Poker News

Ladies Champion headlines WSOP June 9

The 37-year-old Hawaii native had never played in any kind of live event before the $1k Ladies World Championship, but Hamilton is leaving the Rio as a WSOP bracelet champion.

Hamilton survived a pool of 1,060 entrants to take the bracelet, coming away with the win after a heads up battle with Lori Bender at a fast-paced final table.

"I do not even play in tournaments," Hamilton said.  "That's why everyone is teasing me."

"I entered at the last minute," said the long-time Vegas cash game pro.  "I kept telling my friend, 'I'm not playing!'  I am not playing in this event!  I decided to play and I don't even know how I made it this far. I'm shocked!"

Other notable players at the final table included Mary Lou Morelli, who finished third ($78,132) and Lisa Parsons, who took seventh place for $22,880.

Hamilton cashes for $195,390 with the bracelet win, while Bender takes home $120,575 for her runner-up finish.

Event 18 - $10k Omaha Hi-Lo World Championship

Daniel Negreanu came up just short of a bracelet for the second time at the 2009 WSOP, finishing fourth, and Daniel Alaei won his second WSOP bracelet.

For more on the Omaha Hi-Lo World Championship check our WSOP news section.

Event 19 - $2,500 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold'em

This event was supposed to play down to a final table, but 11 players still remained when 3 a.m. rolled around.

Joseph Serock is the chip leader. Click through for full chip counts and check back for our live coverage of the final table starting at 2 p.m.

Event 20 - $1,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em

Day 1 is in the books and the field has been trimmed down from 663 to 62. The day ended just after the bubble burst, and 63 players are going home with cash finishes.

Plenty of big names are still left in this event, including Mike Sexton, Joe Sebok, Kathy Leibert and Mark Seif, who survived an all-in on the money bubble.

Day 2 begins play at 2 p.m. Wednesday.

Event 21 - $3k H.O.R.S.E.

Daniel Negreanu rushed over to this event as soon as he was busted out of the $10k Omaha Hi-Lo.

The pace is slow and steady thus far, with the field narrowed from 452 entrants to 198 players at the end of Day 1.

Notable early exits include Ivan Demidov, Greg Raymer and Dutch Boyd.

The event resumes Wednesday with Day 2 beginning at 5 p.m.

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Lemke dedicates $5k WSOP win to Shronk

Lemke was overwhelmed following his hard-won victory.

"It's a sick thing to happen," Lemke revealed.

He had to conquer a final table replete with marquee names, one of whom was online sensation Isaac "WestmenloAA" Baron.

Baron looked ready to dominate the final table in the early stages, eliminating danger-man David Pham and Christian Iacobellis in the same hand to set himself up with a big stack.

He couldn't maintain this momentum however, crashing out in 7th place to Lemke when his top pair was outkicked and he was unable to slip the noose.

Danny Illingworth succumbed shortly after this, and he was joined at the rail by Lika Gerasimova, the girlfriend of 2008 WSOP Main Event runner-up, Ivan Demidov.

Gerasimova's reputation as a top-flight player is growing all the time, and it won't have been hurt by her 5th-place finish here.

Four-handed, it was Quoss who appeared to be the man to beat. The German built a huge stack, which he used effectively as a weapon to subdue the other players.

Quoss was on a roll and he soon removed Mike Sowers from contention, flopping a set of eights to bust the American's queen-ten.

Playing so aggressively, there was no chance for Thomas Keller to escape a big cooler when he was dealt queens at the same time Quoss picked up aces.

The aces held and one more scalp was notched up for the young German as his dominant chip stack swelled and Keller joined the ranks of nearly-rans in third spot.

The heads-up match looked like it was going to be a procession to the title for Quoss, who had Lemke severely outchipped as they faced off.

Lemke however had other plans.

"I knew I had to suck out or catch a hand, but once I got even in chips, I thought I could do it," he told the media afterwards.

The American proved a durable opponent and after grinding into the chip-lead following a three-hour marathon, Lemke delivered the fatal blow just a few hands later to send his boisterous supporters into raptures as he picked up the bracelet.

It wasn't just poker on his mind as he battled for the bracelet though.

Lemke is the cousin of the late Justin Shronk and he wore a shirt dedicated to Shronk throughout the final table.

"He was with me all the time, the whole tournament," he said, struggling to contain his emotions.

"I know he is up there looking down now. He should have been right here with me."

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40 years of the WSOP: The new millenium

Back in 1991, Jack Binion was asked to look into the future and see where the WSOP might go.

Jack had no way of knowing how the WSOP would explode in popularity, bringing thousands to his casino in search of fame and fortune and said he expected a slow, steady 10 to 15 percent growth rate.

The last winner of the twentieth century was Jesus himself, Chris Ferguson.

