EPT London :: A UK record field of 848 players took part in the £5,000 Main Event, with 128 players making the money, as the winner earns £900,000. The leader after the two day 1′s have been played is Claudio Cecchi with 237,500 in chips. Other notables returning for day 2 at 12pm London time Friday: Barry Shulman – 129,200, Daniel Negreanu – 122,000, Phil Ivey 117,900, Joe Hachem 108,400, Greg Raymer – 105,200, Boris Becker – 94,700, John Juanda – 71,400 and Ivan Demidov – 65,000. Full chip counts for both days are available at PokerNews and the PokerStars blog as well as live updates.

LA Poker Open, Commerce Casino :: The latest tournament series at the Commerce Casino runs Nov. 3-21, running against the NAPT at the Bike. The LAPO’s main event is a $2,085 NL event, w/ re-entry and a $500,000 guarantee LA Poker Open schedule

If this is true, it would mark the second WSOP-Circuit addition not at a Harrah’s property. That’s the unofficial word from a Harrah’s suit, with firm-sounding dates attached. According to venerable Circuit TD Jimmy Sommerfeld on 2+2 …

I think that … a Tournament at Palm Beach Kennel Club on February 17 – March 1 would be a great Idea. Maybe its not a rumor?!! I would gamble and book a room.

Ah yes, it all makes so much sense now, doesn’t it? (That is, of course, assuming Sommerfeld doesn’t get canned before WSOP-Choctaw, in January 2011, for running his yap ahead of any official press release.

Not only would a WSOP-Florida series further support America’s favorite citrus-bearing peninsula as the juiciest destination in poker since France, but also, it would confirm Harrah’s willingness to take unprecedented steps in an effort to keep up with the new-and-improved WPT/Party/Bwin.

The above dates, if true, would run it right up against the WPT-LAPC, btw.

More…

From Rich Muny of the PPA, a statement from PokerStars:

PokerStars statement on the blocking of players from Washington State

PokerStars today announced that it would cease providing real-money poker to residents of Washington State. To date, PokerStars has operated in Washington on the basis of legal opinions where the central advice was that the state could not constitutionally regulate Internet poker, or at least could not discriminate in favor of local cardrooms and against online sites. Last week, however, the Washington Supreme Court for the first time rejected that position and upheld the state’s Internet gaming prohibition.

In light of this decision, following extensive consultation with our legal advisors, we believe that the right course of action is to now block real money play by Washington residents on the PokerStars.com site. This policy will remain in effect until the law changes or subsequent legal challenges succeed. Our decision to block real money play in Washington does not affect the balance of funds in customer accounts, which remain completely safe. Our payment services team continues to be available to Washington State residents to assist with cashout requests.

We regret this decision, which will no doubt disappoint our customers in Washington State. However, in all of the jurisdictions where we operate, we are committed to making responsible decisions that are based on a full and considered understanding of the most up-to-date legal advice.

PokerStars remains supportive of passing sensible Internet poker regulation in the United States that will provide much-needed tax revenues and formalize consumer protections. PokerStars operates under those conditions, complying with rigorous licensing regimes, for its worldwide operations in the Isle of Man (UK), and for local operations in Italy, France and Estonia.

PokerStars has also created a FAQ for Washington state residents, at http://www.pokerstars.com/poker/news/washington/faq

Albini: Rock & Roll razz teacher.

That’s probably a stretch, referring to any Razz player as Jungleman … but hey, as of this moment he’s the most skilled and accomplished Razz player I’ve ever met studied on a training video. Or actually, maybe his sidekick, Brandon Shack (aka Oscillator) is the better player. It’s hard to say, but they seem to have rather different philosophies on playing the game that most of us got to know from a single Final Table hand in 2004 — you know, the one where Howard Lederer and TJ Cloutier taught us that Razz could indeed be a painful game?

(That hand, of course — they had the same low until the river — led me to my first and only bracelet, in Razz, in the 2005 $1,500 event on the PlayStation. I should clearly be in the TOC!)

Anyhow, that’s why I liked this video. And though I still have no plans to ever add Razz to any 1/2 NLH/PLO game I’m pimping, getting in the middle of an intense poker convo about the nuances of Razz does leave me feeling a bit better prepared should I ever end up in the game Vegas-local aggro-nit Rex really wants to host – NLH/PLO/Razz:

Albini, btw, is a rather interesting dude — a guy who comes to poker from the music biz. He worked as a producer on albums by Nirvana, Bush, the Pixies, Flogging Molly, the Jesus Lizard (Chris Ferguson, lol?), Helmet, Cheap Trick, and Robert Plant. Apparently he became quite the badass legend amongst producers in the underground-alt scene. Neato.

