Poker News

Pam Brunson to Oversee DoylesRoom Brunson 10

Like father, like daughter. Doyle Brunson’s daughter, Pam Brunson, will manage the Brunson 10, according to officials from DoylesRoom. The stable of up-and-coming poker pros numbers four, with six men and two women yet to be named.

A press release distributed by DoylesRoom in recent days notes, “As Manager of the Brunson 10, Pam Brunson will be responsible for overseeing PR requests, handling scheduling and managing the Brunson 10 internally. As the world's biggest poker legend continues to fill spots on his team of poker professionals, Pam Brunson will be tasked with managing their relationship with one of the fastest growing online poker sites and its players.” The younger Brunson is a regular in the online poker site’s weekly Bounty tournament, which offers a refund of the $27.50 buy-in for first-time players.

Amit “amak316” Makhija, Dani “ansky451” Stern, Zachary “CrazyZachary” Clark, and top online poker pro Chris “moorman1” Moorman currently comprise the Brunson 10. Stern is the group’s newest addition, having joined the clan during final table play in the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event in Las Vegas. A press conference was held at the Wynn for Stern’s introduction, with “2 Months, $2 Million” housemate Jay Rosenkrantz on-hand to witness the festivities.

Meanwhile, former Brunson 10 member Alec “traheho” Torelli departed the online poker site to join Victory Poker, whose roster of pro players includes Antonio Esfandiari, Andrew “good2cu” Robl, and Full Tilt Poker defects Paul Wasicka and Lee Markholt. The site is set to debut on February 1st on the merged Everleaf/UPN network, with a launch party to occur after the Trash Talk Championship of the World Straddle Tournament at the Hard Rock on February 6th.

On replacing Torelli, DoylesRoom officials told Poker News Daily that a fifth member of the Brunson 10 will be named no later than mid-March. In addition, the forthcoming announcement may include the introduction of two new faces to the Cake Poker Network site that welcomes action from the United States. The newest additions will fall under Pam Brunson’s wings.

According to the traffic ranking site PokerScout.com, the Cake Poker Network is the 10th largest worldwide, offering a seven-day running average of 2,100 real money ring game players. During its peak hours, which occur in the evening across North America, nearly 3,000 cash game players call the network home. Besides DoylesRoom and Cake Poker, other sites on the network include City Poker, Lock Poker, PlayersOnly, Poker Host, Red Star Poker, Stryyke, and Phil Laak’s Unabomber Poker, which was added to the family this week.

The 2010 calendar year also saw DoylesRoom unveil its very own online store, which offers unique items like a limited edition Doyle Resitol Cowboy Hat. Other goods available in the DoylesRoom Store include DoylesRoom apparel, laptop bags, Brunson autographed merchandise, GPS systems, iPod accessories, digital cameras, Nintendo Wiis, and “the hottest lifestyle enhancing accessories.” Gold Chips are the currency of the DoylesRoom Store, which can be accessed from the online poker room’s website.

The recent World Poker Tour (WPT) Southern Poker Championship featured DoylesRoom pro Hoyt Corkins coming out on top to claim his second WPT title. Corkins earned $739,000 for his efforts and defeated a final table that also included Jonathan Kantor (second place for $366,00), Jerry Vanstrydonck (third place for $197,000), Jared Jaffee (fourth place for $135,000), James Reed (fifth place for $106,000), and Tyler “Tydean” Smith (sixth place for $87,000). The Southern Poker Championship marked Corkins’ sixth WPT final table appearance. The tournament will air as part of Season 8 on Fox Sports Net.

Pam Brunson finished 364th in the 2007 WSOP Main Event for $34,000. That year, she won a ladies’ event held during the Legends of Poker for the same amount.

Victory Poker Launches February 1st

One day prior to Super Bowl XLIV between the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints, officials from Victory Poker will celebrate the site’s launch at a party at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas. The online poker room will open for business on February 1st.

Victory Poker will make its home on the merged Everleaf/UPN network, which has yet to take on an official name. According to PokerScout.com, the newly created network will boast traffic similar to that of Betfair, which has a seven-day running average of 610 real money ring game players. A press release announcing the Trash Talk Championship of the World Straddle Tournament at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas on February 6th revealed that the Victory Poker launch party would occur at 10:00pm following the festivities.

UFC’s Randy Couture will be sporting a Victory Poker logo when he takes to the ring in UFC 109 against Mark Coleman. The bout emanates from the Mandalay Bay Events Center near the Hard Rock and will also feature Nate Marquardt facing off against Chael Sonnen and Matt Serra fighting Frank Trigg. The first brawl takes place at 4:45pm, while televised matches start at 7:00pm. Couture will don a dot-net logo for the new online poker room.

Antonio Esfandiari headlines the Victory Poker stable of pros. A World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, Esfandiari has become widely known for his insatiable appetite for prop bets. He even co-starred with his close friend Phil Laak on the MOJO show “I Bet You,” which ran for two seasons on the cable station. Esfandiari has three WPT final tables to his credit and one title, which came in the Season 2 L.A. Poker Classic. At the tender age of 31, Esfandiari is one of the veterans of the game.

Jumping over from DoylesRoom to be a part of Victory Poker is Alec “traheho” Torelli. The Cake Poker Network site and Torelli severed ties two weeks ago. Torelli has made two WPT final tables, finishing fourth in both the Bellagio Cup V and Solvakia events. The former will air its finale at 11:00pm ET on Fox Sports Net this Sunday in a one-hour episode. Poker Hall of Fame member Mike Sexton and actor Vince Van Patten will once again provide commentary for Season 8 of the WPT.

Coming over from Full Tilt Poker are Paul Wasicka and Lee Markholt. The latter was removed in recent days as a Full Tilt Red Pro and finished fourth in the WSOP Circuit Championship in Tunica four years ago for $183,000. In addition, Markholt won the WPT Season 6 World Poker Challenge in Reno for $493,000 and owns $1.3 million in career earnings from the roving tournament series. Wasicka was the runner-up to Jamie Gold in the 2006 WSOP Main Event, earning a colossal $6.1 million.

Also appearing in the Victory Poker pro lineup is Chinese Poker sensation Danny Wong. Owning the moniker “Chinese Poker Wizard,” Wong learned to play the game’s variation at age five. Despite his success in Chinese Poker, he’s also excelled in No Limit Texas Hold’em, making three WPT final tables. Joining Wong will be online poker pro Brian “tsarrast” Rast.

Those who watched the 2009 WSOP Main Event on ESPN will recall the deep run of the “Flying” Bilzerian brothers. Dan Bilzerian, who finished 180th, will become part of the Victory Poker cast. In his final hand of the $10,000 buy-in feature tournament, Bilzerian committed his stack with A-6, but could not best Jonathan “driverseati” Tamayo’s pocket tens. His brother, Adam Bilzerian, renounced his U.S. citizenship and is now a passport holder of St. Kitts and Nevis.

Other Victory Poker pros include Andrew "good2cu" Robl, Keith Gipson, David “The Maven” Chicotsky, Sander Lylloff., and 2007 Playboy Playmate of the Year Sara Underwood. The site is scheduled to launch on February 1st and will accept players from the United States.

The Trash Talk Championship is a $1,000 buy-in charity poker tournament benefiting the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program and Cedars-Sinai.

Dwyte Pilgrim Leads WPT Southern Poker Championship After Day 1

Two-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit Event ring holder Dwyte Pilgrim leads the field of the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Southern Poker Championship after Day 1. A total of 106 players remain of the 208 who bought in on Sunday afternoon.

The tournament, emanating from the Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Mississippi, drew a field of 283 players in 2009. The 208 who turned out yesterday to cough up the $10,000 buy-in meant that attendance dove by a sizable 27%. Pilgrim leads the survivors with a stack of 175,900 chips, comfortably in front of the second place tally of Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little, who holds 152,100. Pilgrim claimed a pair of WSOP Circuit rings in March 2009 after taking down a $560 buy-in tournament at Caesars Atlantic City before flying cross-country to Harrah’s Rincon and winning the site’s $5,150 buy-in Championship event.

Little is no slouch, either. He was the WPT Player of the Year during Season 6, when the Florida native made final tables at the Mirage and North American Poker Championship and bubbled a third at the Gulf Coast Poker Championship at Biloxi. All told, Little has nearly $3.5 million in career WPT earnings to his name and two titles. Little took down a pot early on Sunday with pocket aces against pocket queens on a 10-9-8-2-2 board. Little's opponent check-called a bet of 7,775 on the river to boost his stack to over 41,000; he finished the day with nearly six times that total.

DoylesRoom Brunson 10 member Amit “amak316” Makhija was a late Day 1 casualty at the WPT Southern Poker Championship. Makhija committed his chips with pocket kings on a board of J-3-2, but his opponent spiked a straight with 4-5. Jeff Madsen, meanwhile, was all-in holding the nut flush draw, but blanked out to hit the rails. Madsen is a Full Tilt Poker Red Pro.

Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka was flushed down the drain on Sunday. The runner-up in the Bellagio Cup V, which began airing as part of the WPT’s Season 8 kickoff on Fox Sports Net last night, Jaka called all-in with K-3 after a flop of K-J-4. However, his opponent flipped up pocket jacks for a set, which held for the win. Jaka made two final tables during Season 8 of the WPT, finishing second in the aforementioned Bellagio Cup and taking third in the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic for a combined $1.3 million.

The top 10 at the end of Day 1 of the WPT Southern Poker Championship features rock solid poker talent:

1. Dwyte Pilgrim - 175,900
2. Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little - 152,100
3. Jonathan Stanton - 142,100
4. Chad Brown - 138,000
5. James Jewett - 135,500
6. Sam Rashid - 125,700
7. Shawn Quillin - 118,300
8. Scott Standridge - 117,600
9. Hoyt Corkins - 115,600
10. Corwin “mig.com” Mackey - 113,200

Other notable names among the 106 players remaining in the field include:

Paul Wasicka - 107,500
Daniel Negreanu - 81,200
Matt “All In at 420” Stout - 73,100
Ty “puffinmypurp” Reiman - 71,400
Justin “Boosted J” Smith - 68,600
J.J. Liu - 67,800
Josh Arieh - 67,200
Tommy Vedes - 66,300
Kathy Liebert - 53,300
Adam “Roothlus” Levy - 46,900
Nick Schulman - 40,000
Allen “AawwNutz” Carter - 38,200
David Singer - 34,000
Jonathan “driverseati” Tamayo - 25,900
Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler - 17,600
Michael Binger - 13,000

When play wrapped up on Sunday, the blinds were 300-600 with a 75-chip ante. The Southern Poker Championship runs through Wednesday, when the newest WPT champion will be crowned. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the Biloxi tournament.

Poker News in Brief Jan. 18-24, 2010

The 2010 Aussie Millions main event kicked Sunday with hundreds of players looking to strike Australian gold.

You can read all about the tournament in our news section or live tournaments area, but as part of our ongoing Poker News in Brief feature we’re going to take a look at a few lesser-known poker stories below.

This week we’ll look at Annette Obrestad crushing an Aussie Millions prelim, David Singer falling fourth on the Heartland Poker Tour, Phil Galfond doing some TV work and more.

Obrestad Wins Aussie Millions Pot-Limit Omaha Event

Annette Obrestad wasted no time getting busy at the 2010 Aussie Millions.

The former World Series of Poker Europe Main Event winner won the $1,000(AUD) buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha event for $40,000(AUD) this week.

Obrestad outlasted 159 players including a couple of veteran rounders in Emad Tahtouh and Tony Bloom.

Although Obrestad continues to find success online, the win in the Aussie Millions was actually her first live victory since winning the WSOPE.

Obrestad did, however, finish second at EPT Dublin in 2007 for €297,800.

This year, Obrestad will make her first appearance at the WSOP after finally turning 21 this past September.

Alec Torelli Moves to Victory Poker

Online star Alec “traheho” Torelli has parted ways with Doyles Room to sign a sponsorship deal with the up-and-coming Victory Poker.

Torelli was hand-picked by Doyle Brunson this summer to be a member of the Brunson 10.

The team has never come close to approaching 10 players, however, and currently Chris “Moorman1” Moorman, Zachary Clark, Amit Makhija and Dani “anksy” Stern are its only members.

Victory Poker has yet to be released, but it will be a part of the Everleaf Gaming network, which includes Red Cherry Poker and Poker Royale.

Torelli will join a Victory Poker team that is rumored to include Antonio Esfandiari, Brian Rast and Paul Wasicka.

Rousing Final to HPT Vegas

The blue-collar Heartland Poker Tour ventured into Vegas for the second time this week and the final table did not disappoint.