He took home $1.5 million after outlasting 512 other players in the 2000 Main Event.

Poker author and fifth place finisher Jim McManus chronicled the final table in his book Positively Fifth Street.

The final battle between Ferguson and T.J. Cloutier was epic, with T.J. overcoming Ferguson's huge chip lead only to lose when his A-Q was out-flopped by Fergusons' A-9.

In the preliminary events, Jennifer Harman, Phil Ivey and Howard Lederer each won their first bracelet and Ferguson won another in 7-card stud.

Carlos Mortenson won the title in 2001 playing at the first final table with nine players, including poker standouts Mike Matusow, Phil Gordon, Phil Hellmuth and Dewey Tomko.

An unknown patent attorney Greg "Fossilman" Raymer came in 12th in the $1,500 Omaha Hi/Lo event that year.

2002 saw a whopping 39 preliminary events, three of which were won by Phil Ivey.

Robert Varkonyi was the Main Event champion, besting 631 hopefuls on his way to winning a then-record $2 million in his first ever WSOP event.

"I won my buy-in in my first ever single-table satellite," Varkonyi told PokerListings.

"I was extremely surprised to make the final table, it was completely unexpected. I was totally pumped with adrenaline, not nervous, just totally out of control excited to be there."

The fact that Varkonyi was a recreational - not professional - poker player caused some to doubt his chances, including Phil Hellmuth, who Varkonyi had doubled through earlier with Q-10 against his A-K.

During the televised final table, Hellmuth memorably promised to shave his head if Varkonyi were to pull out a win.

Eventually Hellmuth was forced to get a trim, but the name Robert Varkonyi was really lost in the shuffle with what happened next.

There is no poker aficionado who does not remember every moment of the 2003 Main Event.

The final nine, outlasting the record 839 who started, included Sammy Farha, Dan Harrington, Jason Lester, Amir Vahedi, David Grey, and David Singer.

But in their midst was a mild-mannered accountant who had dreamed of playing the Main Event since he saw the movie Rounders years earlier.

When Chris Moneymaker turned his online-qualifying win into $2.5 million, poker would never be the same.

Somewhat forgotten was the fact that Layne Flack had his second consecutive two-bracelet WSOP that year or that Ferguson, Hellmuth, Johnny Chan, Men "the Master" Nguyen and John Juanda each won two bracelets as well.

Women poker players did well in 2004 with Kathy Liebert, Cyndy Violette and Annie Duke each winning bracelets in open-field events.

But the story that year was the phenomenal increase in Main Event participants due in no small part to Moneymaker's historic win.

A total of 2,576 played and of course Greg Raymer won the $5 million dollar prize. Just like Moneymaker, Raymer had won his seat through an online satellite at PokerStars.

The 2005 WSOP was held outside of Binions for the first time, though the final two days of the Main Event took place in the old haunt.

Aussie Joe Hachem came out on top of the 5,619 person field, taking home $7.5 million.

His supporters' cheers are now legendary as was the final table that had a wide array of talent from the recently paroled Mike Matusow to the loveable everyman Steve Dannenmann.

The final table was also the site of the memorable meltdown from Ireland's Andy Black.

Raymer made a believer of everyone by coming close to repeating, finishing 25th in the big show.

Jennifer Tilly became the first celebrity player to win a bracelet and Doyle and Todd Brunson became the first father/son combo to win bracelets the same year.

If it were not for Jamie Gold, the 2006 WSOP would be remembered for its Player of the Year, Jeff Madsen.

Madsen became the youngest bracelet winner in history taking down the $2,000 NLHE, then won his second bracelet in Short-Handed NLHE six days later.

He also had two third place finishes - one in Omaha 8 and another in Stud Hi/Lo, an astounding feat at any age.

But Gold's $12 million win, outlasting the largest Main Event field ever at 8,773, is the story of 2006 as much for Gold's brash and controversial style as for the legal dustup that his win caused when another player claimed Gold had promised him half.

As if preordained, 2007 Main Event winner Jerry Yang was the anti-Gold. Quiet, pious, unassuming, Yang won $8.25 million with an aggressive, steam-roller approach to the final table that his co-finalists could not match.

With 6,358 players entering, there were 2,415 fewer than the previous year, only the second time in WSOP history that the number of entrants to the Main Event decreased.

Steve Billirakis was crowned the new-youngest bracelet winner in history, breaking Madsen's record from the previous year. Hellmuth won his record 11th bracelet and had a then-record 63 WSOP cashes.

Last year's WSOP set records for attendance (58,720), countries represented (118), and prize pool ($180,676,248).

It also saw the introduction of the November Nine, which ratcheted up the interest in and attention to the final table.

For poker purists who had been decrying the lack of "professional" winners of the Main Event, this final table had many players for whom poker was not just a hobby.

