Posts Tagged ‘poker show’
Poker News in Brief: Dec. 27, 2010- Jan. 2, 2011
That meant a few of poker's smaller stories may have slipped through the cracks.
Fortunately, we caught them and compiled them in our weekly Poker News in Brief feature below.
This week, Poker After Dark returns, the World Cup captains are named, UB goes back to Montreal and more.
Poker After Dark Returns
The new season of POKER PROductions' Poker After Dark returns to NBC this week.
POKER PROductions inked an agreement with NBC Universal extending the late-night poker show through 2014 in 2010 and the seventh season, filmed at the new Aria Resort and Casino at the City Center complex in Las Vegas, begins airing Jan. 3.
This season will feature more cash games than ever before. Most will be no-limit hold'em, but two weeks will also be devoted to Pot-Limit Omaha with a lineup that should impress fans.
Names like Mike Matusow, Chris Ferguson, Michael Mizrachi, Phil Hellmuth, Antonio Esfandiari, Annette Obrestad, Eli Elezra, Phil Galfond, Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan, Patrik Antonius, and David Oppenheim will all appear this season.
There will only be three weeks following the traditional Freezout format this season, including this week's "Big Heat," a $100,000 buy-in event featuring John Juanda, Erick Lindgren, Huckleberry Seed, Ivey, Dwan, and Galfond.
Leeann Tweeden will once again serve as the show's host with Ali Nejad providing commentary.
Fifty50 Sit & Go's
PokerStars has launched a new online poker Sit & Go format called Fifty50.
Although the tournaments end when half of the entrants have been eliminated, Fifty50's differ from the Double or Nothing format in that half of the prize pool gets split between the winning players equally and the other half is awarded based on chip counts.
Fifty50 events are currently running at the $10 level, but will soon be available at many different stakes.
World Cup of Poker Captains Named
The identities of the team captains for the seventh annual World Cup of Poker have been announced.
Last year, Chinese Taipei took the title. This year it will be Argentina, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, Spain, Slovakia, Italy, France, Ukraine and the United States battling it out for a $100,000 first prize at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.
Slovakia’s team will be led by Team PokerStars Pro’s newest member Dag Palovic. EPT San Remo winner Liv Boeree will lead the UK team while Argentina’s captain is back-to-back LAPT champ Nacho Barbero.
2009 APT champion Neil Arce will lead the team from the Philippines while the Spain squad will be headed up by Team PokerStars Pro Juan Manuel Pastor.
Luca Pagano leads Italy and Arnaud Mattern will captain the team from France.
And Finally, Vanessa Selbst will lead the USA while EPT Kiev runner-up Alexander Dovzhenko captains the Ukrainian side.
The action gets underway in the Bahamas Jan 14.
UB Returns to Poker Pro Canada Classic
For the second straight year, UB will be sending over twenty players to compete in the running of Montreal's biggest poker event, the Poker Pro Canada Classic.
The $1500+150 buy-in No Limit Hold 'em event runs Jan. 27-30, 2011 at the Four Aces Poker Club.
UB is running a series of super satellites and freerolls Jan. 2-16 giving players a chance to win a $2500 prize package that includes a seat plus $850 for travel expenses.
300-plus players and prize pool of $500,000 is expected in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Visit www.pokerlistings.com
Tags: 2009, 2010, 2011, Canada, freeroll, no-limit, Online Poker, Patrik Antonius, Phil Hellmuth, Phil Ivey, poker show, pokerstars, spain, Tom Dwan, tournament, usa, vegas
Devilfish Poker Sold to The Weather Lottery
After several years of solo operation, Devilfish Poker has been sold to an English gaming group in an effort to expand that company’s profile further into the online gaming world.
The sale was announced prior to the Christmas holidays. The Weather Lottery offers lotto operations as a method of fundraising and, in July, entered into the online sports betting world under the FC BETZ flag. When it opened FC BETZ, it announced a deal with one of the founding clubs of the English Premier League, Coventry City and other soccer outlets.
What the company lacked, however, was an online poker operation that would allow it to expand fully into the online poker world. With the purchase of Devilfish Poker, The Weather Lottery will have such an outlet. The deal is worth a reported £330,000, with £40,000 of the purchase in cash and the remainder to be offered in stock.
In an article in the Yorkshire Post, The Weather Lottery chairman Tim Razzall put forth the reasoning behind the purchase of Devilfish Poker. “The board considers its acquisition at a time when there is still considerable untapped potential for development fits in with our gaming strategy. Devil Fish Poker has an established brand name in a sector that is complimentary to the existing gaming operations of TWL.”
Because the company didn’t previously host an online poker room, Razzall feels that Devilfish Poker is the “missing link” in its chain of products: “We have a growing database of users in both FCBetz.com and FC Lotto, some of whom will wish to take advantage of the Devilfish Poker products.”
The legendary English player David “Devilfish” Ulliott, who has been the face of the company since its inception, founded Devilfish Poker. At one point, it was a part of the UB.com brand, but after Ulliott’s sponsorship with the online poker room wasn’t renewed, it became its own entity under the Devilfish Gaming PLC banner. It also received a great deal of attention from Ulliott’s shrewd promotional character.
During the 2005 Full Tilt Poker Invitational, which was broadcast live from Monaco, Ulliott raised the ire of Fox Sports Net, the broadcast outlet for the show. Although Fox Sports Net had a policy against any dot-com advertising on its airwaves, Ulliott managed to get a plug in for Devilfish Poker through a strategically placed advertisement on the inside of his jacket. The resulting plug earned Ulliott a ban on playing in any Fox Sports Net poker production.
According to the story in the Yorkshire Post, Devilfish Poker did not show a profit on its books. At the end of June, operating losses of £106,331 on gross profits of £783,353 were reported, with Devilfish Poker showing liabilities at the sale date of £10,802.
The Weather Lottery is actively traded on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol TWL. After the announcement of the purchase of Devilfish Poker, the company’s stock showed a sizeable increase in trading, reaching a high of 89 pence on Christmas Eve. By the end of the trading day, it had settled to 66 pence, a 10% increase over its starting price.
The PartyPoker Weekly: WPT Season 9 Promo, Tony G Reflects on a Big Week and PokerNews Chief on the Poker Show
7th season of High Stakes Poker coming right up!
Great news for all poker fans! The 7th season of High Stakes Poker has been confirmed by GSN. The coming season will be shot on 18th to 20th of November.
There hasn’t been any kind of confirmed player list yet, but the rumors run wild as always. The poker fans are expecting to see players like Patrik Antonius, Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan and Daniel Negreanu at the table.
The 6th season of HSN was filmed at the Golden Nugget Casino, but GSN hasn’t confirmed if the new season will be shot there again. Let’s see what GSN is bringing out for the new season. There was some ups and some downs during the last season, but mostly it was guaranteed entertainment. If we can make a wish here at the HighStakesNews.com, please. for a change bring some new and upcoming players to the table.
There were some changes in the GSN board after the 4th season of HSN and there were even rumors that HSN was canceled. Luckily for the fans, the best poker show is here to stay. Yes!
You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com
A Complete Poker Whirlwind by Bernard Lee
Since the World Series of Poker (WSOP) this summer, my life has been a complete whirlwind. After I witnessed the entire five-hour Main Event final table bubble (which went well into the wee hours of July 18th), we taped the ESPN Inside Deal WSOP wrap-up show at about 8:00am with no sleep. Fortunately, right after we wrapped filming of the show, I was able to take a nap until my flight and headed straight back to Boston.
Once I landed in the Bay State, I took about a month off from poker. This breather allowed me to reacquaint myself with my wife and kids. Immediately, I got back into the role of Mr. Mom, taking them to and from summer camp, going to playgrounds and parks, and, in general, having fun with my kids. It was a blast.
However, the month seemed to fly by and poker came calling once again. In mid-August, I helped promote Foxwoods Resort Casino’s summer MegaStack series. For this, I was able to secure three poker superstars as hosts: Chris Moneymaker (2003 WSOP Main Event Champion), Darvin Moon (second place in 2009), and Jonathan Duhamel (2010 November Nine chip leader).
