Poker News

Identity of Isildur1 May Be Revealed Saturday

In what will either be the worst kept secret ever in the poker world or the most stunning reveal of all-time, the identity of the online phenomenon Isildur1 will purportedly be unveiled on Saturday evening in the Bahamas.

Several poker news sites have announced that the identity of Isildur1 will be revealed at 7:00pm ET on Saturday night during action at the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA), currently ongoing at the Atlantis Hotel and Casino. OnlinePoker.net indicated that the Tournament Director of the PCA stated that the announcement of Isildur1’s identity would come while trumpeting the arrival of Viktor Blom, the Swedish pro who has long been rumored to be the man behind the curtain.

PokerNews has also reported tomorrow’s reveal: “There’s a lot of speculation regarding the other identity of Blom, many claiming that he is indeed Isildur1 of nosebleed online fame. We can’t say for sure, but PokerStars is set to reveal the true identity of their newest online pro on Saturday at 7:00pm. Are Blom and Isildur1 the same person? We’ll know for sure in just over 48 hours.”

Players, for their part, have not been keeping the secret very quiet during the Super High Roller event at the PCA… or have they? On their Twitter feeds, players have been calling Blom “Isildur1” when they note to their followers who is at their tables. For example, in his Tweet, 2010 Bluff Magazine Player of the Year Sorel Mizzi gave his table’s roll call: “Got Ashman, Negreanu, Timex, Vivek, Isildur1, and Nick Schulman. Fun!”

This hasn’t stopped some players from promoting different theories as to the true identity of Isildur1. Justin Bonomo noted a thread on TwoPlusTwo and Tweeted, “Coincidence that Hellmuth leaves UB just before Stars reveals Isildur1? Get ready to feel your heads explode Blom fanboys!”

Another Tweeter, Chris Choy, took the time to look over the entry list for the PCA Super High Roller event and noted, “Going through PCA $100K High Roller lineup…  Seat 6 – Koen Berendsen is the only name I don’t recognize… Isildur1, is that you buddy?” Berendsen is a player from the Netherlands who has had some success in the European poker community.

Blom did not fare well in the PCA Super High Roller event, busting before the end of Day 1. Germany’s Tobias Reinkemeier leads Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu and Bryn Kenney as Day 2 plays out. Other players still a part of the action include recent WPT champion Antonio Esfandiari, Daniel “jungleman12” Cates, Eugene Katchalov, and Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger.

The Isildur1 drama has played out over more than a year since the arrival of the Swedish high-stakes player in 2009. Taking on such players as Patrik Antonius, Phil Ivey, and Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Isildur1 grew his bankroll in high-stakes play to record levels. As 2010 came to a close, however, the mysterious Swede decided it was time to take an unprecedented step.

Isildur1 unexpectedly signed a sponsorship agreement with PokerStars in December, guaranteeing a steady income, but also potentially prompting an end to the mystery surrounding his identity. It had been previously announced by PokerStars that Isildur1 would make the PCA his first official live event as a part of the Team PokerStars stable, and Saturday’s announcement of his or her identity will certainly draw the attention of the poker community.

NAPT Los Angeles Bounty Shootout Airs on ESPN

On Sunday night, coverage of the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Los Angeles Bounty Shootout aired on ESPN2. The $5,000 buy-in tournament’s first flight, which aired over the course of an hour, featured 11 bracelet winners along with “Seinfeld” star Jason Alexander. ESPN poker announcers Lon McEachern and Norman Chad brought the event to life.

Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad scooped a 25,000-chip early pot at the expense of Ronnie Bardah after turning the nuts with 7-5 for a straight. Players received 25,000 in chips to start and each person carried a $1,000 bounty; the player who logged the most bounties after all was said and done would win a buy-in to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Bounty Shootout in January. In addition, players’ faces and home countries were displayed on the screen by ESPN when they were involved in a hand. Any player who bested their opening round table claimed $20,000 in cash. The feature table is winner-take-all for nearly $135,000.

The first elimination of the flight went to Titan Poker pro Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi, who was defeated at the hands of Justin Bonomo. Then, November Niner Jason Senti’s pocket queens could not hold against Vanessa Selbst’s A-K for his tournament life. Elsewhere in the field, Scott Montgomery sent Greg Mueller packing with pocket kings against pocket eights and Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi eliminated Selbst after scoring the nut flush.

Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier hit the rails at the hands of Bonomo, while Andrew “good2cu” Robl scored a double elimination. Robl turned two pair, called Obrestad’s shove with second pair on the river, and promptly sent Tom Marchese and the bracelet winner packing. Then, Greg DeBora was all-in with 8-5 against Bardah, but could not draw out on pocket threes.

Bonomo recorded his fourth bounty after eliminating online poker pro Andy Seth with queens against A-Q. Then, David Baker suffered the bad beat of the night after Victory Poker pro Antonio Esfandiari sucked out on his pocket aces with A-Q. Esfandiari flopped one queen and rivered another to send the Texan packing. Then, Montgomery failed to win a coin flop with K-10 against Justin Young’s pocket eights and was sent home. Obrestad railed him during the hand and, after seeing her beau’s fate, she muttered, “We suck.” Montgomery responded, “Yes, indeed. We do suck.”

When the smoke cleared, Marchese, Mizrachi, Clint Coffee, Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin, and Young advanced to the final table. The credits rolled for the first hour of coverage and this author hit the freezer for a big bowl of ice cream.

The second episode included the final four tables of the NAPT LA Bounty Shootout. At the feature table, Jean-Robert Bellande was the first to depart after running second pair into Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little’s top set. Out in the field, PokerStars front man Daniel Negreanu sported a beard, while UB.com pro Phil Hellmuth’s attire was curiously void of any patches for his home poker site. Instead, he promoted Aria and the WSOP Academy, leading many to believe that he may be on the outs with UB.com.

Brett Richey eliminated Barry Greenstein, but did not bring a copy of “Ace on the River” to sign. At the feature table, Hellmuth doubled up Shaun Deeb and then lamented, “I just didn’t want to fold. Phil, Phil, Phil.” Negreanu was ousted after his 9-7 of spades could not draw out on Phil Laak’s A-J, leaving Chad to comment, “He’s got time to shave the beard now.”

Speaking of Laak, the Unabomber Poker pro sent Alex Keating packing. Elsewhere, Mohsin “chicagocards1” Charania relegated Victor Ramdin to the rail after spiking a pair of jacks on the river. Also finding help on the river was Matt “mcmatto” Affleck, who hit Broadway on the final card to sent Adam Junglen home before committing his chips with K-J on a flop of K-6-3. However, PokerStars pro David Williams woke up with pocket aces, which held when the board filled out 2-Q.

Williams sent “Nacho” Barbero home to win his table, while 2003 WSOP Main Event champ Chris Moneymaker was ousted after running pocket fours into Nick Binger’s pocket eights. Pat Pezzin triumphed over his table after busting Richey, and Charania also advanced to the finals.

Joining Williams, Charania, and Pezzin at the NAPT LA Bounty Shootout final table will be Kevin MacPhee, who took down EPT Berlin earlier this year, a tournament that included a high-stakes robbery. Nine players advanced to the finals in the 81-man field.

This Sunday at 9:00pm ET, catch the conclusion of the NAPT LA Bounty Shootout on ESPN2. At 10:00pm ET, action from the NAPT LA Main Event will air.

Ryan D’Angelo Leads WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic After Day 1

One day of play is in the books in the Five Diamond World Poker Classic, a stop on the World Poker Tour (WPT). Ryan “g0lfa” D’Angelo, who took fifth in the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event, leads the pack after Day 1 in Las Vegas with a chip stack of 192,500. The field numbered 391 when all $10,000 buy-ins were accepted on Day 1, with registration remaining open until 5:00pm local time on Saturday for Day 2. Last year, 329 players coughed up $15,000 apiece.

We really can’t believe we’re writing this, but Joseph “subiime” Cheong was bounced from the WPT Five Diamond after 6betting all-in before the flop with A-J and running into D’Angelo’s pocket jacks. If this seems eerily familiar to a hand that occurred at the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event final table, it is. In that tournament, Cheong crippled his stack after 6betting all-in pre-flop with A-7 three-handed and running into eventual winner Jonathan Duhamel’s pocket queens. The wired pair held each time.

North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Mohegan Sun champ Vanessa Selbst, a PokerStars pro, also met her demise on Friday at the Bellagio. Selbst got her money in good, holding pocket nines on a board of 8-6-6-3 for nines-up. Her opponent tabled 10-8 for eights-up and watched with glee as the river came another eight, giving him a full house and the win. On dropping the massive pot, Selbst proclaimed to the world via Twitter, “Oh yeah, now I’m busto instead of being the chip leader.”

Trending in the right direction on the first day of play was former Bodog pro and “Survivor: China” castaway Jean-Robert Bellande, who committed his stack with J-8 on a flop of 8-8-6 for trips. His opponent showed pocket nines, which added an open-ended straight draw when a seven hit on the turn. However, Bellande faded his opponent’s outs on the river and doubled through to 48,000. He finished the day at 65,050, good for 88th overall out of the 287 survivors.

2010 WSOP November Nine Bubble Boy Brandon Steven made his presence felt at the WPT Five Diamond on Friday. Steven sent formidable pro Scott Seiver packing during Level 3 to move to 52,000 in chips. Steven, however, failed to survive to Day 2.

Also finding the rail was Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, who Tweeted the details of his untimely exit: “Bluffed every hand to get to 60k Level 1. Level 2 I made real hands and got sucked out on to get to 40k. Lost rest KK vs AA. Not fun.” Others joining Bonomo on the rail on Day 1 included Chino Rheem, UB.com pro Joe Sebok, and Shawn Cunix.

In case you’re wondering, Sebok was ousted in particularly brutal fashion. His chips found the middle with pocket queens on a flop of 10-5-2. However, his opponent had spiked a set with pocket deuces and Sebok’s WPT woes continued. Sebok has a pair of seventh place finishes on the WPT, which runs its final tables six-handed.

Here are the top 10 chip stacks entering Day 2 at the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic:

1. Ryan “g0lfa” D’Angelo – 192,500
2. Amirouddine Alibay – 185,200
3. Albert Kim – 157,100
4. Antonio Esfandiari – 149,550
5. Niema Mostafavi – 145,800
6. Phil Ivey – 143,225
7. Maciek Gracz – 138,850
8. Matt Keikoan – 133,775
9. Justin Young – 131,200
10. Kirk Morrison – 130,075

Other brand name pros remaining in the top 50 include:

12. John Hennigan – 120,500
16. Chau Giang – 115,000
22. Peter Jetten – 104,175
41. Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka – 84,050
42. Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko – 83,750
45. David Chiu – 82,950

Registration will close at 5:00pm local time at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Among those rumored to be buying into the $10,000 tournament on Day 2 is Kathy Liebert. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest WPT coverage.

