Poker News

Daniel Alaei Wins WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic

Poker pro Daniel Alaei took down the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic on Saturday night, earning $1.4 million and a $25,000 seat into the end-of-season WPT Championship.

On the 47th hand of final table play, online poker pro Stephen “MrTimCaum” O’Dwyer was sent packing from the Bellagio, the site of the WPT Five Diamond. O’Dwyer shoved his 19 big blind stack in with A-6 of diamonds, but ran into poker pro Scotty Nguyen’s wired pair of jacks. The flop came jack-high, giving Nguyen top set and O’Dwyer bottom pair. An ace on the turn left the at-risk O’Dwyer calling for another ace on the river, but a four fell to send him to the exits. O’Dwyer earned $202,000 for his efforts.

Sixty hands later, Nguyen departed after shoving over the top of a raise by Josh Arieh. Online poker star Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka, who had entered the final table as the chip leader, moved all-in over the top of Nguyen and Arieh folded. At risk, Nguyen showed pocket nines, but Jaka turned over pocket kings for a 4:1 edge pre-flop. The board ran out A-J-8-2-8 and Jaka scooped the pot with kings-up. The Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic marked Nguyen’s eighth WPT final table and he earned $249,000.

The next to go was Shawn Buchanan, who pushed his 10 big blind stack into the middle with K-8, but Alaei’s A-K left him drawing thin. The board came 9-7-3-9-J, which was no help to Buchanan, and Alaei scooped the pot. Three-handed, Arieh held a commanding chip lead with an arsenal of 10.6 million, while Alaei’s second place stack totaled 5.4 million. Jaka, meanwhile, had a stack of 3.7 million entering three-handed play.

Jaka busted in third place after committing his chips pre-flop with A-6 and running into the pocket kings of Alaei. The flop came K-10-5, leaving Jaka calling for running straight cards, but an eight on the turn and four on the river sealed his fate. Jaka was the runner-up in the Bellagio Cup V in July, where he earned $774,000. On Saturday, he added another $571,000 to his bankroll.

Heading into heads-up play, Arieh held a 2:1 chip lead, but quickly doubled up Alaei after coming out on the short end of a race with A-K against Alaei’s pocket queens. The board came jack-high, giving Alaei the pot and a 3:1 chip lead just two hands into heads-up play. Arieh then doubled after sucking out on A-Q with A-7 when a seven hit on the turn. The two poker veterans were nearly even in chips at that point.

However, Alaei ultimately emerged victorious in the final WPT tournament of 2009. Arieh pushed all-in with pocket sevens on a flop of 10-5-2 and Alaei made the call with 10-8 for top pair. The turn came a six and Arieh needed one of two remaining sevens in the deck to stave off elimination. However, the river came an eight, giving Alaei two pair and his first WPT title. Arieh earned a $952,000 consolation prize, while Alaei boosted his bankroll by $1.4 in his first WPT final table appearance.

Here were the final table results from the WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic:

1. Daniel Alaei - $1,428,430
2. Josh Arieh - $952,290
3. Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka - $571,374
4. Shawn Buchanan - $333,302
5. Scotty Nguyen - $249,976
6. Stephen “MrTimCaum” O'Dwyer - $202,362

The first tournament for the WPT in 2010 is the Southern Poker Championship, which will emanate from the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. The event kicks off on January 24th and crowns a champion three days later.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A tough heads-up opponent.

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Poker2Nite Welcomes Poker Hall of Famer Mike Sexton

The UB.net sponsored poker news program “Poker2Nite,” which makes its home on Fox Sports Net, welcomed Mike Sexton this week. The World Poker Tour (WPT) host is also a member of the Poker Hall of Fame after being inducted one month ago.

“Poker2Nite” began with Absolute Poker pro Lacey Jones interviewing players at the WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic in Las Vegas. Among those to appear on-camera was dual World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Jeff Madsen, who told Jones, “What it comes down to is the skill level of the players, the structure is good, and the Bellagio atmosphere is good to players in general.” Jones also spoke with Robert Mizrachi and 2009 WSOP November Nine member Kevin Schaffel. The $15,000 buy-in tournament crowns a champion on Saturday.

Next up was UB.net pro Phil Hellmuth presenting Phil’s Best Blow-Ups. There are a multitude of meltdowns to choose from, but Hellmuth recapped his explosion against Cristian Dragomir during the 2008 WSOP Main Event. Dragomir called Hellmuth’s raise pre-flop with 10-4, only to flop top pair. Hellmuth explained, “Of course, this joker gets rewarded for his donkey play and that just did not sit well with me.” His tirade against Dragomir featured lines such as “He’s the worst player in history and they’re cheering” and “To you, it’s poker. To me, this is my life.”

After recapping Sexton’s Poker Hall of Fame induction ceremony, which took place during the dinner break of the 2009 WSOP Main Event, the bracelet winner joined the “Poker2Nite” crew. On being elected to the Poker Hall of Fame, Sexton told “Poker2Nite” hosts Joe Sebok and Scott Huff, “To me, it’s the ultimate career achievement award. To reach this level, it’s a pretty big honor.” Sexton was the only member of the Class of 2009 and, in order to be elected, had to receive 75% of the vote of a panel of media members and current Hall of Famers.

So-called “Sextonisms” have become a staple of modern poker lingo, but the WPT host noted that one of his favorites is, “You can only slide so far on barbed wire.” This author would have preferred “Bingo, bango, bongo,” but laughed nonetheless. Sexton also discussed PokerGives.org, which he founded along with Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Linda Johnson, Jan Fisher, and Lisa Tenner. Sexton commented, “It’ll be a way the poker world can give back to worthwhile charities.”

A new segment called Coin Flipping aired, pitting Sebok and Huff against each other to see what option had a slight mathematical edge. First up was who was the better No Limit Hold’em cash game player, Phil Ivey or Patrik Antonius. Sebok remarked, “I’m going with Phil because he looks scarier.” Also discussed was whether winning the $50,000 HORSE Championship or WSOP Main Event was more prestigious, as was whether Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin or Cornel Andrew Cimpan should be the Player of the Year. On the latter, Sebok gave his two cents: “I don’t think this one is really that close” and chose Baldwin, who effectively has already taken down the CardPlayer Player of the Year title for 2009.

Dana Workman dished out the Bluff Magazine sponsored Weekly Misdeal segment, poking fun at WSOP Main Event runner-up Darvin Moon’s conspiracy theory about ESPN crews sharing information, champion Joe Cada taking to Capitol Hill in support of the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), Montel Williams facing a lawsuit from the International Team Poker League, and Marcel Luske’s new album.

“Poker2Nite” airs on Wednesdays at 11:00pm in each market on Fox Sports Net. However, the show is often pre-empted for local sporting events, so viewers are advised to check their local listings for airtime and channel information.

Vanessa Rousso Discusses Big Slick Boot Camp, Televised Poker

It has been quite a year for Vanessa Rousso. From her stunning performance in the National Heads-Up Poker Championship in March, where she finished second to Huck Seed, to television and magazine gigs, to running her own poker training camp called the Big Slick Boot Camp, Rousso has been at the pinnacle of the poker world. Poker News Daily recently had a chance to catch up with the globe-trotting Rousso and learn about many of the current aspects of her life, both on and off the felt.

Poker News Daily: What does the Big Slick Boot Camp give its participants that other poker training camps don't provide?

Rousso: What we try to do with the Big Slick Boot Camp is tie in concepts from game theory and Sun Tzu’s book “The Art of War” to offer a way for students to combat the game of poker. I personally believe that we give our seminars a truly unique take on poker strategy.

PND: Do you learn from the camps?

Rousso: I absolutely learn from the students in the camp. I love seeing the light bulbs go off in my students' minds when they achieve new levels of understanding about poker.

I feel very passionate about teaching also. Teaching helps me remind myself of some of the poker strategy fundamentals from which I stray over time in an attempt to play creatively, you might say!

PND: What type of player would learn the most from instruction in your training camp?

Rousso: The intermediate player would be the best person to take on the Big Slick Boot Camp. These are players who understand the basic concepts like position and blind-stealing, but have yet to explore some more complex ideas, such the concept of “M” as defined by Dan Harrington in his books.

PND: You have also offered private individual training for players both in the Boot Camp and outside of the course. How valuable is the individual instruction that you offer?

Rousso: I am very proud of the fact that each of my students has expressed great satisfaction with their private coaching experience. I know that one-on-one attention is the most efficient way to improve someone else’s game because I am able to tailor a program to fit their individual needs.

PND: Does the private training go into further depth than what you have time for in the Big Slick Boot Camp?

Rousso: Yes, because then I can evaluate and customize a program to fit an individual’s needs. I encourage my students to shadow me while I play online to see how I execute different strategies. With some of my longer-term students, I have gone into very advanced concepts and moves that have helped them become some of the top players in the game today.

PND: How big for you and your poker career was finishing as the runner-up in the National Heads-Up Poker Championship?

Rousso: Monetarily, the $250,000 prize is only my fifth largest to date, but the sense of accomplishment that I gained after beating a lineup of players that included Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Paul Wasicka, and Elky head-to-head has been unequaled.

PND: Do your sponsorships with PokerStars and GoDaddy.com put you as a player at ease for tournaments?

Rousso: Having sponsorship income is a bonus for sure, but it doesn’t mean that I no longer feel pressure to perform well in tournaments. In fact, I probably feel added pressure to meet my sponsors’ expectations!

PND: You’ve been on television quite a bit lately. What did you find exciting about participating in the PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge?

Rousso: It was exciting to be part of a poker “game show.” I liked seeing ordinary people being given the chance at the once-in-a-lifetime experience of playing heads-up with celebrities and top poker pros. Of course, the opportunity to win a huge prize is pretty important, too!

PND: You were rumored to be taking over a hosting gig on High Stakes Poker, which turned out to be false. What did you think of that?

Rousso: I was flattered by that, though!

PND: You have a couple of other poker and non-poker related television shows going on right now, correct?

Rousso: Correct. I am happy with the current hosting gig on my plate with Stars of Poker. I co-host on that program and it airs on the Canal+ network in France. The other program I am going to appear on, Bank of Hollywood, is set to air on December 14th at 10:00pm ET on the E! Network. I am part of a panel of judges that has the power to award money to people so that they can fulfill their dreams. It’s completely non-poker related, but still a special program.

PND: Finally, does having a happy personal life with Chad Brown help your poker game and how much?

