So far in 2010, through 41 (of 57) events, 14 bracelets have gone to foreign poker nationals … or 34 percent. I’m not sure how that compares with the percentage of non-American players in the worldwide WSOPopulation … but my guess is the number could be disproportionate in one direction or the other.  (The WSOP says they’ll eventually get that stat.)

Last year 15 out of 57 bracelets went to non-Americans, and in 2008, poker players not from the USA won 16 out of a possible 55. So we’re actually kinda in the same ballpark this year, though foreigners are on track to exceed previous results.

Click here to follow the WSOP World Rankings on WSOP.com, which isn’t too different from the WSOP World Standings you presumably began following on Pokerati in ’08 and ’09, except now they’ve got cool little flags and we’ve got a little note to self on making better friends with patent attorneys.

Country	Bracelets	Cashes	Earnings
United States	27	3,766	$56,122,111
Canada	4	311	$6,240,515
United Kingdom	5	151	$5,068,138
Russia	1	72	$2,971,461
Germany	0	70	$1,571,634
France	1	70	$1,215,580
Hungary	2	16	$871,022
New Zealand	1	2	$619,999
Sweden	0	31	$512,426
Ireland	0	20	$415,358

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.

We’ve got the Caesar’s Cup coming up at WSOP-Europe, PokerStars has their America’s Cup of Poker, there’s another new op taking shape called World Team Poker … and at the APT-Macau tourney going on right now, they just had the JBET Battle of Nations, where the Koreans — represented by Brandon Wong, Chino Rheem, and Steve Sung — outmuscled the Vietnamese Le brothers — Nam, Tommy, and Allan — to take down an HK$406,000 first prize. (US$52,400.)

I don’t quite understand how it worked — teams of 3 playing macro-heads-up on 6-handed tables? — but click below for more details … I’m sure it was a good time; team poker always is … and with all these events I think it’s clear that team poker will indeed become a part of the true-to-life poker landscape … making the real question now: which format is gonna stick? I dunno, maybe I’m jumping the gun … but the Winter Olympics, World Cup 2010 … how can flags not be coming into fashion on the poker table and off?

KOREA TRIUMPH IN INAUGURAL JBET BATTLE OF THE NATIONS EVENT IN MACAU!
2009 ASIAN POKER TOUR MACAU MAIN EVENT UNDERWAY TODAY

Macau – 20th August 2009 – It was glory for Korea in the inaugural JBET Battle of the Nations event at the 2009 Asian Poker Tour Macau Festival. Dominant throughout the event, all three members of Team Korea advanced to the final table en route to their comprehensive victory.

The team of Brandon Wong and Poker Pack pros David ‘Chino’ Rheem and Steve Sung garnered 106 points to win the overall team championship before the final table even began. The Vietnamese team, which was composed of brothers Nam Le, Tommy Le, and Allan Le, was second with 89 points. For the team win, the Koreans picked up the HK $406,060 team championship prize.

David ‘Chino’ Rheem said: “We’re all delighted that the Korean team picked up first place and that our win was so comprehensive. Halfway through I really thought it was going to be our day. It is always fantastic to win any poker tournament but it gives you something extra when national pride is at stake too!”

The top two individual awards, though, went to members of the Vietnamese contingent. Allan Le won the top player award for a prize of HK $95,700 while his brother and Poker Pack member Nam Le picked up HK $52,200 for second. Third place went to David ‘Chino’ Rheem, who went home with HK $26,100.

The JBET Battle of the Nations event was the ninth side event at the 2009 Asian Poker Tour Macau. Amongst the teams that took part included 888Poker Team Australia, sponsored by 888.com and captained and managed by James Potter – the line-up included 2009 Aussie Millions Main Event winner Stewart Scott. Team USA and Vietnam teams featured Poker Pack stars JC Tran, Quinn Do and Nam Le. Hong Kong was represented by the likes of 2009 Asian Poker Tour Macau High Rollers winner David Steicke and the legendary Johnny Chan. Vivek Rajkumar led the line for India, David Chiu was a key member of Team China, while Theo Tran was a flag bearer for Canada. One surprise package was the team from Belarus, featuring PartyPoker.com online qualifiers, while Japan also brought a strong side.

The JBET Battle of the Nations was a unique team no limit hold’em tournament. Teams were composed of three members from the same country. Teams faced each other, with all tables six-handed. There were13 teams of three, featuring 39 players. Every place was worth one point (eg. finish 39th you win one point). The top three players left and the winning team scooped the prize pool. The buy-in for the event was HK$48,000. 70% of the prize pool went to the winning team with the other 30% went to the top three players. Overseeing the action was the world’s leading Tournament Director Matt Savage.

The Asian Poker Tour Macau hosts over 20 events with 15 official side events. Amongst the online networks sending players are The Ongame Network, the iPoker Network and PartyPoker.com. In addition, online rooms BWin, PKR, Dafa Poker, JBET Poker, Betfriends, 888.com, Titan Poker, RedKings, 32Red, ChiliPoker, Winamax, BetSafe, PafPoker and PokerLoco are in on the action guaranteeing a significant online qualifier contingent. Sponsors of the side events and collaterals include the Hong Kong Game Club, DafaPoker, Dafa888, The Poker King Movie, JBet, PartyPoker.com, BWin, Zipang Casino, 777babycasino and PKR.The buy-in for the Main Event is set at HK$34,400.
Full details can be found at http://www.asianpt.com/

Videos capturing the action and atmosphere at the festival can be found at: http://www.asianpt.com/videos

The event has already been successful for the Asian Poker Tour Ambassadors, ‘The Poker Pack’ with David Chino Rheem and Quinn Do both taking down side events.

According to this PokerListings article translated via Google, the Ministry of Sport, Tourism, and Youth Policy have revoked poker’s status as a sport — making it illegal to play except for in four designated gambling zones, one of which happens to be in Siberia.

Some 70 Russian poker clubs face a shutdown as a result of the non-sport designation, and it’s not yet clear what this will mean for the fate of EPT Moscow, the next European Poker Tour event, scheduled for August, other than that the Pokerstarzistan-spawned tourney tour would likely have to cough up some extra bucks for appropriate licensing to play — as that event has been planned to take place in a Radison hotel, as opposed to a casino.

Fuckin’ commies! Russians won the fourth highest amount of money for any nation at the 2009 WSOP, and the Ruskie Federation finished 6th in the world in terms of bracelets and final tables.

There’s so much good stuff in here it’s hardly even excerptible. Nolan’s Official Day 3 Report (with help from Alan Fowler) gives you not just insight about who stands where in chips, but also info on records in play, historical perspective on how far being a chip leader early can take you, a breakdown of what countries are performing admirablybeing broken, an interview with celebrity big-stack (and Lodge poker alum) Lou Diamond Phillips, and a reference to how far he has to go to pass Telly Savalas:

Click below for all the data fit to cut-and-paste:

2009 World Series of Poker Presented by Jack Link’s Beef Jerky
Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino
Las Vegas, Nevada

Official Report
Event #57
World Championship
World Series of Poker Main Event
No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $10,000
Number of Entries: 6,494
Players Remaining: 789
Total Net Prize Pool: $61,043,600
Number of Places Paid: 648
First Place Prize: $8,546,435
July 3–November 10, 2009

Tournament Highlights:

Day Three Headlines

1. World Series of Poker Main Event Continues – Players Expected to Reach the Money during Day Four Tomorrow

2. France’s Bertrand Grospellier (a.k.a. “Elky”) is the Current Chip Leader

3. Many Poker Superstars Still Alive – Kenny Tran, Dennis Phillips, Mike Sexton, Justin Bonomo, Phil Hellmuth, David Benyamine, Blair Rodman, All in the Top 150

The Main Event Continues

– The 2009 WSOP Main Event continued with the conclusion of Day 3. This day marked the first time that this year’s Main Event brought all the surviving players together at the Rio on the same day. Since there were two “Day Twos” and four “Day Ones,” no more than about half the total field has been at the Rio, until this time.

