5. Phil Hellmuth
While Hellmuth had some upsets this year, missing out on the opportunity to win his 12th bracelet, he placed 436th at the Main Event. He did cash in six other events, though. Hellmuth’s total WSOP career cashes are now at 72, just ahead of Men “The Master” Nguyen, who is now at 62.
4. Johnston’s WSOP Cash Streak
They just don’t make them like they used to–poker players that is. The 1986 Main Event Champ, Berry Johntson, played at his 27th WSOP event in a row this year. He now has 56 career crashes since his debut in 1982, three years before 2008 WSOP Champion Peter Eastgate was born. He’s cashed every year since. While he didn’t cash at this year’s Main Event, he still holds the title of most Main Event cashes in history at 10. Now that’s what I call a career in poker.
3. Ivey Wins Two More Gold Bracelets
This year, two more bracelets were added to Phil Ivey’s wrists, making that a total of seven bracelets so far. Now he’s in 6th place for most bracelets won, following behind Erik Seidel (8 wins), Johnny Moss (9 wins), Doyle Brunson (10 wins), Johnny Chan (10 wins), and the all-time most bracelet holder, the legend, Phil Hellmuth (11 wins). Winner of the $2,500 Omaha High Low/Seven-Card Stud High-Low split event and the $2,500 Deuce-to-Seven No-Limit Lowball, Ivey walked away satisfied, though he may be able to tie with Seidel if he brings home the Main Event bracelet in November.
2. Largest Non-Main Event Tournament
In response to the financial hardships that the US has seen over the past year, the WSOP followed in the trend of offering some bankroll-friendly tournament buy-ins. In fact, a special stimulus tournament was hosted that was much more well-received than President Obama’s stimulus package. This year, the WSOP offered the lowest tournament buy-in in history, which brought out a player field of 6,012 for the $1,000 stimulus tourney. 2008’s biggest non-main event tournament was the $1500 No Limit with 3,929 players, but that tournament was still only the fifth largest, overall.
1. Three Gold Bracelets Earned by Jeffery Lisandro
Although the Main Event final table has not yet taken place, Jeffery Lisandro has already won the title of WSOP Player of the Year. After winning three gold bracelets during a single series, which only five other players have done in the history of the WSOP, his performance was watched very closely, and he was definitely a favorite in this year’s events. In total, he cashed six times and welcomed into the elite three-bracelet-in-one-year club alongside Puggy Pearson (1973), Ted Forrest (1993), Hellmuth (1993), and Ivey (2002).
August 17th, 2009
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The World Series of Poker brings many first and lasts. Even with economy the way it is, the turnout at the 2009 WSOP was massive, with tons of cash paid to individuals as well as deserving charities. While tournament stats saw records break, individual players did as well. Here’s 10-6 counted down of this year’s top 10 WSOP moments, records, and accomplishments. Stay tuned for 5-1.
10. Sell Outs This Year
An unbelievable ten events sold out all available seats this year, almost making the most gold bracelet events to sell out in a single year. Modifications are already being planned for so that next year no one will be turned away.
9. Most Million Dollar Events
39 out of 57 events made it to a $1 million prize pool.
8. Babies at The Final Table
The younger crowd of today’s poker players might be frowned upon by the older and much more old-fashioned players from generations previous, who do not believe in online gaming or playing colorful poker. However, the younger generation has taken the game by storm and is partly responsible for making the game what it is today. The $5,000 No-Limit Shootout proved that youth is the future of poker. It had the youngest makeup of players ever, ranging in age from 21 to 24. Hungary’s twenty-something Peter “Belabacsi” Traply won the event taking home $348,000.
7. The Most Champions In One Event
The Champions Invitational was created this year in honor of the 40th anniversary of the WSOP. 20 past champions were invited to play for Binion’s Cup. There were no bracelets to be won, but the honor was a reward in itself. Tom McEvoy, 1983’s WSOP Main Event Champ won the event. This tournament saw a new record set for most champs in one tournament, the previous record set at last year’s Main Event that included 19 champs.
