This week the Rabbit Hunt heads off to Macau (well… they talk about it anyway), discussing the latest high stakes and tournament action to hit Asia. They also discuss a new WSOP-C stop and a settlement in the infamous Hollywood home game lawsuit.

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On this week's show, Mark and Matt take a look at the GBT/DOJ deal that shows progress is being made on the Full Tilt front. Then, in a lengthy interview, they sit down with Annie Duke to discuss the Epic Poker League, including the troubles their Standards and Conduct Committee are facing.

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It’s November, and the online poker political buzz seems ready to kick into high gear … we’ve got the Senate Indian Affairs Committee taking on the issue today (with Al D’Amato testifying on behalf of poker players from the MoneyMaker-Duhamel era) … and the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade revisiting the issue tomorrow morning.

Meanwhile, the New York Post is reporting that “the smart money is betting Washington will legalize online poker” … with the suggestion that Harry Reid has his own version of the Barton Bill forthcoming. That’s hardly a surprise around here … but what could be something of a WTF, if it turns out to be true, are reportable rumors that Jon Kyl (R-AZ) will likely be a co-sponsor.

Kyl, of course, is one of the original architects of the UIGEA who will be retiring at the end of the current Congressional session. Ahh, it’s all starting to make a little sense now … can you see the path through Congress starting to emerge?

More…

In an awesome show we have Karina Jett, Adam Schoenfeld, and me, Micon on the show as hosts.  We talk to the Weisner about her recent NYC home invasion / knife threatening experience.  Menachem gives us his NFL picks for week 11, and we fail to get in touch with Neverheeb for an update.  Frankie O’Dell tells us some oldschool stories and Gank tells us why he is occupying Las Vegas.

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Mark and Matt are back to a normal news week on Rabbit Hunt, with stories ranging from Full Tilt's latest actions with the DOJ, Nevada looking to license online poker sites, Congress starting up more hearings, and how the IRS made more money than the 4th place finisher in the WSOP this year.

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If you just saw it on the street, you might not know it had anything to do with poker. But indeed, according to 2+2 NVG, this fine Nevada license plate is attached to nearly $100k worth of Beamer, a 650i, that Ben Lamb recently purchased:

Would be much cooler if the “1″ represented a bracelet, and he got a new car for every one he won. But oh well, sometimes third place and $4 million will have to do.

ALT HED: Germans Win Again

Oh, and almost forgot to post … here’s Pauly and I on scene doing some Tao of Pokerati during the moment from the final 3 with him that we’ll all remember:

Tao of Pokerati: First Hand Fireworks FTW? by Pokerati

This week its all about the November Nine on the Rabbit Hunt. Matt Matros joins the program to discuss some of the key hands of the event, as well as everyone's thoughts on the ESPN coverage and how the heads up stacked up to other Main Event finishes.

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Join us for a fun-filled romp of a show where Goldfarb calls up and appologizes for his closing of the wormhole. We also discuss Michael Clemente’s threatening of the Fun Time Friends with Orleans hottie Chae.    Get Menachum’s sports picks, Crazier Mike tells Micon why his wife should allow him to have sex with any female that would bang him, we discuss Joe Paterno and the pederassery at Penn State, Drexel announces “The Roast of Micon” to occur in the coming weeks and much moar!

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pics: WSOP.com

This heads-up battle stands to be one of the great ones. But it’s more than just a few million bucks difference and a bracelet on the line. The whole future of poker style could hang in the balance of a single river card. Will Martin Staszko, the workman-styled Czech-raiser, beat Pius Heinz and end the hoodie trend among online poker Deutschebags?

Nov. Nine – Heads-up Outfits (Ep 9) by taopokerati

It’s been heads-up for almost three hours between Martin Staszko and Pius Heinz. Dan and Pauly discuss their outfits and lack of patches. They also decide to pick sides. Pauly is backing Heinz, while Dan is sticking with Staszko.

Oh, and Dan is perplexed when he realizes that he is dressed identically to Pauly.

While the two men left standing punch back-and-forth, it’s a good time to catch up on some of the other action that led up to this point … such as the entire careers of Linda Johnson and Barry Greenstein, who got inducted today, shortly before cards went in the air.

Pauly and I were there to bring it to you … or at least Pauly was, to tell me what I needed to know:

Nov. Nine – Poker Hall of Fame Ceremony (Ep 7) by taopokerati

Dan and Dr. Pauly chat about the 2011 Poker Hall of Fame induction ceremony honoring the new class — Lind Johnson and Barry Greenstein. They also revealed who exactly was on their ballots.

