The Muck
Card Guards
Bernard Lee
George Lind III
Maverick Movie
Off the Felt
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JUN 29
All Mucked Up: 2012 World Series of Poker Day 33 Live Blog
All Mucked Up is a live blog of all the stuff you want to know at the 2012 World Series of Poker, besides hand histories and bad beats. Well, we might add a few in here, everyone loves a good bad beat story — unless it happened to you. Check back often for polls, soundbites, celebrity sightings, and who knows what else!
May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favor
It might be ladies day in the Rio, but there is still one final table going on; Event #49: $1,500 Ante Only No-Limit Hold'em. The table is full of young wizards, so it is still anyone's game. Chip leader Eugene Du Plessis is going at 1/1 odds, but the last time we saw someone at 1/1 they shipped it. Also at the final table is Mike "Timex" McDonald going at 10/1. Here's the full odds sheet:
Seth Davies: 5/2
Sameer Aljanedi: 12/1
Justin Schwartz: 8/1
Eugene Du Plessis: 1/1
Mike McDonald: 10/1
Greg Hobson: 5/2
Mike Sowers: 3/2
John Hays: 9/1
Harrison Gimbel: 6/1The final table should be an exciting one for this brand new format, so make sure you keep your eyes on the live reporting blog.
It's Ladies Day At The Rio
Today is the day of Event #51: $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold'em Championship. In the field, PokerNews has four of it's very own.
First up, we have our Director of Strategic Development, Danielle Barille. Danielle can often be found helping out with the PokerNews interns, working on the PokerNews podcast, and doing other odd jobs around the office. We've caught he playing $2/$5 No-Limit here at the Rio a few times too, so she is no fish and shouldn't be taken lightly at the poker table. Danielle also lives in a house full of poker players, including bracelet winner Brent Hanks, so we assume that she is well versed in the game.
Danielle BarilleNext up is PokerNews Hostess Sarah Grant. We hear that in her spare time, Sarah loves spending time in Maridu Mayrinck's bed with fellow poker players Lauren Kling and Xuan Liu. Sarah is a bit of an action junkie, and loves to see flops. Her favorite players include Gavin Smith and Layne Flack. She may be pretty, but Sarah is a fierce competitor and expected to build up a huge stack, or go home early.
Sarah GrantOn third we have the crowd favorite, Kristy Arnett. Kristy is well known for her excellent blogging skills, and for helping create PokerNews' brand new series, "The Straddle." In her spare time, Kristy plays a lot of cash games, she makes her own youtube videos, and she has been known to even enter fitness competitions. She already has one cash this year in Event 9: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Re-Entry and she hopes to make it two today.
Kristy ArnettLast but not least is Australian native Lynn Gilmartin. Gilmartin is known to be dating Team PokerStars Pro Angel Guillen, and we're sure he's given her some tips on lasting through a tough field. She is known to be a health and fitness guru as well as a world traveler. She produces multiple blogs for PokerNews on the subjects. Lynn has a passion for animals, and is known to be a animal right activist, but at the table, we hear that she is a bit of an animalher self, so watch out ladies.
Lynn GilmartinHere at the PokerNews office we've been making last longer bets for which lady we think will last the longest. Now is your chance to let us know what you think in the poll below.
Some Of These Things Are Not Like The Others
Maybe you didn't realize that today was a ladies event. Maybe you're only in Vegas for a few days and this was the only event you could afford to buy into. Maybe you lost a prop bet. Maybe you're foreign and you don't understand what the word “Ladies” means. Maybe you even thought you could pick up chicks.
Regardless of the excuse, we have seen nine men so far in the Ladies Championship. Some of them were not ashamed. Some came in full drag.
Some of them tried to hide from us:
"You're for sure gonna be on PokerNews," one of the ladies at the table joked.
Some of them though, seemed as if they were proud to be jerk. They sat with their heads held high, and were chatting back and forth with the ladies at their table.
And then we have this jerk who's been playing the ladies event every year since 2010.
Either way, most of the ladies who have a man at their table seem to be being great sports about it. There is the occasional needle, of course. The ladies, who are a classier bunch, seem to have the mentality that if they want to punish these jerks, than they can do it on the felt, with chips and cards.
It's stupid, it's immature, and it's pointless. But guys are going to play the ladies event every year, and they all have their own reasons for it.
CoCo in for One Drop?
We saw some hilarious joke tweets between Conan O'Brien and Lon McEachern this morning regarding One Drop. In case you missed there, here they are:
Hey, is it too late to stake me in the World Series of Poker? It’s $10,000, and I’ll lose, but I’ll wear a windbreaker with your name on it.
June 29 2012Follow@ConanOBrien How about entering the $1,000,000 buy-in event Sunday Co-Co? Thats worth a sponsored windbreaker and thong
June 29 2012FollowCoCo in a Lon McEachern thong? We just can't get the image out of our mind.
Zoot Suit Friday
The floormen in the Amazon are taking part in a special tradition for this year's ladies event. All members of the floor are wearing 1920's zoot suits and pink ties, some equipped with chains, others with boutonnieres and hats. Here's a few pictures of the friendly floormen.
Makes us here at PokerNews wish that we had a bit nicer attire.
Can You See With Those Things On: Day 33
We don't really know if these constitute as glasses, but we saw this woman playing in the ladies event, and we couldn't resist taking a picture to share with the readers.
The Butterfly QueenSurely, it must be difficult to see with the mask on, but it's truly one of the most unique pieces of attire that we've seen here at the world series of poker so far. Surely this is a trend that will pick up here in America very soon.
One Drop Sold Out
That's it folks. Seats for The Big One For One Drop $1,000,000 buy-in have sold out. We got wind of this thanks to a tweet from Brian Hastings:
Onedrop sold out. Thanks for everyone who was gonna buy action. Time to bink the satellite!
June 29 2012FollowJamie Gold also put in a tweet about the event's sales:
Huge congratulations to Guy @ONEDROPdotorg and @WSOP for a sold out event. History making will bring awareness #big1drop
June 29 2012FollowAnd we also made sure to confirm with the official One Drop twitter page:
RT @allinfor1drop: Chair of ONEDROP and Founder of @Cirque just confirmed that #big1drop is sold out- check this out on Sunday
June 29 2012FollowGood luck to all the entrants, it should be a doozy. Luckily, there is still time to get into the Rio's $25,000 Satellite which will be taking place this Saturday for the last remaining One Drop seat. We'll be sure to post an official list of registrants once we have them.
What A Rail
On the rail of Event #49: $1,500 Antes Only No-Limit Hold'em, we found two friends of Seth Davies. The first one was carrying a giant cardboard cut out of Davies' head.
The second was carrying a giant cardboard cutout of Nick Davies, Seth's brother. Nick couldn't make it to the event today, so their friends wanted to show their support by brining a giant cardboard cut out of Seth's brother.
Apparently, all four gentleman have been friends for a very long time and have helped to teach each other how to play poker, lived with each other in Las Vegas, and more. It's refreshing to see such a kind and supportive rail.
On the other side of the rail, Mike Watson had a special photo for Mike "Timex" McDonald.
"Go Timex!"While it may not be as large of a gesture as a huge cardboard head, support is always nice.
Inspirational Tales From the World Series of Poker: Gertrude Schimmel
Today's inspirational tale is that of Gertrude Schimmel. Schimmel is 94 years old and has been playing poker for over 50 years. She doesn't have the best eyesight, or hearing, but she can still play the game better than most.
Getrude SchimmelSchimmel is a retired deputy chief inspector of the New York Police Department who used to play at the WSOP regularly. She's cashed five times in the ladies event in the past, including final tabling in 1998 when she finished fourth.
Her niece is here assisting Schimmel a bit with reading the board and following the action. She told us how Schimmel hadn't played at the WSOP in a while, but this year had an idea she wanted to come back again and give it another go.
She also explained how her best game is seven-card stud — which used to be the game here in the ladies event up until 2000. But Schimmel seems to be holding her own just fine thus far in our no-limit hold'em tournament.
It's Man Time
We've given a lot of attention and love to the ladies of today, but there is something we almost overlooked, and no, one of our guys isn't playing the ladies event.
Playing in Event #52: $2,500 10-game mix six handed is one of our very own PokerNews Live Reporters, Remko "HappyFreaked" Rinkema.
Remko "HappyFreaked" RinkemaWith all the buzz going over the ladies today, we wanted to make sure Rinkema didn't get overlooked. He represents the fifth member of the PokerNews cast playing in a World Series of Poker event today. We'll be sure to keep an eye on his progress as he makes his way through a stacked field. Rinkema is no fish, he has over $30,000 in live tournament earnings including a final table in the Estrellas Poker Tour Madrid Main Event where he took 4th.
Ten Cashes And Counting
Konstantin PuchkovIt was announced today in the Amazon room that Konstantin Puchkov, from Russia, earned his tenth cash this series, tying a record set by fellow countryman Nikolay Evadakov. Evadakov passed away on February 6th at the age of 47.
Ante Up: Bryan Slick
Bryan SlickWe caught up with Bryan Slick, tournament manager for PokerStars. Slick actually invented the Ante-Only No-Limit Hold’em tournament, which is making its WSOP debut this year. We spoke to him to find out the inspiration for the game.
When did you come up with the idea?
Late 07 early 08 I was trying to think of something new and fresh that could be applied to No-Limit Hold’em. I cut my teeth as a stud player, so the forced action of the antes appealed to me. We thought it was really interesting and finally after it sitting on the shelf for a while it made its debut on April 1st 2008 as part of our April Fools joke on PokerStars.
How does it feel to see the Ante-Only tournament make its WSOP debut?
I wish I was sitting right there (pointing over to Greg “DuckU” Hobson who was getting pictures taken of his win in the Ante-Only tournament). It’s a great feeling. I played in the event as well and made a deep run. I busted in 140th place. After we added the Ante-Only tournament to the PokerStars S.C.O.O.P lineup it got great reviews from the players. (Team PokerStars Pro) Daniel Negreanu played it and loved it. He tweeted about it to his millions of followers.
Have you developed any strategies for the game?
Slick laughed and said, “I may have invented the game but I’m by no means an expert in it.”
Other players have been raving about the tournament as well so chances are it will be a mainstay for years to come.
Ladies Event Update
If you’ve been keeping up with today’s blog then you know that four of PokerNews’ own played in today’s Event 51: $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold'em Championship. Unfortunately, Danielle Barille, Lynn Gilmartin, and Kristy Arnett have been knocked out but PokerNews hostess Sarah Grant is still alive.
Sarah GrantWe caught up with Grant at break.
What’s your plan heading in after break?
