Poker News

Barney Frank Out as Financial Services Committee Chair in 2011?

In November, voters in the United States will head to the polls for general elections. On Capitol Hill, the entire House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate will be determined. If Republicans were to gain control of the House, then Congressman Barney Frank’s (D-MA) tenure as Financial Services Committee Chairman may come to an end.

A recent Financial Times article discussed the future of the lower Congressional body: “Polls show control of the House of Representatives is too close to call while the Democrats are expected to retain control of the Senate, albeit with a reduced majority.” Frank has been in the House since 1980 and served as the Financial Services Committee Chairman since 2007. Democrats currently control nearly 60% of the seats in the House and Senate.

Congressman Spencer Bachus (R-AL) serves as the Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, although he apparently seems far from a lock to take over the Chair should the opportunity arise. However, the Financial Times revealed, “Mr. Bachus said, ‘I will be the chairman if we’re in the majority.’ [Congressman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX)] said, ‘My expectation is that Spencer Bachus will be the next Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and I support him.’”

What’s the significance of this story for online poker players, you ask? Frank is internet gambling’s number one supporter on Capitol Hill, having offered up a handful of bills to legalize the industry in the United States. His latest effort, HR 2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, was marked up in the Financial Services Committee in late July and has received the support of 70 co-sponsors.

HR 2267 received about a dozen amendments during mark-up, ranging from ensuring that online sports betting would not be legalized to prohibiting existing sites that serve the U.S. market “illegally” from applying for a license. Now, the measure awaits its time on the House floor, although HR 2267 being attached to a must-pass bill later this year is a possibility. Ironically, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was attached to an unrelated port security measure to become law in 2006.

Bachus remains one of the strongest opponents of legalized internet gambling. During HR 2267’s markup hearing on July 28th, Bachus opened the proceedings by arguing, “After all of the talk of the past year of shutting the casinos down on Wall Street, why would we take steps today to open casinos in every bedroom and every dorm room on iPods, Blackberrys, iPhones, and computers?”

In the meantime, HR 2267 has caused a rift of sorts in the poker community. The Commerce Casino’s Tom Malkasian was among those witnesses who spoke against the bill in a July 21st House Financial Services Committee hearing. In response, the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the industry’s main lobbying voice, issued an online petition to force the Commerce to change its position. The petition, found at PlayersBeforeProfits.com, has received over 7,000 signatures.

The Commerce Casino then fired back, arguing in a press release distributed in Friday, “Nevada casinos, offshore companies, and Washington insiders don’t want California to benefit from its own market. Our economic future is not their concern. We support free enterprise, fair competition, and the principle that what plays in California, stays in California.” The Los Angeles casino also claimed support from the Bicycle Casino, Hawaiian Gardens Casino, and Hollywood Park Casino.

Several poker pros have suggested a boycott of the Commerce Casino, although one has not yet occurred. The Bicycle Casino is fresh off hosting the World Poker Tour’s Legends of Poker, which saw Andy Frankenberger walk away with the title and $750,000 top prize.

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

August 30th – Daily Deal

Happy Monday to everyone! On today’s Daily Deal, the Commerce Casino receives support from several of its competitors, Daniel Negreanu fires insults at Annie Duke, and an important figure in the Senate comes out in favor of online poker legislation. It’s all ahead… right now!

Hello, I’m Sean Gibson and welcome to the Daily Deal by Poker News Daily.

Let the battle lines be drawn. Several days after the Poker Players Alliance issued a petition to reverse the Commerce Casino’s stance against pro-internet gambling legislation in the United States, more casinos have come onboard to strike down the bill. In a letter issued to the press late Friday night from Commerce Casino Board members, it was revealed that the Bicycle Casino, Hawaiian Gardens, and Hollywood Park casinos also oppose Congressman Barney Frank’s HR 2267.

The press release claimed, “Californians wager an estimated thirteen point four billion dollars annually. That makes California the largest internet gaming market in the world, and without state legislation to protect it, critically-needed billions will be captured by offshore and out-of-state operators never to return.”

Why the Commerce Casino, Bike, or any other California casino wouldn’t just apply for a license under HR Two-Two-Six-Seven remains to be seen. PPA Executive Director John Pappas speculated in an exclusive interview with Poker News Daily, “They don’t want to compete with existing online operators or Harrah’s or Wynn or Google or anyone else who may get involved in internet gambling. They prefer to have their own fiefdom in California… A lot of lawmakers went out of their way to address their concerns via amendments, yet they still continue to oppose the bill.”

Moving over to another bitter dispute, in an interview with PokerPlayer, PokerStars pro Daniel Negreanu fired off what many have deemed inappropriate comments against Annie Duke. In an article entitled “The Evolution of Daniel Negreanu,” he was asked about the two-thousand ten World Series of Poker Ladies Event in which more than a dozen men played.

Negreanu voiced his disgust at the whole situation and then went on a tirade about Duke, who has never been an advocate of the tournament:

“What irked me is that this woman has the audacity on her website to call herself ‘the best female poker player in the world.’ So I’m like ‘how offensive are you, you f***ing c***? You want to say you’re speaking for women, yet you claim superiority over all of them.’”

Wow. Well … after afterwards Duke issued an open letter to PokerStars about the use of the c-word and the site ultimately responded, “PokerStars does not support the use of derogatory or hurtful language directed at any other player. While this was a personal matter between two players, we wish that better judgment had been used in the choice of words.”

Duke’s brother Howard Lederer and Tony G have been among those pros weighing in on the spat.

Finally, according to the Reno Gazette-Journal newspaper, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid claimed he would support the legalization of online poker in the United States. Reid also stated he would not support any other form of online gaming, including sports betting.

Reid also won’t support anything that hurts Nevada jobs, but the Senate Majority Leader will play a huge role in whether online poker is legalized. No progress has been made on legalizing internet gambling or online poker in the Senate, so having Reid as an ally could go a long way.

That does it for today’s Daily Deal, be sure to check back every weekday for a new episode of this show. Also be sure to check back with Poker News Daily throughout your day to find out the latest in poker news. I’m Sean Gibson hoping you have an amazing week at the tables!

Poker Players Alliance Comments on Commerce Casino HR 2267 Stance

Recently, the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the main lobbying force for the poker industry, launched a petition at PlayersBeforeProfits.com to reverse the Commerce Casino’s stance on critical internet gambling legislation. HR 2267, dubbed the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, was successfully marked up in the House Financial Services Committee last month and now waits for its time to be debated in Congress.

Nearly 7,000 players had signed the online petition at the time of writing and the PPA was shooting for 10,000. The push came as a result of an action alert sent by the PPA to its members and followed testimony in the House Financial Services Committee from the Commerce Casino’s Tom Malkasian. His testimony claimed in part that HR 2267 is “based on false revenue assumptions that would require removal of the right of any state or tribe to opt out of the bill in order to achieve the advertised tax revenue of $42 billion over ten years.”

Malkasian also highlighted that allowing illegal operators to receive licenses under HR 2267 equates to “locking in unprecedented market advantages that can undermine and destabilize the land-based casino gaming industry.” He also voiced concerns over HR 2267 conflicting with tribal compacts and allowing internet gambling sites to be located outside of the United States. The latter three concerns were each addressed during markup as part of a dozen amendments tacked onto the bill.

PPA Executive Director John Pappas told Poker News Daily, “They don’t want to compete with existing online operators or Harrah’s or Wynn or Google or anyone else who may get involved in internet gambling. They prefer to have their own fiefdom in California… A lot of lawmakers went out of their way to address their concerns via amendments, yet they still continue to oppose the bill.”

The PPA’s action alert merely called for players to contact the Commerce and express their disappointment with the casino’s stance towards the sweeping internet gambling legislation. Players took it upon themselves to suggest a boycott, which the PPA did not initially ask for. Pappas explained, “We felt that poker players can make those types of decisions on their own. We want to reserve a boycott and I don’t think it’s something we intended to call for. Should the Commerce continue to be obstinate, then we might revise our stance there.”

Pappas questioned why the Commerce wouldn’t be content to apply for a license under HR 2267 if the bill were to become law. The PPA’s main face speculated, “For a long time, they dominated the poker scene in California and they feel entitled to California’s online poker players’ money. Maybe they don’t feel that they’re as strong and won’t be able to compete.” On Friday night, Commerce Casino officials distributed a press release claiming support from the Bicycle Casino, Hawaiian Gardens Casino, and Hollywood Park Casino in opposition to Congressman Barney Frank’s bill.

As part of his House Financial Services Committee testimony, Malkasian likened legalizing internet gambling to legalizing marijuana, a comparison Pappas did not look kindly upon: “In essence, they’re calling the pro players endorsing sites drug dealers. That would offend me, especially when it comes from our purported friends. It wouldn’t have been shocking if it were from Focus on the Family or Congressman Bob Goodlatte, but when it’s coming from a supposed friend of poker because it doesn’t fit their business model, of course we’ll voice our concern.”

After an internal debate on the proper course of action, the PPA launched PlayersBeforeProfits.com. “We came to a decision after hearing from so many of our members,” Pappas told Poker News Daily. “We felt obligated to inform our members about it. Our goal is to get 10,000 signatures. We’ll go back to the Commerce and see if they’ve revaluated their position after we do.”

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest legislative developments.

UBOC5: B AUSTIN B Wins Event #17; “Hollywood Dave” Goes Deep in Mini

Bicycle Casino, Hawaiian Gardens, Hollywood Park Side with Commerce

Let the battle lines be drawn. Several days after the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) issued a petition to reverse the Commerce Casino’s stance against pro-internet gambling legislation in the United States, more casinos have come onboard to strike down the bill.

In a letter issued to the press late Friday night from Commerce Casino Board members Tom Malkasian and Haig Papaian, it was revealed that the Bicycle Casino, Hawaiian Gardens, and Hollywood Park also oppose Congressman Barney Frank’s (D-MA) HR 2267. None of the three additional casinos was quoted in any way.

Calling industry lobbying groups like the PPA “special interest groups receiving funds from illegal offshore gaming operators,” Malkasian and Papaian assert, “Poker players deserve to know the real facts so let us be clear: We support online poker and we are working hard to make sure it will benefit all Americans. America’s poker community should be united in opposing the Frank legislation that would ship jobs, revenue, and taxes beyond our communities. We need to work together to keep American dollars at home.”

The authors of the letter claim to employ more than 20,000 workers in California, a state that has been hit with a massive budget shortfall. It also cites a 2008 study from the California Public Policy institute saying that 70% of California residents use the internet and “according to another study in 2009, Californians wager an estimated $13.4 billion annually. That makes California the largest internet gaming market in the world, and without state legislation to protect it, critically-needed billions will be captured by offshore and out-of-state operators never to return.”

