Here’s the full final table results, with the edited final table coverage on ESPN2 May 10th at 10pm ET:

1 – Vanessa Selbst, $750,000
2 – Mike Beasley, $428,000
3 – Mike Woods, $240,000
4 – Scott Seiver, $190,000
5 – Alistar Melville, $150,000
6 – Derek Raymond, $115,000
7 – Cliff Josephy, $85,000
8 – Jonathan Aguiar, $60,244

Happenings from yesterday at the WSOP:

The other final table of yesterday concluded earlier this morning, as Jimmy Shultz took down Event #12 ($1,500 Limit Holdem), eventually beating Zac Flowers in a heads-up battle to win a bracelet along with just over $250,000. Upon his victory, he announced he was donating 25% of his win to the Charleston, SC Fire Department , who lost nine firefighters June 18, 2007. Vinny Vinh, along with his “associates” railing him, finished 3rd.

More info after the jump:

Two more final tables were established on Sunday, first in event #14 ($10,000 7 Card Stud World Championship, will feature this final table (Phil Ivey eliminated on the final table bubble in 9th), starting at 3pm today:

Seat 1: David Oppenheim 508,000
Seat 2: Alexander Kostritsyn 495,000
Seat 3: Jim Paluszek 413,000
Seat 4: Erik Seidel 273,000
Seat 5: Vassilios Lazarou 259,000
Seat 6: Minh Ly 424,000
Seat 7: Fu Wong 429,000
Seat 8: Eric Brooks 359,000

The other final table today is Event #13 ($2,500 NL Holdem). They will appear under the bright lights of the cameras for ESPN360.com (audio coverage may be available at worldseriesofpoker.com). Here’s that lineup:

Seat 1: Brent Hanks: 625,000
Seat 2: Steven Merrifield
Seat 3: Shawn Buchanan: 775,000
Seat 4: Duncan Bell: 1,966,000
Seat 5: Jason Sanders: 920,000
Seat 6: Nathan Doudney: 175,000
Seat 7: Brent Ditzik: 250,000
Seat 8: Nicolas Levi: 320,000
Seat 9: Ariel Soffer: 350,000

Tournament action began on Sunday at noon with event #15 ($1,000 Ladies NL Holdem World Championship). Action concluded shortly after 1am with 62 out of of the 1,190 participants remaining. Among the familiar names: Olga Varkonyi, Evelyn Ng, Linda Johnson and Kathy Liebert. Action begins again for the ladies at 2pm.

The 5pm tournament, Event #16 ($2,000 Omaha finished with 178 remaining from a field of 553. They get to return at 3pm today to try and get to their final table. Current chip leader is Mark Goodwin, other notables in the field include Jimmy “Gobboboy” Fricke, Barry Greenstein, Dutch Boyd, Men Nguyen and David Williams.

Monday’s tournament lineup features another pair of events to those with varying bankrolls. The noon tournament today is Event #17 ($1,500 NL Holdem Shootout). This one may sell out early (it appears registration would be capped at either 900 or 1000) so getting there early would be strongly encouraged to avoid being shutout.

The 5pm tournament is Event #18 ($5,000 NL 2-7 Draw w/rebuys, aka Kansas City Lowball). Only the biggest names (or those with a deep bankroll) enter this field. Erik Seidel took it down last year in a field of only 78 (with 226 rebuys).

More from me later today, other great stuff as always from Dan, Jen and the rest throughout your Monday.

Play ended shortly after 5am in the $10k Mixed Event World Championship. A tournament that had its share of controversy, from confusion over the structure to players threatening to go to 2+2 to express their dislike of having table redraws start at triple draw instead of going through the eight-game rotation. Here’s the final table, starting at 4pm:

Seat 1: James “mig.com” Mackey 742,000
Seat 2: Matt Glantz 1,115,000
Seat 3: Sam Farha 374,000
Seat 4: Michael DeMichele 434,000
Seat 5: Tom “durrrr” Dwan 642,000
Seat 6: Eli Elezra 76,000
Seat 7: Anthony Rivera 274,000
Seat 8: Jeff Madsen 149,000

The other final table today will be the televised (on espn360.com) $2k NL Holdem, event #7, starting at 3pm. Their final nine will consist of:

