Poker News

Poker Players Alliance Pushing for February Markup of HR 2267

The Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the industry’s one-million member strong lobbying organization, is ramping up for what could be a monumental 2010 legislative year. At stake is the future of online poker in the United States.

As the industry treks into the new decade, Congressman Barney Frank’s (D-MA) HR 2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, is up to 65 co-sponsors. In the first two weeks of January, the measure saw two new lawmakers lend their names in support, Congressmen Eliot Engel (D-NY) and Charlie Melancon (D-LA). HR 2267 was introduced in May and, in the beginning of December, was discussed in the House Financial Services Committee.

No markup of HR 2267 occurred during the December 3rd hearing, which took place one week following officials from the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve delaying mandatory compliance with the regulations of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) by six months to June 1st, 2010. However, according to PPA Executive Director John Pappas, a markup may be in the offing: “The big next step for us is the markup. We’ve built out who our targets are for that committee and are pursuing them. We think it might happen in February, but there are no guarantees.”

According to Pappas, Frank expressed his desire to hold a markup hearing next month, which could lead to discussion of HR 2267 on the floor of the House of Representatives later this year. From there, Frank and the PPA could elect to attach the measure to another piece of legislation, similar to how the UIGEA became a part of an unrelated port security bill in 2006. Pappas noted, “One of our biggest challenges will be to make the vote in the committee bipartisan. That’s going to be our challenge and I think we can do it. Winning big in the Financial Services Committee will help us advance the bill in any other capacity.”

In the next month, the PPA also expects information to be released concerning the amount of money that could be raised should Senator Robert Menendez’s (D-NJ) S 1597 be approved. The bill, dubbed the Internet Poker and Game of Skill Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, regulates online skill games. S 1597 was introduced in August, but has yet to garner any co-sponsors.

On the difficult road that lies ahead in the U.S. Senate, Pappas commented, “The Senate has been a tougher ground for us to plow so far, so we’re trying to do what we can there. It’s not because the topic isn’t of interest or important, but rather because they operate differently. The House operates quickly, whereas the Senate is more deliberate.”

The UIGEA was not discussed in the Senate four years ago; instead, it was approved by unanimous consent. Then, the PPA was in its infancy, boasting around 50,000 members during the 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP). Now, it has grown into the seven-figures and seen players like UB.com pro Annie Duke and 2004 WSOP Main Event winner Greg Raymer champion its cause. In 2010, the PPA expects to work with a variety of organizations in the industry for membership drives, following the blueprint of its recent promotion with Card Player Cruises that awarded one player a trip for two to the Caribbean.

Finally, Pappas gave his take on the proposed intrastate internet gambling bill introduced in New Jersey by State Senator Raymond Lesniak. On the model for other states to follow to legalize online wagering, Pappas told Poker News Daily, “For poker players in New Jersey, it presents an interesting opportunity to play on a licensed site. The issue is what sites they’ll be able to play on. Will it be on the brands they know? Having Atlantic City casinos undertake building their own software and player bases will take quite a long time.” According to PokerScout.com, PokerStars, the largest online poker site in the industry, boasts a seven-day running average of 33,200 real money ring game players.

Stay tuned for the latest news from the PPA right here on Poker News Daily.

Dario Minieri Dominates PokerStars Caribbean Adventure High Roller Event

Italian poker pro Dario Minieri leads the pack for the second straight day in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) $25,000 buy-in High Roller tournament. Minieri is a member of Team PokerStars Pro.

After two days of play, there are 24 players remaining out of the 84 who entered. Minieri was on top of the leaderboard after Day 1 and turned in another strong outing on Tuesday for Day 2. Minieri holds a stack of 430,700 chips entering Day 3 on Wednesday, edging out Michiel Brummelhuis’ second place tally of 403,800. Minieri and Brummelhuis are the only players to cross the 400,000-chip threshold and own a comfortable lead over former World Poker Tour (WPT) Borgata Poker Open champ Vivek “Psyduck” Rajkumar’s third place total of 301,700. Minieri won the High Roller event at the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) Warsaw stop in October.

One of the final eliminations of the evening at the Atlantis Resort and Casino on Paradise Island in the Bahamas was Mike “The Mouth” Matusow. He was all-in pre-flop with A-Q against Carter “bdybldngpkr” Phillips’ K-8. Phillips struck lightning in a bottle when the flop came K-8-4 and a running 9-J left Matusow scratching his head. William Thorson also exited at the end of the day when his 7-8 ran into pocket sevens. Thorson has made three EPT final tables.

2004 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion Greg Raymer sent fellow PokerStars-backed pro Andre Akkari out on Tuesday. Akkari pushed with A-9 of diamonds pre-flop and received a call from Raymer, who had A-Q of clubs. The flop contained a queen, keeping Raymer out in front for good. Meanwhile, Chad Brown hit the rails when his A-9 couldn’t draw out on former WPT Invitational winner Alex Brenes’ wired pair of eights.

Brummelhuis helped his cause by casting off Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger, who appeared on several episodes of the G4 online poker reality series “2 Months, $2 Million.” Lichtenberger committed his chips pre-flop with K-Q, but Brummelhuis picked up aces. The flop came ace-high and that was all she wrote for the young American.

Here are the chip counts of the 24 players remaining in the 2010 PCA High Roller event:

1. Dario Minieri - 430,700
2. Michiel Brummelhuis - 403,800
3. Vivek “Psyduck” Rajkumar - 301,700
4. Tobias Reinkemeier - 279,900
5. Dmitry Stelmak - 264,000
6. Alex Brenes - 253,600
7. Greg Raymer - 206,600
8. Bijan Zahmat - 198,200
9. Sandra Naujoks - 180,500
10. Shawn Buchanan - 171,100
11. Lisa Hamilton - 153,900
12. Nick Schulman - 143,400
13. Carter “bdybldngpkr” Phillips - 139,400
14. Joe Cada - 135,700
15. Matt Marafioti - 121,000
16. Brett Richey - 106,400
17. Paul Berende - 104,400
18. Christian Kruel - 103,800
19. Bill Edler - 94,700
20. Adolfo Vaeza - 92,600
21. William Reynolds - 89,100
22. James Calderaro - 89,100
23. Isaac “westmenloAA” Baron - 76,200
24. Will Molson - 60,000

The winner of the $25,000 buy-in poker tournament will earn $576,000 and the top 16 players will finish in the money. Cada and Raymer are former winners of the WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas. Phillips won the EPT Barcelona stop during Season 6, while Naujoks, one of only two women ever to win an EPT tournament, took down the Dortmund event during Season 5. Schulman made the final table of the WPT Foxwoods World Poker Finals twice in a three-year span, recording a win and a runner-up showing for $3 million combined. Many consider Baron to be one of the top poker players on the planet. Needless to say, it’s anybody’s game.

The High Roller event will play down to its final table this afternoon from the Bahamas and crown a champion on Thursday. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from paradise. Pack your bags, we’ll leave tonight.

Ryan D’Angelo, John Duthie Lead PCA Main Event into Play Down Day

Today, the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) Main Event enters its play down day, as the 24 remaining players will become eight when all is said and done. At stake is a $2.2 million first place prize and the title of 2010 PCA Champion.

Ryan “g0lfa” D’Angelo leads the field entering Sunday’s action at the Atlantis Resort and Casino on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. His chips number 7.5 million, while the next closest competitor, European Poker Tour (EPT) founder John Duthie, owns just 5.3 million. D’Angelo scooped a blockbuster pot late in the day on Saturday after putting in a check-raise to 310,000 on a flop of 5-A-9. Dimitri Hefter called and the turn was a king. D’Angelo bet 500,000 and Hefter called to see a three hit on the river. The action slowed down, as both players checked, but the damage was done and D’Angelo’s A-Q was enough to rake in the chips.

Meanwhile, Duthie amassed a chunk of his chips after cracking Swedish poker player Kent Lundmark’s pocket aces. Duthie’s opponent led out for 100,000 on a flop of 7-2-8 with two spades. Duthie raised it up to 300,000 and Lundmark pushed all-in over the top for 2.2 million. Duthie called and showed 7-8 of diamonds for top two pair, while Lundmark turned over his wired pair of aces. The board ran out K-6 and Lundmark hit the rails in 29th place for $66,000.

Wayne Bentley, who held a commanding chip lead after the combined Day 1 field, continues to fly high in the 2010 PCA Main Event. Heading into Sunday’s play down day, Bentley owns a stack of 2.9 million, good for third overall. Three tables will accommodate the field this afternoon and Bentley heads to #1, where D’Angelo and Harrison Gimbel, who led the field entering Day 4, will join him. Bentley’s chip stack was chopped down to just 75,000 at one point on Saturday after his A-K could not withstand pocket queens. The board ran out five cards nine or lower and Bentley was crippled before mounting an epic comeback to land in third on the leaderboard entering today’s action.

Speaking of the leaderboard, here are the 24 players remaining in the 2010 PCA Main Event:

1. Ryan D'Angelo - 7,483,000
2. John Duthie - 5,304,000
3. Wayne Bentley - 2,878,000
4. Thomas Koral - 2,438,000
5. Barry Shulman - 2,433,000
6. Aage Floenes Ravn - 2,282,000
7. Zachary Goldberg - 2,195,000
8. James Tolbert - 2,016,000
9. Benjamin Zamani - 1,905,000
10. Robert Mizrachi - 1,823,000
11. Harrison Gimbel - 1,803,000
12. Tyler Reiman - 1,796,000
13. Darren Keyes - 1,614,000
14. Luc Greenwood - 1,528,000
15. Dimitri Hefter - 1,350,000
16. Matthew Haugen - 1,161,000
17. Jimmie Guinther - 932,000
18. Jeff Madsen - 896,000
19. Gijs Verheijen - 882,000
20. Bo Schultz - 720,000
21. Tamas Lendvai - 662,000
22. Praz Bansi - 542,000
23. Richard Toth - 488,000
24. Kenny Nguyen - 242,000

Eight nations are represented in the final 24. Duthie is the only member of Team PokerStars Pro remaining in the field after his comrades like 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion Joe Cada, 2004 Main Event winner Greg Raymer, 2003 World Champion Chris Moneymaker, and former PCA victor Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier busted in prior days.