On Friday, PPA Executive Director John Pappas told Poker News Daily that 6,000 players had signed an online petition found at PlayersBeforeProfits.com to reverse the Commerce Casino’s stance. The organization was gunning for 10,000 names in total.

In response to the press release from the Commerce Casino Board members, UB.com pro Annie Duke chided via Twitter, “Your press release might be more credible if you got the bill number correct. It’s HR 2267.” The press release cites the Commerce Casino’s opposition to HR 4976, the tax companion bill to HR 2267 proposed by Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA). However, Malkasian’s testimony in front of the House Financial Services Committee last month was wholeheartedly against Frank’s HR 2267.

In reaction to the harsh opposition set forth by the Commerce Casino, Pappas commented, “There are requirements in HR 2267 that companies set up at least 50% of their operations in the United States. On their concern of illegal operators, anyone who has been operating illegally won’t be able to get a license. It’s pretty clear their only concern is that they don’t want to compete.” A dozen amendments were added to HR 2267 in a markup hearing held one month ago to the day addressing many of the Commerce Casino’s concerns.

The Commerce Casino’s statements wraps up by saying, “We strongly support poker-only legislation. California lawmakers should be the first to bring an illegal enterprise under legal supervision, provide needed consumer protections, and capture revenue that can benefit our state first.” An e-mail address of supportonlinepoker@commercecasino.net is given for players looking for additional information.

Among the 6,000 poker players that have signed the PPA’s online petition are Patrik Antonius, Tom Dwan, Phil Ivey, John Juanda, Erick Lindgren, Joe Sebok, and new PokerStars pro David Williams. All that’s required to sign is your name, city, and state. The PPA has even gone so far as to provide an avenue for players to Tweet the Commerce Casino automatically. Alternately, you can leave your telephone number and the PPA will personally patch you through to the Commerce Casino.

The addition of the Bike, Hawaiian Gardens, and Hollywood Park may open the rift even further between online poker players seeking legislation and the brick-and-mortar casinos they placate. Calls for a boycott of the Commerce have surfaced and many of the aforementioned “illegal offshore gaming operators” sponsor pros like Ivey, Duke, and Sebok through their dot-net counterparts. The Bike and Commerce both hold World Poker Tour events, with the former fresh off crowning a champion in the Legends of Poker.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily on Sunday for an exclusive response from Pappas.

Poker Gives Hosting National Poker Month in September

In September, the fundraising engine Poker Gives will hold the first ever National Poker Month. Card rooms across the United States will host tournaments in which half of the prize pool will be donated to charity, while the other half will be distributed to players. Poker Gives benefits the Paralyzed Veterans of America, Special Olympics of Nevada, Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, and the Step by Step Foundation.

Poker News Daily Guest Columnist and Poker Gives co-founder Mike Sexton commented in a press release distributed last week, “In addition to all the goodwill it will bring to poker when we are able to present such large checks to charity, the participating card rooms will be listed in Bluff Magazine and we will conduct a drawing from that list. Linda Johnson, Jan Fisher, and I will visit the winning card room and host a meet-and-greet and a free poker seminar.”

A total of 25 card rooms are holding events as part of National Poker Month at the time of writing including Harrah’s Tunica, Poker Nation Social Club in Phoenix, Quinault Beach Resort and Casino in Washington State, Venetian Las Vegas, Win River Casino in California, Golden Nugget Las Vegas, Seminole Casino Immokalee in Florida, Oceans Eleven Casino in California, Prairie’s Edge Casino and Resort in Minnesota, River Rock Casino in California, The Bike in Los Angeles, Binion’s Las Vegas, and the Canterbury Park Racetrack and Card Club in Minnesota.

Other National Poker Month events can be found at Aria Las Vegas, Hollywood Park in California, Jacksonville Greyhound Racing and Poker in Florida, Eureka in Mesquite, El Dorado in Reno, Northern Quest Resort and Casino in Washington State, Peppermill Reno, Wildhorse in Oregon, Paradise Cove Social Club in Arizona, Casino Marysville in California, and Isle Casino at Pompano Park in Florida. Full Tilt and Poker Nations are also teaming up for an online event on September 19th at 1:00pm PT.

Winners of each card room tournament and the names of each card room manager will be thrown into a hat and entered into drawings for prizes on October 4th. The loot up for grabs includes two seats into the World Poker Tour (WPT) Invitational at the Commerce Casino in California, a WPT Boot Camp seat, a Card Player Cruises vacation, and hour poker lessons with Sexton and Johnson.

Price tags for the various casino events range from $20 to $225. The online event is $20, half of which will go to Poker Gives, a 501(c)(3) non-profit charity organization. Poker Gives was founded two years ago and announced National Poker Month in a press release back in April. Its mission is to use poker, a popular social game, as a vehicle to raise money for charity.

Back in March, Full Tilt Poker hosted a $5+$5 charity tournament benefiting Poker Gives. The organization is the charity of choice for the Women in Poker Hall of Fame, which will host an induction ceremony for its 2010 class of Kathy Liebert, Jennifer Harman, and Billie Brown on September 3rd. $75 pre-event tickets are on sale through the Women in Poker Hall of Fame website along with $25 ceremony only passes. Brown will be recognized posthumously.

Card rooms interested in participating in September’s National Poker Month should contact Poker Gives via e-mail or phone at sassy@pokergives.org or 702-860-7413. Visit the official website of Poker Gives for more information.

Annie Duke and Don Cheadle Interview

This interview was taped from the Red Carpet at the WSOP Ante Up for Africa charity event with founders Annie Duke and Don Cheadle. The charity event takes place every year from the World Series of Poker and raises money and awareness for those suffering in the continent of Africa. Ante Up For Africa is a not-for-profit organization founded by Don Cheadle, Annie Duke and Norman Epstein. They are dedicated to raising money and awareness for Africans in need.

Annie Duke is one of the most famous poker players in the world and is also known for her work in charity circles. At the felts, she has a WSOP bracelet to her name from the 2004 $3,000 Omaha Hi/Lo event. Her biggest tournament score was winning the WSOP Tournament of Champions, where she bested Phil Hellmuth heads-up for $2 million. Currently, Duke is a sponsored pro and spokesperson for UB.com.

Don Cheadle is one of Hollywood’s biggest names who grew to fame in the movie Boogie Nights. He later went on to star in the “Oceans” series of movies and had vital roles in important films such as “Crash” and received critical acclaim for “Hotel Rwanda” where he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. Cheadle is also an avid poker player and has been spotted not only doing with with his Ante Up for Africa brainchild, but with other charitable poker organizations as well.

In this interview, Duke and Cheadle are asked about the tournament’s humble beginnings and the need not only for funds to help people in Africa, but for political awareness as well. Both talk about the importance of understanding the view a “World Citizen” has in the global community and how everyday people can get involved and help those in need.

You can learn more about Ante Up for Africa at their official website.

WPT Legends Of Poker And Fun In Cyprus From Poker In Twitter

With August in full swing, poker players have gotten over their post-World Series of Poker lethargy and entered back into card rooms around the world. Many of those players have been keeping their fans up to date on all their activities through 140-character bursts on Twitter.

The Legends of Poker drew a nice field of 462 players and several popular Twitter-peeps were in action over the weekend. “Down to 96 at The Bike… its gonna be a long night!,” World Poker Tour hostess Kimberly Lansing chirped prior to the start of play on Sunday. Several players hovered around the leader board as the numbers began dropping.

Erica Schoenberg made a significant move during the day, but faced an unfortunate problem for play through Sunday. “Still in the WPT at the bike,” Erica tweeted her followers. “Still no IPod. Can’t stop humming Xmas tunes!” The dilemma of no music didn’t seem to sidetrack Schoenberg, however, as she reached the end of the day and tweeted, “Still in the tourney. 245k. Guess I won’t be listening to the IPod much in the future. Jingle bells!”

“Ended the day with 430k and in really good shape with 60 left blinds going to 1500/3k,” tweeted J. C. Alvarado at the close of play on Sunday. Perhaps the remaining contestants at the Legends of Poker should start worrying about Alvarado as he closed his Tweet by saying, “Starting to get a good feeling about this.” Other players who were also in the mix in Los Angeles included Joe Sebok (“Sick run to close the day out. From 28k all the way up to 196k to end. Riding my usual coaster, but ended at my high point. Back tomorrow”), former WPT Player of the Year Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little (“Ended at 305200. Guy open pushed 40bbs and I called with AK and beat his JJ. Great last few levels. We play down to 27 tomorrow”) and Amit “amak316” Makhija (“138k to end a very card dead day. Tomorrow is a new one”).

In the Mediterranean Sea, several top pros turned up for the second annual Full Tilt Poker Merit Cyprus Classic. On hand for play was John Robert Bellande, who passed along a Twitvid of “Level 2 day2 Cyprus. Karina (Jett), Chino (Rheem), John Racener” in action. Jennifer “Jennicide” Leigh continued her comeback by playing the tournament, but unfortunately tweeted to her followers, “Was up to a little over 11k and now I’m out… back to sleep for me.” Antonio Esfandiari was also one of those players dismissed from the event, tweeting, “Just busted Cyprus tournament 62nd place. Pretty tilted.”

Also having fun in Cyprus were the Mizrachi brothers. Although November Niner Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi was eliminated early from the tournament, he hung around to follow brother Eric’s play. “Back from break, have 60k, 39 players left, Avg is 144k, chips are flying here!,” Eric noted over Twitter during a break in play early this morning. As of this afternoon, Eric is still in action in the Cyprus tournament.

On the odder side of poker in Twitter, players Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin and Shannon Shorr – both noted baseball fans – decided to head out to Dodger Stadium following their eliminations from the Legends of Poker. “Nick Lachey 4 seats from us,” Baldwin tweeted from the park during the game. “Rob Lowe also just pointed out one section over. Was afraid to tweet fearing Hellmuth-like tweet accusations.” The defending CardPlayer Magazine Player of the Year also noted that, “Nick looked depressed. Likely from missing Jessica’s intellectual stimulation.”

Things got hazy is late in the evening. Shorr tweeted Sunday evening, “@basebaldy and I legit locked in dodger stadium. stayed at bar too long. 2 of last 5 non-staff members on campus.” Providing either further insight to what happened – or perhaps clouding the waters even further – Baldwin tweeted later, “Got a cop drunk. Locked inside dodger stadium. Barbed wire fence jumping. Improvised ride home. Should have made Day 2 instead!”

