KVBC of Las Vegas printed the news release:

BOB STUPAK, LONG-TIME LAS VEGAN, DEVELOPER OF THE STRATOSPHERE, PASSES AWAY AT 67

LAS VEGAS – Bob Stupak, who is best known for revolutionizing the Las Vegas Strip with the development of The Stratosphere, passed away today at the age of 67.

Stupak was with close family at the Desert Springs Hospital this afternoon when medical maladies, including leukemia, took his life at 1:15 p.m. Per Stupak’s request, he will be cremated and there will not be a funeral.

Stupak was born in Pittsburgh, Penn. in 1942. Stupak made his final move to Las Vegas in 1971, and in 1974 he opened “Bob Stupak’s World Famous Historic Gambling Museum” at the north corner of Sahara Avenue at Las Vegas Boulevard South.

In 1979, Stupak opened Vegas World, where he innovated the industry with new twists on promotions and games that would be modeled for years to come. In 1989, Stupak won a widely publicized million dollar wager on Super Bowl XXIII, and later that year he won the Deuce to Seven Lowball Championship Bracelet at the World Series of Poker.

In 1995, Stupak suffered a motorcycle accident that broke every bone in his face and caused him to go into a coma. Although the initial prognosis was that he would not survive, Stupak made a full recovery. He went on to open The Stratosphere in 1996, and sold it to Carl Icahn in 1998. Stupak continued to work in hotel-casino development and as a professional poker player.

Stupak was an integral part of the Las Vegas community, and made substantial contributions to The City of Las Vegas Chester Stupak Family Park, named for his father, the Stupak Community Center, and more.

Stupak is survived by two sisters, Linda Phillips and Nancy O’Conner, both reside in Pittsburgh, Penn., as well as two daughters, Nicole in Sydney, Australia, and Summer in Las Vegas, and his son, Nevada, who also resides in Las Vegas. He is also survived by two ex-wives, Sandra Blumen of Las Vegas, and Annette Hatton of Sydney, Australia.

First, UltimateBet announced that Tiffany Michelle has been re-signed to another one-year deal with the site. In addition to again noting her deep run in the 2008 WSOP Main Event, the press release cites “accomplishments in land-based events and UltimateBet’s online poker tables.” Coincidence that the announcement came on the same day as her photo appeared on the Amazing Race website?

“I’m happy to be signing on for another year with UltimateBet and I’m eager to get back to playing in live tournaments and exclusively at their online tables,” said Tiffany Michelle. “The corporate team at UB has been so welcoming and supportive and I’m thrilled to be working with them. I can’t wait for the exciting things in store for us.”

Second, the European Poker Tour Barcelona live reporting team let it slip (after a commentator first did on the EPT Live broadcast earlier in the day) that Isabelle Mercier is no longer a PokerStars-sponsored player. Since sites usually give no reason for dropping players, much less release that information themselves, we can certainly speculate don’t know why Isabelle was dropped. The blurb from the PokerNews reporter:

Incidentally, owing to the folks on the live feed and their tendency towards verbal incontinence, it has just now become public knowledge that Isabelle Mercier is leaving Team Pokerstars. The very best of luck to Ms. Mercier in all her future poker endeavors.

The Hoover Institution Archives at Stanford recently released a slew of papers kept by the late Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist. Interestingly enough, a fellow home game player Walter Berns had a few notes included about the last games played with Rehnquist, as well as the names of other Justices who currently play – Roberts and Scalia. The Blog of Legal Times noted:

Reached at AEI, Berns said this week that Rehnquist had first announced his illness to his fellow poker players during a game the previous fall. It was the last game he attended, a sad occasion. Berns, who joked that he is the “corresponding secretary” of the games, said he has records of more than 200 poker evenings going back to the 1980s.

