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.

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.

The Rule
To begin with the basics, the TDA rule at the center of the recent discussion is the “No Disclosure” rule, which states:

Players are obligated to protect the other players in the tournament at all times. Therefore, players, whether in the hand or not, may not:

The one-player-to-a-hand rule will be enforced.

Regarding Negreanu’s previous statements, the rule is not new, as it was enacted more than seven years ago. In addition, it does not ban table talk by any means.

He also stated that players should be able to “say whatever you want in a heads-up pot at any point of the tournament.” In theory, that sounds great for the television audience. But keep in mind that far less than one percent of all poker tournaments are televised! Thus, the rule that pertains to all poker players must apply to all tournaments, televised or not. Rules cannot be changed to help individual players or enhance a televised tournament.

A quote, brought to my attention by @GaryC101, from Neil Peart of Rush sums it up best: “Glittering prizes and endless compromises shatter the illusion of integrity.” OK, kind of a random quote but says a lot about the situation in my opinion and I consider integrity the most important trait of a good tournament director.

Personally, I would like to see Negreanu say anything he wants on television, as he is one of the most entertaining players to watch. His popularity and influence on the game of poker is immense. However, as a tournament director, I believe the integrity of the game is more important than the entertainment provided by a single event. I agree with his point that the rule is difficult to enforce but it needs to be there to provide a reason for TD’s to investigate possible collusion or soft play situations.

In-Depth Analysis
Let’s start with a purely hypothetical situation:

Player A is friends with Player B and backs him in a major tournament. Both have significant chips late in a tournament. They are seated at the same table and involved in a hand. Player B raises, and it folds around to Player A, who reraises and says, “I have aces.” Player B folds kings.

This obviously does not make for better poker. In fact, it could easily be considered “soft play” or collusion, and making this permissible only encourages such actions. I am not by any means suggesting that Negreanu is in favor of soft play or collusion, but this is just one of several very negative ramifications that can arise from what he says he believes players should be able to say at the table.

Moreover, tournament directors around the world cannot be expected to be aware of all friendships, relationships, and backing arrangements between players in a tournament. Therefore, the rules are established to enable enforcement for all players, regardless of their associations. And all are protected from any collusion or appearances of collusion.An interesting idea was proposed by Barry Greenstein, who believes the current TDA rule is not enforced. He suggested that a player should be able to discuss his/her hand when action is on that player and they are facing a bet.

I discussed this idea with Dave Lamb, and we recognized the flaws in that idea.

First, it is not acceptable to disclose the contents of your hand in a multi-way action pot.

Second, it is not acceptable to disclose the contents of your hand preflop when facing a bet.

Barry responded that it would be okay when facing a bet on the river if you were only going to call, not raise. However, that does not seem enforceable and only creates more confusion for tournament staff, dealers, and players.

The bottom line is that the TDA is never going to agree to a rule that not only allows, but legalizes soft play and collusion.

The most common question I’ve received of late is this: “If table talk is legal but players cannot disclose the contents of their hands, what can they say”? The answer is simply anything except information relating to the content of their own hand with action pending. Whether lying or telling the truth about the contents or the strength of a hand, it breaks the rule and may be penalized. There is not a blanket rule for when it is a penalty or not but with the “non disclosure” rule in place it gives the players the right to investigate possible situations.

Friends
The most difficult part of this situation has been responding to television sound bites with which friends like Negreanu have addressed this issue. Also the sudden urgency is perplexing considering the rule has been in place for more than seven years.

Greenstein and Negreanu were asked to attend the June 2011 TDA summit in Las Vegas, in the same Convention Center as the WSOP. There were more than 120 tournament directors and card room managers at the summit, and anyone was allowed to discuss any rule issues or concerns. However, at that conference, Greenstein asked about procedures for raising blinds when time expires in a current blind structure, and Negreanu brought up shorting limit bets. Neither chose to discuss the “no disclosure” rule.

Suddenly, however, Negreanu’s airing of his grievance on ESPN, as well as Hellmuth’s declaration on the same broadcast that he intends to change the rule, brought it to the forefront and forced me to address the issue.

The recreational poker tournament player may not understand every rule, or even care to know all of the rules, but professionals who make a living at the game should learn and study the entirety of the TDA rules.

Moreover, these rules are in place and enforced in order to create uniformity, as they are used by nearly every major tournament venue around the world. More than 1,500 tournament directors, card room managers, and their staffs are members of the TDA, and the rules are accepted and enforced globally.

