Poker News

Lisandro plays Hold’em stud at EPT London

Unfortunately for tournament players the world over, it wasn't a very long one.

"I needed a few weeks to not play any at all and I did that," The Australian born Sicilian told PokerListings during a break on Day 2 at PokerStars EPT London, where he sits among the overnight chip leaders.

"After a few weeks I was ready to get into again."

The three bracelets Lisandro won at the 2009 WSOP, and a fourth he managed to grab at the 2007 WSOP, all came in Stud events.

With a final-table appearance at EPT Barcelona in 2007 and what's shaping up to be a deep run here in London, Lisandro has proved his proficiency in No-Limit Hold'em as well.

But that doesn't necessarily mean he likes the game.

"I find [No-Limit Hold'em] the hardest to get the most consistent results in," he said. "The other games, the structure is such that if you are chip leader, it takes a lot of work to lose those chips, so you can maintain your momentum.

"That's why I get a little bit disgruntled with No-Limit Hold'em, because sometimes I come to a tournament and I play a perfect game. I play every hand well, I build up chips without making a hand, make all the right moves, bet the right flops, make the right raises and then I'll finally pick up a big hand, kings or aces, and they'll knock me off. Or I'll have ace-king against some goofy hand and then I'm done."

According to Lisandro, skill shines in Limit games, but No-Limit Hold'em allows luck to creep into the equation.

"In No-Limit Hold'em it's like you are being tested all the time," he said. "It can be very heartbreaking when you go through three days, you've played a perfect game, you finally pick up the aces, a guy pushes you all in and they don't hold up.

"Even though you've got confidence in your game and you are going to keep going out there and doing what you always do, luck plays a big role in it."

The competition in No-Limit Hold'em is also getting stronger every day and Lisandro has taken note.

"These days a lot of people play No-Limit Hold'em well," he said. "It's the only game they know and as good as I used to play it, they've got the edge on me because it's the only game they play and they play a lot of it."

Despite his star rising to the top of the poker sky at this summer's World Series, Lisandro plays without sponsorship from a major poker site, a fact he wonders about often.

"To tell you the truth, I had so much press from magazines, so many interviews on the Internet and no one has come up to me with a deal," he said.

"I don't know why. I guess that's life. It's just such a waste that I had so much TV time and I could have been endorsing someone's product. I'll probably end up getting my own site and sponsor myself or I guess I'm going to keep trying to win tournaments until I get somebody that wants to sponsor me."

A high-stakes cash game legend long before he took the World Series by storm this summer, Lisandro says he'll likely head to Macau, China this month to play in what he hears are some of the juiciest high-stakes games going these days.

But for now, he's focused on EPT London and how he can top his amazing 2009 WSOP.

"It's really hard to be consistent in poker and I think I've been the model of consistency the last seven years," he said. "Every year I've done a lot better than average and it's really hard to keep bettering yourself.

"I don't know what will happen next year. How could I ever dream of having a better year? What can I say? It was phenomenal, and it just gets harder and harder to get better - Harder and harder to top."

For all the action from PokerStars EPT London, including chip counts, photos and live updates, click through to PokerListings' Live Tournaments page.

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Sarah Champion is the new face of Sky Poker

Actress and radio presenter Sarah Champion will join Tony Kendall, Ed Giddins and co. as the latest member of Sky Poker’s presenting team. Miss Champion who was a model before starting her journalistic career, was deemed the sexiest women in radio by FHM Magazine.

NEOVIA Reports H1 2009 Revenue Loss of 9%

Global payments processor NEOVIA Financial PLC reported a 9% fall in revenue for the half-year ending on June 30th, 2009. The company, which owns the popular e-wallet Neteller, posted group revenue of $32.6 million, down from $35.9 million at the same time last year. Net loss for the first-half was $6.7 million, or $0.06 per diluted share, compared to net profit of $1.15 million, or $0.01 per share, a year ago. The company is traded on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol NEO.

“The first half’s trading results were in line with management’s expectations given the continuing difficult market conditions that prevailed throughout the period,” said Dale Johnson, Chairman of NEOVIA. “We expect trading conditions to remain tough in the second half, with the Company delivering revenue similar to the first half, with prospects for 2010 looking promising.”

NEOVIA’s focus for improvement is centered on adding more consumer and merchant scale to its business and rolling out a new e-wallet business platform called NewTeller, which is scheduled for completion next year.

“The NewTeller platform will launch fully in early 2010 as anticipated, creating much needed flexibility for developing functionality to meet evolving market needs,” Johnson added. “During this period, the Group faces both challenges and opportunities, but remains focused on maximizing revenues, controlling costs, and preserving cash to deliver value for shareholders.”

On a positive note, revenues from the NETBANX Europe and Asia businesses performed better in 2009, up 12% compared to the same period in 2008. Revenues from the Asian business alone grew 40% to $6.9 million. Active e-wallet users were up 3% to 95,492 by June 30th. Average daily deposit volume was up 20% to $475,266 from last year’s mark of $396,413.

NEOVIA CEO Mark Mayhew, who took over the position on September 1st, isn’t worried by the decrease in revenue. “I am very pleased to have joined NEOVIA and am reassured by these results, which demonstrate the resilience of the Company’s business model even in the toughest of economic environments,” said Mayhew. “I shall be concentrating on creating substantial shareholder wealth in the future and the board is fully supportive of this aim. Over the next few months, one of my prime objectives is to focus the Group’s efforts on re-energizing our offering in order to grow revenues demonstrably.”

NEOVIA also announced completion of the investigation by the United States Department of Justice and the handing over of a copy of the Notice of Dismissal of the complaint filed against Neteller. The company received notice that it no longer faced the possibility of legal prosecution after the expiration of its Deferred Prosecution Agreement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. In such an agreement, proceedings in a criminal case are put off for a period of time, subject to certain conditions. At the end of the time period, if all conditions have been met, the charges are dismissed. Neteller was forced to surrender $136 million in July of 2007 after admitting to operating an “unlicensed money transmitting business” and participating in the promotion of “unlawful transactions” between gaming operators and their customers in the United States.

Patrik Selin Reveals Plans for Bodog Network

Recently, Bodog officials announced the launch of the Bodog Network, which will begin accepting non-Bodog domain names next year. At its head is Patrik Selin, a former executive of the Ongame Network. Selin sat down with Poker News Daily to review the new venture.

Poker News Daily: Talk about the idea of developing the Bodog Network. How did it originate?

Selin: The three existing Bodog brand licensees have a respectable level of liquidity, but as I looked around the market, I felt that I could do something new by combining their existing liquidity and strong brands with my experience in the network space. We have a number of new approaches to database protection and rakeback that I believe can help reshape the poker network model, but attempting to launch this from scratch with no liquidity under a new brand would have been quite difficult. I don’t think Bodog was looking to do this, but I assembled a team and the business plan and made the proposal to Calvin Ayre and BodogBrand.

Once the general deal regarding licensing the brand was agreed to in principle, I needed to approach the three brand licensees to get a contractual commitment from each in order to ensure that the liquidity base would be there out of the gate. Then, I had all of the pieces I needed. The strength of the brand was obvious to me, but I felt that if I could secure the rights to use the brand, while also securing commitments from the existing brand licensees, I could take what I’ve learned in the market to turn what was, in effect, a brand-licensee-only network into something that could be made available to the global marketplace. It was a long negotiation and didn’t happen overnight, but I am extremely excited to have been able to put this together. We’re going to do something great here.

PND: Prior to the Network, were the player bases of the individual Bodog licensees separated? Or how does the Network change the status quo?

Selin: From a legal perspective, the Network changes the status quo in the sense that I have now acquired the source to the proprietary Bodog poker product. However, while all three brand licensees naturally maintain and protect their own customer databases, the liquidity has always been shared, so in that sense there is no immediate impact on the player bases. This is only the short-term situation – the enhancements to the product and non-Bodog-branded operators in 2010 will dramatically increase liquidity and we expect our unique approach to the rakeback challenge to be game-changing.

PND: What criteria will you have for future non-Bodog licensees?

Selin: Principally, we are looking for and are in discussions with medium and large poker operators who are willing to invest in marketing. We will not be focused on smaller skins that are simply looking for a liquidity base.

