The £10,000 + 350 High Roller NL Heads-Up event finally has a winner, as Gus Hansen defeated Jim Collopy in the 3rd and deciding match to earn his first WSOP bracelet along with £288,409. Here’s how the final hand played out:

Elsewhere …

PokerStars LAPT Grand Final - Rosario, Argentina :: Martin Sansour defeats Bolivar Palacios, earning $322,280. Matthias Habernig’s bid for back-to-back LAPT wins fell short, finishing 6th. PokerStars Blog has the final table report.

TJ Cloutier Choctaw Poker Classic – Durant, OK :: Cloutier finishes 17th for $3,673, play down to 4-handed. www.roundersradio.com covering the FT action.

PokerStars WCOOP $5,000 Main Event :: 2,443 entries, first pays over $2m, 2nd and 3rd $1m+

Seat 1: Karim Jomeen 109,000
Seat 2: Scott Shelley 148,000
Seat 3: Nicholas Katz 150,000
Seat 4: Paul Ian Pitchford 77,000
Seat 5: Jeppe Bisgaard 171,000
Seat 6: Mehdi Senhaji 369,000
Seat 7: Kaveh Payman 434,000
Seat 8: JP Kelly 242,000
Seat 9: Jack Lyman 55,000

* Credit to Donnie Peters at PokerNews.
Follow along in the updates at PokerNews or WSOP.com

Event #4 will take place at 5pm London time Tuesday, the £10,000 + 350 NL Holdem High Roller Heads-Up event. The field will contain a maximum of 128 players with registration closing when the tournament starts. In case of an unevenly sized field (more than 32, 64, or 128) there will be byes for round 1.

Elsewhere…

WPT Borgata Poker Open – Atlantic City :: Day 2 underway, just over 200 players remaining with the top 100 making the money. A brawl almost takes place just before dinner as described by BJ Nemeth here. Other updates and goings-on here.

Heartland Poker Tour – Black Hawk, Colorado :: The poker tour that people forget keeps chugging along with Mark Dunbar taking down over $180,000 in defeating a field of over 400 players. HeartlandPokerTour.com has the recap.

T.J. Cloutier Choctaw Classic – Durant, OK :: Week-long series of tournaments w/ $1,650 Main Event Sept. 25-26 – Schedule

PokerStars WCOOP :: Jason Mercier and Chad Brown in the top 30 of 1k NL event, winner takes down nearly $500,000. RaiseOnce, allegedly Phil Ivey, takes down $25,000 HU title. PokerStars Blog

Click below for the official deets according to the WSOPress Release. And check out this video of the fancy-cool new Choctaw poker room (represented by WSOP-Ebay legend TJ Cloutier, btw) as seen by the architects before it opened up:

WORLD SERIES OF POKER® CIRCUIT TOUR ADDS NEW STOP TO 2010-11 CALENDAR; EVENT COUNTS FOR NATIONAL POINTS

CHOCTAW DURANT CONFIRMED FOR 10 RING EVENTS
FROM JANUARY 6-25, 2011

WSOP Circuit Becomes First Tour to Serve Vibrant Dallas-area Poker Market

LAS VEGAS – September 2, 2010 – Fresh off a $300 million expansion, the Choctaw Casino Resort in Durant, Oklahoma – an hour north of Dallas, Texas, will host its first-ever World Series of Poker Circuit event from January 6-25, 2011 as part of the official 2010-11 WSOP Circuit Tour.

The 2010-11 schedule now includes 13 official tour stops, with one more expected to be added soon.

The Choctaw Casino Resort WSOP Circuit event will feature 10 WSOP ring events and a total of 54 different events during the January stop. The expanded Choctaw Casino Resort features a brand-new 30-table poker lounge – housed on its own exclusive floor in the casino – and is a truly upscale, exclusive experience.

The Choctaw Casino Resort stop also marks the first time the WSOP has stepped outside the Harrah’s-affiliated properties to offer a WSOP-branded event.

