Recapping Sunday night’s WSOP action:

Angle corners Seniors’ bracelet

78-year old Harold Angle of Sun City Center, Florida defeated Michael Minetti heads-up to win the $1,000 Seniors’ No-Limit Holdem Championship and add $487,994 to his bank account. Minetti earned $301,389 for the runner-up finish. As Dan noted in the post below, Tom Schneider finished 14th in his WSOP Seniors’ debut. The full results and Nolan Dalla’s tournament report is available at wsop.com.

Mahmood leads 10k Heads-Up final 1-0

The finals of the $10,000 No-Limit Holdem Heads-Up Championship was expected to have finished earlier today, but the first match in the best-of-three final between Ayaz Mahmood and Ernst Schmejkal took over six hours to complete, with Mahmood eventually winning. Play will resume at 7pm tonight as they play to a finish, hopefully.

Juanda leads stacked 3k HORSE

25 players remain on day 3 of the $3,000 HORSE, with John Juanda (393,000) leading the way when play resumes at 3pm. The stacked field includes David “Not Bakes” Baker (373,000), Phil Ivey (205,000), Jeff Lisandro (193,000), Dan Heimiller (180,000), Bill Chen (158,000), David Benyamine (137,000), Chad Brown (108,000), Scott Seiver (105,000) and David Singer (93,000). The full list of chip counts are available at PokerNews.

Marchese leads 10k PL Holdem Day 2

A field of 268 players started Sunday afternoon in the $10,000 Pot-Limit Holdem Championship, after ten hours of play, Thomas Marchese emerged as the leader with 334,600 in chips when play resumes at 3pm today. Some of the notables returning include Dani Stern (200,500), John Duthie (171,400), Noah Boeken (136,400), Blair Rodman (92,900), Mike Matusow (77,300) and Shannon Shorr (72,700). The top 27 players get paid, with the winner pocketing $617,214. The full list of chip counts are available at PokerNews.

D’angelo leads 1k NL day 1b field

Day 1b of the $1,000 No-Limit Holdem tournament drew a field of 1,119 players, with 165 of them joining the 268 day 1a players when play resumes at 2:30pm. The top 324 players make the money, with the winner picking up $481,760 at the cashier. The full list of chip counts for both days is available at wsop.com.

Monday’s tournaments

Two tournaments on the schedule today, first is the $1,500 No-Limit Holdem Shootout at 12pm. This has a listed cap of 2,000 players, which appears to be a strange number to use for a shootout. If more than 1000 players are registered, 20 additional tables will be added, with some tables being 9-handed. The winners from round 1 will make the money and return on Tuesday, with the winners of those tables playing on Wednesday to determine a winner. With a 1,000 player cap last year, Jeffrey Carris won this event last year, good for $313,673. The 5pm tournament is the $2,500 Razz, won by Jeff Lisandro in a field of 315 for $188,390.

Oklahoma Johnny Hale was scootering around the record-setting WSOP-Seniors event last night once they got down to about nine tables … he was splashing pots with $5 commemorative chips from Palace Station honoring members of “The Seniors” Poker Player Hall of Fame.

The chip plausibly stimulating additional action on the table I happened to be watching bore a familiar mug … none other than disgraced poker pioneer Russ Hamilton, which presumably could make for quite the collector’s item.

Jack Ward has only seen his fortunes in the WSOP-Seniors event improve since taking down the pot with a Russ Hamilton Hall of Fame overlay.

The winner of that pot, btw, and the hotly desired piece of poker memorabilia, was Jack Ward, from Gulfport, Miss. Not all the Johnny Hale splash pots happened to feature Russ Hamilton chips … there were also some Vince Burgios, Johnny Moss’s, TJ Cloutiers, and others. But since taking down the Hamilton coin, Ward jumped from about 50k in chips to 519k, which had him on the verge of elimination in Day 2 starting Day 3, today, in 7th position with 23 players remaining.

En route, Ward also happened to take out Berry Johnston, a current member of the Seniors Hall of Fame, who lasted longest amongst that group and finished in 39th place.