Reminds me that I’m glad I’ve signed up to get this type of specialist poker training for free from CardRunners with their Truly Free Poker Training.

The Ryan Seacrest of Poker? Matt Savage joined us on This Week In Poker live from the WPT Borgata last Tuesday.

We never ever pick favorites. Never. Ever.

With that said, our interview with Matt Savage last Tuesday on This Week In Poker was our favorite so far. Lots of solid topics covered, and great questions submitted from our viewers, including one from Jay “WhoJedi” Newnum on whether WSOP bracelets should be awarded outside of Vegas.

“I don’t like it,” said Savage. “I don’t think it’s like a real bracelet.”

More…

The final table of the £10,000 + 350 Main Event concluded Tuesday evening with Briton James Bord taking down the gold bracelet along with £830,401, defeating Fabrizio Baldassari heads-up. Here’s the full final table results:

1 James Bord 830,401
2 Fabrizio Baldassari 513,049
3 Ronald Lee 376,829
4 Roland De Wolfe 278,945
5 Nicolas Levi 208,119
6 Daniel Steinberg 156,530
7 Dan Fleyshman 118,643
8 Brian Powell 90,617
9 Marc Inizan 69,754

Nolan Dalla’s final table report is up at WSOP.com

Elsewhere…

EPT London :: Day 1a of £5,000 Main Event starts Wednesday, EPT London Schedule PokerNews and PokerStars blog cover all the action.

WSOP Circuit Southern Indiana – Elizabeth, IN :: The WSOP Circuit visits Indiana twice in October. Sat. Oct. 2 commences the Horseshoe Southern Indiana WSOP-C with 10 rings up for grabs, including the $1,600 Main Event. The winner, along with the best all around player, aka “Casino Champion” gets a seat at the $1,000,000 Championship Invitational in Las Vegas. WSOP-C schedule

Before I appeared on This Week in Poker with the folks at Wicked Chops Tuesday evening, I did a brief interview with Tatjana Pasalic for PartyPoker’s blog. Wish it went a little bit better, but was still a fun interview, even though it may not have looked that way:

In the last article we looked at the last four candidates for Poker Hall of Fame. So now its time to break down the votes that each player would get depending on the criteria of the hall, as well as some other fairly easy to determine metrics. What I will do is look at each criteria and metric and see who has the “edge”, similar to how its done in sports matchup previews.

The Hall of Fame’s criteria are:

• Player must have played against known top competition
• Played for high stakes
• Played consistently well, gaining respect of peers
• Stood the test of time
• Contributed to the overall growth and success of the game (this normally applies to non-players, but I think players should help in this aspect as well)

Some additional criteria to consider include:

• Tournament Success
• Cash Game Success
• Depth of Poker Knowledge (NLHE specialist vs. mixed game master)
• And..finally…public perception (because this is really important these days)

But, of course, there is a little battle to settle. While Dan Harrington and Erik Seidel cleared the hurdle, Barry Greenstein and Scotty Nguyen are neck-and-neck, so before we can do anything we have to settle a simple question, who (in my mind) is worthy of a vote?

More…

Awesome … talk about a stroke of fortunate timing. The latest release from Pokerati’s Generic Pokerwear collection just arrived … in time for Dan Fleyshman’s final table run at WSOPE, where he starts off as the chip leader. The shirt, as testament to PGP’s high style and versatility, is also fitting for die-hard fans of 1981 movies starring Sylvester Stallone and Pele.

Even if Fleyshman, the affable jet-setting insomniac Gen-Y online poker CEO whose penchant for lingerie models has put him at the center of controversy, goes out in something non-memorable like 7th place … you can always stick it to the Nazis or make a time-tested statement on the table or off about what’s yours with:

Pick a Winner

NOTE: These shirts are not official uniforms for Team Victory Poker and are for entertainment purposes only. Any similarities to attire worn by actual VP pros is coincidental.

More confirmation of what we suspected all along upon seeing this video … here’s additional video of the OJ Simpson of Poker playing 2/5 at MGM a couple weeks earlier.

