Annie Duke’s Celebrity Apprentice friendmate Brande Roderick is apparently sticking with the poker thing in some capacity. A series of $100 tourneys at Binion’s over the next few months include a chance to qualify for a Tournament of Champions … and the winner of that gets to spend the Super Bowl with the business-savvy Playboy bunny:
Suze Orman had another poker player call in to her “Can I Afford It?” segment seeking her approval to buy into a $1,200 tourney in Las Vegas. Young guy. Spoiler Alert: Quickest denial ever!
LOL, apparently Suze doesn’t understand that players like Brian are “good for the game.”
In the last edition of Card Player Magazine that I may receive (canceled the subscription after his initial WSOP comments), November Nine member Jeff Shulman takes the sly opportunity to make another unclear accusation point about the WSOP and Harrah’s.
To refresh memories, Shulman was headed for the final table of the WSOP Main Event in July and made some comments regarding the possibility of winning the bracelet, namely that he would throw the gold in the trash. Two days later, CardPlayer.com published a story allowing Shulman to clarify his feelings. He noted therein that he was disappointed in how the WSOP is run, and that it is no longer run by people who care about poker or have the players in mind. Some of his comments:
“Look, I love poker and entered with the hopes of winning,” Shulman stated. “But, more importantly, I support making the industry stronger and better for the players, and to do this, there needs to be some major changes to the way the World Series is run at the highest level. Hopefully, by doing something like this, people will start talking about those changes. I am going to stand by my commitment, but instead of pointlessly throwing it in the trash, I have come up with a few ideas.”
Jeff Shulman’s alternative bracelet ideas:
1. Auction off the bracelet and give the money to charity
2. Hold a tournament for all players shut out of the main event and award the winner the bracelet
3. Give the bracelet away in a SpadeClub.com tournament
4. Give the bracelet to Stephen Colbert
As the Card Player Media President and COO, Shulman has the magazine at his disposal in which to write a lengthy explanation of what is so wrong with Harrah’s and how he could fix poker. Instead, though, a page in the September 1 issue is dedicated (as always) to the Card Player TV show entitled “The Scoop with Adam & Diego,” and this time Shulman was the guest and excerpts were printed from the interview. Right off the bat, Diego Cordovez asked a question that baffled me coming from someone in the poker press:
“Now, the last couple of days, the poker press, what there is of it, has started to quote you and stir up controversy, which you initiated…”
Anyhooo, his answer? “…I’ve had a lot of people come up to me and say that somebody’s got to do something about it. I’m not sure I’m the right guy, being that I’m in the industry, but it’s not like we have some special relationship here. They hate us, for whatever reason… I think they hate anyone who’s not a celebrity, or maybe it’s just that they treat the celebrities so much better than everyone else that they have special rules, they don’t get penalties. I’ve never seen anything like it. If we really want to take poker to the next level, you can’t have different rules for different people.”
Evidently, by disrespecting the WSOP bracelet and Harrah’s (and all the players who would do anything to be in his final table position), he plans to take poker to the next level. Would that be the rude and insulting level? Would that be the vague and evasive level? Would love to hear some thoughts on this issue…
(The opinions/insinuations herein are Cali Jen’s views and not necessarily those of Pokerati or Pokeratizens.)
Setting foot in a casino card room for the first time since the WSOP yesterday, I did so to support my local L.A. poker spot The Bicycle Casino. The lovely Marketing Director Kelley O’Hara invited me to play in the media tournament in the brand new Event Center to kick off the month of Legends of Poker tournaments. While I opted not to play and only observed for a short time, I must say the Event Center is a vast improvement over the tournament room of the past. The spacious room is bright, welcoming, and about as elegant as Bell Gardens, California can get. Players at Legends events will be very pleasantly surprised.
Seems that about 180-200 people turned out to play in the tournament, including players like Annie Duke, Joe Reitman, Men Nguyen, and Jamie Gold. Some of the celebs spotted were Camryn Manheim and Sara Rue, along with local TV newscasters like hottie Phillip Palmer. It was no surprise that Duke took it down, though, and donated the winnings to Ante Up for Africa. (I get the feeling she’s really dedicated to that there organization.)