UPDATE: At this moment there are currently 13 left, with Team Pokerati’s Tom Schneider out in 14th, and newfound fan favorite Jack Ward in 10th.

You can follow the chip-for-chip action here.

Investigations into Hamilton Role in UB Cheating Scandals Ongoing

Meanwhile, Wicked Chops seem to be getting onto the multi-part longform-narrative bandwagon, perhaps realizing that’s the really the only way to tell the full story of the biggest poker cheating scam in history, and possibly a multibillion-dollar black eye to an online poker industry still struggling for legitimacy.

Be sure to read Part 1 of WCP’s The Ultimate Bet Super-User Scandal, as they piece together initial Nat Arem discoveries, Haley Hintze’s continuing investigative research, and their own original reporting to weave together a tale of how “Russ Hamilton pulled the strings to develop a super-user ‘tool’ that cheated friends, associates, and UltimateBet customers out of millions of dollars.”

While it seems like Wicked Chops may be putting together something more akin to the Warren Report while Haley nails down the dirty details of Umbrella Man, it seems clear that before all is said and done with Cereus, we’ll be looking at a true-crime aga of online poker shenanigans that goes far beyond any one man on a single chip playing dirty.

Sorry to leave any ‘Ati-first readers hanging for a week without easiest access to the latest Tao of Pokerati take on happenings at the World Series. Of course you all are smart … and presumably know to find any episode you (or I) may have missed in the Tao of Pokerati podcast archives here. Seriously, check ’em out … there’ve been some good ones.

Pauly skipped town a couple days ago … I guess with Rio security responding to all the billboard advertising around their property for Dr. Reefer, the Happiness Consultants, Legal Cannabis Scrips ‘R Us, etc. by cracking down on 420 breaks at the WSOP, Pauly decided if he was gonna leave the Rio, he might as well keep on driving (then flying) to the nearest Phish concert.

But no worries … He’ll be back in a few days; in the meantime Benjo and I gotcha covered. Last night, with two final tables going on at the main stage, we found ourselves in one of those spots where two additional bits of exciting Amazon action were taking place simultaneously, with galleries overlapping in a single aisle as remaining players were well past their bubbles and getting nearer to big-money prizes.

Episode 35: French Man Kissing (w Benjo)

There’s a real s’affrontent going on in the $10k heads-up, with Bertrand Grospellier, arguably the #1 player in France right now, battling Benjo’s pal Lucovic Lacay, currently the top contender capable of dethroning him. All the excitement has the French guys on the rail madly … kissing? Benjo breaks down the questionable nature of these public displays of Euro-affection.

NOTE: Lucovic would end up beating Elky, who earned $38k in the Round of 16, while Lacay moved on to the final 8 where he is guaranteed at least $92k.

Episode 36: Touching Tom Senior (w Benjo)

DonkeyBomber‘s going deep in the Seniors event, but did Dan ruin his chances for a bracelet in “the oxygen event) with some inappropriate touching? Player superstitions aside, there’s some real concern about Toothless Bob, who was going into this event as the Team Pokerati favorite but may or may not have shown up to play.

Two more bracelet winners became known Sunday morning, and the rest of Saturday’s action:

Papola denies the Master bracelet #8

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

Velador slams the door on his second bracelet

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

10k NL Heads-Up down to an Elite 8

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

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

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

Minetti leads Seniors’ event, Schneider among final 23

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

Montgomery leads day 1a of 1k NL

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

Siegel super at day 1 of 3k HORSE

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

Sunday’s tournaments

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

Time to recap the Saturday afternoon action:

Lindgren and Nguyen highlight 5k 6-max FT

Six players remain at the $5,000 No-Limit Holdem 6-max final table with Jeffrey Papola (2,340,000) leading when play resumed at 9pm. The rest of the final table is made up of Erick Lindgren (1,670,000), Men Nguyen (1,505,000), Orlando Delacruz (1,100,000), Bruno Launais (1,003,000) and Mark Radoja (480,000). Follow the action at PokerNews.

