WSOP News

[jetset]

IS DAY ONE AT WSOP AN INDICATOR OF A REDUCED ENTRY?

Organisers report a 40 percent drop in first day players.

World Series of Poker organisers do not seem overly concerned that the player entries for Day 1A of the main event are down 40 percent this year at 1 300 hopefuls.

But speculation that the reduced interest may be due to the decision to exclude online poker sponsorships this year may be a little premature. Jeffrey Pollack, the WSOP commissioner says the dip may be due to other factors and that there is nothing to substantiate the Internet exclusion theory.

"This year's WSOP is the best ever," the official says. "Poker is alive and well based on the great success we've had for the entire 2007 Series. Whether we have three, six, or nine thousand players in the main event, everyone who plays will have a wonderful and thrilling experience."

Observers making projections based on Day 1A estimate that if Days 1B through 1D follow the same trend, the total main event field could be as low as 5 000 players - way down from last year's record 8 773 entrants, which included Internet sponsored seats. Registration remains open until the end of Day 1.

When the first sitting commenced Friday, there were few who had paid the $10 000 entry fee thinking about total numbers, however as George Wallace made the traditional triggering call for the event of "Shuffle up and deal."

Among some of the better known names in poker who chose to start in the first section of Day 1 were Doyle Brunson (who received an ovation from the players as he took his seat) Johnny Chan, Mike Sexton, Spiderman Tobey McGuire, Huck Seed Amarillo Slim, Michael Mizrachi, 'Everybody Loves Raymond' star Brad Garrett, Jeff Madsen, David Grey and Barry Greenstein.


ANTE UP FOR AFRICA RAISES $500 000

The stars turn out to help needy Darfur refugees

The praiseworthy initiative by Annie Duke and movie star Don Cheadle to raise funds for the Darfur refugees in the Sudanese crisis (see previous InfoPowa reports) received a boost of $500 000 following the special "Ante Up For Africa" tournament held at the World Series of Poker this week.

Entrants paid a buy-in of $5 000 each to play, and the money bubble extended to 18 players, with the main prize set at $243 893 and the 18th place paying $8 928.

Joint winners Dan Shak and Brandon Moran helped boost the charity contribution by generously giving up their winner rewards.

167 players, many of them celebrities, entered the event, with contributions earmarked for the Enough Project and the International Rescue Committee. Among those taking their seats at the tables were top poker and silver screen names like Phil Hellmuth, Jamie Gold, Joe Hachem, Ben Affleck, Jason Alexander, Hank Azaria, Matt Damon, Brad Garrett, Willie Garson, Mekhi Phifer, Adam Sandler and many others. Other luminaries included Charles Barkley, Andy Bloch, Justin Bonomo, Doyle Brunson, Chris Ferguson, Ted Forrest, Barry Greenstein, Howard Lederer, Katja Thater and Jennifer Traniello.

 

[Mousey]

Jeffrey Pollack, the WSOP commissioner says the dip may be due to other factors and that there is nothing to substantiate the Internet exclusion theory.

"This year's WSOP is the best ever," the official says. "Poker is alive and well based on the great success we've had for the entire 2007 Series. Whether we have three, six, or nine thousand players in the main event, everyone who plays will have a wonderful and thrilling experience."

I know I'm stubborn and often dense, but I still think the UIGEA, the DoJ freezing millions of dollars of gamblers' monies, and the WSOP refusing to take 3rd party signups (due to UIGEA), all has had a great impact. It will be interesting to see the final tally.

Associated Press Sports
Updated: 9:24 p.m. CT July 6, 2007
DAY: 1 (Officially known as Day 1A)

BIG NEWS: Only 1,287 players registered for the first of four starting days of play in the $10,000 buy-in World Series of Poker main event. That put the tournament on track to enter about 5,150 players, far fewer than the 8,773 that took part last year. If the trend continued, the top prize would be about $7.6 million, less than the $12 million awarded to last year's winner, Jamie Gold.

 

[wangpoker]

Players line up and spend hours to register.
As far as I know this WSOP is worse than before.

 

[jetset]

Update

DAY 1 B WSOP (Update)

1 545 entrants for main event heat

The main event action at the World Series of Poker continued to climb as Day 1B attracted a field of 1 545, with a possible 1 600 or more players planned for Day 1 C.

And in Day 1A (see previous InfoPowa report) a 1 287 player turnout was disappointingly lower than the previous year's 3 000 registrations when play commenced, with 837 players eliminated by the early hours of the following morning after around 16 hours of tough poker action, leaving 450 hopefuls to go through to the next round.

Tinten Olivier has the top chip stack from Day 1A on 270 500, with his nearest rival John Dutchak on 209 600. It was a hard day for many celebrities, with poker pro Barry Greenstein one of the few poker stars to finish high on the list in Day 1A. Former World Champions Bobby Baldwin and Huck Seed also survived Day 1A, but with limited chips. Television celebrity Brad Garrett of "Everybody loves Raymond" fame also survived with a $70,000 chip stack, and movie Spiderman Tobey McGuire made it through as well.

Players have the option of four starting days - 1A through 1D - on registration, and many make the choice a strategic decision, says WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack. "It's a combination of strategy and choice," he says.

Day 1B is now in progress and the player list includes experienced hands like former World Champions Dan Harrington, Joe Hachem, Tom McEvoy and Scotty Nguyen. Also playing are celebrities Montel Williams, Norm MacDonald, Howard Lederer, Annie Duke, Kathy Liebert, Paul Wasicka, Robert Mizrachi, Patrik Antonius, Tony G, Bill Chen, Sam Farha and David Williams.

