Poker News

The Aussie Millions on GSN: Shak Defeats Ivey for $100K Title

Vanessa Selbst Top 10 in World Series of Poker Main Event After Day 2B

Five days ago, Vanessa Selbst was introduced as the newest member of Team PokerStars along with former Bodog pro David Williams. The introduction took place at the Real World Suite at the Palms in Las Vegas, just across the street from the Rio, the site of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP). After Day 2B of the Main Event, Selbst sits in eighth on the leaderboard with a stack of 265,000, trailing chip leader David Assouline’s mountain of 387,800.

Selbst took down the PokerStars North American Poker Tour Mohegan Sun Main Event and told the assembled crowd at the Palms that she had partly come out of retirement from poker. However, in order to solidify her Main Event run, she’ll have to navigate through a gauntlet of talent when the combined Day 3 field takes to the felt on Monday. Among those left in the hunt for the nearly $9 million top prize is Kelly Kim, an original November Niner, who doubled up late in the day on Saturday with queens against A-K.

One of the final eliminations of Day 2B went to Tommy Vedes, who called all-in with Q-3 of spades on a flop of A-5-4 with two spades. Matt Reed showed A-Q for top pair and no spade came on the turn or river. Vedes took down the World Poker Tour’s Festa al Lago last year for $1.2 million. He owns over $550,000 in career WSOP earnings.

On a flop of 8-4-6, Tom Schneider pushed all-in with pocket sevens, but received a call from a player with a wired pair of aces, which held for the win. We won’t be hearing any cries of “Stack ‘em, stack ‘em, to the top” this year from the two-time bracelet winner’s wife, but Schneider finished the 2010 WSOP with four in the money finishes.

Three players who have made deep runs in the Main Event in previous years found the exit late in the day on Saturday. Jeff Shulman, who finished fifth in last year’s cycle for $1.9 million, and Josh Arieh, who took third in 2004 for $2.5 million, were both ousted from the Main Event yesterday. Joining them was original November Niner Ylon Schwartz, who bowed out in back-to-back hands after running a straight into a flush on his second-to-last pot.

One of our favorite moments of Day 2B involved Brandon Cantu. The UB.com pro announced via Twitter, “I’m shoving this hand no matter what, wish me luck.” True to his word, Cantu moved all-in and detailed what happened next on the popular social networking site: “Went raise 3000 call 3000 I get jt shove fold fold 31k.” Cantu, a dual WSOP bracelet winner, ended the day with a stack of 40,000.

Also bumped on Day 2B were DoylesRoom Brunson 10 member Dan “djk123” Kelly, David “Bakes” Baker, Doyle Brunson, and Full Tilt pro Phil Ivey, who made the final table of this event last year. Ivey was eliminated in especially gut-wrenching fashion, as he ran pocket queens into pocket kings. Ivey hit a queen on the turn to surge into the lead, but Yuji Masaki re-sucked on the river when a king hit. Ivey’s stack took a beating as a result and he was eliminated shortly thereafter.

Here are the top 10 chip stacks after Day 2B according to figures found on WSOP.com:

1. David Assouline – 387,800
2. Ricardo Fasanaro – 380,000
3. Matt Reed – 337,800
4. Jim “Mr_BigQueso” Collopy – 305,100
5. Jon “apestyles” Van Fleet – 295,600
6. Charles Sylvestre – 292,300
7. Sasha Rosewood – 279,500
8. Vanessa Selbst – 265,000
9. Marc Sander – 265,000
10. Gabriel Walls – 241,000

Other players remaining after Day 2B include legendary gambler Archie Karas, Victory Poker pro Dan Bilzerian, Jason Mercier, UFC announcer Bruce Buffer, Eric Buchman, Humberto Brenes, “The Simpsons” voice Hank Azaria, and Lock Poker pro Matt “All In At 420” Stout.

Sunday is an off day for the 2010 WSOP Main Event. On Monday, the survivors from both Day 2s will reconvene at the Rio for a combined Day 3. The tournament’s field will be whittled down to the final nine next Saturday, July 17th.

Darvin Moon Interview with Bernard Lee

Darvin Moon is the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event runner-up and is back in Las Vegas to take part in the world’s biggest poker tournament once again. He joins Bernard Lee on his segment, The Hijack Seat, and answers questions both about last year’s amazing run and what is in store for this year. Moon used a straightforward poker approach to nearly win the Main Event and knocked out most of the competition at the final table, including Phil Ivey.

Bernard Lee is a guest columnist and is the official spokesperson for Foxwoods Casino and can also be seen co-hosting ESPN’s poker show, Inside Deal.

Mathiu Sauriol Leads WSOP Main Event Day 1C; Johnny Chan Close Behind

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) set numerous attendance records in 2010, so even amidst the trials and tribulations poker players have endured during the UIGEA enforcement, it isn’t surprising to see the WSOP Main Event attract so many players this summer. With 2,314 players participating on Day 1c, the 2010 Main Event will officially go down as the second largest poker tournament in history. The total was up from 1,696 entrants on Day 1c last year, an increase of 36%. And with Day 1d registration still open and a max capacity of around 3,800 in the Rio this year, the total could eclipse 8,000 entrants. The 2006 Main Event had 8,773 players.

Mathiu Sauriol ended the Day 1c as the chip leader, bagging up 168,900 chips at the end of four and a half levels. Sauriol will enter Day 2a third overall in chips, trailing Day 1a chip leaders Corwin Cole (228,000) and Dwyen Ringbauer (191,125). Close on Sauriol’s heels was two-time Main Event champion Johnny Chan, who doubled up early in the day to finish with the second highest total of the 1,489 players that advanced. Others ending the day healthy in chips were Lauren Kling, Hoyt Corkins, David Williams, Billy Kopp, Isaac Baron, Lex Veldhuis, Robert Mizrachi, Jennifer “Jennicide” Leigh, David Pham, Cole South, and Patrik Antonius. Here’s a look at the top 10 chip counts from Day 1c:

1. Mathiu Sauriol — 168,900
2 .Johnny Chan — 163,700
3. Andrew Liporace — 155,250
4. Joe Monro — 153,350
5. Lauren Kling — 149,650
6. Barny Boatman — 144,050
7. Steven Goosen — 142,925
8. Michael Reed — 142,125
9. Sean Prendiville — 140,500
10. Benjamin Blair — 137,200

UB.com‘s Phil Hellmuth made yet another grand entrance to the Main Event, this time arriving dressed as a UFC Fighter. UFC announcer Bruce Buffer announced Hellmuth as he entered the Amazon Room with UFC fighter Wanderlei Silva at his side. However, unlike the past two years, Hellmuth’s Main Event ended well short of a deep run, as he was eliminated late on Day 1c. Upon the announcement of his exit, the Amazon Room and Rio Pavilion exploded in applause. Shortly after, Tournament Director Jack Effel announced that 2007 WSOP Event winner Jerry Yang had been eliminated and both rooms remained silent.

Others hitting the rail early on Day 1c were Huck Seed, Dario Minieri, Steven Begleiter, Men Nguyen, Jeff Madsen, Chad Brown, Chau Giang, and Tom Dwan, who had ESPN cameras following him around all day as he moved from table to table in the Pavilion and Amazon Room. Dwan, playing his last tournament to collect a bracelet and win or lose millions of dollars in prop bets, was being watched closely all day by his peers, but ultimately hit the rail during the final level of the day.

Day 1d will get underway at noon on Thursday. Among those expected to take to the felts include Vanessa Rousso, Daniel Alaei, Phil Ivey, John Juanda, Michael Binger, Shannon Elizabeth, Dan “djk123″ Kelly, and Player of the Year leader Frank Kassela. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for continuous updates from the 2010 WSOP Main Event!.

Pros Put Bad Beat on Cancer

The Bad Beat on Cancer Initiative began as an idea between poker professionals Phil Gordon and Rafe Furst at the 2003 World Series of Poker event to fund cancer prevention research.