Velador vibrant at PLO/PLH FT

Eight players remain in the $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha/Pot-Limit Holdem final table with Jose Luis Velador (985,000) holding the chip lead. Kevin MacPhee (631,000), David Chiu (437,000), Rob Hollink (323,000), and Victor Ramdin (200,000) are the notable names remaining, follow the action at PokerNews.

10k NL HU at Round 4

The $10,000 No-Limit Holdem Heads-Up Championship is currently at round 4 with players now in the money. Among the round 4 winners: Faraz Jaka, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Brian Rast, Kido Pham, Ludovic Lacay and Jason Somerville. One more round is scheduled for 11pm tonight, with the 8 survivors playing to a winner Sunday afternoon. See who else moves on at wsop.com.

Seniors’ sauntering along at day 2

Less than 150 players remain as play continues on day 2 of the $1,000 Seniors’ No-Limit Holdem Championship with Duane Gerleman (210,000) reported as the chip leader. Other notables in the hunt: Team Pokerati/Loudmouth Poker pro Tom Schneider (181,000), Berry Johnston (110,000), Susie Isaacs (60,000) and John Spadavecchia (55,000). Find more info over at wsop.com.

Day 1a of 1k NL underway

A field of 2,485 1,987 started day 1a of the $1,000 No-Limit Holdem with around 550 players remaining, scheduled to play 10 levels or down to about 360 players, whichever comes first. Notables who’ve grown their 3,000-chip stack: Scott Montgomery (25,000), Liv Boeree (24,700), Neil Channing (18,000) and Lee Childs (11,000). More updates and chip counts can be found at PokerNews.

3k HORSE field saddles up

The 5pm tournament today, $3,000 HORSE, drew a field of 478 entrants with the top 48 making the money, with the winner earning $329,840. The early leader is Robert Willamson III with 16,000 in chips, followed by Andre Akkari (13,000), Shaun Deeb (12,500), Matt Savage (11,700) and Scotty Nguyen (10,500). More updates as eight levels of play is scheduled at PokerNews.

A multitude of random click-worthy links and watchable videos, with or without context, that may or may not play into your evolving, overall world poker view … brought to you by 1/2 NL/PLO at the Hard Rock, now playing Tuesdays, Thursdays, late Fridays and by request:

The new This Week in Poker is here. Probably not quite ready for an Emmy nomination yet, or even a Webby if there is such a thing. But smart people behind it all … and possibly eventually a show that comes in to its own somewhere around the convergence of the internet and TV. [Wicked Chops]

I love caption contests — have won many of them. But gonna let someone else take down the wordsmither’s glory (and Full Tilt prize points) on this one, featuring funny and plausibly awkward image moments from the WSOP. [Full Tilt From the Rail blog]

Dissension and Disagreement: APCW Perspectives Weekly for June 18, 2010. Internal fights with Indians mucking up intrastate online poker efforts in California; Big Casinos blocking progress in New Jersey; Malta fighting with France over Euro suckage. [YouTube/APCWperspectives]

Also, last week I missed his take on the GCB’s take on dot-net poker sites taking part in any Nevada casino take. (6:20 in)

Meanwhile, PokerStars’s Big Game is the show poker fans are currently most buzzing about. [PokerStars.net]

PartyPoker’s Big Game IV also looks pretty cool, with a very similar concept. [YouTube/PartyPoker]

One blog I enjoy reading regularly throughout the WSOP (personally check in on it about twice a week) is Adam Goulding‘s, aka Snoopy, who always provides a unique and worldly perspective on Poker America. [BlackBelt Poker]

Likewise, don’t forget to keep up with Dr. Shamus, who knows how to always keep the intellectual poker stimuli percolating. [Hard Boiled Poker]

I’m also checking in regularly on the people set to do the 360-streaming of final tables. Technology is supposed to be much improved from their WPT Championship debut, and word is they just got the green light from Nevada Gaming for the 2010 WSOP … but still not sure exactly when and where I’ll find the live action I’m looking for — hope to know soon! [All360Poker]

Also keeping up with the PokerNews Nightly Turbo for a basic rundown of news going on outside the WSOP. [PokerNews]

And probably the best video quick-taste of the flavor of a WSOP day, like yesterday, seems to be coming from WSOP Live! [YouTube/PokerListings]

The specific WSOP event I’ve been following, and will be tomorrow, is the Seniors Event, where rookie senior and Team Pokerati captain Tom Schneider is pounding around at the top of the leaderboard, and I’m still looking for Toothless Bob. [WSOP.com]

UPDATE: Going into Day 2, with 450 players remaining from a record field size of 3,142, Tom is the chip leader. A little concerned that I couldn’t find Bob amongst the list of entrants.