 

[jetset]

Update - Day 1B

MIKKELSEN TOPS DAY 1B AT WSOP (Update)

Five world champs, and the contest's first blind competitor in second heat

Day1B of the World Series of Poker main event in Las Vegas wound to a weary finale in the wee small hours after almost 15 hours of hard fought poker as a starting field of 1 545 players tried to survive for the next round. In a star-studded field were five former world champs (see previous InfoPowa report) and, for the first time, a blind competitor.

Those former champs - Joe Hachem, Scotty Nguyen, Tom McEvoy, Berry Johnston and Dan Harrington will all be going on to Day 2, having survived the first obstacle on their (hopeful) path to the final table and the millions that await the overall winner of the planet's biggest poker game. Other "names" that managed to stay in the hunt include motivational speaker Montel Williams, Robert Mizrachi, John Duthie, Richard Lee, Evelyn Ng, Matt Matros, David 'The Dragon' Pham, Doug Kim, Cliff Josephy and Tony G.

And of course the ultimate winner, Dag Mikkelsen all the way from Norway.

On the negative side, the eliminations included Kathy Liebert, Erik Seidel, Jennifer Harman, Justin Bonomo, Isabelle Mercier, Jeffrey Lisandro, Howard Lederer, Annie Duke, Paul Nobles and Kevin Saul. One of the players headed for the rail, David Singer, did not go quietly or happily following a dispute over an opponent's cellphone ringing at a crucial point in a hand. Singer's protest was overuled by floor management and his elimination stood.

Blind player Jason Holbrook finally took his seat in this event after a long drawn out debate with the WSOP organisers, where they finally relented and allowed him to play with a sighted "whisperer" at his side. Unfortunately he was eliminated in Day 1B and will not appear again in the 2007 main event.

Dag Mikkelsen ended the day with the highest chip stack on 236 000, chased by Jeff Banghart (186 200) and Albert Strickland (180 700)

The Day 1 section is now halfway through, and Day 1C has commenced on time with the unofficial count for the starting field up at just over 1 700 players. Unofficial projections on the likely total of numbers of players for this main event now hover around 6 000, substantially down from the 8 773 registered for last year's event, when Internet sponsored players were welcomed.

Early eliminations in Day 1C included two celebrity players who share their private lives, too - Phil Laak and movie actress Jennifer Tilly.

Other poker and television, sports or movie celebrities taking their seats included Seinfeld's Jason Alexander, Phil Ivey, Greg Raymer, Chris Moneymaker, Mike Matusow, boxing champion Antonio Tarver, Chris Ferguson, T.J Cloutier, recording artist Nelly, Brad Daugherty, Phil Gordon, J.C. Tran, and Allen Cunningham.

 

[jetset]

Update

DAY 1C ENDS AT WSOP (Update)

Over 650 players going forward to Day 2B

It was another late night for many of the 1 743 players who entered the Day 1C heat at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, which closed with 650 players still in the game and headed for Day 2 B.

Shock early departures (see previous InfoPowa report) were Jennifer Tilly and Phil Laak, and they were followed to the exit by Light Heavyweight World Boxing Champion Antonio Tarver, Mike Matusow and former champ Greg Raymer during the long afternoon and evening.

These were just some of the big names that busted out - others included aces like Phil Ivey, Andy Bloch, Men "The Master" Nguyen, David Sklansky, Katja Thater, Shannon Elizabeth, Ted Lawson, T.J. Cloutier, Kenna James, Steve Brecher, Vanessa Rousso, Gavin Griffin and rapper Nelly.

Still going strong are Seinfeld star Jason Alexander, who battles on with the likes of Aaron Lerner, Fabrice Soulier, Toto Leonidas, Bill Gazes, Jon Friedberg, Darrell Dicken, J.C. Tran, Hasan Habib, Lee Watkinson, Todd Brunson, Allen Cunningham, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, Robert Varkonyi, Steve Dannenmann, former champ Chris Moneymaker, Humberto Brenes, Phil Gordon, Amnon Filippi and Ciaran O'Leary.

Four of the five WSOP champions who started Day 1C are still in the running, Greg Raymer being the only one eliminated thus far.

Mike "The Mouth" Matusow, who has earlier entertained the crown with characteristic banter and a mock tackle on an advertiser was frank about his dismissal, smiling ruefully and saying: "I suck. You play bad and you get what you deserve.I misplayed two hands"

With time running out, play slowed to a crawl as contestants tried to stay in the game, and 10 minutes from the close there were still at least 650 survivors of Day 1C

Jeff Norman held the chip lead at the end of Day 1C on 281 300, followed closely by Tom Bernard (248 900) and Carl Olson (226 100)

 

[winbig]

How's Gold doing? I don't see any mention of him other than the first post...

 

[tennis_balls]

How's Gold doing? I don't see any mention of him other than the first post...

i wish they would make the date of this post more clear. i believe it's from today. the header says July 9 but I think that's just the tourney start date?

You do not have permission to view link Log in or register now.

it's quite scary to see the long list of top pros knocked out today. i loved seeing that Phil Gordon (mega-donk) lost a big hand to Jason Alexander (George from Seinfeld)

 

[winbig]

Outdated URL (Invalid)

Another good place for news

 

[jetset]

Jamie Gold is playing in Day 1D currently underway.

Should have added that he has already been eliminated, along with Hellmuth and Viollette.

 

[jetset]

Update

SPECTACULAR START TO DAY 1D AT WSOP

Poker Player Alliance chief starts the fourth Day 1 action

Former Senator and chairman Alfonse D'Amato of the pressure group Poker Players' Alliance was in Las Vegas to make the traditional "Shuffle Up and Deal" call that started Day 1D - the fourth and last Day One heat in this year's World Series of Poker.

