Posts Tagged ‘ladies’
Hail to the 2010 WSOP by Linda Johnson
If you are a poker player and you didn’t make it to the Rio to be part of or even witness the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP), you definitely missed out! As one friend of mine said, the WSOP has definitely matured. Kudos to Jack Effel and his entire staff for the many, many hours of planning they put in to make it run so smoothly.
When it comes to details, they seem to have thought of everything. The food problems of the past were settled by the creation of the Poker Kitchen, where players could grab food during dinner breaks without having to walk all the way into the casino. By the way, the fresh, custom, “more than you could eat” salads they served this year were incredible and the $10 food comp players got when they entered an event was sufficient to pay for a meal there. They had extra “executive” bathrooms outside the Amazon Room that were actually so deluxe that one would never know they were there temporarily.
They had plenty of stages for final tables. The bracelet ceremony was held each afternoon at a large center stage in the Pavilion, providing the bracelet winners an opportunity to be honored by their peers. I had the incredible opportunity to deliver the “Shuffle Up and Deal” speech from the center stage to kick off the Ladies Event. Here is a copy of the speech I wrote:
“I’m honored to be part of the opening ceremonies for the 2010 WSOP Ladies Event. 2010 is my 30-year anniversary of playing in the WSOP.
When I entered my first Ladies Event in 1980, I had no idea that it would be life-changing. I had decided that if I did well in that event, I would quit my job and become a poker pro. That year – 1980 – I came in fifth place. I went home to California and gave notice at work. Two weeks later, I moved to Las Vegas and began my new life as professional poker player.
I’ve never regretted that decision. The past 30 years in poker have been incredible. Many things have changed in poker over the past 30 years.
Instead of starting with $400 in tournament chips, today we’re starting with $3,000 in chips. Instead of 65 entries, today there are more than 1,000 participants. Instead of paying three places, more than 100 will be paid. Instead of Seven Card Stud, the game has changed to No Limit Hold’em. Instead of playing downstairs in the Mexican restaurant at Binion’s that was converted to the World Series poker room for two weeks a year, we are here at the Rio in the biggest poker room in the world. Isn’t this setting spectacular? Instead of it being rare to see women in poker rooms, women have become an integral part of poker.
Women are accomplished players! There are now 15 women with gold bracelets in open events. You can’t open a poker magazine these days without seeing the picture of a woman who just won a big poker tournament.
Despite the changes in poker from 1980 to 2010, one thing has remained the same: the excitement that we, as poker players, feel every year at the WSOP.
As I look out today, I see excitement on your faces. I hope the 2010 Ladies Event changes many of your lives like it changed mine! I remember it like it was yesterday – the thrill I felt 30 years ago as I heard the tournament director say… Shuffle up and deal!”
At the time I gave the speech, I wasn’t aware that approximately 12 men had entered the Ladies Event. Of course had I known, I could have added the line, “Instead of only women playing in the Ladies Event, today we have men and women playing.”
There have been many articles and blogs written about whether or not men should be allowed to play in the Ladies Event and even whether or not there should be a Ladies Event. Here’s the bottom line as far as I am concerned: There is no reason to have a Ladies Event because women can’t compete with the men… they can! The reason to have a Ladies Event is because of the atmosphere at the event, which is different from an open event. It is pleasant and provides a great opportunity for women poker players to play with their peers. More than 1,000 women showed up to play, so they obviously support Ladies tournaments.
In the five open events I played in, I was almost always the only woman at the tables. Therefore, the conversation was mostly about sports, the cocktail waitress, and things that didn’t interest me. I witnessed at least two very vocal arguments between players in each of the open events I played in.
It really was a treat to get to play with ladies in a congenial atmosphere and to have conversations that interested me. In fact, the two penalties I saw given during the Ladies Event were given to men.
I would never dream of crashing a man’s bachelor party, hunting trip, or fishing trip, so why should they play in a Ladies Event? However, that doesn’t make it right for the women to cheer when the men get knocked out. They should just be ignored, in my opinion.
I hate to see the 2010 WSOP come to an end. It was a great Series for me, with three cashes in the five tournaments I entered and success in live games as well. Could we make it last a little longer next year?
Did you visit Poker News Daily today?
Jennifer Tilly wins $5,000 Bellagio Cup VI for $125,000
BLOG – The 2010 WSOP highlights, facts and figures
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.
Tags: 2008, 2009, 2010, Annie Duke, bellagio, bodog, european, Justin Bonomo, ladies, Online Poker, Phil Hellmuth, poker player, poker show, pokerstars, Tiffany Michelle, tournament, vegas, woman, WSOP
Actors, Athletes and Amateurs Unite For Africa at WSOP
All facetiousness aside, today's $5k Ante Up For Africa tournament supports the admirable non-profit organization bearing the same name that is dedicated to raising money and awareness for Africans in need.
The tournament marks the second to last event on the 2010 WSOP calendar and has predictably drawn a crowd of celebrities, pro poker players and curious railbirds.
Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Shannon Elizabeth, David Alan Grier, Evander Holyfield and Montel Williams headline the list of celebrities who've made an appearance.
Brad Garrett, best known for his role on the TV show Everybody Loves Raymond, is keeping the Pavillion Room lively with his play-by-play and one-liners.
"Phil Gordon everyone," Garrett said introducing the poker player and announcer. "Only one person clapped for you, Phil, I think it might be your mom."
"Shannon Elizabeth, who looks great in women's clothing, is playing today," Garrett deadpanned.
Much of the buzz in the room involved Phil Ivey's early exit for the tournament. David Alan Grier took credit for the knockout. "I gave it to him right on the chin!" Grier said. "All in and all out, baby." Then Grier admitted he wasn't actually in the hand at all and has a tendency to embellish.
Crowd favorite Matt Damon has managed to stick around and double up a couple of times. One of those double ups found Damon coming from behind in the hand and rivering a full house on his opponent. "That's what happens when you're Matt Damon, ladies and gentleman," Garrett quipped. "If you're Brad Garrett, then you're in a cab by now."
Players can donate whatever portion of their earnings they choose to charity, but at least 50% is standard. Last year John Hennigan won the tournament and donated all of his winnings to charity. Upon recognizing Hennigan for last year's donation, Garrett was overcome with kindness. "I'm going to kiss Howard Lederer because of your generosity," Garrett said before making good on his act of man love.
There were 80 players who put up the $5k buy in for today's event. Annie Duke, Phil Ivey and Montel Williams were some of the first players to be knocked out.
More information on the charity led by Cheadle and Duke is available at http://anteupforafrica.org.
Visit PokerListings.com
ESPN Inside Deal Features Vanessa Rousso, Dean Hamrick
This week, the ESPN.com poker news franchise “Inside Deal” welcomed recent World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Dean Hamrick and top-tier female pro Vanessa Rousso. New episodes of “Inside Deal” are released every Tuesday exclusively on ESPN.com.
Hamrick finally got over the proverbial hump in 2010, taking down a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event for $604,000 and his first bracelet. He’ll take that money and head back to Michigan, telling “Inside Deal” hosts Laura Lane and Andrew Feldman, “It felt amazing. It was a little weird because it was 6:30 in the morning when I won, so I was as excited to finally get to sleep as I was to win the bracelet. It’s a pretty surreal moment. Everyone is around you and they’re dealing that last river card and you know if it goes right, you’re going to be the champ and get everything you ever wanted.”
Hamrick made deep runs in the 2007 and 2008 Main Events. However, the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em tournament marked just his second WSOP final table. He reflected, “When you’ve been close a couple of times, you realize how hard it is to get back. A final table is very tough, especially in the bigger fields. You don’t want to make a mistake and every decision is crucial.” Hamrick also revealed that the skill level of the field has gotten considerably tougher, a sentiment that many pros in the tournament series have echoed.
Rousso joined “Inside Deal” and discussed whether she considered 2010 to be the Year of the Woman: “I think that whole Year of the Woman thing is just to have something cool to say marketing-wise. Yeah, some women have had some great results this year. I don’t think there’s anything unique about 2010. Women will have great results in years to come. Truth is, we just have a lot of great women players now.” Annie Duke, Vanessa Selbst, and UB.com’s Liv Boeree have been among the females to win major tournaments since 2010 began.
In an interview-heavy episode, “Inside Deal” then welcomed Unabomber Poker front man Phil Laak, who is fresh off a 115-hour marathon poker session that set a Guinness World Record. The previous mark, held by Paul Zimbler, was just 78 hours. Why did Laak feel the need to obliterate Zimbler’s record by two full days? “When I got to 80 hours, I hadn’t made a plan of when I’d stop. I just figured I’d stop soon after that because I’d be so exhausted. What I didn’t expect is that I was supercharged.” Laak profited nearly $7,000 from the $10/$20 cash game table at the Bellagio.
