Congrats are in order for Linda Johnson and Barry Greenstein, as WSOP officials announced earlier today that they won the ballot race this year — and will be inducted into the Caesars-owned Poker Hall of Fame during the November Nine.

I still haven’t been able to find the actual “hall” anywhere on Google maps, but hey, at least there’s a list … which is included in the announcement below. Fwiw, whether right or wrong or historically consistent or not, a 2011 nomination (and subsequent induction) does seem to come with an extra stamp of approval for poker careers run on a clean path.

Barry seems incredibly deserving for his accomplishments mostly on the felt, with a little bit of important poker work off of it. He got 3 of my 10 votes.

Linda got 5 from me. Only the second women bestowed with the PHOF honor, she put up admirable numbers back in the day and still plays winning poker in medium-big mixed games during the WSOP … but really helped shape the direction of poker off the table as publisher of CardPlayer Magazine through the ’90s, a founding member of the TDA and PokerGives.org, and an instrumental force in the World Poker Tour, the PartyPoker Million, the general concept of “poker cruises”, and the Women in Poker Hall of Fame (which doesn’t have a hall either, but does have a fancy dinner with speeches, food, and booze; I do miss the grander fete for PHOF induction way-back in 2009 when Mike Sexton got in). Extra-charming to know the job she quit to pursue a career in poker was at the post office.

Scotty Nguyen got my remaining 2 votes, but did not get in.

[press release]

Poker Hall of Fame Announces Class of 2011

Barry Greenstein and Linda Johnson Join Poker’s Most Exclusive Fraternity

Official Induction Ceremony to be held Tuesday, November 8th at 4:30 pm

Inside Rio’s Penn & Teller Theater Prior to Conclusion of WSOP® Main Event Final Table

LAS VEGAS (October 27, 2011) – One is known as “The Robin Hood of Poker.” The other is “The First Lady of Poker.”  Come November 8, 2011, both can add “Poker Hall of Fame” to their illustrious resumes.

Barry Greenstein and Linda Johnson will become the 41^st and 42^nd individuals to be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame.  The two newest members were initially nominated by the general public and then voted in by a 35-person panel made up of existing Poker Hall of Famers and members of the media.

Johnson becomes just the second female to be bestowed the honor, joining Barbara Enright who was inducted in 2007.

Both Greenstein and Johnson were among the finalists for the honor in 2010.  This year, both players successfully garnered enough votes to become the game’s newest members.

Greenstein and Johnson will be officially inducted on Tuesday, November 8 at the Rio All-Suite® Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas just prior to the start of the final playing session of the 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event Championship.

The special induction ceremony and celebration will take place at 4:30 PM inside the Penn & Teller Theater and will immediately precede the three-handed finale.

It is fitting that these two exemplary individuals will be enshrined together.  Both possess impressive tournament and cash game success, over many years.  But it is perhaps their tireless efforts away from the green felt that have more profoundly impacted the game of poker, fostered the image of the game, and contributed to its growth and good sportsmanship.

“I am extremely proud and humbled to be voted into the Poker Hall of Fame,” said Johnson.  “I feel lucky to have been involved in many facets of poker over the past 35 years.  Being recognized by the industry is a tremendous honor.”

“I’m happy to be inducted into the Hall of Fame alongside my friend Linda Johnson who has been the most fervent ambassador for poker for as long as I can remember,” Greenstein said.

The Poker Hall of Fame Governing Council would sincerely like to congratulate the other 2011 finalists — all whom remain eligible for future induction: Annie Duke, Jennifer Harman-Traniello, John Juanda, Marcel Luske, Jack McClelland, Tom McEvoy, Scotty Nguyen and Huck Seed.

Greenstein has amassed more than $7.5 million in worldwide poker tournament winnings and for nine consecutive years has won at least six figures on the tournament circuit.  Greenstein possesses three World Series of Poker bracelets, two WPT titles, and also plays in many of the highest stakes cash games in the world.

The 56-year-old Greenstein was born in Chicago, Illinois and earned his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  He also studied for his PhD in Mathematics, but never defended his completed dissertation.  He learned poker and other card games from his parents while growing up in the Scottsdale neighborhood of Chicago.

Barry went to work for a start-up company named Symantec in the 1980’s in Silicon Valley, California and was part of the team that developed its first product called Q&A.  The system provided both a word processer and a database and was cited as a significant step in making computers more user-friendly and less intimidating.  Greenstein is credited with developing the word processing component of Q&A. He left Symantec in 1991 at age 36 to play poker full-time.

It was 1992 when Barry entered his first poker tournament, the World Series of Poker Main Event, where he finished in 22^nd place.

Barry is also the author of the widely-acclaimed poker book Ace on the River, and as is his personal trademark, Greenstein autographs a copy of the book for players in tournaments that eliminate him.

Greenstein is a father of six, including four stepchildren, and has made a career of donating to child-focused charities.  He has donated more than $3 million to various charities through his poker winnings, earning him his nickname “The Robin Hood of Poker”.

He currently resides in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, and can be found in California and Las Vegas card rooms and the world’s largest poker tournaments.

This year’s other inductee – Linda Johnson is a 58-year-old poker player originally from Long Island, New York, now living in Las Vegas who captured her WSOP gold bracelet in 1997 in a Seven-Card Razz event.  Johnson is one of only 15 females to capture a WSOP open event championship, and she has seven WSOP final table appearances on her poker resume.

Nicknamed “The First Lady of Poker” by fellow Poker Hall of Famer Mike Sexton, Johnson has been a leading force in the poker world for much of her life. She began playing poker in the 1970s after buying some poker books and teaching herself how to play.

