A little poker gossip because sometimes in serious times we like the petty …

Melanie Iglesias vs. WPT (and QuadJacks?)
The guys at Quadjacks have called it “Flushgate” — and reportedly have received quite a bit of wrath from non-poker types over “the abrupt resignation of three Royal Flush girls” — 2010 Maxim Hometown Hottie winner and now MTV personality Melanie Iglesias, Michelle Banzer, and brand spankin’ new RF girl Mica Javier, who had only been on the job for a few weeks. The purging all went down last month right around the time of press announcements for the World Poker Tour’s new Season X … ooh, juicy! You could almost be certain somebody was gonna cry, if not more formally cry foul.

Catpacking in AC
We can only imagine how cut-throat that world can be — where looks absolutely are tied in with your success. Call us old-school here at Pokerati, Melanie is great and all, but she’s still no Lacey Jones, who recently did a lingerie photoshoot with power-model Katerina Van Derham. Meanwhile, here’s a new video featuring Lacey and Maria Ho helping Christina Lindley pick out a dress for her birthday party at the Borgata in Atlantic City this weekend … and New Jersey celeb-hunter Michael Berman interviews this threesome, being dubbed “the Cat Pack” here for the kickoff of WPT Borgata, where there may or may not be openings for three new Royal Flush Girls.

Auction Player?
Speaking of old school, Phil Hellmuth appeared last week on the A&E show Storage Wars — advising a group about strategy in their game of swag auctions, which apparently involves a combination of luck and skill. Not too familiar with that show … when do we get to hear someone say to Phil, “Going, going, gone!?”

Dealer’s Choice: From Poker to Pot
A relatively unknown poker player named Jim Rice is representing poker (whether he likes it or not) and pot on Survivor 23: South Pacific. Supposedly a pal (and business partner?) of Paul Wasicka’s, the 35-year-old from Chicago is now a medical marijuana dispenser in Colorado (woot!). His most recent cashes include a 3rd and a 23rd on the Heartland Poker Tour, this year and in 2008, respectively. And now with online poker more illegal than selling weed (in some US jurisdictions) … makes you wonder if certain poker pros would rather be Jim Rice or Jean-Robert Bellande.

Jack Black Rising or Falling Poker Celebrity?
There’s always new Hollywood celebrities getting in on poker — and hosting a charity tourney is often their first foray into niche hero-status and/or business opportunity around their personal poker addictions. Could Jack Black be the latest? The last-place finisher in the WPT’s 2009 Hollywood home game is hosting a charity tourney next month at the Commerce Casino in California, but otherwise still has much to prove before he becomes the next James Woods, whom you may recall back in 2004-05 kicked off his effort to become the Adam West of Poker.

Vegas Living: Closing Down Blush
The luxe but laid-back “boutique” nightclub Blush, at the Wynn, is closing after a four-year run. Ahhh … I remember this “ultra lounge” as the site of multiple VIP poker parties and the place where upon moving to Vegas I met a guy who explained to me the process of importing women to the US for a life of hooker-dom before having to excuse himself to go sell coke. But perhaps more famously, Blush is the place where Antonio Esfandiari “lost” a game of who’s got bigger ballers to Kobe Bryant — with the NBA star supposedly racking up a $21,000 champagne bill that had celebrity and sports media mocking some poker player being called “the magician” … even though he somehow got Kobe to pay for the last 15 bottles of Cristal.

Meanwhile, @KobeBryant’s Twitter account got suspended last week, and @MagicAntonio’s, who had a surprisingly similar number of followers, did not.

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The second Epic Poker League Main Event kicked off Tuesday afternoon with a field of 97 players, down 40 from the first event of the inaugural season. A crowded poker calendar with events in Barcelona, Paris, and Oklahoma and the PokerStars WCOOP tournament series helping contribute to the lower numbers. At the end of play 50 remain as Pro/Am “qualifier” Jaime Kaplan took advantage of a player disqualified from playing to end the day as chip leader.

The first EPL Main Event winner, Chino Rheem, was put on probation shortly after winning $1,000,000. Rheem is obligated to pay back players he owes money to with any winnings or he’ll no longer participate in EPL events. He finished Day 1 in 6th place after six levels were played Tuesday afternoon. The smaller field means twelve players will cash, with the winner earning $782,410.