When it comes to best Tweets from the weekend, Joe Sebok has to take honors for his viewpoint on his run at the WPT Legends of Poker. “Today is a win-win. either keep going deep in the WPT bike, or I have @davematthewsbnd tickets in Hollywood. can’t lose.” Annie Duke joked with Sebok, “Nice chip count @JoeSebok. Don’t come in 7th!” Finally, European poker reporter Tatjana Pasalic opined through Twitter, “Xmas ads on TV and Halloween party invitations on FBK. What the hell, people? Can’t you live in the moment? #wsop2011 ftw!”

BLOG - Less is More

Makhija Digs Legends Vibe

Now he can't help but feel good to be home.

One final table this summer, a deep run in the $10k PLO and a cash in the Main Event that added a total of $225k to his $1.5 million-plus in career tournament earnings certainly put a smile on his face.

"I didn't even play that many tournaments, so I was happy with it," he said.

And while a lot of players take a break from the live game after the grind of the series, Makhija was able to keep the ball rolling.

"I feel like I am at the top of my game right now," he said. "And I actually did not take a break from live poker. I've been playing a lot of live cash games, home games and what not.

"I just played in the PokerStars Big Game the other day. I've been active and I feel like I'm playing really good lately."

The summer was great, but the truth is the entire calendar year has been a good one for Makhija, with solid live and online results piling up.

It's a great contrast from what he felt was a down year in 2009.

"I feel like in '09 I didn't play my best poker, I had a little bit of that too much money syndrome," he explained.

"I think I had too good a 2008 and didn't really play my best. This year I really feel like I'm on my A-game."

It's also happens to be the perfect time for Makhija to be playing his best, returning this week to the scene of his biggest score.

Makhija made runner-up to John Phan in the 2008 WPT Legends of Poker for $563,320 and returning to the Bike, and his new home in Hollywood, brings nothing but good energy.

"I seem to run good in this building," he said. "Great vibes. I'm just really in my comfort level here. I'm just going to try to make another deep run in this thing, make a final table and see what happens."

To that end, he ran his stack up from 35k at the start of the day to 205,000 in the late stages and appears primed for that deep run.

To follow his progress and the entire WPT Legends main event, click through to PokerListings' WPT Live Updates.

Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten Interview

The co-hosts of the World Poker Tour join us from the auditions for “The Raw Deal” at The Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles. Poker Hall of Famer Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten were on hand in the audition area to see some of the try-outs from the general public to see who would get a call-back. Joining them at the judges table is Sean Gibson who asked them about this opportunity for anyone off the street to potentially find themselves a role on Season 9 of the WPT. Vince Van Patten, no stranger to the Hollywood audition scene as he comes from an acting family, talks about a few “clunkers” that have already come through. He also talks about the right and wrong way to audition for a part and gave some comments about the entire process.

The “Raw Deal” is a new segment coming on the World Poker Tour which will showcase a new, fresh and edgy poker personality who will hold no punches when it comes time to criticize players on the WPT broadcasts. The production team has stated many times over that they are looking for the next Simon Cowell (former American Idol judge) who is funny, smart and charismatic who at the same time is known for being brutally honest but gives praise when it is due. The segment will be for about 45 seconds and according to reports appear in 12 to 15 episodes for Season 9.

At the auditions it was not just random people looking for a break in the TV industry that tried out, but many actors in the Los Angeles area looking to get a break came out as well. In addition, some notable pros we’ve seen on television before also threw their name in the hat, such as Joe Sebok, Clonie Gowan, Ali Nejad and Bryan Devonshire. During the interview both Van Patten and Sexton comment on the caliber of poker player that auditioned during the process. For those those people that couldn’t make it out to Los Angeles, a Facebook submission process was held with fans getting to vote for their favorite. The top vote getters will get an invitation to the call-backs before a final decision for the new host is made.

The World Poker Tour is hosted by Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten and is now in its ninth season and can be seen on Fox Sports Net in the United States.

Harrah’s to Register Stock with Securities and Exchange Commission

According to Reuters, casino giant Harrah’s will register 9.9% of its stock with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The shares are currently in the hands of John Paulson, investor and hedge fund extraordinaire.

Reuters claims that the reason for the move is so Paulson can receive “registered, common voting stock.” eGaming Review noted that the process of filing with the SEC was similar to announcing an initial public offering, or IPO: “The SEC form used to register the shares, called an S-1, is the same one used as the first step toward an initial public offering, or IPO. However, the registration does not necessarily mean those shares will be sold on public markets.”

Reuters added that Apollo and TPG Capital hold around 89% of the casino company’s stock. The form S-1, given on Harrah’s corporate website, was filed on August 12th and seeks Common Stock valued at $0.01 per share. Harrah’s announced its second quarter financial figures at the beginning of the month, posting a $274 million loss. In a remarkable turn of events, the company recorded a profit of nearly $2.3 billion in the same quarter last year.

Despite the less-than-stellar financial figures, Harrah’s CEO Gary Loveman commented in the company’s financial release, “During the past two years, we’ve reduced expenses and debt substantially, increased our liquidity to about $3 billion, and acquired the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas and Thistledown racetrack in Cleveland. I believe we’re well-positioned for an eventual legalization of online gaming in the United States, and more capable of capitalizing on additional growth opportunities than at any time in the past two years.” Net revenues of $2.2 billion during Q2 2010 were about even year over year.

Revenues from its Las Vegas properties were up to $713 million in the second quarter of 2010. In Atlantic City, however, which has continued to struggle given economic pressures and nearby casino gaming options, revenues dipped to $488 million. The company owns five properties in the Eastern state: Bally’s Atlantic City, Caesars Atlantic City, Harrah’s Atlantic City, Harrah’s Chester, and Showboat Atlantic City.

In Louisiana and Mississippi, Harrah’s revenues dropped 5% to $299 million. In Iowa and Missouri, the company’s haul also slipped, as its $186 million in revenues in the second quarter fell short of last year’s tally of $191 million. Illinois and Indiana casinos – Harrah’s Joliet, Harrah’s Metropolis, Horseshoe Hammond, and Horseshoe Southern Indiana – saw their revenues fall 5.6% to $295 million.

Harrah’s acquisition of Planet Hollywood earlier this year led many in the poker world to believe that the annual World Series of Poker (WSOP), which takes place at Harrah’s Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, was picking up shop. However, WSOP Vice President Ty Stewart told ESPN’s “Inside Deal” last week, “We can’t predict the future, but I can tell you that the November Nine will definitely be played at the Penn and Teller Theater, and big, large organizational meetings are already underway to host the 2011 WSOP at the Rio.”

Reuters added that Harrah’s will soon open casinos in Cleveland and Cincinnati, shelling out $600 million in the process: “Under their non-binding agreement, Harrah’s may eventually take a minority stake in the downtown casinos in the fall of 2010, but mange them day-to-day. Ohio voters approved casino gaming in November 2009.” The company operates 38 casinos across North America and one each worldwide in Egypt, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Uruguay.

The 2010 WSOP Main Event resumes on November 6th at the Rio. Its final table will air on ESPN three days later. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest stock headlines.

August 11th – Daily Deal

Topics: Foxwoods Mega Stacks, WPT in Florida, Big Game on GSN and a new poker movie.

Hello, I’m Sean Gibson and welcome to the Daily Deal by Poker News Daily.

The World Poker Tour will head to Florida next April for a $10,000 buy-in event at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood. WPT officials inked a five-year deal with the Seminole tribe to host events in Hollywood and the casino’s sister property in Tampa. The state of Florida opened up its cash game and tournament restrictions on July first, paving the way for a vast expansion of poker. Ironically, not one, not two, but three members of this year’s World Series of Poker November Nine call the Sunshine State home: John Dolan, John Racener, and Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi.

This week, the PokerStars-sponsored Big Game returned to Fox with all new episodes. The nightly cash game program rivals GSN’s “High Stakes Poker” and features a “Loose Cannon” qualifier staked with one-hundred thousand dollars. He or she can keep any amount made over that amount and each Loose Cannon plays one-hundred fifty hands. This week’s opponents for Loose Cannon Troy Howard include Antonio Esfandiari, Barry Greenstein, David Peat, Chau Giang, and millionaire entrepreneur Rick Rahim. Catch the Big Game nightly on Fox. It airs at 1am or 2am in most markets.

Intro: As we reported yesterday on the Daily Deal, the Foxwoods Mega Stacks Series is coming this month and we welcome back official spokesperson for the foxwoods casino and ESPN.com’s very own Bernard Lee. [Bernard Lee Interview]

Our last bit of news involves actor Christian Slater who will star in a movie entitled “Guns, Girls and Gambling” that is, in part, about a game of poker gone wrong. According to the Internet Movie Database, or IMDB, “The story throws Elvis impersonators, Indians, modern cowboys, a six-foot-tall blond assassin, a frat boy, a corrupt sheriff and a prostitute into a chase for a priceless American Indian artifact stolen during a poker game at an Indian casino.” The flick is set to come out in two-thousand eleven.

Also appearing in “Guns, Girls and Gambling” are “The Secret Life of the American Teenager’s” Megan Park, “The Dark Night’s” Gary Oldman, and funny man Dane Cook. Riiiiiiiight.

That does it for today’s edition of the Daily Deal and be sure to check back with us every week day for a new episode. This has been Sean Gibson, reporting for Poker News Daily.

WPT Adds South Florida Stop

Entering into a multi-year alliance with Seminole Gaming that includes rebranding the poker rooms inside Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino sites across the Sunshine State, the WPT is now planning to host several events in Florida, including a televised stop in Hollywood this coming Spring.

The $10,000 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Showdown will go off at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood from Apr. 27- May 3, 2011.

"A WPT tournament at a Seminole Casino in Florida is a perfect addition to our television season," said WPT President Adam Pliska. 

"With the recent changes in its poker laws, this is a momentous time for the evolution of poker in Florida and we are proud to join forces with the Seminole Tribe to finally bring high-stakes poker to Florida."

Recent changes in Florida law removed caps from poker games and relaxed rules on hours of play. 

As a result, the WPT says the fourth most populous state in the country seems destined to become one of the hottest poker markets in the U.S.

The new partnership means Seminole Casino poker rooms at six locations will now be open 24 hours, seven days a week, offering a total of 1,360 seats across the state.

"World Poker Tour will bring a new level of sophistication and excitement to poker rooms at Seminole Casinos," said Jeffrey Hook, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Seminole Gaming. 

"We look forward to combining the WPT partnership with no-limit poker and 24-hour play to maximize the action for our players."

World Poker Tour Schedules Season Nine Tournament Date For Florida

A report in the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel – and confirmed by Poker News Daily from the tour itself – states that a deal has been signed between the World Poker Tour and the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino for a tournament stop on this year’s schedule.

