Poker News

Daniel Alaei Wins at Bellagio, Captures First WPT Title

Alaei (pictured), a winner of two WSOP bracelets, added a WPT title to his resume after beating a strong final table at Bellagio, including former WPT winners Scotty Nguyen and Shawn Buchanan. At one point of the final Alaei was the short stack with only 8 big blinds, but managed to fight his way back to the heads-up against Josh Arieh and eventually to the victory.

First player of the final table was Steve O’Dwyer, who pushed his 19 big blind stack all in from the small blind with A-6 suited against Nguyen. Scotty quickly called with a pair of jacks in his hand and the flop of J-7-6 almost sealed the the fate of O’Dwyer. Ace on the turn gave him some more outs, but a four on the river meant that O’Dwyer was out in 6th Place winning $202,362.

Nguyen couldn’t keep up the pace though, as he was next player hitting the rail. After an under the gun raise by Josh Arieh, Scotty moved all in with 9-9 and Faraz Jaka repeated the move forcing Arieh to fold. Scotty was in a rough shape against a pair of kings Jaka had in his pocket. The board gave no help for “The Prince of Poker” and he was out in 5th place, pocketing $249,976 for his efforts.

A former WPT winner Shawn Buchanan couldn’t repeat the feat this time as he was ousted by future winner Alaei in 4th place. Buchanan moved all in with K-8, but was dominated by Alaei who had A-K in the pocket. Fourth place finish earned Buchanan respectable $333,302 in cash.

Three-handed play lasted only twelwe hands and the heads-up duo was set when Jaka moved all in with A-6 and Alaei woke up with K-K from the big blind. Alaei flopped a set and Jaka was out in 3rd place and $571,374 richer.

Josh Arieh started the heads-up play with a 2:1 chip lead, but Alaei turned the tide in just the second hand of the HU, when he won a coinflip with Q-Q against A-K. Alaei widened the cap between the two and almost had the victory in his hands when Arieh moved all in with A-7 against Alaei’s A-Q. Arieh luckboxed a seven on the turn and the pair was back in level.

But only three hands later Alaei got a revenge, when he flopped a top pair with T-8, on a T-5-2 board, against a pair of sevens. Arieh moved all in thinking his hand was good and the call from Alaei meant that Arieh was in a need of a miracle. Arieh couldn’t spike a seven on the turn or on the river though and Alaei was crowned the champion of the last WPT in 2009.

Here is the final payouts of the WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic at Bellagio:

1. Daniel Alaei – $1,428,430
2. Josh Arieh – $952,290
3. Faraz Jaka – $571,374
4. Shawn Buchanan – $333,302
5. Scotty Nguyen – $249,976
6. Steve O’Dwyer - $202,362
7. Joe Cassidy – $154,747
8. Eric Hershler – $107,133
9. Curt Kohlberg – $76,183
10. Chad Batista – $57,137
11. John Juanda – $57,137
12. Lee Salem – $57,137
13. Mike Sowers – $47,615
14. Carter King – $47,615
15. Matt Waxman – $47,615
16. Joseph Elpayaa – $38,092
17. Brent Hanks - $38,092
18. Jamie Rosen - $38,092
19. Jeremy Brown - $28,569
20. Matt Stout - $28,569
21. Steven Landfish - $28,569
22. Farshad Fardad - $28,569
23. Antonio Esfandiari - $28,569
24. Joe Pulliam - $28,569
25. Steve Brecher - $28,569
26. Amit Makhija - $28,569
27. Michael McClain - $28,569

Source

You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com

Daniel Alaei Wins at Bellagio, Captures First WPT Title

Alaei: Out of Bobby’s Room and Into a WPT Title

“This is great,” Alaei said moments after the win Saturday. “I’ve been wanting one of these for a while. I was basically the only one of my friends that didn’t have one, now I’ve got one and it feels great.”

The tournament began at Bellagio this past Monday with 329 players entering the fray by time registration closed.

But it did so without the eventual champion, who chose to spend Day 1 letting his stack be blinded off while he stuck it out in Bobby’s Room in a cash game with noted whale and Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté.

Alaei immediately went to work Tuesday building a big stack that put him contention before making a final six Friday pundits dubbed one of the toughest in tour history.

When play got going just after 4 p.m. Saturday, short staked online pro Steve O’Dwyer moved up the leader board with a few well timed shoves, but soon ran into Scotty Nguyen and a pair of jacks pushing with A♦ 6♦.

Nguyen flopped a set, and although O’Dwyer picked up two pair on the turn, the river bricked to bounce him sixth.

Nguyen could not hold on to those chips, however, falling below the two million mark before open shoving with nines.

WPT Bellagio Cup runner-up Faraz Jaka made the easy call with kings and after a board of blanks, the Prince of Poker was forced to settle for fifth place money in his sixth WPT final table appearance.

Shawn Buchanan then dropped out fourth in his attempt at a second WPT win, shoving short with K♥ 8♦ and running smack into Alaei’s A♣ K♦.

A short stacked Josh Arieh doubled up twice early to jump back into contention and scooped a more than 3 million chip pot calling down a naked Jaka bluff with just ace-high to move into the chip lead.

Despite not being involved in any of the bust-out hands, all the chips seemed to end up in Josh Arieh’s stack, and just after play went three-handed, he had an almost 3:1 chip lead on Alaei and Jaka combined.

Alaei moved on to heads-up with Arieh, calling Jaka’s A♠ 6♥ shove with kings and flopping a set to send Jaka home third in a hand the 26-year-old Santa Fe Springs, California native described as critical.

“That was extremely crucial,” he explained. “I knew I wanted to get heads-up with Josh, but if Josh would have busted him I would have only had 3 million to his 16 million and that would have been really tough.”

Arieh, a two-time WSOP bracelet winner making his second WPT final table appearance, still held an almost 2:1 chip lead when heads-up began, but it didn’t last long.

In just the second hand of heads-up play the two combatants found themselves in a classic race with Alaei all in holding queens and Arieh on big slick.

The queens held and suddenly Alaei was the one in charge.

“There was really nothing we could do - Two queens against ace-king,” he said. “It just kind of played out and I’m happy to be the one standing here.”

Alaei gave back some chips when Arieh sucked out with a dominated ace, but eventually made a huge call with top pair against Arieh’s under-pair to book the $1,428,430 win.

Alaei, who has two WSOP bracelets and is a regular in the Big Game and TV’s High Stakes Poker, said the experience he has playing in the world’s biggest cash games paid great dividends.

