Day 1B, as German tennis legend Boris Becker, Swedish NHL star Mats Sundin, Dutch hockey pro Fatima De Melo, baseball commentator Orel Hershiser, and U.K. football legend Teddy Sheringham will all take to the felts. Also entering on Day 1B is Mike Kosowski, the winner of Season 1 of the “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge.” Kosowski earned $1 million after defeating Negreanu heads-up in the finale of the poker game show last month.

2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event November Nine member Eric Buchman sits in sixth place after Day 1A with 159,100 chips. The PokerStars sponsored player finished fourth in the $10,000 buy-in feature tournament in Las Vegas in November, adding $2.5 million to his net worth. The event was ultimately won by Joe Cada, who will take to the felts for Day 1B today. Joining him will be pros like Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, Humberto Brenes, and Victor Ramdin. Also playing is rapper Nelly, who has become somewhat of a staple on the poker circuit in recent months.

Here were the top ten chip stacks in the Bahamas after the smoke had cleared on Day 1A of the 2010 PCA Main Event:

1. Wayne Bentley - 329,500
2. Amnon Filippi - 220,100
3. Kevin Saul - 175,500
4. Eric Froehlich - 166,000
5. Dustin Dorrance-Bowman - 163,700
6. Eric Buchman - 159,100
7. Garðar Geir Hauksson - 138,900
8. Jacob Avital - 137,700
9. Christian Schwarz - 133,200
10. Rafal Michalowski - 129,300

The PCA is a stop on both the European Poker Tour (EPT) and Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT) and, as such, has attracted a global field. Still remaining after Day 1A are players from the United States, United Kingdom, Iceland, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Germany, Ukraine, Brazil, Canada, Sweden, Mexico, Turks and Caicos, Russia, Finland, Argentina, France, Norway, Switzerland, Slovakia, Poland, Denmark, Hungary, Czech Republic, Ireland, Belgium, New Zealand, Romania, Australia, Slovenia, Greece, Costa Rica, Austria, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Curiously absent is a representative from the host nation, the Bahamas.

Last year’s champion, Poorya Nazari, hails from Canada and nearly tripled his stack on Day 1A. Notable players who survived the first starting day, along with their chip counts, include:

Dennis Phillips – 113,000
Dario Minieri – 109,800
Vivek “Psyduck” Rajkumar – 106,400
Poorya Nazari – 89,300
Barry Greenstein – 89,200
Jeff Madsen – 79,400
John Duthie – 60,100
Marcel Luske – 55,600
Gavin Smith – 54,000
Jean-Robert Bellande – 53,900
Kevin Schaffel – 53,200
Bernard Lee – 46,800
Amit “amak316” Makhija – 42,000
Steven Paul-Ambrose – 37,900
“Miami” John Cernuto – 36,500
Chris “moorman1” Moorman – 34,700
Ivan Demidov – 27,600
Tom McEvoy – 19,900
Huck Seed – 16,000
Jeff “yellowsub” Williams – 13,100

Play wrapped up in Level 8, when blinds were 400-800 with a 100-chip ante. Day 1B will encompass the same eight levels before the field merges for Day 2 on Thursday.

PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Day 1A Attracts 668 Entrants

Day 1A of the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) Main Event attracted a starting grid of 668 entrants. The official number from the world’s largest online poker site was passed down around 3:30pm local time in the Bahamas.

The $10,000 buy-in tournament, a stop on the European Poker Tour (EPT) and Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT), saw a field of 1,347 runners take to the felts in 2009. Therefore, a total of 679 players will need to turn out on Day 1B on Wednesday in order to match last year’s total. Among those in the field on Tuesday was Wayne Bentley, who doubled up within the first few minutes of the tournament after picking up pocket aces and sending a player to the rails who held pocket kings. The flop fell queen-high and Fernando Issas saw his 2010 PCA title hopes dashed soon after the opening gong.

One table in the outer reaches of the playing area featured a blockbuster lineup that included former EPT Monte Carlo Grand Final champion Jeff “yellowsub” Williams, 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) November Nine member Kevin Schaffel, and Full Tilt Poker pro Gavin Smith. Coverage found on the official website of the PCA candidly assessed the group: “That's a tough one.”

2006 PCA champion Steven Paul-Ambrose put in a healthy bet of 3,800 on the river holding A-Q on a board of A-Q-10-J-7 for top two pair. However, his opponent called and flipped up a wired pair of jacks for a set, cutting Ambrose’s stack to around 29,300. Shortly thereafter, Marcel Luske flopped a set of fours on an 8-3-4 board to push his tally in the 2010 PCA to 32,000.

By 5:30pm, word of a private sit and go in the depths of the Atlantis Resort and Casino in Nassau was brewing. It featured the cast of the “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge,” which wrapped up following Christmas with Mike Kosowski, a 9/11 first responder, defeating Team PokerStars Pro member Daniel Negreanu to earn $1 million. Kosowski did not play in the sit and go, which saw Brian Barboza claim a $10,000 seat in the PCA Main Event tomorrow. Barboza won $100,000 on the poker game show and was one of four players who vied for the chance to face Negreanu heads-up for $1 million.

Daniel Negreanu made waves near the midpoint of Day 1A. First, he sent Belgium PokerStars qualifier Pierre Neuville to the rails after the Euro ran pocket sevens into Negreanu’s pocket kings. That hand pushed Negreanu’s chip stack to 90,000, or three times the starting total. Then, Negreanu put in a raise on a board reading A-10-2-A-5. An opponent nearly showed his hand thinking that Negreanu had just called, but upon realizing that Negreanu had raised, put in a raise of his own.

Negreanu claimed he saw his opponent’s hand, which he thought was A-5 or A-4, resulting in a call to the PCA’s floor staff. In the end, PCA coverage details the result of the controversial hand: “The floor man made the ruling that although there would be no penalty for Lucatelli exposing his cards, the re-raise didn't stand. Lucatelli could only call.” The Italian turned over A-10, while Negreanu held 3-4 for a straight.

At the time of writing, here were several of the chip stacks of Team PokerStars Pro members in the 2010 PCA Main Event on Day 1A:

Daniel Negreanu – 89,000
Barry Greenstein – 60,000
Dario Minieri – 55,000
Sebastian Ruthenberg – 53,000
George Danzer – 50,600
Steve Paul-Ambrose – 50,000
Dennis Phillips – 47,000

Blinds were 200-400 with a 50-chip ante in Level 6.

Golf Magazine Features High-Stakes Golf with Poker Players

It is well-known that top poker players do not limit their bets to just the green felts. Many players like to step to the pits in a casino and hit the table games, like 2009 November Nine member Phil Ivey, whose craps exploits were featured in a recent issue of “ESPN: The Magazine.” Others like to make outlandish proposition bets to feed their adrenaline rush of high-stakes betting. A recent magazine article focused on one of the other betting outlets that poker players have flocked to.