Seat 1: Matt Keikoan 1,011,000
Seat 2: Theo Tran 1,884,000 (his 2nd FT this Series)
Seat 3: Shannon Shorr 620,000
Seat 4: Carter Gill 652,000
Seat 5: Mihai Manole 1,020,000
Seat 6: Chris Bjorin 205,000
Seat 7: Mike Lisanti 358,000
Seat 8: J.C. Tran 273,000
Seat 9: Alex Bolotin 345,000

Two more bracelets were given out early this morning, in the $1,000 NL w/rebuys (Event #5) Michael Banducci defeated former EPT Grand Final winner Jeff Williams. Meanwhile, Thang Luu bested Spencer Lawrence in the $1,500 Omaha 8 or better (Event #6)

Today starts two more events, at noon is the $5,000 NL Shootout (Event #11). For those unfamiliar, shootouts are a series of one table sit n go’s, win your table and you move on to the next round. Win three tables and the bracelet is yours. At 5pm will be the $1,500 Limit Holdem (Event #12).

Two tournaments move on to their day two, as the $1,500 6-max (Event #9) plays down to their final 6. What started as a sold-out field of 1,236 whittled themselves down to a compact field of 72. Matt Matros is the current chip leader, Thomas Fuller is a close 2nd. Other notable names in the field: Avery Cardoza, Ian Frazer, Neil Channing.

One hour later, the $2,500 Omaha 8/Stud 8 (Event #10) picks up where they left off. A starting field of 388 is down to 120, expect the journey to their final 8 to go well into the night. Bennett Greenstein is the current chip leader with Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi close behind. Other notable names left include “Miami John” Cernuto, Todd Brunson, and Allen Cunningham.

Ok, so in my defense, I was actually out-of-town when Karridy posted his challenge.  The 9 days since I’ve been back in town? Karridy stole my other defense – so I’ll just go with “I’m a slacker”.

With my timeliness out of the way – let’s get back to the challenge.

I’m definitely a “Hell Yeah!” for another prop-bet challenge.  The loser “has to wear a dress all the way to Vegas”?  I’m gonna go with a big “NO” on that part:

1. You already frequently wear a dress as a fill-in for: Dan’s lover Sang; and for Tom’s daughters.  How then is that a punishment to you when you lose?
2. Now that you’ve decided to play in more than one event – we are flying out to Vegas at separate times.  How will I get good video to share with everyone of your traveling to Vegas in a dress if we aren’t on the same flights?
3. The terms of the first prop-bet state that the loser of that bet would be the one issuing the rematch.  So – the initial terms should come from me.
4. I’ve proven I’m a good sport when it comes to the prop-bets:
   
   so I don’t want to hear any bitching from you about how you won’t be able to wear a dress.

The inspiration for my challenge hit me as I was reading Pokerati on my mobile device from the shitter my “other office”.  It got me thinking of an old Beyond The Table episode where I was lamenting of how I was the only one of the crew who was not attending the 2007 WSOP.  I declared then that I would attend the 2008 WSOP.  As things tended to do on BTT - the conversation then went down the drain… literally.  While there, I promised that I would interview people “Senator Craig” style from the safety of my own stall – asking questions like “Do you know who Tom Schneider is?”.  I think an even better idea is that the loser of our prop-bet has to conduct interviews from a restroom frequented by tournament players at the Rio, with the audio then posted on a public website.  Some, or all, of the interview questions would come from suggestions from our fellow pokerati.

Here then is my official challenge (we can haggle on further specifics in private):

• SitNGoSteve to play Karridy in a best of 7 heads up match in No Limit Hold ‘Em. 
• The matches must be completed before May 30th, 2008.
• The loser will conduct interviews from a bathroom located in the Rio hotel in Las Vegas that is frequented by WSOP 2008 players.
• The interview(s) must be conducted between May 30th, 2008 and July 7th, 2008.
• The loser must conduct the interview from within a closed bathroom stall – it is NOT sufficient to just ask questions while in the bathroom (i.e. while people are washing their hands).
• The interview questions will mainly be comprised of, but not limited to, suggestions from our fellow pokerati.  Karridy and SitNGoSteve will finalize the specific questions before traveling to Las Vegas for the WSOP 2008.
• The official interview list will contain no less than 5 and no more than 10 questions.
• An interviewee is defined as a person who has answered and responded to all of the pre-defined interview questions OR has at least responded to the majority of the questions.
• The loser will interview no less than 3 people and will produce no less than 15 minutes of audio of interviewees responses.  The only exception is as interrupted by security or law enforcement.
• The loser can NOT utilize any written materials to communicate with an interviewee.  i.e. no slipping paper under the stalls that say things like “I lost a bet and have to interview people in the bathroom”.
• The audio must be published to a publicly consumable website within 14 days of the loser returning home from Las Vegas.
• The audio must be of “acceptable” quality.  i.e. the loser should place their recording device below the bathroom stall divider to hear their interviewees responses clearly.
• The winner, or a pre-defined appointee of the winner, will be present in a capacity that will verify that the loser met and honored the spirit of the above terms.