The games go on, Berns said. “The new chief [John Roberts Jr.] replaced the old chief.” Among others who play, according to Berns, are Justice Antonin Scalia, D.C. Circuit Court judge David Sentelle, and Robert Bennett, a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

twitpic: @melissalvla

Between the tournament staff, Harrah’s staff, and security contingent, there were approximately 20 suits, lined in front of the room. Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack addressed the crowd with a prepared statement that began, “We are sorry and I am sorry.” He went on to say that the players would not be allowed to play, and that he understands that it is disappointing. “We wish we could accommodate you,” he said and added that he wished they would have played other starting days.

Questions were beamed at Pollack, many players talking over each other at times. Allegations of special treatment were aimed at Harrah’s, with some players asserting that well-known players were granted entry after others were shut out. Pollack’s response? “Absolutely not.”

Most questions revolved around the option of allowing players to begin play this evening and play through the night or somehow incorporating a Day 1E into the mix, but Pollack insisted that it would be logistically and operationally impossible to do. When someone pushed the subject, WSOP Communications Director Seth Palansky jumped in with a question of his own directed at the player. “Why didn’t you show up earlier?” A collective “oooh” let Palansky know that he may have gone too far with the comment.

Pollack tried to cool the crowd with comments like, “We are not doing this happily today,” but it was clear that the players were not becoming any more satisfied with the comments. With Pollack promising that sell-out tournaments will be the number one topic to be discussed when planning the 2010 WSOP, he eventually ended the meeting with parting words “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

Pollack, Palansky, and other executives went out a private side entrance protected by security.

I stumbled across this courtesy of High Stakes News. A Canadian by the name of Bo Fric didn’t exactly make a success out of his run as a professional poker player. In fact, he accumulated quite the debt in the process. But before leaving the game altogether, he put together a “poker bucket list,” which he plans to put into motion this summer at the WSOP, write about it, and film it all for a documentary. The list includes things like riding in a hot-air balloon with Sam Grizzle and doing yoga with Allen Cunningham. However…

There are three little problems:

1. I don’t know any of these people on a personal level and really don’t know how to begin.
2. I currently have a slight negative balance in my bank account, $30,000 in credit card debt, and less than $3,000 liquid cash.
3. I don’t know the first damn thing about writing a book.

Other problems? He has a young son and has chosen to mortgage his house, car, and other worldly possessions to carry out this project. Nevertheless, since he began airing his wishes on his website, Bo seems to have found sponsors like PokerRoad and the Canadian Poker Tour, making it seem like this has a chance of playing out before our WSOP-blurred eyes this summer. Could be interesting!

Items on the bucket list include:

Here it is in its original form (I expect it will morph until the beginning of the series):

* Take Doyle Brunson out for dinner
* Shoot craps with Phil Ivey
* Play Golden Tee, Wii, and Pool with Daniel Negreanu
* Win a hand in Bobby’s Room
* Have lunch with the Canadian Heroes Daniel, Brad, Gavin, Nenad, and FBT
* Train MMA with Team Cardrunners and a UFC star
* Play a $10,000 hand of blackjack
* Bet $1000 on one number in roulette
* Have a drinking contest with Gavin Smith
* Go club hopping with Antonio Esfandiari and Phil Laak
* Play the main event
* Go to a gentlemen’s club with Layne Flack
* Drive cart for Patrick Antonius or David Benyamine in high stakes golf match
* Learn to pick up Asian women from Barry Greenstein
* Play a game of pickup basketball with Nenad, Grinder, Huck, J.C., D. William and others
* Go suit shopping with Sammy Farha
* Be a part of Phil Hellmuth’s WSOP main event entrance
* Get business advice from Eli Elezra and Howard Lederer
* Drink coronas with Scotty Nguyen
* Play Mike Matusow in a match play golf game
* Sweat $5,000 sportsbet with Erick Lindgren
* Spend an afternoon at the spa with Tom “Durrr” Dwan
* Play Chinese Poker with Poker Road crew Ali, Gavin, Joe, and Huff
* Appear on Poker Road Radio
* ATV with the Poker Road Crew
* Cash in a WSOP event
* Ride in a Bugatti with Guy Laliberte
* Play Video Poker with Archie Karas
* Take a helicopter ride with Chris Moneymaker
* Go stockcar racing with Gus Hansen
* Take a balloon ride with Sam Grizzle
* Get Joel some female help
* Play Rock Band with Evelyn Ng
* Play blackjack with Andy Bloch
* Practice Yoga with Allen Cunningham
* Go out for an evening of swing dancing with Chris Ferguson
* Practice Buddhism with Andy Black
* Visit Fremont St. with Gabe Kaplan
* Meet the guy who got breast implants for a prop bet Brian Zembic
* Get marriage advice from Norman Chad
* Have a smoke break with Eugene Todd
* Get publishing advice from Dan Harrington
* Ride on a private jet anywhere with anyone
* Host the world’s largest poker pro paintball game

