Poker News

2010 WSOP Rules Permit Twittering at the Table

The official rules for the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) were handed down this week, with tournament organizers adopting a cell phone rule that permits text messaging and Twittering at the table.

All cell phones must be turned off during play. However, as the WSOP regulations note, “Players not involved in a hand (cards in muck) shall be permitted to text/email at the table, but shall not be permitted to text/email any other player at the table.” Twittering of chip counts and memorable hands were staples of the 2009 WSOP, when the social media outlet exploded in popularity. Even poker legends like 10-time bracelet winner Doyle Brunson have become engulfed in Twitter, with “Texas Dolly” now able to spit out additional blonde jokes while seated at the table of any 2010 WSOP event.

Any players who wish to talk on their cell phones must be at least one table length away from their seats while gabbing. Meanwhile, the WSOP logo policy in 2010 will remain the same as it was in 2009. No logo will be permitted that promotes drugs, handguns, lotteries, obscene material, pornography, libel, or “advertises any online gaming site that conducts business with U.S. residents.” Nearly every logo shown on ESPN television cameras in 2009 featured the dot-net version of the site’s URL. Meanwhile, Everest Poker, which had sponsored pro Antoine Saout at the final table of the 2009 Main Event, served as the on-felt sponsor of the tournament series. Everest Poker does not accept players from the United States.

Posters on TwoPlusTwo were quick to critique the 2010 WSOP rules, which incorporated revisions made by the Tournament Directors Association. One point of contention concerned late registration. The rule reads, “Any player registering for an event after all initial tables allocated for that tournament have been filled will begin play at the start of the subsequent level.” In the WSOP Main Event, for example, that could mean a player sitting out as long as two hours, the length of one blind level.

Fans of UB.com poker bad boy Phil Hellmuth may see the 11-time bracelet winner show up on time in 2010 thanks to a rule that governs “no shows,” players who fail to show up by the start of the third level of play. The rule mandates, “These players will have their chips removed from play and will not be eligible to participate in that event. The buy-ins for ‘no shows’ will be removed from the prize pool and placed on safekeeping in that player’s name at the main WSOP registration cage after the second level of play.”

Some posters on TwoPlusTwo questioned whether the “no show” clause meant that if a player saw they had a tough table draw, they could simply un-register by not showing up. Member “pineapple888” explained the dilemma: “It seems like you can register, wander by your table an hour into the event, and if there are too many pros/tough players for your liking, or there aren't enough chips on the table, or whatever (no hot chicks at the table or railbirding), just wander away and claim your refund later without penalty.”

The action gets underway in the 2010 WSOP with the annual $500 buy-in Casino Employees No Limit Hold’em event on May 28th. Also to be held on that date is the brand new $50,000 buy-in Player’s Championship, an Eight-Game mix of Limit Hold'em, Omaha High-Low Split Eight or Better, Seven Card Razz, Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud High-Low Split Eight or Better, No Limit Hold'em, Pot Limit Omaha, and 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball. It takes the place of the $50,000 HORSE Championship, which drew a meager 95 players in 2009 after having 148 in 2008.

Also new on the docket in 2010 is a $25,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed event that starts on June 30th. Many in the industry have questioned WSOP officials introducing a richer No Limit Hold’em tournament than the Main Event, whose buy-in is only $10,000. Nevertheless, the $25,000 Six-Handed contest is sure to attract some of the top names in the worlds of live and online poker.

Check out the official 2010 WSOP rules.

Poker2Nite Welcomes CardPlayer Player of the Year Eric Baldwin (basebaldy)

Poker players traveling home on Sunday night could finally catch the latest episode of the Fox Sports Net poker news show “Poker2Nite,” sponsored by UB.com. Poker News Daily fired up our DVR to watch last week’s installment.

Coverage of the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic kicked off “Poker2Nite,” featuring interviews with Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka, Scotty Nguyen, Josh Arieh, and eventual champion Daniel Alaei. The latter earned $1.4 million for his victory, but “Poker2Nite” focused on the allegedly inappropriate behavior of Nguyen.

In a hand where Chad “lilholdem954” Batista was eliminated after not hearing an all-in and a call before he acted because he had headphones on, Nguyen began to laugh. According to Jaka, Nguyen “laugh[ed] in his face,” but the former Expekt Poker pro defended himself: “He’s the one who made the mistake, not me. I laugh because he say all-in, but I didn’t know that he didn’t know.” “Poker2Nite” host Joe Sebok responded, “I’m not buying this from Scotty anymore. He’s out of line.” Nguyen famously berated Rio floor staff and fellow players on national television during the 2008 World Series of Poker’s (WSOP) $50,000 HORSE Championship.

Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin, the winner of the 2009 CardPlayer Player of the Year title, then joined the show. On whether luck or skill played a bigger part in his run during the calendar year, Baldwin told Sebok and “Poker2Nite” co-host Scott Huff, “Obviously, I ran above expectations, but you have to play well and have luck on your side.” Down the stretch, Baldwin admitted that he focused on the factors he could control: “I tried my best not to look at what the people behind me were doing because it’s not going to help me play my hand better.”

Baldwin inked a sponsorship agreement with UB.com last week and explained that his strengths include being a good judge of people, he takes a situation for what it is, and he is able to adapt with ease. On the importance of the latter trait, Baldwin remarked, “Adaptability is just huge in poker. The game has evolved so much and you have to stay on top of it and continue trying to learn.” Baldwin won a $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event during the 2009 WSOP for his first bracelet. A week later, he took third in the $10,000 buy-in World Championship of Pot Limit Hold’em. The two cashes were worth $780,000 combined.

A segment called “All-In Blind” pitted Sebok and Huff against each other in a debate over three unknown news topics. The first focused on Darvin Moon’s tournament series at the Wheeling Island Casino. The second dealt with the 2010 WSOP schedule, which was released in recent days. The final banter was whether Isildur1 or the XFL represented the bigger flash in the pan. After being taken for more than $4 million by Brian Hastings, Isildur1 has largely disappeared.

Dana Workman doled out the “Weekly Misdeal,” offering a satirical look at the biggest poker news headlines of the week. Then, attention turned to a variety of pros shaving their heads in support of Thuy Doan, who is in the midst of a health care crisis resulting from her battle with cancer. Those who went bald included Eli Elezra, Doyle Brunson, Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi, and Doan’s boyfriend. Huff summed up the segment by saying, “We are all proud of you, Thuy.”

“Poker2Nite” airs on Wednesday nights at 11:00pm ET on Fox Sports Net. Because the show is often pre-empted for local sports and other programming, check your local listings for more information.

Poker2Nite Welcomes Poker Hall of Famer Mike Sexton

The UB.net sponsored poker news program “Poker2Nite,” which makes its home on Fox Sports Net, welcomed Mike Sexton this week. The World Poker Tour (WPT) host is also a member of the Poker Hall of Fame after being inducted one month ago.

“Poker2Nite” began with Absolute Poker pro Lacey Jones interviewing players at the WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic in Las Vegas. Among those to appear on-camera was dual World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Jeff Madsen, who told Jones, “What it comes down to is the skill level of the players, the structure is good, and the Bellagio atmosphere is good to players in general.” Jones also spoke with Robert Mizrachi and 2009 WSOP November Nine member Kevin Schaffel. The $15,000 buy-in tournament crowns a champion on Saturday.

Next up was UB.net pro Phil Hellmuth presenting Phil’s Best Blow-Ups. There are a multitude of meltdowns to choose from, but Hellmuth recapped his explosion against Cristian Dragomir during the 2008 WSOP Main Event. Dragomir called Hellmuth’s raise pre-flop with 10-4, only to flop top pair. Hellmuth explained, “Of course, this joker gets rewarded for his donkey play and that just did not sit well with me.” His tirade against Dragomir featured lines such as “He’s the worst player in history and they’re cheering” and “To you, it’s poker. To me, this is my life.”

After recapping Sexton’s Poker Hall of Fame induction ceremony, which took place during the dinner break of the 2009 WSOP Main Event, the bracelet winner joined the “Poker2Nite” crew. On being elected to the Poker Hall of Fame, Sexton told “Poker2Nite” hosts Joe Sebok and Scott Huff, “To me, it’s the ultimate career achievement award. To reach this level, it’s a pretty big honor.” Sexton was the only member of the Class of 2009 and, in order to be elected, had to receive 75% of the vote of a panel of media members and current Hall of Famers.

So-called “Sextonisms” have become a staple of modern poker lingo, but the WPT host noted that one of his favorites is, “You can only slide so far on barbed wire.” This author would have preferred “Bingo, bango, bongo,” but laughed nonetheless. Sexton also discussed PokerGives.org, which he founded along with Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Linda Johnson, Jan Fisher, and Lisa Tenner. Sexton commented, “It’ll be a way the poker world can give back to worthwhile charities.”

A new segment called Coin Flipping aired, pitting Sebok and Huff against each other to see what option had a slight mathematical edge. First up was who was the better No Limit Hold’em cash game player, Phil Ivey or Patrik Antonius. Sebok remarked, “I’m going with Phil because he looks scarier.” Also discussed was whether winning the $50,000 HORSE Championship or WSOP Main Event was more prestigious, as was whether Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin or Cornel Andrew Cimpan should be the Player of the Year. On the latter, Sebok gave his two cents: “I don’t think this one is really that close” and chose Baldwin, who effectively has already taken down the CardPlayer Player of the Year title for 2009.

Dana Workman dished out the Bluff Magazine sponsored Weekly Misdeal segment, poking fun at WSOP Main Event runner-up Darvin Moon’s conspiracy theory about ESPN crews sharing information, champion Joe Cada taking to Capitol Hill in support of the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), Montel Williams facing a lawsuit from the International Team Poker League, and Marcel Luske’s new album.

“Poker2Nite” airs on Wednesdays at 11:00pm in each market on Fox Sports Net. However, the show is often pre-empted for local sporting events, so viewers are advised to check their local listings for airtime and channel information.

2010 World Series of Poker Schedule Announced

The schedule for the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was officially announced on Thursday and features a brand new $50,000 buy-in Player’s Championship that will play out in an Eight Game format. Fifty-seven bracelets will be on the line.

The Player’s Championship is the most expensive event ever to kick off the WSOP, which is now in its 41st year. The $50,000 buy-in Player’s Championship will award the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy to its victor and feature Limit Hold’em, Omaha High-Low Split-8 or Better, Seven Card Razz, Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud High-Low Split-8 or Better, No Limit Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha, and 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball. The final table will be played solely in No Limit Hold’em and ESPN will provide television coverage of the event, which will likely bring out the very elite names in the poker community.

On the other end of the buy-in spectrum, six open $1,000 events will be held in addition to the traditional Ladies’ and Seniors’ Championships. The first five weekends of the 2010 WSOP, which begins on May 28th, will feature $1,000 buy-in tournaments. Last year, the Stimulus Special, which featured a $1,000 price tag, drew a record-setting crowd of 6,012 players to the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

The 2010 WSOP Main Event will kick off on July 5th, bucking a trend of beginning before the Fourth of July. The final table will be determined on July 17th and the third installment of the November Nine will take to the felts at the Rio from November 6th to 9th in what will likely be a similar schedule to this year. Players will purportedly be assigned a starting day for the Main Event to avoid a fiasco like the one that unfolded on Day 1D in 2009, when more than 500 poker hopefuls were shut out after the tournament reached capacity.

