One of Pokerati’s media eavesdroppers got the real skinny on what went wrong with the Finnish national anthem yesterday. Indeed, Jeffrey Pollack and Seth Palansky acknowledged to each other that the anthem played to honor $10k Mixed World Champion Ville Wahlbeck was not that of his native Finland — it was Sweden’s.

(Oops.)

During the ceremony Wahlbeck leaned over to Pollack and said, “This is a nice song, but it’s not the Finnish National Anthem.”

“Roll with it,” Pollack replied.

Palansky said that he got the song off the internet, and it was labeled as “Track #37: Finnish National Anthem.”

LOL, when are WSOP officials going to learn not to trust what they find on the internet?

You can read Wahlbeck’s blog (in Finnish) here.

And now that he’s won a bracelet, have a listen to the youngster Scandi pro talk about how he’s ready to retire from poker … save for the World Series, WSOP-Europe, the EPT, and maybe some other tournaments:

We knew it was only a matter of time, right? TJ Cloutier reportedly had quite the emphatic conversation with Jeffrey Pollack while the two were watching Phil Ivey’s final table — about a recurring rule violation that may or may not be getting out of control. The issue: Twittering at the table.

TJ’s beef (as told to me secondhand) was that even when players are not in a hand, they are violating tournament rules when they are texting under the table, in their laps.

Here’s the rule in question:

87. Cell Phone Rule: All cell phones and other voice-enabled and “ringing” electronic devices must be silenced during Tournament play. A player who wants to use a cell phone to talk, text, or email must step away from their assigned table or be subject to penalty. Any player using a cellular phone while in a hand with no action pending (player has gone all-in) will receive a missed hand penalty to be assessed on the next hand. No cell phones or other electronic communication device can be placed on a poker table.

Hmm, I dunno. I think it’s subject to interpretation — and frankly, imho, these are the problems with rules written (or approved) by lawyers, as opposed to writer-players. But what really surprises me in the above-described situation is that @JeffreyPollack didn’t twitter about it.

Just remember, whether you’re breaking a rule or not, you can follow all the peeps we’re following in the Pokerati Twitterverse here.

WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack’s latest v-Log, giving his marketing pitch critical assessment one week into the 2009 World Series:

And for those who haven’t seen it yet, click here to see the Doyle Brunson vs. Amarillo Slim scooter race and $50k prop bet.

This post answers the question: What have we learned from the $40K?

1.       There is a definite need for a “high roller” No Limit tournament at the WSOP each year. This is obvious because 201 players ponied-up the cheddar to play in the $40K, generating a monster prize pool and a $1,891,102 first place prize. This shows that there are plenty of players willing to participate in this type of event and the field might grow larger if Harrah’s starts running satellites online and makes it a yearly tradition.

2.       Television cameras are still a big deal to poker players. It is obvious poker pros are still trying to get endorsement deals and promote their sponsors. There is no easier way to do that than by making an ESPN final table. With no television coverage slated for the $50k H.O.R.S.E. tournament this year, the $40k’s coverage could be the main reason why there may be a smaller field in the big buy-in mixed games tournment.

3.        No Limit Hold’em puts asses in the seats. Since the majority of the mainstream poker fans have spent the last couple of years watching No Limit on television, it is only logical that the $40K would bring the railbirds out in droves. Kudos to Jeffrey Pollack and company for packing the isles with the first “major” tournament.

4.       With arguably the toughest No Limit field in WSOP history, this event brought out a sizeable number of players that would traditionally avoid the $50K H.O.R.S.E. tournament. The reason for this is that there is a strong contingency of players whose expertise lies strictly in No Limit whereas there are only a small percentage of players who feel genuinely comfortable playing mixed games with the best  players from around the world.

5.       Always make sure to follow the mantra of “Start with a bang.” Granted the $1,000 Stimulus special has sold out, but in the end, only a few will care who won this donkfest, but plenty of people will pay attention to the winner of the $40K thanks to ESPN’s coverage and the incredible level of talent in the field.