The elimination of Amanda Baker in 38th place set up a male-only field on Day 5. Poker pro Praz Bansi sent her packing after Baker pushed all-in with Q-J and Bansi made the call with pocket rockets. The board came K-2-4-4-3 and the last woman standing in the $10,000 buy-in feature tournament saw her title hopes evaporate.

Every one of the 24 remaining players is assured a payday of at least $75,000. The top four finishers will earn $1 million from the record-setting PCA Main Event field of 1,529 entrants. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest 2010 PCA coverage.

PokerStars Announces North American Poker Tour

Look out, North America! Long absent poker events sponsored by PokerStars, the continent will host the North American Poker Tour (NAPT) beginning on January 20th at the Venetian, with another stop planned for Mohegan Sun.

Model Joanna Krupa, who was introduced to the PokerStars family during the fourth installment of the “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge,” will serve as the NAPT’s on-screen host. A television deal is in the works and PokerStars officials have employed 411, the same company that produces the World Series of Poker (WSOP) on ESPN, to create each episode. The identity of a television partner should be released in the next two weeks.

PokerStars players from the United States and Canada currently have to hop on an airplane and travel to far away lands for PokerStars-sponsored tournaments. PokerStars-backed series include the European Poker Tour (EPT), Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT), Russian Poker Tour (RPT), Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT), Italian Poker Tour (IPT) Czech-Slovak Poker Tour (CSPT), Australia New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT), and U.K. and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT).

At the Venetian in Las Vegas, the final tournament of the casino’s Deep Stack Extravaganza will be the $5,000 buy-in NAPT Main Event. The fun in Sin City will take place from February 20th to 24th and side events will also play out. From Las Vegas, PokerStars NAPT officials will travel 2,600 miles due east to Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. The tournament series in the popular East Coast casino will see its Main Event held from April 7th to 11th as the kickoff of a brand new poker festival.

Negreanu commented in a press release furnished by the world’s largest online poker site, “I'm really looking forward to the launch of the NAPT. PokerStars.net has done an excellent job sponsoring meaningful tournaments around the world with the EPT, LAPT, APPT, and various other local tours – and it’s exciting to see them coming to my home town of Las Vegas! With the addition of the NAPT, I'll have a chance to play some tournaments on home soil and I'm very excited about that.” 2009 WSOP Main Event champion Joe Cada and Team PokerStars Pro member Vanessa Rousso are among the bevy of site pros who are expected to turn out.

Technically, the first tournament of the NAPT was the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, which is ongoing from the Atlantis Resort and Casino across the harbor from Nassau in the Bahamas. Satellites to the Venetian and Mohegan Sun tournaments will take place on PokerStars, which happily accepts players from the United States. Besides Cada, other WSOP Main Event champions to call the site home include Chris Moneymaker (2003), Greg Raymer (2004), Joe Hachem (2005), Peter Eastgate (2008), and Tom McEvoy (1983).

In North America, the NAPT will compete against several longstanding brands such as the World Poker Tour (WPT) and WSOP Circuit. The WPT is in the midst of filming its eighth season, the first with the backing of Party Gaming, which purchased the rights to the series in October. Poker Hall of Fame member Mike Sexton and actor Vince Van Patten continue to bring the WPT to life each week on Fox Sports Net. The WSOP Circuit has been crisscrossing the United States since 2004, stopping at various Harrah’s properties along the way. Circuit staffers are now camped out in Tunica, Mississippi for the fifth stop of the 2009-2010 season. The series gets underway in the Deep South on January 20th from Harrah’s Tunica.

Krupa has graced the covers of a handful of brand-name magazines, including “FHM,” “Maxim,” “Playboy,” and “Stuff.” She appeared on Season 9 of the ABC reality series “Dancing with the Stars” and also tested her sports skills in the network’s “Superstars.” Krupa defeated 9/11 first responder Mike Kosowski on the fourth episode of the “Million Dollar Challenge;” Kosowski would later go on to defeat Negreanu and earn the $1 million grand prize.

Additional stops for Season 1 of the NAPT will also be announced.

PokerStars Launches North American Tour

The NAPT will kick off at the Venetian in Las Vegas Feb. 20-24 with a $5k buy-in event at the end of the casino’s popular Deep Stack Extravaganza Series.

Just one other event has been announced, at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut Apr. 7-11.

However, Head of PokerStars Live Jeffrey Haas said other dates in the U.S. and Canada would be announced in the near future.

“We’re going to be going to some beautiful places, putting on some exciting poker tournaments and hopefully having some fun non-poker events as well,” he said.

The tour will be filmed by ESPN World Series of Poker producers 441 Productions and hosted by model and spokesperson Joanna Krupa of Dancing with the Stars fame, although a TV air deal has yet to be confirmed.

While the World Poker Tour has dominated the North American poker scene for the past eight seasons, Haas believes there is room for competition.

“I think there is so much demand for poker in North America today that there’s room for a number of different operators who are all promoting wonderful poker events,” he said.

PokerStars is promising the tour will attract will the best North American players in the game, including Team PokerStars pros Joe Cada, Greg Raymer, Vanessa Rousso and Daniel Negreanu.

“One thing is for sure, PokerStars knows how to do it right,” Negreanu said. “I’m very excited to play. Being a part of PokerStars we travel all over the world, but it’s going to be nice to have some events at home in Las Vegas and at home in Canada. I think you are going to see a lot of pros there.”

The NAPT Mohegan Sun main event will also feature a $5k buy-in, which Negreanu said the poker world will embrace.

“Considering the economy right now that sounds like a good idea to me,” he said. “It’s a price point that hits a lot more people.”

PokerStars.net has already scheduled daily NAPT Venetian freerolls where players can win the $5,000 seat, plus accommodation, for absolutely nothing.

After almost two years in the rumor mill, PokerStars announced the launch of the PokerStars.net North American Poker Tour Wednesday.

The NAPT will kick off at the Venetian in Las Vegas Feb. 20-24 with a $5k buy-in event at the end of the casino’s popular Deep Stack Extravaganza Series.

Just one other event has been announced, at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut Apr. 7-11.

However, Head of PokerStars Live Jeffrey Haas said other dates in the U.S. and Canada would be announced in the near future.

“We’re going to be going to some beautiful places, putting on some exciting poker tournaments and hopefully having some fun non-poker events as well,” he said.

The tour will be filmed by ESPN World Series of Poker producers 441 Productions and hosted by model and spokesperson Joanna Krupa of Dancing with the Stars fame, although a TV air deal has yet to be confirmed.

While the World Poker Tour has dominated the North American poker scene for the past eight seasons, Haas believes there is room for competition.

“I think there is so much demand for poker in North America today that there’s room for a number of different operators who are all promoting wonderful poker events,” he said. 

PokerStars is promising the tour will attract will the best North American players in the game, including Team PokerStars pros Joe Cada, Greg Raymer, Vanessa Rousso and Daniel Negreanu.

PokerStars.net has already scheduled daily NAPT Venetian freerolls where players can win the $5,000 seat, plus accommodation, for absolutely nothing.

Top Ten Poker Events of the Decade: Part 1

As 2009 prepares to fade into the pages of history, it will also close the doors on a decade that has been like no other for the sport of poker.

When the Third Millennium began a short ten years ago, poker could arguably be said to be on life support. A poker room in a casino was hard to find, there was only one prominent tournament schedule on the poker professional’s calendar, and the game had no place in the media. Poker was reviled as a pursuit of degenerate gamblers; those considered to be the best at the game had very little attention paid to them.

A decade later, the situation has completely reversed itself. Even the smallest casino, wherever it may be in the world, has a poker room. Bookstores have dedicated sections to house their wares of poker books and poker programming airs daily on television. Instead of just one tournament schedule, there are several offerings that require players to choose which one to participate in. Finally, poker pros are respected as adventuresome mavericks whose abilities, education, and intelligence are critical to their success.

With this in mind, Poker News Daily decided to look back at the last decade in an attempt to figure out what were the catalysts for such a return to prominence and what nearly derailed it.

10. Poker Rooms Make a Comeback

At the start of the 21st century, casinos across the United States didn’t consider poker to be a moneymaker for their operations. With that in mind, poker rooms were closed and slot machines began to invade their territory.

By the end of the decade, poker rooms, which had been near extinction only ten years earlier, obtained a greater prominence than they ever had in a casino. The live poker room should continue to be a staple of the casino world in the future.

9. Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker Superuser Scandals

The ugly head of corruption and scandal arose when two of the most popular online poker rooms in the industry, Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker, succumbed to “superuser” cheating rings. These cheating scandals allowed players to see their opponents’ hole cards, making it impossible to lose a hand. These rings - the Ultimate Bet group, which was allegedly led by former World Champion Russ Hamilton, and the Absolute Poker team allegedly led by former employees Scott Tom and A. J. Green - took millions of dollars off of unsuspecting players and gave ammunition to anti-poker zealots in the war against the game.

After outrage from the online poker community, both organizations made financial amends to those affected, but didn’t prosecute anyone for the operation of either scam. Today, the two sites are part of the same network and have seemingly recovered some of their former respect (including the recent certification from eCOGRA, the online gaming watchdog). Still, the scandal could have had a devastating effect on the online game and it has cast doubt as to the legitimacy of online poker, much like the Mississippi riverboat games of centuries ago almost stopped poker from becoming what it is today.

8. Amateurs Dominate WSOP Main Event

Throughout its early history, poker, and in particular the World Series of Poker (WSOP), it was the bastion of professional rounders willing to live life on the edge, to take thousands of dollars out of their own pockets and risk that they were the greatest poker player in the world. With the advent of satellites and online poker, where a player could get into a tournament for a significantly smaller fee, amateur poker players began to take a shot at the upper echelons of the game.

Since 2002, an amateur or previously unknown player has won the $10,000 Main Event at the WSOP and been crowned World Champion. Some, such as Jerry Yang and Jamie Gold, have stayed on the peripheral of the poker world and have arguably not done much since their victories. Others, such as Greg Raymer, Joe Hachem, and Chris Moneymaker, have continued to be at the forefront of the game, advocating in political circles for the regulation of online poker as respected professionals in their own right. Whether they have experience or not, amateurs have become a part of the WSOP.

