Poker News

The World Series of Poker is going to be kicking off very soon and once again I am excited that I will be able to make the trek back down to Las Vegas for at least a week to partake in as much of the annual festivities as possible. My birthday falls towards the end of June, which provides a perfect opportunity to visit the WSOP during the height of most of the big events, which is good for when I want to both gawk at pros and then hit up the tables myself.

I’m not all that interested in large buy-in events, so typically my WSOP poker experience is kept mainly to the single-table events and cash games. My Dad actually enters in a few of the $1,500 tournaments, so I try to help him out as much as possible by winning as many tournament chips as possible in the numerous satellite events that the WSOP makes available. The number of inexperienced players at these games is really incredible and I’m able to really do some damage thanks to my online SNG knowledge. The only drawback is that, baring any side deals, you have to win these satellites in order to win anything, so you can’t pull the usual constant aggressive techniques over and over again like you can in a SNG where you’ll make the money once you hit the top three. Still, I’m able to adjust pretty easily and normally end up winning a few of these satellites.

After I help my Dad win a few buy-ins I then like to hit up the cash games, though table selection is more important than ever since there are sometimes just as many sharks in the room as there are fish. Normally I’ll scope out random tables for 15min or so and get a feeling for how strong or weak the players are and then try and at least plan which tables I want to move to if a spot opens up, as the chances of me getting the exact table I want immediately is slim. These cash games can be very juicy too since the tourists come with their wallets full.

The rest of my trip is normally spent just riding the rail and watching many of the best players in their world hone their craft. Watching these guys and girls on TV is no comparison once you get the chance to see them play in person and that alone is reason enough to try and make time for a quick down to this year’s WSOP. Remember that it goes on for a full month, so see if you have the ability to come on down, you definitely won’t regret it.

A new king has been crowned at the WPT Spanish Championship in Barcelona, Spain. Ali Tekintamgac is the big winner in the Spanish Championship. Nine players returned to duke it out for the championship prize of €315,000 + WPT Championship Seat 2011 + Tiffany bracelet. Ali Tekintamgac entered the final table as the chip leader with 1,522,000 in chips, and Triston Clemoncon was the low man on the totem pole with only 139,000 in chips to start the day.

Play started out at level 22 with blinds at 8,000/16,000 and 2,000 ante. Tekintamgac raised from early position with 9 9, and Manuel Cuberos Lopez Cozar moved all in with AQ. With a swift call from Tekintamgac the board ran A Q 9 6 K to send the first player of the final table to the rail.

Gomila Romero was sent packing in 8th place after he pushed with pocket 6’s. He ran into two huge hands, AK and JJ, and wasn’t able to come out on top. Not too long after Emil Per Mattsson took 7th place when he pushed with A J, but it proved to be no good against the K K of Roberto Garcia Santiago.

Mads Hansen was able to double up, but a few rounds later he found himself at risk again. He got into a back and forth preflop battle with Manuel and then Hansen was all in with A Q vs. A 10. The board ran out 4s 7c Kd Jc Qh to give Manuel broadway. It was a brutal beat for Hansen as he was sent to the rail in 5th place.

As three way action commenced, Ali Tekintamgac had retained his chip lead on the table. Manuel Blaschke became the 3rd place finisher when he tried to push Tekintamgac around at the wrong time. Blaschke pushed with K 8 offsuit and Tekintamgac had pocket aces. The board ran dry for Blaschke.

Tekintamgac had a huge lead over Roberto Garcia Santiago going into heads up play. It didn’t take long for Santiago to push with 9d 8h against Tekintamgac’s 5c Qc. The board came Kh Ah 5h Qd 2d to give Ali Tekintamgac the big win.

Final table prizes are as follows:

1. ALI TEKINTAMGAC – 315.000€ + WPT seat in Las Vegas final + Tiffany bracelet
2. ROBERTO GARCIA SANTIAGO - 160.000€
3. MATS ERIK IREMARK- 81.000€
4. MANUEL BLASCHKE – 71.000€
5. MADS SMITH HANSEN – 61.000€
6. TRISTAN QUENTIN CLEMENCON– 51.000€
7. PER EMIL MATTSSON – 41.000€
8. BARTOLOME GOMILA ROMERO– 31.000€
9. MANUEL CUBEROS LOPEZ COZAR – 21.400€

The World Poker Tour is in the process of finding its newest poker champion at the Barcelona Spanish Championship. This event had two start days which proved to draw a record breaking crowd to this event. The buy in for this championship event was an affordable €3,200 + €300 buy-in. Tournament Director Thomas Kremser announced that there were 326 players who entered which totaled the prize pool at over 1 million euro. The top 36 players will be paid. First place will take home €315,000, $25,500 seat to the WPT World Championship, and a Tiffany bracelet.

At the end of Day 2, only 44 players remained. Per Linde, the 3rd place finisher at the Grand Prix Paris event, ended the day with the chip lead. Edgars Strupka and Paulo Da Silva Pereira were trailing closely behind him. Although some players were hoping to make the money by Day 2, they would have to wait for the bubble to burst on Day 3.

Day 3 had 44 players return at their chance for a championship title. The top 36 players are guaranteed €4,900, and none of the remaining players wanted to go home with empty pockets. It was Erik Friberg who ended up being the bubble boy when he pushed with A 4 offsuit against the JJ of Mats Iremark.

As Day 3 came to a close, the final table was set. Nine hopefuls will return on Day 4 to battle for their chance to make poker history. Ali Tekintamac will go into the final table with the chip lead. Tristan Clemencon will have his work cut out for him, as he will be the short stack at the final table.

A few months back I reported that Russia underwent an extreme change when the government decided to place a ban on all casinos in the country, except in four designated zones. Professional gamblers and tens of thousands of casino/card room employees found themselves out of work immediately, with no other industry in which to use their skills. Now, the strict policy has begun to heavily backfire as underground casinos and poker dens are on the rise at such a pace that Russian police have been unable to keep up with enforcement.

Since July 1st 2009, the day that all poker rooms and casinos were closed down, police have confirmed that illegal gambling operations have popped up in a vast number of areas, many of which are run by ordinary gambling patrons. The most recent underground casino to be closed was a site hosted in an apartment in western Moscow. The casino was operated by a British citizen and consisted of two poker tables, two roulette wheels, 10 gambling machines and a bar. It is estimated that the operator generated tens of millions of rubles throughout the existence of his casino.