– Day 3 began with 2,044 players. The day ended with 789 survivors. Players are expected to reach the prize money sometime on Day 4, which is played tomorrow (Saturday). Only the top 648 finishers will collect prize money. Note: Last year, players reached the money at the end of Day 3. However, due to larger starting stack sizes this year, eliminations have taken longer. The payout point is likely to be reached approximately two levels later than last year.

– Players are currently 141 spots from the money.

– The day began with WSOP President and Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack introducing “Captain” Tom Franklin to the capacity crowd of players and spectators. Franklin, a highly-respected poker pro and player-rights advocate thanked Harrah’s Entertainment and the entire WSOP staff for “working so hard to make this as smooth as possible.” Franklin then began play by announcing “Let’s get this party started!” and continued with the customary “Shuffle-Up and Deal” pronouncement.

– This is the 44th day of the WSOP. Play continues for five more days, plus the finale to be played in November.

– Tomorrow (Saturday) begins at noon and is expected to include five levels of play.

– Any player dealt four jacks in this year’s Main Event receives a special prize from Jack Link’s Beef Jerky valued at $100. So far, 34 packages have been given away (through seven completed days).

– Play on Day 3 began on July 10, 2009 at 12:10 pm.

Play on Day 3

– Defending champion Peter Eastgate remains very much alive in the 2009 Main Event. Incredibly, he was down to just 8,000 in chips late on Day 2 but went on a fortuitous rush during the final hour and ended up with about an average-sized stack (110,000). On Day 3, he remained consistent and finished the day with an average-sized stack. It should be noted that Eastgate had an average stack at the completion of Day 3 last year, and went on to win the championship.

– Former world champions who continued play on Day 3 included – Bobby “the Owl” Baldwin (1978), Phil Hellmuth (1989), Dan Harrington (1995), Chris “Jesus” Ferguson (2000), Greg “Fossilman” Raymer (2004), Joe Hachem (2005), and Peter Eastgate (2008). Raymer was eliminated, while the other champions all survived.

– The ESPN feature table included two of Australia’s most successful poker pros – 2005 world champion Joe Hachem and four-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Jeffrey Lisandro.

– With Ville Wahlbeck’s elimination on this day, Jeffrey Lisandro officially locked up the 2009 WSOP “Player of the Year” title. When the decision became known, Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack took the microphone and approached Lisandro, who was playing at the ESPN feature table. He announced Lisandro’s achievement, which received a nice round of applause. All of Lisandro’s opponents at the table also offered handshakes and congratulatory remarks. However, Lisandro was eliminated late in the day.

– The first player to reach the million-chip mark was Owen Crowe, from Halifax, NS (Canada). He hit the milestone about mid-way through level 14, which occurred at about 9:15 pm. However, he slipped back below the figure during the final hour of play in Day 3.

– Moments after Crowe reached a million in chips, Bertrand Grospellier, originally from Nancy, France hit the 1.2 million mark and seized the chip lead (Note: He currently resides in London, UK). He ended the day with a sizable advantage over the remainder of the field.

– Players competed for five complete levels. Play ended after Level 14. When play resumes tomorrow at Level 15, blinds will be 2,000-4,000 with a 500 ante. The average stack size is 240,519.

– Day 3 started with a field of 2,044 players and ended with 789 survivors. This means only about 12.2 percent of the original 6,494 starters survived past the third day.

– At the end of the day, black 100-denomination chips were raced off. This means the lowest-denomination chip at the start of Day 4 will be 500.

– Players who survived Day 3 will return to continue their quest for the 2009 world poker championship gold bracelet and $8.5 million in prize money on July 11h, starting at noon.

– Play on Day 3 ended at 12:55 pm.

Day 3 Chip Leader (Bertrand Grospellier) –

– The current chip leader is Bertrand Grospellier, a.k.a. “ElkY,” who is originally from Nancy, France. Grospellier has also lived in Korea. He presently calls London, England his home. However, given his intense travel schedule playing in poker tournaments around the world, Grospellier’s real home is spent in luxury hotels and at poker tables.

– Grospellier is a master gamesman. Prior to focusing full-time on poker, he was one of the world’s top computer game players. He lived in Korea for six years, where he mastered the video and computer game circuit, winning many top prizes.

– Grospellier already has accrued nearly $6 million in worldwide poker tournament winnings, all within the past four years. His major titles include two wins at the 2008 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure and the 2008 Festa Al Lago Championship. He also finished fourth in the NBC Heads-Up World Championship held earlier this year.

– Grospellier has yet to break through at the WSOP. He has eight cashes, all since 2006. Grospellier’s best showing was ninth place in a No-Limit Hold’em event two years ago.

QUOTES (BERTRAND GROSPELLIER):

ABOUT DAY 3:

“It was a very good day. The beginning was pretty slow. Then, I began to get good hands and I picked my spots pretty well.”

“I got good hands and people tried to push me off hands when I would flop sets, so it was pretty good timing. Anyone that was weak and trying to stay alive, I tried to push around but that’s about it.”

ABOUT PLAYING AGAINST PHIL IVEY PART OF THE DAY:

“Ivey is probably the best player in the world. I respect his game very much. I’m gonna’ play my hands, if I have good hands but I was not going out of my way to get involved with Ivey. There were so many other weaker players left, so I went after them.”

“There are ten days in the Main Event. There is so much time to wait for opponents to make mistakes. That’s why I love the Main Event. In this event you have plenty of time to play your hands, and pick your spots well.”

ABOUT NOT PERFORMING WELL IN EARLIER WSOP EVENTS:

“The early events have a faster structure than the Main Event, which did not give me enough time to pick my spots well. I cannot play the game that I want.”

ON EXPECTATIONS:

“It seems like a very, very long way to go. I just hope that I keep playing well, and that cards keep coming my way, so that I can make a good showing.”

Special thanks for Alan Fowler, WSOP Assistant Media Director, for the Bertrand Grospellier interview.

– The highest-ranked former WSOP gold bracelet winner after Day 3 is Kenny Tran, from Arcadia, CA. Tran is now ranked 20th, with 666,500 in chips.

– Here is how the previous end-of-day chip leaders have fared:

Day 1-A: Redmond Lee (London, UK) – eliminated, did not cash
Day 1-B: Brandon Demes (Tempe, AZ) – eliminated, did not cash
Day 1-C: Joseph Cada (Shelby Township, MI) – currently in 100th place
Day 1-D: Troy Weber (West Terre Haute, IN) – currently in 648th place
Day 2-A: Andrew Gaw (Philippines) – eliminated, did not cash
Day 2-B: Amir Lehavot (Weston, FL) – currently in 128th place

An Interview with Actor Lou Diamond Phillips

Lou Diamond Phillips is perhaps the best-known celebrity still alive in the 2009 WSOP Main Event. The popular film, television, and stage actor first became known more than 20 years ago for his portrayal of rocker Ritchie Valens in La Bamba. Since then, Phillips has starred in several popular movies, and has won awards for his work on Broadway. He has also directed films. Phillips will return to Hollywood following this year’s WSOP to star in the television series, Stargate Universe. Phillips was interviewed moments after play ended on Day 3 of the Main Event. He ended the day in 171st place, with 359,500 in chips.