7. New Blood Infuses the Game

All forms of business need an infusion of new customers to continue to drive their endeavors. Poker is no different. For some time, older players, mostly men, populated the game and the required influx of “new blood” was seemingly missing. Through the development of online poker, new players, both male and female, have made their marks.

In what was perhaps the most stunning tournament win of the decade, Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad’s victory at the inaugural WSOP Europe Main Event made her the youngest player to win a major championship and demonstrated that the youth movement in poker had arrived. In the last two WSOP Main Events, Phil Hellmuth’s longstanding record as the youngest ever champion has been eclipsed twice. As we look at the next decade, young players will continue to make their names in an arena that previously had been dominated by the “Old Guard” of the game.

6. Twice is Nice – Dan Harrington, Mike Matusow, and Jeff Shulman

With the growth of the WSOP Main Event, the odds of a player repeating as champion, as Johnny Chan did in 1987 and 1988, are nearly infinitesimal. The feat of making two final tables is nearly as difficult, but three men - Dan Harrington, Mike Matusow, and Jeff Shulman - managed to pull off the feat. While none won the tournament, the ability to make two final tables during the decade, against such sizeable fields, is definitely a significant achievement.

Harrington’s feat is arguably the best of the three players. Battling through, at the time, the two largest WSOP Main Event fields ever, the 1995 champion nearly captured his second title in consecutive years (2003 and 2004). Matusow announced his presence on the game with his first final table in 2001 and marked his resurrection as a poker player by returning in 2005. Shulman finished seventh in 2000 and came back in 2009 with a fifth place finish.

PokerStars Launches Team Pro Tuesdays

This week marks the second installment of Team Pro Tuesdays on PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site. Every Tuesday through December 29th, PokerStars sponsored pros will be hitting the virtual felts in earnest.

Team PokerStars Pro includes the reigning champion of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, Joe Cada, who became the youngest winner ever of the $10,000 buy-in tournament in November. Cada shattered fellow Team PokerStars Pro member Peter Eastgate’s standing record by a full year, as the site boasts the last two WSOP Main Event champions. Chris Moneymaker, widely considered to be the man responsible for starting the modern poker boom, is also a card-carrying member of Team PokerStars Pro. Moneymaker took down the feature tournament in 2003 as a little-known accountant from Tennessee, defeating established pro Sammy Farha heads-up.

In 2004, Greg Raymer became poker’s newest star and Aussie Joe Hachem followed in 2005. Both are now sponsored by PokerStars and are benevolent ambassadors for the game. Text found on PokerStars’ website explains what players can expect as part of Team Pro Tuesdays: “On this day every week, scores of our pro players will be logging on and playing at the tables, covering everything from cash games to tournaments across a wide range of games and buy-in levels. You’ll be able to watch your favorite players in action and talk to them from the rail.”

PokerStars pros will take to the felts during two separate time blocks each Tuesday, from 12:00 to 15:00 ET and again from 19:00 to 22:00 ET. In order to figure out which pros are online, visit the “Team Pro” link at the bottom of the PokerStars lobby. You can also click “Requests” on the top menu bar and then hit “Find a Team PokerStars Player.” The concept of playing with the pros is similar to the main marketing message of rival online poker site Full Tilt, whose stable of players includes Howard Lederer, Gus Hansen, and Tom “durrrr” Dwan, the newest member of the team.

In addition to being able to play with pros in cash games, PokerStars is running a pair of Outlast the Pro tournaments. The first installment takes place at 13:00 ET on Tuesdays, while the second running issues its “Shuffle up and deal” command at 20:00 ET. Each tournament has a buy-in of $11 along with $1,000 in cash added to the prize pool. Players who remain in each tournament longer than every single one of the pros in the field will divvy up the $1,000 in added funds. For example, if Cada were the last pro standing and knocked out in 83rd place, the remaining players would each pocket $12.20, or $1,000 split 82 ways. The Outlast the Pro tournaments can be found by visiting “Tourney” and then “All” in the PokerStars lobby.

Other members of Team PokerStars Pro include “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge” front man Daniel Negreanu, Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, and Humberto Brenes. Its roster also includes top female pros like GoDaddy Girl Vanessa Rousso, Vicky Coren, Barry Greenstein, Chad Brown, Gavin Griffin, and Maridu Mayrinck, who was featured in this year’s WSOP Main Event coverage on cable station ESPN.

According to PokerScout.com, which keeps tabs on online poker room traffic, PokerStars is the largest site worldwide with a seven-day running average of 28,600 real money ring game players. During its peak hours, well over 40,000 cash game aficionados call the site home. It happily accepts customers from the United States.

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.

Joe Cada Meets with More than 10 Lawmakers on Capitol Hill Visit

As the newest ambassador of the game, 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion Joe Cada met with more than 10 Congressmen on Capitol Hill on Monday in a visit sponsored by the Poker Players Alliance (PPA).

Cada could be found speaking with Representative Linda Sanchez (D-CA), Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Representative Allen Boyd (D-FL), Representative Kendrick Meek (D-FL), Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN), Representative Candice Miller (R-MI), Representative Joe Barton (R-TX), Representative Dean Heller (R-NV), Representative Gary Peters (D-MI), Representative Shelley Berkley (D-NV), and Senator Carl Levin (D-MI). Cada hails from Michigan and met with his two Senators and local Representative throughout the whirlwind one-day affair.

PPA Executive Director John Pappas told Poker News Daily, “There were a number of really good visits with lawmakers like Joe Barton and Linda Sanchez, who are avid poker players, so they got to talk a little poker and a little policy. Throughout the day, he probably met another half-dozen members of Congress.” Congressman Heller brought Cada onto the floor of the House of Representatives during a vote, giving the youngster a unique opportunity to witness the democratic process first-hand.

On Capitol Hill, Cada and his entourage bumped into Senator John Ensign (R-NV) and had a five-minute long conversation. Ensign serves as the counterpart to Harry Reid (D-NV), the current Senate Majority Leader. On Cada’s parade around Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, Pappas commented, “He doesn’t have the recognition that other pros we bring do, but he's just becoming a face on the scene. He was great from our perspective. He wasn't here to do the hard sell on public policy; he was here to give a good face to poker and tell his story.”

Cada became the youngest WSOP Main Event winner ever at age 21 in November, eclipsing Peter Eastgate’s standing record by one year. Cada and Eastgate are both card-carrying members of Team PokerStars Pro, which also includes other World Champions like Chris Moneymaker (2003), Greg Raymer (2004), and Australian Joe Hachem (2005). A bevy of news outlets met with Cada during the day, including Politico, The Hill, and Roll Call, popular Capitol Hill publications.

On the future of Cada’s relationship with the PPA, Pappas told Poker News Daily, “When we do fly-ins and other events, we want to be able to work with him and have him be a face for us in Washington, D.C. We'd love for him to continue to promote the PPA to the poker playing community, particularly to the younger online players who look up to Joe. He recognizes the importance of what we’re doing.” Cada’s post-WSOP Main Event media appearances have included the “Late Show with David Letterman” and ESPN’s “SportsCenter.” He’s also featured on the current cover of Bluff Magazine.

Next up for Cada is a trip to Las Vegas, where he will donate a two-hour training session to the prize pool of the All In For CP charity poker tournament, which will be held at the Hard Rock. Cada told Poker News Daily, "The PPA really treated me like a champion and made my stay very enjoyable. It was awesome meeting various politicians, especially the ones from Michigan. I placed third in John Pappas' home game, which was a huge cash for me of $110. I'm looking forward to supporting the PPA in the fight. Next stop: Bellagio."

Next up for the PPA is a push to pass legislation to legalize and regulate online poker in the United States. Pappas revealed, “We've built a lot of momentum at the end of the year and anticipate a Committee vote on HR 2267 in late January or early February. Right now, we're focusing on the targets we need to get this legislation through.” HR 2267, proposed by Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA), provides a framework for online gaming companies to solicit U.S. customers. It boasts 63 co-sponsors.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest headlines from Capitol Hill.

RIP Binion’s Horseshoe Hotel by Lee Jones

The news has just come out that, as of December 14th, there will no longer be a hotel at the Horseshoe Hotel-Casino in Downtown Las Vegas. Of course, it used to be Binion’s Horseshoe, the site of the World Series of Poker for 35 years and the center of the poker world for that long.

They’re also closing down the coffee shop. Sic transit gloria mundi.

For those of us of a certain age who remember the old days, this is a sobering moment. We’re told that they will keep the poker room, but it’s like saying, “Don’t worry, we’re keeping the statue of Lincoln; we’re just tearing down that big building around him.”

I first stepped into Binion’s back in the early 90’s, almost 20 years ago. It was during the WSOP, which used to be in May. I remember because it fell right over Mother’s Day; the fathers among our poker degen crowd could no more get away to Las Vegas that weekend than they could flap their arms and fly over the Grand Canyon.

It was just two to three years later when I first stayed at the hotel there. It was with the BARGE group, which has produced some of the luminaries of the poker world (Andy Bloch, Greg Raymer, Phil Gordon, and Bill Chen are all proud BARGErs). Our group took over Binion’s annually and they treated us like royalty. They comped us to breakfast in that glorious coffee shop; we’d leave tips amounting to half of what the meal would have cost.

Many of us stayed in the hotel rooms that are about to be boarded up and forgotten. They were not, let’s be honest, luxurious. At least one BARGEr was known to bring his own sheets and blankets to ensure their cleanliness. But by God, we were staying and playing poker in Mecca. No walking through a labyrinth of expensive shops and spas to get from your room to the casino and then a further schlep to find the poker. No, you came down one of two elevators and stepped out into a tiny hall. From there, it was literally half a dozen steps into the poker room. During the WSOP, you could hear the poker crowds while you were still in the elevator.

These were the same elevators that Stu Ungar, Doyle Brunson, and Jack Strauss had ridden to their suites to celebrate their WSOP victories. Heck, Johnny Moss lived in one of those rooms for the last few years of his life, an honored guest of the Binion family. He’d come down every day and play $20-$40 Limit Hold’em, riding around the casino floor on his little scooter.

