It takes place at Aria Casino on July 7, during Day 1A of the WSOP main event. Read below for more information if you want to go. Of all the boot camps out there, I think this one will probably be the best because Vanessa’s a girl, and everyone knows girls are smarter than boys. Tee-hee.

Vanessa Rousso to Hold Main Event Prep Camp
As players head to Las Vegas this summer to compete in the most highly acclaimed poker event of the year, they will have the opportunity to gain some last minute advice from one of poker’s most successful players, Vanessa Rousso.

Vanessa is hosting a main event prep-camp for players who want to optimize their playing skill and take their game to a winning level.

Every year poker players from around the world flock to Las Vegas to participate in the game’s most prestigious two-month event, The World Series of Poker (WSOP). The event is marked by a series of tournaments where poker enthusiasts compete against players around the globe to make their mark in the poker world and increase their earnings.

July 7th marks the start of The Main Event. The 1-day prep-camp is open to all players and will be held in Las Vegas on July 7th, day 1-A of The Main Event. It will be held at the Aria Resort and Casino.

Vanessa plans to share her winning secerets and offer instruction highliting effective playing strategies built around recent changes in The Main Event structure.

There will be an opportunity for photos, autographs, and questions. With over 4 million in tournament winnings, Rousso is not only regarded as one of the top players in the world, but has become one of the most sought after poker instructors.

Vanessa is thrilled to welcome serious players to her boot camp and invites them to sign up on her website www.bigslickbootcamp.com. or register via telephone: 1-877-33SLICK.

Papola denies the Master bracelet #8

Jeffrey Papola defeated Men Nguyen in the $5,000 No-Limit Holdem 6-max event, earning $667,443 and his first career bracelet. Nguyen earned $412,746 for the second-place finish, moving into a three-way tie for first in the WSOP Player of the Year race with Michael Mizrachi and James Dempsey. Erick Lindgren finished sixth for $82,303. Full results and Nolan Dalla’s tournament report are available at wsop.com.

Velador slams the door on his second bracelet

Luis Velador took down the $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha/Pot-Limit Holdem title as he defeated David Chiu heads-up, good for $260,517 and his second career WSOP bracelet. Chiu earned $160,902 for the second place finish, moving into a tie for 6th in the WSOP Player of the Year race. Full results and Dalla’s tournament report can be found at wsop.com.

10k NL Heads-Up down to an Elite 8

The final day of the $10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Holdem Championship resumes at 3pm with these matchups:

Jason Somerville vs. Kido Pham
Faraz Jaka vs. Ayaz Mahmood
Alexander Kostritsyn vs. Ludovic Lacay
Ernst Schmejkal vs. Vanessa Rousso

The matches will be single-elimination until the finals, a best of three match. Follow the action at PokerNews.

Minetti leads Seniors’ event, Schneider among final 23

Day 3 of the $1,000 Seniors’ No-Limit Holdem Championship resumes at 2:30pm with Michael Minetti leading the final 23 players with 1,038,000 in chips. Other notables returning include Michael Woo (523,000), Jack Ward (519,000), and Team Pokerati/Loudmouth Poker pro Tom Schneider (284,000). The full list of chip counts is at PokerNews.

Montgomery leads day 1a of 1k NL

Original November Niner Scott Montgomery (75,200) led the day 1a survivors in the $1,000 No-Limit Holdem event as the field played halfway through level 9 to get down to 286 players. Other notables: Neil Channing (64,500), Michael Gracz (52,700), Fabrice Soulier (39,125), Liv Boeree (24,275) and Leo Margets (22,875). The full list of chip counts is available at wsop.com.

Siegel super at day 1 of 3k HORSE

Day two of the $3,000 HORSE resumes at 3pm with Jordan Siegel leading the 207 players who remain with 66,900 in chips. Other recognizable names include: Darus Suharto (55,100), Dan Heimiller (52,100), Howard Lederer (44,400), Chau Giang (36,400) and Eugene Katchalov (29,900). The full list of chip counts is available at wsop.com.

Sunday’s tournaments

12pm is day 1b of the $1,000 No-Limit Holdem event, with a field of at least 1,000 expected. The 5pm tournament is the $10,000 Pot-Limit Holdem Championship, won last year by John Kabbaj in a field of 275 for $633,335.

