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Ante Up For Africa Begins Tonight

The 3^rd Annual Ante Up For Africa tournament is set to begin tonight and celebrities and poker pros will be visiting the Rio to compete for a good cause. Annie Duke, Don Cheadle and Norman Epstein founded the Ante Up For Africa organization to benefit the citizens of the Darfur and Sudan region.

Ante Up For Africa has raised almost $2 million by hosting poker tournaments that are attended by a number of celebrities and poker pros. The charity poker tournament taking place tonight at the Rio will be star studded as well with such celebrities as Ben Affleck and Matt Damon attending.

Annie Duke commented that tonight’s tournament has a ‘wonderful’ list of celebrities. Mekhi Phifer, Jason Alexander, Charles Barkley, Brad Garrett, Hank Azaria, Montel Williams, Marlon Wayans and Sarah Silverman are also expected to compete tonight.

Celebrities will not be the only players sitting at the felt, many poker pros will be competing as well. Howard Lederer, Phil Hellmuth, Erik Seidel and Andy Bloch are just a few of the poker pros who will be participating.

Tonight’s event has a $5,000 buy-in and a fast structure that will finish the tournament in around four hours. The money raised will mostly go to the charity Refugees International as well as some toward the Darfur and Sudan region.

Duke commented: “It is important to me to show people that it is possible to make a difference for the people of Darfur. I am thrilled that this event has become such a success and that it will generate support for efforts by Refugees International, the Enough Project and others to end the crisis in Darfur.”

Ken Bacon, president of the charity Refugees International added “An event like this makes it possible for Refugees International to continue to demand action from the world’s leaders to provide basic assistance and protection to refugees in Sudan and around the world.”

Greg Mueller Joins List of Double Bracelet Winners at WSOP 2009

Three players have earned two bracelets at the 2009 World Series of Poker: Brock Parker, Phil Ivey and Jeff Lisandro. Now a fourth poker pro has been added to the double bracelet list: Greg Mueller. Mueller waited a long time to earn his first bracelet and now he has earned two during the 2009 WSOP.

Mueller had cashed out thirteen times during his foray into WSOP play but had not won a single bracelet, until this year. Event number 33 of the WSOP was the event where Mueller won his first bracelet. He won the $10,000 world championship limit hold’em event.

Mueller earned his second WSOP bracelet in event #50 which was the $1,500 limit hold’em shootout. Mueller won two tables in the shootout format to advance to the final table. Event #50 began with 572 players and the players were divided among 64 tables on day 1.

After making it past day 1, each player was guaranteed at least $4,350 but of course everyone’s eyes were on the top prize. When final table play began Mueller would compete against such players as David Williams and Marc Naalden. Each player would begin with 450,000 in chips so the playing field was even for all.

The first to be eliminated from the final table would be Jose Barbero and the pros would continue to be eliminated until only Naalden and Mueller were left. Mueller entered into heads up play with an almost 3-1 chip lead but Naalden would come back to take the lead.

The chip lead would go back and forth for some time until Mueller claimed the final lead. He built a 5-1 chip lead and on the final hand Mueller and Naalden were both all in but it would be Mueller’s top pair and a better kicker that would take the hand and his second bracelet of this WSOP season.

Final Results:

1. Greg Mueller — $194,854
2. Marc Naalden — $120,614
3. Mille Phung Shiu — $77,138
4. David Williams — $51,145
5. Matthew Sterling — $35,058
6. Flaminio Malaguti — $24,824
7. Joep van den Bijgaart — $18,136
8. Jose Barbero— $13,655

Jeffrey Lisandro Earns Second WSOP Bracelet This Summer

Jeffrey Lisandro is on a roll. Lisandro earned his first WSOP bracelet ever back in 2007 at the seven card stud event. Well just a short time ago Lisandro earned his second career bracelet during the 2009 seven card stud event. he has now won his third career bracelet, number 2 for this summer, in event number 37, the $10,000 Seven card stud eight or better event.