“After visiting the property, it was a must that we brought a WSOP Circuit stop to Choctaw Casino Resort,” said WSOP Vice President Ty Stewart. “This is a huge poker market that has clamored for high stakes tournament poker and we’re ecstatic to be hosting a WSOP Circuit in this gorgeous property in Durant come January.”

Structures and payouts for all ring events at Choctaw will be consistent with all other WSOP Circuit events in order to keep the continuity and consistency for players travelling to multiple stops on the tour. Noted poker tournament director Jimmy Sommerfeld will serve as the event’s poker tournament operator.

Steven Loyd, Choctaw Casino Resort Director of Gaming & Hotel Operations, commented, “The vibrant poker markets in Texas and Oklahoma deserve a local to regional WSOP Circuit opportunity and Choctaw Casino Resort in Durant couldn’t be a better choice. Our location midway between Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and the large population base around Dallas/Ft. Worth puts us within easy striking distance of thousands of serious poker enthusiasts. Our beautiful new facility is poker friendly, with a best in class poker room and spacious tournament areas, great food and lodging. The Choctaw Nation is proud to be the newest member of the WSOP Circuit family.”

The revised WSOP Circuit schedule now looks as follows:

WORLD SERIES OF POKER 2010-2011 CIRCUIT TOUR SCHEDULE

TOURNAMENT DATES – TOURNAMENT LOCATION
August 19 – August 31, 2010
Horseshoe Council Bluffs (Iowa)

October 2 – October 12, 2010
Horseshoe Southern Indiana

October 15 – October 27, 2010
Horseshoe Hammond (Chicago area)

October 26 – October 31, 2010
*Emerald Casino (South Africa)

October 28 – November 10, 2010
IP Casino Resort & Spa (Biloxi, MS)

November 11 – November 23, 2010
Harveys Lake Tahoe

December 4 – December 22, 2010
Harrah’s Atlantic City

January 6 – 25, 2011
Choctaw Casino (Durant, OK)

January 27 – February 15, 2011
Harrah’s Tunica

March 2 – March 13, 2011
Caesars Atlantic City

March 11 – March 30, 2011
Harrah’s Rincon (San Diego area)

March 31 – April 13, 2011
Harrah’s St. Louis

April 14 – April 30, 2011
Caesars Palace

May 9 – May 22, 2011
Harrah’s New Orleans

*Circuit Event in South Africa does not count towards point system tabulation or cumulative event award.

Bold indicates Super Regional, with an added event, the $10K nationally televised No Limit Hold’em tournament.

Circuit schedules are subject to change. For more information on individual circuit events, including event schedules and structure sheets, can be found at each property website or by visiting www.WSOP.com

The first event of this year’s WSOP Circuit season just concluded at Horseshoe Council Bluffs in Iowa, with the newly-revamped format increasing the Main Event prize pool by more than 70%, while players were united in their praise for the creation of the $1 million National Championship, gold bracelet opportunity and points system.

The next stop on the WSOP Circuit is October 2 in Horseshoe Southern Indiana. Beginning in October, the WSOP Circuit pretty much runs non-stop through May 22, 2011, with 12 consecutive events over 8 months.

Below details the key changes to this year’s WSOP Circuit tour.

A cumulative rankings system throughout the season, awarding points for each official WSOP Circuit “Ring” open event, with four different ways to automatically qualify.

A season-ending National Championship tournament for 100 players who automatically qualify via cumulative rankings or performance-based criteria. (The televised National Championship tournament will be played at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas prior to the commencement of the WSOP and feature a $1,000,000 prize pool and award a WSOP Gold Bracelet).

Four Regional WSOP Circuit Championships with a $10,000 buy-in event plus two-hours of national television coverage per stop.

Standardized structures and pay-outs at all events; with the Main Event lowered to $1500 outside Regional Championships to encourage larger fields and more players attending multiple stops on the tour.

Tebben defeats McNamara for 1k NL bracelet

The $1,000 No-Limit Holdem final table just concluded with Jeffrey Tebben defeating JD McNamara in heads-up play, winning his first WSOP bracelet. Tebben also earned $503,389, while McNamara earns $310,248. Full results and Nolan Dalla’s tournament report will appear later at wsop.com.

