A lot of different groups seem to have their fingers in the online gambling/poker pie these days. Kinda funny, because right now most Obama-admin efforts seem to be about stopping it, or at least making the process of winning a main event seat on PokerStars more difficult.

Yet at the same time, momentum in Congressional circles seems to be going the other way — with more money being spent on online gambling-related lobbying than ever before, and not coincidentally, a growing number of congressfolk suddenly on board with the cause.

But when it comes to hammering out a future for our specific special interest — licensed and regulated online poker — the Poker Players Alliance is hardly the only group claiming to speak on our behalf. The AGA, iMega, various Native American interests, the NTRA (horse racing) and the American Horse Council … they all want seats at the lawmaking table, too. However, the PPA is the only group specifically focussed on poker, that was built by poker players, and operates in Washington DC with poker community and industry interests foremost in mind.

Thus …

On July 1st, the PPA will be launching an unprecedented 1-day fundraising drive with the goal of raising $50,000 in support of our advocacy and grassroots efforts. We are asking all loyal poker supporters to make a donation to the PPA — even if it’s just $5 — on July 1st.

www.pokermoneybomb.com

Love or hate Obama-driven reform, with health care out of the way, “financial overhaul” is next on the agenda. And the man spearheading this effort is poker’s ole friend Barney Frank, who has the ability and interest to make sure online gambling is — or is not — part of that political conversation.

More…

Jon Katkin

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The Poker Economy

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OP-ED

Brand names serve an important purpose in our society. For consumers, they offer a simple shorthand that let’s you know about a product’s quality – or lack thereof – while at the same time providing a quick way to flaunt your status or hipness to the unwashed masses in our burgeoning consumer culture.

For businesses, brand names are just as important. Let your quality slip or make your product too ubiquitous and your value – both real and perceived – begins to slip. Make your product trendy or limit its availability and you’ll have customers clamoring at your door to get their hands on it.

With 57 events on the calendar, the WSOP is hardly as elitist as it was in the past, but that’s OK with the folks at Harrah’s because when it comes to poker, there is no substitute for a gold bracelet. Win an event and you join a still exclusive club that includes some of the greatest players in the world. Play your cards right, and the WSOP is a golden ticket to the top of the poker food chain. Bust out before the final table and you’ll still leave town with a great story for your friends.

For $1,500 you can play one WSOP tournament and take your chances against a single field of 3,000, or for the same money you can play five Venetian Deep Stack events against a combined field of about 2,400.

And that’s what makes the WSOP the brand when it comes to tournament poker. Win or lose, playing a WSOP event carries with it an inherent coolness that other poker players innately understand and respect. But if you’re a serious low-stakes player looking for a big summertime score in Vegas, there are actually much better options to consider outside the Rio.

More…

First, regarding Main Event registration, day 1d registration is temporarily closed. That day has over 900 players registered while days 1a, 1b and 1c are running behind with around 350-500 players registered so far. Tournament staff hopes more players choose those day 1s catch up to day 1d’s figure before reopening registration.

For the first time in several weeks, no bracelets were awarded at the WSOP yesterday. However, as many as three could be awarded during Wednesday’s tournament action:

Seat 1: Wenlong Jin – 292,000
Seat 2: Chuan Shi – 894,000
Seat 3: Jason Mann – 893,000
Seat 4: Ilya Andreev – 985,000
Seat 5: Allan Baekke – 1,633,000
Seat 6: Shawn Busse – 1,203,000
Seat 7: Owen Crowe – 1,192,000
Seat 8: Pekka Ikonen – 626,000
Seat 9: Adam White – 1,685,000

R. Mizrachi leads 5k PLO

What is expected to be the final day of the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event resumes at 3pm with Robert Mizrachi (758,000) leading the field with 31 players remaining. Among the notables: Jose “Nacho” Barbero (480,000), Jason Mercier (221,000), Joe Beevers (212,000), Julian Gardner (190,000), Joe Serock (150,000), Justin “Boosted J” Smith (120,000) and Nam Le (60,000). Full chip counts available at wsop.com.

Linn leader final day of $1500 NL

Michael Linn (1,410,000) leads the final 23 players of the $1,500 No-Limit Holdem when play resumes at 3pm this afternoon. Full chip counts available at wsop.com.

