Though it apparently took a while to get their payout system back in acceptably working action, Full Tilt has paid Boston Pedro his $4.5k:

Yes- i have received checks from them the last two weeks on about a ten day turn around from when requested. That is good.

Indeed, that is excellent to hear. Nice to know there are at least a few sites out there (other than Ultimate Bet/Absolute) that are able to take care of the players.

Backstory here and here.

Bodog, however, seems to be another story altogether … Hard to distinguish what are flame wars between jilted parties and what are real issues that may or may not have driven at least one affiliate to madness. I do know that at least one pending biz deal with some bloggers has been pulled off the table, but that doesn’t mean much … could’ve happened just as well for unrelated reasons when biz was all good. But clearly something unusual is up with Bodog — and what it is I am sure at least a few players will eventually find out, whether they want to or not.

Bodog shenanigans discourse here.

It certainly seems that way … either that or they’re just going through some rocky times that the tough-do-it-my-way billionaire who built the company didn’t want to be part of. [Gambling911]

Reading this story makes a couple things “obvious” to me:

1. The US.gov is serious about the illegality of sports wagering online, as it really is the only thing clear in previous legislation.

2. Online poker sites that accept US players are having a hard time getting new players, because the American market is tapped out, and if you were a newly addicted European, why would you choose any site that runs into potential trouble from US.gov when you can play on super-legit home-continenters such as PartyPoker, Ladbrokes, 888, etc.? The exception to this, of course, are PokerStars (because they’re so damn big and have all the champions) and Full Tilt (because they have all the pros).

3. Pete Sessions’ HR 6663 really is a sensible piece of legislation in that it makes everything clear (even though it may not cow-tow to a few special-special interests): it spells out more clearly than anything else — sports betting on the internet is bad, online poker is fine, and other games need to be decided.

CardRunners and Full Tilt pro Brian Townsend admitted to multi-accounting on PokerStars and Full Tilt.

He wrote an admission and apology on his blog this week, noting that he had two accounts on PokerStars and two on Full Tilt (where he has a contractual obligation as a Full Tilt pro!). Full Tilt has suspended his “red pro” status for six months but didn’t seem to want to ban him from the site for clearly breaking the rules. PokerStars has not taken any action that has been made public. And to make up for his actions and show his remorse, Townsend is donating $25,000 to a charity and removed all but $100,000 in his online accounts. (If these actions evoke sympathy from anyone, please let me know.)

On one hand, Townsend did own up to his wrongdoings and apologize.

On the other hand, where to begin? Good-looking kid with everything going for him - great poker successes as a high-stakes player live and online, management gig at CardRunners, Full Tilt pro, fame, respect, good reputation - and he risked it all “because I enjoy anonymity when playing smaller and am very prideful in what I do.” He clearly sees what goes on in the online poker community and knows what happens to players caught multi-accounting. But instead of admitting to needing or wanting to move down in limits due to a recent downswing, he played under other accounts. I guess that risk didn’t pay off.

Is there something unclear about the multi-accounting rule on online poker sites? One account per player. You can play 40 games at once if you like, but use the same account. Simple, no? If you don’t agree with the rule, protest it and work for change. But for now, buck up and deal with it.

There’s a lot of political to-do over use of the term “illegal” in connection to online poker — whether that be in proposed legislation or general internet chit-chat. “Playing poker online is not illegal at all!” say the die-hards. “All the UIGEA made illegal was the transfer of funds blah blah blah!” Fair enough, but bottom line is that it’s easier to get weed in this country than it is to get your money off of Full Tilt … interpret as you see fit.

One Pokerati reader writes in with the latest on his difficulty getting $4,500 from Full Tilt into his American pockets:

Update:

After a month of getting the run around trying to make a check withdrawal ftp finally told me they could not and that their problems with the check processor persist. They told me to use the cash pick up option and that through moneygram, i could pick up my money at an authorized agent. I checked and there several in town so I sent a withdrawal request. I was told that once processed the money would be available in one to three business days. It showed as processing for a week and the ftp told me that the transaction was declined. I now have no means to get money out. I put in for a 50 dollar deposit to see if they would take my money and sure enough they did. I have a lot of cash in there and no way to get it out. Suggestion? Any similar stories? Arent you best friends with ftp pros. How can they work this way?

Damn, not good. As referenced in a comment to your previous post, there have been some 2+2 discussions about similar difficulties:

FTP checks thread
Why are there 65,000 people currently playing on FTP when we CANT get paid???

… so your situation clearly isn’t isolated. I personally have some Full Tilt cash supposedly waiting for me at MoneyGram — just haven’t picked it up because non-electronic banking is a pain in the ass and I’ve been “running good” at the live tables and bills aren’t due for a while — will try to cash out this week to see what happens.

As to all the Full Tilt pros being my best friends … absolutely, we are tight-tight and have partied all night long. And yet for some reason they all seem to have changed their phone numbers without telling me. I don’t get it!