Ivey Among Leaders as WPT Five Diamond Kicks Off

A total of 391 players entered the $10k event throughout the first day's five 90-minute levels and more are expected with registration open until the end of the event's eighth level at close to 5 p.m. PT Saturday.

Many of poker's biggest names were among the Day 1 starters, including Phil Ivey, Antonio Esfandiari, Chau Giang, Vanessa Rousso, Jason Mercier, Scotty Nguyen, Erik Seidel, Barry Greenstein and Freddy Deeb.

As players like Scott Seiver, Vanessa Selbst, Justin Bonomo, Joe Sebok, Frank Kassela and Joseph Cheong hit the rail, names like Ivey, Esfandiari, Kirk Morrison, Matt Keikoan, Justin Young, and Shannon Shorr moved toward the top of the leaderboard.

2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure finalist Ryan D'Angelo grabbed the overnight lead heading into Day 2 Saturday with 287 players remaining.

A $15k event last year, the Five Diamond drew 329 players with Daniel Alaei booking the win against an all-star final table that included Scotty Nguyen, Josh Arieh, Shawn Buchanan, Steve O'Dwyer and 2009 WPT Player of the Year Faraz Jaka.

The 2010 WPT Five Diamond continues through Dec. 8.

For an unprecedented look at the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic from Phil Ivey's perspective, tune into PokerListings WPT Live Updates beginning at 12 p.m. PT Saturday.

Jimmie Guinther Leads NAPT LA After Day 2

We’re entering the home stretch in the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Los Angeles Main Event. A field of 81 players remains after two days of play and Jimmie Guinther leads the way with a stack of 894,000. Guinther and Travis Pearson hold a commanding lead over the survivors and are the only two players with over 800,000 in chips.

Every tournament has a Bubble Boy; the title in NAPT LA went to online poker stud Carter “ckingusc” King. The Carolina native moved his chips into the middle with 10-9 of spades on a flop of 8-6-5 with two of the suit for a flush draw and a gutshot straight draw. Micah Raskin had King covered and showed A-10 for ace-high, which held when King fired blanks on the turn and river. He was ousted in 105th place, as the top 104 players in NAPT LA made the money.

Former UB.com pro Michael Binger chipped up in earnest on Sunday. He held pocket fives and doubled up against the A-K belonging to Jason Lee to stack over 400,000 in chips. He finished the day by bagging up 474,000, good for the 10th largest tally at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles.

Women in Poker Hall of Famer Kathy Liebert was all-in with K-J of hearts just before the money bubble burst and picked up a caller with a wired pair of queens. No king fell and Liebert was bounced just short of the money. Also coming away empty-handed from Los Angeles was Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, whose A-J could not draw out on Bryn Kenney’s A-Q. Kenney was involved in a spitting incident with Jeff “ActionJeff” Garza in January and finished 28th in the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event.

George Lind, a member of Team PokerStars Online who goes by the handle “Jorj95,” sent Hafiz Khan to the rail on Sunday. Lind finished with the 17th largest stack in the room at 407,000. He’s fresh off recording four in the money finishes at the 2010 WSOP for over $10,000, but according to the Hendon Mob database, Lind has yet to notch a top nine finish in a major live event.

Adam Junglen’s pair of eights could not hold against Jonathan Gagnon-Villeneuve’s Big Slick, crippling Junglen’s stack. Five minutes later, Junglen was out the door after running into queens, but he picked up the $7,500 minimum payout. There are a bevy of online poker players remaining. Here’s how the top 10 in chips look after two days of play in NAPT LA:

1. Jimmie Guinther – 894,000
2. Travis Pearson – 835,000
3. Anh Van Nguyen – 614,000
4. Bryn Kenney – 586,000
5. Tom “hitthehole” Middleton – 519,000
6. Micah Raskin – 515,500
7. Tom Lee – 509,000
8. Nicholas Verkaik – 495,500
9. Mike “SowersUNCC” Sowers – 481,000
10. Michael Binger – 474,000

Other players who survived two grueling days of poker include:

17. George Lind – 407,000
19. Phil Laak – 377,000
25. Rep Porter – 316,000
26. Matt Affleck – 307,500
34. Joe Tehan – 267,500
39. Eric “sheets” Haber – 246,500
51. Jason Mercier – 158,000
57. Gavin Griffin – 143,500
62. Tyler “puffinmypurp” Reiman – 125,500
65. Alex “assassinato” Fitzgerald – 119,500
73. Christina Lindley – 76,000
79. Tom “Kingsofcards” Marchese – 54,000
80. Shane “shaniac” Schleger – 49,000

When play picks back up today, the blinds will stand at 3,000-6,000 with an ante of 500. Nine tables of nine will issue their “Shuffle up and deal” command at 1:00pm PT today and the tournament will crown a champion on Wednesday. Keep it tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest NAPT coverage.

Nick Grippo Leads NAPT LA After Day 1A

The first of two Day 1s played out on Friday in the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) stop in Los Angeles at the Bicycle Casino. A field of 330 players turned out and even more are expected to descend upon the California card room when Day 1B begins this afternoon at 1:00pm PT.

Online poker pro Nick Grippo leads the field after Day 1A with a stack of 235,100. One of the first eliminations of Friday’s play belonged to PokerStars sponsored pro Barry Greenstein, who flopped top pair and rain into middle set. Greenstein received no help on the turn or river and exited a few hands later. The three-time bracelet winner had to take down the name and address of the player who knocked him out, as he did not have a copy of his book “Ace on the River” on-hand to sign.

Just like at the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event final table, Soi Nguyen’s stay in NAPT LA was short-lived. He was out after about four hours when a player holding a set of threes cracked his pocket aces. No saving ace fell from there and Nguyen, the lone amateur at this year’s Main Event final table, headed for the exit.

Freshly un-retired online poker pro Shaun Deeb departed after an opponent hit a full house on the river with pocket threes. The board read A-J-6-3-6 and Deeb exposed a six before heading to the rail. According to coverage found on PokerStars, one of the game’s top internet players decreed “I’m done, see ya” and promptly departed. Following Deeb out the door was PokerStars pro Liv Boeree, who ran pocket jacks into two players with A-K and one with A-X on her final hand.

Jason Mercier hit a flush on the turn and dodged a higher flush draw on the river to scoop a major pot in the final minutes of play on Friday. Mercier bagged up the 10th largest stack at 173,200 when all was said and done. The WSOP bracelet winner and European Poker Tour (EPT) champ took down the NAPT Mohegan Sun Bounty Shootout for nearly $500,000.

Female sensation Annette Obrestad busted after running pocket kings into Isaac Haxton’s A-Q. Haxton spiked a wheel on the river and Obrestad was eliminated. Also ousted on Friday from NAPT LA were 2004 WSOP Main Event champ Greg Raymer, 2010 November Niner Joseph Cheong, Full Tilt Red Pro Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger, Lauren Kling, and PokerStars Canadian pro Pat Pezzin.

Now that we’ve rattled off a list of players who didn’t make it past Day 1A, let’s take a look at the top of the leaderboard after the first nine levels of action on Friday:

1. Nick Grippo – 235,100
2. Tom Middleton – 229,100
3. Scott Fischman – 224,600
4. Clint Coffee – 202,900
5. Romulus Segal – 190,700
6. Cary Katz – 184,000
7. Ryan Welch – 183,100
8. Jake Toole – 181,200
9. Richard Munro – 179,100
10. Jason Mercier – 173,200

Other pros who remain and sit in the top 50 on the leaderboard include:

14. Chris “SLOPPYKLOD” Klodnicki – 130,500
18. Alec “traheho” Torelli – 117,700
23. Corwin “mig.com” Mackey – 102,600
24. John “The Razor” Phan – 101,400
27. Andreas Hoivold – 95,500
30. William Reynolds – 93,100
35. David Baker – 83,400
39. Olivier Busquet – 80,200
40. George Lind – 79,700
41. Justin Bonomo – 79,600
48. Isaac Haxton – 75,200

The blinds stood at 500-1,000 with an ante of 100 when play paused for the night on Day 1A. Today, the action will start from scratch for Day 1B and the survivors will convene for Day 2 on Sunday. PokerStars officials are expecting the total prize pool to pass $3 million and the field size to out-pace the 716 players who showed up the NAPT Mohegan Sun Main Event in April.

High Stakes Poker Season 7 Announced, Will Tape November 18th

In breaking news from Las Vegas, the seventh season of “High Stakes Poker” will tape from November 18th to 20th, as GSN has given the green light for the newest installment of the cash game poker franchise. The location, time, air date on GSN, and players involved have not yet been announced, but poker fans can rest easy tonight knowing that “High Stakes Poker” has been renewed for another cycle.

On the fleet of poker pros that could assemble for the show, a representative from GSN told Poker News Daily on Friday that the network expects to have “another great cast of world-class players this year.” Five players have appeared on each season of “High Stakes Poker” to date: DoylesRoom front man Doyle Brunson, Eli Elezra, Victory Poker’s Antonio Esfandiari, PokerStars front man Barry Greenstein, and “Million Dollar Challenge” icon Daniel Negreanu.

Season 6 brought major changes to “High Stakes Poker.” Longtime co-host A.J. Benza was axed in favor of PartyPoker pro Kara Scott, who conducted interviews from the floor of the “High Stakes Poker” suite at the Golden Nugget in Downtown Las Vegas. The new season began airing on Valentine’s Day this year and featured players like Dennis Phillips and Lex Veldhuis making their “High Stakes Poker” debuts. The sixth cycle also hosted the usual suspects from the world of high-stakes cash games like Phil Ivey, Tom “durrrr” Dwan, and Patrik Antonius.

The premiere of “High Stakes Poker” Season 6 was quite buzz worthy, as UB.com pro and 11-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth went broke after dropping $200,000 in the blink of an eye. Hellmuth quickly shipped $50,000 to Ivey before committing his remaining stack on a board of 6-4-7-K with two hearts holding J-5 of hearts for an open-ended straight draw and a flush draw. Ivey held K-9 of hearts for top pair and a better flush draw and declined to run the river more than once. The final card filled the eight-time bracelet winner’s king-high flush and, just like that, Hellmuth was broke.

Prop bets were also discouraged last season. Prior to taping Season 6 of “High Stakes Poker,” Esfandiari, the ringleader of prop betting on the show, told Poker News Daily that he had been asked to curb his pastime: “The prop bets where people would guess cards, for example, they’ve been trying to get rid of that. [Executive Producer Mori Eskandani] is trying to steer towards less betting at all. The bottom line is that he doesn’t want viewers at home to be bogged down with players prop betting in addition to poker.”

