The first-ever legal pay-to-play online poker website in the United States is expected to launch this morning when Station Casinos-owned Ultimate Poker flips the switch on a new era in Nevada gaming.

The site, UltimatePoker.com, can be accessed only on computers or mobile devices located in Nevada.

State gaming authorities signed off of the company’s technology last week and allowed Ultimate Poker to move forward in what is considered a test period.

Ultimate Poker was licensed for interactive gaming in October.

The site is expected to go live at 9 a.m. with limit and no-limit Texas hold ’em poker through single-table cash games, sit-and-go events, and multi-table tournaments.

The poker games will have buy-ins from a few cents to $100.

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What seemed like a tremendous decision for the gaming industry nine months ago – the re-evaluation of the Federal Wire Act of 1961 – may not be so advantageous for Nevada unless Congress takes steps to enact Internet poker legislation.

A window of opportunity that could place Nevada at the center of the potential U.S. Internet gaming market is closing quickly, and some in the gaming industry worry that lack of federal action could cost the state tax revenues and casino customers, while making Nevada subservient to less-regulated states.

“There are different standards for gaming regulation in one state versus another,” Station Casinos Vice Chairman Lorenzo Fertitta said. “We know some companies will shop for the lowest common denominator. We could start seeing bets being taken away from Nevada.”

The U.S. Department of Justice on Dec. 23 reversed a 50-year-old interpretation of the Wire Act, saying the law covers only sports wagering. Legal experts said the decision frees individual states to let online operators offer poker and traditional casino games such as slot machines and blackjack if the play doesn’t cross state lines.

It’s been estimated that U.S. gamblers spent as much as $26 billion annually gambling online before federal prosecutors indicted the operators of three of the largest Internet poker websites in April 2011. Closing those sites, which had violated federal law by accepting wagers from the U.S., effectively walled Americans off from the online gaming universe.

Now, states dealing with tight budgets are looking at that huge, untapped Internet market and are increasingly open to allowing – and taxing – it. Lawmakers in several states are in various stages of adopting regulations to allow full-scale online gaming.

Several Nevada gaming companies are on the verge of offering in-state online poker, but they foresee trouble ahead if their market is limited only to players in the sparsely populated Silver State.

And not only are they concerned about missing out on poker profits, they fear gamblers who can play online at home won’t bother traveling to Las Vegas’s tourist-dependent resorts.

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NOTE: Over 2,000 players have already registered for day 1c, late registration for day 1d is scheduled to reopen at 4:40pm PT today.

Day 1b of the Main Event brought 1,489 players to the Amazon and Pavilion rooms at the Rio for 9 hours of poker action. Phil Gordon, Rafe Furst, Joe Sebok and other dignitaries took part in the pre-game activities to help promote the Bad Beat on Cancer charity. Tuesday’s “shuffle up and deal” command came from Ashley, named “Dealer of the Year” by the WSOP, to get the tournament into action. Some of the notables who didn’t make it through the day included Annette Obrestad, Joe Sebok, Jamie Gold, Erick Lindgren, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Liv Boeree, Justin Bonomo, Mark Seif, Brandon Adams and former November Niners Darus Suharto, Ivan Demidov and Craig Marquis. For a semi-live view of Tuesday’s action, check out Pauly’s day 1b blog.

After 4 1/2 levels of play, 1,017 players will return Saturday afternoon as part of the day 2b field. The day 1b leader is James Danielson of La Plata, Maryland with 201,050 in chips. Some of the notables with a significant amount of chips: Alexander Kostritsyn (131,800), Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond (107,100), Gavin Griffin (97,200), Blair Rodman (85,025), Todd “Dan Druff” Witteles (73,475), Brandon Cantu (65,025), Gavin Smith (62,275) Vladimir Shchemelev (53,500), and Phil Laak (40,275). Team Pokerati/Loudmouth Poker pro Tom Schneider finished the day with 22,075 in chips. The full list of chip counts is now available at wsop.com. For those who made it through day 1a, there is a partial table draw available now here. The day 2b partial table draw is now online here, and on my Twitter when available.

As mentioned above, over 2,000 players have already signed up for day 1c, and today also brings the annual circus of Phil Hellmuth’s grand entrance, scheduled for 1:30. This year, he’s dressing up as an MMA fighter with Wanderlei Silva expected to be part of his entourage and UFC announcer Bruce Buffer introducing him. Daniel Negreanu has jokingly tweeted his own plans about making his entrance today as Rocky Balboa. The rest of the field will make their entrance the usual way, by walking into the Rio without making a spectacle of themselves. See what transpires during the day at wsop.com.