A touch more research on the research below reveals that back in 2005, to fully study the waves, impacts, ebbs, and pulses of the poker business, the following companies were considered relevant enough to merit a looksie:

(Notice anyone conspicuously missing?)

- American Gaming Association
- Anheuser-Busch
- Apex Poker Network
- Bellagio Casino
- BetandWin
- Betfair
- Boss Media
- Bravo Network
- Cassava Enterprises
- Challenge TV
- eBay
- Empire Poker
- ESPN
- European Poker Tour
- Eurosport
- FHM
- GAT
- Golden Palace
- Harrah´s
- IGGBA
- IGlobalMedia/Partygaming
- International Poker Federation
- InterPoker.tv
- IntertopsPoker
- KahnawakeGaming Commission
- Ladbrokes Poker
- Merrill Lynch
- Microgaming
- Pacific Poker
- Paradise Poker
- PartyPoker
- Pizza Hut
- Playtech
- Poker Rook
- PokerStars
- PricewaterhouseCoopers
- Random Logic
- Sportingbet
- Sunset & Vine
- Travel Channel
- TribecaTables
- Ultimate Bet
- Victor Chandler
- WagerLogic
- WagerWorks
- World Poker Tour
- World Series of Poker
- Yahoo

Source

“Boston Pedro” writes in with some concerns about Full Tilt’s latest speed-bump in their ever-changing UIGEA-hampered payout processing:

Hey Dan-

I am having an issue with FTP where they owe me $4500 and previously I have not had an issue with them direct depositng money or sending me a check. Over the last month, they have “sent my withdrawal to the processor but are having difficulties with their processesor and are not hearing back from them”. Have you heard any similar complaints? if you post this, please do not use my name or info….thanks.

Hmm, yikes. I followed up with Pedro letting him know I recently withdrew money from Full Tilt and it took about three weeks to arrive in my bank account, and he said indeed, he had had the same experience, until recently.

Three weeks has been the norm. But this has been considerably longer, and it is concerning that they are admitting an issue.

The best I can tell you now is to be patient — Full Tilt moneychangers seem to change with regularity. And fortunately they don’t seem like a company who’s owners want to rip you off, so I suspect this problem will resolve itself soon. I know that’s not the answer you’d really like to hear, but for now it’s the best I’ve got.

If anyone else out there has more insight on the matter, by all means, please share. Perhaps the more important question, however, Shmawstin Shmete, is … you are clearly continuing to do well online. So why on earth have you not become any semblance of a threat at the big-tourney live tables in Las Vegas, Foxwoods, Shmoklahoma, or wherever?

Some numbers coming in over the Batpod … about deals surrounding the November Nine as they made their way to the main event final table:

According to super-duper-secret well-connected, highly reliable inside sources some guy in Colorado, Peter Eastgate, the 22-year-old from Odense, Denmark, currently sitting 4th in chips was originally a Ladbrokes qualifier. Upon his making the final 72, Ladbrokes offered him $1 million to patch up. Full Tilt then came over the top with $1.75 million, and in the end, PokerStars took it down for $2 million.

(NOTE: What I’m not sure of are any “contingencies” in these deals — whether that’s $X million up front even if you finish 71st, or $Ythousand right now, and $Z million if you make the final table.)

photo: Wicked Chops Poker
EPT Powergirl Kara Scott proudly representing the “World’s Argest Oker Ite”.

It is no secret that poker tournaments filmed for television have made logos an important part of the game. Online poker websites and companies selling poker-related products are among the most lucrative deals to be had, as they are willing to pay players in front of the cameras to advertise for them. It works – players receive bonus compensation to allow a company rep to strategically place a Full Tilt or PokerStars or All In Energy Drink sticker on their shirts or hats.

Most television production companies involved with the big tournaments now lay out specific guidelines for the number of logos allowed, as well as the size and wording of them. For example, the World Poker Tour allows only one pre-approved logo per player, no bigger than 6 square inches and located on the shirt breast pocket.

The World Series of Poker has taken a different approach, allowing multiple logos for any site or product, with a few exceptions like prohibiting dot.com gaming sites that accept U.S. customers. The specific rule about logos at the WSOP is as follows:

Tournament Rule #43:
Tournament participants may wear apparel with multiple logos, patches or promotional language. However, no individual logo, patch or block of promotional language is to be larger than 12 square inches. No single company name is to be represented more than once on any individual article of clothing. For players seated at a table taped for television or broadband video coverage, logos may not be added after the beginning of that day’s session of play.

As the 2008 WSOP hit the money, many players had sponsorship deals of some sort, and there was no shortage of logos in the tournament area. Full Tilt logos were well within the guidelines, while PokerStars pushed the envelope but somehow did not violate the rules. Other sites like UltimateBet played by the rules, except when it came to Phil Hellmuth’s jersey, the entire front of which is a UB symbol.

