Poker News

2 Months, $2 Million: Deuces Cracked Fundraiser Takes Center Stage

In Wednesday’s episode of the G4 online poker reality show “2 Months, $2 Million,” a fundraiser held by the training site Deuces Cracked took center stage and featured attendees battling in the age-old game Connect Four.

The show opened at a restaurant, where cast member Emil Patel, a vegetarian, ordered a vast assortment of food for breakfast, including pancakes, macaroni and cheese, sliced apples, pizza, berries, and a fruit smoothie. Patel was like a kid in a candy store selecting items off the menu, while Jay Rosenkrantz described the upcoming fundraiser sponsored by his website, Deuces Cracked. The gala, featuring the kids’ game Connect Four, would benefit the Lili Claire Foundation, which helps those suffering from “Williams Syndrome and similar disabilities,” according to its website.

Patel was appropriately tasked with devising a menu, while Brian Roberts was faced with the challenge of producing a rap to be performed on site. He told “2 Months, $2 Million” cameras, “I don’t know about rappers from Vegas and that’s a bad sign.” Dani Stern, meanwhile, was asked to attract a harem of women to the event. Stern ultimately sought the aid of Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger, who participated in the “House Wars” episode several weeks ago.

The quartet was up $141,000 entering Week 7, still miles away from its stated goal of $2 million. As an added incentive, the “2 Months, $2 Million” personality with the best financial showing during Week 7 would take home a $5,000 watch courtesy of the other three players. Roberts sought revenge against luckexpress10, who banked $104,000 at his expense on the September 17th episode. Roberts flopped a set in Omaha to go up $7,500 against luckexpress10. His foe then made a well-timed laydown on a 9-A-6-A board when Roberts held A-J for trips. Still, Roberts was up $25,000 for the session.

Stern and Lichtenberger headed to the Hard Rock pool to recruit women for the Connect Four fundraiser. Stern quipped, “Chewy has made millions of dollars playing online poker, but his real skill is with the ladies.” However, the duo came up empty-handed at the pool and instead headed to Sapphire, a gentlemen’s club, to meet with their Las Vegas concierge. Finally, Stern and Lichtenberger convinced “Alicia,” a self-proclaimed Connect Four fan, to attend the fundraiser.

The charity gala took place at Planet Hollywood on the Las Vegas Strip. Patel claimed he was 7-0 in Connect Four matches during it and then made “Connect Five” against Rosenkrantz.  Stern and Alicia then played and their match was followed by a live performance of the rap. Roberts’ production was stellar, as Stern noted, “I’ll be honest, I was shocked at how good the rap was.” At the end of the night, over $20,000 was raised for the Lili Claire Foundation from the $400 buy-in event.

When the totals for the week were calculated, Rosenkrantz was down $44,000, Patel had lost $19,000, Roberts was up $46,500, and Stern had earned $11,000. Roberts ultimately claimed the watch, although the team was still down $5,500 on the week. After seven weeks of “2 Months, $2 Million,” the cast is just $135,600 in the black. The G4 franchise actually lasts 10 weeks, meaning the team must average nearly $625,000 in profit in each of the next three episodes in order to achieve their goal.

For the ceremonial Penalty Stunt, Rosenkrantz had to roller stake from Fremont Street to the world-famous “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada” sign donning a tight pair of shorts and tied-up checkered shirt while being tailed by the rest of the gang in an SUV.

Next week, Rosenkrantz plays the highest stakes games of the season in an effort to achieve the $2 million goal. The show airs on Wednesday nights at 8:00pm ET on G4.

Brian Powell, Jason Mercier Lead WSOP Europe Main Event Day 1A

Day 1A of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe Main Event played out on Saturday. When the smoke cleared, Brian Powell and Team PokerStars Pro member Jason Mercier led the field, which began with 156 players.

By the end of play in London, just 75 runners remained in contention. Packing the pack is Powell, who hails from Louisville. Powell made a deep run in the 2009 WSOP Main Event, finishing in 66th place and earning $90,000 for his $10,000 buy-in. He also finished 13th in the World Championship Mixed Event for $27,000. Powell owns a stack of 194,600 in London. Trailing him on the leaderboard is Mercier, a WSOP bracelet winner and newly-minted member of Team PokerStars Pro. Mercier holds 189,725 chips and will watch as Day 1B plays out today.

During a break in play, WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack awarded Jeffrey Lisandro WSOP Player of the Year honors. Lisandro won three bracelets during the 2009 festivities in Las Vegas, two in Seven Card Stud and one in Seven Card Razz. Lisandro recorded a total of six in the money finishes during the 2009 WSOP overall. As a result of claiming Player of the Year honors, Lisandro will be bought into the 2010, 2011, and 2012 WSOP Main Events.

Fittingly, Doyle Brunson issued the day’s “Shuffle Up and Deal” command to begin play in the third running of the WSOP Europe Main Event. Pollack told the gathered crowd, “Doyle was there in Las Vegas at the very start of the WSOP 40 years ago. Doyle was also with us when we started WSOP Europe three years ago in London. And, we are proud to have him with us today.” Brunson, a member of the Poker Hall of Fame, holds 10 WSOP bracelets, tied with Johnny Chan for the second most overall. The leader in that category is Phil Hellmuth, who has collected 11 pieces of hardware over the years and also won the 1989 WSOP Main Event.