It included a bona fide pro in Full Tilt’s David Singer, an HPT veteran in Theodore Kearly and an inspirational story in unemployed Cambodian refugee Kimbo Ung.

Ung managed to outlast all five opponents at the final table and take down a first place prize of $125,901.

Singer finished fourth for $29,377, which brings his lifetime tournament winnings up to just over $4.3 million.

The event, which drew 433 players, was an overwhelming success according to organizers.

“We didn’t how the Vegas market would respond to our brand,” said HPT President Todd Anderson. “It turns out we blew the roof off.”

PKR TV Showcases Phil Galfond

Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond does not have a major poker room sponsor, but will be doing some work for PKR TV.

Galfond will be doing commentary on some of the best ring game action on PKR.com and footage from the special “Galfond TV Cash Game,” which saw some of the elite PKR players take him on.

“We are thrilled to have Phil in the studio to become a PKR TV commentator,” said PKR marketing manager Erika Schwartz. “It will be fantastic for our players to get someone of his reputation watching the action and giving some advice on their play.”

PKR TV and the Galfond TV Cash Game will be broadcast on The Poker Channel in 13 countries across Europe. Air dates have yet to be confirmed.

Police Raid South Carolina Poker Game

Police busted yet another poker game in South Carolina last week.

Officers confiscated more than $64,000 in cash, chips and tables from a Greenville County home.

Twenty-seven people were charged for unlawful betting after a citizen’s tip led deputies to the house.

The raid is nothing new for the region. In 2007, a game was busted in neighboring North Carolina that included noted poker pros Mike Gracz and Chris Bell.

Praz Bansi Leads PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Entering Day 3

Like Wayne Bentley on Day 1A, Praz Bansi owns a commanding chip lead in the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) after Day 2. His stack of 960,800 chips is 260,000 more than the next closest competitor.

It’s not as if Bansi had a cakewalk through Day 2 on Thursday, either. At one point during play, his tablemates included Team PokerStars Pro member and “High Stakes Poker” player Dario Minieri, former Bodog pro and live tournament aficionado Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, PokerStars Sunday 500 winner Jonathan “FatalError” Aguiar, and 2008 European Poker Tour (EPT) Monte Carlo Grand Final winner Glen Chorny. That was just his first taste of tough competition.

After surviving the first Table of Doom, Bansi was relegated to an equally talented group of opponents. This time, his company included 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event November Nine member and top all-around player Phil Ivey, former EPT Dortmund final table member Nicolas Levi, and Ivan Demidov, who made the feature table of the WSOP Las Vegas and WSOP Europe Main Events in 2008. Despite the tough go at it on Thursday, Bansi persevered. He’s fresh off a $594,000 cash for taking third in the 2009 WSOP Europe Main Event.

Bentley, who held a healthy edge over the rest of the merged Day 2 field, ended with 602,500 chips, good for third overall. One of the final eliminations of the day went to Team PokerStars Pro’s Vanessa Rousso, who picked up A-K and pushed over the top of an opponent’s raise. However, her adversary held pocket aces and Rousso could not catch up. Several hands earlier, Rousso tripled up with pocket fours against A-K and A-Q.

The brutal beat of the day in the 2010 PCA Main Event went to Barry Greenstein, who committed all of his chips with pocket aces, but ultimately fell to 4-6 of spades. The board gave his opponent a straight and that was all she wrote for the three-time bracelet winner, as Greenstein signed his copy of his book, “Ace on the River,” and headed for the exits. Absolute Poker pro Freddy Deeb suffered a similar fate, pushing his chips in with pocket aces and falling to pocket tens when the flop came 8-9-10. Deeb reached the final table of the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Festa al Lago in October, earning $278,000.

Here are the top ten chip stacks as play enters Day 3 in the 2010 PCA Main Event:

1. Praz Bansi - 960,800
2. Marc Etienne Mclaughlin - 702,400
3. Wayne Bentley - 602,500
4. Nasr El Nasr - 528,300
5. Daniel Ades - 501,400
6. Eric “EFro” Froehlich - 467,500
7. Matthew Haugen - 456,400
8. Kenny “Hixx” Hicks - 455,500
9. Matt “mattg1983” Graham - 428,900
10. Danny Suied - 420,000

Other notable players remaining in the field of 275, along with their end of Day 2 chip counts, include:

Dario Minieri - 389,200
Amnon Filippi - 386,300
Amit “amak316” Makhija - 292,600
Vadim Trincher - 290,900
Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo - 262,500
Ivan Demidov - 259,300
Phil Ivey - 227,400
Paul Wasicka - 224,800
Carlos Mortensen - 185,500
Craig Marquis - 176,600
Kathy Liebert - 171,800
Barry Shulman - 150,200
Liz Lieu - 136,800
Victor Ramdin - 110,100
Huck Seed - 107,100
Orel Hershiser - 79,000
Nick Binger - 57,900
Steven Paul-Ambrose - 49,300

Despite boasting a larger field than in 2009, the 2010 PCA will only dole out $2.2 million to its winner; last year, Poorya Nazari banked $10,000 for winning the Bahamas EPT tournament. A flatter payout structure will see the top four finishers earn at least $1 million, with the top eight making more than $200,000. In total, 224 players out of the record-setting 1,529 who started will take home cash.

The money bubble will burst today from the Atlantis Resort and Casino in the Bahamas, with players claiming their share of the $14.8 million prize pool. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the 2010 PCA Main Event.

Anibal Tacla Leads PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Day 1B Survivors

The 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) will go down as the largest in history, as 1,529 entrants took to the felts. Anibal Tacla from Curitiba, Brazil, the same hometown as Team PokerStars Pro member Alexandre Gomes, led Day 1B’s finishers.

Tacla, a shopping mall owner, amassed 166,000 chips during play on Wednesday to lead the way, although he is still well short of Wayne Bentley’s Day 1A total of 329,500. The prize pool of the 2010 PCA is around $15 million. Last year, 1,347 players took to the felts in what was the largest PCA ever held. In the end, Canadian Poorya Nazari defeated American Anthony Gregg to bank the $3 million top prize; Gregg earned a $1.7 million consolation prize and the top three finishers were instant poker-made millionaires.

2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion Joe Cada gave the traditional “Shuffle Up and Deal” command to start play on Wednesday. A bevy of superstars took to the felts, including Full Tilt Poker’s Mike Matusow and Tom “durrrr” Dwan, along with Freddy Deeb, Scotty Nguyen, and former Playboy Playmate of the Year Jayde Nicole, who served as a celebrity player on the “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge.”

Just after 2:30pm in the Bahamas, rapper Nelly was eliminated from the 2010 PCA Main Event. "If you wanna go and take a rid wit’ him," you can now find the St. Louis native on the beach after he shoved with A-K for top two pair on a board reading A-4-5-K. However, he was up against the stone cold nuts, 2-3. Needing to spike an ace or king on the river to stay alive, Nelly watched as the final card blanked out, sending him to the exits. Must be the money!

Speaking of money, “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge” $1 million winner Mike Kosowski, a 9/11 first responder, also could be found on the felts on Wednesday. With his chip stack dwindling to 6,500, or roughly one-fifth of the starting amount, Kosowski told PokerStars officials, "I turned the nut flush and then this guy rivers a full house. That was pretty brutal and I've been playing a short stack as a result for the last three or four hours." Kosowski did not survive Day 1B, although his $1 million prize for besting PokerStars front man Daniel Negreanu and a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the Bahamas most likely helped ease his pain.

Also bounced prematurely were Cada, Gomes, Boris Becker, Leo Fernandez, and Lex Veldhuis. Fernandez went out in especially brutal fashion, getting it all-in with A-K of diamonds, but losing to A-K offsuit when his opponent made a spade flush. The flop came all spades and a fourth fell on the river.

Here are the top ten chip stacks entering a combined Day 2 field on Thursday. Play kicks off at Noon ET inside the Atlantis Resort and Casino in the Bahamas:

1. Wayne Bentley – 329,500
2. Amnon Filippi – 220,100
3. Kevin “BeL0WaB0Ve” Saul – 175,500
4. Mike Chappus – 168,700
5. Anibal Tacla – 166,000
6. Eric “EFro” Froehlich – 166,000
7. Dustin Dorrance-Bowman – 163,700
8. Eric Buchman – 159,100
9. Ryan “Ryanbluf” Karp – 147,600
10. Matt “mattg1983” Graham – 146,700

Notable names perched near the top of the chip counts, along with their totals heading into Day 2, include:

Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad – 124,900
Paul Wasicka – 116,300
Phil Ivey – 115,700
Craig Marquis – 114,300
Barry Shulman – 113,000
Dennis Phillips – 113,000
Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo – 111,200
Dario Minieri – 109,800
J.C. Alvarado – 109,600
Vivek “Psyduck” Rajkumar – 106,400

When play was halted for the night on Day 1A and Day 1B, the blinds were 400-800 with a 100 ante at the end of Level 8. The tournament will crown a champion on Monday. Although PokerStars has not released an official payout structure, first place will likely receive well over $3 million.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest 2010 PCA coverage.

Dream Team Poker Ends 2009 at the Bicycle Casino

It was a big year for Dream Team Poker.  In addition to holding successful events at Caesars Palace and as part of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) festivities, Dream Team ended the year on a high note with a tournament at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles that awarded its winners a couple thousand dollars and tickets to the 2010 Super Bowl.

The recent tournament was held as part of the casino’s Ho Ho Hold’em Series and featured a $67 buy-in for each individual.  If players could not form their own team of three players, the casino helped to group them into teams.  In total, 162 runners took part, generating an individual prize pool of $3,561 and a team prize pool of $5,340.  That amounted to $8,901, including $2,000 and four Super Bowl tickets added by the casino.

WSOP Academy coach Alex Outhred’s team, “Voltron,” was one of 54 that took part in the event.  Of those, six walked away from the tournament with money in their pockets and the winning team, “Met,” took down the top prize of $2,190 and three Super Bowl tickets.  Tony Hinojos was the highest finisher on the “Met” squad, coming in 12th place, while teammate Eric Lucero was hot on his heels in 13th.  The team’s third player, Michael Leidelmeyer, fared less well, busting out in 120th, but thanks to the strong showing by the other two, the team was able to beat out second place finishers “777” for the title.  On the individual front, Iris Gomez of “Team Come and Get It” took top honors along with $1,086 and a Super Bowl ticket of her own.  The top 12 finishers in the individual contest each won at least $105.

This past year may not have been Dream Team’s first year on the scene, but it was certainly the year that the team poker concept really took hold and gained popularity.  After holding its first tournament at the Hard Rock Casino in November of 2008, Dream Team returned to Las Vegas in March for a tournament at Caesars Palace.  A number of top poker pros and celebrities turned out for the event, which featured a $550 per person buy-in.  UB.com’s Phil Hellmuth and Joe Sebok, Full Tilt Poker pros Paul Wasicka and Mike “The Mouth” Matusow, T.J. Cloutier, Jerry Yang, and Team PokerStars Pro Dennis Phillips could be found on the felts.

It was a recognizable face in the winner’s circle as well, as 2006 WSOP Main Event champ Jamie Gold captained “Team Aced” to victory and the top prize of $59,940.  Danny Nelson of “Team BikerHaven.net” took the individual honor, while Gold’s girlfriend and teammate Ashley Nataupsky finished in fourth.

Just a few months later, Dream Team held an exhibition tournament as part of the WSOP festivities.  Although there was no bracelet on the line for the winners, the tournament provided a little fun and entertainment for players who had already busted out of the Main Event.  The pros once again took part and it was PokerHost’s Kenna James who took down the individual title and $16,473.

The team event was won by “Tao of Pokerati,” a trio comprised of Tao of Poker’s Dr. Paul Maguire, Pokerati’s Dan Michalski, and Lana Maier of CardRunners.  The trio had a little extra practice for the team event, as they were all members of the WSOP media, who took part in a Dream Team event of their own just a few days prior.  The media tournament did not offer the lucrative payouts of the other Dream Team events, but it did help raise money for charity.

Once the WSOP wrapped up, Dream Team rolled out a weekly series of events hosted by the Bicycle Casino.  The nine-week series began in October and the Ho Ho Hold’em Dream Team tournament served as the series’ championship event.  Teams that took down the weekly events earned the prize money and a free entry into the December 19th tournament.

There has been no official announcement about the future of Dream Team at the Bike, but considering the rave reviews it got from pros like Gold, Lacey Jones, and James, it seems like it will continue to be a presence on the live tournament circuit in 2010.