6. 2nd Longest Final Table
It began on a Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. and it didn’t stop until 10:00 a.m. Wednesday morning, David Bach being happy to be the new HORSE champ, but more so to get the opportunity to leave the table. In playing time alone, this table lasted 18 hours and 44 minutes, making it the second longest final table, which ranks it as number two in the longest game ever after 2008 WSOP Europe’s Main Event went for 19 hours and 9 minutes. Total hands played in the HORSE tourney were 480, also second in record to the 2008 WSOP Europe Main Event. Bach and his opponent, John Hanson, lasted 7+ hours battling it out for the HORSE champion title.
August 17th, 2009
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Online gamblers in the UK will soon be able to play a variety of online games from the comfort of your couch on your big screen TV, just like they would play a video game. Imagine playing any number of these games on a 60-inch screen in your living room: Live Blackjack, Live Roulette, and Bingo. Talk about no more a decreased need for the land-based casino! All the games you could want and more will be among the games that NetPlay TV will be offering players in the UK and perhaps someday in the US when regulation efforts are successful.
The well known leader in providing interactive gaming in Europe is expanding to the television screen. Net Play TV will allow players to play interactively on their televisions via an Internet connection. NetPlay has a goal of flooding the market and becoming the best known online provider and with moves like these, they are well on their way. With all of this happening the past year has been one active one for interactive gaming services. It’s business has expanded to new markets and has a whole bag of tricks to introduce in the future.
Netplay TV’s Clive Jones, recently said, “NetPlay TV has come of age. The business has been transformed during the course of the year into a significantly larger interactive media business. The demand for ‘live’ gaming is starting to gather momentum and we are uniquely positioned to take advantage of this major opportunity. The UK Government is committed to the delivery of a fast Internet service for all and, as such, TV quality interactive programming is now available to an increased and growing number of UK homes.”
SuperCasino.com, Bingos.com and EuroTeleMillions.com are organizations that NetPlay TV will be linking up with. These sights can been on an array of Freeview, Sky, and FreeSat channels, which are all European channels. However, planting the seed in the UK is only a stepping stone for NetPlay. By the time online gambling becomes legal in the US, the system will be all the more developed and ready for US TV. Currently, NetPlay is soaring in the stock market, so get in while it is hot or before it gets too hot!
August 17th, 2009
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People all over the world have fallen in love with poker, some being very rich and influential celebrities who hold a special place in their hearts for Darfur, Africa. In response, Annie Duke and Don Cheadle hosted the second annual Ante up for Africa tournament. All the proceeds were to go to help he people of Darfur, showing just what the poker community is made of. In addition to supporting the survivors of Darfur, an event like this helps bring awareness to those who would otherwise never know about the suffering in remote places of the world like Darfur.
Duke and Cheadle were the backbone behind this event. The tournament was held at the Rio in the Amazon Room during the WSOP and required a mere $5,000 buy-in. The event was so successful, it actually made the cut on ESPN and was aired for the first time this year. Since this was a charity event, the tournament not only attracted some of the top world class poker players, but many Hollywood stars as well.
“Everybody Loves Ramon” star Brad Garrett was the first to step out onto the red carpet and then it was on. He was followed by the likes of Jennifer Tilly, Cedric the Entertainer, Charles Barkley, Dean Cain and Jason Alexander, and the list goes on. Then came the poker pros, Phil Hellmuth, Barry Greenstein, Andy Bloch, and Peter Eastgate, among other, who were all more than willing to share the limelight with the Hollywood stars.
Later ladies started going crazy for the arrival of Ben Afflack and Matt Damon. Even Mike Tyson made an appearance. But the most excited group were the fans who showed up to get a glimpse of their favorite stars. It really shows what our nation is made of when so many people can come together to help people across the world. There is no value on our freedom, but we’re willing to help others obtain it, and poker definitely makes money!