Me, I never won a WSOP bracelet at Binion’s Horseshoe, but in 1998, I was fortunate enough to win the Main Event tournament at BARGE, which was held there. BARGE basically took over the entire property. I recall the thrill of walking into the coffee shop and getting a standing ovation from probably two-thirds of the tables in the place. That was one of the highlights of my poker career. Going back to my room, with its view to the wall of the casino next door, to call my wife and tell her that I’d just won.

Both during the WSOP and BARGE, Binion’s became poker heaven; the poker players greatly outnumbered the “civilians” and the air was electric. Part of that was because it was self-contained – we ate breakfast in the basement coffee shop, came up to the main floor to play poker, went up to the second floor for the buffet or Benny’s steak house, back for more poker, and then (maybe) make it up that elevator in the pre-dawn to get a few hours of sleep. If you were a veteran, you knew the Clue-like secret passage from the front lobby area that took you through a delivery alley and popped you out right next to the registration desk and at the poker room. You ate, slept, and played poker at the Horseshoe and for a period of time, that’s really all you wanted to do.

Sometime I’ll tell you about the time that Nick Behnen, Becky Binion’s husband, had a series of wee-hour heads-up No-Limit Hold’em matches against members of the BARGE crowd. When everybody got hungry, he ordered dozens of hamburgers sent out from the kitchen, but that’s a story for a different time. For now, let’s all take off our online poker logo baseball caps for a moment and say goodbye to a piece of poker history.

Lee Jones is the Cardroom Manager of Cake Poker. He has worked in the poker industry for over six years and been associated with professional poker for almost 20 years. He is the author of “Winning Low Limit Hold’em,” which has been in print for almost 15 years.

Overheard at High Stakes Poker Season 6 Taping

Last week, the sixth season of GSN’s cash game franchise “High Stakes Poker” was filmed at the Golden Nugget in Downtown Las Vegas. Some of the game’s best turned out for the three days of taping and sat down with Poker News Daily to discuss their thoughts headed into the suite.

Barry Greenstein will once again raise money for charity during Season 6 of “High Stakes Poker,” which will feature tournament hostess Kara Scott conducting interviews from the floor and Gabe Kaplan flying solo in the booth sans A.J. Benza. Greenstein is set to utter the most feared three words in all of poker sometime during the sixth season, “bing, bang blaow,” for charity. He told Poker News Daily, “One of the problems with it is that it’s like trash talking. Normally, it’s not classy to beat someone in a big pot and then talk trash. Each of the last couple of years, with the ‘Math is idiotic,’ I beat Tom Dwan and drew out. With the ‘lol donkaments,’ I told Erick Lindgren ahead of time that I was going to do it.” For uttering popular phrases throughout the years, Greenstein has truly earned his nickname as the “Robin Hood of Poker.”

Besides “High Stakes Poker,” Daniel Negreanu has taken to the television airwaves for the “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge,” which returns this Sunday following NFL football on Fox. Negreanu discussed how the show has been received so far: “We couldn’t be happier. It came in off ‘Face the Ace,’ which got bad ratings. ‘Million Dollar Challenge’ was one of the highest rated shows and did amazingly well. The time slot is perfect following football and the production quality is so much better. Everything has a game show feel.”

On the mind of “High Stakes Poker” newcomer Dennis Phillips was the win by fellow Team PokerStars Pro member Joe Cada in the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. Phillips finished third in the $10,000 buy-in feature tournament last year to the tune of $4.5 million; Cada’s win this year was worth $8.5 million. Phillips explained, “He was 21 and just won $8.5 million. He has a good head, talks well with the media, and wants to promote poker. We just need to make sure it goes the right way and he and I will be talking off and on.” PokerStars has produced several recent WSOP Main Event champions, including Chris Moneymaker (2003), Greg Raymer (2004), Joe Hachem (2005), Peter Eastgate (2008), and Cada (2009).

Phil Laak, who was an alternate for the sixth season of “High Stakes Poker” and wound up filming, told Poker News Daily about his experience at the 2009 WSOP Main Event final table, which unfolded at the Rio: “It was the second time in 10 years that I went to see it. I had never been in the Penn and Teller Theater in my life and I haven’t seen the show either.” Laak and Antonio Esfandiari instigated a number of prop bets during Season 5 of “High Stakes Poker,” one-off events that producer Mori Eskandani has apparently frowned upon during the show’s most recent installment.

Besides Phillips, another newcomer to the GSN poker series this time around is Lex “RaSZi” Veldhuis, who final tabled the $40,000 buy-in tournament commemorating the 40th running of the WSOP in 2009. Veldhuis told Poker News Daily how he stacks up against the talented competition: “I’ve played with these guys before, so I’m comfortable with them and I’m comfortable with my game. I just hope I can win some money because the show is a small sample. There’s going to be really high variance and I won’t have a lot of hands. It’s gambling, so in that respect, I think it’s higher stakes.”

Season 6 of “High Stakes Poker” will begin airing on Sunday, February 14th on GSN.

Palms Casino Pays $100,000 Fine to Resolve Poker Complaint

The Palms Resort Casino in Las Vegas has agreed to pay $100,000 to settle a complaint after failing to correctly supervise a pair of poker tournaments in 2007. The resort will pay a $75,000 fine to the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) and another $25,000 to the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) for the cost of the investigation.

According to a complaint brought by the state’s attorney general’s office, which was picked up by media outlets like the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the tournaments were held by third parties that did not register with state gaming regulators prior to the events. By hosting the tournaments on their site, the Palms used its license to legitimize the two events. However, the NGCB stated that it doesn’t want outside operators using licensed Nevada casinos to “legitimize less-than-legitimate types of programs.”

The two tournaments were brought to the attention of the Board when it was learned that prize money was left unpaid following their completion.

“By allowing the poker tournament(s) to proceed without adequate planning and follow-up, the Palms failed to exercise the proper discretion and sound judgment to prevent a situation that might reflect negatively on the reputation of the State of Nevada and its gaming industry,” the complaint said.

One of the tournaments involved was the inaugural United States Poker League’s Poker Bowl, which was held in October of 2007. The team-based event was at first considered to be a giant success after attracting many of the game’s biggest names, such as Doyle Brunson, Kathy Liebert, Scotty Nguyen, Phil Laak, Antonio Esfandiari, Greg Raymer, and Paul Wasicka. Team Cincinnati, represented by former World Series of Poker (WSOP) runner-up Steve Dannenmann and five other players, won the event and $600,000.

However, Poker Bowl’s owner and founder John Nightingale had difficulty keeping the company breathing and was forced to sell off its assets shortly after the event took place. The winners were never paid and individuals who had a financial stake in the business were left up in the air.

Some speculated that the reason Nightingale could not come up with the prize money was that he allowed too many pros to play for free rather than making them buy into the tournament. The Palms disbursed $450,416 in unpaid prize money to the winners after checks from the Poker Bowl bounced.

The other incident in the complaint occurred in August of 2007 after a tournament organized by Michael Eakman and Associates was not registered with the NGCB. The tournament was set up to benefit the Jewish Community Center of Southern Nevada, but Michael Eakman and Associates waited four months to pay the Jewish Community Center its share of the earnings.

According to a Palms spokesperson, the resort paid all of the prizes as soon as it learned of the complaint.

Detroit Media Debates Joe Cada 2009 WSOP Main Event Victory

While many in the industry have been celebrating Michigan native Joe Cada becoming the youngest World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event winner ever, Cada’s local media in Detroit have debated the impact of his feat on society.

Jamie Samuelsen of the Detroit Free Press weighed in on the issue in an editorial piece appropriately titled, “Joe Cada’s poker win won’t corrupt our society.” Addressing readers in a state where the unemployment rate has soared to above 15%, Samuelsen cautioned critics, “I’m not simply encouraging your sons and daughters to follow in his footsteps. I’m just saying that it’s not quite as bad as others will make it out to be. As long as you’re not losing money, there’s nothing wrong with sharpening your mind.” Cada shattered Peter Eastgate’s record as youngest WSOP Main Event winner ever at age 21. In fact, his 22nd birthday is next week.

In a separate Free Press article, Cada gave his disclaimer for area youth looking to turn to poker in order to make a living. He told the paper, “You have to be very careful when you decide to make it a living. More people lose than win.”

Ron Dzwonkowski, also of the Free Press, gave his frank opinion on the impact that Cada may have on the local market: “I hope Cada doesn’t become an inspiration. He’s an exception. Most gamblers lose. If they didn’t, Las Vegas wouldn’t exist and the three casinos in Detroit wouldn’t be holding up as well as they are in the nation’s worst economy.” Many in the poker industry would counter that Cada wasn’t “gambling;” instead, he was excelling at a game of skill like bridge, chess, or mahjong.

Dzwonkowski’s Free Press article cited a study from Michigan State University that surveyed students asking whether internet gaming is affecting their studies. A total of 18.5% answered yes, although the results included computer games in addition to gambling. He concluded, “So congratulations to Joe Cada, whose card-playing acumen — and luck — made him a multimillionaire at 21. I hope he spends most of it in Michigan. But most 21-year-olds — heck, most people — are not going to have the ride that Joe Cada did. He’s a winner all right. But he shouldn’t become an inspiration.”

Meanwhile, Cada’s friends and family have rallied behind the champion of the 2009 WSOP Main Event. His uncle told the same Detroit newspaper, “He’s pretty level-headed. He’s a cool-headed kid. He’s always been a wonderful kid – quiet and polite – and just a good person. So he deserves it.”

Cada appeared on the CBS morning franchise “The Early Show” and candidly recalled his mother’s reaction to his poker playing aspirations: “She’d always see people gambling and you know, lose money, so she was always kind of nervous about me playing poker for a living. It brought her to tears when I won the thing. She said she was really proud of me.”

Play concluded at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino late Monday night and saw Cada best Maryland logger Darvin Moon heads-up. Cada entered heads-up play as a 2:1 chip leader before relinquishing his edge to Moon, who took a 3:1 margin of his own. Cada’s win was worth $8.5 million, although a chunk of his funds went to backers who fronted his $10,000 Main Event entry fee. Cada became the fifth PokerStars pro since 2003 to take down the title, joining Chris Moneymaker (2003), Greg Raymer (2004), Joe Hachem (2005), and Peter Eastgate (2008).