PND: How many licensees do you plan to bring onboard and who is charged with vetting prospective licensees?

Selin: This is not specifically constrained, as the goal is not a defined number of operators, but rather liquidity. Jonas and I will be principally responsible for vetting new licensees. Our goal is to be in the top three networks for player liquidity. However, we will be focusing on fewer, larger partners.

PND: Talk about the challenges of operating a network given the struggling worldwide economy. How do you plan to combat them?

Selin: There’s no question that the global economy is a serious consideration and, while online gaming is more resilient to economic factors than many other sectors, it’s not immune. However, our research demonstrates that the industry in general, and poker in particular, continues to grow. One metric we looked at was that online gaming currently constitutes only 8% of the total worldwide gambling marketing and, as internet penetration continues and emerging markets embrace poker as an entertainment venue, we expect this sector to maintain an upward curve. Also, naturally, when any industry is squeezed, product excellence and brand differentiation become even more important – it is here we believe we can excel.

PND: Can Bodog compete with sites like PokerStars and Full Tilt in terms of player volume?

Selin: We have enormous respect for PokerStars and Full Tilt and they the way they have developed their businesses, but our goal is to create something new. We expect the overall pie to continue to grow and our objective is to be among the top three for player liquidity. We believe we can and will bring something unique to the market, so we certainly expect to be competitive with the best of the best.

PND: We’ve seen the resurgence of Calvin Ayre despite his purportedly retiring from the company in a day-to-day management role. Will we continue to see more of the Bodog founder in the future?

Selin: Calvin’s role still seems to be largely misunderstood. His role is no longer with the operators at all – he just works with the group that licenses the brand. Alwyn, Keith, and Ian run their respective businesses and I’ll be running mine. Calvin is a larger-than-life individual who continues to be strongly associated with the brand he created, so when he creates attention for the brand, that’s typically a good thing for those of us who license the trademarks, etc. I honestly don’t know what his plans are as far as public exposure. I do know that BodogBrand.com is in the midst of other brand licensing discussions, so I would imagine that we might see more of Calvin in the future.

CBS to air Ante Up For Africa Monte Carlo

Two one-hour shows featuring action from the star-studded event to benefit Darfur are set to air on the US network Today [Sept. 19] at 1:30 p.m. EST and Saturday, Sept. 26 at 2 p.m. EST, leading into its popular college football coverage.

Modelled on the World Series of Poker's Ante Up For Africa event created by Don Cheadle, Annie Duke and Norman Epstein, the $6,000 buy-in event saw stars from the worlds of television, sports and music take on a host top poker professionals.

Celebrities including Christina Milian, Nelly, Joel Madden, Jason Lewis, James Lee, and Boris Becker were joined by Team PokerStars Pros Daniel Negreanu, Joe Hachem and Vanessa Rousso on the felt.

Former Team PokerStars Pro Isabelle Mercier actually won the tournament defeating English football legend Teddy Sheringham heads-up.

All of the prize money was donated to help fund the work of charities that provide aid and assistance to the humanitarian efforts in Darfur.

"Each year at the World Series of Poker, I make a point to play in Ante Up for Africa," said Rousso.

"It's amazing that PokerStars hosted the event in Monte Carlo to help a worthy cause and bring some fun to the table during one of their biggest events of the year."

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Bodog Network Launched Featuring Former Ongame Executive

Former Ongame Network CEO Patrik Selin is leading the launch of the Bodog Network, whose player base consists of customers of Bodog Europe, the Morris Mohawk Gaming Group, and Haydock Entertainment.

The newly forged network plans to incorporate non-Bodog domains starting in 2010. A gaming license for the European Union will also be unveiled next year. Selin commented in a press release distributed by Bodog, “I intend to build one of the largest and most reputable poker networks in the world. We are building a model that is founded on security and integrity, and Bodog Network partners will never need to disclose or put their customer databases at risk. The initial discussions I’ve had regarding potential candidate partners have been overwhelmingly positive.”

The news comes on the heels of the launch of Bodog.ca, which serves as the popular online poker room’s Canadian-facing portal. Bodog Europe holds the rights to market the site to the Canadian market. Founder Calvin Ayre commented on the fast-paced growth of Bodog, which has seen its market share slide over the past year: “I am extremely excited about this new licensee of BodogBrand.com - Bodog Network is the first business to business enterprise to license the brand and the fit simply couldn’t be better. Patrik Selin’s very detailed business plan and proposal were very compelling, and after building Ongame into a network powerhouse under his leadership, his abilities and credibility are unquestionable.”

Selin was at the helm when bwin acquired the Ongame Network back in 2006. He has also been successful on the poker felts, turning in a runner-up performance in 2007 in a £2,500 buy-in tournament held during the National Poker League in London for £20,000. He finished in the winner’s circle in the Ritz Club Poker Tournament, which was also held in London, for £22,000 in 2006. Selin finished 500th in the 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, banking $26,000, albeit a far cry from the $12 million pocketed by eventual winner Jamie Gold.

Upon bwin’s acquisition of Ongame in 2006, Selin served as the President and CEO of GNUF and Betway. BodogBrand.com is based in Antigua and is the licensing arm for Bodog across the world. Bodog ranks as the 15th largest site/network globally according to PokerScout.com, boasting a seven-day running average of 810 real money ring game players. During its peak hours, which occur in the evening across North America, nearly double that total can be found battling it out on its virtual cash game tables. Its traffic is comparable with that found on PKR.

Bodog is the fifth largest site to accept players from the United States, trailing only PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, CEREUS (Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker), and the family of rooms that make up the Cake Poker Network. Year over year, Bodog’s traffic is off by 8% according to PokerScout.com, while that found on Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars is up 110% and 56%, respectively.

Bodog plans to unleash a “much-anticipated and unique solution to the rakeback challenge” this week at an event in Copenhagen, according to its release, but did not provide any further details. Its family of pros consists of David Williams, Evelyn Ng, online poker staple Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, and “Survivor: China” castaway Jean-Robert Bellande, who recently re-upped his deal.

Bodog recently announced that players would receive double poker points if more than 2,000 were earned in a calendar month. Bonus points are placed in a customer’s account at the end of each month and can then be exchanged for cash or used as buy-ins to designated tournaments. Points are earned in cash games depending on the rake taken from each pot and in tournaments at a rate of three points per $1 of tournament fees.

High Heels Poker Tour Signs Sponsorship Deal With PokerStars

Poker has traditionally been a masculine pursuit, but women have been making inroads into the game since the boom earlier this century. One only has to look at Annie Duke’s performance in the first WSOP Tournament of Champions or Vanessa Rousso’s runner-up finish at this year’s National Heads Up Poker Championship to realize that women are a formidable part of today’s poker world. A tournament schedule to promote female participation in the game, the High Heels Poker Tour, recently signed on PokerStars as a sponsor to further the number of women who participate in poker.

In an announcement late last week, PokerStars will help to support the tournaments that make up the HHPT schedule from this point on. “PokerStars has all of the attributes in a online partner that female players crave…an incredible variety of quick, entertaining games that range from low buy in sit and goes and cash games to serious tournament play, all in an environment where women can learn the game, develop their skills, and truly become champions”, Lauren Failla, founder of the High Heels Poker Tour, stated during the announcement. “With champions like Vanessa Rousso, Katja Thater, and Vicky Coren, our players have a whole new set of role models to emulate and challenge, online and at the tables.” As a part of the new sponsorship with PokerStars, the High Heels Poker Tour will be conducting their Grand Final as a part of the festivities of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas this January.

The first HHPT event, which was held on August 22nd at the Turning Stone Resort Casino, was won by Texas’ Kathy Talerico and leads into what will be a hectic two months of action on the HHPT schedule. After New York, the tour heads south to Florida, where four tournaments are set to take place across the state.

First up for the players on the HHPT is Dania, FL, and a $125 buy in tournament at Dania Jai-Alai. Set to begin at 4PM on September 12th, players will start out with 6000 chips and play down to a champion that evening. After the Dania tournament, players on the HPPT will have the opportunity to relax before heading into a three tournament run in the month of October.

