Poker News

WSOP May Hold All Star Game

In a Tweet posted on Wednesday by officials from the World Series of Poker (WSOP), it was revealed that a special All Star Game may be in the works. Its format and players involved are currently unclear.

A Tweet from the WSOP cryptically questioned, “Which 20 WSOP Bracelet-Holders would you like to see compete in an All-Star game? Stay tuned... #WSOP.” Last year, the WSOP held its first ever Champions Invitational, which featured 20 former Main Event winners vying in a made-for-television tournament for a vintage car. 1983 WSOP Main Event winner Tom McEvoy, a PokerStars sponsored pro, ultimately came out on top and drove home in a classic 1970 Corvette.

The tournament aired on ESPN, which owns the exclusive rights to the annual Las Vegas spectacle. Others who participated in the grand event included WSOP Main Event champs Amarillo Slim, Berry Johnston, Jim Bechtel, Huck Seed, Scotty Nguyen, Carlos Mortensen, Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer, Joe Hachem, Jamie Gold, and Jerry Yang.

When prompted for comment by Poker News Daily, Harrah’s officials were equally vague, saying about the Tweet, “It was cryptic for a reason. I’m intrigued, are you?” In December, Harrah’s released the 2010 WSOP schedule, which kicks off with the annual $500 Casino Employees No Limit Hold’em event on May 28th. On the same day, a brand new $50,000 buy-in Player’s Championship will begin. The event will be televised by ESPN and take on an eight-game format: Limit Hold’em, Omaha High-Low Split Eight or Better, Seven Card Razz, Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud High-Low Split Eight or Better, No Limit Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha, and 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball.

Although no word has been handed down, it appears that 20 players, according to a fan vote, will compete for a grand prize during the 2010 WSOP. Given the internet vote, many posters on TwoPlusTwo questioned the makeup of the field. TwoPlusTwo member “Kevmath” explained, “If they allow voting on the internet, I'm sure someone not as deserving could sneak their way into the field.”

For example, Tom “durrrr” Dwan, born in 1986, was nominated by the general public through an online vote to become a nominee for the Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2009. A nominating committee was quick to squash his bid, charging that Dwan had not yet stood the test of time, one of the criteria required for entry. Instead, names tossed out by TwoPlusTwo members as possible participants in a WSOP All Star Game include 11-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth and popular female pro Jennifer Tilly.

Others called for several side events during the All Star Game, similar to the Slam Dunk Contest and Three-Point Shootout held during basketball’s All Star Weekend. “TheCanoe” explained some possible diversions: “Chip Stacking with Carlos Mortensen, Beer drinking with Scotty, [and] Scooter races with Doyle.”

One poster even tossed out an idea whereby players could rebuy according to the number of bracelets they own, meaning that Hellmuth could buy back in 11 times. Players who would be well off under this setup include Doyle Brunson (10 bracelets), Johnny Chan (10 bracelets), Erik Seidel (eight bracelets), Phil Ivey (seven bracelets), and Billy Baxter (seven bracelets).

TwoPlusTwo posters also clamored for the women of poker to join the All-Star fray like GoDaddy Girl Vanessa Rousso, UB.com pro Liv Boeree, and Tilly, who has long been associated with Unabomber Poker namesake Phil Laak. Other possibilities include Annie Duke, Linda Johnson, Kara Scott, Tiffany Michelle, Isabelle Mercier, and Maria Ho.

Not everyone was optimistic about the end product. TwoPlusTwo poster “ptartaglio” explained the mindset of some in the online poker community: “These types of tournaments are always horrible. They never have the better players, only the recognized players, and they always turn them into crapshoots. The Tournament of Champions that Mike Sexton won wasn't too bad for TV, but other than that they [are] horrible.” The first Tournament of Champions was held in 2004 and featured Duke earning the winner-take-all $2 million prize. Sexton won the event in 2006.

We’ll keep you posted on the latest WSOP news on Poker News Daily. Who would you like to see in a Poker All Star Game? Leave us a comment here and let us know.

Poker In Twitter: The Tiger Woods Apology and WPT Invitational

With plenty of action on the felt and away from the tables, the crème of the poker world’s Twitter accounts were buzzing about their activities. Poker News Daily has gleaned the best of these Tweets to let you know what is going on in many poker players’ lives.

On Friday, the poker community was gripped – much like the rest of the world – by the live statement from professional golfer Tiger Woods. After an auto accident on Thanksgiving, Woods disappeared for three months with no comments on the allegations of marital infidelity and any details on what happened on that night. Friday brought Woods’ 13 minute speech in which he earnestly apologized to many in the golf and business worlds; his act of contrition brought out comments from the poker community as to his sincerity.

Former FBI agent Joe Navarro, who has made tremendous inroads in the world of poker tells through his book with Phil Hellmuth called “Read ‘Em And Reap,” used his analytical skills in reading Woods’ body language during the speech. Navarro noted in his Tweet, “In re woods, yes he looked honest, contrite, pained, genuinely sorry. He just took too long. Should have done this weeks ago, bad advisers.” Poker pro Alex Outhred had a warning for those who backed away from Woods during this time, Tweeting, “In the golf world, there are those that had Tigers back through his ordeal, and those that didn't. The latter are gonna get their comeuppins.” Poker2Nite’s Scott Huff brought a different look at the Woods apology when he Tweeted, “It would really be something if Tiger just came out and said, “f*** y’all.”

After the Woods press conference, attention of many poker players in the Twitterverse turned to what they do best – play poker. The L.A. Poker Classic opened the doors for the World Poker Tour (WPT) Celebrity Invitational and drew in 567 players, vastly outpacing last year’s 433 runners. The invitational drew in many participants from the music, movie, and television arenas and it seemed that the professional poker players in attendance were star struck by who they were playing against.

Prior to the start of the festivities on Saturday, Full Tilt Poker’s Mike Matusow indicated that he was ready for action when he Tweeted, “About to relax for a bit before I bust all these celebrity idiots in the invitational tonight.” Fellow Full Tilt pro Andy Bloch noted that he had a familiar adversary at the tables in his Tweet, saying “Playing WPT Inv with naked guy from Borat (actor Ken Davitian) who busted me at charity event at Hard Rock a few months ago.” Perhaps noted poker player/tournament director Linda Johnson was joking when she pointed out in her Tweet that she “(had) Shannon Elizabeth seated next to me. I'm probably the only one in the room who didn't know who she was.:)”

Poker pro Yuval Bronshtein Tweeted, “Just jumped in the celeb tourney. Jenny McCarthy and Toto Leonidas at my table. Pretty fun last few days for me!” Matthew Glantz had two celebrities who he recognized by their characters on television, although he did not know their real names. Glantz opened his Tweet saying, “Dr Hunt from Grey's Anatomy (actor Kevin McKidd) and Carlton Banks from Bel Air (actor Antonio Ribero) at the table now.”

As the play in the WPT Celebrity Invitational moved into action on Sunday, many of the top pros Tweeted about their departure from the event. Joe Reitman reported his demise by Tweeting, “Just got knocked out....clearly Teri Hatcher is a better player than me.” Perhaps poking some fun at his opponent’s television appearance, Jeff Madsen related through the Twitterscape, “Well, that was fast. All my chips belong to Tiffany Michelle now. She won an amazing race. Haha.” Michelle would drop out during play on Sunday also, Tweeting, “Out in 60th-ish of 500+ players. Ricki Lake called my all in with A7 & busted my AK. Nice. I deserve that when playing a CELEB tourney!” The final table of the WPT Celebrity Invitational will play out on March 3rd, with celebrity Trishelle Cannatella and Scandinavian poker legend Thor Hansen chasing chip leader Steve Elliott.

The top Tweets over the weekend were by female players this week. In a rarity from her, top poker player Kathy Liebert pointed out some of the idiosyncrasies in the online poker world when she Tweeted, “Who wouldn't want a playboy model endorsing their site? Why are women chosen on sex appeal and men chosen on ability?” As she prepared to leave Las Vegas after her work on the PartyPoker Premier League IV was completed, Kara Scott happily tweeted, “After almost 2 weeks in killer heels/makeup for work, I'm off to the airport with hair scraped back and wearing my fuzzy slippers.”

The poker world continues to provide detailed reports of its activities through its Twitter posts. Poker News Daily not only continues to bring you the best of those thoughts, but is also involved in the Twitterverse. Be sure to add @pokernewsdaily for the latest on the world of poker in Twitter.

Otis Hincks Leads WPT Celebrity Invitational After Day 1

The busy weekend of poker includes the World Poker Tour (WPT) Celebrity Invitational, which is emanating from the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles. Day 1 of the invite-only event took place on Saturday.

Otis Hincks came out on top after one day of play, holding a stack of 242,000 chips as Day 2 kicked off on Sunday. NFL Network personality Rich Eisen owns the second largest stack at 215,500. When play kicked off today, Eisen, a former ESPN anchor, was seated at Table 16 alongside Andrew Franklin, two-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Jeff Madsen, John Kevin Hughes, Farrell Hinkle, David Hutchinson, UB.com pro Tiffany Michelle, Michael Mellon, and Amir Ghazvinian.

WPT Founder Steve Lipscomb was one of the final eliminations of the evening on Saturday. Lipscomb ran A-J into Victory Poker pro Sara Underwood’s A-K in the mogul’s final hand. A total of 567 players entered the 2010 WPT Celebrity Invitational, which will air as part of Season 8 of the WPT on Fox Sports Net. Play on Saturday brought the field all the way down to 161, with Danial Cordi serving as the tournament’s short stack at 7,500.

Facing elimination on Saturday, “The Simpsons” co-creator Sam Simon was all-in with J-9 against two other players. Miraculously, the flop came 7-8-10, giving Simon the nuts and tripling up his stack. However, he did not reach Sunday’s action. Simon briefly competed on Season 5 of GSN’s “High Stakes Poker,” but abruptly departed in the middle of an episode. Simon finished 329th in the 2007 WSOP Main Event for $39,000.

In the waning moments of Saturday, Unabomber Poker pro Phil Laak doubled up through industry veteran Jay “WhoJedi” Newnum. Laak pushed pre-flop with K-10 and Newnum made the call with A-J of diamonds. Newnum’s hand was sitting pretty until the river, when a king peeled off to give Laak a pair. Laak finished the day with 99,500 chips, while Newnum ended up with 41,500, good for 106th overall.

To kick off play on Saturday, UB.com “Poker2Nite” co-hosts Scott Huff and Joe Sebok were ironically seated next do each other at Table 10. The duo was part of the largest WPT Celebrity Invitational field in history, as this year’s grid of 567 entrants blew away last year’s tally of 433, an increase of 31%. It is unknown when “Poker2Nite” Season 2 will air on Fox Sports Net.

