Poker News

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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Benjamin Lablond Wins Canadian Open Poker Championship

Jeff Madsen came oh-so-close to winning the main event at the 2009 Canadian Open Poker Championship...

Pros fall in Canadian Open

Coming from behind to defeat 2006 WSOP wunderkind Jeff Madsen in their best-of-three final heads-up match, Benjamin LaBlond took down the 2009 Canadian Open Poker Championship in Calgary Sunday.

LaBlond's path to the $100,000 win saw him go through no less than 11-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth in the quarterfinals, sucking out huge when he rivered a set of sixes against Hellmuth's pocket nines to end a six-hour match.

He also beat Canadian great Brad Booth in the semis.

Other big names who made the trip to Western Canada included Gavin Smith, semi-finalist Terrence Chan, Antonio Esfandiari and last year's winner, Huck Seed, who was defeated in the first round of the heads-up championship.

An amateur from Hull, Quebec, who plays regulalry online, LaBlond told local media he was going to parlay part of his winnings into a seat in the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event.

A total of 93 players ponied up the $5,000 buy-in for a shot at the Canadian Open Poker Championship title.

Madsen took $50,000 for his second place finish.

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A Poker Life — Steve Billirakis

Jeff Madsen walked into the 2007 World Series of Poker as the youngest bracelet winner in history, having snagged the title from Eric Froelich the year before, but it didn't take long before he'd have to bequeath his record to someone new. In event No. 1 of the 2008 WSOP, Steve...

Scotty Nguyen Leads Final Ten at WPT Championship

Friday marks the all-important play down day in the World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship. Tenth place will pocket $98,000, while the winner of the finale of Season VII will see their bank account rise by $2.1 million. In the chip lead entering the critical day of play is Scotty Nguyen.

Nguyen holds 5.9 million chips to begin the play down day, about 750,000 more than the second place stack of Yevgeniy “atimos” Timoshenko. Nguyen was all smiles when play concluded on Thursday, telling WPT Live Updates Hostess Amanda Leatherman, “The day was smooth. I never looked back. I started out with 1.8 million and my stack never went below that. Now, at the end of the day, daddy got all of the chips, baby.” Leatherman proceeded to ask Nguyen about his gold necklaces, which Nguyen responded, “This is power. This one is luck.”

Timoshenko made a run at Nguyen late in the day, busting Jennifer Harman in 11th place holding 10-2 against the Fill Tilt Poker pro’s pocket aces. Harman took home $81,710 for her efforts and is fresh off raising over $130,000 for the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in a charity tournament held last weekend. Timoshenko sent Andrew Lichtenberger packing in 13th place when his A-7 held up against Q-J. The flop came ace-high, keeping Timoshenko in the lead for good in the hand. Lichtenberger also received $81,710 for his efforts in the $25,000 buy-in tournament.

Holding the third largest chip stack is online poker sensation Christian “charder” Harder, who has amassed 4.6 million chips over the course of the five day-old tournament. Harder eliminated Ross Boatman in 15th place after coming out on the winning end of a race holding pocket jacks against Boatman’s Big Slick. The board came ten-high, boosting Harder’s chip stack to nearly 4.4 million. Harder also sent Eric Liu packing in 19th place. He called an all-in by Liu pre-flop with J-10; Liu dominated his opponent with K-10. However, a jack fell on the turn, giving Harder the win.

Justin Young holds the fourth largest stack at the Bellagio. He went on a tear over the course of Thursday’s play, eliminating a bevy of brand name pros from the prestigious tournament. One of his victims was Marco "CrazyMarco" Johnson, who was instrumental in uncovering the cheating scandal on Absolute Poker. Young three-outed Johnson with A-Q against A-K by spiking a queen on the turn; Johnson finished in 20th place for $65,370. Young was also the bearer of bad news for Owen “ocrowe” Crowe, who limped pre-flop with aces under the gun. Young limped from the cutoff with 7-3 and was elated to see the flop come 9-3-3. Crowe promptly shoved and Young called. The hand pushed Young to over six million chips. He’ll come armed to Friday’s play down day with 4.2 million.