Police officials blame their inability to successfully find and shut down these establishments on a lack of available resources and manpower. They confirm that the number of illegal operations are steadily on the rise, with no quick solution in sight. There has been no word from the Russian government on whether or not they will reverse their policy, which was put in place as a way of removing gambling away from major cities and towns and instead forcing gamblers to the four designated gambling zones, which were in need of more tourism.

Professional poker players and those in the poker industry are often involved in investment projects that exist outside of the realm of poker, but normally those investments don’t get a lot of attention. However, the original founders of World Poker Tour Enterprises have recently found themselves back in the limelight when it was discovered that the team had successfully managed to take the cash generated from the sale of their poker assets to Party Gaming and invest it into the energy industry.

The WPTE founders, comprised of Steven Lipscomb, Lyle Berman and Brad Berman, walked away from their poker company with $28 million in cash, and apparently have put a lot of that capital into Voyager Oil and Gas, a energy company based in Montana. The company was recently featured in the Los Angeles Business Journal, which talks about the role that Lipscomb and the Bermans now play in the business.

“I don’t think we have many unhappy shareholders,” Lyle Berman told the publication. “We thought if we could find a company with a great business model that needed cash, the stock would trade significantly above $1.40 … We have fulfilled that mission.”

As for their daily responsibilities within Voyager Oil and Gas, the trio admit to having none due to their lack of experience in the energy industry. They merely were just looking for a new project to fund that they felt could result in profitable gains, which is essentially why they formed the WPTE and launched the World Poker Tour in 2002.

“As I go into a different phase of my life, it’s time for me to thank everyone in the poker community,” Lipscomb told Card Player in December. “I know we’ve made decisions that were contentious and hard, but through all of that, I think there has been a tremendous amount of grace shown by people in the poker community.”

The 2010 World Poker Tour Grand Prix de Paris had 247 players enter for their chance at a world poker title. First place money was a stunning €633,902, and it would not be an easy feat to seal a win in this event. The final eight players came down to Mickael Guenni, Theo Jorgensen, Antoine Amourette, Per Linde, Jimmy Ostensson, Nourredine Aitaleb, Fabrice Touil, and Arnaud Mattern.

When play at the final table started, Jorgensen held the chip lead with 2.7 million. Fabrice Touil was second in chips with 1.2 million which gave Jorgensen a strong lead. He would need it because he failed to knock out Antoine Amourette who was the short stack, and this left him sending chips across the felt to Amourette for a double up.

One by one each of the soldiers began to fall. Ostensson was the first to hit the rail when Touil called his all in and paired both of his cards. Arnaud Mattern was the next to go after he ran his Ac Qd into the pocket aces of Amourette.

Guenni pushed all in preflop with QhTc and got two callers. It appeared that this would be Guenni’s final hand when Amourette turned the ace high flush, but miraculously Guenni rivered a boat to stay alive. However, this didn’t last very long as he was all in again and failed to survive his all in against Jorgensen. He finished in 4th place.

Linde was the next to go after he became a short stack from doubling up Amourette he desperately needed a double up. He made a move with 7c 5d and was called by Jorgensen who held Kd Js. Linde wasn’t able to catch a win, so he left Jorgensen and Amourette to battle it out.

The heads up match was horrifically lop sided with Jorgensen sitting at 6 million in chips and Amourette at a little over 600k. It didn’t take long for Amourette to find his all in spot with Kd 6h. Unfortunately, he had run into a monster with Jorgensen holding As Kc. The board ran out 6d Jc 4c Ah 6d to give Jorgensen the win. Jorgensen took home the 2010 title and €633,902 in prize money.

The European Poker Tour has just concluded its sixth season with the High Roller Grand Final coming to a close. The High Roller event had 113 players who put up €25,000 to play. The high buy in event attracted a smaller field, but it was lined with some of the best names in poker. Vanessa Rousso returned to defend her title from last year.

The final table had eight players battling for a first place prize of €956,000. Out of 113 players the final nine included Allen Bari, Michael Friedrich, Luke Schwartz, Tobias Reinkemeier, Oliver Busquet, Tom Marchese, Paul Berenede, Sorel Mizzi, and Dori Yacoub. The chip lead belonged to Dori Yacoub as play started with the final nine.

Michael Friedrich moved in with Ad 4c in an attempt to double up, but he was called by the Ac Qh of Allen Bari. The board came out 3c 5c 6c 2h Tc to give Bari a higher flush, and eliminate Friedrich in 8th place. Friedrich took home €81,300 for his final table finish.

Bari was the next to be eliminated when he pushed Ad Kh into Reinkemeier’s pocket kings. This pushed Reinkemeier into the chip lead, and he continued to push his opponents around with the big stack. Reinkemeier then took out Sorel Mizzi to eliminate him in 6th place.

Olivier Busquet stole some thunder away from Reinkemeier in the next few rounds as he doubled up through Tom Marchese and then eliminated Paul Berende in 5th place. Marchese lost the rest of his stack in a race with his pocket 9’s against the Ah Kc of Yacoub.

The three way action between Tobias Reinkemeier, Dori Yacoub, and Olivier Busquet was intense as big pots began to develop. However, Yacoub was unable to come out on top when he aggressively tried to get Reinkemeier off of his hand. Reinkemeier ended up calling Yacoub’s all in bet on the river to find himself ahead with a higher two pair. The call sent Yacoub to the rail in 3rd place.

Reinkemeier and Busquet were then heads up. Things were going back and forth, but the devastating blow came when Reinkemeier bluffed Busquet out of a major pot which left Busquet short in chips. Then Busquet made his all in move with As 2c, and Reinkemeier made the all in call with pocket queens. The queens were able to hold up to give Reinkemeier the title.

Tobias Reinkemeier, from Germany, took home €956,000 for his title in this event. He also cashed for a respectable $108,045 for his 6th place finish at the Caribbean Adventure High Roller Event.

Here are the results and payouts for the Grand Final High Roller final table:

1st- Tobias Reinkemeier - €956,000
2nd- Olivier Busquet - €597,600
3rd- Dori Yacoub - €358,500
4th- Tom Marchese - €263,000
5th- Paul Berende - €191,200
6th- Sorel Mizzi - €143,400
7th- Allen Bari - €109,900
8th- Michael Friedrich - €81,300

The World Poker Tour has returned to France for the WPT Prix de Paris tournament series at the Aviation Club de France. The Main Event is currently underway which has a €10,000 buy in. At total of 106 players entered into this event. The prize pool is a respectable €2,347,797 to be divided amongst 27 players with first place getting paid €633,902.

