My name is Kim Shannon, and I’m all up in everyone’s bidness… which is why Pokerati invited me to share with you the poker gossip and celebrity “news”. My initial response was “I’d rather drink a thumbtack-and-jalapeno smoothie”, but then Dan reminded me that I still owe him a beej from a prop bet I lost… so here I am.

Let’s skip the gristle and get right to the bone, shall we, with what’s buzzing in poker … or wait, is that coming from my purse?

Clock Blocked

Word from the felt is that Daniel Negreanu and Andrew Robl have kissed and made up in the wake of a spat over last week’s episode of “The Big Game”, in which Negreanu & Tony G were poster children for fucked up poker etiquette. Poker bitching about implied collusion aside, I hadn’t seen so much high-fiving and snickering since I last got “Eiffel Towered” in a drunken MFM.

After the broadcast, Tony G redeemed himself by posting a quasi-apology, but Daniel kept the drama going with a post of his own expounding on Robl’s nittiness. I was in the middle of reading Robl’s rebuttal when I realized that I had been punching myself in the face the whole time over the pettiness of it all. However, I do feel the need to give Daniel a special award for managing to refrain from calling Robl a “cunt”.  Then, just as I was about to start placing bets on who would blow a gasket and sprain their vagina first, Negreanu ruined my fun by saying he has since called Robl and smoothed things over.

A-Rod’s Poker

Alex Rodriguez was in the Ivey Room at Aria with Jean-Robert Bellande last week — supposedly playing 50-100 NL with a couple non-pro Aria regulars. Tweeting from Haze Nightclub, @BrokeLivingJRB reported that A-Rod “won 3k” in the game, which sounds to me more like 5-10 without steroids — hardly enough for new pair of Yankee-caliber starter tits. Dealers say A-Rod tipped adequately, btw, tossing “like $36 in gravel” before leaving the game. Not one to hit-and-run, he was back at the tables a couple days later, playing 10-20 NL at Bellagio. John Kim snapped a pic. Orel Hersheiser (great first name, terrible last) also joined the action somewhere along the way.

Put Your Mouth Where Your Money Is?

And speaking of blowjobs… Huh? Oh, we weren’t? Oopsies. Well, we’re all definitely on the subject NOW; rumor has it that Phil Ivey was promising fellatio in lieu of a Wynn boycott. The buzz at 2+2 is that Ivey flipped out over a ruling on a craps roll and publicly promised to suck a little floor-cock, and maybe the croupier, too, if he ever returns to their tables.

Ivey went a little less homo at Bellagio, where he was drinking cognac and whiskey while shooting dice with 25-year-old pro golfer Andrew Kim. Review-Journal columnist Norm Clarke reports that Kim got so rowdy management had to step in and request he stop screaming “fuck!” and “hard six!” at the top of his lungs … because hookers could get offended and verbal is binding?

Elsewhere in the Game …

Marco Traniello and Jennifer Harman got remarried a couple weeks ago by an Elvis impersonator for their 10th anniversary. At least some people have enough decency to muster up fake happiness in front of a fake celebrity with a fake 11-inch peen in his jumpsuit.

Johnny Chan is hoping to land a spot on the new season of “Survivor”. Never thought Chan would try to follow in the footsteps of Annie Duke and Tiffany Michelle. Over/Under on getting tossed off the island more quickly than Jean-Robert Bellande?

Royal Flush Girl Melanie Iglesias was chosen as a Top 10 finalist for Maxim Magazine’s Hometown Hottie contest. Congrats. But Maxim? Yawn. Impress me when you get a full spread in Hustler’s Beaver Hunt.

Justin Smith knows what I’m talking about. The online pro better known as Boosted J attended a wrap party in LA for the movie “Detention”, where he went heads-up with Ron Jeremy, better known as the Phil Ivey of overweight hairy middle-aged porn stars.

• Age (because I am a proponent of the Chip Resse Rule)
• Time active in poker as a professional
• Recognized Tournament/Cash Stakes played at both peak of performance and now
• Tournament Accolades (WSOP/WPT/EPT Titles/Cashes, relevant important other tournament wins)
• Contributions off the felt

At the end of each candidate I will add my own personal thoughts as well as how many points I would give a particular person (out of 10) if I felt like I just had to vote for the candidate on the ballot. Just for reference, I think I need to at least explain the “final score” a little bit. If a 1 is “Not Deserving” and a 10 is “Should have already been inducted”, and the other numbers are varying degrees between the two extremes. A 5 would be that they are deserving of entry in the hall, but not necessarily this year. So you can do the math to figure out where things far. At the end of this series, I will take the three highest point totals and use that to determine who I would vote for on my ballot for this year’s HoF class. I may not have a vote, but I might be able to help persuade others that may.

Because of the obvious length this would inevitably be if I did all 10 players in one go; I’ll be going in alphabetical order in a four part series. The first three, which you can see by clicking below, are Chris Ferguson, Barry Greenstein, and Jennifer Harman(-Traniello).

Chris Ferguson

Age: 47
Time Played: Over 20 years, as a professional for 11
Tournament/Cash Stakes: Consistently high buy-in WSOP tournaments, not a heavy cash game player
Accolades:

• 5 WSOP Bracelets
• 63 WSOP Cashes
• 2008 NBC Heads-up Champion
• Tournament winnings: $8,056,000
• Member of Team Full Tilt

Off the Felt:

• Helped launch Full Tilt Poker and was a developer of its software

Thoughts: Chris has only been in professional poker for 11 years, which puts him in the same category as other, younger players in Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu. Still, he has amassed an impressive resume in a short amount of time, with 5 bracelets and the third most cashes in WSOP history. His tournament skills alone should be enough to get him in the hall. However, his cash game prowess is lacking, and is not found very much at the biggest games in Vegas or online, so that has to be a point against him. Also, while he has a lot of bracelets, they were all pre-Moneymaker boom, so it remains to be seen just how well Chris can compete in the new internet age.