Joe Cada Supported by 150 Friends and Family at 2009 WSOP Main Event

The squeaky wheel gets the grease, or in the case of Joe Cada, the squeaky wheel gets $8.5 million. After nearly 90 hands of heads-up play in the overnight hours on Monday, Cada emerged as the youngest WSOP Main Event Champion ever.

His 22nd birthday is one week from Wednesday and we suspect that his party will be one for the ages. Last year, Peter Eastgate shattered Phil Hellmuth’s longstanding record to become the youngest winner of the $10,000 buy-in feature tournament, a distinction Hellmuth held for 19 years. Cada had over 150 of his closest friends and family rally behind him at the Penn and Teller Theater at the Rio. On his troops, Cada told WSOP officials, “They meant everything to me. They cheered me on when I was very low on chips. Then, I got down by 3:1 tonight and they were still sitting there cheering and going crazy. That helped me to get back in this and focus. Momentum is a big thing in poker. A lot of these people took off of school and work and came out here just to support me and I am so grateful.”

Cada’s faithful were decked out in neon yellow long sleeve shirts and hats in a scene reminiscent of a University of Michigan football game. Many had questioned whether Moon, a logger from Maryland, would be a viable ambassador for the game. On his new role as the face of the 2009 WSOP, Cada told reporters, “I will embrace it. I hope to help poker grow and represent it well.”

Cada donned a PokerStars logo throughout the Main Event final table after holding out for a logo deal from the world’s largest online poker site. In July, he could be spotted in images with Ultimate Bet gear on. Since Chris Moneymaker in 2003, PokerStars has procured four Main Event Champions to its ranks: Greg Raymer (2004), Joe Hachem (2005), Eastgate (2008), and now Cada.

Rallying him over the weekend were Cada’s parents, Ann and Jerry. The latter could be found taking pictures in earnest in a WSOP press conference on the Masquerade Stage at the Rio on Monday afternoon. His mother, Ann, shared her thoughts following her son’s $8.5 million score and WSOP bracelet win: “I’m elated. I’m dumbfounded. It’s just a dream. We wanted him to get his education first but when he started doing well, we wanted him to follow his dream. He loves it. How many people can say they love what they do?”

Amid rising unemployment and a professional football team that is 1-7 in 2009 and went a record 0-16 last year, Cada’s win marks a watershed moment for the state of Michigan and city of Detroit. Cada’s father echoed the point and added why his son has been so successful on the live and online poker felts in such a short amount of time: “I think where he really has talent is in the math area. When he was a kid, we used to just throw numbers at him and he would give us the answer right back. He knew percentages. Then, he got into poker and bang! It all came together.”

Among those thrilled for Cada is PokerStars, which asked Cada about playing Moon heads-up. Moon had run hot for much of the tournament, but, like his fortunes at Texas Hold’em Bonus at the Rio on Monday, his luck finally turned for the worse. Cada told PokerStars, “Darvin played a great game. He put me in a lot of tough spots. He did really well. Props to Darvin. He played great. He had my back against the wall, but luckily I came through.”

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the 2009 WSOP Main Event results and coverage.

WSOP Main Event Final Table Shuffle Up and Deal Command Given

The cards are in the air at the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event in Las Vegas. Inside the massive Penn and Teller Theater at the Rio, you can hear a pin drop on every turn of the card.

Phil Ivey facing a bet by Joe Cada leads to a dramatic uneasiness inside the 1,200 person capacity theater. Many are literally on the edge of their seats watching the action, as the general admission line continues to build outside the door. Only a few flops have been seen so far and a variety of red, white, and blue balloons line the railings inside the theater.

In the minutes leading up to the “Shuffle Up and Deal” command, a moment of silence was held for Hans Lund, the runner-up in the 1990 WSOP Main Event to Mansour Matloubi. A hearty round of applause followed before WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack told the assembled crowd, “This will clearly be a final table for the history books. As we get started, I wanted to thank you, the best fans in all of poker and the best fans in all of sports, for being here and supporting the WSOP.” Pollack introduced Absolute Poker pro Lacey Jones, decked out in a pink cocktail dress, who will serve as the WSOP Main Event’s hostess.

Pollack covered the rules of audience etiquette during a poker tournament, which included encouraging cheering for your favorite players, not interfering with hands in progress by yelling phrases like “go all in” and “don’t do that.” Other than player names, other audible phrases have included “Stack em, stack em, to the top” (playing homage to Julie Schneider, wife of Tom Schneider) and “Let’s play already!”

Jones then interviewed 2008 WSOP November Nine member Dennis Phillips, who told the crowd what sage words of advice he gave this year’s group: “A lot of different things, They were asking me how to handle it from a media perspective and a lot of other things. I told them to play well, be proud of your play, and enjoy.”

Also taking to the stage with Jones was Peter Eastgate, the reigning champion of the prestigious $10,000 buy-in tournament. On his latest success, Eastgate told Jones, “I’ve been having some good results lately. I’m still running hot.” His advice to the next Main Event winner: “Be yourself.”

At 1:30pm PT, Ivey pushed all-in facing potential calls by CardPlayer Magazine Editor Jeff Shulman and young gun Joe Cada. Both players folded to Ivey’s all-in and speculation ran rampant that Cada had at least pocket queens and ultimately laid it down, sparking a debate among media members in attendance that will be answered when the event airs on Tuesday night. Ten minutes later, Frenchman Antoine Saout, who has a rowdy cheering section inside the theater, shoved all-in, but was also not called.

In the minutes leading up to the WSOP Main Event final table resuming, Barry Shulman, father of the aforementioned November Nine member, was presented with his WSOP Europe Main Event gold bracelet. After a lengthy delay, the national anthem of the United States played, as has been customary in previous bracelet ceremonies.

The final tradition to play out was the “Shuffle Up and Deal” command, issued by 10-time WSOP bracelet winner Doyle Brunson. “Texas Dolly” told fans and others in attendance, “I think we should congratulate Jeffrey Pollack and Ty Stewart for putting this all together. It looks like a football game.”

Those on stage include Chau Giang, Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little, Brunson, Eastgate, Joe Sebok, Greg Raymer, Chris Ferguson, Phil Hellmuth, Phil Gordon, and Phillips. About 125 people are seated on the Rio’s stage.

Sally Anne Boyer Sues WSOP Academy and Harrah’s

2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Women’s Champion Sally Anne Boyer has filed a lawsuit against Harrah’s Entertainment, the WSOP Academy, and other related companies for misuse of her image for advertising purposes.

According to a report in the Las Vegas Sun newspaper, Boyer filed the lawsuit on Monday against the casino giant and the poker training school alleging that her name and likeness have been used in advertising without her permission and that the WSOP Academy states she endorses the school. Also named in the lawsuit were Post Oak Productions of Toronto, Canada (managers of the WSOP Academy) and Post Oak owners Brandon Rosen and Jeff Goldenberg.

After winning the 2007 Women’s Championship during the WSOP, earning slightly over $260,000 and her first WSOP bracelet, Boyer appeared in ads for the WSOP Academy with the byline, “The quickest way to your WSOP bracelet,” and was billed as a graduate of the school. These ads, alleges Boyer’s attorneys Bowler, Dixon, and Twitchell, LLP, appeared in poker magazines, on the WSOP’s website, and in the Academy’s newsletters. The bone of contention between the companies is whether Boyer acquiesced to allow use of her name and image for such purposes and whether she completed the Academy’s classes.

The stakes could be high if Boyer’s attorneys can prove that her likeness was misused. The lawsuit is seeking restitution from the use of her visage and unspecified damages. The WSOP Academy, which has been in existence since early 2007, charges participants anywhere from $1,899 to $2,999, depending upon the intensity of the training, what type of instruction is being conducted, and the instructors involved.

According to sources inside of Harrah’s who requested anonymity due to policies on pending litigation, Boyer’s litigation team contacted the company earlier this year regarding these issues. As Harrah’s and the WSOP do not have any ownership of the Academy, the issue was forwarded onto Post Oak Productions.

As reported also in the Sun, an e-mail dated August 30th, 2007 is a discussion between Rosen and Boyer as to the advertising that would feature Boyer. In the e-mail, which was obtained by Poker News Daily, Boyer states that the ad “looks fine” and offers to send “better” pictures in her “poker… attire” for future advertising. According to sources, Boyer’s attorneys were unaware of this e-mail when the suit was filed and, as of press time, had not returned calls to Poker News Daily.

Poker professional Mark Seif, who is one of the instructors for the Academy, stated to Poker News Daily, “With respect to the recent Sally Anne Boyer filing, I think its best to refer you to a statement Jeff Goldenberg, the CEO of Post-Oak Productions, made yesterday regarding the case.” In that statement, Goldenberg was quoted as saying, “I would like to comment in detail, but our attorneys won’t let us. Suffice it to say we were absolutely shocked that this suit was filed. The suit is entirely baseless and we look forward to being entirely vindicated when all of the facts come out in court.”

Boyer’s lawsuit is reminiscent of the lawsuit filed by seven top poker professionals against the World Poker Tour (WPT) a few years ago. In 2006, the seven players – Andy Bloch, Annie Duke, Chris Ferguson, Phil Gordon, Joe Hachem, Howard Lederer, and Greg Raymer – alleged that the WPT’s standard release forms required for participation in its tournaments were a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

The seven players argued that the forms were anti-competitive and conflicted with their contractual obligations to other companies and organizations. After a great deal of posturing, Hachem and Raymer dropped out of the lawsuit (with Hachem notably going on to win the 2006 WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic) and the remaining five players eventually settled out of court in April of 2008.

WSOP introducing November Nine Academy

Taking place at Caesars Palace, the three-day course will include instruction from premier poker players like Mark Seif, Greg Raymer and Phil Hellmuth.

"I'm so excited to get back in the classroom to share my experience and knowledge with the attendees," said Hellmuth, an 11-time bracelet winner and Main Event champion.

Participants will learn from the pros through a combination of focused seminars, live hand demonstrations and a deep-stack tournament.