On October 2nd, the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino will play host to the High Heels Poker Tour in Hollywood, FL. The tournament is scheduled to start at 6:30PM and, as of yet, the starting chip stacks haven’t been determined. The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino is demonstrating its support of the HHPT by making their tournament a prominent part of its “Main Event Tournament Week” schedule. The month of October finishes off with a couple of charitable outreaches by the HHPT with a trip to Tampa Bay Downs on October 10th for the “Battle of the Sexes To Battle Breast Cancer” and the organization will be in charge of the poker activities at the Trump International Beach Resort on October 17th for a benefit for the Friends of the Israel Defense Fund Casino Night.

The High Heels Poker Tour will be looking to expand to several different locations in 2010. While dates are not yet locked in for the tournaments, the HHPT is in discussion with such casinos as the Horseshoe in Hammond, Indiana, Harvey’s Lake Tahoe in Nevada, the Canadian Poker Expo in Toronto, Canada and others to hold HHPT events.

The High Heels Poker Tour also holds their very own Academy, with 2010 dates to be announced soon, that assists in teaching the game to more women. Such popular female players as Women In Poker Hall of Fame members Barbara Enright, Susie Issacs and Marsha Waggoner, along with current pros Kristy Gazes, Karina Jett and Joanne “J. J.” Liu, offer the wealth of their experience for other female players to learn from. For more information on the organization, visit the High Heels Poker Tour website to learn more.

888 Holdings’ Poker Revenues Down 35% in First Half of 2009

The parent company of online poker room 888 Pacific Poker, 888 Holdings, is the latest online gambling business to release the results of their mid-year financial report.  Like many other businesses within the industry, 888.holdings saw significant declines in their earnings and revenues for both their online casino and poker room from 2008 to 2009.

The report, issued by 888 Holdings on August 27th, documented a 13% decrease in overall revenue, down to $117.9 million midway from 2009 compared to $135.4 million for the same period in 2008.  Casino revenue was down 20% from $69.8 million last year to $55.9 this year, but it was 888 Pacific Poker that saw the biggest drop in numbers.  The online poker room saw revenue fall a full 35% in 2009, dropping from $40.2 million in 2008 to just $26.2 million in the period from January to June of this year.  A statement released concurrently with the report attributed the decline to currency movements and the overall economic downturn, two issues numerous businesses within and without of the gambling industry have become intimately familiar with over the past several months.

While 888’s business to consumer ventures are struggling so far this year, the company saw massive gains in their business to business dealings.  The introduction of a new dedicated business to business company operating under the name Dragonfish has worked out well for 888 Holdings so far.  The official site for Dragonfish claims the site offers, “total gaming service,” and has brokered several major deals so far this year.  Just a few of the big business to business deals recently conducted through Dragonfish include an extensive deal with the Racing Post to develop an online casino and sports book, the development of casinos and poker rooms in the Balkans and partnering with several small online bingo companies.

The revenue for 888 Holding’s business to business dealings were up an impressive 42%, ballooning from $17 million in 2008 to $24.3 million in the first half of this year.  The performance of Dragonfish and a substantial revenue upswing for 888 Holdings’ emergent business offerings helped to temper their losses in their poker and casino businesses.

Chief Executive Officer of 888 Holdings, Gigi Levy, offered his own opinions on the company’s performance during the first half of 2009 in an official press release.  “The first six months of trading for 888 in 2009 have demonstrated the strength of the combined business model that comprises a world class B2C operator and an innovative and comprehensive B2B service provider,” stated Levy.  “While consumer sentiment is still weak and currencies remain volatile, we are trading solidly.”

The report also highlighted some of the recent developments with Pacific Poker over the past six months.  Most notably, the site introduced a new version of their poker client with 25 new features and upgraded the overall design of the site.  Some of 888’s other poker-related projects included the launch of pub poker leagues in the UK and Australia and the launch of a new poker reality show called “Poker Ashes”.  The show pits online qualifiers from 888 Pacific Poker against top rugby players from the UK and Australia like Shane Warne.

The statement from 888 Holdings also looked towards the future of the online poker market, addressing the pending legislation to regulate and tax online poker in the United States.  The company also mentioned the ongoing World Trade Organization as to whether or not the United States discriminating against European gambling companies.  As of now, the European Union and the US have not reached a settlement regarding the issue, but the company cited the case as something it is going to be closely following in the coming months.

PokerStars sponsors High Heels Poker Tour

The world's largest poker site has signed on board as the official sponsor of the all-women High Heels Poker Tour (HHPT).

Founded in 2007, the HHPT was created to empower women who had the desire to become champions in the growing world of poker.

Since then the tour has crowned countless winners and helped stimulate even more expansion in women's poker.

The PokerStars sponsorship should only help its cause.

"PokerStars has all the attributes in an online partner that female players crave: an incredible variety of quick, entertaining games that range from low buy-in sit and goes and cash games to serious tournament play, all in an environment where women can learn the game, develop their skills and truly become champions," said Lauren Failla, founder of the HHPT.

"With champions like Vanessa Rousso, Katja Thater and Vicky Coren, our players will have a whole new set of role models to emulate and challenge, online and at the tables."

The PokerStars sponsorship will include support for the HHPT's growing roster of tournaments, which begin this month with a stop at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, NY. After New York the tour heads to Florida for events in Dania, Hollywood and Tampa.

This year the HHPT will be offering a grand finale $1,000 buy-in ladies event at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in January 2010.

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2 Months. 2 Million: Dani’s Downswing, Emil’s Personal Assistant (Lingerie Model) Quest, and More

The second episode of G4's 2 Months. 2 Million showcased our quartet on what many would call a poker player's home away from home-- the golf course. As they played for $1,000 a hole, we quickly discovered that Dani "Ansky" Stern is by far the worst...

The Nightly Turbo: A New Poker Show, WPT News, and Durrrr Modeling?

You've come to the right place if you want to save time by getting your poker news all in one place. We're taking full credit for that improvement in your poker game

Billy Kopp Signs With UltimateBet

Just last week we revealed that model, poker pro and sometime-Bluff Europe blogger Liv Boeree had become the newest member of Team UltimateBet. It was a title she did not hold for long – Billy Kopp is now the newest member alongside Liv, Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth.

Hellmuth, ElkY, Juanda and Dario join Caesars Cup

In addition to Phil Ivey, captain Daniel Negreanu has chosen 11-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth and the 2008 WSOPE Main Event champ John Juanda to represent Team Americas.

Meanwhile, captain Annette Obrestad has added WPT and EPT title holder Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier and WSOP bracelet winner Dario Minieri to a Team Europe roster that already includes 2008 WSOP Main Event champ Peter Eastgate.

Modeled after golf's Ryder Cup, the Caesars Cup is a made-for-TV tournament taking place Sept. 26 during the 2009 WSOP Europe.

The event pits Europe's best against North America's top players in a battle for international bragging rights.

The format will feature both heads-up and team contests and include alternate betting and other non-traditional elements as players aim to win points for their respective teams.

Each team will eventually consist of eight players.

Team Europe will also have one member qualify through a leaderboard race on Betfair Poker.

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Matt Parvis Joins PokerNews from Bluff

This week, former Bluff Magazine Editor-in-Chief Matt Parvis transitioned to the same role with PokerNews. Former Bluff Magazine Online Editor Lance Bradley will now assume the role of Editor-in-Chief at Bluff Magazine.

Bradley was the Poker Room Manager for Bodog from 2004 to 2006, according to a press release distributed by Bluff. He then moved onto ThePokerBiz.com before joining Bluff in 2008. Bradley commented in a Bluff article, “I’m very excited about this opportunity. For five years now, Bluff has been at the forefront of the poker industry and I hope to continue that tradition and deliver a magazine and website that poker fans recognize as the leader.” His predecessor, one of the leading faces in the online poker industry, sat down with Poker News Daily to discuss his new role.

Poker News Daily: Can you give us the background of signing with PokerNews?

Parvis: I’ve been with Bluff Magazine coming up on four years. I had nothing but good times and good experiences throughout my stint. From that regard, I’ve been very happy. I have a lot of respect for the people who work there and think that we put out a great product. I like to think that I helped push the bar in terms of expanding the idea of what a poker magazine should be.

When I started with Bluff, they had been in the works for about a year. I stepped in as Managing Editor working with Michael Cassell in London. We helped transform what a poker magazine should be, which is an entertainment portal.