D'Amato took the opportunity to appeal to cheering players to lobby their political representatives and ask them to repeal the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act before making the call, which was followed by a brassy clash that startled more than a few players until it was realised that a long-haired and elegantly suited player had turned impromptu cymbals virtuoso!

With that, some 1 474 contestants got down to business in a field that included former champ Jamie Gold, Gus Hansen, Steve Zolotow, Bill Edler, Daniel Negreanu, Chip Reese, Ralph Perry, Ed Moncada, Theo Jorgenson, David Benyamine, Erica Schoenberg, Eric Froehlich, Devon Miller,Freddy Deeb, Isaac Haxton, Joe Bartholdi, Carlos Mortenson, Fred Goldberg, Susie Isaacs, Martin de Knijff, Tomer Benvenisti, Padraig Parkinson, Dan Nelson, Van Marcus, David Chiu, Maria Ho, Brett "Gank" Jungblut, Young Phan, "Syracuse" Chris Tsiprailidis, Alan Boston, Brad Booth, Jeff Cabanillas, Christian Grundtvig, Ted Forrest, Leif Force and Doug "Rico" Carli.

Adding to the celeb glitz was movie and TV star Hank Azaria, although he unfortunately did not survive the first half of the contest.

Overflow from the Amazon Room was initially accommodated in the Bluff tented pavilion.

During the first half three notable events occurred. In the first Florida Congressman Robert Wexler, who has submitted a Bill to legalise online poker spoke to a group of players about his bill.

"A few months ago, the government made a big mistake," Wexler said, referring to the passage of Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. "They butted into the lives of Americans and told them they couldn't play poker. Poker is as much our pastime as baseball," Wexler told the audience. "It's a game of skill," he said as the crowd cheered.

He then joined the PPA call, urging the players to write their political representatives and support his proposed legislation that allows Americans to gamble on skill games, including poker.

The crowd again roared its approval, as Wexler and D'Amato continued their tour of the WSOP floor.

The second was the release of official figures showing that a total of 6 358 players entered the 2007 WSOP Main Event, creating a prizepool of $59 784 954 from which 621 places will be paid, and each player who cashes will be guaranteed at least $20 320. First place will win $8 250 000 - well short of last year's $12 million.

2 415 fewer players entered the Main Event in 2007 than in 2006, probably due to the barring of online poker sponsorship registrations.

Day 1 numbers look like this:

* Day 1A: 1 287
* Day 1B: 1 545
* Day 1C: 1 743
* Day 1D: 1 474

The third event was the traditionally late and attention grabbing arrival of Phil Hellmuth, replete in racing overalls and escorted by 11 challenge-striped costumed hotties representing his record 11 WSOP bracelets. Unfortunately, this is not Hellmuth's year for this main event, as he was eliminated well down the field.

Hellmuth may have been off his usual game following an incident the previous day when he crashed the UltimateBet sponsored racing car when the steering locked up on him in the Rio parking area during a publicity stunt.

Notable among Day 1D starters was the antethesis of the young guns - a 94 years old contestant named only as Mr. Ury, who became the oldest player yet in World Series of Poker history.

Eliminations soon started to create spaces at the tables. Among the early departures was Phil Hellmuth, 2007 champ Jamie Gold, Robert Williamson III, Erik Lindgren, Cyndy Violette, William Thorson, Steve Zolotow, Dutch Boyd, Freddy Deeb, Erica Schoenberg, Martin de Knijff, Tuan Le, Chip Reese, David Benyamine, young gun Jim Mackey, Antonio Esfandiari and Justin "Hux" Huxley.

STOP PRESS: Play in Day 1D ended at 03h46 Las Vegas time on the morning of Tuesday, July 10 with an (unofficial) count of 660 players remaining. This is the last of four Day 1's. Those who survived Days 1a and 1b will meet tomorrow in Day 2a. Those who survived Days 1c and 1d will play Wednesday for Day 2b. Unofficial estimates are that Josh Evans is in the chip lead with 240 000.

 

[jetset]

WSOP stats

WSOP HISTORY

A look back at World Series of Poker stats

The World Series of Poker has shown impressive growth since 2003 when Internet poker player Chris Moneymaker took the main event bracelet and the money. The organisers have released interesting historical statistics on the recent development of the world's largest poker event:


WSOP Main Event Prizepools, 2003-2007

2003 WSOP Main Event

Players: 839
Prizepool: $7 802 700
Players Paid: 63 (7.50 percent of the field)
Minimum Prize: $15 000
Number of Millionaires: 2
First Prize: Chris Moneymaker: $2.5 million

2004 WSOP Main Event

Players: 2 576
Prizepool: $24 224 400
Players Paid: 226 (8.77 percent of the field)
Minimum Prize: $10 000
Number of Millionaires: 5
First Prize: Greg Raymer: $5 million

2005 WSOP Main Event

Players: 5 619
Prizepool: $52 818 610
Players Paid: 560 (9.97 percent of the field)
Minimum Prize: $12 500
Number of Millionaires: 9
First Prize: Joe Hachem: $7.5 million

2006 WSOP Main Event

Players: 8 773
Prizepool: $82 512 162
Players Paid: 876 (9.99 percent of the field)
Minimum Prize: $10 616
Number of Millionaires: 12
First Prize: Jamie Gold: $12 million

2007 WSOP Main Event
Players: 6 358
Prizepool: $59 784 954
Players Paid: 621 (9.77 percent of the field)
Minimum Prize: $20 320
Number of Millionaires: 5
First Prize: $8 250 000

 

[winbig]

Jamie Gold is playing in Day 1D currently underway.

