Poker News

Phil Laak, Cake Poker Network Launch Unabomber Poker

In the online poker world, having a room named after you is perhaps the most notable sign that you have made your mark in the industry. From DoylesRoom, fronted by the legendary Doyle Brunson, to Devilfish Poker, hosted by top English pro David “The Devilfish” Ulliot, many professional poker players have made the move to the online world with their own iconic rooms.

The Cake Poker Network announced today that top pro Phil Laak will join its family of sites with his own room. Called Unabomber Poker, the site will feature Laak in action on the network and through a blog that will be available on the site. Along with the announcement of Unabomber Poker, the Cake Poker Network also announced the addition of seven other new network poker rooms, including 7Win Poker, Redback Poker, Amsterdams Poker, Safari Poker, Dimeline, Rags2Riches Poker, and Burro Poker.

“We knew we wanted to launch the sickest poker site possible,” Laak stated during the announcement of the new venture. “By joining a network that focuses on player rewards and accepts players worldwide, we knew we would be starting out on the right track. I love getting involved from the ground up.” A Cake Network spokesperson added, “The addition of Unabomber Poker to the Cake Network is a cause for great excitement. Phil’s enthusiasm for the game is infectious and brings a great energy to the network.”

With the addition of the eight new rooms, the Cake Poker Network now encompasses a total of 55 online poker sites. Some of the most popular sites offered by the Cake Poker Network include DoylesRoom, PokerHost, Lock Poker, Gutshot.com, and its own eponymous site. The Cake Poker Network is among the Top Ten in the online poker industry by cash game traffic, according to the poker industry tracking site PokerScout.com, averaging 2,100 real money ring game players.

Unabomber Poker offers many of the player amenities that are a fixture of the Cake Poker Network. Through participating in the action on the site, players earn Gold Chips and Gold Cards that can be exchanged for cash, merchandise, or free play in tournaments on the network. Unabomber Poker will also participate in the Cake Poker Network’s premier monthly event, the $250,000 Guaranteed.

Laak is arguably one of the most visible players in the game today through both his play and his exuberant behavior at the table. He exploded on the poker scene in 2004 with a victory in the World Poker Tour (WPT) Invitational at the Commerce Casino and has remained a formidable foe at the tables since then. In 2005, Laak was runner up to Johnny Chan at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) $2,500 Pot Limit Hold’em event when Chan captured his tenth bracelet. In a brief six-year career, Laak has earned slightly over $1.8 million from the tournament poker circuit.

Laak is famously called “The Unabomber” because his attire at the poker tables – a hooded sweatshirt and sunglasses – gives Laak a resemblance to the forensic sketch of notorious convicted mail bomber Theodore Kaczynski. Laak can confound players with antics at the table such as push-ups, talking to the cards, and offering buyouts to players to show their winning hands. Away from the felt, Laak also makes a great deal of noise. He has one of the most high-profile poker relationships with former WSOP Ladies’ Champion Jennifer Tilly and has been a part of television show “I Bet You” with his longtime friend and former roommate Antonio Esfandiari.

T.J. Cloutier WSOP Bracelet Sells for $4,006 on eBay

After 10 days and a competitive auction featuring five separate bidders, T.J. Cloutier's World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet sold for $4,006 on the popular online auction site eBay. The Plano Pawn Shop put up the bracelet, which Cloutier won in a $5,000 No Limit Hold’em event in 2005.

With the starting price at $2,999, the following bidding history during the 10-day process was listed as on eBay's website:

Bid #1: Jan. 22 - $2,999
Bid #2: Jan. 22 - $3,200
Bid #3: Jan. 22 - $3,250
Bid #4: Jan. 22 - $3,500
Bid #5: Jan. 22 - $3,550
Bid #6: Jan. 23 - $3,700
Bid #7: Jan. 24 - $3,750
Bid #8: Jan. 24 - $3,800
Bid #9: Jan. 24 - $3,850
Bid #10: Jan. 24 - $3,900
Bid #11: Jan. 24 - $3,956
Bid #12: Jan. 24 - $4,006

The highest bid stood at $3,956 with just moments remaining in the auction, but in the final minute, another bidder made an offer of $4,006, which ultimately was enough to claim the item. The winning bidder is unknown at this time due to the privacy policies of eBay.

Meanwhile, the reasons behind Cloutier's willingness to pawn off his WSOP bracelet are under speculation. The 71-year-old pro is one of the most successful tournament players in the history of the game, collecting six WSOP bracelets, a total of 39 titles around the world, and career earnings of $9,413,236. However, some suggest that Cloutier has lost more money playing craps than he ever made from playing poker; this reputation seems to follow him where he travels.

Professional poker player Terrance “Unassigned” Chan wrote in his blog in 2006 about a losing craps session in which Cloutier was the shooter. Chan and his friends lost $3,000 on one Cloutier roll and, afterward, he wrote, "T.J. has lost more money at craps than possibly any human being alive. Obviously he's just a poor craps player and one should bet against him, not with him."

Since then, rumors circled that Cloutier's poker earnings have dried up, as he's been seen borrowing money for tournament buy-ins on multiple occasions. Online poker pro Grayson "the_dean22" Nichols recalled an occurrence involving Cloutier on the poker forum PocketFives.com: "I remember a couple years ago, going to play in a $100 rebuy at the Orleans Hotel with Steve ‘gboro780’ Gross and Ari Engel. We get registered for the maybe 60 person field and we see Cloutier just hanging around, bumming the free hot dogs asking for a stake in the tournament. (It) looks like this isn't a new development."

The monetary value of a WSOP bracelet has been a source of debate since Cloutier's bracelet went up on eBay. Following the conclusion of the auction, Poker News Daily caught up with Matt "mattg1983" Graham and asked the two-time WSOP bracelet winner the minimum amount he'd sell either of his bracelets for. "It totally depends on finances, but right now I'd take like $30,000," said Graham, who won the $1,500 Limit Hold'em Shootout in 2008 and the $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha World Championship in 2009. Asked if he were hypothetically broke and in need of money, Graham told us that he'd accept a $10,000 offer.

Dozens of others on the forums commented about the value of a bracelet, in particular one belonging to Cloutier. "I would definitely buy a WSOP bracelet if it belonged to Phil Ivey or Stu Ungar or Doyle Brunson," said TwoPlusTwo poster TexCortez. "They are just straight up legends. T.J. on the other hand... well, it kind of ranks up there with buying an old pair of Richard Simmons exercise shorts from eBay."

Dusty “Leatherass” Schmidt Joins DragTheBar.com

Poker training site DragTheBar.com announced Friday that renowned online player and instructor Dusty “Leatherass9” Schmidt has joined the company as a lead instructor. Schmidt will make poker videos and actively participate in the site’s member forums, according to DragTheBar.com CEO and professional poker player Hunter Bick.

“Dusty is one of the top mid-to-high-stakes players in the world, period”, Bick said. “He’s played so many hands at such a high win rate that his depth is simply unmatched. But as good a player as he is, he’s an even better instructor. It’s unusual to find someone who can do both. We don’t want our site to just have good poker players as coaches – they must be well spoken and great teachers too. Dusty embodies those qualities better than anyone.”

Schmidt, 28, joins DragTheBar.com after spending three years as a lead instructor for StoxPoker. Schmidt joined the site as a member and gradually worked his way into a role as co-owner and instructor. He resigned from the company last week due to “irreconcilable differences.”

On the felts, Schmidt has earned more than $3 million during his five-year career, logging nearly seven million hands over 10,000 hours. In 2007, Schmidt achieved PokerStars’ SuperNova Elite status in just eight months while playing high-stakes cash games. He posted the world’s highest win rate in both $5/$10 No Limit and $10/$20 No Limit in 2007 and 2008. In a four-month period between November 2007 and February 2008, Schmidt won in excess of $600,000 playing high-stakes cash games. Today, he can be found playing as high as $25/$50 No Limit online, often as many as 20 tables at a time.

“I couldn’t be more excited about coming to DragTheBar.com”, Schmidt said. “I was feeling as though I was getting away from my teaching roots a little bit and this allows me to do what I love and do best. The relationship just feels really, really good. They support my interests, and in turn I’m looking forward to watching this site become the finest in the world in very short order. I can’t wait to get involved with their members and watch them improve as poker players.”

Schmidt becomes the 11th coach at DragTheBar.com, a roster that includes some of the world’s top online-poker players, including Jeremy “ChipSteela” Menard and Ian “IggyMcFy” Gordon. The site offers affordable memberships and its poker-training videos are compatible with iPods and other mp3 players.

On top of coaching and playing, Schmidt recently released his top-selling book, Treat Your Poker Like a Business. The book focuses on teaching players how to develop a professional approach to the game, both on and off the felts. He provides readers advice on a range of subjects from winning strategies and profitable times to play to software and record keeping.

“Poker has done a tremendous amount for me in terms of the independence and quality of life I’m able to experience now”, Schmidt says. “I like to think that I have something to offer all poker players, from those who view it as recreational to aspiring pros who want to turn the game into something more serious than a hobby.”

Evelyn Ng Interview with Poker News Daily

Poker News Daily: Describe how you got started in poker.

Ng: I took a job as a dealer in an underground poker club in Toronto. That's how I learned to play. I didn't really start playing until a year later. I wanted to do some research and read some books to get experience before I started investing my money.

PND: How do you continue to improve your game despite being in it for so long?

Ng: I take some time off in between tournaments, so I have that time in between to contemplate how I've been playing and the mistakes that I can fix. By the time the next tournament comes around, I'm amped up and ready to play.

PND: What area of your game have you been focusing on improving?

Ng: Some of the mistakes that I've made in the past include calling off too many times, so I'm trying to make a laydown every once in a while. I play so much Limit Hold'em that I think I'm used to paying people off all of the time.

PND: How did you become involved with Bodog and what makes the site so appealing to you?

Ng: I was really lucky. I had a sponsorship with another company. When my contract was coming up for renewal, I wasn't sure that it was the right fit. I decided to leave PokerStars and Bodog came up with an offer. I was thrilled about it. David Williams, who is my best friend, is with Bodog and I couldn't be happier. The company is very hip and they have a very youthful mentality. They do so much besides poker. They have a sports book and a music company.