In fact, since Dennis Phillips attended the May MegaStack, Foxwoods has had all three November Nine chip leaders as hosts of these events along with another WSOP final table chip leader, Chris Moneymaker. Overall, the August MegaStack was a huge success, setting records for all three events. In total, there were over 2,200 registrants and more than $1.1 million in prize money.
Shortly thereafter, I was off to the WSOP Circuit Event in Council Bluffs, Iowa. After a couple of preliminary events, I prepared to play in the Main Event. Strangely, I feel very comfortable in Council Bluffs. This time, I proceeded to make my third Main Event final table in Council Bluffs in the past three years, making it almost my second poker home outside of Foxwoods. Unfortunately, I came up a little short of the ultimate prize, finishing in 10th place among 251 players.
After a couple of weeks at home with the family, I headed down to Borgata in Atlantic City with my co-host Andy Kaplan for the Eastern Poker Tour television show (a New England-based pub tour that has been shown on Comcast Sports Net for the past three years). Although I played a solid Day 1 and 2, I was agonizingly eliminated in about 140th place when my A-Q was bested by a set of 10s (with a flop of As-10s-4s). With 100 players making the money, my demise did not sit well with me. Fortunately, Kaplan carried the torch for both of us, finishing a very respectable 33rd place out of 1,042 registrants. Nice job buddy!
Right after my elimination from the Borgata Main Event, I headed back home to pack for my first trip over “The Pond” to play in the WSOP Europe Main Event. Having seen the event on television and having spoken with several players about it, I was very excited to play in this prestigious, yet tough, field of players. Unfortunately, I never really got on track during Day 1 and was eliminated. In back-to-back events, I was eliminated when my two high cards (this time A-K) ran into a set (this time 2s); now, the board was K-4-2. Nevertheless, my wife joined me the day after I was knocked out of the WSOP Europe Main Event. Soothing the pain of my elimination, my wife and I toured around London – our first trip without the kids in over five years.
Although I was very busy playing numerous events during the past few months, I never relinquished my hosting duties for my weekly radio show (which can be heard on RoundersRadio.com and via iTunes) or ESPN’s Inside Deal (which can be seen at ESPN.com/InsideDeal). During both programs, I have been interviewing members of the 2010 November Nine.
For my radio show, I introduced a contest consisting of a prize pool of $1,000 in which nine lucky listeners are linked up with a member of the 2010 November Nine. If a listener’s corresponding player wins the 2010 WSOP Main Event, he or she will win $500 in cash and prizes just for listening. Remember, it’s not too late to become one of the Bernard Lee Poker Nine. Just listen to my radio show every Tuesday night from 6:00pm to 7:00pm ET.
Now, one of the events that I look forward to the entire year has begun. The Foxwoods World Poker Finals started on Monday, October 11th with a $600 No Limit Hold’em event and culminates with the $10,000 six-day Main Event that begins on October 28th. This tournament was one of the charter members of the World Poker Tour nine years ago. Overall, the World Poker Finals, which is rich in history, is still affordable to the masses, as 22 of the 27 events (over 80%) have buy-ins ranging from $300 to $600. So, come and try your poker skill at the World Poker Finals.
In the end, some people have dubbed me the “Busiest man in poker.” Whether I am or not is irrelevant. What I can honestly say is that I am truly living a dream and absolutely love what I do. The only major drawback is that I am away from the family so much. However, in a couple of months, I’m taking everyone to the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure at the Atlantis. This event is one of my favorite stops of the year and the only one in which I bring my entire family.
However, there is still a lot of poker left in 2010. Good luck to everyone at the tables.
Bernard Lee is the official spokesperson of Foxwoods Resort Casino. Lee is the co-host of ESPN Inside Deal, a columnist for the ESPN.com, a Sunday columnist for the Boston Herald, and author of “The Final Table, Volume I” and “Volume II.” Visit BernardLeePoker.com. Listen to “The Bernard Lee Poker Show” presented by Foxwoods Resort Casino every Tuesday from 6:00pm to 7:00pm on 1120 AM in Boston or RoundersRadio.com. For questions or comments, e-mail him at BernardLeePoker@hotmail.com.
Tags: 2009, 2010, 2011, buy-ins, darvin moon, interview, poker player, poker show, pokerstars, skill, tournament, WSOP
Joe Stapleton Interview – Part 2 of 2
Joe Stapleton, commentator for The PokerStars.net Big Game television show, joins us for the second of his two part interview. Stapleton’s rise to fame in the world of poker has inspired many to break into the industry and his work on the televised cash game poker show has drawn rave reviews from television critics and poker players alike.
One of the first topics discussed in this video is Stapleton’s old friend Amanda Leatherman who also works on the show as official hostess. Leatherman’s work has also drawn excellent reviews and her rapport with the top name pros is nearly second to none. Stapleton recalls how she broke into the industry as a green 21-year-old and how he has come to think of her like a younger sister. He stated that her best asset is how comfortable she makes players feel around her and how they open up, which makes for perfect television.
The next topic discussed with host Sean Gibson is about Stapleton’s popularity in the online poker world, thanks to his work with PokerRoad and great work on television. Stapleton says he has no real way of explaining it, but that he’s extremely lucky and very grateful for the love that he gets from the forum communities. Gibson then asked about what makes up the keys to success, which Stapleton went into detail specifically about preparation and how important that has been to his personal success.
Stapleton tells us that every possible way of a hand to be called has been done so by the dozens of poker television programs that have been on the air for the last few years. So, in that light, he tries to make things more interesting and go beyond simply referring to the “lowest common denominator” for the audience which helps him connect on a level that color commentators rarely are able to do.
Stapleton is the commentator of The PokerStars.net Big Game which features a cash game with professional poker players and “loose cannons” who are internet qualifiers. The show has featured name pros such as PokerStars pros such as Daniel Negeanu and Jason Mercier, in addition to players such as UB.com‘s own Phil Hellmuth.
Executive Producers Of “Weeds” And Showtime Potentially Teaming For Poker Show
According to an article on the website Deadline.com written by Nellie Andreeva, the executive producers of the critically acclaimed Showtime series Weeds, series creator Jenji Kohan and Matthew Salsberg, are trying to put together a new comedy series regarding the world of poker. The series would be called Whales and would potentially be a part of the Showtime lineup in the near future. The show centers on a group of young twentysomethings who, having finished their studies as such schools as Harvard and MIT, live in an apartment together in Las Vegas as they try to win the World Series of Poker.
While Weeds has been a huge critical and financial success for Kohan and Salsberg, the duo hasn’t been able to parlay that into further episodic television or movies. Andreeva points out in her article that Kohan is the writer and producer on a pilot called Tough Trade, regarding the music business in Nashville, and both Kohan and Salsberg, who is said to be a driving force behind the poker show concept because of his love for the game, worked together on a show called Me & Lee, starring Lee Majors. That show is currently in the hands of the SyFy Network and Kohan and Salsberg are doing some revisions.
On the Deadline website, the news of the potential poker comedy on the Showtime lineup has been met with something less than excitement. “Aren’t they at least 5 years behind the end of the whole “Texas hold ‘em” fad?,” asked poster “Bruce F” upon reading the news. Another poster going by the name of “Writer” simply states, “This just sounds like an incredibly weak concept. I’ve read a million feature scripts with this premise, and poker almost never translates well to the screen.”
The harsh truth is that, except for a few instances, poker as dramatic or comedic relief doesn’t play well. The seminal film Rounders, which starred Matt Damon, Edward Norton, and Famke Janssen, is cited by many as their first exposure to the world of poker. With that said, it is the “cult classic” nature of the film that drove it towards viewers. When it was released in 1998, Rounders made $8.5 million in its opening weekend on its way to a $22.9 million domestic box office revenues, very poor financial numbers overall. A sequel is supposedly “in production” on the Internet Movie Database.
