Team Pokerati-er Pat Poels is going deep in the $2,500 Omaha Hi-Lo. With 28 players left (out of 424) he’s about 10th in chips. Should be interesting … though he’s cashed a few times this WSOP, his net isn’t too much better than Tom’s for 2009. He knows how to win it — Poels booked his first bracelet in the $1,500 version of this event in 2005, and fortunately it doesn’t look like big money payout differential decisions would come into play until the final 5ish.

CK Hua is the threatening name at near the top of the stack-count, Max Pescatori is hanging on in the relegation zone, and in the middle with Pat, @TheMouthMatusow is alive and growing stronger — and he’s twittering that he’s on a mission to win it … so that threat’s out there.

Click here to follow along.

Did we say it? We did … watch out for Jeff Lisandro to make a mad dash for that previously elusive Player of the Year title.

The back-to-must-read Dr. Pauly and special Tao of Pokerati guest BJ were there when it happened — seeing Lisandro beat author/writer/real-player Michael Craig heads-up in $2,500 Razz. And in analyzing his relatively quick victory, they declare him arguably one of the best international players in the game, and the best 7-stud player in the world. BJ also breaks down the WSOP Player of the Year race, which is not mathematically locked up so long as Phil Ivey is still alive in any event (like he is right now), and Ville Wahlbeck also has a chance but not really, they say. No word yet on which anthem the Aussie-Italian-semi-American will dedicate this gold bracelet to.

UPDATE: Australia.

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Tao of Pokerati at the 40th WSOP
Las Vegas, NV

Episode 11.19: Lisandropalooza
3:49

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Recapping the first half of Wednesday’s WSOP:

Lisandro Wins Bracelet #3, Wins Stud Triple Crown

Jeff Lisandro becomes the first player to win three bracelets in one WSOP after Chris Moneymaker initiated the poker boom in 2003, takes down the $2,500 Razz event, good for $188,370. Lisandro has won all three of his bracelets in stud events in each of the three disciplines of stud (Stud high, Stud Hi/Lo and Razz). Lisandro held the chip lead at the beginning of the day and was never seriously threatened. Michael Craig finished in 2nd, good for $116,405. Other notable finishes: Kenna James (6th), Al “Sugar Bear” Barbieri (10th), Ville Wahlbeck (12th) and Nikolay Evdakov (13th).

Seniors Six-Pack

Half a dozen players remain in the $1,000 Seniors NL Holdem World Championship, led by Scott Buller with over 2 million in chips. Michael Morusty, Charles Simon, Dan DeLatorre, Michael Davis and Barry Bounds make up the remaining players.

Thang Flung From Omaha-8

The $2,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better has 70 players remaining, only 45 get paid. The unofficial chip leader is Frankie O’Dell (109,000), followed by day 1 chip leader Josh Schlien (85,000), Pat Poels (71,500), Marsha Waggoner (54,000), Mike Matusow (38,000), and Max Pescatori (28,000) among the familiar faces. Thang Luu unfortunately was eliminated before the dinner break earlier today.

Brummelhuis Bringing It in Pot-Limit

The $10,000 Pot-Limit Holdem World Championship is down to 35 players, only 27 get to cash with day 1 chip leader Michiel Brummelhuis remaining chip leader (570,000). Isaac Haxton (450,000), Eric Baldwin (430,000), Darryll Fish (310,000), Vanessa Rousso (280,000), Sam Simon (173,000), and Eugene Todd (165,000) are among the remaining.

Mixed Holdem Brings Mixed Blessings

The $2,500 Mixed Holdem event drew a field of 527 players, of which just 184 remain. The unofficial chip leader is David Baker (unknown if that’s the one from Michigan or Texas) at 73,000. Eli Elezra (51,000), Marc Naalden (46,000) and Jean-Robert Bellande (42,000) are some well known folks with chips.

More updates during the evening over at www.wsop.com and Pokerati for more Lisandro stuff and other commentary about all things WSOP.