When I asked a WSOP official about the exception made for Hellmuth, he noted that the ESPN cameras never get the entire logo in the shots. He likened it to a player’s shirt that read “Illinois” across the front, and when I pointed out that Illinois isn’t selling itself like UB is, he said that it would simply be too arduous a task to ask everyone with a word or symbol on their shirt – like University of Michigan or Nike – to change clothes. Understandable, but is it too much to ask that an experienced pro like Hellmuth abide by the fairly clear-cut rules?

The WSOP official did mention that the logo rules will be revisited during the planning of the 2009 WSOP. Now, if someone would just tell Hellmuth…

Michael Binger said she was due … and sure enough, Clonie Gowen got it good — not at the WSOP, but across I-15 at the Bellagio Cup IV, in a $5,000 NLH event that drew 235 runners.

Kinda like a high-stakes second-chance tourney for early main-event busters and pros callously accused of being in a drug-addled downward spiral. Her payday for winning: $437,775

Awesome. Congrats, Clonie! I knew you had it in you, regardless of your status with Full Tilt … Seriously, we should be like best friends again and hang out all the time.

It might seem at first glance that Full Tilt and PokerStars fought it out - in the monetary offerings sense - to get Scotty Nguyen to sign some sort of deal. Full Tilt got him for the $50K HORSE final table, and PokerStars got him for the rest of the WSOP, at the very minimum.

An inside source says that Full Tilt reportedly dropped him just after the HORSE win because of his sometimes rude (for lack of a better word) behavior during the final table. Because of the way he acted for a good portion of the play-down, Full Tilt decided they didn’t want him on the team. Soon after, PokerStars picked him up.

However, another source had a bit of an alternate take on it. This version of the story noted that PokerStars had a deal brewing with Scotty for the HORSE final table but dropped the ball and allowed Full Tilt to come in. Since the Full Tilt deal was a one-time table sponsorship, PokerStars was able to get back in with Scotty after HORSE.

It boils down to the fact that the online poker sponsorship business is a cut-throat industry. And it’s only going to get more interesting as the main event final table approaches…

2008 HORSE Champion Scotty Nguyen is playing on the ESPN feature table … in a different uniform. The VietPrince of Poker was decked out in Full Tilt gear last week. This week it’s PokerStars …

He’s not an actual Team PokerStars member (yet) … but considering Star’s intense focus on the Asian market in the coming years, he’s gotta be on their short list for something, as we know Nguyen has already fully captured the Northern Oklahoma market.

Mike Matusow and Player X, who has a thick accent from somewhere and a bracelet in something. Click to zoom in.

After much hemming and hawing, I decided to give the $1,500 HORSE a try, what I called “baby” HORSE when discussing it with Andy Bloch in the halls of the Rio. (I think he played it too. What must it be like to bust out of the $50K HORSE and then enter the $1,500 version?)

I had technically “won” the seat already through the Full Tilt Poker Battle of the Blogger tournaments, but I suppose I could throw that money towards anything I wanted (like a new stove that the wife really, really wants). But speaking of decorum, that wouldn’t seem like the right thing to do. So play I did.

My table included five guys I had no clue about, Mike Matusow and Mysterious European WSOP Bracelet Winner (otherwise known henceforth as Player X). Dan has pictures so maybe he will add them to this post. Hint, Hint.

When Matusow walked up to the table, he started counting the fish. He couldn’t find any until I raised my hand.

“Yeah, you look pretty fishy,” he said. “Just kidding, My name’s Mike. Nice to meet you.”

As per most WSOP events, the structure was fast. Either you catch some hands quick to double up and get some play or you go home. For the first two levels I wasn’t really doing either. I think I knew it was going to be a rough day when I raised from the BB in O8 with A-2-3-4 to see a flop of K-4-3, a turn of 7 that made my nut low and a 4 on the river that gave me a complementary full house. Of course, I got quartered by one player’s kings full and Matusow’s A-2.

Meanwhile, Matusow continued chatting up Player X every minute of every hour (they don’t call him “The Mouth” for nothing) with tales of 50K HORSE. He had invested in Mike Wattel, who was the $124K bubble boy in the event.

“He really needed that money,” Matusow said, adding that he saw Wattel in the hall after his bust out and he looked like he wanted to die. Apparently, Wattel had a few stacks shorter than his on the bubble and played a hand he shouldn’t have involved in, according to Matusow.

As for me, I wanted my $1,500 back after I got crippled in Stud. Sarting with split aces, I made aces up on fifth and got check raised by a player who started with a 10 showing and had added a K and Q to his upcards. Not sure if he had a straight, I called him down to try to fill up. I did not and he showed rolled up 10s.

I busted shortly later in Stud/8 when I missed both a low and flush draw. Matusow took the high with two pair and another played got the low (Mr. kings full).

Stumbled across this billboard the other day just a couple blocks away from the Rio.

