Poker News

Mike Sexton enters the Poker Hall of Fame - Watch the video

Doyle Brunson has something funny to say in a video that rawVEGAS.tv filmed on Mike Sexton’s Poker Hall of Fame induction.

There’s also speeches by WSOP Commissoner Jeffrey Pollack, Mike’s brother Tom Sexton and of course the maestro himself, Mike Sexton.

Source: rawVEGAS.tv

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Mike Sexton enters the Poker Hall of Fame - Watch the video

WSOP Final Table Broadcast Airs on ESPN

On Tuesday night, two and a half hours of coverage on ESPN saw the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event final table play out. What took place over three days in real-time saw Joe Cada become the youngest Main Event winner ever and earn $8.5 million.

The opening sequence focused on Phil Ivey, with announcer Lon McEachern inquiring, “Is he the one?” Comments from poker pros Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, and Doyle Brunson aired before McEachern and Norman Chad recapped the chip counts. Cada started with just 7% of the chips in play, setting up an unlikely title run.

In one of the first hands shown, Jeff Shulman raised to 1.25 million with pocket fives with his coach, Phil Hellmuth, looking on and Ivey shoved for 8.7 million with pocket kings. Cada folded pocket tens and Shulman got out of the way as well, giving Ivey the pot. The media on-hand at the Penn and Teller Theater in Las Vegas thought Cada had queens and Ivey guessed the youngster had jacks.

After tripling up with K-Q against Eric Buchman, Brit James Akenhead was eliminated in ninth place after running pocket threes into Kevin Schaffel’s pocket nines. Schaffel rivered a boat before falling in eighth place with aces against Buchman’s kings. Buchman turned quads in the hand and ousted Schaffel from the Main Event. In real-time, players headed to dinner break when play was seven-handed and Mike Sexton became the newest inductee of the Poker Hall of Fame.

In a hand that had the crowd abuzz at the Rio, logger Darvin Moon raised to 1.3 million with K-Q and Steven Begleiter made it 3.9 million with A-Q of spades. The flop came 3-4-2 with two spades, giving Begleiter flush and straight draws and a 93% edge. Begleiter led out for 5.35 million, Moon raised to 15 million, and Begleiter shoved for his last six million. Despite getting over 7:1 on a call, Moon folded and falsely told his wife that he had queens and put Begleiter on A-K suited. At the time, Poker News Daily correctly reported that Moon held K-Q for what Chad dubbed “nuclear squadoosh.”

Cada doubled up Shulman to send his chip stack plummeting to just five big blinds. Frenchman Antoine Saout then blazed a trail of his own, doubling through Begleiter after turning a flush. The hand gave Saout the chip lead and then the assembled crowd in Las Vegas watched Ivey fall by the wayside in seventh after Moon’s A-Q bested the Full Tilt pro’s A-K. Chad, who perennially picks Ivey to win the Main Event, joked, “We’re going to need a medic to the broadcast booth.” Moon then sent Begleiter packing once again with A-Q, this time against pocket queens.

Cada spiked a set to double through Shulman before the latter fell at the hands of Saout after losing a race with pocket sevens against A-9. However, Saout would give a chunk of his stack to Buchman, who held pocket aces on a board of 2-10-3 when Saout flopped top pair with Q-10. Moon sent Buchman to the rails after drawing out with K-J of diamonds against Buchman’s A-5.

Cada flopped another set with a small pair against Saout when his pocket twos overcame Saout’s pocket queens to send his stack to 80 million. Then, Saout dropped in third place after his pocket eights fell on the river to Cada’s A-K. In an improbable run, Cada went from holding five big blinds to boasting 136 million chips heads-up against Moon. McEachern exclaimed, “That did not just happen.”

Motley Crue front man Vince Neil gave the “Shuffle Up and Deal” command to begin heads-up play and Moon quickly regained the chip lead. However, the youngster doubled up after calling for his tournament life with J-9 on a board of 10-5-9-10. Moon showed 8-7 for an open-ended straight draw, which missed when a three hit on the river. In the final hand of the 2009 WSOP Main Event, Cada’s pocket nines withstood Moon’s Q-J, giving the heads-up online poker specialist a monumental win and the tag of youngest Main Event winner ever, breaking Peter Eastgate’s one year reign.

Here were the paydays from the 2009 WSOP Main Event:

1. Joe Cada – $8,546,435
2. Darvin Moon – $5,182,601
3. Antoine Saout – $3,479,485
4. Eric Buchman – $2,502,787
5. Jeff Shulman – $1,953,395
6. Steven Begleiter – $1,587,133
7. Phil Ivey – $1,404,002
8. Kevin Schaffel – $1,300,228
9. James Akenhead – $1,263,602

Those who did not set their DVRs or Tivos to record more than two hours, the scheduled time that ESPN allotted for the WSOP Main Event, did not catch heads-up play. This irritated many viewers, one of whom posted on Poker News Daily, “With the [DVR] set to record the final table coverage I returned to enjoy a thrilling night of poker. The game was still playing at the two hour mark when the recording stopped. Another WSOP on ESPN disappointment. Again I know who won without seeing the coverage on TV.” ESPN’s “SportsCenter” aired at 11:30pm ET.

On the extra 30 minutes of coverage, an ESPN representative told Poker News Daily, “We went late to serve the sports fans tuned into the much-anticipated event that has been on their calendars for a long time. We regret that those Tivo’ing it were unable to see the ending, but we’ll be replaying it in the weeks to come.”

Check your local listings for details.

Joe Sebok – Poker Player Profile

Stepson of Barry Greenstein, Joe Sebok is the CEO and President of PokerRoad, a multimedia conglomerate that includes industry-leading podcasts, video blogs with some of the game’s best like 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event November Nine member Phil Ivey, and a mammoth collection of Twitter feeds called PokerRoad Nation. Sebok is one of the most recognizable faces in all of poker and serves as a member of Team Ultimate Bet, joining the likes of Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth.

Having a stepfather who is one of the most decorated players in the game gives Sebok a leg up on the competition. In an interview with Poker News Daily, Sebok explained, “We’ll chat about things before events. He’s teaching me more than he was before.” Greenstein is a three-time WSOP bracelet winner and was a nominee for the Poker Hall of Fame in 2009. His charitable work away from the felts has earned him the nickname “The Robin Hood of Poker.” With Greenstein being dubbed “Bear,” Sebok has appropriately earned the moniker “Cub.”

PokerRoad launched a Wednesday night television show on Fox Sports Net in November of 2009 called “Poker 2Night,” which is sponsored by Ultimate Bet and covers the hot topics for the week in the game. Besides Sebok, other PokerRoad personalities include Joe Stapleton, Gavin Smith, and Court Harrington.

Ultimate Bet Signing

In September of 2009, Sebok signed on to become the Media and Operations Consultant for Ultimate Bet. The announcement, which followed the release of screen names associated with the cheating scandal that rocked that online poker site, seemed to add credibility back to the brand. Sebok told Poker News Daily, “I requested a business role within UB, as I wanted to make sure I could also be involved in the operations and help guide the path a little.” The deal took four months to finalize and the Kahnawake Gaming Commission continued to finger Russ Hamilton, a former WSOP Main Event winner, for masterminding the scandal.

World Poker Tour

Sebok has bubbled a pair of final tables on the World Poker Tour (WPT). He took seventh in the Bay 101 Shooting Star event in Season V for $130,000 and also grabbed seventh in the Legends of Poker the following season for another $114,000. Sebok owns nearly $600,000 in lifetime WPT earnings, as he’s had to scale back his involvement with the roving tour due to his plethora of duties with PokerRoad.

2009 WSOP Main Event

Sebok burst onto the WSOP scene in 2005, final tabling two events for a combined payday of $109,000. Four years later, Sebok made a deep run in the $10,000 buy-in feature tournament, finishing 56th for $108,000. He outlasted 99% of the 6,494 combatants and took to the stage of the Penn and Teller Theater at the Rio in Las Vegas to watch the Main Event final table unfold in November.

Prop Bets

Sebok and Gavin Smith have faced off in numerous prop bets, including one during the 2006 WSOP in which Sebok turned out in a diaper. He has also dressed up as a variety of superheroes and co-hosted “Prop Bets” with Smith, an online series.

ESPN Inside Deal Recaps 2009 WSOP Main Event Final Table

From the stage of the Penn and Teller Theater at the Rio in Las Vegas were the ESPN.com “Inside Deal” crew. The trio – Laura Lane, Bernard Lee, and Andrew Feldman – recapped the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event final table.

Lane, Lee, and Feldman recapped the journeys of each of the nine final table members, who waited more than 100 days to battle for the $8.5 million first place prize. The entire weekend will be recapped on ESPN this evening at 9:00pm ET. On James Akenhead, who took ninth in the feature tournament, Lee explained, “When his kings ran into aces, he got deflated, but I feel like he had a shot.” Akenhead was a former train conductor and hails from England.

Finishing in eighth place was Kevin Schaffel, who largely played tight during the event’s conclusion. Lee observed, “He played really well. Up to the first break, he was really quiet and he was getting 3bet a lot of the time.” Next to go was Phil Ivey, who had the endorsement of nearly the entire poker industry. Lee noted, “You saw how much he cares and how well he can play the short stack. He was stealing a blind every single level.” Ivey headed out the Rio’s back door after being eliminated and was the only November Nine member not to speak with the media.

Backing Steven Begleiter were coaches Ylon Schwartz and Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little. The presence of the former was largely unknown in the weeks leading up to the resumption of the Main Event. After his elimination in fifth place, Jeff Shulman told “Inside Deal” and other assembled media, “I was playing in my basement the last two months with people who are all tough and every single day was harder than this. Of course, I didn’t win there either.”

Joe Cada had 39 big blinds entering three-handed play and doubled up at the expense of Antoine Saout with pocket twos against pocket queens when the flop came 7-2-9. The pot left Saout reeling and he was out with pocket eights against Cada’s A-K several hands later in a stunning turn of events. Lee explained, “When we were down to three-handed, we were all wondering who Saout was going to play and that was probably his mindset. The next thing you know, he’s going home instead of preparing for the next day.”