Laak added that he has a renewed outlook on life following his weeklong affair: “Since the challenge, I have become super human. I think better, I play poker better, I have more patience, I’m more empathetic, I work harder at the gym, and things are more effortless. It’s crazy.” Laak’s record may have been broken by a group of European young guns; however, the validity of the attempt appears to be in doubt.
Finally, a viewer e-mailed asking Rousso whether she thought the WSOP Ladies Event should offer up a bracelet despite not being open to the general public. Rousso’s response: “I don’t really get that freaked out about it. I know a lot of pros have a very strong opinion one way or the other. For me, it’s up to the WSOP. If they choose to put it on the schedule, it’s a bracelet event. It’s as simple as that.” Shaun Deeb, David Sesso, and other males entered the tournament this year, but none survived Day 1.
Catch ESPN’s “Inside Deal” weekly on ESPN.com.
Don’t Be Such a Drag
When I read about Shaun Deeb, David Sesso, and other men playing in the Ladies Event at the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP), I just shook my head. It was the same sort of slow, disappointed head shake that I would use while watching my daughter poke and prod my dog’s face for the 500th time only to get snapped at. Both are just bad ideas that make me wonder what they were thinking.
I’m not so offended by the stunt that I’m going to call the guys idiots or draw some odd comparison to the BP oil spill like Dusty “Leatherass” Schmidt did in his blog. But to me, it is still pretty unbelievable that some people would actually think that doing this was a good idea. I know Deeb explained in a video message that he did it because he supports women in poker and was protesting gender segregation in tournaments, but I just don’t buy it.
At the beginning of his statement, which corresponds to published news reports, Deeb said that he lost a prop bet with his friends and, as a result, had to play in the Ladies Event dressed in drag. So what was it? Did you lose a bet or did you have some greater mission? In my opinion, it appears to be the former. It looks like Deeb, Sesso, and friends basically considered the Ladies Event a joke, which is why their punishment in the bet was to play in it.
I will give Sesso some credit, though. In an interview with Poker News Daily, Sesso admitted that he realized it was wrong to infiltrate the women’s tournament and apologized for it. But Deeb, in his video, tries to make us believe that, despite his saying so earlier, the prop bet was not the reason why he entered the tournament, but rather he wanted to stand up for gender equality. Come on. Over 1,000 women played in the tournament – obviously people like it.
It is so tilting to me when people complain about the Ladies Event, saying that women are just as capable and intelligent as men and don’t need a separate tournament. For instance, Annie Duke, a well known opponent of women’s events, told this website, “Poker is not like tennis. Men are not mentally stronger than we are, so it makes no sense to separate it out. If there were a men’s-only event, people would be encouraging women to play.”
Women’s events do not exist because women can’t compete with men in at the WSOP. They exist because, in general, women don’t compete with men at the WSOP. I think we all know that the ratio of women to men at the WSOP is tiny. So, one way to get more women involved is to have a tournament that caters to them. It’s obvious and everyone has heard this reasoning before, but there are still people who discount it.
Women don’t need the Ladies Event, people over 50 years old don’t need a Seniors Event, and poker players in general don’t need a Hold’em/Omaha hybrid event. But you know what? They like them, and that’s what matters. Of course, opponents will make the argument that just because people like something doesn’t mean it should exist. Sure, but this is a poker tournament. A women’s-only event doesn’t hurt anyone. If it becomes unwanted, then the registration numbers will dwindle and the WSOP will do away with it.
“But Dan, if you think a women’s event is fine, do you think a men’s event is fine?” That’s not the same thing, and you know it. Live poker is already basically a men’s club, so take those inappropriate arguments somewhere else.
It is just mind-boggling to me that there are people who care so much about trying to make such an unimportant statement that they want to ruin something enjoyable and harmless like a poker tournament. Put your energies and outrage into something that could really use some attention, not a fake women’s equality issue. And for guys like Shaun Deeb who feel like crashing a party because they think they are better than the attendees, don’t get upset when people call you out on it. You knew what people would think of you; don’t try to make us think you were making some heroic statement.
Women in Poker Hall of Fame nominees announced – among them Duke, Harman and Liebert
The 2010 Women in Poker Hall of Fame has nominated seven female poker players two of which will be chosen to Hall of Fame in September.
On the list there are familiar names to current players as well as a couple of older legends and poker professionals.
Betty Carey - A poker pro whose blue eyes mesmerized among others Doyle Brunson. When the 70’s turned to 80’s, Carey was known from her very aggressive playing style. Won a few WSOP money prizes and carried a .357 Magnum with herself.
Phyllis Caro - A poker pioneer since 1979. Started her career as a dealer and is nowadays the manager of poker operations in Hollywood Park, California. Has assisted her husband Mike Caro in making numerous poker books.
Nani Dollison - A South-Korean born hard core professional. Won a WSOP bracelet from $1,000 Limit Hold’em in 2001 and is one of the few WSOP Ladies Event double champions. Has cashed nearly 800,000 dollars during her career.
Annie Duke - Has claimed over 4,2 million dollar profits from tournaments and one WSOP bracelet from $2K Omaha Hi-Lo.
Jennifer Harman - A multi-skilled high stakes pro who has pocketed 2,5 million dollars during her career. The only woman who has won two WSOP bracelets.
Kathy Liebert - The most successful female tournament player ever with her 5,7 million dollar winnings since 1994.
Joanne “JJ” Liu - A pro player born in Taipei, Taiwan. Has won a WPT title and over 2,3 million dollars from the tournaments. A regular face in high stakes cash games.
Check out the nominees and the vote which will be open until July 15th in HERE.
Sources: PokerNewsDaily, womenspokerhalloffame.com and TheHendonMob
You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com
Women in Poker Hall of Fame nominees announced – among them Duke, Harman and Liebert
Tags: 2010, Doyle Brunson, high stakes, Hollywood, ladies, poker player, skill, tournament, woman, women, WSOP
June 25th – Daily Deal
Today’s Topics: 2010 WSOP Update, Survivor and the Women in Poker Hall of Fame Nominees.
Happy Friday! On today’s edition of the Daily Deal by Poker News Daily, we’ll take a look back at a busy day in the two thousand ten World Series of Poker. Also, we’ll figure out whether a poker player may be on the newest cycle of Survivor and review the Women in Poker Hall of Fame nominees. It’s all straight ahead on the Daily Deal!
Well there was almost huge news from the Rio as another top pro made a final table. This time it was Phil Hellmuth looking for bracelet number twelve as he made the final table of Event number forty one, which was the fifteen hundred dollar omaha eight or better tournament. As you might know, all eleven of Hellmuth’s bracelets are in No Limit Hold’em, but he wasn’t able to go the distance and finished a very impressive seventh place. The winner of this one turned out to be Steve Jelinek who became the fifth person from the UK to win a bracelet in the 2010 WSOP.
According to a rumor, poker players will make their return to the popular CBS reality series Survivor next season. Survivor: Nicaragua, which is in the midst of filming, will apparently feature a high-stakes poker player. Who that is has yet to be determined. A mystery poster on TwoPlusTwo who goes by the name “HeyIzDro” first reported the news, saying that producers had called him to gauge his interest. He initially turned down the offer in order to play in the World Series of Poker, but later notified readers that he was headed to Nicaragua to film.
Posters broke down players they’d like to see on the show, including Tom Dwan,Jamie Gold, and Huck Seed. Those who have been relatively absent from the WSOP and are possibilities to appear are Johnny Chan, Peter Eastgate, Prahlad Friedman, Patrik Antonius, and Clonie Gowen. Survivor: Nicaragua will air later this year on CBS.
Finally, seven ladies have received nominations to be enshrined in the Women in Poker Hall of Fame.
Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Annie Duke, Jennifer Harman, Kathy Liebert, J.J. Liu, Phyllis Caro, Nani Dollison, and Betty Carey.
The general public can visit Women In Poker Hall of Fame dot com before July fifteenth to vote. Two players will be inducted into the Hall in August.
Finally, don’t forget to sign up for UB.com through Poker News Daily before July thirtieth, deposit, and rack up one Status Point. When you do, you’ll be automatically entered into a freeroll on August fifteenth. The winner of the freeroll heads to sunny, warm Las Vegas in November to watch the final table of the Main Event play out. Plus, everyone who makes the freeroll’s final table gets seats to the UB.com two hundred thousand dollar guaranteed Sunday Major.
Two more prize packages for the Main Event final table will be given out in points races held in June and July. Whoever amasses the most number of Status Points each month will head to Sin City to soak up the November Nine and witness poker history. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see one player take down what is expected to be a top prize of between eight and nine million dollars.
I’m Sean Gibson. Have a great weekend and I’ll see you again on Monday.
Tags: 2010, Annie Duke, freeroll, Jennifer Harman, ladies, Patrik Antonius, Phil Hellmuth, poker player, Tom Dwan, tournament, usa, vegas, women, WSOP
2010 Women in Poker Hall of Fame Nominees Announced
The Women In Poker Hall of Fame has announced the names of seven ladies nominated for induction in 2010, of which two will be enshrined during ceremonies in September.