The story, entitled “Poker Big-Time: World Poker Tour Coming To Hard Rock In April”, by writer Nick Sortal, contains quotes from both sides discussing the completed deal. In Sortal’s story, Seminole Indian tribe spokesman Gary Bitner is quoted as saying, “The Hard Rock poker people did some research as to what their players wanted most, and bringing in the WPT was at the top of the list. They’ve responded by making that happen.”

Sortal continues on to quote the highest leadership of the WPT following these statements from the Seminoles. “What’s exciting is that Florida will draw from not only the local area, but from across the world,” said WPT Chief Executive Officer Steve Heller. “This year you’ll see Florida boom as poker market.” WPT President Adam Pliska is quoted as saying, “It’s a new day for the WPT. We have not only the premier room and the premiere property in Florida, the Seminoles have a whole series of properties they can put together (for potential satellite tournaments to the WPT event).”

Poker News Daily was able to confirm that the first event held by the Seminoles will be at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida beginning on April 27th. It will be a $10,000 buy-in tournament on the Season Nine schedule and will end on May 3rd with the traditional WPT final table. A multi-year deal was struck between the Seminoles and the WPT. In addition, it’s possible that the site of the Florida event could switch back and forth between the Hollywood Hard Rock location and its sister site in Tampa over the span of the contract. The tournament also appears on the WPT’s official website and will be televised.

The proposed tournament would be a boon for tourism in the Sunshine State and a huge advertisement of the its newfound commitment to gaming through the Seminole Indian properties. At one point, the Florida Gaming Commission didn’t allow any No Limit Hold’em games unless they were tournaments. Back in 2007, though, the laws were changed to allow for No Limit cash games, with a stringent requirement as to the amount a player could buy in for at one time ($100).

In May, Florida signed a new agreement with the Seminoles to open up the rules regarding poker. Caps were removed from the buy-ins for cash games and tournaments, making Florida an appealing target for such organizations as the WPT. The new regulations took effect on July 1st and have been warmly received by both home-grown poker talent and tourists flocking to the felt.

The new stop at the Seminole Hard Rock properties in Florida could spark another boom for the WPT, which has seen its attendance shrink over the past couple of years due to the economic hard times experienced by businesses and poker players. Florida has become a hotbed of talented players, with three Sunshine State residents – John Dolan, John Racener, and Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi – making the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event final table.

Harrah’s Denies Rio Las Vegas Sale Rumors

Rumors of a sale of the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas by casino giant Harrah’s are exactly that – rumors – according to Seth Palansky, Communications Director for Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment and the World Series of Poker (WSOP). In fact, Palansky and company are currently planning the 2011 WSOP, with a final table to be held once again in November at the Rio’s Penn and Teller Theater.

The rumor mill began churning on August 4th, when Pokerati published a short article entitled “Rumorati: Harrah’s Sale of the Rio Complete, New Home for 2011 WSOP Almost 100 Percent Unofficially Semi-Confirmed.” The story read in part, “The end of an era is upon us … with Harrah’s finally selling the Rio — that horrendous dump of a property at 3700 W. Flamingo Rd. that reminds us how quickly Las Vegas luxe can deteriorate, but also a place that the World Series of Poker and so many of us connected to it have long called home — at least for most of our 21st century summers.”

However, on the same day as Pokerati published its story detailing the rumored sale of the Rio to a group of private investors, Harrah’s, the casino’s owner, released its Q2 2010 financial results. Nowhere in the call to investors or a corresponding news release was there a mention of the Rio being sold. Instead, Harrah’s owners noted that the company dropped $274 million during the second quarter.

Harrah’s CEO Gary Loveman spoke on Wednesday about two recent acquisitions, one in Las Vegas and the other in Cleveland: “During the past two years, we’ve reduced expenses and debt substantially, increased our liquidity to about $3 billion, and acquired the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas and Thistledown Racetrack in Cleveland.” The Rio is mentioned just twice in the company’s financial report.

Palansky shot down any finalized sale of the Rio, telling Poker News Daily on Thursday, “We’ve already been meeting about the 2011 WSOP and are planning on having it at the Rio with the Main Event final table in November at the Penn and Teller Theater.” 2011 would mark the fourth year of the so-called November Nine format.

In April, an article that appeared in Business Week detailed that Starwood Capital Group LLC and Colony Capital LLC were among the groups bidding for the Rio, an Off-Strip property located on Flamingo Road. Business Week noted that the asking price was $500 million for the 89-acre facility. The leading destinations for the WSOP seemed to be Caesars Palace or the newly-acquired Planet Hollywood, both of which are located on the Strip.

Meanwhile, the TwoPlusTwo community has been buzzing about the rumored Rio sale, quoting Pokerati and various Twitter posts as sources. One TwoPlusTwo member cited the logistical nightmare that would ensue by bringing the mammoth WSOP to the heart of the Strip: “The Strip is a traffic nightmare already for anyone driving or taking a cab to a property. Trying to get all those people in at the same time is going to be ugly.”

To put the added traffic the WSOP brings into perspective, the 2010 cycle featured 72,966 entries in 57 bracelet events. This year marked the largest WSOP prize pool in history at $187 million. Players from 117 countries around the world flocked to the Nevada desert for the tournament series, ranging in age from 21 to 97.

It appears that the Rio is not yet sold and is safely still in the hands of Harrah’s. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest WSOP headlines.

Michael Jackson Online Casino in Hot Water

Michael Jackson may have passed away over a year ago, but apparently that hasn’t stopped him from opening his own, honest to goodness online casino.  Well, not exactly “honest.”  According to a report on Monday by TMZ.com, someone (or some people) started an online casino called MichaelJacksonCasino.com and the King of Pop’s estate is none too pleased about it.

The website, which was taken down within the last couple days, featured an image of the poster for Jackson’s 93-minute film, Moonwalker, best known for the “Smooth Criminal” video which co-starred Joe Pesci and ended with Jackson turning into a giant robot and a spaceship.  It also contained the text, “The King of Pop is proud to bring you the most exciting Vegas style online casino betting experience on the Net!”

According to Jackson’s estate, however, the casino did not have permission to use Jackson’s likeness or any other trademarks.  According to TMZ, the estate’s attorney, Howard Weitzman, will “take whatever legal actions are necessary to shut this operation down.” As mentioned above, the website has been taken down, so it appears that Mr. Weitzman may have gotten his wish.

That’s not all of the legal news surrounding the site, though.  According to FoxNews.com, GoDaddy.com, the domain name registrar with which MichaelJacksonCasino.com’s owner registered the site, is being sued along with the online casino for $100 million by Howard Mann.  Mann’s reason: the gambling site is using photos to which Mann himself owns the copyrights.  It does not appear that Mann truly wants to drag the princely sum out of GoDaddy.com, but rather is hoping the lawsuit will get GoDaddy to release the name of the owner or owners of MichaelJacksonCasino.com.

In June, HollywoodNews.com reported that Mann, a Toronto entrepreneur, purchased a warehouse containing “Jackson family paraphernalia,” which included the masters to 273 Michael Jackson tracks that were never released the public.  Mann also co-authored Never Can Say Goodbye with Katherine Jackson, Michael’s mother.

The controversial Michael Jackson Casino was inspired on the no less controversial artist Michael Joseph Jackson, who passed away in June of 2009 while preparing a comeback tour. Jackson was rightly known as the King of Pop, and he held the Guinness World record as the most successful entertainer of all time. His career transformed the medium of music videos and helped establish MTV in its early years. Jackson’s distinctive vocal style and his innovative dance moves (such as the famous “moonwalk”) influenced popular music and dance to this day.

Richard Bakovic Captures Commerce Casino Million Dollar Guaranteed Championship

In what was one of the more unusual tournament formats in quite some time, San Pedro, CA’s Richard Bakovic outlasted a huge field to win the championship of the Commerce Casino’s Million Dollar Guaranteed event.

The latest concoction from the mind of Commerce Casino tournament director extraordinaire Matt Savage, the event guaranteed a $1 million prize pool for a minimal $335 buy in. The twist – as any tournament created by Savage seems to have – is that there were five opening days for the tournament. In addition to the multiple Day Ones, Savage also allowed players who were busted from earlier days in the tournament to enter back into the event on a successive day (for example, bust on Day 1A, you could come back on any of the remaining four days, etc.).

The tournament proved to be a huge success for the Commerce Casino as 3300 players turned out for action. Included among those players were such notable pros as legendary gamer Archie Karas, “Miami” John Cernuto, John “The Razor” Phan, Maria Ho, Nam Le, Shannon Elizabeth, David Plastik and Al “Sugar Bear” Barbieri. Although the 3300 players amassed made for the biggest tournament field in the history of Los Angeles poker, it fell short of the $1 million guarantee by approximately $60K; the Commerce Casino was pleased to pick up the overlay.

The 3300 player field was whittled down to only 315 players over the course of the five Day Ones, with these players earning a cash for their efforts in the tournament. Some of the notable names that picked up some pocket change for their work were the aforementioned Barbieri (259th for $500), Eric Mizrachi (239th, $750), “Hollywood” Dave Stann (234th, $750), Hon Le (225th, $750) and Phi Nguyen (169th, $1000).

The remaining 135 survivors from two days of poker gathered to carve up the remaining prize pool – and its first place prize of $173,500 on Sunday. Savage not only worked the floor of the Commerce as the tournament director, he provided nearly instantaneous coverage through his Twitter account, @SavagePoker. “After 5 D1′s @TehanJ (former World Poker Tour Mandalay Bay Championship winner Joe Tehan) is the Chip Leader with 376,000 going into D2. Also in 135 Nam Le, Archie Karas, Miami John, Tony Ma,” Matt tweeted. He continued his commentary over Twitter until a champion was crowned.

Cernuto was able to make it to 102nd place before being dismissed from the tournament, earning $1730 for his time at the Commerce. Veteran Vegas grinder Don Zewin ended the tournament in 53rd place ($3470) and Tehan’s run ended soon after that in 46th place. Karas’ tournament would come to an end with his 41st place finish ($3900) and Nam Le left in 33rd ($4340).