Final Points: 4

Barry Greenstein

Age: 55
Time Played: Professionally for over 20 years
Tournament/Cash Stakes: Consistently high buy-in WSOP tournaments, frequent member of the biggest cash games in Las Vegas
Accolades:

• 3 WSOP Bracelets
• 46 WSOP cashes
• 2 WPT Titles
• Tournament winnings: $7,144,000
• Member of Team Pokerstars Pro

Off the Felt:

• Wrote Ace on the River, a highly influential poker book.
• Dubbed “The Robin Hood of Poker”, has notably pledged tournament winnings to charities in the past
• Co-founded Pokerroad Radio, and continues to produce content and promote the site.

Thoughts: Barry is a staple in “The Big Game” and he has done exceptionally well in tournaments as well. His tournament stats actually show that he was not a big tournament player until after the Moneymaker Boom, and as a matter of fact all his WPT and WSOP titles come after 2003. His continued success in the game over a long period of time, as well as starting in a time when being a professional poker player was not exactly a well-thought-of profession, certainly gives him longevity in the sport. The only blemishes are that he “only” has 3 bracelets despite his long career, and that he actually hasn’t cashed in the main event (at least according to Hendon Mob). Still, he certainly has only played against the best for years, and is still here, so Barry must be doing something right.

Final Points: 7

Jennifer Harman-Traniello

Age: 45
Time Played: Professionally for over 15 years
Tournament/Cash Stakes: Consistently high buy-in WSOP tournaments, frequent member of the biggest cash games in Las Vegas
Accolades:

• 2 WSOP Bracelets
• 24 WSOP cashes
• Tournament winnings: $2,609,000
• Member of Team Full Tilt

Off the Felt:

• Contributed to Super System II’s chapter on Limit Hold’em

Thoughts: Now, I don’t really understand the bile for Jen Harman. I’ve seen a lot of “NEVER HAPPENING” and lumping together her with Tom McEvoy in the category of “useless” (more on that when I get to him in part 3). And a lot of this is unwarranted. Yes, she gets the bump for being a female in some people’s eyes, but lets be fair, she was playing poker long before the boom, and is just happy to be playing the game, gender didn’t really play a role here. So, while she’s not the first, but she is one of the best and has been for a while. That said, you can tell right off the bat that her resume languishes behind the previous two players. Only two bracelets (both before 2003), and a significantly lower number of cashes and winnings than either Chris or Barry. So even if I could give her credit for helping pioneer women in poker (something, again, I recognize she would not be the first in), I can’t really justify giving a higher score to her than the other two. She is still here and still playing, but we can’t “keep score” as easily in cash games as we can with tournaments. She might get to the hall eventually (and probably should), but its not happening with this list of candidates to go up against. (Note: I did feel like I had more to say about Jennifer Harman because she has been getting quite a bit of negative press regarding her nomination. I wrote this before reading Gary Wise’s article on the subject, and admittedly I think his thoughts mirror my own.)

Final Points: 2

So that will do it for the first three candidates. Be sure to discuss these and point out anything that I might have missed, it may influence the final tally, and I’d note who or what swayed me one way or another if it came to that. Just take note that my evaluations do not necessarily represent Pokerati’s decision toward the WSOP Hall of Fame, I am just providing an additional perspective.

Sunday: Dan Harrington, Phil Ivey, and Linda Johnson.

1k NL final table set

The $1,000 No-Limit Holdem final table gets underway this afternoon at 2:30pm with this lineup:

Seat 1: Blake Kelso – 1,166,000
Seat 2: JD McNamara – 2,393,000
Seat 3: Kiet Tran – 2,311,000
Seat 4: Greg Pohler – 1,660,000
Seat 5: David Cai – 844,000
Seat 6: Michael Gross – 535,000
Seat 7: Denis Murphy – 789,999
Seat 8: Jeffrey Tebben – 466,000
Seat 9: John Tolbert – 925,000

Cowley leads final 15 in 2500 NL 6-max

Steve Cowley (1,279,000) leads the remaining 15 players in the $2,500 No-Limit 6-max event when they play down to a winner starting at 3pm. Among the notables with chips: Justin “Boosted J” Smith (641,000) and Erik Cajelais (345,000). The full list of chip counts is online at PokerNews.

Troy leads 1500 Stud 8 on final day

Maxwell Troy (430,000) leads the final 23 players who return at 3pm in the $1,500 Stud Hi/Lo 8 or Better event. Among the familiar names looking to get a WSOP bracelet in this event: David Levi (216,000), Karina Jett (187,000), Blair Rodman (117,000) and Brandon Cantu (50,000). The remaining field’s chip counts is online at PokerNews.

Klein leads 2500 PLO after day 1

A field of 596 players started the $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha event Tuesday afternoon, with 102 returning at 2:30 today. The final 54 players make the money, with the winner collecting $315,311. The leader is Loren Klein with 187,300 in chips. Other notables on the leaderboard: Richard Ashby (137,700), Tex Barch (72,600), T.J. Cloutier (70,400), Chau Giang (59,800), and Scott Clements (58,200). A full list of the survivors will appear soon at wsop.com.

Lisandro leads 10k limit holdem

The $10,000 Limit Holdem World Championship drew a field of 171, with 102 remaining after ten levels of play. The leader is Jeff Lisandro with 130,900 in chips. Other names you’ve heard of: Brett Richey (113,800), Hoyt Corkins (109,900), Shaun Deeb (89,000), Michael Mizrachi (69,800), Doyle Brunson (65,300) and Jennifer Harman (46,300). The full chip counts are online at wsop.com.

Wednesday’s tournaments

Another two bracelet events get underway this afternoon, starting with the fourth full-ring $1,500 No-Limit Holdem starting at 12pm. The defending champion in this event is Eric Baldwin, defeating a field of 2,095 for $521,991. At 5pm it’s the $1,500 HORSE event, with James Van Alstyne defeating a field of 770, earning $247,033.

10k Stud 8 Final Table Set

The final table of the $10,000 Stud 8 or Better final table has been set, with plenty of big names looking to take down a bracelet this evening. Here’s how the final table will look when play resumed at 9pm:

Seat 1: Jennifer Harman – 861,000
Seat 2: Steve Zolotow – 684,000
Seat 3: Frank Kassela – 800,000
Seat 4: John Juanda – 787,000
Seat 5: Vladimir Schmelev – 304,000
Seat 6: Kirill Rabtsov – 882,000
Seat 7: Allen Kessler – 467,000
Seat 8: Dario Minieri – 316,000

Follow the split-pot action at PokerNews.

