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Hungarian poker player Andras Koroknai leads the final table of the ’s () L.A. Poker Classic. Koroknai has nearly five million in chips and the final table will play out on Thursday.
Jim Casement was bestowed the title of Final Table Bubble Boy on Tuesday. He shoved pre-flop with A-4 of clubs for 14 big blinds and received a call from Koroknai, who held A-9. The flop came Q-10-5 with one club, leaving Casement drawing to a runner-runner flush or straight. He’d also win if a four hit. However, the board filled out A-2 and the final table of the 2010 WPT L.A. Poker Classic was determined. Casement earned $185,000 for his efforts.
On the 160th hand of the day, about 30 hands prior to his elimination, Casement doubled up Jean-Claude Moussa. The race situation featured Moussa’s pocket eights against Casement’s A-Q of hearts. The board fell 9-5-4-4-J and Moussa doubled up. The Canadian ended the day with a stack of 1.36 million, the fifth largest overall entering the final table. Moussa finished 503rd in the 2009 () Main Event, collecting $25,000 for his efforts.
WSOP bracelet winner Steve Sung was bounced in eighth place from the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles. Sung moved all-in over the top of a bet by Koroknai on a flop of 8-2-2. Sung flipped up pocket queens, only to see Koroknai turn over kings. After one of the two remaining queens in the deck failed to hit on the turn or river, Sung was sent packing from the tournament. Eighth place was worth $135,000.
Another big gun was ousted just before the final table bubble, as 2001 WSOP Main Event champion Carlos Mortensen hit the rails in ninth. Mortensen committed his final seven big blinds with A-4 of clubs and received a call from Casement, who held a wired pair of tens. The flop came 9-6-5, all red, and no ace came on the turn or river. “The Matador,” who owns two WPT titles and two WSOP bracelets, earned $100,000 for his five-day run.
UB.com pro and Poker News Daily Guest Columnist was eliminated in 19th place from the $10,000 buy-in WPT tournament. Short-stacked, Duke picked up A-8 and pushed. Timothy Begley made the call from the big blind with pocket fours, which held. Duke, who has never made a WPT final table, earned $45,000. Begley, who turned in a strong run through the L.A. Poker Classic, ended up in 10th place for $67,000.
Who is left, you ask? Here are the chip stacks of the six players remaining in the WPT L.A. Poker Classic:
1. Andras Koroknai - 4,995,000
2. Raymond Dolan - 3,300,000
3. Tri Huynh - 2,565,000
4. Gevork Kasabyan - 2,000,000
5. Jean-Claude Moussa - 1,360,000
6. Michael Kamran - 680,000
In a tournament dominated by American poker players, two Canadians and a Hungarian will head to the final table. Moussa hails from Toronto, while Huynh resides in the home of the 2010 Winter Olympics, Vancouver. Koroknai calls Debrecen, Hungary home. The three American poker players are all from California.
The six-handed televised final table of the L.A. Poker Classic won’t play out until Thursday. Today, the six survivors of the WPT Celebrity Invitational will take to the felts to play down to a champion. The eclectic group of players features former “Real World: Las Vegas” star and current pro Trishelle Cannatella along with ClubWPT qualifier LeRon Washington. The veteran of the table is Thor Hansen, a dual WSOP bracelet winner. The final table stacks up as follows:
1. Sean Urban - 2,090,000
2. Neev Baram - 1,900,000
3. LeRon Washington - 1,790,000
4. Trishelle Cannatella - 1,540,000
5. Steven Elliott - 1,520,000
6. Thor Hansen - 1,480,000
Thursday’s conclusion of the WPT L.A. Poker Classic gets underway at 4:00pm PT.
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03 1st, 2010
The third episode of Season 6 of GSN’s “High Stakes Poker” aired on Sunday night at 8:00pm ET. Team Pro member Jason Mercier joined the set and pushed all-in, but ultimately chopped the pot.
Two players had gone broke in the first two episodes, as UB.com pro and Andreas Hoivold each dropped $200,000. The latter’s seat remained empty as Sunday night’s “High Stakes Poker” kicked off, but Mercier soon joined the fray. “High Stakes Poker” announcer Gabe Kaplan commented on Mercier’s appearance: “He looks more like a swimmer to me than a poker player.”
While Mercier was busy stacking his pile of $100 bills, he picked up pocket twos and raised to $5,500. Tom “” Dwan came over the top to $19,200 with A-3 and Mercier folded. Curiosity began to build as to what Mercier had, with Eli Elezra laying 3:1 odds that the newcomer held a better hand than Dwan. Victory Poker pro and others at the table took Elezra up on his bet, with Mercier later admitting that he had pocket deuces, setting up what would have been a coin flip.