Linda was immediately enthralled with poker and had a special ability for the game. She entered the World Series of Poker Ladies seven-card stud tournament in 1980, deciding in advance that if she performed well, she would quit her high-level job at the United States Post Office and move to Las Vegas to become a professional poker player. As fate would have it, Linda finished fifth in the tournament and promptly gave her two-week notice. She moved to Las Vegas and played poker full time from 1980-1993, one of just a handful of women who played the game professionally during those years.

These days, Linda enjoys teaching WPT Boot Camp and regularly hosts poker seminars and tournaments at many cardrooms around the country. She is a partner in Card Player Cruises and has hosted more than 90 poker cruises to destinations around the world.

But Johnson really made her mark and blazed a trail for other poker players by parlaying her poker acumen into ventures off the felt.

In 1993, Linda purchased Card Player magazine. Over the next eight years, the magazine grew from a 68-page, black and white newsprint publication into a 132-page, full-color, glossy magazine. As publisher, Linda became an ambassador for the poker world, traveling to more than 200 cardrooms around the world, always personifying class and professionalism and consistently setting new standards of excellence.

She has co-written three poker books and was instrumental in helping to establish many influential poker projects — including the World Poker Industry Conference, the World Poker Players Conference, and the Tournament Directors Association. Her next project was helping to establish the World Poker Tour for which she had the role of studio announcer during its first six seasons. Her involvement in promoting poker led to being chosen as the original chairperson for the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), a leading lobbying group in Washington, DC.

Linda is currently on the Board of Directors for the PPA and the Ladies International Poker Series (LIPS).

Already a member of the Women’s Poker Hall of Fame (inducted in 2008), Johnson co-founded PokerGives.org as a way to assist poker players to donate to worthwhile charitable causes using the game of poker as the platform.

The Poker Hall of Fame Governing Council is delighted with these two fine choices and congratulates both Barry Greenstein and Linda Johnson on their well-deserved selection and induction.

The Poker Hall of Fame, established in 1979, was acquired by Harrah’s Entertainment (now Caesars) along with the World Series of Poker, in 2004.  Though the Hall of Fame is virtual in nature, its membership includes poker’s most influential players and other important contributors to the game.  There are now 20 living members.

The main criteria for the Poker Hall of Fame are as follows:

• A player must have played poker against acknowledged top competition
• Be a minimum of 40 years old at time of nomination [to be known as the “Chip Reese” rule, adopted in 2011, 20 years after Reese’s induction at age 40]
• Played for high stakes
• Played consistently well, gaining the respect of peers
• Stood the test of time
• Or, for non-players, contributed to the overall growth and success of the game of poker, with indelible positive and lasting results.

The entire list of 42 Poker Hall of Fame members includes (alphabetical with year of induction in parenthesis):

o         Tom Abdo (1982)

o         Crandell Addington (2005)

o         Bobby Baldwin (2003)

o         Billy Baxter (2006)

o         Lyle Berman (2002)

o         Joe Bernstein (1983)

o         Benny Binion (1990)

o         Jack Binion (2005)

o         Bill Boyd (1981)

o         Doyle Brunson (1988)

o         Johnny Chan (2002)

o         T.J. Cloutier (2006)

o         Nick Dandolos  (1979)

o         Barbara Enright (2007)

o         Fred “Sarge” Ferris (1989)

o         T “Blondie” Forbes (1980)

o         Henry Green (1986)

o         Barry Greenstein (2011)

o         Dan Harrington (2010)

o         Murph Harrold (1984)

o         Phil Hellmuth (2007)

o         James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok (1979)

o         Red Hodges (1985)

o         Edmond Hoyle (1979)

o         Linda Johnson (2011)

o         Berry Johnston (2004)

o         Jack Keller (1993)

o         Felton McCorquodale (1979)

o         Roger Moore (1997)

o         Johnny Moss (1979)

o         Henry Orenstein (2008)

o         Walter Clyde “Puggy” Pearson (1987)

o         Julius Oral Popwell (1996)

o         Thomas Austin “Amarillo Slim” Preston (1992)

o         David “Chip” Reese (1991)

o         Erik Seidel (2010)

o         Mike Sexton (2009)

o         Jack “Treetop” Straus (1988)

o         Duane “Dewey” Tomko (2008)

o         Stu “The Kid” Ungar (2001)

o         Red Winn (1979)

o         Sid Wyman (1979)

For more information on the Poker Hall of Fame, visit www.WSOP.com.

ABOUT THE POKER HALL OF FAME

The Poker Hall of Fame, established in 1979, was acquired by Harrah’s Entertainment along with the World Series of Poker in 2004.  Though the Hall of Fame is virtual in nature, its membership includes poker’s most influential players and other important contributors to the game. There are now 20 living members, and 42 members have been bestowed the honor of Poker Hall of Famer.  The Poker Hall of Fame traditionally elects one or two members annually.  The enshrinement ceremony is now held in concert with the final table of the Main Event of the WSOP, held each November in Las Vegas.

There have already been events in Arizona and yesterday here in Vegas at the Venetian. Coming up are an event Monday at the Golden Nugget and another at the new Tropicana Poker Room (which fyi, few know, had its opening day on Black Friday) on Saturday. More than 15 events — in the $60 to $125 range — in 15 different venues in seven states.

Click here for the complete schedule.

Our goal is to disperse the highest percentage of funds possible to the charities. While some fundraising operators are actually businesses for profit, Poker Gives is designed to give back and we do so in every way possible. Board members and founding members of Poker Gives receive no salary whatsoever. All expenses and administrative costs are minimized so that the maximum is directed to our charities.

