World Series of Poker

IGT Goes 'All In' With Texas Hold'em Heads Up Poker(TM) at World Series of Poker

2011-11-04T21:11:00.000-07:00

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Poker Game's Mathematical Model Simulates the Operation of the Human Brain to Give Players Authentic Experience

LAS VEGAS, Nov. 3, 2011 - The over 150 million Texas Hold'em fans around the world will be hootin' and hollerin' at no longer having to wait in long lines to play the tables or lasso up a willing opponent with the debut of Texas Hold'em Heads Up Poker(TM) from International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT). Premiering at the 2011 World Series of Poker at the Rio in Las Vegas on Nov. 5-6, fans can now enjoy everything they love about Texas Hold'em - the strategy, bluffing and tells - in an interactive poker machine.

IGT's Texas Hold'em Heads Up Poker(TM) is the first poker game to use a neural net, a technology-developed mathematical model that simulates the operation of the human brain.
The advanced technology of Texas Hold'em Heads Up Poker(TM) recreates engaging behavioral nuances such as opponent "bluffing" and "thinking" in a scenario that's less intimidating than a live-table experience - making the slot machine inviting to all levels of Texas Hold'em players.

In addition to the innovative technology, a number of other features will have casino-goers strapping on their cowboy boots to test their skills against this highly individualized game:
Striking graphics and player-customizable options - including fun touchscreen good luck charms - will entertain and delight even the coolest poker players.

The Multi-Hit Stud Bonus game doubles the action and increases the player experience.
After the conclusion of a game, the "peek" feature gives the player the choice to see the opponent's cards - even if a showdown did not take place - giving the player insight as to how the opponent plays.

At this year's World Series of Poker, Texas Hold'em Heads Up Poker(TM)will be on display for players, operators and media to try on Nov. 5-6. IGT brand ambassadors will be handing out free play coupons from 4-6 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 5, and from 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 6.

"Designed to bring all the thrills and high drama of live-action table Texas Hold'em to the slot machine format, players will want to put on their shades and pull down the brim of their hats to hide their tells when they saddle up to Texas Hold'em Heads Up Poker," said Eric Tom, IGT executive vice president, North America Sales and Global Operations. "This is a game that players of every level can test their craftiest bluffing strategies and Texas Hold'em skills against."

About IGT
International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT) is a global leader in the design, development and manufacture of gaming machines and systems products, as well as online and mobile gaming solutions for regulated markets.

Press Release

AGA Statement on the Eve of the World Series of Poker Main Event Final Table

Statement by Frank Fahrenkopf, president and CEO of the American Gaming Association, on the Eve of the World Series of Poker Main Event Final Table

“The World Series of Poker Main Event final table kicks off in Las Vegas this weekend. As the popularity of one of America’s favorite pastimes continues to grow, it should come as no surprise that millions of Americans from all walks of life are expected to tune in to watch the action.

Unfortunately, when these same Americans – plus many more—log on to play poker online, they face a Wild West atmosphere with little or no regulation and where law enforcement has limited ability to protect them. Congress must act to approve legislation allowing states to license and regulate online poker so Americans who play online poker can do so safely with responsible, law-abiding operators.

Establishing federal guidelines to allow state-licensed and regulated online poker would also effectively keep minors from gambling online, prevent fraud and money laundering, address problem gambling and ensure players aren’t being cheated. American consumers deserve to be protected. Licensing and regulation of online poker in the U.S is the only way to do it.”

For more information about how to create a safe, responsible and regulated online poker environment in the U.S., visit the AGA’s Online Poker Headquarters at www.americangaming.org/onlinepokerHQ

The AGA represents the commercial casino-entertainment industry by addressing federal legislative and regulatory issues. The association also serves as a clearinghouse for information, develops educational and advocacy programs, and provides leadership on industry-related issues of public concern.

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WSOP Europe: Michael Mizrachi, Philippe Boucher Capture Bracelets As Championship Event Enters Day 1B - 16th October 2011

2011-10-16T20:00:00.001-07:00

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As the €10,000 Championship Event of the 2011 World Series of Poker Europe enters its second Day One on Sunday, poker pros Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi and Philippe Boucher captured the final two preliminary bracelets awarded on Saturday.

In the €10,000 Split Format No Limit Hold’em event, Mizrachi came back yesterday as a member of the Final Four who would determine the title. In his semi-final match against Roger Hairabedian, Michael slowly worked the heads up match to what was a startling conclusion. On the final hand of their matchup, Hairabedian flopped a set of fives on a J-8-5 board, but Mizrachi was able to best that by turning a straight with his 7-6 when a four found the turn. Once the board didn’t pair on the river, Michael Mizrachi was on to the final.

In the other semi-final match, Shawn Buchanan and Noah Schwartz battled it out for the right to face “The Grinder.” Buchanan methodically worked his way into a comfortable lead against Schwartz before getting him to commit his final chips with a mediocre offering. After a minimum raise from Shawn, Noah decided to make a three-bet stand for his last chips with only an A-5 off suit. Buchanan quickly called, tabling his pocket Kings, and once the board ran dry (albeit with a bit of a flush sweat), Shawn Buchanan was the winner of the match.

As predicted here yesterday, the Mizrachi/Buchanan battle was a fierce one, although Michael came to the felt with a 2:1 chip lead over Shawn. “The Grinder,” true to his name, was able to gradually add on to his lead over the two hours of play; nothing that Buchanan attempted seemed to work as his chip stack slowly slipped southward. The end of the tournament was particularly brutal for Buchanan as, holding an A-J against Mizrachi’s A-10, a ten came on the flop to flip the lead to Mizrachi. Turn and river deuces sealed the deal for the 2010 $50K Poker Players’ Champion, giving him his second bracelet in as many years.

1. Michael Mizrachi (United States), €336,008
2. Shawn Buchanan (Canada), €207,624
3. Roger Hairabedian (France), €112,092
4. Noah Schwartz (United States), €112,092

The final table of the €1500 Six Handed Pot Limit Omaha tournament seemed to be more of a sprint than a marathon, highly unlike major championship final tables. Chile’s Nicolas Fierro came to the final table with the chip lead, but it was a one man wrecking ball by the name of Philippe Boucher who stole the show.

After taking almost an hour and a half before the first player, Jack Ellwood, was eliminated by Boucher, the Canadian pro would then storm his way through the remainder of the field. He would go on to knock off the entire table on his run to the title, only pausing slightly during heads up play against Michel Dattani. On the final hand, Dattani would commit his final chips holding an A-A-J-7 against the A-Q-10-9 of Boucher. After the board ran 6-6-8-J-Q to give him the winning straight, Philippe Boucher would pick up his first WSOP bracelet in just under four hours.

1. Philippe Boucher (Canada), €124,584
2. Michel Dattani (Portugal), €76,982
3. Nicolas Fierro (Chile), €53,426
4. Alexander Dovzhenko (Ukraine), €37,529
5. Jared Solomon (South Africa), €26,676
6. Jack Ellwood (United Kingdom), €19,181

While these two final tables wrapped up action, the first Day One of the €10,000 Championship Event was in play. 310 players eventually wound their way to the tables in the battle for the next WSOP Europe Main Event championship, guaranteeing that this will be the biggest Championship Event in the history of the WSOP Europe. Last year’s total number of players was “only” 346 and the record field for the tournament was in 2007 and 2008, when the tournament drew 362 players.

At the end of Day 1A, 173 players remained, with Jamie Rosen holding the chip lead with 162,700 in chips. Notable names in the Top Ten include the U. K.’s Chris Moorman and Erik Friberg, but there are threats looming down the leaderboard. Two time World Champion Johnny Chan is just off the leaderboard in eleventh place with 108,350 in chips, while Ramzi Jelassi, 2011 WSOP November Niner Ben Lamb, Carlos Mortensen, Will “The Thrill” Failla, Chad Brown and Arnaud Mattern are just some of the names in the Top 25.

Day 1B is currently in play, with 165 players stepping up for the action on Sunday. Some of the players who have made early moves during Day 1B include 2010 WSOP November Niner Filippo Candio, Robert Mizrachi, Tommy Vedes, Shannon Shorr, Bryan Devonshire, Sandra Naujoks, Mike “Timex” McDonald and Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier. Defending World Champion Jonathan Duhamel, Men “The Master” Nguyen, Jean-Robert Bellande and Sorel Mizzi are all below their starting stacks, with “The Grinder” and Steve Billirakis two of this year’s WSOP Europe bracelet winners already eliminated from the tournament.

Final numbers for the Championship Event aren’t in yet, so the prize pool hasn’t been determined or the first place prize. However it plays out, the 2011 World Series of Poker Europe has been a record breaking schedule with its final stories yet to play out. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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World Series of Poker: Media Man Int Profile

2011-10-14T01:00:00.003-07:00

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Poker News Media Website Network Updated

2011-09-25T01:06:00.001-07:00

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New World Series of Poker Licensee

2011-08-23T18:23:00.001-07:00

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Sports PLC, one of Europe's leading online lesiure equipment retailers, has been appointed by Caesars Interactive Entertainment as exclusive licensee for the World Series of Poker (WSOP) merchandise in the UK and Ireland, it was announced today.

The company, based in Alvechurch, Worcestershire, will sell official WSOP products - including poker tables, gaming chips, playing cards and a host of other accessories - via its leading sports and leisure retail site www.thesportshq.com.

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is the largest, richest and most prestigious gaming event in the world and the longest running poker tournament in the world, dating back to 1970.

Having grown the event into a globally-recognised brand, Caesars Interactive entertainment selected Sports PLC as exclusive licensee due to its track record in delivering a combination of excellent products and outstanding customer service across a range of leisure markets - including golf, cricket, health and fitness and outdoor leisure.

Announcing the three-year deal, Sports PLC CEO Simon Millington, said: "Because of the World Series of Poker, the game has developed into a huge cultural phenomenon and has made international stars of the world's leading players.

"Like snooker, poker no longer carries the stigma of being something restricted to smoky back rooms and is now much more main stream. There is a significant market in the UK and Ireland for top quality poker equipment and WSOP-branded products will secure a considerable share of that market for us.

"We've got a strong online retail presence, major warehousing and distribution facilities and a huge customer base - so we're in an excellent position to help the WSOP build its brand and popularity through official merchandise."

Previous winners of the WSOP include the famous 'Amarillo Slim' Preston and Stu 'The Kid' Unger. By 2006 the prize money on offer had eclipsed the combined purses of events like Wimbledon, golf's US Masters and the Kentucky Derby horse race.

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2011 WSOP November Nine is Set

2011-07-25T19:55:00.001-07:00

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2011 WSOP November Nine is Set...

Everyone knew where this road was headed, we just didn’t know who would get there. Just 22 players entered play at the 2011 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event on Tuesday with a chance to make the final table and come hell or high water, the field was going to be narrowed to nine before the tournament was adjourned until the fall. No more playing for a set number of levels. We were going to get rid of 13 players if it took all night. Fortunately, it didn’t take all night (so long as you were following the action in Las Vegas) and we now know the identities of this year’s November Nine.

Considering the increases in payouts at this stage of the game and the importance of advancing from Tuesday to November, one would have expected play to slow to a crawl as players became very careful not to bust out. Not so yesterday. Even with a the usual breaks, a two hour dinner break, and an extra one hour break, the field was whittled to the final ten before 10:00pm Pacific time thanks to lots of three-betting, four-betting, and risky all-ins (Konstantinos Mamaliadis moved all-in with 8-2. Granted, he was short, but still. Yes, he lost that hand).

The ESPN announcing team of Lon McEachern, Antonio Esfandiari, and Norman Chad predicted that eliminating that last player to determine the November Nine would take a long time, and it did. With the media attention, sponsorship deals, and a more than $200,000 prize jump waiting for them between now and November, nobody wanted to be the final table bubble boy. In some ways, even though he was to win $607,882, it is worse to be the November Nine bubble boy than the standard “in the money” bubble boy. And while play did slow down significantly as most hands didn’t get past the pre-flop stage, it still went about two hours faster than last year’s six hour marathon.

In the end, it was John Hewitt of Costa Rica who made the other nine players very, very happy. Ireland’s Eoghan O’Dea (son of Donnacha O’Dea, who has made two Main Event final tables) opened the pre-flop betting to 1.1 million chips, with blinds at 250,000/500,000 and a 50,000 chip ante. Hewitt, who had been riding high for much of the day before taking a bad beat when his A-K lost to Pius Heinz’s K-J, pushed for his last 3.875 million. It was a race: Hewitt’s 3-3 versus O’Dea’s K-J. Despite not hitting one of his cards, it was a good flop for O’Dea, as the Q-T-7 gave him an open-ended straight draw. The Ace on the turn clinched the hand for the Irishman, sending the poker room into a frenzy. Hewitt was gracious in defeat and his fellow tablemates were simultaneously congratulatory and empathetic to him. While the remaining players were no doubt thrilled they had made the November Nine, they knew what a disappointment it was for the likable Hewitt to fall short.

While everyone moving on to November has done a fantastic job, perhaps the most impressive player of the day was Matt Giannetti. He was one of the bigger stacks during the early part of Day 8 before running into a painful hand against Ben Lamb. With blinds at 150,000/300,000/40,000, Lamb raised pre-flop to 675,000 and Giannetti called. After the flop of Ah-9h-2d, Giannetti check-called a 700,000 chip bet. Both players checked the 7d on the turn and Giannetti once again checked the 2h on the river, a card which introduced the possibility of a flush. With the pot at just over 3 million chips, Lamb made a huge bet of 4 million. Obviously holding a good hand, but unsure of just how good it was compared to Lamb’s, Giannetti went into the deepest of tanks. One minute went by, then two. Then three. Esfandiari kept viewers interested by analyzing what he thought each player had. Five minutes. Eight. After ten minutes, Giannetti finally made the call with A-9, giving him top two pair. To his dismay, though, Lamb flipped over 2-3 for three-of-a-kind, giving him the large pot and sending Giannetti’s stack down to under 10 million.

Giannetti was noticeably shaken after that and even stepped away from the table a short time later to collect himself. Struggling to stay alive as he made it to the final ten, he held firm and didn’t make any rash moves. He was able to raise a couple times pre-flop without moving all-in to collect the blinds and antes, which at that point meant he was increasing his stack by around 10 percent. He finally decided to put all of chips at risk, twice doing it with pocket Jacks, and both times doubling-up. Matt Giannetti had emerged from the emotionally draining hand earlier in the evening and had climbed back from the November Nine bubble to make it to the final table with the third largest chip stack.

Here is how the chip counts stack up (pun intended):

1. Martin Staszko – 40,175,000
2. Eoghan O’Dea – 33,925,000
3. Matt Giannetti – 24,750,000
4. Phil Collins – 23,875,000
5. Ben Lamb – 20,875,000
6. Badih Bounahra – 19,700,000
7. Pius Heinz – 16,425,000
8. Anton Makievskyi – 13,825,000
9. Samuel Holden – 12,375,000

It is a final table with a very international flavor: just three Americans and one player each from the Czech Republic, Ireland, Belize, Germany, Ukraine, and England. At this point, everyone is guaranteed at least $782,115 with the winner taking home $8,711,956.

The players are now on a three and a half month break as they prepare for the rest of their Main Event journey. Play will resume on November 5th, will pause when there are just two players left, and will pick up again on November 7th to determine the next No-Limit Hold’em World Champion.

WSOP Day 6: 57 Players Remain, Ryan Lenaghan in Control...

We’re at the point in the 2011 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event where everyone left in the field can smell the finish line. The coveted championship bracelet is now a realistic possibility, even for those at the bottom of the leader board. With just 57 of the original 6,865 players still holding on to chips, the tension will be ratcheted up a notch as Day 7 begins on Monday.

Leading the way is professional poker player Ryan Lenaghan, with a stack of 12,865,000 chips, almost 3,000,000 more than his nearest competitor. The Mobile, Alabama native now living in New Orleans made his biggest move late in the day. He opened the betting pre-flop with a raise to 110,000 and was then re-raised to 355,000 by Bryan Follain. Undeterred, Lenaghan took it up to 865,000 only to see Follain five-bet all the way up to 1,200,000. Lenaghan quickly moved all-in, covering his opponent, who, after some thought decided to put all his chips at risk. Interestingly, the hands weren’t all that strong considering the action: Lenaghan had J-J, while Follain held A-Q. None of the five community cards helped Follain and with the 4,200,000 chip pot, Lenaghan soared into the lead.

Despite his chip advantage, Lenaghan will start at a tough table today. Joining him is John Esposito, who has now cashed in seven Main Events, David Bach, who was the chip leader going into Day 6, top online (and now live) poker pro David “Doc” Sands, and one of the other top stacks, Hilton Laborda, who has 7,160,000 chips.

Currently sitting in second place is this summer’s star, Ben Lamb, who has been at or near the top of the field for most of the Main Event. With his deep run in this tournament, Lamb will take over the lead in the 2011 WSOP Player of the Year (POY) standings from Phil Hellmuth. Not counting the Main Event, he has four cashes at this year’s WSOP, including a bracelet, a runner-up finish and a third final table. His worst finish of the four cashes is 12th. Hellmuth will still have a chance to re-take the lead at the WSOP Europe later this year.

Other notables remaining the in the competition include Bryan Devonshire (10th), J.P. Kelly (21st), Lars Bonding (26th), Sam Barnhart (27th), Tony Hachem (36th), Erick Lindgren (38th), Steve Brecher (45th), and Sebastian Ruthenberg (57th).

Everyone remaining is guaranteed at least $130,997. Here is what the remaining payout structure looks like:

1. $8,711,956
2. $5,430,928
3. $4,019,635
4. $3,011,665
5. $2,268,909
6. $1,720,396
7. $1,313,851
8. $1,009,910
9. $782,115
10 – 12. $607,882
13 – 15. $478,174
16 – 18. $378,796
19 – 27. $302,005
28 – 36. $242,636
37 – 45. $196,174
46 – 54. $160,036
55 – 63. $130,997

And the current top ten chip counts:

1. Ryan Lenaghan – 12,865,000
2. Ben Lamb – 9,980,000
3. Matt Giannetti – 7,940,000
4. Andrey Pateychuk – 7,255,000
5. Phil Collins – 7,240,000
6. Hilton Laborda – 7,160,000
7. Nelson Robinson – 6,420,000
8. Tri Huynh – 6,295,000
9. Aleksandr Mozhnyakov – 6,070,000
10. Bryan Devonshire – 5,970,000

Play will resume at noon Pacific time on Monday. The original schedule indicated that Day 7 would end when just 27 players are remaining, but a tournament update released by WSOP officials has stated that, like in previous days, there will be four blind levels played, at which point the tournament will be paused until Tuesday. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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WSOP Main Event: Fred Berger Leads After Day 1a - 8th July 2011

2011-07-10T05:03:00.001-07:00

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The World Series of Poker Main Event kicked off Thursday with 897 players participating on Day 1a, the first of four starting days in poker’s biggest showcase. The field was down about 20 percent from the 1,125 entrants that participated in 2010 — not surprising given the lack of online qualifiers from the major sites indicted by the Department of Justice on Black Friday.

The Day 1a chip leader was Fred Berger, who bagged 209,500 chips at the end of five levels Thursday night. The Las Vegas native took the lead in the final hour, winning a massive pot from former November Niner and bracelet winner Scott Montgomery. Berger had Jh-9h on a 8c-6h-2h-Js-Jc board, giving him trip jacks, and Montgomery was sent to the rail after he pushed all of his chips in on the river with two pair, jacks and eights.

Berger is no rookie at the WSOP; he has 13 cashes at the WSOP in his career, including victory in a $3,000 Pot Limit Hold ‘em event in 2002. Berger defeated Chris “Jesus” Ferguson heads up for the bracelet and a prize of $197,400. In total, Berger’s live tournament cashes eclipse $1 million.

Joining Berger at the top of the leaderboard are Shane Sigsbee (182,600), Kyle Burnside (159,050), Cedric Annen (155,400), and Michael Bena (150,350). Among the notables with healthy stacks at the end of the day included 2011 bracelet winner David Diaz (139,150), Sebastien Ruthenberg (117,000), Jonas Klausen (116,075), Raymond Rahme (103,950), Jaime “pokerjamers” Armstrong (103,000), Olivier Busquet (98,975), Luke “IWEARGOGGLES” Staudenmaier, and 2010 November Niner Soi Nguyen (87,325).

Four former WSOP Main Event winners took to the felt on Day 1a, including Doyle Brunson, who surprised many after announcing Monday that he would be sitting out the event. The “Godfather of Poker” apparently had a change of heart and took his seat at the ESPN Featured Table. By Level 3, Brunson had been chipped down to 4,375, and got the rest of his stack in preflop with pocket fives against the Ac-Qh of Steve Costello. The board ran out Ad-Qs-Jc-6d-2h, and Texas Dolly made his exit to a round of applause from those in the Amazon Room.

Former champions Johnny Chan, Greg Raymer and Jerry Yang also played on Day 1a, but only Chan survived, finishing with 34,000. Others making an early exit Thursday were McLean Karr, Jeff Papola, Tom Schneider, Adam “Roothlus” Levy, Vanessa Selbst, Matt Affleck, John Hennigan, Isaac Haxton, Randy “nanonoko” Lew, Faraz Jaka, and Evelyn Ng.

A total of 556 players survived the day and they will combine with the survivors from Day 1c to form the Day 2a field on Monday, July 11. The players that make it through Days 1b and 1d will form the Day 2b field, which will take place on Tuesday, July 12.

Here’s a look at the top 10 stacks from Day 1a of the 2011 WSOP Main Event:

1. Fred Berger — 209,500
2. Shane Sigsbee — 182,600
3. Kyle Burnside — 159,050
4. Cedric Annen — 155,400
5. Michael Bena — 150,350
6. Lynne Mitchnick — 145,675
7. Juan Perez — 143,425
8. David Diaz — 139,150
9. Christopher Macfarland — 135,350
10. Philipp Gruissem — 133,050

Day 1b gets underway Friday at 12:00 p.m. local time. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for continuous updates from the 2011 World Series of Poker from the Rio in Las Vegas. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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Poker News Media: There's Never Been A Better Time To Play At PartyPoker

2011-06-30T18:36:00.001-07:00

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There's Never Been A Better Time to Play at PartyPoker

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A PartyPoker.com spokesman said: "The premise is simple – divide and conquer! Rome wasn't built in a day but it could be won in an hour! Turn your PartyPoints into cities - the empire building continues until the 31st August or until all cities are conquered. There are 72 cities to conquer and freeroll seats, cash payouts and a top prize of $100,000. Just earn 10 PartyPoints to be randomly awarded a city from 72 available."

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Frank Miller's Sin City Comes To The World's Largest Online Casino

Casino News Media: Frank Miller's Sin City Comes To The World's Largest Online Casino

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Gibraltar - 17th June 2011 - Following up on last week’s release of Frank Miller’s Sin City: The Hard Goodbye at Digital DarkHorse comes more exciting news around this legendary title. Sin City has now entered the online gaming world, with a new game at PartyCasino.com This new five-reel, fifty-line slot features art and story from the widely acclaimed series by comics legend Frank Miller.

When Sin City originally appeared in Dark Horse Presents: Fifth Anniversary Special in April 1991, it was clear that the face of the comics medium had changed forever. Since that time, Miller’s groundbreaking comics noir has found its way into the public consciousness with toys, games, and even a feature-length motion picture. Frank Miller’s Sin City remains one of the most stylized works in the history of the medium, drawing heavily from film noir, including its use of shadow and stark backgrounds. The black-and-white comic was perfectly suited to the original format of Dark Horse’s flagship anthology, with occasional spot usage of primary colors added to later volumes and editions.

"Frank Miller’s Sin City is a very different slot to any other we have launched in recent times. The striking artwork and mature content mean this isn’t a game for the faint hearted," said a spokesman for PartyCasino.com

There are five featured games, which win the player free spins and multipliers: “Straight to Hell,” “The Hard Goodbye,” “He Never Screams,” “Deadly Little Miho,” and “Just Get Warmed Up.” The games feature the series’ main characters: Hartigan, Nancy, Miho, Marv, Kevin, the Yellow B*stard, and Dwight. The game includes mature content and scenes of violence, nudity, and depravation.

PartyCasino.com has the most frequent game launches in the industry and offers over 160 games, including over 100 slots. PartyCasino.com pays out easily over $10 million EVERY DAY to players. “The Big One” is structured as a five-tiered pool. The highest tier—Colossal Cash—seeds at $1.5 million, the biggest online jackpot seed in the industry, and currently stands at over $1.6 million.

About Dark Horse Comics

Since 1986, Dark Horse Comics has proven to be a solid example of how integrity and innovation can help broaden a unique storytelling medium and establish a small, homegrown company as an industry giant. The company is known for the progressive and creator-friendly atmosphere it provides for writers and artists. In addition to publishing comics from top talent like Frank Miller, Mike Mignola, Neil Gaiman, Gerard Way, and comics legend Will Eisner, Dark Horse has developed such successful characters as the Mask, Timecop, and SpyBoy. Additionally, its highly successful line of comics and products based on popular properties includes Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Aliens, Conan, Emily the Strange, Tim Burton, Trigun, Serenity, and Domo. Today Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent comic-book publisher in the US and is recognized as one of the world’s leading publishers of licensed comics material.

SIN CITY, FRANK MILLER’S SIN CITY and all characters therein and all depictions thereof are trademarks of Frank Miller, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ©2011 Frank Miller, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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In the meantime PartyCasino.com continues to roll out new games and initiatives.

The most popular PartyCasino.com games of late include Sin City, Unicorn Legend, Heist, Circus, Rambo, Palladium Slot, The Godfather, Sinatra, Slotbox, Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Mission: Impossible, The Terminator, Cleopatra, Sinatra, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, The Amazing Spider-Man, Monopoly, Resident Evil, Melon Madness, Wheel Of Fortune and Mega Fortune Wheel.

The PartyCasino.com jackpot is currently approaching the $4 million mark. Players can also compete for The Big One and Marvel Hero Jackpot, playing the Marvel super hero themed online slot games.

PartyCasino's most recent game releases include Sin City, The Sting, Unicorn Legend, Shaaark! SuperBet, Crocodopolis, Alice's Wonderland, Glamour Puss, Super Cubes, Heist, Palladium Slot and Circus Slot.

PartyGaming CEO Jim Ryan has gone on record advising PartyCasino will soon feature more Hollywood blockbuster themed slots. A few in the know journalists and media agents have been recently tipped off that an all time classic movie adaption will be showcased in the PartyCasino portfolio within 1 month. PartyCasino has the world's most impressive line up of Hollywood themed games, and more are just around the corner.

Media Man, Casino News Media and Global Gaming Directory do have a b2b relationship with Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment, as they do with dozens of other companies in the gaming, igaming, media and entertainment industry.

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Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Confirms Ongame Poker Network Deal Possibilities

The Ongame poker network is "likely" to be sold, bwin.party has confirmed that a formal process to sell the B2B network is on the way.

The announcement was made earlier today ahead of today’s Annual General Meeting, the first held by the giant since the merger between Bwin and PartyGaming was completed last March.

The statement read "One area of our stated strategy was to recycle surplus assets,"..."We expect that any sale will be completed by the end of the year."

No licensee on the network has yet responded to bwin.party’s announcement, although Betfair’s outgoing CEO David Yu passed opinion on Ongame just yesterday.

Bwin.Party’s AGM statement contains details of a planned share buyback, which will see the company follow the examples of Playtech and Betfair in making such a move, plus news of a progressive dividend policy containing a €30m dividend payout for the year ending 31 December 2011.

As we go to press trading is described as “Broadly in-line with management's expectations,” however analyst James Hollins, of Evolution Securities, advised in a memo earlier today that “The stock remains a Neutral ahead of potentially disruptive German legislation near-term.”

Meanwhile Simon French, of Panmure Gordon, reiterated his firm’s ‘buy’ recommendation, explaining “[We] expect the shares to respond well to the dividend and share buyback news.”

German sports betting proposals in April had seen the share price of bwin.party dive 16% in a day, and a decision on the country’s State Gambling Treaty is expected in October.

Yesterday things turned around following the suspension of Full Tilt Poker’s licences in Alderney - the share price ended the day at 148.2p, an increase of more than 10% day-on-day.

Bwin.Party In Line With Management's Expectations

bwin.party digital entertainment's trading performance since the beginning of April has been broadly in line with management's expectations.

But is says sports margins have been lower than expected due to a favourable run of events for customers in May.

The improvement in new player sign-ups in poker, following action taken by the US authorities against certain of the group's online poker competitors on 15 April, has not had a material impact on poker revenue as new players represent just a small proportion of the overall player base and these companies have so far continued to command significant market share in non-US markets.

Casino continues to perform well while bingo has been slightly softer than expected in the period.

At 8:47am: (LON:BPTY) share price was +0.5p at 148.7p.

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Big On Security

The online gaming business PartyGaming has also long since been protecting its players with strong authentication. After all, there is a lot of money at stake – money that the dark forces may want to siphon away. PartyPoker, PartyCasino, PartyBingo and PartyGammon customers register by downloading the PartyGaming customer software. After registration, they can obtain an authenticator called PartySecure from the online store. This is again a Digipass Go 6 that has been completely adapted to the branding of PartyGaming. Here again, a Vacman Controller Server takes over the authentication. “The solution is highly scalable,” stressed a PartyGaming spokesperson. “It can grow with us and effortlessly cope with the growing number of online-players on our platform.”

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Spider-Man Tobey Maguire Star Caught In Web Of Gambling Ring; Leonardo DiCaprio Rounders Up, by Greg Tingle - 23rd June 2011

2011-06-22T19:27:00.001-07:00

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Spider-Man star... Mr Spider-Man himself, Tobey Maguire, is one of a dozen or Hollywood stars being sued in connection with an illegal gambling ring that allegedly ran multi-million dollar underground poker games.

And you wonder why Hollywood so embraced the popular poker themed game 'Rounders'.

According to the suit, Maguire took more than $US300,000 worth of illegal funds embezzled from hedge fund investor Bradley Ruderman, who is currently in jail for a ponzi scheme.

The underground games, allegedly led by Ruderman, CEO of Ruderman Capital Partners, were unlicenced and thus illegal under California law.

According to the investigation, Ruderman lost $US25 million of investor money in the games, which were held bi-weekly in luxurious suites at the Beverly Hills Hotel, Viper Room and Four Seasons Hotel.

With Ruderman's company now in bankruptcy, trustees are attempting to seize some of Maguire's winnings to pay off creditors.

Nick Cassavetes, who directed The Notebook, and Welcome Back, Kotter star Gabe Kaplan are among the names facing hefty lawsuits for their participation in the high stakes Texas Hold'em games, according to leaks and a range of online and traditional media outlets.

