Fourth and final “first day” wraps up at WSOP main event

The fourth and final Day 1 of the World Series of Poker main event concluded on Sunday, with 2,461 people entering, the largest field of the four days.
In all, 1,386 players made it out of Day 1d with chips still in hand.
With the first   …full article

PokerStars adds Brazilian bracelet winner to roster

Already the force behind the Latin American Poker Tour, PokerStars looked to increase its presence in South America by signing recent World Series of Poker bracelet winner Alexandre Gomes of Brazil to Team PokerStars Pro.
Gomes, a 25-year-old lawyer, won Event No. 48, the $2,000 No-Limit   …full article

More than 1,900 turn out for Day 1c of the WSOP

The World Series of Poker is into its third “first day” of this year’s main event, with the biggest day so far.
Three former main event champions were among the 1,928 players to take to the felt on Saturday for Day 1c, making it the biggest   …full article

Poker After Dark returns this month

NBC’s “Poker After Dark” series returns for a fourth season starting on Monday, July 14.
The first episode will feature online phenom Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Phil Hellmuth, Allen Cunningham, Cirque de Soleil CEO Guy Laliberte, and cash game veterans David “Viffer” Peat and Mike Baxter, according   …full article

Big names fall on Day 1b of WSOP main event

Some big names fell on the second “first day” of the World Series of Poker, Day 1b, as Greg Raymer, Daniel Negreanu, Lee Watkinson, Ted Forrest and Kenny Tran were among those eliminated.
At the start of the day, 1,157 players were entered, but only 621   …full article

WSOP main event kicks off with 1,297 players on first “Day 1″

Thursday marked the first day of the World Series of Poker, as Day 1a began with 1,297 players. But by the end, just 636 remained.
Mark Garner, who finished 25th in the main event in 2006, leads all players with just under 200,000 chips.
According   …full article

UltimateBet adds POKERPRO33 to roster

UltimateBet has announced that James “POKERPRO33″ Campbell will be joining its “Star Players” team.
The news comes a few days after Eric “Rizen” Lynch announced he would be leaving the site.
According to pokerpages.com:
In 2007, Campbell earned approximately $500,000 playing professional poker, including $200,000 in an online   …full article

Final two events before main event wrap up at WSOP

The World Series of Poker has nearly reached the main event as two more events came to a close on Wednesday.
In Event No. 52, the last $1,500 NLHE tournament, David Daneshgar won his first bracelet and the top prize of $625,443 — his eight cash   …full article

Schedule announced for 2008 WSOP Europe

The schedule for the World Series of Poker Europe has been announced, with the first event getting under way on Sept. 19 in London.
This is the second year for the event, which will feature four bracelet events and five non-bracelet events.
According to Betfair.com, the title   …full article

Former Irish Open winner takes down WSOP event; Hellmuth third in HORSE

The 2007 winner of the Irish Open, Marty Smyth, won Event No. 50 at the World Series of Poker on Tuesday, taking down the $10,000 World Championship of Pot-Limit Omaha.
Smyth pocketed the first prize of $859,549 in the event, which had a prize pool of   …full article

Eric “Rizen” Lynch leaves UltimateBet shortly after signing

Eric “Rizen” Lynch wrote on his blog that he will no longer be an official pro with UltimateBet.
Lynch joined the site shortly after UB admitted to a superuser scandal on the site that had been uncovered.
First, Lynch wrote that he would be leaving UB, but   …full article

Pro J.C. Tran breaks through with first WSOP bracelet

Several pros who have been considered to be among the best without a World Series of Poker bracelet have left that club by winning a bracelet this year. The latest to do so was J.C. Tran, who won Event No. 49, a $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em   …full article

Scotty Nguyen takes down $50K HORSE at WSOP

Scotty Nguyen outlasted a star-studded and talented field to win Event No. 45, the $50,000 World Championship of H.O.R.S.E. at the World Series of Poker on Sunday.
With the win, Nguyen won his fifth career WSOP bracelet, the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy and the top prize   …full article

Two WSOP events award bracelets; $50K HORSE to final table

Two bracelets were given out on Saturday at the World Series of Poker, while the star-studded HORSE event reached its final table.
Joe Commisso, playing in his first WSOP this year, won Event No. 46, $5,000 No Limit Hold’em Six Handed. He took the first prize   …full article

Phil Ivey to host charity tourney

Poker pro Phil Ivey is hosting a charity poker tournament in Las Vegas on Thursday.
The Budding Ivey Game Night Celebration will be hosting the event, which requests a donation of $1,000 to enter and features $500 rebuys, at the Golden Nugget. The public is welcome   …full article

Recent college grad wins WSOP event

Recent University of Toronto graduate Max Greenwood took down the only final table at the World Series of Poker on Friday, Event No. 44, $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em w/Re-Buys.
Rene Mouritsen took second in a WSOP event for the third time in his career as Greenwood won   …full article

PokerStars adds two European pros

PokerStars has signed a pair of European pros to its roster, the online poker site has announced.
Sweden’s William Thorson, who finished 13th in the World Series of Poker main event in 2006, is one of the two players added.
According to the PokerStars blog:
He won $907,128   …full article

21-year-old German wins at WSOP

Twenty-one-year-old German Martin Klaser outlasted a final table that included veteran pro Erik Seidel to take down Event No. 43, $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better at the World Series of Poker.
Seidel had won eight bracelets in his career, but instead it was the   …full article

