07 4th, 2010
In a relatively subdued atmosphere compared to previous cycles, the Ante Up for Africa event at the 2010 () drew 83 players. The $5,000 charity poker tournament benefiting victims of the crisis in Darfur raised nearly $300,000.
Ante Up for Africa founders Don Cheadle and were the first two down the red carpet, stopping at each of the dozens of media outlets in attendance to relay why they founded the charity along with Norman Epstein. Actor Ben Affleck, one of the tournament’s leading celebrities, did not walk the red carpet due to a migraine and instead went directly to the tournament room. Among those media outlets reporting on Affleck and others in attendance were Fox 5 Las Vegas, Celebrity Update, and .
“Everybody Loves Raymond” actor Brad Garrett followed Duke and Cheadle down the red carpet around 1:00pm at the Rio in Las Vegas. At one point, the extremely tall actor stood behind the much shorter , holding her shoulders while delivering an Oscar acceptance speech as if the pro were a small trophy.
Other celebrities who took time to speak with the media included boxing legend Evander Holyfield, pro , Pittsburgh Steelers great Jerome Bettis, comedian David Alan Grier, and talk show host Montel Williams. Pros lending their thoughts included , , and .
With Affleck sidelined from the red carpet, fellow actor Matt Damon took up the reigns. In an , Damon told Poker News Daily how he became involved with the movie “Rounders,” which turned many in the industry on to the game: “Harvey Weinstein had the script at Miramax and said, ‘I have this really great script.’ I was doing ‘Saving Private Ryan’ at the time and he sent it over to England. I read it and thought, ‘This is fantastic.’ It’s this crazy little subculture that nobody ever talks about.” Damon did not rule out the possibility of a follow-up to “Rounders,” which has been rumored to be in the works.
In the end, it was pro coming out on top in the Ante Up for Africa tournament, defeating Elizabeth heads-up. The “American Pie” actress and runner-up candidly told WSOP officials following the gala, “I wish the rest of my WSOP had gone the way this tournament went.” 2009 WSOP Main Event November Niner hustled through the red carpet and did not take many interviews. Notably absent was ’s , who finished 15th in the $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha World Championship that took place concurrently.
, , and did not walk the red carpet, although all three participated in the event. Seidel finished in fifth place after his 8-5 could not draw out on Gordon’s Q-10. Gordon flopped top pair on a 10-high board and never looked back. Ferguson bubbled the final table, also exiting at the hands of Gordon. This time, “Jesus” held pocket twos, which failed to outrace Gordon’s K-Q of diamonds.
Gordon donated his $130,000 first place payday to Ante Up for Africa in a highly generous gesture. Gordon got the best of Elizabeth with Q-3 against K-10 after flopping a queen to seal the win. The tournament marked Elizabeth’s first in the money finish in a WSOP event in three years. Here were the final results from the 2010 running of the Ante Up for Africa event:
1. Phil Gordon – $130,641
2. Shannon Elizabeth – $80,737
3. Alex Filatov – $56,516
4. Carter “BdyBldngpkrplyr” Phillips – $41,166
5. Erik Seidel – $30,287
6. Jerome Bettis – $22,624
7. Barry Hartheimer – $18,146
8. Kyle Carlston – $15,125
9. Claire Renaut – $12,998
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest headlines from the 2010 WSOP.
Image courtesy WSOP.com
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In the $25,000 Six-Handed No Limit Hold’em event at the 2010 (), six players came back on Saturday to determine a champion. Eliminated on Friday evening were favorites (17th), (11th), and (9th), but the final table still provided exciting action. Leading the tournament when six-handed play began was Brunson 10 candidate Dan “djk123” Kelly, who held a nearly 2-1 lead over 2010 WSOP double bracelet winner Frank Kassela.
In what was the quickest final table at this year’s WSOP at 4.5 hours, Kelly was able to hold off the charge of some highly skilled pros. Eugene Katchalov was the first to depart and, while he wasn’t able to take the bracelet, Katchalov’s finish marked his fourth final table at this year’s WSOP. Eugene has banked over $500,000 for his performances over the last six weeks.
Another top player, Mikael Thuritz, was dismissed in fifth. After making the final table of the $50,000 Player’s Championship, Thuritz’s performance at this final table marked his third cash of his WSOP, with no cash lower than 13th place.