In the November 2009 edition of “Golf Magazine,” an article entitled “The Golf Sharks” by Josh Sens documents a foursome that, if seen on the poker tables, would send most players heading for cover. Phil Hellmuth, Layne Flack, Erick Lindgren, and Gavin Smith are the featured players as they play at stakes of $10,000 per hole. The game is a two-man best ball event, with Hellmuth and Flack taking on Lindgren and Smith.

Because the focus of the article is on the quartet’s golfing abilities, Sens dissects each player’s style with an unwavering eye. For Hellmuth, Sens comments, “His stance is shut, his backswing is a spasm and he sways through impact.” Hellmuth is confident, though, that he and Flack can take the match, commenting, “(We’ll play) well enough to win.”

Flack was able to get the athletic Lindgren (who won almost $350,000 in a golf bet during the 2007 World Series of Poker) and the former hockey player Smith to give two shots a side. In addition, Hellmuth would hit off the white tees, which feature a shorter route to the green than the more difficult pro tees. Lindgren comments, “They (Hellmuth and Flack) have no shame.”

Sens then documents the historical connection between golf and poker (and its high-stakes wagering). He mentions the now-defunct Professional Gamblers Invitational, which was active in the 1970s, was run by Jack Binion and featured some of the top golfing gamblers from across the country. He also invokes the names of two of the legends of the game, Dewey Tomko and Doyle Brunson, as connections among golfing, gambling, and poker.

In the end, the match looks as if it is going to end “all square,” the golfing vernacular for tied, when Hellmuth pulls off an incredible shot into the wind and over water. Landing it ten feet from the pin, he guarantees that his team will hold onto its one-hole edge and take home the money. “How’s that for clutch,” Sens quotes Hellmuth as saying as the round ends with no money exchanged. “We’ll wait until the poker tables,” Smith says, “and pay them with chips.”

What was surprising about this outing is that one of the most golf-mad poker players around, Daniel Negreanu, wasn’t part of it. His attempts to perfect his game have led to a never-ending series of jokes from Brunson on his blog, such as the oldie but goodie, “Daniel: Do you think it’s a sin to play on Sunday? Caddie – The way you play, it’s a sin on any day.” Negreanu can often be found during poker tournaments pantomiming his swing, searching for tips in his approach.

With such events as the World Series of Golf and the continued escapades of foursomes like the ones Sens features in “Golf Magazine,” it is easy to see that the connection between golf and poker isn’t going away anytime soon.

Poker2Nite Welcomes Gavin Smith

The final UB.com sponsored “Poker2Nite” of 2009 aired on Wednesday night and featured Gavin Smith along with a recap of the outgoing calendar year. In addition, Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo broke down a hand from the 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) on the Fox Sports Net poker news franchise.

“Poker2Nite” hosts Joe Sebok and Scott Huff ticked off their top three poker stories of 2009. For Sebok, the WSOP Main Event final table came in at number three, as he told viewers, “It had more suckouts than a Blow Pop factory.” Huff added, “It finally proved that the November Nine format can work.” Number two on Sebok’s best of 2009 list was the arrival of Isildur1, who stormed onto the high-stakes online poker scene late in the year. Sebok noted, “For somebody to come out of the mystery and take over is pretty unbelievable.” Sebok’s top story of 2009 was Phil Ivey, who won two WSOP bracelets and reached the final table of the Main Event. He also appeared on the cover of “ESPN: The Magazine.”

Huff then shared his top three poker news stories of the year. First up for the “Poker2Nite” host was Lada Gaga introducing her hit song “Poker Face” to the world. Huff explained, “You have the biggest pop star in the world making a song about her poker face.” Number two was the WSOP Main Event Day 1D lockout, which saw 500 players shut out of poker’s most prestigious tournament when it reached capacity. Huff questioned, “How do you shut people out of the Main Event of the WSOP?” Number one for Huff was the compliance delay of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). As it stands, the financial services industry in the United States has until June 1st to comply with the 2006 law.

“Poker2Nite” correspondent Lacey Jones interviewed players at the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic asking what their New Year’s resolutions are for 2010. Shawn Buchanan stated that he wanted to win a WSOP bracelet, while Shaun Deeb explained that he’d rent a house in Europe. Vivek “Psyduck” Rajkumar vowed to study the game more, while Steve “MrTimCaum” O’Dwyer desired to be more organized. Finally, UB.com pro Adam “Roothlus” Levy told Jones that he would lose weight in 2010.

Smith, a Full Tilt Poker pro, then joined the show. He described 2009 as, “Awful. Atrocious. Terrible. It’s my very first ever losing year in tournament poker.” He added, “I don’t think I ever tried to win.” Smith took home $120,000 from an episode of NBC’s “Poker After Dark” and earned $30,000 at the 2009 WSOP. A man known for prop betting, Smith explained the origin of a tattoo featuring the initials “J.S.” on his shoulder: “At the L.A. Poker Classic a few years ago, [Sebok and I] had a last longer bet and the loser was supposed to get the other man’s initials on his butt.” Smith, upon hearing how painful a tattoo on his rear would be, instead immortalized Sebok’s initials on his shoulder.

Bonomo appeared in a segment entitled “In the Tank,” breaking down a hand from the 2008 WSOP against David “Chino” Rheem and Roland de Wolfe. The Bodog pro described his thought process on every street, although Bonomo ultimately dropped the pot to de Wolfe, who picked off Bonomo’s bluff. Bonomo bet after the river brought three clubs to the board, explaining, “Roland has to be afraid of that card,” but de Wolfe called with an underpair to the board.

Dana Workman doled out the “Weekly Misdeal,” a satirical look at recent poker headlines. Workman chose to recap the top offbeat stories of 2009, including Ivey’s numerous side bets involving bracelet wins at the 2009 WSOP, the Poker Hall of Fame nomination of Tom “durrrr” Dwan, and UB.com pro Annie Duke’s feud with comedian Joan Rivers.

“Poker2Nite” airs on Wednesdays at 11:00pm ET on Fox Sports Net. Check your local listings for more information, as the show is often pre-empted due to local sports programming.

Online Poker Star Darryll Fish Leads WPT Five Diamond After Day 1

After a month-long hiatus, the World Poker Tour (WPT) returned to action on Monday with the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic. A total of 292 players entered, with registration still open on Day 2, and all but 57 survived the day.