What say you Karridy?

p.s. California Jen: Karridy only shared his sushi with you because he doesn’t really like Sushi – so that shouldn’t stop you from rooting for me to win!

…Okay, that title may be the single gayest line I’ve ever typed. My bad. I’m draining Dos Equis and blogging via Hooters WiFi.

I’m about to fire off an email to friends, family, etc., inviting them to take a piece of me in a second $1,500 NLHE Event, which I wasn’t originally planning on playing. I’m actually interested to hear your opinions on how I’m handling the two-event split and the Main Event equity parlay.

Check out the details at my super-new personal blog (blog.karridy.com), and let me know if you think I’m drawing dead.

ALT HED: For sale: BackerTracker.com – $1,500

I’m sure he’ll say that he was busy at work… Whatever. Stephen, if you’re truly afraid of the dress, you can always get iced out.

The rest of you haterz can get yo Poker Grillz HERE.

These are not special charity events, mind you — though he is s putting on some of those around the country, too — but just good-ole-fashioned come play me for cash, bitches, action … as can be seen below:

By the way, this announcement on the end of Montel TV comes perhaps coincidentally with the announcement of the Golden Nugget’s Grand Poker Series — which will feature several small buy-in events during the WSOP. Click here for more general Golden Nugget poker info.

Party used to be the site that didn’t attach themselves to any pros other than Mike Sexton. And they used to pay for your travel when you won a satellite online. Now they are trying to put it in your head that it’s normal for the player to take care of that.

Click below for the full press release.

WSOP QUALIFIERS START ON PARTYPOKER.COM
BOOKMAKERS MAY WANT TO “KILL PHIL” HELLMUTH AS MUCH AS HIS OPPONENTS!

Gibraltar – 24th January 2008 – The World Series of Poker in Las Vegas may be months away but you can secure a place earlier than usual from just $1 on PartyPoker.com.

Online qualifiers are in full swing offering the chance to win packages for the Main Event in July and include the $10,000 buy-in, $1,000 spending money, luxury Las Vegas accommodation, transfers and access to the exclusive VIP hospitality suite. Qualification starts from as little as $1, with the main weekly $550 +$30 satellite every Friday at 18.00 ET. For full details on how to qualify see: http://www.partypoker.com/news/items/08_wsop_structure.html

A PartyPoker.com spokesman said: “The qualifiers are already popular as they offer the chance to be one of the first to win a seat for the WSOP. If you qualify now you can sit back in the comfort that you know that you are off to Vegas and exploit the cheaper flight options.”

PartyPoker.com is also pleased to announce that betting markets for both the European Open and Premier League are available on www.partybets.com. Premier League features 12 top pros, while the European Open IV has 72 runners.

A PartyBets.com spokesman said: “In the Premier League the early money has been for Phil Hellmuth and he now shares favouritism with the Devilfish but there are sure to be a lot of swings before the first card is dealt. Tony G and defending champion Juha Helppi have also been well supported. The European Open is all about Phil. He has a lot of fans in Europe who want to support him in this format. We know this is true and that he is not backing himself as we don’t take wagers from the United States!”

“If this early trend continues we will want to ‘Kill Phil’ as much as his opponents at the table!”

Co-hosts Karridy, Dan, and Tom collectively look ahead to 2008 by diagnosing one another’s poker games (and/or lives). In so doing, the trio take turns enacting each of the roles typically occurring in yr basic health care scenario — patient, physician, and insurance provider.

For example: Dan spends most of the episode as patient, sharing relevant details about his history and identifying his goals moving forward. Tom acts as Dan’s physician, offering tips for how Dan can improve the health of his bankroll in the coming year. Meanwhile, Karridy explains to Dan the limits of his coverage. Thus when Dan says he’d like to make a final table of a “major event,” Tom assesses the likelihood of such an occurrence (given the patient’s current vital signs), while Karridy reminds Dan he can’t afford to enter that many “major events.” And so forth.