Six remain in 2500 NL 6-max

The official final table has been established for the $2,500 No-Limit Holdem 6-max final table, returning from dinner break shortly. Joe Baldwin will start as the leader with 2,812,000 in chips. Follow the updates at wsop.com.

Maxwell looking to hammer Stud 8 final table

The final table of the $1,500 Stud Hi/Lo 8 or Better final table has also been finalized. Maxwell Troy remains the leader with 755,000 in chips. Notables at the final table include David Levi (565,000), Karina Jett (450,000), and Allen Bari (170,000). Action will resume shortly, follow the split-pot action over at PokerNews.

Cloutier closing in at 2500 PLO

The $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha field has made the money with 50 players remaining. Bryce Yockey is the current chip leader with 293,000, followed by T.J. Cloutier (232,000), Chau Giang (225,000), Michael Greco (150,000), Joe Serock (114,000) and Adam Junglen (95,000). Play is scheduled for six more levels or a final table is reached, whatever comes first, updates available at wsop.com.

More updates on page 2:

Morris moving up at 10k limit holdem

About 50 players remain in the $10,000 Limit Holdem World Championship with players just returning from their dinner break. Simon Morris currently holds the chip lead with 262,000, among the notables trying to run him down: David Chiu (225,000), Brock Parker (170,000), Mark Newhouse (165,000), Bill Chen (115,000), and Michael Mizrachi (107,000). Catch the raising and re-raising at PokerNews.

Channing chopping up the field in 1500 NL M

A field of 2,394 took seats at the $1,500 No-Limit Holdem event, with less than 700 players returning from dinner break. 243 players make the money, with the winner pocketing a cool $581,851. The reported chip leader is British pro Neil Channing with 55,000. Other notables: Phil Hellmuth (25,000), Jennifer Tilly (19,000) and Nikolay Evdakov (15,000). Updates and chip counts can be found at wsop.com.

HORSE draws a crowded house

The seventh WSOP bracelet event got underway at 5pm with the $1,500 HORSE event drawing a field of 828. The final 80 players make the money, with the winner taking down $257,134. An early chip leader hasn’t been established, but you can see who breaks out of the pack with updates and chip counts at PokerNews.

1k NL final table set

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

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

Cowley leads final 15 in 2500 NL 6-max

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

Troy leads 1500 Stud 8 on final day

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

Klein leads 2500 PLO after day 1

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

Lisandro leads 10k limit holdem

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

Wednesday’s tournaments

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

Kassela bests Kessler at Stud 8

Frank Kassela outlasted Allen Kessler and the rest of a stacked final table to win the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo 8 or better World Championship along with $447,446. Jennifer Harman, Steve Zolotow, and John Juanda finished third, fourth and fifth respectively. A full list of the results and Nolan Dalla’s tournament report can be found at wsop.com or read what Pauly wrote about the final table here.

Baker leads 1k final table

Veteran pro David Baker leads the final table of the $1,000 No-Limit Holdem final table when play resumes at 2:30pm. Here’s how the rest of that table will be seated, with the winner pocketing $472,479:

Seat 1: Jared Hamby – 423,000
Seat 2: Daniel Thomas – 602,000
Seat 3: Matthew Vance – 1,731,000
Seat 4: Jeffrey Gross – 281,000
Seat 5: Mats Gavatin – 393,000
Seat 6: Nicholas Heather – 993,000
Seat 7: David Baker – 2,553,000
Seat 8: Kyung Han – 613,000
Seat 9: Steven Gee – 1,540,000

Phillips leads Day 3 of $1,500 6-max

Carter Phillips (922,000) leads the remaining 16 players who’ll return at 2:30pm to determine the winner of the $1,500 No-Limit Holdem 6-max event. Other notables returning include Mark Flowers (545,000), and Jimmy Tran (219,000). The full list of players remaining are at PokerNews.com.