Runner-up Ivan Demidov went on to place third at the WSOP-Europe, David "Chino" Rheem is a respected pro, and eventual $9.1 million winner, the taciturn Dane Peter Eastgate, has proved himself a worthy title-holder.

2008 had a rash of memorable bracelet winners in preliminary events from the brothers Hinkle (Grant and Blair) to first-time bracelet-winners Erick Lindgren, David Singer, Kenny Tran, Nenad Medic, David Benyamine, JC Tran, and John Phan all breaking their "one of the best to never win a bracelet" record - now currently held by Andy Bloch.

So what is in store for 2009?  What records will be set, which will be broken?  Who will be the big story, the one talked about another forty years from now?

Will a big name take the big title, or will another "relative" unknown take poker's biggest prize?

For those answers and a whole lot more, follow PokerListings' Live Reporting from the Rio throughout the 2009 WSOP.

Related Articles:

• 40 years of the WSOP: The beginning
• 40 years of the WSOP: The 70s
• 40 years of the WSOP: The 80s
• 40 years of the WSOP: The 90's

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Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment Established to Grow WSOP Worldwide

On Friday, it was revealed that Harrah’s Entertainment had formed Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment. The new entity will be charged with growing the World Series of Poker (WSOP) and other Harrah’s brands around the world.

The global expansion of the WSOP comes on the heels of one of the most successful tournament series ever held. Last year, 124 nations were represented on the WSOP felts in Las Vegas. To put the growth in perspective, the number of countries sending players to Sin City to compete on poker’s biggest stage five years ago was just 24. Nearly 60,000 total entries were recorded during the 55 events that comprised the 2008 WSOP, up from just 13,000 in 2004. In 2007, the WSOP brand hopped “The Pond” to London, where the first ever WSOP Europe Main Event was won by online poker sensation Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad, the youngest bracelet holder ever and current member of Team Betfair.

The 2008 WSOP Europe Main Event marked the first ever bracelet win on the continent by an American, as Full Tilt Poker front man John Juanda defeated Russian poker player Stanislav Alekhin heads-up. Taking third in that event was Ivan Demidov, another Russian. Demidov was the runner up in the Las Vegas WSOP Main Event in November, falling to Danish poker pro Peter Eastgate. The international contingent at the WSOP has now led to the formation of Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment.

The new organization will be headed by Mitch Garber, the former CEO of Party Gaming, the parent company of Party Poker. One month ago, Garber signed on with Harrah’s, although his role was not immediately known. WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack, who will conduct daily bracelet presentations during the upcoming seven week-long festivities, will also become President of Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment. Pollack will remain in his WSOP Commissioner role and is now less than one week out from the 2009 installment of the event. Harrah’s Entertainment Chairman, President, and CEO Gary Loveman commented in a press release, “As the world’s largest gaming company, Harrah’s is taking a proactive approach toward international and interactive expansion. It is important we position ourselves to explore new markets as well as new technologies with our best in class brands.”

Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment will also transplant brands that fall under the heading of “interactive gaming technologies;” Total Rewards was labeled as a possible target. The hiring of Garber led to speculation that Harrah’s may expand into the online poker space, although this has not been announced either. The WSOP will be beamed into households worldwide through ESPN.com and BluffMagazine.com. ESPN’s television coverage, which is primarily limited to the United States, kicks off in July with the airing of the $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament commemorating the 40th running of the WSOP.

The 2009 WSOP Europe festivities will kick off on September 18th with the first of two starting days in a £1,060 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament. On September 21st, action will get underway in a £2,650 buy-in Half Pot Limit Hold’em, Half Pot Limit Omaha event. On September 23rd, all eyes will be squarely focused on a £5,250 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha contest. Last year, Theo Jorgensen defeated Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi in the finals of that tournament, with Max Pescatori, Chris Ferguson, and European Poker Tour (EPT) High Roller Champion Jason Mercier all appearing at the final table. On September 26th, the £10,350 buy-in Main Event will kick off.

The 2009 WSOP Main Event at the Rio will begin on July 3rd with the first of four starting days. It will play down to its final table on July 15th and resume in November. The tournament will air on ESPN beginning on August 18th; its finale will be beamed into homes on November 10th.

Poker Players Alliance Giving Away a 2009 WSOP Main Event Seat

An e-mail sent to members of the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) late Friday night offered the prospects of playing in the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event for renewing or upgrading to a premium membership. The seat is worth $10,000.

The offer is available until Midnight ET on June 15th and doles out one seat into the world’s most prestigious poker tournament. Last year, a total of 6,844 players entered the Main Event, which saw its final table delayed until November for the very first time in order to coincide with its airing on ESPN. In the end, it came down to a battle of Europe, as Danish poker pro Peter Eastgate bested Russian sensation Ivan Demidov, becoming the youngest WSOP Main Event Champion ever at age 22 and banking $9.1 million.