The pair had been raising money for the cause prior, but knew they had hit the jackpot when they came up with the idea to ask poker players to give one percent of their winnings to the foundation as a tax-deductable donation.

Since 2003, participation in the initiative has only grown and to date over $3.2 million has been raised for the Prevent Cancer foundation, proving just how charitable the poker community is.

Some of the more notable names on the pledge list this year include Phil Ivey, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, Annie Duke, Chris Moneymaker, Andy Block, Phil Hellmuth, Adam Levy, Phil Gordon and Toby Maguire.

"Poker players lead very lucky lifestyles, so it is good to give back when you can," said Adam Levy, an accomplished Ultimate Bet pro.

It is clear many share Levy's generous outlook with 94 players already listed on the Prevent Cancer Foundation's pledge list.

"It's important for all of us to realize that there is a lot of people in unfortunate situations... a lot of us have relatives or might even have cancer ourselves," said Andy Bloch, Full Tilt pro and former member of the MIT blackjack team.

"I didn't go to school thinking I was going to be a poker player; I thought maybe I'd be an engineer or a lawyer. I wanted to help save the world and this is one way I can do that by still being a poker player."

Prevent Cancer's CEO Jan Bresch Mahrer mentioned how impressed she was with the players.

"I think it's terrific because poker players are not known for their philanthropic endeavors but in reality they are very philanthropic," she said. "They go out of their way for us."

Players at the 2010 World Series of Poker aren't the only one's contributing to this worthy cause. By building awareness through the use of social media tools, such as Twitter and MySpace, there are now weekly events on Full Tilt, home games and tournaments all benefitting the cause.

However, if you are looking to spot a do-gooder on the tournament floor who has already donated they're wearing a green 1% pledge badge.

With files from Crecia Page and Geoff Fisk

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

Phil Gordon Wins WSOP Ante Up for Africa Event

In a relatively subdued atmosphere compared to previous cycles, the Ante Up for Africa event at the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) drew 83 players. The $5,000 charity poker tournament benefiting victims of the crisis in Darfur raised nearly $300,000.

Ante Up for Africa founders Don Cheadle and Annie Duke were the first two down the red carpet, stopping at each of the dozens of media outlets in attendance to relay why they founded the charity along with Norman Epstein. Actor Ben Affleck, one of the tournament’s leading celebrities, did not walk the red carpet due to a migraine and instead went directly to the tournament room. Among those media outlets reporting on Affleck and others in attendance were Fox 5 Las Vegas, Celebrity Update, and 888.

“Everybody Loves Raymond” actor Brad Garrett followed Duke and Cheadle down the red carpet around 1:00pm at the Rio in Las Vegas. At one point, the extremely tall actor stood behind the much shorter Jennifer Harman, holding her shoulders while delivering an Oscar acceptance speech as if the Full Tilt pro were a small trophy.

Other celebrities who took time to speak with the media included boxing legend Evander Holyfield, Carbon Poker pro Shannon Elizabeth, Pittsburgh Steelers great Jerome Bettis, comedian David Alan Grier, and talk show host Montel Williams. Pros lending their thoughts included Andy Bloch, Greg Raymer, and Rafe Furst.

With Affleck sidelined from the red carpet, fellow actor Matt Damon took up the reigns. In an exclusive video interview, Damon told Poker News Daily how he became involved with the movie “Rounders,” which turned many in the industry on to the game: “Harvey Weinstein had the script at Miramax and said, ‘I have this really great script.’ I was doing ‘Saving Private Ryan’ at the time and he sent it over to England. I read it and thought, ‘This is fantastic.’ It’s this crazy little subculture that nobody ever talks about.” Damon did not rule out the possibility of a follow-up to “Rounders,” which has been rumored to be in the works.

In the end, it was Full Tilt Poker pro Phil Gordon coming out on top in the Ante Up for Africa tournament, defeating Elizabeth heads-up. The “American Pie” actress and runner-up candidly told WSOP officials following the gala, “I wish the rest of my WSOP had gone the way this tournament went.” 2009 WSOP Main Event November Niner Phil Ivey hustled through the red carpet and did not take many interviews. Notably absent was UB.com’s Phil Hellmuth, who finished 15th in the $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha World Championship that took place concurrently.

Chris Ferguson, Howard Lederer, and Erik Seidel did not walk the red carpet, although all three participated in the event. Seidel finished in fifth place after his 8-5 could not draw out on Gordon’s Q-10. Gordon flopped top pair on a 10-high board and never looked back. Ferguson bubbled the final table, also exiting at the hands of Gordon. This time, “Jesus” held pocket twos, which failed to outrace Gordon’s K-Q of diamonds.

Gordon donated his $130,000 first place payday to Ante Up for Africa in a highly generous gesture. Gordon got the best of Elizabeth with Q-3 against K-10 after flopping a queen to seal the win. The tournament marked Elizabeth’s first in the money finish in a WSOP event in three years. Here were the final results from the 2010 running of the Ante Up for Africa event:

1. Phil Gordon – $130,641
2. Shannon Elizabeth – $80,737
3. Alex Filatov – $56,516
4. Carter “BdyBldngpkrplyr” Phillips – $41,166
5. Erik Seidel – $30,287
6. Jerome Bettis – $22,624
7. Barry Hartheimer – $18,146
8. Kyle Carlston – $15,125
9. Claire Renaut – $12,998

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest headlines from the 2010 WSOP.

Image courtesy WSOP.com

Full Tilt Poker Holding Rush Week Starting July 12th

From Monday, July 12th to Sunday, July 18th, Full Tilt Poker is holding Rush Week. Capitalizing on the popularity of its fast-paced Rush Poker, Full Tilt is dishing out up to $250 in cash per player along with entries into an exclusive $50,000 Rush Week Freeroll.

In honor of Rush Week, which totes “Seven Days of Speed” as its tagline, several guaranteed tournaments on Full Tilt Poker will offer a Rush Poker structure. This means that as soon as a player’s action in a hand has ended, he or she is whisked off to another table with a new set of opponents to begin a brand new hand. The lack of downtime means constant decision-making and the potential to see 300 hands per hour. Rush Poker ring games first appeared on Full Tilt back in January. In April, Rush Poker tournaments were rolled out.

There are several ways to collect cash as part of Rush Week. Players who earn at least 10 Full Tilt Points (FTPs) per day from Rush Poker games on any four days during the promotion will bank $5. If they can perform the same feat on all seven days of Rush Week, they’ll earn $10. Players who amass 100 FTPs per day on any four days during Rush Week will collect $25, while those who can generate 100 FTPs per day on all seven days will earn $50.

Finally, Full Tilt Poker members who accrue 1,000 FTPs per day on any four days during the week will receive $125. Those who can rack up 1,000 FTPs per day on all seven days will take home the grand prize of $250. Players can only take home one cash prize, meaning that the awards for racking up FTPs during Rush Week are not cumulative.

Rush Week officially starts at 00:00 ET on July 12th and ends at 23:59 ET on July 18th. Only FTPs earned in Rush Poker cash games and tournaments are eligible for reaping rewards and bonuses earned as part of Full Tilt’s Rush Week. Happy Hours, while lucrative, don’t count for this promotion.

Similar to other Full Tilt Poker promotions, players must opt into Rush Week in order to qualify. To do so, log into the Full Tilt client and click on the “Cashier” button. Then, click on “My Promotions” and select “Rush Week.” If you’re curious as to where you stand, head back to the “Rush Week” landing page.

Qualifying for the $50,000 Rush Week Freeroll is pretty simple. All you have to do is reach the final table of a Rush Poker tournament during the promotional period. Text found on Full Tilt Poker’s website highlights an important caveat to qualifying: “In Rush Poker Tournaments that do not play down to a final table, all players who win the top prize will be automatically entered into the $50,000 Rush Week Freeroll.”