6.       Despite the fact that all WSOP bracelets are supposed to be considered equal, you have to admit that it sounds much sexier to say you beat the world’s top players in one of the biggest buy-in tournaments on the planet instead of saying that you outlasted 5,999 punters in a $1K bloodbath. ‘Nuff said.

The $1,000 NL Hold’em Stimulus Special looks to be a huge success, as day 1a appears to be sold out with at least 2,800 entered. There’s still some room for tomorrow’s day 1b, but it looks like that field will also be maxed out before play gets underway at 12 noon today. The WSOP Staff Guide projected 5,305 entrants and that has already been exceeded, so I’ll take the cheap win and take the over with a field of 5700 who will eventually play this weekend as the WSOP staff finds a few additional tables to put on the floor to accommodate the field.

The 40th Annual $40,000 NL Hold’em event returns for day 3 action today at 2pm with 23 players playing down to Sunday’s ESPN final table. Justin Bonomo will start action as the chip leader with 2,678,000 in chips, Ted Forrest in 2nd with 2,586,000, and David “WhoooKidd” Baker in 3rd with 2,367,000. Greg Raymer is the last remaining World Champion in the field, in 4th place with 2,287,000. Other notable names include Alec Torelli, Dani Stern, Matt Glantz, Isaac Haxton, David Chiu, Neil Channing, Andy Black, and Andrew Robl.

The $1,500 Omaha Eight or Better also comes back at 2pm today with 197 players remaining from their record field of 918. 2008 winner Thang Luu appears to have returned to his winning form, as he’ll start play today as the chip leader with 73,600 in chips. Other notable names remaining in the field include Phil Hellmuth, Annie Duke, Todd Brunson, and Brandon Cantu. Their final table is also scheduled for Sunday, although with much less exposure than what will be a mix of live and online stars of the 40k event or the WSOP Champions Invitational event, which also starts on Sunday. More to come today, with an update soon (?) if the Stimulus Special has sold out.

8am Update: Under 80 seats left for Sunday.
10:30am Update: 5,839 registered from Da Commish’s Twitter

Some poker players love to stand for national anthems. Others not so much, depending on how much they’ve got in the pot.

Today marked the first official coronation of a bracelet winner at this year’s WSOP, and the ceremony drew mixed reviews, especially from the heavyweights in the $40,000 No Limit tournament. I got a taste of some of the commentary as I watched the reactions from the players at Andy Black’s table as Jeffery Pollack came on the PA to crown the latest bracelet-winning dealer.

At first, they seemed to tolerate the rather loud intrusion, but once they announced that they will play the national anthem of the winner’s country each day for the rest of the WSOP, the words began to fly faster than the chips. As soon as the Star Spangled Banner started playing, several players at Black’s table began voicing their displeasure with having to hear the various anthems on  a daily basis.

The often outspoken Black became visibly frustrated by the WSOP’s decision to include the patriotic tunes. “This is not happening every bracelet. I would rather piss on the flag and burn it,” said the Irish pro with a laugh.

This prompted an interesting question from tablemate Greg Raymer who commented, “I want someone from some foreign island to win. What happens if a guy wins from Kazakhstan? Are they going to play the Borat theme?”

One interesting thing to note is that the announcers on the PA thanked the players in today’s Event #4 for being patriotic after they stood for the national anthem. Ironically, none of the $40K players at Black’s table batted an eyelash as they all kept playing as though nothing was happening. If there is anything to be learned here, it is that when there is over $1.8 million on the line for first place, don’t expect the game’s elite to sit out a hand in order to show their national pride.