Interesting to see a poker pro 1) with Mike Tyson-esque tats running up his face; and 2) with no reference to his pokering nor a Full Tilt logo anywhere in sight. Of course probably not a bad idea for anyone in the poker biz to diversify their life portfolio … but I can’t help but wonder if last year’s main-event final tableist doesn’t want anyone in the poker world to actually see his Sigfried and Roy side exposed. Actually, I guess it would be bizzaro Sigfried and Roy, or Roy’s evil brother … regardless … who knew Lee Watkinson wanted to sell you knives and skulls to wear at your next formal dinner?

The recent CardPlayer coverboy’s billboard is located just south of the Rio on Dean Martin Dr. (Industrial) facing to the northeast. That means anyone driving in from the south won’t see it, because it will be behind them; but nor will anyone heading to the WSOP from the north … because they would exit I-15 on Flamingo about a third-mile before Lee Watkinson’s topless torso graces their field of view. The only way a poker player might see this sign is if he were leaving the Rio to grab a quick bite at the In-n-Out Burger.

The website he’s pimping — www.leewatkinson.com — doesn’t seem to be fully converted yet for his fashion line … it’s actually about poker … but it does have some funny pictures of Lee taking on an orangutan as a poker protege.

Oops, I may have been drawing lots of conclusions from the WSOP about the state of the poker economy under a false assumption pretense … Tao of Pokerati listeners have probably heard me ramble incessantly about how there’s so much less online money here this year. While technically that is true … the lack of online-company hospitality suites is not necessarily a recessionary indicator. As WSOP title-sponsor Everest Poker has opened up a suite, and other European sites have partnered up to open “The Champions Lounge” … the real reason that there’s no Full Tilt suite, no PokerStars Lounge, etc. is simply because sites that accept American players aren’t allowed the Rio exhibition space this year.

Will seek confirmation on this … but until then, just know that wherever poker’s fiscal health stands, the pure Europeans will be the ones living the cush life during the main event this year.

The $10K World Championship of Omaha Hi-Lo started its third day of play with 18 players today and will play down to a winner. One of those 18 players is Stuart Paterson, one of the many Full Tilt Pros playing this WSOP.

Little note about Stuart: He’s in a wheelchair.

Now check out this post from the official live updates team:

Stuart Paterson Crippled

Stuart Paterson was all in on the turn against Eugene Katchalov.

Paterson: {A-Spades} {5-Hearts} {9-Hearts} {6-Spades}
Katchalov: {A-Hearts} {7-Hearts} {8-Clubs} {5-Clubs}
Board: {8-Hearts} {Q-Spades} {6-Clubs} {2-Hearts} {9-Clubs}

Katchalov had a nine high straight and a low with the A-5. Paterson had the same low.
After getting quartered, Paterson is down to around 25,000 in chips.

UPDATE: The title of the aforementioned post was just changed to read: “Stuart Paterson Nearing the Felt.” Better.

Evidently, Robert Williamson III is now a Full Tilt Pro. When I asked an FTP rep about the possibility of a forthcoming press release, I was told that there was not one planned because the information already leaked out. Ummm, putting a patch on the guy is a pretty good hint for those of us paying attention.

Although, as I looked over the list of Full Tilt team members, pros, and friends on the website, I realize exactly how many players are on the Full Tilt Poker roster and how easily a new signing could be overlooked. In fact, Williamson isn’t even listed on the site yet.

The list of FTP players is impressive and confusing at the same time… How many players can feel truly represented by a site that sponsors approximately 123 people? It would be like having dozens of siblings; how much one-on-one time with the parents will each one get?

There is also a tier of sponsorships, a little like a ranking of the kids from most special to barely recognizable. On one end, there is Team Full Tilt - Lederer, Ferguson, Ivey, Hansen, Harman, et al. Listed below that category is Team CardRunners, then the Hendon Mob, then the Full Tilt Pros, and finally the Friends of Full Tilt. Friends include Bruce Buffer, authors Michael Craig and Jim McManus, commentator Ali Nejad, Jerry Yang, and a few others whose names don’t ring a bell. It’s the Pro category that blows my mind a little, with lots of well-known pros mixed with several players I’ve never heard of. Just makes me wonder about the criteria when David Singer and Lee Watkinson are in the same category with Christoph Wolters and Roland Specht.

I wonder if there’s a limit as to the number of players that Full Tilt wants, needs, or will tolerate. It’s already quite the full house.

Poker Players Alliance Executive Director John Pappas did another one of his WSOP fly-ins for a couple days — manning the hallway booth and meeting with pros — but much of his time was spent away from the Amazon and in his room at the Rio, on the phone/computer/Blackberry with Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) et al. about HR 5767 — which is scheduled to be voted on in committee Wednesday or Thursday. While getting this bill on the agenda brings the notion of pre-UIGEA poker one step closer to reality, the measure also faces the threat of being voted down and derailed ’til next year or never.

It’s supposedly an all-in push that should hold up … and if HR 5767 — co-sponsored by Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) and 17 19 others — passes muster in House Financial Services, of which Frank is the chair, then it moves to the floor of Congress for a vote — preferably having shown strong bipartisan support in committee.