The $50,000 freeroll is scheduled for Sunday, July 25th at 15:15 ET. Full Tilt has bumped up the number of Rush Poker tournaments on the docket during the week in order to allow plenty players to qualify for the freeroll. Players are automatically entered to the $50,000 freebie, eliminating the hassle of having to register manually.

Full Tilt happily accepts players from the United States and is the world’s second largest online poker site, trailing only PokerStars. Its fleet of sponsored pros includes 2009 World Series of Poker November Niner Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer, and Chris Ferguson. Rush Poker is patent pending in the United States, the European Union, Australia, and Canada. Visit Full Tilt Poker today.

Actors, Athletes and Amateurs Unite For Africa at WSOP

All facetiousness aside, today's $5k Ante Up For Africa tournament supports the admirable non-profit organization bearing the same name that is dedicated to raising money and awareness for Africans in need.

The tournament marks the second to last event on the 2010 WSOP calendar and has predictably drawn a crowd of celebrities, pro poker players and curious railbirds.  

Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Shannon Elizabeth, David Alan Grier, Evander Holyfield and Montel Williams headline the list of celebrities who've made an appearance.

Brad Garrett, best known for his role on the TV show Everybody Loves Raymond, is keeping the Pavillion Room lively with his play-by-play and one-liners.  

"Phil Gordon everyone," Garrett said introducing the poker player and announcer. "Only one person clapped for you, Phil, I think it might be your mom."

"Shannon Elizabeth, who looks great in women's clothing, is playing today," Garrett deadpanned.

Much of the buzz in the room involved Phil Ivey's early exit for the tournament. David Alan Grier took credit for the knockout. "I gave it to him right on the chin!" Grier said. "All in and all out, baby." Then Grier admitted he wasn't actually in the hand at all and has a tendency to embellish.

Crowd favorite Matt Damon has managed to stick around and double up a couple of times. One of those double ups found Damon coming from behind in the hand and rivering a full house on his opponent. "That's what happens when you're Matt Damon, ladies and gentleman," Garrett quipped. "If you're Brad Garrett, then you're in a cab by now."

Players can donate whatever portion of their earnings they choose to charity, but at least 50% is standard. Last year John Hennigan won the tournament and donated all of his winnings to charity. Upon recognizing Hennigan for last year's donation, Garrett was overcome with kindness. "I'm going to kiss Howard Lederer because of your generosity," Garrett said before making good on his act of man love.

There were 80 players who put up the $5k buy in for today's event. Annie Duke, Phil Ivey and Montel Williams were some of the first players to be knocked out.

More information on the charity led by Cheadle and Duke is available at http://anteupforafrica.org.

6-Max Mania - Day 36 WSOP Recap

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

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

Here's a look around the day:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Event 53 - $1.5k Limit Shootout

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Event 55 - $10k Pot-Limit Omaha Championship

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

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

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

33 players return at 3 p.m. Saturday.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WSOP Live!

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

The Nightly Turbo: Poker Hall of Fame Nominations Open, Florida Changes Its Poker Laws, and More

$25k 6-Max Event Debuts at WSOP

Following the trend set by the $50k Players Championship, which began in 2006, the WSOP has introduced another event with a higher buy-in than the $10k Main Event.

Excluding the 2009 WSOP 40th Anniversary Commemorative Tournament, which was a one-time $40k event, the $25k Six-Handed No-Limit Championship is now the highest buy-in No-limit Hold'em event in WSOP history.

According to Barry Greenstein, who sits on the Poker Players Committee, the high-end event is here to stay.

PL.com caught up with Greenstein, who was amongst the chip leaders when the event went on Day 2's first 20-minute break.

"It got a good turnout, and you could say this is the toughest field arguably," Greenstein said.

"Those good online players who've made a lot of money and play a lot of six-max, this is their world championship."

191 players registered for the event, with first prize a massive $1,315,518.

Not surprisingly, the field is as tough as it gets, with Greenstein, Phil Ivey, Erik Seidel, Frank Kassela, Daniel Negreanu and Carlos Mortensen all still in contention for 18 money spots on Day 2.

"We've often talked about having a bigger No-limit tournament," Greenstein said. "Some people think the $10k Main Event is antiquated, that it's not enough for a championship."

"The WPT Championship has a bigger buy-in. Even the EPT Championship, because of the Euro, has a bigger buy-in."

Greenstein went on to explain the motivation for the Players Committee to create the $25k Six-Handed Championship.

"We didn't want to have something replace the Main Event, like be a bigger buy-in No-Limit," Greenstein said. "We've intentionally not done that."

"This was a nice compromise, where we had a different event, a six-max event, and then it made sense to increase the buy-in."

The 2010 WSOP continues through July 17. For comprehensive coverage of the $25k 6-Max No-Limit event tune in to PokerListings' Live Updates and News.

Two New Champs Crowned at Red-Hot WSOP: Day 34 Recap

The series may be closing in on its final, huge event but make no mistake - no one is passing time here at the Rio and there was some incredible action on show as usual.

Event 49 - $1.5k No-Limit Hold'em

Three tables returned to play to the bracelet here - and although there were fears this could play out deep into the night, the bracelet was decided relatively early as a quick-fire final played out.

In the early hours of the morning it was Taylor Larkin and Michael Linn who faced off, Linn ultimately besting Larkin to win his first WSOP bracelet and the $609,453 first-prize money.

Event 50 - $5k Pot-Limit Omaha

Another bracelet was scheduled to be handed out today, and so it was. The day began at a fast rate although once the play became short-handed caution prevailed and the players seemed to have reached an impasse. There were some fireworks from the rail though with security having to close a portion of the final table in a bid to keep the peace between the warring fans.

Eventually the poker impasse was broken, Chance Kornuth and Kevin Boudreau storming through to the heads up where ultimately Kornuth prevailed in front of his rowdy rail to take down the bracelet and the $508,090 first-prize money in what was a very strong field.

Event 51 - $3k Triple Chance

With 175 players remaining for Day 2, it seemed unlikely we would be able to play down to a final table - but the whirlwind pace that characterized Day 1 play was back in force and they almost managed it.

The field was shredded in 10 firebrand levels with players like Gavin Griffin and James Akenhead making deep runs - though neither managed to survive the day.

Instead, the 12 players who did make it through will be headed by Jon Eaton at the top of the chip counts when they return tomorrow  with Tommy Vedes hot on his shoulder in 2nd.

They'll be back at 2.30 p.m. to play it out for the bracelet and claim the $559,371 first-prize money.

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

Day 1 of the $25k NLHE Six-Handed event is in the books and 78 players will return for Day 2 - meaning 113 of the original 191 registrants will wake up $25k poorer tomorrow.

This event proved a huge favorite amongst both the seasoned vets like Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu and the online whiz kids like Phil Galfond and Tom "durrrr" Dwan.

Considering the players were given healthy stacks of 75k, there was a surprising rate of attrition - the sheer aggression the players generated causing a number of casualties before the end of the day.

When they finally bagged and tagged the chips, Philipp Gruissem was the man out in front, although Daniel Negreanu, Sam Trickett and Isaac Haxton also had fine days and will present a worthy challenge when they reconvene for Day 2 at 2.30 p.m.

Event 53 - $1.5k Limit Shootout

No one would suggest the Limit Shootout format was the sexiest of the events on the schedule but 548 Limit specialists and bracelet-hunters showed up to battle for the title.

By the end of the day, there were plenty of familiar faces amongst the winners, including Yevgeniy Timoshenko, Barry Shulman, Chau Giang and Marcel Luske.

Those players and the other winners will return tomorrow to continue battling along the path to crown the latest braceleted champion.

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

WSOP Live!

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

Phil Hellmuth, Annie Duke Vying for WSOP Tournament of Champions Title

While the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Tournament of Champions (TOC) takes a break until July 3rd, the leaders of Team UB.com, Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke, find themselves right in the thick of things.