2009 () November Nine member tangled with Danish poker superstar , who raised to $5,600 pre-flop with A-K. Ivey made the call with pocket eights and the flop came 5-J-J. Ivey check-called a $6,800 bet from Hansen to bring another five on the turn. Ivey once again check-called a bet from the Dane, this time $13,200, and a seven hit on the river. The action went check-check and Ivey scooped the $54,000 pot.
In the episode’s second largest pot, Hansen raised to $4,200 pre-flop with 6-4 of spades, Dwan made the call with A-6 of clubs, and Elezra came along with K-8 of hearts. With each player holding suited cards, the flop came K-9-3, giving Elezra top pair. He checked the action to Hansen, who bet $9,900. Dwan got out of the way and Elezra called to bring another three on the turn. Elezra check-called a bet of $25,500 and an ace hit on the river. Elezra once again checked the best hand, Hansen fired out a third bullet to the tune of $62,200, and Elezra insta-called.
The pot totaled $209,800 and after it panned out, Hansen sat down with “High Stakes Poker” floor reporter Kara Scott to relive the hand. On the failed triple barrel bluff, he explained, “I stuck to my plan, which from the beginning was okay, but in the end with the cards on the board was horrible.” Hansen left the table after the hand was over and did not return for the duration of the episode.
Then, it was Negreanu’s turn to take center stage. After being active throughout much of the hour-long show, he raised to $3,000 pre-flop with 9-7 of diamonds and Dwan made it $11,200 after picking up pocket queens. Ivey came along with pocket eights and Negreanu called. The flop came 4-9-J, giving Negreanu middle pair, and Dwan made an $18,200 continuation bet with his overpair. Ivey folded and Negreanu moved all-in for $88,400. Dwan quickly called and the pair agreed to run the board twice.
The first board filled out 2-J, giving Dwan half of the pot. On the second board, an ace hit the turn, but Negreanu spiked a five-outer on the river when a nine fell. The $212,200 pot, the largest of the night, was chopped as a result.
Two vignettes appeared during Sunday’s installment. “30 Seconds with Kara Scott” focused on the competitors’ most memorable winning sessions. Meanwhile, the PokerStars-sponsored “Did You Know” discussed the five-month marathon poker session between Johnny Moss and Nick “The Greek” Dandolos. Both were charter inductees into the Poker Hall of Fame.
Next week on “High Stakes Poker,” Dario Minieri gets aggressive and Negreanu stumps Elezra. The cash game franchise airs at 8:00pm ET on Sunday nights on GSN.
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02 25th, 2010
The inaugural North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Venetian Main Event has crowned a champion. Tom Marchese, a 22 year-old from New Jersey, took down the first NAPT event on U.S. soil and earned $827,000.
Marchese defeated Sam Stein heads-up. In the $5,000 buy-in tournament’s final hand, Marchese pushed all-in, having Stein covered, on a board of 4-5-9-3-10. Stein made the call with just 4-2 for a pair of fours, but Marchese flipped up pocket tens for a set. The win was worth $827,000. Marchese told officials following the grueling five-day tournament, “It’s a bit overwhelming. The event is definitely one of my new favorites. The turnout was great, the structure was really good, and the tournament staff did a really good job all week. I’ll definitely be back next year.”
Despite 35 countries being represented at the Venetian, the final table was wholly American poker players. Eric Blair was the first casualty of the group. Soon after the first break of the day, Blair pushed over the top of a raise by Marchese with pocket sevens and Stein made the call with A-K. The flop came king-high, sending Stein out in front in the hand for good. Blair earned $60,000 for his NAPT Venetian final table appearance.
Poker veteran “Miami” John Cernuto was ousted in seventh place, earning $104,000. Stein shoved over the top of a pre-flop raise by Cernuto with J-10 and Cernuto made the call with his tournament life on the line holding A-5 of clubs. The flop of A-9-4 hit Cernuto hard, giving him top pair and a commanding lead. The turn was a 10, giving Stein a pair of his own. Needing to catch a five-outer on the river to send Cernuto home, Stein was elated to see a jack fall.
Cernuto was the lone Poker pro at the final table in the PokerStars sponsored event. He’s also a three-time () bracelet winner, having taken down his first piece of hardware 14 years ago in a Limit Seven Card Stud High-Low event for $147,000. Cernuto has also made two () final tables, including a runner-up showing in the Season 5 Celebrity Invitational.
