Mizzi voted Bluff Poker Player of 2010

Bluff Magazine has just named Canadian Poker Pro Sorel Mizzi the Best Tournament Poker Player of 2010. This award looks for top tournament pros and is given based on a point system.

Phil Galfond, Phil Ivey Dominate on Poker After Dark Big Heat Week

On Monday night, the kickoff episode of Big Heat Week on “Poker After Dark” aired. The $100,000 buy-in freezeout was filmed at Aria and marked the start of a brand new season for the NBC poker franchise. The six competitors had a combined live tournament earnings of nearly $42 million along with 18 World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets. Full Tilt Poker sponsors “Poker After Dark,” which features a brand new intro.

Every player began with 100,000 in chips and the blinds kicked off at 500/1,000. At the end of the week, the winner will take home a profit of $500,000 for their efforts. Former WSOP Europe Main Event champ John Juanda tangled with Tom “durrrr” Dwan early on with just 5-3 of diamonds and told the table, “I said I was going to play tight to start with, but I just can’t help myself.”

1996 WSOP Main Event winner Huck Seed flopped trip nines in a hand against an active Dwan to move to 128,000 in chips for an early lead. Then, eight-time bracelet winner Phil Ivey hit aces-up on the river and checked. Juanda, holding just king-high, bet 24,000 and Ivey made the call to scoop a pot worth 94,000.

The declaration of “King-high” from Juanda elicited a laugh from Dwan. Ivey then told “durrrr” that if he were involved in the pot, Ivey would not have checked the river: “If it were you, I would have just moved all-in and figured there was a chance you’d call me with king-high. That’s the difference.”

On a flop of 2-4-8, Ivey bet 14,000 with A-3 for a wheel draw after 3betting before the flop and Dwan raised all-in for 58,000 with A-J. Ivey folded and, in the process, “Poker After Dark” commentator Ali Nejad commented, “Do not adjust your sets. Dwan does not have a pair and he’s moving all-in. Get used to it.”

Juanda was put to several tough decisions throughout Monday’s hour-long kickoff episode. In one hand, Dwan raised to 5,000 pre-flop with A-J and Juanda picked up his third pocket pair of the show, this time pocket sevens, and 3bet to 15,000. Dwan put in a 4bet to 45,000 and Juanda tanked, looked at his hand several times, and elected to fold.

Erick Lindgren raised to 5,000 before the flop with A-10 and Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond came along with 7-6 of diamonds. The action flop came 8-9-10, giving Galfond a 10-high straight and Lindgren top pair, top kicker. Galfond checked, Lindgren bet 8,000, and Galfond called to see a six on the turn. Galfond once again checked his straight and Lindgren bet 17,000. Galfond moved all-in over the top for 60,500 and Lindgren mucked his cards.

In the final hand of the night, Galfond showed why he’s one of the game’s elite. He raised to 5,000 before the flop with a meager 7-4 and Seed came along with A-Q of spades. Dwan called with 10-2 of diamonds and the flop came 2-3-Q with two hearts. Seed and Dwan checked their pairs, leaving Galfond to try to bluff at the pot by putting out a continuation bet of 8,000. Both of his opponents called and the jack of hearts hit on the turn, putting three of the suit onboard.

Seed checked, Dwan checked, and Galfond bet 19,000 with just seven-high and no heart in his hand. Seed and Dwan got out of the way and Galfond scooped a pot worth 58,000 in chips. He told his tablemates, “I’m going to have to go to the booth for that one.”

You can catch Big Heat Week on “Poker After Dark” all this week at 2:05am ET on NBC.

PokerStars Caribbean Adventure begins this week

One of the most-hyped, most-loved and most popular tournament series of the poker calendar begins this week as thousands of hopefuls flock to the Bahamas for their shot at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, the $10,000 Main Event of which begins on January 8.

Poker After Dark Big Heat begins with $600,000 prize

US sports channel NBC have begun the seventh season of popular single-table tournament show Poker After Dark, kicking things off with a bang and televising a $100,000 buy-in, winner-take-all tournament titled Big Heat. The winner of the six-handed tournament will go home with a cool $600,000 for their trouble.

Titan Poker Hosting New Year Super Sale

The New Year Super Sale tournaments begin Jan. 7 with discounts ranging from 50% to 80% off the regular online poker tournament buy-in prices.

This includes Friday's $60,000 Guaranteed event with a 50% discounted buy-in of $50+$5, and an 80% discount for the High Roller Monday $35,000 Guaranteed; Monday Night Omaha $5,000 Guaranteed; and Super Tuesday $30,000 Guaranteed.

The series wraps up Jan. 16 with the $100+$9 buy-in Sunday $200,000 Guaranteed, a 66% discount off the usual buy-in cost.

Titan Poker is also staging a series of Sit & Go satellite tournaments for its New Year Super Sale events.

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

iPoker Network Cut Price Buy ins!

These, not to be missed, excellent promotions are about to be launched on our favourite ipoker sites but they will only run for a short time, January 7th to January 16th, so don’t miss out!

There are going to be $750,000 in guaranteed prize tournaments held at discount prices. The following sites are participating in this huge promotion with up to 80% off the buy in of scheduled tournaments under the following promotion names:-

• Titan Poker = New Year Super Sale
• Mansion Poker = Buy in Bargains
• Winner Poker = Ultimate Sale

See the table below for all that is on offer.. (more…)

New tournament schedule at The Fox Poker Club

The Fox Poker Club venue has unveiled it's January line up and there's plenty for tournament junkies and cash game players to enjoy.

Poker After Dark Big Heat Week Debuts Tonight

For those in need of new poker television content, the NBC franchise “Poker After Dark” returns for its first new episodes of 2011 tonight, featuring the biggest tournament in the history of the program.

Dubbed “Big Heat Week,” “Poker After Dark’s” first tournament of 2011 features a six-man sit and go that brings together competitors who have more than proven their worth in the poker world. Combined, the six players – John Juanda, Erick Lindgren, Phil Galfond, Huck Seed, Tom “durrrr” Dwan, and Phil Ivey – have over $42 million in career tournament earnings, 18 World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets, a WSOP Main Event title, and a slew of other major championships.

The $100,000 buy-in event guarantees that the victor of this week’s “Poker After Dark” will walk away with a $600,000 payday.

Galfond is the newcomer to the “Poker After Dark” stage, as all of the other competitors have faced the NBC show’s cameras previously. Galfond, who terrorizes the online poker world under the name “OMGClayAiken,” has built a reputation as one of the top No Limit Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha players in the game today. His addition to this week’s lineup is indicative of how the show is embracing the “new blood” of the game.

Safe money on who will win this week’s battle should be on Ivey and Juanda, who are veterans of “Poker After Dark” and have racked up two wins each during the run of the show. While Lindgren and Seed have previously appeared on the program, neither has been able to crack the winner’s circle. For his part, Dwan has been a part of previous “Poker After Dark” cash game episodes, but this is only his second foray into the freezeout arena.

“Big Heat Week” will kick off this evening on NBC late night at 2:05am ET, with host Ali Nejad providing voiceover commentary of the action. The sit and go will continue over the next four nights in the same timeslot and a special “Director’s Cut” will air late night on Saturday at 1:00am ET after NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.” This show will feature Leeann Tweeden with a behind-the-scenes look at the week with highlights and insightful player interviews.

Throughout the first half of 2011, “Poker After Dark” will continue to provide new shows mixed in with encore presentations of some of the series’ best episodes. After this week’s new episodes, Dwan will return to the two-week encore presentation of one of the show’s most memorable cash games. The cash game, which featured a $100,000 buy-in, also featured Phil Laak, Gus Hansen, Eli Elezra, and former World Champions Doyle Brunson and Phil Hellmuth.

The week of February 7th, a new cash game will take to the “Poker After Dark” stage with the highest stakes yet. The $150,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em cash game will feature Howard Lederer, Greg Mueller, Elezra, David Peat, Olivier Busquet, and Laak battling it out for supremacy.

April will bring one of the most eagerly anticipated additions to the “Poker After Dark” lineup. During the week of April 4th, a $50,000 buy-in sit and go will take place featuring some of the “young guns” of the game. Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger and UB.com pro Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin will join Melanie Weisner, Annette Obrestad, Brunson, and Dwan, with the winner walking away with $250,000.

During the week of April 11th, Pot Limit Omaha will make its debut on “Poker After Dark” and be featured for two weeks. Joining Ivey, Dwan, and Galfond on the felt for the $100,000 buy-in cash game will be Brandon Adams, Patrik Antonius, Brian Hastings, and Jared Bleznick. The addition of Pot Limit Omaha to “Poker After Dark” should draw a huge audience with the ever-increasing popularity of the game.

Once again, be sure to check your local listings for when “Poker After Dark” runs on your local NBC affiliate.

Full Tilt Store Holiday Giveaway Ends January 9th

If you’re looking to take advantage of the Full Tilt Store Holiday Giveaway, then you’re running out of time. The promotion over at Full Tilt Poker comes to an end on January 9th at 23:59 ET, which means that there are only a few more days left to be rewarded for trading in your hard-earned Full Tilt Points (FTPs) on the world’s second largest online poker site.

Starting on January 10th, one day after the Holiday Giveaway ends, big changes will take place at the Full Tilt Store. Text found on Full Tilt’s website explains, “We will be updating the prices of certain items in the Full Tilt Store beginning on January 10th to correspond with the changes in the Full Tilt Points system implemented earlier this year. Merchandise such as electronics and clothing will be re-priced to more accurately reflect their value.” Meanwhile, items like tournament tickets will retain the current prices.