Rousso: Part of being a successful poker player is realizing that you can’t perform at your best level on the felt unless you have overall balance in your life. Part of that is having healthy and fulfilling personal relationships. So being a part of a great relationship like the one that Chad and I share certainly helps me perform well at the poker table.

WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic Kicks off Monday

The 2009 installment of the World Poker Tour (WPT) Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic will kick off on Monday from the Bellagio in Las Vegas. The tournament’s namesake told UB.com’s “Poker2Nite” that a field of 400 players is expected.

Only one Day 1 in the $15,000 buy-in WPT event will occur, with the six-handed final table taking place on the 19th. In 2008, original World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event November Nine member David “Chino” Rheem took down the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic, besting Justin Young heads-up and earning $1.5 million. Young took $936,000 for his runner-up performance. Others who reached the feature table, which played out on cable station Fox Sports Net, included Evan McNiff (third place for $540,000), Steve Sung (fourth place for $396,000), Amnon Filippi (fifth place for $288,000), and DoylesRoom poker pro Hoyt Corkins (sixth place for $216,000).

The Five Diamond has been a staple of the WPT circuit and served as the series’ very first event back in May of 2002. That year, Full Tilt Poker pro Gus Hansen outlasted John Juanda heads-up in a talented final table that also featured Freddy Deeb, John “World” Hennigan, Chris Bigler, and Scotty Nguyen. A quaint field of 146 players turned out for the inaugural WPT tournament, creating a prize pool of $1.4 million.

In Season II of the WPT, Paul Phillips took down the Five Diamond in Las Vegas, besting Poker Hall of Fame member Dewey Tomko heads-up and banking $1.1 million. Hansen once again made the final table of the tournament and finished third this time around, while Mel Judah took sixth place and earned $101,000. The next season, a battle of PokerStars sponsored pros took place, as Daniel Negreanu trumped Costa Rican sensation Humberto Brenes heads-up in the event’s finale. The number of entrants jumped to 376 from 314.

In Season IV of the WPT, Rehne Pedersen earned over $2 million for his Five Diamond win and beat Patrik Antonius heads-up. Brunson made the final table of the event and finished third, while J.J. Liu took fourth place for $362,000. Also making waves were Darrell “Gigabet” Dicken and Phil “The Unabomber” Laak, who finished in fifth and sixth place, respectively.

In the December Bellagio tournament during Season V, Joe Hachem, winner of the 2005 WSOP Main Event, took down the title and its corresponding $2.2 million grand prize. Hachem and Negreanu made PokerStars proud by reaching the final table and the Aussie’s win solidified his name as one of the tops in the industry. In 2007, Eugene Katchalov banked $2.5 million for his WPT victory, outlasting a colossal field of 626 players. Also reaching the final table were Devilfish Poker namesake David Ulliott and former PokerStars Caribbean Adventure champion Ryan “Daut44” Daut.

After its annual Las Vegas stop, the WPT crew will break for the holidays and resume action in late January for the Southern Poker Championship. December’s Bellagio stop will mark the tournament series’ last trip to Sin City before the annual WPT Championship in April. Here’s a look at the remaining events in Season VIII:

Southern Poker Championship: January 24th to 27th
Beau Rivage (Biloxi, Mississippi)

WPT Celebrity Invitational: February 20th to 21st
Commerce Casino (Commerce, California)

L.A. Poker Classic: February 26th to March 4th
Commerce Casino (Commerce, California)

Bay 101 Shooting Star: March 8th to 12th
Bay 101 (San Jose, California)

Hollywood Poker Open: March 20th to 24th
Hollywood Casino (Lawrenceburg, Indiana)

WPT Championship: April 17th to 24th
Bellagio (Las Vegas, Nevada)

Poker News in Brief: Dec. 7-13, 2009

PokerListings was there for all the breaking news, but there were also a number of items that didn’t warrant a position on the front page.

Fortunately, as part of our ongoing Poker News in Brief feature, we’ve compiled a list of the lesser-known stories below.

This week we’ll look at Mark “Pegasus” Smith winning his fourth WSOPC title, Vanessa Rousso in a prominent men’s magazine, the main event of ECOOP V and more.

Fourth WSOPC Title for Mark “Pegasus” Smith

Mark “Pegasus” Smith made history this week by winning his fourth World Series of Poker Circuit title, tying him with Men “The Master” Nguyen for the most in circuit history.

Smith outlasted 566 players to win first place in the 2009 WSOPC Harrah’s Atlantic City $340 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event. He took down $34,649 for his efforts.

The victory is especially impressive considering the 57-year-old Georgetown, Kentucky, resident only started playing No-Limit Hold’em four years ago.

“Five years ago I had never even heard of No-Limit Hold’em,” he said after winning.

Smith now has five final tables at five different stops on the World Series Circuit over the last year. His last victory on the circuit came just last month during the WSOPC Horseshoe Indiana event.

PokerListings Players Cash at ECOOP V

The European Championship of Online Poker V was held on the iPoker Network last Sunday.

Online player Shevmouse outlasted 1,050 players to take down the first-place prize of $331,065, but there were also several PokerListings players who made the money.

Playing on CD Poker, LUDOVC finished in 103^rd place for $1,891 while XxspeedskaterxX finished 118^th for $1,891. Finally, William Hill player zzz219 made $1,734 for coming in 128^th.

The total ECOOP V series awarded over $5.5 million over 14 tournaments in 14 days.

Vanessa Rousso Appears in Hustler

Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso has made yet another mainstream media appearance – this time in Hustler Magazine.

Rousso was featured in an article called Poker Queen Shows Her Hand in which she shared some of her poker secrets. She did not appear nude in the magazine.

It’s been a successful year for Rousso, who finished runner-up in the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship, got signed by GoDaddy.com, appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and won the PokerStars EPT Monte Carlo High Roller event for $749,467.

She currently sits fourth on the women's all-time live tournament earnings list with $2.3 million.

Haitao Wu Crowned GUKPT Champion of Champions

Haitao Wu won the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour’s final event of the year at the G Casino in Luton this week.

The Dundee, Scotland, resident overcame a field of 125 players to claim a first-place prize of £25,000 at the GUKPT Champion of Champions tournament.

The 30-year-old won his way into the tournament through a £500 side event on the London stop on the tour.

Wu, who often plays poker with his wife Kerry, was ecstatic after the win.

“Kerry has been very supportive, looking after our beautiful daughters when I have been playing,” he said. “We will have a great Christmas now and will be visiting China early next year, when my parents will meet (our daughters) for the first time.”

The 2010 GUKPT will begin with a £1,000 buy-in event in Bolton on Jan. 22.

New PokerStars Team Pro Tuesdays

PokerStars started a new promo on Tuesday where players will be actively rooting against members of Team PokerStars Pro.

Team Pro Tuesday will include two Outlast the Pros events where PokerStars will add $1,000 to the prize pool.

The $1,000 will be split between the players who manage to outlast every member of Team PokerStars Pro playing in that particular event.

“That makes for some interesting side rooting,” said Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu.

“If you are one of the big stacks, you’re obviously hoping that the pros stay alive as long as possible so that you can get a bigger piece of the pie. If you are a short stack, then you want to see the pros go broke!” 

Rousso Books Bootcamp Dates

"My biggest passion outside of playing poker is in teaching poker strategy,” Rousso said. “I love watching that light bulb go off in my students' minds when they discover something new."

While attending the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure at Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas, Rousso also plans to launch her 2010 Boot Camp schedule with a "Strategy Symposium Under the Sun" set for Jan. 10.

Following the PCA, the 2009 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship runner-up will head to Biloxi, Mississippi where she will then host a two-day "Poker Tournament Theory Boot Camp & Tournament" Jan. 22 at the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino.

The past 12 months have been huge for the 27-year-old Rousso, as she upped her career earnings to over $4 million, was featured in a two-page spread in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition, and signed on as the newest spokeswoman for GoDaddy.com.

In addition to her deep run at the NBC Heads-Up Championship, Rousso also booked her biggest career win taking down the PokerStars European Poker Tour High Roller Event in Monte Carlo for $940,000 this past April.

Now she claims to have developed a poker boot camp curriculum allowing participants to learn high-level poker strategy and game theory in an interactive learning environment that incorporates learn-by doing simulations and educational sessions.

Rousso says one of her biggest thrills is watching her teaching techniques put into action.

"It is very exciting when their confidence level improves as a result of implementing what they have learned at my bootcamp,” she said. “One of my students raked in $40,000 at the Main Event during the World Series of Poker!"

Jan Skampa wins EPT in Prague

I’m sure every poker player sometimes dreams of winning a huge event in front of family and friends. Well, at least Young Chech Jan Skampa don’t have to dream about it anymore, as he achieved his dreams and took down the EPT Prague main event after beating the 583 other combatants for an €682,000 first-place prize.

After making it to his first ever EPT final table at Vilamoura, Portugal, couple weeks ago, Skampa didn’t have to wait long for another appearance in the final, showing the home crowd in the biggest tournament in Czech Republic ever that they have not come in vain to cheer for him. Back-to-back final tables in just third and fourth EPT events ever played by Skampa proves that he is a force to be reckoned with.

Italian Luca Pagano broke a record after making it to the final table, his sixth overall, that is the most final tables in history of EPT. Sixth time was no charm for the PokerStars pro, as Pagano busted out fittingly, yes you know it, in sixth place.

Swede Stefan Matsson, a WPT runner-up in Barcelona 2008, had a huge chip lead in the tournament after he busted Larry Ryan out of the tournament in fifth place with queens against jacks, but the tide turned when he and Skampa got all the chips in the middle, Skampa holding kings and Matsson queens.

Matsson was eventually out in third place and the heads-up started with Eyal Avitan leading having a 2:1 chip lead over Skampa. But the Chech grinded his way back to the lead and after three hours of heads up play Avitan moved in with J-9 only to see him being a huge dog against a pair of jack Skampa had in a hole. After the turn card the faith of the Israeli was sealed and the Chech crowd started to celebrate the win of their new poker hero.

Here is the final results and payouts of the EPT Prague:

1.Jan Skampa € 682,000
2.Eyal Avitan € 454,000
3.Stefan Mattsson € 255,000
4.Anthony Roux € 171,000
5.Larry Ryan € 135,000
6.Luca Pagano € 100,000
7.Gustav Ekerot € 71,000
8.Sven Eichelbaum € 55,500

Source

You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com

Jan Skampa wins EPT in Prague

Poker Featured in Season Finale of Amazing Race

Sunday night marked the season finale of the 15th cycle of the CBS Emmy Award winning reality series “Amazing Race.” Eliminated contestants Maria Ho and Tiffany Michelle were featured, as was a crazy game of poker.