Oh yeah… I began to doubt my picks when many of their preliminary finishes were not as expected (or non-existent). But it seems that two of my favorites for the 2009 WSOP are heading to Day 5 of the Main Event!
Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier came into Day 4 as the massive chip leader, and though he lost a little ground, he still finished the day with 1,253,000 chips.
And Kara Scott! She didn’t have a stellar day but ended it with 400K. After the flurry of bustouts after the money bubble today, she hung in there and posted a solid end-of-day result.
Well, this just didn’t go as planned. The idea was to make some solid picks mixed with some off-the-wall choices for 2009 World Series performances, with the results proving me to be somewhat of a genius. Whoops.
Some of my players have done well and could very well tear up the Main Event, but I could have possibly done better than, for example, picking my dentist’s nephew. Here’s a little rundown of my eight players through the end of the preliminary events:
Daniel Negreanu – Clearly the best of the picks, Daniel had an excellent series, though possibly not by his own high standards. With eight cashes, two of which were in world championship events and two of which were final tables, he cashed for more than $330K in the series.
Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier – One of the favorites in many player pools this year, ElkY cashed twice during the series but could not quite pull a final table. He did make the cover of Bluff Magazine, though, with the article written by fellow Frenchman Benjo.
Terrence Chan – He came into the WSOP with a hot online poker streak that simply didn’t translate into WSOP bracelets, only walking away with one cash in the preliminary events.
Kara Scott – Besides being a talented and professional EPT hostess, the woman can play some poker as well. She played one preliminary event – a $1,500 NLHE – prior to the Main Event and cashed in 58th place.
Luca Pagano – My favorite Italian player did not cash. Viva Italia next year and all that.
Jonathan Dull – My dentist’s nephew had one cash in a $1,500 NLHE event, but, well, I won’t have much to report to my dentist in July.
Dwyte Pilgrim – After 13 cashes in WSOP Circuit events over the past year, Dwyte ran cold at the WSOP in Vegas and wasn’t able to cash in the prelims. But his record over the past year doesn’t lie, so it’s just a matter of time, guy I’ve never met buddy.
Whit Blanton – Pokerati player Whit made a run at one event and didn’t find his way to the money. But he still loves Pokerati, and isn’t that what matters?
Bonus pick Mekhi Phifer – Ummm, where was he?
The Main Event is just kicking into gear, so at least one of my picks still has a chance to go deep. (Go Kara!)
The room was packed with players, who gathered on short notice to find out what Harrah’s would do with the hundreds (conservative number) of irate/disappointed/confused players who were denied entry to the 2009 WSOP Main Event because of their late arrivals to the sell-out event. Notables in the room included Mike Sexton, Mickey Appelman, and Melissa Hayden.
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.
It was two years ago that I wrote my first opinion piece about the WSOP ladies-only tournament. After I received a sufficient amount of hate mail, I wrote a follow-up piece. I skipped the subject at the 2008 WSOP except for a few snarky comments, and now it slaps me in the face yet again as I sit on media row in front of a sea of women. In lieu of a rant or reiteration of my previously-stated feelings on the issue, I’ll just relay a few notes.
• When your practice game isn’t at a casino but in a home game with your husband and your dad, you might be in trouble at the WSOP.
• When your first instinct at the table is to introduce yourself to everyone and ask where they’re from instead of sizing them up and concentrating on your own strategy, you’re giving off a big tell.
• If you have to apologize for knocking another player out of the tournament, you’re not cut out for tournament poker.
• When the floor staff is openly yawning while observing the tables, the play is not exactly top-notch.
• When tables full of women squeal at every mention of finishing a level or moving to a new table, this is clearly not a room full of pros.
• When the tournament announcer says that another event’s restart will be in the other room to “make room for all these beautiful ladies,” they’re talking to you like you’re “special people” and you shouldn’t smile about that.
Media row is half empty today and will be until the 5pm start of the World Championship O8 tournament. And those of us who are here are praying for the men to arrive for other events so it evens out a bit. For me, add some women-tilt that came from a phone call attempting to convince me not to write anything negative about the Women in Poker Hall of Fame, and I’m simply trying not to write something that will get me bitch-slapped I may regret later. I’ll be staying out of the hallways on breaks, that’s for sure.