Question: When did you start playing poker?
LDP: I started playing back in college. I played with some friends in the Texas mafia. Then, when I moved to Los Angeles, I kept a home game going for about 20 years. It was mostly a bunch of my buddies from Texas. I got asked by one of them to play in the first Celebrity Invitational. I’ve been playing in it every year since then, except for one year when I was working on a film. So, I’m a big fan of Texas Hold’em and I have a little bit of experience.
Question: How many times have you played at the WSOP?
LDP: This is the first time I have played in the Main Event. I played in a $1,500 buy-in tournament two years ago when there were like 3,400 players. It was the biggest single day they had ever had at that point. I came in 710th. I have cashed in a few tournaments, at the Commerce (Casino) and the (Bicycle Club Casino).
Question: You are very close to the money – about 160 spots away from cashing in the Main Event.
LDP: Nice!
Question: That’s pretty impressive. But are you content to just make the money or do you have higher aspirations?
LDP: Obviously, I have grander ambitions. But to make the money in my first Main Event? I would be thrilled!
Question: How does working as a successful actor for so many years help you at the poker table?
LDP: Well, I don’t play with the sunglasses. It allows me to act if I have to. I can either give them the poker face and try not to show anything. Or, maybe I will give them something to nudge them one way or the other. The acting skills do take a part in it and what I do at the poker table.
Question: Any predictions for tomorrow?
LDP: I’ve got some chips. But so do a lot of other people. I’m just going to try and play solid. I’m going to play my game and not be silly.
Question: Right now, let’s say hypothetically that a genie appears and you can be guaranteed 10th place in this tournament and take home $896,730. But you miss making the final table and give up the chance to be the world champion. Would you take the deal?
LDP: I’d take it right now! Deal! Where is the genie? Get the genie over here.
Question: What’s your next project after the WSOP?
LDP: Right now, I’m in the midst of Stargate Universe. I’ve got a number of episodes in the can. I’m going back to finish up this season and it premiers in October.
Question: One last question, Lou. What’s more fun – going deep in the World Series of Poker or playing all those great movie roles?
LDP: Wow. You are talking about my passion which is my acting. But I have to say as far as hobbies go, this is a damn good one. I’m having a blast right now. This is really one of the top weeks of my life, I must say.

Players to Watch

– Here is the current status of all former WSOP world champions who played in this year’s Main Event. Six former champions remain still alive:

1972: “Amarillo Slim” Preston – eliminated on Day 2
1975/1976: Doyle Brunson – eliminated on Day 1
1978: Bobby Baldwin – STILL ALIVE (424th place, average stack)
1983: Tom McEvoy – eliminated on Day 1
1986: Berry Johnston – eliminated on Day 2
1987/1988: Johnny Chan – eliminated on Day 2
1989: Phil Hellmuth – STILL ALIVE (89th place, above-average stack)
1993: Jim Bechtel – eliminated on Day 3
1995: Dan Harrington – STILL ALIVE (449th place, average stack)
1996: Huck Seed – eliminated on Day 1
1998: Scotty Nguyen – eliminated on Day 2
2000: Chris “Jesus” Ferguson – STILL ALIVE (366th place, average stack)
2001: Carlos “the Matador” Mortensen – eliminated on Day 3
2002: Robert Varkonyi – eliminated on Day 2
2003: Chris Moneymaker – eliminated on Day 1
2004: Greg “Fossilman” Raymer – eliminated on Day 3
2005: Joe Hachem – STILL ALIVE (354th place, average stack)
2006: Jamie Gold – eliminated in Day 1
2007: Jerry Yang – eliminated on Day 1
2008: Peter Eastgate – STILL ALIVE (263rd place, above average stack)

– Here is the current status of all current and former WSOP “Player of the Year” champions who played in this year’s Main Event:

2005: Daniel Negreanu – eliminated on Day 1
2006: Allen Cunningham – eliminated on Day 2
2007: Tom Schneider – STILL ALIVE (268th place, average stack)
2008: Erick Lindgren – eliminated on Day 2
2009: Jeffrey Lisandro – eliminated on Day 3

– Here is the current status of those players with notable results from this year’s WSOP:

David Bach (HORSE World Championship winner) – eliminated on Day 2
Alex Bolotin (“Ante-Up for Africa” championship winner) – eliminated on Day 3
Darryll Fish (cashed 7 times at this year’s WSOP) – eliminated on Day 2
Jeffrey Lisandro (won three gold bracelets this year) – eliminated on Day 3
Ville Wahlbeck (finished 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 6th in four events) – eliminated on Day 3
Vitaly Lunkin (finished 1st, 2nd, and 4th in three events) – STILL ALIVE (511th place, below average stack)
Greg Mueller (won two gold bracelets this year) – STILL ALIVE (below average stack)
Phil Ivey (won two gold bracelets this year) – STILL ALIVE (162nd place, above average stack)

– Here is the current status of notable non-pro celebrities from this year’s Main Event:

Jason Alexander (actor) – eliminated on Day 3
Scott Ian (musician with band “Anthrax”) – eliminated on Day 3
Shane Warne (world famous cricket player) – eliminated on Day 3
Torrie Wilson (female wrestler) – eliminated on Day 1
John Salley (former NBA basketball player) – eliminated on Day 1
Patrick Bruel (French actor and singer) – STILL ALIVE (343rd place, average stack)
Lou Diamond Phillips (actor and singer) – STILL ALIVE (171st place, above average stack)
Marlon Wayans (actor) – eliminated on Day 2
Jordan Farmar (NBA basketball player) – eliminated on Day 3
Sam Simon (Hollywood writer and producer) – eliminated on Day 3
Joseph Kahn (music video producer) – eliminated on Day 1
Ray Romano (actor) – eliminated on Day 1
Sully Erna (musician) – eliminated on Day 1
Shannon Elizabeth (actor) – eliminated on Day 1
Brad Garrett (actor) — eliminated on Day 1
Jennifer Tilly (actor) – eliminated on Day 1
Orel Hershiser (former major league baseball player – eliminated on Day 1

Historical Footnote: The highest Main Event finish for a (non-poker) celebrity was actor Telly Savalas, who finished 21st in the 1992 championship.