One of the first eliminations on Day 2 on Sunday was “The Notebook” director Nick Cassavetes, who finished fifth in the Season 5 version of this tournament. Cassavetes, who has also appeared on “High Stakes Poker,” served as a director for “My Sister’s Keeper,” “Alpha Dog,” and “John Q” in addition to his work on "The Notebook." Eliminated shortly thereafter was “Desperate Housewives” actress Teri Hatcher, who chopped pots with pocket tens and A-K before bowing out of the Season 8 WPT Celebrity Invitational. Hatcher held the 90th largest chip stack when play kicked off.

Entering this afternoon’s action on Day 2, here’s how the top 10 chip stacks looked:

1. Otis Hincks - 242,000
2. Rich Eisen - 215,500
3. Scott Vener - 185,000
4. David Marshall - 185,000
5. Kirk Acevedo - 163,500
6. Greg Gayheart - 161,000
7. Will "The Thrill" Failla - 159,000
8. Colin Cooley - 159,000
9. Bob Safai - 150,000
10. Matt Brady - 148,500

Other notable names who survived to Day 2 included:

15. Jeff Madsen - 126,000
24. David Ortiz - 108,500
32. Phil Laak - 99,500
43. Trishelle Cannatella - 86,500
50. Matt Glantz - 80,000
51. Lacey Jones - 78,500
65. Ricki Lake - 69,000
66. Roy Winston - 69,000
69. Erik Seidel - 66,000
76. Eric Dane - 61,000
97. Liv Boeree - 45,000
104. Tiffany Michelle - 42,000
113. Sara Underwood - 39,500
119. Jack McClelland - 36,500
122. Prahlad Friedman - 35,000
149. Marsha Waggoner - 20,000
153. Todd Brunson - 17,500
155. Jennifer Tilly - 16,500

Sunday will see the field trimmed from 161 players to just six. Then, the final table of the WPT Celebrity Invitational will play out on March 3rd and be filmed for television. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest WPT coverage.

Poker in Twitter: Poker Made Millionaires and Jeff Madsen’s Guitar Lessons

This week, many of your favorite poker players have been on Twitter discussing their recent successes - and disappointments - on the tables, just how many poker millionaires there are, and learning new skills.

J.C. “PrtyPSux” Alvarado has been battling it out in the $200 rebuys online and, while making the final table frequently, the Full Tilt Poker pro seems to be using too many rebuys to make a profit. Alvarado commented in a Tweet earlier this week, “I keep FT'ing that damn $200r and making no money!”

While Alvarado was battling through the tournaments online, other top pros were having success in tournaments across the country. UB.com pro Tiffany Michelle was psyched about the Venetian Deep Stack $500 No Limit tournament on Tuesday when she Tweeted, “In the money and made the final table of today's $550 Venetian Deep Stack tournament. Comin' back tomorrow to play it down for about $25k.” Unfortunately for the veteran of “The Amazing Race,” she would bust from the tournament in ninth place, earning slightly over $2,600 for her efforts.

On Wednesday evening, 2007 National Heads-Up Poker Championship winner Paul Wasicka was battling his way through the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit Championship Event in Tunica. After going in with the chip lead at the final table and working his way down to heads-up play, Wasicka Tweeted to his followers, “Heads up for the title. About even in chips, I might have a slight lead.” Wasicka then went on a tremendous run, building up a 5:1 chip advantage and sealing the deal by defeating Larry Gurney. For his work in Tunica, Wasicka earned $139,422, a gold WSOP Circuit ring, and a seat in the 2010 WSOP Main Event.

The L.A. Poker Classic continued its WSOP-like grind and players were letting their Tweeps know what was going on. UB.com pro Adam “Roothlus” Levy was in on the action, Tweeting, “ Going to play the $545 at Commerce with my brother. @MattSavage the structure better be good else I'm tellin' Chainsaw [Allen Kessler]!” L.A. Poker Classic Tournament Director Matt Savage let Kessler know about the action at the Commerce Casino. “Chainsaw,” known for his prickly demeanor regarding tournament rules, seemed to be relaxing a bit, as he replied, “I may have to cancel my boycott [of the L. A. Poker Classic] then.”

A discussion emerged on the Twitterverse between Full Tilt Poker’s Andy Bloch and 2005 WSOP Circuit champion Doug Lee regarding the number of millionaires in the game of poker. Bloch researched the question and Tweeted, “According to the Hendon Mob site, 601 players have grossed over $1M in tournament poker.” Lee, who sits just under that magic mark with career earnings of $983,000, fired back, “And all but 8 of them are broke.”

While his response to Bloch was especially funny, Lee would also get in on what was potentially the funniest Tweet exchange of the week between UB.com’s Liv Boeree and recent Borgata Winter Poker Open winner Jeff Madsen. After Boeree and Madsen started off the exchange with the latter Tweeting, “I've been left to take care of Liv Boeree. God help me,” Boeree fired back, “fold my laundry bitch.”

Boeree, an excellent guitar player, decided to teach Madsen how to play. Apparently the lessons weren’t going well when Boeree Tweeted, “Teaching @jeffmadsenobv to play guitar. Painful doesn't even describe it.” The aforementioned Lee had the last word on the subject when he Tweeted, “Hey whatever you can do to keep him from rapping again is good by me.”

While the Twitterverse may be vast, Poker News Daily keeps an eye on all of your favorite players and lets you know what is going on with their Twitter accounts. Poker News Daily is also a part of the Twitter sensation, so put @pokernewsdaily on your favorites and receive all your poker information in quick, 140 character bursts.

Trishelle Cannatella Wins Trash Talk Championships

The name Trash Talk Championship may lead you to believe that poker at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas was down and dirt Saturday afternoon, but in reality it was all smiles, fun, and money for a good cause as celebrities and poker pros alike took part in the charity poker event. The $1,000 + $70 event drew more than 60 participants and helped to raise money for the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

The tournament’s field included a host of celebrities like “Curb our Enthusiasm’s” Cheryl Hines, artist Michael Godard, "The Simpsons" voice Nancy Cartwright, Shaun Sipos of “Melrose Place”, Nicholas Gonzalez, director Joe Reitman, and Dennis Haskins, better known to most as Mr. Belding on “Saved By the Bell.”

Big poker names turned up as well, including Tiffany Michelle, Maria Ho, Kathy Liebert, and the stable of Victory Poker sponsored pros. The latter group includes Antonio Esfandiari, Andrew “good2cu” Robl, Alec “traheho” Torelli, Lee Markholt, Paul Wasicka, Brian "tsarrast" Rast, and Dan “Blitz” Bilzerian, just to name a few. Victory served as one of the sponsors for the event, which included a red carpet walk, silent auction, cash games, and an after-party officially launching the site.

Half of the prize pool was set aside for Osbourne’s foundation and, although Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne were not in attendance, they sent a message to the field expressing their gratitude that people were spending time and money supporting the cause. All told, more than $11,000 was raised to benefit the foundation.

As the tournament got underway, most of the participants had as much fun as possible, ordering drinks, making prop bets, and filming numerous segments for the forthcoming online television network, Victory.tv. To sweeten the prize pool, bounties ranging from a bottle of Ketel One Vodka to a free pair of shoes were placed on players’ heads.

The theme of the day appeared to be girl power, as a large number of women took part in the event. By the time the final table was set, the field was split between guys and girls, including reality television star and Absolute Poker sponsored pro Trishelle Cannatella, Playboy Playmate of the Year and Victory Poker Team Pro Sara Underwood, and Markholt. Valerie Torelli, mother of Torelli, also made the final table and seemed to be the crowd favorite with nine to go. Railbirds kept cheering on “Mama Torelli,” but she couldn’t overcome her short stack and made an early exit from final table play.

The fun and games continued even after the final table was set as a crowd gathered to take in the action. Some of the pros took to playing “Johnny Lodden Thinks,” but, oddly enough, the game’s co-founder, Esfandiari, was not one of the people taking part. In between Lodden Thinks bets, Markholt was doing his best to get wagers going on who was going to win it all. Despite being the most experienced poker player at the final table, Markholt put his money on the fact that one of the remaining ladies in the field would take the tournament down.

Markholt’s prediction was correct and it was a woman who ended up being the last player standing. Cannatella jumped out to a huge chip lead during four-handed play when her A-K held up against Underwood’s K-J to eliminate Underwood in fourth place. Cannatella inherited Underwood’s sizeable chip stack and began putting the advantage to use by moving in on her remaining two opponents. After eliminating Markholt in third place, it only took 15 minutes before the tournament was over and Cannatella was crowned the champion.

Cannatella almost didn’t make it to the final table, though. Thinking she would just make a brief appearance at the tournament, she booked her flight back to Los Angeles for 8:00pm and found herself facing a tough decision with two tables remaining: stay and play or make her flight. “I was playing really well, but I kind of donked off half my stack because I thought I was going to be leaving,” Cannatella told Poker News Daily. She was able to grind her way back into contention though and it paid off with a high-profile victory for a good cause. In addition to the prize money, Cannatella also received a seat in the upcoming World Poker Tour (WPT) Celebrity Invitational at the Commerce Casino and a 20-pound custom crystal trophy.

UB Pros Challenge Each Other

The UB.com Pro Freeroll Challenge is set to pit Team UB pros against one another to see who can draw the most players to a $2k freeroll.

The challenge will consist of six freerolls spread out over the next year. Each will be hosted by a Team UB pro who will be asked to sweeten the $2,000 prize pool by adding a lifestyle or once-in-a-lifetime experience.

The pro that draws the most players to his or her freeroll won't just be taking home bragging rights either. The winner will be declared king or queen of the UB.com Pro Freeroll Challenge and receive $2,500 from UB for a night on the town in Las Vegas.

Plus, the Team UB pro who attracts the lowest number of players will be forced to play concierge, doing anything the winner asks to facilitate the night.

UB is also adding an additional $500 to the Pro Freeroll Challenge prize, which the winner may use to tip the losing Team UB pro at his or her discretion.

Once it's all through, the winning Team UB pro will chronicle his or her experience on the UB Blog.

Joe Sebok will be the first Team UB pro to step up to the plate by hosting the first freeroll Feb. 17 and offering the winner a chance to go skydiving with him in Las Vegas.

Should the winner of Sebok's Leap of Faith freeroll prefer to remain grounded, UB is promising to substitute the skydiving experience for something just as exciting.

In addition to Sebok, Team UB consists of Phil Hellmuth, Annie Duke, Brandon Cantu, Liv Boeree, Michael Binger, Tiffany Michelle and a host of other top pros.

For more information check out UB.