DonkeyBomber leads 1k Seniors’ field

Day 1 of the $1,000 Seniors’ No-Limit Holdem Championship concluded with 427 players remaining at the end of 10 levels of play. The reported chip leader is Team Pokerati/Loudmouth Poker pro Tom Schneider in front with 94,000 in chips. Other notables with chips when play resumes at 2:30pm: Berry Johnston (62,900), Lon McEachern (27,200) and Sam Simon (23,100). A full list of chip counts is now available at PokerNews.

Ellis wins bracelet #4 for the UK

The $1,500 No-Limit Holdem event reached a conclusion first as Mike Ellis overcame a large chip deficit heads-up against Christopher Gonzales to win the bracelet along with $581,851 as the Briton wins the fourth bracelet this year for the UK, moving them into second in the WSOP world standings. Gonzales earned $360,906 for the runner-up finish. Full results and Nolan Dalla’s tournament report are available at wsop.com.

Puchkov punches his way to HORSE victory

The $1,500 HORSE event finally concluded in the wee hours of the morning as Konstantin Puchkov defeated Al “Sugar Bear” Barbieri to earn $256,820 and a WSOP bracelet. Barbieri earned $158,647 for the second place finish. Full results and Dalla’s tournament report will be available at wsop.com shortly.

Lindgren, Nguyen feature final day of 5k NL 6-max

The final day of the $5,000 No-Limit Holdem 6-max event gets underway with 12 players remaining. Here’s how the field will be seated when play resumes at 3pm:

Seat 1: Orlando Delacruz – 301,000
Seat 2: Anthony Roux – 668,000
Seat 3: Evan Panesis – 299,000
Seat 4: Jeffrey “jpapola” Papola – 598,000
Seat 5: Mark Radoja – 1,493,000
Seat 6: Darren Elias – 841,000

Seat 1: Bruno Launais – 875,000
Seat 2: Men Nguyen – 264,000
Seat 3: Erick Lindgren – 1,165,000
Seat 4: Taylor Mcfarland – 848,000
Seat 5: Paul Sheng – 712,000
Seat 6: Lucas Greenwood – 425,000

Follow the updates of this event at PokerNews.

Velador and Chiu top two in 2500 PLO/PLH

Day 3 of the $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha/Pot-Limit Holdem resumes at 3pm with 14 players remaining. Jose-Luis Velador (455,000) and David Chiu (451,000) are the leaders, while Rob Hollink (423,000), Victor Ramdin (262,000) and Phil Ivey (207,000) also return. PokerNews will be there until a bracelet winner is determined.

10k NL Heads-Up down to final 64

Two rounds of play have finished in the $10,000 No-Limit Holdem Heads-Up Championship with 64 players remaining when the field returns at 3pm. The 32 round three winners will make the money, with some of the notables returning include: Phil Ivey, Gavin Smith, Phil Gordon, Antonio Esfandiari, Sorel Mizzi, Jonathan Little, Josh Arieh, Vanessa Rousso and Vivek Rajkumar. The full bracket for this event is now online at wsop.com.

Saturday’s tournaments

The 12pm tournament is day 1a of the fourth $1,000 No-Limit Holdem event of the WSOP, with a field of at least 3,000 expected over the weekend. The 5pm tournament is the $3,000 HORSE event, which drew a field of 452 players last year with Zac Fellows coming out on top for $311,899.

(Also, by standing on such principles, I didn’t have to tell Tom he had a more promising future in selling pants than trying to qualify for the TOC.)

However, because the Maven Awards presumably isn’t looking to open an online poker room in the near future, and because, frankly, I was feeling bad for women in poker after the punk-bitch episodes in this year’s WSOP-Ladies event … I decided to give up my IP address to support the cause … somebody’s cause … in a way that seems like a good step toward someday negating the need for a separate Women in Poker Hall of Fame.

Much to my plausibly noble delight, it turns out The Maven Awards has an anonymous voting option that still does a decent job of preventing blatant ballot stuffing. (I tried; would require too much work for me to vote twice.)

I’m not sure when their voting deadline is, but it’s gotta be soon … so I encourage you to get your votes in, too, by voting here. Below are whom I voted for in each of the 14 categories and why:

Best Role Model for Women in Poker Award
Jennifer Harman
Kathy Liebert
Annie Duke

Ooh, tough one right off the top. There’s little not to like about Jen, but I’m not so sure I’d want my daughter aspiring to become such a high-stakes professional gambler — too many potential negatives that go with living in what can be a rather cold, hardcore world.