The opportunity with PokerNews didn’t present itself until a day or two after the World Series of Poker. PokerNews has always been a really strong player in the market. They launched about the same time as Bluff, but used a slightly different model. It was poker news every day on your computer. At the time, there wasn’t something providing that information.

PND: In addition to providing news, your new home also hosts freerolls and offers a full forum, among other features. How do you effectively mesh all of these components together?

Parvis: I’m still in the process of wrapping my head around everything here. Everything we do is translated into 27 different languages. We also have to ensure that we’re providing accurate, fair reports on the poker world. We’re all out there trying to get a small number of stories. In poker, we’re all battling for the same stories. It’s not so much about getting stories first. We’re all going to win our battles here and there and be the first to scoop something. Instead, it’s a battle to create a strong voice that our readers can count on.

PND: Can you fill us in on the future of Bluff Magazine?

Parvis: Lance Bradley, who I’ve worked closely with for two years now, is taking over my role at Bluff. He’s in charge of the web content, is extremely capable and competent, and understands the poker industry because of his background with Bodog. Bluff is in good hands. There won’t be any lapse in what they’re able to do because Lance is such a qualified person and we worked closely together. We share a similar vision and idea. Bluff readers can expect a quality magazine and I don’t think they’ll see any lapse or regression by any means.

PND: Tell us about your vision for PokerNews.

Parvis: I will be overseeing the editorial content of the PokerNews.com site. I’ll be working with Garry Gates, who has done a great job of leading our tournament reporting team. It’s very important that all aspects of a business work hand in hand. There should be one center wheel and every spoke coming off of it is a branch of the business. We need to have a centralized focus and a centralized message. The poker industry is still very young in comparison to mainstream media. Poker is, in a way, a step behind, so it’s important to catch up with the rest of the media and strive towards making sure our fans have a voice.

Don Topel Wins $200,000 on Face the Ace Premiere, Will Play for $1 Million

Saturday night marked the debut of the NBC poker show Face the Ace. Two contestants took to the felts during the premiere, headlined by truck driver Don Topel, who won $200,000 after defeating Full Tilt Poker pros Erick Lindgren and Howard Lederer. Next week, Topel will play for $1 million.

Face the Ace’s set is a lounge at a Las Vegas casino, boasting the tagline, “Think you’re a poker shark? Then prove it.” A montage of Face the Ace pros – all from Full Tilt Poker – then hit television airwaves. In fact, the logo of the NBC show bears a striking resemblance to the logo of the world’s second largest online poker site, Full Tilt. Contestants face one “ace” for $40,000. If they’re successful, they can take the money and run or battle against another top-tier pro for $200,000. Win a second match and a player can walk away six-figures richer or square off against a third “ace” for $1 million. If a contestant loses at any time, they’ll walk away with nothing and the pro banks $10,000 for the charity of their choice.

The first contestant was Jonathan Nygaard from Jonestown, Pennsylvania. Show host Steve Schirripa, of HBO’s The Sopranos, fame, noted that Nygaard served in both the U.S. Marines and Navy and was shot in the line of duty. Each of four smoke-filled doors held one “ace” and Nygaard selected the ace of spades. Schirripa gave a brief biography of the “ace” in question and 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) November Nine member Phil Ivey strolled onstage after his door was opened by Deal or No Deal model Megan Abrigo.

On the first hand between Nygaard and Ivey, the Full Tilt Pro raised to 1,400 with A-8 and Nygaard looked down at pocket rockets, making it 3,400. Ivey made the call to see a flop of J-9-4 with two diamonds. Nygaard bet out 4,500 and Ivey surrendered, causing Nygaard to comment that it was a “tough fold.” In the match’s deciding hand, Ivey made it 1,400 pre-flop with A-4 and Nygaard re-raised to 5,400 with pocket queens. Ivey promptly pushed and Nygaard called, putting the November Nine member at risk. The board ran out J-8-J-3-7, giving Nygaard his first win and $40,000. A somewhat bashful Ivey commented, “He played real aggressive. I didn’t think he had a hand, so I moved all-in and I was wrong.”

Nygaard opted to take the $40,000 and walk instead of facing off against a second ace. In his place came Topel, a 41 year-old from Midlothian, Illinois whose mother and sister live with him. Topel selected the ace of diamonds, who was revealed as 2008 WSOP Player of the Year Erick Lindgren. On the first hand, Topel made the call with J-10 and Lindgren checked his option with Q-5. The flop came 4-10-3 and the action went check-check. The turn was a deuce. Lindgren checked, Topel bet 600 with top pair, and Lindgren’s 11 outs appeared across the top of the screen: four aces, four sixes, and three queens. Lindgren raised to 2,100 and Topel called. The river was a six, giving Lindgren a straight. The pro bet 4,000 and Topel quickly released his hand.

Lindgren won the match’s first three hands before Topel flopped top pair and a flush draw with K-J of hearts to take down his first pot. In a key hand between the two foes, Lindgren made the call pre-flop with A-5 of clubs and Topel raised to 2,800 with A-9 of diamonds. Lindgren shoved and offered Topel the opportunity to see one card, exposing the five of clubs. Topel called and found he was ahead to the flop of 10-7-2 with two diamonds. Topel was 85% to win before a five hit the turn, dropping the challenger to a 27% underdog. However, the river was the jack of diamonds, doubling Topel up.

In the final hand between Topel and Lindgren, the challenger raised to 2,000 pre-flop with J-5 of hearts and the pro made the call with 9-7 of diamonds. The flop came 9-2-2 with two hearts. Lindgren checked, Topel bet 3,500, and Lindgren pushed all-in for 5,100 more. Topel made the call and a four of hearts on the turn gave him a flush and a $40,000 payday. Schirripa joked, “You got one step out of the basement.” Despite making $60,000 per year as a truck driver, Topel elected to risk his newfound winnings, choosing the ace of hearts, Howard Lederer.

Lederer and Topel each started with 100 big blinds and the Full Tilt icon came out swinging, taking down the first two major pots shown. In the match-up’s deciding hand, Lederer looked down at A-Q of spades and raised to 10,000. Topel picked up pocket kings and made it 30,000. Lederer pushed and Topel called, creating a pot of 188,000, or 94% of the chips in play. The flop came J-3-10, giving Lederer a gutshot straight draw, but the board bricked out, doubling Topel up. Lederer doubled up once before ultimately falling with 2-4 of diamonds against Topel’s Q-9 after Lederer’s flush and straight draws failed to hit. Lederer commented, “He played well. He has a reasonable chance [to win $1 million].”

Topel elected to risk his $200,000 payday and play on for $1 million. Face the Ace returns next Saturday, August 8th, at 9:00pm ET on NBC.

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.

Visit PokerListings.com

Biggest Surprises of National Poker Week

National Poker Week attracted 33 State Directors from the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) plus a throng of the game’s elite to Washington, DC. In the end, over 100 meetings were held on Capitol Hill. Poker News Daily was on-hand for the festivities and reviews several of the surprises of National Poker Week.

Prepare to Meet with Aides

If poker players take the time to visit their Congressmen, they should be prepared to meet with staff members. Being a Congressman means running frenetically between meetings, votes, and other pressing matters. Although conferencing with constituents is important, Congressmen have a full plate. Staffers are extremely influential, a point echoed by lawmakers like Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL) and former three-term Senator Alfonse D’Amato (R-NY) during National Poker Week. Congressmen regularly defer to aides for insight on both critical issues and those that may not receive front-page headlines. Therefore, don’t be discouraged meeting with Congressional staffs.

Poker Really is a Game of Skill

A study by Cigital and PokerStars performed in December studied 103 million cash game hands on the world’s most popular online poker site. The results revealed that 75% of pots did not go to showdown. Instead, the process of betting and bluffing took down hands. It’s one thing for industry representatives to say that poker is a game of skill; it’s completely different to hear the sentiment from an American lawmaker. Congressmen Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA), for example, told online poker forum PocketFives.com in an interview, “Poker is a sport of skill. If you don’t believe that, you need to watch some of the tournaments on television and understand that these are very talented people. They can win a hand with a lot worse cards than anybody else. It is a game of skill and not just what cards fall.” Well said.