Oh yes, Nelly is here again! He is playing in the $1.5K NLHE today at the WSOP, rocking the gray hoodie again and sporting his biggest accessory – a massive bodyguard on the rail. Thus, the lack of a new photo from today’s event. Honestly, I am not prepared to be reported to security or have a “chat” with his bodyguard, so I decided to keep my legally required distance.
Please refer to my previous Nelly post for stalking goodness.
This post answers the question: What have we learned from the $40K?
1. There is a definite need for a “high roller” No Limit tournament at the WSOP each year. This is obvious because 201 players ponied-up the cheddar to play in the $40K, generating a monster prize pool and a $1,891,102 first place prize. This shows that there are plenty of players willing to participate in this type of event and the field might grow larger if Harrah’s starts running satellites online and makes it a yearly tradition.
2. Television cameras are still a big deal to poker players. It is obvious poker pros are still trying to get endorsement deals and promote their sponsors. There is no easier way to do that than by making an ESPN final table. With no television coverage slated for the $50k H.O.R.S.E. tournament this year, the $40k’s coverage could be the main reason why there may be a smaller field in the big buy-in mixed games tournment.
3. No Limit Hold’em puts asses in the seats. Since the majority of the mainstream poker fans have spent the last couple of years watching No Limit on television, it is only logical that the $40K would bring the railbirds out in droves. Kudos to Jeffrey Pollack and company for packing the isles with the first “major” tournament.
4. With arguably the toughest No Limit field in WSOP history, this event brought out a sizeable number of players that would traditionally avoid the $50K H.O.R.S.E. tournament. The reason for this is that there is a strong contingency of players whose expertise lies strictly in No Limit whereas there are only a small percentage of players who feel genuinely comfortable playing mixed games with the best players from around the world.
5. Always make sure to follow the mantra of “Start with a bang.” Granted the $1,000 Stimulus special has sold out, but in the end, only a few will care who won this donkfest, but plenty of people will pay attention to the winner of the $40K thanks to ESPN’s coverage and the incredible level of talent in the field.
6. Despite the fact that all WSOP bracelets are supposed to be considered equal, you have to admit that it sounds much sexier to say you beat the world’s top players in one of the biggest buy-in tournaments on the planet instead of saying that you outlasted 5,999 punters in a $1K bloodbath. ‘Nuff said.
Many speculated that it would happen, but the last seat was sold just after 10am this morning, and the number is official: 6,000 entrants for Event 4. Another 2009 WSOP record was set with the final number, and it became the largest non-WSOP main event tournament ever to be held.
Players are already gathering in droves outside the Amazon Room for the first of two starting days of the $1,000 NLHE Stimulus Special. The madness will begin shortly!
See the official word after the jump.
(Warning: Sarcasm-free blog post. Enjoy it or hate it while it lasts.)
It was one of the best ideas that Commissioner Pollack and crew implemented in years. Starting yesterday, the bracelet ceremonies are in full effect to honor every event winner with a moment in the spotlight. Instead of winners like Andrew Cohen being given his bracelet in the wee hours of the morning when exhaustion mixes with emotion for a sometimes unfulfilling chaotic moment in time, he was honored as the Event 1 Casino Employees World Champion in the middle of the Amazon Room where the eyes of the fans, media, and fellow players were on him. Call me a sap, but it was a touching moment.
Every 2009 WSOP bracelet winner will receive the same treatment. And in a sea of players and tournaments and Day 1’s and Day 2’s and cash games and fan-filled aisles of people, the 2:20pm ceremony each day will be a refreshing few minutes that reminds everyone of why we’re all here.
Day 1 of the World Series of Poker is a misnomer, really. Much of the Amazon Room is still being put together, as is the ESPN feature/final table area, and the media room was dark (well, awfully bright, actually, but without staff to hand out press passes). Many of the hallway displays were still being constructed or had not yet even arrived, and cash games were still being played in the Rio poker room in the casino. However, pre-registration was open as promised, and satellites were in full swing in the Convention Center area.