Thomas Fuller was eliminated shortly thereafter in sixth place. Daniel Clemente put in a raise pre-flop and Fuller announced that he was all-in with pocket jacks. Clemente, however, showed pocket queens and was a 4:1 favorite heading to the flop. The board ran out 3-A-7-6-6 and Fuller collected $144,000.
Stein stamped his ticket to heads-up play after taking out David Paredes in fifth place. Moments after Paredes found pocket aces to move past four million in chips, he picked up pocket rockets again and committed his chips. Stein showed pocket jacks and hit a set on the flop, cracking Paredes’ aces. Stein stacked a colossal 70% of the chips in play by the time the hand was over.
Yunus Jamal was eliminated in fourth place, boosting his bankroll by $241,000. Jamal’s tournament life came down to a race, as he held pocket tens against Marchese’s A-Q. The flop was A-J-6, propelling Marchese into the lead with top pair, but a king on the turn left Jamal calling for a queen on the river to make a straight. Instead, a harmless deuce fell and Jamal was denied an NAPT title.
Clemente departed in third place after calling all-in with A-8 against Marchese, who showed pocket queens. The board ran out J-2-9-7-9 and Clemente earned $309,000. Stein held a 3:2 chip lead entering heads-up play against Marchese. From there, the two would need less than 45 minutes to determine a winner. Stein raked in $522,000 for second place. Here’s how the leaderboard shook out in the NAPT Venetian Main Event:
1. Tom Marchese - $827,648
2. Sam Stein - $522,306
3. Daniel Clemente - $309,366
4. Yunus Jamal - $241,064
5. David Paredes - $184,816
6. Thomas Fuller - $144,639
7. “Miami” John Cernuto - $104,461
8. Eric Blair - $60,266
Today is the final day of play in the NAPT tournament series. The $25,000 High-Roller Bounty Shootout will play down to a winner starting at Noon PT with a final table featuring pro Hoyt Corkins, Scott Seiver, Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka, Joe Cassidy, , Ashton Griffin, and Brett Richey.
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Top female poker pro will join live on Sunday, March 14th at 5:00pm PT for an in-depth interview. The internet series is coming up on its one-year anniversary and has featured guests including “The Man Show” host Adam Carolla, “Anchorman” actor David Koechner, and Dave Coulier of “Full House” fame. Duke’s appearance will be archived after the live airing.
Pollak was formerly the host of Bravo’s “Celebrity Poker Showdown” and is a regular in some of Hollywood’s richest home games. Pollak hosted six episodes of the first season of the celebrity poker show alongside pro before comedian Dave Foley assumed the role. Pollak started his chat show last April and the franchise has become a major hit. We sat down with the talk show host to preview the March 14th episode, which will be sponsored by Poker News Daily.
Poker News Daily: Thanks for joining us. Why bring Annie Duke on Kevin Pollak’s Chat Show?
Kevin Pollak: The choice of Annie Duke was simple and easy. I’ve played with her. I’ve admired her skill and success. Hers is a great story and one that is worth sharing. My chat show is always about having interesting people on from as many walks of life as possible.
PND: Tell us about your poker background.
Kevin Pollak: I’ve been playing against the pros since 1995 in casinos. Bravo asked me to help them launch “Celebrity Poker Showdown” by hosting the first six episodes. It was an easy choice, but the notion was that I’d just be on six episodes. Bravo didn’t have much original programming at the time other than “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,” so they replayed it for a year. When I bowed out, people would come up to me and say, “I’m sorry that you got fired.” That was funny. Through Phil Gordon and other players, I got to meet some of the pros and played in a cash game with Annie and a few others. I’ve also been in a few higher stakes home games with pros.
PND: You mentioned that Duke has a great story that’s worth sharing. What about her life will be interesting to listeners?
Kevin Pollak: I don’t really like to editorialize who is interesting and why. It’s easy for me to say who is interesting, but it’s all objective. To say how they’re interesting would not do justice. Her relationship to her brother as a pro and how she came to decide to play professionally will be good to hear. Also, we’d want to discuss what it’s like to be considered the top female player in the game. I can’t wait to hear her take on other pros and their play and how the game has evolved and changed through television.
PND: Does having Duke on help broaden the demographic of your show?
Kevin Pollak: As long as we continue to diversify, which is another reason I’m excited about Annie, I think our so-called demographic will continue to reach further and further and no longer be secular or even specific. I would love for our demographic to be all over the place.