Vanessa Rousso Discusses Big Slick Boot Camp, Televised Poker

It has been quite a year for Vanessa Rousso. From her stunning performance in the National Heads-Up Poker Championship in March, where she finished second to Huck Seed, to television and magazine gigs, to running her own poker training camp called the Big Slick Boot Camp, Rousso has been at the pinnacle of the poker world. Poker News Daily recently had a chance to catch up with the globe-trotting Rousso and learn about many of the current aspects of her life, both on and off the felt.

Poker News Daily: What does the Big Slick Boot Camp give its participants that other poker training camps don't provide?

Rousso: What we try to do with the Big Slick Boot Camp is tie in concepts from game theory and Sun Tzu’s book “The Art of War” to offer a way for students to combat the game of poker. I personally believe that we give our seminars a truly unique take on poker strategy.

PND: Do you learn from the camps?

Rousso: I absolutely learn from the students in the camp. I love seeing the light bulbs go off in my students' minds when they achieve new levels of understanding about poker.

I feel very passionate about teaching also. Teaching helps me remind myself of some of the poker strategy fundamentals from which I stray over time in an attempt to play creatively, you might say!

PND: What type of player would learn the most from instruction in your training camp?

Rousso: The intermediate player would be the best person to take on the Big Slick Boot Camp. These are players who understand the basic concepts like position and blind-stealing, but have yet to explore some more complex ideas, such the concept of “M” as defined by Dan Harrington in his books.

PND: You have also offered private individual training for players both in the Boot Camp and outside of the course. How valuable is the individual instruction that you offer?

Rousso: I am very proud of the fact that each of my students has expressed great satisfaction with their private coaching experience. I know that one-on-one attention is the most efficient way to improve someone else’s game because I am able to tailor a program to fit their individual needs.

PND: Does the private training go into further depth than what you have time for in the Big Slick Boot Camp?

Rousso: Yes, because then I can evaluate and customize a program to fit an individual’s needs. I encourage my students to shadow me while I play online to see how I execute different strategies. With some of my longer-term students, I have gone into very advanced concepts and moves that have helped them become some of the top players in the game today.

PND: How big for you and your poker career was finishing as the runner-up in the National Heads-Up Poker Championship?

Rousso: Monetarily, the $250,000 prize is only my fifth largest to date, but the sense of accomplishment that I gained after beating a lineup of players that included Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Paul Wasicka, and Elky head-to-head has been unequaled.

PND: Do your sponsorships with PokerStars and GoDaddy.com put you as a player at ease for tournaments?

Rousso: Having sponsorship income is a bonus for sure, but it doesn’t mean that I no longer feel pressure to perform well in tournaments. In fact, I probably feel added pressure to meet my sponsors’ expectations!

PND: You’ve been on television quite a bit lately. What did you find exciting about participating in the PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge?

Rousso: It was exciting to be part of a poker “game show.” I liked seeing ordinary people being given the chance at the once-in-a-lifetime experience of playing heads-up with celebrities and top poker pros. Of course, the opportunity to win a huge prize is pretty important, too!

PND: You were rumored to be taking over a hosting gig on High Stakes Poker, which turned out to be false. What did you think of that?

Rousso: I was flattered by that, though!

PND: You have a couple of other poker and non-poker related television shows going on right now, correct?

Rousso: Correct. I am happy with the current hosting gig on my plate with Stars of Poker. I co-host on that program and it airs on the Canal+ network in France. The other program I am going to appear on, Bank of Hollywood, is set to air on December 14th at 10:00pm ET on the E! Network. I am part of a panel of judges that has the power to award money to people so that they can fulfill their dreams. It’s completely non-poker related, but still a special program.

PND: Finally, does having a happy personal life with Chad Brown help your poker game and how much?

Rousso: Part of being a successful poker player is realizing that you can’t perform at your best level on the felt unless you have overall balance in your life. Part of that is having healthy and fulfilling personal relationships. So being a part of a great relationship like the one that Chad and I share certainly helps me perform well at the poker table.

Palms Casino Pays $100,000 Fine to Resolve Poker Complaint

The Palms Resort Casino in Las Vegas has agreed to pay $100,000 to settle a complaint after failing to correctly supervise a pair of poker tournaments in 2007. The resort will pay a $75,000 fine to the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) and another $25,000 to the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) for the cost of the investigation.

According to a complaint brought by the state’s attorney general’s office, which was picked up by media outlets like the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the tournaments were held by third parties that did not register with state gaming regulators prior to the events. By hosting the tournaments on their site, the Palms used its license to legitimize the two events. However, the NGCB stated that it doesn’t want outside operators using licensed Nevada casinos to “legitimize less-than-legitimate types of programs.”

The two tournaments were brought to the attention of the Board when it was learned that prize money was left unpaid following their completion.

“By allowing the poker tournament(s) to proceed without adequate planning and follow-up, the Palms failed to exercise the proper discretion and sound judgment to prevent a situation that might reflect negatively on the reputation of the State of Nevada and its gaming industry,” the complaint said.

One of the tournaments involved was the inaugural United States Poker League’s Poker Bowl, which was held in October of 2007. The team-based event was at first considered to be a giant success after attracting many of the game’s biggest names, such as Doyle Brunson, Kathy Liebert, Scotty Nguyen, Phil Laak, Antonio Esfandiari, Greg Raymer, and Paul Wasicka. Team Cincinnati, represented by former World Series of Poker (WSOP) runner-up Steve Dannenmann and five other players, won the event and $600,000.

However, Poker Bowl’s owner and founder John Nightingale had difficulty keeping the company breathing and was forced to sell off its assets shortly after the event took place. The winners were never paid and individuals who had a financial stake in the business were left up in the air.

Some speculated that the reason Nightingale could not come up with the prize money was that he allowed too many pros to play for free rather than making them buy into the tournament. The Palms disbursed $450,416 in unpaid prize money to the winners after checks from the Poker Bowl bounced.

The other incident in the complaint occurred in August of 2007 after a tournament organized by Michael Eakman and Associates was not registered with the NGCB. The tournament was set up to benefit the Jewish Community Center of Southern Nevada, but Michael Eakman and Associates waited four months to pay the Jewish Community Center its share of the earnings.

According to a Palms spokesperson, the resort paid all of the prizes as soon as it learned of the complaint.

Jason Somerville Leads WPT Festa al Lago Entering Day 3

Two days are in the books at the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Festa al Lago event. A total of 275 players registered, a drop of 25% compared to 2008, and entering Day 3 on Friday, Jason “JCarver” Somerville leads the way with a stack of 557,000.

A total of $1.2 million is up for grabs for the winner of the $15,000 buy-in tournament being held at the Bellagio. One person who won’t have the opportunity to vie for the seven-figure payday is Barry Shulman, the reigning champion of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe Main Event and father of November Nine member Jeff Shulman. The elder Shulman, founder of CardPlayer Magazine, was knocked out to close play on Thursday after pushing pre-flop with A-4 and running into the A-10 of Poorya Nazari. The winner of the 2009 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, Nazari saw his hand hold to knock out Shulman.

Also eliminated late in the day was Full Tilt Poker pro Howard Lederer, who pushed over the top of a raise by Mark Seif for 60 big blinds holding pocket jacks. However, Seif called and turned over pocket kings. The board ran out Q-10-10-6-A to send Lederer home just a few hours after he bought into the tournament during the extended registration period on Day 2.

2008 WSOP Europe Main Event Champion John Juanda was sent packing shortly after registration closed at 5:00pm Pacific Time on Thursday. Juanda called all-in for his tournament life on a board of K-Q-5-9 with three spades holding 6-7 of the suit. His opponent, Somerville, held Q-10 of spades for a higher flush and Juanda was eliminated. The hand pushed Somerville’s stack to 240,000.

2009 Poker Hall of Fame nominee Erik Seidel, an eight-time WSOP bracelet holder, took a bad beat at the hands of Phil Laak to end his run in the WPT Festa al Lago. Seidel pushed pre-flop with A-K and Laak made the call with K-5 of diamonds. Sure enough, a five hit the turn to give Laak the win in the hand. Laak’s stack grew to 120,000, but he did not survive play on Thursday. Others who were ousted included Beth Shak, Phil Hellmuth, Kenny Tran, Paul Wasicka, Erik Cajelais, David Grey, Carlos Mortensen, Eli Elezra, Jason Mercier, and Mike Sowers.

Here are the top 10 chip stacks remaining in the Festa al Lago entering Day 3 on Friday:

1. Jason “JCarver” Somerville – 557,000
2. Mark Seif – 473,200
3. Dutch Boyd – 453,800
4. Chad “lilholdem954” Batista – 425,000
5. Corwin Cole – 405,600
6. Richard Sciuto – 403,100
7. David “The Dragon” Pham – 365,000
8. Mike “goleafsgoeh” Leah – 348,400
9. Steven McKoy – 325,500
10. Jonas Entin – 317,600

Ninety-eight players remain, with the top 27 spots paying out. Other notable names still in the hunt for the WPT title include:

11. Steve “gboro780” Gross – 301,900
13. Lee Markholt – 273,800
21. David “Chino” Rheem – 233,000
27. Poorya Nazari – 221,600
30. Chau Giang – 210,700
34. Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo – 197,500
38. Mike Matusow – 183,800
48. Freddy Deeb – 144,800
49. Steve Brecher – 137,600
59. Andy Bloch – 112,200
60. Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy – 111,600
61. Glen Chorny – 111,100
63. Vivek “Psyduck” Rajkumar – 106,200
64. Todd Brunson – 105,900
72. Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little – 88,300
75. Brandon Cantu – 84,000
78. Josh Arieh – 77,800
80. Prahlad Friedman – 75,900
83. Barry Greenstein – 68,900
89. Kathy Liebert – 55,000
92. Phil Ivey – 51,700

When play halted for the evening in Las Vegas, blinds were at 1,000/2,000 with a 200 chip ante. The Festa al Lago will crown a winner on Monday. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the marquee WPT event.

Next High Stakes Poker Host is Not Vanessa Rousso

Poker News Daily can confirm that Team PokerStars Pro member Vanessa Rousso will not be the next co-host of GSN’s “High Stakes Poker.” The revelation comes on the heels of the news that longtime host A.J. Benza will not return for Season 6.

A cryptic message posted on Rousso’s Twitter feed set the industry ablaze with rumor that she would be the next host of “High Stakes Poker” alongside Gabe Kaplan. The entry, which was posted last Tuesday, read, “PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge is wrappppped! Woot! Meetings today about another TV project, will keep you all posted.” Rousso is one of four PokerStars pros to compete on the FOX “Million Dollar Challenge” franchise, joining Chris Moneymaker, Barry Greenstein, and the show’s front man, Daniel Negreanu. The show debuted following the NFL on FOX last Sunday.

When prompted for comment on whether she would make her GSN debut when “High Stakes Poker” Season 6 begins airing in February, Rousso told Poker News Daily via e-mail, “I’m not sure where the rumor started but I’m not the new co-host of HSP.” Rousso was the runner-up in the 2009 National Heads-Up Poker Championship, which aired on NBC, falling to Huck Seed in the finals. That event saw the 26 year-old poker whiz defeat Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Paul Wasicka, Daniel Negreanu, and Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier en route to the final pairing.

Just before the National Heads-Up Poker Championship began, Rousso inked an agreement to become the next Go Daddy Girl. She joined a star-studded lineup of faces that represent the domain name reseller, including Danica Patrick, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mark Martin, and Candice Michelle. Rousso has a wealth of poker experience under her belt, including final table bubbles in the World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship during Season IV and the Southern Poker Championship during Season VII; those earned her a combined $342,000.

In a recent blog entry posted on DoylesRoom.com, site namesake Doyle Brunson commented on the future host of “High Stakes Poker,” saying, “Vanessa Rousso is named as [A.J. Benza’s] likely replacement. I’m pro-Vanessa so I think she will fit in nicely with the old comic Gabe Kaplan.” Benza reported that the next host of “High Stakes Poker” would be female. Other rumored replacements include Kara Scott, Shana Hiatt, and Leeann Tweeden.

GSN officials expect to release more information on Friday as to the future co-host of “High Stakes Poker.” The cash game is scheduled to begin filming in November from Las Vegas.

Laura Lane Gives the Inside Scoop on Inside Deal

Released every Tuesday on ESPN.com are new 30 minute editions of the hit poker show “Inside Deal.” Hosted by Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Bernard Lee and ESPN: The Magazine’s Laura Lane, “Inside Deal” has quickly acquired a loyal audience after debuting on August 4th. We sat down with Lane to discuss its success.