PND: What advice do you have for new poker players just getting started?

Ng: Read as much as you can. Information is always good. It can't hurt to pick up a book. Also, stay within your means.

PND: What's it like being a top female player in a male-dominated sport?

Ng: I think it's definitely an advantage to be a female in the poker world. Sometimes, guys don't give us credit and it's good for a woman to be able to take advantage of that.

PND: Whose game do you respect the most and why?

Ng: Daniel Negreanu has been a huge influence on my poker game. He's been my friend and mentor. Throughout my poker career, he has really helped me. In the beginning, he wouldn't necessarily teach me strategy, but he taught me the lessons that I needed in order to become a professional poker player and have that professional attitude.

PND: Can you tell us about Daniel Negreanu's demeanor away from the poker table? Does he have the same animated personality?

Ng: Daniel is always entertaining. He makes jokes and does impressions. He's a great guy.

Belgium to Enact Laws Nationalizing Online Poker

Defying an order from the European Union (EU), Belgium has enacted laws that could have it become the next nation to nationalize online poker operations. It follows a similar stance towards online poker in Italy.

A recent article in De Standaard, one of Belgium’s newspapers, stated that the coming year would bring laws regarding the country’s stance towards online poker. The new regulations would purportedly nationalize the operations of online poker rooms by preventing outside companies, such as PartyPoker, PokerStars, and Full Tilt Poker, from being able to court Belgians. Online poker rooms would have to set up a separate operation that would be licensed by the Belgian government and located inside of the country, much like what Italy has done with its online poker operations.

This defies an order from the EU that was issued in June 2009. After receiving details on Belgium’s plans for online poker regulation from its government in March of last year, the EU decided that the plan violated several areas of the free trade treaty that all 27 member nations had signed. Some of the violations included requiring the operators of online gaming and poker sites to be based in Belgium, limitation of available licenses, criminal prosecution of customers who play on non-sanctioned sites, and restriction of services from outside nations. At the time, Belgium was also looking to use ISP blocking software to prohibit its citizens from playing on other licensed EU sites.

The EU has shown an inconsistency when it comes to nationalization plans. It allowed Italy to nationalize its online gaming operations, presumably for taxation and gaming regulatory purposes, but has disallowed other countries like Belgium and France. It also has been unable to come to an accord on the online gaming question among its own Member Nations, leading many countries to attempt to nationalize online poker for tax revenues in lean fiscal times. The government of Belgium also states that many of the online poker sites in existence have “ties to organized crime” and, as such, the need for the nationalization is necessary.

The online community is responding to this issue in many of the popular online forums. On TwoPlusTwo, a ten-page thread has developed with players are debating the issue. Part of the reason for its popularity is that one of the top online players in the game today, “Chiren80,” hails from Belgium and the proposed legislation would, in effect, remove him from international action with the threat of possible arrest.

Some of the discussion on TwoPlusTwo inaccurately says that the nationalized sites would still be part of the global network, much like different skins of poker rooms operate. This is not true; the nationalization of sites requires the online poker room to dedicate servers and operations to that nation alone, as PokerStars has done with its PokerStars.it site. With that operation, only Italians can play on the site and there are stringent rules that govern play.

The nationalization trend is, in some players’ minds, becoming a worrisome trend. “Nationalization of gambling environments and…the separation of player pools are real dangers for professional poker players in small European countries,” comments “Droschopf.” Another poster, “Sjors,” states, “I'm fine with regulating but don't cut off the world. Playing against people on the other side of the globe and having traffic around the clock is what makes online poker great.”

With the Belgian laws signed into effect, there is a great deal of pressure on the EU to formalize an agreement on online gaming and poker for the continent. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest.

South Carolina Attorney General Appeals Poker Skill Game Ruling

The fight for five poker players in South Carolina is far from over. According to the Associated Press, the state’s Attorney General will appeal the October ruling that Texas Hold’em, the world’s premier poker genre, is a skill game.

It’s a familiar debate as the poker industry enters 2010. Is Texas Hold’em a game of skill or is it ultimately determined by chance? South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster filed an appeal with the state’s Supreme Court, the Associated Press explained on Thursday: “McMaster's appeal says he doesn't think whether there is skill or just chance involved has anything to do with lawmakers' attempt to ban gambling. The attorney general skipped the Court of Appeals and filed with the state Supreme Court, saying the question deals with the constitution's wording on gambling.”

Five poker players were charged in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina back in 2006. According to the favorable ruling by Judge Markley Dennis in October, the buy-ins for a weekly home game in the South Carolina town varied between $5 and $20. The small blind was $0.25 and the big blind was $0.50, with pots ranging between $5 and $10. Fifty cents was taken from several pots in order to provide food and drink for players, but the “house” did not profit from the game.

The game got ugly on April 12th, 2006, when police officers raided it and began arresting participants on the grounds that they were playing in a “house used as a place of gambling.” The defendants, under the guidance of the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), argued that poker is a game of skill, not chance, and therefore did not constitute illegal gambling. The trial court heard the case in February, which featured World Poker Tour (WPT) host Mike Sexton recap hands played on the roving tournament series to demonstrate poker’s skill component.

Dr. Robert Hannum was also brought in to testify last February. The October ruling explains, “Dr. Hannum also testified that a statistical analysis of professional poker players demonstrated that past performance was a reliable indicator of future success, establishing that the skill of the player was the predominant factor in determining wins and losses.” The lower court ruled that poker was a game of skill. However, because South Carolina’s laws were vague on whether that mattered, the five defendants were found guilty.

An appeal was filed, setting up October’s ruling. Judge Dennis candidly explained, “This Court agrees with Appellants that the South Carolina Supreme Court, if faced with the question, would adopt the dominant factor test for the purpose of defining gambling.” He added, “It should also be noted that the South Carolina Attorney General has consistently applied the dominant factor test when providing opinions about whether certain activities are legal.”

Judge Dennis harped on the overwhelmingly broad nature of South Carolina’s gambling statute, which could be construed to mean that nearly any game played with cards or dice is illegal. Judge Dennis specifically called out Bunco, Go Fish, and Solitaire as possible infractions of state law, saying, “Simply put, [the law], as written, has the potential to make criminals of virtually every man, woman, and child in the state of South Carolina.” Twenty of the original defendants pled guilty to gambling charges, while five fought against the state.

According to the Charleston Post and Courier newspaper, the filing by the Attorney General was 57 pages long and McMaster is a Republican candidate for Governor. The Courier revealed, “No timetable has been set on when the case will be heard, and more rounds of legal filings are expected. The legislature is expected to take up a bill legalizing social card games next year.”

Mike Kosowski Wins $1 Million on PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge

Sunday marked the season finale of the “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge,” which played out following NFL on FOX coverage. Mike Kosowski, a 9/11 first responder, banked $1 million after defeating show front man Daniel Negreanu heads-up.

Kosowski, who appeared on the fourth “Million Dollar Challenge” episode, battled Father Andrew Trapp, Iraq war veteran Denny Luna, and liquor salesman Brian Barboza in the Challenge of Champions. Trapp and Barboza both earned $100,000 on their preliminary episodes after defeating a PokerStars-sponsored celebrity and professional poker player. Kosowski won a single-table satellite after the contestants on his episode all lost in the first round to claim his seat in the Challenge of Champions.

Luna was the first player sent packing in the four-man tournament, which saw Negreanu serve in the role of dealer. Luna shoved with A-6 for 4,800 after starting with 20,000 and Kosowski made the call with pocket fives. The flop came 3-9-J and Kosowski was 78% to take down the pot and the turn came a five, leaving Luna drawing dead after Kosowski made his set. Kosowski, who hit the deck hard throughout the festivities, held half of the chips in play following the hand.

Barboza was the next to go. He raised to 4,000 pre-flop with A-8 of clubs and Kosowski, holding pocket eights, made it 8,000. Barboza shoved and Kosowski made the call to see the flop come A-5-3. Barboza had flopped a bullet to take a 95% lead in the hand and another five on the turn left Kosowski drawing to the case eight. Sure enough, the one-outer hit on the river, leaving Negreanu to exclaim, “I can’t believe I just did that.” Kosowski held a 4:1 chip lead entering heads-up play against Trapp.

In the final hand of the Challenge of Champions, Trapp called pre-flop with 6-7 and Kosowski checked his option with 9-5. The flop came 9-8-4 and Trapp made an elaborate “Little Engine that Could” reference. Despite the intimidation, Kosowski put Trapp all-in and the Catholic priest called with his open-ended straight draw. Trapp needed a five, seven, or 10 to hit on the river after a seven struck the turn, but an ace instead peeled off. Kosowski scooped $100,000 for winning the Challenge of Champions and received the opportunity to play Negreanu heads-up for $1 million.

Negreanu played for the Lili Claire Foundation, which would receive $100,000 from PokerStars if the sponsored pro emerged victorious. Holding Q-6, Negreanu raised to 2,000 pre-flop and Kosowski called with 5-7 of spades. The flop came Q-8-7, all diamonds, and Kosowski bet 2,000. Negreanu called with top pair and the turn came another seven. Kosowski fired out a bet of 5,00 after hitting trips and Negreanu once again just called. The river was a jack and Kosowski bet 5,000. Negreanu called and dropped a 28,000-chip pot.

Negreanu called pre-flop with K-2 and Kosowski checked with 6-5. The flop came 6-8-8, giving Kosowski eights-up, and he led out for 2,000. Negreanu came along to see a six on the turn. Kosowski open-shoved for 51,000 with a boat and Negreanu folded, despite saying, “I think you’re bluffing.” The hand propelled Kosowski to a 3:1 chip advantage.

On the final hand of the “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge,” Negreanu pushed all-in with 4-K. Kosowski once again held 5-7 and called, saying, “Why not?” The flop came 6-9-K, giving Negreanu top pair and Kosowski a gutshot to an eight. One of four remaining eights hit on the river, giving Kosowski a dramatic four-outer with $1 million on the line. He told the assembled audience, “I had my miracles.”