The “Inside Deal” crew had been hovering around the Rio since early last week, procuring content for the worldwide leader in sports and even taking in a meatball eating contest just moments after the field in the Main Event was shrunk from nine to two. On the crew’s favorite moments, Lee fondly remembered, “The big moment was Kevin Schaffel. He went in with aces against Eric Buchman, who flopped a king. Schaffel still had hope and then the quad kings come on the turn.”

Finally, Feldman recalled the crowd getting into the action: “James Akenhead tripling up was the first time we saw the crowd into it. My second moment was away from the table watching Mike Sexton getting inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame.” By the time Sexton was enshrined, which occurred during the dinner break on Saturday, seven players remained. The 2009 installment went down as the longest in WSOP Main Event history at over 17 hours.

ESPN “Inside Deal” also plans to release exclusive interviews with Cada and runner-up Darvin Moon.

Mike Sexton’s Hall of Fame induction

The Rio has been the scene of a few poker tournaments this year, in case you hadn’t noticed. Amid all the hubbub of Darvin Moon trying desperately to play poker and Joe Cada becoming the youngest ever World Series Champion, the Poker Hall of Fame saw a new inductee.

Mike Sexton Inducted into Poker Hall of Fame

Doyle Brunson kicked off the Poker Hall of Fame induction ceremony dinner at the Brasilia Room at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino. The festivities honoring Mike Sexton occurred during the dinner break of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event final table at 7:00pm PT.

The guest list read like a “who’s who” of the poker community, including Howard Lederer, Phil Hellmuth, Jack Binion, Ali Nejad, David Singer, and Dewey Tomko. Also in the house was World Poker Tour (WPT) Co-Host Vince Van Patten, who told Poker News Daily, “I couldn’t miss this. Mike is such a great champion and a great friend of mine. What we share together on the WPT is one of the most important parts of my life. So many laughs and Mike is such a great guy. He is the real thing.”

The WPT is currently filming its eighth season. In fact, The Foxwoods World Poker Finals, the November WPT stop, is currently playing out at the Connecticut casino. On Van Patten and Sexton’s chemistry after eight seasons, the Poker Hall of Fame nominee’s co-host told us, “We could go for 25 years. We don’t get bored with it, we love it, and we’re not faking it. We’d probably do it for no money. We love it that much and we enjoy each other’s company. He’s one of a kind, a great family man, and the real thing in poker.”

Those on stage were Brunson, Jack Binion, Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2009 candidate Tom McEvoy, and T.J. Cloutier. The latter told the assembled crowd of about 175, “We both went broke plenty of times… This man would bet on anything… Mike always thought he was the best split pot player of them all. He could always play those eight or better games.” In fact, Sexton’s lone WSOP bracelet came in 1989 in a Seven Card Stud High-Low Split tournament.

McEvoy then took to the podium and admitted, “This man holds a grudge,” referencing a story from the first WSOP Pot Limit tournament ever held. Binion, a Poker Hall of Fame member who helped popularize the WSOP, commented, “Mike was the one who got PartyPoker started, the one who got the software started. He’s the one who really made poker.” Sexton currently serves as the ambassador for PartyPoker, whose parent company, Party Gaming, recently completed the purchase of the WPT for $12.3 million plus a percent of future gaming revenues.

WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack formally presented Sexton’s trophy and his speech was preceded by an emotional speech from Tom Sexton. The new Poker Hall of Fame member’s brother stated, “Mike has the gift of vision, where he can see things that others can’t in the poker world.” Sexton’s brother also referenced the WPT host testifying in a poker court case in South Carolina and serving as the spokesperson for approximately 500 players shut out of Day 1D of the 2009 WSOP Main Event when the contest reached capacity.

One of Tom Sexton’s most memorable quotes came when referencing the “Daddy Hall of Fame,” which he revealed, “If there were a Daddy Hall of Fame, Mike would be in it.” Young Ty Sexton, whose nursery has overrun the Sexton home’s dance floor, is just 15 months; Mike is 62 years-old.

Sexton received a 30 second standing ovation upon being introduced and recognized each of the other eight candidates for the Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2009: Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Erik Seidel, McEvoy, Dan Harrington, Scotty Nguyen, Men “The Master” Nguyen, and Barry Greenstein. Ivey, who was one of seven players remaining in the WSOP Main Event at the time, even stopped by, flanked at the door to the Brasilia Room by Layne Flack, Lacey Jones, and Nejad.

Sexton took the time to recognize a bevy of individuals, including Linda Johnson, Steve Lipscomb, and Brunson. He also recalled a phone call received over Christmas in 2000 from Ruth Parisol, co-founder of Party Gaming, who asked him to fly to India to launch the then-nascent online poker site. After eight months, PartyPoker was born, quickly challenging Paradise Poker for tops in the industry.

JAQK Cellars presented the two-hour affair, which wrapped up at 9:00pm PT. The living Hall of Fame members then took to the stage of the Penn and Teller Theater to resume play in the WSOP Main Event final table, with Sexton issuing the evening session’s “Shuffle Up and Deal” command.

Mike Sexton Welcomes Family and Friends for Poker Hall of Fame Induction

World Poker Tour (WPT) Host Mike Sexton will personally welcome five tables of friends, family, and coworkers in the poker community as part of the Poker Hall of Fame induction ceremonies slated for Saturday. Around 200 attendees are expected.

Poker News Daily was privileged to be welcomed to Sexton’s Spanish Hills home in Las Vegas on Friday night, where a small crowd of relatives was gathered 24 hours prior to the icon’s enshrinement ceremony. Among those in attendance were his wife, Karen, and Jon “pokertrip” Friedberg, a family friend. Two slideshows that will be seen during the dinner were previewed, including a 120-image self-developed tribute that Sexton had created by a local photo store.

The slideshows on tap include a bevy of industry personalities, including the other Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2009 nominees: Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey, Scotty Nguyen, Men “The Master” Nguyen, Erik Seidel, Tom McEvoy, Dan Harrington, and Barry Greenstein. Two galleries, Sexton’s and one crafted by the WPT, will actually be shown, one during the dinner and one as part of the actual induction ceremonies. One slide features Ultimate Bet pro Phil Hellmuth and Sexton jokingly told Poker News Daily, “Phil thinks I put it in because of him” (it’s actually because of the appearance of “Keith”). Following the show, the sitting Poker Hall of Fame members will take to the stage of the Penn and Teller Theater to be recognized.

Among those slides that induction attendees will view is his son, Ty’s, first Christmas, which features the youngster draped in a stocking. Also in the mix are images of Sexton alongside a bevy of Hollywood personalities including Paris Hilton, Ben Affleck, and James Garner. Former WPT in-studio announcer Linda Johnson pointed out that several shots feature Sexton in a La Mode shirt or hat. Johnson told Poker News Daily, “Mike was one of the first poker players to have a sponsor.” La Mode is a popular clothing outfit. Sexton noted that he “took every photo around the house I could find” to compile his masterpiece.

ESPN announcer Lon McEachern was one of the many individuals who called to congratulate Sexton on his Poker Hall of Fame nod. Sexton added that his most memorable call was from a poker friend that he was close to when he first became involved in the game.

The festivities in the Rio’s Brasilia Room kick off on Saturday during the dinner break of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event final table, which will likely occur between 7:00pm and 8:00pm after three levels of play have concluded. His brother, Tom, will introduce him to the assembled crowd of friends, family, poker fans, and media. The room is set up for 275 guests.

According to Sexton, a buffet-style menu is on tap and when asked what plated meals he would prefer to serve, Sexton responded chicken and an Italian dish “to satisfy the non-meat eaters.” From talking to Sexton and seeing the bevy of slides on tap, it’s apparent that Ty, now 15 months old, encompasses a major part of the WPT host’s existence. Sexton told Poker News Daily that the expecting couple was looking for a “one syllable masculine name” and Sexton suggested Ty, short for Tyler. He was on the phone with his niece at the time, who approved on the name and it stuck. If the couple’s first child would have been a girl, they had selected Shelby.

We were then treated to the grand tour of Sexton’s spacious home, which overlooks Red Rocks and will soon be on the market, as the family is moving to Los Angeles in the next few weeks. Highlights included 30-foot ceilings in the downstairs area and a dance floor converted into a nursery. Sexton’s office includes five flat-panel televisions and the upstairs features state-of-the-art exercise equipment and a fully-functional massage table. Sexton also owns two dogs, which were kept at a relative’s house on Friday night.

Sexton was the only one of nine Poker Hall of Fame nominees to receive the requisite 75% of the vote this year.

WSOP Main Event Festivities in Full Swing

If you think the conclusion World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event is just about the $10,000 buy-in feature tournament, you couldn’t be further from the truth. A variety of side events and a cavalcade of media will make this weekend one for the ages.

On Saturday at 10:00am, credentialed media can begin accessing the behemoth facility that is the Penn and Teller Theater at the Rio in Las Vegas. Media will be seated on stage, in the first row of the auditorium, and in a press box overlooking the festivities. Players will be nearly on top of the audience as part of a revamped stage layout and only a handful of poker fans will likely be let in due to an overwhelming number of supporters brought by each player.

Harrah’s officials placed the $15.8 million up for grabs into a money market account back in July. It has since accrued $1,321 in interest, which will be divided among the top finishers based on their original payday. Ninth place will see no change to their payout, while the first place bounty of $8.5 million will be boosted by $607 in interest. Players who have busted out of the Main Event will be herded to a special interview area 10 minutes following their exit. Play kicks off at Noon PT on Saturday.

During the dinner break of the Main Event, World Poker Tour (WPT) Host and Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Mike Sexton will be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame as the lone representative of the Class of 2009. Sexton’s induction ceremony takes place in the Brasilia Ballroom in a $150 per plate affair sponsored by JAQK Cellars. Sexton was one of nine players up for nomination and received 75% of the vote of a panel of media members and living Hall of Fame players.

Sexton told ESPN “Inside Deal” hosts Laura Lane and Bernard Lee about his plans for the induction speech: “I’m getting my thoughts together now on what I’m going to say. Certainly, I’m going to acknowledge the other nominees and thank people who have been very important to me in my poker career and life as well.”

Play is expected to last between 12 and 24 hours on Saturday and will continue well into the night until two remain. On Sunday, a meatball eating contest featuring some of the world’s top professional eaters will take place at Cafe Martarano’s at the Rio. Among those vying for the title will be Ultimate Bet front man Phil Hellmuth, who owns a record 11 WSOP bracelets. Hellmuth will square off against the likes of Joey Chestnut, who has won the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest three years running.