Lisandro became the third player of this year’s WSOP to earn two bracelets. Brock Parker and Phil Ivey have both been double bracelet winners this year as well. During event number 37 Doyle Brunson was trying to earn a record tying 11^th bracelet but he was eliminated in seventh place.

Lisandro would have to face Farzad Rouhani in heads up play before he would earn his second series bracelet. The final hand played out as follows: Rouhani came in with a deuce and Lisandro completed. Rouhani raised and Lisandro re-raised. Rouhani then put in the fourth bet which Lisandro called. Both players checked Fourth Street.

Rouhani held (A spades 5 spades) 2 clubs 3 clubs 10 spades 2 hearts (K diamonds)

Lisandro held (6 diamonds 2 spades) 6 spades 10 clubs 10 hearts K hearts (5 hearts)

Lisandro bet on the fifth and Rouhani called. Lisandro’s tens put him in the lead and Rouhani was trying for a wheel draw. Rouchani would earn nothing to help and Lisandro would earn his bracelet.

Final Results:

1. Jeffrey Lisandro — $431,656
2. Farzad Rouhani — $266,804
3. Michael Wattel — $176,605
4. Frank Mariani — $124,684
5. Yan Chen — $93,513
6. Abe Mosseri — $74,258
7. Doyle Brunson — $62,234
8. Justin Smith — $54,896

Brock Parker Wins Two WSOP Bracelets in One Week

Event #14, the $2,500 six handed limit hold’em tournament, of the WSOP was won by Brock Parker. The win was Parker’s first WSOP bracelet an amazing feat in itself. After earning the bracelet, Parker entered event #19, the $2,500 six handed no limit hold’em tournament. After another stellar performance, Parker earned his second WSOP bracelet, all in just one week.

In event #19 Parker fought his way through the final table to face Joe Serock in heads up play. Parker was in the lead and the final hand went like this: Serock raised to 200,000 preflop and Parker reraised to one million. Serock rerasied all in and Parker called so it was game on!

Parker held Q spades and Queen of diamonds and Serock held Ten of diamonds and ten of clubs. The board came Ace of spades, seven of spades, two of clubs, king of clubs and queen of clubs. Parker won the hand and the gold bracelet making two for this week.

With both wins, Parker has now earned $776,433 in just one week of WSOP play. this is an amazing achievement and we should see Parker continue to succeed in any WSOP event he signs up for next.

Final Results:

1. Brock Parker– $552,745
2. Joseph Serock – $341,783
3. Russell Crane – $220,633
4. Jesse Rios– $148,661
5. Alex Wilson – $104,323
6. Clayton Newman – $76,123

Jason Mercier Wins First WSOP Gold Bracelet

Event # 5 of the World Series of Poker concluded yesterday with 809 players competing in the $1,500 pot limit Omaha event. Of all the many players competing, it was Jason Mercier who managed to outlast the field and take down the first place prize of $237,415.

Mercier has seen great success recently after starting a winning streak back in April of 2008. Mercier won the European Poker Tour San Remo stop he went on to cash out in fourteen different events. This bracelet win just goes to show how skilled Mercier is.

The first player to be eliminated from final table play was Vic Park. Park went up against Matt Giannetti who won the hand with kings knocking Park out in ninth. Next to go was An Tran who went up against Steven Burkholder. Tran lost the hand to Burkholder’s set of fives and gave Burkholder a good amount of chips as he exited in eighth place.

The next few to go would be Dario Alioto, Jonathan Tare, Chris Biondino and Matt Giannetti, in that order. That left Kevin Iacofano, Burkholder and Mercier to compete in three handed play. Iacofano decided to make a move and went all in which Burkholder called. Iacofano held K-K-J-3 against Burkholder’s Q-Q-9-4 with the board reading Q-10-5-6-8 Burkholder would take down the pot with a set of Queens and Iacofano would be out in third place.

On the final hand against Mercier and Burkholder, Mercier would limp in and Burkholder would raise which Mercier would call. The flop would see J-J-6 and Burkholder would bet which Mercier raised and then Mercier would go all in.

Mercier held Q-J-8-2 while Burkholder had A-A-J-7. The turn card was a Q and the river a K so Mercier would win the hand with a full house. This would be his first gold bracelet win.