– Poker Gives

Charity tournaments can be a dime a dozen … or more appropriately for poker, probably closer to 5 dimes a dozen. And some are better than others as an event and/or as a fundraiser. But apparently some big-timers in the poker biz (Mike Sexton, Linda Johnson, et al) saw too many such tourneys used as fronts for shady activities I mean not necessarily distributing funds appropriately, and thus back in 2008 created Poker Gives. It’s an effort designed to cultivate the collective giving of poker players and poker rooms around the country to make more notable donations to more mainstream 501c’s (Paralyzed Veterans of America, Make a Wish, Special Olympics, the USO, the Shriners, among others). It also becomes, imho, part of what some say is becoming a “movement” to clean up poker and make it more, er … presentable?

Also this week, as in today, is an Epic Poker charity event at Pokerati’s home room, the Palms. It’s a $240 with $100 rebuys event — hosted by Kevin Pollak, with all sorts of extra goodies overlayed — and the top three winning seats to the upcoming $1,500 Epic Pro-Am.

While this isn’t officially part of National Poker Month (I’m curious why not, too) tonight’s tournament at the Palms does benefit Fallen Heroes USA, a PG thumbs-up charity partner. Should be good times for a good cause; and who knows, maybe a Pokerati Game will break out with extra players in the mood to just be giving money away?

Interesting to see the code explained, visually, for a clearer understanding of how God-mode in the UB Scandal probably worked … then extra-curious to realize Jim Ryan, CEO of WPT-parent Party Gaming, was CEO of Excapsa Software, Ultimate Bet partner, during the heyday of cheating on their site.

And while some may think little of it, because hey, it’s just pretend money … we all know free-play online poker isn’t just about the joys of truly amateur poker … it’s about preparation for real-money online gambling. The WSOP is pushing their free Facebook-app game throughout the Amazon Room, after all, and Zynga takes a rake in their “cash games”. Do a Google search for “Zynga poker rigged” or “Facebook poker scam” … The screams of cheating and scandal are more outrageous than AP/UB/Cereus ever coulda had to cover up.

Whether the apparent security flaws at Club WPT are a matter of coincidence, ignorance, incompetence, or shenanigans, it does make you wonder who will be ready for American players when real-money online poker comes into play.

Although both players started out the day in the lower half of the leader board they only needed to outlast 6 players to make it to the money which they both managed. Clark would eventually be eliminated in 33rd place while his table mate Sexton managed a 27th place finish.

We caught up with Clark before he was eliminated to discuss Black Friday and how it is affecting his sponsorship deal. He declined to comment on anything exactly what he is being told but did tell us that he inquired about wearing his patch for the tournament and they told him to operate as normal when it came to that.

Coming back for Day Five is Blair Hinkle, who became the first player to win seven figures in a single tournament on Full Tilt back in March in the FTOPS Main event when he chopped three handed to receive $1,162,949.74, sits atop the leader board with 1,783,000. Catching up with Hinkle during a break he discussed his FTOPs score and told us that he had not moved the majority of his funds off Full Tilt before Black Friday. He did not seem overly concerned that he would have trouble getting the funds off site, but did state that it would be nice to just win this event for his second 7 figure score of 2011.

Day Six will start at noon today with 18 players playing down to the final 6 in the High Roller room of the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Room. With no patches left and no one left to patch up players when the final six are determined this will be the first WPT final table in some time without a single player wearing a patch. Maybe that is a sign to come for future events in this post Black Friday era.

Mike Sexton and Zachary Clark will be the only two players returning for Day Four wearing Party Poker and Doyle’s Room patches. Sexton returns with 192,000 while Clark is close to the bottom of the standings with 119,000.

It appears that if one of these two players do not reach the final table that the final six will be completely patchless since the representative for Full Tilt that usually ensures the two of the final six are patched is leaving on a flight on Saturday.

At the top of the leader board is Taylor VonKriegenbergh with 1,080,500. He is closely followed by the only female left in the field Abbey Daniels who has 1,016,500.

The players return to play down to the final 18 or for six levels on Saturday at noon.

I’m pretty sure you’re gonna be hearing about Zynga for awhile … not just because I still have lots of pictures and audio to unload from Zynga’s inaugural PokerCon at the Palms last weekend … but because, imho, as plenty of industry stalwarts seemed to recognize, this company that didn’t even exist in 2006 (that oh-so-glorious year of Jamie-Gold-boom-and-UIGEA-bust) has something that every other big-idea “revolutionary” poker undertaking has lacked since, well, PartyPoker.

Have a listen to Hall-of-Famer Mike Sexton, invited to simply share his brand of poker lore while mingling with Zynga players, give his quick take on the relevance of this relatively small little event and the booming company behind it:

Mike Sexton at Zynga Pokercon 2011

pic by Michele Lewis

Hellmuth: Party crasher?

Phil Hellmuth musta seen something more than just a $100k freeroll going on, too. Whether delivering a “bonus” to Pokercon attendees out of the kindness of his heart or just because his feelings were hurt for not being asked to take part in Zynga festivities, the “poker brat” slipped in as an uninvited (but presumably still welcome?) guest and revealed his presence at the Pokercon final table to a smattering of gasps and boos. When poker’s self-proclaimed badboy tried to educate the fans that they were supposed to boo him, the nice Zynga people didn’t exactly oblige — giving him instead a polite round of applause. You can tell, however, at least a few in the crowd understood the subtext of his unscripted exchange with host Ali Nejad — effectively trying to put PokerStars back in its (2nd) place.

Phil Hellmuth at Zynga Pokercon 2011

The guys from The Poker Edge are back this week with Daniel Negreanu in tow. First on topic is Erik Seidel’s recent run to the top of the all time money list and how the super high roller events are altering how he looks at the list. The discussion shortly turns to the SuperStar Showdown where Negreanu discusses his game plan against Isildur1. Negreanu also discusses the recent notNAPT event that was held at the Bike and PokerStars moving into poker regulation. You can listen to the entire podcast on ESPN.com, or download it directly via iTunes.