And here’s an amusing video of the other Russ Hamilton, which makes you realize how shafted some people’s legacy can be in Google, particularly for a cultural renegade who sang about the desire to “make love” out of wedlock to a teenage girl in 1957:

The £10,000 + 350 Main Event has now reached the final table of nine, returning Tuesday afternoon at 12pm UK time/7 am ET/4 am PT to play down to a winner, who’ll earn a coveted WSOP gold bracelet and over £830,000 (~$1.3m US). Several big names fell short of reaching the final table, including Phil Ivey (19th), Viktor Blom (16th) and Barny Boatman (13th). Here’s how the final table will be situated, with just a few minutes remaining in level 20: 10,000/20,000 with a 3,000 ante:

Seat 1: Roland de Wolfe – 1,377,000
Seat 2: Marc Inizan – 349,000
Seat 3: Nicolas Levi – 428,000
Seat 4: Fabrizio Baldassari – 697,000
Seat 5: Brian Powell – 842,000
Seat 6: Dan Steinberg – 1,520,000
Seat 7: James Bord – 1,331,000
Seat 8: Ronald Lee – 1,899,000
Seat 9: Dan Fleyshman – 1,946,000

Streaming of the final table, with hole cards, on a five-hour delay will be available at www.espn3.com and www.wsop.com for European viewers. For those looking to follow the action live, PokerNews and WSOP.com will constantly be providing live updates.

Elsewhere …

TJ Cloutier Choctaw Poker Classic – Durant, OK :: Sudhakara Kattamuri takes down the $1,500 + 100 Main Event for $73,127.

Big Poker Oktober – Bicycle Casino :: Small buy-in series of tournaments through Oct. 9, NAPT in November.

PokerStars WCOOP $5k Main Event: Under 125 players remaining, one of them tbvle, winner of hand 50,000,000,000 on PokerStars at a 2/5 cent table, which included a WCOOP Main Event ticket. He’s turned that into at least $17,711 and is looking for more. The PokerStars blog is providing live updates as they play down to a winner by Tuesday morning.

Unconfirmed … so you make the call: Is that everybody’s favorite online poker supervillain Russ Hamilton in the 3 seat?

(Of course it is, but surely that can’t be a silver main event bracelet he’s wearing, right?)

This video was shot at MGM yesterday, about 9:30. (That’s the lion attack exhibit in the background.)

Again, without saying this is for certain any one specific person who has never been formally accused of any crimes yet still finds himself living something of an OJ Simpson retirement … Hamilton has apparently resurfaced from poker exile in the Nevada amateur pub leagues and has been showing up at the MGM about once a week for the past month or so to in put in some hours on the low-stakes grind.

(Check it out, pretty much the same type of crumpled visor Hamilton wore in the notorious Raw Vegas vid.)

Supposedly this player was noticeably a bit tilted by the lingering camera, and quickly got up to put his name on the 2/5 list as “RR”.

UPDATE: RH said in ’08 he keeps his bracelet in a safe, only to be taken out for the World Series. Thinks obviously coulda changed since then, but that was his answer almost three years ago. [Video interview]

Day 3 of the £10,000 + 350 Main Event concluded with 22 players remaining, playing down to the final table starting at 12pm London time Monday afternoon. A reminder, a stream with hole cards (plus 5 hour delay) will be available at ESPN3.com in the US, Latin America, Brazil, New Sealand and Australia. The same stream will be available at WSOP.com for European viewers. The chip leader is Ronald Lee with 922,000 in chips. Other notables returning: Andrew Pantling (Event #1 runner-up to Phil Laak) – 821,000, Viktor Blom – 705,000, Phil Ivey – 657,000, Hoyt Corkins – 566,000, Barny Boatman – 379,000, Victory Poker CEO Dan Fleyshman – 336,000 and Roland de Wolfe – 113,000. Table draw available at WSOP.com .

The £10,000 + 350 High Roller NL Heads-Up event finally has a winner, as Gus Hansen defeated Jim Collopy in the 3rd and deciding match to earn his first WSOP bracelet along with £288,409. Here’s how the final hand played out:

Elsewhere …

PokerStars LAPT Grand Final - Rosario, Argentina :: Martin Sansour defeats Bolivar Palacios, earning $322,280. Matthias Habernig’s bid for back-to-back LAPT wins fell short, finishing 6th. PokerStars Blog has the final table report.

TJ Cloutier Choctaw Poker Classic – Durant, OK :: Cloutier finishes 17th for $3,673, play down to 4-handed. www.roundersradio.com covering the FT action.