Kassela was dispatched from the final table in third place, ending what would have been a historic run at a third WSOP bracelet this year. With his finish, Kassela surged into the lead of the WSOP Player of the Year race. He currently sits with 285 points, 60 more than and 75 more than Vladimir Shchemelev. Since only the Main Event remains, Juanda would have to finish at least third to tie Kassela; Shchemelev would have to finish second.
Canada’s Shawn Buchanan was the runner-up to Kelly, but he has to be happy with his performance at this year’s WSOP. His second place finish was his eighth cash of the year, tying him with Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler for the lead.
With the victory in Event #52, Kelly also has the chance at a very special reward. His sponsor, , is currently running a battle featuring Kelly, David “Doc Sands” Sands, Faraz “” Jaka, and Michael “Martine23” Martin for the next position with the powerful Brunson 10. Whoever garners the most points in all events at the WSOP will take the seat alongside such notable young players as Amit “amak316” Makhija, Zachary “CrazyZachary” Clark, and Chris “moorman1” Moorman:
1. Dan “djk123” Kelly (Potomac, MD) – $1,315,518
2. Shawn Buchanan (Abootsford, British Columbia) – $812,941
3. Frank Kassela (Rossville, TN) – $556,053
4. Jason Somerville (Stony Brook, NY) – $386,125
5. Mikael Thuritz (Las Vegas, NV) – $272,084
6. Eugene Katchalov (New York, NY) – $194,559
The highly popular Ante Up for Africa charity event also played out during action on Saturday. The non-bracelet event, created by Poker News Daily guest columnist , acclaimed actor Don Cheadle, and Norman Epstein four years ago to raise awareness about the issues in Darfur, drew in 83 players, including several top pros and many celebrities. Players such as former Main Event champion , , Player’s Championship winner , and Duke joined celebrities such as talk show host Montel Williams, boxing legend Evander Holyfield, Australian footballer Shane Warne, NFL great Jerome Bettis, and “Rounders” actor Matt Damon to raise money for the cause.
Seidel and Bettis both made the final table and went out in fifth and sixth place, respectively. The final duo that battled for the championship were ’s and top pro , both veterans of the Bravo poker series “Celebrity Poker Showdown.” Gordon was able to defeat Elizabeth during heads-up play and then immediately turned around and donated his winnings back to Ante Up for Africa. All totaled, the charitable tournament raised over $275,000 to support the cause that Duke and Cheadle have brought to the poker world’s attention.
1. Phil Gordon (Henderson, NV) – $129,086
2. Shannon Elizabeth (Los Angeles, CA) – $79,776
3. Aleksey Filatov (Norwood, MA) – $55,843
4. Carter Phillips (Las Vegas, NV) – $40,676
5. Erik Seidel (Las Vegas, NV) – $29,926
6. Jerome Bettis (Roswell, GA) – $22,355
7. Barry Hartheimer (New York, NY) – $17,930
8. Kyle Carlston (Henderson, NV) – $14,945
9. Claire Renaut (London, United Kingdom) – $12,843
Although the Main Event begins tomorrow, there are still four tournaments in progress. In the final $1,000 No Limit Hold’em event, David Peters leads the field into Day 3. With 47 players remaining, the final nine will be the target late this evening and the final table will play out on Monday.
The final $10,000 World Championship event (#55), Pot Limit Omaha, will determine a champion today with a staunch final table. Ludovic Lacay leads an international field that includes second place pursuer and 2007 WSOP Main Event fourth place finisher Alexander Kravchenko.
Event #56, $2,500 No Limit Hold’em, will also play deep into the night to determine a final table. Corwin “mig.com” Mackey holds a 2-1 lead over Sweden’s Christian Jeppsson when play continues this afternoon. Other notable players on the leader board include Jon “PearlJammer” Turner, Dan Shak, and Court Harrington.
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the 2010 WSOP.
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07 2nd, 2010
In what could best be described as “the calm before the storm,” only one bracelet was awarded on Thursday night in action at the ().
In the $3,000 Triple Chance No Limit Hold’em tournament, Event #51 on the WSOP schedule, 12 men returned on Thursday afternoon for their shot at a coveted gold and diamond WSOP bracelet. Jon Eaton held a roughly 600,000 chip lead over Frank Rusnak, with underrated pro Will “The Thrill” Failla lurking in third place. The players wasted little time once the cards hit the air, getting down to the final table in roughly 4½ hours.