Without further adieu, here is the schedule of events for the 2010 WSOP. All times are local:

Fri, May 28th at 12:00pm
Event #1: Casino Employees No Limit Hold'em
$500 buy-in

Fri, May 28th at 5:00pm
Event #2: The Player's Championship
$50,000 buy-in

Sat, May 29th at 12:00pm
Event #3: No Limit Hold'em
$1,000 buy-in

Sun, May 30th at 5:00pm
Event #4: Omaha High-Low Split-8 or Better
$1,500 buy-in

Mon, May 31st at 12:00pm
Event #5: No Limit Hold'em
$1,500 buy-in

Tue, Jun 1st at 12:00pm
Event #6: No Limit Hold'em Shootout (2,000 players max)
$5,000 buy-in

Tue, Jun 1st at 5:00pm
Event #7: 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball (Limit)
$2,500 buy-in

Wed, Jun 2nd at 12:00pm
Event #8: No Limit Hold’em
$1,500 buy-in

Thu, Jun 3rd at 12:00pm
Event #9: Pot Limit Hold'em
$1,500 buy-in

Thu, Jun 3rd at 5:00pm
Event #10: Seven Card Stud Championship
$10,000 buy-in

Fri, Jun 4th at 11:00am
Event #11: No Limit Hold'em
$1,500 buy-in

Fri, Jun 4th at 11:00am
Event #12: Limit Hold’em
$1,500 buy-in

Sat, Jun 5th at 11:00am
Event #13: No Limit Hold’em
$1,000 buy-in

Sat, Jun 5th at 5:00pm
Event #14: 2-7 Draw Lowball (No Limit)
$1,500 buy-in

Sun, Jun 6th at 5:00pm
Event #15: Seven Card Stud High-Low Split-8 or Better Championship
$10,000 buy-in

Mon, Jun 7th at 12:00pm
Event #16: No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed
$1,500 buy-in

Tue, Jun 8th at 12:00pm
Event #17: No Limit Hold'em
$5,000 buy-in

Wed, Jun 9th at 12:00pm
Event #18: Limit Hold'em
$2,000 buy-in

Wed, Jun 9th at 5:00pm
Event #19: 2-7 Draw Lowball Championship (No Limit)
$10,000 buy-in

Thu, Jun 10th at 12:00pm
Event #20: Pot Limit Omaha
$1,500 buy-in

Thu, Jun 10th at 5:00pm
Event #21: Seven Card Stud
$1,500 buy-in

Fri, Jun 11th at 12:00pm
Event #22: Ladies No Limit Hold’em Championship
$1,000 buy-in

Fri, Jun 11th at 5:00pm
Event #23: Limit Hold'em Six-Handed
$2,500 buy-in

Sat, Jun 12th at 12:00pm
Event #24: No Limit Hold’em
$1,000 buy-in

Sat, Jun 12th at 5:00pm
Event #25: Omaha High-Low Split-8 or Better Championship
$10,000 buy-in

Mon, Jun 14th at 12:00pm
Event #26: No Limit Hold'em Six-Handed
$2,500 buy-in

Mon, Jun 14th at 5:00pm
Event #27: Seven Card Stud High-Low-8 or Better
$1,500 buy-in

Tue, Jun 15th at 12:00pm
Event #28: Pot Limit Omaha
$2,500 buy-in

Tue, Jun 15th at 5:00pm
Event #29: Limit Hold'em Championship
$10,000 buy-in

Wed, Jun 16th at 12:00pm
Event #30: No Limit Hold’em
$1,500 buy-in

Wed, Jun 16th at 5:00pm
Event #31: HORSE
$1,500 buy-in

Thu, Jun 17th at 12:00pm
Event #32: No Limit Hold'em Six-Handed
$5,000 buy-in

Thu, Jun 17th at 5:00pm
Event #33: Pot Limit Hold'em/Omaha
$2,500 buy-in

Fri, Jun 18th at 12:00pm
Event #34: Seniors No Limit Hold’em Championship
$1,000 buy-in

Fri, Jun 18th at 5:00pm
Event #35: Heads-Up No Limit Hold'em Championship (256 player max)
$10,000 buy-in

Sat, Jun 19th at 12:00pm
Event #36: No Limit Hold’em
$1,000 buy-in

Sat, Jun 19th at 5:00pm
Event #37: HORSE
$3,000 buy-in

Sun, Jun 20th at 5:00pm
Event #38: Pot Limit Hold'em Championship
$10,000 buy-in

Mon, Jun 21st at 12:00pm
Event #39: No Limit Hold'em Shootout (2,000 player max)
$1,500 buy-in

Mon, Jun 21st at 5:00pm
Event #40: Seven Card Razz
$2,500 buy-in

Tue, Jun 22nd at 12:00pm
Event #41: Pot Limit Omaha High-Low Split-8 or Better
$1,500 buy-in

Wed, Jun 23rd at 12:00pm
Event #42: No Limit Hold’em
$1,500 buy-in

Wed, Jun 23rd at 5:00pm
Event #43: HORSE Championship
$10,000 buy-in

Thu, Jun 24th at 12:00pm
Event #44: Mixed Hold'em (Limit/No Limit)
$2,500 buy-in

Fri, Jun 25th at 12:00pm
Event #45: No Limit Hold’em
$1,500 buy-in

Fri, Jun 25th at 5:00pm
Event #46: Pot Limit Omaha High-Low Split-8 or Better
$5,000 buy-in

Sat, Jun 26th at 12:00pm
Event #47: No Limit Hold’em
$1,000 buy-in

Sat, Jun 26th at 5:00pm
Event #48: Mixed Event
$2,500 buy-in

Mon, Jun 28th at 12:00pm
Event #49: No Limit Hold'em
$1,500 buy-in

Mon, Jun 28th at 5:00pm
Event #50: Pot Limit Omaha
$5,000 buy-in

Tue, Jun 29th at 12:00pm
Event #51: Triple Chance No Limit Hold’em
$3,000 buy-in

Wed, Jun 30th at 12:00pm
Event #52: No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed
$25,000 buy-in

Wed, Jun 30th at 5:00pm
Event #53: Limit Hold’em Shootout
$1,500 buy-in

Thu, Jul 1st at 12:00pm
Event #54: No Limit Hold’em
$1,000 buy-in

Thu, Jul 1st at 5:00pm
Event #55: Pot Limit Omaha Championship
$10,000 buy-in

Fri, Jul 2nd at 5:00pm
Event #56: No Limit Hold’em
$2,500 buy-in

Sat, Jul 3rd at 2:00pm
Ante Up For Africa Poker Tournament
$5,000 buy-in

2010 WSOP Main Event:
July 5th: Day 1A
July 6th: Day 1B
July 7th: Day 1C
July 8th: Day 1D
July 9th: Day 2A
July 10th: Day 2B
July 11th: Media Event
July 12th: Day 3
July 13th: Day 4
July 14th: Day 5
July 15th: Day 6
July 16th: Day 7
July 17th: Day 8
November 6th to 9th: Final Table

2010 WSOP Schedule Leaked, Features Eight $1,000 Events

In posts that appeared on the online poker forums PocketFives.com and TwoPlusTwo.com, a preliminary 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) schedule may have been leaked. The link to the schedule has since been removed.

A total of 57 events are on the docket for the festivities at the Rio in Las Vegas in 2010, the same number that panned out this year. In 2009, one open $1,000 buy-in event was held, the so-called “Stimulus Special.” The schedule leaked this week, however, includes six $1,000 buy-in open events, which, when combined with the Ladies’ and Seniors’ Championships, bring the grand total to eight.

Absent from the leaked schedule is the $50,000 buy-in HORSE Championship, which may instead come with a $10,000 price in 2010. Last year, David Bach defeated a field of 95 players in the $50,000 buy-in version to the tune of $1.2 million. The year before, Scotty Nguyen barreled through a 148 player field to come out on top in dubious fashion, as he was allegedly inebriated at the final table. The 2010 schedule instead features a yet-to-be-described $50,000 buy-in event called “The Player’s World Championship.” Some posters have speculated that this would take on the form of a seven or eight-game mix.

Following a trend that has appeared in events like the Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) and PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP), a high-stakes six-handed tournament may be on the docket for this year’s WSOP. The leaked schedule includes a $25,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed event beginning on June 30th that would likely produce one of the most competitive fields of all-time.

Here is the schedule leaked to major online poker forums. Note that WSOP officials have released no official information; the 2009 slate of events was divulged in January:

Friday, May 28th
Event #1: Casino Employees No Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $500

Friday, May 28th
Event #2: The Player’s World Championship
No Rebuy/Add-ons $50,000

Saturday, May 29th
Event #3: No Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,000

Sunday, May 30th
Event #4: Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Monday, May 31st
Event #5: No Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Tuesday, June 1st
Event #7: 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball
No Rebuy/Add-ons $2,500

Tuesday, June 1st
Event #6: No Limit Hold’em Shootout
No Rebuy/Add-ons $5,000

Wednesday, June 2nd
Event #8: No Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Thursday, June 3rd
Event #9: Pot Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Thursday, June 3rd
Event #10: World Championship Seven Card Stud
No Rebuy/Add-ons $10,000

Friday, June 4th
Event #11: No Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Friday, June 4th
Event #12: Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Saturday, June 5th
Event #13: No Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,000

Saturday, June 5th
Event #14: 2-7 Draw Lowball
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Sunday, June 6th
Event #15: World Championship Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split
No Rebuy/Add-ons $10,000

Monday, June 7th
Event #16: No Limit Hold’em/Six-Handed
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Tuesday, June 8th
Event #17: No Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $5,000

Wednesday, June 9th
Event #18: Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $2,000

Wednesday, June 9th
Event #19: World Championship 2-7 Draw Lowball
No Rebuy/Add-ons $10,000

Thursday, June 10th
Event #20: Pot Limit Omaha
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Thursday, June 10th
Event #21: Seven Card Stud
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Friday, June 11th
Event #22: Ladies No Limit Hold’em World Championship
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,000

Friday, June 11th
Event #23: Limit Hold’em/Six-Handed
No Rebuy/Add-ons $2,500

Saturday, June 12th
Event #24: No Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,000

Saturday, June 12th
Event #25: World Championship Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better
No Rebuy/Add-ons $10,000

Monday, June 14th
Event #26: No Limit Hold’em/Six-Handed
No Rebuy/Add-ons $2,500

Monday, June 14th
Event #27: Seven Card Stud Hi-Low 8 or Better
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Tuesday, June 15th
Event #28: Pot Limit Omaha
No Rebuy/Add-ons $2,500

Tuesday, June 15th
Event #29: World Championship Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $10,000

Wednesday, June 16th
Event #30: No Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Wednesday, June 16th
Event #31: H.O.R.S.E.
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Thursday, June 17th
Event #32: No Limit Hold’em/Six-Handed
No Rebuy/Add-ons $5,000

Thursday, June 17th
Event #33: Pot Limit Hold’em/Omaha
No Rebuy/Add-ons $2,500

Friday, June 18th
Event #34: Seniors No Limit Hold’em Championship
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,000

Friday, June 18th
Event #35: World Championship Heads-Up No Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $10,000

Saturday, June 19th
Event #36: No Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,000

Saturday, June 19th
Event #37: H.O.R.S.E.
No Rebuy/Add-ons $3,000

Sunday, June 20th
Event #38: World Championship Pot Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $10,000

Monday, June 21st
Event #39: No Limit Hold’em Shootout
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Monday, June 21st
Event #40: Seven Card Razz
No Rebuy/Add-ons $2,500

Tuesday, June 22nd
Event #41: Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Wednesday, June 23rd
Event #42: No Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Wednesday, June 23rd
Event #43: World Championship H.O.R.S.E.
No Rebuy/Add-ons $10,000

Thursday, June 24th
Event #44: Mixed Hold’em (Limit/No Limit)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $2,500

Friday, June 25th
Event #45: No Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Friday, June 25th
Event #46: Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better
No Rebuy/Add-ons $5,000

Saturday, June 26th
Event #47: No Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,000

Saturday, June 26th
Event #48: Mixed Event
No Rebuy/Add-ons $2,500

Monday, June 28th
Event #49: No Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Monday, June 28th
Event #50: Pot Limit Omaha
No Rebuy/Add-ons $5,000

Tuesday, June 29th
Event #51: Triple Chance No Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $3,000

Wednesday, June 30th
Event #52: No Limit Hold’em/Six-Handed
No Rebuy/Add-ons $25,000

Wednesday, June 30th
Event #53: Limit Hold’em Shootout
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Thursday, July 1st
Event #54: No Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,000

Thursday, July 1st
Event #55: World Championship Pot Limit Omaha
No Rebuy/Add-ons $10,000

Friday, July 2nd
Event #56: No Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $2,500

Monday, July 5th
Event #57: World Championship No Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $10,000

Poker2Nite Debuts on Fox Sports Net

Wednesday night marked the first episode of the UB.net poker news show “Poker2Nite.” The new franchise stars PokerRoad personalities Joe Sebok and Scott Huff and airs at 11:00pm ET on Wednesdays on Fox Sports Net.

