21
Jul

Phil Ivey plus eight lightweights at the final table

No commentsPokerJuly 21st, 2009admin

For eight of the 2009 WSOP Main Event finalists this year’s ride has already been something of a fairytale, and their seats at the final table promise that each of them will leave the event as millionaires. For Phil Ivey though, it’s just business as usual. If you follow poker at all, then you know Phil Ivey. Here’s the breakdown on his less recognizable competitors.

The current chip leader, Darvin Moon, is a relative unknown (and according to recent interviews wants to stay that way) as are Steven Begleiter (3rd) and French WSOP first-timer Antoine Saout (8th).

Eric Buchman (currently holding the second largest chip stack) has posted several WSOP cashes in the past, and even placed in the money in the 2006 Main Event, but his inclusion at the final table promises to double his lifetime tournament earnings.

Jeff Shulman final tabled at the Main Event in 2000 for the biggest win of his career, but the stakes have risen significantly in the last nine years promising that Shulman will pocket at least a million extra for his efforts this time around.

Joseph Cada’s first stab at big tournament play has been successful to say the least with two other WSOP 2009 cashes preceding his trip to the final table.

Kevin Schaffel’s been poking around the major tournaments for a couple years, but thus far his best (and only) WSOP cash was 324th place in last year’s Main Event.

Rounding out the top nine is James Akenhead whose story is more of the same: only two years of tournament play, lifetime earnings of just half a million, and no bracelets to his name.

With seven WSOP bracelets to his name (the only event winner at the table) and 35 cashes under his belt Phil Ivey is no doubt casting a long shadow over the final table and is an obvious favorite on poker forums across the net. Three times in his career Ivey has fallen just short of the Main Event’s top nine, most notably finishing 10th in 2003 when Chris Moneymaker posted his historical win.

Will Phil Ivey add World Champion to his long list of accomplishments, or will this year’s Main Event be a Moneymaker flashback? We’ll have to wait almost four months to find out!

Sources: http://www.gamblingplanet.org/

21
Jul

World Series of Poker Day 8 update

No commentsPokerJuly 21st, 2009admin

At last, the field of 6,494 hopefuls has been honed down to the November Nine. After eleven hours of action, eighteen more players saw their hopes for making the final table at the 40th Anniversary of the World Series of Poker Main Event come up short.

The first player eliminated was the only remaining woman in the field, Leonor Margets. Former chip leader Warren Zackey took her out of contention when his ace-ten offsuit topped her ace-seven offsuit and Zackey paired his ten on the flop. She finished in twenty-seventh place and earned over US$352,000

Another notable name not in the November Nine is poker pro Antonio “the Magician” Esfandiari. Esfandiari pushed all of his chips into the middle of the table with a pair of fives and his opponent called with king-ten suited. The flop gave his opponent another ten, forcing “the Magician” to disappear from the Main Event in twenty-fourth place, also earning him over US$352,000.

The final elimination of the night came when chip leader Darvin Moon knocked out Jordan Smith. Smith went all-in with two red aces; Moon called with two red eights. The flop gave Moon a third eight, cracking Smith’s aces and shattering his dreams of making the final table. Smith finished in tenth place and earned over US$896,000.

As the event goes into a four-month break, unknown player Darvin Moon leads the pack with nearly 59 million in chips, almost double the total for the second-place player, Eric Buchman, who sits at 34.8 million. Card Player Magazine editor Jeff Shulman is in fourth with about 19.6 million.

Poker pro Phil Ivey is still alive, but very short-stacked against the massive totals of his tablemates. He enters his first Main Event final table with just over 9.7 million, good enough for seventh place. The shortest stack belongs to British poker pro James “sickdog” Akenhead with 6.8 million.