“I’m more used to the swings,” he said. “I’m used to big money changing hands. That makes you more comfortable and that definitely had to give me an advantage here.”

Visit PokerListings.com

Nguyen on Winning

But it’s more than money that motivates him.

“It’s not the money,” he told PokerListings. “When you win tournaments, fame and money come with it. For me it’s so important to bring home the title. You want to show the world you still have it, you can come out and compete.”

Competing is exactly what Nguyen has done this week at the WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic.

From a field filled with 329 of the biggest names in poker, just 16 players are still in the hunt for an almost $1.5 million first-place prize headed into Day 5 Friday.

Nguyen was among the leaders before a late fall from grace that has him short stacked.

However, he still retains a shot at making the final table and booking the win.

Nguyen’s $10,705,581 in career earnings has him sixth on poker’s all-time money winners’ list and a win at Bellagio this week would push him up to fourth all-time above Phil Hellmuth and only below Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey and 2006 Main Event champion Jamie Gold.

Nguyen has five World Series of Poker bracelets and this past April he finished sixth at the WPT Championship, marking his sixth WPT final table.

However, the 1998 WSOP Main Event champion still feels like he has to fight for respect.

“I get older and people lose respect,” the 48-year-old Las Vegas resident said. “They say I don’t have my game no more, I’m scared. All those young guns, 21 or 22 years old, they have big hearts, but Scotty has a bigger one, baby.

“They got nothing to lose. They’re bluffing you, they try to embarrass you and laugh at you. They say I’m too old and I should retire, but I don’t let that bother me. I let my game show them, baby. You can laugh all you want, but I am the one laughing all the way to the bank.”

Things haven’t always been roses for Nguyen. There was public scorn over a rather embarrassing finish to the 2008 WSOP $50k H.O.R.S.E. event where he has admitted his emotions and alcohol got the best of him.

Plus, like all poker players, he’s had downswings and periods when it felt like he would never win again.

But the man they call the Prince of Poker, who fled his native Vietnam in 1978 for the United States, says it’s the tough times that have made him a better poker player, and a better person.

“When you hit hard times and things don’t go your way, it can only make you become stronger,” he explained. “When my back is against the wall and I look around and say ‘what am I doing, I can’t win, what happened to me?’ I just rewind and think about what I’ve been doing wrong and know that I have to change it.

“Hard times, that’s what you learn from.”

When the cards hit the air at Bellagio Friday at 12 p.m. PT and the play down to the final six commences, Nguyen will have just one thing on his mind – Winning.

“I’ve seen it all in poker: Good times, bad times, happiness, sadness,” he said. “I just want to let everybody know, Scotty still has it. I have to go out there and show them. Not just talk about, anybody can say it, I want to show the people.

“I just have to trust myself and go out there and show it.”

To follow Nguyen and all the action from the WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic, tune into PokerListings’ Live Updates.

Visit PokerListings.com

2009 WSOP Year in Review

When the late gaming legend Benny Binion brought the World Series of Poker (WSOP) on the world, little did he know what it would become. What began 40 years ago as a gathering of Texas road gamblers in a quaint Las Vegas hotel has grown to become a behemoth that now spans an entire calendar year. By 2009, the WSOP was no longer a week-long reunion, but rather a year-long caravan that traverses the United States and ventures across the Atlantic to play in England.

While many may still think the WSOP begins in June, it truly takes place year-round with the WSOP Circuit. Now in its fifth year, the WSOP Circuit was created to combat the drawing power and success of the World Poker Tour (WPT) and, for the most part, has been successful. In 2009, many Circuit events took place that brought special moments.

The WSOP Circuit could be considered the minor leagues of poker, offering previously unknown players a chance to make their name in the game. In addition, such professional players as Gavin Smith, Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, Men “The Master” Nguyen, Matt “All In At 420” Stout, and Alex Bolotin made final tables during the run of the 2009 WSOP Circuit schedule prior to the start of the Las Vegas WSOP in May. Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo and Los Angeles poker veteran Jean “Prince” Gaspard took home WSOP Circuit championships, but perhaps the person who can say he “pwns” the Circuit is Dwyte Pilgrim.

Pilgrim began an unprecedented run by capturing the title at Harrah’s Rincon in San Diego in April and rolled off four consecutive cashes in WSOP Circuit Championship Events, something that no other player had ever done. With this performance, the Brooklyn, New York poker player established himself as one of the up and coming stars of poker.

Days after Gaspard’s triumph at the New Orleans WSOP Circuit Championship Event, the 40th Anniversary WSOP kicked off in Las Vegas at the Rio. With a new sponsor in Jack Links Beef Jerky, the 57 bracelet events drew combatants from around the world, with over 120 nations represented. While it wasn’t known when the cards first flew in late May, the 40th WSOP would go down as arguably one of the best of all time.

For the first time ever at the WSOP, a No Limit Texas Hold’em event was held that exceeded the traditional $10,000 Championship Event. The $40,000 Anniversary Special drew some of the top names in the game. Former World Champion Greg Raymer drove deep into the event before falling in third place. Eventual champion Vitaly Lunkin bested Isaac Haxton to take down the once in a lifetime championship.

In such a combative field over the multitude of events, there were an astounding four multiple bracelet winners during the 2009 WSOP. Full Tilt Poker could claim two in Phil Ivey and Greg “FBT” Mueller and Brock Parker announced his arrival on the poker world with his two bracelet victories. Making history, though, was poker veteran Jeffrey Lisandro; his three bracelet wins in different Stud disciplines were enough to enable him to capture the 2009 WSOP Player of the Year award.

The $10,000 Main Event drew a substantial field of 6,494, which would have been larger except for a Day 1D fiasco that prevented an estimated additional 500 players from participating. After two weeks of play, the poker world was once again set for the November Nine, with amateur poker player Darvin Moon leading a pack of players that included Ivey and fellow poker notable Jeff Shulman.

The £10,000 WSOP Europe Main Event drew 334 players and saw two members of the 2009 “November Nine,” Antoine Saout and James Akenhead, make the final table. Eventual champion Barry Shulman, the father of Jeff, defeated crowd favorite Daniel Negreanu via a stunning, rivered two-outer on the next to last hand of the tournament.

After the furor of WSOP Europe calmed down, the November Nine came back to the felt on November 7th to determine the next World Champion. Moon held his own at the final table, as Ivey was dismissed in seventh and Shulman departed in fifth. Saout made a stirring run at the title, starting as the short stack, but battling through adversity to finish third. The true story of the November Nine, though, was Joe Cada.