Well, I have about 20 big blinds, so I know I don’t have many options right now. I can’t really open many pots or call any raises really. I will say this, at my table the ladies have been really scared to call short stack shoves, so I’m gonna look for spots to get it in and chip up.
There’s 216 ladies left in the tournament and 117 spots pay. We’ll be sure to keep tabs on Grant and report any further developments.
Sneak Peak At One-Drop
The much talked about Event 55: $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop starts this Sunday. Some of the notables scheduled to play include Tom Dwan, Michael Mizrachi, Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier, Tom Marchese, and Phil Ivey.
The Rio staff has been in the process of giving the Amazon a makeover in anticipation of the $1 million dollar buy-in tournament.
Make sure to tune in to PokerNews for complete coverage of the event.
Who Wore It Better?
It’s not uncommon to see men with shaved heads. Some do it for fashion others simply choose to tap out of the fight against male pattern baldness. We spotted three notables in today’s Event 52: $2,500 10-Game Mix - Six-Handed
Scott Fischman
Greg Mueller
Joe TehanFashion Run Down
A WSOP Ladies event wouldn’t be complete without a fashion run down. Here’s some of the more interesting wardrobe choices we came across today.
Day 1 Of Ladies Event Concludes
Only 117 are left in Event 51: $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold'em Championship. Day two will start on Saturday. Some of the notables still remaining include, J.J. Liu, Erica Schoenberg, Annie LePage, Leo Margets, and last not but not least, our very own Sarah Grant.
Grant is looking forward to day two.
“I’m so excited,” exclaimed Grant. “It’s my first WSOP event ever. I never played anything over $250. I’m so happy. I paid it myself too (the $1,000 entry fee).”
In addition to this being Grant’s first WSOP event, it’s also her first WSOP cash. We’ll be keeping tabs on Grant on day two.
We encourage everyone to get involved with "The Muck." See something you think is Muck worthy Send it to the muck@pokernews.com. We accept all media including photos and videos.
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JUN 28
All Mucked Up: 2012 World Series of Poker Day 32 Live Blog
All Mucked Up is a live blog of all the stuff you want to know at the 2012 World Series of Poker, besides hand histories and bad beats. Well, we might add a few in here, everyone loves a good bad beat story — unless it happened to you. Check back often for polls, soundbites, celebrity sightings, and who knows what else!
May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favor
The odds are in, and if you're a Michael Mizrachi fan the news is not good. In Event #45: $50,000 Poker Players Championship, Mizrachi is going off at 1/1 odds. The worst we've seen so far for any player. However, if you're a Bruno Fitoussi supporter, you can get your man going off at 30/1 odds. Also at the final table is Andy Bloch, who is making his second $50,000 Poker Players Championship final table. Bloch is among the chip leaders and is going for 3/2 at the Rio Sportsbook. Here is the full list:
Bill Chen:9/2
Luke Schwartz: 4/1
Andy Bloch: 3/2
Stephen Chidwick: 3/1
Michael Mizrachi: 1/1
Chris Klodnicki: 7/4
Bruno Fitoussi: 30/1
Roland Israelashvili: 10/1There are two other events playing down to the finish today, the first is Event #47: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split 8-or-Better. Chip leader Charalampos Lappas is going at 3/2 odds. Also in the mix is Timothy Finne, who is making his second final table table appearance. Finne is going at 4/1 odds and Steven Loube who is going at 3/2 odds. Here is the full list:
Steven Loube: 3/2
Paul Taylor: 12/1
Timothy Finne: 4/1
Cameron McKinley: 3/1
Sonu Sharma: 7/1
Charalampos Lappas: 3/2
Viatcheslav Ortynskiy: 50/1
Paul Ewen: 9/1
Roch Cousineu: 7/2
Kyle Carlston: 15/2The other event finishing up today is Event #48: $3,000 Limit Hold'em. Still in the running is Chad Brown, going at 7/1, Jonathan Duhamel, going at 12/1, and Justin Bonomo, going at 15/1, all good bets for great players. Here's the full list:
Paul Berende: 5/2
Kenny Hsiung: 7/2
John Virtue: 4/1
Cary Marshall: 5/1
Mitchell Davis: 13/2
Jonathan Cohen: 8/1
Chad Brown: 7/1
Matthew Woodward: 11/1
Stephen Hung: 11/1
John Myung: 12/1
Robert Hwang: 12/1
Jonathan Duhamel: 12/1
David Longood: 14/1
Dwyte Pilgrim: 17/1
Justin Bonomo: 15/1
Brandon Young: 20/1
Baothang Nguyen: 23/1
Joseph Kuether: 35/1
Jason Manger: 45/1
Vladimir Shchmelev : 50/1The most ridiculous bet of the day goes to Vladimir Shchmelev who is going at 50/1. He still has about 4 big bets left, and in poker, a game where anything can happen, you cannot count him out just yet. If Shchmelev can get lucky and run good, then he has a good shot at winning the event. There is still a few minutes to hop on over to the Rio sportsbook, so if you want to place bets, but you may have to run. Get there fast and place your bets now!
Eastgate in the House
Today is the first time we've seen 2008 Main Event Champion Peter Eastgate. Eastgate is at a table with Layne Flack and Allen Kessler in Event #50: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em.
Peter 'Icegate' EastgateFlack and Eastgate have an interesting table dynamic going on right now. When we walked by the table, it sounded as if Flack was needling Eastgate about his stint on High Stakes Poker.
"So you quit High Stakes Poker yeah?" Flack asked. "Didn't seem like you we're doing that well. How much did you lose?"
"Only $75,000," Eastgate responded.
"Only $75,000? That's not that much. It helps when the deck just hits you in the face," Flack said.
We'll try to catch up with Eastgate when we see him and ask him what life outside of poker has been like.
No Wonder He's 1/1
On one of the first hands of the day, Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi scooped a huge pot and eliminated Bill Chen and Bruno Fitoussi. No wonder his odds in the sportsbook are 1/1.
The $50k PPC, in the Thunderdome of the Amazon roomWe took a little stroll through the Amazon room to take a look at the rail. Notables watching the final table included Allen Cunningham, who left to register for an event.
The rail is notably smaller than when Phil Ivey made his final table, but there is still only a few empty seats left in the stands.
The rail for the $50k PPCIt's still early though, and there are 6 players remaining, so the rail may grow even larger, and have a more concentrated fan base once some players are eliminated.
Having "The Grinder" once again in a position to win the $50k Poker Players Championship prompts one question though: If he wins again, does he get his name on the trophy twice?
The Ladies of Event #50: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em
Since Event #51: $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold'em Championship is coming up tomorrow, we decided to tease the event a little bit with a few of the women who are currently playing in Event #50.
First up we saw Ebony Kenney. Kenney was originally a model before she began playing poker, but has made a name for her self with several live cashes totaling over $100,000.
Ebony KenneyNext we saw Team PokerStars Pro Ana Marquez. Marquez has several cashes from the European Poker Tour, as well as multiple World Series of Poker cashes, including last year's Ladies Event. In total, she has nearly $250,000 in live tournament earnings.
Ana MarquezWe also found Leo Margets in the field. Margets is well known for her deep run in the Main Event in 2009 where she finished in 27th place. In total, her live tournament earnings are over $700,000.
Leo MargetsThen, all at once we found Jennifer Tilly, Xuan Liu, and Lauren Kling all at the same table. Tilly already has a World Series of Poker Bracelet from a ladies event. In 2005, Tilly won the ladies event and pocketed $158,335 for her victory. Tilly is more well known for her acting career, where she stared in such films as Chucky's Bride. Tilly's poker prowess shouldn't be over looked though as she has nearly $700,000 in tournament earnings.
Jennifer TillyXuan Liu is the number one earner that we saw in the Event #50 field today, thanks in part to her two final tables at the EPT. Liu aslo has a final table at this year's World Series of Poker, where she finished 6th in Event #4: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split 8-or-Better, and pocketed $29,985. Liu's live tournament earnings total more than $1.2 million and she truly is a force to be reckoned with.
Xuan LiuLauren Kling is another beastly poker player in the field today. She has racked up several cashes in this year's World Series of Poker, cashing in four separate $1,500 events. In total, she has cashed for over $25,000 at this year's series alone. We had an interview with Kling a few weeks back where she discussed the success of women at this year's World Series of Poker. Kling has a total of $223,382 in live tournament earnings over her career.
Lauren KlingWhen you add it all up, there's nearly $3.5 million in live tournament earnings between these women alone. It looks as if this year's ladies event will shape up to be a tough one. Also playing in the event are PokerNews' very own Kristy Arnett , Danielle Barille, and Lynn Gilmartin. Arnett already has one cash this series, and hopes to make it two tomorrow. Stay tuned, and we'll update you with more and more as we find out who's going to play the ladies event, and who is going to choose to sit out.
Gator Boots and the Pimped Out Gucci Suits
These shoes belong to Joe Gualtieri. Gualtieri recently finished 6th in Event #46: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em for $110,775. It's not uncommon to wonder what people buy when they win that much money, for Gualtieri, we saw something that we didn't see when he was playing in Event #46. A pair of pimped out gator boots.
We did a little research, and for an authentic pair of gator boots, it would run you somewhere between $2,300 and $7,000 for a higher end pair. Today, Gualtieri is using a little more of his profits to play in Event #50: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em. Maybe if he wins this one, he can get that pimped out Gucci suit.
Gavin Smith's Drink of Choice
Yesterday, we asked readers what they thought Gavin Smith's drink of choice was for the day. Today we're back to bring you the answer.
It has vodka:
It has grapefruit:
That's right. It's a Greyhound. If you guessed right, like nearly 60% of the readers did, then good for you! We'll be sure to bring you more fun polls and trivia games as the series goes on.
The Big One
With July 1st fast approaching, all the talk is of the 1,000,000 buy-in Event #55: The Big One for One Drop - No-Limit Hold'em. Jason Mercier tweeted something interesting today - a picture of himself handing over the one million in cash at the registration in the Rio! Check it out!
Lightning Strikes Twice
While a 50k buy-in might pale in comparison to next weeks One Drop, The 50k Players Championship is a big deal and Michael 'The Grinder' Mizrachi has won his second in three years.
Watching on from the rail for The Grinders victory was his twin brother Eric, his younger brother Donnie and his older brother Robert, who also played in the 50k event.
The 1.45 Million win moves The Grinder up to fourth in the all time money winners list, leap frogging Phil Hellmuth in the process. The only people still ahead of him are Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu and Erik Seidel.
We'll see in the next few days if this win will inspire Michael Mizrachi to become the 46th player to register for Million Dollar The One Drop...
Update...
Minutes after we posted the last piece, we see this on twitter...