Importance of Personal Stories

When you meet with Congressmen or their aides, be sure to share your personal story. This was the number one point emphasized by the PPA. The rationale behind sharing your personal story is breaking the stereotype that poker players are shady individuals, far from being law-abiding citizens. Instead, poker players are students, housewives, firefighters, soldiers, doctors, and teachers. They’re just like you and me. Formulate your personal story prior to calling, e-mailing, or visiting your Congressmen. While knowledge of the issue is of paramount importance, it was surprising to learn that the personal story is even more critical.

Generosity Makes the World Go Round

Poker players are an extremely generous group. Churches, synagogues, and other institutions around the world regularly employ poker tournaments as fundraising vehicles. The turnout at the PPA’s charity event was extremely impressive. Some of the world’s top pros were in attendance, including “Celebrity Apprentice” runner-up Annie Duke, who came armed with a fistful of $100 bills in order to rebuy wounded warriors at her table. 2004 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion Greg Raymer imparted knowledge of the game to his tablemates and Howard Lederer (Duke’s brother) tried to out-rebuy his sibling. Generosity really is a quality of poker players. I’ve seen it first-hand.

Poker’s Role Models

The roster of pros that turned out to the PPA’s Fly-In as part of National Poker Week was truly impressive. In addition to Raymer, Duke, and Lederer, the movement to legalize and regulate online poker in the United States also attracted “The First Lady of Poker” Linda Johnson, Women in Poker Hall of Fame member Jan Fisher, former MIT Blackjack Team member Andy Bloch, online poker star Jordan “iMsoLucky0” Morgan, PokerXFactor instructor Chris “Fox” Wallace, and Team PokerStars Pro member Dennis Phillips. Even talk show host and poker veteran Montel Williams turned out, fresh off a trip to Africa.

I’m an economics major, so I’m familiar with opportunity cost. These pros came to Washington, DC voluntarily to help advance the game in the United States. There are plenty of opportunities they passed up in order to attend. My hat is off to each of them. They are truly poker’s role models.

PKR parties in style at World Series shindig

In a party town as wild as Las Vegas it takes a special something to stand out from the crowd. PKR.com’s Vegas shindig, in honour of the formation of Team PKR, had all the necessary ingredients. Mix a teeming bar, a location as glamorous as Hugh Hefner’s Sky Villa, a host of models and some of the top poker players in the game and you’re all set for an epic night.

Lacey Jones signs with Absolute Poker

The signing of Jones comes less than two weeks after Absolute signed accomplished online pro Matt Vengrin.

Jones couldn't be more pleased with her new contract.

"I'm so excited about this amazing new chapter of my career with Absolute Poker," she said. "Our fit couldn't be more perfect and I can't wait to share all of the amazing stuff that's in store with the AP community."

Jones' poker career began with a 32nd-place finish at an invitational celebrity tournament, outlasting the majority of the 360-player field.

Since her poker debut she's cashed in multiple events, including a 75th-place finish in the WSOP Ladies Championship in 2006 and a second-place finish at the 2004 San Diego Super Bowl of Poker.

Outside of poker, Jones is an accomplished model and TV hostess. Her two worlds began to collide almost immediately with the poker world embracing Jones as their go-to poster girl.

After being voted the sexiest girl in poker, she posed for the cover of Bluff magazine in October of 2008, and got the job co-hosting The Real Deal at the Venetian.

Now you'll be able to sit and play with Jones at the tables on Absolute Poker. Use the Absolute Buddy software to find out where she's sitting.

Visit PokerListings.com

Lacey Jones Signs with Absolute Poker

Poker commentator Lacey Jones will take her career to the next level after signing with Absolute Poker this week. Outside of poker, Jones has also appeared on hits like HBO’s “Entourage,” NBC’s “Las Vegas,” and Fox’s “The O.C.” Poker News Daily sat down with Jones to talk about her poker and modeling careers.

Poker News Daily: Talk about how excited you are to sign with Absolute Poker.

Jones: I’m so excited and I feel like it’s the perfect fit. They signed me back in 2005. In 2007, after the passage of the online gambling bill (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) in the United States, they stopped sponsoring pros. I wouldn’t be where I am today without them.

PND: What promotions will we see you participate in on the online poker site?

Jones: We had the win your tuition promotion, so we’ll probably keep doing things with college campuses. I’m starting my own foundation and holding a USO poker tour. Instead of giving money, it’ll be more of a morale booster and we’ll go to bases. The prizes will be WSOP Main Event buy-ins and things like trips. I feel it’s really important to do that and my main focus is on the troops. I considered it back in 2005, but started talking to the USO on my own last year.

PND: The story of how you became involved with ESPN and Absolute Poker is pretty interesting. Can you talk about it?

Jones: I was living in Los Angeles and modeling. I was playing in a lot of home games with directors and producers, which was good networking. I was doing it for fun and my agent called to say that she had an opportunity for me. It was to play in an ESPN Mike and Mike in the Morning charity event for cystic fibrosis, which my uncle died from. I did well in the tournament and a week later, Absolute Poker called my agent and wanted to book me. I met with Mark Seif in Las Vegas and he asked me if I would go pro if they gave me the right tools.

PND: Do you play online poker now?

Jones: I took a break from online poker after the Neteller incident and focused more on my live game. When I signed with Absolute Poker, I remembered how much I love online poker. I can act like a guy online and people don’t treat me like a female. I love reading books on plays and what I should be doing. Then, I can practice them online.

PND: You were voted the Hottest Girl in Poker by Wicked Chops in 2008. Is that flattering or disturbing?

Jones: It’s totally flattering and it’s cool that they said I won by a landslide. I’m so honored to have great fans and friends. When I first started, it was a weird reception. Then, people started seeing how I play. It’s been a long uphill battle.

PND: Do men still treat women differently at the poker tables?

Jones: It’s starting to change, but you still get guys who don’t want to lose a pot to a girl. They will make hero calls or do things they wouldn’t normally do. Other guys will say things like, “Honey, you missed a bet on the turn.” If I know someone will pay me off or raise me, I’ll bait them.

PND: To what degree has reporting on poker improved your own game?

Jones: The best thing about being a reporter is that I’m also asking questions that I want to know the answers to. I am a student because I’m watching from the sidelines. I’m doing my own research to figure out how a person won, what their style is, and how it suits them. Then, I make that part of my game. A lot of people just want to copy one style and that’s not the right way to go.

Absolute Poker Signs Lacey Jones.

Absolute Poker have announced Lacey Jones, a professional model who dabbles in poker, as the newest addition to their line-up of sponsored players. This comes right after their signing of Matt Vengrin, further boosting their roster.

Ivey, Eastgate first picks for Caesars Cup

The event, modeled after golf's Ryder Cup, will take place Sept. 25 during the 2009 WSOP Europe and will pit the best of Europe's poker players against the best of North America's pros in a battle for international bragging rights.

The format will feature both heads-up and team contests and include alternate betting and other non-traditional elements as players aim to win points for their respective teams.

Negreanu, heading the Americas Team, and Obrestad, heading the Euro Team, announced their picks at a WSOP ceremony this week and will fill out their rosters with six team members in total over the weeks leading up to the WSOP Europe kickoff Sept. 17.

Obrestad's team will also have one member qualify through a leaderboard race on Betfair Poker, the presenting sponsor of the WSOP Europe.

The top 200 players on the monthly low-stakes leaderboard (tracking sit-and-gos and MTTs with less than a $22 buy-in) will be entered into a "Heat Low" freeroll.

The top 100 players on the monthly high-stakes leaderboard will be entered into a "Heat High" freeroll. The top 18 finishers in each move on to a $5,000 Guaranteed Monthly Final that awards Caesars Cup points to the top finishers.

In August, the top nine players on the Caesars Cup Leaderboard will then battle it out for a spot on the team. Positions 2-9 will share a $25,000 prize pool while the winner heads to London to join the European Team.

"The lineup for this year's WSOPE Caesars looks like a who's who of poker." said Obrestad in a press release.

"The fact that a member of the public can qualify to sit alongside some of the best players in the game will be a massive attraction to players on Betfair Poker. I look forward to captaining our team to glory."

Visit PokerListings.com

Final Day One in 2009 WSOP Main Event to Occur Monday

After an eventful Day 1C that saw everything from politicians to Caesar, World Series of Poker (WSOP) officials are expecting the final field size for the 2009 Main Event to crack the 6,000 player mark with the last of four Day Ones to be played this afternoon.