As the new millennium began, playing poker was still much more popular than watching dramas or comedies about the subject. The World Poker Tour came on strong in 2003 and, along with the Main Event victory by Chris Moneymaker at the World Series of Poker, poker became the rage. Television sports giant ESPN picked up broadcasting rights for the WSOP and The Travel Channel held its alliance with the WPT. For these bright spots, however, there have also been some lowlights.
The Bravo Channel brought out “Celebrity Poker Showdown,” featuring celebrities playing poker (and in most cases, poorly) for their favorite charities. Phil Gordon and Phil Hellmuth took part in the program, alongside hosts Kevin Pollak and Dave Foley. It was widely recognized as a low point for poker on television until ESPN decided to try its dramatic skills out on the sport.
ESPN rolled out Tilt, starring Michael Madsen as a legendary poker player who was also a cheat and killer. Although created by the same gentlemen behind Rounders, the nine-episode series never caught on with poker players or fans and wasn’t renewed.
A similar trail of broken movies await the poker world on the silver screen. While the highly underrated The Grand only took in slightly over $110,000 in its release and an independent film called Freeze Out was highly acclaimed at independent film festivals, the highly unwatchable Lucky You was supposed to become the next great poker film. Featuring Eric Bana and Drew Barrymore, the film stumbled out of the gate to $2.7 million in first week ticket sales on its way to a disappointing $5.7 million in revenues during its theatrical release.
As the temperature has fallen on poker in the latter part of the last decade, it will be difficult for a show on the subject to draw a huge crowd. However, if a poker drama or comedy is done well, perhaps the players and fans will show up. Both Kohan and Salsberg have the ability to write excellent programs (in particular Weeds), so it is possible that they might have something for us with Whales.
Bernard Lee Poker Show Holding WSOP November Nine Contest
The “Bernard Lee Poker Show,” which airs every Tuesday from 6:00pm ET to 7:00pm ET on 1120 AM in Boston, 970 AM in Worcester, and 1390 AM in Cape Cod, is dishing out $1,000 in cash and prizes. The occasion: celebrating the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) November Nine.
The show is making it a point to bring the nine finalists in the 2010 WSOP Main Event onto the show in the weeks leading up to the tournament’s resumption on November 6th at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Jonathan Duhamel is the chip leader entering the finale, but he’ll have to contend with players like Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi and Filippo Candio if he wants to pocket the nearly $9 million first place prize.
Every week until October 26th, listeners of the “Bernard Lee Poker Show” can e-mail a special two-word phrase to contest@bernardleepoker.com. The first half of the phrase will be dished out over the airwaves, while the second half can be found on the show’s Twitter feed (@BernardLeeShow) and Facebook page. It’s one of the many attempts by various poker programs like ESPN.com’s “Inside Deal” to incorporate social media into their marketing schemes.
In each of the eight weeks of the contest, a winner will be chosen. Then, “Bernard Lee Poker Show” officials will select a ninth winner from all of the entries submitted. The nine lucky listeners selected will be appropriately dubbed the “Bernard Lee Poker Nine” and tied to a member of the real WSOP November Nine. If a listener’s November Nine counterpart takes down the Main Event two months from now, they’ll bank $500 in cash and prizes.
Whichever listener is linked to the Main Event’s second place finisher will receive $250 in cash and prizes, while the third place November Niner’s fan takes home $100 in cash and prizes. Every listener selected for the “Bernard Lee Poker Nine” will claim at least a $25 Amazon.com gift card, meaning that no one will go home empty-handed. In total, $1,000 in cash and Amazon.com gift certificates will be on the line in a unique promotion that is sure to boost the audience of the popular program. PokerSource.com, one of the industry’s largest poker affiliate sites, is furnishing the Amazon.com gift certificates.
If you miss the “Bernard Lee Poker Show” in Boston or live outside of the East Coast city, you can catch it on RoundersRadio.com or download it via iTunes. Lee has made a name for himself by lending his insight to several media outlets, including ESPN “Inside Deal,” the Boston Herald newspaper, and Poker News Daily, where he is a monthly Guest Columnist.
Lee has the credentials to boot. He burst onto the scene in 2005 by finishing 13th in the WSOP Main Event for $400,000. In 2006, 2007, and 2008, Lee took down titles during the Foxwoods World Poker Finals, a feat that recently earned him a sponsorship from the Connecticut casino. His first Foxwoods title came in 2006 in a $4,800 No Limit Hold’em tournament and was good for $368,000. The road to the winner’s circle saw Lee best online poker legend Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy heads-up. That final nine also featured James Van Alstyne, Thor Hansen, Chris Bjorin, Michael Binger, and Jean-Robert Bellande.
His 2007 win in a $1,850 No Limit Hold’em event at Foxwoods earned Lee $239,000. The last leg of Lee’s three-peat came in a $530 No Limit Hold’em Shootout for $23,000 in 2008. This year, Lee made a deep run in the WSOP Main Event, bowing out in 410th place for $31,000.
Foxwoods serves as the presenting sponsor of the “Bernard Lee Poker Show.”
PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge Returns To Fox Television This Sunday
One of the most popular made for television poker shows, the PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge, will return with new episodes this Sunday, according to an announcement from the number one site in the online poker industry.
Fox Television will once again air the Million Dollar Challenge as companion programming to its coverage of the National Football League (NFL). On weeks that Fox does not have the doubleheader coverage of the NFL for its viewers (the weekly doubleheader is shared between Fox and CBS on alternating weekends), the PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge will either be seen prior to or at the conclusion of the Fox NFL football game in a viewer’s area. Several amateur players – who have qualified for the program through special tournaments at PokerStars.net – will attempt to take down the $1 million top prize.
Seven weeks of broadcasting are planned. The show will premiere this Sunday and will have its second broadcast the next Sunday (September 26th). The show will then fall into its two week plan in October (10th and 24th) and November (7th and 21st). The grand finale, where one contestant will face poker pro Daniel Negreanu heads-up for the chance at the $1 million grand prize, will air on Sunday, December 12th.
For this year’s version of the program, PokerStars has lined up several celebrities to take part in the Round One action against the amateurs. These “celebrity defenders” include “Dancing With The Stars” hostess Brooke Burke, former two-time Super Bowl champion and Pro Football Hall of Famer John Elway, legendary Detroit Lions running back and member of the Hall of Fame Barry Sanders, Playboy Magazine 2007 Playmate of the Year Sara Jean Underwood, and future National Basketball Association Hall of Fame guard Gary Payton.
The format for the Million Dollar Challenge is the same as in its first season. The amateur faces one of the “celebrity defenders” in an attempt to move onto Round Two. For the first round of competition, Negreanu sits at the table with the player offering advice and reading their opponent.
In Round Two, Negreanu is sent to an “isolation booth,” where only the amateur can hear his advice. The competence of the opponents picks up as well, with members of Team PokerStars stepping to the felt. Such Team PokerStars pros as World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event winner Chris Moneymaker, Barry Greenstein, Jason Mercier, and Vanessa Rousso are the potential combatants for Round Two.
If the amateur is able to defeat one of the Team PokerStars pros in Round Two, they then face a difficult choice: walk away from the game with $25,000 or take on Negreanu – who has been helping them to this point – with $100,000 and a seat at the Tournament of Champions on the line. By defeating “Kid Poker,” the amateur player moves on to the Tournament of Champions and, if they win that, will once again face Negreanu for a shot at $1 million.
The show has proven to be quite successful for Fox and PokerStars. Hosted by Fox’s Chris Rose and reporter Michelle Nunes, the first season of the PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge was the highest rated network broadcast poker program in U.S. history, averaging nearly four million viewers per episode. For those that may not remember last year’s conclusion, retired NYPD officer and 9/11 first responder Mike Kosowski shockingly beat Negreanu to take home the $1 million grand prize.