So what does this mean for you, the non-political poker types who are fine-and-dandy with playing unofficial WSOP satellites on Full Tilt and PokerStars? More fish, basically … and poker industry people would in some way or another have a say in what may or may not constitute Unlawful Internet Gambling that the Treasury Dept. could look into/stop. (You know, like online site owners who peek at hole cards … that should be unlawful, right?)

More…

Despite previous reports suggesting the possibility of otherwise …

High Stakes Poker is not moving to the Golden Nugget — and it hasn’t yet been renewed for a new season. At least not for now on paper in any way. This comes from a well-informed higher-up involved with Poker PROductions — the company that produces both High Stakes Poker and Poker after Dark.

To be clear, HSP has not been canceled … it just hasn’t been renewed yet. You know, fine line, kinda like “collateral damage”/”mass slaughter”. However, hold your breaths, HSP fans … because supposedly a more official announcement about the show’s renewal or lack thereof is coming, in about a week-and-a-half. From whom — GSN, NBC, HSP, Poker PROductions — we’re not so sure.

Where GSN’s relationship with the World Poker Tour fits into all this also is unclear — but obviously a relevant component.

But for now, Poker after Dark is definitely back on … rumored to have a cash game component, too … and will be moving from South Point Casino to the Golden Nugget. But that’s the least surprising, since this show is really a Full Tilt time-buy/infomercial with no reason to go away.

Related:
Rebuy! High Stakes Poker Back in Action? (6/8/08)
High Stakes Poker Canceled? (5/13/08)

Happenings from last night at the World Series of Poker:

Finishing up the final tables from last night, Full Tilt Pro Rob Hollink came back from the dinner break to make a rush and take down the $10,000 Limit Holdem World Championship, knocking out Jerrod Ankenmann in a short headsup match.

A heads-up match that took a bit long was the $3,000 NL Holdem final table. Even though a deal to chop the top two places took place, John Phan and Johnny Neckar still had a heads-up match that went for over 6 hours. There were several wild swings in the chip counts, and with both players allin, Neckar thought he had the title won when his KJ had outflopped Phan’s AJ when a K hit the flop. However, Phan’s entourage would erupt when the Ace hit the river keeping him alive. Later, they played three hands all-in blind. Neckar took the first to take the chip lead, then Phan won the second hand with 7 high to double up, then Neckar would double off Phan in the third hand. They returned to more conventional poker after that and a short time later Phan would take down his first bracelet.

More action from yesterday after the jump:

More…

Happenings at the WSOP while waiting for Thrillist Syracuse to be created:

The $2,500 Pot Limit Holdem/Pot Limit Omaha final table was known shortly after 5:00am today. They get to be under the glare of the ESPN360 cameras today at 3pm with this set of 9:

Seat 1: Max Pescatori 212,000
Seat 2: Jonathan Depa 185,000
Seat 3: Kyle Hegeman 198,000
Seat 4: Kyle Kloeckner 494,000
Seat 5: John Paul Kelly 79,000
Seat 6: Greg Hurst 197,000
Seat 7: Lennart Holtkamp 253,000
Seat 8: Minh Ly 174,000
Seat 9: Allen Cunningham 484,000

The other final table, plus other tournament action after the jump:

More…

IT’S A MIRACLE: Full Tilt wasn’t exactly a poker powerhouse in 2000, the year Chris Ferguson won the main event.

There are 35 big banners hanging up around the Amazon room — a pretty cool ring-of-honor thing going on — honoring 38 years of main event champions and four players of the year … and I couldn’t help but notice one of them doesn’t belong. [Insert Tom joke here.]

Chris Ferguson, whose banner lords over the 75/150 Omaha-8 game that has been going on all night and through the morning, commemorates his 2000 win over TJ Cloutier. But look a little closer and you’ll see this photo is hardly authentic — it bears a Full Tilt logo … branding op for a company that didn’t exist at that time. All the other banner mugs feature pics from the feat in question.

The real Chris Ferguson, circa 2000.

UPDATE: Actually there are two of them like this … The picture of Dan Harrington supposedly from 1995 shows him fully decked out in 888 and Pacific Poker gear.

photo: Steve Hall / Pokerfolio
Clonie Gowen, playing in the 2008 Pot Limit Hold’em World Championship.

Per an announcement and big whoop-tee-do on June 1st, Patrik Antonius joined Full Tilt Poker as one of their A-list pros. It was an obvious move and one that was probably a long time in the works.

According to the press release, he joins the following list of Full Tilt Pros:

Chris Ferguson, Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer, Jennifer Harman, Erick Lindgren, Erik Seidel, Andy Bloch, Phil Gordon, John Juanda, Mike Matusow, Gus Hansen, and Allen Cunningham

The thing is…there is one glaring omission in the official Full Tilt statement - Clonie Gowen. The website still lists her name and picture in the Full Tilt Pro section, though Patrik hasn’t been included there yet. Why the slight? If it is a hint, Clonie certainly doesn’t know anything about it. If it is a mistake and FTP just mistakenly left her out of the loop, that’s not good either.