Mizrachi's in the One Drop, and we're at 46... Who will be next? We'll keep you updated.
Cheong In Twenty Years?
While doing our rounds through the brasilia room, scoping out all the big name pros who turned out for Event #50: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em, we overheard some rail bird talk next to Joseph Cheong and Scotty Nguyen's table. The railbirds were discussing the dynamic between Cheong and Nguyen, and saying that "Scotty is Cheong in twenty years time".
While that might be taking it a bit far, the two players will certainly be aware of each other and Scotty we're sure would rather not have an experienced young pro like Choeng on his left. We're watching out for the interesting old school/new school clash going on, but all the rail want to see is Choeng donning some bling and ordering a few brewskis before the night is up.
Nothing but Wizards
It seems that Randy 'NanoNoko' Lew's prediction of the Final Table of Event #49: $1,500 Ante Only No-Limit Hold'em having a higher proportion of great players than the other tournaments is coming true. We saw this tweet from Galen Hall:
And snapped some pics of the biggest name players at the table this afternoon.
Mike 'Timex' McDonald
Erick 'Edog' Lindgren
Justin 'stealthmunk' SchwartzAnte Up: With Timex
We caught up with Mike 'Timex' McDonald, shown above, on his break from Event #49: $1,500 Ante Only No-Limit Hold'em to ask him how he liked the ante only structure.
"It's honestly the most fun I think I've ever had playing live poker. I'm not just saying that because I'm going so deep. There have been tournaments that I've won but I've enjoyed this one way more. It just makes for interesting poker, and new situations."
"Now, as we start to go short handed and approach the final table, I honestly don't know what the strategy should be. At 9 handed I had some idea, and I was just limping a lot and trying to make more hands and then bluff people when I thought it might work."
Timex has Brian 'Stinger' Hastings on his rail after he busted Event #50: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em.
Busto 88<TT, time to crack a few beers and watch @MikeMcDonald89 FT the ante only! #silverlining
June 28 2012FollowWe'll keep you updated on the atmosphere as the event narrows down to a final 9 before culminating tomorrow.
How To Relax
One aspect of being a poker player that is more important than people think is knowing how to relax and wind down. Pius Heinz knows exactly how to do this, and after a full 12 hours at the tables he's now having a few beers to finish off the day.
Was down to 8k at 300/600 started drinking beer and im up to 35k 30 min later #notacoincidence
June 28 2012FollowDoing it wrong is Justin 'Stealthmunk' Schwartz who is firing up some high stakes sit'n'go's online to wind down after his two days straight of poker...
Lots of heroes at the FT from a super soft field. Short day at the office so firing up a 525 sng to stay sharp. I Hate posting blinds tho.
June 28 2012FollowOutfit Of The Day: Day 32
Check out the outfit Dwight Pilgrim was wearing today at the Final Table for Event #48: $3,000 Limit Hold'em, looking for all the world like a middle eastern prince.
The Big One: Part 2
Tom Marchese has just booked his place in Event #55: $1,000,000 The Big One for One Drop - No-Limit Hold'em. He tweeted this picture of his buy-in - looks noticeably less than what Jason Mercier tweeted earlier though... double check that brick please!!
The One Drop: Cash Game Edition
Fittingly, there appears to be a huge cash game going on in Aria tonight. Check out this tweet from Frank Kassela.
Million dollar buy-in No Limit Holdem game @ariapoker at $2k/$4kblinds with $8k straddle and theres a list long enough to start 2nd game WTF
June 29 2012FollowNo wonder the Rio is so quiet tonight! We'll make sure to catch up with Kassela tomorrow and get the scoop! Very likely that this new influx of action is caused by the arrival of the one and only Tom 'durrrrr' Dwan, but we can't say for sure...
We encourage everyone to get involved with "The Muck." See something you think is Muck worthy Send it to the muck@pokernews.com. We accept all media including photos and videos.
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JUN 27
2012 World Series of Poker: Fifty Shades of Grey
There has been a lot of talk about Bloutfits, Whioutfits, and Redoutfits, but we've all let the Groutfits slip under the radar over the past few days.
That's why it was to our surprise that we found not one, not two, but four Groutfits playing in the $50,000 Poker Player's Championship. Among them were Gus Hansen, Nick Schulman, and Viktor "Isildur1" Blom. We've decided to take a walk back through memory lane and give grades to all the past, and present Groutfits starting with our very first sighting, Tom Marchese.
Tom Marchese
Tom MarcheseMarchese gains extra points for having matching grey headphones, because if you're going to go all out, you might as well go all the way. Unfortunately for Marchese, he also lost some points for having black pant zippers. Come on buddy, you gotta do better than that if you're gonna go all gray.
Final Grade: B-
Gus Hansen
Gus HansenNext up is Gus Hansen, who gets extra points for taking a nap on the floor the other day. We've got to give Hansen even more credit for having such a stylish nylon hood, and for being brave enough to wear track pants into the Rio. But we have to take a few points away for having a big green patch on the back of his sweater taking away that authentic Groutfit look.
Final Grade: A-
Viktor Blom
Viktor BlomUp next is Viktor Blom, who was almost disqualified for his stone washed jeans, but they were dark enough so that we had to give him credit. That being said, this isn't the first time Blom's been dinked for fashion no-nos, we caught him playing in the $10,000 Heads-up Event with his pants basically down around his ankles. We'll give him some extra points for finding a belt today.
Final Grade: C+
Bryn Kenney
Bryn KenneyWe also found Bryn Kenney wearing one of the most stylish Groutfits that we've seen so far this series. Kenny gets massive crowd appeal for being able to pull off inside out cutoff sweats. How often do you see that happen? He loses a few points for the baby blue slippers, but we'll cut him some slack and give him the benefit of the doubt.
Final Grade: A
Nick Schulman
Nick SchulmanNick Schulman gets style points for being extra comfy at the table. Schulman, who looks like he might be about ready to take a Gus Hansen style nap at the table, loses a lot of points for wearing two different shades of grey. Come on man, if you're going to wear grey on grey, you can at least wear the same shade of grey.
Final Grade: D-
Phil Ivey
Phil IveyFinally, we have the man himself, Phil Ivey, and we'd be crazy to give him any other grade.
Final Grade: A+
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JUN 27
All Mucked Up: 2012 World Series of Poker Day 31 Live Blog
All Mucked Up is a live blog of all the stuff you want to know at the 2012 World Series of Poker, besides hand histories and bad beats. Well, we might add a few in here, everyone loves a good bad beat story — unless it happened to you. Check back often for polls, soundbites, celebrity sightings, and who knows what else!
May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favor
It’s been an action packed few days, but a winner must be decided in Event #46: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em. There are a lot of big name pros thrown in with the budding amateurs in what promises to be an exciting conclusion to the week here at the Rio. The odds are in, let’s have a look.
Daniel Chambelain 20/1
Joshua Hillock 11/1
Franis Rusnak 15/1
Konstantin Puchkov 11/1
He Huang 30/1
Philip Meulyzer 30/1
Bradley Lipsey 14/1
Robert Castoire 14/1
Stephen Reynolds 10/1
Willian Reynolds 5/1
Joseph Gualtieri 25/1
William Rogers 20/1
Jeremy Quehen 19/2
Mark Schmid 25/1
Nicholas Augustino 17/1
Fernando Brito 12/1
Larry Duplantis 26/1
Yordan Jeliazkov 11/1
Joey Weissman 4/1
Vanessa Selbst 7/1
Jimmy Fradettedufour 7/1
Joshua Pedraza 40/1
Adria Balaguer 20/1
Fabrizio Gonzalez 25/1
Michael Gagliano 9/2Notables are Vanessa Selbst @ 7/1, going for her 2nd bracelet, and William Reynolds @ 5/1. Both have a lot of chips and are very experienced at this level. We'll also keep an eye on Larry Duplantis, who we wrote about yesterday. Larry has a physical disability which means a card reader is necessary to help him, and if he were to fight his way to the final table here it would be one of the most inspirational stories ever to come out of the World Series Of Poker.
Betting continues until 12:55 at the Rio sportsbook, so still time for flutter!
Ante Up!
Check out these tweets from pro's playing the brand new Event #49: $1,500 Ante Only No-Limit Hold'em. Players seems to think that policing the format will be messy, but some also seem to be enjoying it after playing the first few hands.
3rd time they have gone over the rules of the ante only tourney in first 10 mins. I'm not entirely sure of them myself. #fuckitwelldoitlive
June 27 2012FollowWe'll catch up with some pros on break and see how they like the tournament after two full levels! We'll also try get the low-down on the strategy for such an event - hopefully Randy 'NanoNoko' Lew will have one worked out for us then!
New tournament today the $1500 ante only. We all ante up preflop and sb acts first, Will make a strategy as I go. #willbeinteresting
June 27 2012FollowChill Atmosphere
Chance Kornuth And Daniel Negreanu Share A JokeWe can tell that the players are having more fun than usual by the hum of conversation around the Brasilia room. Not since the seniors event have we seen such a social element to the game, with players excited to try something different and enjoying the new challenge.
Having more fun in this Ante Only WSOP event than I have all series. What an incredibly cool event! Love it.
June 27 2012FollowPlayers better enjoy it while they can. With several players already busted a bit into the first level, this one's going to go fast...
Pink Is The New Black
The Muck Paparazzi managed to snap this picture without this guys knowledge, that doesn't happen too often these days! The day 2 players are always a bit more focused on their cards and less focused on our PokerNews hero and the blog of shame. Anyway, we snapped a pic of this guy in all pink in Event #47: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better and all pink outfits are always worth a post in The Muck!
Ante Up: Part 2
Olivier Busquet and Mickey Petersen in Event #49As promised, we spoke to several pros playing in today's Event #49: $1,500 Ante Only No-Limit Hold'em on their break to try find out how they're enjoying this new event, and how they're adapting their play.
Mickey "MementMori" Petersen told us he loved the format.
"Yeah it's a fun format. Obviously everyone is used to playing really standard no-limit hold'em tournaments, there's been 20 of them or something so far, so everyone is used to the standard tournaments and this makes people think. Anything that makes people think is more fun, and can be profitable"
"As far as specific strategy adjustments goes, I think I've been limping more. You only need to put in one chip to see a flop with all these chips. You can limp weak hands and strong hands and balance it a bit like that. People also are trying to adjust their open size, so far some people make it three times the big blind and some people make it seven times the big blind. Everyone's just figuring it out and people are figuring it out different. People were arguing on my table about the correct" Said Petersen, laughing.
The ever-friendly Olivier Busquet had similar sentiments, and some more interesting strategy insight.