Speaking of Hellmuth, a press release distributed last week by Ultimate Bet outlined his complex parade route around London leading to his entrance at the Casino at the Empire. WSOP officials painted the picture of Hellmuth’s arrival: “Hellmuth entered Empire Casino much like Nero burning through Rome, oblivious to the ongoing tournament and taking his seat at the televised feature table. The bizarre spectacle was ornamented by an army of faux Roman soldiers erect and pretty girls standing at attention, while trumpets blared.” Hellmuth entered dressed as Julius Caesar on Day 1C of the Main Event in Sin City.

Here are the Top 10 chip stacks after Day 1A of the 2009 WSOP Europe Main Event:

1. Brian Powell - 194,600
2. Jason Mercier - 189,725
3. Sami Kelopuro - 168,925
4. Viktor Blom - 163,175
5. Jonathan Aguiar - 160,100
6. Martin Hansen - 152,775
7. Christian Harder - 134,125
8. Tommy Pavlicek - 119,825
9. Richard Grace - 116,850
10. John Kabbaj - 104,500

Other notable players who will take to the felts when Day 2 plays out on Monday include:

13. Doyle Brunson - 92,900
15. Brandon Cantu - 89,000
19. Barry Shulman - 80,250
21. James Akenhead - 77,675
28. Liz Lieu - 65,600
37. Eric Friberg - 49,475
43. Todd Brunson - 46,050
45. Chad Brown - 44,975
47. Men “The Master” Nguyen - 43,200
58. Marco Traniello - 33,000
60. Alex Kravchenko - 31,100
62. Mike “The Mouth” Matusow - 28,900
71. Phil Hellmuth - 18,450
72, Scott Montgomery - 18,225
73. Erik Seidel - 9,925

Shulman and Akenhead are both part of the November Nine, the members of the final table of the Main Event in Las Vegas who will take to the felts in two months. Another November Nine member, Phil Ivey, was sent packing on Day 1A. Registration for Day 1B is expected to close around 3:40pm local time on Sunday.

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

Poker Community Offers WSOP November Nine Predictions

We’ve reached the midway point in the four-month break until the start of World Series of Poker (WSOP) November Nine festivities, but the anticipation for the big event has yet to slow down.  With big performances from Kevin Schaffel and Steven Begleiter at the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Legends of Poker, Joe “jcada99″ Cada’s standout run in several PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) events, and Jeff Shulman’s recent announcement that the one and only Phil Hellmuth will be serving as his poker coach, these nine men have kept themselves at the forefront of poker news.

So who will win the 2009 WSOP Main Event?  Poker News Daily sought the insight of some of the other players who made incredible runs at this year’s Main Event as well as a couple of our own writers who spent the summer keeping a very close eye on the action.  You’ll be surprised to read just how many of them did not opt for fan favorite Phil Ivey.

One player who is more than familiar with most of the November Nine is 12th place finisher in this year’s Main Event and Ultimate Bet sponsored pro Billy “Patrolman35″ Kopp.  The young online poker pro logged several hours with most of the players, including a stint where he was seated on Ivey’s direct right.  However, Kopp suggests that Ivey is not the one that viewers should be keeping their eye on:

“I think the man to look out for is Kevin Schaffel,” Kopp predicted. “Throughout the eight days that I played in the Main Event, this guy impressed me the most.  I was at several of his tables for an extended period of time and this was the one guy who really gave me trouble.  I am not sure if he was just getting some outstanding short-term luck and letting the cards speak or if he truly was playing exquisite poker. I am going to go with the latter, especially after his recent runner-up performance at [the WPT Legends of Poker]…I wish everyone much luck at the final table, as I have played with most of them at some point in the tournament.  However, I really applaud Kevin and the performance he put on, at least while I was there.  I am anxious to see some of the hands we got tangled in on television in a couple of weeks.”

Kopp is referring to Schaffel’s big score last month, when he made the final table of the WPT event and held his own against the likes of Toto Leonidas, online pros Todd Terry and Sam Stein, and the event’s champion, Prahlad Friedman.  Many are comparing his performance to Ivan Demidov’s runner-up finish at the Main Event of the WSOP Europe in 2008.  Last year, Demidov established himself as one of the frontrunners to win the Main Event with his performance and it appears that Schaffel is cementing a similar reputation.

Another online pro with plenty of insight into the minds of the November Nine is 22 year-old Nick “fu_15″ Maimone, who came in 14th in this year’s Main Event.  He is less certain than Kopp about his pick, but offered his thoughts nonetheless.

“It is complicated,” Maimone explained.  “I expect the coaching factor could highly influence the outcome of the Main Event.  However, the best players are, in this order, Phil Ivey, James Akenhead, and Joe Cada.  Although the chips are not in their favor, one of them will win.”  Those three are short on chips, especially Ivey and Akenhead, who are seventh and ninth on the leaderboard, respectively.  Ivey may be short on chips, but Maimone still believes the skill differential will make a huge difference come competition time: “Antoine Saout is decent and so is Eric Buchman, but the other four do not even come close in terms of skill.  I hope Ivey or Akenhead wins, but honestly I think Ivey will.”

Maimone is in the minority of the people we polled about their predictions though and he was the only one who picked the seven-time WSOP bracelet winner.  The writers here at Poker News Daily weighed in with their picks as well and, while they all conceded Ivey was likely the most skilled player at the table, they each went with a different horse to win the big race.