Other stars who allegedly took part in the gatherings, which had a buy-in of $US100,000, included 'Catch Me If You Can' megastar Leonardo DiCaprio, Good Will Hunting actor Ben Affleck and Bourne star Matt Damon. Damon was also in the poker themed movie 'Rounders'.

Tens of millions of dollars is understood to have changed hands in the illegal games.

Marvel Entertainment does not offer marvel themed poker games but does offer Marvel Entertainment themed online slot games, available in website portals such as Media Man Int and via online gaming brands such as Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment and Richard Branson's Virgin Casino. PartyCasino.com, the online casino leading brand by Bwin.Party is understood to be in negotiation with both the United States, Canadian and Australian governments regarding b2 gaming. Party came to a settlement with the United States Department Of Justice two years ago to the tune of approximately $100 million, and are looking to expand gaming in the U.S beyond their World Poker Tour brand.

Who are you betting on? Spider-Man or the 'Catch Me If You Can' man? Maybe you would prefer not to say and just place a silent bet!

Tobey Maguire sued over illegal poker winnings...

Spider-Man star Tobey Maguire and other celebrities have been caught in a web of lawsuits seeking to reclaim more than $US4 million ($3.8 million) won during unlicensed poker matches at upscale Beverly Hills hotels, court records show.

The lawsuits were filed by a bankruptcy trustee attempting to recoup money for investors who were duped in a Ponzi scheme.

The legal actions claim the clandestine Texas Hold 'em matches were played between 2006 and 2009, with some of the money taken in the Ponzi scheme used to pay off debts incurred by its architect, Bradley Ruderman.

Maguire is being sued for $US311,000 plus interest that the lawsuit says was won from Ruderman. In all, 22 people have been individually sued to try to recoup money.

Among them was Nick Cassavettes, director of The Notebook. The trustee is attempting to recover nearly $US73,000 plus interest from the actor-director.

Maguire's attorney, Robert Barta, did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment but was expected to file a response to the suit later this week.

Cassavettes's agent Jeff Berg also did not immediately respond to a phone message.
Also being sued is billionaire businessman Alec Gores, who along with his brother attempted to buy Miramax Films last year.

Gores is being sued for $US445,500. Phone message left for Frank Stefanik, a spokesman at The Gores Group, and his attorney, Patricia Glaser, were not immediately returned.

Ruderman was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison earlier this year after pleading guilty to two counts of wire fraud, two counts of investment adviser fraud and willful failure to file taxes.

Bankruptcy trustee Howard Ehrenberg filed the lawsuits in late March, attempting to recoup money on behalf of people who invested in what the legal action called a Ponzi scheme organised by Ruderman.

The suits contend the defendants have no right to keep money won from Ruderman, since the games did not have the appropriate government licenses.

Tournaments were held in luxury hotels in Beverly Hills and organised by a woman identified as Molly Bloom, who is being sued for nearly $US475,000 paid to her by Ruderman, the lawsuits said.

The claims were first reported Wednesday by RadarOnline and Star Magazine. (Credit: AP)

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WSOP Monday: Bracelets Aplenty - 6th June 2011

2011-06-07T18:10:00.001-07:00

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There was no shortage of action at the 2011 World Series of Poker (WSOP) on Monday, as three bracelets were clinched in three entirely different events. To be fair, the final days of two of the tournaments were actually started on Sunday, but the bracelets were won after the clock struck midnight, so we’re going to put them in the books for Monday.

Monday was but a half hour old when the day’s first bracelet was claimed by 29-year old professional poker player Harrison Wilder, formerly of Beaverton, Oregon, now living in Las Vegas. Harrison took down Event #6, the $1,500 Limit Hold’em event, winning $205,065 in the process.

He was in a dominating position entering heads-up play against Thomas Jamieson, holding more than a 2-to-1 chip advantage. On the final hand, Jamieson was almost down to the felt before the cards were even dealt, so he ended up all-in pre-flop. His K-T had a decent chance against Wilder’s A-2, especially once the flop came down J-Q-3, giving Jamieson an open-ended straight draw in addition to his two live cards, but he couldn’t hit any of the multitude of outs on the turn or river.

Wilder’s story is an interesting one. Parents are not generally thrilled when their offspring declare that they are going to take a shot at being a professional poker player, but this wasn’t the case for Wilder. He was struggling at the University of Oregon, but had taken up an interest in poker, so his parents, of all people, told him he should drop out of school and take up poker full time. He did just that, eventually becoming good enough to support himself by playing online. Since Black Friday, he has moved from Oregon to Las Vegas and, get this, his parents went with him.

This was Harrison Wilder’s first ever WSOP bracelet.

Less than an hour after Wilder won Event #6, Amir Lehavot won Event #7, the $10,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em Championship. This was also the first WSOP victory for the native Israeli now living in Florida.

Lehavot was third in chips entering the final table, but by the time he was heads-up with Jarred Solomon, who started the final table as the chip leader, he had a huge lead, 5.415 million to 2.160 million. Solomon barely got any closer and eventually found himself needing to just find a hand with which to run. He made his move with A-J, but unfortunately was looked up by Lehavot with A-Q. The flop of Q-Q-T looked really bad for Solomon, but it actually gave him four outs to the straight instead of the three Jacks that he had to start the hand, so it wasn’t all bad. Another Ten on the turn gave Lehavot a full house, though, and the tournament was over.

For the win, Lehavot took home $573,456. He is a former software developer who is now a semi-professional poker player. Lehavot founded the poker training site PokerWit.com.

The final bracelet of the day went to Matt Perrins, who won Event #9, $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball. The young Brit had never played the game before the tournament started. In fact, his only exposure to it came in the form of about 30-minutes worth of YouTube videos that he watched to learn the basics. Knowing his competition obviously had more experience, he used aggression try to even the playing field. Apparently, it worked, as Perrins is now $102,105 richer and can celebrate with his best friend, Jake Cody, who won the $25,000 Heads-Up Championship.

On the final hand, Chris Bjorin called Perrins’ all-in and both players elected to draw one card. Before the draw, Perrins showed 8-6-5-3, leading Bjorin’s T-7-6-3. Bjorin requested that Perrins draw first so he knew what he had to beat, but as it turned out, it wouldn’t matter, as Perrins drew a 2, giving him an unbeatable hand.

On Tuesday, Event #8, one of the popular $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em events, will be in its fourth day (technically Day 3, as the first day was split into two flights), as the original field of 4,178 continues to narrow. The final table is scheduled for Wednesday. Event #10, $1,500 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em, will be in its second day, also with the final table scheduled for Wednesday. The same can be said for Event #11, the $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo Split-8 or Better Championship. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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World Series of Poker Profile Updated

2011-06-01T18:12:00.000-07:00

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2011-06-01T18:10:00.001-07:00

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Poker News Media: PKR Promotions

2011-02-19T16:17:00.001-08:00

PKR is offering the following poker promotions this month.

Win a $5,000 APT package!

In February, PKR is also offering satellites for the APT Philippines Main Event. The satellites for this live tournament are running 24/7 with entry fees starting from just $2.16. If you happen to take down a satellite tournament you’ll win a fantastic $5,000 APT package including your buy-in to the Main Event plus spending money to go with it!

In addition, PKR offers satellites to the WSOP giving you the chance to be playing at the same table with some of the best high stakes players in the real world. In the games lobby, you can also find satellites to the monthly 100K guaranteed tournament. So if you feel like risking very little to potentially win a lot, then the satellite qualifiers are for you!

PKR Freerolls

As usual, PKR offers six daily freerolls on their tournament schedule which any player can join. The PKR freerolls are a great way to gain valuable experience and to hone your poker skills for free.

Guaranteed Poker Tournaments

At PKR, you can also play for over $2,500,000 in guaranteed prizes every month! PKR offer a great selection of guaranteed poker tournaments with big prize pools on offer. Like satellite tournaments, players are given the unique chance of a big score with very limited risk.

PKR is on Facebook

Do you use the social networking site Facebook? If you become a fan of PKR on Facebook, you can take advantage of some great promotions such as exclusive Facebook freerolls, money added tournaments, and you can also win tickets to some cool tournaments.

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The PKR promotions don’t stop there either. If you are a new player and make a deposit, you will be eligible for the first time deposit bonus, up to $800!

PKR.com is a multi time Media Man, Casino News Media and Poker News Media website of the month award winner

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Crown Casino Aussie Millions; James Packer Special, by Greg Tingle - 24th January 2011

2011-01-23T19:57:00.001-08:00

G'day punters, journos, high rollers - casino whales, gambling millionaires and billionaires, poker sharks, entertainment and arts news junkies, media tycoons, politicians, insiders, outsiders, legal eagles... one and all. You know who you are. Today we have a massive Crown Casino Aussie Millions update for you, along with other big news from Crown Casino's parent company, Crown Limited, including the one and only 'Our James' (James Packer) and friends. Media Man and Gambling911 with a jam packed report we think the late, great, Kerry Packer would be proud of, and we hope you're delighted with it too...

Shane Warnie M.I.A At Aussie Millions Yesterday (Including Last Night); UK Connection?...

Champion spinner, celeb poker pro (sort of) and face of Crown Poker, Shane "Warnie" Warne was Missing In Action yesterday, including in nocturnal hours, as fellow hot blooded sportsman, Tiger Woods might say. Yep, no show of Warnie and Aussie Millions, but he wasn't seen on a jet either. Maybe one of Crown's private fleet was commissioned for special delivery. Warnie has been getting up nice and cosy to U.K babe aka "poker babe" Liz Hurley in Los Angeles of late, and we wish the happy couple many more winning hands (and kisses and hugs et al). Warne is full expected to show up at Crown Casino later this afternoon or in the evening, or tomorrow at the latest. Warnie, if you're a little behind schedule, its ok. No detailed step by step - blow by blow explanation is required. Great to see the work - life priorities in order. Poke - er, on and off the felt - way to go son. Stay tuned for more of the life and times of Shane Warne, but sorry, no nude shots here, but inside scoops none the less.

Melbourne, Australia and UK: Aussie Millions Gossip: Did Poker Ace Warnie Poke Her?...

The champion spinner and reported ladies man, Shane Warne, admitted he had been "busted" spending a romantic weekend with English actress - babe Elizabeth Hurley.
The cricket legend had been trying to keep the reunion under wraps after making a last-minute dash to Los Angeles to rendezvous with the glamorous movie star. But Warne, 41, was outed by keen News Limited newspaper readers who spotted him on a flight back from Los Angeles on Sunday evening. Approached by the News Limited's Herald Sun at Crown's Aussie Millions Poker charity fundraiser on Wednesday night, Warne grinned and said: "Yeah, I know we've been busted." He declined further comment on the success of his reunion with the 45-year-old beauty. "Er, next question," he replied. But mates at the benefit later revealed Warne had confirmed his weekend had gone "very well" and he had rekindled the flame with Hurley. Their romance has slowed a touch when it was revealed Warne has apparently sent more than 100 text messages to married Brighton woman Adele Angelari. "Let's just say he was pretty happy," said a mate. Hurley made no secret of being in Los Angeles, tweeting about the weather and saying she watched the Golden Globe Awards from her hotel. Shortly after Warne boarded the plane for home, she tweeted: "A great weekend. Best in a long, long time." We think congratulations may be in order for Warnie's speculative "innings" across the water. Yeah Warnie keep row row rowing the boat, life might be such a breeze. May the good fortune of Warnie rub off on you and may every hand and women bring you a champion result. Warnie is not only a solid poker player, but is a face of Crown Poker, and also a keen golf player. It's not known if he has scored a hole in one, but he sure knows how to play them birdies. You know what we mean.

Aussie Millions: A History Of Champions...

Who will win this years Aussie Millions Championship? It may be too early to tell, but Phil Ivey is a hot favorite.

Let's take a walk down memory lane and see who has taken out the big one over the years...

2010 Champion

Tyron Krost
Origin: Australia (Sin City Sydney)
Winnings: $2,000,000
Defeated 746 players
*sponsored by PartyGaming's PartyPoker

2009 Champion

Stewart Scott
Origin: Australia
Winnings: $2,000,000
Defeated 681 players
*sponsored by PartyGaming's PartyPoker

2008 Champion

Alexander Kostritsyn
Origin: Russia
Winnings: $1,650,000
Defeated 780 players

2007 Champion

Gus Hansen
Origin: Denmark
Winnings: $1,500,000
Defeated 747 players

2006 Champion

Lee Nelson
Origin: New Zealand
Winnings: $1,295,800
Defeated 418 players

2005 Champion

Jamil Dia
Origin: New Zealand
Winnings: $1,000,000
Defeated 263 players

2004 Champion

Tony Bloom
Winnings: $ 426,500
Defeated 133 players

2003 Champion

Peter Costa
Origin: England
Winnings: $39,4870
Defeated 122 players

Aussie Millions Player Profile: Phil Ivey; Hot Favorite...

He's arguably the world's most famous gambler, only battling for headlines with living legend, Doyle Brunson. He bets, wins and looses fortunes on the flip of a card, and he's certainly living the American Dream... to be continued at Australia's expense many tipsters stay. The 34-year-old shark (affectionate)... we like you Phil, is playing in the Aussie Millions poker tournament at James Packers' Crown Casino but he states it's not the tourney or its million bucks main event first prize that got him down under - its "the action". Ivey is also rumoured to check out Sin City Sydney's Star City, something we're not sure Crown Limited powers that be wanted to read about, but we have to keep things fair in the world famous 'Australian Casino Wars' right? No, we don't own shares in Tabcorp - not yet anyway.

Ivey is understood to have some similar nocturnal habits to Tiger Woods, who he has sometimes been compared to. He's also widely acknowledged by his peers as the best player on at the planet at all 3 main poker disciplines of the poker: online poker, cash games and of course, tournament! Yeah, he's a killer, and he also excels at other casino games.

Master poker player Chris "Jesus" Ferguson generously shares the following to the press: "In the past that was three different people, but over the last few years the best player was just Phil Ivey, and there isn't even an argument, and that's really unusual in a game like poker.

Howard Lederer, another genius poker nut went on record with "It doesn't matter what the game is, Phil's the best". By the way, Lederer has a side bet with Ivey on whether the champ will win another World Series of Poker in the next two years. The bet is rumoured to be $US5 million.

'Aussie Millions' is Australia's undisputed richest poker tournament, but the organised (official) poker games are often quite the distraction for poker professionals playing private cash games and taking side bets, while they enjoy taking in everything that Australia has to offer, including the beaches, Melbourne culture and of course, the beautiful Australian women (and climate).

Ivey started playing card games at his grandfather's house in New Jersey, USA growing up, later moving to Atlantic City in his teen years. He trained 10 to 12 hours a day playing, under a fake ID of course. Hey, it is poker. Legend has it he went on to develop his game at a regular 7-card stud game run by the Hustler (the skin lad's mag and website) media mogul publisher Larry Flynt.

It was in 2002 Ivey won 3 WSOP bracelets thus establishing himself as the world's best.

The champ also plays table games including baccarat and craps, and is a very keen better on sports.

"I enjoy myself when I'm betting, life's just more fun that way," said Ivey.

This guys is loaded, on an off the felt. What's his fortune worth? No one knows for sure. He shares "can't relate to it and to talk about it seem crass". Industry sources say Ivey has made more than $US18 million in online poker games since circa 2007.

Folks, don't change your dials. The Aussie Millions Poker Championships runs until Sunday, and yes, Packer, Warnie and even yours truly are tipped to make a special appearance, planned or a surprise. Security is the strongest its every been, so no funny business everyone. Don't try to call our bluff.

Aussie Millions: Sam Trickett Wins $100,000 Challenge Yesterday...

Trickett Wins $1.5 Million to Grow his Career Wins to $3 Million after a Challenging 3-Handed Battle against Tony Bloom and Erik Seidel.

7 of the best players in the world, $100,000 each. Just 1 winner!

The Final Table Chip Counts (with thanks to our Crown Casino friends and spies)

1st Sam Trickett 961,000
2nd David Steicke 622,000
3rd James Obst 571,000
4th Jeffrey Lisandro 454,000
5th David Benyamine 363,000
6th Erik Seidel 169,000
7th Tony Bloom 148,000
8th Chris Ferguson 89,000

James Packer To Get High Roller Super VIP's On The Water Off Perth, Western Australia...

Gambling and media billionaire James Packer has an offer (and a boat ride) for you, if you can afford it.

Welcome to 'Infinity', a $50 million, 40m long Italian-made 'super yacht' to be berthed full time in Perth as part of the Crown's 'World Of Entertainment' offering. It's now tied into Burswood Casino, who are looking to lure in more Asian - Oriental gamblers.

The floating 5 star plus pad (if you can rate the unbelievable luxury), along with its crew of lucky seven will be available for the enjoyment of VVIP (very, very important person) high rolling gamblers.

They will lap up 4 guest rooms, including a huge owner's stateroom complete with his and hers bathrooms.

Infinity was unveiled to a group of Perth business folks this past Thursday, strategically ahead of the opening of the $10 million Rockpool restaurant, a new secret weapon of Burswood.

Packer was quoted by our friends at The Western Australia "We regard ourselves as very lucky to be in Perth. Clearly it's the boom city in Australia. I also personally love Western Australia. "I've spent - for an easterner - a lot of time in the west over the years. I think the best of Australia is found in the characters in Western Australia." It's well know that one of Packer's good mates and close business associates, Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest is also based in Western Australia.

Burswood's makeover is targeted at China's billionaires... all 150 of them! Yes, someone counted them.

Packer is aware of the Burwood's casino and entertainment complex mixed reputation and shares "If we keep investing in the facility and we keep making it better and better, then I think that will change. If you look at Crown (casino) in Melbourne, all segments of society frequent (it) from all different stratas - and that is absolutely our desire for Burswood over time."

Also forecast this year are are two Infinity Mansions...total price tag of $25 million - to be built in the grounds at Burswood and the completion of a new and exclusive Infinity gaming room, currently under way via the rooftop of the Intercontinental Hotel of the complex.

"Our genuine hope is that the mansions will be the two best hotel rooms in the world," Packer said. "That was our brief."

A Media Man Int spokesperson said "Don't bet against James Packer. He's proved the knockers wrong so many times before its not funny. If you had believe the naysayers, Packer would have lost all of his fortune a few years ago. He bounced back in champion fashion in is now regarded as one of the very best gambling and media tycoons on the planet. Apart from that, he's also a heck of a nice bloke who is fair and balanced with his dealing with the press and public, and the universe continues to reward the man and his family for their good deeds. Packer is on a roll and nothing not nobody looks to be able to catch him at the moment, including Tabcorp or anyone else that dare try. Yeah, we're glad we bought shares in his company also, and make no secret about it. Of late, just about everything he touches turns to gold. It's going to be a golden year aboard the Packer express".

James Packer Loves Perth: People, Innovation, Lifestyle, His Casino And Food...

JP told The Sunday Times on Friday, "I love the Swan River ... it's better than Sydney Harbour." Packer who is doing Perth with prime goals including the launch the new Rockpool restaurant at his Burswood complex, flew in from Singapore on Friday and posed for photographs before heading off for an appointment with mining heiress Gina Rinehart (a fellow major shareholding in Ten). "We want to invest more money in Perth. We regard ourselves as very lucky to be here. It is clearly the most go-ahead city in Australia and has an enormous future." Ok, so what else can we tell you? His $350 million plans to upgrade the Burswood resort include revamped rooms, a new pool, a private gaming den, an extra 250 electronic gaming machines aka "one armed bandits" (Aussie slang), 50 more gaming tables and a 40m luxury yacht for entertaining high rollers. Packer advised he was looking forward to digging into a steak sourced from five tonnes of beef on site but did not share the same tastes as his late father, Kerry, who famously walked out of the Barrenjoey House restaurant in the 1980s when Neil Perry, head chef at the time, refused to cook him a well-done steak with tomato sauce. "I like my steak medium-rare," JP said. For the record likes with tomato sauce (so do we). "And Neil doesn't cook enough of them for me." Punters, what are you waiting for. Get yourselves over to Burswood for a bit of 2, 4, 6, 8, dig in, don't wait. And, good luck on the slots, tables, and out on the water, if your lucky enough. Crown Limited powers that be - your throw of the dice.

Online Casinos, Online Poker and Sports Betting...

Ok readers, we hear you... you also want to know some of the best places to play online (that accept Aussies) if your in or around the Asia Pacific - Australia (including Tassie) and New Zealand, so here it is...

PartyCasino.com

Captain Cooks Casino

Betfair (sports betting only)

PKR.com (poker, slots including Marvel slot games and sports betting)

PartyPoker.com (online poker at one of the world's most respected poker rooms and gaming brands)

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Media Man and Gambling911 remind our readers to keep the following in mind:

Take the time to research and learn games before placing down money

Media Man, Casino News Media and Gambling911 are website portals. Not casinos as such, however are recognised as world leading websites that cover the sector and act as central points to games, news, reviews and more.

Readers... er, punters, how did you like our report? Tell us in the forum.

If you have a bet, please bet with your head, not over it, and for God's sake, have fun.

*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911

*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. Gaming is just one of a dozen sectors covered

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2010-12-31T00:23:00.001-08:00

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Harrah’s Atlantic City WSOP Circuit Event Breaks Attendance Record - 6th December 2010

2010-12-08T01:44:00.001-08:00

The first of 11 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit tournaments at Harrah’s Atlantic City was a smashing success over the weekend, breaking an all-time attendance record for the resort. The record going into Saturday was 1,181 players, which was set in 2008, but 1,250 entrants came from all over the East Coast to participate, generating a prize pool of $363,750 for the $300 buy-in event.

“We’re really excited for having set this record,” said Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City Poker Director John Arthur. “We got it right this year with the structures and everything else we have put into place for the Circuit and hope to continue having great numbers through the rest of the series.”

The first WSOP Circuit gold ring of the series was awarded to Christopher Rivers, a network engineer from Atlanta, Georgia. The 24-year-old won Event #1 for $64,565 after navigating through the record field, the biggest score ever for the amateur.

Rivers entered the final table as the second shortest stack, but was able to chip up and find himself heads-up against Maryland’s Matthew Diggs, who began the final table as the shortest stack. The heads-up match got underway shortly after 3:00am Monday with the players holding nearly identical stacks.

The decisive hand of the match came when the two got all of their chips in on a flop of 6c-5s-4c. Diggs, who had moved all-in, showed 2s-4h, while Rivers turned over pocket jacks after calling the bet. A queen on the turn and 10 on the river changed nothing, leaving Diggs with seven big blinds.

“The last couple of times I limped, he raised,” Rivers said of the hand that crippled Diggs. “So, I decided to limp with jacks and though I hoped he would play me aggressive after the flop, was worried about him drawing out on me, but I eventually called.”

The final hand of the tournament happened just minutes later, with Diggs all-in with K-10 against Rivers’ K-Q. Diggs was unable to improve, sending the title and the ring to the Atlanta native. “Oh man, this is great, I’m very excited,” Rivers added after the win.

Here’s a look at the results from the final table:

1. Christopher Rivers – $64,565
2. Matthew Diggs – $23,654
3. Greg Joslyn – $17,256
4. Ryan Moylan – $22,188
5. Jason “Bear” Alexander – $16,932
6. Don Huang – $13,033
7. Gregory Spurdis – $10,148
8. Geoff Desobry – $7,995
9. Chao Lin – $6,372

The $10,000 buy-in Regional Championship kicks off on December 19th from Harrah’s Atlantic City. The four-day flagship event will be nationally televised and is expected to draw several of the game’s top players.

All of the 11 events at Harrah’s Atlantic City count for the National Championship point system, which was implemented this year. One-hundred players will qualify for the season-ending televised WSOP Circuit National Championship at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, giving them a shot at a WSOP bracelet and a prize pool of $1,000,000. The full list of WSOP Circuit stops and qualifications for the 2010-11 WSOP Circuit National Championship can be found at WSOP.com. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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PartyCasino Wins Media Man Online Casino Of The Month Award

2010-11-12T02:52:00.001-08:00

PartyCasino.com Wins Media Man Online Casino Award

PartyCasino.com has been awarded the Media Man and Casino News Media "Online Casino Of The Month".

PartyGaming's igaming suite has grown a custom to winning awards since they first opened for business in 1997.

The competition for the coveted award was intense again this month with massive bids from both WPTCasino.com, Captain Cooks Casino, Virgin Casino, Betfair, PKR and Noble Casino however there can only be one winner... ladies and gentlemen, that's PartyCasino.com

The award follows PartyPoker's EGR Poker Operator Of The Year and PartyGaming also made the shortlist for EGR Operator Of The Year. Recently PartyGaming's PartyPoker.com also won the Casino News Media "Online Poker Website Of The Month".

The Media Man - Casino News Media accolade is based on a combination of elements including user experience, innovation, trustworthiness, customer service, gameplay, affiliate program offerings, newsworthiness and company values.

PartyCasino.com is one of a number of PartyGaming brands.

The most popular PartyCasino.com games of late include Heist, Circus, Rambo, Palladium Slot, The Godfather, Sinatra, Slotbox, Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Mission: Impossible, The Terminator, Cleopatra, Sinatra, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, The Amazing Spider-Man, Monopoly, Resident Evil, Melon Madness, Wheel Of Fortune and Mega Fortune Wheel.

The PartyCasino.com jackpot is currently approaching the $2 million mark. Players can also compete for The Big One and Marvel Hero Jackpot, playing the Marvel super hero themed online slot games.

PartyCasino's most recent game releases include Shaaark! SuperBet, Crocodopolis, Alice's Wonderland, Glamour Puss, Super Cubes, Heist, Palladium Slot and Circus Slot.

PartyGaming CEO Jim Ryan has gone on record advising PartyCasino will soon feature more Hollywood blockbuster themed slots. A few in the know journalists and media agents have been recently tipped off that an all time classic movie adaption will be showcased in the PartyCasino portfolio within 1 month. PartyCasino has the world's most impressive line up of Hollywood themed games, and more are just around the corner.

PartyCasino.com and PartyPoker.com customers can also benefit from rewards and bonuses via PartyPoints and the Palladium Lounge. Be certain to check out the PartyCasino exclusive "Cash Machine" that is being championed as one of the greatest online casino promos ever.

Media Man, Casino News Media and Global Gaming Directory do have a b2b relationship with PartyGaming, as they do with dozens of other companies in the gaming, igaming, media and entertainment industry.

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2010-10-24T21:18:00.000-07:00

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World Series of Poker Main Event Begins Airing on ESPN Poker News Daily - 11th August 2010

2010-08-16T02:38:00.000-07:00

World Series of Poker Main Event Begins Airing on ESPN

On Tuesday night, the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event began airing on ESPN with a pair of one-hour episodes highlighting Days 1A and 1B. A stirring introduction by reigning Main Event champ Joe Cada touted the feature table as “the table where dreams come true.”

The first one-hour episode covered Day 1A of the Main Event, with a feature table that included Full Tilt Poker pro Mike Matusow and bracelet winner Jason Lester. Every player received 30,000 in chips and Matusow donned an “I Am McLovin” shirt for his kickoff day. “The Mouth” has recorded four top 100 finishes and two final tables in the Main Event since 2001. Christopher Mintz-Plasse, who plays McLovin in the movie “Superbad,” turned 21 two weeks prior to the Main Event kicking off this year.

Out in the field were a variety of pros, including former Main Event champs Bobby Baldwin, Chris Moneymaker, and Greg Raymer, the latter of whom doubled up John Bennett with top pair against a set. The hand dropped Raymer to just 1,200 in chips and he was later eliminated with pocket eights all-in pre-flop. Raymer, who gave the Day 1A “Shuffle up and deal” command, signed over his signature fossil and departed the Amazon Room at the Rio in Las Vegas.

Ted Forrest, in the midst of competing in a $2 million weight loss prop bet against Matusow, doubled up and, over at Table 2, eight-time bracelet winner Erik Seidel tangled with Taylor Larkin. Seidel 3bet to 2,325 with A-6 and Larkin, holding A-K, made it 6,500. Seidel responded by 5betting to 17,000, or over half of the starting stack, and Larkin moved all-in for 17,000 more. Seidel thought briefly before laying his hand down.

Hands featuring Scott Seiver, Isaac Haxton, Peter “Nordberg” Feldman, Dallas Mavericks star Shawn Marion, and Abe Mosseri were shown and, back at the feature table, ESPN displayed Matusow’s vital stats. “The Mouth” boasted a VPIP (Voluntarily Put Money into the Pot) of 32% and an Aggression Factor of 40%. However, he promptly dropped half of his stack to former World Poker Tour Southern Poker Championship winner Allen “AawwNutz” Carter when he whiffed on a diamond flush draw.

After T.J. Cloutier and Ray Romano were shown the door, Matusow followed suit by running top pair into Carter’s middle set. Just prior, a dealer error had resulted in Matusow’s dealt ace being exposed. After looking at his other hole card, which was also an ace, Matusow became quite perturbed.

The second episode profiled Day 1B of the 2010 WSOP Main Event. The feature table hosted Gavin Smth and Ivan Demidov, while Table 2 sported 2007 WSOP Europe Main Event champ Annette Obrestad, who was playing in her first WSOP Main Event on U.S. soil. Obrestad’s run featured multiple exclamations of “So sick,” as she flopped a boat and ran into a higher boat in one hand. Then, Obrestad doubled up with pocket nines after check-raising all-in on a 10-high board. She received a call from an opponent with pocket jacks, but hit a nine on the turn to stay alive.

Former UB.com pro Liv Boeree, cancer survivor Thuy Doan, and Erick Lindgren’s better half Erica Schoenberg were all in the field. The comment of the night belonged to ESPN commentator Norman Chad, who introduced Schoenberg as follows: “Like me, she is a former model and personal trainer.” Lindgren hit the rail immediately after Chad’s intro, raising all-in on the flop with a flush draw against a player with two pair. Lindgren hit his flush on the turn, but his opponent rivered a full house.

Elsewhere in the field were Jean-Robert Bellande, Unabomber Poker pro Phil Laak, and Deepstacks instructor Tristan “Cre8ive” Wade. At the feature table, Smith doubled up after check-raising all-in with middle set on a flop of 7-9-Q. Smith turned a full house and the river was no help to his opponent.

The exits of Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, Joe Sebok, Jennifer Tilly, and Boeree on Day 1B were highlighted. Then, Obrestad moved all-in less the chip protecting her cards with A-J on a flop of 2-2-9. Two-time bracelet winner Chris Bjorin called with pocket queens. A jack hit on the turn and an eight came on the river, sending Obrestad into the Las Vegas night. The internet whiz finished with four cashes and no final tables in the 2010 WSOP.

Action from the Main Event continues next Tuesday on ESPN at 8:00pm ET. Once again, two one-hour episodes will air. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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PKR Poker And PKR Casino Promotions Updated

2010-08-08T05:01:00.000-07:00

PKR Poker And PKR Casino Promotions Updated

New PKR.com players get up to $800 sign up bonus

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Australian Poker Players WSOP Update, by Greg Tingle - 14th July 2010

2010-07-13T19:03:00.001-07:00

Readers, Aussie's are having a go in the World Series of Poker. At time of publication Shane Warne is out, as is Joe Hachem, but Jeff Fenech, former boxer, is is still alive. Media Man and Gambling911 track the Australian kangaroos hoping through the WSOP tournament...