Should have added that he has already been eliminated,

rofl....So it's just not me that thinks his win was a fluke?

 

[tennis_balls]

rofl....So it's just not me that thinks his win was a fluke?

i don't think it was a fluke.......do you think Johnny Chan would agree to act as coach to just anybody?

the guy had some incredible luck last year, but he did play well. he was the chip leader in one of this years events when he lost a huge pot to a guy who hit a one-outer. I think the guy is annoying as all hell with the way he flaps his yap, but it sure seems to provoke some stupid calls.

 

[happygobrokey]

anyone that wins it in this modern era is a fluke. you have to not get sucked out on >10 times in races to make it even to the final table. to win against 5000+ others is going to take luck. the skill is always having the best of it when the money goes in, but the cards can kill anyone at any time.

 

[winbig]

My point exactly. He was catching cards like crazy through most of the tournament.

And re: Chan....I'm sure he'd be your coach if the price is right

 

[jetset]

Update

MORE PROS FALL AS WSOP DAY 2A ENDS

350 survivors go through from starter field estimated at over a 1 000

Main event action over the past twenty four hours has included the completion of Day 2A, which started with a field of 1 037 players who prevailed in Days 1A and B, and played late into Tuesday night before the target of 350 survivors was reached. These players will combine with the survivors of Day 2B for the next leg of the main event on Thursday of this week.

Wednesday's Day 2B contest will see a somewhat larger field comprised of the victorious players from Days 1C and D slugging it out for a position on Day 3 Thursday.

Surprise elimination late in the Day2A leg was the elimination of David "The Dragon" Pham, but he was preceded to the exit door by a string of other big names busted out of their chance at the biggest money in poker, including Gene Strickland, Joe Sebok, former champ Tom McEvoy, Adam Richardson, young gun Jeff Madsen, "Miami" John Cernuto, 2007 WSOP Player of the Year Tom Schneider, Evelyn Ng, The Hendon Mob's Ross Boatman, Barry Greenstein, Paul Wasicka, Tony G, Dan Harrington, Mark Seif, Patrik Antonius, Rhett Butler, who finished fifth in last year's Main Event for more than $3.2 million, former WSOP champ Joe Hachem, television host Montel Williams (who was the first casualty of Day 2A) and the mother of 2006 champion Jamie Gold, Jane Gold.

Surviving the slaughter was Spiderman movie star Tobey McGuire, but Everybody Loves Raymond star Brad Garrett did not make it through the afternoon.

Other well respected names who managed to make it into the list of 350 players going forward included Kenny Tran, Scotty Nguyen, Huck Seed. John Duthie, Kirk Morrison, Jared Hanby, Cliff Josephy, John Dutchak, Tinten Olivier, Robert Mizrachi, Bruno Fitoussi, Richard Lee, poker journalist Dennis Waterman and film director and writer Todd Phillips.

Phillips was in trouble for using inappropriate language and was slapped with a penalty round, after making comments about another player that he claimed were in jest. He still managed to finish 21st with a chip count of 310 000.

The chip leaders at the end of play looked to be Jon Moonves on 570 000, Jeff Bangart (551 000) and Tuan Lam (515 000)

 

[Mousey]

Appreciate the updates, Jetset.

Looking back at the numbers you posted for each of the last several years and the increase of main event participants each year, we might have had 10k+ players this year, without UIGEA.

 

[jetset]

Update

INTERNET PARTICIPATION COULD HAVE ADDED 4 000 MORE PLAYERS TO WSOP MAIN EVENT

More players equals more excitement and bigger prizes...but not in this year's main event.

With the recent release of World Series of Poker main event statistics there has been wide speculation both in Las Vegas and the US media generally on the impact that excluding WSOP registrations flowing from Internet poker tournaments may have had.

Following the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which forbids financial transactions with online gambling sites, late last year WSOP organisers Harrah's decided to exclude winners of sponsored Internet poker seats from registration. This did not stop online poker rooms from running tournaments with WSOP packages as prizes, but winners had to make their own private arrangements to enter, creating hassles and reducing registrations.

According to WSOP figures, the main event now underway has drawn 6 358 entrants, down about 27 percent from last year's record turnout of 8 773. And last year's top prize of $12 million for the winner puts this year's predicted $8.25 million from a still impressive prize-pool of $59.7 million in the shade.

The Las Vegas Sun reports that poker experts are speculating that at least 4 000 more players would have signed up for the WSOP Main Event were it not for the restrictions on Internet entries. This would have sent the total registrations into record five-figure territory.

"As it was," the newspaper comments, "the culprit for the drop-off was the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, which made it more cumbersome for Americans to move money to and from online gambling sites and prompted some online poker rooms to pull out of the U.S. market.

"It also changed the dynamics of how players who won a World Series of Poker entry online - an estimated 55 percent of last year's field was generated by Internet qualifiers - actually registered for the tournament."

The Sun goes on to explain how Internet satellites and WSOP seat registrations were previously organised in a smooth, speedy and professional manner directly by the online poker rooms, ending with the pertinent comment that following the ban, poker rooms now award the winner with the value of the prize package direct, leaving him or her to make their own WSOP arrangements.

The newspaper hits the nail on the head when it remarks: "Consider what that means to the guy in Dubuque, Iowa, who won a World Series main event satellite online. He has to inform his wife that he's going to take $12 000 in cash, leave her with the kids in the middle of the summer and disappear to Las Vegas for a couple of weeks. Tough sell, huh?"