The PokerStars-powered “Big Game” has recently filled the void between seasons of “High Stakes Poker.” The “Big Game” airs late nights on FOX and features a variety of pros battling with an online qualifier dubbed the “Loose Cannon.” The “Big Game” has a $500,000 maximum buy-in and has featured a variety of pros including Negreanu, Justin Bonomo, David “Viffer” Peat, David Williams, and 2005 Main Event champ Joe Hachem. It’s played in a ring game format with $100/$200 blinds.

Actor turned poker pro Gabe Kaplan serves as the primary face of “High Stakes Poker.” Stay tuned for the latest on this breaking story right here on Poker News Daily.

PokerStars.net Big Game: Justin Bonomo and Barry Greenstein Big Winners

Durrrr, Jungleman12 Biggest Winners on Full Tilt in 2010

HighStakesDB.com released its biggest winners and losers report for 2010 late last week, and the online tracking site revealed that Tom “durrrr” Dwan and Daniel “jungleman12” Cates are the biggest earners at Full Tilt Poker‘s nosebleed cash games. The two rising stars, who are currently facing off against one another in the second edition of the Durrrr Challenge, are both up more than $4 million this year.

As of October 10, Dwan was the biggest winner on Full Tilt Poker, racking up $4,028,872 in winnings, while Cates was close behind with $4,001,593. Cates has taken a good chunk from Dwan during their challenge, as the 20-year-old CardRunners instructor leads Dwan by $657,774 after 7,660 hands. Should Cates still be on top after 50,000 hands, Dwan would owe him $1.5 million on top of the winnings Cates had accumulated. If Dwan comes back and wins the challenge, Cates will have to pony up $500,000.

The third biggest winner on Full Tilt this year is none other than Phil Ivey, who has accrued more than $3 million in profits despite playing far less volume than most of his adversaries. Ivey is the all-time winningest online poker player since HighStakesDB began tracking in February of 2007, piling up $18,747,970 in earnings over 5,078 sessions. Ivey is also the most profitable player on the live tournament circuit with around $13.6 million in cashes. One can only imagine how much more Ivey has made while playing high-stakes cash games around the world, especially in Bobby’s Room at the Bellagio.

Rounding out the top 10 winners on Full Tilt so far this year are Andreas “skjervoy” Torbergsen ($2.5 million), “LokoIsBack” ($2.44 million), Jared “harrington25″ Bleznick ($2.4 million), Alexander “PostflopAction” Kostritsyn ($1.63 million), David Benefield ($1.36 million), “NEKOTYAN” ($1.24 million), and Ashton “theASHMAN103″ Griffin ($1.23 million).

HighStakesDB reported that former CardRunners instructor and Full Tilt Poker Pro Brian “sbrugby” Townsend is the biggest loser on Full Tilt Poker this year. Townsend, who infamously teamed up with Cole South to help friend Brian Hastings take down “Isildur1” for the largest payday in online poker history late last year, finds himself down nearly $4 million in 2010. Townsend lost $2.53 million while playing under his Red Pro account before stepping down as CardRunners’ lead instructor in June. Since then, Townsend has lost $1.4 million more under the name “sbrugby,” the handle under which he built his massive online bankroll while moving up in stakes.

Gus Hansen comes in as the second largest loser, down $3.67 million through Sunday. According to HighStakesDB, Hansen has lost $10,043,788 since 2007. The “Great Dane” recently won his first World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet in London, but the £228,409 payday doesn’t quite make up for his monstrous online losses.

The other biggest losers on Full Tilt this year include “Matatuk” ($1.54 million), Cole South ($1.45 million), Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo ($1.44 million), Rafi “howisitfeellike” Amit (1.31 million), “Esvedra” ($1.3 million), Richard Ashby ($1.29 million), and “PixKim” ($1.2 million).

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest Full Tilt Poker news.

Daniel Negreanu Drops $200,000 on Monday’s Big Game Episode

After ending up $16,000 last week, Russell Harlow became the first “Loose Cannon” to return for a second go-around on the PokerStars-sponsored “Big Game.” To start this week’s festivities, $700,000 was spread across the six-handed table and Harlow told “Big Game” hostess Amanda Leatherman that it was time to “go big or go home.” You can catch the “Big Game” late night every day this week on FOX.

The “Big Game” boasts blinds of $200/$400 and a $100 ante paid entirely by the player on the button. The action is Pot Limit before the flop and No Limit thereafter and the maximum buy-in is $500,000. The “Loose Cannon” qualifier with the highest earnings total at the end of the season takes home a $50,000 PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) prize package.

In the first major pot of the night, PokerStars pro Barry Greenstein led out for $10,000 with A-Q of diamonds on a flop of Q-2-3 with one diamond for top pair. Daniel Negreanu, holding pocket kings, came along, as did DoylesRoom namesake Doyle Brunson, who spiked a pair of threes. The turn was the three of diamonds, giving Brunson trips, and the “Godfather of Poker” led out for $21,000. Greenstein and Negreanu both called to see a four of diamonds on the river, filling Greenstein’s flush.

Greenstein moved all-in for $60,000, Negreanu tanked before folding, and Brunson called to send the $232,800 pot to Greenstein. Negreanu and Brunson each added $100,000 to their dwindling stacks.

Negreanu continued to bleed chips, calling Brunson’s $86,100 all-in on a board reading 10-7-10-5 with 7-4 for tens-up. Brunson turned over pocket rockets for aces-up and the pair agreed to run the river twice. Both final cards favored Brunson, who raked in a $223,800 pot. Brunson quipped, “I love to play small ball,” and Negreanu was down $141,000 after just nine hands.

Harlow continued to prove that he was anything but timid by 3betting to $22,000 with A-8 of diamonds on a flop of 10-7-9 for a two-way straight draw. Lex Veldhuis, the original bettor on the flop with A-J of spades, abandoned ship, as did Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, who held K-Q of the suit. The pot boosted Harlow’s “Big Game” profits to $35,000.

The big pots kept coming on an electrifying episode of the PokerStars “Big Game.” After missing straight and flush draws on the turn and river against Greenstein’s top pair, Negreanu fired out a bet of $32,500 on a board reading 6-10-Q-5-4 with K-J of clubs for king-high. Greenstein called behind with Q-8 and scooped a $111,200 pot, pushing “Kid Poker” even further into the red.

In the final hand of Monday’s kickoff episode, Bonomo, holding A-J of spades, checked a flop of 8-7-Q with two spades. With 10-6 of spades, Veldhuis bet $6,700 and Bonomo made it $18,000. Veldhuis moved all-in for $107,000 and Bonomo called quickly to build a $223,000 pot. Veldhuis elected to run it only once and an ace on the turn and three on the river sent the $223,000 bounty to Bonomo. By the time the hour-long show had wrapped up, every person at the table sans Harlow had played a pot worth at least $200,000. Brunson actually played two and won one.

At the end of 29 hands, Greenstein and Bonomo were each up over $100,000, while Negreanu was $201,000 in the hole. Harlow was up $18,000, adding about $2,000 to his stack during the episode. Watch “Big Game” nightly on FOX. Check your local listings for station and channel information.

The PokerStars.net Big Game: Week 3 in Review

Liv Boeree and UB.com Renegotiating Contract

Rumblings around the Amazon Room, site of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, have Liv Boeree and UB.com parting ways. However, Poker News Daily can independently confirm that the two sides are actively renegotiating Boeree’s contract.

Boeree made waves in April after taking down the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) San Remo Main Event for $1.7 million. She bested the largest European EPT field ever of 1,240 in the process and defeated Sweden’s Jakob Carlsson heads-up. Boeree’s win was the latest in the so-called Year of the Woman, which also included Annie Duke winning the National Heads-Up Poker Championship and Vanessa Selbst taking down the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Mohegan Sun Main Event.

Poker News Daily has learned that Boeree’s contract has expired, but the two sides are pursuing a new deal. A UB.com spokesperson explained on Thursday, “Liv’s contract has expired. We are in contract renegotiation discussions now.” The negotiations are expected to come to a head within a week.

Meanwhile, the 2010 WSOP Main Event is playing out at the Rio in Las Vegas. Boeree played on Day 1B on Tuesday, running into a set of kings during the first level to cripple her stack. Then, she was poised for a much-needed double up with pocket jacks, but an opponent with pocket eights found a set. Boeree has never cashed in a WSOP tournament with a buy-in greater than $2,000. This year, she turned in three in the money finishes for $8,000 total.

Boeree, who is dating fellow poker pro Allie Prescott, still appears on UB.com’s website as a sponsored pro. The U.K. native was born in 1984 and, 21 years later, appeared on “Ultimate Poker Showdown.” There, she received instruction from Annie Duke, Phil Hellmuth, and David “Devilfish” Ulliott and the rest, as they say, is history. Duke and Hellmuth now front Team UB, while Ulliott serves as the namesake behind the Entraction Network site Devilfish Poker.

In May 2008, Boeree took down the Ladbrokes Poker European Ladies Championship for $42,000. Then, she final tabled a preliminary event held during the Aussie Millions in 2009 for another $13,000. The same year, Boeree took 37th in the World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship at the Bellagio for $40,000, nearly doubling her $25,000 buy-in. Her crowning glory remains her win in San Remo, where she became just the third woman ever to win an EPT title, joining Vicky Coren (EPT London in 2006) and Sandra Naujoks (EPT Dortmund in 2009).

Besides Hellmuth, Duke, and Boeree, UB.com’s roster of sponsored pros also includes former “Poker2Nite” host Joe Sebok, “Amazing Race” contestant Tiffany Michelle, two-time bracelet winner Brandon Cantu, and Anthrax’s Scott Ian. In early June, Cantu re-signed with UB.com for one year. UB.com pros were spotted at the site’s get-together at the Mandarin Oriental bar at CityCenter in Las Vegas on Monday. The night ended with a shotgun wedding as part of a site-sponsored prop bet contest.

Recent player signings include David Williams and Vanessa Selbst inking agreements with PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site. In addition, PokerStars is sponsoring the stable of pros belonging to Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy and Eric “sheets” Haber during the Main Event, which includes well-known players like Nick “fu_15” Maimone, and Jamie “TheNew” Robbins. Back in May, Amanda Musumeci joined the ranks of Bodog, which parted ways with Williams, Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, and Jean-Robert Bellande.

WSOP Main Event Attendance Up 34% After Three Starting Days

Three starting days are in the books in the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. Today at Noon PT, Day 1D will kick off after being the first to sell out its pre-registration. Overall, attendance through the first three starting days of the Main Event is up a colossal 34% year over year.

In 2009, there were 3,685 entries after Day 1C officially closed its doors to new players. A total of 1,116 entered on Day 1A, while just 873 took to the floor on Day 1B, which fell on the Fourth of July. Day 1C saw 1,696 entrants in 2009. This year, the first of three starting days in the Main Event occurred on Monday, July 5th, safely removed from the holiday festivities one day prior. Day 1A this year featured a starting grid of 1,125 players, while Day 1B attracted 1,489. Yesterday, Day 1C saw a field of 2,314 show up for a three-day total of 4,928.