A quiet time of year poker-wise, so not a lot of hard-hitting news in this week’s episode. There is some discussion of the 2008 WSOP schedule, details of which were largely gleaned from Craig Cunningham’s blog. Head over to C.C.’s site for more such info. And perhaps a Christmas carol, too.

And remember you can always send your own diagnoses of BTT (including how new producer Ryan is doing) to
theshow(at)beyondthetable(dot)com and/or call ’em in to (888) 820-8091.

From Harrah’s:

World Series of Poker® To Award Trophy To $50,000 Event Champion
In Memory of Poker Great ‘Chip’ Reese

LAS VEGAS – December 12, 2007 – Future winners of the $50,000 buy-in event at the World Series of Poker – currently the HORSE World Championship – will receive a trophy named after the late David “Chip” Reese, according to Jeffrey Pollack, Commissioner of the World Series of Poker Presented by Milwaukee’s Best Light.

“A true gentleman and the youngest person admitted to the Poker Hall of Fame, Chip Reese was recognized by his peers as the most successful player in the biggest mixed cash games of all time,” Pollack said. “But he was also a great tournament player with three WSOP bracelets, including one for his historic victory in the inaugural $50,000 buy-in HORSE tournament in 2006.

“As a tribute to this great player who embodied the very best of our game, next year’s $50,000 HORSE World Championship will be played in Chip’s honor and memory,” Pollack said. “And the winner will receive the ‘David “Chip” Reese Award,’ as well as a WSOP bracelet, to commemorate their achievement.”

More information about the World Series of Poker is available at the Web site www.worldseriesofpoker.com.

Hmm, attaching a name to a specific tournament … interesting concept.

The official word:

LAS VEGAS – December 11, 2007 – Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:HET) said today the 2008 World Series of Poker Presented by Milwaukee’s Best Light and televised exclusively on ESPN will – for the first time ever – begin and end with $10,000 buy-in World Championship events and feature a total of eight $10,000 championships.

In addition, the 55-event schedule for 2008 includes a total of eight $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournaments, which traditionally draw the largest fields except for the Main Event. The WSOP has also added a second start day for the first of the $1,500 no-limit competitions to accommodate the expected number of entrants.

“This is our most exciting schedule yet,” said Jeffrey Pollack, commissioner of the WSOP. “Both amateur and professional poker players will have new opportunities to compete for a WSOP bracelet and can choose from the widest variety of games and buy-ins ever offered in one poker tournament and certainly at the WSOP.

“We’re holding steady at 55 events this year,” said Pollack. “But, we’ve mixed it up a bit to keep it interesting for our players and fans.”

The 2008 WSOP starts May 30 with the $10,000 buy-in World Championship of Pot-Limit Hold’Em and ends July 16 with the Final Table of the $10,000 buy-in World Championship of No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em – best known as the WSOP Main Event.

The six other $10,000 buy-in events – all World Championship competitions – include: Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’Em; Seven-Card Stud; Limit Hold’Em; Omaha Hi-Low Split Eight or Better; Pot-Limit Omaha; and a new Mixed Event. The Mixed Event will feature eight variations of poker: Limit and No-Limit Hold’Em; Omaha Hi-Low and Pot-Limit Omaha; Seven Card Stud; Razz; Seven Card Hi-Low Split; and 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball.

The second event of the 2008 WSOP is a $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament with two starting days – May 31 and June 1.

Pre-registration for the 2008 WSOP can be made beginning in February on-site at the Main Cage of the Rio® All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas or at www.worldseriesofpoker.com.

In addition to the largest cash prizes in poker, winners of each of the 55 events will receive an exclusive World Series of Poker gold bracelet crafted by the luxury Swiss watchmaker CORUM. Last year, 54,288 entrants who ranged in age from 21 (bracelet winner Steve Billirakis) to 94 (Main Event contestant Jack Ury) competed for the poker world’s largest total prize pool of nearly $160 million.

The 2008 WSOP will be staged inside the Rio Convention Center from May 30 through July 16. WSOP officials plan a “soft opening” of the tournament room on May 28 and 29 for players to register early and play in satellite tournaments and cash games.

