Poker News

Mike Matusow Calls Caesars Cup a Farce in Phil Hellmuth TwitVid

One of the most popular players in the game today, 11-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, has given those who couldn’t make their way to the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe festivities the opportunity to tour the Casino at the Empire in Leicester Square in London and get personal with other poker pros through his Twitter account.

Hellmuth, who submits his tweets through the Twitter tag “Phil Hellmuth,” recently posted a four-minute twitvid that offers a look inside what has become one of London’s must-visit places for poker players. In the video, the “Poker Brat” serves as the travel guide for the viewer and, by the end, records two polarizing figures in the world of poker.

The video starts from his viewpoint in Leicester Square in London. Filmed before his triumphant entrance as Nero during the WSOP Europe Main Event, he points out that Leicester Square is the home of many historical statues, artists, and “stuff like that,” before strolling through the Square to the entrance of the Casino at the Empire. Strangely enough, and accurately pointed out by Hellmuth, the casino does not look out of place in a city that has been in existence for quite some time.

It takes approximately two minutes to get to the true meat of Hellmuth’s twitvid. As he strolls through the casino and reaches the poker arena of the Casino at the Empire, Hellmuth finds WSOP Media Director Nolan Dalla sitting with Men “The Master” Nguyen and Mike “The Mouth” Matusow. At this point, the twitvid takes off, as the duo espouse on some issues that are on their minds.

Hellmuth welcomes Nguyen to London, as “The Master” exhaustedly states that he just arrived in the U.K. after an 11-hour flight. The extremely jet-lagged poker veteran, who is one of the nominees for election into the Poker Hall of Fame, is hailed by Hellmuth as the “Vietnamese Godfather of Poker” and Hellmuth himself states that Nguyen will probably earn election into the Hall “within the next two to three years, if not this year.”

The conversation then turns to the always-entertaining Matusow, who definitely had some issues on his mind. Hellmuth notes that Matusow is upset that Team Americas captain Daniel Negreanu did not choose him for a spot on the Caesars Cup squad. “I’m not upset,” Matusow contends. “I can’t get upset over a f*****g farce.” Matusow continues on his rant when he notes, “When a 20 year-old is the captain of the European team and a 21 year-old Canadian is captain of an American team, why should I be upset?” Matusow is, in reality, good friends with Negreanu, who is actually 35.

The duo then continue their discussion when Hellmuth brings up the fact that Matusow had taken part in the Full Tilt Million Dollar Cash Game, a 24-hour ring game that was taped for television broadcast in Europe. Hellmuth says that Matusow walked away from the table - which included “November Nine” member Phil Ivey, former WSOP Player of the Year Allen Cunningham, former Main Event Champion Chris Ferguson, online legend Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Scandinavian superstar Patrik Antonius, and English poker star Andrew Feldman - with a $105,000 profit.

“It was without a doubt the toughest lineup I have ever played,” Matusow admitted. “I definitely brought my A+ game, not only because of the difficult table, but because no one would talk to me!” Hellmuth then reveals that he had been called on several occasions during the taping to provide a foil for Matusow, drawing laughter from all at the table.

Hellmuth has continued to post tweets during the run of the WSOP Europe. He can be found on Twitter under the moniker Phil Hellmuth.

Mike Matusow Calls Caesars Cup a Farce in Phil Hellmuth TwitVid

One of the most popular players in the game today, 11-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, has given those who couldn’t make their way to the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe festivities the opportunity to tour the Casino at the Empire in Leicester Square in London and get personal with other poker pros through his Twitter account.

Hellmuth, who submits his tweets through the Twitter tag “Phil Hellmuth,” recently posted a four-minute twitvid that offers a look inside what has become one of London’s must-visit places for poker players. In the video, the “Poker Brat” serves as the travel guide for the viewer and, by the end, records two polarizing figures in the world of poker.

The video starts from his viewpoint in Leicester Square in London. Filmed before his triumphant entrance as Nero during the WSOP Europe Main Event, he points out that Leicester Square is the home of many historical statues, artists, and “stuff like that,” before strolling through the Square to the entrance of the Casino at the Empire. Strangely enough, and accurately pointed out by Hellmuth, the casino does not look out of place in a city that has been in existence for quite some time.

It takes approximately two minutes to get to the true meat of Hellmuth’s twitvid. As he strolls through the casino and reaches the poker arena of the Casino at the Empire, Hellmuth finds WSOP Media Director Nolan Dalla sitting with Men “The Master” Nguyen and Mike “The Mouth” Matusow. At this point, the twitvid takes off, as the duo espouse on some issues that are on their minds.

Hellmuth welcomes Nguyen to London, as “The Master” exhaustedly states that he just arrived in the U.K. after an 11-hour flight. The extremely jet-lagged poker veteran, who is one of the nominees for election into the Poker Hall of Fame, is hailed by Hellmuth as the “Vietnamese Godfather of Poker” and Hellmuth himself states that Nguyen will probably earn election into the Hall “within the next two to three years, if not this year.”

The conversation then turns to the always-entertaining Matusow, who definitely had some issues on his mind. Hellmuth notes that Matusow is upset that Team Americas captain Daniel Negreanu did not choose him for a spot on the Caesars Cup squad. “I’m not upset,” Matusow contends. “I can’t get upset over a f*****g farce.” Matusow continues on his rant when he notes, “When a 20 year-old is the captain of the European team and a 21 year-old Canadian is captain of an American team, why should I be upset?” Matusow is, in reality, good friends with Negreanu, who is actually 35.

The duo then continue their discussion when Hellmuth brings up the fact that Matusow had taken part in the Full Tilt Million Dollar Cash Game, a 24-hour ring game that was taped for television broadcast in Europe. Hellmuth says that Matusow walked away from the table - which included “November Nine” member Phil Ivey, former WSOP Player of the Year Allen Cunningham, former Main Event Champion Chris Ferguson, online legend Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Scandinavian superstar Patrik Antonius, and English poker star Andrew Feldman - with a $105,000 profit.

“It was without a doubt the toughest lineup I have ever played,” Matusow admitted. “I definitely brought my A+ game, not only because of the difficult table, but because no one would talk to me!” Hellmuth then reveals that he had been called on several occasions during the taping to provide a foil for Matusow, drawing laughter from all at the table.

Hellmuth has continued to post tweets during the run of the WSOP Europe. He can be found on Twitter under the moniker Phil Hellmuth.

Steve Zolotow Tops WSOP Europe Main Event Day 1B Field

Two-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Steve Zolotow paced the field in London on Day 1B of the 2009 WSOP Europe Main Event. A total of 178 players entered on Sunday for a combined starting grid of 334.

A total of 363 players turned out for the 2008 WSOP Europe Main Event, meaning that this year’s field represented a drop of 8% in attendance. Nevertheless, the action was fast and furious at the Casino at the Empire in London, where Zolotow prevailed over the pack on Day 1B. When the action ceased for the evening, Zolotow held 166,825 chips, trailing the top three stacks from Day 1A – Brian Powell (194,600), Jason Mercier (189,725), and Sami Kelopuro (168,925) – to claim fourth place on the leaderboard entering Day 2 on Monday. According to PokerNews, Zolotow doubled up late in the day after flopping a set of threes against an opponent with bottom two pair.

A familiar face was third in chips after Day 1B, 2009 WSOP November Nine member Antoine Saout. A sponsored pro of Everest Poker, Saout holds the ninth largest stack overall after Days 1A and 1B in London at 144,400. Saout will hold the eighth largest tally when play resumes in Las Vegas, where the entire field is looking up at Darvin Moon. Action in the 2009 WSOP Main Event resumes on November 7th.

Here are the Top 10 chip stacks in the 2009 WSOP Europe Main Event entering play on Monday:

1. Brian Powell – 194,600
2. Jason Mercier – 189,725
3. Sami Kelopuro – 168,925
4. Steve Zolotow – 166,825
5. Viktor Blom – 163,175
6. Jonathan Aguiar – 160,100
7. Praz Bassi – 155,450
8. Martin Hansen – 152,775
9. Antoine Saout – 144,400
10. Christian Harder – 134,125

Among those who were sent packing on Day 1B was WSOP bracelet winner Nenad Medic, who was all-in holding just Q-J on a board of 8-3-3. His opponent showed A-9, which held up to send the Canadian home. Vitaly Lunkin, the champion of the $40,000 buy-in tournament commemorating the 40th running of the WSOP, was also eliminated from the WSOP Europe Main Event. Lunkin held Q-10 on a board of 7-3-2-Q-A, but ran into pocket queens. J.C. Tran semi-bluffed all-in with A-8 on a board of 10-4-J-9, but ran into K-10. An eight on the river missed Tran’s straight and secured his elimination.

Others remaining in contention include:

17. Ram Vaswarni – 113,625
23. Doyle Brunson – 92,900
27. Brandon Cantu – 89,000
28. Daniel Negreanu – 88,925
29. Noah Boeken – 87,500
35. Barry Shulman – 80,250
36. Juha Helppi – 79,200
41. James Akenhead – 77,675
46. Antonio Esfadiari – 73,550
70. Freddy Deeb – 56,900
77. Annette Obrestad – 52,400
81. Dave “Devilfish” Ulliott – 49,800
88. Todd Brunson – 46,050
94. Terrence “Unassigned” Chan – 44,175
96. Men “The Master” Nguyen – 43,200
105. Sandra Naujoks – 40,225
112. Shaun Deeb – 37,500
125. Teddy Sheringham – 33,350
128. Marco Traniello – 33,000
134. David Oppenheim – 31,525
137. Alex Kravchenko – 31,100
141. Yevgeniy Timoshenko – 29,675
142. Mike Matusow – 28,900
144. Dennis Phillips – 28,800
145. John Juanda – 28,525
149. David Williams – 25,850
163. Phil Hellmuth – 18,450
164. Scott Montgomery – 18,225
171. Michael Binger – 10,000
172. Erik Seidel – 9,925
174. Howard Lederer – 7,675
176. Barry Greenstein – 6,925

One of the toughest tables to convene on Monday contains 2007 WSOP Europe Main Event Champion Annette Obrestad, online poker pro Jason “JCarver” Somerville, Ultimate Bet pro Brandon Cantu, and bracelet winner Philip Tom. The quartet will headline Table 8.

Play will get underway at 5:30pm local time on Monday in observance of the Yom Kippur holiday, one of the holiest days of the Jewish calendar. The observance runs from sundown on Sunday to sundown on Monday. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from WSOP Europe.

Steve Zolotow Tops WSOP Europe Main Event Day 1B Field

Two-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Steve Zolotow paced the field in London on Day 1B of the 2009 WSOP Europe Main Event. A total of 178 players entered on Sunday for a combined starting grid of 334.

