Teams are 3/4 of the way there …

Team Americas: Daniel Negreanu (captain), Phil Ivey, Phil Hellmuth, John Juanda, Doyle Brunson, Jennifer Harman

Team Europe: Annette Obrestad (captain), Peter Eastgate, Dario Minieri, Bertrand Grospellier, Patrik Antonius, Ilari Sahamies (aka Zigmund)

Also more on the format:

The Caesars Cup will feature the game No-Limit Hold’em with two teams of eight doing battle over a series of Heads Up and two-man doubles matches, with single points awarded for each match. The doubles formats will include alternate betting. The first team to 4 points will win.

The first match will be Doubles: Alternate Bet where two players compete per side. One player per side will play pre-flop and on the turn; the other player will play the flop and the river.

Once players are designated, their roles will not change. Two matches of this format will be played, so that 4 of the 8 players on each team will be featured.

The next two matches will feature Doubles: Same Stack where two new players compete per side. They share the same chip stack. They alternate playing two hands at a time so both have the button.

After the doubles matches conclude, the matches change to Heads-Up – if necessary. Team captains will select which members of their teams play heads up and it will be an alternate selection process, where if the European team names their player first for Match 1, the Americas team will have to name their player first for Match 2. That format continues until one team has accumulated 4 total points. The strategy of when to use a player and whom they match up with will be critical in determining which team will come out victorious.

LOL, and BJ thought my “family poker” concept event seemed gimmicky.

One skillucky Euro, of course, can still qualify for one of that team’s two remaining seats online at Betfair.

Play kicks off for this new-fangled made-for-TV event in London on Sept. 25.

I’m not sure if it’s an endorsement of our efforts or a call to action to our opponents … but be sure to check out this lengthy article in the October issue of The American Conservative:

Coming Up Aces
Legalization of online gambling looks like a sure bet.

The piece does give some important numbers — projected internet gambling revenue in 2011=$144 billion, and a 2 percent tax on deposits in the Frank bill would mean $51 billion over 10 years — but I am a bit concerned that the writer makes repeated references to the UIGA (as opposed to the UIGEA).

However, I do like (I think — not totally sure, as I trust few in politics) that our most vociferous opponent seems to be preparing his supporters for a loss:

As the arguments stack up, opponents of Internet gambling increasingly don’t like their odds. “It’s going to be an uphill battle to stop it this time,” admitted Congressman Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), the ranking Republican on the Financial Services Committee in an interview with Politico. “We caught them off guard last time. This time we might not be so lucky.”

I also think I like that there’s talk about “putting profits toward helping addicts”. I dunno, just seems a treatment provision is important, and in general we (kudos to the PPA) have our bases covered this year more so than in legislative efforts past.

via @TheEngineer2008

The big APPT Macau festival also came to a close this weekend. Interestingly enough, for all its growth and the coverage it got, comparatively, the APPT main event was smaller both in terms of field size and prize pool than The River tournament in Oklahoma.

From BluffMagazine.com:

APPT Macau Main Event Final Table Payouts

Dermot Blain – $541,089
Mike Kim – $384,999
Daoxing Chen – $239,327
Darkhan Botabayev – $166,497
Pontus Kers – $114,464
Jicheng Su – $74,923
Dbinder Singh – $52,033
Brandon Demes – $41,621
Stefan Hjorthall – $31,222

APPT Macau High Rollers Final Table Payouts

Vladimir Geshkenbein – $266,690
Johnny Chan – 154,400
Neil Arce – $84,218
Danny Huynh – $63,164
Grant Levy – $49,127
In Wook Choi – $35,091
Young Kim – $28,073
Nicholas Wong – $21,055

Next up … WPT Slovakia?

It really is amazing what the people of Texas have built in Oklahoma. Not only is WinStar now the third-largest casino in the world*, but also Choctaw (the “other” casino for Dallas people) is undergoing an expansion that will make it the 17th largest in the world.

* Third is my number, btw, based on Business Week data, despite WinStar’s claim that they are just 5th.

At 110,000 square feet, the Choctaw Casino in Durant, Okla., will have the same amount of gaming space as Wynn Las Vegas, and slightly more than Wynn Macao.

Check it out:

“Texas hold’em / Ain’t nobody foldin’!” Rockin’!

We all know where that came from, of course:

More…

Funny, here in the USA we’re screaming, “tax us! tax us, dammnit! for all in the name of freedom!” Elsewhere around the world they’re saying, yeah, we should tax … which has some companies considering new homes.