Last night’s show began with a discussion of the major news item of the week, the win by Joe Cada in the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. Cada became the youngest champion ever of the $10,000 buy-in feature tournament at age 21 and turned 22 on November 18th. In the final hand of the tournament, which was replayed on “Poker2Nite,” Cada shoved with pocket nines and Maryland logger Darvin Moon made the call for his tournament life with Q-J of diamonds. The two were off to the races with $3 million in real money on the line. In the end, Cada emerged victorious. He told “Poker2Nite’s” Lacey Jones after play had concluded, “I knew the odds of winning it were a long shot.”

Huff gave his take on the emergence of Cada: “The kid immediately goes out and does a lot of live interviews. He’s accepted a number of mainstream media appearances and it feels like he’s ready to step into the spotlight and be an ambassador for the game.” Huff and Sebok then debated whether it was fair that the winner of the Main Event had a “job” to promote the game. Sebok stated, “It’s an opportunity. I would snatch up that job in a second.” Sebok took 56th in the 2009 Main Event, earning $108,000.

Attention then turned to the departure of WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack, who resigned from his post just days after Cada was crowned the newest World Champion. Pollack’s legacy includes the introduction of the $50,000 buy-in HORSE Championship, the November Nine, and a reduction in the number of player complaints. Sebok, who was one of several pros who weighed in following Pollack’s departure on social media sites like Twitter, told “Poker2Nite” viewers, “Jeffrey Pollack definitely changed the game for the better.”

UB.net logos appeared in the background and in commercials during each break. The new site was launched earlier this week replacing Ultimate Bet, which was long known by the two-letter acronym. “Poker2Nite” is featured on the front page of UB.net and UB.com and a press release announcing the new site called the series “a new television show that is truly about poker, not just another reality or game show.” Huff and Sebok are veterans of the media side of poker through their work with PokerRoad Radio. Both bring an energetic demeanor to the silver screen and looked at home in front of Fox Sports Net television cameras.

Dana Workman, who has appeared in various sitcoms on ABC and FOX, gave her Weekly Misdeal and Huff and Sebok examined which fans at the tournament in Las Vegas were the rowdiest. Cada’s won the contest, as the youngster’s cheering section came decked out in yellow shirts and screamed loudly throughout the marathon festivities. The younger age of Cada’s fans may have contributed to their excitement, as supporters of Antoine Saout and Steven Begleiter, who were dressed in blue, appeared to be of an older age.

Joining the show as its first guest was San Jose native and ESPN poker announcer Lon McEachern, about whom Huff jokingly claimed, “I brought him on to force him to pass the torch.” McEachern, who first broadcasted the WSOP on ESPN in 2002 alongside Gabe Kaplan, told “Poker2Nite” fans, “It’s an event now. To have that many people watching nine guys sit and play cards was incredible. To come from the obscure beginnings to where it is now has been the ride of a lifetime.”

In addition to its 11:00am ET debut each Wednesday night, “Poker2Nite” re-airs on Thursdays at 4:00pm ET and Fridays at 11:00am ET and 6:00pm ET. Check local listings for full details.

2010 LA Poker Classic Schedule Released

Details of the upcoming Los Angeles Poker Classic (LAPC) at the Commerce Casino have been released and the 50-event series appears to offer a little something for everyone.  In addition to the World Poker Tour (WPT) LAPC Main Event and the WPT Celebrity Invitational, the Commerce Casino will play host to a number of other events, including the first-ever U.S.-based Badugi tournament and an Ironman event, in which players compete in a tournament with no breaks and no deals.

In 2009, newly hired Tournament Director Matt Savage added events to the already ample LAPC schedule, including $10,000 buy-in HORSE and Heads-up contests.  Scotty Nguyen took down the HORSE event, while Full Tilt Poker pro Vivek “Psyduck” Rajkumar won the double elimination Heads-Up tournament.  Both of these $10,000 events will be back in 2010, as will a $25,100 buy-in High Rollers event set to take place on February 28th.

The series, which runs from January 21st through March 4th, will kick off with a $335 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event with a whopping $1 million guarantee.  A similar event was held during the Commerce Hold’em series in September.  The tournament featured a $220 buy-in and easily eclipsed its $500,000 guarantee after nearly 4,000 people showed up to play.  The LAPC version will offer three different starting days and, in a unique twist, should a player bust out on Day 1A or Day 1B, they are allowed to come back the following starting day, buy back in, and start all over again.

Other new events on tap for the series include the first ever Badugi tournament held in a U.S. casino, a Chinese Poker event, a $1,065 No Limit Hold’em event with rebuys, and Savage’s latest concoction, an Ironman event.  The Ironman tournament has no scheduled breaks, gives 50% of its prize pool to first place, and explicitly forbids any deal making at the final table.  Commerce ran its first Ironman tournament in September and drew a field of 64 players.  The event lasted for over 19 hours and was eventually won by Brett Radin.  Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin also made the final table, finishing in sixth place.

The WPT Celebrity Invitational typically takes place after the LAPC Main Event has wrapped up, but this year, the fun-filled freeroll event will run on February 20th and 21st before taking a break to film the final table on March 3rd.  The $10,000 buy-in Main Event will take place from February 26th to March 4th.  Last year’s Main Event drew a field of 696.

Here is the complete schedule of events for the upcoming LAPC. All events drawing more than 100 players will be two-day events unless otherwise noted and all times are local.

1/21 – 1pm: $335No Limit Hold’em (Day 1a), $1,000,000 guarantee
1/22 – 1pm: $335No Limit Hold’em (Day 1b), $1,000,000 guarantee
1/23 – 1pm: $335No Limit Hold’em (Day 1c), $1,000,000 guarantee
1/24 – 1pm: $335 No Limit Hold’em, $100,000 guarantee
1/25 – 1pm: $545 No Limit Hold’em
1/25 – 4pm: $335 7 Card Stud, $50,000 guarantee
1/26 – 1pm: $335 No Limit Hold’em Shootout (1 Day Event)
1/26 – 4pm: $335 Omaha H/L, $50,000 guarantee
1/27 – 1pm: $545 No Limit Hold’em, $10,000 seat added
1/27 – 4pm: $335 Stud H/L
1/28 – 1pm: $545 Omaha H/L and Stud H/L
1/29 – 1pm: $545 6-Handed No Limit Hold’em
1/30 – 1pm: $335 No Limit Hold’em w/ rebuys, $250,000 guarantee
1/30 – 4pm: $545 HORSE
1/31 – 1pm: $545 No Limit Hold’em, $200,000
2/1 – 1pm: $335 No Limit Hold’em
2/2 – 1pm: $545 No Limit Hold’em
2/3 – 1pm: $335 6-Handed No Limit Hold’em
2/4 – 1pm: $335 Heads-Up (Single Elimination – 256 Max), $10,000 seat added
2/5 – 1pm: $220 No Limit Hold’em (Day 1a), $250,000 guarantee
2/6 – 1pm: $220 No Limit Hold’em (Day 1b), $250,000 guarantee
2/7 – 1pm: $335 Double Stack No Limit Hold’em
2/8 – 1pm: $545 No Limit Hold’em
2/9 – 1pm: $335 No Limit Hold’em
2/9 – 4pm: $545 Omaha H/L
2/10 – 1pm: $1,065 No Limit Hold’em
2/10 – 4pm: $545 Stud H/L
2/11 – 1pm: $545 No Limit Hold’em, $10,000 seat added
2/11 – 4pm: $1,065 6-Handed No Limit Hold’em
2/12 – 1pm: $545 Limit Hold’em
2/12 – 4pm and 8pm: $230 Megasatellite for $1K Rebuy
2/13 – 1pm: $1,065 No Limit Hold’em w/ rebuys, $1,000,000 guarantee
2/14 – 1pm: $335 No Limit Hold’em w/ Knockout Bounty, $100,000 guarantee
2/14 – 4pm: $1,065 2-7 Triple Draw
2/15 – 1pm: $1,585 No Limit Hold’em
2/15 – 4pm: $1,065 8 Game Mix
2/16 – 1pm: $335 No Limit Hold’em
2/16 – 4pm: $1,065 Badugi
2/16 – 8pm: $1,050 Megasatellite to $10,000 HORSE
2/17 – 1pm: $1,065 HORSE
2/17 – 4pm: $1,585 Chinese Poker ½ High ½ Low (1 Day Event)
2/17 – 8pm: $1,050 Mega satellite to $10,000 HORSE
2/18 – 1pm: $1,065 No Limit Hold’em (6-Handed at 36 players)
2/18 – 4pm: $10,000 Commerce HORSE Championship (3 Day Event)
2/19 – 1pm: $335 No Limit Hold’em Shootout, $100,000 guarantee (1 Day Event)
2/19 – 4pm: $1,065 6-Handed Pot Limit Omaha w/ rebuys
2/20 – 8pm: WPT Celebrity Invitational Day 1
2/21 – 1pm: WPT Celebrity Invitational Day 2
2/21 – 1pm: $460 Ironman Turbo Megasatellite
2/21 – 4pm: $2,100 No Limit Hold’em Ironman Event, $10,000 seat added
2/21 – 8pm: $1,300 Heads-up Championship 8-Handed Qualifiers
2/22 – 1pm: $335 No Limit Hold’em, $200,000 guarantee
2/22 – 4pm: $3,085 6-Handed No Limit Hold’em
2/22 – 8pm: $2,550 Heads-up Championship 4-Handed Qualifiers
2/23 – 1pm: $1,065 No Limit Hold’em
2/23 – 4pm: $10,000 Commerce Heads-up Championship, $10,000 seat added
2/23 – 8pm: $1,050 LAPC Main Event Megasatellite
2/24 – 1pm: $545 No Limit Hold’em Shootout (1 Day Event)
2/24 – 4pm: $5,100 No Limit Hold’em
2/24 – 8pm: $1,050 LAPC Main Event Megasatellite
2/25 – 11am, 3:30pm, and 8pm: $1,050 LAPC Main Event Megasatellite
2/26 – 12pm: $10,000 LAPC Main Event Day 1
2/27 – 12pm: $10,000 LAPC Main Event Day 2
2/28 – 12pm: $10,000 LAPC Main Event Day 3
2/28 – 4pm: $25,100 Commerce High Rollers Event
3/1 – 12pm: $10,000 LAPC Main Event Day 4
3/2 – 12pm: $10,000 LAPC Main Event Day 5
3/3 – 4pm: WPT Celebrity Invitational Final Table Taping
3/4 – 4pm: LAPC Main Event Final Table Taping

Face the Ace: Charles Campbell, Will Liberman One and Done

The Halloween installment of the NBC poker franchise “Face the Ace” saw two contestants go one and done. Savannah firefighter Charles Campbell and cell phone salesman Will Liberman both failed to win $40,000.