Senior outlasts field of more than 2,000 players at WSOP

Dan Lacourse navigated his way though a field of 2,217 players to take down Event No. 42, the $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold’em World Championship at the World Series of Poker on Wednesday.
Lacourse eliminated each of the final four players in about an hour to win   …full article

Phan gets second WSOP bracelet of 2008

John ‘the Razor’ Phan became the first person to win two World Series of Poker events this year.
He won Event No. 40: $2,000 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball, for the first prize of $151,896.
Phan outlasted a talented final table that included pro and author David Sklansky   …full article

Poker musical to debut at WSOP

All In: The Poker Musical will debut only July 4th and 5th at the Masquerade Theatre in the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino.
A special preview for the musical, created by Tim Molyneux and supported by pro Phil Hellmuth and the World Series of Poker, will   …full article

Belgian takes down a WSOP event

In a slow day for final tables at the World Series of Poker, Belgium’s David Kitai won Event No. 38, $2,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em $2,000 and the first prize of $244,546.
Lee Watkinson and Robert Cheung were both at the final table seeking their second WSOP   …full article

Best player without a bracelet? No longer — Benyamine takes WSOP event

David Benyamine is already one of the top cash-game players in the world and has two World Poker Tour titles on his resume. Now he can add World Series of Poker bracelet winner to his list of accomplishments.
Benyamine won Event No. 37, the $10,000 World   …full article

Flack gets sixth bracelet at WSOP

The year of the pro rolls on at the World Series of Poker.
Layne Flack won his sixth World Series of Poker bracelet on Friday, taking down Event No. 34, $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha w/rebuys for the first prize of $577,725. He outlasted Ted Forrest, who   …full article

Many celebrities to play in Ante Up For Africa poker tourney

The second annual Ante Up For Africa tournament is scheduled for July 2 at the World Series of Poker on July 2, and a number of celebrities, both from inside and outside the poker world, are scheduled to take part.
The fundraiser, hosted by actor Don   …full article

Ferguson just misses sixth WSOP bracelet

Chris Ferguson got to heads-up play in his pursuit of a sixth World Series of Poker bracelet on Thursday, but fell just short.
In Event No. 33, the $10,000 World Championship of Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8, Sebastian Ruthenberg outlasted “Jesus” to win his first bracelet   …full article

WSOP wraps up 30th event, two bracelets awarded

Two more events came to an end as the World Series of Poker saw the close of its 30th event of 2008.
In Event No. 29, a $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em event. A marathon six-hour heads-up session between John “Razor” Phan and Johnny Neckar ended with Phan   …full article

Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond wins first bracelet

Another top pro took down a bracelet at the World Series of Poker, as Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond won Event No. 28, the $ 5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha with Re-Buys.
Already an accomplished online player, it was the first bracelet for Galfond, who won the first prize   …full article

Pair of pros take home bracelets on Day 17 of WSOP

In a year that might be remembered for pros taking back the World Series of Poker, two more pros earned bracelets on Sunday — Kenny Tran and Barry Greenstein.
Tran won his first bracelet by taking down Event No. 25, the $10,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold’em   …full article

Pescatori claims second WSOP bracelet; another Hinkle wins, too

Italian pro Max Pescatori won his second career World Series of Poker bracelet on Saturday, taking down Event No. 24, the $2,500 Pot-Limit Holdem/Omaha event.
Pescatori topped a final table that included five-time bracelet winner Allen Cunningham, who finished in fourth place. The “Italian Pirate”   …full article

Two bracelets handed out on Day 16 of WSOP

Two first-time bracelet winners prevailed at the final tables of Day 16 of the World Series of Poker.
After finishing 13th in the $1,500 Pot-Limit Hold’em event, Scott Seiver won event No. 21, the $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em event. He came into the final table with a   …full article

2008 WSOP winner gives all his winnings to charity

Eric Brooks announced after winning Event 14, the $10,000 World Championship of Seven-Card Stud, that his entire first-place check of $415,856 would be going to charity.
He gave the money to The Decision Education Foundation, a charity based in Palo Alto, California that instructs kids from   …full article

Negreanu wins fourth bracelet at WSOP

Another pro added to his bracelet collection on the 13th day of the World Series of Poker, as Daniel Negreanu won Event No. 20, the $2,000 Limit Hold’em event.
Negreanu entered the final table with the chip lead and held on for the victory, the $204,874   …full article

Ivey has $2 million on Lakers?

Phil Ivey may have $2 million wagered on the outcome of the NBA finals, taking the Los Angeles Lakers to beat the Boston Celtics.
The Lakers currently trail the series 3-1.
According to the blog Tao of Poker, which has been following Ivey’s on- and off-the-felt activities   …full article

Antonius challenges top online players

Patrik Antonius is already one of the best online poker players around. Now he wants to challenge himself by playing some of the other best online players in the world.
Antonius, in his latest blog posting named names when citing players he wanted to play:
I would   …full article

Matusow wins third bracelet at WSOP

Day 13 at the World Series of Poker only had one final table, but it was a big one.
Mike “The Mouth” Matusow won Event 18, $5,000 No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball w/Re-Buys, defeating ‘The Iceman’, Jeffrey Lisandro in heads-up play for his third WSOP bracelet and   …full article