After departing from Prague in the Czech Republic, the final three “Amazing Race” teams headed to Las Vegas, Nevada, the Mecca for poker players around the world. After completing tasks at the Mandalay Bay and Mirage resorts, teams were told to find “the most famous casino in Monaco,” which any poker player could tell you is the Monte Carlo. The home of the annual end-of-season European Poker Tour Grand Final, the Monte Carlo’s U.S. version played host to the final challenge in this cycle of the top-tier reality franchise.

Team has to stack $1 million in poker chips from a table of 8,400 assorted denominations. Dating couple Meghan and Cheyne arrived at the Monte Carlo after inadvertently heading to the Venetian and began furiously stacking the table’s red chips, representing the largest denomination on the table at $1,000. The duo stacked groups of 25, while at the same time, married couple Brian and Ericka and brothers Sam and Dan took a similar approach. After tackling the red poker chips, the squads then piled up the black chips, worth $500 each.

Meghan and Cheyne were the first to complete the task and received their next clue, instructing them to head to the MGM Grand High Roller suite, where “Mr. Las Vegas” would great them. Not knowing who that moniker referred to, the couple asked players in the poker room which personality they could expect to meet. The answer: Wayne Newton. There, Newton revealed that the finish line for the “Amazing Race” was at his ranch, Casa de Shenandoah.

At the finish line were none other than Michelle and Ho, who took sixth this season after being eliminated in the Netherlands. The duo were close with Sam and Dan throughout much of the race and their heroes ultimately took second, with Meghan and Cheyne crossing the finish line first and winning the $1 million grand prize. Michelle appeared teary-eyed after watching Sam and Dan cross the finish time and both women came clad in purple. Michelle and Ho represent the runners-up in the 2008 and 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Events, respectively.

Michelle was an active person on Twitter this evening as the “Amazing Race” season finale unfolded. Upon seeing that the final task was to stack poker chips, she commented, “Amazig Race season finale: Vegas… Poker chips… Ugg, I hate my life!” Echoing her emotions at the end of the season, Michelle noted via Twitter, “I don’t want to give anything away about Amazing Race for the West Coast… But I’m sobbing, in tears right now at the end of the episode!” Michelle then added that she was off to the “Amazing Race” after party.

No poker players have been spotted on the 16th season of “Amazing Race,” whose filming is currently underway. Rumored contestants include Jordan Lloyd and Jeff Schroeder from “Big Brother” season 11 and 2007 Miss Teen South Carolina Caitlin Upton and her boyfriend. Upton provided one of the most memorable quotes of 2007 when she referred to “the Iraq” and “U.S. Americans” during the Miss Teen USA pageant. No airdate for the 16th season of “Amazing Race” has been announced.

Michelle is a card-carrying member of Team UB.com, whose stable of pros also includes “Celebrity Apprentice” runner-up Annie Duke, Phil Hellmuth, and “Poker2Nite” Host Joe Sebok. The show airs on CBS and held the 8:00pm ET Sunday night time slot.

Top 10 Poker Players Right Now

When it comes to listing top 10 of poker players, I’m sure that if 100 person would make the list, there would be 100 different lists of players. Still, there are some players that almost everybody would put in their list.

So this list is not the top 10 of all time, but the top 10 of players who have achieved great success recently. From bottom to top, espn top 10 list looks like this:

10. Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko. Timoshenko has been on a tear recently, winning both live and online tournaments, WPT Championship tournament, WCOOP main event and $1K Monday win among them.

9. Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond. One of the best online cash game players in the world, who consistently wins in nosebleed games at Full Tilt Poker. Has been having a rough year in 2009 though and there for he shouldn’t be listed here.

8. Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier. Former Starcraft professional, who won Two World Championship of Online Poker titles in September 2009. Has won over 2 millions in tournaments this year live and online.

7. Jeffrey Lisandro. Won three WSOP bracelets this year and the POY rankings of WSOP 2009. Master of seven card games of poker.

6. Jason Mercier. A tournament poker powerhouse who had another great year in 2009. Nine final tables in 2009, which resulted in four wins and two runner-up finishes.

5. Barry Greenstein. “The Bear” is a familiar figure playing the biggest cash games in the world at Bobby’s Room, but he can also put together good results in tournaments. Greenstein managed to cash 13 in 2009 including seven at the 2009 WSOP.

4. Tom “durrrr” Dwan. One of the most creative poker players in the world. Dwan is an online poker legend, but after losing over six million dollars in November, he shouldn’t really be on this list.

3. Daniel Negreanu. The all-time tournament winnings leader and the master of small ball poker. Managed to make it to the final table of the WSOP Europe Main event second year in a row, finishing in second place after couple tough bad beats.

2. Patrik Antonius. Antonius is a no-brainer on this list. Antonius is a player who Andrew Feldman thinks is “maybe the best online cash game player out there at the moment”. I agree.

1. Phil Ivey. If Antonius was an obvious pick, Phil Ivey is even more. Ivey is the player who everybody who knew anything about poker would pick in their top 10 list. Didn’t win the WSOP Main Event, but managed take few millions out of Isildur1 in last weeks. The best poker player in the world overall.

Ivey is the number one.

As I said in the beginning, it is hard to list poker players, but I thinks this list has couple obvious flaws. It is not fair to have Galfond and Dwan listed in a “who’s hot” list when they obviously are not hot. Why Joe Cada is not listed, he just won the most coveted title in the poker world?

In my opinion, Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies should be on this list instead of Galfond and Brian Townsend instead of Dwan, but not necessarily on same places on the list. Both made huge profit in November and arguably are the players who are hot right now in online poker world.

Source

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Top 10 Poker Players Right Now

Poker2Nite Recaps UIGEA Compliance Delay

The six-month delay in compliance with the regulations of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was featured on Wednesday night’s episode of the UB-sponsored poker news show Poker2Nite.

The series, hosted by PokerRoad’s Joe Sebok and Scott Huff, opened with a discussion of the reprieve until June 1st, with the former explaining, “I don’t think we should start lying to ourselves and telling ourselves that all of the sites are going to start popping up. All this did is maintain the status quo.” Huff added, “The only way this was going to occur was if the message was being heard by more and more people.” Horse racing interests, members of Congress, and banking associations joined forces with the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) to petition U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for a delay, which was granted last week.

A trip to a poker home game in Los Angeles revealed that few people understood what the PPA or UIGEA were. The segment served as a lead-in to an appearance via Skype by PPA Executive Director John Pappas, who told Huff and Sebok, “It gives us six months to work with Congress to try to clarify the law so it won’t affect people who want to play poker in the internet… What we’ve done is put the onus back on Congress. We’ll be pushing Congress to move quickly.” He ardently told Poker2Nite viewers who question the legality of online poker, “There is no Federal law that says playing online poker is illegal.”

Dana Workman’s “Weekly Misdeal” came with a sponsorship from Bluff Magazine this week. Her satirical news segment focused on the arrests of 75 to 85 year-old women in Cypress for playing poker as well as a new Irishman signing with PokerStars. She also took a shot at California State Senator Margarita Prentice, who is considering proposing a new video keno bill after serving as a major proponent of a law that made playing online poker in the Northwest state a Class C felony. Finally, Workman recapped the ESPN: The Magazine Body Issue featuring four nude poker players, including UB.com’s Phil Hellmuth.

A new segment called “All in Blind” featured six topics sealed in white envelopes. Both Sebok and Huff had no idea what they were and the duo selected three to discuss. Up for debate first was whether 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event runner-up Darvin Moon’s appearance on ESPN’s Monday Night Football or the 16-0 New England Patriots team was better. Huff chose Moon because “he actually got something,” while Sebok selected the Pats because “they got a little bit of history.” The Patriots lost to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII.

The second topic discussed on the Poker2Nite “All in Blind” segment was innerpsy’s short-lived online poker record of 40,088 hands played in a 24-hour period. Finally, Huff and Sebok debated whether they preferred James McManus’ poker history tale “Cowboys Full” or Doyle Brunson’s new autobiography “The Godfather of Poker.” Huff resoundingly selected McManus: “The New York Times says it’s good, so it’s good enough for me.” Contrastingly, Sebok emphatically chose Brunson, the figurehead for the poker industry..

Finally, the Poker2Nite Dictionary came to life. The show’s hosts discussed the meaning of “stacks ‘em off,” which translates to “to bust someone, or knock them out,” and “button,” which originally used to be called the “buck.” Huff claimed that phrases like “Pass the buck” President Harry Truman’s “The buck stops here” originated in poker.

Poker2Nite’s air time varies by market, but according to UB.com, the series begins at 11:00pm ET each Wednesday. When Poker News Daily caught the show, it was scheduled for 1:00am ET. Repeats are available on Fox Sports Net on Thursdays at 4:00pm ET and Fridays at 11:00am ET and 6:00pm ET.

Visit UB.com for more information and to view online clips.

Online Poker Tournament Recap for November 30th

Brazilian online poker pro Caio Cesar “caio_pimenta” Pimenta was the big winner on the virtual felts Sunday with his victory in the PokerStars Sunday Million, the site’s weekly flagship event. Pimenta outlasted a field of 9,077 players to claim a prize of $259,243.98, the 19-year-old’s largest online score to date.

PokerStars trumped every other site on Sunday with its $1,815,400 prize pool in the Sunday Million. Joining Pimenta at the final table was Team PokerStars Pro member Johnny Lodden, who ultimately took fifth for $72,616.00 after his A-K couldn’t catch up to the pocket kings of Pimenta. The Brazilian pro began the final table with the chip lead and went wire-to-wire, scooping the final pot of the tournament when he made a full house against runner-up KillerMendez.

Several other online pros had success on PokerStars on Sunday. Anthony “holdplz” Spinella took down the Sunday Second Chance after besting a loaded final table that included Michael “anakinso” Goodman, Bryan “Squirrely1″ Sapp, Adam “akat11″ Katz, and Walter “JLizard” Wright. Spinella earned $49,613.12 for his efforts. Laurence “rivermanl” Houghton headlined the final table of the Sunday Warm-Up and took fourth place for $52,296.40. Joe “floes” Serock also made that final table, collecting $11,570 for his eighth place finish.