Vance Still Best in $1k NL

Matt Vance remains the chip leader (1,100,000) with 19 remaining on day 3 of the $1,000 No-Limit Holdem event. David Baker, no relation to 50k Player’s Championship final tablist David “Bakes” Baker, has 990,000. It was hoped that they would play down to a finish, but that looks unlikely at this time, so they’ll stop when they reach the final 9. See what does happen by following over at PokerNews.

$1,500 NL 6-max Day 2

The $1,500 No-Limit Holdem 6-max has under 50 players remaining, with Michael Myers the current chip leader with 385,000. Other notables include Ray Henson (329,000), Jordan Morgan (240,000), and Mark Seif (200,000). Follow the updates and results over at wsop.com.

$5,000 NL Day 1

The only tournament to start this afternoon, the $5,000 No-Limit Holdem event drew a field of 792 players, up over 100 from last year’s edition. Under 500 remain after the dinner break at the end of level 6 with Amit Makhija currently in front with 83,000 in chips. Other notables near the top: Chino Rheem (60,000), Perry Friedman (55,000), Scott Fischman (53,000) and defending champion Brian Lemke (48,900). More updates and chip counts are available at wsop.com.

Matros Wins Limit Holdem Bracelet

Matt Matros won the $1,500 Limit Holdem for $189,870, defeating Ahmad Abghari in heads-up play. The full results and Nolan Dalla’s tournament report is available at wsop.com.

Binger Highest at Lowball Final Table

The final table of the $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball, Single Draw final table resumes at 3pm with this lineup, you can follow all the tournament action over at PokerNews:

Seat 1: James Bord – 83,800
Seat 2: Alexander Kravchenko – 144,500
Seat 3: Mike Wattel – 146,000
Seat 4: Yan Chen – 182,500
Seat 5: Derric Haynie – 189,000
Seat 6: Nick Binger – 309,500
Seat 7: Todd Bui – 68,500

1k NL field combines for Day 2

Day 2 of the $1,000 No-Limit Holdem event drew a total field of 3,042 players, with 445 players remaining for a 2:30pm start. Andy Black is the current chip leader with 90,275 in chips. 324 players will make the money, with the winner pocketing $472,479. A full list of chip counts can be found at wsop.com.

Stud 8 World Championship

Marco Johnson will start day 2 of the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo World Championship as the chip leader (121,500) when play resumes at 3pm. Phil Ivey is currently in third place (109,800) with Jennifer Harman (93,500) and Barry Greenstein (88,700) towards the top of the leaderboard. The tournament drew a field of 170 entrants, with 112 remaining. 16 players make the money with a first place prize of $447,446. A full list of the remaining field is up at wsop.com.

First 6-max at this year’s WSOP

Monday’s only tournament is the $1,500 NL Holdem 6-Max event starting at noon. Last year’s winner was Ken “Teach” Aldridge, who defeated a field of 1,459 good for $428,259.

There was a big charity event Tuesday night at the Venetian … part of their Deep Stacks II series … Jennifer Harman’s Charity Poker Tournament benefitting the Nevada SPCA. This has become one of the bigger Springtime celeb draws in poker, and is always a memorable shindig because of the presence of cute animals. You shoulda seen the look on the dealer’s face when Bijou (pictured here) jumped up and scampered around the table. I think half the players nearby were all cued up with jokes of “reraise!” and “floor!” had the pup, um, pushed a potty stack across the betting line.

Anyhow, I don’t know the numbers yet …I think it was actually smaller than in previous years, with 140something entries 30 minutes before late registration closed. But it really was a lot of fun … and the NSPCA seemed thrilled about the money the event was still raising, not to mention the number of rescued pets being adopted.

Pokerati Red Carpet Video

I wasn’t even sure I was gonna go … had an appointment earlier in the afternoon that ran long as well as friends and relatives in town … but decided to check it out. Walked up to the Nevada-SPCA PR guy and got myself a press badge looking to snap a few photos. He said he had just one badge left but was out of lanyards. I told him not to worry … I was pretty experienced at this kinda thing and could take care of it. Then, less than five minutes later (for my first time ever, seriously) I somehow lost my credential. It had to be within a 30 foot radius of the tournament registration, but no luck, couldn’t find it. (And Venetian can be pretty hardcore about stopping photos from anyone who isn’t Flipchip.)

But right around that time, I ran into Sam Chauhan — life/”mindset” coach to Phil Hellmuth, Paul Wasicka, Antonio Esfandiari, and others. He asked me if I wanted to play, presumably unaware that I had donked off what appeared like healthy winnings the last time we ran into each at the Hard Rock. No problem, he said, I can get you in … we walked a few steps, pointed to some people with clipboards, and boom — within a couple minutes I had a wristband and a seat card. Hmm, not bad …

I was pretty excited actually. Team Pokerati-er Jon Katkin had taken second place at the Emily Jillette charity tourney for Opportunity Village this past weekend for a $5k+ score. And he did it with just a single bullet and 1,000 starting chips. This was my turn … I could feel it … was running good.

David Chicotsky, aka The Maven (aka THE MAVEN!!!!) trying to win a prop bet that he could have a Pokerati patch “well-positioned” on his Vegas poker pal Stacey Lynn‘s chest before the final table.

I took my seat and shuffled my teensy starting stack. The biggest celebrity at my table was Carrot Top, who isn’t much of a poker player, but hardly knows a red carpet around town that he doesn’t walk. He was in a lot of hands early. I thought about making a move with A-9 suited, but decided no … I knew I had only one chance to be all-in. Sure enough, he was calling every bet. But after two orbits I got QQ under the gun. With blinds still at 25/50, I limped, as expected Carrot Top raised, and then Barry Dakake (executive chef at N9NE Steakhouse) re-raised. It was an easy all-in for me … original raiser folded, and Dakake briefly thought about it and called.

He showed AK. Ace on the flop, no improvement, and adios Pokerati.