Goosen Leads 5k NL Day 2

Steven Goosen (229,000) leads the 202 players who made it through the first ten levels of the $5,000 No-Limit Holdem who return at 2:30pm. Other notables also returning: Chino Rheem (185,800), James Dempsey (165,800), Michael Gracz (131,800), Tony G (98,500), Joe Sebok (88,100), Phil Hellmuth (82,100), and TJ Cloutier (77,200). The full list of chip counts is now online at PokerNews.

Wednesday’s Tournaments

The doubleheader returns to the WSOP this afternoon, first is the $2,000 Limit Holdem event starting at 12pm. Dutch pro Marc Naalden won this event last year in a field of 446 for $190,770. At 5pm is the $10,000No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Single Draw World Championship, last year won by Nick Schulman for $279,751 in a field of 96. This event starts you out with 7,500 in chips with three additional “rebuy” chips, each good for 7,500 in chips to be added to your stack anytime during the first four hours.

Follow along at home starting at high noon over at PokerNews or www.wsop.com

You know me, I want to lambast and ridicule any Tom Schneider endeavor — because that’s how we show our friends we care — but gotta say, this is pretty damn good. Very different:

According to Eric Ulis, the host of this in-development show, the current poker-on-TV offerings are a bit “stuffy” … and that’s where they supposedly come in — to talk about the poker news of the day in a different way. It’s all part of a derivative of Ulis’ Continental Poker Championship, and the plan is to film it regularly with this crew of Arizona high stakes pros — Tom Schneider, Hooman Nikzad, and Jesse McGinty — at the Gila River Casino Wild Horse Pass, just outside of Phoenix.

The seller is Plano Pawn Shop (“specializing in fine jewelry and firearms”), who has a 100 percent positive feedback rating after 314 eBay sales. Plano, of course, is the suburb next door to TJ’s home in Richardson … and on the way to the Choctaw Casino in Oklahoma, not to mention some of the bigger private games in the Dallas area.

UPDATE: His bracelet from the Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge IV is also up for sale.

Via Bluff Magazine.

Apparently someone’s ripping off someone, and flaming fingers are starting to point all willy-nilly in a world of folks trying to play as legit as they can providing a service that the US government would prefer they not.

I first learned about PICClub about a year ago … heard about it from one of my old cronies in the Dallas underground, and TJ Cloutier was apparently involved. Though I had decided it was not quite my thing, I wanted a second opinion, so I sought the counsel of a trusted friend and colleague semi-involved in the poker bidness:

On Dec 3, 2008, at 9:22 AM, [name removed] wrote:

[Name removed] told me about it. But I’ve decided it’s in my best interest to steer clear of shady, 4-year-late concepts that are audibly mistaken for porn sites.

LOL, right, exactly …

I didn’t think much about PICClub again until I saw them with six teams at Dream Team Poker – Caesar’s … you know, the one won by Jamie Gold and Team Aced, before they ran into some sorta contractual schism.

But surprise (to me), PICClub is still around … their concept did, apparently, address a market need; and as a result at least millions of dollars, if not more, have been passing through it.

So with that, I’m not sure who’s screwing whom in this, if weak means strong or strong means weak, but regardless … here’s the latest from PICClub CEO Chuck Kidd, trying to assuage his customers that they are the good guys in this matter:

From: “PiCClub.com”
Date: November 13, 2009 3:56:24 PM PST
Subject: A word from the PIC CEO

Dear PICClub Member,
As many of you know we at PICClub have been embroiled with Merge Gaming Network in a dispute over their failure to pay their debt. I want to take this time to help you understand why I felt it was necessary to escalate this issue with Gambling 911. I did not want to take this into a public arena but was forced to when they issued a press release that was an outright lie.

I wasn’t happy to lose the Merge network of rooms as I know many of you played there and I tried to avoid that happening. However when a poker room fails to pay its debt and decides to not pay players it is my responsibility to take the steps necessary to protect our players and to collect the funds rightfully owed.

Since early July I have been trying to get the Merge Network to pay not only the arrears on fees that were owed to PICClub but also the money to fund the Players cash out account. During this time I made many concessions to Merge in an attempt to get them to pay. At every promise they made to pay the arrears and acknowledging that the money was indeed owed they kept stalling and sending me the Checks in the Mail story over and over. One excuse even involved their CFO being caught in a Typhoon in Japan.