Poker News Daily: Tell us how you became involved with ESPN’s “Inside Deal.”

Lane: I write for ESPN: The Magazine and ESPN.com. I also did a lot of sports and entertainment television when I was in college. ESPN knew I liked poker, they approached me, and it went from there.

PND: Can you give us your poker background?

Lane: I first learned about poker from my little brother. We watched it on television and any time I hung out with him, I had to play. Then, I started playing against sports reporters in a weekly game. I got pretty good really fast. I would play every week in college, read books, watch it on television, and ended up playing in a charity tournament during the Sundance Film Festival. Jamie Gold was there giving lessons, so I sat down and got a lesson from him. Paul Wasicka and Todd Brunson were also there. I made it to the final table and finished fifth.

PND: Did you get any advice from Gold?

Lane: I didn’t know much at the time. There were three tables left and he told me to go all-in with the next best hand I got. I picked up K-K and Jamie was sitting at my table. I pushed all-in, Jamie looked at me, and said he’d fold. After that, everyone at the table gave me respect.

PND: How is “Inside Deal” compiled before it debuts on ESPN.com? What work goes into it?

Lane: Andrew Feldman, the Poker Editor for ESPN.com, has good judgment when it comes to news stories. Bernard is the poker pro and has interviewed a lot of the players before. We talk about what stories are good for the week and, ultimately, our producer makes the call on what airs.

PND: The chemistry between Bernard Lee and you seems to be pretty strong. Tell us about working with one of poker’s top minds.

Lane: He’s one of the nicest guys ever. We had a phone conversation before we ever met while he was in Hawaii. I read his blog back in 2005 when he had a deep run in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event and had a lot of questions for him about that. We’re both passionate and it’s nice working with someone who cares so much about the show. We keep talking about how we need a Sunday night game together because we shoot the show on Mondays. We had a barbeque after last week’s show and like hanging out with other.

PND: Has working on “Inside Deal” improved your own game?

Lane: I haven’t tested it out since we started filming the show. However, I’ve been learning so many tips that I probably should have known before, which will help undoubtedly me.

PND: Is it intimidating interviewing poker’s elite like Barry Greenstein, Chris Moneymaker, and Dennis Phillips?

Lane: Bernard has played with everyone, so he doesn’t get intimidated. Andrew has interviewed all of the top players. I’ve interviewed Jamie Gold and wrote articles for All In Magazine when it existed. I interviewed Greg Raymer when I was in college. I’ve interview A-list celebrities like Kobe Bryant and Kanye West, so I’m pretty comfortable.

PND: What feedback have you received from the show from friends, family, and co-workers who have watched it?

Lane: My little sister is honest. She’ll say, “Your hair looks better when it’s half up” and comment on my looks more than anything. Other people give me constructive tips. My mom says she doesn’t understand what we’re talking about. I went over to a friend’s house and they hadn’t seen it yet, so we watched it. They all wanted to know how I did it. Some of my friends are baffled by it.

PND: “Inside Deal” is slated to run weekly until the WSOP Main Event final table in November. What do you foresee beyond that?

Lane: The Main Event is the Super Bowl of poker, but there are so many different tournaments throughout the year. A show like ours could go year-round, but we’ll have to wait and see.

PND: Is there a market for a poker show like “Inside Deal” on television?

Lane: I really hope so. Poker is constantly growing and there are more people interested in it than ever before. People watch repeats of it over and over on networks like ESPN. The market is definitely strong. I would hope that in the next year or so, a show like ours is on television.

Laura Lane Gives the Inside Scoop on Inside Deal

Released every Tuesday on ESPN.com are new 30 minute editions of the hit poker show “Inside Deal.” Hosted by Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Bernard Lee and ESPN: The Magazine’s Laura Lane, “Inside Deal” has quickly acquired a loyal audience after debuting on August 4th. We sat down with Lane to discuss its success.

Poker News Daily: Tell us how you became involved with ESPN’s “Inside Deal.”

Lane: I write for ESPN: The Magazine and ESPN.com. I also did a lot of sports and entertainment television when I was in college. ESPN knew I liked poker, they approached me, and it went from there.

PND: Can you give us your poker background?

Lane: I first learned about poker from my little brother. We watched it on television and any time I hung out with him, I had to play. Then, I started playing against sports reporters in a weekly game. I got pretty good really fast. I would play every week in college, read books, watch it on television, and ended up playing in a charity tournament during the Sundance Film Festival. Jamie Gold was there giving lessons, so I sat down and got a lesson from him. Paul Wasicka and Todd Brunson were also there. I made it to the final table and finished fifth.

PND: Did you get any advice from Gold?

Lane: I didn’t know much at the time. There were three tables left and he told me to go all-in with the next best hand I got. I picked up K-K and Jamie was sitting at my table. I pushed all-in, Jamie looked at me, and said he’d fold. After that, everyone at the table gave me respect.

PND: How is “Inside Deal” compiled before it debuts on ESPN.com? What work goes into it?

Lane: Andrew Feldman, the Poker Editor for ESPN.com, has good judgment when it comes to news stories. Bernard is the poker pro and has interviewed a lot of the players before. We talk about what stories are good for the week and, ultimately, our producer makes the call on what airs.

PND: The chemistry between Bernard Lee and you seems to be pretty strong. Tell us about working with one of poker’s top minds.

Lane: He’s one of the nicest guys ever. We had a phone conversation before we ever met while he was in Hawaii. I read his blog back in 2005 when he had a deep run in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event and had a lot of questions for him about that. We’re both passionate and it’s nice working with someone who cares so much about the show. We keep talking about how we need a Sunday night game together because we shoot the show on Mondays. We had a barbeque after last week’s show and like hanging out with other.

PND: Has working on “Inside Deal” improved your own game?

Lane: I haven’t tested it out since we started filming the show. However, I’ve been learning so many tips that I probably should have known before, which will help undoubtedly me.

PND: Is it intimidating interviewing poker’s elite like Barry Greenstein, Chris Moneymaker, and Dennis Phillips?

Lane: Bernard has played with everyone, so he doesn’t get intimidated. Andrew has interviewed all of the top players. I’ve interviewed Jamie Gold and wrote articles for All In Magazine when it existed. I interviewed Greg Raymer when I was in college. I’ve interview A-list celebrities like Kobe Bryant and Kanye West, so I’m pretty comfortable.

PND: What feedback have you received from the show from friends, family, and co-workers who have watched it?

Lane: My little sister is honest. She’ll say, “Your hair looks better when it’s half up” and comment on my looks more than anything. Other people give me constructive tips. My mom says she doesn’t understand what we’re talking about. I went over to a friend’s house and they hadn’t seen it yet, so we watched it. They all wanted to know how I did it. Some of my friends are baffled by it.

PND: “Inside Deal” is slated to run weekly until the WSOP Main Event final table in November. What do you foresee beyond that?

Lane: The Main Event is the Super Bowl of poker, but there are so many different tournaments throughout the year. A show like ours could go year-round, but we’ll have to wait and see.

PND: Is there a market for a poker show like “Inside Deal” on television?

Lane: I really hope so. Poker is constantly growing and there are more people interested in it than ever before. People watch repeats of it over and over on networks like ESPN. The market is definitely strong. I would hope that in the next year or so, a show like ours is on television.

Jeremy Gaubert Wins Gold Strike World Poker Open

Jeremy “thechemist83” Gaubert ran away from the field in the $5,150 buy-in Gold Strike World Poker Open despite entering the final table in seventh place out of nine runners. He earned $192,000 in the Tunica, Mississippi tournament.

Online, Gaubert has been one of the top players in the industry. In April, he trumped the field in the weekly Full Tilt Poker Sunday Mulligan for $52,000 and grabbed a win in the Ultimate Bet $100,000 Guaranteed in June for another $26,000. He chopped the Sunday Million on PokerStars for $233,000 and also has a victory in the site’s prestigious Warm-Up for $80,000. The $192,000 cash in the Tunica casino wasn’t his first six-figure live payday, however. Gaubert made a deep run and finished 58th in the 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, banking $115,000 from the $10,000 buy-in contest.

In addition to the cash, Gaubert also received a $10,000 buy-in to the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Southern Poker Championship, which is slated for January 24th to 27th at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Mississippi. Here’s a look at how the final table panned out in Tunica:

1. Jeremy Gaubert - $192,953
2. Steve Hamontree - $109,400
3. Chris Moneymaker - $60,110
4. Chad Brown - $48,088
5. Thomas Creel - $36,066
6. Gil George - $30,055
7. Tommy Vedes - $24,044
8. Jerry Milanos - $18,033
9. Paris Heard - $12,022

Gaubert rolled through stiff competition in the $5,150 buy-in event. Heading into the final table, Moneymaker held 40% of the chips in play. The 2003 WSOP Main Event Champion was at home in Tunica, originally hailing from nearby Tennessee. Moneymaker’s victory over Sammy Farha in the 2003 WSOP Main Event is the primary reason that many of us are here today. In 2004, Moneymaker backed up his Main Event win by finishing as the runner-up to Phil Gordon in the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star, banking $200,000. A card-carrying member of Team PokerStars Pro, Moneymaker remains synonymous with poker glory.

Also calling Team PokerStars Pro home is Brown, who is married to 2009 National Heads-Up Poker Championship runner-up Vanessa Rousso. Brown made two final tables during the 2009 WSOP, including a $188,000 payday for taking third in the $10,000 buy-in World Championship of Limit Hold’em. In 2007, Brown finished second to Full Tilt Poker pro Erik Seidel in the $10,000 buy-in World Championship of No Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball for $324,000. Like Rousso, Brown has excelled in NBC’s National Heads-Up Poker Championship, reaching the final table against Paul Wasicka in 2007 and ultimately claiming second place for $250,000.

The World Poker Open was originally a stop on the WPT circuit and formerly held at the Horseshoe Casino, located next door to the Gold Strike in Tunica. In 2003, David “Devilfish” Ulliott outlasted the 160 player field en route to a win over Phil Ivey and a $589,000 payday. In 2004, Barry Greenstein defeated Randy Jensen in Tunica for $1.2 million, defeating a field of 367. In 2005, the tournament moved to the towering Gold Strike Casino, where John Stolzmann outlasted one of the toughest final tables in WPT history that also included Chau Giang, Daniel Negreanu, Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, and Scotty Nguyen.

In 2006, Nguyen took down the World Poker Open title, defeating Mizrachi heads-up. The two had miraculously reached the final table of the five-figure buy-in tournament in back-to-back years. In 2007, Negreanu was the runner-up to Bryan Sumner in the Mississippi tournament. In 2008, the final year that the Gold Strike played host to a WPT event, Brett Faustman bested Hoyt Corkins for the title and $892,000 first place prize. The festivities then moved to Biloxi for the Southern Poker Championship, which is held at the Gold Strike’s sister property, the Beau Rivage.

Players Reach the Money on Day 4 of the WSOP Main Event

Day 4 of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event came to an early close Saturday evening, as it took just three levels to eliminate 382 players and break the money bubble. The top 648 players received a minimum of $21,365 and, after some fast play, the tournament staff halted the event with 407 runners left in the field.

The money bubble broke after nearly two hours of hand-for-hand play and Kia Hamadami, a 26-year old financial analyst from Los Angeles, was the odd man out. Hamadami was all-in for his last 500 chips with on the final hand and couldn’t improve against an opponent’s . Hamadami wasn’t left completely empty-handed, however, as he received an entry into next year’s WSOP Main Event paid for by sponsor Jack Link’s Beef Jerky.

“I started the day with 280,000 in chips. I had some really tough hands,” Hamadami said after his elimination. “We went like six hands during hand-for-hand and I thought I could make it through, but it didn’t happen. That’s how it goes.

Ultimate Bet pro Phil Hellmuth was among the players eliminated after the bubble broke. Hellmuth’s pocket aces were cracked when a player made a straight on the river, forcing him out of the tournament in 436th place. It was his second consecutive cash in the Main Event after taking 45th last year. Others eliminated on Day 4 included Greg “FBT” Mueller, Hevad Khan, Jesper Hougaard, Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, Paul Wasicka, Alexander Kostritsyn, and Chris “Jesus” Ferguson.

Matt “mcmatto” Affleck emerged as the chip leader at the end of the night, bagging up more than 1.8 million after being seated at a table with Mike Sexton and entertainer Lou Diamond Phillips for much of the day. Affleck, a professional poker player from Seattle, bested Phillips in several pots, but the comedian managed to advance to Day 5 with 607,000 chips, well above the tournament average. Sexton was sent home during the last level when his Ace-King was outdrawn by another player’s Ace-Queen. Sexton finished in 420th place, giving him his seventh career cash in the WSOP Main Event.

Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier was the chip leader going into Day 4 and built his stack up as high as 1.8 million before losing a good portion of it before the end of the day; he’ll return for Day 5 with 1.25 million. Meanwhile, Phil Ivey continues to wreak havoc on this year’s WSOP, as the seven-time bracelet winner will take his seat with 1.28 million on Sunday. Ivey was at the ESPN featured table for all of Day 4.

Others advancing to Day 5 were Joe Hachem, Dennis Phillips, Theo Tran, Joe Sebok, Kenny Tran, David Benyamine, Kara Scott, Vitaly Lunkin, J.C.  Tran, Antonio Esfandiari, and defending champion Peter Eastgate, who ended Day 4 with 397,000 in chips.

Here’s a look at the top 25 stacks going into Day 5, which gets underway at Noon Pacific Time on Sunday:

1. Matt Affleck - 1,819,000
2. Ludovic Lacay - 1,608,000
3. Tom Lutz - 1,600,000
4. James Akenhead - 1,572,000
5. Charlie Elias - 1,540,000
6. Miika Puumalainen - 1,492,000
7. Jordan Morgan - 1,489,000
8. Bernhard Perner - 1,426,000
9. Blair Hinkle - 1,399,000
10. Benjamin Jensen - 1,394,000
11. Billy Kopp - 1,385,000
12. Eracles Panayiotou - 1,299,000
13. Chuck Clark - 1,295,000
14. Abraham Mourshaki - 1,294,000
15. Phil Ivey - 1,276,000
16. Bertrand Grospelier - 1,253,000
17. Kevin Schaffel - 1,206,000
18. Keith Lehr - 1,190,000
19. Ben Lamb - 1,183,000
20. Patterson Tyler - 1,168,000
21. Rifat Palevic - 1,152,000
22. Joe Ward - 1,129,000
23. Nick Maimone - 1,104,000
24. Kasper Cordes - 1,095,000
25. Manuel Labandeira - 1,087,000

Money talks on Day 4 of 2009 WSOP Main Event

Bertrand 'ElkY" Grospellier took a commanding chip lead on Day 3 and entered Friday's play with 1.6 million chips, with fellow Frenchman Ludovic Lacay second in the chip count at 925k.

Day 4 will play out until four levels are played or 400 players are eliminated.

While Day 3 might indicate a French takeover in the Main Event, lots of big-name players still lurk in the field.

Phil Hellmuth is still in play with a shot at his 12th WSOP bracelet, beginning the day with 485k in chips.

Phil Ivey, Joe Sebok, Justin Bonomo and Paul Wasicka all began the day amongst the top 100 chip stacks, with Hevad Khan and Vitaly Lunkin also still right in the mix.

Ivey and Grospellier were seated at the same table for a time yesterday but managed to avoid each other for the most part and are now seated at different tables.

Some weren't so lucky Friday, as Day 4 starts without Jason Alexander, Carlos Mortensen and John Juanda.

Two members of the 2008 WSOP November Nine are stacked with chips as third place finisher Dennis Phillips has 460,000 while reigning World Champion Peter Eastgate has nearly 300,000 chips.

Keep checking PokerListings.com for live updates throughout the day as players attempt to go deep into the money on Day 4 of the 2009 WSOP Main Event.

Bertrand Grospellier Leads after Day 3 of WSOP Main Event

Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier vaulted to the top of the leaderboard Friday evening and will enter Day 4 of the World Series of Poker Main Event as the chip leader with 1,380,500 in chips. Fellow Frenchman Ludovic Lacay is second with 896,000.

Day 3 began with 2,044 players and 789 survivors advanced. With the top 646 spots being paid, we are currently 141 spots from the money, which will likely be reached on Day 4.  Everyone that cashes will earn a minimum of $ 21,365.

While the rapid eliminations were eye opening on Day 3, the biggest story was Grospellier. A sudden rush of fear came over the Amazon Room as word got out about Grospellier’s tower of chips that eclipsed the one million mark late in the evening. Most of those came in a pot against Jerry Wong, which gave Grospellier a jolt into the chip lead. With the board reading Wong bet 33,000 and Grospellier raised to 133,300. Wong then moved all in for a total of 390,000, and after a few minutes of thought Grospellier called:

Wong:
Grospellier:

Grospellier’s set of nines were good and Wong was sent packing. Grospellier, meanwhile, had so many chips in front of him that the tournament staff had to exchange several of his lower denomination chips for higher ones.

“It was a very good day”, Grospellier said after play concluded for the night. “The beginning was pretty slow. Then, I began to get good hands and I picked my spots pretty well. I got good hands and people tried to push me off hands when I would flop sets, so it was pretty good timing.  Anyone that was weak and trying to stay alive, I tried to push around but that’s about it.”

Grospellier already has amassed nearly $6 million in live poker tournament winnings, all within the past four years. His major titles include two wins in 2008, at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure and the Festa Al Lago Championship. He also finished fourth in the NBC Heads-Up World Championship held earlier this year.

Several former world champions continued play on Day 3 and all but two survived. Bobby Baldwin, Phil Hellmuth, Dan Harrington, Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, Joe Hachem, and Peter Eastgate all advanced to Day 4, while Greg “Fossilman” Raymer and Carlos Mortensen were eliminated. Other big names joining Raymer and Mortensen on the rail Friday were Humberto Brenes, John Juanda, Liz Lieu, Ville Wahlbeck and actor Jason Alexander.

With Wahlbeck’s elimination on Day 3, Jeffrey Lisandro officially locked up the 2009 WSOP Player of the Year title. When the results became known, Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack took the microphone and approached Lisandro, who was playing at the ESPN feature table. He announced Lisandro’s achievement, which received a nice round of applause. All of Lisandro’s opponents at the table also offered handshakes and congratulatory remarks. Lisandro was eliminated later in the day.

Here’s a look at the top 10 chip counts along with some notables heading into Day 4 of the WSOP Main Event:

1. Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier – 1,380,500
2. Ludovic Lacay – 896,000
3. Jason Brice – 858,500
4. Benjamin Jensen – 835,500
5. Kasper Cordes – 796000
6. James Akenhead – 794,000
7. Billy “Patrolman35” Kopp – 792,000
8. Tyler Patterson – 784,000
9. Adam Bilzerian – 767,000
10. Christian Heich – 735,500
Kenny Tran - 666,500
Justin Bonomo - 517,500
Phil Hellmuth - 485,000
Mike Sexton - 414,000
David Benyamine - 381,500
Phil Ivey - 371,000
Lou Diamond Phillips - 359,500
Alexander Kostritsyn - 340,500
Joe Sebok - 297,500
Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi - 297,000
Paul Wasicka - 294,000
Peter Eastgate - 292,500
Antonio Esfandiari - 283,500
Joe Hachem - 239,500
Chris “Jesus” Ferguson - 232,500
Tom Schneider - 231,000
Dan Harrington - 187,500
Vitaly Lunkin - 159,500
JC Tran - 119,000
Greg “FBT” Mueller - 101,500

Day 4 of the Main Event will get underway at Noon Vegas time on Saturday. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for continuing updates on the 2009 World Series of Poker.

Main Event Day 3 begins for Ivey, Tran, Benyamine

There is a slim chance that the money bubble, which starts at 648 players remaining, will burst today but in all likelihood players will return tomorrow to make it into the coveted money spots.

Numerous pro poker players are still in the hunt with Kenny Tran, Bertrand Grospellier, Kevin Saul, Paul Wasicka, Dan Harrington, J.C. Alverado, Marc Karam, Joe Hachem, Noah Boeken, Nick Binger and Eugene Katchalov all looking to become the first pro to win the Main Event since Carlos Mortensen did in 2001.

Full Tilt Pro Phil Ivey might have the best chance to perform that feat as of Day 3 because he led his fellow pros with 346,000 chips.

Joining the pros will be a group of celebrity players including actors Jason Alexander, Lou Diamond Phillips, Patrick Bruel in addition to athletes like the NBA's Jordan Farmar and international cricket star Shane Warne.

The chip lead to start the day belongs to the relatively unknown Amir Lehavot who somehow amassed 610,000 on Day 2b thanks to a last minute monster pot.

There are several intriguing table matchups with Joe Hachem and Jeffrey Lisandro forced to face each other at the TV feature table while Finnish poker superstar Ville Wahlbeck will have to contend with Kenny Tran at the secondary feature table.

PokerListings.com will be live updating the event throughout the day with all the biggest hands, bustouts and breaking news. Check out the updates here.

Here are the top 10 chip leaders to start the day:

Jose Canseco Enters Dream Team Poker WSOP Tournament

Poker News Daily has learned that former Major League Baseball star Jose Canseco has entered the third Dream Team Poker tournament, which will be held on July 12th and 13th during the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP).

Canseco, whose book “Juiced” helped fuel the steroid hunt in professional baseball, will take to the Dream Team Poker felts along with teammates Shane McDowell and Josh Clark. Canseco’s team, dubbed “On Tilt,” is one of over 100 that have already registered for the event, which will be the first of its kind at the WSOP. Each three-man Dream Team Poker squad will battle for individual and team prizes in the two-day contest, which comes with a price tag of $560 per person.

Attendees of PokerPalooza, formerly the WSOP Gaming Life Expo, will notice a wall of jerseys hanging outside its entrance. The spectacle has been on display all week, runs from floor to ceiling, and has become a popular stop for poker fans. Dream Team Poker officials are expecting over 300 players total at the Rio, including Daniel Negreanu, whose Team Poker VT has already paid its buy-in. 2007 WSOP Main Event Champion Jerry Yang will be in attendance, as will Team Bodog, which includes Evelyn Ng, Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, and David Williams.

Last time out, Dream Team Poker held its first open tournament at Caesars Palace. The event attracted 148 teams and 444 players, selling out the Caesars poker room. In the end, Team ACED, led by 2006 WSOP Main Event Champion Jamie Gold, took down the title. Although Gold has since parted ways with the Merge Gaming Network site, his name is forever entrenched in Dream Team Poker history. Gold and company pocketed $59,000 for recording the top team finish and Danny Nelson from Team BikerHaven.net grabbed $24,000 for claiming the individual title.

Coming in second place at Caesars in the team competition were the Claddaghs, who earned $33,000. Other top finishers included The Clones (third place for $15,000), Party at the Mansion (fourth place for $10,000), and the Hellmuth Busters (fifth place for $6,000). One-third of the 2008 WSOP November Nine turned out at Caesars, as did Phil Hellmuth, Johnny Chan, Todd Brunson, Paul Wasicka, Mike Matusow, Erica Schoenberg, and T.J. Cloutier. Also in attendance was Bonomo, who along with Matt Parvis and Eric Morris took down the inaugural Dream Team Poker event as part of Team Bluff.

Each player will begin with 10,000 starting chips and blind levels last 40 minutes. The price of poker begins at 50-100 and antes kick in at Level 3, when blinds are 150-300. A 10 minute break occurs after every three levels and teammates are not seated at the same table until 14 to 16 players remain. Teams that registered prior to July 1st received a customized jersey and play begins at 2:00pm Pacific Time on both July 12th and 13th. Individual payouts amount to 40% of the prize pool, while team payouts make up the remaining 60%.

Other players slated to enter the third Dream Team Poker tournament include Barry Greenstein and Joe Sebok (Team PokerRoad), Gavin Smith (Team Zurvive), Pamela Brunson (Team Pushers), Liz Liu (Team Chili Poker), and Barbara Enright, Paul Darden, and David Levi, who will make up Team Bookmaker Poker.

July 12th also marks Day 5 of the 2009 WSOP Main Event, which kicked off on Friday with the first of four starting days. A total of 1,116 entrants took to the felts on Day 1A, down from 1,297 last year. Today’s field is expected to be smaller due to the July 4th holiday in the United States. The $10,000 buy-in tournament will play down to its final table on July 15th, when it will be paused for four months. Last year, Danish poker pro Peter Eastgate earned $9.1 million for the victory and became the youngest WSOP Main Event winner ever at age 22.

The Dream Team Poker event will be held inside the Amazon Room, home of the 2009 WSOP. Registration is now open at the Rio cage and can be paid via casino chips, cash, or cashier’s check. We’ll have full tournament results for you right here on Poker News Daily.

Hansen among leaders in $50k H.O.R.S.E.

Hansen sits behind only Ray Dehkharghani on the chip leaderboard.

Notable among Day 2's survivors are Day 1 chipleader Hasan Habib, Patrik Antonius, Doyle Brunson and Phil Ivey as well as 2008 champ Scotty Nguyen and 2007 champ Freddy Deeb.

