WSOP Winner Sally Boyer Sues Harrahs for False Advertisement
October 28, 2009
2007 World Series of Poker winner Sally Anne Boyer is suing Harrah’s and the World Series of Poker Academy for using her name and likeness in their advertising without her permission. She says that they are saying she endorses the academy.
She filed her suit on Monday at the Clark County District Court in Las Vegas against Harrah’s Operating Company INC, the owner of the World Series of Poker and Post Oak Productions Inc of Toronto.
So far neither Harrah’s or the Las Vegas office of the World Series of Poker have issued a statement about the suit. The WSOP Academy is currently promotion academies with prices from $1,899 to $2,999 dollars. Sally Boyer is from Midway, Utah and she won the 2009 World Series of Poker Ladies No Limit Hold’em Championship in 2007. She won $262,077 dollars, a World Series of Poker Bracelet and a Corum watch for the win.
In her lawsuit she says that soon after her win the WSOP Academy began “extensive marketing efforts” using her recent win to market the academy as being a success in tournaments. The lawsuit also says that the WSOP Academy educational business was launched in January 2007 by Harrah’s and Post Oak was to manage, produce and market all of the WSOP Academy events.
Boyer states that the WSOP Academy has published advertisements with her posing with her winnings saying she said "The quickest way to your WSOP Bracelet!," and calling her an "Academy Graduate." However she says she only one day of a two day WSOP Academy Event. She didn’t complete the course nor did she graduate from the academy. The lawsuit says:
"Boyer never said nor authorized a statement on her behalf to the effect that participating in the WSOP Academy was 'the quickest way to your WSOP Bracelet!' or intimating that her success in the tournament was attributable to her experience attending one day of a two-day WSOP Academy event”.
Win a Piece of Phil Ivey’s WSOP Main Event Winnings
October 13, 2009
In about a month the 2009 World Series of Poker’s Main Event will resume but you don’t have to be one of lucky final 9 players left in the event to get a piece of the prize pool anymore. Full Tilt Poker is running a new promotion and a few lucky players will be rewarded with a claim on the prize money that Phil Ivey will be
taking home.
To participate in the promotion all you need to do is head to the cashier then click on My Promotions. From there you will be taken to the registration page where you can officially sign up for a part of Phil Ivey’s prize money. Players can then earn entries into random drawings by how much they play and their player results. If you’re in a cash game and win a hand you will earn more then a FTP you will earn 5 tickets as well.
Tournament play is eligible as well if the tourney has 30 or less players and you make it to the money you will earn 5 tickets. For tournaments that over 30 people you will earn 20 tickets for making it to the money. A seat at the final table will get you an additional 50 tickets.
Your tickets can then used to enter into the raffle to win a seat at the sit and go tournament called 5 Percent Piece of Ivey. The 5 percent is of course unknown as no one knows how much Phil Ivey is going to be taking home. But even if he is the first to go home the prize pool would still be $63,180 dollars but if he takes first place the prize pool would go up to $427,321 dollars.
You can enter into other raffles with your tickets that award seats at other sit and go tournaments that award a different percentage of Ivey’s winnings at Full Tilt Poker.
Harrah’s Entertainment Bans Profanity from WSOP
March 16, 2009
Reports have been scattered across the internet over the past few days stating that Harrah’s Entertainment has banned swearing from the World Series of Poker. Profanities will no longer be accepted at the table and if used the player or players will be penalized.
Many have speculated that the new rule of no profanity was added because of the Scotty Nguyen incident last year during the WSOP HORSE event. For those who do not know Scotty had drank a little too much and spouted a ton of profanities and was pretty embarrassed afterward. I did a little research of my own and it appears that the ruling against profanity has been a rule for quite some time. It seems as though Harrah’s has brought the rule to light in the hopes that they may not see another incident like Scotty’s.
Under the tournament rules of the WSOP, number 36 comments on the restriction of profanity. It reads: “Harrah’s prohibits the use of obscene or foul language in any public area of the casino at any time. Any player who uses such language or makes a foul, profane, obscene or vulgar statement, or speaks abusively or in an intimidating manner to another player, a dealer or Tournament staff member, will be penalized. These penalties will be levied based on Rules 31, 52, and 53.”
Pretty much, Harrah’s maintains the rights to kick you out of the tournament, building, give a verbal warning, take your chips with no refund or any other punishment they deem appropriate. This rule may make it difficult for some poker pros to play their normal game. The WSOP can become a heated affair especially if those involved lose a big hand. It will be interesting to see who breaks the rule and what will happen when they do.
Pre-Registration Begins for 2009 WSOP
March 13, 2009
Poker players will be excited to learn that pre-registration has now begun for the 2009 World Series of Poker. Harrah’s Entertainment recently announced that players can now pre-register for the WSOP at the main cage of the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino or online at www.worldseriesofpoker.com.
