David Williams Signs with PokerStars

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David Williams Signs with PokerStars

30/06/2010 // tags: David Williams Signs with PokerStars

Poker News Daily can independently confirm that 2010 World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship winner David Williams has signed with PokerStars. Williams’ agency, Poker Royalty, confirmed that a contract was forged in recent days and the former Bodog pro will now join the world’s largest online poker site.



Williams parted ways with Bodog shortly after taking down the WPT Championship at the Bellagio to the tune of $1.5 million. The tournament marked his fourth WPT final table and gave him nearly $3 million in career WPT earnings. Bodog, which has parted ways with Jean-Robert Bellande and Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo since 2010 began, promptly introduced Amanda Musumeci as its newest sponsored pro. Musumeci joins Evelyn Ng as the lone Bodog-backed pros.



On July 6th at the Palms, PokerStars is hosting a cocktail event featuring reigning World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champ Joe Cada, Williams, and North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Mohegan Sun Main Event winner Vanessa Selbst. Neither Selbst nor Williams appears on PokerStars’ website as a sponsored pro at the time of writing. Selbst, a Yale law student, banked an even $750,000 by taking down the $5,000 NAPT Mohegan Sun Main Event in April, besting a final table that included Scott Seiver and Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy.




Williams’ total live tournament winnings nearly top $8 million. The Panorama Towers resident finished as the runner-up to Greg Raymer in the 2004 WSOP Main Event for $3.5 million. Two years later, Williams landed at the final table of the WPT Bay 101 stop for $280,000. He won a gold bracelet at the 2006 WSOP in a $1,500 Seven Card Stud event and promptly took second in a $5,000 No Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball tournament for another quarter-million dollars.



Williams has been a staple of televised series like the National Heads-Up Poker Championship, NBC’s “Poker After Dark,” GSN’s “High Stakes Poker,” and the PokerStars-backed “Big Game.” He celebrated his 30th birthday earlier this month, noting on Twitter, “Thanks you to everyone for the Happy Birthday messages. 30 isn’t so bad… I guess.”



PokerStars issued a weekly news roundup on Tuesday morning that did not mention Williams’ signing. He’ll join a stable of pros that includes Cada, Raymer, Joe Hachem, Chris Moneymaker, Peter Eastgate, Barry Greenstein, and the site’s main face, Daniel Negreanu. Year-over-year, PokerStars has posted a 14% increase in online poker traffic according to PokerScout.com and currently owns a seven-day running average of 25,000 real money ring game players.



The PokerStars cocktail reception at the Palms is invite-only and designed for members of the media to conduct one-on-one interviews. It’s one of the many gatherings planned for this week in Las Vegas leading up to the 2010 WSOP Main Event, which begins next Monday, July 5th, with the first of four starting days. The tournament plays down to a final table on July 17th. Then, the nine survivors will disperse from the Rio until the first week of November. You can catch the Main Event, Tournament of Champions, and $50,000 Player’s Championship starting next month on ESPN.



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Annette Obrestad Eyes Second WSOP Bracelet in $1,500 NLHE Shootout

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Annette Obrestad Eyes Second WSOP Bracelet in $1,500 NLHE Shootout

24/06/2010 // tags: Annette Obrestad Eyes Second WSOP Bracelet in $1,500 NLHE Shootout

Full Tilt Poker pro Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad is within inches of capturing her second World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet. Obrestad famously took down the 2007 WSOP Europe Main Event, the first ever running of the £10,000 buy-in tournament, and banked £1 million. She’s making her Las Vegas WSOP debut this year and a bracelet win would be the icing on the cake for the 21 year-old.



Fourteen players remain in the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em Shootout, the 39th event of the 2010 WSOP. Among them is Obrestad, who, prior to the tournament series, jumped from Betfair to the USA-friendly Full Tilt Poker. Now, she’s vying to become the first woman to win an open event at the 2010 WSOP and the latest in a string of pros to capture hardware this year, a list that includes Phil Ivey, Men “The Master” Nguyen, and Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi.



The field of 14 survivors will split into two tables of seven. The tournament began with 1,400 competitors and, in a shootout format, players must win their tables in order to advance. Tuesday’s finale saw Obrestad compete against a starting group that included Scott Sitron and Fatima Moreira de Melo, whom she beat heads-up to move on to Wednesday’s finale. The top 14 players are guaranteed $7,000, with a grand prize of $382,000 on the line.




Poker pro J.C. Tran is one major obstacle that stands in Obrestad’s path to her second WSOP bracelet. Tran won the Main Event of the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker in 2006 for nearly $700,000. One year later, he took down the World Poker Tour’s World Poker Challenge for $683,000. Tran has two WSOP bracelets, which came in 2008 in a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event and last year in a $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha contest. All told, Tran has over $2 million in career WSOP and Circuit Event earnings. The action picks back up at 2:30pm PT today.



The lone bracelet awarded on Tuesday went to Hungary’s Valdemar Kwaysser, who took down the Pot Limit Hold’em Championship (Event #38) for $617,000. Kwaysser outlasted a field of 268 and edged out Canadian Matt Marafioti heads-up. Five countries were represented at the final table; the only bracelet winner in contention, Blair Rodman, finished in eighth place.



Kwaysser joined Peter Gelencser and Peter Traply as the only residents of Hungary ever to take down WSOP events. Kwaysser, 26, lives in Budapest and has been playing poker for five years. On the Hungarian poker community, he told WSOP officials, “We help each other a lot. I truly believe that why Hungary has done so well, considering the size of the country which is small, is because we all stick together, and we learn together, and discuss poker together.”



DoylesRoom Brunson 10 member Dani Stern took fifth in the Pot Limit Hold’em Championship and cashed for $161,000. Stern finished one spot on the leaderboard ahead of PokerStars North American Poker Tour Venetian winner Tom Marchese, who banked $123,000 for his sixth place showing. The man who Marchese defeated in the televised Venetian tournament, Sam Stein, was the final table bubble boy in Event #38.



The Pot Limit Hold’em Championship marked the second in the money finish of the 2010 WSOP for Marchese and the first for Stern. Here’s how the final table cashed out:



1. Valdemar Kwaysser – $617,214


2. Matt Marafioti – $381,507

3. James Calderaro – $284,845

4. Konstantin Bucherl – $214,106

5. Dani Stern – $161,934

6. Tom Marchese – $123,264

7. Peter Jetten – $94,394

8. Blair Rodman – $72,754

9. Alexander Kuzmin – $56,404




Two events fire up today from the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. At Noon PT, a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em tournament will begin. Five hours later, the cards hit the air in the $10,000 HORSE World Championship.



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Phil Ivey Wins Eighth WSOP Bracelet

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Phil Ivey Wins Eighth WSOP Bracelet

22/06/2010 // tags: Phil Ivey Wins Eighth WSOP Bracelet

“…gulp”



An ellipsis and four letters. So simple, yet it says so much. This was the Tweet made by Howard Lederer at 4:49am Las Vegas time in response to fellow Team Full Tilt member Phil Ivey winning his eighth World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet. Ivey out-dueled poker author and 2006 double bracelet winner Bill Chen to win the $3,000 HORSE event and $329,840. Ivey has now pulled into a tie with Erik Seidel for fifth on the all-time WSOP bracelet list behind Phil Hellmuth (11), Johnny Chan (10), Doyle Brunson (10), and Johnny Moss (nine).



But that princely sum of just over $329,000 pales in comparison to the amount of money Ivey may have won in side bets with other poker pros. It is not known for certain exactly how much Ivey will be collecting from top players such as Eli Elezra and Tom “durrrr” Dwan, but put it this way, word is that after winning, Ivey turned to someone and asked, “So how much is first, anyway?”




This brings us back to Lederer and his concise Tweet. According to PokerListings, before this year’s WSOP, he bet Ivey $5 million that the young poker stud would not win two WSOP bracelets by the end of 2011. Lederer is obviously starting to sweat now that Ivey is halfway there with all of next year’s WSOP plus 17 events this year still remaining. After the tournament, the 33-year old Ivey told WSOP officials, “I think I can win 30 gold bracelets. I think I can reach that if I keep playing and stay healthy.”



Ivey’s run to the title was one of the more impressive of the 2010 WSOP. He was in decent shape when play started Monday with 25 players remaining, but when the field was narrowed to 16, or the final two tables, he was lagging behind as the shortest chip stack. He then made a tremendous run and to reach the final table in second place behind only Chen.



He would need all of those chips to beat an extremely tough final table. In addition to Chen, it included a combined eight bracelets from Jeffrey Lisandro, John Juanda, Ken Aldridge, and Chad Brown. And those are just the final table players. Bowing out Monday on the way to the final table were names like David Singer, Scott Seiver, Dan Heimiller, Farzad Bonyadi, and David Benyamine.