Deeb found himself embroiled in a bit of controversy late in Saturday's action, accusing Brett Richey of peeking at his hole cards while standing behind the table.

Richey, in turn, accused Deeb of being a luck box and challenged him to a heads-up match, "Any game, any stakes, any time."

Unfortunately, the night ended before Deeb could accept the challenge.

Among those to succumb on Day 2 were 2006 runner-up Andy Bloch, Annie Duke, the indefatigable Allen Kessler and Daniel Negreanu.

Play will resume for Day 3 at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

Here's how the rest of Saturday's action played out in the Amazon Room:

Event 48 - $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Split

Brandon Cantu claimed his second WSOP bracelet in the $1.5k PLO8 event just days after taking second in Event 39, a $1,500 No Limit Hold'em donkament.

Cantu entered the final table with nearly one-third of the chips in play but saw his stack fluctuate wildly before mounting a comeback to defeat Lee Watkinson heads-up for the bracelet and $228,867 in cash.

Check out Cantu's thoughts on the victory here.

Event 50 - $1,000 Limit Hold'em Shootout

Greg Mueller and David Williams headline the final table of the $1,500 No Limit Hold'em shootout event after Day 2 action saw a field of 64 survivors whittled down to an eight-handed final table.

Jose Barbero and Marc Naalden also snagged final table seats, while EPT3 Dortmund champ Andreas Hoivold just barely missed the cut.

Shawn Buchanan and Humberto Brenes also busted out shy of the final table.

Final table action begins at 2 p.m. local time on Sunday.

Event 51 - $1,500 No Limit Hold'em

The penultimate donkament of the 2009 WSOP was an unmitigated success as a field of 2,781 entrants sold out the Amazon Room in a quest for a piece of a $3.8 million prize pool.

Among the 350 players advancing to Day 2 are chipleader Christopher Bonita as well as Amnon Filippi and Jason Potter.

Meanwhile, Paul Wasicka, Jason Mercier and Marc "The Beaver" Convey were among the multitudes who failed to survive the first day's action.

Action will resume at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

Check out PokerListings' WSOP section for more exclusive coverage from the 2009 World Series of Poker.

Dream Team Poker Announces Tournament During 2009 WSOP

Dream Team Poker will present the third tournament in its history in July. Fresh off a sold out event at Caesars Palace, the team gaming concept will make its way to the Rio from July 12th to 13th during the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP). The buy-in is $560 per person, or $1,680 per three-man team.

The last time out, 148 teams and 444 players mobbed Caesars Palace for a sold out tournament, the first one held by Dream Team Poker that was open to the general public. In the end, Team ACED, which consisted of then-ACED Poker pro Jamie Gold, Ashley Nataupsky, and Houston Waldie, dominated the field and banked nearly $60,000. Other teams that finished in the money included The Claddaghs (second place for $33,300), The Clones (third place for $15,984), Party at the Mansion (fourth place for $10,656), and the Hellmuth Busters (fifth place for $6,660). Players who hit the felts included Bodog Poker pro Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, Ultimate Bet personality Phil Hellmuth, Johnny Chan, David Williams, Paul Wasicka, and T.J. Cloutier. Needless to say, the poker world was out in full force.

Dream Team Poker CEO Daniel Delshad will now bring his company’s popular concept to the world’s biggest stage: The 2009 WSOP. The tournament will take place concurrently with the end of the $10,000 buy-in Main Event, which will air as part of ESPN’s coverage of the festivities. Delshad told Poker News Daily, “After the success of our Caesars Palace event, we were able to get some time with WSOP officials and discuss an opportunity to bring Dream Team Poker to the Rio. To be able to get a turnaround that quickly is a testament to our success and the WSOP bringing new ideas to their game.” The WSOP Main Event will play down to its final table on July 15th and then be paused until November for the second straight year. On July 12th and 13th, the featured tournament will be playing out Day 5 and Day 6.

The first 300 teams that register will receive customized jerseys to don when they hit the Dream Team Poker felts. Although the number of tables that the tournament will have available has not yet been determined, a crowd surpassing the 444 players who showed up to Caesars is not out of the question. Delshad was elated at the event’s timing: “It gives us a lot more time to promote it. For us, the real excitement is to be in the Amazon Room at the same time as the Main Event. It’s a step higher than just being at the WSOP.” Registration for Dream Team Poker’s WSOP tournament will open on July 3rd. The organization will also have a booth in the halls of the Rio throughout the seven week WSOP festivities.

Among those who have expressed interest in creating a team is Jason Lilly, the individual winner in Dream Team Poker’s inaugural tournament, which was held at the Hard Rock in November. In addition, Joe Sebok has asked for Dream Team Poker officials to reserve him a spot. The tournament’s rules will remain much the same. Delshad told Poker News Daily, “People will still be wearing jerseys, but we’ll be on a bigger floor. We are still going to have time outs for players to talk to teammates who have been eliminated. We look at this as a good opportunity for people to continue to learn about the strategy of team gaming.” Taking down the invite-only Hard Rock event was Team Bluff, which consisted of Bonomo, Eric Morris, and Matt Parvis.

Delshad revealed to Poker News Daily that Dream Team Poker has plans to take the brand outside of the United States, as it has revolutionized the notion that poker is an individual sport. Team scores are determined by adding up the position that each player finished in. Only the two best scores are counted and the team with the lowest tally wins. Teammates are not seated at the same table until 14 to 16 players remain and any team that is represented in the final 27 runners receives a time out. Players also compete for individual prize money in addition to banking on their team’s success.

Poker News Daily would like to thank Delshad for giving our readers a unique insight into the Dream Team Poker concept.

Ocean’s Eleven stars joins team Full Tilt

Actor Don Cheadle has joined team Full Tilt Poker. He can be seen in celebrated movies like Oceans Eleven, Hotel Rwanda and Crash, but from now on he can also be seen on Full Tilt wearing the red colors, as a “Friend of Full Tilt”

Aside from being an actor, he is also active as an activist gathering money for charity funds. Although he has not yet made a big tournament cash, he is not an unknown in the poker world. He played in the Celebrity Poker Shoot-out and in the NBC National Heads-up championship 2007, where he became instantaneously famous after beating Phil Ivey in the first round, leaving his mark on the world of poker. His success in the tournament did not last for long, since Scott Fischman beat him in the second round.

The two subsequent years he also entered into the NBC HU championship, being beaten by Gus Hansen in the first round in 2008 and being beaten by Paul Wasicka in the second round in 2009, after first winning against David Pham. “I’ve done alright in the televised tourneys I’ve participated in, and I’ve won several tournaments around town,” says Cheadle. “I have yet to play in the WSOP events, but I hope my schedule will permit me to do so in the future.”

As a member of Full Tilt, he now joins the ranks among other celebrity poker players such as UFC fighter Matt Hughes and author Michael Craig.

You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com

Ocean’s Eleven stars joins team Full Tilt

Don Cheadle Signs with Full Tilt Poker

Ante Up for Africa co-founder Don Cheadle has signed on to be a Friend of Full Tilt Poker. Cheadle is one of the world’s leading actors and has appeared in the hit movie “Crash” as well as the “Oceans Eleven” trilogy.

Cheadle founded Ante Up for Africa along with Celebrity Apprentice candidate Annie Duke and Norman Epstein. The organization will be featured prominently during ESPN’s coverage of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas. The $5,000 buy-in Ante Up for Africa tournament starts on Thursday, July 2nd and is one of three events that compose the television network’s coverage. According to a press release distributed by Full Tilt Poker this week, participants are asked to donate 50% of their winnings to charity. In many cases, the tournament’s winners give their entire payday to the organization, which raises money and awareness for victims of the crisis in Darfur.

Cheadle is no stranger to the poker spotlight. Besides his work with Ante Up for Africa, he has also appeared on NBC’s National Heads-Up Poker Championship, a tournament most recently won by Huck Seed, who boasts the best record in the series’ history. In 2007, Cheadle defeated Full Tilt Poker pro Phil Ivey in the opening round of the National Heads-Up Championship before falling to Scott Fischman in the second round. Fischman, in turn, lost to poker pro Kristy Gazes in the round of 16. In 2008, Cheadle squared off against Gus Hansen in the first round, but was bested by the three-time World Poker Tour (WPT) champion.

In 2009, Cheadle defeated David “The Dragon” Pham in the first round at Caesars Palace, but fell to 2006 WSOP Main Event runner up Paul Wasicka when 32 players remained. The acclaimed actor has appeared on Poker After Dark, which also airs on NBC. He commented in a press release, “I’ve done alright in the televised tourneys I’ve participated in and I’ve won several tournaments around town. I have yet to play in the WSOP events, but I hope my schedule will permit me to do so in the future.” Other films that the newest Friend of Full Tilt has appeared in include “Hotel Rwanda,” “Traffic,” “Reign Over Me,” and “Traitor.” He will also appear in next year’s follow up to “Iron Man,” which stars Robert Downey, Jr.

Other Friends of Full Tilt include Bruce Buffer, who currently works with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Buffer appeared at the final table of the WPT Invitational during Season III, finishing sixth and earning $5,000. Poker author Michael Craig is a Friend of Full Tilt, as is All-In and Bluff Magazine columnist Jay Greenspan. Others include Niklas Heinecker, Gabriela Hill, Matt Hughes, Gary Jones, Stephan Kalhamer, Brian Koppelman, Maxi Muller, Ali Nejad, Jeremiah Smith, Mike Swick, Johnathan Wendel, and Yueqi Zhu.

Full Tilt Poker is kicking off its relationship with Cheadle by hosting a $5 + $5 private charity tournament online to benefit Ante Up for Africa. The date for the event has not yet been announced, but is expected to take place prior to the $5,000 buy-in contest in Las Vegas at the Rio. A bevy of Team Full Tilt pros will also be in attendance during the 10 week-long WSOP festivities, including Chris Ferguson, reigning WSOP Europe Main Event Champion John Juanda, Jennifer Harman, Phil Gordon, Erik Seidel, Andy Bloch, and Durrrr Challenge participant Patrik Antonius.

Full Tilt Poker is the second largest site worldwide with a seven day running average of 11,400 real money ring game players. Its 24 hour peak is over 16,000 and the site happily accepts customers from the United States. It is one of only a handful of online poker rooms that appears on the list of 200 sites distributed for censorship by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety to 11 of the world’s largest internet service providers (ISPs). Other USA-friendly sites on the list, which was generated randomly and made public last week, include Bodog and Players Only.

Full Tilt lands Don Cheadle

Don Cheadle may not have much, if anything, for major tournament cashes, but he's no stranger to poker. He's played in televised events such as the NBC National Heads-Up Championship and Celebrity Poker Shoot-Out.

The poker world sat up and took notice in 2007 when he was paired against Phil Ivey in the first round of the NBC National Heads-Up Championship and managed to defeat one of the game's best pros. He went on to lose in Round 2 to Scott Fischman.

NBC invited him back in 2008 and 2009 to participate again. In 2008, Cheadle was out in the first round after losing to Gus Hansen, but in 2009 he held his own against David Pham in the first round before being defeated in Round 2 by Paul Wasicka.

"I've done alright in the televised tourneys I've participated in, and I've won several tournaments around town," Cheadle said. "I have yet to play in the WSOP events, but I hope my schedule will permit me to do so in the future."

One event he has played in during the WSOP each year has been the Ante Up for Africa charity poker tournament he co-founded with Annie Duke and Norman Epstien. The tournament was created in 2007 and takes place during the WSOP each year to help raise money for Darfur relief.

Ante Up for Africa has raised more than $2 million to help support humanitarian aid to the crisis in Sudan.

The event draws top celebrities such as Ben Affleck and Matt Damon and top pro poker players like Team Full Tilt's Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson and Andy Bloch.

Team Full Tilt is a select group of some the world's best professional poker players who represent the poker site at live events and on the site. Friends of Full Tilt also include celebrities such as UFC fighter Matt Hughes, UFC announcer Bruce Buffer and author Michael Craig.

For more information about the poker site, visit Full Tilt Poker.

Top 5 least popular WSOP Main Event winners

Moneymaker's amateur status, passion for the game and fortuitous name all helped turn poker into a multi-billion dollar industry and he has to be considered one of the Main Event's most popular winners as a result.

But there have been some winners, especially recently, that have done little to grow the game and, in fact, may have even kept poker from becoming more mainstream.

With the 40th anniversary of the WSOP just weeks away and plans in place to bring every living Main Event champion back for the 2009 Champions Invitational freeroll, the debate has been opened yet again as to the top five least popular WSOP Main Event winners in history.