WPA FOUNDER MESSAGE

I founded the WPA in November 2005 with $100,000 of personal funds as a non-profit association. The mission was to represent tournament poker players worldwide and establish uniform tournament rules, procedures, structures, and payouts; and to improve playing conditions for players. In June 2006 a WPA booth at the WSOP for six weeks saw 80 professionals pay $1,000 each as Founding Members and approximately 800 others join as regular members. In March 2007 an initial Board of Directors was elected by the membership. I was elected Chairman by the board. During the 2007 WSOP the WPA booth saw an additional 50 professionals become Founding Members and approximately 350 others join. During the first two years I worked countless hours to introduce and gain support for the WPA and had umpteen conversations with poker pros and poker related businesses all the while playing in major events around the globe.

Because of my health issues with voice and other physical problems from prior throat cancer I requested the Vice Chairman to chair all board meetings. During 2007 I served on the Executive Committee. Some of the accomplishments of 2007 include the formation of an Ethics Code, revision of the website, formation of basic rules, donation of the WSOP booth space by Harrahs, planning of the first WPA tournament and annual meeting with an educational conference.

In 2008 a new Board of Directors slate was chosen by the outgoing board and elected by the membership. I disagreed with the leadership as “pushed through” and made my feelings known to some of the board members. The leadership decided to resign within two weeks after being chosen and in the process all but one of the remaining nine voting board members decided to resign also which happened at a special meeting on June 10, 2008. During that meeting two motions were proposed – 1) a motion to refund membership fees paid by all members starting January 1, 2008 and 2) a motion to dissolve the World Poker Association. Any member can read the minutes of this meeting in the members only area. Because one director opted not to resign the dissolution motion did not pass and I was reinstated as Chairman. I read a 3 page statement to the directors before the vote asking those who had not made up their mind before hand to remain and stating my case for keeping the WPA active.

Blair Rodman and I were the two directors remaining after the meeting. I immediately reinstated Affiliate and Friend membership levels. We reversed the “refund” decision primarily because the WPA was not dissolving. I made contact with a number of news agencies and potential affiliates all of which were positive. Within a couple of months Blair Rodman decided to resign which left me alone on the board. In the past six months I have invited several prominent poker players who have won WSOP and WPT events to join the board and who expressed an interest in getting involved with the WPA. During the 2008 WSOP I had very serious discussions with an individual who was planning an international tour and sharing the proceeds with the players. Those discussions ended because of philosophical differences. To date none of these individuals has volunteered to join the board.

For whatever reason the right mix of leadership or the lack of proper marketing of the WPA has prevented the WPA from growing into a size befitting tournament poker. Currently there are over 1400 members from 41 countries. Tournament poker continues to grow, being up 7% over last year and an annual total of worldwide buyins reaching almost $700 million according to Pokerpages.com. Wow! I believe now more than ever that tournament poker needs a professional body like the WPA to be the PGA of poker. Other major sports or even many associations (like ducks.org which has 700,000 members who pay $25 annually) are represented by a professional organization for its players or members. The Poker Players Alliance grew into 1,000,000 members via the support of major online poker sites. There are almost 500,000 individuals who have entered tournaments this year. And all of their rights are dictated by profit making casinos or tours. Isn’t it time we as players have some influence over our participation?