Final Results:

1. Jason Mercier – $237,415
2. Steven Burkholder – $146,748
3. Kevin Iacofano – $96,128
4. Matt Giannetti – $66,544
5. Chris Biondino – $48,533

6. Jonathan Tare – $37,192
7. Dario Alioto – $29,882
8. An Tran – $25,122
9. Vic Park – $22,053

 

 

Thang Luu Wins WSOP Event #3 Second Year in a Row

Event #3 of the 2009 World Series of Poker has ended with a record breaking turnout and a record breaking win. 918 players posted the $1,500 buy-in for the Omaha 8 or better event, which were the most players ever for the event. What it is even more impressive is the fact that Thang Luu was able to win the event two years in a row as well as placing second in 2007.

This is the first time that a player has won back to back titles and runner up in a WSOP event since Johnny Chan did back in the 80s. Chan won the 1987 and 1988 Main Events and earned second in the Main Event in 1989. So now it is Luu’s turn to bask in the glory.

Final table play lasted six hours before Luu was named the winner. Luu claimed his title yet again when he went up against Ed Smith in heads up play. On the final hand Luu moved all in with Q-5-4 while holding Q-9-8-7. Smith made the call with J-9-9-3. The turn was a 5 and the river a 10 which gave Luu two pairs and the title win.

Luu commented on his recent win stating: “it feels even better than the last one. I think these kinds of $1,500 buy-in events are the best for me. There are a lot of new players in the (lower buy-in tournaments).” He also commented: “I know one thing for sure: I will play in this event every year from now on!”

Final Results:

1. Thang Luu ($263,190)
2. Ed Smith ($162,109)
3. Ming Reslock ($106,373)
4. Robert Price ($73,404)

5. Pascal Leyo ($53,293)
6. Jordan Rich ($40,611)
7. Jim Geary ($32,404)
8. Freddy Deeb ($27,028)
9. Senovio Ramirez ($23,520)

 

 

 

Vitaly Lunkin Wins $40,000 No Limit Hold’em Event at WSOP

The 2009 World Series of Poker added a special event this year to commemorate their fortieth anniversary. The new event was number two on the schedule and consisted of a $40,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament. Top pros posted the large buy-in vying for the first place prize of $1.8 million+. But it was Vitaly Lunkin who was able to outlast the field and beat Isaac Haxton in heads up play to claim the title.

When final table play began Haxton held the chip lead and would continue to play well the entire ten hours it took to name a winner. Ted Forrest would be the first player to be knocked out of the competition when he went up against Noah Schwartz. Forrest’s J-10 was no match for Schwartz’ pocket threes and he was knocked out in ninth.

Schwartz would not be able to hold on much longer though and he would be the next to go after going all in with A-K and being called by Greg Raymer who had pocket Aces. The Aces were too much for Schwartz and he was out in eighth.

This would start Raymer on a roll and he would knock out Lex Veldhuis in seventh then Haxton would knock out Alec Torelli in sixth and then Justin Bonomo in fifth. Now down to four players, game play would continue for some time before the next player would be eliminated.

After some time Dani Stern decided to go for it and went all in with Q-10 preflop. Stern was called by Haxton who held A-K. The board fell J-5-2-2-2 so Haxton’s Ace helped him seal the deal and knock Stern out in fourth.

Raymer would be next when he moved all in with pocket fives and was called by Haxton who held pocket nines. The board ran K-Q-10-3-3 so Raymer was out in third place. This left Haxton and Lunkin to duke it out in heads up play.

Haxton held a two to one chip lead going into heads up play which would last for two hours. Both Haxton and Lunkin would trade the chip lead for some time until Lunkin gained the final lead. On the final hand Haxton raised preflop and Lunkin called. The flop fell Q-10-8 and Lunkin went all in and of course Haxton called. Haxton held 3-8 and Lunkin had pocket Aces.

A 7 came on the turn and a King on the river was no help to Haxton who was knocked out in second place leaving Lunkin to claim the victory and the $1,891,012 first place prize.