PND: You’ve been hosting the show for nearly one year now. Talk about some of the memorable moments and guests so far.
Kevin Pollak: We’ve tried to hone down interviews to 90 minutes each. Eddie Izzard holds the record at two hours and 31 minutes. I started to realize that we were getting the most in-depth interviews anywhere simply because of the time allotted, so we had two hours with Seth MacFarlane and two hours with Kevin Smith. We’ve had six Academy Award winners on and comedians like Jim Gaffigan, Doug Benson, Paul F. Tompkins, and Dana Carvey. I’m looking forward to more.
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02 22nd, 2010
Two episodes of Season 6 of GSN’s “High Stakes Poker” have aired and two players have already dropped $200,000. Last week, UB.com pro went busto on the cash game show. This week, that distinction belonged to pro Andreas Hoivold.
As Sunday night’s episode of “High Stakes Poker” began, 2009 () Main Event November Nine member was up $300,000, while Hoivold was down $90,000. Ivey picked up right where he left off, being selectively aggressive. With a board reading J-4-A-4-9 with two spades, Ivey bet out $25,000 with just K-2 and Tom “” Dwan folded Q-10 of spades for busted flush and straight draws. Then, Dwan raised to $3,300 pre-flop with K-J and Ivey pumped it to $15,000 with just 5-2. The action folded around and “High Stakes Poker” announcer Gabe Kaplan noted, “Phil Ivey right now is in the zone.”
Dwan held pocket kings and raised to $3,200 pre-flop, while Hoivold made the call with pocket fours. The action was checked down to the river, with the board filling out A-9-5-K-Q. Dwan led out for $5,700 with a set and Hoivold called, telling “High Stakes Poker” sideline reporter Kara Scott that he called to extract information about Dwan’s hand. Kaplan called $5,700 a hefty price to pay for information.
In a hand that showed the power of Ivey’s presence, the pro raised to $3,000 pre-flop with Q-8. called with A-4, including the ace of clubs, and Dwan came along with J-10. The flop came 2-4-J with two clubs. Ivey led out for $17,000 and both opponents called to see the nine of clubs fall on the turn, putting three of the suit on the board. Ivey bet $23,000, Negreanu called with the nut flush draw, and Dwan got out of the way, bringing the ace of hearts on the river. Ivey checked and Negreanu checked right behind despite holding aces-up, bringing the following comment from Kaplan: “That’s the Phil Ivey effect. He did not want Ivey to come over the top and raise it. He wouldn’t know what to do.”
Eli Elezra, who has appeared on all six seasons of GSN’s “High Stakes Poker,” joined the table to fill Hellmuth’s spot, telling Scott, “I don’t care if it’s a tough lineup or an easy lineup. I like to play.” He quickly tangled with pro Dario Minieri, who held pocket eights and raised it up to $3,000. Elezra called with Q-10 and the flop came Q-7-7. Minieri made a $4,500 continuation bet and Elezra called. The turn was a five, prompting an $11,500 bet from Minieri. Elezra once again called to bring an eight on the river, giving Minieri a boat. The Italian checked, trying to set the trap for Elezra, but the poker veteran wisely checked behind.
With the board reading 3-10-6-Q with two hearts, Danish poker superstar led out with 6-3 for $11,100 and Dwan called with Q-4. Hoivold, holding A-Q for top pair, made his move and raised to $50,000. Hansen, holding bottom two pair, pushed all-in, Dwan folded, and Hoivold called with his chip stack on the line. The duo agreed to run it twice, with the winner of each river card scooping half of the pot. The first river was a nine, giving Hansen 50% of the $190,000 pot. The second river was an eight and Hoivold was busto.
New episodes of GSN’s “High Stakes Poker” air on Sunday nights at 8:00pm ET. Next week, 2009 Bluff Magazine Player of the Year Jason Mercier enters the fray, while Negreanu and Dwan build a massive pot when one goes all-in.
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A total of 872 players entered the North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Venetian Main Event on Saturday and, when the smoke cleared, 476 remained in the hunt for the $827,000 top prize.
Topping the leaderboard after Day 1 was Andy “BKiCe” Seth, an online poker pro who chipped up steadily throughout the day, even taking a break to play online poker at one point. By 5:00pm PT yesterday, he had amassed a stack of 120,000 and ended the day with 245,600. Seth is one of only four players, or 1% of the field, with more than 200,000 chips. In second place on the NAPT Venetian leaderboard is fellow online poker pro Phil “USCphildo” Collins, who holds a stack of 227,900 chips. Also near the top is 2003 () Main Event champion , whose pile of 207,300 chips is good for fourth overall entering Day 2 on Sunday.