The offer is good for existing premium members who renew as well as members paying for the first time. The cost of the upgrade is $20, which can be done in a few quick steps online. First, existing members are asked to log in and new members are taken to the organization’s sign-up screen. Once logged in, players should select the “Membership” option, which whisks them to the subscription page. PPA members that do not have an automatically renewing membership will then see the date that their current one expires and a large orange button to “Purchase One Year of PPA Online Premium.” This will extend their renewal date by 365 days and does not eat into current time remaining.

Entrants must be over the age of 21 and a mail-in option to qualify is also available. The lucky winner will be selected at High Noon ET on June 16th. Travel expenses to and from Las Vegas and hotel accommodations are not included. However, the Rio and participating Harrah’s hotels offer discount rates for WSOP players throughout the seven week tournament series. The Main Event kicks off from the massive Amazon Room on July 3rd with the first of four starting days. The tournament plays down to its final table on July 15th, at which point it will be paused for over 100 days and resume in November.

Premium PPA members can take advantage of a variety of discounts on movies, restaurants, hotels, electronics, and travel as part of PPA Advantages. The discount shopping program touts potential savings of over $2,000 every year at over 600 merchants. The program includes instantaneous discounts; no point accumulation is required. Premium members also have access to the PPA’s Litigation Network, which has helped orchestrate successful court cases around the United States. The PPA is in the midst of fighting for the rights of one of its own members, Kevin Raley, who was charged with illegal gambling in Colorado. Finally, Premium PPA members score a card protector and window decal.

The organization is fresh off playing a part in Congressman Barney Frank’s (D-MA) introduction of HR 2266 and HR 2267. The former delays the regulations of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) from going into effect until December 1st, 2010. The latter bill establishes a complete licensing and regulatory framework for the internet gambling industry in the United States. Both were introduced on May 6th and referred to the House Financial Services Committee, of which Frank is the Chair. No timeline has yet been announced for their possible discussion in Committee. Besides the PPA, other organizations supporting the bill include Harrah’s and YouBet.com.

Last April, the PPA eclipsed the one million member mark. It has constituents in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. In 2006, it stood at just 50,000 members and has experienced phenomenal growth in terms of numbers and status on Capitol Hill. Much of its growth came with the announcement that former three-term Republican Senator from New York, Alfonse D’Amato, would serve as its Chairman.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest news from the PPA.

Vitaliy Lunkin wins Poker Stars Russia

While the Eurovision Song Contest may have dominated the headlines in Moscow over the past few days a rather important poker tournament was taking place just down the road at the Renaissance Hotel. A high quality field of 206 players including WSOP bracelet winner Alex Kravchenko and WSOP Main Event finalist Ivan Demidov bought in to the $7,000 PokerStars Russia Main Event.

Lunkin wins Russian Poker Tour Moscow

The backgammon player and Renju champion snatched the $445,709 first-place prize from a final table that included Team PokerStars Pros and WSOP Main Event final tablists Alexander Kravchenko and Ivan Demidov.

Lunkin, a Full Tilt Pro, was one of the short stacks coming into the final nine but managed to turn things around rather quickly, going into heads-up with Vyacheslav Goryachev holding a massive chip lead.

In the end, his pair of tens held against Goryachev's ace-six to book the win in front of a raucous crowd at Moscow's Renaissance Hotel.

A total of 206 players put up the $7,000 buy-in for the event. The top 27 were paid.

The former manager of a dietary supplement company, Lunkin has been a fixture in the burgeoning Russian poker scene over the past five years and won a WSOP bracelet in a $1,500 NLHE event in 2008.

Born and raised in Moscow, he now works as a professional poker trainer and coach for Poker Moscow.

With the win, Lunkin moves over the $1 million mark in career tournament earnings.

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Phil Hellmuth, Annie Duke Featured in Deal Me In Poker Book

Eleven-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth and Celebrity Apprentice runner up Annie Duke are two of 20 poker pros that tell their stories in “Deal Me In,” a brand new book available at PokerBrat.com.

The publication was released commemorating the 20th anniversary of Hellmuth’s WSOP Main Event win in 1989. Then, he was just 24 years-old and became the youngest winner ever of the world’s most prestigious poker tournament. Last year, Danish poker pro Peter Eastgate shattered Hellmuth’s mark, defeating Ivan Demidov heads-up and pocketing $9.1 million at the age of 22. Hellmuth last won a bracelet in 2007, besting the field in a $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament for $637,000 and defeating Andy Philachack heads-up. Each story told by a poker legend in “Deal Me In” chronicles anecdotes and milestone moments as they’ve climbed the ladder.