With 17 of the original 27 players remaining, Hellmuth and Duke are back-to-back in the middle of the pack.  With 44,100 chips, Hellmuth is in eighth place, while Duke is right behind him in ninth with 42,600.  If they hold those same positions throughout the rest of the tournament, they will both earn $25,000.  Undoubtedly, though, they each have their eyes trained on the $500,000 grand prize.

Duke has not had any success at this year’s WSOP, as she is still without a cash, so a win in the TOC would be a great boost for the 2009 “Celebrity Apprentice” runner-up.  It will also be quite an accomplishment to beat such a stacked, albeit small, field after recently winning the similarly challenging National Heads-Up Poker Championship.  Duke was one of five automatic qualifiers for the TOC, earning her spot by winning the inaugural Tournament of Champions back in 2004.  Coincidentally, she defeated Hellmuth heads-up in that event to win the $2 million purse.

While Hellmuth prides himself on holding the most WSOP bracelets of anyone in the history of poker, he would still love to win the TOC, even though it would not technically count as his 12th bracelet.  Hellmuth has had a disappointing run at the WSOP so far, with just three cashes for $70,622.  He does have two top-15 finishes, including a final table, but for Hellmuth, also the all-time leader in number of cashes at the WSOP, it has been frustrating.  Last night, he Tweeted, “Feeling so TORTURED right now!! Busted on level 15, in 59th place… 45 get paid. Four times I played till level 14 or later, and didn’t cash.”

Hellmuth earned his seat in the Tournament of Champions through the online fan vote.  He was the fourth-leading vote getter of the 20 players who qualified via balloting, garnering 12,673 votes.  Ahead of him were Phil Ivey (16,267), Daniel Negreanu (16,239), and Doyle Brunson (13,796).

The TOC has a dash of past UB flavor, as well, as ex-UB pro Antonio Esfandiari (now with Victory Poker) is 16th place and Scotty Nguyen, who was once sponsored by UB, is in fourth place.

The TOC is slated to pick back up on July 3rd and play down to a final table, which will be contested the following day.  If any player is still alive in events happening on July 3rd, however, the TOC will not resume at all until July 4th, when it will start bright and early at 9:00am local time.

Event #50, $5,000 PLO, Day 1 completed

Champions Forum - Day 31 WSOP Recap

Frank Kassela and John Juanda pulled into a dead heat for the Player of the Year race after Kassela's latest cash.

Two more bracelets were handed out as the latest two WSOP champions were crowned.

Here's a look around Day 31:

WSOP Tournament of Champions 2010

We only played four short levels Sunday, but the 2010 TOC got underway nonetheless.

The railbirds packed the Amazon Room to see three fully-loaded tables on Day 1, as this year's TOC boasts perhaps the sickest tournament field ever seen at the WSOP.

Despite the short day, we still saw five eliminations on Day 1, as Phil Ivey, Greg Raymer, Barry Shulman, Sammy Farha and John Juanda all hit the rail.

Eight-time bracelet winner Erik Seidel finished Day 1 in the lead, and the towering Full Tilt pro comes back with 72k in chips.

The blinds will be at 200/400 for Level 5 when Seidel and the rest of the remaining 22 players return at 12 p.m. for Day 2.

Other notable names near the top of the chip leader board include Johnny Chan, Mike "The Mouth" Matusow and Barry Greenstein.

Event 45 - $1.5k No-Limit Hold'em

Jesse Rockowitz won his first career WSOP bracelet, emerging from the final table as the latest WSOP champion.

Another huge field played for the latest $1.5k No-Limit bracelet, but the original field of 3,097 players was down to 36 when the final day of this event kicked off Sunday.

Dutch Boyd was looking for his second WSOP bracelet of 2010, but came up short of the final table, placing 15th and cashing for $32,653.

Other notables in the cash included Theo Tran and Ayaz Mahmood.

Event 46 - $5k Pot-Limit Omaha/8

Perhaps the most interesting final table of the 2010 WSOP played out, with the fascinating mix of Erik Seidel, Leif Force, Dan Shak and Dave "Devilfish" Ulliott all seated.

In the end it was Chris Bell coming away with the bracelet and first-place prize of $327,040 out of a field of 284 players.

Event 47 - $1k No-Limit Hold'em

Day 1b of this event began Sunday, and the 476 surviving players from today will join the 680 survivors from Day 1a when play resumes.

In total, it will be 1,356 rounders coming back for Day 2, which resumes at 2:30 p.m.Monday.

Lots of unknown faces and names crowded the Pavilion Room for this event, but Antonio Esfandiari was one well-known name that dominated on Day 1b.

The first-place prize for this tournament is $485,791.

Event 48 - $2.5k Mixed Event

The money bubble burst near the end of the night, with POY contender Frank Kassela making into the money to pull into a tie with John Juanda for the 2010 Player of the Year race.

192 of the original field of 453 players came back Sunday for Day 2, with Dario Minieri and Vitaly Lunkin amongst the notables making the cash.

Day 3 commences at 3:00 p.m. Monday and we play down to a champion.

For a more in-depth look at how the day played out, along with news, blogs and videos, visit PokerListings' WSOP 2010 section.

WSOP Live!

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

Champions Forum - Day 29 WSOP Recap

Frank Kassela and John Juanda pulled into a dead heat for the Player of the Year race after Kassela's latest cash.

Two more bracelets were handed out as the latest two WSOP champions were crowned.

Here's a look around Day 29:

WSOP Tournament of Champions 2010

We only played four short levels Sunday, but the 2010 TOC got underway nonetheless.

The railbirds packed the Amazon Room to see three fully-loaded tables on Day 1, as this year's TOC boasts perhaps the sickest tournament field ever seen at the WSOP.

Despite the short day, we still saw five eliminations on Day 1, as Phil Ivey, Greg Raymer, Barry Shulman, Sammy Farha and John Juanda all hit the rail.

Eight-time bracelet winner Erik Seidel finished Day 1 in the lead, and the towering Full Tilt pro comes back with 72k in chips.

The blinds will be at 200/400 for Level 5 when Seidel and the rest of the remaining 22 players return at 12 p.m. for Day 2.

Other notable names near the top of the chip leader board include Johnny Chan, Mike "The Mouth" Matusow and Barry Greenstein.

Event 45 - $1.5k No-Limit Hold'em

Jesse Rockowitz won his first career WSOP bracelet, emerging from the final table as the latest WSOP champion.

Another huge field played for the latest $1.5k No-Limit bracelet, but the original field of 3,097 players was down to 36 when the final day of this event kicked off Sunday.

Dutch Boyd was looking for his second WSOP bracelet of 2010, but came up short of the final table, placing 15th and cashing for $32,653.

Other notables in the cash included Theo Tran and Ayaz Mahmood.

Event 46 - $5k Pot-Limit Omaha/8

Perhaps the most interesting final table of the 2010 WSOP played out, with the fascinating mix of Erik Seidel, Leif Force, Dan Shak and Dave "Devilfish" Ulliott all seated.

In the end it was Chris Bell coming away with the bracelet and first-place prize of $327,040 out of a field of 284 players.

Event 47 - $1k No-Limit Hold'em

Day 1b of this event began Sunday, and the 476 surviving players from today will join the 680 survivors from Day 1a when play resumes.

In total, it will be 1,356 rounders coming back for Day 2, which resumes at 2:30 p.m.Monday.

Lots of unknown faces and names crowded the Pavilion Room for this event, but Antonio Esfandiari was one well-known name that dominated on Day 1b.

The first-place prize for this tournament is $485,791.

Event 48 - $2.5k Mixed Event

The money bubble burst near the end of the night, with POY contender Frank Kassela making into the money to pull into a tie with John Juanda for the 2010 Player of the Year race.

192 of the original field of 453 players came back Sunday for Day 2, with Dario Minieri and Vitaly Lunkin amongst the notables making the cash.

Day 3 commences at 3:00 p.m. Monday and we play down to a champion.

For a more in-depth look at how the day played out, along with news, blogs and videos, visit PokerListings' WSOP 2010 section.

WSOP Live!