Here is your complete list of the November Nine:

Darvin Moon 58,930,000Sources: http://www.gamblingplanet.org/
Eric Buchman 34,800,000Sources: http://www.gamblingplanet.org/
Steven Begleiter 29,885,000Sources: http://www.gamblingplanet.org/
Jeff Shulman 19,580,000Sources: http://www.gamblingplanet.org/
Joseph Cada 13,215,000Sources: http://www.gamblingplanet.org/
Kevin Schaffel 12,390,000Sources: http://www.gamblingplanet.org/
Phil Ivey 9,765,000Sources: http://www.gamblingplanet.org/
Antoine Saout 9,500,000Sources: http://www.gamblingplanet.org/
James Akenhead 6,800,000

Every player at the final table will earn at least US$1.2 million, with the winner taking home over US$8.5 million, the championship bracelet, and the title of World Champion of Poker 2009!

Sources: http://www.gamblingplanet.org/

21
Jul

WSOP no longer the only show in Vegas

No commentsPokerJuly 21st, 2009admin

As the WSOP Main Event action rages on at the Rio, the heat is also building over at the Bellagio where the WPT’s Bellagio Cup opened on Tuesday. While the Bellagio Cup boasts a bigger buy-in than the Main Event ($15,000 vs $10,000) the field is expected to be a tenth of the size. Last year the event attracted 446 players, but judging by the Day 1A turnout of only 79 players this year’s field will represent just a fraction of the Main Event’s 6494 participants.

Many World Poker Tour fans worry that waning numbers could spell the end of this event. Still, expect the Bellagio Cup to get plenty of sloppy seconds as pros already ousted from the Main Event switch sides for a second chance at major tournament money. WSOP golden boy John Brock Parker is already out of Cup competition at the end of Day 1A.

The Main Event and Bellagio Cup will run simultaneously through July 15 when the Main Event’s preliminary play wraps up until the final table tournament in November. That will leave the World Poker Tour alone in town through Sunday when the Cup winner will collect their check.

Sources: http://www.gamblingplanet.org/

21
Jul

World Series of Poker Day 7 update

No commentsPokerJuly 21st, 2009admin

Out of the nearly 6,500 players who started on this long, exciting and frustrating journey, only 64 were left at the end of Day 6. While these players represent the top one percent of all finishers in this year’s event, they each have a long way to go before they can make the final table and the November Nine.

Day 7 of the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event saw the massive field of almost sixty-five hundred players reduced to a mere twenty-seven. Amateur Darvin Moon leads at the end of Day 7, just as he did after Day 6, with over twenty million chips.

Phil Ivey continues his deep run toward his quest to win his first Main Event title. He is currently in fourth place with over eleven million in chips. Other notable names in pursuit of the gold bracelet include editor of Card Player magazine Jeff Shulman, currently in seventh place with over ten million in chips, and poker pro Antonio “the Magician” Esfandiari, in twentieth place with over four million. The only woman remaining in the field, Barcelona native Leonor Margets, is second-from-last with 1.5 million.

Last year’s third-place finisher, Dennis Phillips, was not able to duplicate his previous success in this year’s tournament. He finished in forty-fifth place after his opponent’s ace-king of spades beat his ace-king of diamonds when a fifth spade came on the river. His finish earned him just over US$178,000.

2007 WSOP Player of the Year Tom Schneider also came up short in his chase for the title. He finished in fifty-second place when his ace-seven offsuit could not improve enough to beat his opponent’s pair of nines. Schneider earned over US$138,000 for his efforts.

One more day of action will settle the question: who will be the November Nine? Will Ivey improve on his incredible performance and continue his quest for his best Main Event finish yet? Find out along with us and watch here for news and updates!

Sources: http://www.gamblingplanet.org/

21
Jul

World Series of Poker Day 6 update

No commentsPokerJuly 21st, 2009admin

Out of the nearly 6,500 players who started on this long, exciting and frustrating journey, only 64 were left at the end of Day 6. While these players represent the top one percent of all finishers in this year’s event, they each have a long way to go before they can make the final table and the November Nine.