The PartyPoker Weekly: The Poker Show Returns, Roland De Wolfe’s Impressions and $7,500 PokerNews Cash Runner Series
The Nightly Turbo: World Poker Tour London, Tony G on The Poker Show, and More
Tags: poker show
Norman Chad Interview with Bernard Lee
Norman Chad is the co-host of ESPN’s coverage of the World Series of Poker and his color commentary often draws the biggest laughs in the industry. Combining poker wit with sharp humor, Chad is an industry favorite alongside his longtime broadcasting companion, Lon McEachern.
Chad is a sportswriter by trade and a syndicated columnist for many years as well as on ESPN. He’s an accomplished poker player himself, having cashed at the 2009 WSOP in the Stud 8 or Better event. He also occasionally appears on the ESPN show Pardon the Interruption and has also been seen in various Reel Classic on ESPN Classic.
In this interview for Poker News Daily, Norman Chad appears with Bernard Lee. He discusses how the World Series of Poker continues to go strong, despite doom and gloom predictions by many in the media. Chad also reflects on how times have changed since he started covering the event in 2003 and where he feels the world’s biggest poker tournament will be in a few years time.
Bernard Lee is a guest columnist here at Poker News Daily and can also be seen co-hosting the popular web poker show “The Inside Deal” on ESPN.com.
Gavin Smith Video Interview with Bernard Lee
Gavin Smith, fresh off his WSOP Bracelet victory, joins Poker News Daily courtesy of “The Hijack Seat” which is hosted by Bernard Lee.
In this interview, Smith talks about what it was like to win his first WSOP bracelet. Smith won the bracelet at the 2010 World Series of Poker Event 44, the $2,500 buy-in Mixed Hold’em tournament. There were 507 entries in this event and the total prize pool totaled $1,166,100. The top 54 finishers collected prize money but Smith took the title and $268,238.
Smith became famous in 2004 when he played well in several televised poker events which were filmed at the Plaza Casino in Las Vegas, specifically a show called The Ultimate Poker Challenge. Because of his gambler’s attitude with hilarious prop bets and penchant for drinking and having a good time, he’s become one of the more beloved poker personalities on the tournament circuit. He has also appeared on High Stakes Poker and Late Night Poker, in addition to the NBC poker show “Face The Ace” which was sponsored by Full Tilt Poker. According to several databases, Smith has more than $4 million in tournament earnings during his career.
During the interview, Smith talked about his huge heads-up chip lead and how he allowed himself to think about the victory before it actually happened and what it meant to get the monkey off his back. He also talked about charity work away from the tables, and specifically a film called “Darius Goes West” which is about a boy with a fatal muscular disorder who is riding his wheelchair across the United States to raise awareness for wheelchair access.
Gavin Smith is a sponsored pro at Full Tilt Poker and Bernard Lee can be seen on the ESPN.com segment “The Inside Deal” during WSOP season. Lee is also the official spokesperson of Foxwoods Casino.
Tags: 2010, charity, full tilt poker, gamble, high stakes, interview, poker show, tournament, vegas, WSOP
Phil Gordon Video Interview
Phil Gordon joins Dan Cypra from the floor of the red carpet special in honor of the recently completed Ante Up for Africa charity tournament. Gordon is a professional poker player that was already independently wealthy before coming into the game. Born in Texas, he graduated from Georgia Tech at the age of 20 in computer science and went to work in Northern California for Lockheed Missiles and Space Company. He became the first employee of NETSYS Technologies and earned a ton of stock options. When Cisco Systems purchased the company for $95 million, Gordon was financially set.
Gordon is well known from his stint as the color commentator on Celebrity Poker Showdown on Bravo and his various deep runs in WPT and WSOP events. His crowning achievement was winning the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Stars. He is also an accomplished writer, having written the very popular “Gordon’s Little Green Book: Lessons and Teachings in No Limit Hold’em”. His books can be found in various bookstores both at your local mall and online.
From the floor at the Rio during the World Series of Poker, Gordon is interviewed by our own Dan Cypra. The first question settles a debate of whether Phil Gordon or Erick Seidel is taller. He then talks about the Rochambeau Championships, which is a charity event costing players $500, with proceeds going to the “Put a Bad Beat on Cancer” foundation. The game is essentially Rock, Scissors, Paper and Cypra throws down a challenge, which is played out for our cameras.
Gordon’s first poker book was called “Poker: The Real Deal” and sold over 100,000 copies in just a few months time. Besides poker, Gordon is an avid player of the card game known as Bridge and has won two national Bridge competitions in his life. He is married with one child and resides full time in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Poker News in Brief: July 19-25, 2010
There was a hearing for Barney Frank's new online poker bill, two big live tournaments began, tons of online action and of course everyone got to know the 2010 WSOP November Nine a bit better.
There are always lesser-known stories that threaten to fall through the cracks, however. Fortunately PokerListings has compiled a list of them in our ongoing Poker News in Brief feature.
This week we'll take a look at Tony G winning the Poker Lounge, PokerStars giving away a Gallardo, Full Tilt renewing a popular cash game show and more.
Tony G Takes Poker Lounge
Tony G won the new six-player winner-take-all Poker Lounge for $120,000 in Cardiff this week.
The PartyPoker pro had his work cut out for him as he had to outlast Mike "The Mouth" Matusow, Jennifer Harman, Chris Ferguson, James Dempsey and an online qualifier.
Tony G would eventually take a slight chip lead into heads-up play against Mike "The Mouth" Matusow.
In the final hand Tony G got it all-in with A-9 against Matusow's A-5 and ended up winning the hand.
The show, which is similar to Poker After Dark, is set to be broadcast in Britain later this year.
Full Tilt Renews Million Dollar Cash Game
Popular European poker show the Million Dollar Cash Game should be around for at least three more years as Full Tilt Poker has renewed its sponsorship for that length.
In years past Gus Hansen, Patrik Antonius, Chris Ferguson, Allen Cunningham, Tony G and Mike Matusow have all been regulars on the program.
Last year's show was perhaps the most memorable in the show's history as Tom Dwan raked a $1.1 million pot from Phil Ivey. It was the biggest pot ever won on television.
This year's Million Dollar Cash Game will take place at an exclusive venue in London on Sept. 8-9.
Free Lamborghini on PokerStars
PokerStars players could potentially drive away in a new Lamborghini Gallardo thanks to a new promotion.
The online room announced this week that it will run a series of daily freerolls where players can qualify for nine weekly finals, each with $100,000 added to the prizepool.
The top 2,000 players from each weekly final will progress to the grand final where players will compete for a $250,000 and a Gallardo.
The promo will run July 25 until Sept. 25 on PokerStars with the grand final scheduled for Oct. 3.
Everest Doles out $111k to Qualifiers
Players who qualified for the WSOP on Everest Poker got a nice bonus this week.
As part of its $1 Million Dollar Match program, Everest Poker awarded $111,789 to lucky qualifiers.
The promotion saw Everest Poker match whatever amount its qualifiers made in the WSOP Main Event and Event 54 up to $1 million dollars.
In total 14 players made the money in the Main Event and Event 54 to earn $111,789 in cashes.
It helped all the qualifiers that Live the Dream member Daan Slutter went very deep in the Main Event, eventually finishing 128th for $57,102.
The cash will be split between all 112 Everest Poker WSOP qualifiers this year.
Holyfield to Hit Poker in the Park
Boxing great Evander Holyfield will make an appearance in the 2010 Poker in the Park in London.
Holyfield, who is sponsored by Real Deal Poker, will be playing a series of "Beat the Champ" events where boxing and poker fans can play him heads-up.
A free festival, Poker in the Park is scheduled to take place Sept. 2-3 and will feature a variety of poker related activities including free tournaments, lectures, concerts and the chance to meet notable players and celebrities.
Visit PokerListings.com
David “Devilfish” Ulliott Autobiography to Hit Bookstores in September
A life as a thief, a foray into professional boxing that aided his abilities outside the ring, and living the high life in casinos around the world… this isn’t the plot for the next James Bond film or a new television series coming this fall. It is the true life story of one of the poker community’s most complex personalities, David “Devilfish” Ulliott.