The WSOP is almost over. At least the first part is. It concludes with $50k HORSE, which starts Friday. From there, the main event is a whole different animal. And during that transition you have all sorts of other activities, such as PokerPalooza — the new-and-improved Gaming Life Expo, where, minus the off-shore online sites, you can expect pretty much the bulk of the for-profit and non-profit poker industry to be on display. Click below for a little extra info on what’s in store.

Last year, Peter Eastgate received a bit of an overlay for winning the main event … an EGM Green poker table — made from 100 percent environmentally righteous materials (valued at $5,000) by a company whose mission seems to be outfitting casinos with products that help it earn whatever bonus goes along with LEED certification. Eastgate got one of these tables last year as a gift, but he hasn’t opened it yet, and it’s being shipped back to the WSOP so the felt can be autographed (using non-toxic Sharpies?) and silent-auctioned off with proceeds going to a yet-to-be-determined Eastgate-favored charity.
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Good episode of the Degen Report — bringing you more of the real WSOP, nearly a month in, as tempers flare, bankrolls fluctuate, and the general grind begins to wear. In this vid, we learn about rumors of who’s rolling whom (Jeff Madsen mugged at a Strip Club? Should help his rapper cred), near-broke folks making big scores, and @Dutch Boyd jumps in with an anti-Euro beef regarding the not-so-British way they do battle with Americans.

Watch Bryan Micon and Dutch Boyd Get Degenerate on RawVegas.tv

From here, it all gets really interesting — as the two discuss the enforcement of language and abuse penalties, the WSOP penalty “book”, and bring into question a potentially flawed rule that prohibits checking the river with the nuts … contending that indeed, there are situations where you might want to do that (particularly in split-pot games) without regard to soft-play perceptions.

From Nolan, for the WSOP:

No-Limit Hold’em Leaders –

· The player with the most WSOP gold bracelets (wins) in Hold’em events (all variations) is Phil Hellmuth, currently with 11.

· The player with the most lifetime WSOP cashes in Hold’em events (all variations) is Phil Hellmuth, currently with 44.

· The player with the most WSOP gold bracelets (wins) in No-Limit Hold’em is Phil Hellmuth, currently with 7.

· The player with the most lifetime WSOP cashes in No-Limit Hold’em events is Phil Hellmuth, currently with 28.

The United States World Poker Tour announced their Season 8 schedule of US tour stops this morning, all airing on Fox Sports Net. This does not include the Barcelona (starting today), Slovakia, Cyprus and Marrakech stops already announced.

Press Release on the next page:

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The recap of Tuesday activities…

Lisandro Goes for Bracelet #3

The $2,500 Razz has 13 players remaining with Jeff Lisandro the chip leader (438,000) in his quest for his 3rd bracelet and take first by himself in the WSOP Player of the Year race. Co-leader Ville Wahlbeck (55,000) will have some work to do to catch Lisandro, but it’s razz, anything can happen. Don Zewin, (300,000), Kenna James (284,000), Michael Craig (102,000) and Nikolay Evdakov (88,000) are the notables who also return to conclude the tournament, starting at 2pm.

The Mathematics of Poker = 3 Bracelets

Jerrod Ankenman finally joins co-author Bill Chen as a bracelet winner, taking down the $2,500 8-Game for $241,637 besting Sergey Altbregin in heads-up play. Chris Klodnicki finished in 3rd, Jeff Tims finished 4th, while Jon Turner got his second 5th place finish in mixed game events.

Thomas Tops Seniors

Tom Thomas of Amarillo, Texas is the chip leader (917,000) of the remaining 28 players in the $1,000 Seniors NL Holdem World Championship when play resumes at 1pm. Notable names are hard to find, but among them are Scott Buller (541,000), Ted McCollum (173,000) and Gioi Luong (100,000) are the most recognizable.