Players were anxiously getting their game on in the satellite room, looking to be some of the first to win their WSOP event seats via the mega-satellites. And there were a few excited faces walking down the hallway after having purchased their first WSOP seats. But the hallways were relatively empty, as they will not be again for the next 50 or so days.
Today is Day 2, when Event 1 allows the casino employees to get their games on before the madness begins. And that will lead us to tomorrow, which is officially noted as Day 3 but will offer up the first of the much-anticipated big WSOP tournaments – the $40K buy-in NLHE (Event 2) – as well as the first final table, which will award the first WSOP bracelet of the year to a casino employee.
An appeals court reported lessened the jail sentences of two men convicted of throwing a 700-player shindig. From CP-Europe:
The men had the charges against them reduced from “serious illegal gambling” to “illegal gambling”. The court ruled that because the game being played was Texas hold’em in a tournament format, the players own judgment was more important than the cards being dealt, effectively ruling that the game was one of skill and not luck.
The Hard Rock Poker Lounge weekly poker tournament schedule features daily events at 1:00pm and 7:00pm. The poker room also hosts a weekly $5,000 Freeroll Tournament at 4:00pm on Saturday for players who log 20 hours of live play on their Rockstar Club Card between Sunday and Friday. Play 30 hours and receive 1,000 bonus chips with an additional 500 chips at 35 and 40 hours. Freeroll players can also buy a $20 Staff Bonus for 1,500 additional chips. For more info call the Hard Rock Las Vegas Poker Lounge at 702-693-5874.
Hard Rock Poker Lounge Tournament Schedule:
Monday
1:00 PM – $45 Buy-in No-Limit Texas Hold’em Tournament
4,000 starting chips, $5 Bonus for 1,000 additional chips, Play 1 hour of live poker on your Rock Star Card from 8am – 1pm for 1,000 Bonus chips. 20 minute blind levels.
7:00 PM – $50 Buy-in No-Limit Texas Hold’em Tournament
4,000 starting chips, $10 add-on for 2,000 additional chips, earn 500 extra chips per hour (Between 1pm and 7pm) max 2,000 extra chips. 20 minute blind levels.
By all accounts, the WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic final table was going to be a good one with a line-up that included Corkins, Sung, Rheem, and Filippi. But most eyes were on Rheem, who was one of the November Nine favorites but had to settle for a seventh place finish at the 2008 WSOP final table.
Rheem was determined going into the WPT final table, even knowing that two of his opponents – Steve Sung and Amnon Filippi – were close friends. But as players dropped out of sight, Rheem was able to go heads-up against Justin Young in what ended up being a five-hour epic heads-up match. The chip lead was exchanged numerous times, but it may have been sheer determination and fan support that led Rheem to finally capture the title at 2am. He won the World Poker Tour title and the $1,538,730 that came with it.
Here are the final results:
6th – Hoyt Corkins $216,175
5th – Amnon Filippi $288,235
4th – Steve Sung $396,206
3rd – Evan McNiff $540,440
2nd – Justin Young $936,760
1st – Chino Rheem $1,538,730
I would point you to the official WPT live updates, but it has been unavailable on the internets all morning. So, for updates as they happened throughout the final table, check out Martin’s reporting at PokerListings.
The World Poker Store announced the expansion of its Bar Poker League into Mexico with plans to host 40 free tournaments per week in or around Mexico City, beginning in February of 2009. Liga Mexicana de Poker is set to become the licensee of the Bar Poker League and manage the tournaments.
Other Bar Poker Leagues are set to begin in 2009 – China and Germany in January, The Netherlands in February. Those ideas sound great…but Mexico? Has someone missed the news recently about the LAPT’s rather serious problems with hosting a tournament in that country? Like when Mexican officials shut down the event without warning, refused to let the tournament resume despite talks between attorneys, and supposedly seized all of the production equipment that the government still holds nearly a week later… Sure hope someone lets the World Poker Store know about that little poker snafu south of the border.
Not entirely.
But the WSOP Europe can’t seem to grow its numbers. Amazingly, two of this year’s London events had the exact same number of entrants as in 2007.