Cada rode a roller coaster through the final table, his chip stack surging up and down throughout the 14-hour battle. At one point, his stack was at 2.5 million, but he began a comeback for the ages.

With a tremendous chip lead, the youthful Cada, who was weaned on online play, seemed to be the odds-on favorite to take out Moon, who eschewed sponsorship from online poker rooms. It took a rousing two and a half hours of play, with the chip lead shifting back and forth, before Cada emerged as the champion. With the victory, Cada eclipsed the record for youngest WSOP Main Event champion ever, set in 2008 by Peter Eastgate.

The most stunning development of the year in the WSOP occurred after the completion of the November Nine. Longtime WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack announced on November 13th that he would step down as the leader of the penultimate event in poker after a four-year run. During his time as Commissioner, Pollack increased the visibility of the WSOP, brought huge sponsorships to the tournament, and introduced the November Nine concept to the Main Event. While there were some low points in his tenure as commissioner, Pollack helped to enrich the history of the WSOP and left his mark on the venerable institution. As of December, there has been no move to replace Pollack in the position of WSOP Commissioner.

As the calendar turns to 2010, the WSOP continues to roll along. Even now, people are already in preparation for the event, much as it has been for the past 40 years and will continue to be for decades to come.

Greg Sessler Wins Ladies Championship at Lake Tahoe WSOP Circuit Stop

The latter part of the 2009 calendar year has seen at least two Ladies events won by males during major tournament series. During September’s Borgata Poker Open, Abraham Korotki emerged victorious in a $300 buy-in Ladies No Limit Hold’em event. This weekend, Greg Sessler took down the Ladies Championship during the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit stop at Harvey’s Lake Tahoe.

According to a press release distributed by WSOP officials on Sunday, the Circuit’s Lake Tahoe stop has seen more females take down tournaments (six) than any other venue. Over the weekend, the Nevada city saw a male earn the “W” in a Ladies event. How could this happen, you ask? Tournament officials explained, “The WSOP isn’t a political organization and can’t be expected to get involved in debates about sexism, discrimination, or other polarizing issues which may be applicable to poker tournaments.” If males wish to enter a ladies tournament, it is technically within their right to do so. Sessler is a 22 year-old student at the University of California at Davis.

A total of four men entered the Lake Tahoe Ladies Championship, which boasted a $340 buy-in, and Sessler’s victory was worth $9,900. Ninety-six players turned out in total and Sessler told tournament staff that he entered because he had a day off and wanted to play some cards. The one-day event saw the assembled field erupt into a chorus of clapping when each male was eliminated. Sessler explained after the fact, “I came here because I only had one day and I really like the structures and the payout. This was the only tournament I could play.”

Sessler defeated Mimi Kalem heads-up after Kalem shoved at an inopportune time with Q-6, as Sessler peeked down at pocket queens. Kalem hit a six on the flop for a glimmer of hope, but the board bricked out and gave Sessler the upset victory over the mostly female field. Kalem earned $5,300 for her runner-up showing, about $1,600 more than Corinn “Princess” Ignatieff received for third. Here were the final paydays from the Harvey’s Lake Tahoe WSOP Circuit Ladies Championship:

1. Greg Sessler (Danville, California) – $9,932
2. Mimi Kalem (Cameron Park, California) – $5,308
3. Corinn Ignatieff (Templeton, California) – $3,715
4. Candy Alexander (Cameron Park, California) – $2,626
5. Linda Peverini (Clovis, California) – $2,100
6. Tera Brown (Austin, Texas) – $1,592
7. Persia Bonella (Castro Valley, California) – $1,229
8. Rebecca Burnside (San Francisco, California) – $894
9. Rose Erhart (Ione, California) – $629

Expanding on the tournament series’ stance towards male entrants in female events, the same WSOP press release remarked, “While the WSOP… offers quasi-exclusive tournaments designed to increase female participation in the game, officials generally do not turn away those who want to play in the event based solely on gender.”

The $5,150 buy-in Lake Tahoe WSOP Circuit Main Event kicks off on November 15th and will crown a winner two days later. Over $1.3 million in prize money has been awarded in the series’ 17 events held so far, with more than 2,600 entries recorded. Last November, Ultimate Bet sponsored pro Michael Binger tasted victory in the Lake Tahoe Championship event, earning $181,000 after outlasting Ty Stewart heads-up. A total of 132 players showed up.

Two months ago, Korotki defeated breast cancer patient Nicole Rowe heads-up at the Borgata. Rowe, who could have used the extra cash for mounting medical bills, fell short of the $20,000 first place payday and 269 players entered. In response, Korotki stated that he would donate a portion of his winnings to a charity involving breast cancer.

California casino offers chance to play Nguyen

Poker is definitely one and California residents and visitors will have that chance this weekend as 1998 World Series of Poker Main Event champ Scotty Nguyen is headed to the All-Star Poker Challenge at Spotlight 29 Casino in Coachella.

"Scotty Nguyen is one of the biggest names in poker, so we are obviously thrilled to have him in our Poker Challenge," said Robert Paull, General Manager of Spotlight 29.

"For our poker players to go up against a World Series of Poker Champion, is exciting."

The $560 buy-in Texas Hold'em event, set for Oct. 24-25, will feature 10k starting stacks, 30-minute levels and over $50,000 in prize money.

Players can also win a free entry by getting 10 full houses playing in the Spotlight Poker Room in advance of the event.

Dubbed "The Prince of Poker", Nguyen has more than $10 million in career earnings and five WSOP bracelets. In addition to his world title, Nguyen also won the prestigious $50k H.O.R.S.E. event at the 2008 WSOP.

The tournament will be capped at 120 players.

For more information on Spotlight 29 head to the casino's website.

Visit PokerListings.com

2 Months, $2 Million: Brian Roberts Loses $111,000

It’s nearly back to square one for the cast of the G4 online poker show “2 Months, $2 Million.” This week’s episode, which was the first to air on a Wednesday night, saw Brian Roberts drop $111,000, essentially pushing the team back to even overall.

The $2 million goal seems like an afterthought after watching the most recent installment of the reality franchise. The team began the week $160,000 in the black, with Jay Rosenkrantz’s recent string of losses leading Roberts to treat him to a spa visit to rejuvenate. Rosenkrantz told “2 Months, $2 Million” cameras, “I’ve definitely been struggling with why I’m not focused.” Cassie Webb, Roberts’ girlfriend, noted that morale at the Las Vegas home was down significantly and wanted to hold a date night.