Moneymaker isn’t the only former WSOP Main Event champ making waves in Las Vegas. Registering the 14th largest total at the Venetian is 2004 Main Event winner , who boasts a stack of 144,100. Raymer nearly recorded a second bracelet in 2009 after taking third in the $40,000 No Limit Hold’em event commemorating the 40th running of the WSOP; he banked $774,000 in that tournament. All told, Raymer owns nearly $6.5 million in career WSOP earnings and has made six final tables.
UB.com pro ’s stay in the $5,000 NAPT Venetian Main Event was short-lived. After much deliberation, including seeking the advice of fellow tournament pro , Hellmuth raised all-in with pocket queens on a flop of 4-10-5. Eric Levesque made the call with pocket aces and Hellmuth was suddenly drawing to two outs. Neither hit on the turn or river, eliminating Hellmuth. Coverage found on the official website of PokerStars detailed his exit: “Needless to say, Hellmuth was not quiet or happy, but he was required to pack his things and leave the table.”
Also sent packing late in the day was Team PokerStars Pro’s Gavin Griffin. The acclaimed pro, who owns major titles on three poker circuits, shoved with K-Q on a board reading Q-10-4 with two clubs. An opponent made the call with 2-3 of clubs for a flush draw and ultimately spiked a third club. By the time the eighth level had been played out on Saturday, Poker pro and PokerStars’ Hevad “RaiNKhaN” Khan had also both hit the rails.
After seeing his stack crippled after his nut flush fell to a boat, doubled up at the expense of Mohsin “chicagocards1” Charania. Greenstein held 6-8 and pushed all-in on a board of A-7-5-4 for the nuts, while Charania held pocket fives for a set. The board failed to pair on the river and Greenstein’s stack boomed to 49,000. He finished the day with 40,700 chips, the 291st largest tally in the room.
Here are the top 10 stacks headed into Day 2 of the PokerStars NAPT Venetian Main Event:
1. Andy “BKiCe” Seth - 245,600
2. Philip “USCphildo” Collins - 227,900
3. Mark Ketteringham - 211,000
4. Chris Moneymaker - 207,300
5. Yongli Jin - 160,800
6. Steven Tabb - 159,800
7. Daniel Schreiber - 157,600
8. Jason “TheMasterJ33” Dewitt - 154,000
9. Mark Mierkalns - 153,000
10. Samuel Stein – 151,500
Other players remaining in the top 50 on the leaderboard include:
13. – 144,900
14. Greg Raymer – 144,100
23. Danny Wong – 123,100
27. Men “The Master” Nguyen – 118,400
28. Andrew “good2cu” Robl – 116,400
32. Jimmy “gobboboy” Fricke – 112,600
35. “Miami” John Cernuto – 111,200
50. Montel Williams – 100,300
The top 128 players will finish in the money. The PokerStars NAPT Venetian Main Event crowns a champion on Wednesday. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest NAPT Venetian coverage.
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In recent days, online poker players trying to use Visa and MasterCard credit cards to deposit funds into their accounts have experienced major setbacks. Due to what eGaming Review dubbed an “overnight tightening of restrictions,” deposits are now down sharply on some of the industry’s largest sites. Poker News Daily sat down with an insider in the world of payment processing to break down what happened.
Poker News Daily: Do you believe that it was ever acceptable for MasterCard to process an online poker transaction after the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act () was passed in the United States in 2006?
It hasn’t been legal for MasterCard or Visa for over 10 years now, so this is nothing new to U.S.-facing companies in particular. What is new is the way they have caught people who were circumventing their rules.
PND: Are all transactions related to internet gambling blocked or just credit card deposits?
They not blocked everywhere. Some seem to be operating MasterCard with no issues.
PND: Are daily transaction counts down as a result or are online poker players finding other ways to get money online?
From what I have been told, cash in is down significantly. Obviously, if you take a credit card channel as big as MasterCard away from your portfolio, there will be a big hit.
PND: Do players realize that their funds aren’t being deposited using credit cards?
The players are not notified. The deposits go through and they will still be billed for the transaction. The issue is that the gaming company never receives the funds, as they are “intercepted.” The processor the gaming company used then has their account with MasterCard closed and they are fined; this is usually passed onto the gaming company directly.
PND: Does a player lose the intercepted funds?