Poker Road Radio:

Are you looking for on the road radio with stops at most of the major tournament stops then you should be listening to Poker Road Radio. These guys have been at the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star tournament the past week and have had guest such as Dwyte Pilgrim, The Royal Flush Girls, and final table player Mike Sexton. The highlight of the week was the show from March 15th where Joe Sebok discusses the recent Friedman/Haxton issues that have come to the forefront on Cerus network. Check out the show on the Poker Road Radio site or subscribe via iTunes.

Jess And BJ Show:

This show speaks for itself, Jessica Welman and BJ Nemeth from the award winning The Poker Beat join forces at all the US World Poker Tour events to record the Jess and BJ show. If you do not watch these shows you definitely should.

This week’s show included a lengthy interview with featured guest Mike Sexton, a cameo from Daniel Negreanu to discuss PokerVT, MAXIM Hometown Hottie finalist and WPT Royal Flush Girl Melanie Iglesias, and a discussion with Matt Parvis about Poker News and the role of poker media.

All that plus the Tina Fey of Poker Jess Welman delivers this week’s big poker headlines.

Detailed episode highlights at WCP.

Joe Cada – 2009 WSOP ME winner
Barry Shulman – 2009 WSOPE ME winner
Mike Sexton – 2006 WSOP TOC winner
Mike Matusow – 2005 WSOP TOC Winner
Annie Duke – 2004 WSOP TOC Winner
Two sponsor exemptions (the WSOP will announce details on how these seats will be awarded shortly)

The TOC will begin on June 27th at noon, and play down to the final table. Play will then resume July 4th (the day before the WSOP Main Event begins) and play down to a winner. ESPN will film the action to air as a two-hour show on August 3rd. The entire press release is on page 2:

LAS VEGAS (Mar. 15, 2010) – Poker deserves its annual All-Star Event, and the World Series of Poker intends to deliver it.

The WSOP will be putting up one million dollars to award during the 2010 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions, taking place during the 41st Annual WSOP at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

ESPN will cover this No Limit Hold’em event for airing in a special two-hour telecast on Tuesday, August 3, 2010.

“The Tournament of Champions brand has heritage in delivering the big moments,” said HIE Vice President Ty Stewart. “We’re thrilled to reinvent it around a model that should elevate the game by engaging millions of poker fans. We have received a lot of input from players and their affinity for the TOC, and we are excited for them and the fans and hope its here to stay.”

A total of 27 players will participate in the freeroll poker invitational, with 20 players selected by voting from the public. The vote begins March 15, 2010 at 12 noon ET on WSOP.com and remains open until June 15, 2010 at midnight ET. The top 20 vote-getters will be awarded entry. In the event anyone in the public’s Top 20 is unable to participate, the next highest eligible and available vote-getter will be awarded the entry. To qualify as one of the 20 eligible fan-voted participants, players must be a WSOP bracelet-holder. All living WSOP bracelet holders are able to receive votes, and currently there are 521 eligible players.

Five entries into the tournament are automatic. The three previous WSOP TOC winners gain automatic entry, plus the reigning WSOP champion and the reigning WSOP Europe champion get seats at the table. Therefore b>Annie Duke, Mike Matusow, Mike Sexton, Joe Cada and Barry Shulman will make up 5 of the 27 players for this event.

“Tournaments like the Tournament of Champions help elevate poker to the level it deserves and I am honored to participate,” said inaugural TOC victor Annie Duke. “Winning the TOC marks one of the most memorable events in my poker career and I’m ecstatic that the WSOP is hosting this prestigious event.”

Two sponsor exemptions will be awarded by the WSOP, with details forthcoming on how those seats can be won.

Play will convene at the Rio on Sunday, June 27, 2010 to begin the tournament. Play will halt once the final nine players are reached, and those nine return on Sunday, July 4, 2010 to play for their share of 1,000,000 dollars and the title of 2010 WSOP TOC Champion. The tournament has been scheduled to avoid conflict with other WSOP events, as no new tournaments begin on either June 27 or July 4.

The WSOP Tournament of Champions was started by the WSOP in 2004, after Harrah’s took ownership of the World Series of Poker brand. In the inaugural event, ten top names were invited to participate in the freeroll event structured as a winner-take-all. Duke won the event at the Rio.

In 2005, the TOC was won by Matusow at Caesars Palace, with an expanded field of 114 entrants competing in the freeroll, with the top nine places cashing.

The TOC event last took place in 2006 at the Rio, when 27 of the games greatest took to the felt in the freeroll, with the final table all walking away with prize money and 2009 Poker Hall of Fame inductee Sexton walking away with the top prize.

This year’s TOC will be a No Limit Texas Hold’em tournament with the top nine places being paid. First place will win $500,000, the runner-up gets $250,000, third place earns $100,000 and the fourth through ninth place pockets $25,000 each.

Details on how to cast your vote and rules can all be found at WSOP.com. The public will be able to track the voting, with the top 50 vote-getters listed and updated automatically after each ballot is completed. In an effort to avoid ballot-stuffing, the tally of individual votes won’t be divulged during the open voting period, and balloters will be required to complete an authentication process to ensure one vote per email address.

The WSOP, an annual poker games extravaganza, which dates back to 1970, is televised exclusively on ESPN from the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas and consists of a comprehensive slate of the game’s most popular variations running from May 27-July 17, 2010.

A total of 57 coveted gold bracelets will be up for grabs in 2010 – equal to last year’s total.