Interestingly, before the turn and river, Howard Lederer had shown up to take his empty seat at my table. As he surveyed the felt, I noticed his eyes do a double-take on my left breast, which was appropriately patched up pimping a poker newsy website that we all know well and has prided itself with its 90ish easily 60 percent accuracy over the years when nosing around in the Professor’s business.

Alas. the dealer gave my empty seat card to the floor before taking Howard’s and dealing him in. As I walked away, Howard pulled out a stack of 100s and began his usual early-level charity strategy of going all-in on every hand, rebuying like crazy, and even sometimes rebuying for opponents whom he sucks out on. Bummer, If there was one guy I was hoping to see and talk to at that tournament it was Howard the alleged honcho at Full Tilt Poker. But unless I wanted to rebuy with an assortment of 20s, 10s, 5s, and even 1s, some of which was slated to fund breakfast tomorrow without a trip to the ATM, I would miss my chance to engage in 3rd-level poker small-talk with one of the most powerful and currently important (if not controversial) figures in the game.

Oh well, all for a good cause, right?

Check later for real red-carpet celebrity coverage here.

Chau Giang, btw, was the winner … OK, maybe the animals were the real winners … but they don’t get seats in the 2010 WSOP main event.

Incontrovertible living proof that poker is definitely not a sport:

From a feature in the new issue of ESPN the Magazine.

(The poker nakedness occurs for half-a-blip at about 3:15, perverts.)

via PokerNews

Team Americas: Daniel Negreanu (captain), Phil Ivey, Phil Hellmuth, John Juanda, Doyle Brunson, Jennifer Harman

Team Europe: Annette Obrestad (captain), Peter Eastgate, Dario Minieri, Bertrand Grospellier, Patrik Antonius, Ilari Sahamies (aka Zigmund)

Also more on the format:

The Caesars Cup will feature the game No-Limit Hold’em with two teams of eight doing battle over a series of Heads Up and two-man doubles matches, with single points awarded for each match. The doubles formats will include alternate betting. The first team to 4 points will win.

The first match will be Doubles: Alternate Bet where two players compete per side. One player per side will play pre-flop and on the turn; the other player will play the flop and the river.

Once players are designated, their roles will not change. Two matches of this format will be played, so that 4 of the 8 players on each team will be featured.

The next two matches will feature Doubles: Same Stack where two new players compete per side. They share the same chip stack. They alternate playing two hands at a time so both have the button.

After the doubles matches conclude, the matches change to Heads-Up – if necessary. Team captains will select which members of their teams play heads up and it will be an alternate selection process, where if the European team names their player first for Match 1, the Americas team will have to name their player first for Match 2. That format continues until one team has accumulated 4 total points. The strategy of when to use a player and whom they match up with will be critical in determining which team will come out victorious.

LOL, and BJ thought my “family poker” concept event seemed gimmicky.

One skillucky Euro, of course, can still qualify for one of that team’s two remaining seats online at Betfair.

Play kicks off for this new-fangled made-for-TV event in London on Sept. 25.

(Woot! Congrats, Julie!)

According to Julie, men don’t know what it’s like to have to dodge tilt at a final table on a heavy-flow day … but she didn’t let that get in the way of her finding success. With just the main event left to play — making it still anybody’s game, but statistically unlikely that anyone passes her — here’s the breakdown of the top women in the WSOP POY standings:

1. Julie Schneider – 65 pts
2. Vanessa Rousso – 60 pts
3. Millie Shiu – 60 pts
4. Annie Duke – 40 pts
5. Jennifer Harman – 37 pts

Ante Up for Africa is being filmed now for ESPN, and it has plenty of Full Tilt Poker pros with Rafe Furst, Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, Phil Gordon, Erik Seidel, Jennifer Harman and John Hennigan appearing at the final table. Hopefully Dan and/or Jen will have more updates when there’s a result.

Friday afternoon starts the Main Event, and all the fun and chaos that brings to the Rio. Pokerati will be there to catch the action, so come back, please.

Cantu v Watkinson Heads-Up

Brandon Cantu and Lee Watkinson are the last two standing in the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha 8 or Better event, each going for their second career bracelet. At the moment, Watkinson holds a 2-1 chip lead over Cantu.

Habib Handling HORSE Headline

Hasan Habib remains the chip leader (453,000) with 77 players remaining in the $50,000 HORSE event as they return from a dinner break with three more levels remaining in today’s play. David Bach (426,000) and John Kabbaj (340,000) are the top 3 in chips at the moment. Among the eliminations today, Justin Bonomo, John Juanda, Eli Elezra and Jennifer Harman. More updates can be found over at www.wsop.com

Limit Holdem Shootout

The field of 64 that started round 2 of the $1,500 Limit Holdem Shootout on Saturday is down to 38 players spread over eight tables. Among the remaining players, David Williams, Tom Schneider, Humberto Brenes, Marc Naalden, and Jean-Robert Bellande.

More Donkament Carnage

A sold-out field of 2781 in the next to last $1,500 NL Holdem event is down to about 975 players as they return from dinner break. The unofficial chip leader is Thomas “titantom32″ Braband at 78,000 with another 4 levels before play ends for the day.

More updates available at www.wsop.com and Pokerati for other stuff during the evening.

D’Amato

Ivey

Harman

Le

Austin

Thousands of players taking to the felt today. Whether going for a bracelet, just trying to survive Day 1, or making an otherwise interesting showing, some folks catching eyes today, in action you may want to follow:

Ret. Sen. Al D’Amato seems to be today’s guest of honor at the WSOP. While shuffle-up-and-deal duties have been relegated to active Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV), the Chairman of the PPA will be playing in the $1,000 NLH-Seniors event. If he goes deep, it could screw up a bunch of schedules something fierce. Event coverage here.

Phil Ivey, of course, is always a player to watch – especially when he’s advancing, as he did in his first round of the $5,000 NLH-Shootout. While it’s obviously premature to get trip-bracelet possibilities, he only has to beat two tables. Take a look at the field and you tell me who has the best odds of doing exactly that. Jen Harman also advanced in her first match. Might she be able to finally make a showing for the ladies? Strange tourney, btw, with 6-handed tables in the second round, playing down to a 5-handed SNG for the bracelet.