But even after knocking out Juanda in third place, Ivey entered heads-up play with Chen facing a 3-to-1 chip deficit. After about 10 minutes, the gap had widened, as Ivey’s stack fell below one million. But just over a half-hour into heads-up, Ivey took the lead, eventually flip-flopping the stacks that the two players had to start the one-on-one match. Chen didn’t give up, though, and took the lead back, but Ivey turned the tables once again and didn’t look back.



After about two hours, the end came on a Razz hand. On fifth street, all of Chen’s chips were in the pot and the two players showed their hands. Chen had a strong one – a made 7-6 – but Ivey had him beat with a made 6-5. Chen would need either a 3 for a chop or running 3-4 for a wheel to win the pot. Both players received a 7 on sixth street, changing nothing, and Ivey was the one who made his wheel, drawing a 4 on the river to seal the deal. Chen won $203,802 for second place.



According to TheHendonMob.com, the win gives Ivey $4,886,988 in total winnings in his WSOP history, putting him 12th on the all-time list. The $329,840 in prize money for the tournament moved him back ahead of Daniel Negreanu for the top spot on the overall live tournament winnings leaderboard. Ivey now has $12,836,394 in brick-and-mortar tournament earnings in his career, just ahead of Negreanu’s $12,633,218.




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John Juanda, Phil Ivey Vying for WSOP Gold in $3,000 HORSE Event

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John Juanda, Phil Ivey Vying for WSOP Gold in $3,000 HORSE Event

21/06/2010 // tags: John Juanda, Phil Ivey Vying for WSOP Gold in $3,000 HORSE Event

If it’s a slow Monday at work, check out the conclusion of Event #37 of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP), a $3,000 HORSE tournament. Not only is 2008 WSOP Europe Main Event champ John Juanda on top of the leaderboard with 25 players left, but fellow Full Tilt Poker pro Phil Ivey is also in the hunt.



Ivey, who has been busy multi-tabling WSOP events, sits in seventh entering the HORSE tournament’s finale with a stack of 205,000. Juanda, meanwhile, amassed a mountain of 393,000 during play on Sunday and is searching for his fifth WSOP bracelet. Amazingly, Juanda has already made three final tables during the tournament series, logging two fifth place finishes and one fourth place finish for a combined haul of over $600,000. His largest cash so far has come by virtue of taking fourth in the $50,000 Player’s Championship for $436,000, a tournament won by Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi.



Ivey, who finished seventh in the 2009 Main Event for $1.4 million, has three cashes in this year’s WSOP for $22,000 total. All told, he has over $5 million in career WSOP earnings and been dubbed by WSOP reporters as “immortal.” He’s topped ESPN’s “The Nuts” poker rankings ever since their inception and is in the hunt for his eighth bracelet.




Sunday featured the departures of Steve Sung, Chris Reslock, PokerStars pro Katja Thater, tournament director Matt Savage, and Italian poker sensation Max Pescatori, all of whom made the money. Talk about one of the tougher finales to play out at the 2010 WSOP. Here are the final 25 in Event #37:



1. John Juanda – 393,000

2. Dave Baker – 373,000

3. Ryan Hughes – 354,000

4. Daniel Makowsky – 312,000

5. Kenneth Aldridge – 257,000

6. Brent Wheeler – 256,000

7. Phil Ivey – 205,000


8. Jeffrey Lisandro – 193,000

9. Mitch Schock – 189,000

10. Alexandre Luneau – 182,000

11. Dan Heimiller – 180,000

12. Ming Reslock – 173,000

13. Jordan Siegel – 161,000

14. Bill Chen – 158,000

15. David Benyamine – 137,000

16. Yuebin Guo – 109,000


17. Chad Brown – 108,000

18. Scott Seiver – 105,000

19. Albert Hahn – 100,000

20. Farzad Bonyadi – 98,000

21. David Singer – 93,000

22. Zachary Milchman – 71,000

23. Dale Phillips – 57,000

24. Mark Johns – 31,000

25. George Trigeorgis – 15,000




Harold Angle bested Michael Minetti to take down the $1,000 Seniors’ No Limit Hold’em Championship and earn $487,000. Angle, 78 years young, paced the largest Seniors’ field in WSOP history and will return to Florida with nearly a half-million dollars in cash and his first gold bracelet. In the final hand of the tournament, Minetti got his money in ahead pre-flop with pocket jacks against K-J. However, Angle hit a king on the flop and the case jack failed to fall on the turn or river.



Here’s how the final nine cashed out in the Seniors’ No Limit Hold’em Championship:



1. Harold Angle – $487,994

2. Michael Minetti – $301,839

3. John Woo – $213,612

4. Eric Stemp – $154,624

5. Daniel Camillo – $113,225


6. Preston Derden – $83,872

7. Jack Ward – $62,833

8. Carlos Pianelli – $47,591

9. Jay Hong – $36,450



The $10,000 Heads-Up No Limit Hold’em Championship was paused after one match in the best-of-three battle between Ayaz Mahmood and Ernst Schmejkal. After six and a half hours, Mahmood recorded a 1-0 lead and the pair will return to the Rio at 7:00pm PT on Monday to determine a winner.



Mahmood defeated Jason “JCarver” Somerville in the semis, while Schmejkal outlasted Alexander Kostritsyn. Both players defeated in the semifinals picked up $220,000 and the tournament’s winner will earn $625,000. Falling in the round of eight were 2009 National Heads-Up Poker Championship runner-up Vanessa Rousso and DoylesRoom Brunson 10 candidate Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka. Both picked up $95,000 for their efforts and joined Ludovic Lacay and Kido Pham as those not advancing out of the quarterfinals.



No one has a case of the Mondays in Las Vegas today, as a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em Shootout (Event #39) will kick off at Noon PT. The three-day event is capped at 2,000 players. In a shootout format, players must outlast their entire table in order to advance.




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Jeffrey Papola Wins WSOP $5,000 NLHE Six-Max for First Bracelet

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Jeffrey Papola Wins WSOP $5,000 NLHE Six-Max for First Bracelet

20/06/2010 // tags: Jeffrey Papola Wins WSOP $5,000 NLHE Six-Max for First Bracelet

Online poker guru Jeffrey “jpapola” Papola came out on top in the $5,000 No Limit Hold’em Six-Max event (#32) at the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP). Papola became the first person ever to finish 1-2 in Six-Max events at the WSOP, having also taken second in Event #26, a $2,500 No Limit Hold’em Short-Handed event. Papola is a sponsored pro of the USA-friendly site RPM Poker.



Papola has run well at the WSOP in the last two years. In 2008, he took 90th in the Main Event for $64,000 and finished 249th in the same tournament last year for $33,000. Papola already owns over $1 million in WSOP earnings in 2010 and, following his bracelet win, hopped on a plane and headed home to New York. Papola is in his third year of law school at Pace University and told WSOP officials following Saturday’s play, “I’m not exactly sure what I want to do with [law school]. I have learned a lot of things. But as far as practicing law, I do not see myself being able to do that, because I really do not like the 9 to 5 thing.”



Papola denied Men “The Master” Nguyen his second WSOP bracelet of 2010 and eighth overall. Nguyen took down this year’s Seven Card Stud World Championship for $394,000 and banked $360,000 on Saturday night. Nguyen leads the 2010 WSOP Player of the Year standings entering Sunday’s play in Las Vegas with three cashes and one bracelet. He’s part of a three-way logjam for first place with 2010 WSOP bracelet winners Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi and James “Flushy” Dempsey.




After sparring for four hours heads-up, Papola came out on top when his pocket jacks outlasted Nguyen’s K-10 of spades. Coverage found on WSOP.com details Nguyen’s final moments: “He shook Papola’s hand before collecting his things and stepping away from the table. Nguyen’s smile disappeared quickly, though, and he had a few unkind words for one of the dealers.” Nguyen is one of the more controversial characters in the industry, but was nominated for the Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2009.



The first casualty of the six-handed final table went to Full Tilt pro Erick Lindgren. He ran pocket queens into Nguyen’s pocket kings on his final hand and the board came 4-5-2-6-8. Lindgren cashed for $82,000 in his ninth WSOP final table. Lindgren’s bracelet came in 2008 in a $5,000 Mixed Hold’em event, when he bested an extremely talented final table that included Justin Bonomo, Victory Poker pro Andrew “good2cu” Robl, Roland de Wolfe, Chino Rheem, Howard Lederer, reigning World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship winner David Williams, PokerStars pro Pat Pezzin, and Isaac Haxton.



Here’s how the final table cashed out in Event #32:



1. Jeffrey Papola – $667,433

2. Men “The Master” Nguyen – $412,746

3. Mark Radoja – $262,902

4. Bruno Launais – $173,123


5. Orlando Delacruz – $117,595

6. Erick Lindgren – $82,303



Also wrapping up on Saturday was Event #33, $2,500 Pot Limit Hold’em/Omaha. Jose-Luis Velador has only made it to the final table of a WSOP tournament twice; both times, he’s emerged as the champion. Velador outlasted former WPT Championship winner David Chiu heads-up. In the pair’s final hand, Chiu called all-in with A-10 on a flop of 6-3-2 for ace-high and Velador showed 7-6 for top pair. A running 9-J secured the second bracelet win and $260,000 payday for Velador, while Chiu was denied his fifth WSOP title.