Rusnak was one of the victims of the early carnage, doubling up Bradley Craig and losing a key hand to Failla to drop his chip stack into the danger zone. Rusnak, who has almost $600,000 in tournament earnings since his debut in 2007, was never able to get any traction from the start and got his final chips in with K-Q. He was called by Koen de Bakker, who had him dominated with his A-Q. The flop offered an appealing A-5-J rainbow arrangement, but delivered no 10 for Rusnak, dropping him from the tournament in 11th place.
Once the final table was established, one of the rarer occurrences during a WSOP final table occurred. Guillaume Darcourt, after an all-in bet from Tad Jurgens and an all-in over the top from Noel Scruggs, agonized over a decision that would either make his tournament or crush his dreams of a WSOP bracelet. After the careful deliberation, Darcourt made the call with pocket sevens, only to see Jurgens table pocket queens and Scruggs show his A-Q. The seven that popped on the flop sent a thunderous roar through the audience and delivered a rare bird at a WSOP final table, the double knockout. Jurgens started the hand with fewer chips and finished in ninth and Scruggs took the eighth place slot.
Over the next four hours, the remainder of the final table would be eliminated, bringing the action to a heads-up battle between Eaton and Ryan Welch, who diligently ground his way through the final table. On the final hand, with Eaton holding slightly fewer chips than Welch, the duo got their chips to the center of a 9-7-6-10-K board. Eaton bet out roughly 525,000 on the river to start, only to face an all-in reraise from Welch. Eaton struggled with the decision, reasoning out the hands that Welch could possibly hold before making the call. Welch immediately showed Q-J for the rivered nut straight and, once the chips were counted, became the latest WSOP champion.
1. Ryan Welch (Henderson, NV) – $559,371
2. Jon Eaton (Las Vegas, NV) – $344,830
3. Guillaume Darcourt (Paris, France) – $223,459
4. Will Faille (Smithtown, NY) – $163,532
5. Bradley Craig (Cleveland, OH) – $121,451
6. Sergey Lebedev (Troitsk, Russia) – $91,407
7. Tommy Vedes (Fort Mojave, AZ) – $69,647
8. Noel Scruggs (Del Mar, CA) – $53,694
9. Tad Jurgens (Tempe, AZ) – $41,842
Four other events were in play on Thursday, with two tournaments that will award bracelets on Friday. In Event #52, the $25,000 Six-Handed No Limit Hold’em tournament, 18 players will come back on Friday afternoon from the original 191 starters. Bryn Kenney is the overnight chip leader stacked with 2.425 million, but there is danger lurking around every corner. , who has had a quiet 2010 WSOP, is in sixth place, with 2010 double bracelet winner Frank Kassela ahead of him in fifth. Add in Sam Trickett, , Shawn Buchanan, Eugene Katchalov, Justin “” Bonomo, , and Vadim Trincher, and the final table of this event should hold for exciting poker.
In the $1,500 Limit Hold’em Shootout, Victory Poker pro Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little and Terrence “Unassigned” Chan lead a final table of eight. As with a Shootout tournament, all eight worked their way to the final table by defeating a full table of opponents over the first two days of play. Everyone will start with 450,000 in chips when the cards fly this afternoon.
The first Day 1 of the latest $1,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament drew a sizeable field of 2,340 players, potentially making this $1,000 event one of the largest of this year’s WSOP, depending on the second Day 1 gathering. The final table of this tournament will take place on Independence Day.
The $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha World Championship drew a starting field of 346, which was whittled down by over half to 171 by the end of Day 1. Australia’s Antonio Paino is the chip leader with 240,000, with several top pros mixed throughout the field. 2009 November Niner is in third, with Fabrice Soulier (sixth) and Ted Lawson (seventh) both in the top 10. Final table play in Event #55 will take place on Saturday.
Only one event will begin play on Friday, the $2,500 No Limit Hold’em event. It is also set to finish play on Sunday, prior to the start of the $10,000 World Championship event on Monday. Although there are tournaments in action over the next few days, it more than likely will be a preparation weekend for many of the top players as the WSOP moves into its final two weeks and its World Championship event.
