Poker News

Mike Sexton Welcomes Family and Friends for Poker Hall of Fame Induction

World Poker Tour (WPT) Host Mike Sexton will personally welcome five tables of friends, family, and coworkers in the poker community as part of the Poker Hall of Fame induction ceremonies slated for Saturday. Around 200 attendees are expected.

Poker News Daily was privileged to be welcomed to Sexton’s Spanish Hills home in Las Vegas on Friday night, where a small crowd of relatives was gathered 24 hours prior to the icon’s enshrinement ceremony. Among those in attendance were his wife, Karen, and Jon “pokertrip” Friedberg, a family friend. Two slideshows that will be seen during the dinner were previewed, including a 120-image self-developed tribute that Sexton had created by a local photo store.

The slideshows on tap include a bevy of industry personalities, including the other Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2009 nominees: Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey, Scotty Nguyen, Men “The Master” Nguyen, Erik Seidel, Tom McEvoy, Dan Harrington, and Barry Greenstein. Two galleries, Sexton’s and one crafted by the WPT, will actually be shown, one during the dinner and one as part of the actual induction ceremonies. One slide features Ultimate Bet pro Phil Hellmuth and Sexton jokingly told Poker News Daily, “Phil thinks I put it in because of him” (it’s actually because of the appearance of “Keith”). Following the show, the sitting Poker Hall of Fame members will take to the stage of the Penn and Teller Theater to be recognized.

Among those slides that induction attendees will view is his son, Ty’s, first Christmas, which features the youngster draped in a stocking. Also in the mix are images of Sexton alongside a bevy of Hollywood personalities including Paris Hilton, Ben Affleck, and James Garner. Former WPT in-studio announcer Linda Johnson pointed out that several shots feature Sexton in a La Mode shirt or hat. Johnson told Poker News Daily, “Mike was one of the first poker players to have a sponsor.” La Mode is a popular clothing outfit. Sexton noted that he “took every photo around the house I could find” to compile his masterpiece.

ESPN announcer Lon McEachern was one of the many individuals who called to congratulate Sexton on his Poker Hall of Fame nod. Sexton added that his most memorable call was from a poker friend that he was close to when he first became involved in the game.

The festivities in the Rio’s Brasilia Room kick off on Saturday during the dinner break of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event final table, which will likely occur between 7:00pm and 8:00pm after three levels of play have concluded. His brother, Tom, will introduce him to the assembled crowd of friends, family, poker fans, and media. The room is set up for 275 guests.

According to Sexton, a buffet-style menu is on tap and when asked what plated meals he would prefer to serve, Sexton responded chicken and an Italian dish “to satisfy the non-meat eaters.” From talking to Sexton and seeing the bevy of slides on tap, it’s apparent that Ty, now 15 months old, encompasses a major part of the WPT host’s existence. Sexton told Poker News Daily that the expecting couple was looking for a “one syllable masculine name” and Sexton suggested Ty, short for Tyler. He was on the phone with his niece at the time, who approved on the name and it stuck. If the couple’s first child would have been a girl, they had selected Shelby.

We were then treated to the grand tour of Sexton’s spacious home, which overlooks Red Rocks and will soon be on the market, as the family is moving to Los Angeles in the next few weeks. Highlights included 30-foot ceilings in the downstairs area and a dance floor converted into a nursery. Sexton’s office includes five flat-panel televisions and the upstairs features state-of-the-art exercise equipment and a fully-functional massage table. Sexton also owns two dogs, which were kept at a relative’s house on Friday night.

Sexton was the only one of nine Poker Hall of Fame nominees to receive the requisite 75% of the vote this year.

All eyes on Ivey: The legend speaks

They call this the November Nine, but as ESPN's George McNeilly suggested last week, in the minds of many, it's just Phil Ivey and eight other guys.

Consensus is Ivey is the greatest player in the world and this coming Saturday he will have a legitimate shot at poker's most prestigious title.

In an exclusive interview with PokerListings, Ivey himself said no one wants it more.

"It would be a dream come true to win it," the Team Full Tilt Pro said. "Making it to the final table is great, yes, but I really, really want to win it.

"It's very important to me. I remember the first time I watched poker on TV I saw Scotty Nguyen win the Main Event. That was the very first time I watched, I thought then that it would be cool to win that tournament and now I have a chance."

While Nguyen's 1998 win was the first time Ivey watched poker on TV, it certainly wasn't his first introduction to the game.

"I just always loved to play cards," he said. "I started playing I Declare War when I was four or five years old and then my grandfather taught me how to play poker, he kind of like taught me the rules and everything. We used to play with pennies. I loved to play every chance I got."

The California born and New Jersey raised Ivey started playing small cash games in High School, got himself a fake ID and soon hit the casinos in Atlantic City.

When he turned 21, he started flashing his real ID and began to take the game a little more seriously.

"I was playing in casinos before that, but I wasn't really trying to make a living at it," he said. "I just liked to play. It was something I would just do as a hobby. I would sneak down there and play because I loved it. I just thought it was a fascinating game. I didn't really think too much about making a living at it.

'It would be a dream come true to win it.'

"But then when I started making money and I started looking at the other players that were playing, I just said 'wait a second, I could beat these guys,' and that's when I said 'let me put everything I have into this and see where it goes.'"

Success came relatively quickly, as Ivey won his first WSOP bracelet in 2000 at age 24, final tabled another event and narrowly missed a third.

He made a another final table at the WSOP in 2001, but 2002 was truly his breakout year. Ivey won three bracelets, tying the record for the most wins in a single series.

Another WSOP win and more final tables, million dollar scores in Europe, and a win after an amazing eight WPT final tables would soon follow as Ivey developed into one of the most feared tournament players on the planet, while also taking on all comers in the biggest cash games in the world.

This past summer, he added two more WSOP bracelets to his wrist, becoming the youngest in history to hold seven at age 33.

He also became poker's third leading money winner all-time with more than $12 million in career tournament earnings.

But despite the fact he's done almost as much as anyone in the game's history, Ivey seems to have a keen understanding that poker is more about losing than winning.

"I don't like to lose, but poker, it humbles you, because you realize that no matter how good you are, you are going to have losing days, you are going to have losing weeks and you are even going to have some losing months," he said. "I haven't had a losing year yet, thank God. But you are going to have to learn how to deal with losing in order to become a better winner.

"That's why I think poker is such a wonderful game. There are guys that play certain sports that hardly ever lose, but in poker, you are just going to have to lose."

Through both the winning and losing, Ivey says he's learned some valuable lessons.

'You are going to have to learn how to deal with losing in order to become a better winner.'

"You learn about yourself," he said. "You teach yourself how to deal with the ups and downs, and also how to control your thoughts, your negative thoughts, how to control what you're thinking and realize why you think what you're thinking. You really realize a lot about yourself if you get deep into poker.

"You have to learn a lot about yourself in order to become one of the best players in the world."

Ivey's road to Main Event glory is actually littered with missed opportunities.

He finished 23rd in 2002, a heartbreaking 10th in 2003 and 20th in 2005.

Although he's a little short on chips coming into Saturday's final, he truly believes this is his time.

"Now I have a shot," he said. "I'm seventh in chips, but you know what, I feel pretty comfortable with the close to ten million that I have. I don't feel like I'm in a rush. I can just take my time and get a hold of some chips. If I have to go all in I will. But whatever comes to me, I'm just going to take it."

While the rest of the November Nine is a good mix of seasoned pros and surprisingly savvy amateurs, Ivey is the only one who really puts fear into the hearts of his competitors.

In fact, chip leader Darvin Moon told PokerListings if Ivey even looks at him the wrong way, he's likely to muck his hand.

Part of what creates that fear is that Ivey is a bit of mystery to the poker world.

He doesn't do a lot of interviews, but says that's more of a personal choice than an attempt to help cultivate an imposing image at the table.

'I'm concerned about all of them, but if Phil Ivey is on my left, if he even looks at me, I'm mucking.'

"It's not like I'm against interviews," he said. "I'm not. I don't mind doing interviews. I don't mind sitting down and talking to you about poker and other things. But there are things I'd rather be doing besides talking about poker when I'm playing poker 15 to 16 hours a day."

Ivey says the average player just simply isn't logging the hours that he is.

"These guys that do all these interviews, they're able to do all these interviews because they don't play as much poker as I do." He said. "When I get knocked out of a tournament, I'm rushing to the Bellagio to play poker. I'm rushing to the Internet to play poker, or going to the golf course, or going to play blackjack or whatever, because that's what I'd rather be doing."

Regardless, the fear his opponent's feel works to his advantage, although Ivey claims he hasn't made any deliberate attempt to create it.

"When I sit down and play with someone, it's not like they say 'Hey, Phil, I fear you,'" he said. "Maybe some people do, but it's not like they say it. So you've got to kind of figure it out, and you figure it out by how they're playing hands against you and everything else.

"The thing is, people try to create these table images, but that hurts them because you can't really create a table image. It has to be based on your results and how you do. People try, some people want to talk, they want to do this, they want to that, I just think people more or less know that my image is, if you mess with me, and you play a certain way against me, I'm going to get your money."

Ivey hasn't written any how-to books. He doesn't make the training videos that have become so popular with so many other professional players.

But again, he says it's not an attempt to conceal his strategy or perpetuate his dominating table image.

He's just too busy playing poker.

"I play poker all the time and I think that's what gives me my edge and what keeps me as sharp as I am when I'm playing," he said. "I love to play poker, I still do. I think a lot of these guys, they wonder why their games are suffering and everything else. It's because they don't work as hard as I do."

'I play poker all the time and I think that's what gives me my edge.'

But despite the fact he has deliberately avoided the spotlight in the past, finally winning the WSOP Main Event title this weekend might change all that, as he learns to embrace a role as an ambassador for the game.

"As far as me being an ambassador for poker, I don't know; maybe if I win the Main Event it'll be something that is forced upon me and I don't really mind that," he said. "As I'm getting older I'm starting to understand how important my place in history, in poker and doing the right things by everyone, is.

"But at the end of the day, you have to make yourself happy too. I have to be a happy person. I'll take the interviews and I'll do the things to help grow poker as a sport, I have no problem doing that, but I'm also not going to give up my life to do that.

"I want to keep some type of balance and I think that's important."

To follow Ivey and the entire November Nine, tune into PokerListings 2009 WSOP Main Event Live Coverage beginning at 12 p.m. PT Saturday, Nov. 7.

If you want to hear everything Ivey had to say check out the full video interview in the blog section.

Freeroll your way to the ECOOP in the FREECOOP with Scotty Nguyen and Expekt.com

Freeroll your way to the ECOOP in the FREECOOP with Scotty Nguyen and Expekt.com

Freeroll your way to the ECOOP in the FREECOOP with Scotty Nguyen and Expekt.com

2010 LA Poker Classic Schedule Released

Details of the upcoming Los Angeles Poker Classic (LAPC) at the Commerce Casino have been released and the 50-event series appears to offer a little something for everyone.  In addition to the World Poker Tour (WPT) LAPC Main Event and the WPT Celebrity Invitational, the Commerce Casino will play host to a number of other events, including the first-ever U.S.-based Badugi tournament and an Ironman event, in which players compete in a tournament with no breaks and no deals.