Players from all over the world have traveled to play this event. Bertrand ‘Elky’ Grospellier, Guillaume Darcourt, Thomas Bichon, Freddy Deeb, Men ‘The Master’ Nguyen, Isabelle Mercier, Theo Jorgenson, and Roberto Romanello are among those that have made appearances for this prestigious event. Of course the top French players like Arnaud Mattern Rui Cao, Nicolas Levi, and Ludovic Lacay showed up to represent their country.
The Main Event WPT Grand Prix de Paris run from May 8th until May 12th, with the final table on May 15th. The final table will be televised. There is also a high roller event that will run from May 14-16. The High Roller Event is a €20,000 buy in event which will also have some exciting coverage. This event will also be televised.

The Aviation Club is located in Paris on the Champs-Elysees, and it is home to some of the best cash games in Europe. In addition to some of the best poker action in Europe, the Aviation Club has other table games such as Baccarat, Poker Black Jack, Punto Banco, and Caribbean Stud Poker. There is something for every table game connoisseur at the Aviation Club.

Poker players in Nevada are scratching their heads in confusion this week due to conflicting reports that state officials may or not be looking into a new online poker regulation bill. Two weeks ago, British stockbroker Daniel Stewart said in an interview that Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) was expected to introduce an all new poker bill to Congress within the next three months, only for Reid’s office to now step forward and say that those rumors are “greatly exaggerated.”

When asked for comment from Card Player magazine, a spokesperson for Sen. Reid’s office released the following statement: “Senator Reid has long held concerns about whether online gaming could be regulated effectively. Rumors of a forthcoming bill, however, are greatly exaggerated and stem from staff trying to get a thorough understanding of every facet of the issue, including the potential effect on Nevada.”

While many were disappointed to learn that the senator wasn’t aggressively pursuing the bill, his office at least confirmed that he was open-minded to the idea. Sen. Reid has built a reputation for staying fairly neutral when it comes to his opinion of online poker regulation, despite representing the biggest gambling state in the U.S. He has said in the past that he does not feel that online poker software is advanced enough to provide the protection needed to warrant full regulation.

Another rumor suggests that Reid’s supposed bill would only apply to online poker and leave out other gambling interests like casino games and sports betting. The American Gaming Association thinks that’s a good place to start however, saying that “If there are people in Congress who are concerned whether or not Internet gaming can be properly regulated to that standards that we do in Nevada and New Jersey and some of the other states, why not start with poker? Give it a shot, and that will be the proof in the pudding, whether or not it can be properly regulated.”

The World Series of Poker decided to open up the selection process to the fans in regards to which poker pros will get a very exclusive seat at this year’s Tournament of Champions event. Of the 27 spots in the tournament, 20 of those positions will be decided through online voting in what basically boils down to the ultimate poker popularity contest. Harrah’s, who is running and supervising the progress of the poll, has released the names of the players that currently make up the top 20 in voters eyes, with few surprises showing up in the mix.

One thing that all of the front-runners have in common is that they tend to get the lions share of the media and marketing support, making them the most recognizable faces in the game, but not necessarily the most successfully players in all cases. There doesn’t appear to be a single name on the list that belongs to a player that tends to stay out of the limelight, though I would have to figure that some players are getting a lot of votes due to more recent success.

Five players don’t have to worry about getting enough votes, as five spots were pre-reserved for the last three Tournament of Champions winners (Mike Sexton, Mike Matusow and Annie Duke), and the current WSOP (Joe Cada) and WSOPE (Barry Shulman) champions. The remaining two spots in the tournament are being held for sponsor exemptions, and it’s likely that these will be given away through massive qualifier tournaments online.

The TOC isn’t just about increasing their popularity either, 1st place will take home a cool $500,000, needing only to survive three tables worth of opponents in the process. Voting ends midnight on June 15th, with more than 250,000 votes cast so far.

In case you haven’t been paying attention, poker in Florida is somewhat of a joke. The state currently has a number of odd restrictions put in place that greatly hamper the games made available to the players, including one law that places a $100 max buy-in cap on all cash games. So yeah, that means that some Florida card rooms were running $5 - $10 no-limit hold’em games where the participants could only buy-in for 10 big blinds. The terrible restrictions have been driving players crazy for years, but it now appears that finally some relief may be in sight.

The Florida House approved a new deal this week that will be uncapped poker to the state, as long as the governor signs off on the bill, which by all signs appears to be a certainty. Other changes that the deal brings includes the right for the Seminole tribe to operate slot machines and host blackjack games at five of their seven casinos, as well as extend the operating hours of the poker rooms. The changes are expected to bring in an estimated $1 billion for the state and tribe over the next five years.

“This is a big contribution and a big commitment,” said Rep. Bill Galvano (R-Bradenton), one of the main proponents for the bill in the House. “It’s not estimated, it’s not, ‘Well, we might be able to achieve this.’ This is a guarantee.”

For those of us outside Florida it seems almost impossible that poker would thrive in any state where experienced and professional players couldn’t put up more than $100 every time they sat down at the table, but it was a harsh reality for Florida residents. Hopefully this deal gets ushered in as fast as possible so that they can save some money that was typically spent on trips to Atlantic City and Vegas to get some real card action.

There is a lot of excitement brewing as the WPT $25,000 World Championship Event nears completion. The Fontana Lounge in the Bellagio has been transformed into a full capacity poker television set. The final 6 players from the 195 players that originally entered, unbagged their chips and were ready to play around 4:00 pm. David Benyamine, Billy Baxter, Sawn Buchanan, Eric Baldwin, and John O’Shea were the lucky few who were able to avoid crippling beats to make it to the televised table.

John O’Shea was the first of the final six to hit the ropes. As action folded around, O’Shea tried to make a move in the small blind by pushing all in. Billy Baxter, in the big blind, made the call turning over As Td against the 6d 3s of O’Shea. The board ran bricks for O’Shea and he was sent home with $199,888 to add to his bankroll.