Darryll “DFish” Fish leads the pack after one day of play in Las Vegas, holding a stack of 236,000, a slight lead over the second place total of Jon “PearlJammer” Turner, one of the top minds in poker. Turner holds 227,000 chips and will headline Table 45 on Tuesday, where a cast that includes Chad “lilholdem954” Batista, Absolute Poker pro Mark Seif, and Jared “TheWacoKidd” Hamby will join him.

Fish made waves on Monday by knocking out defending WPT Five Diamond champion David “Chino” Rheem. Rheem found himself all-in on a flop of 7-5-3 with two hearts holding 6-4 for the stone cold nuts. Fish had pocket threes for bottom set and, rooting for the board to pair to make a full house, watched as the turn came another seven. Fish’s stack grew to over 150,000 after all was said and done in the hand and Rheem hit the rails. Rheem was a member of the inaugural World Series of Poker (WSOP) November Nine in a final table won by Danish poker pro Peter Eastgate.

Fish has been on a tear online, winning an event held during the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) in September for well over $200,000. In April, he won the challenging Full Tilt Poker $1K Monday to the tune of $81,000 and three months later found the winner’s circle in the Daily Eighty Grand on PokerStars. Another online poker sensation, Billy “Patrolman35” Kopp, sits in fourth place at the Bellagio with a chip stack of 201,000. Here’s a look at the rather eclectic top ten in the WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic after Day 1:

1. Darryl “DFish” Fish - 236,625
2. Jon “PearlJammer” Turner - 227,325
3. David Woo - 205,000
4. Billy “Patrolman35” Kopp - 201,325
5. Carlos Mortensen - 194,525
6. Antonio Esfandiari - 184,225
7. Cory “UGOTPZD” Carroll - 184,025
8. Justin Tazelaar - 169,200
9. Nashaat Antonious - 164,100
10. David “Viffer” Peat - 160,000

Players can register through the midway point on Day 2, so the final attendance figure remains up in the air. As it stands now, however, the field size is off by a staggering 41% from last year’s tally of 497, which ended with Rheem defeating Justin Young for the title in the $15,000 buy-in tournament for $1.5 million. Coverage found on the official website of the WPT adds, “This tournament has more late registrants than most.”

Kopp sent crowd favorite Daniel Negreanu to the rails with pocket jacks against pocket tens. The flop fell J-9-8, giving Kopp top set and Negreanu an open-ended straight draw, but the turn and river bricked out for the PokerStars pro and sent him packing. Also eliminated on Monday was Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little, a former Player of the Year on the WPT circuit. Little flopped top two pair on a board of 9-7-3 with two hearts, but Soheil Shamseddin’s K-9 of hearts found a flush. The hand bumped Shamseddin’s stack to 95,000 and he ended the day with 120,000, good for 26th place. Other notable names in the top 50 on the leaderboard after Day 1 include:

11. David Benyamine – 157,000
12. Eric “Rizen” Lynch – 154,000
16. Jimmy “Gobboboy” Fricke – 145,000
24. Kenna James – 121,000
30. “Miami” John Cernuto – 117,000
33. Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin – 112,000
41. Cornel Andrew Cimpan – 107,000
44. Gavin Smith – 106,000
45. Bryan “badbeatninja” Devonshire – 105,000

When play concluded on Day 1, blinds were 300-600 with a 50 chip ante. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest WPT coverage from the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic.

2009 WSOP Year in Review

When the late gaming legend Benny Binion brought the World Series of Poker (WSOP) on the world, little did he know what it would become. What began 40 years ago as a gathering of Texas road gamblers in a quaint Las Vegas hotel has grown to become a behemoth that now spans an entire calendar year. By 2009, the WSOP was no longer a week-long reunion, but rather a year-long caravan that traverses the United States and ventures across the Atlantic to play in England.

While many may still think the WSOP begins in June, it truly takes place year-round with the WSOP Circuit. Now in its fifth year, the WSOP Circuit was created to combat the drawing power and success of the World Poker Tour (WPT) and, for the most part, has been successful. In 2009, many Circuit events took place that brought special moments.

The WSOP Circuit could be considered the minor leagues of poker, offering previously unknown players a chance to make their name in the game. In addition, such professional players as Gavin Smith, Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, Men “The Master” Nguyen, Matt “All In At 420” Stout, and Alex Bolotin made final tables during the run of the 2009 WSOP Circuit schedule prior to the start of the Las Vegas WSOP in May. Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo and Los Angeles poker veteran Jean “Prince” Gaspard took home WSOP Circuit championships, but perhaps the person who can say he “pwns” the Circuit is Dwyte Pilgrim.

Pilgrim began an unprecedented run by capturing the title at Harrah’s Rincon in San Diego in April and rolled off four consecutive cashes in WSOP Circuit Championship Events, something that no other player had ever done. With this performance, the Brooklyn, New York poker player established himself as one of the up and coming stars of poker.

Days after Gaspard’s triumph at the New Orleans WSOP Circuit Championship Event, the 40th Anniversary WSOP kicked off in Las Vegas at the Rio. With a new sponsor in Jack Links Beef Jerky, the 57 bracelet events drew combatants from around the world, with over 120 nations represented. While it wasn’t known when the cards first flew in late May, the 40th WSOP would go down as arguably one of the best of all time.

For the first time ever at the WSOP, a No Limit Texas Hold’em event was held that exceeded the traditional $10,000 Championship Event. The $40,000 Anniversary Special drew some of the top names in the game. Former World Champion Greg Raymer drove deep into the event before falling in third place. Eventual champion Vitaly Lunkin bested Isaac Haxton to take down the once in a lifetime championship.

In such a combative field over the multitude of events, there were an astounding four multiple bracelet winners during the 2009 WSOP. Full Tilt Poker could claim two in Phil Ivey and Greg “FBT” Mueller and Brock Parker announced his arrival on the poker world with his two bracelet victories. Making history, though, was poker veteran Jeffrey Lisandro; his three bracelet wins in different Stud disciplines were enough to enable him to capture the 2009 WSOP Player of the Year award.

The $10,000 Main Event drew a substantial field of 6,494, which would have been larger except for a Day 1D fiasco that prevented an estimated additional 500 players from participating. After two weeks of play, the poker world was once again set for the November Nine, with amateur poker player Darvin Moon leading a pack of players that included Ivey and fellow poker notable Jeff Shulman.

The £10,000 WSOP Europe Main Event drew 334 players and saw two members of the 2009 “November Nine,” Antoine Saout and James Akenhead, make the final table. Eventual champion Barry Shulman, the father of Jeff, defeated crowd favorite Daniel Negreanu via a stunning, rivered two-outer on the next to last hand of the tournament.