In 2009, newly hired Tournament Director Matt Savage added events to the already ample LAPC schedule, including $10,000 buy-in HORSE and Heads-up contests.  Scotty Nguyen took down the HORSE event, while Full Tilt Poker pro Vivek “Psyduck” Rajkumar won the double elimination Heads-Up tournament.  Both of these $10,000 events will be back in 2010, as will a $25,100 buy-in High Rollers event set to take place on February 28th.

The series, which runs from January 21st through March 4th, will kick off with a $335 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event with a whopping $1 million guarantee.  A similar event was held during the Commerce Hold’em series in September.  The tournament featured a $220 buy-in and easily eclipsed its $500,000 guarantee after nearly 4,000 people showed up to play.  The LAPC version will offer three different starting days and, in a unique twist, should a player bust out on Day 1A or Day 1B, they are allowed to come back the following starting day, buy back in, and start all over again.

Other new events on tap for the series include the first ever Badugi tournament held in a U.S. casino, a Chinese Poker event, a $1,065 No Limit Hold’em event with rebuys, and Savage’s latest concoction, an Ironman event.  The Ironman tournament has no scheduled breaks, gives 50% of its prize pool to first place, and explicitly forbids any deal making at the final table.  Commerce ran its first Ironman tournament in September and drew a field of 64 players.  The event lasted for over 19 hours and was eventually won by Brett Radin.  Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin also made the final table, finishing in sixth place.

The WPT Celebrity Invitational typically takes place after the LAPC Main Event has wrapped up, but this year, the fun-filled freeroll event will run on February 20th and 21st before taking a break to film the final table on March 3rd.  The $10,000 buy-in Main Event will take place from February 26th to March 4th.  Last year’s Main Event drew a field of 696.

Here is the complete schedule of events for the upcoming LAPC. All events drawing more than 100 players will be two-day events unless otherwise noted and all times are local.

1/21 – 1pm: $335No Limit Hold’em (Day 1a), $1,000,000 guarantee
1/22 – 1pm: $335No Limit Hold’em (Day 1b), $1,000,000 guarantee
1/23 – 1pm: $335No Limit Hold’em (Day 1c), $1,000,000 guarantee
1/24 – 1pm: $335 No Limit Hold’em, $100,000 guarantee
1/25 – 1pm: $545 No Limit Hold’em
1/25 – 4pm: $335 7 Card Stud, $50,000 guarantee
1/26 – 1pm: $335 No Limit Hold’em Shootout (1 Day Event)
1/26 – 4pm: $335 Omaha H/L, $50,000 guarantee
1/27 – 1pm: $545 No Limit Hold’em, $10,000 seat added
1/27 – 4pm: $335 Stud H/L
1/28 – 1pm: $545 Omaha H/L and Stud H/L
1/29 – 1pm: $545 6-Handed No Limit Hold’em
1/30 – 1pm: $335 No Limit Hold’em w/ rebuys, $250,000 guarantee
1/30 – 4pm: $545 HORSE
1/31 – 1pm: $545 No Limit Hold’em, $200,000
2/1 – 1pm: $335 No Limit Hold’em
2/2 – 1pm: $545 No Limit Hold’em
2/3 – 1pm: $335 6-Handed No Limit Hold’em
2/4 – 1pm: $335 Heads-Up (Single Elimination – 256 Max), $10,000 seat added
2/5 – 1pm: $220 No Limit Hold’em (Day 1a), $250,000 guarantee
2/6 – 1pm: $220 No Limit Hold’em (Day 1b), $250,000 guarantee
2/7 – 1pm: $335 Double Stack No Limit Hold’em
2/8 – 1pm: $545 No Limit Hold’em
2/9 – 1pm: $335 No Limit Hold’em
2/9 – 4pm: $545 Omaha H/L
2/10 – 1pm: $1,065 No Limit Hold’em
2/10 – 4pm: $545 Stud H/L
2/11 – 1pm: $545 No Limit Hold’em, $10,000 seat added
2/11 – 4pm: $1,065 6-Handed No Limit Hold’em
2/12 – 1pm: $545 Limit Hold’em
2/12 – 4pm and 8pm: $230 Megasatellite for $1K Rebuy
2/13 – 1pm: $1,065 No Limit Hold’em w/ rebuys, $1,000,000 guarantee
2/14 – 1pm: $335 No Limit Hold’em w/ Knockout Bounty, $100,000 guarantee
2/14 – 4pm: $1,065 2-7 Triple Draw
2/15 – 1pm: $1,585 No Limit Hold’em
2/15 – 4pm: $1,065 8 Game Mix
2/16 – 1pm: $335 No Limit Hold’em
2/16 – 4pm: $1,065 Badugi
2/16 – 8pm: $1,050 Megasatellite to $10,000 HORSE
2/17 – 1pm: $1,065 HORSE
2/17 – 4pm: $1,585 Chinese Poker ½ High ½ Low (1 Day Event)
2/17 – 8pm: $1,050 Mega satellite to $10,000 HORSE
2/18 – 1pm: $1,065 No Limit Hold’em (6-Handed at 36 players)
2/18 – 4pm: $10,000 Commerce HORSE Championship (3 Day Event)
2/19 – 1pm: $335 No Limit Hold’em Shootout, $100,000 guarantee (1 Day Event)
2/19 – 4pm: $1,065 6-Handed Pot Limit Omaha w/ rebuys
2/20 – 8pm: WPT Celebrity Invitational Day 1
2/21 – 1pm: WPT Celebrity Invitational Day 2
2/21 – 1pm: $460 Ironman Turbo Megasatellite
2/21 – 4pm: $2,100 No Limit Hold’em Ironman Event, $10,000 seat added
2/21 – 8pm: $1,300 Heads-up Championship 8-Handed Qualifiers
2/22 – 1pm: $335 No Limit Hold’em, $200,000 guarantee
2/22 – 4pm: $3,085 6-Handed No Limit Hold’em
2/22 – 8pm: $2,550 Heads-up Championship 4-Handed Qualifiers
2/23 – 1pm: $1,065 No Limit Hold’em
2/23 – 4pm: $10,000 Commerce Heads-up Championship, $10,000 seat added
2/23 – 8pm: $1,050 LAPC Main Event Megasatellite
2/24 – 1pm: $545 No Limit Hold’em Shootout (1 Day Event)
2/24 – 4pm: $5,100 No Limit Hold’em
2/24 – 8pm: $1,050 LAPC Main Event Megasatellite
2/25 – 11am, 3:30pm, and 8pm: $1,050 LAPC Main Event Megasatellite
2/26 – 12pm: $10,000 LAPC Main Event Day 1
2/27 – 12pm: $10,000 LAPC Main Event Day 2
2/28 – 12pm: $10,000 LAPC Main Event Day 3
2/28 – 4pm: $25,100 Commerce High Rollers Event
3/1 – 12pm: $10,000 LAPC Main Event Day 4
3/2 – 12pm: $10,000 LAPC Main Event Day 5
3/3 – 4pm: WPT Celebrity Invitational Final Table Taping
3/4 – 4pm: LAPC Main Event Final Table Taping

California casino offers chance to play Nguyen

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

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

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

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

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

The tournament will be capped at 120 players.

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

ESPN Inside Deal Welcomes Joe Cada

This week’s installment of the ESPN.com poker franchise “Inside Deal” featured 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event November Nine member Joe Cada. Laura Lane and Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Bernard Lee host the show.

The news segment of ESPN “Inside Deal” began with Lee praising World Poker Tour (WPT) Host Mike Sexton for his election to the Poker Hall of Fame: “I think it’s tremendously well-deserved. Mike has had a phenomenal career. A lot of people think of him from the WPT, but remember, he is a very well-accomplished player.” Sexton is the lone representative of the Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2009. Others who were up for consideration included Tom McEvoy, Dan Harrington, Daniel Negranu, Phil Ivey, Erik Seidel, Barry Greenstein, Scotty Nguyen, and Men “The Master” Nguyen.

Attention then turned to the letter authored by the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) to U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner petitioning for the delay of the regulations of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) by one year to December 1st, 2010. Lee explained what would happen if the current deadline stood: “The impact would be devastating. We’re fearful that the banks will err on the side of caution and ultimately block payments that the online sites would give.”

Making headlines this week was the news that the GSN staple “High Stakes Poker” had dropped host A.J. Benza for Season 6, allegedly replacing him with a female correspondent. Lee explained, “I’m a little surprised. For five years, A.J. and Gabe Kaplan have seemed to have a good rapport, so I’m surprised they’re making this switch.” Poker News Daily broke the news that Vanessa Rousso, the presumed frontrunner for the job, would not be Benza’s replacement. Other possible fill-ins include former WPT hostess Shana Hiatt, Kara Scott, Absolute Poker pro Lacey Jones, and Shannon Elizabeth.

Cada, who could become the youngest Main Event winner ever if he takes down the feature tournament next month, then joined the show. He noted how his life has changed as a result of the increased exposure as a member of the November Nine: “I’ve been playing poker my whole life, so the only thing that’s changed for me is the media.” Cada is primarily a cash game player, only hitting up the tournament scene online on Sundays. He purchased a 2,400 square foot house at age 19 as a gift to himself and is a sponsored pro of PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker room.

Heading into the 2009 WSOP, Cada found himself on a $150,000 downswing. He sought the aid of two longtime cornerstones of the poker industry, Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy and Eric “sheets” Haber. Cada recalled, “I was lucky enough to have them back me and I’m very grateful for that. I knew I could win before I came in.” Josephy, a former Ultimate Bet pro, and Sheets will receive 50% of Cada’s earnings. The top prize in Las Vegas is $8.5 million.

ESPN.com Poker Editor Andrew Feldman joined the show to discuss a series of dream teams. News broke last week that Dream Team Poker would return with tournaments at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles coinciding with Monday Night Football. Feldman’s “Dream Team Young Guns” consisted of Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, and 2008 WSOP Main Event Champion Peter Eastgate. “Dream Team Lady Luck” was comprised of Shannon Elizabeth, Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad, and Jones. Finally, Feldman unveiled “Dream Team Old Guard:” Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, and Mike Matusow. Cada added that his ultimate Dream Team would be Ivey, Patrick Antonius, and Dwan.

Finally, Cada revealed that on Day 8 of the 2009 WSOP Main Event, his stack had dropped to 20% of the average before he clawed back. He knocked out between 10 and 15 players en route to the final table and, upon heading to Connecticut to film ESPN “Inside Deal,” dropped some dough at the Foxwoods blackjack tables.

“Inside Deal” is released every Tuesday on ESPN.com.

Industry Reacts to Poker Hall of Fame Nomination of Mike Sexton

This week, the industry learned that World Poker Tour (WPT) Host Mike Sexton would become the 38th member of the Poker Hall of Fame and the lone representative in the Class of 2009. Poker News Daily sought the reaction of some of poker’s greats.