Day 12 at WSOP: ‘Glum Girl’ gets bracelet

Three bracelets were handed out on Day 12 of the World Series of Poker, highlighted by Svetlana “Glum Girl” Gromenkova winning Event No. 15, the $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold’em event.
Gromenkova won the first prize of $224,702.
Also on Tuesday:
– Ted Forrest missed an opportunity to win   …full article

Four bracelets given out on Day 11 of WSOP

Four bracelets were handed out as the World Series of Poker hit Day 11, with 14 events now in the books. Here’s a look at the final tables that completed:
– Pennsylvania native Eric Brooks won Event No. 14, the $10,000 World Championship Seven Card Stud   …full article

Antonius among those working on new training site

Pokernews.com is apparently working on a new site for poker training, with pro Patrik Antonius one signed on as one of its instructors.
According to poker-king.com:
Lex “Raszi” Veldhuis, one of the players involved in the project, said that a number of well-known players will be involved   …full article

Lindgren tops Bonomo for first bracelet at WSOP; Singer takes pot-limit title

Erik Lindgren survived a table full of seasoned professionals to win his first World Series of Poker bracelet, outlasting Bodog pro Justin Bonomo for the title in event No. 4, $5,000 mixed hold’em.
The final table also included such stars as Howard Lederer, David Williams Roland   …full article

Antonius to FTP; Liebert signs with PS

Two well-known players were signed by big online poker rooms on Day 3 of the World Series of Poker — Patrick Antonius was picked up by Full Tilt Poker, while Kathy Liebert signed with PokerStars.
Both players reached the final table of the WSOP’s first event,   …full article

Nenad Medic wins WSOP Event No. 1 against star-studded final table

Nenad Medic became the first bracelet winner of this year’s World Series of Poker by besting a final table full of well-known players in event No. 1, $10,000 Pot Limit Hold’em World Championship.
The final table included Andy Bloch, Kathy Liebert, Mike Sexton, Phil Laak, Patrik   …full article

Men to take on machine at WSOP demonstration

Two online pros will attempt to beat a poker-playing computer program developed by University of Alberta researchers at the World Series of Poker on July 4-6, during the Gaming Life Expo at the Rio in Las Vegas.
One of the two players taking on the program   …full article

“JohnnyBax” signs with UltimateBet

Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy signed with the poker site UltimateBet.com as one of their “UltimateBet Pros.”
JohnnyBax has been a force in online poker since 2004. He has over $1 million in both online tournament and live tournament cashes cashes, according to poker-king.com:
Everyone these days seems to   …full article

Negreanu to provide poker instruction e-mail to PPA members

The Poker Players Alliance has announced that poker pro Daniel Negreanu will be providing a weekly e-mail with poker instruction tips to PPA members that opt in to the service.
New members can register at www.pokerplayersalliance.org to sign up for the e-mail.
According to pokerpages.com:
“Poker is a   …full article

Shannon Elizabeth joins doylesroom.com

DoylesRoom.com announced over the weekend that Shannon Elizabeth would be joining its roster to help promote the online poker site.
Elizabeth plays poker but is best known as an actress and a celebrity, most recently gaining attention as a contestant on “Dancing with the Stars.”
According to   …full article

Benyamine crushes FTP in May, up almost $2M

Pro David Benyamine is one of the biggest cash game heaters in recent memory, or perhaps ever, in online poker.
The pot-limit Omaha specialist is up more than $1.8 million on Full Tilt Poker in May alone, according to poker-king.com:
He apparently had a particularly juicy session   …full article

Betfair adds John Tabatabai to pro roster

Betfair announced that poker pro John Tabatabai has joined the online poker and gambling site.
The site already has Sorel Mizzi and Annette Obrestad on its roster, and it now adds a 23-year-old rising poker star.
According to pokerpages.com:
He first hit the headlines when taking Betfair   …full article

Negreanu launches new poker training site today

Pro poker player Daniel Negreanu is launching his online poker training site, Poker VT, today.
The site includes full courses in hold ‘em games, quizzes, hand analysis and playing tips, according to wickedchopspoker.com:

Star-studded field expected for WSOP ladies’ event

A group of women called the Queens of Heart will again play in the World Series of Poker’s $1,000 buyin Ladies World Championship, and the group is sending some big stars for this year’s event.
In its third year in the WSOP, the Queens of Heart   …full article

Hellmuth’s mug to appear on Milwaukee’s Best Light cans

If you want to crush Phil Hellmuth’s face, Milwaukee’s Best Light cans will give you the opportunity.
The beer manufacturer is a World Series of Poker sponsor, and it is producing 12 million cans with Hellmuth’s photo on them to commemorate his attempt to win a   …full article

Ante Up for Africa event raises $500K

Pro poker player Annie Duke and actor Don Cheadle helped to raise more than half a million dollars for charity thanks to their Ante Up for Africa event at the San Manuel Casino in Los Angeles.
The casino itself added money to the funds raised by   …full article

Washington state court upholds ban on online poker

Poker Players Alliance Washington state director and attorney Lee Rousso attempted to challenge the law making playing online poker a felony in the state on Thursday, but the law was upheld by the judge hearing the case.
The ban there has been in effect since 2006   …full article

‘Poker After Dark’ hosting ‘couples night’

The NBC show “Poker After Dark” will be airing episodes this week featuring three of poker’s most famous couples.
The week’s theme is called “Love at First Raise,” featuring Jennifer Harman and Marco Traniello, David Benyamine and Erica Schoenberg, and Phil Laak and Jennifer Tilly all   …full article

Former WSOP winner Jamie Gold to host Playboy celebrity tourney

Jamie Gold, the winner of the 2006 World Series of Poker’s main event, will host the Celebrity Poker Tournament and Casino Night at the Playboy Mansion on Saturday.
He’ll be co-hosting with Khloe Kardashian from E!’s “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.” The event is a fundraiser   …full article

Full Tilt to offer $25K buy-in heads-up tournament

Full Tilt Poker will be putting on the Full Tilt $25K Heads-Up World Championship on May 24-25 in what will be the most expensive tournament buy-in in the history of online poker.
The event takes place a week after the end of FTOPS VIII.