Vedes leads Triple Chance Day 1

Day one of the $3,000 Triple Chance No-Limit Holdem event drew a field of 965 entrants, with 177 returning to the tables at 2:30pm. Tommy Vedes leads the field with 231,100 in chips, followed by familiar names David Singer (204,100), Gavin Griffin (134,300), Joe Tehan (93,100), Tom Dwan (59,800) and Terrence Chan (52,200). Full chip counts available at wsop.com.

Wednesday’s tournaments

One of the most highly anticipated tournaments of the WSOP takes place at 12pm with the debut of the $25,000 No-Limit Holdem 6-max event. A field of over 200 players is expected, consisting of 6-max specialists from the Internet, veteran tournament poker professionals, and those with $25,000 to burn. Players start with 75,000 in chips with the opening level 150/300 with a 25 ante, giving players incentive to show up on time and get the action going. The 5pm tournament is the $1,500 Limit Holdem Shootout, won last year by Greg Mueller in a field of 571 players, earning $179,291.

Forget the dated slogan of “What happens in Vegas …” Sin City is an industry as much as it is a way of life for many. And I think certain oldtimers have been waiting for these untold tales since before Dr. Pauly started surfing RGP. A must-read for Oscar Goodman, Carrot Top, and degenerate dregs of humanity alike. Many Vegas pilgrims already know the character behind the copy … and I hear great things about at least one of his minor antagonists.

(I sometimes forget I actually call this place home now, despite Pauly’s warnings not to descend through the gates any more than I had to.)

All hope abandon ye who enter here?

Lost Vegas: The Redneck Riviera, Existentialist Conversations with Strippers, and the World Series of Poker…

Las Vegas lures you to shed moral responsibility and piss away your money on indulgences like decadent food, entertainment, gambling, and sex. If you don’t enjoy these pastimes, then what’s the point of visiting the land of compromised values? Where else can you get a cheap steak, crash a Mexican wedding, get cold-decked in blackjack by a dealer named Dong, play video poker for thirteen straight hours, drink piña coladas out of a plastic coconut, bum a cigarette from an 85-year-old woman with an oxygen tank, speed away to the Spearmint Rhino in a free limo, get rubbed by a former Miss Teen USA, puke in the back of a cab driven by a retired Navy SEAL, snort cheap cocaine in the bathroom at O’Sheas, and then catch a lucky card on the river to crack pocket aces and win a poker tournament? Only in Las Vegas.

Click here to buy your copy now.

Is this news only to me?
UPDATE: Question mark removed. Williams and Selbst signage confirmed by Williams’ agent and PokerStars marketing exec.

David Williams, 2010 WPT World Champion, apparently will be donning the Spade-and-Star of PokerStars during the WSOP main event. I’m pretty sure you can bet on it …

Maybe I just missed the announcement, or any telltale patchwork in the Amazon room … but I hadn’t yet heard whom he’d be allying with, and this morning got an email invite for a little media meet-and-greet with:

Joe Cada: 2009 Winner – World Series of Poker
Vanessa Selbst: 2010 Winner – North American Poker Tour at Mohegan Sun
David Williams: As of 2010, his total live tournament winnings exceed $7,893,000

A formal invite is below, please let me know if you would like to RSVP for this event!

Figured it had to be them or Full Tilt … maybe Victory, but probably not, as Williams, upon becoming a free agent this spring just after winning the $25k WPT Championship, seemed to be one of the very few pros with the right combination of image and cred to make him extra-marketable.

All makes perfect sense really. As powerful a duo Williams could make with Antonio Esfandiari, it seems much cooler to match him up with two other current and defending big-event champs.

The bad news: People in France were recently blocked — just last week — from playing on PokerStars.com.

The good news: They’ll be able to play on PokerStars.fr, in a fully legal and regulated way.

They just won’t be able to play against anyone not in France … which sets up a new dynamic of what licensed and regulated online poker could look like worldwide in the not-too-distant future.

France’s regulatory body ARJEL released a list on Friday of nine more approved licensees, adding to 17 previous approvals. French parliament passed a law in October 2009 that ended its state-run online gambling monopoly, allowing up to 30 licenses for privately owned websites. PokerStars got one in this second wave of approvals, and PartyGaming got five.

