Big Poker Blog

Win an Irish Open EPT Seat at Cake Poker

Celebrate St Patrick’s Day in style while jetting to Dublin, Ireland for the 2008 Irish Open with CakePoker. With a prize pool guaranteed at €3 Million this annual tournament is on target to upholding its 2007 status as Europe’s largest poker event.

Last year’s Irish Open drew over 700 players from around the world, including top poker pro names and World Series of Poker Champions. Hosted by a new venue this year, the Irish Open 2008 field will enjoy a week of poker action at the luxurious CityWest Hotel located minutes from historical Dublin, Ireland.  Clich Here for more details.

There Can Be Only One! - Jerry Yang Wins 2007 Main Event

LAS VEGAS — It took 16 hours of poker but the tenacious Jerry Yang would not be denied. Yang came into the day as one of the short stacks and proceeded to rampage his way through the competition. By the end Yang had left countless players in his dust and proved he could be a champion:

Jerry Yang came to the USA when he was 13, from war-torn Laos after four years at a refugee camp in Thailand.

Tuan Lam grew up in Vietnam during the war there and immigrated to Canada at 19 after two years at a refugee camp in Indonesia.

Both played their cards right.

Shortly before 4 a.m. here Wednesday they combined to win more than $13 million at the Main Event at the World Series of Poker, which lived up to its name with a third-place finisher from South Africa and a fourth-place finisher from Russia.

"This is a dream come true," said Yang, 39, a psychologist and social worker from Temecula, Calif., after winning the gold bracelet and top prize of $8.25 million in only his second year of playing poker.

Lam, 41, was the last to be eliminated in a field that began with 6,358 players on July 6. He won $4,840,981 after canceling a trip he had planned to visit his family back in Vietnam so he could to play at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino.

"I wanted to go back and do some things for my family, but at the last minute I changed my mind because I wanted to play in the World Series so bad," Lam said. "I'm thinking when everything settles down, I'll go back."

The nine-player final table began play just past noon Tuesday. During 161 hours of action, the atmosphere resembled an Olympic arena.

Final Hand plus Interview:

Vancouverite Shawn Buchanon Wins World Poker Tour Mandalay Bay Poker Championship

The crowd may have been sparse for Saturday evening's final table of the World Poker Tour Mandalay Bay Poker Championship, but those who were there saw Shawn Buchanon earn his first title and a new nickname.

Shawn Buchanon had been hanging out near the top of the chip leaderboard the entire tournament, though he didn't have the lead coming into the final table. Jared Hamby had that honor and it came down to them battling it out for the win.

A critical point in heads-up play came when the blinds were at $20k/$40k with a $5,000 ante. Buchanon made it $130,000 from the button and Hamby re-raised $220,000 more. 

Buchanon didn't hesitate to call and the flop came Qs-9h-4h. Hamby bet $410,00 and Buchanon called.

When the turn brought a nine of clubs, Hamby came out firing again with a bet of $600,000. Again without hesitation, Buchanon called. A king of diamonds fell on the river and Hamby checked. 

Star-Studded Event At 2007 World Series Of Poker To Raise Awareness For Darfur Survivors

LAS VEGAS – May 20, 2007 – More than a dozen Hollywood celebrities and sports legends are expected to join poker’s greatest players to raise public awareness about the humanitarian crisis in Darfur in a special “Ante Up For Africa” tournament at the 2007 World Series of Poker Presented by Milwaukee’s Best Light.

The brainchild of Academy Award nominee Don Cheadle and poker professional Annie Duke, the Ante Up For Africa tournament is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. July 5 in the WSOP tournament area in the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino.

Among those who’ve expressed their intent to play, subject to availability, are Hollywood stars Cheadle, Ben Affleck, Brad Pitt, Jason Alexander, Jennifer Tilley, Hank Azaria, George Clooney, Matt Damon, George Lopez, Danny Masterson, Mekhi Phifer, Ray Romano, Adam Sandler and James Woods.