On Full Tilt Poker, “WooohSaaah” was the winner of the $750,000 Guaranteed, earning $154,233.71. Michael “Pot Odds 3” McNeil took eighth in the event for $15,721.20. In the Sunday Brawl, mikkelstrack walked away with $96,010.22 after defeating a field of 2,794 players and a final table that included Carder “SpazIsPlusEV” England (fourth place for $40,792.40) and Andy “BKiCe” Seth (sixth place for $18,999.20).

Here’s a look at the results from Sunday’s major online tournaments:

PokerStars Sunday Million
$215 buy-in, 9,077 entrants

1st: Caio Cesar “caio_pimenta” Pimenta – $259,243.98
2nd: KillerMendez – $164,562.50
3rd: floriverboy – $135,156.53
4th: joaoMathias – $90,770.00
5th: Johnny “johnnylodden” Lodden – $72,616.00
6th: buddahead9 – $54,462.00
7th: LAPINKY – $36,308.00
8th: BRzRoll – $19,969.40
9th: bo0ort – $12,707.80

Full Tilt Poker $750,000 Guaranteed
$216 buy-in, 4,367 entrants

1st: WooohSaaah – $154,233.71
2nd: Hand Banana7 – $93,366.46
3rd: Beat Man – $61,138.00
4th: jesseja77 – $48,037.00
5th: city17 – $36,071.42
6th: sweepybreedy – $26,726.04
7th: based – $20,088.20
8th: Michael “Pot Odds 3” McNeil – $15,721.20
9th: I use 5cards – $11,703.56

PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up
$215 buy-in, 4,628 entrants

1st: Mr. Shanish – $116,468.22
2nd: angevert – $106,468.22
3rd: $saxo$ – $106,468.22
4th: Laurence “rivermanl” Houghton – $52,296.40
5th: cspdealer – $39,338.00
6th: CruSader1981 – $30,082.00
7th: Bahneyyy – $20,826.00
8th: Joe “floes” Serock – $11,570.00
9th: melano26 – $7,404.80

Full Tilt Poker Sunday Brawl
$256 buy-in, 2,794 entrants

1st: mikkelstrack – $96,010.22
2nd: YrrsiNN – $72,201.87
3rd: Snusarn1 – $72,630.71
4th: Carder “SpazIsPlusEV” England – $40,792.40
5th: Jotagran49 – $28,498.80
6th: Andy “BKiCe” Seth – $18,999.20
7th: PrishChips31 – $12,852.40
8th: uzzyking – $8,940.80
9th: dadoudinet – $6,705.60

PokerStars Sunday 500
$530 buy-in, 1,033 entrants

1st: liutas.a – $89,147.90
2nd: Blue Knight1 – $64,562.50
3rd: SENORSEXY – $49,067.50
4th: Jeremy “JBurleson” Burleson – $35,948.40
5th: Jason “Taknapotin” Somerville – $25,566.75
6th: Jason “JERRRY” Glass – $20,401.75
7th: aylinka18 – $15,236.75
8th: EMakers9186 – $10,071.75
9th: hitthehole – $5,681.50

Cake Poker $250,000 Guaranteed
$268 buy-in, 1,286 entrants

1st: PIIIGEEEOOON – $63,607
2nd: thepokerkinq – $44,654
3rd: LawyerDad – $29,812
4th: IL LAUREATO – $22,038
5th: paulgees822 – $14,906
6th: xfaithlessx – $11,276
7th: SomeDumGuy – $8,256
8th: Kakakahahaha – $6,168
9th: iamchainsaw – $5,204

PokerStars Sunday Second Chance
$215 buy-in, 1,366 entrants

1st: Anthony “holdplz” Spinella – $49,613.12
2nd: Bryan “Squirrely1” Sapp – $36,062.40
3rd: Adam “akat11” Katz – $27,320.00
4th: parksy1066 – $20,490.00
5th: bbs99 – $14,343.00
6th: Michael “anakinso” Goodman – $11,611.00
7th: The Mooks – $8,879.00
8th: SPOTLIGHT19 – $6,147.00
9th: Walter “JLizard” Wright – $3,824.80

UB.com $200,000 Guaranteed
$215 buy-in, 1,054 entrants

1st: Ben “XTHESTEINX” Zamani – $39,267.00
2nd: 99NVRLOSEZ – $35,945.00
3rd: Adam “AKAT11” Katz – $19,077.40
4th: CHIPMICK09 – $13,596.60
5th: JMEWNIE – $11,488.60
6th: ILIKEPONIES – $9,380.60
7th: BAZOOKA87 – $7,272.60
8th: ANIMAL5050 – $5,164.60
9th: Nick “SHIPKINS” Grippo – $3,583.60

William Brindise Wins US Poker Championship Main Event

Despite the promise of a televised final table for both its Pot Limit Omaha Championship and Main Event, it was a small crowd at the United States Poker Championships (USPC), with only 32 players entering the Omaha event and 154 taking part in the Main Event.

The tournament series, hosted by the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, ran from November 2nd until shortly before Thanksgiving and featured a total of 24 different events with buy-ins ranging from $340 to $5,250.  Prior to the start of the series, the tournament staff announced that cable television channel Spike TV would be on hand to film a couple of the contests.

The first televised event was the $2,625 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha tournament.  Although the field was a scant 32 players, it was packed with some big name pros, several of whom made it to the final table.  Amnon Filippi, Matthew Matros, Matt Glantz, and Allie Prescott all made the feature table, with Prescott taking home the victory worth $36,000.

The second televised tournament, the USPC Main Event, drew a much larger crowd than the Omaha contest and saw substantial growth over last year’s running.  The combined appeal of a televised event plus a smaller buy-in helped to essentially triple the size of the field between 2008 and 2009.  Last year, the event featured a buy-in of $10,000 and only drew 52 runners.  Some of the 154 players who turned up to play in this year’s tournament included Matt “All In At 420” Stout, UB.com pro Liv Boeree, Allen Kessler, Michael and Nick Binger, Joe “hoodini10” Udine, Adam Junglen, Jeff “yellowsub” Williams, and Thayer Rasmussen.

The final table featured a number of notable names, including the 2001 USPC Champion Men “The Master” Nguyen.  Nguyen defeated fellow pro John Juanda heads-up in 2001 to take the $228,000 first place prize.  This time around, the tables were turned and it was Nguyen who had to settle for a runner-up finish.  Nguyen was joined at the final table by Nick Binger, World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Brian Lemke, and online poker player Eric “avrilsharapova” Ladny.

The chip leader going into the final table was not one of the known pros though, it was William Brindise, a New Jersey local who started the final seven-handed table with more than 1.5 million chips – twice that of his next closest competitor, Nguyen.  Ladny rounded out the top three and the trio of players started and ended the day in the exact same positions on the leaderboard.  Ladny busted out in third place, setting up a heads-up match between Nguyen and Brindise.  It would be the local who prevailed over the professional, as Brindise defeated Nguyen to take down the first place prize worth $261,800; Nguyen earned $138,600 for his runner-up finish.

Although he may be lacking the experience of his formidable heads-up opponent, Brindise is no stranger to poker success.  Prior to his win at the USPC, he had nearly $130,000 in tournament winnings to his credit, including a win in a Trump Classic event in 2005, several cashes at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, and an in-the-money finish at the 2004 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event.  With the victory in Atlantic City, Brindise’s career winnings are now close to $400,000.

Here are the results from the final table of the 2009 USPC Main Event:

1st Place: William Brindise – $261,800
2nd Place: Men “the Master” Nguyen – $138,600
3rd Place: Eric Ladny – $77,000
4th Place: Gordon Eng – $53,900
5th Place: Brian Lemke – $46,200
6th Place: Nick Binger – $30,800
7th Place: Anton Smolyanskiy – $23,100

Frenchman Fabrice Soulier Signs with Everest Poker

Everest Poker, an independent online poker site, is continuing to build its influence in France by signing Fabrice Soulier. 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event third place finisher and fellow French player Antoine Saout is also a sponsored pro of the site.

A press release distributed by Everest Poker claimed that the move to sign Soulier was made in order to reinforce “its presence in the country in a continued effort to develop poker in France ahead of the opening of the market.” Soulier has a wealth of live poker cashes dating back to before Chris Moneymaker bested Sammy Farha in the 2003 WSOP Main Event. In 2001, he won the Grand Prix de Paris for over $50,000 and, the next year, finished as the runner-up in a $500 buy-in tournament during the Jack Binion World Poker Open in Tunica for $41,000.

In 2006, Soulier made his presence felt on television, taking fifth in the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Bay 101 Shooting Star tournament for $240,000, an event ultimately won by Nam Le. Soulier won a €1,000 buy-in event as part of the Deauville Poker Festival in late 2007 and went on to win the Marrakech Poker Open’s Main Event for $135,000 two years later. During the recently-held 2009 WSOP, he took 49th in the Main Event for nearly $140,000 and recorded six other cashes.

A press release distributed by Everest Poker explained Soulier’s influence within France: “He is a regular at key French poker rendezvous throughout the year and has participated in a number of television shows and projects which have helped improve and develop the perception of the game in France and mold the poker scene into the mature and leading market that it is today.”

According to PokerScout.com, Everest Poker is the sixth largest site or network worldwide with a seven-day running average of 2,350 real money ring game players. During its peak hours, which occur in the evening throughout Europe, over 5,000 competitors can be found battling it out on Everest Poker’s virtual felts. At the time of writing, which is early afternoon in London, a total of 2,912 cash game players are logged in. Everest Poker does not accept players from the United States and its traffic is similar with that found on the CEREUS Network, which includes the newly-branded UB.com and Absolute Poker. It is the official on-felt sponsor of the WSOP.

A French news outlet in Las Vegas during the conclusion of the 2009 WSOP Main Event told Poker News Daily that Saout winning the $10,000 buy-in tournament would likely result in a poker renaissance in the European nation. Every hand won by the Frenchman led the site to blog with earnest. However, Saout ultimately finished third after his pocket queens could not withstand champion Joe Cada’s pocket deuces when the flop fell 7-2-9. Saout came out on the short end of a race shortly thereafter with pocket eights against Cada’s A-K when a king hit on the river. The two unfortunate hands ended Saout’s run at the Main Event title, but he earned $3.5 million for his efforts.

According to an update provided last Sunday on PokerScout.com, Everest Poker has seen its traffic slide 3% year over year. Contrastingly, traffic on Full Tilt Poker and the Entraction Network has grown by 110% and 65%, respectively.

WSOP Main Event Runner-Up Darvin Moon to be Featured During Patriots/Saints Game

On Monday night, Week 12 of the National Football League (NFL) will conclude with the 7-3 New England Patriots visiting Louisiana to take on the undefeated New Orleans Saints. Featured during the game will be 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event runner-up Darvin Moon.