Sexton bested eight other nominees for the Poker Hall of Fame this year, a group that included Barry Greenstein, Daniel Negreanu, Men “The Master” Nguyen, Scotty Nguyen, Phil Ivey, Erik Seidel, Tom McEvoy, and Dan Harrington. GreasieWheels LLC President Lisa Wheeler, who has worked with Sexton on several charity endeavors, told Poker News Daily, “I’ve worked with Mike Sexton for many years and can honestly say that he lives up to his nickname, ‘The Ambassador of Poker.’ After learning he’d been elected into the Poker Hall of Fame, I was surprised at first. I just assumed he had already been inducted. He’s a staple in the industry and has done so much for its image and evolution. Mike was a shoe-in from the start.”

Sexton serves as the Host, Consultant, and Ambassador for the popular online poker room PartyPoker. In his role, he’s influential on the direction of the site, which has served as his main cheerleader for election to the Hall of Fame. Also central in the industry is Cake Poker Card Room Manager Lee Jones, who explained to Poker News Daily, “Mike Sexton is one of the great gentlemen of poker and he always has a friendly word for everybody. He’s been a powerful influence to help bring poker out of the Dark Ages and into the future. I’m delighted that Mike was chosen for the Poker Hall of Fame; they couldn’t have picked a more deserving person.”

Sexton earned 75% of the vote of a 30-member panel, each of whom was allowed to select up to three players for enshrinement. This author was privileged to be on the voting panel and selected Sexton, McEvoy, and Harrington. On the world’s largest online poker forums, the reaction has been largely positive to Sexton’s nomination. TwoPlusTwo member “venice10” explained, “Well deserved. Mike Sexton has done a great deal to try to lift the game up and is a class act.” TwoPlusTwo member “RadcliffePoker” added, “He has probably done more for poker [than] the whole of 2plus2 put together. He was a driving force behind getting Party Poker off the ground. He has done brilliantly with the WPT in getting a hell of a lot more fish into the game.”

ESPN “Inside Deal” Host Bernard Lee told Poker News Daily, “It’s very well-deserved. Mike has had a tremendous impact on the world of poker. Most people know him from the WPT, but even before then, he was a tremendously accomplished player with a WSOP bracelet. No one deserves it more than Mike.” “Inside Deal” is released every Tuesday on ESPN.com.

Poker pro Kathy Liebert, who rooted on McEvoy throughout the final table of the WSOP Champions Invitational, wrote on Twitter that she expected more than one candidate to be enshrined in 2009: “Seems to me there should be more than one poker player put into [the] hall of fame each year… With so many qualified candidates 75% of vote is too high. Especially with media being 50% of vote.” 2009 marks the first year since 2004 that only one person will become a new member of the Poker Hall of Fame. Dewey Tomko and hole card camera inventor Henry Orenstein were elected last year.

Full Tilt Poker pro Andy Bloch countered why Sexton was worthy of the only nod in 2009: “Arguably, any of the nine players nominated fit the qualifications and most will probably make it to the Hall of Fame in due time. Why was Mike elected before all the rest? Quite simply, he fit the qualifications for the Hall of Fame as both a player and a non-player much more so than any of the rest. I hope more of the others take a cue from Mike Sexton’s induction and do even more to promote the game of poker.” Tournament Director Matt Savage added, “Mike is and always has been the greatest ambassador for the game of poker and the Tournament of Champions was and idea clearly ahead of its time. I am very happy to see someone that has worked so hard to promote our great game receive this prestigious award!”

Finally, what would be an industry reaction article without a comment from the man of the hour? Sexton told Poker News Daily, “I’m truly honored to be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame. It’s really special because for the first time, there is now a process of being selected that includes the fans, the media, and the living members of the Poker Hall of Fame. The most satisfying part to me is to be accepted and welcomed into this exclusive club by the current members of the Hall of Fame.”

Congratulations to all of us to Sexton for his Poker Hall of Fame election.

Mike Sexton Elected to Poker Hall of Fame

The 38th person elected into the Poker Hall of Fame is none other than PartyPoker Ambassador and Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Mike Sexton. He will be enshrined as part of ceremonies to be held on November 7th.

2009 marks the 30th anniversary of the Poker Hall of Fame. This year, nine finalists were up for nomination to the Hall, with a panel of 15 living Hall of Fame members and 15 media representatives (including this author) determining the fate of the 2009 class. Sexton was the only one that I felt was a shoe-in for election, as 75% of the 30-member vote was required in order to capture one of poker’s most prestigious accolades. A press release distributed by World Series of Poker (WSOP) officials properly labeled Sexton “a true gentleman who has constantly enhanced the game of poker both with his play at the tables and his promotion of the game off of it.”

Ballots were due on October 2nd, with each person able to vote for up to three candidates for the 2009 class. This author selected Sexton, Tom McEvoy, and Dan Harrington, the three elder statesmen on the 2009 ballot. Other nominees included November Nine member Phil Ivey, “The Robin Hood of Poker” Barry Greenstein, “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge” lead man Daniel Negreanu, Men “The Master” Nguyen, WSOP Main Event and HORSE Championship winner Scotty Nguyen, and eight-time bracelet holder Erik Seidel.

The list of Poker Hall of Fame members reads like a roll call of poker legends: Doyle Brunson (inducted in 1988), Johnny Chan (2002), Phil Hellmuth (2007), Stu Ungar (2001), Chip Reese (1991), and Barbara Enright (2007), just to name a few. Now, Sexton’s name will be added to this illustrious list. In a press release distributed by PartyPoker, Sexton commented, “I am deeply honored to be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame and it is particularly special because for the first time it was a process that involved the fans, the media, and the living members of the Hall of Fame. To me, the most meaningful aspect of this process was the acceptance by the living Hall of Famers, who welcomed me into their exclusive club.”

One of Sexton’s most impressive feats was taking down the 2006 WSOP Tournament of Champions, which saw the new Poker Hall of Fame member best a final table that included Daniel Negreanu, Mike Matusow, Andy Black, and Chris Ferguson. Sexton earned $1 million for the victory and, according to WSOP officials, donated half of his prize money to charity. His lone WSOP bracelet came in 1989, when the World Poker Tour (WPT) host outlasted a field of 174 players to win a $1,500 buy-in Limit Seven Card Stud High-Low event. He has reached the final table in 20 of the 47 WSOP events he’s entered, a 43% success rate.

Sexton is the voice that many in the industry “grew up to” following the poker boom in 2003 and was instrumental in bringing the WPT to life. Sexton sat, and continues to sit, alongside Vince Van Patten on WPT broadcasts, popularizing the notion that Texas Hold’em takes “a minute to learn and a lifetime to master.” He represents one of the few constants in an industry constantly in flux and had the backing of a bevy of influential industry veterans in his push for the Poker Hall of Fame, including Howard Lederer, Annie Duke, Steve Lipscomb, Linda Johnson, Jan Fisher, Padraig Parkinson, Matt Savage, Roland de Wolfe, and an army of public relations staffers at PartyPoker.

To me, one of the most defining acts for Sexton was when he took on a lead role to campaign on behalf of players shut out of the 2009 WSOP Main Event after Day 1D had reached capacity. Sexton joined forces with “Captain” Tom Franklin to present WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack options to accommodate players. Sexton, curiously, had little to gain from taking an active role in the situation, as he had already played on Day 1A and survived with an average chip stack. The situation manifested Sexton’s stature within the industry and is one of the many reasons we will look forward to welcoming him into the Poker Hall of Fame in November.

Mike Sexton Voted Into Poker Hall Of Fame

Poker industry veteran Mike Sexton will be the only inductee into the Poker Hall of Fame this year. Harrah’s Entertainment and the World Series of Poker will make the announcement later today.

Sexton was the only member of the nine-person group to recieve at least percent of the votes cast by the 15 living members of the Hall of Fame and a 15-person media advisory panel.

Sexton beat out three former World Series of Poker champions, Tom McEvoy (1983), Dan Harrington (1985) and Scotty Nguyen (1998). Also on the ballot were Barry Greenstein, Phil Ivey, Men Nguyen, Daniel Negreanu, and Erik Seidel.

Sexton will be inducted on November 7 at the Rio when the World Series of Poker’s main event final table play concludes.

Sexton, who has been over 20 years in the poker industry, won a World Series of Poker champions bracelet in Seven-Card Stud Split in 1989. He has won more than $2.7 million in prize money and become a regular participant in tournaments.

Source: Review-Journal

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Mike Sexton Voted Into Poker Hall Of Fame

ESPN The Magazine Editor Discusses Poker Players in Body Issue

Hitting newsstands around the United States last Friday was the inaugural Body Issue of “ESPN: The Magazine.“ The periodical profiled athletes and their physiques and included an image of Phil Hellmuth, Scotty Nguyen, Daniel Negreanu, and Jennifer Harman playing poker in the nude.

Besides poker, other sports showcased in the magazine include boxing, bull riding, golf, baseball, Motocross, NASCAR, basketball, hockey, football, soccer, softball, swimming, surfing, tennis, track and field, and mixed martial arts. Poker News Daily sat down with “ESPN: The Magazine” Editor Sarah Turcotte to gauge reaction to the provocative issue.

Poker News Daily: Explain the background to the Body Issue of “ESPN: The Magazine.”

Turcotte: This is the first time we’ve done it and we’ll definitely be doing it again. My boss was trying to come up with a way to profile an athlete’s body. You see them in locker rooms, but you don’t really know what goes into them. Not only do we have poker and soccer players, but we also have sumo wrestlers and triathlon runners. It’s a huge mix. There are over 80 athletes involved and 40 in varying stages of being undressed. Poker is a great sport. The players work hard, make great money, and have good mental toughness. We believe it’s a legit sport.

PND: What has been the reaction so far?

Turcotte: We’ve been shocked by how positive it’s been, but there have been negatives with some of the more conservative sports. For example, LPGA fans heard about it and formed their opinions beforehand. When you realize what a massive undertaking this is and the kind of company these folks are in, it makes sense. It’s not “Playboy Magazine;” it’s about celebrating an athlete’s physique. So far, I’m shocked by how well it’s been received. I don’t think we ever could have conceived how popular it would be.

PND: Talk about the photo involving Harman, Nguyen, Hellmuth, and Negreanu.

Turcotte: That was a really great photo to do. My hats are off to all of them for being included. That was our only coed shoot because in most sports, you don’t compete against different genders. It turned out great.

PND: What can you tell us about the shoot?

Turcotte: The poker shoot was great. We had two hours and shot in Las Vegas. Anyone who has been around Daniel and Scotty would fall in love with them. Their interaction together was great and I found myself calling everyone “baby” for the next few days. Jen is such a sweetheart and I was amazed at how much respect the guys had for her.

PND: What do you want readers to take away from this installment of “ESPN: The Magazine”?

Turcotte: My perspective as the Feature Editor is to be on the shoots and be the advocate for the athlete. We made it a collaborative process and I want the athletes to be proud of it. In terms of readers, I think the biggest thing is that it’s awesome to see someone like Serena Williams looking beautiful, but people are familiar with her. However, not everyone knows Scotty Nguyen and Jennifer Harman, so hopefully this will give them some respect.

PND: Can you name other athletes that readers can expect to see in the issue?