A total of 363 players turned out for the 2008 WSOP Europe Main Event, meaning that this year’s field represented a drop of 8% in attendance. Nevertheless, the action was fast and furious at the Casino at the Empire in London, where Zolotow prevailed over the pack on Day 1B. When the action ceased for the evening, Zolotow held 166,825 chips, trailing the top three stacks from Day 1A – Brian Powell (194,600), Jason Mercier (189,725), and Sami Kelopuro (168,925) – to claim fourth place on the leaderboard entering Day 2 on Monday. According to PokerNews, Zolotow doubled up late in the day after flopping a set of threes against an opponent with bottom two pair.

A familiar face was third in chips after Day 1B, 2009 WSOP November Nine member Antoine Saout. A sponsored pro of Everest Poker, Saout holds the ninth largest stack overall after Days 1A and 1B in London at 144,400. Saout will hold the eighth largest tally when play resumes in Las Vegas, where the entire field is looking up at Darvin Moon. Action in the 2009 WSOP Main Event resumes on November 7th.

Here are the Top 10 chip stacks in the 2009 WSOP Europe Main Event entering play on Monday:

1. Brian Powell – 194,600
2. Jason Mercier – 189,725
3. Sami Kelopuro – 168,925
4. Steve Zolotow – 166,825
5. Viktor Blom – 163,175
6. Jonathan Aguiar – 160,100
7. Praz Bassi – 155,450
8. Martin Hansen – 152,775
9. Antoine Saout – 144,400
10. Christian Harder – 134,125

Among those who were sent packing on Day 1B was WSOP bracelet winner Nenad Medic, who was all-in holding just Q-J on a board of 8-3-3. His opponent showed A-9, which held up to send the Canadian home. Vitaly Lunkin, the champion of the $40,000 buy-in tournament commemorating the 40th running of the WSOP, was also eliminated from the WSOP Europe Main Event. Lunkin held Q-10 on a board of 7-3-2-Q-A, but ran into pocket queens. J.C. Tran semi-bluffed all-in with A-8 on a board of 10-4-J-9, but ran into K-10. An eight on the river missed Tran’s straight and secured his elimination.

Others remaining in contention include:

17. Ram Vaswarni – 113,625
23. Doyle Brunson – 92,900
27. Brandon Cantu – 89,000
28. Daniel Negreanu – 88,925
29. Noah Boeken – 87,500
35. Barry Shulman – 80,250
36. Juha Helppi – 79,200
41. James Akenhead – 77,675
46. Antonio Esfadiari – 73,550
70. Freddy Deeb – 56,900
77. Annette Obrestad – 52,400
81. Dave “Devilfish” Ulliott – 49,800
88. Todd Brunson – 46,050
94. Terrence “Unassigned” Chan – 44,175
96. Men “The Master” Nguyen – 43,200
105. Sandra Naujoks – 40,225
112. Shaun Deeb – 37,500
125. Teddy Sheringham – 33,350
128. Marco Traniello – 33,000
134. David Oppenheim – 31,525
137. Alex Kravchenko – 31,100
141. Yevgeniy Timoshenko – 29,675
142. Mike Matusow – 28,900
144. Dennis Phillips – 28,800
145. John Juanda – 28,525
149. David Williams – 25,850
163. Phil Hellmuth – 18,450
164. Scott Montgomery – 18,225
171. Michael Binger – 10,000
172. Erik Seidel – 9,925
174. Howard Lederer – 7,675
176. Barry Greenstein – 6,925

One of the toughest tables to convene on Monday contains 2007 WSOP Europe Main Event Champion Annette Obrestad, online poker pro Jason “JCarver” Somerville, Ultimate Bet pro Brandon Cantu, and bracelet winner Philip Tom. The quartet will headline Table 8.

Play will get underway at 5:30pm local time on Monday in observance of the Yom Kippur holiday, one of the holiest days of the Jewish calendar. The observance runs from sundown on Sunday to sundown on Monday. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from WSOP Europe.

Paul Zimbler Breaks World Heads-Up Record

Paul Zimbler, in the early hours of yesterday, raised over £35,000 for the Make-a-Wish foundation while at the same time breaking a world record by playing 74 hours, 20 minutes and 21 seconds of heads-up poker continuously, culminating in being carried from his seat after his last bout with Mike Matusow.

Zimbler breaks longest session record

Inside London's Casino at the Empire as the preliminary events of the World Series of Poker Europe presented by Betfair played out, Zimbler played poker for an amazing 74 hours, 20 minutes and 21 seconds straight.

The marathon session began on Monday with Zimbler taking on a series of pro players, media and members of the public in 20-minute heads-up sessions.

Challengers were asked to cough up a minimum donation of £10 to sit in with all the proceeds going to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

With Betfair Poker making a £5,000 donation and pros like Doyle Brunson, Annette Obrestad and Phil Hellmuth all playing and donating, Zimbler managed to raise close to £35,000.

"I did it man and we're raising a lot of money," Zimbler told PokerListings. "We're still going too. We're hoping to get to £50,000."

An exhausted Zimbler finished out his record-breaking performance playing Full Tilt poker's Mike Matusow and had to be partially carried from the table.

"Thankfully I had a lot of support and I'm very happy I did it," he said. "I was very close to stopping right at the end. I wasn't doing it for the world record and all that rubbish. It's just a great thing to do good things for those who are less fortunate."

Over the almost 75-hour session, Zimbler played a total of 183 matches winning 102.

As a poker player, he said the experience was well worth it.

"I did to raise money for a good cause," he said. "It's a very rare time that all these top players are in town and it's great to be able to play them all for charity.

"But it was great practice. I probably played nearly 200 games - some of them lasted an hour and a half, some of them 10 minutes or less. I played a hell of a lot of games and when you're playing that many games, I don't know how many hands you're seeing, but it's great experience."

Zimbler's marathon session may be over, but his fundraising efforts are still on the go.

Those interested in helping him reach his £50,000 goal can make a donation on this website.

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Showing Emotion in Poker by Nolan Dalla

If the opposite of a bad beat is a good beat, then the player sitting at Table 67/Seat 2 during a typical night at this year’s World Series of Poker (WSOP) was most certainly the benefactor of a miraculous catch – in other words, a good beat.  Most players remember their bad beats, but we usually forget the synchronized miracles that are dealt just as impartially.  Every player who gets crushed by a bad beat has a smiling correlated counterpart with fading memories of gifts from the poker gods.

The smiling man positioned at Table 67/Seat 2 would likely have remained unnoticed amid a roomful of hundreds of tournament players, except for one thing: his reaction.  The instant the player caught his miracle card, he bolted out of his seat, did a few fist pumps in the air, and shouted to no one in particular “Yes!”  He may have even shouted “Yes!” a few times.

No one needed to see the cards or view the board or replay the hand to understand exactly what had happened.  One player got lucky and caught the perfect card.  The other player took a bad beat and began to exit.  It’s a common occurrence at all poker tournaments – whether the buy-in is $20 or $10,000.

As the winning player was stacking the sizable pot, a floor man approached.  He issued a warning, citing the so-called “excessive celebration rule.”  The player expressed surprise at being reprimanded, but accepted the warning without protest.  In his defense, the floor man acted responsibly, enforcing a rule designed to encourage good sportsmanship and deter annoying distractions.

So, what’s the problem?

Looking back at this year’s WSOP, which included 57 gold bracelet events, for the first time ever, I can’t recall a single case of a player who grossly overstepped the bounds of proper behavior.  Perhaps an infraction happened at some point, but I never saw any such incident - and I was there at the Rio without exception for 49 consecutive days.  There were no Hevad Khan sideshows, no Mike Matusow tirades, and no Phil Hellmuth outbursts (as long as ceaseless whining doesn’t count).  Many players and fans probably think this is a good thing.  Sorry, but I think it’s a very bad thing.

Before I explain, I should make it perfectly clear that I despise quiet poker games.  Nothing bores me more than a game where there is absolutely no table talk.  We seem to be forgetting that poker is a game played by people with feelings and emotions, not robots - although sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference with so many ears wired up to iPods, eyes concealed by menacing sunglasses, and faces sheltered by hats and hoods that only serve to bunker a player emotionally from what’s supposed to be a social game.

Call me odd, but I like it when people talk at the poker table and show themselves as they really are.  I like it when people get mad.  I like it when people cheer for themselves.  It might be bad form to curse, but that should be permitted (as long as an opposing player or staff member is not abused).  I fail to understand why occasional outbursts or expletives are considered unacceptable in poker tournaments when all other sports encourage the expression of human emotion.  Last time I checked, anyone who enters a poker room is an adult and participates voluntarily.  If a player pays his entry fee, it’s his or her right to behave like a gentleman or act like a jackass.  And if anyone gets upset at seeing a player pump his fist in the air and celebrate a little, then I have some blunt advice: grow some thicker skin.  Deal with it.  I frankly don’t care to witness 7,000 perfectly-behaved members of a church choir playing in a major poker tournament.  I want to see 7,000 unique individuals – the quiet, the loud, the angry, the boisterous, the flashy, the thinkers, and even some jerks.  What’s wrong with that?

One of the worst bits of poker advice ever written was the absurdly toxic suggestion that players should always stay quiet at the table.  What absolute rubbish.  Of course, when you’re not involved in a hand and a big pot is at stake, that moment should be respected with silence.  But to sit silent and emotionless for hours at a time is not only senseless, but it’s also counterproductive.  I find that it’s much easier to learn something about your opponents - not to mention have a much better time at the poker table - when there is table talk and people are communicating.

The “excessive celebration rule” was ostensibly adapted in order to dissuade players from turning events like the WSOP into a platform for antics more suitable for circus animals.  Undoubtedly, some players have acted like idiots in recent years, but one unforeseen consequence of having television cameras to record everything for posterity is that many players are now clamming up.  Some players don’t want to say anything stupid or appear foolish on television.  I’ve witnessed countless players who are usually colorful personalities at the table suddenly get stage fright and say absolutely nothing when sitting at a feature table.  There are notable exceptions, of course: Daniel Negreanu, Scotty Nguyen, and Phil Hellmuth immediately come to mind.  Imposing penalties on human emotion, even stifling stupidity, is a bad tournament rule no matter where it’s implemented.

By contrast, one doesn’t see restrictions on player behavior on “High Stakes Poker,” even though the magnitude of decisions is often worth six-figures.  That program is among the best on television because viewers get to see some of the world’s top players in a mostly unfiltered format, complete with their raw emotions exposed – the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Take emotion out of poker and you rip the heart and soul out of the game.

One of my favorite writers and best friends is English journalist Tony Holden.  He once famously wrote, “Whether he likes it or not, a man’s character is stripped bare at the poker table.”

Holden was absolutely correct.  I now fear that draconian measures like f-bomb rules and excessive celebration restrictions are becoming the pseudo-utopian utensils that are stripping humanity out the game.  We are now stripped bare, not by our own successes and failures, but by rules – however well-intentioned - which aim to suppress that which is most genuine and beneficial to poker as a spectator sport.  It’s our personalities, which sadly have become stripped bare.

