07 8th, 2010
Only 2006 - arguably the peak of the poker boom - produced a larger turnout.
While the official registration number won’t be released for another few hours, we know 4,928 players registered on the first three days and day 1D will exceed day 1C. That means the number will be well over 7,200.
“I had a bet that the number would hit 7,500,” Doyle Brunson told PokerListings. When asked what he would attribute the spike in registrants to, Brunson summed it up in two words: “Internet poker.”
Certainly the rise in has contributed to increased turnout, but that alone can’t explain the year-over-year spike.
“We’re fortunate that people save up to play in this event,” said Communications Director Seth Palansky. “This is the Olympics of poker and people want to play in the most recognizable poker event in the world.”
Allen “The Chainsaw” Kessler said he has seen an increase in all of the tournaments he plays in. “People have more money in general, all of the higher buy-ins I’ve been playing like the $5k and $10ks have seen increased numbers.”
“It helps that the WSOP didn’t screw up registration this year and turn people away,” Kessler added.
While there is still higher than usual unemployment in the United States, the U.S. financial situation has improved compared to last year and that probably contributed to the turnout. “I think the economy is coming back,”said Jeff Shulman. “[Registration] had been going up every year until the last couple, so I think this is a good sign.”
“The fact that they didn’t hold the tournament over the 4th of July weekend probably helped,” said 2009 bracelet winner Blair Hinkle. “The last two years there was at least one day on the 4th and they lose a ton of American players who don’t want to play on those days.”
“I just hope they realize what they did right and do it again next year,” said Hinkle.
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Last year, Day 1c saw the lowest number of entrants of any of the WSOP opening flights with less than a thousand players competing. This year, however, it is so far the largest with a field of 2,314 joining the 2,614 Day 1a and Day 1b players to make the 2010 WSOP Main Event the second largest tournament in poker history behind the 2006 WSOP Main Event – including pre-registration the field is currently at 6,928 with more than 2,500 players predicted for Day 1d.
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07 8th, 2010
When organisers of this year’s said there would be some big hitters at this year’s event we didn’t think they were talking literally. Hitters don’t come much bigger than current WBF World Champion Evander Holyfield who will be appearing at Europe’s biggest poker festival as a representative of RealDealPoker.com who will be demonstrating their revolutionary new software at the event.
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07 8th, 2010
If your tournament game needs a tune up then Bluff Europe has just the thing in with the latest Poker Academy set for 31st July.
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07 7th, 2010
The best strategy depends on who you ask. We polled multiple players in the Amazon Room received input from a few of day 1C’s familiar faces.
“I was going to play in day 1A,” said Eugene Katchalov. “But I didn’t want to have four days off between day one and day two, so I chose day 1C instead.”
“Day 1A is probably the softest because no one plays it,” said three-time WSOP bracelet winner Daniel Alaei. “Everyone I know is playing today [1C].”
Still, Alaei likes his day 1C draw. “Even if there are 200 pros, there are still 2,500 other people.” Alaei also bought himself a little more rest between his bracelet winning Pot-Limit Omaha event that went late on Sunday and his noon start time on Wednesday.
Terrence Chan prefers a more formulaic approach in selecting his starting day. “I think there are softer fields on different days, but it’s harder to predict than most pros think,” said Chan. “I think this year day 1D will be the softest because it’s closest to the weekend and the most people [amateurs] can take that day off of work.”
Hoyt Corkins also believes the last day could provide the softest field. “You’ve got the most people traveling and flying in for day [1D], so that’s probably the softest, but I haven’t studied these things,” Corkins said.
For those hoping to capitalize on day 1D, registering with plenty of time to spare ought to be the number one priority. Last year’s day 1D sold out and left some players out in the cold. While the has taken measures to prevent that from happening this year, there is still a large crowd expected.
“I always pick day 1C because it has the biggest field without the fiasco of day 1D,” said Amnon Filippi. “The first two days don’t have the bigger fields.”
Last year’s Main Event Champion Joe Cada takes a superstitious, yet straight forward approach. “I chose 1C because that was my starting day last year,” Cada told PokerListings. Who are we to question the champ?
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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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While watching this year’s coverage of the World Series of Poker on PokerNews, many of you have undoubtedly noticed that instead of reaching a final table on Day 2’s of most events, many times play is halted with two, three or even four tables…
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06 27th, 2010
Frank Kassela and John Juanda pulled into a dead heat for the Player of the Year race after Kassela’s latest cash.
Two more bracelets were handed out as the latest two WSOP champions were crowned.
Here’s a look around Day 29:
WSOP Tournament of Champions 2010
We only played four short levels Sunday, but the 2010 TOC got underway nonetheless.
The railbirds packed the Amazon Room to see three fully-loaded tables on Day 1, as this year’s TOC boasts perhaps the sickest tournament field ever seen at the WSOP.
Despite the short day, we still saw five eliminations on Day 1, as Phil Ivey, Greg Raymer, Barry Shulman, Sammy Farha and John Juanda all hit the rail.
Eight-time bracelet winner Erik Seidel finished Day 1 in the lead, and the towering Full Tilt pro comes back with 72k in chips.
The blinds will be at 200/400 for Level 5 when Seidel and the rest of the remaining 22 players return at 12 p.m. for Day 2.
Other notable names near the top of the chip leader board include Johnny Chan, Mike “The Mouth” Matusow and Barry Greenstein.
Event 45 - $1.5k No-Limit Hold’em
Jesse Rockowitz won his first career WSOP bracelet, emerging from the final table as the latest WSOP champion.
Another huge field played for the latest $1.5k No-Limit bracelet, but the original field of 3,097 players was down to 36 when the final day of this event kicked off Sunday.