Campbell, whose initials affectionately earned him the nickname “CC,” donned a jacket that said, “Face the Ace? I am the Ace” on the back. Campbell selected the ace of spades and, desiring to face Mike Matusow, watched as Phil Gordon emerged. Each player received 20,000 in chips and blinds began at 200/400. The match saw small-ball poker played, as Campbell and Gordon both carefully guarded their chip stacks. In one hand, Campbell called pre-flop with pocket sevens and Gordon made it 2,400 with pocket eights. Campbell pushed it to 5,400 and Gordon shoved all-in for 17,400. Campbell tanked before electing to fold face up and Gordon commented, “That was a great laydown,” showing the higher pocket pair.

Campbell doubled through Gordon holding A-K, including the king of clubs, against K-10. With the studio audience of about two-dozen gathering in wait, the flop came J-2-A with two clubs. The turn was the queen of clubs, giving Gordon the nut straight, but another club on the river improved Campbell to a flush. However, the challenger would drop most of his chips back to the pro when his A-Q could not hold up against Gordon’s Q-10. Gordon flopped top pair on a 4-10-3 board and quickly pushed. Given the number of chips in the pot, Campbell called with ace-high. The board ran out 7-2, giving Gordon all but 400 of the 40,000 chips in play, or 99%.

Campbell doubled up from 400 to 800 before ultimately falling with J-7 to Gordon’s K-5 of diamonds. The board came 6-8-3-9-9 and Gordon earned $10,000 for his charity, PreventCancer.org. He agreed to place the grant to the organization in Campbell’s mother’s name, as she is a two-time cancer survivor. Host Steve Schirripa, of “The Sopranos” fame, applauded the gesture.

The second contestant to take to the “Face the Ace” stage in Las Vegas was Liberman, who hails from Atlanta after moving from Russia a decade ago. Liberman selected the ace of clubs and faced Erick Lindgren, who, like Gordon, was making his second appearance on the poker television show. Lindgren was the 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Player of the Year after earning his first bracelet in the $5,000 buy-in Mixed Hold’em event. He also took third in that year’s $50,000 buy-in HORSE Championship for $781,000.

In a key hand, Lindgren made the call pre-flop with 7-4 of spades and Liberman raised to 1,200 with K-Q. Lindgren obliged and the flop came 6-7-Q, giving both players a pair. The action, however, went check-check to another seven on the turn, improving Lindgren to trips. Lindgren led out for 1,500 and Liberman called to see a king on the river. Liberman checked, Lindgren bet 3,800, and Liberman called with top two pair, shipping a pot of 13,000 to “E-Dog.”

In the match’s final encounter, Liberman called with 7-4 of spades hoping to get lucky with the same hand as Lindgren did and the pro checked his option with 10-8. The flop came J-8-2 with two spades and Liberman pushed for his last 3,500 in chips. Lindgren called and the turn and river blanked out. Lindgren earned $10,000 for his charity, giving the pros a sweep of the “Face the Ace” Full Tilt Poker qualifiers for the first time this season.

“Face the Ace” will return on Saturday, November 14th at 3:00pm ET on NBC. The series will then air one month later on December 14th, also at 3:00pm ET, and then on January 2nd at 2:30pm ET.

Mike Matusow, Mark Seif atop WPT Festa al Lago Leaderboard

The World Poker Tour (WPT) kicked into action once again on Wednesday with the first five rounds of play in the 2009 Festa al Lago Championship Event, a $15,000 buy-in tournament at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.

The Festa al Lago, the fourth stop on the Season 8 schedule for the WPT, was in danger of being one of the lowest attended events since the inception of the tour. During much of Festa al Lago schedule at the Bellagio, tournaments were significantly smaller than in past years due to the continuing strains of the economy on the bankrolls of some of the biggest players in the game. For example, Full Tilt Poker’s head man Howard Lederer was able to capture the $5,000 Festa al Lago HORSE Championship, but the field only contained 19 players and paid the top three. Thus, there was a great deal of concern when the cards hit the air at Noon local time on Wednesday.

As play began, the original registration list only contained 179 entrants after the first half-level of play. It was decided at this point by Bellagio and WPT officials to introduce a radical remedy to accommodate for the largest field possible: late registrations would be extended until the end of the eighth level of play, meaning that the true field size would not be known until around 5:00pm on Thursday. Therefore, the players in the field on Wednesday, set to play five levels in the Fontana Lounge at the Bellagio, wouldn’t truly know the field size until the next day.

This extension of the registration, the latest it has ever gone in a major poker tournament, introduced some new challenges to the players who were already in the event. Instead of chipping down players who register late, anyone who buys in prior to the end of Level 8 will receive a full complement of chips (60,000, or four times the buy-in).

With the announcement of late registration, many players decided to wait until Thursday to step into the fray at the Festa al Lago. Ultimate Bet’s Phil Hellmuth, after hearing of the late registration rules, decided not to show up to the first day of action at the Bellagio and will wait until Thursday to mount his assault on the WPT title. Even without “The Poker Brat” on the felt, 244 players were accounted for by the end of the day and every table was a minefield of top professionals.

Top pros who started the day on Wednesday, but were unable to stick around for its entirety, included the Mizrachi brothers (Michael and Robert), David Benyamine, Joe Sebok, and PokerStars’ Daniel Negreanu. Making his first appearance at a poker tournament since he made the WSOP “November Nine,” Phil Ivey patiently played through the day and will start on Thursday with slightly over 83,000 in chips. He will be a part of the 195 survivors of the first five levels who will be chasing top players Mike Matusow (224,000) and Mark Seif (222,000).

Satellites continued to run through the early morning hours at the Bellagio to create the largest field possible and will probably be in action right up to the final gun. Poker News Daily will have all the information, including the final count on Thursday, as the WPT’s Festa al Lago plays down to a champion on October 26th.

Mike Sexton Elected to Poker Hall of Fame

The 38th person elected into the Poker Hall of Fame is none other than PartyPoker Ambassador and Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Mike Sexton. He will be enshrined as part of ceremonies to be held on November 7th.

2009 marks the 30th anniversary of the Poker Hall of Fame. This year, nine finalists were up for nomination to the Hall, with a panel of 15 living Hall of Fame members and 15 media representatives (including this author) determining the fate of the 2009 class. Sexton was the only one that I felt was a shoe-in for election, as 75% of the 30-member vote was required in order to capture one of poker’s most prestigious accolades. A press release distributed by World Series of Poker (WSOP) officials properly labeled Sexton “a true gentleman who has constantly enhanced the game of poker both with his play at the tables and his promotion of the game off of it.”

Ballots were due on October 2nd, with each person able to vote for up to three candidates for the 2009 class. This author selected Sexton, Tom McEvoy, and Dan Harrington, the three elder statesmen on the 2009 ballot. Other nominees included November Nine member Phil Ivey, “The Robin Hood of Poker” Barry Greenstein, “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge” lead man Daniel Negreanu, Men “The Master” Nguyen, WSOP Main Event and HORSE Championship winner Scotty Nguyen, and eight-time bracelet holder Erik Seidel.

The list of Poker Hall of Fame members reads like a roll call of poker legends: Doyle Brunson (inducted in 1988), Johnny Chan (2002), Phil Hellmuth (2007), Stu Ungar (2001), Chip Reese (1991), and Barbara Enright (2007), just to name a few. Now, Sexton’s name will be added to this illustrious list. In a press release distributed by PartyPoker, Sexton commented, “I am deeply honored to be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame and it is particularly special because for the first time it was a process that involved the fans, the media, and the living members of the Hall of Fame. To me, the most meaningful aspect of this process was the acceptance by the living Hall of Famers, who welcomed me into their exclusive club.”

One of Sexton’s most impressive feats was taking down the 2006 WSOP Tournament of Champions, which saw the new Poker Hall of Fame member best a final table that included Daniel Negreanu, Mike Matusow, Andy Black, and Chris Ferguson. Sexton earned $1 million for the victory and, according to WSOP officials, donated half of his prize money to charity. His lone WSOP bracelet came in 1989, when the World Poker Tour (WPT) host outlasted a field of 174 players to win a $1,500 buy-in Limit Seven Card Stud High-Low event. He has reached the final table in 20 of the 47 WSOP events he’s entered, a 43% success rate.

Sexton is the voice that many in the industry “grew up to” following the poker boom in 2003 and was instrumental in bringing the WPT to life. Sexton sat, and continues to sit, alongside Vince Van Patten on WPT broadcasts, popularizing the notion that Texas Hold’em takes “a minute to learn and a lifetime to master.” He represents one of the few constants in an industry constantly in flux and had the backing of a bevy of influential industry veterans in his push for the Poker Hall of Fame, including Howard Lederer, Annie Duke, Steve Lipscomb, Linda Johnson, Jan Fisher, Padraig Parkinson, Matt Savage, Roland de Wolfe, and an army of public relations staffers at PartyPoker.

To me, one of the most defining acts for Sexton was when he took on a lead role to campaign on behalf of players shut out of the 2009 WSOP Main Event after Day 1D had reached capacity. Sexton joined forces with “Captain” Tom Franklin to present WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack options to accommodate players. Sexton, curiously, had little to gain from taking an active role in the situation, as he had already played on Day 1A and survived with an average chip stack. The situation manifested Sexton’s stature within the industry and is one of the many reasons we will look forward to welcoming him into the Poker Hall of Fame in November.

Matt Glantz Wins PokerStars EPT London High Roller Event

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ESPN’s Andrew Feldman Reviews Poker Hall of Fame Candidates

On Friday, ballots were due for the 2009 Poker Hall of Fame class. A total of nine players were considered for enshrinement and among those voting alongside this author was ESPN.com Poker Editor Andrew Feldman, who shared his thoughts on each nominee.

Barry Greenstein owns three World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets and has established himself as one of the game’s top all-around players. He’s also been actively involved off the felts, raising money for charity with regularity. On Greenstein, Feldman noted, “Barry’s pros are being one of the top cash game payers in the world and having a tournament resume to back it up. On top of that, he does a lot for charity and has been a great ambassador for the poker world.” Whether Greenstein’s accolades are enough to land him in the Poker Hall of Fame in the November 7th ceremonies remains to be seen.

“Action” Dan Harrington quite literally wrote the book on poker. Without Harrington, one wonders whether any of us would be where we are today. Feldman commented, “Without Dan Harrington, the newest crop of poker players would be sitting in the dark. There have been books written by a multitude of authors, but no one could do what Harrington did by creating a poker bible and putting theories into easy-to-understand terms.” Harrington took down the WSOP Main Event in 1995.

Two of the game’s younger players, November Nine member Phil Ivey and Team PokerStars Pro member Daniel Negreanu, have sparked a considerable amount of controversy as to whether they have “stood the test of time,” one factor required for Hall of Fame enshrinement. Feldman remarked, “I believe age is a factor, but it shouldn’t be the deciding factor. Ivey and Negreanu have unbelievable poker resumes and they’re both some of the best players in the game right now, but they need to play out a full career.” Ivey’s first WSOP cash came in 2000, while Negreanu’s was in 1998.

Scotty Nguyen is one of the most recognizable names in the world of poker and took down the $50,000 buy-in HORSE event during the 2008 WSOP. However, he was allegedly inebriated during its final table, telling off competitors and Rio officials on national television. Feldman noted, “Scotty has perhaps the best accomplishment ever by winning the Main Event and $50,000 HORSE Championship. At times he can be disrespectful, but with a player like Scotty who has a great resume, does one misstep offset his entire career?”