Turcotte: Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings, tennis star Serena Williams, Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic, Nelson Cruz of the Texas Rangers, Sarah Reinertsen (the only female amputee to compete in the Ironman Triathlon), Andrew Cogliano of the Edmonton Oilers, Christina Kim of the LPGA, and six guys from the DC United soccer team.

ESPN The Magazine Features Semi-Nude Poker Pros

Harman, Negreanu, Hellmuth and Nguyen Semi-naked!

You often hear that poker professionals are athletes. The harsh truth is that they really don’t have the athletic body to be shown naked.

Poker professionals really don’t have the body to show around, so it might come as a big surprise when four of the most known pros are shown semi-naked on the new ESPN The Magazine called “Body”.

The whole idea of the latest copy of ESPN The Magazine is to show some of the hottest bodies there is. There are some high profile athletes like Serena Williams, Dwight Howard and Dzeno Chara among others to be seen in more or less revealing pictures.

There’s also Daniel Negreanu, Jennifer Harman, Phil Hellmuth and Scotty Nguyen playing some topless poker. Negreanu is the only one who has decided to cover one of his nipples with a PokerStars sticker - which, of course is some kind of twisted tribute to Tiffany Michelle and her “famous” nipple picture.

You can get the latest copy from a newstand near you.

Source: PokerListings

You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com

Harman, Negreanu, Hellmuth and Nguyen Semi-naked!

Poker News in Brief: Oct. 5-11, 2009

Of course, there was plenty of poker news that happened outside of London this week and as part of our ongoing Poker News in Brief feature, we'll try to catch you up with it all.

This week we'll be looking at a new UltimateBet charity tournament, poker players in the buff and France possibly opening up its online gambling market.

UltimateBet introduces Starlight Poker Challenge

Annie Duke, Phil Hellmuth and UltimateBet are once again showing their charitable side by hosting the Starlight Poker Challenge in Montreal, Nov. 14-18.

The event will offer a guaranteed first-place prize of $100,000, which is reportedly the most ever offered by a charity poker tournament in Canada.

Proceeds will be going to the Starlight Children's Foundation Canada, which is part of an international non-profit organization dedicated to assisting seriously ill children and their families.

The event will feature a WSOP-style structure with several celebrities set to play, including Hellmuth and Duke.

For more information check out the event's website here.

OktoberFest Returns to Hustler Casino

Hustler Casino in L.A. is celebrating the changing of the seasons with the return of its Oktoberfest Fall Classic Tournament.

This time around the casino will be offering a deep stack series with over $300,000 in guarantees. The 23-day tournament series will begin Oct. 15 and run until Nov. 2.

The centerpiece of the tournament will be the $225 buy-in Liz Flynt Poker Classic, which takes place Oct. 24-26 with a $100,000 guarantee.

Players will be treated to complimentary champagne, buffet and a visit from the Hustler Honeys and Hustler Hunks.

Click here for the complete schedule.

Half-naked poker pros in ESPN The Magazine

Poker players are generally not known for their fantastic physiques, so it came as a surprise to many that four poker players were featured in a photo in this month's "Body" issue of ESPN The Magazine.

The photo, which appears to be somewhat tongue-in-cheek, features Daniel Negreanu, Jennifer Harman, Phil Hellmuth and Scotty Nguyen sitting topless at a poker table.

The Body issue of ESPN The Magazine is meant to highlight some of world's most impressive figures and it features star athletes like Serena Williams, Dwight Howard and Zdeno Chara in varying degrees of undress.

The issue is currently available at newsstands around the world.

French bill to open online gambling market?

It appears the French-government's monopoly on online gambling is at an end.

According to Reuters reports out of Paris, a French bill that would end the state monopoly went before discussion on Wednesday.

Budget Minister Eric Woerth told Parliament he thought they had found middle-ground that would be an efficient way of controlling the market and ending the reign of numerous illegal sites.

France had been feeling pressure from the European Union and private operators to open up their market, which is worth billions.

The new legislation would see private firms obtain permits from a newly created regulator. These firms would then be able to run their own gambling sites.

Matt Glantz Wins PokerStars EPT London High Roller Event

American Matt Glantz emerged victorious in the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) London High Roller event, banking £542,000. Glantz bested Erik Cajelais in a tournament that attracted 75 runners.

Cajelais entered the final table as a commanding chip leader, owning a stack of 893,000, well out in front of Glantz, who came armed with 647,500. Glantz had a wealth of experience, however, finishing fourth in the $50,000 buy-in HORSE Championship during the 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) for $568,000. That final table, of course, featured Scotty Nguyen, a 2009 Poker Hall of Fame finalist, emerging victorious while allegedly inebriated. Also that year, Glantz took third in the World Championship Mixed Event for $184,000.

Cajelais, meanwhile, was fresh off a win in the £2,500 buy-in Pot Limit Hold’em / Pot Limit Omaha contest during the 2009 WSOP Europe festivities, which were also held in London. In that event, he defeated Mats Gavatin heads-up and earned £104,000. Also appearing at the Pot Limit final table were Men “The Master” Nguyen, Hoyt Corkins, and Chris Bjorin, who went on to finish sixth in the WSOP Europe Main Event.

Just after the dinner break, Glantz prevailed in the High Roller tournament. Here is how its final table shook out:

1. Matt Glantz (United States) - £542,000
2. Erik Cajelais (Canada) - £326,000
3. Eugene Katchalov (United States) - £193,000
4. Adolfo Vaeza (Uruguay) - £141,000
5. Leo Fernandez (Argentina) - £104,000
6. Ilari Sahamies (Finland) - £74,000
7. Dennis Phillips (United States) - £60,000
8. Shane Reihill (Ireland) - £45,000

Phillips has been on fire over the past year. After finishing third in the 2008 WSOP Main Event for $4.5 million, the truck salesman grabbed 45th in the 2009 installment, earning another $178,000. He won a $500 buy-in tournament during the Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza in Las Vegas in April and has become one of poker’s top ambassadors. Phillips, along with a half-dozen other pros, descended on Capitol Hill for the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) Fly-In held during National Poker Week. Phillips toured the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and also played in a charity poker tournament.

Sahamies, nicknamed “Ziigumd” in the online world, is the front man for the Cake Poker Network site Power Poker. Sahamies appeared on Season 5 of the GSN cash game show “High Stakes Poker” and was part of the winning squad in the inaugural Caesars Cup. Fernandez, along with Phillips, is a card-carrying member of Team PokerStars Pro. In April, Fernandez finished sixth in the Latin American Poker Tour’s (LAPT) Mar del Plata Main Event for $63,000. His employer, PokerStars, sponsors the EPT.

WSOP November Nine member Phil Ivey was the first player sent packing from the High Roller event. Others who hit the skids on Day 1 included Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Dave “Devilfish” Ulliott, Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer, Barry Greenstein, Vanessa Rousso, Luca Pagano, J.C. Alvarado, and Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier. After his victory, Glantz told PokerStars officials, “It feels great. It’s just been my day.” In the final hand, Glantz’s A-2 held up against Cajelais’ Q-J.

The £5,000 buy-in EPT London Main Event is currently underway. This time around, the tournament attracted 730 players, which PokerStars claims is the largest poker event ever held in the United Kingdom. Only 596 players took to the felts in 2008, representing a growth of 23%. A total of 58 countries are represented, including 138 players from the United Kingdom, 131 from the United States, 63 from France, 45 from Germany, and 42 from Italy.

ESPN’s Andrew Feldman Reviews Poker Hall of Fame Candidates

On Friday, ballots were due for the 2009 Poker Hall of Fame class. A total of nine players were considered for enshrinement and among those voting alongside this author was ESPN.com Poker Editor Andrew Feldman, who shared his thoughts on each nominee.

Barry Greenstein owns three World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets and has established himself as one of the game’s top all-around players. He’s also been actively involved off the felts, raising money for charity with regularity. On Greenstein, Feldman noted, “Barry’s pros are being one of the top cash game payers in the world and having a tournament resume to back it up. On top of that, he does a lot for charity and has been a great ambassador for the poker world.” Whether Greenstein’s accolades are enough to land him in the Poker Hall of Fame in the November 7th ceremonies remains to be seen.

“Action” Dan Harrington quite literally wrote the book on poker. Without Harrington, one wonders whether any of us would be where we are today. Feldman commented, “Without Dan Harrington, the newest crop of poker players would be sitting in the dark. There have been books written by a multitude of authors, but no one could do what Harrington did by creating a poker bible and putting theories into easy-to-understand terms.” Harrington took down the WSOP Main Event in 1995.

Two of the game’s younger players, November Nine member Phil Ivey and Team PokerStars Pro member Daniel Negreanu, have sparked a considerable amount of controversy as to whether they have “stood the test of time,” one factor required for Hall of Fame enshrinement. Feldman remarked, “I believe age is a factor, but it shouldn’t be the deciding factor. Ivey and Negreanu have unbelievable poker resumes and they’re both some of the best players in the game right now, but they need to play out a full career.” Ivey’s first WSOP cash came in 2000, while Negreanu’s was in 1998.

Scotty Nguyen is one of the most recognizable names in the world of poker and took down the $50,000 buy-in HORSE event during the 2008 WSOP. However, he was allegedly inebriated during its final table, telling off competitors and Rio officials on national television. Feldman noted, “Scotty has perhaps the best accomplishment ever by winning the Main Event and $50,000 HORSE Championship. At times he can be disrespectful, but with a player like Scotty who has a great resume, does one misstep offset his entire career?”

Another controversial nominee is Men “The Master” Nguyen. He boasts 65 in the money finishes in WSOP events, good for the second most all-time, and owns six bracelets. Feldman explained what may keep Nguyen out of the Poker Hall of Fame in 2009: “Being second in career cashes all-time means he’s stood the test of time. He’s also certainly played for high-stakes. Whether the industry respects him will determine his fate this time around.”

Full Tilt Poker pro Erik Seidel is also a candidate for the Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2009. Seidel owns eight WSOP bracelets, good for fifth all-time, and owns more than $4 million in earnings from World Series felts alone. Feldman painted a picture of Seidel’s image: “He, single-handedly by being in ‘Rounders,’ has changed the industry. The problem is that you go from bracelets to ‘Rounders’ and a lot of people don’t give him the respect he deserves.” “Rounders,” which starred Edward Norton and Matt Damon, was released in 1998 and turned many on to the world of high-stakes No Limit Texas Hold’em.

Tom McEvoy is fresh off taking down the WSOP Champions Invitational, a tournament that aired on ESPN. Twenty former Main Event winners competed and, at the end of the day, McEvoy reclaimed the poker spotlight. Feldman explained, “McEvoy has changed the game in great ways and has been involved for the last 30 years. He’s authored some great books and has a great resume. For him, along with Dan Harrington and Erik Seidel, they need to get the full respect of the poker community.” McEvoy has received the backing of PokerStars for his Poker Hall of Fame run.

The final candidate for the 2009 Poker Hall of Fame class is World Poker Tour (WPT) Host Mike Sexton. A former bracelet winner and PartyPoker pro, Sexton is one of the game’s top ambassadors and a Guest Columnist on Poker News Daily. Feldman remarked, “Mike Sexton has done everything above and beyond throughout his career. While many would believe he is the ultimate face of poker, they also have to understand that he’s done more on the felt as well. While Sexton is a shoe-in, stranger things have happened.” Sexton led the charge for a group of 500 players shut out of the WSOP Main Event on Day 1D despite having played on Day 1A.