The “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge” has been renewed for Season 2, although its debut date has not been announced by the world’s largest online poker site. Check out our Mike Kosowski interview, conducted by Poker News Daily’s Dan Cypra.

TwoPlusTwo Sues Dutch Boyd

World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Russell “Dutch” Boyd may be best known for his career as a professional poker player, but he has also supplemented his income over the years by cyber-speculating, registering a number of poker-related domain names and making money off the traffic that goes to those sites.  Boyd’s side job appears to have gotten him in hot water, as the owners and operators of TwoPlusTwo Publishing have filed a suit over his ownership of the domain name TwoPlusTwoPoker.com.

The Las Vegas Sun broke news of the suit earlier this month.  The Sun story said TwoPlusTwo Publishing accused Boyd of cyber-squatting on the domain and considered it to be an instance of trademark infringement.  Within the article, Boyd commented on the legal action, noting, “It is never fun to be sued, especially by someone you look up to and respect professionally.''  Boyd had choice words for TwoPlusTwo owner Mason Malmouth in particular, whom he accused of bullying.  Boyd was not the only alleged cyber-squatter sued by the publishing company.  A lawsuit was filed against Anthony Scocozza, who purchased a similar domain name at the beginning of the year.  Boyd originally purchased his URL in July of 2004, but has since transferred ownership of the site over to the publishing group.

The article in the Sun proved to just be the beginning of the story though and the drama continued, appropriately enough, on the TwoPlusTwo Poker Forums.  Boyd responded to a thread linked to the article and offered his side of the story, stating that he regretted registering the domain name in the first place, but confirmed that the ownership of the domain name was transferred over to Greenberg Traurig, the law firm representing the interests of TwoPlusTwo.

A week later, Malmouth posted a thorough explanation of why the company filed suit, including scans of two cease and desist letters sent to Boyd by Greenberg Traurig on behalf of the company.  Malmouth also offered an explanation as to why TwoPlusTwo did not drop the suit since they now have control over the domain name in question: “Due to the length of time the registration was owned by Mr. Boyd, and his blatant infringement, we informed Boyd that the expiration of the TwoPlusTwoPoker.com would not resolve the dispute. At the very least, we needed to know exactly how much revenue the domain name and website had generated and how much traffic the site received.”

Malmouth went on to report that their representation repeatedly tried to settle out of court with Boyd, but the two parties were unable to come anywhere close to an agreement.  According to Malmouth, a final e-mail from his attorneys to Boyd letting him know they were left with no choice but to file suit was met with a terse response of “F*** Off.”

Under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), registrants cannot register any domain names that infringe upon the rights of a third party.   More specifically, the URL cannot be identical or similar to a pre-existing trademark and the registrant cannot use that domain name in bad faith.  Boyd responded in the thread, posting an excerpt of trademark law that suggests because TwoPlusTwo did not meet the notice requirement necessary in order to obtain profits or damages.  Moreover, Boyd asserted that the site earned no more than $200 in profits during the five years it was under his ownership.

This is not the first time Boyd’s purchase of domain names has landed him in the spotlight.  In October of 2008, Boyd went to arbitration with online poker room PokerHost over his use of the website, PokerHost.net.  Boyd registered that URL in 2004 and PokerHost alleged his usage of the site was in violation of UDRP since the company obtained the URL PokerHost.com two years prior.  However, because the online site did not launch its gaming services until after Boyd registered the domain name, the judge arbitrating the case ruled in favor of Boyd, saying the term was a generic domain name at time of registration and not a pre-existing trademark.

Joe Hachem Thinks Poker Will Get Bigger in Australia

In his article in The Sydney Morning Herald Joe Hachem reminds us that in just 23 years ago there was no poker being played in casinos in Australia. It is hard to imagine that poker, which is so prevalent game in Australian casinos nowadays, hit the floors in 1987.

The WSOP and WPT bracelet winner thinks that the popularity of poker has not yet reached the level of popularity that the sport has achieved in America, but the popularity and number of competitors are growing in Australia.

Joe Hachem is the godfather of the Australian poker scene.

As a professional poker player, the PokerStars pro is happy that the popularity of his profession is growing. He is satisfied about the growth of popularity so far, as the standard of the events available in Australia has continued to improve and tournaments also attracts more international talent.

Hachem thinks the key element to the growth of poker in Australia has been the internet and online poker, which he thinks is “a great way to learn, polish your game, and even compete in some serious tournaments”.

For Hachem, tournaments are the best format of poker. Today there is plenty of big tournaments for Australians to choose from. There is annual Aussie Millions in January and PokerStars sponsored Asia Pasific Poker Tour, the biggest poker tour in the region. Hachem thinks at the present a professional player could play a full season of events only in Australia without travelling to international tournaments “and boast an impressive record of events”.

Even though Hachem is pleased with the way things are now, he hopes that the wins of Australians Grant Levy and Martin Rowe in APPT in past years will produce more local talent. He believes that with more great local wins, more people will support poker and the popularity of poker will continue to rise in Australia.

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Joe Hachem Thinks Poker Will Get Bigger in Australia

I Bet You Makes Onion AV Club’s Best of the Decade List

One could argue we are in the midst of a televised poker renaissance, with the prevalence of poker-related shows like “2 Months, $2 Million,” “Face the Ace,” “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge,” the recently announced “Shuffle Up and Deal,” and the new Fox Sports poker news show “Poker 2Nite,” which is set to premiere this evening.  While these new shows are drawing attention to the poker world, a recently published list by the Onion’s AV Club is paying homage to a contemporary classic, “I Bet You.”

The AV Club, a publication and website from the makers of the satirical newspaper “The Onion,” has been publishing a series of lists to honor the best pop culture offerings of the decade and gave a shout out to both “I Bet You” and televised poker in general in its “Best Reality Series/Competitions” list.  “I Bet You” just made the cut, coming in at #5 behind shows like “Survivor” and “Top Chef.”

“I Bet You” was clearly the show on the list with the least mainstream popularity, but the AV Club gave props to the program, hosted by friends and professional poker players Phil “The Unabomber” Laak and Antonio “The Magician” Esfandiari.  The site referred to the program as “one of the damndest, most delightful reality series of all time.”

The show, which ran on the MOJO HD cable network from 2007 to 2008, featured the two men traveling around the country placing wagers on everything from dune buggy racing to modeling to ballet dancing to which of the two had the more potent sperm count.  Over the course of two seasons and 24 episodes, the memorable duo won over poker and non-poker fans alike over with their pro betting shenanigans, but the show ended production when MOJO HD stopped making original programming in December of 2008.  The AV Club article reported that supposedly a third season of the show has already been filmed and the site implored a cable network to pick up the program so the world could see more of the short-lived series.

The AV Club list also coupled televised poker in general with “I Bet You” as some of the best reality programming of the last decade.  As it explained, the beauty of televised poker was that it “made household names out of dozens of previously obscure weirdoes, degenerates, and social misfits.”  The site argued that the poker boom resulted in an oversaturation of poker programming, but the mention in the article was, on the whole, rather positive.

More than 500 readers commented on the article, disagreeing with components of the list, and, while the bulk of complaints were centered on omissions of shows like “Man vs. Food,” “Mythbusters,” “Iron Chef,” and “Deadliest Catch,” a few people disagreed with the inclusion of televised poker, claiming it was annoying and boring to watch.

A post on the official MySpace page of “I Bet You” written in May of 2008 confirmed that plans for Season 3 were in the works, but the site has not been updated in some time, so the future of the quirky, but popular, prop betting show remains up in the air.

Amazing Race: Maria Ho and Tiffany Michelle Speak on Elimination

In the Netherlands, professional poker players Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho were eliminated from the CBS reality series “Amazing Race” when the duo was unable to complete either side of the leg’s Detour. The last women standing in the 2007 and 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Events sat down with Poker News Daily to recap their journey.

Poker News Daily: Congratulations on finishing sixth in the 15th cycle of “Amazing Race.” The show was filmed during the WSOP Main Event. How do you feel now after watching it unfold on television?

Ho: It definitely took some time after the fact to cope with, but watching it on television was hard for both of us. We’re living it and feeling those emotions all over again.

Michelle: We made it so much further than we thought we would. At any point, we were willing to accept our fate.

PND: Several in the poker community have labeled the Netherlands’ Detour as sexist due to the presence of a high striker and whipping winds at the golf course. Do you agree?

Ho: From a production standpoint, it’s so hard for them to come up with all of these tasks. We’re not going to call it unfair. All we knew is that we gave it everything we had, but what we had wasn’t enough to complete it. In golf, the elements were too much to overcome. For us to try the high striker 70+ times, it obviously wasn’t the easiest thing to do. It might have come off like we didn’t give it our best shot, but we did.

Michelle: We spent three hours giving each side of the Detour a decent shot. If you can’t finish a Detour, you got a penalty of 24 hours. At one point, EMTs had come out and assess that we weren’t getting hypothermia. Either way, we knew it would be tough to come back from that.

PND: What was the most memorable part of the race?

Ho: Every moment was memorable. We got to go to so many good places and do things that we would never be able to do under normal circumstances. It was memorable when we got a four-hour penalty after losing two tourists and also had a speed bump to overcome. I feel like people were going to count us out and we wanted to show that we could compete, so we gave that next leg of the race our all. It was so great to come in the middle of the pack on that leg.

Michelle: Any time I was able to do a challenge that the guys were doing, like in the Dubai desert, it was incredibly rewarding.

PND: Was it tough seeing that two Harlem Globetrotters were among your competition?

Ho: We definitely tried to size them up a bit based on what we saw. Once we got to know who they were, they didn’t physically intimidate us. It’s not always about being the strongest or the fastest.

Michelle: We started calling them the “Lakers” because they looked like basketball players. We knew that they were going to have a lot of strength physically, but we could use our intelligence and creativity to counteract that.

PND: Do you feel that you represented the poker community well?