While multi-tournamenting isn’t unheard of at the WSOP, doing two Day 2s at the same time kinda is. Nam Le went deep (but fell short of cashing) in the $10k PLO while going even deeper in the $1,500 NLH. In that event, he’s one of 25 players left, from a starting field of 2,715.

Of the 25 players who remain in $10k PLO, dare I say I’m rooting for Richard Austin? Kinda funny for the kid who wants nothing to do with cameras and interviews or even just basic biographical info to go deep yet again. Austin didn’t want to play nice with WSOP officials after winning his bracelet in the $5k PLO. Possibilities include that he is a) shy b) the second coming of “Ricky Zilem” c) just a punk-bitch a-hole or d) a DOJ narc. Think about it … supposedly undercover Treasury agents at the WSOP and elsewhere in Las Vegas where large sums of money are exchanged amongst gamblers is nothing new. But this year, totally unconfirmed and hardly reliable word has it, whoever’s really behind the payment processor crackdown has a posse of undercover Feds sprinkled throughout the Amazon room … and you gotta think at least a few of them would know a thing or two about pot-limit Omaha, right? Event coverage here.

Naalden in Dutch for Bracelet

Marc Naalden went nearly wire-to-wire to victory in the $2,000 Limit Holdem event, as he held a large chip lead over the field, handing it over to Steve Cowley for a few hands when play got to heads-up, but then going on a rush at the end to take a bracelet home to the Netherlands, as well as $190,770.

Can Cantu Can Do?

The $1,500 NL Holdem event is down to ~80 players, and Brandon Cantu is the current chip leader with 530,000 in chips. Other notables remaining include Joe Bartholdi (390,000), Raymond Davis (342,000), Nam Le (125,000) and Alex Jacob (78,000). Play will end at the 3am deadline well short of the final table, so the remaining field gets to return at 1pm to play down to a winner.

May the Schwartz Be With Him

Noah Schwartz is the current chip leader (674,000) in the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha World Championship with 42 players remaining, only 27 getting paid. Jonas Entin (434,000), David Williams (359,500), Erick Lindgren (270,000), Nenad Medic (216,500), Padraig Parkinson (173,000), and Barry Greenstein (111,000) are some of the other notables who’ll be happy to reach the 3am deadline with chips.

Shootout at the Rio, 5k NL Version

A field of 280 is down to 30 in the $5,000 NL Holdem Shootout with the remaining players meeting at five tables of six players each to create a five player final table on Tuesday. Phil Ivey, Jean Gaspard, Joe Serock, Jennifer Harman, Neil Channing, Peter Feldman, John Monnette and Mark Teltscher are some of the returnees for day 2 at 2pm Monday.

All Mixed Up

The debuting $2,500 Mixed Event drew a field of 412 to play eight different games (HORSE, PLO, NL Holdem, 2-7 Triple Draw) with 335 players remaining. JC Tran appears to be the unofficial chip leader at 27,000, followed by Steve Billirakis at 26,000 and Sabyl Cohen-Landrum at 19,000. The players just returned from their dinner break to play another four levels before they do it all over again at 2pm Monday. More coming from me in the morning update, and check out Pokerati for other accusations of cheating, while www.wsop.com will cover the updates and other exciting stuff that’s not as controversial at the World Series of Poker.

Van Alstyne Back in the Saddle with HORSE Triumph

James Van Alstyne, who finished second in the $3,000 HORSE event last week after holding the chip lead, came back in the $1,500 HORSE event to take down his first WSOP bracelet along with the $247,003 winnings. Tad Jurgens was runnerup, Mitch Schock finished third, and Bryan Micon, named one of poker’s “true anarchists” in Nolan Dalla’s final table report, finished fourth.

Boyes Buoyed by Chip Lead

The $2,000 NL Holdem event starts day 3 with 19 players remaining as they play down to a bracelet winner with Jason Boyes the current chip leader at 976,000. Finland’s Mika Paasonen is in 2nd place to try to be the 2nd Finn with a WSOP bracelet this year. Angel Guillen (496,000) and Peter “Nordberg” Feldma (486,000), and Daniel Makowsky (177,000) appear to be the most notable players remaining.

Limit Holdem Left with a Not So Dirty Dozen

The $10,000 Limit Holdem World Championship has twelve players remaining as they resume at 1pm today to reach the final table for a scheduled 2pm broadcast on ESPN360 and wsop.pkr.com. Here’s how the remaining players are seated with plenty of familiar names for the poker viewer:

Seat 1: Maria Ho – 228000
Seat 3: Greg ‘FBT’ Mueller – 485000
Seat 4: Pat Pezzin – 300000
Seat 5: Kenny Hsiung – 831000
Seat 6: Soheil Shamseddin – 385000
Seat 9: Jennifer Harman – 126000

Seat 1: Matt Glantz – 483000
Seat 4: Chad Brown – 545000
Seat 5: Matt Hawrilenko – 601000
Seat 7: Michiel Brummelhuis – 687000
Seat 8: Mark Klecan – 603000
Seat 9: Daniel Alaei – 330000

Unfortunately, Ville Wahlbeck finished outside the money, but maintains his WSOP Player of the Year lead.

The Pros Strike Back Against the Donks

The $1,500 NL Holdem event returns at 2pm with 240 players remaining, only 216 get paid. James Taylor, unfortunately not this James Taylor has the chip lead with 174,400. More notable names are near the top of the leaderboard include: Eugene Katchalov (90,600), Roberto Romanello (89,400), Phil Hellmuth (88,100), Pat Poels (84,500), Quinn Do (80,600), Roland de Wolfe (61,300), and Allen Cunningham (60,200).

Wednesday’s Tournament

Only one event again on the calendar today, with the debut of the $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha event. This event usually is played with rebuys, but their elimination this year makes this a new event. As usual, players will start with 5,000 in chips followed by two “free rebuy” chips to add to their stacks at any time in the first three levels. The WSOP Staff Guide projects a field of 250, but expect closer to 400 when play starts at noon this afternoon. Follow along with the action at www.wsop.com and return to Pokerati during the day for other stuff.