TORREY5 Wins UBOC Pot Limit Hold’em Six-Max Event

Event #16 of the ongoing Ultimate Bet Online Championship (UBOC) played out on Friday, with 206 entrants turning out for a $530 Pot Limit Hold’em Six-Max event. When the smoke cleared, UB.com member TORREY5 banked $27,000 for the win.

The top 24 players finished in the money and the tournament just edged out its $100,000 guaranteed prize pool. Heads-up, TORREY5 defeated top-tier tournament player David “DSANDS25” Sands. The latter is the top player in the world according to the PocketFives.com Online Poker Rankings. Last May, Sands emerged victorious in a Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) event for $259,000 and, to open the month of August, won the challenging PokerStars Sunday 500 for $90,000. Two days after Christmas, Sands took down the PokerStars $215 rebuy for $44,000. In Friday’s UBOC event, the blockbuster online poker player boosted his net worth by $16,000.

Also making the final table of the high-stakes tournament was Brandon “AreTheseUtz” Hall, the reigning champion of the Ultimate Bet Aruba Poker Classic. Hall bested Robert Mizrachi in the October tournament and earned $753,000 in a final table that also featured newly-minted UB.com pro Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin. Hall finished sixth in Friday’s UBOC event and earned $5,400. Here’s a look at the final table paydays in Event #16:

1. TORREY5 - $27,810
2. DSANDS25 - $15,862
3. HAMAZRIYA3 - $12,515
4. 150383 - $9,528
5. WINNERFF - $7,468
6. ARE THESE UTZ - $5,408

Taking place on Thursday was Event #15 of UBOC 4. The $320 Omaha High-Low tournament attracted a field of 331 players, which meant that it fell short of its guarantee. However, 36 players still walked away with money, headlined by YOSSARIAN80, who banked an even $25,000. Two UB.com pros also made the final table. Shawn “westtexasman” Rice earned $10,000 for third place, while 11-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet holder Phil Hellmuth took seventh place for $4,200. Rice hails from Lubbock, Texas and was the runner-up in a $2,000 No Limit Hold’em event during the 2004 WSOP for $213,000.

Hellmuth, meanwhile, holds the record for bracelets won and number of “Idiots from Northern Europe” blasts dropped at a poker table. Hellmuth’s last piece of hardware came in 2007, when the UB.com front man took down a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em tournament for $637,000. Hellmuth owns more than $6 million in career WSOP earnings and is one of the most outspoken players on the tour. Here’s how the final table stacked up in UBOC Event #15:

1. YOSSARIAN80 - $25,000
2. GRAPEAPE177 - $15,150
3. SHAWN RICE - $10,500
4. JHENDERSON16 - $7,750
5. CUSHMASTER - $6,500
6. ANGRIFF - $5,250
7. PHILHELLMUTH - $4,250
8. ROTOJUNKIE - $3,250
9. ILOVETSALAD - $2,250

On Sunday, the $1,050 UBOC 4 Championship Event will play out beginning at 4:00pm ET. The tournament was previously listed as a two-day event, but will actually transpire over the course of a single afternoon. The feature tournament has a $1 million guaranteed purse and Hellmuth will serve as its host. Taking place on Saturday on the virtual felts of UBOC is Event #17, a $109 No Limit Hold’em with Rebuys contest. The cards hit the air at 2:00pm ET and at least $100,000 will be up for grabs.

UB.com and its sister site, Absolute Poker, make up the CEREUS Network. The family of rooms happily accepts players from the United States. Besides Hellmuth, Rice, and Baldwin, other UB.com pros include Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Annie Duke, Billy “Patrolman35” Kopp, Brandon Cantu, former “Amazing Race” cast member Tiffany Michelle, Liv Boeree, and Matt “mattg1983” Graham.

Tiffany Michelle Talks Politics on Fox Business Network

If someone would have asked you who you thought would be a good person to appear on a national news program to discuss politics, we're guessing that UB.com's Tiffany Michelle would have been way down your list.  Sure enough, however, Michelle was Neil Cavuto's guest Tuesday on his Fox Business Network show, "Cavuto," comparing President Barack Obama's persistence with his health care plan to a poker player playing bad cards.

In the five-minute conversation, titled "Obama Making a Bad Bet?" on the Fox Business website, there was no debate on whether the proposed health care reform plan was good; it was simply assumed it was bad and that the majority of Americans are against it.  Cavuto's interview consisted of repeatedly asking Michelle to compare the President's health care efforts to playing poor hands.  For her part, Michelle came off fairly well, indulging Cavuto by using poker metaphor after poker metaphor to describe Obama's health care reform strategy.

Some tidbits:

Neil Cavuto: Taking a look at what the President's doing… a good gambler, I understand, or someone who bets a lot, understands, or thinks, that he or she has a good hand.  Am I right?
Tiffany Michelle: Yeah, generally you have a good hand, or you know if you have a bad hand, how to maneuver with that hand and take advantage of your opponent's weaknesses.

Cavuto: Now, the President, fairly or not Tiffany, is viewed to have a bad hand right now because prior cards he's dealt have turned out to be, you know, threes and fours.  They haven't really worked out.  Yet he continues playing the same hand.  What is the strategy behind that?
Michelle: [Preceding portion of answer snipped] What often happens for some players is you continue to push the issues, you continue to play the bad hands, you continue to get in sticky situations, and what really needs to happen is you need to step away from the table, you need to clear your head.

Tiffany Michelle laid it on thick, inserting poker comparisons at every turn.  Some of her best lines included:

"Here we are, let's say we're deep in the World Series, we're coming close to the bubble, you can taste that final table and the money and it's not looking like it's going to happen."

"Not only did Barack Obama in his first year in office decide to tackle one of the toughest issues in U.S. politics… it would be like me approaching Phil Hellmuth on my first day of my poker game and saying, 'Hey, Phil Hellmuth, you have 11 bracelets.  I want to challenge you heads-up.'"

"Talk about Scott Brown, that was a really bad beat for Barack Obama and the Democrats, who really thought they had a good chip lead there.  You know, they thought they had a lock on this tournament."

Members of the poker community universally panned the interview.  The reactions, however, were split between those who detested the fact that Michelle was chosen as the poker representative and those who simply thought that the interview itself was horrible.

He added, "I thought it was evenly presented, the gambling expert knew as much about gambling as the politics expert new abt politics," as well as, "I think it was more shady that TM passed herself off as a gambling expert with a clue abt politics to promote herself."

"Hollywood" Dave Stann, one of Tiffany Michelle's fellow UB.com pros, was more disgusted with Fox Business, Cavuto, and the interview itself, Tweeting, "WTF FoxNews? Generic gambling terms dissing Obama, then using pro gamblers as pawns 2 back it up? I dodged their invite 2day, thank fuck!"

Summing it up for someone who asked what the interview was all about, Stann tweeted, "fucking Fox presenting right-wing editorial talking points as 'news' then interviewing pros as 'evidence' of Obama ineptitude."

Some of the more entertaining comments on the interview came from the Two Plus Two forums.  Forum poster "TheTruthSpeaks" wrote, "While I was watching it I kept waiting to wake up as this certainly must be a dream or something. I mean surely I didn't really just see Tiffany Michelle on a news channel talking about politics while using horrible poker analogies to do it.  This has got to be the first sign of the Apocalypse."

"Randomness28" may have had two of the best quotes on how ridiculous the interview concept was, first saying, "Funny that the Q is 'How is Obama playing his hand?' .... so they decide to bring in a poker player for analysis. Someone should tell the staff of Cavuto's that 'playing his hand' is just a figure of speech.  Next on Cavuto: 'Are Republicans a move ahead of Democrats in setting up for 2012? We bring in chess GM to discuss this.'"

He later added, "Equivalent of this would be for Fox to pose the Q: How is the Obama administration going to kick off its second term in office? And to bring in a third string kicker of a Junior College to answer the Q."

Judge the Tiffany Michelle Fox Business interview for yourself.

Tiffany Michelle got her start in the poker world in 2006, when she served as an on-air host for the World Series of Poker (WSOP) coverage on Sirius Satellite Radio.  In 2007, she appeared on-camera, hosting various segments and conducting interviews for PokerNews.com.  Michelle officially turned heads the following year when she was the last woman remaining in the WSOP Main Event, eventually bowing out in 17th place and earning $334,534.  She was exposed to a nationwide audience in 2009 when she and fellow poker pro, Maria Ho, competed on the hit CBS show, "The Amazing Race."

Poker in Twitter: Deauville, Football, Kat von D and Victoria Coren’s duck.

Poker News Daily scours the Twitter feeds of hundreds of poker players to bring you the funniest, most interesting, weirdest Tweets of the last few days. This weekend saw many players tweeting about the tournaments they were in, which included the UBOC, the LAPC and the EPT Deauville. Other popular topics this week were football (the poker world seems to support the Saints almost unanimously) and other sports, as well as new houses, tattoos by Kat von D, and a river card made to measure for Eric Mizrachi.
The online cards were good for some and cruel to others: while Dave “Hollywood_Dave” Stann challenged players to face him at Ultimate Bet: “Rockin UBOC on UB right now...come join so I can felt you, too ”, Liv Boeree was not having such a great day: “finished 42nd in UBOC 8 for $6300. Set of 33s get it all in on turn... he rivers 9 for higher set. Laptop across the room time.” Eric Mizrachi could have shared some of his luck with her, as he boasted a screenshot from a spectacular river card in Poker Stars:  “Deliver the nice river, Ty @pokerstars_com http://twitpic.com/zmlrd”

Tournament manager supreme Matt Savage kept the world informed of the progress of the LAPC, starting with a comment on his famously grueling schedules: “We have completed days 1A/1B or .5 of the 51 events at this years @LAPokerClassic! Not sure what I was thinking when I made this schedule?” Apparently Mr. Savage is superstitious, since he made Dave Stann back off from certain comments that might bring the tournament ill luck: “@Hollywood_Dave please do NOT mention LAPC = Going Well and Obama Presidency = F'ing Up Country in same tweet! You may jinx us here in LA.” No jinx was apparent to Rob Perelman, who tweeted in delight: “Heads up pot. Final board A4444. Check check. Then 2nd guy tries to muck. This is why I love the @LAPokerClassic!” Some of poker’s hottest ladies were in attendance after trotting the globe in The Amazing Race last year; Tiffany Michelle posted a picture of her view from the table: “http://twitpic.com/z4bfu - Playin the 1st LAPC event, nice view - this girl follows me everywhere ”

The poker world followed the NFC very closely last weekend, and the general feeling seemed to favor the Saints, although Doyle Brunson voiced his admiration for the Vikings’ legendary quarterback: “Brett Favre has balls the size of basketballs.” Favre was the man of the day, with praise and heckles piled on him via Twitter. Gene Bromberg tried to be fair: “I gleefully join in on Favrebashing, but that should've been a flag. Low, late hit, gotta call that”, Justin “BoostedJ” Smith blamed it on the team: “@shannonelizab The vikings aren't even giving Favre a chance to win”, and Joe Sebok cheered and booed: “yes, saints! boo favre & vikings. city of new orleans deserves this... ” Shannon Elizabeth, who tweeted throughout the game, was a happy fan when the fat lady sang: “Congrats Saints! GREAT GAME!!”