Billy Baxter was eliminated in 5th place when he moved in on the button with a little over 1.3 million in chips. Willams made the call showing Kh Th against the As Js of Baxter. The flop gave Williams broadway and Baxter two pair. Unfortunately for Baxter, he was not able to make a full house and he was sent home with $246,921.

David Benyamine was knocked out in 4th place taking home $329,228. Shawn Buchanan was defeated in 3rd place for $587,906. As Buchanan made his exit, so did half of fans in the stands. His large cheering section was disappointed and left gaping holes in the stands. However, it didn’t take long to fill in the gaps as word got out that play was down to the final two.

As play got down to the final two players, there was a lot of excitement in the stands. Willams’ mom gave him a big hug and told him that she was proud of him. The fanfare was pretty even between Willams and Baldwin. Whenever a player would rake in a pot, a loud roar of excitement and applause emulated from the stands.

Williams had a substantial chip lead against Baldwin when play got down to the final two. Williams had 15,654,000 in chips against Baldwin’s 3,855,000. At level 30 with 100,000/200,000 blinds with a 20,000 ante Baldwin would have to take control of a pot within the first few rounds. Baldwin started out playing an aggressive short stack pushing all in and avoiding a showdown with Williams to scoop up a few small pots.

In the end, it came down to Baldwin pushing for 4,765,000, and after a Williams thought nervously about it for a minute he made the call. Baldwin turned over Ah 5h and Williams tabled 2c 2d. The flop came Ad 7c 6s. The crowd went wild in behalf of Baldwin. The turn brought a 2h, which sent the other half of the crowd into a cheering frenzy. Williams had won, and the river 4c would be meaningless. Baldwin took home $1,034,715 and Willams took a win and $1,530,537.

Image copyright of the World Poker Tour 2010

John O'Shea & Billy Baxter

Welcome back to more exciting coverage of the $25,000 WPT World Championship Event at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Day 6 started out with 10 players left, and the plan was to play down to the final six players. Day 7 is going to be broadcast on television with the six remaining players. For this reason, the Fontana Lounge has been closed down while the stage is set up; play is taking place in the Bellagio poker room. Action for the day will start at Level 22 with 15,000/30,000 blinds and 4,000 ante.

The day started out a lot slower than play on Day 5 which ended after only 4 ½ hours. After the first break Cliff Josephy was the only one to leave the final table. When play got down to the final 9, John O’Shea was the chip leader with 4,100,000, and Phil Hellmuth was the short stack with a mere 508,000.

Nikolay Evdakov would be the 9th place finisher taking home $75,252 in winnings. John O’Shea raised under the gun to 110,000 and Phil Hellmuth called from the small blind. Nikolay Evadkov made an unexpected all in move from the big blind for his remaining 55,000. Both Hellmuth and O’Shea made the call. The side pot was checked down as the board ran 8c 8s 3h As Js. On the river, Hellmuth bet 150,000 to which O’Shea folded. Hellmuth showed Ks 4s for a rivered flush, and Evdakov turned over a Qh 2h.

Scotty Nguyen was the next player to go. After seven hours of play, Scotty Nguyen raised from middle position to 260,000 and David Benyamine made the call from the big blind. The board came out Jh Td 6d both players checks. When the 8h came on the turn Benyamine bet 350,000. Nguyen raised to 1,150,000 and Benyamine tanked before moving all in. Nguyen was at risk for his tournament life, and eventually made the call. Nguyen flipped over 8c 8d for a set, but Benyamine had a higher set of 10’s. The river bricked knocking Nguyen out in 8th place. He took home $105,823 in tournament winnings.

Phil Hellmuth would be the television bubble boy taking home $152,856 for a 7th place finish. He was a short stack with 505,000 in chips and moved all in under the gun. David Williams called from the button. Hellmuth showed Ks Td against Williams’ Ad Js. The board came 8c 7h 6s 6d 7s to knock Hellmuth out.

Tomorrow will be the televised table with the top six contenders. David Benyamine will be the chip leader going into Day 7 with 4,705,000. John O’Shea is the short stack with 1,200,000 in chips.

Scotty Nguyen & Phil Helmuth

Day 5 of the $25,000 WPT World Championship has come to and end, and within five hours of play a final table was established. The day started with 18 players, and Faraz Jaka was leading the pack with 3,117,000 in chips. Play started at 10,000/20,000 blinds and 3,000 ante.

Tony Cousineau had been the short stack for the last few days of play, but he was able to squeeze into the money with 60,000 in chips which was only three big blinds. He shipped it on the first hand of play with Ts 9h, and Nikolay Evdakov called with Ah 4c. The board ran out As Tc 5c Kc 8d to take Cousineau out in 18th place. Cousineau took home $47,033 for his efforts.

In a wicked turn of events, Faraz Jaka went from the chip leader going into Day 5 to out in 14th place. He lost a big pot early in the day, and then David Williams finished him off. Currently, he is still he leader in points for the WPT player of the year, but the matter is now out of his hands as Shawn Buchanan and Scotty Nguyen can beat him with a 1st place finish, and Phil Hellmuth can tie him with a 1st place finish.

J.J. Liu was the last woman standing, and during level 21 when the blinds were 12,000/24,000 with a 3,000 ante she made her move. She shoved for 213,000 on the button, and after some deliberation David Benyamine made the call from the small blind. Liu turned over Qc Qs against the 7c 7s of David Benyamine. The flop gave Benyamine some hope when an 8d 6s 5d flopped. The turn was the 9c that Benyamine needed to hit a straight, and Liu couldn’t catch back up. She took home a respectable $51,736 in winnings.

Day 6 will be exciting with the final table resuming play at 15,000/30,000 with a 4,000 ante. John O’Shea will be the chip leader with 3,174,000, and Phil Hellmuth will be the short stack at the table with 839,000. Here are the seating assignments and chip counts for the final table:

Seat 1. Scotty Nguyen - 2,637,000
Seat 2. Phil Hellmuth - 839,000
Seat 3. Nikolay Evdakov - 922,000
Seat 4. John O'Shea - 3,174,000
Seat 5. Billy Baxter - 2,429,000
Seat 6. Eric Baldwin - 2,130,000
Seat 7. David Williams - 2,454,000
Seat 8. David Benyamine - 2,561,000
Seat 9. Shawn Buchanan - 1,087,000
Seat 10. Cliff Josephy - 1,269,000

David Williams (right)

Welcome back to more coverage of the $25,000 WPT World Championship. The first few days of the tournament were filled with star studded names and heartbreaking eliminations. Day 4 of the Championship has been especially exciting because the money bubble burst, and players are going to battle for a first place prize and player of the year points.