Michelle: All that we can represent is ourselves. It’s a big burden to take the poker community on our shoulders. A lot of poker didn’t come into play and this is a very physically intense game. All that we can hope is that our friends thought well of it. All we could do is represent Maria Ho and Tiffany Michelle the best we could.

PND: Are you changed after this experience?

Ho: The “Amazing Race” was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It’s life-changing in the sense that you get to push your limits physically, emotionally, and mentally. This race gave us both the opportunity to do that. Given any situation we encounter, we know what’s inside of us and what we’re capable of. In addition, the bond between Tiffany and I will last a lifetime. We were close friends leading up to this race and there’s nothing like having a person to lean on.

PND: The finish line of this installment of “Amazing Race” is in Las Vegas. How disappointed were you to hear that given you’re both professional poker players? Also, who’s your pick to win?

Ho: You have some strong teams left. Sam and Dan are tough boys. Meghan and Cheyne won a lot of legs. The Globetrotters have been in it to win it. Matt and Gary have sneaked by. Any of the last five teams are going to be tough competition. We got so close with those top teams. We’re excited to see how it ends.

Michelle: This was ours to lose. Las Vegas is our second home. It’s a place we’re very comfortable and familiar with. It broke our hearts that we couldn’t be a part of it. Lady Luck was on our side for parts of the race. If we made it that far, we would have given the other teams a good fight to the finish.

Amazing Race: Reaction to Eliminations of Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho

Professional poker players Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho were eliminated during the latest episode of “Amazing Race” when the pair was unable to complete a challenging test of physical strength. The only all-female team on the show decided to quit after concluding that they would never finish the challenge.

In the leg’s Detour, teams were given the choice between two tasks, Farmer’s Game or Farmer’s Dance. Michelle and Ho failed to complete either mission, as the team couldn’t hit golf balls with a wooden mallet far enough in Farmer’s Game and ring a high striker in Farmer’s Dance. Rather than checking in at the Pit Stop, Michelle and Ho announced that they were quitting the race when met by host Phil Keoghan at the golf course.

Female poker pro “PeachyMer” is a regular viewer of the show and was critical of Michelle and Ho following their elimination. “Neither one of them were putting their weight into it right,” said PeachyMer, referring to the golf-like section of the Detour. “Maria was half-heartedly hitting it so Tiffany could have another go. Tiffany almost got it a few times and although I hadn’t cared for them, I was rooting for her to get it there. I know it’s different when you are freezing, exhausted, and annoyed in that situation, but it looks like if she had thrown a little more of her weight into it and swung around longer, they would have been golden. With that money at stake, let alone the drive to win, I would have been swinging it from the ground behind me with everything I had and hope my angle hit if nothing else.”

Michelle and Ho were the only team made up of two females and at times had trouble contending in physically demanding competitions. While the duo managed to stave off elimination for several weeks, the grueling nature of this episode’s challenge proved to be too much to overcome.

“It wasn’t a very fair Detour,” said TwoPlusTwo poster “True North.” “You were screwed without upper-body strength. You put any all-female team in the history of the show on that Detour and they don’t finish it at least three-quarters of the time. They should have had just the dancing and the fish for Farmer’s Dance; the bell was what made it unfair.”

Fellow TwoPlusTwo member “Jeff M” agreed: “It really looked like the designers of the course didn’t take into account the fact that one of the teams was composed of two 90 pound women. They could barely lift the sledge, much less hit the button with any real force. And the golf game wasn’t much better. They really had no shot at hitting the ball hard enough to make par.”

Others felt a lack of effort was the reason the two poker pros couldn’t keep pace with the other teams left in the race. “This was one of the most pathetic teams ever,” said online poker player and “Amazing Race” fan “medici.” “They quit twice. And they managed to sneak in once because a team lost its travel documents… How they managed to not even finish this week when the other couple couldn’t count the bells or read their clue and incur a 30 minute penalty is beyond pathetic.”

With the elimination of Michelle and Ho, the remaining five teams will travel to Sweden for the next leg of the 15th season of ” Amazing Race.”

Amazing Race: Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho Eliminated in the Netherlands

Sunday night marked the end of the road for professional poker players Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho on the Emmy Award-winning CBS reality series “Amazing Race.” The duo quit the race after encountering two insurmountable Detours in Groningen, the Netherlands.

The episode began in Dubai with all six teams traveling on the same flight to Amsterdam. There, teams made their way to a causeway and located a statue to find their next clue. On departing in second place, Michelle told “Amazing Race” cameras, “Second place is awesome, but we’ve learned from poker that it’s really, really easy to get comfortable and get involved in pots that you shouldn’t.”

After landing in Amsterdam, Michelle and Ho arrived in fifth place at the statue, where their clue instructed them to head to Martintoren, the town’s church. There, the leg’s Roadblock tasked team members with counting the number of bells inside its massive tower. Michelle breezed through the task after Sam, one-half of brothers Sam and Dan, told her the correct number when they passed each other on the stairs of the structure. Sam explained, “It was a smart move, in my opinion, because they’re a team we can beat.”

Meanwhile, former Miss America Ericka Dunlap struggled to count accurately, ultimately causing her husband and her to fall considerably behind. Meanwhile, teams arrived at Vierhuizen de Marne, where the town’s windmill served as the route marker. There, they encountered the leg’s Detour, a choice between two tasks, each with its own pros and cons.

The options this time around were Farmer’s Game or Farmer’s Dance. In the former, teams had to strip down to their underwear and swim across a creek. Then, they had to use modified golf clubs with wooden shoes affixed on the ends to play three holes of golf. Team members had to alternate shots and complete each hole in eight or fewer strokes.

In Farmer’s Dance, teams had to ring a high striker (a carnival game requiring hitting a mallet to ring a bell, usually dubbed a test of strength). Then, they had to learn a traditional Dutch folk dance, perform it up to snuff, and eat a salted herring. Michelle and Ho elected to dance, but after 30 failed attempts at ringing the high striker, switched tasks and hit the links. Meanwhile, Dunlap finally completed the Roadblock. However, her team neglected to travel by bike around the Detour as instructed in the clue.

Upon arriving at the golf course, the last women standing in the 2007 and 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Events realized that completing each hole in eight strokes or fewer was challenging given the oversized ball in play and a stiff wind. Consequently, they elected to head back to the high striker and try again. After 50 failed attempts at the carnival game, the pair “hugged it out” and tried to rally.

At the end of 72 unsuccessful rounds at the high striker, Michelle and Ho headed back to the links. Michelle commented, “We were back at the golf course weaker than we were before and more freezing than we were before.” Meanwhile, Brian and Ericka were penalized 30 minutes upon arriving at the Pit Stop in fifth place due to not riding bikes as instructed, setting up a dramatic finish to this week’s installment of “Amazing Race.”

However, Michelle and Ho could not overcome the elements or muster up the strength to bash the high striker. Instead of checking in at the Pit Stop as is customary, Michelle and Ho were met by host Phil Keoghan at the golf course, where they announced that they were quitting the race. The duo finished in sixth place in the show’s 15th installment (out of 12 teams) and represented the only all-female team to compete.

“Amazing Race” airs at 8:00pm ET on Sunday nights on CBS.

Poker Community Reacts to 2 Months, $2 Million Finale

Season 1 of G4’s “2 Months, $2 Million” came to a close last week and the result was an outburst of chatter in the poker community regarding the innovative reality show. The cast landed well short of its $2 million goal, but the majority of viewers seem to be pleased with the overall product that G4 presented.

Jay “SEABEAST” Kinkade, a high-stakes tournament specialist from Australia, followed the series closely all the way through the season finale and was able to relate to the lives of the cast members as a fellow professional poker player. “I think the show did a great job of striking a difficult balance and as someone who has stayed in a house in Vegas two years in a row, it rings very true to my own experiences,” Kinkade explained. “I expected the show to suck and I think it’s awesome. I think all four guys came across great on TV.”

The main subject that has generated speculation since the season finale is whether G4 would bring along the same four members for a potential Season 2 or reach into the bag of high-stakes cash players for a new group. Online poker player “QuadSuited” gave his input on the matter: “Not that I wouldn’t like to see the same cast again in Season 2, but I would like to see at least three seasons a year with a different cast of players every season. I think it would be a great move for keeping a fresh interest in the show on a consistent and growing basis. That being said, I did enjoy this season, although I would have liked to see more poker.”

Some names being mentioned as possible replacements or full-time additions include Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger and Aaron “aejones” Jones, both of whom made cameos during the show’s first season. Lichtenberger gained fame following one episode when he sweet-talked a female into giving him her underwear in order to win a bet against members of the “2 Months, $2 Million” crew.

“I think Krantz (Jay Rosenkrantz), ansky (Dani Stern), and flawless (Brian Roberts) are all awesome,” said poker player “ryanaw19.” “The only person I’d change would be whitelime (Emil Patel); I would swap him for someone who plays higher stakes. It would give them a better shot at actually winning $2 million. I’d go for someone like luckychewy, who plays $25/50 and higher and grinds high-stakes tournaments… chewy would also bring a ton of laughter.”

TwoPlusTwo poster “ralef” enjoyed the show, but agrees that the team should focus on reaching its $2 million goal in Season 2. “The show works because the life of super successful online poker players is interesting and fun,” ralef commented. “Want to make next season better? It’s pretty easy: play bigger against bigger names and do absurd things with your money. Maybe if you don’t want to show poker all of the time, throw in a bunch of prop bets. Also, the drama of ‘Will they or will they not reach $2 million?’ disappeared pretty fast. For most of the season, it felt like ‘Can Krantz carry them to $2 million? No, he can’t.’ Everyone else was usually up or down $10,000 to $50,000… until the last two episodes. Even then, the results depended mainly on how Krantz did.”

An issue that became a concern for many viewers was the length of each episode. “2 Months, 2 Million” ran for 30 minutes, as compared to NBC’s “Poker After Dark” and GSN’s “High Stakes Poker“, which air for an hour. “Next season: longer episodes,” said TwoPlusTwo member “StraddleBet.” “Everything seemed so rushed.”

As of yet, there is no news regarding another season, but Poker News Daily will be there with any updates about the future of “2 Months, $2 Million.”