Nolan Dalla can be contacted at nolandalla@aol.com.

Ivey, durrrr play largest pot in TV history

The game featured some of the biggest names in poker including Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, Gus Hansen, Mike Matusow, Allen Cunningham, Patrik Antonius and Tom "durrrr" Dwan.

Early highlights included Antonius flopping a set of kings to crack Dwan's pocket aces and drag a $500k pot.

However, the real action began after 20 hours on the felt when all the other players had walked away from the game leaving just Ivey, Antonius and Dwan to play three-handed.

With blinds at $1,000/$2,000 with a $200 ante and more than $2.2 million on the table between the three, Dwan raised.

Ivey re-raised from the small blind and after Antonius folded the big blind, Dwan made the call.

Ivey fired $40k into the Q 5 3 flop and Dwan flatted. However, when the 4 fell on the turn and Ivey bet again, Dwan raised it up to a whopping $240K.

Ivey tanked, but emerged shoving. Dwan insta-called with 6 7 for the nut straight and Ivey's A 2 for the smaller straight was drawing dead, leaving Dwan to collect the massive $1.1 million pot.

Dwan also won the previous largest pot in televised poker history during Season 5 of High Stakes Poker when he flopped top pair and a flush draw against Barry Greenstein's pocket aces and turned trips to collect an amazing $919,600.

Full Tilt Poker's Million Dollar Cash Game will air on Sky Sports in the UK in January 2010 featuring commentary from Full Tilt Poker pro Robert Williamson III.

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Full Tilt Million Dollar Cash Game Features $1.1 Million Pot

Full Tilt Poker’s Million Dollar Cash Game featured a $1.1 million pot during its fourth season, which will air on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom in January. The season includes commentary from poker pro Robert Williamson III.

Some of the game’s top cash game aficionados hit the felts for the Full Tilt Poker spectacular, which recently completed filming in London. Now, the city will play host to the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe festivities, which officially kick off today with a £1,075 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event. Headlining the Full Tilt Poker Million Dollar Cash Game roster was none other than Tom “durrrr” Dwan, who was joined at the table by several sponsored pros of the online poker site, including Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, Gus Hansen, Mike Matusow, Allen Cunningham, and Patrik Antonius.

The general public recently nominated Dwan for the 2009 Poker Hall of Fame class, although a committee stripped him of his eligibility on the grounds that he did not stand the test of time. Dwan is currently battling against Antonius in the Durrrr Challenge online, with Antonius nursing a $34,000 lead after 23,197 hands. The two tangled early on in the Million Dollar Cash Game in London, getting it in pre-flop for a $500,000 pot. Antonius held pocket kings against Dwan’s pocket aces, but a king on the flop gave the veteran a set and the win in the hand. Online, it’s been a seesaw battle between Dwan and Antonius, with “durrrr” posting 3:1 odds that he could beat any player in $200/$400 Pot Limit Omaha or No Limit Hold’em over 50,000 hands.

Dwan reclaimed his losses in a hand against Cyril Mouly. Then, the largest pot in televised poker history occurred. In it, Dwan raised pre-flop and Ivey re-raised from the small blind. The flop fell Q-3-5 with two clubs and Ivey led out for $40,000. Dwan made the call to see the four of hearts hit the turn. Ivey once again bet, Dwan pushed the action to $240,000, and “The Tiger Woods of Poker” shoved over the top. Coverage provided by Full Tilt Poker noted that Dwan snap-called the all-in, turning over 6-7 for the nuts. Ivey, meanwhile, showed A-2 for a smaller straight. Ivey was drawing dead on the river, shipping the massive $1.1 million pot to Dwan.

Dwan was involved in the largest single pot in “High Stakes Poker” history as well. In it, the youngster cracked Barry Greenstein’s pocket aces holding K-Q of spades. The flop came Q-4-2 with two spades, giving Dwan a flush draw to compliment top pair. On the flop, Dwan led out for $28,700, Greenstein raised to $100,000, and Dwan re-raised to $244,600. Greenstein quickly shoved and the two agreed to run the board once. The turn was another queen, improving Dwan to trips, and Greenstein could not spike an ace on the river. The pot was worth a colossal $919,000.

The Million Dollar Cash Game is an invitation-only event that requires a minimum buy-in of $100,000. On the fifth season of “High Stakes Poker,” which aired earlier this year on cable station GSN in the United States, the price tag was $200,000. The GSN cash game franchise is set to return in February for Season 6, although the host venue and player lineup are not yet known. Season 5 featured a cast that included Dwan, Antonius, Daniel Negreanu, Greenstein, and Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies. The show is hosted by former “Welcome Back, Kotter” star Gabe Kaplan and A.J. Benza.

Full Tilt is in the midst of holding its Mini Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS), which concludes with a $55 buy-in Main Event on Sunday. The tournament features a $500,000 guarantee and is hosted by noted pro Eli Elezra.

Cash games take London by storm

Eleven players from 10 countries sat down to play the second edition of the PokerHeaven European Cash Game over 12 hours Monday night at the Hospital Studios in Central London.

The line-up included Ricardo Sousa, Bruno Fitoussi, Andy Black, Leo Margets, Eric Liu, Francois Balmigere, Andrew Feldman, Sammy "any two" George, Simon Munz, Andreas Hoivold and Jens Kyllonen.

And although George has been tagged as a fish by other players on more than one ocassion, he managed to win more than anyone else.

George arrived late but was able to outplay the others, taking a total profit of €24,075 out of the game.

Early on Black and Liu dominated, but as soon as George entered the game he started raking pots. By the time it was all over, Liu had lost €17,425 while Black held on to post a €11,275 profit.

Margets, the last woman standing at the 2009 Main Event, also left with a small profit.

Seven one-hour episodes of the game will now be edited for television and will air on The Poker Channel every Friday at 22:00 CET from Oct. 9.

In the meantime, George is scheduled to play heads-up with Tom "durrrr" Dwan in London later this month.

As a part of a live durrrr Challenge event presented by Matchroom Sport, the two are expected to play a total of 500 hands of Pot-Limit Omaha or No-Limit Hold'em heads-up with $500,000 at stake.

A firm date has yet to be announced, but it clearly won't be Sept. 16 and 17 when Dwan will be joining a stellar line-up of Full Tilt Pros for yet another high-stakes cash game in the British capital.

Full Tilt Poker is playing host to the 2009 Million Dollar Cash Game event and pros Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, Justin "Boosted J" Smith, Patrik Antonius, Gus Hansen, Mike Matusow, Allen Cunningham and Howard Lederer are all confirmed to play.

In addition to Dwan, David Benyamine and Doyle Brunson are likely to appear.

Phil Ivey raked an $807,400 pot during the 2007 edition of the Million Dollar Cash game and it was considered the largest amount ever won in a single hand of a televised cash game at the time.

There have since been several pots on GSN's High Stakes Poker that cracked the $900,000 mark.

Episodes of the 2009 Million Dollar Cash Game will begin broadcasting on Sky Sports in January 2010.

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Thomas Bichon Wins WPT Cyprus

French pro Thomas Bichon outlasted a field of 181 players to win the inaugural World Poker Tour (WPT) Merit Cypus Classic on Sunday. Bichon collected his first WPT title and a prize of $579,165 after six days of grueling play.

The event, held at the luxurious travel destination in the Mediterranean, attracted many of the game’s most familiar names, including Patrik Antonius, Allen Cunningham, John Juanda, Mike Matusow, Eli Elezra, Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, Annette Obrestad, Jeffrey Lisandro, Dan Harrington, Huck Seed, Antonio Esfandiari, Layne Flack, and November Nine member James Akenhead.

Day 1A of the event brought together 91 players and John Tabatabai ended play with the lead, bagging up 178,275 chips. Ludovic Lacay (140,780) and Tommy Vedes (122,125) trailed Tabatabai on the leaderboard. Day 1B drew another 90 entrants, generating a total prize pool of $1,755,700. Phil Gordon led the way as play ended with 157,000 chips. Jan Skampa (156,000) and Andreas Haden (138,000) finished close on his heels.

The 125 survivors from Day 1 joined together on Day 2 and more than half the field perished, including Tabatabai and Gordon. Leading the 55 players that survived the day was Nenad Medic with 277,000. Medic made a strong push at the end of the night to pass Rony Jazzar and Antony Lellouche for the chip lead. Other survivors in good shape were Vedes, Huck Seed, and Flack.

Day 3 played down to the final 21 before play concluded and, this time, it was Flack who soared to the chip lead, holding 915,000. Rep Porter was second going into Day 4 with 812,000, while Seed, Flack, Jazzar, Medic, and Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little were among the top 10.

With the top 18 players making money, it took just two levels to burst the bubble on Day 5. The unfortunate player left out was Anthony Aboukhalil, who moved all-in for his last 20,000 chips with Kc-6c and was called by Antony Lellouche’s As-Qh. The board was no help to Aboukhalil and he was eliminated in 19th place on the money bubble.

Day 5 wasn’t kind to the big names left in the field. Flack was the first to go in 10th place ($20,760); he was followed by Medic (ninth for $27,680) and Little (eighth for ($38,940). With the final table just one spot away, Huck Seed pushed the last of his stack in with Ad-Jd and Thomas Bichon called with Ks-Qd. Seed was left drawing thin after a Queen hit the flop and he was unable to improve, leaving the tournament in seventh place for $56,240.

The final six were in place for Sunday’s final table. Here’s how it looked going into the day:

Seat1: Thomas Bichon - 1.08 million
Seat 2: Steve Fung - 732,000
Seat 3: Uri Keidar - 1.75 million
Seat 4: Rony Jazzar - 1.80 million
Seat 5: Janar Kiivramees - 727,000
Seat 6: Rep Porter - 1.12 million

Jazar was the first casualty of the final table. On a board of Qs-7s-2h-5d, Jazzar pushed all-in with Kc-Qd for top pair and Keidar called with 8s-6s for flush and straight draws. The 10s river gave Keidar his flush and Jazzar was sent to the rail with $73,535.

Play slowed down quite a bit after Jazzar’s elimination, but Kiivramees (fifth place, $90,835) and Porter (fourth, $121,115) were the next to exit. Porter doubled his short stack several times, but eventually Keidar finished him off when Uri’s Ah-9h held up against Porter’s Kh-Jh. Keidar increased his stack to 1.6 million, but was well behind Bichon, the leader with more than five million. Meanwhile, Fung was nursing a 500,000 chip stack.

With the blinds eating away at his stack, Fung was forced to call an all-in bet out of the big blind with 9d-5d and found himself in bad shape against the Jd-5c of Bichon. Fung’s hand failed to get better and he exited with $216,275 for his third place finish.

Heads-up play between Bichon and Keidar lasted just two hands. First, Bichon limped on the button and Keidar pushed, inducing a fold from Bichon. On the second hand, with Bichon holding more than a 3-1 edge, Keidar raised to 350,000 and Bichon moved all-in. Keidar took some time before calling off his remaining 1.4 million with Jh-10d and was in a coin flip situation against Bichon’s pocket sevens.