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06 30th, 2010
Poker News Daily can independently confirm that 2010 () Championship winner has signed with . Williams’ agency, Poker Royalty, confirmed that a contract was forged in recent days and the former 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 “” Bonomo since 2010 began, promptly introduced as its newest sponsored pro. Musumeci joins as the lone Bodog-backed pros.
On July 6th at the Palms, PokerStars is hosting a cocktail event featuring reigning () Main Event champ , 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 “” Josephy.
Williams’ total live tournament winnings nearly surpass $8 million. The Panorama Towers resident finished as the runner-up to 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, , , , , and the site’s main face, . Year-over-year, PokerStars has posted a 14% increase in online poker traffic according to PokerScout.com and currently sits at 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.
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest player signings.
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06 27th, 2010
In the $2,500 () Mixed Event – featuring levels that alternate between Limit Hold’em and No Limit Hold’em – nine players came back on Saturday afternoon to determine a champion. Jarred Solomon held a slim lead over ’s when play began, with WSOP Circuit terror sitting on the short stack. Starting with Limit Hold’em, the players wasted little time in getting down to business.
Within the first three hours, three players were dispatched from the event. Pilgrim could never get any traction to make a drive at a WSOP bracelet, departing the final table in eighth place. 2007 British Columbia Poker Championship victor Daniel Idema, who came to the felt as the second shortest stack, was also a victim of the early action before leaving the event in seventh place.
Solomon was felted prior to the dinner break by Danny Hannawa and finished in sixth place. After dinner, Hannawa held a 240,000-chip lead over Timothy Finne, Jamie Rosen, Smith, and Michael Michnik. With the game changed to No Limit, several players became more aggressive, attempting to be the last man standing.
Hannawa dumped Rosen in fifth place, at which time Smith took over play. The Canadian aggressively took chips from Michnik and, in a key hand, assumed the chip lead from Hannawa when Smith, holding A-Q, flopped a queen and Hannawa couldn’t beat him. He continued to pound the pot with bets as the game switched to Limit, when he was able to vanquish Michnik in fourth.
After Hannawa was able to defeat Michnik at the end of the Limit level, heads-up play began in No Limit with Smith holding a 400,000-chip edge over Hannawa. After decimating Hannawa with a pair of eights on a 4-2-8-K-10 board, Smith saw fortune fall his way on the final hand. Hannawa committed the remainder of his chips holding a 10-8. After Smith called with his suited A-Q and the board ran A-K-2-J-J, he dropped the “best player to never win a bracelet” tag from his name by winning Event #44:
1. Gavin Smith (Las Vegas, NV) – $268,238
2. Danny Hannawa (Farmington Hills, MI) – $166,050
3. Timothy Finne (Fanwood, NJ) – $110,324
4. Michael Michnik (Hollywood, FL) – $81,871
5. Jamie Rosen (Las Vegas, NV) – $61,441
6. Jarred Solomon (Johannesburg, South Africa) – $46,562
7. Daniel Idema (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) – $35,601
8. Dwyte Pilgrim (Brooklyn, NY) – $27,438
9. Mike Santoro (Egg Harbor, NJ) – $21,304
In Event #45, another $1,500 No Limit Hold’em tournament, 35 players will return on Sunday afternoon to determine a champion. Sam Trickett, who was the runner-up to Jason DeWitt in the $5,000 No Limit event, holds the chip lead with several notable names in the mix behind him. 2010 WSOP bracelet winner Dutch Boyd sits in fifth, with Paul “X-22” Magriel, Alex Outhred, and Tim “tmay420” West just off the top 10.
Twenty-one players will return for Day 3 in the $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo event, which will probably run deep into Monday morning to determine a champion. Sergey Altbregin leads the tournament when the cards fly this afternoon, but a host of top pros are still in the mix. In second place is David “” Ulliott, with Dan Shak and Chris Bell also in the top five. A blast from the past in the top 10 is Leif Force, who is known for his 11th place finish in the 2006 WSOP Main Event. Add in other pros such as Rob Hollink, Dan Heimiller, Allen Kessler, Andy Black, “Miami” John Cernuto, and and the final day of this tournament will be one to watch.
Two tournaments opened up play on Saturday, with the first Day 1 of the latest $1,000 No Limit Hold’em event pulling in 1,759 entries. 310 players survived the carnage on Saturday to come back for Day Two on Monday. The final size of the field will be determined with the second Day 1 taking place on Sunday.