The EPT Deauville had two excellent commentators in Vicky Coren and Isabelle Mercier, both of whom tweeted frequently with updates on their own performance and those of friends and team members. Coren had never been able to survive Deauville’s Day 1, and was hoping this year would be it: “It's Day 1 of the Deauville EPT. I've played this three times before and never survived Day One. Let's see if I can break my duck” (“Breaking one’s duck” is a British expression, originally from cricket, that means doing something for the first time.) Coren tried hard, and kept updating on her status to add to the suspense: “We started with 30k in chips. I went down to 4k, now up to 20k, tiptoeing between the outdraws. Two more levels and the duck gets it...” The duck, however, remains unbroken, as she got busted out in Day 1 once more. Fellow Brit Matthew Grant commiserated with some historic consolation: “@VictoriaCoren Nevermind, the only victory that matters near Deauville happened in 1944 ” Coren marveled at Mercier’s youthful looks when they sat together: “Ex Team Pro Isabelle Mercier is on my table, looking incredible. She just doesn't age, that woman. Is it a French thing?” It may have been Mercier’s joy at playing in Deauville, which she tweeted happily about: “Deauville Deauville! Always loved this French little piece of paradise... Especially when it's GAME DAY !!!! ... http://bit.ly/5V41EV” Mercier’s joie de vivre did not last very long, however, as she tweeted from her Facebook account: “Busted out few hours ago holding pocket 10's against poker Jacks and pocket Aces!!! Turned blue and slowly getting... http://bit.ly/4sN0Rb”

Celebrity tattoo artist Kat von D, from the TV show LA Ink, has been leaving her mark on the poker world. First she tattooed Tiffany Michelle, who shared a photo of her tattoo: “Pics of my tatt that Kat did on her show are on my website www.tiffanymichelle.com under the 'Film, TV, Shows' Gallery ” and more recently on Pearl Aday, as tweeted by heavy metal poker star Scott Ian: “Kat Von D shooting Pearl right now.” If he does not shape up to his crazy prop bet, Joe Sebok could be next.

Sebok got some unflattering tweets regarding his stunning new LA home – @DougLeePoker remarked acidly: “@JoeSebok Wow, sick place! and all you had to do was align yourself with a company that has stolen millions from their customers. Well Done!” Sebok’s affiliation with Ultimate Bet is evidently not well accepted by the poker world.

There were many random tweets on off topics that seemed too interesting to pass by, so here is a brief overview of the weird and wonderful tweets of this weekend. There is the cheerful but always cryptic Marcel Luske: “Just an other day,,, more news ,, more twitters , more closely 2 Our goalls & destiny,so enjoin the day & feel great & help others . {;”, a very happy tweet from Eric Mizrachi: “Got some GREAT NEWS today, my friend Myrielle "Meeyu" Pierre survived the earthquake. C U tomm Meeyu! http://twitpic.com/y267b”, some naughtiness from Gavin Griffin: “We just backed into someone's driver's side door and left an 8 square inch dent. Gave em 100 bucks. Win”, and a recognition of friendship from Daniel Negreanu: “I just counted. The number of good friends of mine that are unabashed media whores: zero! All my friends are so normal”, while Doyle Brunson experienced new things: “Got back from a recording session. I'm just a West Texas hillbilly, all that chit amazes me.”

The Tweet of the day is a tie between Jeff Madsen and Howard Lederer. Madsen quipped: “Tiger woods supposedly in Mississippi for sex Rehab. I'll b in Biloxi soon, maybe I need to check myself in?”, while Lederer pointed out: “Went to see Nadal tonight at Aussie Open and saw the best homemade fan sign ever at the match. It read "Go Nad." LOL”
If you are as addicted to Twitter as we are, be sure to follow us @PokerNewsDaily so you can stay up to date on all the breaking news in the poker world and be a part of some PND Twitter exclusives in the coming weeks.

Tiffany Michelle Comments on New Amazing Race Cast

The pairings for the 16th cycle of the Emmy Award winning reality series “Amazing Race” were released last week and, this time around, no poker players will make the journey. Competing last season was UB.com pro Tiffany Michelle, who hit the “Amazing Race” circuit with Maria Ho. Michelle sat down with Poker News Daily to preview the new season, which kicks off on February 14th on CBS.

Poker News Daily: This cycle’s cast list includes former housemates on CBS’ “Big Brother,” Miss Teen South Carolina 2007, and a Major League Baseball third base coach. Who’s your horse?

Tiffany Michelle: It’s interesting to see that there are three all-female teams this season. Last year, it was a really young, competitive bunch. The producers have to keep it to where everyone’s strengths, weaknesses, and abilities are on par with the others in that season. We thought it was weird that there wasn’t an old couple or a mom and daughter last year. This year, they opened it up again.

I’ve been watching the initial meet the cast videos and I think the cowboys (Jet and Cord) will be a fan favorite. The ones that stood out to me were the detectives (Louie and Michael). That’s an interesting type of person to put on the show.

PND: Were you surprised to see that no poker players will journey out for this season of “Amazing Race”?

Tiffany Michelle: Doing enough in the entertainment business, I have some insight into how casting works. You can’t exhaust one group of people. You want to keep it new and fresh every year and that’s why we were brought on last year. Each season, they’ll reach out to grab people from all walks of life. As hot of a topic as poker is, each of the poker players who have been on reality shows were there for a reason. I don’t think you’ll see a huge influx of poker players on reality shows.

PND: What about poker players gives them a leg up on the competition in a series like “Amazing Race”?

Tiffany Michelle: Your outlook on life, games, and competition is different than the everyday person’s. Poker encompasses psychology, mathematics, aggression, and observation. Poker is very similar to chess in that it requires a lot of mental stamina and gamesmanship. Poker players are used to approaching games from a different point of view.

PND: There has been a trend on the show to include racers who have already appeared in front of television cameras and in the public eye. Does that give anyone an edge?

Tiffany Michelle: After Phil [Keoghan] says go, you are not even aware of the cameras or audio guys. Within the first day, you’re oblivious to having a camera crew. They’re good at not getting in your way too.

PND: This installment’s cast is rumored to travel to places like Chile, Argentina, Singapore, and Seychelles. If you had the chance to run the “Amazing Race” again, where would you go?

Tiffany Michelle: Warm places like Australia, the Caribbean, and some lovely tropical destinations. This season, it’ll be a little bit colder and you won’t hit a lot of hot spots. A lot of our season’s cast wanted to go to Africa because it’d be an incredible experience. That was one place that I thought would be awesome. From a technical standpoint, it’s hard to pull that off, though. We went to Vietnam, which they said for years they had tried to do.

PND: How’d you fare at the L.A. Poker Classic?

Tiffany Michelle: I only played one event. Maria and I both played and it was nice to be back in the saddle. Now, I am off to Panama and I’ll be back at the Commerce Casino after that. I’m trying to decide between doing the North American Poker Tour (NAPT) or L.A. Poker Classic Main Events. In two weeks, I’m going to Las Vegas to do a show with the Harlem Globetrotters. We’re going to suit up and play against them. I’m pretty sporty, but basketball is my worst sport.

PND: We read on Twitter that you were reviewing movies for the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards. What’s your involvement with them?

Tiffany Michelle: I’m a member of SAG, which is the union for acting, entertainment, film, and television. Every year, whereas the Emmys and Oscars are voting on by academies, actors vote on the SAG Awards. During awards season, they send you movies to watch and you vote. I always get a slew of current nominees.

I thought “Inglorious Basterds” was incredibly phenomenal. I thought it was an amazing movie. “Up in the Air” was cool too. I’m a girl, so of course I loved “It’s Complicated.” For television shows, I love “Glee” and Kevin McHale is a friend of mine.

PND: How have you been faring in the ongoing Ultimate Bet Online Championship (UBOC)?

Tiffany Michelle: Sunday was the $2,500 buy-in $1 million guaranteed. I played it even though I don’t play short-handed poker. I can play six-handed, but I know there are a lot of specific strategies with regards to starting hands.

Poker Pro Canada Magazine Announced

It is only five years old, but Poker Pro Magazine has already established itself in the poker world with a circulation in excess of 150,000 copies per month.  The publication is already available in the U.S. and Canada, but the company is now offering a something special for its Canadian readership.

Poker Pro Media recently announced it will be a launching a regional version of its popular magazine entitled Poker Pro Canada.  The Canadian edition will feature in-depth profiles of Canadian players, updates and news from the growing Canadian poker scene and, of course, strategy and tips from the pros.

Canadian Poker Pro Executive Editor magazine John “JohnnyQuads” Wenzel elaborated on the motivation behind launching the new magazine in an official press release:   “Some say this is a time of contraction for print media, but we’re bullish on the Canadian market.  The game is exploding in Canada and we intend to provide enthusiasts with a slick, upscale magazine that will be fun to read and will also improve their bottom line at the tables.”  Wenzel also serves as Editor-In-Chief of Poker Pro Magazine.

Wenzel makes a valid point, as there have been a number of popular events in Canada in the past few months, including the British Columbia Poker Championship (BCPC) and, more recently, the Fallsview Poker Classic in Niagara Falls, Ontario.  Several big names turned out for the respective events, including Full Tilt Poker’s Gavin Smith, UB.com pro Tiffany Michelle, Maria Ho, Scott “BigRiskky” Clements, Mike “SirWatts” Watson, and Brad Booth.  Smith had an exceptionally good showing at Fallsview, where he won a $2,500 buy-in event and placed fourth in a $5,000 buy-in tournament won by Simon “pokerbrat13” Charette.

“The Canadian poker scene is fascinating, but it doesn’t get a lot of publicity. We’re going to change that,” explained Wenzel.  The long list of top Canadian players includes Smith, Booth, Watson, Team PokerStars Pro member Daniel Negreanu, Full Tilt’s Greg “FBT” Mueller, Michael “Timex” McDonald, Nenad Medic, former European Poker Tour (EPT) Monte Carlo winner Glen Chorny, Steve Paul Ambrose, Evelyn Ng, Betfair pro Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi, and Shawn Buchanan.  The country is also home to the popular Canadian Poker Tour (CPT) and the newly launched PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) also has plans to expand its tournament schedule into Canada.

