Play started with the remaining 18 players in the money, guaranteed over $43,000 and an early advantage in the EPL standings for the February 2012 $1,000,000 Epic Poker League Championship freeroll. Day 3 was a short day for Justin Bonomo and Hoyt Corkins, the first two to collect their EPL winnings. Pro/Am qualifiers Brandon Meyers (9th) and Dan Fleyshman (15th) will have another chance to qualify for the Main Event in the September Pro/Am. Day 2 chip leader Sam Trickett had a disappointing Day 3, finishing 11th.

The elimination of Eugene Katchalov in 8th place meant the remaining players gathered at one table to play down to the televised final table, airing on CBS and Velocity later this year. The final hand involved Adam “Roothlus” Levy going all-in with pocket queens against Chino Rheem’s pocket kings. The A-A-Q flop moved the DeepStacks-sponsored pro into the lead, but an ace on the river meant it was a ruthless end for Levy. Rheem knocked out another DeepStacks pro, Matt Graham, on the money bubble to end Day 2.

All players at the final table earns a six-figure payday, a boon to those players Chino owes money. Here’s how the final table will be seated when play resumes around 2pm with blinds at 8,000/16,000 with an ante of 2,000.

Seat 1: Hasan Habib – 1,655,000
Seat 2: Erik Seidel – 1,109,000
Seat 3: Chino Rheem – 1,432,000
Seat 4: Gavin Smith – 766,000
Seat 5: Jason Mercier – 1,495,000
Seat 6: Huck Seed – 396,000

What they’re playing for:

1st: $1,000,000
2nd: $604,330
3rd: $360,970
4th: $237,560
5th: $154,260
6th: $107,980

Hand-for-hand updates of the final table, videos and photos and more available at www.epicpoker.com

Anyhow, so Epic Poker League … the one with a $1,500 Pro-Am that I won a seat into and will air in Heartland Poker syndication … continues to develop, and it looks more and more like a real poker contender, with the league now having locked down the “pro” part of their TV deal.

Major network CBS will be airing Epic’s big $20k invitational events, with ousted WSOP film crew 441 Productions handling camera duties under the aegis of former NBC Sports exec David Neal. Longtime real-sports dude Pat O’Brien will be the TV host, with Ali Nejad as his analyst sidekick.

In my mind, this is yet another part of “the reconstruction” of poker we are currently witnessing, and testament to what can be may have to be done without the help of traditional online poker sites that previously pushed poker on TV but now face criminal indictment.

Also in with this deal is additional TV coverage — live-minus-30 maybe, or is that just wishful thinking on my part — on a soon to be relaunched Discovery B-side channel called Velocity. It’s supposed to be “a turbocharged network for an upscale male audience” now, according to the network … which, I dunno, haven’t seen yet so not gonna diss — channel launches in October; real, fully legal advertisers to follow — but sounds kinda, um, Epic?

“It’s obviously different from competition at the poker table,” said Ho, who came in 11th place at this year’s World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. “It’s outdoorsy. This is physical and mental, but we will definitely be applying whatever skills we have as gamers to this competition and push ourselves in different ways that we’re not used to doing.”

Their combined bio can be found on the CBS website and describes them as well-traveled, extremely competitive, strong-minded, and savvy. (Funny – but not really – that they’re described by most poker media as simply “hot.”) Despite my usual ban on reality television, I’ll set the DVR to see how far the ladies make it. The premiere is Sunday, September 27.

Apparently DeRosa-Grund wouldn’t have made an offer to Gordon if he knew that he was a shareholder in Full Tilt Poker, because Gordon had only mentioned he was a consultant. Gordon eventually won summary judgment in January 2008. DeRosa-Grund appealed the decision, saying that the disclosure of Gordon’s ownership in FTP could not have been discovered in time for a new trial. He also said that he found the information about the ownership details from a different 2008 lawsuit filed by a former business partner of Gordon’s. U.S. District Judge Denise Cote stated that lawsuit had no bearing on this case and upheld the judgment, while declining to award Gordon no additional monetary sanctions.

Leggett wrote:

“We have every reason to believe that the 60 Minutes producers are intent on portraying the online poker industry and our companies in a negative light, and we do not expect that the program will be either fair or balanced.

Because of 60 Minutes’ apparent bias against Tokwiro and online poker, we have decided not to appear on camera. We have, however, had many conversations with the program’s producers. We provided them with extensive background materials and documents, and we answered questions on-the-record, but off-camera. Despite all this, it is not likely that our views will be properly represented. Therefore, it is important that all of our staff know the following facts about our company:”

The remainder of the memo states some facts about Tokwiro Enterprises and the cheating scandals, most of which were released to the public in UltimateBet, Absolute Poker, or Kahnawake Gaming Commission press releases or statements.