In Day One of the $2,500 Mixed Event, 453 players stepped up to test themselves against one of the toughest formats in poker. 192 will come back for Day 2 today, with Jared Jaffee holding the overnight chip lead. $50,000 Player’s Championship winner is in fifth place, with other stars of the game such as Luca Pagano, , Steve Billirakis, Dario Alito, Alex Kravchenko, Scott Seiver, Andrew Robl, and 2010 double bracelet winner Frank Kassela all in the top 20.
While these tournaments all are featuring a great deal of star power, they will be dwarfed by the only tournament that starts today. The WSOP Tournament of Champions, which features 27 of the biggest names in the poker world, opens up play Sunday at Noon PT.
It looks to be a battle of the online poker rooms, as nine members of the Poker stable (, , , , Seidel, , , and ) will hit the felt against six pros (, , , , , and Bertrand “” Grospellier). Team UB sends its most prominent representatives in and , while represents . Defending Tournament of Champions titleholder will carry the banner as he attempts to repeat.
It all makes for one of the busiest Sundays during the run of this year’s World Series of Poker.
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Monday night marked the first episode of Week 2 of the .net sponsored “Big Game” on Fox. The high-stakes cash game featuring a “Loose Cannon” qualifier from PokerStars battling against five poker pros airs at 1:00am or 2:00am nightly in most markets.
was the high roller at the table, buying in for $200,000, while everyone else purchased $100,000 in chips. This week’s “Loose Cannon” is William Davis, who candidly told “Big Game” hostess prior to his battle, “I could win or lose a pot worth more than my house.” Davis’ wife is not a fan of Negreanu, who serves as the face of the “Big Game,” because he talks too much.
The “Loose Cannon” made his presence known early, raising to $1,200 pre-flop with pocket deuces and receiving a call from defending Championship winner , who held pocket tens, including a club. The flop came 5-4-4 with two clubs and Williams check-called a bet of $2,100. The turn put a third club on the board and the action went check-check to the deuce of clubs on the river, giving Davis a boat and Williams a flush. Williams checked, Davis bet $6,000, and Williams tanked before electing to abandon ship.
Then, internet entrepreneur Jason Calacanis raised to $1,200 pre-flop with pocket deuces, 10-time bracelet winner popped it to $4,800 with pocket queens, and Davis 4bet to $14,800 with a wired pair of jacks. Brunson pushed the action to $46,400 after trying to push all-in, but the action on the “Big Game” is Pot Limit before the flop and No Limit thereafter. Davis released his hand, causing host Joe Stapleton to comment, “That was some power poker. A $60,000 pot without a flop.”
The hand of the night occurred when Williams bet $3,000 holding A-4 of spades on a flop of 8-8-Q with two spades for the nut flush draw. Davis called with K-10 of spades for the second nut flush draw and the turn brought the deuce of spades, filling both players’ flushes. Williams bet $7,000 and Davis called to bring a fourth spade on the river. Williams bet $20,000 and Davis insta-called, shipping the $64,400 pot to Williams. Just like that, the “Loose Cannon” was down $43,000 on the night out of his $100,000 stake.
Brunson hit the deck hard on Monday night’s episode, picking up pocket queens twice and pocket kings once in the first 10 hands. He was up over $20,000 by the time all was said and done, roughly tied with Williams. In the final hand shown, Davis picked up aces and raised to $1,200. Cash game guru Abe Mosseri called with J-6 of hearts and the action flop came 5-5-8 with two hearts. Davis bet $3,200 with his overpair and Mosseri called to bring an offsuit two on the turn. Davis fired out another bet, this time $9,000, and Mosseri called despite not receiving the right price to hit his flush draw. The river brought another offsuit two. Davis bet $23,000 and Mosseri folded, ending the action for the evening.
Davis was still down $28,000 to close out the episode. The “Loose Cannon” qualifier had an Aggression Factor of 2.7, the second lowest at the table, through the first 30 hands. Negreanu had a Pre-Flop Raise Percentage of 30%, the highest of the group, while Davis turned in the second highest tally at 23%.
The PokerStars.net-backed “Big Game” airs daily on Fox. Check your local listings for more details.
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In 146 days, the fourth stop on the 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 () 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 () 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 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 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 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 and features Harrah’s, Isle of Capri, and Lumiere Place. Also potentially on tap is an NAPT stop in Canada.