The Full Tilt Store Holiday Giveaway rewards those players who spend 7,500 FTPs or more in the Full Tilt Store or Black Card Store. Players who spend between 7,500 and 14,999 FTPs will earn a free Step 1 ticket in addition to their chosen product in the store. Players who spend between 15,000 and 39,999 FTPs will receive a Step 2 ticket on the house. Anyone who trades in between 40,000 and 74,999 FTPs will see a free Step 3 ticket come their way.

But wait, there’s more! Spend between 75,000 and 139,999 FTPs and you’ll take home a free $50 cash bonus. Finally, players who spend 140,000 or more FTPs will get a $100 cash bonus on top of their store purchase. Full Tilt Poker will credit any cash bonuses and tournament tickets earned by January 11th.

Anyone who purchases an item during the Full Tilt Store Holiday Giveaway, regardless of its price, will take home a seat into the $50,000 Holiday Giveaway Freeroll. The $50,000 freebie comes your way on January 16th at 14:15 ET. Remember, the Full Tilt Store Holiday Giveaway is your last chance to take advantage of the existing Full Tilt pricing structure. Also, you’ll need to play at real money ring games on Full Tilt Poker in order to clear any cash bonuses you receive.

The Full Tilt Store Holiday Giveaway has been running since December 16th and now enters its final week. Among the cutting-edge electronic items you’ll find in the Full Tilt Store are a Sony Bravia 46-inch HDTV (334,300 FTPs), a 64 GB iPod Touch (85,000 FTPs), and an 8 GB Flip video recorder (51,500 FTPs). For you golf enthusiasts out there, purchase Phoenix golf bags for 35,000 FTPs or a sleeve of white Titleist balls for 4,000 FTPs.

Players can also purchase branded and unbranded Full Tilt Poker security keys, which are handheld devices that display an eight-digit code that must be entered when logging into the USA-friendly site. A would-be hacker without that code won’t be able to sign in. providing an extra layer of security for your online bankroll.

If Santa neglected your canine companion this year, look no further than a Full Tilt Poker dog tank top for 3,000 FTPs. For the same price, you can also get a Full Tilt hoodie for your puppy to protect him or her from the cold winter. Multiple stress tools and branded outwear are also available, so visit Full Tilt Poker today to check out the store’s inventory.

Eurobet has a great campaign for Cash Players

It doesn’t matter if you play tournaments or cash or both, January’s Eurobet campaign is made for you! There’s two $1,500 Points Races on top of all other neat bonuses.

Points Races (2x$1,500)

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2.    250
3.    200
4.    150
5.    125
6.    100
7.    75
8.    60
9.    50
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11.    40
12.    30
13.    20
14.    15
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4. Fill out the “Personal Information” window. Use the following code in the “Reference Code (If applicable)”: POKERIHAI, or else your account creation will fail. You will also need to choose your currency, if you are using euros, we strongly recommend to use it.

5. You’re done! Just send us an e-mail that we can verify your registration. Please mention your full name on the e-mail: highstakesnews@gmail.com

You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com

Eurobet has a great campaign for Cash Players

2010 Poker Memories by Linda Johnson

Time is passing too quickly. We just said goodbye to 2010, but memories of my favorite (and not so favorite) poker moments from the year are still vivid in my mind. I’d like to share a few of my personal 2010 poker memories with you.

Proudest 2010 Poker Memory

Without a doubt, being nominated for the Poker Hall of Fame is the answer to this category. What a thrill it was to learn that I had been nominated along with such a prestigious group as Erik Seidel, Dan Harrington, Tom McEvoy, Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, Scotty Nguyen, Daniel Negreanu, Jennifer Harman, and Barry Greenstein. Congratulations to the 2010 inductees Erik Seidel and Dan Harrington.

Favorite Poker News Story

I loved the coverage given to the Mizrachi family during the WSOP. It seemed like every poker magazine had Michael Mizrachi on the cover. Even mainstream Las Vegas entertainment magazines featured Michael and his family.

Favorite Poker Vacation

The 12-night Card Player Cruises poker trip to the Mediterranean wins in this category. The poker room was a lot of fun as usual, but the highlight was seeing all of the magnificent European ports. We stopped at Cannes/Monte Carlo, Pisa, Rome, Naples, Corfu, Dubrovnik, and Barcelona and had great weather in each.

Favorite Charity Event

Of all of the charity events I was fortunate to participate in during 2010, the fundraiser for MickeysCamp.org was my favorite. Mickey’s Camp was started by Mickey Maurer and is held in Indianapolis, Indiana every August. There is a three-day camp for men and a three-day camp for women. The participants sleep in the same cabins the kids stay at during summer and participate in a variety of activities including fishing, camping, wine tasting, cooking, self-defense, magic, and swimming.

I had the honor of teaching the poker sessions and running the poker tournaments for both camps. Mickey’s Camp has raised more than $1 million dollars for charity since its inception 10 years ago. Honorable mention in this category goes to fundraising events for Poker Gives and Child Rescue.

Most Disappointing Poker News

I am still angry and annoyed that we haven’t been able to overturn the UIGEA, although I think we are getting close. The news that the Washington State courts upheld the ruling making online poker illegal is just plain gross! After the ruling, Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars shut down service to Washington residents, a move that should have been met with much more fury and protest from the state’s players.

Favorite Whirlwind Trip

My quick trip to Golden, Colorado for a Poker Players Alliance event qualifies in this category. In less than 24 hours, I flew in and out of Denver and participated in a poker tournament to help Senator Michael Bennett’s campaign. Bennett was elected by a very small margin and I believe he was the victor due to the support of Colorado poker players.

Most Prestigious Poker Event

The winner in this category was easily the Women in Poker Hall of Fame banquet held at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas. The Grand Ballroom, decorated by a group of volunteers headed by Lupe Soto and her Board of Directors, took on the look of an elegant bistro/nightclub. Jan Fisher did a great job as the emcee and Jeffrey Pollack and Nolan Dalla delivered passionate speeches. After a delicious dinner, awards were presented, followed by a dance. Congratulations to the 2010 inductees Jennifer Harman, Kathy Liebert, and Billie Brown.

Favorite New Poker Procedure

I love the new rule established at the Commerce Casino that penalizes players who are gone too long from the table. Players who miss several rounds in $20-$40 and higher Hold’em games have $5 taken from their stacks and put into the pot.  Note that this rule was just about to go into effect the last time I played there and so may have been refined since.

Favorite New Poker Social Media Source

I admit it… I am a Twitter addict! I read it as often as I can and follow many of the top poker celebrities’ Tweets. I hate that it takes up so much of my time and makes me feel like a voyeur, but I can’t seem to give it up. Perhaps they will start a Twitters Anonymous in 2011 and I will be a charter member.

Favorite Tournament Series

Few would argue that the World Series of Poker wins in this category. The series expanded into even more square footage at the Rio and saw an increase in total participants. I had three deep runs (16th, 29th, and 31st) out of the five tournaments I entered, yet am not sporting a new bracelet. Congratulations to all of the bracelet winners, but especially to Gavin Smith, who won his first bracelet after many close efforts.

The runner-up award in this category goes to Wild Horse Casino in Pendleton, Oregon. Roland Waters directs a great tournament series with huge player fields. Entrants get rewarded with $75,000 in added money and free dinner buffets every night.

Other favorite poker memories from 2010 include delivering the “Shuffle Up and Deal” opening speech for the WSOP Ladies Event, teaching WPT Boot Camp at many locations around the country, playing in the WPT Celebrity Invitational at the Commerce, and hosting tournaments at the Eureka Open in Mesquite, Nevada, the Rainbow Spectrum of Poker at the Rainbow Hotel in Wendover, Nevada, and the Wild Horse Resort Casino Poker Roundup in Pendleton, Oregon.

I am extremely blessed to be part of this wonderful poker world and am grateful for the opportunities it has provided me. In 2010, I met many wonderful people who share my passion for poker and was thrilled to have so many chances to give back to our community.

Our country is facing tough economic times ahead. I hope 2011 is a prosperous and happy year for Poker News Daily readers.  In closing, I am happy to offer our readers a discount on any 2011 Card Player Cruises trip. Mention Poker News Daily when you book your cabin by January 15th and you will get a $50 per person discount. For more information, go to CardPlayerCruises.com.

Editor’s Note: Linda Johnson is available for poker functions, seminars, corporate events, and charity fundraisers. You can contact her through her website at CardPlayerCruises.com.

Sorel Mizzi Wins 2010 Bluff Player of the Year Title

Titan Poker pro Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi is the 2010 Bluff Magazine Player of the Year, officials announced on Friday. Mizzi entered the top spot in the Player of the Year rankings in March and never relinquished his lead.

The 2010 CardPlayer Player of the Year, Tom Marchese, finished in second place in the Bluff standings. Mizzi ended the 2010 calendar year with a whopping 1,777 points, the highest score ever turned in, while Marchese racked up just 1,257 during the stanza. Others in the top 10 included PokerStars pro Vanessa Selbst, recent World Poker Tour (WPT) event winner Dwyte Pilgrim, and UB.com pro and former CardPlayer Player of the Year winner Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin.

Mizzi got the 2010 calendar year started off on the right foot by taking third place in the Aussie Millions Main Event for $659,000. Tyron Krost took down the marquee poker tournament and Mizzi quickly ratcheted his first six-figure score of 2010. Mizzi then won two preliminary events during the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Snowfest stop in March for nearly $150,000 total.

In April, Mizzi’s victory parade stopped off in Atlantic City, where he won the East Coast Championship Event during the Borgata Spring Poker Open for $170,000. That tournament drew 62 players and featured a top nine that included Chris “SLOPPYKLOD” Klodnicki, David “Davidp18” Peters, and former Full Tilt Poker pro Lee Markholt.