Nevertheless, viewed in its totality, the World Series of Poker this year drew a record 54 288 registrants for a total prize pool of more than $159 million. It included the single busiest day in World Series history, when 3 151 players competed in a $1 500 hold 'em tournament on June 30 - a record for a non-main event. And this year 621 players will be in the money bubble for at least $20 320 each, thanks to a "flatter" payout scale that awards more prize money to players finishing farther down the main event list.


DAY 2B REFINES MAIN EVENT LIST FURTHER

459 survivors from a starter field of 1 303
Day 2B action ended late last (Wednesday) night at the World Series of Poker Main Event in the Amazon Room of the Rio in Las Vegas with a starting field of 1 303 reduced to 459 by the end of play.

Those 459 survivors will now move into Day 3 of the Main Event, combining for the first time with the 350 players who remained in the game at the end of the Day 2A heat on Tuesday.

Once again there was a good measure of professionals in the hunt, and many of them fell before the day's play ended just after midnight Thursday morning. Among the fallen were 2005 Player of the Year and 2006 main event final tabler Allen Cunningham, Daniel Negreanu despite some brilliant playing, Bill Gazes, Seinfeld star Jason Alexander, who won much respect, Steve Dannemann, Phil Gordon, Padraig Patterson, Chris Moneymaker - the 2003 WSOP champ who qualified on the Internet, Matt Russell, Michael Binger, 1991 WSOP champ Brad Daugherty, David Plastik and Eric Hershler.

When play ended the top chip counts looked like this:

Rain Khan 580,000

Gus Hansen 530,000

Brent Sheirbon 525,000

Robert Nehorayan 510,000

Bill Edler 510,000

Day 2B action started promptly at noon with the first victim of the day Tom Daly - followed by Vinnie Vinh only 19 minutes into play. Vinh is something of an enigma; he ended the Day 1D heat with 3 200 in chips. He had over 30 000 around dinner break in the heat when he just disappeared. He did not take up his seat after the break and was consequently blinded down and his empty chair advanced to Day 2B. There were rumours that he may not pitch at all for Day 2B, but he showed up, albeit for a very brief time.

Another notable elimination was that of Jack Ury, at 94 the oldest player yet in the WSOP Main Event. He was busted out around half an hour into the game by Phil Gordon, who was himself eliminated later in the day.

During the first hour of play, 136 players busted out, leaving 1 169 players remaining.

Rick Salomon, who rose to fame as the very visible lover of socialite Paris Hilton in the sex video scandal headed for the rail on the two hour mark.

Just over 4 hours into the competition there were 810 players still active on 90 tables when Eric Hershler walked to the exit doors, followed minutes later by 2003 WSOP champion Chris Moneymaker. Other former World champs fared better - with the 2000, 2001, and 2002 World Champions all still playing: Chris Ferguson, Carlos Mortensen and Robert Varkonyi. Other world champions still in through other heats are Huck Seed and Berry Johnston.

Following th dinner break an estimated 648 players took up their seats, with the Michael Binger and Daniel Negreanu exits the next notable events

By 12.20am Thursday morning it was over - approximately 459 players will now combine with the 350 who lasted through Day 2A to move into Day 3 of the main event, with all remaining entrants playing under the same roof, at the same time.

There is some formidable playing power going forward from Day 2 B - Chad Brown, JC Tran, Francois Saffieddine, Daniel Alaei, Bill Edler, Thor Hansen, Ted Forrest, Jeff Norman, Todd Brunson, Carlos Mortenson, Humberto Brenes, Chris Ferguson, Isaac Haxton, Gavin Smith, Amnon Filippi, Lee Watkinson, Gus Hansen and Sorel Mizzi are all still alive and kicking!

 

[jetset]

Update

WSOP DAY 3 A HUMDINGER

Money bubble bursts and attrition rates high thereafter

With a starter field still a-glitter with top names from around the planet Day 3 of the World Series of Poker Main Event was always going to be an exciting experience for the 797 survivors from Day 2A and Day 2B, who combined under the same roof for Day 3 on Thursday afternoon at the Rio in Las Vegas. Six former WSOP champions were still in the starter field - Carlos Mortensen, Scotty Nguyen, Huck Seed, Robert Varkonyi, Chris Ferguson and Berry Johnston.

The added attraction of the money bubble bursting at the 622 elimination mark, offering the prospect of an exciting minimum payout of $20 320 to every player who remained thereafter had the Amazon Room buzzing from both a player and spectator perspective.

Gus Hansen started Day 3 as chip leader, with 622 300 chips against the field average of 159 548. The phenominal Internet multi-tabler Hevad Khan was not far behind at 592 500 followed by Jeff "Mr. Rain" Banghart (570 100) Jeff Weiss (550 000) and Jon Monves (549 800)

The first players were out within minutes and the attrition rate was at a fast steady pace until the money bubble hove into site and play predictably slowed to a crawl. One praiseworthy event pre-bubble occurred at Table 205, where every player committed to donating 1 percent of their future main event winnings to Phil Gordon's charity "Bad Beat on Cancer."

Three hours into play Kenny Tran was the first to hit the million chips mark, surrounded by chips and creating a great photo opportunity for fans and media alike.

A special prize was announced, too - the final nine players to bubble the WSOP Main Event, finishing in positions 622-630 will participate in a single table sit-n-go, where the winner will receive a $10 000 seat into the 2008 WSOP Main Event, along with a year's supply of beer from the official sponsor, Milwaukee's Best.

After over 90 minutes of play it appeared that a Strongsville, OH player called John Sigan was the bubble boy for the 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event. Tournament Director Jack Effel asked everyone to give him a big hand and John was applauded by 621 relieved contestants. After that, the action and eliminations picked up significantly.