After the furor of WSOP Europe calmed down, the November Nine came back to the felt on November 7th to determine the next World Champion. Moon held his own at the final table, as Ivey was dismissed in seventh and Shulman departed in fifth. Saout made a stirring run at the title, starting as the short stack, but battling through adversity to finish third. The true story of the November Nine, though, was Joe Cada.

Cada rode a roller coaster through the final table, his chip stack surging up and down throughout the 14-hour battle. At one point, his stack was at 2.5 million, but he began a comeback for the ages.

With a tremendous chip lead, the youthful Cada, who was weaned on online play, seemed to be the odds-on favorite to take out Moon, who eschewed sponsorship from online poker rooms. It took a rousing two and a half hours of play, with the chip lead shifting back and forth, before Cada emerged as the champion. With the victory, Cada eclipsed the record for youngest WSOP Main Event champion ever, set in 2008 by Peter Eastgate.

The most stunning development of the year in the WSOP occurred after the completion of the November Nine. Longtime WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack announced on November 13th that he would step down as the leader of the penultimate event in poker after a four-year run. During his time as Commissioner, Pollack increased the visibility of the WSOP, brought huge sponsorships to the tournament, and introduced the November Nine concept to the Main Event. While there were some low points in his tenure as commissioner, Pollack helped to enrich the history of the WSOP and left his mark on the venerable institution. As of December, there has been no move to replace Pollack in the position of WSOP Commissioner.

As the calendar turns to 2010, the WSOP continues to roll along. Even now, people are already in preparation for the event, much as it has been for the past 40 years and will continue to be for decades to come.

British Columbia Poker Championship Winner Sophon Sek Arrested

Less than a day after winning this year’s British Columbia Poker Championship and earning the first place prize of $364,364, 30 year-old Sophon Sek was arrested on charges of manslaughter and breaking and entering.  As a result, his prize money is being held at the casino at the request of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and there is a chance it will be confiscated from Sek altogether.

Sek is the sixth person arrested in connection with the Surrey Six murder case.  In October of 2007, six people were shot in the head and killed in the Surrey area high rise apartment building Balmoral Towers.  The murders are believed to be an act of gang violence, as four of the six victims were known to be part of the British Columbia drug trade.  The men suspected in the murders are members of the Red Scorpions, one of the largest and most influential gangs in British Columbia.  The Surrey Six slayings are considered to be one of the worst instances of gang violence in modern British Columbian history.

The Vancouver Sun newspaper reported that Sek is believed to be an associate of the Red Scorpions as well.  Statements from Corporal Dale Carr of the police force gave little insight on why Sek was arrested and faced lesser charges than the other five men previously detained in the killings, but the Sun reported that Sek is not believed to be one of the murderers. According to the paper, the RCMP believe that it was Sek who let the perpetrators into the high rise, though it is still unclear whether or not he was aware of their intentions.

Howard Blank, Vice President of the Great Canadian Gaming Corporation, reported that the RCMP requested Sek’s winnings from the $2,700 (CDN) buy-in event.  Sek outlasted a field of 679 players including poker pros Gavin Smith, “Yukon” Brad Booth, Mike “SirWatts” Watson, Tiffany Michelle, Maria Ho, Greg “FBT” Mueller, and Scott “BigRiskky” Clements, who made the final table, finishing in seventh place.

Sek was set to return to River Rock Casino in Vancouver, the site of the event, to pick up his winnings Monday, but his arrest prevented him from doing so.  He is currently being held in custody until his trial date on November 30th.  His lawyer, Alan Ip, spoke to the British Columbia Globe and Mail about the seizure of Sek’s winnings.  According to Ip, unless the money was taken as evidence in the case, it was unjustly seized.  Carr told the Sun he was not aware of the RCMP’s request for the casino to hold the funds and could not provide an explanation as to why the money would be seized in relation to the case.  Ip also emphasized how saddened his client was at the prospect of losing his tournament earnings, as he planned to pursue his love for poker and play in other events in the future.

One of the five other suspects in the case, Dennis Karbonavec, has already pled guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.  Following his admission of guilt, three others were arrested in relation to the case in April of 2008 and have been in pretrial custody ever since.  The charges against the men include first and second degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and various firearms-related charges.

This is not the first time Sek has had a run in with the police.  He was previously charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm in July of 2008.

2009 BC Poker champion arrested

The 30-year old Surrey man has been charged with manslaughter and break and enter in relation to the gangland murders of six people, including two innocent bystanders, in 2007.

The incident is referred to locally as the Surrey Six Slaughter.

Sek made an appearance in Surrey Provincial Court today, but was sent back into custody to await continuation of his trial Nov. 30.

He could still face additional charges in connection to the murders, according to Cpl. Dale Carr of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Integrated Homicide Investigation Team.

Sek outlasted 679 players to win this year's $2,700 (CDN) buy-in BC Poker Championships late Sunday night at the River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond, a suburb of Vancouver.

Sek's $364,364 (CDN) in prize money is being held by the Great Canadian Gaming Corporation at the request of the RCMP, according to Howard Blank, vice president of media, entertainment and responsible gaming at the GCGC.

This is the fifth year the BC Poker Championships have been held in the current format and the tournament continues to draw world-renowned poker players.

This year Amazing Race stars Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho played as well as Gavin Smith, Liz Lieu, Lacey Jones, "Yukon" Brad Booth, Greg "FBT" Mueller and Scott Clements. Clements made the final table but eventually busted seventh.

Last year Daniel Negreanu, who is perhaps the biggest name in Canadian poker, outlasted all 688 players to win the event for $371,910 (CDN).

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Poker News in Brief: Nov. 16-22, 2009

 

The 21-year-old generated some major mainstream press coverage this week by appearing on the Late Show with David Letterman and CNN's American Morning.

There was plenty of news that didn't involve Cada, however, and as part of our ongoing Poker News in Brief Feature we're going to break some of it down for you today.

This week we'll look at another man winning a ladies event, the end of Fair Poker, more support for an online poker bill, an upgrade for Cake Poker and more.

Man wins Ladies Championship at Lake Tahoe

Greg Sessler became the latest man to enter and win a female poker tournament last week.

Sessler won the Ladies Championship at the World Series of Poker Circuit stop in Lake Tahoe by outlasting all 95 players that entered the tournament. Of that total, four were men.

Although organizers encourage only women to play, Harrah's cannot exclude any player based on gender. After winning the tournament Sessler defended his decision to play.

"Me playing in this tournament really had nothing to do with trying to take advantage of the ladies or thinking it was a softer field," he said.

"If Jennifer Harman would have come and played in the ladies event, she would have been much tougher competition than me. I came here because I only had one day and I really like the structures and the payout."

Back in September Abraham Korotki entered a ladies event at the 2009 Borgata Poker Open and went on to win it. Former baseball star Jose Canseco also famously entered a women's tournament a few years ago.