An amateur leads the field at the end of Day 6 once again. After a thirteen-hour day, Darvin Moon has the biggest stack with over 9.7 million in chips. Warren Zackey, the Day 5 leader, took a huge hit and now sits at just over 1.4 million.

Phil Ivey continues his amazing run and now sits in third place with over 6.3 million in chips. His finish here will be his sixth this year and his third in a Main Event in his career. He has never made a Main Event final table; his best finish came in 2003 when the eventual champion, Chris Moneymaker, eliminated him in tenth place. A Main Event title this year would cement Ivey’s legacy as one of the greatest players of all time at the young age of thirty-three.

The last woman remaining in the field is Barcelona native Leonor Margets. She is in the top twenty with 3.6 million. She is also attempting to be the first woman to make a Main Event final table since Barbara Enright in 1995.

Peter Eastgate, the 2008 Main Event champion and the youngest World Champion in the history of the event, will not become the youngest to repeat as champion. He fell on Day 6 when his two pair lost to his opponent’s heart flush on the river.

The only other former champion remaining, Australian Joe Hachem, also lost out on his chance to add a second Main Event title to his collection. His flush draw and two overcards failed to improve against his opponent’s pair of fours.

Last year’s third-place finisher, Dennis Phillips, is still alive with 2.3 million in chips. Can he take home the title that eluded him last year, or will Ivey prove his dominance over the field? Keep checking with us all through the tournament for news and updates!

Sources: http://www.gamblingplanet.org/

21
Jul

World Series of Poker Day 5 update

No commentsPokerJuly 21st, 2009admin

In the course of this marathon tournament, Day 5 was the shortest day so far at only seven hours. The starting field of 404 was cut by more than half in that short time, down to the final 185.

Once again, an amateur leads the field at the end of the day. Warren Zackey stands at the top of the leader board with over 4.9 million in chips. Matt Affleck, the Day 4 leader, fell to eighth place with just over 2.8 million.

Poker pro Phil Ivey made a tremendous comeback on Day 5. At one point during the day, Ivey was down to less than 250,000 in chips. By the end of the day, he grew his stack to a respectable 1.4 million. Many eyes will be on the young superstar in his quest to win his first Main Event title to go with his seven other career WSOP bracelets.

Also, French pro Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier stays in contention with 1.5 million chips at the end of Day 5. Grospellier is attempting to become one of the few players who have won events on the World Poker Tour, the European Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker.

Film and television actor Lou Diamond Phillips is attempting to add “WSOP Champion” to his extensive list of roles. However, he’ll have to pull off the performance of his life to accomplish that feat: he only has 390,000 chips at the end of Day 5. The actor has already surpassed two more former World Champions who fell on Day 5. 1978 WSOP Main Event winner Bobby Baldwin and 1993 Main Event winner “Action” Dan Harrington fell short of adding another title to their resumes when they were eliminated.

Last year’s champion, Peter Eastgate, is still alive going into Day 6 with 927,000 in chips. Can he pull off a feat not seen in over twenty years and repeat as champion, or will an amateur take home the coveted championship bracelet and the US$8.5 million first prize? Check back with us during this exciting event for all the news and updates!

UPDATE: Lou Diamond Phillips was eliminated on the last hand of the night. He went all-in with pocket kings and two of his opponents turned over pocket aces. Phillips’ hand did not improve and he came up just short of making it to Day 6.

Sources: http://www.gamblingplanet.org/

21
Jul

World Series of Poker Day 4 update

No commentsPokerJuly 21st, 2009admin

Day 4 saw 648 players reach one of the most desired goals in a player’s career: a money finish at the World Series of Poker. Young unknown player Matt Affleck leads the field with over 1.8 million in chips. Day 3 chip leader Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier is in sixteenth place at the end of Day 4 with 1.25 million, while multiple bracelet winner Phil Ivey is just ahead of him in fifteenth place with 1.276 million.