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

Gavin Smith Wins First World Series of Poker Bracelet

In the $2,500 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Mixed Event – featuring levels that alternate between Limit Hold’em and No Limit Hold’em – nine players came back on Saturday afternoon to determine a champion. Jarred Solomon held a slim lead over Full Tilt Poker’s Gavin Smith when play began, with WSOP Circuit terror Dwyte Pilgrim sitting on the short stack. Starting with Limit Hold’em, the players wasted little time in getting down to business.

Within the first three hours, three players were dispatched from the event. Pilgrim could never get any traction to make a drive at a WSOP bracelet, departing the final table in eighth place. 2007 British Columbia Poker Championship victor Daniel Idema, who came to the felt as the second shortest stack, was also a victim of the early action before leaving the event in seventh place.

Solomon was felted prior to the dinner break by Danny Hannawa and finished in sixth place. After dinner, Hannawa held a 240,000-chip lead over Timothy Finne, Jamie Rosen, Smith, and Michael Michnik. With the game changed to No Limit, several players became more aggressive, attempting to be the last man standing.

Hannawa dumped Rosen in fifth place, at which time Smith took over play. The Canadian aggressively took chips from Michnik and, in a key hand, assumed the chip lead from Hannawa when Smith, holding A-Q, flopped a queen and Hannawa couldn’t beat him. He continued to pound the pot with bets as the game switched to Limit, when he was able to vanquish Michnik in fourth.

After Hannawa was able to defeat Michnik at the end of the Limit level, heads-up play began in No Limit with Smith holding a 400,000-chip edge over Hannawa. After decimating Hannawa with a pair of eights on a 4-2-8-K-10 board, Smith saw fortune fall his way on the final hand. Hannawa committed the remainder of his chips holding a 10-8. After Smith called with his suited A-Q and the board ran A-K-2-J-J, he dropped the “best player to never win a bracelet” tag from his name by winning Event #44:

1. Gavin Smith (Las Vegas, NV) – $268,238
2. Danny Hannawa (Farmington Hills, MI) – $166,050
3. Timothy Finne (Fanwood, NJ) – $110,324
4. Michael Michnik (Hollywood, FL) – $81,871
5. Jamie Rosen (Las Vegas, NV) – $61,441
6. Jarred Solomon (Johannesburg, South Africa) – $46,562
7. Daniel Idema (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) – $35,601
8. Dwyte Pilgrim (Brooklyn, NY) – $27,438
9. Mike Santoro (Egg Harbor, NJ) – $21,304

In Event #45, another $1,500 No Limit Hold’em tournament, 35 players will return on Sunday afternoon to determine a champion. Sam Trickett, who was the runner-up to Jason DeWitt in the $5,000 No Limit event, holds the chip lead with several notable names in the mix behind him. 2010 WSOP bracelet winner Dutch Boyd sits in fifth, with Paul “X-22” Magriel, Alex Outhred, and Tim “tmay420” West just off the top 10.

Twenty-one players will return for Day 3 in the $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo event, which will probably run deep into Monday morning to determine a champion. Sergey Altbregin leads the tournament when the cards fly this afternoon, but a host of top pros are still in the mix. In second place is David “DevilFish” Ulliott, with Dan Shak and Chris Bell also in the top five. A blast from the past in the top 10 is Leif Force, who is known for his 11th place finish in the 2006 WSOP Main Event. Add in other pros such as Rob Hollink, Dan Heimiller, Allen Kessler, Andy Black, “Miami” John Cernuto, and Erik Seidel and the final day of this tournament will be one to watch.

Two tournaments opened up play on Saturday, with the first Day 1 of the latest $1,000 No Limit Hold’em event pulling in 1,759 entries. 310 players survived the carnage on Saturday to come back for Day Two on Monday. The final size of the field will be determined with the second Day 1 taking place on Sunday.

In Day One of the $2,500 Mixed Event, 453 players stepped up to test themselves against one of the toughest formats in poker. 192 will come back for Day 2 today, with Jared Jaffee holding the overnight chip lead. $50,000 Player’s Championship winner Michael Mizrachi is in fifth place, with other stars of the game such as Luca Pagano, Brandon Cantu, Steve Billirakis, Dario Alito, Alex Kravchenko, Scott Seiver, Andrew Robl, and 2010 double bracelet winner Frank Kassela all in the top 20.

While these tournaments all are featuring a great deal of star power, they will be dwarfed by the only tournament that starts today. The WSOP Tournament of Champions, which features 27 of the biggest names in the poker world, opens up play Sunday at Noon PT.

It looks to be a battle of the online poker rooms, as nine members of the Full Tilt Poker stable (Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, Allen Cunningham, John Juanda, Seidel, Jennifer Harman, Huck Seed, Howard Lederer and Mike Matusow) will hit the felt against six PokerStars pros (Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein, Greg Raymer, Joe Hachem, Joe Cada, and Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier). Team UB sends its most prominent representatives in Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke, while Doyle Brunson represents DoylesRoom. Defending Tournament of Champions titleholder Mike Sexton will carry the PartyPoker banner as he attempts to repeat.

It all makes for one of the busiest Sundays during the run of this year’s World Series of Poker.

Aussie Millions on GSN: Howard Lederer, Tony G Exit High-Roller Event

Eight players remained entering GSN’s coverage of the 2010 Aussie Millions High-Roller Event on Saturday night. The one-hour show, which airs at 9:00pm ET, features commentary from Paul Khoury and Grub Smith.

Four of the final eight were Americans, three were Aussies, and one was a Brit. With the blinds at 6,000/12,000, Full Tilt Poker front man Howard Lederer raised to 36,000 with A-10 and PartyPoker pro Tony G, who had been playing back at Lederer throughout the final table, made it 120,000 with pocket aces. Lederer moved all-in and Tony G snap-called. Lederer flopped a 10 to keep his tournament hopes alive, but a running 7-3 sent him to the rails in eighth place. Lederer took down the 2008 Aussie Millions High-Roller event for over $1 million.

Bill Jordanou doubled up with pocket kings against Tony G’s pocket jacks. Then, Tony Bloom doubled his stack at the expense of Full Tilt’s Dan Shak, who called Bloom’s all-in with A-4. Bloom held pocket tens and watched as the board ran out 2-K-5-6-9. Shak had a flush draw by the time the river was dealt, but could not hit it. Bloom promptly doubled once more, this time through PokerStars pro Barry Greenstein, by sucking out on pocket kings with pocket jacks.

Shak was all-in with pocket eights and up against Jonathan Karamalikis’A-2. Karamalikis turned a deuce to make matters interesting, but he bricked the river to double up the dangerous pro. Karamalikis goes by the moniker “Monster Dong” online and, like many of his tablemates, is a sponsored pro of Full Tilt.

On a flop of 9-10-2, Karamalikis check-called a bet of 50,000 from Phil Ivey holding J-9 to see a four on the turn. Karamalikis once again checked and Ivey, who held A-10 for top pair, bet 145,000. Karamalikis tanked before eventually moving all-in. Ivey called and the river came a six, doubling up the eight-time bracelet winner. Smith remarked, “If there’s one person the rest of the table didn’t want to have chips in front of them, it’s Phil Ivey.” Ivey stacked one-third of the chips in play in the process.

Karamalikis’ exit came when he was all-in pre-flop with A-10 against Shak’s pocket nines and Tony G’s pocket sevens. When the flop came 6-4-3, Shak moved all-in for 196,000 and Tony G tossed in his time button to receive 30 extra seconds to act before finally folding. The board filled out 4-5 and Karamalikis, who was the chip leader when eight players remained, exited stage right in seventh place.

Crippled from the earlier kings versus jacks hand, Greenstein ultimately hit the rails in sixth place after running Q-10 into pocket kings. Then, Tony G was all-in with pocket tens against Shak’s A-K, setting up a race situation. Shak flopped top two pair and Tony G couldn’t catch up, hitting the rails in fifth place as the final casualty of the night.