Notable eliminations included Gavin Smith (taken out by Christian Togsverd) closely followed by former WSOP tournament director Bob Daily. Top player David Williams, already out of the main event was there to see his mother Shirley give a very creditable performance, lasting well into the game before being taken out in 465th place by Brock Parker to collect $29 883.

Another woman player who gave a good account of herself was Pamela Brunson, who became the last of the famous Brunson poker clan to exit the 2007 main event in 364th place with $39 445 and in good company - 357th Robert Mizrachi and 352nd Christian Toth.

There were inevitably isolated incidents of unpleasantness, thankfully few. Perhaps the most noticable was a player who, facing elimination slammed his fist down on the table so hard that it made the chips on the table jump. There was worse to follow - when the hit came and he knew he'd been eliminated, he tipped the entire table over before being escorted from the venue. Thankfully his fellow players managed to hold on to their chips.

By the end of the day only 337 players - all now in the serious money - remained to go forward to Day 4, including major players like Gus Hansen, Humberto Brenes, Chad Brown, Jason Lester, Lee Watkinson, David Levi, Brandon Adams, and Mimi Tran, and top online players including Sorel 'Imper1um' Mizzi, Jared 'Waco Kid' Hamby, Darrell 'Gigabet' Dicken, Hevad 'Rain' Khan, Matt 'Mattster24' Sterling, and Peter 'Nordberg' Feldman.

Those six former WSOP champs had been whittled down to five following the disappointingly early elimination of 2000 WSOP champ Chris Ferguson by Bill Childs. 2007 WSOP bracelet winners Bill Edler and Alex Kravchenko are still in the hunt for poker's biggest prize money, along with respected veterans like Billy Baxter, Hans 'Tuna' Lund, and Mike Laing.

On the celebrity front, the day started with Spiderman actor Tobey Maguire and Godsmack lead singer Sully Erna, who remain in contention, and movie writer and director Todd Phillips who doesn't - he exited in the money in 380th placing late in the day.

Hal Lubarsky, who is visually impaired and uses a "whisperer" to read the cards is still in there with a chance - the second person with such a disability to play in this year's main event.

In unofficial estimates it looks as if a spectacular Italian player, Dario Minieri from Rome, who is both fearless and aggressive, has emerged as the chip leader with around 2.5 million chips after a day where the million chip mark was often exceeded, firstly by Kenny Tran and then others as fortunes see-sawed.

The remaining 337 players will now play another five levels on Friday, and then play down to the final 27 players on Day 5 (Saturday) Each of those 27 players will receive at least $333 490.

Day 6 (Sunday) will be the deciding day for the nine seats at the final table, where at least $525 934 is guaranteed for each player, five of the finishers will take home over a million dollars, and the winner takes the $8.25 million main prize. Those final table nine will have a rest day Monday to prepare themselves for the final battle for supremacy in this year's main event on Tuesday.

 

[jetset]

Update

MIKKELSEN TAKES DAY 4 WSOP

Big names, fast action and high attrition as major money is awarded

Friday saw the 337 survivors from the World Series of Poker Days 1 A through D, Days 2 A and B and Day 3 in the big payouts range and eager to get started in the Amazon Room at the Rio in Las Vegas.

Top of the leader board was the daring and aggressive 22 year old Italian Internet whizz kid Dario Minieri on 2 398 000, trailed by Jeff Weiss (1 533 000) Jon Kalmar (1 410 000) another Internet player Hevad Khan (1 319 000) Kenny Tran (1 175 000) Steven Jacobs (1 127 000) and a few others in the million chip league, including Gus Hansen.

On the first hand after the "Shuffle Up and Deal" call there were casualties, setting the tone for the hard, fast poker that characterised the day. Daniel Schleben immediately fell victim to Tuan Lam, and Eddie Ray Stutts was bundled out by Alex Michaels.

And in the first hour Robert Starkey took out Simpson's creator Sam Simon in position 329 for which he earned a good return of $39 445 on his $10 000 buy-in.

Big names were soon falling like leaves in autumn, including Darrell Gigabet Dicken, taken out by Jim Kasputis. By the end of the day two thirds of the field would have exited this year's main event, with three former World Champions among them.

Robert Varkonyi, Carlos Mortensen and Berry Johnston all headed for the exit on Day 4, leaving Scotty Nguyen and Huck Seed still in the race for the $8.25 million main prize and the respect that goes with a WSOP main event winner's bracelet.

In the first 50 minutes of play there were 39 eliminations, whittling the field down to 298. Later in the contest, Spiderman actor Tobey Maguire was taken out shortly after being crippled by Donnacha O'Dea, leaving the main event in position 292 with a check for his efforts of $39 445. He left Godsmack singer Sully Erna as the sole remaining non-poker celebrity, but he too eventually succumbed in the 237th spot with $45 422.

The visually impaired player Hal Lubarsky's luck ran out on Day 4, too - he was eliminated by Scott Freeman after surviving all the way through. Tournament director Nolan Dalla called the gutsy player up onto the podium as a gesture of respect for truimphing over some 6 000 sighted players during the tournament, and commented that the man was an inspiration.

Sadly, some of the quality Internet players exited on Day 4, including Sorel 'Imper1um' Mizzi, eliminated by Ed Betlow.

The organisers used Day 4 to additionally set up the promised money-bubble sit-'n'-go, a consolation prize tournament for those who just missed cashing this year. Lee Dryer took the single-table tournament to win a $10 000 entry into the 2008 WSOP Main Event, plus a year's supply of Milwaukee's Best Light.

