Poker News

Additional Haiti Earthquake Relief Online Poker Tournaments Announced

This week, members of the online poker community wishing to donate to victims of the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck Haiti last week can take advantage of several tournaments being held across cyberspace.

Today, a magnitude 6.1 earthquake shook Haiti, the strongest aftershock to date according to the Associated Press. Roughly 200,000 people may have died due to the original quake last week and 1.5 million people, or nearly 20% of the country’s population, are now homeless. The Associated Press reported that 40 aftershocks have rumbled through the island nation. On the magnitude 6.1 tremor that hit on Wednesday, a geophysicist told the American news service, "Aftershocks sometimes die out very quickly. In other cases they can go on for weeks, or if we're really unlucky it could go on for months."

On Wednesday, UB.com, which makes its home on the CEREUS Network, will host a $5 rebuy online poker tournament to raise funds for the victims. The event gets underway at 20:30 ET and the field is capped at 750 players. In a generous gesture, UB.com officials will match the entirety of the prize pool and then donate the sum to the Red Cross Haiti Disaster Relief Fund. In addition, $10,000 in prizes will be on the line, consisting of entries to Ultimate Bet Online Championship (UBOC) tournaments and satellites. The charity poker tournament is dubbed “Play for Haiti” and can be found in the UB.com lobby. The site happily accepts players from the United States.

Also hosting a charity event on Wednesday night is DoylesRoom, which resides on the USA-facing Cake Poker Network. DoylesRoom is running the “Haiti Relief Celebrity Bounty,” taking the place of its regularly scheduled Bounty tournament. Those in the field will include site namesake Doyle Brunson, “The Wrestler” actor Mickey Rourke, Brunson 10 member Zachary “CrazyZachary” Clark, and “The Mad Genius of Poker” Mike Caro. The tournament kicks off at 9:30pm ET and DoylesRoom is matching all bounty money won and donating the total to relief efforts. In addition, DoylesRoom will ship any first-time player’s $27.50 buy-in to charity.

Ongame Network site Betsafe is offering a $5 tournament called “Help Haiti” on Wednesday at 20:45 CET. Unlimited rebuys will be permitted during the first hour and Betsafe will donate the funds to charity. A press release distributed by the site explains, “Betsafe will match the fee generated and we guarantee to give a minimum of $1,000. There is no maximum of the amount that we will match, so make sure to register for the tournament and help the victims of Haiti!” To sweeten the pot, Betsafe officials have added three $200 Grand Series of Poker (GSOP) event tickets to the prize pool, or $600 total. Other online poker rooms on the mammoth Ongame Network include Hollywood Poker, PokerLoco, and RedKings.

Finally, the Microgaming Network, which has recently tried to curb datamining by not allowing observed hand histories to be stored on a player’s computer, is holding a €10 + €10 buy-in tournament on Friday, January 22nd. The €10 juice will be donated to the Haitian Health Foundation and players can sign up for the event by visiting any Microgaming Network site like Betway, GNUF, Ladbrokes, Nordic Bet, PokerTime, and Unibet. The event issues its virtual “Shuffle up and deal” command at 6:30pm GMT. A press release distributed by Microgaming notes, “Over 92 percent of funds collected by Haitian Health Foundation go directly towards services for the poor, so players can be assured that donations generated from the tournament will be used to maximum benefit.” Neither the Microgaming nor Ongame Networks accept players from the United States.

These tournaments have complimented efforts at other major online poker sites like Full Tilt, PokerStars, and Cake Poker, each of which has reached into its database of players to give to the cause. Play in the Haiti relief tournaments taking place this week across some of the world’s largest sites.

Celebrity Apprentice 3 Cast May Not Feature Poker Players

In 2010, the third installment of the NBC reality franchise “Celebrity Apprentice” will hit television airwaves. The show, which featured comedian Joan Rivers best poker pro Annie Duke in the finale last time out, will likely not include a poker player this time around.

Ever since Duke finished as the runner-up to Rivers in May, the poker community has been abuzz that one of its own may appear in the third edition of the popular series. However, according to Huliq.com and the New York Post, the ensemble cast, which will likely once again pit men against women, does not appear to include a poker player. No official cast list has been released by NBC. The show is hosted by real estate mogul Donald Trump and raises money for charity.

Last season, Duke played for Refugees International, an organization that she worked closely with as part of her own charity, Ante Up for Africa. In the process, the poker community was instrumental in raising $730,000 for the charity. Poker players who made cameos throughout the season included Ultimate Bet front man Phil Hellmuth, Andy Bloch, Howard Lederer, 2009 Poker Hall of Fame nominee Erik Seidel, and Perry Friedman.

