One bracelet already awarded, another bracelet possibly awarded tonight, the mess that is the Tournament of Champions and other tournament action:

Kelly wins 25k 6-max, Brunson 10 Deal

The final table of the $25,000 No-Limit Holdem 6-max took less than four hours to complete, as 21-year old Dan “djk123” Kelly took down the bracelet along with $1,315,518 when his A-10 ran down Shawn Buchanan’s pocket jacks with an ace on the river. Kelly also became the 7th member of the Brunson 10 with the win, as he was part of a competition during the WSOP to award the spot. Buchanan earned $812,941 for his second place finish, he also won a big hand on the river a few minutes earlier, when the money went in on an open-ended straight draw against Frank Kassela’s flopped two pair. The straight on the river meant a 3rd place finish for Kassela ($556,053), along with 60 POY points to give him a stranglehold on the title. Jason Somerville ($386,125), Mikael Thuritz ($272,804) and Eugene Katchalov ($194,559) rounded out the final table. Full results and Nolan Dalla’s tournament report at wsop.com.

Proulx leads 10k PLO, Hellmuth’s chips throw TOC into chaos

What was expected to be the final day of the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship is currently on a dinner break with 18 players remaining. Miguel Proulx, who won the $2,500 PLO event earlier in the WSOP, holds the chip lead with 1,966,000, with Ludovic Lacay (830,000), Jason Mercier (794,000), Tom Dwan (501,000) and Phil Hellmuth (181,000) among the notables remaining. Live updates available at wsop.com.

Hellmuth’s stack is causing problems for the Tournament of Champions, which was scheduled to resume at 7pm. With Hellmuth still in the TOC, the other 16 players were hoping for Hellmuth’s elimination tonight to get the field down to a final table and avoid a long day on Sunday. After Hellmuth made the dinner break, there was discussion about playing one level during the PLO dinner break, but with Joe Hachem asleep and Huck Seed unable to be found, that idea was scrapped and the TOC will be played out starting at 11am, unless some other problem arises in the next few hours.

Phil Gordon wins Ante Up for Africa

A field of 83 poker pros and celebrities, took the felt in the $5,000 Ante Up for Africa charity tournament, with Phil Gordon beating Shannon Elizabeth heads-up, with Gordon donating the entire $129,086 to Ante Up for Africa. Erik Seidel and Jerome Bettis also appeared at the final table. Annie Duke tweeted that over $300,000 was raised in total from the event. Full results and Dalla’s tournament report at wsop.com.

$2,500 NL nears the money

After a delay in the $2,500 No-Limit Holdem due to a shortage of available dealers, 222 players remain for day 2, with the final 196 making the money. James Mackey is the current leader with 240,000 in chips, followed by Isaac Baron (170,000), David Singer (144,000), Andy Philachack (100,000), Jamie Gold (82,000), Tom Franklin (74,000) and Jason Dewitt (63,700). Updates and chip counts available at PokerNews.

1k NL makes the money

Less than 200 players remain in the $1,000 No-Limit Holdem with at least four more levels scheduled for tonight. Check the results and updates at wsop.com.

Recapping Monday’s six-pack of tournaments:

Last $1,500 NL Draws Capacity Crowd (Again)

Monday’s $1,500 NL Holdem event drew a field of 2818 entrants for another sold-out event. Around 1,000 players will be left when the players come back to play four levels when play concludes for the evening. The unofficial chip leader is JC Tran (51,000) followed by Theo Tran (no relation) at 42,400.

HORSE Gallops to Final Table

12 players remain on Day 4 of the $50,000 HORSE, with the remaining players on their dinner break. Erik Sagstrom is the current chip leader (3,782,000) followed by David Bach (2,800,000), Vitaly Lunkin (2,060,000) and Erik Seidel (1,315,000). John Hanson, Huck Seed, Ville Wahlbeck, Gus Hansen, Ray Dehkharghani, Chau Giang, Mike Wattel and David Chiu make up the remaining field as they play down to the final 8.

$1,500 NL Final Table

The $1,500 NL Holdem event that started on Saturday finally reached their final table, now streaming at bluffmagazine.com/live and wsop.pkr.com with this lineup with Jason Helder the chip leader:

Seat 1: Owen Crowe
Seat 2: Carsten Joh
Seat 3: Steven Levy
Seat 4: Jason Helder
Seat 5: Thibaut Durand
Seat 6: David Walasinski
Seat 7: Georgios Kapalas
Seat 8: Nathan Page
Seat 9: Andrew Chen

Triple Chance Stumbles into the Money

The $3,000 NL Triple Chanceevent just eked their way into the money before taking their dinner break. Jeff Lisandro got knocked out just short of the money in his attempt to put the WSOP Player of the Race out of reach. Jason Dewitt (375,000) is the current chip leader, followed by notables Jason Somerville (245,000), Karga Holt (230,000), Shane Schleger (155,000), Eric Lynch (140,000), Joe McGowan (135,000) and Nick Binger (125,000). The remaining field will be playing until 3am, unless they get down to the final table of 9 before the deadline.