PokerStars WCOOP $5,000 Main Event :: 2,443 entries, first pays over $2m, 2nd and 3rd $1m+

Day 2 of the 10,000 + 350 WSOPE Main Event came to a close with 66 players remaining, and Viktor Blom, rumored to be online legend Isildur1 the leader with 443,200 in chips. Other notables returning: Phil Ivey – 289,300, Victory Poker CEO Day Fleyshman – 269,000, Yevgeniy Timoshenko – 222,900, Barry Greenstein – 175,300, Roland de Wolfe – 166,200 and Daniel Negreanu – 142,800. The day 3 table draw is now available at WSOP.com . Play resumes at 12pm Sunday afternoon/7am ET with the field playing down to the final 27. Follow the updates at PokerNews and WSOP.com.

The third and deciding match of the 10,000 + 350 NL Holdem Heads-Up bracelet will take place at 6pm Sunday evening between Gus Hansen and Jim Collopy. There was discussion of holding the final match in Las Vegas November Nine weekend, but eventually it was worked out to finish it out in London.

Elsewhere …

LAPT Grande Finale – Rosario, Argentina :: The final table of 8 has been reached, with Matthias Habernig, winner of LAPT Florianopolis, is looking to win back-to-back titles. Here’s how the final table will be seated:

Seat 1: Roberto Bianchi (Argentina) 1,242,000
Seat 2: William Ross (USA) 352,000
Seat 3: Ivan Saul (Argentina) 179,000
Seat 4: Nico Fierro (Chile) 406,000
Seat 5: Matthias Habernig (Austria) 463,000
Seat 6: Martin Sansour (Peru) 952,000
Seat 7: Bolivar Palacios (Panama) 1,000,000
Seat 8: Daniel Ades (Argentina) 514,000

Action resumes Sunday at noon local time, follow the action at PokerNews and the PokerStars blog.

TJ Cloutier Choctaw Poker Classic – Durant, Oklahoma :: Day 1 of their $1,500 + 100 Main Event drew a field of 191 players, with first place taking down $73,126. Streaming at Roundersradio.com

Day 1b of the 10,000 + 350 Main Event drew a field of 209 entrants, creating a total field of 346 entrants, with the top 36 making the money. First place will be worth 830,401 when the final table is held Tuesday afternoon. 188 players will return Saturday at 12pm London time to play another six 90-minute levels. The current chip leader is James Mitchell with 178,850 in chips. Other notables from Friday returning include: November Niner John Dolan – 173,700, Antonio Esfandiari 105,125, Phil Laak – 96,675, Phil Ivey, – 94,350, Viktor “Isildur1?” Blom – 91,850, and defending champion Barry Shulman – 86,325. A tentative table draw is available at WSOP.com, where you can find updates there as well as PokerNews.

Both Gus Hansen and Jim Collopy, who have one match remaining in the 10k NL HU final, still have chips in the Main Event. There has been no word on when the deciding match will take place.

Elsewhere …

PokerStars LAPT – Rosario, Argentina :: 24 players remain in their main event, playing down to their final table on Saturday. PokerStars Blog and PokerNews

TJ Cloutier Choctaw Poker Classic – Durant, Oklahoma :: $1,600 Main Event starts Saturday, Cloutier, Scotty Nguyen, Tom McEvoy scheduled to appear. Rounders’ Radio appears to be handling live streaming of the tournament this weekend.

PokerStars EPT London :: The final major poker series to hit London starts Sept. 28th – EPT London details

Finally, Dan Michalski appeared on episode #2 of Gary Wise vs the World at PokerStatic.com with Shaun Deeb, Daniel “Jungleman12″ Cates, and Tim West.

US rep, Dina Titus (D-NV), is sending out mailers to her Vegas constituency in hopes they’ll send her back to Washington DC for a sophomore term. Her campaign material today shows she is indeed willing to make online gambling a key issue — at least amongst voters in her database tagged with “online gambling” as a key issue.

Titus is, of course, a co-sponsor of HR 2267, as is my rep, Shelley Berkley. With absentee props to the Poker Shrink, who is still registered in Titus’ district, here’s a glimpse at how pro-online-poker Vegas pols are speaking about internet gambling as a whole, leading up to the November Election:

(Remember, you can see where your rep stands on “our issue” here.)

—– Forwarded Message —-
From: Representative Dina Titus
To: Poker Shrink
Sent: Fri, September 24, 2010 8:30:09 AM
Subject: Online Gaming Update from Congresswoman Dina Titus

More…