PokerNews Op/Ed: The Philosophy of Knish

The Joey Knish character from "Rounders" is regarded as the consummate professional poker player. Knish’s physical characteristics paint a gritty picture of a pro’s life – disheveled appearance, unshaven face for days and weeks at a time...

PIC Club, Merge Gaming Network Dissolve Relationship

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

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

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

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

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

Doyle Brunson Blasts Face the Ace, Million Dollar Challenge

In a recent blog entry that appeared on DoylesRoom.com, site namesake Doyle Brunson blasted two poker franchises to hit television airwaves in recent months: NBC’s “Face the Ace” and FOX’s “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge.”

As talk show host Jim Rome would say, any time a person begins a sentence with “No disrespect intended,” someone is going to be disrespected. On the two poker game shows, which air on network television stations on weekend afternoons, Brunson commented, “No disrespect intended, but these poker shows are awful. Full Tilt’s ‘Face the Ace’ and Poker Stars ‘Million Dollar Challenge’ are so bad, it’s embarrassing. There is no skill involved in either show and I can’t imagine getting an audience that will watch the shows.” Both series saw online qualifiers take to the felts to play heads-up against heralded poker pros.

“Face the Ace” began airing on August 1st and originally claimed the 9:00pm ET hour on Saturday night. It aired for two episodes in prime time before a planned decision to move the poker franchise to afternoons on the weekend day. The first episode of the Steve Schrippa-hosted show featured Don Topel taking home $200,000, but it mustered just a 0.4 rating with a 2 share, which meant that only 1.59 million viewers had tuned in. Its competition included “America’s Most Wanted” and the movie “Red Eye,” which aired on ABC.

One week later on August 8th, Topel lost the $1 million match to Full Tilt Poker pro Gavin Smith and walked away with nothing. The news was equally grim for NBC, which saw the second installment of “Face the Ace” generate a 0.3 rating with a 1 share, the equivalent of 1.46 million viewers age 18 to 49. “Face the Ace” airs once per month on the network, with future one-hour episodes scheduled to be shown on October 31st, November 14th, December 12th, and January 2nd. NBC also broadcasts the National Heads-Up Poker Championship as well as “Poker After Dark,” which airs Monday to Saturday at 2:05am ET.

The “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge” premiered last Sunday following NFL on FOX coverage, or around 4:30pm ET in most markets. Daniel Negreanu serves as the face of the franchise, helping contestants battle PokerStars-sponsored sports figures and pros in the first two rounds. Then, Negreanu transitions from friend to foe, taking contestants on heads-up in the third round with $100,000 on the line. All $100,000 winners advance to the Table of Champions, whose victor faces Negreanu for $1 million. Last week, Father Andrew Trapp earned $100,000 after defeating former NBA star John Salley and professional poker player Vanessa Rousso.

“Million Dollar Challenge” returns this Sunday following the NFL on FOX. Then, like “Face the Ace,” it will air once per month, with November 22nd, December 13th, and December 27th serving as its remaining dates. “Face the Ace” and “Million Dollar Challenge” exclusively feature Full Tilt and PokerStars pros, respectively.

Brunson also commented on the recent departure of A.J. Benza from GSN’s “High Stakes Poker.” On the televised ring game series, Brunson explained in his blog, “As I travel around, the High Stakes [Poker] cash games are the ones all the fans talk about and I agree with them that they are by far the most interesting. Speaking of that, I read where A.J. Benza is being replaced on GSN’s High Stakes Poker show. That’s too bad, I like A.J.’s subtle sense of humor. Vanessa Rousso is named as his likely replacement. I’m pro-Vanessa so I think she will fit in nicely with the old comic Gabe Kaplan.” Rousso told Poker News Daily that she is not the next host of “High Stakes Poker.” To clear the air, GSN is scheduled to make an announcement by the end of the week.

Online Poker Spotlight: Ryan Welch

Ryan Welch is a 26-year-old professional poker player who lives in Nashville. He left his job as a sales executive to play poker full time. His biggest win was in October 2008 when he won the PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up for close to $100,000...

FTOPS XVI (Full Tilt Online Poker Series No. 14)

The action starts at Full Tilt on Wednesday November 4th and the top tournies continue until the Main Event on November 15th, so that’s 25 events, all hosted by a professional poker player – we’re not sure who is hosting what just yet, it’s still early days.

There is a guaranteed prize pool of $16m+ plus super cool Full Tilt merchandise to be won by playing in FTOPS XIV.

Satellites are running NOW for FTOPS XVI, go into the lobby click Tournaments and then FTOPS to see the satellites on offer at the moment. I can find satellites running for as little as $1.10 – excellent value!

The popular Satellite Challenge is running yet again, win as many entries as you can and Full Tilt will credit you with the cost of the buy in for every double you win. Win more entries than any other player and you will be win the cost of two buy ins, second place gets one extra credit.

The Bouncebackabilty Freeroll is back, exclusively for those players who finished on the bubble, this freeroll will be staged on Saturday, November 21st at 8.00pm UK time (3pm New York). The 1st prize is a seat at the Main Event of FTOPS XV.

On the final table, in any of the events, every player will be given a cool FTOPS jacket. The victors of each event also get a FTOPS jersey and an exclusive gold avatar to be used whilst playing online at Full Tilt Poker - impress your fellow players!

Our eagle eyed readers will have realised that this FTOPS XVI is even better value than before – the buy ins have rarely increased whilst the Guaranteed prize pools have become even more generous than ever before, thanks Full Tilt!

Enjoy FTOPS XIV, here is the schedule:-

Event	UK	New York	Host	Game	Guarantee
1	Thursday November 5th 2.00am	Wednesday November 4th 9.00pm	TBA	$200 + $16 NL Hold ‘em	$1million
2	Thursday November 5th 7.00pm	Thursday November 5th 2.00pm	TBA	TBA	TBA
3	Friday November 6th 2.00am	Thursday November 5th 9.00pm	TBA	$500 + $35 No Limit Holdem 3 x shootout	$300,000
4	Friday November 6th 7.00pm	Friday November 6th 2.00pm	TBA	$200 + $16 NL Hold ‘em1 rebuy and 1 add-on	$600,000
5	Saturday November 7th 2.00am	Friday November 6th 9.00pm	TBA	$200 + $16 Stud/8	$100,000
6	Saturday November 7th 7.00pm	Saturday November 7th 2.00pm	TBA	$500 + $35 PL Omaha 6Max	$350,000
7	Saturday November 7th 9.00pm	Saturday November 7th 4.00pm	TBA	$100 + $9 NL Hold ‘em Rebuy	$600,000
8	Sunday November 8th 7.00pm	Sunday November 8th 2.00pm	TBA	$240 + $16 NL Hold ‘em Knockout 6-max	$800,000
9	Sunday November 8th 9.00pm	Sunday November 8th 4.00pm	TBA	$500 + $35 NL Hold ‘em Heads Up	$500,000
10	Sunday November 8th 11.00pm	Sunday November 8th 6.00pm	TBA	$300 + $22 NL Hold ‘em	$1.5million
11	Monday November 9th 7.00pm	Monday November 9th 2.00pm	TBA	$200 + $16 PLO/8	$200,000
12	Tuesday November 10th 2.00am	Monday November 9th 9.00pm	TBA	$1,000 + $60 NL Hold em 6 max	$1,5million
13	Tuesday November 10th 7.00pm	Tuesday November 10th 2.00pm	TBA	$300 + $22 NL Hold ‘em 4xShootout	$300,000
14	Wednesday November 11th 2.00am	Tuesday November 10th 9.00pm	TBA	$500 + $35 HORSE	$300,000
15	Wednesday November 11th 2.00am	Tuesday November 10th 9.00pm	TBA	$200 + $16 NL Hold ‘em Turbo	$500,000
16	Wednesday November 11th 9.00pm	Wednesday November 11th 2.00pm	TBA	$240 + $16 PLO knockout	$200,000
17	Thursday November 12th 2.00am	Wednesday November 11th 9.00pm	TBA	$300 + $22 NL Hold ‘em 6-max Rebuy	$1million
18	Thursday November 12th 7.00pm	Thursday November 12th 2.00pm	TBA	TBA	TBA
19	Friday November 13th 2.00am	Thursday November 12th 9.00pm	TBA	$200 + $16 Limit Hold’em 6 max	$150,000
20	Friday November 13th 7.00pm	Friday November 13th 2.00pm	TBA	$200 + $16 NL Hold ‘em	$400,000
21	Saturday August 15th 2.00am	Friday August 14th 9.00pm	TBA	$300 + $22 Razz 6 max	$150,000
22	Saturday November 14th 7.00pm	Saturday November 14th 2.00pm	TBA	$2,500 + $120 NL Hold ‘em 2 Day Event	$2million
23	Saturday November 14th 9.00pm	Saturday November 14th 4.00pm	TBA	$100 + $9 PL Omaha Rebuy	$400,000
24	Sunday November 15th 7.00pm	Sunday November 15th 2.00pm	TBA	$120 + $9 NL Hold ‘em Knockout	$800,000
Main Event	Sunday November 15th 11.00pm	Sunday November 15th 6.00pm	TBA	$500 + $35 NL Hold ‘em	$2.5million

If you’re not already a loyal player at Full Tilt Poker then get signed up now, remember to use our Full Tilt Bonus Code FTPGOLD for a sign up bonus up to $600. You can see what a sound site Full Tilt is by perusing our Full Tilt Review and Full Tilt Referral code page.

For you fans of MiniFTOPs, do not despair, MiniFTOPS XIV is back this December 9th to 20th, mirroring the FTOPS with 25 events but at 1/10th of the buy in.

Good luck at the tables!

Pitbull Poker Closure: Players Demand Legislation, Seek Legal Action

On September 30th, Poker News Daily confirmed that Pitbull Poker, a small site on the Flash Poker Network, closed down amid a superuser scandal.  The closing of the poker room began with an incident involving two of the site’s owners showing up at the office in the middle of the night and removing computers from the premises.  On-site staff working the graveyard shift became worried and called police, leading to the two owners, Kevin Baronowski and “Justin,” being called in for questioning.  Since that time, Pitbull Poker has been officially closed and no statements have been made regarding player funds, which at this point are unaccounted for.