Among those who took to the felts on Day 1B was Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad, a Full Tilt Poker pro, who was seated at Table 2. Meanwhile, Poker News Daily witnessed Tiltboy Rafe Furst make his exit after an opponent flopped a set of threes. Jeff “yellowsub” Williams, who finished third in a $5,000 No Limit Hold’em event, told us to bet on the Netherlands in the Fifa World Cup; sure enough, “Sub” was right, as the European country outlasted Uruguay 3-2. Unfortunately, we did not make it to the Rio sports book in time.

At the table next to Full Tilt pro Jeremiah Smith’s was an all-in and a call with A-K versus aces, one of several pots that featured Big Slick running into the superior hand. This time around, however, the player with A-K made a straight a busted his opponent. A bevy of players donned blue 888 logos, including Leo Margets, the Last Woman Standing in the 2009 Main Event.

Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, Matt “mcmatto” Affleck, Drag the Bar instructor Dusty Schmidt, and Marco “CrazyMarco” Johnson were among those who carried the banner for the internet poker community on Tuesday during Day 1B. On Day 1C, online poker pros in the room included DoylesRoom’s Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka, free agent Lauren Kling, Kling’s beau Mike “SowersUNCC” Sowers, and Jordan “Octavian_C” Rich.

Furst and Joe Sebok were among those who donned an all-white jump suit in support of Bad Beat on Cancer, whose green 1% patches can be seen on a bevy of players in the Amazon Room.

Day 1D of the Main Event has a capacity of 3,800 and, as of 5:00pm PT on Wednesday, nearly half of those seats were sold. In 2009, a total of 6,494 players entered the Main Event, meaning that we’re already guaranteed to have a field larger than last year’s, a welcome sign given the depressed economy. The 2009 attendance would have been even larger had 500 players not been shut out after Day 1D reached capacity. Whether today will have any similar drama remains to be seen.

Wednesday began with PokerStars pro Joe Cada issuing the command to start play. Then, it was UB.com pro Phil Hellmuth’s turn to shine. Several hundred spectators endured 110-degree heat in the Rio parking lot to watch Hellmuth enter as an MMA fighter, including Mike Matusow. When asked by Hellmuth why he was in attendance, Matusow responded that he wanted to watch the “idiocy.” Meanwhile, 2010 bracelet winner Gavin Smith caught a pink UB.com hat tossed to the crowd by several dancers.

Finally, we’d be amiss if we didn’t discuss the trials and tribulations of Illinois native Stuart Nitzkin, the first player eliminated from the Main Event back on Day 1A. He lost a pot with pocket aces when the final board came K-K-10-10-10. Then, he donated his remaining chips with pocket kings after a player with K-10 made a straight. So it goes in poker’s richest tournament.

The survivors from Day 1A and Day 1C will convene for Day 2A on Friday. Those who made it through Day 1B and Day 1D will assemble for Day 2B on Saturday. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest news, notes, and nuggets from the 2010 WSOP.

Huge Numbers on Main Event Day 1b

A total of 1,489 players bought into Day 1b, which was a nice bump from the 1,125 that bought in on Day 1a.

Among the big name players to take part on the usually slow starting day were Erick Lindgren, Justin Bonomo, Joe Sebok, Liv Boeree, Jamie Gold and Arnaud Mattern.

Unfortunately all of the above players busted along with 400 more, leaving approximately 1,000 players to carry the torch into Day 2b.

Annette Obrestad made her first appearance in the North American version of the tournament she won in London in 2008.

After nearly 12 hours of play Obrestad busted and will likely want to forget her first experience in the biggest poker tournament in the world.

Meanwhile Jason DeWitt, Phil Galfond, Alex Kostritsyn, Florian Langmann and Kido Pham will bring large stacks into Day 2b.

Other notables to make Day 2b include Brandon Cantu, Dan Kelly, Johnny Lodden, Phil Laak, Jon Turner, Dan Harrington, Gavin Smith and Matt Stout. Day 2b will start at 12 p.m. on Saturday.

Day 1c begins at 12 p.m. tomorrow.

The 2010 WSOP continues through July 17. For comprehensive coverage of the WSOP tune in to PokerListings' Live Updates and News.

WSOP Event #52: $25k NLHE 6-max ended in Dan “djk123? Kelly’s celebration

The final table of the WSOP $25k NLHE 6-max was over pretty quickly: young Dan Kelly, who had started the final from great standings, rolled to victory in less than four hours.  

Only 21-year-old Kelly got experienced Shawn Buchanan as his heads-up opponent. In the last hand, Kelly got it all on the river holding AT against Buchanan’s pocket jacks, and the celebration for over $1,3 million dollar victory could begin.

Buchanan came second and cashed $812,941 dollars from his great game performance. Buchanan started challenging Kelly for real after Frank Kassela (the 3rd) “handed over” all his chips to Buchanan’s chipstack. Kassela, who is looking for the third bracelet of the summer, assured his lead in the WSOP Player of The Year competition - and the victory is about to be at his fingertips, unless the players behind him perform very well in the Main Event.

The prize pool and results:

1. Dan Kelly – $1,315,518
2. Shawn Buchanan – $812,941
3. Frank Kassela – $556,053
4. Jason Somerville – $386,125
5. Mikael Thuritz – $272,084
6. Eugene Katchalov – $194,559
7. Sam Trickett – 141,168$
8. Bryn Kenney – 141,168$
9. Isaac Haxton – 104,651$
10. Brian Hodhod - 104,651$
11. Daniel Negreanu – 77,569$
12. Abe Mosseri – 77,569$
13. Martins Adeniya – 58,699$
14. Billy Jordanou – 58,699$
15. Heather Sue Mercer – 58,699$
16. Vadim Trincher – 58,699$
17. Carlos Mortensen – 58,699$
18. Justin Bonomo – 58,699$

Sources: Bluff, PokerNews and TheHendonMob

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WSOP Event #52: $25k NLHE 6-max ended in Dan “djk123? Kelly’s celebration

6-Max Mania - Day 36 WSOP Recap

Day 36 saw Frank Kassela take command of the Player of the Year race with a final table appearance in $25k Six-Max Hold'em.

We saw a bracelet champion crowned in $1.5k Limit Hold'em Shootout, while Tom Dwan absolutely destroyed Day 2 of the $10k PLO Championship.

Here's a look around the day:

Event 52 - $25k No-Limit Hold'em Six-Max

Friday's most popular tournament was the $25k Six-Max, as several big names were around the table to sweat the action on Day 3.

Frank Kassela's monster 2010 WSOP continues, as the two-time bracelet winner is at the final table with a chance to lock up Player of the Year honors.

Kassela comes back second in chips, trailing chip leader Dan Kelly, who sits at 5.9 million.

Just 18 places paid out in the event, but it was a big payday for all that did make it, with Carlos Mortensen and Justin Bonomo finishing 17th and 18th, with both taking home $58,699.

The final table commences at 3 p.m. Saturday.

Event 53 - $1.5k Limit Shootout

Brendan Taylor survived a long final table, taking home the bracelet and $184,950 for first place.

Only the strong can survive in the grueling $1.5k Shootout, and the final eight came back to the Rio Thursday with Terrence Chan amongst the contenders.

Chan's luck didn't last long on Day 3, as the Canadian pro was the first bustout of the day, finishing eighth for $12,961. Jonathan "Fiery Justice" Little busted in third place to take home $73,218.

Ben Yu finished second and takes home $114,484.

Event 54 - $1k No-Limit Hold'em

The total came in at 3,844 entrants for the final $1k Championship of the WSOP 2010, and the format has been an attendance winner no doubt.

Antoine Saout, Kathy Leibert and Theo Tran and Phil Ivey were amongst the Day 1b casualties in a chaotic day in the Pavilion Room.

A total of 602 players return to the Pavilion Room for Day 2, which commences at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

British pro James Dempsey will begin Day 2 as the chip leader, and $570,960 is the announced first-place prize.

Event 55 - $10k Pot-Limit Omaha Championship

Tom "durrrr" Dwan, Phil Hellmuth and Nenad Medic were amongst the notables atop the chip leader board as Day 2 came to a close.

In reality the day was all about durrrr who tormented his opponents all day long and finished with 910,000 chips, nearly twice what his closest competitor had. Because Dwan has numerous bracelet bets, there will be an intense amount of interest in what transpires tomorrow.

This event is the final $10k Championship before the Main Event, and first place receives $780,599.

33 players return at 3 p.m. Saturday.

Event 56 - $2.5k No-Limit Hold'em

The final 2010 bracelet event before the Main Event began Friday, with 1,952 players coming out for $2.5k No-Limit Hold'em.

Plenty of familiar faces were in the crowd on Day 1, including Phil Ivey, Theo Tran and Sorel Mizzi.

By the end of the day only 585 players remained with Shannon Elizabeth, David Williams and Daniel Negreanu were amongst the Day 1 casualties.

Mark Newhouse and Jamie Gold were among the end of day chip leaders.

Players come back for Day 2 at 3 p.m. Saturday.

To view how the day played out in more detail as well as see blogs, news and videos from the Series, click through to PokerListings WSOP 2010 coverage.

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Ryan Welch Defeats Jon Eaton to Win WSOP Bracelet

In what could best be described as “the calm before the storm,” only one bracelet was awarded on Thursday night in action at the World Series of Poker (WSOP).

In the $3,000 Triple Chance No Limit Hold’em tournament, Event #51 on the WSOP schedule, 12 men returned on Thursday afternoon for their shot at a coveted gold and diamond WSOP bracelet. Jon Eaton held a roughly 600,000 chip lead over Frank Rusnak, with underrated pro Will “The Thrill” Failla lurking in third place. The players wasted little time once the cards hit the air, getting down to the final table in roughly 4½ hours.

Rusnak was one of the victims of the early carnage, doubling up Bradley Craig and losing a key hand to Failla to drop his chip stack into the danger zone. Rusnak, who has almost $600,000 in tournament earnings since his debut in 2007, was never able to get any traction from the start and got his final chips in with K-Q. He was called by Koen de Bakker, who had him dominated with his A-Q. The flop offered an appealing A-5-J rainbow arrangement, but delivered no 10 for Rusnak, dropping him from the tournament in 11th place.

Once the final table was established, one of the rarer occurrences during a WSOP final table occurred. Guillaume Darcourt, after an all-in bet from Tad Jurgens and an all-in over the top from Noel Scruggs, agonized over a decision that would either make his tournament or crush his dreams of a WSOP bracelet. After the careful deliberation, Darcourt made the call with pocket sevens, only to see Jurgens table pocket queens and Scruggs show his A-Q. The seven that popped on the flop sent a thunderous roar through the audience and delivered a rare bird at a WSOP final table, the double knockout. Jurgens started the hand with fewer chips and finished in ninth and Scruggs took the eighth place slot.