Bichon took control when the flop brought As-Ks-7c, giving him a set and leaving Keidar needing a queen to stay alive. The 10h turn and 3s river were no help to Keidar and Bichon was crowned the champion of the inaugural WPT Merit Cyprus Classic. Here were the final results:

1st Place: Thomas Bichon - $579,165
2nd Place: Uri Keidar - $380,645
3rd Place: Steven Fung - $216,275
4th Place: Rep Porter - $121,115
5th Place: Janar Kiivramees - $90,835
6th Place: Rony Jazzar - $73,535

Tabatabai on top in WPT Cyprus

The diminishing fields of the World Poker Tour haven’t stopped the pros from entering – particularly not in the Full Tilt Poker sponsored WPT Cyprus event, which saw plenty of red names turn out: Patrik Antonius, Andy Bloch, Allen Cunningham, Howard Lederer, Mike Matusow and Chris Ferguson are all still in the running to take down the near-$600,000 first-place prize.

Scotty Nguyen comes back

It turns out they were right.

This summer, Nguyen added just $33,668 to his $10,705,581 in career tournament earnings with an 11th-place finish at the $10k Stud World Championship, falling far short of his $4 million goal.

However, the Prince of Poker was back on the felt at the WPT Legends of Poker event last week.

"People retire and then they come back right," the 1998 WSOP Main Event champ laughed.

"Legends is my comeback, baby. It's the first tournament I've played since the World Series."

Nguyen currently sits 12th on the all time World Series of Poker money list with $4,727,717 collected from 37 WSOP cashes, and actually considers the 2009 Series his least successful.

"This was the worst World Series I've ever had just because of that statement - the $4 million," he said. "It was always stuck in my head, I was always thinking 'I got to get there, I got to get there.'

"You see baby, when you have to do something, there's more pressure on you and that's the wrong thing. It was stressful. In poker you can't have that stress."

Prior to the 2009 WSOP, Nguyen's bold statement actually morphed into a prop bet with fellow pro Mike Matusow at the WPT Championship.

Getting 3:1 on $5,000, Nguyen is attempting to collect $3 million in tournament earnings over the next three years.

With a win in the 2009 L.A. Poker Classic's $9,900 H.O.R.S.E. event and a sixth-place finish at the $25k WPT Championship, he's earned almost $700k this year so far and seems well on his way to making the bet quite interesting.

And despite not coming through on his $4 million promise, Nguyen is not apologizing for believing in himself.

"You know baby, if you ask me again, I will tell you again," he said. "Before the World Series if you ask me how much I'm going to make I'm going to tell you $4 million.

"I'm not going to tell you I'm going to lose, baby."

Nguyen busted on Day 3 of Legends, falling just short of the money.

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Brett Favre Signing Delays WSOP Main Event Coverage on ESPN

The signing of quarterback Brett Favre by the Minnesota Vikings delayed the premiere of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event by 20 minutes on Tuesday night, with action from Day 1A and Day 1B taking center stage.

The $10,000 buy-in feature tournament began with Full Tilt Poker pro Jennifer Harman narrating, “Someone has to win it, right? So why not you or me?” Highlights of past Main Event winning moments aired, with a player rounding out the montage by saying, “All you need is a ticket and a dream.” The feature table of the first hour, Day 1A of the 2009 WSOP Main Event, included 2006 final table participant Allen Cunningham, Eli Elezra, and Lex Veldhuis, the boyfriend of Evelyn Ng who was featured in ESPN’s coverage of the $40,000 buy-in event commemorating the 40th running of the WSOP.

ESPN announcer Norman Chad fired up viewers by claiming, “This is it. It’s the greatest event in the galaxy. Anyone can win. We could bound and gag Lon [McEachern], stick him in a potato sack, and roll him into the Amazon Room and he may make the final table. I love the Main Event.” Table Two featured 2009 dual bracelet winner Greg “FBT” Mueller and poker pro Sammy Farha, who finished as the runner-up to Chris Moneymaker in the 2003 WSOP Main Event, igniting the modern poker boom.

The 40th Annual Moments featured Johnny Chan winning the 1987 and 1988 Main Events before landing as the runner-up to Phil Hellmuth in 1989. Chan also turned in a seventh place performance in 1992. Joining Chan in the Day 1A field were Phil Laak, Jennifer Tilly, Orel Hershiser, Dewey Tomko, Steven Paul-Ambrose, and Gus Hansen. “Seinfeld” star Jason Alexander and “Everybody Loves Raymond” actor Brad Garrett were seated together, making for a lively table.

At the feature table, Veldhuis rolled over his competition, showing a bluff against Elezra, who labeled him the best player in the field on Day 1A. Veldhuis then represented a flush on a four club board to take down a pot against a player who held two pair. In the Jack Link’s Beef Jerky Wild Card Hand, Simon Muenz raised to 900 with pocket tens, Velduis called with unknown cards, and Cunningham called with A-J. The flop came 4-3-2 with two hearts. Muenz checked, Velduis led out for 2,300, Cunningham got out of the way, and Muenz called. The turn was the nine of hearts. Veldhuis bet 6,000, leaving Chad to comment, “I still think Lex has air.” Muenz called and the ace of spades fell on the river. Veldhuis pushed and Muenz folded. As it turned out, Veldhuis held K-6 for a bluff.

A brand new segment dubbed “Deal Me In” aired and featured Full Tilt Poker pros reliving key hands in live tournaments. Chris Ferguson was the focus of the inaugural segment, recapping a hand where he turned quad aces against Prahlad Friedman. The punch line, according to Ferguson: “You don’t always want to slow play.” Contrastingly, “The Nuts” featured PokerStars pros Greg Raymer, Vanessa Rousso, Chad Brown, Joe Hachem, Hevad Khan, and Dennis Phillips trying to hit a wiffleball thrown by Hershiser. In the end, Raymer laid down a bunt, only to have Hershiser blow it foul.

ESPN’s second hour of coverage, which kicked off around 9:20pm ET on Tuesday night, included a feature table with Mike Matusow. He chimed, “Life is all about the power of positive thinking.” Flanking him was John Dodge, whose grandfather started the automobile company of the same name. Also in the field was Jack Ury, the oldest player in the Main Event at age 96, and poker legend Amarillo Slim, who hasn’t cashed in the tournament since winning it in 1972.

The Wild Card Hand during the Day 1B episode featured Doyle Brunson raise to 675 with A-J of hearts. James Kier called, holding the elusive Wild Card hand. The flop fell 2-4-K rainbow and the action went check-check. The turn was a three and Kier led out for 1,500. Brunson called to watch a four hit the river. Kier once again bet out, this time for 2,500, and Brunson called with just ace-high. Kier sheepishly revealed J-9 for air and another player at the table quipped, “Were you really just trying to bluff Doyle Brunson?”

Matusow gave autographed copies of his book, “Check-Raising the Devil,” to his tablemates, while another Mike, Mike Caro, was featured in an ESPN vignette talking about his “Mad Genius” moniker. Others in the field included Raymer, Ferguson, Barry Greenstein, Joe Sebok, Chris Moneymaker, Todd Brunson, and Pam Brunson. A “Straight from the Pros” segment, in which PokerStars sponsored players gave their take on hands, aired and featured Moneymaker.

Next week, Moneymaker’s colleague at PokerStars, Daniel Negreanu, will take center stage along with Hellmuth. The action takes place from 8:00pm to 10:00pm ET barring any more Favre news.

Ante Up for Africa Poker Event Features Hollywood Invasion

On Tuesday night, cable station ESPN featured action from the Ante Up for Africa charity tournament held during the 2009 World Series of Poker. The final table aired for just 30 minutes in a unique telecast.

The two-hour show opened with a montage of celebrities taking part in the event, including “Rounders” actor Matt Damon, “Pearl Harbor” actor Ben Affleck, and comedian Sarah Silverman. A total of 137 players took to the felts, with the feature table during ESPN’s first hour headlined by basketball Hall of Fame member Charles Barkley, whose association with gambling was highlighted on several occasions throughout the episode by ESPN commentator Norman Chad. Comments included “Don’t say blackjack around Charles” and “Charles is probably wondering if he can double down on the flop.” Joining Barkley at the feature table were 2008 WSOP November Nine member Ylon Schwartz, “Seinfeld” actor Jason Alexander, and “Celebrity Apprentice” candidate Herschel Walker.

Highlights from around the field included Ultimate Bet Star Player Tiffany Michelle besting Damon in a hand holding pocket sevens. After Affleck’s pocket fives ran into a flop of 4-6-K, Chad remarked, “That’s a worse flop for Ben than ‘Gigli.’” Ante Up for Africa emcee Phil Hellmuth and Nelly then sang the St. Louis rapper’s hit song “#1” and the recurring “40th Annual Memories” relived Howard Lederer’s first bracelet win. Lederer’s sister, Annie Duke, was featured heavily during the segment and, together with actor Don Cheadle, the “Celebrity Apprentice” runner-up co-hosted the Ante Up for Africa event.

The Jack Link’s Beef Jerky Wild Card Hand featured Walker calling the big blind with unknown cards, Alexander calling with K-10, and Barkley checking his option with pocket eights. The flop came J-Q-6 and the action checked around to see a king fall on the turn. Alexander led out for 700, Barkley folded, and Walker made the call. The river was another queen. Alexander checked, Walker put out a small bet of 600, and Alexander made the call. Walker flipped up A-Q for trips and scooped the pot.

Damon recalled the public’s reaction to the movie “Rounders,” which was released in 1998 and also featured Edward Norton, John Malkovich, and John Turturro: “When it first came out, it was a bomb. It kind of hurt my feelings.” Chad revealed that 2003 WSOP Main Event Champion Chris Moneymaker got his start in poker after watching the film. Damon’s lifelong friend, Affleck, was ousted from the Ante Up for Africa event holding pocket sixes after Jennifer Harman hit a flush on the river. Affleck signed autographs for fans on the rail and headed to the feature table to support Damon.

Barkley doubled up with 8-7 against A-Q after filling his straight on the river, leaving ESPN commentators to note, “That was like a three-pointer at the buzzer to win the game.” The end of the first episode featured Barkley hitting the rails holding 8-6 of diamonds despite flopping a flush draw.

The second episode aired at 9:00pm ET. This time around, feature table personalities included Damon and Erik Seidel, whose runner-up performance to Johnny Chan in the 1998 WSOP Main Event was featured prominently in the movie “Rounders.” The Wild Card Hand saw Damon raise to 10,000 pre-flop with A-7. Seidel pushed over the top all-in holding unknown cards and Damon tanked before finally releasing his hand. Seidel turned over pocket sixes and told Damon, “I think you probably made the right choice.” Seidel eventually sent Damon packing with A-J against pocket tens when the actor inopportunely shoved on an ace-high flop.