It soon became evident that they had no intention of paying their debt and worse they were going to stiff the players.

I sought council with many people I respect in this industry and to a person they agreed that I needed to make this issue known. Not only as a possible means to collect our funds but also to expose that Merge was either financially in trouble or was operating unethically. Either way we weren’t getting funds from them so I decided that Gambling 911 would be the venue that I would supply the documentation to that backed up the facts of the issue.

I knew that PICClub would possibly take a black eye over this and I certainly weighed that against the need for this story to be made public. It wasn’t an easy decision to make and cost me many restless nights of sleep. BUT it had to be told.. Maybe just maybe, Merge would at the very least send the money to pay the players.

Well they finally sent enough money to cover the players cash outs. It is unfortunate that it took shaming them in a Public Arena for them to do what was right by the players and the attacks on PICClub and I personally are still going on. Merge has not presented 1 piece of evidence to refute the story, they have instead decided a campaign of slander, lies and innuendo waged by a group of affiliates and forum owners would be their answer to the issue presented.

Well my job however is not done. They still owe PICClub 107 thousand dollars and I intend to collect it. Every penny they take from PICClub, they also take from you the members. It is coming up on Christmas time and that means the funds in your CSA account will be available to you plus the interest earned and a % of PICClub profits. For those of you who have been with us for 2 years or more you will recall that we paid 14.25% in our first year and 10.5% in our second. I am not sure where we will be this year as the books haven’t been settled for the CSA yet but I don’t want a 107 thousand dollar loss to be an issue. I INTEND TO COLLECT EVERY PENNY THEY OWE.

I ask that you continue your support of the PICClub and please play at the poker rooms that are operating honestly with us. They too deserve your support. When you see PICClub being slammed in a forum do not hesitate to speak up. There are those out there who’s only agenda is to do harm to PICClub no matter how many lies it takes.

We will be adding more rooms for you to play at and I know that you will enjoy them. So stay tuned for exciting news.

I will speak with you again soon about the CSA payout and I hope to be able to give you great news at that time.

Kindest Regards.

Chuck Kidd
CEO
Players Investment Company

Considering that Texas poker players helped build the third-largest friggin’ casino in the world (literally under a tent in Thackerville, OK) we can take some pleasure in knowing a bunch of Texans kicked butt in The River tourney this weekend and will be sending back home some riches made in El Norte.

WinStar reportedly threw in a $580,000 overlay to make their $3 million guarantee. Not sure about the buy-in details — I think they upped it to $2k? — nor overall results. The best “coverage” has come via 2+2 here, mixed in with some Facebook, Twitter, and direct txt msg buzz. (Thanks KevMath and Harris, as always, for the info!)

1,210 players overall.

The winner: Bobby Hempkins, aka “Shooter” in the Dallas poker boom days. (And now your source for residential real estate in the North Texas area.) $710k win. Nice!

5th place finisher Brian @ZBTHorton provided regular updates from the final table, such as:

8 left, these people suck (4pm)

Apparently tax issues may or may not have complicated chop discussions — though sounds to me that the Chickasaw nation is under similar corporate-legal restrictions as the WSOP.

7th place reportedly went to a guy named Lance. Paid $95k. Sounds like a nice prize distribution (at the final table, at least). Not too flat, not too steep.

Blind structure was supposedly relatively fast, however.

Pros who made the trek for this event included: Clonie Gowen, TJ Cloutier, Michael Mizrachi, Eric Mizrachi, Kido Pham, Terrence Chan, Michael Binger, Men the Master, Allen Kessler, and Dmitri Nobles. The real @EskimoClark was also supposedly milling around.

pic: @EWeE420

Tom Franklin (head of WPA)
TJ Cloutier (legendary+PAC member+craps)
Mickey Appleman (breaking 30-year streak of main events)
Minh Ly (Doyle pal)
Brandon Adams (Full Tilt Red Pro)
Melissa Hayden
Random Australian guy screaming about desire to sue

(Let me know if there are others to add to the list.)