– Here is the current status of last year’s “November Nine” (2009 Main Event Final Table participants):

Ivan Demidov – eliminated on Day 2
Peter Eastgate – STILL ALIVE (263rdd place, above average stack)
Kelly Kim – STILL ALIVE (184th place, above average stack)
Craig Marquis – eliminated in Day 1
Scott Montgomery – eliminated on Day 2
Dennis Phillips – STILL ALIVE (79th place, above average stack)
David “Chino” Rheem – eliminated on Day 1
Ylon Schwartz – eliminated on Day 2
Darus Suharto – eliminated on Day 3

– The Top-10 chip leaders going into Day 4 are:

1. Bertrand Grospellier France 1,380,500
2. Lacay Ludovic France 896,000
3. Jason Brice USA 858,500
4. Benjamin Jensen Denmark 835,500
5. Kasper Cordes Denmark 796,000
6. James Akenhead UK 794,000
7. Billy Kopp USA 792,000
8. Tyler Patterson USA 784,000
9. Adam Bilzerian St. Kitts 767,000
10. Christian Heich Germany 735,000

– Of the remaining players who are still alive going into Day 4, 270 are international (non-American) players. This represents 34 percent of the field. Nations still in contention include:

Argentina — 2
Australia — 15
Austria — 1
Belgium — 1
Bolivia — 1
Brazil — 6
Bulgaria — 1
Canada — 46
China — 1
Chile — 1
Costa Rica — 2
Croatia — 1
Czech Republic — 3
Denmark — 14
Estonia — 1
Finland — 4
France — 17
Germany — 17
Greece — 1
Holland — 11
Hong Kong — 2
Hungary — 4
Ireland — 8
Israel — 2
Italy — 9
Japan — 1
Macedonia — 2
Malaysia — 1
Mexico — 1
Norway — 4
Panama — 1
Peru — 1
Poland — 1
Portugal — 5
Russian Federation — 9
Scotland — 1
Slovakia — 1
Slovenia — 2
South Africa — 4
Spain — 6
St. Kitts — 1
Sweden — 11
Switzerland — 5
Turkey — 1
UK — 39
USA —
Virgin Islands — 1

Putting Day Three into Perspective

– In 2008, at the conclusion of Day 3, the eventual champion Peter Eastgate was ranked in 386th place, which was in the middle of the pack.

– In 2008, none of the top ten ranked players at the conclusion of Day 3 made it to the final table.

– In 2007, at the conclusion of Day 3, the eventual champion Jerry Yang was ranked in 46th place.

– In 2007, at the conclusion of Day 3, five of the nine players who made it to the final table were ranked in top 20 (Alex Kravchenko, Hevad Khan, Tuan Lam, Lee Watkinson, and Raymond Rahme).

– In 2006, at the conclusion of Day 3, the eventual champion Jamie Gold was ranked in 35th place.

– In 2006, none of the top ten ranked players at the conclusion of Day 3 made it to the final table.

– Based on WSOP figures during the mega-era (2006 to present when the Main Event went to a 10+ day format), the previous results of Day 3 chip leaders ended up as follows:

2008 – Brain Schaedlich (Cleveland, OH) finished in 456th place
2007 – Dag Martin Mikkelsen (Stavanger, Norway) finished in 42nd place
2005 – Jon Lane (Oshkosh, WI) finished in 200th place

– Daily elimination percentages are as follows:

DAY ONE: 68 percent of the original starters in this tournament survived the first day / 32 percent were eliminated.
DAY TWO: 31 percent of the original starters survived the second day / 27 percent were eliminated from the start of day amount.
DAY THREE: 12 percent of the original starters survived the third day / 60 percent were eliminated from the start of day amount.

Female Participants in the 2009 Main Event

(Note: The WSOP recognizes that player characteristics such as gender, race, etc. do not warrant special mention. However, since many members of the media wish to know details about female participation and status, the staff is providing this information for media use.)

– The number of female participants in this year’s Main Event is estimated to be 187, which amounts to 2.8 percent of the field. There is no official record since entrants are not designated by their gender. However, it has been customary to count every player at the start of Day One and take an unofficial head-count of female players.

– An estimated eight female players remain alive in the Main Event at the conclusion of Day 3 (precise number is not known, this is an estiamte). This list includes:

Kara Scott Tobin (UK)
Emma Grace (Australia)
Marla Schwartz (USA)
Kristy Gazes (USA)
Melanie Banfield (South Africa)
“Oklahoma” Sarah Hale (USA)
Denise Malloy (USA)
Christina Renz (USA)

Here are the highest-female finishers (by year) in the WSOP Main Event (Note: Only players who finished in-the-money were recorded):

No female cashed in the Main Event between the years 1970-1985.

1986 – Wendeen Eolis (25th)
1987 – None
1988 – None
1989 – None
1990 – None
1991 – None
1992 – None
1993 – Marsha Waggoner (19th)
1994 – Barbara Samuelson (10th)
1995 – Barbara Enright (5th)
1996 – Lucy Rokach (26th)
1997 – Marsha Waggoner (12th)
1998 – Susie Isaacs (10th)
1999 – None
2000 – Annie Duke (10th)
2001 – None
2002 – None
2003 – Annie Duke (47th)
2004 – Rose Richie (98th)
2005 – Tiffany Williamson (15th)
2006 – Sabyl Cohen-Landrum (56th)
2007 – Maria Ho (38th)
2008 – Tiffany Michelle (17th)

World Series of Poker Statistics

– The 2009 WSOP Main Event now ranks as the third-largest live poker tournament in history. Only the 2006 and 2008 Main Event championships drew larger numbers. It should be noted that if the Rio had greater seating capacity (Day 1-D sold out), this year’s tournament would have unquestionably surpassed last year’s attendance figures.

– The total prize pool for this year’s Main Event totals $61,043,600. However, this figure is not final. Since interest is added to payouts for players who will constitute the November Nine, the final figure will actually be slightly higher.

– All players who make it to the final table this year (the November Nine) will earn at least $1 million. The 2009 world champion will collect $8,546,435 for first place (plus slightly more money in added interest).

– With registration for this year’s Main Event, the World Series of Poker crossed the $1,000,000,000 threshold in total prize money awarded to players. During its 40-year history, the WSOP has paid out $1,041,265,271. Incredibly, more than $600,000,000 has been paid out just in the last five years alone, since Harrah’s Entertainment assumed control of the tournament. Here is the historical prize pool information for the World Series of Poker.

2009 — $174,011,894
2008 — $180,774,427
2007 — $159,796,918
2006 — $159,599,815
1970-2005 — $354,000,000

– This is the 57th and final event on the 2009 WSOP schedule which is played in Las Vegas. Four more gold bracelet events will take place later this year in London, England at the Empire Casino, to be held from September 19th through October 1st.

– Players have come to the WSOP from at least 115 different nations and territories. By contrast, only 80 nations were represented at the most recent Winter Olympic Games.

– This marks the fifth consecutive year the WSOP has been held at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. Prior to 2005, the WSOP was held at Binion’s Horseshoe in downtown Las Vegas. More money has been awarded to winners within the Rio during the past five years than during the entire proceeding 35-year period at the Horseshoe. This is a testament to the expansion of the WSOP since Harrah’s Entertainment assumed ownership and control of the world most prestigious poker event.

New Records Set at the 2009 WSOP

MOST WSOP SELL OUTS
Ten tournaments reached maximum capacity at this year’s WSOP. This is the most gold bracelet events ever to sell out within a single year. A complete “sell out” means every seat at every available table is sold and additional players are/were turned away at registration. Sell-outs are based on various numbers, which include the total tables and seats available for tournament use. Events which sold out this year included: 4, 7, 22, 24, 28, 29, 39, 43, 51, and 54. Note that the Main Event also partially sold out, since Day 1-D reached full capacity – which means 11 events reached the maximum, in part.

MOST MILLION-DOLLAR TOURNAMENTS IN HISTORY
This year’s WSOP had more tournaments with more than $1 million in prize money than any other. There were 39 events out of 57 which crossed the million-dollar mark.

MOST TOURNAMENT ENTRANTS IN A SINGLE YEAR
The 2009 WSOP attracted 60,875 tournament entries overall. This mark eclipses the previous record set last year which was 58,720. These figures do not include WSOP-Europe.