On his second piece of hardware, Velador told tournament officials, “It means a lot to me. I mean, any bracelet is always going to mean a lot – especially beating so many tough players. This was a very tough final table.” In fact, the finale had three gold bracelet winners: Velador, Rob Hollink, and Chiu. Hollink, who won the 2005 European Poker Tour (EPT) Monte Carlo Grand Final in Monaco, took third on Saturday and banked $116,000.



Hollink’s exit occurred during Omaha play. He was all-in before the flop with Qh-10d-8h-4d against Velador’s Kh-Kd-9d-7h. The flop came Q-8-3 rainbow, giving Hollink some hope with two pair. However, a running 6-3 improved him to kings-up, giving him a commanding chip lead entering heads-up play against Chiu. Here were the final results:



1. Jose-Luis Velador – $260,517

2. David Chiu – $160,902


3. Rob Hollink – $116,359

4. Craig Gray – $85,030

5. Kevin “ImaLuckSac” MacPhee – $62,791

6. Victor Ramdin – $46,861

7. James Mitchell – $35,331

8. Gavin Cochrane – $26,906

9. Matt Sterling – $20,698



The final three rounds of the $10,000 Heads-Up No Limit Hold’em World Championship will play out today from the Rio featuring Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka, Alexander Kostritsyn, Lucovic Lacay, Ayaz Mahmood, Vanessa Rousso, Ernst Schmejkal, Jason Somerville, and Kido Pham. None of the eight survivors has won a bracelet.




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ESPN: No Decision Made Whether to Broadcast NAPT Los Angeles

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ESPN: No Decision Made Whether to Broadcast NAPT Los Angeles

19/06/2010 // tags: ESPN: No Decision Made Whether to Broadcast NAPT Los Angeles

In 146 days, the fourth stop on the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) will pan out from the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles. The tournament, which kicks off on November 12th, will crown a champ five days later. Still undecided is whether ESPN, which aired NAPT action from the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, Venetian, and Mohegan Sun, will also broadcast the Bicycle Casino event.



An ESPN representative told Poker News Daily, “There is nothing in the works yet, but our programming team expects to meet with PokerStars on possibilities.” At the time of writing, no decision has been passed down as to whether NAPT Los Angeles will air on the cable giant, which carries related programming like the World Series of Poker (WSOP) and WSOP Europe every year.



The five-day Main Event in Los Angeles will carry a $5,000 buy-in, the same price tag as other U.S.-based NAPT stops. Despite potentially not having television coverage, a representative of The Bike commented in a press release distributed by PokerStars, “We are very enthusiastic to secure the West Coast tour stop. We clearly recognize the NAPT as the next major happening in the evolution of poker and we have no doubt this tour will entice and attract players from all over the world.”




Three months prior to the NAPT’s arrival at The Bike, the storied card room will host the annual World Poker Tour (WPT) Legends of Poker. The 2010 running of the WPT Legends of Poker is slated for August 20th to 25th, but in a new twist, the event will come with a $5,200 buy-in, one of the cheapest on the WPT schedule. Meanwhile, NAPT officials are expecting a sellout at The Bike, which drew 279 players for its 2009 Legends of Poker event.



In April and May, ESPN aired action from the NAPT Venetian High Roller Bounty Shootout and Main Event, Mohegan Sun High Roller Bounty Shootout and Main Event, and PokerStars Caribbean Adventure High Roller tournament. A total of 10 hours of NAPT coverage aired, hosted by longtime ESPN poker faces Lon McEachern and Norman Chad.



Harrison Gimbel won a record-setting PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event in the Bahamas, collecting $2.2 million. Back on U.S. soil, the inaugural NAPT Venetian Main Event drew 872 players and Tom “kingsofcards” Marchese emerged victorious and banked $827,000. Then, 21 year-old Ashton Griffin landed in the top spot in the High Roller Event at the Las Vegas Strip casino for $560,000.



The NAPT then traveled to Mohegan Sun in Connecticut in April, where Yale law student Vanessa Selbst defeated over 700 players for the title. In addition, more than 20 countries were represented. Finally, Team PokerStars Pro member Jason Mercier brought home the High Roller title at Mohegan Sun for $475,000. The victory marked Mercier’s second High Roller title at a PokerStars sponsored event in two years.



In addition to the NAPT, PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site, also manages the European Poker Tour (EPT), Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT), Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT), Australia New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT), U.K. and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT), Czech-Slovak Poker Tour (CSPT), Italian Poker Tour (IPT), and poker series in Russia, Spain, and France. Its “Big Game” cash game franchise can be seen nightly during the week on Fox.



According to Pokerati, the future of NAPT stops in Las Vegas appears to be in doubt due to the involvement of PokerStars. Other alternative landing spots for the NAPT include Chicago, Tunica, Biloxi, Atlantic City, and St. Louis. The latter is home to PokerStars pro Dennis Phillips and features Harrah’s, Isle of Capri, and Lumiere Place. Also potentially on tap is an NAPT stop in Canada.




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Three Bracelets Awarded on a Busy Day at the WSOP

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Three Bracelets Awarded on a Busy Day at the WSOP

17/06/2010 // tags: Three Bracelets Awarded on a Busy Day at the WSOP

Wednesday was one of the busiest days in the history of the World Series of Poker (WSOP), as not only was the official Tournament of Champions lineup released, but also three tournaments played down to a champion at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Among the winners was Jeff Tebben, a medical supplies salesman from Missouri, who beat Poker News Daily’s J.D. McNamara heads-up to win his first bracelet in the $1,000 No Limit Hold ‘em Event #24.



McNamara took the chip lead into the final day with a stack of 2,393,000, with Kiet Tran directly on his heels with 2,311,000. Tebben entered the final table ninth in chips with 466,000, but grinded his way back and took the lead when play was three-handed. He took a sizeable advantage into heads-up play after sending Tran home in third. The short-stacked Tran moved all-in preflop with Qc-9c and was called by Tebben with pocket nines. The board ran out Tc-Ts-3c-6s-Jd and Tebben stacked up 6,970,000 chips to McNamara’s 2,900,000.



The rest of the tournament was decided in less than 25 minutes. On the final hand, McNamara raised to 280,000 on the button and was called by Tebben. Both players checked the Ks-Ts-8d flop and the Kd came on the turn. Tebben bet 350,000 and McNamara called. The river was the 7c and Tebben checked. McNamara bet 325,000 and Tebben moved all-in. McNamara took almost no time in calling, but his pocket jacks were trumped by Tebben’s Kc-2s for trip kings, and Tebben was awarded his first WSOP bracelet.




1. Jeff Tebben — $503,389

2. J.D. McNamara — $310,248

3. Kiet Tran — $223,665

4. Denis Murphy — $162,568

5. David Cai — $119,410

6. Blake Kelso — $88,654

7. David Tolbert — $66,513

8. Greg Pohler — $50,410


9. Michael Gross — $38,629



In the $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Event #25, David Warga picked up his second career WSOP bracelet and $208,682 by besting a field of 643 players and a final table that included David Levi, Karina Jett, and Allen Bari. Warga won his first bracelet in the 2002 Limit Hold’em Casino Employees Event and became the first player to ever win a casino employees event and an open event at the WSOP.



Warga, a 41-year-old former real estate investor-turned poker pro, played Maxwell Troy for the title early Thursday morning. Troy led the field entering the final day of play, but Warga eliminated Levi in third place to take a 5-1 chip advantage into heads-up play. It proved to be too much to overcome, as Warga removed Troy from the table in less than a half-hour.



1. David Warga — $208,682

2. Maxwell Troy — $129,253

3. David Levi — $87,400

4. Karina Jett — $60,588


5. Christopher George — $42,913

6. Jonathan Bascom — $31,046

7. Chris Tryba — $22,926

8. Allen Bari — $17,274



Wednesday proved to be the day of the underdog, as William Haydon battled back from being short-stacked to win the $2,500 Six-Handed No Limit Hold’em Event #26. Haydon, who entered the final table last in chips, defeated online poker pro Jeff “jpapola” Papola to win his first bracelet and $630,031.



The event, which attracted 1,245 players on Day 1, saw several big names fall just short of a shot at the bracelet, including Justin “Boosted_J” Smith (8th), Daniel Negreanu (16th), David Benefield (20th), and Sorel Mizzi (25th). In the end, it was Haydon who clinched his shot at glory when his A-J held up against the A-6 of Papola after all the chips went in pre-flop.