The controversy started back on July 22nd when chesterboy, a user at the TwoPlusTwo forums, posted that he believed he had proof that there were superusers on Pitbull Poker.  Chesterboy was not a whining micro-stakes player, but rather a respected mid-stakes competitor who came to the site hired as a prop player to help keep low- and mid-stakes games full.  After months of discussion, including an exclusive interview with Poker News Daily, it appears that the accusations may have been true.  Only a short time later, Pitbull Poker was closed and player funds disappeared.

Well-known online poker pro jasons0147 from the TwoPlusTwo forums commented on the issue by stating, “Although I am an American professional poker player and the Pitbull Poker scandal doesn’t affect me directly, it reminds me that America needs to work on the legislation and regulation of poker sites.  I personally keep tens of thousands of dollars on a major site that is U.S.-friendly, but stupidly enough I couldn’t tell you where that money is held at or what assurance I have that my money will be there when I wake up. It is time for us as poker players to stand up, demand legislation, and remind our government about the amount of revenue that legislation would generate for our respective countries.”

In response to the Poker News Daily article regarding confirmation that Pitbull Poker had closed its doors, there are 35 comments and counting from angry players demanding to know how to get their funds back.  When Pitbull Poker was in its final days, reports were posted around the internet that withdrawal requests were taking weeks to receive a response, with many not being answered at all.  Now, it seems that poker players and affiliates are out hundreds of thousands of dollars, with the money nowhere in sight.  The lost money tally just from the comments to our article adds up to $125,000, with many players banding together to work with Costa Rican authorities and the U.S. Embassy to bring the owners of Pitbull Poker to justice and recover whatever funds they can.

Players tried to find a loophole to get their funds transferred from Pitbull Poker to 5Dimes, a fellow site on the Flash Poker Network.  Those who spoke with 5Dimes customer support were told it is not possible to make a player transfer from Pitbull to 5Dimes unless they had already sent money the other way first.  For many, this meant another dead end in recovering funds.

Many in the poker industry do not have much sympathy for those duped by the owners of Pitbull Poker.  Since the internet is a virtual and unregulated medium, it’s up to the players to do their due diligence with what online poker site they deposit their funds on.  In summary, a lot of the big name players and movers and shakers in the industry say “caveat emptor.”

Moving forward, a lot of players are closely monitoring the lawsuit and legal actions by Poker News Daily reader JC Hawk as he attempts to recoup funds lost for players and affiliates from Pitbull’s owners.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily as we cover the latest information and news as it breaks on this issue.

Amazing Race: Tiffany Michelle, Maria Ho Finish Sixth in Vietnam Leg

Sunday night marked the second installment of the CBS reality series “Amazing Race,” which is in its 15th season. After starting the leg in seventh place, professional poker players Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho finished in sixth. Nine teams remain.

After arriving at Cai Be, Vietnam for the Pit Stop, teams were transported by boat downriver to M? Tho. There, father and son team Gary and Matt were to first to depart the Bassac III riverboat at 5:45am. The clue instructed the teams, who had no idea where they were, to head to the Ho Chi Minh City Water Puppet Theater, a two hour taxi ride away. At the theater, they had to pluck a clue out of the mouth of a twisting, spitting water dragon. Michelle and Ho were the seventh team to depart, doing so at 6:11am. The last team to leave the Pit Stop, married couple Brian and Ericka, left just 18 minutes later.

The team of poker players exited the Water Puppet Theater in sixth place and were given a stamp with an image of a building on it, which they ultimately discerned to be the Main Post Office. There, teams were given their first Detour, a choice between two tasks, on this season of “Amazing Race.” The first option, “Child’s Play,” challenged teams to head to a local park, pick up a heavy concrete animal statue, and transport it along a course while collecting five colored balloons. In the second Detour option, “Word Play,” teams headed to the observation deck of a local hotel overlooking a busy traffic circle and had to spot six Vietnamese letters. Then, they had to leave the hotel and unscramble the letters to spell a common word.

Michelle and Ho elected to complete “Child’s Play” and selected a large wolf, transporting the statue on a cart, which quickly broke after leaving the start of the Detour. Fortunately, they were easily able to run back and grab a second cart to continue the challenge. With Michelle dragging the wolf through the Detour, Ho rolled the team’s luggage. Consequently, Michelle was exhausted. She told “Amazing Race” cameras, “The Detour was so incredibly tough. I was gasping for breath like I’ve never had to gasp before. Every other team has a man to lean on and we don’t.” Michelle and Ho are the only all-female team on this edition of “Amazing Race.”

Upon completing the Detour, teams received a clue outlining the leg’s Roadblock, a task that only one team member can perform. In the Vietnam leg’s Roadblock, dubbed “Who’s ready for a complete breakdown,” teams had to break down two VCRs, sorting their parts into separate piles. A man performed a demonstration on-site in a local market stall, Dien Co 008.

While teams were busy pushing and pulling their animals through the park, dating couple Marcy and Ron chose to complete “Word Play.” Upon figuring out what the six letters were, they failed to consult locals to unscramble the word for quite some time, a costly mistake that sent them into last place. Meanwhile, Michelle and Ho arrived at the Roadblock in sixth place, where the former disassembled two VCRs. The Ultimate Bet pro quipped, “I like these power tools. They are bad ass.”

Harlem Globetrotters Flight Time and Big Easy were the first to arrive at the Pit Stop, Reunification Palace, outrunning dating couple Meghan and Cheyne. For winning the leg, the Globetrotters earned a trip for two to Aruba courtesy of Travelocity. The island nation is currently playing host to the annual Ultimate Bet Aruba Poker Classic, whose $5,500 buy-in Main Event begins on Monday.

Brian and Ericka, who finished last in the first leg of “Amazing Race,” righted the ship to take fourth place this time around. Michelle and Ho checked in sixth, up one spot from last week. Marcy and Ron, after taking too much time to perform the Detour, checked into the Pit Stop in last place and were eliminated. For Marcy, it was bittersweet, as her father was shot down during the Vietnam War and rescued by American forces.

Next week, teams dress up like monkeys as the “Amazing Race” crew travels to Cambodia. In addition, “one team breaks the cardinal rule” and loses their passports. “Amazing Race” airs weekly on Sundays at 8:00pm ET on CBS.

Poker Community Responds to Amazing Race Premiere

Professional poker players Maria Ho and Tiffany Michelle are quickly becoming the talk of reality television fans and poker enthusiasts alike after just one episode of the new season of the CBS series “Amazing Race.”  These two racers, who each made their claim to fame by being the last women remaining in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, are quickly gaining fans and critics after the two-hour premiere, during which they went from first to last place, impressing and irritating their competitors along the way.

Poker News Daily sought the opinions of those on both sides of the issue in order to gain more insight into why the Ho/Michelle team has such a polarizing effect on people.  In addition to discussing some of the pros and cons of their appearance, we also picked up behind the scenes information that sheds more light on how the two young women are being portrayed.

The Skeptic

It didn’t take long for occasional poker journalist and online poker regular Jon Wein to decide that he did not enjoy the duo of poker ladies participating in the show.  He tuned in to watch the show, but Wein claims he “had to turn it off after [Tiffany Michelle] and Maria Ho implied they were rich for the like eighteenth time.”

His biggest issue with the two women appearing on the show is that it deprives other, ostensibly more deserving, poker players from time in the limelight.  “It literally makes me sick that Tiffany Michelle gets this much coverage and publicity for one Main Event run. She’s done nothing else,” he explained.  “Ultimate Bet has all of these talented pros like Matt ‘mattg1983’ Graham and Adam ‘Roothlus’ Levy and then they have her… It’s a complete slap in the face to them.”  Wein even took a playful jab at Michelle’s former Poker News employer Tony “Tony G” Guoga.  “I literally curse Tony G’s name to this day because he put her in the Main Event,” he joked.

While Wein has a very clear opinion on Michelle, he has less to say about her partner.  “I don’t know Maria and have never spoken to her.  I only know what the media portrays her as,” he said.

Considering poker players do not get too many opportunities at mainstream media exposure, an appearance on a reality show can have a major influence on how the game is perceived by those who are not fans of it.  Wein is skeptical that the team, Michelle in particular, will grow poker’s popularity.  “Even if [Michelle] is the sickest ‘Amazing Race’ contestant ever, I just don’t understand how anyone can be like, ‘Wow, what a great ambassador for the game. What a humble person about their successes’…I think she is a poor example of what a poker player should be.”  His opinion is based not only on the first episode of “Amazing Race”, but also last year’s Main Event coverage and his own personal experiences over the course of several summers in Las Vegas.

He may just be one viewer, but the presence of Michelle and Ho on the show has actually convinced the longtime “Amazing Race” fan to take some time off from tuning in, as Wein said he had no plans to watch future episodes this season.

The Supporter

Like Wein, longtime tournament reporter B.J. Nemeth knew Ho and Michelle long before their appearance on “Amazing Race.”  In fact, it is only because of their presence on the show that he tuned in this season.  “I have never watched ‘Amazing Race’ before this season and I am watching primarily because I am friends with Maria and Tiffany,” Nemeth explained.  “I am also watching (to a lesser extent) because of my weekly appearances on PokerRoad’s ‘The Poker Beat,’ where I am sure we will discuss and analyze the show at some point, just as we did with Annie Duke on ‘Celebrity Apprentice.’”  He is a fan so far and even suggested that he might tune into the show for future seasons.

The show has made a fan of Nemeth, but he thinks it will have little impact on bringing new fans to poker.  He explained, comparing their appearance to Duke’s memorable run on “Celebrity Apprentice”:

“Amazing Race” is a unique game and the specific job skills that people bring with them will have little impact, whether they are a doctor, a lawyer, or a poker player.  “If [Michelle and Ho] perform well or win, it won’t be because they are poker players. If they embarrass themselves and lose, it won’t be because they are poker players. And I don’t think mainstream fans will judge the poker industry by how they finish… The impact on poker is very different from Annie Duke’s presence on ‘Celebrity Apprentice,’ where she was only on the show because she was a famous poker player, and it was brought up repeatedly from a strategy standpoint and in the boardroom with Donald Trump.”