Coverage of the 2010 Aussie Millions airs on Saturday nights at 9:00pm ET on GSN and repeats at Midnight ET as part of the network’s weekly poker block. Its Aussie Millions coverage originally featured almost exclusive coverage of Full Tilt pros, but has since expanded to include players like Greenstein and DoylesRoom’s Dani Stern that don the logos of competing online poker sites. Aussie Millions coverage will air until August 14th, when the Full Tilt Doubles Poker Championship replaces it.

The Aussie Millions High-Roller event features a mammoth buy-in of AUD $100,000, the equivalent of nearly USD $90,000 at today’s exchange rate. A top prize of AUD $1.2 million is on the line, with the runner-up receiving exactly half of that amount.

The Weekly Turbo: PokerStars Sponsors Basketball Team and Soccer Star, The Life of Ivey, and More

Stars Headline 2010 TOC

20 of the 27 players seated for the start of the TOC Sunday were voted in by fans on WSOP.com, and this year's TOC is the equivalent of an All-Star game from any major sport.

A ballot of 50 names was released by the WSOP on March 15, and the public had until June 15 to vote.

The top 20 players receiving the highest vote total earned a TOC, along with seven other qualifiers.

The result is an field that includes names like Phil Hellmuth, Mike "The Mouth" Matusow, Sammy Farha and Scotty Nguyen, seated with Barry Greenstein, Allen Cunningham, Mike Sexton and Barry Shulman.

All of those big names are sitting around just one table at the TOC.

"All in all I think it's great for the game, and I think all poker players should appreciate the fact that somebody's putting up a million dollars for a freeroll, for players to put that back in the poker community," Sexton told PL.com on a break.

"Obviously it's a phenomenal field. I predicted the final table will be the greatest final table in the history of poker. I think it'll be that strong."

The TOC is back for the first time since 2006, and the formula was overhauled for 2010, allowing the public to vote in the first-ever event of it's kind.

Daniel Negreanu is seated right next to Annie Duke at the ESPN feature table.

 

"Any time you have a voting process, people are going to talk about it," Sexton said.

"That's the way it is. It's like any major sport. All-Star baseball game, basketball, it doesn't matter. If the fans vote on it, they vote for people that they recognize, that are popular."

The event is definitely creating a buzz in the Amazon Room, with all three feature tables offering a spectacular lineup.

Top vote-getter Phil Ivey is in the field, along with Daniel Negreanu, Annie Duke, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson and Erik Seidel.

"It's a tough field," said Sammy Farha with a grin.

"I like that though, it's better for me. They're all good players. There's no strange move or something like that. I'd rather be in a field like this than against different faces that I haven't seen before."

The TOC will play four levels Sunday and wrap up early in the afternoon, allowing multi-tabling pros to fulfill other bracelet-event commitments later in the day.

Action will resume in the TOC at 12:00 p.m. on Monday with the goal of playing down to a final table of nine. The final table will play out on July 4.

Farha told PL.com that he's done playing bracelet events for the summer, with the $10k Omaha Hi-Lo bracelet already in the bag for the 2010 WSOP.

Nonetheless, Farha says the TOC title is meaningful to the pros.

"You know what you hear, we're having fun, we're socializing," Farha said.

"That means nothing. The play, it's very competitive. We're all going to try to beat each other."

The 2010 WSOP continues through July 17. For comprehensive coverage live from Las Vegas tune in to PokerListings' Live Updates and News.

2010 World Series of Poker: Why Ivey Will Win 30 or More in His Lifetime

June 24th – Daily Deal

A very Happy Thursday to everyone! Today on the Daily Deal by Poker News Daily, we play paparazzi for Tiffany Michelle’s twenty-sixth birthday party and address a rumor that Phil Ivey won’t play in the WSOP Tournament of Champions and bring you the latest news from the Rio.

Hello, I’m Sean Gibson and welcome to the Daily Deal by Poker News Daily. More bracelets were handed out at the Rio in Las Vegas for the 2010 World Series of Poker. In Event number 36 it was former November Niner Scott Montgomery who won the $1,000 buy-in no limit hold’em tournament. He outlasted over 3,000 opponents for his first bracelet and nearly a half million dollars. Event number 39 was the $1,500 no limit holdem shootout which was won by Steve Kelly. The 21 old is an online cash game pro and made almost $400,000 for winning this event. Finally, it was Frank Kassela winning Event Number forty for his second WSOP bracelet this season. This time it came in the $2,500 dollar Razz event with Kassela winning over two hundred and ten thousand dollars.

In a recent installment of the ESPN Poker Edge Podcast, Full Tilt pro Phil Gordon revealed that Phil Ivey may skip this year’s WSOP Tournament of Champions, “I heard that Phil Ivey is not even going to play. I was told that because there is a bracelet event the same day as the TOC, Phil isn’t going to play the TOC… You might be seeing Ivey running back and forth from the TV table.”

According to Pokerati, Ivey has a five million bet with Howard Lederer that he’ll win two bracelets by the conclusion of the two thousand eleven WSOP, so he can ill-afford to miss events. On this week’s ESPN’s Inside Deal, poker pro Barry Greenstein, who was also voted into the Tournament of Champions, weighed in on whether he thought Ivey would play, “I haven’t even talked to Phil about it. I would guess he would play. What he was probably concerned about was the way they had it set up initially, it was going to conflict with him playing in events and he has a bunch of side bets.”

Ivey was the top vote getter for the WSOP Tournament of Champions. I guess we’ll have to wait and see if he’s in attendance.

Finally, it wouldn’t be a poker show without an inside look at Tiffany Michelle’s birthday bash. The poker diva and last woman standing in the two thousand eight World Series of Poker Main Event celebrated in style, hitting up Crystals at CityCenter in Las Vegas. Joining her were “Amazing Race” team member Maria Ho, Adam “Roothlus” Levy, and several other pros.

Michele was seen posing on the red carpet at the Eve Nightclub and noshing on a three-tier chocolate cake crafted by the Gimme Some Sugary Bakery. Rather than describe it to you, here’s a picture for you to chew on.

Thanks for joining me on The Daily Deal. Don’t forget to visit PokerNewsDaily.com and be sure to follow us at Twitter.com/PokerNewsDaily for the latest in poker news. This is Sean Gibson, wishing you the best of luck at the tables!

Frank Kassela, Scott Montgomery Win WSOP Bracelets

Wednesday was a busy day at the World Series of Poker (WSOP), one that began with Phil Ivey being awarded his eighth career bracelet and ended with three more players collecting hardware of their own. Events 36, 39, and 40 crowned winners in the Amazon Room, with a pair of familiar faces standing on top at the end of the night.

Full Tilt Poker pro Scott Montgomery picked up his first piece of WSOP hardware on Wednesday by winning the $1,000 No Limit Hold’em Event #36. Montgomery, who was a member of the original WSOP November Nine in 2008, bested a field of 3,102 players to win the gold bracelet.

Montgomery admittedly ran hot just to reach the final table on Tuesday and his scorching run of cards continued on the final day. He began the final table eighth in chips, but his aggression fueled him to the top of the leaderboard and ultimately the $481,760 first prize. Montgomery took a huge chip lead into heads-up play against Mick Carlson and sent the Indiana native to the rail in just 15 minutes. On the final hand, a short-stacked Carlson moved all-in with Kd-2s and Montgomery called with Ad-7h. The board didn’t help Carlson and he earned $297,996 for his runner-up finish.

Montgomery, meanwhile, became the fourth Canadian to win a bracelet at the 2010 WSOP, joining Miguel Proulx, Aadam Daya, and Pascal Lefrancois. He eclipsed the $4,000,000 mark in career live tournament earnings.