1. Will Haydon — $630,031


2. Jeff Papola — $391,068

3. Joe Baldwin — $248,265

4. Eddy Scharf — $163,649

5. Jarred Solomon — $110,903

6. Steve Cowley — $77,228



On Thursday, a winner will be crowned in the prestigious $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship. The event started with 171 players on Tuesday and whittled down to 13 before play ended Wednesday evening. Kyle Ray leads the way with 643,000 chips, but among those still vying for the title are David Baker, Brock Parker, Michael Mizrachi, and David Chiu.



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WSOP Tournament of Champions: Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu Lead Voting

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WSOP Tournament of Champions: Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu Lead Voting

17/06/2010 // tags: WSOP Tournament of Champions: Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu Lead Voting

After over 350,000 votes submitted by fans of the game, the field for the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Tournament of Champions is set. Voting closed on Tuesday at Midnight ET and the tournament kicks off in 11 days from the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino with 27 players.



Phil Ivey, considered by many to be the game’s top all-around player, sat atop the leaderboard when all was said and done with 16,267 votes cast. He edged out four-time bracelet winner and PokerStars front man Daniel Negreanu by a scant 28 votes. Negreanu recorded 16,239 votes out of the 355,000 cast by players, fans, and members of the poker media, or about 4.5%.



Voters could select up to 20 names and only bracelet winners were eligible. Negreanu and Ivey have combined for 11 bracelets and over $8 million in career WSOP earnings. The two were about 2,500 votes ahead of 10-time bracelet winner Doyle Brunson, the Godfather of Poker. “Texas Dolly,” the namesake of the popular Cake Poker Network site DoylesRoom, received 13,796 votes and won back-to-back Main Events in 1976 and 1977.




UB.com pro and poker bad boy Phil Hellmuth finished in fourth in the 2010 WSOP Tournament of Champions voting at 12,673. Hellmuth owns the record for number of bracelets won at 11 and became the youngest Main Event winner ever in 1989 at age 24. His record stood for 19 years until Peter Eastgate shattered it by two years. Then, Joe Cada won poker’s biggest tournament at age 21 to become the current record holder.



A pair of Full Tilt Poker pros landed in fifth and sixth place. Chris Ferguson garnered 11,585 Tournament of Champions votes, just ahead of Allen Cunningham, who received 10,486. Ferguson and Cunningham each own five WSOP bracelets, although the former has logged 20 more in the money finishes, 61 to 41. Ferguson won the 2000 Main Event, while Cunningham finished fourth in 2006 for $3.6 million and was egged on by ESPN commentator Norman Chad’s cries of, “It’s Allen Cunningham!”



Former Main Event champion Johnny Chan took seventh in the voting with 10,434, the final player to eclipse the 10,000 mark. Chan is a 10-time bracelet winner, tied with Brunson for the second most overall, and won back-to-back Main Events in 1987 and 1988 before finishing as the runner-up to Hellmuth in 1989. The married father of six formerly served as the face of his own online poker site, Chan Poker, which vanished in 2008.



The field of 20 voted in by the general poker playing public represents the “Old Guard of Poker,” lacking any internet players or players from Europe. Here are the top 20 vote getters along with the number each received:



1. Phil Ivey – 16,267

2. Daniel Negreanu – 16,239

3. Doyle Brunson – 13,796


4. Phil Hellmuth – 12,673

5. Chris Ferguson – 11,585

6. Allen Cunningham – 10,486

7. Johnny Chan – 10,434

8. Scotty Nguyen – 9,834

9. Barry Greenstein – 9,806

10. John Juanda – 8,835

11. Erik Seidel – 8,802

12. Jennifer Harman – 8,206


13. Huck Seed – 8,180

14. Dan Harrington – 7,342

15. T.J. Cloutier – 6,281

16. Sammy Farha – 6,085

17. Howard Lederer – 5,596

18. Greg Raymer – 5,404

19. Joe Hachem – 5,272

20. Antonio Esfandiari – 5,129




Five players received automatic invites by virtue of winning past editions of the Tournament of Champions: UB.com pro Annie Duke, World Poker Tour (WPT) Host Mike Sexton, and Mike Matusow. Also claiming automatic bids were Cada and Barry Shulman, the reigning champs of the WSOP and WSOP Europe Main Events, respectively. Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier took down a sit and go qualifier put on by the WSOP Academy, while U.K. player Andrew Barton won his way in through the WSOP’s for-profit online poker site.



A total of $1 million will be up for grabs, with the Tournament of Champions’ winner banking $500,000.



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Maxim Magazine Profiles Isaac Haxton, Justin Bonomo, Scott Seiver, Steve O’Dwyer

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Maxim Magazine Profiles Isaac Haxton, Justin Bonomo, Scott Seiver, Steve O’Dwyer

15/06/2010 // tags: Maxim Magazine Profiles Isaac Haxton, Justin Bonomo, Scott Seiver, Steve O’Dwyer

In the July issue hitting newsstands this week, Maxim Magazine profiles four of the top young guns in the world of poker: Isaac Haxton, Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, Scott Seiver, and Steve “MrTimCaum” O’Dwyer.



Davy Rothbart takes readers on a journey through the lives of four of the game’s best in an article entitled “From Geeks to Gangsters.” Bonomo is just 24 years of age and used to be “the kid with severe acne who ached to fit in.” Now, he’s banked $2.4 million from poker tournaments and “dated several of the hottest girls in the poker universe. His current girlfriend, Heather, is a sweet, young, blonde model who loves electronic music and rocks the kind of floppy, stuffed-animal backpack you see on teenage ravers.”



Haxton, who burst onto the live poker scene after finishing as the runner-up to Ryan Daut in the 2007 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure for $861,000, received several Harry Potter comparisons from Rothbart. The Maxim Magazine article details a typical day in the life of the poker-made millionaire: “Haxton sleeps in till 11, sips tea with his girlfriend, Zoe, whom he met at Brown, reads 50 pages of a Michael Pollan book, and zips to the gym downstairs for a workout with his personal trainer. Finally, mid-afternoon, he settles into his desk chair, powers up his computer and its two massive flat-screen monitors, logs on, and gets to work.”




Seiver, 24, is fresh off a fourth place in the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Main Event for $190,000. He won a bracelet last year in a $5,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament and has two in the money finishes in the WSOP so far in 2010. O’Dwyer made the final table of the World Poker Tour (WPT) Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic in December for $202,000 and has been a staple of the internet poker community for the past five years.



Admittedly, the quartet thrives off one another on and away from the felts. Haxton told Maxim reporters, “The game will keep changing, but with Justin [Bonomo] and Scott [Seiver] and the rest of our guys, we’ll always be ready for battle, whether online or at tournaments. Figuring it out is the fun part.”



Financially, each of these poker aficionados has plenty of motivation to support one another: “Haxton, Bonomo, and Seiver all have a piece of each other’s action and work as a syndicate to hedge their wins and losses. Bonomo might lose 50 grand one day, but if Seiver’s up 70, they all come out ahead. The strategy is working. The three collectively have racked up more than $7.1 million.” On a day that Rothbart shadowed the group, Seiver had dropped $80,000, while Bonomo was up $30,000.



If you’re in search of a new party game to play with your friends, Maxim introduced the world to “LoddenThinks,” referred to multiple times in the magazine’s piece. Rothbart explains its premise: “The game is called LoddenThinks, in honor of a Norwegian, somewhat perpetually drunken acquaintance of theirs named Johnny Lodden. When everyone’s together at a meal or out drinking, they’ll pepper someone with questions.” In addition, readers can look forward to a round of credit card roulette for a $2,000 dinner bill.



The only part of the article that this author took issue with was Rothbart’s assertion that poker was a game of chance: “Still, poker is a game of chance, and on any given day a great player can lose to a good player.” While the latter half of that statement is true, Bonomo somewhat corrected Rothbart in a comment comparing poker to chess: “Chess has been around for centuries. Its strategies are complicated, but have largely been solved. Poker, though, is a brand-new game. It’s billions of times more complex. We’re just starting to figure out how it works.”



Finally, former FBI agent Joe Navarro illustrates four poker tells: “The Red Neck,” “The Diaper,” “The No Thumbs,” and “The Conqueror.” Check out “From Geeks to Gangsters” in the July issue of Maxim Magazine.




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Shaun Deeb, David Sesso Among WSOP Ladies Event Entrants

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Shaun Deeb, David Sesso Among WSOP Ladies Event Entrants

12/06/2010 // tags: Shaun Deeb David Sesso Among WSOP Ladies Event

Whether for charity or not, male poker players Shaun Deeb and David “Blue Knight1” Sesso were among the entrants for the $1,000 Ladies No Limit Hold’em Championship at the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP). However, their involvement caused quite a stir across the poker world as Event #22 kicked off.