2007 HORSE – 105 players
2007 PLO – 165 players
2007 NLHE main event – 362 players2008 HORSE – 110 players
2008 PLO – 165 players
2008 NLHE main event – 362 players
The only major difference is that there was on additional event at the 2008 WSOPE in the form of a NLHE tournament that drew 410 players. With that extra event, one could say that the overall turnout for the WSOPE grew, but that’s not the real story. THE story is that the World Series of Poker has had such high hopes for the growth of its brand, even throwing out the idea of expanding to Latin America and Asia in the coming years, but the first two years of the WSOP Europe haven’t indicated that there is a real public demand for it.
Maybe one of these days he will accept an offer.
Swimmer Michael Phelps came off an historic Olympics with eight gold medals. And in one of his numerous post-feat interviews, he mentioned that he might like to play in the World Series of Poker. Suddenly, offers were coming from poker tournament organizers like the Asian Poker Tour. Another offer can be added to the list, courtesy of Betfair, the official sponsor of the World Series of Poker Europe.
Even though Betfair worded it with already-overused terms like “human dolphin” and “shark,” the site offered Phelps the chance to play in the WSOPE later this month, even offering to pay the £10,000 buy-in to the main event on his behalf. And then the statement on Betfair ruined it with this: “Phelps will be free to wear his famous LZR swim suit at the table although organizers fear it may not give him the same competitive edge outside of the pool.” No word on any response from Phelps.
(Note to poker tour organizers: Quite possibly, refraining from the use of swimming/poker analogies might get your offer taken more seriously. And it might keep writers like me from making fun of you.)
I think I had you at the first five letters…
Evidently, the Pussycat Dolls are being paid enough to like to play poker, and they are willing to do it with the winner(s) of this contest on bwin poker. The first two winners will fly to a mysterious place called PokerIsland to spend the weekend at a luxurious villa with the Pussycat Dolls from August 16-19. It seems that every week, two more freeroll winners will make the trip, all leading up to a grand finale of some sort in October, the winner of which will be a year-long sponsored player of the bwin team.
1. Has anyone had any experience with bwin?
2. Did anyone read anything I wrote after Pussycat Dolls?
Sounds like a fun contest. And if you can take a guest, consider Dan, who just might need a vacation from his vacation per his CSR posts.
UPDATE: PokerIsland seems to be in Ibiza, Spain.
The last of the $50K H.O.R.S.E. mega satellites is going on now. The $2250 buy-in mega caught the eye of about 40 people, including Anna Wroblewski, Mike Wattel, and Jimmy “Gobboboy” Fricke. Oh, and Tom Schneider, who is no longer seated because he is now headed out of the Amazon Room. “Outski,” he said. “Outski and Hutch.”
At the first break of the mega, Tom stated that he was short-stacked and would probably be out soon. (Ding!) Regardless of the satellite outcome, he plans to play in the $50K event tomorrow and was very honest about how he would do so. He has sold some pieces of himself and is in discussions with a few other possible takers. At this point, he believes he will have to put up a good chunk of the buy-in himself, somewhere in the range of $20K and $35K.
While Tom doesn’t seem too thrilled about forking over that kind of dough, he doesn’t see being able to skip this event with so much prestige and money on the line. So, with bias firmly intact, go Tom!
In an effort to talk to more pros about playing in tomorrow’s $50K H.O.R.S.E. event, I ran into two players who are weighing their options and making decisions today about what to do.
Kenna James admitted that he does not have the money for the buy-in, though as Dan has previously noted, how many people really do? Kenna noted that a backer had contacted him about the possibility of working a deal, and he is considering that, as well as trying to win his way in through a mega satellite, the last of which is this evening at 5pm. With the announcement of the two additional satellite opportunities over the past few days, this gives him more outs. Personally, I didn’t get the feeling that he was super determined to play the H.O.R.S.E. event, but that remains to be seen.
Mark Newhouse is feeling good this year. With the disagreement with Dustin “Neverwin” Woolf out of the way and a backer firmly in place, he can be found walking around the Rio all the time, even standing around watching other tournaments on his own tournament breaks. He seems more determined than ever to make waves. For this reason, the $50K H.O.R.S.E. has definitely been on his mind.