Another controversial nominee is Men “The Master” Nguyen. He boasts 65 in the money finishes in WSOP events, good for the second most all-time, and owns six bracelets. Feldman explained what may keep Nguyen out of the Poker Hall of Fame in 2009: “Being second in career cashes all-time means he’s stood the test of time. He’s also certainly played for high-stakes. Whether the industry respects him will determine his fate this time around.”

Full Tilt Poker pro Erik Seidel is also a candidate for the Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2009. Seidel owns eight WSOP bracelets, good for fifth all-time, and owns more than $4 million in earnings from World Series felts alone. Feldman painted a picture of Seidel’s image: “He, single-handedly by being in ‘Rounders,’ has changed the industry. The problem is that you go from bracelets to ‘Rounders’ and a lot of people don’t give him the respect he deserves.” “Rounders,” which starred Edward Norton and Matt Damon, was released in 1998 and turned many on to the world of high-stakes No Limit Texas Hold’em.

Tom McEvoy is fresh off taking down the WSOP Champions Invitational, a tournament that aired on ESPN. Twenty former Main Event winners competed and, at the end of the day, McEvoy reclaimed the poker spotlight. Feldman explained, “McEvoy has changed the game in great ways and has been involved for the last 30 years. He’s authored some great books and has a great resume. For him, along with Dan Harrington and Erik Seidel, they need to get the full respect of the poker community.” McEvoy has received the backing of PokerStars for his Poker Hall of Fame run.

The final candidate for the 2009 Poker Hall of Fame class is World Poker Tour (WPT) Host Mike Sexton. A former bracelet winner and PartyPoker pro, Sexton is one of the game’s top ambassadors and a Guest Columnist on Poker News Daily. Feldman remarked, “Mike Sexton has done everything above and beyond throughout his career. While many would believe he is the ultimate face of poker, they also have to understand that he’s done more on the felt as well. While Sexton is a shoe-in, stranger things have happened.” Sexton led the charge for a group of 500 players shut out of the WSOP Main Event on Day 1D despite having played on Day 1A.

The Poker Hall of Fame induction ceremonies will take place on November 7th during the WSOP Main Event final table. You can catch Feldman on ESPN.com’s “Inside Deal,” which is released every Tuesday.

Poker Hall of Fame: Reaction to Changes in 2009 Ballot

Last week, Harrah’s, the World Series of Poker (WSOP), and the Poker Hall of Fame Governing Council announced the final list of players to be considered for induction into the Hall this fall. What was originally a 10-man list was chopped to nine when online sensation Tom “durrrr” Dwan was left off because, in the Governing Council’s opinion, Dwan fell short of the “standing the test of time” criteria for Hall consideration. This has brought out differing opinions among some in the world of poker.

“I’d say that an age limit is reasonable,” longtime poker writer Ashley Adams stated to Poker News Daily. “There have to be some criteria - a minimum number of tournaments or dollars won would be reasonable - when it comes to deciding on nominees. I don’t think there should be a minimum number nominated, though. It should depend on the quality of the field.” David Apostolico, who authored two books such as “Machiavellian Poker Strategy” and “Tournament Poker and The Art of War,” said “it made sense” to leave Dwan off of the final nominees list. “No question ‘durrrr’ is a tremendous player,” Apostolico explained, “but the qualifications speak directly to longevity.”

Pamela Brunson, the daughter of poker legend Doyle Brunson (who has a vote for the new members of the Hall of Fame) and a highly respected player in her own right, echoes the thoughts of Adams and Apostolico: “I don’t think ‘durrrr’ should be inducted the Poker Hall of Fame yet. He’s a great player, but hasn’t been around long enough.” Poker News Daily’s Dan Cypra, who also owns a vote on the new Hall of Fame members, thought the issue would have solved itself in the voting. “Other members of the Committee I had spoken to were not considering Tom Dwan anyway… signaling out Dwan (by leaving him off the ballot) when he likely would not have received votes was a bit surprising.”

The question as to the “electability” of a quartet of players - Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey, Men “The Master” Nguyen, and Scotty Nguyen - has also raised several points of contention. Some feel that Negreanu and Ivey, despite their youth (Negreanu is 35, Ivey is 33), more than deserve their nominations. In addition, others think that baggage may drag down the two Nguyens and prevent their election to the Hall of Fame.

“Phil Ivey is definitely going down as one of the best overall players of all-time and Daniel Negreanu has done so much for poker,” Brunson commented. “Daniel is a great player with tons of personality. He has put his heart and soul into poker and is one of the best ambassadors of the game.” Cypra agreed with Brunson, but doesn’t believe that either will garner enough votes to earn admission to the Hall. “Ivey is poker’s sweetheart right now, fresh off two bracelet wins during the 2009 WSOP and a final table appearance in the Main Event on the horizon.” He continued, “His 2009 performance alone warrants consideration for the Poker Hall of Fame. Negreanu is one of the premier faces of the game. Serving as one of poker’s top ambassadors, winning four bracelets, and captaining the American Caesars Cup team gives him an impressive poker resume. However, I do not believe either has stood the test of time. Negreanu’s first WSOP cash was in 1998, while Ivey’s was in 2000.”

When the spotlight is trained on the Nguyens, more differences of opinion occur. “A general statement about ‘working in the interests of the game’ or ‘bringing honor and respect to the poker community’ is important,” Adams maintained. “By my standards, Scotty would get the nod from me and I’d have to think about Men.” Cypra, though, recalls Scotty Nguyen’s conduct at last year’s $50,000 HORSE tournament and disagrees: “Scotty Nguyen will not be receiving my vote. His antics during last year’s HORSE Championship hurt the game of poker. One could argue that, because of this, Nguyen has not filled the criteria of ‘played consistently well, gaining the respect of peers.’”

Voting by the 15 living Hall of Fame members and a 15 member media panel will conclude on October 2nd. The 30 member panel can choose up to three of the nominees (or write in their own choice) and a nominee has to earn 75% of the votes (in this case, 23) to be elected to the Hall. The results will be announced during the festivities surrounding the play of the WSOP Main Event final table.

When it comes to his choices, Cypra seems to have narrowed his options, stating, “I think Mike Sexton is a no-brainer. He’s the reason many of us are in the industry today and has served as the game’s top ambassador. He’s also a class act, a WSOP bracelet winner, and a TOC victor. I’m also leaning towards Dan Harrington and Tom McEvoy, who have stood the test of time right alongside Sexton.”

Brunson perhaps has an idea when she said, “I think some of the ‘old timers’ should be inducted before we get around to the young guys. They’ve been around a lot longer and put in their dues, even when poker wasn’t a popular and ‘cool’ profession!”

Memorable Stories from the 2009 World Series of Poker

The 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) will certainly be remembered for dominating performances by Jeffrey Lisandro and Phil Ivey (especially if the latter wins the Main Event in November). Lisandro won three bracelets, all in Stud events, to capture WSOP Player of the Year honors, while Ivey won two bracelets before claiming a seat as part of the 2009 November Nine. While those two superstars took the poker world by storm, Poker News Daily was at the Rio all summer to catch some of the other memorable stories from the world’s largest poker event.

Brock “t soprano” Parker Wins Back-To-Back Tournaments

While Ivey, Lisandro, and Greg “FBT” Mueller each won multiple bracelets during the 2009 WSOP, Brock Parker’s feat was arguably the most impressive. Parker, considered by many as an online poker legend, reached his first WSOP final table on June 7th and overcame a significant chip deficit to defeat PokerStars Team Pro member Daniel Negreanu in the $2,500 Limit Hold’em Six-Handed event (#17). Parker received $223,688 and his first bracelet for that victory, but it was just the beginning of an unforgettable week. Parker registered for the $2,500 No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed Event on June 9th and, two days later, found himself at another final table. He would again come out on top, besting fellow online star Joe “floes” Serock to claim his second bracelet in just six days. His determination rang true on June 10th: Parker played the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em Event at Noon as his focus quickly turned toward Player of the Year honors. He busted early from that event, but still managed to cash six times at the 2009 WSOP and finish sixth on the Player of the Year leaderboard.

Thang Luu Defends Title in $1,500 Omaha High-Low Eight or Better Event

As the first-ever $40,000 No Limit Hold ‘em final table was being played at the ESPN featured stage, word got around that history was about to be made in Event #3, as Thang Luu was moments away from capturing the $1,500 Omaha High-Low title for the second straight year. Making the achievement even more amazing was the fact that Luu took second place in the same tournament in 2007. Luu ultimately won, defeating Ed Smith heads up, to collect his second bracelet and $263,190. While the buzz began to surround Luu and a possible third consecutive championship in 2010, he might not even be afforded the opportunity to play in it. Reports circled in July that Luu assaulted a dealer during a cash game at the Rio when he broke the employee’s hand with his fist. He was taken into custody by police and allegedly banned from all Harrah’s casino properties.

Brandon Cantu Trounces Event #48 ($1,500 PLO High-Low)

Even the brash Brandon Cantu expressed his lack of experience in Pot Limit Omaha High-Low following his victory in Event #48: “I wasn’t even close to the best player (at the final table). I have played very limited amounts of Pot Limit Omaha Eight or Better.” But the exhibition put on by Cantu during Day 2 of the tournament was unmatched by anyone during the 2009 WSOP. Cantu began Day 2 fourth in chips with 104,000 and quickly darted to the top of leaderboard, reaching one million chips before anyone else in the field had 250,000. With 12 players remaining, he had more than 40% of the chips in play and began the final table with twice as many as the next player. After relinquishing the chip lead to Lee Watkinson at the final table, Cantu bested the Full Tilt Pro in a lengthy heads-up match to earn his second career bracelet and $228,867. A week earlier, Cantu took second place in Event #39, a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em tournament. “This is really special, especially because I should have won a week ago,” Cantu told the media afterward. “That loss was really hard for me to take.”

Ville Wahlbeck Becomes First Bracelet Winner from Finland

Ville Wahlbeck was somewhat of an unknown commodity coming into to 2009 WSOP. That all changed after his performance in World Championship events. Wahlbeck picked up his first ever five-figure score when he took third in the $10,000 Seven Card Stud World Championship (Event #6), collecting $152,914. Four days later, he won the $10,000 Mixed Event World Championship for $492,375, marking the first time that a Finnish player brought home a WSOP bracelet. He then took second in the $10,000 No Limit Deuce to Seven Lowball World Championship ($172,864) and sixth in the $50,000 HORSE Championship ($219,655). In total, Wahlbeck’s six WSOP cashes eclipsed $1 million and he finished second to Lisandro in the Player of the Year race. Wahlbeck posted in his blog that he was thinking about quitting poker before the WSOP. For his sake, we’re glad that he changed his mind.

David Bach Triumphs at Marathon HORSE Final Table

To say this year’s $50,000 HORSE Championship was a sprint and not a marathon is like saying Jeffrey Lisandro is not too bad at Stud games. The five-day event is designed to be a test of stamina and skill, but the final table was probably not the endurance test the tournament staff and players expected. In the end, it took twenty hours and 492 hands to play down from the final eight to a champion. At a final table populated with former bracelet winners like Erik Seidel, Vitaly Lunkin, Ville Wahlbeck, Huck Seed and Chau Giang it was ultimately a player with an impressive resume but no bracelet to his credit that would take the title. Georgia native David Bach defeated John Hanson after a seven hour heads-up match to win his first bracelet, the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy and $1,276,802.

At the start of the eight handed final table, many were wondering if this could be bracelet # 9 for Full Tilt Pro Erik Seidel, who holds the third-highest number of career World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets with eight. This was not the day for the longtime pro though and he made an early exit in eighth player. Another high stakes cash player and Full Tilt Pro, Chau Giang, was the next to hit the rail. Wahlbeck, who was one of the few players capable of catching up with Jeffrey Lisandro in the WSOP Player of the Year race, started the day as the short stack. He fought hard to capture another top three finish, but eventually went out in sixth place. Seed, who final tabled this event last year, improved upon his 7th place finish in 2008, going out in fifth place.