Brett Collson, who moonlighted as a reporter for PocketFivesLive.com in addition to his Poker News Daily duties during the Main Event, went with the lone internet pro at the table as his choice.  “We’ve seen short stacks excel at the Main Event final table in the past and I foresee it happening again this year,” Collson theorized.  “While Ivey might be the popular pick, Joe Cada’s cool demeanor and relentless aggression could create problems for the leaders from the get-go. He has plenty of chips to make some moves and is my pick to become the youngest Main Event winner ever in November.”

Staff Writer Earl Burton elected to go with the other November Niner to make a name for himself at the Legends of Poker event, Steven Begleiter.  “I have a feeling that everyone and their brother is going to pick Phil Ivey, but, to be honest, I think he is too short-stacked to have a tremendous impact,” said Burton.  He discounted the current chip leader from the mix as well.

“I believe that Darvin Moon is just happy to be where he is.  I believe that he is going to succumb to ‘Dennis Phillips Syndrome’ and forget what got him there.  I am going to go with Steven Begleiter, who just completed an excellent run at the Legends of Poker, to win the final table.  You can put Jeff Shulman in there as a potential dark horse contender.”

While Burton offered reasons why several of the players may or may not excel, our own Dan Cypra went with the straightforward, pick the chip leader approach, which makes plenty of sense considering Moon’s massive lead.  “It’s hard to ignore Darvin Moon, who has nearly double the chips of the next closest player,” Cypra pointed out.  “It’s reminiscent of Jamie Gold in the 2006 Main Event and Moon is my pick to win the 2009 version. While Ivey may be poker’s darling, the chip lead of Moon cannot be ignored.”

If you haven’t noticed, that is five different opinions and five different picks.  If this informal poll tells us anything, it is that the Main Event race is still wide-open, with each player bringing something to the table that the rest of their opponents lack.  Only time will tell who, if anyone, picked correctly, so until November all we can do is sit, wait, and keep coming up with reasons why our pick is going to be the one to take it down.

Poker Pros Michelle and Ho Confirmed for “The Amazing Race”

After two months of speculation, CBS has finally confirmed what the poker world has suspected all along: poker pros Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho will be competing together as a team on the upcoming season of the competition reality show “The Amazing Race.”

Photos, bios and video of the two women went up on the show’s official website on Wednesday, along with those of the other eleven teams competing in the latest installment of the race. Ho and Michelle will be facing off against a wide array of people including a married couple who work as yoga instructors, members of the Harlem Globetrotters, a singer/songwriter team and a contestant who has Asperger’s Syndrome.

Rumors first surfaced of the poker playing pair’s involvement with the show when neither woman participated in this year’s World Series of Poker Main Event. A series of clues, including Michelle alluding to an upcoming project with one of the show’s producers, Jerry Bruckheimer, a forum thread featuring posts from former “Survivor” contestant Jean-Robert Bellande seeking female poker players for a new reality project and fan photos from the shows launch capturing what looked like Ho, all led to speculation that the two ladies would be the latest poker pros to take a stab at reality television.

In the video of the team posted on the show’s website, the two discussed their chosen profession and talked about how they became friends while travelling the poker tournament circuit. Michelle cited their success in a traditionally male-dominated field as one of their strengths as a team. No all-female team has won the show in its 14-season history and the team of Ho and Michelle believe they have a legitimate shot to win. “We’re used to being the women doing the things that no other women are doing”, Michelle explained.

Ho ran down some of the things the ladies did in order to prepare for the event. In addition to taking extensive notes on previous episodes of the show, Ho and Michelle also learned how to drive a stick shift, as there is typically some sort of vehicle-related challenge that involves just such a skill.  She joked that they may not have practiced eating rare and potentially unappetizing food, another staple challenge of the program, but asserted that she and Michelle were mentally prepared to run the race. Michelle and Ho also cited their knowledge of Mandarin Chinese (Ho is fluent) and sign language as potentially helpful skills, but noted that the last season of the race featured a lengthy leg in China, so Ho’s knowledge may not be put to use after all.

Should the two survive in the race long enough to make it to the finale, rumors indicate the two may have home field advantage working in their favor. The Las Vegas Review Journal recently reported that the production crew of the show pulled permits to film in and around Las Vegas in early August. Some of the stops listed on the permits included McCarren International Airport and the famous “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign. While both women hail from Southern California, their poker work requires them to spend several weeks in Vegas each year, so the stop in Vegas would certainly be familiar territory for the duo.

This is not the only exciting news for Michelle. This week it was announced that she will be renewing her sponsorship deal with online poker site Ultimate Bet. Michelle first signed on with the site during her memorable WSOP Main Event run last year. She was the last woman left in the field that year and ultimately finished in 17th place.

“I’m happy to be signing on for another year with UltimateBet and I’m eager to get back to playing in live tournaments and exclusively at their online tables”, Michelle said in regards to her new deal. “The corporate team at UB has been so welcoming and supportive and I’m thrilled to be working with them. I can’t wait for the exciting things in store for us.”

The newest season of “The Amazing Race” begins on Sunday September 27th. The show will air on CBS from 8PM-9PM ET.