At 3:00pm PT on Sunday, DoylesRoom is announcing the fifth member of its Brunson 10. The stable of young online poker pros hand-picked by site namesake Doyle Brunson already includes Chris “moorman1” Moorman, Amit “amak316” Makhija, Alec “traheho” Torelli, and Zachary “CrazyZachary” Clark. The festivities are being held in conjunction with the release of Brunson’s autobiography, “The Godfather of Poker.” Brunson will be on-hand distributing signed copies of his book for those in attendance at the Blush Nightclub at the Wynn. Members of the media were distributed invitations to the exclusive event this week.

Also taking place on Sunday is Vince Neil’s Fifth Annual Off The Strip Poker Tournament. The event, run by Matt Savage and organized by the Mötley Crüe front man, emanates from Buzio’s at the Rio at 7:00pm. The gala boasts a $550 buy-in and a $50,000 prize pool will be up for grabs. Proceeds benefit the Skylar Neil Foundation, named in honor of Neil’s daughter, who died of cancer 14 years ago. Las Vegas comedian Vinny Favorito, All-In Magazine owner Casey Thompson, and Bodog pro Jean-Robert Bellande are just a few players confirmed for the event.

Monday at 10:00pm PT will see the two survivors of the Main Event play down to a champion. The tournament’s conclusion will air on Tuesday at 9:00pm ET on ESPN. Poker News Daily will be on site in Las Vegas for the conclusion of the 2009 WSOP Main Event. Check back for complete coverage from Sin City.

WSOP Main Event Festivities in Full Swing

If you think the conclusion World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event is just about the $10,000 buy-in feature tournament, you couldn’t be further from the truth. A variety of side events and a cavalcade of media will make this weekend one for the ages.

On Saturday at 10:00am, credentialed media can begin accessing the behemoth facility that is the Penn and Teller Theater at the Rio in Las Vegas. Media will be seated on stage, in the first row of the auditorium, and in a press box overlooking the festivities. Players will be nearly on top of the audience as part of a revamped stage layout and only a handful of poker fans will likely be let in due to an overwhelming number of supporters brought by each player.

Harrah’s officials placed the $15.8 million up for grabs into a money market account back in July. It has since accrued $1,321 in interest, which will be divided among the top finishers based on their original payday. Ninth place will see no change to their payout, while the first place bounty of $8.5 million will be boosted by $607 in interest. Players who have busted out of the Main Event will be herded to a special interview area 10 minutes following their exit. Play kicks off at Noon PT on Saturday.

During the dinner break of the Main Event, World Poker Tour (WPT) Host and Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Mike Sexton will be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame as the lone representative of the Class of 2009. Sexton’s induction ceremony takes place in the Brasilia Ballroom in a $150 per plate affair sponsored by JAQK Cellars. Sexton was one of nine players up for nomination and received 75% of the vote of a panel of media members and living Hall of Fame players.

Sexton told ESPN “Inside Deal” hosts Laura Lane and Bernard Lee about his plans for the induction speech: “I’m getting my thoughts together now on what I’m going to say. Certainly, I’m going to acknowledge the other nominees and thank people who have been very important to me in my poker career and life as well.”

Play is expected to last between 12 and 24 hours on Saturday and will continue well into the night until two remain. On Sunday, a meatball eating contest featuring some of the world’s top professional eaters will take place at Cafe Martarano’s at the Rio. Among those vying for the title will be Ultimate Bet front man Phil Hellmuth, who owns a record 11 WSOP bracelets. Hellmuth will square off against the likes of Joey Chestnut, who has won the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest three years running.

At 3:00pm PT on Sunday, DoylesRoom is announcing the fifth member of its Brunson 10. The stable of young online poker pros hand-picked by site namesake Doyle Brunson already includes Chris “moorman1” Moorman, Amit “amak316” Makhija, Alec “traheho” Torelli, and Zachary “CrazyZachary” Clark. The festivities are being held in conjunction with the release of Brunson’s autobiography, “The Godfather of Poker.” Brunson will be on-hand distributing signed copies of his book for those in attendance at the Blush Nightclub at the Wynn. Members of the media were distributed invitations to the exclusive event this week.

Also taking place on Sunday is Vince Neil’s Fifth Annual Off The Strip Poker Tournament. The event, run by Matt Savage and organized by the Mötley Crüe front man, emanates from Buzio’s at the Rio at 7:00pm. The gala boasts a $550 buy-in and a $50,000 prize pool will be up for grabs. Proceeds benefit the Skylar Neil Foundation, named in honor of Neil’s daughter, who died of cancer 14 years ago. Las Vegas comedian Vinny Favorito, All-In Magazine owner Casey Thompson, and Bodog pro Jean-Robert Bellande are just a few players confirmed for the event.

Monday at 10:00pm PT will see the two survivors of the Main Event play down to a champion. The tournament’s conclusion will air on Tuesday at 9:00pm ET on ESPN. Poker News Daily will be on site in Las Vegas for the conclusion of the 2009 WSOP Main Event. Check back for complete coverage from Sin City.

WSOP Main Event Festivities in Full Swing

If you think the conclusion World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event is just about the $10,000 buy-in feature tournament, you couldn’t be further from the truth. A variety of side events and a cavalcade of media will make this weekend one for the ages.

On Saturday at 10:00am, credentialed media can begin accessing the behemoth facility that is the Penn and Teller Theater at the Rio in Las Vegas. Media will be seated on stage, in the first row of the auditorium, and in a press box overlooking the festivities. Players will be nearly on top of the audience as part of a revamped stage layout and only a handful of poker fans will likely be let in due to an overwhelming number of supporters brought by each player.

Harrah’s officials placed the $15.8 million up for grabs into a money market account back in July. It has since accrued $1,321 in interest, which will be divided among the top finishers based on their original payday. Ninth place will see no change to their payout, while the first place bounty of $8.5 million will be boosted by $607 in interest. Players who have busted out of the Main Event will be herded to a special interview area 10 minutes following their exit. Play kicks off at Noon PT on Saturday.

During the dinner break of the Main Event, World Poker Tour (WPT) Host and Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Mike Sexton will be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame as the lone representative of the Class of 2009. Sexton’s induction ceremony takes place in the Brasilia Ballroom in a $150 per plate affair sponsored by JAQK Cellars. Sexton was one of nine players up for nomination and received 75% of the vote of a panel of media members and living Hall of Fame players.

Sexton told ESPN “Inside Deal” hosts Laura Lane and Bernard Lee about his plans for the induction speech: “I’m getting my thoughts together now on what I’m going to say. Certainly, I’m going to acknowledge the other nominees and thank people who have been very important to me in my poker career and life as well.”

Play is expected to last between 12 and 24 hours on Saturday and will continue well into the night until two remain. On Sunday, a meatball eating contest featuring some of the world’s top professional eaters will take place at Cafe Martarano’s at the Rio. Among those vying for the title will be Ultimate Bet front man Phil Hellmuth, who owns a record 11 WSOP bracelets. Hellmuth will square off against the likes of Joey Chestnut, who has won the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest three years running.

At 3:00pm PT on Sunday, DoylesRoom is announcing the fifth member of its Brunson 10. The stable of young online poker pros hand-picked by site namesake Doyle Brunson already includes Chris “moorman1” Moorman, Amit “amak316” Makhija, Alec “traheho” Torelli, and Zachary “CrazyZachary” Clark. The festivities are being held in conjunction with the release of Brunson’s autobiography, “The Godfather of Poker.” Brunson will be on-hand distributing signed copies of his book for those in attendance at the Blush Nightclub at the Wynn. Members of the media were distributed invitations to the exclusive event this week.

Also taking place on Sunday is Vince Neil’s Fifth Annual Off The Strip Poker Tournament. The event, run by Matt Savage and organized by the Mötley Crüe front man, emanates from Buzio’s at the Rio at 7:00pm. The gala boasts a $550 buy-in and a $50,000 prize pool will be up for grabs. Proceeds benefit the Skylar Neil Foundation, named in honor of Neil’s daughter, who died of cancer 14 years ago. Las Vegas comedian Vinny Favorito, All-In Magazine owner Casey Thompson, and Bodog pro Jean-Robert Bellande are just a few players confirmed for the event.

Monday at 10:00pm PT will see the two survivors of the Main Event play down to a champion. The tournament’s conclusion will air on Tuesday at 9:00pm ET on ESPN. Poker News Daily will be on site in Las Vegas for the conclusion of the 2009 WSOP Main Event. Check back for complete coverage from Sin City.

Televised Poker Rocks by Linda Johnson

I just returned from a wonderful nine-day Card Player Cruises trip to New England and Canada. The fall foliage was magnificent and the lobster and clams on the East Coast are much, much tastier than their counterparts on the West Coast. I also spent three nights in New York City on each end of the cruise. I’m a theater lover and managed to squeeze in seven Broadway shows. On my must-see recommendation list are Memphis, Superior Donuts, and Bye Bye Birdie.

When I get home from an extended trip, I can hardly wait to catch up on my favorite television shows. Thank goodness for Tivo! I had so many shows waiting. Choices, choices, choices! The obvious choice for the first show I watched was Survivor (I haven’t missed an episode in 19 seasons). After Survivor, the next choice was close, but I opted for the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event on ESPN (Grey’s Anatomy, Dateline, 60 Minutes, Private Practice, The Good Wife, and Two and a Half Men could wait).

I found myself taking notes to share with my Wednesday Poker Discussion Group, so I will share them with the Poker News Daily readers as well. With more than 6,000 total entrants, I was surprised to learn that only 200 were women. Although women comprised fewer than 3% of the field, there still was one left when they were down to 27 players (more than 99% of the field had already been eliminated). Although I enjoyed watching Leo Margets play, I don’t understand why such a big deal is made out of the “last woman standing.” Outlasting all of the other women doesn’t matter; you haven’t won the event unless you’ve beaten everyone. By the way, I found Margets to be absolutely charming. She was gracious when she was eliminated and was kind enough to sign autographs at that very tough, emotional time.