Nemeth also conceded that any publicity was good publicity though and, unlike Wein, believed that the appearance of the young female poker players would more than likely help rather than hurt the poker cause.  When it comes to Wein’s concerns that their behavior will come off as indicative of the poker industry as a whole, Nemeth disagreed.  “Even though ‘Amazing Race’ fans identify Maria and Tiffany as the ‘poker players’ or the ‘poker girls,’ that’s just an identifier because it’s tough to learn names of 10 to 12 two-person teams,” he pointed out.  “They refer to the other teams in similar ways – ‘the asshole lawyer,’ ‘the interracial couple,’ ‘the father-son team,’ and ‘the gay brothers.’ Reality TV fans are smart enough to know that personality traits are unique to individuals and not to entire professions or sexual preferences.”

The Scoop

Ho and Nemeth had a lengthy chat after the show’s Sunday premiere and Nemeth shared behind-the-scenes details of the first episode with Poker News Daily.  “Maria and Tiffany have agreed that they won’t be answering their critics or talking about specific things until the show is complete. It’s not easy, because they’ve seen a lot of the criticism and want to respond, but they know it would be counterproductive at this point,” Nemeth explained.  However, he did clear up a couple of early points of criticism on behalf of his friends.

He immediately addressed a major issue that both reality television fans and poker enthusiasts were quick to criticize the girls for - their rolling luggage.  Historically, backpacks have proven to be the most popular way to travel on the show and avid fans suggest that rolling luggage slows players down too much during crucial periods of the race where they may have to run.  Nemeth explained that their bags convert into backpacks and the clip showing Ho rolling it down the street was during a three mile walk from one location to the next.

Nemeth also filled us in on the controversial decision by the pair to conceal their occupation from their opponents.  According to Nemeth, the producers encouraged them to keep their status as poker pros under wraps since previous contestants like former “Survivor” winners Rob Mariano and Amber Brkich were highly criticized by their fellow racers for already being rich and famous.

As for their false claim that they worked with a non-profit group?  This is not entirely a lie.  Both women have done a lot of charity work, so there was more truth to their statements than the show depicted.  “The homeless charity that Tiffany mentioned on the show is a real charity that she has worked with and its director called her on Monday to support her,” said Nemeth.  He also said that the girls received less flack from their competitors about their tiny fib than the show implied and that they are still in touch with over half of the teams from the season.

These are just two of several opinions on a show that still has a long way to go to reach the finish line.  In every season of reality television, there will inevitably be heroes and villains.  So far, Ho and Michelle are netting their fair share of criticism compared to the other participants, but picking up a few new fans as well, so it will take a little more airtime to get a better idea of how they will be remembered on “Amazing Race” and whether or not it will have any bearing on the world of poker.

Poker Pros make slow showing in Amazing Race

Without spoiling too much of the first episode of this seasons CBS Amazing Race, professional poker players Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho had a disappointing finish to the first leg of the race.

Europeans dominate inaugural Caesars Cup

"We destroyed them," said European captain Annette Obrestad. "They had no chance."

The made-for-TV tournament held at Casino at the Empire began with an odd brand of team poker where partners on either side of the table swapped control on each street.

The first match saw Finns Patrik Antonius and Ilari "ziigmund" Sahamies make quick work of Americans Phil Ivey and Huck Seed.

Americas Captain Daniel Negreanu joined with 11-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth to take on Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier and Betfair Poker qualifier John Harvey in the next match.

Europe grabbed a 2-0 lead when they got it in with ace-three against pocket aces and managed to suck out a straight.

The Americas fought back in the third match when Doyle Brunson and Jennifer Harman made a miraculous comeback to defeat Dario Minieri and Obrestad.

However, the European team took a commanding 3 to 1 lead when Denmark's Gus Hansen and Peter Eastgate beat John Juanda and Barry Greenstein, the latter running king-jack into ace-ten and failing to improve.

The format moved to heads-up next with Obrestad taking on Seed.

The young Norwegian took control after getting it all in with middle-pair-top-kicker against Seed's pair and a flush draw and managed to hold.

The match and the event were over soon after when Seed found himself all in with a dominated ace.

An ecstatic Obrestad said her decision to value youth over experience in choosing teammates for the event proved the right one.

"I would say that we outplayed them for the most part," she said. "We didn't make that many mistakes at all and we didn't get that lucky.

"The thing is in Europe there are not that many professional poker players like they have in the States. We don't have any Doyle Brunsons in Europe. Most of the guys who are experienced are young."

Negreanu saw things a little differently.

"Two things," he said. "First of all, in all the key situations, whether it was an ace versus an ace or whatever, they won every one of those. A lot of the key hands we just got unlucky in.

"Secondly, the specific format really didn't allow players, like Phil Ivey for example, to exhibit his strengths. It was all-in poker."

Coverage of the event will air on ESPN in the new year.

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Yevgeniy Timoshenko (Jovial Gent) Wins 2009 WCOOP Main Event

Continuing what has been one of the most successful years that a professional poker player could have, Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko won the Main Event of the 2009 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP), earning over $1.7 million for his efforts.

The two-day $5,000 buy in event, which started on Sunday, saw an astonishing 2,144 players willing to either pony up the entry fee or satellite their way in. This field outpaced the $10 million that PokerStars guaranteed and set up a prize pool of $10.72 million.

As is expected for what has become the preeminent online tournament of the year, top professionals and celebrities were bountiful and some performed extremely well. PokerStars Germany sponsored pro Katja Thater (305th place) was able to find her way through the first day to the money and, on the celebrity side, baseball Hall of Fame member Orel Hershiser showed that he has been a diligent student of the game by finishing in 217th place. When the play ended for Day 1, 178 were left in the fight, led by poker professional Jason Dewitt.

Dewitt brought one of the more interesting stories to the festivities of the WCOOP. In what is potentially a first-ever occurrence in the world of poker, Dewitt was also participating in the World Poker Tour (WPT) event that is taking place at the Borgata when Day Two of the WCOOP began. Tournament officials made the landmark decision to allow Dewitt - playing online under his “TheMasterJ33” moniker - to bring a computer close to the tables to allow him to multi-task.

Dewitt appeared to handle the adversities of playing in both events well. Although he wouldn’t be able to maintain his chip lead in the WCOOP Main Event (eventually being eliminated in 87th place), his play in the WPT tournament - where Dewitt admitted he was “trying to build a big stack or bust” prior to getting back into the action of the WCOOP - enabled him to finish in 15th place when action ended.

Timoshenko, under his “Jovial Gent” nickname, came to the final table of the WCOOP Main Event in excellent shape with slightly over 10 million in chips, only two million off of chip leader Dan “djk123” Kelly. The duo held over half of the chips in play and it seemed to be only a matter of time before they hooked up to decide the championship.

After “Udon Wannit” doubled up through “PeachyMer,” Kelly administered the killing blow, eliminating “PeachyMer” in ninth place. Kelly then went on to dismiss both “Mudvaynes” and “Chong94” in seventh and sixth place, respectively.

Timoshenko held back through these early eliminations, but got into the flow after about an hour and a half. Timoshenko eliminated “Xaston” in fifth place and then sealed the tournament, for all effective purposes, when he and Kelly (who had fallen into second place) went to war. After a pre-flop battle where Kelly pushed in the remainder of his 10 million-plus stack with pocket tens, Timoshenko snap-called with pocket kings. A king on the flop all but sealed the hand and, once the turn and river blanked, Kelly was out in fourth, $643,200 richer. As the 2009 WCOOP Player of the Series, he is on his way to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in January.

With Kelly’s dismissal, Timoshenko held a dominant chip lead over “Udon Wannit” and “reddeevil” and continued to apply the pressure. He dismissed “reddeevil” in third place and, only a few hands later, locked up the title. On a 6-K-8 flop, “Udon Wannit” bet out only to face a reraise from “Jovial Gent.” “Udon Wannit” decided that Timoshenko was pushing him around and made a stand all-in with 6-5 for bottom pair; “Jovial Gent,” however, had the goods when he showed K-6 for a flopped two pair. Once the turn and river ran dry, “Udon Wannit” was out in second and Timoshenko was crowned the 2009 WCOOP Main Event Champion.

The final table played out as such:

1st Place: Jovial Gent - $1,715,200
2nd Place: Udon Wannit - $1,286,400
3rd Place: reddeevil - $933,712
4th Place: djk123 - $643,200
5th Place: Xaston - $482,400
6th Place: Chong94 - $375,200
7th Place: Mudvaynes - $268,000
8th Place: Supa4real - $182,240
9th Place: PeachyMer - $96,480

Timoshenko, when he was only 20 years-old, won the inaugural stop of the Asian Poker Tour (APT) in Macau in August of 2008, pocketing $500,000 for his efforts. He then made the final table of the 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe £1,500 No Limit Hold’em tournament, finishing in third for £55,350.

After taking a break to turn 21, Timoshenko unleashed his skills on unsuspecting WPT regulars, taking the Championship title in April for $2.1 million. Over the past year, he has won almost $3 million in live tournaments and, with his win in the WCOOP Main Event, drove his lifetime poker winnings to almost $5 million.

Tiffany Michelle Gives the Inside Scoop on Amazing Race

On September 27th, the 15th installment of the CBS reality franchise “Amazing Race” will kick off at 8:00pm ET. Appearing will be professional poker players Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho, the last women standing in the 2008 and 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Events, respectively. Michelle sat down with Poker News Daily to preview the season.

Poker News Daily: Congratulations on appearing on “Amazing Race.” Tell us how the opportunity came up.

Michelle: Maria Ho and I have been friends for a while and bonded even more recently. There was lots of talk of us doing a reality television show. We agreed that if we did anything, it’d be “Amazing Race.” We thought we’d be an interesting team. With the competition and challenge of the show, it’d be right up our alley. We could take our poker playing background and use it on “Amazing Race.” We had a chance to go through the casting process and were in Las Vegas playing tournaments when we got the call. It was definitely hard to head back to the tables during the WSOP knowing we’d be traveling the world soon.