Embattled politician Rod Blagojevich headlines the “Celebrity Apprentice” cast in Season 3. His wife, Patty Blagojevich, appeared on NBC’s “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here” when Rod was unable to attend due to ongoing legal action. Blagojevich is the former Governor of Illinois and was impeached in January for, among other misgivings, allegedly trying to sell the Senate seat vacated by current U.S. President Barack Obama.

Joining Blagojevich on the men’s team will be another controversial celebrity, former baseball great Darryl Strawberry, a member of the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, and New York Yankees. Strawberry exited the league in 1999 and was the National League Rookie of the Year 16 years earlier. Chef Curtis Stone will join the “Celebrity Apprentice” cast, as will popular comedian Sinbad, whose credits include “A Different World” and “The Sinbad Show.” He has also appeared in movies such as “First Kid” and “Jingle All the Way.”

Former professional wrestler Bill Goldberg, who stormed onto World Championship Wrestling (WCW) scene with an undefeated streak in the late 1990s, will be a part of the new “Celebrity Apprentice” cast. Rounding out the men’s team is “Rock of Love” star Bret Michaels, who is also known for his work with the band Poison.

The women’s team features “America’s Got Talent” judge Sharon Osborne, whose fellow judge on the show, Piers Morgan, was the winner of Season 1 of “Celebrity Apprentice.” “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” and “Time After Time” signer Cyndi Lauper will join the squad. Olympic gold medalist Summer Sanders, who took down hardware in swimming in 1992, will also make her way to New York City to film “Celebrity Apprentice.” There, actress Holly Robinson Peete, wife of former NFL great Rodney Peete, will join her.

World Wrestling Entertainment’s (WWE) Maria Kanellis will also be a part of “Celebrity Apprentice,” as will comedian Carol Leifer, who has written scripts for hits like “Seinfeld” and “The Larry Sanders Show.” Finally, Selita Ebanks, a model, will round out the new cast.

The names of more cast members may be released, but for the meantime, it appears that the poker community will not be a part of the upcoming season of “Celebrity Apprentice.” Over on CBS, Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho, the last women standing in the 2008 and 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Events, respectively, are competing as part of the Emmy Award winning reality series “Amazing Race.” The show airs at 8:00pm ET on Sundays and viewers will see the poker playing duo race around Dubai, United Arab Emirates on this week’s edition.

The Post reported that the “Celebrity Apprentice” cast was seen recording the opening credits in the Meatpacking District of New York City and that the show would begin airing in March.

ESPN The Magazine Editor Discusses Poker Players in Body Issue

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

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

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

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

PND: What has been the reaction so far?

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

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

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

PND: What can you tell us about the shoot?

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

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

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

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

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

Aaron Gustavson Defeats Peter Eastgate in EPT London

As the great wrestler Ric Flair said, “To be the man, you gotta beat the man!” In this week’s finale of the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) London stop, Aaron Gustavson did just that, besting reigning World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion Peter Eastgate heads-up.

Gustavson, an American who qualified for the event through the popular online poker room PokerStars, took home £850,000 for his efforts. All was not lost for Eastgate, however, as the Dane and member of Team PokerStars Pro earned a £530,000 consolation prize. The two emerged as the survivors of the largest poker tournament ever held in the United Kingdom, weighing in at 730 runners. Gustavson was one of 149 players, or 20% of the field, who qualified online through PokerStars.

In a press release distributed by EPT officials following Gustavson’s monumental win, the champion noted, “I’m speechless, totally overwhelmed. I don’t think it’s going to hit me for a quite a while. Having this title is amazing – a dream come true.” Gustavson’s battle against Eastgate was anything but prolonged, as the defeat took all of seven hands and 15 minutes to deliver. In the final hand, Gustavson’s A-Q held up against Eatsgate’s A-9 when the board ran out 3-5-6-K-J. Eastgate commented, “It’s been an amazing ride. I made it to second place, which is far more than you hope for going into a final table. Big applause for Aaron – he deserved it. I’m pleased I made it to heads-up.”

Nikolai Senninger hit the skids in third place after calling all-in for his tournament life against Gustavson on a board of 3-7-Q-9 with two hearts. Senniger showed pocket eights, while Gustavson flipped up Q-10 for top pair. The river came a 10, improving Gustavson to two pair and eliminating Senniger in third place, £285,000 richer for his wear. Taking fourth was Martin Gudvangen, who fell by the wayside with A-3 against Senniger’s A-Q. The best hand held and Gudvangen walked away from the EPT London Main Event with £227,000 in tow.