At the end of April, Mizzi final tabled the High Roller Event during the EPT’s Monte Carlo Grand Final for $190,000. Two weeks later, he ran deep in another High Roller Event, this time at WPT Paris. Just footsteps from the Eiffel Tower, Mizzi played second fiddle to Absolute Poker pro Freddy Deeb and walked away with $159,000.

In August, Mizzi placed second in the EPT Tallinn High Roller Event for $98,000. He concluded 2010 by bubbling a pair of WPT final tables, taking seventh in the Foxwoods World Poker Finals for $88,000 and grabbing ninth in the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic at the Bellagio for $59,000. Remember, televised WPT final tables are played six-handed.

All told, Mizzi racked up nearly $1.9 million in earnings from live tournaments tracked by the Hendon Mob database last year. Along the way, he provided poker coaching to November Niner Matt Jarvis, a fellow Canadian. Jarvis ultimately bowed out in eighth place in the $10,000 buy-in tournament in Las Vegas for over $1 million.

Mizzi, who has been linked to several incidents on online poker sites in the past, has nevertheless remained a central figurehead in the industry. He told Poker News Daily in an interview in November that surrounding himself with talented poker friends has been critical: “I think it’s one of the most important things… That is how I got my start. I found players and tried to pick their brains. You know, it’s like anything in life, that’s the best way of learning, you find mentors. At least, for me, [it’s been] finding people where you want to be and trying to pick their brains as much as possible.”

Here were the top 10 players in the 2010 Bluff Player of the Year standings:

1. Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi – 1,777.77 points
2. Tom “Kingsofcards” Marchese – 1,257.30 points
3. Fernando Brito – 1,060.53 points
4. David Peters – 1,009.26 points
5. Vanessa Selbst – 986.77 points
6. Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin – 943.92 points
7. Dwyte Pilgrim – 896.23 points
8. Chris Bjorin – 889.25 points
9. Jason Mercier – 882.40 points
10. Chris Bell – 879.63 points

Jason Mercier took down the 2009 Bluff Player of the Year title. Other past winners have included John “The Razor” Phan (2008), Bill Edler (2007), Chad Brown (2006), and Phil Ivey (2005).

Poker News in Brief: Dec. 27, 2010- Jan. 2, 2011

That meant a few of poker's smaller stories may have slipped through the cracks.

Fortunately, we caught them and compiled them in our weekly Poker News in Brief feature below.

This week, Poker After Dark returns, the World Cup captains are named, UB goes back to Montreal and more.

Poker After Dark Returns

The new season of POKER PROductions' Poker After Dark returns to NBC this week.

POKER PROductions inked an agreement with NBC Universal extending the late-night poker show through 2014 in 2010 and the seventh season, filmed at the new Aria Resort and Casino at the City Center complex in Las Vegas, begins airing Jan. 3.

This season will feature more cash games than ever before. Most will be no-limit hold'em, but two weeks will also be devoted to Pot-Limit Omaha with a lineup that should impress fans.

Names like Mike Matusow, Chris Ferguson, Michael Mizrachi, Phil Hellmuth, Antonio Esfandiari, Annette Obrestad, Eli Elezra, Phil Galfond, Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan, Patrik Antonius, and David Oppenheim will all appear this season.

There will only be three weeks following the traditional Freezout format this season, including this week's "Big Heat," a $100,000 buy-in event featuring John Juanda, Erick Lindgren, Huckleberry Seed, Ivey, Dwan, and Galfond.

Leeann Tweeden will once again serve as the show's host with Ali Nejad providing commentary.

Fifty50 Sit & Go's

PokerStars has launched a new online poker Sit & Go format called Fifty50.

Although the tournaments end when half of the entrants have been eliminated, Fifty50's differ from the Double or Nothing format in that half of the prize pool gets split between the winning players equally and the other half is awarded based on chip counts.

Fifty50 events are currently running at the $10 level, but will soon be available at many different stakes.

World Cup of Poker Captains Named

The identities of the team captains for the seventh annual World Cup of Poker have been announced.

Last year, Chinese Taipei took the title. This year it will be Argentina, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, Spain, Slovakia, Italy, France, Ukraine and the United States battling it out for a $100,000 first prize at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.

Slovakia’s team will be led by Team PokerStars Pro’s newest member Dag Palovic. EPT San Remo winner Liv Boeree will lead the UK team while Argentina’s captain is back-to-back LAPT champ Nacho Barbero.

2009 APT champion Neil Arce will lead the team from the Philippines while the Spain squad will be headed up by Team PokerStars Pro Juan Manuel Pastor.

Luca Pagano leads Italy and Arnaud Mattern will captain the team from France.

And Finally, Vanessa Selbst will lead the USA while EPT Kiev runner-up Alexander Dovzhenko captains the Ukrainian side.

The action gets underway in the Bahamas Jan 14.

UB Returns to Poker Pro Canada Classic

For the second straight year, UB will be sending over twenty players to compete in the running of Montreal's biggest poker event, the Poker Pro Canada Classic.

The $1500+150 buy-in No Limit Hold 'em event runs Jan. 27-30, 2011 at the Four Aces Poker Club.

UB is running a series of super satellites and freerolls Jan. 2-16 giving players a chance to win a $2500 prize package that includes a seat plus $850 for travel expenses.

300-plus players and prize pool of $500,000 is expected in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Weekly Freerolls: Happy New Year!

This week PL.com players will want to pay close attention to the 888poker $1,000 freeroll on Sunday and the $2,500 William Hill Poker freeroll on Wednesday.

Next week the action will get even hotter with a 5,000 Titan Poker freeroll to look forward to on Jan. 13 as well as a $5,000 freerolls on Absolute and UB Poker on Jan. 15 and Jan. 16.

PokerStars will once again be offering a mega-freeroll on Jan. 15 with $15,000 in Sunday Million tickets.

There is still time to qualify for most of these events so sign on and treat yourself to a few hands of poker in the New Year.

If you're not a PL.com registered player on any of the following sites, click on the site's name in the list to sign up.

888poker

PokerListings players will have access to a $1000 freeroll by 888poker.

Date: Jan. 2 Value: $1000 Qualify with: 100 status points in December Sign up here

William Hill Poker

William Hill is running an exclusive $2.5k freeroll for PokerListings players in the first week of January.

Date: Jan. 8 Value: $2,500 Buy-in: 10 William Hill Points Sign up here

Betfair Poker

PokerListings players will want to check out the Betfair Poker $3,000 freeroll on Jan. 9.

Date: Jan. 9 Value: $3,000 Qualify with: 5 frequent player points Qualify between: December 1-31 Sign up here

Titan Poker

Titan Poker is running a $5,000 freeroll for PokerListings players that cost just 25 Titan Points to buy into.

Date: Jan. 13 Value: $5,000 Qualify with: 25 Titan Points Sign up here

PartyPoker

PokerListings players have access to exclusive monthly $2,000 freerolls on PartyPoker.

Date: Jan. 15 Value: $2,000 Qualify with: 100 Party Points Earned Qualify between: Dec. 1-30 Sign up here

Absolute Poker

Absolute Poker runs $5,000 monthly tournaments for PokerListings players.

Date: Jan. 15 Value: $5,000 Qualify with: 100 raked hands in December Qualify between: Dec. 1-30 Sign up here

UB Poker

PokerListings players get a shot at the UB Poker $5,000 exclusive monthly tournaments.

Date: Jan. 16 Value: $5,000 Qualify with: 100 raked hands in December Qualify between: Dec. 1-30 Sign up here

Poker770

Poker770 is hosting an exclusive $1,000 freeroll for PL.com players.

Date: Jan. 16 Value: $1,000 Qualify with: New deposit Qualify between: Any day before Jan. 16 Sign up here

PokerStars

PokerStars is running a massive $15,000 Sunday Million freeroll on Jan. 16.

Date: Jan. 16 Value: $15,000 in Sunday Million tickets Qualify with: 75 VPPs Qualify between: Dec. 1-30 Sign up here

bwin Poker

bwin Poker is running exclusive monthly $1,000 freerolls for PokerListings players.

Date: Jan. 23 Value: $1,000 Qualify with: 50 frequent player points Qualify between: May 15-Jan. 22 Sign up here

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Biggest Poker Surprises of 2010

Last week, Poker News Daily ran an article recapping the top poker news stories of 2010.  This, we were charged with the task of coming up with the top ten surprises of the past year.  As fate would have it, the biggest shocker of 2010 came on December 30th, making the top surprise a no-brainer.  Read on to find out.

10) Hip-Hop Hellmuth – Normally, I wouldn’t put an attention grab by Phil Hellmuth on a list of the year’s biggest surprises, but this one was phenomenal.  The “Poker Brat” made a cameo appearance in a hip-hop music video by Ludacris donned in UB.net garb and raking in UB.net chips.  Filmed at the Palms in Las Vegas, the video’s plot was supposed to be similar to that of the hit movie “The Hangover.”  The song is called “Sex Room.”  I’ll just leave it at that.

9) No Rest for the Weary – A crazy record not many people knew about before this year was broken not once, but twice.  In June, Phil Laak set the poker endurance record by playing $10/$20 Hold’em at the Bellagio for a staggering 115 consecutive hours, breaking Paul Zimbler’s 72-hour mark from late 2009.  Nobody would ever be silly enough to try to top Laak, would they?  Of course they would.  In November, Christie Teki-Reu and man who goes by the nickname “Chopper” played for 117 hours in the casino at the Grand Hotel in New Zealand as part of an organized effort to set the record in a special charity tournament.  Afterwards, Teki-Reu slept for five hours, was up for two hours, then slept for another ten hours.  Well deserved.

Kessler Max-Cashes – Well, almost.  Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler is a very good poker player, but he is known to play to make the money in tournaments.  He has definitely gone deep in tournaments and made a couple of WPT televised final tables, but for the most part, the poker community jokes about Kessler taking the conservative route and always looking to “min-cash.”