Here is how the final 10 chip stacks look entering today’s session:
1. Scotty Nguyen - 5,880,000
2. Yevgeniy Timoshenko - 5,105,000
3. Christian Harder - 4,650,000
4. Justin Young - 4,220,000
5. Shannon Shorr - 3,155,000
6. Brian Rast - 3,025,000
7. Eugene Katchalov - 2,385,000
8. Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier - 1,965,000
9. Ran Azor - 1,810,000
10. Bruno Fitoussi - 1,615,000

Notable eliminations on Thursday included:
11th Place: Jennifer Harman - $81,710
12th Place: Freddy Deeb - $81,710
15th Place: Ross Boatman - $81,710
18th Place: Jeff Madsen - $65,370
19th Place: Eric Liu - $65,370
20th Place: Marco Johnson - $65,370
23rd Place: David Grey - $49,025

Play picks up at Noon Pacific Time today and will conclude when six finalists remain. They’ll reconvene on Saturday in front of Fox Sports Net television cameras to determine a winner.

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.

Bertrand Grospellier (Elky) Second in WPT Championship After Day 2

On Monday, the second day of play in the World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship played out at the Bellagio. Sitting with the second largest chip stack when the action concluded was a familiar name in the live poker world: Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier.

A member of Team PokerStars Pro, Grospellier already has wins in the 2008 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure for $2 million and the Season VII WPT Festa al Lago Main Event for $1.4 million. His win in the Bahamas saw him blast through a field of 1,136 entrants and defeat Hafiz Khan heads-up. Also at the final table, which played out at the Atlantis Resort and Casino on Paradise Island, were David “The Dragon” Phan and online poker pro Christian “charder” Harder, who took fourth and seventh, respectively. Grospellier doubled up through Shawn Cunix on Monday by drawing out after Cunix flopped the nuts. Grospellier sits with a stack of 678,300, trailing Jean-Noel Thorel’s 743,500. He will be flanked by Full Tilt Poker pro Howard Lederer at Table 57 on Tuesday.

Also still in contention is Poker News Daily guest columnist and “Celebrity Apprentice” candidate Annie Duke. The World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner will have the 87th largest stack when play resumes, 162,900. Comedian Joan Rivers comparing Duke to Hitler highlighted the latest “Celebrity Apprentice” episode. Duke told WPT Live Updates Hostess Amanda Leatherman on Monday, “She Twittered, ‘I compared Annie to Hitler last night. I’m so sorry; my apologies to Hitler’… In the heat of the moment, it’s terrible to say that. I just assumed that when she saw it, she’d regret it. I think it trivializes the Holocaust, which is terrible.” Rivers’ comments marked her second World War II dictator comparison; she also likened Duke to Benito Mussolini. Joining Duke at Table 63 on Tuesday will be Phil Laak, fellow Ultimate Bet pro Adam “Roothlus” Levy, Matt Glantz, and Phil Ivey.

In a battle of heavyweights, J.C. Tran eliminated online poker legend Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy near the end of play on Monday. Josephy was all-in pre-flop holding pocket eights against Tran’s A-K. The flop came a benign 9-9-5, but an ace on the turn sent Tran into the lead for good. The hand gave Tran 220,000 chips, although he ended the day with just 125,500. In September of 2006, Josephy, at the time an Ultimate Bet pro, finished second in the site’s Aruba Poker Classic for $446,000. Two months later, he was again the runner up, this time in a $4,800 buy-in preliminary tournament held during the World Poker Finals, for $187,000. The winner of that event was none other than Poker News Daily guest columnist Bernard Lee.

Here are the top 10 players on the leader board entering Day 3 on Tuesday:
1. Jean-Noel Thorel - 743,500
2. Bertrand Grospellier - 678,300
3. Steve Billirakis - 672,400
4. Dan Heimiller - 655,700
5. Justin Young - 621,800
6. Fred Berger - 598,500
7. Jimmy Fricke - 583,800
8. Steve Sung - 529,300
9. Joseph Parker - 505,500
10. Jeff Madsen - 479,200

Other notable names in the top 50 include:
12. Nenad Medic - 455,000
16. Johnny Chan - 404,500
20. David Singer - 370,700
22. Vadim Trincher - 365,200
25. Jennifer Harman - 341,300
26. Freddy Deeb - 338,400
28. Mike Matusow - 331,700
38. Kathy Liebert - 282,400
39. J.J. Liu - 281,900
46. Jerry Yang - 255,000
47. Joe Sebok - 253,900

Trincher is fresh off a win in the WPT’s Foxwoods Poker Classic, where he defeated a field of 259 entrants en route to a $731,000 payday. Heads-up at the Connecticut casino, Trincher defeated Amnon Filippi, who busted Phil Hellmuth on Day 1 from the Bellagio after just 15 minutes of play. Liebert took second to Steve Brecher in the Bay 101 Shooting Star event, which played out in March from San Jose, California; Liebert pocketed $550,000 for her runner up showing. Brecher sits with the 113th largest stack at the Bellagio, 136,200, well below the average stack size of 210,000.