 

 

More support for Frank's pro-online poker bill

The U.S. bill that would both legalize and regulate online poker has another co-sponsor.

Rep. Anthony D. Weiner of New York's 9th district signed on board this week as the 63rd co-sponsor of the legislation.

Rep. Barney Frank originally introduced the bill last spring but it has yet to be heard before committee.

Frank's bill would essentially repeal the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act that was passed in 2006 and put a regulatory system in place for the online gambling industry.

Unfair outcome for Fair Poker

Lesser-known online poker room Fair Poker disappeared this week, but its players found a new home at Noble Poker.

Both sites were members of the iPoker network and were merged into one site earlier in the week. Fair Poker players had their account balances and the iPoints they had earned transferred to Noble Poker.

iPoker remains one of the busiest online poker networks in the world with Titan Poker, ChiliPoker, Bet365, CD Poker, William Hill, Mansion Poker and numerous others all under the iPoker banner.

 

 

HeadsUp Entertainment to televise BC Poker Championships

HeadsUp Entertainment, operators of the Canadian Poker Tour and Canadian Poker Player Magazine, will help televise coverage of the 2009 BC Poker Championships in Vancouver.

"We are very pleased to be part of Canada's premier poker tournament," said HeadsUp President Kelly B. Kellner. "We consider it a privilege to be able to cover the event through both our magazine and on television."

HeadsUp Entertainment made a deal with The Score Television Network, which is the exclusive broadcast partner of the Canadian Poker Tour, to show highlights from the tournament.

The 2009 BC Poker Championships began this week with 606 runners. The event received the attention of some big name poker players including Tiffany Michelle, Liz Lieu, Maria Ho, Greg "FBT" Mueller, Gavin Smith and Brad Booth.

Last year Canadian poker super-star Daniel Negreanu outlasted 689 players to win the 2008 BCPC for $300,708.

Cake Poker adds players, synchronized breaks

Cake Poker had a busy week adding synchronized breaks to its software and taking players from Third Bullet Poker.

Third Bullet was already a member of the Cake Network and the company's executives made the decision to merge the player base onto Cake Poker for better technical support and customer service.

Meanwhile, Cake's synchronized breaks will let multi-table tournament players take a break no matter how many tables they are running. The breaks will occur at 55 minutes past the hour, every hour.

The breaks do not affect Sit 'n' Go tournaments with less than 30 players.

The feature is quickly becoming an industry standard as Absolute Poker and UltimateBet recently added synchronized breaks as well.

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Joe Sebok Tops One Million Twitter Followers

If Twitter is any indication, Ultimate Bet sponsored pro Joe Sebok (@JoeSebok) is the 177th most popular guy on the internet.  At least, that is the ranking Twitter tracking site Twitterholic gave to Sebok based on his number of followers, which now exceeds one million.

His massive and dedicated group of Twitter fans puts him on par with sports reporter Bill Simmons, the publication Newsweek, comedian Kevin Nealon, and the musician Moby in terms of popularity.  By comparison, Ashton Kutcher has the most fans with nearly four million, followed by Britney Spears and Ellen Degeneres.  Twitterers who wish they had the traffic of Sebok include Dr. Phil McGraw (175,000 followers), reality star Lauren Conrad (748,500 followers), and the NASA space program (164,000 followers).

Perhaps in a testament to the popularity of Sebok’s poker entertainment website, PokerRoad, “Poker After Dark” announcer Ali Nejad (@Ali_Nejad) is 216th on Twitterholic’s list with more than 840,000 followers.  Sebok and PokerRoad have been longtime proponents of the microblogging site.  This past summer, they launched a unique Twitter platform called PokerRoad Nation, which organized poker-related Tweets from the World Series of Poker (WSOP).  The platform sorted tweets based on events, former bracelet winners, PokerRoad family members, media members, and several other criteria, allowing followers to customize their WSOP coverage as they saw fit.  The PokerRoad Nation platform garnered both poker media and national media attention and Sebok was profiled in the New York Times for the new innovation.

Despite the extensive Twitter-related success, Sebok told Poker News Daily that he is taking the million followers in stride.  “I think that people overvalue this whole Twitter thing,” he explained.  “It’s been fun, but it is definitely not an ego boost.”

Sebok also elaborated on how he came to have such a large group of followers.  “Twitter decided to put me on their suggested users list and I’ve just been enjoying the ride…It’s been fun.”  A longtime music fan, Sebok entertains his followers with frequent album recommendations along with tweets about his antics with his friends and family, which include Gavin Smith (@olegsmith) and his father, Barry Greenstein (@barrygreenstein).

More recently, he has also posted behind the scenes photos from his own appearance on “Poker After Dark” and Greenstein’s appearance on the most recent season of “High Stakes Poker.”  On Thursday night, Sebok also documented a disastrous road trip from Las Vegas to Los Angeles with Greenstein where their truck broke down on the side of the road in the middle of the night.  Never fear, PokerRoad fans, Sebok and Greenstein made it back to Los Angeles in one piece.

Sebok had to make his way back to Los Angeles to get the last-minute details together on his latest project, the Fox Sports poker news show “Poker 2Nite.”  The show, which will be sponsored by Ultimate Bet, is set to begin airing on Wednesdays at 11:00pm ET starting on November 25th.  Sebok told Poker News Daily he and co-host Scott Huff will be filming the first show on Tuesday night.  Sebok hopes that the series can capitalize on the heightened interest in poker following Joe Cada’s recent WSOP Main Event victory and become a mainstay on the cable network.

Fans will likely hear more about “Poker 2Nite” in the coming days via his Twitter, but any followers expecting some commemorative posting in honor of hitting the million-person mark shouldn’t hold their breath.  Sebok said he did not plan anything special in honor of crossing the benchmark and will continue tweeting as usual.

PokerStars hosting bad beat on cancer event

Rowe was the last woman standing in the 2009 Borgata Poker Open ladies event. Unfortunately for her that wasn't enough to win the tournament as Abraham Korotki, a 65-year-old man from New Jersey, was the ultimate victor.

The PokerStars sponsored "Bad Beat Poker Challenge" will take place Thursday, Nov. 12, at 9 p.m. EST. The buy-in will be $10 with $10 rebuys available throughout the first two levels.

There are a large number of prizes up for grabs donated by poker pros Daniel Negreanu, Jamie Gold, Vanessa Rousso, Gavin Smith, Joe Sebok, Phil Gordon, Matt Glantz, Tom McEvoy, the entire cast of 2 Months, 2 Million, and UFC star Tito Ortiz.

First place is a 2 Months, 2 Million scholarship, which includes a lifetime subscription to training site Deucescracked.com. The subscription is valued at $10,000.