Dominic Cullen was sent packing in fifth place, earning £173,000. Cullen pushed pre-flop holding A-10, but ran into Gustavson’s pocket eights. The two were off to the races, with an eight spiking the flop to propel Gustavson to the win in the hand. Cullen edged out Rui Milhomens, who took sixth place for £124,000. Milhomens found himself all-in holding pocket eights against Eastgate’s A-10. This time, a 10 hit the river to send the player with the wired pair to the rails.

Gustavson sent Raymond Wu into the London night in seventh place for £87,000, a healthy return on his £5,000 buy-in. A short-stacked Wu pushed with Q-10, but Gustavson made the call from the big blind for a discount with K-6. The flop came king-high, keeping Gustavson in the lead in the hand for good. Karim Benanni finished in eighth place after running K-3 into Milhomens’ K-10.

The final table was played eight-handed and appeared live on PokerStars.tv from the Hilton Metropole. Here were the final results from the 2009 EPT London Main Event:

1. Aaron Gustavson (United States) - 850,000
2. Peter Eastgate (Denmark) - 530,000
3. Nikolai Senninger (Germany) - 285,000
4. Martin Gudvangen (Norway) - 227,000
5. Dominic Cullen (United Kingdom) - 173,000
6. Rui Milhomens (Portugal) - 124,000
7. Raymond Wu (Taipei) - 87,000
8. Karim Bennani Smires (France/Morocco) - 50,100

Next up for the EPT is Warsaw. The event takes place from October 20th to 25th at Casinos Poland and boasts a 25,000 PLN buy-in, the equivalent of $8,700 at current exchange rates. Last year, Portuguese poker player Joao Barbosa celebrated his 26th birthday in style by winning the EPT Warsaw event.

Beat the Brunsons on Doyle’s Room Every Monday Night

A brand new tournament unveiled on the popular online poker site Doyle’s Room challenges players to Beat the Brunsons… literally. The tournament takes place every Monday night at 9:30pm ET and awards up to a $100,000 bounty for eliminating members of the Brunson clan. The high-stakes event comes with a buy-in of just $11.

Everyone knows the legendary Doyle Brunson, who plays under the screen name “Tex_Dolly” on his own online poker site. If you send Doyle packing from the Beat the Brunsons tournament, you’ll take home $1,000. Eliminate Todd Brunson, who appropriately plays as “Todd_Brunson,” and you’ll see your bankroll on Doyle’s Room balloon by $500. Knock out Pam “Queen_Kitty” Brunson and $250 will be coming your way. Doyle’s nephew, Ken (who goes by “Tex_Ken” on the virtual felts) has a $250 bounty on his head, as does Todd’s wife Anjela “Russian_Chick” Brunson. Beyond the five members of the Brunson family, you’ll also receive $5 for every person you knock out of the tournament.

A variety of unique cash rewards are up for grabs in the weekly spectacle. If a player can knock out every member of the Brunson family, they’ll take home a $100,000 jackpot. In addition, if a player knocks out Doyle with his signature hand, 10-2, they’ll receive $5,000 for their efforts. If two Brunsons go at it and one is eliminated, everyone seated at the table when the melee occurred will receive their $11 buy-in back. In addition, being ousted from the Beat the Brunsons tournament by Doyle himself results in the following prize, according to text found on the site: “Getting knocked out of a tournament by Doyle Brunson is nothing to be ashamed of; it's happened to the best of them. If Tex_Dolly takes you out, we'll send you a free copy of one of his best-selling books so you can sharpen your game and come back for another shot.”

The tournament also features a traditional prize pool, so its winner will take home a sizable sum of money in addition to any bounties they receive. The champion also scores a $500 payday into their Doyle’s Casino account. The tournament kicks off at 9:30pm ET every Monday. Players start with 2,000 chips and blinds escalate every 15 minutes in the No Limit Hold’em tournament. If $11 isn’t within your bankroll, Doyle’s Room has you covered. Standard sit and go, speed, multi-table, and turbo satellites starting at $1.10 are available. $5.50 heads-up satellites are also an option, with the winner moving on to the Beat the Brunsons event on Monday nights.