Day 3 picks up today at Noon Pacific Time. A winner will be crowned on Saturday.

Jennifer Harman Raises $130,000 for Animal Cruelty Prevention

The Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) saw its budget boosted by $130,000 as a result of a fundraiser spearheaded by Jennifer Harman. Over 120 players turned out for the tournament, which took place at the Venetian on Friday night.

Last year, a total of 220 players turned out and donated $325,000. Tournament organizer Lisa Wheeler speculated why the event attracted a smaller field in 2009. The founder of GreasieWheels Productions told Poker News Daily, “I think it was a combination of the economy, the start of the World Poker Tour Championship, and a lot of our pros playing all night in a live game at Bobby’s Room. Also, because it took so long for the Venetian to give us approval, we only had nine days to promote the event.” Nevertheless, some of the top names in the game turned out, including Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, and Phil Ivey.

In addition to the bevy of poker talent, celebrities including “The Simpsons” voice Nancy Cartwright and “Dancing with the Stars” contestant Karina Smirnoff. Cartwright, who supplies the voice of Bart Simpson on the popular animated comedy series, served as the emcee of a live auction and gave the tournament’s “Shuffle up and deal” command. Poker player Lacey Jones was the highlight of the auction; Negreanu purchased a date with her for a price tag of $28,000. In addition, Robert Williamson III helped raise over $40,000 as part of the festivities.

Chef Dakake donated a dinner for 12 at his Las Vegas restaurant with former baseball legend Pete Rose and Harman. Full Tilt Poker pro and former MIT Blackjack Team member Andy Bloch purchased the unique evening for a $10,000 donation. ABA Energy’s Al Adler donated a ride on a private jet for five people to anywhere on the West Coast of the United States plus overnight accommodations for two nights. That experience also was sold in the live auction and fetched a bid of $10,000.

Several SPCA representatives were in attendance. The evening generated much-needed funds in a down economy for the organization. Wheeler explained, “They were thrilled. They stayed all the way until the end. They count on this event and this is a big chunk of money that they can do things with. Last year, they built a new wing. With the economy, people are abandoning their homes and leaving their animals.” This is the third year that the SPCA event has been held. In 2007, it also generated around $130,000; however, this time around, donations from players who were unable to make it to the Venetian are still trickling in.

Given the truncated time frame to market the event, Wheeler’s staff was forced to compress a multi-month process into just over one week. She told Poker News Daily, “It was very challenging. We got two press releases out and the viral campaign went on for 24 hours. We worked really hard on that campaign. Considering the fact that we only had a short amount of time, we were lacking very few people.” The viral campaign takes advantage of 50 social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

Eleven animals walked the red carpet into the Venetian poker room, the location of the charity tournament. They included cats, dogs, a guinea pig, and even a rabbit. Attendees were given special pet-focused gift bags, which included dog treats and custom-designed cupcakes. A flat of sweets leftover from the event was sold off for charity at the conclusion of the evening. Negreanu and Layne Flack each purchased cupcakes for $200, while two-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Jeff Madsen helped raise an additional $180 by purchasing four cupcakes. Over 50 members of the general public watched the spectacle unfold.

GreasieWheels produces some of the poker industry’s most popular charity tournaments. Wheeler compared this go-around of the company’s marquee event to others held throughout the year: “It wasn’t hectic. It wasn’t stressful. We had a great crew and everything went wonderfully.”

Jennifer Harman Charity Poker Tournament Returns for Third Year

Jennifer Harman and her many friends are back to raise money for a good cause.

The third annual Jennifer Harman Charity Poker Tournament will be held at The Venetian Poker Room on Friday, April 17, in Las Vegas. The event, which benefits the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA), raised more than $130,000 for the organization last year alone.

Poker celebrities that have already reserved seats for the charity tournament include Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein, Chris Ferguson, Hoyt Corkins, Jerry Yang, Andy Bloch, David Williams, Eli Elezra, David Oppenheim, Lee Watkinson, Jeff Madsen, Karina Jett, Todd Brunson, Brad Booth, Joe Sebok, and many others. Defending champion Seth Dupre, a recreational player from Las Vegas, will also participate. The event is open to the public.