JC’s a Runaway Tran in PLO

JC Tran took down his 2nd career WSOP bracelet in the $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha event defeating Jeff Kimber in heads-up play to also adds $235,685 to his tournament database. Ross Boatman finished in 4th, John Juanda finished in 9th place.

Wolpert Topples Duthie Heads Up

The $10,000 NL Holdem Heads Up World Championship just conclude with Leo Wolpert taking the final two matches to defeat John Duthie 2-1 and pick up $625,682. Duthie settles for the 2nd place winnings of $386,636. Duthie won the first match in about 90 hands, while Wolpert won the second match in just nine hands. The third match took 191 hands, ending when Wolpert flopped bottom two pair against Duthie’s top pair.

Micon Trying to Schock the World

The $1,500 HORSE now has six players remaining at the final table, as Mitch Schock is the current chip leader with Shannon Shorr, Tad Jurgens, Bryan Micon, Brian Malcolm, and James Van Alstyne round out the final table.

Lennaard, Part 7

Ken Lennaard, a veteran Swedish pro, is the current chip leader with 77 players remaining in the $2,000 NL Holdem event. Notables still in the field include: Michael Binger, Peter Feldman, Andre Akkari, Kelly Kim and Chau Giang.

Go, Ho, Go!

The $10,000 Limit Holdem World Championship is down to 48 players, only 18 get paid as they strive to reach a final table tomorrow. The current chip leader is online high stakes cash-game specialist Matt Hawrilenko with 272,000. Maria Ho is currently 3rd (225,000) with Ralph Perry (180,000), Josh Arieh (170,000), Steve Zolotow (150,000) and Jennifer Harman (142,000) among the notables still in contention. Ville Wahlbeck is still in the field, but towards the bottom of the field with just 54,000 in chips.

Donkament 4: Voyage to the Rio

The 4th $1,500 NL Holdem event started with a field of 2095, with only 669 players remaining. Unfortunately an early chip leader hasn’t been announced yet, but check out the morning update or wsop.com for an update later this evening.

We all knew something fishy was going on with Clonie and Full Tilt, right? And we’ve always wondered how exactly Full Tilt operates — seriously it’s kinda a mystery, even to people who work for them — and now, with Clonie Gowen suing four different companies connected to the game so many play with the pros, we should find out quite a bit of interesting info.

As far as I know, this is the first time any online poker biz that operates in the grayish world of processing money from American players (really really light gray, but still … ) will have to show its stuff publicly. Even Ultimate Bet/Absolute, with all the audits and investigations hasn’t really had to show anything it doesn’t want to to anyone outside its own semi-corporate family.

Um, hole-card cameras in the courtroom?

Official court docs here.

Gowen v. Tiltware LLC, et al.,
Plaintiff: Cycalona Gowen
Defendant: Full Tilt Poker, Tiltware LLC, Pocket Kings Ltd., Kolyma Corporation, A.V.V., Raymond J. Bitar, Howard Lederer, Andrew Bloch, Phillip Ivey, Christopher Ferguson, John Juanda, Phillip Gordon, Erick Lindgren, Erik Seidel, Jennifer Harman-Traniello, Michael Matusow, Allen Cunningham, Gus Hansen and Patrick Antonious

Case Number: 2:2008cv01581
Filed: November 14, 2008

Court: Nevada District Court
Office: Las Vegas Office [ Court Info ]
County: Clark
Presiding Judge: Judge Robert C. Jones
Referring Judge: Magistrate Judge Robert J. Johnston

Nature of Suit: Contract – Other Contract
Cause: 28:1332 Diversity-Other Contract
Jurisdiction: Diversity
Jury Demanded By: Plaintiff

They’re talking about it on 2+2, and the summary of her allegations below comes from the Hendon Mob:

In the complaint, she alleges the following —

In 2004, Clonie was offered (and accepted) 1% ownership of Tiltware and FTP in exchange for being a celebrity representative…

Has worn FTP merchandise and promoted FTP in exchange for that ownership interest (no other compensation)…

In May 2007, all Team FTP members received distribution checks but her…she demanded distribution owed to her, refused…

Nov 6, 2007, Lederer offered to pay her $250k for her past performance on behalf of company, she refused cuz only fraction of what was owed to her…

Clonie estimates company worth $4 billion…

Despite not being paid, continued to work and promote company until November 11, 2008, when she was informed that FTP would issue a press statement informing public she was no longer a Team FT Pro…

Still has not been given reason all other Team FT pros given distribution but her…

Claims against all defendants:

1. Breach of Contract — claiming damages of $40 million…
2. Breach of Fiduciary Duties
3. Breach of Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing
4. Unjust Enrichment

5. Fraud/Intentional Misrepresentation (alleges Bitar contacted her in 2004 and told her they wanted her to be “the FTP female pro”…then in May 2004, attended meeting at Golden Nugget in Ivey’s Suite…majority of Team FT was there, and Lederer led the meeting…He informed group that their ownership interests were not only in FTP but also in Tiltware, and Tiltware would charge FTP a high leasing fee.

Go Batfaces!

It seems that the swimming legend does things on his own terms. Phelps recently traveled to Las Vegas with some friends as guests of the Palms, and one of his wishes was to meet Doyle and Todd Brunson and Hoyt Corkins.

Photo courtesy of DoylesRoom.com

According to the most recent post on Doyle’s blog, he received a call and brought his son and Corkins, along with Jennifer Harman and Marco Traniello, to meet Phelps for a dinner at Nine Steakhouse at the Palms. “What a nice kid!” Doyle wrote. “Phelps and some of his friends wanted books so I took Super System 1 and 2 to them and they asked all kinds of poker questions. Michael said all he wanted to do in life, was to eat, swim and play poker.”