3 time world champion boxer Jeff Fenech ("The Marrickville Mauler)" has made it to day 3 in the $10,000 main event. Fenech has outlasted team mate and fellow Aussie Shane Warne, as well as the 2005 World Champion, Joe Hachem. Hachem will have a bit to write about in his weekly The Age poker column, and must be rooting on Fenech.

Fenech finished day 2 in the main event on 66,000 chips with his game play matching that of a boxer - his aggression on the table seems to have paid off and gave the spectators a good show. Fenech said "I knocked 2 people out yesterday, and they didn't get a mark on them!" His position on day 2 puts him at 659 out of the 1296 players who played that day.

Australian cricket legend, Shane Warne aka "The Spin King" has crashed out of the Series of Poker.

The cards didn't fall his way... out after reaching day 2 of the tournament. He was pissed off Warnie Tweeted "Absolutely steaming just got knocked out of day 2, had KQ flop came K,2,5 guy checked I bet he moved all in, called he had aces, horror! Want to kick the cat as I walk into my hotel room no cat, so kicked bed, ouch got the leg, now in pain, mentally and physically!! Horror."

Aussie Joe Hachem Table Gossip On Seat 9...

Hachem's table got a buzz with an up and coming mystery man making waves.

"How many rivers are you gonna give this kid? Every time, it’s on the river," said Hachem, who later called. The player didn’t have the straight, but did have two-pair, good enough to take the pot. Hachem dropped to 25,000. That's poker. More details soon.

Aussie Millions On American TV...

Last years Aussie Millions are running on the GSN television network. Some Aussie's are getting minor coverage, but its good exposure for James Packer's Crown Casino in Melbourne, home of the Aussie Millions Poker Championship.

GSN - Saturdays at 9pm and 12am and Sundays at 12am

Stay tuned for more updates.

Gambling911 Poker Profile
http://www.gambling911.com/poker.html

Wrap Up...

Great to see the Aussie having a go in Vegas. Fenech, keep boxing mate. Warnie, easy on the cats or the RSPCA and PETA will be after you, and Hachem, get back to The Age... they need you mate... start mixing more poker, politics and legal. Let's keep the Gillard VS Abbott election match up honest. Have fun and keep it legal.

*The writer is a special contributor for Gambling911

*Media Man is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. Gaming is just one of a bakers dozen of sectors they cover.

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7,319 Players Enter Second Largest WSOP Main Event in History - 9th July 2010

2010-07-11T06:00:00.001-07:00

7,319 players stormed the Rio All Suites Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas for the first four Day Ones of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, making it the second largest tournament in the history of the 41 year old institution.

To put this year’s tournament in perspective, only the 2006 WSOP Main Event and its 8,773 player field – held prior to the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in the United States later that year – eclipsed the number of players accommodated by the Rio this year. While this year’s Main Event is the second largest tournament in history, the first place prize will not be the second largest in history. Due to the flattened payout structure instituted by Harrah’s and WSOP officials last year, this year’s winner will receive $8,994,138, the third largest payday behind 2006 champion Jamie Gold’s $12 million and 2008 victor Peter Eastgate’s $9,152,416.

Day 1D was by far the largest of the four Day Ones held., as 2,391 players stepped up to take their shot at winning poker’s most cherished championship. Day 1D vastly outpaced the three previous Day Ones (1,125, 1,489, and 2,314 players, respectively), leaving poker fans around the Pavilion and Amazon Rooms of the Rio scrambling to search for their favorite pros.

Former Dallas Cowboy great and Pro Football Hall of Fame member Emmitt Smith issued the call to “shuffle up and deal” before stepping to the felt himself, decked in Full Tilt Poker regalia. Although he made it through the first break, the all-time leading rusher in NFL history didn’t last long at the tables. Joining him on the rail were such professional players as Ante Up For Africa champion Phil Gordon, John Kabbaj, Pamela Brunson, 2005 WSOP final table duo Joseph Hachem and Steve Dannenmann, John Juanda, Sorel Mizzi, and Noah Boeken.

According to statistics from the WSOP website, 1,699 players survived the carnage of the final Day One of the 2010 WSOP, with several notable professionals stepping up to the top of the leaderboard. WSOP bracelet holder Steve “MrSmokey1” Billirakis was able to capture the lead of Day 1D by finishing off the night with 187,150 chips. He is closely pursued by Khamsy Nuanmanee, a 24 year old player from Las Vegas who thrilled the crowd around the Rio with her run up to 170,525 in chips. Others trailing behind this duo on Day 1D include David Benyamine (130,800), Team PokerStars pro Vanessa Rousso (111,050), 2010 bracelet winner Matt Keikoan (105,175), Josh Arieh (103,650), Jason Mercier (90,525), and 2010 WSOP Player of the Year contender Frank Kassela (87,000).

The remaining 5,129 players in the 2010 WSOP Main Event will now proceed to play over the next two days. Days 1A and 1C will be hitting the felt Friday afternoon for Day 2A, with roughly 2,400 players scheduled to meet again for battle. Corwin Cole looks to be the overall leader for the four Day Ones with 228,200 in chips, but there are a host of challengers that await him in the Top Ten of Day 2A alone.

Sitting in fourth place at the start of Day 2A is the last man to win back-to-back WSOP Main Event titles, Johnny Chan, stacked with 163,700 in chips, top female professional Lauren Kling (149,650) in seventh, Hendon Mobster Barny Boatman (144,050) in eighth, and $50,000 Player’s Championship winner Michael Mizrachi holding down the tenth place slot with his 142,650 in chips. Others who will be looking to move up the leaderboard on Day 2A include Hoyt Corkins (129,150), defending WSOP Europe Main Event champion Barry Shulman (113,325), recent PokerStars signee David Williams (112,225) and former World Champion Chris Moneymaker (107,425).

After play today and Saturday, the field should be cut down to roughly 2,500 survivors. The WSOP Main Event will then take a break on Sunday before bringing the remaining warriors back for action on Monday. Then, players will attempt to reach 747th place, the first position that will be paid at this year’s Main Event.

(Credit: Poker News Daily)

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2010-07-03T18:34:00.001-07:00

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PartyPoker Sponsors TV show

2010-07-02T05:14:00.000-07:00

PartyPoker Sponsors TV show

GIBRALTAR - (PRESS RELEASE) - 28th June 2010 - PartyPoker is proud to sponsor the new season of 'The Poker Show with Jesse May,' with the first one hour show being broadcast on Wednesday 30th June and available to download from 12pm. The Matchroom Sport produced show is available to download on the PartyPoker.com blog and through ITunes every Wednesday and Sunday throughout July. To mark the new sponsorship the guests for the opening show will be Team PartyPoker.com's Mike Sexton, Tony G and Kara Scott.

After each of the first eight scheduled shows there will be an exclusive $5+1 tournament on PartyPoker.com every Thursday and Monday (under the specials tab). Winners of each of the eight tournaments go into a final freeroll on Sunday 1st August where the winner will get a seat for the televised Main Event of the WPT London Poker Classic, which runs from 30th August – 4th September (value of £5,000). The tournaments are password protected and the passwords will be available through listening to the show and joining the mailing list. There are also exclusive great value bonuses for new and existing PartyPoker.com customers available through the show.

Jesse May said: "I'm very excited about the new format. The last three seasons have been trial and error but I think we have cracked the formula. The key words are big names and fast paced – the strength of the show has always been all the great contacts we have in the poker world but now we think we are coming to something that the listeners will love hearing rather than just the people we interview."

Shortly after the opening show Jesse flies out to Las Vegas to join the thick of the action at the WSOP and the second instalment of the series will be online on Sunday 4th July. Further shows with exclusive content from Vegas will be available on the 7th, 11th, 14th, 18th, 21st and 25th July before the show takes a brief break for Jesse to get his breath back. The show returns on Sunday August 29 to build up to the WPT and WSOPE coming to London. The one hour episodes then continue to be posted online every Wednesday and Sunday until the final show of the series on Wednesday September 29.

The Poker Show with Jesse May has run for three series - beginning in April 2009 and finishing in May this year.

PartyGaming's principle brands include PartyPoker.com, PartyCasino.com and World Poker Tour

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2010-06-29T20:48:00.000-07:00

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PartyPoker: WSOP for Life - 2nd June 2010

2010-06-06T21:03:00.000-07:00

To coincide with the start of the 2010 Word Series of Poker, PartyPoker recently launched their WSOP for Life promotion.The prize up for grabs is exactly what it sounds like: paid entry to the World Series of Poker Main Event for life (which, for the purposes of this promotion, is 20 years).

The details of the giveaway state that one WSOP for Life package will be exclusively available to Bronze, Silver, and Gold level players who will be tracked in a leaderboard challenge. From May 24th to June 20th, all qualified players have the opportunity to accumulate points through regular tournament, sit-and-go, and cash game play. The player with the highest point total when the contest closes will be awarded a Main Event seat for the next 20 years.

Additionally, there will be a total of thee WSOP for Life packages and $50,000 in cash will be given away in a WSOP for Life prize tournament on June 2oth. Entry to this must-play tournament can be achieved by direct buy-in, freeroll, or STT jackpot.

A PartyPoker spokesperson echoed the excitement surrounding the promotion, saying, “WSOP fever is here! There were over 81,000 entries into qualifiers during the first week of WSOP For Life. The regular and VIP leaderboard races are already being tightly fought. The pacesetters amongst the main leaderboard race appear to be Heino74, killedyouu and NeX111, while in the Palladium Lounge VIP challenge the early lead goes to TERMiNATOR1, closely followed by x_AK_47_x in a very open race with everything to play for.”

(Credit: Poker News Daily)

41st Annual World Series of Poker kicks off tomorrow at The Rio - 27th May 2010

2010-06-06T20:57:00.000-07:00

Poker players from around the world in record numbers arrive today for tomorrow’s start of the 41st Annual World Series of Poker. WSOP champion and poker legend Doyle Brunson will play in the first of 57 gold bracelet events late afternoon tomorrow in the $50,000 Shuffle Up and Deal Players Championship.

It’s the most expensive buy-in to ever open the WSOP and will feature an eight-game HORSE format over four days. Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Scotty Nguyen, Mike Matusow, Chris Ferguson and Jennifer Harman are among the stars expected to play tomorrow.

Defending WSOP champion Joe Cada plays at noon Saturday when thousands of poker players and fans descend on The Rio for the $1,000 buy-in event. There are so many competitors that it will take two days to seat all of them.

The Main Event starts July 5 with the Final Table of the world’s Top Nine players reached by July 17. Those winners will return to The Rio as the November Nine on Nov. 8 for the live primetime coverage to crown the $10 million winner on ESPN.

The one day off in tournament play is July 4 for the celebrity charity Ante Up for Africa hosted by actor Don Cheadleand poker princess Annie Duke. Celebrities are set to jet in from Hollywood to play.

In advance of the record numbers expected, The Rio execs for the first time have turned over the entire convention center to WSOP. Tournament tables are being pushed into final position today in the 58,000-square-foot Pavilion and 38,000-square-foot Amazon Room. Every table is expected to be filled with poker players.

“We are planning for the largest WSOP ever,” said tournament director Jack Effel, who oversees the event for the fifth consecutive year. “Whatever your game and whatever your bankroll, the WSOP schedule offers something for everyone.”

Last year, some 60,875 entries from 115 countries competed for more than $174 million. This year, WSOP officials are expecting to top that record with 20 percent more tables in play over last year’s 295!

A bracelet will be awarded to each winner of the 57 official tournaments, and for the first time no two will be alike. Jewelry designer Steve Soffa was assigned the task by On Tilt Designs, who also have created a collection of poker-themed watches, rings and pendants for fans and players who dream of winning gold bracelets and getting their names in history books like 11-time winner Phil Hellmuth.

Each bracelet ceremony will be held the day after an event concludes, and Steve’s team will engrave the winner’s name into the back of the faceplate. They are made from 14K solid gold with the four card suits in rubies and black diamonds surrounded by princess and round cut diamonds. The Main Event bracelet is 6 ounces of gold and feature 550 handset diamonds weighing 4 carats!

Vegas DeLuxe will cover celebrity events and play for the Main Event, so check back often now that tournament play is about to begin!

(Credit: Las Vegas Weekly)

Poker News Media: Theo Jorgensen Wins WPT Grand Prix de Paris - 16th May 2010

2010-05-17T01:08:00.001-07:00

World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Theo Jorgensen came out on top in the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Grand Prix de Paris on Saturday. Jorgensen, who once defeated Full Tilt Poker pro Gus Hansen in a boxing match, banked €633,000 from the €10,000 buy-in tournament. Jorgensen entered the final table as the chip leader.

A total of 247 players turned out for the Grand Prix de Paris and, when the smoke cleared, eight reached this weekend’s final table. Among those who sought poker glory in Paris and coughed up the €10,000 entry fee were November Nine member and Everest Poker pro Antoine Saout, Andrew Feldman, Aussie Millions Main Event winner Tyron Krost, Men “The Master” Nguyen, and PokerStars pro Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier.

Jimmy Ostensson was the final table’s first casualty, bowing out when his wired pair of nines could not hold up against the A-6 of Fabrice Touil. The flop came J-4-K, but a running A-6 sent Ostensson out of the Aviation Club and looking for a taxi on the world-famous Champs-Elysées.

Seventh place at the Grand Prix de Paris went to Arnaud Mattern, who picked an inopportune time to shove with A-Q, as Antoine Amourette picked up pocket rockets. Mattern, who won the 2007 European Poker Tour (EPT) Prague stop, picked up €82,000. Nourredine Aïtaleb was the next to go. Aïtaleb shoved with A-J, but ran into Per Linde’s pocket queens. Linde, who finished 13th in April’s EPT San Remo Main Event, was once one out away from elimination in Paris.

In the defining pot of the Grand Prix de Paris, Jorgensen doubled up at the expense of Amourette with pocket kings against pocket sevens. The board ran out 5-4-5-10-3 and Jorgensen scooped a 3.3 million chip pot, the largest of the tournament at the time. Amourette quickly doubled up to stave off being the Grand Prix de Paris’ fifth place finisher, a distinction that went to Touil, who committed his chips pre-flop with A-8. Jorgensen called with J-8, but spiked a jack on the turn to shrink the field even further.

Mikhael Guenni woke up with pocket fives when his stack amounted to just five big blinds, but ran into Jorgensen’s pocket nines and could not improve. Linde was the next to go. Short-stacked, he pushed all-in with a paltry 7-5 and failed to draw out on Jorgensen’s K-J. Jorgensen flopped a straight and never looked back, sending Linde home €234,000 richer for his wear.

Heads-up play spanned all of three hands. In the final pot, Amourette was all-in with K-6 and up against Jorgensen’s A-K. The board ran out 6-J-4-A-5 and Jorgensen claimed his first WPT title. The tournament marked Jorgensen’s first top 20 finish in a WPT event. His bracelet came in 2008 during the WSOP Europe festivities, where he outlasted a field of 165 players in a £5,000 Pot Limit Omaha event for £218,000. Jorgensen defeated Titan Poker pro Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi heads-up for his WSOP title in a final table that also included Erik Friberg, Max Pescatori, Chris Ferguson, and Jason Mercier.

Here were the final table results from the WPT Grand Prix de Paris:

1. Theo Jorgensen – 633,902
2. Antoine Amourette – 328,690
3. Per Linde – 234,780
4. Mickael Guenni – 187,825
5. Fabrice Touil – 140,870
6. Nourredine Aïtaleb – 93,910
7. Arnaud Mattern – 82,175
8. Jimmy Ostensson – 70,435

Kicking off on Wednesday is the WPT Spanish Championship, which will emanate from Casino Barcelona. The €3,500 tournament crowns a winner on May 23rd and preliminary events begin on Monday. In June 2009, Mark Flowers defeated Per Sjogren in the finale of the WPT Spanish Championship, which attracted a field of 160 players. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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Poker News: WSOP® For Life - Your seat at the WSOP® for 2010 and beyond - PartyPoker News

2010-05-12T02:55:00.000-07:00

Gibraltar – 11th May 2010 - PartyPoker.com is delighted to introduce its fabulous and unique new promotion, WSOP® for Life! This unbelievable package is every poker player’s dream prize as they don’t have to worry about qualifying for the Main Event anymore - they receive a Main Event package for life!* As an extra bonus for 2010, PartyPoker.com even pays the travel, accommodation and spending money for this year’s Las Vegas extravaganza! **

A PartyPoker.com spokesman said: “We’ve got two WSOP® For Life packages to give away and we’re making them available to all players via a leader board challenge and a tournament. Normally, the chance to take part in the WSOP Main Event is a once in lifetime opportunity but with this you have a Main Event package guaranteed for life.”

PartyPoker.com ambassador Mike Sexton said: “I think WSOP® For Life is a really great idea – I have been playing the Main Event for most of my life! I just wish I had the opportunity to qualify for this but, unfortunately, I am exempt!”

One WSOP® for Life package will be available through the exciting leader board challenge, open exclusively to Bronze, Silver and Gold level players. The aim for a customer is to boost their position by earning points through regular poker play from 24th May to 20th June. The more points a player earns, the higher they will climb. The player that ranks first when the challenge finishes will be given a WSOP® for Life package. There are also three WSOP® 2010 packages on offer as well as $50,000 in cash prizes:

There is also a WSOP® for Life prize tournament on 20th June. First place is a WSOP® for Life package but there are also three WSOP® 2010 packages and $50,000 in prizes to be won. Entry can be gained by freeroll, direct buy-in and through STT Jackpot. Full information on all routes and terms and conditions can be found at: PartyPoker.com

* For the purposes of this WSOP® for Life promotion, the term ‘Life’ shall mean up to 20 years.
** From 2011 onwards we will fund the Winner’s buy-in to the WSOP® Main Event (or a portion of the Winner’s buy-in to the WSOP® main event) up to a maximum sum of $10,000 per annum. In the event the buy-in increases, then the winner shall be responsible for any extra costs.

“World Series of Poker”® and “WSOP”® are registered trade marks of Harrah’s License Company LLC. No license, affiliation, sponsorship or endorsement is claimed, or should be inferred from the use of these trademarks here. PartyGaming is not licensed by or otherwise affiliated with Harrah’s License Company LLC or the World Series of Poker®, in any way.

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WSOP - PartyPoker News: The Million Dollar Hand Returns In May! Over $175,000 Extra Up For Grabs For Palladium Lounge Members

2010-04-30T00:17:00.000-07:00

Gibraltar – 29th April 2010 - The Million Dollar Hand at PartyPoker.com is back! The popular promotion runs from Tuesday 4th May until Tuesday 23rd May. The Million Dollar Hand offers the chance to win a cool $1 million or even more! Players at PartyPoker.com’s real money tables will get a playing card for every 15 PartyPoints they earn during this period and will receive a prize when they’ve built a five-card hand. There’s a guaranteed cash prize if the hand features a pair or better – a royal flush will pay $1 million!

There is no limit on the number of royal flushes that can be hit and the promotion starts with players getting their first card for free. This card will be available in a player’s PartyAccount on Tuesday 4th May. Points are not removed from player accounts following the promotion – they all count towards Palladium Lounge targets.

PartyPoker.com: ‘The Million Dollar Hand’ 4th – 23rd May 2010 - Prize Structure

Royal flush $1,000,000

Straight flush $10,000

Four of a kind $1,000

Full house $150

Flush $100

Straight $50

Three of a kind $20

Two pair $10

One pair $3

Players will only be able to reveal a maximum of two hands per day across the whole of the promotion period. All players have to go to their Party Account to reveal their cards; any unrevealed card/hand will not be taken into account. Full terms and conditions can be found at PartyPoker.com.

More information can be found at: PartyPoker.com

A PartyPoker.com spokesman said: “The Million Dollar Hand is back! As Mike Sexton says ‘May all your cards be live and your pots be monsters!’ Thousands of cards are set to be revealed from Tuesday 4th May. The question remains – will the big one hit this time around? We’ve seen straight flushes and scared the insurers but nobody has hit the royal…yet! The Million Dollar Hand also provides amazing extra value for members of the Palladium Lounge through the VIP Race.”

For members of the Palladium Lounge there is a brilliant value Million Dollar Hand VIP Race with more than $175,000 and $13,000 WSOP packages up for grabs. All Palladium Lounge members have to do is earn cards through the Million Dollar Hand as normal and for every one pair or better, in addition to the normal cash prizes, they will earn points which contribute towards the race. For more information see: PartyPoker.com

World Series of Poker”® and “WSOP”®, WSOPE”® are registered trade marks of Harrah’s License Company LLC. No license, affiliation, sponsorship, or endorsement is claimed, or should be inferred from the use of these trademarks here. PartyGaming is not licensed by or otherwise affiliated with Harrah’s License Company LLC or the World Series of Poker®, in any way.

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WSOP Releases Top 20 Tournament of Champions Vote-Getters

2010-04-18T05:48:00.000-07:00

On Friday, World Series of Poker (WSOP) officials released the top 20 vote-getters for the 2010 Tournament of Champions, which will be played in an all-star game format. The list predictably features some of the top names in poker.

The top three bracelet winners in WSOP history would make their way to Las Vegas to play in the 2010 Tournament of Champions if voting closed today. Phil Hellmuth appears on the list of the top 20 vote-getters and leads the industry with 11 bracelets. Hellmuth has more than $6 million in career WSOP earnings, but has been shut out of the bracelet podium since 2007, when he took down a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em tournament for $637,000. Also appearing in the top 20 are Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan, who hold 10 WSOP bracelets each, tied for the second most overall.

A total of $1 million will be up for grabs in the Tournament of Champions, which will see 27 players take to the felts on June 27th at the Rio. Five players have qualified automatically for the prestigious event, including Joe Cada and Barry Shulman, who won the 2009 WSOP Main Event and WSOP Europe Main Event, respectively. The three previous winners of the Tournament of Champions events also received automatic bids: Annie Duke (2004), Mike Matusow (2005), and Mike Sexton (2006). Two more spots in the 2010 version will be awarded to qualifiers, although WSOP officials have not announced how players can enter. The tournament will be carried on ESPN.

Only three WSOP Main Event champions since 2000 appear in the top 20 vote-getters: Chris Ferguson (2000), Greg Raymer (2004), and Joe Hachem (2005). Curiously absent is Chris Moneymaker, widely considered to be the man who ignited the modern poker boom after winning the $10,000 buy-in tournament in 2003. A total of 250,000 votes have been cast so far and fans of the game who have not yet weighed in can do so anytime before June 15th at Midnight ET.

Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment Vice President Ty Stewart, who was a recent guest on the UB.com sponsored poker news show “Poker2Nite,” commented in a press release, “The poker community has rallied behind this event and judging by the results thus far, hosting a tournament with a field such as this would be a tremendous event. Saying that, the voting is so tight and close and with two months of voting to go, we can see this list changing dramatically between now and June 15th.”

Only one woman appears in the top 20 vote-getters for the 2010 WSOP Tournament of Champions, Full Tilt Poker’s Jennifer Harman. She’s a two-time WSOP bracelet winner and one of the industry’s top ambassadors. Harman is fresh off holding her annual fundraiser benefiting the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and, along with Barry Greenstein, has long been associated with the world of charity.

Also lobbying hard, but not making the current top 20, is Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad, the 2007 WSOP Europe Main Event champion. Obrestad had been camped out in Las Vegas tuning up for the 2010 WSOP, which kicks off on May 28th. She also revealed that she may head to Monaco for the European Poker Tour (EPT) Monte Carlo Grand Final, but will enter the $25,000 World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship first. The WPT Championship kicks off on Sunday from the Bellagio.

Also noticeably absent from the list are the game’s “young guns,” who include Obrestad, Jason Mercier, Brandon Cantu, and Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin. Here are the top 20 vote getters for the 2010 WSOP Tournament of Champions as of Friday. WSOP officials posted the list in alphabetical order:

Doyle Brunson
Johnny Chan
T.J. Cloutier
Allen Cunningham
Antonio Esfandiari
Sam Farha
Chris Ferguson
Barry Greenstein
Joe Hachem
Jennifer Harman
Dan Harrington
Phil Hellmuth
Phil Ivey
John Juanda
Howard Lederer
Daniel Negreanu
Scotty Nguyen
Greg Raymer
Huck Seed
Erik Seidel

Voters can select up to 20 bracelet winners using an online ballot.

(Credit: Poker News Daily)

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Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment Launch Bingo Website - 8th March 2010

2010-03-08T21:48:00.001-08:00

LAS VEGAS/LONDON, U.K., - Harrah's Interactive Entertainment, Inc. , a subsidiary of Harrah's Entertainment, Inc., today officially launches Caesars Bingo Online available to UK residents only at www.caesarsbingo.com

The new Caesars Bingo site will offer the UK's only Las Vegas Bingo with a full complement of casino games including exciting slots, roulette, blackjack and baccarat. Caesars Bingo Online will use the latest Gamesys technology to provide a best in class game platform, branded by the world's largest gaming company. UK residents can now play the new browser-based online gaming product at www.caesarsbingo.com. Both free-to-play and real money play options are available.

"We're thrilled to bring one of the world's most renowned gaming brands to UK residents with Caesars Bingo Online," said HIE CEO Mitch Garber. "CaesarsBingo.com will bring players the fun and excitement found in our casinos in addition to offering exclusive Caesars Palace Las Vegas prize packages."

Gamesys will provide a highly advanced, innovative software platform to power Caesars Bingo Online, along with gaming operations, customer service and payment solutions.

"Harrah's and Gamesys has to be a dream relationship," explains Gamesys founder and CEO Noel Hayden. "Caesars is one of the most prestigious and famous brands in Las Vegas and Gamesys is well known for its innovative technology and games. We're understandably extremely happy to be launching one of the UK's most exciting Bingo sites."

Founded in 2001, Gamesys is one of the UK's foremost private companies, having been named in the prestigious Microsoft/Sunday Times Tech Track 100, which identifies the fastest-growing private technology companies. In 2006, Gamesys ranked 1st on this list, and has remained on the list every year since. It owns Jackpotjoy, the UK's most popular entertainment brand. In addition, its bingo product has won the Bingo Operator of the Year Award from eGaming Review.

Caesars Bingo Online will offer terrific prizes, jackpots, bonuses and promotions. From trips to the famed Empire Casino in London, to all-expense paid trips to the iconic Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, players playing on Caesars Bingo Online will enjoy a wide variety and unique offerings only found on this site.

Caesars Bingo Online brings the customer service excellence, technological expertise and the unparalleled integrity of Harrah's Entertainment into the online world. CaesarsBingo.com is committed to providing the bingo and casino entertainment quality and value expected from any of Harrah's Entertainment resorts. In addition to this commitment for our online guests, CaesarsBingo.com is dedicated to ensuring the utmost level of trust and internet security available in online gaming.

This is not the first time Harrah's has been involved in the UK market. Harrah's hosts the annual World Series of Poker Europe, now entering its fourth year, held each September in London at the Empire Casino. In addition, Harrah's owns London Clubs International, Inc. (LCI), a series of 10 casinos throughout the United Kingdom.

ABOUT HARRAH'S INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT, INC. (HIE)

Harrah's Entertainment launched a new subsidiary, Harrah's Interactive Entertainment (HIE) in May of 2009, to manage the global growth of its World Series of Poker brand and explore the use of interactive gaming technologies to expand the reach of Harrah's brands globally, starting in Europe. HIE will be utilized to develop new opportunities to strengthen and grow Harrah's customer base. HIE offers both free-to-play and real money gaming to UK residents under the WSOP.com, CaesarsBingo.com and CaesarsCasino.com brand names.

HARRAH'S ENTERTAINMENT, INC. Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. is the world's largest provider of branded casino entertainment. Since its beginning in Reno, Nevada, more than 70 years ago, Harrah's has grown through development of new properties, expansions and acquisitions, and now owns or manages casinos on four continents. The Company's properties operate primarily under the Harrah's®, Caesars® and Horseshoe® brand names; Harrah's also owns the London Clubs International family of casinos and the World Series of Poker®. Harrah's Entertainment is focused on building loyalty and value with its customers through a unique combination of great service, excellent products, unsurpassed distribution, operational excellence and technology leadership. For more information, please visit www.harrahs.com

ABOUT THE GAMESYS GROUP

The Gamesys Group was founded by Noel Hayden in April 2001 with a small team of developers. After eight years, the Group's leading brand Jackpotjoy.com has built an audience of over 3,000,000 members and pays out in excess of £90 million every month. In 2008 Gamesys formed a highly successful partnership with News International to re-launch two premier gaming bingo brands, Sun Bingo and News of the World Bingo. The success of Jackpotjoy.com and Sun Bingo has established the Gamesys Group as one of the UK's leading online gaming businesses. This outstanding commercial achievement reflects both the company's capacity for sustainable growth and its remarkable resilience even during sustained periods of financial instability. Caesars Bingo Online is licensed and operated by Entertaining Play Limited. Entertaining Play Limited, a subsidiary of Gamesys, regulated by the Gibraltar Licensing Authority under the provisions of the Gibraltar Gambling Ordinance.

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2010-03-07T03:45:00.000-08:00

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PartyPoker, World Poker Tour and PartyGaming News, by Greg Tingle - March 2010

2010-03-03T20:49:00.001-08:00

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PartyGaming's PartyPoker and World Poker Tour brands Huge News And Promotions Month

WSOP Qualifiers Underway At PartyPoker

Gibraltar – 3rd March 2010 PartyPoker.com is giving its customers the chance to play at the World Series of Poker® in Las Vegas for free. That’s right: win a $14,000 WSOP® package to the most famous poker event on the planet for absolutely nothing!

PartyPoker.com has just introduced a comprehensive range of qualifiers for the showpiece in Las Vegas, starting with irresistible daily freerolls. The qualifiers are online now and run until 13th June. The main $700+$50 satellites take place every Friday at 18.00ET and Sunday at 15.35ET, where one in 20 players will win a $14,000 WSOP package.

A PartyPoker.com spokesman said: “A comprehensive schedule of qualifiers for packages are now online. PartyPoker.com is offering more seriously cost effective ways to qualify for the WSOP than ever before. It doesn’t get much better than winning a package for absolutely nothing!”

All winners will be rewarded with a prize package worth $14,000. Each package includes:

$10,000 WSOP® main event buy-in
$2,000 spending money
Hotel accommodation and hospitality

All package winners will also be invited to join our exclusive WSOP® poker seminar when they get to Vegas. If they attend, they’ll receive expert advice, tuition and tips from Team Party, which includes successful players like Mike Sexton, Tony G, Kara Scott, Ian Frazer and other top pros.