At the 2010 WSOP, poker players and fans lived vicariously through “Chainsaw” as he not only made the money in the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo event, but also continued to move up in the standings, making the final table and then finally reaching heads-up.  He eventually lost, but the $276,485 payday was far from a min-cash.  He finished with eight cashes, tied for most at this year’s WSOP.  Sure, some were min-cashes, but his second place run was one of the most memorable and surprising moments of the 2010 WSOP.

7) Security Fail – In May, it was discovered that the CEREUS Network had a major security hole.  The network did not have SSL encryption implemented, resulting in a vulnerability that made it possible to intercept network traffic and see an opponent’s hole cards.  In July, the same flaw was found on the Cake Poker Network.  It is unbelievable enough that one poker network could fail so miserably at something that should be so basic, but two networks dropping the ball?  Sad.

6) WSOP is Healthy – With the down economy and the struggles of online poker in the United States, it would have been reasonable to expect WSOP attendance figures to decline.  Not so.  2010 saw 72,966 players participate, the most in WSOP history by a wide margin and besting last year’s record by 20%.  The total prize money was the highest of all-time as well, reaching $187,109,850 and beating 2008′s high mark by 3.5%.  The Main Event was the second largest of all-time with 7,319 players, second only to 2006, which was the last WSOP Main Event before the UIGEA was passed.

5) Isildur1 is a Star – Isildur1, the nameless online nosebleed-stakes phenom, signed with PokerStars in December.  His signing with an online poker room isn’t all that surprising, considering that whenever he plays, he attracts scores of railbirds who love watching his million-dollar swings.  The shocker is that all of his high-stakes play has been at Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars’ closest rival.  Stars must have given him a sweet deal.

4) Resurgence of “The Grinder“ – While Michael Mizrachi had a few strong performances on the live tournament circuit in 2008 and 2009, his cachet had appeared to have worn off since he made his mark on the WPT in 2005 and 2006.  He also ran into major financial troubles this year.  But then the 2010 WSOP came along and he exploded back onto the poker map.

“The Grinder” won the $50,000 Player’s Championship for over $1.5 million, placed fifth in the Main Event for more than $2.3 million, and along the way became one of the biggest rooting interests of the summer.  To top it off, his three brothers – Daniel, Robert, and Eric – all cashed in the Main Event.  Robert also placed fifth in the Player’s Championship and made two other final tables.

3) Partying Has its Limits – In February, PartyPoker suddenly placed a cap on the number of play money chips members could have in their accounts.  Overnight, players with millions of chips had their accounts reset to the 250,000-chip maximum.  Party cited the sale of play chips as the main reason for the decision as well as instances of players with overwhelming numbers of chips making enormous bets and disrupting games.  The reaction was one of almost unanimous outrage by play money customers, many of whom had taken great pride in building up their accounts over several years.

2) Peter Eastgate Takes a Break – Nowadays, we have come to expect WSOP champions to serve as faces of the game and continue playing live tournaments around the world.  Not so with the 2008 champ Peter Eastgate.  Eastgate, who just turned 25, announced this year that he was taking an indefinite break from live tournament poker.  So far, it appears that it has been a break from poker in general.  His WSOP win set him up financially, which was enough for him.  To top it off, he auctioned off his WSOP bracelet in November and donated the proceeds to charity.

1) Duke and Hellmuth Leave UB – Annie Duke leaving UB, to me, was easily the most surprising moment in poker this year… until Phil Hellmuth did the same a few hours later.  Two of the biggest names in poker, the faces of UB since it was founded in 2001, left their online home on the same day.  Through all of UB’s controversy over the last few years, Duke and Hellmuth stood by the poker room and took tons of heat within the online poker community.  For better or for worse, they seemed like they were going to be with UB for life.

Pro Poker Seminars Opens for Serious Players

Come the beginning of 2011, there will be another alternative for poker players beyond such offerings as the World Poker Tour (WPT) Boot Camp and the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Academy.

Billing itself as a school for “serious” poker players, Pro Poker Seminars will be stepping into the training arena. Their first ever three-day seminar is scheduled for the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada from March 11th to 14th and will delve into such subjects as tilt prevention, tournament theory, live tells, and Omaha strategy. The seminar costs $1,199, but included are a suite for three nights, meals, study materials, and a special tournament featuring bounties on the instructors in attendance.

The instructors for the seminar should bring a wealth of experience in poker. Such noted poker authors as Dr. Alan Schoonmaker, Lou Krieger, and Chris “Fox” Wallace are scheduled to head the classes and will be readily available for discussion about poker during the off hours. The website for Pro Poker Seminars states, “Our seminars are more like intensive college courses than the story-time and glad-handing you get with some poker camps. These aren’t fantasy camps; this is serious poker education.”

“We did some research into what was available on the market and while there is a great deal of real training in the online marketplace, most live education amounted to glad-handing and story-telling with the old guard,” Pro Poker Seminars Co-Founder Adam Stemple stated in an interview. “These pros have great stories from the old days, and some interesting insights into the game, but they aren’t in tune with the high aggression levels and much stronger players in today’s game. We don’t want any part of that market; we want to help players who are serious about their games with real poker education.”

The seminars offered by Pro Poker Seminars have an affordable price in comparison to some of their competitors. The WPT Boot Camp normally runs around $1,895 and offers tournament instruction and cash game lessons. There, you can find such instructors as Linda Johnson, T.J. Cloutier, Todd Brunson, Kenna James, and Eric “Rizen” Lynch.

The WSOP Academy has a wealth of venerable poker names behind it and also offers qualified instructors. Its most recent “November Nine” camp was offered for $1,899 at the Rio and featured several strong performers at recent WSOP events. Former World Champion Greg Raymer headed a list of instructors that also included former WSOP Player of the Year Tom Schneider and WSOP Main Event final table players David “Chino” Rheem, Kevin Schaffel, and Steve Begleiter. Some of the WSOP Academy’s multi-day camp instructors include Phil Hellmuth, Annie Duke, and Mark Seif.

Depending on your bankroll and level of interest in the game, there are many choices for poker training seminars. According to Pro Poker Seminars partner Aliera Brust, the company is looking to provide a dozen events in 2011. For more information on the upcoming Reno event, visit the Pro Poker Seminars website.

December 31st – Weekly News Update

Welcome once again to the Poker News Daily weekly news update. I’m your host Sean Gibson and I’ll be delivering the top headlines for the week in the world of poker – and what a week of news it was!!

Our first story rocks the world of online poker as superstars Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke are officially parting ways with UB.com for different reasons. Both have been the faces of UB.com and represented for nine years. We did get a comment from Annie Duke about HER decision to leave UB.com:

“After some thought, I made a decision to leave UB.com because I would like to explore other avenues of business and personal growth. I realized I needed to spend my time on other things.”

Duke has stated that she has no intentions of signing on with another poker site. She said that she is moving on from UB.com to persue other projects on a full time basis. Hellmuth continues to be one of the biggest names in the world of poker and his departure, although rumored in the last few weeks, still comes as a huge shock. As more develops in this story, stay tuned right here at poker news daily for the latest.

Another online poker industry icon is moving on as Lee Jones earlier this week announced his resignation from Cake Poker. Jones posted on the TwoPlusTwo forums on Tuesday:

“This is a brief announcement to let you know that, as of yesterday, I have resigned my position at Cake Poker and will not be making any further posts here. Their management has made some strategic decisions with which I’m not comfortable.”

Jones, who also is a guest columnist here at our site told us that he simply wasn’t comfortable with some of the decisions that the Cake management was making. Jones refused to comment further but added that he hopes to remain in the poker industry and says he has a couple of irons in the fire. Jones rose to fame in the online poker industry originally in roles with PokerStars, the EPT and at CardRunners.

For those of you that can’t get enough Isildur1 action, the next SuperStar Showdown match has been announced. Coming off a loss to Isaac Haxton, Isildur1 will now face the notorious Tony G in a high stakes battle. You might remember that it was Tony G that supposedly staked Isildur1 for a comeback bid and reportedly knows the Swedish player’s identity. The match will take place on Sunday, January 2nd at 4pm eastern time on PokerStars. The game will be half no limit hold’em and half pot limit Omaha at $50-$100 blind stakes. Interested parties can rail the action at PokerStars by looking for tables labeled showdown under the Omaha tab or under the Holdem, No Limit all tables tab.

Jon Friedberg, known online as pokertrip will be debuting a new talk show right here, exclusively on Poker News Daily. Friedberg will host the new show, called “The Showdown” every week here at PND, and promises to feature some of the game’s most prolific names. Set to start during the first week of January, Friedberg’s first guest will be former Survivor castaway Jean-Robert Bellande. When asked about his new home here at PND, he stated:

“I see myself not as a member of the media, but rather a fellow poker player who sees eye-to-eye with players I interview. I don’t have any problems asking questions that other poker media might be scared to address. My passion is to share the lifestyles, strategies, and thought processes of poker players.”

Be sure to catch the first episode of “The Showdown” right here at Poker News Daily next week!

In recent days, Party Gaming and bwin announced merger plans to form a giant online gaming group that will become effective sometime in the first quarter of 2011. It’s expected that this merger will create the biggest largest listed online gambling business. The new company will operate worldwide with its existing brands and both bwin and Party Gaming will retain most of the core of their brands but be operated under a new umbrella company. Bwin’s CEO had this to say:

“Our products and target markets complement one another perfectly, and we can continue to expand our technology lead in all key product segments: sports betting, poker, casino, bingo, and games.”