Good times at the WSOP … thanks for hanging with Pauly and me as we use this opportunity to try out some newfangled podcast technology. You know, kinda like ESPN and the WSOP (and NGCB) are trying out newfangled technology with this whole “live” broadcast thing. (Once upon a time we used those “quotes” around the word “live” for mockery. But now, at just 15 minutes off of reality, no less sarcasm intended.)

Episode numbering seems to be the only tricky thing … and maybe using the geo-locator toggle. But it didn’t seem to matter as we sought the best way to insta-podcast the exciting highlights “semi-live” as the November Nine whittled down to the three that ultimately would matter tonight, in a few hours, live from the Penn & Teller Theater, and “live” on ESPN and possibly in your pocket:

Nov. Nine – Giannetti Lives (Ep 5) by taopokerati

Dan and Pauly are ringside for a decisive hand between Matt Giannetti and Martin Staszko. Giannetti was crippled on the previous hand and moved all-in. Staszko called with a dominated hand. Dan and Pauly call the action….

Tao of Pokerati: Quad Lambs by Pokerati

Tao of Pokerati: Non-silence of the Lamb at Penn & Teller Theater by Pokerati

November Nine – Naming Names (Ep 2) by taopokerati

Dan and Dr. Pauly discuss the November Nine players, or rather, Dan’s lack of care to learn who made the final table. But Dan has a cheat sheet — the live chip count list — that appears on a big screen adjacent to the stage. A nice improvement to the WSOP set-up.

Swear we’re not gonna make this whole thing about poker in Belize or even Belizean poker in Las Vegas … hopefully we’ll be done with this post before the November Nine gets down to the final 3.

But it just turns out that 6th place finisher, Badih BouNahra, aka “Bob”, brought a rather unique element not just to the 2011 WSOP main event final table, but to poker. Beyond being the oldest guy to go single-digit-finish/seven-figure-payout deep, and more than just bringing a rowdy uniformed crowd that kinda makes him the Dennis Phillips of Belize … still gotta factcheck, but pretty sure he is the first and only November Niner to receive support from a national government.

Here’s a quick “interview” I did with Jose Manuel Heredia, Jr., Belize’s Minister of Tourism, Civil Aviation, and Culture, on what one poker player’s WSOP success means for his country.

(Belize just turned 30 years old … something that seven of the November Niners can’t yet say.)

WSOP according to Belizean Minister of Tourism by Pokerati

And here’s a YouTube video BouNahra did for his government and the website he’s promoting on ESPN, www.travelbelize.org.

And, here’s a Tao of Pokerati on the impact of Belizeans, as felt by WSOP sports bettors in Nevada:

Dan and Pauly chat about the first three eliminations at the final table, including Belize Bob. His 200 supporters kept the atmosphere festive. They also bet heavily on Bob at the Rio’s sports book, which drove down his odds from 12/1 to 6/1.

Nov. Nine – Betting on Belize (Ep 3) by taopokerati

You can generally count on foreigners to bring the most festive crowds to WSOP final tables. Even moreso, obv, when we’re talking about the November Nine and/or a country with a population the size of Bakersfield, California (about 350k).

Some 200 Belizeans made the trip to Las Vegas (pop. 584k), and got to see Badih “Bob” BouNahra bust out in 6th place … for a cool $1.3 million. (Click here for November Nine payouts.) And with that came celebratory festivities that only a tropical paradise that’s essentially a shmancy English-speaking suburb of Honduras could provide.

For more of the Belizean beat … I also recorded an extended-mix version here (before it occurred to me to turn on the video cam).

So the biggest shiznit of the poker year is underway … please bear with us as some of us “old school” poker media try to find our place and purpose in covering an event that poker nuts can follow officially via WSOP.com, near-instantly on Twitter, and near-live (15 minutes, shmifteen minutes) on ESPNs 1, 2, and 3.

In the spirit of kicking things old-school, we’re going really new school … on the fly no less … and moving to SoundCloud, which we think will work in really neato ways.

November Nine – Evolution (Ep 1) by taopokerati

November Nine – Evolution (ep. 1)
Dr. Pauly and Dan are back with a new episode of Tao of Pokerati live from the Rio in Las Vegas. Dan showed up late, but watched some of the live feed at home. The WSOP coverage is evolving and the two discuss the latest nuances in poker reporting.

And of course to follow an old-school blogger with faster typing skills than mine, be sure to read actual writing from my partner in podcast crime at Tao of Poker.