A red carpet walk featuring players accompanied by animals from the NSPCA shelter is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m., while emcee Matt Savage will kick off the $300 No Limit Hold'em tournament at 5 p.m. The tournament will include unlimited $100 rebuys for the first three levels and then a $100 add-on worth twice the starting stack.

The grand prize of a seat in the $10,000 World Series of Poker Main Event, along with a Curtis & Co. watch, will be awarded to the winner. Each player will receive a generous gift bag courtesy of the Nevada SPCA and its sponsors. The silent auction, hosted by Nevada SPCA and Triumph Sports, will feature autographed sports and poker memorabilia items. The auction will run from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m.

The following sponsored prizes will be awarded to those that reach the final table:

1st Place -- $10,000 World Series of Poker Main Event seat, Legacy Alliance custom designed crystal trophy, Curtis & Co. sports watch, Life’s A Bluff autographed Limited Edition Lithograph.

2nd Place -- WSOP Academy certificate, Legacy Alliance custom designed crystal trophy, Curtis & Co. sports watch, Life’s A Bluff autographed Limited Edition Lithograph.

3rd Place -- WSOP Academy certificate, Legacy Alliance custom designed crystal trophy, Curtis & Co. sports watch, Life’s A Bluff autographed Limited Edition Lithograph.

4th Place -- Two nights luxury accommodations at the Venetian, dinner for two at a Delmonico Steakhouse (pending approval), certificate to Venetian’s Canyon Ranch Spa Club (pending approval), Life’s A Bluff autographed Limited Edition Lithograph.

5th Place -- Autographed complete home poker chip set, tickets for two to David Spade Live at the Venetian (pending approval), Quad Queens all-in-one cushion backpack, Life’s A Bluff autographed Limited Edition Lithograph.

6th Place -- Tickets for two to Phantom at the Venetian (pending approval), autographed complete home poker chip set, Quad Queens all-in-one cushion backpack, Life’s A Bluff autographed Limited Edition Lithograph.

7th Place -- Tickets for two to Wayne Brady at the Venetian (pending approval), autographed complete home poker chip set, Quad Queens all-in-one Cushion Backpack, Life’s A Bluff autographed Limited Edition Lithograph.

8th Place -- Tickets for two to Madame Tussauds (pending approval), autographed complete home poker chip set, Quad Queens all-in-one cushion backpack, Life’s A Bluff autographed Limited Edition Lithograph.

9th Place -- Tickets for two to Jersey Boys (pending approval), autographed complete home poker chip set, Quad Queens all-in-one cushion backpack, Life’s A Bluff autographed Limited Edition Lithograph.

10th Place -- Tickets for two to Blue Man Group, SuperSystem leather-bound autographed by Doyle Brunson, Doyle Brunson autographed cowboy hat, Quad Queens all-in-one cushion Backpack, Life’s A Bluff autographed Limited Edition Lithograph.

There will also be a “Last Woman Standing” prize and “Jennifer Harman Bounty” prize sponsored by 2-Step Images. More information, including tournament structure, prizes, and contacts, can be found at http://www.jenniferharmancpt.com.

Jeff Madsen Interview with Poker News Daily

Poker News Daily: You stormed onto the live poker scene in 2006, capturing two World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets. Did it all just come together at once?

Madsen: I believed that I was a good player and borrowed some money to take a shot. I knew I was good, but certainly didn’t expect to do that well. I played my best game because I had nothing to lose.

PND: Does winning two bracelets early on set incredibly high expectations for your future career?

Madsen: I was just a college kid. I would have been happy making $50,000 or $100,000 or just cashing. The first was a lot of pressure, but I always expect to play my best game. The better you get and the older you get, the more you expect to play well.

PND: How did you get started in poker?

Madsen: I started like everyone else and played with friends. That was right before college. When I got to college, there was an 18 and up Indian casino and I went there and played in small tournaments and cash games. I also played online.

PND: Talk about the competition at the Indian casino.

Madsen: It’s a random casino by Santa Barbara. There weren’t terrible players there, so it was good practice.

PND: You’re off to a hot start in 2009. What goals do you have in poker right now?