Duke is fresh off finishing as the runner up to comedian Joan Rivers on NBC’s hit reality series Celebrity Apprentice. In the process, the Ultimate Bet pro and top female poker player raised well over $700,000 for her chosen charity, Refugees International. Together with actor Don Cheadle and Norman Epstein, Duke founded Ante Up for Africa in 2006. The organization raised over $2 million in its first two years for the victims of the crisis in Darfur. Duke’s lone bracelet win came in 2004, when she grabbed the “W” in a $2,000 buy-in Omaha High-Low Eight or Better tournament for $137,000, besting Ronald Graham heads-up. Duke won the inaugural WSOP Tournament of Champions in 2004, defeating Hellmuth and taking home $2 million.

About the brand new book, Hellmuth commented in a press release distributed on Monday, “Each chapter takes you behind the scenes into the early lives of poker’s biggest names. They cover their humble beginnings, the obstacles they overcame, the demons they faced, and ultimately the success they enjoyed. Deal Me In is packed with the musings of poker’s most colorful characters, surprising and insightful stories, plus inside poker tips.” Hellmuth was the ringleader behind “Deal Me In” coming to fruition. The 308 page book that includes 154 photos is available on his website, PokerBrat.com, for $24.95. Appropriately, Phil’s House Publishing, Inc. released it.

Hellmuth owns the record for the most number of WSOP in the money finishes with 69, edging out Men “The Master” Nguyen’s tally of 62. A bevy of poker legends appear in “Deal Me In” sharing their stories about the WSOP and other high-stakes events, including Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey, Johnny Chan, Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, Carlos Mortensen, Chau Giang, Jennifer Harman, Allen Cunningham, Howard Lederer, Erik Seidel, Chad Brown, David “Devilfish” Ulliott, Layne Flack, and new Expekt Poker pro Scotty Nguyen.

CardPlayer Magazine reviewed “Deal Me In” and proclaimed, “A page-turner about the world’s most powerful poker players and their hardscrabble journeys from the backgammon games of Manhattan, the taverns of Wisconsin, the back alleys of Saigon, and the pubs of England. Unforgettable stories and valuable tips, Deal Me In is about dreaming big and the will to succeed.”

Also included in the publication are three of the game’s rising stars. Headlining the group is 2007 WSOP Europe Main Event Champion Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad, a card-carrying member of Team Betfair. Obrestad is the youngest bracelet winner ever and earned $2 million for her efforts in the 2007 event. Also profiled in the book is Tom “durrrr” Dwan, who is currently battling in the Million Dollar Challenge against Patrik Antonius. Dwan is a regular on shows like “High Stakes Poker” and competed in the National Heads-Up Poker Championship. The third young gun chronicled is Eastgate, the number two money winner in WSOP history behind Jamie Gold.

PokerStars pro Lee Nelson took down day 1a of EPT Monte Carlo

First part of the first day of the EPT season finale at Monte Carlo attracted already more players than the WPT Championship main event last week. Total of 396 started the day, that is around sixty player more what participated in the whole WPT tournament in Bellagio.

Nelson played a solid day.

Lee Nelson, the winner of the Aussie Millions Main Eventin 2006, leads the group after day 1a with a huge margin. Nelson built a stack of 253,600 chips, which is over 80k chips more than his nearest rival Pagano has.

Full Tilt pro Michael Tureniec made also into the top ten. Tureniec gathered 6th biggest stack, 146,600 chips. Also, high stakes cash game specialist Sami “LarsLuzak” Kelopuro continued where he left off last week at EPT San Remo and proved his tournament game has improved by leaps and bounds. Kelopuro built a 133,500 chip stack and ended the day in 8th place. First ever WSOP Europe champion Annette Obrestad is also in good position with 112,000 chips.

Same time with the tournament action Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier had an event of his own when he made a world record attempt of playing Sit and Go tournaments. Elky started 62 $6.50 Sit and Goes in an hour and made some money, that is a new world record.

Today Elky will be one of the many notable players who will start the main event. The current world champion Peter Eastgate, WSOP finalists Ylon Schwartz and Ivan Demidov, former world champion Joe Hachem, Isabelle Mercier, Noah Boeken and Hevad Khan will join with Elky at the tournament tables.

Source: ept

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PokerStars pro Lee Nelson took down day 1a of EPT Monte Carlo

2009 WSOP Europe Dates Announced

The 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe dates were announced on Monday. The tournament series returns to the Casino at the Empire in London on September 17th and runs through October 1st. A total of four bracelet events will be awarded.

The announcement of the 2009 WSOP Europe schedule comes just one month away from the start of the tournament series in Las Vegas at the Rio on May 26th. In London, the action will return to the Casino at the Empire in historic Leicester Square. The gambling establishment now opens its doors around the clock and has ballooned in popularity thanks in part to serving as the host of the prestigious event. Michael Silberling, COO of London Clubs International, commented in a press release distributed by Harrah’s, "The Casino at the Empire has quickly become the destination for poker in the U.K. We look forward to hosting the best players in the game for the WSOPE this fall and will continue to offer the finest poker action daily for those in Leicester Square.”