Other notable prizes include attending a taping of the PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge, a night of drinks with the PokerRoad crew and one-on-one coaching sessions from players like Daniel Negreanu, Tom McEvoy and Jay "Pr1ynnyraid" Rosenkrantz.

All proceeds from the online tournament will go towards the Prevent Cancer Foundation, a nonprofit group which helps educate women on prevention and early detection.

The event can be found in the Private Tournament section on PokerStars.com. You can make a direct donation by clicking here.

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Joe Sebok – Poker Player Profile

Stepson of Barry Greenstein, Joe Sebok is the CEO and President of PokerRoad, a multimedia conglomerate that includes industry-leading podcasts, video blogs with some of the game’s best like 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event November Nine member Phil Ivey, and a mammoth collection of Twitter feeds called PokerRoad Nation. Sebok is one of the most recognizable faces in all of poker and serves as a member of Team Ultimate Bet, joining the likes of Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth.

Having a stepfather who is one of the most decorated players in the game gives Sebok a leg up on the competition. In an interview with Poker News Daily, Sebok explained, “We’ll chat about things before events. He’s teaching me more than he was before.” Greenstein is a three-time WSOP bracelet winner and was a nominee for the Poker Hall of Fame in 2009. His charitable work away from the felts has earned him the nickname “The Robin Hood of Poker.” With Greenstein being dubbed “Bear,” Sebok has appropriately earned the moniker “Cub.”

PokerRoad launched a Wednesday night television show on Fox Sports Net in November of 2009 called “Poker 2Night,” which is sponsored by Ultimate Bet and covers the hot topics for the week in the game. Besides Sebok, other PokerRoad personalities include Joe Stapleton, Gavin Smith, and Court Harrington.

Ultimate Bet Signing

In September of 2009, Sebok signed on to become the Media and Operations Consultant for Ultimate Bet. The announcement, which followed the release of screen names associated with the cheating scandal that rocked that online poker site, seemed to add credibility back to the brand. Sebok told Poker News Daily, “I requested a business role within UB, as I wanted to make sure I could also be involved in the operations and help guide the path a little.” The deal took four months to finalize and the Kahnawake Gaming Commission continued to finger Russ Hamilton, a former WSOP Main Event winner, for masterminding the scandal.

World Poker Tour

Sebok has bubbled a pair of final tables on the World Poker Tour (WPT). He took seventh in the Bay 101 Shooting Star event in Season V for $130,000 and also grabbed seventh in the Legends of Poker the following season for another $114,000. Sebok owns nearly $600,000 in lifetime WPT earnings, as he’s had to scale back his involvement with the roving tour due to his plethora of duties with PokerRoad.

2009 WSOP Main Event

Sebok burst onto the WSOP scene in 2005, final tabling two events for a combined payday of $109,000. Four years later, Sebok made a deep run in the $10,000 buy-in feature tournament, finishing 56th for $108,000. He outlasted 99% of the 6,494 combatants and took to the stage of the Penn and Teller Theater at the Rio in Las Vegas to watch the Main Event final table unfold in November.

Prop Bets

Sebok and Gavin Smith have faced off in numerous prop bets, including one during the 2006 WSOP in which Sebok turned out in a diaper. He has also dressed up as a variety of superheroes and co-hosted “Prop Bets” with Smith, an online series.

Steven Merrifield Surges to WPT Foxwoods Lead After Day 2

While the majority of the industry is focusing its attention on the final table of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas today, Day Three of the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) World Poker Finals at the Foxwoods Casino and Resort in Connecticut will start back up Saturday afternoon, with poker professional Steven Merrifield leading the pack.

205 players of the original 353 runners came back for action on Day Two, with Todd Terry as the chip leader. Terry was facing significant challenges, however, with Adam Lippert and Alan Sasser in hot pursuit. Sasser, who was in the WPT Foxwoods event on a freeroll after winning his seat in an online qualifier on ClubWPT.com, was unable to push into the Day Three action, though, and he was joined on the rails by other top players such as Lippert, former WPT Player of the Year Gavin Smith, Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin, Prahlad Freidman, and Liv Boeree.

Jason Mercier looked to be making his move on the chip lead until an unfortunate bad beat knocked him down the ladder. With Mercier’s opponent all-in on the flop with a pair of nines and an ace kicker, Mercier called with pocket queens and looked to have a stranglehold on the hand. The turn, however, brought an ace and the river another nine, giving his opponent a boat and a key double up. Mercier, who was knocked down to around 80,000 in chips at that point, was able to work his way back up and will start Day Three under the chip average with 139,000.

For much of the final few hours of play on Friday, the action on the felt left many around the tournament arena wondering who was actually in the lead. Day One leader Terry, Soheil Shamseddin, Christian Harder, and Terrence Chan all claimed to have the lead. It took a late run by Merrifield, including a key victory against Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, to drive him to the top of the leaderboard for the start of action today.

As the cards prepare to fly in Foxwoods this afternoon, here are the top ten of the 68 players remaining in the field:

1. Steven Merrifield – 465,100
2. Soheil Shamseddin – 401,000
3. Todd Terry – 396,500
4. Terrence Chan – 394,200
5. Curt Kohlberg – 370,000
6. Frank Calo – 361,200
7. Christian Harder – 330,400
8. Jesse Martin – 329,800
9. Joe Serock – 277,000
10. Adam Gerber – 270,000

Other top names in the field include former WPT champions Cornel Andrew Cimpan, Steve Brecher, and Nenad Medic. Interestingly, Medic has a chance to make WPT history. If the Canadian can come back to win this tournament, it would mark the first time that a player has won the same WPT event twice; Medic also won in 2006. His work is cut out for him, however, as he sits below the average chip stack with 151,000 in chips.

With the top 36 finishers paid in the tournament, the money bubble will most likely burst sometime Saturday afternoon. Poker News Daily will have all the latest from Connecticut as the WPT Foxwoods World Poker Finals works to its final table on Tuesday evening.

Todd Terry Leads WPT Foxwoods World Poker Finals After Day 1

A total of 353 players entered the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Foxwoods World Poker Finals, a drop of 14% from the 412 who took to the felts last year. At the end of Day 1, Todd Terry leads the way.

Terry made the final table of August’s WPT Legends of Poker, banking $231,000 for his third place performance. Terry holds 165,000 chips in the New England casino entering Day 2 play on Friday, when 206 survivors will resume at Noon ET. Late action on Thursday featured Mohsin “chicagocards1” Charania doubling up at the expense of Gavin Griffin. Charania was all-in pre-flop holding A-Q, dominating the 6-8 of Griffin. The Team PokerStars Pro front man flopped top pair on a board of 8-3-2, but Charania hit a queen on the turn to move in front for good. Charania finished in the money three times during the WPT’s seventh season.