By the end of the busy day's play only 112 players remained, headed by the chip leader from Day 1B, Dag Martin Mikkelsen on 3 740 000 - a comfortable lead over the following closest opponents:

Charis Anastasiou 2 672 000
Richard Harris 2 662 000
Avi Cohen 2 392 000
Jeff Tunkel 2 323 000
Alex Kravchenko 2 274 000
Hevad Khan 2 200 000
Ryan Elson 2 137 000

Day 5 promises more of the same as the field is whittled down to 27 and some of the best known and respected names in international poker close in on seats at the final table and the $8.25 million main prize.

Watch out for some of these names in action on Saturday in Day 5: Dario Minieri - the Italian top dog from Day 3 is a little trimmed but still in contention, 2007 WSOP bracelet winners Bill Edler and Alex Kravchenko, Gus Hansen, John Spadavecchia, Lee Watkinson, former champs Huck Seed and Scotty Nguyen, Kirk Morrison, Rep Porter, Evad 'Rain' Khan, Jeff 'Mr. Rain' Banghart, Julian Gardner, Cory Carroll, Humberto Brenes, Mikkel Madsen and Chad Brown.

 

[tennis_balls]

it's a real drag the way the WSOP is handling the coverage of the event this year. ESPN will be showing coverage a lot sooner than last year so that's good, but the real time reporting is minimal unless you want to pay $50 for full coverage. I refuse to pay per view to watch a card game.

I'm curious to know how many have paid $50 a pop for the coverage. I assume they will keep that info under wraps as well.

 

[jetset]

Update

WSOP DAY 5 -DOWN TO 36 PLAYERS

End of the road for some truly entertaining contestants.

Some of the most entertaining players in this year's Day 5 of the World Series of Poker Main Event were among the 76 contenders who had exited the race by the end of Day 5. Of the original field of 112, only 36 go through to Day 6 and sadly some of the competition's most exciting players were eliminated.

Among those was Mr. "Chark" - Humberto "the Shark" Brenes who collected a paycheck of $82 476 when he fell to Hevad Kahn in 83rd place, and the last woman in the competition, Maria Ho who was eliminated in 38th place ($237 865) by Kevin Farry. Exiting in the 73rd slot was Huckleberry Seed ($106 382), the 1996 WSOP World Champion, leaving Scotty Nguyen as the last of six former Main Event champs still in action.

In the 96th slot the odds finally caught up with the exciting 22 year old Italian player Dario Minieri, out with a $67 535 payday after a clash with Reagan Silber ended the adventurous Roman's run at the biggest prize in poker. Day 5 also saw the end of Gus Hansen's bid for the 2007 winner's bracelet, out in position 61 to Jason Koshi and earning $154 194 for his trouble.

Internet expert players Jared 'WacoKidd' Hamby and Dag Martin 'dmmikkel' Mikkelsen also headed to the rail, whilst long haired tournament young gun Isaac Haxton was been eliminated too - in 94th place by Richard Harris.

The good news is that 1998 Main Event winner Scotty Nguyen is still very much in contention, along with courteous and skilful pros like Bill Edler, Lee Childs, William Spadea, Daniel Alaei, Ray Henson, Scott Freeman, Philip Hilm, Lee Watkinson, Kevin Farry, Alex Kravchenko, David Tran and Kenny Tran, together with Internet phenomenon Hevad Khan who has been cutting a swathe through the many contestants who have faced him, and celebrated each win with boisterous victory cheers.

Entering Day 6, the top ten chip counts look like this:

David Tran 10 280 000
Philip Hilm 9 950 000
Ray Henson 8 250 000
Hevad Khan 7 585 000
Kevin Farry 7 400 000
Scott Freeman 7 360 000
Lee Childs 6 520 000
Jerry Yang 5 090 000
Kenny Tran 4 955 000
William Spadea 4 575 000

At the other end of the 36 player list is Robin Bergren with the smallest stack at 520 000.

First man out on Day 5 was Andrew Gunderson eliminated by Jeff Bryan, and the last player eliminated before the 36 player list for Day 6 was decided was Ayaz Mahmood who fell to Mikkel Madsen in 37th place. collecting a check for $237 865 on the way out.

The remaining 36 players are guaranteed at least $237 865.

 

[jetset]

Update

WSOP MAIN EVENT FINAL TABLE DECIDED

Over 16 hours of gruelling duelling decides the last nine

4am in the morning Vegas time, and after 16 hours of poker against highly skilled opponents, the surviving ten members of World Series of Poker Day 6 are feeling the strain, sipping energy drinks or coffee and trying to hang in to become one of the final 9 who will gather on Tuesday after a rest day to decide once and for all who the 2007 WSOP champ will be.

At risk is a main prize of $8,25 million - substantially less that last year's $12 million but nevertheless impressive and worth fighting for. But every one of the nine survivors from that main event starting field of 6 358 hopefuls will be well rewarded for their skills and good fortune, as the following list of runner up prizes illustrates:

2nd - $4 840 981
3rd - $3 048 025
4th - $1 852 721
5th - $1 255 069
6th - $956 243
7th - $705 229
8th - $585 934
9th - $525 934

Finally one man, Steven Garfinkle is eliminated by a South African player called Raymond Rahme. For Garfinkle it is acutely disappointing - to last through so many clashes over the past 6 days only to be the last man to exit before the final table. His consolation prize is a hard earned $476 926 and respect for making it so deep into the biggest poker event in the world.