Please note:

The main event at WSOP® 2010 will run from 5th to 17th July and be held in Las Vegas, USA

Players must be at least 21 years of age in order to be able to play at the WSOP®

Prize packages are non transferable and no cash alternative is available. By playing for and winning one of our WSOP® packages you declare that you are able to travel to the event in question, including being able to obtain any and all documents required for travel to that destination

The PartyPoker.com poker seminar will be attended by at least one of PartyPoker.com’s Team Party group of professional players; attendance will be finalised closer to the date of the WSOP® depending on the pros’ individual schedules

Please see our standard promotional terms and conditions

“World Series of Poker”® and “WSOP”® are registered trade marks of Harrah’s License Company LLC. No license, affiliation, sponsorship or endorsement is claimed, or should be inferred from the use of these trademarks here. PartyGaming is not licensed by or otherwise affiliated with Harrah’s License Company LLC or the World Series of Poker® in any way.

PartyPoker Signs Italian Football Star Francesco Totti

PartyPoker has just enhanced its presence in the Italian online poker market after signing AS Roma captain and national football legend Francesco Totti to represent the famed poker site.

The Italian World Cup-winning footballer started playing for Roma’s senior side at the age of sixteen, and with 188 goals to his credit has now become the number-one goalscorer and most capped player in the club’s history. The 33 year-old Italy striker officially retired from international games on 20 July 2007 in order to concentrate his efforts with Roma but has since signalled he would be prepared to play at the 2010 World Cup Finals in South Africa, should he be needed.

As an official PartyPoker representative, Totti’s duties will include taking part in various advertising campaigns to promote the site, as well making celebrity appearances at PartyPoker.it online tournaments.

Following the news of his signing with PartyPoker, Francesco Totti said: “I have faced many challenges in my career and I always apply myself with skill, intelligence, loyalty and passion. You need all these abilities for poker and it is also a game that excites me and is a lot of fun. Thanks to PartyPoker.it, I am able to combine my passion for sport and the challenge of poker.”

PartyPoker seemed delighted with their new signing, and a PartyPoker spokesman commented: “We expect Totti to become the most capped player and number one goalscorer in our history. He is one of the greatest football players of his generation - the question is now will he be one of the greatest poker players of his generation too? What Totti strives for he normally succeeds in achieving! He is a huge signing.”

PartyPoker is a relative new comer to sponsoring professionals however has since made up for lost time, and has recently added poker pros Dragan Galic, Mike Sexton, Kara Scott, Tony G, Ian Frazer, Felipe “Mojave” Ramos, Bodo Sbrzesny and Remy Biechel to Team PartyPoker.

World Poker Tour Rake Race

$23,000 WPT Race on PartyPoker Top spot in the WPT Race Final awards a spectacular package to the WPT Grand Prix de Paris, from May 8 through 13 on the Champs Élysées at the Aviation Club de France!

The Gladiator

Gladiator promotion returns to PartyPoker. This time, the festivities run from March 3rd to April 1st and up to $7,500 in cold hard cash is on the line. The Gladiator’s payouts are based on the number of PartyPoints you rack up during the promotion on a daily basis. Accumulate 10 PartyPoints during just five days of the promotional period and you’ll gain entry into a high-stakes $10,000 freeroll. Players who earn 2,000 points for 25 days will be living the high life to the tune of a $7,500 cash prize.

There are $15,000 and $25,000 freerolls – both capped at 10,000 players – that will be held during the Gladiator promotion. Also up for grabs is a $12,500 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event package. Players who earn 2,000 points every day during the 30-day promotional event will jet set their way to Las Vegas to compete in the 2010 WSOP Main Event. The $12,500 package includes the tournament’s $10,000 buy-in, $1,000 in spending money, and hotel accommodation.

Points don’t have to be earned on consecutive days, so earn them at your leisure while you face off in the Coliseum against the Gladiator. PartyPoker’s website explains, “For example, if you earn 10 points every day for 10 days, take five days off, and then earn 10 points on 10 more days of the promotion, you’ll get the prize for earning 10 points on 20 days.” That feat would be worth $15 and comes your way as a cash prize courtesy of PartyPoker. You can log into your PartyPoker account to check your progress as the month continues.

Now, it’s time to explain the fine print. First, the Gladiator is an opt-in promotion. Players who win the WSOP package can exchange it for $10,000 in cash and those who head to Las Vegas are obligated to don PartyPoker gear while playing in the Main Event. Last year, PokerStars pro Joe jcada99 Cada banked a healthy $8.5 million after winning the Main Event, outlasting Maryland woodsman Darvin Moon heads-up.

PartyPoker, which does not currently accept players from the United States, is looking forward to the third running of its popular points-based contest: “The Gladiator is back and the rewards are greater than ever before. This promotion is about spreading play over a period of time for maximus rewards! It is simple and offers great value and we encourage players to challenge themselves and take a closer look.” During the Gladiator’s last running, Crown Casino Aussie Millions prize packages were up for grabs.

The Gladiator - more details

PartyPoker has announced the triumphant return of ‘The Gladiator’ and for one month only the popular online poker site will become a coliseum! As part of the promotion players can earn up to $7,500 in addition to WSOP (World Series of Poker) main event packages.

From 3rd March until 1st April who reaches the minimum target of 10 party points for five days will be able to claim entry into a $10,000 free roll. The more days a player wins points over the larger the prize will be, up to $7,500 cash!

Those most dedicated PartyPoker fans will be rewarded the most. For example if you earn 2,000 points everyday for the full 30 days, you’ll secure yourself a $12,500 WSOP Main Event package which includes: the buy-in, hotel, hospitality and spending money!

A PartyPoker spokesman said: “The Gladiator is back and the rewards are greater than ever before. This promotion is about spreading play over a period of time for maximus rewards! It is simple and offers great value and we encourage players to challenge themselves and take a closer look.”

What’s also ultra impressive is that players don’t even need to earn points on consecutive days to win big prizes. The site will simply count up the number of days targets have been made during the promotion. You can keep track of how many points you’ve picked up so far in ‘The Gladiator’ promotion by checking your Party Account. Points are not removed from player accounts after the promotion either; they all count towards Palladium Lounge targets.

Monthly Million

Also returning to PartyPoker is the Monthly Million, which will play out this Sunday, March 7th. The Monthly Million attracted a starting grid of 1,584 players in February, which means that it fell about $50,000 short of its $1 million guarantee. The tournament takes place on the first Sunday of every month.

Players receive a starting stack of 20,000 chips in the Monthly Million and the price of poker goes up every 20 minutes. Antes kick in during the sixth level of play, when the blinds are 250-500. Qualifiers for the Monthly Million are taking place continuously on PartyPoker and you can win your way in for as little as $1.

David Benyamine Wins PartyPoker Premier League IV - February 2010

Frenchman David Benyamine took down the fourth PartyPoker Premier League title, defeating embattled pro Luke “Full_Flush” Schwartz heads-up. Benyamine earned $476,000!

Team PokerStars Pro member Daniel Negreanu and Full Tilt's Roland de Wolfe qualified via heads-up matches for the six-handed final table. Negreanu outlasted J.C. Tran in his heads-up encounter, while de Wolfe bested PartyPoker pro Ian Frazer. At the final table, each player began with 10,000 chips for every point they had accrued during Premier League play. Consequently, Unabomber Poker frontman Phil Laak lead over the rest of the field with 480,000 chips, 100,000 ahead of Benyamine’s second place stack of 380,000.

After bleeding chips at the final table, however, including running a set into Negreanu’s flush, Laak was the first casualty. He called all-in pre-flop with pocket tens and was up against Benyamine’s A-K. An old fashioned race would determine the winner of the 300,000-chip pot and the flop came Q-4-2, keeping Laak’s wired pair in front. However, Benyamine spiked an ace on the turn to pull away for good.

Shortly thereafter, de Wolfe departed in fifth place from the PartyPoker Premier League IV final table. He committed his final 240,000 chips with A-J offsuit pre-flop and Negreanu came along with pocket nines. The flop came down K-9-3, giving Negreanu a set, and a seven on the turn left de Wolfe drawing dead. A meaningless ace hit on the river and de Wolfe exited stage right. The hand moved Negreanu into the chip lead with four players remaining.

Negreanu then ran pocket sevens into Schwartz’s pocket kings to drop down to 131,000 in chips. He’d hit the rail after pushing with Q-5 of clubs on a board of K-9-Q with two clubs. Benyamine called with K-9 for top two pair and the turn was another king, giving Benyamine the win in the hand with a boat. Negreanu took fourth place in the Premier League, which emanated from the M Casino in Vegas.

Third place went to the lone online qualifier, Giovanni Safina. The Italian put his money in ahead, as his A-7 was well in front of the K-3 of Schwartz. With the latter in a gambling mood, the flop came 5-Q-6, keeping Safina out in front. The turn was a jack, leaving Schwartz drawing to a king or three on the river. Sure enough, a three peeled off, sending Safina out and setting up a heads-up showdown between Benyamine and Schwartz. The latter entered as better than a 2:1 chip leader.

Benyamine doubled up early with K-10 against K-7 to climb back into the running. On the final hand, the money went into the center with Benyamine holding Q-8 against Schwartz’s Q-2 on a flop of Q-5-3. Schwartz pushed all-in and Benyamine tanked before finally making the call, leading to an eruption from the youngster. According to coverage found on PokerNews, Schwartz commented, "Why'd you slow roll? That's an easy call." The board filled out 7-6 and Benyamine took down the Premier League title.

Payouts were given for Premier League points and final table finishing position. Accordingly, the final PartyPoker Premier League IV shook out as follows:

1. David Benyamine - $476,000
2. Luke "Full_Flush" Schwartz - $258,000
3. Giovanni Safina - $158,000
4. Daniel Negreanu - $132,000
5. Roland de Wolfe - $114,000
6. Phil Laak - $146,000
7. Ian Frazer - $52,000
8. J.C. Tran - $40,000
9. Phil Hellmuth - $38,000
10. Yevgeniy "Jovial Gent" Timoshenko - $32,000
11. Vanessa Rousso - $32,000
12. Tony G - $22,000

Following his win in the unique tournament series, Benyamine told Matchroom Sport organizers, “It feels really good winning a title; I’m still not used to doing it. The whole time, I never thought about winning. I just wanted to do what I thought was right. I know people always say that when they win, but it’s true.”

PartyGaming

PartyGaming is the parent company of World Poker Tour which they purchased last financial year.

PartyGaming is widely regarded as the world's most successful igaming company and is listed on the London Stock Exchange. The company was established in 1997. PartyGaming's brands including PartyPoker, World Poker Tour and PartyCasino has won a number of industry awards and commendations from entities such as eGaming Review, Gambling Online Magazine, Casino News Media, Poker News Media and Media Man.

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2010 WSOP Rules Permit Twittering at the Table, by Tom Jenkins - 17th January 2010

2010-01-17T20:02:00.000-08:00

The official rules for the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) were handed down this week, with tournament organizers adopting a cell phone rule that permits text messaging and Twittering at the table.

All cell phones must be turned off during play. However, as the WSOP regulations note, “Players not involved in a hand (cards in muck) shall be permitted to text/email at the table, but shall not be permitted to text/email any other player at the table.” Twittering of chip counts and memorable hands were staples of the 2009 WSOP, when the social media outlet exploded in popularity. Even poker legends like 10-time bracelet winner Doyle Brunson have become engulfed in Twitter, with “Texas Dolly” now able to spit out additional blonde jokes while seated at the table of any 2010 WSOP event.

Any players who wish to talk on their cell phones must be at least one table length away from their seats while gabbing. Meanwhile, the WSOP logo policy in 2010 will remain the same as it was in 2009. No logo will be permitted that promotes drugs, handguns, lotteries, obscene material, pornography, libel, or “advertises any online gaming site that conducts business with U.S. residents.” Nearly every logo shown on ESPN television cameras in 2009 featured the dot-net version of the site’s URL. Meanwhile, Everest Poker, which had sponsored pro Antoine Saout at the final table of the 2010 Main Event, serves as the on-felt sponsor of the tournament series. Everest Poker does not accept players from the United States.

Posters on TwoPlusTwo were quick to critique the 2010 WSOP rules, which incorporated revisions made by the Tournament Directors Association. One point of contention concerned late registration. The rule reads, “Any player registering for an event after all initial tables allocated for that tournament have been filled will begin play at the start of the subsequent level.” In the WSOP Main Event, for example, that could mean a player sitting out as long as two hours, the length of one blind level.

Fans of UB.com poker bad boy Phil Hellmuth may see the 11-time bracelet winner show up on time in 2010 thanks to a rule that governs “no shows,” players who fail to show up by the start of the third level of play. The rule mandates, “These players will have their chips removed from play and will not be eligible to participate in that event. The buy-ins for ‘no shows’ will be removed from the prize pool and placed on safekeeping in that player’s name at the main WSOP registration cage after the second level of play.”

Some posters on TwoPlusTwo questioned whether the “no show” clause meant that if a player saw they had a tough table draw, they could simply un-register by not showing up. Member “pineapple888” explained the dilemma: “It seems like you can register, wander by your table an hour into the event, and if there are too many pros/tough players for your liking, or there aren't enough chips on the table, or whatever (no hot chicks at the table or railbirding), just wander away and claim your refund later without penalty.”

The action gets underway in the 2010 WSOP with the annual $500 buy-in Casino Employees No Limit Hold’em event on May 28th. Also to be held on that date is the brand new $50,000 buy-in Player’s Championship, an Eight-Game mix of Limit Hold'em, Omaha High-Low Split Eight or Better, Seven Card Razz, Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud High-Low Split Eight or Better, No Limit Hold'em, Pot Limit Omaha, and 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball. It takes the place of the $50,000 HORSE Championship, which drew a meager 95 players in 2009 after having 148 in 2008.

Also new on the docket in 2010 is a $25,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed event that starts on June 30th. Many in the industry have questioned WSOP officials introducing a richer No Limit Hold’em tournament than the Main Event, whose buy-in is only $10,000. Nevertheless, the $25,000 Six-Handed contest is sure to attract some of the top names in the worlds of live and online poker.

Check out the official 2010 WSOP rules. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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PokerStars Announces North American Poker Tour, by Dan Cypra - 7th January 2010

2010-01-07T17:40:00.001-08:00

Look out, North America! Long absent poker events sponsored by PokerStars, the continent will host the North American Poker Tour (NAPT) beginning on January 20th at the Venetian, with another stop planned for Mohegan Sun.

Model Joanna Krupa, who was introduced to the PokerStars family during the fourth installment of the “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge,” will serve as the NAPT’s on-screen host. A television deal is in the works and PokerStars officials have employed 411, the same company that produces the World Series of Poker (WSOP) on ESPN, to create each episode. The identity of a television partner should be released in the next two weeks.

PokerStars players from the United States and Canada currently have to hop on an airplane and travel to far away lands for PokerStars-sponsored tournaments. PokerStars-backed series include the European Poker Tour (EPT), Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT), Russian Poker Tour (RPT), Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT), Italian Poker Tour (IPT) Czech-Slovak Poker Tour (CSPT), Australia New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT), and U.K. and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT).

At the Venetian in Las Vegas, the final tournament of the casino’s Deep Stack Extravaganza will be the $5,000 buy-in NAPT Main Event. The fun in Sin City will take place from February 20th to 24th and side events will also play out. From Las Vegas, PokerStars NAPT officials will travel 2,600 miles due east to Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. The tournament series in the popular East Coast casino will see its Main Event held from April 7th to 11th as the kickoff of a brand new poker festival.

Negreanu commented in a press release furnished by the world’s largest online poker site, “I'm really looking forward to the launch of the NAPT. PokerStars.net has done an excellent job sponsoring meaningful tournaments around the world with the EPT, LAPT, APPT, and various other local tours – and it’s exciting to see them coming to my home town of Las Vegas! With the addition of the NAPT, I'll have a chance to play some tournaments on home soil and I'm very excited about that.” 2009 WSOP Main Event champion Joe Cada and Team PokerStars Pro member Vanessa Rousso are among the bevy of site pros who are expected to turn out.

Technically, the first tournament of the NAPT was the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, which is ongoing from the Atlantis Resort and Casino across the harbor from Nassau in the Bahamas. Satellites to the Venetian and Mohegan Sun tournaments will take place on PokerStars, which happily accepts players from the United States. Besides Cada, other WSOP Main Event champions to call the site home include Chris Moneymaker (2003), Greg Raymer (2004), Joe Hachem (2005), Peter Eastgate (2008), and Tom McEvoy (1983).

In North America, the NAPT will compete against several longstanding brands such as the World Poker Tour (WPT) and WSOP Circuit. The WPT is in the midst of filming its eighth season, the first with the backing of Party Gaming, which purchased the rights to the series in October. Poker Hall of Fame member Mike Sexton and actor Vince Van Patten continue to bring the WPT to life each week on Fox Sports Net. The WSOP Circuit has been crisscrossing the United States since 2004, stopping at various Harrah’s properties along the way. Circuit staffers are now camped out in Tunica, Mississippi for the fifth stop of the 2009-2010 season. The series gets underway in the Deep South on January 20th from Harrah’s Tunica.

Krupa has graced the covers of a handful of brand-name magazines, including “FHM,” “Maxim,” “Playboy,” and “Stuff.” She appeared on Season 9 of the ABC reality series “Dancing with the Stars” and also tested her sports skills in the network’s “Superstars.” Krupa defeated 9/11 first responder Mike Kosowski on the fourth episode of the “Million Dollar Challenge;” Kosowski would later go on to defeat Negreanu and earn the $1 million grand prize.

Additional stops for Season 1 of the NAPT will also be announced. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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TASER Foundation for Fallen Officers Raises More Than $550,000 From the 2009 "Hold'em for Heroes" Celebrity Weekend - 21st December 2009

2009-12-27T20:11:00.001-08:00

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Dec. 21, 2009 - The TASER Foundation for Fallen Officers generated more than $550,000 in gross donations during its fifth annual "Hold'em for Heroes" celebrity tournament weekend held November 19-21, 2009.

The weekend's events featured three days of poker tournaments at the Fort McDowell Casino, including a "high roller" event filled with more than 35 celebrities from: the World Series of Poker(R) (WSOP), professional sports teams, television, movies, and artists from the country and hip hop genres. Many of these same players also participated in the charity's first celebrity golf tournament played at the beautiful WeKoPa Golf Club in Fountain Hills, Arizona.

The returning hosts for the events were the 11-time WSOP Champion, Phil Hellmuth and Country Music Recording Artist, Mark Wills.

During the weekend's activities, local players had the opportunity to golf with celebrities like Richard Karn of "Home Improvement" and play their best poker hands against champions like Phil Hellmuth, Antonio Esfandiari, Layne Flack, and local poker hero Tom Schneider for the chance to win a $10,000 seat in the 2010 World Series of Poker tournament held in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Mark Rubin, a local player, won the event, with Jeff Madsen, one of the WSOP celebrity players, taking second.

Kathy Hanrahan, the CEO for the TASER Foundation, commented, "The results achieved for the 2009 'Hold'em for Heroes' event was a great way to end the year. We were encouraged by the level of support achieved in such a tough economy."

"We would like to thank the local community for their continued support of this very worthwhile cause, and our premium corporate sponsors: Fort McDowell Casino, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Arizona, Hillard Heintze, TASER International, the Poker Players' Alliance, and Hogue Printing Solutions for underwriting the key expenses and making the event possible," added Hanrahan. "A special thank you is also necessary for the men and women of law enforcement who attended the event, and to the very special family members of our fallen Arizona officers. This weekend was to honor these heroes, and to remind them that the TASER Foundation will be here to help law enforcement and its families in their time of need."

For more information on the event, or to see or purchase photographs from the tournament weekend, please email SupportingtheFamily@TASERFoundation.org.

To learn more about how you can assist the TASER Foundation in its mission to help these families during their time of need, please visit www.TASERFoundation.org, or call 1-800-978-2737, extension 2012. Every dollar raised makes a difference in their lives, and lets the families know how grateful we are for their sacrifice.

About the TASER Foundation

The TASER Foundation distributes financial memorial grants to the families of fallen officers in the United States and Canada through donations and an initial endowment of $1,000,000. More than half of the initial endowment came in direct contribution from TASER International employees with the balance contributed by the company. Onetime grants are available only upon request by chiefs of police and sheriffs as well as federal law enforcement executives in the name of sworn officers killed in the line of duty since August 1, 2004. The TASER Foundation's mission is to honor the service and sacrifice of local and federal law enforcement officers in the United States and Canada lost in the line of duty by providing financial support to their families. TASER International bears all of the administrative costs of the TASER Foundation in order to ensure 100 percent of all donations are distributed to the families of fallen officers. For further information contact Kathy Hanrahan, President and CEO of the TASER Foundation, at Kathy@TASER.com or call 800-978-2737, extension 2012. Visit the TASER Foundation website at www.TASERFoundation.org for facts and video.

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2010 World Series of Poker Schedule: Player Reaction, by Brett Collson - 20th December 2009

2009-12-20T18:54:00.000-08:00

The 41st annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) is still months away, but the schedule of events was released this week. Poker players have been quick to give their opinions on the changes made by Harrah's and the Player’s Advisory Council for 2010.

The biggest modification to the WSOP schedule was the removal of the prestigious $50,000 HORSE tournament, which will be replaced by a $50,000 Mixed Event. The game will rotate among Limit Hold’em, Omaha High-Low Split Eight or Better, Seven Card Razz, Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud High-Low Split Eight or Better, No Limit Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha, and 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball. Then, much like the first year of the $50,000 HORSE event, the final table will be strictly No Limit Hold’em and broadcast by ESPN.

Harrah's also decided to do away with a mid-level buy-in for the Stud High, Stud 8, and Omaha 8 events in 2010, leaving only $1,500 and $10,000 versions of each game. The decision has generated negative feedback from many players, including poker pro and commentator Bart Hanson, who was upset with the lack of non-Hold'em events on the 2010 schedule. "Kind of sucks, I always like other game events at the WSOP," Hanson said. "Still had great value up to a $3,000 buy in. Now, the vast majority of players will only be able to play the small event where starting chips are a joke."

With the elimination of several of the less popular tournaments, a handful of No Limit Hold'em events were added. Last year's $1,000 Stimulus Special attracted 6,102 players, a record for a non-Main Event tournament. In 2010, there are six $1,000 No Limit Hold'em events on the schedule, including five on consecutive weekends from May 29th to June 27th and another on Thursday, July 1st.

Frank Calo, a poker pro who spends the entire summer in Las Vegas for the WSOP, seemed displeased with the changes. "I'm kind of unhappy that there's so many $1Ks and $1.5Ks," uttered Calo. "It causes the WSOP as a whole to be less profitable in terms of the hourly rate. I wish they stuck with one or two $1Ks, some other $1.5Ks, and then added more $2K to $5Ks.”

Two Plus Two member "fanliorel" had a differing view: "Last year, the $1K was new and novel and on the first weekend - everybody and their dog was there. I don't see them getting 6,000 entrants for all six $1Ks this year, just like they don't quite sell out all of the $1,500s either. Still, it's too cheap to not get at least 5,000 players per tourney. I'd guess they sell out the $1Ks on the first and last weekend; the rest range around 5,000 to 5,500. They'll be some great tourneys; last year's $1K was a blast."

Another issue that has the community concerned is the rake increase in the $1,000 and $1,500 buy-in events. Harrah's will take 10% from each of the $1,000 and $1,500 entry fees, compared to 9% from last year. "I guess Harrah's is operating in a different economic environment," said Zac "traction" Gilbert, who finished sixth at the 2009 WSOP Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Event. "I guess the only way players can voice their disgust is not play. Unfortunately, that won't happen."

The 2010 WSOP gets underway on May 27 with the $500 Casino Employees No Limit Hold'em Event and will culminate in November with the final table of the $10,000 Main Event. (Credit: Poker News Daily).

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25 LUXURY AUSSIE MILLIONS PACKAGES GUARANTEED AT PARTYPOKER THIS WEEKEND

2009-12-10T20:48:00.001-08:00

25 LUXURY AUSSIE MILLIONS PACKAGES GUARANTEED AT PARTYPOKER.COM THIS WEEKEND!

Gibraltar – 10th December 2009 – This weekend marks the last chance to qualify online at PartyPoker.com for the 2010 Aussie Millions in Melbourne. Seen as one of poker’s majors, the Main Event is a highlight of the world live circuit and the leading online poker room is going completely Aussie crazy this Sunday!

PartyPoker.com is offering the chance to win one of 25 luxury Aussie Millions main event packages. These fantastic dream trips will be up for grabs in two amazing $600+40 satellites on Sunday 13th December. One will be timed to suit Australia and New Zealand-based players at 02.45ET with FIVE packages guaranteed worth $12,000, while the other is scheduled at 14.30ET to give players from the rest of the world the chance to win one of 20 guaranteed packages worth $15,000.

PartyPoker.com Australia Ambassador Stewart Scott is the defending champion and there is a chance to emulate his success in Melbourne next year. Stewart said: “I’ve been playing at PartyPoker.com for five years. These great packages are an amazing opportunity for other players to play in this huge tournament. Claiming the Aussie Millions title has been the highlight of my career and I’d love to see another PartyPoker.com player take the title.”

Scott, 37, from Queensland, Australia, made history in January 2009 by becoming the first Australian in the modern era to take down the Aussie Millions Main Event, scooping US$1,865,724. Scott is a loyal member of PartyPoker.com’s VIP club the Palladium Lounge. He made his debut representing the leading online poker room at the PokerNews Cup in Melbourne earlier this month.

Scott is married with one daughter and started life as a gourmet chef in Adelaide, with a period running a small IT business as he honed his skills online. He made his first impact on the live circuit in 2006 by winning a satellite series at SkyCity Casino in Adelaide that awarded him a $30,000 package for the WSOP Main Event. Stewart is a popular figure on the Australian poker circuit and is well known for his relaxed attitude but killer instinct at the table.

® AUSSIE MILLIONS, AUSSIE MILLIONS POKER CHAMPIONSHIP and CROWN Device and associated trade marks are trade marks of Crown Melbourne Limited. No license, affiliation, sponsorship or endorsement, is claimed, or should be inferred from the use of these trademarks here. PartyGaming is not affiliated, licensed, by, or otherwise affiliated with Crown Melbourne Limited in any way.

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Joe Cada Comments on WSOP Main Event Victory, by Dan Cypra - Poker News Daily - 12th November 2009

2009-11-12T18:40:00.001-08:00

Poker News Daily: Congratulations on the big win in the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. How are you feeling after the victory?

Joe Cada: It hasn’t quite hit me yet, but I’m feeling really good.

PND: How were you able to handle the busy schedule prior to taking to the felts?

Cada: Before the final table took place, there was a long gap in between and I tried to not think about it too much. Instead, I tried to continue my normal lifestyle. Fortunately, I ran really well and, going into heads-up play, went from a big underdog to a big favorite.

Darvin was playing great poker and took over the chip lead relatively quickly. I came in with a game plan of playing a lot of hands in position and playing a lot of small ball poker waiting for him to make mistakes. It blew up in my face. He just wanted to play big ball poker, put me in a lot of tough spots, and played really well. It was rough at the start, but I tried to remain focused and turned it around.

PND: Darvin Moon took a 3:1 chip lead heads-up after re-raising on a board of A-5-3 and you folded. Tell us about that hand.

Cada: It’s one of those things that heads-up, you’re playing a lot of hands. More times than not, you’re not going to make a lot of hands. Darvin likes to trap a lot and check-raise a lot. I never played back at Darvin during the course of the heads-up match. I raised pre-flop, the flop came A-5-3, he decided to lead out, and I took a shot. I made a raise, but every time I tried to raise or bluff, it backfired. That was another example of that happening.

PND: You doubled heads-up after calling all-in with J-9 on a board of 10-5-9-10. Tell us about your thought process there.

Cada: I raised pre-flop to the standard two and a half big blinds and he called. The flop came 10-9-5 and he loves to check-raise, so I checked behind for pot control. The turn brought a ten. The board was 10-9-5-10 with two clubs and he decided to check again. A lot of the hands weren’t checked down to the river. I bet three million into a six million pot and then he jammed all-in. I took a lot of time to make decision and didn’t see him open-jamming the way he had been playing with a ten. There were hands like 7-8, J-Q, and clubs – random hands I could see him jamming with – and I opted to go with the correct call even though I wasn’t happy about it, but it worked out.

PND: What went through your mind when you realized you had become the 2009 WSOP Main Event Champion?

Cada: I was glad it was all over. I knew how important it was, but was happy to get the match over with. I gave as many props as I could to Darvin because he played great poker.

PND: Your father told us that he wasn’t completely behind your poker career to start with. Tell us about your relationship with him and how it’s evolved.

Cada: My parents weren’t totally against it, but they weren’t 100% supportive. I worked for a long time and had a job for four years, but decided to quit since I had made a significant amount in poker over a long period of time. Once I quit my job to do poker full-time, I continued to have a lot of success. Then, I traveled to tournaments in places I could play like the Bahamas, Costa Rica, and Aruba. College interfered and I had to go one way, so I put money aside in case poker didn’t work out and decided to play full-time.

PND: How big was the crowd support at the Penn and Teller Theater?

Cada: Having the support of these guys was great. Some of them missed school and work and none of them have voices left. They cheered me on the whole time, whether I was down or had chips. It was great having all of that support.

PND: Tell us about signing with PokerStars and wearing a Poker Players Alliance (PPA) logo.

Cada: PokerStars is a great website. They’re the biggest known site out there. I was very grateful for the opportunity they gave me. I’m very supportive of the PPA being an online player. The least I can do is support the PPA. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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Countdown To Mike Sexton Hall Of Fame Induction - Celebration Freeroll Is Already A Sell Out

2009-11-05T15:19:00.000-08:00

Gibraltar – November 5th 2009 – The countdown is on to PartyPoker.com ambassador Mike Sexton’s induction into Poker’s Hall of Fame on Saturday evening during the dinner break at the 2009 WSOP Main Event Final table. PartyPoker.com is holding a special celebratory $10,000 freeroll to mark the occasion at 21.00 CET (15.00 EST) that day and 8000 have reserved seats for the special tournament which was at capacity one hour after appearing in the lobby!

A PartyPoker.com spokesman said: “Everybody loves a freeroll and we received so many questions about when the one for Mike would take place and all spaces were filled within an hour! It was a case of first come, first served for this celebration.”

Mike will be introduced at a dinner held in his honour on Saturday night by his brother Tom Sexton.