Pre-registration is already open in London at any London Clubs International venue. In addition, interested poker players can register in person at the Rio for the four bracelet events. Betfair, WSOP Europe’s presenting sponsor, will also qualify its members in droves. Last year, the site even reached out to U.S. Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, who sparked interest from the poker community after telling his hometown newspaper, the Baltimore Sun, that he wanted to play in the WSOP. The Las Vegas tournaments are sponsored by Everest Poker, which, like Betfair, does not accept players from the United States.

WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack is already looking forward to the action unfolding in September from the British city: “The World Series of Poker Europe has quickly established itself as the most prestigious tournament outside the United States. Winning a gold bracelet is recognized globally as the top prize in the sport and we look forward to awarding four more bracelets in 2009 at the Casino at the Empire in London.” The four pieces of hardware up for grabs in London will be in addition to the 57 at stake in Las Vegas. The final table of the Main Event at the Rio will once again be pushed back until November and is slated to take place sometime between the 7th and 10th of the month.

Here is the schedule of events that will unfold at the Casino at the Empire:

Friday, Sept. 18, 2009
Event #1: £1,060 No Limit Hold’em Day 1A

Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009:
Event #1: £1,060 No Limit Hold’em Day 1B

Monday, Sept. 21, 2009
Event #2: £2,650 – Pot Limit Hold’em/Pot Limit Omaha

Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009
Event #3: £5,250 Pot Limit Omaha

Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009
Event #4: £10,350 Main Event Day 1A

Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009
Event #4: £10,350 Main Event Day 1B

The winner of the third WSOP Europe Main Event will be crowned on October 1st. In 2007, Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad, who was playing in one of her first major live tournaments, won the inaugural Main Event for £1 million. The tournament featured a battle of current Betfair pros heads-up, as Obrestad squared off against John “Kunkuwap” Tabatabai. Last year’s WSOP Europe Main Event final table concluded with John Juanda pocketing £868,800. He barreled through a talented final nine that included Team PokerStars Pro member Daniel Negreanu, Scott Fischman, and the runner up in the Las Vegas Main Event, Ivan Demidov.

Satellites with a $1,570 price tag to the WSOP Europe Main Event will take place at the Rio on July 9th through 11th. The action kicks off at 5:00pm each day. The WSOP Europe events attract players from around the world. In fact, six different nations have claimed the seven bracelets that have been given away over the past two years: Denmark (twice), Afghanistan, Germany, Italy, Norway, and the United States.

The Casino at the Empire does not mandate membership in order to enter. In addition to the four bracelet events, cash games and satellites will also be held, although specific details were not released on Thursday. ESPN will return as the television partner of the 2009 WSOP Europe festivities and will air 10 hours of coverage. ESPN 360 will also provide action to poker enthusiasts in the United States, Europe, Mexico, and Brazil.

Poker in the Park Returns August 13th and 14th

The third running of Poker in the Park will take place on August 13th and 14th in Leicester Square in London. Its organizers bill the event as “Europe’s largest free poker festival,” featuring live tournaments, educational lectures, and a bevy of brand name poker pros on hand celebrating the game.

In 2008, the second running of Poker in the Park featured over 10,000 people descending upon the historic square, whose Casino at the Empire plays host to the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe festivities each year. This time around, the tournament series shifts from being held on a Friday and Saturday to taking place on a Thursday and Friday, although a reason for the change in schedule was not given.

A variety of European poker pros were on hand last year to share their insight into the game with the festival’s patrons. Speakers included Tony Holden (who read from his book “Bigger Deal”), Ian Frazier (who discussed playing in short-handed poker games), David “Devilfish” Ulliott (who appropriately lectured on table banter), Paul Jackson (who discussed identifying and exploiting live poker tells), and Liv Boeree (who described to newcomers how to play No Limit Texas Hold’em). Other special guests on hand in 2008 included Nik Persaud, Neil Channing, Marc Goodwin, and Tom Sambrook.

The 2008 running of Poker in the Park was sponsored by Bluff Europe, PKR, Aces Royal, Fox Poker Club, Poker Kings, Jackpot Joy, Ace Poker, and Cardoza Books. Patrons were able to partake in a variety of free poker tournaments held throughout the massive Leicester Square, which is located in the heart of the historic European city. Tournaments held last year were the Sky Poker Cup, Gambling.com Sit n Go, SubTV Student Poker League Cup, LondonPubPoker.co.uk Trophy, Royal Surrey Trophy, iGaming Business Open, Nuts Poker League Challenge, LondonPokerMeetup.co.uk Cup, England Poker League Cup, and the Bluff Europe Championship, which capped off the two-day event.