PokerNews Cup Australia Freerolls

Pokernews Cup Australia is back this September 27th to Oct 5th for the 3rd great year at the Crown Casino Gambling Complex, Melbourne, Australia. There’s $200,000 up for grabs as the 1st prize, so I reckon you’d be mad not to have a go at going down under.

$6,000 Pokernews Cup Australia Freeroll - Full Tilt Poker

This fantastic freeroll gives the winner a *$5,000 prize package and, in addition, $1,000 cash will be divied out to the runners up. To qualify for entry sign up now for a Full Tilt Poker Account using the Full Tilt Referral Code FTPGOLD, make a deposit, earn 200 Full Tilt Poker Points before 4.59am on August 30th (August 29th 11.59pm New York) and join the PokerNews Cup Australia Freeroll at Full Tilt Poker on August 30th at 9.35pm UK (4.35pm New York).

If you don’t win the package on August 30th, don’t despair dear poker player, on September 13th (lucky for some) at 9.35pm UK (September 13th 4.35pm New York) there is a $11,000 PokerNews Cup Freeroll – excellent news! There will be two top winners bagging a *$5,000 prize package and $1,000 for the runners up. The qualification period is August 31st at 5.00am ‘til September 13th at 4.59am UK, (August 30th midnight to September 12th at 11.59pm New York) - you must earn 200 Full Tilt Poker Points during this time.

– you must manually register, it is NOT automatic. These Freerolls are easily found through the lobby to tournaments/private. If you have already got yourself a Full Tilt Poker account by using our Full Tilt Referral code FTPGOLD then you are welcome to join in the Freeroll, as long as the entry requirements are met.

$6,000 Pokernews Cup Australia Freeroll – PartyPoker

There’s a *$5,000 package up for grabs and, yes, $1,000 cash for the runners up. Before you sign up for your 1st Party Poker Account, sus the bonus package that suits your needs in our dedicated Party Poker Bonus Code page and be sure to use the appropriate code to get in on the action in Melbourne, Australia this fall. Once you have signed up using one of our exclusive bonus codes earn just 49 player points before 4.59am on 28th August UK (August 27th 11.59pm New York) to get a crack at the $5,000 prize package that will be awarded to the winner of the Freeroll on August 30th at 9.45pm UK (4.45pm New York). How easy is that, but registration is manual, so don’t forget! Our players who have signed up using our codes can join in too, providing they fulfil the entry requirements.

*$5,000 prize package includes:-

• Entry into the Main Event - $1,850
• 6 nights accommodation in the Crown Promenade Hotel
• $1,500 cash for expenses
• Special invite to Official Player Party.

Check out the latest news on our Pokernews Freerolls page.

Asian Poker Tour’s open letter to Michael Phelps

Michael Phelps may have won five gold medals at the recent Swimming World Championship in Rome but is he more a dolphin than a fish on the felt? The multiple Olympic champion claims to be something of a poker buff and that has prompted the organisers of the Asian Poker Tour to write him a letter.

APT Macau courts Michael Phelps

The 12-day Asian Poker Tour Macau Festival is set to run August 12-23 at the Galaxy StarWorld Hotel and Casino in Macau, featuring a HK$34,400 buy-in Main Event.

Phelps, who final tabled a $1,570 buy-in event at the Caesars Poker Classic last year and has professed his love for the game numerous times, is currently at the FINA world swimming championships in Rome, Italy.

However, the APT is pleading with the man they call "the human dolphin" to hop out of the pool and onto the felt.

"Last year you were in Beijing for the Olympics and we encouraged you to head down to the Asian Poker Tour Macau event at the StarWorld," an open letter from the APT to the U.S. swimmer reads. "We heard positive noises, but there was no sign of the human dolphin when they called 'shuffle up and deal.'"

"We would like to extend this invite once again for you to come, all expenses paid, and take part in this showpiece poker event."

There was no confirmation on whether Phelps even received the invitation from the APT in 2008, but that hasn't stopped the organization from trying to land the swimming sensation again this year.

"Forget the controversy about suit changes in your sport, concentrate on these suits: spades, clubs, diamonds and hearts," the letter reads.

"The question remains is the newly rejuvenated human dolphin really a fish? We hope to find out."

Full details on APT Macau and the entire tour can be found at www.asianpt.com.

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“Boosted J” Inks Deal With Full Tilt Poker

After an excellent performance at the World Poker Tour’s first stop of their eighth season at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, longtime online professional Justin “Boosted J” Smith has signed a deal to be a Full Tilt Poker sponsored professional.

Smith, who finished third at the Bellagio Cup behind runner up Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka and eventual champion Alexandre “allingomes” Gomes, has a long history of success in the online game and has recently been transferring those skills over to the live poker world. At the most recent World Series of Poker, “Boosted J” finished with a highly respectable five cashes with his best finish an eighth place final table in the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo World Championship. After his debut at the World Series of Poker Europe last year, Smith has earned almost $700,000 in live tournaments and has earned much more in the online game.

Although a young player that has been weaned on the online game, Justin has shown a propensity for all the disciplines of poker. In fact, his five cashes at the World Series ranged across the board, including Pot Limit Omaha, Seven Card Stud, Lowball and heads up Texas Hold’em. Befitting of his skills in multiple games and his new status as a sponsored Full Tilt pro, Smith has three tables of high stakes (one $1000/$2000 and two $400/$800) Mixed Game tables named in his honor.