If MasterCard closes the middleman down, they keep all funds frozen until they ascertain what happened. The player gets billed and knows nothing. The player gets his money in his gaming account and has his credit card billed. We basically just gave him free money. These companies do not settle instantly with the poker rooms and that is where the big risk comes. MasterCard doesn’t settle with the processor instantly either.
PND: How did MasterCard block internet gambling transactions?
Rumor has it that they audited thousands upon of transactions manually. They looked at coded declines and then at subsequent approved transactions. This would tell them that they were being “bounced” to another uncoded source. They deemed that these transactions were illegal and closed down the processing account attached to them.
PND: Is the recent MasterCard blocking due to the UIGEA, charge backs, or some combination of both?
I’m not sure about their motives. MasterCard has always been more aggressive than others with this. We have been warned for many months that this was coming, but there is no way of knowing until it actually happens. As always, this industry is resilient and will bounce back. It always has and it always will.
PND: What has been the reaction of players you’ve talked to at your site?
Players are used to cards being declined fairly regularly. Obviously, some want to know why, so we try to direct them to other trusted methods such as e-wallets wherever possible.
PND: Can online poker players use debit cards to deposit?
MasterCard does not run debit cards. Visa or the bank runs them usually. I know that Canada shut off most debit cards to poker companies last year. TD, Scotia Bank, and RBC all stopped too.
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02 7th, 2010
In newsstands now is the February issue of Bluff Magazine. The new cycle of the periodical features the Power 20, the most influential entities in the world of poker. Leading the list are two online poker sites, and Poker.
Full Tilt recently debuted Rush Poker, which flipped the cash game world upside down. Allowing players to change tables immediately following their action in a hand ending, Rush Poker has seen its competitors logging between 200 and 300 hands per hour. Up to four Rush Poker tables can be opened at once and poker tracking software like Holdem Manager and PokerTracker allows players to see critical stats on opponents. Other innovations from Full Tilt have included Matrix Sit and Gos and the quarterly Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS), whose 15th cycle kicks off on Wednesday.
PokerStars and Full Tilt sit at #1 and #2, respectively, on the Power 20 list. PokerStars is the world’s largest online poker site and features a stable of pros that includes recent () Main Event champions (2003), (2004), (2005), (2008), and (2009). Eastgate and Cada, in back-to-back years, became the youngest winners ever of the $10,000 buy-in tournament. PokerStars has a well-established media presence, sponsoring ESPN’s “Inside Deal” and purportedly the sixth season of GSN’s “High Stakes Poker.”
Cada sits at #10 on the list and experienced a media circus following his Main Event win in November. Cada appeared on the “Late Show with David Letterman” and ESPN’s “SportsCenter,” among other high-profile series, bringing the PokerStars brand name and youthful nature of the game to the mass media. He has been linked to everyone from Detroit disc jockeys to former Playboy Playmate of the Year Jayde Nicole and brought much-needed enthusiasm to a downtrodden Michigan economy.
Two personalities fighting for the rights of online poker players in the United States on Capitol Hill also appear on the Power 20. Sitting at #7 is Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA), online poker’s leading proponent on the legislative front. Frank’s Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, HR 2267, is up to 65 co-sponsors on both sides of the political spectrum and may be marked up before the month of February comes to an end.
(PPA) Executive Director John Pappas owns the #12 spot. Pappas was instrumental in moving the PPA from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. and bringing former three-term Senator Alfonse D’Amato (R-NY) into the PPA’s ranks. D’Amato did not make the top 20, but Poker News Daily has learned that he barely missed the cut.
Bluff asked a bevy of media outlets, including Poker News Daily, to contribute names to the Power 20 in December. Only PokerStars and represent companies; the other 18 list members are individuals. The purveyor of the list, Bluff Magazine, has its own Lance Bradley at #16.
A handful of individuals nominated by Poker News Daily did not make the top 20, including the team at CardRunners, Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) Chairman Joe Brennan, Party Gaming CEO Jim Ryan, UB.com’s , Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy, Eric “sheets” Haber, Raymer, Go Daddy Girl , and European Poker Tour (EPT) founder John Duthie.
Here is a look at the Bluff Power 20, which you can read more about by heading to your local bookstore or newsstand:
1. PokerStars
2. Full Tilt Poker
3. Mitch Garber
4.
5. Ty Stewart
6.
7. Barney Frank
8.
9. Tony G
10. Joe Cada
11.
12. John Pappas
13.