Kickoff is scheduled for 8:30pm ET and the contest will air on cable station ESPN in the United States. It was believed that Moon would be present for the on-field coin toss, when teams choose whether to kick or receive and which goal to defend. However, the rumor ultimately proved to be false. Instead, Moon will be present in the Saints locker room during pre-game festivities and will be recognized on both ESPN as well as the Superdome’s massive screen. The stadium holds 70,000 rabid fans and is completely sold out for the primetime contest.

The game marks one of two Monday night tilts for the Saints this season. The club defeated the division rival Atlanta Falcons earlier this month 35-27 in front of a national viewing audience. Greg Bensel, Saints Vice President of Communications for the NFL team, told Poker News Daily, “Darvin is a guy that we have followed while he made his miraculous run in the Main Event. He first came to our attention as the lone guy in the tournament that refused money so he could keep his Saints hat on. He is a typical Saints fan – passionate and in love with his team – and we are proud to call him a friend of our team and a true Saints fan.”

In the early morning hours of November 10th, Moon fell to Michigan pro Joe Cada heads-up in the finale of the $10,000 buy-in tournament. In the process, Cada became the youngest WSOP Main Event champion ever at the tender age of 21, eclipsing Peter Eastgate’s standing record, set in 2008, by one year. Moon banked $5.2 million in the process and outlasted all but one player in the field of 6,494. He elected not to sign any logo deals for the final table or throughout the tournament, instead wearing a Saints hat and a Wheeling Island Hotel Casino shirt. Moon purportedly requested a one-off logo deal for $350,000, but could not reach an agreement with any company.

Moon will be seated in Bensel’s box during the game. The Maryland logger has been discussing the event with the media for some time now and also claimed that the Saints granted him season tickets. The Saints have been a juggernaut on offense this year, reminiscent of Moon’s run down the stretch in the Main Event. The club has scored 30 points in all but three games this season and bested the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week by 31 points. Quarterback Drew Brees, a Purdue product, is sixth in the NFL in passing yards with 2,746 and first in touchdowns with 22. He was the first quarterback taken in many fantasy football leagues this season coming off a career best 34 touchdown performance in 2008; he’s on pace for 35 this year.

Monday Night Football airs on ESPN, the same station that owns the broadcast rights to the WSOP. The longtime football staple formerly aired on ABC before making the move to its sister station, ESPN; Disney owns both. ESPN formerly carried Sunday Night Football, which now makes its home on NBC.

We look forward to seeing Moon on Monday night. Are you ready for some football?

Poker Community Celebrates Thanksgiving

If you hail from the United States, this weekend is a time for family, food, shopping, and some nice downtime from the stresses of life.  If you’re a poker player, it is also time to squeeze in a tournament, be it in Costa Rica, Las Vegas, Atlantic City, or Los Angeles and put in some extra time at the tables in between bites of turkey.

Players like Jean-Robert Bellande, Jon “pokertrip” Friedberg, David “Bakes” Baker, and Team PokerStars Pro Maria “Maridu” Mayrinck decided to escape the cold weather and squeeze in a tropical vacation shortly before the holiday, flying out to Costa Rica to take part in the Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT) event.  Meanwhile, other players like Eric “AvrilSharapova” Ladny, Men “The Master” Nguyen, and World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Brian Lemke spent their time at the final table of the United States Poker Championships at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Even poker players who stayed at home still found themselves unable to stay away from the felt for too long and several players turned up for the $2,500 buy-in Main Event of the final Venetian Deep Stack series of the year.  Some of the players who took part in the event included Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler, UB.com Pros Bryan “badbeatninja” Devonshire and Brandon Cantu, Full Tilt Red Pro Jeff Madsen, Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin, Nenad Medic, Jamie “TheCronic420” Rosen, and Christina Lindley.

Lindley filled Poker News Daily in on her last minute change of plans when it came to her holiday vacation.  After a successful run online the past two weeks, including a runner-up finish in Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) Event #24 worth more than $106,000, Lindley decided to delay her trip home to Nashville, Tennessee in order to take part in the Venetian event.  She flew out the morning the event started, played until she busted, and then headed home for the typical Thanksgiving fare.  “I told my mom I’d get there in time to make a pumpkin pie,” Lindley explained.  “And maybe some karaoke with my little brother, who is home from college, if we’re lucky.”

Another player who is opting to stay away from the felt is Nick “fu_15” Maimone.  When Poker News Daily asked what his Thanksgiving plans were, he responded, “Not playing poker? AKA trying to be normal.”  Others are following Maimone’s lead and opting for traditional holiday plans including trips home.  A quick glance at Twitter indicated that poker pros and “The Amazing Race” teammates Maria Ho and Tiffany Michelle would both be spending the holidays with friends and family.

Just because a fair share of players are heading home for the holidays doesn’t mean the poker rooms will be empty this weekend.  The Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens, California will once again be holding their annual Turkey Shootout/Ho Ho Hold’em Series, with the first of 13 events kicking off Thanksgiving Day.  The “Turkey Shoot” tournament will feature a $100 buy-in.  If you are wondering just how many people would opt to play a poker tournament Thanksgiving Day, last year’s installment drew 230 players and offered up a first place prize of $8,600 to tournament winner Susie Baranowski.

Even players who take Thursday off for a little family and feasting may skip Black Friday shopping for some card playing.  The first event of the Bellagio Five Diamond World Poker Classic, the $500 buy-in SpadeClub.com tournament, is scheduled for Friday and players like Mike “GoLeafsGoEh” Leah plan on taking part.  Granted, Leah is Canadian, so his Thanksgiving happened a few weeks ago and he isn’t skipping any festivities to take part.  The Bellagio also has two other tournaments scheduled throughout Thanksgiving weekend, with events continuing daily until the World Poker Tour Main Event begins on December 14th and wraps up shortly before Christmas.

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us here at Poker News Daily.

Daniel Negreanu’s Mother Passes Away

On Monday, Team PokerStars Pro member Daniel Negreanu posted a blog entry on Full Contact Poker entitled “Mommy is Gone.” The funeral is scheduled for Thursday at 11:00am at the Jerett Funeral Home in Toronto.

Negreanu revealed that his mother passed away in her sleep around 3:30am early Monday morning in a hospital, where she had been since February. The four-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner explained, “10 months of the most brutal torture. Just no way to live, and there is a sense of relief that she doesn’t have to suffer anymore.” Earlier this year, Negreanu’s mother suffered a stroke and mild heart attack, leading to her hospitalization. She had surgery to clean out a corroded artery and then had open heart surgery shortly thereafter. Negreanu vividly painted the picture of the scene at the hospital in a mid-February entry: “She’s on life support, hooked up to a machine with a tube in her throat. She’s getting blood also, and there are just all kinds of random tubes all over the place. I don’t know what they all do.”

Negreanu recapped that he flew in from London with the intention of seeing his mother, but was too late. His brother, who had been a frequent guest at the hospital, was not present at the time of her passing either, as he had traveled to New Jersey for a football game. Negreanu lamented, “She was literally the most unselfish person I’d ever met. She got so much joy out of simply feeding people. I mean that. She loved nothing more than to cook and care for people. This Christmas will be a different one for sure. She usually cooks up a massive feast that all of my friends look forward to.”

Many of Negreanu’s posts relating to his mother occurred in February. However, two months later, Negreanu noted that the situation was still grim, but he was continuing to focus on his burgeoning poker career: “I can’t control what’s going on with my mother, but I can control how focused I am at the poker table.” Negreanu finished in the money eight times during the 2009 WSOP in Las Vegas and added a runner-up showing in the £10,000 buy-in Main Event of WSOP Europe, a tournament that he finished fifth in last year. All told, Negreanu has over $3.3 million in WSOP and Circuit cashes to his name.

An image in Negreanu’s blog entry shows his mother planting a big kiss on his cheek after he took down the Borgata Poker Open, a stop on the World Poker Tour (WPT), in 2004. On his mother’s support of his poker career, Negreanu revealed, “You know how some people never feel like their parents are proud of them? That was never in question with my mother. She always told me and showed me how proud she was of me without fail. I always felt loved by her and that’s an irreplaceable bond and feeling. She told me she loved me… every day. I mean every… single… day.” The Borgata Poker Open saw Negreanu best one of the most talented final tables in WPT history, featuring David Williams, Josh Arieh, and Phil Ivey.

Negreanu remarked, “She loved to dance and laugh. Some of my best memories as a kid were at dinner parties she’d throw at the house. As always, a monster feast, music, lots of wine and drinks… my dad telling jokes that had everyone laughing, then dancing in the living room.” In May, Negeranu headed to Toronto to visit his mother. He noted that visitors donned gloves and a gown to avoid spreading germs and, although his mother could not speak, she was able to nod and shake her head. Prior to her hospitalization, Negreanu would read her the last names of fellow poker players and have her guess their origins. In the hospital in May, Negreanu tested his parent with “Kravchenko.”

Viewing is scheduled for Wednesday from 2:00pm to 8:00pm at the Jerett Funeral Home in Toronto, with the funeral set to take place on Thursday at 11:00am. We’d like to express our deepest condolences to the Negreanu family.

Antonio Matias Wins EPT Vilamoura

Travel agency owner Antonio Matias took down the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) Vilamoura Main Event in the roving tournament series’ first ever trip to Portugal. Matias took home a €404,793 top prize.

The EPT Vilamoura stop had a buy-in of €5,300 and marked the richest tournament ever held in Portugal, according to PokerStars officials. Matias, a Portuguese businessman, was playing in his backyard and became the first native to take down an EPT tournament since Sandra Naujoks tasted victory in Dortmund last season. On his accomplishment, Matias told tournament staff following his win, “I like to think of myself as a citizen of the world, but it is very satisfying to win an EPT in my home country. I wasn’t intimidated by the competition because I play a lot of very good players in cash games. I just decided to play the way I play and hope that luck didn’t turn its back on me. When I got the chip lead yesterday, the only thing I had on my mind was winning.”

In the final hand of EPT Vilamoura, Pierre Neuville raised pre-flop holding J-10. Matias called with 8-7 and watched the action flop come J-8-7. Matias checked bottom two pair, Neuville bet with top pair, Matias put in a raise, and Neuville shoved. Matias called, having his opponent covered. Another seven on the turn gave Matias a full house, which held to scoop the EPT title. Neuville earned €257,681 for his runner-up showing.