Kathy … she knows I have mad respect for her game and generally feel she deserves more props. But again to my imaginary offspring … I’d think my daughter some day should know a bit more about effectively shaking her moneymaker … not necessarily in a skanky ho-jiggle way, but to allow her to use whatever that moneymaker for her might be to her best advantage.

Annie … likewise, I think she’s a true and accomplished leader who wouldn’t be thought of as so bitchy if she were male. But hey, just as women have the advantages of sex appeal to work with, they also must bear the cross of maneuvering through a world where men often see strength from females as a negative … and sometimes not without reason.

So Jen Harman gets the nod here. If that theoretical daughter were going to choose a life of high-stakes Vegas poker — I’d prefer she not, but hey, it’s better than stripping — then indeed, I’d hope she could do it with both grace and prowess, to which Jen Harman serves as a fine role model.

Woman in the Poker Industry Who Has Excelled in Encouraging or Promoting Women in Poker Award
Linda Johnson
Kathy Raymond
Lupe Soto

Wordy category … But clear and easy winner here in Linda Johnson. Kathy has also done impressive stuff at the Venetian, but not with any specific female-empowering focus. Lupe maybe someday, but not yet.

Most Female Friendly Online Poker Room Award
Full Tilt Poker
PokerStars
Maria Poker

Maybe the cutthroat way Full Tilt looked to bury Clonie is just testament to their commitment to equal treatment for men and women alike. But regardless … have never heard of Maria Poker, and Stars has often promoted women as strong and viable players without resorting to hoochie-mama tactics.

Most Female Friendly Poker Room Award
The Venetian, Las Vegas
The Borgata, Atlantic City
The Bicycle, California

Clearly couldn’t be the Bike. Have never played at the Borgata. Easy vote for The Venetian, which isn’t just a great poker room, but one that never seems to have a shortage of female players, many of them plenty cute. Kathy Raymond must be doing something right to make sure these players like it there.

Overall Best Tournament Series Award
World Series of Poker
PokerStars Caribbean Adventure
The Borgata Open

Another easy one … women love the WSOP, and the WSOP loves its lady players.

Best Ladies Only Poker Tournament or Series Award
High Heels PokerTour
WSOP Ladies Tournament
Pokerstars EPT Ladies Events

Same as above. WSOP-Ladies … the House that Linda Johnson and Jennifer Tilly built?

High Heels might be a good one, but those Ladies-Only Tourney League/Series ops can be pretty cutthroat in their efforts to corner the Y-less chromosome sector of the poker market. Not really sure how HHPT plays. EPT-Ladies events are probably really good, but for all their action, don’t recall any EPT-Ladies-specific tourneys — whether via overall field size or impressive final table — resulting in something that made me take note.

Most Appealing Poker Marketing Campaign to Women Award
Australian Poker League
Vanessa Rousso Bootcamps
Pokerica Ladies Team

What, no Victory Poker here? Vanessa Rousso does really good work with her boot camps, I’ve seen from afar, and don’t know anything about the other two.

Most Encouraging Poker Forum Award
Twoplustwo.com
Cardrunners.com
LuvinPoker.com

Ack-gag-bleh! “Encouraging”? Why do you ladies even care about that kinda nonsense? You talk such a big sisterhood group-love game, but aren’t forums more a place for the claws-out back-stabbing realities of poker chickdom?

But OK, so you want encouraging … 2+2 obviously doesn’t belong — they don’t encourage anybody (which is probably why so many uber-poker-geeky dudes like the place). CardRunners is a current advertiser … and I’ve never seen anything disrespectful to women in their world.

LuvinPoker is a former advertiser (who presumably woulda been happy to continue on had Pokerati not made a recent decision to sever relationships with online poker sites). I’ve heard many stories specifically about how “supportive” their little group of players were in their forums, but it all sounded rather small and newbie.

Slight edge to CardRunners, for keeping a lady-friendly environ in a significant sector of the poker world.

Favorite Blogger or Author Award
Kate Dozier
Gary Wise
Jennifer Newell

Hmm, another potentially biased ballot, in a category featuring the lone male nominee. You can’t exactly consider Gary Wise a party-crasher akin to the shemale ladies-event players. They chose him … for some reason, so my pal and Poker Beat cohort must be a really standout good-for-women type of writer. But Jen is also a friend, and someone who’s helped this site a lot over the years as a blogger … AND who has turned into an admirable blogger in her own right.

Her gung-ho leftie politics may drive me to tilt, but I can’t let that get in the way of acknowledging that she deserves the nod for effectively pushing buttons on women-in-poker-related isues. Also snicker at the conflict of principles the mere existence of these awards would present for her (and Annie Duke) if Gary Wise weren’t a nominee.