It seemed like a lot of attention was paid to the fans, a.k.a. “sweaters.” Julie Schneider was a hoot with her “Stack ‘em…stack ‘em to the top” chant every time her husband Tom won a pot. You could see the pride on Barry Greenstein’s face as he watched his son, Joe Sebok, play. As each elimination came, the fans got more vocal and excited and I can’t blame them! The two most loyal fans were Mel and Pat Humphries, who rail Phil Ivey every year. Mel and Pat were on the Card Player Cruises trip with me when these episodes aired. They never told me that they were the same couple who is featured cheering “Ivey, Ivey” when he won a pot.

Peter Eastgate and Dennis Phillips have had outstanding runs in the past two years. What an accomplishment to have made it to the November Nine last year and outlasted more than 99% of the field this year! Who knows how far Phillips would have gone this year if he hadn’t suffered a bad beat to go out in 45th. In case you didn’t see it, his A-K suited got beaten by another A-K suited when his opponent made a flush on the river. Phillips is such a class act; he never complained and wished everyone good luck as he left.

I saw some outstanding folds pre-flop and post-flop; the ability to make a great laydown is what separates the real players from the rest. One hand in particular interested me. The blinds were 25,000/50,000. Eric Buchman raised it to 140,000 and Jeff Shulman re-raised to 500,000 with A-K of hearts. Jonathan Tamayo then went all-in from the small blind for 3.25 million with his pocket queens. Buchman folded. Shulman thought for a while and said, “Sorry guys, this is a big decision.” He asked Tamayo if he wanted action and got no reply. A call by Shulman would have been for almost all of his chips; he laid the hand down and is now in the November Nine. I don’t think most players would have folded in the same spot.

There was a lot of minimum or barely more than minimum raising pre-flop, which baffles me. I also heard lots of, “Will you show me if I fold” questions.

Things sure have changed since I started playing poker. There were so many 21 year-olds in the field. I can only imagine how exciting it must be for them to be playing for so much money and enduring the pressure of playing on television. I enjoyed hearing the story about Ian Tavelli’s grandfather staking him to the Main Event because he kept up a good grade point average (I think my grandfather bought me a new eight-track player when I graduated).

The age statistics were interesting as well. With 21 players remaining, the average age was 31 and the oldest player, Kevin Schaffel, was 51. Tavelli was the youngest and four of the remaining 21 players were eligible to break Eastgate’s record of being the youngest Main Event winner ever.

Someone needs to explain to Norman Chad what a stop and go play is. Twice players executed stop and gos and he couldn’t understand what they were doing. Another time, he called a play in which a player check-called on the flop and then bet about half of the pot on the turn a stop and go. Get with it, Norman!

Here’s a statistic that shocked me: The last time the Main Event was won by anyone who already had a WSOP bracelet was in 2000 (Chris Ferguson). With 23 players remaining, only two of them were prior bracelet winners.

The chip leader going into the final table, Darvin Moon, seems like a really cool guy. He isn’t impressed by all of the lights and cameras. He hasn’t accepted an online endorsement that I know of. He seems very humble and says he’ll be “back to the woods with a chainsaw” when all of this is over. If he wins, it would be great for poker, just like it was when Chris Moneymaker won the title.

In closing, congratulations to Mike Sexton for being the 2009 Poker Hall of Fame inductee. Mike and I have been friends for more than 20 years and he has honored me by asking me to sit at his table during the induction ceremony. I’m sure there will be tales to share with you after that event.

United States Poker Championship Signs New Television Deal

After a two-year break from television coverage, the United States Poker Championship (USPC) at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey will be broadcast on television for the next five years.

The USPC, after the deal brokered between executives at the Trump Taj Mahal and the Las Vegas television production company Compass Entertainment, LLC, will be broadcast on the cable channel SpikeTV. As of press time, no broadcast dates had been firmly announced. In addition to the broadcast of the $5,000 Championship Event, officials with both organizations are preparing for a major televised event, which will tape other contests during the November 2nd to 24th schedule.

Tom Gitto, Director of Poker Operations at Trump Taj Mahal, stated during the announcement, “It’s hugely exciting to have the USPC back on national television again. We knew that, in order to ensure that the USPC would be more attractive to poker players, we would need a solid television deal. The entire Trump organization is firmly committed to doing something special each year to make the USPC sizzle.”

As a part of the attempt to draw more players to the entirety of the tournament schedule, some of the other events will also be taped for broadcast, Gitto said. “We’ve added a $2,500 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha Championship Event, which is a part of the television broadcast schedule. The Taj is also organizing high-stakes cash games on Sunday, November 15th, and Sunday, November 22nd.”

Trump Taj Mahal Casino Manager Frank Leone believes the new deal with Compass is a “no-brainer” and commented, “We look forward to a long and successful partnership with the Compass Entertainment organization. They have the capability to capture the excitement of the USPC in a fresh and exciting way, which will differentiate this marquee event from other televised poker tournaments.”

The USPC has been considered one of the prime tournament poker stops due to its longevity and history of champions. When it was created in 1996, players held it in high esteem because of the dearth of high buy-in tournaments. As time wore on, however, the USPC began to lose some of its luster.

After the explosion of the World Poker Tour (WPT) in the early part of this decade and the increased importance of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) and its Circuit events, the USPC began to lose players. Although ESPN had the broadcast rights to the USPC, the cable sports giant stopped airing it after the 2006 tournament. Last year’s festivities drew only 52 players for the $10,000 Championship Event and this year’s will have a $5,000 buy-in.

From the first final table in 1996 and the crowning of the late Ken “Skyhawk” Flaton as its champion (with Surinder Sunar and Phil Hellmuth also at the final table), the USPC Championship Event has featured many players who have gone onto poker immortality. Poker Hall of Famers Dewey Tomko and T.J. Cloutier headline a list of players who have appeared at USPC final tables that includes 2009 November Niner Eric Buchman, Erik Seidel, and John Juanda. Past champions include Daniel Negreanu (1999), Men “The Master” Nguyen (2001), John “World” Hennigan (2002), Alex Jacob (2006), and defending champion Robert Ford.

WSOP Main Event on ESPN Features Day 8

Day 8 of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event played out on cable station ESPN on Tuesday night. The two-hour broadcast featured future November Nine members Phil Ivey, Jeff Shulman, and Darvin Moon.

ESPN announcer Norman Chad opened Day 8 coverage with a timely Bible metaphor: “Moses never made it to the Promised Land, but my man Phil Ivey will make it to the November Nine.” A total of 27 players remained in the hunt for the $8.5 million first place prize and Moon began the day as the chip leader. Ivey’s rocky Day 8 started by dropping a 2.3 million chip pot with pocket twos against the A-9 of Jordan “scarface_79” Smith.

Ivey, seated at the feature table, would witness Nick Maimone go four-for-four on double-ups, the first time chopping a pot with Moon holding Q-10 against Q-J. The second time, Maimone was all-in for less than nine big blinds holding Q-5 of clubs against Ivey’s pocket jacks. Maimone spiked a queen on the turn to stay alive and then recorded his third double-up at the expense of Smith, who pushed with pocket tens on a flop of 8-Q-4. Maimone held pocket sevens and needed to catch lightning in a bottle to stave off elimination. Sure enough, the turn gave him a set.

A rare lapse in judgment plagued Ivey in a hand at the feature table. Ivey held pocket eights, including the eight of spades, and raised to 320,000 pre-flop. Smith pushed the price of poker to one million and Ivey made the call. The action was checked down to the river with the board showing four spades, giving Ivey a flush. Smith flipped over A-9 and Ivey shook his head before mucking. As expected, Chad did not approve, telling his horse, “Phil, you had a flush. Five suited cards is a flush. You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Ivey’s tumultuous run continued, as Marco Mattes was all-in for 2.5 million with pocket queens and Ivey made the call with jacks, telling Shulman that he thought Mattes had tens. The board ran out five cards 10 or lower, doubling Mattes up. All told, Ivey had lost 30% of his stack on the two misreads. Contrastingly, Maimone’s run of luck continued. This time, he called all-in with pocket queens against Mattes’ A-K for a race situation. The board ran out 8-9-8-J-3, doubling him up for a fourth and final time.

Antonio Esfandiari officially recorded his first WSOP Main Event cash to close out the first of two one-hour episodes on ESPN. “The Magician” pushed over the top of a raise by Steven Begleiter with pocket fives and Begleiter made the call with K-10 after the flop came 2-4-10. The turn was a six and the river was an ace, sending Esfandiari out in 24th.

Ivey continued to bleed chips, dropping one-sixth of his stack to George Caragiorgas, who was all-in with pocket deuces against Ivey’s A-10. The board came 6-J-3-9-4, doubling up Ivey’s opponent. Away from the feature table, two future November Nine members tangled, as Antoine Saout raised to 425,000 pre-flop with pocket aces and Begleiter called with K-10. The action checked to the turn on the A-3-8-8 board and Belgeiter led out for 450,000. Saout called with his boat to see the river come a jack. Then, the fireworks went off, as Begleither bet 1.15 million, Saout raised to 3.25 million, and Begleiter promptly funneled his cards into the muck.

Warren Zackey hit the rail in 22nd place when his pocket twos could not hold up against Ian Tavelli’s Q-J. Other late eliminations included Caragiorgas and World Poker Tour (WPT) Festa al Lago champion Tommy Vedes, who finished in 20th and 19th, respectively.

Returning this week were the “Deal Me In” and “Straight from the Pros” segments. The former is sponsored by Full Tilt Poker and featured Erick Lindgren recapping a hand during the 2008 WSOP Main Event. The latter saw Daniel Negreanu rehash a pot against Poker Hall of Fame member Mike Sexton during the 2006 WSOP Tournament of Champions. Negreanu identified Sexton’s hand on the river, pocket kings, and then called his bet despite being beat to show Sexton he had a read on him.

The 2009 WSOP November Nine will be determined next Tuesday beginning at 9:00pm ET on ESPN. On November 10th, the final table will play out just hours after a champion is determined in Las Vegas.

ESPN Inside Deal Welcomes WSOP November Niner Kevin Schaffel

This week, the ESPN poker franchise “Inside Deal” welcomed 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) November Nine member Kevin Schaffel. New Poker Hall of Fame nominee member Mike Sexton also called into the show.