“The Nuts,” which had featured 40th Annual Trivia the past two weeks, recapped Chad’s red carpet interviews. Chad joked to Mike Matusow that money should be pooled for Mike Tyson, who was in attendance for the event, to punch Hellmuth. Matusow commented, “I will throw an extra $5,000 to the charity if he connects.” Chad also interviewed Damon and Affleck to divulge who really wrote “Good Will Hunting” and asked the latter if he could beat Chad’s record of three marriages. Chad’s final interview was with Sasquatch, the mascot of Jack Link’s Beef Jerky. Chad referred to the furry animal as co-host Lon McEachern.

The final table featured 18 WSOP bracelets, with Seidel owning eight of them. The nine-handed spectacle did not air until 30 minutes remained in the second ESPN episode of the night, reflecting the desire by producers to show the paths of celebrities in attendance during this unique charity tournament. The final table lacked strategy, with a multitude of three-way all-ins panning out with players unable to cover their blinds. Alex Bolotin eventually emerged as the 2009 Ante Up for Africa champion and pocketed $176,000. Over $360,000 was raised for the victims of the crisis in Darfur. On the turbo structure, Chad quipped, “Bolotin is the Ante Up for Africa all-in champion.”

Next week at 8:00pm ET, ESPN will kick off its 24 hours of coverage of the 2009 WSOP Main Event.

Face the Ace Struggles in Ratings, Debuts in Last Place

NBC’s new poker show “Face the Ace” debuted on NBC on Saturday night, with contestant Don Topel winning $200,000. This week, he’ll go for $1 million. Despite the high-stakes drama, “Face the Ace” premiered in last place in the ratings.

“Face the Ace” aired from 9:00pm ET to 10:00pm ET on Saturday night. According to television ratings provided by TVByTheNumbers.com, during its first half-hour, the series of heads-up poker matches garnered a 0.4 rating with a 2 share, equating to 1.59 million viewers. Of the four major networks in the United States, NBC took last during that time slot. FOX, which aired an episode of “America’s Most Wanted,” claimed the top spot with a 1.5 rating and 6 share, or 4.43 million viewers.

During its first half-hour, “Face the Ace” also squared off against the ABC movie “Red Eye,” which kicked off at 8:00pm ET and ran for three hours. During the 9:00pm ET to 9:30pm ET time slot, “Red Eye,” claimed a 0.7 rating with a 3 share, good for the second best tally with 3.27 million viewers. Finally, CBS aired a rerun of “Numb3rs” between 9:00pm ET and 10:00pm ET. During the hour-long show’s first 30 minutes, “Numb3rs” also generated a 0.7 rating with a 3 share, equating to 3.26 million viewers and falling just short of the ABC movie.

During its second half-hour, “Face the Ace” was up against the same three shows. “America’s Most Wanted” once again led the way with a 1.6 rating and a 6 share for 4.78 million viewers. “Red Eye” claimed a 0.9 rating and a 4 share, which translated into 3.82 million viewers. “Numb3rs” boasted a 0.7 rating with a 3 share, good for 3.57 million viewers. Once again, “Face the Ace” rounded out the top four, taking a 0.4 rating with a 2 share. The poker television show attracted 1.54 million viewers.

Several NBC affiliates pre-empted “Face the Ace” for local programming, including the Houston and Detroit affiliates, two of the largest markets in the country. Formerly airing in the time slot currently held by “Face the Ace” was “Kings,” likely a much pricier series to produce. Therefore, NBC’s margin may be slightly higher on “Face the Ace.” A poster on TVByTheNumbers.com noted that despite “Face the Ace’s” sluggish ratings, “Kings also had a price tag that was how much bigger?” Full Tilt Poker sponsors “Face the Ace”. All of its “aces” are pros of the online poker site.

TVByTheNumbers.com reports ratings for viewers aged 18 to 49. “Face the Ace,” as a poker-themed show, does not target the full spectrum of this demographic. “Poker After Dark,” NBC’s daily poker show, airs at 2:05am ET. This week’s match-up is entitled “Close But No Cigar” and includes players who have reached the final table of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, but have yet to claim a title in the $10,000 buy-in feature tournament: Mike Matusow, Lee Watkinson, Allen Cunningham, Dewey Tomko, Andy Black, and David Williams.

A thread that appeared on the online poker forum PocketFives.com recommended several improvements for future episodes of “Face the Ace,” including having a contestant’s loved ones on stage rooting them on (in a similar fashion to the NBC game show “Deal or No Deal”), Full Tilt Poker pros railing their colleagues, a player winning an on-stage sit and go to face an ace, and a new host.

“Face the Ace” will air this Saturday, August 8th, at 9:00pm ET. Then, it can be seen once per month until January of 2010. Show officials described the first two primetime episodes as an opportunity to “test the waters” for future programming choices. Here’s when you can catch “Face the Ace”:

August 8th, 2009 – 9:00pm ET
September 12th, 2009 – 2:00pm ET
October 31st, 2009 – 3:30pm ET
November 14th, 2009 – 3:00pm ET
December 12th, 2009 – 3:00pm ET
January 2nd, 2010 – 2:30pm ET

We want to know what you think. What would improve the ratings for NBC’s “Face the Ace”? Leave a comment and voice your choice.

Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker Launch 7-Deuce Holdem

On Saturday, the CEREUS Network announced that its two cornerstone rooms, Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker, have introduced 7-Deuce Hold’em. The unique twist on an old favorite has players from around the online poker world buzzing.

The game that “takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to master,” to quote the great World Poker Tour (WPT) Host Mike Sexton, has received a facelift on Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker. Starting on Sunday, players can challenge 7- Deuce Hold’em. In order to take their place at a 7-Deuce table, players must pay a side bet ranging from one-and-a-half to two times the big blind. The amount depends on whether a table is four-max, six-max, or a full nine-player ring game. The side bet pays out whenever a player seated takes down a pot with the worst starting hand in No Limit Texas Hold’em, 7-2.

Ultimate Bet front man Phil Hellmuth, an 11-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, commented in a press release about the newest addition to Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker: “The 7-2 side pot adds an adrenaline-pumping element to Hold’em that you need to experience to believe. I once bluffed Mike Matusow off of two kings with 7-2 as my hole cards. Everyone at the table was floored, but I was on top of the world after collecting $500 for pulling it off with the worst hand in poker. Now, this awesome side pot game is available online at Ultimate Bet and Hold’em will never be the same again.”

Tables may see an increased level of bluffing given the new 7-Deuce side bet. At the very least, the addition of 7-2 online poker games on Ultimate Bet may attract a few newcomers to the site for Sunday’s 25 Seat Aruba Super Satellite, which kicks off at 17:30 ET and features a $530 buy-in. The 2009 Ultimate Bet Aruba Poker Classic will start on October 3rd from the picturesque island. The $5,500 buy-in Main Event begins two days later and crowns a champion on October 10th. Last year, Matt Brady claimed the title and pocketed $1 million for his efforts.

For players whose Sunday is booked up, another 25 Seat Aruba Super Satellite tournament will play out on August 30th. On September 13th, players will have one last chance to satellite their way into the annual Aruba Poker Classic, as 50 seats will be on the line. Each package is worth $8,500, which consists of the $5,500 Main Event buy-in plus $3,000 to use for travel, accommodations, and other expenses. Weekly, Ultimate Bet hosts a three package guarantee on Sundays with a $530 buy-in, a one package guarantee on Tuesdays with a $215 buy-in, and a $109 rebuy that guarantees one package and takes place each Wednesday.

In May, Ultimate Bet’s developers rolled out ante games, which typically feature increased action due to larger pot sizes pre-flop. In ante games, each player must pay an ante in addition to the traditional small blind and big blind. Last week, the online poker site eradicated the use of nicknames and added a level of security to player-to-player funds transfers. Now, players can automatically approve or block transfers from fellow Ultimate Bet members.

According to the traffic ranking site PokerScout.com, the CEREUS Network sits as the seventh largest worldwide with a seven-day running average of 1,840 real money ring game players. At its peak, which occurs during the evening hours throughout North America, nearly 3,000 players call the Network home. At the time of writing, which is 1:30am ET early Saturday morning, a healthy 2,406 players are competing on the virtual felts of the Tokwiro-owned online poker rooms. Check out 7-Deuce No Limit Hold’em games today on Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker.

NBC’s <i>Face the Ace</i> premiers Saturday

NBC's prime-time poker-themed game show Face the Ace is set to premier this Saturday night Aug. 1 at 9 p.m. ET with a group of facetheace.com and Full Tilt Poker qualifiers taking on the some of the world's best poker players with $1 million on the line.

Hosted by The Sopranos Steve Schirripa, contestants on the show will first select a pro from behind four smoked-glass doors and then play that pro in a heads-up No-Limit Hold'em match with $40,000 up for grabs.

Should the contestant prevail, they can keep the $40,000 or choose another pro to play for $200,000. Contestants moving on to the third round will play for the $1 million top prize.

If the contestant loses at any point, they walk away with nothing and the winning pro takes $10,000 for their charity of choice.

"Most people don't get to compete against their favorite athletes in sports like football or basketball," said Schirripa.

"This show gives contestants an incomparable opportunity to test their skills against some of the best poker players in the world.  The same people they've read about or have watched on TV are the ones they have to defeat for chance at winning life-changing money."

The series will premiere with back-to-back shows Saturday evening and continue its seven-episode run on Saturday afternoons beginning in September.

Fifteen Full Tilt pros were chosen as "Aces," including Patrik Antonius, Andy Bloch, Allen Cunningham, Chris Ferguson, Phil Gordon, Gus Hansen, Jennifer Harman, Phil Ivey, John Juanda, Howard Lederer, Erick Lindgren, Mike Matusow, Huck Seed, Erik Seidel, and Gavin Smith.

Collectively, the group has won 41 World Series of Poker bracelets, 11 World Poker Tour titles, and nearly $100 million in live tournament winnings.

Poker After Dark host Ali Nejad will act as the tournament director and provide additional commentary.

Plus, Deal or No Deal Briefcase Model Megan Abrigo will serve as the hostess.

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NBC’s Face the Ace to Premiere August 1st

In online poker’s version of Iron Chef, Face the Ace will premier on NBC on August 1st. The show will air in the 9:00pm to 10:00pm ET time slot and is hosted by The Sopranos’ Steve Schirripa. It features pros from Full Tilt Poker.

In a conference call earlier this week, Schirripa noted that Face the Ace is the “first of its kind to air in primetime on a broadcast network.” At stake is a chance to win $1 million on national television and the series contains a total of seven episodes. To start Face the Ace, four pros will be stationed behind glass doors, hidden from view by a contestant, who will select one to play in a game of Heads-Up No Limit Hold’em. If a contestant defeats the “ace,” they’ll receive $40,000 for their efforts. They can then elect to keep the $40,000 and walk away or face a second pro for a chance at $200,000. If they win once again, each contestant can take the money or play one last heads-up match for $1 million. If a contestant loses to an “ace” at any time, they’ll forfeit their winnings in a unique all-or-nothing proposition.