The final numbers for the big $40K NLHE event were released just after the first break of the day:

Number of Entries: 201
Net Prize Pool: $7,718,400
First Place Prize: $1,891,012
Total Spots Paid Out: 27

The vast majority of big names seems to be here – Scotty, Phil, Jesus, Annie, you get the picture. But one player who was specifically invited by Jeffrey Pollack to come to the WSOP anytime to play any event was not in the field. President Barack Obama evidently had more important things to do than spend the day at the Rio, despite his ownership of a new personalized WSOP jacket. Pollack talks about it about around the 3:45 mark on this Raw Vegas video from the May 27 “Sucking Out on the Rivers” charity tournament hosted by Annie Duke.

Watch Annie Dukes Sucking Out On The Rivers Charity Poker Event on RawVegas.tv

[Speaking of Duke, is there a reason that her opinion about things like American Idol matter so greatly now? I'm not sure I like understand the trend.]

Play officially began for the 40th World Series of Poker as Phil Hellmuth and Jeffrey Pollack bellowed the immortal “Shuffle Up and Deal” for event #1, the $500 Casino Employees tournament. A smaller than expected field of 866 entered the Amazon Room to take part including known names such as Bellagio TD Jack McClelland, Marsha Waggoner, and two-time bracelet winner Pat Poels. Play ended when the money was reached at around 1am PT with 81 players (including Team Pokerati member John Harris). The chip leader going into today’s play is Cesar Chavez (not to be confused with Cesar Chavez) with nearly 110,000 in chips. Those players will return at 2pm to play down to the first bracelet winner of the Series.

The first open event at the WSOP also has the highest buyin for a no-limit holdem event. Event #2, the 40th Anniversary $40,000 NL Holdem starts at 12 noon. Players will start with 300 BBs (120,000 in chips), so don’t expect too much action on day one of the four day event. What will be highly anticipated is the number of entrants for this event. Most are expecting around 225-300 to try and get themselves on the ESPN final table on Sunday afternoon.

My first over/under prediction didn’t go so well, as I was over 200 off and was below the WSOP Staff Guide’s projection for the Casino Employees event. I’ll try to get myself to 1-1 by stating that the field will be well over the 150 projected by the WSOP, with a final field size of 237. More updates to come as the day progresses.

Air Force One just landed at McCarren airport. The President is headed to Caesar’s Palace, for apparently what is a semi-controversial “junket” fundraiser for Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV). We can not, however, confirm the rumor that he is in town to give the WSOP Stimulus tourney a $1 trillion overlay, nor that he plans to satellite into a Venetian Deep Stacks event.

Poker players arriving in town for the WSOP (via delayed flights) are twittering about it.

@Ali_Nejad has a pic of the motorcade.

LOL: Evelyn Ng and Erica Schoenberg just got done with their bikini photo shoot (with Tiffany Michelle) for Knockout magazine, and they’re all pissy about being stuck in traffic on the Strip — presumably unaware of why things are extra-congested on a Tuesday afternoon.

UPDATE: @JeffreyPollack is off to meet @BarackObama right now. Pre-emptive conclusion: good for poker!

UPDATE: President now headed to the Caesar’s Palace poker room. (Seriously.) via @Andy_Bloch.

The former CEO of Party Gaming is on board with the WSOP to be sure … as CEO of the newly formed Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment. Jeffrey Pollack stays on board as WSOP Commish and President of the new parent company. All of this effective today, supposedly.

The official word:

HARRAH’S ENTERTAINMENT FORMS HARRAH’S INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT
NEW SUBSIDIARY TO MANAGE THE GLOBAL GROWTH OF THE WORLD SERIES OF POKER® (WSOP)
AND EXPLORE EUROPEAN INTERACTIVE EXPANSION STRATEGY

LAS VEGAS, May 29, 2009 – Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc. (Harrah’s) announced today that it has established a new subsidiary, Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment, Inc. (HIE) to manage the global growth of the World Series of Poker® (WSOP) and explore a European interactive strategy.

“As the world’s largest gaming company, Harrah’s is taking a proactive approach toward international and interactive expansion,” said Harrah’s Entertainment Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Gary Loveman. “It is important we position ourselves to explore new markets as well as new technologies with our best in class brands.”