The 13th installment of “Inside Deal” began with a discussion of Daniel Negreanu’s breakdown of World Poker Tour (WPT) tournament cashes. Negreanu’s analysis revealed that very few players are actually winners on the WPT circuit, emphasizing the importance of satellite and cash game aptitude. “Inside Deal” host Bernard Lee explained, “You don’t cash very often and what [Negreanu] is saying is that when you do, you’ve got to make it count.” Lee noted that Gus Hansen has nine WPT cashes, eight for final tables. Phil Ivey has notched eight WPT final tables out of 11 cashes.

Ivey, a WSOP November Nine member, is camped out in Cabo San Lucas, allegedly in “exile” preparing for his run at the $8.5 million first place prize. Lee explained, “What he’s going to be able to do is prepare himself mentally and physically for the biggest challenge of his life.” Ivey has a variety of prop bets on the line, making for a potentially enormous payday next month.

Sexton joined “Inside Deal” via phone and gave his take on being the lone member of the Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2009: “It’s pretty flattering and certainly an honor to be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame with the legends and icons of the game.” Sexton’s enshrinement ceremony will take place during the dinner break of the WSOP Main Event final table on November 7th in an $800 per plate affair. The WPT host has already begun preparing his speech and revealed, “I’m getting my thoughts together now on what I’m going to say. Certainly, I’m going to acknowledge the other nominees and thank people who have been very important to me in my poker career and life as well.”

Schaffel, an avid golfer, then came on and told Lee and fellow “Inside Deal” host Laura Lane, “The guys at my golf club tell me I smile a lot more.” Schaffel sits in sixth place on the leaderboard entering the Main Event final table and recently completed the purchase of a home. He made deep runs in the 2004 and 2008 WSOP Main Events, cashing for nearly $100,000 combined, and told viewers, “I definitely can attribute some of my success to things I’ve learned in the past.” He’s bringing 90 fans to Las Vegas, where his 12 first cousins will convene for only the second time ever.

Part of Schaffel’s good luck may have been due to an image of 2008 WSOP Main Event champion Peter Eastgate that the future November Nine member stashed in his wallet. A gift from a family member, the image was doctored with PhotoShop to feature Schaffel’s head pasted on Eastgate’s body. Schaffel remarked, “There were a couple of times when I thought about the photo while playing.” Schaffel played alongside Eastgate on Day 7 and showed the youngest WSOP Main Event ever the image to break the ice.

ESPN.com Poker Editor Andrew Feldman joined the set for a game of Poker-dy, the “Inside Deal” version of the classic television game show “Jeopardy.” For the clue “This is the funniest player in the poker industry,” Lee answered ESPN commentator Norman Chad, Schaffel said Antonio Esfandiari, and Lane suggested Negreanu. For “This starting hand has by far gotten me into the most trouble,” Lane answered K-Q, Lee answered A-Q, and Schaffel tossed out pocket queens.

Finally, Schaffel was asked if so many of his hands being recorded during the WPT Legends of Poker meant that opponents would be able to diagnose his game. Schaffel finished second in the event for $471,000 and explained, “Not really. The difference is that I might make a play as the chip leader that I might not make otherwise.” Schaffel was among the pacesetters throughout much of the event, which took place shortly after the WSOP Main Event final table was determined.

“Inside Deal” is released every Tuesday on ESPN.com.

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.

WPT Festa al Lago Attendance Drops 25%

Despite players having an unprecedented eight levels to register for the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Festa al Lago, attendance dropped 25% year over year. In 2008, 368 players took to the felt, while this time around, the field numbered 275.

Registration ended five hours into play on Day 2 at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, the host venue for the annual Festa al Lago. A total of 30 players bought in on Thursday, including Andy Bloch, Todd Brunson, Freddy Deeb, Chris Ferguson, Hasan Habib, Isaac Haxton, Phil Hellmuth, John Juanda, Howard Lederer, Kenny Tran, and Bodog pro David Williams. Players who entered the Festa al Lago Main Event late received 60,000 chips, the same number as players who began yesterday received. However, the average stack at 5:00pm Pacific Time when registration shuttered was 114,000, nearly double that total.

Tran’s day was quite abbreviated. After arriving at the last minute and not taking a seat at the table until his stack had shrunk to 48,000, he quickly found himself all-in pre-flop with K-Q of diamonds against top online poker pro Steve “gboro780” Gross’ pocket sevens. Tran hit a king on the turn to take the lead in the hand, but Gross spiked a two-outer on the river to send the poker pro home. WPT coverage candidly summed up Tran’s outing: “Kenny Tran paid $15,000 to play for about ten minutes, but he still outlasted more than half the field.”

The feature table began with a star-studded lineup headlined by Full Tilt Poker pro and World Series of Poker (WSOP) November Nine member Phil Ivey. Flanking him were fellow Poker Hall of Fame nominee Barry Greenstein, “Big Game” regular Eli Elezra, Marco “CrazyMarco” Johnson, and Steve “MrTimCaum” O’Dwyer. Elezra was ultimately sent packing from the table after running pocket tens into pocket aces.

Phil Hellmuth headed to Table 55 upon arriving at the Bellagio about two-and-a-half hours into play on Thursday. Joining him were 2001 WSOP Main Event Champion Carlos Mortensen, Mike “goleafsgoeh” Leah, and Daniel Alaei. After coming up short in a race with A-K against pocket queens to drop his stack down to 23,000, Hellmuth raced again, this time for his tournament life. Hellmuth once again held A-K and was up against the pocket jacks of Dee Luong. However, he could not improve and was sent packing from the Las Vegas casino.

Twenty-seven places will pay out at the marquee WPT event, with a $1.2 million first place prize up for grabs. Here’s how the field will be paid out in the $15,0000 buy-in contest:

1st Place:  $1,218,225
2nd Place:  $795,150
3rd Place:  $477,090
4th Place:  $278,300
5th Place:  $208,725
6th Place:  $168,970
7th Place:  $129,210
8th Place:  $89,450
9th Place:  $63,610
10th Place – 12th Place:  $47,710
13th Place – 15th Place:  $39,760
16th Place – 18th Place:  $31,805
19th Place – 27th Place:  $23,855

At the time of writing, which is 8:30pm local time in Las Vegas, here were the top 10 chip stacks as play continued in the Festa al Lago. The action was in Level 10, where blinds were 1,000/2,000 with a 200 chip ante:

1. Chad Batista – 425,000
2. Jason Somerville – 404,000
3. Corwin Cole – 390,000
4. Mark Seif – 370,000
5. Chau Giang – 350,000
6. Steve Gross – 345,000
7. Mike Leah – 340,000
8. Markus Gonsalves – 320,000
9. Dutch Boyd – 260,000
10. Eugene Katchalov – 255,000

Last year, Team PokerStars Pro member Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier defeated Nam Le heads-up to take home $1.4 million in the Festa al Lago Main Event. Others making the final table included WSOP bracelet winner Nenad Medic and Ultimate Bet pro Adam “Roothlus” Levy.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest WPT Festa al Lago coverage.

Celebrity Apprentice 3 Cast May Not Feature Poker Players

In 2010, the third installment of the NBC reality franchise “Celebrity Apprentice” will hit television airwaves. The show, which featured comedian Joan Rivers best poker pro Annie Duke in the finale last time out, will likely not include a poker player this time around.

Ever since Duke finished as the runner-up to Rivers in May, the poker community has been abuzz that one of its own may appear in the third edition of the popular series. However, according to Huliq.com and the New York Post, the ensemble cast, which will likely once again pit men against women, does not appear to include a poker player. No official cast list has been released by NBC. The show is hosted by real estate mogul Donald Trump and raises money for charity.

Last season, Duke played for Refugees International, an organization that she worked closely with as part of her own charity, Ante Up for Africa. In the process, the poker community was instrumental in raising $730,000 for the charity. Poker players who made cameos throughout the season included Ultimate Bet front man Phil Hellmuth, Andy Bloch, Howard Lederer, 2009 Poker Hall of Fame nominee Erik Seidel, and Perry Friedman.

Embattled politician Rod Blagojevich headlines the “Celebrity Apprentice” cast in Season 3. His wife, Patty Blagojevich, appeared on NBC’s “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here” when Rod was unable to attend due to ongoing legal action. Blagojevich is the former Governor of Illinois and was impeached in January for, among other misgivings, allegedly trying to sell the Senate seat vacated by current U.S. President Barack Obama.

Joining Blagojevich on the men’s team will be another controversial celebrity, former baseball great Darryl Strawberry, a member of the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, and New York Yankees. Strawberry exited the league in 1999 and was the National League Rookie of the Year 16 years earlier. Chef Curtis Stone will join the “Celebrity Apprentice” cast, as will popular comedian Sinbad, whose credits include “A Different World” and “The Sinbad Show.” He has also appeared in movies such as “First Kid” and “Jingle All the Way.”

Former professional wrestler Bill Goldberg, who stormed onto World Championship Wrestling (WCW) scene with an undefeated streak in the late 1990s, will be a part of the new “Celebrity Apprentice” cast. Rounding out the men’s team is “Rock of Love” star Bret Michaels, who is also known for his work with the band Poison.

The women’s team features “America’s Got Talent” judge Sharon Osborne, whose fellow judge on the show, Piers Morgan, was the winner of Season 1 of “Celebrity Apprentice.” “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” and “Time After Time” signer Cyndi Lauper will join the squad. Olympic gold medalist Summer Sanders, who took down hardware in swimming in 1992, will also make her way to New York City to film “Celebrity Apprentice.” There, actress Holly Robinson Peete, wife of former NFL great Rodney Peete, will join her.

World Wrestling Entertainment’s (WWE) Maria Kanellis will also be a part of “Celebrity Apprentice,” as will comedian Carol Leifer, who has written scripts for hits like “Seinfeld” and “The Larry Sanders Show.” Finally, Selita Ebanks, a model, will round out the new cast.

The names of more cast members may be released, but for the meantime, it appears that the poker community will not be a part of the upcoming season of “Celebrity Apprentice.” Over on CBS, Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho, the last women standing in the 2008 and 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Events, respectively, are competing as part of the Emmy Award winning reality series “Amazing Race.” The show airs at 8:00pm ET on Sundays and viewers will see the poker playing duo race around Dubai, United Arab Emirates on this week’s edition.