While Newhizzle has a backing deal for the entire WSOP, he chose to exclude the H.O.R.S.E. event from that deal because “I don’t want that kind of makeup.” He also noted that despite his self-confidence, he doesn’t feel like a huge favorite in this particular event and wouldn’t want to take a chance on it by buying in directly with a backer’s money. He played two mega satellites last week and was not able to score a seat, but when I told him that there were mega opportunities still available, he immediately called his backer to discuss that option. If he wins a seat, he will play.
He fought through a field of 713 players, came back from a chip deficit at the final table, and kept his faith through a tough heads-up battle to win the $1,500 Pot Limit Hold’em tournament at the 2008 WSOP. Along with the $214,131, David Singer finally took home a WSOP title.
There are a number of players in poker who are quite accomplished, have paid their dues in poker, and show millions of dollars in tournament winnings…but have no World Series of Poker title. David was one of those players… Before tonight’s long-awaited victory, he had over $3.8 million in tournament earnings (this win puts him over $4 million), 8 WPT cashes (two of which were televised final tables), and 16 WSOP cashes (half of which were final tables). Most notably in the past two years of the WSOP, he gained recognition for finishing in sixth place both years in the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. tournament, arguably the most prestigious of the WSOP events in recent years. He also won the Mirage Poker Showdown heads-up tournament in 2006 and the Caesars Palace Classic main event for $1 million in 2007.
All of that, and he finally now has a WSOP bracelet.
Well-deserved and well done, David. Congratulations!
At the World Series, it is not uncommon for players to play more than one event on any given day. Many pros buy in to numerous tournaments, even if it means they have to run back and forth from table to table. It’s insane but happens more than you’d think.
Catching up with Dutch Boyd in the smoking area, he let me know that he’s only playing one event at a time. “I’d rather concentrate on one tournament at a time. No double dipping for me.”
Good to know.
The WSOP got underway with a bang and a band. The UNLV marching band entered the Amazon Room with a rendition of “Viva, Las Vegas,” followed by a bit of an uncomfortable silence that was broken by welcome announcements from Jeffrey Pollack and Jack Effel.
Pollack told the crowd of gathering players and media that bracelet winners from years past and going forward will be given Diamond status at all Harrah’s properties around the world. Not a bad perk for the players. A few other welcoming comments and new rule advisories from the duo, and the cards were in the air.
And we’re off. Or we’re on. The $10,000 Pot Limit Hold’em World Championship has begun, and though we still await the final numbers, it looks like about 350 players signed up for Event #1. The cash games are buzzing, media is getting settled in, and players are excited to be here, with the exception of those who have already busted.
More updates to come!
…Okay, that title may be the single gayest line I’ve ever typed. My bad. I’m draining Dos Equis and blogging via Hooters WiFi.
I’m about to fire off an email to friends, family, etc., inviting them to take a piece of me in a second $1,500 NLHE Event, which I wasn’t originally planning on playing. I’m actually interested to hear your opinions on how I’m handling the two-event split and the Main Event equity parlay.
Check out the details at my super-new personal blog (blog.karridy.com), and let me know if you think I’m drawing dead.
ALT HED: For sale: BackerTracker.com – $1,500
A recent player bashing discussion has evolved on the 2+2 forums regarding tipping dealers and tournament staff upon winning a major event. Specifically, this is in reference to Brandon Cantu’s recent World Poker Tour $1 million win at the Bay 101 Shooting Stars tournament.
Evidently, unlike many tournaments on the circuit, Bay 101 didn’t take anything from the buy-ins to tip the staff, but Brandon was unaware of this. CardPlayer has done an interesting two-part article, which includes some words from Brandon and TD Matt Savage.
Click here for Part 1.
Click here for Part 2.
So many interesting questions arise from this discussion, as they did when Jerry Yang won the 2007 WSOP main event.
Should the players be told up-front about the tipping policy at that particular venue?
Is it the players’ responsibility to find out or that of the tournament director to inform everyone?
If a tip is taken from the buy-ins, should players still tip on top of that?