I take full responsibility for falling short in leading the WPA. As much as I’d like to I am unable to continue to fight the good fight in a leadership capacity. Because of declining health I am happy to continue to serve on a WPA Board but will not be able to be its leader. I also have severely curtailed my tournament playing due to stamina issues.

I welcome 3-5 individuals who have leadership skills and business expertise to send me an email with their interest and background. Being a board member means devoting time once a month at board meetings (via conference calls or in person) and devoting additional time to special projects or committees. The primary focus in my opinion remains increasing the membership and addressing membership needs. Perhaps there is an online major site who will sponsor the WPA. There are millions of tournament poker players worldwide; surely the WPA can attract them and represent their needs. Just as Barack Obama is the right leader for the US right now, the WPA needs the right leader right now to spark the growth of the WPA. Is that you?

When I put in $100,000 of my own funds to found the WPA, I did it with the knowledge that it may fail and the money may go waste. I was encouraged by the initial response and support. It’s up to you, the members, whether it succeeds in its mission. Please send any comments or inquiries to me at jessej@wpapoker.org.

Warm Regards,

Jesse

There will be 1251 players on Day 2A, with the top ten as follows:

Mark Garner – 194,900
Ben Sarnoff – 177,500
Brandon Adams – 176,450
Brian Schaedlich – 160,725
Kellen Hunter – 155,200
Stefan Mattsson – 154,275
Patrick Fortin – 145,275
Robert Mizrachi – 142,400
Jeff Frerichs – 138,025
Soren Peterson – 135,475

And there will be a whopping 2678 players on Day 2B, with the ten chip leaders as follows:

Henning Granstad – 242,950
Curt Kohlberg – 173,050
David Baker – 163,450
Howard Berchowitz – 160,075
Arnaud Mattern – 157,650
Steve Austin – 149,000
Mohamad Kowssarie – 146,000
David Stucke – 140,525
Sami Rustom – 140,450
Dylan Linde – 138,425

We’ll be at the Rio tomorrow to bring you any interesting info and gossip as the field plays down over the coming days.

When it was announced that the final 666 players will be in the money, a collective groan came from the tables. Oooh – 666. Superstitious crowd, eh? I will only be creeped out if the 666th finisher is named Damien…

The first prize is a whopping $9,119,517. Whew! I may have heard a collective sigh of relief from Harrah’s staff members, as they now know that the event grew from last year – 486 more players – and the big first prize is one they can truly brag about. Actually, that same sense of relief may have resonated through the poker media as well. Good numbers, good sign that poker is experiencing some growth amidst tough economic times.

Full payout list will be listed when we get it in our hot little hands.

Although, as I looked over the list of Full Tilt team members, pros, and friends on the website, I realize exactly how many players are on the Full Tilt Poker roster and how easily a new signing could be overlooked. In fact, Williamson isn’t even listed on the site yet.

The list of FTP players is impressive and confusing at the same time… How many players can feel truly represented by a site that sponsors approximately 123 people? It would be like having dozens of siblings; how much one-on-one time with the parents will each one get?

There is also a tier of sponsorships, a little like a ranking of the kids from most special to barely recognizable. On one end, there is Team Full Tilt – Lederer, Ferguson, Ivey, Hansen, Harman, et al. Listed below that category is Team CardRunners, then the Hendon Mob, then the Full Tilt Pros, and finally the Friends of Full Tilt. Friends include Bruce Buffer, authors Michael Craig and Jim McManus, commentator Ali Nejad, Jerry Yang, and a few others whose names don’t ring a bell. It’s the Pro category that blows my mind a little, with lots of well-known pros mixed with several players I’ve never heard of. Just makes me wonder about the criteria when David Singer and Lee Watkinson are in the same category with Christoph Wolters and Roland Specht.

I wonder if there’s a limit as to the number of players that Full Tilt wants, needs, or will tolerate. It’s already quite the full house.

Thus far, bits of poker history have been made – the first set of siblings to each win a bracelet in the same year and only the second set of brothers to every accomplish the feat, and the fourth largest poker tournament ever held (Event #2). Professional poker players have absolutely dominated the Series, with numerous players like Lindgren and Singer finally taking home the gold. And through the end of the day June 17th, the totals were as follows:

30 WSOP bracelets awarded
28,223 players registered in tournaments
2,705 players finished in the money
$66,514,615 prize pools combined

There is also an interesting and notable change that takes place at the WSOP near the halfway mark.