Dani Stern and Emil Patel, the two single players, sought out dates at the Playboy Club at the Palms. One girl asked if the group were poker players and Stern responded that everyone was except for Patel, who is a prince in Dubai. The ploy worked and Patel scored a phone number at the end of the night. Meanwhile, Roberts gave his take on Stern’s dating habits: “If she’s of legal age and pre-menopausal, she’s pretty much on the menu.” Stern wound up on a date with “Emily”, while Patel struck up an accord with “Megan.” The tab at the end of the night: $5,000.

Back at the house, Roberts jumped into a high-stakes Pot Limit Omaha game on Full Tilt Poker featuring Phil Ivey, Gus Hansen, Urindanger, luckexpress10, and DIN_FRU. Roberts scooped $15,000 off Ivey before dropping an $80,000 pot to Hansen to set the tone for the week to come. The atmosphere of losing drove Rosenkrantz over the edge. He told Stern, “I think I’m going to go home and get my head on straight.” Rosenkrantz departed for Commack, New York to be with his mother.

The three remaining cast members took their dates on a helicopter ride and to a pricey $1,800 dinner at CUT at the Palazzo. Megan was shocked to learn that her entrée for the evening cost more than her rent for the month and Patel came out on the losing end of credit card roulette for the four-figure tab. The party then moved back to the “2 Months, $2 Million” house, where, in a scene reminiscent of the “Man Show,” Emily’s friends began jumping on a trampoline.

In Commack, Rosenkrantz’s mother, Rona, explained that she wanted front row Barry Manilow tickets should the $2 million goal be met. Back in Sin City, the losing continued, as Roberts took on luckexpress10 in both Omaha and Hold’em. In Omaha, Roberts got it all-in with Q-Q-2-9 on a board of Q-7-9. However, luckexpress10 flipped up 8-J-10-10 and a running K-5 propelled him to victory with a straight. In Hold’em, Roberts ran K-7 into luckexpress10’s 4-5 on a board of 3-4-5-K to drop $104,000 total.

When the results were tallied for the week, Stern was down $2,000, Patel was down $16,000, Roberts was down $111,000, and Rosenkrantz brought home $1,000. The quartet had bled $128,000 for the week, but were still up $35,100 overall after five episodes. It was a heartbreaking loss for the squad, which is quickly running out of time to achieve its $2 million goal.

For the penalty stunt, Roberts had to perform stand up comedy at the L.A. Comedy Club at the Four Queens. His act consisted in part of poking fun at his housemates, including asking what Patel, a vegetarian, would actually eat. The night lifted Rosenkrantz’s spirits: “I was really burnt out on Vegas and an poker, but being here tonight made me realize there’s nowhere else I’d rather be this summer.”

“2 Months, $2 Million” airs at 8:00pm ET every Wednesday on G4 following “Attack of the Show” and replays throughout the week. Check your local listings for details.

Scotty Nguyen comes back

It turns out they were right.

This summer, Nguyen added just $33,668 to his $10,705,581 in career tournament earnings with an 11th-place finish at the $10k Stud World Championship, falling far short of his $4 million goal.

However, the Prince of Poker was back on the felt at the WPT Legends of Poker event last week.

"People retire and then they come back right," the 1998 WSOP Main Event champ laughed.

"Legends is my comeback, baby. It's the first tournament I've played since the World Series."

Nguyen currently sits 12th on the all time World Series of Poker money list with $4,727,717 collected from 37 WSOP cashes, and actually considers the 2009 Series his least successful.

"This was the worst World Series I've ever had just because of that statement - the $4 million," he said. "It was always stuck in my head, I was always thinking 'I got to get there, I got to get there.'

"You see baby, when you have to do something, there's more pressure on you and that's the wrong thing. It was stressful. In poker you can't have that stress."

Prior to the 2009 WSOP, Nguyen's bold statement actually morphed into a prop bet with fellow pro Mike Matusow at the WPT Championship.

Getting 3:1 on $5,000, Nguyen is attempting to collect $3 million in tournament earnings over the next three years.

With a win in the 2009 L.A. Poker Classic's $9,900 H.O.R.S.E. event and a sixth-place finish at the $25k WPT Championship, he's earned almost $700k this year so far and seems well on his way to making the bet quite interesting.

And despite not coming through on his $4 million promise, Nguyen is not apologizing for believing in himself.

"You know baby, if you ask me again, I will tell you again," he said. "Before the World Series if you ask me how much I'm going to make I'm going to tell you $4 million.

"I'm not going to tell you I'm going to lose, baby."

Nguyen busted on Day 3 of Legends, falling just short of the money.

Visit PokerListings.com

2 Months, $2 Million: $35.700 Profit During the First Week

“2 Months, $2 Million”, the brand new poker show debuted on Saturday night. The half-hour poker reality show featured Dani Stern, Emil Patel, Brian Roberts and Jay Rosenkrantz who were able to earn $35.700 in the first week of the two month challenge.

The show’s opening credits noted, “These four former math whizzes are four of the best online poker players in the world.” Viewers were soon directed to the quartet’s luxury home in Las Vegas where the four online professionals presented their brand new house. In the show these young guys showed their Las Vegas life, the up’s and down’s of online poker and the perks of a millionaire life.

The four whizzes introduced themselves and each told their own poker story. “At first, [my conservative Indian parents] were a little skeptical of me playing professionally, but when my mom found out how much money I was making, she said, ‘OK, you need to sit down and teach your dad how to play,’” Patel told about himself. On the other hand Rosenkrantz admitted that it took him only a couple of years to make a $100 bankroll into seven-figures.

Then the show moved to show how the youngsters make their earnings and of course some reality styled penalties for the guy who makes the least money for the weak. Loser has to live in a princess styled room for the next week.

Some millionaire partying and in-depth poker talks can be seen throughout the show while the four friends gather up for dinner to talk about the challenge.

After Patel’s 25th birthday the next week’s show is being introduced; “Sometimes the poker gods don’t smile on you” while Stern begins to drink when his session doesn’t go that well. “2 Months, $2 Million” on G4 every Sunday at 9:00pm ET.

Source: Poker News Daily

You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com

2 Months, $2 Million: $35.700 Profit During the First Week

2 Months, $2 Million: Team Earns $35,700 in First Week

The new online poker reality show “2 Months, $2 Million” debuted on cable station G4 on Sunday night at 9:00pm ET. The half-hour program featured Dani Stern, Emil Patel, Brian Roberts, and Jay Rosenkrantz earning $35,700 in the first week of the two month challenge.