The top candidates, by common consensus:

5. Jerry Yang (2007)

There's no question Jerry Yang brought his A-game to the final table of the 2007 WSOP Main Event. The social worker entered the day as the short-stack but quickly went to work knocking out seven of the eight final table players.

He was the most aggressive player and walked away with the biggest prize as a result. Yang also had a fairly inspirational background, including spending four years in a refugee camp in Thailand and winning a $225 satellite into the tournament.

Unfortunately Yang never really embraced his status as an ambassador for poker. And since winning $8.25 million at the 2007 WSOP, Yang has one cash - $1,324 at the Binion's Poker Open.

Yang's religious nature proved difficult to market and even when he took on a poker nickname (The Shadow) it failed to gain him much credibility.

Some poker sites called Yang "a bigger bust then Jamie Gold" and in 2008 Wicked Chops Poker dubbed him "the most anonymous WSOP Main Event winner in recent history."

Yang is an outstanding person and a good citizen, but his contributions to the poker world have been minimal. He will likely go down in history as one of the most forgettable Main Event champions.

4. Amarillo Slim (1972)

Amarillo Slim (born Thomas Austin Preston, Jr.) was one of the most popular WSOP champions when he won back in 1972.

He went on talk shows and was the face of poker for some 30-odd years.

Although he was often branded a hustler and his character was questioned throughout his life, it wasn't until much later things really went bad for Preston.

In August 2004 Slim was indicted on three charges of indecency with a 12-year-old family member. The charges were reduced to a misdemeanor assault in a plea bargain.

"Slim is a great character and was crucial to the growth of poker and the WSOP in the seventies, but darker recent chapters in his life have tarnished his reputation," explained ESPN columnist Gary Wise, who also runs www.wisehandpoker.com.

"There are many poker players who won't associate with him as a result of the charges brought against him in 2004."

Slim is another classic case of a missed opportunity. The outspoken Texan could still be one of the ambassadors for the game, but instead was cast as a villain.

There were even rumors that Nicolas Cage was set to play Slim in an motion picture before the charges were laid and the movie was canned.

Poker players have long debated Slim's level of guilt and he did explain himself in an exclusive interview with PokerListings.

But at this point it would likely take a miracle to completely clear his name.

"With that in mind, Slim did a lot to grow the game while there have been a number of champions who did little in that regard," added Wise.

3. Robert Varkonyi (2002)

Robert Varkonyi outlasted 630 players to take down the 2002 WSOP Main Event and the $2 million that came along with it.

Varkonyi was so new to poker and considered by so many people to be a fish that Phil Hellmuth agreed to have his hair shaved off for charity if the MIT graduate won the Main Event. Varkonyi won and Hellmuth made good on his promise.

That was essentially the peak of Varkonyi's poker stardom.

Possibly due to his uninteresting nature, many in the poker industry have Varkonyi pegged as the worst overall champ.

"Not really sure how anybody could make an argument for anyone other than Robert Varkonyi," said Steve "Chops" Preiss of Wicked Chops Poker. "Varkonyi almost single-handedly made poker uncool."

What makes Varkonyi even more intriguing is the fact the very next year another virtually unknown player won the Main Event and changed the landscape of the poker world forever. His name was Chris Moneymaker.

"Had Chris Moneymaker not come along in 2003 and erased the memory of Varkonyi from the collective consciousness, where would the game be today?" Preiss asked.

"Varkonyi seems like a nice enough guy. But there isn't one cool thing about him. If anything, he probably would've turned away all of the hipsters that flooded the game and made it so big.

"Not to mention Varkonyi is probably recognized as the worst player of any winner. So, this one is really a no brainer."

2. Jamie Gold (2006)

The WSOP Main Event peaked in 2006 with 8,773 players. The halls of the Rio were overflowing with sponsors, online poker rooms and professional poker players. In many ways it was the biggest year in the history of poker.

The final table had some compelling stories with Michael Binger, Paul Wasicka and Full Tilt Pro Allen Cunningham all gunning for title.

Instead it was monster chip leader and former Hollywood agent Jamie Gold who took home championship honors and the whopping $12 million that came along with it.

Gold wasn't exactly known as the most honorable player during the tournament as many accused him of angle-shooting and taunting other players. But it was what happened less than a month later that seriously damaged his reputation and his bankroll.

In mid-August, Crispin Leyser, who had allegedly partnered with Gold for half the winnings, sued Gold for not paying up.

Gold eventually settled out of court with Leyser, but the damage to his reputation was already done.

There are a lot of shady moves in the poker world, but the cardinal sin in many players' eyes is welching on a debt.

To make matters worse, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement act was passed in the fall of 2006 and the start of Gold's reign as champion seemed to usher in a dark time for poker.

He wasn't exactly the type of character poker players wanted on late night TV and ESPN promoting the game. Gold was almost universally trashed in the poker world with people calling him a "donk," a "chump" and worse.

In September, an article written by Stanley R. Sludikoff for www.pokerplayernewspaper.com seemed to encompass what most poker players were feeling at the time.

"Now we have a new champion, Jamie Gold, who is leaving a bad taste in our collective mouths, by showing us a side of his character that appears to be despicable," wrote Sludikoff.

It didn't help Gold's case that he came directly after Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer and Joe Hachem, considered by most industry insiders to be huge advocates for the game.

Gold won the biggest tournament in poker history and yet most people in the poker industry seem to prefer to forget about him completely, speaking volumes about his marketability.

1. Russ Hamilton (1994)

So you've heard it all. Some of the worst WSOP champions in history. In all their boring, controversial and distasteful glory.

But there's one name that rises above the rest.

Only one of those Main Event winners would go on to help run one of the most popular poker rooms on the Internet and allegedly cheat players out of their money.

Russ Hamilton won the 1994 WSOP Main Event and the $1 million that came with the title. Strangely, Hamilton also won his body weight in silver thanks to a promotion run by the World Series.

At the time, many considered Hamilton a great champion as he was a popular Las Vegas insider with plenty of poker experience.

Everything changed in the fall of 2008 when the Kahnawake Gaming Commission claimed it had found evidence that Hamilton was the main person behind the multiple cheating incidents that had occurred at ((Ultimate Bet)).

The reaction from the poker world was both predictable and passionate.

"I gotta think that Russ Hamilton is clearly the worst for poker," said Dan Michalski, founder of the popular Pokerati.com blog.

"Who would have thought when he won in 1994 and received a hefty overlay in silver - a celebration of his gluttony - that he would later become the poster boy for just how bad poker can be sometimes."

Hamilton was slagged by almost every media source in the poker world and some players were even less kind.

2006 WSOP Player of the Year Tom Schneider was particularly incensed by Hamilton's bad behavior.

"He has done more to hurt poker than the next 100 worst [players] combined," said Schneider.

"He has tainted poker nearly beyond repair and has ruined and hurt more poker player's lives than anybody else."

According to Schneider the damage went deeper than simply taking a few bucks.

"He made winning players question their abilities, had people borrow money to pay him off and had people questioning their whole existence," he said. "No one is even close."

Hamilton's fall from grace proves that when large amounts of money are being traded back and forth, there's always the risk of corruption.

On the plus side, the situation has reminded poker players around the world to be ever-vigilant and always aware of what's going on in their poker game.

That's the list. Glaring omissions, bad picks and new suggestions are all welcome in the comments below.

Jamie Gold to Host Cannes Charity Poker Tournament

On May 17th during the Cannes Film Festival on the French Riviera, the Wilhelm and Karl Maybach Foundation and Sunflower Children Foundation will team up to offer a charity poker tournament featuring “Rounders” star Edward Norton and 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion Jamie Gold.

The tournament kicks off at 10:30pm local time and will be held at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc (Cap d'Antibes). Norton appeared in 1998’s “Rounders,” a film that caused many established pros in the game today to become aware of No Limit Texas Hold’em. Also starring in the poker classic were Gretchen Mol, John Malkovich, and John Turturro. Norton appeared in subsequent hits such as “Fight Club,” “Keeping the Faith,” “Red Dragon,” “Death to Smoochy,” “The Italian Job,” “The Illusionist,” and held the title role in “The Incredible Hulk,” which was released in 2008. Previous events held by the Maybach Foundation have included appearances by Dennis Hopper, Quincy Jones, Kirk Douglas, and Naomi Campbell.

Serving as the event’s emcee in Cannes will be Gold, who took home $12 million after winning poker’s most prestigious tournament three years ago, defeating Paul Wasicka heads-up. A press release distributed this week revealed that Gold has helped raise over $100 million for charity during the past two years. The winner of the Cannes poker tournament will take home a 2009 WSOP Main Event prize package, including the $10,000 buy-in to the high-stakes tournament, hotel accommodation, airfare, and private coaching from Gold.

On May 18th, which is the day after the fundraiser with Norton and Gold, the Maybach Foundation will hold a private luncheon featuring a bevy of celebrities. In addition to his monumental finish in the 2006 WSOP Main Event, the largest tournament ever held as part of the annual tournament series, Gold took 35th in the 2007 WSOP Europe Main Event for £27,150. That contest was ultimately won by Betfair poker pro Annette "Annette_15" Obrestad, who became the youngest WSOP bracelet winner ever at the age of 18. Heads-up, the youngster defeated fellow Betfair pro John “kunkuwap” Tabatabai and is among the leaders at the ongoing European Poker Tour (EPT) Monte Carlo Grand Final.

The Maybach Foundation was founded in 2006 to help “particularly gifted young people reach their full potential by providing an innovative mentoring program and financial support,” according to the press release. The organization focuses on instilling mentoring skills and has offices in San Francisco and Stuttgart. The Sunflower Children Foundation is based in New York and provides aid to disadvantaged children in Cambodia, Colombia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Brazil, Guinea, India, Kenya, South Africa, Nepal, Niger, Nicaragua, Peru, Romania, Guatemala, and the Philippines.

The Cannes Film Festival takes place from May 13th through May 24th in the southern French city. Last year, “The Class” took home the prestigious Palme d'Or prize, while “Gomorrah” grabbed the Grand Prix award. Other accolades given out during the 10 day festival included Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, and Best Actress. American actor and filmmaker Clint Eastwood took home a “special prize” during last year’s Cannes event. The very first Film Festival was held in 1946 and has taken place every year but twice since.

On May 9th, Gold will bring his charitable spirit to the 1736 Family Crisis Center in Los Angeles. The event is hosted by “Seinfeld” actor Jason Alexander and takes place at Hollywood Casino Park. The 2006 WSOP Main Event winner and former Hollywood talent agent was part of the winning squad in the second Dream Team Poker tournament, which was held at Caesars Palace in March. Besides Gold, other members of Team ACED included Ashley Nataupsky and Houston Waldie. Team ACED pocketed nearly $60,000 for the win. The inaugural Dream Team Poker event was won by Team Bluff, which was headlined by recent WSOP Caesars Palace Circuit Event champion Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo and also included Matt Parvis and Eric Morris.

Mike Sexton on the National Heads-Up Poker Championship

The NBC National Heads-Up Championship at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas is quite an event.  It has a $20,000 buy-in ($500,000 first place prize) and 64 players, including many of the top names in the world.  The night prior to the start of the tournament, there is a big cocktail party where the drawing takes place.  This is always a fun time, as there is an air of excitement and anxiety about who will be playing who.

I happened to be standing next to two NBC executives at the party.  Prior to the drawing, they asked me who I'd like to play.  Well, there were some celebrities in the tournament that you wouldn't mind drawing, but I really wanted to play Phil Hellmuth and told them so.  Incredibly (as you may know from watching the event unfold on NBC), I drew Hellmuth for my first round match.  One thing was for sure:  I knew our match would generate media attention.  I also thought we'd be at the feature table.  I turned out to be right about both.

I really have no fear of playing Phil.  I know how good he is.  I truly believe that Hellmuth is the #1 seed in any big-time Hold'em tournament (except this one, as he drew me in Round 1).  More importantly, I know how he plays.  Hellmuth likes “small ball,” meaning he doesn't like to play big pots.  I also prefer small ball, so his style suits me, but I was confident that I could switch gears if necessary and come over the top with big raises if I had to just in case “small ball” wasn’t working.  I have confidence playing against Hellmuth.  I really feel like I have a good read on him.  In the past, I have had good results against him when he’s been at my table.  Finally, I knew all of the pressure would be on him and not on me, as most would expect him to win.