This is not the first time that Poker Pro has branched out with a new publication.  The media company also produces Poker Pro Europe and Online Poker Pro, the latter of which is a publication dedicated entirely to the internet poker scene.  Poker Pro Canada will be sold at bookstores and convenience stores alike, gracing the shelves of stores 7-Eleven, Wal-Mart, Costco, Indigo/Chapters, and Shoppers Drug Mart.  It will also be available in casino poker rooms across the country.  The new magazine is set to launch in March and an accompanying website should debut in the coming weeks.

Poker Pro Magazine is not the only publication betting on Canada.  Back in September, Canadian Poker Player Magazine announced that it was planning to expand its media operation by launching a 24-hour online television station dedicated to the Canadian poker scene.  Modeled after the popular Poker Channel in the U.K., the site is supposed to feature poker-themed movies and television plus television coverage of past Canadian tournaments like the Canadian Open Poker Championships.

To date, the site has not gone fully live, but the project itself is another indication that many poker companies are setting their sights on the Canadian Poker scene.  Another indication is the recent announcement by PartyPoker that Kara Scott was joining its slate of sponsored pros.  Scott is supposed to promote the room in her home country of Canada by taking part in a number of CPT events.

Amazing Race 16 Cast Does Not Feature Poker Players

The cast for the 16th cycle of the Emmy Award winning CBS reality series “Amazing Race” does not include any poker players. In its last season, the show featured Maria Ho and UB.com pro Tiffany Michelle.

Ho and Michelle represented the last women standing in the 2007 and 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Events, respectively. The duo finished sixth in the around-the-world competition after their journey abruptly ended in the Netherlands, where a series of intense physical challenges proved to be too much for Ho and Michelle. A high striker, a common carnival game, proved fatal on one-half of the leg’s Detour, while windy conditions made a unique game of golf using wooden shoes unbearable on the other half.

A total of 11 teams will set out on the “Amazing Race” course for Season 16. Headlining the group are two “Big Brother” cast members from Season 11, Jordan Lloyd and Jeff Schroeder. The couple is “newly dating” according to CBS and will mark the latest pair to join “Amazing Race” after appearing on another CBS reality franchise. Schroeder is 31 years-old and from Norridge, Illinois, while Lloyd is nine years younger and hails from Charlotte, North Carolina. Lloyd lists her lifetime goals as, “to be a dental hygienist, and to get married and have kids.”

Also appearing on the 16th running of “Amazing Race” is Caitlin Upton, who will travel to the four corners of the Earth with her boyfriend, Brent Home. Upton was Miss Teen South Carolina USA 2007 and famously uttered the following response to a question about people being unable to locate the United States on a map: "I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because some people out there in our nation don't have maps and I believe that our education like such as South Africa and the Iraq, everywhere like such as, and, I believe that they should, our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S. or should help South Africa and should help the Iraq and the Asian countries, so we will be able to build up our future, for our children."

Upton’s phrases “the Iraq,” “U.S. Americans.” and “like such as” have become staples of modern lingo, although the beauty queen is now three years removed from her escapade. In a video posted on CBS.com, Upton commented, “I’m stubborn and I hate losing, probably more than he does, and I have a very short fuse, so if somebody gets in my way, there’s going to be some trouble and I’m going to need somebody there to calm me down.” The couple may soon be engaged; both are models.

Cleveland Indians third base coach Steve Smith, 57 years of age, will run the “Amazing Race” with his daughter, Allie Smith, who is 23 and works in marketing. Smith was a coach on the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team that won it all in 2008 and also worked with the Florida Marlins and Texas Rangers. The elder Smith lists his biggest challenge as “not getting lost because we tend to get lost in our own neighborhood.” “Amazing Race” requires a keen sense of direction, as racers travel to countries where English is not the primary language, so road signs and other markers can often be confusing.

Rumored locations that teams will travel to this season include Bariloche, Argentina; Puerto Varas, Chile; and Singapore. The rumored departure city is Los Angeles. The show premieres on Sunday, February 14th at 8:00pm ET on CBS, the same time slot as it held last season.

Dating couple Meghan and Cheyne took down the 15th installment of “Amazing Race,” whose finish line was ironically in Las Vegas. Besides Ho and Michelle, notable cast members vying for the $1 million top prize last time out included Harlem Globetrotters Flight Time and Big Easy and Miss America 2004 Ericka Dunlap, who ran the race with her husband, Brian.

Poker News in Brief: Jan. 11-17, 2010

But there was plenty of poker news that didn’t make the front page of PokerListings.com, and as part of our ongoing Poker News in Brief feature, we’ve compiled a list below.

This week we’ll take a look at Gavin Smith crushing Canadian tournaments, the HPT going to Vegas, a dominant online player quitting poker and more:

Two Final Tables for Smith at Fallsview

Canadian Gavin Smith was dominant at the 2010 Fallsview Poker Classic in Niagara Falls this week.

Fresh off a plane from the Bahamas, Smith outlasted 275 players to win $188,743 in the $2,500 event and then three days later finished fourth in the $5,000 main event.

Smith has historically done very well at tournaments in Canada. In 2008, he finished second at the Fallsview-hosted WPT North American Poker Championship for $542,129. He also made the final table of the 2008 Canadian Open Poker Championship in Calgary the same year.

Heartland Poker Tour Heads to Vegas

The Heartland Poker Tour kicked off its sixth season at Red Rock Resort and Casino in Las Vegas this week.

It was just the second time the lower buy-in poker tour has made a stop in Las Vegas, as it usually sticks to venues in Midwest. In the past, the tour has hosted tournaments in Indiana, Colorado, Minnesota, New York, Michigan and Iowa.

The $1,100 buy-in event drew poker pros Dennis Phillips, Layne Flack, John Vorhaus and Tiffany Michelle.

The final table of the tournament is scheduled to play out later today.

Jonas "Nebuchad" Danielsson Quits Poker

Online grinder Jonas “Nebuchad” Danielsson, perhaps most well-known for making a verbal slip at the 2008 Scandinavian Poker Awards, has apparently decided to leave poker for the time being.

Danielsson made the announcement on his blog where he wrote that his passion for poker was gone and he was looking forward to experiencing new things. He did not mention how long his self-imposed retirement would last.

The young Swedish pro started playing poker full time in 2005 and in roughly five years of playing made over $3 million in profit.

Danielsson won Online Player of the Year at the Scandinavian Poker Awards in 2008, but was better remembered for accidentally referring to King Nebuchadnezzar as the first king to “deal with the Jewish problem” when explaining the origin of his screen name to host Daniel Negreanu.

English is not Danielson’s first language and he explained afterwards he was deeply sorry about the miscommunication.

Tennis Star John Isner Plays Poker

Apparently Boris Becker isn’t the only tennis celebrity that enjoys playing a little poker.

The New Zealand Herald reported this week that American John Isner can often be found at the poker table when he’s not playing tennis.

The 6’9 giant was making headlines all week in Auckland at the Heineken Open and even pulled off an upset against top seeded Spanish player Tommy Robredo.

Isner joins the aforementioned Becker as well as former tennis world #1 Yvegeny Kafelnikov as tennis players who are also poker enthusiasts.

Borgata Announces 2010 Winter Poker Open

The Borgata in Atlantic City released a schedule for its fifth annual Borgata Winter Poker Open this week.

The tournament series will take place Jan. 20-Feb. 5 with 16 events in a wide range of poker variants including No-Limit Hold’em, Pot-Limit Omaha, Seven-Card Stud and more.

The $3,500 buy-in main event is scheduled for Jan. 31-Feb. 5 and it will offer a guaranteed prize pool of $2 million.

The Borgata Winter Open used to be a part of the World Poker Tour and in the past crowned champions like Michael Mizrachi, Gavin Griffin and John Hennigan.

Visit the Borgata website for the complete schedule.

Poker News in Brief: Jan. 11-17, 2010

But there was plenty of poker news that didn’t make the front page of PokerListings.com, and as part of our ongoing Poker News in Brief feature, we’ve compiled a list below.

This week we’ll take a look at Gavin Smith crushing Canadian tournaments, the HPT going to Vegas, a dominant online player quitting poker and more:

Two Final Tables for Smith at Fallsview

Canadian Gavin Smith was dominant at the 2010 Fallsview Poker Classic in Niagara Falls this week.

Fresh off a plane from the Bahamas, Smith outlasted 275 players to win $188,743 in the $2,500 event and then three days later finished fourth in the $5,000 main event.

Smith has historically done very well at tournaments in Canada. In 2008, he finished second at the Fallsview-hosted WPT North American Poker Championship for $542,129. He also made the final table of the 2008 Canadian Open Poker Championship in Calgary the same year.

Heartland Poker Tour Heads to Vegas

The Heartland Poker Tour kicked off its sixth season at Red Rock Resort and Casino in Las Vegas this week.

It was just the second time the lower buy-in poker tour has made a stop in Las Vegas, as it usually sticks to venues in Midwest. In the past, the tour has hosted tournaments in Indiana, Colorado, Minnesota, New York, Michigan and Iowa.

The $1,100 buy-in event drew poker pros Dennis Phillips, Layne Flack, John Vorhaus and Tiffany Michelle.

The final table of the tournament is scheduled to play out later today.

Jonas "Nebuchad" Danielsson Quits Poker

Online grinder Jonas “Nebuchad” Danielsson, perhaps most well-known for making a verbal slip at the 2008 Scandinavian Poker Awards, has apparently decided to leave poker for the time being.

Danielsson made the announcement on his blog where he wrote that his passion for poker was gone and he was looking forward to experiencing new things. He did not mention how long his self-imposed retirement would last.

The young Swedish pro started playing poker full time in 2005 and in roughly five years of playing made over $3 million in profit.

Danielsson won Online Player of the Year at the Scandinavian Poker Awards in 2008, but was better remembered for accidentally referring to King Nebuchadnezzar as the first king to “deal with the Jewish problem” when explaining the origin of his screen name to host Daniel Negreanu.

English is not Danielson’s first language and he explained afterwards he was deeply sorry about the miscommunication.

Tennis Star John Isner Plays Poker

Apparently Boris Becker isn’t the only tennis celebrity that enjoys playing a little poker.

The New Zealand Herald reported this week that American John Isner can often be found at the poker table when he’s not playing tennis.

The 6’9 giant was making headlines all week in Auckland at the Heineken Open and even pulled off an upset against top seeded Spanish player Tommy Robredo.

Isner joins the aforementioned Becker as well as former tennis world #1 Yvegeny Kafelnikov as tennis players who are also poker enthusiasts.

Borgata Announces 2010 Winter Poker Open

The Borgata in Atlantic City released a schedule for its fifth annual Borgata Winter Poker Open this week.