ABOUT THE WSOP

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is the largest, richest and most prestigious gaming event in the world, having awarded more than a billion dollars in prize money and the prestigious gold bracelet, globally recognized as the sport’s top prize. Featuring a comprehensive slate of tournaments in every major poker variation, the WSOP is poker’s longest running tournament in the world, dating back to 1970. In 2009, the event attracted 60,875 entrants from 115 different countries to the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas and awarded over $174 million in prize money. The WSOP in December, 2008 was named the 7th most admired sports brand in North America by the Turnkey Sports Survey, trailing only the older and more established NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NASCAR and PGA Tour among sports properties. In addition, the WSOP has experienced groundbreaking alliances in broadcasting, digital media and corporate sponsorships, while successfully expanding the brand internationally with the advent in 2007 of the World Series of Poker Europe. For more information on the World Series of Poker, please visit our website at WSOP.com.

Oops, I can’t believe I forgot Tony G in my Power 20 rankings … the man who directly controls the paycheck of so many of my cronies and the bankroll of at least a handful of international tournament players is now officially on board with the crew Mike Sexton built/is building. Further evidence that PartyPoker/WPT is making serious moves (to challenge PokerStars and Harrah’s?) … and re-enforcing Sexton’s original vision that anybody is welcome to play at Party. Also makes Party’s upcoming Premier League Poker in Las Vegas a lot more interesting …

Click below for the full press release. We’ll see if we can’t figure out any more details about what went into bringing The G on board.

Meanwhile, speaking of G’s, Kesan, the Napoleonic thug on Season 2 of From G’s to Gents, is going to prison for beating a baby.

[Link thanks California Jen!]

ON YER BIKE! TONY G JOINS ‘TEAM PARTY’ AND IS CONFIRMED FOR PREMIER LEAGUE IV
TONYGPOKER.COM ASSETS ARE ACQUIRED BY PARTYGAMING

Gibraltar – 21st January 2010 – In a significant move for the industry, http://www.partypoker.com/ is delighted to announce that the one and only Tony G is the latest player to be added to the roster of ‘Team Party.’ Tony will make his debut in Party colours at the Aussie Millions. At the same time, it has been announced that ‘The Mouth From Down Under’ will take part in the eagerly awaited PartyPoker.com Premier League IV in Las Vegas in February and that the assets of http://www.tonygpoker.com/ have been acquired by PartyGaming.

Antanas Guoga, more commonly known as Tony G, is a businessman and respected professional poker player known for his entertaining outlandish table talk and aggressive play. Undoubtedly one of the biggest characters and hottest box office in the game today, Tony won the WPT Bad Boys of Poker II in 2006 and famously finished runner-up in the 2006 PartyPoker Intercontinental Poker Championship in Las Vegas. Tony has cashed 15 times at the World Series of Poker and historically won the inaugural Asian Poker Tour event in Singapore in 2006, giving half of his prize money to charity. Known for his extraordinarily big heart and philanthropy, Tony also generously donated the $205,000 he won at a big tournament in Moscow in November 2007 to local orphanages. Tony has accumulated over $4,000,000 in live tournament winnings.

“I cannot wait to start playing for Team Party on the circuit,” said Tony. “I’ve always loved Party and what better way to kick off than at the Aussie Millions. I am also really excited about the Premier League in February – it is the best event in poker in my eyes. After finishing runner-up and third in the last two years the title has to be mine! I just hope my rivals have the heart and commitment to the game to stop me!” Tony joins a line-up that also includes Phil Hellmuth, JC Tran, Yevgeniy Timoshenko, Luke ‘FullFlush’ Schwartz and Roland De Wolfe.

Tony, whose poker catchphrase is ‘On Yer Bike’ – his ‘farewell’ message to opponents he knocks out – will be joined at the Crown Casino in Melbourne for the Aussie Millions by fellow Team Party players Bodo Sbrzesny and Stewart Scott as well as 43 online qualifiers who won packages online at PartyPoker.com. “If one of the Party qualifiers knocks me out of the Main Event I will buy them a bike. First of all though I will ride it out myself – I know when it is bike time!”

Tony’s landmark personal player deal incorporates live tournament buy-ins to events around the world. He will also be playing online under the screen name ‘TonyG’ and has already sparked plenty of debate with his presence at the cash game tables. Tony G joins Team Party alongside Mike Sexton, Kara Scott, Ian Frazer, Bodo Sbrzesny, Remy Biechel, Stewart Scott and Felipe ‘Mojave’ Ramos.

The acquisition of the assets of TonyGPoker.com sees all TonyGPoker.com players migrate to http://www.noblepoker.com. TonyGPoker.com is a well known online poker room with an extensive selection of games, tournaments, freerolls and promotions. As part of the deal, Tony will continue to run the Sunday Bike Ride, a popular bounty promotion, at NoblePoker.com, which is owned by PartyGaming.

“It’s business as usual for TonyGPoker.com. The exciting acquisition of its assets by the PartyGaming will create a larger more flexible and productive playing environment,” said Tony.

A PartyGaming spokesman said: “We’re delighted to welcome Tony to Team Party. Tony is undoubtedly one of poker’s biggest characters in the game – a personal deal for him made huge sense. We are also happy to have acquired the assets of TonyGPoker.com and look forward to welcoming his players on board.”

BEAM ME UP SCOTTY! KARA JOINS TEAM PARTY
CANADIAN GETS PRO AND PRESENTING DEAL

Gibraltar – 14th January 2010 – Top professional poker player and television presenter Kara Scott has signed a deal to represent http://www.partypoker.com/. Kara is the newest member of ‘Team Party,’ and will join 2009 Poker Hall of Fame inductee Mike Sexton, Remy Biechel, Ian Frazer, Felipe ‘Mojave’ Ramos, Stewart Scott and Bodo Sbrzesny in the ranks.