FIRST NON-MAIN EVENT, NON-MEGA BUY-IN EVENT PRODUCES A $1 MILLION FIRST PRIZE
Every single gold bracelet winner won at least $165,000. Most winners won in excess of $300,000. However, for the first time ever – the winner of a non-Main Event/non-mega buy-in tournament won more than $1 million. Matthew Hawrilenko’s victory in the $5,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament (Event #56) netted him a cash prize totaling $1,003,218.

LARGEST NON-WSOP MAIN EVENT TOURNAMENT IN HISTORY – FIFTH-BIGGEST OVERALL
The $1,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament (Event 4) is the largest non-WSOP Main Event tournament in poker history. The previous record was set at the 2008 WSOP when the first No-Limit Hold’em competition ($1,500 buy-in Event #2) attracted 3,929 entrants. The number of players in the $1,000 buy-in “Stimulus Special” – 6,012! – demolished the previous mark and represented a whopping 53 percent increase in attendance over the previous record many initially thought might not be broken for some time!
Note: LARGEST WSOP EVENTS IN HISTORY: Here is a ranking of the six largest live poker tournaments in history:

8,773 players — 2006 WSOP Main Event
6,844 players — 2008 WSOP Main Event
6,358 players — 2007 WSOP Main Event
6,494 players – 2009 WSOP Main Event
6,012 players — 2009 WSOP Event 4

YOUNGEST FINAL TABLE IN HISTORY
The $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em Shootout (Event 41) was the youngest final table composition in WSOP history, with player ages ranging from 21 (youngest) to 24 (oldest).

SECOND-LONGEST FINAL TABLE IN POKER HISTORY
The $50,000 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. World Championship (Event 49) was the second-longest finale in poker history – both by time and number of hands:
Longest WSOP Final Tables (Time Duration)
19 hours/9 minutes — 2008 WSOP-Europe Championship
18 hours/44 minutes – 2009 H.O.R.S.E. Championship
16 hours (estimated) — 2005 $1,500 Razz Championship
14 hours/30 minutes – 2005 WSOP Main Event
14 hours – 2006 H.O.R.S.E. Championship

Longest WSOP Final Tables (Number of Hands)
484 – 2008 WSOP-Europe Championship
480 – 2009 H.O.R.S.E. Championship
354 – 2006 H.O.R.S.E. Championship
341 – 2007 H.O.R.S.E. Championship
314 – 2008 H.O.R.S.E. Championship

(Note: Number of hands was not recorded for WSOP events prior to 2003)

FIRST-EVER BINION’S CUP ATTRACTS MOST FORMER WORLD CHAMPIONS EVER TO PLAY IN ONE EVENT
The winner of the inaugural “Binion’s Cup Champions Invitational was designated “The Champion of Champions.” The honors belongs to Atom McEvoy, the winner. It was the largest collection of WSOP current and former world champions ever in history. There were 19 former champions entered in last year’s Main Event, but this tournament had twenty.

LARGEST SEVEN-CARD STUD HIGH-LOW SPLIT PRIZE IN HISTORY
Event 37 was the richest Seven-Card Stud High-Low Split prize pool in poker history at $1,541,600. It eclipsed last year’s previous record by more than $300,000. This was only the second million-dollar prize pool ever for any Seven-Card Stud High-Low Split tournament.

LARGEST SENIORS POKER EVENT IN HISTORY
The Seniors Championship was the largest such event in poker history. The turnout of 2,707 this year shattered last year’s record of 2,218 (then, a record high). The 2009 figure represents a 22 percent increase over 2008. Records were also smashed for largest prize pool and biggest cash prize ever paid in a seniors’ poker event.

LARGEST OMAHA-HIGH LOW SPLIT TOURNAMENT IN HISTORY
This was the largest live Omaha High-Low Split tournament in history. The previous record was set at the 2008 WSOP when the same event attracted 833 players. The number of entrants this year – 918 – smashed the previous mark and represented a nine percent increase in attendance over the same tournament held last year.

LARGEST 2-7 LOWBALL TOURNAMENT IN HISTORY
Last year’s event attracted 238 entries. Entries increased by 8 percent to 258 players in 2009. Event 55 was the largest Limit Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw Lowball tournament in poker history.

LARGEST POT-LIMIT OMAHA TOURNAMENT IN HISTORY
The $1,500 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha event (Event 5) attracted 809 entrants. This is the largest live Pot-Limit Omaha tournament in poker history.

LARGEST LIVE SIX-HANDED POKER TOURNAMENT IN HISTORY
Event #9 was the largest live Six-Handed tournament in history – with 1,459 players.

MOST CASHES IN WSOP HISTORY
Phil Hellmuth added to his status as the all-time leader in WSOP cashes, now with 74 career in-the-money finishes.

MOST CONSECUTIVE YEARS TO CASH AT WSOP
Berry Johnston’s in-the-money finish in a gold bracelet tournament this year gives the 1986 World Champion cashes for 27 Straight WSOP Years — the most in history.

MOST GOLD BRACELET WINS IN A SINGLE YEAR
Jeffrey Lisandro tied the mark for most wins in a single year, with three. He is the fifth player to accomplish this feat.

FIRST HUNGARIAN WSOP WINNER IN HISTORY
Peter Traply became the first Hungarian WSOP champion in history. The best previous finish by a Hungarian player was Richard Toth, who finished second in 2006.

IVEY MOVES INTO TIE FOR SIXTH-PLACE IN WSOP WINS
With his two victories this year, Phil Ivey joins Billy Baxter with seven WSOP titles, which ranks sixth on the all-time wins list. Still remaining ahead of Ivey are Phil Hellmuth (11 wins), Doyle Brunson (10 wins), Johnny Moss (10 wins), Johnny Moss (9 wins), and Erik Seidel (8 wins).

Note: All results are now official and may be reprinted by media.

Click here to view the Pokerati World Standings (presented by Betfair) to see how 56 bracelets, 465 final tables, and 5,608 ITM finishes have spread $112,970,324 around the poker planet.

The bracelet ceremony for Kabbaj was somewhat marred during the playing of the national anthem. Organisers decided to play the Sex Pistol’s version of God Save the Queen instead of the normal British national anthem. Following complaints, Jeffery Pollack apologised to Kabbaj and a new ceremony, with the correct anthem, was hastily arranged.

One player who has caught the eye in the WSOP side events this year is Jeff Lisandro. The Italian, with a suspiciously Australian sounding accent, has won three bracelets already in this Series and chalked up a total of six cashes. Lisandro’s latest success came in the $2,500 Razz event. The big Aussie-Italian banked $188,390 for that success and looks likely to be The Player of the Series at this rate. So for the purposes of the WSOP Standings Table is he Australian or Italian? Asia Pacific or European? Over to you, Dan!

Elsewhere Fabio Coppola kept the Italians in high spirits with a 4th place finish in the $2,500 Omaha Hi/Lo event for $65,094. Britain’s James Dempsey took a respectable 14th for $12,667.

The $1,500 Limit Hold’em Shootout event has just been completed and it was Canada’s Greg Mueller who once again took the honours. Mueller appears to be a Limit Hold’em specialist, having won the $10,000 Limit Hold’em event only two weeks previously. In 2nd place in the $1,500 tournament was Holland’s Marcus Naalden. Naalden almost added a second bracelet to his $2,000 Limit Hold’em victory from earlier in the Series. The professional from Antwerp had to settle for a $120,614 consolation prize this time around.