Once play got down to the final four players, it was an unusually quiet final table, especially compared to the three tables that preceded it in past years. Hands were played in virtual silence as Bach, Lunkin, Swedish pro Erik Sagstrom and 2007 HORSE finalist John Hanson shuffled chips around the table. Sagstrom was the chip leader at the start of the day, but it was Lunkin who held the chip lead for much of the afternoon and evening. A bad run of cards late in the day saw his chip stack dissipate though and Lunkin was the next player to fall in fourth place. The finish marks Lunkin’s third top four finish of the summer, all in $10,000 or higher buy-ins, an incredible feat that has netted him almost $3 million in tournament winnings.

After Sagstrom went out in third place, it came down to an epic heads-up battle between Hanson and Bach. Hanson, who is best known for his 3rd place finish in this event in 2007, showed the world that his run two years ago was no fluke and that the semi-professional player really can keep up with the big names in the game. At the start of heads-up play both he and Bach sat with around seven million chips and it became apparent very quickly that this match would not be over any time soon.

The two players exchanged the chip lead at least a dozen times as play continued through the night and into the morning. By 9AM there were only 28 big bets in play, so when Bach went on a small rush of cards it spelled disaster for Hanson’s chip stack. By 10AM, the match was all over when the two players got the last of their chips in the middle on 4th street in a Razz hand. Hanson held 5-8-9-J while Bach had 4-7-6-A. After the remaining three streets were dealt, Bach was able to make a 9-7-4-6-A low, which just bested Hanson’s 9-8-6-5-2 low for the pot and the match.

Bach, whose biggest cash prior to this event was a 6th place finish at the 2007 L.A. Poker Classic for $257,425, finally claimed his first bracelet after ten previous WSOP cashes. Along with the bracelet and the prize money, he also earns the bragging rights that come with winning what many consider to be the pro’s bracelet and one of the most prestigious tournaments of the year.

PokerStars Pushes Tom McEvoy for Poker Hall of Fame

The 2009 Poker Hall of Fame class will be inducted in a special presentation during the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event final table in November. PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site, is feverishly campaigning for Tom McEvoy to grace the stage at the Penn and Teller Theater at the Rio.

The general public can pitch their choices for the Poker Hall of Fame until July 2nd. A Poker Hall of Fame nomination form available on the WSOP’s official website allows voters to submit a nomination along with 250 words justifying why that player deserves the prestigious title of Hall of Famer. In the first week of open voting, the general public submitted over 1,000 nominations. McEvoy, a card-carrying member of Team PokerStars Pro, commented in a press release distributed by the online poker site, “Being voted to the Poker Hall of Fame this year would be the best moment in my career by far. It would be better than winning four WSOP bracelets, the Champions Invitational, and even the Main Event!”

The first of McEvoy’s four pieces of hardware came in 1983, when he won a $1,000 buy-in Limit Hold’em event for $117,000, besting a field of 234 players. Later in the 1983 WSOP, he took down the Main Event for $540,000, besting a final table that also included Doyle Brunson and WSOP bracelet winner Rod Peate. In 1986, McEvoy was back in the spotlight in a $1,000 buy-in Limit Razz tournament for his third WSOP bracelet. In 1992, he took down his fourth and final bracelet in a $1,500 buy-in Limit Omaha event for $79,000. All told, his bracelets have come in three different genres of poker.

Although it was not a bracelet event, the WSOP Champions Invitational, which will play out on ESPN as part of the network’s coverage of the 2009 festivities, attracted 20 former Main Event winners. In the end, McEvoy blasted through the talented field and took home a mint condition 1970 Corvette (marking the first year that the WSOP was held) and the Binion Cup. McEvoy battled through every Main Event winner since 2000 as well as National Heads-Up Poker Championship victor Huck Seed (1996), 2008 WSOP HORSE Championship winner Scotty Nguyen (1998), and Ultimate Bet pro Phil Hellmuth (1989). “The Poker Brat” was the youngest WSOP Main Event winner ever, a record that stood for 19 years until Danish pro Peter Eastgate took down the 2008 installment at the tender age of 22.

McEvoy has 37 in the money finishes over his WSOP career at the time of writing, tied for the 26th most ever with “Celebrity Apprentice” runner-up Annie Duke, Nguyen, and Steve Zolotow. His four WSOP bracelets are good for the 19th most overall, putting him in a ten-way tie with Mickey Appleman, Bobby Baldwin, David Chiu, Arthur Cobb, John Juanda, Lakewood Louie, Daniel Negreanu, Amarillo Slim, and Seed. McEvoy owns $1.3 million in career WSOP earnings, in the Top 100 overall. Fellow Team PokerStars Pro member Greg Raymer pitched, “Tom has participated in every stage of poker’s evolution on the felt, online, from WSOP to EPT. He has chronicled it and taught us all how to play better poker and, most importantly, he’s still winning!”

McEvoy has authored a bevy of poker literature, including “How to Win No Limit Hold’em Tournaments,” “Championship Tournament Poker,” and “Championship Hold’em.” Co-authors on his various publications include T.J. Cloutier, Brad Daugherty, and Don Vines. He showed his prowess of the game by taking down the Professional Poker Tour’s Bay 101 event for $225,000.

PartyPoker has unleashed a campaign to send its ambassador and poker room consultant, World Poker Tour (WPT) Host Mike Sexton, to the Poker Hall of Fame. Sexton turned many of today’s rising superstars onto the game through his insightful analysis during WPT events. Sexton won a WSOP bracelet in 1989 in a $1,500 buy-in Limit Seven Card Stud High-Low event for $104,000, besting a final table that included Sid “The Kid” Herald and Men “The Master” Nguyen.

Poker News Daily’s very own Dan Cypra is one of 16 media members that will vote for the Poker Hall of Fame’s Class of 2009. In addition, living Hall of Fame members will cast their votes in September once the final list has been compiled.

Phil Hellmuth Favored to Win WSOP Champions Invitational

According to betting lines posted on Bodog, Ultimate Bet pro and 11-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth is the favorite to win the WSOP Champions Invitational, fetching 9:1 odds. The tournament will consist solely of former Main Event champions.

Hellmuth took down the 1989 Main Event, earning an automatic entry into the WSOP Champions Invitational. The non-bracelet event kicks off at the beginning of the 2009 festivities on May 31st and crowns a winner the next day. The “champion of champions” will take home the Binion Cup along with a brand new car. Jack Binion will be on-hand for the festivities and present the trophy. A total of 34 players have won the previous 39 Main Events, although seven have since passed away (Johnny Moss, Puggy Pearson, Stu Ungar, Hal Fowler, Jack Strauss, Jack Keller, and Bill Smith).

Hellmuth leads the field at 9:1 odds. Just behind him and coming in at 23:2 (or 11.5:1) are 2005 WSOP Main Event winner and Team PokerStars Pro member Joe Hachem, 2004 WSOP Main Event Champion Greg Raymer, new Expekt Poker pro and reigning HORSE Championship winner Scotty Nguyen, 2009 Heads-Up Poker Championship winner Huck Seed, 1995 WSOP Main Event victor Dan Harrington, and 10-time bracelet winners Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan. Last year’s Main Event winner, Peter Eastgate, is fetching 13:1 odds and holds the record as the youngest champion of the feature tournament ever at age 22. Eastgate took home $9.1 million for his efforts in the second largest Main Event field in history, 6,844 runners.

Four former Main Event champs sit at 15:1 odds. Jerry Yang trumped the field in 2007 for $8.25 million, his lone WSOP cash to date. Members of that final table watched Team PokerStars Pro member Hevad “RaiNKhaN” Khan boisterously play his way through the event, ultimately grabbing sixth place for just under $1 million. Jamie Gold, the winner of the largest Main Event field ever in 2006, is also generating 15:1 odds. Gold is a former ACED Poker pro, but recently parted ways with the Merge Gaming Network site. Tied in odds with Gold and Yang is the man many would credit with sparking the modern poker boom, former Tennessee accountant Chris Moneymaker, who won it all in 2003. Full Tilt Poker pro Chris Ferguson is also fetching 15:1 odds. The man they call “Jesus” took down the first Main Event of the new millennium.

Robert Varkonyi and Tom McEvoy, who won the 2002 and 1983 WSOP Main Events, respectively, are both going off at 19:1 odds. Also seeing 19:1 odds is 1991 World Champion Brad Daugherty, who took home an even $1 million for his efforts and bested Don Holt heads-up. Several brand name pros are coming in at 24:1, including Noel Furlong, Jim Bechtel, Hamid Dastmalchi, Mansour Matloubi, Berry Johnston, and Bobby Baldwin.

At the bottom of the field and coming in at 65:1 is Russ Hamilton, the 1994 Main Event Champion. Last September, Hamilton was found to be “the main person responsible for and benefiting from the multiple cheating incidents” on Ultimate Bet, according to the Kahnawake Gaming Commission. The revelation came after members of the online poker community linked Hamilton’s Las Vegas home to one of the accounts involved in the scandal, Sleeplesss. The events were revealed to the entire world as part of a November feature story on the CBS News program “60 Minutes” and a joint investigation with the Washington Post newspaper.

The WSOP Champions Invitational is one of four tournaments that will comprise ESPN’s television coverage this year. It will air on August 4th from 8:00pm to 10:00pm ET. Also seeing time in the spotlight will be the $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament commemorating the 40th running of the WSOP, the Ante Up for Africa charity poker tournament, and the Main Event. The tournament series itself begins on Wednesday, May 27th with the $500 Casino Employees event. The $40,000 festivities begin the following day.

WSOP Commissioner talks to PND about the Impending 2009 WSOP

The 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) will kick off in exactly one week on May 27th. The traditional $500 Casino Employees event is the first to play out, followed by the new $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament commemorating the 40th running of the WSOP. Poker News Daily sat down with WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack to gauge the mood at the Rio with just seven days remaining.

A total of 57 bracelet events will play out inside the mammoth Amazon Room at the Rio. This year, the festivities are presented by Jack Link’s Beef Jerky, which just signed on for a multi-year agreement. Pollack described the mood inside the all-suite hotel in Sin City: “The mood is really good. Operationally, it’s been a smooth year for planning and preparation. We started last summer and the work is paying off. From a sponsorship standpoint, the partnership with Jack Link’s is tremendous. We can have a lot of fun with them.”

Daily at 2:20pm, bracelets will be awarded to winners of the previous day’s tournaments in front of the gathered crowd in the Amazon Room. The national anthem of the winner’s country will be played in a scene that is likely to be reminiscent of the Olympics. Pollack explained the rationale for adding in the daily bracelet ceremony, which is scheduled to take place at the end of the first break: “I’ve said that we need to do a better job of promoting our bracelet winners. We’ll do an awards ceremony every day. If you win in the middle of the night, you’ll receive you bracelet in the spotlight in the Amazon Room.” It is not uncommon for tournaments to wrap up during the pre-dawn hours. Now, winners will receive their time in the sun.

Pollack confirmed that next Sunday, Ultimate Bet pro Phil Hellmuth will participate in special training with tournament staff. Last year’s festivities were marred by Hellmuth’s public tirades that played out on ESPN as well as Scotty Nguyen’s verbal abuse of players and Rio staff during the $50,000 HORSE Championship. According to the WSOP Commissioner, those incidents will be distant memories in 2009: “We’re going to be tracking penalties and warnings. Our officials will keep a more watchful eye than ever before. The result will be a greater degree of stability on the tournament floor. This is all just for a handful of people. The vast majority of players conduct themselves proudly and with respect.” A database will log infractions and identify repeat offenders.