Among those who stood atop the leaderboard when play concluded at Foxwoods was Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, who gained a chunk of his chips when an opponent ran pocket kings into Mizrachi’s aces. Mizrachi owns a stack of 125,900 entering Day 2, good for sixth overall. He is in search of his third WPT title after taking down the L.A. Poker Classic during Season 3 and the Borgata Poker Classic during Season 4. Despite his early success, he has not cashed in a WPT tournament since March of 2008.

Holding the 11th largest chip stack after one day of play is Jonathan Jaffe, the runner-up in the World Poker Finals last year. Jaffe owns a mountain of 116,000 chips and is one of 18 players to cross the six-figure mark. Jaffe earned $670,000 for his second place showing in 2008, as he fell to Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little heads-up at the feature table. Also making last year’s six-handed finale were David “The Dragon” Pham, Charles Marchese, Jack Schanbacher, and Mike “The Mouth” Matusow.

Here are the chip counts after one day of play in the $10,000 buy-in WPT tournament:

1. Todd Terry – 165,700
2. Danny Shiff – 159,525
3. Adam Lippert – 159,000
4. Jack Schanbacher – 148,775
5. Soheil Shamseddin – 126,000
6. Michael Mizrachi – 125,900
7. Chris Moore – 123,700
8. Danny Illingworth – 121,600
8. Alan Sasser – 121,600
10. John Barucci – 119,950

Other players still in the hunt for the $910,000 first place prize include:

Matt “mattg1983” Graham – 99,175
Billy “Patrolman35” Kopp – 94,575
Christian “charder” Harder – 91,575
Poorya Nazari – 89,400
Jason Mercier – 84,750
Steve Sung – 76,275
Nick Schulman – 76,000
Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin – 75,100
Nenad Medic – 69,150
Prahlad Friedman – 67,450
Cornel Cimpan – 65,450
John “World” Hennigan – 61,250
Matt Hawrilenko – 51,250
“Cowboy” Kenna James – 49,425
Chad “lilholdem954” Batista – 47,000
Kathy Liebert – 46,025
Gavin Smith – 42,375
Liv Boeree – 40,550
Steve Brecher – 35,675
Isaac “westmenloAA” Baron – 34,475
Victor Ramdin – 32,750
Amnon Filippi – 31,675
Adam “Roothlus” Levy – 31,200
Tommy Vedes – 30,450
Gavin Griffin – 21,125

When play ended on Thursday, the action was in Level 8 and blinds were 400-800 with a 100 chip ante.

One of the toughest draws on Friday is at Table 22, where World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner and Team PokerStars Pro member Jason Mercier will join fellow online poker pros Adam “Roothlus” Levy and Isaac “westmenloAA” Baron. Also at Table 22 will be Tommy Vedes, who is fresh off winning the WPT’s Festa al Lago event in October, and John “World” Hennigan, a two-time WSOP bracelet winner.

The WPT Foxwoods World Poker Finals crowns a champion next Tuesday, November 10th. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest WPT coverage.

Doyle Brunson Blasts Face the Ace, Million Dollar Challenge

In a recent blog entry that appeared on DoylesRoom.com, site namesake Doyle Brunson blasted two poker franchises to hit television airwaves in recent months: NBC’s “Face the Ace” and FOX’s “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge.”

As talk show host Jim Rome would say, any time a person begins a sentence with “No disrespect intended,” someone is going to be disrespected. On the two poker game shows, which air on network television stations on weekend afternoons, Brunson commented, “No disrespect intended, but these poker shows are awful. Full Tilt’s ‘Face the Ace’ and Poker Stars ‘Million Dollar Challenge’ are so bad, it’s embarrassing. There is no skill involved in either show and I can’t imagine getting an audience that will watch the shows.” Both series saw online qualifiers take to the felts to play heads-up against heralded poker pros.

“Face the Ace” began airing on August 1st and originally claimed the 9:00pm ET hour on Saturday night. It aired for two episodes in prime time before a planned decision to move the poker franchise to afternoons on the weekend day. The first episode of the Steve Schrippa-hosted show featured Don Topel taking home $200,000, but it mustered just a 0.4 rating with a 2 share, which meant that only 1.59 million viewers had tuned in. Its competition included “America’s Most Wanted” and the movie “Red Eye,” which aired on ABC.

One week later on August 8th, Topel lost the $1 million match to Full Tilt Poker pro Gavin Smith and walked away with nothing. The news was equally grim for NBC, which saw the second installment of “Face the Ace” generate a 0.3 rating with a 1 share, the equivalent of 1.46 million viewers age 18 to 49. “Face the Ace” airs once per month on the network, with future one-hour episodes scheduled to be shown on October 31st, November 14th, December 12th, and January 2nd. NBC also broadcasts the National Heads-Up Poker Championship as well as “Poker After Dark,” which airs Monday to Saturday at 2:05am ET.

The “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge” premiered last Sunday following NFL on FOX coverage, or around 4:30pm ET in most markets. Daniel Negreanu serves as the face of the franchise, helping contestants battle PokerStars-sponsored sports figures and pros in the first two rounds. Then, Negreanu transitions from friend to foe, taking contestants on heads-up in the third round with $100,000 on the line. All $100,000 winners advance to the Table of Champions, whose victor faces Negreanu for $1 million. Last week, Father Andrew Trapp earned $100,000 after defeating former NBA star John Salley and professional poker player Vanessa Rousso.

“Million Dollar Challenge” returns this Sunday following the NFL on FOX. Then, like “Face the Ace,” it will air once per month, with November 22nd, December 13th, and December 27th serving as its remaining dates. “Face the Ace” and “Million Dollar Challenge” exclusively feature Full Tilt and PokerStars pros, respectively.

Brunson also commented on the recent departure of A.J. Benza from GSN’s “High Stakes Poker.” On the televised ring game series, Brunson explained in his blog, “As I travel around, the High Stakes [Poker] cash games are the ones all the fans talk about and I agree with them that they are by far the most interesting. Speaking of that, I read where A.J. Benza is being replaced on GSN’s High Stakes Poker show. That’s too bad, I like A.J.’s subtle sense of humor. Vanessa Rousso is named as his likely replacement. I’m pro-Vanessa so I think she will fit in nicely with the old comic Gabe Kaplan.” Rousso told Poker News Daily that she is not the next host of “High Stakes Poker.” To clear the air, GSN is scheduled to make an announcement by the end of the week.

2009 BC Poker Championships hits in November

One of Canada's largest poker events, the 2009 BCPC will host five events and offer an estimated prize pool of $2.5 million.