April 27th marks the fourth time that the Beat the Brunsons tournament has been held. It compliments the highly popular Bounty event, which takes place every Thursday at 9:30pm ET. The Bounty comes with a price tag of $27.50 and boasts a rotating series of celebrities. Knock out one bounty and you’ll win $500. Send two bounties packing and you’ll score $5,000. Knock out all three bounties and you’ll find your Doyle’s Room bankroll grow by $25,000. All first-time Bounty players receive their buy-in back regardless of whether or not they cash. This week’s bounties include Doyle Brunson, Hoyt Corkins, and “The Mad Genius of Poker” Mike Caro. Recent celebrity guest bounties have included “The Wrestler” star Mickey Rourke, “The Sopranos” actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler, and “Entourage” personality Kevin Connolly.

Doyle’s Room makes its home on the Cake Poker Network, which accepts customers from the United States. Other sites on the Network include Lock Poker, Players Only, Poker Host, and Red Star Poker. According to traffic ranking site PokerScout.com, the Network is the tenth largest worldwide by cash game volume with a seven day running average of 1,580 players.

Ultimate Bet Sponsors UFC fighter Martin Kampmann (The Hitman)

Tokwiro-owned online poker site Ultimate Bet began sponsoring Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighter Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann last week. Ultimate Bet's logo was displayed prominently on Kampmann's trunks and shirt at the series' event in Nashville, Tennessee.

Wednesday, April 1st marked the first ever UFC stop in Nashville. It was held at the Sommet Center, home of the National Hockey League's (NHL) Predators. The welterweight bout saw Kampmann take on Carlos Condit. This isn't Ultimate Bet's first venture into the industry, as the online poker site also served as the official Canadian sponsor of World Wrestling Entertainment's (WWE) WrestleMania XXV, which takes place tonight from Houston, Texas. Alex Cummings, the winner of a special Ultimate Bet promotion, saw the red carpet rolled out for him at the event, which features a headliner of Triple H versus Randy Orton for the WWE Title.

On the site's newest splash into the sports and entertainment market, an Ultimate Bet spokesperson noted in a press release distributed last week, “We’re mega excited to have our logo associated with Kampmann, a master of his craft and one of UFC’s world-class fighters. Our collaboration with ‘The Hitman’ continues our inroads into some of the highest rating pay-per-view sports shows on air, and we’re pulling no punches when it comes to any opportunity to get involved with UFC.” Kampmann won a split decision in Nashville in a fight that aired in Spike TV. He holds a stunning 15-2 record in UFC matches and went 4-0 as a middleweight before dropping down to the welterweight class.

On March 25th, Poker News Daily brought you a story revealing that UFC may be on the verge of changing its online poker sponsor from Full Tilt Poker. At the time of writing, Full Tilt banners could no longer be found on the UFC's home page, which instead featured Budweiser, AutoZone, and BSN ads. Kampann, appropriately, hails from Las Vegas and is 26 years-old. He is 6'0” tall, weighs 170 pounds, and is a former accomplished Thai boxer.

UFC has a worldwide presence and can be seen in over 100 countries and 17 different languages. It is in its 16th year and boasts a roster of pros headlined by Brock Lesnar, a former WWE wrestler. Rashad Evans holds the light heavyweight title, while the popular Anderson Silva claims the middleweight championship. Its Hall of Fame includes many of the fighters who put UFC on the map and helped popularize its now infamous octagon-shaped ring: Dan Sevem, Mark Coleman, Ken Shamrock, Randy Couture, and Royce Gracie. Silva will take on Thales Leites to headline UFC 97: Redemption in Montreal on April 18th. Other bouts include Chuck Liddell against Mauricio Rua and Krzysztof Soszynski against Brian Stann.

Heading into the encounter in Nashville, Kampmann told UFC officials in an interview, “I’m coming there to whip Condit’s ass, and I’m sure he’s coming to bring some heat too, so I think it’s gonna be a clash and a good fight. That’s my goal – to make it a fight to remember.” He's a transplant from Denmark and one of the most feared fighters that UFC has to offer.

Kampmann is sponsored by a site that is part of the CEREUS Network, which just saw Absolute Poker member DOOSA777 take down the Bad Beat Jackpot for the second time in two months. This time, she grabbed $161,000 from the $487,000 Jackpot, improving her total take to $263,000 since February. In the hand, DOOSA777 lost with quad jacks against SHERLOCKGT3's straight flush. Her second Bad Beat Jackpot win occurred exactly two months after her first win, which happened on February 4th. DOOSA777 is 46 years-old and hails from Lake Waccamaw, North Carolina.

Mickey Rourke Featured in DoylesRoom Poker Tournament

As a boxer, Mickey Rourke was pretty intimidating. As an actor, he's hailed for his great work. As a poker player, he's just getting started. "I'm still a rookie," said Rourke, who earned critical praise for his leading role in the 2008 movie The Wrestler. "I started...