Now that the year is over, CardPlayer has officially crowned Tom Marchese the 2010 CardPlayer Player of the Year. His epic run in 2010 saw him make 11 final tables in major live tournaments to the tune of over $2 million in profits. The highlight of 2010 for Marchese was the win at the NAPT Venetian Main Event for over eight hundred thousand dollars. He beat out Dwyte Pilgrim, Sorel Mizzi and Vanessa Selbst for the award. Marchese had four six-figure paydays in 2010 with final tables at the European Poker Tour, World Poker Tour and World Series of Poker.

Well that wraps up a very exciting and busy week in the world of poker as well as our last weekly news report of 2010. Be sure to come back to poker news daily for all the latest poker headlines every single day and as a reminder, be sure to catch John Friedberg’s new show, “The Showdown” right here next week along with another episode of our weekly news recap. I’m Sean Gibson wishing you a very happy and safe new years!

Phil Hellmuth Leaves UB.com in Major Shakeup

It’s been a busy day for all of us in the online poker community. Just hours after Annie Duke announced her exit from UB.com to pursue non-poker business interests, site icon Phil Hellmuth departed as well. A statement posted on UB.com reveals that the two sides “mutually parted ways.”

Hellmuth was recently seen on ESPN’s coverage of the PokerStars North American Poker Tour’s (NAPT) Los Angeles Bounty Shootout wearing patches for the Aria Casino in Las Vegas and the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Academy. Curiously absent were any logos for his home poker site, UB.com. Hellmuth also appeared on NBC’s “Poker After Dark” devoid of UB.com logos, leading many to believe that he was on the outs with the USA-friendly CEREUS Network room.

Duke left UB.com earlier today in order to extend her foothold in the business world. She commented in a statement posted on UB.com, “I have nothing but positive things to say about UB and my experiences with the brand, management, and the incredible people who work hard daily to deliver a terrific online poker experience.” Duke and Hellmuth had been with UB.com since 2001, the year the online poker site was launched as Ultimate Bet and two years before the modern poker boom.

Duke told Poker News Daily that she does not plan to sign with a competing online poker site; whether Hellmuth feels the same way is not yet known. Duke’s brother, Howard Lederer, is one of the main faces of Full Tilt Poker, which also accepts action from the United States. Hellmuth, who is widely regarded as one of the top tournament players on the planet, could also head to a site like PokerStars or Victory Poker.

Hellmuth owns the record for the number of WSOP bracelets won at 11 and number of WSOP cashes at 79. Along the way, he’s racked up $6.2 million in WSOP earnings alone and is a rumored contestant on the 2011 installment of the ABC reality series “Dancing with the Stars.” He’s one of the top marketable faces in the poker industry and has coined several memorable phrases including “I can dodge bullets, baby” and “Idiot from Northern Europe.”

Hellmuth won the 1989 WSOP Main Event at age 24 and, for the next 20 years, held the record as the youngest champ ever of the $10,000 buy-in poker tournament. Before anyone knew who Chris Moneymaker was, Hellmuth had already amassed seven bracelets; in fact, he racked up three pieces of hardware in 1993 alone.

In 2009, November Niner Jeff Shulman asked Hellmuth to help him with his short-handed game in preparation for the Main Event final table. As a result, Shulman took fifth place for $1.9 million.

Today’s two high-profile departures leave UB.com stocked with a pro roster that includes PokerRoad’s Joe Sebok, bracelet winner Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin, and Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho, the Last Women Standing in the 2008 and 2007 WSOP Main Events, respectively. Also remaining on the Team UB roster are Bryan “badbeatninja” Devonshire, Brandon Cantu, Adam “Roothlus” Levy, and Anthrax’s Scott Ian, among others. The group appears to have become noticeably younger sans Hellmuth and Duke.

Prior to announcing his exit from UB.com, Hellmuth Tweeted the prices of several sports tickets he was monitoring: “New Years Eve L.A. Lakers/Sixers tix, Row 5, center court trading for $460 apiece. Tix for once a year Rose Bowl on 40 yard line, 44 rows up: $350 apiece!”

Earlier this week, Lee Jones announced his resignation from Cake Poker as its Card Room Manager, citing “strategic decisions with which I’m not comfortable” made by Cake management. Cake Poker Tournament Director Serge “andanthar” Ravitch followed suit in what is traditionally a slow week for poker news.

Poker News Daily has heard rumblings that UB.com may add another pro to its roster early next week. Who that could be remains to be seen, but rumors seem to indicate that it’s Prahlad Friedman. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest on this developing story.

Annie Duke Leaves UB.com

In breaking news, former “Celebrity Apprentice” runner-up Annie Duke has parted ways with UB.com. A blog revealing that she had left the online poker site appeared around 1:30pm ET on Thursday. Duke had been with UB.com for nine years, including both the pre- and post-Chris Moneymaker era.

Duke told Poker News Daily, “After some thought, I made a decision to leave UB.com because I would like to explore other avenues of business and personal growth. I realized I needed to spend my time on other things.” Duke, the sister of Full Tilt Poker front man Howard Lederer, has over $1.1 million in career World Series of Poker (WSOP) earnings and scooped a bracelet in 2004 in a $2,000 Omaha High-Low Eight or Better tournament that featured Erik Seidel and Todd Brunson at the final table.

Also in 2004, Duke was the last person standing in the inaugural WSOP Tournament of Champions, an invite-only, winner-take-all tournament that featured 10 players. Duke banked $2 million for the win and received nearly instant poker fame. Her company at the Tournament of Champions table included Chip Reese, Main Event champ Greg Raymer, Doyle Brunson, Lederer, and former UB.com colleague Phil Hellmuth, who was the runner-up. This year, Duke bested Seidel in the National Heads-Up Poker Championship, which aired on NBC.

Duke wished the crew at UB.com nothing but the best going forward, telling Poker News Daily, “I wish them all the best and wish nothing but good things for the brand. I think that UB.com started some of my development as a businessperson. That was very much the most enjoyable part of it. I wanted to do more of that. I wanted to do much more of that than I had an opportunity to.” Among Duke’s other endeavors are MyMixedNuts.com – a custom trail mix outfit – and Ante Up for Africa, a charity that brings money and attention to the victims of the crisis in Darfur.

Duke explained to Poker News Daily that she does not plan to sign with another online poker site in the future.

Duke made a name for herself last year by competing in the hit NBC reality series “Celebrity Apprentice.” The Donald Trump-led show, which raises funds for various charities, saw Duke finish as the runner-up to comedian Joan Rivers, who at one point compared the former UB.com pro to a Nazi and called the poker playing community “trash.” Rivers and her daughter, Melissa, were both contestants on the series.

Duke was one of the main faces of UB.com, a site that now features players like former “Poker2Nite” host Joe Sebok and former “Amazing Race” contestants Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho as its primary pros. Duke and Hellmuth had served as the central figures of UB.com since the site’s inception nine years ago, long before anyone knew the name Moneymaker.

According to PokerScout.com, which logs online poker room traffic, the CEREUS Network, which includes UB.com and Absolute Poker, is the seventh largest worldwide, with a seven-day running average of 2,100 real money ring game players. At its peak, around 3,000 cash game players call the Network home. CEREUS is the third largest family of sites to accept action from the United States, trailing only PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker in that department. The Network was created in 2008 after the player bases of UB.com and Absolute Poker were merged.

We’ll have more for you on this story as it develops right here on Poker News Daily.

Lee Jones leaves Cake Poker

Major changes are afoot at Cake Poker with the news that card room manager Lee Jones and tournament director Serge Ravitch are stepping down.

Tom Marchese – Poker Player Bio

Tom Marchese is known by the online moniker “Kingsofcards” and makes his home in New Jersey.  His lifetime tournament career earnings exceed $2.4 million and he was named the 2010 CardPlayer Player of the Year.  His 2010 campaign will be remembered as the breakout year for a player that many had on their radars as one of the up-and-comers in the world of No Limit Hold’em.

Marchese’s CardPlayer Player of the Year victory was by a wide margin over Dwyte Pilgrim, Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi, Venssa Selbst, and November Niner John Racener. Marchese won the award by making 11 final tables, winning two tournament titles, and recording over $2 million in just 16 live cashes.  His strong point total would have won him the award in four of the last five years.

His biggest cash of 2010 came in the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Venetian Main Event.  He bested 872 entrants and took down $827,648 for his efforts.  Finishing in the top 20 in that same Main Event were notable pros like Blair Hinkle, Andrew Chen, Andrew Lichtenberger, and “Miami” John Cernuto.  Marchese stated that winning the NAPT Venetian Main Event was the highlight of the year.

His win at the NAPT Venetian Main Event was just the tip of the iceberg.  He finished in fourth place in the No Limit Hold’em High Roller Event at the European Poker Tour (EPT) Monte Carlo stop for $350,125 and also had another six-figure payday at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) $10,000 Pot Limit Hold’em World Championship, where he finished in sixth place for $123,264.

Marchese had two other six-figure finishes in 2010. The first came in September in the EPT London Main Event, where he finished in seventh for $156,490. The second came in October at the World Poker Tour (WPT) Foxwoods World Poker Finals, where he finished third for $211,759.

It’s an ironic twist of fate that Marchese rose to fame in the world of live tournament poker after making his bankroll in online cash games.  He played Limit Hold’em at $0.50-$1 blinds, but made his way up to the $15-$30 and $30-$60 games.  Later, he took up No Limit Hold’em and was a regular at the six-max $2-$4 games. Eventually, he table selected between heads-up and short-handed games at mid- and high-stakes.

He started playing professionally around the age of 20 while still in college.  He told Poker News Daily that he would show his father cash game graphs and explain that the game of poker wasn’t just simple luck.  It wasn’t until a big score at a live tournament at Borgata that the decision to turn pro and leave college behind came to fruition.  Now, his father constantly text messages to get chip updates during tournaments.