Final Results:

Vitaly Lunkin – $1,891,012

Isaac Haxton  – $1,168,566

Greg Raymer – $774,927

Dani Stern – $548,315

Justin Bonomo – $413,166

Alec Torelli – $329,730

Lex Veldhuis – $277,940

Noah Schwartz – $246,834

Ted Forrest – $230,317

 

 

Public Get First Chance to Vote for WSOP Hall of Fame Inductees

Nominations for the Poker Hall of Fame begin today and for the first time ever the public will be able to participate in the nomination process. Poker fans have from now until July 2^nd to nominate a poker player for the list of possible inductees to the Hall of Fame.

Poker fans can visit the World Series of Poker website and vote for their favorite player. A submission can be made for one player and up to two hundred and fifty words can be used by the nominator to explain why they believe that player deserves to be in the Poker Hall of Fame.

Nominators do need to remember that there are certain criteria that must be reached before a player can be inducted into the Hall of Fame. The player must have played poker against acknowledge top competition, have stood the test of time and still have the ability to gain the respect of their peers. The player must also have played for high stakes.

Poker players are not the only nominations that can be made to be inducted. People who have contributed to the growth and success of poker with “indelible positive and lasting results” can also be nominated.

After the nominations have closed the committee of the Hall of Fame will review the nominations made by the public and decide if any others in the poker industry should be listed for possible induction. This will occur in August.

In September the final list of nominees will be sent to the sixteen living current members of the Hall of Fame. Those members will then rank the nominees in the order they believe they should be listed and only those who they believe should be inducted.

A small group of media members will also be sent a list to rank the finalists for induction. The Hall of Fame will then receive the list and create the final list. A nominee must earn at least 75% or more of the votes to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will take place during the final table at the WSOP Main Event in November.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dream Team Poker Event Added to 2009 WSOP

Dream Team Poker has only been around for a short time but in the time period the poker tournament series has become very popular. So much so that the World Series of Poker has taken notice and this year the WSOP will add a Dream Team event to their schedule.

The Dream Team will not be a bracelet event but it will be a different type of event for players to enter. The tournament will take place on July 12^th and 13^th at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino with a buy-in of $560 per player or $1,680 per team.

Jeffrey Pollack the WSOP commissioner commented on the addition of the Dream Team Poker event to the WSOP stating: “After seeing the terrific response to the recent Dream Team Poker tournaments in Las Vegas, we thought a team-based event would be a fun addition to the end of the WSOP. The Dream Team Poker event is one of the many new elements added in 2009 that will help make this summer a memorable one for all WSOP players and fans.”

Those who would like to compete on a team should go ahead and get their players together. The first three hundred teams who sign up on the Dream Team Poker website will receive personalized jerseys for their team to wear at the tournament.

Players who compete in a Dream Team Event are playing for individual prizes as well as Team prizes. So even if you do well but your team does not you could still earn a prize and vice versa.

 

 

 

Gaming Lifestyle Expo Returns to WSOP with Different Name

When the 2009 World Series of Poker begins poker players have more to look forward to than just the many different tournament events. The Gaming Lifestyle Expo is returning to this year’s WSOP but this time it will have a new name; PokerPalooza.

The Rio Pavilion in the Rio Convention Center in Las Vegas will host the PokerPalooza event on July 2^nd through the 5^th. PokerPalooza will be running while the WSOP is taking place and players can easily walk over and see what the Expo has to offer.

Along with the new name, PokerPalooza will expand their focus to other areas of poker: Fun, interactive and social aspects. The Expo will have several different zones that will be interactive for those who attend. The categories for this year’s expo are: Poker Media, Poker Education, Arcade, Poker Retail, Poker Circuit, WSOP History, “Lap of Luxury”, “Bad Beat Bar” and Food/Beverage.

Several WSOP champions will be at PokerPalooza to speak at seminars, hold book signings and autograph signings. This is the perfect opportunity for poker fans to get to meet poker stars and see the latest items in the poker industry.

There will also be a few odd yet fun options at PokerPalooza. Carnival style games, sumo-wrestling suits, a mechanical bull and the Richard Petty Driving Experience will be there for the enjoyment of the people.  On the 4^th there will be a special hot dog eating contest for those interested in participating or watching.