Dutch Boyd was looking for his second WSOP bracelet of 2010, but came up short of the final table, placing 15th and cashing for $32,653.
Other notables in the cash included Theo Tran and Ayaz Mahmood.
Event 46 - $5k Pot-Limit Omaha/8
Perhaps the most interesting final table of the 2010 WSOP played out, with the fascinating mix of Erik Seidel, Leif Force, Dan Shak and Dave “Devilfish” Ulliott all seated.
In the end it was Chris Bell coming away with the bracelet and first-place prize of $327,040 out of a field of 284 players.
Event 47 - $1k No-Limit Hold’em
Day 1b of this event began Sunday, and the 476 surviving players from today will join the 680 survivors from Day 1a when play resumes.
In total, it will be 1,356 rounders coming back for Day 2, which resumes at 2:30 p.m.Monday.
Lots of unknown faces and names crowded the Pavilion Room for this event, but Antonio Esfandiari was one well-known name that dominated on Day 1b.
The first-place prize for this tournament is $485,791.
Event 48 - $2.5k Mixed Event
The money bubble burst near the end of the night, with POY contender Frank Kassela making into the money to pull into a tie with John Juanda for the 2010 Player of the Year race.
192 of the original field of 453 players came back Sunday for Day 2, with Dario Minieri and Vitaly Lunkin amongst the notables making the cash.
Day 3 commences at 3:00 p.m. Monday and we play down to a champion.
For a more in-depth look at how the day played out, along with news, blogs and videos, visit PokerListings’ .
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06 26th, 2010
This year’s British Grand Prix takes place at Silverstone on Sunday 11th July and you could be there courtesy of Ladbrokes Poker.
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To say that the remaining field in the () $10,000 HORSE Championship is stacked would be a severe understatement. Cuong Do, who finished 30th in last year’s Main Event, owns the top spot on the leaderboard with 23 players remaining at 720,000. Right behind him in the chip counts for Event #43 is online poker veteran Marco “CrazyMarco” Johnson.
Former CardRunners instructor and former Red Pro sits in third holding a stack of 616,000. Fifth place belongs to , the ’s () all-time money leader and 2001 WSOP Main Event champion. Mortensen will come armed to Friday’s play in the HORSE Championship with a stack of 503,000.
Richard Ashby, one of five British bracelet winners in 2010, is poised to make it six for the U.K. in the HORSE event. Ashby is in seventh on the leaderboard at 441,000 and took down a $1,500 buy-in Seven Card Stud event (#21) earlier this year for $140,000 and his first WSOP bracelet. Just behind Ashby is Nick Schulman, a WPT champ and WSOP bracelet holder. Schulman won the 2005 WPT World Poker Finals for $2.1 million and took down the tour’s Battle of the Champions one year later. His bracelet came in last year’s 2-7 Lowball World Championship for $279,000.
has already made two final tables at this year’s World Series, including a fifth place finish in the $50,000 Player’s Championship. Mizrachi holds down the fort in 10th place entering the finale of Event #43. Two-time bracelet winner Scott Fischman, whose last WSOP final table came in London in 2008, sits in 11th after two days of play in the HORSE Championship.
Also a part of the talented lineup in Event #43 are Marco Traniello, pro Brandon Adams, pro Todd Brunson, Matt Glantz, Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler, John “World” Hennigan, and . Yikes. Here’s a full list of chip counts:
1. Cuong Do – 720,000
2. Marco “CrazyMarco” Johnson – 626,000
3. Brian Townsend – 616,000
4. Eugene Katchalov – 525,000
5. Carlos Mortensen – 503,000
6. Ian Gordon – 483,000
7. Richard Ashby – 441,000
8. Roman Yitzhaki – 429,100
9. Nick Schulman – 402,000
10. Robert Mizrachi – 364,000
11. Scott Fischman – 347,000
12. Marco Traniello – 323,000
13. Brandon Adams – 310,000
14. Todd Brunson – 274,000
15. Matt Glantz – 200,000
16. Michael Chow – 180,000
17. Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler – 104,000
18. Steve “MrSmokey1” Billirakis – 89,000
19. Pawel Andrzejewski – 80,000
20. Abe Mosseri – 71,000
21. Al Barbieri – 65,000
22. John “World” Hennigan – 60,000
23. Scotty Nguyen – Did Not Report Chip Count
Poker News Daily Hijack Seat host and Guest Columnist is the short stack entering the final day of play in Event #42, $1,500 No Limit Hold’em. Lee will be on life support when play resumes at 2:30pm PT, as he’ll have just four big blinds to work with. However, he’s assured a payday of at least $17,000 and a total of 25 players are still in the mix.
James Schaaf and Ryan Hemmel own a commanding lead over the competition at 1.26 million and 1.08 million, respectively, in Event #42. Dean Hamrick, who took fifth in a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event last year, sits in third on the leaderboard entering Friday’s finale at 858,000. Perhaps the most decorated player left in the field is front man , a two-time Costa Rican bracelet winner. Brenes has made three WPT final tables over the course of his career.
The lone bracelet awarded on Thursday in Las Vegas went to the U.K.’s Steve Jelinek, who won Event #41, $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha High-Low Split Eight or Better. In the tournament’s final hand, Jelinek’s As-Ah-Qd-4h bested John Gottlieb’s Ad-Kh-9d-5c. Jelinek’s wired pair of aces was enough to capture his first bracelet and $245,000. He became the fifth U.K. player to win gold this year, joining , James Dempsey, Ashby, and Mike Ellis.
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the 2010 World Series of Poker.
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