The newly licensed companies and their completely legalized domains are:

LIL Managers Ltd (FriendBet.fr): sports betting
Reel Malta Ltd (PokerStars.fr): poker
Electraworks SAS (PartyBets.fr , GameBookers.fr, PartyPoker.fr, ActPoker.fr, LuckyJeux.fr): poker, sportsbetting
Gaming Iliad SAS (Chilipoker.fr): poker
Partouche Gaming France SAS (Partouche.fr): poker

[Source: eGaming Review]

More…

A look back at Monday night’s action, with another WSOP bracelet winner determined earlier today:

Eskeland stops Sung, wins Mixed Event bracelet

The only bracelet awarded Monday went to Norway’s Sigrud Eskeland, as he defeated Steve Sung heads-up to win the $2,500 Mixed Event, earning $260,497 and the prized WSOP bracelet. Scott Seiver finished in 6th for $40,175, while Todd Brunson finished in 10th for $18,045. Full results and Nolan Dalla’s tournament report at wsop.com.

Davidian branches out into lead for 1k day 3

Manuel Davidian holds the chip lead (889,000) when day 3 of the $1,000 No-Limit Holdem resumes with the final 33 players playing down to a final table. Among the notables returning: Owen Crowe (610,000), Shawn Busse (432,000), Olivier Busquet (377,000), EPT winner Allan Baekke (274,000) and Scott Montgomery, winner of the previous 1k NL WSOP event (151,000). As noted in the comments, Richard Ferro finished 182nd for $2,589. Chip counts and updates starting at 2:30pm PT at wsop.com.

Zarbo leads after day 1 of $1500 NL

Day two of the final $1,500 No-Limit Holdem tournament of the WSOP will have 290 players returning to the Rio at 2:30pm with Giuseppe Zarbo leading the field with 156,500 in chips. Other notables returning include George Lind (96,400), David Pham (83,300), John Myung (66,300), Shane Schleger (54,800), Liv Boeree (43,400) and Matt Matros (36,600). The day 2 table draw and chip counts are available at PokerNews.

Schaffel leads 5k PLO

Day 2 of the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha resumes at 3pm with 2009 November Nine participant Kevin Schaffel leading the 172 who had chips at the end of level 8 with 178,900. Some of the returning players include Dan Shak (100,800), Annette Obrestad (73,600), Nam Le (63,000), Lex Veldhuis (52,800), Ben Grundy (48,000), Jonathan Little (41,000) and John Juanda (28,300). Full chip counts and table draw now at PokerNews.

Tuesday’s tournament

Only one tournament on today’s schedule, the $3,000 Triple Chance No-Limit Holdem event. Players start with 3,000 in chips, then get two additional “rebuy” chips, each good for another 3,000 chips to be added to their stack during the first four levels of play. Last year was the debut of this event, won last year by Jorg Peisert in defeating a field of 854 for $506,800.

More episodes coming your way … because really, is there a better way to enjoy the full WSOP experience without being in Las Vegas? (Well I mean other than following Mathers here, on 2+2, Poker Road, and twitter …)

Of course you’ve known for years that I’m nowhere near so prolific as Pauly. That’s why he has a book coming out — I think like today! — and I’ve got just overlapping outlines, partial sample chapters … and now the occasional TOP episode previously unpublished here, but of course always available in the complete Tao of Pokerati archives for the chronologically demanding.

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Dan and Pauly keep a bird eye’s view on DonkeyBomber’s run during Day 2 of a donkament from the press box and find the easiest way to spot him is by his pants. They also chat about another Pokerati player — Toothless Bob — who was running great but suddenly went AWOL, as various types are known to do as we all get deep into the WSOP.

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What do Benjo and 7 Mexicans have in common with a flaring mob of Americans and Africans demanding someone at Harrah’s change the channel? Bad beat, obv. We’ve all heard stories, but Dan takes Pauly to the Bad Beat Bar itself, a comfortable but sparsely populated spot in a Rio Convention Center spillover area that feels more like a university commons than sports bar.