Here’s the top 10 in chip counts going into Day 2:

1. Jaime Kaplan – 324,600
2. Dan O’Brien – 321,400
3. Alec Torelli – 231,500
4. Mike McDonald – 199,600
5. Nam Le – 176,300
6. Chino Rheem – 173,300
7. Sean Getzwiller 165,400
8. Andrew Robl – 149,700
9. Adam Levy – 145,400
10. Marco Johnson – 145,200

Day 2 updates available starting from 12pm PT at www.epicpoker.com

EPL Preliminary Action

The $1,500 Pro/Am event featured an overlay of nearly $50,000, meaning only nine $20,000 Main Event seats were available when the field was down to 9 players. The event earned points towards the Global Poker Index, giving players incentive to play down to a winner. Greg Mueller defeated Nam Le heads-up to become the official winner with Phil Hellmuth finishing 3rd. Brandon Meyers and Sean Getzwiller each qualified for the Main Event for the second straight Pro/Am, but Meyers was eliminated on Day 1.

Jaime Kaplan was the 10th place finisher in the Pro/Am, but he earned a Main Event seat when qualifier Michael DiVita chose not to participate in the Main Event after information about his being a convicted child molester came to public light.

After the Pro/Am concluded the EPL held a charity event for Fallen Heroes USA, an organization dedicated to assisting families of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. Epic Poker’s own Michael Craig took down the bracelet, defeating Phil Hellmuth heads-up as $25,000 was raised for the charity.

My dedication to poker tournaments and the game itself is two decades old. Starting with my first foray into the role of tournament director in 1997 and through my founding of the Tournament Directors Association (TDA) with Linda Johnson, Jan Fisher, and Dave Lamb in 2001, I have worked tirelessly to standardize tournament rules and to make poker a better game for everyone involved.

This is the reason that we host the website www.PokerTDA.com, open the TDA to all interested parties, and make myself available on Twitter and other social media outlets. My passion for poker only grows when I share it with others.

The rule is not new, and does not ban table talk by any means … A recreational player may not understand, nor even care to know all the rules, but professionals who make a living at the game should.

During the 2011 World Series of Poker “nearly live” telecast from the Rio, I became aware of comments from Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) through my own Twitter feed (@SavagePoker). He said that the TDA created a “new” rule that banned table talk. This certainly is not the case and in hindsight, it was learned that he had received an incorrect ruling at the table that had nothing to do with TDA rules. Since social media has limited words with which to sufficiently explain the rule and its longtime existence, this clarification seems necessary.

The TDA board, in conjunction with tournament directors and card room managers, has donated thousands of hours to standardize rules in the best interest of the game.  When well-known poker players like Negreanu and Phil Hellmuth choose to say on national television that “the TDA has it wrong” and “does not care about what the players want,” it becomes personal.

More…

WSOP all-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth was trying to add a 12th bracelet to his collection. Dr. Pauly and Change100 were on the scene…

2011 WSOP – Episode 10: Hellmuth Denied with Change100 (2:46) – Seconds after John Juanda defeated Phil Hellmuth (who was seeking his 12th career bracelet), special guest Change100 and Pauly chat about the three hour heads-up battle between Hellmuth and Juanda.

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For more episodes, visit the Tao of Pokerati archives or subscribe to the Tao of Pokerati feed.

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

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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

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Sorry this is a bit late today, but a combination of the WPT Southern Poker Championship not finishing until 3:30am, a 6th or 7th trip to Waffle House, and a six hour drive today I just now found time to get things together. Hopefully this trip will not suffer the same fate as the last one when SNOmageddon hit the south.

Poker Pod Radio:

Jack McAdoo reviews the biggest winners and losers in the high stakes cash games for 2010 in this 30 minute podcast. He does not come across with tons of energy but if you are looking for a good podcast to listen to and get some info that may not be covered by the mainstream podcast then this might be one for you. He closes out this show with a discussion on state of gambling in Florida. You can listen to the show on the Poker Pod Radio site or download it directly from iTunes.

The Hardcore Poker Show:

The multiple entry tournaments on Full Tilt are a big part of the discussion this week by Rob and Chris. The multi entry tournaments are compared to rebuy tournaments and how this new addition can change a way you have to play against a player without the player on that table actually earning those chips. To close out the show Phil Helmuth comes on to discuss his future endeavors and how tweeting too much has caused issues during his new sponsorship hunt. Listen to the show weekly on Sirius Satellite Radio channel 98 every Wednesday from 8-9pm ET or you can download it via iTunes.

Wicked Chops:

What is better than a little talk on poker and some non-poker TV. The guys from Wicked Chops come this week and discuss their thoughts on the ESPN coverage from the PCA main event. They are joined by WPT Live Updates team member Jeff “slim” Holsey. The discussion turns into wether the new show “The Walking Dead” is the best first season of a show ever. Once the two sides hash out their arguments they turn their attention to the new season of American Idol. This podcast has it all and does not give you an overload of a certain topic. Listen to the show on the Wicked Chops site or download it on iTunes.

Of course it’s ‘starring’ Phil Hellmuth. I bet he likes it.

Lots of talk this week about the Annie/Phil UB departure in the podcast world. Here is the best of the best for your downloading pleasure.