"I love it. It's obviously a super-turbo format, there's so much more money in the pot so early on so bets get big, quick. It's a slight change from the normal tournaments, which can get repetitive. Anything that puts people out of their comfort zone is good".
"There are some strategy adjustments I've considered. I think the Button becomes even more powerful in this format. I'll play pretty liberally on the button, limping a lot. It's just powerful because you can control the pot. You just look at how people adjust, how much they raise preflop. Overall I think it's correct to play more hands".
Randy 'NanoNoko' Lew was able to spare some time for us to talk about how his strategy has developed since he tweeted this morning.
"I like the game, but I'm still trying to figure out the strategy. It's tough. What I've gathered so far is people don't defend enough. They don't defend the button like that should. They also open fold way to much, limping is such a viable strategy that you should be limping so wide at this stage of the tournament".
"I think I'd like to see more of this type of tournament, once I get good at it that is. I think there's more skill and room for creativity, so it gives an advantage to the good players. I think there's going to be a higher proportion of good players at the final table in this event than in some other events".
Ante’s And Cash Games With iRockHoes
Scott Augustine and Jason KoonWe met up with Scott ‘iRockHoes’ Augustine in the poker kitchen this afternoon to get his take on the ante event playing today in the Brasilia room.
“It’s a fun change up. I’m primarily a cash player so I probably wouldn’t play this if it was a big 10k event or something, but I wanted to play this today and just see what it was like”.
“I think the most interesting adjustment to make is playing the Small blind position. It’s weird, because you act first both before and after the flop, there’s almost no incentive to play in the Small Blind. Do you play tight or do you lead big? Different people are adjusting different ways”.
“More generally, pot control is so important. The pot will get crazy out of control unless you limp and even then it’s going to be big”.
"There was a nuts hand on my table. I’m sitting next to Jason Koon and some guy 6 bet shoved A9 over Koon’s QQ. There’s so much money out there and the pot gets so big that people try to fight for it”.
We knew that Augustine was playing in some of the big cash games in the Rio frequently, so we asked him how they were going for him.
“The cash games are really good. I think they’re better during the week than on the weekend to be honest. On the weekend someone might buy into 5/10 for $800 dollars. The other day in the early week, a guy bought into my 5/10 table for $20,000, bluffed off $10,000 and just left without a care. That’s going to make the game good”.
We asked Scott how deep the games are playing, and if he had any interesting hands to share with us.
“The games play insane deep, 300 big blinds all the time. There was a pretty insane hand the other day where we were big blinds deep, over $6,000, and I raised to $50 with 66 after a limp. I got 4 callers, the limper, the button and the small blind. The flop comes KJ6 with no flush draw”.
“The limper checks and I check, the button bets 100, the small blind raises to 275, the limper calls, I call, the button makes it 675 and the small blind makes it 1675 and the limper folds. I just had no idea what to do and thought about it for a long time”.
“I decided on a fold and showed my hand to my side of the table. They couldn’t believe that a fold would be correct, so I made a $50 bet with each of them that It was the right fold”.
“I thought that either of them could have JJ in that spot a lot. Live players are superstitious, and often don’t like re-raising JJ pre-flop because they think overcard’s will come. Also, one guy has 6k. If he doubles up to 12-14k then he’s not going to be comfortable, and a lot of the time he’s just going to leave. I don’t want all that money leaving the table. There are more considerations that just the hands in play, I’m trading a high variance spot for a lower variance spot on a good, deep table”.
So what happened?
“Well, they both got it all in and they both had KJ. I would have loved to get it all in versus two KJ’s, but I like my play still. I spoke to my room-mate Brian ‘Stinger’ Hastings last night and he agrees that it was a good fold. Besides, I don’t think that play with KJ is good. Getting in $6,000 there is over playing to me. I was surprised. Shows the line between good players in these games, and great players who understand these things a bit better”.
What do you guys think of Scott’s fold here?
We’ll keep an eye on Scott Augustine through the rest of the series, and keep asking around for interesting hands in the big cash games in the Rio.
Celebrity Look-Alike
We spotted this Phil Laak look-alike in the brasilia room playing Event #49: $1,500 Ante Only No-Limit Hold'em. We really think he looks like Phil Laak: In fact, the picture was originally taken for a 'Phil Laak Is In The Building' post, until we got a closer look and saw this this man is a shade more weathered in the skin department, and a lot quiet and less charismatic than Laak in the flesh.
Of course, we'll keep an eye out for the real Phil Laak in the coming weeks!
Phil Ivey :O
Phil Ivey must be the most out-of-the-loop player in the whole of the Rio. Check out this tweet about his late reg for the Ante-Only Hold'em Event!
The hand Petersen is referencing can be seen here.
Ante Up: Part 3
With the field for Event #49: $1,500 Ante Only No-Limit Hold'em shrinking by the minute, we caught up with 2009 Main Event winner Joe Cada and Nosebleed PLO specialist Chance Kornuth to see how they liked the tournament and how they found the game to play.
"I've had fun" Cada told us. "I arrived late, and with the ante's rising it feels like a really fast turbo structure to me, might have been different earlier on. It feels similar to a normal tournament to me, if you just think about the size of the pot and the number of orbits you have left. There is a lot more limping of course, it's impossible to fold in late position with any hand pretty much."
Chance Kornuth was even more upbeat again.
"I thought it was fantastic. It brings the game back to an older form of poker where there are more people to each flop and there's more room for creativity. I'd love to see more of these types of unique games, there are enough straight Hold'em Tourneys. I also would like to see maybe one turbo, but personally I'm not in the 'we need lots of turbos now' camp."
"In terms of specific strategy... I think we all know that there are hands that play well in multiway pots and hands that play well in Heads-Up pots. I just try to get the right hands in the right situations as much as possible. Making that happen is going to make the game easy to play".
Final Table of Event 46
There are currently eight left in Event 46: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em. Joey “Cotchery89” Weissman currently has the chip lead. What started out as a low-key affair has now turned into a boisterous final table, punctuated by Weissman’s elimination of Joshua Pedraza. Here’s the reaction of Weissman’s rail moments after Pedraza’s bust.
Weissman celebrating with members of his rail after eliminating PedrazaAnother notable at this final table is Michael “Gags30” Gagliano. He has a star-studded rail which includes David “doubledave22” D’Alesandro, Partyush “FenwayKing” Buddiga, and 2011 Main Event Champion and Team PokerStars Pro Pius Heinz.
left to right: FenwayKing, DoubleDave22, Heinz, Daniel StrelitzIt’s not the first time this group has been spotted together at a final table rail. Last year they were here sweating Heinz at his 2011 Main Event final table.
Gags30, Heinz, FenwayKing,We'll do our best to catch up with them at break to get their thoughts.
Ante Up: Part 4
We’ve been talking to several pros about their approach in Event 48: $1,500 Ante-Only No-Limit Hold'em tournament. We encourage you to scroll up and read the first three parts of Ante Up before proceeding.
We caught up with Team PokerStars Pro Eugene Katchalov to get his insight.
“I didn’t come in with a set strategy," Katchalov said. “I came in with a more of a table dependent approach—more than normal. I’m seeing who’s raising, limping, and folding. Everybody's trying to figure it out. It’s so new and there’s not a lot of info out there yet.”
It seems to be working for now. He's currently fifth in chips.
Dinner Break With Joey Weissman
The final table of Event 46: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em is currently on break. Six players remain and Joey Weissman continues to have the chip lead.
We caught up with Weissman on break to get his thoughts thus far.
“It’s been a lot of fun. I’m been very aggressive as i should be with the chips I have. I’m glad a couple of the tougher players have been eliminated.”
One of those players was Michael “Gags30” Gagliano who busted in 7th place.
“I have quite a bit of respect for his game,” Weissman said. “We’ve played a lot online.”
Guess Gavin's Drink
We snapped a picture of Gavin Smith with his trademark cocktail. We’ve seen him on multiple occasions with the same drink but could never figure out what it was untill today. Lets see if our readers can figure it out.
We'll post the answer in tomorrow's edition of The Muck.
Ronnie Bardah Paying Us A Visit
WSOP 2012 bracelet winner Ronnie Bardah is being interviewed tonight in PokerNews headquarters. He'll be talking about his win in Event 40: $2,500 Limit Hold'em - Six-Handed and his adventures in Thailand. Keep an eye out for the podcast.
Ronnie Bardah on left. Donnie Peters adjacent to wall. Rich RyanFinal Table Bubble $50,000 PPC
Event 45: $50,000 Poker Players Championship is down to nine players.
Here are some shots of the action:
Terrance Chan on far leftWe caught up with spectator Terrance Chan to get his thoughts on the play.
"Pretty hard to say without seeing the cards but nobody is really playing to just move up. David (Oppenheim) and Bruno (Fitoussi) are the short stacks but they haven't been nitting it up to try to squeak into the final table, which is to be expected with a tournament of this magnitude and buy-in ($50,000)."
Action will conclude for the night once the bubble burst (eight handed final table for 8 game mix). Final table will start tomorrow.
The Grinder In One Drop?
David Oppenheim was the final table bubble boy of Event 45: $50,000 Poker Players Championship. The final table will start tomorrow. Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi will be entering the day as the chip leader.
At an adjacent table we spotted Mizrachi’s rail, which included his brothers, Hassan Habib, and his friend "Louie." They were just sitting around, laughing and doing card tricks when Louie approached us and said, “Hey, you want a story for PokerNews?” Of course we snap-called obliged. He then proceeds to tell us that Michael Mizrachi will be playing in the One Drop. He then showed us this check as proof:
The buy in for One-Drop is $1,000,000, so maybe this is a deposit.
The Grinder In One Drop: Updated
Well, it's official. We just saw this tweet from Michael Mizrachi's twitter:
It's official @TheGrinder44 will be playing the $1,000,000 buy in One Drop event. Here is the deposit check! http://t.co/8KYAFbrx
June 27 2012FollowNight Cap
It’s the last level of play in Event 48: $3,000 Limit Hold'em and we were privy to some chatter at a table, featuring Maria Ho, Team PokerStars Pro Jonathan Duhamel, and Dwyte Pilgrim.
The money bubble had just burst and judging by the beers Pilgrim and Duhamel were enjoying, the table was in good spirits. Ho was having what appeared to be some wine as well. Both Ho and Pilgrim were lamenting their birthday run-bad when they realized an upcoming tournament falls on their fateful day.
“I don’t think I’ve ever run-good on my birthday,” Ho said. “Maybe it’s the Poker Gods way of telling me to do something else with my life on my birthday.”
Moments later a short-stacked Mario Ho busted, but not before the waiter delivered her night cap.
We encourage everyone to get involved with "The Muck." See something you think is Muck worthy Send it to the muck@pokernews.com. We accept all media including photos and videos.