The 2009 WSOP will run from May 26th until July 15th at the Rio. This is the 40th edition of the WSOP and it will include fifty seven tournaments. Players will find events with buy-ins as low as $1,000 and as high as $50,000. $10,000 is the buy-in amount for the No-Limit Hold’em World Championship and the WSOP has decided to continue the break from July to November for the final nine players.
The November Nine will return on November 7th and play until the 10th when a champion is named. Harrah’s Entertainment is encouraging everyone to go ahead and pre-register as each event has a set number of players and entries are taken on a first come first serve basis.
WSOP Tournament Director, Jack Effel commented: “As now customary, no alternates will be seated at the 2009 World Series of Poker. We encourage players to pre-register early to guarantee their seats.”
Interested players will be able to pre-register two weeks prior to a particular event. For example: if the event you are interested in begins on May 26th then you will be able to pre-register until May 12th. Everyone that pre-registers must present a photo copy of their identification to officials at the Rio before their table and seat assignment will be released.
2008 WSOP Main Event Update: Final Nine Revealed
July 15, 2008
The 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event Final Table has been decided as Day 7 came to a close yesterday, July 14th. And so now we must wait for the final nine to reconvene after a long break – a 117 day break as a matter of fact – not set to converge on the final table until November 9, 2008.
It was a long and grueling battle between the final 27 participants, with Dean Hamrick being the last to go in 10th position. Hamrick pushed all-in with 3,420,000, followed by an over the top all-in from Texan Craig Marquis. One after another, the table folded all round.
The cards were revealed: Marquis Qh-Qc, Hamrick As-Jc.
Then came the Flop: Kc-10h-3d
Marquis held the lead with his pocket Queens, though Hamrick was now betting on a Straight Draw.
The Turn: 10d
Hamrick would need an Ace to win – nothing else would do. The crowd noise picked up, calling for this card or that, then it came…
The River: Ks
Hamrick was the final player sent to the rails, earning $591,865. Though he pocketed in excess of half a million dollars, the disappointment must have been shattering; to be so close to the “November Nine” - as it’s being so popularly termed – yet to fall so unbearably short.
Another unfortunate ousting from the final three tables was that of Tiffany ‘Hot Chips’ Michelle, the “Last Woman Standing” in the 2008 WSOP Main Event. Women (and men) around the world were rooting for this budding beauty, donning a fatigue cap that did little to hide her obvious daunted spirit as the final cards came down, sending her out in 17th place.
Tiffany Michelle went further into the WSOP Main Event than any other woman since 2000. Had she gone on to the final table in November, Michelle would have become only the second woman in WSOP history to do so. As it was, Michelle’s A-J could not hold up against Peter Eastgate’s Pocket Aces. The Flop brought yet another Ace, but no Jack came to her rescue. Tiffany Michelle was award $334,534 for her 17th place finish.
2008 WSOP Main Event “November Nine”
As it stands, the final nine competitors will take to the final table on November 9, 2008. You’ll find the names and respective chip counts below.
Dennis Phillips - 26,295,000
Ivan Demidov - 24,400,000
Scott Montgomery - 19,690,000
Peter Eastgate - 18,375,000
Ylon Schwartz - 12,525,000
Darus Suharto - 12,520,000
David 'Chino' Rheem - 10,230,000
Craig Marquis - 10,210,000
Kelly Kim - 2,620,000
Only 116 days to go now………
2008 WSOP Results Event #4: Erick Lindgren Finally Wins A Bracelet
June 5, 2008
Erick Lindgren has a long and lucrative 10-year history as a professional poker player, earning $1.5 million in WSOP and WSOP circuit events alone, but his final 2008 WSOP goal can now be checked off Lindgren’s to-do list – Win a gold WSOP Bracelet. Erick emerged triumphant yesterday from the 2008 World Series of Poker Event #4, $5,000 Mixed Hold’em, taking the bracelet and a 1st place cash of $374,505.
The 3-day event got underway June 2nd, with the final table commencing on the 4th. Lindgren started off with a bang, ousting Isaac Haxton in the second hand. Pat Pezzin was the next to go as his A-Q offsuit did not hold up against Andre Robl’s A-K offsuit. Next to the rails came David Williams as his As-3s was out-flopped by David Williams K-10 off-suit, ending with a 10 top pair.
With competitors left, it would take some time before anyone else exited the World Series of Poker final table. Eventually, Justin Bonomo and Howard Lederer would take up arms. With a run of pre-flop raises, Lederer finally went all-in holding pocket 4s against Bonomo’s Ac-Qc. The flop was no help to either, but the turn river combined for 5d-2d-Ks-5s-Kc – just enough to counter Lederers low pair and give Bonomo the win.