It was announced on Friday that the autobiography of Ulliott’s life will hit the bookshelves and Amazon.com U.K. on September 9th. Entitled “Devilfish – The Life and Times of a Poker Legend” and published in the United Kingdom by Penguin Press, the story is told by the only gentleman who could give credence to what his life has entailed, Ulliott himself. The book is now available for pre-order through Amazon U.K. for £9.09 with free shipping. The retail price of the book, according to Amazon U.K., is £12.99.
Over the span of 384 pages, Ulliott recounts his life prior to becoming one of the preeminent stars in the European poker community and international arena. “Devilfish” uses his personal flamboyant style to tell the tales of his youth, yet doesn‘t shy away from the rougher parts of that story. From running the streets as a youngster in his hometown of Hull, England to his eventual trips to jail and his development as a safecracker, Ulliott tells unflinchingly real stories about what his life was like prior to entering into the world of poker.
Of course, the story of Ulliott is well known once he stepped into poker. In 1997, he vanquished Men “The Master” Nguyen in a tournament at the Four Queens Poker Classic, where the birth of the “Devilfish” occurred. Later that year, he went on to win his only World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet over fellow countryman Chris Truby and has since moved on to become one of the most feared players in the world in any discipline of the game.
Ulliott has also earned a title on the World Poker Tour (WPT) in 2003 and has been a part of one of the seminal poker shows in England, “Late Night Poker.” Overall, “Devilfish” is the all-time leading money winner among British poker players with over $5.9 million in career earnings and unknown amounts from cash games worldwide.
Ulliott’s autobiography comes at a time when the poker literary world is under a seismic shift. For much of the last decade, most poker books dwelled on the intricacies of the game, from both of Doyle Brunson’s “Super/System” efforts to the series of works from Dan Harrington that helped to revolutionize tournament poker play. Over the past few years, however, these books have dwindled to a scant few as readers look to new subjects to read about poker.
The most popular outlet for poker books over the last couple of years has been players telling their own stories, warts and all, in autobiographical tell-alls. Mike “The Mouth” Matusow was one of the first subjects for this type of storytelling with his book, “Check Raising The Devil,” which he co-wrote with noted poker writers Tim Lavalli and Amy Calistri. In that book, Matusow detailed his story from his usage of drugs and alcohol to his jail stint in 2005. The penultimate climax of his story is his triumphant return after emerging from jail to finish ninth in the 2005 WSOP Main Event and winning the WSOP Tournament of Champions later that year.
Brunson himself is one of the players who has added to the trend towards the autobiographical stories of top pros. Brunson penned his own stark story in “The Godfather of Poker,” which was also released last year. In that volume, Brunson told the stories of busted poker games, robberies, and the pitfalls of a life lived on the edge when poker wasn’t the “sanitized” game it has become today.
Ulliott’s story in “The Life and Times of a Poker Legend” should be even more of a revelation to poker fans because, as he details in the book, he was on his way to a life of crime, jail, or even death before coming into the world of poker.
Although he has now achieved tremendous laurels for his poker success, “Devilfish” still has some of his “old style” life left inside him when he says, “You only win big when you risk big… Life is a blast. It don’t last. Live it long and live it f***ing fast.” The story of David “Devilfish” Ulliott as told by the man himself in “The Life and Times of a Poker Legend” should hold true to his motto.
Mads Wissing – Poker Player Profile
Denmark has given the world a Main Event winner already, when young Peter Eastgate won it in 2008; and a highly entertaining poker powerhouse in Gus Hansen, poker bad boy and favourite guest of televised poker shows. 2010 Main Event deep runner Mads Wissing could turn out to be a bit of both: an entertaining personality with an interesting life story and a good chance at the highest honor in poker.
The Danish player – who has been living in Spain for a few years now – plays mainly online poker, but breaks his routine a few times a year for live events, mainly those in the European Poker Tour.
Wissing started playing poker when he was in high school, and by the age of 17 he was joining “juicy” (his description) Five Card Draw games with restaurant and business owners. He got into Hold’em when his cousin won the Danish Championship in the most popular form of poker. Like most of his fellow Danes, Wissing was inspired to play more poker by Gus “The Great Dane” Hansen’s repeated World Poker Tour wins
2007 was a good year for Wissing, who won the Party Poker $300,000 tournament twice, along with the Scandinavian Open in Copenhagen. He started 2010 in style with a nice finish and cash at the EPT Copenhagen, and then Wissing decided to take his hot streak to the largest game in the world, where he made a deep run into the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event.
At the time of writing, Wissing stands to win a minimum of $255,000 from the 2010 Main Event, eclipsing his current live winnings of $110,000. It remains to be seen if Mads Wissing will repeat Peter Eastgate’s 2008 feat, and become the second Dane to win the World Series of Poker’s most prestigious event. What is a fact is that Scandinavian players are no longer a running joke in the poker world.
Tags: 2008, 2010, european, Gus Hansen, Online Poker, poker player, poker show, spain, tournament, WSOP
The Nightly Turbo: World Series of Poker Circuit Schedule Announced, Tom Dwan on the Poker Show, and More
Jerome Bettis Interview with Poker News Daily at WSOP Ante Up for Africa
Last week, the annual Ante Up for Africa charity tournament played out at the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas. This time around, two well known pros battled it out in the finale, as Full Tilt’s Phil Gordon edged out Carbon Poker’s Shannon Elizabeth.
On the red carpet, Poker News Daily caught up with Super Bowl champion Jerome Bettis, a former stud running back who final tabled the event and landed in sixth place for $22,000.
Poker News Daily: We’ve seen you on the PokerStars sponsored “Million Dollar Challenge,” Bravo’s “Celebrity Poker Showdown,” and other poker-related television programming. Will we be seeing more of you in the future?
Jerome Bettis: I’m just going to enjoy it. Being retired, everything is sporadic, but I enjoy poker. Whenever I get a chance, I’ll try to get out and play a little more.
PND: This is the first time you’ve played in the Ante Up for Africa event, right?
Jerome Bettis: Yeah, it’s the first time I’ve been here. It’s also the first time I’ve been to the World Series and seen what it is. It’s pretty spectacular.
PND: What are your expectations heading into this event? Are you going to take it seriously or just go and have a good time?
Jerome Bettis: Whenever I sit down, I take it seriously, no question about it. But, I’m also about enjoyment, so I’ll take it seriously, but I’m also paying attention to what’s going on.
PND: We obviously have to ask you about your Pittsburgh Steelers this year. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is suspended for four games and wide receiver Santonio Holmes is now on the New York Jets. What are your expectations for their season?
Jerome Bettis: I think this is going to be a good year for the Steelers in the sense that it’s going to show them what type of team they are without Ben. Also, it’s going to help build the running game, which they need to do anyway. I think this becomes a pre-curser to the team they want to be. When Ben comes back, you’ll have a solid running game with a solid passing game and I think that makes for a championship caliber football team.
PND: If the Steelers were to call you up and say, “We need ‘The Bus.’ He’s our only hope,” would you go back?
Jerome Bettis: I’d tell them, “The Bus has four flat tires, so you don’t want me.”
The Nightly Turbo: Collusion Scandal, Another Reality Poker Show in the Works, and More
Darvin Moon Interview with Bernard Lee
Darvin Moon is the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event runner-up and is back in Las Vegas to take part in the world’s biggest poker tournament once again. He joins Bernard Lee on his segment, The Hijack Seat, and answers questions both about last year’s amazing run and what is in store for this year. Moon used a straightforward poker approach to nearly win the Main Event and knocked out most of the competition at the final table, including Phil Ivey.
Bernard Lee is a guest columnist and is the official spokesperson for Foxwoods Casino and can also be seen co-hosting ESPN’s poker show, Inside Deal.
Liv Boeree and UB.com Renegotiating Contract
Rumblings around the Amazon Room, site of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, have Liv Boeree and UB.com parting ways. However, Poker News Daily can independently confirm that the two sides are actively renegotiating Boeree’s contract.