Recapping the rest of Friday night’s action that Dan didn’t post about, with a Saturday full of battles that don’t involve UFC 116: featuring Brock Lesnar v Shane Carwin.

Taylor wins battle of roommates at Limit Shootout

The final table of the $1,500 Limit Shootout was one of the strongest final tables you’ll see at a $1,500 event with notables like tournament limit holdem specialist Terrence Chan, former WPT player of the year Jonathan Little and former Party Poker Million winner Mike Schneider. When it came down to heads-up, it would be roommates Brendan Taylor and Ben Yu battling it out for the bracelet, with Taylor coming out on top to earn $184,950 and the bracelet. Yu brings back $114,484 for the runner-up finish while Little finished 3rd ($73,218), Schneider came in 6th ($23,563) and Chan a disappointing 8th ($12,961). Full results and Nolan Dalla’s tournament report at wsop.com.

Kelly and Kassela headline 25k 6-max final table

Day three of the $25,000 No-Limit Holdem 6-max started with a flurry of eliminations in the first hour; leading Daniel Negreanu to take issues with the structure on Twitter, eventually finishing in 11th. Dan “djk123” Kelly, who started the day 18th in chips, will start the final table today as the overwhelming chip leader, while Frank Kassela will try to add to his WSOP Player of Year lead. Here’s how the final table will look when play resumes at 2:30pm PT, with streaming available at ESPN3.com (where available) or updates at wsop.com:

Seat 1: Frank Kassela – 2,610,000
Seat 2: Jason Somerville – 1,665,000
Seat 3: Dan Kelly – 5,895,000
Seat 4: Eugene Katchalov – 475,000
Seat 5: Shawn Buchanan – 2,110,000
Seat 6: Mikael Thuritz – 1,535,000

Talbot tops day 1b 1k NL

Day 1b of the $1,000 No-Limit Holdem drew a field of 1,504 players Friday afternoon, with 255 players joining the rest of the day 1a survivors to have a total field of 586 returning at 2:30pm. The money will be reached when 396 players remain with the winner earning $570,960. The day 1b chip leader is Andrew Talbot with 70,175. The full list of day 1b chip counts can be found at wsop.com, those looking for a table draw, i’ll try to get it up on my Twitter as soon as it becomes available.

Sander grinds into lead at $2,500 NL

The final prelim of the WSOP, $2,500 No-Limit Holdem drew a field of 1,941 players Friday afternoon, with 500 players remaining when play resumes at 3pm. The money is reached when 198 players remain, with the winner pocketing a payday of $826,418. The reported chip leader is Dan Smith with 229,000, although he tweeted 22,900 earlier this morning. Marc Sander holds the chip lead with 98,000, followed by notables such as Mark Newhouse (81,400), Isaac Baron (70,100), Court Harrington (69,000), Dan Heimiller (53,100), Jamie Gold (42,000), Jonathan Aguiar (37,000) and Ivan Demidov (34,800). The full list of chip counts appears over at wsop.com and check my Twitter or WSOP’s Twitter for the table draw.

Ante Up for Africa

The annual charity effort held at the WSOP, Ante Up for Africa, gets underway at 2pm. The $5,000 buy-in event helps bring poker pros and celebrities together to help out a worthy cause. Those who make the money are encouraged to donate half of their winnings, hopefully the controversy from last year’s event will be avoided this year.

A recap of Friday night’s action:

10k HORSE down to final 9

The $10,000 HORSE World Championship is down to an unofficial final table of 9, full of big name players. Here’s how they’re currently seated:

Seat 1: Richard Ashby – 300,000
Seat 2: Nick Schulman – 385,000
Seat 3: Matt Glantz – 1,400,000
Seat 4: Eugene Katchalov – 870,000
Seat 5: Carlos Mortensen – 780,000
Seat 6: Marco Johnson – 1,680,000
Seat 7: Marco Traniello – 90,000
Seat 8: Scott Fischman – 515,000
Seat 9: Ian Gordon – 1,050,000

Follow the action as they play down to a winner at PokerNews.

$1,500 NL down to 12

The final day of the $1,500 No-Limit Holdem has just 12 players remaining as they return from dinner break. The chip leader is Niccolo Caramatti with 2,365,000. He’s followed by Aaron Gustavson (1,475,000), Dean Hamrick (1,450,000), and UFC fighter Mike Swick (405,000). More updates and chip counts during the evening at wsop.com.

Finne fine during day 2 of mixed holdem

27 players remain in the $2,500 Mixed Holdem event, as they play down to a final table this evening. Timothy Finne holds the chip lead with 316,000, followed by 2010 bracelet winner Steven Kelly (250,000), Dwyte Pilgrim (175,000), another 2010 bracelet winner Valdemar Kwaysser (170,000), Gavin Smith (108,000) and Randy “nanonoko” Lew (90,000). Updates and more at PokerNews.