The final nine players divided up nearly a half million dollars at the final table, with the play grinding into the early hours on Monday. As the blinds climbed, strapping play, a six way split of the remaining prize money was decided upon as dawn streaked the sky, with Richard Bakovic earning the title of the champion of the Commerce Casino’s Guaranteed Million Dollar tournament:

1. Richard Bakovic (San Pedro, CA) $173,500*
2. Nathan Che (Elk Grove, CA) $97,100*
3. Derek Gomez (Orange, CA) $61,570*
4. Ramzi Srour (Burbank, CA) $47,700*
5. Phong “Turbo” Nguyen (Los Angeles, CA) $39,030*
6. Aaron Kweskin (Los Angeles, CA) $30,350*
7. Thinh Do (Fullerton, CA) $21,680
8. Charles Dolan (Fountain Valley, CA) $15,610
9. Trong Nguyen (Garden Grove, CA) $10,000

* Does not reflect chop

Although there was a slight overlay for the tournament, the Commerce Casino’s Million Dollar Guaranteed event proved to be a success. Up next for the Commerce is their Commerce Hold’em Series, which will play out from September 1st through the 19th. Over $2 million in prize pools are expected to be generated during that tournament schedule, with their famous L. A. Poker Classic set to begin its next run in January 2011.

Annie Duke Goes To Washington And The Poker Lounge From Poker In Twitter

With the World Series of Poker (WSOP) wrapped up until November, poker players on Twitter returned to their normal routines. Much of their attention was focused on Annie Duke as she testified in front of a Congressional committee regarding online gaming regulation.

“I hope I did a good job for poker players today,” Duke Tweeted following her testimony in front of the committee. “I want to represent us well.” Eugene Todd gave Duke her props when he Tweeted, “Watching the meeting right now… even though I’m not a big Annie Duke fan she is real good and poised.” Fellow UB.com pro “Hollywood” Dave Stann stepped up to comment, “Thanks @AnnieDuke for fighting for all our civil liberties today on Capitol Hill. You rock!” Doyle Brunson took a moment away from his blonde jokes to recognize, “I know without being there you represented the poker world very well! Thanks.”

The kudos for Duke’s appearance in Washington, DC, continued for hours after the completion of the hearing. “You’re def someone I want to represent,” said Michele Lewis, who has testified in front of the Texas General Assembly regarding poker. “I’m sure you did a great job. Thanks for having the courage to do so.” Linda Johnson sounded off on Twitter, “I read some of the transcripts from today’s hearing and you did a great job! Thanks.” In giving his congratulations, noted tournament reporter/photographer BJ Nemeth pointed out why such regulation is necessary: “Regulation and licensing would have allowed prosecution of Russ Hamilton. I wish we had that now. Make him pay.”

For others in the poker community, a trip to England was in the cards. Three players – Juha Helppi, Greg Mueller, and Annette Obrestad - found themselves all at the same table for the first round of the Full Tilt Poker Lounge series. “Poker Lounge set looking pretty cool!,” Mueller remarked on Twitter. “My opponents r Juha Helpi, Annette, Jesus, Joe Beevers, and an online qualifier Joe Serock! Gd luck Me.” Helppi gave the details of the Cardiff battle when he Tweeted, “20,000 buy-in 6 handed, winner takes home the whole $120,000.”

Another player attending the Poker Lounge series is Mike Matusow, but he had other concerns on his mind. “Well I’m online on phone but it still don’t work,” “The Mouth” Tweeted before seeking help from Liv Boeree. “@liv_boeree my stupid phone don’t work here,” Matusow chirped. “I just found out that America’s number one phone the Droid is not global. What a joke.” For her part, Boeree offered a solution: “lol that sucks! Go find a dodgy corner shop in Cardiff and buy yourself a £20 unlocked one.”

Many remember Grant Hinkle’s run at the WSOP Championship Event and how he was not only sweating the cards, but also the pregnancy of his wife, Kim, back in Kansas. Due at any time, Hinkle was ready to leave the most prestigious tournament of the year to rush back for the birth of their son. This week brought the news that he and his family had been waiting for.

“We just checked into the hospital and Kim is at a 7 already,” Hinkle Tweeted from the hospital yesterday morning. “Looks like my unborn son Ben is being born today.” Just hours later, he was able to announce the good news to the world. “Benjamin Reed Hinkle is here. 9 lbs 3 oz. 20.5 inches long.” Fellow pro Devin Porter stepped up to offer a Tweet for the couple: “Congratulations!! That is one huge kid!”

On the lighter side of Poker In Twitter, Joe Sebok lamented heading back to the desert so soon following the WSOP. “Thought I had escaped Vegas, free and clear,” he Tweeted to his followers. “Alas, a bachelor party draws me back to Satan’s bosom for the weekend coming… burn, baby, burn.” Maria Ho took in a Rihanna concert and noted, “OMG Eminem made a surprise appearance+ joined Rihanna onstage for their song “I love the way you lie”!” Finally, Eric Mizrachi made an observation, playing off of the Las Vegas commercial byline: “Does whatever happen in Twitterland stay in Twitterland?”

WSOP November Nine Determined from Poker in Twitter

The entire of the poker world was sweating the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event over the weekend, with many players offering their thoughts through Twitter on several aspects of the tournament.

UB.com pro Phil Hellmuth accurately pointed out, once it got down to one table, that several players eliminated just off the final ten were solid talent-wise. “10 left [in the] WSOP, some tough players fell short,” Hellmuth Tweeted during the early morning hours on Sunday. “Adam ‘Roothlus’ Levy, Eric Baldwin, Scott Clements, Hasan Habib, Matt Affleck (sick beat!).”

Others who hung through the early morning grind were exhausted from the extended session to determine the November Nine. “Man I’m exhausted and gotta work in the morn,” UB.com sponsored player and adult entertainer Samantha Ryan chirped. “Can’t seem to stop Twitter sweating the WSOP Main Event almost final table. Intense!” Poker blogger “Mean” Gene Bromberg, however, pointed out in a Tweet one of the drawbacks of tournament poker: “I think we’re seeing now why poker will never be a huge spectator/live TV sport/game. We like things that end before dawn.”

As the final ten players continued into the early morning hours, some brought up the WSOP run of Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi. “If @TheGrinder44 wins the Main Event, he will have won the 2 most prestigious WSOP events this year and be tied with @fkassela for POY,” pointed out Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler to his Twitter peeps. “How @TheGrinder44 is not player of the WSOP is beyond me.”

Tournament director extraordinaire Matt Savage also pointed out an interesting fact if “The Grinder” is able to capture the WSOP Main Event title: “@TheGrinder44 will become the winningest tournament player of all time when he beats 9 more players!” Mizrachi needs to finish sixth to move into the top ten; finishing second or winning would move him past Phil Ivey.

Once Brandon Steven was eliminated from the table and the November Nine was set, the Tweets poured in congratulating Mizrachi for his run in the Main Event. “Wow, just WOW,” Maria “maridu” Mayrinck Tweeted early Sunday morning. “@TheGrinder44 – his Series alone was already surreal, but adding Nov. 9 to the mix just makes it seem so easy! What a sicko!”

Carbon Poker’s Shannon Elizabeth piped in with her congratulations, “Congratulations! You so deserve it-can’t wait to see you take it down on 11/09!” For his part, Mizrachi was able to celebrate for a bit with family and friends, offering a Tweet to those who followed him throughout the November Nine ordeal: “Thanks to every1 for sweating me!! Means a lot to me!!! 123 days to rest Heading back to Miami in a few days. Tired. Time to party!”

There were some people in the poker world who took some time off from the felt to become movie critics. With two large films – the Leonardo DiCaprio thriller “Inception” and Steve Carell’s comical animated film “Despicable Me” – opening in theaters, some took time to take in the latest Hollywood offerings. “Playing some cash game then going to see Inception soon w/friends,” Elizabeth Tweeted about her Sunday. “Hearing great things (about it).”

She was one of the many the moviegoers over the weekend (“Inception was an amazing movie! Very thought provoking-Loved it!”). Also visiting the silver screen were Joe Sebok (“Inception. Wow. Incredible. I’m hooked.”) and Erik Seidel (“After an intense weekend of Christopher Nolan films, Memento, The Prestige + Inception my brain is hurting.”).

While the WSOP comes to a close, many are heading home for rest, relaxation, or for some more poker. “Thx to everyone who made Vegas such a great time,” Tweeted Annette Obrestad on Monday. “U know who u are. Love ya all…Going to Cardiff tomorrow morning for two episodes of Poker Lounge.” Double WSOP bracelet holder Greg “FBT” Mueller also is headed there: “Last nite of dice in Vegas then off to London 2moro to do 2 poker lounge shows (Europe’s poker after dark) and 1 poker million show!”

DoylesRoom Brunson 10 member Amit “amak316” Makhija found some good fortune as he was doing some post-WSOP cleanup. “After all my WSOP accounting is over I found one last 5k Rio chip. Brag: 5k richer than I thought. Beat: back to the Rio not for the Nov 9.” Sebok seems to be getting over his WSOP run: “Grilling out in Hermosa, World Series of Poker memories fading, stoked to be back home.”

Finally, Joe Reitman pulled off Tweet of the Weekend when he chirped about the close of the WSOP: “I can’t sleep. Post WSOP issues. With no one calling me Jeff Shulman & asking for pictures & autographs I’m not sure what to do with myself.”

Jerry Payne (sandler1860) – Poker Player Profile

A longtime online poker player, Jerry “sandler1860” Payne was one of the final 78 players in the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. The Centerville, Ohio native will log his first Las Vegas WSOP cash as a result after turning in four in the money finishes in Circuit Events.

Payne’s big break came in March 2010, when he final tabled the Hollywood Poker Open World Poker Tour (WPT) stop, cashing for $89,000 after a sixth place finish. Payne faced off against a tough final table in the $10,000 buy-in WPT event, the first ever at the Hollywood Casino in Indiana, including former WSOP Main Event champ Carlos Mortensen, Frank Calo, and Ravi “govshark2” Raghavan.

Prior to the WPT Hollywood Poker Open, Payne’s largest live cash came in a $550 No Limit Hold’em event during a WSOP Circuit stop at Caesars Indiana. There, he banked $21,000 and played second fiddle to Craig Brumfield; the low budget event attracted a field of 261 players.

In the online poker world, Payne won the Full Tilt Poker Sunday Mulligan in June 2009 for $52,000. In January 2010, he took second in the Wednesday Quarter Million on PokerStars for $33,000. Four months later, he recorded a win in the PokerStars $45,000 Guaranteed, a $109 buy-in online poker tournament, for $31,000. Another major score for Payne came in November 2009, when he won the PokerStars Nightly Hundred Grand, a right of passage for many online poker players, and walked away $19,000 richer for his wear.

Payne has accrued more than $1 million in tournaments that are tracked for the PocketFives.com Online Poker Rankings and is among the top players in the state of Ohio. In fact, he’s one of only two entrants from the midwestern state (Richard Morgan is the other) to make Day 7 of the 2010 WSOP Main Event.