Humanitarian Award
Liz Lieu
Annie Duke
Linda Johnson

Clear winner. Celebrity Apprentice and Ante-Up for Africa alone should be plenty by all measure. Inspiring women while shepherding the future of poker for everyone is nice (Linda) … and Liz doesn’t seem to be volunteering her time and resources on the ground for charitable efforts in Vietnam with accolades in mind. But making a needle-moving contribution to combatting genocide and oppression — on a scale noteworthy in a non-poker world … that’s gotta get the prize this go-round.

See conflict of principles bonus described above, too!

Most Notable Performance of 2009 Award
Annette Obrestad
Kathy Liebert
Vanessa Rousso

Another tough call. And though it may be my knowledge weakness not recalling the specifics of Annette’s or Kathy’s recent wins (think Kathy won a non-main event at Borgata?) … Vanessa’s win runner-up at the National Heads-Up Championship is what I insta-remember, which has to mean it is the most notable.

CORRECTION: Vanessa got 2nd, not first. Maybe a lucky ballot for her.

(And what about Daphne Turner, the woman who beat Allen Kessler heads-up to become the first two-ring woman on the WSOP-Circuit?)

Top Female Media Personality Award
Kara Scott
Michelle Orpe
Linda Johnson

A tweet from Kara is what prompted me to vote and do this post. I’ve met her a couple times and she seems nice, too. A heart-worthy media personality for the Web 2.0 generation, for sure.

Notable Upcoming Female Poker Player of 2009 Award
Annette Obrestad
Amanda de Cesare
Vanessa Selbst

NAPT-Mohegan Sun = notable by definition. Go Annette, but Selbst making moves on the table without the help of media and PR consultants. Seems appropriate, too, that poker should have a female bad-ass capable of appealing to fans of the WTA, LPGA, and WNBA. Hope Vanessa can get to that level of import in the world of power-fem competition.

Outstanding Professional Player of 2009 Award
Vanessa Rousso
Kathy Liebert
Liz Lieu

There we go … finally one that easily goes to Kathy. She’s an all-poker poker pro’s poker pro … putting up consistent and ongoing results year after year, including 2009 and 2010. So it doesn’t matter where the year this awards is honoring begins and ends … she should be the winner in this category for sure.

So there you have it … one Pokerati editor’s ballot that means no more no less than any other … with probably way too much explanation of why I believe some finalists are more deserving than others … of an honor that hasn’t yet proven itself of any real merits, but could play a relevant role in poker should these accolades go to the right winners over time.

Again, you can vote (anonymously if you wish) for the who’s who of poker females here.

The first PokerStars.net NAPT event in the US got off to a roaring start on Saturday, with 872 players putting up $5,000 at the Venetian as part of their Deep Stack Extravaganza. 149 players started day 3 a few minutes ago, with 128 making the money. Hand for hand play has just begun, and the tournament staff is hoping to play down to 24. You can follow the action over at PokerNews, PokerStarsblog.com, or PokerListings. The winner when play ends on Thursday will collect $827,648.

Reality show star Trishelle Canatella made the final table of the WPT Celebrity Invitational, part of the LA Poker Classic currently running at the Commerce Casino. The final table will resume on March 3rd with this lineup:

Seat 1: Steve Elliott – 1,520,000
Seat 2: Thor Hansen – 1,480,000
Seat 3: Trishelle Cannatella – 1,540,000
Seat 4: Sean Urban – 2,090,000
Seat 5: Neev Baram – 1,900,000
Seat 6: LeRon Washington – 1,790,000

In other LAPC news, Al “Sugar Bear” Barbieri took down his 3rd preliminary event of this year’s LAPC, winning the $2,100 Ironman event, a tournament with no scheduled breaks. Barbieri pocketed almost $60,000 for the win, plus a seat to the $10,000 Main Event, which starts February 26th.

The NBC National Heads-Up Championship is just a few days away, with the draw party on March 4th at Pure at Caesars’ Palace, followed by the tournament from March 5-7. The full list of 64 participants hasn’t been announced yet, but over 20 players already received their invite through a series of criteria, including last year’s winner, Huck Seed. Other automatic invites include: Phil Ivey, Joe Cada, Vanessa Rousso, Darvin Moon, Jason Mercier, Eric Baldwin, Sammy Farha, Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, and Barry Shulman. One invitee who had to decline: Jeff Lisandro, who has a prior commitment in Australia which prevents him from attending.