‘Real World’ cast members to play tourney at Doyle’s Room

Doyle’s Room will be hosting a special tournament on Wednesday that will feature members of recent casts of “The Real World,” the MTV reality show:
Recent “Real World” stars Dave Sky and Will Gill (Season 20) and Parisa Montazaran (Season 19, “Real World: Sydney”), will appear   …full article

Barry Greenstein to join PPA rally in Washington state

Poker pro Barry Greenstein will be joining a Poker Players Alliance rally in Washington state on May 15 to protest the law that makes playing online poker a felony in the state.
PPA state director Lee Rousso is challenging the law, signed into law in 2006,   …full article

Daniel Negreanu to face Brain Hastings in online match?

Daniel Negreanu wrote in his latest blog posting that he is considering playing Brian “$tinger 88″ Hastings in an online match worth $200,000.
According to his blog:
This guy Stinger, a guy I’ve played no limit hold’em with in the past said that he might be willing   …full article

Bodog signs Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo

Bodog Poker announced the signing of pro Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo today.
Bonomo is a well-known and profitable online player, but he’s perhaps best known for being caught using multiple accounts to enter the same online multi-table tournaments.
He’ll represent Bodog at poker tournaments, according to a story   …full article

Allen Cunningham wins WSOP circuit

Allen Cunningham will head into this year’s World Series of Poker seeking a sixth bracelet, and he’ll be on a bit of a roll.
Cunningham won the main event of the WSOP Circuit held at Caesars Palace. He entered the final table with an average chip   …full article

Annie Duke to run marathon in support of charity

Poker professional Annie Duke has said she plans to run in San Diego’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon on June 1 in support of her charity, Ante Up For Africa.
Ante Up for Africa will hold its second charity tournament at this year’s World Series of Poker   …full article

Jamie Gold videographer to release “negative” footage

Rae Valentine, the videographer who captured Jamie Gold’s life on film before, during and after his World Series of Poker main event victory in 2006, has said he is auctioning of all of his footage of the controversial bracelet winner.
According to wickedchopspoker.com, Valentine will sell   …full article

David Chiu stuns Gus Hansen to win WPT Championship

Gus Hansen looked like he had his fourth World Poker Tour title wrapped up at the WPT Championship. But David Chiu made an amazing comeback in heads-up play to win the event and the $3.4 million top prize.

Poker tourney to raise awarenss of Darfur crisis

San Manuel Casino in California is slated to host a celebrity poker tournament on May 8 to benefit and raise awareness of Ante Up for Africa, which is headed up by actor Don Cheadle and poker pro Annie Duke.
Ante Up for Africa hopes to shed   …full article

Annie Duke returns to UltimateBet

UltimateBet announced Annie Duke is returning as a consultant to oversee its tournament schedule.
Duke had originally helped design UB’s software.
According to cardplayer.com:

“Annie Duke has a proven track record of not only playing the game, but also knowing exactly what online poker players want to   …full article

Lee Jones to join CardRunners

Former PokerStars manager Lee Jones is joining CardRunners.com as the poker training site’s CEO.
Jones had been the “executive host” for the European Poker Tour before taking the new gig. The move now aligns him with Full Tilt Poker, since CardRunners recently inked a deal with   …full article

Brunson and Antonius to play golf for $100K per hole?

Doyle Brunson and top online pro Patrik Antonius may be playing something other than poker for high stakes this summer.
Already slated to play a high-stakes heads-up poker match this summer with more than $1 million on the line, Brunson recently posted on his blog to   …full article

WPT settles lawsuit with several top pros

The World Poker Tour announced today that they were settling a lawsuit with five of the top poker professionals in the world.
The suit — which was brought by pros Chris Ferguson, Andrew Bloch, Annie Duke, Phil Gordon and Howard Lederer — focused on the player   …full article

PokerStars launches PokerStars.tv

PokerStars has announced that it is launching a new Web site, pokerstars.tv, that will host poker-themed videos and webcasts.
Right now the site is still in the beta stage and has a lot of PokerStars material on it. But it is likely poised to go beyond   …full article

Brandi Hawbaker dead at 26

In news that spread quickly over the internet poker forums, Brandi Hawbaker, famous mostly for her role in the drama on those same internet poker forums and in the live poker world, committed suicide on Sunday, according to varying reports.
According to bluffmagazine.com:
Word of the 26-year   …full article

Hachem nearly gets in fight at EPT Grand Final

Former World Series of Poker main event champion Joe Hachem is nicknamed “Salty” for a reason, apparently.
With 82 players left in the European Poker Tour’s Grand Final, Hachem nearly got into fisticuffs with a player named Woody Deck. At the time, players were two away   …full article