The Poker Hall of Fame induction ceremonies will take place on November 7th during the WSOP Main Event final table. You can catch Feldman on ESPN.com’s “Inside Deal,” which is released every Tuesday.

Doyle Brunson Sixth in WSOP Europe Main Event

History may be in the making in one of the most historic cities in the world. Doyle Brunson is in search of his record-tying 11th bracelet in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe Main Event and is sixth in chips with 92 players remaining.

Brunson holds a stack of 210,900 and is in pursuit of the £801,603 first place prize. “Texas Dolly” has 10 WSOP bracelets to his name, tied with Johnny Chan for second most all-time. He needs one more to move into the lead with 11, a record currently held by Ultimate Bet pro Phil Hellmuth. Brunson has been shut out since 2005, when he took down a $5,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Short-Handed event for $367,000, defeating a competitive final table that also included Minh Ly, Layne Flack, and Scotty Nguyen.

Brunson will captain Table 10 on Tuesday at the Casino at the Empire, where he’ll be joined by online poker players Justin “Boosted J” Smith and Christian Kruel. Smith is fresh off a third place effort in the Bellagio Cup, a stop on the World Poker Tour (WPT). He earned $464,000 at the Las Vegas casino back in July. Kruel can be found on the virtual felts of PokerStars under the screen name “C.K.” He won a $530 buy-in $80,000 Guaranteed High Roller tournament on PartyPoker in mid-August for $22,000.

Also in the Top 10 in London is Team PokerStars Pro member Jason Mercier. In May, he took down a tournament held during the Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) for $86,000 and then followed up that performance with a bracelet win in a $1,500 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha event during the 2009 WSOP. Mercier recorded four cashes overall during the WSOP and was quickly scooped up by PokerStars to join their pro team. He also competed in the star-studded field of the Ante Up for Africa charity poker tournament, which aired on ESPN. Mercier owns the 10th largest stack at 202,300.

Liz Lieu doubled her stack holding pocket aces on Monday in the WSOP Europe Main Event. Entering play on Day 3, she sits at 16th in the chip counts with 184,400. Meanwhile, November Nine member James Akenhead also remains in contention. Akenhead, a Brit on his home turf, sent Nick Bleeker packing after coming out on the winning end of a race holding pocket jacks against A-K. The board ran out 9-7-Q-Q-7, pushing Akenhead to 250,000 in chips. He ended the day with 178,000, which was good for 17th overall. Fellow November Nine member Antoine Saout, who held a Top 10 stack entering Day 2 play on Monday, fell back to 50th on the leaderboard with 90,100.

Here are the Top 10 stacks in the 2009 WSOP Europe Main Event entering Day 3 on Tuesday:

1. Ian Munns - 528,300
2. Praz Bassi - 299,000
3. Oyvind Riisem - 255,300
4. Arron Eric Filippi - 216,500
5. David Docherty - 216,200
6. Doyle Brunson - 210,900
7. Shandoi Demjan - 209,000
8. Markus Ristola - 205,000
9. Ram Vaswarni - 202,500
10. Jason Mercier - 202,300

Other notable names remaining in the hunt for the £801,603 prize include:

12. Yevgeniy Timoshenko - 192,100
13. Steve Zolotow - 191,100
16. Liz Lieu - 184,400
17. James Akenhead - 178,000
18. Dave “Devilfish” Ulliott - 174,000
19. Antonio Esfadiari - 173,300
20. John Tabatabai - 160,100
38. Daniel Negreanu - 113,100
39. Barry Shulman - 111,200
49. Annette Obrestad - 90,500
50. Antoine Saout - 90,100
55. Teddy Sheringham - 74,800
65. Freddy Deeb - 61,200
67. Andre Akkari – 58,300
69. Todd Brunson - 51,600
70. Eric Liu - 51,100
79. John Juanda - 38,900
85. Men “The Master” Nguyen - 27,500

The top 36 players will finish in the money, with the minimum payout being £21,142. Every member of the nine-handed final table will walk away with at least £66,533. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the WSOP Europe Main Event.

Showing Emotion in Poker by Nolan Dalla

If the opposite of a bad beat is a good beat, then the player sitting at Table 67/Seat 2 during a typical night at this year’s World Series of Poker (WSOP) was most certainly the benefactor of a miraculous catch – in other words, a good beat.  Most players remember their bad beats, but we usually forget the synchronized miracles that are dealt just as impartially.  Every player who gets crushed by a bad beat has a smiling correlated counterpart with fading memories of gifts from the poker gods.

The smiling man positioned at Table 67/Seat 2 would likely have remained unnoticed amid a roomful of hundreds of tournament players, except for one thing: his reaction.  The instant the player caught his miracle card, he bolted out of his seat, did a few fist pumps in the air, and shouted to no one in particular “Yes!”  He may have even shouted “Yes!” a few times.

No one needed to see the cards or view the board or replay the hand to understand exactly what had happened.  One player got lucky and caught the perfect card.  The other player took a bad beat and began to exit.  It’s a common occurrence at all poker tournaments – whether the buy-in is $20 or $10,000.

As the winning player was stacking the sizable pot, a floor man approached.  He issued a warning, citing the so-called “excessive celebration rule.”  The player expressed surprise at being reprimanded, but accepted the warning without protest.  In his defense, the floor man acted responsibly, enforcing a rule designed to encourage good sportsmanship and deter annoying distractions.

So, what’s the problem?

Looking back at this year’s WSOP, which included 57 gold bracelet events, for the first time ever, I can’t recall a single case of a player who grossly overstepped the bounds of proper behavior.  Perhaps an infraction happened at some point, but I never saw any such incident - and I was there at the Rio without exception for 49 consecutive days.  There were no Hevad Khan sideshows, no Mike Matusow tirades, and no Phil Hellmuth outbursts (as long as ceaseless whining doesn’t count).  Many players and fans probably think this is a good thing.  Sorry, but I think it’s a very bad thing.

Before I explain, I should make it perfectly clear that I despise quiet poker games.  Nothing bores me more than a game where there is absolutely no table talk.  We seem to be forgetting that poker is a game played by people with feelings and emotions, not robots - although sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference with so many ears wired up to iPods, eyes concealed by menacing sunglasses, and faces sheltered by hats and hoods that only serve to bunker a player emotionally from what’s supposed to be a social game.

Call me odd, but I like it when people talk at the poker table and show themselves as they really are.  I like it when people get mad.  I like it when people cheer for themselves.  It might be bad form to curse, but that should be permitted (as long as an opposing player or staff member is not abused).  I fail to understand why occasional outbursts or expletives are considered unacceptable in poker tournaments when all other sports encourage the expression of human emotion.  Last time I checked, anyone who enters a poker room is an adult and participates voluntarily.  If a player pays his entry fee, it’s his or her right to behave like a gentleman or act like a jackass.  And if anyone gets upset at seeing a player pump his fist in the air and celebrate a little, then I have some blunt advice: grow some thicker skin.  Deal with it.  I frankly don’t care to witness 7,000 perfectly-behaved members of a church choir playing in a major poker tournament.  I want to see 7,000 unique individuals – the quiet, the loud, the angry, the boisterous, the flashy, the thinkers, and even some jerks.  What’s wrong with that?

One of the worst bits of poker advice ever written was the absurdly toxic suggestion that players should always stay quiet at the table.  What absolute rubbish.  Of course, when you’re not involved in a hand and a big pot is at stake, that moment should be respected with silence.  But to sit silent and emotionless for hours at a time is not only senseless, but it’s also counterproductive.  I find that it’s much easier to learn something about your opponents - not to mention have a much better time at the poker table - when there is table talk and people are communicating.

The “excessive celebration rule” was ostensibly adapted in order to dissuade players from turning events like the WSOP into a platform for antics more suitable for circus animals.  Undoubtedly, some players have acted like idiots in recent years, but one unforeseen consequence of having television cameras to record everything for posterity is that many players are now clamming up.  Some players don’t want to say anything stupid or appear foolish on television.  I’ve witnessed countless players who are usually colorful personalities at the table suddenly get stage fright and say absolutely nothing when sitting at a feature table.  There are notable exceptions, of course: Daniel Negreanu, Scotty Nguyen, and Phil Hellmuth immediately come to mind.  Imposing penalties on human emotion, even stifling stupidity, is a bad tournament rule no matter where it’s implemented.

By contrast, one doesn’t see restrictions on player behavior on “High Stakes Poker,” even though the magnitude of decisions is often worth six-figures.  That program is among the best on television because viewers get to see some of the world’s top players in a mostly unfiltered format, complete with their raw emotions exposed – the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Take emotion out of poker and you rip the heart and soul out of the game.

One of my favorite writers and best friends is English journalist Tony Holden.  He once famously wrote, “Whether he likes it or not, a man’s character is stripped bare at the poker table.”

Holden was absolutely correct.  I now fear that draconian measures like f-bomb rules and excessive celebration restrictions are becoming the pseudo-utopian utensils that are stripping humanity out the game.  We are now stripped bare, not by our own successes and failures, but by rules – however well-intentioned - which aim to suppress that which is most genuine and beneficial to poker as a spectator sport.  It’s our personalities, which sadly have become stripped bare.

Nolan Dalla can be contacted at nolandalla@aol.com.

Poker Hall of Fame: Reaction to Changes in 2009 Ballot

Last week, Harrah’s, the World Series of Poker (WSOP), and the Poker Hall of Fame Governing Council announced the final list of players to be considered for induction into the Hall this fall. What was originally a 10-man list was chopped to nine when online sensation Tom “durrrr” Dwan was left off because, in the Governing Council’s opinion, Dwan fell short of the “standing the test of time” criteria for Hall consideration. This has brought out differing opinions among some in the world of poker.

“I’d say that an age limit is reasonable,” longtime poker writer Ashley Adams stated to Poker News Daily. “There have to be some criteria - a minimum number of tournaments or dollars won would be reasonable - when it comes to deciding on nominees. I don’t think there should be a minimum number nominated, though. It should depend on the quality of the field.” David Apostolico, who authored two books such as “Machiavellian Poker Strategy” and “Tournament Poker and The Art of War,” said “it made sense” to leave Dwan off of the final nominees list. “No question ‘durrrr’ is a tremendous player,” Apostolico explained, “but the qualifications speak directly to longevity.”

Pamela Brunson, the daughter of poker legend Doyle Brunson (who has a vote for the new members of the Hall of Fame) and a highly respected player in her own right, echoes the thoughts of Adams and Apostolico: “I don’t think ‘durrrr’ should be inducted the Poker Hall of Fame yet. He’s a great player, but hasn’t been around long enough.” Poker News Daily’s Dan Cypra, who also owns a vote on the new Hall of Fame members, thought the issue would have solved itself in the voting. “Other members of the Committee I had spoken to were not considering Tom Dwan anyway… signaling out Dwan (by leaving him off the ballot) when he likely would not have received votes was a bit surprising.”