Day 4 started with 35 eager poker players and blinds at 4,000-8,000 with a 1,000 ante. Shawn Buchanan had a strong chip lead with over 1.8 million in chips, and an impressive Heather Sue Mercer was second with 1.3 million in chips. Chris Moore and Tony Cousineau were not so prosperous with their accumulation of chips and would have to double up on Day 4 if they wanted a chance at first place money.

Early in the day, seasoned players David Benyamine and Carlos Mortensen battled against each other. Benyamine raised to 25,000 from mid position. Shawn Buchanan made the call from the button, Eric Baldwin called from the small blind, and Carlos Mortensen reraised from the big blind to 98,000. Benyamine made the call, and the other two players moved out of the way. The flop delivered a 9h 8h 3d to which Mortensen lead out for 134,000. Benyamine made the call. The turn was a 3s, and Mortensen moved all in putting Benyamine at risk. Benyamine snap called turning over 8c 8s for a full house. Mortensen showed Kc Kd and needed a king to hit the river to bust Benyamine. The river wasn’t a king. Benyamine doubled to over a million in chips leaving Mortensen with 115,000.

Yevgeniy Timoshenko will not be at the final table to defend his title. He was short in chips with just over 120,000 when he moved in under the gun. Josh Arieh gave him protection by moving in over the top. Everyone else got out of the way. Timoshenko turned over Qs Th against Arieh’s Kh Ks. The board ran out Ac Tc 2s 4s 5s giving Arieh the win.

Heather Sue Mercer found out that you can’t beat lucky. Mercer raised preflop to 40,000 from early position, and Faraz Jaka made a quick decision to raise 110,000. Mercer reraised 300,000 on top to which Jaka moved all in. Mercer made an effortless call and tabled aces. Jaka surprisingly turned over 3d 9s. As fate would have it the flop came 9c 8d 3s giving Jaka two pair. Unluckily for Mercer, she wasn’t able to recover and she was sent home just before the money.

Day 4 wrapped up when the money bubble burst at 18 players. Maroun Jazzar was the bubble boy and was eliminated by David Benyamine. Other eliminations for the day include James Guinther, Chris Moore, James Calderaro, David “Devilfish” Ulliott, and Brian Limke. Faraz Jaka is the chip leader heading into Day 5 with 3.1 million in chips. Here are the final 18 players who will return for Day 5 and their table assignments:

TABLE 1
1. Eric Baldwin
2. Shawn Buchanan
3. John O'Shea
4. J.J. Liu
5. David Benyamine
6. Phil Hellmuth
7. Cliff Josephy
8. Scotty Nguyen
9. Olivier Busquet

TABLE 2
1. Nikolay Evdakov
2. Robert Cooper
3. David Williams
4. Jason Lester
5. Josh Arieh
6. Billy Baxter
7. Faraz Jaka
8. Tony Cousineau
9. Matt Stout

Carlos Mortensen and David Benyamine

Day 3 of the WPT $25,000 World Championship is under wraps, and 98 players returned at their shot for the big money. At the start of the day blinds were 1,200-2,400 with a 300 ante, and the average stack was around 200,000. It has been determined that the top 18 players will get paid.

Beth Shak has been stirring up a little bit of commotion. She has a television crew following her around for a German reality t.v. show. Apparently, the show is about rich and famous people. The crew has popped in and out to catch Shak in action at the poker tables. Unfortunately, Shak was eliminated from the tournament early in the day. She tried to make a move with Q Q on a board with overs. After jamming on the turn, she was insta called by her opponent Joshua Gould who had flopped a set of kings.

One lady who isn’t going home any time soon is Heather Sue Mercer. She seems to be quite an intimidating force at the table with her stone cold gaze and invisible tells. It is very hard to get a read on her. Ralph Perry found this out the hard way. He had raised on the button to 38,000 and Mercer in the small blind reraised to 100,000. Perry took a long time to consider before making it just over 300,000 total. Mercier moved all in putting Perry at risk for his chips. He made the call. Mercer turned over Ah Kd which dominated Perry’s As Js. The board ran out Ad Qd Ts 4c 5s to send Perry packing.

It is nice to know that even though there is a lot of money on the line at this event, that the players can still retain a sense of humor. Hellmuth has been wearing a Celtic looking green vest for the last two days. Dave “Devil Fish” Ulliott took noticed and asked Hellmuth, “Did your grandfather die and leave you some clothes?”

Not long after this comment, “Devil Fish” was put to a decision for all of his chips. On a Qd 8s Jd Th 3d board, “Devil Fish” made a bet of 175,000. Todd Terry wasted little time in putting “Devil Fish” all in. “Devil Fish” made the call sliding in his remaining 139,500 into the pot. Terry turned over Ac Kh against the 5d 6d of “Devil Fish” who hit a river flush for the win.

As Day 3 of the WPT World Championship drew to a close there were 35 players left. Every player that makes it to the money is guaranteed $47,033, and first place is a respectable $1,530,537.

Some of the players that did not survive Day 3 included John Juanda, Freddie Deeb, Justin Young, Shawn Cunix, Ralph Perry, and Lee Markholt. Players to look forward to hearing about at Day 4 include David Benyamine, Eric Baldwin, Carlos Mortensen, Faraz Jaka, Josh Arieh, and Yevgeniy Timoshenko.

Shawn Buchanan will be the chip leader going into Day 4 with 1,841,500. Heather Sue Mercer in second in chips with 1,364,500. Chris Moore and Tony Cousineau have some work to do tomorrow, as both players are sitting with less than 150,000 in chips. Stay tuned for more updates from the WPT $25,000 World Championship Event.

The top ten chip counts from the end of Day 3 are:

1. Shawn Buchanan – 1,841,000
2. Heather Sue Mercer – 1,364,000
3. Robert Cooper – 937,000
4. Matt Stout – 919,500
5. Billy Baxter – 887,500
6. Faraz Jaka – 856,000
7. Todd Terry – 817,500
8. Phil Hellmuth – 806,500
9. David Williams – 757,000
10. David Benyamine – 731,000

Phil Helmuth and Justin Young

Action is underway as the $25,000 No Limit WPT World Championship Event started at the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas. With the steep buy in for this event, it was no surprise that the Fontana Lounge would be filled with big names. At the beginning of Day 1 Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Gavin Smith, and Antonio Esfandiari were among the few headliners that showed up.