Pre-registration numbers are up in 2009 in comparison to 2008. The number of hotel room bookings is also up year over year. Pollack explained, “We view those as very good indicators. Generally, the economic mood is a little better overall now than it was a few months ago.” Meanwhile, Nevada gaming revenues fell for the 15th straight month in March year over year. This time around, casino “win” dropped by 11% statewide.

When the festivities play out on ESPN, four tournaments will air: The $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event, the WSOP Champions Invitational, the Ante Up for Africa charity gala, and the Main Event. Pollack noted that the driving force behind this year’s programming has been the 40th running of the high-stakes tournament series. He explained, “A $40,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament will produce a final table for the ages. The Champions Invitational will be a truly historic event. Someone will walk out of that as the Champion of Champions. Because community relations are so important, Ante Up for Africa is a good addition. We think it’ll be a strong television year for us.” Tournament coverage on the cable station begins on July 28th.

Like readers of Poker News Daily, Pollack was closely following NBC’s hit reality series Celebrity Apprentice, which culminated with poker pro Annie Duke falling to comedian Joan Rivers. Many have questioned what impact Duke’s appearance on the highly rated network television show would have on WSOP attendance, if any. Pollack speculated, “I don’t know that we’ll see a bump because of it. However, poker has been re-injected into our pop culture thanks to Annie. We would have liked to see her win, but making it to the final two is no small beef. She will loom large at the WSOP this year.”

The 2009 WSOP Main Event begins on July 3rd with the first of four starting days. It will once again wrap up in November after a four month delay.

Poker Pro Jason Mercier Wins FTOPS Event 23

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

PokerPalooza to Debut at 2009 WSOP

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) Gaming Life Expo is no more. In 2009, the world’s largest poker expo will be re-branded PokerPalooza and debuts at the Rio in Las Vegas on July 2nd, one day before the start of the prestigious $10,000 buy-in Main Event.

Harrah’s officials tout PokerPalooza as being geared towards “everyone from the professional to those who have not yet taken up the game.” WSOP bracelet winners and Main Event champions are slated to be on-hand signing autographs and imparting their poker knowledge on PokerPalooza attendees. A special “Bad Beat Bar” will also be set up, in addition to a full food court. The Rio Pavilion, which is around the corner from the Amazon Room at the Las Vegas hotel, will host PokerPalooza.

A variety of non-poker activities can also be found at the event formerly known as the Gaming Life Expo. Guests can try their luck on a mechanical bull, put their nerves to the test in the Richard Petty Driving Experience, don oversized sumo wrestling outfits, and take home prizes in a series of carnival games. Appropriately, Ty Stewart, Marketing Director for the WSOP, commented in a press release distributed by Harrah’s this week, “It’s going to be part trade show, part carnival, all fun.”

Last year, the Gaming Life Expo attracted 50,000 visitors to the Rio. A total of 165 booths could be found over the Pavilion’s 50,000 square feet of space. Exhibitors drumming up sales and awareness included New Balance, Bass Pro Shops, McFadden’s, Gamma-O, and All-In Energy Drinks. The Aussie Millions, a high-stakes poker tournament that takes place every January, even set up shop. In January, its Main Event attracted 681 entrants (down from 780 the year before) and was won by Australian native Stewart Scott. ESPN Radio broadcasted from the Expo; its television arm will air the $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament, the Ante Up for Africa charity festivities, the WSOP Champions Invitational, and the $10,000 buy-in Main Event this year. Television coverage begins on July 28th.

All-In and Poker Pro Magazine were two of a handful of industry publications scurrying around last year’s event to boost readership. Signing autographs were a bevy of poker pros including 10-time WSOP bracelet holder Doyle Brunson, Full Tilt Poker pro Gus Hansen, Celebrity Apprentice runner up Annie Duke, 2008 HORSE Championship winner Scotty Nguyen, 2004 WSOP Main Event Champion Greg Raymer, 2005 WSOP Main Event Champion Joe Hachem, 2007 WSOP Main Event Champion Jerry Yang, and Antonio “The Magician” Esfandiari. Master Toddy’s Muay Thai Academy dispatched its “Fight Girls” to the Rio to teach martial arts to guests.

One of the highlights from 2008 was a “Man vs. Machine” poker competition. The “Machine” in question was from the University of Alberta; it squared off against several brand name poker pros including Nick “Stoxtrader” Grudzien, the face behind the popular training site StoxPoker. According to the Rio’s website, Full Tilt Poker pro Matt Hawrilenko and StoxPoker instructor Jay Palansky also competed against the computerized poker mind. The crowd watching man and machine battle included belly dancers on loan from the Gaylord India Restaurant (which makes its home at the Rio) and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) stars Josh Burkman and Grey Maynard.

Here are the hours of operation for the inaugural PokerPalooza:

Thursday, July 2nd: 11:00am – 8:30pm
Friday, July 3rd: 11:00am – 8:30pm
Saturday, July 4th: 11:00am – 8:30pm
Sunday, July 5th: 11:00am – 6:00pm

Booths run $2,500 each, with a $200 surcharge for a corner space. Vendors can pay using a major credit card. Interested companies are asked to contact Sharon Wayne, the WSOP’s Expo Manager, at (702) 777-2310 for more information. The event is free and open to anyone age 21 and up.

ESPN Schedule for 2009 WSOP Announced

In a media guide released prior to the start of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP), the television schedule for the prestigious tournament series on ESPN was unveiled. A total of four events will be televised.

The action gets underway on Tuesday, July 28th at 8:00pm ET with a two hour review of the $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament. The event is aimed to commemorate the 40th running of the WSOP, which makes its home at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. This special tournament is expected to bring out the world’s most popular poker stars, setting the stage for the rest of the television schedule. Last year, the $10,000 World Championship of Pot Limit Hold’em kicked off ESPN’s coverage, with Full Tilt Poker pro Nenad Medic winning his first bracelet.

On August 4th, the following Tuesday, the WSOP Champions Invitational will air on ESPN at 8:00pm ET and run for two hours. Norman Chad and Lon McEachern will once again provide commentary on the spectacle. Poker News Daily Guest Columnist and “Celebrity Apprentice” candidate Annie Duke, who won $2 million for her efforts and bested fellow Ultimate Bet pro Phil Hellmuth heads-up, won the 2004 WSOP Tournament of Champions. Mike Matusow took down the 2005 installment, defeating Hoyt Corkins heads-up, while World Poker Tour Host Mike Sexton outlasted Daniel Negreanu in 2006, the last year the event was run. The 2009 Champions Invitational is a freeroll that is open to all past WSOP Main Event winners. Its victor will receive the Binion Cup along with a new car.

On August 11th from 8:00pm ET to 10:00pm ET, the Ante Up for Africa tournament will hit television airwaves. The $5,000 buy-in contest is held just before the Main Event and helps raise money and awareness for the crisis in Darfur. Ante Up for Africa was founded by Duke, actor Don Cheadle, and Norman Epstein and has raised over $2 million for the cause over the past two years. In 2007, a total of $700,000 was raised from the inaugural WSOP Ante Up for Africa tournament. Brandon Moran and Dan Shak, who finished first and second, respectively, donated their entire winnings to the non-profit. In 2008, John Hennigan and Michael DeGusta (who finished first and second) also donated their cash prizes. Others in the field last year included Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Ray Romano, Brad Garrett, Jerry Cantrell, and Casey Affleck.

Starting on August 18th, the Main Event will air every Tuesday night on ESPN. Each of the four starting days will receive its own two hour block of coverage over four consecutive weeks. Day 2A and Day 2B will air on September 15th and 22nd, respectively. Each of the remaining days of play in the 2009 WSOP Main Event will play out over the course of one week, culminating in the final table, which will air on Tuesday, November 10th. The “November Nine” will once again experience a 100 day delay in the final table playing out. Last year, ESPN television ratings boomed by 50% as a result. There are 31 episodes of WSOP coverage in total. Beginning on October 13th, they will kick off at 9:00pm ET.

In an interesting twist, the final table will play down from nine players to two on Saturday, November 7th. Once two players remain, play will pause for another three days, resuming on Tuesday, November 10th, just before the final table will air on ESPN. The $50,000 HORSE Championship will not be seen this year on ESPN. In 2008, Scotty Nguyen infamously won the prestigious tournament while allegedly under the influence. His verbal abuse of tablemates and floor staff challenged ESPN editors. In the end, Nguyen took home nearly $2 million for the victory and the ceremonial Chip Reese trophy.

Scotty Nguyen Among WPT Championship Day 4 Leaders

Sitting with the sixth largest chip stack entering Day 5 of the World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship on Thursday is none other than the winner of the 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) $50,000 HORSE Championship, Scotty Nguyen.

His stack would have been even larger had he not come out on the losing end of a race on one of the last hands of the night holding pocket eights against Andy Miller’s A-Q. The flop came ace-high, sending Miller into the lead in the hand for good and dropping Nguyen to two million chips. He’ll come armed to Thursday’s play with a stack size of 1.8 million. The entire field trails the 4.3 million chips of Eugene Katchalov.

Nguyen was the talk of the town during the day, eliminating crowd favorite Phil Ivey. The Full Tilt Poker pro pushed over the top of a re-raise by Nguyen, who called with A-9. However, he was up against Ivey’s A-K. The reigning HORSE champion told WPT Live Updates Hostess Amanda Leatherman, “He seemed like he was weak, so I tried to make a move on him. He happened to have A-K and I had A-9, but I flopped a nine.” Ivey finished in 34th place and took home $40,855 for his efforts; he was among the chip leaders entering the day.

Katchalov took down the 2007 running of the WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic, which was also held at the Bellagio, for $2.5 million. That final table included Devilfish Poker namesake David Ulliott and 2007 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure winner Ryan Daut. Katchalov finished sixth in the $10,000 buy-in World Championship of Omaha High-Low Split during the 2008 WSOP for $110,000 in a tournament ultimately won by David Benyamine.

Two players fell by the wayside when there were 52 entrants remaining, abruptly bursting the money bubble. In one hand, Ron Levi found himself all-in holding K-J offsuit against Steven Fung’s pocket eights. The board ran out 5-5-2-7-3 and the pocket eights held. That left 51 players remaining. At the same time, John Martin was eliminated and the final 50 runners at the Bellagio made the money. Traditionally, tables are dealt hand for hand on the money bubble. However, that did not occur on Wednesday.

The top ten in chips entering Day 5 on Thursday are as follows:
1. Eugene Katchalov - 4,294,000
2. Christian Harder - 3,083,000
3. Yevginey "atimos” Timoshenko - 2,613,000
4. Justin Young - 2,553,000
5. Brian Rast - 1,931,000
6. Scotty Nguyen - 1,823,000
7. Andrew Lichtenberger - 1,663,000
8. Freddy Deeb - 1,575,000
9. Ross Boatman - 1,545,000
10. Owen Crowe - 1,500,000

The final elimination of the day occurred when Hyon Kim called an all-in raise from Timoshenko on a board of Q-7-6 with two hearts. Timoshenko, who won last year’s Asian Poker Tour Macau event for a half-million dollars, flipped over 6-7 for bottom two pair. Kim revealed A-9 of hearts for a flush draw. The turn came the eight of diamonds, giving Kim a straight draw, but the river came the nine of clubs, awarding the “W” to Timoshenko and boosting the youngster to the third largest stack overall entering Thursday’s play. All was not lost for Kim, however, who finished in 25th place and earned $49,025 in the $25,000 buy-in tournament, the finale of Season VII of the WPT.