That doesn’t mean the TDA isn’t open for discussions. However, the “no disclosure” rule has been in place for many years, and there has never been an issue with it until this incident. Airing grievances may make for good television, but it does not permit the detailed analysis necessary for drafting the most functional and fair poker tournament rules that protect the integrity of the game. There will be more opportunities in the future to revisit the “no disclosure” rule and it will most definitely come up at our next TDA Summit not yet planned.

I have received a ton of feedback on this issue some positive and some negative. I have also taken personal attacks for defending a rule hundreds have put in place, which I feel is really unfair. I have worked diligently in my career to further the great game of poker with the TDA and its members and despite accusations to the contrary we care deeply about the players, as the majority are players as well.

In the end, I choose the integrity of poker, which is good for the game, over good television every time.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

All 360 began recording non-televised final tables at the start of the Series. ESPN.com began sporadically featuring the interactive, hyper-panoramic footage online a few weeks ago. For the main event, they’ve had one 360-cam affixed to a truss above ESPN’s main feature table, while “table hopping” with the other.

(You can find a permanent archive of these and other recorded tables from the 2010 WSOP on the recently launched website All360Poker.com.)

The cameras act like a robotic eye-in-the-sky, essentially creating a dome of visibility above and around a table, with individual internet viewers able to shift the camera’s direction and zoom at will. Viewers can zero in on the felt, cards, specific players, even fans behind them, to see exactly they want to look at however closely.

Anyone can play All 360′s footage on the web. But PC users can maximize the experience by downloading a special (free) video player, which provides higher resolution images with smoother rendering. This software add-on can even split the screen multiple times so you can watch separate, customizable views simultaneously … as many windows as your RAM can handle! See two players head on, even when they’re facing off from across the table, say a 3-seat vs. a 7-seat, for example, with a third window focused on the flop … all while watching another player shuffle chips in a distinct way when he thinks no one is looking.

The 360-cam first appeared over a poker table in April, during the WPT World Championship at Bellagio. It was a dry run essentially, in preparation for the WSOP, with All 360 allowed to video anything up to the Final 6.

Perhaps by stroke of luck, Phil Hellmuth busted in 7th place, on the TV bubble. After seeing his theatrical performance (in 360 degrees of glory) for the first time, he was more than impressed. “You can watch the dealer, watch the betting action, watch the crowd,” Hellmuth explained, “or zoom in for a closeup up of the player’s face in the middle of a hand!”

Excited about the potential of what he was seeing, Hellmuth asked Egelhoff how he might be able to help. Before long, Hellmuth became an active partner in All 360, where his role, beyond endorsing the product, has included helping open certain doors in the industry, advising on start-up business strategies, and providing back-office support. “This technology is absolutely the future of watching poker. I’m proud to be involved with it,” Hellmuth says.

To bring 360-degrees of tournament coverage from idea to prototype, Egelhoff worked with people from Immersion Media, a key company behind Google Earth, to take what they did with still cameras atop Google’s funny looking mapping cars and customize a video version for poker environs. They first had to figure out how to mount the device upside-down. Then they had to adjust focal lengths by replacing lenses designed to shoot 60 feet out (to infinity) with something better suited for capturing live action just a few feet away. From there they had to rewrite software, and would later have to re-rewrite it to make it compatible with other websites, such as ESPN.com.

Egelhoff and Gusman formed their company in January, but Hellmuth was the one who helped them get their cameras in front of the right people at Harrah’s and ESPN. They’d all finalize a deal for this WSOP in mid-May, two weeks before the first shuffle-up-and-deal. (ESPN gets to air All 360′s footage from WSOP tables first, but All 360 retains the video rights thereafter).

“People assume [Phil] just gave us money, but that’s not it at all,” Egelhoff insists, saying that plenty have approached him at the WSOP with offers of partnership, several of which have proved frivolous, and others they might consider after the Series. Until then, Egelhoff says, “the real value Phil’s given us is full access to his own company’s resources, including his lawyers and CFO. Their support has been invaluable.”

360 degrees of separation: Egelhoff went from CardPlayer A/V grunt to running his own company; yet he still finds himself hunkered down at the Rio into the wee hours during the WSOP.

If the cameras at the WPT Championship were version 1.0, the WSOP has seen version 1.5, Egelhoff says. They’ve increased resolution, added a light shield, and have continued to improve back-end software and their video player.