Costa Rica plans to officially introduce a bill this week that has been brewing for a few months to tax and regulate the many online gambling entities with operations there. The assertion is that a 2 percent tax would generate $100 million in revenue. There also was talk of a 1 percent tax on the end users, though it’s not clear if that provision is included in the legislation.

(Does anyone notice how much faster bills seem to move through Congress in Latin American countries?)

An estimated 300-some online gambling purveyors make at least one home in Costa Rica, though some might consider moves to Panama should the new tax pass. Several, such as Bodog, have already moved to Antigua, the UK, and elsewhere.

More…

While poker seems to like what tweeting from the field of play brings to the table, tennis people — specifically the Tennis Integrity Unit (wow) — do not want to see anything on twitter saying, “returning serve. whoa! that was close!” because of fears the communications will be misappropriated by gamblers.

From the New York Times:

The signs, written by the Tennis Integrity Unit, point out that Twitter messages could violate the sport’s corruption rules. Tennis appears to be the first sport openly concerned about Twitter’s possible effect on gambling.

The signs say tweeting is not allowed on court during matches. They also warn about using Twitter away from the court, saying sending “certain sensitive information” could be considered passing along inside information.

photo: @cgowen

Considering that Texas poker players helped build the third-largest friggin’ casino in the world (literally under a tent in Thackerville, OK) we can take some pleasure in knowing a bunch of Texans kicked butt in The River tourney this weekend and will be sending back home some riches made in El Norte.

WinStar reportedly threw in a $580,000 overlay to make their $3 million guarantee. Not sure about the buy-in details — I think they upped it to $2k? — nor overall results. The best “coverage” has come via 2+2 here, mixed in with some Facebook, Twitter, and direct txt msg buzz. (Thanks KevMath and Harris, as always, for the info!)

1,210 players overall.

The winner: Bobby Hempkins, aka “Shooter” in the Dallas poker boom days. (And now your source for residential real estate in the North Texas area.) $710k win. Nice!

5th place finisher Brian @ZBTHorton provided regular updates from the final table, such as:

8 left, these people suck (4pm)

Apparently tax issues may or may not have complicated chop discussions — though sounds to me that the Chickasaw nation is under similar corporate-legal restrictions as the WSOP.

7th place reportedly went to a guy named Lance. Paid $95k. Sounds like a nice prize distribution (at the final table, at least). Not too flat, not too steep.

Blind structure was supposedly relatively fast, however.

Pros who made the trek for this event included: Clonie Gowen, TJ Cloutier, Michael Mizrachi, Eric Mizrachi, Kido Pham, Terrence Chan, Michael Binger, Men the Master, Allen Kessler, and Dmitri Nobles. The real @EskimoClark was also supposedly milling around.

pic: @EWeE420

The Business Week article about the Asian poker boom referenced here also has a photo-sidebar about the 20 Biggest Casinos in the World. Pretty cool, and interesting. I’ve listed them in order below — a few surprising results — but click here to check out the pics and for all sorts of other interesting data about the largest gamble-gamble joints (in terms of gaming floor space) on the planet.

UPDATE: BW left out WinStar (Oklahoma), which is bigger than many might think.

More…

Boys will be boys, and those of us in poker’s minority know this. The Wicked Chops entities made “hot girls” the norm for poker media, and the PokerListings guys have jumped on board with this gem, including comments about how their telephoto lenses are always “extended and ready.” Seriously, guys? Argh! But I’ve gotta be honest… The other side of that coin is that girls will be girls.

Believe it or not, there are some hot boys in poker who, with just a glance across the table, can make us drop our, ummm, chips. It is true that many of them, while looking good with their rock-hard abs and chiseled upper arms, do have poker “performance issues” (most of my hot boy picks didn’t exactly show positive results at the WSOP), but sometimes poker is hard! Even without final tables or gold bracelets, they still to stand out from the masses – at least 6 to 8 inches, I assume. Here are a few:

Chad Brown
Now that is what the gym is for. Not only is he in shape but he shows it off with his tight-fitting shirts. And he’s well-spoken and intelligent. Go on witcha bad self. Turn-ons: playing poker and traveling the world with wife Vanessa Rousso, donating to various charities, and working out.

Erick Lindgren
Not sure if he has rock-hard abs because his shirts aren’t tight enough, but he is athletic and good-looking. Best of all, he’s got a fantastic dry sense of humor. Turn-ons: playing poker tournaments, engaging in a little one-on-one on his home (basketball) court, and remembering reporters’ names (hi, Erick!).