The day started out with 117 players registered. However, registration does not close until 5:00 pm on Day 2. For players that decide to wait until the last possible moment to register, they will enter in at Level 9 with blinds 800/1600 with a 200 ante that will have them start at 62 big blinds. Players start with 100,000 in chips and two-hour levels.

As players started taking their seats, it was apparent that there was going to be some stiff competition lined out as the tournament progressed. Phil Ivey’s table is stacked with David Chiu, Hasan Habib, Kathy Liebert, Brock Parker, and Aaron Jones. Another table has Daniel Negreanu, Gavin Smith, and John Juanda.

Since this is a WPT Championship event, this is the last chance for players to pick up their player of the year points. According to the WPT website, there are 96 players that have a chance to take down the point leader, Faraz Jaka, if they do well in this event. There are 16 players who are close behind Jaka’s 1,300 points with 1,000 points. These players have a chance at besting Jaka if they can place 6th or higher in this event. Some of these players include, Carlos Mortensen, Christophe Savary, , McLean Karr, Olivier Busquet, Prahlad Friedman, Randal Flowers, and Tommy Vedes. That is quite a race!

As Day 1 drew to a close there were 137 players left of 161. Annette Obrestad was a big favorite to represent the women in this tournament, but she was eliminated shortly after the last level of the day. Antonio Esfandiari was also eliminated today when his set of kings ran into the club flush of Soheil Shamseddin.

There are a few expected entrances that have not shown up yet like Hoyt Corkins and Daniel Alaei. Phil Hellmuth has yet to show up, but this is not out of the ordinary for him since he has made it his trademark move to show up late with some spectacle behind him. It won’t be a question of if he will show up, but if he will be riding on horseback when he does.

At the end of Day 1, here are the top 5 highest and lowest remaining chip counts:

Shawn Buchanan 388,6000
Brain Lemke 298,825
David Benyamine 291,275
Yevgeniy Timoshenko 277,275
Soheil Shamseddin 244,000
Binh Nguyen 19,400
Lawrence Rieder 16,150
Curt Kohlberg 13,875
Cornel Cimpan 13,600
Andrew Robl 10,025

© Songquan Deng | Dreamstime.com

Last week I talked a story where a new poker bill being aggressively pushed through the Massachusetts House of Representatives contained language that would make online poker a criminal activity if the bill was passed. The PPA stepped out and claimed that the parties involved had every intention of removing the verbiage, only for the bill to be sent to the floor without the language being taken out.

Now, the PPA is reporting that the MA House of Representatives has approved an amendment that strikes the controversial criminalization part of the bill in regards to online poker.

“Of course, the PPA is very pleased that the House-passed gaming bill does not criminalize online poker, but I am even more proud of our members in Massachusetts who really stepped up to the plate on this issue and made their voices heard among the House lawmakers. This was grassroots at its finest,” said John Pappas, the PPA’s executive director.

Pappas went on to say that the inclusion of the language in the bill was likely to have been an oversight rather than intentional, as the bill makers were quick to remedy the situation after being flooded with calls and emails from PPA members. The bill has the support of many poker enthusiasts and is expected to become law.

“On behalf of poker players in Massachusetts and nationwide, I’d like to thank Representative Dempsey for his effort to remove the criminalization language from the gaming bill, as well as Representative Wallace for his continued support,” said Pappas. “We will now focus our efforts on the Massachusetts Senate to include the skill language into the bill and to ensure the criminalization provision stays out of the final package.”

Of all the professional poker players that devote their time and money to various causes, few can compare to the amount of effort that Jennifer Harmon puts into different charities, with her personal choice typically being those that benefit animals. Harmon often acts as the host or special guest of events that raise money for these foundations, but in recent years the poker pro has found a more poker-focused way of generating donations.

Awhile back Harman formed the Jennifer Harman Charity Poker Tournament, which has been running annually since 2007 and has raised more than six-figures for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). This year’s event took place this past Saturday at the Venetian and featured a $330 buy-in in a no-limit hold’em format. The winner of the tournament took won a $10,000 WSOP main-event seat and a watch from Curtis & Co.

“I’ve always been an animal lover, and I know that the NSPCA is a no-kill animal shelter,” said Harmon. “I wanted to raise money for them, as well as awareness so people will bring animals to them so they don’t get killed. I met the people there and they all have such big hearts that I wanted to help them out.”

In addition to her work with the SPCA, Harman also donates 1% of her annual winnings to the NephCure Foundation through the “All-in for a Cure” pledge program, an organization that Harman helped bring to the attention of numerous other poker pros. Last year she also hosted a tournament for the National Kidney Foundation that ended up raising $107,000.

“Poker players are givers and all you have to do is ask and they come. Most of them have big hearts and a lot of them are animal lovers. They enjoy being able to give. I think they have it in their hearts that they want to help.”

The hearing which would have seen Representative Barney Frank's two bills outlining a legalised and regulated American online gambling market discussed in front of the House Financial Services Committee has been delayed. The hearing was originally scheduled to take place on Friday 16th April, however it will now be moved back to a later, unconfirmed date.

The hearing date was postponed due to a slight timing conflict involving the bills' sponsor and Committee chairman Barney Frank. This conflict meant that the meeting had to be delayed until a time when Frank was able to fully focus on the pair of bills.

The pair of bills which Frank has brought forward are both focused on overturning the impending Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which will look to further limit online gambling in America. Under the terms of the UIGEA, which will come into full force on June 1st, it will become illegal for financial institutions in the United States to process transactions relating to online gambling. The first of Frank's planned bills, however, would seek to further delay the UIGEA legislation while the second would set forth the framework for a legalised online gambling market in the United States.

Although Representative Frank will hope that the latest delay to the advancement of his bill is only short term, he will have to work hard to reschedule the hearing to before June 1st, as the UIGEA implementation is unlikely to be delayed.

Representative Barney Frank's pair of proposed bills that would see online gambling in the United States legalised, taxed and regulated have taken to the next step after a date, Friday 16th April, was set for them to be heard in front on the House Financial Services Committee.