See the full press release here:

More…

Not in the tournament, I don’t think … but I did just see him hobble by (distinguishedly) in apparent defeat.

Speaking of Doyle, I’ve also noticed Arizona player Mike Wattel decked out in Doyle’s Room gear — a DR.net wide-brimmed golf hat and heavily washed DR.com golf shirt. Congrats to Wattel for whatever deal he’s worked out. Am guessing it’s no coincidence that he has been logo’ed up by the same room as his ex-girlfriend Cyndy Violette.

(Syntax dilemma of the day: Does Cyndy Violette support Doyle’s Room, or does Doyle’s Room support Cyndy?)

Am also noticing a lot more dot-commage all over the place this year. From my perch in the pressbox, right in front of me I see some Euro journo wearing a big PokerStars.com splay on the back of his T-shirt … and several other players in the second-chance tourney right in front of me wearing all sorts of FullTiltPoker.com swag.

Not sure yet what this means … either it’s irrelevant because there’re no TV cams around, or in general The Empire* is lightening up over the terrorist threat dot-coms present?

What’s going on at the WSOP as Pauly writes that the success of event #2 doesn’t mean all is well in the poker economy and the Poker Shrink opines that 2008 may be the year that poker reaches its peak.

The first final table is taking place right now, as Andy Bloch is dominating the final table at this time. Patrik Antonius (named a Team Full Tilt Pro in a press conference today) was an early casualty, while Kathy Liebert (on a final table deal with PokerStars) was hanging in there with 4 left.

Monday will be the first day with two tournaments starting the same day. Noon brings the $1,500 Pot-limit holdem event, while at 5, the $5,000 Mixed Holdem (half limit, half no-limit) will get started. Many pros surely will be double-dipping tomorrow if they get eliminated early in the day, as always Pokerati will be there to blog their little hearts out, God bless them.

Yesterday, Short-Stacked Shamus took us to the quarterfinals of the 64-player Full Tilt Poker tournament.

Later in the evening, it was determined that the four players going to the semifinals would be:

David Singer v. Brian Hastings
Andy Bloch v. whitelime (Emil Patel)

When players returned to the action today, the matches were slow but solid. Patel took control of his match with Bloch and applied pressure until he took it down. Singer dominated Hastings throughout their match and finally claimed victory. That meant that the final round was:

David Singer v. whitelime (Emil Patel)

Both players started with 160K in chips and played 12-minute levels, beginning with a 75 ante and blinds at 300-600. (It was actually interesting to watch the virtual match with a little virtual audience in the background.) Singer jumped out to an early lead and never allowed Patel to gain any ground. In the end, Singer took it with pocket 8’s over Patel’s 10-3 off.

Final payouts:

1st - David Singer $560,000
2nd - Emil Patel $320,000
3rd - Brian Hastings $168,000
4th - Andy Bloch $168,000
5th - Patrik Antonius $96,000
6th - Dani Stern $96,000
7th - mischiefofmagic $96,000 (won a $535 satellite to enter)
8th - mastrblastr

Don’t you hate it when you come up with a great idea, and as you’re making it a reality, you realize that someone else is doing it at the same time? Doh.

Enter Bodog and Full Tilt. Though Bodog seems to have officially announced first, Full Tilt was probably writing its press release as it happened. Both sites are hosting Mini-SOP’s with tournaments that mimic the World Series of Poker at the Rio in Las Vegas, only with buy-ins at 1% of the cost. Both sets of tournaments begin on May 30, the day that the actual WSOP kicks off.

The Bodog Poker Mini-SOP will feature all 25 hold’em events at 1% of the buy-in with three seats awarded to the 2009 WSOP main event at the end of the 2008 Mini-SOP. The series will run from May 30 to July 3.

The Full Tilt Poker Mini Series of Poker will actually feature 54 events, with all corresponding to actual WSOP events except the ladies and seniors events which are converted to open events, and the casino employees event which is nixed. The tournaments will run from May 30 to July 5 and give away one seat to the 2009 WSOP main event.

As you can see, the differences between the two tournament series are huge!

Regardless, both are great opportunities to play online WSOP-light events and take advantage of the many satellite opportunities to get in cheap. Check out Bodog and Full Tilt for all of the details.

After three rounds and nearly six-and-a-half hours of play, they’ve made it to the money, having played from 64 down to 8 in the Full Tilt Poker $25,000 Heads-Up Challenge. Three Full Tilt pros are still alive. Here are the quarterfinal match-ups:

Andy Bloch vs. FinddaGrind (Patrik Antonius)
David Singer vs. mastrblastr
Brian Hastings vs. mischiefofmagic
Ansky451 (Dani Stern) vs. whitelime

Each of the eight is guaranteed $96,000 for lasting thus far. Those who make it to the semis and lose will earn $168,000, second takes $320,000, and first a cool $560,000.