Do only the winners tip? Or should everyone at the final table tip?
What is the correct percentage to tip?
This is a subject that should be discussed in length. I’d love for some tournament pros to weigh in on this.
The WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star main event wrapped up late last night in San Jose, California. The player who walked away with the $1 million prize and his first WPT title was Brandon Cantu.
This tournament is always a unique one, with bounties on numerous pro players worth $5k each, and $10k bonuses for the chip leader at the end of Day 1A, Day 1B, and Day 2. Players typically enjoy the unique aspects of the game, and the fans can’t get enough. There are fans everywhere seeking autographs, photos, and a glance at the pros in action.
The final table was set to be a great one…
Seat 1: Noah Jefferson – 842,000
Seat 2: John Phan – 374,000
Seat 3: Brandon Cantu – 3,323,000
Seat 4: Steve Sung – 474,000
Seat 5: Jennifer Harman – 541,000
Seat 6: Michael Baker – 1,964,000
Phan was the first to go, followed by Baker and Jefferson. The lovely Jen Harman put up a solid fight but finished in third. By the time heads-up action began, Cantu had over 6 million chips to Sung’s 1.3 million. It didn’t take long for Cantu to seal the deal.
Cantu had a stellar tournament. Not only was he the Day 1A chip leader for a $10k bonus, but he ended up collecting six bounties throughout the event for an extra $30k. And in the end, he maintained his final table chip lead, which is an usual phenomenon these days, and took the WPT title and cool mil. He is now one of the elite group of players to have won a WSOP bracelet (2006 $1500 no-limit hold’em) and a WPT tourney.
Congrats, Brandon!
Lou Krieger mentioned this, and I just checked it out and bookmarked it.
iPokerCal is a new website that lists all things poker – internet tournaments, live tournaments and events, and televised poker. It looks to be a comprehensive listing of everything going on in the poker biz, including a page of poker room reviews that will surely be growing as the site expands.
It seems that the California Bureau of Gaming Control doesn’t take too kindly to discrimination.
On January 18, the Bureau released a statement that rejected “ladies only†poker tournaments because they violate the state’s anti-discrimination laws. Not only will such events not be allowed to discriminate in admittance prices or services offered, but they can no longer advertise tournaments as ladies only, since men must be admitted.
PokerNews ran an article about it, noting that the Bicycle Casino and Commerce Casino do allow men to enter the events and will change their advertisements to remove the word “only†when referring to the ladies tournaments.
The WPT, which recently launched its Ladies League, said, “The intention of WPT Ladies is not to prohibit or promote against male players from joining, playing or receiving equal prizing in WPTL tournaments, but rather to encourage the growth of women in poker and provide opportunities to test their skills in the tournament environment.â€
Curious to see how this all plays out – if men will start entering these ladies events to make a point or if they will leave the ladies alone.
See the entire Bureau of Gambling Control press release by clicking below:
In Atlantic City, New Jersey, tonight, Gavin Griffin won the WPT Borgata Poker Classic, making him the first player to win a WPT title, EPT title, and WSOP bracelet.
The final table set out to be a good one with names like Lee Watkinson, David Tran, Noah Schwartz, and Griffin. When it was all said and done, Griffin won a tough heads-up battle against Tran (the final hand detailed here by WPT Live Updates) to win the title, along with the $1,401,109 prize, a Tag Heuer watch, and a customized Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
Griffin won his first major title in 2004 by capturing a WSOP bracelet in the $3000 Pot Limit Hold’em event, then took the poker world by storm with the 2007 EPT Grand Final win at Monte Carlo less than a year ago. Tonight, he took his first WPT title and solidified his place in the game’s history.
On a personal note, I had the pleasure of meeting Gavin and his girlfriend Kristen several months ago in L.A., and I had drinks with Kristen just a few days ago in Las Vegas. They are both incredibly kind, charitable, and fun people. And today is Kristen’s birthday – I can confirm that a major celebration of many sorts is going on at the Borgata tonight.
Congrats, Gavin!