Sugar Bear Sweet on Stud 8 Bubble

Al “Sugar Bear” Barbieri is the current chip leader (130,000) with 49 players (the money bubble) in the $1,500 Stud Hi/Lo 8 or Better event. Max Stern, Andy Bloch, Chad Brown, Barry Greenstein, Bryan Micon, Justin Bonomo, Norman Chad and Matt Savage make up some of the noted names remaining in the field as they play down to the 3am deadline.

2-7 Triple Draw

A field of around 250 entrants signed up for the $2,500 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball event, with another five levels of play left on their day 1. Eli Elezra and Shannon Elizabeth are two very early eliminations, with several more to come during the wee small hours of the morning.

More live updates can be found over at www.wsop.com, and discussions on donkaments, entry fees, and all other things WSOP can be found on Pokerati during the evening.

With a cold coming on, I juiced up on cold medicine and headed down to Commerce Casino last night for the pre-tournament WPT Invitational cocktail party. In more of a stuffy-headed fog now, I give you a few observations from the festivities:

photo: pokergossip

William Hung was the first “celebrity” I noticed, as he arrived as soon as the red carpet was ready for action. And the poor guy was the only one from the red carpet featured by Perez Hilton today, and not featured in a particularly good way.

Food was excellent as usual, with a random assortment of Asian and Greek set-ups, along with the yum-yum appetizers floating around the room on waiters’ trays.

No DJ in the outdoor area like last year’s event, but it actually made for a more conversation-friendly atmosphere on the patio.

Wicked Chops scored seats in the tournament. I spent way too much time trying to figure out how that happened.

photo: pokergossip

Reports of the demise of the Phil Laak/Jennifer Tilly relationship were evidently untrue, as the two looked typically couple-y as usual – Jennifer in a beautiful outfit, Phil in saggy jeans and a hoodie.

Some celebrities on the “confirmed” list were no-shows, such as Camryn Manheim, Montel Williams, and Nelly. (Yes, I was more than disappointed about one of those absences!)

CORRECTION: Manheim was there, and Jen was still disappointed. -DM

Shannon Elizabeth and Derek Hough are still a couple and just as adorable as ever, with Shannon checking on Derek and his amateur poker experiences throughout the evening.

Contrary to all reports from the tournament, Antonio Esfandiari was not the first person eliminated from the tournament, as Mike “SirWatts” Watson (former WPT champion) was out of the tournament and standing with us at the bar when that announcement was made. Ouch.

New to my social radar were Mike Watson and Shane Schleger, both of whom were introduced to me by Gavin Griffin and Kristin Roberts and very nice to chat with.

Also met Jamie Gold for the first time, who was extremely friendly and psyched about his Aced Poker affiliation, though my question about his possible ownership in the company was met with the standard “details of the contract cannot be disclosed” line. Good brief chat anyway. (His calling card gives him the title “Poker Philanthropist.”)

Mekhi Phifer took the reigns during the rebuy period, grabbing the mic and encouraging players to rebuy (or even just donate) to his charity, The Vine Group, to help educational efforts in Africa. He was a great spokesperson for the organization and raised $78,270 for it, while managing to maintain his usual humble but outrageously sexy demeanor.

Best Poker Song Ever?!?

Interestingly enough, Clonie is playing in South Africa this week — in the Sun City Million, the biggest tourney festival in Africa, a US$1.5 million guaranteed — without any of her Full Tilt cronies. Hmmm …

(To be fair, the event is hosted by Shannon Elizabeth, who is one of her very top MySpace friends, but still … I feel a blip in the Clonie sector of the Poker Force.)

This one will make Dan smile.

The first annual “All In for CP” charity poker tournament was held at Hollywood Park Casino in L.A. this past Sunday and is being hailed as a total success. More than $44,000 was raised for Jacob Zalewski’s One Step Closer Foundation, which helps ease the lives of those afflicted with cerebral palsy, as well as researchers seeking a cure.

Numerous celebrities and poker pros attended to make the event a success, names like Montel Williams, Shannon Elizabeth, Miguel Nunez, Jamie Gold, and Barry Greenstein. And in the end, it was The Simpsons creator and Hollywood writer/producer Dan’s man crush Sam Simon who won the tournament and donated all of the winnings back to the charity. Awww!