The EPT Copenhagen event, which drew 423 entries, concluded Sunday evening with Sweden’s Anton Wigg outlasting Italy’s Francesco de Vivo in a four-hour heads-up duel to win 3,675,000 Danish kroner ($6782,918). Other notables who cashed: Roberto Romanello, Peter Eastgate, Juha Helppi, and Bertrand Grospellier.

Audio of the announcement with Dennis, host Paul Harris and poker coach Joe McGowan:

Unconfirmed reports name Vanessa Rousso as his replacement.

AJ has more on the decision at his blog.

(Woot! Congrats, Julie!)

According to Julie, men don’t know what it’s like to have to dodge tilt at a final table on a heavy-flow day … but she didn’t let that get in the way of her finding success. With just the main event left to play — making it still anybody’s game, but statistically unlikely that anyone passes her — here’s the breakdown of the top women in the WSOP POY standings:

1. Julie Schneider – 65 pts
2. Vanessa Rousso – 60 pts
3. Millie Shiu – 60 pts
4. Annie Duke – 40 pts
5. Jennifer Harman – 37 pts

Lisandro Wins Bracelet #3, Wins Stud Triple Crown

Jeff Lisandro becomes the first player to win three bracelets in one WSOP after Chris Moneymaker initiated the poker boom in 2003, takes down the $2,500 Razz event, good for $188,370. Lisandro has won all three of his bracelets in stud events in each of the three disciplines of stud (Stud high, Stud Hi/Lo and Razz). Lisandro held the chip lead at the beginning of the day and was never seriously threatened. Michael Craig finished in 2nd, good for $116,405. Other notable finishes: Kenna James (6th), Al “Sugar Bear” Barbieri (10th), Ville Wahlbeck (12th) and Nikolay Evdakov (13th).

Seniors Six-Pack

Half a dozen players remain in the $1,000 Seniors NL Holdem World Championship, led by Scott Buller with over 2 million in chips. Michael Morusty, Charles Simon, Dan DeLatorre, Michael Davis and Barry Bounds make up the remaining players.

Thang Flung From Omaha-8

The $2,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better has 70 players remaining, only 45 get paid. The unofficial chip leader is Frankie O’Dell (109,000), followed by day 1 chip leader Josh Schlien (85,000), Pat Poels (71,500), Marsha Waggoner (54,000), Mike Matusow (38,000), and Max Pescatori (28,000) among the familiar faces. Thang Luu unfortunately was eliminated before the dinner break earlier today.

Brummelhuis Bringing It in Pot-Limit

The $10,000 Pot-Limit Holdem World Championship is down to 35 players, only 27 get to cash with day 1 chip leader Michiel Brummelhuis remaining chip leader (570,000). Isaac Haxton (450,000), Eric Baldwin (430,000), Darryll Fish (310,000), Vanessa Rousso (280,000), Sam Simon (173,000), and Eugene Todd (165,000) are among the remaining.

Mixed Holdem Brings Mixed Blessings

The $2,500 Mixed Holdem event drew a field of 527 players, of which just 184 remain. The unofficial chip leader is David Baker (unknown if that’s the one from Michigan or Texas) at 73,000. Eli Elezra (51,000), Marc Naalden (46,000) and Jean-Robert Bellande (42,000) are some well known folks with chips.

More updates during the evening over at www.wsop.com and Pokerati for more Lisandro stuff and other commentary about all things WSOP.

Hungary Hungary Bracelets

Peter Traply captured the first WSOP bracelet for Hungary, taking down the $5,000 NL Holdem Shootout , winning $348,728. Andrew Lichtenbergerfinished in second, good for $215,403. Lichtenberger thought he had the tournament won when his A-K flopped another ace against Traply’s pocket sixes. Another six on the turn doubled Traply up, leaving Lichtenberger with just 250,000 in chips out of the 7.5 million in play. Lichtenberger would double up several times, eventually regaining the chip lead. But Traply would be too much, finally knocking out Lichtenberger when his A-K dominated Lichtenberger’s A-J to the delight of his Hungarian railbirds.

Jerrod Jamming in 8-Game

Jerrod Ankenman, co-author with Bill Chen of The Mathematics of Poker is the current chip leader (1,230,000) of the $2,500 8-Game event. Earlier eliminations included Players to Watch Layne Flack (7th) and Rami Boukai (13th) Online favorite Jimmy “Gobbo” Fricke finished in 9th place to bubble the official final table. Jon Turner (another Player to Watch) is currently in second place (822,000), as he continues to impress in mixed-game tournaments.