Over the next four hours, the remainder of the final table would be eliminated, bringing the action to a heads-up battle between Eaton and Ryan Welch, who diligently ground his way through the final table. On the final hand, with Eaton holding slightly fewer chips than Welch, the duo got their chips to the center of a 9-7-6-10-K board. Eaton bet out roughly 525,000 on the river to start, only to face an all-in reraise from Welch. Eaton struggled with the decision, reasoning out the hands that Welch could possibly hold before making the call. Welch immediately showed Q-J for the rivered nut straight and, once the chips were counted, became the latest WSOP champion.

1. Ryan Welch (Henderson, NV) – $559,371
2. Jon Eaton (Las Vegas, NV) – $344,830
3. Guillaume Darcourt (Paris, France) – $223,459
4. Will Faille (Smithtown, NY) – $163,532
5. Bradley Craig (Cleveland, OH) – $121,451
6. Sergey Lebedev (Troitsk, Russia) – $91,407
7. Tommy Vedes (Fort Mojave, AZ) – $69,647
8. Noel Scruggs (Del Mar, CA) – $53,694
9. Tad Jurgens (Tempe, AZ) – $41,842

Four other events were in play on Thursday, with two tournaments that will award bracelets on Friday. In Event #52, the $25,000 Six-Handed No Limit Hold’em tournament, 18 players will come back on Friday afternoon from the original 191 starters. Bryn Kenney is the overnight chip leader stacked with 2.425 million, but there is danger lurking around every corner. Daniel Negreanu, who has had a quiet 2010 WSOP, is in sixth place, with 2010 double bracelet winner Frank Kassela ahead of him in fifth. Add in Sam Trickett, Isaac Haxton, Shawn Buchanan, Eugene Katchalov, Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, Carlos Mortensen, and Vadim Trincher, and the final table of this event should hold for exciting poker.

In the $1,500 Limit Hold’em Shootout, Victory Poker pro Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little and Terrence “Unassigned” Chan lead a final table of eight. As with a Shootout tournament, all eight worked their way to the final table by defeating a full table of opponents over the first two days of play. Everyone will start with 450,000 in chips when the cards fly this afternoon.

The first Day 1 of the latest $1,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament drew a sizeable field of 2,340 players, potentially making this $1,000 event one of the largest of this year’s WSOP, depending on the second Day 1 gathering. The final table of this tournament will take place on Independence Day.

The $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha World Championship drew a starting field of 346, which was whittled down by over half to 171 by the end of Day 1. Australia’s Antonio Paino is the chip leader with 240,000, with several top pros mixed throughout the field. 2009 November Niner James Akenhead is in third, with Fabrice Soulier (sixth) and Ted Lawson (seventh) both in the top 10. Final table play in Event #55 will take place on Saturday.

Only one event will begin play on Friday, the $2,500 No Limit Hold’em event. It is also set to finish play on Sunday, prior to the start of the $10,000 World Championship event on Monday. Although there are tournaments in action over the next few days, it more than likely will be a preparation weekend for many of the top players as the WSOP moves into its final two weeks and its World Championship event.

Home Stretch - Day 35 WSOP Recap

We saw a slew of poker's greats surround the halls of the Rio Pavilion, with both the $25k Six-Handed No-Limit Championship and $10k PLO Championships in play.

The $1.5k Limit Shootout also played down to the final table and the final eight are set to play for the bracelet tomorrow.

Here's a look around Day 35 at the WSOP:

Event 51 - $3k Triple Chance

The heads-up finale came down to two online wizards battling it out for a bracelet in a big-time live poker event.

Ryan Welch defeated fellow online pro Jon Eaton to take down the bracelet and first-place cash of $559,371.

The win gives Welch the first WSOP bracelet of his career to add to his numerous big online scores.

Other notable money finishers included Will "The Thrill" Failla (fourth), Tommy Vedes (seventh) and James Akenhead (17th).

Event 52 - $25k No-Limit Hold'em Six-Max

As expected, the WSOP's newest high buy-in event is playing out as a showcase for poker's best and wealthiest.

Daniel Negreanu, Carlos Mortensen, Heather Sue Mercer, Eugene Katchalov, Justin Bonomo and Bryn Kenney are among the 18 players still in contention heading into Day 3.

John Juanda was the unfortunate bubble boy, busting in 19th place. Juanda's elimination may have lasting implications for the WSOP Player of the Year race as Frank Kassela survived in this event and will get at least five POY points tomorrow.

Play resumes at 3 p.m. Friday. It's a four-day event and the final table is scheduled for Saturday. First place will pay out an epic $1.3 million.

Event 53 - $1.5k Limit Shootout

The final eight is set for this Limit Shootout event, which comes back at 2:30 p.m. Friday to determine a champion.

Canada's Terrence Chan is in the mix as is Jonathan "FieryJustice" Little as the players vie for the first-place prize of $184,950.

Notable cash finishers busted out on Day 2 included Theo Tran and Marcel Luske.

Event 54 - $1k No-Limit Hold'em

A huge turnout filled the Pavilion Room, as 2,340 players came out for Day 1A.

There were a few familiar faces amongst the mass chaos, as Allen "Chainsaw" Kessler, Liv Boeree, Shannon Shorr and Kara Scott all made it through to Day 2.

Day 1b of this event commences at noon Friday.

Event 55 - $10k Pot-Limit Omaha Championship

The final $10k event before the Main Event, the $10k PLO World Championship began Thursday with 346 players.

The roster of players in the field reads like a poker who's who, with David Benyamine, Greg Raymer, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson and Men "The Master" Nguyen all still in the game.

None other than Tom "durrrr" Dwan is also among the chip leaders along with former November Niner James Akenhead and Annette Obrestad.

Day 2 resumes at 3 p.m. Friday.

To view how the day played out in more detail as well as see blogs, news and videos from the Series, click through to PokerListings WSOP 2010 coverage.

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David Williams Signs with PokerStars

Poker News Daily can independently confirm that 2010 World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship winner David Williams has signed with PokerStars. Williams’ agency, Poker Royalty, confirmed that a contract was forged in recent days and the former Bodog pro will now join the world’s largest online poker site.

Williams parted ways with Bodog shortly after taking down the WPT Championship at the Bellagio to the tune of $1.5 million. The tournament marked his fourth WPT final table and gave him nearly $3 million in career WPT earnings. Bodog, which has parted ways with Jean-Robert Bellande and Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo since 2010 began, promptly introduced Amanda Musumeci as its newest sponsored pro. Musumeci joins Evelyn Ng as the lone Bodog-backed pros.

On July 6th at the Palms, PokerStars is hosting a cocktail event featuring reigning World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champ Joe Cada, Williams, and North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Mohegan Sun Main Event winner Vanessa Selbst. Neither Selbst nor Williams appears on PokerStars’ website as a sponsored pro at the time of writing. Selbst, a Yale law student, banked an even $750,000 by taking down the $5,000 NAPT Mohegan Sun Main Event in April, besting a final table that included Scott Seiver and Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy.

Williams’ total live tournament winnings nearly top $8 million. The Panorama Towers resident finished as the runner-up to Greg Raymer in the 2004 WSOP Main Event for $3.5 million. Two years later, Williams landed at the final table of the WPT Bay 101 stop for $280,000. He won a gold bracelet at the 2006 WSOP in a $1,500 Seven Card Stud event and promptly took second in a $5,000 No Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball tournament for another quarter-million dollars.

Williams has been a staple of televised series like the National Heads-Up Poker Championship, NBC’s “Poker After Dark,” GSN’s “High Stakes Poker,” and the PokerStars-backed “Big Game.” He celebrated his 30th birthday earlier this month, noting on Twitter, “Thanks you to everyone for the Happy Birthday messages. 30 isn’t so bad… I guess.”

PokerStars issued a weekly news roundup on Tuesday morning that did not mention Williams’ signing. He’ll join a stable of pros that includes Cada, Raymer, Joe Hachem, Chris Moneymaker, Peter Eastgate, Barry Greenstein, and the site’s main face, Daniel Negreanu. Year-over-year, PokerStars has posted a 14% increase in online poker traffic according to PokerScout.com and currently owns a seven-day running average of 25,000 real money ring game players.

The PokerStars cocktail reception at the Palms is invite-only and designed for members of the media to conduct one-on-one interviews. It’s one of the many gatherings planned for this week in Las Vegas leading up to the 2010 WSOP Main Event, which begins next Monday, July 5th, with the first of four starting days. The tournament plays down to a final table on July 17th. Then, the nine survivors will disperse from the Rio until the first week of November. You can catch the Main Event, Tournament of Champions, and $50,000 Player’s Championship starting next month on ESPN.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest player signings.

PokerStars Big Game: Joe Cada Drops $35,000 in Week 3 Kickoff Episode

Defending World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion Joe Cada struggled in his debut on the PokerStars.net-powered “Big Game,” whose Week 3 kickoff episode aired on Monday night on Fox. The series is shown nightly starting at 1:00am or 2:00am in most markets.

Russian born Nadya Magnus was this week’s “Loose Cannon” online qualifier and each player at the table bought in for $100,000. The lineup was noticeably quieter than in past weeks and, in one of the first major pots of the episode, Cada bet $9,300 on a flop of 6-J-4 holding 9-8 of diamonds for air. Fellow PokerStars pro Jason Mercier, who flopped a set of sixes, called to bring a nine on the turn. Now with second pair, Cada bet $19,000 and Mercier slyly called behind. On a river three, Cada check-folded, sending the pot of more than $70,000 to Mercier.

The action is Pot Limit before the flop and No Limit thereafter. The “Big Game” features blinds of $200/$400 with a $100 per person ante that is paid entirely by the player on the button. Each “Loose Cannon” plays 150 hands and keeps whatever money they reel in over their $100,000 stake. Chris Rose and PokerRoad’s Joe Stapleton host the cash game series.

With three-way action and the board reading K-10-8-4, Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo bet $4,000 with A-Q and Magnus called with 4-3 for bottom pair. However, Bonomo spiked a miracle ace on the river and promptly fired out another bet, this time $10,000. Magnus came along and the dealer pushed the $35,500 pot to the Panorama Towers resident.

Magnus struck back, however, calling a raise from Daniel Alaei with K-Q. Alaei held A-4 of hearts and the flop came Q-J-3. Alaei bet $2,300 and Magnus wasted no time coming over the top for $6,200. Alaei mucked and Magnus scooped her first pot of the night. Alaei weighed in on Magnus’ facial expressions: “First she was giving me the stare down and then she broke into a smile. I can’t really figure that one out.”