Amateur Kia Hamadani came up one spot shy of finishing in the money when he lost his last five hundred chips to Reed Hensel. Hamadani held four-three offsuit and Hensel held nine-two offsuit, but Hensel paired his nine on the turn and caught a third nine on the river. Although Hamadani did not finish in the money this year, tournament sponsors agreed to cover his US$10,000 buy-in for next year’s event as a consolation prize.

2000 World Champion Chris “Jesus” Ferguson fell short of winning another Main Event Title on Day 4. This time, Ferguson held nine-two offsuit while his opponent held ace-six offsuit. The flop was jack-six-six, giving Ferguson’s opponent three sixes. Many players commented on how the man they call “Jesus” was knocked out by “6-6-6”, the legendary number used to represent the “Antichrist”.

Another former World Champion to see the rail on Day 4 was 1989 winner Phil “Poker Brat” Hellmuth. With a flop of jack-ten-five with two clubs, Hellmuth held pocket aces, spades and clubs, Kevin Jenkins held eight-nine of hearts and Kenny Hsiung held jack-ten offsuit. The turn was the seven of diamonds, giving Hsiung the straight and eliminating Hellmuth.

Last year’s World Champion, Peter Eastgate, is clinging to life going into Day 5 with 397,000 in chips. Can he stage a tremendous comeback and repeat as champion, or will another unknown take the US$8.5 million and the biggest title in poker? Check in with us every day to find out!

Sources: http://www.gamblingplanet.org/

21
Jul

2009 Poker Hall of Fame nominees announced

No commentsPokerJuly 21st, 2009admin

Dedicated GP readers may remember us reporting on the new Poker Hall of Fame nomination process at the end of May. For the first time in the history of the organization everyday players had an opportunity to influence the final list of nominees. Well the results are in, and they’re not surprising. The WSOP’s strict list of requirements ensured that all ten players are more than deserving of the recognition.

Some of this year’s WSOP standouts like Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu were obvious choices, while recognition for legends Erik Seidel and Men Nguyen (both of whom have been playing for more than 20 years and are top ten on WSOP’s list of all-time players) seems past due. Mike Sexton is no doubt a good player but has done far more for the game as a promoter, and Scotty Nguyen tops the list at $4,727,717 when it comes to lifetime earnings. Fans of online darling Tom Dwan ensured that the new breed of internet pros was represented too, though Dwan may not qualify for the honor with very limited live tournament play to date.

The full list of finalists is as follows:

• Mike SextonSources: http://www.gamblingplanet.org/
• Erik SeidelSources: http://www.gamblingplanet.org/
• Daniel NegreanuSources: http://www.gamblingplanet.org/
• Scotty NguyenSources: http://www.gamblingplanet.org/
• Men NguyenSources: http://www.gamblingplanet.org/
• Tom McEvoySources: http://www.gamblingplanet.org/
• Phil IveySources: http://www.gamblingplanet.org/
• Dan HarringtonSources: http://www.gamblingplanet.org/
• Barry GreensteinSources: http://www.gamblingplanet.org/
• Tom Dwan

In all, 41 different players received nominations this year including some players that have already earned their entry into the Poker Hall of Fame. This list of ten nominees will now be passed on to the Poker Hall of Fame Governing Council who will narrow the field to a handful of finalists. The end decision will be made by a panel consisting of current members of the Hall of Fame and a second, pre-selected panel of influential media figures. The 2009 inductee(s) will then be announced at the Main Event final table in November.

Sources: http://www.gamblingplanet.org/

21
Jul

Ryanair introduces a flying casino

No commentsPokerJuly 21st, 2009admin

If you’re still impressed by the concept of an online casino, then hold onto your seat because Ryanair is taking gambling to a whole new level…literally! Up until last month the small British airline was best known for its cheap fares on short flights around Europe. In an effort to grab a greater market share, the company has been shaking things up by doing away with pre-flight check-ins and related luggage checks and by offering unlimited carry-ons. These changes alone made Ryanair notable for being one of the first flight chains to reduce security measures since the 911 debacle.