The $50,000 H.O.R.S.E event is currently in full swing. John Kabbaj could win Britain’s 4th bracelet of the Series in that event. “Large” is currently in 9th place with just 19 players remaining. Finland’s Ville Wahlbeck has gone deep once again and he is also in the last 19. A frightening list of the world’s top professional players are currently fighting it out for the H.O.R.S.E bracelet. Some of the players remaining include; Tony G, Gus Hansen, Freddy Deeb, Vitaly Lunkin, Todd Brunson, Huck Seed and Erik Seidel. Sweden’s Erik Sagstrom is also well positioned in what looks like a fascinating conclusion to what many consider the truest test of a poker player’s tournament abilities.

With such great European success Annette Obrestad is going to have a tough time picking her team for the inaugural Caesars Cup at the WSOPE in September.

Finland’s Mika Paasonen fell at the final hurdle in the $2,000 No Limit Hold’em event. Paasonen, who made a name for himself online before switching to the live arena, couldn’t overcome Angel Guillen, from Mexico City, in a tense heads-up encounter. Paasonen joins fellow Finn and possibly one of the players of the WSOP so far, Ville Walhbeck, in the top 10 European money winners for 2009 to date. Wahlbeck’s deep cashes and bracelet success sees the man from Helsinki sitting pretty on $849,793 in winnings so far. Paasonen is a respectable 8th on $333,593 following his three cash results.

Fabrice Soulier from France has continued his superb WSOP run of form. Following the $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha event, where the Frenchman finished in 21st for $14,433, Soullier led the number of cashes leaderboard with an impressive six. However, he has only made one final from his six cashes and, at the moment, his consistency seems to lack the killer instinct needed to win a bracelet.

One event where the Europeans struggled to make an impact was the $10,000 World Championship Limit Hold’em tournament. Canadians Greg Mueller and the wonderfully named Patrick Pezzin took the top two honours. Michiel Brummelhuis from Holland was the top European finisher back in 7th place. An array of top American stars struggled to make the top cash positions with Jennifer Harman, Mario Ho, Todd Brunson, Ralph Perry and Howard Lederer scraping into the money.

If the grin on Roland De Wolfe’s face got any wider at present he could strain some muscles! The cheerful Londoner seems to be cashing at will during this year’s WSOP and looks set to make Europe’s team in the inaugural Caesars Cup during the WSOPE. Not content with a bracelet from the $5,000 Omaha Hi/Lo event, De Wolfe went on the rampage in the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event only to come up a little short this time around to finish in 5th place for $112,957. De Wolfe already had the respect of his fellow players following EPT and WPT wins earlier in his career. Now with a WSOP bracelet in his sock drawer and several other WSOP cashes this year the sight of Roland at your table could leave you feeling very afraid of this big, bad, De Wolfe.

The Pokerati World Standings table sponsored by Betfair sees Europe move up to 3rd place on the leaderboard. 7 bracelets, 420 cashes and over $12,000,000 in prize money looks like making this one of the best years for European players at a WSOP. The UK and Finland are currently the top European nations.

Several world championship events, including the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E tournament, are looming larger on the horizon and they are due to start and/or complete this week. We’ll have all the European news from those and other side events right here, next time, in our European round up.

It took some time, but the Europeans have clearly arrived – now with more bracelets and final tables than California, and money won than Nevada.

Some of that came from Crocodile Lisandro, who claimed his first bracelet on behalf of Australia, but his second for Italy. Not sure how that will work out with taxes – but hey, if he wants to spread it around in the official standings, what can ya do? On that same day, Italy lost 0-3 to Brazil.

Similarly, we have our first big mistake (to be corrected on the next go-round) as it relates to Marc Naalden’s bracelet in $2,000 Limit Hold’em … which he won as a Belgian, but claims for the Dutch, the other country that runs through his border town.

ALT HED: Belgian Waffles, lol.

European newcomers to the world beyond the bubble include Portugal and PokerStarzistan Isle of Man.

Perhaps inspired and educated by neighboring Russians, Alaskans, specifically Alaskan’s from Wasilla, keep cashing.

Boooo Kentucky!

One of the other “bad” states representing at the WSOP is Washington. They had four players cash in $2k Limit Hold’em, which in and of itself would not seem like a major accomplishment in a 446-player field … but here all four made the final table.

In the way Northeast of North America, Newfoundland finally got on the board, as did Vermont — leaving Wyoming as the only state to not pop into Vegas and pick up some WSOP cash.

California is still unbeaten — batting 38-for-38 in this year’s WSOP — but just barely, thanks to Isaac Baron’s lone Cali-cash (10th place) in the $5k PLO.

When you’re done scrolling through the Standings, get your European poker news at Betfair.

They’ve been updated through 33 events … and whether or not it matters to you, are now presented by our good even better friends at Betfair. (They were kind enough to pay for the little flags you can now see in the sidebar — because who doesn’t like little flags?)

Click here to see the Pokerati World Standings in further detail.

Obviously it’s all about the bracelets (and associated spoils) … because with a second WSOP victory, Canada has asserted itself as more than just a suburb of the United States. Not quite a poker superpower yet –but capable of outplaying nuclear-armed countries and just about all other icy, hockey-loving socialist domains.

And speaking of … Sweden showed up in the Top 10 this week, letting us all know that there’s more than just Finland and Denmark (sooo 2008) to Scandiland. But the big arrival, in the eyes of this Nevada-based Texan, is Mexico. Hmm, wonder if a recent surge in Latino marketing by poker bizzers has had an effect … or vice versa.

As is the case with individual winners, one bracelet doesn’t mean much — I mean OK, I know it’s a huge accomplishment yadda yadda, but in the bigger scheme of things you kinda need at least two … though it does mean at least a few of us are keeping our eyes open for future results.

Other interesting occurrences (to me) in this recent update that may or may not be coincidental:

The $2,000 NLH final table (that Angel Guillen won for Mexico) had a distinctly non-American flavor — with only three players from the USA to make it that far.

Both Dakotas (North and South) — hardly very powerful poker states — both cashed in $1,500 HORSE.

California still has yet to miss the money in any event … but they are virtually dead even with their neighbors in Nevada in terms of bracelets and money won.

We’re doing much better this year, btw, in terms of accuracy. So far, through 33 events, official WSOP records have 42 cashes and $285k in regional limbo the Pokerati World Standings have only 5 of 3,339 ITM finishes unaccounted for — a total of $16,439 waiting to be claimed/taxed.

The 2009 WSOP started in earnest with the $40,000 buy in No Limit Hold’em Anniversary event back on May 28th. Vitaly Lunkin, from Russia, took the honours and a $1,891,018 pay day after fighting his way past a plethora of world famous poker players. Lunkin has been in red hot form in 2009 and his victory brings his WSOP bracelet tally up to two following his success in the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event here last year.

UK players have been enjoying a great Series so far. According to the Pokerati 2009 WSOP Standings table players from the UK have made 72 cashes, 9 final tables and won 2 bracelets to date.