Sexton needs little introduction and is unarguably one of the most respected figures in the game. As the face and voice of the World Poker Tour and holder of a WSOP bracelet, Mike is truly one of the games pioneers. Sexton is in the top ten for the most cashes at the World Series of Poker and is instantly recognizable to all poker enthusiasts. Regarded as ‘The Ambassador of Poker,’ for years Mike advocated corporate involvement with poker to take the game he loves into the mainstream. Notably, Sexton also won the first $10k buy-in NL hold'em championship event at Foxwoods World Poker Finals in 1992 and in 2000 was the first American to win the championship event at the Euro Finals of Poker in Paris, which at the time was the biggest event in Europe. Through his role with the World Poker Tour Mike brought the game to millions around the world. In 2006 Sexton won the Tournament of Champions at the World Series of Poker, a concept he had originally created. He donated $500,000 of his winnings to charity and has since become a co-founder of PokerGives.org, which encourages players to make charitable donations.

The Poker Hall of Fame was established in 1979. Its membership includes poker's most influential players and other important contributors to the game. There are 16 living members, and to date 37 members have been bestowed the honour of entry. The WSOP Hall of Fame traditionally elects one or two new members annually. The enshrinement ceremony is now held during the final table of the Main Event of the WSOP. The criteria for selection was as follows:

A player must have played poker against acknowledged top competition
Played for high stakes
Played consistently well, gaining the respect of peers
Stood the test of time
Or, for non-players, contributed to the overall growth and success of the game of poker, with indelible positive and lasting results

World Series of Poker”® and “WSOP”®, WSOPE”® are registered trade marks of Harrah’s License Company LLC. No license, affiliation, sponsorship, or endorsement is claimed, or should be inferred from the use of these trademarks here. PartyGaming is not licensed by or otherwise affiliated with Harrah’s License Company LLC or the World Series of Poker®, in any way.

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Phil Ivey Set To Start November Nine As Favourite?

2009-11-04T19:55:00.001-08:00

Gibraltar – 4th November 2009 – Bookmaker PartyBets.com has had to cut the odds on Phil Ivey taking down the WSOP Main Event from 5/1 into 7/2 making him the new OUTRIGHT FAVOURITE to win. This is despite the fact that Ivey is seventh in chips and Darvin Moon has a monster stack that many believe should be big enough to roll his opponents over quite easily. Moon has drifted in the betting from 3/1 favourite out to 4/1.

Ahead of his induction into the Poker Hall of Fame on Saturday, PartyPoker.com Ambassador Mike Sexton said: “Phil Ivey is the most well known pro to the public and this has to be a sentimental bet for action on the tournament. It is hard to imagine, more astonishing, that a player can be favourite with just 5% of the chips in play. I regard Ivey as the best player in the world and it would be nice to see him win but as everyone knows chips are power.”

A PartyBets.com spokesman said: “Has the world gone mad? Ivey is a short stack and Moon is a massive chip leader with 30% of the chips in play. It just doesn’t make sense but the punters just keep coming for Ivey and we have had no choice but to make him favourite because of our large six figure liabilities and the consistent interest.”

“There will be a lot of punters out there sweating Ivey and a lot of bookies praying that he doesn’t get the early double-up that is essential for him to make a remarkable comeback from seventh in chips. If Ivey achieves what punters think he can it will be the worst poker result in bookmaking history.”

PartyBets.com - a sister site of PartyPoker.com and PartyCasino.com - chalked Ivey up at 175/1 to win the Main Event earlier this year. He was 100/1 as the Main Event got underway and his odds have plummeted since then. A big name on the final table of the WSOP is always bad news for bookmakers. 175/1 as a starting price for any player in a field of 6,494 players is short and his true odds could have been double that but bookmakers are forced to price him prohibitively short because punters back the name.

PartyBets.com currently has Ivey as 7/2 favourite, followed by the commonly regarded favourite Darvin Moon at 4/1. Eric Buchman is next in the betting at 9/2. Ivey only has 265,000 more chips than France’s Antonie Saout but Saout is a 16/1 shot. The UK’s James Akenhead, a recent participant in the PartyPoker.com World Open V alongside Saout has also been well supported but is still 14/1. A Shulman double, with Jeff joining Barry as a WSOP Main Event winner this year is priced at 6/1. Other markets available include winning hand and colour of the final river card.

See PartyBets.com for more odds and information.

** The story of how Jon Kalmar, a poker pro from Chorley in the UK made the final table of the 2007 WSOP Main Event is a poker fairytale in itself. Jon went to Vegas with a bankroll of $15,000 before getting down to his last $2,000 and qualifying in a satellite. He had been on a terrible run for a long time but ended up as the only UK representative making it to the climax of poker’s showpiece and won $1,255,000 for finishing in fifth place. It was also happy days for a poker pro from Skane, Sweden won $25,000 from PartyBets.com after placing a bet of $100 at 250/1 that Kalmar would make the final table.**

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WSOP Extends Contract with IMG Sports and Entertainment, by Jessica Welman - 26th September 2009

2009-09-26T18:01:00.000-07:00

Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment (HIE) announced Thursday that its World Series of Poker (WSOP) brand would be renewing its contract with IMG Sports and Entertainment for five more years through 2014. The two groups have worked together since 2005 and IMG has helped to bring major non-gambling sponsors like Jack Link’s Beef Jerky and Planters Peanuts to the popular tournament series.

Within a press release distributed by HIE, the company also placed emphasis on its efforts to grow the WSOP brand internationally into something larger than just an annual series of poker tournaments. “We are looking to emphasize the ‘World’ in World Series of Poker as our vision of the brand extends beyond the annual events in Las Vegas and London,” explained HIE Chief Executive Officer Mitch Garber. “By tapping the global reach and expertise of IMG, we are confident that together we can take the brand to new levels on the international stage through new international bracelet events and other WSOP licensed poker events.”

IMG has long been a power player in the representation game and has a client roster that includes Hollywood celebrities, Olympic and professional athletes, and several major athletic brands like Major League Baseball, the Ryder Cup, and the PGA. With offices in over 30 different companies, HIE is hoping IMG’s global presence will serve them well in the next five years.

“The World Series of Poker is an impressive property that we believe is well positioned to expand successfully into international markets given the increased activity in the online and offline poker business in key international markets,” said David Abrutyn, Senior Vice President and Global Managing Director of IMG Consulting.

Harrah’s has been taking steps to position itself for this transition into the international poker markets. First, it launched HIE earlier this year and hired former PartyPoker CEO Garber to run the operation. Earlier this month, HIE also announced it would be teaming with 888 Holdings’ business-to-business venture, Dragonfish, to develop online content for the casino conglomerate. Although the legality of online gambling remains up for debate in the United States, Dragonfish will supposedly create online gambling ventures branded for WSOP and Caesars Palace in European and other global markets. The WSOP’s longstanding relationship with ESPN was also renewed recently, with a contract guaranteeing coverage of the event on the ESPN family of networks through 2017.

HIE and the WSOP are not without their critics, though. Despite plans to make a grand entrance and participate in this weekend’s WSOP Europe, 11-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth recently spoke out against the company on the Hardcore Poker Show because of the steps being taken to expand the brand into online poker ventures. Hellmuth, like many other top pros, has a sponsorship deal from an online poker site and fears HIE’s attempts to create a WSOP-branded room will jeopardize lucrative television logo deals that players use to subsidize their income.

“You know, there’s going to be some mistakes made by Harrah’s and just mark my words - they’re going to risk losing the World Series of Poker, which is estimated at $200 million,” Hellmuth said in his interview. “It may actually become worth nothing if they force the players and all the great internet sites to say, ‘Look, we’re going to start our own deal because Harrah’s is restricting logos.’ They’re actually taking logo use out of the picture, or trying to press their position as a site owner.”

To date, there has been no official announcement of a WSOP-branded online poker site, but the hiring of Garber and recent steps taken by HIE lead many to believe that is the direction the brand is heading. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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WSOP Europe On The Way - 21st September 2009

2009-09-23T00:11:00.000-07:00

World Series of Poker Europe kicked off over the weekend at the Empire’s Casino in London.

The player line up includes:

Phil Hellmuth, Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Peter Eastgate, and Ivan Demidon.

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Joe Hachem, Jeffrey Lisandro Featured on WSOP on ESPN Coverage, by Dan Cypra - Poker News Daily - 16th September 2009

2009-09-16T18:20:00.000-07:00

Day 3 of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event hit television airwaves on ESPN on Tuesday night, with two hours of coverage dedicated to the festivities. Seated at the feature table were two Aussies, Joe Hachem and Jeffrey Lisandro.

Lisandro became the fifth player in WSOP history to take home three bracelets in a year and has logged 29 cashes since 2004. Hachem took down the 2005 Main Event and ignited a poker boom of his own in Australia. Joining the duo from Down Under was George Hardie, the former owner of the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles. On the first hand, Lisandro raised to 3,600 with pocket eights and, after peeking down at pocket queens, Hachem made it 9,600. Lisandro called to see a flop of 10-4-2. Lisandro checked, Hachem bet 16,000, and Lisandro quickly released his hand, igniting chants of “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!”

ESPN announcer Norman Chad commented that, while Phil Ivey remains his perennial pick to win the WSOP Main Event, Lisandro’s heroics in 2009 make him a close second: “Let’s assume that aliens come down and lure Phil Ivey away to a cash game mother ship, then I must turn to Jeffrey Lisandro.” Ville Wahlbeck was the only player remaining in the field that could catch Lisandro for WSOP Player of the Year honors. However, he’d need a seventh place finish or better in order to do so. Wahlbeck was seated at Table Two during the 8:00pm ET episode alongside Kenny Tran.

Also found in the field were Ivey and Phil Hellmuth. “The Poker Brat” found that one of his tablemates, Lauchlin McKinnon, did not want to shake his hand. Instead, his opponent told Hellmuth, “I don’t respect anything you do. I think you’re a complete prick.” Hellmuth joked, “I think this is going to be a good day.” Elsewhere in the Amazon Room, Bodog pro Jean-Robert Bellande pushed with A-10 of diamonds for 20 big blinds and rivered a flush to double up. Chad labeled him a “survivor,” a reference to his appearance on the China installment of the CBS reality franchise.

Kent Senter, who is undergoing stem cell treatment for an incurable form of cancer, was all-in with pocket tens against Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier’s pocket jacks. The board ran out K-5-3-3-5, giving Grospellier the win and sending Senter home. He was met with a herd of television cameras upon his departure. Grospellier is a PokerStars pro; his site began sponsoring chip count leaderboard graphics on Tuesday night on ESPN.

The “Straight from the Pros” segment featured Daniel Negreanu battling against Sammy Farha in a hand during the 2005 WSOP Main Event. Negreanu folded a straight after a third spade hit the river to give Farha a flush. Negreanu, the captain of the Team Americas squad that will compete in the Caesars Cup, told ESPN cameras, “He’s either bluffing here or I’m dead.”

Negreanu’s comrade on Team PokerStars Pro, Hachem, was featured in the Jack Link’s Beef Jerky Wild Card Hand, in which the cards of one player are not shown so the audience can play along at home. Hachem raised to 4,100 pre-flop with the Wild Card hand and Claus Nielsen called with pocket threes. The flop came 8-2-5 and Nielsen checked. Hachem fired out a bet of 6,200 and Nielsen made the call. The turn was a deuce and Nielsen put in a check-raise to 32,000, causing Hachem to relinquish K-Q.

Also in the field was former November Nine member Dennis Phillips, who relived tossing out the first pitch at a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game. However, he wound up throwing the ball directly at the ground. Wahlbeck then hit the skids after running pocket queens into pocket kings, leading to an announcement from WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack that Lisandro had claimed Player of the Year honors. Ivey then moved to Grospellier’s table, leaving Chad to remark, “Poker’s superpowers clash.”

The second episode of Tuesday night kicked off at 9:00pm ET and continued coverage of Day 3 of the 2009 WSOP Main Event. David “Devilfish” Ulliott joined the cast at Table Two, while Hellmuth found himself flanking Josh Arieh. Former Main Event winners Peter Eastgate (2008), Greg Raymer (2004), Dan Harrington (1995), Hachem (2005), and Hellmuth (1989) all remained alive to begin the episode, but Raymer quickly found himself on the sidelines after running pocket tens into pocket aces.

Lunkin doubled up after rivering a straight, causing Chad to lament, “I know Lunkin has played good, but I can’t tell you how ridiculously good he’s run. He should be halfway back to Moscow on an Aeroflot flight in coach.” Meanwhile, Nielsen bet out on an ace-high board after raising pre-flop with just 8-4. However, Hachem laid down pocket queens and Lisandro released pocket kings, giving the pot to Nielsen.

The Full Tilt Poker sponsored segment “Deal Me In” featured Howard Lederer taking on Hellmuth in a hand from the 2004 WSOP Tournament of Champions, which was ultimately won by Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Annie Duke.

Hevad Khan cheerily smiled at ESPN cameras, leading to the following comment from announcer Lon McEachern: “That’s the first real sign of life from him we’ve seen in two years.” Khan finished sixth in the 2007 WSOP Main Event. His lively antics resulted in the “Hevad Khan rule” against excessive player celebrations. Elsewhere in the dwindling field, J.C. Tran and Joe Sebok doubled up, while L.A. Lakers Guard Jordan Farmar was eliminated. Also hitting the exits was “Seinfeld” actor Jason Alexander, whose opponent made trips on the river.

Finally, “The Nuts” featured Chad and Hellmuth taking turns in a dunk tank. After Chad, a southpaw, finally sent Hellmuth to a watery demise, he commented, “I took more pleasure out of dunking you than anything in my whole life. That was two honeymoons rolled into one.”

New episodes of the 2009 WSOP Main Event on ESPN air on Tuesdays at 8:00pm ET and are repeated throughout the week on ESPN’s family of networks. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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Tiffany Michelle Gives the Inside Scoop on Amazing Race, by Dan Cypra - Poker News Daily - 16th September 2009

2009-09-16T18:08:00.001-07:00

On September 27th, the 15th installment of the CBS reality franchise “Amazing Race” will kick off at 8:00pm ET. Appearing will be professional poker players Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho, the last women standing in the 2008 and 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Events, respectively. Michelle sat down with Poker News Daily to preview the season.

Poker News Daily: Congratulations on appearing on “Amazing Race.” Tell us how the opportunity came up.

Michelle: Maria Ho and I have been friends for a while and bonded even more recently. There was lots of talk of us doing a reality television show. We agreed that if we did anything, it’d be “Amazing Race.” We thought we’d be an interesting team. With the competition and challenge of the show, it’d be right up our alley. We could take our poker playing background and use it on “Amazing Race.” We had a chance to go through the casting process and were in Las Vegas playing tournaments when we got the call. It was definitely hard to head back to the tables during the WSOP knowing we’d be traveling the world soon.

PND: Had you watched previous seasons of “Amazing Race”?

Michelle: I hadn’t seen a full season, but saw the show on different occasions. It looked challenging and was out of my league. I think it looked fun.

PND: The cast features Harlem Globetrotters and a former Miss America. Talk about the competition that you’ll face on “Amazing Race.”

Michelle: We were surprised to learn that we were the only all-female team this season. We felt pressure to represent women and knew that no all-female team had ever won “Amazing Race.” We thought that our competition consisted of young, big, athletic people. That was going to be our weakness, but we knew that the race tests your mental and physical skills.

PND: Past seasons of “Amazing Race” have included stops in the four corners of the globe. Talk about being able to travel the world.

Michelle: It was a very life-changing experience. I live a wonderful and blessed life. I get to travel and stay in nice hotels. We have a life of luxury and don’t have to sweat it out. It was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done, mentally and emotionally. I came home and had a whole new appreciation for my life. I feel like I’m so full after the experience.

PND: Talk about your relationship with Maria Ho.

Michelle: I wouldn’t have done “Amazing Race” without her. You have to trust and feel comfortable with your partner. I was excited to share this experience with her. We travel together on the poker circuit already. We’re 10 times closer now.

PND: Is there anything you can take away from Annie Duke’s appearance on “Celebrity Apprentice” that could have helped you on “Amazing Race”?

Michelle: “Celebrity Apprentice” is a different format than “Amazing Race.” You’re competing against different people on your own. On the race, you have a team. There’s not that direct competition and you have the opportunity to work together in a group. We wanted to represent poker well after what happened between Annie and Joan Rivers. We wanted to come off the best that we could. We wanted to play a clean game and give poker players a good name. Also for us, we’re controversial and wanted to show people a different side.

PND: You’re hosting a Hollywood premier of “Amazing Race” that will likely include Tammy and Victor, who won last season’s installment of the reality show. Did they provide any advice before you set out?

Michelle: We got to go to a Labor Day barbeque at Victor’s house. A lot of people who were on “Amazing Race” were there and you felt like a big family. These people know exactly what you went through. Within a few minutes of being there, I felt like I had known them forever. It’s wonderful being a part of something special.

PND: What preparations did you make before the show began filming?

Michelle: I ran out and bought running shoes. I got my cardio up because I knew there was a lot of running involved. Also, we learned how to drive a stick shift. Maria was much better than I was at that, so she was responsible. We watched past episodes and talked about them. We prepped for the unknown as much as we could. I got my butt in the gym and got in touch with the outdoors.

PND: You mentioned in a blog entry before you left that poker will always be around, but doing “Amazing Race” was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Was it hard walking away from this year’s WSOP Main Event to film?

Michelle: There wasn’t even a doubt in my mind that I wanted to do the show. What I did last year in the Main Event was amazing. As hopeful as I could be to repeat that, I was happy with that punctuation. The Main Event comes around every year and poker is always there. Not only was this an amazing challenge, but it was also an opportunity to be a part of an Emmy Award winning show. To get to do it with someone else sounded like a fun time. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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ESPN To Broadcast Four WSOP Events

2009-07-26T17:31:00.000-07:00

Now that the final nine competitors for this year's World Series Of Poker (WSOP) are known, American sports network ESPN has released its broadcaster schedule for the tournament with a total of four events set to be televised.

ESPN revealed that it would begin its coverage this Tuesday from eight o'clock in the evening New York time with a two-hour review of the $40,000 buy-in no-limit hold'em tournament, which was held to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the WSOP.

The following Tuesday, August 4, ESPN will broadcast all of the action from the WSOP Champions Invitational beginning from eight o'clock in the evening. This two-hour programme will feature Norman Chad and Lon McEachern commentating on all of the action including the presentation of a new car and the Binion Cup.

The third event ESPN has committed to airing is the successful Ante Up For Africa charity tournament, which will be broadcast over two hours from eight o'clock in the evening on August 11. This is the first time the sports broadcaster has featured this special event and viewers will be able to watch celebrities including Charles Barkley, Adam Sandler, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Ray Romano and Brad Garrett share the tables with some of the biggest names in poker.

Beginning on August 18 from eight o'clock in the evening, ESPN will begin broadcasting action from the WSOP's main event. The action will commence with coverage of the four Day One competitions every subsequent Tuesday evening from the same time with two hours of programming for each. Day TwoA will air on September 15 followed by Day TwoB and September 22 and this format will continue until Day Eight airs on November 3.

In Las Vegas, the main event will play down from nine players to two on November 7 with the final pair going heads-up on November 10. ESPN is due to run a one-hour preview show on the November Nine that day from eight o'clock in the evening immediately followed by two hours of final table action where the winner will be decided.

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2009 WSOP Main Event November Nine Features Phil Ivey, by Earl Burton - Poker News Daily - 16th July 2009

2009-07-16T17:44:00.001-07:00

After 56 events and 13 days of play in the Amazon Room at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, the final table of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event was determined.

A total of 27 players came back to the Amazon Room at Noon on Wednesday with dreams of being at the final table of the most prestigious poker tournament in the world. Everyone remaining would receive $352,832, but the true focus was on making the final table, which once again will be delayed until November. Leading the pack was newcomer Darvin Moon, a logger from Maryland, who held slightly over 20 million chips as play began.

Leo Margets, who came to the start of play on Wednesday as one of the shorter stacks in the room, was the first to depart in 27th place. She was followed by notable players including Antonio Esfandiari (24th place for his largest WSOP cash ever) and Day Six leader Warren Zackey, who dropped from the tournament in 22nd place after his pocket deuces were out-raced by Ian Tavelli’s Qs-Js.

Tavelli’s aggressive play eventually caught up with him after he ran pocket nines into Steven Begleiter’s pocket kings. After the board didn’t bring him either of his two outs, the 21-year old Tavelli was eliminated in 17th place ($500,557). Almost immediately after Tavelli’s departure, one of France’s top professional players, Ludovic Lacay, was defeated by Jeff Shulman in 16th place. After Lacay’s elimination, everyone at the tables was guaranteed $633,022.

As the field continued to dwindle down, both Moon and Begleiter used their chips to climb to astronomical levels at the tables. Moon never seemed to be in jeopardy during play on Wednesday and Begleiter, using the chips he had earned from Tavelli, continued his march up the leaderboard. For all of their work, however, most of the eyes in the Amazon Room followed poker professional Phil Ivey.

The perennial pick by ESPN commentator Norm Chad to win the Main Event, Ivey had come to the 2009 WSOP with his skills at their highest point ever. He captured two bracelets during the six weeks of preliminary tournaments and had been at or around the top of the Main Event leaderboard since it began. Starting the day with over 11 million in chips, Ivey seemed content to sit back and maintain his stack, scouting potential opponents should they reach the November Nine final table.

After over 11 hours of battle, the final table of the Main Event was determined. The unlucky Bubble Boy was pro player Jordan Smith, who fell in tenth place ($896,730) at the hands of Moon. Facing a raise to 650,000 from Eric Buchman and a call from Moon, Smith popped a 2.6 million bet into the pot, which was called by Moon after Buchman folded. The seemingly innocent flop of

8 Clubs, 4 Diamonds, 2 Diamonds

hit the table, at which time the fireworks went off. Smith checked his option to Moon, who put four million chips out, and Smith moved all-in over the top. Moon called and tabled pocket eights for top set; Smith dejectedly turned up

Ace Hearts, Ace Diamonds.

After the turn and river failed to come an ace, the November Nine was determined.

These are the nine players who will gather at the Rio in November to determine the next WSOP Main Event Champion:

Darvin Moon (Oakland, Maryland) – 58,930,000
Eric Buchman (Valley Stream, New York) – 34,800,000
Steve Begleiter (Chappaqua, New York) – 29,885,000
Jeff Shulman (Las Vegas, Nevada) – 19,580,000
Joe Cada (Shelby Township, Michigan) – 13,215,000
Kevin Schaffel (Coral Springs, Florida) – 12,390,000
Phil Ivey (Las Vegas, Nevada) – 9,765,000
Antione Saout (Paris, France) – 9,500,000
James Ankenhead (London, England) – 6,800,000

With such professional players as Ivey, Shulman (Editor of CardPlayer Magazine), and Ankenhead in the mix, some are concluding that this will be one of the strongest Main Event final tables of the past few years.

Play will pause on the Las Vegas leg of this year’s WSOP, but there are still four events to go. The 2009 WSOP Europe, which will be held in London beginning in September, will offer a chance for the survivors of the Main Event to tune up their games. The November Nine then will emerge from their respite. All are now millionaires, but the eventual winner takes the $8.5 million first place prize. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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Shane Warne's poker ace, by David Hastie - Sunday Herald Sun - 5th July 2009

2009-07-08T15:15:00.000-07:00

He conquered the world on the cricket pitch. He is rumoured to have reunited with his former wife. Now Shane Warne is taking the poker world by storm.

The spin king stormed into the next round of the World Series of Poker tournament in Las Vegas last night, finishing day one with more than $110,000 in chips.

Warne has been accompanied in Las Vegas by former wife Simone Callahan and their three children, fuelling speculation of a reunion.

And last night he was celebrating a windfall at the lucrative tournament, where he is set to go up against some big names, including actors Jason Alexander and Matt Damon. (Credit: Sunday Herald Sun)

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Harrah's Entertainment releases list of celebrity guest invited to 3rd Annual Ante Up For Africa Tournament

2009-07-06T19:36:00.001-07:00

Harrah's Entertainment has released the list of celebrities playing in the third annual Ante Up for Africa poker event held at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino during the World Series of Poker.

The event will take place on Thursday, July 2nd at 2:00 pm and will gather some of the best poker players, actors, sports celebrities, musicians, etc. Stated to play this year are poker pros Howard Lederer, Team Full Tilt pro Andy Bloch, Erik Seidel, Phil Hellmuth, Peter Eastgate, NBA stars Dennis Rodman, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Reggie Miller, actors Matt Damon, 'Seinfeld' star Jason Alexander, Hank Azaria, 'Everybody Loves Raymond' star Brad Garrett, comedian Marlon Wayans, actress and comedian Sarah Silverman, 'Oceans 11' co-star Casey Affleck and talk show host Montel Williams. More celebrity guests will be confirmed in the coming weeks. For the first time since its inception in 2007, the Ante Up For Africa Celebrity-Charity Poker Tournament hosted by Annie Duke and actor Don Cheadle will be recorded and broadcast on ESPN sports network on Tuesday, August 11th from 8:00 to 10:00 pm ET. The event open to the public for viewing and admission is free.

"It is an honor and very exciting to have ESPN turn the cameras on for our event," said Annie Duke. "This will make great strides in raising awareness about this ongoing crisis."

Created by Oscar nominee Don Cheadle and Celebrity Apprentice star and WSOP bracelet winner Annie Duke, the Ante Up For Africa is a unique charity tournament created to raise funds and public awareness about the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, Sudan. To date, Ante Up For Africa has raised close to $2 million for the cause.

"I am very pleased that we have raised almost 2 million to date and appreciative of everyone who has participated and donated to help us on our mission of bringing the plight of the refugees of Darfur to the forefront of people's minds," said actor and philanthropist Don Cheadle.

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Mike Sexton Reviews the 2009 World Series of Poker, by Mike Sexton - Poker News Daily - 25th June 2009

2009-06-29T18:56:00.000-07:00

It’s once again time for the World Series of Poker (WSOP) – the 40th edition. For poker players, the WSOP is the ultimate in “thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.” It’s where dreams come true and also where dreams are shattered. Many of us dote about the bracelets, the history, and the tradition that set the WSOP apart from other tournaments, but the beauty is that most players really can win life-changing money.

This year’s kickoff event was a $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament commemorating the 40th annual WSOP. Personally, I think it’s a dumb idea to ever have a bigger buy-in for a No Limit Hold’em tournament than the Main Event, so I wasn’t for it. I didn’t play in it because I missed the first week of the WSOP this year. I took a vacation with my wife Karen and son Ty (nine months old) to Yellowstone National Park – and it was great! It was a vacation for our second anniversary and Ty is the first child for either of us. It’s official - my priorities have changed from poker to parenting!

I do love the WSOP, though. I’m guessing I will play in 10 to 12 events this year. It may be their 40th, but it’s my 25th WSOP, my Silver Anniversary. One thing’s for sure: I will never forget my first-ever WSOP. It was 1984. I lived in North Carolina back then and had been a professional poker player for about six years. I always wanted to go the WSOP and play against the best. I never went, though, because I was an avid Little League coach back then (which, incidentally, was the greatest joy of my life). We started practicing in April and our season started in May – the same time as the WSOP in those days – and, therefore, I couldn’t go.

In 1984, I finally decided to take a week off from Little League and go to my first WSOP. Back then, they only had one tournament every other day. That meant in a week’s time, you could only play in three events. So, I entered three events, made two final tables, and was hooked for life on the WSOP. Because of my success in that first WSOP, I decided to move to Las Vegas a few months later and I’ve lived there ever since. I’ve often wondered where I’d be today if I hadn’t cashed in any of those three tournaments.

Here’s the bad part: 25 years later, I still remember how I was knocked out of those tournaments at my first WSOP – and it still hurts! Why can’t I just let it go? Because it’s my Silver Anniversary WSOP, I’ll relive the pain and tell you what happened (If you don’t like bad beat stories, skip the next couple of paragraphs).

With five players left in the Pot Limit Omaha tournament, I was average in chips and the leader was Tom McEvoy, who happened to be the reigning World Champion of Poker at the time. Noted author David Sklansky was also still there as well as a high-stakes Pot Limit Omaha player named Bill Bennett, the eventual winner.

McEvoy was playing extremely aggressive, too much so for Pot Limit Omaha, in my opinion. Even though he was the World Champion at No Limit Hold’em, I wasn’t convinced he played Pot Limit Omaha that well. Tom was raising nearly every pot and once again raised the max pre-flop. I was on the button and picked up a nice hand, A-K-Q-8 (A-Q of diamonds, K-8 of Clubs). I called, as did the big blind. The flop was Q-8-3 with two hearts and one club. The big blind checked and McEvoy led out and bet the pot. I was contemplating raising and going for it all right there. McEvoy must have sensed it because he blurted out, “If you raise it, I’m going to put you all-in.” After that statement, I decided to go with this hand for sure. So I then said, “Well, I guess you’re going to put me all-in then, because I’m raising it!” I raised, the big blind folded, and true to his word, McEvoy set me all-in. I can still remember how much my heart was pounding when I called him.

I was shocked and thrilled when he turned up his hand. He had a 3-4-5-8 and no heart draw! Yippee!! I had the top two pair and he had the bottom two pair. Then it happened - a seven came on the turn and a six on the river. Wham! Bam! He made a straight and won the pot. Instead of me being the chip leader, I was out. I won’t forget that hand as long as I live. That bracelet could/should have been mine!

Even with all the pain, I love the WSOP. I like that, for the first time ever at the WSOP, there are no rebuys in any tournaments. I’ve always campaigned for that because I think everyone should have an equal chance to win a bracelet. Rebuy tournaments are not equal to everyone; they favor the deep pockets.

Sadly, I must say that I can’t believe the $50,000 HORSE tournament is not being televised this year. In my opinion, this is a poor decision and not good for poker. And even though they’re doing it again, I still think it’s a bad idea to put the Main Event final table four months down the road. Whether or not I like the final table in November, however, you can be sure of this: If I’m breathing, I’ll be playing in the Main Event. Needless to say, it would be a dream come true to get to that final table. If it happens, I hope to meet you there! (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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PartyGaming to build first grassroots poker team; Signs Ian Fraser - 26th June 2009

2009-06-28T22:15:00.001-07:00

PartyPoker is to create its first ever grassroots poker team to compete at major poker events.

PartyPoker.com has previously stayed out of the player sponsorship market with the exception of main site ambassador Mike Sexton, but has sponsored UK player Ian Frazer as the new team’s first member.

A PartyPoker.com spokesman said: “The sponsored player and grassroots team initiative will continue to grow, with all VIPs reviewed for suitability. We are looking for players that have shown themselves to have star quality in their play but who are also fun, humorous and possess a strong character and willingness to co-operate. Our extensive international television distribution gives players the chance of brilliant exposure.”

VIPs, loyal players and players with historic links to PartyPoker will form the basis of the team.

Ian ‘The Raiser’ Frazer, a 50-year-old building contractor from London with live tournament winnings of over US$1.3m, started playing online at the site in 2004, and has finished on the final table of five offline Party tournaments.

Frazer will host invitation-only private tournaments on PartyPoker.com and represent PartyPoker.com at events at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas, on which he has started blogging on the PartyPoker blog.