Congrats to Jacob for hosting his first charity tournament! Sorry I missed it, as I heard it was great fun, but hope to catch the next one…

Tomorrow is the ladies event … and in honor of the heavily anticipated hot cleavage vs. bulldyke action, Wicked Chops has been kind enough to share a picture of Lacey Jones, who arguably boasts the best hotness-to-smartness ratio in poker, wearing nothing but paint.

Seriously, I sometimes find it hard to believe she even talks to me, let alone hugs/accepts me as a MySpace friend.

What’s happening around the WSOP while I consider a new career.

In event #2, the $1,500 NL, the final 18 staggered their way back to the Rio to reach the ESPN final table. So far they’ve made their way down to 10, which is where ESPN’s coverage may start. They’re currently on break for dinner/ESPN interviews, here’s the chip counts for the final table, which will restart shortly after 7pm:

Seat 1 – Jeff Wiedenhoeft 880,000
Seat 2 – David Bach 675,000
Seat 3 – Aaron Coulthard 1,510,000
Seat 4 – Mike Ngo 1,375,000
Seat 5 – Joe Rutledge 785,000
Seat 6 – Melvin Jones 1,280,000
Seat 7 – Theo Tran 1,420,000
Seat 8 – Chris Ferguson 1,235,000
Seat 9 – James Akenhead 1,995,000
Seat 10 – Grant Hinkle 680,000

Meanwhile, the $1,500 PL Holdem event is down to their final 2 tables with Brandon Schaefer, David Singer, Joe Tehan and Phillip Yeh still in action. Gregg Merkow was one of the very recently busted, out in 19th for $5,547. Play for them ends when they reach their final 9, this group will definitely be more rested for their ESPN final table.

Today’s new tournaments, after the jump:
More…

Since Shannon Elizabeth was on (and off) Dancing With the Stars recently, there has been much speculation about her relationship with dancing partner Derek Hough. Wicked Chops even reported that she is now teaching him how to play poker, among other things. But that’s neither here nor there for this post…

Shannon Elizabeth – Courtesy of NBC Sports

Shannon’s newest confirmed relationship is with Doyle’s Room. In a press release dated May 22, the site announced her addition to Team Brunson with numerous references to “sultry” and “luscious” and “titillating” Shannon. I’m not quite sure if they think she’s hot… Regardless, she will be playing the 2008 WSOP as a member of Doyle’s Room. She began her friendship with the site when they sponsored her in the 2008 NBC National Heads-Up Championship, and it appears that their bond turned into a full-blown sponsorship agreement, at least through the summer.

The press release is here for your reading enjoyment.

More…

Shannon & Derek – Courtesy of ABC

It’s official. Shannon Elizabeth has been eliminated from the Dancing With the Stars competition on ABC.

The sometimes-poker player made a good showing with partner Derek, but the dancing duo was sent home in fifth place. Though she seemed to give 100% effort to the task, the judges were unimpressed with her lack of hip action and fluidity in the dances. And the audience may have been put off a bit by the couple’s emotional/angry reaction two weeks ago to the judges’ criticisms, something for which they apologized the following week.

To find out way too much about Shannon’s most recent journey, check out Wicked Chops and their obsession coverage.

Sad to see Shannon get so far and be eliminated. Sadder that I must now watch the remainder of the season to see who wins.

As posted a month ago, Shannon Elizabeth is going to be on Dancing With the Stars. Well, Shannon fans, her premiere episode is tonight. Technically, the premiere was last night but the women don’t dance until tonight.

Shannon and her friends are asking for votes, so here is the info she passed along:

Voting for this week is tonight, Tuesday the 18th. The number changes each week so make sure to keep checking back for the new number.

Phone & text lines open at 9pm East and West Coast and will stay open until 30 minutes after the end of the show (show ends at 10:30-so 11:00pm polls close).

Online voting will remain open until noon Eastern Time the next day.

Everyone should be able to vote 6 times this week (12 next week because you get a vote for every person on the show so as people get eliminated you lose 1 vote each week) from any single IP address, 6 texts (AT&T customers only) and 6 calls.

For more info go to abc.com and click on the Dancing with the Stars link.

1-800-VOTE4-07

1-800-86834-07

Text Code: 3407

If you’re so inclined, rock the vote!

UPDATE: Shannon did a great job. She seemed nervous but got a good score and looked great. And yes, I voted… 6 times online.

Shannon Elizabeth – Courtesy of Eric Scot

When I met with Shannon Elizabeth two weeks ago to do an interview for a Poker Pro Magazine cover story, I was pushing my deadline. She asked if I could wait two weeks to go to press, which I could not, in order to include some news that she just couldn’t tell me yet. I was thinking it was a major role in a film, and I was so wrong.