Each match that a pro wins means $10,000 will be donated to the charity of their choice. The pros who will participate in NBC’s Face the Ace include some of Full Tilt Poker’s top names: Durrrr Challenge participant Patrik Antonius, Andy Bloch, Allen Cunningham, Chris Ferguson, Phil Gordon, Gus Hansen, Jennifer Harman, 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) November Nine member Phil Ivey, 2008 WSOP Europe Main Event winner John Juanda, Howard Lederer, Erick Lindgren, Mike Matusow, reigning National Heads-Up Poker Championship victor Huck Seed, Erik Seidel, and Gavin Smith.

The show is co-hosted by Ali Nejad and Megan Abrigo, who holds case number six on the hit NBC game show Deal or No Deal, is Face the Ace’s hostess. Nejad gave his take on the caliber of contestants that viewers can expect to see: “The qualification process online is difficult. For these guys to have gotten that far - they’re either the luckiest guys we know or they’re good.” Schirripa added, “Personally, I thought some were pretty good. They didn’t seem intimidated and, if they were, they hid it pretty well.”

The show airs on August 1st and August 8th at 9:00pm ET. Then, it airs once per month through January, 2010:

August 1st, 2009 – 9:00pm ET
August 8th, 2009 – 9:00pm ET
September 12th, 2009 – 2:00pm ET
October 31st, 2009 – 3:30pm ET
November 14th, 2009 – 3:00pm ET
December 12th, 2009 – 3:00pm ET
January 2nd, 2010 – 2:30pm ET

Three of the seven episodes have already been filmed, with Schirripa describing the first two primetime broadcasts as opportunities to “test the waters.” When viewers tune in, they’ll witness high-stakes poker and life-changing money on the line. Nejad described what makes Face the Ace resoundingly successful: “There’s no safety net here like there is in other game shows. If you don’t win your match, you lose everything you’ve won. The pressure is really on and this isn’t a cakewalk.”

Face the Ace is not NBC’s first venture into the poker world. The massive U.S. network airs Poker After Dark weekly and the National Heads-Up Poker Championship once per year. Meanwhile, qualification for Face the Ace continues on Full Tilt Poker. The site, which serves as a presenting sponsor of the World Poker Tour (WPT) on Fox Sports Net, is holding Round Two Face the Ace qualifiers tonight at 21:15 ET and August 2nd at 21:15 ET. The next Face the Ace Final Qualifier takes place on August 3rd at 21:15 ET. The two former tournaments have a buy-in of 100 Full Tilt Points, while the Final Qualifier boasts a price tag of 2,500.

We’ll have full details of the inaugural Face the Ace episode right here on Poker News Daily.

The Mouthpiece Returns to Card Player TV

The Mouthpiece is back. After focusing his attention on the World Series, Mike Matusow’s exclusive Card Player TV show will begin filming again tomorrow. As always, readers are encouraged to call in and ask the Mouth any question of their choosing.

Annie Duke Comments on National Poker Week

As part of National Poker Week, Ultimate Bet pro Annie Duke appeared as part of a charity tournament sponsored by the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) benefiting the USO of Metropolitan Washington. Poker News Daily caught up with Duke during the second of two breaks.

PND: Tell us about your experience at the PPA charity poker tournament benefiting the USO of Metropolitan Washington.

Duke: This is really fun. It’s to support the USO. My brother [Howard Lederer] and I were in a rebuy competition and I might have edged him out. As soon as the rebuy period ended, I lost with aces to 10-9.

PND: We heard about that. Can you relive your bust out story for us?

Duke: It went 600, 600, I made it 3,100 total with aces and, of course, I got called by 10-9. The board came 5-4-4 with two hearts and I went all-in. I looked at the other person and said, “You think you have two overcards and a flush draw, but you don’t. Not only do I have a heart in my hand, but you also don’t have two overcards. You’re over a 2:1 dog.” I overbet the pot and told him, “You’re not even getting 2:1 odds. You should fold.” I was being honest. He says, “I don’t care.” A heart came on the turn, but I had the ace of hearts and couldn’t suck out. I felt like I was back in the World Series of Poker (WSOP).

PND: Does it feel good to be able to donate to charity?

Duke: I had three veterans at my table, so I announced to my table that anytime the veterans went broke, I would rebuy them. [Former PokerStars Marketing Director] Dan Goldman took up a little bit of the slack and [PPA Executive Director] John Pappas rebought one person. Dan Walsh and the Interactive Gaming Council picked up some too. I could have gone out for about $2,000, but instead I think I donated $1,500. I was saved by a little bit of generosity.

PND: You met with several Congressional members and staffers today. Tell us how it went.

Duke: I had two meetings with allies. Those are, “Thank you. We really appreciate your support.” I had two other meetings, one with Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and one with Patrick Leahy (D-VT), who has traditionally been very anti-gambling because Vermont really doesn’t want casinos. It was a lot of explaining the differences between casino gambling and internet gambling and talking about some of the judiciary committees. The meeting wasn’t with him; it was with one of his aides, but the aides are very powerful.

It’s definitely different than a year and a half ago. Then, it was a lot of education and telling people what the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) is. Now, I think people are much more familiar with the legislation’s problems. They realize that it’s a piece of legislation that doesn’t work. It’s fortuitous timing with the health care reform because you get to talk about how it’s going to get paid for. When you point out that internet gambling can bring in a conservative estimate of $3 billion per year, they listen.

PND: What are your thoughts on the November Nine now that you’ve had a chance to evaluate them?

Duke: You have Darvin Moon, who has 30% of the chips in play. That obviously gives him a 30% chance to win. When people have 50% of the chips in play going into the final table, they think they’re a lock to win, but they’re just 50% to win assuming they’re a par player.

It’s so good for poker that Phil Ivey is at the final table. He only has 10 million in chips, but he’s Ivey. I think last year, when Mike Matusow and Phil Hellmuth were knocked out, the ratings really dropped, so Ivey being in there until the final table is incredible.

It’s a weird final table because the top two spots have so many of the chips. It’s always very strange when the chip averages are really skewed. I’m more interested to see if Darvin Moon is going to take a logo deal. I hear that he doesn’t want to do press and doesn’t want a logo deal. We’re all also waiting with baited breath to see what happens with Jeff Shulman.

Bernard Lee at the 2009 WSOP

The 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) is underway.  Already, most of this year’s 57 WSOP bracelets have been awarded.  If you have never been to the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino during the summer, you owe it to yourself to attend one year to witness the spectacle that is the WSOP.  Table after table jam-packed with poker players.  A symphony of shuffling chips permeates through air.  A room overflowing with hopes and dreams of becoming the next WSOP bracelet winner.  Does it get any better than this?

On any given day, up to six different bracelet events were played.  Each day started off with a new WSOP bracelet event at Noon, while another often commenced at 5:00pm.  Meanwhile, the other WSOP bracelet events reassembled for Day 2 and final tables kicked off at 2:00pm and 4:00pm.  Additionally, two multi-table non-bracelet tournaments were played (7:00pm and 11:00pm), while two multi-table WSOP Main Event satellites were offered daily (3:00pm and 8:00pm).  All the while, there were single table satellites that occurred all day ranging from $65 to $1,030 down the hallway in the Brasilia Room.

This year, the WSOP started off with a bang, as 201 players registered for the first major event - the $40,000 No Limit Hold‘em tournament.  It was created as a celebration of the 40th anniversary of the WSOP and won by Russian Vitaly Lunkin.  Outlasting poker professionals Greg Raymer (2004 WSOP Main Event Champion) and Isaac Haxton, Lunkin took home the coveted WSOP bracelet in addition to almost $1.9 million.  Also during the first weekend, the Stimulus Special (Event # 4, $1,000 No Limit Hold‘em) had a record turnout.  The 6,012 participants made up the largest non-WSOP Main Event field in the history of poker. In the end, the tournament was won by poker professional Steve Sung, who took home $771,106.

However, one of the most anticipated events of the 40th annual WSOP was not even a bracelet event.  On Sunday, May 31st, the WSOP Champions Invitational brought together all of the past WSOP Main Event winners.  Although 34 different players have won the WSOP Main Event (remember, there have been players with multiple titles such as Doyle Brunson, Stu Unger, and Johnny Chan), there are 25 current living champions.  Of these, 20 former winners came together in the Amazon Room, making this winner-take-all event one of the most competitive fields in the history of poker.

The winner of this unprecedented Champions Invitational would take home a vintage red Corvette from 1970, marking the inaugural year of the WSOP.  More importantly, the winner would have the ultimate bragging rights as “The Champion of Champions.”

At the beginning of the tournament, Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack announced each player’s name one by one, culminating in a historic picture of all of the living WSOP champions.  The massive crowd was electric with anticipation for this once-in-a-lifetime event.

After 10 champions were eliminated on Day One, the final 10 players reassembled on June 1st. The field was comprised of a mix of old school and new style online aggression: Two-time champion Doyle “Texas Dolly” Brunson (finished 8th), “Action” Dan Harrington (finished 3rd), reigning WSOP Main Event champion Peter “Icegate” Eastgate (finished 9th), and 11-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth (finished 10th).  Overall, this final table would be one for the ages.

In the end, Robert Varkonyi, the 2002 Champion, succumbed to the winner of the WSOP Champions Invitational, Tom McEvoy.  McEvoy, the 1983 WSOP Main Event champion, is a four-time bracelet winner in his own right and author of 12 books, mainly on poker. However, he is best known as the first WSOP champion ever to have earned his seat into the Main Event via a satellite. By laying the groundwork, the majority of the players can today earn their seats in satellites, whether online or in live casinos.

Clearly emotional after his victory, McEvoy commented, “This is the toughest field I have ever played against.” After the grueling final table, McEvoy received the Corvette and the first-ever Binion Cup from its namesake and poker patriarch, Jack Binion.

I have known Tom for several years.  When I first began taking tournament poker very seriously back in 2004, the first book I read about playing No Limit Hold’em tournaments was Tom McEvoy’s and T.J. Cloutier’s “Championship No Limit and Pot Limit Hold’em.”  Before every tournament, I still re-read the book to prepare and focus on the upcoming event.  This book truly helped set the foundation of my game.  I even own a signed copy that I carry with me to every tournament.  Congratulations Tom on your historic victory.  In the end, the Champions Invitational is an event that all fans alike will enjoy and I will look forward to seeing later this fall on ESPN.

As for my WSOP, I could not have gotten off to a worse start.  I played in six preliminary events during the second week, starting with the Stimulus Event.  Originally, I was shut out of the $1,000 No Limit event because it was sold out.  However, on Day 1B, it was announced that there were six available seats, as several pre-registrations were voided.  Thus, I was fortunate to get into the event.  However, my K-K ran into A-A during Level 7 and I was sent packing.