The droves that entered into the Rio on Sunday constituted the largest Day One starting field yet. 1,697 players wedged their way into the Amazon Room and other gaming areas to surpass the fields that had been seen on Days 1A and 1B. All told, there are 3,686 players who laid $10,000 to attempt to win the 40th anniversary WSOP Main Event.

With the larger field that came into the event and the expected massive field for today, there were some changes to the play schedule that were put into effect. Instead of playing only four two hour levels - as Days 1A and 1B had - tournament officials determined that Days 1C and 1D would play the previously scheduled five levels. The difference will be corrected with Day Two play, which is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. Day 2A (the combination of Days 1A and 1B) will play five levels and Day 2B (the survivors of Days 1C and 1D) will play four levels.

Although there were some muted rumblings from the players gathered, Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) - whose attempts to overturn the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) are currently proceeding through the halls of Congress - gave the traditional call to “shuffle up and deal” and play was underway.

It seemed that Sunday was the day of choice for many of the top professionals in the game. Five of the original “November Nine” chose to start their assault on the WSOP Main Event championship, with Kelly Kim, Darus Suharto, Ylon Schwartz, and Dennis Phillips surviving the day; David “Chino” Rheem was ousted during play on Sunday. Several former World Champions were on-hand for play, including Tom McEvoy, Dan Harrington, Scotty Nguyen, Joe Hachem, and Jamie Gold, with McEvoy and Gold not able to survive the day.

In what is quickly becoming a WSOP tradition, Phil Hellmuth made a flamboyant entry. With 11 body painted women trailing him (representing his record bracelet total) and led by muses in tunics tossing rose petals, the 1989 champion donned Roman emperor regalia as he was carried into the Amazon Room by four “slaves” at the time the first level of play was scheduled to end. Amid the jeers and cheers, Hellmuth came to the tables and was just under the starting stack when play ended for the day.

The grand entrance of Hellmuth to the Main Event has become somewhat of a tradition over the past few years. In 2007, he entered the Rio with a phalanx of models representing his bracelets and dressed in an auto racing fire suit the day after crashing his Ultimate Bet stock car into a pole on the grounds of the Rio. Last year, Hellmuth made his entrance leading a camouflage-clad contingent of models as General George Patton. When asked if this was going to continue at future WSOPs, “The Poker Brat” commented, “Absolutely! Next year, my plan is to be Gambit (a fictional character from the latest X-Men movie “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”). If not Gambit, we will come up with something else. Maybe it will be Uncle Sam. We’ll see.”

Leading the day and claiming the overall chip lead was Michigan’s Joseph Cada, who garnered 187,000 chips. For the record, no Day One leader has ever held on to win the WSOP Main Event. With an anticipated 2,500 players expected for Day 1D, the 2009 Main Event will eclipse the 6,000 mark and have a run at hitting 6,500. Ideas for accommodating the field have ranged from running ten-handed tables (not yet seen at this year’s Main Event) to using restaurant space around the Rio.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the 2009 WSOP.

Final Day One in 2009 WSOP Main Event to Occur Monday

After an eventful Day 1C that saw everything from politicians to Caesar, World Series of Poker (WSOP) officials are expecting the final field size for the 2009 Main Event to crack the 6,000 player mark with the last of four Day Ones to be played this afternoon.

The droves that entered into the Rio on Sunday constituted the largest Day One starting field yet. 1,697 players wedged their way into the Amazon Room and other gaming areas to surpass the fields that had been seen on Days 1A and 1B. All told, there are 3,686 players who laid $10,000 to attempt to win the 40th anniversary WSOP Main Event.

With the larger field that came into the event and the expected massive field for today, there were some changes to the play schedule that were put into effect. Instead of playing only four two hour levels - as Days 1A and 1B had - tournament officials determined that Days 1C and 1D would play the previously scheduled five levels. The difference will be corrected with Day Two play, which is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. Day 2A (the combination of Days 1A and 1B) will play five levels and Day 2B (the survivors of Days 1C and 1D) will play four levels.

Although there were some muted rumblings from the players gathered, Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) - whose attempts to overturn the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) are currently proceeding through the halls of Congress - gave the traditional call to “shuffle up and deal” and play was underway.

It seemed that Sunday was the day of choice for many of the top professionals in the game. Five of the original “November Nine” chose to start their assault on the WSOP Main Event championship, with Kelly Kim, Darus Suharto, Ylon Schwartz, and Dennis Phillips surviving the day; David “Chino” Rheem was ousted during play on Sunday. Several former World Champions were on-hand for play, including Tom McEvoy, Dan Harrington, Scotty Nguyen, Joe Hachem, and Jamie Gold, with McEvoy and Gold not able to survive the day.

In what is quickly becoming a WSOP tradition, Phil Hellmuth made a flamboyant entry. With 11 body painted women trailing him (representing his record bracelet total) and led by muses in tunics tossing rose petals, the 1989 champion donned Roman emperor regalia as he was carried into the Amazon Room by four “slaves” at the time the first level of play was scheduled to end. Amid the jeers and cheers, Hellmuth came to the tables and was just under the starting stack when play ended for the day.

The grand entrance of Hellmuth to the Main Event has become somewhat of a tradition over the past few years. In 2007, he entered the Rio with a phalanx of models representing his bracelets and dressed in an auto racing fire suit the day after crashing his Ultimate Bet stock car into a pole on the grounds of the Rio. Last year, Hellmuth made his entrance leading a camouflage-clad contingent of models as General George Patton. When asked if this was going to continue at future WSOPs, “The Poker Brat” commented, “Absolutely! Next year, my plan is to be Gambit (a fictional character from the latest X-Men movie “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”). If not Gambit, we will come up with something else. Maybe it will be Uncle Sam. We’ll see.”

Leading the day and claiming the overall chip lead was Michigan’s Joseph Cada, who garnered 187,000 chips. For the record, no Day One leader has ever held on to win the WSOP Main Event. With an anticipated 2,500 players expected for Day 1D, the 2009 Main Event will eclipse the 6,000 mark and have a run at hitting 6,500. Ideas for accommodating the field have ranged from running ten-handed tables (not yet seen at this year’s Main Event) to using restaurant space around the Rio.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the 2009 WSOP.

Final Day One in 2009 WSOP Main Event to Occur Monday

After an eventful Day 1C that saw everything from politicians to Caesar, World Series of Poker (WSOP) officials are expecting the final field size for the 2009 Main Event to crack the 6,000 player mark with the last of four Day Ones to be played this afternoon.

The droves that entered into the Rio on Sunday constituted the largest Day One starting field yet. 1,697 players wedged their way into the Amazon Room and other gaming areas to surpass the fields that had been seen on Days 1A and 1B. All told, there are 3,686 players who laid $10,000 to attempt to win the 40th anniversary WSOP Main Event.

With the larger field that came into the event and the expected massive field for today, there were some changes to the play schedule that were put into effect. Instead of playing only four two hour levels - as Days 1A and 1B had - tournament officials determined that Days 1C and 1D would play the previously scheduled five levels. The difference will be corrected with Day Two play, which is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. Day 2A (the combination of Days 1A and 1B) will play five levels and Day 2B (the survivors of Days 1C and 1D) will play four levels.

Although there were some muted rumblings from the players gathered, Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) - whose attempts to overturn the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) are currently proceeding through the halls of Congress - gave the traditional call to “shuffle up and deal” and play was underway.

It seemed that Sunday was the day of choice for many of the top professionals in the game. Five of the original “November Nine” chose to start their assault on the WSOP Main Event championship, with Kelly Kim, Darus Suharto, Ylon Schwartz, and Dennis Phillips surviving the day; David “Chino” Rheem was ousted during play on Sunday. Several former World Champions were on-hand for play, including Tom McEvoy, Dan Harrington, Scotty Nguyen, Joe Hachem, and Jamie Gold, with McEvoy and Gold not able to survive the day.

In what is quickly becoming a WSOP tradition, Phil Hellmuth made a flamboyant entry. With 11 body painted women trailing him (representing his record bracelet total) and led by muses in tunics tossing rose petals, the 1989 champion donned Roman emperor regalia as he was carried into the Amazon Room by four “slaves” at the time the first level of play was scheduled to end. Amid the jeers and cheers, Hellmuth came to the tables and was just under the starting stack when play ended for the day.