Then, Magnus picked up A-6 and raised to $1,500 pre-flop. Mercier called with A-J and the flop came A-6-8. Mercier check-called a bet of $2,600 from Magnus and the turn was a four. Mercier once again reluctantly check-called a bet, this time of $6,100, and the river was another six, improving Magnus to a boat. Mercier checked, Magnus bet $13,200, and Mercier, despite seemingly smelling a rat, made the call. The pot was worth $47,600 and Mercier exclaimed, “God, I’m so f****** terrible.” Magnus moved out of the red and was up $7,700.

Magnus went from a VPIP of just over 6% during the first 15 hands of the night to 20% through Hand #25. However, she’d be the target of Cada late during play. The 2009 WSOP Main Event champ raised to $1,500 pre-flop with pocket queens and Magnus re-raised to $4,800 with pocket jacks. Cada made the call, the flop came a harmless 8-2-3, and Cada check-called a bet of $8,100.

The turn was a seven and Cada once again checked. Magnus fired out a bet of $15,600 with the worst hand and Cada called to see an eight on the river. The action went check-check and Cada rebounded to end the evening, pulling in the $58,200 pot. It marked Cada’s first pot of the week and the show concluded.

At the end of Monday night’s action, Bonomo was up $47,400 and Cada was down $35,500. The PokerStars “Big Game” airs nightly during the week on Fox. Check your local listings for more details.

Jeffrey Papola Wins WSOP $5,000 NLHE Six-Max for First Bracelet

Online poker guru Jeffrey “jpapola” Papola came out on top in the $5,000 No Limit Hold’em Six-Max event (#32) at the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP). Papola became the first person ever to finish 1-2 in Six-Max events at the WSOP, having also taken second in Event #26, a $2,500 No Limit Hold’em Short-Handed event. Papola is a sponsored pro of the USA-friendly site RPM Poker.

Papola has run well at the WSOP in the last two years. In 2008, he took 90th in the Main Event for $64,000 and finished 249th in the same tournament last year for $33,000. Papola already owns over $1 million in WSOP earnings in 2010 and, following his bracelet win, hopped on a plane and headed home to New York. Papola is in his third year of law school at Pace University and told WSOP officials following Saturday’s play, “I’m not exactly sure what I want to do with [law school]. I have learned a lot of things. But as far as practicing law, I do not see myself being able to do that, because I really do not like the 9 to 5 thing.”

Papola denied Men “The Master” Nguyen his second WSOP bracelet of 2010 and eighth overall. Nguyen took down this year’s Seven Card Stud World Championship for $394,000 and banked $360,000 on Saturday night. Nguyen leads the 2010 WSOP Player of the Year standings entering Sunday’s play in Las Vegas with three cashes and one bracelet. He’s part of a three-way logjam for first place with 2010 WSOP bracelet winners Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi and James “Flushy” Dempsey.

After sparring for four hours heads-up, Papola came out on top when his pocket jacks outlasted Nguyen’s K-10 of spades. Coverage found on WSOP.com details Nguyen’s final moments: “He shook Papola’s hand before collecting his things and stepping away from the table. Nguyen’s smile disappeared quickly, though, and he had a few unkind words for one of the dealers.” Nguyen is one of the more controversial characters in the industry, but was nominated for the Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2009.

The first casualty of the six-handed final table went to Full Tilt pro Erick Lindgren. He ran pocket queens into Nguyen’s pocket kings on his final hand and the board came 4-5-2-6-8. Lindgren cashed for $82,000 in his ninth WSOP final table. Lindgren’s bracelet came in 2008 in a $5,000 Mixed Hold’em event, when he bested an extremely talented final table that included Justin Bonomo, Victory Poker pro Andrew “good2cu” Robl, Roland de Wolfe, Chino Rheem, Howard Lederer, reigning World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship winner David Williams, PokerStars pro Pat Pezzin, and Isaac Haxton.

Here’s how the final table cashed out in Event #32:

1. Jeffrey Papola – $667,433
2. Men “The Master” Nguyen – $412,746
3. Mark Radoja – $262,902
4. Bruno Launais – $173,123
5. Orlando Delacruz – $117,595
6. Erick Lindgren – $82,303

Also wrapping up on Saturday was Event #33, $2,500 Pot Limit Hold’em/Omaha. Jose-Luis Velador has only made it to the final table of a WSOP tournament twice; both times, he’s emerged as the champion. Velador outlasted former WPT Championship winner David Chiu heads-up. In the pair’s final hand, Chiu called all-in with A-10 on a flop of 6-3-2 for ace-high and Velador showed 7-6 for top pair. A running 9-J secured the second bracelet win and $260,000 payday for Velador, while Chiu was denied his fifth WSOP title.

On his second piece of hardware, Velador told tournament officials, “It means a lot to me. I mean, any bracelet is always going to mean a lot – especially beating so many tough players. This was a very tough final table.” In fact, the finale had three gold bracelet winners: Velador, Rob Hollink, and Chiu. Hollink, who won the 2005 European Poker Tour (EPT) Monte Carlo Grand Final in Monaco, took third on Saturday and banked $116,000.

Hollink’s exit occurred during Omaha play. He was all-in before the flop with Qh-10d-8h-4d against Velador’s Kh-Kd-9d-7h. The flop came Q-8-3 rainbow, giving Hollink some hope with two pair. However, a running 6-3 improved him to kings-up, giving him a commanding chip lead entering heads-up play against Chiu. Here were the final results:

1. Jose-Luis Velador – $260,517
2. David Chiu – $160,902
3. Rob Hollink – $116,359
4. Craig Gray – $85,030
5. Kevin “ImaLuckSac” MacPhee – $62,791
6. Victor Ramdin – $46,861
7. James Mitchell – $35,331
8. Gavin Cochrane – $26,906
9. Matt Sterling – $20,698

The final three rounds of the $10,000 Heads-Up No Limit Hold’em World Championship will play out today from the Rio featuring Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka, Alexander Kostritsyn, Lucovic Lacay, Ayaz Mahmood, Vanessa Rousso, Ernst Schmejkal, Jason Somerville, and Kido Pham. None of the eight survivors has won a bracelet.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest WSOP headlines.

June 16th – Daily Deal

On today’s Daily Deal, PND celebrates one of our reporters making a final table at the World Series of Poker. On other news, Maxim Magazine profiles four hot internet players and UB offers to take fifty players to the Main Event.

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

PND is celebrating the success of one of our own. Online player and poker writer JD McNamara is the chip leader at the final table of event twenty-four, a one thousand dollar no limit hold’em tournament that had over thirty two hundred entries.

McNamara made moves early and often during Tuesday’s action, and he took the tourney lives of Dean Schankin, Joseph Grenon, and Yordan Mitrentsov. Just before this episode of The Daily Deal was taped, we were able to reach McNamara on the phone and talk to him just before he sat down at the Final Table of Event #24 at the World Series of Poker.

(INTERVIEW)

The entire PND staff will be railing JD this afternoon as he plays for a shot at a bracelet and half a million dollars. Take it down, JD!

Over the next two weekends, the online poker site UB.com and the free training site UB.net will be giving fifty players the opportunity to earn their way to the Main Event of the World Series of Poker. UB.net is currently running qualifying freerolls leading up to a final event on June twenty seventh. The winner will get a twelve thousand dollar Main Event package. Those willing to invest some money should head to UB.com, where fifty more packages will be up for grabs this weekend. Team UB Pro Phil Hellmuth is looking forward to lots of UB badges at the tables:

“I can’t wait for the Main Event this year. With over one hundred players getting ready to join UB at the series this year – plus another fifty coming through the big guarantee on the twentieth – I think there’s going to be a lot more UB players winning this year.”

Maxim Magazine is getting the poker fever. The news outlet recently brought joy to the poker world with a sexy photo spread featuring the lovely EPT champion Liv Boeree and the July issue of Maxim profiles four of the top young guns in the world of poker: Isaac Haxton, Justin Bonomo, Scott Seiver, and Steve O’Dwyer. The article, “From Geeks to Gangsters,” follows the four players for a day, talking about Bonomo’s model girlfriend, Haxton’s morning routine, and how close the foursome is – they even have a piece of each other’s action as a sort of poker syndicate to reduce variance. Haxton told Maxim:

“The game will keep changing, but with Justin [Bonomo] and Scott [Seiver] and the rest of our guys, we’ll always be ready for battle, whether online or at tournaments. Figuring it out is the fun part.”

Thanks for joining me on The Daily Deal. Don’t forget to visit PokerNewsDaily.com and be sure to follow us at Twitter.com/PokerNewsDaily for the latest in poker news.

Maxim Magazine Profiles Isaac Haxton, Justin Bonomo, Scott Seiver, Steve O’Dwyer

In the July issue hitting newsstands this week, Maxim Magazine profiles four of the top young guns in the world of poker: Isaac Haxton, Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, Scott Seiver, and Steve “MrTimCaum” O’Dwyer.

Davy Rothbart takes readers on a journey through the lives of four of the game’s best in an article entitled “From Geeks to Gangsters.” Bonomo is just 24 years of age and used to be “the kid with severe acne who ached to fit in.” Now, he’s banked $2.4 million from poker tournaments and “dated several of the hottest girls in the poker universe. His current girlfriend, Heather, is a sweet, young, blonde model who loves electronic music and rocks the kind of floppy, stuffed-animal backpack you see on teenage ravers.”

Haxton, who burst onto the live poker scene after finishing as the runner-up to Ryan Daut in the 2007 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure for $861,000, received several Harry Potter comparisons from Rothbart. The Maxim Magazine article details a typical day in the life of the poker-made millionaire: “Haxton sleeps in till 11, sips tea with his girlfriend, Zoe, whom he met at Brown, reads 50 pages of a Michael Pollan book, and zips to the gym downstairs for a workout with his personal trainer. Finally, mid-afternoon, he settles into his desk chair, powers up his computer and its two massive flat-screen monitors, logs on, and gets to work.”

Seiver, 24, is fresh off a fourth place in the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Main Event for $190,000. He won a bracelet last year in a $5,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament and has two in the money finishes in the WSOP so far in 2010. O’Dwyer made the final table of the World Poker Tour (WPT) Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic in December for $202,000 and has been a staple of the internet poker community for the past five years.

Admittedly, the quartet thrives off one another on and away from the felts. Haxton told Maxim reporters, “The game will keep changing, but with Justin [Bonomo] and Scott [Seiver] and the rest of our guys, we’ll always be ready for battle, whether online or at tournaments. Figuring it out is the fun part.”