Kara’s new deal features buy-ins for top live tournaments around the world as well as television presenting and she will be at the helm as the Premier League moves to Vegas for the first time in February. Kara recently presented the action from the PartyPoker.com World Open V at the Palm Beach Casino in London. As a Canadian, Kara will represent PartyPoker.com in the territory and will also play Canadian Poker Tour events.

Kara said: “It is fantastic to have signed a deal to join Team Party. It works perfectly for me as I get the opportunity to further improve my game on the live circuit as well as carrying on presenting. I’m so excited about the future.”

A PartyPoker.com spokesman said: “Kara is a great signing and we are really looking forward to working with her. She has historic links with PartyPoker.com after taking down the Sports Stars Challenge III and we have been super impressed by her progress since then. As well as being a great presenter, Kara is also a fantastic player with great results and the potential to go even further. We are excited about this new relationship.”

Kara was born in Alberta, Northern Canada and moved to the UK in 1999 and has been working in the media since 2002. Starting in kick-boxing programming, she moved on to present a wide variety of poker related programming and was recently installed and continues to be a presenter on GSN’s High Stakes Poker. As a player, Kara made the final table of the PartyPoker Women’s World Open I in 2007, won the PartyPoker.com Sports Stars Challenge III in 2008 and was runner-up in the Irish Open for a whopping €312,600 in 2009. Kara is also the only woman to have cashed in both the 2008 and 2009 WSOP Main Events and only the second ever in history to have cashed in two WSOP Main Events. In 2008, she finished 104th for $41,816 and in 2009 she took 238th place. Her live earnings are over $550,000.

Kara is a frequent contributor to a variety of poker media and is one half of the famous UK podcast ‘On the Rail.’ She has also been a producer on a movie and was the first presenter of a backgammon tournament on television in Europe. Kara will be a regular contributor to http://blog.partypoker.com/ and has a big following on twitter at http://twitter.com/karaOTR

Episode 4: Voter Hesitation

Episode 5: Touched by Sexton

Final Table Details

1 – Darvin Moon 58,930,000
2 – James Akenhead 6,800,000
3 – Phil Ivey 9,765,000
4 – Kevin Schaffel 12,390,000
5 – Steven Begleiter 29,885,000
6 – Eric Buchman 34,800,000
7 – Joseph Cada 13,215,000
8 – Antoine Saout 9,500,000
9 – Jeff Shulman 19,580,000

7:16 remains in level 33 (120/240/30k blinds), level 34 will have blinds of 150/300/40k. When play resumes, Moon starts with the button. Blind levels remain 2 hours long, with breaks at the end of each level, lasting 20 minutes (except at the end of level 33). Future blind levels:

Level 35 – 200/400/50k
Level 36 – 250/500/50k
Level 37 – 300/600/75k
Level 38 – 400/800/100k
Level 39 – 500/1m/150k
Level 40 – 600/1.2m/200k

For those who want to see a breakdown of the final table by M and BB’s, thanks to CPOner (from a 2+2 thread) for this graphic:

Also planned for Saturday: Bracelet ceremony for Barry Shulman winning the WSOP Europe Main Event and the ceremony for Mike Sexton being inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame.

Updated Payouts:

1st $8,547,042
2nd $5,182,928
3rd $3,479,670
4th $2,502,890
5th $1,953,452
6th $1,587,160
7th $1,404,014
8th $1,300,231
9th $1,263,602

The final table is scheduled to start at 12 noon Pacific time on Saturday, November 7 and will play down to heads-up. Heads-up play will resume at 10pm PT on Monday, November 9. ESPN coverage will begin at 9pm ET on Tuesday, November 10 and plans to go past 11pm to give heads-up play more coverage than last year.

Hat tip to “riverdance” on 2+2 for the link.

BARRY GREENSTEIN
DAN HARRINGTON
PHIL IVEY
TOM McEVOY
MEN NGUYEN
SCOTTY NGUYEN
DANIEL NEGREANU
ERIK SEIDEL
MIKE SEXTON

I see two who definitely won’t get my vote. As for the rest, will have to give them some thought. It’s gonna be a tough call. I’ll probably do a bracket.

Click below for the official press release on it all, giving the criteria, PHOF schedule, etc.:

POKER HALL OF FAME ANNOUNCES FINALISTS LIST FOR 2009 CLASS
LIST NOW GOES TO HOF MEMBERS & MEDIA PANEL FOR FINAL VOTE

LAS VEGAS (September 8, 2009) – The Poker Hall of Fame has narrowed the list of nominees for the 2009 Class and all that remains is for the 15 living Hall of Fame members and the 15-member Media Panel to cast their votes before we know the inductees.

A total of nine people remain eligible for induction in 2009.

The Induction Ceremony will be part of a special Hall of Fame dinner ceremony on Saturday, November 7 at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas during the dinner break of the Main Event Final Table.

The eligible candidates, in alphabetical order, are as follows:

BARRY GREENSTEIN
DAN HARRINGTON
PHIL IVEY
TOM McEVOY
MEN NGUYEN
SCOTTY NGUYEN
DANIEL NEGREANU
ERIK SEIDEL
MIKE SEXTON

The voters must determine who among the above list most deserves to be inducted this year. The additional criteria they will consider in their vote are as follows:
• A player must have played poker against acknowledged top competition
• Played for high stakes
• Played consistently well, gaining the respect of peers
• Stood the test of time
• Or, for non-players, contributed to the overall growth and success of the game of poker, with indelible positive and lasting results.

The Poker Hall of Fame Governing Council commented on Tom Dwan, an initial nominee in 2009: “With all due respect to Mr. Dwan, one of the games most exciting young players, he does not currently meet the criteria for Hall of Fame selection. We wish him well and expect he will again be considered once he has ‘stood the test of time.’”