The Women in Poker Hall of Fame, founded by the Ladies International Poker Series and sponsored by CardPlayer Magazine, is designed to honor women who have acquired prominence and made contributions to the poker world. The Hall, which inducted its charter members in 2008, also recognizes those who have contributed significantly to promoting women in poker through their involvement in the gaming industry.
The qualifications for women to be named to the Hall are quite rigorous. Potential candidates must meet three criteria to be considered by voters: a candidate must have been active as a player or industry leader for a minimum of 15 years. The lady, whether a player or an industry leader, must have contributed to the world of poker in some significant way. This person can qualify by either winning major poker tournaments or making significant contributions to the industry. Finally, a person must be a proponent of women’s poker. Even is she does not play in women’s events, she must support them.
With these criteria, popular female players who have made waves recently, including PokerStars’ Vanessa Rousso, Full Tilt Poker’s Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad, Vanessa Selbst, and UB.com’s Liv Boeree, are not eligible for the Hall yet. “They will have their time to shine in the near future,” stated Women in Poker Hall of Fame Board Member Karina Jett. “The criteria set by the Board ensures inductees are well established players or industry professionals.”
The seven women who have been nominated feature representatives from every era in the history of the game. “Some of these candidates are better known than others, but they are all worthy of induction,” said Lupe Soto, the Hall’s Founder. The seven women who have been nominated for induction are led off by Poker News Daily’s guest columnist Annie Duke.
Duke has been one of the top female players in the game for nearly two decades. The current National Heads-Up Poker Championship titleholder, she has earned over $4.2 million dollars in her career. In addition to being an excellent player, Duke has also been at the forefront of the poker community, advocating in the halls of Congress on several key issues.
Duke is joined by Jennifer Harman, the only woman to have won two open World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets and a fixture in some of the biggest cash games in the world. Harman has used her poker success to drive attention to several charitable causes, including the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and has earned over $2.3 million in tournament earnings during her career.
Kathy Liebert is another contemporary of Duke and Harman who has had a successful career in poker. Liebert is the all-time leading money winner among women with well over $5.6 million in earnings. She was the first woman to win a $1 million first prize in a poker tournament when she captured the 2002 PartyPoker Million.
Joanne “J.J.” Liu has quietly made her impact on the poker world. While playing in some of the most difficult cash games around the world, Liu has also been a formidable foe in the tournament arena. A graduate of Bradley University, she has earned over $2.1 million from tournament poker, including a third place finish in a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event and a seventh place finish in a $2,500 Six-Handed Limit Hold’em event at this year’s WSOP.
Involved in poker since 1979, Phyllis Caro has been a part of nearly every aspect of the poker world. Working her way up from being a dealer, Caro has become one of the preeminent women in the gaming industry. Today, she works as the Director of Poker Operations at Hollywood Park in California. She has also assisted her husband Mike Caro with some of his best known works.
Nani Dollison is one of only three women – 2008 Women in Poker Hall of Fame charter members Barbara Enright and Susie Isaacs are the other two – who have won the Ladies’ Championship at the WSOP twice in their career. One of the most aggressive players on the felt, Dollison has earned almost $800,000 in her poker career and has played in venues that span the globe.
One of the pioneers for women in poker is Betty Carey. She was considered one of the most feared players – male or female – in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She consistently battled against some of the legends of the game, including “Amarillo” Slim Preston, Johnny Moss, and Doyle Brunson, and more than held her own. She was one of the first women to play in the WSOP and is someone whom all the nominees above have to thank for blazing the trail.
Out of this exceptional list, only two will earn nominations. The voting process is open to the public at the Women in Poker Hall of Fame website until July 15th, with the two players elected to the Hall announced in August.
Tags: 2008, 2010, Annie Duke, Doyle Brunson, Hollywood, Jennifer Harman, ladies, poker player, pokerstars, tournament, woman, women, WSOP
The Nightly Turbo: Snoop Dogg, ESPN’s Inside Deal, and More
Celebrating Father’s Day from Poker in Twitter
With Father’s Day on Sunday, many of the pros in the poker world took the time to send their best wishes to their dads. “Happy Father’s Day to all the great Dad’s out there!,” Liz Lieu Tweeted to her followers, while Erica Schoenberg added her tribute: “Dad, thanks 4 being the degen that I know & love. I wouldn’t b where I am w/out you or your love 4 the ponies, blackjack, craps, casino war.”
Joe Sebok had perhaps the best Father’s Day gift in mind when he said to his father Barry Greenstein, “Happy Father’s Day to the big man, @barrygreenstein. a bracelet seems like a good gift to give yourself.”
During the play of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) at the Rio in Las Vegas, there have been some strange requests from fans to their poker playing idols. A couple of weeks back, Shannon Elizabeth turned down a request to sign a guy’s chest, but the men weren’t quite as shy. “Girl from South America wanted me to sign her boob,” Doyle Brunson Tweeted to his fans. “How could a gentleman refuse?” PokerStars front man Daniel Negreanu also got a strange request: “Some woman just asked me to sign her tramp stamp area. She’s going to get a tattoo there to surprise her husband.”
On the calmer side of autographs, Erik Seidel still had an odd request. “Saw the guy who wants me to sign the book he thinks I wrote,” Seidel, who has never authored a book, Tweeted. “Can’t wait to see who he’s mistaken me for. I’m hoping it’s Doyle.”
Prop betting at the tables has once again been a popular pastime at the WSOP. “John Hennigan joined the table and instantly started side bets with @durrrr!,” tournament director Matt Savage reported from the felt as he played the $3,000 HORSE tournament. Negreanu also got in on the action: “I just laid 100-1 with Kathy Liebert that I will make Day 2 of this event. She bet 100 bucks. I’d lose 10k. I know it’s a bad bet. I don’t care!” No word on the action at Savage’s table, but Negreanu will make at least $100 after making it to Day 2 in his event.
DoylesRoom pro Amit “amak316” Makhija also was looking for some action over Twitter. “Open challenge to anyone in the Twitterverse,” Makhija started in the first of two Tweets. “Looking for a 3k most money cashed for bet in the 10kplh today at 5. If I don’t know you well give me 3k at the beginning of the tournament and respond to this before it starts and were booked! Let’s go!” Apparently, Makhija received the action he was looking for, Tweeting soon afterwards, “Booked with @ShannonShorr he’s insta taking all my prop bet offers this summer, good to see someone knows a whale when they see one. Gl!”
During another event at the WSOP, Maria “Maridu” Mayrinck and Maria Ho ended up at the same table, which turned out to be more interesting for its side antics than the action on the felt. “This is the weirdest HORSE table I’ve ever played at,” Mayrinck stated upon arrival. “When I got moved to this table a player & the dealer were yelling at each other about to fight & I’m yelling floor!” Moments later, Mayrinck added another report of a fight through a Tweet: “Fight 3 almost broke out at my table. They are nuts!” Ho added in her two cents: “Add a crazy/smelly/dealer abuser and a douchebag to the lineup.”
Things were better over the weekend for Ho, as she teamed up with her partner in crime from “Amazing Race,” UB.com pro Tiffany Michelle, to celebrate Michelle’s birthday. “The girls at Eve nightclub for Tiffany’s bday bash!,” Ho Tweeted along with a picture of the crew. “Great time with great people!” Liv Boeree was part of the revelry and also sent a Twitpic of the gathering of the ladies. Alex Outhred felt a little left out of the festivities, Tweeting, “So mad I missed all the fun! -looks like it was a happy bday! I didn’t wanna hurt anyone on the dance floor.”
To wrap the weekend with the best Tweets, we have to go no further than Seidel, who offered up the gem, “Daily observation: Abuse dealers, and you will be dealt a life that sucks.” New Full Tilt Poker pro Lacey Jones put her own spin on a classic adage: “When life gives you lemons… stuff them in your bra.” Finally, Elizabeth came up with a Tweet that accurately told everyone what she was up to: “Today’s another fun filled day of poker! What? It’s that time of year. What’d you expect me to be doing? Knitting?”
The top stories of the first half of WSOP 2010
CardPlayer has ranked the highlights of this year’s WSOP. The tournament is now in halfway, and many interesting things have happened in Las Vegas.
5. Sam Farha’s return
Sammy Farha did great in the WSOP 2003. After that, this regular High Stakes Poker face concentrated mainly on cash games. But this year he stepped back in the WSOP spotlight by winning the $10k Omaha Hi/Lo tournament.
4. Men Nguyen and the 7th bracelet
Men “The Master” Nguyen joined the tiny group of those players who have won seven bracelets during their career. Now Nguyen belongs to the same group with Phil Hellmuth, Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, Johnny Moss and Erik Seidel.
3. Michael Mizrachi in $50k Players’ Championship
Just before this year’s WSOP Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi was in an awkward situation. According to a Florida newspaper Mizrachi was facing foreclosure due to his $340,000 dollars of unpaid taxes. Goes without saying that the $1,56 million-dollar victory in Players’ Championship eased his situation a lot.