The question as to the “electability” of a quartet of players - Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey, Men “The Master” Nguyen, and Scotty Nguyen - has also raised several points of contention. Some feel that Negreanu and Ivey, despite their youth (Negreanu is 35, Ivey is 33), more than deserve their nominations. In addition, others think that baggage may drag down the two Nguyens and prevent their election to the Hall of Fame.

“Phil Ivey is definitely going down as one of the best overall players of all-time and Daniel Negreanu has done so much for poker,” Brunson commented. “Daniel is a great player with tons of personality. He has put his heart and soul into poker and is one of the best ambassadors of the game.” Cypra agreed with Brunson, but doesn’t believe that either will garner enough votes to earn admission to the Hall. “Ivey is poker’s sweetheart right now, fresh off two bracelet wins during the 2009 WSOP and a final table appearance in the Main Event on the horizon.” He continued, “His 2009 performance alone warrants consideration for the Poker Hall of Fame. Negreanu is one of the premier faces of the game. Serving as one of poker’s top ambassadors, winning four bracelets, and captaining the American Caesars Cup team gives him an impressive poker resume. However, I do not believe either has stood the test of time. Negreanu’s first WSOP cash was in 1998, while Ivey’s was in 2000.”

When the spotlight is trained on the Nguyens, more differences of opinion occur. “A general statement about ‘working in the interests of the game’ or ‘bringing honor and respect to the poker community’ is important,” Adams maintained. “By my standards, Scotty would get the nod from me and I’d have to think about Men.” Cypra, though, recalls Scotty Nguyen’s conduct at last year’s $50,000 HORSE tournament and disagrees: “Scotty Nguyen will not be receiving my vote. His antics during last year’s HORSE Championship hurt the game of poker. One could argue that, because of this, Nguyen has not filled the criteria of ‘played consistently well, gaining the respect of peers.’”

Voting by the 15 living Hall of Fame members and a 15 member media panel will conclude on October 2nd. The 30 member panel can choose up to three of the nominees (or write in their own choice) and a nominee has to earn 75% of the votes (in this case, 23) to be elected to the Hall. The results will be announced during the festivities surrounding the play of the WSOP Main Event final table.

When it comes to his choices, Cypra seems to have narrowed his options, stating, “I think Mike Sexton is a no-brainer. He’s the reason many of us are in the industry today and has served as the game’s top ambassador. He’s also a class act, a WSOP bracelet winner, and a TOC victor. I’m also leaning towards Dan Harrington and Tom McEvoy, who have stood the test of time right alongside Sexton.”

Brunson perhaps has an idea when she said, “I think some of the ‘old timers’ should be inducted before we get around to the young guys. They’ve been around a lot longer and put in their dues, even when poker wasn’t a popular and ‘cool’ profession!”

WSOP Coverage on ESPN Spotlights Hellmuth and Ivey

Last night’s episodes of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) on ESPN spotlighted the two most recognizable Phils in poker: Phil Hellmuth and November Nine member Phil Ivey. Hellmuth was seated at the feature table for the coverage of Day 2B while the secondary feature table boasted a strong line up of Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi and PokerStars Pros Dennis Phillips and Maria “Maridu” Mayrinck. Over the course of the two episodes the show included updates on cancer patient Kent Senter, actor Lou Diamond Phillips and NBA star Jordan Farmar amongst others, but perhaps the most interesting aspect of Tuesday’s show was the unorthodox play of Hellmuth. As co-host Norman Chad aptly put it, it was, “as if Phil’s body and soul has been occupied by some idiot from Northern Europe.”

The episode began by reminding the audience of Hellmuth’s epic entrance in full Roman regalia for Day 1 of play and Chad assured viewers that the 11-time bracelet winner would be full of surprises during Day 2.  Chad got the inside scoop from Hellmuth, who told the poker commentator he was, “going to be more active and not back down from big raises.” While ESPN chose not to air the verbal confrontation between Hellmuth and internet poker pro Todd “Dan Druff” Witteles regarding the Ultimate Bet cheating scandal, Chad did make mention of each player’s role in the scandal and subsequent investigation as part of his commentary.

Hellmuth stuck to his word during the first featured hand of the night when he called a raise from 22-year old Ben Sprengers holding 7c 8c and got it all-in against Sprenger’s two pair when the Jd-6c-5c flop brought him an open-ended straight flush draw. After Hellmuth hit his flush to double up, Sprengers, who would prove to be Hellmuth’s nemesis throughout the day, questioned the Ultimate Bet Pro’s play and Hellmuth responded by saying, “I didn’t come to lay down son. I came to play.”

A member of last year’s November Nine, Phillips, also came to play and did not take long to clash in a pot with his tablemate Mizrachi. It would be Mayrinck, not Mizrachi who would be featured in the most pots with Phillips, as Mizrachi hit the rail midway through Day 2B play. Phillips picked up pocket aces against the Brazilian pro twice and managed to get her to pay him off both times.

Phillips was not the only November Niner profiled. The show also featured a segment discussing year’s winner Peter Eastgate besting Hellmuth’s record of youngest Main Event Champion. Hellmuth won his Main Event title at age 23 while Eastgate was just 22-years old when he won the Main Event last year. The 2008 Player of the Year Erick Lindgren also made the coverage, as the cameras caught his pocket queens getting cracked by Craig Ivey’s pocket jacks to eliminate the Full Tilt Pro early on Day 2B.

Some of the other players featured last night included Robert Williamson III, Scotty Nguyen, Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Ville Wahlbeck, 2009 WSOP Player of the Year Jeffrey Lisandro, Hevad “Rain” Khan, Howard Lederer and Frankie Gay, who was playing in the Main Event to honor his late son who was a soldier killed in action overseas. While Gay did not survive to Day 3, he and his family felt the trip was an appropriate tribute to their beloved son.

Senter, whose dying wish was to play in the WSOP Main Event, fared better than Gay did on the felt and survived to Day 3 despite doubling up Billy Gazes late in the day. Some of the other players to survive Day 2B included Hachem, Phillips, Mayrinck, JC Tran, Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian, Eastgate and Phil Ivey.

Ivey did more than just survive Day 2B. He ended the day as one of the big stacks in the room thanks in part to a huge hand in which he got it all-in preflop holding pocket kings to Jonas Molander’s A-K. The kings held to give Ivey the 223,700 chip pot and vault him to the top of the chip counts.

This week’s “The Nuts” segment featured a chess game between Chad and Lederer. Chad didn’t have much time to interview Lederer, as his opponent made quick worth of the TV personality on the chess board. The PokerStars’ Straight From the Pros segment highlighted a hand Khan played against Jon Kalmar in the 2007 Main Event and the Full Tilt Poker-sponsored piece Deal Me In had Jennifer Harman offering insight on a hand she played in a WSOP Circuit event against Jean-Robert Bellande.

Next week’s episodes will feature coverage of Day 3, the first day the entire field will converge on the Rio at the same time.

2009 Poker Hall of Fame Finalists Announced

The final list of nominees for the 2009 Poker Hall of Fame was announced on Tuesday and the ballot is loaded with the game’s biggest names. It is now up to the 15 living Hall of Fame members and the 15-member Media Panel to cast their votes before the inductees are revealed on Saturday, November 7.

The nine selected candidates are Barry Greenstein, Dan Harrington, Phil Ivey, Tom McEvoy, Men Nguyen, Scotty Nguyen, Daniel Negreanu, Erik Seidel and Mike Sexton. Any of those nine who receive at least 75% of the vote will be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame, which will be part of a special Hall of Fame dinner ceremony at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas during the dinner break of the World Series of Poker Main Event Final Table.

The voters must determine which nominees most deserve an induction this year. Each candidate is voted the following criteria:

–A player must have played poker against acknowledged top competition
–Played for high stakes
–Played consistently well, gaining the respect of peers
–Stood the test of time
–Or, for non-players, contributed to the overall growth and success of the game of poker, with indelible positive and lasting results.

Current Hall of Fame members also have the ability to add a write-in candidate — someone they feel deserves consideration — but were not among the list of finalists this year. This write-in candidate will be added to the 2010 nomination list automatically. The voting members will receive their ballots this week and have until October 2, 2009 to submit their completed forms.

Before starting the 2009 WSOP, the WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack announced that the process for becoming a member into the Poker Hall of Fame would undergo a slight modification. Starting in this year, the Poker Hall of Fame started accepting nominations from the public.

Ten players received the required number of votes to make the nominees list. Tom Dwan, known as “durrrr” online, was the lone preliminary nominee left off the final ballot. The nosebleed cash game specialist only recently burst onto the poker scene but quickly gained worldwide fame after proposing a challenge to anyone in the world (except Phil Galfond) that believed they could beat him in a four-table heads-up format on Full Tilt Poker.

“With all due respect to Mr. Dwan, one of the games most exciting young players, he does not currently meet the criteria for Hall of Fame selection”, said a member of the Poker Hall of Fame Governing Council. “We wish him well and expect he will again be considered once he has ‘stood the test of time’.”

The inductees will be invited to a special dinner held and hosted in their honor where they will give their induction speech and be awarded their commemorative trophy. Each of nine of the finalists will be invited to the dinner, and room will be reserved for additional family, friends, the current Hall of Famers and the media voting panel.

Tom “durrrr” Dwan Wasn’t Accepted To The Poker Hall Of Fame

Nine heavy duty nominees left and everyone wants to be part of The Poker Hall of Fame. But where is Tom “durrrr” Dwan?

The Poker Hall of Fame (HOF) has announced their year 2009 list of the candidates.

• Barry Greenstein
• Dan Harrington
• Phil Ivey
• Tom McEvoy
• Men “The Master” Nguyen
• Scotty Nguyen
• Daniel Negreanu
• Erik Seidel
• Mike Sexton

Originally Tom Dwan was supposed to be on the list but has now been removed.

“With all due respect to Mr. Dwan, one of the games most exciting young players, he does not currently meet the criteria for Hall of Fame selection. We wish him well and expect he will again be considered once he has ’stood the test of time’”, the HOF Governing Council states in their press release.

Tom “The Flamingo” Dwan

To gain more interest from the public, this year’s candidates were chosen through a public referendum. All in all 41 Poker pros got voted from where the field was narrowed to ten most voted names.

The official Induction Ceremony will take place on Saturday, November 7, during the dinner break of the Main Event final table at the Rio in Las Vegas.

The remaining nine candidates will have their fate decided by the 15 living HOF members, and the 15-person media panel. Panel members will receive their any day and have until Friday, October 2, to submit their votes. Players need 75 percent of the votes to get in. Anything less than 75 percent means your still eligible for future HOF classes.

There are currently 37 members in The Poker Hall of Fame.

Source: Pokerpages

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Tom “durrrr” Dwan Wasn’t Accepted To The Poker Hall Of Fame

Poker Pro Victor Ramdin Gives the Inside Deal

This week, ESPN.com poker show “Inside Deal” welcomed Victor Ramdin. A member of Team PokerStars Pro who is passionate about charity work, Ramdin discusses Scotty Nguyen’s 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) antics and coming to the United States from his native Guyana.