Bluff Europe’s Editor-in-Chief Michael Caselli commented in a press release distributed last week, “Poker in the Park is about bringing poker enthusiasts from all over the U.K. together to meet their poker heroes, improve their play, and play poker absolutely free with other lovers of the game from all around the nation.” Companies interested in sponsoring Poker in the Park III should contact Ed Whittington of Lyceum Publishing at +44 (0) 207 828 6988.

Last year’s WSOP Europe Main Event was won by Full Tilt Poker pro John Juanda, who took home £868,800 and his fourth bracelet. A pair of Russian poker players finished second and third, as Stanislav Alekhin cashed for £533,950 as the runner up and Ivan Demidov, the WSOP Main Event second place finisher, grabbed another £334,850 for third place. Team PokerStars Pro member Daniel Negreanu and Scott Fischman also reached the nine-handed final table that took place last September and October.

The 2008 WSOP Europe festivities also included three preliminary tournaments. Jesper Hougaard brought home the gold in a £1,575 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event for £144,218. He defeated Fuad Serhan heads-up with Yevgeniy “atimos” Timoshenko, Boyle Poker pro Neil Channing, and Adam “A_Junglen” Junglen also making the final table. The tournament was the first of WSOP Europe and attracted a healthy field of 410 entrants. Sherkhan Farnood, who bested a final table that also featured Howard Lederer and Phil Ivey, won a £2,650 buy-in HORSE event. Finally, Danish poker pro Theo Jorgensen defeated Team Betfair’s Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi heads-up in a £5,250 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha event.

Poker in the Park is open to the public and is an 18 and up event. We’ll have more details as they are released right here on Poker News Daily.

Peter Eastgate and Ivan Demidov Signs with Team PokerStars

PokerStars.com has signed a long term contract with Peter Eastgate and Ivan Demidov which means that they are now officially a part of Team PokerStars. These are the two players who battled heads-up for the 2008 WSOP title.

Peter Eastgate and Ivan Demidov where amongst the final nine players that had to come back to play the televised final table of the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event. When it was time for the final table these two players were guaranteed to walk away with at least $990.670. These two players had stacks around $20 Million and were not going to be happy walking away with only $990K.

After a couple of hours of play there only two remaining players were Eastgate from Denmark and Demidov from Russia. After a long heads up battle it was Peter Eastgate who ended up winning the title and the first prize of over $9 Million. Demidov was awarded with $5.8 Million for his second place finish.

After this event took place we have seen a lot more of these players at the different poker tours and Peter Eastgate is also playing in the TV Show High Stakes Poker.

During all of the events these two players have been seen wearing the PokerStars.com logo but until now they have not had a real sponsorship contract.

Last week it was announced that PokerStars had negotiated a deal with the two players and that they were now a part of the prestigious Team PokerStars.

PokerStars Signs Peter Eastgate, Ivan Demidov

On Thursday, PokerStars, the world's largest online poker site, announced that 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion Peter Eastgate and runner up Ivan Demidov have become the newest members of Team PokerStars Pro. The move bolsters the non-U.S. presence of the site, as Eastgate hails from Denmark and Demidov makes his home in Russia.

A few weeks prior to the start of the 2008 WSOP festivities, Harrah's officials announced that the final table of the Main Event would be pushed back until November. In essence, the move created a lull of 100 days and the first ever “November Nine,” the final players standing. The nine final table contestants would have ample time to pursue sponsorships, seek training, and even review hands as the WSOP played out on ESPN. Eastgate and Demidov join fellow November Nine members Dennis Phillips and Ylon Schwartz on Team PokerStars Pro. The group represents the top four finishers in the tournament.

The PokerStars blog revealed that the signings have been in the works for awhile: “Ever since you saw the two sit down face-to-face for the epic World Series battle, you somehow knew they would end up in the elite Team Pro stable. It was just a matter of when it would happen.” Eastgate banked $9.1 million from the 2008 WSOP Main Event, his lone World Series cash to date. He showed his performance at the Rio was no fluke by taking down a $4,800 buy-in preliminary tournament held during the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure for $343,000, defeating German player Florian Langmann heads-up.

Demidov became the first player ever to reach the final tables of both the WSOP and WSOP Europe Main Events, taking third in the latter tournament for £334,850. His runner up performance in the Main Event in Las Vegas was worth a healthy $5.8 million. He also finished 11th in a $1,000 rebuy tournament during the 2008 WSOP for $39,000. Demidov is a former StarCraft player and math whiz, which explains his success at the poker felts. You can catch the Russian playing on PokerStars under the name "Ivan Demidov."