Payne is primarily a tournament player, stating in his PocketFives.com profile, “f cash games.” He’s gained a considerable amount of poker know-how through the training site PokerXFactor and commercials for PartyPoker featuring Mike Sexton resulted in Payne diving into the poker pond in 2004.

Kimberly Lansing on Rejoining the World Poker Tour

At a press conference held to kick off the Bellagio Cup, officials from the World Poker Tour (WPT) welcomed back Kimberly Lansing, who first appeared during Season 6. Lansing will return to her hostess role on-air and also film interviews with players during events. Lansing sat down with Poker News Daily from the Bellagio in Las Vegas.

Poker News Daily: Thanks for joining us. Talk about what went into you rejoining the WPT.

Kimberly Lansing: The WPT wanted to revamp the whole show and change it up. They haven’t had the host position in a couple of years and I think they just wanted to add a different dynamic. It felt right because if you look at it, I managed to get to know a lot of poker players and establish friendships with them during Season 6. It was really the perfect fit bringing me back.

I’m still doing interviews like I did before and keeping people up to speed on Live Updates. I’ve also been shooting interviews throughout the event for broadcast. We’re trying to give viewers an idea of what happened in the days leading up to the final table.

PND: The WPT has undergone an overhaul of sorts since Season 6 and is now under new management. Is there a noticeable difference?

Kimberly Lansing: It’s definitely a noticeable change. There are a lot of the same people here that I know well from traveling with them during Season 6. There have been changes here and there like ownership and who my boss is, but they’ve all been wonderful to work with. While it’s different, though, it has the same feel as before.

PND: Can you expand on what your role with the WPT will be?

Kimberly Lansing: I’m the anchor of the show, so I have a separate area where I’ll be sitting. My back is going to be to the final table, so it’ll be playing out behind me. I think I’m also opening the show and talking about what’s going on in the tournament and what’s happened in the first few days. I’ll do interviews with fans and family in the audience and bust out interviews too.

PND: From watching Live Update videos you’ve done with players like Justin “Boosted J” Smith and Liv Boeree at the Bellagio Cup, you seem much more comfortable in front of the camera. Talk about your on-camera presence.

Kimberly Lansing: I worked a lot over the past two years writing and hosting my own show five days a week. I was reading off the prompter and I’m not trying to be anything else than what I am. That’s what’s important as an on-camera person – to be yourself and listen to who you’re interviewing. This is me – take it or leave it. I’m very comfortable in my own skin.

PND: What daily show did you host?

Kimberly Lansing: I’ve been hosting a show off AOL called “Moviefone Minute.” I was the first host that had ever written and presented the show. It was one-minute long gossip and entertainment show that I wrote every day. It was a great experience for me because it was daily. It kept me on my toes and kept my brain working.

I also contributed to the TV Guide Network. I did entertainment expert pieces and went to shows like “Hollywood 411” and reality chats. I just gave my opinion and my entertainment knowledge.

PND: What is your favorite poker moment to date, whether with the WPT or not?

Kimberly Lansing: Taking eighth in the WPT Celebrity Invitational. I was really bummed because I didn’t make the final table or the money, but it was such an amazing experience. All I did was get lucky and suck out. I hit my one-outers on the river and it was amazing. That tournament is like a Turbo, though, so you have to get lucky.

PND: What do you do away from poker?

Kimberly Lansing: I just moved in with my fiancé, Zach Hyman, who I met during the WPT, so I can thank the WPT for contributing to my personal life. Overall, I’m getting used to a new time in my life. I’m also traveling to Italy and France next week for WPT events and planning a wedding, which is next April in Santa Barbara right after our tournament in Indiana.

Jesper Hougaard, Johnny Chan Among WSOP Main Event Day 2A Chip Leaders

The marathon that is the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event rolled along on Friday, with 2,412 players returning from Days 1A and 1C to take part in Day 2A.

1987 and 1988 Main Event champion Johnny Chan sat just a few spots in back of chip leader Corwin Cole to begin the day, with $50,000 Player’s Championship winner Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi and England’s Barny Boatman also in the top ten. Although there was a festive atmosphere in the Amazon Room at the start of play, over half the field would not survive to bag up chips at the end of the night.

The early action consisted of many players who were looking to double up or go home with their meager chip stacks. One of the players able to succeed on that front was 2008 WSOP Main Event final tablist Dennis Phillips, who made Big Slick work against an opponent’s pocket jacks to earn an early chip up. Phillips would continue to drive his stack upwards, reaching 45,000 late Friday night. However, the popular St. Louis poker pro would Tweet his demise before the end of action: “The search for the next November Nine goes on… unfortunately was just eliminated & will not be in the hunt.”

Phillips wasn’t the only one to face his WSOP mortality on Friday. World Poker Tour host and Poker Hall of Fame member Mike Sexton saw pocket kings vanquished when he was looking for a triple up, being outdrawn by pocket nines on a 2-9-8 rainbow flop. Also departing the Rio on Friday were 2009 November Niner James Akenhead, Rincon Circuit champion Bryan “badbeatninja” Devonshire, Ted Lawson, Liz Lieu, and UB.com’s “Hollywood” Dave Stann, who commented on Twitter about his defeat at the hands of Jennifer “Jennicide” Leigh: “That was fun. Guess I’m headed back to LA early… Straights don’t beat flushes here apparently. nh Jennicide.”

Several top pros rode the elevator the opposite way on Day 2A. Chan, who started action stacked with 163,700 in chips, continued to be a force at the tables. “The Orient Express” was able to build on his Day One play, ending Day 2A in tenth place on the leaderboard with 281,600 in chips.

Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Annie Duke was also able to mount an assault. Starting the day with 67,000 in chips, the current National Heads-Up Poker Championship winner rode a roller coaster throughout the day before getting into an epic hand late in the evening. Holding on a board, the UB.com pro was able to get her opponent to commit the remainder of their chips with an offsuit 4-2.

A nondescript nine hit on the turn, but the crowd was stunned when the hit, making Duke’s opponent a boat, which many railbirds inaccurately assumed gave her tablemate the hand. According to WSOP.com reports, Duke calmly pointed out, “I have the straight flush,” earning her the pot in stunning fashion. Duke used that hand to skyrocket to 176,600 in chips.

Making the most noise in the Rio on Friday was Denmark’s Jesper Hougaard. The only person to ever win Las Vegas and European WSOP bracelets in the same year (2008), Hougaard started Friday with the 51,000 chips he built on Day 1C and attacked his tablemates throughout the day. By the time the smoke cleared on Friday night, Hougaard had amassed 316,200 in chips, good for third place behind Boulos Estafanous. According to WSOP statistics, 1,192 players have reported chip counts and will be back for play on Day 3.

Those who come to the felt on Saturday will have a significant challenge ahead of them. Day 2B – the combination of Days 1B and 1D – will be composed of slightly more than 2,700 players. James Danielson is the leader of Day 2B at 201,050 in chips, but he is pursued by WSOP bracelet and gold ring winner Steve “MrSmokey1” Billirakis (187,150). Other top professionals stepping to the felt on Saturday include tenth place Jason DeWitt (149,950), Full Tilt Poker’s David Benyamine (130,800), Team PokerStars pro Vanessa Rousso (111,050), Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond (107,100), and English powerhouse James “Flushy” Dempsey (106,175).

Sunday will be a rest day for the survivors of the WSOP Main Event. The field will come together for the first time on Monday, when Day 3 will consolidate the field at the Rio. Expect the field to number approximately 2,500 by that point, with the latest incarnation of the “November Nine” to be determined one week from today.

Tale of Two Days for Team UB

Two flights of the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event Day 1 are in the books, and while there have been plenty of ups and downs for the 2,600 players so far, it has been a story of contrasting days for the members of Team UB.

Day 1A drew 1,125 runners, two of whom were members of Team UB: Tiffany Michelle and Matthew Graham.  Michelle, who has become a crossover celebrity after competing on “The Amazing Race,” was never far from the roaming eyes of the ESPN cameras.  If she was involved in an all-in, particularly if it was all of her chips at stake, chances were that camera crews would rush over to her table.  In fact, at one point she tweeted, “Listen ESPN cameras: Stop hoarding around my table like I’m a lamb being led to the slaughter, not giving you an exciting bust anytime soon!”

Watching her chip stack crumble from the get-go, Michelle did have her chips at risk on more than one occasion, but she managed, as she put it, to “grind grind grind” and keep herself in the competition.  With only around 20 big blinds left, she is going to need to make a move early on Day 2, but she’s still alive, and that’s what matters.  Hopefully for her sake, she’ll have a better run of cards.  On Twitter, she said, “I keep thinking that good cards HAVE 2 come. Playing 10hrs & I’ve had Aces twice, jacks, 8s, AK AQ & AJ once. Not exaggerating. That’s it.”

Also on Day 1A, Team UB member Matthew Graham had a very nice go of it, ending the day with 58,450 chips, just a bit fewer than twice as many as what he started with.  That chip count put him about in the middle of the pack after that first flight.

So, Team UB was 2-for-2 after Day 1A.  Regardless of whether the players had 200,000 chips or 2,000, they were batting 1.000, so that’s something to hang their hats on.

And then the calendar turned to Tuesday.  Four Team UB players took to the felts on Day 1B: Brandon Cantu, Liv Boeree, Joe Sebok, and Mark “P0ker H0″ Kroon.

Kroon was eliminated early on, getting unlucky when his Queens slammed into Kings.  That wasn’t the knock out blow, but it crippled him and shortly thereafter he headed home when he lost a race with A-K against, of course Queens.

Sebok couldn’t gain any traction all day.  During the first level, he had Kings against Eights against A-Q, but the flop came A-8-A, giving him virtually no shot at the pot.  He was smart enough to get out of there, though, so the damage was minimal.  He later lost with two pair against a better two pair and eventually sunk as low as 6,000 chips.  He was able to chip back up to keep hope alive, but slipped back again when he called an all-in with A-Q, losing to Jacks.  At dinner, he had just 3,500 chips, all of which he lost on the first hand back from the break when his Fives lost to A-6.  He just couldn’t win a race.

Philosophical about the whole thing, Sebok Tweeted, “there’s something so brutally final about not doing shit during the wsop and busting out of the main. like, it’s over. see you next year…”

Liv Boeree, winner of the 2010 EPT San Remo Main Event, ran into a set of Kings during Level 1 and was never able to recover after her stack fell to almost 5,000 so early.  She was eliminated when her opponent turned a set of 8′s, sucking out on her pocket Jacks.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom for Team UB on Day 1B, though.  Brandon Cantu, a two-time WSOP bracelet winner, advanced to Day 2 with a healthy 65,000 chip stack.  Always brief, yet prolific, with his Twitter updates during tournaments, Cantu let his followers know that he was down slightly from his starting stack at the first break, but soon climbed to 33,000, then 42,000, and then about 52,000 by dinner.  He peaked at 71,000 going into the last hour, but despite the small drop in chips to close out the night, he called it a “great day.” Cantu admitted that he was getting cards left and right, but at the same time, he was playing his “A game.” Not a bad combination.