The aim of both of the Frank's bills, the Reasonable Prudence in Regulation Act and the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act, is to replace the impending Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which will make it even harder for Americans to gamble online. Although the UIGEA does not make online gambling explicitly illegal at a federal level, it will make it illegal for financial institutions such as banks and credit card providers to process transactions relating to online gambling.

Along with Frank's two bills, which focus on delaying the UIGEA legislation from being implemented on 1st June and establishing a regulatory framework for online gambling, another bill authored by Rep. John McDermott is also expected to soon be considered by the House Financial Services Committee. In it, McDermott outlines a taxation plan and where potential revenue could be distributed.

Although the news of Frank's progress will be encouraging for Americans who either want to gamble online legally or currently flout the rules and use off shore gambling accounts, there are still many hurdles to cross as it could take many more years to establish a working regulated online gambling industry.

I’ve been reporting both good and bad news lately when it comes to what’s happening with online poker regulation bills and laws, but the most recent story to pass by my browser brought on mixed feelings. At first glance, most poker players would be thrilled to hear that the Massachusetts legislature is aggressively pushing through a new bill that would bring casinos into the state, as the hope would be that online poker regulation would quickly following. However, there is fine print within the bill that contains legal jargon that could end up cementing online poker as a criminal activity.

The casino bill states that two casino licenses worth at least $100 million each and four slot-machine licenses at $15 million a piece would be approved for the state, a move that would bring Massachusetts approx. $200 to $600 million a year in revenue. However, section 36 on the 172-page bills very plainly voices that if the bill is passed, all forms of Internet gambling will be considered criminal behavior.

The PPA made an announcement recently claiming that they had been working with Massachusetts legislators in an effort to get the criminal language removed from the bill, even going so far as to confirm in their statement that they were successful.

“The Massachusetts Casino bill, which in the past contained language that would criminalize online poker play (and other online gaming), with prison time and fines of up to $25,000, was re-introduced today in the state house. Due to the great work of our State Director, MA lobbying team and the tremendous effort of our grassroots network, we successfully kept the criminalization language out of this new bill,” Bryan Spadaro of the PPA wrote on April 1 in an online forum.

However, when the bill was finally introduced, section 36 was still present, which lead the PPA to retract their statement. PPA Executive Director John Pappas has now stepped forward, saying that he will personally get to the bottom of the situation and give every effort possible to get the potentially disastrous online gambling language removed from the bill.

It looks like the mysterious masked Swedish poker player will finally be revealed as he has agreed to Tony G’s offer to stake him in the PartyPoker Big Game IV. The event is due to start next week in London and looks set to attract many of pokers great and good. The addition of this online sensation who has been stirring up a storm since his arrival on the scene last October is only likely to add extra interest to the tournament and be a great boon for the organisers.

The PartyPoker Big Game IV is due to commence at the Les Ambassadeurs Club in London’s fashionable Mayfair district and will run from the 11th to the 13th April. The format is a straight old fashioned 48 hours card fest and will include such poker aficionados as Tony G himself, Luke Schwartz, Phil Laak, Jennifer Tilly, Isaac Haxton among their ranks.

“Isildur1” created a commotion when he arrived out of nowhere and started playing high stakes matches against the best poker players in the business on Full Tilts website. During a particularly good session he cleaned Tom “Durrr” Dwan out of millions but was eventually undone when Brian Townsend colluded with Cole South and Brian Hastings to bring about the upstarts downfall.

“Isildur1” has returned to the tables over recent weeks but the pace and fervour reminiscent of his early games seems to have gone. It has yet to be clarified whether his appearance at the PartyPoker event will be in disguise or he intends to reveal himself. In the meantime speculation is still rife as to his real identity.

Everyone from the poker world including both industry and player alike have been keeping a close eye on that online poker regulation bills that have been floating through Congress lately. The legalization of online poker on a national level would instantly bring millions (if not billions) of dollars back into the gambling industry, plus each state that agrees to regulate poker would also reap a huge financial benefit. Now, an updated version of the poker tax bill that’s most likely to succeed has been sent through to Congress, one that now includes revenue for tribal governments.

The revamped version was introduced by Rep. Jim McDermott and is meant to serve a a companion bill to the one submitted by Rep. Barney Frank.

“This legislation is a win-win for federal and state leaders, providing an opportunity to regulate a currently offshore and underground industry, protect consumers, and put to good use tens of billions (of dollars) in otherwise lost revenue,” said Michael Waxman of the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative.

The bill itself is very enticing for state and tribal governments, who hope to receive as much as $30 billion in revenue from online poker regulation.

“Given the many critical government programs currently going under-funded or not funded at all, Internet gambling regulation should be given fair and immediate consideration,” McDermott said when he introduced his first poker-related piece of legislation of the session in October. “Prohibition in various guises has failed before and is failing once again. There is a better way.”

PPA executive director John Pappas believes that the bill should start gaining a lot of momentum later this spring. Needless to say, poker could be looking at another boom that could rival the original popularity explosion in 2003 if such bills are passed.

An American appeals court in Pennsylvania has ruled that poker is a game of chance, not skill. The news not only has serious ramifications for poker players throughout the country, but also means that the criminal trial of local residents Diane Dent and Walter Watkins may once again go ahead.

The pair were caught hosting poker games in the garage of their Pennsylvania home in 2008 and charged over illegal gambling related offences by local authorities. However, in their defence Dent and Watkins used the argument that as poker, specifically the massively popular Texas Hold'em verison of the game, was a game of skill, it should be exempt from gambling laws.

Initially, the judge presiding over the case agreed with the defendants as he found that in poker, a more skilled and experienced player will have a massive advantage over someone new to the game. However, after the state took the matter to the Appeals Court, President Judge Kate Ford Elliott and Senior Judge Robert Freedberg overruled the decision and determined that poker is still essentially a game of chance. Senior Judge Robert Colville disagreed though, saying that there was insufficient evidence to rule poker a game of luck.

Despite the Appeals Court ruling against them, Dent and Watkins are confident that should they chose to take the matter a step further to the US Supreme Court they would once again get the verdict that poker is indeed a game of skill.

The Wynn Classic championship drew a total of 262 players who were willing to put up the $5,000+160 buy in for their chance to take home a piece of the $1,173,700 prize pool. The tournament was a three day event which saw a list of pros show up. The top 24 players got paid and Justin Bonomo, Tony Korman, and Erick Lindgren were among the top finishers.