The grand entrance of Hellmuth to the Main Event has become somewhat of a tradition over the past few years. In 2007, he entered the Rio with a phalanx of models representing his bracelets and dressed in an auto racing fire suit the day after crashing his Ultimate Bet stock car into a pole on the grounds of the Rio. Last year, Hellmuth made his entrance leading a camouflage-clad contingent of models as General George Patton. When asked if this was going to continue at future WSOPs, “The Poker Brat” commented, “Absolutely! Next year, my plan is to be Gambit (a fictional character from the latest X-Men movie “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”). If not Gambit, we will come up with something else. Maybe it will be Uncle Sam. We’ll see.”

Leading the day and claiming the overall chip lead was Michigan’s Joseph Cada, who garnered 187,000 chips. For the record, no Day One leader has ever held on to win the WSOP Main Event. With an anticipated 2,500 players expected for Day 1D, the 2009 Main Event will eclipse the 6,000 mark and have a run at hitting 6,500. Ideas for accommodating the field have ranged from running ten-handed tables (not yet seen at this year’s Main Event) to using restaurant space around the Rio.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the 2009 WSOP.

Final Day One in 2009 WSOP Main Event to Occur Monday

After an eventful Day 1C that saw everything from politicians to Caesar, World Series of Poker (WSOP) officials are expecting the final field size for the 2009 Main Event to crack the 6,000 player mark with the last of four Day Ones to be played this afternoon.

The droves that entered into the Rio on Sunday constituted the largest Day One starting field yet. 1,697 players wedged their way into the Amazon Room and other gaming areas to surpass the fields that had been seen on Days 1A and 1B. All told, there are 3,686 players who laid $10,000 to attempt to win the 40th anniversary WSOP Main Event.

With the larger field that came into the event and the expected massive field for today, there were some changes to the play schedule that were put into effect. Instead of playing only four two hour levels - as Days 1A and 1B had - tournament officials determined that Days 1C and 1D would play the previously scheduled five levels. The difference will be corrected with Day Two play, which is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. Day 2A (the combination of Days 1A and 1B) will play five levels and Day 2B (the survivors of Days 1C and 1D) will play four levels.

Although there were some muted rumblings from the players gathered, Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) - whose attempts to overturn the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) are currently proceeding through the halls of Congress - gave the traditional call to “shuffle up and deal” and play was underway.

It seemed that Sunday was the day of choice for many of the top professionals in the game. Five of the original “November Nine” chose to start their assault on the WSOP Main Event championship, with Kelly Kim, Darus Suharto, Ylon Schwartz, and Dennis Phillips surviving the day; David “Chino” Rheem was ousted during play on Sunday. Several former World Champions were on-hand for play, including Tom McEvoy, Dan Harrington, Scotty Nguyen, Joe Hachem, and Jamie Gold, with McEvoy and Gold not able to survive the day.

In what is quickly becoming a WSOP tradition, Phil Hellmuth made a flamboyant entry. With 11 body painted women trailing him (representing his record bracelet total) and led by muses in tunics tossing rose petals, the 1989 champion donned Roman emperor regalia as he was carried into the Amazon Room by four “slaves” at the time the first level of play was scheduled to end. Amid the jeers and cheers, Hellmuth came to the tables and was just under the starting stack when play ended for the day.

The grand entrance of Hellmuth to the Main Event has become somewhat of a tradition over the past few years. In 2007, he entered the Rio with a phalanx of models representing his bracelets and dressed in an auto racing fire suit the day after crashing his Ultimate Bet stock car into a pole on the grounds of the Rio. Last year, Hellmuth made his entrance leading a camouflage-clad contingent of models as General George Patton. When asked if this was going to continue at future WSOPs, “The Poker Brat” commented, “Absolutely! Next year, my plan is to be Gambit (a fictional character from the latest X-Men movie “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”). If not Gambit, we will come up with something else. Maybe it will be Uncle Sam. We’ll see.”

Leading the day and claiming the overall chip lead was Michigan’s Joseph Cada, who garnered 187,000 chips. For the record, no Day One leader has ever held on to win the WSOP Main Event. With an anticipated 2,500 players expected for Day 1D, the 2009 Main Event will eclipse the 6,000 mark and have a run at hitting 6,500. Ideas for accommodating the field have ranged from running ten-handed tables (not yet seen at this year’s Main Event) to using restaurant space around the Rio.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the 2009 WSOP.

Final Day One in 2009 WSOP Main Event to Occur Monday

After an eventful Day 1C that saw everything from politicians to Caesar, World Series of Poker (WSOP) officials are expecting the final field size for the 2009 Main Event to crack the 6,000 player mark with the last of four Day Ones to be played this afternoon.

The droves that entered into the Rio on Sunday constituted the largest Day One starting field yet. 1,697 players wedged their way into the Amazon Room and other gaming areas to surpass the fields that had been seen on Days 1A and 1B. All told, there are 3,686 players who laid $10,000 to attempt to win the 40th anniversary WSOP Main Event.

With the larger field that came into the event and the expected massive field for today, there were some changes to the play schedule that were put into effect. Instead of playing only four two hour levels - as Days 1A and 1B had - tournament officials determined that Days 1C and 1D would play the previously scheduled five levels. The difference will be corrected with Day Two play, which is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. Day 2A (the combination of Days 1A and 1B) will play five levels and Day 2B (the survivors of Days 1C and 1D) will play four levels.

Although there were some muted rumblings from the players gathered, Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) - whose attempts to overturn the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) are currently proceeding through the halls of Congress - gave the traditional call to “shuffle up and deal” and play was underway.

It seemed that Sunday was the day of choice for many of the top professionals in the game. Five of the original “November Nine” chose to start their assault on the WSOP Main Event championship, with Kelly Kim, Darus Suharto, Ylon Schwartz, and Dennis Phillips surviving the day; David “Chino” Rheem was ousted during play on Sunday. Several former World Champions were on-hand for play, including Tom McEvoy, Dan Harrington, Scotty Nguyen, Joe Hachem, and Jamie Gold, with McEvoy and Gold not able to survive the day.

In what is quickly becoming a WSOP tradition, Phil Hellmuth made a flamboyant entry. With 11 body painted women trailing him (representing his record bracelet total) and led by muses in tunics tossing rose petals, the 1989 champion donned Roman emperor regalia as he was carried into the Amazon Room by four “slaves” at the time the first level of play was scheduled to end. Amid the jeers and cheers, Hellmuth came to the tables and was just under the starting stack when play ended for the day.

The grand entrance of Hellmuth to the Main Event has become somewhat of a tradition over the past few years. In 2007, he entered the Rio with a phalanx of models representing his bracelets and dressed in an auto racing fire suit the day after crashing his Ultimate Bet stock car into a pole on the grounds of the Rio. Last year, Hellmuth made his entrance leading a camouflage-clad contingent of models as General George Patton. When asked if this was going to continue at future WSOPs, “The Poker Brat” commented, “Absolutely! Next year, my plan is to be Gambit (a fictional character from the latest X-Men movie “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”). If not Gambit, we will come up with something else. Maybe it will be Uncle Sam. We’ll see.”

Leading the day and claiming the overall chip lead was Michigan’s Joseph Cada, who garnered 187,000 chips. For the record, no Day One leader has ever held on to win the WSOP Main Event. With an anticipated 2,500 players expected for Day 1D, the 2009 Main Event will eclipse the 6,000 mark and have a run at hitting 6,500. Ideas for accommodating the field have ranged from running ten-handed tables (not yet seen at this year’s Main Event) to using restaurant space around the Rio.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the 2009 WSOP.

Final Day One in 2009 WSOP Main Event to Occur Monday

After an eventful Day 1C that saw everything from politicians to Caesar, World Series of Poker (WSOP) officials are expecting the final field size for the 2009 Main Event to crack the 6,000 player mark with the last of four Day Ones to be played this afternoon.

The droves that entered into the Rio on Sunday constituted the largest Day One starting field yet. 1,697 players wedged their way into the Amazon Room and other gaming areas to surpass the fields that had been seen on Days 1A and 1B. All told, there are 3,686 players who laid $10,000 to attempt to win the 40th anniversary WSOP Main Event.