Barry Greenstein wins “Stars of Poker” event at EPT

While players were battling out in the European Poker Tour’s Grand Final, PokerStars hosted an invitation-only table with poker pros playing for a first-prize of $100,000.
Barry Greenstein won the event, outlasting a talented field, according to pokerstarsblog.com:
The line-up was among the toughest you’ll see. Daniel   …full article

Creepy Negreanu blog post: “I literally want to eat people’s brains”

The newest entry on Daniel Negreanu’s blog is entitled “Eating Brain.” And it doesn’t get less creepy after that.
The posting talks about his preparation for the European Poker Tour Grand Final, which is currently taking place. But it quickly takes a turn into the strange   …full article

2+2/neverwin drama, ratcheted up a notch

The ongoing feud between twoplustwo.com and and neverwinpoker.com is pretty entertaining if you’re into online poker.
2+2’s Mason Malmuth has now gone on record as saying neverwin is a “ticking time bomb” and “damaging to the poker industry,” according to neverwin. Previously, Malmuth has banned 2+2   …full article

PokerStars adds Gavin Griffin, Chad Brown

PokerStars has signed two new pros to its roster: Gavin Griffin and Chad Brown.
The signings bring PS’s list of pros to 25 players, which includes Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein and three World Series of Poker main event winenrs in Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer and   …full article

One UltimateBet player to go heads up with Phil Hellmuth

One lucky UltimateBet player will get the opportunity to play pro Phil Hellmuth in a heads-up match for $30,000 on Sunday.
UB is holding the Heads-Up SmackDown Bracket of Champions, which is down to its final four players after nine months of competition. The heads-up series   …full article

Erik Seidel wins WPT’s Foxwoods Poker Classic

Erik Seidel started the final table of the Foxwoods Poker Classic with the most chips, and he ended the World Poker Tour event with all of them.
The final table — consisting of 6 players — lasted 12 hours and 229 hands, and the eight-time World   …full article

Jennifer Harman continues charity poker event for Nevada pets

With a first place prize of a seat at the Main Event in the 2008 World Series of Poker, over 100 professional poker players including Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Jennifer “Jennicide” Leigh, Joe Hachem, and, of course, Jennifer Harman herself, the Second Annual Jennifer Harman   …full article

Jennifer Harman to host charity tournament on FTP

Poker pro Jennifer Harman is hosting a $10 buy-in no-limit hold’em tournament on Full Tilt Poker this week to benefit the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Half of the proceeds from the event, to be held this Sunday, March 16 at 9   …full article

Jonathan ‘Fiery Justice’ Little fired by Full Tilt Poker

Full Tilt Poker made the somewhat surprising announcement today that they were firing one of their sponsored pros. The player in question: Jonathan ‘Fiery Justice’ Little, who was signed by the site only a few months ago.
According to a statement released by Full Tilt,   …full article

Layla Kayleigh grabs the top spot in AskMen’s top 10 poker hotties list

Any list of attractive women in poker that doesn’t include Shana Hiatt but puts Jennifer Tilly in the #2 slot clearly has some methodological issues, but AskMen’s recently published list of the top 10 ‘Poker Hotties’ salvaged at least some credibility by awarding WPT hostess   …full article

Eric ‘Rizen’ Lynch home from hospital, recovering

Popular professional poker player Eric ‘Rizen’ Lynch is back home after successful surgery to remove his gall bladder.
According to a post on his blog, Lynch, who is known by many as an instructor over at PokerXFactor, started experiencing pain late last week and eventually made   …full article

Bryce Paradis featured on new 2+2 pokercast

This week’s 2+2 pokercast (sponsored by PokerStars) features an interview with Bryce Paradis. Many online poker players will know Bryce as one of the most successful high stakes online limit players who made some waves a few months ago by announcing that he was   …full article

The New Yorker: James McManus on Barack Obama the poker player

Poker author James McManus has an article in the upcoming edition of The New Yorker that focuses on the poker-playing side of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. McManus, best known to many players as the author of the excellent Positively Fifth Street, does a   …full article

Daniel Negreanu: JJProdigy “may grow up someday”

Daniel Negreanu concluded a recent blog post about cheater JJ Prodigy by saying, “It is a real shame that the poker world hasn’t advanced enough so that we can keep a kid like that from playing in live events. It’s a shame that we can’t   …full article

Inside the Poker Mind: Amanda Leatherman interviews Jennifer Harman

Jennifer Harman, the only woman to have won bracelets in two World Series of Poker open events, opened up to Amanda Leatherman of Inside the Poker Mind.
The two-part video interview covers everything from Harman’s rocky childhood to her first-ever tournament to her close friendship with   …full article

Women in Poker Hall of Fame inauguration next month

There’s a Women in Poker Hall of Fame now, and its first members will be inducted next month at an awards ceremony.
“There are many amazing women who have blazed the trail for women to enter this predominately male venue. We want to honor them for   …full article

Last year for Tao of Poker? Pauly talks about calling it quits

Popular poker blogger Paul ‘Dr. Pauly’ McGuire, best known to most online poker players for his writing over at Tao of Poker, published a lengthy post today that raised the possibility of 2008 being the end of the line for McGuire’s involvement in poker, at   …full article

Star Tribune profiles online poker pro Jared ‘jhub3000′ Hubbard

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune published a profile on well-know online poker pro Josh Hubbard today. Hubbard, who is better known to many as jhub3000, is one of the elite Sit and Go players online, and is one of the few PokerStars players to achieve SuperNova   …full article