PND: Had you watched previous seasons of “Amazing Race”?

Michelle: I hadn’t seen a full season, but saw the show on different occasions. It looked challenging and was out of my league. I think it looked fun.

PND: The cast features Harlem Globetrotters and a former Miss America. Talk about the competition that you’ll face on “Amazing Race.”

Michelle: We were surprised to learn that we were the only all-female team this season. We felt pressure to represent women and knew that no all-female team had ever won “Amazing Race.” We thought that our competition consisted of young, big, athletic people. That was going to be our weakness, but we knew that the race tests your mental and physical skills.

PND: Past seasons of “Amazing Race” have included stops in the four corners of the globe. Talk about being able to travel the world.

Michelle: It was a very life-changing experience. I live a wonderful and blessed life. I get to travel and stay in nice hotels. We have a life of luxury and don’t have to sweat it out. It was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done, mentally and emotionally. I came home and had a whole new appreciation for my life. I feel like I’m so full after the experience.

PND: Talk about your relationship with Maria Ho.

Michelle: I wouldn’t have done “Amazing Race” without her. You have to trust and feel comfortable with your partner. I was excited to share this experience with her. We travel together on the poker circuit already. We’re 10 times closer now.

PND: Is there anything you can take away from Annie Duke’s appearance on “Celebrity Apprentice” that could have helped you on “Amazing Race”?

Michelle: “Celebrity Apprentice” is a different format than “Amazing Race.” You’re competing against different people on your own. On the race, you have a team. There’s not that direct competition and you have the opportunity to work together in a group. We wanted to represent poker well after what happened between Annie and Joan Rivers. We wanted to come off the best that we could. We wanted to play a clean game and give poker players a good name. Also for us, we’re controversial and wanted to show people a different side.

PND: You’re hosting a Hollywood premier of “Amazing Race” that will likely include Tammy and Victor, who won last season’s installment of the reality show. Did they provide any advice before you set out?

Michelle: We got to go to a Labor Day barbeque at Victor’s house. A lot of people who were on “Amazing Race” were there and you felt like a big family. These people know exactly what you went through. Within a few minutes of being there, I felt like I had known them forever. It’s wonderful being a part of something special.

PND: What preparations did you make before the show began filming?

Michelle: I ran out and bought running shoes. I got my cardio up because I knew there was a lot of running involved. Also, we learned how to drive a stick shift. Maria was much better than I was at that, so she was responsible. We watched past episodes and talked about them. We prepped for the unknown as much as we could. I got my butt in the gym and got in touch with the outdoors.

PND: You mentioned in a blog entry before you left that poker will always be around, but doing “Amazing Race” was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Was it hard walking away from this year’s WSOP Main Event to film?

Michelle: There wasn’t even a doubt in my mind that I wanted to do the show. What I did last year in the Main Event was amazing. As hopeful as I could be to repeat that, I was happy with that punctuation. The Main Event comes around every year and poker is always there. Not only was this an amazing challenge, but it was also an opportunity to be a part of an Emmy Award winning show. To get to do it with someone else sounded like a fun time.

Doyle Brunson Interview with Poker News Daily

Poker News Daily: You have an autobiography coming out later this year. Can you talk about why you’re writing the book now and what readers can expect?

Brunson: The book is supposed to be out in November. It’s been in the works for four or five years and I’ve vetoed it twice because I didn’t want it out there. They pressured me around until I finally released it. It’s a story about my life and the things I’ve been through. It’s hard to talk about some things, but I’ve tried to get most of it in there.

PND: Can you give us a glimpse of some of the things that are difficult to talk about in the book?

Brunson: Just think about your own life. Is there anything in your own life that you wouldn’t want to put on public display? There are some personal things. At my age, I’m trying not to be any more famous than I already am.

PND: What would casual poker fans be surprised to learn about Doyle Brunson?

Brunson: I don’t know what the perception of me is. I’ve been married for 50 years and that’s pretty unusual in the poker world. I’ve tried to keep my personal life isolated from the gambling world. That’s the only way you can keep your family together, at least with my wife. She couldn’t handle that pressure, so I try not to talk about gambling around my house. My son has turned out to be a professional poker player, but I didn’t teach him anything; he taught himself in college. I never discuss gambling in my house simply because my wife is what you would call a “square.” She’s not accustomed to the ups and downs of the poker world.

PND: What’s the difference between poker in 2009 and when you won the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event in 1976 and 1977?

Brunson: The popularity of poker is much more now than it was. The fact people accept that you’re a poker player now is a big thing. In those days, you were a second-class citizen. They thought you were a gangster if you played poker for a living. I think the media has softened that a bit and the public can accept you now as a poker player.

PND: Talk about November Nine member Jeff Shulman’s comments that he would trash the WSOP Main Event bracelet if he won.

Brunson: That’s a little bit strong. I understand his concerns and I agree with most of them. The WSOP is a pretty big tradition. It’s the biggest event in the poker world. I think it’s a little bit strong to say that you’re going to throw the bracelet away. If he felt that way, he probably shouldn’t have entered. Jeff is a sensible young man and he’ll come off that statement a little bit. He thinks that Harrah’s has prostituted the poker world. I agree with him to some extent. I think there could be changes made.

All of us who came from the original WSOP at Binion’s have seen a big difference. At Binion’s, they bent over backwards for us and made the poker player come first. They paid all of our expenses, set up big buffets for us, and paid for our rooms just to come out and play. Naturally, Harrah’s doesn’t do that and I can see their point of view. It’s a big business. Harrah’s makes a lot of money off the WSOP. It’s a two-edged sword and you have to compromise on some things.

PND: You seemed to tighten up a bit on the most recent season of GSN’s “High Stakes Poker.” Was this a strategy coming in or just how the table played out?

Brunson: I get that a lot. The way others at the table play dictates the way you play. These young kids are so aggressive that it’s hard to be more aggressive than they are. That would just make a total crapshoot out of it. I have slowed my play down a little bit, but I’ve never lost on one of those shows. I’ve played 15 in a row and won every time. The object is to win. Some of the younger guys try to put on a show and demonstrate how smart they are instead of just trying to play poker. One of these days, I might just break loose and show them what aggression really is.

It’s so simple just to sit back and win that it’s hard not to do it. The reason I’ve been so successful is that other people try to build their image up. Instead of trying to play good poker, they try to make “flashy” plays.

PND: If you hadn’t become a professional poker player, where would you likely be right now?

Brunson: My life was heading towards playing in the NBA. That’s what I worked my whole life for. I was lucky enough to be a good athlete. I was an All-State basketball player. I was State Champion in the mile. In college, I was the Most Valuable Player in my conference. The NBA scouts had already come down and talked to my coach and I was going to be drafted the next year. I feel like I could have played in the NBA. Then, I would have probably gone back and been a teacher or a coach.

PND: Talk about the explosion of poker on television. Is it surprising to you?

Brunson: It is. It’s hard for me to accept the fact that people perceive poker players as celebrities. I don’t consider myself to be a celebrity. I’m not an entertainer; I’m a poker player. It seems like some of these “wannabees” spend more time trying to be entertainers and performers than they do playing poker. It doesn’t sit too well with me. I guess I’m a poker purist. I like poker for what it is: a great game. America is just finding out about it and I found out about it 50 years ago. I hate to see people who play poker do things besides playing poker to benefit themselves.

The Sports Legends Challenge Picks Up Momentum

The Pokernews Sports Legend Challenge is set to get underway September 14-17, 2009 as 25 of the world's top sporting legends join forces with 25 top professional poker players to provide a weekend of exciting action. Featuring poker, golfing...

Dusty Schmidt drops lawsuit

Last month we brought you the news that golfer turned professional poker player Dusty Schmidt was taking the USGA to court in a bid to win back his amateur status. Schmidt played golf professionally until a heart attack at the age of just 23 forced him to quit.

Phil Ivey’s prop bets revealed: Millions on the line!

One of the biggest favorites in the World Series of Poker Main Event is Phil Ivey. He is undoubtedly the most skilled and well-known of the nine finalists and despite of his characteristic quiet personality the whole poker media have focused to this seven-time WSOP bracelet winner druring the past month.

The $8.5 million first prize is a life changing amount to each of the Main Event finalist, even to Ivey as it would nearly double up his tournament career winnings.

Yet it has now come to public that Ivey has prop bets going on for over $3 millions extra cash.

-Ivey making more millions

Recently Tom Dwan revealed that he’s one of the people who have laid a bet with Ivey. Dwan has to pay million dollars to Ivey if Ivey should win. Sounds big, but these two play for these kind of pots frequently on the high-stakes tables.

Next is Phil Gordon who took the bet which didn’t make his spouse happy at all. Gordon, who is a WPT winner and poker author, told that they are “quaking in their boots” on a recent Full Tilt Podcast.

Gordon also revealed that Andy Bloch has gotten into trouble as well. It seems that Bloch can lose a massive $2 million dollars. Gordon said that “Andy is quaking about 20 times more than I am”, which reveals quite a lot about the total sum of the bets.

After Gordon’s comments Bloch was forced to confirm the story. It seems that the prop bets were made when there were 2.400 players remaining in the Main Event. Getting the odds of 99-1, Andy bet $20.000 which’ll mean that he has to pay Ivey $2 million if Phil will Win.

We still don’t know all of the prop bets and we probably will never know the total sum, but it’s hard to think that players such as Patrik Antonius, Ilari Sahamies, or the well-known high-stakes gambler Sammy Farha wouldn’t have made some prop bets of their own.

Ivey is renowned to place high stakes prop bets at tournaments which apparently is a motivational thing for him because he has to leave the juicy high-stakes games for a while. If Ivey should win the Main Event he would most likely be confirmed as the richest professional poker player in history. He might gain such a big popularity through endorsement deals and tv appearances that he might be the first professional player to be known as a professional athlete.

Source: Flopturnriver

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Phil Ivey’s prop bets revealed: Millions on the line!