Financially, each of these poker aficionados has plenty of motivation to support one another: “Haxton, Bonomo, and Seiver all have a piece of each other’s action and work as a syndicate to hedge their wins and losses. Bonomo might lose 50 grand one day, but if Seiver’s up 70, they all come out ahead. The strategy is working. The three collectively have racked up more than $7.1 million.” On a day that Rothbart shadowed the group, Seiver had dropped $80,000, while Bonomo was up $30,000.

If you’re in search of a new party game to play with your friends, Maxim introduced the world to “LoddenThinks,” referred to multiple times in the magazine’s piece. Rothbart explains its premise: “The game is called LoddenThinks, in honor of a Norwegian, somewhat perpetually drunken acquaintance of theirs named Johnny Lodden. When everyone’s together at a meal or out drinking, they’ll pepper someone with questions.” In addition, readers can look forward to a round of credit card roulette for a $2,000 dinner bill.

The only part of the article that this author took issue with was Rothbart’s assertion that poker was a game of chance: “Still, poker is a game of chance, and on any given day a great player can lose to a good player.” While the latter half of that statement is true, Bonomo somewhat corrected Rothbart in a comment comparing poker to chess: “Chess has been around for centuries. Its strategies are complicated, but have largely been solved. Poker, though, is a brand-new game. It’s billions of times more complex. We’re just starting to figure out how it works.”

Finally, former FBI agent Joe Navarro illustrates four poker tells: “The Red Neck,” “The Diaper,” “The No Thumbs,” and “The Conqueror.” Check out “From Geeks to Gangsters” in the July issue of Maxim Magazine.

What the Pros Do Away from the WSOP and Jean-Robert Bellande Goes Deep from Poker in Twitter

Tiffany Michelle decided to hit the streets of Las Vegas for some clubbing. “Did anyone catch @TrishelleC and I karaoking @ Ellis Island??? No? Too bad. Good times,” the Team UB pro Tweeted about her duet with Trishelle Cannatella. Apparently, the good times were cut short by one of the nightspots in Sin City when Michelle fired off, “Wow… I wanted to get a table & spend TONS of money at @palazzolasvegas which used to b my fav place of all time & they said no.”

Michelle gave her fans the reason for her barring from the Palazzo moments later, Tweeting, “I had flip flops on. Guess I’ll spend tons somewhere else with all my celeb friends!!! Never going to Palazzo/Venetian again!” After some Twitter exchange with her followers, she Tweeted, “Not tryin 2b a diva. Just saying I run all over Vegas & they wouldn’t let me in cuz of flip flops.”

Maria Ho and Bryan Devonshire stepped out for some dinner and the resulting events left their followers laughing. “I just drank @MariaHo’s boyfriend’s contact lens out of a shot glass for $100 Ho $,” “Devo” Tweeted about the odd prop bet. Ho, for her part, gave the reason for the activity: “Lol drunken shenanigans after Lakers lose.”

Dinner activities seemed to be a big topic of conversation from poker players on Twitter. “Today was great. Coached a student on AM, then gym workout w my dad, pool w @TiffnyMichelle, dinner w @brentsibley and maybe a movie later,” Vanessa Rousso chirped about her activities on Sunday, while new Full Tilt Poker pro Lacey Jones got emotional about her fellow dinner patrons: “Eating solo at my fav Pho restaurant and a little blonde girl asked her mom if I was a princess. Think my heart melted.”

Other activities outside of poker were the latest releases in theaters and a new sporting activity. “Watching the new Karate Kid with mini Will Smith,” Justin Bonomo Tweeted about the revamp of the 80s classic. “A bit sad that Pat Morita won’t be in it. RIP Mr. Miyagi.” UB.com pro Adam “Roothlus” Levy passed along some info to other players who might be interested, “For anyone who wants to play trampoline dodgeball… RT @SkyZoneVegas Next Adult Dodgeball Tourney is Friday, June 25th at 7pm.” Carter King responded, “@Roothlus talked to devo about doing this some time, still very much down.”

Of particular interest on Twitter was Joe Reitman’s college reunion over the weekend. “Final reunion party tonight. I am surprisingly comfortable staying in the dorms,” the Full Tilt pro Tweeted on Saturday. “I think I would be happy going back to college.” Apparently the fun lasted well into the evening, as Reitman stated, “Last night of college reunion. They asked me to dance… I have not tried those moves in 10 years. That’s gonna hurt in the morning.” Most hilarious was his Tweet about how he would feel the next day: “Dear body, you will pay a heavy price for dancing tonight like it was 1990 and not 2010. U R 2 old for that s**t. Sincerely, your back.”

Back on the WSOP felt, Jean-Robert Bellande’s run at the $10,000 Omaha Hi/Lo World Championship caught the attention of many in the poker world. After Bellande Tweeted, “Going into level 11 with 75k,” Matt Savage observed that a good finish would be welcomed by the poker community. “Go Jean Robert, the Big Game Players are all pulling for you!,” Savage Tweeted in reference to Bellande’s efforts in cash games in Bobby’s Room. Greg “FBT” Mueller piped up with a simple, one word reply to Savage and Bellande, “Obviously!” Bellande made it through the Day Two action and will start today in seventh place.

The $1,000 Ladies Championship event, which seemingly has generated more controversy this year than in the past, was Tweeted about extensively. Annie Duke, whose stance on the tournament’s existence is well known, encouraged the discussion: “Whether you agree or not, the debate is really healthy on the issue of the ladies event. Calm, rational debate makes the world go round.” Daniel Negreanu dedicated a blog to the subject and observed on Twitter, “@RealAnnieDuke is making the ladies event about sexism or feminism or some cause.”

Maria “Maridu” Mayrinck agreed with Negreanu: “@RealKidPoker the ladies event is played by women who want to have fun, bond, etc not engage in a CAUSE @RealAnnieDuke should support them.” Negreanu replied to Mayrinck, “Exactly Maridu. It’s about FUN not making a statement. Sheesh what’s the big deal?” Having the final say in the discussion was Mayrinck: “Poker is a job not a higher cause, any female pro who thinks of poker in terms of EV should see the ladies event as xmas, play & have FUN!”

As for the Tweets of the Week, a whole section has to be dedicated to Phil Hellmuth and his play at the Omaha World Championship. “Out Omaha 8/b 36th, 27 paid, another 16 hours in a tourn + no cash,” Hellmuth tweeted after his dismissal from the event. “Thing that sucks about being PH is I am too distraught when I bust!” Immediately following that, he chirped about his plan for recovery: “So distraught and so emotional right now that I am on my way to the gym for my own good health and sanity! Deserved better today.” In typical Hellmuthian fashion, he pulled himself up by Tweeting, “Just remembered who I am… time to cheer up and recognize that I am blessed.”

Close Call: WSOP Day 16 Recap

Pietsch was narrowly edged in the $1.5k Seven-Card Stud event by Englishman Richard Ashby who won his first WSOP bracelet.

She almost performed the feat just as the $1,000 Ladies event was playing down to a final table in a nearby area.

Noted poker player Tex Barch also won his first bracelet on a very busy day at the 2010 WSOP.

Here's a closer look at how each event unfolded:

Event 21 $1,500 Seven-Card Stud

Richard "Chufty" Ashby is known more for crushing high stakes cash games on Full Tilt Poker than winning live tournaments but that all changed on Saturday.

The Englishman beat a tough final table that included the likes of Dan Heimiller, Sorel Mizzi and Pat Pezzin. He took home over $140,000 for his first place finish.

Ashby displayed a splendid heads-up game and quickly overwhelmed Christine Pietsch who put in an otherwise strong performance in the tournament.

Event 20 $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha

John "Tex" Barch took down the $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha event. After making three final WSOP final tables, he's finally sealed the deal and has a bracelet he can call his own.

Barch began the day second in chips and didn't look back from there. Players dropped until it was just Klinghammer Thibaut and Barch left standing.

The heads up match took all of one hand. Barch managed to flop middle set and it held up against Thibaut's two pair and straight draw. Second place earned Thibaut $158,698 but it was Barch who took home the lion's share worth $256,919 and bracelet glory.

Event 24 $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em

Event 24, yet another $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em, tournament started today. These tournaments were put in place to allow more people a chance at trying their hand at a WSOP event and try they are.

Today 1,931 players ponied up the dime to play day 1a of this event and 290 of them are left standing. Leon Yanovski somehow managed to grind out a stack of 58,275 by the end of play. It puts him at the top of the leader board and is an impressive feat considering the 3,000 starting stacks.

Tomorrow starts day 1b at 12 p.m. when another big group of weekend warriors are expected to take their seats and try their hand at a little No-Limit Hold'em World Series of Poker style.

Event 22 $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold'em

Day 2 of the $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold'em saw 136 players play down to a final table of nine.

Notable players Michelle Lewis, Liv Boeree, Lacey Jones and Karina Jett were all relegated to the rail over nine and a half hours of play.

Relatively unknown player Sidsel Boesen finished with 789,000 for the overnight chip lead.

The final table begins at 3 p.m. on Sunday.

Event 23 $2,500 Limit Hold'em Six-Handed

108 players entered Day 2 of the $2,500 Limit Hold'em Six-handed event and after approximately 12 hours of play only 12 remained.

Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, J.C. Tran, Annie Duke, Andy Bloch and Vitaly Lunkin all hit the rail before even getting a whiff of the money.

Justin Bonomo, Michael Binger, Shawn Buchanan and Rafe Furst all did a bit better and at least got paid for their efforts before busting.

Veteran poker pro Al "Sugar Bear" Barbieri finished with the chip lead but he'll have to beat Dutch Boyd and JJ Liu to win the event.

Play recommences at 3 p.m. Sunday.

For a full account of how day 15 of the WSOP 2010 played out, click through to PokerListings' WSOP coverage.

WSOP Live!

Check out PokerListings' WSOP Live! The most star studded and entertaining daily WSOP recap in the industry:

Ladies Night: WSOP Day 15 Recap

More than 1,000 ladies entered the Rio Pavilion Room for the $1k Ladies Championship, with plenty of big names from both the celebrity and poker communities.

November Niner Eric Buchman also broke through with his first bracelet win as did online pro David "Bakes" Baker.

Here's a look around the day:

Event #18 - $2k Limit Hold'em

Eric Buchman added to an already impressive poker resume, taking down the bracelet from a field of 476 players.

The bracelet win is first for Buchman, who impressed many with his run to fourth place in the 2009 WSOP November Nine.

Buchman has expressed disappointment in not finishing higher in the 2009 Main Event, making Friday's bracelet win even more special for the 30-year-old New York pro.

"I made a lot of money, and I had a great experience. So it was bittersweet. But this is total satisfaction. This feels good."

Buchman takes home $203,607 for the win.

Event #19 - $10k 2-7 Draw Lowball (No-Limit) Championship

With a small field of 101 elite players beginning this event, we were almost guaranteed to have an electric final table.

The tournament didn't disappoint, with John Juanda, Daniel Negreanu and Erik Seidel both making in to the final seven.