The tone of the memo and words chosen by Leggett indicate that the 60 Minutes piece could portray online poker in a bad light. In fact, what Leggett fears is that Tokwiro and its online poker entities will look bad. Well, that is entirely possible because the way in which the scandals were handled was bad, and if that comes out in the reporting, who is really at fault, especially when the company in question refuses to go on camera with a statement and show otherwise? And in truth, what is said about AP, UB, and Tokwiro really doesn’t reflect on the entire online poker world, and there still remains some hope that the reporters for 60 Minutes and the Washington Post will make that clear distinction.

The Full Tilt-sponsored 80-person event took place at the Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort and concluded on May 15. The WSOG is scheduled to air on CBS Sports on June 28 and 29.

Can I get a golf clap?

Here’s an article about the WSOG in USA Today. What I find most fascinating are the comments it has gotten — comments not by staunchly pro- or anti-poker people … but by run-o-the-mill Americans who have a slight interest in reading a not-so-prominent article about a quirky variant of golf. They give a lot of insight into the challenges that poker faces in the future (on TV and otherwise):

fredlander wrote: 3d 6h ago
These two non sports go hand in hand. I would call this a perfect combination for fat, out of shape people who can’t play a real sport. Throw in race car driving which is great entertainment for brain dead people and you have the perfect trifecta for all the millions of fat, out of shape americans. Bon appetite!

Indeedy. And the success of Nascar and Jeffrey Pollack’s connection to it give hope. I actually thought bass fishing was going to take off on TV once they introduced the “hook cams” … but apparently it hasn’t yet.

Dave S Texas wrote: 3d 7h ago
Golf and gambling go back to the days when the game was invented. Why network television intends to glorify this bogus ‘golf’ event is beyond my comprehension. I recorded the event last year. After watching about 15 min of it, I deleted it. Bad amatuers playing bad golf. Pathetic.

Hmm … we’ll have to talk later about their plans for next year to include some non-amateur action.

BobLee wrote: 4d 1h ago
Congress should appoint a Senate Sub-Committee to study “poker”. Appoint Henry Waxman to head this one too ….. he frightens children.

You tell’em, Bob. Actually, there’s a bill kinda like that pending.

disgustedpatriot wrote: 4d 1h ago
Poker is not a sport!! It is a vice! Why poker is now on the sporting pages and on ESPN and other networks is beyond me. What is next? Binge drinking contests? Or how about reality prostitution shows? Whoops….forgot, that is already on MTV!!

Yeow, how did they know? Apparently the World Series of Beer Pong is a little ahead of its time. Interestingly enough, Doyle Brunson competed in the WSOG last year but not this year. Yet he did find time to compete in the WSOBP — seen here after pounding (literally) multiple beers:

And who says that doesn’t make for good television drama when in the inaugural event saw Todd Brunson beat his dad:

Speaking of priorities, the writers’ strike is continuing, and many TV show productions have already shut down. Though there are secret talks rumored to be happening, no clear end is in sight. To find out more about the strike, check out United Hollywood. Keep in mind that without the writers, you’ll get more shows like Dancing With the Stars. Think about that.

The biggest news of late has been the elimination of Jean-Robert Bellande from Survivor: China on CBS. He was eliminated in ninth place but wasn’t put on a plane back to U.S. soil right away; he remains on the show as a part of the jury that will ultimately vote to award one person the $1 million prize. In his exit interview, he says he realized that he may have pushed all-in too early, but he was playing to win. (Writer’s note: Now that Jean-Robert is gone, go James!)

For those who watched it, what did you think of Bellande’s play, aside from the random corny poker references?

Some of you may remember Wil Wheaton from Star Trek: The Next Generation – or even further back from the film Stand By Me, but he has also played a role in poker over the past few years – playing and blogging. Aside from still being active in various TV shows and films, he has also self-published a book called “The Happiest Days of Our Lives.” Reviews are good, and the hardcover was just released with 300 autographed copies available. Get ‘em while you can!

In other news, Pamela Anderson and Rick Salomon are still married. We all know it can’t last long, so the tabloids (and me) are awaiting the filing of divorce papers. Yes, that’s an assumption, and I’m a notoriously bad prop bettor, but does anyone really want to challenge me on this?