Sweating to the Seniors

The $1,000 Seniors NL Holdem World Championship has about 120 players remaining as they’ll try to get as close to a final table as possible before the 3 am deadline. The current leader is Tony Brenner (315,000). Barbara Enright (85,000) and Eric Hershler make up a couple of the notable names remaining. Meanwhile, Players to Watch Lloyd Shinn (130th) and Berry Johnston (185th) did make the money.

The Author, The Cowboy and a Guy Named Warwick

The $2,500 Razz event has author Michael Craig (126,000) the chip leader, followed by “Cowboy” Kenna James (125,000) right behind him, followed by Day 1 chip leader Warwick Mirzikinian (98,000) with 43 players remaining, only 32 getting paid. Other notables remaining include Jeff Lisandro (59,000), Player to Watch Ville Wahlbeck (47,000), and James Van Alstyne (45,000), all involved in the thrilling WSOP Player of the Year race.They will also attempt to have a final table established by the 3am deadline.

Pot-Limit Holdem Boiling Over

The $10,000 Pot-Limit Holdem World Championship drew a field of 275 entrants, 162 of which will return from their dinner break. The unofficial chip leader is David Singer (132,000), with David Stiecke (95,000), Vanessa Rousso (93,500), Bill Edler (67,500), Eric Baldwin (56,000), and Jason Mercier (51,000) just some of the notables remaining. Four more levels remain in their day before returning at 2pm tomorrow.

Omaha, Ha Ha!

The $2,500 Omaha 8 or Better event began with a field of close to 400 entries. No official chip leader has emerged, but the final Player to Watch that hasn’t been mentioned today, Daniel Negreanu is now working on his third tournament of the day, as he has already been eliminated from the Razz and Pot-Limit Holdem events. Could he go 0 for three? Check out the updates over at www.wsop.com or my morning update and find out.

$10k Heads-Up Going Overtime

The $10,000 NL Holdem Heads-Up World Championship is down to the final match as John Duthie takes on Leo Wolpert in a best of three match at 12pm (broadcast here and at wsop.pkr.com for international viewers to determine a winner. Duthie, the founder of the European Poker Tour, which announced the first half of its schedule yesterday, takes on Wolpert a professional poker player who went back to law school and is currently on a summer internship in Nevada, will attempt to pick up their first career bracelet and the $625,682 that goes with it.

Eise Uses the Force to Win a Bracelet

Mike “The Force” Eise made his first tournament cash worthy of a bracelet, taking down the $1,500 NL Holdem event defeating Jeff Chang heads-up for the title as well as picking up a hefty $639,331.

Boatman Leads the Mob in PLO

Ross Boatman, member of the Hendon Mob (the best place to find tournament results) leads the final table in the $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha final table, which is seated as follows when play resumes at 2pm :

Seat 1: Jeff Kimber – 525000
Seat 2: Rami Boukai – 325000
Seat 3: Dallas Flowers – 239000
Seat 4: Ross Boatman – 718000
Seat 5: J.C. Tran - 387000
Seat 6: John Juanda – 129000
Seat 7: Theo Jorgensen – 419000
Seat 8: Chad Layne – 206000
Seat 9: Jean-Philippe Leandri – 324000

Soulier Écouter en $1,500 Cheval

Fabrice Soulier is the chip leader (351,000) when day 3 of the $1,500 HORSE resumes at 2pm with 23 players remaining. Shannon Shorr (323,500), Joseph Serock (152,500), Chris Bjorin (143,000) Vanessa Rousso (131,000), James Van Alstyne (130,000), Kathy Raymond (111,000), and Bryan Micon (76,000) and Paul Darden (54,500) are some of the notables remaining when play resumes.

Shan Jing Rings Up Day 1 Chip Lead

Shan Jing holds the chip lead (137,400) when day 2 of the $2,000 NL Holdem event restarts at 2pm today with 220 players remaining, 171 of which make the money. Ken Lennaard (109,200), Alex Bolotin (100,700), Luke Staudenmaier (88,600), Neil Channing (65,900), and Chau Giang (57,600) are some of the notables in the top half of the leaderboard, which will try to make the final table by the 3am deadline.