So who are the British bracelet winners? It was JP Kelly that was first to register on the WSOP bracelet radar. Kelly, despite his baby-face looks, has been a regular on the international poker circuit for a while now but he has been suffering a dry spell of late. With only two cashes in 2009, it was unlikely John Paul went into the $1,500 Pot Limit Hold’em event on June 9th brimming with confidence. What a difference a tournament can make! Kelly took command of the final table with a power-packed display of aggressive poker like a player who has a sock drawer full of WSOP bracelets at home. Despite Erik Seidel (7th) in menacing mood and, fellow Brit’, Aaron Virchis (5th) looking dangerous there was simply no way Kelly was going to be denied the title and a $194,343 win. Credit should also go to second place player Marc Tschirch, from Germany, who pressed Kelly all the way in the heads-up stages.

While the UK digested JP Kelly’s success, the British poker player army struck again at The Rio. This time it was Roland De Wolfe’s turn to grab some WSOP wrist jewellery. De Wolfe is having an outstanding Series so far. Following three impressive cashes earlier in the festival the ever cheerful Londoner finally grabbed a WSOP title by winning the $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo tournament for $246,616. The tournament was littered with European cashes with Andy Black (Ireland) in 6th, Anthony Lellouche (France) in 9th and Mark Bartlog (Germany) a creditable 11th.

Betfair Poker pro’ Sorel Mizzi has also been enjoying a great Series so far. Mizzi, from Toronto, Canada, started his 2009 WSOP off in superb fashion with a 25th place in the $40,000 No Limit Hold’em Anniversary event for $71,858. A creditable cash in the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event, on June 2nd, followed for Mizzi against a field of almost 2800 players.

Popular Canadian Daniel Negreanu is, perhaps, the unluckiest player of the 2009 WSOP so far, falling just short of a bracelet success. Negreanu has been his usual consistent self with 4 cashes in the bank. A 2nd place in the $2,500 Limit Hold’em (six handed) event and a 4th place in the $10,000 World Championship Omaha Hi/Lo event has certainly boosted Negreanu’s profits but that won’t be any consolation for the WSOP regular as the hunt for a 2009 WSOP Negreanu bracelet continues. Negreanu will still be brimming with confidence, though, and with the WSOPE Caesar’s Cup on the horizon, in which Negreanu will captain the American team against Annette Obrestad’s European squad, the Toronto born professional still has plenty of time to register a WSOP success in either Europe or America.

One of today’s bracelets goes to Sweden. Any chance Tomas Alenius will request the Finnish national anthem be played — you know, to make things right in Scandiland? Doubt it …

In addition to Alenius’ bracelet, the UK picked up two in recent days, and Canada one — making things start to look a bit more normal … it’s not all about the Russians this year. In fact, are they still here?

And though Europe has caught up with the two US powerhouses (Nevada and California), they actually lost a bracelet (and some other cashes), as we’ve corrected Jeff Lisandro’s results to show up on behalf of his new homeland, Australia. (This way this data is collected, player info comes from whatever’s attached to their Harrah’s Total Rewards card … so if they haven’t updated their info in, say, several years … the old address is what’s on record.)

Lisandro’s defection from Italy to a land down under also altered the tertiary emerging market standings — with Asia-Pacific re-taking a slight lead over Latin America — despite Chile and Bolivia getting their first cashes of the year.

Texas has finally taken down a bracelet, btw.

And a player from Wasilla, Alaska, finished in the money — there’s a town we wouldn’t have taken note of in last year’s WSOP. It’s Canadian neighbors in the Yukon Territory also got on the board.

Hong Kong also made some money.

And though we don’t really track by cities, apparently Chicago is really good at sit-n-gos, as the Windy City sat three players at the final table in the $1,500 NLH-Shootout. Could just be variance, of course, but for now we’ll pretend it’s not.

1. Most Events Entered – Individuals
2. Money Leaderboard – Individuals
3. Money Leaderboard – By Location
4. Highest Cash Percentage to Entries – Individuals
5. Lowest Cash Percentage to Entries – Individuals
6. Highest Cash Percentage to Entries – By Location
7. Lowest Cash Percentage to Entries – By Location

Total Entrants thru 20 events – 21,047
Total Prize Money Awarded – $42,094,034

1. PLAYERS WITH MOST EVENTS ENTERED THRU EVENT#20

2. INDIVIDUAL PLAYER MONEY LEADERBOARD THRU EVENT#20

3. MONEY BY LOCATION LEADERBOARD THRU EVENT#20

4. HIGHEST CASH PERCENTAGE TO ENTRY (MIN. 4 EVENTS) THRU EVENT#20

5. LOWEST CASH PERCENTAGE TO ENTRY (MIN. 10 EVENTS) THRU EVENT#20

6. HIGHEST CASH PERCENTAGE BY LOCATION THRU EVENT#20

7. LOWEST CASH PERCENTAGE BY LOCATION THRU EVENT#20

]]> http://pokerati.com/2009/06/wsop-first-period-statsplus-whos-really-blowin-it/feed/ 3 http://pokerati.com/2009/06/re-latest-wsop-world-standings-euro-odds/ http://pokerati.com/2009/06/re-latest-wsop-world-standings-euro-odds/#comments Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:29:19 +0000 Dan Michalski http://pokerati.com/?p=8924 I guess it shouldn’t come as a surprise when international players only send their best overseas. But here’s an interesting addendum to official WSOP worldly statistics:

When it comes to ratio of players to wins and cashes, Finland appears to be winning the international race. Russia is a close second. Consider that 14 players from Finland have registered for events played thus far. Six have cashed and one player won. Among Russians, 42 players have entered to date, and 16 have cashed, with one victory. Contrast this with the United States, which has produced 10,344 entries, with 1,691 cashes and 15 wins. This breaks down as follows:

* Six percent of the Finnish players at this WSOP have won a gold bracelet.
* 43 percent of the Finnish players at this WSOP have cashed.
* 2 percent of the Russian players have won gold bracelets, but 38 percent have cashed.
* By contrast, .001 percent of American players have won gold bracelets and 16 percent have cashed.

California is the only region, btw, with someone to cash in every single event so far. Nevada players (mostly Las Vegans) have cashed in every tournament but one — the $1,500 7cs that Jeff Lisandro won (representing Italy).

“Europe” has cashed in every single event.

One of the biggest surprise shifts has taken place at the bottom of the table — could you theoretically have relegation in poker? — where the Latin Americans have come on strong to surpass the Asia-Pacifickers in bringing home the most skrilla. Most of this comes on the backs of Mexicans, specifically Angel Guillen’s $318k 2nd place score in $2,500 NLH, which a dozen Aussie ITM finishers and a Korean have not been able to match.

Click here to view the complete Pokerati’s complete 2009 WSOP World Standings.

Perhaps in the future the WSOP could take a note from Facebook, allowing players to enter both a current city and a hometown … so say a guy like Daniel Negreanu were to win, he would be tallied for both Canada and the USA, and would have a choice over what anthem he wants to play at his bracelet ceremony. Lots of potential “fun” controversy in that … and we’d finally get to see how good all those California-centric (but US-scattered) Vietnamese really are.

Some newcomers to the 2009 WSOP money:

Both Slovenia and Slovakia booked a cash.

Also … Rhode Island
Nebraska
Washington DC
Puerto Rico
Delaware

The UK is making a charge to challenge the Russians.

And where’s Denmark, who were certainly more than just Peter Eastgate last year? The Scandis would be doing little if it were not for a few Finns this year.

Texas is the top money-winner without a bracelet.