The Post reported that the “Celebrity Apprentice” cast was seen recording the opening credits in the Meatpacking District of New York City and that the show would begin airing in March.

Anurag Dikshit Sells Remaining Stake in Party Gaming

According to an article that appeared in eGamingReview (EGR) on Tuesday and filings to the London Stock Exchange, Party Gaming Co-Founder Anurag Dikshit will sell his 28% share in the company for at least ?188 million.

It’s a curious twist on a story that began developing last December, when Dikshit appeared in the Southern District Court in New York. The Party Gaming personality pled guilty to violating the Wire Act of 1961 and agreed to fork over $300 million to the U.S. Government. He also faces up to two years behind bars, with sentencing scheduled for 2010. Dikshit’s spokesperson, Shimon Cohen, told EGR, “Anurag has paid the $300 million fine that he was asked to pay by the U.S. authorities and has decided it is time to move away from the company.” The Wire Act has traditionally applied to online wagering on sports, not online poker. Read the entire EGR Anurag Dikshit article.

Dikshit was originally rumored to be selling two-thirds of his 28% stake in Party Gaming; however, EGR later reported that the entirety of his shares would be unloaded. PartyPoker, the online poker arm of Party Gaming, withdrew from the U.S. market in 2006 shortly after the passing of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which was attached to the SAFE Port Act in the waning moments of that year’s Congressional session at the urging of then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN). The regulations of the UIGEA were approved as midnight rules by the outgoing Bush Administration and will be fully enforced on December 1st.

In a filing to the London Stock Exchange on Tuesday, where Party Gaming is traded under the symbol “PRTY,” Anurag Dikshit, under the names BT Nominees Limited and Crystal Ventures Limited, is listed as selling 75 million shares of PRTY, or two-thirds of his original total. The filing explains, “Crystal Ventures Limited is wholly owned by BT Nominees Limited who hold shares in PartyGaming Plc under a declaration of trust in favor of Mr Dikshit.” Dikshit owned 113 million shares prior to the sale posted on Tuesday in London and retained nearly 39 million “indirect voting rights.” The sale of the remaining interest has not yet been posted.

At the close of trading on Tuesday in London, shares of PRTY were fetching 240.10p and EGR noted that Dikshit expects to pull in at least ?188 million as a result of the transaction; the sum will be donated to charity. On Monday, PRTY was trading at 284p before Dikshit’s sale, which promptly sunk the share price by 15%. All told, Dikshit’s agreement with the U.S. Government last December ballooned the firm’s stock, which sat at below 140p before quickly climbing above 200p. Exactly one year ago, shares of PRTY were valued at 123p.

Ruth Parasol and Russ DeLeon, who founded Party Gaming along with Dikshit, were not expected to follow suit, according to EGR. In the meantime, PartyPoker officials have heralded the election of its ambassador, World Poker Tour (WPT) Host Mike Sexton, to the Poker Hall of Fame. Sexton is the lone representative of the Class of 2009 and will be officially inducted in ceremonies taking place on November 7th during the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event final table. Sexton is a WSOP bracelet holder and re-signed with PartyPoker in April.

In August, Party Gaming acquired the WPT for $12.3 million, outbidding a subsidiary of Playtech, which owns and operates the massive iPoker Network. Four months earlier, the company entered into a Non-Prosecution Agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, agreeing to pay the Federal Government $105 million. In the process, Party Gaming admitted that it solicited U.S. customers prior to the UIGEA’s passage and agreed not to do so in the future until the industry is licensed and regulated.

ESPN Inside Deal Welcomes Joe Cada

This week’s installment of the ESPN.com poker franchise “Inside Deal” featured 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event November Nine member Joe Cada. Laura Lane and Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Bernard Lee host the show.

The news segment of ESPN “Inside Deal” began with Lee praising World Poker Tour (WPT) Host Mike Sexton for his election to the Poker Hall of Fame: “I think it’s tremendously well-deserved. Mike has had a phenomenal career. A lot of people think of him from the WPT, but remember, he is a very well-accomplished player.” Sexton is the lone representative of the Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2009. Others who were up for consideration included Tom McEvoy, Dan Harrington, Daniel Negranu, Phil Ivey, Erik Seidel, Barry Greenstein, Scotty Nguyen, and Men “The Master” Nguyen.

Attention then turned to the letter authored by the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) to U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner petitioning for the delay of the regulations of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) by one year to December 1st, 2010. Lee explained what would happen if the current deadline stood: “The impact would be devastating. We’re fearful that the banks will err on the side of caution and ultimately block payments that the online sites would give.”

Making headlines this week was the news that the GSN staple “High Stakes Poker” had dropped host A.J. Benza for Season 6, allegedly replacing him with a female correspondent. Lee explained, “I’m a little surprised. For five years, A.J. and Gabe Kaplan have seemed to have a good rapport, so I’m surprised they’re making this switch.” Poker News Daily broke the news that Vanessa Rousso, the presumed frontrunner for the job, would not be Benza’s replacement. Other possible fill-ins include former WPT hostess Shana Hiatt, Kara Scott, Absolute Poker pro Lacey Jones, and Shannon Elizabeth.

Cada, who could become the youngest Main Event winner ever if he takes down the feature tournament next month, then joined the show. He noted how his life has changed as a result of the increased exposure as a member of the November Nine: “I’ve been playing poker my whole life, so the only thing that’s changed for me is the media.” Cada is primarily a cash game player, only hitting up the tournament scene online on Sundays. He purchased a 2,400 square foot house at age 19 as a gift to himself and is a sponsored pro of PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker room.

Heading into the 2009 WSOP, Cada found himself on a $150,000 downswing. He sought the aid of two longtime cornerstones of the poker industry, Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy and Eric “sheets” Haber. Cada recalled, “I was lucky enough to have them back me and I’m very grateful for that. I knew I could win before I came in.” Josephy, a former Ultimate Bet pro, and Sheets will receive 50% of Cada’s earnings. The top prize in Las Vegas is $8.5 million.

ESPN.com Poker Editor Andrew Feldman joined the show to discuss a series of dream teams. News broke last week that Dream Team Poker would return with tournaments at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles coinciding with Monday Night Football. Feldman’s “Dream Team Young Guns” consisted of Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, and 2008 WSOP Main Event Champion Peter Eastgate. “Dream Team Lady Luck” was comprised of Shannon Elizabeth, Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad, and Jones. Finally, Feldman unveiled “Dream Team Old Guard:” Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, and Mike Matusow. Cada added that his ultimate Dream Team would be Ivey, Patrick Antonius, and Dwan.

Finally, Cada revealed that on Day 8 of the 2009 WSOP Main Event, his stack had dropped to 20% of the average before he clawed back. He knocked out between 10 and 15 players en route to the final table and, upon heading to Connecticut to film ESPN “Inside Deal,” dropped some dough at the Foxwoods blackjack tables.

“Inside Deal” is released every Tuesday on ESPN.com.

WPT Marrakech draws over 400

The ChiliPoker-sponsored event took place at Casino de Marrakech in Morocco with 416 players paying the €4,500 buy-in, including big names like Liz Lieu, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, Annette Obrestad, Antonio Esfandiari, Antoine Saout, Tony G and WPT Merit Cyprus winner Thomas Bichon.

None of the aforementioned players made the final table, but there were several compelling storylines with Ludovic Lacay, Benny Spindler and Eoghan O'Dea all vying for the title.

They were joined at the final table by Savary, Julien Arneodo, Adrien Marin, Hicham Benhalima, Patrick Meurisse and ChiliPoker qualifier Balazs Botond.

Spindler, best-known for his third-place finish at the 2009 PCA, fought the good fight, but eventually busted out sixth after a confrontation with O'Dea.

The always unpredictable Lacay finished 16th at the 2009 World Series of Poker Main event for $500,000 and was looking for his first major title at WPT Marrakech.

But it was not to be as the Frenchman busted out third after an ill-timed shove was called by Savary.

That left Savory to fight it out for the title heads-up with O'Dea, the son of Donnacha O'Dea, one of the pioneers of Irish poker and the first player inducted into the European Poker Hall of Fame.

O'Dea did his best to do the family name proud, getting it in good heads-up with A 3 on an ace-high flop, only to have Savary turn a straight to take the title.

WPT Marrakech marked yet another effort by the tour to increase their global presence with events in Venice, Cyprus and Barcelona already this year.

Next up for the WPT is the annual Fest al Lago event at Bellagio in Las Vegas beginning Wednesday Oct. 21.

Here are the complete final table payouts:

1. Christophe Savary - €379,014

2. Eoghan O'Dea - €263,662

3. Ludovic Lacay - €164,789

4. Julien Arneodo - €105,465

5. Adrian Marin - €72,507

6. Benny Spindler - €56,028

7. Patrick Meurisse - €42,845

8. Balazs Botnod - €34,606

9. Hicham Benhalima - €28,014

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PIC Club, Merge Gaming Network Dissolve Relationship

When the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006 was enacted, the goal was to prevent online gaming enthusiasts from financing their accounts. With credit cards unusable and online processors such as Neteller no longer accepting gaming transactions, online poker players looked for other outlets to finance their accounts. In the time since then, PIC Club has stepped up to fill that void.

PIC Club is an online payment processor created last year that allows a player to invest in the company while playing poker at several different sites at the same time. One dollar is deducted from each deposit and put in a special account and represents the player’s investment in the company. A player can put their bankroll on PIC Club and, depending on where the best games are, move their money to different rooms with little or no delay. Over 130 different sites accept transfers from PIC Club for players to use in cash games and tournaments. In addition to offering a deposit option, the service also boasts Team PIC Club, a group of top professional poker players such as former World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion and recent Tournament of Champions victor Tom McEvoy, the legendary T.J. Cloutier, and Poker Hall of Fame member Barbara Enright.

In a recent e-mail to members, PIC Club stated that its business arrangement with the Merge Gaming Network would be terminated. The Network is made up of over 40 poker rooms, including Carbon Poker, Poker Nordica, and ACED, and is currently the 17th most populated worldwide according to PokerScout.com. According to PIC Club, “Transactions to or from the rooms on the Merge Network will cease at 11:59PM (Eastern Time) on October 18th, 2009.”