$1,500 NL Day 1

A field of over 3,000 took part in Friday’s $1,500 No-Limit Holdem event, with less than half remaining as they take return shortly from their dinner break. The early chip leader is Alex Outhred with 63,000, followed by notables such as Alex Bolotin (48,000), Chino Rheem (32,000), Adam Junglen (21,000) and Dan Heimiller (10,300). More updates during the last four hours of play at PokerNews.

$5,000 PLO 8

A field of over 280 started the evening’s tournament, $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8 or Better, almost 90 more than last year. Players start with 3,000 in chips, then receive three more “rebuy” chips, each good for 4,000 chips. The early chip leader is Robert Mizrachi with 33,000, followed by Robin Keston (30,000), recent bracelet winner Steve Jelinek (13,500) and David Benyamine (11,000). The tournament just entered its third hour, so find more split-pot action during the evening at wsop.com.

Here’s the Thursday evening recap:

Jelinek wins PLO 8, Hellmuth finishes 7th

The only bracelet awarded in the overnight hours was won by Steve Jelinek in the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha 8 or Better tournament, defeating John Gottleib in heads-up play. Jelinek earns $245,871 in victory and becomes the fifth player from the United Kingdom with a bracelet this year. Phil Hellmuth fell short of his 12th bracelet, finishing in 7th place for $30,633. Full results and Nolan Dalla’s tournament report at wsop.com.

Do doing work at 10k HORSE

Day 3 of the $10,000 HORSE World Championship resumes at 3pm today with Cuong Do leading the field with 720,000 in chips with 23 players remaining. The money bubble burst at the end of play on day 2 as Cyndi Violette and Tommy Hang were eliminated during hand-for-hand play, each earning $10,998. Other notables returning include: Brian Townsend (616,000), Carlos Mortensen (503,000), Richard Ashby (441,000), Nick Schulman (402,000), Scott Fischman (347,000), Todd Brunson (247,000), Matt Glantz (200,000) and Allen Kessler (104,000). Updates and a full list of chip counts online at PokerNews.

Schaaf looking to ship $1,500 NL

Day 3 of the $1,500 No-Limit Holdem resumes at 2:30pm with 25 players remaining as James Schaaf (1,258,000) holding the chip lead. Other notables: Dean Hamrick (858,000), Humberto Brenes (764,000), Aaron Gustavson (554,000), Mike Sowers (327,000), UFC fighter Mike “Quick” Swick (213,000) and Bernard Lee (48,000). Chips and updates at PokerNews.

Elezra leads Mixed Holdem

Day 2 of the $2,500 Mixed Holdem event resumes at 2:30pm with 69 players remaining, and Eli Elezra holding the chip lead with 165,400. The money will be reached with 54 players remaining, with the winner earning a bracelet along with $268,238. Other notables: Dwyte Pilgrim (109,500), Eric Froehlich (97,600), Roberto Romanello (80,700), Matt Matros (59,400), Jeff Shulman (56,800) and Gavin Smith (50,900). The full list of chip counts is now online at PokerNews.

Friday’s Tournaments

Two more WSOP bracelet events today, starting at noon with the sixth $1,500 No-Limit Holdem tournament, last year’s edition of this tournament was won by Carsten Joh for $664,426 in a field of 2,781. The 5pm tournament is the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8 or Better, with Roland de Wolfe topping the field of 198 entries.

Here’s some of what’s been happening on Saturday:

Donkament Disappointing?

Day 1a of the Event #3 – $1,000 No-limit Holdem tournament drew a field of 2,601 entries today, a disappointment for those expecting a field of over 7,000 battling for this bracelet over the weekend. The 788 players who made it to the dinner break are returning shortly for another four levels of play. The unofficial chip leader is PokerRoad’s Joe Sebok with 27,000 chips. Other notable chip counts: Amarillo Slim (21,000), Chris Bjorin (20,000) and Bryan Devonshire, (17,500). Track the action for this event over at PokerNews.

First bracelet winner to be determined tonight

Just 18 players remain in the first WSOP bracelet event the $500 Casino Employees Event have returned from their dinner break, with Kent Washington maintaining the chip lead at 332,000 in chips. You can follow the action for this event over at PokerNews.com.

Players’ Championship Day 2

The $50,000 Players’ Championship field is currently on their one-hour dinner break at the conclusion of level eight with 90 players remaining. The current chip leader appears to be Steve Zolotow, with 420,000 in chips. Some of the fallen who may be looking to watch UFC 114 include: Phil Galfond, Tony G, and Todd Brunson. When play resumes, the field will play another three levels before the bag up their chips, sign their name, and hopefully don’t be recorded as busted when they decided not to report their chip counts. To catch the action of this event over at PokerNews, head here.