While some TV stations have begun to experiment with the same technology — NBC did an episode of the Today Show where viewers could move around the stage, and a Canadian sports station has tried it at hockey games — poker is one area where the cameras seem to have immediate applications, and thus a market where developers are focussing much of their creative and technical energy.

All 360′s cameras already work for watching players at a table. But so much more can theoretically be added with relative ease — allowing viewers to get more information about whatever it is they’re mousing over, for example, whether that be additional player stats or interactions with a table advertiser.

One of the most obvious and immediate uses is in poker is training. While players have studied poker on TV like old-fashioned game films for several years now, the search for tells just hit a new level with this technology.

Online training site Deep Stacks Live recorded and streamed a live cash-game session earlier this month at the Hard Rock, with Mike Matusow leading the instruction. “This technology gives our students unparalleled individualized access to the classroom,” says Chris Torina, CEO of DeepStacks Live. Deep Stacks will be recording and streaming another live training session later this month, July 25.

As cameras inevitably get smaller and processing power gets faster, it’s only a matter of time before new interactive (and presumably monetizable) features get added. Hence the growing belief that 360 coverage has a long and promising future in poker … even if few at the moment are exactly sure how.

Signs point to yes: Look into the new 360-cams showing up over poker tables and ask if you are seeing the future. Phil Hellmuth thinks you are.

That day may be a while off. The cameras All 360 is currently using cost more than $100,000 each. But supposedly they are almost ready — a few months from testing — with completely redesigned hardware that requires fewer lenses (6 instead of 11), is smaller and lighter, produces better quality video, and, as things tend to go with high technology, costs less.

Meanwhile, Egelhoff has been contemplating the software necessary to link multiple 360-cams together to expand their coverage area beyond a single table, to entire regions of a poker room.

Current agreements with individual patent holders give All 360 exclusive rights in casinos and gaming environments. That leaves open a myriad of possibilities beyond the poker table. Security is an obvious future application to explore, and the cameras have already proven a hit for concerts, allowing online audiences to vicariously step onto the stage. Hellmuth brought the All 360-cam to his Main Event “Sky Suite” at Aria, showing its potential use for casino room tours. Recording nightclub activity and pool parties 360-style would likely appeal to thousands, if not millions of Vegas voyeurs.

More immediately though, their next challenge is live-streaming tournament tables. This will require not just further software tweaks, but also additional approval from Nevada gaming regulators. All 360 is currently in active discussions about how this all might work for the 2011 WSOP, while also talking with the WSOP-Circuit and a few international poker tours eager to take the technology worldwide.

According to Egelhoff, “This World Series has been everything we were hoping it would be, and then some.”

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?

Day 1b of the Main Event brought 1,489 players to the Amazon and Pavilion rooms at the Rio for 9 hours of poker action. Phil Gordon, Rafe Furst, Joe Sebok and other dignitaries took part in the pre-game activities to help promote the Bad Beat on Cancer charity. Tuesday’s “shuffle up and deal” command came from Ashley, named “Dealer of the Year” by the WSOP, to get the tournament into action. Some of the notables who didn’t make it through the day included Annette Obrestad, Joe Sebok, Jamie Gold, Erick Lindgren, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Liv Boeree, Justin Bonomo, Mark Seif, Brandon Adams and former November Niners Darus Suharto, Ivan Demidov and Craig Marquis. For a semi-live view of Tuesday’s action, check out Pauly’s day 1b blog.

After 4 1/2 levels of play, 1,017 players will return Saturday afternoon as part of the day 2b field. The day 1b leader is James Danielson of La Plata, Maryland with 201,050 in chips. Some of the notables with a significant amount of chips: Alexander Kostritsyn (131,800), Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond (107,100), Gavin Griffin (97,200), Blair Rodman (85,025), Todd “Dan Druff” Witteles (73,475), Brandon Cantu (65,025), Gavin Smith (62,275) Vladimir Shchemelev (53,500), and Phil Laak (40,275). Team Pokerati/Loudmouth Poker pro Tom Schneider finished the day with 22,075 in chips. The full list of chip counts is now available at wsop.com. For those who made it through day 1a, there is a partial table draw available now here. The day 2b partial table draw is now online here, and on my Twitter when available.