Patrik Antonius
A list of hot boys would not be complete without Patrik, who likely was just born looking so amazing. His model good looks make everyone’s heads turn when he enters a room. Turn-ons: playing the highest stakes poker games in the world, living in Monte Carlo with wife Maya, and being a hot dad to his baby.

More…

They’re in the money (and just waking up for Day 3 right now) at the APPT Main Event in Macau, and sure enough, Season 3 saw a record number of entrants and prize pool. 429 players, $2.1mm prize pool, $540k first prize. Click here to follow the action.

This comes on the heels of the APT Main Event in Macau earlier this month, which saw 326 players and $1.4mm prize pool, up from 257 last year.

(All figures in US$, though buy-ins and payouts were in HK$.)

Business Week has taken note:
In Macao, Betting on a Poker Boom

Despite a slow start for Macao casinos as a whole, the article points out that new poker rooms are opening almost monthly in the Phillipines, and:

The poker industry seems to recognize the potential for further growth, both for land-based as well as online poker operators. But significant entry barriers remain. One of the biggest: Online gaming is illegal in most Asian countries, making it difficult to show poker tournaments on TV to popularize the game. The Philippines, for instance, has become the fastest-growing poker nation in Asia with about 18 poker rooms around the country, thanks in part to TV broadcasts.

BTW, for those wondering … the APPT (Asia-Pacific Poker Tour) is the PokerStars-sponsored series, modeled after the EPT. The APT (Asian Poker Tour) is an independent operation, hosted by Matt Savage and assisted by a consortium of online sites, including bwin, PartyPoker, PKR, Titan, JBet, Winamax, Chilipoker, and a new-to-me Chinese site called Dafapoker (which I have since learned is an 888 operation).

Those following @Pokerati may recall an unusual situation I faced in a 1/2 game at the Golden Nugget last weekend — when this guy, “The Duke”, bought in for $100,000 … which he pulled from purple velvet Crown Royal baggies stuffed in a tattered violin case.

I had been trying to place him … was he related to the suit-wearing longhair we media types know as “the devil” (whom I had once sent into a tirade by stacking him at the Golden Nugget). No, no, not related (fingers crossed) … maybe he’s a performer in one a show around town? That would explain why he was playing in this game, but not why he would have $100k in cash (including some in out-of-circulation $500 and $1,000 bills). His business card says “Have Gun, Will Travel”, and lists his title as “Soldier of Fortune”.

Anyhow, it just hit me where I had seen him before, or at least why he looked so familiar. I was playing against not a real hitman, but quasi-legendary humorist Alibaster K. Abthernabther!

In the end, I’d get only about .009 percent of his stack, despite seeing AA, KK, KK, AK, and 77 twice (and flopping two sets) in our first three orbits … and then having him request a seat change and moving directly to my right. Turns out Mr. 50,000 Big Blinds was a ridiculously tight player … saw him (correctly) lay down a set of 4s to a $10 bet into a $25 pot, and chop the only all-in he faced with AKs vs. AKs.

I guess he liked to just sit there in front of money he knew he wasn’t going to lose?

Watching the latest episode of ESPN’s Inside Deal … Laura Lane had a question for Howard Lederer, about who would win between him and his sister vs. the Brunson clan. Though Howard’s non-committal answer shows he is definitely learnin’ himself some politics, it got me thinking … really, who are the biggest poker families?

Though naturally I see yet another Dream Team tourney possibility, there could be other ways to quantify the “first family” of poker. Off the top of my head — based on people who play at least semi-regularly and have had some semblance of decent results in biggish events — you have, in no particular order:

The Brunsons
Doyle
Todd
Pam

The Lederers
Howard
Annie (Duke)

The Greensteins
Barry
Joe (Sebok)

The Mizrachis
Eric
Robert
Michael

The Williams
David
Shirley

The Schneiders
Tom
Julie

The Nguyens (Master)
Men
Van

The Heimowitzs
Jay
Lonnie

The (Belcore) Zogmans
Dan
Mary Jo

More…

Funny … as Brazil accelerates efforts to ban online poker+gambling, Argentina is going completely the other way — looking to legally regulate it. And in a hurry, no less …

From Dow Jones via NASDAQ:

The Argentine government is working on plans to allow online gambling throughout the country, presidential Cabinet Chief Anibal Fernandez said Wednesday.

“We’re working so that this will become law within two or three months,” Fernandez said, adding that it could take notably longer and possibly up to two years.