“Boosted J” will have to drop his famous online moniker in exchange for seeing his real name in red on Full Tilt alongside perhaps the best stable of poker players in the game today. The “Friends of Full Tilt” encompass such notable celebrities as “Ocean’s Eleven” star Don Cheadle, Ultimate Fighting Championship ring announcer Bruce Buffer, “Poker After Dark” announcer Ali Nejad and author Jim McManus. There are also other levels of poker superstardom on Full Tilt Poker.

Full Tilt boasts one of the best poker training crews in CardRunners, made up of 2007 Online Player of the Year Isaac Baron, recent $25,000 Full Tilt Heads Up Poker Champion David Benefield and Taylor Caby (just to name a few). For those interested in international players, Full Tilt is the home of “The Hendon Mob,” the legendary English crew consisting of the Boatman brothers, Barny and Ross, as well as Joe Beevers and Ram Vaswani. When it comes to the Full Tilt sponsored pros, “Boosted J” will join the ranks including such players as Gavin Smith, 2008 WSOP Women’s Champion Svetlana Gromenkova and Chip and Karina Jett.

Finally, there are the players that are recognized as “Team Full Tilt.” The players who make up this group comprise thirteen of the finest players nowadays. Their combination of 36 WSOP bracelets is unequaled on any other online site and their resumes speak for themselves. Some of the players who make up “Team Full Tilt” include former World Champion Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, defending WSOP-Europe champion John Juanda and 2009 “November Nine” member Phil Ivey.

Congratulations to Justin on his new status as a Full Tilt pro and good luck on both the virtual as well as the physical poker tables worldwide.

durrrr rules mega session on Full Tilt

Starting up late last night and continuing well into this morning, a group of well-known high-stakes online rounders, including Tom "durrrr" Dwan, were found playing $200/$400 Pot-Limit Omaha.

The session started with a table that featured Gus Hansen, Dwan, Di "Urindanger" Dang, Ilari "Ziigmund" Sahamies, Brian Townsend, Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond, Rafi "howisitfeellike" Amit and Jani "KObyTAPOUT" Vilmunen, but players like David Benyamine, Richard Ashby, Sami "LarsLuzak" Kelopuro, Chau Giang and John Juanda all made appearances as well.

At one point the action was so heavy there were nine tables of $200/$400 going with about 1,000 fans on the rail.

The session was particularly notable because close friends Dwan, Galfond and Dang showed no reluctance to go after each other. At one point Dwan was even playing Dang three-handed.

With that much high-stakes PLO going on, it was only a matter of time before someone raked a monster pot and that honor went to Hansen, who managed to drag a pot worth nearly half a million dollars at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Hansen had the fortune of hitting the nut-flush on an 8 7 4 5 K board after Dwan shoved all-in on the turn with two-pair and a flush draw. Juanda also made the call with a set and a gut-shot straight draw.

In the end, Hansen raked $459,846, one of the top 10 biggest online hands of the year so far.

Somewhat surprisingly, Hansen is rumored to have finished the game as only a small winner, while Dwan was said to be up nearly $800,000, thanks in large part to a couple of $300,000 pots.

First Dwan flopped a set of kings and then proceeded to backdoor a king-high flush for the win. A little later he cracked Galfond's set of kings with a rivered king-high flush.

Dwan, Amit and Ashby were said to be the big winners while KObyTAPOUT, Benyamine and Kostritsyn sustained the biggest losses.

It's anybody's guess how long these epic high-stakes games will continue, but in the meantime you can check out how the action went down for yourself in the PokerListings hand replayer below:

Replay this hand at www.pokerlistings.com

 

Gus Hansen goes wild.

Can you say durrrr!

 

More from durrrr.

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Poker impregnates Playboy TV

How about Norm MacDonald, Artie Lange, Dave Attell, Jeffrey Ross, Jennifer "Jennicide" Leigh, Jennifer Tilly and Phil Laak?

Would you include Playboy Playmates Brande Roderick (2001 Playmate of the year), Deanna Brooks, Stacy Fuson and Andrea Lowell?

Thanks to being the co-creator of the Simpsons, Sam Simon is one ridiculously wealthy man.

And one of the ways he's been known to enjoy his money has been by spreading a legendary home poker game.

Celebs, models, some of the world's raunchiest and funniest comedians and world-class poker players have all been known to frequent the game, and he'll apparently invite anyone who won't get upset after being called a ****ing *****t **** *****r for winning a pot.

In fact, Simon's home game became so legendary (and not necessarily for the poker) that the execs at Playboy TV phoned him up and asked him to film "Sam's Game" for the network.

"The stakes aren't the biggest, the players aren't the best, but the game is definitely the funniest," Simon said.

"I've spent years in development to try to get shows on the air. When a network calls and says, 'We want to shoot this,' the answer is yes."

A look at the action:

The show is filmed in "Hef's exclusive Sky Villa" at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas and premiered last night; look for episode 2 next Thursday at 9 p.m. Eastern & Pacific.

Check out the official webpage for the show here.

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Wahlbeck and Negreanu continue to impress in WSOP 2009

After just two weeks of WSOP 2009 behind us and many tournaments still ahead, it is somewhat suprise to see Finn Wahlbeck leading the WSOP POY standings. Wahlbeck, who is considering of retiring full time poker, has been impressive so far with two top three finishes in $10k world championship events.