Mitch Garber, a longtime gaming lawyer and public company senior executive, joins HIE as CEO. Jeffrey Pollack, Commissioner of the WSOP, remains in that role and will become President of HIE.

In addition to growing the World Series of Poker, HIE will explore the use of interactive gaming technologies to expand the reach of Harrah’s brands globally, starting in Europe. With its renowned Total Rewards customer-loyalty program, HIE will be utilized to develop new opportunities to strengthen and grow Harrah’s customer base.

The World Series of Poker, in its 40th year, has experienced record growth in the last five years. Participants from 124 nations competed in last year’s tournament, up from 24 just five years ago and entrants have gone from 13,036 to 58,720 during the same span. The WSOP expanded into Europe in 2007 with the creation of the World Series of Poker Europe® held each fall in London.

Yikes, is it really May 29 already?

Currently listening to the piano version of Lady Gaga’s PokerFace:

Ahh, just what I needed! Not sure if this version is by my favorite poker-minded pop-star bisexual or just a cover by Randy Newman’s kid sister … but regardless, the song was starting to get a little stale, and now this keeps it temporarily fresh.

DJ DaKnish is pimpin’ the original, too, on blip.fm (?) should you want to compare.

One of the first “big” WSOP events will be the special, invitational Champions tourney … a non-bracelet freeroll for all previous main event champions, which will be one of only four televised ESPN events. This made-for-TV No-Limit Hold’em brouhaha — where players are competing for a shiny trophy and a red Corvette — should give the old-dog pros a chance to remind the 21st century WSOP millionaires who’s really boss … and the Varkonyis and Golds and Yangs a chance to say, “Hey, I didn’t just get lucky, Doyle Biznatch!”

27 players are eligible … and almost all have pre-registered. Bobby Baldwin ’78 has RSVP’d in the negative. But there’s one interesting name on the list of non-confirmeds* — well actually there’re five, but one of these is not like the others … in fact, as a member of the WSOP PAC, he’s probably on Jeffrey Pollack’s speed dial:

Mansour Maltoubi ’90
Hamid Dastmalchi ’92
Russ Hamilton ’94
Noel Furlong ’99
Chris Ferguson ’00

None of these are holdouts, from what we’re hearing … just MIA. (Though we’re not so sure the WSOP is looking that hard for Russ, because they could always give his invitation to Layne Flack.)

Wicked Chops is on the hunt for them here.

WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack (aka @JeffreyPollack aka DJ DaKnish aka, in this instance, “Jeff”) appeared on Bloomberg TV’s really early morning news today … little in here that we already know, but always good to see the non-poker media taking an interest in the hugeness of the WSOP.

Overall, I gotta think it’s pretty good to have the finance-minded looking at current economic numbers and at least having the thought that, ya know, maybe I should go after a gold bracelet instead of just plain gold. I still like the WSOP commercial — geared toward a more food-minded crowd — better though.

For those who missed it … or those who like to play the same song over and over again on CD or iPod … here’s the audio from today’s conference call — featuring WSOP Commissioner Chief Twitterer Jeffrey Pollack, WSOP Media Honcho Seth Palansky, WSOP Top Dog Tourney Director Jack Effel, and ESPN’s Senior Director of Programming and Free Online Poker Pimping Doug White, letting us know what’s in store for the 2009 poker haj:

WSOP Media Conference Call
April 28, 2009

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Pollack, Palansky, Effel, White, reporters

For a scan of what this hour+ call covers, check the live-blogging from Wicked Chops.

Today is the annual conference call done by the fine folks at the World Series of Poker (such as Jeffrey Pollack, Jack Effel, someone at Milwaukee’s Best, someone from Harrah’s etc), is scheduled to start at 10am PT. The audio usually turns up later in the day, and there’ll be some live blogging/commenting of the call, at least at Wicked Chops Poker. Can we set an over/under on the number of stupid questions that get asked by the non-poker media?