Hellmuth, Raymer and Seif will also analyze footage from past final table experiences and dissect their own hands.

The seminars are interactive, which will provide an opportunity for participants to engage the poker pros in questions and dialogue.

"Live hand demonstrations are overwhelmingly popular at our WSOP Academy Events," said Brandon Rosen of the WSOP Academy.

"Our attendees tell us time and time again that they benefit tremendously from the time spent at the poker tables and playing out hands as they would in a real poker tournament. Learning by doing is the approach. This is why the November Nine Academy has more than six hours of live hand demonstration time. "

The WSOP Academy will also host a deep-stack No-Limit Hold'em tournament with the winner receiving a WSOP Academy 2010 Tournament of Champions prize package valued at $4,000.

All participants of the November Nine Academy will also receive exclusive VIP access to the 2009 WSOP Main Event final table.

Additional details for the event and all Academy events are available at www.wsopacademy.com or by calling 1-800-989-WSOP.

Matt Glantz Wins PokerStars EPT London High Roller Event

American Matt Glantz emerged victorious in the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) London High Roller event, banking £542,000. Glantz bested Erik Cajelais in a tournament that attracted 75 runners.

Cajelais entered the final table as a commanding chip leader, owning a stack of 893,000, well out in front of Glantz, who came armed with 647,500. Glantz had a wealth of experience, however, finishing fourth in the $50,000 buy-in HORSE Championship during the 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) for $568,000. That final table, of course, featured Scotty Nguyen, a 2009 Poker Hall of Fame finalist, emerging victorious while allegedly inebriated. Also that year, Glantz took third in the World Championship Mixed Event for $184,000.

Cajelais, meanwhile, was fresh off a win in the £2,500 buy-in Pot Limit Hold’em / Pot Limit Omaha contest during the 2009 WSOP Europe festivities, which were also held in London. In that event, he defeated Mats Gavatin heads-up and earned £104,000. Also appearing at the Pot Limit final table were Men “The Master” Nguyen, Hoyt Corkins, and Chris Bjorin, who went on to finish sixth in the WSOP Europe Main Event.

Just after the dinner break, Glantz prevailed in the High Roller tournament. Here is how its final table shook out:

1. Matt Glantz (United States) - £542,000
2. Erik Cajelais (Canada) - £326,000
3. Eugene Katchalov (United States) - £193,000
4. Adolfo Vaeza (Uruguay) - £141,000
5. Leo Fernandez (Argentina) - £104,000
6. Ilari Sahamies (Finland) - £74,000
7. Dennis Phillips (United States) - £60,000
8. Shane Reihill (Ireland) - £45,000

Phillips has been on fire over the past year. After finishing third in the 2008 WSOP Main Event for $4.5 million, the truck salesman grabbed 45th in the 2009 installment, earning another $178,000. He won a $500 buy-in tournament during the Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza in Las Vegas in April and has become one of poker’s top ambassadors. Phillips, along with a half-dozen other pros, descended on Capitol Hill for the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) Fly-In held during National Poker Week. Phillips toured the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and also played in a charity poker tournament.

Sahamies, nicknamed “Ziigumd” in the online world, is the front man for the Cake Poker Network site Power Poker. Sahamies appeared on Season 5 of the GSN cash game show “High Stakes Poker” and was part of the winning squad in the inaugural Caesars Cup. Fernandez, along with Phillips, is a card-carrying member of Team PokerStars Pro. In April, Fernandez finished sixth in the Latin American Poker Tour’s (LAPT) Mar del Plata Main Event for $63,000. His employer, PokerStars, sponsors the EPT.

WSOP November Nine member Phil Ivey was the first player sent packing from the High Roller event. Others who hit the skids on Day 1 included Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Dave “Devilfish” Ulliott, Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer, Barry Greenstein, Vanessa Rousso, Luca Pagano, J.C. Alvarado, and Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier. After his victory, Glantz told PokerStars officials, “It feels great. It’s just been my day.” In the final hand, Glantz’s A-2 held up against Cajelais’ Q-J.

The £5,000 buy-in EPT London Main Event is currently underway. This time around, the tournament attracted 730 players, which PokerStars claims is the largest poker event ever held in the United Kingdom. Only 596 players took to the felts in 2008, representing a growth of 23%. A total of 58 countries are represented, including 138 players from the United Kingdom, 131 from the United States, 63 from France, 45 from Germany, and 42 from Italy.

High roller Glantz takes EPT London £20k

Glantz, who hails from Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania, outlasted a field of 75 elite players to grab the title and £542,000 first-place prize Friday.

"There were tons of great players," Glantz said. "Probably, out of the top 100 tournament players in the world, 50 to 60 were in this tournament."

Among those who put up the £20,000 buy-in were Full Tilt's Phil Ivey, Tom "durrrr" Dwan, Dave "Devilfish" Ulliott and Team PokerStars Pros Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer, Barry Greenstein, and Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier.

The final table featured 2007 WPT Five Diamond champ Eugene Katchalov, 2008 November Niner Dennis Phillips, and online nosebleed stakes legend Ilari "Ziigmund" Sahamies.

Glantz beat Erik Cajelais heads-up, a little over a week after Cajelais took down his first major tournament, winning the 2008 WSOPE $2,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em/Pot-Limit Omaha event.

Primarily a cash-game pro, Glantz' previous top tournament finish was a fourth place finish for $568,320 at the 2008 WSOP $50k H.O.R.S.E. event and said he plays tournaments more for the competition than the cash.

"I don't plan on ever making a living from tournaments," he said. "It's like a challenge. It's like a sport to me. Cash games are more of a grind, doing the same thing over and over again, while tournaments are more of a meta-game.

"Cash games are more of a logical way to beat your opponents while in tournaments it's more fun to try to get inside your opponent's head."

In fact, Glantz admitted he has difficulty finding the motivation to play tournaments, considering the cash stakes he regularly plays.

"To tell you the truth, I know it sounds crazy, but this one was harder to get motivated for because you are putting up £20,000 to win £500,000," he said. "You're only getting 25 to 1 on your money and you have to beat 75 great players, so it's hard to motivate you there.

"On the other side it was nice to only have to beat 75 players as opposed to a big tournament where you have to beat like 2,000 players - it seemed a lot more attainable."

Glantz, who regularly blogs about playing high-stakes cash, prop betting, cross booking and playing Chinese Poker for $1,000 a point with some of the biggest names in the game, said he hopes the money doesn't get bled off there.

"That's Roland (de Wolfe's) plan and some other friends I have, but no, we don't play that big in Chinese, we play big enough, you can lose enough, but not those numbers."

For now, Glantz plans on playing the main event at PokerStars EPT London before heading back to the United States.

Ante Up for Africa Monte Carlo Event to Air on CBS Sports

For the next two weekends, CBS will air the PokerStars Ante Up for Africa Monte Carlo tournament. The show will air on Saturday, September 19th from 1:30pm to 2:30pm ET and on Saturday, September 26th from 2:00pm to 3:00pm ET.

Both shows will air prior to college football. Vanessa Rousso, a member of Team PokerStars Pro, commented in a press release distributed by the online poker site on Friday, “Each year at the World Series of Poker, I make it a point to play in Ante Up for Africa. It’s amazing that PokerStars hosted the event in Monte Carlo to help a worthy cause and bring some fun to the table during one of their biggest events of the year.” In this author’s home market, the show does not air on September 19th, but rather only the 26th. Viewers are encouraged to check their local listings for details, as college football dates, times, and channels vary by market.

The tournament took place in April in the storied European principality during the Monte Carlo Grand Final festivities. The casino is the host venue for the end-of-season European Poker Tour (EPT) event and attracted a star-studded lineup of celebrities and poker players for the Ante Up for Africa contest. Among those in attendance were St. Louis rapper Nelly, singer Christina Milian, The Dream, “Heroes” actor James Kyson Lee, “Sex in the City” actor Jason Lewis, Good Charlotte band member Joel Madden, U.K. presenter Kirsty Gallacher, rapper Bruno “Kool Shen” Lopes, F1 racer Nico Rosberg, Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina, and rugby players Sebastien Chabal and Mike Tindall.

Representing Team PokerStars Pro were Rousso, 2004 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion Greg Raymer, 2005 Champion Joe Hachem, 2008 Champion Peter Eastgate, Italian poker pro Dario Minieri, Victor Ramdin, and Caesars Cup Captain Daniel Negreanu. The €4,000 buy-in tournament generated more than €260,000 for the Ante Up for Africa charity, which raises money and awareness for victims of the crisis in Darfur. A total of €160,000 was raised through tournament buy-ins, while PokerStars generously kicked in an additional €100,000.

Among those prizes awarded were a trip to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in 2010. The tournament, which is held annually in the Bahamas, serves as the lone Western Hemisphere stop on the EPT circuit. A tournament summary distributed by the world’s largest online poker site offered the following insight into the ongoing Darfur crisis: “More than 400,000 people have died and more than four million have lost their homes in Darfur since the conflict began. To date, Ante Up For Africa has raised close to $2 million for the cause.”

Ante Up for Africa was founded in 2006 by “Celebrity Apprentice” runner-up Annie Duke, Full Tilt Poker pro Don Cheadle, and Norman Epstein. An annual $5,000 buy-in tournament is held to benefit the charity during the WSOP in Las Vegas. This year, the spectacle came to life on cable station ESPN and featured Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Sarah Silverman, Charles Barkley, and Jason Alexander. Representing the poker world were the likes of Chris Ferguson, Howard Lederer, and Phil Hellmuth, who served as the event’s emcee. This year’s gala raised more than $600,000.

In August, the Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) featured a fundraiser for Ante Up for Africa in the form of a $120 buy-in tournament. A total of 2,367 players bought into the event, which was won by “warren_ace1.” Full Tilt donated the entire $20 entry fee to Ante Up for Africa.

Joe Hachem, Jeffrey Lisandro Featured on WSOP on ESPN Coverage

Day 3 of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event hit television airwaves on ESPN on Tuesday night, with two hours of coverage dedicated to the festivities. Seated at the feature table were two Aussies, Joe Hachem and Jeffrey Lisandro.