In the end young online pro David "Bakes" Baker outlasted the formidable field and took the title, WSOP bracelet and $294,314 in cold hard cash for first place.

In winning the event Baker also put himself in contention for WSOP Player of the Year thanks to his sixth place finish in the $50k Player's Championship.

Event #20 - $1.5k Pot-Limit Omaha

We began the day close to the money bubble in the latest PLO event, as 95 players came back Friday to play for 81 money spots.

Nenad Medic and Blair Rodman are two of the notables coming back for Day 3 Saturday, as play resumes at 2:30 p.m. and goes to a winner.

Finishing in the cash on Day 2 was Matt Stout, Ted Lawson and Robert Williamson III.

Event #21 - $1.5k Seven-Card Stud

Sorel Mizzi had a huge day, staying near the top of the chip leaderboard for most of the day.

If he can hang on at Saturday's final table, the first-place prize of $140,467 awaits. He will have to get past pros like Alex Kravchenko and Richard Ashby if he's to win his first WSOP bracelet.

Scott Seiver and Chip Jett were amongst the notables finishing in the cash.

Event #22 - $1k No-Limit Hold'em Ladies Championship

The biggest spectacle at the Rio Convention Center Friday revolved around the $1k Ladies Championship.

Svetlana Gromenkova ended Day 1 with one of the biggest stacks in the room, but she was just one of many notables on hand in the field of 1,054.

Tiffany Michelle, Vanessa Rousso, Shannon Elizabeth, Liv Boeree and Lacey Jones were all in the field, as just about every major female poker personality was on hand.

Also in the field was Victory Poker spokesperson and 2007 Playmate of the Year Sara Underwood and actress/poker superstar Jennifer Tilly.

Play resumes Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

Event #23 - $2.5k Limit Hold'em Six-Handed

The $2.5k Limit Hold'em Six-Handed event brought out a bunch of poker's big names on Day 1, with the first-place prize of $234,065 on the mind of the 384 combatants.

Justin Bonomo, JC Tran, Shawn Buchanan and Phil Gordon were amongst the big names near the top of the leaderboard as Day 1 came to a close.

Players reconvene for Day 2 at 3 p.m. Saturday.

For a full account of how day 15 of the WSOP 2010 played out, click through to PokerListings' WSOP coverage.

WSOP Live!

Check out PokerListings' WSOP Live! The most star studded and entertaining daily WSOP recap in the industry:

Pros, Amateurs Mix on Day 2 of 2010 WSOP

The poker rooms at the Rio were filled with a unique mixture of elite poker players and relative amateurs.

With nearly 3,000 players all playing simultaneously the day was a good forecast of what's to come at the 2010 WSOP.

Here's a closer look at the tournaments that played out today:

Event 2 - $50,000 Player's Championship

Action picked up in a big way on Day 2 of the $50,000 Player's Championship.

Although only six players busted on Day 1, a total of 56 players were relieved of their $50k buy-in on Day 2.

It was hard to keep track of the big-name pros that busted as Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, Michael Binger, Isaac Haxton, Hoyt Corkins, Patrik Antonius, Carlos Mortensen, Ashton Griffin, Tony G and Mike Matusow were all eliminated.

On the other hand Kirk Morrison has come out of nowhere to wield an impressive stack of 760,000 chips.

Morrison went on a massive heater in 2007, placing second in the WPT Championship for $2 million and then cashing four times in that year's WSOP.

Since then Morrison has been non-existent on the tournament circuit and his appearance in this event was unheralded.

Morrison is joined at the top by Andy Bloch who finished with 716,000 chips and Nick Schulman who bagged 683,000.

Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Erik Seidel, Justin Bonomo, Cole South, David Bach and Chris "Jesus" Ferguson made it through the day as well.

Day 3 of the $50k Player's Championship begins tomorrow at 3 p.m. PST. Join us for ongoing live updates of this elite tournament.

Event 3 - $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em

To say the first $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em event was packed was an understatement.

A total of 2,601 clambered into the Rio in the first real test of the building's expanded poker facilities.

It passed with flying colors as it took only a few levels to fit ever player into the cavernous Pavilion Room.

The relatively shallow structure of the tournament helped cut the field down to size and by the end of the day over 2,300 players had been relegated to the rail.

Among the players to be eliminated were Shannon Elizabeth, Sam Stein, Joe Cada and Shannon Shorr.

Meanwhile Vanessa Rousso, Joe Sebok, Bryan Devonshire and Jonathan Little found themselves amongst the 290 players to secure a trip to Day 2.

Action resumes at noon PST time tomorrow with records on the line as organizers are expecting even more players. Tune in to PokerListings for all your live updating needs.

For even more on Day 2 in Las Vegas check out PokerListings WSOP Live! below:

2010 WSOP Best Bets: Negreanu’s Picks

Out of five picks, our very own blogger Jason Mercier managed to win his first of what is sure to be many bracelets to come.

However, our other four choices were shut out.

This year, after deciding one isn't nearly enough, we have chosen a line-up sure to be bringing home the bling from Las Vegas this summer.

Our first pick was none other than Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu. Then, after three major runner-up finishes this year and a WPT final table appearance, we went with Sam Stein.

Erica Schoenberg has been working on her game, so we made her our third pick and considering he's made a WPT and two WSOP Circuit final tables over the past 12 months, PokerListings' blogger Matt "Allinat420" Stout made it easy to make him our fourth choice.

Finally, since she'll finally be allowed to play in Las Vegas this year, 21-year-old Annette Obrestad was our fifth and final pick.

But since it would be no fun picking five players to win a bracelet without a little competition, we decided to let Negreanu pick his own 2010 WSOP Best Bets as well.

His first pick might shock you.

"Can I pick myself?" Negreanu asked. "Alright, then I'll start with me, because I'm going to play a lot of tournaments.

"The key is I'm good at all the games where the short fields are going to be, split-pot games, stud games and all that kind of thing. So I'm a good bet."

Next up, Negreanu chose the man who has just a slight edge on him at the top of live tournament poker's all time money winner's list - The legendary Phil Ivey.

"If Ivey has side action he's a good pick too," Negreanu explained. "He's good at all that stuff. He's the best at it.

"If he has the side action he's a good bet, if he doesn't he's not. It's just that simple. Without the side action he just doesn't try as hard. I mean, he'll always be a good bet in the Main Event, but that's the hardest to win."

His third pick is a former WSOP Main Event champion running well heading into the WSOP after booking his third World Poker Tour win earlier this year.

"It'll depend a little bit on how many events he plays, but Carlos Mortensen is my next pick," Negreanu said.

"Right now he's really hot and he hasn't won another bracelet since his Main Event. He used to be just a $10k buy-in guy, but if he plays all the tournaments this year, Carlos will win at least one."

After a bracelet win in 2008, Negreanu's next pick was shut out last year.

However, Scott Seiver will go into the 2010 WSOP on a heater, having made fourth in the both the NAPT's inaugural High Roller Bounty Shootout and the Mohegan Sun main event, sandwiched around a win at the L.A. Poker Classic's $25k High Roller.

"Seiver is also really hot," said Negreanu. "I don't know if he knows the other games yet, but if he plays all the No-Limit events, and I think he will, he's a really good bet to win a bracelet."

Finally, Negreanu picked a player who has made a final table at the WSOP each of the last three years, but has yet to book his first bracelet win.

"I know he plays a lot of the mixed games, I don't know if he really plays them all that well because I haven't played with him, but that's Justin Bonomo," Negreanu explained. "The thing with picking people to win bracelets is you want to pick people who really want to win them and I know Justin does.

"People that care about money and equity and all that, they don't care about winning bracelets. There are people that just want to win bracelets and these guys, for all of them, I know that's a big deal."

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Justin Bonomo’s Panorama Towers WSOP prop bet

Justin Bonomo issues WSOP “Panorama Prop Bet”

With the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) less than two weeks away, poker players around the world are making all kinds of last minute preparations – accommodations, travel plans, playing schedules – before descending upon Las Vegas.

Over on the Two Plus Two forums, a few online players are drawing up final plans of their own, but they don’t involve houses, hotels, or airplanes. For today’s generation of young, forum-posting poker pros, it’s all about prop bets. With each passing year, prop bets are generating more and more buzz more for the WSOP and with good reason, as there are hundreds of thousands of dollars in side action.

The most intriguing bet to emerge from the 20-page thread thus far is being levied by former Bodog Poker pro Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo. As of this writing, he has clearly stated that the bet isn’t finalized, but he intends to have action booked by the eve of May 28th. Essentially, Bonomo is laying 10-1 odds that at least one person living or staying at the Panorama Towers condominium building will win a WSOP bracelet this summer. Billed as “The Panorama Prop Bet,” the wager is exclusive to the Rio and Las Vegas, which means WSOP Europe events do not count.

The parameters of the bet state that owners, renters, and even people crashing for a week are all eligible for Bonomo’s side bet. Before the bet is set in stone, however, he’ll complete a list; in order for a player’s win to count, their name must be on the last draft. So far, his preliminary list includes the names below:

Jennifer Tilly, Phil Laak, Antonio Esfandiari, Barry Greenstein, UB.com pro Joe Sebok, David Williams, Shirley Williams, Isaac Haxton, Scott Seiver, Aaron Been, Steve O’Dwyer, Alex Melnikow, Ben Lamb, Tyler Netter, Eric Froehlich, Brock Parker, Nick Binger, Micheal Binger, Nenad Medic, Matt Gianetti, Lauren Kling, Mike Sowers, Maria Mayrinck, David Baker, David “Viffer” Peat, Alexandra Vuong, Liz Lieu, Stephen Chidwick, Jon Van Fleet, David “The Maven” Chicotsky, John Aguiar, Allie Prescott, Shaun Deeb, Jeff Sarwer, EPT San Remo winner Liv Boeree, Noah Boeken, Lex Veldhuis, Evelyn Ng, Jimmy Fricke, Matt LaGarde, Ray Coburn, Noah Glimmer, Jay Farber, Dan Bilzerian, Victory Poker front man Dan Fleyshman, Keith Gipson, Brian Rast, Joe Piccoli, Joseph Cheong, and Ryan Fee.

Other players that Bonomo believes might be staying at the luxury condos include Greg “FBT” Mueller, Shawn Buchanan, Micheal Dimichelle, Bobby Baldwin, Shannon Elizabeth, Mimi Tran, Andre Akkari, Hunter Frey, Titan Poker pro Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi, Johannes Straussman, and J.C. Alvarado.

Bonomo is currently accepting bets based on the rough outline and will be updating the complete list right before Midnight on May 28th. All takers will then have 24 hours to back out once he publishes the final list. Be sure to stay tuned to Poker News Daily, as we’ll be covering all future developments of the “Panorama Prop Bet.”