The tournament series will take place Jan. 20-Feb. 5 with 16 events in a wide range of poker variants including No-Limit Hold’em, Pot-Limit Omaha, Seven-Card Stud and more.

The $3,500 buy-in main event is scheduled for Jan. 31-Feb. 5 and it will offer a guaranteed prize pool of $2 million.

The Borgata Winter Open used to be a part of the World Poker Tour and in the past crowned champions like Michael Mizrachi, Gavin Griffin and John Hennigan.

Visit the Borgata website for the complete schedule.

Eric Baldwin (basebaldy) Signs with UB, Wins Player of the Year

On Tuesday, 2009 CardPlayer Player of the Year winner Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin became a sponsored pro of the USA-friendly online poker site UB.com. He defeated Cornel Andrew Cimpan and Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko in the Player of the Year race.

In April, Baldwin came out on top of the field in a $2,500 No Limit Hold’em event held during the Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza and earned $198,000. The colossal six-figure score set up a monumental run at this year’s World Series of Poker (WSOP). Baldwin won his first bracelet by besting Danish pro Jonas Klausen in a $1,500 buy-in Limit Hold’em event to the tune of $521,000. About a week later, he grabbed third in the $10,000 buy-in World Championship of Pot Limit Hold’em, boosting his bankroll by another $259,000.

After the 2009 WSOP, Baldwin’s quest to take down the CardPlayer Player of the Year title hit full stride. He told Poker News Daily, “"At the start of the year at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, my friends and I were talking about how much fun it would be to chase after that award. I like the structure of a competition like that. It’s so much fun to me. It gives me a goal and something to work with. At the end of the WSOP, I thought it could be my year." In October, Baldwin final tabled the Ultimate Bet Aruba Poker Classic for $126,000. This month, he padded his resume by winning a $1,000 buy-in preliminary event held during the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic for $256,000.

He was rewarded for his efforts with a contract from UB.com, where he’ll play under the moniker “eric_baldwin,” abandoning his “basebaldy” nickname for the time being. On the November re-launch of UB.com, Baldwin told Poker News Daily, “I thought everything looked slick. I like the new logo and everything runs smoothly. I like the new website and the new features with videos of the pros. We’re going to get into some strategy things on the site that will help people a lot. Everything looks slick, runs slick, and it’s exciting.” UB.com makes its home on the CEREUS Network along with Absolute Poker. Both online poker rooms are owned by Tokwiro Enterprises.

Baldwin is a former baseball player from Wisconsin and will appear on this week’s installment of the UB.com poker news show “Poker2Nite.” He joins a cast of characters at UB.com that already includes Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Annie Duke, 11-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, Billy “Patrolman35” Kopp, Bryan “badbeatninja” Devonshire, Brandon Cantu, PokerRoad’s Joe Sebok, Matt “mattg1983” Graham, Michael Binger, and “Amazing Race” contestant Tiffany Michelle.

The site’s marquee poker tournament is the $200,000 Guaranteed, a $215 buy-in event that takes place every Sunday at 4:00pm ET. Over the weekend, JohnnyCashGame earned $45,000 for outlasting the 1,014-player field, defeating Bonezee heads-up. All was not lost for Bonezee, however, as the UB.com member received a $27,000 consolation prize. The top 99 players finished in the money and the tournament is also open to customers of Absolute Poker.

In a press release announcing Baldwin’s signing, Duke commented, "Eric Baldwin isn't just a new UB pro, he is UB. Eric loves this game more than anything in the world, he plays to win, and he's respected for his passion at the tables. We really couldn't be more ecstatic to have the Player of the Year on our team." Besides Baldwin, Cimpan, and Timoshenko, others in the top ten on the 2009 CardPlayer Player of the Year leaderboard include Vitaly Lunkin, World Poker Tour Five Diamond Champion Daniel Alaei, Jason Mercier, and 2009 WSOP Main Event winner Joe Cada.

According to CardPlayer, Baldwin earned nearly 7,000 Player of the Year Points in 2009 and piled up $1.5 million in earnings.

Tiffany Michelle Breaks Down Survivor After-Party

UB.com pro Tiffany Michelle, who appeared on the 15th cycle of the CBS reality series “Amazing Race,” partied with the cast of “Survivor: Samoa” following the show’s season finale over the weekend.

The two-hour “Survivor” season finale and one-hour reunion show aired on Sunday night on CBS, the same network that carries “Amazing Race.” The episode featured three tribal councils, including the final one that saw Natalie White, Russell Hantz, and Mick Trimming plead their case for the $1 million first place prize in front of the nine-man jury. Ultimately, White emerged victorious. Michelle told Poker News Daily, “I learned all about the villain Russell. Was I surprised? I don’t know. I felt like there were so many good speeches at the final tribal council. I think [Erik Cardona’s] speech really hit home and I had a feeling that Natalie was probably going to win even though it’s hard to judge.”

White claimed seven of the nine jury votes and Hantz received the other two despite serving as the strategic mastermind of this season of “Survivor.” Hantz, however, won $100,000 from a fan vote and may compete on the upcoming “Heroes Versus Villains” cycle of “Survivor.” On Hantz’s strategy, Michelle noted, “From doing reality television, when $1 million is on the line, you get stuff done. When you have $1 million there for the taking, you’ll see how creative you can be. Russell will go down as being one of the fan favorites.”

Present at the “Survivor” viewing party with Michelle on Sunday night were “Amazing Race” teams Meghan and Cheyne, Sam and Dan, and Tammy and Victor, who won the show’s 14th season. The after-party took place at the Renaissance Hotel in Hollywood, with personalities from reality series like “Big Brother” and “The Bachelorette” in attendance. Michelle painted a picture of the scene at the California hotel: “Russell was pretty pissed. Once he got a few drinks in him, though, he was okay. I think he banked on winning. Shambo was getting down on the dance floor and so was Dave [Ball].” Michelle added that while “Survivor” contestants usually wind up disliking each other after each season ends, “Amazing Race” cast members become friends for life.

Michelle has come a long way since the days of the “French fry incident” during the 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. Now a sponsored pro of UB.com, Michelle explained how the public’s perception of her has changed over the last year and a half: “It’s always flattering when someone comes up to you and says, ‘I love your race.’ I didn’t really do anything differently than just be myself. I’m getting used to it. Poker is a steppingstone to me being in the public eye and hopefully I got the bad stuff out of the way. Luckily, I’m getting a lot more love now.” Michelle was also a former reporter for PokerNews.com.

On Tuesday, Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin signed with UB.com, joining Michelle and others such as Annie Duke, Phil Hellmuth, Billy “Patrolman35” Kopp, and Adam “Roothlus” Levy. The crew filmed videos for the website in recent days and Michelle discussed the online poker site’s latest addition: “I like where UB is going with the new branding and doing something different than the other sites. It’s a bunch of guys and me and I really like the young vibe that they have. Some of these guys are well on their way to having really good poker careers. UB is tapping into the younger generation of poker players.” UB.com makes its home on the CEREUS Network alongside its sister site, Absolute Poker. Both accept players from the United States.

We’d like to extend a special thank you to Michelle for lending her insight for this article.

2010 UBOC Schedule Features $4 Million Guaranteed

The schedule for the 2010 Ultimate Bet Online Championship (UBOC) was recently released and features more than $4 million in guaranteed prize money up for grabs across 18 events. The festivities will span the course of a dozen days.

Two of the 18 events have prize pools that are guaranteed to be at least $1 million. The schedule also features 16 MiniUBOC tournaments, mimicking a large portion of the UBOC schedule, but with buy-ins that are one-tenth as large. The UBOC Championship is a $1,050 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament that takes place on January 31st and features a $1 million guaranteed purse. Appropriately, 11-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth will host the prestigious tournament.

UB.com and Absolute Poker pros Joe Sebok, Michael Binger, Gary “Debo34” DeBernardi, Lacey Jones, Trishelle Cantanella, Brandon Cantu, Scott Ian, Annie Duke, Tiffany Michelle, Bryan “badbeatninja” Devonshire, Matt “mattg1983” Graham, Hollywood Dave Stann, Mark “P0ker H0” Kroon, Adam “Roothlus” Levy, Billy “Patrolman35” Kopp, and Liv Boeree will all host events.

Duke commented in a press release from UB.com, “With UBOC heading into its fourth year and Aruba coming up to year nine, UB now has two amazing series. Whether you are a diehard poker player or a weekend warrior, UBOC and MiniUBOC offer something to excite everyone. Just as Aruba awarded millions in tournament prize money, UBOC 4 is about to break records again and this year you don’t even have to make a final table to cash big.”

Without further adieu, here’s a look at the 2010 UBOC schedule:

January 20th at 20:05 ET
Event #1: Sniper No Limit Hold’em
$300+20 buy-in
$250,000 Guaranteed

January 20th at 20:05 ET
Event #2: Eight Game Mix
$150+12 buy-in
$50,000 Guaranteed

January 21st at 20:05 ET
Event #3: No Limit Hold’em Four-Max
$300+20 buy-in
$100,000 Guaranteed

January 22nd at 20:05 ET
Event #4: Sniper No Limit Hold’em
$120+10 buy-in
$30,000 Guaranteed

January 23rd at 13:00 ET
Event #5: Heads-Up Two-Day Event
$1,000+50 buy-in
$128,000 Guaranteed

January 23rd at 14:00 ET
Event #6: No Limit Hold’em Triple Chance
$150+12 buy-in
$100,000 Guaranteed

January 24th at 14:00 ET
Event #7: No Limit Hold’em
$200+15 buy-in
$300,000 Guaranteed

January 24th at 16:00 ET
Event #8: Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em Six-Max
$2,500 +100 buy-in
$1 Million Guaranteed

January 25th at 20:05 ET
Event #9: Limit Hold'em Six-Max
$100+9 buy-in
$30,000 Guaranteed

January 25th at 20:05 ET
Event #10: Pot Limit Championship
$300+20 buy-in
$150,000 Guaranteed

January 26th at 20:05 ET
Event #11: Pot Limit Omaha Cubed
$200+15 buy-in
$100,000 Guaranteed

January 26th at 20:05 ET
Event #12: HORSE
$200+15 buy-in
$50,000 Guaranteed

January 27th at 20:05 ET
Event #13: Omaha 8/b and Stud 8/b Mix
$150+12 buy-in
$30,000 Guaranteed

January 27th at 20:05 ET
Event #14: Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em
$1,000+50 buy-in
$300,000 Guaranteed

January 28th at 20:05 ET
Event #15: Pot Limit Omaha Eight or Better
$300+20 buy-in
$100,000 Guaranteed

January 29th at 20:05 ET
Event #16: Deep Stack Pot Limit Hold’em Six-Max
$500+30 buy-in
$100,000 Guaranteed

January 30th at 14:05 ET
Event #17: No Limit Hold’em Turbo with Rebuys
$100+9 buy-in
$100,000 Guaranteed

January 31st at 16:00 ET
UBOC Championship
$1,000+50 buy-in
$1 Million Guaranteed

The 18 UBOC winners will take home a Championship Watch made by Tourneau. In addition, the USA-friendly online poker site will hold the Bubble Buster, a rewards challenge for players who cash in UBOC events. Players who cash in 10 UBOC events will take home $100,000, while those who manage to make the money in at least 11 of the 18 events will earn $1 million. Cashing in just two UBOC events will generate a prize in the Bubble Buster contest.