The centerpiece of the series is the $2,700 No-Limit Hold'em main event, which will run Nov. 19-22.

Last year Canadian super star Daniel Negreanu stole the show by outlasting all 689 opponents and winning the first place prize of $371,910.

Poker pros Lacey Jones, Brad Booth, Gavin Smith, Dennis Phillips, Steve Paul Ambrose and Liz Lieu also took part in the event.

"It is truly an honor to have BCPC take place at the River Rock Casino as it attracts a group of talented and brave poker players," said Howard Blank, vice president of media and entertainment with the Great Canadian Gaming Corporation.

"Like every year, BCPC features an action-packed week where all players can test their poker face skills and connect with many other great poker players."

Any player 19 and older can play in the 2009 BCPC. For more information visit the River Rock website here.

Check below for the complete schedule for this year's BCPC:

Date:	Event:
Nov. 12-14	$550 No-Limit Hold'em
Nov. 15	$120 Super Satellite with Rebuys
Nov. 16-17	$1,100 No-Limit Hold'em
Nov. 18	$120 Super Satellite with Rebuys
Nov. 19-22	$2,700 No-Limit Hold'em

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Robert Mizrachi Leads Aruba Classic Day 4

Day 3 of the UltimateBet-sponsored Aruba Classic saw 85 returning players break through the money bubble and work their way down to a field of 36. Some notable names who returned for Day 3 but hit the rail include Gavin Smith and David "Doc Sands" Sands.

Robert Mizrachi Leads Ultimate Bet Aruba Poker Classic Entering Day 3

Two days of play are in the books at the 2009 Ultimate Bet Aruba Poker Classic. The $5,500 buy-in tournament will award $753,000 to first place, while the top four finishers will earn six-figure paydays. The final table will take place on Saturday.

A total of 86 players remain in the Ultimate Bet Aruba Poker Classic, which attracted 475 entrants this year. Last time out, the marquee island event drew 551 runners, meaning attendance dropped 14% in 2009. Nevertheless, the action was fast and furious at the Radisson Aruba Resort, Casino, and Spa. After two days of play, Robert Mizrachi, brother of well-known pro Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, leads the pack with a chip stack of 353,200. The younger Mizrachi holds nearly a 100,000 chip lead over the second place tally of Jon Favaloro, who has 255,300.

Mizrachi made two final tables during Season V of the World Poker Tour (WPT), recording a sixth place finish at the Mirage Poker Showdown for $129,000 and a fourth place effort at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure for $409,000. Mizrachi is a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet holder to boot. He won the World Championship of Pot Limit Omaha during the 2007 WSOP for $768,000, besting a final table that included Doyle Brunson, Patrik Antonius, and Marco Traniello. Mizrachi will headline Table 8 on Thursday during Day 3, where Johan Storakers will join him.

Here’s a look at the Top 10 chip stacks in the Ultimate Bet Aruba Poker Classic after Day 2:

1. Robert Mizrachi - 353,200
2. Jon Favaloro - 255,300
3. Ty Reiman - 226,900
4. Matthew Ross - 222,300
5. James Mordue - 207,700
6. James Czarnecki - 197,300
7. David Perkins - 191,500
8. Eric Baldwin - 166,400
9. Max Greenwood - 152,800
10. Ryan Caldwell - 146,900

Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin is a WSOP bracelet winner, having taken down the accolade this year by virtue of winning a $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event for $521,000. He nearly won a second bracelet in the World Championship of Pot Limit Hold’em, but ultimately grabbed third in that tournament for $259,000. Baldwin won the $750,000 Guaranteed, the flagship weekly tournament on Full Tilt Poker, for $132,000 in December. In May of 2008, he won the Bodog $100,000 Guaranteed twice in the same month.

Travis “TravestyFund” Rice, who won the Aruba Poker Classic in 2007, remains in contention this year. Rice outlasted a field of 548 players for his Aruba title and earned $800,000. Rice holds the 12th largest stack entering play on Thursday at 128,600. Reigning Aruba Poker Classic champion Matt Brady also remains in the hunt for the $753,000 first place prize. Brady sits at 67th on the leaderboard entering Day 3 with a stack of 34,500. He’ll have his work cut out for him, however, as just 86 players remain.

Other notable pros who survived two days of play include:

17. Matt Vengrin - 116,700
33. David Sands - 82,400
53. Johan Storakers - 50,600
59. Gavin Smith - 45,700
64. Scott Ian - 40,300
78. Tim West - 29,400
81. Shawn Rice - 23,500
85. Hunter Frey - 18,500

The action kicked off today at Noon ET with blinds of 800/1,600 with a 200 chip ante and will likely conclude when 36 players remain. Then, the field will play six-handed down to a winner. Here are the paydays that are up for grabs at the final table:

1st Place - $753,330
2nd Place - $414,680
3rd Place - $218,860
4th Place - $126,710
5th Place - $92,150
6th Place - $66,810

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the Ultimate Bet Aruba Poker Classic.

Busquet stages comeback to win Borgata Poker Open

The 28-year-old online poker player entered the final table as the commanding chip leader but soon found himself in trouble when opponent Jeremy Brown started busting player after player.

Brown eliminated three players and by the time they were down to heads-up play Brown held a 3-1 chip lead over Busquet. The situation went from bad to worse for Busquet, who by the 18th hand had only 1.5 million chips to Brown's 29 million.

Somehow Busquet found a way to battle back and, after a few lucky hands, finally landed the knockout blow to eliminate Brown and claim the $925,514 for first place.

"I'm a little bit overwhelmed by the whole thing," said Busquet shortly after his victory. "Making a WPT final table is every tournament poker player's goal but to actually win the tournament is unreal."

The 2009 Borgata Poker Open was unique for the WPT because organizers opted to lower the buy-in from the standard $10,000 to a more recession-friendly $3,500. The experiment seems to have worked as the event drew the largest field in WPT history with 1,018 players.

Many poker pros were in Europe playing the WSOPE but the Borgata Poker Open still managed to draw marquee players like J.C. Tran, Gavin Smith, Chino Rheem, Kenna James, Michael Binger, Amnon Filippi and several others.

Busquet, who is known as livb112 or adonis112 online, is a legend in the online community for his heads-up prowess but this is his first major live tournament win.

The next event on the WPT schedule is Marrakech, which takes place Oct. 11-18, but the WPT won't be returning to North American soil until Oct. 21 when Festa al Lago kicks off at Bellagio in Las Vegas.

The complete final table payouts are as follows:

1. Olivier Busquet - $925,514

2. Jeremy Brown - $453,519

3. Ivan Mamuzic - $251,955

4. Yanick Brodeur - $216,681

5. Keith Crowder - $188,126

6. Kenny Nguyen - $156,212

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