The thrill of Las Vegas life, the heartache of online poker, and the perks of being a self-made millionaire all took center stage on the show’s inaugural installment. The opening credits noted, “These four former math whizzes are four of the best online poker players in the world.” “2 Months, $2 Million” began with the quartet driving down the Las Vegas Strip to a luxury home in Sin City. When they arrived, the SUV erupted with a chorus of “Bing, bing, bow. Here is the house.” The new digs featured an outdoor pool, a spacious courtyard, and a high-tech war room complete with four desktop computers, leather office chairs, and oversized televisions displaying the action from the virtual felts.

The four youngsters introduced themselves and each gave their poker story. Patel told “2 Months, $2 Million” cameras, “At first, [my conservative Indian parents] were a little skeptical of me playing professionally, but when my mom found out how much money I was making, she said, ‘OK, you need to sit down and teach your dad how to play.’” Rosenkrantz admitted that it took him only a few years to turn a $100 deposit into a seven-figure bankroll.

One of the bedrooms in the house featured a princess-style room, complete with pink paint on the walls and a herd of stuffed animals. An Omaha poker tournament was held to determine who would become its resident for the summer in Las Vegas. In the end, Stern lost the sit and go and proceeded to rid the princess room of any toys before finally barely fitting on the bed. Patel received the master bedroom, which featured remote controlled curtains.

The crew then explained the “penalty stunt” to the viewing audience on G4: “The penalty stunt is the punishment for the lowest earner of the week and the purpose of those stunts is to force us to put in as many hands as possible.” Past penalty stunts have included Patel being pied in the face, Patel dressing up as a chili pepper and ordering food from Chipotle, and one of the cast donning a Smurf outfit for dinner.

“2 Months, $2 Million” then turned to Rosenkrantz’s struggles against fellow online poker player “Blewjob.” By the end of Week 1, Day 3, the team was down $38,000. However, Rosenkrantz alone had dropped $82,000, much of it seemingly ending up in the hands of Blewjob. He explained, “There are two days left in the week. I’m way behind everyone. I’ve stacked tons of money to this guy named Blewjob.” Roberts chimed in, “Jay has been playing a lot less poker this year. When he has played, his results haven’t been quite up to par.” A montage of pots won by Blewjob ensued.

The four poker players headed to AquaKnox at the Venetian for dinner. Roberts issued a pep talk to Rosenkrantz and Patel, the two lowest earners of the week: “No excuses. There’s nothing that should stop us from being the best players in the world from this point forward.” After a toast to “life,” Tom “durrrr” Dwan and Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond joined the foursome to lend advice. On Dwan, Rosenkrantz claimed, “My results aren’t as good as his, but what Brian said is right. There’s no reason I can’t dominate like they do.”

Rosenkrantz’s poker skills eventually took over, as he deciphered a timing tell on Blewjob. When his adversary took his time making a bet, he had a hand. If he checked the turn instantly, he didn’t have anything. If he stalled before acting on the turn, he was likely to check-call. Rosenkrantz commented on his eureka moment: “I know when I can steal pots from him.” Rosenkrantz, once down $116,000, ended the week up $4,600.

After Patel’s 25th birthday party at the Palms, the team’s tally for the week was revealed: Patel was up $8,600 and Roberts was up $42,000, the biggest winner of the group. Stern was down $19,500, the only player in the red, and he was forced to dress up in a leotard, tutu, and pink wig for his penalty stunt. A group of girls joined the cross-dressed poker player for dinner at a casino buffet, where he commented, “I do this to pick up women.”

Next week, Stern notes, “Sometimes the poker gods don’t smile on you” and he begins to drink when his session goes south. “2 Months, $2 Million” airs on G4 every Sunday at 9:00pm ET.

2009-2010 WSOP Circuit Event Schedule Announced

Eleven stops will take place as part of the 2009-2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit, announced by Harrah’s officials on Friday. The festivities will head to Harrah’s St. Louis for the first time.

Not every poker player can make the trek to Las Vegas for the world’s richest tournament series. Consequently, a WSOP Circuit Event brings the excitement of big buy-in events to Harrah’s-owned casinos around the United States. David Norton, Chief Marketing Officer of Harrah’s Entertainment, commented in a press release, “WSOP Circuit Events are a great way to welcome new guests to Harrah’s properties around the country. Whether you are a new player or a casino regular, you will find a great playing experience.”

While WSOP events in Las Vegas dish out gold bracelets to winners, Circuit Events award a prestigious gold ring to each champion. Preliminary tournaments are held along with a $5,000 buy-in Main Event, half of what the championship contest in Las Vegas costs to enter each year. While the schedule for each stop has not yet been formally released, look for the WSOP Circuit to traverse the United States as follows over the next year:

October 16th through October 25th, 2009
Horseshoe Hammond (Chicago)
Reigning Champion: Steve “MrSmokey1” Billirakis

October 23rd through November 2nd, 2009
Horseshoe Southern Indiana (Louisville)
Reigning Champion: Samuel Oberlin

November 5th through November 15th, 2009
Harvey’s Lake Tahoe
Reigning Champion: Michael Binger

December 4th through December 20th, 2009
Harrah’s Atlantic City
Reigning Champion: Brent Roberts

January 20th through February 11th, 2010
Harrah’s Tunica (Memphis)
Reigning Champion: Kai Landry

February 18th through March 2nd, 2010
Horseshoe Council Bluffs
Reigning Champion: Jesse Hale

March 3rd through March 14th, 2010
Caesars Atlantic City
Reigning Champion: Samuel Chartier

March 18th through March 31st, 2010
Harrah’s Rincon (San Diego)
Reigning Champion: Dwyte Pilgrim

April 1st through April 14th, 2010
Harrah’s St. Louis
Reigning Champion: New Event

April 14th through April 30th, 2010
Caesars Palace Las Vegas
Reigning Champion: Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo

May 7th through May 19th, 2010
Harrah’s New Orleans
Reigning Champion: Jean “Prince” Gaspard

The 2008-2009 schedule featured 10 stops in largely the same order as they appear on the new slate of events. The brand new St. Louis tournament series fills a gap in time that previously existed between Harrah’s Rincon and Caesars Palace. In addition, the Circuit stops in Hammond and Southern Indiana will overlap. The venues are separated by more than 250 miles of Interstate 65, which traverses Indiana from Louisville to Chicago.