We started with $20,000 in chips and, after a couple levels of play, we were pretty much even when “the pot” came up.   As the dealer was dealing “the pot” ($300/$600 blinds), the producer of the show (Mori Eskandani) came over to our table and frustratingly said, "Phil, you've done it to me again.  Your hat doesn't have the dot-net on it.  Why do you do this to me?  I’m sorry, but you’ve got to change it.”  He continued, “Go ahead and finish this hand and then we'll do something about it."

While Mori and Phil were talking, I peeked down and saw two lovely ladies (Queens).  So, as Phil sat back down, I said, "Don't raise it here because you're mad about your hat."  In the blink of an eye as he looked at his hand, Phil said, "I raise it $1,500 more!"  I quickly reached down for a stack of chips and set them in the pot (which happened to be $5,500).  Hellmuth then said, "I know you think I'm mad right now and that I don't have a hand.  You just don't have any idea."

From there, he just kept talking, saying things like, "I'm not going to call here.  I'm probably going to move all-in.  Do you want me to move all-in?"  I didn't say anything for a while and he continued to babble.  Again, he said, “Do you want me to move all-in?”   I finally said, "Phil, do what you've got to do."  About a minute later, he announced that he was all-in.  I quickly called and he said, "Have you got Queens?"  I said “Yes” and he angrily turned over an Ace-Jack offsuit.  Before the flop was dealt, he was trying to blame Mori for interrupting our game and causing him to lose focus.  The flop came J-9-8, a deuce on the turn, and then the dreaded Ace on the river - giving him Aces up and the win.

Hellmuth knew how fortunate he was to win and afterward during an interview with NBC said, “I was lucky to win this match.  Mike Sexton deserved to win."  (How often have you heard Hellmuth say anything like that?)

I felt good about how I had played and was just unfortunate that I lost that huge pot on the river.  It was a fun time and I look forward to playing in the NBC National Heads-Up Championship again in the future.  Hopefully, I'll get another shot at Hellmuth!

Kudos to runner-up Vanessa Rousso and winner Huck Seed.  Both put on very impressive performances!  To get to the finals, Vanessa beat Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Paul Wasicka, Daniel Negreanu, and Bertrand "Elky" Grospillier in succession, a group that has incredibly won over $38 million in tournament prize money!  With his win, Huck became the most successful player in the five year history of the NBC Heads-Up tournament.  He has an 18-4 record and is the only player who has made the money every year.

NBC Broadcast of National Heads Up Poker Championship Begins Sunday

Sunday certainly seems to be the time for poker fans to get their fill of televised poker action. As the World Poker Tour continues its seventh season run on Fox Sports Network on Sunday nights and new episodes of “High Stakes Poker” are aired on GSN simultaneously, national television network NBC will begin its broadcasts of the 2009 National Heads Up Poker Championship sponsored by GoDaddy.com this Sunday at noon Eastern time.

The NHUPC, contested between 64 of the biggest names in the poker world, was completed last month at Caesars in Las Vegas. NBC, as they have done since the inception of the tournament in 2005, was there to capture all of the action from the felt. The first two-hour broadcast of this year’s event features top professionals that should draw viewers to their televisions for something other than NASCAR or baseball.

This Sunday’s two hour broadcast will feature play in the Spades and Clubs brackets and offers plenty of action around the Caesars floor. In the Clubs bracket - which will be the featured bracket of the first hour - there are several pairings taking place on the side that would normally be “featured battles.” While poker legend Doyle Brunson takes on PokerStars and GoDaddy.com sponsored pro Vanessa Rousso and 2008 WSOP H.O.R.S.E. champion Scotty Nguyen takes on Hevad “Rain” Khan on the sidelines, the featured matches will have Daniel Negreanu’s fight with 2003 WSOP champion Chris Moneymaker and the intriguing battle between Full Tilt Poker’s Mike “The Mouth” Matusow and Italy’s poker prodigy Dario Minieri.

The second hour of the broadcast will feature play in the Spades bracket. Much like the first hour, there are solid matches that will be seen but aren’t the featured match-ups of the broadcast. Such matches as Gavin Griffin’s face-off with online ace Tom “durrr” Dwan and current WSOP Europe champion John Juanda vs. 2005 WSOP Main Event champ Joe Hachem’s will be taking place around the featured tables. At the featured tables, “High Stakes Poker” announcer Gabe Kaplan’s battle with former World Champion Chris “Jesus” Ferguson takes center stage alongside the match up of two venerable poker champions: WPT announcer Mike Sexton and eleven-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth.

NBC’s broadcast of the NHUPC will continue to take place each Sunday over the next six weeks. The two remaining brackets - the Hearts and Diamonds brackets - will be on the air next Sunday and future broadcasts of the NHUPC will work down to the best-of-three championship, which will be broadcast on May 6th.

Over its five year history, the NHUPC has featured some of the best poker action that has been seen on television. Because of its unique format - a NCAA style bracket tournament and a multitude of the top players in the poker world - the airings of the NHUPC have traditionally drawn strong audiences. Perhaps because of the challenges of having to win seven times to take the title (the Championship match is a “best two of three” affair), the former champions of the tournament read like a Who’s Who of poker:  Inaugural champion Hellmuth (2005), Ted Forrest (2006), Paul Wasicka (2007) and defending champion Ferguson.

To see who will become the latest name to join these preeminent players, be sure to tune in to NBC’s coverage of the National Heads Up Poker Championships beginning this Sunday at noon Eastern time.

Team ACED Wins Dream Team Poker Caesars Palace Tournament

A total of 148 teams, or 444 players, entered Dream Team Poker's second tournament, which was held at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas over the weekend. It was the first installment open to the public and, when the final cards were dealt, Team ACED took down the event for nearly $60,000.

2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion Jamie Gold headlined Team ACED, which also included Ashley Nataupsky and Houston Waldie. The team's name is a reference to Gold's sponsorship by the Merge Gaming Network site of the same name, an agreement he inked in February. The Network accepts players from the United States and also includes Carbon Poker, IronDuke, Poker Nordica, and Rumble Poker, among others. ACED recently sponsored a charity fundraiser for Children Uniting Nations that was held after the Oscar festivities in Los Angeles and emceed by Gold.

Gold actually took ninth in the event, while Nataupsky finished in fourth. The 2006 Main Event winner commented in a press release distributed by Dream Team Poker on Monday, “It’s the most fun you can have without $12 million on the line. My WSOP bracelet is in a vault, but my Dream Team Poker trophy will be on my mantel for all to see.” Gold bested a field of 8,773 players in poker's most prestigious tournament in 2006 and took home the largest prize ever given out at the WSOP.

In order to preserve the integrity of the game, Dream Team Poker also awards prizes for the top individual tournament finishers. At the Caesars event, Danny Nelson emerged victorious from the pack, taking home nearly $24,000. Heads-up, he went toe to toe with Philip Rousseaux for 45 minutes in front of a throng of onlookers. In the final hand, Rousseaux pushed with J-8 on a board of K-8-4, only to see he was dominated by Nelson's K-9. A six on the turn and a seven on the river sealed the win for Nelson, who played as part of Team BikerHaven.net.

Teams were given jerseys to hit the felts with, creating a unique atmosphere. A team's overall score is determined by the two best finishes of its members and teammates are not seated at the same table until 14 to 16 players remain in order to stunt collusion. The runner up finish by Rousseaux was enough to earn The Claddaghs the second best team score and its corresponding $33,000 prize. Here were the top five teams at Caesars in the second Dream Team Poker tournament, a $550 per person buy-in affair:

1st Place: Team Aced - $59,940
2nd Place: The Claddaghs - $33,300
3rd Place: The Clones - $15,984
4th Place: Party at the Mansion - $10,656
5th Place: Hellmuth Busters - $6,660

The top five individual finishers were:

1st Place: Danny Nelson (Team BikerHaven.net) - $24,063
2nd Place: Philip Rousseaux (Team Claddaghs) - $13,320
3rd Place: Jerry Percival (Team Runner, Runner) - $7,922
4th Place: Ashley Nataupsky (Team ACED) –$ 6,666
5th Place: John Regis (Poker Masters) - $5,328

The very first Dream Team Poker event was held at the Hard Rock Casino in November and was won by Team Bluff, which consisted of Matt Parvis, Eric Morris, and Bodog poker pro Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo. Despite being open to the general public, the second installment of Dream Team Poker brought out some of the top names in poker. Former WSOP Main Event Champions in attendance over the weekend included Gold, Jerry Yang, Tom McEvoy, Ultimate Bet pro Phil Hellmuth, and Johnny Chan. Also making the trek to Caesars were three members of the inaugural November Nine: Dennis Phillips, David “Chino” Rheem, and Kelly Kim. Other poker pros that competed included Todd Brunson, Paul Wasicka, Full Tilt Poker front man Mike Matusow, Erica Schoenberg, T.J. Cloutier, David Williams, and the last woman standing in the 2008 WSOP Main Event, Tiffany Michelle.

No date for the third Dream Team Poker tournament has been announced. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest on this unique spin on the game.

Poker babes good for the game

Vanessa Rousso turned up the heat recently at the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship and in the pages of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.

Tiffany Michelle gained notoriety at the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event as the last woman standing. Now she, Erica Schoenberg and Evelyn Ng are scheduled to do a photo shoot for Knockout Magazine.

They're successful, they're hot, and now people outside the usual poker circle will get to see that poker is no longer just a backroom card game played by old men.

Schoenberg said she thinks it makes a huge difference that a magazine like Knockout would choose to use real female poker players for an issue rather than just hiring models and giving the photo shoot a poker theme.

"If guys want to just see hot girls, they can pick up a Maxim or even a Victoria's Secret catalog, but this way they get to see and hear about real women in the game," Schoenberg said.

"Not all that many young attractive women who play poker are willing to do something like this," Michelle said.

But just getting more young female poker players out in the media could help draw more players to the game, including more women.

"Dealers have told me that more young women would be playing poker today if I'd made the final table at the WSOP," Michelle said.

Just that little extra televised exposure would have seen many more women take a shot at playing. But even the coverage Michelle did get as the last woman standing had an effect.

"I've had a lot of people tell me their wives or girlfriends got more interested in playing poker after seeing me in the WSOP," Michelle said.

Schoenberg agreed that exposure to real female poker players is good for the game and good for women in the game, even if it's through a men's magazine.

"You know you can go look at poker sites online and poker ads that feature beautiful women, and you know they don't actually play," Schoenberg said. "With the magazine, they'll be getting real women who play poker. We really are someone you could be sitting at a table with."

These women have the game, too, as well as the looks at the table.

Michelle has more than $350,000 in tournament winnings in the last couple of years. Her biggest cash is the 2008 Main Event 17th-place finish, but she also has a World Poker Tour cash from 2008 to her credit.

Schoenberg has more than $700,000 in tournament winnings on her poker resume. That includes five WSOP event cashes since 2006 along with five WPT cashes.

Add Evelyn Ng's $340,000 in tournament winnings, and Knockout's summer issue will feature women with nearly $1.5 million in winnings between them.

Rousso has more than $1.3 million in live tournament winnings on her own as well. Some of that comes from her recent second-place finish in the NHUPC. She defeated poker heavyweights such as Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Paul Wasicka and Daniel Negreanu to make it to the final round against Huck Seed.

Her largest cash comes from playing online poker. She took second place in the 2007 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker main event to earn more than $700,000 and boost her earnings up over $2 million.

Her success has led to a GoDaddy.com sponsorship deal as well as to the launch of her own poker tutorial camp in Florida, where she'll be pairing her skills with teachings from The Art of War to give poker lessons.

"The Art of Poker - An Intro to Game Theory and Poker," is put on by Big Slick Boot Camp and has several dates scheduled between now and April 26 in several Florida locations.

"My biggest passion outside of playing poker is in teaching poker strategy," Rousso said. "I love watching that lightbulb go off in my students' minds when they discover something new."

Despite all that experience, it can be hard for a female pro poker player to be taken seriously at the tables.

Rousso said she sometimes feels like she's singled out because she's a woman. She still takes a lot of grief in online poker forums as a woman in poker.

"But in the end, being a woman is definitely to my advantage at the poker table," Rousso said. "I can take advantage of the underestimation and stereotypes that will be attributed to me simply due to my gender."

Michelle agreed there are certain advantages to being an underestimated player at the tables because you're a woman, but in the end, what you want most is to be respected as a player.

"I realize that anything you can do to gain an advantage is good," she said, "but I think at the end of the day we all just want to be seen as good players."

Schoenberg said that getting more women into the game will help bring more respect to all women players in the game.

"Because there aren't as many women in the game as men, the really good players that are out there just don't get noticed," Schoenberg said. "Bringing more women in and making them a bigger part of the game will help with that and continue to bring more respectability to poker in general."