Among those Tweeting about the involvement of several male players in the Ladies only event was UB.com pro Adam “Roothlus” Levy, who remarked, “I love how all the ladies get so done up for the ladies event, but no one looks as good as @ShaunDeeb.” Also painting a picture of the scene for those not camped out at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas was former “Poker2Nite” host Joe Sebok: “In the main poker pavilion at WSOP. Man, these ladies realllllly hate the dudes that played the event.”



Also weighing in was PokerStars sponsored pro Maria “Maridu” Mayrinck, who commented via her Twitter feed on Friday, “I see 6 guys playing the ladies event. I don’t mind too much, won’t make me play different, but the ladies are very upset.” Elsewhere in the Las Vegas casino, Absolute Poker sponsored pro Trishelle Cannatella noted, “They just made an announcement at #WSOP apologizing for the guys playing in the ladies event. One guy has full on drag. Amazing.”




Deeb is one of the top tournament pros in the game, although he announced his retirement earlier this year. However, he turned out in full on drag to the $1,000 Ladies No Limit Hold’em Championship purportedly in the name of charity. Deeb’s Twitter feed asserted, “Playing the ladies event. Liv [Boeree] dressed me and gave me makeup. New Photoshop thread will form from these photos.” Deeb was sent packing just before the dinner break much to the delight of the women in attendance after his A-J could not draw out on Niago Wilson’s wired pair of nines. Deeb gave $100 to Wilson as a bounty and exited the field.



Two males outlasted Deeb in the field. Coverage found on WSOP.com noted, “After competing a completely unscientific survey of the field, it looks as though we are down to our last two male entrants. The field has been erupting in applause whenever a male is sent to the rail. We’ll let you know when the last cheer arrives.”



Not everyone was perturbed at seeing women enter the event. UB.com pro and reigning National Heads-Up Poker Championship winner Annie Duke told Poker News Daily, “I get that women would be upset, but I think it’s important for men to take that stand and also it’s for charity. It’s also making a point that poker is not like tennis. Men are not mentally stronger than we are, so it makes no sense to separate it out. If there were a men’s only event, people would be encouraging women to play.”



Early on Friday night, CardPlayer reported that one-year or lifetime bans from the WSOP may be in store for Deeb, Sesso, and other males to entered the Ladies event. When asked when the media could expect word of any sanctions, WSOP Communications Director Seth Palansky told Poker News Daily, “You can report on them when they occur.” He added, “People aren’t respecting our tournaments. We have the ability to handle things any way we see fit as tournament operators.”



Among those still in the hunt for the bracelet in Event #22 at the time of writing are Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Linda Johnson, Bodog pro Evelyn Ng, and UB.com front woman Liv Boeree. First place will pay out $192,000.



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Bertrand Grospellier (Elky) Wins WSOP Tournament of Champions Qualifier

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Bertrand Grospellier (Elky) Wins WSOP Tournament of Champions Qualifier

11/06/2010 // tags: Bertrand Grospellier (Elky) Wins WSOP Tournament of Champions Qualifier

Team PokerStars Pro member Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier has only one cash in the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP), a 91st place showing in a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em tournament. However, he lodged an all-important win in the WSOP Academy Tournament of Champions qualifier, which played out on Thursday.



The freeroll, which will air as part of the WSOP Academy’s revamped website, featured nine of the game’s top pros lacking a bracelet. Tom “durrrr” Dwan skipped the Tournament of Champions qualifier, instead electing to compete for his first WSOP bracelet. Dwan was running deep in the 2-7 Draw Lowball Championship and held the seventh largest stack after Day 1. Perhaps the millions of dollars in side bets and opportunity to snag a bracelet were enough motivation for Dwan to no-show the Tournament of Champions sit and go, which instead featured Gavin Smith.



The action kicked off around Noon PT from the Lightspeed VT Studios in Las Vegas. The first player knocked out was Titan Poker pro Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi. The youngster was all-in with pocket sixes against Full Tilt Poker pro Gus Hansen’s A-3. By the river, Hansen had made a flush and the nine-handed WSOP Academy Tournament of Champions qualifier was truncated to eight.




Any Bloch was the next player ousted. The former MIT Blackjack Team member ran A-J into Smith’s pocket kings. “Iron Man 2” actor Don Cheadle, who pledged to donate any Tournament of Champions winnings to charity, followed shortly thereafter. Cheadle also fell to pocket kings, as the acclaimed actor ran pocket jacks into the superior pocket pair and couldn’t improve.



Paul Wasicka then doubled up at the expense of Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi with A-J against A-Q all-in pre-flop. Then, PokerStars pro Grospellier also doubled with A-J, this time against Hansen’s A-4. The all-ins were fast and furious, as despite Dwan electing to miss the sit and go, a Twitter post made by WSOP Academy officials noted that the structure was designed to accommodate events at the Rio: “Fast structure today at the WSOPA TOC – players have WSOP events this afternoon.”



UB.com pro Liv Boeree, who took down the largest European Poker Tour (EPT) tournament outside of the Bahamas in San Remo earlier this year, busted with K-Q against Smith’s pocket nines. Smith then gave a portion of his stack to Wasicka, who doubled with pocket nines against pocket fours.



Hansen departed in fifth place from the WSOP Academy Tournament of Champions qualifier after running K-9 into Mizrachi’s pocket sevens. Mizrachi then served as the executioner of Smith, whose J-9 could not draw out on A-4. The action slowed considerably three-handed, with Mizrachi, Wasicka, and Grospellier all vying for a seat in the $1 million freeroll that will air as part of ESPN’s coverage of the 2010 WSOP.



Mizrachi doubled up through Wasicka after hitting a set with pocket sixes against K-J. “The Grinder” was still on life support three-handed, only holding 9,000 chips with blinds of 600/1,200. However, Mizrachi survived to the finals after sending Wasicka to the rails with A-7 against A-6. The pot appeared to be headed for a chop, but Mizrachi spiked a seven on the river to eliminate the Victory Poker pro.



Entering heads-up play, Mizrachi held a 2:1 edge in chips, 60,800 to Grospellier’s 29,200. Ten minutes in, Grospellier quickly righted the ship and doubled up, but “The Grinder” still held a 2:1 chip lead. By the time heads-up play reached its first break, Mizrachi and Grospellier were deadlocked at 45,000 chips apiece. Grospellier ultimately opened up a 2:1 lead in chips as the blinds grew higher and the Frenchman’s aggression grew stronger.




“The Grinder” didn’t lay down a die, however, getting all of his chips into the middle with pocket fives against A-10. The wired pair held and Mizrachi was right back in the thick of it. However, Grospellier came out on top after his K-10 drew out on Mizrachi’s A-6 and earned a seat to the 2010 WSOP Tournament of Champions.



In case you’re wondering, the Tournament of Champions qualifier ended at 4:00pm PT, while the 2-7 Draw Lowball event began at 3:00pm.



The Tournament of Champions will feature 27 players and begin on June 27th. Then, the final nine will return to the Rio to play down to a winner on July 4th. Annie Duke, Joe Cada, Barry Shulman, Mike Sexton, and Mike Matusow all have automatic bids and 20 other players will join them based on a fan vote. The final seat will feature a U.K. player who qualified via the WSOP’s for-profit online poker site.



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CHILLOUT-POKER.COM - Beach Volleyball Champions Jennifer Kessy and April Ross Sign with Bodog.net

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Beach Volleyball Champions Jennifer Kessy and April Ross Sign with Bodog.net

10/06/2010 // tags: Beach Volleyball Champions Jennifer Kessy April Ross Bodog.net

In last weekend’s running of the beach volleyball extravaganza the Huntington Beach Open, Jennifer Kessy and April Ross defeated Misty May-Treanor and Nicole Branagh for the title. May-Treanor is an Olympic gold medalist, while Kessy and Ross are the newest sponsored sports icons of Bodog.net.



The pair was actually signed to Bodog.net before the Huntington Beach Open began, adding an extra dose of exposure for the popular play money online poker site. The duo has been wildly successful, winning seven gold Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) medals, five silver medals, and three bronze medals. In Norway, Kessy and Ross took down the FIVB World Championship title, going 8-0 down the stretch en route to victory.



Kessy received the honor of the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) Best of the Beach in 2008 and 2009 and both players are graduates of the University of Southern California, home of the Trojans. Kessy was an All-Pac 10 pick from 1995 to 1998 and Ross was a first team All-American in back-to-back years. Kessy and Ross have had success in the United States and around the world, taking down five AVP tour championships and winning events in France and Thailand, among other locales.




Text found on Bodog’s website details where the team stands in the 2010 season: “The 2010 professional beach volleyball season is still young, but two FIVB gold medals and one bronze – earned at last weekend’s US $190,000 Crown Seoul Open for women in a come-from-behind victory over Brazil’s Maria Antonelli and Talita Antunes, 15-21, 22-20, 15-8 – have catapulted Kessy and Ross into the top spot.”