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Cast of characters ready to entertain, by Joe Hachem - Fairfax - 20th June 2009

2009-06-24T19:23:00.001-07:00

The world of professional poker is full of interesting characters, baby-faced maths whizzes, gnarled veterans, clowns, bombshells, good guys and villains.

It doesn't surprise me that the popularity of televised poker continues to grow. When you're not worried about your own hand, a live tournament is great entertainment - sweeping highs, crushing lows and nail-biting tension at every turn. As with all great TV, though, the real entertainment comes down to the characters.

From players looking to make an entry onto the main stage to the stalwarts who have a lot to teach, the following are some of players to watch during this year's World Series of Poker.

THE INTERNET WONDERKID - TOM "DURR" DWAN

An absolute internet phenomenon, 22-year-old Dwan has been training in poker online since he was 17. His earnings from online games last year are rumoured to be close to $US5.5 million - a phenomenal result for the young player, but how will Durr handle the pressure of facing off against some of the best in the world face to face?

Watch him to: See if the internet wonderkid translate his online success live wins.

THE STEADY CHAMP - DANIEL "KID POKER" NEGREANU

Don't let his baby face fool you, Team PokerStars PRO Negreanu has been making waves at the World Series since his debut in 1997. Negreanu coaches some of Hollywood's biggest stars, including Spiderman's Tobey Maguire, and has recently starred in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Katy Perry's new video clip. Not just a famous face, Negreanu is one of the game's great strategists, and has penned several books and articles on the science behind his play.

Watch him to: See a consistent strategist in action.

THE TEACHER - GRANT LEVY

Sydney teacher Grant Levy is one of the most likeable local guys on the international poker circuit. A virtual unknown until 2007, the western suburbs boy rocketed to prominence after beating out myself, Greg Raymer, Chris Moneymaker and 550 other players to pocket nearly $1m at a 2007 Asia Pacific Poker Tour. A good humoured guy at the table, Grant can always be counted on to place well in tournament and provide a bit of Aussie pride.

Watch him to: Cheer on the home side.

THE MATHEMETICIAN - MARK VOS

Another young Australian player to watch, Vos is a mathematician rather than a physical or psychological player. The former Mathematics Olympiads champion excels at the calculations behind the cards. Vos is fascinating to watch as he continues to improve his live game play, bringing his physical skills up to the standard of his mental gymnastics. Watch him to: Learn how to play the numbers.

THE TIGER WOODS OF POKER - PHIL IVEY

Phil Ivey is generally recognised as one of the best all-round poker players on the circuits. Well versed in all forms of poker, Ivey has already scored two bracelets this WSOP, making him the sixth-highest bracelet winner of all time. All eyes are now on the master to see whether he can score another and match his 2002 record-breaking haul of three WSOP bracelets.

Watch him to: See history in the making.

Until next week, Pass the Sugar! (Credit: Fairfax)

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Watch the WSOP at PKR.com

2009-06-07T00:20:00.001-07:00

PKR.com will be the only place to watch live coverage of many of this year’s WSOP events and the best thing is that it’s all available for free. The virtual reality poker site has signed a deal with Bluff Media giving them exclusive rights to 24 of the bracelet events at the 2009 World Series. Highlights of the package include the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E, $10,000 PLO and $10,000 Heads Up Championship. The events will be shown on a specific microsite at PKR.com.

PKR.com Marketing Director Simon Prodger said, "The World Series of Poker is without doubt the biggest event of the poker calendar and it fills me with delight that PKR has managed to scoop exclusive rights to be the official broadcaster for these 24 bracelet events."

If you’d rather be playing at the World Series than watching then there are still plenty of opportunities to qualify with PKR.com. At least 10 packages worth $12,000 apiece are on offer in the their WSOP Main Event Final with daily super satellites starting from just $1.20+6c.

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WSOP Sells Out Three of First Nine Events, by Tom Jenkins - Poker News Daily - 6th June 2009

2009-06-06T23:43:00.000-07:00

The 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) has already been firmly cemented as one of our industry’s most epic events ever. Three of the first nine tournaments were sold out for the first time in WSOP history, including the $1,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Stimulus Special event, which attracted 6,000 runners.

The seventh event of the 2009 WSOP was a $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event, the first of that genre to take place following the Stimulus Special. In fact, the tournaments began just three days apart, meaning another record field was likely on tap. As a result, 2,791 players showed up for the WSOP’s second sellout of 2009. Harrah’s officials determine whether an event has reached its capacity based on the number of players surviving the previous day’s tournaments combined with demand for the new schedule of events. Last year, 2,706 players took to the field in Event #7, which was won by Vitaly Lunkin.

In the end, Travis Johnson banked $666,000 and his first bracelet from Event #7, defeating Steve Karp heads-up. Others reaching the final table included Michael Ciotola (third place for $273,385), Mark Salinaro (fourth place for $193,343), Craig McConville (fifth place for $145,721), Brian McInnis (sixth place for $116,234), Walter Wright (seventh place for $97,985), Jim McClain (eighth place for $87,013), and Kam Low (ninth place for $81,185). The top 296 players finished in the money in the sold out affair, which emanated from the Amazon Room inside the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Sin City.

Similarly, Event #9, the $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Six-Max tournament, drew 1,459 players, also a sellout. An e-mail sent to WSOP media this week noted, “With this event being six-handed, all available tables not being utilized for restarts were taken up by Event #9. Last year, this same event was Event #9 on the schedule and had 1,236 entrants. The 1,459 entrants represents a 223 player – or 18% - increase year over year.” The 2009 version of the Six-Max event, which wrapped up Friday night, was ultimately won by Ken Aldridge, who defeated Carman Cavella heads-up. The final table also featured Peter Gould (third place for $170,953), Bryce Yockey (fourth place for $115,230), Charles Furey (fifth place for $80,896), and Manny Minaya (sixth place for $59,049).

This year marks the first time that three of the first nine WSOP events have been sold out. Whether the numbers are a function of the placement of the $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament commemorating the 40th running of the WSOP remains to be seen. The event was the second on the docket of the 2009 WSOP and brought out poker’s biggest stars. Its 201 entrants generated the largest non-Main Event prize pool in WSOP history at $7.7 million. The aforementioned Lunkin was its winner and took home $1.8 million for his showing.

Immediately following the $40,000 buy-in tournament was a $1,500 buy-in Omaha High-Low Split Eight or Better event that drew 918 entrants, making it the largest Omaha High-Low event in WSOP history. The sizable field didn’t faze Thang Luu, who took down the event for $263,000. It marked a monumental feat for Luu, who became the first player since Johnny Chan to win an event twice and also finish as its runner-up in a three-year span. Chan accomplished the feat in the Main Event, winning the tournament in 1987 and 1988 before falling to Ultimate Bet’s Phil Hellmuth in 1989.

No discussion of tournament sellouts would be complete without mentioning the $1,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Stimulus Special, which attracted the largest non-Main Event field in WSOP history at 6,000 players. The tournament required two starting days and players were sprawled throughout the halls of the Rio, including several who could be found in Buzio’s Seafood Restaurant.

The 2009 WSOP will begin airing on ESPN on Tuesday, July 28th with the $40,000 No Limit Hold’em event. On August 4th, the WSOP Champions Invitational will air, followed by the Ante Up for Africa festivities on August 11th. Starting on August 18th, action from the $10,000 buy-in Main Event will hit television airwaves, concluding with its final table on Tuesday, November 10th.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest WSOP news. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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Steve Sung Wins $1,000 WSOP Stimulus Special, by Dan Cypra - Poker News Daily - 4th June 2009

2009-06-04T20:57:00.000-07:00

A record-setting 6,000 players turned out for Event #4 of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP), the $1,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Stimulus Special. In the end, 24 year-old professional poker player Steve Sung banked $771,000 for the win.

The nine-handed final table in Event #4 was originally scheduled to play out on Tuesday night. However, a last-minute decision by WSOP officials to hold the final table on Wednesday set up a mid-afternoon showdown featuring Dan Heimiller and Sung holding dominating chip leads over the rest of the table. In fact, the duo held nearly half of the chips in play. First to hit the exits in the No Limit Hold’em tournament was Danny Fuhs, the short stack entering Wednesday’s play. After a board of 10-A-J-2, Phong Huynh pushed over the top of a raise by Fuhs, leaving Fuhs calling for his tournament life. He flipped over A-J for top two pair, but watched as Huynh revealed pocket tens for a set. Every member of the final table earned a six-figure payday, as Fuhs took home $114,168.

Huynh was the next to go, coming out on the short end of a set over set situation against James Matz. Heimiller then saw his lead take a dive after dropping a 2.5 million chip pot to Pete Vilandos. In the hand, Vilandos rivered a six-high straight, trumping Heimiller’s flopped set. Jeff Oakes was then ousted in seventh place by Sung. Oakes was all-in pre-flop holding pocket fives in a race against A-Q. However, the flop came ace-high, sending Sung into the lead in the hand for good. Sung then caught fire, as over the next hour, he’d grow his stack to well over six million.

During the heater, Sung sent Heimiller to the rails in sixth after Heimiller’s A-K of spades could not hold up against Sung’s A-Q. The flop came 3-Q-6, sending Sung into the lead for good. Heimiller banked $145,000 for his efforts and was gunning for his second WSOP bracelet. He won his first in 2002 in a $2,000 buy-in Limit Hold’em and Seven Card Stud event for $108,000. In that event, he bested Ram Vaswani heads-up in the finale of the 144 player field.

Sung was also the executioner of Nathan Mullen, who was eliminated in fifth place for $175,851. Mullen was all-in pre-flop with J-10 against Sung’s A-7. The flop came K-Q-J, giving Mullen the temporary lead in the hand, but also giving Sung a straight draw. Sure enough, one of the three remaining tens in the deck hit on the river, and Mullen was sent packing in shock. According to official WSOP coverage, the hand gave Sung 60% of the chips in play. Shortly thereafter, Larry Sidebotham was eliminated in fourth place for $227,254 by Matz, whose A-7 held against Q-J.

Sung sent Matz out in third place. Matz pushed over the top of a bet by Sung with 5-4 after a flop of Q-5-10. Sung flipped over K-J for an open-ended straight draw, which promptly hit when an ace fell on the river. Sung held a 5:2 chip margin heads-up and won his first bracelet within an hour. On the final hand, Sung’s hot run of cards continued. Vilandos called Sung’s all-in for his tournament life with pocket eights, only to see he was up against Sung’s pocket kings. The cowboys held and Sung banked $771,000; Matz earned $473,283 for his runner-up showing.

The $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament (Event #7) wrapped up Day 2 on Wednesday. When the final cards were dealt, Craig McConville was the only player with over one million chips. Hot on his heels are Steve Karp (957,000 chips) and Jacob Kalb (894,000 chips). Still in contention is Jeremy Joseph, who ESPN followed religiously throughout last year’s $10,000 buy-in Main Event. Joseph took 57th in the tournament for $115,000 and now sits with a stack of 493,000 entering the final day of play. Thirty-three players remain; falling during Wednesday’s action were Justin “looshle” Pechie (42nd place for $11,505) and Sandra Naujoks (61st place for $7,390). In March, Naujoks became only the second female to win a European Poker Tour (EPT) event.

Finally, David Fox leads the way in the $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed event after Day 1. A sold out field of 1,459 players entered and 105 survived to see Day 2. Among those still in the hunt for the bracelet are David Daneshgar (27th with 77,700 chips), Bill Chen (40th with 68,700), Todd Witteles (45th with 64,600), Rafe Furst (63rd with 47,400), Justin Young (72nd with 33,300), Joe Awada (74th with 32,900), Carlos Mortensen (89th with 25,600), and Isaac Haxton (95th with 21,700). Play resumes at 2:00pm PT. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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Justin Bonomo Leads $40,000 WSOP Tournament Field, by Brett Collson - Poker News Daily - 30th May 2009

2009-05-31T04:42:00.000-07:00

With a starting field rivaling the most talented ever assembled in a poker tournament, it was assumed that the final three tables of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event would consist of the game’s biggest names. That promise has now been fulfilled, as players cracked the money bubble late Friday evening and the final 23 will prepare to play down to the final table Saturday.

Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo quietly, but steadily climbed to the top of the leader board to end Day 2, holding a small chip lead over Ted Forrest, David Baker, Greg Raymer, and Lex Veldhuis. Bonomo began Day 2 third in chips with 738,000 and rarely got involved in any big pots, pulling in small pot after small pot to increase his stack gradually. His biggest win of the day came by way of Marco “CrazyMarco” Johnson, who was eliminated in 33rd place after his A-Q was overcome by Bonomo’s K-T. Bonomo also watched as Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond and 2003 WSOP Main Event Champion Chris Moneymaker were knocked off his table short of the money bubble. Other notables falling out of the money were Nam Le, Kirill Gerasimov, Sami “LarsLuzak” Kelopuro, and Team PokerStars Pro member Humberto Brenes.

Forrest, who was inexplicably missing for some time after the dinner break, returned to take out Galfond in 29th place and play then went hand-for-hand. Alec Torelli eliminated Neil Chriss in 28th place just after Midnight local time, sealing a payday for everyone at the final three tables. The bursting of the bubble came with less than ten minutes remaining in the final level of the night, so a card was drawn to determine that six more hands would be played before the end of Day 2. Vanessa Rousso (27th place), J.C. Tran (26th place), and Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi (25th place), all exited just minutes later and David “The Dragon” Pham departed in 24th place on the final hand of the night when he ran into Matthew Marafioti’s pocket kings. Each earned $71,858 for their two days of work.

The remaining 23 runners will resume play at 2:00pm and the last nine standing will return Sunday for one of the most anticipated final tables in memory. The winner will receive $1.9 million. Here’s a look at the chips counts heading into Day 3:

1. Justin Bonomo - 2,678,000
2. Ted Forrest - 2,586,000
3. David Baker - 2,367,000
4. Greg Raymer - 2,287,000
5. Lex “RasZi” Veldhuis - 2,103,000
6. Alec Torelli - 1,725,000
7. Keith Lehr - 1,257,000
8. Vitaly Lunkin - 1,166,000
9. Matt Marafioti - 1,003,000
10. Brian Rast - 912,000
11. Doshi Suresh - 771,000
12. Dani Stern – 762,000
13. Clark Hamagami - 691,000
14. Matt Glantz – 671,000
15. Brian Townsend - 671,000
16. Noah Schwartz - 541,000
17. Isaac Haxton - 539,000
18. Antanas “Tony G” Guaga - 481,000
19. David Chiu - 318,000
20. Neil Channing - 270,000
21. Andrew Black - 210,000
22. Frank Kasella - 167,000
23. Andrew Robl - 112,000

The $1,500 buy-in Omaha High-Low Eight or Better kicked off Friday afternoon and broke the record for the largest Omaha High-Low event in WSOP history. The $1,500 event attracted 918 entrants and generated a prize pool of $1.25 million. Defending champion Thang Luu is currently the chip leader with 73,600 in chips, but with 197 players still alive, the gold bracelet is up for grabs. Eli Elezra won a big pot toward the of the night to increase his stack to 55,000. Others returning on Saturday include Celebrity Apprentice runner-up Annie Duke, Ultimate Bet pro Phil Hellmuth, Todd Brunson, and Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi. Play is scheduled to begin at 2:00pm local time.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest WSOP coverage. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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PartyPoker Lobbies for Mike Sexton to Join Poker Hall of Fame, by Dan Cypra - Poker News Daily - 27th May 2009

2009-05-29T03:35:00.000-07:00

With news that the voting for the Poker Hall of Fame is open until July 2nd, PartyPoker has begun lobbying for its ambassador, World Poker Tour Host Mike Sexton, to be among those considered.

Nominations are open to the general public. Interested poker fans can submit the name of their chosen nominee plus up to 250 words describing why they should be the newest Poker Hall of Fame member. During the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, Harrah’s officials will announce the names of the top 10 nominees, which will in turn be voted on by the 16 living Hall of Fame members. In addition, select media members will receive voting rights. Each person will rank their top nominees, but “only those they deem worthy of admission in 2009,” according to a WSOP press release. In order to be enshrined, a player must accrue 75% of the vote.

Longtime players or those who have contributed to the game are eligible to be considered for the Poker Hall of Fame. Sexton, a Guest Columnist here on Poker News Daily, recently wrapped up the seventh season of the World Poker Tour (WPT). He has been the voice of the WPT ever since Season I. This year, he celebrates the 20th anniversary of his WSOP bracelet win in a $1,500 buy-in Seven Card Stud High-Low tournament in which he defeated Sid “The Kid” Herald heads-up. WPT Founder, President, and CEO Steve Lipscomb told Poker News Daily, “Mike is the consummate face of poker. He was making poker mainstream before it had a prayer of being mainstream. He helped launch the WPT – which changed the poker world forever. Then, he convinced the WPT to include PartyPoker in Season I, which changed the poker world again forever. Let’s get the man into the Poker Hall of Fame!”

Sexton recently re-signed with PartyPoker and will serve as the ambassador for the world’s fourth largest online poker site in Las Vegas during the WSOP. At the Rio, a bevy of rising poker stars will take to the felts. Many were first turned onto the game by watching Sexton and WPT Co-Host Vince Van Patten bring poker to life every week. Party Gaming’s Warren Lush told Poker News Daily that Sexton has wide appeal in the industry: “I intend to approach the media and influential figures in the game and lobby for Mike because he really deserves it – he qualifies on so many levels. It is extremely encouraging that a figure such as Annette Obrestad has already expressed her intent to vote for him because she is a representative of the new generation of players. Mike appeals to players both old and new.” Also lobbying for Sexton is Irish poker pro Padraig Parkinson.

In 2008, poker pro Dewey Tomko and hole card camera inventor Henry Orenstein joined the Poker Hall of Fame in a special ceremony during the WSOP Main Event final table. Orenstein is a producer of GSN’s “High Stakes Poker” and won a WSOP bracelet in 1996 in a $5,000 buy-in Seven Card Stud tournament. Tomko first cashed in a WSOP tournament 30 years ago and holds three bracelets, two of which came in back to back events in 1984. Other Poker Hall of Fame members include Puggy Pearson, T.J. Cloutier, Johnny Chan, Stu Ungar, WPT Founder Lyle Berman, Chip Reese, Doyle Brunson, Bobby Baldwin, Jack Binion, and Johnny Moss. Two industry members have been enshrined every year since 2002; Barbara Enright and Ultimate Bet’s Phil Hellmuth served as the Class of 2007.

Sexton has 44 cashes on the felts of the WSOP, tied with Chris Bjorin for the 11th most all-time. He won the Foxwoods World Poker Finals’ first $10,000 buy-in event in 1992. Eight years later, he became the first American to take down the Euro Finals of Poker. In 2006, the WPT Host battled through the field in the WSOP Tournament of Champions, winning $1 million and defeating Daniel Negreanu heads-up. Sexton has also appeared at poker trials around the United States serving as an expert witness. Most recently, he testified in a case in South Carolina that poker is a game of skill by using hands that played out on the WPT circuit.

Vote for the 2009 Poker Hall of Fame class.

(Credit: Poker News Daily)

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PKR to Broadcast 24 WSOP Final Tables, by Dan Cypra - Poker News Daily - 25th May 2009

2009-05-25T15:58:00.000-07:00

Independent online poker room PKR has announced that it will air the final tables of 24 World Series of Poker (WSOP) tournaments as the “exclusive sole live broadcaster.” The news comes on the heels of an announcement that ESPN360.com and BluffMagazine.com will also stream 24 events.

PKR has set up a free website dedicated to WSOP coverage from the Rio in Las Vegas. Of the 24 events that will make up PKR’s live coverage, the site is looking forward to the $50,000 buy-in HORSE Championship. Last year, it was infamously won by Expekt Poker pro Scotty Nguyen, who was allegedly inebriated during the festivities and visibly hostile to both his tablemates and Rio staff. Nevertheless, Nguyen became the third winner of the prestigious event, which awards the Chip Reese Trophy to the winner. The late Reese took down the inaugural 2006 version, besting Full Tilt Poker pro Andy Bloch heads-up. In 2007, the $50,000 buy-in HORSE Championship was won by Freddy Deeb, who defeated Bruno Fitoussi to earn $2.3 million.

PKR will also carry several final tables of the $10,000 buy-in events. The World Championship of Heads-Up No Limit Hold’em is Event #29 and was won last year by Kenny Tran, who outlasted Alec Torelli in the final match. World Poker Tour (WPT) Founder Lyle Berman took fifth in that contest, with a bevy of world-class pros finishing near the top. The World Championship of Pot Limit Omaha will also air on PKR. In 2008, Boyle Poker pro Marty Smyth captured his first bracelet in it and defeated Peter Jetten. Coming in third place was Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, who earned over $330,000 for his efforts.

PKR Marketing Director Simon Prodger commented in a press release distributed by the online poker site, “The World Series of Poker is without doubt the biggest event of the poker calendar and it fills me with delight that PKR has managed to scoop exclusive rights to be the official broadcaster for these 24 bracelet events.” PKR has also become the official non-U.S. sponsor of the WSOP’s official website. A large PKR ad now dons the top of the site. The gray menu bar, which in the United States is sponsored by Bluff Magazine, is sponsored by PKR outside of the North American nation. The WSOP Countdown is also presented by PKR and the site has information at the bottom of the page about its WSOP satellites and along with a host of ads.

Among those events that will be shown on PKR are:

Event #4: $1,000 No Limit Hold’em Stimulus Special
Event #17: $1,000 Ladies Championship
Event #18: $10,000 World Championship Omaha High-Low Split Eight or Better
Event #29: $10,000 World Championship Heads-Up No Limit Hold’em
Event #33: $10,000 World Championship Limit Hold’em
Event #35: $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha
Event #40: $10,000 World Championship Pot Limit Omaha
Event #41: $5,000 No Limit Hold’em Shootout
Event #45: $10,000 World Championship Pot Limit Hold’em
Event #49: $50,000 World Championship HORSE event

PKR was one of the first online poker sites to popularize the concept of 3D poker. On the last Sunday of every month, the room offers the $100,000 Guaranteed PKR Masters, a $250 buy-in tournament that pays out at least $25,000 to its winner. $27 direct buy-in satellites are available, as are a multitude of options starting as low as $0.52 or 900 PKR Points. PKR regularly offers a $30,000 guaranteed prize pool tournament on other Sundays that comes with a price tag of $88. Every day except Wednesday, the site offers an $18 buy-in $10,000 guaranteed tournament along with a Daily $17K.

According to PokerScout.com, which keeps tabs on online poker room traffic, PKR is the 14th largest network or site worldwide with a seven day running average of 790 cash game players. It does not accept U.S. customers. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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Harrah’s launches interactive department for WSOP, by Amanda Finnegan - Las Vegas Sun - 22nd May 2009

2009-05-24T22:50:00.000-07:00

Harrah’s Entertainment announced today that it has launched a new subsidiary, Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment, to oversee the global and online growth of its World Series of Poker brand.

Harrah’s has hired Mitch Garber, the former CEO of PartyGaming, the largest online gaming company in the world, as the Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment CEO.

"As the world's largest gaming company, Harrah's is taking a proactive approach toward international and interactive expansion," Harrah's CEO Gary Loveman said in a statement. "It is important we position ourselves to explore new markets as well as new technologies with our best in class brands."

Jeffery Pollack will stay as commissioner of WSOP and will add president of the subsidiary to his title.

The company said in addition to growing the WSOP, Harrah’s Interactive will explore the use of interactive gaming technologies globally, beginning with Europe.

The WSOP expanded to Europe in 2007 with the introduction of WSOP Europe held each fall in London.

The WSOP event starts Tuesday at the Rio. Last year’s tournament attracted 58,720 entrants from 124 different countries. (Credit: Las Vegas Sun)

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WSOP To Offer Players Ability To Help Charities, by Earl Burton - Poker News Daily - 21st May 2009

2009-05-21T20:06:00.000-07:00

Over the past five years, poker players have stepped to the forefront for a variety of charitable causes. Online tournaments have raised funds to assist the victims of the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia, the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and other deserving organizations. The Heartland Poker Tour makes contributions to the Disabled American Veterans. There is even an organization – founded by Poker News Daily guest columnist Mike Sexton, tournament directors Linda Johnson and Jan Fisher and philanthropist Lisa Tenner – called Poker Gives, that focuses on using poker to assist in fundraising for charities. Now the World Series of Poker will step up and take poker philanthropy to the next level.

For the first time in its forty year history, the WSOP will offer players who cash during each event on this summer’s schedule the opportunity to donate part of their winnings to an organization that the WSOP has aligned itself with. All that a winning player has to do is to ask the payout clerk to leave one percent of their winnings to the Nevada Cancer Institute and the WSOP will arrange to transfer the funds to the Institute. As with many charitable donations, they are tax-deductible and contributors will receive a letter from NVCI for accounting purposes.

During the run of the tournament schedule, a special VIP lounge will be set up for players who pay a membership fee to be able to use the room. The “Aces Club” will be donating a large portion of each membership taken for access to the room to the Nevada Cancer Institute. As of press time, there are still memberships available and anyone who wishes to access the “Aces Club” should visit the area during the first few days of the WSOP.

One of the most popular fundraisers during the last few years at the World Series has been the “Queens of Heart” that play during the Ladies’ Championship Event. Featuring such players as former WSOP Ladies’ Champion Jennifer Tilly, poker professional Kristy Gazes and actresses Mimi Rogers and Cheryl Hines, the team has raised large amounts of money for women’s causes over the past few years. This year, the WSOP has created a special line of poker clothing for women, available at the Rio and on their website, WSOP Shop. The proceeds from sales of the “Queens of Heart” merchandise will go to the Nevada Cancer Institute, continuing the tradition the team has driven while playing on the felt.

There will be two special charitable tournaments during the run of the WSOP. “Ante Up For Africa” – the cause promoted by actor Don Cheadle and poker professional Annie Duke – will be back for their third annual event. The $5,000 buy in No Limit Hold’em tournament is open to anyone 21 years or older and this year, for the first time, will be a part of the ESPN broadcasts of the WSOP. For the Media Charity Event this year, the players who reach the final table will have donations made in their name to the Nevada Cancer Institute.

Finally, the Championship Event of the World Series will also have a way for players to make their mark in a charitable way. Poker pro Phil Gordon’s charitable cause “Bad Beat On Cancer” and the Nevada Cancer Institute will both benefit from players who donate, much like earlier in the tournament schedule, one percent of their winnings to charity. All contributions are tax deductible and will benefit research into the cure for one of mankind’s worst diseases.

With the WSOP adding in this charitable aspect to their poker schedule, the poker world is once again proving that, while there may be no charity at the poker table, there is a charitable heart inside all who play the game. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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PokerPalooza to Debut at 2009 WSOP, by Tom Jenkins - Poker News Daily - 14th May 2009

2009-05-14T18:47:00.000-07:00

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) Gaming Life Expo is no more. In 2009, the world’s largest poker expo will be re-branded PokerPalooza and debuts at the Rio in Las Vegas on July 2nd, one day before the start of the prestigious $10,000 buy-in Main Event.

Harrah’s officials tout PokerPalooza as being geared towards “everyone from the professional to those who have not yet taken up the game.” Past WSOP bracelet winners and Main Event champions are slated to be on-hand signing autographs and imparting their poker knowledge on PokerPalooza attendees. A special “Bad Beat Bar” will also be set up, in addition to a full food court. The Rio Pavilion, which is around the corner from the Amazon Room at the Las Vegas hotel, will host PokerPalooza.

A variety of non-poker activities can also be found at the event formerly known as the Gaming Life Expo. Guests can try their luck on a mechanical bull, put their nerves to the test in the Richard Petty Driving Experience, don oversized sumo wrestling outfits, and take home prizes in a series of carnival games. Appropriately, Ty Stewart, Marketing Director for the WSOP, commented in a press release distributed by Harrah’s this week, “It’s going to be part trade show, part carnival, all fun.”

Last year, the Gaming Life Expo attracted 50,000 visitors to the Rio. A total of 165 booths could be found over the Pavilion’s 50,000 square feet of space. Exhibitors drumming up sales and awareness included New Balance, Bass Pro Shops, McFadden’s, Gamma-O, and All-In Energy Drinks. The Aussie Millions, a high-stakes poker tournament that takes place every January, even set up shop. In January, its Main Event attracted 681 entrants (down from 780 the year before) and was won by Australian native Stewart Scott. ESPN Radio broadcasted from the Expo; its television arm will air the $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament, the Ante Up for Africa charity festivities, the WSOP Champions Invitational, and the $10,000 buy-in Main Event this year. Television coverage begins on July 28th.

All-In and Poker Pro Magazine were two of a handful of industry publications scurrying around last year’s event to boost readership. Signing autographs were a bevy of poker pros including 10-time WSOP bracelet holder Doyle Brunson, Full Tilt Poker pro Gus Hansen, Celebrity Apprentice runner up Annie Duke, 2008 HORSE Championship winner Scotty Nguyen, 2004 WSOP Main Event Champion Greg Raymer, 2005 WSOP Main Event Champion Joe Hachem, 2007 WSOP Main Event Champion Jerry Yang, and Antonio “The Magician” Esfandiari. Master Toddy’s Muay Thai Academy dispatched its “Fight Girls” to the Rio to teach martial arts to guests.

One of the highlights from 2008 was a “Man vs. Machine” poker competition. The “Machine” in question was from the University of Alberta; it squared off against several brand name poker pros including Nick “Stoxtrader” Grudzien, the face behind the popular training site StoxPoker. According to the Rio’s website, Full Tilt Poker pro Matt Hawrilenko and StoxPoker instructor Jay Palansky also competed against the computerized poker mind. The crowd watching man and machine battle included belly dancers on loan from the Gaylord India Restaurant, which makes its home at the Rio, and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) stars Josh Burkman and Grey Maynard.

Here are the hours of operation for the inaugural PokerPalooza:

Thursday, July 2nd: 11:00am – 8:30pm
Friday, July 3rd: 11:00am – 8:30pm
Saturday, July 4th: 11:00am – 8:30pm
Sunday, July 5th: 11:00am – 6:00pm

Booths run $2,500 each, with a $200 surcharge for a corner space. Vendors can pay using a major credit card. Interested companies are asked to contact Sharon Wayne, the WSOP’s Expo Manager, at (702) 777-2310 for more information. The event is free and open to anyone age 21 and up. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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World Series of Poker And Online Site Offer Chance At Main Event, by Earl Burton - Poker News Daily - 14th May 2009

2009-05-14T16:00:00.000-07:00

Since its purchase of the World Series of Poker back in 2005, Harrah’s Entertainment and WSOP officials have been highly aggressive in driving for sponsorship opportunities for the largest poker event in the world. On Thursday, it was announced that the WSOP and the online gaming developer Zynga have joined forces to push the WSOP brand name even further into the worldwide consciousness.