All in all, with the amount of luck needed just to get past the first day, a 50 percent success rate for Team UB is pretty solid, even though the first two days had very different feels.  The big stars of Team UB – Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth – will play Wednesday, as will Adam “Roothlus” Levy and Hollywood Dave Stann.  The rest of the team members have not publically announced which of the last two starting days they will play, but no doubt they will be at the Rio, ready to make a run to the November Nine.?

UB.com Sends Team Pros, Online Satellite Winners To WSOP Main Event

The World Series of Poker’s Championship Event is now halfway through its four Day Ones, with UB.com sending its stable of pros from Team UB to battle. Joining the crew from UB.com are a slew of online players who won their way into the event through satellites on the site.

According to a spokesperson for UB.com, 158 players won their way to Las Vegas through the variety of means provided by the site. “Until the final Day One (Day 1D), we won’t have an accurate count of how many have actually made the journey to the WSOP,” the spokesperson stated. To encourage players to make the trek to the Rio, UB.com has created a stake for those players to share, even if they don’t cash in the WSOP Championship Event.

For players who have won their way to Sin City through satellites on UB.com, there is a guaranteed $1000 awaiting them if they wear UB.com apparel. This guaranteed money goes up on a graduated scale to a minimum of $3750 if more than 52 of the qualifiers heads to Vegas to take their shot at the World Championship. If a UB.com branded player makes it to the money, they will earn substantially more, depending on how many of the qualifiers show. If more than 52 UB.com qualifiers show up and no one makes the money, the players will each earn $5000 just for going to the WSOP.

As to Team UB.com, several players have already been in action on the felt at the Rio. On Monday’s Day 1A, two of the top players from the squad, Matt “mattg1983” Graham and Tiffany Michelle stepped up to carry the UB.com banner. Of the 1125 players who took part in action on Monday, only 762 will come back for action on Day 2A, with Matt and Tiffany both still alive; Tiffany is significantly below her starting stack of 30,000 in finishing the day with 12,950 chips, while Matt has been able to add to his starting stack and will enter Day 2A with 58,450.

Tuesday saw a few more of the Team UB.com pros enter the fray at the Rio. WSOP double bracelet holder Brandon Cantu was joined by Mark “PokerH0” Kroon and Joe Sebok for play, with two of them not making the cut. “PokerH0,” according to the UB.com blog from “Mean” Gene Bromberg, was cooled on two occasions, once running pocket Queens into pocket Kings, then being shown the door when his Big Slick couldn’t catch up with the Queens he once held.

Sebok, who had one mini-cash during the run of the 2010 WSOP, was a bit more fortunate than “PokerH0.” Joe made the dinner break and, as accurately stated by Bromberg, “…and one hand beyond.” With a dwindling stack, Sebok made a stand with pocket fives and was looked up by A-6. Once his Presto had been vanquished, Joe headed for the door of the Rio.

Cantu, who has picked up a couple of cashes over the WSOP schedule for just under $10K, has had the best run of Team UB.com members in the Championship Event to this point. Of the 1489 runners who came to the line on Tuesday, Cantu is a part of the of the 1017 who will live to play on Day 2B (Days 1A and 1C take Day 2A, while Days 1B and 1D will take Day 2B). According to WSOP statistics, Cantu finished 189th for the day, with a chip stack of 65,025.

The rest of the Team UB.com stable will be storming the WSOP castle over the next two Day One’s. On Wednesday, Phil Hellmuth will make his usual grandiose WSOP entrance as an MMA fighter, with actual MMA warrior Wanderlei Silva as a part of his entourage. In the past, the eleven-time WSOP bracelet winner has made his entrance as General George Patton and Julius Caesar, just to pick some memorable ones.

Entering the Rio much more subtly will be the remaining members of Team UB.com. Led by Poker News Daily guest columnist Annie Duke, Billy “Patrolman35”  Kopp, defending CardPlayer Magazine Player of the Year Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin, Anthrax guitarist extraordinaire Scott Ian, WSOP Circuit Rincon champion Bryan Devonshire, the always dangerous Michael Binger, Adam “Roothlus” Levy and Gary “Debo34” DeBernardi will all be on the tables on Wednesday afternoon. UB.com has also tapped former Miss USA Shanna Moakler for a seat at the WSOP Championship Event; “Hollywood” Dave Stann will also be a part of the fray, but his decision between Days 1C and 1D isn’t known at this time.?

UB.com July Second Sundays to Benefit Crystal King Foundation

This month’s running of the UB.com Second Sundays charity poker tournament will donate its funds to the Crystal King Benefit Foundation. The $10 buy-in tournament will pan out at 14:45 ET on July 11th and former “Amazing Race” contestant Tiffany Michelle, a member of Team UB, will host.

UB.com will match all of the proceeds raised from the tournament and then donate the entire prize pool to the Crystal King Benefit Foundation. In addition, those who play will be in the running for over $2,000 in added prizes.

What is the Crystal King Benefit Foundation, you ask? The fund came about when mother Crystal King and her three-year-old twins Camrea-Rose and Caden were involved in a major traffic incident two months ago. Caden died in the wreck with a semi, while Camrea-Rose and Crystal survived, albeit with a multitude of life threatening injuries. UB.com got wind of the family’s plight through PokerRoad.com and PokerPlayersUnite.org and decided to get involved.

Michelle, who has traveled the world as part of her participation in “Amazing Race,” commented in a press release distributed by UB.com on why she chose to host July’s event: “There is a lot of money thrown around in poker on a regular basis and it’s causes like this and the ability to help that make what I do for a living worthwhile. I’ve seen first hand the emotional and financial stress that comes from awful accidents like this one. Being a friend or bystander, it’s hard not to feel completely helpless. This is such a significant way to lend a hand.”

The top 10 on the leaderboard in July 11th’s running of the Second Sundays event will walk away with prizes. In addition to helping out a cause near and dear to Michelle’s heart, participants will also be vying for entries into UB.com’s $200,000 Guaranteed weekly flagship event and a wireless poker controller. The player who eliminates Michelle from the charity event will claim a $66 ticket to the UB.com $7,000 Guaranteed, redeemable at 21:30 ET the same day as the Crystal King Benefit Foundation tournament.

PokerRoad personality and UB.com pro Joe Sebok hosted the June Second Sundays tournament, which resulted in nearly $5,700 being raised for the National Tay-Sachs and Allied Diseases Association. The player who knocked Sebok out, “Bob5Bob,” claimed the $66 bounty and promptly took third in the $7,000 Guaranteed for $800 – not a bad way to spend an evening. A total of 284 players bought in.

For those who don’t have time to partake in a multi-table tournament, but still want to donate to the Crystal King Benefit Foundation, funds are being accepted through the UB.com player account “CHARITIES.” The account has a first name of “Charity.” Members of Absolute Poker, which makes its home on the USA-friendly CEREUS Network alongside UB.com, can also participate in the Second Sundays fundraising efforts.

The inaugural Second Sundays event took place in March and benefited the San Antonio Aids Foundation. UB.com and Absolute Poker happily accept real money action from the United States. Besides Michelle and Sebok, UB.com pros include reigning National Heads-Up Poker Championship winner Annie Duke, 11-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, and blackjack guru “Hollywood” Dave Stann.

WSOP Tournament of Champions Begins from Poker in Twitter

Gavin Smith‘s first World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet over the weekend nearly melted down the Twitterverse. After Smith made his breakthrough victory in the $2,500 Mixed Hold’em event on Saturday, congratulations flooded in for the popular Canadian. UB.com pro Joe Sebok was excited over Smith’s first WSOP bracelet win, Tweeting, “Congratulations @olegsmith. Love you friend. You worked hard for this and you deserve it. Happy to share this moment with you, bud.”

The accolades continued to come in for Smith throughout the day on Sunday. “Congrats on the bracelet @OleGSmith!,” Tweeted “Hollywood” Dave Stann. “Awesome to see one of the good guys come out on top – you rock, dude!” PokerStars pro Daniel Negreanu had an ulterior motive with Smith’s win, but was thrilled nonetheless: “Congrats @olegsmith you brought it home! That win helped me beat Matusow for 10k woot.”

The revived WSOP Tournament of Champions was also a hot topic over the weekend. “Good luck to the wonderful Mike Sexton in the TOC today, a great ambassador for the game and a champion!,” PartyPoker pro Kara Scott tweeted as the 27-player tournament began. John Juanda, one of the players voted in by fans, Tweeted his starting table to his followers: “Seed, Ivey, Harman, Cada, Seidel, Ferguson, me, Chan, Barton. Wish me luck, guys! I’ll need it!”

Apparently the poker gods weren’t listening to Juanda because, not even one hour later, he reported his demise: “Just like that, I’m out of TOC. Tried to get Harman to lay down 2nd set and it didn’t work!” Others did much better and will move on to Day 2 of the TOC, including Erik Seidel (“Day over TOC. I finished w 72k.”), Howard Lederer (“Finished day 1 of WSOP TOC with 25,800. Slow day, no cards, deep stacks. Tomorrow the action should pick up.”) and Barry Greenstein (“End of today’s session. I didn’t play too well toward the end. 22 left. Average is 37k. I have 57k.”)

A considerable amount of attention was paid to the $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo event on Sunday night. Once the action in the event became heads-up, it featured two of the most respected players in the game, Dan Shak and Chris Bell. “Dan Shak and Chris Bell now heads-up for the bracelet,” Annie Duke chirped from tableside. “Freeroll on who wins. Both of them are deserving and great guys.”

Notable pros lined up to cheer on their horse. Noted tournament reporter B.J. Nemeth caught one particularly interesting exchange when he Tweeted, “Chris Bell to the TD: ‘This isn’t fair. Dan has Shannon Elizabeth rooting for him, and I’m stuck with Gavin Smith.’” After Bell was able to defeat Shak for the bracelet, Smith Tweeted his feelings: “Chris Bell, one of my closest friends just won his first bracelet, I think I am as happy now as I was last night!

For the best Tweets of the Week, we’ll start with Negreanu. While playing in the Mixed Game tournament at the WSOP, Negreanu posed the question, “Weird question was raised: what are the odds that at an 8 handed stud table, all 8 players are rolled up?” Leave it to the author of “The Mathematics of Poker” and double bracelet winner Bill Chen to know the answer, as Negreanu Tweeted, “Bill Chen just told me it’s 1 followed by about 20 zeros.”