Oh yeah… I can already see Phelps with a Doyle’s Room cowboy hat at the WSOP in 2009. Obviously, no deals have been signed at this point and Phelps has not accepted any invitations to play in tournaments thus far, but I can see an NBC National Heads-Up Championship and World Series in the kid’s future. Just a personal prediction…

Poker: the Topless Revue
Poker: the Pool
Poker: the Mechanical Bull Ride
Poker: the Buffet
Poker: the Surgery

Who says there still isn’t room for growth in this industry? Click below to read the full press release, and for more info about a show that will be sure to dazzle us in frightening ways before the end of the year:

**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**

THE VENETIAN RESORT-HOTEL-CASINO IN LAS VEGAS
TO SET A NEW STANDARD IN ENTERTAINMENT WITH THE REAL DEAL!
New Show To Feature Poker Superstars Interacting With Audience Members
In A Live, Daily, High-Tech, Fun-Filled Extravaganza

LAS VEGAS (July 21, 2008) – The Real Deal!, the first ever live, interactive poker-themed stage show, will debut in The Venetian Showroom at The Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas this fall, according to a joint announcement by entertainment industry icon Merv Adelson (no relation to Sheldon Adelson, chairman and chief executive officer of The Venetian’s parent company Las Vegas Sands Corp.) and the resort. Working in partnership with the world’s most renowned poker professionals, the show will introduce a new paradigm in entertainment, establishing a completely original live show format that combines humor, the latest in wireless technology, and abundant prizes in wildly-fun, fast-paced action that will entertain poker enthusiasts and non-players alike.

“The Venetian sets the standard for entertainment in Las Vegas and we are excited to add The Real Deal! to our existing line-up of world-class shows,” stated Jason Gastwirth, vice president of entertainment for Las Vegas Sands Corp. “When looking for a new concept to add to our entertainment lineup, we searched for an entirely new experience that would promote audience participation while incorporating well-known personalities that shine beyond the bright lights of the Strip—we found that in The Real Deal!.”

Staged in The Venetian Showroom as part of The Venetian’s extraordinary lineup of entertainment offerings, The Real Deal! will empower the audience to participate both on-stage and from their seats through the use of wireless touch screen devices. The Real Deal! will use a revolutionary multi-player platform with interactive content in conjunction with technology from TimePlay Entertainment, Inc. Playing both against and alongside the pros, audience members will earn points to vie for prizes ranging from The Real Deal! logo’d merchandise to spectacular home electronics and more, including a chance to win a $1 million grand prize.

The Real Deal! roster of poker pros represents a Who’s Who of the sport and includes the legendary Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, Jr., Antonio Esfandiari, Gavin Smith, Eli Elezra, Jennifer Harman, Phil Laak, Scotty Nguyen, and Todd Brunson. The pros will participate in shows each month, taking on Vegas visitors of all poker skills and experience. Combined, the The Real Deal! professionals have won 8 World Poker Tour Championships (WPT) and 35 World Series of Poker TM (WSOP) bracelets, amassing over $48,000,000 in tournament prize money.

“Never before has poker been so integrated with entertainment,” said Merv Adelson, the inspiration behind The Real Deal!. “The popularity of poker is unquestioned, as is the viability of live game show experiences in Las Vegas. The Real Deal! will keep guests laughing and give them the unique chance to get into the heads of the world’s best pros as they share tips and strategy throughout the fast-paced game. We know it will quickly become a hot ticket.”

Casting is underway for the show host, and the producers are talking with well-known comedians who they feel will bring an energized blend of humor and poker information to the audience while keeping the action moving. The chance to take on poker’s superstars without having to risk big money is more than enough to drive interest, but The Real Deal! goes far beyond the action on the stage, appealing to both poker aficionados and those who have never thrown a chip in a pot.

Participating audience members will play along during the on-stage game with a wireless handheld console. The large collection of prizes will be awarded to individuals based on their game performance, such as their play of the virtual “ninth hand.” However, there will be many other random winning moments! For example, audience members will be able to wager on simple instances that will occur during play, such as the suit of cards dealt on the flop. Every show, audience members will also have the chance to draw for a Royal Flush and win ONE MILLION DOLLARS.

An elimination process will result in the chip-leading pro, the final surviving amateur, and the point leader from the play-along audience, on stage for a three-handed finale.

“Poker fans have been able to view and enjoy professional poker action for years on television,” said Doyle Brunson, The Real Deal!’s lead poker professional. “This is different. Everyone in the audience can be in the game and compete with the pros and other guests. It is a one-of-a-kind-poker experience.”

The creation and production of groundbreaking entertainment is nothing new to Merv Adelson and the members of the production team. Merv Adelson, co-founder of Lorimar Telepictures and former vice chairman of Time Warner, Inc., put together an elite team headed by executive producer Gary Smith, an eight-time Emmy® Award winning producer and director of esteemed live shows including the Tony Awards and The Emmy® Awards, Producer Bill Nuss, who has written and produced over 300 hours of network primetime television, Chief Operating Officer Gary Adelson, a veteran Hollywood deal maker and producer, and Erick Brownstein, a highly regarded creative strategist and new media marketer, as Director of Technology.

The Real Deal! will entertain six days a week at The Venetian Showroom in Las Vegas, with shows at 4 pm and primetime performances on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. In addition to general tickets, a limited number of VIP packages will be available for each show that include an opportunity to meet the poker stars after the show. For more information, visit www.therealdeallv.com. Must be 21 years of age or older.

Statements in this press release, which are not historical facts, are “forward looking” statements that are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or other factors beyond the Company’s control, which may cause material differences in actual results, performance or other expectations. These factors include, but are not limited to general economic conditions, competition, new ventures, government regulation, legalization of gaming, interest rates, future terrorist acts, insurance, and other factors detailed in the reports filed by Las Vegas Sands Corp. with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

About The Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino
The Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino, the largest property in the country to receive AAA’s Five Diamond Award and Mobil Four-Star, is one of the world’s most luxurious resort and convention destinations. Re-creating Venice’s legendary landmarks, the resort offers unmatched service and quality for leisure and corporate guests. Located in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip, The Venetian features The Grand Canal Shoppes, an indoor streetscape complete with gondolas and singing gondoliers, the Canyon Ranch SpaClub, world-class gaming, exquisite restaurants, and a wide variety of entertainment such as Phantom-The Las Vegas Spectacular, Blue Man Group and Wayne Brady on its premises, as well as extensive convention and corporate services. For additional information, visit www.venetian.com.