2. Men attending the Ladies Event
About ten male players didn’t bother to care about the tournament organizers’ wishes to keep the Ladies Event solely for women. There is no lawful excuse to prevent men from attending this female tournament; rather it is more about an unwritten rule and gentleman’s agreement. Thus, among other things, we got to see a man wearing a skirt and a wig during the event.
1. Tom Dwan’s side bets
Mizrachi’s and Farha’s bracelets are still fresh in our memory, but the biggest attention was attracted by Tom “durrrr” Dwan who became second in the $1,500 NL event. As far as we know, Dwan had bet million dollars on winning the bracelet, which meant that many other top players were truly relieved after Simon Watt managed to beat him in heads-up.
You can read more about these stories from here.
Source: Cardplayer and TheHendonMob
You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com
BLOG – Women – can’t live with ‘em; can’t bust ‘em out of poker tournaments
Poker News In Brief: June 14-20, 2010
The Brits are at it again, as England has totaled four WSOP bracelet wins, while Men "The Master" Nguyen added a seventh career WSOP bracelet to his total.
Be sure to check our live tournaments, news and video sections for complete WSOP coverage.
While the 2010 WSOP is at the center of the poker universe, there are a few other happenings from around the world of poker:
William Thorson Wins PokerStars Baltic Festival
There's still plenty of poker taking place around the world, and Team PokerStars pro William Thorson now has a breakthrough win.
The 27-year-old Swede won the PokerStars Baltic Festival for his first major live score, after coming close on numerous previous EPT final table appearances.
Thorson wins more than 1.2 million Estonian Crowns - approximately €80,823, for the win, his biggest career cash.
The PokerStars Baltic Festival took place in Tallinn, Estonia, from June 16-19.
PokerStars Announces New NAPT Stop
The North American Poker Tour will be taking a trip to sunny Southern California.
PokerStars announced a new event for Season 1, as the NAPT Los Angeles will commence from the Bicycle Casino November 12-17.
The centerpiece of the event will be a $5k No-Limit Hold'em Main Event, set to take place over five days.
The NAPT Los Angeles will be the fourth NAPT event taking place in 2010.
HHPT Nominated For Two Awards
The High Heel Poker Tour made its presence known at the 2010 WSOP during the $1k Ladies Championship, and now the all-female tour and its founder are nominated for awards.
The HHPT is nominated for the Maven Award for Best Poker Tour, while HHPT founder Lauren Failla has been nominated for the International Women in Gaming Star of the Future Award.
For more info check out www.highheelspokertour.com.
Matt Savage Takes Position As WPT Executive Tour Director
The WPT has added one of the most respected names in the business to its ranks.
Matt Savage has been announced at the WPT's new Executive Tour Director, and he brings a reputation as one of the most well-known tournament directors in the business.
Savage will still retain his other duties, including Tournament Director at Bay 101.
Offers For PL.com Players on Winner.com Poker
The $6k Winner League is taking place June 20 - July 30 on Winner.com Poker,
As part of the promotion players will be able to take part in daily $2 freerolls with $50 added every day and try to qualify for the $4k final, which will take place August 3.
1st place will receive a $3000 package, 2nd-6th receive $200 token to the Irish Open Super Satellite.
To learn more check out our Winner.com Poker Review.
Visit PokerListings.com
Master Falls Short: WSOP Day 23 Recap
There were thousands of poker players in the Rio with six events on the schedule and two final tables.
There were seniors, H.O.R.S.E. players and heads-up specialists all looking to bring their best poker game.
Nguyen and Papola grabbed most of the attention but here's a closer look at what occurred on Day 23 of the 2010 WSOP:
Event #32 - $5k No-Limit Hold'em Six-Handed
The final day of Event 32 brought out a star-studded group of 12 players that included Erick Lindgren, Men "The Master" Nguyen and French upstart Anthony Roux.
Lindgren seemed to be the best choice to win the event as he was one of the chip leaders by the time the final table of six was set.
Instead the Team Full Tilt Poker pro was the first player to bust and Nguyen and upstart online player Jeff Papola would host a marathon heads-up battle.
After approximately five hours of heads-up play, Papola emerged the victor and took home a massive $667,433 first place prize, not to mention a shiny new WSOP bracelet.
Event #33- $2.5k Pot -Limit Hold'em/Omaha
Jose Luis Velador already had a bracelet to his name but now he has two. Today he took down $260,517 when he won the $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha/Pot Limit Hold-em mix.
Players dropped like flies from the start until only 4 time bracelet winner David Chiu stood in Velador's way.
The pace didn't slow down once it was heads up. It only took about thirty minutes for the match finish. David Chiu took home $160,902 for second place.
Event #34 - $1k Seniors No-Limit Hold'em Championship
A total of 428 players took to the felt on Day 2 of the widely popular Seniors Event.
The goal was to play all the way down to a final table of nine but by 3 a.m., well past early bird special time, tournament directors decided to call it a night with 26 players remaining.
T.J. Cloutier, Susie Isaacs and Barry Johnston were among the notables finishing in the cash.
On Sunday the 26 remaining players will play down to a winner.
Former WSOP Player of the Year Tom Schneider is the most well-known player still in the running to ship a bracelet in this event. He's 14th in chips with 284,000.
Play resumes at 2:30 p.m.
Event #35 - $10k Heads-Up Hold'em Championship
The latest $10k Championship event drew lots of railbirds to the Amazon Room, as poker's best squared off in heads-up play.
The max 256 entrants registered for this event, and we played down to the final 8 today.
Antonio Esfandiari and Sorel Mizzi were amongst the notables eliminated in the cash.
Ludovic Lacay and Bertrand "Elky" Grospellier clashed in a match that pitted two of France's best and most beloved players with Lacay coming out on top.
Vanessa Rousso will be representing the ladies tomorrow. She beat out Vivek Rajkumar to earn her way into Day 3.
The matches resume at 3 p.m. Sunday.
Event #36 - $1k No-Limit Hold'em
The $1k No-Limit Hold'em events continue to draw huge numbers, as 2,530 players came out for Day 1a.
By the end of the day only 298 players remained, which means over 85 percent of the field was cut down in one day.
Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, Dennis Phillips and PL.com blogger Jason Mercier all fell to the rail today while Scott Montgomery Neil Channing, Liv Boeree and Marco Traniello all lived to see the light of Day 2.
Day 1b begins at noon tomorrow with another huge turnout a probability.
Event #37- $3k H.O.R.S.E.
Players continue to flock to H.O.R.S.E. events at the 2010 WSOP as 479 players bought into Event 37, which beat last year's total.
The pros were more than willing to play with biggies like Daniel Negreanu, Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey and Phil Hellmuth all paying the $3k to play.
All the aforementioned players survived the day and are among the 219 players who will attempt to make the final table on Sunday.
Play resumes at 3 p.m. Sunday.
For more information on how the day played out at the series, click through to the PokerListings WSOP page.
Visit PokerListings.com
Tags: 2010, Daniel Negreanu, full tilt poker, ladies, no-limit, Phil Hellmuth, Phil Ivey, poker player, tournament, usa, WSOP
2010 World Series of Poker Hosts Record-Setting Seniors’ Event
In 2008, the $1,000 Seniors’ No Limit Hold’em Championship at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) attracted a field of 2,218. Last year, 2,707 players turned out for the annual tournament, an increase of 22%. This year, the field size once again grew leaps and bounds, as 3,142 players age 50 and over turned out for the 2010 Seniors’ No Limit Hold’em Championship, an increase of 16%.
According to WSOP officials, Event #34 of the 2010 WSOP marks the largest Seniors’ Event in history and the largest field ever to sit down on one day at the WSOP, two superlatives that the tournament series will be hard-pressed to beat going forward. Harrah’s Communications Director Seth Palansky told Poker News Daily that the oldest player in the field during a quick check of the room was 92.
Palansky added, “We set a record last year and it was a huge increase year over year. It’s remarkable. The fact that we’re at 3,100 strong is pretty impressive. It shows there are a lot of people in a lot of age categories interested in poker.” Unlike the $1,000 Ladies’ No Limit Hold’em Championship, there do not appear to be any party-crashers this time around. During last Friday’s Ladies’ Event, a handful of males, including Shaun Deeb, turned out. Deeb took his presence one step further, dressing in drag complete with a straw hat, tank top, and fake set of breasts.
First place in the $1,000 buy-in Seniors’ Event is scheduled to pay $488,000, while the runner-up will earn $302,000. The top five players will collect a six-figure payday and the last 324 left standing will finish in the money. Among those who joined the action during late registration were 2008 Poker Hall of Fame inductee Dewey Tomko, two-time bracelet winner Tom Schneider, and poker author David Sklansky.