Marchese has said that his favorite poker destination was Aruba because of the beaches and relaxed atmosphere.  He also stated that he likes to travel to Portugal or anywhere that has nice beaches.

Tom Marchese Recaps 2010 CardPlayer Player of the Year Title

This week, Tom Marchese officially claimed the 2010 CardPlayer Player of the Year title after an epic run that saw him make 11 final tables in major live poker tournaments according to the Hendon Mob for over $2 million. Marchese, who recently signed with the management firm Poker Icons, sat down with Poker News Daily to discuss the year that was.

Poker News Daily: Congratulations on capturing the CardPlayer Player of the Year honors. How does it feel?

Tom Marchese: It’s pretty awesome. It’s one of those things where it wasn’t on my mind to start the year and I found myself in the race. As it got closer, it was something I wanted to win and put effort into.

PND: What was the highlight of 2010 for you?

Tom Marchese: It has to be the NAPT Venetian Main Event win. Going into that, no one knew me on the live scene, so it put me on the map. I had just final tabled a tournament in Atlantic City and had all the confidence in the world.

PND: When did you start gunning for the award?

Tom Marchese: After the WSOP. Before that, I just played main events and don’t think I played any buy-ins below $5,000. After the WSOP, in the race for the Player of the Year title, I decided to grind smaller tournaments and make a run. I don’t know if I could grind them all the time, but I enjoyed it.

PND: You recorded 11 final tables in major tournaments according to Hendon Mob this year. Tell us about bursting onto the poker scene in 2010.

Tom Marchese: I’m sure a lot of people thought my previous online success was just me getting lucky, but people have to realize that some of the best players in the game come from an online background and don’t have a lot of live experience. People realized that my game is as good as anyone else’s. I wanted to play a bunch live and get in some travel in 2010. I was hoping to freeroll a year of traveling, so I didn’t have super high expectations.

PND: Speaking of traveling, what is your favorite tournament location?

Tom Marchese: My favorite poker trip was to Aruba, which was actually canceled this year. It’s one of the nicest beaches I’ve been to and has a very relaxed atmosphere. When you go to the Bahamas, the weather’s good, but it’s really obvious that you’re at a poker tournament. I also went to Portugal for EPT Vilamoura and played in the Partouche Poker Tour. Those were both on the beach and really fun. I’m looking for a beach and nice weather when I travel.

PND: What has it been like watching yourself on ESPN as part of the network’s NAPT coverage?

Tom Marchese: I enjoy watching, although I prefer watching the NAPT I won. At first, it was pretty weird to watch myself on TV with a bunch of friends where you can see your physical tendencies, but it’s very cool to be on ESPN2.

PND: We understand that you conducted a few coaching sessions with WSOP November Niner Matt Jarvis.

Tom Marchese: I helped him leading up to the Main Event final table. I just did a session or two right before it and went over some strategies. We were talking about good opening positions based on what stack sizes were difficult to 3bet you and what players to stay away from. It was a general, common sense approach to having 30 big blinds. When you have that stack, it’s important to be looking for the best opening spots and not just every opening spot. You’re only going to have so many opportunities to raise/fold.

PND: You seem to be quite humble both in this interview and at the table. Is that how you are in real life?

Tom Marchese: That’s how I am. Many of my friends don’t play poker or play and have less success. If you don’t stay down to Earth, what friends are you really going to have? I’m just fortunate to have the success I’ve had this year. It’s important to keep working hard.

PND: How are your friends and family taking it?

Tom Marchese: They all think it’s awesome. Whenever I’m playing live, my Dad texts me for updates, which is cool because he was against poker when I started. Up until this year, my friends thought I was just getting by. Now, they think it’s awesome that I’m on TV. Everyone is really happy about it.

PND: How did you convince your Dad that poker could be a viable career?

Tom Marchese: I did my best to show him cash game graphs and explain that the game wasn’t luck. When I was in college and my grades weren’t the best, it’s understandable that my parents thought I was just gambling.

PND: What goals do you have for 2011? Will we be seeing a repeat Player of the Year performance?

Tom Marchese: The repeat is on my mind. At least for the start of the year, I’ll play a pretty heavy schedule and see what happens. If I enter the WSOP and I’m in the race, I’ll try to defend. I’ll definitely be playing all of the good U.S. main events and will probably make it to Europe a few times for London. San Remo, Vilamoura, and Partouche. No matter what, I plan to play a lot.

PND: We wanted you to dish out a few awards of your own. First, who is the Most Improved Tournament Player of 2010?

Tom Marchese: Dwyte Pilgrim. It seems like his game came together pretty well this year. You can expect him to continue improving in 2011.

PND: Who will be the Breakout Tournament Player of 2011?

Tom Marchese: Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger or Bryn Kenney. Both of them have gone deep in the WSOP Main Event and always have good stacks. They have both run bad deep.

PND: Who is the Best Female Tournament Player?

Tom Marchese: Vanessa Selbst. She is far and away the best.

PND: Who is the Best Online Tournament Player?

Tom Marchese: It’s still Steve “gboro780” Gross. His online results lifetime are pretty much in a class above everyone else.

PND: Finally, what was the best Christmas gift you received?

Tom Marchese: Spending time with my family. These days, I’m fortunate enough to be able to afford anything I want, so I’m a difficult person to buy for. I got clothes and I appreciate them, but having seen my family so little this year, it has been great to spend time with them.

The Showdown with Jon Friedberg Debuts on Poker News Daily in January

We’ll be ringing in the New Year in a big way here at Poker News Daily, as bracelet winner Jon Friedberg will be debuting “The Showdown” during the first week of January on our site. Friedberg will interview several of the game’s most prolific names in the weekly video series; in fact, the inaugural episode will feature a no-holds-barred discussion with former “Survivor” castaway Jean-Robert Bellande. The show is sponsored by UB.com.

Poker News Daily: Thanks for joining us. We are looking forward to seeing “The Showdown” come to life next week. Tell us how you became interested in hosting poker talk shows.

Jon Friedberg: It was something I accidentally stumbled across back in 2007. I was invited to be a guest on “The Circuit” and one of the hosts didn’t show up. I came on and it was just Rich Belsky and I. We had good chemistry and he thought I did well, so he asked me if I wanted to be a host of the show, so I accepted and did that for a while.

During the 2007 WSOP, CardPlayer was launching CardPlayer TV. I was asked if I wanted to have a segment on a new show where I would be interviewing players. The first episode I did, my interview lasted eight minutes and they said it was a little long to use as a segment, so asked if I wanted my own show. It sort of happened and I ended up having my own show on CardPlayer TV during the 2007 WSOP.

I enjoyed talking to players and detailing their thoughts and lifestyles to poker fans. The only thing I didn’t like was coordinating schedules with poker players. They’re tough to pin down and not good about scheduling.

After that, I took a hiatus. There was a little bit of a transition in my poker career where I wasn’t having results on the tournament circuit and didn’t feel there was much value in it anymore. I was looking to get into some ventures and continue playing, but not traveling as much. I started to think back to how much fun I was having when I was hosting my own show. I decided to talk to a few sites and sponsors to see if I could pull something together.

I see myself not as a member of the media, but rather a fellow poker player who sees eye-to-eye with players I interview. I don’t have any problems asking questions that other poker media might be scared to address. My passion is to share the lifestyles, strategies, and thought processes of poker players.

PND: What can we expect from your interview with Jean-Robert Bellande?

Jon Friedberg: We all know he loves to play beyond his bankroll. He’s very open and honest about what he Tweets and doesn’t hide losses or winnings that we know of. He mentions certain things that we don’t know much about like the “Rhino tax,” which means he’s going to Spearmint Rhino in Las Vegas and spending money on dances and such. I want to ask what a typical night at the Rhino is like for him, how much he spends, and whether the girls flock to him because he’s a baller.

He also Re-Tweets insults that people send him. I’m going to address a lot of questions about Twitter, what his philosophy is about bankroll management, and what would happen if he does go broke.

PND: You won a WSOP bracelet in 2006 in a $1,000 No Limit Hold’em event. Did your legitimacy in the poker world noticeably increase after the victory?

Jon Friedberg: Back then, Scott Clements and I were the only two ranked online players to come out and win bracelets. At that time, a lot of guys who are now superstars gave me respect like Steve “gboro780” Gross and Kevin “BeL0WaB0Ve” Saul. I definitely got a ton of respect because of the bracelet win back then.

Now, people don’t have the same level of respect for my game because I don’t play as much as before, so I don’t have the same results. They respect my knowledge of the lifestyle of the game and my candidness of putting people on the spot and asking them questions that other members of the poker media don’t have the courage to ask.

PND: Who is the top poker talk show host right now?

Jon Friedberg: Joe Sebok. I enjoyed “Poker2Nite.” I think he’s also done a great job on PokerRoad.

PND: What future guests can we expect to see on “The Showdown” with Jon Friedberg on PND?

Jon Friedberg: Shaun Deeb, Antonio Esfandiari, Dwyte Pilgrim, and Tom Marchese. Dwyte came out of nowhere and a lot of people don’t know anything about him. The #1 question I’d want to ask him is, “Why there aren’t more African-American poker players? Does poker not appeal to them?” I also want to ask about his shit talking.

Visit UB.com today.

Poker Pros Annie Duke, Joe Reitman Engaged

A prolific tweeter, the Team UB.com pro Annie Duke made the following announcement on her Twitter account on December 25th: “I said yes!”

In case her more than 25,000 followers were confused as to exactly what she was talking about, Duke posted a picture of herself showing off her new diamond engagement ring to the camera while sitting in her fiancé Joe Reitman‘s lap.