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JUN 26
First Five With 2012 World Series of Poker Bracelet Winner Rocco Palumbo
We caught up with Rocco Palumbo moments after he captured his first World Series of Poker bracelet in Event #44: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em. Palumbo, from Italy, had plenty of fellow boisterous Italians on his rail, including Team PokerStars Pro Max Martinez. For winning, Paulmbo will take home $464,464.
What was your first thought after you realized you won?
Relief. He [runner-up Nelson Robinson] had doubled up a few times, so I was very happy when it was over.
Who’s the first person you’re going to call?
My wife. My parents.
Who was the first person to congratulate you?
Oh wow, it was like everybody at once. So many people, it was so great to have them chanting, and yelling every time I won a pot.
What’s the first thing you’re going to do tonight to celebrate?
My friends and I are gonna go out drinking!What’s the first thing you’re going to buy with your winnings?
A car. I was going to buy one anyways, but I’m not sure which car yet.
Follow PokerNews on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news.
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JUN 26
All Mucked Up: 2012 World Series of Poker Day 30 Live Blog
All Mucked Up is a live blog of all the stuff you want to know at the 2012 World Series of Poker, besides hand histories and bad beats. Well, we might add a few in here, everyone loves a good bad beat story — unless it happened to you. Check back often for polls, soundbites, celebrity sightings, and who knows what else!
May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favor
Another day, another dollar we always say. So we took our morning stroll down to the Rio sports book to grab the odds for today's one and only tournament that's finishing out, Event #44: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em. Leading the pack is Thomas Conway, who is going off at 3/1 odds. On the bottom rung is Paul Sokoloff who is going for 15/1. Also in the mix is the last woman standing Anke Berner who is going for 6/1.
Thomas Conway: 3/1
Nelson Robinson: 4/1
Darren Rabinowitz: 5/1
Patrick Karschamroon: 6/1
Francisco Azares: 6/1
Anke Berner: 6/1
Keven Stammen: 6/1
Niel Mittelman: 7/1
Jaspal Brar: 15/2
Kevin Elia: 17/2
David Forster: 13/2
Jason Everett: 10/1
Rocco Palumbo: 10/1
Travell Thomas: 12/1
Mario Delis: 18/1
Paul Sokoloff: 15/1Also playing today is Event #45: $50,000 Poker Players Championship, which will come to it's exciting conclusion tomorrow, and we'll bring you all the odds from that. Event #46: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em will also have odds posted tomorrow, as it is scheduled to finish. Starting today is Event #47: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split 8-or-Better and Event #48: $3,000 Limit Hold'em. Stay tuned to All Mucked Up and the live reporting blog for all the exciting action.
Tom Tweets: Day 30
We promised yesterday to bring you a little insight from the hand we posted from Tom Dwan's twitter yesterday, so here is what Durrrr had to say about the hand in a response to a tweet he got:
"@whimsicalcookie: is he ever bet/3-betting a worse K for value there? Or is your K9 basically a bluff catcher?" Only bluffs or fh. Calls jx
June 25 2012FollowLooks like Dwan might have made a mistake in the hand, but how often does that happen? Hopefully Dwan shows up soon at the World Series of Poker because there is only a limited number of events left. Surely, we'll be seeing him in the Big One for One Drop $1,000,000 buy-in. We'll keep you posted and let you know when he shows up.
The Worst Eight Games
Yesterday we promised to bring you answers from the players on what their worst game in the eight-game mix was, and today we will weave them in throughout the day. For our first two players we have Dan Shak and Matt Glantz.
Matt Glantz told us that he doesn't have a worst game in the mix, he just plays all the games about the same.
Dan Shak on the other hand explained that his worst game is probably No-Limit Hold'em, something that surprised us a bit considering his continued success at the game.
Readers were spot on with Matt Glantz, but were a little off with Shak, as a majority of the readers believed his worst game was 2 - 7 Lowball. Next up, we'll bring you the responses from Bertrand 'ElkY' Grospellier and John D'Agostino, so stay tuned.
Also, last night in All Mucked Up we mentioned that a very controversial hand was going on in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship. After nearly an hour, the situation got worked out, and the floor made a ruling. The hand is sure to be one of the most controversial and talked about hands for weeks to come. We weren't able to bring you the entire hand in All Mucked Up, but to get a concrete summary of what happened, check out the piece the PokerNews Staff wrote up.
Fashion Faux Pas of the Day: Day 30
We saw this gentleman in Event #47: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split 8-or-Better wearing a very questionable hat with a very questionable logo.
Sorry sir, but where have you been for the last year?
We don't know if he was wearing the hat as a sarcastic gesture or if it was the only hat he had, but we do know that he was getting a bunch of very awkward looks from his tablemates. If we were him, we'd take the hat off, burn it, and then burn it again.
We might even have to award this hat the "Fashion Faux Pas of the Series Award." We foresee some epic slowrolls in his future.
How Much Bling Is Too Much?
We continued our stroll around the Brasilia room where we also found this gentleman also in Event #47: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split 8-or-Better. The man was wearing a black and red hoodie complete with gold printed designs as well as golden tassel pull strings.
While many have criticized Dwyte Pilgrim for having too much bling on at the table, this gentleman may have just outdone him with this hoodie. There may not be any such as too much bling, but this gentleman is definitely toeing the line with this hoodie.
Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split 8-or-Better Strategy with Max Pescatori
We got a chance to talk to Max Pescatori who was on break in Event #47: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split 8-or-Better. We asked him for some tips for any amateurs playing in the event.
"First of all play the event so that I have a better chance to win," Pescatori said. "But really, be careful about putting money in the pot without a chance to win the high. Many people don't understand that Omaha Hi-Low Limit hands don't translate to Pot-Limit."
We asked Pescatori what some of the biggest mistakes that people make are in the tournament."People chase too much with
," he explained. "They are chasing for the low when they don't have any value to win the high hand. Just hoping for half the pot. You can't scoop a pot with no value to win high hand. That is unless you are in a hand with three people and you know they are both chasing a high."We also asked Pescatori what his first few levels were like and how his table draw was. "I'm actually just going to start right now," he said. "Usually I start later because it's difficult to play from noon to one AM every day.
"Generally I start at 4 PM," he continued. So we asked him why he decided to show up at 2 PM today. "Today is a triple chance. You have a good chance to get more chips and you can afford to get cooler and still be ok."
Pescatori gave some great tips for anyone planning to play this event, or an event like it, so we'll try and get some more tips and tricks from pros who are playing the event on the next tournament break.
Hallway Naps: Jennifer Tilly Edition
In today's edition of Hallway Naps we found Jennifer Tilly taking a nap in the hallway during the break of Event #47: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split 8-or-Better.
Jennifer Tilly napping in the Rio hallwaysTilly must be tired from having to hang out with Phil Laak all the time.
Napping during tournament breaks is becoming more and more of a regular occurrence as for the past few days we've caught Gus Hansen napping, and even on occasion, doing some weird type of yoga like stretches. We'll let you know who else we see napping in the hallways, as well as who snores and who doesn't.
The Worst Eight Games - Part 2
We promised to bring you answers from the pros on what their worst game in the eight-game mix was, and we're back with two more answers from two more pros.
John D'Agostino told us that his worst game is No-Limit Hold'em. Readers were way off on this one, and over 50 percent of pollies thought his worst game was Razz.
When we asked Bertrand 'ElkY' Grospellier what his worst game was he told us, "F***** Razz," in his thick French accent. Readers were a little closer on this one, as Limit Hold'em and Razz we're both close on the polls.
When we come back with The Worst Eight Games, we'll bring you the final two answers from Shaun Deeb and Joe Cassidy.
Wind-Up Merchant
In the midst of all the foreboding tweets warning men not to enter Event #51: $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold'em Championship, Justin 'stealthmunk' Schwartz tweeted his 'intention' to play, and quoted his generous markup. Safe to say Daniel Negreanu won't be buying a piece this summer, nor will Doc Sands...
Top Ten Most Thought Out World Series of Poker HandsBrandon Adams held a crowd sourcing contest on twitter the other day for his followers to help him find the most thought out World Series of Poker hands. Requirements were that the follower linked the videos and sent them to his email address. Extra points were awarded for hands with 100+ big blinds and extra thought going into turn and river decisions. Here is a few of the tweets about the contest:
The #1 hand was a hand from the 2009 Main Event Final Table where Phil Ivey bluffs the pants of Steve Begleiter.
Worth mentioning is also this hand from the $40,000 buy-in event where Isaac Haxton runs into Vitaly Lunkin's slow played aces. In the hand you can hear Scott Seiver call out for Haxton's one time, and you can even see Seiver high stepping across the feature table stage with excitement at the end of the hand.
To see the complete list, make sure you check out Brandon Adam's twitter page.
Is There Anything He Can't Do?
Viktor 'Isildur1' Blom is going deep in Event #45: $50,000 The Poker Players Championship. So what, he's a pro right? Actually, last week was the first time Isildur had played most of these games. Check out these tweets by Negreanu about his learning curve...
A Tale Of Two Phils: Part 3472
Seem's like everywhere we look this summer it's Phil Ivey and Phil Hellmuth in fierce competition for one event or another. Today they're both going deep in Event #45: $50,000 The Poker Players Championship. With their early evening break drawing to close, we see Hellmuth in deep meditation at his seat, while Ivey is talking to Michael 'The Grinder' Mizrachi and one of the Rio tournament directors over some ruling.
We'll keep hanging around the Amazon room and keeping you informed as this event reaches its climax in the next few days.
Inspiring Tales of the World Series of Poker - Larry Duplantis
There is an interesting story brewing in Event #46: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em.
Huey Hulin on left. Larry Duplantis on rightThe gentleman pictured about is Larry Duplantis, and his helper. From what we've been able to make out, Duplantis cannot function certain parts of his body, making it difficult to play poker. But this hasn't hindered his game much, or even slowed down the action any as fas as we can tell. His helper has been helping him by showing him his cards, as well as moving his chips, but remains mostly silent during action.
Duplantis announces the size of his bets, as well as folds, calls, and raises. Truly, this inspiring tale from the World Series of Poker has more behind it, but we wont be able to find out more until Duplantis is on break and we can speak to him ourselves. Currently, Duplantis has a ton of chips in Event #46 and is poised to make a deep run, so expect more updates as the story unfolds. We'll post an update as soon as we find out more about him.
So... How Much Do You Have?
Check out this messy chipstack from the $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em Day 2. Some players like to stack their chips in tens, some in twentys, some in little castles and some just stack them by color. This gentlemen isn't too worried about the standard stacking rudiments, and has simply put them in the order that he won them.