According to FIVB, Kessy and Ross hold the top spot in the World Tour rankings and have nearly $100,000 in earnings this season. Their competition near the top of the pack includes Brazil’s Juliana Silva and Larissa Franca and Germany’s Sara Goller and Laura Ludwig. The pair is now camped out in Moscow for an FIVB beach volleyball event.



Beach volleyball has exploded in popularity in recent years, even becoming an Olympic sport in 1996 in Atlanta. It’s been predominantly Brazil and the United States atop the medal stand, as of the 24 medals awarded in beach volleyball at the Olympics, the two nations have claimed 16. Other countries that have captured titles in the sand-based sport include Canada, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Australia, and China. The latter took the silver and bronze in women’s beach volleyball in Beijing.



Bodog.net is the play money arm of Bodog, which happily accepts players from the United States. The online poker site recently underwent a major overhaul in its sponsored pros, parting ways with Jean-Robert Bellande, Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, and World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship winner David Williams only to add Amanda Musumeci, who won her way in through a site promotion.



If you think watching beach volleyball means four women in bikinis romping around in the sand for an hour, you’re not far from the truth. However, Bodog cautions, “Watching professional female athletes play beach volleyball is not at all like watching a pillow fight between four nearly naked girls, so you can wipe that image from your dirty mind. AVP and FIVB tournaments are hot, but in a physically grueling kind of way.” FIVB is the governing body of Olympic beach volleyball.



The Huntington Beach Open final aired on June 6th on ESPN2, the same network that carried coverage of the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) and World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe. Visit Bodog.net for more details.




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Frank Kassela Wins WSOP Seven Card Stud High-Low Championship

Frank Kassela Wins WSOP Seven Card Stud High-Low Championship

09/06/2010 // tags: Frank Kassela WSOP Seven Card Stud High-Low Championship

Memphis, Tennessee transplant Frank Kassela defeated a star studded final table in Event #15 of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP), the $10,000 Seven Card Stud High-Low Split Eight or Better Championship. Kassela collected $447,000 for his efforts and, more importantly, his first WSOP bracelet.



Kassela finished 22nd in last year’s $40,000 commemorative No Limit Hold’em event for $71,000 and is a 42 year-old married father of five. He told WSOP officials following his bracelet win on Tuesday, “Stud High-Low is about the slow accumulation of chips. You’re not going to get as many chips quickly as you are in Pot Limit Omaha (and other games). It’s a building process. It requires patience.” He began taking the game seriously 10 years ago.



Kassela made two pair in the final hand heads-up against acclaimed tournament pro Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler, who banked $276,000 for his troubles. Event #15 marked Kessler’s third WSOP final table and first since 2006, when he finished fourth in a $5,000 Seven Card Stud tournament. Kessler and the other 169 players who registered built the largest Seven Card Stud High-Low Split prize pool in WSOP history, passing the previous record by $56,000. The event marked just the third time a prize pool for any Seven Card Stud High-Low Split event had ever reached seven-figures.




Kassela will receive his bracelet at 2:20pm PT this afternoon inside the Rio Pavilion. Third place went to Full Tilt Poker pro Jennifer Harman, who walked away with $173,000. Harman passed $1.6 million in career WSOP earnings and was eliminated after Kessler made a pair of fours on his final card. Here were the final results from the Seven Card Stud High-Low Split Eight or Better Championship. Sixteen players finished in the money:



1. Frank Kassela – $447,446

2. Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler – $276,486

3. Jennifer Harman – $173,159

4. Steve Zolotow – $125,379

5. John Juanda – $97,989

6. Kirill Rabtsov – $78,142

7. Vladimir Schmelev – $63,457


8. Dario Minieri – $52,366

9. Gary Benson – $43,833

10. George “Jorj95” Lind – $43,833

11. Sergey Altbregin – $37,297

12. Alessio Isaia – $37,297

13. Marco “CrazyMarco” Johnson – $32,439

14. Christopher George – $32,439

15. Blair Rodman – $28,221

16. Toto Leonidas – $28,221




The story of the 2010 WSOP has to be Russia’s Vladimir Schmelev. Yes, brothers Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi and Robert Mizrachi making the final table of the Player’s Championship together was memorable, but Schmelev has been a one-man wrecking crew in Stud events so far. Schmelev finished second to “The Grinder” in the Player’s Championship for $963,000 and promptly took seventh in the Seven Card Stud World Championship for $56,000. Tuesday marked his third WSOP final table in as many cashes.



David Baker knocked off Daniel Duong in 10th place to set up Wednesday’s nine-handed finale in Event #13, the second open $1,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament on the WSOP schedule. Baker held A-Q, which quickly fell behind Duong’s 10-8 of hearts when the flop came 10-3-4. However, Baker hit an ace on the river to save the day and end play for the evening at the Rio in Las Vegas. Here’s how the final table will stack up when play resumes this afternoon at 2:30pm PT:



1. David Baker – 2,553,000

2. Matthew Vance – 1,731,000

3. Steven Gee – 1,540,000

4. Nicholas “Salamander” Heather – 993,000

5. Kyung Han – 613,000


6. Daniel Thomas – 602,000

7. Jared “TheWacoKidd” Hamby – 423,000

8. Mats Gavatin – 393,000

9. Jeffrey kidwhowon Gross – 281,000



Notable names that finished in the top 100 of Event #13 included:



32. Andy Black – $10,923

34. Ylon Schwartz – $10,923

51. Chris Karagulleyan – $7,364


73. Victor Ramdin – $4,380

84. John “The Razor” Phan – $3,750

86. Shaun Deeb – $3,750

88. Vitaly Lunkin – $3,750



Two events kick off today at the 2010 WSOP:



12:00pm PT

Event #18: Limit Hold’em

$2,000 buy-in




5:00pm PT

Event #19: 2-7 Draw Lowball World Championship

$10,000 buy-in



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CHILLOUT-POKER.COM - Phil Laak Logs 115 Hours of Poker in Guinness World Record Attempt

CHILLOUT-POKER.COM - Phil Laak Logs 115 Hours of Poker in Guinness World Record Attempt

Phil Laak Logs 115 Hours of Poker in Guinness World Record Attempt

07/06/2010 // tags: Phil Laak Logs 115 Hours of Poker in Guinness World Record Attempt

Unabomber Poker pro Phil Laak endured 115 straight hours of poker, a new Guinness World Record. That’s nearly three traditional work weeks compacted into just under five days. Laak’s enduro challenge played out at a $10/$20 cash game at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.



Laak shattered the old record of 78 hours set by Paul Zimbler last year by nearly 40 hours. His original goal was 80 hours, which was later extended to 100. By hour #115, or 4.8 days, Laak called it quits. As you’d expect, the crowd was electric as Laak stood on his chair in the middle of the Bellagio poker room to celebrate his 100th hour seated at the felts. His girlfriend, Jennifer Tilly, supported him throughout the endeavor as some fans screamed for the poker pro to shoot for 100 more. ESPN “E:60” cameras were on hand for the momentous occasion.



At the end of his session, a sense of relief could be felt in Laak’s Twitter feed. He posted shortly before 3:00am PT on Monday morning, “115 hours later… Bedtime… ahhhh!” In addition to being tired, Laak also lost five pounds during the course of his marathon session: “Wow – my weight was 182 – first time in 12 yrs it has been below 185!” Although he was feeling hot, his doctor informed him that he was in perfect health and running a temperature of 98.63 degrees.




Six hours before the enduro challenge’s conclusion, Laak was up $4,000. At nearly the same time, he emphatically Tweeted, “Dolphins take turns w each side of their brain when it comes to sleep – I wonder if we can learn how to do this for ourselves.” He then added that he would not follow the ways of Prahlad Friedman and Jeff Madsen to become poker’s next rapper: “Discovering that I have just about no talent for rap whatsoever.” According to a post found on the popular online poker forum PocketFives.com, Laak ended his Guinness World Record attempt up $6,500.



At the 96 hour mark, a blog found on the official website of Unabomber Poker put the four-day milestone into perspective: “Professional baseball teams can play a full series against each other in four days. Folks with day job can complete 80% of their work weeks in four days. And a driver in an automobile can go from Los Angeles to New York and back again in four days. Now imagine doing any of those things without sleep – and you’ve got an idea of where Phil is right now.” A webcam of the entire feat was available on Unabomber Poker’s website.



PocketFives.com Mod “ApesAreFun” tipped his hat to the man known as “The Unabomber,” posting, “Such a great publicity stunt. Will def increase the traffic on his new site. Congrats to him and GL!” “MastaP89” added, “much respect for laak to be degen enough to pull this off.”



Memorable Tweets from Laak during the end of the enduro challenge included “The Bellagio is like a dream, only better. Just look around. So tranquil right now. Like a Star Trek mission to a Strange New World.” In a scene reminiscent of GSN’s “High Stakes Poker,” Laak even accepted a prop bet to raise additional funds for Camp Sunshine: “Kaz said, ‘If U can do 30 push-ups (press-ups), I will donate $1,000 to CampSunshine.Org.’ I dropped and delivered 32. Ace Jones filmed it.”