Card Player online player of the year: Isaac “westmenloAA” Baron

Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi came in third place in the Card Player Online Player of the Year ranking, with Isaac “westmenloAA” Baron continuing the streak he started last January with a $255,000 win from Poker Stars Sunday Millions. Matt “ch0ppy” Kay took a close second place.
Baron   …full article

European Poker Award for most notable tournament performance goes to Annette Obrestad

The ACF European Poker Awards winners have been chosen and declared, with Annette “Annette_15″ Obrestad, the much talked-about teenaged Norwegian winner of the World Series of Poker Europe winning for Most Notable Tournament Performance of the Year.
The now-19-year-old said, “I am so happy to win   …full article

ESPN Poker: “Meet the Brunsons”

ESPN Poker ran a story Friday about the Doyle Brunson family. Called Meet the Brunsons, it’s an interview format between Bluff Magazine and the three poker-playing Brunsons: household name and patriarch Doyle, and his two children, Todd and Pamela.
Bluff:: But you didn’t want Todd to   …full article

New York Times article on Chip Reese

The New York Times is running a story today on the passing of the late, great Chip Reese. Excerpt:
Like many gamblers, Reese bet on everything conceivable. When he and [Doyle] Brunson decided to lose weight, they bet $50,000 on who could diet best. Reese   …full article

“Pothole Repair” CA poker initiative won’t reach ballot

The previously reported attempts by Anthony “Tuff Fish” Sandstrom to introduce legal, regulated online gaming in his home state of California appear to have flopped.
Circulation of the petition was approved by the California Secretary of State in July, but the 430,000 signatures needed to put   …full article

Drew Carey argues against poker raids on reason.TV

Comedian and poker player Drew Carey’s latest video for reason.TV addresses the recent Dallas poker raids. “You know,” he says, from his vantage point at a poker table, “poker is about as American as apple pie.”
“Maybe Dallas wouldn’t be ranked as the 34th most dangerous   …full article

Poker legend Chip Reese dies at 56

Various online poker sources are confirming early morning reports that Chip Reese, a legendary poker player considered by many of his peers to be the best all-around player alive, passed away in his sleep this morning. Reese was 56.
Early reports have not pinpointed a   …full article

Tony G wins Moscow Millions, donates prize money to orphanages

Russia’s biggest poker tournament ever, the Moscow Millions, has ended, and winner Tony Guoga of Melbourne has won $205,000, two titles, and a gold bracelet. He’s keeping the bracelet, and “Russia’s National Poker Champion” and “RSPF’s Grand Champion of Russia,” but has already donated his   …full article

Team PokerStars snags tennis star

The Pokerstars.com blog is bragging this week about adding tennis great Boris Becker to its team. The six-time Grand Slam winner has been playing poker since his days on the clay, saying it helped him relax and focus in between sets.
“Though it would take   …full article

Shawn “Shahram” Sheikhan deportation halted

Las Vegas Immigration Court Judge Harry L. Gastley ruled Thursday that there is insufficient reason to deport professional poker player Shawn “Shahram” Sheikhan for 12-year-old misdemeanor charges relating to sexual battery and annoyance or molestation of a child.
The Nevada immigration judge said that the   …full article

Calvin Ayre takes aim at Forbes

While it wasn’t a ‘patent-trolls’ level rant, Bodog founder Calvin Ayre fired off a couple of choice shots at Forbes Magazine, and reporter Matt Miller in particular, in a blog post today on calvinayrelife.com.
The post is apparently a response, of sorts, to Ayre’s omission from   …full article

Oldest WSOP bracelet winner charged with illegal gambling in Tennessee

Paul “Cigar” McKinney, who became the oldest World Series of Poker bracelet winner two years ago at age 80 when he won the WSOP Senior Division No Limit Hold’em, was arrested and released on bond Friday in Tennessee.
The octogenarian player from West Virginia, who has   …full article

CardPlayer interviews Steve “stevesbets” Jacobs

CardPlayer online recently published an interview with well-known high stakes online poker player Steve “stevesbets” Jacobs. The interview sees the heads-up specialist comment on the luck involved in heads-up poker, the state of high-stakes play online and more.
Some excerpts from the interview are below.
Regarding   …full article

Reuben Peters takes EPT Dublin final table; Annette Obrestad “not happy”

Annette Obrestad held strong to the end, but eventually came in second to Reuben Peters, a stock trader from Colorado, at the PokerStars.com EPT Final Table in Dublin. After picking off most of the competition for Peters, Obrestad hesitated, called, and ended up with a   …full article

2006 WSOP finisher forfeits his millions in plea agreement

2006 6th place World Series of Poker winner Richard Lee, of San Antonio, Texas, has been in legal limbo since shortly after his high-profile win when his house was raided in an investigation of illegal bookmaking. He was charged earlier this month, and has now   …full article

“McBill” wins latest Absolute Dream Package event

The latest winner in Absolute Poker’s Absolute Dream Package is Montana resident “McBill,” who joins CutiePi314, Gentleman8, TheBombBaby and BackupBoone with his win of $100,000.
The winner of the 6th annual Absolute Dream Package final event receives:
# Entries into major televised Texas Hold’em poker tournaments including   …full article