The addition of a stop in St. Louis for the WSOP Circuit mirrors a similar move by the World Poker Tour (WPT), which dropped its North American Poker Championship and Foxwoods Poker Classic for Season 8 in favor of an event at Hollywood Casino outside of Cincinnati in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. The venue will be the first riverboat property to host a WPT event and provides a convenient destination for poker players from around the Midwest. The Hollywood Poker Open will take place from March 20th to 24th.

Buy-ins for preliminary tournaments held during Circuit Events typically begin around $250, allowing the area’s poker pros and amateurs alike ample options to try their hand at the Great American Pastime. WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack commented in a press release, “World Series of Poker Circuit Events are a great way to gain live tournament experience, get a feel for what the World Series of Poker is all about, and have a lot of fun. Every stop on the WSOP Circuit has a local flair and provides a best in class poker-playing experience.”

The 2009 WSOP Main Event enters Day 4 on Saturday. A total of 810 players remain, with Team PokerStars Pro member Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier dominating the field. The two-time WPT event winner holds 1.4 million chips, well ahead of Ludovic Lacay’s second place stack of 896,000.

Netherlands’ Marc Naalden Wins WSOP $2,000 Limit Holdem Event

In winning only the second World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet in the history of his country, the Netherlands’ Marc Naalden dominated final table play, suffered a slight setback during heads-up action, and came back to win Event #38, the $2,000 Limit Hold’em tournament.

The final table was determined early Sunday morning from the original 446 runners. Naalden, who had dominated the field since action was at 25 players, came to the featured table with a sizeable chip lead. His two closest competitors, Danny Qutami and Steven Cowley, didn’t even have as many chips combined as Naalden with his stack of 755,000. When play began at 2:00pm Sunday afternoon, the players went to work quickly, with Cowley eliminating pro Rep Porter in ninth place after an hour of play.

Naalden extended his lead when he crippled Jared O’Dell with pocket aces, jumping up over one million in chips. O’Dell was eliminated soon afterwards in seventh place and was immediately followed by Naalden’s elimination of Qutami, who bled chips at the final table. After Naalden eliminated Alex Keating in fifth place, he held over half of the chips in play.

Once Tam “Tommy” Hang (who finished in third place in last year’s $10,000 World Championship of this discipline) was eliminated in fourth and 2006 WSOP bracelet winner Ian Johns dropped in third, heads-up play came down to Naalden and Cowley. While it seemed that it would be a quick ascension to the bracelet for Naalden, who had Cowley dominated by over 7:1, it would actually prove to be one of the more exciting battles of this year’s WSOP.

Over the first 30 minutes of heads-up play, Cowley put on a surge that actually pushed him into the lead. In that time span, he either won or chopped every pot that was contested and had the Scandinavian scratching his head. After an hour, Naalden gathered himself and pushed back the Cowley assault, retaking the lead that he had held for much of the late action in Event #38. Naalden continued to batter the valiant Cowley until after two hours of heads-up play, he was able to catch a queen against Cowley to win the gold WSOP bracelet and $190,770 first place payday.

Two tournaments enter their final day of action with quite a bit of work to be done. Event #39, a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em tournament that started with 2,715 players on Saturday, could only get down to 26 by the 3:00am WSOP curfew. There is some controversy as to the chip count of the player at the top of the leaderboard, Michele Iacovone, as he has quoted his stack at 1,605,200 and there are no tournament chips of the 100 denomination in play. Nevertheless, he is atop the remainder of the field, with former World Poker Tour (WPT) champion Joe Bartholdi, veteran Raymond Davis, Alex Jacob, Nam Le, and WSOP bracelet holder Brandon Cantu in hot pursuit of the $657,787 first place prize.

Stacked tables of professional players remain in Event #40, the $10,000 World Championship of Pot Limit Omaha, and they were also unable to work their way down to the final table on Day Two. There are still 43 players remaining in the fight from the 295 starters. Noah Schwartz is at the head of the field, which also includes bracelet holders such as Full Tilt Poker’s Howard Lederer, PokerStars’ Barry Greenstein, Bodog’s David Williams, and Josh Arieh. The $40,000 Anniversary Special champion, Vitaly Lunkin, and Padraig Parkinson are a couple of the European players also in the mix. At the end of the rainbow when the tournament ends tonight: a highly prestigious gold WSOP bracelet and a $679,379 bankroll boost.

A total of 280 players stepped up to take part in Event #41, the $5,000 No Limit Hold’em Shootout, and after the carnage of Day One was finished, 30 players remain on five tables. There are some notable names that are alive as Day Two starts, such as Peter “Nordberg” Feldman, Mark Teltscher, Barney Boatman, Jennifer Harman, Amit “amak316” Makhija, Jean “Prince” Gaspard, and David “The Dragon” Pham. Even with this much star power, the attention of fans gathered at the Rio will be on 2009 double bracelet winner Phil Ivey as he aims for a third this year, a feat no one has accomplished since Ivey in 2002.

Day One of the $2,500 Mixed Game tournament, Event #42 on the WSOP schedule, drew a 412 player field eager to attack the eight disciplines of poker that it features. The combination of games could conceivably be a more difficult challenge than HORSE and the quality of some of the remaining players in the tournament shows the skill necessary to battle in this arena. 2009 WSOP double bracelet winner Jeff Lisandro, David Sklansky, John Juanda, Robert Williamson III, Marcel Luske, and Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi are just a few of the top names that are still in contention for this championship.

Two tournaments will start play today in the Amazon Room at the Rio: the $1,000 Seniors No Limit Championship and the $2,500 Razz tournament, Events #43 and 44 respectively. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the 2009 WSOP.

Prince crowned at Bayou Poker Challenge

Gaspard, a professional poker player from Chicago, came into the third and final day of the Circuit's $5,000 New Orleans finale with a commanding chip lead and never relinquished it over the ensuing five hours of play.

He personally eliminated Kurt Scheer (9th) and Justin Allen (7th) in a pair of fortuitous hands to build his stack up to more than double his closest rival and maintain his dominance as his rivals handled the rest of the eliminations.

Ultimately, Gaspard and runners-up Billy Kopp and Ken Christopher decided to chop the remaining prize money while three-handed.

When negotiations concluded, so too did play, as none of the remaining players deemed it necessary to finish the contest.