Basketball great Charles Barkley and poker notables Duke, Erik Seidel, Howard Lederer, Phil Hellmuth, Phil Gordon, Joe Hachem, Andy Bloch, Chris Ferguson, Barry Greenstein, Robert Williamson III, Phil Laak, Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Ted Forrest, Mike Matusow and Clonie Gowan have also expressed plans to compete.

Participants in the $5,000 buy-in tournament, which is open to anyone, are also eligible to attend a private party at the Voodoo Lounge at the Rio beginning at 10 p.m. July 5. The tournament will feature a fast-paced structure designed to complete the competition within five hours.  Seating for the tournament is limited and persons who want to participate are encouraged to pre-register at www.worldseriesofpoker.com/anteup/anteup.pdf.

World Series Of Poker® Opens Exclusive VIP Lounge For Players Who Donate To Nevada Cancer Institute

LAS VEGAS – May 15, 2007 – Players who make a $1,000 contribution to Nevada Cancer Institute (NVCI) will have exclusive access to a special VIP lounge at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino® for the entire 2007 World Series of Poker Presented by Milwaukee’s Best Light, the WSOP announced today.

The VIP Lounge will feature 24-hour food, beverages, plasma-screen televisions, internet access, a custom-made WSOP billiards table from Pool Store ‘n More and other amenities. VIP players will also be granted special parking privileges.

“Contributions to NVCI are tax-deductible as provided by law,” said NVCI Vice President of Communications Clark Dumont. Players who donate will receive receipts from NVCI for use in preparing their tax returns.

“The WSOP is committed to helping Nevada Cancer Institute continue its important and ground-breaking work,” said Jeffrey Pollack, commissioner of the WSOP. “The new VIP lounge is one way to enlist the support of the poker community. It’s good for our players and good for NVCI.”

NVCI, the official community-relations partner of the WSOP, is committed to providing research-linked cancer care to Nevadans and people throughout the Southwest. It is rapidly gaining recognition as one of the premier cancer research and care facilities in the country.

World Series Of Poker Revises Payout Schedules For 2007

LAS VEGAS – May 8, 2007 – Most players who finish in the money in 2007 World Series of Poker events will receive a higher percentage of the prize pools than last year, WSOP officials said today.

“We are increasing the return to players who, after hours or days of grueling competition, are able to reach the money,” said Howard Greenbaum, regional vice president of specialty gaming for Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: HET). “Our goal is to keep more money circulating among more people in the poker community.”

While the final payout schedule for each event depends on the final number of entrants, a comparison of the actual payouts for the 2006 Main Event with what they would have been under the new payout schedule illustrates the differences. Overall, 846 players last year would have won substantially more money – in some case, more than double – what they collected in 2006.  The top 27 players would have received less, however.

For example, the 2006 Main Event would have paid $22,266 for 873rd through 775th places, up from $14,605 or $15,512. Places 82 through 73 would have paid $126,173, up from $66,010. First place would have paid $10,028,715, down from $12 million, while second place would have been worth $5,442,769, compared with $6,105,900.

Jamie Gold Won’t Face Retroactive Penalty For Rules Infractions in '06

LAS VEGAS – March 28, 2007 – The World Series of Poker will not penalize reigning WSOP World Champion Jamie Gold for two rules infractions that occurred during the 2006 WSOP Main Event.

In a recent interview with The New York Times, Gold said that in one incident he exposed a hole card to an opponent. He said that in the other incident he told an opponent he held top pair and top kicker after the opponent had bet. While common in cash games, such actions are violations of WSOP tournament rules.

Under the 2006 WSOP rules, Gold would have been subject to a penalty requiring him to sit out 10 minutes of play – if WSOP floor persons had seen either of those incidents when they occurred. The rules for the 2007 WSOP call for a 10-hand rather than 10-minute penalty.

After The New York Times interview was published, senior WSOP officials reviewed video footage and had two conversations with Gold about the incidents. Gold freely acknowledged and expressed contrition for the rules infractions, attributing them to his exuberance and excitement at participating in his first-ever WSOP Main Event.