2006 WSOP finisher charged with bookmaking in San Antonio

The San Antonio Express-News reports the latest on last year’s story of a World Series of Poker winner being investigated on charges of illegal bookmaking.
Besides Lee, Reed’s office charged Lee’s son-in-law, Lawrence “Larry” Joseph Davenport, 30; Matthew Colburn Winslow, 57; Marco De Carlo Hernandez,   …full article

Team PokerStars adds 4 players

PokerStars announced today the addition of four new players to Team PokerStars. Although all four drew attention in Las Vegas just this summer at the World Series of Poker — winning a collective $8.9 million — they come from four different countries, highlighting the truly   …full article

Annette_15 wins World Series of Poker Europe

At one day shy of 19 years old, Annette Obrestad is by far the youngest player (and, to be fair, first) ever to win the main event at WSOPE. She is one million pounds, one sparkly bracelet and one solid tournament win ahead today.
If you   …full article

Annette_15 now 19, playing live for BetFair

Annette Obrestad, the teen player who claims to have climbed to the top of the online gambling world without ever having put a deposit into her account, has signed on with Betfair. Obrestad is focusing more and more on her live game, and is currently   …full article

Negreanu and I-play launch industry first instructional mobile video series

A ground-breaking mobile video series was recently launched by poker expert Daniel Negreanu and I-play. The product is aimed at teaching enthusiastic poker players and fans to win a la poker expert Negreanu. The ‘Win at Texas Hold ’Em’ instructional series can currently be used   …full article

Hellmuth, Brunson and others playing for 9 million dollars in golf tournament

Phill Hellmuth wrote this week in his blog about preparations he’s making for the 9 million dollar golf match that he and several other poker pros are taking place in today at the Rio Secco. The tournament, which will be filmed by ESPN and   …full article

The downswing continues for Brian ’sbrugby’ Townsend

Rags to riches and … back to rags? While it’s unlikely that high-stakes online pro Brian Townsend will be in the literal poorhouse anytime soon, the onlinepokernet is abuzz with stories of his rapid bankroll descent.
Towsend, who made a reputation as one of the   …full article

Phil Laak murder-for-hire saga apparently wrapped up (for now)

Bill Rini is reporting in his blog today that the bizarre saga involving Phil Laak, a Thailand tour operator, an ‘import-export’ business and an alleged murder-for-hire plot has reached some sort of conclusion (if that’s the word) as Tom Grant, the man who accused Phil   …full article

Possible Playboy appearance for Jennicide

PokerKing.com is reporting today that the rumors circulating online regarding the imminent appearance of popular online poker player Jennifer ‘Jennicide’ Leigh in a Playboy spread are reaching a point where they’re hard to ignore.
While there’s no confirmation from Leigh or Playboy at this point, the   …full article

PartyPoker Announces Women’s World Open

Party Poker recently announced that their Women’s World Open will take place in London in August. Some of the poker world’s biggest female players will partake, including Liz Lieu and actresses Jennifer Tilly and Shannon Elizabeth. Tilly has attracted attention from the poker world since   …full article

Amarillo Slim Releases New Poker Book

Poker legend Amarillo Slim Preston has released a brand new poker book, titled “An E-Guide to No Limit Texas Hold’em” by Amarillo Slim Preston and Brent Riley. The book includes No Limit Holdem concepts such as pot odds, implied odds, picking starting hands, using discipline   …full article

Poker Pros Beat Polaris Software

Phil Laak and Ali Eslami beat Polaris poker software in the final game on July 24 after 4 thrilling rounds. Both players agreed that the program was a tough competitor.
The Polaris is a computer poker playing software developed by the University of Alberta Computer Poker   …full article

Asian poker players flying under sponsor’s radars

PokerListings.com ran an interesting article today detailing the difficult Asian poker players often encounter obtaining sponsorship in an increasingly corporatized poker community.
PokerListings drew largely on the insight of professional J.C. Tran for the article, which pointed out the odd endorsement gap between Caucasian pros with   …full article

Enright and Hellmuth inducted into Poker Hall of Fame

The World Series of Poker bestowed the game’s ultimate honor today on two of poker’s premier players, inducting Barbara Enright and Phil Hellmuth Jr. into the Poker Hall of Fame.
Enright is the first woman inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in its 28-year history.   …full article

Blind man now allowed to play in World Series Main Event

Facing a potential PR black eye, Harrah’s has reversed course and now is claiming that a miscommunication resulted in Jason Holbrook of Bakersfield, California - who is legally blind and uses an assistent to read him the hole and baord cards - being informed that   …full article

Blind man denied WSOP seat by Harrah’s

A blind poker player who won his World Series of Poker entry through satellite play has been denied the opportunity to play in the Main Event of the 2007 WSOP by the Rio Hotel and Casino.
Jason Holbrook, who lost his sight after a car accident,   …full article

Details released for second season of Poker After Dark

Filming details for the second season of NBC’s popular poker show Poker After Dark are starting to emerge, as the network gears up for a follow-up season to the successful inaugural run.
The show will be filmed at the South Point Hotel and Casino and will   …full article

WSOP Odds

Phil Ivey is officially the favorite for this year’s World Series of Poker.  He is currently ranked at 150 to 1 odds.  Essentially, this means that Ivey would pay out $15,000 for every $100 bet.  Gamblers have the potential to walk away with a large   …full article