Daniel Negreanu has been impressive also, going deep in almost every tournament he has played and nearly won a bracelet himself, that would have been his fifth. Negreanu has to wait a little longer for his next bracelet though, as he eventually finished second in event number 14, a $2,500 Six-handed Limit Hold’em tournament.

Wahlbeck and Negreanu have both continued their impressive run since and are both still in the competition in the next championship event, that is $10,000 World Championship Omaha Hi/Lo 8-or-better. With 17 players remaining in the tournament, Wahlbeck is looking for his third final table in a championship event of the series and Negreanu has guaranteed his fourth cash already after just a couple of weeks!

Check out this video where Negreanu talks about his Series so far:

Watch Daniel Negreanu Getting Lucky Licks at the 2009 WSOP on RawVegas.tv

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Wahlbeck and Negreanu continue to impress in WSOP 2009

Stammdog win, Negreanu loss headline WSOP June 7th

The Ohio-based online pro defeated Angel Guillen in heads-up play to clinch the $2,500 No Limit Hold'em (Event 13) title, earning $506,786 and his first WSOP bracelet in the process.

Pros Phil Ivey, Kirill Gerasimov and Roland De Wolfe were among the 18 survivors who started the day with a shot at the bracelet, but none would last to see the final table.

Instead, Stammen faced down the likes of Guillen, Shawn Glines and Gregg Merkow on the way to victory.

Here's how the rest of the day played out at the World Series of Poker on Sunday:

Event 14 - $2,500 Limit Hold'em Six-Handed

Limit Hold'em specialist Brock "TSoprano" Parker defeated fan favorite Daniel Negreanu in heads-up play to claim his first WSOP bracelet.

Check out the full recap here.

Event 15 - $5,000 No Limit Hold'em

Event 15 played down to the 3 a.m. deadline before play was halted with 17 survivors still in contention for the $692,658 first prize.

Isaac Baron headlines a final contingent that includes Thomas "Thunder" Keller, David "Raptor" Benefield, Mike Sowers and David "The Dragon" Pham.

Due to scheduling concerns, Day 3 will begin at noon Vegas time.

Event 16 - $1,500 Seven-Card Stud

PokerListings.com blogger Jason Mercier cashed in 16th place as the entry-level Seven Card Stud tournament played down to the final table.

Jeffrey Lisandro and John Juanda are the big names among the final eight, with Thor Hansen just barely missing the cut with a final table bubble.

They'll play down to a champion starting at 2 p.m. Monday.

Event 17 - $1,000 Ladies No Limit Hold'em

More than one thousand women showed up for the Ladies Event, including pros Erica Schoenberg, Evelyn Ng, Beth Shak, Maria Ho and Tiffany Michelle.

By the end of the night only 146 members of the fairer sex remained. Defending champ Svetlana Gromenkova continued her dominance of female-only events, finishing near the top of the leaderboard.

Maria Ho and J.J. Liu were also among those to survive Day 1.

Event 18 - $10,000 World Championship Omaha 8-or-Better

A total of 179 of the world's best O8 players bought-in to the 5 p.m. World Championship event, including the aforementioned Negreanu, who multi-tabled the $2,500 LHE Six-Max.

By day's end, 133 were left, including Kid Poker, chipleader Scott Clements and defending champ David Benyamine.

Check out more in the PokerListings.com 2009 WSOP section.

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Ilari Sahamies - To Vegas!

Ilari Sahamies tells about his views before his arrival to the WSOP.

The recent plans of Ilari Sahamies - the big name in the Finnish poker - have not gone without problems:“Last thursday I returned from rome where we went to watch the champions league final. The ticket cost some $1,000 two days before the game, and we thought we could get them cheaper later on.” Their pick was off as they had to pay nearly half more, the ticket price rising to $1,500.

Late from the game - Problems with Alchol

As they set foot into the stadium, the game had already progressed for 10 minutes. Sahamies had to acknowledge the fact that Barca had already taken a 1-0 lead.“I had put $80,000 on ManU - all because Chelsea was so unlucky against Barca in the Semifinal. I hated Barca very mucho” According to him the match was bad, and worst of all, they couldn’t get alcohol from anywhere in Rome! “The bars being closed we got booze only from fancy hotels, finally we got drunk anyway”

Boxing Night cancelled

After Rome it was time for a boxing night in Finland. Instead of seeing the expected Valujev-Shagajev match, they saw it cancelled because one of the lot had been identified positive of B-hepatithis. “The night wasnt very good, the best thing in the whole night was when Juho Tolppolas father tilted and climbed to the boxing ring trying to punch the referee.”

Big pots are not so special

”Nothing special has happened. Odd since I have played 3k/9k with durrr” he ponders. ”Last time I tried to stop and now it really is finished! Everyone has had their say especially about the $702k pot. I’m sorry to say, but it was just a pot and blinds high. On turn we went all in and that’s it.”

After Midsummer - Heading to Vegas

Sahamies says that he has played some poker in Rome with durrrr and Gus Hansen, but after coming back he has hardly sat down in a table. He gives out that he’s trying to get himself back to the grindmode, altough that’s not all he has his mind fixed upon: “I think that after midsummer I’m heading to Vegas, i’ll play at least in the main event.” He also says that he’d like to play in Bobby’s Room, and at least once he’d like to play while drunk: “I’d like to get some drunken poker on the way with durrr and others. We’ll see later on how that works out.”