Gaspard, who held more than half of the chips in play at the time of the chop, earned the WSOPC title and a $10,000 buy-in to the Main Event of the World Series of Poker this summer.

The former pro basketball prospect now has over $950,000 in career tournament winnings since turning his attention from the hardwood to the felt.

"The reason I play sports is because I love doing it - it's as simple as that," he said. "I am very competitive by nature. Basketball meant a lot to me, but after I discovered poker, I found something new that I could compete - and win - at."

In total, 167 players played the final WSOP Circuit event of the season.

Among those to cash were Shaun Deeb (14th place), Matt Brady (12th place) and Dwyte Pilgrim, whose 18th-place finish marked his thirteenth cash of the 2008-2009 WSOPC season, earning him unofficial "Player of the Year" honors.

Visit PokerListings.com

“The Prince Of Poker” Scotty Nguyen Signs With Expekt.com

In a current era of online poker which is seeing few players given sponsorship deals, it was announce Friday that defending World Series of Poker H.O.R.S.E. champion and former World Champion Scotty Nguyen will become the poker ambassador for Expekt.com.

During the announcement of the agreement with the online gaming company, Scotty was his usual exuberant self when he proclaimed, “This will be fun, baby. I am looking forward to working with Expekt.com and make their successful poker even more popular.” As a part of his ambassadorship, Nguyen will provide an exclusive video blog for the site as well as a monthly poker column that will focus on strategy. “Overall, I will be the face of Expekt.com Poker and play at the WSOP and more live tournaments in the late summer and autumn. It will be great fun, baby,” Nguyen said.

In an exclusive conversation with Poker News Daily, Dan Vikman, the public relations manager with Expekt.com, expounded on the reasons the company wanted Nguyen as their featured player. “We wanted a high-caliber profile and personality that is both charismatic and who sticks out in the crowd. Scotty fits the bill perfectly,” Vikman commented. “We are really happy to have signed him and are looking forward to an exciting 2009.”

The addition of Scotty as the poker ambassador for Expekt.com should further expand the visibility of the company, Vikman noted. “We will have a much stronger profile in our promotions and our public relations on a daily basis,” Vikman said. “That will lead to a bigger buzz and add to our already huge customer base going forward.” There is no doubt that Nguyen will be the focal point for the Expekt.com poker site. When asked if there were future signings on the horizon, Vikman stated, “Scotty is and will be our Number One, but we are working to strengthen our local profile in big markets such as Sweden and Poland with strong local names that can be connected to Expekt.com.”

Nguyen is one of the most recognizable players in the game today and also has one of the best track records as to success. Besides winning the 1998 World Series of Poker Championship Event bracelet over amateur Kevin McBride – where he uttered the now famous line, “You call and it’s all over, baby” – Scotty has amassed four other WSOP bracelets and a World Poker Tour title. In 2007, he missed out on a chance at a second WSOP Championship Event title when he finished in eleventh place. He currently holds two of the most prestigious titles in the game today with his victories in the $50K H.O.R.S.E. at last year’s WSOP and another $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. title at this year’s L. A. Poker Classic. In all, “The Prince of Poker” has garnered over $10 million in career earnings.

Expekt.com, which offers its customers a variety of online gaming options including a sports book, bingo and poker, is a part of the iPoker Network. According to the latest figures from PokerScout, the iPoker Network has recently passed PartyPoker as the third largest online poker room in the industry today. The poker room at Expekt.com – which doesn’t accept American players – is ranked 3rd in cash game players, only behind U. S.-facing PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker.

Poker News in Brief: May 11-17, 2009

PokerListings.com has made a list of some of the smaller but still interesting poker news stories of the week and put it nright here for your reading pleasure.

This week we take a look at a horrible river card for legal Texas in poker, the shady operations of a multi-million dollar hedge fund manager and the dates for a popular Caribbean Poker tournament.

Bad beat for legal poker in Texas

HB 222, a bill to legalize poker in Texas, was taken off the Texas House agenda Thursday.

Rep. Jose Menendez, who introduced the bill, told lawmakers he knows the governor would veto the legislation, so he was saving them a heated debate for no reason.

According to an article in the Dallas News, Menendez said "You need to know when to hold them, and you need to know when to fold them."

Currently there is no casino gambling of any kind in Texas. HB 222 would have allowed poker games operated under the authority of the Texas Lottery Commission.

This is the third session in a row Menendez has tried, and failed, to get poker legislation passed in Texas.

To learn more check out trailblazersblog.com here and for more fallout check out the excellent work by Dan Michalski and the crew at Pokerati.com.

Hedge fund manager accused of fraud, losing millions in poker

A California hedge fund manager has been accused of conning investors out of approximately $44 million while losing about $5 million in high stakes poker games, according to a story with the New York Times.

The story with the Times identified the manager as 46-year-old Bradley R. Ruderman, the founder and manager of Ruderman Capital Partners.

Ruderman faces as much as 20 years in prison if he is convicted of wire fraud.

The biggest question on many poker players' minds is which high-stakes rounder he donated the majority of his $5 million to.

Read the Times story here.

Dates for the 2009 Aruba Poker Classic Announced

Ultimate Bet has finally released dates for one of the most scenic stops on the poker circuit.

The 2009 Aruba Poker Classic will take place Oct. 3-10 at the Radisson Resort. The $5,000 main event will start Oct. 5 and the champion will be crowned on Oct. 9.

The presenting sponsor will once again be Ultimate Bet with well-known poker personality Matt Savage filling the role as tournament director.

Last year Matt Brady outlasted 550 players, including the likes of Liv Boeree, Matt Vengrin and Johan Storakers to take down a $1 million first place prize at the tournament.

Kai "Prince of Darkness" Landry finds more WSOPC success

As much as the World Series of Poker Circuit events have fallen out of the spotlight over the past couple of years, there are still those that find tremendous value in the events.

One such player is Kai Landry, the self-proclaimed "Prince of Darkness," who won the WSOPC Tunica main event in January and followed it up with a win at WSOPC New Orleans this week.

Landry outlasted 543 players to take the crown in Event 15 of WSOPC New Orleans. It was a $300 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em event and Laundry received $35,620 for his poker heroics.

New Orleans continues to be one of the most successful stops on the circuit with attendance up this year over last.

The main event in Louisiana kicks off on May 18.

Visit PokerListings.com

Scotty Nguyen snagged by Expekt

((Expekt Poker)) announced this week Nguyen has signed on as an exclusive poker ambassador for the site.