Oklahoma Johnny Hale, apparently the driving force behind the Seniors Event, got a special trophy for his pioneering work on behalf of the Social Security-minded set. [Bluff Magazine]

Did you know David Plastik used to be a rock’n’roll photographer in the 80s before becoming a professional poker player? His photojournalism seems to wash through the bright lights and make-up for a grittier view of a glam music in a newspaper era. [DavidPlastik.com]

Hey, that mighta been my best link-dump ever! Actually led to fewer open windows on my desktop, not more, and took only about an two hours to provide you with 6+ minutes of targeted, purposeful pokery web browsing.

Oh oh oh … and one last thing (for the moment) … We’re kicking so much Tao of Pokerati arse ever since the Benjo partnership and giving Pauly a key to the server farm, I can’t even keep up with it all. But fortunately the Best Little Short-Podcast in Poker gives you so much for so little, it doesn’t take much to get caught up. Meanwhile for a little closer-to-real WSOP experience in condensed space and time, be sure to check for the latest in the Tao of Pokerati archives. There’s a Matt Savage and PPA buzz, while Benjo’s on a lesbian kick in the Rio again. [Tao of Poker]

This Week’s Tourists at the Table:

(L to R) Team Pokerati WSOP-Ladies Event Final Tablist La Sengphet, Stuey, her boyfriend DC, and Good Chuck showing the Vegas grinders that Dallas players know a thing or two about PLO.

Reviewing the start of week 4 at the WSOP:

Seniors’ event sets record

The $1,000 Seniors’ No-Limit Holdem event drew a record 3,248 entries this afternoon when play started shortly after 12pm today. Not only was this a record field for a Seniors’ event, it was the largest field to start a tournament on a single day in poker history. The current leader is Team Pokerati and Loudmouth Poker’s own Tom Schneider with 29,000 in chips. Other notables include: “Minneapolis Jim” Meehan (16,000), Lon McEachern (14,500), Alan Boston (13,000) and TJ Cloutier (11,000). The field is currently on their dinner break with four levels remaining for the field to play. Follow the occasional updates over at PokerNews.

10k Heads-Up sells out again

The $10,000 No-Limit Heads-Up Championship drew a sold-out field of 256 entries, with two rounds scheduled for today. Winners of round 1 matches include Gavin Smith, Tom Dwan, Jason Mercier, Annette Obrestad, Josh Arieh, Phil Gordon, Blair Hinkle and Phil Ivey. The 128 winners will return at 10pm for round 2 action. See who moves on and who moves out at PokerNews.

Barbieri leading HORSE final table

The final table of the $1,500 HORSE has returned from their dinner break with eight players remaining. Here’s the chip counts when play resumed:

Al Barbieri 635,000
Konstantin Puchkov 605,000
Blake Cahail 540,000
Hani Awad 520,000
Andrew Revesz 475,000
Dustin Leary 420,000
Robert Mizrachi 250,000
Ken Lennaard 250,000

Follow the updates over at wsop.com.

Gonzales leads 1500 NL day 3

Christopher Gonzales (2,700,000) holds a large chip lead in the $1,500 No-Limit Holdem final day with 11 remaining. The field will be returning from dinner break shortly, see if anyone can run him down at wsop.com.

Brady leads bunch at 5k 6-max day 2

Dinner break ends shortly for the 56 players remaining in the $5,000 No-Limit Holdem 6-max event, with 54 making the money. Matt Brady (465,000) holds a slight chip lead over McLean Karr (460,000) when play resumes. Other notables include David Ulliott (265,000), Christian Harder (255,000), Isaac Haxton (185,000) and Eric Baldwin (157,000). PokerNews will be there to follow the action when play resumes.