1. Scott Montgomery – $481,760
2. Mick Carlson – $297,996
3. Adam Richardson – $210,892
4. Daniel Fuhs – $152,655
5. Sebastien Roy – $111,783
6. John Dolan – $82,804
7. Peter Dufek – $62,033
8. Timothy Beeman – $46,985
9. Michael Michnik – $35,986

Frank Kassela, Maxwell Troy, Vladimir Schmelev, Jennifer Harman, and Stuart Rutter all made repeat appearances at a final table when the $2,500 Seven Card Razz event reached its final eight players Wednesday evening. After 12 grueling hours of play, Kassela defeated Troy for the title, becoming the first player to win two bracelets in 2010.

Kassela, a father of five from Memphis, Tennessee, earned $214,084 in prize money, but battled from start to finish getting there. Kassela worked with a short stack for most of the tournament, crawling his way up the pay ladder before going on a rush early on Wednesday and entering the final table third in chips. From there, Kassela picked his spots wisely and overcame a 2:1 chip disadvantage to defeat Troy for the victory.

1. Frank Kassela – $214,085
2. Maxwell Troy – $132,229
3. Melville Lewis – $85,284
4. Vladimir Schmelev – $61,795
5. Mikko Pispala – $45,433
6. Jennifer Harman – $33,890
7. Stuart Rutter – $25,646
8. Chris Bjorin – $19,686

The $1,500 No Limit Hold’em Shootout played from 14 players down to one on Wednesday and, with notables Annette Obrestad and J.C. Tran vying for the title, gained a fair amount of interest going into the final day. Obrestad built a giant stack early on, but lost a pair of coin flips to cripple her and she eventually followed Tran to the rail before the final table was formed.

Jeff King eliminated Justin Scott in ninth place, propelling him to a chip lead that he would hang onto for most of the night. However, it was a 21 year-old pro from California that stepped up and claimed victory on Wednesday. Steven Kelly dominated in the late stages of the final table and took a significant chip lead into heads-up play against King. Then, at around 1:40am local time, King moved all-in for his last 1.5 million chips with Ks-Qd and Kelly made the call with Ah-9d. The board ran out Js-9c-3s-2c-3h and Kelly was instantly $381,922 wealthier.

1. Steven Kelly – $381,922
2. Jeff King – $236,819
3. Derric Haynie – $161,117
4. Dustin Dirksen – $112,214
5. Reagan Leman – $78,361
6. Brett Shaffer – $56,446
7. Paul Varano – $40,887
8. Michael Cooper – $30,119
9. Justin Scott – $22,575

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the continuous updates from the 2010 WSOP.

WSOP Event #40: Frank Kassela the first to win two bracelets this year

In last year’s WSOP even four players managed to win two or more bracelets. Greg ‘FBT’ Mueller (Events 33 and 50), Brock Parker (Events 14 and 19) and Phil Ivey (Events 8 and 25) won two bracelets each whereas Jeffrey Lisandro managed to grab stunning three bracelets (Events 16, 37 and 44).

This year we had to wait for 40 events until the first double champion; namely Frank Kassela just won the WSOP Event #40 / $2,500 Seven Card Razz - and at the same time already his second bracelet during this year’s WSOP (the first came from Event #15).

Kassela earned over 214,000 dollars from his victory; below are the final results of the event (altogether 365 entries):

1. Frank Kassela $214,085
2. Maxwell Troy $132,229
3. Melville Lewis $85,284
4. Vladimir Shchemelev $61,795
5. Mikko Pispala $45,433
6. Jennifer Harman $33,890
7. Stuart Rutter $25,646
8. Chris Bjorin $19,686

Source: Pokernews and TheHendonMob

You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com

WSOP Event #40: Frank Kassela the first to win two bracelets this year

Phil Hellmuth Vying for 12th WSOP Bracelet in Omaha High-Low Split Event

A win for UB.com pro Phil Hellmuth in Event #41 of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP), $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha High-Low Split Eight or Better, would be monumental on several levels. First, a “W” would mean Hellmuth’s 12th bracelet, a new record. Also, it would mark the “Poker Brat’s” first win in a non-Hold’em tournament, getting the proverbial monkey off his back. Hellmuth owns the fourth largest stack with 15 players remaining.

Hellmuth already has two deep runs at this year’s World Series. The 11-time bracelet winner finished 15th in Event #8, $1,500 No Limit Hold’em, and cashed for $25,000. Nine events later, it was back to the cage after finishing 50th in a $5,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament for $14,000. Given that all of his hardware has come in No Limit Hold’em, many consider Hellmuth to be the top player in the world in that genre of poker.

Hellmuth may have felt the heat earlier this week from Full Tilt Poker pro Phil Ivey, who said he’s gunning for 30 bracelets after taking down his eighth in a $3,000 HORSE event. Hellmuth responded with a deep run in Event #41, dispatching Cody Culp in 17th place. Hellmuth flopped top set, which held for the win.

Twitter was ablaze on Wednesday with Hellmuth giving updates on his progress during the second day of play in the Omaha High-Low Split event. Perhaps facetiously, he called his shot entering Wednesday’s action: “Ended Day One of Omaha 8/b with $31,600… another Day Two, but this feels different to me, maybe a cash, maybe a final table, maybe more…” Then, word of a Hellmuth sighting in the top 100 spread like wildfire around the internet: “Wow! I Ah-3h-3s-8d, flop Qd-Qh-3d, p1 bet, p2 call, p3 all in, I call $20,100, fold, fold, p3 had Q-J-10-10, I win; have over 60k!! 98 left.”

Hellmuth’s final chirp came just before 3:00am PT on Thursday morning after play had concluded for the day: “15 left in Omaha 8/b, and I am 4th in chips w $331,000, blinds will be 6k-12k tomorrow. All I can do is focus on playing great poker.” Hellmuth will have to contend with a talented lineup that includes three-time bracelet winner and PokerStars sponsored pro Barry Greenstein. Here’s how the final 15 shake out:

1. Ryan Karp – 564,000
2. Steve Jelinek – 538,000
3. Joel Ettedgi – 419,000
4. Phil Hellmuth – 331,000
5. Ben Lamb – 320,000
6. John Gottlieb – 277,000
7. Michael Chappus – 260,000
8. Jeffrey Baker – 247,000
9. Barry Greenstein – 204,000
10. Anders Taylor – 202,000
11. Darren Sprengers – 144,000
12. Bryan Andrews – 122,000
13. Igor Gotz – 105,000
14. Amanda Thomas – 60,000
15. Anthony Cousineau – 22,000

Elsewhere, UB.com pro Annie Duke finished Day 1 of the $10,000 HORSE Championship in 39th place with a stack of 61,600. Russia’s Sergey Altbregin and the World Poker Tour’s all-time money leader, Carlos Mortensen, lead the way with stacks of 143,000 and 125,800, respectively. A field of 169 will take to the felts today. Duke took a sizable hit to her stack during Hold’em play after she turned two pair with A-Q. However, close friend Perry Friedman, who was instrumental to Duke’s fundraising efforts on NBC’s “Celebrity Apprentice,” held pocket fives for a set and scooped a mammoth pot.

Duke one-outed Ivey in Omaha, making quads against Ivey’s trip aces. According to coverage found on WSOP.com, Duke exclaimed, “Oh my god! I just hit a one-outer on Phil Ivey! I had three queens in Omaha, and he had three aces, and I made quads!” In case you’re wondering, Ivey did not reach Day 2 of the HORSE Championship.

Will it be bracelet #12 for Hellmuth today? Stay tuned to Poker News Daily to find out.

Montgomery Talks First WSOP Bracelet

Scott Montgomery now has both, and the 28-year-old Canadian pro was in the house Thursday to accept his $1k No-Limit Hold'em bracelet.

After making the 2008 November Nine and cashing out for more than $3 million in a fifth-place finish, Montgomery is once again showing his mastery of the large-field events.

The Full Tilt sponsored pro outlasted the rest in a field of 3,102 players in the $1k No-Limit Hold'em event to win the bracelet, just two years after making the Main Event final table amongst a field of 6,839 players.

For Montgomery, the higher the number of entrants in the field, the better.