August 17th, 2009
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2008’s hot hitter in online poker Tom “drrrrr” Dwan is back after quite a scare. Dwan, a popular young buck in the online poker scene, was a heavy player directly in the spotlight in 2008. Unfortunately though, his 2008 luck did not carry over into the beginning of 2009 as many had predicted. The attention he’s been receiving this year seems to be the polar opposite of the headlines from last year. Comparable to a bowling score, his poker track record has dramatically reduced in numbers. In the first six months of 2009, he was down $4 million.
In an effort to catch up, Dwan initiated the “drrrrrr challenge,” which he hoped just might be his path to redemption. In this feat he challenged any one to play him in 50,000 hands of poker at four Omaha tables running simultaneously. So far, Dwan only has had only one challenger. At a head to head Dwan had better be on is toes, if he does not win his challenge he can add $1.5 million to his deficit for the year. He’s recently issued a new challenge though, but he may quickly gain the reputation of a quitter, as he has yet to complete his first challenger, Marc Antonius.
Lady Luck did come through for Dwan recently though, thanks to a game where he left Llari Sahamies and Phil Ivey in the dust. It was like a game of cops and robbers and Dwan made off like a bank robber, with bags of their cash. The intensity of this game was so high, everything was moving at lightning speeds, cash going back and forth, it is truly all the buzz around town. Pots as high as $300,000 were flying back and forth.
So now Dwan is $1.5 million in the positive for 2009. As he climbs his way back up the ladder to luxury his news status has gotten more friendly and supportive. And he is sure to remain in the headlines the rest of the year. Keep your eyes open to see what unfolds next, but you have to look quick because these guys and their bankrolls are pretty erratic.
August 17th, 2009
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Since 1869 The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has been giving financial advice to families, business, and even our government. Goldman Sachs as it is greater known made itself a household name over the years. It is working with America to create a way to legalize online gambling. Goldman Sachs predict that the total wealth of America’s online poker activity and in addition to the online casino market is worth about $12 billion dollars.
“We believe it is logical to assume that the US market will eventually regulate – given the potential implications for US tax take, if nothing else,” Sachs stated. “Were the market to be legalized, we believe that the size of the revenue opportunity could increase materially,” Goldman stated that the progress will be slow. It will take a while convince the parties involved and get around loop holes. The federal level is where the process will be slowed down. Florida and California will speed up things on the state level as they plan to capitalize on the extra cash generated from tax revenue. It is funny that it all it can take to speed people up is extra lining in their pockets.
Goldman Sachs is a worldwide corporation. In 2006 they had 23,467 employees. Not only giving advice to the wealthy but also providing jobs, help make the name for them that they have. $9.34 billion dollars was what Goldman Sachs raked in, in 2006. They played a key role in the presidential election. Sacks was the major contributor financially to the Obama foundation for the election. Employees for Sachs have held positions in the government such as Robert Rubin and Henry Poulson. There was no discrimination based on what party was running the White House as to which they were still employed with Goldman. It has been thought that perhaps it was their inside knowledge that helped make some decisions that proved so prosperous.
August 17th, 2009
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Sean |
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To help move things along with the retraction of the UIGEA, follow the link bellow and vote for the legalization of online poker in the USA. Within the Citizen’s Briefing Book at President Obama’s Change.gov, a post is up that can be voted on to show Washington how important the issue of online poker is to US gamers.
The post on the website urges Congress to accept the game of poker as a game of skill and exempt poker from the UIGEA. The most persuasive target of this plea is that reinstating online poker will ultimately boost the economy, which is something no one can pass up right now.
The fact is that, like so many other industries, online poker is being outsourced. Money that is being made in the US that should stay in the US is being sent offshore. If online poker were legal, more American businesses and American poker players would be able to profit from the online poker business.
Finally, the post suggests that by regulating online poker, American players would be protected and not be subject to the laws of other countries that do not have the best interest of US players at heart.
Take a couple minutes to go and vote on this issue. It can’t hurt, and we, as poker players, need all the help we can get!
Vote Here Now!