Schlein Spectacular at Split Game

Josh “Sdouble” Schlein will start Day 2 with the chip lead (60,700) with 196 players remaining in the $2,500 Omaha 8 or Better event. Thang Luu (56,200) is in second, Can Kim Hua (38,400), Pat Poels (36,900), Lee Watkinson (27,900), Paul Darden (26,400) and Shannon Shorr (22,400) among the notables returning at 2pm playing down to the final 9 or 3am deadline.

Wednesday’s Tournament

Only one tournament today, the debuting $2,500 Mixed Holdem event at 12 noon, featuring alternating 30-minute periods of no-limit holdem and limit holdem. The WSOP Staff Guide projects a field of 475 today for today’s event, check out www.wsop.com for updates, and more stuff from Pokerati during the day.

Just earlier today, Benjo was delivering his Angriest Frenchman scorn, telling me essentially to suck-it, because “You are never in zee bahd mood, Dahn Meehowskee!” But that was before Miami John Cernuto suffered a medical emergency in the $2,500 Razz tourney (he’s mostly OK now, or at least in stable condition), and yours truly tried to cover it Pokerati-style … only to end up in a scuffle with security. Major tiltage ensued, and Pauly, of course, is right there to capture my fiery journo-righteous ire as I totally misidentify my antagonist, and Dr. P, not on tilt, reports truer facts of this unusual tournament situation.

presented by:

Tao of Pokerati at the 40th WSOP
Las Vegas, NV

Episode 11.18: The Angry Michalski Episode
5:00

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Oh, and … brought to you by Dream Team Poker.

Though at the moment I’m a tad gun-shy about reporting things that have no official confirmation yet, I know good info from a good source when I hear it … and since none of the principals from PokerNews (who is sponsoring the event) are within shouting distance, my cell phone battery is near-dead, and Nevada Gaming Commission officials are done til morning … fuggit, I’l run with the notion that this boxing match between pro-ess Liv Boeree and PokerNews vid-chick Melissa Castello may or may not happen.

Competitive boxing, of course, is highly regulated in Nevada — and when you mix a prize into the fight, apparently a whole new set of laws and licensing procedures come into play.

I suppose it’s plausible they could restructure it with just a matter of pride at stake … but we’ll see. Anyone wanna make some online wagers about the outcome?

Miami John Cernuto reached out to Nolan Dalla this evening to let everyone know that he is hospitalized but okay after collapsing during Day 2 of Event 44 ($2,500 Seven Card Razz). The hospital staff determined that he had internal bleeding and will require more tests in the coming days to pinpoint the exact problem and resolve it. However, he is conscious, surrounded by family/friends, and comfortable (as one can be) in the hospital.

Funny that his first question to Nolan was about the razz hand he was in at the time of his collapse. He remembered that he looked down at some babies in his hand and wanted to know if Nolan could find out if he would have won the hand. With a laugh, Nolan responded that he did not know.

More updates to come as they are available. Best wishes to John on a speedy recovery!

Recapping the Tuesday afternoon activities, with the hope that Miami John Cernuto has a speedy recovery.

Hungary Hungary Bracelets

Peter Traply captured the first WSOP bracelet for Hungary, taking down the $5,000 NL Holdem Shootout , winning $348,728. Andrew Lichtenbergerfinished in second, good for $215,403. Lichtenberger thought he had the tournament won when his A-K flopped another ace against Traply’s pocket sixes. Another six on the turn doubled Traply up, leaving Lichtenberger with just 250,000 in chips out of the 7.5 million in play. Lichtenberger would double up several times, eventually regaining the chip lead. But Traply would be too much, finally knocking out Lichtenberger when his A-K dominated Lichtenberger’s A-J to the delight of his Hungarian railbirds.

Jerrod Jamming in 8-Game

Jerrod Ankenman, co-author with Bill Chen of The Mathematics of Poker is the current chip leader (1,230,000) of the $2,500 8-Game event. Earlier eliminations included Players to Watch Layne Flack (7th) and Rami Boukai (13th) Online favorite Jimmy “Gobbo” Fricke finished in 9th place to bubble the official final table. Jon Turner (another Player to Watch) is currently in second place (822,000), as he continues to impress in mixed-game tournaments.