Among those chipping up early was 2008 WSOP Main Event November Niner and PokerStars pro Dennis Phillips, who bet out on a board of 7-10-2-J-7 and the table folded around. Phillips broke the 10,000-chip mark shortly thereafter, showing A-9 on a board of A-8-J-5-4 for top pair. His opponent held a pair of jacks and Phillips continued his march up the leaderboard. After his third place finish in 2008 in the Main Event, Phillips turned in a 45th place run last year. His career WSOP earnings approach $5 million.
Reigning WSOP Europe Main Event champion Barry Shulman was one of the early casualties of the Seniors’ Event and immediately headed to the $50/$100 Omaha High-Low cash tables at the Rio. Coverage found on WSOP.com candidly noted, “Looks like he wasn’t depending on cashing in today’s event to pay for groceries.” Shulman, who will be one of 27 players to take to the felts in the 2010 WSOP Tournament of Champions next weekend, banked £801,000 for winning the WSOP Europe Main Event one year ago.
Michael Davis won last year’s Seniors’ Event for $437,000. One year prior, it was Dan Lacourse hoisting the bracelet for $368,000. Players in the hunt for this year’s title include ESPN poker analyst Lon McEachern, “The Simpsons” co-creator Sam Simon, “Minneapolis” Jim Meehan, and two-time bracelet winner Thor Hansen.
June 18th – Daily Deal
On today’s Daily Deal, the Poker Players Alliance releases an iPhone app, Lacey Jones joins Team Full Tilt and Everest Poker files another lawsuit against Harrah’s.
Hello, I’m Sean Gibson and welcome to the Daily Deal by Poker News Daily.
Today we start with an update from the World Series of Poker as there have been some bracelets handed out in recent days. Event number twenty seven, the fifteen hundred dollar seven card stud hi lo event was won by David Warga for just over $200,000. Event twenty eight, which was the twenty five hundred dollar PLO event, was won by Canadian Miguel Prouix to the tune of three hundred and fifteen thousand dollars. Finally, event number twenty nine was the ten thousand dollar limit poker championship which was taken down by Matt Keikoan, who takes home $425,000 in addition to that coveted bracelet.
For those of you with iPhone or iPod Touch, you should take a look at the brand new iPhone App from the Poker Players Alliance. Costing only a nominal fee of ninety-nine cents, the app will allow poker players to stay up to date with the latest news, Tweets, upcoming tournaments, and more. It also ties into Facebook and Twitter and allows you to contact your government officials , for those of you that are in the United States. An especially useful feature allows you to send pre-written e-mails to your Senators and Representatives based on your zip code. You can find the PPA App in the App Store by doing a search for “Poker Players Alliance.” Although there isn’t anything super fancy about the application, donating a buck will go a long way towards the cause.
Lacey Jones has a new home, and unfortunately for you it is not with us here at PND. My lobbying efforts to bring in Lacey as my co-host here for the Daily Deal were all in vain, as Lacey will now grace the tables at Full Tilt Poker. Everyone wondered what the lovely poker player and presenter would do after parting ways with Absolute Poker. The cat was let out of the bag by Jones’ management agency, Poker Royalty, which Tweeted, “Congrats to Poker Royalty client lacey jones on her new sponsorship with Full Tilt Poker.” Jones herself Tweeted excitedly, “Can’t even begin to explain the joy I feel putting on a Full Tilt Poker patch.” Jones has had a very eventful year, including a deep finish in this year’s Ladies No Limit Hold’em Championship at the WSOP, where she ended in forty-first place.
The dispute between Everest Poker and the casino gaming goliath Harrah’s just got a little more heated. The Las Vegas Sun newspaper reported that Everest Gaming Limited sued Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment claiming trademark infringement for using “Everest trademarks during the two thousand and ten World Series of Poker now underway at the Rio.” Everest is upset that French television station RTL9, which has displayed Full Tilt’s logo on WSOP broadcasts instead of Everest Poker’s even though it airs in Everest’s primary market. Because of this, Everest attempted to withdraw its sponsorship of the WSOP, which continues to use the Everest logo on the tables. This line from the lawsuit pretty much sums up Everest’s mood: “Defendants are refusing to remove trademarks in an effort to try to force payment by Everest for Defendants’ use of such marks, and in order to bolster the legitimacy of the WSOP in the minds of tournament participants, fans, and the viewing public.”
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. This is Sean Gibson, wishing you a great poker weekend!
2010 WSOP Attendance Up, Prize Pool Down
Thursday marked the completion of 29 events in the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP), or the halfway point. Fifty-seven bracelets will be awarded overall, culminating in November with the crowning of the Main Event champion. Whether due to the ongoing worldwide recession, a declining poker presence in the United States, or a combination of both, it’s been a mixed bag so far for Harrah’s officials.
Through 29 events of the 2010 WSOP, there have been 30,552 total entries, a rise of 6.6% from last year’s tally of 28,658 at this time. However, this year, we’ve already seen three $1,000 No Limit Hold’em tournaments, triple the number that panned out last year. This year, the total price tag for all tournaments so far is $143,000, up from last year’s tally of $137,500 through 29 events. However, a $50,000 event has already been held in 2010, whereas last year’s priciest tournament through 29 events was $40,000.
Total prize money is down slightly year-over-year. In 2010, the purse through 29 events stands at $53.6 million, down 4.8% from last year’s total of $56.3 to this point. The multitude of $1,000 buy-in events may be to blame for the lower total prize pool, as the three affordable No Limit Hold’em tournaments held so far attracted fields of 4,345, 3,042, and 3,289. Last year’s lone $1,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament, dubbed the “Stimulus Special,” generated a field of 6,012 players, the largest non-Main Event tournament in WSOP history.
The kickoff $1,500 No Limit Hold’em tournament, which began on a Tuesday last year and on a Monday this year, drew a starting grid of 2,791 in 2009 and 2,092 in 2010, a steep drop of 25%. The Ladies’ Event held strong year-over-year, with attendance of 1,054 in 2010 on par with the field of 1,060 that turned out last year. Today marks the beginning of the final non-open WSOP bracelet tournament, the $1,000 Seniors’ Event, which saw a field of 2,707 do battle in 2009.
Here are several events held so far during the 2010 and their attendance compared to 2009:
$500 Casino Employees Event
2009: 866 players
2010: 721 players
Change: -16.7%
$1,500 Omaha High-Low Split
2009: 918 players
2010: 818 players
Change: -10.9%
$10,000 Seven Card Stud World Championship
2009: 142 players
2010: 150 players
Change: +5.6%
$1,500 Pot Limit Hold’em
2009: 633 players
2010: 650 players
Change: +2.7%
$10,000 Seven Card Stud High-Low Split
2009: 164 players
2010: 170 players
Change: +3.7%
$1,500 No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed
2009: 1,459 players
2010: 1,663 players
Change: +14.0%
$2,000 Limit Hold’em
2009: 446 players
2010: 476 players
Change: +9.0%
$5,000 No Limit Hold’em
2009: 655 players
2010: 792 players
Change: +20.9%
$2,500 Limit Hold’em Six-Handed
2009: 367 players
2010: 384 players
Change: +4.6%
$1,500 Seven Card Stud High-Low Split
2009: 467 players
2010: 644 players
Change: +37.9%
Twenty of the 29 bracelets awarded in 2010 have gone to players from the United States, while three each were given to players from Great Britain and Canada. Hungary, New Zealand, and France each captured one bracelet.
Many have dubbed 2009 the “Year of the Woman;” however, the “Year of the Pro” may be a more accurate label for the WSOP. Twenty of the 29 bracelets dished out so far have been to pros, while just six amateurs have collected titles. Five players – Praz Bansi, Men “The Master” Nguyen, Dutch Boyd, Sammy Farha, David Warga, and Matt Keikoan – became repeat gold bracelet winners.
World Team Poker Signs Kathy Liebert, Cyndy Violette, Antonio Esfandiari
The roster for the 24-team World Team Poker World Championship just got a little bit bigger. Top female poker pros Kathy Liebert and Cyndy Violette have been inked to play for Team Germany, whose roster currently includes Dan Heimiller. The World Championship will take place from October 11th to 17th in Las Vegas, although a host venue has not yet been announced.
Violette has been a staple of the poker scene since the 1980s. She final tabled Ladies’ Events at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in 1985 and 1987 before winning her first bracelet in 2004 in a $2,000 Seven Card Stud High-Low Split Eight or Better tournament for $135,000. In 2005, Violette was the runner-up to Erik Seidel in a $2,000 No Limit Hold’em event for $295,000, but she has not made a final table at the WSOP in four years.
Liebert also won a bracelet in 2004, taking down a $1,500 Limit Hold’em Shootout for $110,000 in a final table that included Brock “t soprano” Parker, Kevin Song, and Joe Cassidy. Liebert finished third in the 2008 World Championship of Pot Limit Hold’em for just over $300,000 and owns over $1 million in WSOP and Circuit earnings. Last November, Liebert won a $2,325 No Limit Hold’em event held during the Foxwoods World Poker Finals for $74,000 and took third in the World Poker Tour (WPT) North American Poker Championship two years ago for nearly $300,000.