Boeree made waves in April after taking down the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) San Remo Main Event for $1.7 million. She bested the largest European EPT field ever of 1,240 in the process and defeated Sweden’s Jakob Carlsson heads-up. Boeree’s win was the latest in the so-called Year of the Woman, which also included Annie Duke winning the National Heads-Up Poker Championship and Vanessa Selbst taking down the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Mohegan Sun Main Event.
Poker News Daily has learned that Boeree’s contract has expired, but the two sides are pursuing a new deal. A UB.com spokesperson explained on Thursday, “Liv’s contract has expired. We are in contract renegotiation discussions now.” The negotiations are expected to come to a head within a week.
Meanwhile, the 2010 WSOP Main Event is playing out at the Rio in Las Vegas. Boeree played on Day 1B on Tuesday, running into a set of kings during the first level to cripple her stack. Then, she was poised for a much-needed double up with pocket jacks, but an opponent with pocket eights found a set. Boeree has never cashed in a WSOP tournament with a buy-in greater than $2,000. This year, she turned in three in the money finishes for $8,000 total.
Boeree, who is dating fellow poker pro Allie Prescott, still appears on UB.com’s website as a sponsored pro. The U.K. native was born in 1984 and, 21 years later, appeared on “Ultimate Poker Showdown.” There, she received instruction from Annie Duke, Phil Hellmuth, and David “Devilfish” Ulliott and the rest, as they say, is history. Duke and Hellmuth now front Team UB, while Ulliott serves as the namesake behind the Entraction Network site Devilfish Poker.
In May 2008, Boeree took down the Ladbrokes Poker European Ladies Championship for $42,000. Then, she final tabled a preliminary event held during the Aussie Millions in 2009 for another $13,000. The same year, Boeree took 37th in the World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship at the Bellagio for $40,000, nearly doubling her $25,000 buy-in. Her crowning glory remains her win in San Remo, where she became just the third woman ever to win an EPT title, joining Vicky Coren (EPT London in 2006) and Sandra Naujoks (EPT Dortmund in 2009).
Besides Hellmuth, Duke, and Boeree, UB.com’s roster of sponsored pros also includes former “Poker2Nite” host Joe Sebok, “Amazing Race” contestant Tiffany Michelle, two-time bracelet winner Brandon Cantu, and Anthrax’s Scott Ian. In early June, Cantu re-signed with UB.com for one year. UB.com pros were spotted at the site’s get-together at the Mandarin Oriental bar at CityCenter in Las Vegas on Monday. The night ended with a shotgun wedding as part of a site-sponsored prop bet contest.
Recent player signings include David Williams and Vanessa Selbst inking agreements with PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site. In addition, PokerStars is sponsoring the stable of pros belonging to Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy and Eric “sheets” Haber during the Main Event, which includes well-known players like Nick “fu_15” Maimone, and Jamie “TheNew” Robbins. Back in May, Amanda Musumeci joined the ranks of Bodog, which parted ways with Williams, Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, and Jean-Robert Bellande.
Tags: 2008, 2009, 2010, Annie Duke, bellagio, bodog, european, Justin Bonomo, ladies, Online Poker, Phil Hellmuth, poker player, poker show, pokerstars, Tiffany Michelle, tournament, vegas, woman, WSOP
DoylesRoom Brunson 10 Candidate Dan Kelly Wins WSOP $25,000 Six-Max NLHE
In the $25,000 Six-Handed No Limit Hold’em event at the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP), six players came back on Saturday to determine a champion. Eliminated on Friday evening were favorites Carlos Mortensen (17th), Daniel Negreanu (11th), and Isaac Haxton (9th), but the final table still provided exciting action. Leading the tournament when six-handed play began was DoylesRoom Brunson 10 candidate Dan “djk123” Kelly, who held a nearly 2-1 lead over 2010 WSOP double bracelet winner Frank Kassela.
In what was the quickest final table at this year’s WSOP at 4.5 hours, Kelly was able to hold off the charge of some highly skilled pros. Eugene Katchalov was the first to depart and, while he wasn’t able to take the bracelet, Katchalov’s finish marked his fourth final table at this year’s WSOP. Eugene has banked over $500,000 for his performances over the last six weeks.
Another top player, Mikael Thuritz, was dismissed in fifth. After making the final table of the $50,000 Player’s Championship, Thuritz’s performance at this final table marked his third cash of his WSOP, with no cash lower than 13th place.
Kassela was dispatched from the final table in third place, ending what would have been a historic run at a third WSOP bracelet this year. With his finish, Kassela surged into the lead of the WSOP Player of the Year race. He currently sits with 285 points, 60 more than John Juanda and 75 more than Vladimir Shchemelev. Since only the Main Event remains, Juanda would have to finish at least third to tie Kassela; Shchemelev would have to finish second.
Canada’s Shawn Buchanan was the runner-up to Kelly, but he has to be happy with his performance at this year’s WSOP. His second place finish was his eighth cash of the year, tying him with Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler for the lead.
With the victory in Event #52, Kelly also has the chance at a very special reward. His sponsor, DoylesRoom, is currently running a battle featuring Kelly, David “Doc Sands” Sands, Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka, and Michael “Martine23” Martin for the next position with the powerful Brunson 10. Whoever garners the most points in all events at the WSOP will take the seat alongside such notable young players as Amit “amak316” Makhija, Zachary “CrazyZachary” Clark, and Chris “moorman1” Moorman:
1. Dan “djk123” Kelly (Potomac, MD) – $1,315,518
2. Shawn Buchanan (Abootsford, British Columbia) – $812,941
3. Frank Kassela (Rossville, TN) – $556,053
4. Jason Somerville (Stony Brook, NY) – $386,125
5. Mikael Thuritz (Las Vegas, NV) – $272,084
6. Eugene Katchalov (New York, NY) – $194,559
The highly popular Ante Up for Africa charity event also played out during action on Saturday. The non-bracelet event, created by Poker News Daily guest columnist Annie Duke, acclaimed actor Don Cheadle, and Norman Epstein four years ago to raise awareness about the issues in Darfur, drew in 83 players, including several top pros and many celebrities. Players such as former Main Event champion Joe Hachem, Erik Seidel, Player’s Championship winner Michael Mizrachi, and Duke joined celebrities such as talk show host Montel Williams, boxing legend Evander Holyfield, Australian footballer Shane Warne, NFL great Jerome Bettis, and “Rounders” actor Matt Damon to raise money for the cause.
Seidel and Bettis both made the final table and went out in fifth and sixth place, respectively. The final duo that battled for the championship were Carbon Poker’s Shannon Elizabeth and top pro Phil Gordon, both veterans of the Bravo poker series “Celebrity Poker Showdown.” Gordon was able to defeat Elizabeth during heads-up play and then immediately turned around and donated his winnings back to Ante Up for Africa. All totaled, the charitable tournament raised over $275,000 to support the cause that Duke and Cheadle have brought to the poker world’s attention.
1. Phil Gordon (Henderson, NV) – $129,086
2. Shannon Elizabeth (Los Angeles, CA) – $79,776
3. Aleksey Filatov (Norwood, MA) – $55,843
4. Carter Phillips (Las Vegas, NV) – $40,676
5. Erik Seidel (Las Vegas, NV) – $29,926
6. Jerome Bettis (Roswell, GA) – $22,355
7. Barry Hartheimer (New York, NY) – $17,930
8. Kyle Carlston (Henderson, NV) – $14,945
9. Claire Renaut (London, United Kingdom) – $12,843
Although the Main Event begins tomorrow, there are still four tournaments in progress. In the final $1,000 No Limit Hold’em event, David Peters leads the field into Day 3. With 47 players remaining, the final nine will be the target late this evening and the final table will play out on Monday.
The final $10,000 World Championship event (#55), Pot Limit Omaha, will determine a champion today with a staunch final table. Ludovic Lacay leads an international field that includes second place pursuer Daniel Alaei and 2007 WSOP Main Event fourth place finisher Alexander Kravchenko.
Event #56, $2,500 No Limit Hold’em, will also play deep into the night to determine a final table. Corwin “mig.com” Mackey holds a 2-1 lead over Sweden’s Christian Jeppsson when play continues this afternoon. Other notable players on the leader board include Jon “PearlJammer” Turner, Dan Shak, and Court Harrington.