Names on the finalist list but not receiving more than 75% of the votes this year will still be eligible for induction in the future.

The voting members will receive their ballots this week and have until October 2, 2009 to submit their completed forms.

Current Hall of Fame members also have the ability to add a write-in candidate – someone they feel deserves consideration for the PHOF – but were not among the list of finalists this year. This write-in candidate will be added to the 2010 nomination list automatically.

For the first time, the inductees will be invited to a special dinner held and hosted in their honor where they will give their induction speech and be awarded their commemorative trophy. All nine of the above finalists will be invited to the dinner, and room will be reserved for additional family, friends, the current Hall of Famers and the media voting panel.

A select handful of seats will be made available to the public via the dinner’s presenting sponsor, JAQK Cellars. For more information on how to be part of this special evening, visit: http://jaqkcellars.com/wine-poker-hall-of-fame-dinner/high-roller-and-world-series-of-poker-vip-ticket

ABOUT THE POKER HALL OF FAME
The Poker Hall of Fame, established in 1979, was acquired by Harrah’s Entertainment along with the World Series of Poker in 2004. Though the Hall of Fame is virtual in nature, its membership includes poker’s most influential players and other important contributors to the game. There are 15 living members, and 37 members have been bestowed the honor of Poker Hall of Famer. The Poker Hall of Fame traditionally elects one or two members annually. The enshrinement ceremony is now held in concert with the final table of the Main Event of the WSOP, held each November in Las Vegas.

ABOUT JAQK CELLARS
For its three founders, acclaimed winemaker Craig MacLean with Katie Jain and Joel Templin, JAQK Cellars is a passion born out of a love for wine and poker. JAQK, named after the Jack, Ace, Queen and King from a deck of playing cards, was launched in October 2008 in San Francisco, CA. JAQK’s collection of eight limited-production wines are hand-crafted from the Napa Valley and are packaged with an edgy, playful design bringing pleasure to wine lovers before the first sip is even taken. To learn more about JAQK Cellars, visit www.jaqkcellars.com.

POKER HALL OF FAME – 2009 BALLOT PROCESS/TIMELINE

Eligible Voters:
• 15 Living Members of the Poker Hall of Fame
• 15-member Media Panel

Process:
• All eligible voters to receive the ballot with the 9 names eligible for induction in 2009
• Eligible voters to return ballot with up to 3 names they consider worthy of induction in 2009. (Can vote for less, but no more than 3 names)
• Simple “yes” or “no” next to each candidate will determine inductees. Those receiving at least 75% “yes” votes will be the 2009 Class of the Poker Hall of Fame.

Timeline:
• September 10 – Ballots sent to eligible voters from Poker Hall of Fame Governing Council
• October 2 – Deadline to return final ballots
• November 7 – Induction Ceremony/Dinner – Rio Hotel, Las Vegas

Criteria:
• Among finalists, who is most deserving to be elected this year
• A player must have played poker against acknowledged top competition
• Played for high stakes
• Played consistently well, gaining the respect of peers
• Stood the test of time
• Or, for non-players, contributed to the overall growth and success of the game of poker, with indelible positive and lasting results.

Other:
• Current Hall of Fame members also have the ability to add a write-in candidate – someone they feel deserves consideration for the PHOF – but were not among the list of finalists this year. This write-in candidate will be added to the 2010 nomination list automatically.
• Any voter who fails to return ballot by deadline will not be counted, and vote-percentage will be based on all voters who returned ballots.

The list of the 37 Poker Hall of Fame members is as follows:

1979: Nick “The Greek” Dandolos; “Wild Bill Hickok”; Edmond Hoyle; Felton “Corky” McCorquodale; Johnny Moss; Red Winn; Sid Wyman
1980: T “Blondie” Forbes
1981: Bill Boyd
1982: Tom Abdo
1983: Joe Bernstein
1984: Murph Harrold
1985: Red Hodges
1986: Henry Green
1987: Walter Clyde “Puggy” Pearson
1988: Doyle Brunson; Jack “Treetop” Strauss
1989: Fed “Sarge” Ferris
1990: Benny Binion
1991: David “Chip” Reese
1992: Thomas Austin “Amarillo Slim” Preston
1993: Jack Keller
1996: Julius Oral “Little Man” Popwell
1997: Roger Moore
2001: Stu “The Kid” Ungar
2002: Lyle Berman; Johnny Chan
2003: Bobby Baldwin
2004: Berry Johnston
2005: Crandall Addington; Jack Binion
2006: Billy Baxter; T.J. Cloutier
2007: Barbara Enright; Phil Hellmuth
2008: Henry Orenstein; Duane “Dewey” Tomko
2009: ???

Seriously, it’s 2005 again, right? Remember, Juha Helppi and Robert Varkonyi were playing underwater, or maybe it was on an iceberg? Regardless … while on first glance this gets more eyeroll and groan than live-event invitations to Michael Phelps, Lady Gaga, Barack Obama, Sasquatch, and Superman … the idea of Mike Sexton and Tom Dwan playing against some Danish online qualifiers while dangling over the streets of Copenhagen? Yeah, I can dig …

From a poker perspective, it’s actually an interesting concept: Let’s force difficult poker decisions under conditions that guarantee a little extra heart-pumping, with some extra life-on-the-line chemicals in the bloodstreams. Though that’s about as gimmicky as you can get, gotta say, I think I’d be really interested in seeing this on TV — bring back some heart monitors and attach everyone to bungee cords for when they get knocked out! And maybe sprinkle the set with bread crumbs to attract the railbirds …

Click below for full details from da.PartyPoker:

ACE HIGH! PARTYPOKER.COM IN THE SKY!
DENMARK’S HIGHEST GAME IS 50 METRES UP!