Laak raised money for Camp Sunshine throughout the course of the 115-hour extravaganza. Congratulations from all of us here at Poker News Daily to Laak for etching his name in poker history.



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CHILLOUT-POKER.COM - Win WSOP Main Event Final Table VIP Trips from UB.com and PND

CHILLOUT-POKER.COM - Win WSOP Main Event Final Table VIP Trips from UB.com and PND

Win WSOP Main Event Final Table VIP Trips from UB.com and PND

08/06/2010 // tags: WSOP Main Event Final Table UB.com

Last year, the final table of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event in November was electric. The finale featured Full Tilt Poker pro and industry icon Phil Ivey along with CardPlayer Magazine’s Jeff Shulman. In the end, Joe Cada became the second champion of the November Nine in dramatic fashion and banked a colossal $8.5 million.



This year promises to be equally electric. Poker News Daily and UB.com are teaming up to dole out three VIP prize packages to the WSOP Main Event final table. All you have to do is sign up for UB.com through PND between June 1st and July 30th, deposit, and generate one UB Point. That’s right, all you need to do is accrue one, single UB Point. When you do so, you’ll automatically be entered into a freeroll on August 15th at 20:00 ET on UB.com. The winner of the freeroll will head to Las Vegas in style to watch the Main Event come to a conclusion. The other members of the final table in the August freeroll will earn a spot in the $200,000 Guaranteed, a $215 value.



The other two VIP prize packages will be given away in two separate points races, one held in June and the other held in July. Whoever amasses the most number of Status Points each month will head to Sin City to soak up the November Nine and witness poker history. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see one lucky poker player take down what is expected to be a top prize of between $8 million and $9 million.




What constitutes a VIP prize package to Las Vegas, you ask? We’re all about living the high life here at PND and our promotion with UB.com is no exception. Each package includes a round trip airfare for two people, with a $600 maximum per person. You’ll also get three nights’ accommodation at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino, where the final table of the Main Event will play out.



On top of the airfare and accommodation, you’ll also land a dinner with UB.com pros and gain entry into the WSOP Main Event final table at the Rio, which was a tough ticket to open the festivities last year. The finale plays out inside the spacious Penn and Teller Theater, located down the hallway from the Pavilion and Amazon Room.



UB.com is one-half of the CEREUS Network and happily accepts players from the United States. It ranks as the sixth largest worldwide in terms of real money ring game traffic with a seven-day running average of 2,150 players and a 24-hour peak approaching 3,600. Absolute Poker is also on the same network and proudly accepts action from the United States.



Members of Team UB that players could dine with while checking out the finale of the WSOP Main Event include 2010 National Heads-Up Poker Championship winner Annie Duke, 11-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, and two-time bracelet winner Brandon Cantu. The Team UB.com cast also includes former “Amazing Race” contestant Tiffany Michelle, former “Poker2Nite” host Joe Sebok, and Anthrax member Scott Ian.



Sign up for UB.com today. We might be seeing you in Las Vegas this November.



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CHILLOUT-POKER.COM - Aussie Millions Debuts on GSN

CHILLOUT-POKER.COM - Poker Streaming - Poker Videos - Poker News :: home

Aussie Millions Debuts on GSN

07/06/2010 // tags: Aussie Millions Debuts on GSN World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event November Niner Phil Ivey Tom

On Saturday night, the 2010 Aussie Millions debuted on GSN. Announcers Paul Khoury and Grub Smith had the call of Day 1 of the AUD $100,000 buy-in High-Roller event and each player had only 30 seconds to act. Full Tilt Poker sponsors GSN’s latest foray into unique poker programming, which can be seen at 9:00pm ET every Saturday.



A profile of the feature table members aired and all eyes were focused on 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event November Niner Phil Ivey, Tom “durrrr” Dwan, and Dan Shak. Perhaps not coincidentally, all three are Full Tilt sponsored pros. Bet and raise amounts only appeared briefly on screen, making the action difficult to follow, and no console detailing the pot size was shown at any point. In addition, the graphics and music were rather sub-par from a network whose franchise “High Stakes Poker” is top-tier in that department.



Mieke Buchan conducted interviews from the rail and asked Ivey if he felt any pressure being considered the top player in the world. Ivey responded, “I don’t really think I’m the best in the world. I just try to perform as good as I can day in and day out.” Ivey then showed his prowess by betting out 5,000 with pocket kings on a board reading 7-8-A-Q with two spades. Shak, who had J-10 of clubs, raised to 14,000 with a double belly-buster straight draw, and Full Tilt pro Andrew Feldman sent his A-2 of spades into the muck despite holding top pair and a flush draw. Ivey re-raised Shak to 34,000 and Shak called to see a river three. Ivey bet 25,000 and Shak gave up.




Several commercials for the Crown Casino, the site of the annual Aussie Millions, and the city of Melbourne aired. One featured an incorrect spelling of Erik Seidel’s name, which was displayed with a “C” instead of a “K.”



Then, Shak raised to 3,000 pre-flop with a wired pair of jacks and Dwan called with pocket rockets. The flop came 3-8-10 and Shak bet out 6,000. Dwan check-raised to 16,000, Shak moved all-in, and Dwan called with the best hand. The board filled out 4-9 and Dwan doubled up. Both players were initially labeled “All In” on screen, potentially leading to some confusion by viewers as to whose stack was at risk.



In another hand, Ivey raised to 3,000 pre-flop with A-10. Shak came along with pocket eights and Dwan called with 10-7 to see a flop of 10-8-4. Shak checked middle set, Dwan bet 7,000 with top pair, and Ivey raised to 24,000 with top pair, top kicker. Shak moved all-in for 58,000, Dwan got out of the way, and Ivey tanked before folding his premium hand.



In the final hand shown in the kickoff Aussie Millions episode on GSN, Shak raised to 6,000 before the flop with 8-7 and Dwan made the call with 6-4. The flop came 4-7-2, giving a little something to everyone, and Shak bet 28,000 with top pair. Dwan raised to 40,000 with middle pair and Shak insta-called all-in for his tournament life. The turn was an eight, giving Shak two pair, and a jack on the river sealed a double up for the 2007 WSOP Ante Up for Africa winner.



Bill Jordanou and Masa Kagawa flanked the four Full Tilt Poker pros at the table, but no hands of note featuring either aired. Instead, the telecast focused almost exclusively on the Full Tilt sponsored players in attendance. The AUD $100,000 buy-in event began with 24 entrants. The episode did not outline what the payouts were, but 10 episodes in total will chronicle the High-Roller, Heads-Up, and Main Events at the poker tournament Down Under.



The Aussie Millions airs as part of a nine-hour poker block that begins at 6:00pm ET on GSN every Saturday. Read the full GSN poker schedule.




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CHILLOUT-POKER.COM - World Team Poker Signs Annette Obrestad for Team Norway

CHILLOUT-POKER.COM - World Team Poker Signs Annette Obrestad for Team Norwaye

World Team Poker Signs Annette Obrestad for Team Norway

06/06/2010 // tags: World Team Poker Signs Annette Obrestad for Team Norway

Full Tilt Poker pro Annette Obrestad will play for Team Norway as part of World Team Poker. The former Betfair pro will join Thor Hansen to represent the Scandinavian country. Team Norway did not compete in the kickoff World Team Poker event, which played out at the Golden Nugget in Downtown Las Vegas last month.



Obrestad is one of several females who may take part in the World Team Poker Championship event, which has yet to be announced. Taking to the felts on behalf of Team USA are reigning National Heads-Up Poker Championship winner Annie Duke and fundraiser extraordinaire Jennifer Harman. According to the World Team Poker website, other members of Team USA include 10-time bracelet winner Doyle Brunson, 11-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, Mike Matusow, Allen Cunningham, Chris Ferguson, Howard Lederer, and Erik Seidel.



Team Australia includes Women in Poker Hall of Fame member Marsha Waggoner, who will likely take to the felts alongside her teammates from Down Under, 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Player of the Year Jeffrey Lisandro, Tony G, Mel Judah, Billy Argyros, Gary Benson, David Saab, Steve Topakas, and Grant Levy.




Representing her home country of Vietnam is Karina Jett, who recently took down “He Said, She Said” week on NBC’s “Poker After Dark.” Team Vietnam features Poker Hall of Fame nominee Men “The Master” Nguyen, John “The Razor” Phan, Kenny Tran, WSOP Main Event and $50,000 HORSE champ Scotty Nguyen, Van Nguyen, and Tim Phan. That’s a gauntlet of talent.