Now, these two poker divas, whose parents are German, will step up to bat on behalf of Team Germany. Competing against them under the Iranian banner will be Victory Poker pro Antonio Esfandiari, who also joined on with World Team Poker in recent days. Esfandiari already has two cashes during the 2010 WSOP, including a 12th place showing in a $5,000 No Limit Hold’em event for $47,000. Esfandiari finished 24th in last year’s Main Event for $352,000 and won a bracelet in 2004 in a $2,000 Pot Limit Hold’em contest.
Other World Team Poker rumors have two-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Greg “FBT” Mueller captaining Team Canada, whose roster of pros has yet to be announced. World Team Poker’s Robert Turner told Poker News Daily that the hype for the World Championship event in October is quickly building: “People like our concept. It’s something new in poker that’s never been done. Even though there have been attempts to do team events, we have it right. There is no collusion, we combine chips, and the fact that we’re with Fox Sports Net has helped. That’s the home run for us.”
On July 14th, a teaser episode of World Team Poker’s kickoff event at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas will air on Fox Sports Net. Then, beginning in September, the rest of the action from the Downtown casino will be broadcast in one-hour episodes on the sports station on Sunday nights.
Earlier this month, World Team Poker signed Full Tilt pro Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad to Team Norway, whose roster also includes Thor Hansen. Team China took down the tournament series’ inaugural event at the Golden Nugget, besting Team Brazil. The Chinese squad included Johnny Chan, David Chiu, Chau Giang, Maria Ho, Winfred Yu, Rich Zhu, and Derek Cheung.
Twenty-three countries are listed on World Team Poker’s website, meaning that one more may need to come aboard in order to fill out a 24-team World Championship field: Armenia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, England, Germany, Greece, India, Iran, Israel, Italy, Korea, Lebanon, Mexico, Norway, the Philippines, Russia, Switzerland, Turkey, the United States, and Vietnam. Curiously absent is France, whose roster could include players like Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, Everest Poker’s Antoine Saout, and David Benyamine.
Stay tuned for the latest news from World Team Poker.
Tags: 2008, 2010, Australia, Canada, David Benyamine, israel, ladies, poker player, Russia, tournament, vegas, WSOP
Congratulations to Vanessa Hellebuyck - Ladies WSOP 2010 Champ
Lacey Jones Joins Full Tilt Poker
Although she is not listed as a pro or friend of the site, former Absolute Poker diva Lacey Jones has joined the ranks of Full Tilt Poker. A Tweet from Jones’ management agency, Poker Royalty, read, “Congrats to Poker Royalty client @laceyjones on her new sponsorship with Full Tilt Poker.”
Prior to the start of the ongoing 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Jones parted ways with the USA-friendly site Absolute Poker, which makes its home on the CEREUS Network. By June 12th, the mystery of where Jones would land was solved, as she turned out to the tournament series donning Full Tilt colors. Jones Tweeted her excitement with her newfound logo: “Can’t even begin to explain the joy I feel putting on a Full Tilt Poker patch.”
On May 21st, Jones issued a rather cryptic 109-character message that simply read, “Today is a new chapter of my life and I’ve never been more excited!!! Get ready for some big things everyone!” The poker hostess, player, and model is one of the game’s top ambassadors, having appeared in a wide variety of mainstream commercials, including spots for Sony, Panasonic, Chrysler, and Coors Light. Her looks, paired with her charm, have helped propel her to the top of the poker industry.
Jones had a major presence during the finale of the 2009 WSOP Main Event last November, conducting interviews onstage for the assembled crowd with the game’s top players and also providing coverage of bust outs. In 2006, she finished 75th in the Ladies No Limit Hold’em Championship at the WSOP for $2,000. This year, she took 41st in that event for $4,100, outlasting poker pros like UB.com’s Liv Boeree, “Amazing Race” contestant Maria Ho, and Bluff Magazine’s Jessica Welman.
One day following her announcement that she had joined the ranks of Full Tilt Poker, Jones indicated that she received a considerable amount of support from her friends and family: “Just getting my day started… lol. Thank you everyone for all the love and support. I couldn’t be happier right now.” The Tweet was time stamped in the late afternoon.
On June 15th, Jones, never one to be shy on Twitter or any other outlet, gave a play-by-play rundown of a dining experience at Garduno’s at the Palms: “Why must the weirdest guy ever sit next 2 me when I eat alone at the bar @ Garduno’s? OK to mace him if he doesn’t stop hitting on me?” She added, “And he just asked me if it was 6:40am or pm. No joke.” In addition to her role with the WSOP, Jones has taken on hostess duties for the U.S. Poker Bowl and Borgata Poker Open.
Jones does not appear as a sponsored pro of Full Tilt Poker, a list that includes high-stakes cash game pro Eli Elezra, 2007 WSOP Europe Main Event champ Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad, and poker funny man Robert Williamson III. Full Tilt’s Team pros include 2010 WSOP Tournament of Champions vote-leader Phil Ivey, Tom “durrrr” Dwan, and 2008 WSOP Europe Main Event champ John Juanda. Full Tilt Poker happily accepts players from the United States.
Poker Royalty recently saw six of its clients voted in by the general public to play in this year’s WSOP Tournament of Champions: Daniel Negreanu, Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth, Jennifer Harman, Scotty Nguyen, and Antonio Esfandiari. The group of six will face off against 21 other players in a $1 million freeroll on June 27th. Other Poker Royalty clients include Dwan and David Chiu.
Several Full Tilt pros have struck gold at the 2010 WSOP already, including Praz Bansi and Richard Ashby. We look forward to Jones continuing her success on poker’s biggest stage between now and July 17th.
ESPN Inside Deal Talks WSOP Bracelet Prop Bets with Gary Wise
This week on the ESPN.com poker news show “Inside Deal,” 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) November Niner Eric Buchman breaks down his $200,000 win in a $2,000 Limit Hold’em event. In addition, ESPN poker columnist Gary Wise talks bracelet prop bets and dishes out the latest dirt from Las Vegas.
Bernard Lee returned to his hosting duties after a one-week hiatus to play in the WSOP. The Foxwoods sponsored pro discussed the importance of the WSOP Ladies’ Event, which attracted about 10 male players this year: “[Women are] an untapped market for the world of poker. Probably less than 5% of the players who play open events are women, so they’re going to want to continue that tradition.”
In 2006, Buchman finished second in a $1,500 Limit Hold’em event for $174,000. On his runner-up performance, which marked just his second WSOP cash, Buchman told “Inside Deal” hosts Lee and Laura Lane, “It felt kind of disappointing and kind of good at the same time. At the time, it was a lot of money to me. I was okay with finishing second on 2006.” Last year, Buchman was fourth in the WSOP Main Event, which he described as “bittersweet;” he collected a solid $2.5 million for his efforts.
In 2010, Buchman finally landed in victory lane, besting a top 20 that included Jeff Shulman, Shannon Shorr, and Matt Matros. Buchman, as you’d expect, was craving his own piece of hardware: “I really wanted to win this time and I really just cared about first when I got to the final table. I really didn’t want to finish second. I thought this was my tournament to win and didn’t want to make mistakes. When I got heads-up, I had a pretty good chip lead and in Limit Hold’em, when you have a pretty good chip lead, it’s hard to come back from that.”
Dwan’s appearance at the final table of Event #11, $1,500 No Limit Hold’em, ignited a frenzy in the poker world. Wise, who is camped out in Las Vegas covering the action for ESPN, told “Inside Deal” viewers, “Tom Dwan has become the focus of the World Series. He stands to win somewhere between $9 million and $12 million if he wins all of his prop bets, which are mostly based on winning a bracelet this year, winning two bracelets over the next three years, and making more cashes than whoever he bet against.” Aussie Simon Watt trumped the poker pro in Event #11 to earn $614,000.
Also making waves at the 2010 WSOP, and for all of the wrong reasons, was newly un-retired tournament poker pro Shaun Deeb, who dressed in full drag and entered the Ladies’ Event. Deeb, donning a straw hat, tank top, and a pair of fake breasts, could receive sanctions from Harrah’s for his actions. Wise predicted, “I think we have a situation that a lot of people are talking about right now, but ultimately very little is going to come out of for this particular World Series. We might see Harrah’s take a more forceful stance in the future with regards to men entering the Ladies’ Event.”
Finally, Wise broke down the WSOP Academy’s single-table sit and go satellite to the 2010 Tournament of Champions. The controversial name tossed into the invite-only field was actor Don Cheadle, who has never cashed in the WSOP or any of its Circuit Events: “Generally speaking, people were pleased by the WSOP Academy’s decision to have the play-in event. I personally would have liked to see someone like Nam Le in there instead of Don Cheadle, someone who has paid their dues in the poker world and earned the chance to be in the TOC.” In the end, Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier bested Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi to earn his place in the Tournament of Champions later this month.
“Inside Deal” is released every Tuesday on ESPN.com.