The L.A. Poker Classic begins its month of preliminary tournaments tomorrow (January 24) at Commerce Casino. In fact, it is actualy in Commerce, California, but L.A. – City of Dreams, Hollywood, City of Angels, LaLa Land – sounds so much more appealing.
Prelim events range from $300 buy-ins to the $10k main event, and there are tournaments in limit & no-limit hold’em, stud, Omaha, six-handed and tag team hold’em, and shootouts, so there’s something for every donkey sucker player.
It all wraps up with the WPT $10k championship event that begins on February 23 with the final table on February 28. And the star-studded Celebrity Invitational runs from March 1 – 3.
Click here for a complete schedule.
Since Dan everybody calls me Cali Jen, I will be there when I can to get the inside scoop on who’s in the house, who’s winning and losing, any drama that ensues (did someone mention Brandi?), and which players and celebrities I have crushes on respect and admire.
It’s that time of year again. The NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship is on the horizon, and many players have already confirmed that they’ll pay the $20k to get some camera time compete in the event. Sixty players have been announced, leaving four open seats for qualifiers yet to be announced.
Festivities will begin on February 28th at Pure Nightclub at Caesars in Vegas with the drawing party to determine the match-ups. The following day brings the first matches, and a winner will be determined and get his/her $500k on March 2.
Previous champs Paul Wasicka, Ted Forrest, and Phil Hellmuth will be playing, as well as numerous first-time players like David Singer, Bill Edler, Scott Clements, Jerry Yang, Brian Townsend, Tom Dwan, celebrities Jason Alexander and Brad Garrett, MLB player Orel Hershiser, and the 2007 CardPlayer favorite WSOP Player of the Year Tom Schneider.
Click below for the list of players:
Tom Schneider makes another final table, this time in Tunica. It was only back in November that he made the WSOP Circuit final table at Caesar’s Indiana, though then he was short-stacked.
Tomorrow, Tom will begin final table play with a healthy stack of 422,000. (Correction: The final table is Tuesday at noon CST. Thanks, Kevin!)
There were 180 players entered into the $7500 buy-in event, and the winner is guaranteed $428,210. Not a bad way to kick off 2008…
PokerListings is doing live updates from the event, which is where you can find the following info (and more):
Here are the final table seats and chip counts:
Seat 1: Tom Schneider $422,000
Seat 2: Ben Sabrin $417,000
Seat 3: John Devia $929,000
Seat 4: Giovanni Marcacci $465,000
Seat 5: Jordan Rich $147,000
Seat 6: Mark Garner $213,000
Seat 7: Bart Tichelman$164,000
Seat 8: Don Nicholson $325,000
Seat 9: Ryan Young $521,000
* Blinds: $4,000/$8,000
* Ante: $1,000
* Average Stack: $400,000
* Players Left: 9
* Tables Left: 2
Strange. Just listened to the latest episode of Beyond the Table, the first of the new year. If you haven’t queued up “ . . . Who Needs Enemies?†yet, let me forewarn you. The guys talk about poker. That’s right. Poker. I mean like all the way through.
What the hell?
After a brief rundown of the several January tourneys presently ongoing, Tom offers some winning wisdom regarding tourney selection. Then, prompted by a question from Karridy, there follows a smart, insightful discussion about differences between cash game players and tourney players. Yeah, I know. “Smart†and “insightful†usually ain’t what us BTT fans are looking for. But there it is.
Next the trio turn their attention to Dan’s first poker session after moving to Vegas, as well as the rambling, gambling fortunes of Dan’s friend, Bob. The show concludes with a stunner of sorts regarding CardPlayer’s recent 12-page, comprehensive overview of “Poker’s 2007 Odyssey: A Review of the Year’s Historic Events.†(Hint: The article ain’t as comprehensive as one might have hoped.)
Oh, there were opportunities for the hosts to get away from the pokery content. Other topics arise, such as Dan’s sex life, Barack Obama, and froteurism. (Not at the same time. Ahem.) But somehow none of these offered enough turbulence to divert Beyond the Table from its poker-specific flightpath.
Do let the BTT hosts know how you feel about this strange new development by calling the listener line at (888) 820-8091 or emailing theshow(at)beyondthetable(dot)com.