The rest of the week did not go much better, as once again my K-K faced A-A (Event #7), Ah-Qh went up against K-K on a Qs-9h-7h flop (Event #11), 10-10 lost to 9-9 on a nine-high board (Event #13), and my A-2 (I had checked my option from the big blind) got tangled with A-8 on an A-10-8-A-9 board (Event #15).  Finally, playing in the $1,500 Seven Card Stud event (my only non-No Limit Hold‘em tournament), my aces and eights got run down by a two-outer.  On 7th street, my opponent, holding only a pair of nines, hit trips and I could not improve.

Finally, don’t forget to listen to my radio show, “The Bernard Lee Poker Show,” on RoundersRadio.com and 1510 AM in the Boston area on Tuesday nights from 7:00pm to 8:00pm ET and repeated throughout the week.  Recent and upcoming guests include Tom McEvoy, Mike Matusow, and Brandon Cantu.

Ivey headlines November Nine

Already fourth on poker's all-time leading money winners list with over $10 million in earnings and a total of seven World Series of Poker bracelets, including two this summer, Full Tilt's Phil Ivey is widely regarded as one of poker's best and brightest minds.

But despite all he's accomplished in the game, Ivey said earning a spot in the November Nine at the 2009 WSOP Main Event is his biggest to date.

"So far I've just made the final table, but this tops the list," he said. "It's definitely up there."

Ivey, who was weened on the game in Atlantic City casinos playing with fake ID before he was old enough to get past security, has been close to Main Event glory three times before.

He finished 23rd in 2002, 10th in 2003 and 20th in 2005, and had a little trouble putting into words just how much he wanted this.

"You have no idea," he said. "I had a tough day today, I had some tough hands and I know the hurt and pain of coming so close."

Railing him almost the entire way, fellow Full Tilt pro Mike Matusow said Ivey making the final table should be a huge boost for the game of poker itself.

"It's absolutely ridiculous how big this is for poker and it'll be even bigger if he wins," Matusow said. "Ivey making the final table is as big as if (deceased Main Event champ) Stu Ungar made the final table these days."

Matusow believes a player of Ivey's stature making the November Nine could even help change online poker's legal status in the United States and overturn the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.

"If the best player in the world wins the biggest tournament in the world, it'll be tremendous for the argument that poker is a game of skill," he said "And Phil Ivey is the best player in the world.

"Phil Hellmuth talks like he's the greatest, this guy is the greatest. He doesn't need to talk; he lets his poker do the talking."

The rest of the November Nine consists of a spectrum of professional players, online qualifiers and home-game amateurs.

Ivey will come back for the final November 7 sitting seventh in chips with just French Everest Poker qualifier Antoine Saout and British "Hit Squad" pro James Akenhead behind him.

The current chip leader is Maryland local casino qualifier Darvin Moon, with young yet seasoned pro Eric Buchman sitting second, American home-game pool winner Steven Begleiter third and CardPlayer Magazine editor Jeff Shulman fourth in chips.

Rounding out the final nine are online pro Joseph Cada, who had two cashes at the Series this summer, and Floridian Kevin Schaffel, whose biggest cash to date came in the 1994 WSOP Main Event where he finished 42nd for $60k.

But even the chip leading Moon feels Ivey is the man to beat.

"I'll stay away from him," he said. "I'll hide in a corner when I'm against him. I'm concerned about all of them, but if Phil Ivey is on my left, if he even looks at me, I'm mucking."

Partly to help take advantage of his image, Ivey said he would have rather played out the final nine now instead of taking the planned three-month break.

"I'm really in a groove right now playing against some of these guys," he said. "I'd love to just finish this thing right now."

Without revealing many details about how he will adjust his strategy, Ivey did say he would watch a few of the hands on TV in the months leading up to the final.

"I'm a little short," Ivey said. "I'm just going to do my best and trust my reads."

Already one of Poker's biggest superstars, Ivey claims the tremendous media attention that comes with being a part of the November Nine won't change much for him.

"I'm just going to change my cell phone number and leave the country," he said. "I'm serious too."

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Big names chase Moon on Main Event Day 7

A total of 64 players unbagged their chips and took their seats on Day 7 of the prestigious poker tournament.

The relatively unknown Darvin Moon, of Oakland, MD, controls the chip lead with nearly 10 million chips but Ivey is close behind with 6.3 million.

At the start of the day plenty of well-known pros were still in the running with the aforementioned Esfandiari, Ludovic Lacay, Jeff Shulman, Fabrice Soulier, Tom Schneider, Dennis Phillips, Blair Rodman, Joe Sebok and Prahlad Friedman all looking to make the most lucrative final table of the year.

Day 7 is the second to last day of the 2009 WSOP summer schedule. Tomorrow players will return and play down to a final table of nine. Those nine players will go on an extensive break and then return in November to crown a true champion in poker's biggest event.

Last year Day 7 saw the field narrowed all the way from 79 to 27 but tournament organizers have not announced where they will try to end play today. Because they are starting with just 64 players it's possible they will play down to a number below 27.

Amongst the players to be eliminated on Day 7 last year were Phil Hellmuth, Mike Matusow and Kido Pham, essentially erasing any chance of a big name pro making the final table.

Be sure to follow PokerListings' live updates throughout the day as we chronicle the journey to the final table.

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Alec Torelli Leads WPT Bellagio Cup After Day 1A

A cozy field of 79 players turned out for Day 1A of the World Poker Tour (WPT) Bellagio Cup V. In the end, 61 reached Day 2 on Wednesday, led by Alec “traheho” Torelli. WPT officials are expecting 175 players to compete on Day 1B.

In 2008, the Bellagio Cup IV Main Event, a $15,000 buy-in tournament, boasted a field of 446 players. If 175 players were to turn out for Day 1B, it would translate into a total attendance of 254, representing a drop of over 40%. The Foxwoods Poker Classic boasted the smallest field during Season VII at 259 runners. The event has since been stricken from the WPT schedule.

Torelli’s aggression and willingness to gamble earned him the top spot on Day 1A. After a flop of K-J-7 with two hearts, Torelli moved all-in over the top of a check-raise by poker pro Dan Shak, who called and flipped up pocket jacks for a set. Torelli showed 8-9 of hearts for straight and flush draws. The turn and river were both hearts, filling Torelli’s flush and vaulting him up the leaderboard.

A few hands after battling with Shak, Torelli picked up pocket aces. On a board of J-J-10-6, Torelli check-raised his opponent all-in. The other player called and showed pocket kings, drawing to two outs. The river came the queen of hearts and Torelli scooped another sizable pot.

Torelli amassed a stack of 308,000 chips at the end of Day 1A, well ahead of the second place stack of 256,000 held by Andrew Cimpan, the winner of the Season VII L.A. Poker Classic. Cimpan eliminated Steve O’Dwyer late in the day. After a flop of 8-7-5, O’Dwyer pushed over the top of a raise by Cimpan holding 7-5 for two pair. Cimpan promptly called and showed 6-3 of diamonds. The turn and river both came diamonds, giving Cimpan a runner-runner flush and sending O’Dwyer home.

Defending Bellagio Cup champion Mike “SirWatts” Watson also remains in contention after Day 1A. He holds the 54th largest stack out of 61 players left in the hunt at 36,000, well below the average of 77,000. Watson won $1.6 million for his efforts last year and defeated World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner David Benyamine heads-up. The 2008 final table also featured Luke “IWEARGOGGLES” Staudenmaier and John “The Razor” Phan, who won last year’s Legends of Poker event.

On the second to last hand of the evening, poker pro Mike Matusow hit the exits at the Bellagio. Matusow moved all-in after a flop of J-J-7 holding pocket twos. However, his opponent held pocket kings, leaving Matusow barely breathing in the hand. The turn and river came a 10 and nine, respectively, eliminating Matusow from the 2009 Bellagio Cup. Matusow has recorded nine career in the money finishes in WPT events; four have been for final tables. He was the runner-up to Kevin “BeL0WaB0Ve” Saul in the Bellagio Cup III.

The honor of first player eliminated from the WPT tournament went to Allen Hickman, who held pocket tens, but ran into the A-5 of Zach Hyman. When the smoke cleared, the board read 5-5-2-8-6, giving Hyman trips.

Here were the Top 10 stacks from Day 1A of the Bellagio Cup V:

1. Alec Torelli - 308,675
2. Andrew Cimpan - 256,375
3. Ray Taylor - 181,800
4. Jeremiah Vinsant - 179,450
5. Adam Geyer - 157,600
6. Eugene Juergens - 147,500
7. Musa Mustafa - 144,200
8. Hoyt Corkins - 132,900
9. Isaac Haxton - 122,525
10. Justin Smith - 114,100

Other pros who appear in the Top 30 include Todd Brunson (20th place with 81,225), Vadim Trincher (23rd with 78,670), and Erik Seidel (28th with 76,275). The action on Day 1B of the Bellagio Cup V will kick off at Noon Pacific Time. The tournament will air as part of Season VIII on Fox Sports Net.

Fifth anniversary celebration for Full Tilt Poker!

Full Tilt Poker celebrates their fifth anniversary for the next ten days. The World’s second largest online poker site is going to have a big birthday as they launch five different promotions. You can earn extra Full Tilt Points, boost your bankroll through freerolls and have a shot at Sunday’s major tournaments with raised prize pool.

On Thursday, July 9th, a $20,000 freeroll will start the celebration. After being announced on Wednesday, the event is already sold out at 30,005 players. A disclaimer that appears on Full Tilt Poker’s website notes, “Sorry, the $20K Freeroll has reached the maximum number of players. Registration is now closed.”

Then at next Tuesday, July 14th, Full Tilt is offering their members to earn FTPs five times faster than normally over a 24 hour period. This promotion is valid in any cash game, sit and go and multi-table tournament. Also from July 14th through 19th, all scheduled Happy Hours will award FTPs five times their normal rate.

All the players who missed the $20.000 freeroll can have their shot in $5.000 freerolls that take place every five hours. These special tournaments are scheduled to take place from July 14th to July 19th and the buy-in for each is five FTPs.

Full Tilt will award 5X Bust-Out Bounties from ther pros starting at midnight July 14th. Team Full Tilt members will be signing up to these special tournaments for you to claim your prize. Team Full Tilt pros who are joining the fun are going to be at least these familiar faces: Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, John Juanda, Jennifer Harman, Phil Gordon, Erick Lindgren, Erik Seidel, Andy Bloch, Gus Hansen, Mike Matusow, Allen Cunningham, and Patrik Antonius.

July 19th Full Tilt will be adding $700,000 to the prize pools of their Sunday majors. The Sunday Brawl, a $256 buy-in bounty tournament, will have the guarantee raised from $350,000 to $500,000. Every player in the Sunday Brawl has a $40 bounty on their head. The player who gets the most knockouts will earn an entry into the following week’s event.