Jeff Sarwer, a Canadian, called all-in for his tournament life with 9-5 on a flop of 9-7-3. Holding top pair, Sarwer watched as Matias flipped up pocket tens for an overpair. However, the turn came a five and, in a massive change of fate, gave Sarwer two pair, nines and fives, against Matias’ pair of tens. In heartbreaking fashion, the river came a three, shattering Sarwer’s EPT hopes and giving Matias a better two pair. The roller coaster of a hand ended with Sarwer seeking solace from Shaun Deeb, Jim “Mr_BigQueso” Collopy, and Jonathan “FatalError” Aguiar, who were on the rail to support him.

Jan Skampa was eliminated in fourth place from the Portuguese tournament. He ran K-9 into Sarwer’s pocket queens in a pre-flop raising war to cripple his stack, departing a few hands later and earning €117,000. Skampa was one of four players to claim a six-figure payday.

Here were the final results from EPT Vilamoura. A total of 322 players turned out, creating a €1.5 million prize pool:

1. Antonio Matias (Portugal) -  €404,793
2. Pierre Neuville (Belgium) – €257,681
3. Jeff Sarwer (Canada) – €156,170
4. Jan Skampa (Czech Republic) – €117,128
5. João Silva (Portugal) – €78,085
6. Michel Abecassis (France) – €62,468
7. Ryan Franklin (United States) – €46,851
8. Andrei Vlasenko (Russia) – €31,234

Next up for the EPT is a trip to Prague from December 1st to 6th. The €5,250 buy-in tournament saw Salvatore Bonavena claim a massive €774,000 payday last time out. The marathon Season 5 EPT Prague final table lasted 264 hands and spanned 12 hours. A bevy of Team PokerStars Pro personalities are expected, as last year, Noah Boeken, Dario Minieri, Marcin Horecki, Luca Pagano, William Thorson, Alex Kravchenko, and Katja Thater all threw their hats into the ring.

EPT Prague will be held at the Hilton Prague Hotel and will include a variety of side tournaments. In addition, cash games will kick off at Noon each day. The Main Event features two starting days (December 1st and 2nd) and registration opened today on PokerStars for interested players.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest live tournament news.

Steven Begleiter on Bloomberg: “I’m probably a one tournament a year guy”

Last Friday, former Bear Stearns executive Steven Begleiter joined Bloomberg news hosts Mark Crumpton and Lori Rothman to discuss his sixth place finish in the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event and his future in the game.

Crumpton incorrectly stated that the WSOP Main Event was a $10 million buy-in poker tournament, but, nevertheless, Begleiter turned out in a coat and tie with no logos for Full Tilt, which he represented in Las Vegas earlier this month. On his skill level compared to the eight others at the final table of the $10,000 buy-in tournament, Begleiter explained, “I thought I was pretty good for the guys I played against [in my home game]. I didn’t think I’d go toe to toe with Phil Ivey. That’s the great thing about the Main Event: it allows humble amateurs and pros to go side by side and they can’t use their big money skills to pressure you.”

Many in the industry have wondered what will happen to the 2009 version of the WSOP Main Event November Nine. Main Event champion Joe Cada, now five days removed from his 22nd birthday, has vowed to remain a regular in the online tournament scene and build his presence in live events. Runner-up Darvin Moon will likely return to the forests of Maryland and continue logging. Begleiter told Bloomberg what to expect in the future from the financial guru: “When I made the final table in July, my partners were very good in allowing me to have the time I needed to play a few more tournaments, but now that it’s over, I’m probably back to being a one tournament a year guy.”

Begleiter’s experience in the financial services industry may have helped fuel his run in the WSOP Main Event. With 6,494 players entering, Begleiter outlasted all but five and earned $1.6 million. He revealed the corollaries between the two industries to Crumpton and Rothman: “There are definitely some. You need to have an affinity for understanding your probabilities pretty quickly, but really your opponents are telling you stories. You either have to believe them or not. A lot of us in the investment business, we hear a lot of stories. We decide whether we believe them or not and we put our chips to work in one way or another.”

Today’s poker world is full of players in their 20s. According to Begleiter, some in the industry could excel in the world of Wall Street: “I got to meet a lot of people in their 20s who were very good card players that, were we still at Bear Stearns, I would have tried to get them to come join the firm. One of them coached me, Jonathan Little, who is a very accomplished player. People like him would do very well here on Wall Street.” Little is a two-time World Poker Tour (WPT) champion, having taken down the Season VI Mirage Poker Showdown and Season VII Foxwoods World Poker Finals. In Season VI, he captured Player of the Year honors.

Bloomberg’s hosts then asked if the 47 year-old amateur poker player was present at Bear Stearns for its eventual collapse and sale to J.P. Morgan. Begleiter responded, “It was really my only job. I started right out of college and I was there until we closed. I had a pretty good seat on what was happening and it was really my second family. It was a great disappointment the way things ended.” After his WSOP Main Event run in July, Begleiter took ninth in the WPT Legends of Poker for $39,000.

The five and a half minute segment ended with an uninformed Rothman asking if Begleiter had ever played “electronic poker.” The poker world will now wait and see if Begleiter truly becomes a one tournament per year player or if he’ll be more of a staple on the circuit.

UB.com Launches, Rebranding of Ultimate Bet Complete

Tuesday signified a landmark day in the online poker industry, as Ultimate Bet, a USA-facing site on the CEREUS Poker Network, rebranded itself UB.com. The two-letter acronym has been the site’s nickname since its launch 10 years ago.

“Raise, Stack, Own” becomes the new mantra of UB.com, which retains the gold color theme of the old Ultimate Bet, but adds a baby blue hue as well. “Celebrity Apprentice” runner-up Annie Duke, 11-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, and PokerRoad CEO Joe Sebok become the front men of the new site, which can be accessed by visiting UB.com or UltimateBet.com. A software update went live this morning and players’ user names and passwords will remain the same as they were prior to the UB.com transition.

UB and its sister site, Absolute Poker, are both owned by Tokwiro, whose CEO, Paul Leggett, commented in a press release, “The launch of UB.com represents a turning point for our company. We have assembled a great group of professionals who are passionate about poker to build the UB brand. Our goal is to create products and services that poker players really want. We are trying to listen very carefully to both our players and the poker community to help us achieve this goal.”

New lobby filters made their debut on Tuesday as part of the software update to UB.com. Omaha tables can now be filtered, making finding a game even simpler. In addition, the new update added color-coded icons to the tournament and ring game lobbies. In the former, special designations are given for Turbo, Ultra Turbo, Rebuy, Deep Stack, Bounty, Six-Max, Four-Max, and Heads-Up formats. In cash games, color-coded icons exist for Turbo, Jackpot, 7-2, Deep Stack, 50 Minimum Big Blind, and Ante tables on the virtual felts of UB.com. At the bottom of the lobby, a horizontal legend reminds users of what the new icons signify.

The lobby takes on a sleek yellow feel and the total update when we ran Ultimate Bet’s Mac version was 8,600 KB, which took about two minutes to download. The upper left corner of the lobby features the sleek UB.com black and yellow logo with the player and table counts given right underneath it written in white block lettering. The Mac version, which was rolled out in September along with an Instant Play option, is still limited to a maximum of four open tables. The Instant Play version requires the latest version of Java to be installed on the Mac or Windows device.

The new cash game filters include the maximum number of players, stack sizes, and table type. In addition, you can specify the number of players per flop and the number of players per table to ensure that only desired tables come up in the search. A total of 30 new tournaments featuring $1 million in guaranteed prize money have been introduced as part of a gradual overhaul, quickly establishing the USA-friendly CEREUS Network as one of the top around.

Hellmuth, who has long served as the face of the popular online poker site, talked about the movement from Ultimate Bet to UB.com: “In the ten years since I have been involved with the UB brand, I have never been prouder to represent the company as much as I am right now. We have great people captaining the ship, we have a great vibe, and some serious swagger. I look forward to the day when we are the largest poker site on the planet.”

According to PokerScout.com, which keeps tabs on online poker room traffic, the CEREUS Network is the sixth largest worldwide with a seven-day running average of 2,750 real money ring game players, about one-tenth of the traffic of PokerStars, the largest site in the industry. UB.com made waves in late October by changing its raise logic and launching synchronized breaks in its larger tournaments at 55 minutes past each hour, in line with the precedents set by PokerStars and Full Tilt.

Zhivago2, Obiedman Win FTOPS XIV Poker Titles

Full Tilt Poker’s 14th installment of its Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) came to a close Monday morning when a champion was crowned in the $535 buy-in Main Event. Austria’s “zhivago2” outlasted a record-setting field to earn a payday of $418,839 and the gold FTOPS jersey.

Full Tilt’s newest team member, Tom “durrrr” Dwan, hosted what would ultimately be the largest Main Event in FTOPS history, attracting 5,471 players for a prize pool of $2,735,500. Nearly 70 Full Tilt Red Pros took part in the historic event, with Dave Colclough’s 250th place finish topping them all. Brandon Adams, Jeff Madsen, Gary Jones, and Soren Kongsgaard were the other Red Pros to make the money.

Former Full Tilt Red Pro Adam Junglen was the biggest name to reach the final table, which got underway at around 7:00am ET after an exhausting 11 hours of play. Junglen entered the final table third in chips, trailing “kinheim” and eventual champion zhivago2. Andrew “bankrollme87″ Touchette was fourth in chips as the final nine was formed, but the online pro was sent to the rail in sixth place when he got all of his chips in on a 9s-8d-6s board with 9d-3d against the 9h-7h of “ItsTime2Win.” The better kicker held up and Touchette exited with $90,271.50.

After kinheim (fifth place, $131,167) and “dfunks222” (fourth place, $175,072) were eliminated, the final three players agreed to a deal that would secure a payout of at least $290,000 for each of them. With some extra money set aside for the winner, Junglen and zhivago2 got tangled up in a pre-flop raising war that would end the pro’s tournament life. ItsTime2Win raised from the button, zhivago2 called, and Junglen three-bet to 1.4 million from the big blind. ItsTime2Win folded and zhivago2 put the pressure on Junglen by moving all-in. Junglen called with pocket sixes and was in a race against zhivago2’s Qs-Jh. The Jd-8h-5d flop left Junglen needing help, but the turn and river were of no assistance and he collected $290,418 for his third place finish.

zhivago2 took a sizable lead into heads-up play and was able to finish off ItsTime2Win after a lengthy match. On the final hand, zhivago2 bet two million on a 9h-5c-2d board and ItsTime2Win moved all-in for around 11 million. zhivago2 called with pocket jacks and was in great shape against the Ac-3c of ItsTime2Win. The 6c and 3h came on the turn and river, respectively, and zhivago2 was the new FTOPS Main Event champion. ItsTime2Win earned $316,554 as the runner-up.