A single event satellite contest, STEP contest, and early registration discounts are also available. Visit UB.com for full details.

Poker Featured in Season Finale of Amazing Race

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

British Columbia Poker Championship Winner Sophon Sek Arrested

Less than a day after winning this year’s British Columbia Poker Championship and earning the first place prize of $364,364, 30 year-old Sophon Sek was arrested on charges of manslaughter and breaking and entering.  As a result, his prize money is being held at the casino at the request of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and there is a chance it will be confiscated from Sek altogether.

Sek is the sixth person arrested in connection with the Surrey Six murder case.  In October of 2007, six people were shot in the head and killed in the Surrey area high rise apartment building Balmoral Towers.  The murders are believed to be an act of gang violence, as four of the six victims were known to be part of the British Columbia drug trade.  The men suspected in the murders are members of the Red Scorpions, one of the largest and most influential gangs in British Columbia.  The Surrey Six slayings are considered to be one of the worst instances of gang violence in modern British Columbian history.

The Vancouver Sun newspaper reported that Sek is believed to be an associate of the Red Scorpions as well.  Statements from Corporal Dale Carr of the police force gave little insight on why Sek was arrested and faced lesser charges than the other five men previously detained in the killings, but the Sun reported that Sek is not believed to be one of the murderers. According to the paper, the RCMP believe that it was Sek who let the perpetrators into the high rise, though it is still unclear whether or not he was aware of their intentions.

Howard Blank, Vice President of the Great Canadian Gaming Corporation, reported that the RCMP requested Sek’s winnings from the $2,700 (CDN) buy-in event.  Sek outlasted a field of 679 players including poker pros Gavin Smith, “Yukon” Brad Booth, Mike “SirWatts” Watson, Tiffany Michelle, Maria Ho, Greg “FBT” Mueller, and Scott “BigRiskky” Clements, who made the final table, finishing in seventh place.

Sek was set to return to River Rock Casino in Vancouver, the site of the event, to pick up his winnings Monday, but his arrest prevented him from doing so.  He is currently being held in custody until his trial date on November 30th.  His lawyer, Alan Ip, spoke to the British Columbia Globe and Mail about the seizure of Sek’s winnings.  According to Ip, unless the money was taken as evidence in the case, it was unjustly seized.  Carr told the Sun he was not aware of the RCMP’s request for the casino to hold the funds and could not provide an explanation as to why the money would be seized in relation to the case.  Ip also emphasized how saddened his client was at the prospect of losing his tournament earnings, as he planned to pursue his love for poker and play in other events in the future.

One of the five other suspects in the case, Dennis Karbonavec, has already pled guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.  Following his admission of guilt, three others were arrested in relation to the case in April of 2008 and have been in pretrial custody ever since.  The charges against the men include first and second degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and various firearms-related charges.

This is not the first time Sek has had a run in with the police.  He was previously charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm in July of 2008.

Poker Community Celebrates Thanksgiving

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2009 BC Poker champion arrested

The 30-year old Surrey man has been charged with manslaughter and break and enter in relation to the gangland murders of six people, including two innocent bystanders, in 2007.

The incident is referred to locally as the Surrey Six Slaughter.

Sek made an appearance in Surrey Provincial Court today, but was sent back into custody to await continuation of his trial Nov. 30.

He could still face additional charges in connection to the murders, according to Cpl. Dale Carr of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Integrated Homicide Investigation Team.

Sek outlasted 679 players to win this year's $2,700 (CDN) buy-in BC Poker Championships late Sunday night at the River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond, a suburb of Vancouver.

Sek's $364,364 (CDN) in prize money is being held by the Great Canadian Gaming Corporation at the request of the RCMP, according to Howard Blank, vice president of media, entertainment and responsible gaming at the GCGC.

This is the fifth year the BC Poker Championships have been held in the current format and the tournament continues to draw world-renowned poker players.

This year Amazing Race stars Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho played as well as Gavin Smith, Liz Lieu, Lacey Jones, "Yukon" Brad Booth, Greg "FBT" Mueller and Scott Clements. Clements made the final table but eventually busted seventh.

Last year Daniel Negreanu, who is perhaps the biggest name in Canadian poker, outlasted all 688 players to win the event for $371,910 (CDN).

Absolute Poker Pro Matt Vengrin to Judge Miss California Teen USA

First, Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso signs up to be a judge on the E! reality competition show “Bank of Hollywood.” Now, Absolute Poker Pro Matt Vengrin is following suit and branching out, serving as a judge in the upcoming Miss California Teen USA pageant.  The event, which wraps up Sunday, will determine who will succeed reigning Miss California Teen USA Chelsea Gilligan of Beaumont.

“As a poker player, I know how fierce competition can be,” said Vengrin in a statement from Absolute Poker.  “Just like playing in the World Series of Poker (WSOP), these girls are in for a grueling, but fun weekend, and I’m excited to be an integral part of the experience.”

Fittingly for Vengrin, the event is taking place at the Agua Caliente Casino in Rancho Mirage.  The casino’s theater, called “The Show,” played host to the preliminary rounds of the competition on Saturday and the finals are taking place Sunday afternoon.  Though the completion did not get underway until this weekend, the pageant contestants have been preparing for the event for months, including an October orientation in Palm Springs and preliminary interviews at the Riviera Resort this past Friday.

According to the Miss California organization’s official website, Vengrin and the other judges will be evaluating the contestants based on their performance in the interview, evening gown, and swimsuit competitions.  The site lists judging criteria as “character, poise, confidence, and personality.”  The winner will represent the Golden State at the Miss Teen USA pageant, which will take place in the summer of 2010.  The current Miss Teen USA crown holder is Stormi Henley of Tennessee.

This latest appearance is another boon for Vengrin in what has been a landmark year for the online poker pro.  Earlier this year, he parted ways with Full Tilt Poker, which signed him to a Red Pro sponsorship agreement.  In June, news broke that Vengrin was a new spokesperson for Absolute Poker.  Other sponsored pros on the Absolute Poker roster include Lacey Jones and recently-signed “Real World: Las Vegas” alum Trishelle Cannatella.

In September, Vengrin, who plays online under the screen names “plattsburgh” and “vengmoney,” made waves in this year’s PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) by making three final tables, which was enough to tie him with WCOOP Player of the Series Dan “djk123” Kelly for most in that department.  Over the course of 2009, Vengrin has racked up more than $250,000 in online tournament winnings and recently had a deep run in the Ultimate Bet Aruba Poker Classic, where he finished in 27th place and won $21,327.

The New York native has had his fair share of live poker success as well, most notably a third place finish in a $3,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Event at the 2008 WSOP.  Vengrin netted $167,973 for his finish and his lifetime live poker tournament winnings are at almost a half-million dollars.

Vengrin’s participation with the pageant is not the first time poker and beauty queens have crossed paths.  Poker players like Clonie Gowen and Tiffany Michelle are both former pageant contestants; Gowen held the title of Miss Teen McAlester, Oklahoma in her youth.

Poker News in Brief: Nov. 16-22, 2009

The 21-year-old generated some major mainstream press coverage this week by appearing on the Late Show with David Letterman and CNN's American Morning.

There was plenty of news that didn't involve Cada, however, and as part of our ongoing Poker News in Brief Feature we're going to break some of it down for you today.

This week we'll look at another man winning a ladies event, the end of Fair Poker, more support for an online poker bill, an upgrade for Cake Poker and more.

Man wins Ladies Championship at Lake Tahoe

Greg Sessler became the latest man to enter and win a female poker tournament last week.

Sessler won the Ladies Championship at the World Series of Poker Circuit stop in Lake Tahoe by outlasting all 95 players that entered the tournament. Of that total, four were men.

Although organizers encourage only women to play, Harrah's cannot exclude any player based on gender. After winning the tournament Sessler defended his decision to play.

"Me playing in this tournament really had nothing to do with trying to take advantage of the ladies or thinking it was a softer field," he said.

"If Jennifer Harman would have come and played in the ladies event, she would have been much tougher competition than me. I came here because I only had one day and I really like the structures and the payout."

Back in September Abraham Korotki entered a ladies event at the 2009 Borgata Poker Open and went on to win it. Former baseball star Jose Canseco also famously entered a women's tournament a few years ago.

More support for Frank's pro-online poker bill

The U.S. bill that would both legalize and regulate online poker has another co-sponsor.

Rep. Anthony D. Weiner of New York's 9th district signed on board this week as the 63rd co-sponsor of the legislation.

Rep. Barney Frank originally introduced the bill last spring but it has yet to be heard before committee.

Frank's bill would essentially repeal the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act that was passed in 2006 and put a regulatory system in place for the online gambling industry.

Unfair outcome for Fair Poker

Lesser-known online poker room Fair Poker disappeared this week, but its players found a new home at Noble Poker.

Both sites were members of the iPoker network and were merged into one site earlier in the week. Fair Poker players had their account balances and the iPoints they had earned transferred to Noble Poker.

iPoker remains one of the busiest online poker networks in the world with Titan Poker, ChiliPoker, Bet365, CD Poker, William Hill, Mansion Poker and numerous others all under the iPoker banner.

The 2009 BC Poker Championships, starring Liz Lieu, will be televised.

HeadsUp Entertainment to televise BC Poker Championships

HeadsUp Entertainment, operators of the Canadian Poker Tour and Canadian Poker Player Magazine, will help televise coverage of the 2009 BC Poker Championships in Vancouver.

"We are very pleased to be part of Canada's premier poker tournament," said HeadsUp President Kelly B. Kellner. "We consider it a privilege to be able to cover the event through both our magazine and on television."

HeadsUp Entertainment made a deal with The Score Television Network, which is the exclusive broadcast partner of the Canadian Poker Tour, to show highlights from the tournament.

The 2009 BC Poker Championships began this week with 606 runners. The event received the attention of some big name poker players including Tiffany Michelle, Liz Lieu, Maria Ho, Greg "FBT" Mueller, Gavin Smith and Brad Booth.