As the tired and plainly relieved nine survivors who will make up the final table on Tuesday pack up, the organisers announce the seating plans and chip stacks for Tuesday's decider:

Seat 1 - Jon Kalmar - 20.32 million
Seat 2 - Lee Childs - 13.24 million
Seat 3 - Philip Hilm - 22.07 million
Seat 4 - Jerry Yang - 8.45 million
Seat 5 - Raymond Rahme - 16.32 million
Seat 6 - Tuan Lam - 21.315 million
Seat 7 - Alex Kravchenko - 6.57 million
Seat 8 - Lee Watkinson - 9.925 million
Seat 9 - Hevad 'Rain' Khan - 9.205 million

Top man Jon Kalmar's presence is a good luck story in itself. The English ex-IT expert from Chorley, England had prepared to leave the WSOP 2-3 days before the Main Event started. At the last minute, he decided to spend $500 on a super satellite and ended up finishing in the top 17, winning a $10 000 main event seat. So he unpacked and postponed his return to the UK and here he is - the biggest chip stack going into the final table.

Kalmar, who has been playing as a professional for the last 2 years, is just one of the 36 survivors who took their seats on Day 6 at noon on Sunday, starting out on a journey that was at times slow and cautious but at others action filled and deeply exciting as multi-million dollar pots often topping 5 million were challenged and won, and respected names in poker were eliminated in the race to the last nine seats.

Names like Scotty Nguyen, the last remaining former WSOP champion who played magnificently and with humour but was bundled out in 11th place by by Philip Hilm, a Dane living in London. Widely respected as the "Prince of Poker" and the 1998 World Series of Poker Main Event Champion, Nguyen took his elimination - and a reward of $476 926 with equanimity and sportsmanship.

Day 6 started with 36 players at noon Sunday with six WSOP bracelet winners remaining in the field including Scotty Nguyen (4 wins), Bob Slezak (1), Daniel Alaei (1), Lee Watkinson (1), Alex Kravchenko (1), and Bill Edler ( 1).

By late afternoon the field had been halved with only the following still in the hunt: William Spadea (10.950 million), Lee Childs (10.795 million), John Armbrust (10.2 million), Ray Henson (10 million), Philip Hilm (9.985 million), Jerry Yang (9.2 million), Raymond Rahme (8.75 million), Kenny Tran (7.285 million), Jon Kalmar (6. million), David Tran (6.69 million), Tuan Lam (6.105 million), Hevad "Rain" Khan (5.3 million), Lee Watkinson (4.36 million), Bob Slezak (4.28 million), Scotty Nguyen (4.15 million), Kevin Farry (2.97 million), Steven Garfinkle (2.855 million) and Alex Kravchenko (1.54 million).

The exuberant Internet player Hevad Kahn, who can reportedly play over 28 tables at once on Poker Stars.com, was far less flamboyant through Day 6 and seemed to be concentrating more on the stiff opposition he faced than grandstanding for the omnipresent cameras.

Eight different nations were represented, including Canada, Denmark, England, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, and the United States. Most remaining players (7) come from California. And 12 of the remaining players are non-U.S. residents.

Ten minutes from the start of Day 6 the first player, Robin Bergren headed for the rail in 36th place cashing $285 678; Allan W. King went out almost simultaneously - both victims of plastic surgeon Roy Winston, and five minutes after that Hoa Nguyen headed for the cashier's office and the same payout for his 34th place finish after being eliminated by Lee Childs.

The attrition rate was steady and certainly hard fought by those who were bested, and pots grew ever larger as multi-millions were staked and won.

If Raymond Rahme from South Africa is the oldest player at 62 years, then Scott Freeman (21) was the youngest in Day 6. Freeman is in his fourth year at USC majoring in business and did well before John Armbrust took him out in 19th place for a $333 490 payday. Little did Armbrust know that he was the next to go - eliminated by Lee Childs in 18th place and earning $381 302.

Rahme is from Johannesburg and is a retired entrepreneur who was successful in the auto body business and owned several bed & breakfast hotels.

The players who have survived this far were all in the serious money, with positions 18 to 16 paying $381 302; 15 to 13 paying $ 429 114 and 12 to 10 paying $476 926.

17th place went to civil engineer Kevin Farry, taken down after the dinner break by Kenny Tran and earning $381 302, with Tran himself becoming exit number 16 after a clash with Jon Kalmar that boosted the latter's chip count and put him in the lead at that stage with 17 million in chips.

Rahme eliminated Bob Slezak in 15th place with the exiting player picking up a $429 114 check for his time and trouble. David Tran went in position 14 at $429 114, falling to Tuan Lam. The 13th player out was William Spadea - another casualty of the ruthless Jon Kalmar. It was Ray Henson's turn next, shown the exit in 12th place by Scotty Nguyen for $476 926.

Things started to go wrong for Nguyen when Tuan Lam won a massive 11.46 million pot gainst him - perhaps revenge for an earlier 8.1 million pot that the Prince of Poker had taken from Lam. After that it was only a matter of time before Nguyen went out in 11th place after tangling with an aggressive Philip Hilm. Nguyen's reward was $476 926, and his departure cleared the way for the elimination of Garfinkle in 10th place, leaving the final table set and ready for Tuesday at noon Vegas time.

 

[tennis_balls]

looks like a very interesting group at the final table.

my pick is Hevad Khan. his profile says he once played 43 tables at once online.
i'd kind of like to wager on him but the odds at bodog are pathetic for this bet. i've heard the odds are quite different for this event at some of the UK books.

Khan is listed at 7/1 now at bodog which is absurd seeing as his stack is half that of the leaders.

one of the guys at the final table is only there because when he tried to get an early flight back to UK, the airlines wanted an extra $600. so then he stayed and won entry via one of the final satellite tournies.

again no ladies at the final table oh well....somebody has to serve the drinks!