GL.

Source:www.coinflip.com

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Ilari Sahamies - To Vegas!

Andres Iniesta robs Ilari Sahamies!

Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies, gambler like he is, played little sports betting about UEFA Champions League semifinal matches. First match, Arsenal versus Manchester United went wrong when he bet a draw and United won easily, but the second semifinal between Chelsea and Barcelona was the match that drove Sahamies mad.

Sahamies tilts again.

Sahamies was hanging out with his friends and watching the game with some snacks. He was relaxed and in good mood. Ziigmund had bet for Chelsea and everything looked fine after a good start and early leading goal for Chelsea. But in the end disaster struck.

Game was already on the injury time when Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta fired a huge shot from just outside the penalty box that found the way in to Chelsea’s goal (check the video from below) and put Barcelona in the final.

That goal tilted Sahamies so bad that he soon found himself playing a heads-up match against Tom “durrrr” Dwan. In the first hand Dwan rivered a $200k pot with 6-outer and that was the final nail in Ilari’s coffin: He was officially tilting.

Well, we all know what happens when Sahamies is tilting and soon Ziigmund was feeling nothing but relaxed anymore. Eventually he lost $650k that day and for sure he still wonders why everything went like it did. Still, it was a nice goal:

Source: coinflip.com

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Andres Iniesta robs Ilari Sahamies!

Full Tilt presents FTOPS XII Schedule

FTOPS XII (Full Tilt Online Poker Series) is here! This most exciting of online Tournaments is back to banish the credit crunch blues – terrific! This FTOPS is even better with the introduction of miniFTOPS – a series that mimics FTOPS with 25 Events, just the same, but with buy ins at 1/10th of the price. Satellites are running to miniFTOPS now and start at just 60c, brilliant!

The action started on May 6th and continues until the Main Event on the 17th, there are 25 events, all hosted by a professional poker player. There is a guaranteed prize pool of $18m+ and super cool Full Tilt merchandise to be won.

Satellites are running NOW for FTOPS XII from just $2.25, go into the lobby click Tournaments and then FTOPS to see the satellites on offer.

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

The Bouncebackabilty Freeroll is back again, exclusively for those players who finished on the bubble, this freeroll is on Saturday May 23rd at 8.00pm UK time (3pm New York). The generous prize is a seat at the Main Event of FTOPS XIII.

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.

Enjoy FTOPS XII and miniFTOPS, here is the schedule:-

Event	UK	New York	Host	Game	Guarantee
1	Thursday May 7th 2.00am	Wednesday May 6th 9.00pm	Eric Lindgren	$200 + $16 NL Hold ‘em6-max	$1million
2	Thursday May 7th 7.00pm	Thursday May 7th 2.00pm	Rolandde Wolfe	$240 + $16 PL OmahaKnockout	$250,000
3	Friday May 8th 2.00am	Thursday May 7th 9.00pm	Greg Mueller	$500 + $35 NL Hold ‘em3xShootout	$300,000
4	Friday May 8th 7.00pm	Friday May 8th 2.00pm	Trond Eidsvig	$200 + $16 NL Hold ‘em1 rebuy and 1 add-on	$500,000
5	Saturday May 9th 2.00am	Friday May 8th 9.00pm	Esther Rossi	$200 + $16 Stud/8	$100,000
6	Saturday May 9th 7.00pm	Saturday May 9th 2.00pm	Ben Roberts	$500 + $35 PL Omaha6-Max	$400,000
7	Saturday May 9th 9.00pm	Saturday May 9th 4.00pm	Joao Barbosa	$100 + $9 NL Hold ‘emRebuy	$600,000
8	Sunday May 10th 7.00pm	Sunday May 10th 2.00pm	Christian Kruel	$240 + $16 NL Hold ‘emKnockout 6-max	$750,000
9	Sunday May 10th 9.00pm	Sunday May 10th 4.00pm	Huck Seed	$500 + $35 NL Hold ‘emHeads Up	$500,000
10	Sunday May 10th 11.00pm	Sunday May 10th 6.00pm	Erik Seidel	$300 + $22 NL Hold ‘em	$1,5million
11	Monday May 11th 7.00pm	Monday May 11th 2.00pm	Martin Klaser	$200 + $16 PL Omaha/8	$200,000
12	Monday May 12th 2.00am	Monday May 11th 9.00pm	Steve Brecher	$1,000 + $60 NL Hold ‘em6-maxAnte From Start	$1,5million
13	Tuesday May 12th 7.00pm	Tuesday May 12th 2.00pm	Markus Golser	$300 + $22 NL Hold ‘em4xShootout 6-max	$300,000
14	Wednesday May 13th 2.00am	Tuesday May 12th 9.00pm	Edward Lederer	$500 + $35 HEROS	$300,000
15	Wednesday May 13th 2.00am	Tuesday May 12th 9.00pm	Jordan Morgan	$200 + $16 NL Hold ‘emTurbo	$500,000
16	Wednesday May 13th 9.00pm	Wednesday May 13th 2.00pm	Johan Storakers	$200 + $16 HA (half PL Hold ‘em, half PL Omaha)	$200,000
17	Thursday May 14th 2.00am	Wednesday May 13th 9.00pm	Cole South	$300 + $22 NL Hold ‘em 6-max Rebuy	$1million
18	Thursday May 14th 7.00pm	Thursday May 14th 2.00pm	Mike McDonald	$200 + $16 PL Omaha Heads Up	$150,000
19	Friday May 15th 2.00am	Thursday May 14th 9.00pm	Artie Cobb	$300 + $22 Razz	$150,000
20	Friday May 15th 7.00pm	Friday May 15th 2.00pm	Fabrice Soulier	$200 + $16 NL Hold ‘em	$400,000
21	Saturday May 16th 2.00am	Friday May 15th 9.00pm	Eli Elezra	$200 + $16 Mixed Hold ‘em6-max	$150,000
22	Saturday May 16th 7.00pm	Saturday May 16th 2.00pm	Patrik Antonius	$2,500 + $120 NL Hold ‘em 2 Day Event	$2million
23	Saturday May 16th 9.00pm	Saturday May 16th 4.00pm	Robert Williamson III	$100 + $9 PL Omaha Rebuy	$350,000
24	Sunday May 17th 7.00pm	Sunday May 17th 2.00pm	Svetlana Gromenkova	$120 + $9 NL Hold ‘em Knockout	$1million
Main Event	Sunday May 17th 11.00pm	Sunday May 17th 6.00pm	Jennifer Harman	$500 + $35 NL Hold ‘em	$2,5million