Two Plus Two Pokercast:

The guys from 2+2 open up their 6th year of their 154th episode. Tony G joins the crew to discuss his recent SuperStar Show down match against isildur1. Other topics on with Tony G were his attempt at purchasing Peter Eastgate’s WSOP Main Event bracelet and the amount of trash talking that he does on the tables. After the Tony G interview the recent UB shakeup became the focus of discussion. The potential sellout of Prahlad Friedman occupied the majority of discussion as they discussed the reason why he would join the site the essentially ruined his career. Listen to the show at the Two Plus Two Pokercast site or download it on iTunes.

The Hardcore Poker Show:

The Phil and Annie departure is the only topic on task this week on the show. Joe Seebok comes on to discuss what the recent departures mean for UB and how the new UB team is going to look. Prahlad Friedman is also discussed along with whether someone like Daniel Negreanu should be publically calling Prahlad out for selling out. You can listen weekly on Sirius Satellite Radio channel 98 every Wednesday from 8-9pm ET or you can download it via iTunes.

Final Table Poker Radio Show:

This week’s show gets kicked off with an unplanned interview from Annie Duke where she attempts to clear up some of the speculation surrounding her recent departure from UB and what her plans are for her future. WSOP bracelet winner Linda Johnson follows Annie Duke to the show to discuss changes in tournaments since she first came onto the poker scene and what the TDA can do about the influx of deep stack tournaments. If you want to listen to the entire show or catch up on previous show you can either visit The Final Table site or check it out on iTunes.

The panelist discuss the new UB and break down 2010 in the latest episode of The Poker Beat.

The Poker Beat: January 4, 2011

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• Sorel Mizzi Bluff Magazine POY
• WSOP days will end after 10 levels.
• Annie & Phil part ways with UB.
• Prahlad Friedman to sell out?
• Top Poker Stories of 2010.

Vote vigorously and/or repeatedly for The Poker Beat
for Favorite Web-based Show in Bluff magazine’s 2010 Reader’s Choice Awards.

Wicked Chops Podcast:

Chops welcome UB Pro Joe Sebok to this unplanned podcast to discuss the recent departures of Annie Duke and Phil Helmuth. Sebok talks about about how UB is moving more towards a team approach rather than having just one or two players being in the spotlight. Listen to the show on the Wicked Chops site or download it on iTunes.

Final Table Poker Radio Show:

Dennis Phillips and Paul Harris come together for their 100th show to discuss the big stories of 2010. Prop bets, NAPT, and the live tournament poker boom were a part of their 2010 highlights. To close out the show predictions for possible 2011 story lines becomes the topic. If you want to listen to the entire show or catch up on previous show you can either visit The Final Table site or check it out on iTunes.

Two Plus Two Pokercast:

The show that boast itself as being “Poker Radio for Advance Listeners” welcomes Vanessa Selbst to this weeks show. Mike and Adam also review their favorite stories from 2010 along with their favorite threads and thread makers of the year. Listen to the show at the Two Plus Two Pokercast site or download it on iTunes.

Day 1a of the £10,000 + 350 Main Event drew a field of 137 players and an appearance by Phil Hellmuth (video below). The day 1a chip leader is Nicolas Levi with 153,850 in chips. Some notables returning Saturday afternoon: Bruno Fitoussi – 120,250, Leo Margets – 109,000, Allen Cunningham – 84,725, Barny Boatman – 73,200, Chris Ferguson – 52,950 and Jeff Lisandro 43,500. A full list of chip counts available at WSOP.com.

The £10,000 + 350 High Roller No-Limit Heads-Up event reached the best-of-three final, with Gus Hansen winning the first match, and Jim Collopy making a comeback from an over 2-1 deficit to even up the match. The third and deciding match is currently scheduled for Friday afternoon, but with both players planning to play in the Main Event, the exact time has not been announced. Be sure to check PokerNews or WSOP.com

Elsewhere …

WPT Borgata Poker Open, Atlantic City :: Play is currently heads-up between Dwyte Pilgrim and Kia Mohajeri. WPT Live Updates

UPDATE: Dwyte Pilgrim finishes first, winning $733,802, moves into first place in the CardPlayer Player of the Year standings.

LAPT Grande Finale – Rosario, Argentina :: $5,000 Main Event draws a field of 254 players, with 131 returning Friday afternoon. Winner takes down over $300,000. According to Terrence Chan, the Argentinian government will tax 31.5% of net winnings to all players outside Argentinia, which has some people upset. Updates at PokerNews and PokerStars Blog

I’m sure this has absolutely nothing to do with anything, obv … but was going through some old pics and came across this screen-grab from July 2006 (some two months before the UIGEA)… when I hadn’t yet discovered the purpose of labeling images more descriptively than just wsop28.jpg, and the Feds apparently hadn’t yet figured out how to hide an IP address.