The e-mail, signed by PIC Club Chief Executive Officer Chuck Kidd, addresses several issues that may face players who remove their money from Merge Gaming Network rooms: “If you choose to withdraw funds from any Merge Room back to PICClub, they will remain in a pending status, subject to review and approval by Merge management and if approved will only be released from the pending status when we receive the funds from the Merge Gaming Network to cover your withdrawal.”

No reason is given in the e-mail for the ending of the relationship, but Kidd’s statement seems to put the onus on the Merge Network: “We regret the dissolution of this business relationship. However, we believe it is in the best interest of PICClub and our Valued Members.” Kidd also states that PIC Club will enter negotiations with the individual rooms on the Network to provide PIC Club’s services to them directly.

Industry Reacts to Poker Hall of Fame Nomination of Mike Sexton

This week, the industry learned that World Poker Tour (WPT) Host Mike Sexton would become the 38th member of the Poker Hall of Fame and the lone representative in the Class of 2009. Poker News Daily sought the reaction of some of poker’s greats.

Sexton bested eight other nominees for the Poker Hall of Fame this year, a group that included Barry Greenstein, Daniel Negreanu, Men “The Master” Nguyen, Scotty Nguyen, Phil Ivey, Erik Seidel, Tom McEvoy, and Dan Harrington. GreasieWheels LLC President Lisa Wheeler, who has worked with Sexton on several charity endeavors, told Poker News Daily, “I’ve worked with Mike Sexton for many years and can honestly say that he lives up to his nickname, ‘The Ambassador of Poker.’ After learning he’d been elected into the Poker Hall of Fame, I was surprised at first. I just assumed he had already been inducted. He’s a staple in the industry and has done so much for its image and evolution. Mike was a shoe-in from the start.”

Sexton serves as the Host, Consultant, and Ambassador for the popular online poker room PartyPoker. In his role, he’s influential on the direction of the site, which has served as his main cheerleader for election to the Hall of Fame. Also central in the industry is Cake Poker Card Room Manager Lee Jones, who explained to Poker News Daily, “Mike Sexton is one of the great gentlemen of poker and he always has a friendly word for everybody. He’s been a powerful influence to help bring poker out of the Dark Ages and into the future. I’m delighted that Mike was chosen for the Poker Hall of Fame; they couldn’t have picked a more deserving person.”

Sexton earned 75% of the vote of a 30-member panel, each of whom was allowed to select up to three players for enshrinement. This author was privileged to be on the voting panel and selected Sexton, McEvoy, and Harrington. On the world’s largest online poker forums, the reaction has been largely positive to Sexton’s nomination. TwoPlusTwo member “venice10” explained, “Well deserved. Mike Sexton has done a great deal to try to lift the game up and is a class act.” TwoPlusTwo member “RadcliffePoker” added, “He has probably done more for poker [than] the whole of 2plus2 put together. He was a driving force behind getting Party Poker off the ground. He has done brilliantly with the WPT in getting a hell of a lot more fish into the game.”

ESPN “Inside Deal” Host Bernard Lee told Poker News Daily, “It’s very well-deserved. Mike has had a tremendous impact on the world of poker. Most people know him from the WPT, but even before then, he was a tremendously accomplished player with a WSOP bracelet. No one deserves it more than Mike.” “Inside Deal” is released every Tuesday on ESPN.com.

Poker pro Kathy Liebert, who rooted on McEvoy throughout the final table of the WSOP Champions Invitational, wrote on Twitter that she expected more than one candidate to be enshrined in 2009: “Seems to me there should be more than one poker player put into [the] hall of fame each year… With so many qualified candidates 75% of vote is too high. Especially with media being 50% of vote.” 2009 marks the first year since 2004 that only one person will become a new member of the Poker Hall of Fame. Dewey Tomko and hole card camera inventor Henry Orenstein were elected last year.

Full Tilt Poker pro Andy Bloch countered why Sexton was worthy of the only nod in 2009: “Arguably, any of the nine players nominated fit the qualifications and most will probably make it to the Hall of Fame in due time. Why was Mike elected before all the rest? Quite simply, he fit the qualifications for the Hall of Fame as both a player and a non-player much more so than any of the rest. I hope more of the others take a cue from Mike Sexton’s induction and do even more to promote the game of poker.” Tournament Director Matt Savage added, “Mike is and always has been the greatest ambassador for the game of poker and the Tournament of Champions was and idea clearly ahead of its time. I am very happy to see someone that has worked so hard to promote our great game receive this prestigious award!”

Finally, what would be an industry reaction article without a comment from the man of the hour? Sexton told Poker News Daily, “I’m truly honored to be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame. It’s really special because for the first time, there is now a process of being selected that includes the fans, the media, and the living members of the Poker Hall of Fame. The most satisfying part to me is to be accepted and welcomed into this exclusive club by the current members of the Hall of Fame.”

Congratulations to all of us to Sexton for his Poker Hall of Fame election.

Unabomber blows up at World Open V

Laak is one of the most recognizable faces in poker, but hasn't had anything resembling a big score since winning an episode of Poker After Dark in 2007.

"This was a wild roller coaster ride and I am proud to have shared it with this amazing cast of characters," said Laak. "They were a tough bunch. Wow - what an honor."

Laak beat Austrian qualifier Jan Veit in heads-up play to win the $250,000 first place prize.

The invitation-only World Poker Open V began with 48 players, including Tom Dwan, Roland De Wolfe and James Akenhead, all of whom were eliminated in the preliminary heats.

By the time the dust had settled in the prelims, Laak, Schwartz, Sexton, Tilly, Andy Black, Bodo Sbrzesny and Veit had booked seats at Thursday's final table.

After a slow start to the final, Black jumped out to the early lead, but was surprisingly the first casualty when he dipped into short stack territory and shoved K-J into Laak's A-7.

Sexton, who was also officially announced as the lone 2009 inductee into the Poker Hall of Fame Thursday, was the next to go when he shoved pocket eights into Veit's pair of kings.

Tilly then found her way to the rail after going all in with A-J and having Veit wake up with pocket nines.

Veit continued to pick up steam when he eliminated PartyPoker grassroots pro Sbrzesny in fourth place, leaving himself, Laak and Schwartz to fight it out three-handed.

The always-controversial Schwartz endured several bad beats at the final table, including getting it in with A-T against Veit's K J in his final hand. Veit went runner-runner to river a flush and bust him third.

Laak and Veit entered heads-up play with nearly equal stacks, but it took just one hand to decide their fate.

Veit got all-in with A-4 on the first hand heads-up and Laak made the call with A-8. An eight on the flop was enough to give Laak the checkmark and a severely out-chipped Veit was forced to shove with J-7 the very next hand.

Laak made the call with Q-9, the board bricked and that was enough to secure Laak the title and $250k prize.

Here are the complete final table payouts for the PartyPoker World Open V:

1. Phil Laak - $250,000
2. Jan Veit - $100,000
3. Luke Schwartz - $40,000
4. Bodo Sbrzesny - $30,000
5. Jennifer Tilly - $25,000
6. Mike Sexton - $20,000
7. Andy Black - $15,000

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Phil Laak Wins PartyPokerWorld Open V

The latest installment of the London-based PartyPoker World Open featured a little bit of everything.  The fifth World Open had controversy, excitement, big names, and even a little romance at a seven-person final table that included Mike Sexton, Phil “The Unabomber” Laak, Jennifer Tilly, and Luke “Full_Flush1″ Schwartz.  In the end, it was Laak who prevailed over the tough field, defeating online qualifier Jan Veit to take the $250,000 first place prize.

The $10,000 buy-in invitation-only event featured six preliminary heats and a runner-up consolation round, with the winner of each heat advancing to the final table.  The event got off with a bang before the cards were even in the air.  Schwartz, a brash online poker pro, arrived at the Palm Beach Casino only to learn that he had been banned from the property and was not going to be let on the premises.  The ban stems from Schwartz’s behavior at the European Poker Tour (EPT) London stop earlier this month, where he stole a pickle and cheese sandwich and then refused to pay for it, claiming he was a VIP and deserved to be treated as such.

Initially, it seemed as though the fallout from “Sandwichgate 2009” was that Schwartz would be banned from all Grosvenor-owned casinos, but the Palm Beach incident suggests that many other venues in Britain have followed Grosvenor’s lead.  Schwartz was eventually admitted into the casino to participate in the tournament, but only under the condition that an escort accompanied him at all times.  The drama did not appear to have any affect on Schwartz’s play, as he won the first heat to advance to the final table.

Veit, Laak, Tilly, Sexton, and Andrew Black also prevailed in their preliminary heats to advance to the final table, while the final seat went to PartyPoker sponsored pro Bodo Sbrzesny of Germany, who won the runner-up heat.  At the outset of the final table, longtime couple Tilly and Laak were seated side-by-side, with Laak having position on his paramour.  The two clashed in a couple of pots, including a blind versus blind confrontation in which Tilly moved all-in with pocket aces and Laak doubled her up with K-Q, but the lovebirds would be separated early on when Tilly was eliminated in fifth place.

Sexton also made an early exit when he was eliminated in sixth place, but received an exciting consolation prize, as news broke on Thursday that he would be the 38th member to be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame and the only person selected for that honor from this year’s list of nine nominees.

Online qualifier Veit took the lead early in the event and picked up even more chips when he eliminated Schwartz in third place.  Heads-up play between Laak and Veit was a crazy affair, with the chips flying early on.  The two players got it all-in shortly after heads-up play was underway, with Laak holding A-8 to Veit’s A-4.  Laak doubled up to take a massive chip lead and Veit could not recover from the big hit.  He was ultimately eliminated in second place when his J-7 could not prevail over Laak’s Q-9.

The entirety of the event will begin airing on the British Five network on October 28th and will be hosted by Kara Scott.

Here are the complete results from the final table of the PartyPoker World Open V:

1st Place: Phil Laak – $250,000
2nd Place: Jan Veit – $100,000
3rd Place: Luke Schwartz – $40,000
4th Place: Bodo Sbrzesny – $30,000
5th Place: Jennifer Tilly – $25,000
6th Place: Mike Sexton – $20,000
7th Place: Andy Black – $15,000

Party Gaming Revenue Down 4% in Q3 2009

In figures recently released by Party Gaming, the parent company of PartyPoker, revenues were off 4% in Q3 2009 compared to Q2. Company officials noted that the decrease was “in line with the normal seasonal pattern seen in previous years.”