Remember to use our Full Tilt Bonus Code FTPGOLD for a sign up bonus up to $600 plus entry into exclusive freerolls - see our Full Tilt Referral Code page for more details.

Negreanu takes Big Swing for charity

The Big Swing will take place at the Rio Secco Golf Club in Las Vegas and feature 30 amateur teams playing golf to raise money for the Lili Claire Foundation.

"I love golf, I love poker and I love the Lili Claire foundation," Negreanu said. "This event is a true passion of mine, and I personally guarantee that everyone who participates will have a great time at a first-class event."

To participate, it's a $3,000 donation for a foursome. All the participants will be invited to a pairing party brunch the morning of the golf event, during which a live drawing will pair each foursome with a celebrity poker professional for the golf match.

The list of poker pros who will take part in the event is not out yet. A representative of Poker Royalty, which is handling publicity for the event, said they will make the announcement as pros sign up.

Participants can also look forward to a "Closest to the Pin" competition with Negreanu on the Par 3, seventh hole at Rio Secco.

"One hundred percent of the money we raise will go to the charity; everyone is really stepping up," Negreanu added. "We have so many ideas to make the event fun and raise money for a great children's charity located here in Vegas."

The Lili Claire Foundation was set up in 1998 by Keith and Leslie Litt Resnick to honor the memory of their daughter Lili Claire.

Lili was borne with a condition known as Williams Syndrome and died when she was 5 months old after heart surgery to help correct a problem associated with her condition.

The foundation helps enhance the lives of children like Lili who were born with special needs, offering hope and support to the children's families.

To participate in the Big Swing charity event to benefit the Lili Claire Foundation or to get more information about the event, visit www.bigswing.org or call Poker Royalty at (702) 868-9003.

Visit PokerListings.com

New set of players in High Stakes Poker

It is suprising that Negreanu made a comeback to play in another table in this season of HSP, as his first appearance at the table didn’t go well at all. Well, i guess he felt like he could do better against this group of players or maybe he just felt like playing little bit more.

There were some familiar faces in the new group, but also few others who are not normally recognized as poker players. An actor, screenwriter and film director Nick Cassavetes and a producer and writer Sam Simon, who is best known as one of the original developers of The Simpons, made their debut in HSP.

A former world champion Joe Hachem also made his debut in High Stakes Poker. Other players in the table are players who have been at the HSP table before on the previous seasons, Patrik Antonius, Howard Lederer, Antonio Esfandiari, Phil Laak and afromentioned Negreanu.

One of the most memorable hand in the episode is played between Laak and Simon. Laak, who is a boyfriend of an actress Jennifer Tilly, raises with T-2 suited and Simon, who was married to Tilly from 1984 to 1991, re-raises Laak with T-4, because he don’t realise Laak has already raised!

If you haven’t seen the newest episode, check it out from cardplayertube.com in five pieces:

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New set of players in High Stakes Poker

Win a trip to the Champions League final with PKR.com

Six luxury VIP trips to the Champions League final in Rome on 27 May are up for grabs thanks to PKR.com. The packages worth over $3,500 each include flights, two nights’ accommodation at the exclusive Sheraton Golf Parco de’ Medici Hotel and Resort plus those all important match tickets. The prize also includes two days of golf plus meals and transfers.

Win a trip to the Champions League final with PKR.com

Six luxury VIP trips to the Champions League final in Rome on 27 May are up for grabs thanks to PKR.com. The packages worth over $3,500 each include flights, two nights’ accommodation at the exclusive Sheraton Golf Parco de’ Medici Hotel and Resort plus those all important match tickets. The prize also includes two days of golf plus meals and transfers.

PartyPoker.com launches new promotion The Gladiator

It may not have anything to do with the TV show, Russell Crowe or the wonders of ancient Rome but PartyPoker’s new promotion The Gladiator still has plenty to entice players.