Poker News Daily’s JD McNamara Leads WSOP $1,000 NLHE Final Table
The entire Poker News Daily family was railing one of our own last night. PND writer JD McNamara, known online as “BubbaKGB,” landed in the top spot in Event #24 of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP), a $1,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament, entering the final table. McNamara made the field of 30 his personal playground on Tuesday, vaulting from middle of the road in chips to the top of the leaderboard. He works for PND along with several other sites in the Play Poker Network.
McNamara made moves early and often during Tuesday’s action in Event #24. First, he ousted Dean Schankin in 26th place after his A-K came out on the winning end of a race against Schankin’s pocket tens. The board ran out 6-4-J-A-8 and Schankin was sent packing. Then, after raised action pre-flop, McNamara and Joseph Grenon checked the action down to the river on a board of Q-6-2-9-Q. Grenon fired out a healthy bet of 73,000 and McNamara made the call with A-K for just ace-high. Grenon mucked and McNamara moved over the 500,000 mark.
McNamara then went on a run of biblical proportions. First, he doubled up with pocket aces against James Jeffrey’s pocket kings, even spiking an ace on the river for good measure. He moved to 856,000 in chips as a result and then quickly eliminated Grenon, also with pocket aces. Grenon held jacks and couldn’t improve when the board came five cards nine or lower. After that hand, McNamara moved to 1.6 million in chips.
Then, it was Yordan Mitrentsov’s turn to feel the wrath. This time, the PND writer picked up pocket kings, which held up against the A-K of Mitrentsov. By the time the board was dealt, McNamara had made a boat. His chip stack vaulted to over two million as play headed to a break. McNamara wound up with a stack of 2.39 million by the time all was said and done, just in front of Kiet Tuan’s second place total of 2.31 million.
McNamara is assured a payout of at least $38,000 and stands to win over $500,000 and a bracelet if he can retain the top spot by the final gong. Here’s how the field stacks up entering Wednesday’s finale of WSOP Event #24:
1. JD “BubbaKGB” McNamara – 2,393,000
2. Kiet Tuan – 2,311,000
3. Blake Kelso – 1,166,000
4. John Tolbert – 925,000
5. David Cai – 844,000
6. Denis Murphy – 789,000
7. Greg Pohler – 660,000
8. Michael Gross – 535,000
9. Jeffrey Tebben – 466,000
Although we’ll be keeping a watchful eye on the $1,000 No Limit Hold’em event starting at 2:30pm PT, two other tournaments will play down to a champion today as well. Steve Cowley leads the way in the $2,500 No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed tournament (Event #26) with 15 players to go. Cowley amassed a stack of 1.28 million on Tuesday, well in front of Martins Adeniya’s second place tally of 823,000. World Poker Tour (WPT) Bellagio Cup V final tablist and Full Tilt Poker pro Justin “Boosted J” Smith reached the final 15, along with bracelet winner Erik Cajelais and online poker whiz Jeffrey “jpapola” Papola.
Finally, 23 players survived Day 2 of the $1,500 Seven Card Stud High-Low Eight or Better tournament (Event #27). Maxwell Troy owns the top spot on the leaderboard at 430,000, but a talented group of pros is in hot pursuit of the $208,000 top prize. On Wednesday, you’ll find recent “Poker After Dark” winner Karina Jett, European Poker Tour (EPT) Berlin Main Event champ Kevin “ImaLuckSac” MacPhee, bracelet winner Blair Rodman, and UB.com pro Brandon Cantu all in the mix.
Joining Jett and trying to win one for the ladies in Event #27 are Las Vegas’ Odette Tremblay and Bonnie Damiano. One woman has won a bracelet so far, as France’s Vanessa Hellebuyck took down the Ladies No Limit Hold’em Championship for $192,000. Will we see a second woman hoist a coveted gold bracelet? Stay tuned to PND to find out.
We’d like to wish McNamara the best of luck in capturing his first World Series of Poker bracelet!
Photo courtesy WSOP.com.
Tags: 2010, bellagio, european, full tilt poker, ladies, Online Poker, poker player, tournament, vegas, woman, WSOP
Inside Deal rumor: Tom “durrrr” Dwan freerolling in his prop bets?
ESPN Inside Deal poker program had WSOP winner Eric Buchman as yesterday’s guest.
There were rumors in the program about Tom “durrrr” Dwan being already a freeroller in all his WSOP prop bets. This would mean that “durrrr” has nothing to lose any more, only to win. This episode of Inside Deal also handled the WSOP Ladies’ Event - which has stimulated a lot of debate lately - and its future.
Watch the Inside Deal:
Source: ESPN.com and TheHendonMob
You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com
Inside Deal rumor: Tom “durrrr” Dwan freerolling in his prop bets?
June 15th – Daily Deal
WSOP Event 25 recap, David Sesso talks about the ladies event and the Dan Bilzerian twitter controversy on today’s Daily Deal.
Hello, I’m Sean Gibson and welcome to the Daily Deal by Poker News Daily.
This year’s Omaha Hi-Lo Championship was definitely a test of champions. Suave high-stakes pro Sammy Farha, best known as “the man who finished second to Chris Moneymaker in 2003,” faced Englishman James “Flushy” Dempsey, who just won a bracelet nine days ago. The duo tangled in an epic heads-up match that lasted four hours. Eventually, the bracelet returned to the man who had already won it in two thousand and six, Sammy Farha. He is recognized as one of the top Omaha Hi-Lo players and has won three Omaha bracelets during his career. When WSOP reporters asked Farha about being one of the best Omaha Hi-Lo Split players in the world, his reply was typical of the witty pro: “I think so. I think I can play the game.”
As we discussed on yesterday’s episode, several male players joined the ladies’ event, which began last Friday from the Rio in Las Vegas. This week, Shaun Deeb issued a statement, and Bustout Poker endorser David Sesso spoke to Poker News Daily about why he entered. Here are some highlights of his interview:
“My friends and I had a prop bet. Part of it was that the first one out had to play in the Ladies Event and I lost. The other part was that if you had to play in the Ladies Event, you couldn’t talk about the prop bet at all during it… When a guy goes to the tables on a given night, it’s very common for it to turn out to be a fun (or not so fun) night out with “the guys”… Females don’t get to have this “girls night out” feeling when they play poker; the Ladies Event, I feel, gives them a chance to have this. Realizing this fact is what makes me feel sorry for playing.”
And continuing with the theme of apologies, a Tweet by Victory Poker pro Dan Bilzerian sparked a controversy that has both Twitter and the poker forums on edge. Bilzerian quoted an admittedly VERY un-PC Clint Eastwood joke from the movie Gran Turino on his Twitter account that caught the eye AND ire of poker journalist Joy Miller. Things escalated quickly and soon there was talk of an ESPN ban on the entire Victory Poker team. Bilzerian seems to consider the issue closed:
“I’ve offered a public apology and given her an apology. There’s nothing else I can do.” He also increased the privacy level of his Twitter feed. Miller, on the other hand, also seems to have moved on, partly thanks to her supportive poker friends. She told PND:
“I had tears in my eyes earlier, talked to Phil Ivey, and he said, ‘Let Dan Bilzerian come tell me the joke.’” Miller does not work for ESPN in any capacity which made talk of the potential ban extremely curious.
Thanks for joining me on The Daily Deal. Be sure to check out our other videos which include CardRunners strategy clips and interviews with the biggest names in poker. I’m Sean Gibson and I’ll be back tomorrow with more poker news.
David Sesso Explains Rationale for Entering WSOP Ladies Event
Over the weekend, Bustout Poker endorser and poker coach David Sesso received a considerable amount of flack for entering the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Ladies Championship. Now, he faces a possible suspension from the tournament series. Poker News Daily sat down with Sesso to rehash the event and his rationale for entering.
Poker News Daily: Thanks for joining us. Why did you decide to register for the Ladies Championship?
David Sesso: My friends and I had a prop bet. Part of it was that the first one out had to play in the Ladies Event and I lost. The other part was that if you had to play in the Ladies Event, you couldn’t talk about the prop bet at all during it. We had a tournament the night before to decide who was going to have to play.
While I was in the event, I had positive vibes from the ladies at the table, but also negative vibes from the rail and tables surrounding me. I think some of the ladies took it personally that I played. There were also some guys on the rail who were very upset, but the thing I felt the worst about was the fact that many of the girls really wanted their own event.
When a guy goes to the tables on a given night, it’s very common for it to turn out to be a fun (or not so fun) night out with “the guys” and there is a special camaraderie that comes with that. Females don’t get to have this “girls night out” feeling when they play poker; the Ladies Event, I feel, gives them a chance to have this.
Realizing this fact is what makes me feel sorry for playing. I apologize to anyone I offended and vow to never participate in another ladies event. I just want everyone know I am very sorry I decided to play and that I realize my mistake. For everyone I offended, hopefully they can forgive me. I’ve learned that the Ladies Event is something that is very good for the game of poker and I hope that this tradition continues throughout the decades of poker to come.