Wasicka Wins NBC National Heads Up Poker Championship

2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event runner-up Paul Wasicka was unstoppable in NBC's National Heads-Up Poker Championship (NHPC). On his way to claiming the title and $500,000 in prize money, Wasicka defeated several tough opponents, including Joe Hachem and T.J. Cloutier.

In the NHPC final played at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Paul Wasicka faced Chad Brown in a best-out-of-three match. The first one took more than an hour to finish, and ended when Wasicka flopped a pair of sixes to beat Brown, who moved all-in holding only ace-high.

Wasicka won the second match as well. Brown moved all-in when the board showed Ks-Td-9h, and Wasicka immediately called. Brown flipped over Kh-4s for top pair, but was in big trouble when Wasicka showed Qd-Jh for the nut straight.

Brown needed two running cards to save him, but there was no miracle - Paul Wasicka won the hand and became the new NHPC Champion. Aside from the honor and glory, Wasicka gets $500,000 in prize money.

Otherwise, Shannon Elizabeth was the big sensation of the NHPC. The American Pie star defeated such great poker players as Jeff Madsen, Barry Greenstein, and Humberto Brenes, and made it all the way to the semi final, where she lost to Paul Wasicka.

NBC will broadcast the tournament every Sunday for seven weeks starting April 8.

Shannon Elizabeth Among Elite 8 in NBC National Heads Up Championship

The 2007 NBC National Heads-up Championship (NHPC) is down to eight players, and if there is a die hard American Pie fan who had the foresight to lay a dollar down on Shannon Elizabeth being one of them, they are likely doing two things today: One, celebrating wildly in their parent's basement; two, counting their money to move out.

Barry Greenstein, World Series of Poker wunderkind Jeff Madsen and Celine Dion arm candy Rene Angelil are all certainly licking their wounds in stunned silence today, after being mowed down in consecutive rounds by the rapidly-improving actress.

Elizabeth's run is by far the most surprising in a tourney filled with surprises, including notable upsets in the first round by Don Cheadle of Phil Ivey and Erick Lindgren by Vanessa Rousso.

The final eight set for today are as follows:

Clubs Bracket

Shannon Elizabeth vs. Humberto Brenes

Spades Bracket

Paul Wasicka vs. Nam Le

Hearts Bracket

Andy Bloch vs. Gavin Smith

Diamonds Bracket

Kristy Gazes vs. Chad Brown

Action finishes up today from Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, with NBC broadcasting the tournament every Sunday for seven weeks starting April 8.

L.A. Poker Classic Final Table Recap: Amateur Wins $2.4 Million

By Paul McGuire - PokerNews

South African native playing in his first ever live tournament came from behind to beat one of the toughest pros in the world and win $2.4 million at the L.A. Poker Classic. Eric Hershler, a lawyer who currently resides in Los Angeles, CA stunned everyone on the rail at the Commerce Casino when he overcame pro JC Tran for the L.A. Poker Classic title. Hershler joined an elite group of previous winners that included Gus Hansen (2003), Antonio Esfandiari (2004), Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi (2005), and Alan Goehring (2006).

A record number of 791 players bought into the L.A. Poker Classic, which set a record for the biggest prize pool in a $10,000 buy-in event on the World Poker Tour. After six long and brutal days of poker, only six players remained. Hershler was by far the least inexperienced player at the table and oddsmakers listed him as a longshot to win it all.

Final Table starting chip counts:
1. JC Tran $3.47M
2. Paul Wasicka $3.39M
3. Jacobo Fernandez $3.37M
4. David Bach $2.07M
5. Eric Hershler $2.16M
6. Chau Giang $1.37M

Out of everyone at the final table, Paul Wasicka was the leader in lifetime career tournament earnings. After picking up a second place finish at the 2006 WSOP in Las Vegas, Wasicka collected over $6.4 million in tournaments. JC Tran earned almost $3 million total and that does not include online cashes. He won the Poker Stars WCOOP Championship at the end of 2006. Chau Giang won $2 million plus in tournaments. However, his overall lifetime winnings including cash games puts him over the top. He regularly plays in the Big Game in Las   Vegas with Doyle Brunson, Bobby Baldwin, and Barry Greenstein.