Guess Who's Back!
According to Tom Dwan’s latest tweet he’s just landed in Vegas. He’s been in Macau playing nosebleed cash games. We’ll be sure to talk to Dwan once we find him.
Going for Two?
We spotted three players in Event 48: $3,000 Limit-Hold'em that have already won a WSOP bracelet this year.
Here’s Ylon Schwartz who won Event 27: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E.
Here’s Ronnie Bardah who won Event#40 $2,500 Limit Hold’em.
Here’s Brian Meinders Event#25: $1,500 Limit Hold’em Shootout.
Prop Bet: Day 30
Check out this funny Prop Bet Matt Waxman just posted on twitter.
On a side note, we’ve been trying to catch up with Jared Bleznick for weeks, but he seems to be everywhere we aren’t.vNow thinking we should make a substantial bet on not seeing him for the rest of the Series..
Anyone In The Rio?...
Brandon Cantu just issued this challenge on twitter, seeing if anyone wants to play him HU tonight at any stake. We'll try track down Cantu and see if anyone takes him up on this tonight.
Castle Building With The Champion
Last years Team PokerStars Pro Pius Heinz is running pretty good and building up a big stack in Event #46: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em. Heinz, the reigning World Series Of Poker Main Event Champion, is a good friend of PokerNews, featured on Last Weekend's Podcast.
Inspiring Tales of the World Series of Poker – Part 2 Larry Duplantis
Huey Hulin on left. Larry Duplantis on rightWe blogged earlier in the day about Larry Duplantis, who despite his physical disability is making a run in Event: 46 $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em. Duplantis and his friend, Huey Hulin, hail from Saint Martinsville, Louisiana.
We caught up with them at break for a chat.
Is this your first WSOP event?
Yes, this is also my first time ever in Vegas. I won my seat in my hometown pub league. Last year we played for a seat it the Main Event ($10,000 buy-in) but this year we decided to give away four seats to four $2,500 events. The other four guys are friends from the same league. I didn’t wanna come out here alone.
How long have you’ve been playing poker?
Since I was 18 so it’s been over 20 years.
Are there concerns of other players seeing your hole cards when Hulin shows them to you?
We got it down. Fortunately I’ve had a lot of corner seats and that helps. Hulin chimed in; it’s also easier when he has a lot of chips, to help cover. If I’m in seat five or something then there are people on both sides so we have to be more careful.
We'll be sure to keep tabs on Duplantis as the tournament progresses.
Dress For Success
We caught up with Ben Yu at break of the $50,000 Poker Players Championship for a quick chat. Only 28 players remain in this star-studded field.
We’ve noticed you like to dress in a shirt and tie at the tables.
Well, honestly it was to get coverage. Which seems to be working since you guys are talking to me right now (laughs). When I dress good I feel good and that helps me play well. Although when I play good I usually run bad, funny how that works.
Who are some players that you don’t want to have on your left in this tournament?
That’s a major flaw going into these games. I respect them, but you can't do that (worry about who’s on your left). You’ll be at a psychological disadvantage. I’ve spent the weeks leading up to this playing $5Ks and $10Ks with a lot of these same players. I had Ivey (Phil) to my left and I said to myself ‘I need to play tighter’ but then I realized how stupid that is. I’m gonna keep sticking it in and play my game regardless.
What’s your least favorite game in the Eight Game Mix?
All of them, but honestly I’d have to say Triple Draw. It takes forever to complete a hand and there’s too much gamble in it.
Railbird Report
The rail at the $50,000 Players Poker Championship continues to grow. Only 26 players remain. We'll do our best to catch up with some of the notables at break.
The Man In Black
We're not talking about Johnny Cash. We spotted these two in the Amazon room.
Player A
Jeffery LisandroCheck Mate
While moseying through the Rio Poker Kitchen we came across—of all things—impromptu chess matches. Several players were huddled around observing and talking strategy. No wagering was involved but the group all seemed to be having a great time. We were privy to the intricacies of castling and Bobby Fischer references. No sign of Fischer yet, but we’re still searching.
It’s All In The Eyes
We came upon this scene in Event 46: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em. Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Selbst had her sights set squarely on the two gentlemen on her right. Did we just stumble upon a potentially big three-way pot? There was a raise followed by a three-bet and the action was on Selbst. Was she contemplating a cold four bet? You could sense the tension in the air. Nobody moved. Nobody spoke. Moments passed. It took us awhile, but it dawned on us, Selbst wasn’t event in the hand. She was just observing to get information for future spots. The attention to detail is just one of the many attributes that makes her so great.
We encourage everyone to get involved with "The Muck." See something you think is Muck worthy? Send it to the muck@pokernews.com. We accept all media including photos and videos.
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JUN 25
All Mucked Up: 2012 World Series of Poker Day 29 Live Blog
All Mucked Up is a live blog of all the stuff you want to know at the 2012 World Series of Poker, besides hand histories and bad beats. Well, we might add a few in here, everyone loves a good bad beat story — unless it happened to you. Check back often for polls, soundbites, celebrity sightings, and who knows what else!
May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favor
We made our daily run to the Rio sportsbook this morning to get the odds for the final 20 in Event 43: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em
Michael Morgousky @ 19/2
Mark Ketteringham @ 11/1
Daniel Zeihen @ 22/1
Francois Dur @ 12/1
Zach Clark @ 4/1
Jesse Yaginuma @ 9/1
Adam Foster @ 16/1
Carl Diveglia III @ 17/1
Tom Alner @ 26/1
John Nelson @ 11/2
Cary Marshall @ 16/1
Randy Lew @ 15/1
Jared Rosenbaum @15/1
Andres Sanchez @17/1
Henry Lu @ 11/1
Balazs Botond @7/2
Michael Judge @20/1
Hovan Nguyen @ 21/1
James Mackey @5/1
Neil Cahnning @ 4/1Heads Up Match Resumes
Jackie Glazier and Greg Ostrander are resuming their heads up match in Event 41: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em. Glazier comes into the match with a 3-1-chip lead. She has a chance to be first woman to win an open World Series of Poker event since Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Selbst in 2008.
The heads up match was cut short last night when both players decided to restart today. However, Glazier would’ve have preferred to finish it last night.
“I didn’t wanna break. I should’ve have agreed to it. I think someone got in Greg’s ear to resume today.”
Regardless of the restart, Glazier says she’s prepared, “I went in the steam room, showered, and I’m ready.”
Glazier supporters are well represented today, complete with an Aussie flag draped over the rail. When asked if the support helps, Glazier said, “Definitely, how can it not?”
Gavin Smith may join David Tuchman in the booth today for the online stream. Smith did some work in the booth last night.
Jennifer Tilly In The Building
Jennifer Tilly in center. Brian Rast on right.We found Jennifer Tilly in the hallways of the Rio having a chat with Brian Rast. We spoke with Tilly to get the latest on her and Phil Laak.
“We just drove in yesterday from LA. I was in New York doing a play on Broadway, Phil was in Macau playing cash games,” Tilly said.
Tilly hasn’t played much poker over the last four months, citing “a big hit in cash games.” She’s looking forward to playing some WSOP events.
“I’ll be playing everything I can, I think there’s a shorthanded event coming up. I really like six-max, and I can’t wait till the Main Event."
Euro Cup
Only four teams remain in the Euro Cup: Spain, Portugal, Germany, and Italy. We found a Spanish club team and Portuguese jersey in the Brasilia today, both nations face off in the semi-finals, which begs the question:
Spain
PortugalBloufit Versus Whioutfit
If you’ve been keeping up with the Muck, then you know our fascination with peoples outfits. Here we have a gentleman in all white, and poker player Matt Berkey in all blue.
Tom Tweets of the Day
We've been trying to bring you interesting poker tweets from Tom Dwan when we get them. In the early morning hours of today, Tom finally graced us with a a couple of hands he played in Maccau. We'll post the hand today, and we'll follow up with a little insight from Dwan tomorrow.
Main Event November Niners Represent
We were perusing the Amazon room looking at tables in Event #44: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em when we found this gem.
At the table is 2009 Main Event Winner Joe Cada seated right next to 2008 Main Event Runner-Up Ivan Demidov.
Joe Cada and Ivan DemidovOn the other end of the table is 2010 Main Event 9th place finisher Soi Nguyen.
Together, the three players have amassed more than $18,000,000 in total tournament cashes. Quite a feat for just three players. We'll see if we can catch up with them on break to see what it feels like to be playing at the same tables as one another.
Least Favorite Discipline Of Eight Game Mix
It’s day two of Event 45: $50,000 Poker Players Championship. It’s an eight game mix consisting of: Limit 2-7 Triple Draw, Limit Texas Hold’em, Limit Omaha Eight or Better, Razz, Limit Seven Card Stud, Limit Stud Eight or Better, No Limit Texas Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha.
We asked several players which of the eight games is their least favorite.
We’ll get more reactions from other pros and post the results tomorrow.
WSOP - 1000th Bracelet Winner, and 1000th Event
We had a chance to speak with World Series of Poker Media Director Nolan Dalla who gave us an interesting statistic about this years series.
Turns out that Greg Ostrander, who won Event #41: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em is the World Series of Poker's 1000th bracelet winner.
But, Event #41 was not the 1000th event. Due to a few years where doubles events were played, and two bracelets were given out, Event 47: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split 8-or-Better is actually the 1000th event.
Either way it's an amazing to think that there are less than 1000 people in the world with World Series of Poker Bracelets.
Car Pic Of The Day
We’re always on the lookout for cool and unique cars in the Rio valet parking lot. We came across this Fikser Karma:
What's On Your Head: Day 29
It's been a while since we've shared a genuinely cool hat, but today we finally found one. A gentleman in Event #44: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em was wearing a Perry the Platypus hat from the Disney cartoon Phineas and Ferb.
We're going to award him hat of the day, plus all the hat of the year points that go with it just for being original.
Final Table Party
We spotted Pratyush “FenwayKing” Buddiga on his way to rail Balazs Botond on the final table of Event 43: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em.
Balaz Botond pictured in centerWe hurriedly snapped this picture of FenwayKing (minus the top of his head) carrying a tray of beers on his way to the Thunderdome (feature final table in the Amazon room).
FenwayKing with tray of beersDinner Break in the Poker Players Championship
We caught up with Dan Shak and Matt Glantz who were taking their dinner break in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship and we got some insight from them about the tournament. We asked both players what it is about this tournament that draws them in, and what they like about it.
"It's all the best players in the world," Shak said. "I'm in it for the challenge. When you win a $1,500 it's exciting and everything, but the field is so big, and there is so many players. In a field like this, every table is full of good players. And obviously, the final table is going to be one of the toughest. If you win, you certainly prove yourself to be one of the best poker players around."