Tieman leads during day 2 of PLO/PLH

The $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha/Pot-Limit Holdem field is on dinner break with 54 players remaining, but only 45 make the money. Joshua Tieman is looking for his 2nd WSOP bracelet this year as he leads the field with 209,500 in chips. Victor Ramdin (155,000), John Kabbaj (98,000), David Chiu (87,600) and Burt Boutin (67,000) are among the notables looking to get a return on their investment when play resumes. The fine reporting team at PokerNews will be there to see who bubbles and who bounds into the lead.

It looks to be a long night for some of these events to get finished, but for those who don’t want to stay up that late, another report will be forthcoming in the morning.

Recapping Thursday’s action with two bracelet winners:

Keikoan grinds out 10k limit title

After almost five hours of heads-up play, Matt Keikoan defeated Daniel Idema in the $10,000 Limit Holdem World Championship. Keikoan earns $425,969 and his second WSOP gold bracelet, while Idema will have to be consoled with earning $263,244 for the runner-up finish. Full results and Nolan Dalla’s tournament report are available at wsop.com.

Proulx powers his way to PLO bracelet

Miguel Proulx dispatched Loren Klein in heads-up play to win the $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha bracelet along with $315,311 early Friday morning. Klein pockets $195,147 for falling just short of the bracelet. Dalla’s report and full results at wsop.com.

Gonzales leads 1500 NL field for day 3

Day three of the $1,500 No-Limit Holdem has Christopher Gonzales leading the field with 1,315,000 in chips as 21 players remain when play resumes at 3pm to play down to a winner. Other notables: Neil Channing (461,000), Jean Gaspard (413,000), and David Sands (346,000). Chip counts for the remaining field is online at PokerNews.

Puchkov leads HORSE field on final day

The final day of the $1,500 HORSE will have Konstantin Puchkov (465,000) leading the final 24 players when play resumes at 3pm. Others looking to make their way to the top include Robert Mizrachi (238,000), Allen Kessler (229,500), Cliff Josephy (165,500), Chip Jett (120,000) and defending champion James Van Alstyne (111,500). The full field is now online at PokerNews.

Harder holding 5k 6-max lead for day 2

Day two of the $5,000 No-Limit Holdem 6-max event has 116 players remaining when play resumes at 2:30 this afternoon with Christian Harder the chip leader with 258,700. Other big names returning to win the $667,433 top prize include David “Devilfish” Ulliot (176,000), Phil Ivey (148,300), Isaac Haxton (123,100), Chad Brown (101,400), and Todd Terry (99,500). The full list of chip counts can be found here.

Smith boosted into PLO/PLH lead

Justin “Boosted J” Smith (130,000 in chips) leads the day 2 field of 126 survivors in the $2,500 Pot-Limit Holdem/Pot-Limit Omaha event when action resumes at 3pm. The tournament drew 428 entrants, with the top 45 making the money, with $260,517 going to the winner. Other notables returning include Victor Ramdin (54,750), Ashton Griffin (44,000), Jeff Lisandro (40,200),

Friday’s tournaments

Two tournaments on Friday’s agenda, with the 12pm event the $1,000 Seniors’ No-Limit Holdem Championship, with players who are 50 years old and over eligible to participate. Last year’s winner was Michael Davis who defeated a field of 2,707 entrants, good for $3437,358. The 5pm tournament is the $10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Holdem Championship, guaranteed to attract a sold-out field of 256. Last year Leo Wolpert was the winner, earning $625,682.

Details still coming it … but so far it sounds like the feel-good poker robbery of the year:

Last night two masked, pistol-wielding youngins reportedly ganked about $7,000 from a NL Hold’em game of mostly retired old-school Texas rounders (ages 50something to 80something) on the rural outskirts of Dallas.