2nd September 2009 — http://www.partypoker.com/ and Ace Magazine have teamed up to create Poker in the Sky, which will take place on Friday 11 September in Copenhagen. Poker in the Sky literally rises above everything that you’ve seen before on the Danish poker scene! Floating high above the Town Hall, surrounded by Copenhagen and the spires of the city, 22 poker players will play against two celebrities with town hall-doves as the nearest spectators!

The 22 poker players will be hoisted 50 metres in the air by a crane at City Hall Square in Copenhagen. Hovering over the capital the poker players will compete against each other in a four hour long poker tournament.

A spokesman for PartyPoker.com said: “Poker is a high octane game, and we want to give the Danish poker players a special experience that will really boost their adrenaline levels. We have an expectation that it will be the most spectacular poker event Copenhagen has ever seen. More details on those involved will be released shortly.”

Two of the 22 seats around the poker table will be occupied by two celebrities, but some of the remaining seats are still open and players who are interested, and do not suffer from a fear of heights, have the opportunity to win a seat to the finals on the square at http://www.partypoker.com/. Please note that these qualifiers are open to residents of Denmark only.and there is only one chance remaining to win a seat online on Thursday 3 September. See http://da.partypoker.com/news/items/poker_in_the_sky.html for more information.

The 22 poker players will not only have a great view of Copenhagen, the winner of the game will scoop a package for the PartyPoker.com World Open V in London in October. The line-up at this prestigious event includes ‘Ambassador of Poker’ Mike Sexton and Tom ‘Durrrr’ Dwan. The Danish winner of the PartyPoker.com Poker in the Sky wins flights, hotel and a $10,000 buy-in for the tournament in London, which will be broadcast on television worldwide.

I don’t get a vote, but if I did it wouldn’t be a tough decision for me at all. For the same reasons that Doyle believes Mike Sexton should be the #1 guy, I agree 150%. He’s played “high enough” is well respected “enough” for his play, and has been around along time. He simply has no equal, however, when it comes to contributing to the growth of poker.

As for his own nomination, Negreanu feels that it’s not his time. Though he’s pretty confident he’ll get in to the Hall of Fame eventually, he doesn’t feel he should get the votes in 2009.

As for me, I was flattered to be nominated, but don’t feel at all like I should be voted in. I don’t feel like I have a lot to prove exactly, and I do think I’ll get voted in eventually, just not now. Mike Sexton needs to go in now. There are also a few other older guys who should go in ahead of me. I always kind of figured, back when we used to hang out a lot, that me, Ivey, Juanda, and Cunningham would all go in together, but I don’t see that happening.

He pulls no punches, noting in his latest blog post that Mike Sexton is his top pick, and he also likes Tom McEvoy, Erik Seidel, Scotty Nguyen, and Barry Greenstein. Interesting that he notes he’s admired Men the Master’s “work ethic” for years without any mention of numerous and widespread allegations of him cheating in live games.

With Doyle ready to make his picks, his thoughts likely echo many of the other Hall of Fame voters. See below for specifics:

Remember, these are my thoughts. If you don’t agree with me, please don’t start a civil war about it.

The criteria for selection is:
(1) Must have played against top competition.
(2) Played for high stakes.
(3) Played consistently well, gaining respect of their peers.
(4) Stood the test of time.
(5) Contributed to the overall growth and success of poker with positive and lasting results.

Here are the players in alphabetical order and my opinions about each one.

(1) Tom Dwan – It’s really an honor for Tom to be a nominee at the age of 22. Obviously, he can’t meet the criteria that are listed. I think he is a fine player and barring something unforeseen, his picture will be on the wall someday.

(2) Barry Greenstein – Barry meets all the requirements. I think he was a much better choice when he was a cash game player only. He is in my top 3 or 4 choices.

(3) Dan Harrington – “Action Dan” as he is known would be a good representative of the poker world. He has a lot of interests outside poker, which will go against him.

(4) Phil Ivey – This is where I’ll get a lot of heat, because I think the Halls of Fame for any sport is for players whose careers have more to look back at than look forward to. Phil isn’t even at the height of his career yet but is a 100% cinch to be inducted soon. I’ve got a feeling I’m going to lose this argument which is OK if I do.

(5) Tom McEvoy – Tom is a long time ambassador of poker and is one of the old guys that I favor. I understand that playing for high stakes is different for everybody. You have to be a little bit crazy to play the stakes some of us play for, but Tom has put his time in at the tables.

(6) Men Nguyen – I’ve admired Men’s work ethic for years. Nobody has played and supported tournaments as much as Men. He has several player of the year awards as proof of that.

(7) Scotty Nguyen – Anybody that is called “The Prince of Poker” has to be a viable candidate. He is one of the best all-around players and he certainly meets the criteria well.

(8) Daniel Negreanu – What can I say here? go back and read what I said about Phil Ivey and pretend it’s here. Daniel is my choice to outlast any of the “young guns” people keep talking about Daniel and Phil both meet all 5 criteria.

(9) Eric Seidel – Eric is definitely one of my top choices. I think he is the consummate gambler. Besides being a great player, he has the best all-around disposition of anyone. He reminds me of Chip Reese, which is the highest compliment I can pay anyone.

(10) Mike Sexton – In my opinion, here is the #1 choice. Mike paid his dues at the table for years, gambled as high as his bankroll allowed and meets all the requirements for induction. Mostly, go back and read #5 in the criteria. Nobody and I mean nobody has contributed more to the success of poker than Mike Sexton. If he isn’t one of the people selected, something is wrong. I know of 3 votes from the living members at the HOF that Mike will get. Binion and Crandell Addington both assure me Mike will be their 1st choice, also.