It was announced on Good Morning America (though I read about it on Wicked Chops) that Shannon will be one of 12 competitors on the new season of Dancing With the Stars on ABC.

The show begins airing on March 17, and there will be new episodes every Monday and Tuesday night thereafter. The other dancers sharing the stage with Shannon are radio host Adam Carolla, actor Cristian de la Fuente, actor Steve Guttenberg, magician Penn Jillette, R&B singer Mario, actress Marlee Matlin, actress Priscilla Presley, tennis star Monica Seles, football star Jason Taylor, actress Marissa Jaret Winokur, and figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi.

Upside? She will get a lot of publicity from this, as – shockingly – it is a very popular show. And guys, she will also be in even better shape, if that’s possible.

Downside? Um, it’s Dancing With the Stars!

Even so, I’ll be setting my DVR to watch Shannon’s progress. I’m ashamed. Go Shannon!

UPDATE (4:39 pdt): JOSH EVANS still kicking ass. 300k in chips puts him near the top.

LAS VEGAS–Day 2b action is well underway about to get underway. In fact, it probably already will be so by the time this post is finished. It rained last night in Las Vegas — I knew it would!

Today, like yesterday, is all about the serious, “somber” poker. Most of the folks who got chips early by getting lucky will be getting knocked out. Short stacks will consistently be all-in. And serious players with a real chance of going deep will figure out if they’ll be nursing their chips into the money or making moves to put them in a position to really contend.

2007 WSOP Player of the Year TOM SCHNEIDER, by the way, is out. Happened a few hands after the dinner break, at which point he told me he was so beat down from the World Series that he didn’t really care if he got eliminated, because it would mean he could go home. Shocking with that attitude that he didn’t win.

Perhaps RANDY BROWN will do better. He starts today with 67,000 chips.

UPDATE: TBR is out. Lost every hand he played, he says. Got it all-in on the button, pushing with pocket 9s into a single-limped pot. The small blind woke up with Kings, the big blind with Aces. The BATFACES officially go 0-fer in the 2007 WSOP, but win the award for best hats.

Better luck next year, “The Big Randy.” You seem to have Day 1 figured out, but can’t make it through Day 2 with terrible cards unless you have a tiny, tiny stack.

TBR, by the way, was sitting virtually back-to-back with SHANNON ELIZABETH throughout Day 1. Nice! Go Poker!

Oops, zoom lens malfunction … Anyhow, yes, SHANNON ELIZABETH is out.

JOSH EVANS (below, left) will be a guy to really watch, as he carries 240,000 chips into Day 2 … with the money just a day-and-a-half only a day away.

And another North Texas pokerer fighting to make it to the pre-money bubble is JERRY RANDACK (right). Considering that he took 2nd place in the 2007 Pokerati Invitational, we like his chances.

Dallas big-game player PRIMO is also still alive. He’s seen here tearing up the $5/$10 NLH cash game (moments away from bluffing — oops! — away more than $1,300 in a hand).

We’re still looking for VANDY CROUCH — seen here, cashing in the 6-handed No-Limit event — who is rumored to be protecting some 240,000 chips.

UPDATE: I mean not like right now. He finished Day 2a with about that many. He makes it to Day 3 — where the fight for the money begins!

For those who may have missed it, ROUNDER CLUB representative CHRIS COMO did not move on to day 2. Despite building up his stacks and taking control of his table, he got beat down toward the end of the day, and, in the end, surrendered them to online powerhouse CARL OLSON.

LAS VEGAS – First things first…Congratulations to Tom on winning his second bracelet and for reaching his goal of three 2007 WSOP final tables! And congratulations to Dan for his 4th place finish at, the former WSOP stomping grounds, Binions.

I’m relaxing in writing from Summerlin with my three two children and husband who bought $100 worth of fireworks. If you see anything on the news regarding wild fires in West Vegas…

The S.H.O.E. event started at 5pm today and in the line up is Marcel Luske, David Levi, Chad Brown, James Van Alstyne and beauties Shannon Elizabeth and Lacey Jones.

Speaking of ladies…Anna Wroblewski has made the final table for event #47 2k NL Holdem.

Just when you thought this post was finished, there’s a bit more…John Duthie, a personal favorite and who coached Daniel Craig in the new James Bond film, is currently chip leader in today’s PLO with over 100k but lady favorite Patrik Antonius (who, according to WCP, should have the massage therapist paying him to rub his body) is close behind.

Oops, Patrik just made the pass (in the race not at a massage therapist).