The acquisition of Cashcade actually ballooned Party Gaming’s revenue to $112.7 million during the third quarter, up 11% from Q2. However, removing Cashcade’s impact meant that revenues decreased 4%. PartyPoker revenues were $45.1 million during the most recent three-month period, a slide of 8% versus Q2. Party Gaming management attributed the fall to “higher player numbers offset by lower yields.” The $45.1 million in poker revenue represented a significant dip from the $65.0 million reported in Q3 2008.

PartyCasino’s revenue clocked in at $49.2 million, up 2% from the previous quarter, and the company’s sports book revenue registered at $4.2 million, up 31%. The company reported Bingo revenues of $13.8 million, nearly seven times the total accrued by the division during the same period last year. Party Gaming CEO Jim Ryan commented in the company’s release to the London Stock Exchange, “Poker remains challenging from a competitive standpoint, but we are encouraged by the increased player traffic during September and into October on the back of our new retention initiatives such as the enhanced loyalty program, improved VIP offer, and automated reactivation campaigns.”

Party Gaming boasted a base of 7.3 million users in 2009, up 24% from the 5.9 million users it placated to in 2008. The online giant played host to 79,200 average daily players, up from 63,900 in 2008, or 24%. However, its yield per active player day was down significantly in the third quarter of 2009 to $15.40, a slide of 23% year over year and 11% quarter over quarter. The company blamed the dip on “higher bonus costs driven by the acquisition of Cashcade and the costs associated with the new retention initiatives.”

A total of 208,100 new real money sign-ups occurred during Q3 2009 company-wide, a climb of 51% from the 137,600 who registered during Q3 2008. The number of unique active players during the period was 726,300, up 35% from 2008, and the company reported average daily net revenue of $1.2 million, down 5% from 2008, but up 10% over the previous quarter.

All told, PartyPoker boasted 4.6 million active players during the third quarter of 2009, a slide of 2% year over year. The online poker site, which does not accept customers from the United States, hosted 50,400 daily average players, even with 2008 figures, and a $9.70 yield per active player day, down 31% from the $14 recorded last year. PartyPoker saw 120,100 new real money sign-ups during the third quarter, up a colossal 30% from the 92,100 who signed up during Q2 2008. PartyPoker had average daily net revenues of $489,700, a dip of 31% year over year and 9% quarter over quarter.

Company officials explained the poker business unit’s lackluster performance: “Despite the competitive challenges in poker, we continued to sign up large numbers of new players and achieved an absolute increase in player numbers versus the previous quarter despite seasonality. Player yields declined year-on-year due to foreign exchange movements as well as competitive pressures.” On Thursday, it was announced that PartyPoker Ambassador Mike Sexton is the lone member of the Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2009. The World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner has served as the host of the World Poker Tour (WPT) since it debuted on The Travel Channel in the United States in 2003.

According to PokerScout.com, PartyPoker is the fourth largest online poker site worldwide, featuring a seven-day running average of 5,200 real money ring game players. During its peak hours, which occur in the evening throughout Europe, over 10,000 cash game players can be found on its felts. Party Gaming is traded on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol “PRTY.”

Mike Sexton Elected to Poker Hall of Fame

The 38th person elected into the Poker Hall of Fame is none other than PartyPoker Ambassador and Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Mike Sexton. He will be enshrined as part of ceremonies to be held on November 7th.

2009 marks the 30th anniversary of the Poker Hall of Fame. This year, nine finalists were up for nomination to the Hall, with a panel of 15 living Hall of Fame members and 15 media representatives (including this author) determining the fate of the 2009 class. Sexton was the only one that I felt was a shoe-in for election, as 75% of the 30-member vote was required in order to capture one of poker’s most prestigious accolades. A press release distributed by World Series of Poker (WSOP) officials properly labeled Sexton “a true gentleman who has constantly enhanced the game of poker both with his play at the tables and his promotion of the game off of it.”

Ballots were due on October 2nd, with each person able to vote for up to three candidates for the 2009 class. This author selected Sexton, Tom McEvoy, and Dan Harrington, the three elder statesmen on the 2009 ballot. Other nominees included November Nine member Phil Ivey, “The Robin Hood of Poker” Barry Greenstein, “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge” lead man Daniel Negreanu, Men “The Master” Nguyen, WSOP Main Event and HORSE Championship winner Scotty Nguyen, and eight-time bracelet holder Erik Seidel.

The list of Poker Hall of Fame members reads like a roll call of poker legends: Doyle Brunson (inducted in 1988), Johnny Chan (2002), Phil Hellmuth (2007), Stu Ungar (2001), Chip Reese (1991), and Barbara Enright (2007), just to name a few. Now, Sexton’s name will be added to this illustrious list. In a press release distributed by PartyPoker, Sexton commented, “I am deeply honored to be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame and it is particularly special because for the first time it was a process that involved the fans, the media, and the living members of the Hall of Fame. To me, the most meaningful aspect of this process was the acceptance by the living Hall of Famers, who welcomed me into their exclusive club.”

One of Sexton’s most impressive feats was taking down the 2006 WSOP Tournament of Champions, which saw the new Poker Hall of Fame member best a final table that included Daniel Negreanu, Mike Matusow, Andy Black, and Chris Ferguson. Sexton earned $1 million for the victory and, according to WSOP officials, donated half of his prize money to charity. His lone WSOP bracelet came in 1989, when the World Poker Tour (WPT) host outlasted a field of 174 players to win a $1,500 buy-in Limit Seven Card Stud High-Low event. He has reached the final table in 20 of the 47 WSOP events he’s entered, a 43% success rate.

Sexton is the voice that many in the industry “grew up to” following the poker boom in 2003 and was instrumental in bringing the WPT to life. Sexton sat, and continues to sit, alongside Vince Van Patten on WPT broadcasts, popularizing the notion that Texas Hold’em takes “a minute to learn and a lifetime to master.” He represents one of the few constants in an industry constantly in flux and had the backing of a bevy of influential industry veterans in his push for the Poker Hall of Fame, including Howard Lederer, Annie Duke, Steve Lipscomb, Linda Johnson, Jan Fisher, Padraig Parkinson, Matt Savage, Roland de Wolfe, and an army of public relations staffers at PartyPoker.

To me, one of the most defining acts for Sexton was when he took on a lead role to campaign on behalf of players shut out of the 2009 WSOP Main Event after Day 1D had reached capacity. Sexton joined forces with “Captain” Tom Franklin to present WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack options to accommodate players. Sexton, curiously, had little to gain from taking an active role in the situation, as he had already played on Day 1A and survived with an average chip stack. The situation manifested Sexton’s stature within the industry and is one of the many reasons we will look forward to welcoming him into the Poker Hall of Fame in November.

Sexton honored by Hall of Fame induction

"It's a nice honor," Sexton told PokerListings from London, just moments after he was notified about his induction.

"It really feels great. I'm truly flattered. Being inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame is about more than winning a tournament or having a good year. Essentially it is about having your career evaluated, being appreciated for what you've accomplished and what you've done for poker."

For the first time in the Hall's 20-year history, the nomination process was open to the public, who helped define nine finalists for this year's class, including Barry Greenstein, Dan Harrington, Phil Ivey, Tom McEvoy, Erik Seidel, Men "The Master" Nguyen, Daniel Negreanu and Sexton.

The decision on inductees was then left up to the 17 living Hall of Fame members and a 15-member media panel.

Sexton was the only finalist that received the 75% of the panel's votes necessary for induction.

"The fact that, for the first time, this was a process that involved the fans, the media and the living members of the Hall of Fame is what makes this very special to me," Sexton said. "That they consider me worthy of induction into this exclusive club is the most precious thing."

Sexton, 62, has more than $3.7 million in career tournament earnings over an almost 30-year career in the game, but is perhaps best known as an analyst for the World Poker Tour's television coverage and as a spokesperson for PartyPoker.

While he claims he started out as just another poker player, after winning the 1996 Four Queens Poker Classic $5,085 No-Limit Hold'em Championship Finals, Sexton began writing a regular magazine column and embraced a role as a catalyst for poker's growth, setting up major tournaments and working as an ambassador for the game.

"I've always tried to promote poker in the best possible way," he said. "A lot of it has just been about being in the right place at the right time."

While he will officially be inducted in a special ceremony during the final of the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event Nov. 7, Sexton said becoming the 38th member of the Poker Hall of Fame is no indication his poker career is coming to a close.

"As long as I'm alive and healthy and I can walk back and forth from the tournament area, I'll still be playing, it doesn't matter how old I get," he said.

"I still enjoy playing and now I feel like when I play poker, I'll be carrying the torch for all the Hall of Famers."

The Poker Hall of Fame was established in 1979 and acquired by Harrah's Entertainment along with the World Series of Poker in 2004.

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Mike Sexton Elected to the Poker Hall of Fame

The Poker Hall of Fame recently announced that Mike "The Ambassador of Poker" Sexton has become the 38th member of the Hall of Fame. Despite facing stiff competition from other elite players including November Niner Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu and...

Mike Sexton voted into Poker Hall of Fame

It’s been a very good couple of days for Mike Sexton. Not only has he reached the final table of the World Open V, he’s also been voted into the Poker Hall of Fame.

Mike Sexton Voted Into Poker Hall Of Fame

Poker industry veteran Mike Sexton will be the only inductee into the Poker Hall of Fame this year. Harrah’s Entertainment and the World Series of Poker will make the announcement later today.

Sexton was the only member of the nine-person group to recieve at least percent of the votes cast by the 15 living members of the Hall of Fame and a 15-person media advisory panel.

Sexton beat out three former World Series of Poker champions, Tom McEvoy (1983), Dan Harrington (1985) and Scotty Nguyen (1998). Also on the ballot were Barry Greenstein, Phil Ivey, Men Nguyen, Daniel Negreanu, and Erik Seidel.

Sexton will be inducted on November 7 at the Rio when the World Series of Poker’s main event final table play concludes.

Sexton, who has been over 20 years in the poker industry, won a World Series of Poker champions bracelet in Seven-Card Stud Split in 1989. He has won more than $2.7 million in prize money and become a regular participant in tournaments.

Source: Review-Journal

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Mike Sexton Voted Into Poker Hall Of Fame