“The poker tent is gone,” said Pollack. “We heard folks loud and clear last year, and there will be no tents used for tournament play at the 2008 WSOP.”

On July 2, and in conjunction with the WSOP, Oscar nominee Don Cheadle and poker professional Annie Duke will host the second annual Ante Up For Africa charity tournament at the Rio.

Last year’s AUFA event featured dozens of Hollywood celebrities and poker professionals and raised more than $700,000 for charity. Ante Up For Africa is a non-profit organization founded in 2006 by Cheadle, Duke and Norman Epstein and is dedicated to raising money and awareness for Africans in need.

July 3 is the first of four start days for the 2008 Main Event. Last year, a total of 6,358 entrants competed for a Main Event prize pool of $59.8 million. Players may choose their Main Event start dates as long as seats are available on the selected dates.

• There will be no tent. (The audience applauded.)
• A concierge, possibly a team of people, will be available for those with questions throughout the series.
• There will be no more than 55 events.
• The exact list of events will be announced in December or January.
• He is in the process of trying to arrange a way for players to begin buying into the events at any Harrah’s property as soon as the events are announced.
• Since 2009 will be the 40th anniversary of the WSOP, 2008 will host some events to kick off a year of tributes and celebrations.
• New WSOP ads will air soon that feature the voice of Don Cheadle.
• Close to $1 million was raised for various charities at the 2007 WSOP. There will be affiliations with charities again in 2008, including Ante Up for Africa.

Mr. Pollack went on to say that they meet with members of the player’s council almost weekly in order to make the 2008 better than in years past. He admitted, “We are never going to get it exactly right,” but they will continue to do the best they can.

The remainder of the conference was filled with some solid poker advice from George Epstein, Lou Krieger, and Tony Guerrera – each of whom brought some quality insight to the attendees. Barbara Enright and Charlie Shoten discussed their history with poker, some experiences, and what keeps them going.

Robert Turner talked a bit about protection from collusion and cheating in online poker. While many of the tips were not specific, other than play low limits and inquire about the site’s ownership and security measures, he did emphasize the need for regulation in the industry. (When Mike Caro joined the conversation, he mentioned that he is sponsored by Doyle’s Room, the site that just came back to the U.S. Someone in the audience asked Mike, “Who exactly owns Doyle’s Room?” Mike seemed a little taken aback and responded, “Ummm, it’s Doyle, right?” Hmmm. Point made.)

Jeff Sandman and Michael Waxman flew in from D.C. to talk to everyone about the Safe & Secure Internet Gambling Initiative. The organization is currently lobbying Congress, alongside the PPA, to educate Congress about the regulation needed in the industry and the reasons to back away from prohibition-type legislation. For those who can spare a few minutes to help in the poker fight, their website has helpful information and can connect you directly to your Congressional rep.

2008 World Series of Poker Set for May 30 through July 17 in Las Vegas
Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino to Host 39th Annual Gathering

LAS VEGAS – October 8, 2007 – Harrah’s Entertainment Inc (NYSE: HET) announced today that the 39th annual World Series of Poker® Presented by Milwaukee’s Best Light will be staged at the Rio™ All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas from May 30 through July 17, 2008.

“The team is still hard at work on the schedule of events for next year, but we’ve received so many requests for the dates that we decided to announce them now,” said Jeffrey Pollack, WSOP Commissioner.

“We’ll actually open the WSOP tournament room the week of May 26th for two special events,” said Geno Iafrate, vice president and assistant general manager of the Rio. “This ‘soft opening’ will give players a chance to register early and avoid the lines we had last year during opening weekend – our busiest time.”

More WSOP information is available at www.worldseriesofpoker.com.

The WSOP brand is owned by Harrah’s License Company, LLC an affiliate of Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc., the world’s largest provider of branded casino entertainment through its operating subsidiaries. Since its beginning in Reno, Nevada, nearly 70 years ago, Harrah’s has grown through development of new properties, expansions and acquisitions, and now owns or manages casinos on four continents. The company’s properties operate primarily under the Harrah’s®, Caesars® and Horseshoe® brand names; Harrah’s also owns the London Clubs International family of casinos. Harrah’s Entertainment is focused on building loyalty and value with its customers through a unique combination of great service, excellent products, unsurpassed distribution, operational excellence and technology leadership.

More information about Harrah’s is available at www.harrahs.com.