Ladies Come Out on Top at Mandalay Bay Buy-In

The top two finishers in the $2,500 buy-in preliminary event at the Mandalay Bay Poker Championship were both women.  Both ladies fought their way through 118 mostly male players.  Taking second place was Anna Wroblewski, earning $71,540.  The  champion was Erica Schoenberg who earned $105,875   …full article

Mirage Poker Showdown Final 18

There are 18 players left competing for the $1.06 million prize at the Mirage Poker Showdown.  Currently in first place is well-known online player Darrell Dicken.  He holds a 2 to 1 lead over Cory Carrell, an internet player who finished well in the Caesar’s Palace WSOP Circuit Championship.   …full article

WSOP Champion Joins World Poker Association Board

The 2005 World Series of Poker winner Joe Hachem, has joined the board of the World Poker Association.  He will be the board’s secretary and serve as the face of the organization.  The World Poker Association’s goal is to “promote professionalism in poker worldwide that   …full article

Final Four at Mirage Poker Showdown

The final matches of the Mirage Poker Showdown begin this afternoon.  Finals matches are David Pham vs Jon Little and Aaron Been vs Eric Froehlich.  The four remaining players will battle it out for their share of the $425,000 prize pool.
 
Set up tournament style, like the NBC National Heads Up   …full article

Ante Up for Africa Tournament

Actor Don Cheadle and poker pro Annie Duke have organized the Ante Up for Africa Tournament, scheduled to begin July 5th in the WSOP tournament area at the Rio.  Dozens of celebrities and sports figures will participate in the tournament in order to raise awareness about the   …full article

Mirage Poker Showdown Update

The preliminary events of the 2007 Mirage Poker Showdown began this week and the online pros are dominating.  Two of the most well-known online players have won two events so far - Jared “theWacoKidd” Hamby won the $1,000 buy-in tournament and Darrell “Gigabet” Dicken beat out 536   …full article

Former WSOP champ lands movie role

Sydney - The Daily Telegraph reported today that 2005 World Series of Poker Champion Joe Hachem has signed a deal to appear in an upcoming Australian film titled Prey.
There’s no specific word yet on Hachem’s role; the Telegraph suggests that part will be small but   …full article

WSOP Academy Hosts Main Event Primer

In order to help players prepare for the WSOP Main Event, the WSOP Academy, a series of instructional poker camps, has announced that it will hold a three day primer at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.  “Poker school” will begin July 3rd and end July 5th, just two   …full article

Everest Poker Announces Sponsorship of Italian Poker Pro Cristiano Blanco

Montreal, QC (PRWEB) May 7, 2007 — Everest Poker http://www.everestpoker.com today announced that it had just inked a sponsorship deal with Italian poker pro Cristiano Blanco. “Cristiano’s star is rising and Everest Poker’s very happy to offer him the chance to shine,” said Jonathan May,   …full article

Cast Set for High Stakes Poker

Taping for the fourth season of High Stakes Poker is set to being on May 13th.  The players have been chosen, though the complete list is not yet available.  It is confirmed, however, that poker pro Daniel Negreanu will be participating again this season, though   …full article

Queen of Hearts Poker Team Formed

Poker pros Vanessa Rousso, Jennifer Leigh, Clonie Gowen, Mary Jones, Isabelle Mercier, and Susie Isaacs are a few members of the newly assembled Queen of Hearts poker team. The team will play in the WSOP ladies no-limit hold’em tournament at the Rio in June.  In addition to   …full article

JC Tran Named Player of the Year by WPT

Three final table finishes in three months, including sixth place in the Gold Strike World Poker Open, second in the L.A. Poker Classic, and first place in the World Poker Challenge, earned JC Tran the title of “WPT Player of the Year.”  
 
When the WPT Championship   …full article

Poker Movie Mixes Stars and Players

“Lucky You” is a film to be released in the US early this summer that depicts poker in Las Vegas around the time of the 2003 World Series of Poker, right before poker popularity skyrocketed. The plot is centered around fictional characters played by Drew Barrymore   …full article

Poker Pro Smarter Than Fifth Grader

Alex Outhred, one of the star instructors at the WSOP Academy, is competing for $1 million on Fox’s gameshow, “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?”  The show pits adults against real fifth graders to answer fifth grade textbook questions.  
 
“Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?” debuted in   …full article

Absolute Poker and UltimateBet Terminate Professional Players

It has become more difficult for online poker sites to do business in the United States since the UIGEA was implemented last year.  As a result, Absolute Poker/UltimateBet have terminated their contracts with many professional players, including Antonio Esfandiari, Michael Mizrachi, and Mark Seif. 
 
Their endorsement deals were worth   …full article

Former Poker Champion Moves Due to Threats

Former WSOP Champion, Joe Hachem says concerns for his family’s safety have forced them to relocate.  Hachem has received numerous threatening phone calls and letters since winning the WSOP Main Event in 2005, as his address and phone number were available to the public.   
 
Since   …full article

Russian poker player loses bet…and wife

Andrei Karpov, a Russian man, ran out of cash in a poker game and raised the stakes by offering his wife instead.
When Karpov lost the game and Sergey Brodov, his opponent, turned up to claim his prize, Karpov’s wife was so angry, she filed   …full article

Amarillo Slim tied up, robbed

AMARILLO - Well-known poker player Amarillo Slim was tied up and robbed by intruders who entered his house while he was away on Monday night.
Wire reports indicate that the famous gambler, best known for his book ‘Amarillo Slim in a World of Fat People’, was   …full article