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The entire Poker News Daily family was railing one of our own last night. PND writer JD McNamara, known online as “BubbaKGB,” landed in the top spot in Event #24 of the 2010 (), a $1,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament, entering the final table. McNamara made the field of 30 his personal playground on Tuesday, vaulting from middle of the road in chips to the top of the leaderboard. He works for PND along with several other sites in the Play Poker Network.
McNamara made moves early and often during Tuesday’s action in Event #24. First, he ousted Dean Schankin in 26th place after his A-K came out on the winning end of a race against Schankin’s pocket tens. The board ran out 6-4-J-A-8 and Schankin was sent packing. Then, after raised action pre-flop, McNamara and Joseph Grenon checked the action down to the river on a board of Q-6-2-9-Q. Grenon fired out a healthy bet of 73,000 and McNamara made the call with A-K for just ace-high. Grenon mucked and McNamara moved over the 500,000 mark.
McNamara then went on a run of biblical proportions. First, he doubled up with pocket aces against James Jeffrey’s pocket kings, even spiking an ace on the river for good measure. He moved to 856,000 in chips as a result and then quickly eliminated Grenon, also with pocket aces. Grenon held jacks and couldn’t improve when the board came five cards nine or lower. After that hand, McNamara moved to 1.6 million in chips.
Then, it was Yordan Mitrentsov’s turn to feel the wrath. This time, the PND writer picked up pocket kings, which held up against the A-K of Mitrentsov. By the time the board was dealt, McNamara had made a boat. His chip stack vaulted to over two million as play headed to a break. McNamara wound up with 2.39 million chips by the time all was said and done, just in front of Kiet Tuan’s second place stack of 2.31 million.
McNamara is assured a payout of at least $38,000 and stands to win over $500,000 and a bracelet if he can retain the top spot by the final gong. Here’s how the field stacks up entering Wednesday’s finale of WSOP Event #24:
1. JD “BubbaKGB” McNamara – 2,393,000
2. Kiet Tuan – 2,311,000
3. Blake Kelso – 1,166,000
4. John Tolbert – 925,000
5. David Cai – 844,000
6. Denis Murphy – 789,000
7. Greg Pohler – 660,000
8. Michael Gross – 535,000
9. Jeffrey Tebben – 466,000
Although we’ll be keeping a watchful eye on the $1,000 No Limit Hold’em event starting at 2:30pm PT, two other tournaments will play down to a champion today as well. Steve Cowley leads the way in the $2,500 No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed tournament (Event #26) with 15 players to go. Cowley amassed a stack of 1.28 million on Tuesday, well in front of Martins Adeniya’s second place tally of 823,000. () Bellagio Cup V final tablist and pro Justin “Boosted J” Smith reached the final 15, along with bracelet winner Erik Cajelais and online poker whiz Jeffrey “jpapola” Papola.
Finally, 23 players survived Day 2 of the $1,500 Seven Card Stud High-Low Eight or Better tournament (Event #27). Maxwell Troy owns the top spot on the leaderboard at 430,000, but a talented group of pros is in hot pursuit of the $208,000 top prize. On Wednesday, you’ll find recent “Poker After Dark” winner , European Poker Tour (EPT) Berlin Main Event champ Kevin “ImaLuckSac” MacPhee, bracelet winner Blair Rodman, and pro all in the mix.
Joining Jett and trying to win one for the ladies in Event #27 are Las Vegas’ Odette Tremblay and Bonnie Damiano. One woman has won a bracelet so far, as France’s Vanessa Hellebuyck took down the Ladies No Limit Hold’em Championship for $192,000. Will we see a second woman hoist a coveted gold bracelet? Stay tuned to PND to find out.
We’d like to wish McNamara the best of luck in capturing his first World Series of Poker bracelet!
Photo courtesy WSOP.com
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In the July issue hitting newsstands this week, Maxim Magazine profiles four of the top young guns in the world of poker: , 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 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 so far in 2010. O’Dwyer made the final table of the () 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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06 12th, 2010
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 (). 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 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 : “In the main poker pavilion at WSOP. Man, these ladies realllllly hate the dudes that played the event.”
Also weighing in was 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, sponsored pro 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 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 , pro , and UB.com front woman . First place will pay out $192,000.
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