Is Ryanair Revolutionary?

Ryanair’s changing a whole lot more than their check-in system though. Forget the corny, over-priced in-flight movies; Ryanair’s got something a lot more entertaining planned for their patrons…Online gambling! Now even cross-country travel won’t keep poker players from competing in the big tournaments. In the past, the only way you could gamble while in-air was to bring scratch and win tickets on your flight. While Ryanair has been mostly mum on the details of this new promotion, their CEO Michael O’Leary is optimistic about bringing online gambling aboard within the next five years.

If you’re gambling news savvy then you know that the airline has made these claims before, in 2005 to be exact, but this is the first time O’Leary has hinted at an actual launch date. What obstacles does the flying casino face? Both logical and legal ones. As the first people to attempt gambling in-air, Ryanair has the impressive task of buying or creating gambling software capable of supporting an establishment with ever-changing coordinates. Some sources are already saying that Jackpotjoy has signed an exclusive contract to provide in-flight gambling via their existing site and software.

The flying casino concept also poses problems on a legal level with gambling laws varying significantly throughout Europe. A spokesperson for the U.K. Gambling Association has already reminded the public that gambling on an aircraft is illegal. O’Leary was quick to state that they don’t anticipate any licensing obstacles which may hint at routes based in international (and thus unregulated) airspace.

Ryanair’s Shady Reputation

Ryanair is no stranger to controversial press; in fact, they seem to relish it. In the past the airline has earned ample criticism for its (now defunct) plans to charge overweight passengers extra. Family groups also took offense at the company’s sexually charged marketing plan which included a racy calendar featuring scantily clad flight attendants and commercials featuring a naughty schoolgirl spokesmodel. Apart from the intentionally provocative promotions and ongoing but yet unrealized in-flight gambling promises, Ryanair has gotten flak for nickel-and-diming patrons by charging them for normally free services like using the restroom.

For Real or For Show?

With all the advancements that have been made in gambling technology (not least of which is the amazing reliability and accessibility of online gambling establishments), in-flight gambling doesn’t seem that far-fetched. With mobile gambling already available on a large-scale level, flying casinos could be next.

That said, is Ryanair really the face of the gambling future? Considering their total lack of experience in the gambling world and their rather poor reputation within their own industry, we have to say no. Like most other airlines Ryanair has felt the impact of the poor world economy. A large percentage of their already modest fleet is currently grounded, and over 100 staff members have been laid off (guess the calendar sales weren’t as good as they’d hoped). Taking these stats into account it seems likely that O’Leary’s recent claims are just a bid for some free publicity, but even by his estimates we won’t know for sure until 2014.

Sources: http://www.gamblingplanet.org/

21
Jul

World Series of Poker Day 3 update

No commentsPokerJuly 21st, 2009admin

After Day 3 of the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event, French online pro Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier leads the field of seven hundred eighty-nine players with almost 1.4 million chips. Grospellier is the 2008 World Poker Tour Player of the Year and won the European Poker Tour PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.

Among those who remain who are looking to add a second world title to their resume include 1989 champion Phil “Poker Brat” Hellmuth (485,000), 2000 champion Chris “Jesus” Ferguson (232,500), 2005 champion Joe Hachem (239,500) and last year’s champion Peter Eastgate (292,500).

Poker pro Phil Ivey is still in the hunt to take down his first Main Event title with 371,000 chips at the end of Day 3. Such an accomplishment would give Ivey his third bracelet this year, his eighth in his short but illustrious career and his first title in a no-limit hold’em event.

Player of the Year front-runner Jeffrey Lisandro was knocked out on Day 3. His quest to become the first man to win four bracelets in one year will not happen this year.

Day 4 will be the “bubble” day, where 648 out of the 789 will make the money, and 141 will only have a story to tell for their US$10,000. Who will take down the US$8.5 million first prize in November? Keep checking back with us for daily news on the most sought-after title in tournament poker!

Sources: http://www.gamblingplanet.org/

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