WSOP 2010 Insta-flashback …

The World Series had just gotten underway and Pauly, Dan, and Benjo preview the upcoming World Cup …

Episode 20: Benjo’s Bets and Conspiracy Theories

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Benjo explains his bets and talks about rigged-game conspiracy theories that our favorite Bulgarian bartender shared with him. Pauly and Dan pontificate on the gross discrepancies in World Cup lines between Harrah’s properties and off-Strip sports books.

Recapping Monday afternoon’s WSOP action:

Matusow leads TOC, resumes Saturday night

Another four hours of play in the WSOP Tournament of Champions Monday afternoon, with 17 players still remaining after eight levels have been played. Since ESPN wants a final table of nine on Sunday July 4, another day of play has been scheduled for Saturday, July 3 at 7pm. However, those plans get scrapped if one or more of the 17 are still involved in the $25,000 6-max event or the $5,000 Ante Up for Africa tournament. Whenever play resumes, Mike Matusow (85,500) will hold the chip lead, followed by Huck Seed (73,000) and Johnny Chan (68,600). The full list of chip counts is available over at wsop.com.

Sung slips into lead at Mixed Event final day

Ten players remain as the $2,500 Mixed Event went to dinner break with Steve Sung leading the field with 581,000 in chips. Other notables returning include Matt Vengrin (522,000), Scott Seiver (218,000) and Todd Brunson (145,000). Full chip counts and updates available at wsop.com.

Busquet leads 1k NL into the money

Day two of the $1,000 No-Limit Holdem is now deep into the money with around 200 players remaining with WPT winner Olivier Busquet leading the field with 185,000 in chips. Team Pokerati member John Harris unfortunately fell just short of the money, while veteran poker tournament reporter Mike Paulle squeaked into the money, finishing in 318th for a mincash. Among the players still with chips: Andre Akkari (132,000), Scott Montgomery (83,000), Antonio Esfandiari (65,000) and Carter King (42,500). The other person who Pokerati may be following Richard Ferro, there has not been any updates or in the results at wsop.com so he’s probably still in the field.

JP Kelly leading 1500 NL day 1

A field of 2,543 started in the $1,500 No-Limit Holdem, with less than 900 returning after their dinner break with Vegas/Europe WSOP bracelet winner JP Kelly holding the lead with 48,000 in chips. Some other notables: Roland de Wolfe (39,000), Theo Tran (23,000), Amnon Filippi (21,000) and David Pham (13,500). The money will be reached with 270 players remaining, with the winner earning over $600,000. More updates and chip counts over the final four hours of action over at wsop.com.

5k PLO underway

The 50th event of the WSOP, $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha, drew a field of 460 players, an increase of nearly 100 from last year took the felt this afternoon. The very early leader is Michael Mizrachi with 35,000 in chips, with plenty of big names in contention. Some of those names: Greg Raymer (26,000), David Singer (22,000), Ville Wahlbeck (19,000) and JC Tran (14,000). The field still has four levels of play as well as their dinner break so catch the proceedings at wsop.com.

As much as I’ve noted Team Pokerati’s struggles on the felt this summer, it’s not like our players don’t know their way to the WSOP payout window. Here’s a rundown of the team’s representative real-money scores so far:

(Click below for the Team Chauhan comparative results.)

Tom to La, after Team Pokerati’s first and only FT of 2010: “Congrats, you really played great. If I don’t bink a tourney soon, think you might be able to float me some scratch?”

Tom Schneider
$4,348 – 128th – $1.5k NLH
$22,085 – 14th – $1k NLH/Seniors
$3,352 – 52nd – $1.5k PLH
$6,128 – 32nd – $1.5k Omaha Hi/Lo

La Sengphet
$22,728 – 7th -$1k NLH/Ladies

Pat Poels
$13,232 – 10th – $2.5k Limit 2-7 3x

Robert Goldfarb
$6,128 – 29th – $1.5k Omaha Hi/Lo

The Big Randy
$3,428 – 196th – $1.5k NLH

Toothless Bob
$3,080 – 2nd place – $150 NLH (Binion’s Poker Classic)
$1,240 – 1st place – $65 NLH (Sahara nightly)
$355 – 4th place – $65 NLH (Sahara nightly)

John Harris (85Nutz)
TBD – first 2010 WSOP day 2 – $1k NLH

More…

A reminder that day 2 of the WSOP Tournament of Champions resumes shortly after 12pm PT this afternoon. ESPN3 will be streaming the action with 22 players remaining as they play four more levels before concluding the action on July 4. To see how the field stands and get updates for those unable to watch, head to wsop.com.