As mentioned above, over 2,000 players have already signed up for day 1c, and today also brings the annual circus of Phil Hellmuth’s grand entrance, scheduled for 1:30. This year, he’s dressing up as an MMA fighter with Wanderlei Silva expected to be part of his entourage and UFC announcer Bruce Buffer introducing him. Daniel Negreanu has jokingly tweeted his own plans about making his entrance today as Rocky Balboa. The rest of the field will make their entrance the usual way, by walking into the Rio without making a spectacle of themselves. See what transpires during the day at wsop.com.

pic: Melissa Hayden

Durrrr in the headlights: Please, Melissa, I’m trying to eat …Who Tom Dwan what? How many chips? I need more sauce.

Play ended last night with 33 left and Durrrr the chip leader … by like a lot. (36 got paid.) Phil Hellmuth is 13th in chips, with 330k to Dwan’s 910k.

Here’s the event coverage Ivey and just about everyone will be sweating on Saturday: $10k Pot-Limit Omaha. Sigh. If only ESPN knew what Euros (and players in my 1/2 NL/PLO game at the Hard Rock) already do … that Omaha is hold’em, and thus can make for some great TV.

Others still alive include:

Jason Mercier
Devilfish
Ludovic Lacay (Benjo’s friend/French bad-ass)
Fabrice Soulier
Michael Binger
Daniel Alaeai
Tony Cousineau
Jason Lester (for viewers still insisting on familiar ’03-’04 faces)

Interestingly enough, the last man out for the night (winning $19.8k) was EPT Tournament Director Thomas Kremser … essentially the Matt Savage of Europe. Alexander Kravchenko, another pretty good-TV name, busted him.

But hey, this is PLO, so all sorts of card craziness can happen. Let’s reconvene when they get to the final table and see if indeed, poker geeks and uber-high-stakes prop-bettors everywhere will be clamoring about Dwan (and maybe Hellmuth) closing out the WSOP with a multimillion-dollar bang.

(Click below for the Team Chauhan comparative results.)

Tom to La, after Team Pokerati’s first and only FT of 2010: “Congrats, you really played great. If I don’t bink a tourney soon, think you might be able to float me some scratch?”

Tom Schneider
$4,348 – 128th – $1.5k NLH
$22,085 – 14th – $1k NLH/Seniors
$3,352 – 52nd – $1.5k PLH
$6,128 – 32nd – $1.5k Omaha Hi/Lo

La Sengphet
$22,728 – 7th -$1k NLH/Ladies

Pat Poels
$13,232 – 10th – $2.5k Limit 2-7 3x

Robert Goldfarb
$6,128 – 29th – $1.5k Omaha Hi/Lo

The Big Randy
$3,428 – 196th – $1.5k NLH

Toothless Bob
$3,080 – 2nd place – $150 NLH (Binion’s Poker Classic)
$1,240 – 1st place – $65 NLH (Sahara nightly)
$355 – 4th place – $65 NLH (Sahara nightly)

John Harris (85Nutz)
TBD – first 2010 WSOP day 2 – $1k NLH

Seriously, I’m honestly thankful for and proud of ‘em all. It makes me happy to know there are multiple skilled players in WSOP-ville proudly wearing Pokerati black and white — identifying their favorite poker website all while spreading the good word of Truth, Capitalism, and SEO.

For those still seeking a bit more from their 2010 WSOP — whether it be the first cash, a final table, surviving ’til dinner, or even just a little extended run-better — hang in there, be strong, you can do it, you know, positive attitude and shit. Stay focused, eye on the prize … have fun, sure, but never be too obvious about drug use or sexual perversions, and remember your duty to keep any and all douchebaggery to a minimum. That’s what Team Pokerati is all about!

From there, our WSOP mantra is simple: Bracelets happen.

So far the closest Harris (right) has come to a final table is watching La in the Ladies Event with her boyfriend, DC (left). But that all could change if today really is indeed his day.

UPDATE: It was not his day … Harris went out shortly before the bubble. But based on his play and re-finding some semblance of a comfort zone, I feel good about next week.

For the sake of comparison, let’s look at the current results for Sam Chauhan clients. Turns out his players have continued their winning ways this at the WSOP. And one of his MMA fighters just scored a big televised victory, too … and reportedly, according to a presumably highly reliable source, he also just got hired by an NBA team looking to incorporate Sammy’s Mindset Mojo into their 2010-11 gameplan.