Today’s event attracted a number of other Full Tilt pros. Gus Hansen, Phil Ivey, David Benyamine, Erik Seidel, Nick Schulman, Erick Lindgren, Chris Ferguson, Huckleberry Seed, Nenad Medic, Peter W Jepsen, and David Oppenheim were each knocked out in the first round. Max Pescatori, Taylor Caby, Eli Elezra, Steve Zolotow, Gavin Smith, and Brandon Adams each won one match before losing in Round 2. And Peter “Nordberg” Feldman and Howard Lederer made it to Round 3 before falling.

Follow along with the other railbirds on Full Tilt Poker and/or over at Two Plus Two.

Perhaps as a reminder of where poker pros really stand when it comes to the celebrity biz (yet also a reminder of just how fun/popular poker fundraisers still are) there was a big-wig charity poker tourney at the Cannes Film Festival that Phil Hellmuth did not host and not a single Full Tilt player competed in. Shocking, I know … especially considering that the event was semi-televised: The Partouche Charity Poker Festival aired live on TV screens throughout the Palm Beach Casino. (Interesting concept, no?) seems like it was turned into a 90-minute souvenir that may or may not be for sale. Very confusing, the televised part.

Woody Harrelson giving his best Phil Hellmuth impression on the red carpet before co-winning the Partouche Charity Poker Festival in France.

The occasion was Dennis Hopper’s big 7-2. Woody Harrelson, star of the latest poker-movie flop, The Grand, ended up chopping the $1 million prize pool with French actress Alice Taglioni.

Because no poker media was there, I can’t really tell you much about the set-up or structure or even how the 50 (?!) cameras were working, but I can tell you that Hopper had a 100kg strawberry sponge cake, and in defiance of French anti-smoking laws, lit up a cigar. Tim Robbins ordered a triple-vodka after what presumably was a bad beat/play … ex-Hollywood flames Salma Hayek and Ed Norton were civil to each other at the table, even though Hayek left without saying goodbye. Adrian Brody and Goldie Hawn rounded out the field, both wearing sunglasses.

Fascinating, I know. Dig/click in a little deeper and you’ll learn that Goldie’s daughter Kate Hudson is done with Owen Wilson and now hittin’ it with Lance Armstrong, who is done with Sheryl Crow who long ago was done with Owen Wilson.

Go Poker Celebrities!

So the WSOG has been a really cool event … it grew this year from 60 players to 80 players, probably only 30 of whom were poker players. I hope it continues to grow to the point that poker has only a minor connection to it … because when they can get the Charles Barkleys and Michael Jordans competing in it, then I gotta think it would be a huge TVmajig. (Currently it will be airing on CBS as a time-buy, paid for primarily by Full Tilt.)

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):

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I like to troll Craigslist every so often for some hot, anonymous NSA poker action. Not looking for games — there’s no shortage of ‘em here in LV — just wanting to take the pulse of what people are pushing related to poker. Look at the ads all together and you get some interesting tells on the state of the poker world and its semi-anonymous inhabitants:

There are a lot of chips , tables, fancy custom tables and chips and tables for sale, of course, and for $15 a made-for-TV WPT video game. WSOP: Tournament of Champions for the Playstation goes for $8

For $150k you can have documentary footage of the rise and fall of Jamie Gold.

A WSOP baby’s blanket.

More chips, from the Aladdin, and from the Atlantic City Playboy Club. “Omaha Table” from Sante Fe Station.

Perhaps frighteningly, there are even poker bots for sale. At least one suspicious reader is questioning whether or not this is legal.

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I’m currently watching the Heads-Up Championship on NBC — round of 16. Mildly entertaining … it was fun to see Orel Hersheiser slightly outplay Freddy Deeb in a hand, and Full Tilt has some pretty cool new commercials. But still, the show as a whole isn’t as exciting as the commercials for the PGA Players Championship. Maybe someday … This would be much better, of course, were it being aired pseudo- or semi-live, when we still cared about our brackets.

The side profiles are pretty good — Doyle Brunson on the old guys, Orel on the similarities between poker and baseball … And I gotta say, Ali Nejad is proving he’s a top-notch color analyst — witty and well-informed.

Overall, the show is sucking me in. I give it a solid A-minus. 90 if you’re using numbers. I know Oliver (Tse, not Nejad) will have many thoughts on the ratings this show is getting, and what that means for the future of televised poker. I say more coverage of the outside tables — with or without hole-card cams — would make it better. (They only had two tables cammed up when they recorded it.)

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Four years ago today — on the glorious holiday that is 4-20 — Pokerati went live. Our first post was about a new online poker site that also just went live called Full Tilt. Prediction at the time: “I suspect this site will fare well.”

Boo-yah! Right on target … that’s how prescient Pokerati can be! Granted, we also said the online poker room market was also probably saturated in April 2004 … hey, you can’t hit a home run every time, right?