Harman Leading Lady in World Championship Event

116 players will return at 2pm today to resume the $10,000 Limit Holdem World Championship with Jennifer Harman the day 1 chip leader (127,600). Maria Ho (113,400), Josh Arieh (112,100), Shaun Deeb (106,000), and Chino Rheem (87,400) are notables in the top 10. Ville Wahlbeck is trying for his 5th straight cash in a 10k buyin event, 44th with 54,400 in chips. Only 18 make the money with a goal of the final table a possibility.

Tuesday’s Tournament

Only one event on the calendar today, the fourth $1,500 NL Holdem donkament, this version was won last year by David Woo for over $630,000 in a field of 2,720. The WSOP Staff Guide projects a field of 2,569, so take the over with at least 2,700 signing up to try their hand at that game they saw on ESPN.

Plenty of action yet again today at the WSOP, follow the action at and other stuff on Pokerati during your Two for Tuesday.

There are currently 38 players remaining, with 27 making the money. Click here to follow the official chip counts – and Dr. Pauly is all over this one, too.

UPDATE: Moneymaker just took a huge hit, losing 2/3 of his stack.

RE-UPDATE: Pauly is ahead of the official counters — Moneymaker is out. So is Zolotow.

There’s also some potential excitement brewing in the ESPN Fantasy Pool, with Matt Glantz (@MattGlantz, one of my guys) way up near the top of the chip counts; and Mathers has Neil Channing hanging on for his team of fantasy scabs.

Vanessa Rousso (@VanessaRousso) is also still alive, though barely. Wouldn’t it be something …

Last but definitely not least, Dallas/Shreveport baller Keith Lehr (pictured) is currently 5th in chips.

Dag Martin Mikkelsen (age 22, Norway) – 7,360,000
Matthew Woodward (age 26, United States) – 4,920,000
Peter Traply (age 21, Hungary) – 4,250,000
Mikhail Tulchinsky (age 43, Russia) – 3,605,000
Daniel Zink (age 24, Germany) – 2,570,000
Eric Qu (age 47, France) – 2,550,000
Alem Shah (age 51, Germany) – 1,520,000
Pieter de Korver (age 26, Netherlands) – 1,390,000

The 5-day, €10,000 main event drew 935 players (compared to 842 last year) and is paying €2.3 million to the winner. Click here to follow the action.

UPDATE: You can also watch live coverage at EPTLive.com, which I’m listening to in French to hear Benjo do the broadcast, who I gotta say is as funny in French (which I don’t speak) as he is in English.

Meanwhile, they’re concurrently playing the final table of the €25,000 “high rollers” event (a 3-day affair) — where the winner gets €720,000 … €434,000 to 2nd place. It’s apparently been quite the action game. They lost four players in the first level. Those remaining:

Randy Dorfman (age ??, United States) – 1,200,000 2,000,000
Tony G (age 35, Lithuania) – 900,000
Vanessa Rousso (age 26, United States) – 810,000 790,000 880,000
x- 4th place – Florian Langmann (age 26, Germany) – 1,180,000 220,000

Rousso actually started the day as the chip leader. I’m following her on Twitter, actually, where she has quite the hardbody avatar with a fake shark. Semi-interesting that both Americans remaining are both from Florida.

BTW, the current exchange rate:
€1 = $1.33
$1 = €.75

So that means the main event win pays: $3.05 million
The high rollers win pays: $956,000

Fresh off her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover advertorial, followed by her GoDaddy spokesmodel deal (and Danica Patrick commercial), followed by her impressive run to a $250k televised cash at the NHUPC final-final table … Vanessa Rousso is back at her old stomping grounds, doing a monthlong, seven-stop, three-casino run through Florida — with lectures, seminars, charity tourneys, and a “series of instructional workshops grounded in ‘Game Theory’ and Sun Tzu’s teachings about The Art of War”.

Ahh, now I see, her master plan kicked into gear with the PokerStars bikini shoot is all starting to make sense … she’s now got documented cred in looks, personality, skill … if only she could share her grasp of high-level contemporary mathematics and ancient eastern military philosophy with the troubled kids in her old hood!

(Isn’t 26 such a fun age?)

Click below for Vanessa’s Florida pokery homecoming itinerary:

· Friday, March 20th at the Jacksonville Orange Park Kennel Club, where she will play in a charity tournament for her newly launched anti-poverty foundation, The No Limit, No Profit Initiative, as well as several other charities.

· Saturday, March 21st at the Jacksonville Orange Park Kennel Club, Rousso returns for a short lecture on Game Theory and Poker tournament techniques. She will also play in an invitation-only tournament.