Lisandro became the fifth player in WSOP history to take home three bracelets in a year and has logged 29 cashes since 2004. Hachem took down the 2005 Main Event and ignited a poker boom of his own in Australia. Joining the duo from Down Under was George Hardie, the former owner of the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles. On the first hand, Lisandro raised to 3,600 with pocket eights and, after peeking down at pocket queens, Hachem made it 9,600. Lisandro called to see a flop of 10-4-2. Lisandro checked, Hachem bet 16,000, and Lisandro quickly released his hand, igniting chants of “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!”

ESPN announcer Norman Chad commented that, while Phil Ivey remains his perennial pick to win the WSOP Main Event, Lisandro’s heroics in 2009 make him a close second: “Let’s assume that aliens come down and lure Phil Ivey away to a cash game mother ship, then I must turn to Jeffrey Lisandro.” Ville Wahlbeck was the only player remaining in the field that could catch Lisandro for WSOP Player of the Year honors. However, he’d need a seventh place finish or better in order to do so. Wahlbeck was seated at Table Two during the 8:00pm ET episode alongside Kenny Tran.

Also found in the field were Ivey and Phil Hellmuth. “The Poker Brat” found that one of his tablemates, Lauchlin McKinnon, did not want to shake his hand. Instead, his opponent told Hellmuth, “I don’t respect anything you do. I think you’re a complete prick.” Hellmuth joked, “I think this is going to be a good day.” Elsewhere in the Amazon Room, Bodog pro Jean-Robert Bellande pushed with A-10 of diamonds for 20 big blinds and rivered a flush to double up. Chad labeled him a “survivor,” a reference to his appearance on the China installment of the CBS reality franchise.

Kent Senter, who is undergoing stem cell treatment for an incurable form of cancer, was all-in with pocket tens against Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier’s pocket jacks. The board ran out K-5-3-3-5, giving Grospellier the win and sending Senter home. He was met with a herd of television cameras upon his departure. Grospellier is a PokerStars pro; his site began sponsoring chip count leaderboard graphics on Tuesday night on ESPN.

The “Straight from the Pros” segment featured Daniel Negreanu battling against Sammy Farha in a hand during the 2005 WSOP Main Event. Negreanu folded a straight after a third spade hit the river to give Farha a flush. Negreanu, the captain of the Team Americas squad that will compete in the Caesars Cup, told ESPN cameras, “He’s either bluffing here or I’m dead.”

Negreanu’s comrade on Team PokerStars Pro, Hachem, was featured in the Jack Link’s Beef Jerky Wild Card Hand, in which the cards of one player are not shown so the audience can play along at home. Hachem raised to 4,100 pre-flop with the Wild Card hand and Claus Nielsen called with pocket threes. The flop came 8-2-5 and Nielsen checked. Hachem fired out a bet of 6,200 and Nielsen made the call. The turn was a deuce and Nielsen put in a check-raise to 32,000, causing Hachem to relinquish K-Q.

Also in the field was former November Nine member Dennis Phillips, who relived tossing out the first pitch at a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game. However, he wound up throwing the ball directly at the ground. Wahlbeck then hit the skids after running pocket queens into pocket kings, leading to an announcement from WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack that Lisandro had claimed Player of the Year honors. Ivey then moved to Grospellier’s table, leaving Chad to remark, “Poker’s superpowers clash.”

The second episode of Tuesday night kicked off at 9:00pm ET and continued coverage of Day 3 of the 2009 WSOP Main Event. David “Devilfish” Ulliott joined the cast at Table Two, while Hellmuth found himself flanking Josh Arieh. Former Main Event winners Peter Eastgate (2008), Greg Raymer (2004), Dan Harrington (1995), Hachem (2005), and Hellmuth (1989) all remained alive to begin the episode, but Raymer quickly found himself on the sidelines after running pocket tens into pocket aces.

Lunkin doubled up after rivering a straight, causing Chad to lament, “I know Lunkin has played good, but I can’t tell you how ridiculously good he’s run. He should be halfway back to Moscow on an Aeroflot flight in coach.” Meanwhile, Nielsen bet out on an ace-high board after raising pre-flop with just 8-4. However, Hachem laid down pocket queens and Lisandro released pocket kings, giving the pot to Nielsen.

The Full Tilt Poker sponsored segment “Deal Me In” featured Howard Lederer taking on Hellmuth in a hand from the 2004 WSOP Tournament of Champions, which was ultimately won by Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Annie Duke.

Hevad Khan cheerily smiled at ESPN cameras, leading to the following comment from announcer Lon McEachern: “That’s the first real sign of life from him we’ve seen in two years.” Khan finished sixth in the 2007 WSOP Main Event. His lively antics resulted in the “Hevad Khan rule” against excessive player celebrations. Elsewhere in the dwindling field, J.C. Tran and Joe Sebok doubled up, while L.A. Lakers Guard Jordan Farmar was eliminated. Also hitting the exits was “Seinfeld” actor Jason Alexander, whose opponent made trips on the river.

Finally, “The Nuts” featured Chad and Hellmuth taking turns in a dunk tank. After Chad, a southpaw, finally sent Hellmuth to a watery demise, he commented, “I took more pleasure out of dunking you than anything in my whole life. That was two honeymoons rolled into one.”

New episodes of the 2009 WSOP Main Event on ESPN air on Tuesdays at 8:00pm ET and are repeated throughout the week on ESPN’s family of networks.

WSOP Ratings Up Across the Board

Six weeks of World Series of Poker (WSOP) coverage have broadcast on ESPN and the dip in ratings the cable sports network saw with the airing of the preliminary events does not appear to be carrying over to the all-important Main Event coverage. ESPN is reporting gains in all categories and demographics from this time last year, most importantly in the coveted 18-49 year old male audience.

The two hour-long episodes that aired on Tuesday September 1st each posted solid numbers with 901,103 households tuning in for the first episode which airs from 8PM-9PM ET and 1,010,258 households viewing hour number two from 9PM-10PM. The two episodes, which centered on action from Day 2A of the Main Event, earned .91 and 1.02 ratings for each episode.

The numbers are also in for the overall performance of the WSOP coverage based on its first twelve episodes and six weeks on the air. Despite the lackluster start to the 2009 season, WSOP coverage is up in every major category. Poker News Daily spoke with ESPN media representative George McNeilly and he summed up the key places in which the WSOP is making big strides. “Through six weeks, WSOP is showing positive gains in all categories over 2008 (Households, Viewers, and all Demos),” he explained. “[Key demographics] males ages 18-49 and males ages 25-54 continue to be significant contributors to WSOP’s high ratings up to this point.”

The number of men between the ages of 18-49 watching the WSOP coverage is up 13% from 2008 and the number of 18-34 year old and 25-54 old men are up 8% and 17% respectively. On average, 777,039 households tune in to each episode of 2009 coverage, an 11% increase over the 697,787 that were watching this time last year. Household ratings made a comparable jump from 2008 to 2009 as well, up to .79 from .73.

The most recent episodes of WSOP coverage boasted a feature table lineup that included former World Series of Poker Main Event winner and PokerStars Pro Greg Raymer as well as award-winning actor and poker enthusiast Jason Alexander of “Seinfeld” fame. With a number of deep runs from actors and famous pokers alike in this year’s Main Event, there will be even more televised tables packed to the hilt with recognizable faces. Some of the people expected appear on the feature table in the coming weeks include Full Tilt Pro Phil Ivey, Antonio Esfandiari, Dennis Phillips, former Main Event winners Joe Hachem and Peter Eastgate and Pokerroad’s Joe Sebok. The two hours of WSOP coverage airing on Tuesday will focus on Day 2B of this year’s Main Event.

For now, it appears that ESPN’s strategy to cut down on the preliminary events and spend more time covering the Main Event is working out for them. While it is still too early to tell for sure, the jump in ratings from the episodes featuring $40,000 anniversary Hold’em event, the Champions Invitational and Ante Up For Africa to the Main Event coverage suggests the network might be on to something.

Two new episodes of 2009 WSOP coverage will continue to air on Tuesdays from 8PM-10PM ET from now until November when the final nine players still in the Main Event will reconvene to play down to a champion.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chris Ferguson, Greg Raymer and Jason Alexander Headline Tonight’s WSOP Main Event Coverage on ESPN

Joe Cada Turns Down PokerHost, Ultimate Bet to Sign with PokerStars

Recently, World Series of Poker (WSOP) November Nine member Joe Cada inked an agreement to be sponsored by PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site. The signing marked the end of a grueling process for Cada and his agent, Dan Frank.

A verbal agreement between Cada and PokerStars was reached, although the process of finalizing a contract took several days. While holding out for PokerStars, Cada passed up what Frank called “really good” offers from PokerHost (a USA-friendly Cake Poker Network site) and Ultimate Bet, which makes its home on the popular CEREUS Network. Ultimate Bet and PokerHost offered their contracts to Cada around the same time and gave the youngster 24 hours to come to a decision. In the end, he decided to pass up both and wait for an offer from PokerStars.

Frank believed PokerStars was gunning to sign WSOP November Nine members Antoine Saout and Darvin Moon. One online poker site can only sponsor three players at the final table of the Main Event this year, making the process of signing players competitive. Saout inked an agreement with Everest Poker, which is the official on-felt sponsor of the WSOP, and Moon has yet to sign with an online poker site. On why Cada was intent on signing with PokerStars, Frank commented, “He loves that brand more than the others. That’s where he plays most of his online poker.”

When Cada could not commit to Ultimate Bet, the site gave him extra time to contemplate his next move. Meanwhile, Cada was a guest on ESPN’s “Poker Edge” radio show, where he told host Phil Gordon that he wanted to sign an agreement with PokerStars. Frank quickly contacted the online poker site and a contract soon followed. Frank told Poker News Daily, “It was very unnerving because I thought I had all of the possible deals on the table for him. I thought the Ultimate Bet and PokerHost deals were the best he was going to see and the fact that he wouldn’t let me discuss them was frustrating. We’re grateful that PokerStars came to the table. To have both Eric and Joe sign with PokerStars - I’m grateful for that.”