Shortly thereafter, the well wishes started streaming in from every corner of the Twitterverse.  Most were from fans, but several fellow poker pros sent their best as well.  Fellow Team UB.com member Tiffany Michelle Tweeted, “Huge congrats to @AnnieDuke and @JoeUgly on a Christmas engagement. Love it! It’s about freakin’ time!”

“Hollywood” Dave Stann, another UB.com pro, weighed in, making a statement with which most people would agree: “Best Xmas present ever!”

Other poker players Tweeting their regards included Eric Froehlich, Rafe Furst, Alex Outhred, Liv Boeree, Andy Bloch, and Prahlad Friedman, along with Team UB.com members Joe Sebok and Samantha Ryan.

One person who non-poker players might recognize was actor Kevin Pollak, who Tweeted, “Congrats to a very surprised @AnnieDuke on her engagement today to her very wise fella, @joeugly.” Pollak is in the midst of hosting FOX’s “Million Dollar Money Drop.”

For you gossip hounds, Duke has not divulged how Reitman proposed and no wedding date has been announced.

Duke and Reitman met in 2005 when a mutual friend in Los Angeles introduced them to each other.  The two started the same year as Reitman separated from his first wife, fellow actor and poker enthusiast Shannon Elizabeth.  Duke had also been previously married.  She wed long-time friend Ben Duke in 1991, a marriage that lasted 13 years and produced four children: Maud, Leo, Lucy, and Nell.

Reitman is an actor, writer, and producer who has had supporting roles in many films and television shows.  Movie buffs may recognize him from “Lady in the Water,” “Drop Dead Sexy,” “American Pie II,” “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back,” and “Clueless.”  His numerous guest appearances on television include “CSI,” “The Drew Carey Show,” “Monk,” and “Judging Amy.”  He has also had recurring roles on “Charmed,” “Townies,” “Blood Ties,” “Married with Children,” and “Jack and Jill.”  In addition to his acting roles, Reitman has produced and directed several episodes of “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” and wrote and directed “Survivin’ the Island” and “Leo.”

On the poker front, Reitman has had three minor World Series of Poker (WSOP) cashes, but he caught the attention of the poker world when he won UB.com’s $1 million Guarantee in early 2006.

Duke is one of the most prolific live tournament players in poker history and currently ranks second on the women’s all-time money list with over $4.2 million in career earnings.  She has 37 lifetime WSOP cashes, the most significant of which came in 2004 when she won her first and only bracelet in a $2,000 Omaha Hi-Lo Split event.  During the same WSOP, she won the inaugural Tournament of Champions, taking home a $2 million check.  Her most recent career highlight came this March, when she bested good friend Erik Seidel in the finals to win the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship and $500,000.

2011 Satellites: Live Poker Tournaments You Can Qualify for Now

Check out our guide to all the big events in 2011 you can already satellite your way into right now.

Lee Jones Resigns from Cake Poker

In breaking news from the world of online poker, Lee Jones has stepped down as Card Room Manager of Cake Poker, effective immediately. Jones posted in a thread on TwoPlusTwo around 3:00pm ET on Tuesday, “This is a brief announcement to let you know that, as of yesterday, I have resigned my position at Cake Poker and will not be making any further posts here. Their management has made some strategic decisions with which I’m not comfortable.”

Despite departing the site, Jones, who is also a Guest Columnist here at Poker News Daily, spoke highly of his former colleagues: “Please direct any questions or concerns to the Cake support staff; they are top-notch people.” Cake Poker is the flagship site of the USA-friendly Cake Poker Network.

Also departing Cake Poker concurrently with Jones is Serge Ravitch, who is known in the online poker world as “adanthar.” Ravitch served as Cake Poker’s Tournament Director and Jones affectionately dubbed him the “Minister of Tournament Arts” in homage to the Harry Potter franchise. Ravitch was one of the figureheads in uncovering the cheating scandal at Absolute Poker.

Ravitch posted in the same TwoPlusTwo thread on Tuesday, “It sincerely pains me to say that, for the same reasons, I am also no longer affiliated with Cake in any way. I wish them the best of luck going forward.” What “strategic decisions” Jones and Ravitch alluded to were not clear at the time of writing. In addition, Cake Poker has not released any statement.

Jones could only tell Poker News Daily on Tuesday afternoon, “I’m just not comfortable with some of the decisions that the Cake management was making.” However, the veteran of the poker world hopes to remain in the industry, explaining to us, “I have a couple of irons in the fire. I certainly have every intention of staying in the poker business, so I’ll have to see what pans out.” Jones formerly brought customer service to new heights while with PokerStars and also worked with the European Poker Tour and CardRunners.

In TwoPlusTwo’s “Cake Poker Feedback Thread,” which is where Jones dropped the bombshell, posters weighed in en masse. The first responder explained, “This isn’t totally unexpected. Best wishes in your future enterprises.” Another poster predicted that Jones and Ravitch would land on their feet: “Lee and ‘adanthar’ are top-notch in my opinion and won’t need luck, but agreed nonetheless.”

According to PokerScout.com, which keeps tabs on online poker room traffic, the Cake Poker Network is the 24th largest worldwide and boasts a seven-day running average of 740 real money ring game players. Its peak traffic passes 1,100 cash game players and the family of sites happily accepts action from the United States.

Besides Cake Poker, other rooms on the Network include the Doyle Brunson-fronted DoylesRoom, Only Poker, Poker4Green, Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies’ Power Poker, Red Star Poker, Phil Laak’s Unabomber Poker, and Victory Poker, the latter of which joined in August.

The holidays have not been kind to the Cake Poker Network, which has not eclipsed the 1,300-cash game player mark since December 21st. In the 30 days prior, it passed 1,300 ring game players 14 times.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for more developments on this breaking story.

PokerStars ANZPT Season 3 Taking Shape

The third season of the PokerStars-backed Australia-New Zealand Poker Tour, or ANZPT for short, is taking shape. A total of eight events are on the docket, starting in February with a trip to Adelaide for an AUD $2,400 buy-in tournament from the 2nd to 6th. The event’s field is capped at 200 runners.

From Adelaide, the ANZPT crew will travel to the Burswood Casino for ANZPT Perth from March 23rd to 27th. The stop features an AUD $2,500 buy-in Main Event that, like the Adelaide event, is capped at 300 players. Following the sojourn to Perth, PokerStars officials will pack their belongings and head to Sydney, where the Star City Casino will host another AUD $2,500 buy-in Main Event. The Sydney stop is capped at a healthy 500 entrants. You can catch the marquee tournament starting on April 13th; it will crown a champion four days later.

The fourth stop on the ANZPT Season 3 schedule is at the Jupiters Hotel and Casino for ANZPT Gold Coast. The AUD $2,500 buy-in event takes place between May 17th and 22nd and will reach capacity when 350 players have punched their tickets. Following the Gold Coast festivities, ANZPT Canberra will play out at Casino Canberra. The tournament takes place from June 10th to 13th and is the smallest event capacity-wise at 240 players.

Three other ANZPT events are on the books for Season 3. However, PokerStars has not yet announced a buy-in or dates for ANZPT Queenstown, ANZPT Melbourne, or ANZPT Darwin. What is known is that the trio of tournaments will take place at the SkyCity Queenstown, Crown Melbourne, and SkyCity Darwin, respectively.

The first stop in Adelaide features a 13-day festival of poker that includes 16 events starting on January 25th. The richest tournament on the docket is not the Main Event, but rather the AUD $4,000 buy-in Big Stakes Event, which will pan out on February 6th. The series features several strict regulations, including one regarding betting and raising. Text found on the ANZPT website explains, “Adelaide Casino is very strict regarding string bets/raises – it is recommend that players announce the amount of the raise or release all of the chips in hand over the line in one single motion.”

If you have an iPod, leave it at home because the popular Apple device will not be allowed at ANZPT Adelaide due to government regulations. In addition, according to PokerStars, “If you act out of turn and the intervening player bets more, you forfeit your out of turn bet if you fold.”

In October, Danny “Brotha D” Leaoasavaii came away with the win in Darwin, the final stop of the second season of the ANZPT, and picked up AUD $57,000. ANZPT Season 2 Player of the Year Tony Hachem finished 10th in the tournament, adding another AUD $5,000 to his poker bankroll, and Billy “The Croc” Argyros also made the final table.

For winning the ANZPT Player of the Year title, Hachem took home entry into four PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) events as well as either the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event or the Aussie Millions Main Event. Hachem logged 252 Player of the Year points during Season 2 and edged out John Maklouf, who accrued 233. Amazingly, the top 51 players on the ANZPT Season 2 Player of the Year leaderboard hailed from Australia.

Here is the preliminary schedule for Season 3:

ANZPT Adelaide: Adelaide Casino
AUD $2,400 buy-in
February 2nd to 6th

ANZPT Perth: Burswood Casino
AUD $2,500 buy-in
March 23rd to 27th

ANZPT Sydney: Star City Casino
AUD $2,200 buy-in
April 13th to 17th

ANZPT Gold Coast: Jupiters Hotel & Casino
AUD $2,500 buy-in
May 17th to 22nd

ANZPT Canberra: Casino Canberra
AUD $2,200 buy-in
June 10th to 13th

ANZPT Queenstown: SkyCity Queenstown
TBD

ANZPT Melbourne: Crown Melbourne
TBD

ANZPT Darwin: SkyCity Darwin
TBD

Visit PokerStars for more details.

Time Magazine Tackles Poker in Florida

Ever since the Florida legislature adjusted the state’s poker laws earlier this year, people have been flooding the Sunshine State like never before. The influx of action has left a leading magazine to pose the question, “Is Florida the Next Las Vegas?”