Fernandez said the main aim behind the project is to combat illicit gambling that’s already occurring.

Wow, just a year ago Argentina was looking to ban online gambling — looking to force ISPs to block citizen access, threatening jail time for offenders, and shutting down a site run out of Buenos Aires ( FormoApuestas.com.ar ). So why the change of heart? Common sense, and money of course. But supposedly also soccer.

In what was a controversial Argentinean political issue this year, the government basically ran a hostile takeover of soccer broadcast rights from private cable operators (to the tune of $154 million) in an effort to bail out the AFA (their version of the NFL), which had several major clubs owing tons of back taxes and unable to pay their players. Though the government will neither confirm nor deny the connection, conventional wisdom south of the equator says that online gambling is what will bring in the revenue to pay for that.

Last November, Argentinean futbol got a taste of what the sites they want to regulate could bring to the table, when PokerStars (dot-net variety) — as part of its aggressive move into Latin America — signed on as a (very warmly received) sponsor for River Plate (pictured above).

UPDATE:

Prahlad Friedman Wins Million-Dollar Prize, Schaffel Takes Second

The final table of the $10,000 WPT Legends of Poker resumes at 4pm PT today, with November Niner Kevin Schaffel the chip leader at 2,234,000. Here’s how the rest of the final table will be seated:

1. Sam Stein – 743,000
2. Todd Terry – 2,219,000
3. Kevin Schaffel – 2,234,000
4. Prahlad Friedman – 1,476,000
5. Mike Krescanko – 1,209,000
6. Toto Leonidas – 580,000

Steven Begleiter, the other November Niner remaining from action on Tuesday, finished in 9th. Here’s what the final table is playing for:

1 $1,034,500
2 $471,670
3 $231,300
4 $144,600
5 $116,225
6 $89,220

BJ Nemeth and company will be providing hand by hand coverage of the final table on their live updates page.

In the last edition of Card Player Magazine that I may receive (canceled the subscription after his initial WSOP comments), November Nine member Jeff Shulman takes the sly opportunity to make another unclear accusation point about the WSOP and Harrah’s.

To refresh memories, Shulman was headed for the final table of the WSOP Main Event in July and made some comments regarding the possibility of winning the bracelet, namely that he would throw the gold in the trash. Two days later, CardPlayer.com published a story allowing Shulman to clarify his feelings. He noted therein that he was disappointed in how the WSOP is run, and that it is no longer run by people who care about poker or have the players in mind. Some of his comments:

“Look, I love poker and entered with the hopes of winning,” Shulman stated. “But, more importantly, I support making the industry stronger and better for the players, and to do this, there needs to be some major changes to the way the World Series is run at the highest level. Hopefully, by doing something like this, people will start talking about those changes. I am going to stand by my commitment, but instead of pointlessly throwing it in the trash, I have come up with a few ideas.”

Jeff Shulman’s alternative bracelet ideas:
1. Auction off the bracelet and give the money to charity
2. Hold a tournament for all players shut out of the main event and award the winner the bracelet
3. Give the bracelet away in a SpadeClub.com tournament
4. Give the bracelet to Stephen Colbert

As the Card Player Media President and COO, Shulman has the magazine at his disposal in which to write a lengthy explanation of what is so wrong with Harrah’s and how he could fix poker. Instead, though, a page in the September 1 issue is dedicated (as always) to the Card Player TV show entitled “The Scoop with Adam & Diego,” and this time Shulman was the guest and excerpts were printed from the interview. Right off the bat, Diego Cordovez asked a question that baffled me coming from someone in the poker press:

“Now, the last couple of days, the poker press, what there is of it, has started to quote you and stir up controversy, which you initiated…”

Anyhooo, his answer? “…I’ve had a lot of people come up to me and say that somebody’s got to do something about it. I’m not sure I’m the right guy, being that I’m in the industry, but it’s not like we have some special relationship here. They hate us, for whatever reason… I think they hate anyone who’s not a celebrity, or maybe it’s just that they treat the celebrities so much better than everyone else that they have special rules, they don’t get penalties. I’ve never seen anything like it. If we really want to take poker to the next level, you can’t have different rules for different people.”

Evidently, by disrespecting the WSOP bracelet and Harrah’s (and all the players who would do anything to be in his final table position), he plans to take poker to the next level. Would that be the rude and insulting level? Would that be the vague and evasive level? Would love to hear some thoughts on this issue…

(The opinions/insinuations herein are Cali Jen’s views and not necessarily those of Pokerati or Pokeratizens.)