Matt Glantz explained that the Poker Players Championship is his biggest event of the year.
"This is like the Main Event for me," Glantz said. "There is so many players who wait all year for the Main Event, but it's just not an attainable goal. This is the biggest tournament of the year for me with the prize pool."
We also asked the two what their best and worst games are in the eight game mix.
"Well Dan's best game is pot-limit omaha, today," Matt Glantz joked after a recent hand Shak won against Jason Mercier.
"I really like Stud 8, Omaha 8, and Razz," Shak said.
"I don't have a best game," Glantz said.
Lastly, we got a chance to ask Glantz how his day two is going. After making the final table of the Players Championship last year, and coming in as the day one chip leader, he has a lot to follow up on.
"I'm still in the top ten," Glantz said. "I just want to win. I'm at the toughest table right now with Ivey and Negreanu though."
Cash Game Watch: Day 29
We wandered by the high-limit cash area this afternoon to check out the action. We saw Barry Greenstein and Victor Ramdin playing chinese, as they so often are this World Series. Also spotted, sweating Victor Ramdin over his shoulder, was 2005 Main Event winner Greg 'Fossilman' Raymer. It's Raymer's birthday today, perhaps Ramdin is giving him a chinese free-roll as a gift...
I'll Lay you...
"I'll lay you..." is a common term said many times at the World Series of Poker when making prop bets, but I don't think we've ever had to use it in this fashion:
Looks like someone got Leied at the table.It appears this gentleman in Event #46: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em just got leied, but we're not talking about odds anymore.
Who Wore It Better?
Duke Of Fremont, Mystery CubanAfter snapping the pic of Fossilman in the chinese cash game, we took a spin through the Rio Deep Stack in the Pavilion room, on the look out for any interesting characters. We spotted the infamous 'Duke Of Fremont' playing in the huge tournament, as well as another gentleman similarly suited up!
Speaking of the Duke Of Fremont, we saw this riveting tweet from him earlier this afternoon, describing a near-impossible bad beat!
I am on table white 101 deep stack @WSOP . Three all in 6/3, 5/9, & A/Q. Flop 9/9/?. 5/9 won, incredible! http://t.co/DxX1NtAB
June 25 2012Follow
Overheard in the Brasilia Room
"It always smells like Woodstock after breaks," one dealer said to another.
Suited Up: Day 28
Maybe poker players really are changing their ways. Maybe dressing like a hoodlum, degen, or hobo are in the days of the past. Maybe it's time for poker players to start suiting up.
Ben Yu and Tony Dunst sure think so. If you ever come down to the Rio and see either of the two men play, they are always in dress shirts, ties, and most of the time, slacks.
Ben Yu and Tony DunstCopy Cat: Volume 2
Earlier in the Series we found two people sitting next to each other with the exact same jacket on. Today we spotted this pair who aren't too far off, and they even have matching navy baseball caps. Imagine the embarrassment...
Castle... Re-Building
Check out this sweet chip stack Jordan Young just tweeted! It's about 200bbs in Event #46: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em.
Sadly, by the time we had raced over there, Young had a job on his hands to rebuild his castle after a big pot. Himself and Galen Hall share a joke below.
Get going Jordan, night's almost out!
Must Be Cold Up There!
Continuing with the theme of well organized chip stacks, we caught a glimpse of this guy's neatly arranged castle, with all the chips even lined up perfectly. Right atop the mountain sits his mascot Polar Bear.
Make Yourself At Home...
This isn't the first time we've spotted Gus Hansen making himself at home in the Rio. Today he's personifying the term 'flaking out' right in the hallway outside the Amazon. Taking a phone call in Danish, Gus is lying down, stretching and doing yoga and he doesn't care who knows it. It's good to have The Great Dane back at the WSOP.
Bit Of A Ruckus
People are all talk about an incident in the Brasilia room where Will Reynolds confronted Annie Duke. It seems the debate got fairly heated, with Galen Hall tweeting this picture of Reynolds standing up and talking to Duke.
Annie Duke has long since busted and is nowhere to be seen now...
The Ivey Factor
Finally, after all these years, we discovered what makes Phil Ivey so intimidating... He's up higher than everyone else.
The Big Match-up
With the end of the day fast approaching, we managed to get this hasty shot of the Phil Ivey vs Viktor 'Isildur' Blom match up that has the rail salivating in Event #45: $50,000 The Poker Players Championship
While the rail want to talk about the big match-ups for tomorrow, all the players can talk about is the huge hand that took place during one of the PLO levels, where we understand 3 players were all-in and nobody agreed on the ruling. The hand took 45 minutes to straighten out, and still nobody's happy with the final decision. Right now, Chad Brown is standing outside the PokerNews office debating the ruling passionately with some friends. We'll link you to the full write up of what happened just as soon as it's online.
Here's a picture of Viktor 'isildur1' Blom during the debate, the only player seated, waiting patiently for a resolution.
We encourage everyone to get involved with "The Muck." See something you think is Muck worthy? Send it to the muck@pokernews.com. We accept all media including photos and videos.
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JUN 25
Dan Shak Sues Ex-Wife, Beth Shak, Over 1,200 Pair Designer Shoe Collection
According to a report from The New York Post, hedge fund manager and poker player Dan Shak is suing ex-wife Beth Shak for allegedly not disclosing her collection of designer shoes during their divorce proceedings. Dan Shak claims the collection was hidden in a "secret room" and the Post reports that because of the value of the shoe collection, Dan Shak could be entitled to "hundreds of thousands more in their divorce settlement."
“I’m shaking my head over this whole thing,” Beth told the Post. “He is saying he didn’t know the closet in our master bedroom existed.”
According to the suit, “In the summer of 2011, Daniel became aware that Beth owned and failed to disclose an extensive . . . collection of Christian Louboutin shoes . . . and other high-end designer shoes and bags." Dan Shak is attempting to get the court to account for all of the shoes, a collection he estimates to be at $1 million.
Last year, Beth and her shoes were featured on the Today Show, where she claims she has shoes she doesn't remember buying and had to give away some shoes to make room for new pairs.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Follow PokerNews on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news.
*Photo courtesy of Dispatch.com
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JUN 24
All Mucked Up: 2012 World Series of Poker Day 28 Live Blog
All Mucked Up is a live blog of all the stuff you want to know at the 2012 World Series of Poker, besides hand histories and bad beats. Well, we might add a few in here, everyone loves a good bad beat story — unless it happened to you. Check back often for polls, soundbites, celebrity sightings, and who knows what else!
May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favor
Bright and early this morning we dropped into the Rio sportsbook to get the odds for he big final days today. First we'll take a look at the notables in Event #42: $2,500 Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi-Low 8 or Better
Jeff Lisandro 3/1
Brandon Guss 24/1
Timothy Frazin 24/1
Allen Bari 22/1
Perry Friedman 4/1
Daniel Ratgan 14/1
Oleksii Kovalchuk 10/1
Bryan Devonshire 8/1
Yural Bronshtein 7/1
Dale Philips 15/1
Tim Burt 17/1
Mark Gregorich 15/1
Wing Wong 20/1
Norman Chad 13/2
Michael Krescanko 7/1
Thomas Schneider 5/1
George Danzer 13/2And with an outside chance
Charles Kassin 90/1
Anthony Bellino 70/1Also available in the Rio sportsbook are odd for Event #41: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em. There are still plenty of runners, so we'll just list the favorites and notables below.
John Kelly 8/1
Jackquiline Glazier 5/1
Dylan Hortin 8/1
Joseph Chaplin 5/1
Elio Fox 17/2
Greg Otrander 10/1
Peter Nguyen 12/1
Kevin Schaffel 13/1Also worth a mention are Morten Mortensen at 12/1 for his great name and Shannon Shorr at 40/1 for his nice tweet.
Shout out to all the members of the poker media that work so hard covering these #WSOP tournaments!
June 22 2012FollowCash Game Watch: Day 28
Some of the big name pros have been skipping the events the last few days to check out the big cash games, including Phil Hellmuth:
Although I missed a WSOP tourney (Saturday) to play "Roll your own" Chinese poker 24 hrs straight w @ShaunDeeb, I did have a lot of fun!
June 24 2012FollowToday we have a heads up from Doyle Brunsen that a huge game might be going down. We'll keep our ears to the ground and try to bring you the scoop about where the game is at, who's playing and what game they'll be playing just as soon as we find out..
Supposed to be a giant cash game today. Thinking about skipping 50K tourney. #whattodo?
June 24 2012FollowCelebrity Look-Alike
And we're off! The first look-alike of the day is in. We've featured this player before in a 'Who Wore It Better?' between himself and Elky. Today we realized who he looks like - Sickboy from the 1996 British classic Trainspotting. What do you think?
The Card Protector Chronicles
The Card Protector Chronicles has been gotten a lot of positive feedback in the last few days (with a sample size of one person), so we cast our eyes about the Amazon room and the overspill from Event #44: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em to see what we could find. Surprise, surprise word has leaked out that we're on the look out for Card Protectors and people are anxiously eyeing us as we walk by, making sure their little mascots are in plain view.
First up is 'The Rare Chiposaurus', a name this man has given to his prehistoric mascot, and one he was excited to get printed on PokerNews.
Here we have a furry mouse, a slightly unorthodox card protector in that it's a small teddy bear, but effective none the less.
This man took a patriotic stance and went with a carved wooden eagle.
Finally we have the Bear card protector, and not the first Bear we've seen this series. This man was prepared and made sure his Bear was facing us for when he took the picture - getting sneaky pics is getting tougher and tougher by the day in the Rio!
Stay tuned for more sweet card protectors.
Another Victim!
Anyone who's spent significant time in the Rio knows all about the aggressive tactics of the hall-side vendors. Dan O'Brien's tweet about the oxygen bar is getting a lot of love on twitter today!
Sports Sunday
The NBA and NHL seasons are over and the NFL season is still a few months away, but the Euro Cup and MLB are in full swing. We came across several players representing their sports team today.
Italy beat England on penalties in today's quarterfinal match. That's the sixth time in England's history they've been knocked out of a international tournament via penalties.
Matt Affleck
Fashion Faux-Pas: Day 28
Check out this retina burning outfit from the field of Event #44: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em. The more you study the picture the more you can see where the bloke was coming from – I mean, he’s got the blue, the orange and the white on each individual item of clothing, but there’s just too much going on for it to be a comfortable combination.
COLOR OVERLOADH.O.R.S.E. Play
We caught up with WPT commentator Mike Sexton, as he was getting ready for the start of today’s Event 45: $50,000 Poker Players Championship. Although Event 45 is an Eight Game Mix, we rattled off some names to Sexton and asked him he would rather play them in the basketball game HORSE or the card game.