"I like ((Expekt)).com and its plans," Nguyen said. "It will be fun to be part of ((Expekt)).com's future and help them to make their successful poker even more popular."

Nguyen, whose contract with the poker site starts May 15, has more than $10 million in tournament winnings. His success includes winning the 1998 World Series of Poker Main Event as well as the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event at the 2008 WSOP and three more bracelet wins.

"We are really looking forward to working with Scotty," said Dan Vikman, ((Expekt)) pr manager. "He is the prince of poker and our poker customers have an exciting 2009 to look forward to with Scotty onboard."

Nguyen will be be bringing his unique combination of skill and experience to ((Expekt)) where he plans to do an exclusive video blog twice a month and write a strategy column once a month.

Nguyen's future in poker and how much he can help Expekt could be up for debate if he follows through on the promise he made in a PokerListings TV video to quit poker if he doesn't make $4 million at the 2009 WSOP.

The poker site could get a lot of exposure from Nguyen, though, as the world tracks his progress in the WSOP this year.

Nguyen seems to be optimistic of his chances, and already has plans to represent Expekt at live tournaments after the series.

"Overall, I will be the face of ((Expekt)).com Poker and play WSOP and more live tournaments in the late summer and autumn," Nguyen said. "It will be great fun, baby."

Visit PokerListings.com

It’s getting crowded in Monaco

Monaco has become a safe haven for poker players recently, as many European poker pros have moved there to avoid heavy taxing of their native countries or whatever reasons they got.

Sami “LarsLuzak” Kelopuro, one of the most successful cash game players in Finland along with Antonius and Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies, followed his friend Patrik, or should I say “Prince of Monaco” like Sahamies calls him, there recently as he received his permanent residency just days ago.

Two Princes of Monaco.

Kelopuro writes in his blog that it felt really good to hold his residence card, when he picked it up from the police station. “It’s like a piece of gold”, Kelopuro descripes it.

The weather is something that should be much better in Monaco and Kelopuro agrees with the assumption. Spring has already come to the Mediterranean city, temperature is over 20 degrees celsius and sun is shining almost every day.

Overall, Kelopuro likes it there in Monaco. His apartment is bigger than he had in Finland and people in Monaco are nice. He also thinks Monaco must be the safest place in earth. There are police officers almost everywhere you see. Monaco is a small country, but there is everything.

Source: coinflip.com

You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com

It’s getting crowded in Monaco

PokerListings.com News Wrap-Up: March 22-29

As part of a weekly series we've compiled a list of stories that didn't quite make it into the main news roster but were worth mentioning.

This week saw a certain Norwegian poker player get a deal from the world's largest poker room, while yet another study found poker to be a game of skill.

Johnny Lodden signs with Team PokerStars Pro

Team PokerStars Pro was already home to a number of well-known pros in Daniel Negreanu, Joe Hachem and Greg Raymer but surprisingly it didn't have a lot of Scandinavian content.

That seems to be changing as Norwegian pro Johnny Lodden was signed by the team this week. Lodden is an accomplished live and online player who used to wreak havoc back in the day as "bad_ip."

Lodden will join fellow European players William Thorson (Swedish) and Noah Boeken (Dutch) on the team.

http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/team_pokerstars_pro/2009/team-pokerstars-pro-signs-johnny-lodden-037861.html

Bodog sets the line on Nguyen's $4 million promise

Bodog is now taking bets on Scotty Nguyen's promise to PokerListings.com that he will retire if he makes less than $4 million at the 2009 World Series of Poker.

The outlandish promise, which Nguyen made in an interview with PokerListings TV, started a wave of forum chatter, with a multitude of players claiming they are willing to take the Prince of Poker's action.

As result, Bodog oddsmakers have stepped up and set the line at +2500 that Nguyen will reach the magic $4 million mark.

"Bodog's annual WSOP prop bets are a staple leading up to the main event," Bodog Sportsbook Manager Richard Gardner said.

"So when we came across the PokerListings.com video of Scotty Nguyen saying that if he doesn't win at least $4 million at this year's WSOP he'd quit the game, we knew this would be the kind of action our players would like to get in on."

To place your bets head over to the Bodog Sportsbook and check out all of the 2009 WSOP prop bets.

EU claims U.S. Internet gambling laws violate WTO

The European Union says U.S. laws on Internet gambling are in violation of World Trade Organization rules.

Following an investigation into U.S. measures affecting foreign suppliers of Internet gambling services, the European Commission released a draft report Thursday concluding U.S. laws deny access and discriminate against foreign suppliers of gambling and betting services.

The report says U.S. Internet gambling regulations effectively create a trade barrier which has adverse effects on EU economic interests.

Although the report claims WTO proceedings against the U.S. would be justified, it does not include any recommendation for actions, suggesting only that the issue should be addressed with the current U.S. administration.

New study finds poker is a game of skill

Once again a study has found that poker is a skill game. The latest study was released by Cigital Inc. in conjunction with PokerStars.

The study used data acquired from 103 million hands of hand No-Limit Hold'em and found that in 75% of those cases an outcome was decided without a showdown.

Learn more about the study and the Poker Players Alliance's thoughts about it in the link below:

http://pokerplayersalliance.org

Ultimate Fighting Championship shuts door on Full Tilt Poker

Full Tilt Poker and the Ultimate Fighting Championship seemed like a match made in heaven, with fighters like Forrest Griffin and Mike Swick having donned the FTP badge to play in tournaments.

Instead, according to mmapayout.com, the UFC has placed FTP on the banned list, which means no fighter can don Full Tilt gear. The unconfirmed rumor is that Ultimate Bet or Absolute Poker may be taking over as a key sponsor.

http://mmapayout.com/2009/03/on-tilt-poker-company-full-tilt-on-no-no-list/

Poker in Texas?

Legal poker in Texas seems to be getting closer and closer to reality and the folks over at Pokerati have been following the issue closely. The bill for poker in Texas is titled HB 222 and it is scheduled to be voted on this week.

http://pokerati.com/2009/03/27/re-texas-poker-bill-up-for-committee-vote-today-6/

Duke returns to WSOP Academy Ladies Only Event

It was announced earlier this week that the WSOP Academy Ladies Only Event hosted by Annie Duke will once again be back this summer.

It's somewhat ironic given that Duke is vehemently against playing ladies events, but apparently she feels differently about women-only training workshops.

The Celebrity Apprentice star will host the event at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas June 5-6. Check out the Web site for more details.

http://www.wsopacademy.com/

 

Visit PokerListings.com