Sweating to the Seniors

The $1,000 Seniors NL Holdem World Championship has about 120 players remaining as they’ll try to get as close to a final table as possible before the 3 am deadline. The current leader is Tony Brenner (315,000). Barbara Enright (85,000) and Eric Hershler make up a couple of the notable names remaining. Meanwhile, Players to Watch Lloyd Shinn (130th) and Berry Johnston (185th) did make the money.

The Author, The Cowboy and a Guy Named Warwick

The $2,500 Razz event has author Michael Craig (126,000) the chip leader, followed by “Cowboy” Kenna James (125,000) right behind him, followed by Day 1 chip leader Warwick Mirzikinian (98,000) with 43 players remaining, only 32 getting paid. Other notables remaining include Jeff Lisandro (59,000), Player to Watch Ville Wahlbeck (47,000), and James Van Alstyne (45,000), all involved in the thrilling WSOP Player of the Year race.They will also attempt to have a final table established by the 3am deadline.

Pot-Limit Holdem Boiling Over

The $10,000 Pot-Limit Holdem World Championship drew a field of 275 entrants, 162 of which will return from their dinner break. The unofficial chip leader is David Singer (132,000), with David Stiecke (95,000), Vanessa Rousso (93,500), Bill Edler (67,500), Eric Baldwin (56,000), and Jason Mercier (51,000) just some of the notables remaining. Four more levels remain in their day before returning at 2pm tomorrow.

Omaha, Ha Ha!

The $2,500 Omaha 8 or Better event began with a field of close to 400 entries. No official chip leader has emerged, but the final Player to Watch that hasn’t been mentioned today, Daniel Negreanu is now working on his third tournament of the day, as he has already been eliminated from the Razz and Pot-Limit Holdem events. Could he go 0 for three? Check out the updates over at www.wsop.com or my morning update and find out.

photo: LasVegasVegas

The $2,500 Razz event came to an abrupt halt today when Miami John Cernuto collapsed at the table. Apparently action was on him, at first people thought he was asleep, and then someone said I don’t think he’s breathing … at which point they kinda poked him, and he fell to the ground felt.

Tournament officials stopped the clock and cleared the area while paramedics rushed to attend to him. No official medical report yet, but it appeared to be a heart attack. However, in the end, about 40 minutes later, he appeared to be OK. Like an injured athlete being carried off the field of play, Cernuto waved to the crowd and received an ovation as he left the Brasilia room and was calling someone on his cell phone en route to the hospital.

Pokerati was there to try to show how a major tournament handles such incidents — and though we know this matter isn’t about “us”, we apologize for the unclear photographs snapped before being expelled from the premises for trying to bring you the story:

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The Rumble at the Rio had its press conference/weigh-in ceremony today in the Rio Pavilion hallway to introduce Liv Boeree (representing UltimateBet) and Melissa Castello (representing PokerNews), who will be fighting each other on July 1 for publicity charity. ESPN filmed it, and the poker media was out in force to cover it. Almost every poker media outlet was there to take photos or gather notes to publicize the event.

It is significant to note that only about 25% of those reporters were anywhere near the Poker Players Alliance press conference yesterday. PPA Chairman and former NY Senator Alfonse D’Amato spoke, along with NV Rep. Shelley Berkley and PPA board members Greg Raymer and Linda Johnson, to announce National Poker Week.

Who says the poker media doesn’t have integrity/priorities?

Yikes, I haven’t even gotten to write up all the exciting stuff the PPA has working for National Poker Week, and efforts to support efforts to undo the UIGEA.

Seriously, the fully legal online poker forces are gearing up for a long, arduous fight — and man, they got lots of us feelin’ good! — and yet Beltway sources are telling Pokerati that Congressional hearings on the Frank bill are about to be pushed back to September.

Phluck.

May just be standard procedure … but also could be a sign of the types of procedural obstacles we can expect to be thrown in our way. More TK, of course …