14. Mori Eskandani
15. Brian Balsbaugh
16. Lance Bradley
17. Joe Sebok
18. Barry Shulman
19. Matt Savage
20. Per Hagen
We’d like to thank Bluff Magazine for letting us be a part of the voting process in 2010.
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02 2nd, 2010
Lady Gaga’s hit single “Poker Face” was nominated for five Grammys this year and took home two titles. “Poker Face” was a smashing success by all accounts, putting Lady Gaga on the proverbial map. The Grammys aired on Sunday night on CBS.
The Grammys began with Lady Gaga singing a duet with the legendary Elton John. Both were decked out in rather unsettling costumes, with Lady Gaga’s face having more makeup than a college fraternity party. “Poker Face” fell in the Record of the Year category, as Kings of Leon’s smash hit “Use Somebody” came away with the award. Others nominated for the prestigious Grammy included “Halo” by Beyoncé, “I Gotta Feeling” by the Black Eyed Peas, and “You Belong with Me” by country superstar Taylor Swift. Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” features engineering and mixing by Robert Orton, RedOne, and Dave Russell.
For Album of the Year, “The Fame,” which includes “Poker Face,” once again came up empty. This time, “Fearless” by Taylor Swift stole the award. The youngster, whom rapper Kanye West interrupted during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards after she won for Best Female Video, snagged five Grammys in 2010. Also nominated for Album of the Year were “I Am… Sasha Fierce” by Beyoncé, “The E.N.D.” by the Black Eyed Peas, and the Dave Matthews Band’s “Big Whiskey And The Groogrux King.”
The final category that “Poker Face” bricked out in was Song of the Year. The tune was drawing dead by the time “Single Ladies” by Beyoncé took down the title. Other tracks nominated for the Song of the Year Grammy included “Pretty Wings” by Maxwell, “Use Somebody” by Kings of Leon, and “You Belong with Me” by Taylor Swift. Song of the Year was one of six Grammys taken home by Beyoncé, a former member of the all-female group Destiny’s Child. The group also included Kelly Rowland, who performed during the Caribbean Adventure in the Bahamas last month.
What did “Poker Face” draw out on, you ask? The song took home the title of Best Dance Recording, defeating an eclectic set of challengers that included “Boom Boom Pow” by the Black Eyed Peas, “When Love Takes Over” by Kelly Rowland and David Guetta, “Celebration” by Madonna, and “Womanizer” by Britney Spears. The category marked the only Grammy nomination for Spears, who saw her world turned upside down ever since “Baby One More Time” was released in 1998. Rumors abound that the former Mousketeer and mother of two will release a brand new album later this year.
Lady Gaga’s “The Fame,” which features the hit song trumpeting our industry, also won for Best Electronic/Dance Album. It defeated “Divided By Night” by the Crystal Method, David Guetta’s “One Love,” LMFAO’s “Party Rock,” and the Pet Shop Boys’ “Yes.” Also from “The Fame” is Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance,” which was a chart-topping hit around the world. Meanwhile, “Poker Face” paced the Billboard Hot 100 in April. The album itself was released back in September 2008 and instantly reinforced the popularity of poker in mainstream America.
The reaction on the PocketFives.com forums to Lady Gaga’s five Grammy nominations was mixed. One poster commented, “although i do have to admit a couple of her songs from her new album have grown on me… but her as a person tilts me. unfortunately i think she’s going to win.” Others passed their judgments on Lady Gaga’s competition: “I don’t get why Beyonce is so revered…. she’s powerful, but just not appealing to me. Black-eyed peas are solid. Taylor Swift seems like a really sweet girl.”
Groups who performed at the Los Angeles awards show included Taylor Swift, the Dave Matthews Band, and the Zac Brown Band, who sang a portion of their hit song “Chicken Fried.” Pink, meanwhile, hung from the Staples Center rafters in an aerial interpretive dance that had this author fearful for her life.
Can you read our poker face?
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02 1st, 2010
On the kickoff episode of the 2009 () Europe on ESPN2, the inaugural Caesars Cup took center stage. Pitting teams of eight from Europe and the Americas against each other, the Caesars Cup ended in a landslide victory.
The first team to four wins took home the gold, with the action starting with four doubles matches. If needed, three singles matches would follow and all players had to see action in the doubles events. The first match-up featured and poker deity facing off against Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies and , two Finnish players. Each team member alternated bets by street in the first two pairings and by hand in the second two. Both teams received 100,000 starting chips.