With the larger field that came into the event and the expected massive field for today, there were some changes to the play schedule that were put into effect. Instead of playing only four two hour levels - as Days 1A and 1B had - tournament officials determined that Days 1C and 1D would play the previously scheduled five levels. The difference will be corrected with Day Two play, which is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. Day 2A (the combination of Days 1A and 1B) will play five levels and Day 2B (the survivors of Days 1C and 1D) will play four levels.

Although there were some muted rumblings from the players gathered, Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) - whose attempts to overturn the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) are currently proceeding through the halls of Congress - gave the traditional call to “shuffle up and deal” and play was underway.

It seemed that Sunday was the day of choice for many of the top professionals in the game. Five of the original “November Nine” chose to start their assault on the WSOP Main Event championship, with Kelly Kim, Darus Suharto, Ylon Schwartz, and Dennis Phillips surviving the day; David “Chino” Rheem was ousted during play on Sunday. Several former World Champions were on-hand for play, including Tom McEvoy, Dan Harrington, Scotty Nguyen, Joe Hachem, and Jamie Gold, with McEvoy and Gold not able to survive the day.

In what is quickly becoming a WSOP tradition, Phil Hellmuth made a flamboyant entry. With 11 body painted women trailing him (representing his record bracelet total) and led by muses in tunics tossing rose petals, the 1989 champion donned Roman emperor regalia as he was carried into the Amazon Room by four “slaves” at the time the first level of play was scheduled to end. Amid the jeers and cheers, Hellmuth came to the tables and was just under the starting stack when play ended for the day.

The grand entrance of Hellmuth to the Main Event has become somewhat of a tradition over the past few years. In 2007, he entered the Rio with a phalanx of models representing his bracelets and dressed in an auto racing fire suit the day after crashing his Ultimate Bet stock car into a pole on the grounds of the Rio. Last year, Hellmuth made his entrance leading a camouflage-clad contingent of models as General George Patton. When asked if this was going to continue at future WSOPs, “The Poker Brat” commented, “Absolutely! Next year, my plan is to be Gambit (a fictional character from the latest X-Men movie “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”). If not Gambit, we will come up with something else. Maybe it will be Uncle Sam. We’ll see.”

Leading the day and claiming the overall chip lead was Michigan’s Joseph Cada, who garnered 187,000 chips. For the record, no Day One leader has ever held on to win the WSOP Main Event. With an anticipated 2,500 players expected for Day 1D, the 2009 Main Event will eclipse the 6,000 mark and have a run at hitting 6,500. Ideas for accommodating the field have ranged from running ten-handed tables (not yet seen at this year’s Main Event) to using restaurant space around the Rio.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the 2009 WSOP.

Final Day One in 2009 WSOP Main Event to Occur Monday

After an eventful Day 1C that saw everything from politicians to Caesar, World Series of Poker (WSOP) officials are expecting the final field size for the 2009 Main Event to crack the 6,000 player mark with the last of four Day Ones to be played this afternoon.

The droves that entered into the Rio on Sunday constituted the largest Day One starting field yet. 1,697 players wedged their way into the Amazon Room and other gaming areas to surpass the fields that had been seen on Days 1A and 1B. All told, there are 3,686 players who laid $10,000 to attempt to win the 40th anniversary WSOP Main Event.

With the larger field that came into the event and the expected massive field for today, there were some changes to the play schedule that were put into effect. Instead of playing only four two hour levels - as Days 1A and 1B had - tournament officials determined that Days 1C and 1D would play the previously scheduled five levels. The difference will be corrected with Day Two play, which is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. Day 2A (the combination of Days 1A and 1B) will play five levels and Day 2B (the survivors of Days 1C and 1D) will play four levels.

Although there were some muted rumblings from the players gathered, Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) - whose attempts to overturn the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) are currently proceeding through the halls of Congress - gave the traditional call to “shuffle up and deal” and play was underway.

It seemed that Sunday was the day of choice for many of the top professionals in the game. Five of the original “November Nine” chose to start their assault on the WSOP Main Event championship, with Kelly Kim, Darus Suharto, Ylon Schwartz, and Dennis Phillips surviving the day; David “Chino” Rheem was ousted during play on Sunday. Several former World Champions were on-hand for play, including Tom McEvoy, Dan Harrington, Scotty Nguyen, Joe Hachem, and Jamie Gold, with McEvoy and Gold not able to survive the day.

In what is quickly becoming a WSOP tradition, Phil Hellmuth made a flamboyant entry. With 11 body painted women trailing him (representing his record bracelet total) and led by muses in tunics tossing rose petals, the 1989 champion donned Roman emperor regalia as he was carried into the Amazon Room by four “slaves” at the time the first level of play was scheduled to end. Amid the jeers and cheers, Hellmuth came to the tables and was just under the starting stack when play ended for the day.

The grand entrance of Hellmuth to the Main Event has become somewhat of a tradition over the past few years. In 2007, he entered the Rio with a phalanx of models representing his bracelets and dressed in an auto racing fire suit the day after crashing his Ultimate Bet stock car into a pole on the grounds of the Rio. Last year, Hellmuth made his entrance leading a camouflage-clad contingent of models as General George Patton. When asked if this was going to continue at future WSOPs, “The Poker Brat” commented, “Absolutely! Next year, my plan is to be Gambit (a fictional character from the latest X-Men movie “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”). If not Gambit, we will come up with something else. Maybe it will be Uncle Sam. We’ll see.”

Leading the day and claiming the overall chip lead was Michigan’s Joseph Cada, who garnered 187,000 chips. For the record, no Day One leader has ever held on to win the WSOP Main Event. With an anticipated 2,500 players expected for Day 1D, the 2009 Main Event will eclipse the 6,000 mark and have a run at hitting 6,500. Ideas for accommodating the field have ranged from running ten-handed tables (not yet seen at this year’s Main Event) to using restaurant space around the Rio.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the 2009 WSOP.

Hachem, Lisandro star in WSOP Main Event

While many of poker's biggest superstars have been chewed up and spit out of the Main Event's early levels over the past few years, barely registering enough time for patched-up glamour shots, several showed some staying power today.

2005 Main Event champion Joe Hachem was certainly one of them, getting his stack up to a healthy 75k by the time five levels of play were through and the day was done.

"The last few years, day ones have been pretty frustrating for me, so it's a nice feeling to be able to play some poker, not just come back to Day 2 looking to double up," Hachem told PokerListings as he bagged his chips.

"My whole persona coming in was different. I just wanted to play, not carry the whole world on my shoulders, all the expectations and all that bullshit.

"I made a few hands, took a few bad beats, but overall things went pretty smoothly."

Hachem said the experience of winning the Main Event in 2005 proved invaluable once again today.

"It's like anything else in life," he said. "Having the experience of having done this before and winning it all is huge. You just don't get overwhelmed by the whole thing. Now I just take it day by day."

Despite his good fortunes, the Team PokerStars Pro was upstaged by another Aussie today as Jeffrey Lisandro continued his all out assault on the 2009 WSOP.

Having won three bracelets already this year, Lisandro climbed the leader board early and stayed there, bagging close to 150k in chips for a spot in the top ten when play wrapped.

"I'm just trying to play some real poker," he told PokerListings. "I'm not doing anything out of this world."

Having the kind of World Series most players only dream of, Lisandro said he's more than satisfied with the way things are going in the Main Event and beyond.

"I'm just trying to play good solid poker," he said. "I'm pretty happy with the way I'm playing. I can't complain. I'm playing really well."

Other big names with big stacks who survived Day 1c included Justin Bonomo, 2009 WSOP bracelet winner Marc Naalden, WPT title holder and 2009 PokerStars PCA finalist Kevin Saul, 2009 Ante Up for Africa champ Alex Bolotin and four-time WPT final tablist Amnon Filippi.

While 11-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth made a huge splash today, entering the room dressed like Spartacus and surrounded by a harem of body painted and toga clad models, he will return for Day 2b Wednesday with less than the 30k starting stack.

The 2009 WSOP Main Event continues Monday at 12 p.m. PT with the final day one and PokerListings will have comprehensive coverage in our Live Updates, News and TV sections.

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