Saturday at noon is the first of six $1,000 No-limit holdem events, each having two day 1’s and fields of at least 5,000 expected. Last year’s “Stimulus Special”, won by Steve Sung for over $770,000, drew out all kinds of people, as Pauly noted in his Nostrum Donkulus post. After reading that, check out his morning link dump.

Time for some Friday recapping:

Casino Employees Cashing

The first bracelet event, $500 Casino Employees , finished play at the end of level 10 with 53 players remaining. The chip leader is Kent Washington, from Oakland, California with 168,300 in chips. Jonathan Kotula, who won this event in 2008, is in 2nd (108,700). The only other recognizable name remaining is Bellagio tournament director Jack McClleland (19,700). The tournament is scheduled to resume at 2:30pm today, although the 1k donkament may delay that start. The schedule notes they’re playing down to a winner today, but circumstances may prevent that. If they play down to a winner today, it may put a damper on the plans looking to take part in Bluff’s Streak 2 Seven contest to win a 2010 or 2011 WSOP me seat, as mentioned on this week’s episode of the award-winning Poker Beat.

Players’ Championship Moves to Day 2

Day 1 of the $50,000 Players’ Championship concluded earlier this morning with 105 of the 116 players remaining. Chip counts haven’t been finalized, but it appears Erik Sagstrom will be the chip leader at 329,100. Other notables in the top 10: David Oppenheim (313,800), “Miami John” Cernuto and Joe Serock (265,000), Justin Bonomo (255,000), Barry Greenstein (240,100), and early chip leader Daniel Kelly (223,000). Tom Dwan, Brian Townsend, and 2009 dual bracelet winner Greg Mueller started off down $50,000 at the WSOP, eliminated on Friday. The remaining field will return at 3pm today as the field is scheduled to play six 90-minute levels.

Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting

For those who get eliminated early enough, you can watch guys trying to beat the shit out of each other at the MGM Grand Garden area for UFC 114 tonight. The highly anticipated main event features Rashad Evans v Quinton “Rampage” Jackson topping an 11-fight card. For those looking for a preview of the fights, or looking for some good betting tips, check out www.mmafix.com and www.rawvegas.tv.

More later today, but in the meantime be sure to check Pokerati, on Twitter and hit up the official WSOP site over at www.wsop.com

In previous years, the World Series of Poker would hold a Gaming Life Expo during the first four days of their main event. In the good old days (pre-UIGEA) numerous online poker sites would pay to have their own suites where you could stare at their stars, have a pillow fight with strippers models, etc. Nowadays, the GLE has been a scaled down affair where companies try to sell their various poker related products like books, bobble heads, training sites, poker associations, and many other products.

This year, they’ve retooled their GLE into what they’re calling Poker-Palooza. From their website:

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Argh, it’s getting frustrating … so much stuff going on that it’s hard to keep up, let alone post about it. So here’s a bit of everything:

6,844 entrants in the 2008 WSOP main event.

I jut had a wonderful discussion with WPT honcho Steve Lipscomb. He didn’t laugh when I asked him if he was looking for a job with the WSOP.

Team Pokerati updates:

Tom Schneider is hurting. Like 7k in chips last we checked.

Donkey texts in (we’re still getting his CSR set up) — “Back down to 20k after 2nd level.. Thought Micon was playing AK. he had 77. I had 66. Cost 4k to see river”

Damn, that sucks. And oh yeah, Donkey is playing with Micon from Neverwin two or three seats to his left, and Beth Shak on the other end of the table. (Donkey doesn’t know who she is — but he is aware that she is all patched up.

Jerry Randack was doing fine last I checked. Saw him skillfully (albeit a bit cautiously) play Ace-rag with an ace on the flop, and build a nice pot to the point that he got a really nice call by the time he rivered the nut flush.

No report on Robert Goldfarb. Serves him right for not wearing his patch. But he is texting in his status on breaks.

The Big Randy looks to be playing very comfortably … with about 26k in chips.

More TK, of course. The big buzz of the day wasn’t about Phil Hellmuth‘s pro wrestling-esque army-tank entrance … it was about the presence of Ultimate Fighters, including Chuck Liddell and Forest Griffin, who won a big fight just last night.

Um, go poker!

UPDATE: There was a rumor about some smaller agents being shaken down by a bigger one. It didn’t check out, however, on first call … but there’s gotta be something to it — the agent battles are getting harsh as all compete for a piece of nine heretofore unknown needles in a a haystack of 6,844.