The Americans took down a 70,000-chip pot to open up play after flopping top pair, but repeated checking down the stretch proved fatal. In one hand, Sahamies just called pre-flop with A-J of spades and Seed rapped the table with 8-5. The flop came 7-9-7 with one spade and Ivey checked. Antonius, a Challenge combatant, bet 5,000 and Ivey called. The turn was the king of spades, giving the Europeans a flush draw, and the action went check-check. The river was an ace. Ivey bet 10,000 with air, Antonius raised to 30,000, and Ivey folded, shipping the 58,000-chip pot across the “Pond.”
Running low on chips, Ivey committed the team’s stack with 10-6 and Antonius made the call with K-2. The flop came 3-4-7 and a brand new “Out Tracker” debuted on the top of the screen reminiscent of poker shows like NBC’s “Face the Ace.” The turn and river fell a king and four, respectively, and Europe won the first match, giving the team a 1-0 lead.
The next pairing featured Team Pro member Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier and Betfair qualifier John Harvey facing off against Americas Captain and 11-time WSOP bracelet winner . The UB.com front man was paired up with Harvey during the match, setting up what many thought would be a beating. Instead, Harvey held his own against the experienced Hold’em player.
Hellmuth raised to 4,000 pre-flop with 8-9 and Harvey, holding K-10 of spades, made it 10,000. Hellmuth called, reminding the crowd that Negreanu excels playing these types of hands. The flop came 6-8-10 and Grospellier bet 13,000 with top pair. Negreanu raised to 41,000 with middle pair and a straight draw and Grospellier shoved with his team’s life on the line. Negreanu called and, needing to spike a seven, eight, or nine for the win, Team Americas saw a five and four fall. The European team doubled to 184,000 chips.
Negreanu and Hellmuth doubled up twice, once with pocket sevens and once with pocket aces, before the fat lady sung. In the final hand, the European team cracked Team America’s aces with A-3 despite being just 8% to win pre-flop. A five hit on the turn to give Team Europe a wheel to go up 2-0 in the standings. ESPN announcer Norman Chad was livid: “Hellmuth and Negreanu lose to a qualifier! A qualifier!” Betfair is the official sponsor of WSOP Europe.
The third pairing featured European Captain Annette “” Obrestad and Dario Minieri taking on namesake and . The age contrast between the two teams was striking and the American squad was quick to make use of their experience. Team Europe doubled through with A-8 against A-6 to take a commanding 4:1 lead in chips before Team Americas mounted a comeback. Harman open-shoved with pocket jacks and Obrestad made the call with pocket fives to double the North American squad up.
Then, Obrestad was all-in with 10-8 and Brunson called after only looking at one ace in the hole, but flipped over two of them for the best starting hand in Hold’em. Team Americas turned quads and doubled up to 152,000 chips. On the final hand, Obrestad was all-in with J-5 against A-4. The better hand held and Team Americas had clawed back to be down just 2-1 in the Caesars Cup standings.
The final team match featured and , two Danes, battling and . The abbreviated match ended with Greenstein raising to 10,000 with K-J and Hansen re-raising to 32,000 with A-8. Greenstein pushed and Hansen called, leading to a board of 5-7-9-5-7. Team Europe’s ace kicker played and the squad entered, as Chad explained, “match point.”
Obrestad selected herself to play in the first heads-up match, where a win would crown Team Europe the first Caesars Cup champs ever. Negreanu countered with the reigning National Heads-Up Poker Championship winner, Seed. Obrestad doubled up early. After raising with A-J and receiving a call from Seed, who held J-10 of diamonds, the action flop came J-2-K with two diamonds. Seed checked and Obrestad bet 7,000 with middle pair. Seed made it 31,000 to go and Obrestad pushed over the top. Seed called and the board filled out 4-2, giving Team Europe a critical double up.
Seed countered by doubling with K-7 against A-3 of hearts after spiking a king on the turn to move to 62,000 in chips. Then, Seed was all-in with his stack on the line with A-3, but Obrestad found A-7 and called. The flop came 9-9-7; another seven on the turn brought a full house and the win for Team Europe in the inaugural Caesars Cup.
The WSOP Europe festivities continue on ESPN2 according to the following schedule. All times are Eastern and coverage is of the WSOP Europe Main Event:
Sunday, February 7th: 10:00pm
Sunday, February 7th: 11:00pm
Monday, February 8th: 12:00am
Sunday, February 14th: 11:00pm
Monday, February 15th: 12:00am
Monday, February 15th: 1:00am
Sunday, February 28th: 9:00pm
Sunday, February 28th: 10:00pm
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