At the time, Phil Hellmuth had just won his 10th bracelet, no one thought twice about playing on Ultimate Bet, everyone in poker still had money, and Jamie Gold (of all people) seemed to represent the very worst poker had to offer. Ahh, the good ole days … even Russ Hamilton was presumed innocent then.

Though I hardly recall why specifically, something about this visitor seemed peculiar enough for me to wanna preserve the moment. ith the benefit of hindsight, I’m sure I was just kidding.

Day 1b of the $335 Commerce Guaranteed Million Dollar Tournament drew a field of 563 players Tuesday afternoon, with James Pittman (victim of one of Phil Hellmuth’s classic rants, shown below) led the field with 311,500 in chips. Other notables returning Sunday include Michael Woo (101,500) and Mike Souza (89,500). Notables who earned money but who can try again for a top 27 finish include Internet entrepreneur Jason Calacanis, 2010 WSOP bracelet winner Hoai Pham. Play on Sunday for the 135 players remaining will resume at the earliest level that play ended on the opening days. At this time, day 1b has ended the soonest, on level 16 (1500/3000 with a 500 ante). The full results for day 1b can be found here.

When Danny Egelhoff was a “multimedia producer” for CardPlayer in 2007, he quickly realized, “we needed a way to make watching poker more interesting. Events were edited down to boring bare essentials, and viewers were force-fed what they had to watch.”

Fast-forward to the 2010 WSOP … Egelhoff, 31, and his partner, Rob Gusman, 34, are founders of All 360 Media, an upstart video company launching what some are saying could be the most significant technological advancement in poker since the hole-card cam.

For the past six weeks, these friends of 10+ years have camped out in a makeshift bunker across the hall from the Amazon room. In addition to powerful computers, video equipment and an all-in-one printer/copier/fax, there’s an air mattress, mini-fridge, and 4-cup coffee-maker — all of which have played a role in bringing their vision to fruition. This is Egelhoff’s fifth Series, Gusman’s first. Taped to the wall by one of their monitors is a letter from the Nevada Gaming Control Board, approving All 360 Media to record limited casino action with these strange cameras the GCB had never before seen.

The device looks something like a studio boom-mike outfitted with a Magic 8-ball at its end. It’s actually a special camera (they have two of them) with 11 different lenses all pointing in different directions, packed into a small black orb, and digitally stitched together to provide a seamless view of an entire poker area. The set-up is so new it doesn’t yet have a name. But it uses the same basic technology that Google Earth deployed to map out the planet … upgraded and customized for watching poker.

More…

Lots of times poker players talk about “retiring” from the game. What they usually really mean is “I’m getting sick of running bad against the Delta Betas.” But every once in a while, someone actually means it … and one of those could be 2008 WSOP Main Event Champion Peter Eastgate.

We knew earlier that he was more interested in the World Cup than WSOP preliminaries. But now he says, via PokerStarsBlog via Wicked Chops (with a nifty pic added from Pokerati, shortly before walking in to his televised raping on High Stakes Poker):

“When I started playing poker for a living, it was never my goal to spend the rest of my life as a professional poker player. My goal was to become financially independent. I achieved that by winning the WSOP Main Event in 2008. The period following has taken me on a worldwide tour, where I have seen some amazing places and met many new people; it has been a great experience. In the 20 months following my WSOP win, I feel that I have lost my motivation for playing high level poker along the way and I have decided that now is the time to find out what I want to do with the rest of my life. What this will be, I do not yet know. I have decided to take a break from live tournament poker, and try to focus on Peter Eastgate, the person. I want to thank PokerStars, my friends and family for their support over the last 20 months and for their support in my decision to take a break from poker.”

Meanwhile, one man who will not be retiring (probably until he’s dead) is Phil Hellmuth. Had to wonder how he could ever top Caesar … but this year he himself donned UB-branded MMA fighter attire, while surrounded by Dancing Bracelets, which I think are supposed to represent prize belts.

Check it out, by and via Pauly. Is it too early to wonder if Hellmuth will reach the ridiculousness apex* in the 2011 WSOP?

While he has no plans to retire for life, he does have a specific place where he will retire for the night.

Apparently Hellmuth doesn’t understand why everyone’s always talking Ivey, Ivey, Ivey … and it seems he musta went to some honchos at Aria and said, hey, why don’t I get an Ivey Room, too? While they couldn’t hook him up with his own super-high-stakes cash game area, they did put him up in one of their shmancy Sky Suites, and he gives a pretty cool 360-degree tour of it via All 360 Poker here.

* note: I’m taking claim to the phrase “ridiculousness apex” — anyone wanna fight for it?