When it got down to the final table Brandon Cantu had the chip lead, but he was facing some tough competitors. Jarred Jaffe, Odie Dardon and Thomas Marchese were among the final table competitors.

The much talked about Marchese played strong but went out in fourth place. He took home $73,356 for his efforts. After winning the inaugural North American Poker Tour event at the Venetian in Las Vegas last month, and then going on to cash deep in the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star event, he has become a hot ticket.

Jarred Jaffe took Cantu on heads up at the final table, but he just wasn’t able to book the win. Jaffe took home $246,477 for his second place finish. Cantu took pocketed $363,844 for his first place win.

This was the first major score for Cantu since his World Series of Poker bracelet win this past summer in the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha 8 event. He currently has over $3.6 million in online and live tournament winnings.

Even though the U.S. does arguably the best job of promoting poker on a mainstream media level, there is still much debate as to whether or not poker should be considered an actual sport in North America. Poker purists argue that poker requires just as much skill and training as baseball and football, while others are simply content to refer to the game as simply a fun hobby. Lithuania on the other hand is taking a major step forward in legitimizing poker for its players, having named it an official sport.

The Lithuanian Department of Physical Education and Sports issued an official decree on March 20th that recognizes the Lithuanian Sports Poker Federation as an official sports federation. This will allow the LSPF to produce and organize noncommercial poker tournaments in casinos that reside outside of Lithuania.

“This is extremely important step in our work,” Andrius Tapinas, president of the Lithuanian Sport Poker Federation, said. “We are receiving congratulations from many of our colleagues abroad and I know that we are breaking thick ice with our progress for similar international initiatives.”

Sometime this week, the LSPF will release their official tournament schedule for 2010 to the country’s sports media. The LSPF has already received numerous endorsements from the poker world, including Tony G and the International Federation of Poker, where it was recently accepted as a member.

Is there any chance that poker will be recognized as an official sport in the United States? Hard to say, but you would think that if online poker is made legal again and regulated across most of the 50 states, then there might be a chance that you could see the game awarded official sport status.

Here’s something you don’t see everyday. A story has surfaced that claims that approximately 20 elderly residents from the Twin Falls Senior Center in Idaho get together every week for a simple $20 buy-in poker game for leisure entertainment, only to recently have been told by local police that they must cease the weekly game immediately or face prosecution. A public outcry has since followed, which resulted in Idaho legislators dropping the case altogether.

The residents told the police that they did not know that playing poker for money was illegal in Idaho, but they still agreed to remove the buy-in from the game each week. The players, most of whom are in their 70s and 80s, were dismayed over the hassle, as their poker game is one of the biggest highlights of their week.

“I don’t have many things that I can do,” Norman Pohl, a resident who uses a wheelchair, told the Times-News newspaper. “I met so many people…I would look for it every week.”

You can’t blame local prosecutors either, as it is a misdemeanor for them if they fail to investigate any reports of gambling in the area. They were forced under law to break up the poker game, but then worked with Twin Falls County Prosecutor Grant Loebs to get the law on the books revised.

“It is a misdemeanor crime for a prosecutor to fail to prosecute someone who fills out an NCAA tournament bracket,” said Loebs. “That seems, at best, to be a waste of law enforcement resources.”

Under a new sponsored measure by Idaho State Senator Kate Kelly, prosecutors will have the power to decide how they want to handle investigations in the future.

Kelly spoke about the new measure: “We have elected prosecutors in Idaho, and they make decisions every day about whether or not to pursue a particular defendant or whether or not to pursue a particular act. And I think we can support that rather than exposing them to be subject to a crime for failing to prosecute.”

Earlier this month, the EPT Berlin was robbed by a couple of masked gunmen. The tournament series was taking place at the downtown Hyatt hotel which was holding all of the tournament money for the series. When the robbers saw that the money was being guarded by unarmed security personnel, they knew there was a good chance they could get to the money.

The robbers were able to make way with $332,000 from the EPT Berlin. Frank Heller, a prosecutor on the case told officials, “The money was divided up immediately after the crime.”

All four of the robbers have been identified and their pictures were released to the public. Names of the three suspected robbers have been released. Ahmad el-Awayti, 20 years old; Jihad Chetwie, a 19 year old German citizen; Vedat S, a 21 year old Turish citizen; and Mustafa Ucarkus, a 20 year old Turkish citizen have been named as the four suspects in the robbery.

Vedat S was the first to be detained in connection with the robbery. He had turned himself in to the police and has been cooperating with the authorities. He was the owner of the vehicle used in the heist, and he claims that he was paid €40,000 to participate in the heist.

Ahmad el-Awayti turned himself in to authorities just days after Vedat S at a subway station in Rosenthaler Square. The apprehension took place without incident as el-Awayti simply approached the officers posted at the subway station and said, “I believe you are looking for me.” He was taken in for questioning without further incident.

Both Vedat S and Ahmad el-Awayti have agreed to pay back their share of the money and are likely using this as a bargaining tool. A third party is holding their share of the money.

The police are still looking for two of the suspects Mustafa Ucarkus and Jihad Chetwie. Ucarkus has a history of violence and police consider him especially dangerous. . Interpol might be getting involved with the investigation since police suspect the two have fled the country.

Britsh professional poker player Dave 'Devilfish' Ulliott, one of the most colourful figures in the poker world, has announced that he has begun preliminary discussions to produce a movie based off of his up coming autobiography.

During a video interview for the “What The Bookies Say” blog, Devilfish revealed that he was in the early stages of discussing the project with an English and Swedish company who were interested in transposing his life story to the big screen.

“Its going to be a great movie with lots of funny stories in it. A bit like the Guy Ritchie stuff. If you can imagine Snatch but put the Devilfish in it, it will be a bit like that,” said Ulliott during the interview, referring to British director Ritchie's famous work on gangster films such as Snatch and Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels. Ulliott even said that should the project come to fruition, he would love the chance to play himself during his character's older years.

Over his career, Ulliott has become on of the most successful figures in the poker world by earning over $5.6m in tournament winnings, collecting a World Series of Poker bracelet and opening up a number of leading marketing consultancies. However, Devilfish's earlier days began in humble beginnings. He has never made a secret that he came from deprived beginnings, and the Devilfish is proud of his journey to the top of the poker world.