PokerPalooza is only available to those who are twenty one or older and will be open on June 2^nd through the 4^th from eleven in the morning to eight thirty at night. On the 5^th they will be open from eleven in the morning to six in the evening.

 

Edward Norton and Jamie Gold to Host Charity Poker Tournament

This weekend Edward Norton star of the famous “Rounders” poker movie and Jamie Gold the 2006 WSOP Main Event winner will be working together to host a charity poker tournament. The tournament will take place at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc during the Cannes Film Festival to benefit the Wilhelm and Karl Maybach Foundation and the Sunflower Children Foundation.

Gold will be the emcee of the event as it kicks off at 10:30pm on May 17th. Around two hundred and fifty VIPs are expected to attend and the winner of the charity event will earn a seat at the 2009 WSOP with flights to Vegas and Hotel accommodations included. The kicker of the top prize though is that Jamie Gold will be coaching the winner privately before and during the WSOP event.

The day after the tournament, the Maybach Foundation will be holding a private luncheon which will be filled to the brim with celebrities. Created in 2006, the Maybach Foundation helps gifted young people reach their full potential by providing financial and mentoring support. The other charitable organization associated with the tournament, the Sunflower Children Foundation, helps aid disadvantaged children in several areas around the world including: Cambodia, Colombia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Brazil, Guinea, India, Kenya, South Africa, Nepal, Niger, Nicaragua, Peru, Romania, Guatemala, and the Philippines.

The Maybach Foundation has released a list of celebrities who will be attending the tournament. Those included are: Jason Segel, Brittany Murphy, Faye Dunaway, Emile Hirsch, Moran Atias, Vincent Gallo, Laura Ramsey, Peyman Amin and Ronald Altbach

Four WSOP Academy Events Scheduled for 2009 WSOP

Poker players will be excited to learn that the World Series of Poker Academy will be holding four events at the 2009 WSOP. Poker novices to skilled players can participate in the four events as each event offers something for every skill level.

The four events to be held will be the Cash Game Academy, Ladies Only Academy, Tournament Academy and the Main Event Primer. The Cash Game, Ladies Only and Tournament Academies will last for two days and the Main Event Primer will take place over three days.

Several poker pros will be instructing during the four events. Phil Hellmuth, Greg Raymer, Annie Duke, Alex Outhred, Bernard Lee, Mark Seif and Mark Gregorich will be teaching during the four events. Joe Navarro will also be available during the events to help players learn tells at the poker table.

After learning during the four events players will be able to compete in a private tournament. The winner of the tournament will earn a seat to the WSOP Academy Tournament of Champions. The Tournament of Champions will earn a seat to the WSO Main Event.

Players can preregister for the events at the WSOP Academy website as the events should sell out soon. The Cash Game Academy is scheduled for May 30^th through the 31^st, the Ladies Only academy is scheduled for June 5^th and 6^th, the Tournament Academy is scheduled for June 13^th and 14^th and the last event is the Main Event Primer which will take place on June 29^th through July 1^st.

 

 

 

Everest Poker Offering WSOP Qualifiers Special $1 Million Bonus

Everest Poker is the official sponsor for the 2009 World Series of Poker so it would only be natural for the online poker room to offer players a special incentive for qualifying for the tournament series via their website. Everest Poker is offering players who qualify for the WSOP Main Event at their poker room a chance to earn some extra cash, up to $1 million.

Players who qualify for the Main Event via Everest Poker and manage to cash out will have their winnings matched by Everest Poker. The combined earnings of qualifiers can get as high as $1 million before they will be split between all qualifiers who manage to cash out during the Main Event.

For example: let’s say three people who qualify at Everest Poker cash out during the Main Event. The first player earns $50,000, the second earns $100,000 and the third player earns $200,000. Matching each prize would equal $350,000, which would be divided between the three players. So each player would earn just over $100,000 each! Just think of the possibilities if the winnings get up to $1 million.