A recent article in Time Magazine posed the question due to the increase in not only players in the state’s casinos, but also attention from major gaming outlets. The rise in interest in poker is due to the change in Florida’s gaming laws that allowed for higher stakes cash game play, richer tournaments, and more poker rooms. While players are flooding to cash games, poker’s biggest organizations are taking the opportunity to move into fertile ground.

In August, as a result of the change in Florida’s laws, the World Poker Tour (WPT) announced a $10,000 buy-in Season 9 tournament scheduled for April at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood. In November, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit found its opportunity to move into the state, announcing a stop at the Palm Beach Kennel Club in February.

According to the author of the Time article, Thomas Collins, the growth of poker throughout Florida isn’t limited to just the big name casinos like the Seminole Indian operation. Florida has many thoroughbred horse racing tracks, greyhound tracks, and jai alai arenas that are also taking advantage of the new laws to open or expand their poker room offerings. The new outlets for poker are expected to bring in over $1 billion to the coffers of the state.

Collins reports in his article that, although there have been overtures from Las Vegas casino operations to create a “Vegas in the Everglades,” it may be a bit early to expect such an expansion. Collins points out the many family-friendly attractions in Florida such as Walt Disney World and Universal Studios, where gaming isn’t a major part of the draw.

Collins quoted two Florida politicians whose views on the subject concur with his observations. State Representative Bill Galvano, a Bradenton Republican who was at the head of negotiations with the Seminoles regarding the change in gaming laws, is quoted by Collins as stating, “The state’s just so diverse, so a Vegas-style scenario is not a natural progression.” Democrat Jim Waldman from Coconut Creek agreed with his fellow Florida representative: “I don’t think you’re going to have another Vegas. What you’re going to have are more options for people who want to gamble in Florida.”

Players have been quite pleased with the state of poker in Florida. 2010 WSOP $50,000 Player’s Championship winner and Main Event final tablist Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi is quoted in Collins’ article as saying, “ (The new laws are) a dream come true. There’s nothing better than playing poker with beaches.” Mizrachi is a sponsored pro of Full Tilt Poker.

Message boards have also been buzzing with the changes in Florida’s poker scene. On the TwoPlusTwo forum, players have touted the higher stakes and new games that have been offered. Poster “DELUXER1” wrote, “Omaha continues to expand at Naples. When I left on Sat at about 4pm, they had two full tables of 2-5 PLO going. Also, the Sat 4-8 HK and the Fri 3-6 Omaha8 games continue to go strong.” “bocablkr” reported in the same thread, “On Wed nights, there is a 15-30 LHE game at the Isle Casino in Pompano. I played Thanksgiving Eve and it was a Mixed game of 15-30 LHE and 15-30 Omaha H/L. It was a lot of fun.”

With the one-year anniversary of the Florida poker law changes coming up in April, the full story has yet to be told. However, with the arrival of high-stakes card players and the WPT and the WSOPC in the coming year, Florida appears to be the new hotspot for poker in the Southeastern United States.

UB.com Returns as Sponsor of Poker Pro Canada Classic

UB.com has announced that it will once again be the title sponsor of the second annual Poker Pro Canada Classic.  The tournament, which will be held at the Four Aces Poker Club in Montreal, Quebec, is scheduled to run from January 27th to January 30th.

Co-sponsored by the leading poker magazine Poker Pro Canada, the Classic will feature a $1,500 + $150 buy-in and, like most major tournaments, will be a No Limit Hold’em event.  With more than 300 players expected to register, the prize pool could get up to $500,000 or more.

Poker Pro Canada Editor-In-Chief John “Johnny Quads” Wenzel is understandably excited about the upcoming tournament and commented in a press release, “The first Poker Pro Canada Classic back in April was a huge success, so we couldn’t wait to hold the second edition.  Four Aces was a terrific venue and I can’t wait to get back there.”

While the Poker Pro Canada Classic is a freezeout, it is not a freezeout in the traditional sense.  There will be three Day 1s and, while there are no intra-day rebuys allowed, anyone who busts out will be permitted to plunk down another buy-in and try again on a subsequent starting day.  Play will be stopped each day once the field gets down to 25 players.  Seventy-five total players across Days 1A, 1B, and 1C will return on Sunday, January 30th to compete for the championship.  Players will start with 20,000 chips and blinds will increase every hour.

As one might expect in a live tournament sponsored by an online poker room, UB.com will be running super satellites to the event during the month of January.  Here is the super satellite schedule:

· Sunday, January 2nd at 4:05pm ET: $200 + $15, Three packages guaranteed
· Wednesday, January 5th at 9:00pm ET: $200 + $15, Three packages guaranteed
· Sunday, January 9th at 4:05pm ET: $200 + $15, Three packages guaranteed
· Wednesday, January 12th at 9:00pm ET: $200 + $15, Three packages guaranteed
· Thursday, January 13th at 8:30pm ET: $300 + $20, One package guaranteed
· Sunday, January 16th at 8:30pm ET: $300 + $20, One package guaranteed

Players who find the super satellite buy-ins too rich for their blood will have the opportunity to qualify via lower buy-in satellites on UB.com.  More of these qualifiers, which will go as low as $10 + $1, will likely be added as the Poker Pro Canada Classic gets closer.

UB.com will also be holding six special Regional Freerolls open to residents of the Quebec and Ontario provinces of Canada and the states of New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.  The freerolls will take place on January 2nd, 9th, and 16th at 4:05pm ET and on January 5th, 12th, and 19th at 8:05pm ET.  Each freeroll will award a single prize package to the winner.

The 20 total prize packages are valued at $2,500 apiece and include the $1,650 buy-in for the Poker Pro Canada Classic as well $850 for travel expenses.

The inaugural Poker Pro Canada Classic saw 246 players duke it out for a share of the $370,000 prize pool.  Team UB.com members Mark “Poker H0″ Kroon and “Hollywood” Dave Stann were in attendance, but the title went to local Montreal resident Oliver Baksic, who took home $118,000.  Also of note was Canadian Heads-Up champ Benjamin Lablond, who placed third.

The Four Aces Poker Club is located in the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory, just a few minutes south of Downtown Montreal across the Mercier Bridge.  In addition to tournaments, the Club spreads low-stakes cash games every day of the week.  Free food and beverage are provided to all cash game players.

NAPT LA Coverage Concludes on ESPN

On Sunday night, while many poker players were grinding online or traveling for the holidays, ESPN2’s coverage of the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Los Angeles Bounty Shootout and Main Event came to a close. The two-hour finale featured Lon McEachern and Norman Chad bringing the action to life.

The first hour was devoted to the final table of the NAPT LA Bounty Shootout, whose two preliminary flights were shown last week. A winner-take-all top prize of $135,000 was up for grabs and every player who made the final table earned $20,000. Each person started with a stack of 100,000 in chips and all bounties accumulated were worth $1,000 apiece.

UB.com pro Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin doubled up early on at the expense of November Niner Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi to take the chip lead. Baldwin flopped a set of aces and then dodged a flush draw to vault to the top of the leaderboard. Meanwhile, Kevin “ImaLuckSac” MacPhee, who took down the European Poker Tour (EPT) stop in Berlin earlier this year, was the final table’s first casualty and earned $23,000.

Mizrachi doubled up through PokerStars Canadian pro Pat Pezzin after coming out on the winning end of a race with A-J against pocket tens. Then, pocket tens would prove to be his demise, as “The Grinder” moved his chips in with pocket fives, but ran into the superior wired pair and couldn’t improve to depart in eighth place. Pezzin followed him out the door in seventh after his A-J could not overcome Mohsin “chicagocards1” Charania’s pocket sixes. Charania flopped a boat and never looked back.

Justin Young eliminated Clint Coffee in sixth place to record his fifth bounty of the tournament and was tied with Charania for the lead in that department. The player with the largest number of bounties would receive a buy-in to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Bounty Shootout in January. After Tom Marchese was ousted in fifth place, Charania’s bid for the Shootout title came to an end after being eliminated in fourth place at the hands of PokerStars pro David Williams.

“DW” was bumped in third place and picked up $24,000. He ran A-Q into the pocket tens of Young on his final hand, as yet another player had shown down two tens. His exit gave Young his sixth elimination to secure the bounty title and Young went heads-up against his good friend and Henderson, Nevada neighbor Baldwin. On the final hand, Young committed his chips with A-Q before the flop and Baldwin woke up with cowboys. The board ran out 9-5-8-5-2 and Baldwin took down the NAPT LA Bounty Shootout title.

Following Baldwin’s win, Chad observed, “Two class acts. I wanted them both to win.”

The second hour of coverage was devoted to the NAPT LA Main Event, which featured a final table of eight players and a massive $725,000 first place prize. Joe Tehan doubled up early on through chip leader Chris DeMaci and then went on the tear of a lifetime, eliminating every single member of the final table.

ESPN’s coverage focused heavily on Jason Mercier, a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner and champion of the PokerStars NAPT Mohegan Sun Bounty Shootout. Mercier’s run in the NAPT LA Main Event came to an end in seventh place after running A-K into Tehan’s pocket jacks. The board ran out 6-5-9-3-8 and Mercier, whose parents came from Florida to rail him at the Crystal Casino in Compton, was eliminated.

In the final hand of the NAPT LA Main Event, DeMaci committed his chips with K-4 on a flop of K-5-3, but Tehan held K-10 for top pair with a better kicker. The turn was a five and the river was a four, giving Tehan the Main Event title with kings-up. The tournament marked a historic run for Tehan, who ousted all seven of his opponents. In 2006, he took down the Mandalay Bay Poker Championship in Las Vegas, a stop on the World Poker Tour (WPT), for over $1 million.

That concludes ESPN’s coverage of NAPT LA. Check out encore presentations of WSOP events all this week on ESPN’s family of networks.