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the 2010 WSOP.
Tags: 2010, Annie Duke, Australia, Canada, charity, Daniel Negreanu, Online Poker, poker player, poker show, skill, tournament, vegas, WSOP
The Poker Show returns this week
Inside Look at the Hijack Seat with Bernard Lee
With the 41st annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) well underway, there have already been several highlights including:
1. Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi captured Event #2, the $50,000 Poker Player’s Championship. En route to winning his first bracelet, he eliminated his brother, Robert, in fifth place, while removing himself from “The Best Player Without a Bracelet” List.
2. Phil Hellmuth created a huge buzz as he made Day 3 in Event #8 ($1,500 No Limit Hold’em), vying for his 12th WSOP bracelet. Alas, his bid came up short, as he finished in 15th place.
3. Men “The Master” Nguyen won his seventh bracelet in Event #10, $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship.
4. Tom “durrrr” Dwan just missed his first bracelet in Event #11 ($1,500 No Limit Hold’em), finishing second to New Zealander Simon Watt, which also prevented him from collecting on several very lucrative prop bracelet bets.
5. Eric Buchman, a member of the 2009 November Nine, was able to win his own bracelet in Event #18, $2,000 Limit Hold’em. Buchman, who finished fourth in the 2009 WSOP Main Event, also came close to a bracelet in 2006, finishing as the runner-up in Event #4, $1,500 Limit Hold’em.
6. Another WSOP Main Event final tablist from 2005, John “Tex” Barch, won his first bracelet in Event #25, $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha.
7. Sammy Farha, who is dubiously best known for finishing as the runner-up to Chris Moneymaker in the 2003 WSOP Main Event, captured his third bracelet in Event #25, the $10,000 Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better Championship.
Additionally, during the WSOP, Poker News Daily and I introduced a new show called The Hijack Seat. The idea for the show actually originated back in June 2009. I came up with the concept of doing audio interviews similar to my radio show, but primarily focused on the players at the WSOP. After discussing the idea with Poker News Daily, there was significant interest, but we realized that there was very little time to work out the details. Thus, they requested that I contact them in early 2010 if I were still interested. In some respects, it was a blessing in disguise, as ESPN Inside Deal began work behind the scenes during the summer and I was extremely busy with the start of the show. Therefore, I put the show idea on the back burner until next year.
Once the new year arrived, I was very interested in the show for the 2010 WSOP. When I reached out to Poker News Daily at the beginning of this year, they asked if the show could be video interviews since the site had expanded its capabilities. After further discussions, I agreed and decided to move forward with it.
I chose the show’s name, The Hijack Seat, for a few reasons. First, I thought the name was somewhat original and cool. With the button, under the gun, and cutoff fairly common, the hijack seat is a relatively new term in poker. Also, to interview my guests, I temporarily “hijack” the player to ask them questions that are somewhat unique and informative. Finally, a player sitting in the hijack seat must get through four spots (cutoff seat, button, small blind, and big blind) to steal the blinds and antes. Thus, I ask them four questions at the end of every program before I let them go.
I hope that you have seen an episode, but if not, here are links to the first few shows and a quick synopsis:
Greg Raymer: “The Fossilman,” who was my first guest, talked about why he likes to rent a house instead of staying at the Rio and what he brings in his daily bag just in case. View Part 1 and Part 2.
Billy Baxter: The seven-time bracelet winner discusses his love of Lowball and his relationship with Stu Ungar.
Howard Lederer: “The Professor” discusses his relationship with Doyle Brunson and his prop bet with David Grey. View Part 1 and Part 2.
Dennis Phillips: The 2008 November Niner talks about his lucky coin, special watch, and prize cows (that’s right, this is not a misprint).
Since the introduction of the show, several people have e-mailed me asking how I am able to interview certain players. Overall, there are three ways. First, I am fortunate that several of these players are personal friends. Second, I have forged relationships with some of these players via my work with ESPN and my radio show. Finally, I have been playing in several 5:00pm events (mostly Mixed Games) and many of the pros play in these events vying for the shot at a bracelet.
I am constantly trying to bring you the best guests and get interesting information about poker and their lives. I hope you will enjoy the future installments of The Hijack Seat.
Bernard Lee is the official spokesperson of Foxwoods Resort Casino. Lee is the co-host of ESPN Inside Deal, host of PokerNewsDaily.com’s Hijack Seat, a columnist for the ESPN.com, Sunday columnist for the Boston Herald, and author of “The Final Table, Volume I” and “Volume II.” Visit BernardLeePoker.com. Listen to “The Bernard Lee Poker Show” presented by Foxwoods Resort Casino every Tuesday from 6:00pm to 7:00pm on 1120 AM in Boston (MoneyMatterBoston.com or RoundersRadio.com). For questions or comments, e-mail him at BernardLeePoker@hotmail.com.
Smith Breaks WSOP Duck With 1st Bracelet Win
After many years of trying, Smith has finally laid his WSOP ghosts to rest after triumphing in the $2.5k Mixed Hold'em Event at the 2010 World Series Of Poker.
"I always thought I was going to come back and I always thought I was going to win," said a beaming Smith following his victory for $268,238.
Canadian Smith has accumulated an impressive $5 million in poker winnings during his 16 year poker career, including 4 WPT final tables and an outright WPT victory at the 2005 Mirage Poker Showdown.
However, despite this success, two previous runner-up spots on WSOP final tables may have left Smith wondering if he would ever be able to seal the deal at poker's primetime series.
His early form in the 2010 WSOP looked unlikely to see him break his World Series duck - but then everything fell into place.
"This year, I thought I'm gonna try my best and you know what, I kept coming in and getting my teeth kicked in," said Smith.
"I wasn't seeing the results, then the last three days, everything's just clicked and I felt like I played really well, I ran really well and it felt really special."
When asked if the bracelet would change him in any way, Smith's answer was emphatic.
"The bracelet doesn't really change anything," he said. "I'm going to come back tomorrow the same guy. It's just now I'm part of that club I've always wanted to be a part of."
Part of Smith's enduring popularity is his down-to-earth attitude toward his many successes and he showed humility following his hard-fought victory.
"I'm an old guy from Ontario who used to drive taxis - now I'm sitting here with hundreds of people coming out to watch me play poker while I win $200,000," said Smith.
"There's nothing in my life that can be considered a curse....every single minute of it is a blessing."
Smith's win brought Canada level with the United Kingdom on the 2010 WSOP bracelet leaderboard - both countries holding five bracelets apiece now.
(With files from Jackie Witt)
To read more about how this exciting tournament played out, as well as see other news from the World Series, visit PokerListings WSOP 2010 page to keep up to date.
Visit PokerListings.com
June 24th – Daily Deal
A very Happy Thursday to everyone! Today on the Daily Deal by Poker News Daily, we play paparazzi for Tiffany Michelle’s twenty-sixth birthday party and address a rumor that Phil Ivey won’t play in the WSOP Tournament of Champions and bring you the latest news from the Rio.
Hello, I’m Sean Gibson and welcome to the Daily Deal by Poker News Daily. More bracelets were handed out at the Rio in Las Vegas for the 2010 World Series of Poker. In Event number 36 it was former November Niner Scott Montgomery who won the $1,000 buy-in no limit hold’em tournament. He outlasted over 3,000 opponents for his first bracelet and nearly a half million dollars. Event number 39 was the $1,500 no limit holdem shootout which was won by Steve Kelly. The 21 old is an online cash game pro and made almost $400,000 for winning this event. Finally, it was Frank Kassela winning Event Number forty for his second WSOP bracelet this season. This time it came in the $2,500 dollar Razz event with Kassela winning over two hundred and ten thousand dollars.