The show began with recap of the latest poker news, headlined by WSOP November Nine member Joe Cada inking a sponsorship agreement with PokerStars. Still unsigned is chip leader Darvin Moon. “Inside Deal” host Bernard Lee gave his two cents on Moon’s future: “He’s said repeatedly that he doesn’t want to sign with a site and so far he’s keeping his word.” Attention then turned to the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) second sale to Party Gaming, the parent company of PartyPoker. As a result of backing out of its first deal, the WPT was forced to pay Gamynia Limited a $1 million penalty. Gamynia is affiliated with the iPoker Network.

After reviewing results from the WPT Legends of Poker, PokerStars Sunday Million, and the Asia Pacific Poker Tour’s (APPT) Macau stop, the “Inside Deal” welcomed Team Ultimate Bet’s Adam “Roothlus” Levy, who called into the show. On his online poker moniker, Levy explained, “It was an XBOX Live name. I just wanted something that sounded cool, so I decided to spell it phonetically.”

Levy rehashed his run-in with Phil Hellmuth during the 2008 WSOP Main Event, noting, “I thought it was pretty epic. It was surreal. I didn’t get offended or anything like that. I knew what I was getting into.” Levy then dove into the lifestyle of today’s online poker players, running into “Saved by the Bell” principal Dennis Haskins at a Los Angeles nightclub, and traveling to the Ultimate Bet Aruba Poker Classic.

Ramdin then joined the show in studio and explained his mentality when coming to the United States in 1989: “It was a dream come true. This is like all of our dreams come true – just to come to America.” He has since made a name for himself not only on the felts, but also in the world of charity, where he travels to Guyana to fund heart surgeries with a team of poker stars. Ramdin told “Inside Deal” viewers, “When it comes to charity, I’m all pumped up. I have more energy for charity than I do for poker.” In addition to a lucrative poker career, Ramdin also owns several retail stores in the Bronx and manages real estate rentals.

ESPN.com Poker Editor Andrew Feldman joined the show to discuss the results of viewer opinions on Mount Cashmore, the Mount Rushmore of poker. Viewers enshrined Doyle Brunson, Hellmuth, Stu Ungar, and Chris Moneymaker on the granite face of Mount Cashmore. Others who came close to being one of the top four nominees included November Nine member Phil Ivey, Chip Reese, Daniel Negreanu, and “Binion.” On the latter nomination, e-mailers did not specify which Binion they meant, Jack or Benny.

Discussion turned to members of a hypothetical Hall of Shame. Ramdin claimed 2008 WSOP HORSE Champion Scotty Nguyen should be the Hall’s first member: “He’s a world-class player, but he should be setting a better example. I really hated what he did.” Highlights aired of Nguyen lambasting Michael DiMichele while allegedly drunk at the televised final table and included a barrage of edited words. Nguyen has since apologized for his actions.

Ramdin called his favorite “hidden gem” of the poker tournament scene the Bahamas, the site of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure each January. On his nickname “Computer Man,” the poker pro explained, “I don’t know where that came from. I am no computer man.” Also revealed was that Ramdin has a weight loss bet and he likes to stay around 200 pounds. While he’d like to see Ivey win the 2009 WSOP Main Event in November, his second choice would be Eric Buchman, who hails from New York.

Catch “Inside Deal” every Tuesday on ESPN.com. You can also sign up to receive daily news in your Inbox and score free autographed merchandise from some of your favorite pros.

Scotty Nguyen comes back

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Linda Johnson’s Favorite WPT Memories

I had the best job of anyone on the World Poker Tour. I got to travel all over the world, meet lots of awesome people, get my hair and makeup done, entertain an audience of poker players, and say “Shuffle Up and Deal!” I also got to work with an incredible crew including Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten.

My job as the studio announcer was to call the action (announce bet amounts, hole cards when there was an all-in, winning hands, and new blind amounts) in order to keep the audience interested. I involved the audience by playing trivia with them during breaks, telling jokes, and introducing famous poker players and celebrities between hands.

This led to a few awkward moments, of course. During a taping at the Commerce Casino, I saw Doyle Brunson walk in with someone I didn’t know and they sat down to watch. At the appropriate time, I said, “Ladies and gentlemen, we are honored to have the legendary Doyle Brunson in our midst. Doyle, please give us a wave.” Doyle took off his Stetson, waved to the crowd, and he and his friend left a few minutes later. Shortly after that, the producer contacted me through my earpiece and asked why I hadn’t introduced Robert Duvall (the gentleman with Brunson). “Who is Robert Duvall and where does he play,” I asked.

One of the perks of my job was getting to play in the WPT Celebrity Invitational. I always wrote an article about the celebrities at my table, but first they had to identify themselves. Throughout the years, I had played in tournaments with Tobey Maguire, Ben Affleck, Ricki Lake, Montel Williams, Dom DeLuise, Norm McDonald, Camyrn Manheim, Jason Alexander, Paris Hilton, James Woods, Lou Diamond Phillips, Jennifer Tilly, and lots of actors and actresses that everyone except me seemed to recognize.

Every final table was different in its own way, but I don’t believe the excitement of that first-ever WPT event at Bellagio will ever be topped.  The WPT set and announcers’ booth was introduced to the world, as was super hostess Shana Hiatt. The final table consisted of Gus Hansen (who was unknown at the time), John Juanda, Freddy Deeb, Scotty Nguyen, and John Hennigan, all superstars who later won WPT titles. I still remember how impressed I was to see Doug Dalton in his tuxedo pouring champagne to toast the winner.

During my time with the WPT, I traveled to lots of amazing destinations around the world. I actually enjoyed all of them, but for different reasons. For instance, I loved the beaches of Aruba and taping the show in an upstairs restaurant overlooking the ocean. I enjoyed Nassau because I was allowed to wear tropical clothing and not my typical black!

Tunica’s Gold Strike and Biloxi’s Beau Rivage were memorable for the wonderful Southern hospitality and incredible food. I looked forward to Foxwoods for the beauty of the surrounding forests. The Bicycle Casino and the Commerce Casino were special because there was so much poker action when I wasn’t working. Borgata had the best beds.

The Aviation Club in Paris offered the best sightseeing opportunities and the Reno Hilton had the best sushi and a shopping arcade on premises. Fallsview offered incredible views of Niagara Falls from our hotel rooms. Bay 101 had the most energetic, enthusiastic fans, which made my job easy. I always liked taping at the Mirage and Bellagio because I could stay in my own home at night! And of course, I am a bit biased, but I loved the PartyPoker.com Million because I got to spend a week on a Card Player Cruises vacation.

There were lots of funny moments on the WPT. One of the best happened at Foxwoods the year Hoyt Corkins won.  Phil Hellmuth was at the final table and Hoyt was driving him crazy with his aggression and all-ins. Finally, after Hoyt hit a river card, Phil jumped out of his chair and banged his head on the overhead microphone.  Another time, Joe Hachem was at the final table and when he won his first big pot, his fans started yelling, “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oy, Oy, Oy!” I looked at them and said, “Don’t start that crap here.” They must have thought I was serious because they didn’t do it again.

Although I had a few embarrassing moments along the way, such as dropping my microphone battery pack in the toilet or having a hot flash during filming, there were some very special moments too. I’ll always remember Brunson’s inspirational victory at the Bicycle Club. Tears came to my eyes on multiple occasions when I saw the joy of new millionaires being created.  The most emotional moment for me took place during the taping of the “Father/Son Special.” Barry Greenstein and his son, Joe Sebok, eliminated the other teams and were supposed to play each other to determine the winner. Instead, they agreed to push all-in pre-flop and let the cards decide the victor since neither one wanted to beat the other on television.

The first six seasons of the WPT flew by and were full of incredible moments. Maybe someday I’ll write a book about them.

Industry Reacts to Phil Hellmuth WSOP Main Event Tirade

It took all of three episodes of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event on ESPN for 11-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth to get the industry buzzing. Hellmuth used a parade of words not fit for television during ESPN’s Day 1C recap. This article contains language that is not suitable for all audiences.

Known for his short fuse, Hellmuth was seated at Table Two on Tuesday night during Day 1C coverage. After a player holding K-8 bested his pocket jacks, Hellmuth went off the deep end. He commented, “What the fuck? Calling a fricking raise with K-8?” Hellmuth then strung together four expletives in a row followed by the word “man.” The Ultimate Bet pro returned to the table and, while taking his seat, muttered, “Fucking moron players.” No penalty was handed down.

In a separate hand, an opponent rivered a flush against Hellmuth, which once again sent the “Poker Brat” away from the table steaming: “Is this some kind of fucking joke? I can’t even fucking believe what I’m seeing.” Again, no penalty was assessed. WSOP Communications Director Seth Palansky told Poker News Daily, “Our player conduct rule is about abusing tablemates and dealers. That’s what we’re trying to avoid so a person’s playing experience is not unpleasant. There is no anti-cursing rule. If it’s mean-spirited, then it’s a penalty, but it’s up to the discretion of the dealers and supervisors who are there to hear it.”

There were a total of 185 penalties and warnings assessed throughout the 2009 WSOP festivities at the Rio using a new database system to log infractions. Among them were players throwing cards at dealers, celebrating wildly, taunting opponents, loudly waving in order to attract the attention of ESPN cameras, and, in one instance, banging a set of cymbals. Poker News Daily Guest Columnist and Tournament Directors’ Association (TDA) co-founder Linda Johnson explained, “Hellmuth didn’t do anything terribly egregious. I possibly would have given a warning when he started talking about ‘morons.’ He’d better be talking about himself, which he wasn’t. I don’t have a problem with the ‘f’ word, although you should get a warning at some point.”

Given her association with the TDA, Johnson is typically by the book. The “First Lady of Poker” was outraged at antics by Hellmuth and Scotty Nguyen in 2008, but noted that the atmosphere at this year’s WSOP was much-improved: “I’m glad the WSOP cleaned up their act. It was a much more pleasant atmosphere this year. Kudos to their tournament officials for not allowing abuse.” In fact, the only actions that have raised Johnson’s eyebrows during telecasts of the 2009 WSOP on ESPN have involved players discussing the contents of their hands. She told Poker News Daily, “You have to be careful. There’s a rule that says you won’t tell someone what you have in your hand.”

PocketFivesLive.com Tournament Reporter Court Harrington, who has traveled the WSOP and World Poker Tour (WPT) circuits for the popular live coverage site, shared his take on Hellmuth’s antics: “For all of the publicity Hellmuth brings to the game, his antics surely cause passive players that might pull up a chair to stay away instead of putting themselves in an awkward situation with a top pro berating them.” On Tuesday night, ESPN announcer Norman Chad continuously reiterated Hellmuth’s now-famous “idiots from Northern Europe” quote from last year’s WSOP Main Event.

Harrington has seen novices and pros battle it out on the felts of the world’s most prestigious tournaments. He even broadcasts his opinions on PokerRoad, where he sits alongside industry staples like Joe Sebok, Gavin Smith, and Joe Stapleton. Harrington explained the dilemma that tournament officials often face: “Player conduct rules should be very situation-specific. In poker, keeping novice and amateur players comfortable is important. At the same time, pros have a responsibility to conduct themselves in an appropriate manner for the same reason - to make amateur players feel comfortable at the tables and more likely to return.”