It is a lull, certainly not in the action but in the energy and excitement of the bodies circulating through the halls of the Rio Convention Center. It is human nature to become exhausted after two or more weeks of long hours, but add in irregular meals, limited sleep, anxieties, financial ups and downs, emotions, and pressure, and it becomes a recipe for burnout.

Tell-tale signs of the stress are obvious in the faces of the players, staff, and media. The eyes are weary, and some of the smiles have faded.

Players who are running bad are getting concerned about the toll it’s taking on finances and relationships. Players whose bankrolls are suffering frantically play satellites, and those with backers are calculating what they owe in makeup and how much they have to win to get ahead again. In some cases, sleep and exercise are put on the back burner in order to keep up momentum, while energy drinks and sometimes energy-inducing drugs come into play. Spouses and significant others feel the intensity that often reflects back on them, and some of those relationships become strained.

Those who are doing well are focused on continuing the good run. Pros like David Singer and Scott Clements are up for the challenge and have had phenomenal years, not to mention a great WSOP thus far. (They are two examples of pros who are also very happy with their personal lives, though, and that makes a difference as well.) There are players like Tom Schneider who are somewhere in the middle; though he has five cashes thus far, falling short of his goal to win a bracelet and possibly another Player of the Year nod is disheartening. What he – and others in his position – do over the next few weeks remains to be seen.

Members of the media start to feel the pain as well. Not only do they pick up on the tension among players, but the ability to stay fresh is challenged. Finding new ways to write about aces cracked, large fields, lengthy hand-for-hand or bubble situations, players eliminated, and amateurs at the final table about whom little is known become difficult tasks as the days wear on. Writers and reporters also see the darker sides of the players – poor attitudes, nasty exchanges with dealers, detrimental vices – that become a struggle of integrity and ethics. Trying to decide what is fair game and what the publication or website will allow tests the strengths and weaknesses of everyone. And depending upon the hours they are required to keep for their jobs, many media members also suffer from exhaustion and poor health choices.

Those who are responsible for product booths in the Rio hallways also become weary. The CardRunners booth that boasted of names like Taylor Caby and Mike Schneider during Week 1 now typically sits empty with only the CardRunners videos running on a loop on the plasma screens. Fans take the sometimes-provided fortune cookies left out for fans and use the idle chairs to rest for a few minutes. The Sapphire strip club girls even look to be over it. They see our same faces each day and know that we’re not going to take their free pool passes, and those who do accept their offers, usually male tourists, are looking for a “date” or a pass to the strip club for a lap dance. No one has been at the Gamma-O testosterone booth for weeks, though someone does show up each day to turn on the plasmas to an all-music video channel. The only crew that doesn’t seem to be exhausted is the All In Energy drink folks who, strangely enough, always seem to have some energy to promote their products…

This is a tough time when the glass often seems half empty, but it is possible to see it as half full. Technically, there are only about 20 more events after today before the main event, one of which is the $50K H.O.R.S.E. that many feel is the truest world championship tournament of them all. And the $10K NLHE main event begins on July 3rd, and along with a new influx of players and media, the excitement returns. The end of the summer of tournament madness nears when media members can count the days until they return home to families and reasonable schedules and players can take some time off to soak in the results of the 2008 WSOP.

Despite the dark tone of this post, it is only meant to give readers and those far away from the Rio a glimpse into the reality of living this WSOP life for nearly seven weeks in the mad hot summer of Sin City. And it’s not to say that most of the players and media would choose to do anything else. Most of us look forward to it each year and miss it at least a little when it’s over. There is nothing like it in poker, and for those with a passion for the game, nothing beats it. In most cases, the good outweighs the bad over the course of the summer, and the experience itself is a valuable one.

Now, I return you to your regularly scheduled WSOP coverage.