But sprinting across a rain-soaked pasture to a presumed getaway vehicle, the wannabe bandits apparently spooked some horses … one thing led to another … and with sirens in the background getting louder, two players chasing after them had their own guns pointed at the armed robbers as they lay in a field. According to a source on the scene, the de-facto table sheriffs disarmed their assailants in a hailstorm of expletives, pulled off their masks, and grabbed back the moneybag while waiting for police. (Half the cash was missing, and what was still there was soaking wet.)

Seagoville PD arrived soon after and arrested the two “very young” white males the players had captured.

After talking to police, players returned to the tables and action resumed.

More TK as details emerge …

UPDATE: Info on arrested persons here.

Recapping the late-night Wednesday action…

Michael T. Davis Goes ShronkDaddy on Seniors

Michael T. Davis became the second player to take down a WSOP bracelet this year wearing a PokerRoad t-shirt, winning the $1,000 Seniors NL Holdem World Championship. Davis, 58, from Dubuque, Iowa, had just sold his home inspection business last week, and was looking to move to a warmer location. The $437,358 and gold bracelet for his win will surely help with the moving expenses. Like Brian Lemke earlier this month, Justin Shronk was in the winner’s thoughts. From Nolan Dalla’s tournament report:

“Justin gave me this shirt,” Davis said afterward. “A lot of people miss Justin. He was very good for the poker community.”

Davis never held the chip lead until the first hand of heads-up, when he doubled through runner-up Scott Buller with pocket aces against Buller’s pocket nines. The final hand had Davis’ A-9 best Buller’s A-J when another 9 came on the turn.

Kabbaj Dominating Pot-Limit

John Kabbaj is the only player with a seven-figure chip stack, holding over 2.2m in chips with 14 players remaining in the $10,000 Pot-Limit Holdem World Championship which resumes at 1pm today. Here’s how the remaining players will be seated:

(Table 154)
Seat 2: JC Alvarado – 924000
Seat 3: Eric ‘basebaldy’ Baldwin – 713000
Seat 4: Davidi Kitai – 581000
Seat 5: Mohsin Charania – 224000
Seat 6: Jason Lester – 240000
Seat 7: Darryll Fish – 368000
Seat 8: Kirill Gerasimov – 550000

(Table 154)
Seat 1: Billy Kopp – 772000
Seat 2: Eugene Todd – 351000
Seat 3: Thomas Pettersson – 121000
Seat 5: John Kabbaj – 2226000
Seat 6: Isaac Haxton – 660000
Seat 7: Ken Lennaard – 467000
Seat 8: Michael Kamran – 261000

When the final table is reached, streaming will be available at bluffmagazine.com and wsop.pkr.com

Tenner Looking to be a Winner in Omaha-8

Play also resumes at 1pm in the $2,500 Omaha Hi/Lo 8 or Better event with 23 players remaining, with Mark Tenner leading the field at 285,000. John Monnette (237,000), C.K. Hua (225,000), Day 1 chip leader Josh Schlein (201,000) Frankie O’Dell (194,000), Mark Gregorich (108,000), Pat Poels (89,000) and Mike Matusow (63,000) are the notables looking to pass the Omaha-8 author.

Greenstein Leader in Mixed Holdem

Barry Greenstein (177,200) will lead the remaining 67 players in the $2,500 Mixed Holdem event when play resumes at 2pm. Notables also making a return on Thursday include: Hasan Habib (165,000), Daniel Negreanu (101,000), Amnon Filippi (98,000), Mimi Tran (65,300) and Gavin Griffin (46,600) with 54 players making the money.

Thursday’s tournament

Only one tournament this afternoon, the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha 8 or Better event, won last year by Martin Klaser winning over $210,000 in a field of 720. The WSOP Staff Guide projects a field of 756 for this event, and expect less than 20% of the field when play concludes at the end of level 10.

Follow along at www.wsop.com for updates starting at noon PT, and Pokerati will have more stuff from around the poker community during the day.