Finally, the World Cup has drawn the attention of poker players. “Up early to sweat soccer,” Shannon Shorr Tweeted. “Need Germany to upset England as my only other team, Slovakia, is drawing dead against Holland tomorrow.” Scott Huff commented on the shoddy officiating when he chirped, “If I was from Mexico I’d be livid right now. As it is, I’m curious why FIFA even bothers having a rule book.” Perhaps it wasn’t the World Cup, but Full Tilt‘s Ali Nejad stepped up to play soccer rather than watch it: “Played rooftop soccer all day @nikemontalban. Or based on the way my body feels… rooftop soccer played me.”

California Online Poker Bill to be Debated Tuesday

On Tuesday, Senate Bill 1485 will be debated in the California Senate Governmental Organization Committee. The measure, introduced by Rod Wright (D-Inglewood), paves the way for legalized and regulated online poker in the west coast state, which has been plagued by budget shortfalls.

The Morongo Band of Mission Indians has come out against SB 1485, with tribe spokesperson Patrick Dorinson telling the Palm Springs Desert Sun newspaper, “We’ve always supported the concept of intrastate poker in California because of consumer protections, revenue to the state, and the fact it would bring the game out of the shadows. But we cannot support the bill in its present form.”

According to a separate article by the Palm Springs news outlet, the measure governing online poker has been granted special consideration despite the legislature’s full plate: “Because more than 20 pending measures are expected to be heard [on June 29th], the online legislation has been given a special order of business status. That guarantees a hearing start time for 3:30pm.” The proceedings will take place in Room 3191 of the State Capitol in Sacramento.

SB 1485 authorizes three “hub operators” to provide legal internet gambling games to California residents for a period of five years. Because of its legalized status, an operator must fork over “at least 20% of its gross revenues” to the state’s newly created Internet Gambling Fund every month. Moreover, California residents who play on unauthorized channels will feel the long arm of the law and every online poker player must be at least 21 years of age.

California regulators will be examining a number of factors to determine whether an outlet is worthy of being one of the three hubs, including “quality, competence, experience, past performance, efficiency, reliability, financial viability, durability, adaptability, timely performance, integrity, security, and the consideration promised to the state.” Hub applicants will undergo an exhausting vetting process.

Text found at the beginning of SB 1485 notes that legal live poker exists en masse in California; however, the state has not yet elected to tackle the internet version of the game: “The state currently maintains and implements substantial regulatory and law enforcement efforts to protect thousands of Californians who play real money poker in licensed California card rooms and tribal government casinos, yet the state provides no licensing requirements, regulatory structure, or law enforcement tools to protect millions of Californians who play the same games daily for money on the internet.”

During the upcoming 2010-2011 season of the World Poker Tour (WPT), the most populated state in the Union will play host to the Legends of Poker at the Bicycle Casino in August. After a six-month hiatus, WPT officials will return to California for the annual Celebrity Invitational and L.A. Poker Classic, both of which are held at the Commerce Casino. Finally, in March 2011, the WPT’s premier bounty event, the Bay 101 Shooting Star, will emanate from San Jose.

The text of SB 1485 claims that the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) authorizes internet gambling “as long as all players and the online wagering activities are located within the state and the games are not played by minors.” The UIGEA was attached to an unrelated port security measure in the final minutes of the 2006 Congressional session. Mandatory compliance with its regulations occurred on June 1st of this year after a four-year delay.

Hollywood Park, the Commerce Casino, Hawaiian Gardens, and The Bike have joined the Morongo Tribe in its opposition to the legislation, according to the Desert Sun. The opposition implored, “We believe what plays in California should stay in California. By licensing foreign operators and Las Vegas gaming interests, this bill allows money to leave the state instead of helping California’s economy.”

Read the text of SB 1485.

Gavin Smith Wins First World Series of Poker Bracelet

In the $2,500 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Mixed Event – featuring levels that alternate between Limit Hold’em and No Limit Hold’em – nine players came back on Saturday afternoon to determine a champion. Jarred Solomon held a slim lead over Full Tilt Poker’s Gavin Smith when play began, with WSOP Circuit terror Dwyte Pilgrim sitting on the short stack. Starting with Limit Hold’em, the players wasted little time in getting down to business.

Within the first three hours, three players were dispatched from the event. Pilgrim could never get any traction to make a drive at a WSOP bracelet, departing the final table in eighth place. 2007 British Columbia Poker Championship victor Daniel Idema, who came to the felt as the second shortest stack, was also a victim of the early action before leaving the event in seventh place.

Solomon was felted prior to the dinner break by Danny Hannawa and finished in sixth place. After dinner, Hannawa held a 240,000-chip lead over Timothy Finne, Jamie Rosen, Smith, and Michael Michnik. With the game changed to No Limit, several players became more aggressive, attempting to be the last man standing.

Hannawa dumped Rosen in fifth place, at which time Smith took over play. The Canadian aggressively took chips from Michnik and, in a key hand, assumed the chip lead from Hannawa when Smith, holding A-Q, flopped a queen and Hannawa couldn’t beat him. He continued to pound the pot with bets as the game switched to Limit, when he was able to vanquish Michnik in fourth.

After Hannawa was able to defeat Michnik at the end of the Limit level, heads-up play began in No Limit with Smith holding a 400,000-chip edge over Hannawa. After decimating Hannawa with a pair of eights on a 4-2-8-K-10 board, Smith saw fortune fall his way on the final hand. Hannawa committed the remainder of his chips holding a 10-8. After Smith called with his suited A-Q and the board ran A-K-2-J-J, he dropped the “best player to never win a bracelet” tag from his name by winning Event #44:

1. Gavin Smith (Las Vegas, NV) – $268,238
2. Danny Hannawa (Farmington Hills, MI) – $166,050
3. Timothy Finne (Fanwood, NJ) – $110,324
4. Michael Michnik (Hollywood, FL) – $81,871
5. Jamie Rosen (Las Vegas, NV) – $61,441
6. Jarred Solomon (Johannesburg, South Africa) – $46,562
7. Daniel Idema (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) – $35,601
8. Dwyte Pilgrim (Brooklyn, NY) – $27,438
9. Mike Santoro (Egg Harbor, NJ) – $21,304

In Event #45, another $1,500 No Limit Hold’em tournament, 35 players will return on Sunday afternoon to determine a champion. Sam Trickett, who was the runner-up to Jason DeWitt in the $5,000 No Limit event, holds the chip lead with several notable names in the mix behind him. 2010 WSOP bracelet winner Dutch Boyd sits in fifth, with Paul “X-22” Magriel, Alex Outhred, and Tim “tmay420” West just off the top 10.

Twenty-one players will return for Day 3 in the $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo event, which will probably run deep into Monday morning to determine a champion. Sergey Altbregin leads the tournament when the cards fly this afternoon, but a host of top pros are still in the mix. In second place is David “DevilFish” Ulliott, with Dan Shak and Chris Bell also in the top five. A blast from the past in the top 10 is Leif Force, who is known for his 11th place finish in the 2006 WSOP Main Event. Add in other pros such as Rob Hollink, Dan Heimiller, Allen Kessler, Andy Black, “Miami” John Cernuto, and Erik Seidel and the final day of this tournament will be one to watch.

Two tournaments opened up play on Saturday, with the first Day 1 of the latest $1,000 No Limit Hold’em event pulling in 1,759 entries. 310 players survived the carnage on Saturday to come back for Day Two on Monday. The final size of the field will be determined with the second Day 1 taking place on Sunday.

In Day One of the $2,500 Mixed Event, 453 players stepped up to test themselves against one of the toughest formats in poker. 192 will come back for Day 2 today, with Jared Jaffee holding the overnight chip lead. $50,000 Player’s Championship winner Michael Mizrachi is in fifth place, with other stars of the game such as Luca Pagano, Brandon Cantu, Steve Billirakis, Dario Alito, Alex Kravchenko, Scott Seiver, Andrew Robl, and 2010 double bracelet winner Frank Kassela all in the top 20.

While these tournaments all are featuring a great deal of star power, they will be dwarfed by the only tournament that starts today. The WSOP Tournament of Champions, which features 27 of the biggest names in the poker world, opens up play Sunday at Noon PT.

It looks to be a battle of the online poker rooms, as nine members of the Full Tilt Poker stable (Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, Allen Cunningham, John Juanda, Seidel, Jennifer Harman, Huck Seed, Howard Lederer and Mike Matusow) will hit the felt against six PokerStars pros (Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein, Greg Raymer, Joe Hachem, Joe Cada, and Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier). Team UB sends its most prominent representatives in Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke, while Doyle Brunson represents DoylesRoom. Defending Tournament of Champions titleholder Mike Sexton will carry the PartyPoker banner as he attempts to repeat.

It all makes for one of the busiest Sundays during the run of this year’s World Series of Poker.

Women in Poker Hall of Fame nominees announced – among them Duke, Harman and Liebert

The 2010 Women in Poker Hall of Fame has nominated seven female poker players two of which will be chosen to Hall of Fame in September.

On the list there are familiar names to current players as well as a couple of older legends and poker professionals.  

Betty Carey - A poker pro whose blue eyes mesmerized among others Doyle Brunson. When the 70’s turned to 80’s, Carey was known from her very aggressive playing style. Won a few WSOP money prizes and carried a  .357 Magnum with herself.

Phyllis Caro - A poker pioneer since 1979. Started her career as a dealer and is nowadays the manager of poker operations in Hollywood Park, California. Has assisted her husband Mike Caro in making numerous poker books.

Nani Dollison - A South-Korean born hard core professional. Won a WSOP bracelet from $1,000 Limit Hold’em in 2001 and is one of the few WSOP Ladies Event double champions. Has cashed nearly 800,000 dollars during her career.

Annie Duke - Has claimed over 4,2 million dollar profits from tournaments and one WSOP bracelet from $2K Omaha Hi-Lo.

Jennifer Harman - A multi-skilled high stakes pro who has pocketed 2,5 million dollars during her career. The only woman who has won two WSOP bracelets.  

Kathy Liebert - The most successful female tournament player ever with her 5,7 million dollar winnings since 1994.

Joanne “JJ” Liu - A pro player born in Taipei, Taiwan. Has won a WPT title and over 2,3 million dollars from the tournaments. A regular face in high stakes cash games.  

Check out the nominees and the vote which will be open until July 15th in HERE.

Sources: PokerNewsDaily, womenspokerhalloffame.com and TheHendonMob

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Women in Poker Hall of Fame nominees announced – among them Duke, Harman and Liebert