Other notable names that are among the 24 players remaining include:
11. Jeff Madsen - 1,265,000
12. Bertrand "Elky" Grospellier - 1,230,000
18. Eric Liu - 844,000
19. Jennifer Harman - 821,000
20. Marco "CrazyMarco" Johnson - 814,000
23. David Grey - 322,000

Besides Ivey, other top pros who saw their chip stacks depleted at the Bellagio on Wednesday included Nenad Medic (27th place for $49,025), Chris Ferguson (28th place for $49,025), Chris Bell (31st place for $40,855), Steve Sung (35th place for $40,855), Liv Boeree (37th place for $40,855), Mark Seif (38th place for $40,855), Boris Becker (40th place for $40,855), David Singer (41st place for $32,685), and David Benynamine (45th place for $32,685).

The final table of the WPT Championship will occur on Saturday. Its lone survivor will pocket $2.1 million.

Casey Reese, Son of Chip Reese, Dies of Drug Overdose

The son of the late Chip Reese, Casey Reese, has passed away from an overdose of prescription drugs, according to comments by Daniel Negreanu and Doyle Brunson on Full Contact Poker and Doyle’s Room. He was 20 years old.

On Tuesday, the following text appeared in Brunson’s official blog on his online poker site, Doyle’s Room: “It happened again yesterday, only this time it was Chip’s only son, Casey Reese. Casey was found in his apartment from an apparent overdose of prescription drugs. I had seen Casey a few days ago and he looked great. He was very handsome and extremely personable. I will always remember the closeness between Chip and Casey.” Brunson heard the news from his nephew and felt that he “let Chip down, but I don’t know what I could have done to help Casey.”

The news was confirmed by Negreanu, who posted in a thread on Full Contact Poker that speculated something might have happened to Casey. Negreanu noted that he was at the Bellagio when he heard the news and wrote on Full Contact Poker, “Everyone took it pretty hard. Kid was 20 years old, an incredible baseball pitcher, super smart, good looking kid... very sad. Chau [Giang] was a very good friend of both Chip and Casey and while he came down to play poker, he just couldn't do it. It was a shock. People were both sad and also pretty angry at the same time.”

Casey passed away nearly 16 months to the day after Chip, who died on December 4th, 2007 in his Las Vegas home. At 56 years old, the elder Reese was the owner of three World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets and took down the inaugural $50,000 HORSE Championship in 2006 for $1.7 million. He defeated Full Tilt Poker pro Andy Bloch heads-up in that event; Phil Ivey, Jim Brechtel, T.J. Cloutier, David Singer, Dewey Tomko, Patrik Antonius, and Brunson were also at the final table. Chip also won bracelets in 1978 in a $1,000 buy-in Limit Seven Card Stud High-Low contest and in 1982 in a $5,000 buy-in Limit Seven Card Stud tournament. He logged over $2.2 million from WSOP tournament play.

According to ESPN, last December, Reese was “complaining of pneumonia symptoms, but never went to a hospital and died in his sleep He was found by his son… at his Las Vegas home.” Chip was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1991, at the time the youngest player to hold that honor. ESPN added, “Brunson and Reese eventually became business partners, investing in everything from oil wells and mining to TV stations and racehorses and becoming sports betting consultants.”

A 28 page thread developed on online poker forum TwoPlusTwo bidding farewell to the poker legend Chip Reese. Andy “BKiCe” Seth expressed his remorse of the loss of an ambassador of the game: “Is this real? I've never met Chip and don't really even know much about him, but for some reason I feel like a good friend just died.” Pictures of Reese playing in high-stakes tournaments around the world pervaded the thread, as did anecdotes of players’ past experiences battling against the giant of the game.

The HORSE Championship trophy is named in Chip's honor to this day. In 2008, it was won by Scotty Nguyen, who pocketed nearly $2 million for his victory. Nguyen defeated Mike DeMichele heads-up, capping an eventful run through a final table that also included Erick Lindgren, Barry Greenstein, 2009 National Heads-Up Poker Championship winner Huck Seed, and World Poker Tour founder Lyle Berman. Winning the tournament is a prestigious honor and players will receive their next opportunity when it kicks off on June 26th from the Rio in Las Vegas during the 40th annual WSOP.

We at Poker News Daily would like to express our sincere condolences to the entire Reese family.

Double Elimination Leaves Five-Handed WPT Final Table at Foxwoods

Wednesday marks the conclusion of the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Foxwoods Poker Classic. Traditionally, WPT final tables are played six-handed. However, a rare double elimination on the final hand on Tuesday leaves just five players.

Attendance at this year’s Foxwoods Poker Classic was down 25%, but there was no shortage of action at the Connecticut casino. On the final hand of the night, the number of players went from seven to five when Joe Raposa and Bill Botchis were both eliminated by Vadim Trincher, who holds a commanding chip lead over the field as a result.

Blinds were 12,000-24,000 when the double elimination occurred. Trincher raised to five times the big blind under the gun. Botchis shoved for 193,000 and Raposa pushed over the top for 248,000. Trincher called holding pocket aces and had both covered. Botchis and Raposa each turned over pocket pairs of their own, nines and jacks, respectively. The board came 8-7-5-2-7 and Trincher’s aces held. Suddenly, just five players remained.

This is only the second time in WPT history that a final table has started with five players. The other was during the Season VI WPT Celebrity Invitational, which was won by Van Nguyen. The cards will hit the air at 4:00pm ET today, with the winner taking home over $700,000. Here is a look at the chip counts as they stand entering the final table:

1. Vadim Trincher - 2,813,000
2. Amnon Filippi - 1,852,000
3. Matthew Casterella - 1,808,000
4. Lenny Cortellino - 1,175,000
5. Alex Perelberg - 200,000

Trincher took 132nd in the 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, turning his $10,000 buy-in into $58,000. Filippi is perhaps the most experienced player remaining at the WPT Foxwoods Poker Classic final table. He finished fourth in the 2007 HORSE Championship at the WSOP for $586,000 and owns nearly $700,000 in lifetime earnings from WSOP tournaments. This is his fourth WPT final table. He grabbed fourth in the Season IV Borgata Poker Classic for $184,000, sixth in the Season VI Mirage Poker Showdown for $100,000, and fifth in the Season VII Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic, which took place in December, for $288,000.

Places six through ten at Foxwoods were as follows:

6th Place: Joe Raposa - $85,292
7th Place: William Botchis - $68,235
8th Place: Lee Markholt - $54,830
9th Place: Allen Kessler - $46,315
10th Place: Tony Gargano - $40,209

Markholt’s tournament run ended after he was crippled holding pocket jacks against pocket kings on an eight-high board against Trincher; he was ousted from the event shortly thereafter. Markholt finished fourth in the WSOP Circuit Event Championship in Tunica in 2006, cashing for $183,000. Kessler was the runner up to Todd Brunson in a $2,500 buy-in Omaha High-Low Eight or Better WSOP tournament in 2005, pocketing $132,000. He made the final table of the Foxwoods Poker Classic two years ago and took third in the WPT Invitational during Season IV.

Other notable in the money finishes included:

12th Place: Barry Greenstein - $40,209
15th Place: David Williams - $34,117
24th Place: Charlie Marchese - $23,150
30th Place: Evan McNiff - $20,713

First place will pay out $731,079, second place pockets $409,405, third place will take home $214,449, fourth place will earn $138,905, and fifth place scores $106,007. The champion at Foxwoods will also take home a $25,000 buy-in to the WPT Championship, which kicks off in ten days from the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Preliminary tournaments for the prestigious end of season event are already running, keeping many of the West Coast pros in Sin City instead of traveling to Foxwoods.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily to see who wins!

Bodog Unveils 2009 WSOP Prop Bets

If you've ever wanted to rail your favorite poker stars without having to be at the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas, head to Bodog. The online poker site and sports book recently opened up betting on the WSOP. The festivities at the Rio begin on May 27th.

Among the wagers available on Bodog is what poker pro will win the most money during the 2009 WSOP. The leader in the clubhouse is 11-time bracelet holder Phil Hellmuth, who is currently going off at 5:2. Other players that are available to bet on include Doyle Brunson (7:2), David Sklansky (12:1), Barry Greenstein (5:1), Mike Caro (12:1), Phil Gordon (10:1), T.J. Cloutier (6:1), and Team PokerStars Pro member Daniel Negreanu, who is fetching 3:1 odds.

The question of “Will Phil Hellmuth win his 12th bracelet at the 2009 WSOP occurring in Las Vegas beginning May 27th?” is paying +300 for Yes and -500 for No. Hellmuth made three final tables last year, taking third in the $1,500 buy-in HORSE event for $93,000. You can also bet on whether Brunson or Johnny Chan will score their 11th bracelets. The +300 figure means that a player must bet $100 to get back a total of $400. The -500 figure means that a player must bet $500 to get back a total of $600.

A special last longer wager is also available on the prestigious $50,000 buy-in HORSE Championship, which was infamously won last year by Scotty Nguyen. He has 5:1 odds in the bet, the favorite among the pros available. Others include Brunson (6:1), Hellmuth (7:1), Chan (7:1), Freddy Deeb (11:2), Phil Ivey (6:1), David Williams (11:2), Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo (11:2), and Negreanu (6:1). Deeb won the event in 2007 and the late Chip Reese took down the inaugural HORSE Championship in 2006. The trophy given to the winner of the event is named in his honor.

Another unique bet asks wagerers to select what pair will rack up the most winnings in the 2009 WSOP. Patrik Antonius and Kathy Liebert are the current favorites, going off at 4:1. Other pairings available include Doyle and Todd Brunson (6:1), the husband and wife team of Marco Traniello and Jennifer Harman (6:1), father and son Barry Greenstein and Joe Sebok (9:2), brother and sister Annie Duke and Howard Lederer (15:2), Bodog pros Evelyn Ng and Justin Bonomo (15:2), Phil Laak and Jennifer Tilly (6:1), mother and son David and Shirley Williams (6:1), engaged couple Chad Brown and Vanessa Rousso (10:1), and Tom “durrrr” Dwan and Tiffany Michelle (9:2).

Players can even bet on what game will be played when the final hand is dealt during the HORSE Championship. Hold'em, Razz, and Seven Card Stud are all paying 5:2, while Omaha High-Low and Seven Card Stud High-Low are both going off at 15:4.

Bettors will also be keeping their eyes on the female contingent in the Main Event, as a special women's-only last longer bet is available on Bodog. Jennifer Harman and Kathy Liebert are the current favorites; both are 5:1 to remain in contention in the Main Event the longest. Others include Duke (7:1), Tilly (10:1), Cyndy Violette (7:1), Isabelle Mercier (7:1), Clonie Gowen (7:1), Ng (7:1), Liz Lieu (7:1), Mimi Tran (7:1), Katja Thater (7:1), Rousso (7:1), and the last woman standing in the 2007 WSOP Main Event, Maria Ho (10:1).

One prop bet on Bodog centers wholly on Bodog pro Jean-Robert Bellande's finish in the Main Event. Bellande was a contestant on CBS' “Survivor: China,” one of the 18 seasons of the show that have aired. “No Money” is paying 1:20; finishing in the money, but no better than 10th place is paying 8:1; making the final table is paying 150:1; and winning the 2009 WSOP Main Event is fetching 1,000:1 odds. Bellande took 442nd in the Main Event last year.

The first wager listed in Bodog's poker section is, “Will Scotty Nguyen reach his stated promise that he will earn $4,000,000 or more in combined winnings at this year’s WSOP?” Yes is paying out +2,400. The bet stems from an interview Nguyen had with PokerListings that he would retire from poker if he does not amass $4 million in winnings at the 2009 WSOP. Whether he will follow through on his promise is anyone's guess.