· Monday, March 23rd, Rousso will participate in the Pompano Beach’s Isle Casino ‘Battle at the Beach’ $300K guaranteed tournament. She will be available to sign autographs and take photographs during the tournament’s scheduled breaks.

· Saturday, March 28th at the Palm Beach Kennel Club, Rousso will give a short lecture on Game Theory and Poker and play in an invitation-only tournament.

· Sunday, April 5th at the Isle Casino in Pompano Beach, Rousso will launch her innovative poker instructional camp: ‘The Art of Poker—An Intro to Game Theory and Poker.’

· Saturday, April 11th at the Jacksonville Orange Park Kennel Club, Vanessa will teach another session of ‘The Art of Poker—An Intro to Game Theory and Poker.’

· Sunday, April 26th at the Palm Beach Kennel Club, Rousso will close out her Florida tour with one final opportunity for Florida poker players to attend her out-of-the-box boot camp, ‘The Art of Poker—An Intro to Game Theory and Poker.’

More details and registrations at BigSlickBootCamp.com

(I’m keeping up with results on my own time at PokerNews, btw.)

I ranked her 55th. Overall, the ESPN panel put her 49th. But hey, just goes to show you, anyone can get an easy draw. The laughable field the newest GoDaddy spokesmodel had to beat, in order: Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, 2007 NHUPC champ Paul Wasicka, Daniel Negreanu, and online wunderkind Bertrand Grospellier, aka ‘Elky’. Hmm. Wow.

Meanwhile, my bracket’s turned to shit. Of the 96 players in on PokerRoad/Pokerati’s fun, eight people picked Vanessa Selbst to win it all, yet no one … as in ZERO! … picked Vanessa Rousso.

Of the final four, here’s how many people picked them to win it all:

Vanessa Rousso – 0
Sammy Farha – 0
Huck Seed – 5
Elky – 9

CORRECTION: Technically Mike Matusow is GoDaddy’s newest spokesboy. He went out in Round 1.

– Russ Hamilton and Layne Flack on RawVegas.tv
– The Bluff Magazine Online Challenge (complete with breaking news about JJ Prodigy; oops, he did it again!)
– Steroids in poker?
– The poker event sponsorship biz
– Vanessa Rousso and Tiffany Michelle baring some but not all

Listen live here.

And feel free to call in and harass at 866.925.8255.

The Poker Beat Podcast
February 12, 2009

According to the article published today, Rousso will appear in the issue but, well…:

On Friday, Sports Illustrated Director of Communications Kelli Raftery explained the situation more clearly by saying that Rousso would be appear in the magazine, but not as a “featured model in the editorial portion of the magazine.” Instead, Rousso will appear as part of a PokerStars-sponsored “custom content” piece, which the online poker room paid for.

So, it’s a paid ad, but SI did the photo shoot. SI decided against featuring her with other models in the primary feature spread because “poker was not the direction it wanted to go in.” Interesting. Kinda a bummer, but still good to see that Rousso will make an appearance in the most popular Sports Illustrated issue of the year.

That’s cold, SI. Colder than it is today in North Dakota…cold.

Since Vanessa said that it was a good experience for her, those memories will have to suffice. And her renewed energy for poker this year might get her that big win on the felt in ’09.

One thing I’ve noticed is that PokerStars is putting up a fair amount of commercials during the Olympics, at least here in the Atlanta market. (Can anyone watching the Olympics in other markets confirm that it’s national?) The two commercials I’ve noticed the most are from PokerStars — one with Daniel Negreanu (playing pool & playing poker) and one with Vanessa Rousso (bungee jumping & playing poker). Of the two, I think the Vanessa Rousso one stands out much more — more contrast between bungee jumping and poker compared to Daniel’s billiards commercial, and it also has a taste of those “extreme sports” that the young’uns seem to like.

Regardless of what you think of Vanessa as a poker player, I think this could actually be good for the game of poker. One of the things Barry Greenstein came away with during last year’s Congressional visit (to discuss the legality of online poker) was how impressed the congressmen were with the female players who showed up — Annie Duke and Vanessa Rousso. In their eyes, Vanessa is an attractive young woman with a degree from Duke University, and plenty of opportunities open to her. But she chose to play poker. That challenges their view of poker much more than seeing players like Greenstein or Doyle Brunson.

I highly doubt poker will see a post-Olympic bounce from these commercials, but if PokerStars is targeting an entirely new demographic of sports fans, I think they could do a lot worse than putting Vanessa Rousso out front and center.