We’ve gone through lots of changes over the years, and more TK for sure. Personally, I can’t believe I’ve stuck to anything for four years … but it’s amazing what the burning desire to not work ever will do for you. Anyhow, thanks for reading us once or twice during that time. Kiss off, I don’t need you! We couldn’t have done it without you. So thanks again, happy blog-birthday to me. Maybe next year Full Tilt and Pokerati should have their party together.

Jonathan Little’s most recent accomplishment was making the “Elite 8″ in the NBC Heads-Up Championship, scoring a $75k payday before being slapped by eventual winner and Full Tilt honcho Chris Ferguson.

While account-sharing is hardly the worst offense when it comes to poker ethics, it is in violation of Full Tilt T&C’s for their pros. So Little, who’s FT stock was on the rise, is now out. Stupid kid Yo, bummer dude.

Confirmed by Full Tilt here.

When a player on Full Tilt Poker plays against and chats with a red pro on the site, it is imperative that they be able to trust that it is really the advertised pro playing the account. Given that Mr. Little violated that trust, we have decided to sever his ties to the site, and close his account.

The first well-known pro to get busted for online account-sharing was Phil Hellmuth (outed here, and confronted about it here).

After that, Howard Lederer reportedly sent out a memo to all the Full Tilt pros letting them know that if they ever did something similar, they would be canned immediately. Little wasn’t part of the team when that went down, so maybe he didn’t embrace the seriousness that Full Tilt places on its integrity. Gotta wonder if these sorts of indiscretions will occur more regularly as Full Tilt continues to sign up more and more pros. Also wonder how long Little’s FT page will stay up online.

Brick-and-mortar tournament success here.

Andy Bloch caught an ace on the river to best Huck Seed … so he moves on to what is theoretically his second-biggest heads-up match of his career (the first being the 2006 $50k HORSE finals against Chip Reese) vs. his longtime poker pal and Full Tilt cronie Chris Ferguson.

This matchup is also an East Coast vs. West Coast thing … pitting Dr. Ferguson’s game-theory upbringing and Ph.D. in computer science from UCLA against Bloch’s degree in electrical engineering from MIT and JD from Harvard Law … so let’s hope no one gets shot.

The Final Four is set … and PokerStars, Ultimate Bet, and Bodog have all been fully eliminated. The upcoming matches:

Phil Ivey vs. Chris Ferguson
Huck Seed vs. Andy Bloch

Holy crap, it looks like it will be some actual hardcore competition amongst four notably accomplished players. Who woulda thunk it?

Also totally shocking commendable is that CardPlayer’s coverage is kicking butt …

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Check it out, in this picture … what two very unusual things do you notice about Tom?

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Sorel Mizzi

Chris “BluffMagCV” Vaughn, managing editor for Bluff, and online pro Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi have finally spoken out on the cheating incident on Full Tilt Poker.

They did an interview with PokerNews that was published in two parts: Part 1 described how Vaughn sold his account to Mizzi when he made it to the final three tables, and Part 2 is filled with apologies and regrets from both players.

Highlights (or lowlights, if you will):

• Both players have been banned from ever playing on Full Tilt Poker again.
• Vaughn admits to brazenly lying to Haralabos Voulgaris on the Big Poker Sundays radio program when asked about ghosting – allowing a backer to play for him.
• Bluff is displeased with Vaughn’s actions but will not fire him, only put him on probation.
• Vaughn and Mizzi are sorry.

The Absolute Poker scandal should have been enough. It remains unresolved, though most of the details of the cheating have been made clear, and the poker public still awaits the conclusion of the audit.

Back in early October, there was another mini-scandal on PokerStars. The winner of the WCOOP main event — the largest online poker tournament in history — was disqualified, and “TheV0id” was stripped of his title and $1,378,311 in winnings.

And we have another.

This time the allegations of nefarious online play revolve around Bluff Magazine’s managing editor Chris Vaughn. On 10/21, he took down the $1 Million Guarantee tournament on Full Tilt Poker for $197,984. The following Sunday, he won the Sunday Million tournament on PokerStars for $240,633. Well, it seems the first one didn’t stick.

According to the second place finisher in the Full Tilt event, Soren “Kongsgaard” Kongsgaard, he received an e-mail from FTP stating that Chris - screen name “BluffMagCV” - had been disqualified and “Kongsgaard” was awarded first place money.

Reportedly, though unconfirmed at this point, Chris’ backer, Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi, took over at some point in the tournament and played the remainder of it for him. Chris and Sorel have now been banned from Full Tilt. More details can be found on Sorel’s blog, though it’s not clear who is writing the posts.

Interestingly, Chris was just interviewed on 11/18 by Scott Huff and Haralabos Voulgaris on Big Poker Sundays, a radio show on PokerRoad.com. Haralabos asked him if he’s ever been accused of ghosting, where a person’s backer plays for them, and Chris said, “I’ve been accused of that. I think it’s going to come with the territory when someone relatively unknown wins two in a row… But as far as having someone take over, that’s ridiculous.”