"I've always enjoyed playing the big-field events," Montgomery said from the Pavilion Room stage.

"Playing six or seven days in a row doesn't tire me out at all. Some people you can tell, after a couple of days they start to get run down."

"If you're not willing to play seven days in a row of 12-hour poker events, there's no reason to go into the field if the tournament is going to last that long."

Montgomery is the third former November Niner to take down a bracelet at the 2010 WSOP, following the path of Eric Buchman and Phil Ivey, both of whom made the 2009 November Nine.

"Making the November Nine, I've had a lot of opportunities to play poker," Montgomery said.

The bracelet is the fourth for Canada at the 2010 WSOP, tying the Canadians with the Brits for most bracelets from a non-U.S. country.

Montgomery was already upwards of the $3 million mark in WSOP earnings going into 2010, and his latest result will only open more eyes to the talented Canadian.

"Some people say winning the event is like proving yourself, showing people how good you are," Montgomery said. "I don't think about it that way myself."

"I know what my skills are as a player. I know what level I'm at. I'm not the best in the world but I'm good enough to get by. I play what I'm best at and I do well at it."

The 2010 WSOP continues through July 17. For comprehensive coverage live from Las Vegas tune in to PokerListings' Live Updates and News.

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ESPN Inside Deal: Phil Ivey to Sit Out WSOP Tournament of Champions?

With regular hosts Laura Lane on vacation and Bernard Lee in Las Vegas, ESPN Poker Editor Andrew Feldman assumed the helm of “Inside Deal.” The ESPN.com poker news show sponsored by PokerStars welcomed Barry Greenstein.

Lee appeared via satellite from Sin City, where he’s competing in the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP). With five final tables coming up on ESPN3.com, Lee explained what viewers might witness in the $25,000 No Limit Hold’em Six-Max event, which starts on June 30th: “I don’t think there are going to be huge names that the general public knows. We’ll probably see a couple of people that are very familiar, but we’ll also see some people who are very big online names, but the general public won’t know them.”

Pros have dominated the 2010 WSOP so far. In fact, through the first 37 completed events, pros have taken down 25 bracelets, or a 68% success rate. Lee gave his take on the past month of action: “It’s the Year of the Redemption. I also think the Year of the Pro is coming about. A lot of these people who are having their redemption years and second bracelets are pros. It really shows that their experience is coming through.”

Greenstein finished ninth in the voting for the 2010 WSOP Tournament of Champions out of the 20 players voted in by the general public. On top of the leaderboard was Full Tilt Poker pro Phil Ivey, who Greenstein noted might not even play in the invite-only event: “I haven’t even talked to Phil about it. I would guess he would play. What he was probably concerned about was the way they had it set up initially, it was going to conflict with him playing in events and he has a bunch of side bets.”

Last week on the ESPN “Poker Edge” podcast, co-host Phil Gordon told Feldman and the show’s listeners, “I heard that Phil Ivey is not even going to play. I was told that because there is a bracelet event the same day as the TOC, Phil isn’t going to play the TOC… You might be seeing Ivey running back and forth from the TV table.” Feldman then suggested holding the Tournament of Champions over the November Nine weekend.

On the field of 27 that will take to the felts in the Tournament of Champions, which includes 25 bracelet winners and two qualifiers, Greenstein told “Inside Deal” viewers: “Some people were complaining, ‘Hey, why didn’t we get some of the newer, younger players?’ This is really more like an all-star game and is based more on the career you put forward, so I’m happy that people consider me in the top 20 most popular players.” Greenstein received just over 9,800 votes for the Tournament of Champions, while Ivey and Daniel Negreanu each earned over 16,000.

Attendance for Mixed Games at the 2010 WSOP is up compared to last year. In Greenstein’s eyes, the growth is in part due to the influence of the world’s largest online poker rooms like PokerStars: “It’s been helped by the Eight-Game on PokerStars and I think some of the other sites have put on Mixed Games. It makes poker more interesting. I’ve always enjoyed, when I play cash games, playing as many games as possible. It’s boring to play one game.” Greenstein added that he used to take bathroom breaks during Limit Hold’em rounds because grew tired of the age-old poker variation.

Lee and Greenstein debated the merits of adding other tournaments to the annual WSOP schedule. Greenstein, who sits on the WSOP Player’s Advisory Council, revealed that online poker players have asked for a Six-Max Pot Limit Omaha Championship. Lee pitched combination games like a Lowball Championship and Stud Championship.

“Inside Deal” is released every week exclusively on ESPN.com.

Annette Obrestad Eyes Second WSOP Bracelet in $1,500 NLHE Shootout

Full Tilt Poker pro Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad is within inches of capturing her second World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet. Obrestad famously took down the 2007 WSOP Europe Main Event, the first ever running of the £10,000 buy-in tournament, and banked £1 million. She’s making her Las Vegas WSOP debut this year and a bracelet win would be the icing on the cake for the 21 year-old.

Fourteen players remain in the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em Shootout, the 39th event of the 2010 WSOP. Among them is Obrestad, who, prior to the tournament series, jumped from Betfair to the USA-friendly Full Tilt Poker. Now, she’s vying to become the first woman to win an open event at the 2010 WSOP and the latest in a string of pros to capture hardware this year, a list that includes Phil Ivey, Men “The Master” Nguyen, and Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi.

The field of 14 survivors will split into two tables of seven. The tournament began with 1,400 competitors and, in a shootout format, players must win their tables in order to advance. Tuesday’s finale saw Obrestad compete against a starting group that included Scott Sitron and Fatima Moreira de Melo, whom she beat heads-up to move on to Wednesday’s finale. The top 14 players are guaranteed $7,000, with a grand prize of $382,000 on the line.

Poker pro J.C. Tran is one major obstacle that stands in Obrestad’s path to her second WSOP bracelet. Tran won the Main Event of the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker in 2006 for nearly $700,000. One year later, he took down the World Poker Tour’s World Poker Challenge for $683,000. Tran has two WSOP bracelets, which came in 2008 in a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event and last year in a $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha contest. All told, Tran has over $2 million in career WSOP and Circuit Event earnings. The action picks back up at 2:30pm PT today.

The lone bracelet awarded on Tuesday went to Hungary’s Valdemar Kwaysser, who took down the Pot Limit Hold’em Championship (Event #38) for $617,000. Kwaysser outlasted a field of 268 and edged out Canadian Matt Marafioti heads-up. Five countries were represented at the final table; the only bracelet winner in contention, Blair Rodman, finished in eighth place.

Kwaysser joined Peter Gelencser and Peter Traply as the only residents of Hungary ever to take down WSOP events. Kwaysser, 26, lives in Budapest and has been playing poker for five years. On the Hungarian poker community, he told WSOP officials, “We help each other a lot. I truly believe that why Hungary has done so well, considering the size of the country which is small, is because we all stick together, and we learn together, and discuss poker together.”

DoylesRoom Brunson 10 member Dani Stern took fifth in the Pot Limit Hold’em Championship and cashed for $161,000. Stern finished one spot on the leaderboard ahead of PokerStars North American Poker Tour Venetian winner Tom Marchese, who banked $123,000 for his sixth place showing. The man who Marchese defeated in the televised Venetian tournament, Sam Stein, was the final table bubble boy in Event #38.

The Pot Limit Hold’em Championship marked the second in the money finish of the 2010 WSOP for Marchese and the first for Stern. Here’s how the final table cashed out:

1. Valdemar Kwaysser – $617,214
2. Matt Marafioti – $381,507
3. James Calderaro – $284,845
4. Konstantin Bucherl – $214,106
5. Dani Stern – $161,934
6. Tom Marchese – $123,264
7. Peter Jetten – $94,394
8. Blair Rodman – $72,754
9. Alexander Kuzmin – $56,404

Two events fire up today from the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. At Noon PT, a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em tournament will begin. Five hours later, the cards hit the air in the $10,000 HORSE World Championship. Keep it tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest WSOP results.