Recapping the first half of Wednesday’s WSOP:

Lisandro Wins Bracelet #3, Wins Stud Triple Crown

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

Seniors Six-Pack

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

Thang Flung From Omaha-8

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

Brummelhuis Bringing It in Pot-Limit

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

Mixed Holdem Brings Mixed Blessings

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

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

Recapping the Tuesday afternoon activities, with the hope that Miami John Cernuto has a speedy recovery.

Hungary Hungary Bracelets

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

Jerrod Jamming in 8-Game

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

Sweating to the Seniors

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

The Author, The Cowboy and a Guy Named Warwick

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

Pot-Limit Holdem Boiling Over

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

Omaha, Ha Ha!

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

Players to Watch

Negreanu

Wahlbeck

Johnston

Shinn

Turner

Flack

Boukai

Recapping the conclusion of Monday’s play… and looking forward at Tuesday’s action ready to get underway.

Foley Flies Home a Winner

Ray Foley, a business manager for Chrysler Financial, bested Brandon Cantu headsup to take down the $1,500 NL Holdem event early Tuesday morning, collecting $657,969 along with his first WSOP bracelet. Cantu was hoping to pick up his second, starting heads-up play and had Foley drawing to two outs in what appeared to be the final hand, but Foley caught a third ten on the turn to pass Cantu’s flopped pair of kings to take the lead. Foley’s Q-J outkicked Cantu’s J-7 on a jack high board in the final hand to send Foley, a resident of Northville, Michigan home the winner. Alex Jacob was the only other notable at the final table, finishing third.

Graham Cracks Russian, Wins PLO World Title

The $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha World Championship was won by Matt Graham, coming back from a 9 to 1 chip deficit to win his second career WSOP bracelet. The other three previous WSOP bracelet winners finished 7th, 8th and 9th (Josh Arieh, Richard Austin and Barry Greenstein respectively).

Five Remain in 5k Shootout

The final table of the $5,000 NL Holdem Shootout is now set, and here’s how the players will be seated, each with 1,500,000 in chips when play resumes at 2pm PT:

Seat 1: Maxim Lykov – 900000
Seat 2: Danny Wong – 900000
Seat 3: Andrew Lichtenberger – 900000
Seat 4: Peter Traply – 900000
Seat 5: Nasr El Nasr – 900000

Turner Hopes To Turn It On Again

14 players remain in the $2,500 8-Game Mixed event with Jon Turner (469,200) the chip leader when play resumes at 2pm. Other notables returning: Adam Friedman (325,800), Layne Flack (283,400), former MMA fighter and bracelet winner Rami Boukai (137,700), and Jimmy Fricke (47,400).

Seniors Day 2

Lloyd Shinn of Dallas (86,500) leads the 397 players returning for Day 2 of the $1,000 Seniors NL Holdem World Championship at 2pm. Former WPT winner Eric Hershler (82,500) is in second. A few names stand out among the remaining players, such as Jerry Reed (38,500), former WSOP Main Event winner Berry Johnston (29,400), “Minneapolis Jim” Meehan (27,400), and Hall of Famer Barbara Enright (24,600).

Razzerific!

Day 2 of the $2,500 Razz has Warwick Mirzikinian the leader (59,400) of the 118 players returning at 2pm on Tuesday. The field started with 315 players, only 32 making the money. Notables also returning include: David Chiu (41,800), Kenna James (38,600), Ville Wahlbeck (35,300), Justin Bonomo (30,600), Daniel Negreanu (21,900), and Archie Karas (15,900).

Tuesday’s Tournaments

Another two tournaments on Tuesday, starting with the $10,000 Pot-Limit Holdem World Championship, won last year by Nenad Medic for almost $800,000 in a field of 352. The 5pm tournament is the debut of the $2,500 Omaha 8 or Better event. The WSOP Staff Guide projects a field of 370 for the 10k PL Holdem event, while in the $2,500 OHL, a field of 525 is projected.

Scooters are a ubiquitous part of any big poker event .. but at the WSOP NLH-Seniors Day 1 — with 2,707 runners — the Amazon and Rio Convention thoroughfares became more like Sturgis at 4mph.

With apologies to Wicked Chops, and possibly all who fought for women’s suffrage:

The party girls were everywhere today …

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