Zynga, who developed a free Texas Hold’em application that is one of Facebook’s top game application and features over twelve million monthly active users, will be offering two seats to the $10,000 Championship Event of the WSOP. Zynga will host several “Shootout” tournaments via their online application with a sizeable prize package for the two winners of the event. The “Shootout” tournaments begin on June 8th and will run through June 22nd.

Eighteen winners from these tournaments will be randomly selected to play in the Final Showdown on June 29th and 30th and the final two will be determined on July 1st, in time for the opening of the Championship Event on July 3rd. The WSOP package will include roundtrip airfare to Las Vegas, three nights’ accommodations at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino, a backstage tour of the WSOP venue and a day pass to the VIP player’s lounge.

“We built our Texas Hold’em poker game into the largest game on Facebook by keeping an eye on what is important to our players”, Mark Pincus, CEO of Zynga, stated during the announcement. “We know that poker is a lifestyle which includes playing online, offline and watching it on television. This partnership is an opportunity to bring those worlds together.”

“Any poker player knows the Holy Grail is to win the Main Event of the World Series of Poker”, echoed Craig Abrahams, World Series of Poker vice president, in the announcement. “Now for the first time, we’re reaching fans in a new way through Zynga’s platform. Players from all over the world can play the free Texas Hold’em game from the convenience of their own living rooms and win a seat to the biggest poker tournament in the world.”

This business move is only the latest in what has been a huge undertaking by Harrah’s and the WSOP to market the game to different corporations and beyond just the poker mainstream. Since 2005, such companies as major sponsors have included Miller Brewing’s Milwaukee’s Best beer brand (which will continue to be the main sponsor of this year’s event), Corum (who crafts the bracelets that winners take home), Pepsi’s SoBe Adrenaline Rush energy drink, the Helene Curtis’ Degree deodorant, the United States Playing Card Company’s Bicycle Pro Cards, Levitra erectile dysfunction medicine, chocolate maker Hershey’s and Planter’s Peanuts. Poker magazines have also invested in sponsorship of the WSOP, usually in return for “exclusive” coverage of the event. It is estimated that these sponsorships and other licensing outlets – such as playing cards, chips, apparel and video games – bring in more than a million dollars to Harrah’s yearly. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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Does WSOP Help Affiliates? - CAP Forum

2009-05-13T20:35:00.000-07:00

I'm curious -- what kind of benefit do poker affiliates really get from the popularity of the World Series of Poker?

As you probably know, just about every prominent online poker site is offering player satellite tournaments and freerolls, or travel packages to the WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas. The theory is that affiliates can use these tournaments as tools to pull in more players. And that theory is based on the assumption that players get really excited for this event, and are scouring the Internet for places to qualify.

So what do you think? Does WSOP bring in the traffic and players, or does it have a limited effect on affiliate marketing? Have you even tried to market the event to players, or do you think it's unnecessary?

Greg Tingle comment...

Good question. We've found that the World Series of Poker helps spike traffic, boost some sales, but largely just adds positive buzz and helps generate both industry and news media stories, which are usually for the greater good of poker and igaming. We're a media, publicity and portal development company (with some involvement in specific affiliate programs) so we might see and experience things a little differently to some traditional affiliates. I'm certain some brand so better out of the WSOP than others. For example, Mike Sexton is signed to PartyPoker and is also associated with a number of poker tournaments such as World Series of Poker and World Poker Tour. Because as I understand it Mike is so respected in the industry it's a great thing for PartyGaming's PartyPoker in addition to other poker brands and tournaments he associates himself with. Another side benefit of the WSOP is that I think it can force the hand of online poker brands to update their creative (banners etc). I think I've noticed Virgin Poker, Party Poker, PKR and Doyle's taking advantage of the WSOP to incorporate into some of their banners. The WSOP might also facilitate more travel and tourism packages into Las Vegas and some affiliates might do well to pro actively promote airline booking, accommodation and the like associated with poker tournaments in Las Vegas and the like. Centrebet had a promo for the Aussie Millions in Melbourne, Australia - Crown Casino which I understand was pretty successful with players based outside Australia. Blogging about these happenings might also have a number of additional benefits for affiliates such as improving search engine rankings and gaining stronger industry reputation. Good on CAP for raising this question as I've sometimes pondered the benefits of WSOP for igaming entrepreneurs and gaming affiliates. Maybe the wisdom of numbers method on the CAP forums may help us get to the bottom of this. I think it can only be a positive however some elements are difficult to measure. (Credit: CAP)
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PartyPoker Announces Million Dollar Rake Race, by Tom Jenkins - Poker News Daily - 29th April 2009

2009-04-29T18:24:00.000-07:00

In May, players on PartyPoker will have a chance to race their way to a share of $1 million. This week, the site announced one of the richest rake races ever held online. The announcement comes just a few days before the third running of the PartyPoker Monthly Million.

First place in the PartyPoker $1 Million Rake Race will take home $20,000 in cash plus a $20,000 prize package to the upcoming World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas. Players will have the entire month of May to generate as many Race Points as possible. These are fundamentally different than PartyPoints and depend on the rake taken in a real money cash game hand. Race Points are calculated by taking the total rake per user per hour and dividing it by the total number of hands played over the same time period. That figure is then multiplied by the number of raked hands played. A special multiplier is also used and is determined by a player’s rake divided by the total number of hands played.

It’s not as complicated as it sounds. Let’s say a player generated $5 in rake in an hour over a total of 100 hands. If only 80 of them were real money hands, then the number of rake points equals (5/100) x 80 x Multiplier. The multiplier in this case is three and can be derived by checking out the $1 Million Rake Race landing page on PartyPoker. The leader board will be updated at least once an hour so players can see where they stand. The runner up at the end of May will take home $18,000 plus a $20,000 WSOP package, third place pockets $15,000 and a WSOP package, fourth place earns $10,000, and the top 3,000 players will finish in the money.

The fourth through tenth place finishers plus the players who land in 50th, 100th, 300th, 500th, 750th, and 1,000th will win a $5,500 WSOP Experience prize package. These consist of one $1,500 buy-in to a side event of a player’s choosing, seven nights’ hotel accommodations, and travel for two. In addition, winners of the package have the ability to experience one diversion during their stay, including trips to nearby attractions such as the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and Red Rock Canyon. Alternately, players can cruise the famed Las Vegas Strip in a helicopter or rove the desert in a dune buggy.

PartyPoker.com spokesman Warren Lush told Poker News Daily, “The Million Dollar Race is the biggest rake race for cash game players that we have ever offered on PartyPoker. The rewards are great, with the top ten winning WSOP packages and cash, but it has been structured to offer significant rewards all the way down to 3,000th place. This is just one of many great promotions that we have in the pipeline in the coming months.”

The PartyPoker WSOP qualifier takes place on Fridays at 18:10 ET and Saturdays at 14:15 ET. It awards a $12,000 Main Event package for every 20 players who enter and comes with a buy-in of $640. Several entries to it are up for grabs as part of the Million Dollar Rake Race, as the 1,250th, 1,500th, 1,750th, 2,000th, and 2,500th players will win their way in. Daily Satellite and Daily Final entries will also be given away.

This weekend marks the third running of the PartyPoker Monthly Million. The $1 million guaranteed prize pool tournament occurs on the first Sunday of every month and boasts a buy-in of $640. Players start with 20,000 chips and blind levels last 20 minutes each. The price of poker begins at 25-50 and then grows to 50-100 and 100-200. A five minute break takes place after every three levels and antes kick in starting at Level 6. A Mega Friday Satellite is one of the last chances players have to win their way into the high-stakes monthly tournament on PartyPoker. The $55 buy-in contest kicks off at 17:00 ET and guarantees at least 20 seats into the Monthly Million. Players can satellite in for free by participating in country specific freerolls and PartyPoints qualifiers.

According to traffic ranking site PokerScout.com PartyPoker is the fourth largest worldwide with a seven day running average of 4,450 cash game players. It is the second largest that does not accept U.S. players, trailing only the iPoker Network, which includes rooms such as Boyle Poker, CD Poker, Chili Poker, Mansion Poker, Paddy Power, Titan Poker, Tony G Poker, and William Hill. PartyPoker is owned by Party Gaming, a publicly traded company on the London Stock Exchange. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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Party Poker May Million Dollar Rake Race - 28th April 2009

2009-04-28T15:28:00.000-07:00

Party Poker are celebrating spring with an excellent million dollar rake race taking place throughout May. Part of the Party Gaming Group, the poker site has quickly become popular with players , largely due to its promotions and extra features.

The May Million Dollar Race will involve 3000 players all competing to win a part of the $1,000,000. Beginning on the 1st May the monthly race is expected to attracted thousands of players.

The user who finishes at the top of the leaderboard will take home a huge $20,000 as well as a WSOP package worth the same amount. Simply play at Party Poker throughout May and try to win as much as possible.

The top ten players will all win a WSOP package which includes, travel, accommodation, entry fees for the event as well as spending money.

A PartyPoker.com spokesman said, “This promotion is simple - the more Race Points you earn the higher up in the leaderboard you climb and the more cash and prizes you can win. We are under starters’ orders and off for our biggest ever rake race this Friday. The race has great prizes from 1st through to 3000th!”

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Free Upper Class Vegas flight for every WSOP player

2009-04-21T23:28:00.000-07:00

21st April 2009

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is the oldest, largest, most prestigious, and most media-hyped gaming competition in the world and as such Virgin Poker is NOW running WSOP online satellites.

Now until 21st June 2009

Join one of these satellites and win either a €5,000 or €10,000 WSOP package, Virgin Poker will throw in 100,000 Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Miles – that’s enough for the winners to get there for free, and in style!!!

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Former PartyGaming CEO Hired By Harrah’s, by Earl Burton - Poker News Daily - 14th April 2009

2009-04-15T18:00:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, the London Times sent shockwaves through the land based casino industry as well as the internet gaming world with a small article regarding the recent actions of one of the largest casino operations in the world and a former online gaming CEO.

It was announced in the Sunday Times Online that Harrah’s Entertainment – responsible for much of the casino action in not only Las Vegas but the United States as a whole and the owner of the World Series of Poker – and former PartyGaming PLC CEO Mitch Garber have entered into an agreement for Garber to join the organization. What isn’t known is what capacity Garber will have within Harrah’s or what effects it will have on the World Series itself.

Garber, who resigned as the CEO of PartyGaming in early 2008, is thought to be taking a leading role in a reorganization of Harrah’s online operations into a stand alone company that will also encompass the WSOP. After several recent developments in the online gaming world, it is believed that Harrah’s is envisioning that the legalization and regulation in the United States will happen soon and wants a qualified leader to be able to run the resulting operation. With Garber, Harrah’s has landed such a leader.

Garber led PartyGaming through much of its tumultuous last few years after the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA) and the resulting move of PartyGaming to pull out of the American market. While with PartyGaming he focused on international expansion through product diversification and a series of mergers and acquisitions. These efforts helped PartyGaming to absorb the losses of the American market with little effect on PartyGaming’s bottom line.

There are different theories as to if, and/or when the legislative mood regarding online gaming in the United States will be changing. In a recent interview with The Hill, Massachusetts congressman Barney Frank, the chairman of the powerful House Financial Services Committee, stated that he plans to introduce internet gambling legislation after the Easter recess. The Hill noted that the week of April 20th is a likely time frame for the bill’s introduction and that it would create a complete licensing and regulatory framework for the internet gambling industry.

This line of thought is tempered by the current economic and political climate in the United States, though. With the ongoing financial crisis affecting not only the U. S. economy but the situations of most nations worldwide, many believe that the legalization and regulation of online poker and gaming is far down the list of priorities of the U. S. Congress and the Obama Administration. Although the taxation dollars from the online gaming industry - which garners an estimated $12 billion yearly - would be helpful to the American government, other more lucrative financial moves are expected to be implemented first.

Gary Loveman, CEO of Harrah's Entertainment, has said online poker's legalization is a strong possibility in the United States and recent activities regarding online poker operators have demonstrated that the winds may be changing. In December, former PartyGaming founder Anurag Dikshit pled guilty to violations of the 1961 Wire Act and paid a $300 million fine. Just last week, Garber’s former company PartyGaming also settled their grievances with the U. S. Department of Justice, agreeing to a non-prosecution arrangement and payment of a $105 million fine over the next three years.

With the hiring of Garber to run the online operations of a newly created branch of Harrah’s and – if online poker is a part of that operation – the WSOP, it does appear that Harrah’s is preparing for the day when online poker and gaming will be legal in the United States. Whenever that day may be. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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Harrah’s Releases 2009 WSOP Player Conduct Rules, by Tom Jenkins - Poker News Daily - 13th March 2009

2009-03-13T18:57:00.000-07:00

After high-profile incidents in 2008 involving Scotty Nguyen and Phil Hellmuth, Harrah's officials are determined to curb player infractions in 2009 at the World Series of Poker (WSOP). This week, tournament officials introduced player conduct guidelines for the 2009 WSOP, which kicks off in two months from the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

The 2009 WSOP rules, as you would expect, specifically outlaw any form of cheating at the poker tables. These include, but are not limited to, collusion, stealing chips, taking chips from one WSOP tournament and then using them in another, marking cards, switching out cards, "or the use of any kind of cheating device." Examples of collusion include chip dumping, soft play, players overtly or covertly telling each other what cards they have, and "sending or receiving signals from or to another player."

Breaking these and other rules can result in the loss of chips, forfeiture of prize money, or disqualification from the tournament. Infractions that could result in these penalties also include "any statement or action having… an effect prejudicial or detrimental to the best interest of the tournament as determined by Harrah's." Any players acting in "a disruptive or inappropriate manner" could also be subject to ejection from the tournament.

Last year during the $50,000 buy-in HORSE Championship, poker pro Scotty Nguyen acted abusively towards tournament staff. He made comments such as “The only thing I know how to say is nut nut" and harassed cocktail servers constantly. At one point, Nguyen told tablemate Erick Lindgren, a Full Tilt Poker pro, “I tried to protect your hand,” which raised issues of possible collusion. Nguyen later apologized, although the spectacle played out on ESPN. Phil Hellmuth, a front man for online poker room Ultimate Bet, talked down to his opponents fairly openly during the Main Event.

With regards to the use of inappropriate language, the 2009 rules state, "Harrah's prohibits the use of obscene or foul language in any public area of the casino at any time. Any player who uses such language or makes a foul, profane, obscene, or vulgar statement, or speaks abusively or in an intimidating manner to another player, a dealer, or tournament staff member will be penalized."

The excessive celebration rule, which was put in place after Hevad Khan's boisterous run through the 2007 WSOP Main Event, will also return. It states, "Excessive celebration through extended theatrics, inappropriate behavior, or physical actions, gestures, or conduct will be subject to penalty." Khan took sixth in the Main Event two years ago, banking nearly $1 million. He is now a member of Team PokerStars Pro. Another rule on the books includes "repeated etiquette violations." These include touching another player's chip stack or hole cards while in a hand, purposely stalling, or "excessive chatter."

Penalties will range from a verbal warning to ousting from the tournament. Players can also be sidelined for one hand, one orbit, two orbits, three orbits, or four orbits. Poker News Daily columnist Linda Johnson, co-founder of the Tournament Directors Association, stated in a previous interview that many events have gone to penalties that force players to miss hands or rounds. Previously, tournaments had sidelined players for a predetermined amount of time. However, remaining players at the table would speed up or slow down their actions accordingly.

New for 2009 is a database that will keep track of player infractions. In its rules, Harrah's states, "Harrah's will maintain a written log of all penalties issued throughout the duration of the WSOP." The database will allow tournament staff to identify habitual rule violators. In addition, floor personnel will receive extra training in 2009.

Other tournament guidelines include continued enforcement of the "English only" rule, which states that only the English language is acceptable at the table. In addition, rabbit hunting is strictly forbidden. Players must keep their highest valued chips visible at all times and only music-playing devices that are unable to connect to the internet can be used. WSOP officials note that iPhones, iTouch, Treos, and Blackberrys are not allowed at the table.

Finally, those who violate Harrah's code of conduct may see their actions revealed to the general public. The guidelines state, "Any and all violations of this Code of Player Conduct may be publicly disclosed in an effort to deter future violations and to assist other poker tournaments in identifying players who engage in play or any action that is illegal, unethical, or constitutes cheating or collusion in any form." (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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Additional Rules for World Series of Poker

2009-03-12T17:10:00.000-07:00

"Play nice" will be important

March 12, 2009 (InfoPowa News) -- World Series of Poker organizers Harrah's Entertainment released new WSOP rules this week that include a "play nice" provision under the heading "Code of Player Conduct". The rules cover the use of profane language and provocative conduct at the tables, along with restrictions on sponsor logos at televised feature and final tables and an admonition not to engage in any illegal or unethical actions, cheating or collusion, examples of which are provided.

"Civility and courtesy" are expected at the World Series of Poker, the guide reminds players and spectators alike, and that includes "excessive celebration."

For those who transgress, penalties include: forfeiture of chips; forfeiture of prize money; ejection from the tournament; exclusion from future tournaments; exclusion from the property and public exposure of the transgression.

Although the rule against profanity is restricted to language directed at, or about, another player, dealer or tournament staff member, the organizers have left themselves with room to maneuver by including a clause that Harrah's can at any time " ... impose a zero-tolerance policy for profane language whether directed at another person or not."

The 2009 WSOP Tournament Rules can be found at http://www.worldseriesofpoker.com/pdfs/2009/2009WSOPRulesFinal392009.pdf.

Harrah's has also announced that pre-registration for the 2009 WSOP is now open. There is a cap on the number of contestants that can be accommodated at the biggest land poker championship in the world which runs from May 26 through July 15 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino, with the "November Nine" returning to play the Main Event final table November 7-10 as was done in 2008.

Once the maximum number of entrants has been reached in each of the 57 events, that event will be declared a fully booked. "As is now customary, no alternates will be seated," said Jack Effel, WSOP tournament director. "We encourage players to pre-register early to guarantee their seats, which will be sold on a first-come first-serve basis."

Buy-ins range from $1,000 to $50,000, depending on the event chosen.

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Details on New WSOP Tournament Structure with Triple Stacks, by Tom Jenkins - Poker News Daily - 10th March 2009

2009-03-10T18:36:00.000-07:00

When players take to the felts for the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) at the Rio in Las Vegas, they'll notice a stark difference instantaneously. The starting chip stacks, which were doubled in 2008, will be tripled in 2009. In addition, tournament directors have added several levels to event structures. Poker News Daily sat down with Tournament Director Jack Effel to learn more about what players can expect when the WSOP begins in just two short months.

On the decision to triple the starting stacks, Effel told Poker News Daily, "At 2x chips, players didn’t feel like they got a lot of play in the smaller events. With 3x chips, you can play around with the structure and add more levels." The $1,000 buy-in "stimulus" tournament, for example, will give players a stack of 3,000 to go to battle with. Added levels include 75-150 as well as 1,200-2,400, which is included in $1,500 buy-in and up events. The Main Event will award 30,000 in starting chips and has a bevy of levels, each lasting two hours.

Deep stack tournaments were popularized by the Venetian in Las Vegas, among other places. Now, you can find these tournaments around the world. Effel commented, "It's a very competitive industry with a lot of tournaments moving to a deep stack format. However, putting on a successful event is difficult unless you really understand the math behind it." The WSOP has based its model on playing time per day. Tournament officials are aiming for eight to ten hours of play for the first two days of a tournament. In an economic drought, Effel explained the importance of allowing players time to make moves at the table: "It gives players plenty of game for their money."

As a result of 30,000 in starting chips, Effel expects each tournament to take an extra two levels to complete, or about four hours' time for the Main Event. He explained, "You'll feel that in the beginning. It gives players more of an opportunity to make moves and use strategy. It's going to benefit both the little guy who won his way in and it's also going to benefit the pros, who have additional time to perfect their strategy." Play on each of the four starting days in the Main Event is scheduled to last for five levels. Last year, 6,844 players turned out. For the first time, its final table was postponed until November in order to create additional hype. The result was a 50% jump in television ratings for the final table telecast, which aired on ESPN within 24 hours of filming.

In the Pot Limit Omaha tournaments, players will begin with a starting stack equal to the buy-in. Players can then elect to add on twice at any point during the first three levels in lieu of a rebuy. All entrants will be required to add on at the end of three levels of play. The Rio's massive Amazon Room and surrounding tournament areas can accommodate up to 300 tables. Registration for events is scheduled to open this week, but was not yet available at the time of writing. All rebuy events were eliminated from the 2009 WSOP schedule after input received from the Players Advisory Council.

The 2008 WSOP was marred by incidents involving Scotty Nguyen and Phil Hellmuth. The former won the $50,000 buy-in HORSE Championship allegedly intoxicated. The latter lambasted his competition throughout the Main Event. Both were featured prominently on ESPN. Effel noted that, in 2009, floor staff will receive additional training for the enforcement of player conduct rules: "When you have a rule, employees are less likely to use their own interpretation. Sometimes what you think is acceptable is not acceptable to others. It's tough in certain situations to figure out whether a player was being abusive. Obviously, we learned a lot from last year."

Effel noted that Nguyen received several warnings during his antics at the HORSE final table. However, he was not penalized. Effel explained, "Some of the things he said weren’t heard by the floor person. Unless you're standing over the dealer, you may not catch something. That's pretty much what happened." This year, Harrah's staff will utilize a player tracking database that will log any penalty or warning. For the first time, tournament staff will be armed with a history of player infractions.

Visit the 2009 WSOP schedule to review structure sheets for each event. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the Rio. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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Jamie Gold Hosts Charity Poker Tournament after Oscars, by Tom Jenkins - Poker News Daily - 22nd February 2009

2009-02-23T14:37:00.000-08:00

Tonight, the 81st annual Academy Awards will take place from the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles. Many in the poker world are in town not for the Oscars, but for the L.A. Poker Classic, a World Poker Tour (WPT) event taking place at the Commerce Casino. One notable exception is 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion Jamie Gold, who is hosting a charity poker tournament late Sunday night benefiting Children Uniting Nations.

The winner of the fundraising event will receive a $10,000 entry into the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, held at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas beginning on July 3rd. The all-expense paid trip to Sin City includes a private dinner and coaching by Gold. The Los Angeles tournament will be held at 10:00pm on Sunday night at the Beverly Hilton after the Oscar festivities have concluded. Confirmed to appear alongside Gold are Lee Watkinson and Full Tilt Poker pro Howard Lederer. The tournament is sponsored by the Merge Gaming Network online poker room ACED, which recently signed Gold. The Network accepts players from the United States.

Seating in the event will be capped when 30 players have registered and the field will consist of a mix of celebrities and poker fans. The gala is co-sponsored by the Hollywood Reporter and will feature musical performances by Colby O’Donis, JabbawockeeZ, Sophie B. Hawkins, Doug E. Fresh, Teairra Mari, and D.J. AM. According to a press release distributed by tournament organizer GreasieWheels, Jennifer Aniston, Pierce Brosnan, Christina Milian, Jane Seymour, Nancy Pelosi, John Kerry, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Bill and Hillary Clinton are all proud supporters of Children Uniting Nations.

According to the non-profit organization’s website, Children Uniting Nations “is committed to help every child find a way out of cruelty, neglect, and anger. This organization is dedicated to help children find their way to fulfill their dreams. Children Uniting Nations’ mission is to create loving, tolerant, and capable world citizens.” The Los Angeles-based organization was founded by entertainment mogul Daphna Edwards Ziman. The Oscar Viewing Party taking place at the Beverly Hilton has a price tag of $1,000; After Party tickets can be purchased for $150.

Gold famously won the 2006 WSOP Main Event, defeating Paul Wasicka heads-up and pocketing $12 million. Since then, Gold has served as a front man for 50 charity events and helped raise over $110 million. In addition to Children Uniting Nations, Gold’s efforts have benefited The Sunflower Organization, Montel Williams MS Foundation, and The Michael J. Fox Foundation. He’s right at home in Hollywood after originally gaining fame as a talent agent.

Gold took 35th in the 2007 WSOP Europe Main Event, taking home £27,150. He’s also competed on GSN’s “High Stakes Poker” and NBC’s “Poker After Dark.” During the 2007 installment of the “National Heads-Up Poker Championship,” which also airs on NBC, Gold bested Jennifer Tilly in the first round before falling to Phil Gordon in the round of 32. In 2008, he also bowed out in the second round, this time to Scott Fischman. Gold served as the keynote speaker at the Casino Affiliate Programs (CAP) Euro 2008 conference in Barcelona, Spain.

The Academy Awards recognize the best in the motion picture industry annually. Accolades will be handed out for Best Picture, Best Actress in a Leading Role, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Director, and Best Original Score, among others. Presenters will include a veritable “who’s who” of Hollywood personalities and the festivities begin at 8:00pm Eastern Time. Previous Best Picture winners include “No Country for Old Men,” “The Departed,” “Crash,” “Million Dollar Baby,” “Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” “Chicago,” “A Beautiful Mind,” and “Gladiator.” This year’s nominees include “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Frost/Nixon,” “Milk,” “The Reader,” and “Slumdog Millionaire.” Actor Hugh Jackman will host. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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WSOP Tunica Championship Event Kicks off Today, by Tom Jenkins - Poker News Daily - 2nd February 2009

2009-02-03T12:56:00.000-08:00

The Deep South plays host to another high stakes tournament this week. Fresh off the conclusion of the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Southern Poker Championship, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit Event Championship begins today. Harrah’s Casino in Tunica plays host this time around to some of poker’s top players.

Last month, the Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Mississippi was the site of the WPT festivities, which saw Allen “AawwNutz” Carter take home $1 million for the win. Two weeks later, the action moves north to Tunica, located just outside of Memphis, Tennessee. The $5,150 buy-in WSOP Circuit Event Championship begins today and will crown a champion on Wednesday. Each player will begin with 20,000 chips and the blind levels will last for 40 minutes. Each level is followed by a 15 minute break and play will occur on Monday until the final 27 remain. On Tuesday, the survivors will return to Harrah’s to determine a final table. A winner will be named on Wednesday.

A total of 15 events comprise the WSOP schedule in Tunica. In the $340 buy-in opening No Limit Hold’em tournament, Ronald Sewell defeated a field of 540 entrants en route to a $37,000 payday. Sewell defeated Mark “Pegasus” Smith heads-up; the runner up took home $18,000 for his efforts. Event #2, another $340 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event, was taken down by Perry Ernest, who blazed through 446 players and walked away with $32,000. Vincent Meeks finished second in that tournament and earned $16,000.

Event #3 kicked off on January 22nd. At the end of the two day tournament, Michael Ratcliff earned $37,000 for his win in the $340 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament, besting Kevin Miles, who pocketed an $18,000 consolation prize. In the tournament series’ first $540 buy-in tournament, Reginald Roberts outlasted a field of 469 players. In the end, Roberts battled against Scotty Carroll, who amassed $29,000 for his second place showing. Event #5 saw Nic Vita and Ethan Foulkes duel heads-up, with the former winning $65,000 for first. The event attracted a healthy 905 entrants, the largest turnout in an event so far.

Event #6 was a $440 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament in which Mark Fleddermann won his second WSOP Circuit Event title. In 2005, he tasted victory in a $1,500 No Limit event in Tunica for $118,000, outlasting a final table that included poker pro Mark Seif. The $230 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament (Event #7), as expected, had a sizable field, as 621 players took to the felts at Harrah’s. The contest’s finale saw Kevin Waldie defeat Robert Castoire, with the pair taking home $30,000 and $15,000, respectively.

Dennis Booze was the talk of the town in Event #8, a $230 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament. Booze won $22,000 for his efforts, twice as much as Michael McKee, whom he beat heads-up; a total of 470 entrants turned out. It was Booze’s third WSOP Circuit Event final table; the other two came at Harrah’s New Orleans and Caesars Indiana (now Horseshoe Indiana).

Many poker players will recall Ken Smith’s run through the 2007 WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas. Smith finished 50th in the $10,000 buy-in tournament for $190,000. In Event #9 at Harrah’s Tunica, he was back to his winning ways, emerging victorious atop the field for $26,000. In the subsequent $440 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament, another Ken, Kenny Long, defeated a field of 316 poker hopefuls. Long won $30,000, besting a player who got his start in the Deep South, Team PokerStars Pro and 2003 WSOP Main Event Champion Chris Moneymaker.

Mike Carter defeated Sean McMahon in a $550 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament. The event, #11, drew 416 entries, including former WSOP Circuit Event winner Allen Kessler, who finished in ninth place. The final preliminary event completed prior to Monday’s start of the $5,150 feature tournament saw Justin Truesdell (truesyalose online) defeat Chris Love for a first place prize of $77,000.

The “Shuffle Up and Deal” order for the Main Event will be issued at Noon Central Time today. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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WSOP 2009 Will Again Feature Final Table Hiatus

2009-02-03T00:04:00.000-08:00

4-month break remains in main event final table pause at World Series of Poker

February 2, 2009 (InfoPowa News) -- This year's World Series of Poker epic in Las Vegas will again feature a four-month break before the final table action takes place in the NLTH main event, and there will be a new one-time $40,000 buy-in tournament at the start of the series to commemorate its 40th anniversary of the championship.

The break was introduced at the behest of television executives last year, and delayed the final table of the world's richest poker tournament to allow ESPN television broadcasts to air without viewers knowing the outcome. The entry field of tournament field of 6,844 players was reduced to nine final tablers in July, but the final table action did not start until November, when 22-year-old Danish player Peter Eastgate became the event's youngest winner and won $9.15 million.

Tournament and cable network officials said ratings went up 50 percent for last year's final table, which aired the same day play finished.

Phil Hellmuth, an 11-time gold bracelet winner at the series, said most players think the main event's break is good for the game, allowing for more buildup to a winner and creating a bigger spectacle when the final nine players finally square off.

The 2009 World Series of Poker, starting May 27 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, will have 57 gold bracelet events, up from 55 last year. The main event starts July 3 and its winner will be honoured on November 10th.

Gone from the series are five re-buy events, in which players were allowed to buy themselves back into the tournament after they got knocked out.

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Arce And Suzuki Top Day 1A Of APT Philippines

2009-02-01T14:35:00.000-08:00

Day 1A of the Asian Poker Tour's second-ever Manila leg began yesterday with two WSOP bracelet-winners in the midst of the players who had paid the $2,700 to enter the event.

Among the field was 1990 World Series of Poker Main Event winner Mansour Matloubi and Philippines native Toto Leonidas. The latter gave the order to "shuffle up and deal" and play was on.