Last year Canadian poker super-star Daniel Negreanu outlasted 689 players to win the 2008 BCPC for $300,708.

Cake Poker adds players, synchronized breaks

Cake Poker had a busy week adding synchronized breaks to its software and taking players from Third Bullet Poker.

Third Bullet was already a member of the Cake Network and the company's executives made the decision to merge the player base onto Cake Poker for better technical support and customer service.

Meanwhile, Cake's synchronized breaks will let multi-table tournament players take a break no matter how many tables they are running. The breaks will occur at 55 minutes past the hour, every hour.

The breaks do not affect Sit 'n' Go tournaments with less than 30 players.

The feature is quickly becoming an industry standard as Absolute Poker and UltimateBet recently added synchronized breaks as well.

UltimateBet relaunches as UB.com

The poker room will henceforth be known as UB, a nickname originally coined by players on the site.

Company directors said the UB label better represented the site's current focus on the next generation of poker players.

"The launch of UB.com represents a turning point for our company," said Paul Legget, Tokwiro's Chief Operating Officer.

"We have assembled a great group of professionals who are passionate about poker to build the UB brand. Our goal is to create products and services that poker players really want."

The new site features a streamlined interface, a user-friendly lobby, improved game filters and new UB branding.

In addition, the tournament schedule has been revamped and there are over 30 new tournaments a month, which offer over $1 million in guarantees.

"In the 10 years since I have been involved with the UB brand, I have never been prouder to represent the company as much as I am right now," said UB Pro Phil Hellmuth.

"We have great people captaining the ship, we have a great vibe and some serious swagger. I look forward to the day when we are the largest poker site on the planet."

Earlier this year the CEREUS poker network, to which UB belongs, also released a Mac poker client and a software upgrade that featured synchronized tournament breaks.

UB also enhanced their team of poker pros by adding PokerRoad president Joe Sebok and resigning reality TV star Tiffany Michelle.

Although UB now offers the UB.com domain, users will still be able to access the site through the older UltimateBet.com.

Poker Pros Rally Behind Former WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Trishelle Cannatella Signs with Absolute Poker

The Absolute Poker family just became a little larger. The USA-facing site on the CEREUS Poker Network welcomed former 2002 “Real World” star Trishelle Cannatella as a sponsored pro. Poker News Daily sat down with Cannatella to discuss her new role.

Poker News Daily: Congratulations on signing with Absolute Poker. Besides “Real World,” some of our readers will recognize you from stints on “Punk’d,” “Fear Factor,” “Criminal Minds,” “Ninja Cheerleaders,” “The Dukes of Hazard: The Beginning,” “The Surreal Life,” and “Dr. Steveo.” How’d the signing come about?

Cannatella: One of my friends manages poker players. She was getting me gigs like going to charity tournaments and doing appearances. I started playing and she talked to someone at Absolute Poker. They asked me to be their ambassador.

PND: How did you get started in poker?

Cannatella: I started off in home games. They gave me a “Poker for Dummies” set and it’s how I learned. I taught myself how to play like that and began beating the guys at their own game. Then, I decided to play a live tournament at Caesars Palace, around an $80 buy-in event, and I won. I didn’t think I could actually do that and so I started playing a little bit more. I don’t have the bankroll to play very high stakes.

When I first started playing, it was on Paradise Poker. I used to play $1 tournaments online all night long. Now, I go from that to getting to play with people I used to see play on television. I am serious about it and am really looking forward to it.

PND: What can we expect from you on Absolute Poker?

Cannatella: I’m going to be playing on the site as “Trishelle_C” and am going to do blogs, both video and written. I’ll be going to events like charity tournaments and Aruba. I also spent the whole summer in Las Vegas for the WSOP. I really love poker, so it’s exciting to be part of the site.

PND: Who were you railing at the WSOP?

Cannatella: Phil Galfond was there. I became friends with Tom Dwan and Jeff Madsen. While I was there, I played a satellite and was the only girl at the table. The other players all have their iPhones and their sunglasses on and I got no respect at the table. All of a sudden, Chris Ferguson comes over, climbs over the rope, and told me that he was watching me play. Then, I started getting respect at the table.

PND: What’s next for your television career?

Cannatella: I took a little bit of a break after the Hulk Hogan wrestling show. Now, I’m getting back into things. I auditioned with a new show that’s like “Curb Your Enthusiasm” meets “Sex and the City.” I’ve also been in talks with more reality television show producers.

PND: Talk about fellow female Absolute Poker pro Lacey Jones. Have you met her before?

Cannatella: She’s gorgeous and I met her in Las Vegas. We have a lot of mutual friends and I’m excited to work with everyone. I’m also friends with some of the poker girls and I love Tiffany Michelle.

PND: Who in the poker community have you gone to for advice?

Cannatella: I ask Phil Laak a lot for help and he tells me to go to CardRunners and study. He told me that he’d give me a month of free training if I go to CardRunners every day. So far, I haven’t had time.

Erik Seidel Appears on HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm

Normally, poker players are seen on television only within their element, in a poker tournament or cash game. Recently, however, a top pro took the time to appear on one of the most popular programs on cable television.

In last Sunday’s episode of the HBO comedy “Curb Your Enthusiasm” entitled “Officer Krupke,” Erik Seidel appeared in a non-speaking role on the show. Seidel was seated behind “Curb” star and creator Larry David and his on-screen wife, Cheryl Hines, as the couple dined in a restaurant. David and Hines discussed her auditioning for a role on the “Seinfeld” reunion, which has been a prominent part of this season’s storyline. Seidel’s prominence in the shot – he is framed by both David and Hines as they perform the scene – has led many to discuss how he got on the program.

On the poker forum TwoPlusTwo, some answers are given on how Seidel got his “moment in the sun.” A tweet from Seidel himself that was posted on the site admits, “Yes, that was my ugly mug on Curb. From a charity auction, I’m a huge fan of the show.” Also noted in the discussion on TwoPlusTwo were the appearance of actor/poker player Ben Affleck and that Daniel Negreanu will have a spin on another HBO program, “Entourage,” also because of a charitable cause.

Seidel’s charitable actions have been quite apparent over the past year. When poker pro and friend Annie Duke battled her way to the final two on the past season of the NBC reality series “Celebrity Apprentice,” Seidel was prominent in several of the tasks. Not only did he appear during the final episode pitting Duke against eventual winner Joan Rivers, but Seidel also contributed to one of the early tasks on the program. In that episode, Seidel was among several poker players that donated to Duke’s cupcake drive. Seidel purchased one of the cupcakes created by Duke’s Athena teammates for $5,000, helping the team to victory.

The latest sighting of Seidel on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” continues a long-running theme of poker players appearing in mainstream television, movies, and magazines. In addition to Duke’s “Celebrity Apprentice” appearance this year, the team of Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho on the current run of “The Amazing Race” has drawn attention to poker personalities. After battling valiantly through several difficult physical stunts, the duo was eliminated two weeks ago, finishing in sixth place on the Emmy Award-winning program.

Negreanu has been able to parlay his poker stardom into a cameo role in one of the top films of this year, “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” where he played poker against the character Gambit. Fellow poker players Scotty Nguyen, Jennifer Harman, and Phil Hellmuth joined Negreanu in the recent “Body Issue” of “ESPN: The Magazine.” In addition, popular recent poker films and television series such as “The Grand,” “Lucky You,” and the highly controversial ESPN series “Tilt” have featured some of the biggest names in the game such as Doyle Brunson and Antonio Esfandiari.

It is good to see poker players such as Seidel in an arena outside of the poker table and even better that Seidel was able to parlay his appearance on the program into a charitable cause. The “Curb Your Enthusiasm” episode with Seidel appears nine more times between now and November 15th, so there are plenty of opportunities for poker fans to check out his turn on one of the most popular programs on cable television.

Amazing Race: Maria Ho and Tiffany Michelle Speak on Elimination

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

PND: Are you changed after this experience?

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

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

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

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

Poker players gone from Amazing Race

Kara Scott to be Named New Host of High Stakes Poker

According to several industry insiders, poker podcasts, and online sites, poker player and announcer Kara Scott will take over for A. J. Benza as co-host on the popular GSN poker program “High Stakes Poker.”

Poker News Daily has been able to confirm through several industry insiders that there is “a deal worked out” for Scott to flank Gabe Kaplan when the high-stakes cash game picks back up for its sixth season on November 11th at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas. According to Poker News Daily’s sources, the only obstacle is Scott obtaining a permit that would allow her to work inside of the United States. As a foreign national, this document is critically important, as without such documentation, Scott would face criminal charges.

The ESPN poker show “Inside Deal” has discussed the issue and listed Scott as the top contender. A thread on the popular poker forum TwoPlusTwo has all but crowned Scott as the heir apparent to Benza. For the record, and possibly because of the hurdle of the working documents, neither GSN nor the producers of “High Stakes Poker,” Poker PROductions, has announced that Scott has been hired.

Since Benza announced in October that he would not be back for the new season of the show, there has been speculation that “High Stakes Poker” was looking at a female to team with longtime poker player Kaplan. Whether in the booth breaking down the hands in play or serving as a hostess who would interview players while the game was in action, many poker insiders and forum posters have commented that the show is moving in the direction of another poker television program, “Poker After Dark” (also produced by Poker PROductions).

With these thoughts in mind, there have been various ladies of the game that have drawn attention as the new replacement. One of the first names bandied about as Benza’s replacement was poker professional Vanessa Rousso, which also raised diverse opinions on the internet. Once Poker News Daily broke the news that Rousso would not fill the role, the return of former World Poker Tour (WPT) hostess Shana Hiatt gained steam. It took an announcement from her publicist at Creative Management Entertainment Group to squash those rumors.

Even poker professional Daniel Negreanu, who has played in every edition of “High Stakes Poker” and claims knowledge as to the new host, put up such other names as current WPT hostess Amanda Leatherman as well as Sabina Gadecki, Kimberly Lansing, Lacey Jones, Tiffany Michelle, and even “Big Game” regular Jennifer Harman, who has appeared on previous seasons of “High Stakes Poker.” Negreanu later noted that none would take to the “High Stakes Poker” set for Season 6. Strangely enough, former WPT hostess Courtney Friel, who is a correspondent for Fox News, has not been named as a potential candidate.

As a tournament poker player, Scott has over $500,000 in career earnings, with $453,450 in 2009 alone. She has finished inside the final 250 players in the last two World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Events (238th this year, 104th last year) and was the runner-up at this year’s Irish Open. As a broadcaster, Scott has done commentary on the European Poker Tour (EPT), made-for-television poker shows like “Poker Night Live,” and also covered tournament backgammon on television and the internet.