I’m Just A Girl: Part 3
In this series we ask female poker players the lame lines they’re subjected to at the table by their male tablemates. We caught up with Cherish Andrews and Maria “Maridu” Mayrinck.
Andrews is coming off a fourth place finish in WSOP Event #31, earning $210,083. What lame lines does she hear?
“I get, ‘Oh, did your boyfriend teach you poker?’” Also, “well at least my chips are going to a cute girl like you.”
There are some advantages however.
“In the lower buy-ins, like the 1k and 1.5K events most people don’t recognize me so they don’t know I can play,” Andrews said.
How about Maridu?
“I’ve had a lot of douche bags this year,” Mayrinck said. “I had one guy yell at me when I took a pot off of him on the bubble.”
When asked if she gets guys hitting on her at the table, Mayrinck replied, “They know not to go there with me.”
The Big Papa
Thankfully, The Godfather Of Poker has not made good on his threat of not playing the 50k today in favor of some cash games. He just turned up to the Amazon room on the stroke of 5pm and is getting a lot of attention, delaying him from beginning the event. The event organisers were asking people to let Doyle Brunson get to his seat, and ushering people away, but in typical appreciative fashion Brunson said ‘Don’t be ridiculous’ and kept signing autographs until the crowd had dissipated.
The Amazon room is more packed than we've seen yet this summer. At the time of writing we can't even get near the rail, but now that the players have sat down and the cards are up in the air we're going to go on the prowl with our trusty Nikon and snap some pics of some of the tougher table draws.
Doyle Is Here But...
We just saw this tweet from Matt Glantz again talking about the mystery big cash game going on in town... sounds like something our readers might want to hear about! We'll try catch Matt on break from the 50k 8-Game and shake him down for information!
Just received text from a friend who is skipping the 50k due to an enormous cash game in town... 'Just sent in 150k bluff guy rebluffed me'
June 24 2012FollowThe 50k Eight-Game Mix
This is it, the one we've all been waiting for. The rail is fittingly dense for the highest buy in event of the World Series so far. We'll try to cover it as throughly as we can tonight. We'll get you started with a few interesting table draws.
First up we have Mike Matusow, Bertrand 'Elky' Grospellier and Huck Seed all at one table. That combination is sure to bring about some interesting table talk.
Elsewhere, Viktor 'Isilur1' Blom has been seated next to Scott Seiver. Seiver has consistently brought out the talkative side in all his tables so far, but may not know where to start with the silent assassin that is Isildur1. We'll keep an eye on that table and see how the atmosphere is. We'll also be giving generous odds on Seiver drinking shots with Blom before the night is out, so swing by the PokerNews office if you want to take us up on that.
Finally, we saw this interesting match between Brian 'Stinger' Hastings and Doyle Brunson brewing. This is a true old school vs new school encounter, although, as always, there's no guarantee the old schools knows the new schools name...
Norman Chad In Beast Mode In WSOP Event #42
ESPN commentator Norman Chad is currently the chip leader of Event 42: $2,500 Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi-Low 8-or-Better. There are 11 players left fighting for the $228,014 prize and the bracelet. We caught up with Chad at break.
Norman ChadWhat are your feelings right now, so close to the final table?
I’m thrilled. I came in 12th last year and I count that as a final table (laughs).
Would this be your first “real” WSOP final table?
It would be my first final table anywhere in the world.
Of the two games in this event which do you feel you’re better in?
Almost equal, maybe Stud a little more than Omaha, it’s the only two games I really play and am good at it.
If you were to win the $228,014 payday how much of that would go to the ex-wives?
They don’t speak to me. They all left me a long time ago, there’s no alimony, they were all happy just to get out of there as quickly as possible, so it’s all mine.
Chad is also getting plenty of twitter love as well.
@NormanChad update: 22 left in #wsop42 Jeff Lisandro chip ldr 355k, Norman in ........ 3rd! w/ 224k. Resume 2pm folo http://t.co/ELZhqlgx
June 24 2012FollowGus Hansen Spotted In Poker Players Championship
Gus Hansen in $50,000 Poker Player ChampionshipThis is Gus Hansen’s first appearance in this year’s WSOP. Apparently, Hansen doesn't roll out of bed for anything less than a $50,000 buy-in. We’ll be sure to keep tabs on him throughout the day.
Naoya Kihara - The Japanese Champion
Naoya Kihara recently won his first bracelet in Event #34: $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Six Handed. What's he doing now? Well Kihara has decided to enter Event #45: $50,000 Poker Players Championship.
Naoya Kihara - Event #34 Winner$50,000 is a lot of money to risk on one tournament, so Kihara must be trying to prove that he has what it takes to hang with the big boys. We don't know if he is playing backed, or if he satellited into the event, but we'll try to catch up with him on break to see if he can give us some insight. We do know that Kihara has a lot of confidence in his game, stating that he was the best Japanese player after winning Event #34. Currently, he is seated with Gus Hansen and Mike Sexton, so this tournament will be a true test of his skills.
Sounds From The Rail - The Brits
As you may have read, the British rails are the rowdiest. They sing, they drink out of shoes, they get kicked out. We wanted to give you a little taste of what it's like to be on the rail with the Brits, who are currently supporting JP Kelly in Event #41: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em.
Sitting on the rail in support of Kelly is James Akenhead and Jake Cody. We'll try to catch up with Kelly now as he's dinner break to see if he has anything good to say about his amazing rail.
Fashion Patrol
Joan Rivers would have a field day with these two.
Player A on left. Player B on right.Eighty-Sixed
The rail has really quieted down after the dinner break in Event #41: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em. We got a chance to talk to a couple of security guards down here at the rail who gave us the low down on what happened.
"We didn't ask anyone to leave but one gentleman," he told us. "And he is no longer allowed at the Rio or any of the other 11 properties."
We asked the security guards what the man had done to get eighty-sixed. "He was just being loud, belligerent, screaming during hands," they told us. "We had to escort him out the other day, and that's it. You only get one warning." We talked briefly about the origins of the term eighty-sixed yesterday.
We asked them how often they actually eighty-six people from the casino. "Hardly ever," he told us. "In fact, this might be the first time i've ever had to do it."
We asked if they also asked the rest of the rail to leave as well. "No, we only asked one gentleman to leave," he told us. "But when you remove the ring leader, the rest will follow."
There is no more fun and games on the rail of Event #41.
Chris Moorman, Throwing His Own Party
Chris Moorman is one of the few Brits left on the rail in Event #41. At his feet were two trays of just about 20 drinks, which we assume was meant for the majority of the rail who just left:
Moorman aims to get "Chocolate Wasted" tonight with all those drinks.Moorman, and two other Brits, seem to be trying to finish off the drinks by themselves. We'll see if they can do it, and catch up with Moorman when we can to see how he's feeling.
Who Is Uncle Ron: Day 28
Uncle Ron strikes again. Mason Hinkle, the younger brother of poker playing siblings Grant and Blair Hinkle, was spotted today in the Brasilia room, decked out in patriotic attire.
Uncle Ron also insisted on a custom picture.
"Let me take a picture of you while you're taking a picture of me," Uncle Ron said.
We obliged.
Prop Bets: Day 28
We caught up with Maria 'Maridu' Mayrinck while she was taking a break in the hallway earlier today. She let us in on a little prop bet she made with a friend.
"Well, I was playing in the $1,000, and I was doing alright, I flopped quads once and had a bunch of chips, but I was out by level three," she explained. "So I went over and was talking with my friend, and he wanted me to play in the $235 deep stack with him, just for fun. So I was like of course yeah. And we made a $1,000 last loner to sweeten the deal a little bit and he was out in the first level.
"And me, I was just sitting there playing like a maniac. Oh
? Raise! Oh reraise? Rereraise. And all of a sudden I had a bunch of chips, and I looked up at the prize pool and it's 50k for first place! So then I decided, I could actually win this. It's time to get serious."Mayrinck may not be having the best series, but if she ships the Rio Deepstack, she may be able to get a little something going for her. We'll update you on her progress when we find her again.
While The Man Is Away, The Girls Will Play
We just spotted Maya Antonius in Event #44: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em. Maya is the wife of lady killer Patrik Antonius, who is currently mixing it up in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship.
Maya Antonius in Event #44When we last saw her, Maya was alive with a healthy stack in the event, and we'll be sure to keep an eye on her in case she makes a deep run.
Poker is Boring!
We got a hold of this one on twitter, but apparently, tournament poker is no fun for Gus Hansen who was seen taking a nap on the floor in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship.
ZzzZzzzZzzThis is the first event that we've seen Hansen play this year, so maybe he's just not in shape for tournament poker anymore. Either way, we hope that he's at least keeping his shoes on at the table. No one wants to smell those Gus.
A Good Show For The Ladies
Jackie Glazier is currently heads-up in Event #41: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em, and while the brits may have left, Glazier's rail is electric. They are extremely supportive and cheering loudly, cheers that can be heard through the whole Amazon room.
Jackie Glazier and Greg OstranderGlazier currently has a commanding chip lead and is an odds on favorite to become the first woman to win an open event since Vanessa Selbst in 2008. Her rail has been singing songs such as "Hey Jackie, you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind. Hey Jackie!!"
On the other side of the table, Greg Ostrander's rail is much more passive. They are quiet, only cheering ocassionally, and not with the force or passion of Glazier's rail.
We'll try to get an interview with Glazier should she win the event, and with the momentum she has from being the chip leader and her rail, it may not be long until we see our next woman bracelet holder. The two players have decided to bag and tag for the night, so we'll most likely catch up with the winner of Event #41 tomorrow.
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JUN 24
First Five With First-Time Bracelet Winner Ronnie Bardah
We caught up with first-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Ronnie Bardah moments after he won Event #40: $2,500 Limit Hold'em — Six-Handed. The Massachusetts native pocketed $182,088 for the win.
What was your first thought after you won?
It didn’t hit me till I stopped crying.
Who’s the first person you’re going to call?
My dad. He’s in Boston.
What was your first thought when you saw the Rio sports book had you at 20-1 today?
I’ll show them — 20-1!
What’s the first thing you’re going to do to celebrate?
Going home to shower, relax. It’s my friend's birthday today, so we’re gonna go out later. I’ll be buying a bottle and pour it over his head. [Laughs]
What was the biggest turning point heads up?
I ran like God. I was hitting trips, flushes, and straights. I also outplayed him in a couple of pots. The big hand was the
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This week's Strategy with Kristy podcast features the audio of three PokerStars.tv interviews with PokerStars Team Online members Randy Lew and Mickey Peterson, as well as... more
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