PND: Were you surprised to learn that you might face a lifetime WSOP ban for entering?
David Sesso: I didn’t expect anyone to be this upset about it. Upon realizing why I shouldn’t have played, I could see why they would want punish me. Lots of people were giving me flack for it and I’m sure that will continue from some, but I don’t think it’d be fair, without warning, to dole out that kind of punishment. I was never warned about any punishments for playing. If I had been warned, I would have found some other way to fulfill my prop bet.
PND: You didn’t dress up in drag, but other men who entered the tournament, including Shaun Deeb, did. Do you think dressing up in drag may have been taking it a little bit too far?
David Sesso: That’s really a matter of opinion. Different people are going to see it differently. I think it’s funny that he did that and I believe he had more of a cause in playing than I did. When I lost, the guys tried to get me to dress up, but I refused. I just thought it’d be too embarrassing.
PND: Walk us through what the reaction was when you sat down at your original table. We understand you registered late for the event.
David Sesso: I jokingly apologized for being late and no one said anything, making it a bit awkward at first. Some of the girls shot me looks that sort of said, “Why are you playing this event?” but they never actually said anything like that. One of the ladies finally jested, “At least we have something pretty to look at while we’re here.” She was an older lady who wound up being nice to me the entire time and I said, “At least I’m good for something.” A guy eventually came up on the rail to say I was pathetic for playing. I really did feel bad, but it was only for a joke!
PND: Did the situation make you feel uncomfortable?
David Sesso: I had mixed feelings about it. There was definitely a lot of negative attention on me from the rail and the surrounding tables, but most of the girls at my table were laughing at me or with me. Whenever someone made a dig on me, I took it; that was all part of the fun. They seemed to have a lot of fun with it and that was the idea I had when I registered.
PND: What are your plans for the rest of the 2010 WSOP?
David Sesso: Provided they don’t give me a punishment, I’ll be playing the $2,500 Six-Max today. I’m playing everything with the exception of the $5,000 Six-Max on Thursday and the high-roller events. I think the $5,000 event will have a very tough field and it has a little too big of a buy-in for my bankroll. I’ll also play the Main Event and some tournaments at the Venetian.
June 14th – Daily Deal
Topics: WSOP Updates, Shaun Deeb’s statement and more.
On today’s Daily Deal, we bring you the latest developments from the World Series of Poker and Shaun Deeb releases a video statement about his participation in the Ladies Event.
Hello, I’m Sean Gibson and welcome to the Daily Deal by Poker News Daily.
Six bracelets were handed out over the weekend at the 2010 World Series of Poker. November Niner Eric Buchman won his first bracelet in the $2,000 Limit Hold’em tournament. David “Bakes” Baker, who final tabled the $50,000 buy-in Player’s Championship, continued his hot streak by winning the No-Limit Deuce-to-Seven Draw Lowball championship. John “Tex” Barch, who made the final table of the two thousand five Main Event, won a PLO Bracelet, his first. The Brits continue to have a strong showing as English player Richard Ashby came on top of the $1,500 seven-card stud event. Finally, the eccentric Dutch Boyd seems to have found his stride again, winning his second career bracelet in six-handed Hold’em on Sunday night.
But the event that was in everyone’s minds and tweets was the controversial ladies event. French player Vanessa Hellbuyck won the bracelet, but there was a big controversy surrounding several male players who entered the event. Shaun Deeb, who went as far as to play in drag, issued a video statement regarding his participation in this event. Here are some highlights. (CLIPS)
Comments on the video were less then complementary on YouTube where the video was posted. User icemonkey9 wrote:
“The fact that you are painting yourself as a victim here is an absolute joke. You? mocked the ladies in the event with your attire and crashed their party. If you are so against gender events why didn’t you issue this statement BEFORE making your entrance into the event? The fact is that you humiliated yourself and caused a negativity during an event that is supposed to make a discriminated segment of our industry feel welcome. I wholeheartedly support suspensions for you and the others.”
User Zerbet wrote: “Shooting an angle to play in the event as some kind of “protest” or political statement is ludicrous, and only demonstrates your utter lack of political savvy and a typical punk’s lack of? moral/ethical foundation. It also makes it abundantly clear that you lack any kind of credibility with the WSOP since a true activist would work to leverage such credibility and force a dialog with the people who can actually do something about the issue. Notorious publicity-seeking Douchebag much?”
On his official blog, respected online grinder Dusty “Leatherass” Schmidt wrote:
” Shaun Deeb not only made a stupid decision to play in the ladies event, he then backed it up with some lame excuse … There is no way on earth you care this much about the ladies event that you are doing this as some sort of political stance on the issue… I played online poker outside in 12 degree temperatures this past Christmas to take a stance on supporting homelessness… So I know about doing crazy things to take a stance for something. What Shaun did was just a phony cover up to pretend he actually gave a s&*t about womens equality when really he was just being a jack ass.”
Suspensions from WSOP events may be in store for males like Deeb and David Sesso that entered the Ladies Event.
Thanks for joining me on the Monday edition of The Daily Deal, and be sure to come back all this week for new editions of this show for the latest hot topics in the world of poker. Also be sure to catch our interviews which will also be showing up all week long and if you haven’t already, add us to your twitter feed at Twitter.com/pokernewsdaily. I’ll see you tomorrow!
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.”
Dutch Boyd and Vanessa Hellebuyck Strike WSOP Gold
The first event to reach its conclusion yesterday at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) was #22: $1,000 Ladies No Limit Hold’em Championship, in which Vanessa Hellebuyck banked $192,132 for her victory.
The ladies tournament attracted a number of men, which had the Rio buzzing with various opinions. None of the frowned-upon gendered players made the final table, meaning it came down to nine women battling for the bracelet, just as intended.
On the final hand of play, Sidsel Boesen moved all-in with her last 358,000 with Td-9d, only to be called by the 5s-5d of Hellebuyck. When the flop came Qc-Ks-3s, Boesen picked up for more outs, but the turn and river bricked, which sent Hellebuyck’s supporters into a euphoric frenzy. Boesen, who entered the final table as the chip leader, took home $118,897 for her second place finish. Here’s a look at the final results:
1. Vanessa Hellebuyck – $192,132
2. Sidsel Boesen – $118,897
3. Timmi Derosa – $74,389
4. Allison Whalen – $53,994
5. Kami Chisholm – $39,860
6. Holly Hodge – $29,880
7. La Sengphet – $22,728
8. Bonnie Overfield – $17,520
9. Loren Watterworth – $13,688
A few hours later, Dutch Boyd took care of business in Event #23: $2,500 Limit Hold’em Six-Handed, taking home $234,065 and his second WSOP bracelet. On the last hand of play, Brian Meinders had just one big blind left and got his chips in the middle with Ac-8s. Boyd called with Jh-Td, and when the board ran out Jc-2s-9d-7c-8d, the tournament was over. The rest of the final table went down like this:
1. Dutch Boyd – $234,065
2. Brian Meinders – $144,650
3. Albert Minnullin – $93,892
4. Art Parmann – $62,769
5. Domenico Denotaristefani – $43,117
6. Al Barbieri – $30,399
Meanwhile, in Event #24: $1,000 No Limit Hold’em, Day 1B came to an end late Sunday night with a number of notable players still alive. 1,358 entrants showed up and Eric Froehlich, Tony Dunst, Chad Batista, Liv Boeree, and Isaac Haxton are all in the hunt for a bracelet. After eight and a half levels, which mimicked Day 1A’s play, the 512 remaining runners will combine and return to play 10 levels later today. A total of 342 players will make the money, with a whopping $503,000 set aside for the winner. Take a peek at the top chip counts heading into Day 2:
John Tolbert – 73,900
David Wilkinson – 66,400
Adam Reynolds – 66,350
Jeffrey Tebben – 60,225
Ping Yung – 58,625
Leonid Yanovski – 58,275
Christopher Adams – 56,325
Kevin Kelly – 55,775
Anthony Hice – 53,650
Laura Cantero – 52,850
Event #25: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better played down to 23 players yesterday, with Michael Chow and his 600,000 stack leading the way. The tournament is just inside the money and all players have their eyes on the top prize of $488,241. Some notable names remain in the field, including Sammy Farha, Mike Sexton, Jean-Robert Bellande, Steve Zolotow, Chino Rheem, and UB.com pro Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin. Play will resume at 2:30pm PT this afternoon. Here are the biggest stacks going into Day 3:
Michael Chow – 600,000
Abe Mosseri – 531,000
Sammy Farha – 512,000
Eugene Katchalov – 463,000
Sergey Altbregin – 444,000
Mike Sexton – 386,000
Steve Wong – 363,000
Tai Nguyen – 325,000
Jean-Robert Bellande – 314,000
Tony Merksick – 312,000
Two tournaments kick off today: Event #26 $2,500 No Limit Hold’em Six Handed and Event #27 $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low-8 or Better. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for all the updates.