David Rheem was the next to fall, sent to the rail when Roland de Wolfe became the lone caller of a pre-flop raise. When Wolfe hit the nut Straight, Rheem mucked and made his 5th place exit. Soon after, Bonomo took Wolfe all in when he flopped a Flush draw that hit on the river. Robl, Bonomo and Lindgren rounded out the final three.
After another hour of play, Bonomo held a significant chip stack lead, calling Robl’s all in after a pre-flop raise. Robl found himself dethroned as his A-2 failed to pair, losing to Bonomo’s Q-5 when the Queen paired on the flop.
Heads-up play immediately commenced between Justin Bonomo and Erick Lindgren, who had remained fairly quiet up until now. Bonomo grabbed an early chip lead, but not by much. It would last 40 hands before a winner was crowned. Lindgren raised Bonomo before the flop of 10c-5c-3d. Both players checked, revealing a 4h on the Turn. Bonomo bet, called by Lindgren, then came the 8h River, resulting in another bet by Bonomo and a raise from Lindgren. Bonomo pushed all in and Lindgren called immediately. Bonomo confidently revealed a 5s-4s, twice pairing the board. His poise quickly faded, however, as Lindgren unveiled Ah-2d for the Straight.
Poker champion Lindgren would walk away with his first glorious WSOP Bracelet and a 1st place prize of $374,505. Justin Bonomo, the newest member of Team Full Tilt Poker, pocketing $230,259 for his 2nd place finish.
The final table results of 2008 WSOP Event #4 were as follows:
1st – Erick Lindgren ($374,505)
2nd – Justin Bonomo ($230,259)
3rd – Andre Robl ($144,337)
4th – Roland de Wolfe ($117,030)
5th – David Rheem ($93,624)
6th – Howard Lederer ($74,119)
7th – David Williams ($58,515)
8th – Pat Pezzin ($46,812)
9th – Isaac Haxton ($34,109)
2008 WSOP Results Event #3: David Singer Croons Victory
June 5, 2008
The third event of the 2008 World Series of Poker, a 3-day $1,500 PL Hold’em event, was taken down by professional poker player David Singer yesterday. Of his many lucrative accomplishments, the one achievement that has eluded Singer all these years was the reward of a coveted WSOP Bracelet. I’m sure the 1st place prize of $214,122 was appreciated, as well!
As the WSOP event began its second day, Singer found himself very short-stacked – the second lowest in the tournament, in fact. By day three, things weren’t looking much better – aside from the fact he had not been ousted – entering into the final table of nine with, once again, the second lowest chip stack of 83,000, only slightly better than Glen Bean’s 75,000. Joe Tehan of New York took the high-stack honors with 458,000.
After the first three eliminations – Glen Bean, Al Barbieri and Zachary King respectively – Singer had jumped from second lowest to second highest chip stack, behind Jacob Fernandez. Joe Tehan and Russ Harriman were the next to exit, followed by Robert Lipkin and Gregory Alston.
Heads-up play commenced between David Singer, with the low stack of 935,000, and Jacob Fernandez at 1,245,000. After some a brief skirmish of poker, both stacks were near dead even, and the two agreed upon a dinner break. Upon returning to the table, Singer found his chips slowing dwindling. Just when it looked like Fernandez had him beat, however, Singer gained his second win and began a tenuous come-back march.
The second to last hand saw Singer’s chip stack erupt into an enormous lead, holding 1.7 million to Fernandez 400k. One last hand would see an end to the PL Hold’em event. With a board of 3d-5s-7d-6c, Singer forced Fernandez to call all-in. Singer flipped a Q-4, revealing a Straight, while Fernandez’s 7-3 both paired the board, but could not compete. A Jh on the river sealed his fate as David Singer was awarded $214,131 and his first gold WSOP Bracelet. Fernandez earned $136,643 for a 2nd place finish.
The final table results of 2008 WSOP Event #3 were as follows:
1st – David Singer ($214,131)
2nd – Jacob Fernandez ($136,643
3rd – Gregory Alston ($82,725)
4th – Robert Lipkin ($67,640)
5th – Russ Harriman ($55,474)
6th – Joe Tehan ($43,796)
7th – Zachary King ($34,063)
8th – Al Barbieri ($26,764)
9th – Glen Bean ($19,464)
2008 WSOP Results Event #2: Grant Hinkle’s Wins Astonishing Final Hand
June 5, 2008
Event #2 of the 2008 World Series of poker began with record breaking entries and ended with what may be the longest running preliminary event in the history of the WSOP. This was certainly one for the books, and 27-year-old Grant Hinkle would be happy to purchase the first copy; to go alongside his brand new gold WSOP Bracelet and 1st-place prize of $831,426!