Thanks from all of us here at Poker News Daily to Palansky, Johnson, and Harrington for their insight into the issue. Tell us what you think! Was Hellmuth out of line? Where should the line be drawn? Leave a comment and voice your choice.

Kevin Schaffel Leads WPT Legends of Poker Final Table

The six-handed final table of the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Legends of Poker will play out today, with World Series of Poker (WSOP) November Nine member Kevin Schaffel leading the way. Schaffel owns 2.23 million chips.

Schaffel will have his work cut out for him on Wednesday, as Prahlad Friedman and Toto Leonidas will join him at the feature table. Friedman is a WSOP bracelet holder whose piece of hardware came by virtue of taking down a $1,500 buy-in Pot Limit Hold’em event in 2003 for $109,000. Friedman finished 20th in the 2006 WSOP Main Event, a run that was highlighted by being a part of “Antegate” with Jeffrey Lisandro. The Legends of Poker event marks his first WPT final table and he’ll come armed to play with the third largest chip stack.

Leonidas is also making his debut at a televised WPT table and, like Friedman, owns one WSOP bracelet that came in 2003. Leonidas won a $1,500 buy-in Limit Seven Card Stud event that year for $98,000, defeating a stacked final 10 that included two-time bracelet winner Rod Pardey, Jennifer Harman, former WSOP Main Event Champion Scotty Nguyen, and reigning National Heads-Up Poker Championship winner Huck Seed. Leonidas has eight WSOP final tables under his belt and is the short-stack entering Wednesday’s play at the Bicycle Casino for the Legends of Poker.

Here is how the final six will look when the cards hit the air at 4:00pm PT:

1. Kevin Schaffel - 2,234,000
2. Todd Terry - 2,219,000
3. Prahlad Friedman - 1,476,000
4. Mike Krescanko - 1,209,000
5. Sam Stein - 743,000
6. Toto Leonidas - 580,000

A total of 24 players took to the felts on Tuesday in the Legends of Poker. The unfortunate title of “Final Table Bubble Boy” went to Vigen Manukyan, who was sent to the rails courtesy of Friedman. Manukyan pushed pre-flop with ducks, but ran into Friedman’s pocket queens. The board ran out K-3-3-8-10 and Manukyan earned $64,000 for his seventh place showing. When the field combined into one table, Manukyan was down to a single big blind and proved that, in poker, all you need is a chip and a chair.

Todd Terry sent Matt Marafioti packing in eighth place, earning $52,000. Marafioti shoved with J-10 pre-flop and Terry made the call, flipping up Q-J. The flop of A-K-2 gave both players straight draws, but a seven and five on the turn and river, respectively, preserved the win for Terry. Manukyan crippled Marafioti on the previous hand after Marafioti’s A-10 fell short of pocket jacks on a 10-high board.

WSOP November Nine member Steven Begleiter made waves in the Legends of Poker, but his run abruptly ended in ninth place. The Full Tilt Poker pro earned $39,000 for his efforts. Begleiter pushed pre-flop holding just K-3 with 25 big blinds remaining, but ran into Terry’s A-Q. The board bricked out for Begleiter, who pointed out at the beginning of play that tournament officials had awarded him an extra 90,000 chips during the color up on Monday night. Begleiter sunk from third place to sixth on the leaderboard as a result of the error, but posters on various poker forums have commended his honesty.

The list of players who fell by the wayside on Tuesday is as follows:

7. Vigen Manukyan - $64,400
8. Matt Marafioti - $52,320
9. Steven Begleiter - $39,240
10. Sergei Veytser - $32,700
11. James Mackey - $32,700
12. Eric Hershler - $32,700
13. Eugene Katchalov - $26,160
14. Thu Nguyen - $26,160
15. Stan Jablonski - $26,160
16. Matt Widdoes - $22,240
17. David Demanski - $22,240
18. Steven Chao - $22,240
19. Carter King - $18,285
20. Bob Lauria - $18,285
21. Tony Gargano - $18,285
22. Kia Mohajeri - $18,285
23. Peter Rho- $18,285
24. Richard Sciuto - $18,285

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for full WPT Legends of Poker results.

WPT Legends of Poker: Steven Begleiter Chip Leader on Day 3

Two days are in the books at the World Poker Tour (WPT) Legends of Poker, which is taking place at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles. World Series of Poker (WSOP) November Nine member Steven Begleiter continues to lead the way entering Day 3.

Begleiter brought a commanding chip lead into Sunday in Los Angeles at the Bike’s brand new Events Center. He ended the day with 426,100 chips, comfortably ahead of the second place stack of Prahlad Friedman, who owns 382,700. Begleiter eliminated online poker sensation Isaac “westmenloAA” Baron during the last level of play after flopping a set of fives on a 10-8-5 board. Baron flipped up pocket queens for an overpair, but needed running cards for a straight or a queen to survive. However, the board filled out 10-6 and Baron was sent packing.

The champion of the WPT’s Bellagio Cup, Team PokerStars Pro member Alexandre Gomes, was eliminated early on in the day. Gomes was the chip leader during the early going in the Legends of Poker, but found himself all-in after pushing with A-Q (including the ace of clubs) on a board of K-J-6-10 with three clubs for a flush draw. However, an opponent called with 3-4 of clubs for a made flush. The river was no help, sending Gomes to the exits. Interestingly, WPT coverage noted that no player has ever won back-to-back WPT events and no player has won multiple tournaments at the same venue.

Friedman scooped a sizable pot late in the day to catapult him into second on the Legends of Poker leaderboard behind Begleiter. With blinds of 800/1,600 and a 200 ante, Friedman called a re-raise to 15,000 from the player in the big blind. The flop fell J-8-5 and the big blind bet out 20,000. Friedman called to see a seven on the turn. The action went check-check to the river, which came the nine of hearts. Friedman led out for 60,000 and his opponent called. Friedman turned over pocket nines for a set, which was enough to scoop the pot and claim the second largest chip stack entering Day 3. Here is how the Top 10 in the field looks:

1. Steven Begleiter - 426,100
2. Prahlad Friedman - 382,700
3. Thuy Doan - 254,400
4. Mike Krescanko - 248,500
5. Bryan Devonshire - 230,200
6. Corwin Mackey - 212,500
7. Billy Baxter - 209,300
8. Sergei Veytser - 207,200
9. Toto Leonidas - 195,300
10. Gary Klonsley - 181,100

Billy Baxter is a seven-time WSOP bracelet winner who won No Limit Deuce to Seven Lowball events in 1975, 1978, 1982, 1987, and 1993. More recently, he made the final table of a Deuce to Seven Triple Draw event in 2008 for $15,000. All told, Baxter has piled up over $1.1 million in WSOP tournaments and made a deep run in the 2007 Main Event.

Bryan “badbeatninja” Devonshire and Corwin “mig.com” Mackey are two top-tier online poker players. Both have also had success on the live felts. Devonshire was the runner-up to Alex Kravchenko in an Omaha High-Low Split Eight or Better event during the 2007 WSOP for $140,000. Mackey won a $5,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event in 2007 for his first bracelet, banking $730,000 and defeating Stuart Fox heads-up.

Other notable names remaining in the WPT Legends of Poker include:

14. Nick Schulman – 160,000
17. Kevin Schaffel – 152,000
22. Men “The Master” Nguyen – 144,000
25. Greg “FBT” Mueller – 139,900
28. Carter “ckingusc” King – 122,700
31. Adam “Roothlus” Levy – 116,200
36. Daniel Negreanu – 92,600
39. Jonathan Little – 91,200
59. Lee Markholt – 53,700
65. Scotty Nguyen – 45,100

Play will resume today at 3:00pm PT and a winner will be crowned on Wednesday.

Steven Begleiter Leads WPT Legends of Poker

A total of 279 players turned out for the 2009 World Poker Tour (WPT) Legends of Poker. Now, Steven Begleiter, a member of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) November Nine, leads the pack after Day 1.

When the smoke cleared on Day 1, 181 players remained in the hunt in the $10,000 buy-in tournament, which is being held at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles. Although attendance was down 25% from last year, the mood remained upbeat, especially for fans of Begleiter. The Full Tilt Poker pro holds the largest stack in the room at 232,275, comfortably ahead of the second place tally of 135,025 belonging to Alex Golshanara. The average stack in the room is just 46,243, with Gary Lent claiming the smallest tally at 5,800.

Begleiter went on a heater to end his day in Los Angeles, leading to his massive edge over the field. After building his stack to over 100,000, Begleiter hit a full house on the river to draw out on an opponent who held a set. Then, Tim Phan shoved with A-K, only to run into Begleiter’s pocket kings. The better hand held, catapulting Begleiter to a commanding lead. He told WPT Live Updates Hostess Amanda Leatherman after play had concluded, “I’m glad I did this today. I hope I can do this on November 7th.”

The 2009 WSOP November Nine was determined on July 15th. One month later, Begleiter has found his way back into the spotlight. He explained, “It’s really getting my blood flowing. Seeing the level of competition here and having a good day certainly adds to my excitement for November 7th.” Here’s a look at the top of the leaderboard entering Day 2 of the WPT Legends of Poker, which will play out on Sunday:

1. Steven Begleiter: 235,275
2. Alex Golshanara: 135,025
3. Tommy Vedes: 124,725
4. Eugene Katehalor: 124,150
5. Sam Stein: 112,250
6. Markus “LURPED” Gonsalves: 108,600
7. Matt Marafiot: 107,500
8. Eddie Ngo: 105,000
9. Mike Krescanko: 104,950
10. Toto Leonidas: 90,525

Other notable names in the Top 50 include:

14. Nick Schulman: 88,000
15. Mark Seif: 84,700
30. Scott Montgomery: 71,550
35. David “The Dragon” Pham: 68,900
36. Greg “FBT” Mueller: 68,800
37. Kenna James: 67,800
48. Scotty Nguyen: 60,300

Former Bellagio Cup winner and online poker pro Kevin “BeL0WaB0Ve” Saul was ousted on the final hand of the night after running his set into an opponent’s straight. Kenna James doubled up in the closing seconds of Day 1 holding pocket kings against Alexandre Gomes’ pocket aces. A king hit the flop, sending James into the lead in the hand for good. Gomes, the chip leader early on in the 2009 Legends of Poker, now sits in 84th place with a stack of 41,200.

Mark Seif and Amir Vahedi traded shots late in the day. Seif told Vahedi that he held pocket aces in a hand, leading to Vahedi folding and Seif earning a penalty for his actions. In the first hand after rejoining the table, Seif doubled up with pocket kings against Vahedi, who held pocket queens. Vahedi then came back to double up with four of a kind against a different opponent. At the end of Day 1, Seif holds 84,700 chips, good for 15th overall, and Vahedi boasts the 120th largest stack at 30,900.

The 2009 Legends of Poker will air as part of Season VIII of the WPT on Fox Sports Net. Its six-handed final table will play out on Wednesday with the following prizes up for grabs:

1st Place: $1,034,500
2nd Place: $471,670
3rd Place: $231,300
4th Place: $144,600
5th Place: $116,225
6th Place: $89,220

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for updates from the Legends of Poker.