Dream Team Poker (Day 1) Official Report

It was a triumph for me individually — I\’ve made the money with an about-average stack, and made my first Day 2 ever in any tournament. (Stop laughing.) But from a team perspective … that\’s where the real money is, and Team Tao of Pokerati (Dan, Pauly, Lana) is the only team with more than one player remaining. (Pauly, Dan.)

We\’re guaranteed a 5th place team finish, and would have to really screw up to not get at least 4th. We need a 15th and 14th place finish individually (or better) to win it outright.

Click below to see the full Nolan-esque official report.

DREAM TEAM POKER WSOP EVENT DAY 1 REPORT
2009 World Series of Poker
Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino
Las Vegas, Nevada
Official Report
No-Limit Hold’em / Dream Team Poker Structure
Buy-in: $500 +60 per person / $1680 per team

Number of players: 366
Number of Teams: 122
Players Remaining: 27
Teams Remaining: 26

Total Net Prize Pool: $177,510
Top Payout Individual: $16,473
Top Payout Team: $33,017

Places Paid Individual: 36
Places Paid Team: 10

July 12-13, 2009

Tournament Highlights

 The Dream Team Poker Tournament started with 122 teams and 366 players. Play ended with 27 players remaining representing 26 teams.

 One team, Tao of Pokerati, has 2 players remaining and is the favorite to take the top team prize of $33,017 to split between the three team members

 There were 59 women entered into the tournament, comprising more than 16% of the entire field.

There were 3 all-women teams in the event:

Kegslist.info (lead by Lacey Jones)
Tush Pushers (lead by Pam Brunson)
Wicked Chops Poker II (Lead by London Gallagher)

 There were 15 teams who played in the DTP WSOP event that also played in the DTP Caesars event in March 2009. These teams were:

Hellmuth Busters
Bluff Magazine
Wicked Chops Poker
Poker Road.com
Tao of Pokerati
Los Chingones
6Hands 4Nuts & a Rack (Jerry Yang)
The Maven VT (3 teams)
PicClub.com
West Coast Rounders
USA Rounders
BPC

 Chip Leader Rob Diaz, from Team Reckless goes into Day 2 with $332,000 in chips. Rob is a former Marine who served two tours of duty in Iraq in 2003 and 2004-2005. He learned to play poker while in Iraq. He is currently a full-time student at DePaul University in Sacramento, CA and a part time police officer.

 Rob was a last minute substitution to Team Reckless when fellow teammate Ryan Gray’s uncle could not make the trip. Rob flew to Las Vegas at the last minute to play in the Dream Team Poker Event. This is his first time playing a live tournament in a casino.

More than 30 professionals played the Dream Team Poker WSOP Event including:

David Williams, Evelyn Ng, Justin Bonomo (Team Bodog)
Barry Greenstein, Joe Stapleton (Team PokerRoad.com)
Gavin Smith (Team Zurvive)
Pam Brunson (Tush Pushers)
Liz Lieu (ChiliPoker)
Jerry Yang, Christina Lindley, Eric Aude (Team Six Hands, Four Nutz, and a
Rack OnTilt)
Marsha Waggoner, James Worth, Young Phan (Team True Poker)
Barbara Enright, Paul Darden and David Levi (Team Bookmaker Poker)
David Chicotsky, Lauren Kling (Team TheMaven VT 1)
Kenna James (Poker Host)
Susie Isaacs (Team Simpletrak)
Bryan Micon, Dustin Woolf (Team Neverwinpoker.com)
Tom McEvoy (Magic Dragons)
Captain Tom Franklin, TJ Cloutier (Captain Krunch)
Lacey Jones, Christina Hall (Kegslist.info)
Maureen Feduniak (Jersey Girls)
Thor Hansen, Yosh Naknano (Team IPPA Tour)
Matt Savage (Slightly Above Saverage)
Men \”The Master\” Nguyen (MenMaster)
Linda Johnson, Jan Fisher, Rick Fuller (Bike.com)
Amir Vahedi (team Picclub)
Jose Canseco ()

Player Quotes

Jerry Yang (2007 World Series of Poker Champion)
This was my second DTP event. I came back because I like the format and the excitement of the tournament. The competition is different in the DTP event, I get to play for my team rather than just myself.

Lacey Jones (Professional Poker Player/ Model / Actress)
“This is my third time playing a Dream Team Poker event and I have had the most fun playing these events than any other poker tournament. I can’t think of any better way to enjoy the game of poker than to play with your friends and have them cheer you on!

Side note: Lacey Jones captained Team Lacey to win the 1^st place team prize in the Dream Team Poker / World Series of Poker Media Event on July 9^th.

Tom McEvoy (World Series of Poker Champion)
I love the Dream Team Poker structure! I played in March and finished on the final table. In a Dream Team Poker event, you want to try harder because you don’t want to let your teammates down. You try to stay alive as long as possible for them, its not just about yourself, you try to maximize your team’s result.

Side note: Tom played the Dream Team Poker event at Caesars Palace in March 2009. He made the final table finishing in 6^th place

Eric Morris (Publisher, Bluff Magazine)
“Dream Team Poker is the most fun I have ever had with my clothes on! This is a great time, great people, why wouldn’t you play!

Side Note: Bluff Magazine won the inaugural Dream Team Poker event in March 2009. His video editor Marc Rizzo won the top individual prize at the Dream Team Poker / WSOP Media event on July 9, 2009

Valerie Palermo Member of Team Hellmuth Busters
“The first time I played in the Dream Team Poker Event in March I had so much fun that I had to come back again. I loved the team based atmosphere and the structure. I have found that the players are more friendly and fun, it seems less stressful and tense than a regular tournament.

Side Note: Valerie’s team The Hellmuth Busters played the Dream Team Poker Event in March at Caesars Palace. The team finished in the money taking the 5^th place team prize for $6660.

End of Day 1 Chip Counts

Official Payout Structure