Two more players picked up their first WSOP bracelets this morning, and the rest of Sunday night’s WSOP tournament action:

Rockowitz hammers Coburn to win $1500 NL

The final hand of the $1,500 No-Limit Holdem event may have brought delight to some poker bloggers, as Jesse Rockowitz held the suited hammer (7h-2h), flopping two pair against Ray Coburn. Coburn turned a straight draw, but the river was of no help, giving Rockowitz the bracelet along with $721,373 for his victory. Coburn was resigned to collecting $446,274 from the cashier for the runner-up finish. Full results along with Nolan Dalla’s tournament report at wsop.com.

Bell rings up a bracelet in 5k PLO 8

Chris Bell, good friend of recent bracelet winner Gavin Smith, won a bracelet of his own, defeating Dan Shak in a lengthy heads-up battle to win the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8 or Better bracelet along with $327,040. Shak earned $202,142 for the runner-up finish, with David “Devilfish” Ulliott third for $150,925. Erik Seidel concluded his lengthy day after playing the Tournament of Champions by finishing in 5th for $85,800. Full results and Dalla’s report at wsop.com.

Yakovenko leads final day of 2500 Mixed Event

Day three of the $2,500 Mixed Event begins at 3:00pm today with Nikolai Yakovenko (310,000) leads the remaining 20 players in the field. Other notables returning include Matt Vengrin (276,600), Kirk Morrison (214,900), Scott Seiver (197,700), Alexander Kravchenko (178,100), Dario Minieri (145,600), Todd Brunson (101,400) and John D’Agostino (60,600). Full chip counts and updates during the afternoon at wsop.com.

$1k money day

Day 2 of the $1,000 No-Limit Holdem gets underway at 2:30 this afternoon with around 445 players returning to the Rio as they first reach the money when they reach 324 players, then try to get close to a final table, although that’s unlikely. The leader of the final 188 players who survived at the end of day 1b remains Ben Klier with 65,675. Other notables from day 1b: Pokerati fave Richard Ferro (64,375) Olivier Busquet (59,100), Jeff Madsen (43,000), Chris Moneymaker (41,125), Terrence Chan (29,200), David Sklansky (23,850) and Faraz Jaka (17,700). For Team Pokerati followers, John Harris finished with 12,425, Full chip counts now available at wsop.com.

Monday’s tournaments

Two more tournaments get underway this afternoon, starting with the seventh and final $1,500 No-Limit Holdem tournament of the WSOP. Last year’s winner was Tony Veckey, who defeated a field of 2,818, winning $673,276 for his only career cash. The 5pm tournament is the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha, won by Richard Austin last year for $409,484 in besting a field of 363.

Will La Sengphet be the only player to have repped the upside-down spade at a final table this year?

Though we’ve had a handful of cashes and a couple deep scores (in non-open events), Pokerati’s crew of patch-wearing competitors have admittedly struggled. Now, more than a month into the 2010 WSOP, we know it’s not gonna be about who can rack up the most bracelets (and pieces of Pokerati) in pursuit of Player of the Year, but who can pull out a big save … preferably before the main event!

Toothless Bob is still alive, btw — I mean in life, not any tournament — for those who were concerned. Turns out he just lost his phone and needed to wander aimlessly for a few days to shake off his early departure from the Seniors event after reportedly flopping Aces-full and running into flopped quads.

And Tom hasn’t gone totally broke yet — though he might be coming to believe those high buy-in mixed-game events (you know, the ones where every table has multiple world-class pros) might not be the best use of bankroll compared to low-cost no-limit events.

For Harris, a former WSOP dealer now working as both dealer and floor guy at the Venetian, it’s been all about low-cost no-limit events … and so far he’s gone 0-for-3. And while that’s just mathematically how these donkuli sometimes work, I’m not so sure @85Nutz was necessarily expecting the ill effects of regularly repeated run-bad on a not-yet super-accomplished player’s psyche.