“Eric” refers to fellow WSOP November Nine member Eric Buchman, who signed with PokerStars in July. Cada commented in a press release distributed by Top Set Management, “I’m proud to have been chosen to represent PokerStars. Their reputation and prestige are second to none. I look forward to bringing even more accolades to their already decorated team.” In a July interview with Poker News Daily, Cada revealed that he had signed a one-day agreement with Ultimate Bet during the Main Event, but had not yet negotiated with any rooms for exposure at the final table.

Cada will hold the fifth largest chip stack when play resumes at the Rio in Las Vegas, while Buchman sits second in chips to Moon. Here’s a look at how the field will come armed to November’s final table:

1. Darvin Moon - 58,930,000
2. Eric Buchman - 34,800,000
3. Steven Begleiter - 29,885,000
4. Jeff Shulman - 19,580,000
5. Joe Cada - 13,215,000
6. Kevin Schaffel - 12,390,000
7. Phil Ivey - 9,765,000
8. Antoine Saout - 9,500,000
9. James Akenhead - 6,800,000

Cada and Buchman join a roster of PokerStars pros that already includes former WSOP Main Event Champions Peter Eastgate (2008), Joe Hachem (2005), Greg Raymer (2004), Chris Moneymaker (2003), and Tom McEvoy (1983). 2008 WSOP November Nine members Dennis Phillips and Ylon Schwartz are PokerStars-sponsored pros, while Canadian accountant Darus Suharto is also associated with the site.

PokerStars players and gearing up for the annual World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP), which will kick off on Thursday and culminate in a $5,200 buy-in Main Event with at least $10 million up for grabs. A total of 45 events will play out across a wide range of poker genres and tournament structures.

WSOP Finalist Joe Cada Signs with PokerStars

Cada, 21, had a one day sponsorship deal with Ultimate Bet on a last day of the World Series of Poker main event before the final table, but that deal will not be prolonged as he joins the ranks of many former world champions at PokerStars, including the last year champion Peter Eastgate.

Cada turned his back to UB and signed with PokerStars.

Not only has Cada, who has fifth biggest chip stack going into final table, a chance to become the new world champion, but he can also break the record that Peter Eastgate achieved just year ago and become the youngest ever WSOP main event winner, the record that Phil Hellmuth hold almost 20 years.

Cada is understandably happy after signing the deal with the leading online poker company in the world:

“I’m proud to have been chosen by to represent PokerStars. Their reputation and prestige are second to none,” Cada said in a press release. “I look forward to bringing even more accolades to their already decorated team.”

That decorated team includes former WSOP champions Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer, Joe Hachem and Eastgate.

Source: deadmoney blog

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WSOP Finalist Joe Cada Signs with PokerStars

Brett Favre Signing Delays WSOP Main Event Coverage on ESPN

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Laura Lane Gives the Inside Scoop on Inside Deal

Released every Tuesday on ESPN.com are new 30 minute editions of the hit poker show “Inside Deal.” Hosted by Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Bernard Lee and ESPN: The Magazine’s Laura Lane, “Inside Deal” has quickly acquired a loyal audience after debuting on August 4th. We sat down with Lane to discuss its success.

Poker News Daily: Tell us how you became involved with ESPN’s “Inside Deal.”

Lane: I write for ESPN: The Magazine and ESPN.com. I also did a lot of sports and entertainment television when I was in college. ESPN knew I liked poker, they approached me, and it went from there.

PND: Can you give us your poker background?

Lane: I first learned about poker from my little brother. We watched it on television and any time I hung out with him, I had to play. Then, I started playing against sports reporters in a weekly game. I got pretty good really fast. I would play every week in college, read books, watch it on television, and ended up playing in a charity tournament during the Sundance Film Festival. Jamie Gold was there giving lessons, so I sat down and got a lesson from him. Paul Wasicka and Todd Brunson were also there. I made it to the final table and finished fifth.

PND: Did you get any advice from Gold?

Lane: I didn’t know much at the time. There were three tables left and he told me to go all-in with the next best hand I got. I picked up K-K and Jamie was sitting at my table. I pushed all-in, Jamie looked at me, and said he’d fold. After that, everyone at the table gave me respect.

PND: How is “Inside Deal” compiled before it debuts on ESPN.com? What work goes into it?

Lane: Andrew Feldman, the Poker Editor for ESPN.com, has good judgment when it comes to news stories. Bernard is the poker pro and has interviewed a lot of the players before. We talk about what stories are good for the week and, ultimately, our producer makes the call on what airs.

PND: The chemistry between Bernard Lee and you seems to be pretty strong. Tell us about working with one of poker’s top minds.

Lane: He’s one of the nicest guys ever. We had a phone conversation before we ever met while he was in Hawaii. I read his blog back in 2005 when he had a deep run in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event and had a lot of questions for him about that. We’re both passionate and it’s nice working with someone who cares so much about the show. We keep talking about how we need a Sunday night game together because we shoot the show on Mondays. We had a barbeque after last week’s show and like hanging out with other.

PND: Has working on “Inside Deal” improved your own game?

Lane: I haven’t tested it out since we started filming the show. However, I’ve been learning so many tips that I probably should have known before, which will help undoubtedly me.

PND: Is it intimidating interviewing poker’s elite like Barry Greenstein, Chris Moneymaker, and Dennis Phillips?

Lane: Bernard has played with everyone, so he doesn’t get intimidated. Andrew has interviewed all of the top players. I’ve interviewed Jamie Gold and wrote articles for All In Magazine when it existed. I interviewed Greg Raymer when I was in college. I’ve interview A-list celebrities like Kobe Bryant and Kanye West, so I’m pretty comfortable.

PND: What feedback have you received from the show from friends, family, and co-workers who have watched it?

Lane: My little sister is honest. She’ll say, “Your hair looks better when it’s half up” and comment on my looks more than anything. Other people give me constructive tips. My mom says she doesn’t understand what we’re talking about. I went over to a friend’s house and they hadn’t seen it yet, so we watched it. They all wanted to know how I did it. Some of my friends are baffled by it.

PND: “Inside Deal” is slated to run weekly until the WSOP Main Event final table in November. What do you foresee beyond that?

Lane: The Main Event is the Super Bowl of poker, but there are so many different tournaments throughout the year. A show like ours could go year-round, but we’ll have to wait and see.

PND: Is there a market for a poker show like “Inside Deal” on television?

Lane: I really hope so. Poker is constantly growing and there are more people interested in it than ever before. People watch repeats of it over and over on networks like ESPN. The market is definitely strong. I would hope that in the next year or so, a show like ours is on television.

Laura Lane Gives the Inside Scoop on Inside Deal

Released every Tuesday on ESPN.com are new 30 minute editions of the hit poker show “Inside Deal.” Hosted by Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Bernard Lee and ESPN: The Magazine’s Laura Lane, “Inside Deal” has quickly acquired a loyal audience after debuting on August 4th. We sat down with Lane to discuss its success.

Poker News Daily: Tell us how you became involved with ESPN’s “Inside Deal.”

Lane: I write for ESPN: The Magazine and ESPN.com. I also did a lot of sports and entertainment television when I was in college. ESPN knew I liked poker, they approached me, and it went from there.

PND: Can you give us your poker background?

Lane: I first learned about poker from my little brother. We watched it on television and any time I hung out with him, I had to play. Then, I started playing against sports reporters in a weekly game. I got pretty good really fast. I would play every week in college, read books, watch it on television, and ended up playing in a charity tournament during the Sundance Film Festival. Jamie Gold was there giving lessons, so I sat down and got a lesson from him. Paul Wasicka and Todd Brunson were also there. I made it to the final table and finished fifth.

PND: Did you get any advice from Gold?

Lane: I didn’t know much at the time. There were three tables left and he told me to go all-in with the next best hand I got. I picked up K-K and Jamie was sitting at my table. I pushed all-in, Jamie looked at me, and said he’d fold. After that, everyone at the table gave me respect.

PND: How is “Inside Deal” compiled before it debuts on ESPN.com? What work goes into it?

Lane: Andrew Feldman, the Poker Editor for ESPN.com, has good judgment when it comes to news stories. Bernard is the poker pro and has interviewed a lot of the players before. We talk about what stories are good for the week and, ultimately, our producer makes the call on what airs.

PND: The chemistry between Bernard Lee and you seems to be pretty strong. Tell us about working with one of poker’s top minds.

Lane: He’s one of the nicest guys ever. We had a phone conversation before we ever met while he was in Hawaii. I read his blog back in 2005 when he had a deep run in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event and had a lot of questions for him about that. We’re both passionate and it’s nice working with someone who cares so much about the show. We keep talking about how we need a Sunday night game together because we shoot the show on Mondays. We had a barbeque after last week’s show and like hanging out with other.

PND: Has working on “Inside Deal” improved your own game?

Lane: I haven’t tested it out since we started filming the show. However, I’ve been learning so many tips that I probably should have known before, which will help undoubtedly me.

PND: Is it intimidating interviewing poker’s elite like Barry Greenstein, Chris Moneymaker, and Dennis Phillips?

Lane: Bernard has played with everyone, so he doesn’t get intimidated. Andrew has interviewed all of the top players. I’ve interviewed Jamie Gold and wrote articles for All In Magazine when it existed. I interviewed Greg Raymer when I was in college. I’ve interview A-list celebrities like Kobe Bryant and Kanye West, so I’m pretty comfortable.

PND: What feedback have you received from the show from friends, family, and co-workers who have watched it?

Lane: My little sister is honest. She’ll say, “Your hair looks better when it’s half up” and comment on my looks more than anything. Other people give me constructive tips. My mom says she doesn’t understand what we’re talking about. I went over to a friend’s house and they hadn’t seen it yet, so we watched it. They all wanted to know how I did it. Some of my friends are baffled by it.

PND: “Inside Deal” is slated to run weekly until the WSOP Main Event final table in November. What do you foresee beyond that?

Lane: The Main Event is the Super Bowl of poker, but there are so many different tournaments throughout the year. A show like ours could go year-round, but we’ll have to wait and see.

PND: Is there a market for a poker show like “Inside Deal” on television?

Lane: I really hope so. Poker is constantly growing and there are more people interested in it than ever before. People watch repeats of it over and over on networks like ESPN. The market is definitely strong. I would hope that in the next year or so, a show like ours is on television.

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