In a recent installment of the ESPN Poker Edge Podcast, Full Tilt pro Phil Gordon revealed that Phil Ivey may skip this year’s WSOP Tournament of Champions, “I heard that Phil Ivey is not even going to play. I was told that because there is a bracelet event the same day as the TOC, Phil isn’t going to play the TOC… You might be seeing Ivey running back and forth from the TV table.”
According to Pokerati, Ivey has a five million bet with Howard Lederer that he’ll win two bracelets by the conclusion of the two thousand eleven WSOP, so he can ill-afford to miss events. On this week’s ESPN’s Inside Deal, poker pro Barry Greenstein, who was also voted into the Tournament of Champions, weighed in on whether he thought Ivey would play, “I haven’t even talked to Phil about it. I would guess he would play. What he was probably concerned about was the way they had it set up initially, it was going to conflict with him playing in events and he has a bunch of side bets.”
Ivey was the top vote getter for the WSOP Tournament of Champions. I guess we’ll have to wait and see if he’s in attendance.
Finally, it wouldn’t be a poker show without an inside look at Tiffany Michelle’s birthday bash. The poker diva and last woman standing in the two thousand eight World Series of Poker Main Event celebrated in style, hitting up Crystals at CityCenter in Las Vegas. Joining her were “Amazing Race” team member Maria Ho, Adam “Roothlus” Levy, and several other pros.
Michele was seen posing on the red carpet at the Eve Nightclub and noshing on a three-tier chocolate cake crafted by the Gimme Some Sugary Bakery. Rather than describe it to you, here’s a picture for you to chew on.
Thanks for joining me on The Daily Deal. Don’t forget to visit PokerNewsDaily.com and be sure to follow us at Twitter.com/PokerNewsDaily for the latest in poker news. This is Sean Gibson, wishing you the best of luck at the tables!
Tags: 2010, Barry Greenstein, Phil Ivey, poker show, Tiffany Michelle, tournament, usa, vegas, woman, WSOP
Joe Sebok Recaps First Month of the 2010 WSOP
We’re halfway through the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP), which wraps up on July 17th at the Rio in Las Vegas with the final nine runners in the Main Event. Camped out in the Nevada desert is UB.com pro and PokerRoad personality Joe Sebok.
Poker News Daily: Tell us how your WSOP has gone so far.
Joe Sebok: I’m playing a lot less poker than I normally do because I’ve been trying to handle the UB.com and PokerRoad duties as well. I’ve played about 10 events of the first 40. So many people who are in poker media have been around since 2005. Now, everything we do out here is business-oriented rather than partying and going crazy.
PND: Do you have any sort of playing schedule mapped out from here?
Joe Sebok: I just check the schedule ahead of time and then play. I’m happy with how I’ve been playing even though I don’t have a lot of cashes. I’ve been taking beats in the middle of Day 2s. If I feel like playing one day and don’t have a lot going on, I’ll hop into a tournament. This year, if I don’t feel like playing, I won’t.
PND: You Tweeted that your Father’s Day gift for Barry Greenstein would be a WSOP bracelet. Have you been rooting him on?
Joe Sebok: I hope he gets one. He’s had a super rough Series so far and doesn’t have a cash. He’s played in so many events too. We’ve been talking on PokerRoad about how a lot of people aren’t doing anything this year. The more established pros like Barry Greenstein, Annie Duke, Chris Ferguson, and Howard Lederer have been pretty quiet.
PND: What were your thoughts on the final field of 27 for the WSOP Tournament of Champions, which begins on Sunday?
Joe Sebok: There are a definitely a lot of people that should be in that aren’t. A system like that boils down to popularity. I don’t think that field comes close to featuring the best No Limit Hold’em players in the world. The voting was restricted to bracelet winners, but there are a lot of better No Limit Hold’em players who didn’t make it. Everyone knew going in that it was going to be a popularity contest, however.
PND: What are your thoughts on how the UB.com pro stable has fared so far?
Joe Sebok: It seems like it’s been pretty quiet. It seems like all across the board it hasn’t been a WSOP for big names. Everything is redeemed with one tournament, though, so it’s never over until it’s over. It is surprising that none of the big names has blown up. We’ve been saying on PokerRoad that every year, these fields are going to get bigger and tougher. All of these kids coming in are not like we were coming in. These guys have been playing for longer and they’re so much better.
PND: Do you see “Poker2Nite” being renewed down the road? We know it’s currently on hold.
Joe Sebok: It definitely could happen again and things can always get picked back up. I’m definitely not ruling it out and we loved doing it. You just take it with a grain of salt and there are always so many opportunities out there. I think ultimately these shows boil down to conversions. In most other poker shows, you can win your way on, so it provides a mechanism to sign up for the site. I still think “Poker2Nite” is a great show. It provides something to the poker community that people really enjoy.
PND: How have the PokerRoad shows been going from Las Vegas?
Joe Sebok: The shows have been great. Joe Stapleton had to step back to do the “Big Game” for PokerStars, so we brought in Jeremiah Smith and they’ve gone well. I thought that bringing someone into the fold would take time, but he’s taken to it like a fish to water.
Tags: 2010, Annie Duke, Barry Greenstein, poker player, poker show, pokerstars, tournament, vegas, WSOP
World Poker Tour Signs Veteran Tournament Director Matt Savage
Earlier this week, the World Poker Tour (WPT) moved to solidify its leadership staff with the hiring of noted tournament director Matt Savage.
The WPT stated that Savage will assume the newly created role of Executive Tour Director. This position, according to the WPT release, will place Savage as the liaison between the organization and the players, with Savage in the position to improve such areas as player communication, tournament offerings, tour cohesiveness, and growth of the WPT. With its ninth season set to begin on July 11th with the Bellagio Cup VI in Las Vegas, the WPT is looking to make the tour and schedule one of the best in the tournament poker world.
“Matt is one of the world’s foremost experts on poker tournaments,” said Steve Heller, the Chief Executive Officer of the WPT. “Matt’s expertise and relationships in the poker community will greatly enhance our upcoming ninth season.” Savage himself stated during the announcement, “I am excited about this opportunity to work with WPT as their Executive Tour Director. The World Poker Tour is one of the most respected and recognizable brands in poker and I am happy to be a part of its efforts to improve tournament poker for players, fans and casinos.” Savage encourages anyone who has concerns, thoughts, or ideas for the WPT to contact him.
Savage’s new responsibilities with the WPT shouldn’t affect his numerous directing capacities. On Twitter, in response to a question from a follower, Savage affirmed that he will still handle the overseeing of his tournaments in San Jose and Los Angeles as well as the upcoming Detox Poker Series at the Hard Rock. The Detox Poker Series will play out from August 13th to 22nd in Las Vegas while the WPT stop at the Legends of Poker at the Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens, California is playing.
The response from the poker community has been overwhelmingly in support of the addition of Savage to the WPT’s leadership. Many players, such as UB.com’s Adam “Roothlus” Levy, Christian Harder, Alex Outhred, and DoylesRoom Brunson 10 member Amit “amak316” Makhija have Tweeted their congratulations to someone who knows both sides of the table. When he isn’t running tournaments, Savage is known to step to the felt to take part in the action. When asked on Twitter which one he would rather be – a top professional poker player or the top tournament director in the game – Savage responded, “One is attainable (for me) and the other is not! I’ll stick to what I am best at.”
Savage has been a part of WPT action before, but never in an official capacity. He has been the longtime tournament director at Bay 101 and its WPT event, the Shooting Star No Limit Hold’em bounty event. This year, he added in duties at the Commerce Casino’s L.A. Poker Classic. These are but a few of the highlights of what has been a remarkable career officiating the action on the felt.
Savage has appeared on more than 300 televised poker shows on nearly every outlet that poker has appeared on like Fox Sports Net, the Travel Channel, GSN, and ESPN. He has also officiated tournaments overseas, such as Asian Poker Tour stops in Macau, and once was the tournament director of the World Series of Poker. He was also the host of a nationally televised show called “Inside Poker” and performed as an actor in the poker movie “Lucky You.” One of the founders of the Tournament Directors Association, Savage was also a recipient of the inaugural Benny Binion Award for outstanding service in the poker industry.