Everest Poker qualifiers start at just $3 and four will be held in May. Players can find more information on the qualifiers at the Everest Poker website.

 

 

 

 

 

Samuel Chartier Wins WSOP Circuit Caesars Event

The World Series of Poker Circuit made a stop in Atlantic City this past weekend to hold a tournament at Caesars. Two hundred and eight players participated in the $5,150 buy-in tournament and it was Samuel Chartier managed to outlast the field and take the $322,944 first place prize.

When final table play began, Chartier was one of the players with the shortest chip stack. But Chartier was able to fight and gain a good deal of chips to make it to heads up play with John Nixon. On the final hand Nixon’s Ace Ten was not enough to beat Samuel’s Ace Jack and he was out in second place.

In an interview after the tournament Chartier commented: “It’s amazing. I can’t describe the feeling I have right now. I knew the final table lineup was pretty tough so I hoped to pick up a few good spots to put my money in, and that’s what I managed to do.”

The prize pool was just over a million dollars so each player at the final table was able to earn a good chunk of change for their efforts. Not only did Chartier win the $300,000 plus first place prize but he also won a seat to the 2009 WSOP Main Event.

Final Results:

1 — $322,944.00 — Samuel Chartier

2 — $177,619.20 — John Nixon

3 — $90,828.00 — Frank Vizza

4 — $70,644.00 — Michael Michnik

5 — $60,552.00 — Alex Bolotin

6 — $50,460.00 — Matt Brady

7 — $40,368.00 — Jason Young

8 — $30,276.00 — Chris Klodnicki

9 — $20,184.00 — David Zeitlin

Harrah’s Entertainment Bans Profanity from WSOP

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.

2008 WSOP Main Event To Take Center Stage

After several months of mounting anticipation, the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event is finally less than a week away, scheduled for November 9th. Appropriately deemed the “November Nine”, the final tablist are as hyped as ever.

A quick change in plans has been issued for the most prestigious live poker event of the year, changing the venue for the 2008 WSOP Main Event. Instead of gathering at the Amazon Room of the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino, the November Nine will take center stage in the Penn & Teller Theater, within the hotel.

At 10:00am (local time) Sunday morning on November 9, chip leader Dennis Phillips (pictured left) will take his seat to battle it out with the other final eight competitors. Blinds will start at 120k/240k with 30k antes. The action will continue until two players remain, followed by an overnight break.

Heads-up play will continue between the final two on Monday, November 10th, and will continue until a bracelet winner emerges.

Seating assignments have yet to be announced. Below are the final tablists – the historic ‘November Nine’ – ordered by chip stacks, largest to smallest. The lowest stack, Kelly Kim, has enough chips remaining to cover 11 Big Blinds.

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

When all is said and done, a massive purse of $32,633,446 will be divvied up between the November Nine. The first to exit will receive an impressive payoff of little more than $900k, while the bracelet winner takes home the second largest 1st place prize in the history of the WSOP Main Event, $9.1 million. The exact cash prizes for place 1-9 are shown below.

1st: $9,119,517
2nd: $5,790,024
3rd: $4,503,352
4th: $3,763,515
5th: $3,088,012
6th: $2,412,510
7th: $1,769,174
8th: $1,286,672
9th: $900,670

An enormous crowd of spectators is expected to swarm the Penn & Teller Theater as the WOSP Main Event kicks off Sunday morning. Admission is free, opened on a first-come-first-served basis until the ample room reaches capacity, though each of the final nine plan to have a host of friends and family in attendance.

The 2008 WSOP Main Event will come to a close with the winner crowned on November 10th. The event will then be aired on Tuesday, November 11th as ESPN busily edits the previous two days of live poker action to broadcast the most exciting moments, and of course the heads-up finale, of the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event.

Poker Pro John Juanda Wins 2008 WSOP Europe

After hours upon hours of punishing poker play, the winner of the 2008 World Series of Poker Europe has finally been revealed. Long-time professional poker player John Juanda has earned his fourth WSOP Bracelet by routing the competition at the WSOPE Main Event.