Here’s a look at the final results from the FTOPS XIV Main Event:

1. zhivago2 – $418,839.16
2. ItsTime2Win – $316,554.40
3. Adam Junglen – $290,418.94
4. dfunks222 – $175,072
5. kinheim – $131,167.23
6. Andrew “bankrollme87″ Touchette – $90,271.50
7. nuts7878 – $58,813.25
8. Valuechecking – $41,032.50
9. Dr Fill Good – $28,722.75

The biggest prize of the FTOPS XIV series went to “obiedman,” who won the Two-Day $2,500+$120 No Limit Hold’em Event #22 on Sunday. A 938-player field of the best online tournament players in the world participated to create a prize pool of $2,345,000.

Full Tilt Red Pro Gary Jones had the chip lead late into the tournament and earned a seat at the final table, but found himself short with four players remaining and moved his remaining stack in with Ad-3c. “Timvd20” called with pocket fours and the pair held up to eliminate Jones in fourth place for $193,463. Timvd20 was the next player to hit the rail after losing much of his stack to obiedman and then running pocket threes into the pocket aces of “Supa4real.”

An entertaining heads-up ended with each player holding trip queens on a Qc-Qd-9d board. However, obiedman’s Js kicker bested the 10s kicker of his opponent and obiedman made a full house with the Jc on the river to win the Event #22 title and $539,350. Supa4real, who also final tabled the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) Two-Day Main Event in September, earned his largest online cash to date of $340,025.

Here are the results from FTOPS XIV Event #22:

1. obiedman – $539,350
2. Supa4real – $340,025
3. Timvd20 – $252,088
4. Gary Jones – $193,463
5. the_real_magic – $146,563
6. TheAlligatorNo1 – $105,525
7. Ahvall – $70,350
8. DanOBrien – $54,873
9. Rabbit_hunterSA – $39,865

Huge fields, poker pros dominate big online Sunday

The huge fields weren't a problem for noted poker pros Marc Karam, Chris "Genius28" Lee, Gary Jones, Christina Lindley and Adam Junglen, who all booked massive scores.

On Full Tilt there were a total of four FTOPS XIV titles awarded as the series drew to a close. All four events featured a notable pro at the final table.

Poker commentator and Full Tilt Pro Gary Jones made the final table of the two-day $2,500+$120 Hold'em event, but was eventually ousted in fourth for $193,462. Online player obiedman went on to win the tournament for $539,350, the biggest payout of FTOPS XIV.

In the meantime, Lee, or Genius28, outlasted 1,166 players to take down the FTOPS XIV $109 PLO rebuy event for $93,302.

Elsewhere, Lindley was a force to be reckoned with in the $129 NL Hold'em Knockout event. The Maxim model made it all the way to heads-up before she was beaten by little chief17.

Fortunately for Lindley, there was a deal made three-handed that saw her guaranteed at least $100,000 and when all was done and said, Lindley won $106,460 for her second place finish. Little chief17 received $125,959 for winning the event.

The $535 FTOPS XIV main event would draw 5,471 runners, enough to make it the biggest FTOPS final of all time.

Of all the recognizable pros who entered it was Poker VT instructor Junglen who had the most impressive run.

Junglen outlasted 5,469 players before finally busting in third place for $290,418. Online player zhivago2 went on to win the record-setting event for $418,839.

Over on PokerStars, tournament organizers were celebrating having handing out $250 million in prize money over the site's history by upping the usual $1.5 million guarantee for the Sunday Million by $1 million.

The move paid off as a record-breaking 18,283 players bought in to create a prize pool of $3.6 million.

There were no big name pros at the final table as Canadian Zadman5311 took down first place for $282,662 following a six-way deal.

Meanwhile, as the entire poker world was sat railing the massive Sunday Million, EPT3 grand final runner-up Marc Karam, who plays online as mysterio6044, had his way with the PokerStars Sunday 500.

The Canadian pro outlasted all 1,228 entrants to secure the first place prize of $102,568.

Poker Pros Rally Behind Former WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack

Late last week, World Series of Poker (WSOP) Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack stepped down from his post and removed himself from Harrah’s entirely. The move caught much of the poker world off-guard and Poker News Daily solicited the reaction from a few of the game’s top names.

“Celebrity Apprentice” runner-up and marquee female pro Annie Duke told Poker News Daily that Pollack’s ascension to the role of WSOP Commissioner in 2006 marked a player-friendly movement for the tournament series. She explained, “The first thing he did was meet with top players and I was fortunate enough to be among them. He really listened to us. There was only so much he could do because in the end he didn’t own it, but he was committed to working with the players and making sure they had a strong voice.” Pollack formed the Players Advisory Council, of which Duke was a member.

On the future of the tournament series without Pollack’s involvement, Duke admitted, “I know that Jeffrey stood as a partner with the players and fought with management over some of the issues. I feel like he was the players’ protector and it does concern me that he’s gone. I hope people at the WSOP take a lesson from what he did and partner with the players because that’s how you grow the brand.” Two years prior to Pollack’s Commissioner nod, Duke won the WSOP Tournament of Champions event for $2 million.

Among those lamenting Pollack’s departure was PokerRoad’s Joe Sebok, who made a deep run in the 2009 WSOP Main Event and finished in 56th place. Sebok told Poker News Daily, “I think it’s a bummer. The biggest thing is that the players are losing out. Jeffrey did a good job and people don’t understand how much he fought for different things. He really was an advocate for us, so it’s a sad day. He was a great Commissioner and I think he did a great job of fighting for the WSOP and fighting for the players.” PokerRoad will take to the television airwaves this Wednesday with the debut of “Poker 2Nite,” a poker news show that airs on Fox Sports Net.

Two Poker News Daily Guest Columnists also weighed in on Pollack’s resignation from the WSOP and Harrah’s. Linda Johnson, co-owner of Card Player Cruises, explained, “This is not necessarily the best thing for poker players. He was a great communicator. If you sent him an e-mail, he responded immediately and he listened to us.” ESPN “Inside Deal” host and noted poker author Bernard Lee added, “I’m surprised. I think he did a great job of bringing the WSOP to another level with not only the commercial success, but also the growth in the number entrants. I thought he was doing a great job.”

Last night, the CBS reality series “Amazing Race” aired, one of the first episodes since the elimination of poker pros Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho, who were sent packing in the Netherlands. Michelle gave her take on Pollack’s exit from the WSOP: “I’m very sad to see Jeffrey Pollack resigning. He has been so instrumental in the excellent changes and adaptations we’ve seen over the last four years. Jeffrey was professional, yet personal, which is why I think he held the respect of the entire poker community.” Michelle was the last woman standing in the 2008 WSOP Main Event, while Ho held that honor one year earlier. In 2009, the designation went to Leo Margets, who finished in 27th place.

According to WSOP officials, there are no immediate plans to fill the Commissioner’s role, leading many to wonder who will become the next face of the annual festivities in Las Vegas. Pollack was slated to become the President of Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment, the casino giant’s Canadian-based online arm. Former Party Gaming CEO Mitch Garber remains the head of the new outfit.

Greg Sessler Wins Ladies Championship at Lake Tahoe WSOP Circuit Stop

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jean-Robert Bellande Out as Bodog Sponsored Pro

Former “Survivor: China” contestant Jean-Robert Bellande is no longer a sponsored pro of Bodog, according to a representative from the online poker room. His current agreement expired at the end of October and was not renewed.

Only three sponsored pros currently appear on Bodog’s website: Evelyn Ng, Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, and David Williams. The runner-up in the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Ladies Night Event in 2003, Ng also took 11th in the Season IV Borgata Poker Open for $64,000. That same season, Ng grabbed 39th in the WPT Championship for $73,000.

Bonomo is one of the industry’s top online poker players, but has also dominated on the brick-and-mortar felts. Bonomo won the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit Event Championship at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in April for $227,000. One month later, he final tabled the $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament commemorating the 40th running of the WSOP for a colossal $413,000.

Rounding out the shrunken crop of Bodog pros is Williams, who boasts the only bracelet of the trio. Williams captured his piece of hardware in 2006 by virtue of taking down a $1,500 buy-in Seven Card Stud tournament for $163,000, defeating a talented final table that also included “Miami” John Cernuto and 10-time bracelet winner Johnny Chan. Text found on Bodog’s website still refers to “four pros,” but only three profiles appear.

“Jean-Robert Bellande’s deal with Bodog Poker expired at the end of October and the decision was made not to renew the deal. It has been an absolute pleasure having Jean-Robert as one of Bodog.com’s Poker pros and we wish him all the best,” the room’s Poker Manager told Poker News Daily. In February, Poker Royalty, which represents Bellande, boasted that the pro had renewed his sponsorship agreement with the USA-facing site. At the time, Bellande commented, “I am thrilled to continue my relationship with Team Bodog. Bodog is a fantastic organization and I am excited to continue with such a select team of world-class poker players.”

During the 2008 WSOP, Bellande finished as the runner-up to Matt “mattg1983” Graham in a $1,500 buy-in Limit Hold’em Shootout for $173,000. The final table of the marathon tournament wrapped up after 7:00am at the Rio in Las Vegas. In 2005, Bellande grabbed third in the Rio’s WSOP Circuit Event Championship for $210,000 in a contest that saw Doug Lee and Full Tilt Poker pro Jennifer Harman battle heads-up.

Bellande was one of 16 contestants to head to China for the 15th cycle of the CBS reality series “Survivor.” Bellande was the eighth player voted out of the popular program and became the second member of its jury, the group of seven castaways who selected flight attendant Todd Herzog as the show’s $1 million winner. Bellande was on the Fei Long tribe both before and after a tribal switch-up; the group then merged to become Hae Da Fung.

In 2006, Bellande made waves by competing in the WPT’s Bad Boys of Poker against the likes of Tony G, Mike “The Mouth” Matusow, Phil Hellmuth, Men “The Master” Nguyen, and Gus Hansen. In the end, Tony G triumphed over the invite-only six-handed table and earned $25,000. All told, Bellande owns over $75,000 from WPT felts.