Final numbers for the 2009 main event coming soon …

Via @taopauly:

Several big names shut out: Brandon Adams, TJ CLoutier, Patrik Antonius & Sully Erna

Chagrined non-players, via Otis:

The $2,000 NL Holdem event is now in the money with about 100 players remaining. Phil Hellmuth added to his WSOP record with his 70th cash, and is still going strong as the players return to their dinner break soon. Jason Mercier, T.J. Cloutier, Tom McEvoy and Tom Franklin are some of the bracelet winners who are still in the field. When the players return, they’ll be playing beat the clock to get to a final table before the 3am deadline.

The $10,000 Mixed Event World Championship is down to about 55 players remaining, with Soheil Shamseddin the leader, with Robert Mizrachi, Steve Sung, Huck Seed and Hasan Habib remaining as they’ll also attempt to get to the final table of eight by the 3am deadline.

The 12pm tournament today, $2,500 NL holdem drew a smaller than expected field of 1,088, some possibly took the day off before the $5,000 NL Holdem event tomorrow at noon. The usual rapid decimation of the field still took place, as less than 450 players returning when the 90-minute dinner break began. Alan Goehring appears to be the chip leader, with the winner taking just over $500,000 and 116 others pick up some cash.

The 5pm tournament, $2,500 Limit Holdem 6-max, looks to have drawn a field of about 360. No clear leaders have been established, but check out www.worldseriesofpoker.com for updates from all six events this evening. Please.

Joining Phil Ivey at the bracelet ceremony today will be Travis Johnson who took down the $1,500 NL Holdem event a few hours ago taking over $666,000 in what appears to be his first tournament cash. Might as well make your first cash include a WSOP bracelet.

Two events that weren’t able to make their final table by the 3am deadline will both return at 1pm today to play down to a champion. The scheduled event for streaming on the Bluff Magazine website is the $1,500 NL Holdem 6-max event, which is down to their final 8, who’ll be seated as listed:

Table 154:
Seat 1: Carman Cavella 1,059,000
Seat 3: Charles Furey 1,169,000
Seat 4: Bryce Yockey 1,489,000
Seat 6: Bryn Kenney 656,000

Table 155:
Seat 2: Manny Minaya 339,000
Seat 3: Praz Bansi 630,000
Seat 5: Ken Aldridge 411,000
Seat 6: Peter Gould 780,000

Page 2 for more tournament activities today:

The $2,500 Pot-Limit Holdem/Pot-Limit Omaha event is down to their final 18 players, with Daniel Makowsky and Rami Boukai leading their respective tables. Other notables looking for that elusive bracelet include: Ben Grundy, Surinder Sunar, Hevad Khan, Tony Cousineau and John Kabbaj.

The two tournaments that kicked off on Thursday move to Day 2, as 232 players will return at 2pm today in the $2,000 NL Holdem event with Patrick Stemper the chip leader at 165,000. Other notables returning: Jason Mercier, Jose Rosenkrantz, Phil Hellmuth, Kevin Song, Jason Potter and non-fan of texting/Twittering at the table, T.J. Cloutier.

The $10,000 Mixed Event World Championship sees David Oppenheim as the day 1 leader, with Daniel Negreanu, Jimmy Fricke, and Eric Froehlich among the big names remaining when they return at 2pm for more mixed game action.

Both tournaments today will consist of more Hold’em than you can shake a chip at. With the 12pm tournament being the $2,500 NL Holdem event, which was won last year by Duncan Bell who rang up $666,777 in a field of nearly 1,400. The 5pm event is the $2,500 Limit Holdem 6-max event, which makes its debut at this year’s WSOP. The WSOP Resource Guide projects a field of 1,537 for the NL event, while in the Limit 6-max event, a field of 250 are expected. Take the over on both projections, with at least 1,700 in the afternoon, and closer to 370 for the Limit event. Follow the action over at www.worldseriesofpoker.com for updates throughout Friday, and check into Pokerati later to see if the evil that is texting and Twittering under the table is stopped once and for all.