Gavin Smith
$268,238 – 1st – $2.5k Limit/NLH
$38,424 – 16th – $10k NLH/HU

Jen Harman
$33,890- 6th – $2.5k Razz $ 2,500 Seven Card Razz
$173,159 – 3rd – $10k 7-stud Hi/Lo

Marco Traniello
$61,414 – 8th – $10k HORSE
$21,665 – 27th – $10k PLH
$1,870 – 282nd – $1k NLH
$10, 537 – 39th – $2.5k NLH/6h
$5,644 – 22nd – $1.5k LHE

Phil Hellmuth
$30,633 – 7th – $1.5k PLO Hi/Lo
$14,517 – 50th – $5k NLH
$25,472 – 15th – $1.5k NLH

Antonio Esfandiari
$17,987 – 32nd – $10k NLH/HU
$49,024 – 12th – $5k NLH
$2,880 – 211th – $1.5k NLH

Mike Matusow
$4,448 – 49th – $1.5k PLO Hi/Lo 1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo 8
$21,665 – 26th – $10k PLH

David Williams
$17,987 – 25th – $10k NLH/HU

Paul Wasicka
$1,834 – 286th – $1k NLH

Stacey Nutini
$4,866 – 88th – $1.5k NLH
$11,246 – 1st – $230 NLH/Ladies (Grand Poker Series)

Mike Frazin
$26,695 – 2nd – $1k NLH w rebuys (Bellagio Cup VI)

Cung Le
def. Scott Smith by TKO – Strikeforce MMA

Though plenty will still insist Chauhan’s formula for success is just a matter of statistical variance + marketing, as manager of Team Pokerati I have to at least consider Chauhan’s ballyhooed brand of poker tonic … as seen in his free weekly quasi-spam, most recently sent with a subject line presumably apropos for 90some-percent of WSOP competitors :

Unwanted Results

In life there is no failure only unwanted results. Most people feel upset or sad because of the results not being what they envisioned in life, business or even poker. The key is that we will all experience this throughout our life. You must find a way to deal with it in an empowering way.

Your brain usually focuses on negative experiences and references it instantly. Understanding the negativity bias of the brain, it takes an extra effort to internalize positive experiences and heal negative ones. When you focus on a positive experience you are correcting a neurological imbalance.That’s why people are attracted to drama and majority of people live in negativity. It takes a conscious effort to make you focus on a positive experience. When you have a positive experience today, help it sink in to any negative experience that you have in the future. When negative material arises, bring to your mind any emotion and perspective that will be the antidote to that negative material.

Don’t be attached to the outcome. Only worry about things you have control over. Everything else you worry about is a waste of energy. Just remember a sail boat in the middle of the ocean faces winds from different directions, as long as you control the sail you can reach your destination regardless. That’s the way you should think of yourself. You might have winds of uncertainty or doubt. Focus and make every setback a motivation for a comeback. Nothing can stop you from achieving your goal!

Never Give Up!!

Exactly. Pretty much what we said: Bracelets happen … everything else is gravy.

(Does Pauly even know the shifts in Ole G Smith’s backing set-up? Do you?)

Dan happens to wander into the Rio at the exact time Phil Hellmuth advanced to the final table of the PLO/8 event. Pauly and Dan head up to the Beef Jerky lounge to get a better look at the Hellmuthian circus.

Pauly and Dan saunter into the Pavilion Ballroom, where they rarely hang out. During the recording of this particular episode, they’re ambushed by a couple of the entities from Wicked Chops Poker. At some point, a discussion about a masseuse working on Gavin Smith’s upper ass region breaks out.

John Gottlieb 1,200,000
Ben Lamb 725,000
Michael Chappus 470,000
Ryan Karp 400,000
Phil Hellmuth 270,000
Anders Taylor 266,000
Mandy Thomas 266,000
Steve Jelinek 220,000

UPDATE: Hellmuth finished in 7th place for $30,000.

The rest of Thursday’s tournament action in brief:

The $1,500 No-Limit Holdem has about 100 players remaining when they resume from dinner break. Mike Sowers leads the field with 632,000 in chips, follow the action and updates at PokerNews.

The $10,000 HORSE World Championship has about 75 players remaining as they try to reach the money when 24 remain. The current chip leader is Steve Bilirakis (205,000) followed by Greg Raymer (170,000), Annie Duke (167,000), Robert Mizrachi (145,000) and Matt Glantz (105,000). More updates and chip counts at wsop.com.

Six levels of play have taken place in the $2,500 Mixed Holdem, with 169 of the 507 players who started remaining as they take their dinner break. John Phan is the early leader with 55,000 in chips, followed by Dwyte Pilgrim (46,000), Andy Bloch (36,000), Brandon Cantu (25,000) and Justin Bonomo (20,200). More details to come at wsop.com.