Madsen: I want to push myself, so I’m gunning to be the CardPlayer Player of the Year. It’s within reach if I keep playing well. It’s all about finishing in the top three in big tournaments. You get a lot of points for those. Winning another bracelet would also be nice. I haven’t won a World Poker Tour event yet, so that’s something that I want to accomplish.

PND: Tell us about what you do away from the table.

Madsen: I’m athletic. I skate a good amount. I watch movies and I like music. I rap a little bit too. Overall, I’d say I’m pretty laid back.

PND: When can we expect the release of your rap CD?

Madsen: I want to build a studio in my house where I can make music. I’ll have music eventually. It’s definitely a project.

PND: Steve “MrSmokey1” Billirakis broke your record for being the youngest ever WSOP bracelet winner in 2007. Talk about how you felt when he accomplished this feat.

Madsen: It wasn’t upsetting, but it was just watching someone break the record that I made my career on. It’s like starting a new chapter. In poker, it’s not usually about the past, but about what you’re going to accomplish in the future.

PND: Are you and Billirakis friendly?

Madsen: Yeah, we are. I know a lot of people in poker. Some people only have friends like online guys or other cliques, but I am relatively friendly with everyone you can think of.

PND: What advice do you have for newcomers in the game?

Madsen: Put things in perspective and have good monetary skills. Don’t think you’re better than you are. Losing streaks happen and you have to learn to deal with them. Also, you can’t donate your entire life to poker. You have to have other things you’re good at.

A Poker Life — Jeff Madsen

By now, most of the poker community is familiar with the story behind Jeff Madsen's rise to fame. For those who aren't, here's a quick recap - Madsen turned 21, borrowed $3,500 from his parents, planning to spend a total of $10,000 at the 2006 World Series of Poker to play in six...

Winner’s Circle — Jeff Madsen

The Winner's Circle takes a look at the biggest wins from the tournament trail by the players that made it happen. This series will look at the big hands, toughest opponents, and paths to victory each player took in their most recent tournament win through their own eyes and words. If you...

PokerListings’ epic fail at Dream Team Poker

Despite organizers advertising a sold-out field, the final turnout fell a few spots short of the 170-team cap. All told 444 players and $220,000 made it to the felt.

Team PokerListings had high hopes. Given that it was comprised of poker diva Liz Lieu, WSOP bracelet winner Quinn Do and online MTT pro Matt Stout, PL.com was accused on more than one occasion of stacking the team with ringers.

In the end the ringers were unable to deliver, going bust one after another in the first few levels of the day.

Liz Lieu claimed supernatural powers were against her.

"It was the jerseys. They must have been bad luck. All three of us had them and we all got busted!" Liz asserted. Her logic is unassailable.

The bad luck began with Quinn Do, who found himself seated two to the right of Phil Hellmuth. Unfortunately for Do he would have little time to bask in the Poker Brat's ambient glory.

Stout was out next. Cracked aces and a series of lost pots left him short before he shipped the remainder of his stack to Jeff Madsen of Team PokerRoad Radio. The photo above was taken at the time of the all-in.

The arm you see is Joe Sebok's, Madsen's PokerRoad teammate, who was pointing and laughing at the all-in Stout.

Liz Lieu saw her starting stack halved before getting it in good with pocket kings against pocket eights. Her opponent flopped quads.

Despite the disappointing results Team PokerListings enjoyed playing the team format, a sentiment shared by everyone in the Caesars tournament room today.

Jamie Gold was one of five former World Champions to play today, and he had nothing but good things to say about the event.

"It's very rare you have this much fun and this kind of camaraderie in tournaments. It makes me think of when I was a kid playing Little League baseball," Gold commented.

Players responded extremely positively to the team format and we saw today how it adds another layer to the tournament style we're so familiar with.

Gold elaborated, "It's so cool that you can bust out right away and still have a chance to win. It keeps you involved and it gives you something to root for. I'm having a blast."

At a time when disposable income is at a premium the team format is a great way to moderate the risk associated with tournament poker.

Gold agrees, saying, "In this economy [the team format] is very timely. This is the time to share some of the risk. Not everyone can afford to keep playing in big-buy-in tournaments on their own."

At time of posting there are just over 30 players left in this event. When play ceases for the night just 27 will remain. Tomorrow we will play down to a winner.

PokerListings.com will be on the scene beaming live updates and news straight to your computer. Hit up the live tournament section to see how it all shakes out!

 

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