It’s the kinda thing that can really shake a player’s confidence in his game. However, this weekend, armed with pre-game leak advice from The Maven (who happened to play at his table in a previous $1k) and a poker counseling session with DonkeyBomber on big-field strategy, Team Pokerati’s weekend warrior made his first Day 2 of 2010 … not necessarily in great shape, but a successful grind to get him to a point from where he’s propelled himself to a final table before.

Here’s the note he sent his WSOP backers, who are all petulantly waiting for a return on their money enthusiastically cheering him on:

I’m sorry for the late update, my phone died right as we finished for the night. Here are the stats going into tomorrow.

Total Entries: 3128
Players Left: 446
My Chip Count: 12,425
Avg Chip Count: 21,040
Blinds: Level 9 – 300/600 w75 ante (15 minutes left in level 9)
Places in Money: 324
324th: $1,886
1st: $485,642

We restart tomorrow at 2:30 Vegas time. We will be moving into the famous Amazon Room to table 334, seat 6. I’m off to get some rest after a long day.

You can follow the run-up to cash in the latest weekly $1k and other events here. Many Pokeratizens know Richard Ferro; he goes into Day 2 fourth in chips.

Other notables positioning themselves to avoid and/or absorb bad beats as the field races toward the bubble and beyond include Jeff Madsen (23rd, 42k) and Chris Moneymaker (24th, 41k).

Mickey Appleman, David Levi, David Sklansky, Terrence Chan, Lyle Berman, Antonio Esfandiari, and JJ Liu all have slightly above average stacks.

A review of Sunday afternoon’s action, starting with the first day of the WSOP Tournament of Champions:

Seidel leads after four levels of TOC

With several players in the WSOP Tournament of Champions involved with other bracelet events, it was decided to play four one-hour levels today, another four levels on Monday, then the remainder of the field returning on July 4th to determine a winner. When play resumes at 12pm, it’ll be Erik Seidel holding the lead with 72,075 in chips with 22 players remaining. In the random table draw, Daniel Negreanu and Annie Duke were seated next to each other at the feature table as both spent the day avoiding to look at each other, even when involved in hands together. Johnny Chan will start tomorrow second in chips with 71,325, followed by Mike Matusow in third with 70,575. The full list of chip counts is available over at wsop.com.

Odell leads 1500 NL final table

Kevin Odell (4,300,000) will hold a commanding chip lead at the $1,500 No-Limit Holdem final table when play resumes momentarily. In second is Brazilian Thiago Nishijima (1,775,000), with Ray Coburn (850,000) the most notable name remaining. Updates available at PokerNews.

Shak sharp in 5k Omaha 8

The start of day three of the $5,000 Omaha 8 or Better tournament was delayed as Erik Seidel was still involved in the Tournament of Champions, with play eventually underway after 4:30pm. Seidel started the day 20th out of 21 players, but he’s still in the field, although currently 9th with 10 players remaining. Dan Shak has moved into the chip lead with 815,000, followed by Leif Force (725,000), Perry Green (400,000), and Seidel (280,000) among the notables. Follow the action at PokerNews.

Seiver surges into lead in 2500 8-game

Another tournament that experienced a delay because of the TOC was the $2,500 Mixed Event as Daniel Negreanu, Jennifer Harman and Chris Ferguson still playing in that event. Approximately 70 players remain with their dinner break coming shortly. Scott Seiver holds the lead with 122,000 in chips. Other notables include David Steicke (86,000), Bill Chen (85,000), Michael Mizrachi (66,000), Steve Sung (54,000), Dario Minieri (45,000), Harman (41,000), Frank Kassela (39,000) and Ferguson (31,000). Team Pokerati’s Julie Schneider was one of the day 2 eliminations. Further updates and chip counts can be found at wsop.com.

Klier leading day 1b of 1k NL

Day 1b of the $1,000 No-Limit Holdem brought 1,369 players to the Rio this afternoon, around 400 remain as the field returns from their dinner break. The report chip leader appears to be Ben Klier with 54,000, followed by Mike Beasley (32,000), Faraz Jaka (28,000), Chris Moneymaker (23,000) and Jeff Madsen (13,200). A little over three levels of play are scheduled, unless the field falls under 200 before that point. More updates and chip counts at wsop.com.

Recapping Saturday night’s action, with the list of great players without a bracelet had another named crossed off the list.