Mad props to the Hawaiians, who thanks to Lisa Hamilton’s bracelet in the Ladies event, silenced the Alaskans who briefly looked like they were gonna stake a claim to extra-continental American poker supremacy.

With just a few hundred dollars of separation, Maine and Spain are also in a kinda tight race money-wise. They rhyme.

Through 11 events, there’s only one battle that seems particularly ferocious: California vs. Nevada.

Californians, of course, are pissed, because last year they had the Pre-eminent Poker Powerhouse title — and claims to being the Poker Capitol of the World — all wrapped up until the Nevadans made a strong showing at WSOP Europe and the Californians choked in the November Nine. This year, it’s shaping up to be as tight a battle as ever, with Cali holding a slight but at this point meaningless edge.

The Euros finally arrived once PLO came into play. So far it’s been a disappointing series for the EU, at least compared to last year, when they won 19 of 59 WSOP bracelet events. This year, a Russian took down the big prize in event #2, but since then … very little from the Europeans.

NOTE: A Finnish player won Event #12 (the $10k Mix event) though this event has not yet been added to the standings.

Pauly insists this will be the Year of the Russians. I’m not so sure … it’s clear they are the only country right now that can come close challenging the likes of Caifornia and Nevada, but take away Vitaly Lunkin’s $2million bracelet, and what have they done for me lately, yo?

Some interesting newcomers to the cash-out leaderboard:

Lichtenstein*
Dominican Republic
South Korea
Cayman Islands
Turkey
Virgin Islands

* Is that a country? I thought it was a beer.

You’ll also notice that we’ve added non-American continental regions …

Europe    1    13    118    $3,820,049
Asia-Pacific    0    0    11    $213,967
Latin America    0    0    7    $59,577
Africa / Mideast    0    0    3    $17,428

Click here for complete WSOP World Standings.

The Americans look sure to hold their own, and though it’s still too early to really tell, the Russians booked a big win early to let the world — and maybe more specifically, Europe — know that these comrades didn’t just get lucky last year.

CORRECTION: The image above says “through 59 events”, but in fact, these are the standings only through three.

On the stateside front, Pokerati declared California the unofficial capitol of the poker world … but Cali blanked at the main event final table and Nevada had a redraw with WSOP-E — and sure enough, John Juanda et al successfully wrestled away the claim.

The final 2008 WSOP World Standings:

Click here for Pokerati’s complete semi-official World Standings.

With a 24-year-old Jesper Hougaard’s bracelet win in £1500 NLH, Denmark steps up to a higher tier of poker dominance in the world. And Ohio (one of four American states with a 2008 WSOP-E cash thus far — the others being Washington, California, and Nevada) scooches past Georgia (the state, not the former Soviet republik) in the standings.

UPDATE: This is not just Denmark’s second ’08 bracelet … it’s also Hougaard’s! He won one of the WSOP 1500s in Las Vegas this summer. (Hmm, maybe a little premature in naming Player of the Year?)

Not surprising, the Euros dominated the first event of WSOP-E. Specifically, England kicked the most arse overall.

Technical note: Pounds were converted to dollars on an exchange of £1=$1.832. This resulted in $2,892 of further inexactness in the $181.81 million of 2008 WSOP prize money awarded thus far.

BTW, some pretty exciting action going on in Event #2 #57 — £2,500 HORSE … they’re getting near the bubble (18 remaining, 16 get paid) with some interesting names on the leaderboard:

Click here to follow the action at WSOP.com.

The WSOP-Europe is underway. Should the money/metal won in these bracelet events count toward national success in Pokerati’s semi-official WSOP World Standings?

Never mind, I’ve already answered the question. Click below for Nolan’s Notes from Day 1 of Event #1, er, I mean Event #56:

2008 World Series of Poker-Europe
Casino at the Empire
(Leicester Square) London, England

Event 1 — Day 1-A
Tournament Notes:

·        World Series of Poker-Europe includes the final four gold bracelet events of the 2008 season.  WSOP events 1-55 were played in Las Vegas, Nevada from May 28 through July 14.  Events 56-59 are played in London, England from September 19 through October 3.

·        All WSOP-E results are included in WSOP records — including all-time wins, cashes, final table appearances, etc.

·        This marks the second consecutive year of WSOP-E, presented by BetFair.  In 2007, three gold bracelet events were played in London.

·        All four events this year are played at Casino at the Empire, located in Leicester Square, in Central London.  Leicester Square is best known as the theatre district of the city.  Casino at the Empire is part of London Clubs, International, which is owned by Harrahs Entertainment.

·        The turnout for Event 1 was sufficiently large enough that two starting days (broken into 1-A and 1-B) were necessary.  Day 1-A attracted 191 entries.  Day 1-B will be played Saturday, September 20th, starting at 1 pm.  Day 2 will be played September 21st.   The final table will take place on September 22nd.

·        Casino at the Empire holds 25 poker tables.  Gaming tables were removed during the 16-day duration of WSOP-E in order to make necessary room for the large turnout of players and spectators.

·        All WSOP-E tournaments (except H.O.R.S.E.) are played nine-handed, whenever possible.

·        This is the first WSOP gold bracelet event played in 66 days.  The last event, the $10,000 buy-in world championship, took place through Monday, July 14th, when play was suspended at nine players.  The “November Nine” (Event 54) returns to Las Vegas on November 9-10, 2008 to determine then 2008 world champion.

·        The first day of WSOP-E began with a short pre-tournament ceremony.  Tournament Director Jack Effel, who has overseen floor operations for all WSOP events since 2006, was joined by two impersonators, resembling pop icons Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe.  Last year’s WSOP-E Main Event champion Annette Obrestad was awarded the honor of starting the tournament, with the customary “Shuffle Up and Deal” announcement.  Obrestad was also presented with several miniature cakes, as she had celebrated her 20th birthday just one day earlier.

·        Two gaming executives were also on hand to start the tournament.  Michael Silberling, Chief Operating Officer of London Clubs, International, and Ben Freid, Head of Poker for BetFair, welcomed players with introductory remarks.

·        Players started with 6,000 in tournament chips.  Starting blinds were 25-50.  Day One included eight levels.  Each level was one hour in length.

·        The buy-in amount for Event #1 was 1,500 English pounds (GBP), which is equivalent to about $2,755 (USD) at the current exchange rate.

·        BetFair, official tournament sponsor of WSOP-Europe, sent 104 players to Event 1.  One of the qualifiers was 26-year-old Simon Fox.  He won a 1,500 (GBP) entry fee, a free poker lesson from 2007 WSOP-E champion Annette Obrerstad, and his own private masseuse for the duration of the tournament.  Fox was also given (believed to be the first time in poker history) his own “railbird,” who was paid to attend and cheer on the aspiring poker star.  Unfortunately, the rent-a-railbird tactic did not work for Fox, as he busted out on Day 1-A.

·        Several notable former WSOP gold bracelet winners and poker pros played in Event 1, on Day 1-A.  This list included Phil Ivey, Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, Erik Seidel, Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein, John Juanda, Thor Hansen, Max Pescatori, Layne Flack, Brandon Cantu, and Chris Bjorin.

·        Play began at 1:25 pm and ended at 12 midnight, at the conclusion of Level 8.

·        The “End of Day 1-A” chip leader is four-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu, from Las Vegas, NV.  He has 74,900 in chips.

·        When play resumes on Day 2, survivors from Days 1-A and 1-B will combined.  Play will continue with blinds set at 600-1200 and antes at 100.