About The Real Deal!
The Real Deal!, the first ever interactive poker stage show, pits audience members against the world’s best poker players in a funny, fast-paced, high-tech, prize-filled event that entertains poker enthusiasts and non-players alike. The show will debut fall of 2008 in The Venetian Showroom at The Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas. A “to-go” version of the show is also available as a theme for corporate events worldwide. Events may be held in the Venetian Showroom, or at alternative event locations. Additionally, the production team is preparing to launch an online version of the show. For more information, visit www.therealdeallv.com.

About TimePlay Entertainment
TimePlay Entertainment is a world leader in creating multiplayer interactive content. The company is capitalizing on the global consumer demand for interactivity through its patented CineLynx platform and unique content. TimePlay has advanced and expanded the existing world of interactive media to larger, more robust and socially engaging venues such as cinemas and casinos. TimePlay’s CineLynx platform allows multiple forms of interactivity including player to player, venue to venue and with mobile phones and online—parlaying huge existing audiences and infrastructure into a completely new entertainment experience. TimePlay has operations in the US, UK and Canada. For more information, visit www.timeplay.com.

FYI to Falstaff: they’re taking applications.

Craziness.

First of all, the entire casino was packed, as was the Strip on the way over there. After plowing through the tourists and slot machines, I arrived at the poker room, which was just overflowing with players. At least 20-30 people were milling about near the front of the poker room, the majority of whom were waiting for seats to open up. Among them were David Pham and Padraig Parkinson. And Davood Merhmand was looking for a love connection was enjoying a glass of wine.

As I shuffled past and made my way into the upper level/back room, there wasn’t much room to move around, but I immediately saw Antonio Esfandiari, along with many unrecognizable faces. I was told that those tables were playing $600-$1200 and higher, but I didn’t see anyone I knew well enough to ask for specifics. The intensity of the players was obvious in their faces, though; these were some serious games at relatively high stakes.

And on to the Big Game in Bobby’s Room. There was a small crowd gathered around the door and windows to the room to catch a glimpse of some of poker’s biggest names. Sammy Farha and Minh Ly were at one table with several young internet-ish-looking players, and Sammy looked happy to have the fresh meat. The other table included such names as Eli Elezra, Jennifer Harman, Marco Traniello, David Oppenheim, and Johnny Chan. I was told they were playing $3000-$6000 mixed games. (What better way to prepare for the upcoming $50K H.O.R.S.E. event at the Bellagio in two days?)

According to one source who is a regular in the Bellagio $400-$800 mixed games, it has been a tough road this year. Since coming to Vegas for the WSOP, he has noticed a marked change in the caliber of player in all of the higher limit mixed games. The fields are very tough, much tougher than last year, as if the high stakes players made a concerted effort of late to step up their games. He said there are very few soft spots, and every game is a struggle. When asked about taking the limits down a notch to $200-$400 or lower, he said with certainty that it wouldn’t make a difference. He has friends at those levels, and it is the same story; there isn’t as much money to be made in cash games this year. Standard no-limit hold’em and other games might be different, but the mixed game players have brought, played, and mastered their A-games.

Nevertheless, those who crave the high-limit action go to Bellagio, despite the difficulty of the tables or the wait to get on one. There is no other casino in Vegas that spreads such a wide range of games at such a variety of limits, and Bellagio has a reputation for running one of the best poker rooms around. No matter the hard economic times or bad runs at the WSOP, the Bellagio poker room is bumpin’.

The two final tables yesterday have been covered enough here so on to the day 2 action. The $5,000 NL Holdem final table is now set for this afternoon under the ESPN360 cameras shortly after 2pm.

Seat 1: Anders Henriksson 311,000
Seat 2: Jacobo Fernandez 848,000
Seat 3: Rajesh Vohra 1,040,000
Seat 4: Ben Sprengers 441,000
Seat 5: Adam Geyer 645,000
Seat 6: Scott Freeman 423,000
Seat 7: Scott Seiver 2,512,000
Seat 8: Chuck Sklar 439,000
Seat 9: Dave Seidman 653,000

More after the jump:

At 3pm, play resumes for the final 16 of the $3,000 HORSE event (Tom Schneider finished in 20th). Plenty of familiar faces remain at these two tables. They’re set up like this:

Table 40

Seat 1: Mickey Appleman 57,500
Seat 2: Hoyt Corkins 220,000
Seat 3: Eric Froehlich 118,000
Seat 4: Paul Zimbler 79,000
Seat 5: Jared Davis 322,500
Seat 6: Jennifer Harman 249,500
Seat 7: Mallory Smith 49,500
Seat 8: JJ Hazen 43,500

Table 41:

Seat 1: Steve Zolotow 144,500
Seat 2: Doug Ganger 245,500
Seat 3: Marcel Luske 350,000
Seat 4: David Levi 36,000
Seat 5: Blair Rodman 161,500
Seat 6: Todd Brunson 124,000
Seat 7: Rostislav Tsodikov 99,000
Seat 8: Jens Voertmann 184,500

The $2,000 NL Holdem event finished the day with 136 moving on to day 2. Dustin Dirksen is the day 1 chip leader. Other chip counts can be found over at The Hendon Mob, home of the best tournament database around.

The $2,500 Pot Limit Holdem/Pot Limit Omaha tournament (and the Brasilia room) made their debuts yesterday with a starting field of 457 down to 85. Stephen McKinney was the Day 1 chip leader, others can be found here.

The two tournaments should each have their own levels of frustration. At noon, the $10,000 NL Holdem Headsup World Championship starts, with a field of 256 expected. Last year, there was controversy as a field of 392 put up $5,000 to participate which would create several people receiving a bye to the second round. This year, they’ve planned to cap the field at 256, we’ll see how that works for the tournament staff.

The 5pm tournament is the $1,500 Razz Event begins, and those who’ve played that game for any period of time knows how it can put just about anyone on tilt. Last year Katja Thater won at a final table that featured Eskimo Clark stroking out in an attempt to get out of getting out of whatever financial hole he was in. Hopefully no one will be that desperate this time around.