The regularly scheduled Full Tilt $1 Million Guarantee will have a stunning $1.5 million guaranteed prize pool on July 19th. The Sunday Mulligan will have a raised prize pool as well as Full Tilt is bringing an extra $50.000 to get the pool up to a total of $250.000.

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Fifth anniversary celebration for Full Tilt Poker!

Ivey, Dwan headline Hall of Fame nominee list

This year, for the first-time ever, the public was invited into the nomination process and asked to vote on WSOP.com for the player they believed most deserving of the honor.

Voting was open from May 29th to July 2nd, and now after a month of collecting votes, WSOP.com has released the names of the top 10 most-nominated players.

The nominees are (in alphabetical order):

• Tom Dwan
• Barry Greenstein
• Dan Harrington
• Phil Ivey
• Tom McEvoy
• Men Nguyen
• Scotty Nguyen
• Daniel Negreanu
• Erik Seidel
• Mike Sexton

Once these nominations have been vetted by the Poker Hall of Fame Governing Council, a final list of candidates will be compiled.

The final vote will then be done by the 15 living members of the Hall of Fame along with a 15-person media panel, with the chosen player or players announced at an induction ceremony in concert with the WSOP Main Event Final Table in November.

In total, over 41 different names received multiple nominations during the public process including:

• Patrik Antonius
• Humberto Brenes
• Mike Caro
• Norman Chad
• Allen Cunningham
• Ivan Demidov
• Eric Drache
• Annie Duke
• John Duthie
• Sam Farha
• Chris Ferguson
• Ted Forrest
• Andy Glazer
• Bertrand Grospellier
• Gus Hansen
• Jennifer Harman-Traniello
• Jay Heimowitz
• Rob Hollink
• Jesper Hougaard
• Phil Laak
• Howard Lederer
• Marcel Luske
• Mike Matusow
• Chris Moneymaker
• Luca Pagano
• Greg Raymer
• Matt Savage
• David Sklansky

To be considered, a poker player must have the following qualifications:

• Must have played poker against acknowledged top competition
• Played for high stakes
• Played consistently well, gaining the respect of peers
• Stood the test of time
• Or, for non-players, contributed to the overall growth and success of the game of poker, with indelible positive and lasting results.

All of the above names remain eligible for future consideration.

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Full Tilt Poker Launches FIVE Promotion for Fifth Birthday

Full Tilt Poker turns five years-old in 2009. For the next 10 days, the world’s second largest online poker site is celebrating in a big way, giving players the ability to earn extra Full Tilt Points (FTPs), boost their bankroll through freerolls, and participate in richer Sunday majors.

On Thursday, July 9th, a $20,000 freeroll will kick off the festivities. After being introduced on Wednesday, the event is already sold out at 30,005 players. A disclaimer that appears on Full Tilt Poker’s website notes, “Sorry, the $20K Freeroll has reached the maximum number of players. Registration is now closed.” The event takes place at 17:05 ET and is one of the largest freerolls ever offered on Full Tilt.

Beginning next Tuesday, July 14th, at 00:05 ET, the online poker room will offer its members an opportunity to earn FTPs five times faster over a 24 hour period. The offer is valid in any cash game, sit and go, or multi-table tournament. From July 14th through 19th, all regularly scheduled Happy Hours will become even happier, as FTPs will be awarded at five times their normal rate. A yellow smiley face symbol will appear next to tables during Happy Hours.

Players shut out of the $20,000 freeroll will undoubtedly be headed in droves to play in $5,000 freerolls that take place every five hours. The tournaments run from 00:05 ET on July 14th through 20:05 ET on July 19th and the buy-in for each is five FTPs. To register, Full Tilt Poker players are advised to head to the Tournament lobby and look for tournaments shaded in pink. Alternately, FTPs can be redeemed in the Full Tilt Store for a variety of merchandise.

Starting at 00:00 ET on July 14th, Full Tilt will award 5X Bust-Out Bounties. Members of Team Full Tilt will be signing up for tournaments with more than 30 players. Knock any of them out and players will take home five times their buy-in as a reward. Tournaments that boast Team Full Tilt members in their field will be shaded in red in the site’s lobby. Those slated to participate include Howard Lederer, 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) dual bracelet winner Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, 2008 WSOP Europe Main Event Champion John Juanda, Jennifer Harman, Phil Gordon, Erick Lindgren, Erik Seidel, Andy Bloch, Gus Hansen, Mike Matusow, Allen Cunningham, and Patrik Antonius.

On July 19th, Full Tilt will be adding $700,000 to the prize pools of its Sunday majors. The Sunday Brawl, a $256 buy-in bounty tournament, will see its guarantee boosted from $350,000 to $500,000. Each player in the Sunday Brawl has a $40 bounty on his or her head. The player who records the most number of knockouts earns entry into the following week’s event.

The regularly scheduled Full Tilt $1 Million Guarantee will instead boast a $1.5 million guaranteed prize pool on July 19th. The $535 buy-in tournament runs once per month and replaces the $750,000 Guaranteed, which has a price tag of $216. Finally, the purse up for grabs in the $216 buy-in Sunday Mulligan will be $250,000, up from its regular total of $200,000. The Sunday Mulligan serves as one final chance for players to take home a sizable score in a weekend tournament.

Full Tilt Poker is fresh off unveiling the schedule for its 13th Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS). A total of 25 tournaments will pan out beginning on August 5th and culminating in a $535 buy-in $2.5 million guaranteed Main Event on August 16th. In September, an affordable MiniFTOPS schedule will begin. During FTOPS XII, the MiniFTOPS series ran concurrently with its high-stakes counterpart. This time around, the events will occur one month apart.

607 Players Survive WSOP Main Event Day 2A

Day 2A of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event began with 1,478 players, compared with the 2,922 prepared to play on Day 2B. However, it ended with only 607 survivors.

Andrew Gaw, from the Philippines, was the overall chip leader at the end of the night with 386,000, while Eric Cloutier is right on his heels with 383,000. Amazingly, Cloutier began play with only 15,000 chips after a clerical error that reported him as being the chip leader after Day 1A. It has been confirmed this time that the former professional hockey player is near the top of the leaderboard after going on an unimaginable rush on Day 2A.

Several big names advanced to Day 3, including former world champions Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, Greg “Fossilman” Raymer, and Carlos Mortensen. Other bracelet winners moving on were Greg “FBT” Mueller, Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Mike Sexton, Thor Hansen, Vitaly Lunkin, Burt Boutin, Tom Schneider, Sam Farha, Farzad Rouhani, Erik Seidel, Bill Edler, Ted Lawson, and Roland de Wolfe.

Mueller has the most chips of any former bracelet winner heading into Day 3. He won two bracelets at this year’s WSOP and finished the day with a stack of 287,000. Both of his wins came in Limit Hold’em and combined for more than $650,000. Poker pro Kyle Wilson, a good friend of Mueller’s, ended the day with 306,000.

Notable celebrities who resumed play on Day 2A included actor and comedian Jason Alexander, world famous cricket player Shane Warne, actor and comedian Brad Garrett, and music manager Rene Angelil. Alexander, seated with Greg Raymer on the ESPN featured table for all of Tuesday, joins Warne as the only survivors of that group heading into Day 3.

With more than half of the field disappearing on Tuesday, there were several prominent names sent home. One of the first was Gus Hansen, who was unable to repeat his deep run in the Main Event last year. Hansen got his entire stack in on the turn with the nut straight against an opponent’s set of threes, but the board paired on the river to give the other player a full house and eliminate Hansen.

Others sent home early on Day 1A were former two-time Main Event champion Johnny Chan, Tony G, Barry Greenstein, Todd Brunson, John “World” Hennigan, Mike Matusow, and Amarillo Slim.

A horde of cameras and media members made their way over to Phil Laak’s table when his tournament was on the line during the second level of the day. A short-stacked Laak moved all-in with Q-9 and was called by a player with pocket eights. After Laak spiked a Queen on the flop, his opponent made a flush on the river to send him to the rail. Laak’s girlfriend, actress Jennifer Tilly, also made her exit on Day 1A.

Here’s a look at some notables who advanced to Day 3 of the 2009 WSOP Main Event:

Greg ‘FBT’ Mueller - 287,300
Andy Black - 215,700
Mike Sexton - 169,000
Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi - 166,400
Vitaly Lunkin - 135,900
Tom Schneider - 123,700
Joe Sebok - 122,800
Greg Raymer - 95,900
Jason Alexander - 73,700
Farzad Rouhani - 70,000
Sam Farha - 67,500
Carlos Mortensen - 57,900
Bill Edler - 57,300
Erik Seidel - 55,600
Roland de Wolfe - 21,200

Day 2B will get underway at Noon Pacific Time on Wednesday. Troy Weber holds an overwhelming lead over the rest of the field with 353,000 chips; no other player has hit the 200,000 mark. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for updates on all of today’s happenings at the 2009 WSOP Main Event.

Andy Black poised for deep Main Event finish

"I like that they keep moving me closer to the door so it's easier to go have a cigarette," said Black on his way outside for an end-of-day smoke and a quick chat with PL.com.

Black's been on a roll at the 2009 WSOP, cashing in four events.

He began the WSOP with a 19th place finish in the $40k Commemorative Hold'em event, taking home $71,858.

After surviving Day 2A with a chip stack at 220k, Black appears to be primed to make a deep run in the Main Event after an up-and-down day that ended way up.

"I picked up kings against aces and I lost, and that cost me 30k and I dropped back down to 50k," said Black of his fortunes early in the day. "I had AK a couple of times and put about 25k in against pairs, and won both of them."

One of those big AK vs. pocket pair hands came late in the day when Black picked his spot with Big Slick.

"I realize that people are really affected differently by the pressure at different points," Black said.

"A woman that had been playing pretty tight moved all in for 26k, and I picked up AK on the small blind. I felt that this was her time that she had sort of cracked up. The original raiser had queens and laid them down. She only had fours, and that was really it."

The late-day run never stopped for Black, whose best finish at the WSOP came in 2005, when he finished 5th in the Main Event and won $1,750,000.

A poker player since traveling to the WSOP in 1997 and getting knocked out by eventual Main Event champ Stu Ungar, Black has converted his experience into success in recent years, cashing 10 times in the last three years at the WSOP.

He's hoping that this year's Main Event is cash No. 11.

"I'm a bit older and a bit wiser," Black said. I remember Mike Matusow saying last year that not many people know how to get through this tournament."

"If you have been through it, you realize that you're going to hit long dry spells of cards. Sometimes the best you can do is just hang in there, and then you'll have your rushes."

Black's known for a legend that says in 1998, after being eliminated in the Main Event, he sold all of his possessions and moved to England to join a monastic culture for five years before returning to poker in 2004.

The Irishman shed a little bit of light on the story and wanted to clear up some confusion.

"I didn't sell my possessions," said Black. I didn't have any f-----g possessions."

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