Also featuring a wealth of poker talent is Team China, whose roster includes recent “Amazing Race” contestant Maria Ho. Her countrymen include former World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship winner David Chiu, back-to-back WSOP Main Event winner Johnny Chan, high-stakes cash game pro Chau Giang, Winfred Yu, Rich Zhu, and Derek Cheung.



Nancy Todd Tyner, who cashed in Event #3 of the 2010 WSOP, graces the World Team Poker tables on behalf of Team Czech Republic. Also representing the European country are George Kozel and Eric Aude, whose 42nd place put him right behind Tyner on the leaderboard in Event #3 last week.



Rounding out World Team Poker’s female clientele is “American Pie” actress Shannon Elizabeth, who plays under the Lebanese flag. Elizabeth’s claim to fame in the poker world is reaching the semi-finals of the 2007 National Heads-Up Poker Championship, where she fell to eventual champ Paul Wasicka. Team Lebanon also features well-known pros Joe Awada and Freddy Deeb, along with Dany Joe Georges and Mark Betor.



Poker News Daily has learned that the signings of several other top female pros are in the works for countries across the globe. A teaser episode of the Golden Nugget tournament will air on Fox Sports Net on July 14th. Then, the remainder of the World Team Poker event can be seen on Sunday nights starting in September. Five tables were held, with the top two players from each advancing to the finale. Then, each remaining country’s chips were combined into one stack, leading to an eventual win from Team Greece. Players can be swapped in and out based on game and situation.



Details for the forthcoming World Championship have not been released. However, the event is expected to feature 32 countries from across the globe. On World Team Poker’s website, countries fielding squads include Armenia, Australia, Brazil, China, the Czech Republic, England, Germany, Greece, Iran, Israel, Italy, Korea, Lebanon, Mexico, Norway, the Philippines, Switzerland, Turkey, the United States, and Vietnam.




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CHILLOUT-POKER.COM - Phil Laak Nears End of Poker Endurance Challenge

CHILLOUT-POKER.COM - Phil Laak Nears End of Poker Endurance Challenge

Phil Laak Nears End of Poker Endurance Challenge

05/06/2010 // tags: Phil Laak Nears End of Poker Endurance Challenge

On Friday, Unabomber Poker pro Phil Laak reached the halfway point of his endurance challenge. On a quest to break the standing record of 78 – yes, 78 – straight hours of poker, Laak is camped out at a $10/$20 table at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. While others are enduring the grind of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) at the Rio, Laak is experiencing a completely different definition of the word.



Posted on Friday was a YouTube video of the challenge crossing the 40-hour mark. Laak, dressed in his trademark Unabomber Poker hoodie and black “Badazz Mofo” t-shirt, pulled out a brand new rack of $100,000 in chips and challenged any and all opponents to make their way to the Bellagio poker room to play. Laak now enters the home stretch of his Guinness Book of World Records run.



A blog by Unabomber Poker’s Taylor Kent described Laak’s mental state at the halfway mark: “On the mental side, he still seems relatively fresh, considering how long he’s been at it. The hallucinations he’s expecting haven’t kicked in yet and he’s still able to read the board without any problems.” Posted shortly thereafter was an offer for a free Unabomber hoodie, which fans of a flamboyant pro can receive by signing up for his namesake online poker site with the promo code “FreeHoodie” and earning 2,500 player points by July 5th.




Despite Kent observing that Laak seemed to be in a composed state of mind, “The Unabomber’s” Twitter feed would lead you to believe the opposite. Late on Friday, Laak posted, “Mind happy-body semi fatigue -scopes on-noise canceling headphones key – patterns of cards especially pleasing – rhythm sensitivity high.” With 30 hours to go, Laak was down $720 and apparently took a shower near Noon PT on Friday.



Reading through Laak’s Twitter feed featuring posts made with no sleep allows you to peek inside the twirling mind of one of the game’s greats. Friday’s Tweets including this gem about his diet: “I wonder, how much is my new love of sweet potatoes correlated to the fact that I am healthier now than when I did not like them.” He added, “Movement is labored- it is grt when other players post my bb and sb for me.”



Shortly after 8:00pm PT on Friday as Laak lapped the 56-hour mark, ESPN.com Poker Editor Andrew Feldman Tweeted that Laak’s fortunes had turned for the better. He was up $6,000 and Feldman added, “I’m tired and I’ve only been up since this morning.” Laak had shed the hoodie at the time and was down to his black t-shirt, with a homemade counter reading 56 hours down and 24 to go.



A live webcam can be found on the official blog of Unabomber poker and features shots of Laak and the center of the table at the Bellagio. In a hand that occurred around 8:30pm PT on Friday night, Laak raised pre-flop and the first three cards came 5-5-4. An opponent seated directly to Laak’s right bet, Laak came cover the top, his opponent 3bet, and Laak deliberated before calling. The action went check-check when a king hit on the turn to bring another king on the river. Laak’s opponent shoved all-in and Laak quickly called, flipping over 8-5 of clubs for a boat. His opponent commented, “Nice beat,” before electing to rebuy.



Laak won Nicknames Week on “Poker After Dark” in January for $120,000 and took down the PartyPoker World Open V in London last October for $250,000. Laak bested the field in the 2004 World Poker Tour (WPT) Invitational for $100,000 and owns nearly $300,000 in lifetime WSOP earnings.



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CHILLOUT-POKER.COM - Four Online Poker Players Compete for Seventh DoylesRoom Brunson 10 Spot

CHILLOUT-POKER.COM -
Four Online Poker Players Compete for Seventh DoylesRoom Brunson 10 Spot

Four Online Poker Players Compete for Seventh DoylesRoom Brunson 10 Spot

04/06/2010 // tags: DoylesRoom WSOP

There’s more than just money and bracelets on the line this year at the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP). Four online poker players will be competing over the next six weeks for a spot in the prestigious DoylesRoom Brunson 10, a group of pros handpicked by 10-time bracelet winner Doyle Brunson.



Each of the four players will earn points every time they finish in the money in a WSOP tournament and the player with the highest total wins a DoylesRoom contract. Michael “martine23” Martin rose to fame in 2007, when he finished as the runner-up to Trond Eidsvig in the €5,000 Master Classics of Poker in Amsterdam. Martin walked away with $531,000, seed money he’d use to enter the 2008 European Poker Tour (EPT) Monte Carlo Grand Final; he took fifth for $666,000 in the storied Monaco casino. In October 2008, Martin took down the EPT London Main Event for another $1.8 million.



Also vying for the seventh spot in the Brunson 10 is Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka. You can catch Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of the exclusive tour of his Chicago condo he gave to Poker News Daily. Jaka was the only player to make the High-Roller Bounty Shootout final tables at the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Venetian and Mohegan Sun stops. Jaka is also the reigning World Poker Tour (WPT) Player of the Year on the strength of three top 20 finishes and two final tables.




Jaka has more than $4 million in live and online poker earnings to his name. He won the Absolute Poker $1K in April for $39,000 and, back in 2007, took down the Full Tilt $1K Monday for $84,000. Last August, the Illinois native blasted through the field to win the PokerStars Sunday Second Chance for $50,000.



The third competitor to be the newest Brunson 10 face is Dan “djk123” Kelly. A noted poker backer, Kelly is a top 10 ranked player on PocketFives.com, where he’s also a Triple Crown winner. He final tabled the Main Event of the 2009 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) Main Event for $643,000. His performance in the $5,200 buy-in tournament followed a WCOOP title in a $10,300 HORSE event for $252,000. In March, Kelly finished second in the Sunday Warm-Up, adding another $109,000 to his already blossoming bankroll.



The fourth and final player looking for a spot in the Brunson 10 is David “Doc Sands” Sands. The 21st player in the PocketFives.com Online Poker Rankings, Sands’ largest cash came in May 2009, when he won a Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) event for $259,000. Last September, Sands took down the site’s $1K Monday to the tune of $89,000. He’s formerly a top-ranked player on PocketFives.com and has already final tabled a 2010 WSOP tournament. Sands finished eighth in Event #5, a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em contest, for $67,000, his largest cash to date.



The Brunson 10 consists of six of the top up-and-coming players in the game: Zachary “CrazyZachary” Clark, Amit “amak316” Makhija, Chris “moorman1” Moorman, Dani “ansky” Stern, Alex “AJKHoosier1” Kamberis, and Steve “gboro780” Gross. The latter was the most recent player added to the DoylesRoom team, joining the site back in March. Gross is the top-ranked player on PocketFives.com.



By virtue of his final table appearance in Event #5, Sands currently paces the Become a Legend Leaderboard with 731.56 points. Jaka has 325.17 points and Kelly and Martin have been shut out of the 2010 WSOP so far.



DoylesRoom happily accepts players from the United States and is a proud member of the Cake Poker Network. Besides the Brunson 10, other site pros include Doyle Brunson, Todd Brunson, Pam Brunson, Hoyt Corkins, and “The Mad Genius of Poker” Mike Caro.




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