Ole G Smith wins mixed holdem bracelet

Gavin Smith, one of the most popular players on the tournament circuit, finally won his first WSOP bracelet this morning, defeating Danny Hannawa heads-up to win the $2,500 Mixed Holdem event along with winning $268,238. Full results at wsop.com

Tournament of Champions starts today

The WSOP Tournament of Champions gets underway at 12pm today, as the 27 participants will play four one-hour levels today and Monday, with the survivors returning on July 4 to determine the winner. Besides being filmed to air on ESPN later this year, ESPN3 will be streaming a feature table both days. Here’s the feature table when play starts today:

Doyle Brunson
Daniel Negreanu
Annie Duke
Howard Lederer
Joe Hachem
T.J. Cloutier
Antonio Esfandiari
Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier
Scotty Nguyen

Trickett on top final day of $1,500 NL

Day three of the $1,500 No-Limit Holdem returns at 3:00pm with Sam Trickett (922,000) leading the 35 players remaining as they play down to a winner. Other notables in the hunt include: Dutch Boyd (619,000), Ray “ExitOnly” Rayburn (560,000), Paul Magriel (460,000), Alex Outhred (444,000), and Zachary Clark (176,000). Team Pokerati’s Tom Schneider finished 128th, good for $4,348. Full chip counts available at PokerNews.

Altbregin ascends to 5k PLO 8 lead

Day 3 of the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8 or Better resumes at 3pm with Sergey Altbregin (486,000) holding the chip lead with 21 players remaining. Other notables returning: David “Devilfish” Ulliott (415,000), Perry Green (367,000), Dan Shak (331,000), Dan Heimiller (247,000), Allen Kessler (117,000), Andy Black (100,000) and Erik Seidel (65,000). Full chip counts and updates available at http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/2010-wsop/event-46/“>PokerNews.

Brickner blasts his way into day 1a 1k NL lead

The next to last $1,000 No-Limit Holdem event of the WSOP drew a field of 1,759 entries for day 1a Saturday afternoon. That field was whittled down to around 300 players when they return on Monday afternoon, and the reported leader is Justin Brickner with 86,000 in chips. Other notables include Antonio Esfandiari (35,000), Scott Montgomery (30,000), Matt Glantz (28,000) and Carter King (17,000). Full chip counts along with updates for Sunday’s day 1b action available at wsop.com.

Jaffee leading $2,500 8-Game

Day one of the $2,500 Mixed Event brought 453 players to the Rio Saturday afternoon, with 162 returning at 4:10pm today. The reported chip leader is Jared Jaffee with 71,125. Some of the notables returning include: Justin “Boosted J” Smith (58,225), Michael Mizrachi (56,875), Brandon Cantu (41,000), Scott Seiver (37,350), Dario Minieri (32,175) and Gavin Griffin (29,150). Team Pokerati’s Julie Schneider returns with 18,975 in chips. Other chip counts and updates at wsop.com.

Every year at the WSOP, there are those “working it” who win, and those who lose … and plenty of us who have done both before and now do the bare minimum just to maintain and somehow stay in the game. Whether it’s being media, flooring, dealing, executiving, whatever … it’s not too different from what the full-time players have going on in their own poker pursuits.

One of the clear winners this year has been Tim Fiorvanti, aka @Tim00, aka “Timtern”. This WSOP youngster returned for his second Series to be a pathetically paid PokerRoad intern … and shortly into it got an additional gig as a pathetically paid Bluff Magazine writer. Nice!

Furthermore, while he hasn’t exactly torn the game up, he has become a regular and respected player in Pokerati’s 1/2 nl/plo @HardRockPoker. Thus, I was delighted to see him take-it-down further, throwing projectiles from press row to earn proper respect from Pauly, Benjo, and even the real professor, Shamus, who showed even gray-haired academics aren’t afraid to put it all on the line against any young or not-so-young poker challengers.

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Sometime after midnight, we let it all hang out with the gang in the press box who engage in a silly, yet innocuous throwing-things prop bet that began with Pauly and a single piece of wadded up paper. Before everyone knew it, Benjo, Shamus, and ten other bored members of the press (both foreign and domestic) were joining the fray. Degen prop betting often keeps the free press sane during those late night insane hours, as Tim the Intern took down the inaugural Small Ball Cup.