Team PokerStars Pro recently welcomed Norwegian player Johnny Lodden to its ranks. The squad, which represents PokerStars at major live events and is intricately involved in its online promotions, is headlined by a trio of recent WSOP Main Event Champions: Chris Moneymaker (2003), Greg Raymer (2004), and Joe Hachem (2005). At the end of February, Team PokerStars Pro also welcomed J.C. Alvarado, who originally hails from Mexico and now lives in Las Vegas.

Other members of Team PokerStars Pro include Barry Greenstein, Isabelle Mercier, Daniel Negreanu, John Duthie, Steven Paul-Ambrose, Luca Pagano, Victor Ramdin, Lee Nelson, Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, and Humberto Brenes. The site plays host to some of the top women in poker, headlined by Go Daddy Girl Vanessa Rousso, who took second to Huck Seed in the 2009 National Heads-Up Poker Championship, which will unfold beginning on April 12th on NBC. Other top female players who are members of Team PokerStars Pro include Katja Thater, Victoria Coren, and Maridu Mayrinck.

PokerStars is in the midst of Day 2 of its inaugural Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP). The tournament series features events with low-stakes, mid-stakes, and high-stakes buy-ins. The very first event was a No Limit Hold'em Six-Max with Rebuys tournament. The low-stakes contest featured a $500,000 guaranteed prize pool and attracted over 27,000 players, making it one of the largest online poker tournaments ever held. The mid-stakes $55 buy-in version attracted 4,057 players and the $550 buy-in high-stakes edition saw a field of 672 players compete. In Event 2, a Pot Limit Omaha High-Low tournament, 7,622 players showed up for the low-stakes, 2,104 for the mid-stakes, and 327 for the high-stakes. SCOOP culminates with its Main Event on April 12th.

Eastgate, Demidov Join Team PokerStars Pro

Team PokerStars Pro has just announced its latest casting coups, confirming the ongoing presence on its roster the presence of two young European players who made poker history in 2008: Peter Eastgate and Ivan Demidov...

Eastgate and Demidov finally join the Team PokerStars

Both of the guys were sponsored by PokerStars when playing in the Main Event so it was just a matter of time when they would join the team. It took somewhat long until they were signed as the team member.

It was anticipated that PokerStars would’ve signed at least the world champion Eastgate sooner after winning the title in November 2008. It took about half a year, but finally both of them are part of the pro team.

Now that is a big pile of cash!

Eastgate, who will be using the screen name “PeteEastgate” from now on, became the youngest world champion ever when he beat the guy who was the early favorite to win the big show in Demidov. Eastgate showed his skills again when he beat everybody in a side event at PCA for almost $350k in January 2009.

Demidov broke some records as well last year, when he reached the final tables both in the WSOP Main Event and in the Main Event of the European version of the series in London. He also managed well in both, finishing third in WSOPE. In the future, Demidov will be playing as “Ivan Demidov” on PokerStars.

Last year was the breakthrough year for both of these European superstars. Actually, not many knew much about the pair before the Main Event. The success in WSOP have catapulted both to the biggest games in poker and even to the High Stakes Poker television show.

Source: PokerStarsBlog

You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com

Eastgate and Demidov finally join the Team PokerStars

Eastgate and Demidov sign with PokerStars

Danish 2008 WSOP Main Event champ Peter Eastgate and Russian runner-up Ivan Demidov, who also made the final table of the WSOP Europe Main Event in 2008, have joined Team PokerStars Pro.

"It feels great to finally be part of the team," Demidov, 27, told PokerListings Thursday. "It's going to allow me to travel more and play more events.

"I really enjoy playing offline in live events and it's great to become a team member with all these other great players."

Eastgate, who at 22 years old became the youngest WSOP Main Event champion in history in 2008, followed up the $9,152,416 win by banking $343,000 at the 2009 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure when he took down a $5k side event there.

However, the Danish pro is being careful with his newfound wealth.

"I won't be splashing out on expensive things or living a crazy life," he said. "I'm thinking carefully about how to invest the money so that I make the right decision."

Both players were weaned on the game online, and now Eastgate can be found on PokerStars using the screen name "PeteEastgate" and Demidov as "Ivan Demidov."

On the live felt, both have committed to playing EPT San Remo and the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo before making their return to Vegas for the 2009 WSOP.

"I would like to repeat the success I had last year, but obviously I don't think I will be able to," said Demidov, who will also be playing in the PokerStars.com Russian Poker Tour event set for Moscow this May.

"I have serious plans to train and play a lot before the WSOP and hopefully I will be ready. I would like to make more final tables and I will be taking it very seriously."

 

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Peter Eastgate and Ivan Demidov Join Team Poker Stars Pro

PokerStars has recently announced the signing of World Series of Poker champion and runner-up Peter Eastgate and Ivan Demidov to its team of pros. Both players will promote the PokerStars brand in online and live events and will represent the site at various global poker tour circuits. Eastgate...