The WSOP Europe Main Event began Saturday, September 27th, and it wasn’t until yesterday, October 2nd, that the action finally came to an end. The final table alone took an exhausting 22 hours to complete. Eventually, Ivan Demidov was sent to the rails in 3rd place (£334,850) to bring about heads-up play between John Juanda and the little-known Russian, Stanislav Alekhin.

It was pretty much all John Juanda from there out. On hand #479, John Juanda doubled up through Stanislav to take a sizeable lead, and by Hand #484, it was all over. Alekhin, with Ac-9s, moved all-in from the button. Juanda called, flipping Ks-6c. In one of the most lop-sided boards in WSOP final-hand history, the Flop came down 6d-6s-2d, giving Juanda the near insurmountable lead. It would take running Aces or 9s for Alekhin, and a Qc on the turn left him drawing dead. Juanda had already sealed the victory, but another 6h on the River only twisted the knife further. With Quad 6’s, Juanda took the pot, the WSOPE Main Event, £868,800 and the second WSOPE Main Event Bracelet ever awarded.

Stanislav Alekhin proved a very worthy opponent throughout and certainly merits the observing eyes of poker players and enthusiasts around the world for years to come. Even John Juanda, in his post-game interview, confessed that Alekhin was terribly hard to read, and that he has earned Juanda’s respect as an incredibly skilled poker player. Alekhin walked away from the table with an impressive 2nd place cash of £533,950.

This is the fourth WSOP Bracelet win for the Indonesian-born John Juanda, who now resides in Los Angeles, California, but the first to come in a Main Event. Juanda earned his first WSOP Bracelet in a Triple Ball Lowball A-5 event at the 2002 WSOP. His second and third bracelets came at the 2003 WSOP, competing in 7 Card Stud Hi-Lo Split and Pt Limit Omaha events.

“It’s so long ago when I won my last bracelet, I can’t remember. It’s embarrassing.” John Juanda quippied, “Some people have to keep up with the Joneses. I have to keep up with the Iveys and Cunninghams and Negreanus. I wondered if I will ever win again. Today there are so many young excellent tournament players from all over the world. Like the two young Russians and the Scandis. Much more than it used to be. Daniel Negreanu said that we have to step up our game.”

Tiffany ‘Hot Chips’ Michelle Joins Team UltimateBet

Online poker room Ultimate Bet announced today the signing of Tiffany ‘Hot Chips’ Michelle as its newest member of the Ultimate Star Players Team. The singer/songwriter turned professional poker player joins the ranks of such skilled players as Cliff ‘JohnnyBax’ Josephy and James ‘POKERPRO33’ Campbell.

24 year-old Tiffany Michelle gained recent poker stardom at the 2008 World Series of Poker by defeating the largest field of any other female in the history of the WSOP Main Event. Michelle skillfully whittled her way through a field of 6,844 participants to finish in the 17th position, earning $334,534. Highlighted by the rolling cameras, Tiffany Michelle, donning the UltimateBet “UB Army” logo, became the last woman standing in the 2008 WSOP.

UltimateBet consultant Annie Duke offered her comments on the signing of the newest Team UltimateBet member, “From Hollywood to Vegas, Tiffany Michelle is a rising star in so many extraordinary ways. We’re thrilled to be able to bring such a talented force on board.”

Tiffany Michelle, who can be found playing online poker at UltimateBet under the username “Tiffany M”, has appeared in variety of films and television series, including appearances on Nip/Tuck and E.R. As a way to supplement income between her acting and songwriting career, Michelle began playing online poker at UltimateBet.

Discovering she was more than lucky, but quite talented at the game of poker, she began playing in land-based tournaments as well. It wasn’t long before Michelle’s dexterity gained the respect of professional poker players around the world.

On a more sour note, Michelle found herself under scrutiny and possible penalization by the courts as PokerNews.com, whom Michelle has been reporting poker news with for quite some time, was not too pleased to find the poker pro sporting UltimateBet advertisements at the 2008 WSOP while contracted with the online poker media company. The outcome of these actions has not yet been determined, but 4Flush is keeping a close eye on the story.

2008 WSOP Event #2 Continues

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?!

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

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