Overall, 75 runners were there to play the first day, beginning with 10,000 in chips and playing through ten one-hour blind levels. At the end of play, only 19 remained. Arce is the Day 1a leader, followed by Suzuki, Anders Andersson, Derek Hernandez, and Eddie Hearn. They will meet the survivors of Day 1B tomorrow. (Credit: CAP)

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ESPN Stars World Series Of Poker Europe Broadcasts Sunday, by Earl Burton - Poker News Daily - 29th January 2009

2009-01-29T20:15:00.000-08:00

While some may be distracted with the activities of Super Bowl Sunday, poker fans will also have plenty to be excited about. Fresh from the ratings success that their Las Vegas World Series broadcasts earned through last summer and fall, ESPN will begin their first ever broadcast of the 2008 World Series of Poker Europe, held at the Casino at the Empire in Leicester Square, London.

While the Super Bowl plays out, ESPN will put up the first four hours of the planned eight hours of WSOPE broadcasting beginning at 6PM Eastern Time. After the first four episodes have run, ESPN sister station ESPN2 will rebroadcast the first two episodes at 10PM and 11PM. ESPN will also continue to feature the broadcast team of Lon McEachern and Norman Chad with the commentary of the action.

The tournament, which was a £10,000 buy in (approximately $20,000 American dollars), was played out for the second time between September 27th and October 1st of last year and drew 362 of the largest names in poker out for the second edition of the event. All were chasing the youngest World Series champion ever, Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad, whose victory at just one day short of nineteen in the 2007 tournament is a record that should stand for some time. In addition to battling each other, there was £3,620,000 in prize money at stake - with £868,800 going to the winner - and the prestigious World Series of Poker bracelet.

As with their broadcasting of the Las Vegas World Series, ESPN breaks down the episodes by what day they were played. In the first episode at 6PM Sunday, Day 1A features former World Champions Phil Hellmuth and Joe Hachem, with other “celebrity” players such as Australian cricket player Shane Warne. The true draw of this hour, though, is the running battle between two of Full Tilt Poker’s best professionals in Phil Ivey and Mike Matusow.

Hour Two is dedicated to Day 1B and the start of Obrestad’s run for a second title. ESPN will focus on how she went from playing online to sitting at the table with some of the most skilled players in the game during this time. Others who will also be featured on the broadcast will be World Champions Doyle Brunson and Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, along with Howard Lederer, Phil “The Unabomber” Laak and Antonio Esfandiari.

After these first two hours, the field will be whittled down to the 179 players that survived the action last fall. The next two hours of play will take the viewers all the way to the top 36 players, who earned a minimum of £50,000 for their time on the felt. Featured during the final two hours will be such players as Daniel Negreanu, David “The DevilFish” Ulliot, Vicky Coren and Andy Bloch. This two hour segment will also feature the runs of two of the top online players in the game as Justin “Boosted J” Smith and Chris “Moorman1” Moorman get airtime.

By the time ESPN has finished the eight hour long episodes, a champion will be crowned in one of the most grueling final tables in poker history. Be sure to watch how it all started with ESPN’s historic broadcast of the World Series of Poker Europe starting this Sunday at 6PM Eastern. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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2009 World Series of Poker Schedule Features $40,000 No Limit Event, by Dan Cypra - Poker News Daily - 26th January 2009

2009-01-27T14:28:00.000-08:00

On Monday, the lineup of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) schedule was unveiled by Harrah’s. Participants at the 2009 WSOP will be able to partake in a $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament, the second richest tournament on this year’s slate of events. A total of 57 bracelet events will make up the festivities, up two from 2008. One major change involved the elimination of all five rebuy tournaments that were held last year.

Event #4 of the 2009 WSOP will see Harrah’s officials offer a “special stimulus” event, a $1,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament that is numbered 4A and 4B. On the other end of the buy-in scale are $10,000 World Championship tournaments. A total of 10 of them will play out in 2009, up from eight in 2008. There are also 39 events with buy-ins of $2,500 or below, up from 37 last year. In total, this year’s 40th WSOP lineup will promise viewers who watch the action unfold on ESPN a wider assortment of poker tournaments.

In addition, the final table of the Main Event will once again be delayed until November. This time, the action picks up on November 7th and a winner will be crowned three days later. The finale, featuring the November Nine may air on ESPN on Tuesday, November 10th after the event concludes from the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. No official television schedule has been announced.

Last year’s WSOP slate of events shattered several records, including the most number of total tournament entrants at 58,720, the most total number of countries represented at 124, and the largest cumulative prize pool at over $180 million. Peter Eastgate, the winner of the $10,000 buy-in Main Event, became the youngest winner ever of the feature tournament at age 22, shattering Phil Hellmuth’s standing record of 24. Here is a look at what players have to look forward to in Las Vegas this year:

May 27, 2009
Casino Employees No Limit Hold’em, $500

May 28, 2009
40th Annual No Limit Hold’em, $40,000

May 29, 2009
Omaha High-Low Split Eight or Better, $1,500

May 30, 2009
No Limit Hold’em, $1,000

May 31, 2009
No Limit Hold’em, $1,000

June 1, 2009
Pot Limit Omaha, $1,500
World Championship Seven Card Stud, $10,000

June 2, 2009
No Limit Hold’em, $1,500
2-7 Draw Lowball No Limit, $2,500

June 3, 2009
No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed, $1,500
Pot Limit Holdem/Omaha, $2,500

June 4, 2009
No Limit Hold’em, $2,000
World Championship Mixed Event, $10,000

June 5, 2009
No Limit Hold’em, $2,500
Limit Hold’em Six-Handed, $2,500

June 6, 2009
No Limit Hold’em, $5,000
Seven Card Stud, $1,500

June 7, 2009
Ladies No Limit Hold’em World Championship, $1,000
World Championship Omaha High-Low Split Eight or Better, $10,000

June 8, 2009
No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed, $2,500
Pot Limit Hold’em, $1,500

June 9, 2009
HORSE, $3.000

June 10, 2009
No Limit Hold’em Shootout (1,000 player maximum), $1,500
World Championship 2-7 Draw Lowball No-Limit, $10,000

June 11, 2009
No Limit Hold’em, $1,500
Omaha/Seven Card Stud High-Low Split Eight or Better, $2,500

June 12, 2009
Limit Hold’em, $1,500
Pot Limit Omaha High-Low Split Eight or Better, $5,000

June 13, 2009
No Limit Hold’em, $1,500
World Championship Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em (256 player maximum), $10,000

June 14, 2009
Pot Limit Omaha, $2,500
HORSE, $1,500

June 15, 2009
No Limit Hold’em, $2,000
World Championship Limit Hold’em, $10,000

June 16, 2009
No Limit Hold’em, $1,500

June 17, 2009
Pot Limit Omaha, $5,000

June 18, 2009
No Limit Hold’em, $2,000
World Championship Seven Card Stud High-Low Split Eight or Better, $10,000

June 19, 2009
Limit Hold’em, $2,000

June 20, 2009
No Limit Hold’em, $1,500
World Championship Pot Limit Omaha, $10,000

June 21, 2009
No Limit Hold’em Shootout (1,000 player maximum), $5,000
Mixed Event, $2,500

June 22, 2009
Seniors No Limit Hold’em World Championship, $1,000
Seven Card Razz, $2,500

June 23, 2009
World Championship Pot Limit Hold’em, $10,000
Omaha High-Low Split Eight or Better, $2,500

June 24, 2009
Mixed Hold’em (Limit and No Limit), $2,500

June 25, 2009
Pot Limit Omaha High-Low Split Eight or Better, $1,500

June 26, 2009
World Championship HORSE, $50,000
Limit Hold’em Shootout (1,000 player maximum), $1,500

June 27, 2009
No Limit Hold’em, $1,500

June 28, 2009
Triple Chance No Limit Hold’em, $3,000
Seven Card Stud High-Low Split Eight or Better, $1,500

June 29, 2009
No Limit Hold’em, $1,500
2-7 Triple Draw Lowball Limit, $2,500

June 30, 2009
No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed, $5,000

July 2, 2009
Ante Up For Africa Charity Event, $5,000

July 3, 2009
World Championship No Limit Hold’em Day 1A

July 4, 2009
World Championship No Limit Hold’em Day 1B

July 5, 2009
World Championship No Limit Hold’em Day 1C

July 6, 2009
World Championship No Limit Hold’em Day 1D

November 7-10, 2009
World Championship No Limit Hold’em Final Table (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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Long-awaited WSOP schedule finally released

2009-01-27T02:08:00.000-08:00

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- (PRESS RELEASE) -- The 40th annual World Series of Poker® (WSOP®) -- a set of poker tournaments open to anyone 21 years of age or older -- will commence Wednesday, May 27 with the first of 57 gold bracelet events, and the next day a special $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold'em tournament will commemorate the gaming industry's most illustrious event.

The annual poker extravaganza, which dates back to 1970, is televised exclusively on ESPN from the Rio All-Suites Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas and consists of a comprehensive slate of the game's most popular variations.

The 40th annual WSOP will conclude with the $10,000 buy-in World Championship No-Limit Hold'em Main Event which begins play Friday, July 3, 2009 and reaches its final table (nine players) on July 15, 2009, at which time play will be halted. The famed tournament's culmination will be held with the "November Nine" from November 7-10, 2009, before a live audience with special primetime coverage from ESPN.

The landmark WSOP comes on the heels of a record year in 2008, when the WSOP generated the most entries ever (58,720) from the most countries ever (124) that competed for the largest prize pool ever ($180,774,427) while awarding 55 championship gold bracelets, globally recognized as the sport's top prize.

Among the highlights of the 2009 schedule:

• 57 gold bracelet events over 50 days.
• A "stimulus special" $1,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em tournament on the opening weekend, May 30-31, 2009, which is anticipated to draw the largest-ever live tournament field outside the Main Event and offer a prize pool approaching $5,000,000.
• 10 "World Championship" $10,000 buy-in events ("World Championship" refers to tournaments with a buy-in of $10,000 in each of the various disciplines of poker).
• The third annual $50,000 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. tournament, with an enhanced gold bracelet and the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy awarded to the winner.
• A one-time commemorative gold bracelet event, a $40,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em tournament to help mark the 40th annual WSOP on Thursday, May 28, 2009.
• Seven open $1500 buy-in No Limit Hold'em tournaments, the most popular events in poker.
• The 3rd annual Ante Up For Africa $5,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em celebrity and charity tournament on Thursday, July 2, 2009, (the day before the Main Event begins) featuring the opportunity for anyone age 21 or older to enter and be seated at the same table as A-list celebrities and top poker pros.
• The Ladies Only No-Limit Hold'em World Championship on Sunday, June 7, 2009, featuring a $1,000 buy-in and helping to raise awareness for the Nevada Cancer Institute, the official community relations partner of the World Series of Poker.
• The Seniors Only No-Limit Hold'em World Championship on Monday, June 22, 2009 for all poker enthusiasts 50 years of age or older.
• The return of the "November Nine" where the nine finalists of the Main Event (July 3-15) return to the Rio on November 7-10, 2009 to vie for the multi-million dollar prize and the title of 2009 World Champion of Poker in front of a live audience with special primetime coverage on ESPN.

"Whether you play poker around the kitchen table or consider yourself a professional, you will find a comfortable seat at the 2009 World Series of Poker," said Jeffrey Pollack, commissioner of the World Series of Poker. "This year's schedule offers more variety than ever before and we look forward to welcoming players from around the world to the Rio for our 40th annual extravaganza this summer."

The famed Amazon Room in the Rio Convention Center once again will serve as the center of the poker universe this summer, featuring the same highly popular blueprint as last year.

Gold bracelet tournaments will begin at 12 noon or 5 PM Pacific Time each day, with a maximum of 10-one hour levels being played for the noon starts, while the 5 PM events will play a maximum of 8 one-hour levels. For those fortunate enough to advance past the first day, re-starts for noon bracelet events will begin at 2 PM, and 5 PM tournaments will restart at 3 PM with a maximum of 10 levels being played each day until a champion is crowned.

Pre-registration for the 2009 WSOP will begin in late February on-site at the Main Cage of the Rio in Las Vegas and online through www.worldseriesofpoker.com. Players will be encouraged to register through a streamlined online process in advance of coming to Las Vegas to avoid being shutout of their favorite events. Any foreign entrants who wire transfer monies will receive the exchange rate into U.S. dollars at the time of the wire transfer, thus locking in their exchange rate in advance.

A complete array of satellites, from single-table to mega, will be offered beginning from May 26-July 5, 2009.

Nightly No-Limit Hold'em tournaments will be offered from May 26-July 14 at 7:00 PM and 11:00 PM.

All winners will be required to provide a valid picture ID.

Tax forms will be completed for those with winnings in excess of $5,000 net of event buy-in.

Players without a Tax Identification Number and foreign players from non-tax treaty countries are subject to up to 30% tax withholding.

Harrah's reserves the right to cancel, change or modify the tournament or any tournament event, in part or in whole, without notice.

Complete tournament schedule.

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Poker's place in sports world well deserved, by John G. Brokopf - nwitimes.com - 9th January 2009

2009-01-09T14:05:00.000-08:00

Is poker a game or a sport? Even television is confused. The World Series of Poker is a widely viewed component of ESPN programming, yet High Stakes Poker and the World Poker Tour can be seen on GSN, aka The Network for Games.

The definition of sports competition implies physical dexterity, which would exclude poker players. Yet, the combination of skill, strategy, competitive spirit and cerebral input it takes to play the game successfully just may place poker in a sporting category all its own.

Surely there are qualities about tournament poker that are unlike any competition in which you can be involved. The object is to eliminate and win. It engages participants mentally and physically, when you take into account marathon playing sessions over a number of days, even weeks.

Every hand that makes up a poker game or a tournament is a competition all its own with a beginning and an end. There are winners and losers.

It's the combination of those decisions that determine the ultimate decision, but because there are so many strategic layers involved in getting there, the correlation of poker to sports gets complicated.

The mechanics of the game create the tempo for the playing experience. The subtleties, which revolve around timing and decision-making, are what give it life as a sport.

In tournament poker, success seems to feed on success, or better yet, a position of strength.

The bigger stacks of chips, the more daring you can be and the more gambles you can take. The damage created by mistakes is minimized by the cushion you enjoy over your opponents.

Conservative play, or playing with "scared stakes," dilutes the disciplined, tactical behavior required to succeed consistently under tournament conditions. One mistake can spell defeat.

Failure in poker feeds on impulsiveness and desperation. When you are compelled to gamble big on one hand to get back in the game, hoping that luck will be on your side instead of relying on skill and strategy, you set yourself up for defeat.

Waiting for the opportune moments and then striking while the iron is hot gives credence to the genuine philosophy behind winning poker: Patience plus some nerves of steel! (Credit: nwitimes.com)

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ESPN to broadcast WSOP Europe - 5th January 2009

2009-01-06T03:08:00.000-08:00

PRESS RELEASE

Beginning on Sunday, Feb. 1, ESPN will devote eight original hours of coverage to the World Series of Poker – Europe Main Event from the Casino at the Empire in the heart of downtown London's theater district.

This tournament was among the most grueling and exciting of all of the tournaments played in the WSOP, and attracted an extremely formidable field of 362 top players from Europe, the United States, and around the world. Play took place over a six-day period, with the initial field divided into two starting days, and culminated in a final table which took more than 19 hours to complete. At stake was the first place prize of more than $1.5 million and the highly coveted WSOP – Europe Main Event bracelet.

ESPN's coverage of the World Series of Poker – Europe will begin on Feb. 1 with the first four episodes beginning at 6 p.m. ET, followed by an encore presentation of episodes 1 and 2 on ESPN2 at 10 p.m., co-hosted by Lon McEachern and Norman Chad.

"The intimate look and feel of this tournament is different from other WSOP events we produced in the United States," said Doug White, ESPN senior director of programming and acquisitions.

The cavernous Amazon Room at the Rio in Las Vegas, which housed all of the tournaments held last summer, has given way to a small club where players are seated at tables on two different levels; off in a side room, under the stairs, behind the bar, near the roulette tables, and in front of an ice cream shop.

Thanks to a new innovation called the Mobile Hole Card Camera, for the first time ever, ESPN will be able to show the hole cards from key hands at many of these outer tables in addition to the feature table.

"We believe the Mobile Hold Card Camera will provide fans a great understanding of the overall story behind the tournament, and how the players advanced to the final table," said Jamie Horowitz, ESPN senior sports producer.

The ESPN2 air dates listed below: (ALL TIMES ARE EASTERN)

2/1
10pm Episode #1
11pm Episode #2

2/8
10pm Episode #3
11pm Episode #4

2/15
10pm Episode #5
11pm Episode #6

3/1
10pm Episode #7
11pm Episode #8

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Using distractions as advantages, by Steve Rosenbloom - Los Angeles Times - 4th January 2009

2009-01-04T21:25:00.001-08:00

If you're playing in a typical no-limit hold 'em tournament at your local casino, you don't have to worry about such things as cameras and boom mikes crowding the table.

But if you play in the World Series of Poker, those things can become a factor, and wily pros such as Kirk Morrison will try to exploit them.

In this hand from the 2008 WSOP $10,000-buy-in main event at Las Vegas' Rio Hotel, with blinds at $50-$100, Morrison found K-10 suited on the button. The player in Seat 7, who had beaten Morrison in several earlier hands, open-raised to $350. The cutoff called, as did Morrison.

"I'd call with anything in position," said Morrison, owner of one WSOP bracelet. "I'd call with deuce-6 offsuit in position in this tournament."

The flop came Q-8-7, two hearts, giving Morrison the second-nut flush draw. Seat 7 bet out $650, the cutoff folded, and Morrison called.

"I thought he was strong," Morrison said. "At that point, I thought he had kings, even though I had the king of hearts."

The turn came the 9 of spades, giving Morrison an open-ended straight draw to the jack or the 6 to go with his flush draw. His opponent bet out $1,200.

"That was a scary board," said Morrison, who won more than $2 million when he finished second in the World Poker Tour Championship in 2007. "When he put out $1,200, I thought there was a good chance he might've flopped a set of queens or a set of 8s."

Morrison called. The river came the 4 of hearts, completing Morrison's flush. Seat 7 checked.

Morrison immediately said, "That's me," and he threw out a $5,000 chip.

"With this gentleman, if I take my time, he was capable of laying it down," Morrison said. "So I had to throw it in quickly and look like I was steaming. If I slow down, I don't think I'm going to get a call.

"Plus, there was a boom mike hanging over the top, the cameras were there, and people don't want to be bluffed. I tried to take advantage of all those nuances that don't get written about in books."

The player in Seat 7 said, "I don't think I can lay this hand down." He didn't. He called, then mucked his hand when he saw Morrison's flush.

"You have to decipher different people's mentality," Morrison said. "That kind of thing wouldn't have worked against 70 percent of the field. I wouldn't have gotten a call. He was the kind of guy who, when you have the cameras in there, he wouldn't want to have it shown that he was bluffed. With his personality, if I slow it down, it gives him more time to think. He probably would've made the correct laydown."

Table Talk

Second-nut flush draw: Holding the second-highest card of a suit that would complete a flush. (Credit: Los Angeles Times)

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Doyle Brunson profile

2009-01-03T23:25:00.004-08:00

Poker’s “TEXAS DOLLY”

Among the Immutable Laws of the Universe is the Law of Legends:

In any group, there can be only one First.

In the world of poker, the game that took over America and become the third most watched sport on television, the first has always been and continues to be, the legendary Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson.

Brunson, now 73, is the Babe Ruth, the Michael Jordan, and the Arnold Palmer of poker. He virtually invented the phenomenon that is Texas Hold'em. He paved the way for a sport once viewed to be played by only roughnecks and criminals, but is now played by today’s world leaders and top executives.

He was the star of the infamous band of traveling poker sharks, the Texas Rounders. He was the first of the high stakes hotel poker players in Las Vegas introducing his “power poker” to the world. He has won an unprecedented and record ten World Series of Poker events, including the two back-to-back world championships. In addition, he is a best-selling author and in the world of professional poker, he is king.

Doyle learned early on in life, no matter what you’re dealt, anything can be turned into a winning hand. Raised dirt poor in rural Texas, he was a natural athlete who went to college on both a basketball and track scholarships. His NBA career with the then-Minneapolis Lakers ended before it began when he shattered his leg in an accident at the gypsum factory where he was working pre-season. The leg never did heal properly, and to this day, his place at a poker table is easily spotted by the crutch standing nearby.

In order to survive in Texas after the accident, Brunson took up the game that would prove to be his lifeblood, poker. His upbringing and early life as an outsider made him a lifelong observer of people, and his skill at reading faces was his ace in the hole; he got very good, very fast.

But then life took a turn for the worse in 1962 when he was diagnosed with cancer and given a mere three months left in this world. But he called that bluff and the other guy folded, and 40 years later, Brunson is still at the table, and still winning.

Considered the patriarch of modern poker and the person most responsible for its rise from smoky backrooms to the pop-culture spotlight, Brunson was the leader of the Texas Rounders, a group of men who, in the words of The History Channel, "cleaned Texas dry" playing high-stakes poker in the 1950s and '60s. Outrunning both the law and the hijackers who preyed on winners of illegal big-money card games, he eventually landed in Las Vegas where he became one of the city's earliest tourist attractions: audiences would gather in awe to watch him play.

In 1978, Brunson changed the game of poker forever with his book Super System, a complete guide to Texas Hold'em and other games of poker. Essential reading for everyone from weekend dabblers to high-stakes gamblers, the book remains the bible of poker, the top-selling poker book of all time, still selling 14,000 copies a month. Following the books success, Brunson recently published a sequel, Super System 2, which includes new games, new strategies and insight from not only Brunson himself but also some of the other biggest names in poker today. As well, Brunson has an autobiography, a recently released book specifically on online poker, and the tales of the greatest hands he's ever seen all scheduled to be published in the coming months.

Doyle continues to play at the elite level. Where most poker players’ skills usually deteriorate with age and time, Brunson is sharper than ever still eliminating the competition day in and day out. In 2005, he won both his record 10th WSOP bracelet, and hundreds of thousands more in tournament play.

He is a spokesperson for the online poker website DoylesRoom.com, and writes a syndicated poker column in the London Telegraph. He plays poker every day and often hosts high-stakes Texas Hold'em games that cost $100,000 just to sit down. He'll win, and sometimes lose, $50,000 or more on a single hand. But as he recently told the History Channel, "to be a successful gambler you have to have a complete disregard for money." That and a keen eye for what's happening in the eyes of the other guy.
Most recently, in January 2006, ahead of ESPN, the World Poker Tour, and the rest of the world, BLUFF magazine voted Brunson the #1 most influential force in the world of poker. Despite all these accomplishments, Doyle shows no signs of slowing down. He still has the eye, the nerve and the skill and just in the fall of 2004, won another million-dollar World Poker Tour event at the Bicycle Club in Los Angeles, CA.

Doyle continues to defy the odds and play with the best, but he’ll be the first to tell you, it’s not always what you’re dealt, but how you play the cards.

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Doyle Brunson

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Doyle Brunson profile

2009-01-03T23:25:00.003-08:00

Doyle Brunson profile

2009-01-03T23:25:00.001-08:00

History of the WSOP

2009-01-02T18:21:00.000-08:00

Since it began in 1970, the World Series of Poker has become the most important poker festival on the planet.

The first Series attracted just seven players and consisted of cash games played across different poker variants. The winner was decided by vote, with the legendary Johnny Moss emerging as the first ever Champion. The format changed in 1971 to the now familiar freezeout tournament structure, a decision that helped make the series more exciting.

As the years went by, the field sizes began to grow, as did the prizes up for grabs. There were also more events added, in a wider range of poker games. The focus of attention however has always been the Main Event. With a $10,000 buy-in that’s remained since day one, the winner is awarded a huge cash prize and crowned World Champion. It’s here that legends of the game have been made, names like Doyle Brunson, Stu Ungar and Johnny Chan.

By 2003, online poker was gaining popularity and PokerStars was about to change the face of the WSOP* forever. After winning his seat via a $39 satellite, amateur player Chris Moneymaker won the Main Event, taking away prize money of $2,500,000. And so began the ‘Moneymaker Effect’, his victory inspiring thousands of other everyday players to try their luck at World Series glory. The following year, PokerStars qualifier Greg Raymer also went on to win the championship, earning prize money of $5,000,000. The result was massive growth, peaking in 2006 when 8,773 players entered the Main Event, generating first place prize money of $12,000,000. With huge fields again in 2007, the World Series shows no sign of slowing down.

PokerStars sends more players to the Main Event than any other site. In fact, since 2002 over 3,600 qualifiers have won a seat via our satellites. For your chance to become part of World Series history in 2008, go to our qualifying page. Read about how members of Team PokerStars Pro and many of our qualifiers have performed at the World Series.

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World Series of Poker

PokerStars.com

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This week on the Road to Vegas…

2008-12-29T13:09:00.000-08:00

Play heads-up in the World Series!

This week on the Road to Vegas - freeroll for a seat in the 2009 World Series of Poker* Heads-up with a package worth a whopping $12,000! Earn your starting stack playing heads-up Sit & Go’s on PKR where you’ll get one freeroll chip for every dollar you win.

How variable stacks work

Earn your chips for this variable stack freeroll by playing real money heads-upt Sit & Go’s on PKR - you get one freeroll chip for every dollar you win. Win $500 playing six seat Sit & Go's and get 500 chips - win $2,000 and get 2,000 chips and so on.

Begin your journey on the Road to Vegas!

Before this year's Main Event champ has been uncovered, we've begun our search for the 33 members of next year's Team PKR. Book your place in that hallowed roll-call with our most valuable, varied, challenging and exciting promotion yet!

33 weeks
33 packages worth $200,000
Huge range of bracelet events
One winner per week, every week!

Each week, starting from early September, players can aim for the unique weekly Road to Vegas (R2V) Freeroll - an invite-only tournament with specific qualifying criteria. One WSOP package will be available, one winner crowned. As the weeks progress, Team PKR will take shape, with players from every level, every genre of poker, joining the ranks. Cash game shark, Sit & Go stalwart or tournament titan, you'll find many opportunities that match your game and even more that catch your eye!

All things to all men (and women!)
Each week, the qualifying criteria will feature something different, from PKR point races to tournament ranking results, high hand jackpots to community participation. Details will be posted on the PKR website along with results from each week. This format should continually surprise and challenge everyone - veterans and novices, pros and pleasure-seekers!

The facts
Over a period of 33 weeks, we'll give away one package each week. Each package will include at least $1,500 for travel and accommodation. Players may choose which event they enter, if there are multiple options eg. $1,500 NL events. Championship events are unique and as such, no alternative will be available. Despite no announcement of the 2009 WSOP schedule as yet, we've used recent schedules as a guide, and will amend any aspect of our promotion which differs as a result.

Bracelet events - a slice of history
Ask most poker players and they're answer will be the same - "A World Series bracelet!". The question - "What's the ultimate achievement in poker?" Ask Jabba and he'll say "Twelve bracelets!".

Whatever your goals, the chance to compete on the world stage against the best is a recurring theme among players. Competing for a piece of poker history and a title that can never been taken away (not to mention the fame, cash, glory, glamour and TV time) could be fairly called the Holy Grail of Poker, and at PKR we've got the tools to set you on that road.

No Limit Hold 'em
Limit Hold 'em
Heads Up
Pot Limit Omaha

Despite it's legendary status, it's not all about the Main Event. With packages for Pot Limit Omaha, Limit Holdem, Ladies Events, Heads Up plus a whole host of speed and six-handed variants, we've given PKR's Community every stage upon which to showcase their skills...

Best of luck on what will be a fascinating road!

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WSOP Evaluating Merits of Rebuy Tournaments, by Dan Cypra - Poker News Daily - 16th December 2008

2008-12-18T14:22:00.001-08:00

Heading into the 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP), the major change handed down by tournament officials was the introduction of a 117 day break prior to the start of the Main Event final table, which occurred in November. The move was considered by many to be a resounding success, as television ratings and interest in poker boomed as a result. Heading into 2009, rebuy tournaments may become a distant memory.

Poker News Daily has confirmed a rumor that WSOP officials are considering doing away with rebuy events for the 2009 tournament series. There were five rebuy contests held during the 2008 schedule:

Event #5: $1,000 No Limit Hold’em with Rebuys
Event #18: $5,000 No Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball with Rebuys
Event #28: $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha with Rebuys
Event #34: $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha with Rebuys
Event #44: $1,000 No Limit Hold’em with Rebuys

World Series of Poker Communications Director Seth Palansky told Poker News Daily, “For rebuys, we are simply in discussions on the benefits and drawbacks of having these events as bracelet events. We like rebuys and think they are a fun and exciting game for poker players, but at the same time, we are questioning their place in the World Series of Poker.”

In many cases, the rebuy period ends after the first two levels of play in a tournament. However, players can often play very loosely during this time and, if their bankroll allows for it, simply rebuy if they are eliminated. However, this has raised eyebrows as to whether a bracelet is warranted for potentially just having the deepest pockets. For example, during Event #5, Suk Song re-bought 23 times. In 2006, PokerStars pro Daniel Negreanu reloaded an amazing 46 times and added on twice during a rebuy tournament.

In Event #18, Todd Brunson invested a whopping $140,000. To put that number in perspective, Brunson would have had to finish fourth in order to break even; he ultimately did not make the money. Negreanu invested $85,000 in Event #28. This time, however, his gamble paid off, as he finished seventh and cashed for $129,000.

In Event #34, the number of rebuys was up a remarkable 53% in 2009 in comparison to 2008, causing the total prize pool to balloon by 43%. Layne Flack invested $33,000 in the tournament, which meant that he needed to place 12th or better out of 320 entrants in order to make his money back. Luckily, Flack ended up winning the entire tournament and taking home $577,000, or 17 times his buy-in, for his sixth WSOP bracelet.

The $1,000 rebuy tournament first became a part of the WSOP in 2004. In 2005, two $1,000 No Limit Hold’em rebuy tournaments were held, a trend that has existed ever since. One player re-bought 17 times in Event #44 in 2008, although WSOP officials declined to name who he or she was. The top 27 players received $18,000 or more.

Palansky elaborated further, “The bracelet and its prestige are of paramount importance to us and we want to ensure that anyone who does win a bracelet does so because they played the best poker throughout an event.” In 2007, there were six rebuy events held as part of the WSOP festivities. In 2006, there were four, which was one fewer than in 2005. The 2008 WSOP featured 54 bracelet events in total, meaning that rebuys accounted for roughly 9% of the tournaments. The Main Event is a $10,000 buy-in freeze out.

WSOP and Harrah’s officials will likely take into account views from its Players Advisory Council when making a decision. The discussion may focus on whether rebuy tournaments favor deep-pocketed poker players and whether the merits of having a portion of the WSOP schedule devoted to rebuys jeopardizes the esteem of a bracelet.

No timeline has been set for an announcement one way or another and the 2009 WSOP schedule has not been released. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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WSOP

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WSOP News Media

2008-12-09T11:57:00.001-08:00

Media Man Australia Profiles

World Series of Poker

Poker

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World Series of Poker

2008-12-07T15:30:00.000-08:00

Media Man Australia Profiles

World Series of Poker

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