According to the tracking site PokerScout.com, Bodog is the 14th largest site or network worldwide with a seven-day running average of 930 real money ring game players. It features a 24-hour peak of 1,411 cash game players and, at the time of writing, which is around 8:30pm ET on a Sunday night, 1,359 combatants have taken to its ring game felts. Bodog is the fifth largest site or network that accepts U.S. action, trailing PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, CEREUS, and the Cake Poker Network.

Mueller wins own event in FTOPS XIV

The Full Tilt pro also beat respected online grinder James "P0KERPR0" Campbell in heads-up play to secure the $36,081 first place prize.

The former professional hockey player became just the second Full Tilt pro to win his own FTOPS event.

Team Full Tilt member Erick Lindgren was the first player to perform the feat when he won a $300+$22 No-Limit Hold'em event he hosted during FTOPS VII in 2008.

It's been a good year for Mueller who won two bracelets in the 2009 WSOP after a series of heart-breaking runner-up finishes. Both of his wins came in Limit Hold'em.

Mueller is also not the first Full Tilt pro to take down an event at FTOPS XIV.

David Pham, who has two WSOP bracelets to his name, won the $500+$35 H.O.R.S.E. event on Tuesday for $69,570.

FTOPS XIV wraps up this weekend with Tom "durrrr" Dwan hosting the $2.5 million guaranteed main event on Sunday. Qualifiers for the $500+$35 event are currently running on Full Tilt.

Palms Casino Pays $100,000 Fine to Resolve Poker Complaint

The Palms Resort Casino in Las Vegas has agreed to pay $100,000 to settle a complaint after failing to correctly supervise a pair of poker tournaments in 2007. The resort will pay a $75,000 fine to the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) and another $25,000 to the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) for the cost of the investigation.

According to a complaint brought by the state’s attorney general’s office, which was picked up by media outlets like the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the tournaments were held by third parties that did not register with state gaming regulators prior to the events. By hosting the tournaments on their site, the Palms used its license to legitimize the two events. However, the NGCB stated that it doesn’t want outside operators using licensed Nevada casinos to “legitimize less-than-legitimate types of programs.”

The two tournaments were brought to the attention of the Board when it was learned that prize money was left unpaid following their completion.

“By allowing the poker tournament(s) to proceed without adequate planning and follow-up, the Palms failed to exercise the proper discretion and sound judgment to prevent a situation that might reflect negatively on the reputation of the State of Nevada and its gaming industry,” the complaint said.

One of the tournaments involved was the inaugural United States Poker League’s Poker Bowl, which was held in October of 2007. The team-based event was at first considered to be a giant success after attracting many of the game’s biggest names, such as Doyle Brunson, Kathy Liebert, Scotty Nguyen, Phil Laak, Antonio Esfandiari, Greg Raymer, and Paul Wasicka. Team Cincinnati, represented by former World Series of Poker (WSOP) runner-up Steve Dannenmann and five other players, won the event and $600,000.

However, Poker Bowl’s owner and founder John Nightingale had difficulty keeping the company breathing and was forced to sell off its assets shortly after the event took place. The winners were never paid and individuals who had a financial stake in the business were left up in the air.

Some speculated that the reason Nightingale could not come up with the prize money was that he allowed too many pros to play for free rather than making them buy into the tournament. The Palms disbursed $450,416 in unpaid prize money to the winners after checks from the Poker Bowl bounced.

The other incident in the complaint occurred in August of 2007 after a tournament organized by Michael Eakman and Associates was not registered with the NGCB. The tournament was set up to benefit the Jewish Community Center of Southern Nevada, but Michael Eakman and Associates waited four months to pay the Jewish Community Center its share of the earnings.

According to a Palms spokesperson, the resort paid all of the prizes as soon as it learned of the complaint.

ESPN Inside Deal Recaps 2009 WSOP Main Event Final Table

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Joe Cada Wins 2009 WSOP

On hand number 88 of a topsy-turvy heads up match, Joe Cada won a race with a pair of nines to defeat Darvin Moon’s Qd Jd. The board ran out 8c 2c 7s Kh 7c giving Cada two pair, nines and sevens. In preflop action, Cada was on the button and he raised to 3 million with 600k/1.2m blinds and 200k antes. Moon reraised to 8 million and Cada thought briefly before raising all-in. Moon quickly called off about 70 million chips to put his tournament at risk. If Cada had lost the pot, he would have been crippled. With his victory, Cada pockets a cool $8.55 million dollars while Moon takes home the runner-up spot and $5.18 million.

While Cada started with a 2-to-1 chip advantage at the start of heads up play, he quickly ran into trouble as Moon played a hyper-aggressive style that was, largely, effective against Cada’s style of play. Here is a recap of the big hands that took place before the final hand.

With stacks around even, Moon had the button and raised to 3 million which was called by Cada in the big blind. The flop came down Jc 4h 2d. Cada checked and Moon bet 4 million. Cada called to make the pot around 14 million total. The turn was a Qh and Cada checked to Moon who bet 6 million. Cada opted to check raise to 16.75 million and Moon called — putting the pot at nearly 50 million chips. The river was the 5c and Cada, who had checked the flop and turn, lead out with 35 million chips. Moon contemplated the bet for a few minutes before deciding to lay down his hand on the final board of Jc 4h 2d Qh 5c. This put Cada up 120 million to 72 million.

Moon grinded Cada back down with a few more decent size pots to get back near even. Soon after, Cada snapped off a Moon bluff on a busted flush draw by calling a river raise with Js Th on a Td Ah 3h 6c 4s board in which Moon had Jh 5h. After that pot, Moon started, once again, to grind chips away from Cada a few million at a time. Moon was consistently betting a large percentage of the pot on flops and Cada usually backed down. After about 20 hands of aggressive play from Darvin, he managed to get back to even chips at around 95 million each. The players went on a 25 minute break almost dead even in chips.

Shortly after the break, Moon went on a mini-run with two medium sized pots to get up to 122 million to Cada’s 73 million. To this point in the tournament, this was Moon’s all-time chip high and the momentum in the match appeared to be swinging his way.

In the next crucial pot, Joe Cada had the button and made a standard preflop raise to 3 million chips. Moon called and the flop came down 3h 5d Ac. As he’d been doing much of the night, Moon bet 5 million chips out of position into a pot that was about 6.5 million. Cada had largely been folding to these bets but this hand he opted to raise to 13 million total leaving 8 million for Moon to call. Moon cut out enough chips to put in a raise to 25 million but Cada quickly folded. This pot was good enough to put Moon into a commanding chip lead with around 145 million to around 50 million.

After a number of uneventful pots, Cada four-bet shoved preflop after a standard 3 million opening raise and a standard 8 million reraise from Moon. Moon decided to fold to Cada’s all-in raise which brought Cada back a bit to a 2-1 chip disadvantage. Not much later, Cada went all-in yet again but the outcome was quite different for both players. Cada opened to 3 million on the button and Moon called to see a flop of Tc 5d 9h. The flop was checked and the turn came Td. Cada took a 3 million chip stab at the 6.5 million chip pot and, shocking the crowd, Moon quickly went all-in in a large overbet of the pot forcing Cada to make a tough decision for his tournament. After going in the tank for a few minutes, Cada called with Jh 9d for second pair. Moon flipped over 7s 8s for an up and down straight draw with one card to come. Needing a 6 or a J for a straight and the right to be called World Series of Poker champion, Moon missed the river when a 3h came off the deck. This gave the chip lead back to Cada as he faded the seven outer.

With the stacks at 108 million to Cada and 86 million to Moon, the players played a few more medium sized pots before the fateful final coinflip that awarded the Main Event title to Joe Cada. With his victory, Cada becomes the youngest main event winner ever at the tender age of 21. In the coming days and weeks, we’ll be back with more information, interviews and analysis of the 2009 World Series of Poker.

Vanessa Rousso to Appear On E!’s Bank of Hollywood

This past month, rumors were flying that Team PokerStars Pro member Vanessa Rousso was going to be the new co-host of the GSN poker show “High Stakes Poker.”  While that TV gig ultimately went to Kara Scott, poker fans and others will be seeing Rousso’s face on their screens in the very near future, as she will be a member of the panel of judge’s on the new E! reality game show “Bank of Hollywood.”

Rousso broke the news of her involvement on her Twitter feed earlier this week and a write-up on the new show in the Hollywood Reporter confirmed that she would be a part of the Ryan Seacrest-produced show.  Joining Rousso on the judging panel are Candy Spelling, Wilhemina Models President Sean Patterson, and Pussycat Dolls singer Melody Thornton.

The basic premise of the show rings similar to the NBC vehicle “Shark Tank,” but instead of business proposals, contestants come to the judges with more personal matters.  “Bank of Hollywood” allows contestants to ask the celebrity panel for money for a variety of causes ranging from charity to personal gain.  Participants in the upcoming show will be pleading for money for everything from an engagement ring for their fiancée to funds for charity.  If the judges feel the cause is worthwhile, they will award the contestant with at least $2,000 from their own pockets.

Seacrest elaborated on the show to the Hollywood Reporter: “The idea’s simple. We are giving away tons of money to everyday people to alleviate the stress of today’s climate.”  E! Executive Vice President of Programming Lisa Berger elaborated on Seacrest’s thoughts: “We’re giving real people the opportunity to garner life-changing sums of money and, at the same time, fulfilling our judges’ desire to make a difference in the lives of others – one person at a time.”

The eight-episode series will be hosted by comedian Bryan Callen, who has also appeared on shows like “Sex and the City,” “How I Met Your Mother,” and “Entourage.”  The show is scheduled to premiere at 10:00pm ET on December 14th.

This is just the latest TV appearance for Rousso, who keeps developing an increasingly higher profile both inside and outside of the poker world.  This past spring, she signed on as a spokesperson for GoDaddy.com and appeared in a PokerStars-sponsored spread in the 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition.  Rousso was also heavily featured on NBC’s 2009 National Heads-Up Poker Championship, where she finished as the runner-up to Huck Seed.

2009 has been a landmark year for Rousso on the tournament scene as well.  In addition to her showing in the Heads-Up event, she also had a deep run at the Southern Poker Championship in Biloxi in February, a win at the European Poker Tour High Roller event in Monte Carlo in May, and four cashes at this summer’s World Series of Poker.  She married longtime boyfriend Chad Brown this past spring.

“Bank of Hollywood” is the latest E! reality vehicle from Ryan Seacrest Productions. “Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” “Denis Richards: It’s Complicated,” and the recent “Leave it to Lamas” are just a few of the E! shows currently on the network’s lineup that are produced under the Seacrest banner.