January 26th, 2009
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Sean |
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WPTOnline.com Shuts Down
Due to low revenue, and frankly, lack of interest within the online poker community, the World Poker Tour’s online poker room has closed down. While other late comers to the online poker market have flourished, one reason the WPT poker room did not make it is because they didn’t bring it online until 2006 just before the UIGEA was introduced. Other bigger sites, such as Full Tilt Poker were already marketing to the audience that WPT hoped to reach.
Another unfortunate result of the WPT opening an online poker room was that sponsors of many WPT events like Visit PokerStars.com, who dropped their WPT satellites and support of the live events when WPT Online became their competitors. The business of online poker doesn’t apparently mix well between online rooms. WPT lost a lot of global attention and support.
The WPT live events will continue, and hopefully, they will be able to mend some bridges and become more successful out of the online poker industry.
If you were a WPTonline.com player and are looking for a new home, there are many options available to you. Some of the bigger rooms mentioned above are always open, but if you prefer the smaller-room atmosphere, you might want to check out Carbon or BetUS, both of which welcome US players and offer a safe and reliable online poker experience.
Bet US poker has a nice sign-up bonus. 100% return on initial deposit with a max bonus of $600 deposit bonus.
Cake also has a good bonus:
100% up to $400
Bonus Code: VERSION400
November 22nd, 2008
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Sean |
Bet US, Carbon Poker, FullTilt Poker, News, PokerStars |
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Peter Eastgate won the 2008 WSOP Main Event this year, bringing home more than $9 million. By winning, he’s taken Phil Hellmuth’s record for being the youngest player to ever win the WSOP. At 22, Eastgate will probably hold this record for quite some time, as Hellmuth was only 24 when he won the main event in 1989. Eastgate was only three years old when Hellmuth won the title, who has held it now for 19 years.
Eastgate, born in Odense, Denmark is also only the second Dane to make it to the final table, and the first to win the WSOP. He has been playing poker since 2005, and in three short years, he is now the #1 poker player in the world. His first year, he broke even, after choosing to play poker instead of going to college. The next year he profited and it’s been an exciting ride since. He has been associated with Visit PokerStars.com and Ladbrokes online poker rooms.
Eastgate is a top Net pro, but didn’t win his seat via a satellite. He actually paid the $10,000 buy-in, which is now well-worth the price tag. After making it through 6800 players and knocking out Tiffany Michelle, his path to the final table and then to the winner’s seat was obviously written in the stars. After 18 hours at the Main Event, he was tired, rich, and his arm was feeling a little heavy as he displayed the WSOP bracelet with pride.
He credits his win to knowing when to fold. There were many instances where he did not fold, though, in the hand against Michelle, and then at the final table when he wen all in against Dennis Phillips, who folded, making Eastgate the chip leader. Also, Eastgate attributes his winning style to knowing how to read his opponents psychologically. He says he can get into their mindset and think like they do in order to read their game.
With the money he won, he wants to travel well and eat well, but is mostly looking forward to treating his friends and family well. What a nice guy!
November 17th, 2008
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Sean |
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Just what the world needs-another online poker room-hey, we’re not complaining! They are offering a 100% bonus return on your first deposit up to $500 in the poker room and a $25 casino bonus. The site is not player-ready quite yet, but be sure once they open their doors to poker and casino players, everyone will be there-will you? And they a are US-friendly poker room!
If you are thinking about joining a new room, you should seriously consider CardSpike.com. We are still awaiting more details about the room, but so far, everything looks great, and we can’t wait to play!
Check back with us soon for an official announcement that they are open for business, complete with promotion info, the top tournaments, and Card Spike Bonus Codes! We’ll have the information early, so you can sign up first and start practicing before everyone else gets there. Don’t you want to be one of the first players to break in a brand spanking new online poker room? Don’t miss this opportunity to get access to any introductory offers they put up that may only be available for a limited time.
Since CardSpike shares a skin with Cake Poker, the tables will be full from the get go, but you can have the honor of having one of the first accounts with a poker site that has the potential to grow into a strong web presence within the institution of online poker and casino wagering!
August 21st, 2008
Posted by
Sean |
Cake Poker, News |
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