What was originally scheduled for a mere 2-day event saw an enormous field of 3,929 participants battling it out for what turned into a three-day event with a 16 hour delay to end the second evening. As day 3 began, 18 players took their seats at the last two tables. A lingering six hours later, the remaining nine would take their seats at the final table.
Heads-up play eventually commenced, pitting Grant Hinkle’s high stack of 7,595,000 against James Akenhead’s 4,235,000. It became a marathon competition that last more than two hours before coming down to one of the WSOP’s most intriguing final hands.
With fairly even stacks, Hinkle raised 350,000 on the button, followed by a 1.2 million raise from Akenhead. Hinkle pushed all-in and was immediately called by his formidable opponent. Caught in what would seem to be a bluff, Hinkle unveiled his 10d-4d. Akenhead must have been happily surprised as he flipped an Ac-Kh.
When the flop fell, the crowd burst with astonishment - 10h-4h-10s – giving Hinkle not only a boat, but a Flush draw. There was little hope for Akenhead at this point, but the 10c Turn sealed the deal, resulting in a boisterous eruption of near-deafening enthusiasm from the crowd.
Hinkle’s quad-10’s awarded him the 1st place prize of a WSOP gold bracelet, along with $831,462, while Akenhead earned $520,219 for a 2nd place finish.
2008 WSOP Event #2 Continues
June 3, 2008
The 2008 World Series of Poker is in full swing, with the second Event, $1,500 NL Hold’em that got underway May 31st has yet to see a final table. Record setting entries revealed a packed field of 3,929 players.
Entering day two, the prize bubble was ruptured as Robert McLaughlin took the honors. In fact, upon reaching the money bubble, players were flying to the rails so fast, there was a line at the cashier’s booth. Commentator Jimmy Sommerfeld jested, “Okay, players, we have a line at the cashier’s cage, so if you could start playing a little better, we can get this line down a little.”
As it stands now, 18 player remain, awaiting the chance to compete for a seat at the final table. The following competitors (with their respective chip stacks), will be seated shortly as 2008 WSOP Event #2 resumes shortly.
Table 14
Seat 1 - Josh Engerdahl (930,000)
Seat 2 - Melvin Jones (660,000)
Seat 3 - Mike Ngo (544,000)
Seat 4 - Grant Hinkle (281,000)
Seat 5 - Perry Friedman (653,000)
Seat 6 - Joe Rutledge (486,000)
Seat 7 - Chris Ferguson (444,000)
Seat 8 - David Bach (168,000)
Seat 9 - Frank Sinopoli (165,000)
Table 15
Seat 1 - Eric Hicks (703,000)
Seat 2 - James Akenhead (1,039,000)
Seat 3 - Matthew Kearney (1,024,000)
Seat 4 - Jeff Wiedenhoeft (482,000)
Seat 5 - Minh Nguyen (600,000)
Seat 6 - Theo Tran (1,199,000)
Seat 7 - Brandon Blake (514,000)
Seat 8 - Elia Ahmadian (171,000)
Seat 9 - Aaron Coulthard (1,327,000)
2008 WSOP Event #1 Results: Is There A “Medic” In The House?!
June 2, 2008
The enormously anticipated 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) got underway last weekend with the first event, the $10,000 Pot Limit Hold’em World Championship. A field of 352 converged on the tables at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada May 30th, resulting in a total prize pool of $3,308,800.
Event #1 of the 2008 WSOP turned out to be a truly star-studded event, bringing out 84 past WSOP bracelet winners – a whopping 1/4th of the entire field. An astounding 143 WSOP Bracelets are held among these entrants, making up about 20% of every bracelet awarded in the WSOP’s 39-year history.
As the final table got under way, the seats were held by Andy Bloch, Phil Laak, Kathy Liebert, Patrik Antonius, Mike Sexton, Chris Bell, Nenad Medic, Mike Sowers and Amit Makhija. Andy Bloch had the cheap lead coming into the final table, which was enough to take him into heads-up play against Nenad Medic in competition for the gold bracelet.
The final hand was a post-flop all-in stunner. Andy held the early advantage with pocket 9’s over Medic’s 5h-7h Straight/Flush Draw on the Flop; 8h-5s-4h. The Turn revealed a Jh, giving Medic the Flush. There was little hope for Bloch, and the 5c River denied him.
Nenad Medic’s victory awarded him the first WSOP Bracelet of the year, along with the 1st place prize of $794,112.
The final table results of 2008 WSOP Event #1 were as follows:
1st Nenad Medic - $794,112.00
2nd Andy Bloch -$488,048.00
3rd Kathy Liebert - $306,064.00
4th - Mike Sexton - $248,160.00
5th - Amit Makhija - $198,528.00
6th - Chris Bell - $157,168.00
7th - Patrik Antonius - $124,080.00
8th - Mike Sowers - $99,264.00
9th - Phil Laak - $74,448.00